Centennial history of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, Part 93

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

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The membership of the church has been large, but a number of churches having been organized out of it, the number belonging in 1886 was only eiglity- four.

The first meeting-liouse at Birchardville was built in 1837, on half an acre of ground, secured from Dr. R. H. Rose, but for which the church received no deed until 1853. The building was a square frame, two stories high, so as to afford a gallery, and was repaired in 1855. Eleven years later a basement was added, and in 1873 the property was again improved. It is still comfortable, but will not compare with modern edifices. The property passed under the control of a board of trustees, July 20, 1853, which was com- prised of Orange Mott, Jr., Perry Ball, L. M. Turrell, G. W. Ball and John S. Birchard. Connected with

1 In what is now Jessup township.

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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

the church property is a cemetery, which is well fenced and contains a number of neat head-stones. It has been several times enlarged, the last time in 1884, and has now an area of one and a half acres. The entire property was controlled in 1886 by Trustees L. T. Birchard, H. F. Handrick, J. P. Hamlin, G. B. Johnson and Henry Spafford,

The Forest Lake Baptist Church was constituted at the hamlet of Forest Lake, May 4, 1842, of sixteen members, most of whom had previously been connec- ted with the Bridgewater and Middletown Churches; and before this period the meetings here, held by Elder A. L. Post, sustained the relation of branch services to the former church. Some interest had been awakened and several persons had been baptized. The church, from the time of its organization, became a decided aggressive body, denouncing slavery and in- temperance in emphatic terms; and since that time it has not occupied an equivocal position on the great moral questions of the day. Hiram Allen and Augus- tus Tilden were chosen the first deacons, and Benja- min Russell clerk. On the 1st of May, 1880, Ches- ter Wright was chosen deacon in place of Deacon Tilden, who had deceased in 1875, and has since filled that office, also serving as church clerk. This posi- tion has also been filled by W. C. Tilden and H. Til- den. Since the organization of the church thie pastors have been the Revs. Chas. G. Swan, J. W. Parker, Sr., J. S. Baldwin, James D. Webster, Prentiss Frink, W. C. Tilden (from 1857 until the fall of 1879), H. J. Millard and Wm. Clapham. Since the fall of 1882 Elder W. C. Tilden has again been the pastor of the church, which had in 1886 forty-five members. Elder Tilden and Elder J. S. Baldwin were both or- dained to the ministry from the membership of this church. The latter removed to the West a number of years ago. The first meetings of the church were held in the school-house, but a plain frame building was purchased soon after 1842, and fitted up as a place of worship, which was used until 1880, when the pres- ent church edifice was erected on a site nearly oppo- site the old building, which has since stood abandoned. It is a neat structure with a spire, giving the building an inviting appearance, and was put up by a com- mittee composed of Chester Wright, W. C. Tilden, Robert Booth, S. R. Wright and John Brown. It was formally dedicated November 4, 1880, and soon there- after eight new members were received into the folds of the church. A prosperous Sabbath-school of forty members has Chester Wright as its superintendent.

ELDER WILLIAM CLARK TILDEN .- The Tilden family from which our subject is descended were early settlers in New England and of English origin. His grandfather, Ebenezer Tilden, resided on the old Til- den homestead, at Lebanon, New London County, Conn., which had been in the family for over one hundred years. By his wife, Elizabeth, he had five sons and three daughters,-Elder Chester Tilden, who served in the War of 1812, was a Baptist minis-

ter in Connecticut, Joseph, Augustus, Ebenezer, Thomas, Lucretia, Chloe and Eliza. All settled in the vicinity of their native place except Thomas B., who resided in Buffalo, and Augustus (1798-1875), who married Melinda (1797-1882), a daughter of Dea- con Nathan and Anna (Goodwin) Clark, of the same county in Connecticut, and in April, 1833, with their three children,-George A. (1826-70), William C., and Henry (1831-64),-settled on a farm on the Chestnut Ridge road, a little southeast of the centre of Forest Lake township, this county. Here this worthy couple spent the remainder of their lives on their farm. They had been members of the Lebanon Baptist Church and brought their letters with them. Upon their arrival here they united with the Middle- town Baptist Church, where they worshipped until 1842, when they, with others, organized the Forest Lake Baptist Church, of which he was chosen deacon, and honored that office in the church as long as he lived.

