Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 2, Part 95

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1098

USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 2 > Part 95
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 2 > Part 95
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 2 > Part 95
USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 2 > Part 95

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JESSUP BROOKS, one of the substantial men of Wayne county, a farmer widely and favorably known, and a veteran of the Civil war. is the repre- sentative of an ancestry whose descendants through thie several generations of a hundred years have been closely identified with the agricultural interests of Wayne county.

Born April 24, 1843. on the Brooks homestead on the present site of Varden, in South Canaan

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township, Mr. Brooks is the son of Cortland and Lucinda (Swingle) Brooks. Cortland Brooks was a native of New York City, born March 13, 1814. His parents dying when he was but a child, he knew little of his ancestry. At the age of thirteen he was · bound out to a Quaker in Orange county, N. Y., to learn the wheelwright's trade, the term of the ap- prenticeship being seven years. He completed his trade in 1835, when twenty-one years of age, and came to South Canaan township, locating on the North and South turnpike of that locality. After following his trade some five years he began farm- ing, purchasing thirty acres of land on which were an old house and rude barn, paying $300 for the property. On beginning life in South Canaan town- ship his capital was only fifty cents, but he had health and a good trade, and was possessed of that hope which inspires youth, so he applied himself with a will to do and to succeed. Year by year he added to his lands and made improvements, until he possessed some 400 acres, a part of which is the 150 acres on which our subject now resides, then partially covered with hemlock, and for which he paid one dollar per acre. He lived, with the ex- ception of a few years on first coming to Wayne county, on the farm where his son Adam H. now re- sides, throughout his lifetime engaged in farming. He was a member of the M. P. Church. Politically he affiliated with the Republican party, and held different local offices. He died in January, 1878, and his taking away was regarded as the loss of a good man and citizen by the community. .

On January 15, 1837, Cortland Brooks was married to Lucinda Swingle, who survives, mak- ing hier home on the old place with her son Adam H. She was born in South Canaan township, May 5. 1817, a daughter of John and Sally ( Wagner) Swingle, both of whom were natives of South Ca- naan township, where they passed their useful lives, dying January 3, 1853, and November 14, 1874, aged sixty-eight and eighty-eight years, respectively. John Swingle was engaged in farming throughout life, and was a man of excellent character ; he was a member of the Methodist Church. To John and Sally ( Wagner) Swingle were born children as fol- lows: Otho, formerly of South Canaan township, married (first) Lavina Mccham and (second) Mar- garet Hathaway ; all arc now deceased. Catharine married Joseph Woodward; both arc' deceased. Polly married Isaac Scely : both are now deceased. Elizabeth married James Robinson: both arc de- ccased. Adam, now deceased, married ( first) Ma- haley Thorp, and after her death Lucinda Schunard, who is still living. Samuel married Elizabeth Curtis ; both are now deceased. Lucinda is the mother of our subject. Barbara married Samnel Leland. Sally A. married Amos Spangenburg ; both are now deceased. Andrew married ( first) Abigail Sharp, and (second): Caroline Cortright. James married Clarissa Sharp. Frederick and Syl- vester dicd when young. The others died in in- fancy. John Swingle, the father of this large fam-

ily, was the son of John Swingle by his first wife, Catherine ( Moore). John Swingle ( I) was the son of Hans Ulrich Swingle, from whom sprang the Swingles of Wayne county. He came from Orange county, N. Y., in about 1784. Mrs. Sally (Wagner) Swingle was the daughter of Adam and Mary ( Wheatcrait ) Wagner, who came from Mary- land and located in South Canaan township, first moving into a sugar house, built of logs and cov- ered with bark, located on what in after years was the Edgar Wells farm. Their children were: Re- becca married Joseph Jaggars; Sally married John Swingle; Otho married Margaret Eustin; Rachel married Samuel Shaffer ; and John. Adam &Vagner died in 1793.

