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Farmington Presbyterian Church ca 1932 Submitted to Tri-Counties by Madeline Smith

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Several persons, members of different Presbyterian Churches, residing in the Town of Farmington, Tioga County, Pa., having united in a petition to the Presbytery of Chemung for the organization of a Church in said Town, the Presbytery appointed a committee to organize a Church as requested by the petitioners. By agreement of the Committee the Rev. S. J. McCullough, one of the members proceeded to Farmington and met the persons wishing to constitute the Church at the house of Johnson Butts on Saturday the 10^th of February 1844

Letters of dismission and recommendation were presented as follows, viz.,

Johnson Butts and Lucy, his wife, from the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville, Pa.; John C. Robb, from the same; Miss Prudence Crippen from the Presbyterian Church of Painted Post; Mrs. Prudence Foster, Josiah H. Foster and Mary Ann his wife from the Presbyterian Church of Elkland. The letters being found in order, the persons presenting them were asked if it was their wish now to be organized into a church on the principles of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. The question having been answered in the affirmative they were declared to be a Church of Christ, and directed to proceed to the election of a Ruling Elder or Elders. They resolved to elect but one Elder at the present time, and Mr. Johnson Butts who had held the office of ruling Elder in the Church of Lawrenceville was elected to the same office in this Church. It was also resolved that this Church be called the Presbyterian Church of Farmington. Mr. McCullough then preached a sermon from John 5:1, preparatory to the Lord’s Supper.

On the morrow, the "Lord’s Day", a meeting was held at the house of Mr. Henry B. Turk, and the Rev. Henry Ford preached a sermon from Luke 22:15 and administered the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. (Minutes of Session).

The committee appointed to organize the church reported to the Presbytery of Chemung meeting at Big Flats, N.Y., May 29, 1844, that the duties assigned to them had been performed, that churches had been organized at Farmington and Beecher’s Island. The latter was organized March 2, 1844 at the place now known as Nelson, Pa. The Synod of Geneva meeting in Ithaca in October, 1844, divided the Presbytery of Chemung, forming a new presbytery to be known as the Presbytery of Pennsylvania, and to consist of the following churches: "Wells, Wells and Columbia, Sullivan and Richmond, Covington, Wellsborough, Farmington, Elkland, Beecher’s Island, and Lawrenceville." The church is now a part of Northumberland Presbytery.

The Rev. S. J. McCullough, who organized the Farmington Church was the father of Henry McCullough, late husband of Mrs. Agnes Preston McCullough of Lawrenceville. Mrs. S. J. McCullough was a Thorpe, her mother being a Lindsley and her grandmother a Halsey, related to the ancestor of Admiral Halsey of the Pacific Naval Command.

The Township of Farmington, named for a town in Connecticut, was organized in 1830, with an area of 38 square miles, and only 11 voters at the election of David Bryant as justice of the peace. The township is bounded by seven townships or boroughs: Nelson, Elkland, Osceola, Deerfield, Chatham, Middlebury, Tioga and Lawrenceville. A state road passed through the western part of the township in the early days for traffic from Williamsport to Bath, New York. By 1870 the population of the township was 997, with 315 pupils enrolled in 11 schools, with 14 teachers, paid an average of $34.00 per month.

Johnson Butts and his wife, Lucy Butts, first named of the charter members, lived north of the present church building, in a house on what is now the property of William Knapp, whose father Erastus added considerably to the Butts home. He was the first elder and clerk of the church and services were held for a while in his house. He and his wife brought their church letter from the Presbyterian Church in Lawrenceville, Pa., which he and his brother Loren Butts had built in 1831. Johnson Butts was one of five sons of Josiah (born September 18, 1753) and Eunice (Knight) Butts. He had learned the carpenter trade, then decided to study for the ministry, and completed the college course at Yale, but after preaching a while found that it produced a nervous strain which affected his health, and being advised by a physician, he gave up preaching and began to teach school. But this also proved detrimental to his health, and he gave up the intellectual studies and took up farming, an occupation which furnished plenty of needed muscular exercise. Acquiring a farm in Farmington Township in 1840, he lived there till his death February 10, 1866. He was born October 1, 1790, lived a considerable part of his youth in New York, and moved to Tioga County in the decade of 1830. He married in April 1835, Lucy (Lincoln) Beebe, widow of Anson Beebe.

Lucy Lincoln (Beebe) Butts was born February 15, 1797 at Brookfield, Worcester County, Mass. During her youth her parents moved to Berkshire, Tioga County, New York. At the age of twenty she became a resident of Lawrenceville, Pa., a member of the household of Clarke Slosson. There she married January 1, 1818, Anson Beebe, by whom she had five children: four of whom lived to maturity: Charles, Harriet, Maria, and James. Charles Beebe was a wagon maker in Lawrenceville, member of the church there, had a daughter, Mary, who married Frank Matteson, whose son Charles Matteson lives at 37 Manteo Ave., Hampton, Virginia. Harriet Beebe born March 12, 1821, married Morgan Seely, a banker of Osceola, Pa., and had children: Ida, the first wife of Dr. C. H. Bosworth of Wyalusing, Pa., (having two sons, Ford, deceased, and Reed Bosworth, of Wyalusing, Pa., and several grandchildren); Stella Taylor, born in 1848, the second wife of Dr. Bosworth; Edward M. of Osceola; and Frank James, born 1854, who entered the banking business, married Augusta Phelps, daughter of Volcut and Diantha (Smith) Phelps, and sister of Sarah Elsa (Mrs. Wilmot Grow Humphrey of Elkland) and Leah Diantha (Mrs. Joseph Oakden of Lawrenceville). Frank and Augusta Seeley had children: Gertrude B. (Mrs. Hugh Butler Strang of Westfield) and Sara, who married Robert Curtis Albee of Elkland, now of Elmira, and had a son Robert Curtis, Jr., who married Elenor Gostin of Hammond, Indiana, and has sons: Robert III, William Gostin and John Albee, and live in Elmira. Maria Beebe, third named of the children of Anson and Lucy Beebe was enrolled Maria Prutsman and was the wife of Jacob Prutsman. Born in Lawrenceville, Pa., and joining the Farmington Church in December, 1844, she had her child, Helen Beebe Prutsman, baptised in January, 1847, the first one on the baptismal list of the newly organized church. Helen was born November 15, 1846, married Hugh Argetsinger, January 14, 1873, and had two sons, Charles L. and Roy J. Argetsinger. She died October 11, 1925. Charles lives at 635 West Church Street, Elmira. He married Lena Lewis of Mansfield, and has two sons; he is a member of the Hedding Methodist Church, Elmira. Roy lives at 810 Emerson Street, Fairmont, West Virginia, has a son, Lyle Argetsinger, great grandson of Maria B. Prutsman, in military service in Africa. Jacob and Maria Beebe Prutsman had two other daughters, Anna and Emma. Anna married W. A. Mitchell. Emma died unmarried. The Prutsmans lived about a mile or two south of the Presbyterian Church at the top of the hill road to Middlebury, the farm being now in the hands of a man named Goodwin. James Beebe, son of Anson and Lucy (Lincoln) Beebe, married Marietta Stokes, had children, Ada and Morgan, who married Hattie Hall, daughter of George, had a son George Beebe who married Jessie Millington and lives on a farm in Farmington township south of Nelson. Ada (Mrs. Lot Devine) lived at Rush, Pa.

After the death of Anson Beebe in February, 1831, Lucy Beebe married Johnson Butts in April 1835, by whom she had three children, an infant deceased, a daughter Percie Priscilla and a son, Otis Lincoln Butts. Mrs. Lucy Butts died at Farmington March 26, 1874, at the home of her son, Otis. Percie (Persis on the church record) was born in Lawrenceville February 5, 1836, joined the Farmington church May 5, 1851, began teaching school at 16, married October 23, 1867 Daniel P. Close, lived on the hill west of the cemetery till 1901, when they moved to Nelson, where she died at the home of her daughter, Angie J. (Mrs. O. B. Blanchard) March 4, 1909 at the age of 73 years. Mr. and Mrs. O. B. Blanchard have a son Leo Close Blanchard, now in the Navy, and a daughter, Vera C. Leo was born March 28, 1911, baptized April 8, 1915 at Nelson, married Martha Connelly of Covington, Pa., and has daughter, Cynthia Jane, born November 7, 1942. Vera married Lucius R. Baker, and has children: Shirley C. and Charles E. Baker. Shirley married Miss Elva Owlett and has a son Barry, born October 22, 1942 and another child Rita Pauline, born September 4, 1944 at Corning, N.Y. Otis Lincoln Butts, son of Johnson and Lucy Butts, was born at Lawrenceville June 11, 1839 and died at Wellsboro July 5, 1905. He joined the Farmington church by profession of faith June 25, 1859, was ordained elder August 4, 1867, and dismissed by letter June 27, 1886 to the church at Wellsboro (in which he was elected Elder July 16, 1891) where he built a residence at No. 57 Central Avenue. He married January 5, 1852, Edith Hall, daughter of Reuben T. and Martha (Perry) Hall, and had children: Ernest Johnson, Jay Wellington, Ella Gertrude, Ralph and Robert F. Butts. Ernest Johnson Butts, born November 3, 1871, baptized March 29, 1873, moved in 1890 to a farm one mile from Wellsboro and now resides at St. Petersburg, Florida. Jay Wellington Butts was prominent in the Elmira Arms Company of Elmira and lives at 417 West Church Street. Ella Gertrude married Wilbur Buck and lives at 128 South Main Street, Elmira. Robert F. Butts lives at Sayre.