Deacon Tilden was among the first to accept the new school law when passed by the State Legislature, and ardently favored and advocated the education of the entire youth of the land by means of the public- school system. He was a Whig in politics, one of the early advocates of the abolition of slavery, and iden- tified himself with the Temperance cause and Total Abstinence party as early as 1842. He was a man of pure motives, correct habits and strong individual characteristics, and left his impress upon the lives of his children. His only daughter, born in 1836, after settling in Forest Lake, is Lucy Ann, wife of Hiram Cogswell, a farmer in the same township. George A. died on the homestead, and Henry died on the farm adjoining, where he resided.

Elder William Clark Tilden was born in Lebanon, Conn., May 1, 1829. He was four years old when his parents settled in Pennsylvania. His boyhood was spent at their new home, where he early learned les- sons of industry, economy and became inured to farm work. In early life he was religiously inclined, and at the age of fourteen united with the Forest Lake Baptist Church, of which he has been a member since, a period of forty-three years. After receiving the usual opportunities afforded by the district school and for a time attending the Montrose Academy, then conducted by Dr. Halsey, he taught school for five terms here and one at Candor, N. Y. He received his preparatory education at New York Central Col- lege and in 1853 entered Madison University, from which he was graduated in the class of '57. The same year he was settled as pastor of the Forest Lake and Middletown Baptist Churches, and the following year as pastor of the Liberty Baptist Church. For thirteen years he labored faithfully and earnestly in these churches and the societies connected therewith, and continued as pastor of the first two until 1879. For one and a half years following he was the pastor of the Baptist Church at Great Bend. Returning in the

William C. Tilden.

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FOREST LAKE.

spring of 1883 he resumed the pastorate of the Forest Lake Church, in which he has continued his labors since. Through the pressure and solicitation of friends he opened a select school at Forest Lake in 1864, which he conducted until 1867 and in which he prepared his pupils in the higher branches of an Eng- lish education. In the winter of 1868 and '69 he was principal of the graded school at Montrose. His proficiency as a teacher and his executive ability as a manager in school work gained him much credit among the friends of education, and in May, 1869, he was elected county superintendent of schools, which office, by re-election, he held for three consecutive terms,-a period of nine years. During his incumbency of the office of superintendent of schools he per- formed his pastoral duties regularly, and the compe- tent discharge of the duties of his school work assisted largely in placing the public schools of Susquehanna County upon a higher plane of efficiency than they had before enjoyed. He has been a scholar, teacher or superintendent of the Sunday-school from boy- hood. His life-work, whether in connection with the church or schools, has been one of great activity, earnestness and faithfulness in the discharge of his duties. During his continued service to the church he has preached four thousand two hundred and sixty-two sermons, of which five hundred and six were at funerals, and he has been called upon to uuite in the bonds of matrimony two hundred and fifty-eight couples. In the accomplishment of his work since 1857 he has traveled by private conveyance nearly eighty thousand miles. Upon uniting with the church, in 1843, he also took another important step and signed the total abstinence pledge, since which time he has been a temperance man both in his teach- ings and practice. He never united with any secret society, but has strenuously advocated in the church, in the society, and in whatever position he has been called to fill, the principles of temperance. He has been closely identified with school work at home and has served as president of the School Board. In the fall of 1886 he was the candidate of the Prohibition party for legislative honors, and received nine hun- dred and thirty-two votes, an increase of some four hundred over any previous election.