To the marriage of Cortland and Lucinda (Swingle) Brooks came children as follows: An- drew, born March 30, 1838, is mentioned below. Sarah, born October 23, 1840, married Abraham Hafler, a farmer of Lake township. Jessup, our subject, is a farmer of South Canaan township. Cortland, born February 5, 1845, married Theresa Curtis, and is a farmer of South Canaan township. John, born February 3, 1847, married ( first) Eliza- beth Swingle, and (second) Armena Swingle; he is a carpenter and mason by trade, and resides at Scranton. Elizabeth, born February 17, 1849, inar- ried Peter Mains, a lumberman of Wilsonville. Mary, born February 16, 1851, married Richard Enslin, a farmer of Lake township. Samuel, born October 8, 1852, married Alida Freeman; he is a farmer of South Canaan. Ida, born October 23, 1855, married (first) John Glenn, and ( second) James Mostelerr, a glass-blower of Scranton, Penn. Adam H., born July 22, 1857, married Emma F. Tresiar, and resides on the homestead.

Andrew Brooks served as a Union soldier in the Civil war, enlisting first in September, 1861, in Com- pany B, 3rd Pennsylvania Reserve Volunteers. In 1863, he re-enlisted, in Company D, 54th Pennsylvania Veteran Infantry, and was discharged July 15, 1865, after a continuous service of nearly four years. He participated in the hard services of his regiment, and was engaged in the following battles; the seven- days' battles before Richmond. in June, 1862; the second Bull Run ; South Mountain and Antictam, September, 1862: Snicker's Gap; Berryville: Win- chester ; Fredericksburg : Lynchburg ; Cloyd Moun- tain : Fort Gregg : and was taken prisoner at Farm- ville the 5th of April. three days before Lce's sur- render. He married Ellen Glenn, and is engaged in farming.

Jessup Brooks was reared on the Brooks home- stead, and had the benefit of the schools of the neigh- borhood. He remained at home until his enlist- nient in the United States service, in the Civil war on February 26. 1864. for three years, in Battery A, 2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery. at first under Capt. Seabold, and later under Capt. B. F. Everett. During that memorable closing year of the war hie bore an honorable part, sharing the fate of his com- pany. He fought at the Wilderness May 5 and S,

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1864; Spottsylvania Court House, May 12 to 20; North Anna River, May 22; Bethesda Church, May 31 ; Cold Harbor, June I to 12; and was at the siege of Petersburg for seventy-one days from June 16; was at the Weldon Railroad August 19; and at the Mine Explosion July 30, 1864; at Fort Harrison October 28-29, and at Fort Fisher in February, 1865. Fortunately he escaped being wounded or sick during his term of service. He was honorably discharged January 29, 1866, at City Point, Virginia.

On his return home Mr. Brooks worked three months for his father, and then worked one year in the woods, lumbering for Jerry Treslar, receiv- ing for bis services thirty-two dollars per month and his board. After this experience he decided to work for himself, and purchased of his father the farm he now owns and has since occupied, paying $4.800 for it. The tract then was covered with a fine growth of hemlock timber, most of which has since been cleared and marketed. Like his ancestors, , Mr. Brooks has proven himself an excellent man and worthy citizen. He has identified himself with such measures as have aided in the development of his native county, and has by his thrift and good management become well-to-do. Politically he is a Republican, and has served his party well in the performance of his duty at the polls and in uphold- ing its principles. For the past six years he has been one of the board of school directors of his township. He is a member of Post No. 534, G. A. R., of Gravity. On October 6, 1867, MIr. Brooks was united in marriage to Mrs. Susan (Jaggars) Rockwell, who bore him children as follows: Cort- land C., born 'October 28, 1868, assists his father on the farm. Mary L., born July 30, 1876, was mar- ried October 18, 1899, to Norman Burleigh, a farmer of South Canaan. Charles A. was born July 15, 1883. The mother of this family was born April 16. 1846, in South Canaan township, daughter of Abraham and Mary (Shaffer) Jaggars, of that .

