Centennial history of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, Part 68

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

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The present generation is unable to realize the hardships of these pioneers who settled in the wilderness, met the obstacles and inconven- iences incident to carving out a home and sup- porting a large family, and denied themselves of every luxury now enjoyed, in order to make future homes for their children. This couple reared a family of eleven children, as follows : David (1799-1886), succeeded his father on the homestead ; Robert (1801-78), settled in Bridge- water township; Elijah (1803-81), resided in

Brooklyn, but died in Carbondale; Harry W. (1809-81), was a farmer in Brooklyn ; Ezra S. (1812-74), was a farmer and merchant in Brook- lyn ; Charles, born 1814, a farmer in Brooklyn ; George J., born 1823, resides in Brooklyn; Almira, born 1805, the wife of Josiah Mack, of Brooklyn ; Rowena (1807-72), was the wife of Amos G. Bailey, son of Captain Amos Bailey, who settled in Brooklyn in 1801; Em- ily, born in 1817, is the wife of James Waldie, of Brooklyn; Eliza, born in 1819, is the wife of John Roper, of Brooklyn.

The first six of these children were born in Windsor, N. Y. Robert, second son, remained on the homestead, in Brooklyn, until his mar- riage, in 1825, when he purchased one hundred acres of land, the present farm of M. J. Har- rington, on the Milford and Owego turnpike, in Bridgewater. His wife was Prudence (1804- 63), a daughter of Captain Amos and Prudence (Gere) Bailey, before-mentioned, whom he mar- ried in 1825. He cleared most of this farm during his residence upon it, and built the pres- ent residence about 1833. All his children were born there. He was a man of persevering industry, and possessed an ambition to overcome every obstacle. He gave little attention to po- litical matters, but was identified with the old Whig party. He was a man of strict integrity in all the relations of life, and both himself and wife left their impress upon the lives of their children. After the death of his first wife he married Almira Palmer, and removed to Brook- lyn, where he died. In religious persuasion he was a Universalist. He left no children by his second wife. His children are Amos B., born 1826, a farmer and mechanic, of New Milford township; Eunice A., 1830, wife of Calvin Brush, a farmer in Oakland township ; Henry J., born October 1, 1832; James R., 1835, a retired druggist of Brooklyn ; Alice S. (1838-70) was the wife of Henry Parks, and died in Great Bend township; Lucy A., died in 1863 at the age of twenty-two years; Franklin M., 1843, a merchant in Scranton ; Rodney W., 1847, a farmer in Brooklyn, and Andrew L., 1850, a farmer in Great Bend township.

Henry J. Kent, second son, in common with the boys of his early days, had the usual oppor-

H. J. Kent

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BRIDGEWATER.

