Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 108

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 108
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 108
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 108
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 108

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Mrs. Mary (Aldrich) Van Housen possesses unusual mental gifts, and previous to her marriage she taught school for ten terms in Susquehanna county with marked success, being employed in the townships of New Milford, Brooklyn and Bridge- water. She was born April 15, 1816, in Harford township, Susquehanna county, and is of good New England ancestry. Her father, Nathan Aldrich, was born in New Hampshire and married in Massa- chusetts Betsy Wheelock, a native of the latter State. In the fall of 1815 they removed to Sus- quehanna county, locating first in Harford town- ship, and later in Brooklyn township, where their remaining years were spent. They were Univer- salists in religious faith, and by their upright con- duct and high character they won the esteem of their associates. The mother died in 1871, aged seventy-three years, and the father, who was form- erly a farmer by occupation, died in 1874, at the age of eighty-nine, both being buried at Bridgewater cemetery. They had the following children : Alan- son, Andres, Albert, Mary A. (Mrs. Van Housen), Alvin, Windsor, and Alister (Mrs. Eleazer Els- worth), of whom Mrs. Van Housen is now the only survivor.

JOHN SMITH FISHER, cashier of the Stroudsburg National Bank, of Stroudsburg, has an enviable standing in that community. While his integrity and business ability are recognized in financial circles, his sterling qualities of mind and heart are appreciated in social life, and the knowledge of the esteem in which he is held must be, in itself, a rich reward for his long and useful career.

He was born January 22, 1822, in what is now Polk township, Monroe county (then Northamp- ton county), and comes of thrifty German ances- try. His great-grandfather, Michael Fisher, died on the ocean while on the voyage from Germany to America with his family, and the remaining mem- bers of the party settled in this section soon after their arrival in what is now Monroe county. The widow married a Mr. Gower, a grain merchant.

John Lawrence Fisher, our subject's grandfa- ther, was one of three children-two boys and one girl-according to some papers found after his death. He made his home upon a farm within the present limits of Polk township, Monroe coun- ty, and lived to the advanced age of ninety years and three months. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Merhekam, also attained a good old age. They had a large family of children, as fol- lows: Michael, who died at the homestead, aged

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seventy years ; Dewalt, a farmer of Polk township, who died in his sixty-ninth year; Abraham, our subject's father ; Lawrence, who survived the others and died when over seventy years old; Conrad, who died in Stroud township, Monroe county, aged forty-two; Elizabeth ( Mrs. Adam Keller), who died in Easton, Penn. ; Catherine ( Mrs. Peter Fred- erick), who died at Cherry Valley, Monroe county ; Margaret ( Mrs. Conrad Hawk), who died in Poik township, Monroe county ; Eva, who never married, and made her home with the Keller family in East- on ; Susannah, who married Jesse Siglin ; and Maria, who married Michael Hawk and died in Polk town- ship, Monroe county.

Abraham Fisher, our subject's father, was born in 1789, at the old homestead, and after acquiring an education in the schools of the locality he en- gaged in farming there. He, with his brothers Lawrence and Michael, inherited the farm, but neither of the latter ever married. Abraham Fish- er died in March, 1851, and his wife, Margaret Smith, who was born in 1802, in Carbon county, Penn., died in 1876. Her family was of Pennsyl- vania Dutch stock, and her father, Abraham Smith, was a farmer in Carbon county, where he died at an advanced age. Our subject was the eldest in a family of three children. (2) Mary married first James Gregory, deceased, and second George Smale. By the first marriage she had two children-Ma- linda and Mary-and by the second she had one daughter, who married Peter Bowlinger. (3) Charles, the youngest, now deceased, was a farmer in Polk township, Monroe county. He left four children-Fannie, Becky, May and George, all of whom reside in that county.

Our subject was reared at the old homestead, attending only the common schools of his district, and he followed farming as an occupation until the fall of 1864. He was always interested in politics, being an ardent Democrat, and for many years was continuously in office. From 1847 to 1863 he was justice of the peace of Polk township, Monroe coun- ty, and in the latter year he was elected county reg- ister and recorder. In this position he served three terms, nine years in all, and on retiring in 1872 he decided to devote his attention to business. For four years he was employed as a clerk by the Tan- ite Company, and in 1876 he became teller in the Stroudsburg Bank. In 1881 he was promoted to the post of cashier, which he has ever since held, the institution being changed to a national bank in February, 1887. In religious faith Mr. Fisher is a Lutheran, as were his parents and all his ances- tors as far back as they are known. He is identi- fied with various fraternal orders, including the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows; the Order of American Mechanics; and the Improved Order of Red Men, and in each of these he has passed through all the chairs.