township, both members of old families of this lo- cality. Daniel Jaggars. Mrs. Brook's great-grand- father. came from Philadelphia to Wayne county in 1807. in company with his son Joseph, the grand- father of Mrs. Brooks, who was born in Philadel- phia. Joseph Jaggars married Rebecca Wagner, daughter of Adam Wagner, a native of Maryland. who came to Wayne county in 1783, and died in 1703. Abraham Jaggars. son of Joseph, was born October 5. 1817, in South Canaan township. In August. IN12, he married Mary Shaffer, and to them were born children as follows: Elizabeth died in infancy : Susan is the wife of our subject : Rebecca is the wife of Russell Swingle: Charles D. married Orphelia Enslin : Mary L .. married Phineas Swingle: Abraham F. married 'llattie Tressler ; and Jessie died in childhood. The father of this family died May 11. the, aged forty-two years. The mother. who is ves living and resides with her son . Abraham. was hamn in South Canaan township, June to, 1823. and is a descendant of John Shaffer, who came from Germany in Colonial times. He served as a soldier

in the Continental army in the war of the Revolu- tion. For a time he resided in New York State, where he married Miss Forbes, and in 1873 he set- tled in Wayne county. Moses Shaffer, the second son of the emigrant, married Mary Swingle, and of their children Mary Shaffer became the mother of Mrs. Jessup Brooks. [Further data concerning the intermarriages and descendants of these old tam- ilies of Wayne county are given elsewhere. ]

Susan Jaggars first married Joseph C. Rockwell. who as a patriot during the Civil war sacrificed his life for his country. He enlisted in the Union army at Tarrytown, N. Y., becoming a member of Bat- tery F, Sixth Regiment New York Heavy Artillery, and on May 19, 1864, at the battle of Spottsylvania Court House, Va., received a wound from which he died June Io following, in Alexandria, Va., at the early age of twenty-three years. He was a brave and gallant soldier, and in yielding up his young lite on the battlefield- he- closed an honorable service. leaving a record to which his posterity shall ever refer with pride. He left surviving one child. Rhoba, born October 3, 1863, who married George Dersheimer, a farmer of Lake township. Wayne county. Mr. Rockwell was a son of Hiram Rockwell, a native of Susquehanna, Penn., and grandson of William Rockwell, who was born in Connecticut, but at an early day settled in Susquehanna county. Hiram Rockwell was a farmer,"an activeAvorker and local preacher in the Baptist Church, and a good man and citizen. He married Miss Rebecca Merrit. a daughter of Will- iam and Rebecca (Lanfer) Merrit, Connecticut peo- ple who settled in Susquehanna county, Pennsyl- vania.

CONRAD SWINGLE, one of the leading ag- riculturists and substantial citizens of Lake town- ship, Wayne county, is a descendant of one of the pioneer families of the county, a family whose nu- merous children and children's children have aided materially in developing the lands of Wayne county, and making possible the high state of its cultivation of to-day.

Hans Ulrich Swingle, our subject's great-grand- father.prior to the war of the Revolution came to this country from Switzerland. and settled first in Orange county, N. Y., in 1783 moving to what sub- sequently became South Canaan township. Wayne Co .. Penn. He bought some four hundred acres of land in the midst of an unbroken wilderness, where he built a log honse and began the work of the pioneer. His wife, who was formerly Mary Shaffer. bore him ten children. of whom Corrad. the ninth in order of birth and the grandfather of in 1760, and ou reaching manhood was marrie.1 to Lucy Bunten. berg in 1974. Among their chil- dren was Sapul, the father of our subject.

