Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 4, Part 108

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1058

USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 4 > Part 108
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 4 > Part 108
USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 4 > Part 108
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 4 > Part 108

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Albert Cawley, the Doctor's father, was born in Lancashire, England, and came to America with his parents in 1829. He followed farming through-

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out life, making his home at Hellertown, Northamp- ton county, where he died April 20, 1889, at the age of sixty-eight years, and was laid to rest in the old Williamstown cemetery. He married Miss Elizabeth Long, a native of this State, who is now living on the old homestead at Hellertown at the age of seventy-one years. Both held membership in the Lutheran Church, and Mr. Cawley affiliated with the Republican party. In their family were three chil- dren : Sophia, wife of William Zaller. a farmer and lumberman of Northampton county; William, who lives on the old homestead ; and Thomas F., our sub- ject.

Dr. Cawley was reared on the home farm and pursued his studies in the public schools of the neighborhood until fourteen years of age, when he entered the Hellertown Normal, and subsequently graduated from that institution. He next attended the Keystone Normal, and at the age of. seventeen years commenced teaching school, at which he was employed for four years. In 1876 he began reading medicine with Hon. Henry D. Heller, present State senator from this district, with whom he remained for four years, and from 1877 until 1880 attended lectures at the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York City. After his graduation from that noted school he located at Pen Argyl, Penn., where he remained until 1893, and then came to Saylors- burg, where he was not long in building up a good practice.

At Easton, Penn., September 16, 1880, Dr. Cawley was united in marriage with Miss Kate A. Strawn, and to them have been born three children: Harry, Florence and Dewey. Mrs. Cawley was born in the State of Pennsylvania, a daughter of James and Catherine ( Wernerback) Strawn, natives of Bucks county. The father is now a prominent con- tractor and builder of Lower Saucon, Northampton county.

While living at Pen Argyl, Dr. Cawley took a very prominent and active part in public affairs. He assisted in organizing the borough and helped to build the first school house at that place. He served as the first secretary and treasurer of the school board, which offices he filled for two consecu- tive terms; made the draft for the building now known as the Lincoln building ; and was instrumen- tal in erecting the first Presbyterian church, in which he served as elder from the beginning until his removal from that place. The Doctor's present com- fortable home was erected at Saylorsburg in 1895, and its hospitable doors are ever open for the recep- tion of the many friends of the family, for he and his wife are widely and favorably known in this com- munity. In his political views he is an ardent Re- publican, and being a great reader he is well posted on the leading questions and topics of the day, as well as on the best literature.

THOMAS W. BORTREE, M. D., D. D. S. One of the most exacting of all the higher lines of occupation to which a man may lend his energies

is that of the physician. A most scrupulous prelini- inary training is demanded, a nicety of judgment but little understood by the laity. Our subject is not only a graduate of one of the leading medical colleges of the country, but has also completed the prescribed course in a dental college, and his skill and ability in both professions have won for him a large and lucrative practice in Lake Como, Wayne county, where he is now located.

Dr. Bortree is a native of Wayne county, born in Sterling in 1859. His father, Thomas Bortrec, Sr., was born in County Antrim, Ireland, in 1815, and in 1832 came to the United States, taking up his residence in Sterling, where he married Miss Eliza- beth Simpson. There he purchased a tract of wild land, which he transformed into a good farm, mak- ing it his home until called to his final rest in 1893, his wife dying. there the following year.

In the family were ten children, all born on the old homestead at Sterling: ( 1) Margaret A. mar- ried A. J. Rollison, of Hawley, Wayne county, and died leaving three children, Matilda, Ora and Le- roy. (2) John R., a contractor and builder in Wayne county, married Mary J. Becker, of Salem township, that county. (3) Lucy J. is the wife of W. H. Rich- ardson, of Waymart, Wayne county, and has eight children, Lenora, Andre, Jennie, Lizzie, Ellen, Roy, Ray and Holland. (4) James A. married Emma Ram- bel, of Chapman township, Wayne county, and is now engaged in merchandising at Lake Ariel. (5) Ollie A. is the wife of George Sherman. a farmer of Lake Como, Wayne county, and has one son. Ward. (6) Susanna M. is the wife of T. N. Cross. a farmer of Pike county, Penn .. and has eight children. Hor- . ton,. Earle, Theodore, Olive, Howard, Byron, Heber and Cora. (7) Sarah E. is the wife of Henry Haz- elton, a farmer of Pike township, Wayne county, and has two children, Viola and Mable. (8) Maria died at the age of three years. (9) Mary E. was edu- cated in the public schools, and still resides on the old homestead.

