Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 3, Part 11

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1000

USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 3 > Part 11
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 3 > Part 11
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 3 > Part 11
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 3 > Part 11

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Mr. Chapman was born in Andes, Delaware Co., N. Y., February 9, 1828, a son of Israel Chap- man, who was born in Connecticut, of English an- cestry, and was reared in that State. When a young man the father removed to Delaware coun- ty, N. Y., where he subsequently married Parthena Pettibone, a native of Vermont, and to them were born the following children: Dinah, Lucy, Amaza ( who died at the age of four years), Olive, Israel. Annis (who died at the age of eighteen years), Parthena, one who died in infancy, Abner, David (a resident of Liberty, Sullivan Co., N. Y.), and John Wesley. The two last are the only ones now living. In 1832 the father brought his family to Equinunk, Wayne Co., Penn., at which time the village contained but two or three log cabins. He began the erection of a tannery, but never com- pleted it. his time and attention being given to the operation of a sawmill and to the lumber business for many years on Equinunk creek. Ife died at the ripe old age of seventy-five years, honored and respected by all who knew him. Politically he was a Whig, and in religious connection was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he served as local preacher, being an active and zealous worker in the Master's cause. His wife, who was a member of the same Church. and was a true Christian woman, died at the age of sev- enty years.

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Being but four years old on his arrival in Wayne county, John W. Chapman was reared amid pioneer scenes, and carly became familiar with the arduous task of clearing and developing a new farın. Throughout the greater part of his busi- ness career he has engaged in lumbering in connec- tion with farming, and has met with well-deserved success in his undertakings, being to-day one of the substantial citizens of Buckingham township. His farm, which is pleasantly located on Fall creek, is under a high state of cultivation.

On January 1, 1860, Mr. Chapman was uni- ted in marriage with Miss Rosetta Abbie Sher- wood, a representative of a prominent family of Wayne county, though born in Liberty township, Sullivan Co., N. Y. Her father, Nathan Sher- wood, was a native of Connecticut, but was reared in Wayne county, Penn., and was a son of Amos and Betsy ( Burr) Sherwood, the latter a relative of Aaron Burr. Nathan Sherwood married Miss Sybil Stone, also a native of Connecticut, and a daughter of Abner and Anna ( Kelsey ) Stone, and Mrs. Chapman is the eldest in a family of four children, the others being Charles, a resident of Equinunk, Wayne county; A. Osborn; and Anna, wife of Joshua Pine, of Equinunk. The father, who was widely and favorably known throughout this section of the State, died at the early age of twenty-six years, and the mother later became the wife of Thomas Tyner, by whom she had the fol- lowing children: ' Elizabeth, wife of Silas Lord ; Abner ; Oakley; Julia, wife of Clark Spencer, of Preston township, Wayne county: Clara, now de- ceased, who was a teacher in early life, and later married Walter Ensign : Eddy, who died at the age of ten years; and William, a resident of Montana. The mother, who was a faithful member of the Methodist Epscopal Church, died at the age of seventy-two years.

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Chapman are Elmer W., who resides with his parents and is a member of Lake Como Lodge, I. O. O. F .; Henry Kelsey, who married Elizabeth Vandemark, and has three children, Ruby, Agnes and Homer : Olive, wife of Ed Egler, of Buckingham township ; Oakley, at home: Nathan, who died at the age of eight months : and Otis, who died at the age of four months. Politically Mr. Chapman affiliates withi the Republican party, and he gives his support to all measures which he believes calculated to prove of publie benefit. His is the honorable career of a conscientious man, who by his upright life has won the confidence of all with whom he has come in contact. He has rounded the Psalmist's span of three seore years and ten, yet has the vigor of a much younger man, and seems still in his prime. His wife holds membership in the Methodist Epis- copal Church.

ests. The architect of his own fortune, he has attained an honorable position and marked prestige among the representative farmers of the county.

Mr. Teeple was born in Manchester township, December 18, 1843, a son of Robert and Sarah ( Snyder ) Teeple. The father was born in Equi- nunk, his parents, Christopher and Louise Teeple, having come from Pike county, Penn., to Wayne county at an early day, making the trip in canoes up the Delaware river. For a number of years they resided in Equinunk, and, on selling their prop- erty there, purchased land on the Union road three miles from the village. In the midst of the forest the grandfather built a log cabin, and at once turned his attention to clearing and improving his farm. Upon that place he reared his family and spent his remaining days. Among his children were: Will- iam F., one of the famous hunters of Wayne county; Christopher Abraham John Elison Depew: Eliza- beth, who married William Layton, and lives in Manchester. where she died some years ago; and Robert, mentioned below.