Jay Wellington Butts, born in Farmington, April 25, 1875, married Miss Mabel Dean, June 5, 1922, and has children; all born in Elmira, - Ruth Ellen, born March 23, 1923; Jay Wellington, Jr., born October 24, 1924; and Dean Edward Butts, born March 30, 1932. Ruth is a student at Smith College. Jay, Jr., is in training for war service. Dean is attending school.

Ella Gertrude Butts, born August 30, 1877, at Farmington, married September 3, 1908, Wilbur Wesley Buck, born October 12, 1876 at Eaglesville, Pa., and has a son Jay Wellington Buck, born November 16, 1912, at Troy, Pa.

Robert F. Butts, born in Wellsboro, July 20, 1890, married in 1918 Estella Moffett, has children: Robert Fabian Butts, Jr., born June 20, 1919 at Mansfield, Pa.; Loren Douglas Butts, born September 5, 1920, at Mansfield; and William Richard Butts, born at Sayre, Pa., August 29, 1928. Robert and Loren are serving in the army. William is at school.

John C. Robb, third named of the charter members, was a son of John Robb and was born in Muncy township, Lycoming County, Pa. November 2, 1809. His grandfather, Robert Robb, was an ensign in the French and Indian War, in 1758, and one of the first settlers of Muncy township. When about 11 years of age John C. Robb came to Tioga County and lived for a time with Aaron Niles at Niles Valley. He afterwards went to Lawrenceville and worked several years for Charles Ford. He joined the Presbyterian Church there in 1832. He removed to Farmington Township and bought a farm in the Peter Mourey neighborhood, a part of the Bingham estate. The farm had been occupied by a man named Compton, one of the first settlers of the township. It was later acquired by the Learn family, and recently purchased by Fred Butler. John C. Robb married Susan Locke, who joined the Farmington Church October 18, 1847, and they had four children: Rachel, who married Rev. Francis Rand, pastor of the church from 1859 to 1864; Levi R., a captain in the union army who was killed in the Civil War; Minerva, wife of Jeremiah Green who moved to Tioga, Pa.; and James L. Robb who bought the homestead farm in 1868. A daughter Anna joined the church in 1851 and died in 1864. John C. Robb moved to Tioga where he died October 7, 1877. He was elected Elder January 22, 1853 and ordained February 20, 1853. He often represented the Church at Presbytery. He voted for Abraham Lincoln in 1860, was justice of the peace from 1840 to 1845, and county auditor from 1851 to 1854. His wife lived till 1890 to the age of 77 years.

(1) The children of Rev. Francis and Rachel (Robb) Rand were: Frank (baptized Francis Levi, March 10, 1867), who died unmarried in Daytona Beach, Florida, February 20, 1944, burial being made at Farmington, Sunday afternoon, May 21, 1944, Rev. Victor C. Detty officiating. Frank was born in Boston, Mass. In 1865; John who married Miss Cristy, daughter of Rev. A. B. Cristy, and had two daughters; Anna Locke (baptized January 17, 1864 by Rev. O. Fitch) married Rev. A. B. Cristy, and had eight daughters; Emma Blanchard (baptized October 20, 1865 by Rev. F. Graves) married K. C. Kerfoot, and had no children.

2. Capt. Levi Robb did not marry.
3. Minerva C. Robb, was baptized April 15, 1864 on her own confession of faith by Rev. Octavius Fitch from Lawrenceville, and married Jeremiah Green. They lived on the present Leon Manning farm. They had the following children: Chester, Lewis J., Frank L. and Grace Green. Chester married Fern Lake, lived at Mansfield had daughter, Dorothy, who married J. D. Lankford, lives at Bartlesville, Okla. Lewis J. Green lives at Wellsboro, married Maizie Dewey, has one child, Ruth, who married Ralph Dewey, a jeweler of Wellsboro, Pa. Frank L. Green married Eliza ("Susie") Mapes, had three children born near Wellsboro: Victor, of Sanford, Florida; Robert Arthur of Daytona Beach, Florida; and Gladys, who married a Mr. Methuse, lives at Leesburg, Florida. Grace Green lives at the Fultz House, Wellsboro, Pa., was baptized and received a member by profession August 14, 1892.

A child of Josiah H. and Mary Ann (Merritt) Foster is buried in the old and abandoned cemetery located in a pasture about 100 yards north of the Farmington Methodist Church. The marble stone, found lying flat, has this inscription – "Jane Maria, daughter of Josiah and Mary Ann Foster, died Sept. 15, 1852, aged 4 years, and 17 days." This land, now owned by Fred Ackert, was once possessed by Hiram Merritt, four of whose children’s names are on stones found there. Hiram Merritt married Mary Ann Foster, according to their niece, Mrs. Mary Merritt Hall of Osceola, Pa.

The inscriptions on the stones are:

Sarah, daughter of Hiram and Mary Merit, died July 10, 1852, ae. 3 yr , 3 m, 12 days

Mary Ann, daughter of Hiram and Mary A. Merit, died July 12, 1852, ae. 4y, 10m, 12 d

Orcelia, daughter of Hiram and Mary A. Merit, died June 23, 1856, ae 1yr, 7 mo, 23 da

Charles, son of H. & M.A. Meritt, died July 31, 1864, aged 22 yr, 3 mo, 11 da.

In addition to these four inscriptions there are two others on marble stones:

Temperance E., wife of T. T. Mann, died Sept. 5, 1858, age 40 yr, 5 mo & 7 da

Stone broken – only daughter of Henry and Mary E. Hall died May 1, 1852, aged 7 yr, 10 m & 16 da.

Rhodes Hall had a brother, Henry C.

In another cemetery of the old Buckbee farm now owned by John Kemp, are to be found stones with inscriptions of the names of four more of Hiram Merritt’s children:

Anson, son of Hiram and Mary A. Merit, died April 20, 1841, ae. 2yr, 6mo & 22 da

Annis, daughter of Hiram and Mary A. Merit, died April 28, 1841, ae 2 yr, 6 mo & 2 da

Sally M. daughter of Hiram & Mary A. Merit, died April 1, 1845, ae 4 yr, 7 mo, & 24 da

George, son of Hiram & Mary A. Merit, died Mar. 25, 1848, ae. 1 yr 11 mo.

There are also two Buckbee stones:

S. P. Buckbee, died Jan. 10, 1855, aged 47 yr, 2 mo 9 da

Hannah, wife of Samuel Buckbee, d. Jan. 22, 1854, aged 73 yr, 6 mo, & 5 da.

They were the grandparents of Mrs. L. Palmer (Frankie Buckbee).

In December of 1844, after preparatory lecture at the house of Mr. Butts, the session met, and Miss Nancy Smith and Mrs. Mariah Prutsman presented themselves to be received to the privileges of religion, agreed to grant their request, and on the Lord’s Day following a sermon was preached, and they made public profession of their faith, and the Lord’s Supper was administered by the Rev. Elijah Day Wells.

Thomas Rockwell and his wife, Julia E. Rockwell were admitted members by letter May 9, 1847, from the church at Lawrenceville. Their son, Lemuel Augustus, was baptized May 18, 1850. They were given a letter of dismissal to Tioga, Pa., June 25, 1853. Thomas Rockwell was born at Simsbury, Connecticut, October 8, 1821, the son of John Tully Rockwell (born September 27, 1782, at Colbrook, Ct.) and his wife Amanda Cowles Mitchelson, widow of Eliphalet Mitchelson, daughter of Gideon Cowles of Farmington, Ct. Thomas Rockwell, married May 24, 1823, Julia Aulalia Baker, and died at Lawrenceville, May 3, 1891. She was born July 25, 1820, at Southport, N.Y. He was a carpenter by trade and left a number of drawings of fancy woodwork. After their first years of married life in Pennsylvania, Thomas and his wife moved to Wisconsin, where their third child, Eugene Hamilton Rockwell was born, and died at the age of three months. They then went to Berrian County, Mich., just north of the Indiana line, their post-office being Bertrand, and they lived on the main road between Niles, Mich., and Great Bend, Ind. Their five younger children were born in Michigan. In April 1874, they, with their four younger children, went to Sumner County, Kansas, where they lived for 17 years, and he engaged in the work of a local preacher. In the spring of 1891, Thomas and his wife returned to Lawrenceville, he expressing a nostalgic longing for three things before his death; a drink of cold water from the spring across the road from his old home in eastern part of Lawrence township, an old fashioned boiled dinner of the New England tradition, and some brook trout out of the old home stream. His expectations were met, and he died May 3, 1891, with burial in the Rockwell plot. His widow returned to Kansas the following year and lived with her youngest son and daughter. She died November 28, 1900, at the home of her son in Crawford County, burial being made at Girard, Kansas.

