USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania : a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume II > Part 46
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CLEMENT L. DARROW is a member of one of the best known fami- lies of Erie county, and he resides on his valuable homestead one mile east of the village of Edinboro. He was born in Union town- ship of Erie county, December 26, 1858. a son of Solon M. and Emiline (Negus) Darrow, and a grandson of David Darrow, whose name is recorded among the earliest pioneer residents and farmers of Union township, as is also that of his son Solon.
Clement L. Darrow remained in the parental home until he had attained his twenty-first year, in the meantime attending the dis- trict schools and assisting his father in the work of the farm. Start- ing then on an independent business career he worked for others for a time and also attended for two years the state normal school at Edinboro. After his marriage he located on his present estate of one hundred and thirty acres, where he has rebuilt most of the old buildings and has improved his farm until it is now one of the valu- able homesteads of Washington township, and there he is engaged in general farming and dairying. He has a small creamery on his farm for his own private use. Upon the organization of the First National Bank of Edinboro, he became one of the original stock- holders, and during the past two years has served as the president of the bank.
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Mr. Darrow married in December of 1883, Miss Lillian F. Perry, a daughter of Alonzo Perry, and they have one daughter, Lucile. In politics he is allied with the Republicans, and both he and his wife are members of the Advent Christian church at Edinboro. Mr. Darrow is one of the best known agriculturists of Washington township, and is honored and respected wherever known.
J. Ross RAYMOND. No citizen of Erie county enjoys in a greater degree the confidence and high esteem of his associates and neighbors than does J. Ross Raymond, now living retired at North East. He was born in the township of Greenfield October 19, 1842, a son of Silas and Sarah (Smith) Raymond, natives respectively of Massa- chusetts and of New York, and on the maternal side he is a grandson of James Smith, also of the Empire state.
The family home was established in Erie county, Pennsylvania, about the year 1830 by Silas Raymond, who took up his abode in Greenfield township and there worked as a shoemaker. Before com- ing to this state he had married in New York one of the common- wealth's native daughters, Sarah Smith, and they had lived both at Albany and in Auburn, that state.
J. Ross Raymond was the sixth born of their twelve children, six sons and six daughters, and he remained at home with his parents until his enlistment for service in the Civil war October 31, 1861. being assigned to Company A, One Hundred and Eleventh Pennsyl- vania Volunteer Infantry, and to the Army of the Potomac. With his command he took part in many of the hard fought battles of the war, including the engagement of Peach Tree Creek, Georgia, on the 20th of July, 1864, where he received a gun shot wound in the ankle. This wound proved so serious that the limb had to be amputated be- tween the knee and the foot, and in this and many other ways he suffered untold hardships as a true and loyal soldier.
Returning then to his parents' home Mr. Raymond remained with them until his marriage, and after this important event in his life's history he was a merchant for two and a half years, selling out at the close of that period to become a hotel proprietor in Concord township, Erie county. After three years in the hotel business he again sold and this time turned his attention to auctioneering and the selling of goods throughout this vicinity. During all these years he has also been prominently identified with the public life of his community, and as a representative of the Republican party served as a member of the assembly during the years of 1893, 1895 and 1907. At the present time he is serving his third term as a justice of the peace and his second term as a township supervisor of North East township.
On the 24th of January, 1866, Mr. Raymond was united in mar- riage to Mary Jane Donaldson, a native of Venango township, Erie county, and a daughter of William and Hannah (Yost) Donaldson, who were also born in Erie county. The only child of this union is Flora M., the wife of William L. Caswell, of Portland, Maine. Mrs. Raymond died on the 31st of May, 1871, and in December of 1882 he married Olive V. Coburn, from Greenfield, Erie county, and a daughter of Stephen and Susan (Wells) Coburn, natives of the state
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of New York. This wife is also deceased, dying August 16, 1905, and since that time Mr. Raymond has resided at North East.
FRANK L. HEATH. Numbered among the wide-awake, enterpris- ing business men of Corry, is Frank L. Heath, who is actively identi- fied with the milling interests of this section of Erie county, having his grist mill furnished with the most modern and up-to-date equip- ments. He was born, December 23, 1861, in Concord township, Erie county, where his father, Charles R. Heath, also was born, his birth occurring April 29, 1836. He is of New England stock, the great- grandfather, Jesse Heath Sr., having been as far as known, a life-long resident of Massachusetts, being a descendant of one of five brothers who came from England to America in early colonial times.
