Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 214

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 214
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 214
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 214
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 214

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owns property. He married Miss Amelia Sites, of Rochester, N. Y., and has one daughter. (3) Enos is foreman of the American Optical Co.'s works at Southbridge, Mass., having 500 workmen in charge. He married Miss Ida Raymond, of Mt. Kisco, N. Y., and has three children living: Glad- ness, Ida Belle and George C. (4) Mary married James Waster, an optical expert residing in Brook- lyn, and they have one daughter, Eva Mary. (5) Elizabeth married John E. Bailey, a real-estate agent in Brooklyn, and they have had five children : John, Jennet, William (deceased), Taber and Eanos.

NATHAN SERFASS. The Serfass family is entitled to be permanently associated, not only with the industrial but also with the intellectual de- velopment of our time; and of those who bear the name it may be said that there is none more worthy whose memory should be thus preserved. The first of this family to come to America was John Serfass, a native of Germany, who came about the year 1750, and soon afterward settled in Polk township, Mon- roe county, where he purchased large tracts of land, which are still owned by his descendants. He mar- ried Susannah Hone, a native of Lehigh county, Penn., and had thirteen children, of whom the fol- lowing mention is made :

I. John married Margaret Kresge Kunkel, and settled in Polk township. II. Joseph married Eliza Kunkel, and made his home in Polk township. III. Adam married Christina Berger, and had eight chil- dren : Aaron married Eliza Hawk; Joel married Elizabeth Hess; Charles married Dosie Barlen ; Ephraim never married; Linford married (first) Sally Beers, and ( second) Polly Getz; Emanuel married (first) Lucinda Erhardt, (second) Sarah Shupp, and ( third) Eliza Kleintop ; Elizabeth, born June 12, 1814, married John Schmale, in his day a well-known agriculturist (is now deceased), and re- sides at the Schmale homestead in Chestnut Hill township, Monroe county; and Fanny married Aaron Heiny. IV. George married Elizabeth Christman, and had five children, John, George, Susan (married to John Kerchner), Elizabeth (married to Amos Everett), and Hannah (married to Peter Smith ).

V. Peter is more fully referred to farther on. VI. William, who lived to middle age, never mar- ried. VII. David married Sally Everett, and had four children, Henry, Barton, Solomon and Fred- erick. VIII. Hannah married William Kresge, and they had eight children, William (married to Sallie Storm), Jacob (married to Sarah Gregory), George (married to Sarah Kunkel), Joseph W. (mar- ried to Lucinda Andrew), Hannah (married to Reuben Gregory), Elizabeth (married to John Bonser), Sarah (married to John Serfass), and Susan (married to Peter Kunkel). IX. Sallie mar- ried George G. Hawk, and they had children. X. Catherine became the second wife of George Kresge, and had seven children, Thomas (married Elizabeth

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Dotter, and settled in Luzerne county), James (married; settled in Chestnut Hill township, Mon- roe county ), Joel (married; had four children, Charles A., Henry, Tilghman, and Emaline (Mrs. James Berlin), David (married; died about 1876, leaving six children, Peter, Josiah, Absalom, Cath- erine ( Mrs. William H. Small), Sallie ( Mrs. Mel- choir Silfiese), and Elizabeth), Reuben (married ; had two children, Alfred and Catherine), Sallie (married to John Kunkel), and Katie (married to John Gregory). XI. Christianna married Conrad Driesbach. XII. Elizabeth married John Eshen, of Northampton county. XIII. Thomas married Miss Dotter, and a few of his descendants are now to be found in Polk township, Monroe county.

Peter Serfass, son of the pioneer, was a well- known resident of Polk township, and for some years was engaged in farming at the homestead now owned and occupied by his son Nathan. He was a leading member of the Lutheran Church at Gilberts, and was a lifelong Democrat in politics. He died at the homestead in July. 1844, at the age of thirty-six, his remains being interred in. Pleas- ant Valley Cemetery. His wife, Catherine, who died in 1875, aged seventy-two years, was a daugh- ter of Andrew Storm, and a member of a leading pioneer family of this section. Of their seven chil- dren, the eldest, Anna, married Jacob Christman, of Eldred township, Monroe county ; Andrew settled in Whitehaven, Penn .; Sarah (deceased) married Henry Hawk; Hannah married Lewis Hawk, and resides in Iowa ; Elizabeth married Samuel Hawk, of Allentown, Penn .; Franklin resides in North- ampton county ; and Nathan occupies the old home- stead.