tunities of the district school. Upon reaching wife of Harrison H. Van Cott, of New Mil- ford ; Stanley, a farmer near Heart Lake; Samuel F., of New Milford ; Henry R., of Scio, Allegany County, N. Y .; and Frank E., of New Milford. The family of Moore were Presbyterians, and Robert Moore and his wife were members at Montrose. All of this large family of children were born in Bridgewater, except the eldest son. The children of Henry J. and Emily W. Kent are two daughters,- Lou Carrie, educated at Montrose Academy, was graduated at Mansfield State Normal School in the class of '84, and followed her graduation as a teacher in the senior department of the Mont- rose Academy during the latter part of the same years (she began teaching at the age of fifteen) ; and Martha Eliza Kent. his majority he learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for seven years, working at Montrose, in New York State and wherever the best opportunity offered. He was depend- ent upon his own self-reliance, and by his trade accumulated enough to make a fair start in farm- ing. He purchased his present farm in South- eastern Bridgewater, of about two hundred acres, in 1858, known as the " Jonah Brewster" place. At this time there was on this property a small frame house, said to be one of the first built in this part of the county. By the aid of his trade, besides conducting his farm, he has erected commodious out-buildings, and, with little outside assistance, in 1871 built his present fine farm dwelling-house. Since his residence on this farm his main business has been general MARVIN KALLAM BUSH. - His paternal grandfather, Caleb Bush (1755-1821), came from Litchfield County, Conn., in 1809, and bought five hundred acres of timber land in the northern part of Bridgewater township. His homestead was the present farm of Major David D. Hinds, and his other land was contiguous thereto, upon which he settled three of his sons, -Adrian (1787-64), Caleb (1794-1878) and Dennis (1803-47). The third son, Abijah (1801-1867), remaining on the homestead, afterward removed to Mount Pleasant, Wayne County, where he died. His wife was Susan- nah, who died about 1815, and his daughters were Lucy, became the second wife of Robert Day, who had settled in the township in 1800, where he resided until after the death of his wife, when he removed to Montrose, where he died in 1865. Fanny, married first Hewitt Kallam and had two sons, Lyman and Samuel. The former kept a public-house at Hopbottom until his death. The latter resides at Elizabeth, N. J. For her second husband she married Sargent Tewksbury, of Brooklyn township, and resided there until her death. Susannah, the third daughter, died unmarried. Caleb Bush and his wife were Baptists and were buried at Montrose. Adrian Bush, the eldest son, re- ceived a part of this tract of land from his father, consisting of one hundred acres. The second residence erected by him in 1842 is the farming and dairying. He may be safely classed among the intelligent farmers of Sus- quehanna County, and all the appointments of his place show the handiwork of a good agri- culturist. He is interested in the Farmers' In- stitute, organized in 1886, and, following the footsteps of his father, is allied to the Republi- can party. His wife, whom he married in 1860, is Emily W. Moore, who was born in Bridge- water August 25, 1834. She is the daughter of Robert (1804-67) and Maria (Foster) (1810- 67) Moore. Her paternal grandfather, Joseph Moore, a native of Ireland, was of Scotch-Irish extraction, and came to Greene County, N. Y., at the age of eighteen, and in 1833 settled in Bridgewater. Her paternal grandmother was Elizabeth Simmons, of Long Island. The for- mer died in 1862, aged over eighty ; the latter also died at about the same age, and both were buried in the graveyard near Heart Lake. Their children were Eliza, wife of Jeremiah Brandow, of New Milford; Robert; Jane, now the Widow Baldwin, of Ohio; Angelina (1811-81), was the wife of Latham Gardner, of Bridgewater ; and Joseph, a farmer in Harford. The children of Robert and Maria Moore are Charles, of Susquehanna ; Emily W., wife of Henry J. Kent ; Nancy, wife of Jolin Gavitt, of Bridge- water; Mary W., wife of William McKeeby, of Hooper, Broome County, N. Y. ; Eliza, wife of John Crossen, of Great Bend ; Amanda F., present residence of his son, Marvin K. Bush.

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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

He cleared off the original forest from a large part of his land and brought it into a good state of cultivation and added other real estate thereto. He was an industrious farmer, a quiet and unostentatious citizen, took little interest in political matters except to exercise the right of suffrage for his choice, but was a consistent member of the Baptist Church at Montrose, where both himself and wife worshipped and where they are buried. She was Amy Kallam

farmer on part of the original tract; and Au- gustus P., born in 1828, a farmer on a part of the same tract until his settlement at Montrose, where he now resides.

Marvin Kallam Bush succeeded his father on his part of the original tract of land bought by his grandfather in 1809. His boyhood was spent in farm-work and attending school, but his time being valuable in assisting his father to clear the farm and cultivate it, he only at-

