Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 71

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 71
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 71
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 71
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 71

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Mrs. Barrett is a native of Cecil county, Md., where her family is well known, but her ancestors settled originally in Kent county, Del., where Bar- ratt Chapel was founded by them at an early date. Three brothers, Philip, Andrew and Roger, were the progenitors of the family in this country. Philip, the eldest, and the founder of Barratt Chapel, was converted under the teaching of John Wesley. He married Mariam White. Andrew married Miss Sheppard, and left his home in Delaware for Cecil county, Md. ; he had two daughters, Miriam, who died unmarried, and Catherine, who married her cousin, Samuel Barratt, October 10, 1786. Sam- uel Barratt was a son of Roger, the youngest of the three brothers, and his good wife Miriam (Robis- son). To Samuel Barratt and his wife Catherine were born several sons and daughters, among whom were : Andrew, Eliza, Robisson, and Miriam. After his financial failure, Samuel Barratt left Delaware and removed to his wife's property in Cecil county, Md. About 1812 Andrew, the eldest son of Sam- tel (born December 6, 1787), entered the military service, and was placed to guard Fort Deposit. Here the presiding elder visited him to give him his or- dination papers, and Col. Gerry, in command of the regiment, at once released him from duty. He was a minister in the Methodist Church for more than fifty years ; but, believing in the Apostolic injunc- tion to be chargeable to no man, he was also en- gaged in farming and the manufacture of wagons. He was born in Delaware, and made his home in

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later years in Cecil county, Md., where he died April 6, 1872, aged eighty-six years.

Rev. Andrew Barratt was three times mar- ried. In September, 1827, he married his third wife, Rosannah, daughter of Capt. Joseph Lort, a retired sea captain, who at that time owned and re- sided at the Old Ferry, on the Elk river. She died October 5, 1877, aged seventy-two years, and the remains of both are interred at Elkton, Md. They had seven children, as follows: Joseph; Caleb R. (deceased), who removed in 1863 to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he became a successful merchant and also served two terms as postmaster; Cath- erine, widow of Caleb Parker, of Elkton, Md., form- erly clerk in the recorder's office ; Mary (deceased ), who married John James, a farmer and hotel keeper in Harford county. Md. ; Rose, wife of Thomas M. McCollough, of Philadelphia ; Milton, a merchant at Salt Lake City ; and Louisa A., wife of our sub- ject.

JOHN O. LYMAN is one of the energetic, enterprising and progressive citizens of Springville township, Susquehanna county, where he is now successfully engaged in general farming and dairy- ing. He bears in his veins some of the best blood of the early colonists, and is in every way a splendid type of the best American citizenship.

The first of the Lyman family to come to the New World was Richard Lyman, who crossed the Atlantic in 1631. He was born in High Ongar, England, in 1580, and died in Hartford, Conn., in 1640. His son John was born in 1623, and died in Northampton, Mass., in 1690. The latter's son John, a resident of Northampton, was born in 1660 and died in 1740. Lieut. Gideon Lyman, the next in direct descent, was born in 1700, and died in 1775, while his son Gideon was born in Northfield, Mass., in 1730. He married Eunice Clark. Gideon Lyman, a son of this worthy couple, and the grand- father of our subject, was born in Northampton, Mass., January 26, 1758, and served for six months in the Revolutionary war, being near the scene of Burgoyne's surrender. About 1780 he removed to Vermont. He was married, in Claremont, N. H., in 1782, to Miss Dolly Spencer, and in 1802 they came to Susquehanna county (then included in Luzerne county ), Penn., locating in Springville township. In their family were six sons, whose names and dates of birth were: Elijah, 1783; Gideon, 1785; Joseph A., 1788; Samuel, 1796; John B., 1798; and Prentis, 1802.