In 1846 Mr. Fisher married Miss Susannah Shupp, who was born August 17, 1822, in Chestnut Hill township, Monroe county, and seven children

have blessed the union: (1) Nathan died when three years old. (2) Edwin, born September 19, 1849, is employed in the United States mint at Phila- delphia. He married Miss Sophia Burd, a native of New Jersey, and has one daughter-Sallie. (3) James died at the age of nineteen. (4) Charles A. died at the age of three years. (5) Mary died in her fourth year. (6) Catherine died at the age of twenty-three. (7) Wilson, born May, 1865, is em- ployed in the car shops in Stroudsburg; he mar- ried Miss Emma Sigman, of South Easton, and has two children-John and Adella.

EDWARD L. BEEBE, a retired farmer and highly-respected citizen of Franklin Forks, Sus- quehanna county, was born in the town of Wind- sor, Broome Co., N. Y., February 16, 1824.

Mr. Beebe is a son of Harry and Orrill ( Wal- ler) Beebe, natives of Wilkes Barre, Penn., who on coming to Susquehanna county, in 1828, first located in Brooklyn township, where they spent two years. The following three years they passed in Forest Lake township, and at the end of that time removed to Franklin township, where the father died in 1875, at the age of seventy-nine years. Sub- sequently the mother found a pleasant home with our subject, and there she passed away in 1886, at the advanced age of ninety-three years, and was laid to rest by the side of her husband in Franklin Forks cemetery. To them were born six children, namely: Lyman, who enlisted in 1863 in the 14Ist P. V. I., and died in field hospital in 1864; Phineas W., a retired mechanic of Binghamton, N. Y .; Henry, who died in 1885; Edward L., our subject ; Margaret, deceased, who (first) married H. Pear- son, and (second) S. L. Stillwell; and Sarah, wife of Eli B. Smith, a merchant of Franklin Forks. Our subject's paternal grandparents, Timothy and Sarah (Loverage) Beebe, were of Welsh extrac- tion. They lived for a time in Wilkes Barre, Penn., and died in Windsor, N. Y. In his younger days the grandfather followed shoemaking, but later he devoted his attention to farming.

Edward L. Beebe remained with his parents until after his marriage, which was celebrated at Franklin Forks, June 7, 1849, Miss Dolly B. Smith becoming his wife. To them were born three children, as follows: Javan D., of Binghamton, N. Y., wedded Mary Marsh, and had two children, Edward K. (deceased) and Stanley J .; Emorilla (first) married John Guernsey, by whom she had one daughter, Nellie, and is now the wife of A. E. Hemstraught, a carpenter of Binghamton, by whom she has one son, Harry: Miles S. married Amy Sherwood and has one son, Meade, a soldier in the Ist New York Volunteers, stationed at Honolulu, and who is engaged in the grocery business in that city. Mrs. Beebe was born in Delaware county, N. Y., June 9, 1827, a daughter of Joseph and Belinda (Bartrum) Smith, natives of Litchfield county, Conn. Her paternal grandparents, Joseph and Lydia ( Beers) Smith, were also natives of that

E. R. Beche

Hors & I Beebe

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

State, were farming people, and died in Roxbury, Delaware Co., N. Y. The maternal grandparents, Eli and Dolly (Lyon) Bartrum, were born in Litchfield county, Conn., and died in Ashtabula county, Ohio; throughout his active business life Mr. Bartrum followed farming, but his last days were spent in retirement from all labor. Joseph Smith, father of Mrs. Beebe, removed from Rox- bury, Delaware Co., N. Y., to Franklin Forks, Sus- quehanna Co., Penn., April 19, 1844, and here pur- chased a tract of 143 acres, on which he built a tan- nery, operating same until it was destroyed by fire, seven years later. In 1857 he and his wife removed to Wood county, Ohio, where he bought land and engaged in farming until called from this life, in 1868, at the age of seventy-six years, his remains being interred on his farm, which has since been converted into a public cemetery. He was a man of prominence, and had the confidence and esteem of all who knew him. The mother died at the home of Mrs. Beebe, in November, 1896, aged ninety-seven years, eleven months and six days, and was laid to rest in Franklin Forks cemetery. The children of the family were Lydia, deceased, who (first ) married Stillman Fuller, and ( second) Bealey Cogswell, both Baptist ministers; Clara, deceased wife of Asa Fuller ; Edwin D., deceased ; Eli B., a merchant of Franklin Forks; Dolly B., wife of our subject ; Mary A., who ( first ) married Edgar Smith, and ( second) James White, and died in Wisconsin ; Israel, deceased; Jane, who married William Stevens, and died in Minnesota; Emily, who married Daniel Bordman, and died in Bing- hamton, N. Y .; and Joseph Alfred, who died dur- ing his service in the Civil war, and was buried in Kentucky.

