Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 4, Part 110

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 110
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 4 > Part 110
USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 4 > Part 110
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 4 > Part 110

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township, Wayne Co., Penn .: Susanna, wife of Elias Kresge, of Newfield, N. Y .; Mary, widow of Francis Stein, and a resident of Tobyhanna Mills; Alınyra, wife of Sylvester Kresge, of Chestnut Hill township, Monroe county; Jacob, a resident of Gouldsboro, Wayne county; Aaron, our subject ; Louis, a resident of Jackson township; and James, of Chestnut Hill township.

Aaron Singer, whose name introduces this re- view, was born in Jackson township, November 6, 1849, and was reared in much the usual manner of farmer lads, assisting in the labors of the fields and attending the common schools of the neighborhood. At the age of twenty he began work in the lumber woods at Tobyhanna Mills, where he was employe.i for eighteen years, at the end of that time coming to Jackson township and embarking in farming on his own account, on a tract of seventy acres, a part of which is timber land ; the remainder is under cul - tivation. In 1890 he became interested in general merchandising at Reeders, and now gives the greater part of his time to that business, in which he has met with gratifying success, receiving a lib- eral share of the public patronage.

On July 25, 1867, in Chestnut Hill township, Mr. Singer married Miss Lydia Kresge. a daughter of Michael and Sarah Ann (Shick ) Kresge, and to them were born five children: Francis, who mar- ried Clara Sleicker, and lives in Pocono township, Monroe county : Jennie Izelia, who married Thomas Kresge, and died in 1890, leaving two children, Mamie and Archie; Marilla, who died young; Til- ton, at home; and Nettie, wife of Arthur Arnold, of Stroud township, Monroe county. The wife and mother, who was a consistent member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, departed this life May 26, 1897.

Mr. Singer is also a member of the M. E. Church, and socially he has been identified with the Patriotic Order Sons of America for a number of years. Like his father, he is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party and its principles, and has most capably served his fellow citizens two years as constable and as township auditor for the same length of time. In 1890 he was appointed post- master at Reeders, and is still filling that office, to the entire satisfaction of all concerned.

JOHN WILBUR. The continuous residence of the subject of this sketch in Lathrop township. Susquehanna county, dates from the close of the Civil war. He served for over three years in the great conflict and participated in some of its fiercest and most destructive engagements. and when mus- tered out he returned to Pennsylvania. married and began a career as an agriculturist which has con- tinued for about thirty-four years, and which has been crowned not only with material success but with an established character for sound judgment and public spirit, which ranks as one of the most valuable assets of the community.

Mr. Wilbur was born January 17, 1844, in

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Nicholson township, Wyoming county, the son of Ira and Mary ( Woodruff ) Wilbur, and the grand- son of Samuel and Holly ( Halstead) Wilbur. Samuel Wilbur, the grandfather, was a pioneer settler and extensive lumberman of Nicholson. He owned property where the village of Nicholson now stands. While at work in the woods he was acci- dentally killed by a falling tree. To Samuel and Holly Wilbur were born nine children :

Ira Wilbur, the father of our subject, was born in 1817, in Wyoming county. He was married in Lenox township, Susquehanna county, to Mary Woodruff, who was born in 1823, in Lenox town- ship, daughter of Isaac and Polly ( Raught) Wood- ruff. After his marriage he bought land in Lenox township, and there engaged in farming for many years. In early life he was a Democrat, but later a Republican. He died January 17, 1898, aged eighty-one years ; his wife died in 1863, aged forty years. Their children were as follows: A-, a farmer and quarry owner, of Wyoming county, and a soldier of the Civil war; John, our subject ; Charlotte, wife of W. D. Saxon, of Scranton, Penn. ; Ira, a farmer, of Wilmot township, Bradford coun- ty ; Justin, a railroad employe, of Nicholson ; Mary, who married Edgar Fisk, of Wyoming county, and is now deceased ; Daniel, a farmer in Lathrop town- ship; and Harrison Allen, a farmer, of Lathrop township.

