A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania : a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 53

Author: Miller, John, 1849-
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 910

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 53

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The only son of his parents, Lewis W. Olds, received a practical education in the public schools of Corry, after which he commenced his business career as a bookkeeper for the Climax Manufacturing Com- pany, accepting the position in 1885. After a few years of faithful work in that capacity, he became financially interested in the business as a part owner, and in 1904, when it was incorporated, Mr. Olds was elected president of the company, and has since devoted his entire time and energies to its interests.

Mr. Olds married, in 1885, Nellie Raymond, whose father, Murray M. Raymond, and grandfather, Francis Raymond, were born in Colum- bus township, Warren county, Pennsylvania, where her great-grandfather . Seth Sears Raymond, was a pioneer settler, and where her great-great- grandfather, Zachariah Raymond, a Revolutionary soldier (mentioned in Book 1298. Massachusetts, Soldiers & Sailors of the Revolutionary war, page 1013) spent his last years. Seth Sears Raymond came to Warren county when the country roundabout was in its primeval wild- ness. Buying a tract of timber land in Columbus township, he cleared and improved a homestead on which he lived many years. When ready to give up active labor, he removed to the village, and there lived retired until death. Brought up on the home farm. Francis Raymond early turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, and having purchased land in Columbus township was there engaged in general farming during his active life, residing there until his death, at the age of four score years. His wife, whose maiden name was Della Colgrove, was born in Con- cord township, where her parents were early settlers. Murray M. Ray- mond was born June 10, 1843, and grew to manhood on the home farm. During the Civil war, he served one year in the Union army, after which he was engaged in the lumber business for a time. Later establishing himself in Corry as a manufacturer, he is now president of the Ray- mond Manufacturing Company. He married Seraphina Bishop, who was born in Columbus township, a daughter of Joseph Bishop.

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Joseph Bishop's mother's maiden name was Sallie Burk, daughter of Joseph Burk who served in the Revolutionary war at Newberry, Guil- ford, and Westminster, mentioned in Vermont Revolutionary Roll. book 991-12, page 353. She died in 1903, leaving three children, namely : Nellie G., wife of Mr. Olds; Frank M .; and Harriet. Mr. and Mrs. Olds have one son living, born in 1890, Murray Raymond Olds. Their first son Mason O. was born in 1887 and died 1904. Mr. Olds is actively identified with various fraternal organizations, belonging to Corry Lodge, No. 365, F. & A. M. ; to Columbus Chapter No. 200, R. A. M. ; to Hiram Council No. 45. R. & S. M. ; to Clarence Commandery No. 51. K. T. ; to Zem Zem Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S .; to Jonathan Lodge No. 685, I. O. O. F .: and to Corry Lodge No. 769, B. P. O. E.

S. J. SKINNER is a member of one of the first families to estab- lish their home in Erie county, and he was born in the township of Waterford in 1830, a son of Benjamin and Susannah (Ulan) Skinner, of the Wyoming Valley. Thomas Skinner, the grandfather, came to the United States from his native land of England, and coming imme- diately to Waterford township he established his home here as early as 1797, and here he also cleared a farm from the dense wilderness. His wife, Lena, was from Ireland. Among their children was Benja- min, who received his educational training in the early schools of Waterford township, and he was a farmer throughout life.

S. J. Skinner, his son, was educated in the public schools of Waterford, and agriculture was also his occupation during the active years of his business life. He also learned and followed the painter's trade, but he is now living retired on his farm. He married in 1856 Miss Mary Jane Ray, a daughter of Hanford H. and Harriet (Briggs) Ray, pioneers of Washington township in Erie county. Their children are : Hanford Benjamin, Harriet, Charles H., Mary, Aretus and Ray. Hanford Benjamin, the eldest, married in 1877 Miss Margaret Thomas, a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Sedgwick) Thomas, who were also among the pioneers of Erie county. The children of this union are Eva, who died January 8, 1906, Zenn and Zayre, twins, and Hazel. Harriet S. became the wife of Way Thomas, but both are now de- ceased, leaving two children, Ruth and Lee. Charles H. married Miss Nellie Goodnough, and their children are Ethel, Lolla and Harry. Mary married John Lee, and they have one child, Lawrence. Aretus married Jessie Triscuit, and their children are Charles, Harold, Louise and Virgil. Ray married Miss Maud Stafford. Mr. Skinner is a Pro- hibitionist. He and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church in Waterford.