John B. Lyman, our subject's father, was born at South Hadley, Mass., May 2, 1798. and grew to manhood in Susquehanna county. He came into possession of the old homestead in Springville town- ship, where he spent his entire life, engaged as a general farmer. He was twice married, first on Oc- tober 6, 1824, to Miss Abigail Newman, of Luzerne county, Penn., who died July 31, 1825, and second on March 8, 1827, to Miss Sarah Almira Brace, a daughter of Marvin Brace, of Genesee county, N.

Y. She was born May 14, 1806, in Bennington, that county, now a part of Wyoming county, N. Y., and when a child of eight years came to Springville township, Susquehanna Co., Penn., to live with an aunt, Mrs. Arvin Lyman, with whom she remained tintil her marriage. She died on the old Lyman homestead in that township, August 20, 1891, at the age of eighty-five years, and the father passed away in February, 1890, at the age of ninety-two. Both were faithful members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, in which he served as trustee, and politically he was identified first with the Whig and later with the Republican party. The children born to this worthy couple were as follows: Gideon C., deceased at the age of thirty years, who was a law- yer in Montrose; Marvin B., a farmer of Lyman- ville, Penn., who was a sergeant in Company A, 16th Penn. Cavalry ; Abigail, wife of Anson Mary- ott, of Susquehanna county; James H., a farmer of Lymanville; Charles S., who enlisted in April, 1861, in Company I, 13th P. V. I., and at the end of three months enlisted in Company E, 9th Penn. Cavalry, for three years, and was killed in Georgia September 14, 1863, his body never being recov- ered; Annie M., who died at the age of twenty- three years; George L., who died young; Thomas. W., a banker of Hooper, Neb., who was also wound- ed in the Civil war; and John O., our subject.

John O. Lyman was born on the old home- stead, March 30, 1848, and was there reared to manhood. In Springville township, he was mar- ried, December 4, 1873, to Miss Lucy Maria Root, who was born in that township, February 14, 1846,. a daughter of Albert A. and Evelina M. (Hickox) Root. The father was born in Waterbury, Conn., September 6, 1819, a son of Enos P. and Maria (Downs) Root, also natives of Waterbury, and a grandson of Samuel Root, who was born in the same place. A member of the Root family took an act- ive part in the Revolutionary war as a soldier in the Continental army. At the age of ten years Mrs. Lyman's father came to Susquehanna county, Penn., where he ever afterward made his home, and in early life he was engaged in carpentering and later in farming. Politically he was a supporter of the Republican party, and in religious connection he was a member of the Episcopal Church. He died in Springville township, June 25, 1894, hon- ored and respected by all who knew him. Mrs. Lyman's mother was born in that township, April" 25, 1830, a daughter of James W. and Lucy (Jen- kins) Hickox. Her father was born April 25, 1798, and died January 20, 1860, while her mother was born September 23, 1800, and died November I, 1850. Mrs. Lyman's great-grandfather Jenkins had two uncles who were killed in the Wyoming massacre. The Jenkins, Hickox and Root families were all of English descent. Mrs. Lyman is the eldest in a family of three children, the others being James Prindall, who died in California, in 1898 .; and Charles Anson, who died in Springville town- ship, September 18, 1878. Of the four children

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born to our subject and his wife, the eldest, Helen, died at the age of four years ; Lena, born July 19, 1880, is now engaged in teaching school in Sus- quehanna county ; Albert, born July 20, 1882, and Annie, born February 10, 1886, are both at home.

At the age of sixteen years Mr. Lyman com- menced learning the carpenter's trade, which he most successfully followed for thirty years, being employed in Scranton, Tunkhannock and Spring- ville, but he is now living on the old Hickox home- stead, owned by his mother-in-law, Mrs. Root, and gives his time and attention to general farming and dairying. To a limited extent he also works at his trade, as the occasion demands. He has met with a well-deserved success in life, is the owner of some good property in this State, and is an upright and reliable business man, well meriting the high re- gard in which he is universally held. In political sentiment he is a stanch Republican, and he has most creditably and acceptably served as school director six years, and justice of the peace in Springville town for nineteen consecutive years. Both he and his wife are active members of the Episcopal Church, in which he is a lay reader, and fraternally he be- longs to the Grange.