MR. Bush

(1789-1882), a daughter of Luther Kallam, who was a Revolutionary soldier, and settled in Forest Lake township from Connecticut, where he died at the age of eighty-six. Their children are'Amy Ann, born in 1813, died at the age of nineteen; Temperance Adaline (1815-70), was the wife of Hiram Allen, of Candor, N. Y., where she died, leaving a family of children ; Marvin Kallam Bush, born where he now re- sides Dec. 14, 1817; Susannah M., born in 1820, is the wife of William L. Beebe, a farmer in Bridgewater; Caleb S., born in 1823, a

tended school winters after reaching the age of ten. Upon reaching his majority, however, he further added to his knowledge of books by at- tending a term at the Mannington Academy. In the spring of 1822 he bought one hundred acres of timber land near the home farm, cleared a large part of it, and for eleven years resided upon it. He ran in debt four hundred dollars in its purchase, which he paid in due time by raising grain, mostly oats, which he marketed at Honesdale, a distance of forty miles away. He purchased the home farm of his father in

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BRIDGEWATER.

1861, which he has managed since, and cared for both his father and mother in their declin- ing years. Mr. Bush has given his active life to farm work, and quietly endeavored to per- form the full duties of a citizen. He has served his township two terms as supervisor and has acted as auditor and inspector. His wife, Nancy, born January 20, 1821, whom he mar- ried in 1849, is a native of Merryall, Bradford County.

Their children are Calista, born in 1850, wife of Coleman Darrow, a farmer in Bridgewater ; Randall L., born in 1854, owns and occupies the farm on the Wyalusing Creek originally owned by Robert Day, who married Lucy Bush, the great-aunt of Randall L. Bush ; Judson A., born in 1856; and Hattie E. Bush, at home.

Mrs. Bush's father, Dr. Ebenezer Beeman (1757-1840), a native of Connecticut, married Hannah Lum (1778-1822), a native of Newton, N. J., and settled at Merryall, where he prac- ticed medicine during his active life. Their children are Matilda, Euphemia, Diana, Har- riet, Joseph, Cynthia, Almira and Almeda (twins), Emily, Rodolphia, Calista, Nelson and Nancy, wife of Marvin K. Bush. Only four are living in 1886.

removed to Brooklyn township, where he died ; Spencer, born March 26, 1810; Ann (1812-72), wife of George Brewster, a farmer of Tioga County, Pa .; and Lucy, born in 1815, residing at Pittston, the widow of the late Peter Reese.

Benjamin Watrous removed with his family from Connecticut in 1797 and settled in the town of Middleburg, Schoharie County, N. Y., where he carried on farming until 1818, when he removed to Southeast Bridgewater, this county. His two eldest sons, Ansel and Joseph, had settled here the previous year. Here he purchased one hundred acres of land situate on the Milford and Owego turnpike, now the property of his son Spencer, to which he added one hundred acres more adjoining the following year. He did not live to make many improvements, however, on his property, for two years after his settlement here he died. The last purchase was divided among his eldest children. The widowed mother man- aged the balance until 1832, when it was pur- chase by Spencer Watrous, her youngest son. She married Isaac Hubbard for her second husband-a carpenter by trade-and in 1833 settled at Battle Creek, Michigan, where she died six years afterwards. Joseph, upon com- ing to Bridgewater in 1817, had settled where Mott's woolen-mill now is, but he subse- quently located on contiguous land to the purchase of his father in East Bridgewater, and for many years kept a hotel there on the Mil- ford and Owego turnpike. The religious persuasion of the family at this time was Bap- tist and the mother was a member of the church at Montrose. Benjamin Watrous was a man of correct habits, high moral character, and reared his family under a strict discipline of justice and honor. He sought to fulfil the full dnties of the citizen and to be an example of honesty in all his business relations, which left his impress on the lives of his children.

