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 93
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
he engaged in the business of clearing timber lands and manufactur- ing lumber. The later period of his life was spent in Girard township, Erie county, where he also operated saw mills and engaged in the general lumber business until his death. In the prime of his life Carlos Sherman was an active and influential Republican. His wife (former- ly Miss Lydia Walker) bore him five sons and five daughters, of whom the following, besides Samuel G., are living: Rhoda, now the widow of J. Schoenover, who resides in Illinois ; Lydia N., widow of George Barnes and a resident of Conneaut, Ohio, and Wallace D. Sherman, of Bradford, Pennsylvania.
After leaving school Samuel G. Sherman assisted his father in the operation of several saw mills near Lockport, during the active era of canal navigation. The two conducted one of the first industries of the kind at that place, the son later locating at Albion and being employed in the oar factory which was operated by the firm of Andrews and Wells, the senior partner of which was his father-in-law. Mr. Sher- man subsequently engaged in the lumber business himself and also dealt in timber lands, as well as engaged in farming. Although he has not been active of late years he still owns a fine homestead of one hundred and seventy-five acres, part of which is still thickly timbered. In his fraternal relations, Mr. Sherman is a member of the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows. In March, 1865, he enlisted in Company G, One Hundred and Second Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and served under Generals Wright and Grant until the close of the war. With the exception of these few months, Mr. Sherman has spent the active years of his maturity in Erie county. He is still living on the homestead which he established thirty-two years ago, the farm and associated dairy being conducted by his only son, Ralph N.
Mr. Sherman's wife was known in her maiden days as Desdemona Andrews, and she was born in 1844 as a daughter of Nelson H. and Sarah Jane (Tolman) Andrews, both natives of Massachusetts. Of this union were born one daughter and a son-Jennie, in 1866, who became the wife of J. Ticknor, a farmer of Cranesville, Pennsylvania, and Ralph N., born November 4, 1863, already mentioned as superin- tendent of the home farm and estate. The latter, after assisting his father for a period, moved to Warren, where for ten years he was en- gaged in the manufacture of staves. Still later, he was identified with oil refining at North Clarrington, Pennsylvania, and after eight years in that line returned to the old homestead to assume its management. The wife of Ralph N. Sherman was formerly Miss Mary Walter. She was born January 14, 1872, and is a daughter of Jacob and Lydia (Youngblood) Sherman, natives respectively of France and Germany, who died in 1878 and 1903, the father at the age of seventy-two and the mother, seventy-six. Jacob Walter emigrated to this country when a young man of twenty-five, spending the remaining years of his life in the vicinity of Warren, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Sherman has five brothers and one sister, all residing in Warren-Fred, Henry, Lewis E., Jacob, Samuel and Catherine Sherman, the last named now being the wife of Charles Johnson, a farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Ralph N. Sher- man have become the parents of Jay, born in 1894, and Ruth, born in 1904.
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FRED. SHERMAN POWELL. An able representative of the horti- cultural and floricultural interests of Erie county, Fred. S. Powell is a valued resident of Lundys Lane, where he has a well stocked nursery, containing plants, roots and bulbs of both foreign and domestic cul- ture. He was born, February 12, 1860, on the old Powell homestead, in Wellsburg, Erie county, a son of the late Richard Powell, and grandson of James Powell, an early pioneer of this part of Erie county.
Coming to Erie county in 1835, James Powell bought a tract of wild and wooded land near Wellsburg, and began the arduous task of reclaiming a farm. Hopeful, courageous and persevering, he and his good wife endured the toils and privations of life in a new country without a murmur. He became active in town affairs, and for a num- ber of years served as justice of the peace. He died on the old home- stead October 13, 1856, aged sixty-eight years. His wife, whose maiden name was Clotilda Salisbury, survived him many years, dying September 10, 1868, aged eighty-two years. Eleven children were born of their union, five boys and six girls, one of whom, James Powell, is still living, residing in Kingston, Missouri. One son, Squire M. Powell, M. D., was a skilful physician, and one of the most noted lecturers in the United States. He traveled extensively for sixteen years, and collected many valuable curios, among them being a cane, on the head of which is a gold nugget from San Francisco, California. This cane is now one of the prized treasures of his grandnephew, Fred S. Powell. The Doctor died in 1859, while in the prime of life.
