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 87
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PETER KUHL. One of the first families to seek a home within the borders of Greene township was that of the Kuhls, and its founder here was the grandfather of Peter, John Yost Kuhl. Coming from
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his native land of Germany with his parents at the age of twelve years his first home in this country was in York county, Pennsylvania. Later with his wife, Elizabeth Orth, and their children, he came to Mill Creek township in Erie county in about 1823, and in 1835 they es- tablished their home in Greene township. Here John Yost Kuhl pur- chased one hundred and fifty acres of land, and with the aid of his sons he cleared and improved the tract, and there spent the remainder of his life.
Among the children of John Yost and Elizabeth (Orth) Kuhl was Peter Kuhl, Sr., who was born in York county, Pennsylvania. Before the family left their Mill Creek township home he married Susanna Fry, who was born in Lancaster county, this state. Farming was his life's occupation, and he lived and died on the old Kuhl home- stead in Greene township. He and his wife reared the following children : Mrs. Sarah Hairsine, Samuel (deceased), Barbara (de- ceased), Mrs. Elizabeth Mead, Adam, Mrs. Mary Ann Ripley, Fred, Peter, Hiram and Mrs. Susan Breckley.
Peter Kuhl Jr., was born in Greene township, Erie county, on the 25th of October, 1845, and on the 16th of June, 1868, he was married to Miss Harriet Maria Cook, a daughter of Samuel and Lydia (Staf- ford) Cook, natives respectively of New York and Massachusetts, and their home after marriage was in the former commonwealth, Mrs. Cook was a descendant of the Stafford family of Staffordshire, England, and he was twice married, his first wife being Elizabeth Stark. Samuel Cook was well educated in an academy in Fredonia, New York, and in 1847 he came to Crawford county, Pennsylvania. To him and his wife were born the following children: Mrs. Lydia Wagner, Francis Marion, Mrs. Mary Olson, Samuel Frank and Harriet Maria.
Mr. and Mrs. Kuhl spent the first eight years of their married life in Harbor Creek township of Erie county, and from there they moved to the Cook homestead in Greene township, a farm of one hundred and thirty acres which Samuel Cook had secured when it was yet in its virgin state, uncleared and uncultivated. Mr. Kuhl served his township as a school director for three years, being secretary of the board during the entire time, and for a similar period he was a road commissioner. During one year he was a director in the Wattsburg Agricultural Society, and during fifteen years Mrs. Kuhl was the superintendent of its department of domestic art. During her earlier life she taught in the schools of Venango, Greene, Harbor Creek and Greenfield townships and was numbered among their prominent educators.
One daughter was born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Kuhl, Jessie Maria, her natal day being the 6th of March, 1881. She attended the public schools of Greene township, and was the first of its students to graduate from its schools, and she also graduated from the Phillips- ville High School and from the Edinboro State Normal, and during six terms she taught in Greene township. On the 24th of October, 1906. she was married to Blaine H. Gifford, who was born in Greene township and is now a resident of the city of Erie. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal church there, and are also identified with the fraternal order of Odd Fellows and its auxiliary, the Rebekahs.
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The religious home of Mr. and Mrs. Kuhl is the Lutheran church, and they are members of the Grange. He is a Republican.
LEWIS W. URCH, a native son of Venango township, Erie county, has been a life-long farmer, and is the owner of a splendid and well improved estate of fifty acres in Greene township. He married Miss Emma F. May, a daughter of Wallace and Elmira (Lowrey) May, early pioneers of Harbor Creek township, Erie county, and to their union were born two children, Levi T. and Emma Estella. The daughter is the wife of Floyd Wakeman, and their home is in Mich- igan.
Levi T. Urch was born on the 5th of May, 1868, and after a good education in the Phillipsville schools of Venango township he began his business career as an agriculturist. He now owns a splendid farm of fifty acres in Greene township which joins his father's estate, and together they are engaged in general farming pursuits and dairy- ing. On the 29th of November, 1893, Levi T. Urch was united in marriage to Miss Gladys M. May, who was born December 3, 1873, and their children are: Evelyn G., who was born November 26, 1894; Ethel E., born July 23, 1896; and Mildred F., born February 2, 1899. Mrs. Urch, the mother of these children, died on the 3d of March, 1905. Levi T. Urch is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Grange, and both he and his father give their po- litical support to the Republican party.
