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 90
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Howard Salsbury, the father of Abner P., received a good com- mon school education for his day, and had the usual experiences of the frontier school master when he located in his Pennsylvania home. In February, 1812, he was appointed justice of the peace by Govern- or Snyder, and for his office he built an addition to the log house which he had occupied for twelve years as a residence. He also served in the war of 1812, under Commodore Perry, as did his broth- ers. John and Nathan. Howard Salsbury was taken sick while re- turning to his home in Conneaut township from a visit to Vermont, died soon after his arrival and is buried in Springfield cemetery. His death occurred in 1827. Still a justice of the peace at the time of his decease, the country for miles around had learned that the best friend and the most disinterested advise to be obtained was to be found in the person of Howard Salsbury. As he had also married three hundred couples at his homestead office, several generations of cordial and thankful people had grown up around him. The de- ceased was known also as a progressive farmer, and many of the ap- ple orchards of the township have their origin in his nursery which was located in the southeast corner of the old homestead orchard.
On December 25, 1819. Howard Salsbury was united in marriage with Miss Rebecca Pratt, daughter of Abner and Rachel (Linn) Pratt, of Tinmouth, Vermont. The father was born June 3, 1770, and died at that place December 1, 1852, while the mother died April 8, 1797. Mrs. Howard Salsbury, who was born November 11, 1794, died November 16, 1881, and is buried in the Tinmouth cemetery.
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She was the mother of two sons-John F. and Abner P., of this sketch. The former was born January 10, 1821; came to Conneaut in 1845, and married Miss Mary Ann DeWolf. of Springfield, daugh- ter of Joseph De Wolf. A farmer by occupation, shortly before the Civil war he moved to Bedford, Taylor county, Iowa, engaged in teaching, and with the commencement of hostilities enlisted in the Twenty-ninth infantry from that state, losing his life in the Red River expedition May 6, 1863. His remains are buried on the battle- field at Helena, Arkansas. After the death of Howard Salsbury, the father, about 1827, his widow married Simons Smith, of Tinmouth, Vermont, and her two sons went to live with their step-father on what was called Tinmouth Hill. The two children of this second marriage were Huldah Smith, who married Hannibal Hopkins, and is now a widow living with her children at Tinmouth; and Theophi- lus, who has wandered over many parts of the world, served four years in a Kansas cavalry regiment, and is now in Cuba, minus a leg which he left on a southern battlefield.
Abner Salsbury obtained his earliest schooling from his mother's lips, the first school house which he attended being on Tinmouth IIill, overlooking Otter Creek valley. The school was furnished with substantial seats, consisting of long maple slabs without backs and elevated on legs, so that the small children had perfect freedom to swing their feet. The writing desks were boards placed around the outside of the room, with a slight slope from the wall. In the gov- ernment of the school, the birch and the ruler were not conspicuous for their absence. The youth obtained his education in the common schools of Tinmouth and Poultney, Vermont, and at Troy Confer- ence Academy, of that state. For a number of years he successfully taught in the schools of Poultney and Granville, Vermont, and at Hampton, Washington county, New York. In May, 1847, then twenty-two years of age, Mr. Salsbury located in Conneaut, coming by way of Lake Champlain, the Erie canal and Lake Erie and making the journey in eight days. In June following he returned to Ver- mont, but October 6, 1851. returned to settle permanently on the farm which he now occupies. The main occupation of his life has since been that of farming, although in 1852 he taught school at Cherry Hill and presided over a flourishing establishment of fifty- two pupils. In politics, he was originally a Whig of the sturdy old school, but has been identified with the Republican party since it has had an organization. He has served as town clerk for ten years and justice of the peace for twenty-five consecutive years, in the latter capacity, especially, increasing his own reputation as an able and just man and, at the same time, keeping alive the memory of his hon- ored father. As a property owner, Mr. Salsbury has fifty acres of well improved land in Conneaut township and thirty-two acres of woodland in Springfield, and in the evening of his life cannot but feel that his feet are firmly planted on God's footstool.