Robert Teeple, our subject's father, settled on a farm in Manchester township after his marriage, and there followed agricultural pursuits until the Civil war broke out, when he accepted a position as clerk in the War Department at Washington, D. C., remaining there until May, 1865, when he start- ed for home, but died on his way there. His wife and children, however, never left the farm. Our subject was the eldest of the family, the others being as follows : (2) Harriet is the wife of Charles Lay- ton, of Manchester township, and has two children. (3) Mary A. is the wife of Charles Graham. of Wisconsin, and has five children. (4) Peter E. mar- ried Beulah Smith, by whom he has five children, and they reside at Binghamton, N. Y. (5) Elizabeth is the wife of Frank Sherwood, a farmer of Man- chester township, and they have two children. Gracie and Edwin. (6) Emaline is the wife of Daniel Bishop, of Buckingham township, Wayne county, and has hive children. (7) Dora is the wife of Ira Travis, of New Jersey, who is engaged in the cream- ery business.

The subject of this sketch grew to manhood upon the home farm. and at the age of seventeen years responded to his country's call for aid in put- ting down the rebellion, enlisting in September, 1861. in Company F. 45th P. V. I., under Capt. Charles Parker, of Equinunk, Wayne county. After being sworn in at Harrisburg, Penn., and assigned to the Army of the Potomac, the regiment proceeded to South Carolina, under command of Gen. Burn- sides, and was stationed on the island of Ililton Head and different parts of the country for one year. After Mcclellan's defeat at Richmond. they were called to Washington, and later participated in the battles of Antietam and South Mountain, re- maining in that locality until Lee's army was driven out of Maryland in the fall of 1862. After the vic-

LEVI TEEPLE has always made his home in Manchester township, Wayne county, and his name is inseparably connected with its agricultural inter- i tory of Antietam, the regiment followed the re-

Livi Suple

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

treating Rebel army back into Virginia, proceeding as far as Fredericksburg. After the siege of Fredericksburg Mr. Teeple was taken ill and sent to the hospital at Washington, D. C., where he re- mained for one year, being discharged in May, 1863, on account of physical disability. He returned to recuperate, and in March. 1864, re-enlisted in his old company. He took part in the hard-fought battle of the Wilderness under Gen. Grant, the seven- days' figlit. and the engagements at Cold Harbor and Spottsylvania. The regiment then crossed the North Ann river and proceeded to Petersburg, where they were surrounded and taken prisoners, all being sent to Libby prison in Richmond, where they were incarcerated for a time and then trans- fered to Salisbury prison. After Lee's surrender they were paroled in April, 1865, and sent to An- napolis. They were finally discharged at Balti- more, May 19, 1865, and MIr. Teeple returned home to resume the more quiet pursuits of civil life, de- voting his energies to lumbering and farming.

In 1868 our subject married Miss Amy Chase, of Manchester township, a daughter of G. B. and Jane Chase. honored pioneers of that place. Mr. Teeple then purchased a farm which he clcared and continued to cultivate until 1882, when he sold it and bought the George Modridge farm of one hun- dred acres on the Union road in Manchester town- ship. He has made many excellent improvements upon the place, and is still successfully engaged in its operation. He has been called upon to mourn the loss of his estimable wife, who died of. appen- dicitis in December, 1896, at the age of forty-eight years. She was an earnest Christian woman, a faithful member of and active worker in the Union Methodist Episcopal Church. She was beloved and respected by all who knew her, and is greatly missed especially by her fellow workers in the Church, where she was organist for a number of years. The only child of Mr. and Mrs. Teeple is Ira E., born in Manchester township, November 19, 1869. He began his education in the common schools, and later attended the high school at Hancock, N. Y., where he graduated. He then engaged in teaching school in Wayne county, for three years, and in 1892 took up the study of telegraphy, becoming an efficient operator. For three years he held a position at Campbell Hall. Orange county, N. Y .. and at present is station agent and operator on the New York, Ontario & Western railroad at Fairdale, New York.

Politically, Mr. Teeple is a pronounced Repub- lican. being descended from good old Whig stock, and at present he is one of the township auditors. For twenty years he has also been a member of the Union Methodist Episcopal Church .. now serving as trustee and treasurer, and contributes liberally to its support. He is a member of Post No. 340, G. A. R .. of Equinunk. Over his life record there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil, and he merits and receives the warmest regard of all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance.

