A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania : a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 57

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 57

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ROYAL B. SEARLS. One of the veteran farmers and saw mill oper- ators of Erie county, Royal B. Searls, of Harbor Creek township, who is now operating a fine farm on the shores of Lake Erie, also has the honor of faithful service in the United States Navy during the Civil war period. He is a native of Erie, Pennsylvania, born on Christmas day of 1837, being a son of Luther P. and Sarah Ann ( Ellis) Searls. His father was a son of the Green Mountain state and his mother was born in the pictur- esque country near Lake Champlain, New York. His grandparents were Luther and Chloe (Manly) Searls, the grandfather coming from Ver- mont to Erie county, about 1814, driving overland in a wagon and finally settling one half mile south of Harbor Creek station. There he resided until 1836 when he sold his property and removed to Crawford county, Pennsylvania, but he had become so attached to his original farm that one year later he repurchased it and passed the last days of his life upon it.

After their marriage the parents of Royal B. located at Erie where the father was first employed at his trade as a tanner. In after years he became connected with the steam boat business and was acting as oiler for the "Erie" when it burned to the water's edge off Silver Creek, caus- ing the death of its five hundred emigrant passengers with the exception of twenty-nine who were saved as if by miracle. Among the latter was Luther P. Searls himself who clung to his post of danger and was the last man to leave the boat. . In 1854 he located at Harbor Creek where he purchased and conducted a farm as well as a saw mill and tannery. The last years of his life were spent in retirement, his home being with Royal B., of this sketch, and his death occurring March ?, 1896. His wife had died at Harbor Creek in 1881. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Luther P. Searls were as follows : Royal B., of this sketch ; John died January 25,

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1909, was an inmate of the National Soldiers' Home of eastern Ten- nessec ; he enlisted in Eric in Sixteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry in 1862, was there over three years and was in a number of battles, and civil en- gineer ; and Frank, a resident of Rochester, New York, for fifteen years.

Royal B. Searls received his early education at the academy in Erie and resided at home until January 14, 1864, when he went to New York City and enlisted in the United States Navy, being assigned to the steamer "Galatea." In this capacity he served for one year at Cape Hayti, being discharged January 14, 1865, at the navy headquarters of Brooklyn, New York. He remained at home until his marriage Decem- ber 25, 1867, and as this was his thirtieth birthday he has always ob- served it as a double anniversary. After his marriage Mr. Scarls moved to Harbor Creek township and after renting a farm for about a year set- tled upon the paternal homestead where he remained for about ten years. He then purchased twenty-eight acres in Greene township, cultivating the land but never making it his residence. Six years later he removed to Crawford county where he purchased a tract of timber land and con- ducted a saw mill. This line of business was so congenial to him that upon his removal to Chautauqua county, New York, he continued in that line and conducted saw mills there in various places in that section of the state. In 1892 he purchased sixty-eight acres in the northeast part of Harbor Creek township bordering on the shores of Lake Erie and has since improved this tract into a profitable farm both for the raising of fruit and general crops. Throughout all of these business and agricul- tural transactions he has remained a steadfast Republican and been deeply interested in the affairs of the Grand Army of the Republic, being now a member of Post No. 67, of Erie, Pennsylvania.

As stated Mr. Searls celebrated his first marriage December 25, 1867, his wife, formerly Miss Adelaide Stiveson, being born near Rome, New York. The children of this union were: Myrtie, who became Mrs. Burr Phillips and died about 1887 ; Ettie, Mrs. Alfred Haynes, a resident of Toledo, Ohio: Mamie, who married James Messenger, a resident of Wattsburg, Pennsylvania, and is the mother of Royal E. and Florence Alberta Messenger ; and Burr, who is still living at home. Mrs. Adelaide Searls died in March, 1891, and Mrs. Searls' marriage to Miss Emma S. Kinsinger occurred December 25, 1899. His wife is a native of Amity township, Erie county, and a daughter of Jacob and Catherine (Bargain) Kinsinger, her father being born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, and his wife in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. The paternal grand- parents, Jacob and Elizabeth (Lantz) Kinsinger were natives of Ger- many and of the maternal grandparents, John and Susanna (Shaffer) Bargain, the grandfather was a native of Ireland, and the grandmother of Germany. Mrs. Searls was educated in the common schools.

