Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 112

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 112
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 112
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 112
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 112

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Since the death of his father Mr. Beardslee has continued to reside at the old home place in Little Meadows, in a fine house which he built; the property is one of the finest and most valuable in the borough, where he also owns a farm and other real estate. To him and wife have been born two children-Verna I. and Silas Esmond B.

Verna I., the elder, born at Little Meadows in 1869, received an academic and university educa- tion, and graduated in 1896 from the Eliot School of Music, Utica, N. Y .; she was secretary and as- sistant in that school for two years, and is now a skilled and popular musical instructor of Montrose. Silas Esmond B. Beardslee, born at Little Meadows in 1872, was a student of the Montrose high school, and a graduate of the Owego high school and of the Colgate University, Hamilton, N. Y., there taking his degree. He is now principal of the LeRaysville, Bradford Co., Penn., school, is a young man of scholarly ability, standing high as a professor of learning, and is a superior teacher, commanding the respect and esteem of his asso- ciates.

IRVIN R. BEARDSLEE, the younger son of Silas Beardslee, was born in Apolacon in 1848. He grew up at the old home in Apolacon, where he received a district-school education, but came with the fam- ily to Little Meadows. He attended the State Nor- mal School at Mansfield, Tioga Co., Penn., and for some years followed teaching in the district schools in winter, working on the farm in summer. On October 12, 1871, he married Miss Mary E. Fox, of Little Meadows, daughter of Amsel and Anna (Hickey) Fox, one of the old and prominent pio- neer families of Susquehanna county. Mrs. Beards- lee was born August 3, 1847, and was educated in

the schools of Owego, and in a private school taught by Belva Lockwood, of political fame; she was then a Miss McNaul. After his marriage Irvin R. Beardslee settled at the old homestead, where he has resided until the present, the home- stead now being divided between the two sons. Mr. Beardslee has mainly followed farming and dairy work. He and his wife have adopted a daughter, Jennie M. Whitaker, of Kansas, whom they have brought up; she was educated in the Mansfield State Normal, of Tioga county, Pennsylvania.

Politically Mr. Beardslee is a Republican. He has held the office of town councilman and school director, and is now secretary of the town council. He has also held various local offices in the borough. Religiously his wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Little Meadows.

These two brothers have been eminently suc- cessful in business affairs. While the elder has given his attention mainly to business, Irvin has been no less successful as an agriculturist. They rank among the most influential men of the county.

WILLIAM PETHICK CLIFT, a most genial and companionable gentleman now engaged in gen- eral farming in Canaan township, Wayne county, was born June 1, 1833, in Cornwall, England, of which place his parents, James and Mary ( Pethick) Clift, were also natives. The grandparents never left that country, but in 1842 the parents, with their family, sailed for the New World, and spent the first three months in Honesdale, Wayne Co., Penn., where the father worked at his trade as a mason and plasterer. They continued residents of Wayne county, living at Bethany two years, and for the remainder of their lives at Mt. Pleasant, where the father followed farming. He died in 1888, aged seventy-three years, the mother in 1848, aged thirty. He was a Democrat in politics, and both were earn- est members of the Episcopal Church, taking an act- ive and prominent part in its work.

Our subject is the eldest of their children, the others being Jane, the wife of Myron Rude, a farmer of Mt. Pleasant township, Wayne county ; Thomas, who died at the age of four years; Sam- tel, a farmer of Mt. Pleasant township; Ezra, a retired implement dealer living in Buffalo, N. Y .; James, a contractor and builder of Stanhope, N. J .; and Russell, a railroad man of Savanna, Ill. After the mother's death, the father of these children mar- ried Ann Fitz, a native of Wayne county, and to them were born three children: George and Henry, who live on the old homestead in Mt. Pleasant town- ship; and Martha, wife of Emerson Miller, of the same township. Reared upon the home farm, Will- iam P. Clift remained under the parental roof until eighteen years of age, and then started out in life for himself, working by the month on farms and in the lumber woods at peeling bark. In 1864 he en- tered the service of the Gravity railroad as brake- man and later was promoted to conductor, and was thus employed until 1893, when he retired from the

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road and has since devoted his energies to agri- cultural pursuits. In 1864 he purchased his home farm in Canaan township, near Prompton, and is now the owner of two valuable farms, which are well improved and under a high state of cultiva- tion.

