Centennial history of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, Part 108

Author: Stocker, Rhamanthus Menville, 1848-
Publication date: 1887
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : R. T. Peck
Number of Pages: 1318

USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Centennial history of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania > Part 108

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LEVI WESTFALL was the son of James and Cath- erine Westfall, who came from Sussex County, New Jersey, about 1794, and settled above the mouth of the Canawacta Creek, on a part of what was after- wards known as the Pickering farm, in Harmony.

Here Levi was born in 1799, but the next year his father removed to the west side of the Susquehanna River, to the farm of William Smith, now known as the Westfall farm, in Oakland. They had other children, four of whom-Daniel, Elijah, James and Jane-were born in New Jersey, while John and Catherine were younger than Levi. Here young Westfall spent his early boyhood, and when old enough to be of assistance, was put to work by his father, with whom he remained until he was nineteen years old, when he purchased his "time" and started in life for himself. Deprived of educational advan- tages-the nearest district school being at Taylor- town-his book-learning comprised only the few rudiments he mastered during three months' attend- ance at that distant seat of learning. But by self-application, aided by a retentive memory and a keen observation of events and things, he laid the foundation of a business education that served him well in the many and various transactions of a busy life. After leaving his father he engaged in the lumbering business and the running of rafts and "arks" down the Susquehanna, that being the only manner in which lumber could then be transported to market. For forty years he continued to " run " the river, and its currents, shoals and rapids became fa- miliar to him, giving him the reputation of an expert pilot. In 1836 he married Rachel, daughter of Thomas and Edith (Jones) Taylor, whose grand- father, David Taylor, came to Gibson in 1804, and ten years thereafter removed to Great Bend and set- tled at the place which afterwards bore his name (Taylortown), where he died.

Her father was a resident of Great Bend at the time of her birth, in 1814, and she resided there until her marriage. Levi and Rachel Westfall commenced housekeeping in a little house that stood near the site of the present brick residence that he afterwards erect- ed. Their children are Mary Ellen, 1840, the wife of Charles Beebe, of Oakland; George W. (1842-64) was a member of Company F, Twenty-ninth Regi- ment Pennsylvania Militia; Aaron T., 1844, enlisted in Battery F, Second Pennsylvania Artillery, (he married, in 1870, Elizabeth Tibbetts, a native of New York, resides in Oakland); Charles B., 1852, married, in 1872, Fanny M. Ayres, of Bridgewater, Pa., re- siding in Oakland. Mr. Westfall purchased in 1825, of Timothy Pickering and others, a large tract of timber land, comprising two thousand seven hundred acres, and in the cutting of timber and manufacturing of lumber he gave employment to many men.

In 1851 he erected the fine brick residence in which he lived until his death. He was largely engaged in farming, and in 1871 he purchased of Calvin Brush the Munson farm in Great Bend, built a barn and otherwise improved it. In politics, Mr. Westfall was a Democrat of the Jacksonian faith, and was zealous in support of the principles of his party, and actively worked for its success. He served as super-

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visor, and in 1855 was elected a justice of the peace, his commission bearing the signature of Andy G. Curtin, as Secretary of State. For more than fifty years he was identified with the progress and de- velopment of this section of Oakland, and during that time was connected with large and important business transactions.

From early manhood until his death, in 1872, his life was one of busy activity, and his energy and in- dustry, aided by frugality and economy, made him one of the successful business men of his day. His sons, Aaron T. and Charles B., occupy the old home-

brother, Dr. Skinner, came at the same time. They purchased a tract of land lying on the north side of the river and on both sides of the line that divides Great Bend from Oakland. Jacob took the part that is now in Oakland and his brother took that part that is in Great Bend. Jacob lived on this farm until his death, in 1847. He married Rhoda McDow- ell, who was born in 1781 and died at her son William's home, in Susquehanna, in 1863. They had thirteen children,-ten sons and three daughters. With the exception of four, all are now living. Two sons, Jacob I. and Nathan, reside in Oakland ; one son,

Levi Wegfall

stead, and the mother resides with her daughter, Mrs. Charles Beebe.

MRS. ELIZA WINTERS SQUIRES was born in 1812, in Delaware County, N. Y. She came with her mother, Mrs. Winters, to this place and settled near the McKune Cemetery in 1825. She was married to Elisha Squires in 1837. Mr. Squires died in 1871. Mrs. Squires now lives in Oakland borough, with her only son, Stanley Squires, who is a locomotive engi- neer, in the employ of the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad Company.