Jolin Wilbur, our subject, was reared in Wyom- ing and Susquehanna counties. He received a good common-school education and at the age of sixteen years began life for himself. Two years later, August 22, 1862, he enlisted in Company K, 143rd P. V. I., under Capt. Isaac Little, and served throughout the war, being mustered out at Hart's Island, N. Y., June 20, 1865. Mr. Wilbur partici- pated in the battles of Gettysburg, the Wilderness from Culpeper to Petersburg, the Weldon Railroad and Hatcher's Run. The regiment started through the Wilderness with over 1.000 men and at the close of that march had but 180 men and one commis- sioned officer, Lieut. O. E. Vaughn.

After he was mustered out Mr. Wilbur re- turned to Susquehanna county and there, in Lathrop township, he was married, in September. 1865, to Arminda Glaze, daughter of Samuel and Mary Ann (Ferris) Glaze, and granddaughter of Charles and Molly ( Statcs) Glaze. The grandfather was a native of New Jersey, and died in Abington. Penn. Z. Ferris, the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Wilbur. was a native of Orange county, N. Y. He died March 19, 1883. His wife, Tama, was born in Greenfield township, Lackawanna county, and died February 10, 1889. She was the daughter of John and Sally Calb Laurey. John Laurcy was one of the pioneer settlers of northeastern Pennsylvania, and lived to the age of one hundred years and twen- ty-three days. His wife Sally died May 20, 1860, aged seventy years. The family of Z. and Tama Ferris was as follows: Mary Ann ( the mother of Mrs. Wilbur), born June 23, 1827; Rebecca, who

died young ; Jane T., who married M. K. Miller, of Lackawanna county, and is now deccased ; Sarah E., wife of James Kennedy, of Scranton; Myra, who died when young; Zylpena, who died when young ; George W., who died also when young ; and Lewis, who died in infancy. The children of Samuel and Mary Ann Glaze were as follows: Arminda, wife of our subject, born April 18, 1848; Emma, born Oc- tober 25, 1850, died November 23, 1851 ; and Selma, born August 16, 1865, died January 19, 1871.

To our subject and his wife were born chil- dren as follows: Nettie M., born June 10, 1863, wife of Philip Bacon, of Scranton, Penn .; Tama, born January 4, 1873, died November 23, 1880; Samuel Glaze, born July 16, 1880, at home. Mr. Wilbur began housekeeping on a tract of 63 acres which he purchased in Lathrop township. This he afterward sold and bought a farm of 53 acres. He now owns a well-cultivated place of over 110 acres, most of which is cleared; upon this farm he has made extensive improvements. He is engaged in general and dairy farming, and by his industry, good judgment and enterprise he ranks as one of the best farmers of the township. Mr. Wilbur is a stockholder. in the creamery at Lathrop. He is a member of the Grange and of Billings Post, G. A. R. In politics he is a Republican.

THOMAS J. DANIELS, a veteran of the Civil war and one of the most highly-esteemed residents of Gibson township, Susquehanna county, is a worthy representative of a family whose patriot- ism has been proved in many a hard-fought battle. Isaac Daniels, his grandfather, who died in New York State, at the age of one hundred and nine years, was a soldier in the Revolutionary army, and Isaac Daniels (2), the father of our subject, served in the war of 1812, and had six sons with the Union army during the Rebellion.

