Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 80

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 80
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 80
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 80
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 80

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SAMUEL WRIGHT, of Hickory Grove, Susque- hanna county, son of Hon. William Wright, was born November 5, 1816, in Berkshire county, Mass. During his youth he attended Amenia (N. Y.) Sem- inary for a short time, but his education was ob- tained chiefly by private study, his fine mental gifts enabling him to master any subject to which he turned his attention. At the age of nineteen, in 1835, he began teaching school at Lime Rock, Conn., and after teaching in that vicinity a few years went to Columbia county, N. Y. For seven years he was principal of the schools at Valatie, that county. In 1855 he removed to Camden county, N. J., and was principal of the school at Williamstown until 1860, in which year he was called to the schools of Clayton, Gloucester Co., N. J., remaining there until 1865. His health failing, he relinquished teaching in 1866, and in the summer and fall of that year visited friends at his former home in Massachusetts and New York. In October, 1866, while visiting friends at Great Bend, Susquehanna Co., Penn., he bought the old Taylor farm at Taylortown (now Hickory Grove), designing to teach no more. In March, 1867, he moved with his family from New Jersey to his late residence, where he contemplated tak- ing the rest which his health needed. In the fall of that year, at the urgent request of the people of the school district in which he lived, he commenced to teach where he taught nearly every term up to the time of his death, and was teaching until the day of his illness, which was brief, lasting only about one week. "His death, which occurred January 25, 1883, has cast a gloom over the community and brought sadness to every house. The neighbors and friends feel that they have lost a citizen whose place will never be filled."

Mr. Wright devoted his life to the profession of teaching, in which he became very successful. He was a man of education and culture, and did much for the cause of education. He married Mrs. Sophia Parks, daughter of Henry and Mary (Truax) Me- sick, of Columbia county, N. Y., where she was born May 29, 1819, and she passed away November 25, 1897, after a long and successful life, at the home of her son in Montrose, esteemed by her numerous friends, who were attached to her for her many womanly virtues. One child, Samuel S., was born of this marriage.

SAMUEL WRIGHT

مسيسبيبسببسرى

Samb, S. Anight

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

SAMUEL SEWARD WRIGHT, of Montrose, son of the late Samuel Wright, was born April 27, 1853, in Columbia county, N. Y. His early education was obtained mainly under his father's tuition, and when he was very young he assisted him, hearing element- ary classes. Young Wright came with his parents to Susquehanna county in 1867. At the age of eighteen he began teaching school at Uniondale, where he was eminently successful in his calling, and made many friends. In 1872 he taught the school at Oakland, where his former success as an instruct- or was repeated. During these years of teaching young Wright had saved enough money to put him- self through the Mansfield Normal School, from which he graduated, with honors, in 1874, after which he accepted the principalship of the Hallstead schools, a position he held for three years, meeting with great success as a principal. In 1878, when but twenty-five years old, Mr. Wright was a candi- date for the county superintendency of schools, and though he had for his competitors such men as Su- perintendent Tilden, Profs. Richardson, Thomas and French, he lacked only nine votes of being elect- ed. Subsequently he served one year in the office of the prothonotary of the county. In 1880 he en- tered the employ of Ivison, Blackman, Taylor & Co., with whom he remained two years, introducing their series of school books, and in 1882 he became special agent for the New York Life Insurance Co. In 1883 he was called home by the death of his father, and, being the only child, he remained to care for his mother and settle the estate.

For about four years Mr. Wright devoted him- self to farming. In 1887 he was elected to the office of Register of Wills, Recorder of Deeds and Clerk of the Orphans' Court, a position he has since held. On his election to the office for the first term one of the papers of the county said: "Samuel S. Wright has always been prominent in educational matters in the county, as well as in local politics. He is a worker, industrious, and energetic and capable. He will make a public officer who will meet the demands of the public-faithful to his friends, independent in character, with a strong sense of duty. Mr. Wright is a man in whose charge the office of Reg- ister and Recorder will have a clean and business- like administration."

Through all these years Mr. Wright has per- formed the duties of his office in such a manner as to give entire satisfaction to the people of the coun- ty, who have repeatedly re-elected him, and he is now for the fifth time nominated to the incumbency by the Republicans of the county. On his re-nomina- tion, at the county convention in August, 1899, the Montrose Independent Republican thus referred to him: "Mr. Wright's eminent qualifications for the position, his valuable services to the party and to the people of the county, and his great personal pop- ularity, are the factors which have secured his re- nomination, and they will secure his re-election at the polls."

