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 75
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
tutor in his alma mater, and during the Civil war he served in the Union army as a surgeon.
Dr. Samuel F. Chapin, to whom this sketch is dedicated, duly availed himself of the advantages of the common schools of Erie county. after which he continued his studies in Erie Academy. He next entered historie old Phillips Acdemy, at Andover, Massachusetts, where he was prepared for college. In due time he was matriculated in the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated in 1858, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He forthwith entered the medical depart- ment of Yale University from which he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1860. Thereafter he was engaged in teaching for one year, and in 1861 he was among the first of the loyal sons of the Union to tender his services in its defense. Soon after the outbreak of the Civil war he was appointed assistant surgeon of the First Pennsylvania Re- serves, and in May, 1862, he was commissioned major surgeon of the one Hundred and Thirty-ninth Pennsylvania Regiment. In the spring of the following year he was appointed chief surgical operator for the Third Brigade, Third Division, Sixth Army Corps, and in the summer of 1864 he was commissioned surgeon in chief of the Second Division of the same corps. In this exacting office he continued to serve until the close of the war. His service covered a period of four years, during which time he was in action in all of the battles fought by the Army of the Potomac from June 26, 1862, at Mechanicsville, to the surrender of Lee's army. in April, 1865.
After the close of his long and gallant military career Dr. Chapin located in the city of Chicago, where he was engaged in the practice of his profession for a short time, after which he returned to his home in Wattsburg, Pennsylvania, where he was destined to attain prominence in the work of his noble profession as well as in connection with civic and public affairs. With the passing of years he was called upon to serve in various local offices including those of burgess, justice of the peace, and school director. and the community ever showed its appreciation of his ability and his sterling character. He was the founder of the Wattsburg Sentinel, a weekly paper, supporting the cause of the Republican party, of which he was a stalwart and uncompromising adherent, and of this paper, which is still in existence, he was publisher and editor for a period of fourteen years.
In 1844 Dr. Chapin was elected a representative of Erie county in the state legislature, where he made an excellent record, which resulted in his election as his own successor, in 1876. During the administration of President Harrison he was appointed a member of the board of United States pension examiners for Erie county, and of this position he con- tinued incumbent until his death. During the last few years of his ser- vice he was secretary of the board. In 1889 he was appointed surgeon in chief of the Pennsylvania Soldiers' & Sailors' Home, at Erie, where he then took up his residence. He held this position continuously until failing health compelled his resignation a few years prior to his death. The doctor was deeply interested in the Grand Army of the Republic and in all that concerned his old comrades in arms. He was prominent in the affairs of the order and in 1888 served as medical director of the Department of Pennsylvania, Grand Army of the Republic. He was also a valued and appreciative member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, in which he was identified with the commandery of Pennsylvania. Dr. Chapin ever kept in touch with the
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advances made in both departments of his profession, and was widely known as a skilled surgeon. He was a member of the American Medical Association, the Pennsylvania State Medical Society, and the Erie County Medical Society, of which last he served two terms as president. The work of the Erie County Historical Society enlisted his earnest and en- thusiastic co-operation, and he served as a director of the same for a number of years. He was also a member of the Lincoln Club, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in church matters was a member of the Presbyterian church.
On the 3d of September, 1870, Dr. Chapin was united in marriage to Miss Emily Hill, daughter of Rev. Bryan S. Hill, a clergyman of the Methodist church, and she survives him and maintains her home in Erie. Of the children of this union the following brief data are given. Albert (). who was born at Wattsburg, this county, September 28, 1826, was graduated in Allegheny College as a member of the class of 1899, and received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He thereafter read law under effective preceptorship and in 1902 he was admitted to the bar of his native state. Since that time he has been associated in practice with the firm of Gunnison. Rilling & Fish of Erie, his former pre- cc tors. He is one of the representative younger members of the bar of hi. native county and has the esteem of his professional confreres. He has attained to the fourteenth degree in Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite Masonry, after having completed the circle of the York Rite bodies, in which latter connection he is affiliated with Mount Olivet Commandery Knights Templar. He is also a member of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and is identified with the Country Club. the Shriners' Club, and the Erie Board of Trade. Lynn F., the second son, died at the age of five years. Eva M. remains with her moth- er at the attractive home in Erie. Leah is the wife of Mark C. Water- man, of Erie.