Until twenty-five years of age Mr. Beebe con- tinued to assist in the operation of the home farm, which he then purchased of his father, and to its further improvement and cultivation he devoted his energies until 1878, when he removed to his present farm in Franklin township ; he is now prac- tically living retired, leaving the operation of the place to younger hands. On September 20, 1864, he enlisted in Company K, 185th N. Y. V. I., under Capt. A. H. Spore, and was mustered into the United States service at Syracuse, N. Y. He spent most of his time in front of Petersburg, and in a skirmish one morning, while the Union lines were advancing, received a flesh wound in the right arm. He was sent to Harwood hospital, Washington, D. C., where he remained until mustered out. He is now a prominent member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and is identified with the Republican party. He has been honored with a number of local offices, such as supervisor and school director. and was once elected justice of the peace, but re- fused to qualify. He served as county commis- sioner in 1871. 1872 and 1873, discharging the duties of the office in a most commendable manner. Although he has rounded the psalmist's span of threescore years and ten, and the snows of several

winters have whitened his hair, he has the vigor of a much younger man, and in spirit and interest seems yet in his prime. Mrs. Beebe is a member of the M. E. Church, to which her husband liberally contributes.

CALVIN C. HALSEY, M. D., who for forty years or more has practiced medicine in and about Montrose, Susquehanna county, traces his ancestry back nearly three hundred and eighty years to the Halseys of Great Gaddesden, England.

Thomas Halsey, his first American ancestor, was in Lynn, Mass., in 1637, and from there went to eastern Long Island. From this ancestor Dr. Halsey is in the seventh generation. Dr. Stephen Halsey, Jr., the Doctor's grandfather, born in 1757, at Southold, L. I., was a soldier in the war of the Revolution. He married Hamutal Howell, of Bridgehampton, L. I., where he died in 1837. Their son, Rev. Herman Halsey, our subject's father, was born in 1793, in Bridgehampton, and married So- phia Woolworth, a native of the same place. He was graduated from Williams College, in Massa- chusetts, in 1811, from which institution he after- ward received the degree of D. D. He was a cler- gyman of the Presbyterian Church, was for a time engaged in missionary work in Kentucky, and in 1820 located in Genesee county, N. Y. Eleven years later he removed to Niagara county, and there lived to the advanced age of ninety-eight years, dying at East Wilson. His wife died in 1876.

Dr. Calvin C. Halsey was born March 31, 1823, at Bergen, N. Y. He was graduated in 1844 from Williams College, which later gave him the degree of A. M. During the winter of 1844-45 he was engaged in teaching at Lewiston, N. Y., and in April, 1845, he came to Montrose, Penn., serving as principal of the Susquehanna Academy for two years from that time. He read medicine with Drs. E. Patrick and G. Z. Dimock, of Montrose, and at- tended his first course of lectures at Jefferson Med- ical College, Philadelphia, in 1847-48. In the fall of the latter year he became a clerk in the Bank of Susquehanna County, remaining until January, 1850, when he attended a course of lectures at Cas- tleton (Vt.) Medical College, which gave him the degree of M. D. in 1850. He practiced medicine one year in Niagara county, N. Y., one year at Montrose, and early in 1853 located at Nicholson, Penn .. where he remained until 1859. In the fall of that year he again returned to Montrose, where he has ever since resided. Dr. Halsey became a member of the Susquehanna Medical Society in 1859, was secretary of the Society 1861-63, 1873-78 and 1880-87, and its president 1868-71. He has twice represented the State Medical Society as dele- gate to the Medical Society of the State of New York. He attended the meetings of the Pennsyl- vania State Medical Society in 1863, 1866. 1885 and 1886, and in 1885 was a vice-president of the State Society. He became a Fellow of the

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· American Academy of Medicine in 1880. He was examining surgeon for Susquehanna county for the draft of 1862, and went to Harrisburg with the men. On the invasion of Pennsylvania in 1863 by the Confederate forces under Gen. Lee, Dr. Halsey, under a call from the Governor, raised a company of men which was designated as Company D, 35th Regiment Pennsylvania Militia, of which he was commissioned captain. The company was mustered into the United States service July 2, 1863, and mustered out August 7, same year. Dr. Halsey was appointed United States Pension Examining Sur- geon in 1864, and held that position twenty-one years, and 1889-93. From 1865 until 1885 he held the office of jail physician for Susquehanna county. He was coroner of the county 1860-63 and 1869-81, making fifteen years of service.

