Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 4, Part 53

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 53
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 4 > Part 53
USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 4 > Part 53
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 4 > Part 53

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part in mere partisan politics. His personal and social relations have ever been as cordial and friendly with those with whom he differed, as with those with whom he was affiliated by party rela- tions. The only political office he has ever hield was that of United States Assessor for the Twelfth District, composed of Susquehanna and Luzerne counties. This was during the administration of President Johnson, and at that time an office of importance and responsibility, and one that had been filled by such men, as the elder and the younger Judge Jessup, of Montrose. A vacancy in the office was to be filled, and the President at the suggestion of Judge Woodward, then the Con- gressman from this district, had nominated a num- ber of good men for the position, all of whom had been rejected by a Republican Senate upon politi- cal grounds. Mr. Post was then nominated, and, upon the recommendation of leading Republicans of Susquehanna county, Gen. Cameron, then in the United States Senate, favored Mr. Post's nomina- tion and it was confirmed without dissent. The office was one which attached great labor, requiring the aid of ten or more assistants. At the time only a little less than a half million dollars were annually assessed in the district. Mr. Post assumed the duties of the office and discharged them most ef- ficiently, to the entire satisfaction of all concerned and with credit to himself. He has served as presi- dent of the borough council, and at that time two- thirds of that body were Republicans. In 1886 Mr. · Post was the nominee of the Democratic party for the district composed of Susquehanna and Wayne counties, for State Senator. The district was largely Republican, and Mr. Post was defeated, although such was his popularity that he ran six hundred votes ahead of his ticket.

As an evidence of Mr. Post's ability, high standing and the esteem in which he is held at home and vicinity we give extracts from the press of the district: "The nomination of William M. Post for Senator is one that will be commended by all fair-minded men regardless of politics. Mr. Post was born, reared, and has always lived in Sus- quehanna county, and no citizen of the county is more widely known or more universally esteemed. As a lawyer he stands second to none in point of ability, as a citizen he is upright and progressive. as a neighbor he is kind and generous, and as a Democrat he has always been true as steel. From every part of the county come assurances that Mr. Post, if nominated by the conference, which he surely will be. will receive support from large num- bers of men who will lay aside partisanship in order to pay tribute to the solid worth of William M. Post. We venture to predict that his election will be ac- complished by a large majority. To the Democrats of Wayne county we would say that they can sup- port Mr. Post with the firm reliance that he is `worthy of their fullest confidence."-Montrose Democrat.

"Mr. Post's nomination is responsive to the

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will of the masses, unsought by him, and obtained by no fraud, false pretense or snap judgment. Truly in the case of Mr. Post the office seeks the man and it could seek no man more worthy of its honors."

"William M. Post is one of the best known citi- zens and acknowledged leaders of the Susquehanna Bar. He is about sixty years of age, possesses genial manners, and has the happy faculty of mak- ing friends wherever he goes. He has practiced law in the county a long time, and had an office in1 Susquehanna county upwards of fifteen years, re- moving to Montrose about four or five years ago. His friends say that he has never sought public office, although often urged to do so, and that it was only after considerable urging that he accepted the nomination of the county convention for State Senator, which has now resulted in his choice as the Democratic candidate of the district. Mr. Post is a large property owner in Oakland and other places in the county. Half the expense of rebuild- ing the bridge across the river between Susque- hanna and Oakland, that had been carried away by a freshet, was once paid by Mr. Post. If elected he would undoubtedly ably represent Susquehanna county with much credit in the State Senate."- Susquehanna Transcript.

During the Civil war, although not a soldier himself, Mr. Post was one of the warmest support- ers of the Union cause, has always been the sol- dier's friend, and all of that class who know him, respect and honor him as such. On various patri- otic occasions since the close of the Civil war Mr. Post has delivered orations, from one of which, de- livered in 1882, on the reunion of Company D, P. V. I., we quote the following: "Fellow Citizens- What a debt we owe to the brave men who fought so nobly and suffered so much to uphold the Union, the Constitution, and the Flag of our Republic. Behold our country ! United now, and peaceful, rich, prosperous, and happy, beyond any nation on the face of the earth; yet we hear men professing to be statesmen, and even patriots, growling and find- ing faultabout so much money being expended by our government in pensions. Out. I say, upon the niggardly policy which would discriminate so closely among applicants, or stint the measure of pensions to deserving soldiers. This country instead of being owned by the Astors, the Vanderbilts, the Goulds, and others who count their millions by the hundred, belongs to the Union soldiers. They did not make it, it is true ; but they saved it, and have the highest title to its enjoyment. They saved it as the daring wreckers save their ships, and cargo, from the fury of the storm lashed waves. Shall they not be en- titled at least to salvage? Then let .us give them what they want. Some are poor. all are growing old, and to the majority of them, a liberal pension would come as a relief and blessing. Don't let 115 stop to inquire whether he was disabled in the army. Was he a brave soldier, did he face the enemy and peril his life like a true man and patriot, did he do

