USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 52
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 52
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 52
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 52
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MASON SAXON WILSON. In the death of this venerable Christian gentleman and old-time merchant of Montrose, Susquehanna county, on March 19, 1889, at the advanced age of ninety years, there passed from earth to his reward one of the village's pioneers and useful citizens-a man who left his impress for good upon the community in which he had so long lived and upon its institu- tions, which he aided in founding, and with which he had so many years been identified.
Mr. Wilson was born June 28, 1798, at Burling- ton, Otsego Co., N. Y. His ancestors were from the State of Vermont. His grandfather Wilson was a patriot of the Revolution. His father. Stephen Wil- son, was born in 1772 in Vermont, and was married in 1795 to Anna Cogswell, who was born in 1775. In 1798 Stephen Wilson, in company with his brother, Samuel Wilson, and brother-in-law, Samuel Cogs- well, visited what is now Bridgewater township, Susquehanna Co., Penn., and in the fall of that year built the cabin which was the home for years of Stephen Wilson and family. This cabin was lo- cated about half a mile below the center of Mont- rose, and into it, in March, 1799, he moved his fam- ily, then consisting of wife and two children. Stephen Wilson was the first settler in what is now
Bridgewater township, and his was the first house below the source of the Wyalusing creek. His nearest neighbor lived five miles away, accessible only through an unbroken forest. He extended his hospitality to many a newcomer, whole families being entertained until their own cabins could be made habitable. Mr. Wilson was one of the county commissioners in 1815, and was assessor of Bridge- water township when the returns had to be made at Wilkes Barre. He was one of the first converts of the Baptist Church at Montrose, organized in 1808. In 1819 he sold his farm to a Mr. Price, and removed to Wysox, Bradford county, and in 1823 he located in Allegany county, N. Y., where he re- mained seven years, finally removing to Belfast, N. Y., on the Genesee river. He died April 15, 1848, aged seventy-six years. His wife died in 1865, aged ninety years. Their children were: (I) David Wilson, born in 1796, married Sabra Tanner, and reared a family of children. In 1816, in part- nership with a Mr. Gregory, he kept a small store near the south line of Montrose. He removed to Bradford county, Penn., and thence to Ohio, where he died in 1846. (2) Mason S. Wilson is referred to farther on. (3) Almeda Wilson, born in 1800, became the wife of John Bard, Jr., a farmer of Bridgewater township, and died in 1835. (4) Samuel C. Wilson, born in 1803, married Caroline Pickney. On August 3, 1822, he became associat- ed with George Fuller in the publication of a news- paper at Montrose styled the Susquehanna County Herald. i.r. Wilson moved to Allegany county, N. Y., where he for a time published the Angelica Reporter. He became surrogate of that county, its first judge, and died May 14, 1888, in Belfast, aged eighty-five years. (5) Anna Wilson, born in 1804, married Dudley B. Smith, and still lives at Fort Dodge, Iowa, aged ninety-five years-the last survivor of the family. (6) Polly Wilson, born in 1806, married Miller Dean, of West Almond, N. Y. (7) Stephen Wilson, born in 1808, accom- panied his parents on their removal from Susque- hanna county and resided on his father's farm on the Genesee river, in the State of New York. (8) Orpha Wilson, born in 1810, married John Jen- nings, and lived at Lawrence, Mich. (9) Robert S. Wilson, born in 1812, learned the printer's trade with his brother Samuel C., at Angelica, N. Y .; subsequently he read law and practiced his profes- sion at that point until 1836, and then removed to Ann Arbor, Mich. He was there elected a justice of the peace, probate judge, and served one term as State Senator. He was a delegate from Michi- gan to the National Convention which nominated James K. Polk for President of the United States. In 1850 he removed to Chicago, Ill., where he was engaged in the practice of law for a number of years. In 1853 he was elected judge of the Re- corder's court of that city, an office he held by re- election for ten years.