Isaac Daniels (2) was born and reared in Orange county, N. Y., and came to Susquehanna county in 1837, locating first in Harford township and then in Lenox township. For some time he followed the shoemaker's trade but in later years engaged in farming. He married (first) Miss Patience Vance, and ( second) Elvira Vance, a native of Orange county, N. Y., who died in July, 1852. His death occurred in November, 1865. at the age of eighty-four, and his remains were interred in the family plot in the cemetery at South Gibson. In religious faith he was a Baptist. By his first marriage he had four children : Harvey. born April 25. 1824, who resides with our subject : Harriet, who married Edward R. Tingley. of Los Angeles, Cal .: Joseph, a retired farmer residing in Los An- geles ; and Calvin, who died in Clinton county, Iowa. By his second marriage there were ten chil- dren, as follows: Thomas J., our subject : Mary, who married Ephraim Pickering, a farmer in Wis- consin, now retired; Ezcriah, a farmer, in Jackson township, Susquehanna county; Lyon, who mar- ried Robert Young, a farmer in Iowa : Phoebe ( de- ccased), who married Lukc Reed, of Lenox town-

1802

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ship, Susquehanna county; Harrison (deceased), his death occurring in Washington, D. C., while he was employed as clerk in the War Department ; James, who was drowned in the Mississippi river ; Isaac, a farmer in Iowa; George, who died in Har- ford township, Susquehanna county; and Charles, who died in Plymouth, Pennsylvania.

Our subject, who was born November 6, 1829, in Orange county, N. Y., remained with his par- ents until he reached the age of twenty-one, and later he assisted them with his earnings as a farm laborer in different places. For some time he was employed by farmers in Gibson township, and after his marriage, in 1863, he rented a farm for two and one-half years in that locality. On March 4, 1864, he enlisted at Harford for "three years or the war" as a private in Battery A, 43rd Penn. Vols., known later as the First Regiment Penn. Vol. Artillery. The battery, which was commanded by Capt. John G. Simpson and Col. Robert M. West, was assigned to McCall's Division, Army of the Potomac, and participated in the following battles: Drainsville, Mechanicsville, James Mills, second battle of Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Fort Darling, Deep Bottom, Petersburg, and was present at the fall of Richmond, where our subject's company assisted in demolishing the defenses. Mr. Daniels was discharged July 25, 1865, and on his return home purchased a farm in Lenox township, Susquehanna county, which he sold two years later, and the next two years he spent in operating a rented farm. He then removed to Wilkes Barre, where he engaged in teaming, but after thirteen years he resumed the business of farming, settling in Gibson township, and in 1890 he bought his present home- stead, an attractive place containing sixty acres. In politics he is a Republican, and he is one of the leading members of Post No. 512, G. A. R.

On August 11, 1863, Mr. Daniels was married, in Lenox township, Susquehanna county, to Miss Joanna Burns, and five children have blessed the union: (1) George died in infancy. (2) Har- riet married Irvin Witter, a farmer, in Jackson township; (3) Henrietta married the late Henry Gelatt, who operated a gristmill at Gelatt, and she now resides with our subject. She has one son, Arland M .; (4) Harrison, wlio con- ducts a gristmill at Gelatt, married Mary Ketch, and has two children-Margaret and Ruel. (5) James L. is at home. Mrs. Daniels, whose efficient aid has contributed largely to our subject's success, was born February 24, 1842, in Binghamton, N. Y., the daughter of Stephen Burns, a native of Massa- chusetts, who settled in Susquehanna county in 1849. He was a farmer by occupation, and after residing in Bridgewater township for some time he made his permanent home in Gibson township, where he died in 1882, at the age of seventy-two. He was married, in New York State, to Miss Hen- ricetta Hoadley, a daughter of Asa and Thankful Hoadley, natives and lifelong residents of the En- pire State. She dicd in 1887, aged sixty years, and

was buried beside her husband in Gibson cemetery. They had six children, namely: Charles, who entered the army during the Civil war and was not heard from afterward : Joanna, wife of our subject ; Ellen, who married Charles Lloyd, a railroad engin- eer at Wilkes Barre, Penn .; George, a farmer in Jackson township, Susquehanna county; Emma, wife of George Bennett, a retired farmer residing at Binghamton, N. Y .; Mary, who married Elias Tuttle, a farmer in Herrick township, Susquehanna county.

JOHN T. STOTZ, merchant, P. O. Brodheads- ville, Chestnut Hill township, Monroe county, Penn- sylvania.