Nathan Serfass was born January 9. 1842, on the present farm, where he grew to manhood: At the age of twenty-one he went to Carbon county, engaged in lumbering and teaming, but after three years he returned to the homestead, and has since given much attention to its management. He has also been engaged in surveying for twenty years past, and for fifteen years he served as treasurer of the Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of Monroe county, his integrity and sound business judgment being a tower of strength to that corporation. His influence is felt in local politics, as he is an active worker in the Democratic party, and at times he has held township offices, including nine years as school director, four years as constable, and four years as auditor. In religious faith he is a Lutheran, and for many years he has been identified with the Church at Kresgeville, serving three years as dea- con and six years as trustee. In 1862 he married Miss Susannah Hawk, who was born in 1842, in Carbon county, a daughter of David Hawk, who afterward removed to Monroe county, where he became a prominent citizen. She died in Septem- ber, 1876, aged thirty-four years, and her remains now rest in Pleasant Valley Cemetery. Nathan Serfass married (second) Miss Fannie Fisher, daughter of Charles A. and Anna (Dorsheimer)

Fisher, and a native of Polk township, Monroe county. By the first marriage there were three children : Jerome, of whom further mention will presently be made; Louisa, who married Milton Lurch, of Polk township; and James J., who mar- ried Miss Jennie George, and resides at the home- stead with his father. By the second marriage there is one son, Francis F., who is still at home.

JEROME SERFASS, an enterprising and success- ful young agriculturist of Polk township, Monroe county, was born August 4, 1862, at the old family homestead in Polk township, Monroe county, where he grew to manhood, his early training in farm work establishing habits of industry which have contributed largely to his later success. In 1885 he engaged in farming on his own account near Kresgeville, and his estate shows the progressive management of the modern scientific farmer. As an intelligent and public-spirited citizen, he has al- ways been active in local movements, and for six years he served ably as school director. Politically he affiliates with the Democratic party, while he is also actively interested in religious work as a mem- ber of the Lutheran Church at Kresgeville, in which he held the office of deacon for six years. On Au- gust 8, 1885, he was married at Gilberts, by Rev. A. M. Strauss, a Lutheran minister, to Miss Emma Kunkel, and three children have blessed the union: Spener J., born. February 15, 1887; Harvey N., born May 24, 1889; and Byron H., born September 13, 1892. Mrs. Serfass, who is highly esteemed by her circle of friends, was born June 12, 1865, in Polk township, Monroe county, where her family has long been prominent, her ancestors having set- tled there as early as 1740. Her father, John Kunkel, was a prominent resident of Kresgeville, and her mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Kresge, is still living at that place; a more com- plete account of the family is given elsewhere.

J. L. BROWN has the reputation of a strictly first-class business man, reliable, energetic, wide- awake and progressive, and is a citizen of whom Wayne county may be justly proud. For many years he has been prominently identified with the business interests of his section of the State, and as a carpenter and millwright has done much to- ward its devolpment and upbuilding. He has not only erected many buildings in Pennsylvania, but also aided in the construction of the beautiful build- ings at the World's Fair, himself and family spend- ing the entire year of 1893 in Chicago.

William Brown, our subject's grandfather, was probably a native of England, but his father, Obediah Brown, was born in Rockwell, N. Y., and at the age of fourteen began as a boatman on the Hud- son river, continuing that work for fifteen vears. In Ulster county, N. Y., he wedded Miss Mary Weist, and to them were born children as follows: Nancy J., wife of Thomas Sheeley, of Ulster county ; Julia A., deceased wife of Richard Smith, of Lackawack, Ulster county ; William H., a mill owner and wood-

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

en-ware manufacturer at Leibhardt, N. Y .; Cather- ine, deceased wife of James Allen, of Ulster county ; Lydia M., who died at the age of twelve years; Mary, wife of Joel A. Bennett, of Ulster Heights, N. Y. ; Ellen M., deceased wife of Sanford Bennett, of Ulster county ; J. L., of this sketch ; James W., a resident of Chester, Orange Co., N. Y .; Emily M., wife of John H. Brooks, of Ulster county; and Margaret T., wife of Peter Conklin, of Passaic county, New Jersey.

J. L. Brown was born May 11, 1850, in Sun- down, Ulster Co., N. Y., and spent his boyhood and youth there and in Sullivan county, same State. At the age of twenty-one he came to Luzerne coun- ty, Penn., and after working at lumbering for a time became a carpenter and millwright, and has done considerable work along those lines in this State. He now owns a fine farm of 170 acres located in Wayne and Pike counties, and in three townships, Sterling, Salem and Greene. For some years he successfully operated a sawmill in Lackawanna county, Penn., but moved its machinery in 1897, and is now engaged in the erection of a steam sawmill on his own property in Salem township.

