USA > New York > Broome County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Broome County, New York. > Part 22
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Upon returning from the battlefield, he went to Union, N. Y., and purchased his pres- ent homestead, where he has since lived, happy in having done his duty as a patriotic critizen and in seeing his country once more united and at peace. He married Miss Sarah A. Martin, and two children were born to them; namely, Mary Ophelia and Andrew B. Mary O. married Oliver Gibbs, of Union, N. Y .; and their children are Hattie and
Frank. Hattie married Simeon Spencing- burg; and to them have been born two chil- dren, Johnnie and Sarah. Andrew B. married Miss Mary Shaffer, daughter of Charles Shaf- fer, of Maine, N.Y. They had one child, Cora. Andrew married for his second wife Miss Jennie Newton, and their one child is named Frank.
Mr. Martin is a member of the First Chris- tian Church of Binghamton, N. Y. In poli- tics he is a strong advocate of the Democratic party, and, although exercising his right of suffrage, and taking a deep interest in the success of its candidates, still is not an aspir- ant for any office within its gift.
HARLES R. FRANKLIN, a retired farmer, now living in Lisle, is a representative of that worthy class who. have by patient industry honestly secured a competence. He began life without other capital than his head and his hands, and by making good use of the same has succeeded in providing a home and a sufficiency for the needs of this life. He was born in the town of Ledyard, Cayuga County, N. Y., April 14, . 1832, and was a son of John Franklin, who was born in 1805. His grandfather, Roswell : Franklin, was of Connecticut stock, and was born about the year 1775. His great-grand- father was one of the first settlers of Cayuga County, and was the first white man to build a house there, the foundation of which still remains, although the superstructure has long. since been removed. The family of the
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JIRAH P. SPENCER
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MRS. HULDAH E. LATHROP
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great-grandparents were in the Wyoming massacre, where some of them were killed, and others taken prisoners and held as captives.
John Franklin was one of a large family. He and his wife, Cornelia, of Cortland County, began life for themselves on a fifty- acre farm in Cayuga County. They came to Broome County in 1835, and bought a farm of about two hundred acres in the west part of Lisle. They lived there about six years, when they sold out,. and moved to the village of Centre Lisle for a few years, and later pur- chased another farm of one hundred and fifty acres, two miles south of Centre Lisle. On this farm they spent the most of their lives, but sold it, and moved to Canandaigua, on the borders of which fine town they bought a fine place about 1870. There John Franklin died in 1872, when sixty-eight years old, leaving a family of six children, all of whom are now living, as follows: Charles R., the subject of this sketch; Harriet, wife of M. S. Clark, of Lisle; Mary A., with whom the mother is still living, at the advanced age of eighty- nine years; Frances M., wife of F. Burg- hardt, residing near Centre Lisle; Sarah I., of Lisle; and George J., who lives in Syra- cuse, is married, and has three daughters.
The boyhood days of Charles R. Franklin were spent at home on the old farm. He received his elementary education in the dis- trict schools, and subsequently took a supple- mentary course of study in the Homer Acad- emy, which was a prominent educational insti- tution of that day. 1Ie was married January 31, 1856, to Hannah S. Bliss, of Lisle. She
died in February, 1871, at thirty-seven years of age, leaving six children, namely : Howard L., now at Napa City, Cal., and married; Carrie B., wife of C. P. Moser, living at Syracuse; Lottie B., a young lady at home, a teacher; Herbert HI., living in Syracuse; Mamie, a young lady at home, a teacher and a graduate of business college; and Fred G., a foreman in a printing establishment.
Mr. Franklin moved to his present nice home in Lisle from his large farm five miles west in March, 1893. He purchased one hundred and sixty acres of this farm in 1855, and in 1870 he bought a farm adjoining. In the time of the Civil War, instead of joining the army, he willingly paid three hundred dollars for a substitute, although at that time in debt. He has retired from hard work on his lands, but is scarcely content to do noth- ing; and, in addition to a general supervision of his place, he speculates occasionally in stock or other things in his line of business. He is a man of sound judgment, and has made a success of agriculture, as his present prop- erty is the result of his own endeavor.
