Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 2, Part 1

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1098

USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 2 > Part 1
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 2 > Part 1
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 2 > Part 1
USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 2 > Part 1

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Gc 974.8 C73 pt.2 6 1865597

REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION

ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 00826 0405

Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015

https://archive.org/details/commemorativebio02unse

490

COMMEMORATIVE

BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD

.. OF ..

NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA

Pt .?

INCLUDING THE COUNTIES OF

SUSQUEHANNA, WAYNE, PIKE AND MONROE,

CONTAINING

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF PROMINENT AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.

AND MANY OF THE EARLY SETTLED FAMILIES.

ILLUSTRATED.

J. H. BEERS & CO., CHICAGO. 1900.

1865597

......

J. L. Holmes

449

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

R., born April 10, 1836, is a farmer in Gibson town- ship. (7) George F., born February 17, 1839, 15 a farmer in Gibson township. Our subject's mother died March 12, 1875. Her father, Jesse Fuller, of Attleboro, Mass., served seven years in the Revo- lutionary army. He died January 16, 1832, aged seventy-nine years, and his wife, Lydia MI., died November 2, 1830, aged seventy.

Jesse L. Holmes was raised to farm work, and at the age of sixteen he began to find employment with neighboring farmers. At eighteen he decided to learn the carpenter's trade, and after an appren- ticeship of two years with his brother, David E., he engaged in business for himself. For twenty- five years he conducted an extensive business as contractor and builder, at various places, including Seranton and Forest City, and many of the resi- dences and barns in the rural districts of Susque- hanna county were built by him. For twenty years he also followed the trade of millwright. About 1873 he gave up contracting and building, and in 1874 he located at South Gibson and turned his attention to speculating and the business of loan- ing money and discounting notes. A number of farms have come into his possession on mortgages, and he now owns over 1,000 acres of land. in Clif- ford. Lenox, Gibson and other townships. The oversight of his property keeps him fully occupied. and the extent of his connection with the cattle business may be inferred from the fact that he keeps about 180 head on his farm near South Gibson. He has a fine physique, being large and well-pro- portioned, and seems capable of a vast amount of effort without injury. Politically he gives his al- legiance to the Republican party, but he has never been willing to enter the race for office, his own interests requiring his time. On May 26, 1871, he was married, at Mt. Pleasant, Penn., to Miss Mary I). Resseguie, a native of South Gibson, and a daughter of Fitch and Mary ( Tewksbury) Resse- guie.

Samuel Resseguie, grandfather of our subject's wife, was the first permanent settler at South Gib- son. He was a son of William Resseguie, of Fish- kill, N. Y. In May, 18:3. he brought his family to the wilderness, paying a Mr. Taylor $40 for a quit-claim deed for 400 acres. He erected a log cabin, having bark shingles held down by poles. and moved with his family into this rude dwelling. llis quit-claim deed proved worthless: he bouglit 120 acres of land at So per acre, which he occupied until he passed away. in 1858, at the age of eighty- two years. He had married, at Norwalk. Conn .. Freelove Disbrow, a native of Connecticut, and their children were: Fitch. Lewis, Aaron. Will- iam. Harrison, Nelson, Betsey, Cynthia and Sally. Fitch Resseguie. the eldest child. and Mrs. Holmes' father, was born in 1804, and was reared in the backwoods home. developing the sturdy character of a pioneer and a generous hos- pitality which usually abounded in the early settle- ments. He married Mary Tewksbury, daughter of 29

Jacob and Mary (Reed) Tewksbury, natives of Vermont, who migrated in 1814 to Susquehanna county, settling in Brooklyn township. Fitch Resseguie was a lifelong farmer of the Tunkhan- nock Valley. He was a charter member of the M. E. Church, and in the early days his house and barn were always open for Church services. His noble wite, whose womanly and Christian graces were a refining influence throughout the commun- ity, died in 1876, aged sixty-three years. Fitch Resseguie died in 1890, aged eighty-six. Their children were as follows: Charles W. became editor of the Daily Transcript and Ledger, of Sus- quehanna ; he married Angeline M. Woodward ; his death occurred May 21, 1898, at Susquehanna. Freeman T. was drowned at the age of sixteen years. George R., born February 1, 1839. a farmer of Harford township. married Harriet M. Ehrgood. William E., a merchant of South Gibson, married Helen Denny. Mary D. is the wife of our subject. Manly T., who married Vianna Pickering, died at the age of forty years.