The late Mason Saxon Wilson ( son of Stephen Wilson), the subject proper of this sketch, was an
Eng ยช by AH. Ritchie
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
infant in arms when brought to the little rude cabin home in the wilds of northern Pennsylvania, and as he grew to manhood, amid the grandeur and pic- turesqueness of his mountain home, gathered an inspiration, as well as a schooling of the practical sort which made him self-supporting, practical and successful in life. At the age of sixteen he entered the store of Isaac Post, a merchant of the village of Montrose, with whom he remained until twenty- one. For the next three years he was compelled, owing to poor health, to give up his position in the store, and returning to his home there passed the time in regaining his health. He returned to Mont- rose in 1822, and became associated in business with his former employer. In 1828 Isaac Post retired, and William L. Post, son of Isaac, entered into partnership with Mr. Wilson, and they con- tinued in business together until 1835, at which time Mr. Wilson withdrew and opened a store of his own on the site of the old W. H. Turrell sta- tionery store, which he occupied until 1854, when the building was destroyed by fire. He then erected a brick building on the site where Messrs. Bostwick & Corwin rebuilt in 1886, and there con- tinued the business until 1865, in which vear he re- tired from active life. For forty years Mr. Wilson was known as a leading merchant of the place, and none stood higher than he in the estimation of cus- tomers and business men. He was accurate and methodical in his habits, his judgment was excel- lent, and his probity unquestioned. The finan- cial affairs of individuals, estates and corporations were safely entrusted to his care.
Mr. Wilson was a pioneer merchant of the day when there were no railroads or canals, or similar means of transportation of merchandise. The merchants then brought their goods from New York up the Hudson to Newbury on sloops, whither they were carted to Montrose, a distance of II0 miles, over rough roads and through the woods, until after the building of the Newbury and Great Bend turnpike. In the early business days of Mr. Wilson at Montrose there was little or no money paid in the sale of his merchandise, but a barter was constantly carried on between the farmer and merchant, the merchant and the jobber. The early merchants took, in exchange for their goods, maple sugar, furs and poultry, home-made flannels, woolen socks, ashes, and, later, grain and butter. The flannels, socks and maple sugar could be sold or exchanged in New York for goods. In this manner the good housewives early came to the support of their husbands, with their spinning- wheels, looms and knitting needles. In Mr. Wil- son's early business career there were some forty pensioners of the war of the Revolution residents of Montrose and neighborhood, and as they each drew at least ninety-six dollars per year some cash was brought into the settlement, facilitating ex- change among the merchants and others. This was before the day of bank checks, and he at times act- ed as their attorney, going to Philadelphia to draw
their pensions, and distributing the money among them on his return.
Through Mr. Wilson's long career as a mer- chant and citizen of Montrose he was constant in his support of its varied enterprises, charities and religious institutions. He was correct in all his habits, and a man of high moral sentiment. In 1831 he united with the Baptist Church at Mont- rose, and was ever afterward a consistent mem- ber of the same-a period of fifty-eight years. He was treasurer of the Church for fifty years con- secutively, from 1831 to 1881. In the funeral dis- course his pastor, after giving a brief account of Mr. Wilson's early life, spoke of his connection with the Baptist Church, covering a period of nearly three-score years, remarking that he had "never heard one word of disrespect of him whose hoary head was a crown of glory. He had received our love, affection and attention. By his kindness and cheerfulness he won his way into our hearts. He is gone, but his influence will linger with us. Example speaks when the tongue is silent. He made straight paths, was firm for the truth, bold for the right. He followed in the footsteps of his Master, his daily prayer being 'Fill me with thy spirit.' He was a strong man, a pillar in the Church."
Mr. Wilson was one of the founders of and a director in the old Susquehanna County Bank of Montrose, organized in 1837, but had withdrawn from it prior to its failure in 1849. He was treas- urer for many years of the Montrose Academy, and one of its trustees. Politically he was first a Whig, then a Republican. He never sought political preferment.