Dr. Bortree obtained his early education in the common schools, and when not in school continued to assist his father in the labors of the home farm un- til he had attained his majority. He was married in 1881 to Miss Mattie L. Martin, of Sussex county. N. J., a daughter of Benjamin and Mary Martin. prosperous agriculturists of that county. After his marriage the Doctor located in Scranton, Pen .. where he worked for the Iron Coal Co., for a year and a half, and then returned to Sterling. remain- ing on the old homestead for a year. In 1884 he co:11- menced the study of medicine in Lackawanna coun- ty, Penn., un fer G. A. Cole, and the following year entered Jefferson Medical Colege, where he gradu- ated in 1889. In the meantime, during the winter of 1886-87, he was in Florida with a patient from the college. After his graduation he was connected with the hospitals of Philadelphia for three years, but in 1893 returned to Sterling, where he engaged in practice until coming to Lake Como in 18go. 11 1890 he also graduated from the Pennsylvania Den-

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tal College of Philadelphia, and is now successfully engaged in the practice of both professions.

In 1888 Dr. Bortree lost his first wife, and four years later he married Miss Anna E. Dunham, of Philadelphia, a daughter of Robert and Susan Dun- ham, the former a music dealer at Camden, N. J. The Doctor's second wife died in April, 1897, lcav- ing one daughter, Edna, who was born in Sterling, in 1893. He has always been an earnest advocate of the principles of the Republican party, and while a resident of Sterling he hield the office of auditor. He is an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Lake Como, and takes quite an active and prominent part in its work. He may well be numbered among the self-made men of the commu- nity, for through his own unaided efforts he has achieved success in life, first earning the money with which to pay his expenses at college. A man of broad resources, and progressive ideas, he has won distinction in his chosen calling, and is now one of the most prominent physicians, surgeons and den- tists of Wayne county.

O. J. SHAVER, a well-known citizen of Ararat- township, who for several years has been prominent- ly identified with the agricultural interests of Sus- quehanna county, was born in January, 1859, in Schoharie county, N. Y., and in that State acquired his early education, making his home there until eleven years of age. In 1870 he was brought to Pennsylvania by his parents, Jacob and Letitia (Kline) Shaver, who located in Ararat township, Susquehanna county. Here he grew to manhood" and became thoroughly familiar with every depart- - ment of farm work. In 1881 he settled upon his present fine farm of 170 acres in Ararat township up- on which he has since made many useful and valu- able improvements, and besides this property he owns a good farm of 100 acres in Herrick township. He carries on dairy farming, and has been remark- ably successful in his work.

In May, 1879, in Ararat township, Mr. Shaver was married to Miss Della Adams, a na- tive of Harford township, Susquchanna coun- ty, and a daughter of Alva and Susan (Wag- ner) Adams. Her father was also born in that township, and died in his native county, but the mother is still living and now makes her home in Oregon. Our subject and his wife have an inter- esting family of six children, namely: Edith L., Minnie E., Ida, John, Della and Laura. The Re- publican party finds in Mr. Shaver a stanch supporter of its principles, and, being one of the most popular and influential citizens of his community, he has been called upon to fill local offices of honor and trust. He was township supervisor six years, and a member of the school board three years.

WILLIAM H. IVES, a worthy representative of an honorcd pioneer family of Susquehanna county, was born Junc 14, 1813, in Liberty township, on the farm at Lawsville, where he still resides, and

throughout life he has been prominently identified with the agricultural interests of that section.

His parents, Caswell and Kesiah ( Thrall) Ives, were born in the town of Kent, Litchfield Co., Conn., and the grandfather, Aaron Ives, was also a native of Connecticut. In his family were four sons, Na- thaniel, Reuben, Ana and Caswell, who came to Susquehanna county, Penn., in 1810, and here reared their families, but all are now deceased.