RS. HULDAH E. LATHROP, a well-known and highly respected resident of Killawog, Broome County, is the widow of the late Ezra Lathrop, and daughter of Alfred and Harriet (Squires) Jennings. Her father was a native of Con- necticut, and her mother of Cortland County, New York. The grandparents of Mrs. La- throp, on both sides, were well-to-do. respect-
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able people. Her grandfather Jennings, a native of Connecticut, removed to the State of New York in 1799, bringing his family with him, settling in Cortland County, where he bought a farm near Marathon, and was one of the early pioneers of that district. Having considerable means, they were better prepared to endure the discomforts consequent upon making a new home in a comparatively wild country than most of those whose necessities had compelled them to seek a better fortune than they had. They made good use of their influence and their wealth, and generously befriended their neighbors less fortunate than themselves.
Alfred was one of the five children who were born to Mr. and Mrs. Jennings. IIe was reared on the farm until he reached his majority, when he bought a home for himself two miles from Killawog, where he and his wife spent their lives. He married Miss Harriet Squires, whose grandfather, Samuel Stent Squires, was a famous Revolutionary soldier, having served for seven years in that great struggle. Even earlier than that he was in the French and Indian wars, being at Braddock's defeat, and also at the battle of Fort Duquesne. He was a brave man, and earned the highest commendation from his superior officers and fellow - soldiers. The maiden name of his wife was Margaret Cook. Their son, John Squires, was born in Con- necticut, and resided there until the year 1800, when he emigrated to the State of New York with his family, making the journey with a pair of oxen and wagon, bringing all
his worldly possessions with him. He spent a summer in Broome County, going from there to Marathon, Cortland County, where he bought a tract of timbered land, and erected a log cabin in the wilderness. There were no saw-mills in this vicinity ; and, consequently, the boards for the floors were hewed out by his own hands, and for a time their only front door was a blanket which they hung up to prevent the prowling animals of the forest from intruding on their shelter. He cleared his farm, and established a comfortable home for himself and family, and lived to see the forest land develop into a thickly populated and well-cultivated region.
John Squires married Huldah Hadsell, a native of Connecticut, daughter of James HIadsell, who was also a soldier in the Revo- lutionary War. During his absence in the army his wife, who was a well - educated woman, supported her family by teaching. Their daughter, Harriet Squires, was the sec- ond wife of Alfred Jennings, whose first wife, Elizabeth Lawson, died while quite young, leaving three children, of whom one son, Orlando Jennings, is living at Hunt's Corners. The second Mrs. Jennings was the mother of five children, all of whom are living, namely : Henry, a farmer in Tioga County; Mrs. La-" throp, subject of this sketch; Dan, a farmer at Lisle; George, a resident of Connecticut; and Sarah, wife of Edwin Burgess, a farmer in Marathon. Alfred Jennings, the father, died on the day he reached his eighty-first year, and the mother two years later, about. .
1869, aged sixty years.
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Iluldah E. Jennings received a thorough high-school education, and is a remarkably intelligent and cultivated lady. January 16, 1850, she was married, at the age of eighteen years, to Jirah P. Spencer, a teacher in the district school, she having been one of his pupils. He was from Cortland County, and, although reared to agricultural pursuits, adopted the profession of teaching. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Spencer lived on a farm in Nanticoke, where at one time they owned about one thousand acres of land, which he gradually disposed of at good prices. He was quite a prominent man in the commu- nity, and served as Justice of the Peace for " some years. He had the confidence of his fellow-citizens; and in many cases he settled disputes by sound advice without resorting to legal process, his judgment being almost always accepted. Honest in all his transac- tions, his opinion on any subject carried with it a power. Politically, a Republican, he was an honor to his party and a tower of strength at the polls. lle was an active, car- nest member and official of the Methodist church; and his memory is revered by those who found in him an influence and example in religious matters which were of inestimable value to all with whom he associated. lle died in November, 1876, at the age of fifty- seven years, leaving to his widow and three children - Louvet, Malden, and Julia - not only an ample share of this world's goods, but a legacy of far greater worth in his good name and honorable life. Louvet D. Spencer, a farmer, owning several hundred acres of the
old farm, is married, and has a family of five children. Malden R., a merchant at Killa- wog, has a wife and three children. Julia A., Mrs. Andrew Jennings, is the mother of two sons.
Mrs. Huldah E. Spencer married for her second husband Mr. Ezra Lathrop, whose sketch and portrait appear elsewhere in this book. Mrs. Lathrop has two fine farms, aggregating two hundred and seventy-seven acres, besides the handsome seven-acre farm upon which is situated the fine dwelling pur- chased by Mr. Lathrop in 1885, in which she now resides. She is an energetic and capable manager of her large estate, and is much re- spected and beloved in the community. Ex- cellent, life-like portraits of Mrs. Nuldah E. Lathrop and her first husband, Mr. Jirah P. Spencer, accompany the present sketch, add- ing greatly to its interest and value.