Richard Powell was born March 22, 1827, in Randolph, Cattarau- gus county, New York, and died in Wellsburg, Erie county, Septem- ber 21, 1904. He continued his residence on the old homestead, which he assisted in clearing and improving, caring for his parents in their declining years. He was a skilful agriculturist, and in addition to farming was employed between planting time and harvesting in oper- ating freight boats on the Erie canal. About 1900, he retired from ac- tive labor, and resided in Lundys Lane until his death. He was a citi- zen of prominence and influence, and an active member of the Re- publican party. He was county commissioner of Erie county three years, from 1881 to 1884. He belonged to the Methodist church, and fraternally was a charter member of Wellsburg Lodge, A. O. U. W., and of Lundys Lane Lodge No. 494 K. P.
Richard Powell married, October 14, 1852, Nancy L. Stitt, who was born, May 22, 1831, near Troy, New York, a daughter of Israel Stitt, who came to Erie county, from Pittstown, New York, with his family, in 1834, and from the dense wilderness cleared a good farm. He was born January 19, 1798, in Pittstown, and died on the Stitt homestead, in Pennsylvania, August 22, 1854. He married Sally Sher- man, who was born March 30, 1804, and died January 18, 1901. To Mr. and Mrs. Richard Powell three children were born, of whom Fred. S., of this sketch is the only survivor. George J., born August 28, 1857, died August 25, 1898; Alice died when but one year old.
Obtaining his early education in the district school, Fred S. Pow- ell remained beneath the parental roof-tree until about thirty years old, assisting his father on the farm and in the dairy. Going then to Utah, he was there employed for about eight years in the nursery bus- iness. Returning then to Erie county he was engaged in agricultural pursuits for a year, after which he established his present nursery in
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Lundys Lane, and in its management is meeting with success, each year increasing the size and extent of his operations. While a young man, Mr. Powell was for a little while interested in railway construc- tion, helping to build that part of the Lake Shore & Michigan South- ern Railway between Youngstown, Ohio, and Ashtabula.
On March 10, 1894, Mr. Powell married Nellie E. Stewart, who was born in Elk Creek township, December 25, 1880, a daughter of P. D. and Ocelia (Winchester) Stewart, and grand-daughter of Edward Winchester, a veteran of the Civil war, who died while confined in Libby Prison. Politically Mr. Powell is a Republican, but has never cared for public office. He is a charter member, and past chancellor commander, of Lundys Lane Lodge, No. 497, K. of P., and belongs to the Protected Home Circle. In his nursery work, Mr. Powell makes a specialty of raising prunes, an industry that he feels confident will thrive in this part of the state. He is interested in ancestral history, and has many articles of value that have been in the family for many years ; in addition to owning the cane that belonged to Doctor Powell las a table formerly in the possession of his grandmother that is at least one hundred and twenty-five years old.
JAMES L. PORTER, of Platea, is an old and respected citizen, who, in his earlier life, was engaged in farming and as a railroad lineman in Erie county. Still later, he became a contractor on the Erie canal and on the pioneer railroads of this section of northwestern Pennsylvania, and now in his seventy-sixth year has been living in deserved retire- ment for some time. He is the last survivor of the well known Porter family of pioneers, which originally comprised four sisters and two brothers.
Mr. Porter, of this biography, was born in Erie county, February 20, 1834, and is a son of James Porter, who at an early day settled on a farm in Girard township, where James L. was born and spent much of his life. The latter married Miss Roxy Sawdy, daughter of Sidney Sawdy, his first wife dying in 1870, mother of the following: Arthur, who is deceased; Ada, who married Fred Irish, a Californian, and Hattie, now Mrs. Fay Noyes, of Geneva, Ohio. The six grandchildren are : Lynn, Bessie, Harold, Charles, Newton and Richard.
James L. Porter wedded, as his second wife, Mrs. Harriet (Irish) Sherman, born in New York state, April 11, 1835, daughter of Hiram and Miranda (Munson) Irish. Her father was one of the first settlers of Wellsburg (now Lundys Lane), this county, and was a painter during all his active life. A native of Chittenden county, Vermont, he was born in 1798 and died in 1875 ; while his wife passed away in 1884, aged seventy-eight years. Besides Mrs. Porter, the members of the Irish family were George N., now a resident of Detroit, Michigan ; Harrison, of Ashtabula, Ohio; Mathilda, who lives in Erie; Louisa, now Mrs. E. Esterbrook, of Albion, Michigan, and Ellen, who married Andrew B. Floyd and resides at Seagerstown. The Irish family is of Scotch ancestry and its members were early settlers of Pennsylvania. The grandfather of Mrs. Porter, Steven Irish, who was a well known pioneer of Erie county, died at the age of ninety years. Mrs. Harriet Porter was, at the time of her second marriage, the widow of James P. Sherman, and by her first union had become the mother of C. C. Sherman, now a resident of Girard, Pennsylvania, a merchant of that
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place, who married Miss Ella Heppler; and Belle, who is the wife of Charles Semple, of Youngstown, Ohio, and the mother of three chil- dren.