SPENCER WATROUS. - Benjamin Watrous (1772-1820), a native of Chester, Middlesex County, Conn., married, in 1791, Lucy Spen- cer (1770-1839), of the same place, who bore him the following children : Ansel (1792-1865), a farmer of Conklin, Broome County, N. Y., died there; Joseph (1794-1875) settled in Bridgewater, this county, from Schoharie County, N. Y., in 1817, where he resided until his death, leaving a family ; Linus (1796-1865) was a farmer in Conklin; Sally (1798-1863) was first a Mrs. Nickerson, whose husband was accidentally killed, and who subsequently mar- ried Benjamin Russell and resided in Jessup, this county, where she died ; Margaret M., born in 1800, died at the age of six ; Benjamin, Jr. Spencer Watrous (youngest son), born in Schoharie County, was only ten years old when his father died, and spent most of his time after the marriage of his mother to Mr. Hubbard, before reaching his majority, learn- ing the trade of a carpenter. This proved (1802-83), died at Carbondale, Pa .; Hannah, born in 1804, died at the age of five; James and Maria (twins), born in 1807-the former, a farmer in Conklin died there in 1868-the latter is the widow of the late Hiram Guernsey, who resided in Bridgewater for many years, and . useful to him afterwards, and in 1849 he erected

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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

his present residence, and at different times all his out-buildings. He has built many houses and barns for his neighbors, besides carrying on his farm. He has taken little interest in politi- cal matters ; has never sought any political place in the township, but has served as super- visor and portmaster when those offices were given him by the voters of the township without his solicitation. He has been satisfied to move along with the even tenor of his mind, devoting

Wolf in old militia times. He married, in 1839, Louisa (1817-86), a daughter of James (1781-1863) and Lucy Demming (1783-1861), Giddings, who came from Groton, Conn., and settled in Herrick township and reared a large family of children, one of whom, Clinton De Witt Giddings, has served in the Congress of the United States. James Giddings' parents were Solomon, who died in 1827, and Sarah (Water- man) Giddings, who died in 1784. The child-

Spencer. Heticores

himself to his home duties ; honorable in his business and devoted to his family. In boy- hood he had little opportunity for obtaining a knowledge of books, and belongs to the class of sturdy men who cleared off the forests of Bridgewater, prepared its soil for crops, built its roads, fences, school-houses, churches, and placed within easy reach of the generation fol- lowing good facilities for obtaining an educa- tion and a sustenance without indefatigable toil. He served as captain under Governor

ren of James Giddings were Sarah W .; Fanny D .; Andrew ; Chiarles W., a presiding elder of the Methodist Episcopal Church for many years ; Giles A .; Jabez D .; Louisa ; Mariah; John James; George Henry; Francis Marion ; DeWitt Clinton and Mary Ann Giddings. The children of Spencer and Louisa Watrous are Giles A., born May 15, 1840, married Celia E., a daughter of Spencer and Electa (Watrous) Read, of Saybrook, Conn .; George G., born June 24, 1847, a lawyer at Montrose,

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BRIDGEWATER.

read law with Fitch & Watson, and was admitted to the Susquehanna bar in 1879 (his wife is Lucretia Davis, daughter of William and Elizabeth Martin Davis, who died at Harbor Grace, N. F.); S. Ann, born August 10, 1844, widow of H. E. Tiffany, resides at Montrose ; and James G. Watrous, who died at the age of four years. Mrs. Watrous was a member of the Methodist Church, and after- wards of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Wat- rous was formerly a member of the Baptist Church. Giles W. Watrous, loyal to his country's call for men to put down the Rebel- lion, enlisted in November, 1861, in an inde- pendent company raised at Carlisle, under Captain W. J. Palmer, to act as body-guard of General Anderson. The company went to Louisville, Ky., where it afterwards served as the body-guard of General Buell in the battle at Pittsburgh Landing, and as the body-guard of General Rosecrans at the battles of Crab Orchard and Stone River. Giles was sent witlı a message by General Rosecrans to General McCook, where he was captured on the Salem pike, near Murfreesboro', and taken to Libby Prison. After one month's imprison- ment he was paroled and sent to Camp Chase, Ohio, from which place he returned home in March, 1863, his discharge papers having been previously made out with the rest of his com- pany while he was in prison.