The children of Thomas and Julia Eulalia (Baker) Rockwell, eight in number:

1. Emily McCullough Rockwell, born August 28, 1845, married Ward Sampson, lived in Michigan, died October 26, 1926, with burial at Luther, Mich. She had four children: May, who died in early womanhood; Edith who married Leroy Purchase, died in 1937; Adna who married Oscar Miller, died May 21, 1941; and Bessie (Mrs. Clarence Frisbie) who lives at Belding, Mich.
2. Lemuel Augustus, baptized at Farmington, was born April 14, 1849, died unmarried May 5, 1903.
3. Eugene Hamilton, born May 3, 1852, died at three months of age in Wisconsin.
4. Esther Ermina (Minnie), born Sept. 10, 1853, married Emory Smith Sept. 6, 1853, who died in 1926. She died December 9, 1932 and burial was at Elmira, N.Y. They had 7 children: Anna Mary Smith, R.N., O.E.S. Home, Oriskany, N.Y.; Louie Spencer Smith died December 22, 1932; Tracy Smith, Jesse Smith; Clifford Smith; Arthur Smith; and Elsie (Mrs. Vernon Beldon), Sodus Point, N.Y.
5. Ida Eulalia, born August 24, 1856, married Frank Taylor, he and their child died at Springfield, Ill. She then married William Doris, Denver, Colo. She died January 5, 1895, with burial at Denver. A son, Charles Dorris, and a stepdaughter, Nellie Dorris, survive.
6. William Thomas, born September 20, 1858, died July 28, 1882 unmarried, with burial at Wellington, Kansas.
7. Mary Ann Helms, born April 11, 1860, married George Wight in Kansas, who died December 7, 1941. She died October 30, 1943. A son and daughter of the Wights died in infancy. John Arthur Wight died April 4, 1943. A daughter, Pearl Elizabeth Wight, furnished excerpts from the Family Bible record, lives at Belle Plaine, Kansas, and corresponds with Miss Leda Chace of Lawrenceville.
8. Quincy Adams Rockwell, born March 4, 1863, married Ella Ross at Wellington, Kansas in February, 1888, had three children: Utie B., Hortie, and Cassius. In 1909 they were living at Lewiston, Idaho.

Peter M. Close and his wife, Lucretia H. Close, and their daughters Elsey E., and Rachel F., were received by letter from the First Congregational Church in Moravia, N.Y. September 8, 1849. Peter found in Farmington a farm settlement where there was a church, being resolved not to locate where there was none. He hired a man to take care of his farm work during the summer in the year, in which the new church was built, while he gave his time to soliciting for the erection of the church. He settled on the farm now owned by Mr. and Mrs. William A. Davis. He was born August 26, 1799, the third son of six children born to Daniel and Rachel (Mead) Close, Daniel having been born February 25, 1767, and his wife Rachel Mead, November 16, 1774. The former died June 25, 1852, and the latter August 24, 1848. Daniel and Rachel (Mead) Close were married January 23, 1794. Their son, Peter M. Close died June 16, 1889, in his 90^th year. Peter Mead Close was the fifth generation from Thomas Close who came before 1665 from Grinton Parish, County York, England. He and his son Thomas and friends in the Mead and Holmes families and others purchased land from the Indians, and called the village East Horseneck, which is part of Greenwich, Connecticut. Peter was the grandson of Samuel, great-grandson of Benjamin, and great-great-grandson of Thomas Close. (Authority – Henry M. Close, Uncle of Peter M., and records of the town of Greenwich, CT.)

Lucretia H. Close, wife of Peter M. Close, was born October 6, 1806, in Greenwich, Fairfield County, CT., the fourth child of twelve born to Reuben and Lucretia (Davis) Holmes. Her parents moved to Venice, Cayuga County, N.Y. in October 1822, when she was 16 years of age. She joined the church at Northville in the town of Genoa, September 3, 1826. Venice was just across the line from Genoa. The post-office was King’s Ferry. Her father was the village schoolmaster and when the pastor was away he would read the sermons at the church service. She attended the school taught by her father. Her music teacher was Thomas Hastings (1784-1872), composer of the tune used with the hymn, "Rock of Ages" and the tune "Ortonville", used with the hymn, "Majestic Sweetness Sits Enthroned Upon the Savior’s Brow". She married at Venice, October 7, 1824 Peter M. Close, being 18 years old. The Holmes family Bible and record is in possession of William E. Close at Tioga, Pa. Lucretia H. Close joined at the age of 22 the first temperance society organized in Cayuga County, N.Y. She attended the Sunday School sessions regularly and for many years was a teacher and diligent student of the Bible, having read it through over twenty times, and committed a large portion of it to memory. She often spoke of the twelfth chapter of Isaiah as being her experience. She died of paralysis October 14, 1888, aged 82 years, having resided in Farmington forty years, and having been married sixty-four years.

Peter M. & Lucretia H. Close had eleven children of record:

1. Mary Angeline, born July 20, 1825 at Genoa, N.Y., married September 29, 1852, Walter J. Daniels, Elmira, who died in 1905, had a son Albert Jefferson Daniels, born July 29, 1853, who died March 13, 1918 at Stuart, Florida. Albert married Elizabeth Bopp, who died January 21, 1918, at Elmira. Mary Angeline died July 16, 1906, at Elmira.
2. Elsey E. Close, born October 18, 1827, was named for Elsey M. Close, sister of Peter M. Close. She joined the Farmington Church by letter September 9, 1849, married Rev. Benjamin F. Russell, pastor at Farmington 1874-1880, and died August 30, 1893, at Watkins, N.Y.
3. Rachel Frances Close, born November 1, 1829, joined the church with her sister and parents. She never married, lived rather confined to her room and home, and died March 25, 1911.
4. Reuben Homes Close, born September 29, 1831, died about two months later, at Locke, N.Y.
5. Reuben Holmes Close, born November 20, 1832, married Esther O. Hurlbut, (born at Wilkesbarre, Pa. June 8, 1838, died August 19, 1922) who became a member in 1871. They had seven children: Carrie H., Mary A., Randolph (Rantie) R., William E., Mead P., Fred (died at 4 years of age), and an infant born February 25, 1883. Carrie, born June 8, 1865, married Frank Leonard, lives at Wellsville, N.Y. Mary A., born January 28, 1867, is a retired school teacher living with his sister, Mrs. Leonard. Rantie Reuben born January 28, 1869, died in Cripple Creek, Colorado, 1894. William E., born August 17, 1872, married first Myra Merritt August 19, 1886, who died September 7, 1886. He married, second, Miss Shirley Brown, daughter of Poleman and Alice Amy (Potter) Brown. He is an elder in the Farmington church, lives at Tioga. A son Merritt, born November 15, 1904, died by drowning Thursday, July 14, 1932. A daughter, Alice Esther, born May 25, 1910, is secretary to the matron of the state Sleighton Farms School for girls, near Philadelphia, Pa. Another son, Reuben Harvey, married Kathleen Laubach in 1943 and lives at Bethelem, Pa., is an electrical engineer. Merritt Close was the husband of Emma, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. B. Rowley of Nelson, and left two daughters, Mary Ann and Alice Rosalie Close. Their mother was killed in an automobile wreck and they live with their grandparents, being members of the Beecher’s Island Presbyterian Church. Mead P. Close, born December 9, 1874, married Frederica Kraiger, lives at Tioga, is in the hardware business, and is an elder in the church there.
6. Jane Sophronia Close, born February 23, 1835, died at the age of 19, of consumption, her corpse being the first one buried in the incorporated cemetery at Farmington.
7. Daniel Peter Close, born January 26, 1837, at Locke, N.Y., joined the church in 1866, married October 23, 1867, Percie Butts, had daughter Angie (Mrs. O. Benj. Blanchard of Nelson). Daniel and his wife owned the farm west of the home of George Colegrove. (See Butts family). Daniel died May 6, 1919 at Nelson.
8. Lucretia Eliza (Ella) Close, born March 11, 1841, at Locke, N.Y., married at Farmington Hill, Pa., January 15, 1868, Edward Hinman Riggs, and died February 4, 1927, at Elmira, N.Y. Her husband, Edward H. Riggs, was born March 13, 1845, died September 16, 1902. He was the son of the Rev. Joseph L. Riggs, pastor at Wells, Pa., and his uncle, the Rev. Elias Riggs, was a missionary who went to Turkey on his wedding trip. The descendants of Edward and Ella Close Riggs are affiliated with the Presbyterian Church wherever they reside. Their daughter, Edith Tuller Riggs, born October 15, 1868, lives at 113 Partridge Street, Elmira, N.Y. A son, Louis Joseph Riggs, born January 6, 1871, at Elmira, married September 26, 1900, at Shortsville, N.Y., Miss Inez Darling, of that place, who was born June 16, 1871. They live at 1633 Pontiac Street, Flint, Michigan and have two children, Marion Frances Riggs, born October 12, 1901 at Shortsville, who married September 5, 1923, Hugh Bryant Buxton at Flint, Michigan and live now at 133 E. Sixth Ave., Roselle, N.J.; and Louis Bernard Riggs, born March 23, 1908 at Elmira, who married June 17, 1933, at Flint, Michigan, Elizabeth Lenel, born March 31, 1908. Louis Bernard and Elizabeth L. Riggs have children: David Bernard Riggs, born September 5, 1938, at Flint, Mich., and Mary Elizabeth Riggs, born February 28, 1943 at Detroit, Michigan. They reside at 22738 Nona, West Dearborn, Mich.
9. Harried Davis Close, born November 6, 1843, joined the church with her brother Daniel and sister, Caroline (Carra) in 1866, married February 14, 1876, William A. Shappee, died August 7, 1919 at Los Angeles, Calif. He died there in November, 1928. They lived for a number of years at Xenia, Ohio.
10. Caroline (Carra) H. Close, born at Summer Hill, N.Y., March 26, 1847, died at Christ Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio, September 2, 1936. She graduated from the Elizabeth Gamble Missionary Training School at Cincinnati and became a Methodist Deaconess. For three years she was assistant to Bishop Joyce at Chattanooga, Tenn., and for 45 years was a deaconess at the Elizabeth Gamble Deaconess Home, being superintendent of the Fresh Air Work, and the Industrial School connected with the Home.
11. Edward Wood Close, the youngest, born September 24, 1849, at Farmington, died at Nelson, November 16, 1930, was baptized in the newly organized church December 30, 1849, married December 6, 1882, Mary Diantha Beaver, born February 10, 1856 who joined the church in 1890. She was the daughter of Lewis and Eliza (Lugg) Beaver. Two children were born to Edward and M. Diantha B. Close: Ella Eliza, born September 9, 1886, died Friday, August 17, 1888; and Bertha Lucretia, born Sunday, August 18, 1889, who married March 21, 1917, at Nelson, William A. Davis, a present trustee of the Beecher’s Island Church. Mr. and Mrs. Davis, having no children, have brought up as their own, Elizabeth Davis and Ida Violet Matteson. The former was born June 25, 1918, joined the Farmington Church July 26, 1931, married Paul Lockwood, a staff-sergeant in the army, and is with him in Texas. The latter born August 8, 1927, attends the Nelson High School

