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 74
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David P. Bailey and Chloe C. Dean were married in 1828, and soon afterward they moved to French Creek, New York, but a short time later went east to live, but it was not long before they returned to French Creek. and in March of 1850 they came from there to Erie county. Dur- ing the later years of their life they located in Wattsburg, and there they subsequently died, David on the ?? th of September, 1891, and his wife Chloe August 9, 1893. There were born to them the following children : Helen M., on the 12th of October, 1829 ; Henry M., November 21, 1831; David G., February 26, 1837 : Martha L., September 27, 1843; John M., January 17, 1846 ; and Daniel W .. August 3, 1853. John M. served as a member of the Eighty-Third Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. during the Civil war.
Henry M. Bailey, the only surviving member of the family, married on December 25, 1822. Miss Charity L., a daughter of David E. and Rhoda J. Foot. and the one child of their union is deceased, as is also the wife and mother. She was born in Venango township in 1849, and died on the 29th of June, 1906, after many years of happy married life and efficient labor in behalf of home and friends and the needy.
STEPHEN W. FERRIS. The record of the public officials of Erie county include the name of Stephen W. Ferris, the postmaster of Watts-
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burg. He has served in this position since 1897, and under his direction the office has increased its value from four hundred and fifty to eight hundred dollars and supports four rural district carriers, who distribute a daily mail. Mr. Ferris is a son of Waldon and Adeline ( Havens) Fer- ris, who were born, lived and died in Chenango county, New York. Their children were: Caroline (deceased), Stephen W., Austin, Catherine, Thomas J. and Joseph ( deceased ).
Stephen W. Ferris is the only member of his father's family in Erie county. He was born in Manlius, New York, January 23, 1842, and came to Wayne township of Erie county when a mere boy. He received a com- mon-school education here, and his younger business career was devoted to the milling and lumber business. In September of 1861 he enlisted in the northern cause in the Civil war, being among the first to respond to the appeal of President Lincoln's call for volunteers, and he became a member of Company A, One Hundred and Eleventh Regiment of Penn- sylvania Infantry. He participated in the battles of Cedar Mountain, Rappahannock, Second Bull Run, Chancellorsville, South Mountain, Antietam, Gettysburg, Waxahachie and in Sherman's march from Chat- tanooga to Atlanta. At Savannah, Georgia, he was hit by a spent ball but not incapacitated for duty, and he received his honorable discharge after four years of faithful and valiant service.
In 1866 Mr. Ferris was married to Miss Florence, a daughter of Charles Raymond, and the marriage union was blessed by the birth of three sons, Guy A., Claude P. and Roy S. Mrs. Ferris died in 1884, and in 1886 he was married to Miss Sarah A., a daughter of James and Fan- nie Hayward, from the state of New York. Of the four children of this union two are living, Lyle L. and Sarah C. Mr. Ferris is an active sup- porter of the Taft administration, and he is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic Post No. 10 at Corry, and the Masonic fraternity at Wattsburg. Lodge No. 533, and both he and his wife are members of the order of Eastern Star at Union City, Pennsylvania.
GEORGE EVANS. Bringing to his free and independent calling good business methods and excellent judgment, George Evans, a well-known farmer of Greenfield township, is meeting with marked success in his labors. A native of Greene township, he was born, August 5, 1857, a son of John Evans, and a grandson of Ebenezer Evans, one of the pioneers of Erie county. Emigrating from Wales in 1820, Ebenezer Evans came direct to Pennsylvania, locating in Waterford, Erie county, where he fol- lowed his trade of a stone cutter for many years, assisting in the mean- time in the building of the Mayville prison. To him and his wife, whose maiden name was Mary Henton, six children were born, namely : Sarah, William, Ebenezer, John, Thomas, and Edward.
John Evans, born in Waterford, Erie county, September 20, 1825, was a life-long resident of this county, his death occurring in Greene township, October ?, 1898. He was twice married. He married first, December 12, 1846, Johanna Urch, who was born in Venango township, January 13, 1830, and died July 13, 1866. Nine children blessed their union, namely : Matilda, born February 18, 1848; Edward, April 26, 1850 : Thomas, May 19, 1852; Mary, December 17, 1853; Effie, August 1, 1855; George, of this brief biographical sketch; A. J., born December 29, 1859 : Henry, May 23, 1862 ; and Della, June 23, 1864. John Evans married second, April 5, 1868, Sallie Phelps, who survived him, passing away April 19, 1905.