He married, in 1850, Amelia Russell, who was born in Bridgewater May 13, 1829. Mrs. Tilden has been a valuable helper in the life-work of her husband by her patience, faithfulness and unswerving integrity. She is a daughter of Benjamin and Sally (Watrous) (1798-1863) Russell, who were married in 1824, the former a native of England, who settled in Bridge- water about 1818, the latter a native of Middlebury, Schoharie County, N. Y., who came with her parents, Benjamin (1772-1820) and Lucy (Spencer) (1770-1839) Watrous, from that place to Bridgewater in 1818 and settled where her brother, Spencer Watrous, now re- sides. Benjamin Watrous was a native of Chester, Middlesex County, Conn., and settled with his fam-

ily in Middlebury, N. Y., in 1797. The children of Elder William C. and Amelia (Russell) Tilden are Emma Augusta, wife of Charles P. Ball, a farmer in Forest Lake, and Sarah Melinda, wife of Clark D. Dayton, residing on the Tilden homestead in Forest Lake.

Forest Lake Centre Methodist Episcopal Church .- What was known as the Town class of Methodists was organized as early as 1834, and had Jonathan West as its leader. The first meetings were held at his house, near Forest Lake, but soon after they were transferred to the house of John S. Town, in the neighborhood of the present church. Besides the Town and West families, Rosanna Deuel, Lorain Peat and Mary Austin also belonged to the first class. In 1841 there were thirty-two members, including, among other ad- ditions, Bertha Warner, Francis and Sarah Southwell and Elmer Cobb. The preachers were supplied by Vestal Circuit, embracing at that time a large number of appointments, In 1846, during the pastorate of the Revs. G. H. Blakeslee and George W. Leach, a meeting-house was built on the farm of John S. Town. This was enlarged in 1871 by the addition of twelve feet to its length and a tower in front, thirty feet high, by a building committee composed of Levi Lincoln, Wm. Booth and Suel Warner. In 1886 a fund was raised to paint the building, which was un- der the trustecship of F. H. Southworth, Suel War- ner and Willis Treadwell. In the winter of 1861-62 a revival of marked interest occurred in the church, during the ministry of the Rev. Richard Van Valken- burg, which resulted in sixty conversions and forty- five additions to the church. The membership in 1886 was not so large, there being only forty persons in the class, which had the Rev. Asa Warner as its leader and local preacher located here. The local re- lation was also sustained by Charles Decker, and Justus F. Warner, a son of Azor M. Warner, entered the ministry from this church in 1871. Until 1866 the church was connected with Vestal Circuit, N. Y., but that year Fairdale Circuit was established, with the appointments at Fairdale, Forest Lake Centre, Fair Hill and Devine Ridge, the latter in Rush township, and the Rev. Wm. Shelp was appointed preacher in charge.

Fair Hill Methodist Episcopal Church .- Prior to the erection of this church, in 1877, a class of Methodists held meetings in Taylor Hollow, at the school-house in the Chapman District, and at the house of Samuel D. Cornell. The latter may be said to have been the father of Methodism in this section, having at the time of his death, in 1881, been a consistent member for fifty-seven years. Other pioneer meinbers here were Zephaniah, Ella and Alice Cornell, the Orlando Green family, the Jagger family, the Lewis family, and members of the Shelp family. After the forma- tion of Fairdale Circuit, preaching was maintained with greater regularity, and consequent permanence of work followed, which made the erection of a church

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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

possible. It was built in 1877, on a lot secured from the old Cornell farm (now Conklin) by a committee composed of G. T. Lewis, H. S. Conklin and O. E. Green, at a cost of about fifteen hundred dollars, all of which was fully paid up before the day of dedica- tion, Nov. 26th of that year.

On the 26th of June, 1879, the church became an incorporated body on the petition of G. T. Lewis, E. Jagger, H. S. Conklin, R. L. Baxter, F. D. Terwilli- ger (named as trustees), O. E. Green, J. R. Fox, O. A. Maynard and Rev. John F. Jones, and the church property was placed in their care. The church is a neat frame building, with a spire, and has several hundred sittings. The class has a score of members, and is under the leadership of G. T. Lewis.