JACOB SKINNER was born in 1778, came from Sullivan County, N. Y., to this place in 1803. His

William, resides in Susquehanna ; one in Syracuse, N. Y .; and the others are in the West. They were industrious and honest people. Mrs. Skinner, when she came from Sullivan County, walked all the way, and brought her first-born boy in her arms, much of the way through the forest and along narrow paths that could not be called roads. Mr. Skinner was a devoted Methodist, and at his house the Method- ist ministers, in going over their circuits, were often entertained, and in his barn the quarterly meetings were held, and to these meetings Methodist people from long distances came to enjoy privileges that are now seemingly commonplace.

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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Jacob I. Skinner, one of the sons living in Oak- land, was born in 1815 and resides in the neighbor- hood of the old homestead. Nathan Skinner, another son, was born in 1826 and now resides in Oakland borough. William Skinner, the son living in Susque- hanna, was born in 1819. He learned the black- smith's trade at Lanesboro', when about sixteen years old. He came to Susquehanna about the time the railroad was completed to Binghamton, and when building began at Susquehanna, and put up a black- smith-shop, the first in Susquehanna, in which he conducted the business of a blacksmith for a short

was born in Stamford, Litchfield County, Conn., July 30, 1808. He was twelve years old when his parents came to Oakland, and in a few years thereafter his father died.

Being the eldest of the children, he became the main dependence of his mother in assisting to sup- port the family, and to this end he perseveringly toiled until they were able to help themselves, when his mother married again and removed to the West. He then went to learn the trade of a millwright of his uncle, Jonathan Treadwell. In 1829 he married Lydia Squires, of Great Bend, who died in 1834.

Samuel Brush

time. Then he sold out, built another shop and selling out again, built another, and in these shops he continued to carry on the business until 1885, when he retired. In 1845 he married Nancy E. Sutliff, of Windsor, N. Y. They had two children,-one son and one daughter, living in Susquehanna.

SAMUEL BRUSH was the son of Ard and Mary (Treadwell) Brush, who were natives of Connecticut, and removed to Harmony (now Oakland) in 1820 and purchased a farm, where he continued to reside until his death. They had children-Samuel, Julia Ann, Mary, George, Benjamin, Sarah and Edwin. Of these children, Sarah is the only one living. Samuel Brush

They had one child, Lydia, 1834, wife of Silas Squires, of Great Bend. At the time of his marriage he had purchased the Jacob Skinner farm, upon which he afterwards resided and engaged in farming until the death of his wife. This he soon after sold, and pur- chased the Treadwell farm. For several years he worked at his trade as a millwright, and farmed it some. In 1840 he married for his second wife Eliza- beth, daughter of William and Elizabeth Taylor, who was born at Great Bend Feb. 9, 1823. After his marriage he removed to Taylortown, where he already had a saw-mill, and engaged in lumbering there for a year. At the end of this time he returned to Har-

559

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mony, and settled on the same farm his father had purchased in 1820. He at once began the erection of a saw-mill, which he completed in 1842. From this time for many years he gave most of his attention to lumbering. He bought a timber tract in New Mil- ford, and after cutting off the pine, sold it. He after- wards bought a four hundred acre tract, heavily tim- bered, lying partly in Jackson and partly in New Milford, and adjoining the homestead farm in Oak- land. In the varied transactions of his extensive lumbering business Mr. Brush employed a large number of men and teams, and in his business he was not simply an overseer. There was no branch of it in which he was not at home, and he was never afraid to take hold of the "butt-end" of the log himself. Finding that the capacity of his "up-and-down" saw-mill was not sufficient for his business, in 1868 he erected a large steam mill, which embraced a grist- mill, a circular-saw mill and a shingle-mill-all under one roof. These enterprises, involving increased care and labor, he successfully conducted until about 1882, when he sold the mills and the four hundred acre tract to J. M. & E. Thomas & Co., and retired from active business. The same year he erected his fine and commodious residence at Brushville, where he lived until his death, and where his widow now re- sides. This was the third dwelling he erected while there, and it is in marked contrast to the little log house in which himself and wife went to housekeep- ing in 1842. Their children are Origen, died young ; Fernando E., 1842, enlisted in the late war in Ul- man's (Pa.) Battery-in 1870 married Catherine Foke, of Bradford County, Pa., is a merchant in Oakland borough and resides on a part of the old homestead ; Sarah E., 1844, married, in 1857, Hiram N. Leavitt, who was a soldier in the War of the Rebellion, now residing in Binghamton; Albert G., 1846, was a soldier of the late war, was a member of Company E, Two Hundred and Third Regiment Pennsylvania Volun- teers, and lost his health in the service-in 1869 married Ella Griffis, of Jackson, Pa., is a merchant, doing business at Susquehanna, but resides on a part of the homestead ; Amity T. (1848-75); Emmaroy J., 1849, widow of Henry Pierce, a soldier of the late war in Company D, Eighty-Fifth Regiment, New York Volunteers, who died in 1880; Emmazilla B., 1851, married, in 1870, Linville Griffis, now residing in Oakland; Vincent, 1853, now residing in California; Lelia E. (1858-78), was the wife of J. B. Sutton, of New Milford; Richard N., 1860, married, in 1879, Louisa Sutton, of New Milford, now residing on the old homestead farm. Samuel Brush died in 1884, and his life of busy activity has left a permanent landmark in the hamlet which bears his name. Brushville, situated three miles southwest of the borough of Susquehanna, sprang into exist- ence as a natural sequence to his business tact and ability, and could the solitary log house of fifty years ago have a resurrection, it would be surprised to find