Farmington Presbyterian Church

1. Nancy Ann Harrower married a Doctor Young and went to Kansas
2. Benjamin S. Harrower served in the Civil War, moved to Detroit, Mich.
3. James Harrower lived a number of years in Lawrenceville, then moved to Corning, N.Y. He also was a Civil War Veteran.
4. Josephine married Thomas Blancet, Prattsburg, N.Y., and had two children, one being Della, who married a Spanish-American War Veteran, after whose death, she worked for the Census Bureau in Washington.
5. Margaret Gennett (called "Aunt Nett") married Samuel Figels, an oil driller, lived in New York State, died over thirty years ago.
6. John C. Harrower died in 1861 at the age of 17.
7. Mary Eliza married Abraham Eggleson, lived in Elkland, had four children: Kit, Margaret Elizabeth, Bessie (Mrs. Daniel Webster), and Sadie (Mrs. Fred Forman, Elkland.)
8. David Porter Harrower married Miss Nettie Stevens, had three children, Glen, Harry and Alta. Glen has a son, Harry, working at the Eclipse Plant in Elmira. Harry died in Maryland of typhoid fever. Alta married an overseer of the orphans home at Bath, N.Y.
9. Charles Harrower married first Sarah A. Allen, by whom he had two children: John Lilburn, and Ida. John L. Harrower, born March 21, 1878, married Elva Smith, who was born June 2, 1885. They live at Tioga, Pa., and are the parents of seven children: Charles, Earnest, Emily, Mary, Clifford R., Clyde Richard, and Jean. Charles born November 5, 1908, married Mary Wilson, of Macon, Georgia, is in the army, stationed last at Kerns, Utah. Earnest, born November 14, 1910, married Juanita White, is at Camp Stewart, Georgia, and has three children: Ernest, born September 8, 1936; Lyle, six years old, and Philip, born November 14, 1943. Emily Adaline, born September 13, 1912, is married. Mary, born April 25, 1915, married Lyle Brown, lives at Lamb’s Creek. Clifford Robert, born July 14, 1917, is in the navy, married Marian Freeman, since divorced, has two children – Clifford John and Shirley Ann. Clifford John, born May 23, 1939, was baptized at Nelson, April 9, 1944, sponsored by his grand uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Smith; Shirley Ann was born July 19, 1941. Clyde Richard, born November 29, 1920, was killed on Anzio Beach, Italy in April, 1944. Jean, born November 21, 1923, married Irvin Heidel, lives at Nelson, has two children: Thomas, born September 24, 1942 and Sandra, born October 10, 1943.

Charles Harrower married, second, Olive Dailey, daughter of Orlando and sister of Guy Dailey of Farmington. Charles and his wife Olive joined the church in 1886. Charles later joined the Methodist Church at Nelson became a local preacher, was killed in a railroad accident at Swartwood, N.Y. The children of Charles and Olive Harrower were: Porter Lee, who married a Miss Ryon and had one son; and Edna, who married a Mr. Orcutt died at the county hospital, Breesport, N.Y.

Maria J. Butler was the wife of Jared Butler (1795-1894). She joined the Farmington Presbyterian Church May 3, 1851, died September 12, 1869, aged 62. Her maiden name was Edgeton. Jared and Maria Butler lived on the road leading down from the church to the Elkhorn Creek Road, and had two sons, Bradford, who went to Wisconsin, and had a son Charles; and Rufus Henry; and seven daughters: Mary, who married first William Westbrook, second Hiram Potter; Roxanna, (Mrs. George White); Kate (Mrs. L. Lefler); Emily (Mrs. Charles Tremaine); Susan, unmarried; Henrietta (Etta), married Harvey Merritt; Hattie, who joined the church in 1866, married Amos Preston, had children – Charles, Susie, Hodges, Etta, Preston.

Rufus Henry, son of Jared and Maria J. Butler, married January 8, 1855 at Middlebury, Nancy Jane Lee, who was born December 1, 1833, at Locke, N.Y. (The Lee Family Bible is in the possession of Emmet A. Butler of Lawrenceville.) Rufus H. and Nancy Lee Butler, had seven children of record: Alice Elizabeth, William Lee, Jared E., John Emory, Harvey Merritt, Mary Salome, and Emmet Albert.

Alice Elizabeth Butler, born April 22, 1857, married Dell Webster and had 9 children: 1. Verne, married Ethel Reynolds, had two sons Arthur and Robert; 2. Lydia, married Charles Buckbee of Tioga, had four children: Burton, Alice, Genevieve and Ethel Buckbee; (Burton married Edna Camp, and they have a daughter Edna Mae, own and operate a farm near Tioga; Alice married Max George, lives in Tioga, has three children: Arthur, who married Norma Buttan, with two children, Alberta, who married Hubert Fye, and Tommy George; Genevieve, (deceased) married Colie Smith, had one daughter Alvena, who married William Henry Howe, had two daughters, Marcia and Diana Hoewe who live near Tioga; Ethel Buckbee married Joseph Swain, live in Tioga, have four children – Donald, a Marine killed in the Pacific War Area, July 1944; Robert, in the army, New Guinea; Lester in the army, and Margaret and Doris at home.) 3. William Webster is married and lives at Wellsville, N.Y.; 4. Glen Webster died in 1943; 5. Herbert Lee Webster killed in France, World War I; 6. Jennie Webster, married Jacob Spalding; 7. Matie Webster, deceased, married Arthur Bergh; 8. Grace Webster, deceased, married Frank Bennett; 9. Martha Webster, married Ward Rouse, lives at Corning. (Family of Jacob and Jennie Webster Spalding: five children – Laurence E. Spalding, died at 38, June 11, 1944 leaving wife, Eleanor Johnson Spalding and three children, Edward, Richard and Robert Spalding; Lavere Spalding and Laverne Spalding live at Corning. Earnest Spalding is a master sergeant in the army stationed in Kansas; and Private Briggs Spalding, with the Air Forces in India.)

William Lee Butler, born June 21, 1859, son of Rufus H. and Nancy Lee Butler married Jennie Hall, lived at the old Hall Homestead, died in 1937, had five children: Cecile, who married Will Fish, had a son Roger, who was killed in an army airplane in Georgia, 1942; Crystal, married M. Francis Colegrove, lives at Nelson; Blanche married Charles Wilson, lives at Elmira; Rhodes, who owns and operated the old farm homestead; and Frederick. (See Hall Family Sketch).