On August 15, 1872, in Salem township, Mr. Brown was married, by Rev. Daniel Gormer, a Methodist Episcopal minister, to Angeline H., a daughter of George W. and Sylvia (Jones) But- ler. The parents are now deceased, the father hav- ing died in 1885, the mother in 1894. Her paternal grandparents were Daniel and Lydia (Tindall) Butler, and her maternal grandparents were Erastus and Sally ( Clark ) Jones, both natives of Sheldon Falls, Mass. Mrs. Brown is ninth in the order of birth in a family of twelve : Eliza J., married, lives on the homestead in Sterling township, Wayne county ; Sidney died at the age of two years; Horace L. is a resident of Lake township, Wayne county ; John B. makes his home in Greene township, Pike Co., Penn .; Charles was accidentally killed in the Alle- gheny mountains at the age of eighteen years ; Sally A. is the wife of H. B. Cook, of Salem township, county ; Amanda is the deceased wife of James Hein- line, of Lake township, Wayne county ; Maria is the wife of Joseph Ferguson, of Sterling township, Wayne county ; Angelina H., born March 8, 1855, is the wife of our subject; George W. died in Ster- ling township; Eliza S. died in infancy ; and Sylvia M. is the wife of Thomas Neville, of Sterling town- ship.

Mr. and Mrs. Brown are the parents of twelve children, whose names and dates of birth are as fol- low's: George W., March 24, 1873 ; O. H., June II, 1875 : Charles Joel, March 19, 1877; John Flesher, December 25, 1878 ; Anna E., March 21, 1881 ; Lill- ian A., July 29, 1883; James A., August 7, 1885 ; Katie Eveline, January 16, 1889; Carrie A., Febru- ary 2, 1801; Homer Harvey Greene, March 31, 1803 ; William E., May 10, 1896; and Ruth Ellen, January 1, 1899. The eldest son, George W. Brown, was married, November 6, 1894, to Marilla Kellum, of Salem township, Wayne county.

Being a strong Temperance man, Mr. Brown is an ardent supporter of the Prohibition party. While a resident of New York he served his fellow citizens in the capacity of county supervisor. In 1896 he was licensed as a local preacher of the Methodist Protest- ant Church, and his wife is also an active and promi- nent member of that denomination. His life has ever been in harmony with his professions, and as such men are rare, the world is not slow to appreciate them. It is safe to say that no man in his com- munity has more or warmer friends than J. L. Brown.

CHARLES OTT is the owner of a good farm in Delaware township, Pike county, where he has had his home since the spring of 1897, but although he has not long been a permanent resident of the locality he is well known here, his father's family having occupied the place before him, and he has had the management thereof for a number of years. Mr. Ott is a native of the Fatherland, and is a son of Christian Ott and grandson of Leonard Ott, who was a roofer by occupation. The latter lived and died in Germany.

Christian Ott was born in 1804 in Wittenberg, Germany, where he passed his youth and early man- hood. In his native country he married Rosena Gebhardt, who was born in 1805 in Wittenberg, and they became the parents of seven children, of whom we give a brief record: Frederick is a farmer in Delaware township; he has been twice married. Fredrica, living in New York, is the widow of Henry Boock, who was a soldier in the Civil war. Charles is the subject proper of this sketch. Cath- erine (deceased) was the wife of Herman Ohman, who was a gardener, of Long Island. Anna is the wife of John A. Blatt, who carries on a meat-market in New York City. Pauline married Godfrey Geb- hardt, a farmer of Pike county. Emil has a meat- market in Newark, N. J .; he married Margaret Miller. In 1847 Mr. and Mrs. Ott came with their family to America, making the ocean voyage in the "Margaret Evan," of London, and spent the first two years of their residence in this country in the cities of New York and Brooklyn, where the father carried on the manufacture of soap and candles, the- business he had engaged in in Germany. From New York they removed, in 1849, to Pike county, Penn., where Mr. Ott took up farming, for the first four years in the employ of others, and then on his own account. His first purchase was a tract of thirty acres in Delaware township, from William Cummins, and he subsequently added the fifty acres adjoining now included in the Ott farm in Delaware township, the whole making a most comfortable property, where he passed the remainder of his days, successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits. He died on the farm December 21, 1877, his widow pass- ing away in April, 1892, in New York City, and their remains rest in the Milford cemetery.

Charles Ott was born April 22, 1838, in Witten- berg, Germany, where he received his education in.