FRANK B. MORITZ was born in Greene township, Erie county, on the 17th of August. 1857, a son of Michael and Christena (Prindal) Moritz. Michael Moritz came with his parents from his native land of Germany to the United States, and they located first in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and from there came to Greene township in Erie county. Here he was married to Miss Christena Prindal, from his own native land of Germany, who was born in 1829, and who came with her parents to the United States. They were early residents of Greene township. Both the Prindal and Moritz families cleared and improved excellent farms in this township, and Michael Moritz died here in the year of 1902, but he is still survived by his widow, whose home is in Erie.
Frank B. Moritz obtained his education in the district schools of Greene township, and learning the carpenter's trade in his early life lie has followed that occupation since in connection with his gen- eral farming. His estate comprises thirty-two acres of rich and fer- tile land. He married on the 18th of January, 1887, Miss Elizabeth Kiminisky, who was born in Michigan, a daughter of Andrew and Ida Kiminisky, who came to this country from Poland, and from Mich- igan where they had first located they came to Greene township in Erie county, and have since been farming people here. The children of this union are: Gabriel, born November 10, 1887; Michael, born November 3, 1889; Andrew, on March 20, 1892 ; Agnes, June 24, 1896 ; Josephine, March 19, 1899; Rosa, December 5, 1900; and Katherine, December 10, 1904. The family are members of the St. Boniface Catholic church. Mr. Moritz is an Independent in his political senti- ments.
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JOHN LOREI is numbered among the agriculturists of Erie county, and he was born within the borders of Greene township on the 31st of March, 1841, a son of Peter and Mary (Schnell) Lorei, who came from Germany to this country and located in Greene township, Erie county, Pennsylvania, about the year of 1840. Peter Lorei, the father bought one hundred acres of land in the then dense woods on the Lake Pleasant road, and in time he cleared and improved that tract, and the farm continued his home until his death.
John Lorei, the first born of his parents two sons and one daugh- ter, received but meager educational advantages in comparison with those afforded the youth of the present day, but he made the most of his opportunities with advancing years, and from the school of ex- perience and business has become an apt scholar. Farming has been his life's work, and he purchased fifty acres of his present homestead in 1873. In the years which have since followed he has cleared and placed his land under cultivation, and has also added fifty acres more to the boundaries of his farm, and is engaged in dairying and general · farming.
On the 9th of October, 1868, Mr. Lorei was married to Miss Mary Weiher, a daughter of John and Margaret Weiher, who came to this country from Germany, and as early as the year of 1840 estab- lished their home in Greene township of Erie county, Pennsylvania. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Lorei has been blessed by the birth of the following children: George (deceased), John, Elizabeth, Jacob, Anna, Joseph, Fred, Rosa, Frances, Katharine, Josephine and Albert. The family are members of the St. Boniface Catholic church. Mr. Lorei is a Democrat.
JOHN MCNULTY has been identified with the agricultural interests of Greene township during many years, a prominent farmer and dairy- man, and he now has charge of the old McNulty homestead which has been in the family name during two generations. He was born here in Greene township in 1861, a son of Hugh and Alice (Lavery) McNulty, who came to this country from county Down, Ireland. Hugh McNulty came to the United States about 1840 and became a foreman on the old canal at Erie during its construction, while later he bought the farm on which his son now resides. He was joined by his wife in 1846, and they located on the little farm which he had purchased, cleared and improved the land and spent the remainder of their lives there, Mr. McNulty dying in 1865. They reared twelve children, six sons and six daughters.
John McNulty, one of this large family of children, received his educational training in the Lawrence district school in Greene township, and leaving the school room he entered upon his business career as a farmer, and has been successful in his chosen line of en- deavor. During the fall seasons he supplements his farm labors with the operation of a steam threshing machine. He married in 1883 Miss Emma McGraw, of Titusville, Pennsylvania, and their children are : Alice. Winnifred, Marguerite, Emma, Irene, Dorothy, John, James and Rosa. The daughter Alice married Seth Cook, of Erie, and their children are Cassius and Marjorie. Mr. McNulty and his fam- ily are members of St. Boniface Catholic church. He is a Demecrat and a member of the Maccabees, at Erie.