FRANK A. HOWE, the postmaster at Waterford, was born in Sheridan, Chautauqua county, New York, a son of Gustavus Adolphus Hammond and Nancy M. (Brainard) Howe, also from the same county, and a grandson on the paternal side of Jonas Howe, a pipe organ manufacturer and a native of Chautauqua county. His mater- nal grandfather, Ahimeaz Brainard, was a blacksmith in New York, and he lived and died in that state but two of his sons, Nathaniel and Albert, came to Waterford during an early period in its history. Gus- tavus A. H. Howe was a wagon maker in New York, and he continued that occupation after coming to Waterford in 1840 with his wife and

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children, dying here on the 31st of July, 1887. His wife survived until the 23d of November, 1901.

Frank A. Howe received his education in the Waterford public schools and the academy here, and learning the trade of wagon- making of his father in his early life, he continued that occupation until a few years after the latter's death. On the 29th of July, 1861, he enlisted in Company E, Eighty-third Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and took part in several of the hard-fought battles of the Civil war. He was in the thickest of the fight at Gaines Mills, being right marker in the regiment, and after the opposing forces had made several un- successful attacks they charged the regiment from the right, thus placing Mr. Howe the nearest man to the enemy. A bullet, which shot by the foremost man of the opposing side passed through the left forearm of Mr. Howe, lodged in a small Bible just over his heart. To this little book he owes his life, and with the bullet yet embedded among its leaves it is one of his most treasured possessions. The wound left his hand almost entirely useless. About the year of 1890 he was appointed to fill an unexpired term as a justice of the peace, and at the ensuing election he was returned to that office, but be- fore the expiration of his term he was made the postmaster of Water- ford, and has served in that office since 1901. Some years ago he served two years as an assessor. His politics has always been Republican.

In 1868 Mr. Howe was married to Rebecca R. Judson, a daughter of P. E. and Maria D. (Lord) Judson. Both the Judson and Lord families came to America in the Mayflower and located in the east, and the Judsons were numbered among the early residents of Erie county. Mr. and Mrs. Howe have one daughter, Florence, who mar- ried Frank W. Agnew, the assistant postmaster at Waterford, and they also have one child, Charles Clifford Agnew. Mrs. Howe has been an Episcopalian, and Mr. Howe was reared in the faith of that denomination, although his mother was a Presbyterian, but during the past few years both he and his wife have been devoted to the Christian Science religion.

VELORUS C. BARNES, a prominent agriculturist and dairyman re- siding in LeBoeuf township, has from an early period in the develop- ment of Erie county resided within its borders and been active in its upbuilding and advancement. Born in Ohio on the 29th of December, 1856, he is a son of Marsha and Dolena (Allen) Barnes, who were born in Pennsylvania but carly in their married life they moved to Ashtabula county, Ohio, and became identified with its agricultural pursuits. From there they came to Waterford township in Erie county in 1866, when their son Velorus was a lad of ten years.

Farming has been the life occupation of Velorus C. Barnes. He first obtained a good education in the Waterford Academy and the schools of Edinboro, well fitting himself for the active duties of a business life, and he is now the owner of a splendid farm of one hundred and forty-two acres in LeBoeuf township, known as "Sunny Summit Farm" where he carries on general farming and dairying.

On the 12th of December, 1876, he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Lunger, a daughter of Isaac Lunger, and the children of this union are : Ethel Mae, Emma Jorden, Clarence G., Blanche Elizabeth, Earl E. and Anna Belle. Ethel Mae and Clarence G. are both de-

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ceased, and the youngest daughter, Anna B., is the wife of the Rev. W. E. Baker, by whom she has one son, Velorus W. The daughter Emma is a graduate of the Shenango Valley Hospital at New Castle, Pennsylvania, as a professional nurse belonging to the state of Penn- sylvania. Mr. Barnes is a Republican. Mr. and Mrs. Barnes are mem- bers of the Christian church.

THOMAS V. WALLIS, one of the prominent business men of Erie county, was born near Williamsport, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, March 22, 1840, a son of Edward and a grandson of Samuel Wallis. The last named came from his home in Maryland to Lycoming county, this state, and later located at Muncie, rearing four sons and three daughters. His wife lived to the remarkable age of one hundred and twenty years, she having been a member of a family noted for its longevity.

Edward Wallis was born near Havre de Grace, Maryland, and from there came to Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, in 1822. In 1830 he was united in marriage to Elizabeth Martin, a native of Lycoming county, a daughter of Robert and Elizabeth (Murphy) Martin, from near Williamsport. They moved from there to Le Boeuf township in Erie county in 1844 and spent the remainder of their lives here.

