Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 3, Part 22

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 22
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 3 > Part 22
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 3 > Part 22
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 3 > Part 22

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

made his home in Salem township; Jabez, who died in Wayne county, where he made his home after the age of sixteen years; Orin, an extensive lumber- man of Salem township, now deceased; and Ashbel, our subject's father.

Ashbel Bidwell, the only one of the family born in Wayne county, was born in Salem township, December 7, 1802, and there grew to manhood, with no opportunities of gaining an education, as there were no district schools in eastern Pennsyl- vania at that time. For many years he engaged in farming on the old homestead, but in 1858 sold the place and removed to Nebraska. Subsequently he returned to Wayne county and bought a farm in the eastern part of Salem township. He mar- ried Polly Griffin, a native of Connecticut, and. a daughter of William M. Griffin, and they became the parents of the following children: Julia, wife of T. W. Conklin, of Nebraska; John W., of this sketch; S. L., deceased; Orlando, who died in in- fancy; and George M., a farmer of Salem town- ship.

John W. Bidwell was born in Salem township, April 13, 1842, and like other country boys attend- ed the common schools in winter and assisted in farm work during the summer months. On Au- gust 9, 1862, at the age of twenty years, he enlisted for nine months in Company A, 137th P. V. I., and at the end of that time re-enlisted in Company L, 2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery. Ile was in the engagements in the Wilderness, at Cold Harbor, and at the explosion of the mine before Petersburg, where all of the commissioned officers were either wounded or taken prisoners, and Mr. Bidwell was given temporary charge of his company; he was in the battles of South Mountain and Antietam, and with his regiment was detailed for duty on the Weldon railroad. Returning to Virginia, they were ordered across the James river to capture several small forts; and while making a charge upon one of these Mr. Bidwell was taken prisoner. He was first taken to Libby prison, then to Belle Isle, and for six months was confined within the stockade at Salisbury, N. C. He endured almost every con- ceivable hardship; the prisoners burrowed in the ground to find protection from the rain and sun ; were given but little food ; and great numbers died from privations. About this time 10,000 Northern prisoners were placed in this pen, and at the end of five months only 4.500 were alive. While in per- fect health our subject weighs nearly 200 pounds, but at this time his weight was reduced to seventy- five. In March, 1865, he returned home, and three months later was honorably discharged from the United States service.

At his father's death Mr. Bidwell received sev- enty-five acres of the old homestead, most of which is under cultivation, and here he is now successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits. On March 13, 1867. in Salem township, he was married, bv Rev. Harvey, to Miss Adelia Loring, a daughter of Lu- ther and Maria (Crone) Loring, the former a na-

tive of Monticello, N. Y., and the latter of Pike county, Penn. Her maternal grandparents were Louis and Mercy ( Youngs) Crone, the former of whom died in Titusville, Penn., the latter in Salem township, Wayne county. To Mr. and Mrs. Bid- well have been born two children: David W .. born January 28, 1868, is now postmaster at Arlington, Penn. ; and Alice L., born May 28, 1870, is a millin- er at Honesdale. They also have an adopted son, Stacy L., a child of Sephronus Bidwell, deceased, who was taken into their home when a little child.

Mr. Bidwell has always been a stanch Repub- lican, and has held the offices of school director and inspector of elections. Both he and his wife are active and prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he is serving as class- leader, trustee and steward; while socially he be- longs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Grand Army of the Republic, and the Prisoners of War. As a public-spirited citizen he is thoroughly interested in whatever tends to promote the moral, intellectual and material welfare of the community, and as a friend and neighbor he is worthy of the high regard in which he is uniformly held.

JAMES PIATT, a prominent agriculturist of South Canaan township, Wayne county, is the owner of one of the best farms of that locality, and is recognized as an able and successful manager of large enterprises, having been frequently called upon to take charge of various important business interests for others. He is a man of fine mental 'ability, possessing a remarkable memory, and his untiring industry has enabled him to accomplish much in his chosen line of effort.

The l'iatt family is of French origin, the first of the name to come to America having been the great-great-grandfather of our subject. This wor- thy pioneer settled in New Jersey early in the seven- teenth century, and spent the remainder of his life there, following the weaver's trade. Our subject's great-grandfather also resided in New Jersey, and engaged in weaving as an occupation. He married Miss Ann Harrison, a native of Ireland. and had four sons: Isaiah, Charles, Asa and Ephraim. Asa Piatt, the grandfather of our subject, was born in

New Jersey, and married Miss Diana Prost, also a native of that State. He died in the West, while on an extended trip. She subsequently married Louis Fortner, and after his death formed a third matrimonial union, with Matthias Mount, a Revo- lutionary soldier. She passed away in Danby, Tompkins Co., N. Y., at the age of ninety-two. Her two children, both by her first marriage. were Nancy, who died in infancy, and Christopher P., our subject's father.