JAMES . F. LOVELACE. An honorable record as a soldier, won by active service from the first battle of Bull Run to Lee's surrender, gives this worthy resident of Lanesboro, Susquehanna county, a special claim to the respect of his fellow citizens, and his career as a business man and put- lic official has increased his reputation. For many year's he has been prominent in commercial circles as a contractor and builder, and numerous n'ills, factories and tanneries in different parts of the State have been constructed by him. He may be said to make a specialty of bridge building, and among the large railroad bridges built under his oversight we may mention that of Queens Run Dam, on the Sits- quehanna, and the Philadelphia & Erie bridge, across the Little Mahoning, at Keating, Clinton Co., Pen :- sylvania.

.. Mr. Lovelace was born October 30, 1836. in Sullivan county, N. Y., and is of English descent in the paternal line. William and Betsey ( Burns) Lovelace, his grandparents, were born in England, and coming to America settled on a farm on the Hudson river, near Poughkeepsie. They had six children: David A., our subject's father; Eli. a resident of Sullivan county, N. Y .; Cornelius, who settled in the West; Robert, who died at the old homestead; Sally ( deceased), who never married ; and Maria, wife of John Vallons, who settled near Cochecton, N. Y., and had one son, Jolin, formerly sheriff of Sullivan county, New York.

David A. Lovelace was born at Poughkeepsie, and grew to manhood in Sullivan county. N. Y. For many years he followed lumbering on the Dela- ware river, and much of his time in later life was spent at the home of our subject. He was a Jack- sonian Democrat in politics, and in religious faitli was a Baptist, while his wife, Barbara ( Summerfield ). who was born at Rhinebeck, N. Y., was a devout member of the M. E. Church. Our subject was the youngest in a family of nine children, all of whom were born at the old homestead in Sullivan county, N. Y .: (I) Parmelia, widow of Dewitt Moore, resides at Monticello, N. Y. She has several cliil- dren. (2) Robert married Miss Sarah Fields, of Montana, N. Y., and after residing for some time at Duck Harbor, Wayne county, moved to Stevens

1803

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Point, Wis. Later he came back to Pennsylvania, where he died, but his children all reside in Wis- consin. (3) Eli married Miss Mary Axtell, of Delaware county, N. Y., and they moved to Stevens Point, Wis. He served three years during the Civil war in a Wisconsin regiment. (4) William S. married Miss Jane Axtell, of Sullivan county, and settled in Delaware county, N. Y., later moving to Wisconsin, where he entered the ministry of the M. E. Church, and he is now stationed in Missouri. His large family of children have settled in different parts of the West. (5) Lois E. married Ira Bailey, of Hancock, N. Y., who died leaving several chil- dren. (6) Charles D. married Lucetta Branning, of Wayne county, and settled there. He followed lumbering for many years, his death occurring in 1892. His wife survives him with several children, who are located in different parts of Pennsylvania. (7) Luther A., a farmer in Broonie county, N. Y., was a soldier in the Union army, and was wounded at the battle of the Wilderness. He married Betsey P. Hulce, of Delaware county, N. Y., and has a large family. (8) Hulda A. (deceased ) married George Kesler, of Sullivan county, N. Y., who died in Libby prison during the Civil war.