his whole duty to his country with fidelity? If yea, place his name upon the roll of honor, the list of pensioned veterans. . Give him the reward to which he is so richly entitled ; not in charity, but in justice ; not grudgingly, as the miser doles out alms, but with an open, free and generous hand-condemned be he who first cries 'hold, enough"' I, for one, am a communist so far as concerns making the wealth of the country contribute liberally for the solace and comfort of those who rescued it from destruction. Pension them all, I say, as we did the veterans of the Revolution and the war of 1812."

As a lawyer Mr. Post is spoken of in the history of Susquehanna county by R. M. Stocker, its editor, as follows : "Mr. Post has a comprehensive knowl- edge of the law and in the trial of a cause he is col- lected and self-possessed. No member of the Sus- quehanna Bar, of the past or present, has excelled him as an orator, and but few have equaled him in his influence with juries. His mind is logical, and his reasoning powers remarkably clear and strong. He has been the trusted, confidential legal adviser of many of the most prominent and successful busi- ness men in the county, because of his rare business sagacity. In dealing with his clients he is always candid, and invariably favors settlements where they are possible, and, so far as his influence can be consistently exerted, discourages litigation." Mr. Post is identified with the Episcopal Church of Montrose, in which he is a vestryman. For many years he has been a respected and honored member of the Masonic fraternity. He has presided over the lodges at Montrose and Susquehanna. He is at this time one of the oldest members of Malta Com- mandery of Binghamton, N. Y.

On April 22, 1845, Mr. Post was married to Miss Lucy J., daughter of Sabin Hatch, of the Montrose Bar. She died November 16, 1877, aged fifty years. Their children were: Fannie M., who married Stanley M. Mitchell, a real estate and in- surance broker, of Binghamton, N. Y. : Nanine J., married D. W. Mabee, and died June 30, 1873, at Binghamton, aged twenty-two; and Agnes, who died May 28, 1873, while visiting her sister at Bing- hamton, aged eighteen years. Mr. Post married for his second wife Mrs. Harriet Blossom, who died in 1883. His present wife is Mrs. Eliza T. Post, who was the widow of Isaac J. Post, formerly a leading lawyer in the city of Scranton, Pennsyl- vania.

LYMAN BLOOMFIELD TIFFANY is a prominent and representative citizen of Brooklyn township, Susquehanna county, and is the originator of a "Perpetual Calendar," dating back to more than two thousand years before the Christian era. He has spent his entire life upon his present farm. his birth having occurred there. August 25. 1831. His parents were Anson M. and Sarah ( Milbourne) Tiffany, who were highly respected citizens of Brooklyn township, where the father followed the occupation of farming throughout his business

....

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career. Hc was born January 22, 1808, and died March 14, 1881, while the mother was born Decem- ber 3, 1809, and died February 22, 1884, the re- mains of both being interred in the Hill Universalist cemetery of Brooklyn township. They had three children, of whom our subject is the eldest. (2) Hannah Eliza, born July 20, 1835, first married Jesse Tewksbury, by whom she had three children-An- son Llewellyn ; Elbert L. ; and Emma, deceased-and she is now the widow of William Packer, of Harri- man, Tenn. (3) Lucy C., born July 20, 1837, died December 5, 1862. Our subjeet's paternal grand- parents were Alfred and Lucy ( Miller) Tiffany, the former a native of Attleboro, Mass., the latter of Glastonbury, Conn., and the maternal grand- parents were Bloomfield and Hannah ( Tewksbury ) Milbourne, the former a native of Staten Island, N. Y., and latter of Brooklyn township, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania.

In early life Lyman B. Tiffany became thor- oughly familiar with all the duties which fall to the lot of the agriculturist, and assisted in the operation of the home farm until twenty-seven years of age, when he took complete charge of the same, devoting his energies to its cultivation and improvement with marked success. He is enterprising and progres- sive, is a Democrat in politics, and a Universalist in religious belief, while fraternally he is a member of the Grange.