On April 17, 1853, Mr. Salsbury married Miss Betsey E. Wood, of Conneaut, daughter of Henry and Sally (Hayward) Wood, of a well known New York family. Henry Wood was widely remem- bered as the mill boy of the early settlers. His wife was a Hayward, her family coming from Danville, Vermont, as early as 1813, and after a six weeks' journey through the New York and Pennsylvania Vol. II-41
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woods settled in Ashtabula county, Ohio, afterwards moving to Conneaut. Mr. and Mrs. Abner P. Salsbury became the parents of two children, as follows: Emma Jane and Eunice Lillian. The elder daughter, who was born October 1, 1854, married L. L. Geer, of East Springfield, Pennsylvania, November 26, 1891, and they have one child, Jared Mckinley Geer, born February 27, 1893. The father is a farmer and a music teacher. The younger daughter of the Sals- bury family was born December 3, 1868, and died January 3, 1875, her burial being at Springfield cemetery.
OSCAR D. SHEPPA. Both prominent and popular among the agri- culturists and business men of Elk Creek township, Erie county, is Oscar D. Sheppa, who has been a life-long resident of that part of the state and is a member of one of its leading pioneer families. He was born in Springfield township, this county, to the marriage of Wil- liam and Rosalia Augusta Louise (Schettler) Sheppa. His father was a native of Heinrichsort, kingdom of Saxony, Germany, and was born February 24, 1823, while the mother's birthday was July 15, 1826, and her birthplace, the city of Wildenfels, also in Saxony. The ma- ternal grandparents were F. and Caroline (Bragman) Schettler. The former, who was born February 22, 1796, died in Wildenfels Sep- tember 23, 1849, aged fifty-three years, while the grandmother who was born February 28, 1801, came to the United States with her daughter and son-in-law (Mr. and Mrs. A. Boehm) in 1867, and died at Meadville, Pennsylvania, September 21, 1876. Grandfather Schet- tler was a man of considerable prominence in Saxony, serving for many years as the chief gardener and florist for the castle and estate of Count von Sohns of Wildenfels. Mrs. Sheppa's grandfather was of the noble Polish family of Bungkofsky and was adjutant to Count von Sohns, while his wife was long the governess of the Von Sohns children.
Emigrating from their native Saxony in 1852, Mr. and Mrs. William Sheppa located first in St. Louis, Missouri, where the hus- band followed his trade as a weaver, and thence they moved succes- sively to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and to Springfield township, Erie county. In time the husband and father located on what is now known as the old Sheppa homestead in Elk Creek township, and gave him- self entirely to its improvement. At the time of purchase only about fifteen acres of the tract had been cleared, but through the persever- ance and industry of the father and two sons it was transformed into an attractive, comfortable and thoroughly-improved homestead. On the 19th of September, 1862, the faithful but patriotic head of the household enlisted in Company B, Eighteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, for three years of service in the Civil war, being honorably mustered out at Cumberland, Maryland, July 10, 1865. During his three years at the front his wife bravely and loyally superintended the work of the home farm and cared for the household and the children. She lived to see her wifely and motherly services gratefully acknowl- edged by mature sons and daughters, dying April 13, 1902. while the honored father passed away seven years thereafter to a day. They were both faithful to the old-time faith of the Lutheran church, and Mr. Sheppa was also identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Albion Lodge No. 376. They were certainly true and
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stanch parents and their prosperous sons and daughters will always recall with gratitude their fortitude in venturing alone into a strange country, virtually without friends and with only a few dollars between them. Forming an item of their wealth were several German pen- nies (date of 1777), which their children fondly treasure. The follow- ing children were born to William and Rosalia Sheppa: Paul, who is engaged in farming in California ; Clara, widow of John W. Sheldon ; Theodore, of Springfield; Laura, now deceased; Oswald, who is a California business man; Clemens Otto, who is living at the old Sheppa homestead in Elk Creek township; and Oscar, of this sketch. The daughter Clara was born February 24, 1858, and by her mar- riage to John W. Sheldon became the mother of John Elton, Sep- tember 1, 1887. Mr. Sheldon was a son of Samuel and Harriet (Ful- ler) Sheldon and was both a carpenter and a saw mill man. His death occurred in 1904, at the age of fifty. He was a member of the Odd Fellows' lodge at Springfield. Clemens Otto Sheppa, born in 1871, farmed with his parents until he was nineteen years of age, when he left for California and for three years was engaged in rail- road service. Returning then to his parents he lived with them until their death, and has since resided with his brother and sister on the home farm.