Dr. Chapin's life counted for much, and from it are to be gained lessons of perpetual incentive. His career was one of absolute fidelity in all its relations, and his name will be held in lasting honor in his native county and state.
PETER A. WAGNER was born on the farm where he now lives in Greene township in 1861, and he is a representative of one of the hon- ored early families of this community. His parents, Peter and Eliza- beth Wagner, were born in Germany, and coming to the United States they took up their abode upon what later became known as the old Wagner homestead in Greene township in 1848. This was at a time when Erie county was a border community and a wilderness, and from that formative period to the present the name of Wagner has stood exponent for sterling personal characteristics and the rights and privil- eges of citizenship. Purchasing a little farm of sixty-nine acres this pioneer couple cleared and improved their land, made a good home and reared their children, ten in number, -- George, John, Peter A., Francis J., Anthony, Valentine, Anna, Elizabeth, Tillie and Katherine. Francis J. Wagner is now a priest'in Brookville, Jefferson county, Pennsyl- vania, and two of the children, Anna and Tillie, are deceased.
After completing his education in the public schools of Greene township Peter A. Wagner entered upon his career as a farmer, and with the exception of a few years spent in the employ of the Belle- ville Mills he has ever since been a tiller of the soil. For some time his home was in North East township, and there he yet owns and manages
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a fifteen acre vineyard and fruit farm. In 1898 he returned to the old Wagner homestead in Greene township, and here he has since followed general farming and dairying.
He married on the 18th of January, 1883, Miss Helen Allgeier. Benjamin Allgeier, her father, came to the United States from Germany in 1849, and locating in the city of Erie he worked in the chair factory there. He was married there to Catherine Spatch, also from the father- land of Germany, and later the young couple came to Greene township and purchased a little farm of thirty acres. Mr. Allgeier erected a small chair factory on his land, and he supplemented its labors with the work of his fields. His children are: Albert, Mary, Helen, Tresia and Jo- seph J. To Mr. and Mrs. Wagner have been born the following chil- dren : Benjamin J., Francis J., Patronella, John A., George S., Mar- shall and Irene Mary, but Marshall died in infancy. The family are members of St. Boniface Catholic church. Mr. Wagner is a Democrat and also a member of West Greene Grange.
HARRY MARCUS LEWIS, of Harbor Creek township, was born in Swanville of Erie county, February 26, 1880, a son of Harry Whitlock and Susan (Meyers) Lewis and a grandson of Marcus Lewis. Harry M. and Susan Lewis were born respectively in Erie county and in Fairview township, Pennsylvania, and they were married at the latter place, where they lived for many years on a farm. The mother died when her son Harry was but an infant, and he was reared by his sister, Sarah Emma, who had married T. L. Rynder, a Presbyterian minister at Washington, D. C. When he had attained the age of fourteen he became a special delivery carrier at the Erie postoffice, and after two years there spent a similar period in the commission business in Erie. He was later with Russell and Company as a carpet salesman for five years, and was for four years a fireman on the Lake Shore Railroad.
On the 1st of February, 1906, Mr. Lewis was married to Georgia Chambers, a member of one of the oldest and most prominent fam- ilies of Erie county. The family is descended in this country from four brothers, James, Robert, Joseph and Benjamin, who came from county Antrim, Ireland, and locating first in the Cumberland Valley they came from there to Erie county between the years of 1726 and 1730. About the year of 1764 they laid out the town of Chambersburg, but which was then called Falling Spring, and Colonel Benjamin Chambers was chief proprietor. The names of these four brothers have since been prominent in the Chambers family. Ezekiel and Rebecca Jane ( Stew- art) Chambers, the great-grandparents of Mrs. Lewis, came in 1804 from Chambersburg to Mill Creek township in Erie county and bought land at a dollar an acre from the Population Company. This was in the early days of the county's history when the courts were held at Meadville. Among their children was James Chambers, whose wife was Adeline George, and among their children was Richard O. Cham- bers, the father of Mrs. Lewis. He was born in Harbor Creek town- ship, and his wife, Clara M. Funston, was from Onondaga county, New York, and was an aunt of General Funston of Spanish-American war fame.
