USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of genealogy and biography of the state of Pennsylvania with a compendium of history. A record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Volume I > Part 34
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Com in Wilsonville. Wvm His ancestors on his mother's
lo jot rie 1 grandfather was a prom-
mayo Y ante. He began his active -xxx mented what he had learned at textosines college. When seventeen 1 6 modex 6 00 010on the Erie Railroad, advancing desiti uso wegage master, conductor and traveling merci in the service of the company for upward of Habe co- most home red and trusted employes.
osoby county usually Democratic. he was elected DO in ISS5 re elected in 188;, and in 1894 he mr pooledistrict by an unusually large mal In 188. During the twelve years he served 1 From The state government. he was regarded i tid men of his party. Toward the close de he was chosen auditor general of the 0) . many of 266.100. that being the greatest 1 codlem for that office. In this capacity he !
Very truly your 0 Eztbandenburgle
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OF THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA.
the state, a duty incumbent upon him, has been closely looked after with the result that each of the three years of his teri has been a record- breaker. For 1903 the collections reached the vast sum of $21.030 .- 232.60, a figure never anticipated by the state financiers. Mr. Harden- bergh is prominently mentioned as the choice of his party for the nom- ination for state treasurer in 1905. He has been at all times an active and useful worker in his county and at conventions.
Socially Mr. Hardenbergh is equally popular. He is connected with the Order of Red Men. Order of Railway Conductors and the Free and Accepted Masons. He was married in 1869 to Miss Susan K. Pellett, and two children have blessed their union ; Miss C. Louise and Raymond W. The latter is serving as first lieutenant of the Fourth Regiment. United States Infantry, at present stationed in the Philip- pines.
LAATEN LEGG STEARNS.
Prominent among the energetic, far-seeing and successful business men of Williamsport. Pennsylvania, is the subject of this sketeli. His life history most happily illustrates what may le attained by faith and continued effort in carrying out an honest purpose. Integrity, activity and energy have been the crowning points of his success, and his con- nection with various business enterprises and industries has been of de- cided advantage to this section of the state, promoting its material wel- fare in no uncertain manner.
Mr. Stearns was born on the 3d of April, 1823. in Hopkinton. Massachusetts, a son of John and Abigail ( Legg) Stearns. He comes of good old Revolutionary stock, his great-grandfather on the maternal
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side having fought for the independence of the colonies. John Stearns was also a native of Massachusetts, born in 1790, and died in 1878.
When Laten L. Stearns was only three years old the family re- moved to New York and located in Speedville, where he grew to man- hood and attended school until sixteen years of age. Having obtained a good practical education he subsequently engaged in teaching school in New York state for three years. For a time he was a student in the seminary of Groton. New York, and it was there he completed his lit- erary education. After giving up teaching he spent one year on his father's farm, and in 1844 purchased a farm in the Empire state, on which he lived for several years.
It was in 1850 that Mr. Stearns embarked upon his first mercantile venture. becoming associated with his brother-in-law. L. N. Muir, in the conduct of a general store at Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, where they carried everything from a clothes-pin to drugs and chemicals. In 1861. when the country became involved in civil war. he entered the Union army as a sutler for the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry, and was after- ward made sutler of General Gregg's brigade. When hostilities ceased he came to Williamsport in 1865 and purchased the dry-goods and grocery business of Richmond & Van Fleet, which he conducted most successfully for twenty-four years. He admitted his sons to partner- ship in 1885, and two years later they purchased the building which has since been known as the Stearns block, which was entirely remodeled and fitted up for their extensive business. Some idea of its extent may be had when it is stated that the first year after their removal to the present location the business increased over one hundred thousand dol- lars. The business of the firm is carried on in a very systematic and methodical manner. their books being marvels of ingenuity and accuracy:
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Mr. Stearns has not confined his attention alone to mercantile pursuits, but has become interested in a number of manufacturing concerns.
