Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 106

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 2390

USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 106
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 106
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 106
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 106

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In September, 1839, Mr. Lemon was married, in Auburn township, on what is now part of his son's farm, to Miss Theda Cogswell, who was born in September, 1817, in Auburn township, where her parents, Julius and Eunice (Lyman ) Cogswell, were among the earliest settlers, coming from Ver- mont. This union was blessed with children as follows: Miner is a farmer of Springville town- ship; he married Nancy Quick. Charles died young. Martin, a farmer of Brooklyn township. married Laura Thomas. Leslie died at the age of eight years. Ursula is the widow of Dyer Lathrop, a farmer of Auburn township. Sanford, a farmer of Bradford county, Penn., married Lydia Shum- way. Edgar A. is mentioned farther on. Archi- bald died at the age of twenty-three years. Dolly married Edgar Brooks, of Brookdale, Penn. The mother passed away August 11, 1898, and her re- mains rest in the Bunnell cemetery.

EDGAR ASHTON LEMON was born September 25, 1851, in Auburn township, where he has passed nis entire life, during his youth attending the neigh- boring district schools, in which he received a good practical education. In November, 1883, he was married, in Auburn township, to Miss Emma Kin- ney, who was born April 15, 1855, in Wyoming county, Penn., and they have one child, Theda. Mr. Lemon is successfully engaged in general farming, having bought the farm of his maternal grandfather Cogswell, in Auburn township, and he is prominent among the thrifty, progressive and well-to-do farm- ers of this region. He is a hard worker, and in the improvement and cultivation of his own place has also assisted in the general advancement of the konwn. neighborhood, where he is well and favorably He is no office-seeker, and gives earnest attention to his business affairs. His political sym- pathies are with the Republican party. He is an active member of the M. E. Church, in which he has been steward for the past five years, and, fra- ternally, is a member of the I. O. O. F. lodge at Springville.

ELISHA B. BURDICK (deceased) was for many years one of the leading agriculturists and honored citizens of Clifford township, Susquehanna county. He was born on the farm where his widow still resides, May 5, 1824. a son of Elias and Sarah

(Brightman) Burdick, both of whom died upon that place, their remains being interred in the Bur- dick cemetery. The father cleared and improved the farm, and throughout life followed agricultural pursuits. His children were Stephen, a farmer of Clifford township ; Luthur and Caleb, who followed farming in the same township, but are. now de- ceased ; Elisha B., our subject ; Sarah, deceased wife of Samuel Cole; Mary, deceased, who wedded her cousin, Philip Burdick; Julia, deceased wife of Briah Palmer ; and Abigail, deceased wife of Will- iam Main.

Our subject spent his entire life upon the old homestead, comprising 100 acres of rich and arable land, which he placed under a high state of cultiva- tion, and improved with good buildings. He also owned another good farm, in Preston township, Wayne county, and was quite a thorough and suc- cessful farmer. He voted the Democratic ticket, and for six years most capably filled the office of school director. He was a member of the Seventh- Day Baptist Church, and his life was ever in har- mony with his professions. He died December 24, 1892, honored and respected by all who knew him, and was laid to rest in Burdick cemetery, upon a part of his farm.

On January 31, 1856, Mr. Burdick married Miss Mary E. Burdick, who was born in Clifford township, March 13, 1838, and died July 13, 1864, her remains being interred in Burdick cemetery. Three children blessed that union: Owen E., born October 26, 1859, married Sarah E. Lingfelder, and is engaged in carpentering in New Jersey ; Sarah E., born September 10, 1861, is the wife of George R. Westcott, a mechanic of New York ; and Mary E., born June 28, 1864, is a resident of Clifford.