Mr. Wright is an ardent Republican, and a born 22

politician. Throughout the struggle waged by our senator and representatives in behalf of the Erie Bonus Bill, Mr. Wright worked early and late to further their efforts, and during the last session of the Legislature he was in constant attendance at harrisburg, seconding the work of our members, and staying there until its triumphant passage and final approval by the Governor. He has been one of the greatest party workers and most successful and influential men in the party in the politics of Susquehanna county for a decade or more. He is ever courteous, obliging and accommodating, and as an official has been most efficient and popular. Socially Mr. Wright is identified with various or- ders. He is prominent in Masonry and in Odd Fellowship. He has served as Worshipful Master of Warren Lodge No. 240, of Montrose, and has filled all the chairs in the lodge; has been Most Ex- cellent High Priest of Warren Chapter No. 180, of Montrose; and also a Knight Templar, being a member of Great Bend Commandery No. 27. He has been Regent of Montrose Council, of the Royal Arcanum.

On April 26, 1881, Mr. Wright was married to Miss Juliet, daughter of the late Joseph Du Bois, of Great Bend [see Du Bois history, elsewhere], and they have one daughter, Emma.

WILLIAM G. SMALL (deceased) was for many years widely known as the genial and popular host of the "Pleasant Valley Hotel," in Liberty township, Susquehanna county. He was a native of the county, born in Forest Lake township, in 1830, and was a son of William and Fannie ( Hendricks) Small, natives of Cornwall, England, and Litchfield, Conn., respectively. The father was born in 1796, and when very young was brought to America by his parents, William and Mary ( Martin) Small, who located in Forest Lake township, Susquehanna county, when this region was a vast wilderness. In their family were four children, two sons and two daughters, of whom: Joseph married and located in Beaver county, Penn., where he reared a fam- ily. Ann married Robert Huddleston, and lived for a time in Forest Lake township, but later re- moved to Bloomsburg, Penn., where he died, and she now makes her home with her children. Mary wedded William Belamby and located in Blooms- burg, where both died, leaving a daughter, Mary, who married Samuel Cosier, and both died in Sus- quehanna county.

William Small, the father of our subject, com- pletes the above family. In early life he engaged in carpentering and milling in Forest Lake township, but later removed to Chemung county, N. Y., where he departed this life. Subsequently his widow re- turned to Forest Lake township, Susquehanna Co., Penn., where she married Daniel Lincoln, and where both made their home throughout the remainder of their lives, her death occurring in 1863. All of her seven children were born of the first union, and are as follows: (I) Charles spent his life in Forest

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Lake township, engaged in carpentering, and was a soldier of the Civil war. He married Alice Lin- coln, a sister of our subject's wife, and died in 1891, leaving a widow and six children-Emma, who married Mina Jones, of Rushville, Penn. ; Huldah, who married ( first ) Wright Giffin, who was killed with a threshing machine, and ( second) Lee Grif- fice, of Leroy, N. Y .; Louisa, who married Allie McKeeby, of Forest Lake ; Ellen, who married Asa Gregory, of Wyalusing, Penn. ; Kate, who married a Mr. Finch, of Hancock, N. Y. ; and Edith, who mar- ried Henry Vandike, of Jessup, Penn. (2) Wakeman married Theressa Dewers, and located in Jessup township, Susquehanna county, where he died, leaving a widow, still a resident of the county. Their children were Georgiana, wife of a Mr. Rey- nolds, of Factoryville, Penn. ; Nettie ; Urnana, wife of Albert Miller, of Montrose; William, a resident of Jessup township, who married Effie Gardner ; Frederick, deceased in Factoryville, who married Emma Hines; and Ralph, who died young. (3) Vanness married Isadore Clark. and, enlisting dur- ing the Civil war in the 143rd P. V. I., was killed dur- ing the second day of the battle of the Wilderness : his widow survived him with one son, Charles, a resi- dent of Brooklyn, Susquehanna county, who mar- ried Alice Decker. (4) George married Eva Dewell, and they make their home on his farm in Forest Lake township. They have one daughter living, Dora, wife of Scott Drake, a resident of New York State ; Frank and Stella are deceased. (5) Mary is the wife of Levi Lincoln, of Forest Lake township, and they have one son, George, who married Stella Smith. (6) Adelaide married David Dewers, of Jessup township, and they resided in Rush town- ship, Susquehanna county, where he died, leaving his wife with two daughters, Fannie and Mamie, the former now the wife of Charles Brown, of Sus- quehanna county, the latter the wife of Daniel Terry, of Rush township.