HALSEY MORGAN, a veteran of the Civil war. a substantial citizen and prosperous farmer of Lake township, Wayne county, has descended from an old New England family who came from Scot- land and settled in Connecticut more than two liun- dred years ago.

Samuel and Mary ( Homes) Morgan, his grandparents, resided in Boston, Mass. He was a soldier in the war of the Revolution. Samuel and Rebecca ( Stratton ) Morgan. Connecticut people, he from New London county, and she from Hart- ford county, came in 1812 to what is now Lake township, Wayne county, and settled on the farm now occupied by our subject. Jesse Morgan, the latter's granduncle, bought a large tract of land in Wayne county in the latter part of the 17th century, of which tract Samuel Morgan (2) purchased 160 acres. Samuel Morgan ( 2) was a farmer through- out his lifetime. He was a man of intelligence. and played well his part among those to whom it was left to settle and develop a new country. His good wife. too, was a sensible woman, who proved a good helpmeet and wise companion, and reared her children to become useful men and women. He died in 1861, when seventy years of age, and she lived to be seventy-seven, dying in 1870; both are buried in the Salem township cemetery. To their marriage were born: Samuel, a farmer living in Tioga county, Penn., married Maria Spencer ; Ros- well, a farmer residing at Washington, Iowa, mar- ried Sarah A. Beers; Mary M. is at home; Jane, deceased, was the wife of John Headley. of Dakota ; Halsey is our subject ; Ellen, deceased, was the wife of Louis Moore, of Wayne county; Hannah is the second wife of John Headley; and David is deceased.

Halsey Morgan until twenty-three years of age remained on the homestead ( the farm on which he now resides), where he was born August 29, 1823; the place is known as the "Morgan Hill farm." At that age he went to Jo Daviess county, Ill., and there purchased a farm of 300 acres, which he farmed for a number of years. He then sold the place and moved to Johnson county. Iowa, purchas- ing a farmi there, and after one year's experience in that locality went to Missouri and bouglit a 200- acre farm in DeKalb county. The Civil war was un- der headway by this time, and resolving to become a participant in it Mr. Morgan sold his possessions and, on January 10, 1862. enlisted in Company H. Ist M. V. I .. his term of service lasting until April 4. 1865. when he was honorably discharged at Warrensburg. Mo. He served first under Capt. Ilarvey and then under Capt. William Meredith. Hi- company was especially assigned to the work of ridding that State of the bushwhackers and guer- rillas who were so troublesome to the Union forces in that section, and he was one of a band of twenty- five appointed by the Governor of Missouri to fol- low up and capture Quantrell, the notorious guer- rilla operating in that State. After his discharge from the United States service Mr. Morgan went

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

to Chicago and there joined some men who went to Tennessee to engage in building a railroad front Nashville to Johnsonville, and after three months so employed he came to his present farm and has here since remained, engaged in farming. He has made a success of his vocation, and is comfortably situated, having an ample share of his world's goods to gratify his tastes and desires. He is an excellent farmer, a careful business man and a good manager.

A sister of Mr. Morgan resides with him and presides over the household. In his political views our subject is Republican. He is a member of Post No. 12, G. A. R., at Gravitv, and of the I. O. O. F.

O. R. WHITE, a leading citizen of Damascus township, Wayne county, and one of the valiant defenders of the Union during the Civil war, was born in Liberty township, Sullivan Co., N. Y., Au- gust 11, 1832.

Mr. White's grandfather, Elaricum White, was a native of Connecticut and of Irish descent. He married Miss A. Crossman, and they became the parents of several children, among whom was Linas White, the father of our subject. He was born in Connecticut, but spent the greater part of his life in Sullivan county, N. Y., in 1844 removing to Parksville. He was a farmer by occupation. By his marriage with Sally Bowker he had a family of ten children, namely: Azubah, Rumah, Maria, James, Sarah, John, O. R., Anna, Jane, and Noah P. Of their four sons, three entered the service of their country during the dark days of the Re- bellion. Jolin, born March 11, 1829, enlisted in Company M, 4th P. V. C., and during his four- years' service had his shoulder blade dislocated ; Noah P. enlisted in the 14Ist P. V. I., and was wounded at Chancellorsville, being shot through the shoulder. The mother of these children died at the age of fifty years, the father at the age of sev- enty-eight. Both were very domestic in their tastes, and carefully reared their large family. They were devout members of the Methodist Church, and Mr. White was a Republican in pol - itics.