On August 25, 1825, Mr. Wilson was mar- ried to Mary, daughter of Paul and Mary ( Halsey ) Sayre, of Southampton, L. I. She was born in 1800, and died in 1872. In 1873 Mr. Wilson mar- ried (second) Eliza Halsey Mitchell, who died July 4, 1885. To the first marriage were born children as follows: (I) Saxon M. Wilson is re- ferred to farther on. (2) Fanny Mulford Wil- son was born in 1828, and died in 1851. (3) Mary Sayre Wilson, born August 25, 1830, is the widow of Lafayette Fitch. (4) Eliza Wilson and (5) Adelia Wilson died in infancy.
SAXON M. WILSON, son of the late Mason Saxon Wilson, is a native of Montrose, Penn., where with little exception he has thus far passed his life. He was born at the Wilson homestead December II, 1826, and received his schooling at Montrose Academy. His father being a merchant and active business man, the son was brought up with practical business training, and naturally drifted into mercantile lines. As a boy and young man he assisted his father in the conduct of his busi- ness, and some time along in the early 'fifties he, for a short time, was engaged in the mercantile busi- ness for himself at Covington, in Tioga Co., Penn. Returning to Montrose, he was for a period en- gaged in business with his father. After the lat-
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ter's retirement form active business the firm of Wilson, Griffis & Warner, of which Saxon M. Wil- son was the senior member, was his successor at the old stand. Later .on Mr. Wilson for a time con- ducted the business alone. Since retiring from mercantile business he has, with little exception, been the bookkeeper and a kind of all-around man in the office of the Montrose Independent Repub- lican. For about one year previous to his present business relation with the Republican he was em- ployed in the insurance office of Billings Stroud, of Montrose. Mr. Wilson is a careful and accurate accountant, methodical and systematic in all his business affairs, and a citizen of the best class. He has ever had the confidence and esteem of his fel- low citizens. Although quiet in demeanor, and with the appearance of reserve, on acquaintance he is most genial and social. Ever ready to grant a favor, he is a most accommodating gentleman. Time has dealt gently with him, and he bears his age remarkably well, looking and appearing much younger than one of his years.
In 1851 Mr. Wilson was married to Laura A. Johnson, of Covington, Tioga Co., Penn., and to them were born two children, namely: Mary Cooper, who is the wife of L. H. Sprout, of Mont- rose, and Mason B., whose death occurred April 15, 1880, in the twenty-sixth year of his age; he left a widow and two children-Mary and Robert. After the death of Mrs. Laura A. Wilson our sub- ject married Maretta, daughter of Asa Fuller. Both are members of the Presbyterian Church of Mont- rose. Mr. Wilson was one of the charter members of Montrose Fire Company No. 2. Formerly he was identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
JOHN M. VAN AKIN. The first of the Van Akin family to come to America was Marinus Van Aken, of the ancient city of Aken (now known as Aix-la-Chapelle, and located between the Rhine and the Meuse on the borders of Holland), who mar- ried Pieternella de Prez. It is claimed that he was the only one of the family to emigrate to this coun- try from Holland. They had four sons: Peter, Cornelius, Abram and Isaac, of whom Cornelius and Abram settled in the Minisink region about 1730, the latter locating on a farm at the site of the pres- ent town of Deer Park. In "Church Life" for May and June, 1896, a sketch is given of him under the title of Abram Van Aken, of Machackemech. As will be seen, the name has changed to Van Akin, the latter spelling being found on the family land titles as far back as 1780.
II. Cornelius Van Aken, son of Marinus, was born at Kingston, N. Y., and was baptized there May 25, 1690. On April 30, 1714, he married Sara Westbrook, who was baptized at Kingston, June IO, 1694. Her parents, Johannes and Magdalena ( Decker ) Westbrook, were the ancestors of all the Westbrooks of the Delaware Valley. Cornelius Van Aken made his home in what is now Westfall
township, Pike county, at Theesacht ( Rosetown ), and he and his wife reared a large family of chil- dren : (1) Pieternelletjen, baptized April 17, 1715, remained in the Minisink country. (2) Lena, born at Rochester and baptized September 22, 1717, was married August 18, 1747, to Abraham Middaugh, of Minisink. (3) Abram C. is mentioned more fully below. (4) Annetjen, baptized March 10, 1723, mar- ried Benjamin Westfall, of Minisink. (5) Elizabeth, born at Wawarsink and baptized September 19, 1725, married Daniel Knydendall, who resided at Machackemech, while she made her home at Thee- sacht. (6) Johannes, born at Napanoch, and baptized January 28, 1728, married Maria Van Gorden ( a native of Shippekonk, then residing at Minisink ), and he made his home at Upper Smithfield, Pike county. (7) Jacobus (James).