Mr. Burdick was again married, in Clifford township, December 10, 1867, his second union be- ing with Miss Ruth Wells, by whom he had six children, namely: Wells, born May 19, 1869, is a railroad fireman living in Vandling, Penn .; Milo, born August 28, 1871, is a farmer of Clifford town- ship; Hugh, born November 1, 1873, and John, born January 6, 1876, are both at home with their mother ; Edith, born December 31, 1878, is the wife of Walter S. Lyons, a farmer of Herrick township; and Gerald D., born April 20, 1884, is at home. Mrs. Burdick was born on the old Wells home- stead in Clifford township, June 19, 1845, a daugh- ter of William Wells.

JOHN R. PEIRSON, a retired farmer and honored citizen of Montrose, Penn., was born near Rockaway, Morris Co., N. J., February 10, 1837, and is a son of John and Betsy ( Talmage) Peir- son, the former a native of Long Island, the lat- ter of Morris county, N. J., where their marriage was celebrated in 1820, and where they continued to reside until coming to Susquehanna county, Penn., in 1841. The father was a carpenter by trade, but after coming to this county he turned

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his attention to agricultural pursuits and owned and operated a farm at Franklin Forks. He died in February, 1873, aged seventy-five years, and his wife in February, 1886, aged eighty-seven years, and both were buried at Lawsville. They were earnest members of the Presbyterian Church and were highly respected by all who knew them. In their family were the following children: William W. and Nathaniel H., who died in Franklin town- ship, in 1860; Hannah E., widow of John Crom- well, now of Montrose; Sarah, who died in 1848: Selina, who died in 1850; John R., our subject ; and Henry T., who died during his service in the Civil war in 1862. Our subject's paternal grand- parents, John and Hannah ( Hedges) Peirson, were residents of Bridgehampton, Long Island, and the former was a weaver and farmer by occupation. The paternal great-grandparents were Daniel and Sarah ( Baker ) Peirson. The maternal grand- parents, Job and Sarah (Cooper) Talmage, made their home in Morris county, N. J., and the former was a blacksmith by trade.

The primary education of our subject, acquired in the district schools near his childhood home, was supplemented by a course at the old Harford Acad- emy, under Prof. Lyman Richardson. He remained with his parents until their deaths, and then pur- chased the interest of the other heirs in the old homestead, which he continued to successfully oper- ate until his removal to Montrose, March 1, 1895. This farm consisted of 116 acres of land; at the time it came into the possession of his father (John Peirson ), only a small portion had been cleared and a log cabin erected thereon. Two years later the father built a two-story frame house, and in 1876 our subject replaced it by a more modern and pre- tentious structure, and about that time he purchased lands adjoining, making the farm to consist of 180 acres. He made many other improvements upon the place, but sold it in September, 1897.

In 1870 Mr. Peirson was married, in McHenry county, . Ill., to Miss Esther J. Stevens, who was born in Wayne county, Penn., in 1839, and died in 1884, being laid to rest in Lawsville cemetery. Her parents were Malby and Julia (Kellogg) Stevens, of Wayne county. By this union our subject had three children: Estella M., who died in 1890; Lucy E. and Betsy T., both at home. Mr. Peirson was again married, in September, 1885, in Wayne county, to Miss Esther J. Kellogg, a native of that county, and a daughter of Jirah and Eliza ( Moore) Kellogg, of Wayne county. Both Mr. and Mrs. Peirson hold membership in the Presbyterian Church, with which he has been connected since twenty years of age, and he also belongs to the Farmers Alliance. Since voting for Abraham Lincoln he has been a stanch supporter of the Re- publican party, and while living on the farm served as auditor four terms and township clerk three terms, to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. He is a well-read man, and keeps thoroughly posted

on the leading questions and issues of the day, as well as upon topics of general interest, and he is held in high regard by all who know him.

JESSE L. HOLMES, the well-known finan- cier, agriculturist and stock dealer of South Gib- son, Susquehanna county, is the most extensive real-estate owner in that county, his taxes being larger than those of any other one citizen.