The first twelve years of his life O. R. White passed in his native county, and then accompanied his sister to Damascus township, Wayne Co., Penn., where he grew to manhood. The district schools afforded him his educational privileges, and. his business training during his youth was obtained on his brother-in-law's farm and in the lumber woods. In September, 1862, in response to President Lin- coln's call for 30,000 mncn, lie enlisted in Company I, 84th P. V. I., and served for two years and eight months, being honorably discharged in June, 1865. He participated in the battles of Chancel- lorsville and Gettysburg, and all the battles from Spottsylvania to the surrender of Gen. Lee at Ap- pomatox Court House ( twelve engagements), and at Stoneman Switch, Va., was wounded, losing the large toe on the right foot.

On returning home Mr. White located in Da- mascus township and turned his attention to luni- bering. In 1867 he purchased his present farm, which at that time was covered with a heavy growth of timber, and his first house, which was 16 x 20 feet, was built of hemlock and beech logs. It is still standing, being used as a carpenter and tool shop. To-day the farm bears little resem- blance to the place on which he located over a third of a century ago, for waving fields of grain have replaced the forest, and instead of the log cabin there is a comfortable modern residence, erected on a good building site one mile east of Galilee. The place comprises 110 acres of valuable land.

On August 30, 1855, Mr. White married Miss Emily Marks, a native of Damascus township, and a daughter of Jake and Polly ( Keesler ) Marks, and four children blessed this union: (1) Stephen L. married Esther Gregg, by whom he had three children, Ernest and Kittie E. yet living. After the death of his first wife hie wedded Mary Gregg, and to them has been born one child, Emily. (2) Mary died at the age of two years. (3) Ernest C., a resident of Damascus township, married Anna Gregg, and has one child, Cassic. (4) .Re- becca is the wife of \V. A. Marks, of Tanners Falls, Wayne county, and has four children, Mabel, Flor- ence, Harrison and Howard. Mr. White's great- cst loss was the death of his wife, who passed away November 14, 1890. She was a good wife, a tender mother, a kind neighbor and a faithful member of the Methodist Church. Mr. White is also one of the leading members of the Methodist Church, and has served as Sabbath-school super- intendent for the long period of twenty-three years. His political support is always given to the Republican party. He is a man of broad and lib- eral views, and one who has always given a cordial support to those enterprises which tend to elevate the religious and educational standing of the com- munity.

LEVI OSTRANDER, who was one of the "brave boys in blue" during the war of the Rebel- lion, and is now one of the representative farmers of Damascus township, Wayne county, is a native of New York, born in Ulster county in 1841. His uncle, Levi Ostrander, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and the family has always been a loyal and patriotic one.

John Ostrander, our subject's father, was born in Dutchess county, N. Y., and on reaching man- hood was married in that State to Miss Marinda Morchouse, of Ulster county, by whom he had four children, namely: John, Eliza, Harvey and Amanda. After the death of this wife he wedded Miss Susan B. Miller, of Greenfield, N. Y., a daughter of Peleg Miller, and to them were born eight children : Jesse, who died in the South while fighting for the preservation of the Union, and now fills a soldier's grave; Levi, tlie subject of this

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

sketch; Reuben, also one of the gallant soldiers of the Civil war, who for nine months was confined in the loathsome Andersonville prison, and later died at City Point, Va .; Maggie; Mary, deceased ; Frances, wife of S. Stebbens, of New York; Ste- phen ; and Nelson, deceased. The father of these children followed wagonmaking as a life work; was a Democrat in political sentiment ; and was a eon- sistent member of the Episcopal Church, to which the mother also belonged. She died in Wayne county at the age of forty-five years, and he passed away when sixty-two years of age, respected by all who knew them.

In the State of his nativity Levi Ostrander was reared to manhood, his mother teaching him to read and write, and later he attended the publie schools. where he received a fair English education. When President Lincoln issued his call for 300,000 volunteers to assist in putting down the Rebellion our subject enlisted, September 22, 1862, in Com- pany I, 84th P. V. I., under Capt .. John Comfort and Col. Bowman, and on December 13 of that year participated in his first battle, that of Fred- ericksburg, under Gen. Burnside. Here he had his collar-bone broken and received a severe kick from a horse that eut the end of his nose and knocked out several teeth. The following July, at the bat- tle of Gettysburg, he was injured by a bursting shell, a piece of which passed through his hand and another through his thigh. When the battle was over he was removed from the field on a stretcher and for over a year lay in hospital. Fi- nally he was honorably discharged, at Baltimore, Md., in June, 1865, and returned home to resume his farming operations, in which he has been quite successful. He is now the owner of a fine farm of eighty-seven aeres in Damascus township, Wayne county, improved with a good residence, large barns and substantial outbuildings.