On August 31, 1864, he again entered the service and enlisted in the Marine Corps at Philadelphia. He went to Washington, when, with seventy-five picked men, he served as the body-guard of President Lincoln until the early part of 1865, when he was sent with the ship's guard to Norfolk, Va., where he was detailed to do duty in the navy-yard. After four months he went on board the "Powhatan," the admiral-ship of the South Pacific Squadron, which sailed to southern seas and cruised on the coast of Panama and South America until 1868, when his time expired and he returned home. He now farms the homstead, which has been in the family since its purchase, in 1818. The brothers and sisters of Benjamin Watrous, the first settler here, are Gideon, Joseph, Harris, Sally, Aaron, Russell, Ephraim, Lyman. The

last is the father of Electa (Brooks) Watrous, herein mentioned. Three of the above- Ephraim, Harris and Russell-were sea cap- tains.

KIRBY BUNNELL .- His paternal grand- father, James (1768-1841), a native of Litch- field County, Conn., married Azuba Carter (1768-1816), was a blacksmith by trade, and died in Southeast Bridgewater township, this county. Their children were Ephraim K. (1798-1881), died in Bridgewater; Avis (1800-82), married Daniel Landon, and resided in Susquehanna County; Elijah (1803-72) ; Dotha, born in 1810, married a Mr. Tooley and resided in Tennessee, where she has a large family ; James A. (1813-86), settled in Dimock in 1849, where he died thirty-seven years after- wards ; Lucy, born in 1805, the wife of Charles Farnham, resided in Massachusetts; Matilda (1807-53), wife of Harry Stone, resided and died in Litchfield County, Conn., where also Samuel Bunnell (1816-84), the youngest child, lived and died. Elijah Bunnell married Lucy (1804-64), a daughter of Apollos and Eunice (Throop) Stone, of Litchfield County, who were of Scotch origin. Their children are Kirby, born Feb. 15, 1827; William, born 1829, a retired business man and farmer in Dimock ; Dotha Ann (1831-38) and Truman S. (1834-38) both died of an epidemic, scarlet fever, the same year; Lucy J., born 1836, married Henry Rogers, now of Lawrence, Kan- sas ; and Harry, who died young.

Elijah Bunnell came to Susquehanna County in May, 1833, driving through by the New- burg turnpike, and settled on the farm where his eldest son, Kirby, now resides. He was known as a great hunter, and supplied his table largely with choice wild game, besides disposing of his surplus meats to his neighbors. He ran in debt for his farm, from which he was only released after twenty years of industry and toil and the hearty assistance of his sons. Kirby Bunnell, the eldest son of Elijah, was six years old when his parents removed from Connecti- cut. He received meagre opportunities for ob- taining an education in boyhood, because his services in assisting his father on the farm were necessary, in order that all might be realized

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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

that was possible to relieve the family of debt. Being the eldest son, he was placed at hard work at an early age, but by study at odd times and reading after reaching mature years, he so added to his early book knowledge as to vie with many who had superior opportunities in youth. This farm consisted of ninety-six acres, a part of which was cleared when the family settled there. His father built a part of the present home residence in 1840, to which Kirby made an addition sixteen years afterwards. He succeeded his father in the management of this property in 1855. Mr. Bunnell is interested in the various enterprises of his township and county, favorable to the development of agri- cultural matters, and his advanced practical ideas, as expressed at the Grange meetings, show his consideration of the subject under discussion worthy the favorable criticism of his fellow- citizens. He was one of the organizers of the Farmers' Institute in May, 1886, at Montrose, and was one of the charter members of Susque- hanna Grange, No. 74. His paper, "Will Farming Pay?" read at the Jackson Grange meeting in December, 1886, was well received and favorably noticed. He was elected on the Democratic ticket and served six years as super- visor of his township. He is a man of quick perception and original thought. In 1851 he married Sarah A., daughter of Truman and Rachael (Stoddard) Stone, who settled in Bridge- water about 1850, on the middle branch of the Meshoppen Creek, both being natives of Litch- field County ; the former died in 1885, the lat- ter in 1884. Their children were Apollos, of Montrose; Sarah A., born in 1829; Emeline, wife of Augustus Gregory, of Bridgewater; Lucy, wife of L. Carter Smith, of Bridgewater ; and Jessie and Julia, twins, both of whom died young. The Stone children all settled near each other and near their father's homestead. Kirby and Sarah A. Bunnell have no children of their own, but reared an adopted daughter, Alzina Oakley, whom they educated, and who married Jesse Stone, a brother of Mrs. Bunnell, both of whom died in Bridgewater at about the same time of small-pox.