OHN MOSES, the subject of this sketch, was born in England, March 1, 1834.
Ilis grandfather, John, and father, Thomas, were natives of Yorkshire, England; and the grandfather died when the father was a small boy. The latter emigrated to America in 1849, settling in Silver Lake Township, Sus- quehanna County, Pa., where he purchased a farm, and resided until his death in 1885. Ilis wife was Miss Jane Coleman, of English birth; and they reared eight children, as fol- lows: subject, Martha, Thomas, William, Andrew, Lucy, Charles, and Etta. Martha
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married a Mr. J. P. Birch, and resides in San Diego, Cal. Thomas is a merchant in Min- nesota. Lucy married Mr. Silas Krom, of Binghamton, N. Y .; and Etta married Mr. Martin Lee, of Pennsylvania. The mother resides on the homestead at Silver Lake, and is an active and energetic woman for her eighty-two years. Charles also resides on the old homestead. Our subject, John, received a good education in the necessary English branches, attending the district school in the winter, but from early years working out on the farms in the summer. At the age of twenty he went to Hawleyton, Broome County, N. Y., and entered into the employ- ment of Mr. James S. Hawley, in lumbering and superintending the turnpike. lle re- mained there until 1863, when the clouds of war were assuming their most threatening aspect for the cause of the Union. In that year Mr. Moses, inspired with a patriotic love for the country of his adoption, enlisted for his country's defence in the Sixth New York Heavy Artillery, where he served until he was honorably discharged with the rank of Sergeant, August 24, 1865.
He participated in the battles of the Wil- derness, Spottsylvania, - North Anna, Peters- burg, Cedar Creek, and, in fact, through all the engagements until the final surrender of Lee at Appomattox. One of the most ter- rible incidents in the war was the explosion of the mines in Petersburg, and Mr. Moses was present at the occurrence.
He returned to his home with a brilliant record for his bravery, but, with the unassum-
ing modesty of a true soldier, made no vain- glorious boasts, but once more settled down to his work on the farm of Mr. Hawley. He remained here until 1869, when he bought his present homestead, where he has succeeded abundantly. Mr. Moses has been careful and intelligent in selecting the best locations for his residence, barns, and farm buildings, and has in every way improved and beautified his place.
In the month of November, 1856, Mr. Moses was married to Miss Eliza A. Blomers, of Franklin, Pa. Of this most happy union there have been five children born, namely : Mary, Mrs. Aaron R. Lee; Lily, Mrs. Her- bert M. Gage; Albert G., married Miss Lily Barney, of Silver Lake, P'a .; Cora, a nurse in the State Hospital of Binghamton, N. Y .; and Lizzie, a graduate of the Binghamton High School, who has for the past four years been teaching.
Mr. Moses is a Republican in politics, and has held, and still holds, many important local offices in his town. In 1868, while Constable, he arrested the celebrated high- way robber, Giuseppe de la Mira, which gave Mr. Moses a great reputation as an expert detective.
After his term of Constable was ended our . subject was elected Supervisor for one year. In 1879 he was appointed Justice of the Peace, and still holds the office. He was one of the organizers of the Hawleyton Cemetery Association, and has been President for fif- teen years. He is also President of the Broome County Patrons' Fire Relief Associa-
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tion. He is Steward of the New York State Grange, a member of the local Grange soci- ety, and also Commander of Millham Post, No. 6to, Grand Army of the Republic, of Hawleyton, N. Y.
Mr. Moses's family are prominently con- nected with the Methodist church, his wife and daughters faithfully serving as teachers in the Sunday-school.
The many positions of honor and trust with which Mr. Moses has been honored indicates the estecm and confidence held for him by his townspeople. By care, observation, and judi- cious reading, our subject has supplemented his good start in education, and is now as intelligent and well read a man as there is in the community. In every condition of life Mr. Moses holds a high place, and the result of his untiring industry and energy is shown in his present prominence in social and relig- ious circles.
Thomas and William Moses also enlisted in defence of the Union in the Sixteenth Inde- pendent Battery, or Dickinson Light Artil- lery, Thomas in 1861 and William in 1862; Thomas was discharged as First Lieutenant, and William as Sergeant, Thomas serving three and one-half years, William three years.