CHARLES W. PIERSON occupies an envia- ble position among the honorable, respected farm- ing citizens of Auburn township, Susquehanna county, where he has passed the greater part of his life. He was born January 11, 1836, in Knowlton township, Warren Co., N. J., son of Joseph Pierson and grandson of Daniel and Susanna ( Jones) Pier- son, who were farming people of Connecticut. They removed thence to New Jersey prior to 1776, and were living in Trenton at the time the Hessians were in that city, and the silver comb was taken from Mrs. Pierson's hair when the soldiers plun- dered the houses. Their eldest child was Elijah.

Joseph Pierson was born September 7, 1798, in Hardwick township, Sussex Co., N. J., where he grew to manhood, and on November 10, 1825, he was married, in Warren county, N. J., to Miss Mary White. She was born in Sussex county, N. J .. May 23, 1804, daughter of William and Amy ( Run- ion) White, farming people who settled in Auburn township, Susquehanna Co., Penn., in 1841. The young couple took up their residence in Warren county, also removing thence in 1841 to Susque- hanna county, and on April Io, of that year, they set- tled on the farm in Auburn township on which they spent the remainder of their lives, and which is now owned by their son Charles W. Joseph Pier- son followed his trade, that of carpenter, until com- ing to Auburn township, and here he engaged in farming, taking up land in what was then a wilder- ness and on which he had to make a clearing for his dwelling. He became prominent in the affairs of his adopted town, as a successful farmer and in public matters, held various offices, and was also active in Church work. He united originally with the M. E. Society, but as there was no Church of

that denomination in Auburn on his arrival he joined the M. P. Church, and was one of the three men who erected the first M. P. church in that town- ship, continuing to be one of its supporters and a trustee to the close of his life. He died August 22, 1865, his wife September 28, 1886, and their re- mains lie in Jersey Hill cemetery. To their union came children as follows: Amy, born June 6, 1827, widow of David J. Raub, of Auburn township; Benjamin, born August 23, 1829, deceased March 15, 1880, at 'Auburn; Charles W., subject proper of these lines; and Susanna L., born August 8, 1845, wife of Milton Harris, of Auburn.

Charles W. Pierson was given a good practical education in boyhood, attending the common schools of the township and Harford University, of which Rev. Lyman Richardson was principal. In his early manhood he taught school for a time, at the age of nineteen teaching one term at Wanamie, Penn., and subsequently three terms in Auburn township. He has always taken a special interest in the schools and all kindred subjects, and has served as school director in his township for seven years. Mr. Pier- son has made farming his life vocation, however, and has remained on the home place, where he re- ceived his agricultural training, by thrift and in- dustry deriving a comfortable competence from the place. He has ever been ranked among the most progressive and intelligent residents of the township, where his fellow citizens have shown their appre- ciation of and confidence in his ability by electing him to various offices of responsibility. For three years he was a director of the poor farm, holding that position when the poorhouse was built in Rush township for the poor of Auburn, Rush, Springville and Forest Lake townships, and he has been auditor for several years, in every incumbency giving evi- dence of his good judgment and capability. His political sympathies have been with the Republican party. He has been an active member of the M. E. Church for the past twenty years, and, frater- nally, belongs to the I. O. O. F., being a charter member of Auburn Center Lodge No. 905, at Auburn Center, Penn., of which he was installed the first noble grand at the organization, on April 26, 1875 ; he was representative to the Grand Lodge, at Philadelphia, in Centennial year, 1876.