On the 16th of September, 1844. he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Catherine Muir, of Speedville. New York, and to them were born three children, namely: (1) Delphine Elizabeth, born August 30, 1846. in Speedville, was married on the 23d of October, 1873, to James Sanderson Lawson, a banker of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. whose mother's maiden name was Hannah Sanderson, the same as that of a remote ancestress of his wife. They have three children: Will- iam Clingen, born September 8. 1874: Katharine Stearns, born April 9. 1877; and James S., Jr .. born February 19, 1881. (2) "Jonathan Augustus was born in Speedville, New York, April 12, 1848. now has general supervision of the firm's extensive business and buys most of the goods. Hle was married November 1, 1873, to Sarah Lyon, of Williams- port, and they had two children : Laten Legg, who was born September 20, 1874. and died February 21, 1875 : and Thomas Lyon, born October 3. 1886. (3) Emily Abigail was also born in Speedville, New York, February 23. 1850. and was married November 7, 1872, to Anthony G. Lyon, a railroad solicitor living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who died June 5, 1890, leaving one son, Laten Stearns, born August 7. 1878.
On his removal to Williamsport in the spring of 1865, Mr. Stearns and his family floated down the river on a raft because the road had been made impassable by the great freshet of that year. All of their house- hold goods were piled upon the raft and the family occupied the little shanty that always found a place on the river floats of those days. This was a very novel and interesting experience for them and one to which they often refer. Mr. Stearns has met with reverses in life, but has usually prospered in all that he has undertaken and has made good use of his opportunities. He is quite proud of the fact that he never worked
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for any one but himself and father, and to his own well directed efforts and good management he owes his success in life. In advancing his own interests he has also promoted the general welfare, and is regarded as one of the most public-spirited and progressive men of Williamsport. For many years he and his family have attended the First Presbyterian church of that city, and by his ballot he has always supported the men and measures of the Republican party.
WALTER S. PALMER.
Walter S. Palmer, of Sharon, Pennsylvania, supreme secretary of the Protected Home Circle, a member of the state legislature of Penn- sylvania, and otherwise identified with the public, fraternal and religious life of his city and the state, was born at Orangeville, Trumbull county. Ohio, November 4. 1859, and is the son of Shelden and Margret Pal- mer, the former a millwright and the builder of some of the largest mills in his part of the state, also postmaster of his town for fifteen or eighteen years, and a life-long Republican and a leader in the Baptist church.
Mr. Palmer graduated from the Orangeville public schools in 1878. and for the following two years was a student in the colleges at Hiram, Ohio, and Hillsdale, Michigan. Some of his carlier experiences were with railroad work and as bookkeeper for several years. After he left school in 1880, he became bookkeeper for a large jewelry firm, with which he remained until August, 1887, when he was elected supreme accountant of the Protected Home Circle Fraternal Insurance AAssocia- tion. In 1895 the offices of supreme accountant and supreme secretary were consolidated, and he was elected to the office, which important and responsible position he still hokis. This association numbers sixty thou- sand members, and has eight hundred thousand dollars' surplus.
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Mr. Palmer is a leader in fraternity work, and is a member of the following orders and branches: Sharon Lodge No. 250, F. & A. M. : Norman Chapter No. 244. R. A. M .; Rebecca Commandery No. 50. K. T .: Valley of Pittsburg Consistory, thirty-second degree; Sharon Lodge No. 3.47. I. O. O. F. : Sharon Lodge No. 103. B. P. O. E. : Sharon Court No. 13. T. B. H .: Court Sharon No. 3411. I. O. F .: Centennial Ruling No. 19. F. M. C .; Sharon Council. Royal Arcanum, and others.
In 1902 Mr. Palmer was elected to the Pennsylvania state legisla- ture for a term of two years. February 6. 1900, he was appointed by Governor Stone regimental quartermaster of the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Infantry, Second Brigade, with rank as captain, but the regiment was mustered out one year later. He has been a life-long Republican; is secretary of the board of directors of the Buhl Club at Sharon, which has the management of a gift of five hundred thousand dollars to the city : and is a member of the Baptist church, and interested in all forms of social and civic organizations for the benefit of city and citizens.
April 7, 1881. Mr. Palmer was married to Miss Mattie A. Will- iams, of Orangeville, Ohio. Two sons, both now deceased, were born of this union. Loy A. and Roy C. November 15. 1895. Mr. Palmer was united in marriage to his present wife Catherine Davies, at Sharon, Pennsylvania, and one child. Doras C. Palmer. was born to them Feb- ruary 24. 1807.