FOREST LAKE TEMPERANCE SOCIETY .- As show- ing the interest in temperance nearly forty years ago, it is a matter of record that the above society was or- ganized Dec. 28, 1849, in consequence of an address on this subject by Elder P. Frink, of the Baptist Church. The elder was chosen president of the soci- ety and John S. Birchard was the secretary. L. M. Turrell, John S. Town and John Strange were the vice-presidents. The meetings of the society were kept up about three years, and in that period the pledge was signed by one hundred and eighty persons, and the sentiment created has continued with bene- ficial results to the present time.

CEMETERIES .- There are five cemeteries-the old- est at Birchardville, donated by Jesse Birchard ; one near J. Stone's; one on the farm of L. M. Turrell, land donated to the public by his father; one near the lake, and another near S. D. Cornell's. Jabez A. Birchard's oldest child, Mary, was born in 1801-the first birth in the township. Hubbard Warner was the next, and there was not a death in the neighbor- hood " until those children were old enough to sit up with the corpse." This death was that of Miss Betsey Rice, who died at Loami Mott's, and was the first person buried near the Baptist Church at Birchard- ville. .

CHAPTER XXXI.

FRIENDSVILLE BOROUGH.

THE borough of Friendsville is twelve miles from Montrose, on the old New Milford and Owego turn- pike, which forms the principal street of the village. Its early history is blended with the townships of Apolacon, Choconut, Forest Lake and Middletown, from which the area of the borough was taken. It owes its origin and name to the purpose of Dr. R. H. Rose to found a village for the members of the Society of Friends, whom he had induced to settle on his lands in this locality. In 1819 he set aside a tract of land, three-quarters of a mile long and half as wide, along

the above highway, which was laid into village lots and called Friendsville. A few of the Friends coming at that period settled within these bounds, but most of them lived in the surrounding country and had this place as their business centre. In consequence of the removal of many of the early settlers the growth of the village was slow, and, though it has a pleasant location, in a rich country, it has not attained the im- portance of younger villages in the county which enjoy the advantages connected with railway commu- nication. There were, in 1886, not quite two hundred inhabitants, a good Catholic Church, three stores, two public-houses and several large mechanic shops. Three lines of stages bring the place in easy commu- nication with Binghamton, Montrose and Apolacon, the latter being at the mouth of Apolacon Creek, in the State of New York.

Samuel Savage was one of the first Friends in the place, remaining but a few years. William Salter, another Friend, opened the first store about 1820 and Dr. Levi Roberts came about this time, remaining until his death, in 1825, after which his lands passed into the hands of Joshua Gurney. In 1820 Thomas Peironnet, an Englishman, came to Friendsville, but died soon after. His lands were transferred to his brother, James S. Peironnet, a native of Dorchester, England. He was a cultured gentleman, of whom it was said he exchanged for a home in a then unculti- vated wild the shaven lawn and rose-wreathed cottages that lend such charms to English scenery. He often reminded me of those virtues that grace the character of an English country squire as shadowed forth by the felicitous pen of Irving. He retained a love of letters to the last, and when iu the mood, touched his violin as a master. He had a thorough knowledge of music as a science, and composed with readiness. He died, in 1843, in his seventy-first year, leaving a large family. His sons Robert D. and John S., were mer- chants in Friendsville from 1835 on, and Frederick was a physician. Two of his daughters married Henry and Sackville Cox. The family removed to the West after 1860. Thomas Christian, a merchant, was a later settler. Dr. Calvin Leet, after living in the central part of Choconut a few years, came to Friendsville, where he owned a tract of three hundred acres of land, on which he lived to be more than eighty years of age. For some time his father, Cap- tain Luther Leet, abode with him. Of the children of Dr. Calvin Leet, Elizabeth married Judson Wat- kins, and moved to Connecticut; Susan became the wife of Andrew Keyes ; Martha D. is the wife of Dr. E. L. Handrick. The sons, Calvin L. and Nathan Y., both became physicians. The former died in the village in 1872, and the latter removed to Scranton.