Caswell Ives, our subject's father, purchased a tract of land in the village of Lawsville, Liberty township, which he transformed into a good farm, and in connection with agricultural pursuits he en- gaged in the manufacture of lumber, erecting on his land the first sawmill in that section of the coun- ty. There both he and his wife continued to make their home throughout life, the former dying about 1875, the latter in 1850, when past the age of eighty. In their family were six children, five sons and one daughter, of whom our subject is the eldest. (2) Reuben married Ann Scotten, of Susquehanna county, where they resided for some years, and then removed to Fairfax county, Va., where his death occurred. Later she returned to Susquehanna county where she passed away. A part of their fam- ilv live in Virginia, the remainder in this State. (3) John married a Miss Trusdall, and located in Lib- erty township. During the Civil war he was a member of an engineering corps and remained in the service until hostilities ceased. He is now a resident of Montrose, where he has followed his trade as a carpenter for some years. He has a son and daughter-Drett, wife of Walter Townsend, of Franklin township, Susquehanna county; and Anson, a resident of Montrose. (4) Anstell in early life was superintendent for a large lumber firm in Michigan, and from there went to Oshkosh, Wis., where he has since successfully engaged in the lum- ber business. He has reared a large family who are still residents of that State. (5) George married a Miss Moody, and moved to Fairfax county, Va., where he still lives. His children all died when young. (6) Louisa married Albert Temple, and lived in Virginia until the close of the Civil war, when they moved to Massachusetts, where she died, leaving two daughters who are now married and re- side in that State. Nathanicl Ives, brother of Cas- well, was a soldier in the war of 1812.

Upon the old homestead at Lawsville. William HI. Ives was reared to manhood. In 1843 he was united in marriage with Miss Jane Ross, a daugh- ter of Alfred and Betsy Ross, one of the old families of Liberty township, and after his marriage he purchased the interests of the other heirs in the old homestead of 150 acres, where he has since lived. He continued to occupy the old log house standing thercon until 1871, when he erected a large two-story frame residence, thirty-two feet square, with all modern improvements. The barn built by his father in 1812, is still in a good state of preservation, and is now used as a granary. In carly life our subject followed lumbering for many years on the east

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branch of the Susquehanna river, and as a pilot rafted sawed lumber down to the markets of Mariet- ta and Port Deposit, but for the past forty years he has given his attention almost wholly to agricultural pursuits, and has met with most excellent success.

Our subject has been called upon to mourn the loss of his estimable wife, who passed away in 1873. To them were born five children, three sons and two daughters, of whom one son and both daughters died in childhood. Those still living are: Henry and Erastus, who were educated in the village schools of Lawsville, and now operates the home farm for their father. Erastus, born in 1852, is unmarried, but Henry married Emmaroy Wining, of Broome county, N. Y., a daughter of Cornelius and Mary S. Wining, and they have three daughters, who were also born on the old homestead, and attended the village schools. (1) Jennie R., born in 1874, mar- ried Arthur B. Smith, of Franklin township, Sus- quehanna county, and they now reside in New York City, where he is engaged in the butter and grocery business. They have one son, Raymond. (2) Retta M., born in 1879, is now the wife of Clarence Knapp, of Susquehanna county, and they have one daughter, Clare, born in August, 1895, on the same farm where her great-grandfather, our subject, was born. (3) Georgia I., born in 1880, is an accom- plished young lady, who completed her education in the high school of Montrose. The mother of these children was also well educated and prior to her mar- riage successfully engaged in teaching school in Broome county, N. Y., and Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania.

Since the organization of the Republican party, our subject has been a stanch supporter of its prin- ciples, and he has held a number of local offices in Liberty township, including those of poormaster, su- pervisor, and constable for eight years, the duties of which he most capably and satisfactorily per- formed. Religiously he is a member of the Pres- byterian Church, to which his parents and wife also belonged. The family has always been one of the most prominent, influential and highly respected families of the community, and our subject occu- pies an enviable position in the esteem of his fellow citizens.

SAMUEL J. PHILLIPS, barber, P. O. Toby- hanna Mills, Coolbaugh township, Monroe county, Pennsylvania.

MATHIAS F. BUSH, a highly respected resi- dent of Spragueville, Monroe county, has held for more than twenty years a responsible position with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western R. R., and no better evidence of his personal worth could be de- sired than the confidence which his faithful service has inspired in his employers.

Mr. Bush was born on Christmas Day, 1849, in Smithfield township, Monroe county, and is a men- ber of a well-known pioneer family of this State. His grandparents, John and Catherine ( Detrick)

Bush, were both natives of Lancaster county but made their home in Monroe county after their mar- riage.