After his marriage Mr. Lewis built a pleasant home in Harbor Creek township, on a portion of the old Lewis farm, where he has thirty-two acres devoted to garden purposes and grape culture. He is a Republican in his political affiliations, a Royal Arcanum and an Odd Fellow in Erie and a member of the Church of Christ in that city.
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DANIEL DEVILLO TURNER is one of the prominent agriculturists in Greene township, and nearly his entire business career has been passed within the borders of this township. He was born in AAllegany county, New York, April 19, 1854, a son of Byron and Lucy ( Place) Turner, also from that county. It was as early as 1858 that they came to Erie county, Pennsylvania, and selecting Wayne township as their home they purchased forty or fifty acres of land there, but later selling that farm they bought a home in Wesleyville, this state, and spent the re- mainder of their lives there. In their family were two children, the younger being J. E. Turner.
Daniel D. Turner, the elder, after completing his education in the Wayne township schools came to Greene township and secured em- ployment in a cheese factory here. After seven years in that occupa- tion he. bought his present homestead of one hundred and twenty-five acres, and here he has since followed general farming pursuits and dairying.
Mr. Turner married, March 11, 1824, Miss Lou Hill. Sylvester Hill and Maria, his wife, the parents of Mrs. Turner, were both born in Brookfield, Madison county, New York, but they afterward became residents of Corry, Pennsylvania. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Turner has been blessed by the birth of four children. Grace, the eldest, born April 10, 1875, is the wife of Frank Fritz, of Greene township, and their children are Theo, Velma and Russell. George, born on the 16th of September, 1877, died on the 14th of March, 1903. Blaine, born March 8, 1883, married Miss Altha Davison, of Mill Creek township, and they have one child, Luella. Paul, born August 19, 1889, is at home with his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Turner and their son Paul are members of the Grange at West Greene and Mr. Turner is also a member of the fraternal order of Odd Fellows, Samaritan Lodge of West Greene.
FRANKLIN M. COLE is a member of one of the oldest established families of Erie county, and from an early period in its development they have been identified with its agricultural life. He was born near Mill Village in 1842, a son of Rodney and Hannah (Smith) Cole, born respec- tively in Massachusetts and in Jefferson county, New York. His pater- nal grandfather, Oliver Cole, was born about the year of 1774, and he had a brother who served in the war of 1812, and the family were also rep- resented in the war of the Revolution. This Oliver Cole moved from Massachusetts to the state of New York, and from there about the vear of 1835 he came to Erie county, Pennsylvania, and established his home in Mill Village. There he bought a farm, but after a time sold that place and bought land in Greene township, where he spent the remainder of his life. Rodney Cole, his son, also followed agriculture as a life occ11- pation, and he was serving the county of Erie as a commissioner at the time of the erection of the present court house.
During twenty years of the most active part of his business life Franklin M. Cole was at work in the Pennsylvania oil fields, and at the close of that period he returned to Greene township and bought the farm of fifty acres which he now owns. He has since devoted his time and attention to agricultural pursuits. Mr. Cole married in 1870 Miss Mary Smith, and their children are Archie, Forest and Frances. The first and last born are at home with their parents, but the second Forest, is in Illi-
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nois, where he is serving as the principal of a high school ; he is a gradu- ate of Edinboro Normal School.
WHEELER C. WICKS. Well known among the residents of Corry, is Wheeler C. Wicks, who was here engaged in business for a number of years as an agriculturist. A son of Calvin Wicks, he was born, May 18, 1842, in Liberty, Sullivan county, New York. Ilis grandparents, Asa and Almira ( Bush) Wicks were born, bred and married in Connecticut. Leav- ing their New England home they followed the tide of migration west- ward to Sullivan county. New York, which was then covered with tim- ber. Buying a tract of land in Liberty township, they established a home in the wilderness, and on the farm which they improved spent their remaining years.