WILLIAM BAGGS ULRICH, M. D.
Dr. William Baggs Ulrich, of Chester, Pennsylvania, who for more than half a century has been recognized as a skilful and progressive physician, and a leading and influential citizen, belongs to a German family which for three generations has been represented in Pennsylvania.
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John Ulrich, grandfather of William Baggs Ulrich, was born in Germany during the latter half of the eighteenth century, and at the age of twenty-five came to America and settled in Philadelphia, where he married Mary Kline.
Samuel Ulrich, son of John Ulrich, was born in 1802, in Philadel- phia, where he received his education and passed the years of his early manhood, removing, in 1834. to Chester, Delaware county. He en- joyed in a high degree the esteem and confidence of his neighbors, filling for many years the office of justice of the peace, a position for which he was peculiarly fitted both by his knowledge of law and his natural fair- mindedness. For a long time he acted as notary public, and his friends and neighbors were in the habit of resorting to him not only for the services usually rendered by that official, but for advice on various ques- tions of law. In youth Mr. Ulrich was an admirer and political fol- lower of Andrew Jackson, but in after years experienced a change of convictions, becoming a Whig, and finally a Republican. Mr. Ulrich married, in 1828, Catharine H., daughter of William and Rachel Baggs, of Chester, and was the father of nine children. His wife, who was a woman of remarkable intelligence and great kindness of heart, survived him a number of years, dying at Chester. December 1, 1885, at the age of seventy-eight years.
William Baggs Ulrich, son of Samuel and Catharine H. (Baggs) Ulrich, was born May 4, 1829. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was taken by his parents to Chester when five years of age. He received his elementary education in the public schools of that city, afterward be- coming a student at Jonathan Gause's boarding-school, at Unionville. Chester county, and on leaving school filling the position of clerk in ? drug store in Philadelphia Dr. Ulrich's spirit of thoroughness and in- vestigation was not satisfied with the degree of knowledge necessary for
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the discharge of his duties, but, while serving in the store, he attended the college of pharmacy, and thus became complete master of the busi- ness. In 1845 he matriculated at the Philadelphia College of Medi- cine, although obliged to divide his time between attending lectures and his duties as a druggist. Under these circumstances, which might have shaken the resolution of any one not possessed of the strong determina- tion and professional enthusiasm which then, as in after years, were char- acteristic of Dr. Ulrich, he pursued his studies, and in 1850 was duly graduated. In the autumn of that year. in response to an advantageous offer from a firm in Natchez, Mississippi, requesting him to take charge of a drug store in that city, he removed to Mississippi, making the journey in the style of more than half a century ago, namely, going by rail to the foot of the Alleghanies, and then traveling by stage over the mountains to Brownsville, by boat to Pittsburg and thence to Natchez. Dr. Ulrich was not disappointed in his hope that the south would afford a good field for the practice of his profession, and after one year in the drug store he removed to Concordia parish, Louisiana, where in a short time he built up a large and profitable practice. During his residence in the south Dr. Ulrich witnessed four epidemics of yellow fever. and in consequence of this experience he became peculiarly skilful in the management of the disease. In 1865 Dr. Ulrich took a special post- graduate course in the New Orleans School of Medicine, graduating in 1866. During a visit which he made to Chester in 1870. the yellow fever made its appearance at the Lazaretta quarantine, in Delaware county. When, in spite of all efforts, the disease appeared outside that institution, Dr. Ulrich was summoned as an expert to take charge of the cases, three of which had occurred in Chester. In recognition of Dr. Ulrich's successful treatment of these cases, and of his efforts in pro- tecting the city from the disease, the city council of Chester tendered him
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a unanimous vote of thanks. About this time, in consequence of some criticisms on the management of the Philadelphia board of health, Dr. Ulrich was involved in an animated newspaper controversy, in which he showed himself as thorough an expert in wielding the pen as in con- trolling the ravages of disease. Influenced in part by the fact that his father was in failing health, and in part by the urgency of friends, Dr. Ulrich decided to remain in Chester, where he soon had a large and growing practice. He is frequently called in consultation to distant points, the reputation of his skill being wide-spread. Dr. Ulrich is much interested in stock-raising, being the possessor of a stock farm at New- ark, Delaware, on which are to be found some fine specimens of standard bred trotters.