III. Jacobus (James ) Van Aken, born at Thee- sacht and baptized June 18, 1734, was married Feb- ruary 10, 1759, to Elizabeth Benschooten, widow of Cornelius Middaugh, of Upper Smithfield, and re- sided at Theesacht, being the owner of a good farm on the Delaware flats. His son Garret, our subject's grandfather, is mentioned farther on. John Van Aken, another son of Jacobus, was born in 1768, and removed in 1796 to Phelps, N. Y. He died in 1854, at West Junius, N. Y. He married Margaret Westfall, and had several children, some of whom remained at Phelps, while others settled in the West- ern States. Among the latter was a son Simeon, born December 1I, 1759, who went to Michigan, and whose daughter, Lydia Ann Potwin Van Aken, was the wife of William Ward Wright, Sr., and mother of William Ward Wright, Jr., a leading lawyer of Milwaukee, Wis., and an author and genealogist of note.
III. Abram Cornelius Van Aken, mentioned above, was born at Napanoch, N. Y., and baptized January 10, 1720. When about ten years old he re- moved with his parents to Pike (then Bucks) coun- ty, Penn., where he remained. He was among the members received on confession in the old Mac- hackemech Church (Reformed Dutch) on Septem- ber 26, 1762, in the presence of Elders Aaron Vre- denburgh and Philip Swartwout, and soon after- ward he was made a deacon in that congregation, his name appearing as such on the records from 1762 to 1768. He was twice married, first, on March 20, 1747, to Margaret Westfall, who was born at Minisink, and baptized January 31, 1720; she was the daughter of Jurian Westfall, and granddaugh- ter of Johannes Westfall, and his wife Maritje Cool, who settled at Minisink in 1700. By his first marriage Abram C. Van Aken had two children : Catharina, born in 1747, and Maria, baptized May 7. 1749. His second wife was Catharina Rosen- krans, born at Rochester and baptized June 16, 1728. They were married December I, 1749. at Theesacht, where both resided. She was a daughter of Herman Rosenkrans and Arriantje Oosterhout, who removed from Ulster county to Westfall town- ship, in the present county of Pike, and a sister
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of Jacobus Rosenkrans, at whose home Tom Quick, the "Indian slayer," died, The children of Abram C. Van Aken and Catharina Rosenkrans were Ly- dia, baptized October 22, 1752; Sara, baptized July 25, 1757; Thomas, baptized July 25, 1757 ; Corne- lius, baptized April 22, 1760; Abraham, baptized April 11, 1772. .
IV. Capt. Garret Van Aken, the grandfather of our subject, was an officer in the State militia. He engaged in lumbering and farming. He mar- ried Catharine Cole, and they had five children : Margaret, born February 28, 1793, who married Levi Middaugh; James, born October II, 1794, who married Jane Van Noy, and moved to Brad- ford county, Penn. ; Elizabeth, born May 16, 1796; Sarah, born October 4, 1799, who married John W. Middaugh ; and Benjamin Cole, our subject's father.