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Brought up and educated in Greene township, George Evans acquired a practical knowledge of agriculture when young, and in the pursuit of his chosen occupation has always taken a keen interest, and derived both pleasure and a satisfactory pecuniary remuneration. At the present time he keeps fifteen milch cows of a good grade, devoting his attention almost exclusively to dairying.
Mr. Evans married, in 1882, Florence M. Howard, who was born in Venango township, in 1866, a daughter of Murando and Amy (Fuller ) Howard, the former of whom was born in Vermont, and the latter in Herkimer county, New York. Of the three children that have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Evans, two are living, namely : Levi, born August 31, 1883; and Charles, born August 28, 1886.
JOHN A. STOLZ is a well known and prominent agriculturist residing in the vicinity of Waterford in Greene township, where he is the owner of a splendid and well improved estate. He was born at St. Mary's in Elk county, Pennsylvania, October 28, 1847, a son of Jolin and Magdalena (Snyder) Stolz, who came from Germany to the United States before marriage, and for several years their home was in New York. The father came to this country in 1833, and he traveled quite extensively for some time thereafter, and he several times moved from the city of New York to Elk county, Pennsylvania. During the intervening period from 1857 until 1867 he lived at Williamsville, now known as Rasselas, in Elk county. He moved first from New York City on account of the cholera plague, and in 1857 he returned there, but he only spent one winter at liis former home and then came again to Erie county in 1867 and a few months later located in Greene township, where he accumulated in all two hundred and twenty-eight acres. He lived there until death. Several of his children died in infancy, and he reared two, John A. and Michael.
John A. Stolz received a splendid educational training in his early life, attending first the various public schools near his home, and he also attended St. Vincent's College for three terms and the Erie Business Col- lege. After leaving the school room he took up agriculture as his occu- pation, and he now owns a splendid estate of one hundred and six acres, a part of the old Stolz homestead. He married in 1883 Miss Mary R. Wank, a daughter of Ferdinand and Marguerita (Groll) Wank, who came to the United States from Bavaria, Germany, and in 1844 they became residents of St. Mary's in Elk county. Mr. and Mrs. Stolz have the following children: Edward F., Roman Otto, Anthony Alexander, Frederick William, Emma Margaret, George Albert and Bernard Sebas- tian. The family are members of St. Boniface Catholic church, of which Rev. Fr. Tipp is the pastor. Mr. Stolz is an independent voter, casting his vote for the man best fitted for the position or office, regardless of party.
WILLIAM WAKEMAN YAPLE was one of the early pioneer residents of Erie county, who was born within its borders in Greene township, and he was actively associated with the development of this region during his entire life. His course was strictly honorable, upright and just, in accord with the highest principles of human conduct, and his name is enrolled high on the list of the honored Erie county pioneers. His birth occurred on the 11th of October, 1827, and he was a son of the David Yaple who is mentioned in the sketch of Anson H. Yaple in this work. His educa- tional training was received in the schools of Greene township and in the
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Waterford Academy, and during several terms after the completion of his training he taught school. On the 1st of April, 1853, he purchased a farm of fifty acres in Greene township, the present home of his son, Brink B. Yaple, and there he continued to reside until his death in 1903. He married on the 17th of June, 1851, Miss Sarah Holmes, of Oceanica county, Michigan, and she died on the 2d of March, 1893. They reared three children, Jay N., Julia M., and Brink B.
Brink B. Yaple was born on the 4th of September, 1860, and he too received his educational training in the schools of Greene township and the Waterford Academy, and like his father taught two terms of school after the completion of his education. Since that time he has been an agriculturist, and now owns his father's old homestead. He married on the 1st of November, 1894, Miss Minnie Bonney a daughter of William and Nancy ( McCaslin) Bonney, the father born in Greene township of Erie county and the mother in Venango township of Forest county, Penn- sylvania. William Bonney was a son of Daniel and Harriet (Brace) Bonney, early pioneer residents in Erie county, the former coming here from New York. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Yaple were James and Hannah (Neal) McCaslin, the former born near Pittsburg on June 18, 1807, and the latter at Nealsburg, Pennsylvania, August 16, 1806. In 1865 they moved to Painesville, Ohio, and they spent the remainder of their lives there. Three children were born to brighten and bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Brink B. Yaple, James Leon, Bernard Roe and Clemma, but the youngest child died in infancy. Both Mr. Yaple and his wife are members of the West Greene Grange. Mr. Yaple is a Repub- lican, but he takes high ground on the subject of temperance. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church in Greene township.