Born on the parental homestead, in Sullivan county, Calvin Wicks obtained a thorough knowledge of pioneer farming during his youthful days, and also learned the blacksmith's trade. He subsequently bought a farm near Ferndale, that county, erected a smithy, and was there employed as a farmer and blacksmith the remainder of his life. The maiden name of his wife was Ann Eliza Wheeler. She was born in Sul- livan county, near Stevensville, a daughter of Sylvester Wheeler. Her grandfather, Amos Wheeler, was born near Hartford, Connecticut, of colonial ancestry. Migrating in early manhood to Sullivan county, New York, he was a pioneer settler of Monticello, where he followed his trade of a shoemaker during his active career. He attained the extreme age of ninety-eight years, passing away at the home of his son Sylvester. Born and bred in Monticello, New York, Sylvester Wheeler there served an apprenticeship at the blacksmith's trade. After his marriage, he bought two hundred acres of land near Stevensville, and began the improvement of a homestead. Subsequently putting up a shop, he worked at his trade, his sons in the meantime carrying on the farm, and there resided until his death, when upwards of ninety years of age. He married first Miss Comstock, a native of Connecticut. She spent her last years in Monticello. Sylvester Wheeler married second Drusilla Smith, who died on the home farm at an advanced age. By his first marriage, he was the father of four children, and by his second union of twelve children, a truly patriarchal family. Eliza, who married, Calvin Wicks, was a daughter of his first wife. She is now living with a daugh- ter in Ferndale, New York, being eighty-six years of age. She reared five children, namely : Wheeler C., Drusilla. Jane E .. Edgar, and Katie. Completing his early studies in the schools of Sullivan county, Wheeler C. Wicks enlisted, January 4. 1864, in Company D, Twenty- fifth New York Cavalry. went to Virginia, fought under Sheridan, remaining with his regiment, and taking part in its various marches, cam- paigns and battles, until April, 1865, when, on account of illness, he was sent to the hospital, at Clareville, Maryland. Being honorably discharged from the service June 16, 1865, Mr. Wicks returned to New York, and the same year, went, as a driver, with the Stone. Rosston and Murray Circus, to San Antonio, Texas, which was then a frontier town. The railway at that time extended but a few miles west of Houston, the jour- ney from the railroad terminus being made overland. With the company. he visited all of the larger towns and cities of Texas. Resigning his position the following summer. Mr. Wicks travelled with the Reynolds Circus through Mississippi and Louisiana, remaining with it a year and a half. Going then to Manhattan, Kansas, he resided there a short time.
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after which he located in Abilene, Kansas, where he found employment in herding cattle, and on different occasions driving large herds of stock to Omaha, Grand Island, and Fort McPherson. In 1871, Mr. Wicks took up one hundred and sixty acres of government land in Nebraska. in Webster county, which was practically owned by the government at that time. There were then no railways in that section of the country, and Hastings, thirty miles away, was the nearest place of any importance, while Blue Springs, one hundred and twenty miles distant, was the prin- cipal depot for supplies. Buffalo were still plentiful, roaming in large herds. Building on his land, Mr. Wicks was there engaged in farming. including the raising of cattle, horses and hogs, until 1892, when he sold out. Coming then to Corry, he invested in real estate, and, with the exception of four years spent in Vandergrift, lived here until 1901. Going then to Vallejo, California, he resided there for some time, being employed at the Mare Island Navy Yard. Since his return to Pennsyl- vania, in the fall of 1908, he has resided in Corry.
Mr. Wicks has been twice married. He married first, in May, 1872, Sarah M. Fisher. She was born in Iowa City, lowa, a daughter of King and Sophia Fisher, and died in 1885. He married second on June 18, 1888. Mrs. Henrietta R. ( Moore ) Tanner, a daughter of John Moore, and widow of R. L. Tanner. Mr. and Mrs. Wicks attend the Congregational church, and Mr. Wicks is a member of J. J. Andrew Post. No. 20, G. A. R.
CHIARLES J. RUNNELS has been a life-long resident of Erie county, and has been prominent in the public life and business circles of his com- munity. He was born in Le Boeuf township August 24. 1854, a son of Francis N. and Eunice ( Walker ) Runnels, natives respectively of New Hampshire and of Pennsylvania. Francis Runnels came with his father, Jonathan, and his family to Le Boeuf township, when but seven years old, and he was both a farmer and a miller, also buying and selling stock in his business life.