With the exception of four years spent in the mercantile business in New Jersey, Thomas V. Wallis has made his home in Erie county, since locating here in 1871, and he was first identified with its agri- cultural pursuits, but since 1866 has been a merchant in Mill Village. He married in 1866, Miss Ellen Rebecca, a daughter of A. E. and Elizabeth (Demling) Ford, from Kittanning, Pennsylvania. Her paternal grandfather, Peter Ford, came to reside in Erie county in an early day in its history, and he took up a large tract of land here and became a large and well known farmer. He married into one of the county's leading families, the Kings. Robert King, the great- grandfather of Mrs. Wallis, was given a large tract here by the government for services he had rendered. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Wallis, a Mr. Demling, came to Erie county about the year of 1800. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Wallis, Blanche and William Guy. The daughter married H. M. Dowler, and their children are Harriet Fay, Josephia, Capatolia and Ellen. Harriet Fay married J. Sherwood, and their children are Theo and Elizabeth. William Guy, the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Wallis, married Miss Nellie White, from Philadelphia, and their home is now in Florence, New Jersey. They have four children : Thomas V. Jr., Marion Feber, Neomi and Baird. Mr. Wallis is a true blue Republican and voted first for Lincoln. Mr. and Mrs. Wallis are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Mill Village

GEORGE L. WALKER was born on the farm which he now owns and conducts in LeBoeuf township, Erie county, February 3, 1866, and he is descended from one of the founders and early residents of this county, Joseph Walker. He came to this state from New York and located near Edinboro, where he bought and improved a farm and spent the remainder of his life there, rearing eight sons and two daughters. In this family was Walter Walker, the paternal grand- father of George L. He was born in New York, and coming with his

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father to Erie county bought fifty acres where his grandson now lives, clearing and improving his land and erecting thereon his log cabin home. There he reared his children: Chauncy, who married Miss Susan Pratt, and had four children, Clark, Hiram, James and Lucy; Maria Cenia, who married Gibson Heart; Hiram, who also married; Melinda, who married Chandler Reynolds; James D., men- tioned below; Julian, who married William Lewis, and had Rachel (deceased), Ida and Theola; Perry and Miranda, both of whom died when young; and Eunice, who married Francis Reynolds, and their children are Melinda, Charles, George, John and Reed. James D. Walker, the father of George L., was born on his father's farm in Le Boeuf township. He married Clarissa A. Hamilton, and they have had the following children: Perry, Mary, Emma, George L., Bertha and Charles, but all are now deceased with the exception of George L. and Charles H.

George L. Walker received his educational training in the public schools of Le Boeuf township, and farming has been his life's occu- pation. He owns and conducts his father's estate of one hundred acres, and follows a general line of agriculture and dairying. He married on the 22d of September, 1887, Miss Addie E. Boyd, and their only child is a son, Walter L. Mr. Walker is a stanch Republican poli- tically. He is a member of I. O. O. F. Charter Oak Lodge, No. 349, of Mill Village. and has passed all the chairs. He is a member of Charter Oak Encampment No. 3, and Canton at Union City, and he was a delegate to the Grand Lodge and both he and his wife are members of the Rebekahs, Lodge No. 118 at Mill Village. His great-grandfather, Joseph Walker, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and grandfather Walker was a soldier in the War of 1812. Mr. Walker has one of the old flintlock guns his great-grandfather carried in the Revolutionary war.

BORNT McCRAY was born in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, near Titusville, February 27, 1841, a son of Samuel and Eliza (Shelmidina) McCray, who were also born in Crawford county. They subsequently moved from there to Venango county when that political division formed a part of Erie county, and from there in 1865 they came to the farm now owned and occupied by their son in Le Boeuf town- ship, purchasing and clearing eighty acres. Of their family of thir- teen children two died in infancy and nine are yet living, each being nearly sixty years of age.

B. McCray, one of the thirteen children, received a district school education in Venango county, Pennsylvania, and in 1862 he enlisted for the Civil war in Company I, One Hundred and Forty-second Penn- sylvania Volunteer Infantry. During his army service he took part in the hard-fought battle of Fredericksburg, where one-half of the One Hundred and Forty-second was killed or wounded. He also participated in the battles of Chancellorsville and Hatcher's Run and in various smaller engagements, spending five months in the com- missary department. four months as a brigade butcher and during six months was in Finley Hospital at Washington, D. C. He continued to serve his country until the war was over, receiving his discharge on · the 2d of May, 1865, and returning then to the old home farm in Erie county, he has lived here ever since with the exception of the two

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years which he spent in Randolph, New York, to afford his children better educational advantages.