twelve or more modern and commodious dwellings surrounding it. Deprived of early educational ad- vantages, he was self-taught in the school of experi- ence, and his business career was marked by sound judgment and honorable dealing.

JOHN HILBORN resides on the west side of the river, and opposite the old Hilborn homestead, near the Cascade. He is a grandson of John Hilborn, one of the pioneers of Harmony. This farm of Mr. Hil- born's has been owned and occupied by the Hilborns nearly one hundred years. The first John Hilborn owned it in connection with a large tract on that side of the river, and gave it to his son John; and from John Hilborn, Jr., it passed to his son John, the present owner. In the farm there are now about seventy-five acres of land. It is in a good state of cultivation, and a nice place.

BRADLEY BEEBE. - His grandfather, Timothy Beebe (1768-1844), came from Litchfield County, Conn., and settled at Wilkes-Barre, Pa., about 1791. He married Sally Lovridge (1768-1831), a native of Con- necticut, and had children, -- Polly (1793 - ), Harry (1795-1875), Lyman (1798-1873), Sally Ann (1801- 73), Harriet (1804-54), Almira (1807-86) and Charles (1811-82). In 1802 Timothy Beebe removed from Wilkes-Barre and settled at Windsor, N. Y., where he purchased a farm, upon which he lived until his death. His second son, Lyman, was four years old when the family settled at Windsor, and there he spent his minority. Upon attaining his majority he married Elizabeth, a daughter of Adam Swagart, of Windsor, who was born at Cochecton, N. Y., in 1801.

For eight years following he engaged in lumbering, and then purchased an unimproved farm on the Sus- quehanna, near the old homestead, upon which he subsequently erected a brick house. On this farm he spent the remainder of his life, and was a citizen highly esteemed by all who knew him. Their chil- dren are Bradley, born in 1820; Emeline (1823-61), was the first wife of Calvin Brush, of Oakland ; Rich- ard C. (1825), a farmer of Windsor ; Charles, a farmer and dairyman on the Westfall place in Oakland ; Clark (1831), a farmer on part of the homestead in Windsor; Lois E. (1832), residing with her mother on the old homestead; and Oliver D. (1834-63).

Bradley Beebe, the eldest of these, had the usual opportunities of the district school during his boy- hood, and early learned the important lesson that industry and the judicious use of money were neces- sary elements in the make-up of a successful business man. For four years, following the age of thirteen, he carried the mail on horseback between Windsor and South Bainbridge (now Afton),-a distance of sixteen miles,-making one trip a week, during which he only missed four trips. For one year he was hired out at farming by his father to N. P. Waller, and during the winter obtained two months' schooling. In 1840 he worked for Jesse Lane, at Lanesboro'. His earnings, during these terms of service, were given to

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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

his father for the purpose of paying for the home farm, except twelve dollars, which his father allowed him to retain, which was the first money he had ever called his own. Upon reaching his majority he worked for John Comfort, in Harmony, a part of a year, and for two years following he jobbed it, and worked by the month, and thereby saved sufficient money to make a start for himself. In 1844 he mar- ried Ann E. Bird, who was born in Windsor, August 28, 1823, the daughter of Warren and Haunah (Hil- born) Bird. For four years following his marriage he farmed a part of the Hilborn estate, which he had

Republican parties, and he has ever been an earnest and zealous advocate of their principles. For three terms he has served his township as supervisor, one term as assessor, nine years as poor director, and he was appointed one of thé commissioners to locate the poor·house. His children are Warren E., born in 1852, educated at the home district school and at the Mansfield State Normal School-now engaged in manufacturing whips at Windsor, married Ada Dib- ble, daughter of John Dibble, of Sanford, N. Y .; Edith E., born in 1855, educated at the district schools and at the graded school at Susquehanna, a

Bradley Beeke

- rented ; and for four years thereafter he resided on a farm in New York State, which he had purchased. This he sold, and the year 1852 was spent in prospect- ing in the West, with a view of permanently locating there. Relinquishing this idea, he returned, and in 1853 purchased the same portion of the Hilborn estate, in Oakland, which he had previously rented- his homestead since.