OSEPH SCHNELL, a leading druggist of the city of Binghamton, well known and highly popular in business and in social circles, was born in Clearfield, Pa.,. March 30, 1840. Ilis father, Joseph Schnell, Sr., was born in Strasbourg, France, in 1812,
and was the son of Michael and Jeannette Schnell, both natives of that ancient city. Michael with his family came to America in 1817, and landed in Philadelphia. They came in company with Mr. Bouvier, who afterward became the wealthy capitalist and banker of the Quaker City. Atter remaining a while in Juniata, Pa., Michael settled in Clearfield, where he spent the rest of his life. To him- self and wife three children were born; namely, Joseph, Augustine, and Josephine, of whom the two latter are still living. They were a most estimable family, well educated, respected in society, and thoroughly devoted and faithful members of the Catholic church. Jeannette, the mother, died September 17, 1844, and the father in 1852. His son, Joseph, was but five years of age when he came with his parents to America. He was reared to manhood in Clearfield County, and from his earliest youth gave evidences of the nobility and sweetness of character for which he was distinguished all through his life. In December of 1834 Mr. Schnell married Miss Catherine Brew, daughter of Thaddeus and . Mary Brew, of Bellefonte, Pa. Eleven chil- dren were born to this marriage, of whom eight survive, as follows: Thaddeus, Augus- tine, Andrew Curtin, Joseph, Mary E., James, Eliza, and Catherine. The three who died were Jennie, Roland Curtin, and Hugh. Mrs. Catherine Schnell was born in Spring- mount, Clare County, Ireland, in 1816, and came of a distinguished family of that place. Her father, Thaddeus Brew, was a native of Clare County, and came to America in 1831.
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He was a sturdy, honest man, and died in Bellefonte, at the advanced age of ninety-five years, in 1875. His wife, Mary (Curtin) Brew, was a sister of Roland Curtin, the father of the great war Governor, Andrew G. Curtin, of Pennsylvania. Roland Curtin was a student at St. Malo, France, when the ter- rible Revolution, the "Reign of Terror" in that country, sent thousands of refugees, he being among the others, to America. Roland Curtin settled in Pennsylvania, where he was the first to establish the famous iron works of Centre County. Here he made a large fort- une, married, and died, leaving a number of descendants, who are among the most promi- nent people of the county. In 1831 his sister and her husband, Thaddeus Brew, settled in Bellefonte. Mrs. Brew died in 1880, at the age of ninety-eight years. Their family con- sisted of seven children, two sons and five daughters. Of these, four survive, namely : Mrs. Hamilton and Mrs. McClain, of Belle- fonte; Mrs. Nolan, of Washington, D.C .; and Mrs. Kelley, of Chicago, III.
Mrs. Catherine Schnell, the mother of the subject of this sketch, was an excellent and pure Christian woman. For nearly thirty years she had been a terrible sufferer from inflammatory rheumatism, which had crippled her, and rendered her almost sightless. De- spite her intense sufferings, she bore her afflictions with patience and resignation, and was the brightest and most cheerful of all her family, of whom she was the centre of their affectionate care and admiration of her hero- ism. Brave and resigned to the last, she
had the comfort in her dying moments of hav- ing all of her children at her bedside, al- though they had literally to be summoned from the four points of the compass. ller death occurred September 19, 1879. The early years of her married life were spent in Clearfield; but in 1840 the family removed to Milesburg, about three miles from Bellefonte. They lived there a short time, when, for the sake of better educational advantages for their children, they settled permanently in Belle- fonte. Mr. Joseph Schnell, Sr., died in that city, March 22, ISSo, aged sixty-seven years, having survived his beloved wife but six months. Industrious, conscientious, and a thorough gentleman, no better citizen ever lived in that borough. At the time of his death he was Overseer of the Poor, which office he filled with satisfaction to the people and his own honor and credit. He was an exemplary member of the Catholic church, whose consoling ministrations aided and made his last moments calm and peaceful. lle was a true patriot, as was illustrated. in the fol- lowing incident. At the time of the break- ing out of the Civil War a meeting was called in his town to enroll volunteers. He was appointed Vice - President of this meeting; and, when the Chairman made an impassioned speech, calling for men to enlist, among those who first walked up to the desk and signed their names were his four sons, the youngest of them not having yet reached his majority. The heroism and paternal love of Mr. Schnell were put to a severe test; but, although the father's heart was wrung, he bravely stood the
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ordeal, and applauded the patriotism of his boys.