Since the completion of his schooling, Oscar D. Sheppa has suc- cessfully farmed the family estate of one hundred and fifty acres, in connection with a flourishing dairy. He is an active Granger and a progressive citizen generally. In 1890 Mr. Sheppa married Miss Anna Brock, who was born on the old Brock homestead in Elk Creek township, daughter of Stewart and Nancy (Mitchell) Brock. Her father was also a native of the township and during many years was one of its representative agriculturists, engaging in general farming, dairying and cattle feeding. He remained with his parents until he was twenty-five, assisting to clear the home property which eventu- ally became his own and the homestead of his last years. Stewart Brock passed to his final reward in 1907, aged seventy-two years, but is yet survived by his widow, who is living near Albion. Before mar- riage she was Nancy Mitchell, born in Elk Creek township July 1, 1832, a daughter of Richard and Sophia (Bailey) Mitchell, the latter dying in 1875, when seventy years of age. Richard Mitchell. a New Yorker and a cooper by trade, survived until 1891, dying at the age of eighty-four. Mrs. Brock was but sixteen years of age when her mother died and, being the oldest of the children, she took her place at the head of the household and fulfilled a dutiful and loving part in the care of her younger brothers and sisters. She still has two brothers and a sister living-David, a veteran of the Civil war and a resident of Riverside county, California, who is the treasurer of that county ; Oscar, a retired hotel proprietor of North Springfield, and Sophia, who is the widow of A. Ball and also a resident of that place. The four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Brock were as follows: Anna, now Mrs. Sheppa; Ida, who married A. Whittaker, of Albion ; Willis, who is farming the Brock homestead; and Ola, now Mrs. William McCommons. Mrs. Brock is a devout and worthy member of the Baptist church. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Oscar D. Sheppa-Nellie Lillian (August 27, 1895), who is attending school at Wellsburg.
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CHARLES A. STARK. A man of recognized executive ability, active, energetic, and clear-headed, Charles A. Stark occupies a responsible position as superintendent of the Union City Chair Factory, with which he has been identified for the past twelve years, the first half of the time as foreman, and the latter half having full charge of the plant. A son of John S. and Elsie A. Stark, natives respectively, of Saratoga and Jefferson counties, New York, he was born, in 1869, in Oswego county, New York, and there acquired his elementary education. The other children of his parents are Mrs. L. L. Baldwin, Mrs. F. L. Lighthall and John B. Stark.
Removing with his parents to Cleveland, Ohio, when he was fourteen years of age, Charles A. Stark there completed his school- ing, and subsequently learned the trade of a cabinet-maker, and also the art of hand engraving, becoming an expert worker at each. Coming to Union City in 1893, he has resided here since, a valued and trusted member of the community.
Mr. Stark married, in 1899, Edna E., daughter of J. C. Green, and they have one child, Allen J., born July 10, 1902. Religiously Mr. and Mrs. Stark are consistent members of the Presbyterian church, which he has served officially as a trustee. Mr. Stark is numbered among the sound business men who are contributing so much to- ward maintaining the reputation of Union City as a desirable place of residence both from a social and financial point of view, and his fine residence is a center of attraction for the many friends of him- self and wife who appreciate the home comforts there visible.
WILLIAM M. COONS, of Concord township, Erie county, where he owns and operates a valuable eighty-acre farm, is a good type of the industrious, intelligent agriculturist and citizen who has done so much to make this section of Pennsylvania prosperous and the homes of a contented populace. He was born in Westfield, New York, and is a son of Raymond and Minerva (Matthews) Coons, both natives of the Keystone state and both living and prospering as members of an agricultural community. The children born to them were Hattie, Ida, George, William M., Marshall and Blanche.
The fourth child of the family, William M. Coons was reared and educated in Erie county, whither his parents removed in 1871. He had the advantage of maturing amid the common pursuits of the farm, which, if uneventful, are breeders of health and manhood. His career has been one of steady advancement toward independence, and in 1900 he purchased the eighty acres which he has since im- proved with such good judgment. His farming has been of a mixed character.