In November, 1869, at Keens Pond, Wayne county, Mr. Clift was married to Mrs. Jane Ann Hudson, by Rev. George E. Hart, a Methodist Episcopal minister, and to them have been born two sons : William R., who is in the employ of the Grav- ity railroad and resides at Carbondale, Penn .; and Louis, a railroad man residing at home. Mrs. Clift was born in Canaan township, Wayne county, No- vember 29, 1833, and first married Oscar V. Hud- son, who died in 1868, and was laid to rest in the cemetery at Canaan Corners. By that union she has one daughter, Lillie, now the wife of John Eaton, foreman on the railroad at Carbondale.

Louis H. and Phoebe (Jaggers) Buckland (the parents of Mrs. Clift) were natives of Connecticut and Wayne county, Penn., respectively, and both died in Canaan township, where her father car- ried on farming for many years. They were con- sistent members of the Presbyterian Church, and in politics Mr. Buckland was Republican. Of their children, Jane A. is the wife of our subject ; George is employed in the Erie railroad shops at Carbon- dale ; Warren is living retired at Carbondale ; Daniel and Thomas are both deceased; Margaret is the wife of Frederick Gallard, a farmer of Aldenville, Penn .; and Louise is the deceased wife of Richard S Evans, a merchant of Hawley, Wayne county. Mrs. Clift's paternal grandparents were Chester and Sarah ( Hills) Buckland.

Mr. Clift uses his right of franchise in support of the principles of the Democratic party, and has taken quite an active and leading part in local poli- tics. He has twice served as judge of election, was school director six years, and is the present assessor of his township. In September, 1897, he was so unfortunate as to have a large barn struck by light- ning and entirely destroyed. He is numbered among the valued citizens of his community, a man pos- sessing excellent judgment, and gives his sup- port and encouragement to those enterprises calcu- lated for the general welfare.

LUCIAN E. STANTON. The Stanton fam- ily has held a prominent place in the history of Wayne county, and many of its members have dis- tinguished themselves as statesmen, soldiers, busi- ness men, and workers in professional lines.

The first ancestor of whom we have record is Thomas Stanton, who was born in London, Eng- land, in 1614, and sailed for America January 2, 1635, on the merchantman "Bonaventura." He lo- cated first in Virginia, but in 1636 went to Boston, Mass., where he remained for some time, taking a leading part in the affairs of the Colony, and serving at one time as magistrate. He was well educated, and his ability and shrewdness enabled him to acquire a

fortune in trading with the Indians. During the Pequot war he was an interpreter with the Indians, and also did gallant service as a soldier, especially in the battle of Fairfield Swamp. After the close of the war he married Ann Lord, eldest daughter and third child of Dr. Thomas Lord, of Hartford, Conn., and his wife Dorothy. Later, in 1637, he removed to Hartford, and in 1650 he established a trading post at Stonington, Conn., on the Pawca- tuck river, to which place his family finally removed after spending a few years at New London, Conn. He died January 2, 1677, at the age of sixty-three, and his wife died in 1688. They had ten children, and among their descendants was Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War during the Rebellion.

II. John Stanton, the next in the line of de- scent in which we are now interested, was born at Hartford, Conn., in 1641, and was married in 1664 to Hannah Thompson. He died at Stonington, Conn., October 31, 1713.

III. John Stanton, son of John II, was born May 22, 1665, and resided at Preston, Conn., during the greater portion of his life. His wife Mary ( Starkweather ) died near Norwich, Connecticut.

IV. David Stanton, son of John III, was born October 22, 1720. He married Sarah Kimble, by whom he had the following children: Sarah, born in 1755, never married ; David, 1757, married Susannah Frick ; Jerusha, 1758, married Samuel West; Asa, March 2, 1761, is mentioned below ; Jason, twin of Asa, is also mentioned more fully below ; Huldah, 1763, married Andrew Hartshiorn ; Jonas, 1765, never married; Levi, 1767, married Nancy Brumley; Jeremiah; Eunice married John Garrett ; John, 1776, married (first) Lydia Olden, and ( second) Susan Tarblet ; and Lucy, September 10, 1781, mar- ried David Stout. Asa Stanton, generally known as Col. Asa, removed from New London, Conn., in 1790, and settled in what is now the borough of Waymart, Wayne county, and the land upon which he built his log cabin is still in the possession of his descendants. He was one of the pioneers of that locality, his nearest neighbors, a family named Col- lins, residing in Cherry Ridge, nine miles from his home, and the nearest gristmill was at Wilkes Barre, the grain being carried on horseback in a bag. His house became a stopping-place for trav- elers, and for many years after his death was con- ducted as an inn. Col. Asa was a great hunter, and met with a great many exciting adventures that now furnish some of the most interesting traditions of the locality in which he made his home. He was an active and successful business man, and in 1805 built the first sawmill in this section, at what is still called Stanton's Pond. He was drowned No- vember 12, 1817, in the Delaware river, near Cochec- ton, N. Y., while returning with his wife. Desire (Kimbal), on horseback from a visit to Westfield. They reached Cochecton at nightfall, just as the ferry-boat was ready to cross the river, and took a place at the rear end of the boat, a stage with four horses occupying the forward end. Before