Politically Dr. Halsey is a Republican. He was an Abolitionist and a Free-Soiler, and cast his first Presidential vote for J. G. Birney. Religiously he is of the Presbyterian faith, has been a ruling elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Montrose since 1872, and clerk of the session since 1873.

On September 27, 1866, he was married to Mary, daughter of Jeremiah Etheridge, of Mont- rose. Owing to ill health the Doctor has not been engaged in active practice for about ten years. He is pensioned for disabilities incurred in the service of the United States.

JOHN B. POSSINGER, a man of more than ordinary intelligence and business capacity, owns a valuable tract of land in Jackson township, and is prominently identified with the agricultural interests of Monroe county, contributing largely to its repu- tation by improving one of the most desirable farms within its borders. He is admired and esteemed by his friends and neighbors, and enjoys, as he de- serves, a generous portion of this world's goods.

Our subject's grandfather, John Possinger, was a native of Bucks county, Penn., where his marriage, to Elizabeth Handeline, probably occurred. On coming to Monroe county, in early manhood, he lo- cated in Jackson township, when there were only seven families in the district now included in Po- cono and Jackson townships. Here he took up 300 acres of land and developed a small farm. By trade he was a blacksmith and tinsmith. His children were Joseph, father of our subject, who spent his entire life in Monroe county; John, Jr. ; Reuben, who also lived in Monroe county ; Catherine, wife of Abram Tucker ; Susanna, wife of Abram Smith, of Jack- son township; and Mary, who married Daniel Bel- lis, of Jackson township, and died in Luzerne coun- ty, Pennsylvania.

Joseph Possinger, father of our subject, was born February 4, 1802, and always resided in Jack- son township, engaged in farming and coopering. He was united in marriage with Miss Margaret Becker, a native of Jackson township, and a daughter of Henry Becker, a Revolutionary soldier. The chil- dren born of this union are as follows: Rosanna,

now the widow of Philip Frailey, and a resident of Jackson township; Sarah Ann, wife of Sebastian Singer, of Pocono township; Catherine, wife of God- frey Ruff, of Bradford county, Penn. ; Margaret, who died at the age of thirty-one years; Peter, a farmer of Bradford county ; John B., our subject; Aman- dus, justice of the peace of Jackson township; Jo- seph, a farmer and carpenter of Jackson township; and Edwin, who died in infancy.

John B. Possinger was born in Jackson town- ship, November 13, 1836, and spent his boyhood days under the parental roof. At the age of twenty- two he began life for himself, in the coopering busi- ness, which he followed for several years. He then purchased sixty acres of land in his native town- ship, to which he subsequently added a tract of twenty acres, and here he has since resided, his time and attention being devoted to agricultural pursuits.

In March, 1867, Mr. Possinger was married, in Jackson township, to Miss Sarah Elizabeth Frantz, also a native of Jackson township, Mon- roe county, and a daughter of Thomas and Eunice ( Metzgar) Frantz. To them have been born three children: Joseph; Thomas, who was born March 25, 1868, and assists his father in the farm work; and Ida, now the wife of Alexander Siptroth, of Clark's Summit, Lackawanna Co., Penn. The en- tire family hold membership in the Reformed Church, and they occupy an enviable position in the best social circles of the community in which they live. Mr. Possinger is a stanch Democrat in poli- tics, as were his ancestors, and has acceptably served as inspector of elections, judge of elections, assessor (one term), school director (nine years) and over- seer of the poor (three years), being the present incumbent in the last named office.

PETER ALFAST, the owner of one of the fine farms of Damascus township, Wayne county, has lived on his present place since 1865, and dur- ing his long residence here he has gained the good- will and esteem of the entire community. Mr. Al- fast was born August 21, 1830, in Denmark, where his parents, Nelson and Elsie Alfast, were farming people, and he was one of a family of five children- Mary, Ceren, Nelson, Secie and Peter. The father died in 1840, the mother in 1870. Nelson, the only brother of our subject, was a soldier in the Prussian war for three years. He is still a resident of Den- mark, where he married and has a family of five children, one of whom, Lawson, came to this coun- try twenty-four years ago and settled in Denver, 'Colo., where he has since remained, engaged in mining. He is unmarried.