In July, 1862, Mr. Ostrander was united in marriage with Miss Corinda Youngs, a daughter of George and Lena Youngs, and to them were born six children : Eunice ( now the wife of James Lud- wig), Arthur H., John H., Nelson, Harry E. and Lozelle (who died at the age of twenty-two months). The mother of these children, who was a worthy member of the Christian Church, passed away in September, 1891, and her death was mourned by many warm friends as well as her im- mediate family. Mr. Ostrander was again married, in December, 1892.his second union being with Miss Bertha Miller, who was born in Germany and reared and educated in Scranton, Penn., having come with her parents to the United States in 1873. Her father, P. A. Miller, became a miner in Scran- ton ; her mother died in 1883. Their children were Lena, Bertha, John, William and Tena. Bv his second marriage Mr. Ostrander has three children : Bertha Amelia, now aged six years; Erma Fran- ees, aged three ; and Levi Ransom, aged one.

Politically our subject is identified with the Republican party ; and, fraternally, is a member of

Grand Army Post No. 198, of Honesdale. He was a brave soldier, and is therefore a good citizen, reliable, enterprising, and progressive, with always a kind word and a pleasant smile for those with whom he comes in contact.

HON. NELSON FAY UNDERWOOD. In studying the lives and character of prominent men, we are naturally led to inquire into the secret of their success and the motives that have prompted their action. Self-reliance, conscientiousness, en- ergy, honesty-these are the traits of character that insure the highest emoluments and greatest success, and to these may we attribute the success that has crowned the efforts of Mr. Underwood, who is one of the most distinguished citizens of Lake Como, and has for three terms represented Wayne county in the State Legislature.

Our subject was born in 1830, at Oxford, Wor- cester Co., Mass., and is a son of Daniel Under- wood, a native of Windham county, Conn. The grandfather, Samuel Underwood, was born in Con- necticut of English ancestry, and in that State married a Miss Richardson, who after his death wedded Simon Carpenter. The grandparents both died in Connecticut. Daniel Underwood was reared at Pomfret, Windham Co., Conn., near the Put- nam Wolf Den, and in early life learned the car- penter's trade. He married Harriet Fay, a native of Worcester county, Mass., and a daughter of Sam- uel and Phoebe ( Marsh) Fay, the former born in Massachusetts of French ancestry. In 1830 Dan- iel Underwood, accompanied by his wife and two children, came by team and wagon to Wayne coun- ty, Penn., spending the first year at Mt. Pleasant. 111 1832 they located in Preston township on what has since been known as the Underwood home- stead, but at that time only three-quarters of an acre had been cleared and a log cabin erected thereon. Wild animals, including wolves, were frequently seen, and most of the surrounding coun- try was still in its primitive condition. The father spent the last seven years of his life in Hancock, N. Y., dying at the age of sixty-six ; the mother, who survived him some years, died in Equinunk, Wayne county, at the age of eighty-two years. For many years she was a faitliful member of the Baptist Church. Throughout his active business life Dan- iel Underwood was quite extensively engaged in agricultural pursuits, and was very successful in

his operations. Until 18440 he was a Jacksonian Democrat, but that year voted for W. H. Harrison, and continued to support the Whig party until the organization of the Republican party in 1856, when he voted for Gen. Fremont, and four years later for Abraham Lincoln. He was a man of strong con- victions, and was a firm advocate of the principles in which he believed. Fraternally he affiliated with the Masonic Lodge at Hancock, New York.

To Daniel and Harriet ( Fay) Underwood were born six children: Lewis A. died at Lake Como in 1893. Nelson Fay is second in the family.

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

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Willard G. is engaged in the stone business in Han- cock. N. Y. Prescott is a farmer living near Seattle, Wash. Lavina is the wife of Hon. J. E. Wood- mansee, of Lake Como. Eliza is the wife of Le- ander Howard, of Hancock, N. Y. The daughters both engaged in teaching school prior to their mar. riage.

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 3, Part 11

Author: Publication date: 1900 Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1000

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1000