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they arrived at the other side of the river a terrible windstorm arose, frightening the stage horses so that they plunged off, thus forcing the boat back and submerging the rear end. Col. Stanton and his wife were carried away with the current, but she was saved by a man named Drake, who had seen the catastrophe from the bank and literally dragged her out of danger by the hair of her head.

V. Jason Stanton, son of David IV, and the grandfather of the well-known resident of Waymart whose name opens this sketch, was born March 2, 1761, at Preston, Conn., and died in Clinton town- ship, Wayne county. He married (first) Keziah Brumley, by whom he had one child, Keziah, who married David West, and (second) Sabra Olin, by whom he had ten children.

VI. Elisha Stanton, father of our subject, was born November 20, 1799, at Preston, Conn., and died January 19, 1848, in Clinton township, Wayne county, where he carried on farming exten- sively for a number of years. In politics he was a Democrat, and he was active in religious work as a member of the Methodist Church, in which he held various offices, including that of class-leader. His wife, whose maiden name was Jane Jacks, was born in Wayne county, March 14, 1802, and died July 14, 1871, her remains being laid to rest beside those of her husband in the Stanton burial ground, at Waymart. Of their children, the eldest, Eliza- beth, married John H. Clark, a carpenter, and both are now deceased ; Sarah, deceased, was the wife of Dr. C. C. Edwards, of Binghamton, N. Y .: Joseph L. is a carpenter at Wilkes Barre, Penn. ; Wesley, a resident of Carbondale, Penn., is employed on the Gravity railroad ; Armenda, who resides at Carbon- clale, married (first) Joseph Miller, and ( second) Squire Miller, both now deceased ; Miss Maria re- sides at Harford, Penn .; Franklin, a resident of Duryea, Penn., is an engineer by occupation : Wat- son, a brakeman on the Delaware & Hudson Gravity railroad, resides at Waymart ; Lucian E., our sub- ject, is mentioned more fully below; and Mary is the wife of Jackson Vance, a stone mason and farm- er at Preston Park, Wayne county.

VII. Lucian E. Stanton, the subject proper of this biography, was born June 30, 1844, in Clinton township, Wayne county, and was reared upon his father's farm. In September. 1862, he enlisted in Company M, 17th Penn. Cavalry. under Capt. Brown, and from that time until the close of the Civil war was in active service, taking part in fifty- seven engagements. Fortunately he was not wounded, and on receiving his discharge, in June, 1865, he returned home. Soon afterward he went to Waymart to take a place as carpenter on the Gravity railroad, with which he has ever since been connected, and since 1888 he has had special charge of the pulleys on that line between Carbondale and Waymart. He belongs to the Methodist Church. in which he is an active worker, having held the office of trustee for three years past, and is also identified with the G. A. R., uniting with Sergt. Warren Rix

Post No. 397; with the K. of H. and the Hepta- sophs, all of Waymart; and for twenty years he has been a member of the Masonic Fraternity, in which he has attained the third degree. He has a cozy home at Waymart, and his family is one of which any parent might well be proud.

On October 20, 1867, Mr. Stanton was mar- ried, at Bethany, Wayne county, by Rev. E. O. Ward, a Presbyterian minister, to Miss Olive Pulis, and three children have blessed their union: Harry P., born November 13, 1869, is a graduate of the Waymart Normal; Myrtie H., born April 6, 1872, and Calvin L., born August 26, 1881, are at home. Mrs. Stanton was born June 21, 1845, at Oregon township, Wayne county, and is a member of one of the pioneer families of this section, her grandfather, Conrad Pulis, of New York City, having settled in Wayne county in 1778, purchasing a farm in Dyberry township. Henry Pulis, the father of Mrs. Stanton, was born October 5, 1800, in Dyberry township, and lived and died within four miles of his birthplace, his occupation being farming. He was married, November 18, 1830, at Bethany, to Miss Caroline Whitmore, who was born September 13, 1812, at Salisbury, Conn. Henry Pulis died February 13, 1879, and his wife, who was a devout member of the Methodist Church, passed away May 4, 1871, their remains being interred in the old Pulis burial ground in Dyberry township.