Jesse Heath Jr., Mr. Heath's grandfather, was born and brought up in Massachusetts. He was of a roving disposition, venturesome and ambitious, and when young started westward in search of a new location. Settling in Erie county, Pennsylvania, he took up a tract of forest-covered land in Concord township, improved a farm, and for several years was there employed in tilling the soil. Not altogether satisfied, however, he again started towards the West, and after spending a few months in Illinois went to Clarke county, lowa, where he purchased land, and lived for seven years. Returning to Concord township, he again resided on his farm for a few years, and then with a granddaughter whom he had brought up, and her husband, he went to Kentucky with a view of locating. Not finding things to his liking, the two couples continued their journey to Nebraska, and there he and his wife spent the remainder of their four score years of life with their granddaughter. His wife, whose maiden name was Fanny Sweet, was born, probably, in York state, her father, James Sweet, having been a pioneer of Chautauqua county, locating near the town of Panama. He subsequently sold the farm that he there improved, and both he and his wife, Sarah (Clark) Sweet, spent their closing years in Jamestown. New York, at the home of their son, Maxon Sweet. Both lived to be upwards of ninety years old, and both died the same day and hour. Of the union of Jesse and Fanny (Sweet) Heath, three children were born and reared, as fol- lows: Louisa. Jane, and Charles R. .
Receiving his education in the public schools, Charles R. Heath spent his early life on the home farm, assuming the whole charge of its management during his father's absence from home. He continued farming for a number of years after his marriage, while thus engaged making a specialty of pressing and shipping hay, an occupation to which he afterwards devoted his entire time for awhile. Ile subse- quently built a saw mill on Hair creek, four miles from Corry, and was there engaged in the manufacture of lumber until his plant was burned. Erecting then a grist mill in Corry, he operated, with his son, until his death. January 1, 1893. On October 19, 1855, he married Amy M. McCray, who was born in Concord township, Erie county, a daughter of John McCray, a native of Westmoreland county. Her grandfather, James McCray, was born in Scotland, and on coming to the United States lived first in Westmoreland county, from there coming to Erie county, and becoming one of the first householders of Concord township. At that time, and for many
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATION
EDWIN MILLS
Mrs Ednain Millo
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years thereafter, there were neither railroads nor canals in the state, and no mills nearer than Pittsburg. Securing a tract of timbered land, he built a rude log cabin in the wilderness, and on the farm which he improved, raised not only grain, hay and vegetables, but sheep and flax, his wife in the meantime carding, spinning and weav- ing from wool and linen the homespun with which she clothed her family. He married first, Ellen Townley, who was born in America, of French parentage, and she was the mother of his son John. Suc- ceeding to the occupation of his father, John McCray began life for himself as a farmer, living first in the log cabin which he erected on a piece of wild land that he purchased. He was very successful in his undertakings, at the time of his death, when but fifty years old, owning a well improved farm of two hundred acres. John McCray married Sarah Blakeslee, who was born in York state, but was brought up in Spartansburg, Pennsylvania, where her parents, David and Betsey (Birch) Blakeslee, were pioneer settlers. She died at the age of eighty-four years. Mrs. Charles R. Heath still resides in Corry, having a pleasant and attractive home on Franklin street. She is the mother of three children, namely : Lillian, wife of James E. Morgan; Marion, wife of George W. Knowlton; and Frank L., the special subject of this sketch.
Acquiring a practical education in the public schools of Corry, Frank L. Heath became associated with his father in business, first as a lumber manufacturer and dealer, and afterwards as a miller. Succeeding to the ownership of the mill, Mr. Heath has since carried on the business with characteristic enterprise and success. The mill, located on Center street, is amply furnished with the most approved modern machinery for grinding feed, and for the manufacture of buckwheat flour, being one of the finest equipped plants of the kind in this part of the state. Mr. Heath married, May 5, 1892, Carrie A. Tuttle. She was born in Corry, a daughter of William and Roxie Tuttle.
