A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania : a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 78

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 78

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James Payne, father-in-law of Mr. Hayes, was born in 1838, a son of Washington Payne, who died in Crawford county, in 1894, aged cighty-five years, while his wife, whose maiden name was Catherine Freeman, survived him three years, passing away in 1897, at the age of eighty-five years. James Payne moved from Crawford county to Franklin township, where he bought land, and improved a good farm, on which he is still successfully engaged in tilling the soil. He married Sarah Long, who was born in Crawford county, in 1842, a daughter of Nathan and Eva (Evans) Long, and they became the parents of these children, eight of whom are living, namely : Jane, wife of C. Hutchinson, of Crawford county ; Burton, a farmer, living at Girard; Van Buren, engaged in farming in Franklin town- ship: Gus. a farmer in Spring township; Dolly, wife of D. Long, of McKean township; Stella, wife of E. Bogart, of Cranesville ; Myrtle, wife of C. Goodnow, of Girard; and Frank, a resident of Cranesville. Mary has passed to the higher life and Charles died when six months old.

AMY M. COLLINS. Both by birth and marriage Mrs. Collins is connected with some of the prominent old families of Erie county, and she was born in Franklin township January 19, 1847, to the mar- riage union of John C. and Rosetta (Perkins) Jenkins, the father born in 181%, and the mother in 1827 in Cattaraugus county, New York. Coming to Erie county, Pennsylvania, in 1843, they located on its heav- ily timbered land, erecting a little log cabin home, and here they lived and farmed during many years. Mrs. Jenkins is yet living. but her husband died in 1893. He was a son of Ransom Jenkins, who died in 1865 in Pennsylvania and was born in Vermont : the wife of Ransom Jenkins, in her maidenhood Deborah Cass, died January 17. 1865. In the family of John C. and Rosetta Jenkins were the following children: Porter, who is a farmer in Missouri and a veteran of the Civil war; Mrs. Collins; Hunnewell, a Franklin township agricul- turist ; John M., who has retired from a business life in Franklin town- ship : Charles E., living in Fairview township; Adelle, the wife of G. W. Crandell. a government officer in Washington; Martha Jane, the wife of H. H. Stafford. of Sterrettania : Meredith, a baker in Erie : Agnes, the wife of E. Le Suer, of Oil City, this state; and Flora, the wife of J. W. Lewis. of Erie county.

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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY

After the completion of her school days Amy M. Jenkins was united in marriage to Alonzo J. McCombs, who was born in the state of New York in 1844, and died from the effects of smallpox contracted in the Civil war, in which he served with Battery H, Pennsylvania Light Artillery. Company A, and he died in March of 1865. The one son of this union is Alonzo J. McCombs, who mar- ried Nellie Bishop, and they have a son, James A. In 1871 Mrs. McCombs gave her hand in marriage to Harrison Collins, who was born April 19, 1837, and died on the 9th of April. 1905. He, too, was a Civil war soldier, serving with Company H, Ninety-eighth Penn- sylvania Volunteer Infantry. He was a son of William and Sallie ( Brown) Collins, prominent old pioneer residents of Erie county. To this second union was born Clarence E. Collins, a well known agriculturist in Elk Creek township. He married Victoria Eaton, a daughter of Scott and Mary Eaton, also Erie county pioneers, and their two children are Gladys P. and C. Everett. Hetta Collins, the daughter born to Harrison and Amy Collins, is at home with her mother, and during the past ten years she has taught in the public schools of Erie county. Mrs. Collins during her many years' resi- dence in Erie county has witnessed much of its wonderful trans- formation and participated in both the hardships and pleasures of pioneer life. Her name is honored and revered in her community, for her life has been well spent and her personal characteristics have gained for her many friends and associates.

FREDERICK CHRISTIAN WIMERSBERGER. Holding a position of prominence and influence among the more enterprising and progres- sive agriculturists of Elk Creek township, Erie county, are Frederick C. Wimersberger and his brother, Frank Wimersberger, who are carrying on general farming in partnership, and in their undertakings are meeting with marked success. They are sons of the late George Wimersberger, and come from honored German ancestry.

Carl Gottfried Wimersberger, grandfather of Messrs. Wimers- berger, served as a soldier under Napoleon. accompanying him on his famous march to Moscow, and for his faithful services in Novem- ber, 1813, was awarded a medal of honor. This medal was issued January 1, 1840, at Stuttgart, Germany, and was signed by Von Hugie, minister of war, of the Kingdom of Wurtemberg.