William G. Small, whose name introduces this sketch, grew to manhood in Forest Lake township, where he attended the public schools, and acquired an excellent knowledge of farm work on the home farm. In 1858 he married Miss Phoebe A. Lin- coln, a daughter of Daniel and Hulda ( Thatcher ) Lincoln, and a member of one of the old and promi- nent families of Forest Lake township. Both her parents were natives of Brattleboro, Vt. After his marriage Mr. Small located in Forest Lake town- ship, where he purchased a farm on which he made many improvements. On selling that place he pur- chased the farm now owned by Alonzo Cole, in the same township, and in 1880 was made general overseer of the poor asylum in Rush township, of which he and his wife had charge for five years. At the end of that time he purchased the "Pleasant Valley Hotel," in Liberty township, which he most successfully conducted until called from this life. He was stricken with paralysis, and died very suddenly January 28, 1899, at the age of sixty- nine.

The four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Small were as follows: (1) Huldah, born in Septem- ber, 1862, died at the age of five years. (2) Ella, born in April, 1859, is the wife of Frank Ball, of Forest Lake township, and they have three children -- Floyd, Hazel and Lena. (3) Alpha, born in 1864, was educated in the high schools of Montrose and New Milford, and for a number of years success- fully engaged in teaching in Susquehanna county. In 1890 she married Edwin Lindsley, now a mer- chant of Franklin Forks, Susquehanna county, and they have two daughters, Ethel and Lula. (4) Arthur, born in July, 1867, now has charge of the hotel which his father owned. He married Bell Gardner, of Rush township, and they have four children-Cecil, Daisy, Carrie and Nina.

Politically Mr. Small was first identified with the Whig and later with the Republican party, and for seventeen years he most creditably and accept- ably served as constable of Forest Lake township. Religiously both he and his wife attended the Methodist Episcopal Church, and socially he was an honored member of the Odd Fellows Lodge No. 471, in Rush township, and the Improved Order of Red Men. His character was beyond reproach. and he was held in high esteem by all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance, on account of his sterling worth and many excellencies of character.

CYRUS B. MARCY, an energetic and pro- gressive citizen of Springville township, Susque- hanna county, whose life has been devoted to agri- cultural pursuits, was born July 22, 1847, and on the paternal side is of Irish extraction. His grand- father, Abel Marcy, was a pioneer settler of Wyo- ming county, Fenn., where he made his home for many years, becoming one of the foremost citizens of that county. He was an extensive and prosper- ous lumberman, owning hundreds of acres of wood- land, two sawmills, and also a gristmill, which he operated. He served as colonel in the State Mili- tia for some time, and as a Whig took an active and prominent part in local politics. He first mar- ried Eunice Spencer, and to them were born three children: Sally, deceased; Theron, the father of our subject ; and Mary. For his second wife the grandfather married Affa Harding, and his third marriage was to Sarah Hoadley. He died upon the old homestead in Wyoming county, in 1850, at the age of sixty-eight years.

Theron Marcy, our subject's father, was born in Wyoming county, April 1, 1808, and spent almost his entire life on the old homestead, where he suc- cessfully engaged in lumbering, owning several tracts of timber land. In his native county, he married Miss Susana Strickland, who was born February II, 1819, a daughter of Sylvester and Rachel Strickland, and died April 18, 1890, while his death occurred near Tunkhannock, Penn., No- vember II, 1862. Both were sincere and faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal Church; so- cially he affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and

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politically was identified with the Republican party. Our subject is the eldest of five children, the others being Mary, who died young; Samuel T., a farmer of Lathrop township, Susquehanna county ; Ruth R., deceased wife of William Giles, of Lathrop township; and Ezra, who died at the age of eight years.

The first fifteen years of his life Cyrus B. Marcy spent in Wyoming county, and then came to Susquehanna county, where he has since made his home. At that age he was thrown upon his own resources by the death of his father, and was forced to make his own way in the world. At the early age of seventeen he joined the boys in blue, enlisting August 29, 1864, in Company C, 203rd P. V. I., and he remained in the service until after the close of the war, returning home July 4, 1865. He was first under the command of Capt. Small- wood, who was killed at Fort Fisher, and later un- der Capt. Duncan, who took part in the engage- ments at Chapin's farm, Darbytown road, and sey- eral skirmishes in North Carolina, and though un- dler fire many times was never in an important bat- tle, only a part of the company being at Fort Fisher. After the war Mr. Marcy purchased a partially im- proved farm of fifty-seven and one-half acres in Springville township, which he operated for six years and then sold. His next purchase consisted of sixty-eight acres of land in the same township, which was under cultivation, and since locating thereon, in 1879, he has made many excellent im- provements, including the erection of a comfortable residence, a good barn, and other outbuildings. He has engaged in huckstering, dairying and general farming, and has been fairly successful in his under- takings, so that he is now quite well-to-do.