EDWIN MILLS, was born in the city of New York February 18, 1831, 'but coming to Erie county during an early period in his life he . continued actively identified with many of its interests, a leader in the formative period of its history. On first coming to the county in 1858 he located at Erie and for several years was a conductor on the run between Erie and Cleveland, although in former years he had been a carpenter. Soon after his marriage, which occurred in the year of 1861, he returned to Elmira, New York, but after seven years there came again to Pennsylvania and for several years thereafter followed engineering. Coming then to Fairview he worked at the carpenter and millwright's trade until within about eight years of his death, when he bought a general store and continued as a Fairview merchant until his labors were ended, his death occurring in March of 1904.
Mr. Mills wedded in 1861 Miss Jennie Warner, who was born in the township of Fairview, a daughter of James and Elizabeth ( Sturgeon) Warner. Her grandfather, Arnold Warner, was a Revolutionary soldier and was one of the first residents of Erie county, locating at Greenfield, near North East, and there he spent the remainder of his life as a farmer. James Warner, born in Rome, New York, came to this county with his father when a boy, and early in life became a hotel keeper and thus continued actively identified with the business life of this community Vol. II-21
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until within the last fifteen years of his life, living thereafter on a farm. He was the proprietor of the first hotel in Fairview. Mr. Warner mar- ried Miss Elizabeth Sturgeon, a daughter of another of the early pioneers of Fairview township, Jeremiah Sturgeon who was born near Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Soon after his marriage to Jane Moorehead in 1800 he made a trip to Erie county, and deciding to locate here permanently returned home in the fall and in the following spring brought his wife with him and spent the remainder of his life here as a farmer. Mrs. Mills is the last of the once prominent Sturgeon family in Erie county.
In politics Mr. Mills gave an active support to the principles of the Republican party, and at one time he served as a member of the council of Fairview. He held membership with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and with the Masonic fraternity. He stood among the respected and highly esteemed citizens of Erie county, where his friends were legion, and where his genial courtesy and kindly bearing won the confidence which his sterling integrity ever maintained.
JOHN LEWIS HATCH. A man of ability, push and enterprise, John Lewis Hatch holds a place of prominence among the valued and highly esteemed citizens of Corry, where, in addition to devoting much of his time to his agricultural interests, he has served his fellow- men in various offices of trust and responsibility. As a member of the city council he was a warm supporter of all measures tending to promote the welfare of the people, and as mayor of Corry filled the chair most acceptably to all concerned. His service as a member of the school board was highly appreciated, and one of the Corry schools has been named in his honor. A son of Elisha Hatch, he was born, December 14, 1831, in Springwater, Livingston county, New York, of New England ancestry. His grandfather, Jonathan Hatch, was born in Connecticut, where he spent the greater part of his life. although he died, it is thought, in New York state. Of his twelve children, all grew to years of maturity, married and had families, and the youngest son lived to the advanced age of ninety-five years. .
Born in Tolland, Connecticut, Elisha Hatch was there bred and educated. Migrating when a young man to New York, he spent a short time in Cherry Valley, Otsego county, from there, after his marriage, pushing westward to Springwater, Livingston county, where he lived for awhile. Going then to Farmersville, Cattaraugus county, he remained there until 1841, when he decided to come to Erie county, Pennsylvania. Locating in Wayne township, he bought a partly improved farm, on which stood a house and barn, and had one hundred acres of land in cultivation. There being at that time no railroads in Western Pennsylvania, the farmers teamed their lumber and surplus farm products to Erie, where they traded for groceries and household supplies. Whenever they wanted cash, these farmers used to take shingles and lumber down Hare and Broken Straw creeks to the Alelgheny and Ohio rivers as far as Cincinnati, where they received ten dollars a thousand, while in Pittsburg it was worth but seven dollars for the same amount. Continuing his work as a lumberman and farmer, Elisha Hatch remained on the farm until his death, at the age of seventy-five years. He married Sylvia Edson, who was born in Connecticut, a daughter of Lewis Edson. She died
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before he did, leaving six children, as follows: Adelia, Edwin, Charles, Sylvia, John Lewis, and Harriet.