After a good education obtained in the public schools of Le Boeuf township and in the Edinboro Normal Charles J. Runnels began the work of cheese making, and during the four years which he was engaged in that occupation he also followed general farming, and agriculture has been his occupation to the present time. During six years he served Erie county as an auditor, and he has also held various township offices, his politics being Republican. In association with his son Guy he is now engaged in operating a creamery and a dairy farm. September 25, 1819. Mr. Runnels married Miss Ida Robinson, a daughter of (). D. and Cath- erine (Ellis) Robinson, who came to Elk Creek township in Erie county during an early period in its history. The children of this union are : Guy B., George W. and Hazel. George W. Runnels married Miss Cora Hardenger, and is now conducting a creamery at Edinboro.
Charles J. Runnels is a 32nd degree Mason, belonging to Blue Lodge No. 425 at Waterford; Lodge of Perfection of Presque Isle of Erie : Consistory at Pittsburg; Shriners at Erie; and also the I. O. O. F. Lodge No. 349 at Mill Village. He has passed all the chairs. He is a member of Encampment No. 73 at Erie and in the I. O. O. F. he has been delegate to the Grand Lodge.
EDWIN M. CHERRY. Recognized as one of the most intelligent men and thorough-going agriculturists of Erie county, Edwin MI. Cherry
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owns and occupies as comfortable and well-equipped a farm as can be found in Conneaut township. A son of the late William Cherry, he was born, July 19, 1854, in Sauk county, Wisconsin. His grandfather, William Cherry, M. D., was for many years successfully engaged in the practice of medicine in Illinois.
William Cherry was born and reared in Illinois, moving from there to Wisconsin in early life. Soon after the first call for troops during the Civil war, he enlisted in a Wisconsin regiment, and served in the army . until his death, April 4, 1862, aged thirty-five years. He married Kaziah Moore, a daughter of Thomas Moore, of Connecticut, who served in the War of 1812, and of the children born of their union three are now living, namely : Edwin Cherry, of this sketch; John, a farmer ; and Laura, wife of Austin Culver, a farmer in Erie county. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Kaziah ( Moore) Cherry married for her second husband James Cross, and subsequently lived in Conneaut township, Erie county, on the old Cross homestead, until her death, April 4, 1863. One child was born of her second marriage, a son named William Cross.
Coming with his mother to Erie county after the death of his father. Edwin M. Cherry received a part of his early education in the public schools of Albion, after which he studied for two terms in the Edinboro Normal School. Having a natural liking for the wa- ter, he subsequently found employment on different Lake Erie ves- sels, continuing thus occupied for awhile. Locating then in Conneaut township, Mr. Cherry had charge of the Powers stock farm for two years, after which he bought a farm in Spring township, where he lived and labored twelve years. Selling that property, Mr. Cherry, purchased his present farm of eighty acres in Conneaut township, it being advantageously located at the mouth of Cherry creek, north of Albion. It is well improved, his fertile and well-tilled fields respond- ing readily to his labors; each season yielding bountiful harvests. Since his boyhood days Mr. Cherry has been much interested in scientific stud- ies, and on July 2, 1909, he received a diploma from the American Col- lege of Mechano-Therapy. of Chicago.
Mr. Cherry married, in 1881, Alice M. Knapp, who was born Feb- ruary 16, 1860, a daughter of James A. Knapp, and grand-daughter of Alonzo and Angeline ( Gardner) Knapp. early pioneers of Erie county. James A. Knapp, for many years a farmer in Chautauqua county, New York, died June 23, 1888, aged sixty-two years. To him and his wife. whose maiden name was Mary Jane Prussia, five children were born, as follows: Lois, widow of the late C. M1. Sargeant ; Jennie, unmarried. lives in Toledo, Ohio; S. L., living with his mother on the home farm ; Charles, of Albion, Pennsylvania, is an engineer on the Bessemer Rail- way ; and Alice M., now Mrs. Cherry. Mr. and Mrs. Cherry are the parents of six children, namely : Clare Gordon, born December 14, 1883, is a telephone lineman in Albion ; Claude, born in 1884, is station agent at Edinburg: Truman, born in March, 1882, assists his father on the farm: Grace, born June 12, 1891, is a pupil in the Edinboro Normal School, and also teaches music : Earl, born January 30, 1901 ; and Myron, born February 4, 1899.
Mr. Cherry is both enterprising and progressive, availing himself at all times of the latest improved machinery and appliances for hasten- ing and lightening his work, and has in use on his farm a gasoline power engine for cutting timber and pumping water, and for various other pur- poses. He is a stanch Democrat in politics, and has served as judge of
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