ANSON HENRY YAPLE was during many years one of the successful agriculturists of Erie county, but now in the evening of a long and honor- able career he is living retired from an active business life. He was born in Greene township of Erie county in 1829, a son of David and Ruth Maria (Fuller) Yaple, both of whom were born in Delaware county, New York, the father on the 14th of April, 1805, and the mother on the 2d of the same month and the same year. The father was a son of Jacob Yaple, who with his wife came from Germany, and they were the progen- itors of the family in America. They located in Delaware county, New York, and spent the remainder of their lives there. The maternal grand- father of Anson H. Yaple was Noble Fuller, who with his wife and chil- dren came from Delaware county, New York, to Venango township in Erie county, Pennsylvania, and there the parents lived until death. David Yaple came to Greene township in Erie county, and here he became the owner of eighty acres of land, which he cleared and improved, but during a short time before his death he lived retired in Waterford.
Anson H. Yaple received his educational training in the Greene township schools, and his life's work was farming, and during many years he also followed threshing. His first experience as a thresher was with his father, and they used a tread mill, which was operated by three men. Mr. Yaple married in 1851, and a few years afterward he moved with his wife to Rewey, Wisconsin, where he bought fifty acres of gov- ernment land. Mrs. Yaple only lived a few years after moving to that state, and after her death Mr. Yaple returned with his children to Greene
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township, and after a few years in the oil fields of this state he resumed his agricultural work here and so continued until his retirement. He accumulated one hundred and sixty acres of land.
His first wife bore the maiden name of Laura Anna Streeter, and they were married on the 10th of June, 1851, and the following children were born of their union: Mrs. Candus Rose Cutter, Henry, Edward L., Clinton Fuller, Mrs. Addie Root and Anson J. In the year of 1866 Mr. Yaple was again married, and by the second union he has four chil- dren, Dudley, Lulu, Catherine and Leah.
Clinton Fuller Yaple, a son of Anson H. and Laura A. Yaple, was born in Greene township on the 14th day of February, 1858, and since his school days he has followed dairying and farming here. He now owns the eighty-one acres of land which his grandfather David bought when he first came here many years ago, and in addition he owns another tract of twenty-four acres. On the 13th of April, 1882, he was married to Johanna Barry, a daughter of Thomas and Anstrus (Drown) Barry. The father came from his native land of Ireland in an early day and located in Greene township, Erie county, Pennsylvania, where he was an agriculturist during the remainder of his life. His wife was born in Greene township, a daughter of Cyril and Catherine (Zimmerman) Drown, who came to this commonwealth in an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Clinton F. Yaple have become the parents of the following chil- dren: George Reed, Thomas Anson, Bonnie Ruth. Wallace Clinton and Jessie Anstrus. The eldest son, George Reed, is now the city edi- tor of the Eric Times. He married Miss Hazel M. Barton, a daughter of George Barton, of Greene township, and they have one child, Mil- dred Hyasinth. The youngest daughter, Jessie A., is a student in the Waterford high school. Mr. Clinton F. Yaple is a member of the fra- ternal order of Odd Fellows, and both he and his wife and their three youngest children are identified with the Grange.
CHARLES ALBERT BLAKESLEE was born in Waterford township, Erie county, on the 4th of March, 1854, a son of Albert and Helen (Hewitt) Blakeslee, both of whom also had their nativity in Erie county. He is a grandson on the paternal side of Benjamin and Azubah (Crock- er) Blakeslee, from Chautauqua county, New York. Benjamin Blakes- lee was born on the 15th of April, 1783, and his wife on the 8th of November, 1783, and they came to Erie county during a very early day in its history, purchasing land in Waterford township, where they were farmers during the remainder of their lives. The maternal grand- parents of Charles A. Blakeslee were Lemon and Polly (Reynolds) Hewitt, who also came from New York to Pennsylvania in an early day, but established their home in Greene township. Lemon Hewitt served his country as a soldier in the war of 1812, and on one occasion while out scouting with five comrades they were chased for a long distance by a large band of Indians, and Mr. Hewitt was the only one who escaped death at their hands. But after a short stay in Greene township Mr. and Mrs. Hewitt moved to Waterford township, where they bought land, and in establishing their home there they experienced many of the privations and hardships incident to pioneer life.
Charles A. Blakeslee received his educational training in the schools of Waterford township, and farming and dairying has been his life's occupation. He now owns a splendid estate of one hundred and fifty acres of land in Waterford township. He married on the 8th of June.