V. Benjamin Cole Van Aken was born Sep- tember 8, 1802, in Westfall township, where he was engaged in farming and lumbering throughout his active years. Politically he was a Democrat, and like most of his family he was a member of the Re- formed Dutch Church. He died November 7, 1871, and his wife, Elizabeth ( Fredenburgh), of New Jer- sey, born October 9, 1798, died November 5, 1876, their remains being interred in Laurel Grove ceme- tery, in the town of Deer Park, Orange Co., N. Y. Of their children the eldest, (1) William B., born August 18, 1824, died in November, 1880, married Mary Dunning, of Pike county, Penn. At the time of his death they resided at Sparta, Wis., where he was engaged in farming and the hotel business. (2) Catherine, born April 29, 1826, married Isaac Wintermute, of Sussex county, N. J., and died July 16, 1853, in Westfall township. (3) Mary E., born September 18, 1827, married Alfred Westfall, of Ontario county, N. Y. (4) Priscilla, born June I, 1829, died August 26, 1848. (5) Ann L., born Janu- ary 1, 1833, married Whitefield H. Wintermute, of Deer Park, Orange Co., N. Y. (6) Garret, born January 27, 1835, married Elizabeth Ann Dunn, and died April 12, 1863. (7) John M., our subject, is mentioned below. (8) Aaron, born July 3, 1838, married Mary A. Fuller, and died in 1892, at his home in Blue Rapids, Kans. (9) Levi J., born Sep- tember 7, 1840, was for years a railway conductor, and died June 5, 1868, from injuries received. He married Rosina Van Auken. (10) James P., born January 19, 1842, married Mary Edge, of New Jer- sey, and resides in San Antonia, Texas.
VI. John M. Van Akin was born May 3, 1836, at the old home in Westfall township, and was edu- cated in the common schools of that locality. At the age of twenty-three he became a teacher in a private school in Pike county, and also taught dis- trict schools in New York and New Jersey. Later he was employed for several years as section fore- man on the Erie railroad, but he finally gave up railroading on account of ill health, and engaged in business at Mill Rift, Penn., as a dealer in flag- stone and wood. In 1891 he went to Harrisburg as assistant librarian in the State library, remain-
ing four years, and he now makes his home at Mat- amoras. In politics he is a Democrat, and at times he has been chosen to offices of trust, having served three years as county treasurer and four years ( 1885- 89) .as deputy collector of Internal Revenue in Sus- quehanna, Wayne and Pike counties. He is a member of the Reformed Church at Port Jervis, and of the United Friends Council No. 14, of the same city, and he and his family are much esteemed in social life. On February 26, 1863, Mr. Van Akin was married in Deer Park township, Orange Co., N. Y., to Miss Rebecca Hallock, who was born September I, 1842, daughter of Hosea and Mary (Van Tyle) Hallock, and granddaughter of Thomas Hallock, a native of Long Island, who removed to Orange county, N. Y., and engaged in farming. Three children have blessed this union: Emma Florence, born April 10, 1864, who married C. F. Langton, of Matamoras; Miss Minnie A., who completed a course in the Port Jervis Academy, and is now teaching in the public schools of Matamoras; and Mary Edna.
In the maternal line John M. Van Akin is de- scended from another old and honored family, the Van Vredenburghs, Vredenburghs or Fredenburghs, as the name has been variously spelt, though the descendants now, for the most part, write it Van Fredenburgh. Willem Isaacsen Van Vredenburgh, who came to America in May, 1658, from The Hague, Holland, in the ship "Golden Beaver," was the ancestor of all of the name in this country. He was granted lot No. 1, West of Broadway, New Amsterdam, when "peg leg" Petrus Stuyvesant was governor, and he afterward moved to Kingston. The children of Willem Isaacsen Van Vreden- burgh and his wife Appolonia Barents were: Isaac, born at New Amsterdam, October 4, 1665, married Janneke Joosten, widow of John Fell; Cornelia, baptized at New Amsterdam, December 14, 1667, married Cornelius Martins Emlsteyn, February I, . 1685, at Kingston; Maria, baptized at New Amster- dam, November 3, 1669, married Jan Hendricksen, November 3, 1700, at Kingston ; Johannes, baptized at New Amsterdam, October 21, 1671, was married September 2, 1696, at Amsterdam, to Johanna de la Montague ; Annatje, baptized at New Amsterdam, December 8, 1673, on January 3, 1697, at Kingston, was married to Hendrick Rosenkrans ; Ariantie was baptized at New Amsterdam. December 8, 1675; Willem is mentioned below: Abraham, baptized at Kingston, January 27, 1682, married Isabella Paar- sel, January 17, 1706, at New Amsterdam ; Faniet- jen, baptized at Kingston, N. Y., April 6, 1684, mar- ried Albert Van Gorden, June II, 1704. at Kingston ; Rachel was baptized at Kingston, November 6, I687.