Jared E. Butler, born May 17, 1861, lived to be 81, married Marietta Abels Butler, widow of his younger brother, John Emery Butler, and brought up John Emery’s children.

John Emery Butler, born May 5, 1863, married Marietta Abels died of pneumonia at the age of 27, leaving four children: Salome, Elvira, Rufus C., and Jane. Salome married Llewlyn Sours, lives on Mann Hill. Elvira married William Megargee, lives at Elmira, Rufus married Nellie Howe, had children: Ruth Mollie, John Howe, Dora Arlene, Lowell C., Leon R., and Ina Mae, who was born April 11, 1921. Ruth married Regnal Folts, Orchard Park, N.Y, John married Marie Elliott lives at Osceola, Pa., has three children – Gary, Philip and Janice. Arlene married Donald Deats, Tioga, has three sons: Teddy, Martin and Ellsworth. Lowell is in the armed forces in the Pacific. Leon R., married Margaret Reep of Lawrenceville, lives at Osceola. Ione (Ina) May married Fred Shutter, has a child Hugh Roger, Born November 20, 1941, lives on Elkhorn Creek. Jane Butler, daughter of John Emery and Marietta Abels Butler, married Claude Reynolds, lives on Mann Hill, has four daughters: Winifred (Mrs. Robert Wilson, Tioga) and has two boys; Grace (Mrs. Harry Gee, Tioga, R.D. 1) has three boys; Elvira (Mrs. H. Shutter) has one daughter Delores; and Mary Jane Reynolds.

Harvey Merritt Butler, son of Rufus H. and Nancy Lee Butler, married Martha Gee, had ten children: 1. William, deceased, married Helen Rushmore; 2. Lulu, deceased, married Lewis Johnston and had four children; Martha Ann, Charles of the U.S. Army, Andrew and Gwenneth; 4. Mira, married Donald Rushmore, lives at Sabinsville, Pa.; 5. Dora, married Ardell Parsons, lived in Nelson township; 6. Beva, married Max Trowbridge, has a daughter Maxine, lives at Elmer, Pa.; 7. Irene, married William Campbell, has one girl, Jeannie, lives at Westfield; 8. May married Andrew Mertsock, has a large family; 9. Arnold, married and has a child, lives near Westfield; 10. Berhard, married Phyllis Judd, has two children, Harvey and Bernita, lives near Sabinsville at the old Harvey Butler Homestead.

Mary Salome Butler, daughter of Rufus H. and Nancy Lee Butler, married Luella Davis, daughter of Benjamin and Augusta (Harrison) Davis of Farmington, has a son Sherman D. Butler, of Elmira who married in 1922 Bernice Barnes, has a son Robert, is engaged in the jewelry business. Mr. and Mrs. Emmit Butler live at Lawrenceville. Mr. Butler is notary public and borough assessor and treasurer.

Sarah Ann Hall who joined by profession of faith, September 2, 1855, was the wife of George M. Hall, born in 1823, son of Caleb, and the sister of Jeremiah Green who lived where Leon Manning does now. Sarah Ann married George M. Hall about 1850, being from Stephentown, Renselaer County, New York. Her husband’s father, Caleb, was a son of George Hall, Revolutionary Soldier, of Hancock, Mass. George W. and Sarah Ann (Green) Hall had five children, one dying in infancy: Frances A., Edwin J., Hattie I., Georgette Della. Frances married Eugene Colegrove, a prosperous farmer. She joined the church in 1875. Edwin J. married Mary Merritt, daughter of William Merritt of Nelson and lived on the old homestead, both being members of the Presbyterian Church, and had three children: Louise M., who married Perry Elliott of Osceola and has a son Robert; Charles Burr Hall, school principal at Osceola; and George Merritt Hall. Robert Elliott, son of Perry and Louise Hall Elliott lives in Osceola and have one son James, and a daughter. Charles Burr and Violetti Hall have two children, Francis, who married Helen Van Dusen and owns and operates a grocery store in Osceola; and Evelyn, wife of Lt. Joseph Hornsby in the Pacific area, who have a daughter Michele Ann Hornsby. George Merritt Hall married Grace Cronin and lives in Elmira, having three children: Pauline, Norris and Grace Marie.

Hattie I. Hall married Morgan Seely Beebe, son of James. She and her husband joined the church February 8, 1880. They had a son George M. Beebe, who married Jessie Millington and lives on Bottom Hill. After the death of her husband, Morgan Beebe, Hattie married John A. Leslie and had two sons and a daughter, - Frank, a railway mail clerk (deceased) Mortimer and Hilda. Mortimer married Mildred Baker, and had one son Herbert, who is at present in the armed forces. Mortimer lives at Azwell, Spokane, Wash. Hilda married Edward Holleran of Tioga, has two children, Leslie and June Rose Holleran. Hilda Holleran is in the Women’s Army Corps, was stationed at Albuquerque, N.M.

Georgette Adella Hall, youngest of the family of George M. and Sarah Ann (Green) Hall, married Frank Van Dusen of Osceola, Pa. A son, William, now in Calcutta, India, was born in 1900. He is married and has one child, a daughter, Sarah Elizabeth, of Osceola was born in 1910, married Ralph Cardman, who is in the army.

O. H. Blanchard, who with his wife joined in 1858, was Oliver Hammond Blanchard, born March 4, 1882, the son of Charles and Lovina Hammond Blanchard, who were charter members of the Beecher’s Island Presbyterian Church of Nelson, Pa. His first wife, Emily Jane, was his cousin, and the daughter of Hopestill and Myra Kirk Blanchard. Esther Blanchard was his aunt. Oliver Hammond Blanchard was one of the organizers of the Republican Party in Tioga County, Pa. In 1847. A full county ticket was placed in the field. Mr. Blanchard was chosen as the candidate for County Treasurer, with no expectation of being elected. However, he was elected by a small majority, and was prominent in civic and political activities for many years. Oliver H. and Emily J. Blanchard had these children: Mary married Arthur H. Forsythe of Lake View, Mich., and had two sons, Harry and Robert Forsythe. She died in the summer of 1944. William died in North Dakota. Chester Hoyt Blanchard married Nellie Rockwell, daughter of Samuel, aunt of Mrs. Harry Baker of Lawrenceville, lived south of the church at the farm homestead now occupied by his son Oliver S. Blanchard, who was born February 23, 1887, married Ann Ruth Learn, daughter of Claude L. and Alma Putnam Learn, and has a son Francis L. Blanchard, born July 8, 1920, now in ordnance battalion in England. An out-standing commendation came to him, according to a letter from his commanding officer. By hard work and conscientious devotion to duty he developed a very excellent idea which has been adopted by the headquarters of the Ordnance Department. His father, Oliver S. Blanchard, is an elder in the Farmington Church. Francis R. Blanchard, son of O.H. and Emily J. Blanchard, was born in Farmington October 19, 1865, chose the medical profession, graduated from the Medical School of the University of Michigan in 1890, and practiced for two years in Tioga County, Pa. In 1892 he removed to Lakeview, Mich., where he practiced till 1911, when he removed to Eaton Rapids, where in 1916 he and a class-mate opened a private hospital. He was killed in an elevator accident in the hospital March 4, 1917. Before opening the hospital he was tendered a Captain’s commission in the Mayo Brothers Hospital Unit of service in France, but was unable to pass the physical examination.

Oliver Hammond Blanchard, after the death of his first wife, Emily Jane, married Miss Mary Jane Mulford, by whom he had two children: Oliver Benjamin, and Charles Randolph. Oliver B. Blanchard, born April 10, 1871, married November 19, 1896, Miss Angie Close, born August 16, 1869, the daughter of Daniel and Percie Butts Close. They have two children: Leo Close and Vera C. Leo Close Blanchard married Miss Martha Connelly of Covington; has a daughter, Cynthia Jane, born November 7, 1942. Leo is in the Navy, now stationed in a radio training school on Treasure Island, San Francisco, Calif. Vera married Lucius R. Baker, has two children, Shirley C. and Charles E. Baker, and lives at Lawrenceville, Pa. Shirley married Miss Elva Owlett, has a son, Barry, born October 22, 1942, and a daughter, Rita Pauline, born September 4, 1944. Oliver B. Blanchard is an elder and clerk of the session of the Beecher’s Island Presbyterian Church at Nelson, Pa., and is in the undertaking business. Charles Randolph, brother of Oliver B., moved to Pittsfield, Massachusetts following his graduation as an electrical engineer at State College. He secured a position with the General Electric Company; for a number of years before his death, he was chief of the experimental laboratory of the company. He married Emily Seeley, daughter of Marcus Seeley, had two sons, Charles R., of Pittsfield, and Sergeant Marcus Blanchard, stationed at Camp Picket, Va. A book about the Blanchard family is being prepared by Mr. J. Cranford Hartman, 528 11^th St., Brooklyn, N.Y.