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1873, Emma Jane Pelton, a daughter of Richard and Maria L. (Bur- ton) Pelton, and a granddaughter on the paternal side of George and Caroline (Ferris) Pelton, who came from Ithaca, New York, and lo- cated at Farmers Valley in McKean county, Pennsylvania, where they spent the remainder of their lives. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Blakeslee were Henry and Sally (Bugbee) Burton, who came from Haskell Flats, New York, to Bloomfield township in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, and there they also spent the remainder of their lives. George Pelton, the father, with three brothers and three cousins, en- listed in 1861 for service in the Civil war, and becoming a member of Company H, Eighty-third Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, he served for one year and nine months and was then honorably discharged. His brother John re-enlisted and served until the close of the conflict. In 1875 George Pelton and his wife moved to Ohio and there he subsequently died. Both he and his wife were born in Ithaca, New York, he in 1831. and she in 1838. The union of Charles A. Blakeslee and Emma J. Pelton was blessed by the birth of the following children: Phebe, the first born, married Jesse Bunnell, and they have three children, Charles Ray, Jessie Claire and Ward Emmet, and they are also rearing a little orphan girl; Estella married James Van Dyke, and is the mother of Albert and Carl; James Albert married Blanche Barney, now deceased, and their children are James Harold, Bessie Irene, Frank Drown and Charles Edward; Jesse Charles is mentioned below, and Bessie, the youngest child, died in infancy. Both Mr. and Mrs. Blakeslee are mem- bers of the Grange, and he is also a member of the order of Odd Fel- lows. The family hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church.
Jesse Blakeslee was born on the 22d of January, 1885, and after completing his education in the township's public schools he began farming and agriculture has been his life's occupation. He now owns fifty acres of rich and fertile land in Greene township, and there in addition to his general agricultural work he is also engaged quite ex- tensively in dairying. He is one of the most progressive farmers of the county, and he is probably the only man within its borders to use electric lights in his barn. He manufactures his own electricity. On the 28th of December, 1904, he was united in marriage to Mary A. Haskins, whose ancestry is traced in the review of John Sherman below. Mr. Blakeslee is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and both he and his wife are also members of the Grange.
John Sherman was born in New York, January 1, 1832, a son of Luther and Phebe (English) Sherman. In the year of his birth the family came to Greene township in Erie county, Pennsylvania, where they purchased two hundred and fifty acres of land in the then wilder- ness, but from that wild and unimproved tract they evolved a splendid home, and there they spent the remainder of their lives. John Sher- man received his education in the public schools of Greene township, and farming has been his life's occupation, his estate consisting of forty-five acres in Greene township. During the Civil war he was draft- ed for service in 1865, and became a member of Company K, Ninety- eighth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. On the 19th of December, 1855, he married Roxana Strong, a daughter of Chauncey B. and Susan (Buis) Strong, prominent early pioneers of Erie county. Two chil- dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Sherman, Abe Carter and Maud L. The daughter married John Haskins on May 4, 1887, and they had three children, Mary A., John and Fern. Mary A., their eldest daugh-
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ter, became the wife of Jesse C. Blakeslee. Mr. Blakeslee is a Re- publican.
JOSEPH BLILEY. Prominent among the agriculturists of Greene township is numbered Joseph Bliley, who was born within its borders on the 2d of January, 1835, a son of Sebastian Bliley, who came from his native land of Germany and established his home in an early day in Greene township, Erie county, Pennsylvania. Here the parents be- came the owner of a splendid estate of between fifty and sixty acres of fertile and well improved land, and they were farming people here during the remainder of their lives.
Joseph Bliley received his educational training in the pioneer schools of Greene township, and from the time of leaving the school room until within a few years ago agriculture was his occupation. He accumulated in that time a splendid estate of one hundred and thirty- six acres, but he is now living retired. He married in 1861 Mary Hart, whose parents came from Germany to the United States and were pioneers in Greene township, Erie county. Her father, Joseph Hart, became a prominent and well known farmer here. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bliley: Fred, Elizabeth, Emma, Daniel, Frank, Andrew and Joseph, twins, Mary and Josie. Daniel died at the age of thirty-seven years, Frank died at the age of twenty-five, and Andrew, Joseph and Josie reside on the old homestead farm. The family are members of the St. Boniface Catholic church. The sons are Democrats.