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CHESTER BEACH RUSSELL. An ex-soldier of the Union army, Chester B. Russell has now resided on his fine farm estate of eighty-six acres at Mckean, known as "Breezy Hill," for the past thirty-five years. It is one of the old and picturesque country places of Erie county, the land. being originally cleared for farming purposes by John Drown, Mrs. Russell's father, immediately after his marriage in the early thirties, and the residence in which the Russell family now live was also erected by Mr. Drown. Mr. Russell is a native of Lebanon, Madison county, New York, born on the 23rd of May, 1846, and is a son of Beach M. and Sarah (Shapley) Russell, both natives of that part of the state. There the father was engaged not only in the hard work of the pioneer farmer, but was one of the pioneer hop- growers of the section and also busied himself at the bench as a shoe- maker. The paternal grandparents were William and Lydia (Rodgers) Russell, who were very early settlers of Madison county, At a still earlier period came the father of Lydia Rodgers, who was engaged in the practice of medicine and was one of the first physicians of the locality. The maternal grandparents, Dunham and Sarah (Belden) Shapley, settled at Lebanon, in its pioneer period, and there cleared a large tract of land, on which they established their farm homestead and passed the years which remained to them.
Chester B. Russell was educated at Lebanon and the Hamilton Union school, and in August, 1862, while yet in his sixteenth year, en- listed in the 147th Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, but was taken sick and discharged before seeing active service in that com- mand. Upon his recovery, he re-enlisted the same year in company D, Sixty-first New York Infantry, and served with that regiment un- til his muster-out at Washington, in July, 1865. . After his honorable discharge he returned to his home in Lebanon, and in 1865 also io- cated in Erie county, working for some time as a farm hand by the month. In 1868 he was married and since that year has followed ag- riculture continuously, with the exception of a short period spent as an employee in a shovel factory at Edinboro. Since 1874 he has re- sided on the farm which is his present homestead, already mentioned.
March 26, 1868, Mr. Russell wedded Miss Julia Drown, daughter of John and Elvira L. (Grant) Drown, her father having been born in Parsonfield, Maine, and her mother, in Mckean township, this county (in 1814). On the maternal side, Mrs. Russell is a fourth cousin of General U. S. Grant. Her paternal grandparents were Solomon and Elizabeth (Hatch) Drown, the former of whom was a native of Maine, who settled first at Rose Valley, Wayne county, New York, and later in Mckean township, Erie county, making both trips by team through a country which was then unbroken forest. In this locality Solomon Drown kept a tavern for some years on the site of the present Bowman House. It should be added as interesting facts of family history that John Drown, the great-grandfather of Mrs. Russell, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war and spent his last years in McKean township, and that John Drown, her father, settled on the farm which is now the Russell homestead immediately after his mar- riage. Her maternal grandparents, Benjamin and Abi (Strong) Grant, migrated from Hartford, Connecticut, in March, 1800, and, with their three children-Benjamin, Collins and Theodosia settled at Mckean. The mode of conveyance was a two-horse sleigh. The road from
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Albany to Buffalo was indicated by marked trees, and the journey from Buffalo to Erie county was made on ice. The first year of his stay in McKcan township was spent by Benjamin Grant in the em- ploy of his brother-in-law. Martin Strong, after which he contracted for two hundred acres of land at one dollar per acre-the bargain with "Bill" Jones being clinched with a horse which he passed over to the owner of the real estate. Mr. Grant afterward came into full pos- session of the property, and a part of the original estate is now owned by Mr. and Mrs. A. M. Butler, the latter being a granddaughter of Benjamin Grant. The house in which they now reside is on the site of the first frame residence which Mr. Grant erected in 1821. The original log house, however, was north of this location, across the creek. To meet the conditions of the primitive life in McKean town- ship, Grandfather Grant necessarily became a farmer, although he was by trade a blacksmith. In the earlier years of his residence there it was necessary to take his grain to Elk Creek, in order to be ground, and its mode of conveyance was a rude drag made of a forked branch. When the streams were reached, the load had to be carried across bodily. Both bear and deer were plentiful in those days, and it is due to the perseverance and bravery of such families as the Grants and the Drowns that, with the Indians, they have not still possession of the country. After he had cleared and partially improved what is now the Russell homestead, John Drown purchased the Benjamin Grant place (now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. A. M. Butler), and there passed the last period of his life.