RICHARD BLISS DOWNER. One of the most impressive inculcations of biography, and es- pecially the chronicle of those lives which have attained influence and prominence in the affairs of men, in the blessedness of industry. There are meteoric careers that flash quickly into brilliancy, but their common fate is decline and quick ob- livion. The strength of character that wins per- manent success is limited by the capacity and the love of work, for the inscrutable laws of nature have so decreed. In every community the men whose names are oftenest spoken, and whose deeds are most esteemed, are those who accomplish, those who by persevering effort attain that for which they strive, those whose deeds bear strongest testimony to the possibilities of human action. Among the emi- nent agriculturists of Susquehanna county must be mentioned the subject of this sketch, and the striking feature of his career is that of peace and quiet, in which he is now enjoying the success of his career, won by his own unaided effort.

Mr. Downer was born in New London county, Conn., September 21, 1821, son of Ezekiel and . Susan (Bliss) Downer, and grandson of Richard Downer, a prominent farmer of New London coun- tv, of Scottish descent, and who remained there throughout his entire life. The maternal grand- father of our subject, Pellitier Bliss, a blacksmith by trade, was in his day a prominent and well-known citizen of Connecticut.

In 1823 Ezekiel Downer removed from his farm in Connecticut to Bridgewater township, Sus-

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quehanna county, and later came to Jessup town- ship, same county, where he passed the remainder of his life. He died June 17, 1867, aged eighty- six years. His wife died in 1859, aged sixty-six years. Both are buried at Fairdale cemetery. The family of Ezekiel and Susan Downer consisted of children as follows: Two sons died in infancy ; Steven Strong died in Jessup aged three years ; Mariah married Waller Olmstead; Melissa married Hiram Allen; Permelia married Lucius Birchard ; Cornelia married Orin Beebe; Richard B., the sub- ject of this sketch, is the sole survivor of the family.

Richard B. Downer remained on his father's farm through his minority, obtaining the education afforded by the public schools, and learning those lessons of patient industry and energy which strengthened and developed in his later years. He early grappled with the responsibilities of farm man- agement, for as an only son the duties and labors of the old homestead fell materially on his shoulders. For seven years after he attained his majority he operated his father's farm, near the expiration of that period marrying and founding a home of his own.

The wife of his choice was Miss Betsy A. Fullerton, daughter of Joseph and Effa (Riter) Fullerton. She was born in Orange county, N. Y., in 1828, and her marriage to the subject of this sketch occurred March 29, 1848, at Fairdale. Soon afterward Mr. Downer rented, and operated for · one year, a farm in Bridgewater township. He then purchased the farm in Jessup township on which he now resides. Here, in January, 1878, his faithful wife passed away. She was buried at Fair- dale cemetery. The children born to Richard B. and Betsy A. Downer were as follows: William, who died while serving in the Rebellion ; Susie, who married Peter Roe, a prominent veteran of the Civil war, and a farmer of Jessup township; Ida, wife of Dr. Allen Buck, a dentist of Jessup township, and residing on the old homestead; Oscar, who married Nellie E. Parks, and is a progressive farmer of Jessup township; Hosea B., who married Hattie Strange, and is also a farmer of Jessup township; and Hettie, who died at the age of twenty-one.

In 1882 our subject sold his homestead to Dr. Buck, his son-in-law, and, thus relieved from the active management of his properties, he spends his days in the companionship of his several children, to all of whom have been transmitted those golden traits of industry which crowned their father's life, and all of whom are prosperous and successful. Mr. Downer, from his physical strength and activ- ity, might readily be taken for a man of younger years. He takes a keen interest in business and social affairs, and throughout life has been aided by a retentive memory, which is not impaired. In politics he is a stanch Democrat, and approves the silver platform of his party. Esteemed and respect- ed by a wide circle of friends and acquaintances, he is a representative of the best type of American citizenship.

JOHN M. KELLY, who, during his sixteen years' practice, has attained high eminence in his profession, especially as a criminal lawyer of un- questioned ability, was born June 24, 1861, at Owe- go, Tioga Co., N. Y., a son of Nicholas T. and Jo- hanna (Condon) Kelly.

Nicholas Terence Kelly, father of our subject, was born in Ireland, a descendant of the famous Capt. Kelly and son of Terence N. Kelly, and was the youngest of a large family. His education was acquired under private instruction, and largely from his father, who was a man of culture and a scholar of great ability-the master of several lan- guages. While yet young he emigrated to America, residing at Owego, N. Y. In early life he was a newspaper reporter, and he developed considerable versatility as a writer, contributing many articles to the press, and was the author of several articles of recognized merit. He took a lively interest in all that concerned his native land, was a close and thor- ough student of Irish and English history, and dur- ing the Fenian movement in the United States was president of one of the large societies and was in- timately acquainted with the leaders in the United States. In political sentiment he was a Democrat, became a leader in local affairs, and was very popu- lar with the people.