On June 27, 1858, Mr. Tiffany was married in Brooklyn township, to Miss Malena Fish, and to . them were born the following children: Beecher M., born June 23, 1859, married Lucia B. Crandall, and is now railroad agent at Chemung, N. Y ; Jen- nie A., born April 14, 1861, died July 25, 1863; Henry N., born February 17, 1863, married (first ) Mary E. Loomis and (second) Addie D. Palmer, and is a farmer of Brooklyn township; Anson W., born December 24, 1864, married Ella M. Lowe, and died January 26, 1899; Frederick A., born March 9, 1867, married Maggie A. Dutter, and is engaged in farming in Brooklyn township; and Elwin B., born April 2, 1873, married Evelyn Bishop, and is a mechanic at Bundy's, of Bingham- ton, New York.

Mrs. Tiffany was born in Brooklyn township, April 24, 1836, a daughter of Frederick and Ancy (Race) Fish, the former a native of Groton, Conn., born April 27, 1805, died May 13, 1882, and the latter of Luzerne county, Penn., born August 27, 1812, died September 27, 1853. Both died in Brook- lyn township, Susquehanna county, and they were laid to rest in the Universalist cemetery. By occu- pation the father was a farmer. In the family were four children : John, deceased ; Malena, wife of our subject; Sarah, wife of Joseph Page, a railroad con- tractor of Alford, Penn. ; and William, a farmer of Fast New Milford. Mrs. Tiffany's paternal grand- parents, Anthony and Hannah ( Chipman) Fish, 1 came from Groton, Conn., to Brooklyn township. Susquehanna county, in 1813, and spent the remain- der of their lives here as farming people. Hcr 1

maternal grandparents, William and Abigail ( Loomis) Raee, were natives of New York State and early settlers of Lackawanna county, Penn., where they continued to reside throughout life. Mr. Race was also a farmer by occupation.

HENRY J. CRANE, D. D., the honored pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Uniondale, Susque- hanna county, was born in Middletown, Orange Co., N. Y., June 27, 1837, a son of Stephen K. and Hannah E. ( Hiekman) Crane, both natives of New Jersey, the former born in Mt. Clair, the latter in Little Egg Harbor.

On coming to Susquehanna county in 1838 they located in New Milford township, remaining there three years. He then bought a farm of un- broken land in Franklin township, which he cleared and improved, and there he made his home until enfeebled by age, when he went to live with his son, H. J .- one year in Wysox, Penn., four years in Hunter, N. Y., two and one-half years in Gibson, Penn., and then in Nicholson, Penn., until the close of his life. He was a contractor and builder and erected many of the buildings in New Milford bor- ough. He held township offices and was highly re- speeted by all who knew him. At the age of ten . years he united with the Presbyterian Church, six years later began teaching in the Sunday school, and was superintendent in various Sunday sehools for sixty-four years. He took an active and promi- nent part in all church work, served as elder of the church, and was always found in his place on the Sabbath day. He died at the home of our subjeet, Mareh 7, 1885, aged eighty-five ycars, and his wife passed away in December, 1876, aged sixty-three years, the remains of both being interred at Union Hill, Gibson township. Susquehanna county. They had three children: Isaac B., a farmer, who died in May, 1898; Thomas K., a Presbyterian minister, who died in New York, in 1878; and Henry J., our subject. The paternal grandparents were Benjamin and Valarie Crane.

Henry J. Crane remained on the home farm until seventeen years of age. He attended first a select school at New Milford, Penn., condueted by Rev. H. Osborn, and later was a student at the Young Men's Seminary at Elmira, N. Y., until 1856. In the fall of that year he entered the New York University of New York City, from which he was graduated in 1860, and during the following three ycars he was a student in the Union Theological Seminary of the same place, graduating therefrom in 1863. On July I. of the same year, he took charge of thic Presbyterian Church at Wysox. Penn., of which he was pastor for eight years, and since then his life has been unselfishly devoted to the work of the ministry, being at Hunter. N. Y., four years ; Gibson township, Susquehanna county, two and a half years ; Nicholson, Penn .. ten years and nine months ; and Uniondale, for the past eleven years. Under his ministry the churches at these places have prospered both spiritually and financially, and he lias

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gained the respect and esteem, not only of his own congregations, but of all who have seen his devotion to his noble calling. In his political views he is a Republican.

In Brooklyn, N. Y., June 27, 1860, Mr. Crane was united in marriage with Miss Charlotte A. Morgan, who was born in New York City, in 1832, and they have two children: Tululah E., now the wife of A. C. Stevens, a farmer of Nicholson, Penn .; and Howard C., a telegraph operator, residing at home.

WILLIAM H. TIFFANY, one of the most prominent factors in the business circles of Alford, Susquehanna county, is a man whose worth and ability have gained him success, honor and public confidence. He is the senior member of the firm of Tiffany & Cramer, who are interested in a number of different enterprises. They own and operate a grist and feed mill, and also a sawmill at Alford, and are engaged in the grain, lumber and mercantile business at that place.