Mr. and Mrs. Chester B. Russell have become the parents of the following children: Sarah Bird, who married Frank E. Lamson, of Mckean township, and bore him nine children-Roy Oliver, Ivan Donald, Ruth Arabelle, Edna Millicent, Julia Elizabeth, Paul Russell, Elsie Lorene, Richard Bruce and Chester William; John Clyde, who married Clara Drown and is the father of Frank Vernon ; Henry Clare, who is married to Miss Grace Grover of Sandusky county, Ohio ; Roy Drown, who by his marriage to Miss Caroline Mankel is the father of Henry Mankel Russell; Millicent Elvira, deceased; and Chester Lynn Russell.
ANSON J. YAPLE is a member of one of the old established families of Erie county, but he was born in the state of Wisconsin on the 23d of March, 1862, a son of the Anson Henry Yaple who is mentioned in the sketch of C. F. Yaple elsewhere in this work. When the son was but two years of age the parents returned to Greene township, Erie county, Pennsylvania, and he received his educational training in the township's public schools and has since followed dairying and farm- ing. He has also during the past twenty-six years been quite ex- tensively engaged in the machinery business, and he is the owner of the estate of fifty-seven acres on which his father-in-law located at an early day in the township's history.
Mr. Yaple married on the 13th of March, 1888, Miss Mary H. Barry, and they have become the parents of the following children : Alice J., Helen M., Gladys Catharine and Henry Harrison who are now living. Thomas Barry, the father of Mrs. Yaple, was born in Ireland and came to America at the age of fifteen years. He was a son of Edward and Julia Barry, and Edward Barry died in Ireland, but
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his wife Julia remarried and with her husband and family came to America and located in the state of Indiana. There her husband died, and with her son Thomas she afterward came to Greene township, Erie county, Pennsylvania. This was during an early epoch in the community's history, and Thomas Barry bought the farm which is now the home of his daughter, Mrs. Yaple. He married in 1848 Miss Anstrus Drown, who was born in Greene township on the 22d of October, 1825, a daughter of Cyril and Catherine (Zimmerman) Drown, the father from Concord, New Hempshire, and the mother from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Cyril Drown came to Erie county as early as the year of 1818, and establishing his home in Greene township he cleared and improved one hundred and thirty acres of land and lived there until his death. Mrs. Drown had lo- cated in Mill Creek township of Erie county previous to the year of 1818. To Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Barry were born the following chil- dren: Edward, Catherine, Rose, Cyril, Julia, Jennie, Hannah, Fred- erick and Mary. Mr. Yaple and his wife and daughter Alice are mem- bers of the Grange organization, and he is a charter member of Samaritan Lodge, No. 1143, I. O. O. F., also of its Encampment at Erie, and he was a delegate to Grand Lodge. He is also a member of Loyal Order of Moose Erie Lodge No. 66. This is a prosperous or- ganization, and has over one thousand members. In politics Mr. Yaple is a Republican, and he was for three years a tax collector and during a similar period a road commissioner.
MRS. BELLE PHELPS is the owner and proprietor of Hotel Del Mon- ico in Wattsburg, one of the most popular resorts in this part of the county. The house enjoys a large and well selected patronage of the traveling public as well as that of the best families in Wattsburg, for Mrs. Phelps thoroughly understands the secrets of the kitchen, and personally superintends the cuisine as well as all the other depart- ments of her well appointed hotel.
She is a native daughter of Ann Arbor, Michigan, where the earlier years of her life were spent. But at the age of seventeen she was married and moved to Wattsburg, where she has since resided, and where she has by her peculiar and winning personality endeared herself to all who come within the favored circle of her acquaintance. Of the three sons which blessed her marriage union two are living- George N. and Ralph C.
CAPTAIN DAN MITCHELL. Noteworthy among those sturdy and trusted men who are so ably and acceptably filling public offices in Corry is Captain Dan Mitchell, at present rendering appreciated serv- ice as constable. Coming from substantial New England stock, he was born, March 23, 1838, in Jamestown, New York, a son of Harlow Mitchell. His grandfather, Samuel Mitchell, was a native of Vermont, while his great grandfather, John Mitchell, was, it is supposed, born in the north of Ireland, of English and Scotch ancestry. Emigra- ting to Vermont, he bought land in Milton Falls, and in addition to farming owned and operated a grist mill. He lived to the unusual age of one hundred and ten years. Samuel Mitchell was born in Ver- mont, and on the death of his father inherited the parental estate. He continued farming and milling in Milton, there spending his entire life of ninety-six years.