When John Lewis Hatch, a boy of ten years, came with his parents to Erie county to live much of the land included within the corporate limits of Corry was covered with timber, the cleared land being in farms, and when the city was laid out it was called the "City of Stumps." Acquiring his early knowledge of books in the district schools, he subsequently continued his studies at Randolph Academy, afterwards attending Cortland Academy three years, and in 1860 being graduated from Albion College. Beginning then a professional career, Mr. Hatch taught school a number of terms, being one of the first school teachers in Corry. In 1861 he bought, for farming pur- poses, ten acres of land that are now included in the city of Corry. Most of the timber had been removed before the time of his pur- chase, but the stumps and brush remained. He placed the entire tract under cultivation, but has since platted it, and has sold nearly all of it for house lots. Mr. Hatch has bought other land, both in Wayne and Concord townships, and is extensively engaged in gen- eral farming, as an agriculturist meeting with recognized success.
Mr. Hatch has been twice married. He married first, in August, 1861, Lucina Mead, a teacher in the Corry schools. She was born in Wayne township, a daughter of Darius and Bridget Mead. She died in 1868. Mr. Hatch married second, in 1871, Mary A. Chapin, who was born in Milton township, Wayne county, Ohio, but came to Corry to accept a position as a teacher in the city schools. Her father, Adna Chapin, was born in Cortland county, New York, where his parents, Luke and Mary (Wildman) Chapin, were pioneer set- tlers, removing there from Connecticut, their native state. Reared and educated in New York state, Adna Chapin moved to Ohio about 1830, going by way of the canal and lakes to Cleveland, thence by teams to Wayne county. Buying a tract of wild land in Milton township, he first built the small log cabin in which Mrs. Hatch was born, and afterwards cleared and improved a good farm. He subse- quently lived retired for a few years in Seville, Ohio, but later in life came to Corry, and thereafter lived with Mr. and Mrs. Hatch until his death, at the age of eighty-two years. Ile married Fanny Bing- ham, who was born in Cortland county, New York, a daughter of Johnson and Anna (Johnson) Bingham, who removed from Con- necticut, their native state, to that place in pioneer days, and there spent their last years. They reared five children, namely: James, Wayland, Theodore, Luke, and Mary A., now Mrs. Hatch. By his first marriage Mr. Hatch has one daughter, Minnie Grace, widow of W. H. Bowman. Mrs. Bowman has two children, Samuel B. and Esther E. Mr. and Mrs. Hatch have three children living, namely : John, Elbert and Paul; Louis, Fannie, Helen and Mary being de- ceased. John married Edith Shelley, and they have one son, John Chapin Hatch. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hatch are consistent Christian people, he being a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has served as steward and superintendent of the Sunday school, while she belongs to the Baptist church. Politically Mr. Hatch cast his first presidential vote for John C. Fremont, and has since been devoted to the interests of the Republican party, sustain- ing its principles at the polls.
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J. FLETCHER ALDEN. Prominent among the prosperous and en- terprising business men of Corry, is J. Fletcher Alden, a successful and progressive agriculturist, and a well known coal dealer. A native of Erie county, he was born, December 10, 1847, in Wayne town- ship, a son of Rev. Daniel B. Alden. His grandfather, Rev. Nathaniel Alden, a New England minister, was born in Massachusetts, and there married Betsey Seaton.
Born, in 1812, in Massachusetts, Daniel B. Alden received ex- cellent educational advantages, and when a young man taught school several terms. Possessing strong religious convictions, he united with the Methodist Episcopal church in his youthful days, fitted him- self for the ministry, and preached a number of years in Vermont and New York state. Coming to Pennsylvania soon after his marriage, he located near Rockdale, Crawford county, where he bought tim- bered land, and began to improve a farm. He was a circuit rider, and preached in different places, having a long ride, continuing to live on his farm until 1846. Purchasing then a tract of partly im- proved land in Wayne township, Erie county, he moved here with his family, and here continued his agricultural labors, at the same time being ever mindful of his duties as a minister of the gospel. The circuit to which he had been assigned included several churches, all of which he visited regularly, continuing in the ministry until his death, in 1862. The maiden name of the wife of Rev. Daniel B. Alden was Harriet M. Palmer. She was born in Vermont, a daughter of and Betsey (Derby) Palmer. She survived her husband many years, passing away in 1907. She reared ten children, all of whom married, namely: Joseph, Laura, Permelia, Clara, Daniel, J. Fletcher, Burrows, Scott, I. Adelbert, and May.