TURRELL. The Turrell family in Connecti- cut. from which sprang the family bearing the name in Susquehanna county, was one of prominence and influence in Litchfield county, and was descended from Roger Terrill, of Essex County, England, who was one of the founders of Milford, Conn .. in 1639. The Susquehanna county branch of the family are the posterity of Leman and William Turrell, brothers, and sons of James Turrell, Jr., who was the son of Capt. James Turrell of New Milford, Litchfield Co., Conn., a great-grandson of Roger Terrill. The children and children's chil- dren of Leman and William Turrell include among them such men as Stanley, Joel, Leman M., Abel, James and Hon. William J. Turrell, all now deceased, and the venerable Henry F. Turrell, still haie and hearty under the weight of nearly four- score years, residing at Montrose, where his son William H. Turrell is one of the active and prom- inent of the younger business men of the borough. There also resides the aged widow of the late Abel Turrell, whose only son. Edgar A. Turrell, is a lawyer of New York City. These men have in turn played well their parts in the development and prog- ress of Susquehanna county in the one hundred . Years of. its history.

Leman Turrell, son of James Turrell, Jr., of New Milford, Conn., was born in that place July 5, 1776. In 1793 he accompanied his mother to visit a sister. Mrs. Kingsley, who had settled in what is now Susquehanna county, Penn., near the mouth of the Wyalusing creek. The mother rode on horseback and the son walked, the distance being in the neighborhood of two hundred and fifty miles. In the spring following, 1794. when eighteen years of age. the son again came to Susquehanna county, as assistant to his uncle. Job Turrell, to survey the lands under the Connecticut title. returning to Con- nectiest in the fall. In the summer of 1809 lie

450

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

made another trip to Susquehanna county, bought a tract of land on the headwaters of the middle branch in what is now Forest Lake township, and built a cabin to which he moved his family in 1810. As time passed he improved the wild land, added to his original tract, and, being a man of energy, industry and perseverance, accumulated a large prop- erty. In connection with farming he was occupied in the line of surveying lands, laying out roads and the like in the county, and along in about 1821 he and some of his sons were engaged in building a part of the Milford and Owego turnpike. He had married, in 1797, Lucy Turrell, who was born in 1776, and on their removal to Susquehanna county they had a family of four children. There were no district schools maintained in the early settlement of the family here, and Mr. Turrell, a man of educa- tion, taught his own children at home evenings after his day's labor was over. Leman Turrell died December 28, 1848, and his widow survived many years, dying in December. 1864. They were plain, conscientious, good people, honorable and just, and were greatly esteemed and respected. Their chil- dren were: (1) Britannia Turrell, born in 1798, married Adolphus Olmstead, and became the moth- er of the late Garrick MI. Olmstead, a prominent lawyer of Jersey City; and Sarah Britannia, who married the late Judge F. B. Streeter, whose son, Harry Streeter, is a lawyer of Towanda. Penn. (2) Stanley Turrell. born in 1800, married Miss Alice R. Thacher. He was reared to agricultural pur- suits, which he continued through life, and was a successful and prosperous farmer in Forest Lake township, occupying some of the original purchase made by his father in the beginning of the settle- ment of the county. His death occurred in 1879. (3) Joel Turrell, born in 1801. married Patty Grif- fis, and for his second wife Mrs. Mary Gilbert. He, too, was a prosperous farmer in Forest Lake township. He succeeded his father as a surveyor of lands and roads, and in 1856 was elected county surveyor, being succeeded in this office in 1859 by his son, Wilson J. Turrell, who served as such until 1862. Joel' Turrell died in 1873. (4) Leman M. Turrell, born in 1808, married Lovina Griffis. He was a successful farmer in Forest Lake township. and at one time was the owner of a large body of land in Nebraska. He was an exemplary man, and for years a deacon in the Baptist Church at Birch- ardville. He died in 1883. (5) Abel Turrell is mentioned farther on. (6) Lucy Ann Turrell. born in 1816, married Abner Griffis. and died in 1883. Of their children. Henry L. Griffis was graduated from Lafayette College. which in 1885 conferred upon him the degree of M. A. Some years ago he was located at Binghamton. N. Y., as a civil engineer and professor of natural science in the Binghamton High School, and he now holds a like professorship in the State Normal School of New Paltz. Ulster Co., N. Y. (7) James Turrell, born in 1818, mar- ried Hanna Gurney, and was a resident of Long- mont, Colo., where he died August 29, 1894. Hon.