James L. Porter is a Democrat and he served as justice of the peace for ten years in the borough of Platea, being elected in 1899 and serving until May 1, 1909. He enlisted in Company F, Ninth Regi- ment of Indiana Volunteers at Laporte, Indiana, September 5, 1861, and served two years and four months. He was in the battles of Pitts- burg Landing and Stone River. He was injured while on detached duty in West Virginia, his horse falling on him. He received his hon- orable discharge January 16, 1863.
WILLIAM RAY MESSENGER, a leading farmer of Girard township, is also burgess of Platea and a citizen of enterprise and high standing. Of a hardy and progressive Vermont family, he is a son of Martin M. and Caroline (Scribner) Messenger, his father having been born in the Green Mountain state, March 29, 1832. The latter came to Ashtabula, Ohio, with his parents, the boy being but five years of age. The grand- father of William R., Milo, died in 1874, at the age of seventy-four. In 1876, when a man of middle age, the father settled in Girard town- ship, on the homestead now occupied by the son, and for the five suc- ceeding years was engaged in the saw mill business. In 1881 he re- tired from active pursuits, and died March 5, 1902. He was always a stanch Republican and during the booming days of the Erie canal held the office of mayor of Platea (then Lockport). The marriage of Martin M. Messenger to Caroline Scribner occurred January 1, 1860, the latter having been born in Ashtabula, Ohio, on the. 22nd of No- vember, 1839. Mrs. Messenger was a daughter of Lorenzo S. and Electa (Hicks) Scribner and came to Erie county with her parents, from New York state, when she was but eleven years of age. The family settled on a farm near Platea. There were nine children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Martin M. Messenger, the brothers and sisters of William R. being as follows: H. M., who is deceased ; Carrie Bell, who is married to J. Hutton, a resident of San Francisco; Conrad, who is an engineer of Conneaut, Ohio; Lillie May, also of that place ; Grace, wife of D. Jewell, who lives in Scranton, Pennsylvania ; Eva, now Mrs. C. Becker, of Girard, Pennsylvania; Lizzie, who married C. Wemple, and Pressley H., an engineer, all living at Conneaut.
William R., of this sketch, attended district school until he was sixteen years of age, assisting upon the home farm in Girard town- ship until his father's death, when he took charge and possession of the homestead, upon which he has since engaged in general farming. He has been signally successful in that capacity and has evinced such capability in the management of his private affairs that his associates in the township have called him to the conduct of various public mat- ters. At the age of twenty-one he served as councilman and has been auditor two terms, councilman of Platea three terms and burgess of the place (elected in 1909). In politics, he has ever been a stanch Re- publican. A thorough believer in the benefits of fraternalism, his con- nection with the benevolent and secret orders has been confined to Odd Fellowship and the Nickle Plate Lodge at Girard, Pennsylvania, No. 1125.
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July 23, 1904, Mr. Messenger married Miss Sarah L. Cook, who was born June 4, 1876, daughter of John Wesley and Luana (Stitt) Cook, who were early and substantial settlers of Erie county. Mrs. Messenger completed her education at the age of nineteen and for some time before her marriage served as assistant matron of the Erie county alms house. The other members of the Cook family are Charles, a carpenter of Platea ; Rush, who is a merchant of Keepville, Pennsylvania ; Mary, now Mrs. C. Weeks, of Girard; Carl, who con- ducts a planing mill at Platea, and Homer, who lives at home. Mr. and Mrs. Messenger's children are Donald Lynn, born June 19, 1905, and Earl, born May 11, 1907.
BOGART FAMILY. Many years have come and gone since this prom- inent old family became identified with Erie county, and its name is ineffaceably traced on the pages of its history. Its genealogy is traced to Holland, where the name was spelled Van Bogart, and the first of the family to come to America was David Bogart, who with his wife, a Kirkendall, settled in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania. In later generations appears the name of John Bogart, who was born February 29, 1801, and died in February of 1879. He married Rachel Van Studen, who died in 1856, aged fifty-four years. They had lo- cated in Elk Creek township of Erie county in 1835, and John Bogart was by trade a blacksmith.