George Wimersberger was born in Germany, August 26, 1825, and emigrated from Wurtemberg to the United States in 1848, and settled in Erie county. He took up land in Elk Creek township. and worked in the old tannery at Wellsburg, having learned the trade of a tanner in Germany. He subsequently lived for two years in Con- neaut, Ohio, and from 1865 until 1892 was employed in a tannery in Wellsburg. He died in 1899, an esteemed and respected citizen. His wife. whose maiden name was Frederika Burkhart, was born Novem- ber 14, 1822, in Germany, near the Neckar river and died in Lundy's Lane May 13. 1891. They became the parents of five children, name- ly: Fred Christian ; Caroline, wife of E. Strout, a railroad station agent. living in Poland township. Maine; Mary, living in Lundy's Lane: Charles H., of Wellsburg, is employed by Bessemer Railroad freight department ; and Frank, in partnership with his oldest brother. as above mentioned.

POLLO LIBRARY

ASTUR LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATION

Nicola Gigliotti, c.M. M., 22.5,

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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY

Frederick C. Wimersberger, born in Girard, Pennsylvania, May 7, 1858, was educated at the Edinboro Academy, attending two terms and the township schools, after which he worked in the Wellsburg Tannery for eighteen or twenty years. In 1892, forming a partnership with his brother, he embarked in agricultural pursuits in Elk Creek township, beginning upon a modest scale, with a few acres of land. By the purchase at different times of more land the farm now contains two hundred acres of highly productive land, and with its fine improvements and equipments ranks among the most attractive and valuable estates in the township. In his political affiliations he is a stanch Republican, and has filled many township offices, having been treasurer and clerk, and a member of the school board, of which he was president one term. Fraternally he belongs to the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons: to the Order of the East- ern Star; and to the Patrons of Husbandry, of which he is secretary. On November 14, 1894, Fred C. Wimersberger married Eliza Foster. who was born in Girard, January 14, 1864. Her father, Ly- man Foster, born in New York state, in 1832, died in 1904, aged seventy-two years. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Blair, was born in 1835, in Pennsylvania, and died in 1891. They reared three children, namely: Eliza, wife of Mr. Wimersberger; Charles, living on the homestead in Girard; and John C., deceased. This homestead, it is said, was formerly owned by Denman Thompson, the noted actor, who immortalized some of his neighbors in the char- acters of his famous play, "The Old Homestead."

Frank Wimersberger was born October 2, 1859, in Girard, and like his brother, was educated partially in the Edinboro Academy, attend- ing there one term. He subsequently taught school one term, and then learned the trade of a broom maker in the Wellsburg Broom Factory, in which he worked until 1883. Subsequently forming a partnership with his brother, he has since been prosperously engaged in agricultural labors, their farm being one of the best improved in the vicinity. Frank Wimersberger married March 8, 1893. Miss Kitt Palmer, who was born July 21, 1860, a daughter of Garner Palmer, of Albion. Politically Mr. Wimersberger has been identified with the Democratic party since casting his first vote, and for the past twelve years has served as justice of the peace. Fraternally he is a member of Albion Lodge, No. 304, A. F. & A. M .; of Albion Chapter, No. 22, O. E. S .; of the Patrons of Husbandry ; Elk Creek Grange, No. 997. Religiously both of the brothers are members of the Lutheran church.

NICOLA GIGLIOTTI, A. M., M. D., LL. D. Citizens of the United States inspired with true American liberalism have always warmly wel- comed from the old world representatives of the nobility whose titles were not only originally bestowed because of some gallant service in the cause of democratic progress, but whose members of the successive gen- erations have not failed to remember the nature of the ancestral great- ness and maintain it by brave and noble deeds for humanity. Thus tested, the Gigliotti family, represented in Erie by the able and great hearted Dr. Nicola, has become a noble source of inspiration for American democracy and republicanism, since, for nearly two hundred and eighty years it has never failed to contribute its best strength (and often its life

HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY

blood) to the progress of the people and the alleviation of their suffer- ings. For many generations, the seat of its noble works was Italy. Dr. Gigliotti's lineal ancestor. Angelo, was secretary of the famous Council of Ten which administered the affairs of the republic of Venice for many years, and in 1627, while holding that position, as well as during subsequent years, gave his entire fortune to his country to uphold its fierce wars with the Turks. Angelo Gigliotti was rewarded for his dis- tinguished patriotism by being placed in the highest grade of nobility, and from his time to the present the family has been of ducal rank, the doctor himself being a "duke" in his own right. Until the downfall of the Venetian republic before the ambition of Napoleon in the last years of the eighteenth century, the Gigliotti family bore a gallant part ; and in the stirring times of the great patriot, Garibaldi, Nicola's father bore a conspicuous part as a champion of the Italian people against the op- pressions of the Bourbon king. A distinguished physician, Dr. Felix Gigliotti rendered brave services, both in action and fortune, until his leader's exile in 1834, and in 1848 when Garibaldi had returned from the South American republics he organized and equipped at his own ex- pense a body of insurgents to fight Bourbonism. In 1863 he participated in Poland's fight for freedom against Russia, and during his lifetime re- ceived many marks of popular gratitude and numerous decorations, as an evidence of the value of his patriotic services.

Nicola Gigliotti, the son, was born in Naples on the 22nd of No- vember. 1867, and, through his completed courses at the Universities of his native city and of Turin, he holds the degrees of A. M., M. D. and LL. D. He was a professor at Naples, Turin and Padua, and also prac- ticed medicine, but never for pay. As was characteristic of his family. he was active in politics, and became prominent in the local governments of Naples and in the Italian parliament. In the municipal government he served as a member of the city council and as superintendent of public education, and was also commissioner of his county. He entered the parliamentary contest from the first district of Naples in order to defeat Signor Billi, who for years had held a seat in that body as a champion of the Camorra and (using the American phrase) of "machine politics." The result was quite unexpected, but none the less welcome, for his opponent was defeated and Dr. Gigliotti became the leader of the Republican Federalists of Italy. In the great movement for a republic, commencing in 1894, Dr. Gigliotti sacrificed his entire fortune, and in 1895, then only twenty-eight years of age, emigrated to the United States. First locating in New York City, he became editor of the Progresso, the leading morning Italian newspaper in the United States, and later became the first editor of the Italian Herald, which, under the stimulus of his brilliant pen, was pushed into the front ranks of the journals of its class in the country. The doctor personally obtained so high a standing that at the convention of the Western Editorial Federa- tion-an organization of the press clubs covering the territory from Chi- cago to San Francisco-held at Omaha, Nebraska, in 1898 he was chosen president of the association named.

In 1902 Dr. Gigliotti located in Erie and entered actively into the practice of his profession, his success having been decided and his former character for disinterested work as a physician and a man being main- tained by his voluntary participation in movements of relief for widely extended suffering. He was one of the first to respond to the call of distress when Galveston was crushed under a tidal wave, freely donating

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his services to the stricken city ; when cholera so terribly scourged Ham- burg, Germany, he was among the first to arrive on the scene of suffering, and the tremors of the awful Italian earthquake of 1908 had scarcely ceased their vibration before he was on his way to his afflicted country- men. He is said to have been the first of his profession to leave the United States on this errand of mercy and for six weeks he labored in- cessantly in the ruined and desolated district. It was but characteristic of the man, who, as one of the bitterest foes of the Mafias and the Black Hands, carries his life in his own hands-this instinctive rushing to the relief of the suffering poor-and it is very likely that in his indiscriminate ministrations he was the means of bringing relief to more than one who would not scruple to plunge the stiletto into his warm heart. Dr. Gig- liotti is married to Delphina de San Martino, a native of Piedmont, Italy, and a countess by birth. The children of their union are William, Louise and Franklin.

CLAYTON B. HEIDLER, the owner of a beautiful estate in Fairview township and one of the county's most prominent farmers, was born in the old ancestral home here September 1, 1849, a son of Levi and a grandson of Curtis Heidler.