In 1856, Mr. Kelly married Miss Johanna Con- don, who was born in Ireland and, like her husband, came to the United States when very young, living with her parents upon the home farm in Middle- town, Susquehanna county, until her marriage. Ten children blessed this union: Lucy, wife of P. McHale, residing in Middletown; John M., whose name introduces these lines; Hugh A. (a gradu- ate of Factoryville Academy), who married Mag- gie McCormick, and lives at Binghamton, N. Y .; David V., unmarried, living with his parents ; Mary T., wife of Eugene Cadden, residing at Dimock, Penn. ; Martha A., wife of James McGovern, living at Binghamton, N. Y. ; Terence N., a member of the Chicago police force; Johanna, wife of Louis Beitz- hold, living at Buffalo, N. Y. ; Charles M., who died in his tenth year; and William J., engaged in the cigar business at Elmira, New York.

On August 6, 1866, John M. Kelly removed with his parents to Rush township, Susquehanna Co., Penn., the family settling on the farm where the parents still reside. There he grew to manhood, assisting his father upon the farm, and he acquired his education in part at the public schools, having also the benefit of private instruction from his father and Prof. B. E. James. At the age of seventeen he commenced teaching school, and successfully fol- lowed that profession for several terms, during the fall and winter seasons. He became apprenticed to the carpenter's trade, which he learned, follow- ing same during the summer seasons until October, 1881, when he registered as a student at law in the office of McCollum & Watson, of Montrose, Penn. When the junior member retired the firm became McCollum & Searle, Mr. Searle afterward retiring to

John Michaly

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go upon the Bench. Mr. Kelly continued his stud- les with them, and was admitted to the Susque- hanna County Bar, April 14, 1884, opening an office in Montrose, where he has since engaged in practice. He early attracted the attention of that brilliant attorney, Dr. E. L. Blakeslee, and became associated with him in the trial of many important criminal and civil suits, during this association de- veloping a desire for criminal law practice, to which he afterward devoted special attention.

Mr. Kelly's first great effort in criminal prac- tice was his defense of James Welch, charged with first-degree murder, who was acquitted at the No- vember term of court, 1889, after a long, hard- fought battle. His plea to the jury attracted much attention. In November, 1890, he defended George Mattey, also indicted for murder in the first de- gree, securing his acquittal after a stubborn contest, and this success gave him a firm standing as a crim- inal lawyer. At the August term of court, 1894, he defended and secured the acquittal, in the face of strong public sentiment, of Bart Sebring, charged with the murder of his own infant, by drowning it. At the April term, 1897, assisted by Hon. J. A. Sittser, our subject defended Michael and Jolin Kel- ly, charged with murder in the first degree for stab- bing to death Leon Gage. This was his greatest forensic triumph, resulting in the acquittal of Mich- ael and the conviction of John for the crime of man- slaughter only. It was not until after the convic- tion at the August term, 1897, that Mr. Kelly was called upon to assist in obtaining a new trial for John Waltz, convicted of murder in the second de- gree. His first retainer on the part of the Com- monwealth was in the two cases against J. J. Eagan and Cornelius Wells Shew, who were convicted and executed. Mr. Kelly has also been admitted as a regular practitioner in the counties of Bradford and Lackawanna, as well as in the Supreme and Superior Courts of Pennsylvania. He has been re- tained in a number of important cases in adjoin- ing counties, and as attorney, in the State of Penn- sylvania, for a hardware manufacturing company of Massachusetts.

As an ardent supporter of the Democratic party Mr. Kelly takes an active and prominent part in political matters, having been secretary of the Demo- cratic clubs of the town; he was elected secretary of the Democratic County Committee in 1894-95- 96. In 1895 he was nominated by his party for the office of district attorney, but although running far ahead of his ticket he was defeated, the county hav- ing a Republican majority of 1,500. On April 29, 1896, he represented his county as delegate to the State Convention held at Allentown, and the same year he was elected president of the Democratic Congressional Conference of the counties of Wayne, Wyoming, Bradford and Susquehanna. On March 27, 1899, he was elected a member of the State Cen- tral Committee and Chairman of the Democratic County Committee, through whose efforts, mainly, B. B. Buffum was elected register and recorder

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 112

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