Mr. Coons has been twice happily married. In 1889 he was united to Miss Laura Cox, daughter of Elijah and Aminty (Lines), Cox, to whom was born one child, Mabel. In 1893 Mr. Coons mar- ried Mrs. Lillian Phillips, a sister of his former wife, and a widow with two daughters, Bessie and Gertie. He is a man of quiet and domestic tastes, industrious and successful in his chosen avocation, and, without ambition to enter the strife of politics is living in conten- ment and usefulness.
S. REID LYONS, proprietor of the best general store in the rural dis- tricts of Erie county, was born in 1874, in Union City, Pennsylvania.
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He is the son of James J. and Emily E. (Smith) Lyons, both natives of Wayne township, and grandson of Jolin and Nancy (Smith) Lyons. John Lyons was an early settler of Union township, and his wife died April, 1909, at the age of ninety-eight years. Further informa- tion regarding the Lyons family may be found by consulting the sketch of Harvey S. Lyons, to be found in this work. The wife of James J. Lyons died in July, 1903; they were parents of three chil- dren, of whom two are living, S. Reid and James N.
S. Reid Lyons received the best education obtainable in his na- tive town, Union City, and then taught school for three years. He then spent three years as clerk in a store, after which he spent the same length of time on his father's farm in Union township. In 1896 he entered the employ of his uncle, D. S. Lyons, at Beaver Dam, in the store now owned by him, and purchased the stock in February, 1909. He keeps a fine line of general merchandise, received direct from the hands of the manufacturers, and has a constantly increasing patronage. He has a profitable investment in this line, and is also interested in the general products of the surrounding country ; his brother, James N. Lyons, has charge of the latter feature of the busi- ness, and makes semi-weekly shipments to market.
Mr. Lyons takes a general interest in the welfare and progress of the town, and has filled several public offices; he was postmaster from 1896 to 1903, at which date the rural free delivery was inaug- urated, served some time as township register, auditor, clerk and com- missioner's clerk. He also served as member of the State Police force. He is an enthusiastic member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 118, at Wattsburg, and the Encampment at Union City, No. 248.
Mr. Lyons married, in 1897, Georgie Smith, and to them have been born two children, Miriam N. and Flora R., Mrs. Lyons is a member of the Rebekahs at Union City. Mr. Lyons is a stanch Republican and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, at Beaver Dam.
A. J. WHITNEY. One of the finest creamery plants in the county is operated by A. J. Whitney, proprietor of the Beaver Dam Creamery. He was born in 1853, in Chautauqua county, New York, and is the son of Orange and Janette Whitney, both natives of that county ; they were the parents of three children, namely: Myron, Arthur and A. J.
Mr. Whitney was reared and educated in his native county, and took up farming, but for the last twenty years has been engaged in butter-making. Before coming to Corry he owned the Hatch Hollow Creamery, which he operated for five years with good success. He pur- chased the Beaver Dam Creamery in 1906; this was first built for the manufacture of cheese, but for the last nine years has been de- voted to the present industry. Mr. Whitney has a thorough mastery of the art of butter-making, and the creamery is noted for its superior brand of butter. Last year (1908) Mr. Whitney received 1,367,103 pounds of milk, and produced 60,500 pounds of butter, netting the patrons $14,769, besides giving him a fair recompense for his work. The enterprise is of considerable importance to the community, and
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is handled in a business-like and profitable manner by its enterprising proprietor.
Mr. Whitney married (first) Helen Ploss, by whom he had two children, namely: Arletta, now the wife of S. M. Morley and Jesse, a resident of Sharon, Pennsylvania. He married (second) in 1888, Carrie, daughter of James Wood, and they have one son, Ora J. Mr. Whitney is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
WILLIAM G. WALKER, postmaster of West Springfield and one of the leaders of Erie county both in business and public affairs, is of an old and substantial eastern family whose history and standing are well indicated by the stately and beautiful colonial residence which is the most picturesque feature of the Old Ridge. This, the home of Mr. Walker and his family, was built seventy years ago, but after being purchased by its present owner was remodeled both without and within, so that it is in keeping with all modern requirements of comfort and artistic taste and at the same time retains its distinctive charm of colonial architecture. The building has a grand frontage of one hundred and sixty feet and its interior furnishings and ar- rangements carry the visitor back to the times of early American history when the Walker family was making such an honorable rec- ord in Massachusetts and New York.