Mr. Tiffany was born in Brooklyn township, Susquehanna county, May 9, 1832, a son of Alfred and Fanny ( Mack) Tiffany, the former a native of . Attleboro, Mass., the latter of Lyme, Conn. At an early day they came to Susquehanna county, Penn., and spent the remainder of their lives in Brooklyn township, where the father was engaged in farm- ing. He was born December 22, 1781, and died February 26, 1860, and the mother was born April II, 1798, and died December 4, 1850. She was a consistent and faithful member of the Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn, and both were held in high re- gard by all who knew them.

The first eighteen years of his life, William H. Tiffany passed upon the home farm with his par- ents, and was then in the employ of the railroad for five years, cutting stone. For five years he had charge of a section at North Branch, N. J., and for six years was connected with the Lackawanna branch of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. Coming to Alford in 1868, he embarked in the coal and lumber business with Peter E. Cramer, and continued in that line until 1889. In 1888 he became interested in merchandising, and has since conducted a store in connection with his grain and lumber business. An energetic, wide- awake business man, of known reliability, he has met with well-deserved success in his undertakings, and is today one of the well-to-do and substantial citizens of the community. He is a stanch supporter of the Republican party, and for seventeen years most efficiently served as postmaster of Alford.

On March 1I, 1861, at Harford. Penn., Mr. Tiffany married Miss Eveline Van Buskirk, a native of Harford township, and a daughter of Andrew Van Buskirk, of whom extended mention is made in the sketch of David Van Buskirk on another page of this volume. Hattic, the only child of our sub- ject, was born August 22, 1862, and is now the wife of John Steadman Marcan, the present postmaster

of Alford. He was born in Scranton, Penn., De- cember II, 1862, a son of Everett and Margaret (Radle) Marean, the former a native of Harford township, Susquehanna Co., Penn., the latter of Oxford Furnace, N. J. The father was born March 1, 1840, and dicd in Washington, D. C., June 11, 1898, while the mother was born April 4, 1842, and died in Cumberland, Md., August 3, 1890, being laid to rest in Rose Hill cemetery of that place. At the time of his death the father was serving as superintendent of the George Creek & Cumberland railroad. John S. was the oldest of his children ; Albert E. is a locomotive engineer of Cumberland, Md .; Mary L. and Fanny E. are residents of Brookland, D. C .; Alice is the wife of R. R. Gibbs, a clerk in the treasury department at Washington and a resident of Brookland, D. C .; Raymond P. lives in Cumberland, MId .: Frank A. is deceased; and Rhea is a resident of Brookland. John S. Marean made his home with his parents until twenty-five years of age, but at the age of twenty entered the railroad office at Cumberland, Md., where he served as clerk for five years. Since then he has acted as clerk for Tiffany & Cramer, at Alford, and has served as postmaster at that place since 1892. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and an ardent Republican in politics.

JAMES I. VANSICKLE, the well-known hotel proprietor at Matamoras, Pike county, was born near Newton, N. J., May 13, 1845, and is a rep- resentative of an old Holland family which was founded in that State at an carly day. His grand- father, James VanSickle, was a native of Hunter- don county, N. J., where he spent his entire life as a farmer and horse dealer, and also practiced veteri- nary surgery. In his family were eight children, born of his marriage with Catherine Backer. as follows: George L. was the father of our sub- ject ; Chris, deceased, was a farmer living near Newton, N. J .; Andrew is a retired farmer and speculator of Hunterdon county N. J .; Aaron G., aged eighty-three years, is a retired farmer of An- derson, N. J .; James died when young; Rilla is the widow of James Ramsey, of Lebanon, Hunterdon Co., N. J .; Elizabeth is the widow of John Cline, of Plainfield, N. J .; and Anna, deceased, was the wife of Andrew Slager.

George. L. VanSickle was born in Lebanon. Hunterdon Co., N. J., November 3, 1814, and when quite young went to Newton, that State, where he spent nearly his entire life, dying there July 12, 1887. He was also a farmer and horsc dealer. and followed veterinary surgery. At Newton he mar- ried Elizabeth Roy, daughter of Ainsley and Cath- erine (Duddcr) Roy, and the children born to them were as follows: Mary, wife of John Can- field. a cattle dealer of Lincoln, Ncb. : Clara L., who dicd at the age of twenty years: Kate. who married Newton Huffman and died in Lincoln, Neb. : Emma Elizabethi, a resident of Newton, N. J .: James I .. the subject of this sketch ; George A., who married

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Sarah Emmens, and is engaged in farming and the real estate business at Lincoln, Neb .; Stephen, who died at the age of twenty-four years; Susan, wife of Robert Rose, a farmer of Newton, N. J. ; Rilla, a resident of Newton; Jane, wife of Allen Cook, of Newton; and Chris, who died at the age of four years.