Our subject received only ten months of school- ing in boyhood, in an old log school-house in Sulli- van county, so that his education has been gained principally through observation and private study. When a young man he learned the trade of mill- wright and bridge builder, which he has since fol- lowed successfully. In 1856 he married Miss Par ---- thenia Dibble, of Broome county, N. Y., daughter of John and Nancy Dibble, and a member of one of the old pioneer families of that locality. After his marriage he settled at Deposit, Delaware Co., N. Y., and in 1861 he enlisted in Company C, 27th N. Y. V. I., under Capt. Lewis, of Binghamton, being assigned to the Army of the Potomac. He took part in the first and second battles of Bull Run, and went through the Peninsular campaign, and among his other engagements were the seven days' fight at Malvern Hill, the battle of Charles City Cross Roads, South Mountain, and Antietam, while later he was "stuck in the mud" with the troops under Burnside. At Chancellorsville the losses of his regiment were heavy, and his term expiring about that time, he came back home. He re-enlisted in the First New York Veteran Cavalry, and was on duty in the mountains of West Virginia, guarding the Baltimore railroad and otlier points until the war closed, his discharge being granted in July, 1865. Ile was wounded by a shell, the result being a permanently mutilated limb, and also contracted the measles during his service. After the war he returned to Deposit, and resumed contracting and building. He purchased real estate at Cannons- ville, Delaware Co., N. Y., where he resided seven- teen years, during which time ( in 1878) he was the nominee of the Republican party for sheriff of Delaware county, and was elected for the term of three years; he also served three years as deputy

sheriff, and his able discharge of the duties of both positions was appreciated by the people. In 1884 he sold his property in Delaware county and bought a home in Lanesboro, where he has also been active in local politics, as a member of the Republican party. He was the first chief of police in the borough and has held numerous other offices, including those of overseer of the poor and township assessor (three terms), and at present he is a member of the Republican County Committee. He is a member of Lodge No. 396, F. & A. M., of Deposit; Lanes- boro Post No. 81, G. A. R .; Shawnduck Tribe No. 263, I. O. R. M., at Lanesboro; and an honorary member of the Good Templars, Grand Order of New York.

Mrs. Lovelace, who died in September, 1897, was a consistent member of the Baptist Church. They had eight children, of whom: (1) A. B., born in August, 1857, in Delaware county, N. Y., was educated in the schoo's of Deposit, and became a prominent educator in that section. He was also active in the Masonic fraternity. He married Miss Elma Luther, of Tyler Hill, Wayne Co., Penn., and settled at Lanesboro; he was killed at Fairlawn, N. J., on the railroad, his wife surviving him with one daughter, Blanche, who resides at our subject's home, and is a student at the local schools. (2) Stella, born in Delaware county, in 1860, is the wife of Ellsworth Lovelace, a lumberman at Clermont, McKean Co., Penn. They have one daughter, Kitty. (3) Harris, born March 4, 1865, died in 1868. (4) Miles, born in Delaware county, in Au- gust, 1867, married Miss Louisa Millburt, of Nar- rowsburg, and now resides in Lanesboro, being employed by his father at the carpenter's trade. (5) Augusta, born in Delaware county in 1870. is now the wife of Fred Van Orden, of Lanesboro, and has one daughter, Alta E. (6) Sidney, born in Dela- ware county, in September, 1872, resides at the homestead, and works at the carpenter's trade with his father. He married Miss Ada Malpass, of Sus- quehanna, daughter of Daniel and Lucy Malpass, who came from England, her father being now a prominent resident of Susquehanna. Three chil- dren were born of this union-Lulu E., Leon A. and Luretta A. (7) Kitty M., born in May, 1875, died in May, 1876. (8) A. I., born in May, 1877, died in December, same year.

JACOB K. SHIFFLER, a prominent farmer residing in Greene township, Pike county, was born in Philadelphia, Penn., March 21, 1832.

Mr. Shiffer is a son of George and Rebecca (Vaughn) Shiffler, who spent their entire lives in that city. The father, who was a tobacconist. died in 1843, at the age of forty-five years, and the mother departed this life in 1863, at the age of fifty- three, the remains of both being interred in the Helverston burying ground of Philadelphia. They were the parents of the following children : George, who was shot and killed while living in Phila- delphia in 1844; William married Mary Jacobs, and