Lark Moore, a cooper, was a valuable addition to the settlement at Friendsville, removing before his death. His daughter, Susan, became an artist of dis- tinguished reputation.

Benjamin T. Glidden, a native of New Hampshire,

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FRIENDSVILLE.

settled in Friendsville about 1825, but removed and did not permanently locate here until 1833. He was a blacksmith by trade, and lived here until his death, in 1852, at the age of sixty-eight years. He was the father of Benjamin Glidden, Esq., of this borough, and D. W. Glidden, of Montrose.

About 1835 a large number of Friends removed from the village, and their places were taken by other citizens, many of Irish descent; and in late years the population has been composed almost wholly of that nationality.

In 1848 the following lived in the newly-organized borough.

Edward Andree, chairmaker; Hallock Armstrong, school-teacher ; Charles L. Brown, house and lot ; Benjamin Brey, farmer ; S. P. Buel merchant ; Samuel Baldwin, farmer; Henry Cox, farmer ; Dayton Can- field, farmer ; Erastus M. Day, wagonmaker ; James Ferry, farmer ; Abraham Fordham, cooper ; Benj. Glidden, blacksmith ; Joshua Gur- ney, farmer ; Thomas Glennon, tailor ; Nelson Griffiths, painter ; Joseplı Hyde, inn-keeper ; Andrew J. Keyes, blacksmith ; Thomas Leary, laborer ; Calvin Leet, physician ; Calvin L. Leet, student ; S. D. Lyons, tailor ; Lark Moore, farmer ; John S. Peironnet, storehouse ; Robert D. Peironnet, tanner ; Henry M. Pierce, farmer ; John H. Pierce, physi- cian ; William Robbe, chairmaker ; David Robbe, farmer ; Robert Rey- nolds, farmer; Henry Slade, house and lot ; James Tallon, shoemaker ; James Taggart, wagonmaker; Benjamin Virgil, clerk ; Ahira Wick- ham, merchant ; J. R. Wood, tailor.

Incorporated .- The village was incorporated by an act of the Legislature in 1848, with the following limits :

"Beginning at a stake and stones on the lands of Joshua Gurney, in the township of Middletown; thence south 37º W. 320 rods across lands of said Gurney and those of William Carlon, deceased, to a stake and stones ; thence north 53º W. 480 rods to a stake and stones on lands of Canfield Dayton, in the township of Apalachian ; thence uoith 37º east 320 rods to a stake and stones on lands of the estate of James Peironnet, deceased ; thence south 53º east 480 rods across the corner of Choconut to the place of beginning ;" just twice the original limits, and remain unchanged.

The first election was held on the third Friday of March, 1848, when the following were chosen :

Burgess, Amos B. Mott ; Councilmen, Charles L. Brown, Joseph Hyde, Ahira Wickham, John S. Peironnet ; Clerk, Jeremiah Fordham ; Justice of the Peace, Benjamin Glidden; Assessor, Robert D. l'eironnet ; Street Commissioner, Joshua Gurney.

Since that time the following have been the burgesses and clerks :