Until twenty years of age James I. VanSickle remained upon the liome farm, assisting in its opera- tion, and then went to Belvidere, Warren Co., N. J., where he spent one year. The following two years he engaged in farming at Stillwater, Sussex Co., N. J., and then lived on his father-in-law's farm for five years. Returning to the old Shaw home- stead, he remained there for four years and learned veterinary surgery with his father. Following this he engaged in the practice of that profession at Min- isink, Orange Co., N. Y., for a time, and then removed to Franklin, Sussex Co., N. J., where he followed farming for three years and hotel keeping for two. He purchased hotel property at Union- ville, N. Y., valued at $8,000, and for six years carried on operations there. He still owns the hotel, but in 1898 he came to Matamoras, Penn., and has since engaged in the same business at that place. In addition to the business above mentioned he has been interested in other enterprises, serving as vice-president and director of a silk mill at Union- ville, N. Y., and director of the water works at that place. While living there he also filled the offices of constable, pound keeper and street commissioner, and was recognized as one of its most publie- spirited citizens, as well as one of its energetie, en- terprising and reliable business men. In his political views he is a strong Democrat.

At Phillipsburg, N. J., on August 7, 1867, Mr. VanSickle was married, to Miss Emma J. Vass, a native of Stillwater, Sussex Co., N. J. Her par- ents, Andrew F. and Margaret ( Simms) Vass, are also natives of New Jersey, the former born in Still- water, the latter in Lafayette, and they still make their home in that State. Mr. and Mrs. VanSiekle have five children : Dawson Eugene, who conduets a bowling and billiard alley in Deckertown, N. J., married Emma Dimiek and has one child-Emma Rilla ; Emma Rilla, the second child of our subject. is at home; Margaret is the wife of Arthur Schater, dispatcher on the Susquehanna Railroad at Jersey City, N. J., and has three children-Dawson, Emma Rilla and Clarence : James Austin is a resident of Unionville, N. Y .; and Frederick Anson is at home.

WILLIAM B. HORNBECK, a prosperous farmer citizen of Delaware township, is the pro- prietor of Walnut Grove farm, which is considered one of the finest in Pike county, and consists of a wide tract of rich river-bottom land, beautifully improved and highly cultivated. Mr. Hornbeck is a native of Leliman township, Pike county, born January 8, 1861, son of Jacob Hornbeek, who in his day was a man of prominence in this section.

Jacob Hornbeck was born April 13, 1808, in

Lehman township, son of Everett and Jane ( Van Auken) Hoenbeek, as the name was originally spelled. The change to the present spelling was made by Jacob Hornbeek. On May 6, 1838, the latter married Miss Eliza Ann Hetzel, who was born February 2, 1820, in Delaware township, and they reared a large family of children, of whom we have the following record: Obadiah, born March 18, 1839, in Lehman township, died there September 1, 1892 ; he married Sarah J. Westbrook on Deeem- ber . 18, 1861. Everett, born September 29, 1840, was married December 13, 1860, to Susan West- brook ; he is now holding a position in the govern- ment mint at Philadelphia. Myron, born July 10, 1843, married and resides in Clarion county, Penn. Marcena, born May 4. 1846, is the wife of Isaac Westbrook, a farmer of Lehman township. Martha, born July 14, 1848, lives in Dingman's Ferry : she is unmarried. Jacob was born July 21, 1851. John P., born April 21. 1854, died February 23, 1856. Isaiah, born October 11, 1857, is a farmer in Dela- ware township; he married Emma Stoll. William B., born January 8, 1861, is the subject proper of these lines.

During his earlier business career Mr. Horn- beek conducted a mercantile business on the place now occupied by his son William, but he also en- gaged extensively in general farming, following that vocation up to the time of his death. He was active in the publie life of the neighborhood as well as in business circles, and he held a number of township offices of trust and responsibility in the able manner which characterized all his undertak- ings ; he also served as commissioner of Pike county. His political preferences were with the Democratie party. In 1870 Mr. Hornbeek purchased from Solo- mon H. Dingman, the farm in Delaware township now owned by his sons, and our subjeet has the documents in his possession relating to the transfer of the property from John Deeker to Solomon Ding- man in the year 1750. Jacob Hornbeek ended his days on this place November 25, 1881, his wife on October 11, 1865, and both are buried in the Dela- ware cemetery. In religious connection he was a member of the M. E. Church.

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 4, Part 53

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