1804

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

died in Philadelphia ; Edward also died in that city; Jacob K. is the subject of this review; Elizabeth, widow of Charles Foster, is a resident of Phila- delphia ; Emily, widow of Charles Bartley, is also a resident of the Quaker City; John served three years in the Union army and died at the age of forty-three years and was buried in Philadelphia; Louis, also a soldier in the Civil war, died at the age of eighteen ; and Henry died of croup at the age of three years. By a former marriage to a Mr. Allizer, the mother had two children: John and Mary, both deceased. She was a sister the Vaughan Brothers, the first ship builders of the Quaker City ; their ship yard was near the clin tree under which Penn made the treaty with the Indians. Our subject's paternal grandparents were John and Mary Shiffler, natives of Germany and Philadelphia, respectively. The grandmother, Mary Shiffler, was a little girl during the war of the Revolution, and. one time complained to the officers that the soldiers were stealing from her garden. She often visited the soldiers in their camp.

On leaving home, at the age of eleven years, Mr. Shiffler came to Greene township, Pike county; and worked for his cousin, Joseph Kipp, in the beech woods on his present homestead. A few months later he went to Drinkers, Lackawanna Co., Penn., where he was in the employ of Mrs. Susan (Kipp) Emerson for two years and a half. Returning to Philadelphia at the end of that time, he worked in a morocco factory for two years, and then again sought employment in the beech woods of Pile county, working for different farmers and lumber- men until 1853, when he purchased his present farm from his cousin, Thomas Kipp. His place at first consisted of only twenty-five acres, for which he paid $400, but he has gradually extended its boundaries until he now has eighty-two acres, which he has placed under a high state of cultivation and improved with good and substantial buildings, mak- ing it one of the best and most attractive farms of the locality. When he first came to this county wild game was abundant, deer and bear roamed at will, and the woods often resounded with the howl- ing of the wolves. At that time it took four days to go to Philadelphia with a team of horses.

On May 9, 1858, at Salem, Penn., Mr. Shiffier was married to Miss Harriet Bishop, the ceremony being performed by Rev. A. R. Rammel, a Pres- byterian minister, and the children born to this union were as follows: Emma, now the wife of Louis Wyland, a farmer of Greene township, Pike coun- ty; Horace, who married Alice Burrus and is en- gaged in farming in the same township; Mary, wife of Perry Miller, a farmer of Greene township; William, deceased; and Clarence, at home. Mrs. Shiffler was born in Hawley, Penn., in July, 1838, a daughter of Hiram and Alvina ( Danicls) Bishop, of New Hope, Penn., who became residents of Haw- ley in the early part of the nineteenth century. The father was a river pilot, taking lumber down the river to the Southern markets. He died in 1894, at

the ripe old age of eighty-eight years, and his wife, in 1860, and both were buried in the Baptist ceme- tery at Hawley. In their family were five children, namely : George, deceased ; Harriet, wife of our sub- ject ; Ada E., deceased wife of Edward Forest, of Newbury, Penn., fireman on a railroad train ; David, a resident of Port Jervis, N. Y., who married Jane Randolph, and is a railroad brakcman ; and Mary, wife of George Turner, who is employed by the rail- road company in the freight house at Scranton, Pennsylvania.

In September, 1864, Mr. Shiffler enlisted at Honesdale, Penn., in the Union army, and was mus- tered into the United States service, at Alexandria, Va., as a member of Company F, 51st P. V. I., under command of Capt. Jacob Brooks. He participated in various battles and skirmishes, including those at Boydton Roads and Fort Steadman, and was also present at the fall of Petersburg, but fortunately he was never wounded. When hostilities ceased, he was honorably discharged at Alexandria, May 17, 1865, and returned home. He is now an honored member of Newfoundland Post G. A. R., and is a stanch sup- porter of the Republican party. He has served as judge of elections, and supervisor of his township, and in whatever position he has been called upon to fill, his duties have been most faithfully and con- scientiously discharged. The spectacles used by his grandmother until her death, at the age of ninety- five years, werc given to her son John, who wore them until he, too, passed away at the age of nine- ty-three, and are now used by our subject. They are old fashioned, with silver rims, but their quality is attested by their long service.

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 4, Part 110

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