Mr. Pierson was married, by Rev. George Sterigere, in Auburn township, on May 7, 1859, to Miss Elizabeth R. Van Scoten, and they have had three children, namely: Annabel, who is the wife of George Lee, a farmer of Springville; Jo- seph G., a farmer of Wyoming county, who mar- ried Susie Watkins ; and Lewis B., a school teacher, living at home. Mrs. Pierson was born February 9, 1840, in Warren county, N. J., daughter of George and Sidney M. (Raub) Van Scoten, the former of whom was the son of Garret and Catherine ( Shan- non) Van Scoten, natives of Holland who settled in Warren county, N. J., on coming to this coun- try. The mother was the daughter of Andrew and Catherine (Butts) Raub, who are mentioned else-

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where. They came to Susquehanna county in 1856, making their home in Auburn township, where Mrs. Van Scoten died April 24, 1882, at the age of sixty-nine years. George Van Scoten enlisted for service during the Civil war, and died, of disease, in June, 1863, at the age of forty-seven years. They had the following named children: Elizabeth R., Mrs. Pierson ; Marshall, living in Montrose, Penn., who is a pension agent and justice of the peace ; Sarah C., wife of Dennis Seebring, a farmer of Rush township; Andrew, of Binghamton, N. Y .; Emma, wife of J. H. Smith, of Red Creek, N. Y .; and George, a merchant and real-estate dealer of Athens, Pennsylvania.

DWIGHT MILLS (deceased), whose life was closed December 23, 1894, after a successful career in Wayne county as a merchant, mechanic and en- gineer, was also connected, as contractor and overseer, with the building of the Croton acque- duct, and the construction of the New York & Erie road between Chester and Goshen, N. Y. He was born April 14, 1819, in Otsego county, N. Y. Both his grandfathers were soldiers of the war of the Revolution, Col. John Mills, his paternal grand- father, acquiring his title in that war; the maternal grandfather served as a corporal and sergeant.

John Mills, the father of our subject, was born at Old Hadley, Hampshire Co., Mass. In 1814 he settled in Otsego county, N. Y., where he purchased a farm, on which he followed agricultural pursuits until 1820, when he removed to Susquehanna county, Penn. After making another move or two he finally in 1823, settled on a tract in Carbondale, Penn., and there cleared and improved a farm. His wife, who was formerly Hannah Buckman, bore him children as follows: Theodore, Edward, Samuel, Abial B., Dwight. William, Mary J. (who lives in San Jose, Cal.), Charles H., John, and Mary A., all of whom are now deceased excepting Charles H. and Mary J. The father of these children died in 1840, when aged sixty-three years, the mother in 1846, at the age of sixty-five years ; both are buried in the Carbondale cemetery. They were members of the Baptist Church.

Dwight Mills was reared on his father's farm, working through the summer time, and attending the neighborhood school for a short period during the winter season. When about eighteen years of age he went to New York City, and learned the ma- chinist's trade at the Allaire works, serving three years at the trade. He then returned to Carbondale, Penn., and for several years was engaged in the mer- cantile business in connection with one of his broth- ers. He was next employed as engineer on the Gravity railroad which was then being built be- tween Lake Ariel and Hawley, and later, John B. Smith (who was with Mr. Mills in New York) becoming superintendent of the railroad company, Mr. Mills became master mechanic under him. The division over which Mr. Mills had charge for the Pennsylvania Coal Co., was that between Hawley

and No. 21, near Wimmers on the Erie & Wyoming Valley road, and he remained in that employ for many years, until the road was abandoned. On May 7, 1851, he moved his family to Lake Ariel, which place was then quite in the woods, and he gradually acquired considerable land, he and son possessing some 300 acres. As time passed these lands greatly increased in worth and became valua- ble. They were finally sold to the Lake Ariel Im- provement Co., for $75,000. Mr. Mills was a man of business ability, a good manager, and so con- ducted his affairs that he became possessed of con- siderable means. He was quiet and plain in manner, but a man of worth, and was one of Ariel's best citizens. He had been a Freemason since 1859. and stood high in the fraternity.