CHARLES F. ROCKWELL, deceased, was for many years one of the most influential and best loved men of the town in which he lived- Girard, Pennsylvania. He was born at Wilton, Connecticut, February 13, 1826, son of Philander and Elizabeth (Fitch) Rockwell, who were natives of that state. and who died there, leaving a family of nine chil- dren, of whom Charles F. was the third in birth. He grew up under the care of his sister. At the age of sixteen he began clerking, and for three years worked for his board and clothes. When he was nineteen he borrowed $13, and went to New York City, where he was employed as clerk in a retail grocery store, at $75 and board for the first year, Vol. II-26

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and the second year his wages were increased to $10 per month. After- ward he worked in a wholesale house, where, in addition to his board. the first year his employer gave him his note for $100; the second year, $300, and the third, $350. Also for a time he was employed as book- keeper in a wholesale and retail dry goods house. Out of his small salary during these years he managed to save a portion, and in 1852, having accumulated about $500, he came to Girard and engaged in mercantile business, opening up with a $5,000 stock. By good manage- ment and careful attention to business, he made a success of his under- taking, and conducted his store for many years, up to 1882, when he sold out. After that he became interested in the Girard Wrench Manu- factory, one of the largest establishments of its kind in the world, in which he held an interest, and with which he was actively connected as general manager until the time of his death, which occurred at Girard, August 26, 1908.

While Mr. Rockwell was devoted to his business, and worked early and late to achieve the success which he enjoyed, he found his chief pleasure in his home, surrounded by his family. He married, in New York City, July 29, 1849, Miss Eliza J. Bessey, a native of Connecticut, and the fruits of their union were four children, two of whom are now living. Emma, widow of Carlton G. Luce, resides with her mother and has three children, Fred G., who wedded Miss Helen Hall of Girard, William C., and Ella R. The other daughter. Ida, who married W. W. Hart, is also a widow, and she, too, resides in Girard, with her children. Her eldest daughter Eva, is the wife of Frank Peters, of Girard, and has one little son, William Hart Peters; the other children of Mrs. Hart's are May, Bessey, Rockwell C. and William Lynn Hart.

During the period, covering more than half a century, in which Mr. Rockwell lived in Girard, he was a prominent factor not only in the business life of the town, but also in church and social circles. It was under his directions that the old Universalist church was remodeled and made into an attractive and imposing structure. He was a regular attendant upon church service, and even up to the last Sunday of his life it was his privilege and pleasure to be in his place at church. Like most leaders in a community, he was a man of few words. He was a man of deeds. He avoided display in his acts of kindness and in his deeds of charity, but he gave freely of his means to the poor and needy. His life, crowded with its various activities, was rounded out with the pleasures of travel. At different times he visited many parts of the United States and frequently made trips into Canada. In the death of Charles F. Rockwell, Girard lost one of its oldest and best citizens. His widow, who for nearly sixty years traveled life's pathway with him, has long been active in church work, and in various ways has taken a deep interest in the welfare of the community. It was largely through her influence and support that Girard was able to obtain the beautiful library, of which the town can now boast.

WILLIAM F. GRAY, who operates a fine fruit farm about one mile north of Harbor Creek, is a native of the township of that name, and was born December 9, 1858. He is a son of John and Jane (Martin) Gray, both natives of County Tyrone, Ireland. His grandfathers on both sides of the family, Robert Gray and James Martin, were also both born in that country. His parents married in Ireland and reached Har- bor Creek township, this county, on the 7th of July, 1847, at once locat-

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ing on the timber farm of forty-seven acres which the husband had pur- chased. This he cleared, cultivated and improved for the balance of his life, dying April 1, 1883, his wife dying November 20, 1896, the mother of eight children.

William F. Gray, of this review, is the youngest of seven sons and he attended the district schools of the neighborhood and resided with his parents as long as they lived, faithfully assisting his father in clearing his land and in the improvement of the family homestead. He is now the proprietor of a fine fruit farm, three acres of which are cultivated to grapes and the balance chiefly to apples, pears and plums. He is un- married and is an earnest member of the Presbyterian church and in pol- itics, a firm Democrat.