Judson W. Turrell, his son, is a prominent business man and citizen of Longmont. He learned the drug business with his uncle, Abel Turrell. at Montrose, removed to Longmont, engaged in the drug business, became identified with that city's interests, and represented his fellow-citizens in the State Legislature.

The late Abel Turrell, of Montrose, son of Le- man Turrell, was born on his father's farm in what is now Forest Lake township, Susquehanna Co., Penn., October 16, 1812, was there reared, and in early boyhood attended the district schools of the neighborhood. His father, being a man of good education, aided his children in their studies, and young Abel by studying at home received a thor- ough training in the elementary branches. He con- tinued his studies at John Mann's Academy and at the Montrose Academy, and . in 1837 began his career as a teacher, a profession he followed suc- cessfully two years, at Wilkes Barre, Penn. In 1839 he turned his attention to journalism, becom- ing, in May of that year, the editor and proprietor of a new paper at Montrose, styled the Montrose Volunteer, the name changing later to the Mont- rose Democrat. He continued in this line of work until January, 1846, issuing a carefully prepared and judiciously edited paper. Following this, from April, 1848, for twenty-seven years, he was engaged in the drug business at Montrose, retiring from active business life in May, 1875, with a coni- petence. Mr. Turrell was eminently a successful business man, considering that his business life was confined to so limited a field as a small county seat town afforded. He accumulated not only a com- petence, but a fortune, and, had his keen business judgment and financiering ability been given a wider field of operation, he would doubtless have been one of the great money makers of the coun- try. He was strictly honest. just and honorable in all of his dealings with his fellow-men, and to these qualities he largely attributed the financial success he attained. He was one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Montrose, and one of its fir -: board of directors, sustaining such relations with the bank for years. He was quiet and unassuming. a good man and a good citizen. He believed i !! Christianity, was ever reverent and respectful. and his life was such as to commend him to his fellow- citizens, who held him in esteem and respect. He died March 7, 1891.

On October 19, 1843, Mr. Turrell was married to Adelia Catlin. born January 7, 1813. in Bridge- water township. Susquehanna Co .. Penn .. daugh- ter of Erastus and Polly ( Wright) Catlin, formerly from Litchfield county. Connecticut.

Edgar Abel Turrell, the only son and child ci the late Abel Turrell, of Montrose, is a native of that borough, where his boyhood was passed and! where he received his elementary education. 11 . entered Vale College along in the middle 'sixtic .. was graduated in 1867, and in 1870 received the de- gree of M. A. from that institution. Deciding

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

upon the profession of the law, he entered Colum- bia Law School, New York City, from which he was graduated in 1869, and was admitted to the New York State Bar. He then passed two years in travel and. study in Europe, after which, in 1872, he located in the practice of the law in New York City, his office being at No. 170 Broadway. For nearly thirty years he has continued in active prac- tice in that city, in both the State and the United States Courts. Mr. Turrell is a scholarly gentle- man, and a man of culture and ability. He has been successful and is a man of means. Socially, while in college he was an active member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. He is a member of the New York City Bar Association, the Law Institute, the Manhattan Club, and the Young Men's Democratic Club, of which he was secretary and also vice-president for a number of years.

Erastus Catlin, the father of MIrs. Abel Tur- rell, early in the nineteenth century, prior to 1815, came from Litchfield county, Conn., and settled in what is now Bridgewater township, Susquehanna county, in sight of Montrose. He resided there many years, then removed to Chenango county, N. Y. His death occurred in 1854. His wife died in 1830. Mr. Catlin was a grandson of John and Margaret (Seymour) Catlin, and was descended from one of the early and prominent families of Litchfield county, Conn., and, going back to the mother country, the family name is frequent at Newington, Rochilan, County of Kent, England. The Catlins have held property there since the Nor- man conquest. Thomas Catlin, who came to Hart- ford in 1632, was the first of the name in America, and from him descended the Catlins of Litchfield county, Connecticut.