Mr. Holmes belongs to one of the leading pio- neer families of Gibson township, Susquehanna county, where he was born April 20, 1831. His paternal grandfather, Deacon William Holmes, was a ship builder at Newburgh, N. Y., for some years, but afterward settled upon a farm in Gibson town- ship, where his remaining years were spent. He was a zealous worker in the Presbyterian Church, and for many years previous to his death held the office of deacon. While residing in Newburgh he married Mary Wyatt, who was born September I, 1772, and died December 1, 1849; he died January 9, 1834. The remains of both were interred in a cemetery in Gibson township. They had the fol- lowing named children: Deborah, born April 5, 1790; David, our subject's father; Daniel, born December 14, 1794, died March 5, 1846; Ann, born February 20, 1797, died March 11, 1838; Helen. born May 14, 1799; Eliza, born July 4, 1800, died February 17, 1856; Thomas, born January 18, 1804, died November 26, 1838; William G., born October 19, 1805; Mary A., born March 8, 1808, died No- vember 25, 1859; Sophia T., born March 26, 181I, died in March, 1857 ; and Sarah, born June 29, 1815.

David Holmes, our subject's father, was born in Newburgh, N. Y., October 5, 1792, but the greater portion of his life was spent in Gibson township, Susquehanna county, where he engaged in farming and the manufacture of potash. He died there February 23, 1860, lamented by a large circle of friends who honored him for his upright Christian character. During the war of 1812 he was drafted, and served until his discharge at Dan- ville, Penn., at the close of the war. On October 29, 1824, he was married, in Gibson township, to Hannah Fuller, who was born March 10, 1799, at Attleboro, Mass., and died March 12, 1875. . The remains of both now rest in Union Hill cemetery, Gibson township. This worthy couple had a large family of children, as follows: (I) David E., born July 6, 1825, operates a gristmill at South Gibson ; he was formerly postmaster at that place. (2) William W., born March 12, 1827, is a farmer in Jackson township, Susquehanna county. (3) Sarah P., born January 20, 1829, married Richard Owens, and died December 24, 1898. (4) Jesse L., born April 20, 1831, is our subject. (5) Charles M., born April 10, 1834, was a successful carpen- ter and builder at South Gibson, and at the time of his enlistment in the army was building a hotel there. He died May 11, 1863, in a hospital at Windmill Point, Va., and his remains were brought home by his brother Jesse. (6) Samuel

J. L.Holmes

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

R., born April 10, 1836, is a farmer in Gibson town- ship. (7) George F., born February 17, 1839, is a farmer in Gibson township. Our subject's mother died March 12, 1875. Her father, Jesse Fuller, of Attleboro, Mass., served seven years in the Revo- lutionary army. He died January 16, 1832, aged seventy-nine years, and his wife, Lydia ML., died November 2, 1830, aged seventy.

Jesse L. Holmes was raised to farm work, and at the age of sixteen he began to find employment with neighboring farmers. At eighteen he decided to learn the carpenter's trade, and after an appren- ticeship of two years with his brother, David E., he engaged in business for himself. For twenty- five years he conducted an extensive business as

contractor and builder, at various places, including Scranton and Forest City, and many of the rest- dences and barns in the rural districts of Susque- hanna county were built by him. For twenty years he also followed the trade of millwright. About 1873 he gave up contracting and building, and in 1874 he located at South Gibson and turned his attention to speculating and the business of loan- ing money and discounting notes. A number of farms have come into his possession on mortgages, and he now owns over 1,000 acres of land, in Clif- ford, Lenox, Gibson and other townships. The oversight of his property keeps him fully occupied. and the extent of his connection with the cattle business may be inferred from the fact that he keeps about 180 head on his farm near South Gibson. He has a fine physique, being large and well-pro- portioned, and seems capable of a vast amount of effort without injury. Politically he gives his al- legiance to the Republican party, but he has never been willing to enter the race for office, his own interests requiring his time. On May 26, 1871, he was married, at Mt. Pleasant, Penn., to Miss Mary D. Resseguie, a native of South Gibson, and a daughter of Fitch and Mary ( Tewksbury) Resse- guie.