FRANK BLAINE CRAWFORD is one of the best known business men of North East township and a member of one of the county's oldest and most honored families. In company with his brother, William T., he in 1880 took charge of the old Crawford farm of ninety-eight acres, and about five years afterward they set out thereon six acres of vineyard. the nucleus of their present large business. Each year since that time they have added to their vineyard until it now covers one hundred and fifty-five acres, and in addition the brothers are large land owners, own- ing ninety-eight acres in one tract, one hundred and forty-eight acres in another and one hundred acres in still another place, and of this large acreage what is not used in their grape culture is devoted to general agricultural purposes. They ship from their farms about 2,000 tons of grapes, every year, and they are both extensive buyers and shippers. In 1893 they built a large warehouse, with a capacity of two cars a day.

Frank Blaine Crawford was born in the township of North East June 3, 1865, a son of Thomas Childs and Ruth A. ( Wilcox) Crawford, both also from this township, and a grandson of William and Nancy ( Blaine) Crawford. Thomas C. Crawford was a farmer throughout life, and of the family of three sons and two daughters Frank B. was the youngest born. He married on the 15th of September, 1908, Mary Wilcox, the widow of A. W. Connor, formerly of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He is a Re- publican politically and served three years a member of the city council of North East. He is a member of the fraternal order of Masons, Lodge No. 399, and of the Presbyterian church.

ANDREW JACKSON, long an active farmer of Harbor Creek township who retired to Wesleyville during the last few years of his life, was a native of Delaware county, New York, where he was born August 12, 1839. His parents were Luther D. and Martha (Morrison) Jackson, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of New York City. The grandfathers on both sides of the family were Meeker Jackson, of an old New England family and Mr. Morrison, a native of Ireland who became acquainted with his future wife on his way to the United States. The later generations of the Jackson family transferred their agricultural labors from Connecticut to Delaware county, New York, where, as stated, Andrew Jackson was born.

He received a good education in the home schools of his county finally graduating from the Delhi high school and being the next oldest of the seven children his parents largely depended upon him to assist them in the support of the household. The result was that he resided at

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home until his marriage in 1860. After that event he took up his residence in Delaware county, New York, where he remained for seven years and in 1822 located in Waterford township and purchased a good farm upon which he resided with his family until 1897. In that year he disposed of his property and settled at Wesleyville where he purchased a com- fortable home in which he passed his last days, dying June 17, 1900. To the last he was a faithful member of the Baptist church.

On June 5, 1860, Mr. Jackson married Miss Ellen J. Bishop, a native of Ulster county, New York, June 19, 1842, a daughter of John and Jane Eliza ( Van Gaasbeek) Bishop. Her parents were also both born in Ulster county, New York, the maternal family being of old Dutch stock. The father was an honest and successful farmer and removed from Ulster county to Greene county, New York, where he died July 6, 1854. He was born August 12, 1810, and had therefore not reached his forty-fourth birthday. His wife, born February , 1814, died August 25, 1854, in the forty-first year of her age. The children born to the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Jackson were as follows :

Mary E., born January 12, 1862, who is now Mrs. Frank Barton, residing in Waterford township; Elmer, March 31, 1863, who lives in Union township ; Charles, March 3, 1865, and now residing at Erie City ; Harvey D., April 26, 1867, living in Denver, Colorado; Julia Stella, April 16 1869, died as an infant August 12, of that year ; Frank L., born February 7, 1874, a resident of Wesleyville ; and Fred, who was born May 7, 1876, and also resides at that place.

JUDGE J. B. CESSNA, a well known member of the Erie county bar and a leading resident of the city of Erie, was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, March 24, 1840. His great-grandfather, John Cessna, was a member of the convention which framed the constitution of Pennsyl- vania in 1776. He also served for three terms as sheriff of Bedford county, being elected in 1779, 1781 and 1783. At the time the colonists, aroused by the continued encroachments of the British government upon their liberties, took up arms against the mother country he joined the American forces and served as a major in the Revolutionary war. Later he was with General Washington in suppressing the whisky in- surrection of western Pennsylvania. He represented one of the oldest families of that state, his grandfather having arrived in Pennsylvania in 1690-a Huguenot seeking freedom and liberty.