In 1872 Dr. Ulrich was appointed surgeon for the Pennsylvania Military College at Chester, which position he resigned two years ago. having served twenty-eight years, and at the same time became lecturer on hygiene in the same institution. The same year he received the appointment of official surgeon of the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Bal- timore Railroad, now the P. B. & W. Railroad, a part of the Pennsyl- vania Railroad, with which he still maintains his connection. He is a member of the Delaware County Medical Society, of which he has been several times president ; the Pennsylvania State Medical Society, in which he has filled the office of first vice president, and in 1903 was elected its president ; and the American Medical Association, of whose judicial council he was for several years a member. He is an honorary member of the Delaware State Medical Society, and has served as a dele- gate to many of the state medical conventions of Pennsylvania and other states, and also as a delegate from the American Medical Asso- ciation to the Medical Association of Canada. By reason of the fact that Dr. Ulrich is a forcible speaker as well as a learned physician, he
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has always taken a leading part in the discussions which have occurred at the meetings of these societies, on whose official action he has ex- erted great influence.
Dr. Ulrich is an ardent member of the Democratic party, and has exercised his eloquence and influence with scarcely less warmth and earnestness in behalf of his political organization than in defense of his professional opinions. Such is his popularity that, without the slightest effort on his own part, he was nominated by the Democrats of Chester for the state senate, although, of course, umable to contend at the polls with the large majority of his political opponents. Ile has always taken a great interest in educational matters.
Dr. Ulrich married. May 4. 1854. Eliza L., daughter of David F. Miller, a large cotton planter of Louisiana, and is the father of three sons. Samuel B., William R., David M., and one daughter, Mary. Dur- ing his residence in Chiester. Dr. Ulrich, by the able and conscientious discharge of his duties as a physician and citizen, has earned the respect and gratitude of the community, while his kindness of heart and genial manners have endeared him to a large circle of patrons and friends.
JOSEPH LEVERING JONES.
Joseph Levering Jones, lawyer, was born in Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania. July 26, 1851, son of General John Sydney and Catharine Elizabeth ( Riter) Jones, of Welsh and German descent. He was edu- cated in Halifax, Plymouth county, Massachusetts, and in 1871 began the study of law in the office of Barger & Gross, of Philadelphia, enter- ing the law department of the University of Pennsylvania in 1873. where he was graduated with honor in 1875. He was admitted to the bar of Philadelphia in 1874. He immediately began to practice in Phila-
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delphia, and in 1878 formed a partnership with William A. Redding and Hampton L. Carson, under the firm name of Redding, Jones & Carson. Upon the retirement of Mr. Redding in 1887. the firm became Jones, Carson & Phillips, and in 1895 by the admission of Hon. Dim- ner Becher. the name was changed to that of Jones, Carson & Beeber. lle is now associated in the practice of the law with Hon. Dimner Beeber and Henry C. Boyer. Esq. He devoted the first few years of his practice to real estate, building association and commercial law. Sub- scquently he was connected with important trade-mark cases.
Ile has always taken considerable interest in politics, and pub- lished in 1888 "\ Brief Survey of the Principles and AAchievements of the Republican Party." He also has published "A History of the City of Lafayette, Indiana." He edited the reports of the supreme court of Pennsylvania by Horace Binney, with explanatory notes, and an American edition of "Reeves' History of the English Law," and also "The History of the Union League of Philadelphia." Ile has frequently acted as referee or master under the choice of parties. Ile has always been actively interested in educational subjects, is a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, and president of the Chestnut Ilill Academy, Philadelphia. He is a director or officer in several financial and transportation companies.
In 1887 he was marired to Elizabeth Mercer MacLean, daughter of Charles D. MacLean, of Stranraer, Scotland. They have seven children.
JAMES H. OSMER.
James H. Osmer, one of the leading lawyers of Pennsylvania, al- though not a native American, has lived in this country since infancy.