On December 8, 1838, at Tarrytown, N. Y., our subject was married to Miss Jane Beekman, the ceremony being performed by Rev. Speers, a minister of the M. P. Church, and the following chil- dren came to bless the union : Elizabeth, born June 16, 1841, married James Bigart, a farmer of Cherry Ridge, Penn .; William W., born June 23, 1843, and married to Agnes Moffit, is a machinist at Dunmore, Penn. ; Mary F., born November 4, 1845, married Jonathan Brown, and died November 4, 1876; Charles, born September 27, 1854, married Allie Bunnell, and they reside at Honesdale, Penn- sylvania.

Mrs. Jane ( Beekman) Mills was born March 12, 1821, at Mount Pleasant, N. Y., the site of her birthplace being now owned by John D. Rocka- feller and brother. She is a daughter of Gerard G. and Elizabeth (Adams) Beekman, the former of Mt. Pleasant, Westchester Co., N. Y., the latter of New York City. The Beekmans are of royal blood. Mrs. Mills possesses a record of the family for many generations back. The first of the family in this country was William Beekman, who came from Holland in 1646, locating in New York City. He was the son of John Beekman, of Hasselt, in the Province of Overyssel, Holland. Mrs. Mills' great grandparents were Gerard and Ann (Van Horn) Beekman, and her grandparents were Gerard and Cornelia (Van Cortland) Beekman. Beginning with the eldest son of William, the first ances- tor in America, it has been the custom in the Beekman family to name the eldest son Ge- rard. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Ge- rard G. Beekman were: Cornelia married Clark Hammond; Joan married States Hammond, and both are now deceased; Pierre is deceased; Cath- erine married Horris Bartlett; Philip Van Cortland is deceased ; William died in 1895 ; Stephen died in Florida, where he had gone to take charge of a school ; Jane married Dwight Mills ; Gertrude mar- ried Adolphus Beekman, of Tarrytown, N. Y. ; and Susan married Samuel Thomas, of Pavilion, N. Y. The father of these died on the old home place April 7. 1836, when aged sixty-five years. He was butted by a ram when in the act of letting down some bars, the animal striking him in the back and causing the

DWIGHT MILLS

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bursting of a blood vessel. The mother lived until 1871, dying at North Tarrytown, N. Y., when aged eighty-six.

CHARLES D. JAGGARS, a prominent agri- culturist of South Canaan township, Wayne county, is among those whose enterprise and industry have helped to bring the once densely wooded lands of this section under cultivation, and through his ju- dicious use of opportunities he has won a place among our substantial citizens.

His family has been identified with Pennsyl- vania for several generations, and his great-grand- father, Daniel Jaggars, was for some time a resident of Philadelphia, but came to Wayne county, in 1807, accompanied by one son, Joseph. Joseph Jag- gars, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Philadelphia, and his wife, Rebecca ( Wagner ), was the eldest child of Adam Wagner, a native of Mary- land, who settled in Wayne county, in 1783, and died in 1793. To Joseph and Rebecca Jaggars the following children were born: Hannah, who mar- ried Isaac Seely ; Elizabeth, who married Harrison McMinn ; Nancy, wife of William Coleman ; Phoebe, Mrs. Louis Bucklin ; Rebecca ( Mrs. Samuel Shaf- fer) ; Abram, our subject's father ; Eunis, who mar- ried (first) Charles Buckland, and ( second) George Beach; Margaret (Mrs. Raynsford Smith) ; Susan (Mrs. William Williams) ; Rachel, who married Thomas Glenn; and John, who died at the age of thirty-five years, unmarried.