William Cessna, father of Judge Cessna, was born in Pennsylvania in 1800 and died in Bedford county in 1864. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Rachel Morgart, was also a native of the Keystone state, born in 1789. She was of German lineage and died in 1860. For a long period she had been a prominent member of the old-school Baptist church and was a fluent writer on church topics, contributing many articles to the newspapers and magazines of her faith. Unto William and Rachel Cessna were born eleven children, six of whom are yet living. One son, Hon. John Cessna, was for three terms speaker of the Pennsylvania house of representatives and for three terms repre- sented the Eighteenth district of the state in Congress.

Judge Cessna, the youngest of this family, acquired his early educa- tion in the public schools and afterward attended the Allegheny Male and Female Academy at Rainsburg, Pennsylvania. Subsequently he was graduated from the Franklin and Marshall College at Lancaster,

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Pennsylvania, in July, 1864, and a year afterward was admitted to the bar in Bedford county, having thoroughly qualified for the practice of law. He then followed his profession in Bedford and other counties until April, 1885, when he removed to Hastings, Nebraska. He had been admitted to practice before the supreme court of Pennsyl- vania, May 15, 1868, and on the 26th of January, 1876, was admitted to practice before the United States supreme court on motion of the Hon. Jeremiah Black. Before his removal to the west Judge Cessna was connected with a number of very important cases, notably that of Noble vs. The Thompson Oil Company. This case was in the courts for fifteen years and the original decision had been reversed by the Pennsyl- vania supreme court before Judge Cessna became interested in it. On the third argument a judgment obtained in the court below was unani- mously affirmed ; it was then taken to the supreme court of the United States, Judge Cessna being connected with the case as counsel for the plaintiff in the court below and defendant in error. In March, 1829, the case was decided in favor of the defendants in the United States supreme court by a divided court, four judges for affirmation and four against, the court writing no opinion. The case involved fifty thousand dollars and was of great legal importance, as many intricate points were in controversy. Judge Cessna was also concerned in another very important case in the oil regions between Thompson, Noble and Dele- mater, the amount involved being over one hundred thousand dollars. In the west he was employed on a number of cases that attracted wide- spread attention, including the Keedle case contest in the United States supreme court of private land claims to recover a very valuable tract of land in New Mexico worth several million dollars. This suit was in- stituted by the heirs of John G. Heath by virtue of a grant of land made to him by the Mexican government in 1821 under the reign of Iturbide and was one of the most important cases in litigation in recent years. Judge Cessna was successful in winning the suit for his clients in the first trial but when it was taken to the higher courts lost. He acted as attorney for C. L. Jones against the railway company jn an important case in Illinois-a case to recover triple damages for illegal charges of freight under the railroad law of Illinois. The case resulted in a judgment in favor of the plaintiff's claim, after which appeal was taken to the supreme court of the United States, but the claim was paid before the case was reached for argument. Some forty or fifty similar cases were commenced in the court below and one or two were tried and ver- dicts given the defendants, while others were settled and compromised upon the payment of costs, Mr. Jones being the only party to recover judgment.

While in Hastings, Judge Cessna also made a specialty of land and equity suits, yet did not exclude general practice save in the branch of criminal law. Since coming to Erie in 1905 he has engaged in general practice and has secured a fine clientage. He is an independent thinker, deriving his information when practical from original sources, and is widely recognized as a hard working, industrious lawyer, always giving every question thorough and careful investigation and going to the root of every controversy or point involved in the litigation in which he is concerned. He is a sound, careful and reliable counselor and has been very successful in his chosen life work. He convinces by his con- cise statements of law and facts rather than by word painting and so

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high is the respect for his legal ability and integrity that his assertions in court are seldom questioned seriously. Judges and clients also re- spect him for his careful counsel. Whatever he does is for the best in- terests of his clients and for the honor of his profession and no man gives to either a more unqualified allegiance or riper ability.