On the 29th of May, 1870, Mr. McCray was married to Miss Martha C. Range, a daughter of Noah Range Sr., who is mentioned below. To this union have been born the following children : Lulu, who married the Rev. John F. Black, and their children are Virgil, Evert, Venton and Lois; Wilma, who died in infancy ; Volney A., who married Miss Della Burton, and their children are Harley Ells- werth and Lawrence Charles; Francis Cecil, who died in infancy ; Gail, who married Miss Lula Edmonds, and their only child is Bernice. The children of Mr. and Mrs. McCray were well educated in the dis- trict schools of Le Boeuf township and in the educational institution at Randolph, New York. The eldest son is also a graduate of the Union City Business College, and Gail, the youngest son, is a gradu- ate of the Mill Village High School. Mr. McCray and his son Volney are general farmers, apple growers and dairymen on the old McCray homestead, to which they have added forty acres.

John Range Sr., the grandfather of Mrs. McCray, was commis- . sioned first lieutenant of the Fifth Company of the Fourth Battalion of York county militia April 5, 1778, during the Revolutionary war, but he had been in active service some time before receiving his com- mission. He also fought in the French and Indian war with Lord Amherst's division of Colonial troops, and marching from Philadelphia through the northern wilderness of Quebec, Canada, he was present at the death of the brave General Wolfe and the defeat of the French General Montcalm on the plains of Abraham. After returning from the war Lieutenant John Range married Mandolin Shallas, a daughter of Debalt Shallas, who owned a plantation with a stone grist mill, a stone dwelling and a saw mill on Little Corsewago Creek in Adams county, Pennsylvania, this having been conveyed to him by patent dated January 22, 1767, by Thomas and Richard Penn, one of whom was the governor in chief of the province of Pennsylvania. At his death it was willed to his daughter, Mandolin, wife of Lieutenant John Range, and it was there that the young couple located after the Revo- lutionary war.

Lieutenant John Range was the first white settler on the Alle- gheny river in what is now Forest county, Pennsylvania, where he received a land warrant, for services rendered in the war, and that was taken out in the name of Shallas Range, his eldest son. In 1808, with other soldiers, he went over and examined the county and lo- cated with his family at what is now Tionesta in 1816. His land war- rant was No. 511 and was dated May 17, 1785. He died in the year of 1826, and is the only soldier of the Revolutionary war buried in River- side cemetery at Tionesta.

When the British government made the war of 1812-14 necessary, John Range Jr., responded to the call, and when the Civil war was inaugurated he was one of the many of the Range family who reported for duty. In the settlement of the United States from east to west, representatives of this family have inscribed their names as pioneers, and the name is recorded on the pages of the history of this country from the period of its earliest settlement to the present time.

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HIRAM BEAMAN. The name of Hiram Beaman was long asso- ciated with the business life of Erie county, his life's history forming a connecting link between its primitive past and later day advance- ment. Although a native son of Massachusetts, he moved with his parents as a small boy to Jefferson county, New York, where he received his educational training and was reared to the life of an agriculturist. During an early epoch in its history he came to Le Boeuf township, in Erie county, Pennsylvania, where he bought one hundred acres of land in the wilderness, for this section of the state was then in its primitive state, but with the passing of time he cleared and improved his land and made his homestead one of the valuable ones of the township, residing there until his death. Before leaving Jeffer- son county, New York, he married Miss Polly Mack, who bore him the following children: Cashius, Agnes and Eugene, but the eldest died in infancy. All were born on the homestead farm in Le Boeuf township.

Eugene Beaman has throughout his entire business life followed farming and dairying, and he now owns and operates the old place which was his father's home for so many years. On the 10th of Septem- ber, 1884, he was united in marriage to Miss Etta Morey, a daughter of Nelson and Arilla (Range) Morey, from Tionesta, Pennsylvania.

Ernest Eugene, the only child of that union, received his educa- tional training in the district schools of Le Boeuf township and in the Waterford High School, which he attended until within a few months of his graduation. Since that time he has worked on the old homestead with his father, they together carrying on general farming and dairying. On the 16th of December, 1908, he was married to Miss Waive M. Patten, a daughter of Thomas Patten. She attended the district schools of."Le' Boeuf, Waterford and Union townships, and after her graduation from the Mill Village High School, she taught for one year in Crawford county. Ernest is a stanch Republican. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., at Mill Village, No. 349.