Well authenticated records trace the family to the great-great- grandfather, Timothy Walker, who was born at Hebron, Massachu- setts, in 1720, and died at Penfield, New York, 1808. This is the lo- cation of the old homestead and the resting place of many members of the family, the Walker cemetery being an historic landmark of the region. Justice Walker, who married Nancy Miller, was of the next generation, being born in 1763 and dying in 1831. The grand- father of William G .. Samuel Walker, was born in 1796 and married Sarah Case. Their son, Chauncey Case, was a native of Washington county, New York, who was born September 16, 1822, and died in March, 1889. With his widowed mother he came to Erie county, where he spent his long and honorable life as a farmer. The elder Mr. Walker was a Republican and a Methodist, but had no desire for prominence of any kind. He married Elizabeth Wheelock, who was born September 4, 1828, and died February 28, 1904, the daughter of Jesse Wheelock who was long a justice of the peace in his old home neighborhood of Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Chauncey C. Walker were: May L., now the wife of F. J. Walker, a manufacturer of Erie; Homer O., living on the old Harbor Creek homestead in Erie county; S. J., who is a farmer at Afton, Iowa, and William G., of this biography.
Mr. Walker was born in Harbor Creek, this county, July 1st 1869, receiving his early education at that place and later attending the Erie Academy. Althoughi reared on a farm, he evinced an incli- nation for business in his boyhood and has followed mercantile lines since he left school. He first resided at San Francisco, California. but at the death of his parents, a year after his going to that place, he took his share of the family estate, which he traded for property in Erie, with the result that he has since been identified with the ad- vancement of the county all along the line. In 1897 he purchased the W. I. Potter's leading general store at West Springfield. That
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it is now one of the largest and most complete establishments of the kind in the western part of the county is mainly due to the enter- prise and ability of its proprietor, whose influence has also expanded far beyond the sphere of his business activities. Outside of this im- portant mercantile establishment, he is president of the Walker Sand Company, whose sources of supply are at West Springfield and at Conneaut and Kingsville, Ohio, and is a stockholder in the West Springfield Telephone Company, besides having other business con- nections both in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Mr. Walker has long been one of the rising Republicans marked for continuous public advancement. Within recent years there have been few conventions of the county in which he has failed to appear as an active and influential delegate and he has also been honored as a representative of his party at state and national gatherings. His standing in the councils of Republicanism was recognized at Wash- ington, by his appointment as postmaster of West Springfield in 1901, and he has continued to give its citizens a business-like and honest administration of local postal affairs. At the last campaign he was one of six contestants for the office of county treasurer and, although his home township and the adjacent territory came strongly to his support, the main strength of Erie city was cast for other candidates- which alone prevented him from securing the honor. As he has served as treasurer of his town for the past ten years and has en- joyed a broad and varied business experience his entire adaptability for the office is beyond dispute and there is every present likelihood that he will be successfully put forward as a candidate for the county treasureship in the near future.
Mr. Walker has a wide connection with the fraternal, business and social organizations of his locality. He is a member of Evergreen Lodge No. 222 of Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge No. 416, at Springfield and of the Modern Woodmen at Erie, Camp No. 5294; also, of the Chamber of Commerce, Business Men's and the old Lincoln clubs of Erie. He is a trustee of the Methodist church and active in its work, as well as a generous supporter of moral and charitable movements which appeal to his sense of justice and practicability. Mr. Walker was married September 18, 1889, at Harbor Creek, to Miss Hattie Elizabeth Hyke, who was born in this county in October, 1869, to Charles C. and Harriet Jane Hyke, both living. Mrs. Walker is also a leader in the local Methodist church, long identified with the Ladies' Aid Society, secretary of the Ladies' Club and otherwise prominent in its sociabilities and char- ities. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Walker. Grant, who was born September 18, 1890, is a student at the University of Michigan and a member of Company L, Ohio National Guard. Dorothy Vernon, the daughter, was born July 24, 1906.
BRISTOL BROTHERS. Miles O. and George A. Bristol compose the firm of Bristol Brothers, which conducts a flourishing general store and agricultural depot at East Springfield. They are sons of Samuel and Sarah (Mills) Bristol, old settlers of Erie county who were mar- ried in 1854. Miles Bristol, the grandfather, was a farmer and a school teacher who migrated from New York state at an early day and married Miss Betsey DeForest. He died in 1842. The father
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