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Born on the ancestral homestead, in Milton, Vermont, Harlow Mitchell assisted his father in the grist mill during his youthful days. After his marriage, he removed to Jamestown, New York, and was there successfully engaged in the lumber business until 1851. Then, on account of ill health he located in Erie county, Pennsylvania. Buy- ing timber land for three dollars an acre, he had it surveyed by the county surveyor, laid out roads across the tract, and at the crossing of these roads erected a house for the family dwelling. This locality is still known as Mitchells Corners. He there continued his operations as a farmer and lumberman until his death, in 1870, at the age of sixty- four years. He married Louisa Hathaway Bidwell, a daughter of Benjamin Bidwell. She was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and died in Erie county, Pennsylvania, on the home farm. in 1882, aged seventy- two years. She reared five children, as follows: Eunice A., James W., Dan, Henry and Charles W.
As soon as large enough to be of any use, Dan Mitchell began working on the home farm, in the meantime attending the district school. Leaving home at the age of sixteen years, he found congenial employment in setting up engines, assisting a master workman in dif- ferent parts of Pennsylvania, an occupation in which he was engaged until after the breaking out of the Civil war. On August 20, 1861, he enlisted in Company C, Eighty-third Pennsylvania Volunteer In- fantry, in which he served two years. On May 27, 1862, at the Battle of Hanover Court House, he was severely injured, but did not go to the hospital, a tent mate caring for him. On June 30, 1862, he was cap- tured by the enemy, confined for a month in Libby Prison, and when paroled went to the Fortress Monroe Hospital, where he remained three months, when he was taken to the hosptal for convalescents, at Alexandria, where he staid a month. He then rejoined his regiment, but his health was in a precarious condition, and the last of March, 1863, he was honorably discharged from the service. Returning home, it was two years before Captain Mitchell was able to do any manual labor, and even then his strength would not allow him to engage in farming pursuits. He was subsequently employed in various kinds of light work until 18:1, when he was appointed as policeman in Erie, a position that he filled four years. In April, 1875, he was appointed county detective, being the first to fill that office in Erie county, and served continuously until 1880. Returning then to the police force, lie was soon afterwards made captain of the Erie police, and held the position until 1885. Resigning in that year, Captain Mitchell formed the Mitchell-Brant Tempered Copper Company, and the following six years operated a foundry in Erie. Removing to Corry in 1894, the Captain organized the Mitchell Tempered Copper Company, which he managed for twelve years. Being elected constable in 1906, he has since served in this capacity with ability and fidelity.
Captain Mitchell married, March 16, 1875, Jennie A. Hamilton, daughter of Alexander and Rachel Hamilton, of Meadville, and of their union three children have been born, namely : Jessie; and Mae and Dean, twins. Fraternally the captain belongs to the Stacy Vin- cent Post, No. 67, G. A. R., and is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.
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JAMES H. MACKRES. A man of superior mechanical ability and skill, possessing a clear head and active brain, James H. Mackres, of Corry has long been identified with the railway service of this part of the state, and is one of the trusted employees of the Pennsylvania Rail- road Company, for the past nine years having been engineer on one of the passenger trains running between Buffalo and Oil City. He was born, July 22, 1857, in Clymer, Chautauqua county, New York, a son of Dr. Henry O. Mackres, for many years a leading physician in Corry. He comes from substantial Scotch stock, being a lineal descendant in the sixth generation of Joshua Mackres, the line being thus traced : Joshua, (1) Samuel, (2) Samuel, (3) Joshua, (4) Henry O., (5) and James H., (6).
Emigrating from Scotland to America when a young man, Joshua (1) Mackres located in Greenland, Rockingham county, New Hampshire, where he spent his remaining years. He married Saralı Weeks, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and their descendants are numerous, being found in nearly all parts of the Union, some of them spelling their name Marckres. Samuel (2) Mackres was born in Greenland, New Hampshire, but spent a large part of his life in Green- field, Hillsboro county, New Hampshire. Samuel (3) Mackres was born, July 22, 1743, in Greenfield, New Hampshire. Patriotic and in- dependent in spirit, he resented taxation, and on the memorable night of December 16, 1773, was one of the band that, disguised as Mohawk Indians, formed the "Boston Tea Party," and hurled the tea-chests into the sea. After his marriage with Rebecca Higgins, it is thought, he removed to Vermont, settling there permanently.
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