Charles Out

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the common schools, and came to America with his parents in 1847. residing with the family in Brook- lyn and Delaware township up to the age of sixteen years. In the fall of 1854 he proceeded to Tomp- kinsville, Staten Island, and having obtained a situa- tion in the "Union Hotel" continued to be employed there until March 15, 1857, when the place was de- stroyed by fire. The proprietor, Christian Huber, opened another hotel, and Mr. Ott remained with him until August 20, 1860, when the ownership of the place was changed. He was retained by the new proprietor for eight years, and in 1868 was admitted to a partnership in the business with his father-in- law, David Elsaesser, who continued as a member of the firm until 1873, in which year he retired, leaving our subject the sole owner of the establishment; it is located at No. 6 Greenwich street, New York City. He conducted the hotel successfully until May I, 1897, when he gave up the business and came to Del- aware township, Pike county, to live on the farm for- merly owned by his father, rebuilding the old house and making various other improvements about the place. The property has been under his manage- ment since his father's decease, in 1877, and the farm is a valuable one, in fine condition, devoted to general farming purposes. Mr. Ott also owns prop- erty in New York City. He is well-liked by his neighbors in Delaware township, and is highly es- teemed by all who have had the pleasure of his ac- quaintance. Fraternally he is a Free Mason, hold- ing membership in the Blue Lodge, in New York City. In politics he is independent.

On April 27, 1869, at Philadelphia, Penn., Mr. Ott was united in marriage with Miss Anna Louisa Elsaesser, who was born in that city, a daughter of David and Catherine C. ( Miller ) Elsaesser. This union was blessed with seven children, of whom, the eldest, Christian T., lives in New York City, where he has a printing office (he is at present at Chickamauga with his regiment. the 12th New York Volunteers, and holds the position of sergeant in his company ) ; Catherine ( now deceased ) was the wife of Fred Korz: Charles died in March, 1897; David lives in New York City ; Louisa is also in New York ; Caroline and George died in infancy. The mother of these died February 5, 1884, at the age of thirty- four years, and was laid to rest in the Lutheran cem- etery in Middle Village. Long Island. On October I, 1896, Mr. Ott wedded, for his second wife, in New York City, Miss Margaret Blum, and they have had one child, Nicholas Wilhelm. Mrs. Margaret ( Blum) Ott was born in Hessen, Germany, a daugh- ter of Nicholas Blum, also a native of the Father- land, and came to America in 1895, living in New York City until her marriage to Mr. Ott.

CHARLES AVERY is a well-known civil en- gineer, residing in Bethany, Wayne county, and is highly respected as a man of energy and enterprise, besides being a worthy citizen and having to his credit an unblemished war record. He is a native of Wayne county, and throughout the greater part of 58

his life has been prominently identified with its busi- ness interests.

Mr. Avery's grandfather, John Avery, was a native of Connecticut, where he grew to manhood and married Miss Roxilana Humphrey. Subse- quently they removed to Oneida county, N. Y. Their children were as follows: Tracy ; John F., who died in Damascus township, Wayne county, Penn. ; Silas, who died in Auburn, N. Y. ; Charles, who was an engineer on the Erie railroad, and died in Dansville, N. Y .: Otis, the father of our subject; Elizabeth, deceased wife of George Flint, of Cassville, N. Y .; Thomas H., who died in New Berlin, N. Y. ; Eliza, cleceased wife of John Van Duzer, of Orange county, N. Y .; Z. W., who owned an orange grove in Po- mona, Putnam Co., Fla., where he died ; and Lucius, who died in Texas.

Otis Avery was born in Oneida county, N. Y., August 19, 1808, and when seventeen years of age went to Cochecton, that State, whence he later came to Bethany, Wayne Co., Penn., opening a jewelry store. While a resident of that place he studied dentistry, and in 1833 began practice in New York, where he remained for several years. Subsequently he followed his profession in South Carolina, was next located in New York City, and from there came to Honesdale, Wayne county, where he is still doing a successful business, being recognized as one of the leading dentists of eastern Pennsylvania. In 1829, in Bethany, Wayne county, he was united in marriage with Miss Louisa Hoel, daughter of Charles and Abigail Hoel, and to them were born the following children: Charles, the subject of this sketch; Otis, who died at the age of two years; Martin P., who died in New York City ; Mrs. Louisa Grillette, a resident of Fairhaven, Wash. : Eliza, wife of William H. Brodhead, of Hale, Idaho; and Otis E., who was one of the many gold hunters that have never been heard from.