Mr. Beebe is a thorough-going and intelligent farmer and business man ; and, by his persevering in- dustry and judicious management, unassisted, he has made a comfortable home for himself and family. His political alliances have been with the Whig and

teacher for several terms-is the wife of Perry H. Smith, of Oakland; Harry T. (1858-64); and Lois E. (1862), died at the age of two years.

CHARLES BEEBE, the third son of Lyman and Eliz- abeth (Swagart) Beebe, was born in Windsor, April 12, 1828. When old enough, and big enough-for the district school was two miles away-he went to school summers until he was ten years old, after which time he got but a few days' schooling during winters. At the age of fifteen his father hired him out for seven months to work on a farm, and the re- mainder of his minority and two years thereafter was I spent at home. The parental training of the children

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encouraged industry, included economy and the proper use of money, and indelibly impressed upon their minds the necessity of obedience and the im- portance of honesty of purpose and a moral and tem- perate life. In 1852 he came to Oakland (then Har- mony) and worked out for three years. In 1856 he commenced the business of delivering milk in Sus- quehanna, getting his supply from the Westfall and Taylor farms. This business, with slight interrup- tion, he has continued to the present, although his own large dairy farm has for years furnished an ade- quate supply of milk. On the 18th day of February,

his milk business. In 1857 he purchased eighty acres of Levi Westfall, upon which he settled at the time of his marriage. In 1865 he made a further purchase of Mr. Westfall of one hundred acres and another one hundred of Mckinney, both adjoining his homestead farm. To this he added, in 1872, the Cranberry Marsh of twenty-eight acres and subsequently thirty-one acres more. In 1874 he remodeled and made addi- tions to his home, and during his residence here has erected commodious out-buildings. Mr. Beebe may be safely classed among the thorough-going and intel- ligent farmers of Susquehanna County. He sur-

Charles Backe

1858, he married Mary Ellen, daughter of Levi (1799- 1872) and Rachel (1814) (Taylor) Westfall, the former the son of James Westfall, who settled in Harmony in 1794 from New Jersey ; the latter the daughter of Thomas Taylor, of Taylortown, and the granddaughter of David Taylor, for whom the place was named. They have children,-Frank W., born in 1862, edu- cated at the graded school at Susquehanna and now interested with his father in his extensive farming and dairy business ; Lulu S., 1867, educated at Sus- quehanna and Windsor ; and Nellie L. Beebe, born in 1881.

For several years Mr. Beebe added butchering to

rounds himself with modern labor-saving appliances, and all the appointments of his home show industry. " Beebe's Park," situate on the banks of the Sus- quehanna, on the old Westfall farm, which is under his control and management, is the resort of many pleasure-seekers in summer, and the Soldiers' Veteran Organization of the county held their last two en- campments there. An old Indian village was located near the site of his present homestead. In politics Mr. Beebe is identified with the Republican party, has served his township as supervisor and otherwise officially. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Royal Arcanum and Knights of Honor.

ruest three- , one d be : the the in Dib- I .; rict 3. 8

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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

THOMAS CANAVAN was born in Ireland in 1810. He came to America in 1830, and worked five years for Brewster, the wagon manufacturer of New York. He then went to Troy, New York, and opened a retail and wholesale dry-goods store. He also established several traveling auction-stores, employed men, and sent them all through the Eastern and Middle States, taking the general supervision of the business him- self. He had a little capital to begin with and in the course of the years that followed he accumulated much more. He was also engaged in general specu- lations in real estate, etc. In connection with his various transactions, he came into possession of a large tract of land in this township, and in Harmony.

In 1858 he came to this place to reside. In 1836 he married Bridget Brennan, of Ireland. Both are · living and in very comfortable health. Their young- est son resides with them and has charge of the farm, now comprising about four hundred acres. Another son, John P., for a number of years past, has been in the Pension Department at Washington, and their daughter is the wife of John J. McGrath, of Chicago, Illinois. Mr. McGrath, for a number of years past, has been one of the most extensive importers and jobbers of wall-paper in the United States.