David Kemp, who joined the church by profession November 4, 1860, at the same time his wife, Harriet, brought her church letter from Nelson, was the son of John A. Kemp, born near Auburn, N.Y., who lived in Lawrenceville, Pa., where he erected a cabinetmaker’s shop and followed that trade till 1834, when he bought 160 acres in Farmington, now owned by Hugh Kemp. He lived there till his death in 1875. David Cook Kemp was the second child of John and Phoebe (Cook) Kemp, and was born November 7, 1831, his mother being the daughter of David Cook of Cooktown, Steuben County, N.Y., On September 1, 1864, David C. Kemp enlisted in Co. H, 207^th Penna. Volunteer Infantry regiment, and served to the end of the Civil War, seeing action at Hatcher’s Run and Petersburg, Va. After the war he finally purchased 115 acres in the eastern part of Farmington Township, later added 98 acres and on retirement divided it between his sons, Bert and John. He married September 2, 1854, Harried (Campbell) Parks, daughter of James Campbell of Nelson and widow of Robert Parks, by whom she had one daughter Helen, who married Erastus Knapp, father of William. David C. Kemp was elected and ordained elder in 1902. When 97 years of age he passed the communion elements on Sunday, October 7, 1928. He died September 28, 1929. His sister Mary joined the church in 1864, married Vernon Green. The children of David C. and Harriett (Campbell) Kemp were: Lettie, William, Sarah, Harry C., Bert, and John.

Lettie joined the Farmington Church with her Aunt Mary Campbell, March 28, 1868, married William Allen, had children: Jesse D., Gertrude, and Marie Allen. Gertrude Allen married Fred Farley, a college dean in Oakland, Calif. And has three sons – David, Kemp and Irwin Farley. Marie makes her home with the Farleys. Jesse is married and lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

William Kemp died unmarried at the age of 23.

Sarah A. Kemp joined the church, February 8, 1880, with her brother Harry. She married Edward Johnson, lived at Knoxville, Pa., had three children: Harold, Robert and Walter Johnson. Harold married Lula Sherwood, has two children, Betty and William, the latter in the Navy. Walter married Ruth Kilbourne, has an adopted son, Donald. Robert lives at Savona, N.Y,. Harold and Walter operate a farm together at Brookfield, Pa.

Harry Curtis Kemp, was baptized April 16, 1870, joined the church in 1880, was elected trustee in 1915 and ordained elder in 1928, being the present clerk of the session. He married first Mattie Miller, daughter of Rev. John Wesley Miller. After her death he married Mrs. Sarah (Brimmer) Brant, lives in Lawrenceville, being a trustee and treasurer of that church. Children by his first wife: Rosco M., Curtis Alvord, and Mary Kemp. Roscoe Miller Kemp married Crena Chilson, lives in Farmington, has four children: Dorothy, born March 11, 1917, of Canton, Pa.; Laurenza born July 20, 1918, who married Thomas Carlton Davis of the U.S. Army stationed in England, has twins: - Barry and Terry Davis, born June 22, 1943; David C. born January 11, 1920, who is in the army at Camp Davis, N.C.; Robert M. was with a field artillery battalion in Italy and was transferred to the army which invaded southern France. Curtis Alvord Kemp married May Learn and has children: Caroline, Mattie, John Wesley and Claude Harry, lives near Addison, N.Y,. Mary Harriett Kemp married Emerson Rice, lives near Norfolk (Ocean Park, Lynn Haven, Va.) has two children Lewis Emerson (18 years) and Lenore Rice.

Bert J. Kemp baptized in 1878, married Miss Catherine (Kitty) White, lives at Ransomville, near Niagara Falls, N.Y., has a daughter, Helen, wife of William Arns.

John A. Kemp baptized in 1878, married May Hughes, lives in Farmington has six children: Maynard, Leona, Donald, Paul, Elnora May and Theodore. Maynard J. Kemp married Ruth Learn, lives at Nelson, has two children, the older one being Timothy, and the younger one a daughter, Faith Esther, born May 16, 1944. He is active in the Methodist Church. Leona Kemp married Max Chilson, brother of Mrs. Roscoe Kemp, lives at Nelson, has four children: Paula, Jeanette, Wynn, born February 8, 1934, and Kay Chilson. Max is an elder of the Presbyterian Church, and the family faithfully attends all services. Donald Irwin Kemp married Verna Wilbur, is in the Navy at Gulfport, Miss., has a child Donald. Paul married Rosalind Cummings, lives with his father in Farmington. Elnora is married to A. Voght, lives in New York, at 101 West 89^th St., and has a daughter, Barbara, born December 20, 1943. Theodore, in the Navy, married Ethel Broth of Oakland, and lives at 1101 7^th Ave., San Francisco, Calif.

George W. Bowen, and his wife Amanda Soule Bowen, joined the church in 1866. They were married June 30, 1861, and lived on the north side of the road west of the present cemetery, where George Colegrove now lives. George Bowen was born March 4, 1839 and his wife April 3, 1844, the daughter of Elisha and Polly Soule. George and Amanda had the following children: James Riley, Wesley, Volcot, and Alfred, three others dying in infancy.

1)James Riley Bowen lives at Rutlege, Pa., near Philadelphia, and wrote this summer expressing regret that his health would not permit him to come to what he has "for a long time looked forward to as a possibility, to the dear old church." He still makes annual contributions to its budget. He was a school teacher for a good many years, having been principal at Tioga and near Philadelphia, where he was also later employed by Theodore Presser Cp., music publishers. His brother Wesley (2) who married Emma Barto, daughter of Mrs. Lem White of Tioga, died at the home of James Riley, and now the widow of Wesley keeps house for her brother-in-law. (3) Volcot lives at Roaring Branch, Pa. (4) Alfred, born April 29, 1889, married in 1912 Mabel Buttan, who was born November 6, 1889. They have three daughters: Lillian Amanda, Addie Louise, and Ruthadell. Lillian Amanda, born March 24, 1913, married James Soper, a moulder at the Spencer Heater plant in Williamsport, has a son, James Lloyd born November 1, 1943. Addie Louise, born April 2, 1916, married March 25, 1933, Franklin Smith of Mainesburg, Pa., who is a machinist, and has a daughter, Betty Jo, born August 30, 1934. Ruthadell, born April 1, 1921, married in 1940 Lawrence Donachy, a farmer of Honesdale, Pa., has a son, Garry Lee, born October 29, 1941. Alfred and his family are members of the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Reuben T. Hall joined the church in 1866, and was the son of Reuben Hall who was born in 1792, and married in 1813 to Lydia Whitman, there being seven children, of whom Reuben T. Hall was the next to the youngest. Reuben T. Hall wrote a history of his grandfather’s family in 1874, a copy of which is in the possession of Mrs. M. F. Colegrove of Nelson, Pa. Reuben T. Hall married Martha A. Perry of Cayuga County, New York, had one child Edith, and his wife died soon after. He then married Mary Ann Perry, sister of the first wife, and raised five children of this union: Ella W., Ida M., Herman P., Henry C. and Rhodes W. He settled on a farm in Farmington Township, Pa., about the year 1854, was postmaster at Farmington Hill for 25 years, sold his farm, where Arthur Treat now lives, in 1883 and moved to Antelope County, Nebraska and settled on a claim there. His wife died in the year 1894 and he in 1896.

Edith Hall, child by his first wife, married Otis Butts and had six children, two of whom died in infancy. The other four are still living: Earnest, Jay W., Ella Gertrude and Robert Butts.

Ella M., first child of Reuben T. Hall by his second wife, married Emery Westcott of Andover, N.Y., raised two children named Maude and Jennie. Maud married Earnest French of Ewing, Nebraska and they were living in 1920 at Clearwater, Nebraska. Jennie married Fay Stevens of Franksburg, N.Y., and they lived in Elgin, Nebraska in 1920.

Ida Modeste Hall married Arthur Crippen of Farmington and moved to Rochester, N.Y. soon after. He was superintendent of the Cutler Mail Chute Factory. They had three children: Edna, Ada, and Foster, the last of whom was born March 27, 1895 and died November 12, 1902, with burial at Farmington. Edna married Robert McClory and Ada married Albert Race, both of Rochester.

Herman P. Hall, son of Reuben T. was born January 11, 1869 in Farmington, attended the Presbyterian Church and Sunday School until he went to Nebraska in 1884 where he lived on the homestead farm with his father till 1888, then went to Cass County, Neb. For nearly four years and from there went to Chicago in 1893 to attend the World’s Fair, and entered the service of the Illinois Central R.R. as a locomotive fireman, was promoted to engineer in 1899. He now runs a passenger train from Chicago to St. Louis. He married in 1910 Kathryn Flannery and had three children: Evelyn, Helen and Capt. Robert Rhodes, U.S. Army. Both daughters are married and live in Chicago. There are two grandchildren. In 1920 he wrote a sketch of his father’s family.

Henry C. Hall, son of Reuben T., was born January 11, 1869 in Farmington, married Nora Hoffman of Antelope County, Neb. About 1893. Seven children were born to them: Emerson, Enid, Ethel, Grace, John, and Rhodes. Henry farmed in Nebraska, then moved to South Dakota.