Samuel Resseguie, grandfather of our subject's wife, was the first permanent settler at South Gib- son. He was a son of William Resseguie, of Fish- kill, N. Y. In May. 1813. he brought his family to the wilderness, paying a Mr. Taylor $40 for a quit-claim deed for 400 acres. He erected a log cabin, having bark shingles held down by poles, and moved with his family into this rude dwelling. His quit-claim deed proved worthless ; he bought 120 acres of land at $2 per acre, which he occupied until he passed away, in 1858, at the age of eighty- two years. He had married, at Norwalk, Conn., Freelove Disbrow, a native of Connecticut, and their children were: Fitch, Lewis, Aaron, Will- iam. Harrison, Nelson, Betsey, Cynthia and Sally.

Fitch Resseguie, the eldest child, and Mrs. Holmes' father, was born in 1804, and was reared in the backwoods home, developing the sturdy character of a pioneer and a generous hos- pitality which usually abounded in the early settle- ments. He married Mary Tewksbury, daughter of

Jacob and Mary ( Reed) Tewksbury, natives of Vermont, who migrated in 1814 to Susquehanna county, settling in Brooklyn township. Fitch Resseguie was a lifelong farmer of the Tunkhan- nock Valley. He was a charter member of the M. E. Church, and in the early days his house and barn were always open for Church services. His noble wife, whose womanly and Christian graces were a refining influence throughout the commun- ity, died in 1876, aged sixty-three years. Fitch Resseguie died in 1890, aged eighty-six. Their children were as follows: Charles W. became editor of the Daily Transcript and Ledger, of Sus- quehanna ; he married Angeline M. Woodward ; his death occurred May 21, 1898, at Susquehanna. Freeman T. was drowned at the age of sixteen years. George R., born February 1, 1839, a farmer of Harford township, married Harriet M. Ehrgood. William E., a merchant of South Gibson, married Helen Denny. Mary D. is the wife of our subject. Manly T., who married Vianna Pickering, died at the age of forty years.

TURRELL. The Turrell family in Connecti- cut, from which sprang the family bearing the name in Susquehanna county, was one of prominence and influence in Litchfield county, and was descended from Roger Terrill, of Essex County, England, who was one of the founders of Milford, Conn., in 1639. The Susquehanna county branch of the family are the posterity of Leman and William Turrell, brothers, and sons of James Turrell, Jr., who was the son of Capt. James Turrell of New Milford, Litchfield Co., Conn., a great-grandson of Roger Terrill. The children and children's chil- dren of Leman and William Turrell include among them such men as Stanley, Joel, Leman M., Abel, James and Hon. William J. Turrell, all now deceased, and the venerable Henry F. Turrell, still hale and hearty under the weight of nearly four- score years, residing at Montrose, where his son William H. Turrell is one of the active and prom- inent of the younger business men of the borough. There also resides the aged widow of the late Abel Turrell, whose only son, Edgar A. Turrell, is a lawyer of New York City. These men have in turn played well their parts in the development and prog- ress of Susquehanna county in the one hundred years of its history.

Leman Turrell, son of James Turrell, Jr., of New Milford, Conn., was born in that place July 5, 1776. In 1793 he accompanied his mother to visit a sister. Mrs. Kingsley, who had settled in what is now Susquehanna county, Penn., near the mouth of the Wyalusing creek. The mother rode on horseback and the son walked, the distance being in the neighborhood of two hundred and fifty miles. In the spring following, 1794, when eighteen years of age, the son again came to Susquehanna county, as assistant to his uncle. Job Turrell, to survey the lands under the Connecticut title, returning to Con- necticut in the fall. In the summer of 1809 he