The late Christopher P. Piatt was born in New Jersey, and accompanied his mother to a new home in Tompkins county, N. Y., in 1804, being then a small child. In early manhood he was married there to Miss Rebecca Morris, a native of New Jersey. Her parents, John and Catherine (Mc-

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Kelvy ) Morris, were natives of England and Scot- land, respectively, were married in New Jersey, and settled in Tompkins county, N. Y., in 1866. Our .subject's father was a blacksmith by trade, and for many. years he carried on farming en an extensive scale. In politics he was a Democrat, and he and his wife were consistent members of the Baptist Church, being much esteemed in the community where they made their home. Ile died December 14, 1880, aged eighty-seven years, and his wife passed away September 25, 1887, aged ninety-four. Of their large family of children, the eldest, Asa, born December 13, 1821, married Miss Martha Jones, and settled in Southport, N. Y., where he engaged in farming; John M., born January 9, 1823, mar- ried Miss Hannah Mingos, and is now a retired farmer, residing at Towanda, Penn .; James, our subject, is mentioned more fully below ; Matthias MI., born July 26, 1826, married Mrs. Ann Reynolds, and settled at Franklin, Penn., where he engaged in business as a blacksmith; Arad, born June 21, 1829, died in 1851, unmarried; Mary A., born April 6, 1831, is the widow of Lucius . Wadham, and re- sides at Danby, N. Y .; Dinah, born April 17, 1833, married Josiah Griffin, a farmer near Wells- boro, Penn. ; Christopher P., born January 6, 1835, was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war, and died while held as a prisoner by the enemy ; Miss Charlotte A., born December 14, 1837, resides at the old homestead in Tompkins county, New York.

Our subjeet was born February 25, 1824, at the old home in Tompkins county, N. Y., where he grew to manhood, assisting his father in the work of the farm and blacksmith shop. At the age of twenty-one he went to Greene county, N. Y., to learn the tanner's trade, which he followed for about a quarter of a century at various places, and for the last fifteen years of that period he was fore- inan in different tanneries. In 1854 he removed to Wayne county to take charge of L. A. Robin- son's establishment at Middle Valley, Cherry Ridge township, and after eight years there took charge of another plant at Dunning, Penn., for the sanie firmi. There he spent two years, and later he was employed for two years as foreman for Alva Dever- aux, at Deposit, N. Y. He then retired to his present farm, which he purchased in 1858. It con- tains 210 acres of excellent land, well adapted to general crops, and he keeps it in a high state of cul- tivation. In 1896 a fire destroyed his dwelling house and contents, including a valuable library, but he intends to build a new residence on the old site. Mr. Piatt has always taken keen interest in public questions, and he has been a supporter of the Republican party ever since its organization, but he has steadfastly declined to appear as a can- didate for any official position. In religious faith he is a Methodist, and has been an active member of the Church for more than twenty years.

On July 17, 1850, our subject was married, in Greene county, N. Y., by Rev. Alfred N. Gardiner,

a Presbyterian minister, to Miss Elizabeth Hanson, and the union was blessed with six children: (1) Albert J., born September 10. 1851, is a farmer in South Canaan township. Wayne county. He mar- ried Miss Ellen J. Reiley, and has five children, James, William H., Mary E., Rebecca V. and Al- bert. (2) William H., born August 20, 1853. mar- ried Miss Mary C. Doyle, who died May 18, 1887, aged thirty-one years and eighteen days. They had three children, Sarah E., Rebecca C. and Chiar- lotte A., who reside with their grandfather. (3) Catherine R., born May 31, 1856, died May 1, 1857. (4) Lyman L., borni May 28, 1859, died September 15, 1884, unmarried. (5) John C., born June 5, 1862, is not married, and makes his home with his father. (6) Rebecca C., born May 8, 1865, died December 14, 1879.