William Turrell. son of James Turrell, Jr., of New Milford, Litchfield Co., Conn., and brother of the late Leman Turrell. of Forest Lake. Penn., was a native of Litchfield county, Conn., born in 1781 in New Milford. In 1808 he was married to Miss Polly Silvia Benedict, who was born in 1785 in New Milford, Conn. In early life he learned the sad- dlery and harness trade at his birthplace. and also for a time was a merchant in Washington. Conn. His brother. Leman Turrell. located in Susque- hanna county, Penn., in 1810, and in February, 1816,. William Turrell. with family, then consist- ing of wife and two children, removed to Susque- hanna county, stopping for a short' time with his brother-in-law, David Benedict, who had previously made a home at Montrose. Mr. Turrell not long after his arrival moved his family to a log cabin in Auburn township, where he resided for about one year. and then permanently located in Montrose, settling on the site of the property now ( 1899) oc- cupied by S. E. Newton, and owned by Henry F. Turrell. building the house in 1824. In 1817 he opened a saddlery and harness shop in a part of the house in which he lived. and was actively engaged in that line of business until his retirement in 1843. in the meantime, however, changing the locality

of his place of business. In 1835 he erected a two- story frame building on the opposite side of the street from his residence, in which he carried on business until his retirement. He was a man of good judgment and business ability, and was suc- cessful in his undertakings. Correct in his habits, a friend of all measures looking to the advancement of the morals and education of the community, he liad the esteem and respect of his fellow-citizens. He contributed of his means to charitable and re- ligious institutions. His wife was a consistent member of the Baptist Church of Montrose, and was a woman of many virtues, rearing her chil- dren to be God-fearing men and women. William Turrell died in 1853, and his widow survived him twenty years, dying in 1873. Their children were: (I) Urania Turrell, born in 1808, married Embley Shafer (now deceased), of Montrose, and their children were Mary E., who married Clinton Lewis, of Bradford county; Amelia, who married Hon. F. B. Chase (now deceased ). former repre- sentative from Susquehanna county in the State Legislature, once Speaker of the House, and for many years publisher of the Montrose Democrat ; Arline M., who married William J. Crane, of Potts- ville, Penn., and William T. Shafer, a journalist of Evanston, Wyoming. (2) Hon. William J. Tur- rell is referred to farther on. (3) .. Sarah M. Tur- rell, born in 1818, died (unmarried) in 1853. (4) Henry F. Turrell is referred to farther on.

The late William J. Turrell, of Montrose, son of William Turrell, was born March 23, 1814. in Litchfield county, Conn., and came with his parents to Montrose in the spring of 1816. Until of age he was engaged in the business of harness-making with his father. He possessed excellent mental en- dowments, and was a young man of good habits. At twenty-one he began the study of law in the office and under the direction of A. L. Post. was admitted to the Bar, and entered into a partnership with his preceptor, which was continued until Mr. Post gave up the law for the ministry. when the junior member of the firm assumed control of the business. He pursued his profession quietly and unostentatiously, attaining. however, success and a competence. In 1861 Mr. Turrell was elected with- out opposition to represent the Fourteenth Dis- trict. then comprising Wayne, Bradford. Wyoming and Susquehanna counties, in the State Senate. Mr. Turrell took an active part in the counsels of the Commonwealth, and through those trying vears of its history he acquitted himself nobly and well. His kindnesses to soldiers and their families were many. In 1864-the last year of his senatorial term -he was chosen Speaker of the Senate, then a most important as well as an honorable position. Mr. Turrell was a member of the convention to amend the Constitution which met December 27. 1873. He served through the long session of one hundred and eight days, taking a very active part. having ad- dressed the convention on very important questions about one hundred and fifty times. When called

452

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

upon to preside as the Master in Chancery his work ranked with the best, and gave general acceptance. Mr. Turrell was president of the Legal Association of Susquehanna County from its organization ; also president of the First National Bank from its or- ganization until his death. While engaged in studying law, there being a revival in progress, young Turrell became interested, and talked freely with Mr. and Mrs. Post of his thoughts and feel- ings, but like many others he found it difficult to reach a final decision. One day he entered the liv- ing room back of the office with a new light in his face and said, "My case is decided." He explained that while sitting at his desk, his mind still unset- tled, he wrote this sentence: "I have decided to take my stand on the Lord's side." No sooner was the decision recorded than his doubts and fears were removed and light entered his soul. He uni- ted with the Baptist Church, and remained until his deatlı an earnest, faithful member, and in the Church his death was deeply felt. Mr. Turrell was an excellent counselor, a man of dignified manners. but possessing a warm, true heart. His intimate friendships were few, but those who knew him in- timately, and had learned his friendly worth, highly prized his friendship. His death occurred August 31, 1881. He left a large place vacant in his home, in his business relations, in his Church, and in the hearts of his friends. The following is an extract from the remarks of William M. Post, made at the meeting of the Montrose Bar held on September 5 following the death of Mr. Turrell :