II. Willem Van Vredenburgh, baptized at New Amsterdam, December 22, 1677, son of Willem Isaac- sen Van Vredenburgh and Appolonia Barents, was married at Kingston, November 12, 1699, to Hejetje Van Etten, daughter of Jacob Jansen Van Etten, the emigrant, and Annetje Adriantse (Krom). The
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baptisms of their children are recorded, with the exception of Aaron and Appolonia, at Kingston, and are as follows : Willem, baptized June 30, 1700, married Catalyntje Kip. Annatje, baptized Decem- ber 21, 1701, married Willem Van Gorden ( formerly spelled Van Garden) ; they were residents of Upper Smithfield, Pike Co., Penn., in 1735, and afterward removed to Shippekonk, now Montague, Sussex Co., N. J. Jacobus, baptized October 3.I, 1703, mar- ried Clara Van Wagenen, at Kingston, June 18, 1726. Appolonia, baptized at Albany, January 13, 1706, married Hendricksen Kip. Ariantje, bap- tized January 12, 1707, married Abraham Ooster- hout, September 26, 1731, at Rhinebeck. Aaron, the next in the line of descent, is mentioned below. Petronella, baptized June 10, 1711, married David de Duytscher, June 2, 1735, at Rhinebeck. Isaac, baptized January, 1713, married Geesjen Pier, Feb- ruary 23, 1734, at Rhinebeck. Johannes, baptized October 10, 1714, married Marytje Osterhout, July 8, 1736, at Rhinebeck. Abraham, baptized Septem- ber 23, 1816, married Catharina Pier, April 16, 1736, at Rhinebeck. Petrus, baptized May II, 1718, married Lydia de Duytscher, May 8, 1755, at Rhine- beck. Benjamin, baptized March 13, 1720, mar- ried Catherina de Graaff ( Kraft) of Kingston, May 3, 1740. Mathew, baptized April 22, 1722, married Margaret Westfall, June 17, 1749, at Rhinebeck.
III. Aaron (Arie) Vredenburgh, named above, was born in 1709, and undoubtedly was the first of the family to settle in the Minisink region. He re- sided for a time in Pike county, Penn., presumably in Westfall township, where his daughter Blandina was born in 1737 or 1738, as she was baptized in the Machackemech Church in May of the latter year. He married Sara Rosenkrans, daughter of Dirk Rosenkrans and Wyntje Kierstede, and great-great- granddaughter of Anneke Jans, of Trinity Church fame. Arie Vredenburgh and family moved from Pennsylvania to Shippekonk, now the town of Mon- tague, Sussex Co., N. J., on the river road near the "Smooth Rocks." He was an elder in the Mac- hackemech Church from 1741 to 1764, and in the latter year represented the three Minisink Dutch Churches at the meeting of the Coetus. We have the record of baptism only of the children of Arie Vredenburgh and Sara Rosenkrans who were born after their removal to the Delaware Valley. They are: Blandina, baptized May 30, 1738, married Daniel Deker, of Wallpack, N. J .; Lydia, baptized December 6, 1743, died young ; Catharina, baptized June 30, 1745; Lydia, baptized November 25, 1746.
IV. Their son Wilhelmus was born [as his marriage record states], at Kipsburgh ( formerly Kipsburgh Manor), town of Rhinebeck, in what is now Dutchess county, N. Y. He married Elizabeth Van Gorden, September 16, 1758; both were resi- dents of Shippekonk. She was a daughter of Har- manus Van Gorden and Elsje Cuddeback (daugh- ter of the emigrant Jacobus Codebek). Wilhelmus Vredenburgh resided on the farm near the "Smooth
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