1849, Dr. C. Leet, William Robbe ; 1850-5i, Ahira Wickham, William Robbe ; 1852, James Taggart, M. W. Bliss; 1853, John S. Peironuet, M. W. Bliss ; 1854, Ahira Wickham, M. W. Bliss ; 1855, Jolin H. Pierce, Henry Slade; 1856, D. W. Glidden, James Mead ; 1857, D. W. Glidden, William Robbe ; 1858-59, Dr. Calvin Leet, James Mead ; 1860, James Mead, James M. Rice ; 1861, Thomas Matthews, James Mead ; 1862, D. W. Glidden, B. Glidden ; 1863, J. J. Rooney, James Mead ; 1864, J. W. Flynn, James Mead; 1865, E. L. Handrick, James Mead; 1866, E. L. Handrick, D. W. Glidden ; 1867, Michacl McManus, D. W. Glidden ; 1868-69, James W. Flynn, James Mead ; 1870, James Mead, R. Foran; 1871, C. McCarthy, James Mead ; 1872, Philip Millan, E. L. Handrick ; 1873, Hugh Duffy, E. L. Handrick ; 1874, R. Winters, James Mead ; 1875-76, Dr. E. P. Hines, Johu W. Hagan ; 1877, James Trodden, Jolin W. Hagan ; 1878, Jamies Trodden, R. Foran ; 1879, E. L. Handrick, R. Foran ; 1880, Dennis O'Day, R. Foran ; 1881, R. Winter, R. Forau ; 1882, Thomas Matthews, J. M. Price; 1883, Thomas Hagan, Thomas Matthews; 1884, J. W. Hagan, Thomas Matthews; 1885-86, M. Dow, R. Foran.

In this period Benjamin Glidden has served five terms as justice of the peace ; R. Foran, three times ;

and that office has also been held by William Buffum, Thomas Matthews and Miles W. Bliss. In 1886 forty-three votes were polled in the borough, and the bounds remained as established.

BUSINESS INTERESTS .- It is generally conceded that William Salter, a Friend, sold the first goods in the village about 1820, having a store on the hill where is now the hotel. About 1827 he sold out to Thomas Christian ; and the latter had also a public- house at the same place. Later the site was given up wholly to use for tavern purposes, and Joseph Hyde was for many years the inn-keeper. Then came Miles Bliss, C. B. Jackson and Philo Sherwood, each in turn keeping a popular house. From 1868 to 1879 John Foster was the landlord, and the latter year the house was burned. On its site the present three-story building was erected in 1880 by Stephen D. Sawyer and kept by him some time. Since the summer of 1886 the host has been A. M. O'Donnell. In the saine locality an old business-stand was con- verted into a hotel by Edwin Bliss, which is now kept by Philip Ryan. As merchants there were at this place the Peironnets, the Pierces, and last, James Patch.

Nearly opposite is the old business-stand of Mott & Stone, and where later merchants were Wickham & Stone, Wickham & Hosford, J. Hosford, and, for the past fifteen years, Robert Winters. At the other end of the village, in a building which has been destroyed by fire, Robert D. Peironnet traded ; and farther up the street was John S. Peironnet. At the tannery was a small grocery by William Gart- ley. Nearer the centre of the village Frank Gorman was in trade, and was killed by lightning August 15, 1871, while sitting in the store. Later John Gor- man had this stand, and while owned by him the store was burned down. On this site is a store in which E. E. Lee has traded since November, 1877. Opposite was a store by the Pierce Bros., Charles Campbell, William Buffum, J. J. Rooney, M. Hickey, and was also burned down. In an adjoining build- ing, which was also burned, was S. P. Buel, James Donley and others. In the same locality Benjamin Glidden and M. S. Marsh had the largest store in the place, and in the fall of 1856 this building was destroyed by fire. William Buffum has merchan- dised in the borough since 1857, occupying his pres- ent stand since the late Civil War.

At the Lee store is kept the Friendsville post-office, in charge of E. E. Lee since October, 1885. The office was established January 3, 1820, with William Salter as the first postmaster. The intermediate appointees were, 1827, Thomas Christian ; 1834, Robert D. Peironnet ; 1842, Joseph Hyde; 1844, Charles L. Brown; 1848, John S. Peironnet; 1849, Edwin Bliss ; 1851, William C. Waters ; 1854, Miles W. Bliss ; 1856, James Mead; 1861, James M. Rice ; 1862, Jeremiah Hosford; 1868, William Buffum ; 1869, J. Hosford; 1882, J. M. Rice. The office has

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Centennial history of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, Part 93

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