Levi Heidler was born in the year of 1825, and remaining at home until his marriage he then bought the farm on which he spent the remainder of his life. In politics he was a Republican. He married in 1847 Miss Fanny M. Bear, whose birth occurred in Fairview town- ship, a daughter of Daniel and Leah (Stotler) Bear. Daniel Bear was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1792, and died in 1862, at the age of three score years and ten. He came to Erie county before his marriage and was one of the first millers of Fairview township, own- ing and operating two grist mills in addition to.carrying on the work of his farm. He was very prominent in the early history of this com- munity, was a faithful and efficient member of the Methodist Episcopal church and he now lies buried in Fairview cemetery. In his family were the following children: Fanny, who became the wife of Levi Heidler ; Eliza, the wife of Joel Heidler of Fairview township; Reu- ben, whose home is also in Erie ; Mary, who became the wife of Syl- vester Nason, but is now deceased; Levi, also deceased, and his widow resides in Erie; Harriet, who married Samuel Weidler, of Fairview township; Joseph ; and Martin, also of Fairview township. Four children were born to Levi and Fanny Heidler, but the first born, Albert D., is deceased. Clayton B., the second, is mentioned below. Harriet A. married Jacob Hinkle, but she died after becom- ing the mother of two children, Wilbur, who married Ella Cool and has children Elmer, Bernice and Ralph, and Burns, deceased. Wal- lace Monroe, who lives on the old Heidler homestead, married Emma Mankel. and has three children: Harry Albert, at home with his parents ; Irene Louisa, who married Fred Brown, of Mill Creek town- ship, and they have two children, Walter and infant; and Lola A .. who married Ralph Oliver and resides in Mckean township. Mrs. Levi Heidler passed the remaining years of her life in the home which has been hers for many years, dying there March 23, 1909, and is interred in Fairview.

Clayton B. Heidler laid the foundation for his future life work in the common schools of Fairview township, and he has been a

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farmer throughout his entire business career. Immediately follow- ing his marriage he bought the old Abram Miller farm in Fairview township, and this he has since greatly improved by cultivation and the erection of substantial and modern buildings until he is now the owner of one of the most beautiful and valuable estates in Erie county. He married a native daughter of this. township, Mary B. Wagner. Her father, George Wagner, was born in Germany and came to America at the age of thirty-five, and locating first in Mckean township of Erie county, he married there Barbara Hosteller. He then located in the northwestern part of Fairview township, where he spent the remainder of his life. Two children, Mary B. and George W., blessed their marriage union, and the son is a resident of Summit township in Erie county. Mr. and Mrs. Wagner lie buried side by side in the Salem church cemetery. Four children have been born to Clayton B. and Mary Heidler, but the first born, Bertha M., is deceased. Hattie, the second daughter, married Harvey Weidler, of the village of Fairview, and they have one child, Jeannette. Ora is at home with her parents, and the last born, Mertie, is deceased. Mr. Heidler gives his political support to the Republican party, and he has held the minor offices of his township.

JULIUS BUSCH, a well-known and highly respected citizen of Fairview, Erie county, Pennsylvania, was born in Saxony, Germany, August 25, 1831, son of Charles and Mary (Fisher) Busch. At the age of nineteen years young Busch emigrated to America, accom- panied by his mother, and his grandmother Fisher, his father having died. They made the voyage to this country in a small sail vessel, being thirty days at sea, and, upon their arrival, directed their course to Erie, Pennsylvania, where they established their home, and where Julius served an apprenticeship to the blacksmith trade. About 1860 he came to the village of Fairview, where he built a shop and went to work at the anvil. This shop has ever since been in the Busch family. In 1865 Mr. Busch was drafted into the Union Army ; entered the service as a private in Company P of the Sixth Corps, and re- mained with his command until the close of his term, when he was honorably discharged. Returning to Fairview, he resumed work at his trade, which he followed continuously until about 1890, when he retired from active duties. He owns a farm near the village, the superintendence of which occupies his time and attention.

Mr. Busch has been twice married and has a family of ten chil- dren. His first wife, Elizabeth Zumstine, whom he married at Fair- view, died in 1867, and is buried beside his mother in the Fairview cemetery. The children of this union are as follows: Lena, who is the wife of Morgan Anderson, of North Girard, Pennsylvania, has one child, Harvey N. J. ; Elizabeth, with her parents; Mary, wife of Edward Shoemaker, of Fairview, has one child, Olivia ; Charles, his father's successor in the shop, married Mary Kromer, by whom he has two children. Ralph and Lois. Mr. Busch's present wife was Miss Augusta Albright. She was born in Saxony, Germany, and came with her parents to this country in 1851, their voyage being a long and tedious one and covering a period of nine weeks. They settled first in Eric, afterward lived in Swantown, and on the Lake Road, and finally moved to the farm south of the village of Fairview, where

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the parents passed the rest of their lives and died. By his second wife Mr. Busch has six children, namely : Julius, a barber at North Girard, married Miss Mary Schutz, and they have two children, Lynn and Lawrence ; Otto, at home ; Ida, who married William Smithlan of Townsville, has one child, Helen; Munroe, a barber at Fairview, married Olie Holand, and they have two children, Vera and Geraldine ; Anna, who married Perry Turner of Townsville ; Carrie, at home.