Saunel Swingle was born March 3. 1802. on a farmi in South Canaan township. He was reared amid rural scenes, and while growing up received

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such schooling as the times and surroundings pre- sented to the neigliborhood. Reared to agricultural pursuits. he never departed therefrom, remaining a farmer throughout life. He was a man of charac- ter and worth in the community, exerting an influ- ence for good. He married Catherine Cobb, an amiable and estimable woman who made him a good wife and their children a kind and indulgent mother. She was born April 26, 1812, in South Canaan town- ship. In 1838 Samuel Swingle moved from the old farm to one located in what is now Lake township, where the family resided for many years and where the father died August 27, 1888, and the mother May 20, of the same year. They were identified with the Christian Church. To their marriage came children as follows: Angeline, born June 4, 1830, died August 30, 1831 ; Robert, born July 7, 1832, married Caroline Fowler, and died in 1893 ; Enos. a farmer of Lake Ariel, was born March 27, 1835. and married the late Elizabeth Fowler ;- Ga- briel, born September 10, 1837, died March 12, 1845: Jason. born December 11, 1839, died March 7. 1845 : Mary, born August 26, 1842, makes her home with our subject; James, born May 18, 1845, married Adaline Bell: Dina, born September 23, 1847. now deceased. married Jeremiah Wilcox. of Elmhurst. Penn .; Sarah, born December 11, 1851, died April 19. 1895, the wife of William J, Ramble, farmer and operator of a sawmill at Avoy ; and Con- rad is our subiect.

Conrad Swingle was born November 18. 1854. in what was then Salem (now Lake) township, on the homestead farm, where he was reared, and in the neighborhood schools laid the foundation of his education In April, 1893, he moved into his pres- ent elegant residence at Lake Ariel, which house he built and had just then completed. He has over three hundred acres of land and farms quite ex- tensively. is an enterprising and public-spirited man, possessing intelligence and good business qualifica- tions. and keeps his place in good order. He is identified with the Christian Church, and politically is an Independent. He has served as overseer of the poor for several ycars.

On March 10. 1877, in Salem township, Mr. Swingle was married to Margaret Edwards. the ceremony being performed by Rev. P. R. Tower, a minister of the M. E. Church. She is a most es- timable woman, bearing the respect of the com- munity at large. Mrs. Swingle was born May 20. 1850. in Salem township, a daughter of George W. and Eudora ( Snyder ) Edwards. Her ancestors were from Rhode Island and Connectient. her great- grandfather. William Edwards, having been a farmer in Rhode Island. Her grandparents, Thomas J. and Eliza ( Carter ) Edwards, the latter originally from Connecticut, came in 1837 from Rhode Island to Madisonville. Luzerne Co., Penn .. remaining there until 1853. when they came to Wayne county, settling in Salem township; they were farming people, and the father also worked at the stone mason's trade. He took quite an active

part in politics, and for years served as a justice of the peace. He died in 1883, when seventy-seven ycars of age, and his wife passed away three years later, at the same age ; both were buried in a grave- yard which he had set apart for that purpose from his farm. Their children were: Sarah married San- ford Wright; both are now deceased. John mar- ried Elizabeth Gifford, and died in Illinois. Sarah J. is the widow of Isaac Safford, of South Washing- ton. George W., the father of Mrs. Swingle, is referred to farther on. William, a farmer of Lake township, married ( first) Catherine McGraw, and (second) Lydia Davis. David, 'also a farmer of Lake township, married Lucinda Chapman. Al- bert, a farmer of Lake township, married Eleanor Glosinger. Richard married Triphena Goodridge; both are deceased. Joseph, who married Laura Chapman, was killed on the railroad. Lucinna died at the age of thirteen years. Thomas J. married Augusta Hedglin, of New York ..