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made another trip to Susquehanna county, bought a tract of land on the headwaters of the middle branch in what is now Forest Lake township, and built a cabin to which he moved his family in 1810. As time passed he improved the wild land, added to his original tract, and, being a man of energy, industry and perseverance, accumulated a large prop- erty. In connection with farming he was occupied in the line of surveying lands, laying out roads and the like in the county, and along in about 1821 he and some of his sons were engaged in building a part of the Milford and Owego turnpike. He had married, in 1797, Lucy Turrell, who was born in 1776, and on their removal to Susquehanna county they had a family of four children. There were no district schools maintained in the early settlement of the family here, and Mr. Turrell, a man of educa- tion, taught his own children at home evenings after his day's labor was over. Leman Turrell died December 28, 1848, and his widow survived many years, dying in December, 1864. They were plain, conscientious, good people, honorable and just, and were greatly esteemed and respected. Their chil- dren were: (I) Britannia Turrell, born in 1798, married Adolphus Olmstead, and became the moth- er of the late Garrick M. Olmstead, a prominent lawyer of Jersey City; and Sarah Britannia, who married the late Judge F. B. Streeter, whose son, Harry Streeter, is a lawyer of Towanda, Penn. (2) Stanley Turrell, born in 1800, married Miss Alice R. Thacher. He was reared to agricultural pur- suits, which he continued through life, and was a successful and prosperous farmer in Forest Lake township, occupying some of the original purchase made by his father in the beginning of the settle- ment of the county. His death occurred in 1879. (3) Joel Turrell, born in 1801, married Patty Grif- fis, and for his second wife Mrs. Mary Gilbert. He, too, was a prosperous farmer in Forest Lake township. He succeeded his father as a surveyor of lands and roads, and in 1856 was elected county surveyor, being succeeded in this office in 1859 by his son, Wilson J. Turrell, who served as such until 1862. Joel Turrell died in 1873. (4) Leman M. Turrell, born in 1808, married Lovina Griffis. He was a successful farmer in Forest Lake township, and at one time was the owner of a large body of land in Nebraska. He was an exemplary man, and for years a deacon in the Baptist Church at Birch- ardville. He died in 1883. (5) Abel Turrell is mentioned farther on. (6) Lucy Ann Turrell, born in 1816, married Abner Griffis, and died in 1883. Of their children, Henry L. Griffis was graduated from Lafayette College, which in 1885 conferred upon him the degree of M. A. Some years ago he was located at Binghamton, N. Y., as a civil engineer and professor of natural science in the Binghamton High School, and he now holds a like professorship in the State Normal School of New Paltz, Ulster Co., N. Y. (7) James Turrell, born in 1818, mar- ried Hanna Gurney, and was a resident of Long- mont, Colo., where he died August 29, 1894. Hon.

Judson W. Turrell, his son, is a prominent business man and citizen of Longmont. He learned the drug business with his uncle, Abel Turrell, at Montrose, removed to Longmont, engaged in the drug business, became identified with that city's interests, and represented his fellow-citizens in the State Legislature.

The late Abel Turrell, of Montrose, son of Le- man Turrell, was born on his father's farm in what is now Forest Lake township, Susquehanna Co., Penn., October 16, 1812, was there reared, and in early boyhood attended the district schools of the neighborhood. His father, being a man of good education, aided his children in their studies, and young Abel by studying at home received a thor- ough training in the elementary branches. He con- tinued his studies at John Mann's Academy and at the Montrose Academy, and . in 1837 began his career as a teacher, a profession he followed suc- cessfully two years, at Wilkes Barre, Penn. In 1839 he turned his attention to journalism, becom- ing, in May of that year, the editor and proprietor of a new paper at Montrose, styled the Montrose Volunteer, the name changing later to the' Mont- rose Democrat. He continued in this line of work until January, 1846, issuing a carefully prepared and judiciously edited paper. Following this, from April, 1848, for twenty-seven years, he was engaged in the drug business at Montrose, retiring from active business life in May, 1875, with a com- petence. Mr. Turrell was eminently a successful business man, considering that his business life was confined to so limited a field as a small county seat town afforded. He accumulated not only a com- petence, but a fortune, and, had his keen business judgment and financiering ability been given a wider field of operation, he would doubtless have been one of the great money makers of the coun- try. He was strictly honest, just and honorable in all of his dealings with his fellow-men, and to these qualities he largely attributed the financial success he attained. He was one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Montrose, and one of its first board of directors, sustaining such relations with the bank for years. He was quiet and unassuming, a good man and a good citizen. He believed in Christianity, was ever reverent and respectful, and his life was such as to commend him to his fellow- citizens, who held him in esteem and respect. He died March 7, 1891.