In 1850 Peter Alfast, believing that greater op- portunities awaited him in the United States, crossed the ocean on a sailing vessel, which landed him in New York after a voyage of six weeks. He pro- ceeded from that city to Milwaukee, Wis., where he arrived without anything in his pocket, and from there he drifted to St. Louis, Mo., at which place he took steamer for Independence, that State. The

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spirit of adventure was strong in him, and having caught the gold fever which was then raging in this country he determined to try his fortune in the New Eldorado. From Independence he journeyed overland to California, crossing the plains with the · train of a contractor named James McCoy, which besides a company of seventy-five men included 2,500 head of cattle, 400 horses, 500 mules, and twen- ty-five canvas-covered wagons with six yoke of oxen to each. They left Independence in May and arrived in Sacramento, Cal., on September 25, 1851. Mr. Alfast commenced the search for the precious metal after reaching the gold district of Amador county, where he followed mining for four or five years with varying success, but he succeeded in accumulating a fair share of this world's goods in that time. He finally took passage for Panama on the "John L. Stephins," crossed the Isthmus, and em- barked at Aspinwall for New York, the voyage being made via Havana. From New York he sailed back to his native Denmark, and on his journey visited England, Germany and other countries, re- turning to the United States in 1857. On his re- turn he was married in New York to Miss Mary Vinton, a German lady, and they started a board- ing-house at No. 68 Cherry street, in that city, which they continued for four or five years. In 1861 he and his wife made a trip to Germany and Denmark, remaining abroad for a year, and on their return they re-opened their boarding-house, which they carried on for four years more. In 1865, on ac- count of Mrs. Alfast's health, they moved to a farm in West Damascus, Wayne Co., Penn., which he purchased, located two miles west of Tyler Hill, on the Newburg pike, and a large part of this land has been cleared by Mr. Alfast's own labors. Since his removal here he has given all his time and attention to general farming and dairying, and he has one of the finest properties in the township, systematically cultivated and well managed, with good buildings, fences, etc. Mr. Alfast is a good example of the self-made man, having come to this country without means, but with a fixed determination to advance himself, and he has progressed steadily ever since his arrival. He is a man of upright character and true moral worth, and he commands the esteem of his fellow citizens throughout the township where he has made his home for over thirty years. He has filled the office of school director in the township for six years.

Mrs. Mary Alfast passed away in 1866, and in July, 1868, Mr. Alfast wedded for his second wife Miss Louisa Schweighofer, daughter of Christian and Catherine Schweighofer, of Germany. No children were born to his first union, but eleven have been born to his second marriage, viz .: (I) Lizzie, born in May, 1869, is unmarried and lives at White Plains, N. Y. (2) Kate, born in December, 1870, is the wife of E. J. Barnes, of Scranton, Penn. ; previous to her marriage she taught for four years in the public schools. (3) Mary, born in April, 1872, is the wife of George B. Lassby, of Milanville,

Wayne county. (4) Nelson B., born January 10, 1874, lives with his parents. (5) Charles P. was born July 18, 1875. (6) Naomi, November 17, 1877. (7) David R., in February, 1880 (died in October, 1888). (8) Alvin, March 3, 1882. (9) Lillie, Aug- ust 10, 1884. (10) Ezra, February 11, 1887. (II) Lawrence, November 12, 1890. Mr. and Mrs. Alfast are members of the Baptist Church at Damascus. He is a Free Mason in fraternal affiliation, having united with the Order in New York City in 1863, and since removing to his present home he holds membership with Delaware Lodge No. 561, of Cochecton. His political support is given to the Democratic party.

JOHN KENT JENKINS (deceased) was one of the few men to whom the public intuitively turns for representatives in public service. He united the qualities of integrity, devotion to the needs of the community in which he lived, ability of a high order, and that rare personality which won for him the lasting friendship of his many friends and acquaintances.

Mr. Jenkins was the descendant of a long line of American citizens. His grandfather, Benjamin Jenkins, was born in Scituate, Mass., but migrated to Wayne county, Penn., from Connecticut, in 1818. He was one of the pioneer manufacturers of Amer- ica, laying the foundation for those iron industries which have since risen to a magnitude that brings prestige, wealth and power to the nation. Benjamin Jenkins was in his day a man of great force of char- acter and commanding personal presence. In 1795 he built a scythe factory operated by water power, in Winsted, Conn., the third establishment of the kind in the country. He followed lumbering in Pennsyl- vania, building a sawmill and also a scythe factory near Honesdale, and acquired considerable wealth. He had served as a member of the Legislature of Connecticut in 1803 and 1804. In politics he was a Democrat. Benjamin Jenkins married Elizabeth Boyd, of Little Britain, N. Y., daughter of Samuel Bovd ; she was an orphan in childhood. Mr. Jenk- ins died January 18, 1853.

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 108

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