George W. Edwards, the father of Mrs. Conrad Swingle, is a native of this State, born in Luzerne county. He was reared and married in that county, and resided there until 1859, in that year bringing his family to Wayne county, where he has since re- sided, and is at this time one of the county's sub- stantial men and farmers. He is identified with the Christian Church, and in his political views is a Prohibitionist. He has been twice married, the first time to Eudora Snyder, born August 4. 1837, the daughter of Richard and Ann M. (West) Snyder, who bore him the following children: Sarah E., born June 18, 1851 (died December 24, 1892), mar- ricd Fred Abby, a farmer of Salem township. Mar- garet E. is the wife of our subject. John N .. a farmer of Canaan township, was born August 6, 1861, and married Margaret S. Swingle. Rachel C., born April 6, 1864, married Wyman Knapp, a fireman on the railroad at Port Jervis. N. Y. Levi M., born January 4. 1867, died in 1891. Miles S., born February 27, 1869, died February 3. 1875. Milton M .. born June 28, 1871, died December 22, 1873. Archie C .. born December 7. 1874. died No- vember 12. 1876. Edward P., born May 8. 1877, resides with his brother, J. N. Edwards, at Way- mart. Enoch () .. born February 17, 1879, resides with his father. The mother of these children died September 22, 1891, and was buried in the family burying ground at Osgood. The father was married again on April 10. 1894. this time to Miss Nettie Sadler, a native of New York City, born June 15, 1845. a daughter of Jacob and Christina ( Landsiel) Sadler, who were born in Germany. The father was a tailor, and died in New York. in January, 1847, and the mother died in 1852.

WILLIAM H. GREGORY. The subject of this sketch is one of the active and prominent young farmers of Chestnut Hill township, Monroe county. From a line of ancestors he has inherited traits which among his forefathers were influential in shaping the destinies of the prosperous region in

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which he now resides. Mr. Gregory is engaged in. general farming, and has been highly successful in his vocation. He was born in Polk township, Monroe county, November 8, 1862, son of Nathan and Catherine ( Hawk) Gregory, one of the early and most important citizens of Monroe county.

Nathan Gregory, the father of our subject, was born in 1843. He was reared in Monroe county, and was twice marricd. By his first wife, Catherine, who died in 1877, his four children were: Mary E., wife of Dr. Allen Gerhardt, of Allentown, Penn .; William H., subject of this sketch ; Emma E., wife of Edwin Bonser, of Pittston, Penn .; and George, a farmer of Polk township, who is married to Lizzie Bonser. For his second wife Nathan Gregory mar- ried Christiann Eckhardt, and by that marriage his children were Edwin; Amanda; E. Herbert ; Carrie (deceased) ; Minnie; and Nathan. The father is now a retired farmer residing in Polk township. He is a Democrat in politics, and is a member of the Reformed Church. Hc has filled a number of local offices, and is one of the substantial and influential residents of the county.

At the age of nine years William H. Gregory, our subject, became a member of the family of his grandfather Reuben Gregory, who served as treas- urer of the county, and was a major in an early regi- ment of militia ; by occupation he was a farmer, but was also engaged extensively in lumbering. Will- iam H. acquired a training in his boyhood which has been of inestimable service, for habits of industry, observation and study were formed, which have been influential in directing the course of the enterprising young farmer into successful business channels. He was married September 29, 1885, in Chestnut Hill township, to Miss Enima L. Kresge. Two chil- dren have been born to this union, John A. and Howard E. Mrs. Gregory was born on the farm which this prosperous family now occupies, and is a daughter of Timothy Kresgc, a prominent farmer of Chestnut Hill township. Mr. Gregory in politics is a Democrat. in religious affiliations a member of the Reformed Church of which he is now a deacon. The family is well esteemed among a wide circle of social acquaintances. In business affairs Mr. Gregory has won a reputation for more than or- dinary ability, and his genial manners have made warm friends wherever he is known.

STANLEY H. HINE. one of the energetic and progressive farmers of Preston township. Wayne county, owns and operates a valuable farm of 263 acres, formerly known as the old Stevens placc. He located on this farm in 1809, and has made it liis residence ever since, devoting his attention to its improvement and cultivation with most excellent results. He is honored and respected by the entire community, where he is looked upon as one of the most wide-awake farmers and model citizens.