Rhodes W. Hall, next to the youngest of the children of Reuben T. Hall, was born March 20, 1875 in Farmington. He moved to Nebraska in 1884 with his parents, moved to Chicago and began firing on the Illinois Central Railroad in 1897, and became an engineer in 1902. He continued an engineer until 1941 when ill health forced his retirement. He married in 1898, Josephine Gladding, and has five children: Muriel, Perry, Glen, Rhoda and Irma, all married. He and his family are all Methodists except the youngest daughter who, with her husband, is Presbyterian. Two daughters live in California, one in Lincoln, Neb., one son in Marion, Ohio, another in Chicago, with three children.

An incident about Rhodes W. Hall is related by Reuben T. Hall in the family sketch of 1874. The grandfather of Reuben T. had been a soldier at the Battle of Bennington, and his musket and bayonet had been handed down. On a certain day the old musket was loaded with shot and powder. "Rhodes W. Hall, then a lad of eight or nine years, lay the venerable piece across a log, and the target which he patriotically imagined to be a Tory, was a choice apple tree. He took sight, pulled the old flint-lock, which had never failed to do duty on a Tory, and the apple tree received the full charge. But Rhodes! What became of him? After the smoke was cleared away, he was discovered some ten feet away crying for joy, to think he had received no greater injuries. He recovered but the tree never did."

A brother of Reuben T. Hall, Rhodes W. Hall, was born in 1823, married Jane Ann Knight, and settled on a large farm in Farmington in 1852. This included the present farms of Rhodes Butler and Miss Nettie Hall. Rhodes W. and Jane Ann Hall had nine children, three of whom died in infancy, one, Alpheris, at the age of 20. The remaining five were Lyman, Emma, Nettie, Anna and Jennie Hall. Lyman was born in 1859, married Kate Buckbee in 1883, had five children: Alta B. (Mrs. George Klippel, deceased), Floyd, Ben, Phillip, and Doris. Floyd died in August 1944, married and lived in Tioga, and had four children: James, Walter, Tommy and Edna. James married Dorothy Bunn and is in the army. Ben, son of Lyman, lives in Corning, N.Y., with his wife, Lydia. Philip, his brother, married Grace Coolidge, has a daughter, Dawn, and lives in Troy, N.Y. Doris, sister of Philip married Earl Thornton, has children: Evelyn and Allen; lives in Port Alleghany.

Emma Hall, born 1865, married in 1883, Charles L. Beiver, and had two sons: Claude, born 1885, married Ella Cummings in 1905, has two daughters, Leila and Norma, recently sold the old farmstead to Benjamin J. Manley; Clyde Beiver, born 1887, married in 1908 Grace Learn, has three daughters, Pauline, Leone and Eloise Emma, and operates a farm at Lawrenceville. Leila Beiver married Luther Benson, owns and operates a farm near Mainesburg, and has two children: Donna and Venita. Norma Beiver married Philip Swan, and has children: Onolee and Phyllis, owns and operates a store at Westfield, Pa. Pauline Beiver, married Raymond Shrout, has children: James Raymond born May 22, 1935; Leota Ann, born in 1941; Eloise Ann, born in 1942; and lives at Blairsville, Pa. Leone Beiver married Woodrow Swan who was killed in a hunting accident in December, 1943, leaving widow and three children: Ann, born in 1937; Lawrence, born in 1941; and John, born October 24, 1943.

Nettie Hall, born in 1868, joined the Presbyterian Church in 1890, married in 1893, Grant L. Ashdown, and had four children: Alfred B., born 1896; C. Emma, born 1899, deceased 1943; Dorothy J. born 1900; and Grant, Jr., born 1903. Alfred Ashdown and wife Eva live at Utica, N.Y. He is a railway mail clerk, and has a stepson, Leon, in the armed forces. Dorothy J. Ashdown, lives in Niagara Falls, N.Y,, and his wife, Helene, had one child Patricia, who died at the age of four years. They live in Detroit, Mich.

Jennie Hall, born 1871, married William L. Butler in 1890, had five children: Cecile, born 1892; Crystal, Blanche, Rhodes, and Frederick Butler. 1) Cecil married Will Fish and had children: Roger (killed in army airplane in Georgia, 1942); Joyce (Mrs. Earl Preston, who has two sons, Leland and Roger, lives at Nelson); Alfred, who works at Ingersoll Rand Plant in Painted Post; Lee, in the armed forces; Ross and Wesley, who are at home with their parents who own and operate a farm near Knoxvillem Pa. 2) Crystal married M. Francis Colegrove, now of Nelson, has four children – Henry and Morgan (both in the army), Mrs. Eldred Kline (who has a daughter Kaaren Verne, lives at Nelson); Christine (Mrs. Leonard Wakely, with one son, Barry Leonard, lives at Elkland). 3) Blanche is wife of Charles Wilson, R.D., Elmira, N.Y. 4) Rhodes owns and operates the old farm homestead, married Hazel Treat, daughter of Lewis and Helen (Paggendorf) Treat, has two children; Kenneth (9 yrs) and Madeline (4 yrs). 5) Frederick married Margaret Odell of Mansfield, has children Eugene, born July 8,, 1936; and Marilyn, born February 9, 1938. They operate the farm of Mr. and Mrs. William A. Davis (formerly that of Peter Close) but have purchased the farm of Mrs. Alma Learn, formerly the Robb farm.

Lomis L. Beaver, who joined the church in 1869, was the son of Isaac L. and Elizabeth Beiver and was born in 1827. In 1849 he came from Dauphin County to Nelson and was engaged in tanning there until he bought a 62 acre farm in Farmington, which he increased to 140 acres. He married January 24, 1850, Miss Eliza Lugg, daughter of Charles. She had crossed the Atlantic Ocean three times before she was six years old. Her parents brought her from England, became homesick, and returned to England, then became convinced that they should bring up their family in America and returned with their family, and settled in Farmington township. Lewis Levan Beaver was the seventh child of Isaac Levan and Elizabeth (Levan) Beaver. He was born May 10, 1827, East Hanover, Pa., died February 7, 1885. He enlisted as a private in Co. H, 27^th Regt., Penna Volunteers, served under Captain R.T. Wood at Fredericksburg, Spottsylvania and Gettysburg, was honorably discharged May 31, 1865. He was descended in the 5^th Generation from Dewalt Bieber, who came from Germany about 1699 and settled near Kutztown, Pa. (See page 349, History and Genealogy of the Bieber-Beaver Family, I.M. Biever, 222 N. Sixth St., Reading Pa. 1939)

Louis and Eliza Lugg Beaver had three children of record: 1) Pulaski, died less than one year old; 2) Mary Diantha, born February 10, 1856, married December 6, 1882, Edward W. Close, died November 16, 1930 at Nelson, Pa., had daughter Bertha Lucretia Close (Mrs. William A. Davis of Nelson); 3) Charles Lasker, born March 5, 1859, died April 27, 1936, married October 31, 1883 Miss Emma Hall of Farmington and had two sons: Claude, born October 19, 1885, married Ella J. Cummings, had two children – Leila C., who married September 25, 1925, Luther C. Benson, and Norma, who married June 26, 1929 Philip D. Swan, son of E. J. Swan of Nelson; and Clyde born February 15, 1887, married March 10, 1908, Grace A. Learn, born February 15, 1886, daughter of Dana and Anna (Baker) Learn, farms at Lawrenceville, has three children: Pauline, born June 11, 1909, Leone Ann, born October 8, 1910; and Eloise, born June 2, 1915. Pauline married J. Raymond Shrout, lives at 215 North Spring St., Blairsville, Pa., has three children – James Raymond, born May 22, 1935; Leota Ann, born January 15, 1941; and Eloise Lynn, born October 14, 1942. Leone Ann married Lawrence Woodrow Swan, brother of Philip, who was accidentally killed in a deer hunting party in 1943, leaving his widow with children – Caroline Anne, born February 7, 1937; Lawrence Woodrow, born March 15, 1941; and John (Jackie) Charles, born October 24, 1943. Mrs. Leone Swan lives with her sister at 163 Washington St., in Corning, N.Y., where Eloise works in a bank.

A group of the church women organized themselves as the Women’s Foreign Missionary Society September 18, 1878, with these charter members: Ida M. Hall, Della G. Hall, Mrs. G. M. Hall, Mrs. James Beebe, Mrs. M. S. Beebe, Diantha Beiver, Minnie Blanchard, Mrs. Jerrie Green, E. E. Close, Frances Hall, Mrs. R. H. Close, Mrs. O. H. Blanchard, Mrs. P.W. Close, and Mrs. D. P. Close, a total of fourteen. The program of stated monthly meetings included an opening hymn, reading of a short portion of Scripture, prayer, reading of minutes, roll call and taking of fees of ten cents per month by treasurer, committee reports, miscellaneous business, reading of an original article, reading of a selected article, appointing of a writer and a reader of a selected or original article for next meeting, and closing with prayer and doxology.