George Bush, the father of our subject, was born in 1820, in Monroe county, and in early man- hood he settled in Hamilton township where he bought and improved a farm. This he sold two years later, when he removed to the Leonard Le Bar farm in Stroud township, on which he made general improvements. His death occurred there in February, 1879, and his wife, Sarah (Caven), who was born in 1820, in Northampton county, survives him and resides with our subject. This worthy couple had three children, of whom our sub- ject was the youngest, the others being: (1) La- vina J., born in 1845, in Stroud township, received a public-school education, and married Jacob Pos- ten, of the same- township, and now a resident of East Stroudsburg. They have five children: Lin- coln married Miss Mattie Lesh, and resides in East Stroudsburg; Ida is the wife of John Price, of Dover, N. J .; Stroud is unmarried and resides in Kansas ; Miss Allie is a resident of Park Side, Mon- .roe county, and Annie is the wife of a Mr. Smith, of Brooklyn, N. Y. (2) David D. Bush, born at the old homestead in Stroud township, resides in East Stroudsburg, where he is employed as car inspector. He married Miss Ella Van Vliet, of Stroud town- ship.

Our subject received a practical education in the schools of Stroud township, and remained at home until he reached the age of eighteen. He then en- tered the employ of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western R. R., as a track layer and two years later, in 1858, he was appointed section foreman. This position he has held up to the present time, taking charge of work at various places along the line. In 1873, he married Miss Lavina Price, and soon afterwards he purchased property near East Strouds- burg, where they resided for several years. In 1880 he removed to York Station, where he had charge of the company's interests for three years, and for sev- enteen years he resided at Hoyt's Place, in Stroud township. In 1897 he bought a lot in the village of Spragueville and in the same year he built his pres- ent commodious and tasteful residence, which is fitted up with all modern improvements and is re- garded as one of the finest dwelling houses in the vicinity. Mr. Bush is remarkably successful in his management of the workmen under his charge, his genial manner being quite compatible with efficient discipline. He is a man of exemplary habits and like all of his family he is public spirited and pro- gressive. Politically he is a Republican of old Whig stock, and in his religious views he inclines toward the German Reformed Church of which his parents were members. He belongs to the lodge of 1. O. (). F. at East Stroudsburg, and he and his family are prominent in social life. His wife is a member of one of the old pioneer families of Monroe county. and her parents, Jacob H. and Mary A. Price. were leading residents of the town of Barrett. The fol-

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lowing children brighten our subject's home: J. P., born in September, 1874, completed a public-school course and is now engaged in railroad work; and Lulu May was born in April, 1894.

WALLACE BENSLEY, a thrifty and enter- prising citizen of Lehman township, Pike county, is the owner of a farm near Delaware P. O., which has been brought by him to an excellent state of culti- vation and upon which his skill as a carpenter has been shown in the erection of tasteful and substan- tial buildings.

Mr. Bensley was born October 13, 1859, in Lehman township, son of Oliver Bensley, a native of the same township, and his wife, Elizabeth Utt, who was born in Smithfield township, Pike county. A history of the family, which is of good pioneer stock, appears elsewhere. Our subject remained under the parental roof until he attained the age of twenty-one when he began working by the month on neighbor- ing farms. In 1886 he entered upon an apprentice- ship to the carpenter's trade with an uncle, Joseph Bensley, and has since followed that business in connection with farming. In the spring of 1892 he settled upon his present farm which is one of the best of its size in that locality. Politically he is a Republican, but he has never sought official honors although he is always ready to join in any progres- sive movement in his community.

Mr. Bensley married (first) Miss Anna Titman, daughter of John C. Titman, a well-known resident of Delaware township, Pike county ; she died leav- ing one daughter, Cora, who is now at home. On August 15, 1889, Mr. Bensley married (second), at Port Jervis, N. Y., Miss Jennie Jaggers, by whom he has had four children: Mercer, born April 2, 1891 ; Eva, April 11, 1892; Chancey, July 25, 1894. and Roy, August 25, 1896. Mrs. Jennie Bensley was born in Delaware township, September 7, 1868, and is a member of one of Pike county's pioneer families, her great-grandparents, Cooper and Elizabeth (Lat- timore) Jaggers, having settled upon a farin there at an early day. Jacob Jaggers, her paternal grand- father, was born October 29, 1809, and he became a farmer in Pike county where his death occurred in June, 1877. His wife, Sarah ( Bensley), who was born November 30, 1811, daughter of Adam Bens- ley, died in 1875. They had the following children : William is a resident of Michigan; Daniel resides at Dingman's Ferry ; James and Catherine are now deceased; Aaron B. is Mrs. Bensley's father ; Al- bert; Joseph met a soldier's death at the battle of Gettysburg; Mary is deceased; Susan (now de- ceased), married David Crone; Jacob; and Henry.