On October 19, 1843, Mr. Turrell was married to Adelia Catlin, born January 7, 1813, in Bridge- water township, Susquehanna Co., Penn., daugh- ter of Erastus and Polly ( Wright) Catlin, formerly from Litchfield county, Connecticut.

Edgar Abel Turrell, the only son and child of the late Abel Turrell, of Montrose, is a native of that borough, where his boyhood was passed and where he received his elementary education. He entered Yale College along in the middle 'sixties, was graduated in 1867, and in 1870 received the de- gree of M. A. from that institution. Deciding

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upon the profession of the law, he entered Colum- bia Law School, New York City, from which he was graduated in 1869, and was admitted to the New York State Bar. He then passed two years in travel and. study in Europe, after which, in 1872, he located in the practice of the law in New York City, his office being at No. 170 Broadway. For nearly thirty years he has continued in active prac- tice in that city, in both the State and the United States Courts. Mr. Turrell is a scholarly gentle- man, and a man of culture and ability. He has been successful and is a man of means. Socially, while in college he was an active member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. He is a member of the New York City Bar Association, the Law Institute, the Manhattan Club, and the Young Men's Democratic Club, of which he was secretary and also vice-president for a number of years.

Erastus Catlin, the father of Mrs. Abel Tur- rell, early in the nineteenth century, prior to 1815, came from Litchfield county, Conn., and settled in what is now Bridgewater township, Susquehanna county, in sight of Montrose. He resided there many years, then removed to Chenango county, N. Y. His death occurred in 1854. His wife died in 1830. Mr. Catlin was a grandson of John and Margaret (Seymour) Catlin, and was descended from one of the early and prominent families of Litchfield county, Conn., and, going back to the mother country, the family name is frequent at Newington, Rochilan, County of Kent, England. The Catlins have held property there since the Nor- man conquest. Thomas Catlin, who came to Hart- ford in 1632, was the first of the name in America, and from him descended the Catlins of Litchfield county, Connecticut.

William Turrell, son of James Turrell, Jr., of New Milford, Litchfield Co., Conn., and brother of the late Leman Turrell, of Forest Lake, Penn., was a native of Litchfield county, Conn., born in 1781 in New Milford. In 1808 he was married to Miss Polly Silvia Benedict, who was born in 1785 in New Milford, Conn. In early life he learned the sad- dlery and harness trade at his birthplace, and also for a time was a merchant in Washington, Conn. His brother, Leman Turrell, located in Susque- hanna county, Penn., in 18io, and in February, 1816,. William Turrell, with family, then consist- ing of wife and two children, removed to Susque- hanna county, stopping for a short time with his brother-in-law, David Benedict, who had previously made a home at Montrose. Mr. Turrell not long after his arrival moved his family to a log cabin in Auburn township, where he resided for about one year, and then permanently located in Montrose, settling on the site of the property now ( 1899) oc- cupied by S. E. Newton, and owned by Henry F. Turrell, building the house in 1824. In 1817 he opened a saddlery and harness shop in a part of the house in which he lived, and was actively engaged in that line of business until his retirement in 1843, in the meantime, however, changing the locality

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 106

Author: Publication date: 1900 Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 2390

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 2390