The minutes book showing this organization contains the record of meetings held for six years, till March 22, 1884, in the homes of the members. Others joined during this time as follows: Miss Lettie Kemp, Mrs. Susan Robb, Mrs. Edith Butts, Mrs. J. H. Merritt, Mrs. John Shipman, Mrs. E. Thomas, Mrs. Julia Leslie, Miss Nettie Leslie, Mrs. L. L. Beiver, Mrs. D. C. Kemp, Miss Jane Shaff, Miss Carrie Close. This society was an auxiliary of the women’s foreign missionary society of Wellsboro Presbytery, which had annual meetings, to which delegates were appointed from the local societies. In March, 1884, the following were elected officers for the ensuing year: Mrs. James Beebe, president; Mrs. O. H. Blanchard, Mrs. D.C. Kem, Mrs. G.M. Hall, vice-presidents; Mrs. Diantha Close, treasurer.

John Wesley Ives joined the church April 3, 1904, with his wife, whose maiden name was Nettie May Dailey, and their son Elmer Thomas Ives, who was born April 7, 1893. John W. and Nettie Dailey were married September 9, 1891. He was born April 16, 1854, is now deceased. His widow lives now at Mansfield with her daughters, and attend the Presbyterian Church. The daughters, Mary Elizabeth, born September 12, 1894, and Fannie Jane, born September 30, 1896, joined the church November 7, 1915. Another daughter, Bertha May, born November 5, 1903, joined April 15, 1922, married George E. Bockus June 17, 1939, has a daughter, Mary Ann Bockus, born April 2, 1943, and they live near Lindley, N.Y. Mrs. Nettie Ives is a sister of Mr. Guy Dailey of Farmington, and used to live nearby on the Elkhorn Road.

Mrs. Leon Manning, who joined the church by letter in 1915 from the Presbyterian Church in Tioga, Pa., was before her marriage, Miss Mamie Westbrook. Mr. and Mrs. Leon Manning live on the farm formerly that of James Robb. Their son Robert lives with them. He married Evelyn Stickland, and has four children: Lewis Ray, born September 10, 1932; Phyllis, born April 3, 1935; Mary Lou, born June 18, 1937; and Betty Jane, born January 20, 1939.

The Colegrove family of Farmington is represented in the membership of the Presbyterian Church by eight persons of that name. The parents of this family are Morgan Paddock and Lucinda (Harrison) Colegrove who celebrated their golden wedding anniversary June 16, 1944 at their home on Elkhorn Creek in Farmington Township. They have had eight children: Morgan Francis, Florence, Oliver Grant, Genevieve, Robert Nathaniel, Judson Norman, Anna Delphine, Albert Arnold.

1. Morgan Francis married Crystal Butler, and their family is listed in the Hall family sketch.
2. Florence married John A. Bachert and they have eight children. Geraldine who joined the church in 1931, married Thomas Protheroe, lives at Wellsboro, has a son, Charles Thomas. John L. is in the army stationed in Georgia; as also are Warren in Iceland; and Norman at Loredo, Kansas. Kingston lives at Corning. Anna works at Corning, Evelyn attends the Tioga High School. Elaine, the youngest, 12 years of age, attends the Elkhorn Creek School. The family lives on the old Shipman farm.
3. Oliver Grant married Elizabeth Cooper of Elkland, lives now at Nelson, has 8 children, Ernestine, 16 years old, Marie, LeRoy, DeForrest, Theodore, Hermon, Rebecca, and Nathaniel
4. Genevieve married Carl Learn, lives at Odessa, N.Y., and has three children: Malcolm, Wendell and Lois Jean.
5. Robert Nathaniel is deceased. He died May 20, 1928.
6. Judson Norman, born June 26, 1908, married Ruby Amanda, born February 15, 1909, the daughter of Charlie and Della (Webster) Horton. They live with Mr. and Mrs. Morgan P. Colegrove, and have a daughter, Patricia Ann, born October 30, 1933, baptized April 9, 1944.
7. Anna Delphine married Frank Prugh of Tioga, where they both are members of the Presbyterian Church. They have two children: Sessaly Ann and Ariel May.
8. Albert Arnold, born June 14, 1915, married Velma Van Schaick, has three children: Terry Albert, James Arnold, and Edwin Allen. They live at Tioga, Pa.

Photo Caption:  Tel Sup – Above, The Congregation Gathers in front of the Farmington, Pa. Presbyterian Church.  Insert, from the left:  The Rev. Robert S. Cocks, Elkland Presbyterian Church, the Rev. Victor C. Detty, Farmington church pastor and the Rev. Orrin G. Cocks, Wellsboro, father of Rev. Robert S. Cocks, The elder Rev. Cocks gave the anniversary address.

Photo Caption:  Officials of the Church.  From the left, the Rev. Victor C. Detty pastor (he is also pastor of the Nelson and Lawrenceville Presbyterian churches), Roscoe M. Kemp, trustee; William A. Davis, trustee; William E. close, elder; Mrs. Rhodes Butler, organist; Oliver S. Blanchard, elder; John A. Kemp, trustee; Arthur Treat, trustee and Harry C. Kemp, clerk.

In addition to the large groups from Lawrenceville, Nelson and Tioga, were the following from out-of-town:  Mrs. Anna Hall Ashdown, Niagara Falls; Mr. and Mrs. William Fish, Knoxville, Pa.; Mrs. Mary Hall and Mrs. Louise M. Elliot, Osceola; Mrs. Leonard Wakely and son, Barry, Elkland; Mr. and Mrs. Chester M. Greene, Mansfield; Mr. and Mrs. William Smith, Elmira.  Mrs. W. C. McCormick, widow of a former pastor, was also present from Tioga.  A mimeographed centennial sketch of the Farmington Church was distributed to all attending.

On Friday, Oct. 6, Miss Alice M. Butts, Mansfield, a returned missionary from Korea, whose grandfather was a brother of one of the charter members, addressed the children of Elkhorn and Cummings schools about life in Korea, using dolls dressed in native costumes to illustrate her talks.  She also spoke to a group of 25 church women in a meeting held in the afternoon at the home of Mrs. Rhodes Rutler, RD 1, Tioga.

The women of the church also served a centennial supper at Farmington Grange Hall on Oct. 13.

The names of all service men from the eastern part of the township were posted in the hall of the church and photographs of most of them were on display.
 

Photo Caption:  The Rev. Samuel J. McCullough, minister who organized the ????

   William E. Close married Myra Merritt August 19, 1896 (stated in above document as 1886).
    Mary Salome Butler, daughter married Richard  Whtiney (b. 1858  d. 1939).  Had the following children: Earl R. (b. October 21, 1893  d. Jan 1982 Elmira, Chemung, NY), Eva (b. 1897), Lee (b. 1901  d. 1994), Josephine (b. 1902 d. 1985), Hazel G. (b. 1912)
   Luella Davis (b. 1896 Farmington, Tioga, PA  d. Dec. 1966 Elmira, Chemung, NY) married Emmett A. Butler – son of Rufus Henry and Nancy Jane (Lee) Butler (b. March 17, 1871 in Farmington, Tioga, PA  d. March 1957 in Elmira, Chemung, NY).   Son of this union:  Sherman D. Butler b. August 15, 1900 in Farmington, Tioga, PA.
    Nettie Hall was never married.  (Above article says Nettie married Grant L. Ashdown)
    Anna Hall married Grant L. Ashdown (Article says Nettie)
    Leonard Wakely – spelling in census is Wakley. [Note from Joyce - Census is one of the least reliable sources of spelling that we have available]
    Lewis L. Beaver – not Lomis L. Beaver
    Paragraph that starts Louis and Eliza Lugg Beaver…….3 children of record - #3 should read Charles Beaver born March 5, 1859……(not Charles Lasker).
    Philip D. Swan – correct name Phillips D. Swan

Susan Spaulding

I want to make a correction  to this posting on your website. (http://www.joycetice.com/church/farmpres.htm)

This is in regard to the children of Jacob Spaulding and Jennie Webster.  They had 7 children.  The two not mentioned are Simeon b. 1905, d. 1905 and Semuel b. 23 Sep 1907, d. 27 Nov 1907.

Lavere, b. 28 Oct 1908; d. 08 Feb 1966; m. Doris E. Wheeler and had 3 children: Douglas, Larry, and Mark

Lavern, b. 26 Mar 1910; d 1953; m. Gladys N. Fish and had 2 children: Clifford and Barbara

Ernest, b. 10 Jan 1912; d. Sep 1999 m. Dorothy Kennedy and had 1 child, John

Briggs, b. 30 Jun 1913, d. 26 Aug 1987; m. Lillian Crandall; no children, however, raised niece, Barbara (Laverne's daughter)

Susan Spaulding

Bradford County PA Chemung County NY Tioga County PA

Published On Tri-Counties Site On 16 FEB 2008 By Joyce M. Tice Email Joyce M. Tice