Aaron B. Jaggers, father of Mrs. Bensley, was born August 16, 1838, in Pike county, and after fol- lowing agricultural pursuits successfully for many years, is now living in retirement at Dingman's Fer- ry. On February 6, 1864, he was married in Pike county to Miss Cornelia Carhuff, by whom he had ten children, namely: William is now deceased ; Jennie (Mrs. Bensley) ; Mercer married Elizabeth

Litz, and resides at Chatham, N. J .; Jacob, a farmer near Chatham, married May Van Auken; Stoll is a farmer near Centerville, N. J .; Bartol is a farmer in Pike county; Samuel is a resident of Lehman township, Pike county; Miss Emily, Frederick ; and Levi. Mrs. Cornelia (Carhuff) Jaggers was born January 4, 1848, at Dingman's Ferry, daughter of William Carhuff, a native of Warren, who died at Binghamton, N. Y., in 1871, aged seventy years. Her mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Decker, died in 1864, aged fifty-eight. This wor- thy couple had eight children : Samuel, who settled in Michigan; Margaret, who died in childhood; Isaac, a resident of Lackawanna; Maria ( now de- ceased), who married Royal Decker; Nathan (de- ceased) ; Christiana, who married Henry Bartol, of New York; Margaret, wife of Samuel Whaley, of New York; and Cornelia (Mrs. Bensley's mother).

JOHN DOERR is one of the representative German-American citizens, who, through their own individual efforts, have achieved success in their life work, and to-day he is the owner of much valuable property in and around Lackawaxen, Pike county, where he also conducts a hotel and summer boarding house.

Mr. Doerr was born May 4, 1823. in Trier, Germany, and traces his ancestry back for several generations. His great-grandfather, John Doerr, was a native of Mainz, Germany, where he was pro- prietor of a hotel for many years. The grandfa- ther also spent his entire life at Mainz, where he was engaged in business as a butcher and cattle dealer. Casper Doerr, the father, was born June 24, 1791, in Mainz, there grew to manhood, and was a soldier in the French army during the Napoleonic wars. In Trier, Germany, he married Miss Anna, daughter of Max and Catherine ( Hain). Clearen. She was born in 1797, and died January 15, 1856, being long survived by her husband, who passed away July 16, 1891. In their family were five chil- dren, one son and four daughters, namely: Ger- trude, wife of Frederick Flitsch, of Sydney, Austra- lia ; Sadie and Pauline, who are engaged in the hotel business in Mainz, Germany ; Katie, wife of John Lenovar, an extensive farmer of Algiers, Africa; and John.

During his boyhood and youth John Doerr received a fair education in the German and French languages, and assisted his father until he reached the age of thirty years when he began for himself in the butcher business at Mainz. He was married, in Trier, Germany, May 15, 1860, to Miss Anna Doerr (of another family), who was born in 1843. and died in America April 7, 1873. The only child of this union, Louis, was born March 26, 1861, and is a butcher of Newark, N. J .; he married Annie Commings, by whom he has four children. Mr. Doerr was again married, at Jersey City Heights, December 2, 1897, his second union being with Meta, Wehrmann.

Our subject sailed for the New World with

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his little family, arriving in New York in August, 1866, and in that city he embarked in the butcher and restaurant business, continuing in one locality for twelve years. In 1888 he came to Lackawaxen, Pike Co., Penn., and purchased a hotel and sum- mer boarding-house, also 400 acres of land and sev- eral tenement houses. Upon his land are valuable stone quarries, which he operates, and also some splendid timber, but he pays particular attention to his hotel business. His house, which has become a great favorite with summer boarders, can easily accommodate sixty guests, is conveniently arranged, and is first-class in all its appointments. His pleas- ant, courteous manner makes him a popular land- lord, and as everything is done for the convenience and comfort of his guests he receives a liberal pat- ronage. Politically he is a stanch Democrat, and re- ligiously is a communicant of the Catholic Church.

C. A. MAIN, agent for Electric Wheels, Elec- tric Feed Cookers, South Montrose, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania.

JOSEPH BENSLEY, a prominent resident of Lehman township, Pike county, has been identified with the agricultural and building interests of that locality for many years, and his sterling qualities of character have won the esteem of his fellow-citizens in a marked degree.

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 4, Part 108

Author: Publication date: 1900 Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1058

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1058