On the 12th of June, 1872, Judge Cessna was married to Miss Kath- arine Ursule Brown, of Erie, Pennsylvania, and they have two living sons, W. Brown and Reon B. The former was for a number of years with the Barber Asphalt Paving Company at Detroit and now holds a responsible position with the Monarch Company at Council Bluffs, Iowa. He married Miss Ida Smith, of Nebraska. The younger son, who wedded Miss Mary Edmunds of Hutchinson, Kansas, is also connected with the Monarch Company of Council Bluffs. While Judge Cessna has been a resident of Erie for but a comparatively brief period, he was at least to some extent known in the city ere he located here and since his arrival his personal qualities and his comprehensive knowledge of the law have carried him into important social and professional rela- tions. He stands as a splendid representative of the bar and throughout his practice has been most careful to conform to a high standard of professional ethics. While he gives to his clients the service of great talent, unwearied industry and rare learning, he never forgets that there are certain things due to the court, to his own self respect and, above all, to justice and a righteous administration of the law which neither the zeal of an advocate nor the pleasure of success permits him to dis- regard.

F. WILLIAM SCHULTZ is influentially associated with the commercial life of the city as proprietor of the South Erie Tea Company, his place of business being on the corner of Twenty-fifth and Peach streets. He established the enterprise in 1895, prosperity attending the venture from the outset so that now he owns the block wherein is his trading stand. So honorable and praiseworthy have been his methods of transacting business that he enjoys an extensive patronage and is thereby numbered among the leading and reliable merchants in his commercial department in the city. Close attention to the various details of the business, a firm resolution to succeed reinforced by constant application and the faculty to see opportunities and use them, explain the secret of the steady growth of his enterprise and of the position he occupies in business circles.

Mr. Schultz, as the name implies, is of German extraction, the Schultz family having arrived in this country in 1846. In that year his grandparents, Valentine and Margaretta (Adams) Schultz, repaired to Connecticut and thence, after a few months' residence, or in 1847. settled in Erie. The grandfather possessed considerable means and purchased much property in the neighborhood of Twenty-sixth and Sassafras streets, where he erected his private residence. The old dwelling still stands as one of the city's landmarks. He owned the property constituting the site of St. Vincent's Hospital, on Sassafras street, and sold the entire tract to Rt. Rev. Bishop Young for thirty-five hundred dollars. Originally the plot had been utilized for cemetery pur- poses but. as the city expanded westward the cemetery was abandoned and the site chosen as an ideal one for a hospital. This plot of ground which was sold for thirty-five hundred dollars is now valued at one hun-

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dred thousand dollars. Mr. Schultz was prominent in business circles, having been a merchant for a number of years and his industry and ag- gressiveness played an important part in laying the foundation for the city's present prosperity.

Valentine Schultz Jr., the father of F. William, was a native of Germany, who was engaged in the grocery and provision business for over thirty years. His first business location was at the northeast cor- ner of Twenty-sixth and Peach streets. In 1860 his father, Valentine Sr., and his brother, Ferdinand, formed a partnership with him, under the firm title of Schultz Brothers. However, the company was dissolved int 1872, when Valentine Schultz, Jr., purchased the interests of the partners, one year later, or in 1873, removing to the northwest corner of Twenty-sixth and Peach streets, where he had erected a brick build- ing, known as the Schultz block. At the new location he conducted the enterprise until his death, which occurred in 1889. His four sons then managed the business until the death of their mother, in 1895, when the business was disposed of and the father's estate divided.

F. William Schultz, a son of Valentine Jr., was born in Erie, May 21. 1858. He had the advantage of a splendid education, having pur- sted his studies in the German parochial schools of this place, at St. Vincent's College, at Beatty, Pennsylvania, and at the Erie Academy. His education completed, his first step in the commercial world was in his father's establishment, which was known as Schultz Brothers. Upon the dissolution of the firm he spent one year in the employ of his brother Jacob. Meanwhile having gained a practical knowledge of business life and feeling confident that he could conduct an establishment on his own account, he organized the South Erie Tea Company in 1895. Since that year he has successfully continued the enterprise at the north- west corner of Twenty-fifth and Peach streets, where he owns what was known as the Fred E. Glott block. The building is a two-story brick structure, twenty by one hundred and thirty-five feet, which he keeps well stocked with a fine line of goods, his store being one of the most popular in the city. From the start Mr. Schultz has concentrated his undivided attention upon the business with the result that he has built up an excellent patronage, his volume of trade being of such pro- portions as to make him one of Erie's leading merchants.

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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 57

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