Mrs. Piatt. who proved herself a true helpmeet to her husband, was born July 2, 1825, in Greene county, N. Y., and died April 9, 1895. Her father, Samuel Hanson, a native of the Empire State. was a farmer by occupation, and his death occurred in 1857, when he was aged sixty years. His wife, whose maiden name was Catherine Jones, was born in England, and came to America in 1818 with an uncle, and she survived her husband about three years, dying in 1860, at the age of sixty. Mrs. Piatt was the eldest in their family, the others being: Henry, who resides in Minnesota; Will- iam, a resident of Poynette, Wis .; Sarah, wife of Daniel Cross, of Whitewater, Wis. ; Abba, who mar- ried Isaac Chapman, of Whitewater, Wis. : Lucinda, wife of John Beach, of Minnesota; Martha, wife of Romain Huff, of North Dakota; and Rebecca, who married Daniel Guptill, of Minnesota.

FRANK J. BELCHER, the second of three enterprising and indefatigable brothers who went to Alaska and the Klondike gold fields. was born February 19, 1870, in Gibson township. Susque- hanna county, a son of William E. Belcher. a well- known farmer. His cducation was received in part at the district schools, which during 1800 and 1891 was supplemented by two terms at Stratton's Busi- ness College. Chicago.

At the age af seventeen years Mr. Belcher com- menced business life, for a time working on a farm, but chiefly employing his time at earpentry in Sus- quehanna and Lackawanna counties. Later he took up contracting, and so continued until August. 1894. at which time he set out for that then almost unex- plored Territory, Alaska, landing the following September at Juneau, Alaska. Here he remained until March. 1895. occupying his time chiefly in cutting wood by the cord, and working out by the day in the mines. In March, 1895. he pushed on to Circle City, about one thousand miles from Ju- neau, arriving at his destination in the latter part of the following May. From there he set out for the Birch Creek mines, some eighty miles distant, and at this place contracted to represent a claim for a half-

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FRANK J. BELCHER

OSCAR C. BELCHER

HORACE G. BELCHER

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interest belonging to other parties. Here within two months Mr. Belcher became the owner of half-inter- ests in three adjoining claims, and came to be con- sidered the leader and the most successful who en- tered the Birch Creek mining district that year. That scason they had to whip-saw all their lumber, and bring their supplies from Circle City, "pack- ing" them on their backs-and this on a rugged perilous journey of eighty miles.

Next year ( 1896) Mr. Belcher secured inter- ests in four other creeks or gulches, also in a store, which latter, however, he did not hold very long, preferring to sell out so that he might the better be enabled to devote his entire time to his mining in- trests. During most part of this summer he was laid up with blood poisoning in his right hand.

At this period in the history of Alaska there was no real municipal government, merely a sort of au- tonomy, and there were no educational institutions ; so the citizens of Circle, during the winter of 1895- 96, established a free school, the Federal Govern- ment supplying the teachers. Mr. Belcher took a lively interest in that and every other movement. and he was elected chairman of the school board. Being a recognized leader, he also frequently acted as judge, for this little "self-government" held its own courts.

In the fall of 1896 our subject sent a man to the Klondike to invest; but hearing nothing from him, he on February 4, 1897, started out himself, traveling some 400 miles on the ice up the Yukon river, and on his arrival at the Klondike lie found that this man had purchased a claim on Bonanza creek. Selling this, our subject bought a claim on Eldorado creek, running in debt $18,000, to be paid in ninety-five days. Although it was winter-time, he worked the claim right along, and so successfully that at the end of ninety days he was able to pay off the indebtedness. Here he was taken ill with typhoid fever, and reported "dead siek" all summer. Not re- covering sufficiently to be moved to the steanier before the close of navigation, he was compelled to remain in the country another winter, and in a short time was taken with scurvey and inflammation of the kidneys, which kept him confined to his bed until March of the following year ( 1898) ; in the meantime he had been given up by his physician. His expenses during his first illness averaged $70 per day. In September. 1898, he left Dawson to bring home his younger brother, who had just been stricken with typhoid fever, from home went to Eng- land on business, and in February once more set out for the Klondike. his interests there at this time requiring his personal attention. On this trip he had to travel over the frozen snow, about 600 miles, with dog-sleighs, making the distance in twelve days. In November. 1860, he once more came to his old home in South Gibson, Penn., where he is at present sojourning. It is liis purpose to, in the future, visit the Klondike every spring, and return to Pennsylvania cach winter. Ile has also interests in Oregon, and altogether has been a successful

man. He is a pronounced advocate of temperance, and socially is modest and unassuming.