Mr. Hine was born December 24, 1848, on the old homestead of Merritt ITine, who was the first settler at Hine's Corners, and his parents, Royal and

Sarah (Johnson) Hine, were representatives of lion- ored pioneer families of Wayne county. The father, born March 19, 1827, died January 23, 1894; the mother, born June 12, 1834, died August 19, IS95. Our subject is the eldest in the family of twelve children, the others being Deniston P., Adelaide A., Lafayette, Ira W., Edwin, Eva, Ella V., Bella, Alba F., Julia and Clayton. Mr. and Mrs. Hine were honored and respected by all who knew them. Po- litically. he was a Republican, and religiously a con- sistent member of the Methodist Church, to which his wife also belonged. He instilled into the minds of his sons his political and religious principles, to which they have always adhered.

Stanley H. Hine acquired his education in the public schools, and 'upon the home farm early be- came familiar with the duties which fall to the lot. of the agriculturist. On September 29, 1869, he was united in marriage with Miss Dyanthe R. Wood- mansee, a daughter of Dire and Mary A. (Wooley) Woodmansee, in whose family were four children : Warner (deceased) ; Charles Henry ; Caroline, Mrs. Whipple, of Preston township; and Mrs. Hinc. The father departed this life at the age of seventy-three years, the mother at the age of seventy-two; botlı were earnest and faithful members of the Methodist Church.

Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hine, one daughter is living, Blanche, now the wife of Ernest Drake, of Hine's Corners; there is also an adopted son, Scott Griffin. During the terrible diphtheria epidemic that made so many homes desolate at Hine's Corners some years ago Mr. and Mrs. Hine lost three children, Charles W., Mabel, and Stella Ray, the last named an adopted daughter, and this sad bereavement cast a shadow over the household which still remains. Mrs. Hine passed away De- cember 26, 1897, at the age of fifty years, having been born Julv 8, 1847.

Our subject is a recognized leader in the Re- publican party in this community, and takes quite an active and prominent part in all public affairs which he believes calculated to benefit his township or county. He has been town treasurer, school di- rector, judge of clection and G. A. R. committeeman of Preston Post No. 2. Fraternaily he affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Im- proved Order of Red Men : and religiously he is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Hinc's Corners, to which Mrs. Ilire also belonged. taking a leading and active part in its work.

JOHN PAUL LAUER, a prominent agricult- nrist of Dingman township. Pike county, is the owner of an attractive and valuable farm of two hundred acres, which his judicious management has brought to a fine state of cultivation.

The thrift and industry which have charac- tcrized his career are derived from his good old German ancestry. as both his parents were natives of the Fatherland. Eberhart Lauer, the father of

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

our subject, came to America in 1848, and for one vear followed the matchmaker's trade in New York City. He then spent two years in Rochester, N. Y, in the same occupation, and three years in New Haven, Conn., as a truck gardener, but later he returned to New York and conducted a store. In 1856 he came to Pike county, locating in Mil- ford, where he followed his old trade for a year, and in 1857 he removed to a farm in Milford town- ship, where he died November 5, 1864, at the age of forty-four, his remains being interred at Mil- ford. He was a man of excellent character, and was much esteemed as a citizen, being chosen at one time to the office of supervisor in Milford township. His wife, Catherine ( Pollock), came to America alone in 1851, and soon afterward they met and were married in New York City. She survived him, and married a second husband, Eberhart Ham- mond, but there were no children by this union. Our subject is the youngest of six children by the first marriage. the others being Henry, a farmer near Chicago, Ill. ; Miss Louisa, a resident of Brook- lyn, N. Y .; Edward, a carpenter in Brooklyn, who married Barbara Gress; Sarah J., wife of John H. Dauman, of Milford township; and James W., a farmer in Westfall township, Pike county, who married Amelia Woertz.

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 2, Part 95

Author: Publication date: 1900 Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1098

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1098