Among the children of John and Rachel Bogart was a son Wil- liam, who was born in 1832. He had but one brother, David, who is now living in Platea. William Bogart followed canal boating from the earliest days of canal transportation to the close of its popularity. operating coal boats for himself from Erie to New Castle. In 1870 he bought his present homestead farm, but he is now living retired from an active business life. He is in politics a Democrat, and he has served as a member of the school board and as a constable in Platea. He is a member of the Methodist church. In 1857 William Bogart was mar- ried to Sarah Thaw, who was born October 1, 1836, in Warren county, New York, a daughter of Samuel Thaw and a granddaughter of Joseph Thaw, who came to America in 1800, accompanied by his wife, Eliza Wydner. Samuel Thaw, born in 1808, in New Jersey, followed the tilling of the soil, and for his wife he married Eliza Van Scoten, who was born in 1808 and died on the 7th of April, 1898. Mrs. Bogart is one of their three children, her sister being Mary, the widow of Wil- liam German and residing in New Jersey, and her brother is Joseph Thaw, a mill laborer in Girard township, Erie county. William and Sarah Bogart became the parents of a large family of children, but William, the first born son, is deceased; W. J., is mentioned below ; Jeannette E., born in 1861, is the wife of Harry Joles, a farmer in Gi- rard township, and they have four children, Charles, Hattie, Arthur and Florence: Mary is also deceased; Andrew, born in 1863 and a salesman in Platea, married Florence Jewell, and they have a daughter, Margaret ; Charles, born in 1865, is a resident of Conneaut, Ohio ; Frank, born in 1867, maintains his home in Erie: Carrie, is also men- tioned below ; Josephine, born November 23, 1875, is the wife of Ern- est Martin, of Elk Creek township, and their two children are Leroy and Flora Louise ; Hattie, born in 1881, is the wife of Jerry S. Turt -. chell, of Conneaut, Ohio; Leonora is deceased.
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Carrie May, born January 8, 1873, is at home with her parents. After completing her education at the age of sixteen she was married to James Lawrence, a machinist. She is a member of the Methodist church.
W. J. Bogart is also at home with his parents. Following his school days he was engaged in farming from 1890 until 1909, and since then has resided at the old Bogart homestead near Platea. He too is a member of the Methodist church, and also of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 1141, at Platea. He upholds the principles of the Democratic party, and he is the present treasurer of the village of Platea.
MRS. HANNAH E. HAGGERTY, one of the well known residents of Elk Creek township, was born January 1, 1838, the daughter of B. King, during many years a farmer in Crawford county. Both he and his wife are now deceased, the former dying in 1895 at the age of seventy- eight years, and the latter (before marriage Eliza Fever), in 1895, at the age of seventy-six years. Hannah E. King was first married to Hiram Sawdy, of the old pioneer Sawdy family, the oldest settlers in Elk Creek township, and he was born February 23, 1804, and died on the 12th of January, 1891. He was a son of John and Charlotte (King) Sawdy, who came with their family from Sangerfield, New York, to Erie county, locating on what is now the old Sawdy farm in Elk Creek township, which they cleared and improved. The union of Hiram Sawdy and Hannah E. King was blessed by the birth of two sons: Bert H. Sawdy, a resident of Cranesville and an engineer for the Bes- semer Railroad Company, who married May Wickham, and their two children are Willis and Fern, aged respectively twelve and nine years; George M., resident of Elk Creek township and a farmer. He has two children-Gladys and Merle.
Mrs. Sawdy married for her second husband James Haggerty, a native of Canada, and his death occurred on the 15th of April, 1909. when seventy-six years of age, from disease contracted during his services in the Civil war. He has one brother living, John W. Hag- gerty, an oil refiner at Bradford, Pennsylvania. After the death of her first husband Mrs. Haggerty was left with a farm, the old Sawdy homestead, but a debt of a thousand dollars, and moving to Albion she managed to pay off this indebtedness and buy property there by keep- ing boarders and by doing carpet weaving on the old fashioned plan. She deserves much credit for her excellent management, and she has not only made her own way to a life of affluence and comfort, but has also gained the respect and esteem of all who have the pleasure of her acquaintance. She has two brothers living, George and Winfield King, the former a farmer and lumberman in Muskegon, Michigan, and the latter a resident of North East, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Sawdy, the first husband of Mrs. Haggerty, was a great ad- mirer of William Henry Harrison (Old Tippecanoe and Tyler Too) and in the Log Cabin campaign, Mr. Sawdy, with an eight horse team, hauled a log cabin from near Cranesville to Erie.
HANNIBAL L. SPIRES. Prominent among the native-born citizens of Erie county, conspicuous for their ability and worth, is Hannibal L. Spires, a wealthy and highly esteemed farmer of Elk Creek township.