In Springville township, October 26, 1889, Mr. Marcy married Miss Ella Rogers, a daughter of Giles G. and Polly (Wilcox) Rogers. Her father was born in New London county, Conn., February 4, 1813, and died February 17, 1898, while her mother was born in Falls township, Wyoming Co., Penn., January 4, 1820, and died March 16, 1886. Mrs. Marcy's paternal grandparents were David and Lucinda (Gardner) Rogers, and her maternal grandparents were Isaac and Freelove ( Madison) Wilcox. She was born April 21, 1854, and is fifth in the order of birth in a family of six children, the others being Mary, now the widow of Thomas Moore, of Springville township; Sarah, who died young : Hester, wife of Orin Pritchard, of Spring- ville township; Lucv, wife of Lewis Clendenny, of Sayre, Bradford Co., Penn. ; and Arthur, a miller, of Springville township. Mr. and Mrs. Marcy have one son, Ernest Theron, born August 12, 1891.

In politics Mr. Marcy is somewhat independ- ent, but usually supports the men and measures of the Republican party. Fraternally he is an hon- ored member of the Grand Army of the Republic ; and religiously his wife holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church. In all the relations

of life he has been found true to every trust re- posed in him, and ne certainly merits the high re- gard in which he is uniformly held.

EDWORTH A. JENNER, a well-known and highly-esteemed citizen of Jessup township, has throughout his entire business career been promi- nently identified with the agricultural and indus- trial interests of Susquehanna county, and now, in connection with his farming operations, conducts a sawmill and shingle-mill with good success. He is an enterprising and energetic business man, and the prosperity that has come to him is well de- served.

A native of Susquehanna, county, Mr. Jenner was born in Forest Lake township, December 13, 1845, a son of Henry and Elizabeth ( Horton) Jen- ner, the former a native of Sussex, England, born in 1818, the latter of Susquehanna county, Penn., born in 1823. When a young man the father crossed the Atlantic and took up his residence in Forest Lake township, where he learned the trade of carpenter and joiner with Daniel Lincoln. He is now a resident of Choconut township, and is still actively engaged in carpentering and farming. He is a Democrat in politics, and both he and his wife are faithful members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church. In their family were the following children: Edworth A., our subject ; Adelaide, wife of Alvin Fairbrother, a farmer and tinsmith of Broome county, N. Y .: Frances, deceased wife of George Tracy; Amanda, wife of Sylvanus Fair- brother, a farmer of Broome county, N. Y .; Jose- phine, wife of Frank Tiffany, a farmer of Harford township, Susquehanna county; Nellie, who died young ; Louisa, wife of Wesley Osincup, a mer- chant of Vestal Center, N. Y. : Gertie, wife of John Snedaker, an artist and Methodist Episcopal min- ister of Binghamton, N. Y .; George, a farmer of Broome county, N. Y .; and Burton, a blacksmith of the same county.

The boyhood and youth of Edworth A. Jenner were passed under the parental roof, and he re- mained at home until he attained the age of twenty- two. In the meantime, however, he devoted almost two years to the service of his country during the Civil war, enlisting at Owego, N. Y., December 8, 1863, in Company G. 5th New York Cavalry, under Capt. Crum, and he participated in the battle of Winchester and in various skirmishes in the Shen- andoah Valley. He fell from the bank of a creek and broke his right arm, and for six months was confined in the hospital at Judiciary Square, Wash- ington, D. C. The war being over, he was hon- orably discharged at Wilmington, Del., August 9, 1865. and returned to his home.