ANTON VOGT. Numbered among the well known and successful agriculturists of Greene township is Anton Vogt, an honored veteran of the Civil war and one of the honored pioneer residents of Erie county. He was born in Germany on the 23d of July, 1831, a son of John and Elizabeth Vogt, who lived and died in their native land. After landing in this country Anton Vogt came direct to Erie, Penn- sylvania, in 1849, and after working there for others for four years he came on to Greene township in 1853 and bought fifty acres of govern- ment land. His property at the time of purchase was but a vast wilder- ness, the country roundabout being unimproved and unclaimed, but with the passing of time he succeeded in clearing his tract of its timber and cultivated and improved his fields. He has accumulated in all one hundred and thirty-four acres, and he has long been both dairyman and general farmer. In 1865, during the later part of the struggle, he enlisted for the Civil war in Company E, Eighteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, and served until the close of the conflict.
Mr. Vogt married in 1856 Barbara Steinbach, and to their union were born: Mary, who married George Zimmer; Adam, who married a Miss Snyder and lives in Erie; and Peter and William. In 1876 Mr. Vogt wedded Mrs. Mary Hoffman, and two children were born of their marriage, Amala and Margaret. Mr. Vogt and his family are mem- bers of the Lutheran church. He and his sons are Republicans.
JOHN F. FRITZGES. Many years ago the Fritzges family, consist- ing of father, mother and children, came from their native fatherland of Germany to seek a home in the freer United States, and arriving on American shores in the year of 1842 they at once established their abode in Erie county, Pennsylvania. A few years after this, in 1855, they came to Greene township, and here in time the parents accumulated one hundred and fifty acres of land, which; with the aid of his sons
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTER, LENOX TILDIN FOUNDATIONS
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SAMUEL F. CHAPIN
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the father cleared and improved and converted into a valuable tract, and there he and his wife lived and labored for many years and at length passed to their final reward.
John F. Fritzges was born in Germany, August 11, 1841, a son of Martin and Elizabeth Fritzges. From his early youth he assisted his father in improving and cultivating his homestead, and after his marriage he followed railroad work for eighteen years. At the close of that period he purchased his father's farm, and his life's work has since been farming and dairying.
In 1814 Mr. Fritzges was married to Miss Caroline Guerla, from Mill Creek township in Erie county, and they have become the parents of the following children: Frank, Henry, Emma, John, Charles, So- phia, Nora, Carry and Minnie, but the two last named are deceased. Mr. Fritzges is independent in politics.
DR. SAMUEL FARNUM CHAPIN Was one of the favored mortals whom nature launches into the world with the heritage of a sturdy ancestry, a splendid physique, a masterful mind, and energy enough for many men. Added to this were exceptional intelectual and professional attainments, and he stood as a type of the true gentleman, dignified, yet possessed of an affability that won him friends among all classes and conditions of men. He gave the best of an essentially strong, noble and loyal nature to the service of his fellow men, and his life course was guided and governed by the loftiest principles of integrity and honor. In the profes- sion which he dignified by his life and services he proved himself humanity's friend ; midst the clamors and perils of warfare he rendered to his country the service of a loyal son of the republic and gained marked distinction ; as an editor and legislator he wielded an influence which sprang from his very character worthy and inviolable; and as a man among men he stood exponent of all that is best and most ennobling in life. Such was the man, and it was his to leave an indelible impress upon the annals of Erie county, where he long maintained his home and where his name is held in reverent memory. Dr. Chapin died at his home in the city of Erie on the 12th of June, 1908.
Samuel Farnum Chapin was born at Butternuts, Otsego county. New York, on the 13th of November, 1834, and was a son of Joseph and Fannie (Farnum) Chapin, both natives of New England, where the respective families were founded in the colonial epoch and where both have had distinguished representatives, as have they also in divers other sections of the Union. Joseph Chapin was born at Springfield, Massa- chusetts, and his wife at Smith Farms, Connecticut. In 1835 they took up their residence in Erie county, Pennsylvania, and the father secured a tract of government land near the present village of Wattsburg, where he developed a valuable farm and where both he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives. He died in 1835 at the age of fifty-six years and his wife was eighty-four years of age at the time of her demise, in 1818. Others of their children than the subject of this memoir have gained distinction, as the following brief statements well indicate. Rev. Lucius D. Chapin, who was graduated in Amherst College. as a member of the class of 1851, attained a high reputation as a clergyman of the Presbyterian church, and at one time filled a chair in the University of Michigan. Dr. Lebbeus Chapin was graduated in the literary depart- ment of Yale University in 1852, and in 1864 was graduated in the medical department of the same institution. For twelve years he was a Vol. II-34
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