William J. Turrell was no ordinary man. The archi- tect of his own fortune and success in life, he carved out and achieved for himself a career of which many of us might well be proud. Few men of our county have been so widely known, none more honored and respected by all of the peo- ple of our county. His magnificent physique, his stately, almost majestic, form and noble manhood. attracted atten- tion and commanded admiration wherever he appeared. His manners were characterized by dignity without arrogance, were elegant and courtly without heing insincere. His friends and acquaintances ever found him an affable, genial. good-hearted companion. He appreciated wit and humor; but while he had a hearty laugh for the mirthful, his soul was full of tenderness, and he had ever a tear of pity for misfortune and misery.

As a business man he was prudent, sagacious and successful, strictly upright and just, never grasping for that to which he had no right-never over-reaching or oppressing the poor.

When he entered upon the practice of his profession, nearly half a century ago, the Bench and Bar of Susquehanna county were graced by men whose lives and characters have added lustre to the annals of jurisprudence, not only of this county, but of our State. He entered the lists and was the compeer of such men of our county as B. T. Case, the first Judge Jessup, Davis Dimock, Franklin Lusk, Joseph T. Richards, the two Frasers. R. B. Little. B. S. Bentley, Judge Streeter, Albert Chamberlain, L. F. Fitch, and others, all of whom even within my own remembrance have been called (with one exceptioni to their final rest. In competition with such men he maintained a proud position -- was a peer among his equals.

Called upon at different times to fill important public positions, he always discharged his duties with great ability and fidelity, giving entire satisfaction to the constituency he represented, and winning honor and distinction for himself. His vigorous intellect, his legal learning and experience. his

forcible logic and persuasive eloquence as an advocate, his sagacity, prudence and sound judgment as a counselor, his annability and courtesy to his associates, the probity of las life and his high sense of personal and professional hone: made him one of the leading lights and a most conspicuous ornament of the Bar of this county.

On March 20, 1854, Mr. Turrell was married to Miss Huldah Van Valkenburgh, of New York City, who was born July 2, 1816, at Lexington, N. Y., and died March 26, 1892.

HENRY F. TURRELL, son of William Turrell. and brother of the late Hon. William J. Turrell, of Montrose, is one of the substantial men and pioneer citizens of Montrose, where he was born March 12. 1822, in the old Turrell homestead in which lie lived sixty-five years, and in which borough he has since passed his nearly fourscore years. In his boyhood Mr. Turrell attended the Montrose Acad- emy, and at the age of fifteen years began learning the saddlery and harness business with his father, serving a period of six years. On reaching his ma- jority, in 1843. he succeeded to the business of inis father by purchase, and for a quarter of a century conducted the same, retiring from active business in 1868, since which time he has occupied himself in looking after his property and personal interests. Through his industry, good and careful manage- ment, and economical habits, Mr. Turrell has pros- pered and been successful. Heis a very quiet, un- assuming and kindly gentleman, and an esteemed and greatly respected citizen. He is identified with the Baptist Church of Montrose, and every good cause has ever found in him a warm supporter. He has never been active in politics. In his carlier and more active business life Mr. Turrell was three times elected by his fellow-citizens to the office of chief burgess of Montrose, performing the duties of the office in an efficient and satisfactory manner. A man of strict integrity, he has ever held the con- fidence of the community.

On July 25, 1860. Mr. Turrell was married to Elsie H. Hardenbergh, of Sullivan county, N. Y .. and the union was blessed with one child-Will- iam H., born December 13, 1864. Mrs. Elsie H. ( Hardenbergh ) Turrell was born in 1831, at Falls- burg. N. Y., daughter of Thomas and Jane ( Hill ) Hardenbergh, of Sullivan county, N. Y .. who were born in 1805 and 1807, and died in 1885 and 1853. respectively. Mrs. Turrell is descended in direct line from Johanna Hardenbergh, the progenitor ci the family on the Hudson river, in the State of New York, through Girard Hardenbergh, at one tinte a member of the New York State Legislature. The other children of Thomas and Jane ( Hill ) Harden- bergh were: Catherine, James, Thomas L., Maria 1 ... Hannah, Josephine. Isaiah, Jane S., and Eliza- beth ( who married Aaron E. Wright, of New York). The mother of these was a daughter of James Hill, who came from the Hudson to Flatbush. N. Y., being one of the pioneer settlers of that place.

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 2, Part 1

Author: Publication date: 1900 Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1098

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1098