CHAPTER XXII.

JESSUP TOWNSHIP.

THIS township is south of Forest Lake, west of Bridgewater, north of Dimock and Rush, and east of Rush and a small part of Forest Lake. The latter territory belonged to Middle- town at the time Jessup was erected, in April, 1846. The other parts of the new township were taken from Bridgewater and Rush, and the name given it was in compliment to Judge Jessup. The bounds of the township were sub- sequently modified, January, 1854, by adding a strip from Rush, north of the Wyalusing, about eighty rods wide, to Jessup; and by taking off a small part of the northeast corner and adding it to Bridgewater. At a later period the Chapman Independent School District was here formed, comprising parts of the three con- tiguous townships. Jessup is now, with the exceptions named, about four and a half miles square.

Wyalusing Creek bisects the township a little south of the centre, entering from Bridgewater and having a slightly southwesterly course. The valley through which it flows lies low, and as it takes the waters of a number of tributary streams, the surface, consequently, is broken into a succession of high ridges and deep hol- lows. Through the latter flow from the north, in the order named from the east, Forest Lake, Birchard and Stuart Creeks, the former being the largest stream, and affording several small mill-sites. Flowing into the Wyalusing from the opposite side, and emptying into it a little below the latter stream, is South Creek, the main tributary on that side. Near its head- waters are several water-powers which have been improved. West of it, and extending into Rush, is the long, high ridge, commonly called "Fire Hill," on which are several elevations of unusual beauty ; and the diversified views ob- tainable from their summits are not surpassed in the county. Directly north, on the opposite side of the Wyalusing, and trending north and south, is " Porter Ridge," containing some of the best upland farms in Jessup. East, and

Kirby Bunnell

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JESSUP.

parallel with it, are McKcelcy and " Dutch " Hills, the latter in the northeastern part, and so called because the settlers of that part of the township were of Dutch origin, coming from New York. Here are also some fine lands which were originally well timbered, much of the growth being hard wood ; and large quanti- ties of maple sugar were here made before the country was cleared np. At the confluence of the larger streams the lands are low, fertile and of the nature of flats, the most extensive being " Bolles' Flat," at the month of Birchard Creek. These were tempting spots in the eyes of the land-hunters, coming from the hilly regions of the East, and here the first settlements were madc.

The pioneers of Jessup came in small colo- nies, with the expectation of taking lands under the Connecticut title. To them it was known as "Manor" in the eastern, and " Usher " in the western part; and they, in common with most of the other settlers along the Wyalusing, were tenacious in the belief that this title should secure to them the right to the lands upon which they had located. Being disappointed in this opinion, some of them became disgusted with the situation, and their stay was of short dura- tion. It is said that as early as 1800 fifty persons lived along the creek, between what is now Fairdale and the Rush line. Their settle- ment and consequent history, being so much blended with this locality, is not easy to trace in other parts of the township. The Honorable Charles Miner is authority for the statement that Samuel Maine was here with his family of seven as early as 1798; but Miss Blackman inclines to the opinion that he did not come till the year following, and that Ebenezer Whipple and his associates were the first settlers on the Wyalsing, within the present bounds of Jessup. They located on " Bolles' Flat " on the 10th of March, 1799, and the Maines may have came soon after. The Whipple settlement was com- posed of Ebenezer Whipple, his stepson, Ezra . Lathrop, Abner Griffis, William Lathrop and Nathan Tupper, all coming from near Unadilla, in Otsego County, New York.

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Centennial history of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, Part 68

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