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He is a man of excellent qualities of head and heart, energetic and progressive, and wields a wide influence in his community, where he has long fulfilled the obligations of an intelligent, faithful citizen, and a good neighbor. He was born, October 21, 1842, in Washington township, on the homestead which his father, John Spires, now owns. His grandfather, James Spires, a cloth merchant by occupation, was a lifelong resident of County Down, Ireland, where he married a Miss Murphy.
John Spires was born in County Down, Ireland, in 1785, and from boyhood was engaged in seafaring pursuits, circumnavigating the globe in a sailing vessel when but fourteen years old. Emigrating to this country in early life, he located first in Canada, then in Meadville, Pennsylvania, from there going to Erie, where for many years he was captain -of a steamboat on Lake Erie. During the War of 1812, he commanded one of the vessels belonging to Commodore Perry's fleet, and at the dinner, which in these days would be called banquet, given by the ladies of Erie in commemoration of the great victory, his wife was an active participant. Giving up sea life, Captain Spires located in or near Edinboro, where he kept general store, which he subse- quently traded for the present homestead property in Elk Creek town- ship. He carried on farming successfully for several years, at the same time operating a grist mill at Lundys Lane. Retiring from ac- tive pursuits, he moved to Erie, and there resided until his death, in 1878, at the venerable age of ninety-three years. His wife, whose maiden name was Margaret Morrison, died in 1883, aged eighty-eight years. Of the children born of their union, four, James, Margaret, John and Susan have passed to the life beyond, and two besides Han- nibal L. are living, namely: Anna, wife of Thomas Spires, of Edin- boro, Pennsylvania, and Mary Jane, widow of the late Captain P. Grace, of whom a brief biographical sketch may be found on another page of this volume.
Hannibal L. Spires received good educational advantages, attend- ing school until nineteen years of age, during vacations being initiated into the mysteries of agriculture. Succeeding to the ownership of the homestead in Elk Creek township, located near Wellsburg, he has since been profitably employed in general farming, paying especial attention to the breeding and raising of graded stock, in which he takes much pleasure, being especially proud of his fine racing horse "Masker," which is widely known in trotting circles. By good man- agement and wise investment, Mr. Spires has acquired considerable wealth, and, in addition to owning the farm he occupies, has other property of value.
Mr. Spires married, June 26, 1862, Sarah Bryan, who was born in 1845, in Ireland, a daughter of John C. Bryan, and she came with her brother John C. when a girl to Erie. She died in 1897. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Spires, namely : James, who married Clara Garlock, has two children. Clarence and Raymond; Anna M., de- ceased ; and Hannibal J. C., a farmer and stockman in Kearsarge, Pennsylvania, married Alta Anderson, and they are the parents of three children, Annabelle, and Eugene and Emogene, twins. Relig- iously Mr. Spires is a consistent member of the Methodist church at Lundys Lane. Politically he is an earnest supporter of the principles of the Republican party, and has held many public offices, accepting
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them, not because he aspired to public honors, but that he might be of service to his fellow-townsmen and his party, in each position proving himself worthy of the confidence bestowed upon him by his constit- uents.
HON. SAMUEL A. DAVENPORT. Standing prominent among the lead- ing attorneys and the more influential citizens of Erie, is the Hon. Samuel A. Davenport, who has won distinction in his profession, and an honored name in business circles. A man of marked ability, inde- fatigable energy, and strong individuality, possessing rare discrimina- tion and a far-seeing judgment, he has rendered invaluable aid in pro- moting and advancing the industrial growth and prosperity of the city, lending his influence toward the establishment of many of the leading manufacturing enterprises of this part of the county. A son of William Davenport, he was born, January 15, 1834, in Tompkins county, New York, near the head of Seneca Lake.
A native of Connecticut, William Davenport came from pure Puritan stock, having been a direct descendant of that distinguished Puritan divine, John Davenport, the first preacher of New Haven, Connecticut. Brought up in New Haven, the city of his birth, he had a natural love for the sea, and from the age of nine years was a sailor. At the beginning of the war of 1812, the merchantman on which he was employed was captured, and he was confined as a prisoner until exchanged. He subsequently enlisted, and served until the close of the conflict. Desirous then of settling on land, he bought a farm in Tompkins county, New York, a part of which is now included within the bounds of that beautiful summer resort known as Watkin's Glen. Coming to Erie county, in 1835, he bought land in Harbor Creek town- ship, and here lived with his family about four years. Removing to the city of Erie in 1839, he was captain of one or another of the Reed line of steamers for a number of years. Retiring from active pursuits in 1859, he was a resident of Erie until his death, in June, 1865. He married Phylance Tracy, who was born in Vermont, of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and died, in May, 1880, in Erie.
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