Abram Jaggars was born October 5, 1817, in South Canaan township, and died May 14, 1860, aged forty-three years, his remains being interred in the burial grounds in the same locality. He was married in August, 1842, in South Canaan township to Miss Mary Shaffer, and the following children were born of the union: Elizabeth, who died in in- fancy; Susan, born April 16, 1846, wife of Jessup Brooks, a farmer of South Canaan township; Re- becca, born April 29, 1848, wife of Russell Swin- gle, of the same township; Charles D., our subject, born September 2, 1850; Mary L., born March 22, 1854, wife of Phineas Swingle, a farmer of South Canaan township; Abram F., born October 22, 1856, who married Miss Hattie Treslar, and resides upon the old homestead; and Jessie, born September, 1858, died March 8, 1861. The mother of this family, who was born in South Canaan town- ship, June 10, 1823, now resides with her son Abram. She is a descendant of John Shaffer, who came from Germany in Colonial times, and served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war. He resided for a time in New York State, where he married a Miss Forbes, and in 1783 he settled in Wayne coun- ty, purchasing a large tract of land in what is now South Canaan township. His second son Moses, the father of Mary Jaggars, was the first white child born in that neighborhood. Moses Shaffer. became a successful farmer and miller, and he and his wife, Mary (Swingle), also a native of the township, passed their entire lives there, and were

buried in the cemetery near their old home. This worthy couple had the following children: Jacob, who married Susan Enslin ( both deceased ) ; Susan, who married (first) Jacob Swingle, and ( second ) Moses Springer (all are now deceased) ; Samuel, who married ( first ) Rebecca Jaggars, and ( second ) Mary A. Curtis (all are now deceased ) ; Charles, who married Alice Bennett (both are deceased) ; Sarah, wife of John Cobb (both are deceased) ; Fanny, who married Aaron Curtis, a retired resident of Scranton, Penn. (both are deceased) ; Amelia, wife of Adam Wagner, of Waymart (both are de- ceased ) ; Catherine, who married James Glenn (both are deceased) ; Mary, our subject's mother ; Sylves- ter, who married Hannah Swingle, and resides upon a farm in Lake township, Wayne county ; and Han- nah, deceased wife of G. W. Swingle, of South Canaan township.

Charles D. Jaggars was born September 2, 1850, at the old homestead in South Canaan town- ship, where he remained until he reached his ma- jority. He then engaged in lumbering in the woods on contract, a business which he continued until 1875, when he settled upon his present farm ad- joining the old homestead. The place was then covered with the primitive forest, but hard work and good management have made it a valuable farm. While Mr. Jaggars is not eager for political honors he is interested in public questions, and is a stanch supporter of the principles of the Republican party. In local matters he has always shown him-

self a friend to progress, and for three years he served as school director. Socially he and his family are prominent, and he is a member of the P. of H. of South Canaan. On January 27, 1874, he was married in his native township by Rev. Mark Ber- ryman, a Methodist minister, to Miss Orra O. Ens- lin, and their home has been brightened by six chil- dren, whose names and dates of birth are as fol- lows: Lelia, May 16, 1875; Orra, April 14, 1877; Susie, June 22, 1879; John, September 4, 1881 ; Golda, December 24, 1889; and Basil, June 30, 1892. Of these, Lelia was married February 2, 1897, to Arthur Enslin, of Lake township.

The Enslin family is well known in Wayne county, and Mrs. Jaggars, who was born in South Canaan township, February II, 1855, is a descend- ant of George Enslin, a native of Germany, who came to America at an early day, and after residing for a time at Newport, Penn., located permanently in Wayne county, where he engaged in business as a farmer and blacksmith. He married Kate Swingle, a native of Wayne county, and a descendant of Hans Ulrich Swingle, a pioneer settler of that lo- cality. They had eight children: Jacob, who mar- ried Elizabeth Transue ; George, who married Sarah Swingle; Frederick, the grandfather of Mrs. Jag- gars; Sallie (Mrs. John McLean) ; Betsy (Mrs. John Burleigh) ; Tena (Mrs. David Freeman) ; Susan ( Mrs. Jacob Shaffer) ; and Polly (Mrs. Moses Swingle), all now deceased. Frederick Ens- lin was born in Wayne county, Penn., and mar-

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 71

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