In Forest Lake township Mr. Jenner was mar- ried. December 5, 1867, to Miss Eliza L. Harvey, who was born in England. June 12, 1842. a daugh- ter of George and Elizabeth (Wooten) Harvey, natives of Staffordshire, England, who on their em- igration to America located in Forest Lake town-

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ship, Susquehanna county, in 1848, and then re- moved to Rush township, where the mother died in February, 1896, at the age of seventy-nine years, being laid to rest in the Bolles cemetery. The father, who was born in April, 1817, died in Rush township April 11, 1899. Both he and his wife held member- ship in the Methodist Episcopal Church, while he was a Democrat in politics and served as county jury commissioner, supervisor and assessor. The children born to him and his wife were: Mary A., deceased wife of Norton Allen; George H., a farmer of Jes- sup township ; Eliza L., wife of our subject ; John, who remained with his father; William, deceased ; James, a resident of Auburn, Susquehanna county ; Wesley, a resident of Vestal Center, N. Y .; and Albert, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Jenner have a fam- ily of seven children, namely: Inez, wife of Leo Pierson, who is engaged in farming and the saw- mill business in Broome county, N. Y .; Clara E., wife of Everet Devine, a farmer of Rush township, Susquehanna county ; Frederick W., who married Bell McKeeby, and is engaged in farming in South Montrose ; Frances M., wife of Leonard Watson, of Susquehanna county ; Alice E., Harvey G. and Andrew E., all at home.

For two years after the war Mr. Jenner en- gaged in mercantile business in Montrose, then followed farming in Forest Lake township for years, and for a quarter of a century conducted a blacksmith shop at North Branch and Middle Branch. While at North Branch he served as post- master for seven years. On April 7, 1891, he lo- cated upon his present farm in Jessup township, where he has since made his home, but recently had the misfortune to lose his residence by fire. He is an honored member of the Grange and of the Grand Army post in Rush, and politically he is identified with the Democratic party.

LOREN N. WILCOX is a typical repre- sentative of the prosperous agricultural class in Susquehanna county, Penn., and was born Decem- ber 19, 1857, on the fine farm in Auburn town- ship which he now owns and cultivates, son of Martin and Maryette (French) Wilcox.

Martin Wilcox was born October 24, 1830, in a part of Luzerne county which is now included in Lackawanna county, Penn., and his parents, Isaac and Freelove ( Madison) Wilcox, were natives of New York State. They came to Susquehanna county in 1836, locating first in Springville town- ship, and in 1844 removing to Auburn, where Mr. Wilcox and his son Ephraim took up 137 acres of wild land. He made a clearing for a log house and commenced to improve and cultivate his land, spend- ing the remainder of his life here. For many years he also boated on the Delaware & Hudson canal. By his first wife, whom he married in New York State, Isaac Wilcox had three children, all of whom are now deceased, namely: Lucinda, Mrs. Christ. Van Dusen; Emily, Mrs. Loren Newton; and Katie, who was first married to John Palmatier,

and later to James Travis. By his second wife, Freelove Madison, he had children as follows : Ephraim, deceased, who married and reared a fam- ily ; Calista, widow of Oliver Phillips, of Lyon coun- ty, Kans .; Calvin, deceased, who married and had a family ; Polly, Mrs. Giles Rogers, deceased ; Mar- tha J., wife of Nelson Seely, a farmer of Leshore Rapids, Kans .; Martin, father of our subject; Ma- tilda, Mrs. Wesley Turner, deceased; and Amasa, a farmer of Auburn township. The father of this family passed away in 1857, at the age of seventy- two, the mother surviving until February 21, 1866, when she was seventy-three years old, and they were buried in Jersey Hill cemetery ; she was a member of the Christian Church.

Martin Wilcox came to the place now owned by his son Loren in 1836, and there followed agricult- ural pursuits all his life, for some years engaging also in lumbering, and he was an industrious and successful man. On May 7, 1853, he was married, in Wyoming county, to Miss Maryette French, who was born July 14, 1836, in Jefferson county, N. Y., daughter of Isaac French, a native of Connecticut, who followed farming in New York State. Their union was blessed with the following-named chil- dren: Florence, who died in infancy; Loren N .; Lillian B., who is the wife of Leslie Pierson, a merchant of Wilkes Barre, Penn .; Walter L., a res- ident of Rush township; Jennie, wife of Frank Brundage, manager of a tea company in Brooklyn, N. Y. ; Etta F., deceased, who married Ernest Peet, of Scranton, Penn .; and Myrtie E., wife of Frank Harriman, a traveling agent. On July 21, 1891, the father was thrown from a buggy and had his neck broken; the accident happened at Auburn Four Corners. His remains rest in Jersey Hill cemetery. In politics Mr. Wilcox was a stanch Democrat, and in religious connection a member of the Methodist Church, with which his widow is also united. She now makes her home with her son Loren on the old farm.

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 80

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