OSCAR C. BELCHER, eldest brother of Frank j., was born January 21, 1867, at the old homestead in Gibson township, Susquehanna county. He was educated at the district schools, his spare time being occupied on the liome farm, and at the age of fii- teen he commenced for himself, working for farm- ers during the summer and attending school in the winter season, which arrangement continued about three years. He then took a three-terms' course at the Chili Seminary, near Rochester, N. Y., after which he clerked in a general store at South Gibson some two years. Following this he had an interest in a store at Forest City ; then in the spring of 1891 he went to Oregon, where he homesteaded 160 acres of land, and lived until 1897. In that year he pro- ceeded to Dawson City to join his brother Frank J. in the mining business, and he is the owner of sev- eral promising claims. He is still in the Klondike regions, and his industry and perseverance well merit all the success that may come to him. He has lately recovered from an attack of typhoid fever.

HORACE GREELEY BELCHER, the youngest of the three brothers, was born February 3, 1873, at the family home in Gibson township, and his earlier education was received at the district schools of the neighborhood, while at the same time he helped in the working of the home farm. He is a graduate of the South Gibson high school, and he also attended the Keystone Academy two terms. . At the age of twenty-three, in the spring of 1896, he set out to join his brother Frank J. at Birch Creek, where he became interested with the latter in several Eagle Creek claims. At the end of a year, receiving the sad intelligence that his brother Frank J. lay at the point of death, he hastened to Dawson, after his brother's recovery becoming interested in various claims, and he has never revisited Eagle creek. Dur- ing the summer of 1898 he was taken very ill with fever, and consequently returned to his Pennsylvania. home ; but in the spring of 1899 he once more jour- neyed to Dawson, and is living there at the present tinie.

ENOS POTTER, an industrious and thorough farmer of Salem township, Wayne county, may be properly ranked among its self-made men, for he began lis career in limited circumstances, and by hard labor, perseverance and enterprise has steadily worked his way upward until he is now one of the prosperous and representative citizens of his com- munity.

Mr. Potter was born in Middlesex county, Com., September 3, 1828, a son of Enos and Al- mira (Pease) Potter, of Glastonbury, Conn., who came to Wayne county, Penn., in 1838, and took up their residence upon a farm in Salem township. They were consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in politics the father was first a Democrat and later a Republican. He died in 1858, aged seventy years, his wife in September,

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1856, aged fifty years and six months, and the re- mains of both were interred in the Salem cemetery. He was one of the defenders of his country in the 'war of 1812, and was the son of a Revolutionary soldier, his parents being Ezra and Ann Potter. The subject of this sketch is fifth in the order of birth in the family, the others being as follows: Mary A., the widow of Gilson Mitchell, of Wayne county; George, deceased in 1895, who married Maria Morrison, also deceased; Francis, who mar- ried and is now deceased; David, deceased, who married Jane Arnold, now a resident of Moodus, Conn. ; Nancy, widow of Jacob Burley, of Brook- lyn, N. Y. ; Anthony, a carpenter of Mauch Chunk, Penn., who married Julia Kibler, now deceased, and Dora, who married Ferdinand Steele, of Hartford, Conn., now deceased.

Until his marriage Enos Potter remained upon the home farm. On October 17, 1848, in Salem township, he wedded Miss Matilda Mathews, who was born in that township February 5, 1827, a daughter of Hiram and Laura Mathews, and died April 23, 1890, being buried in Salem cemetery. The following children came to this union: Gib- son N., born October 11, 1849, is deceased; Fran- cis U., born September 19, 1851, married Katie Anderson, and lives in Scranton, Penn ; Horatio G., born March 23, 1853, married Emma Mombecker, and lives in Scranton ; Almira L., born January 20, 1855, died when young; Mary E., born December 4, 1857, Charles W., born February 26, 1859, Clara L., born October 9, 1860, and Flora J., born August 9, 1864, all died when young; Dora S., born Janu- ary 16, 1867. is the wife of Charles Brown, a farmer and carpenter of Salem township, Wayne county; Clarence E., born June 23, 1869, is a painter living in Scranton: Elray C., born October 29, 1870, married Edith Howe, and is a painter and decora- tor, residing at home. Mr. Potter was again mar- ried, March 30, 1892, in Paupack township, Wayne county, his second union being with Miss Mary J. Harrison, who died March 6, 1895, at the age of forty-five years, and was buried in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania.