In Canaan township, Wayne county, Charles Avery was born January 14, 1830, and at the age of eight years accompanied his parents on their re- moval to Bethany, where he attended the common schools and also Beechwood Academy. He then en- tered his father's dental parlors to learn the profes- sion, and at the age of nineteen began the practice of dentistry at Columbia, S. C. Later he was one of the leading dentists of Honesdale. In September, 1863, he laid aside all personal interests, and went to the front as a member of Company I. 118th P. V. I., serving until June 1, 1865. He was in some of the most noted battles of the war, including the Wil- derness, Spottsylvania, the engagements before Petersburg, Hatcher's Run and Five Forks. At the last named he was slightly wounded, but did not re- port his injury. He was present at the surrender of Gen. Lee to Gen. Grant at Appomattox. Since the war he has been employed as a civil engineer.

On January 20, 1853. at Bethany, Mr. Avery was married by Rev. Z. F. Kellogg, to Miss Mary Ann, daughter of William and Eliza ( Brentnell) Goff, who were natives of England and were married near

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Elizabeth, N. J. Their children were William H., a resident of Council Bluffs, Iowa; Mary Ann, wife of our subject; John E., a resident of Bethany borough, Wayne county ; and Sarah Jane, who died in Bethany. Mr. and Mrs. Avery have six children, namely : Mary Eliza, born May II, 1856, is the wife of H. H. Ferguson, of Seelyville, Wayne coun- ty : Ella B., born July 5, 1858, is the wife of R. Du- ward Allen, of Binghamton, N. Y. ; Anna M., born January 30, 1861, is the wife of Ira Bryant, of New Berlin, N. Y. : Jennie I., born March 13, 1863, is the wife of Frederick L. Allen, of Binghamton : Carrie, born April 28, 1866, is the wife of Arthur Lamont Titus, of Deposit, N. Y .; and William Otis, born June 26, 1875, is with his parents.

Mr. Avery has always upheld the party of pro- tection, being a stanch Republican, and has most acceptably filled all of the township offices, inclu ling those of clerk, auditor, assessor, overseer of the poor, school director and constable. Socially he affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows.

JOHN W. FINDLAY (deceased). The visitor to Milford, Pike county, can find an exhilarating recreation in riding over the picturesque hills of that region in the old-time "tally-ho" and stage coach, now nearly superseded by more modern methods of travel. The subject of this sketch, who in his lifetime was a prominent livery man of Milford, for many years maintained the stage route known as the Milford, Port Jervis and Dingmans Ferry United States Line, and the ample patronage bestowed upon the enterprise by the public demonstrates the continued popularity of that mode of transportation.

Mr. Findlay was born December 8, 1833, on a farm near Aberdeen, Scotland, a son of Ross and Jane Robinson Findlay, and a grandson of John and Elsped ( Davison) Findlay. His father died in Scotland in 1868, aged eighty vears, and the mother passed away in 1882, at the age of eighty-five. Of their four children, two came to America, our sub- ject, and another son, Robert (now deceased), who landed in 1862, and served for a time in the 60th N. Y. V. I. during the Civil war, being with Sherman on his march to the sea. Our subject's two sisters, Jane and Jessie, remained in their native land and both are now deceased.

The Findlay family had been identified with ag- ricultural pursuits for several generations near Aber- deen, but our subject began to show an inclination toward the care of horses at an early age, and before he was sixteen he was employed as a coachman by Hon. Mr. Fordyce, a member of the British Parlia- ment. In 1860 he came to the United States, land- ing in New York City, where he was employed for nine months as a clerk in the store of A. T. Stewart, on Broadway. In January, 1861, he located at Mil- ford, and soon afterward he engaged in the livery business, and began running stage lines from that point to other towns. He prospered from the first, and at the time of his death owned the largest liv-

ery business in Milford, while in addition to his other interests he acted as agent for the Wells, Fargo Ex- press Co. His hard work met with good financial returns, and he acquired a handsome competence, becoming one of the substantial self-made citizens of the locality. Politically he was a Republican, but was not especially active in party work. In religion he inclined toward the Presbyterian Church, but was not formally connected with any denomination. He died July 21, 1899.

On December 6, 1860, Mr. Findlay was mar- ried at New York City to Miss Elizabeth Mitchell, and five children blessed the union, of whom we have mention of Elizabeth J., Marv M. and Robert, who are all at home; and William, who died at the age of twenty-six. Mrs. Findlay was born at Aber- deen, Scotland, and died November 24, 1898. She was a daughter of Robert and Elizabeth ( Sellar) Mitchell, and her ancestors were well-to-do agricult- urists of that locality. Her father was a farmer, and also had large lime-kilns; he died in Scotland in 1846. Her mother came to America in 1872, and located in Milford, where she died November 25, 1886, deeply mourned by a large circle of friends, leaving several children, all of whom hold honorable positions in life. She was an invalid for many years prior to her decease.

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 214

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