Mr. Busch is a member of Lewis Post, G. A. R., at Fairview. He cast his first presidential vote for Lincoln, and has ever since given his allegiance to the Republican party. Religiously, he has long been identified with the Evangelical church and Sunday school, hav- ing been a teacher in the latter for about forty years.

EDGAR A. RAYMOND. Standing prominent among the intelligent and progressive agriculturists of Erie county is Edgar A. Raymond, of Elk Creek township, who by sturdy industry, and wise manage- ment, is continually adding to the value and improvement of his large estate, which is one of the most attractive in the vicinity, giving ample evidence to the passer-by of his skill as a practical farmer and rural householder. A son of Alfred Raymond, he was born July 16, 1870, in Erie county, of substantial New England ancestry.

His grandfather, Nehemiah Raymond, was born in 1797, near Boston, Massachusetts, and was there bred and educated. At the age of seventeen years he migrated to Pennsylvania, settling in Erie county, and was first employed in a grist mill, afterwards working on the old Sawdey farm. He subsequently bought forty acres of land, began its improvement, and lived on it three years. Going then with a brother to Ohio, he bought a tract of wild land containing forty acres, lying near the present site of Oberlin, and there resumed his agricultural labors. Subsequently returning to Pennsylvania, he lived on the old home farm until his death, September 16, 1860. He married Lucina Harmon, who was born in 1807, and died in 1886. Seven daughters and two sons were born to them, and of these the following named are living: Ellen, wife of F. West, a farmer in Elk Creek township; Ruth, wife of Jesse Sherman, of East Spring- field ; Louisa, wife of D. Mills, of Tacoma, Washington; and Alfred.

A native of Ohio, Alfred Raymond was born April 14, 1830, in Conneaut township. Leaving school at the age of seventeen years. he subsequently engaged in farming for thirteen years, obtaining an excellent knowledge of the many branches of that industry. In October, 1862, he enlisted in Company G, One Hundred and Sixty- ninth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and after serving for nine months under Gen. Keyes was honorably discharged, being mustered out July 27, 1863. Locating then in Pont, he was there employed in the lumber business for five years, after which he settled in Wells- burg, now called Lundy's Lane, where he lives retired from active pursuits. A stanch Republican in politics, he has held many offices of trust and responsibility, and is a member of Albion Post, No. 240, G. A. R. He married, in 1869, Julia Sherman, who was born April 26, 1840, a daughter of Harley and Achsa (Wilson) Sherman, and into their household six children have been born, as follows: Edgar A., of this sketch; Edna, teaching school in Athens, Pennsylvania; Hawley, living with his parents ; Fred, a salesman in Cleveland, Ohio;

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Henry B., living with his parents, is a stone cutter ; and Myrtle, wife of John Kochs, of Warren, Ohio.

Ambitious to acquire a good education, Edgar A. Raymond at- tended school until twenty years of age, after which he was in the employ of the Bessemer Railway Company for ten years. Having by prudence and economy accumulated quite a sum of money while thus engaged, Mr. Raymond wisely invested in land, buying two hun- dred acres that are now included in his present farm, in Elk Creek township. Ilere he is carrying on general farming, including dairy- ing and stock raising and dealing, with satisfactory results, and has added to the size of his original farm by the purchase of fifty more acres of productive land, his property now being one of the most desirable in the neighborhood.

Mr. Raymond married in 1900. Edna Evans, who was born in Girard, July 24, 1828, being the only child of the late Prof. Milton and Celesta (Randall) Evans. Her father, at one time professor of German in the Girard Academy, was born in 1856, and died on his farm, in Michigan and was interred in Girard, Pennsylvania. Her grandfather, Joshua Evans, was for many years widely known as proprietor of a hotel in Girard. Mrs. Raymond is well educated, hav- ing for four years studied at a noted seminary near Hudson. New York, from which she was graduated with the class of 1896. She subsequently taught school in Elk Creek township for three years prior to her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Raymond are the parents of four children, namely: E. Ronald, born in 1901; Arthur C., born in 1902 ; Ardys Lucile, born in 1903 ; and Alfred Wilton. born in 1907. Politically Mr. Raymond is a stanch Republican, but has never aspired to public office.

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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 78

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