Brought up on the homestead, and educated in the district school, J. Fletcher Alden formed an early acquaintance with the many branches of agriculture, and assisted in the care of the parental acres until after the breaking out of the Civil war. His patriotism being aroused, he enlisted, in 1863, in Company A, One Hundred and Eleventh Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and with his regiment marched to Atlanta, taking part in all of the engagements on the way, for seventy-two days and nights being within hearing of the heavy cannonading. With the exception of three months that he was ill, Mr. Alden remained with his command until the close of the con- flict, being honorably discharged from the service July 25, 1865. Soon after returning home, Mr. Alden purchased the interests of the other heirs in the homestead on which he was reared, and was there successfully engaged in tilling the soil until 1890. Buying then his present estate, on West Pleasant street, Corry, he has since managed it most successfully, carrying on general farming after the most ap- proved modern methods. Embarking in the coal business in 1901, Mr. Alden has since continued it in connection with farming, and by his persistent efforts and upright dealings has built up a large and lucrative trade.
On January 1, 1868, Mr. Alden married Maryett Blakeslee. She was born in Sparta township, in 1850, a daughter of Jacob Blakeslee, and grand-daughter of Reuben Blakeslee, an early settler of Mead- ville, Pa. Soon after his marriage with Hannah Heath, a native of Vermont, Jacob Blakeslee left Meadville, the place of his birth, and
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located in Sparta township, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, where he followed farming until his death, in 1854. His wife survived him, passing her last years in Corry. Mr. and Mrs. Alden have reared three children, namely: Edith, Lizzie, and Mayme. Edith married first, Robert Munson, by whom she had one child, Waive, and mar- ried second, Walter Britcher, by whom she has two children, Helen and Charlie. Lizzie is the wife of Henry Crowell, and they have three children, Robert, Cora Esther, and Merle. Mayme married Dean Mitchell, and they have two children, Harry Alden and Luella M. Waive Munson, grand-daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Alden, married Neal Fassett, and they have one child, a daughter.
HENRY HARRISON PARKER, who through his agricultural labors of more than thirty years has attained a prosperous and substantial position in Harbor Creek township, Erie county, is a native of Mill Creek township, where he was born January 3, 1841. His parents were Dean and Mary Ann (Shattuck) Parker, his father being a native of Vermont and his mother of Connecticut. The paternal grandparents, Jonas and Amanda (Allen) Parker, and the maternal grandparents, Spencer and Sarah (Burton) Shattuck, were also na- tives of Vermont and Connecticut, respectively. When grandfather Parker journeyed from Vermont to Erie, Pennsylvania, by ox teams in 1814, he brought with him Dean, then an infant of two years, who afterward became the father of Henry H. A tract of land was then purchased just south of the city of Erie and this locality remained for many years the central point of the family homes. When Dean Parker married he settled near his parents in this locality and event- ually became a large farmer and land owner, his original estate con- sisting of one hundred and twenty-five acres to which, during the later years of his life, he added fifty acres. The father, who was born November 21, 1812, died on this homestead in the year 1885 and his wife, whose birth occurred January 4, 1816, passed away in Novem- ber, 1889.
Mr. Parker was the oldest child in a family consisting of five boys and three girls and after receiving a fair education in the dis- trict schools of Mill Creek township, abandoned the home farm and commenced work in a neighboring pump factory. He continued in this employment for fourteen years when with his savings he re- turned to Harbor Creek township (in March, 1877) and purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres. This tract he has devoted to general farming with diversified crops and he is now classed as among the substantial farmers of the township. He has also served as township trustee for many years, has held the office of road com- missioner and assessor and been otherwise honored by his Republi- can supporters and fellow citizens.
On October 5. 1876, Mr. Parker was married to Miss Matilda Foote, a native of Mill Creek township and a daughter of Perry and Mary (Ewing) Foote, both born in Erie county. The paternal grand- parents, Warren and Sally (Shattuck) Foote, were both natives of Connecticut, coming to Mill Creek township in 1811, while the mater- nal grandparents, Henry and Martha (Robinson) Ewing, were na- tives of Ireland.
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