Joseph Schnell, Jr., his son, and the sub- ject of this sketch, was reared and educated in Bellefonte, Pa., and when sixteen years of age entered the drug store of Frank Green and Joe McMinn to learn the business. When the telegraph lines were extended to Bellefonte and Milesburg, Pa., his father was Postmaster at the latter place, and the telegraph station was in that post-office. Here his eldest brother, Thaddeus Schnell, was trained as an operator; and Joseph, being a young boy, picked the art up mainly by sound. After- ward he took charge of the wire, when it was placed in Mr. Green's store, and soon became proficient in the business. He remained with Mr. Green as druggist and telegrapher until the breaking out of the war. ITe enlisted April 17, 1861, in the old Bellefonte Fenci- bles, which reached Harrisburg a few days after the bombardment of Fort Sumter. They reported to Governor Curtin, who had been, before his election to the Governorship, the Captain of this company. The company left Bellefonte fully one hundred strong, and was the third company to reach Camp Curtin. The commissioned officers were: John B. Mitchell, Captain; J. A. Beaver (later Gover- nor of the State of Pennsylvania), First Lieu- tenant ; Charles H. Hale, Second Lieutenant. These officers with their command were as- signed to the Second Pennsylvania Regiment, Company H. The regiment immediately. marched to the front, and were stationed near Baltimore, arriving there the day after the
Sixth Massachusetts had had its terrible expe- rience in the streets of that city. In May, the month following Mr. Schnell's enlist- ment, he was detailed on special duty in the telegraph office at Baltimore, where he re- mained until the term of his enlistment (three months) expired.
He received his discharge in Harrisburg, July 26, 1861, returned to his home in Belle- fonte, where he remained just one day, and then re-enlisted, returning to the telegraph office at Baltimore. While at this place, he received his appointment in the United States Military Telegraph Corps, and was assigned to duty at General McCall's headquarters at Tennallytown, D.C., seven miles from Wash- ington. From there he went as duty de- manded, moving along with McCall's division down through Virginia, being stationed for a while at Fortress Monroe, and two days after the evacuation of Yorktown established an office one mile beyond that town, in a' building which had been built expressly for the Confederates, as offices. lIere Mr. Schnell met with one of the narrowest escapes . he experienced during the war. A comrade, D. B. Lathrop, and himself, mounted on their horses, were riding out to examine some of the telegraph lines; and, as they rode along quietly, Mr. Lathrop's horse stepped on a concealed torpedo, and in an instant horse and rider were blown to atoms. About this time Mr. Schnell was taken with fever, and was ordered home, but was compelled to stop off at Wilmington, Del., where for a while he was seriously ill. After his recovery he was
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assigned to duty at Washington, D.C., at the telegraphic headquarters of the government.
Among the reminiscences of these stirring times Mr. Schnell recalls the terrible anxiety of President Lincoln and his Cabinet on the night of the advance of Burnside across the Rappahannock River, when he made the ill- fated attack on Fredericksburg, Va. Mr. Schnell had been detailed to receive the de- spatches from that division of the army. The President and his Cabinet were gathered in the room; and Mr. Lincoln stood with his hand pressed upon the shoulder of the ope- rator, dictating his messages to General Burnside. When the wire was closed, the President thanked and complimented Mr. Schnell on the celerity and accuracy of his work. It was then three o'clock in the morn- ing; and Secretary Stanton, appreciating the fatigue and strain on Mr. Schnell and the other young telegraphers, invited them into his private office adjoining, and gave them an elegant luncheon.
Mr. Schnell remained in Washington until 1863, when he was sent on Provost-marshal duty to Williamsport, Pa., as Enrolment Clerk. He remained there until his final discharge from the army. in 1864, when he came to Binghamton, where he took charge of the telegraph office of the Erie Railroad. Here the whole business, commercial and railway, was conducted; but two years later commercial business had so increased that an office was established on Court Street of that city, and Mr. Schnell was. appointed Man- ager. He filled this position with satisfac-
tion to the Western Union Company, and, by his universal courtesy and politeness, not only established himself in the good will of the people of Binghamton, but became a great social favorite. He remained with the tele- graph company until 1874, with the excep- tion of three months spent in the office of L. G. Tillotson & Co., New York City, where he had been offered a most lucrative position, but which, after trial, he gave up and returned to Binghamton, his place as Manager in the office having been kept open for him, should he care to resume it. When Mr. Schnell gave up telegraphy, he again re- turned to the drug business, purchasing the drug-store of C. H. Webster, Sr., located on the west bank of the Chenango River. In a short time, finding his quarters too small, he removed to the handsome store, No. S Main Street, in which he has since carried on a lucrative and excellent business.
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