ANDREW H. FRISBEE, one of the prominent and well known agri- culturists of Le Boeuf township, was born within the borders of this township January 13, 1848, and is of Scotch descent. He is a member of a family that was founded in Erie county in 1795 by Calvin Frisbee, his grandfather, who came from Ballston, New York, to Erie county, Pennsylvania, and bought four hundred acres of land from the Heide Cooper Land Company in Le Boeuf township. This was during the pioneer epoch in the history of this community, when there were but a few families located within the township and when all was new and wild. but in time he improved his land and spent the remainder of his life there, rearing nine children. His wife bore the maiden name of Nancy Bloomfield, and was the first white child born in Bloom- field township, Crawford county, Pennsylvania. The Bloomfields were of Scotch-English blood.

Grixon Frisbee, a son of Calvin and Nancy (Bloomfield) Frisbee, was born in Le Boeuf township of Erie county, and he spent his entire life here and was one of the community's most prominent business men. He conducted a farm, general store and post-office, saw mill and oil refinery at Frisbee's Corners, southeast of Mill Village, and his saw mill was the first steam mill in this part of the country, and

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

ABTO4, LENOA TILDEN FOUNDATIONS

RESIDENCE OF MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM L. BALDWIN

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in the early days he rafted his lumber to Pittsburg. He lived a life of usefulness and honor and died in the year of 1864. His wife, be- fore marriage Nancy Logue, was a member of a pioneer family of Crawford county, Pennsylvania, and she was also born there, as were her parents, Robert and Peggie (Bole) Logue, born in the township of Venango. The Boles came originally from Ireland.

Grixon Frisbee and wife reared ten children, but only two are now living, the daughter being Mrs. J. S. Ross, of Cambridge Springs.

Andrew H. Frisbee, the son, obtained his education in the Le Boeuf township schools, and farming and dairying has been his life's occupation. His homestead farm contains fifty-two acres of rich and fertile land in Le Boeuf township. On the 28th of March, 1865, he enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and Second Pennsylvania Vol- unteer Infantry, for the Civil war, and served his country faithfully and well until his discharge June 29, 1865. He is politically a Republi- can, and has filled the various offices of the township, and is a member of the fraternal order of Knights of the Maccabees.

Mr. Frisbee married on the 30th of September, 1879, Miss Jennie A. Catlin, a daughter of P. G. and Marguerite (Edwards) Catlin, natives respectively of London, England, and of Wales. Her paternal grandparents, John and Mary (Page) Catlin, were respectively from Suffolk and London, England, they having spent their entire lives in their native land, and the former died there at the age of ninety-seven years. Her maternal grandparents were Edward and Mary (Jones) Edwards, both from Corwen in North Wales, where they also spent their lives and died. Mrs. Catlin, the mother of Mrs. Frisbee, was but thirteen years of age when she left Wales for London, England, and there she was married to Mr. Catlin in 1848. In 1853 they came to America and located near Corry, Pennsylvania, which was their home until 1860, and from that time on their home was in Cambridge Springs, she dying there in 1890 and he in 1901. They reared four children and three are now living. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Frisbee, a son and a daughter. Roy Grixon, the elder, received a good education in the Mill Village High School and the Curry Commercial College at Pittsburg. He married Miss Matilda Dale, and their home is in Pittsburg, where he is chief clerk in the baggage department of the Union station. The daughter, Florence Marguerite Frisbee, received a musical education at Dana's Musical Institute in Warren, Ohio, and in Oberlin College, and also at the Bartels College of Music at Mantua, Ohio. Mrs. Frisbee is a member of the Asbury Methodist Episcopal church at West Union.

WILLIAM L. BALDWIN, a substantial and influential farmer of Amity township, Erie county, was born there April 5, 1847, and is a son of John C. and Marcia (Fields) Baldwin, the former born at Whitehall, New York, May 13, 1816, and the latter in Vermont, May 29, 1820. John C. Baldwin was a son of Ebenezer and Elizabeth (Towers) Bald- win. By his first wife Ebenezer Baldwin had children as follows: John C., Ambrose, George, Hiram W. and Elizabeth. Ebenezer Baldwin married (second) Theresa Murray, by whom he had three children, David M .. Ebenezer H. and Mrs. Betsey Lawrence. Mr. Baldwin died in 1839 and his widow died in 1863. John C. Baldwin removed to Erie county in 1835, and was married February 22, 1840. His children were: Mary

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A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania : a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 53

Author: Miller, John, 1849- Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 910

Author: Miller, John, 1849-
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 910