Mr. Canavan's home occupies a position from which the scenery is remarkably beautiful and grand,-the boroughs of Susquehanna and Oakland, in full view on the right, about one mile distant, the Ouaquagua Mountains in front and the Susquehanna River for many miles glimmering in the sunlight and reflecting the forms of the bordering hills. His circular barn, nicely painted and ornamented, can be seen from many miles away. It is sixty-three feet in diameter and three stories high. A more pleasant place to spend the declining years of a busy life it would be difficult to find, than is this home of Mr. Canavan's.

JOSHUA K. GRIMES. - His great-grandfather, Francis Grimes, accompanied by two brothers, emi- grated from the north of England and settled in Ver- mont before the Revolutionary War. In the great struggle for independence he bore an active part and suffered more than ordinary hardships as a soldier. He was captured by the Indians, but, with two com- panions, managed to elude the vigilance of their wily captors and escape, although he was the only one that survived the terrible ordeal, the other two dying of starvation and exposure. After the war he returned to Vermont, where he became a farmer. One of his sons, James Grimes, married Abigail Howe, a widow ; they had eight children,-Moses, James, Jr. (who was a soldier in the War of 1812), Martha, Elizabeth, Jeru- sha, Joseph, Sally and Johnson. Moses Grimes (1787-1845) was born in Vermont, and spent his boy- hood on his father's farm. After reaching his ma- jority he came to Washington County, N. Y., in 1811, where he worked for a year. On the 13th of Febru- ary, 1812, he married Ruth, a daughter of Joshua and Eleanor Ketcham," born in Hebron, Washington

County, N. Y., in 1793, and died in 1871. After his marriage he settled on the Owego Creek, in the town of Candor, Tioga County, N. Y., and began life in the pine woods. Here he cleared up the land, erected buildings and raised a large family. They had chil- dren,-John M., 1812, now residing on the old home- stead, in Candor, where he was born. He entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church about 1840, and continued his active labors as a min- ister for nearly thirty years. During the War of the Rebellion he was connected with the Christian Com- mission. James, died young; Joshua K., 1814; Joseph, 1816, now residing in Colesburg, Iowa, has been a justice of the peace for forty years, and served as a member of the House and Senate of the Legisla- ture of Iowa ; Ralph L. (1818-22) ; Francis A., 1820, now residing in the city of Niles, Michigan ; William J., 1822, a minister for thirty-five years of the Chris- tian Church, now at Memphis, near Syracuse, N. Y .; Benjamin K., (1824-25) ; Deborah E. (1825-83) ; Sarah A. (1828-65); Alva A. (1829-34); Susan, died young ; Thomas H. (1832-34) ; Micah M. (1836)-in 1857 he enlisted in the regular army for five years. When the War of the Rebellion broke out he was in Northwestern Texas, under the command of General Twiggs, who proved himself to be an arch-rebel and traitor by ordering his troops to turn over their arms and military stores to the rebels. Major French, of his regiment, called a council, and Mr. Grimes and others who were true to the old flag, resolved to dis- obey the commands of Twiggs, and formed a camp near Fort Duncan. Although surrounded by rebels, they had not the pluck to attack them, and, after marching a thousand miles down the Rio Grande to the Gulf of Mexico, a United States vessel transported them from thence to the coast of Florida, and they reached Fort Pickens in June, 1861. Here they erected batteries and made preparation for the rebel attack that was finally made in November of that year. In September, 1862, his five years in Uncle Sam's service had expired, and he received his honor- able discharge. Shortly afterwards he went West, and there enlisted as a sergeant in Company M, Sixth Michigan Cavalry. He served under both Sheridan and Kilpatrick, and, on the 29th of August, 1864, was wounded in the Shenandoah Valley, from the effects of which he died on the 3d day of Septem- ber following.

Joshua K. remained on his father's farm until he was twenty-one years old, and had the advantages of the district schools of that day, and he also attended the Owego Academy one term, during which time he taught school one or two winters. In the fall of 1836 he went West to visit relatives, and that winter taught a school near Cleveland, O. During the following summer he was engaged in erecting buildings until winter, when he again taught a school. Returning to Candor in the spring of 1838, he there assisted his father in farming and lumbering. On the 26th of

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Centennial history of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, Part 108

Author: Stocker, Rhamanthus Menville, 1848- Publication date: 1887 Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : R. T. Peck Number of Pages: 1318

Author: Stocker, Rhamanthus Menville, 1848-
Publication date: 1887
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : R. T. Peck
Number of Pages: 1318