After his first marriage, Mr. Potter purchased thirty-one acres of his present farm, on which he made a payment, but he was twelve years in paying off the $350 which it cost him. However, he now owns sixty-five acres, entirely free from debt and under a high state of cultivation. At the time of the purchase there was an unfinished building stand- ing upon the place, but to-day is one of the best improved and most desirable farms of the locality.

On November 16, 1862, Mr. Potter enlisted in Company B. 179tl P. V. I., under Capt. II. Ste- vens, for nine months, and at the end of that time was honorably discharged at Harrisburg. Penn., but he subsequently re-enlisted, becoming a member of the 112th P. V. I., with which he was mastered ont at Philadelphia, January 29, 1866. On account of lung trouble he was confined at the hospital at City

Point for two weeks, and Alexandria, Va., for four weeks. On rejoining his command he cooked for the officers most of the time until finally discharged from the service at the close of the war. Socially he is a member of Salem Lodge. I. O. O. F., and in religious connection, of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is one of the most prominent and in- fluential citizens of his community, and has the respect and esteem of all who know him.

ANSON WHEELER, one of the wide-awake and progressive farmers of Clinton township, has throughout his entire life been prominently identi- fied with the interests of Wayne county.

The first of the Wheeler family of whom we have authentic record was Benjamin Wheeler. a Revolutionary soldier, who was a native of Win- sted, Conn., and late in life became a pioneer set- tler of Mt. Pleasant township, Wayne Co., Penn: His son Nathan, also a native of Winsted, was mar- ried in Mt. Pleasant township, Wayne county, to Emily Tanner, of New York State, and they be- came the parents of five children: Anson, the sub- ject of this sketch; Ileman J., born in 1831 ; Jan- ette, widow of Jacob Wagner, of Scranton, Penn .; Alman, a resident of Wyoming Valley, Penn. ; and Sylvester, of Port Jervis, New York.

In Mt. Pleasant township Anson Wheeler was born March 4, 1829, and at the age of fourteen went to Honesdale, Penn., where he worked at the blacksmith's trade for six years, later following the same occupation for one and one-half years at Haw- ley, Wayne county. He was married. October 21, 1852, at Carbondale, Penn., by Rev. William Wyatt, to Miss Harriet C. Norton, and one daughter blesses this union, Sarah Freeman, who was born December 28, 1854, and was married January 21, 1892, to Henry C. Ames, a banker of Waymart. Wayne county. In 1854 Mr. Wheeler took charge of a shop in Clinton township, Wayne county, which he operated for ten years, at the end of that time laying aside all personal interests to enter the service of his country as a member of Company D. 97th P. V. I. When the war was over he returned to his family, who were then living in Waymart, and soon afterward purchased the A. W. Norton homestead in Clinton township, where he now re- sides. Mr. Wheeler is a stanch adherent of Re- publican principles, and gives his support to all measures which he believes calculated to advance the general welfare or promote the prosperity of his native county.

Mrs. Wheeler is also a representative of an honored pioneer family of Wayne county. Her grandfather, Levi Norton, who was born in Goshen, Litchfield Co., Conn., May 13, 1759, when sixteen years of age went as a substitute for his older brother Samuel to defend New York, enlisting in the Light Horse, and was a member of Gen. Israel Putnam's staff. When discharged, at the close of the war, he received in return for his services "pay certificates." government scrip which was then valueless. In

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the spring of 1783 he went to Winchester township, now West Winsted, Conn., where he purchased 300 acres of land. The following year he married Olive Wheeler and removed to his new purchase, where he continued to reside until 1812. The names and dates of birth of his children are as fol- lows: Warren W., November 12, 1785; Alva W., August 10, 1791; Sheldon, November 20, 1793; Clarissa, March 28, 1796; and Samuel, June II, 1799. In company with others, Levi Norton came to Pennsylvania in September, 1810, in search of a location far from the severe Puritanic rule of Con- necticut. After a thorough examination of this section of the State he went to Philadelphia, and in return for the "pay certificates" received nine tracts of land in what is now Clinton township. Wayne county. In I811the fitted out his son Alva W. and started him for his newly acquired prop- erty. He entered Wayne county on Christmas Day. While traveling through Mt. Pleasant town- ship he met a young man who had been sent out with sheep, and together they came to Clinton township, where they built a cabin IOX12 feet, near where the Baptist Church now stands. The fol- lowing spring a large colony of Connecticut peo- ple arrived in the county, including Levi Norton and the remainder of his family.

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 3, Part 22

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