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He was the son of Reuben and Catherine (Gilbert ) Osmer, and was born in England, January 22. 1833. Soon after his birth the family emigrated to America, and settled in Pennsylvania, residing in Harris- burg for a time, thence removing to Center county, and on their farm in that county his mother died in 1863 and his father in 1865.
The parents of James were not in affluent circumstances, conse- quently the latter, from an early age, had to work to assist in gaining the daily bread, which labor consumed most of the time that other boys give to careless schoolroom life. His ambition for learning, however. compensated for his lack of opportunity, and he invested whatever money he was able to acquire in the purchase of books, and devoted whatever spare time he had to study, and in that way gained a 'fair knowledge of the common English branches. When about eighteen years of age he entered the Bellefonte Academy, and later began teaching. He thus followed the plan pursued by so many successful men. of alternately teaching and studying, and was at different times a student in Mount Pleasant College, Pine Grove Academy and Dickinson Seminary. In the meantime he had decided upon the law as his profession. and in June, 1856, he began his studies in the office of Messrs. Robertson and Fassett, at Elmira, New York, and while carrying on his studies he taught as principal of one of the city schools.
Mr. Osmer was admitted to the bar of the state of New York in 1858. He practiced his profession in Elmira until the spring of 1865. when he located ir Franklin, Pennsylvania, his present home. In .August of the same year he was admitted to practice in Venango county. and since that time. for nearly forty years, he has participated in many of the most important cases tried in the county, state and federal courts, and has enjoyed his fair share of the better class of legal business. Mr. Osmer has associated with himself his two sons, Archibald R. and
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Newton F .. under the firm name of J. 11. Osmer & Sons. The elder son was for six years prosecuting attorney of Venango county.
Mr. Osmer is interested in various business enterprises. He has been a Republican since the organization of that party, and has taken a noteworthy part in politics. He was chosen a delegate to the Repub- lican convention of 1876. but severe illness prevented his serving. In the fall of 1878 he was elected to Congress, and served on the commit- tees on education and labor. He has been a delegate to the state con- ventions of both New York and Pennsylvania. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity. In June, 1859. Mr. Osmer was married to Miss Mary J. Griggs, of Steuben county, New York, and of the four chil- dren of this marriage his two sons, above mentioned, survive.
DAVID S. BUNTING.
David S. Bunting, a successful business man of Chester, Pennsyl- vania, is a descendant of a family of English extraction, who came from England to America about the middle of the seventeenth century. The first representatives in this country were three brothers, one of whom settled at Crosswicks, New Jersey, another in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and the third. Samuel by name, settled at Darby, now Delaware county. From the latter named David S. Bunting is a lineal descendant. Samuel Bunting married a granddaughter of John Blun- ston, who emigrated from England in 1682 and settled in Darby, where he took up a large tract of land; he was a member of the provincial as- sembly for thirteen years, and several times held the position of speaker of that body. Mr. Blunston was also appointed by William Penn as a member of the council of state and a justice of court, and frequently acted as attorney for people in England who held land in Pennsylvania.
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OF THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA.
Josiah Bunting, grandfather of David S. Bunting, was a native of Darby. Delaware county, where he resided all his life engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was a consistent member of the Society of Friends.
Josiah Bunting, father of David S. Bunting, was born and reared at Darby, and upon attaining young manhood removed to Philadelphia. entered into partnership with Joseph Watson, who for five years served as mayor of that city, and engaged in the lumber business under the firm name of Watson & Bunting. Mr. Bunting remained in the firm until 1832, when he disposed of his interest in the business and pur- chased the old Bunting homestead at Darby, to which he removed in the autumn of that year. In 1814 he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Sellers, a daughter of David Sellers, then residing in Philadel- phia, though a native of Upper Darby. Delaware county. Seven chil- dren were born to them, namely: Rachel Sellers. Elizabeth. David Sellers, Sarah Hunt. Josiah Samuel Sellers and Joseph Bunting. The father of these children was a lifelong member of the Society of Friends. and his death occurred in 1863. in the ninety-first year of his age: his wife, who was born in Philadelphia, died at her home in Darby, in 1850, aged sixty-two years.
The Sellers family, of which the mother of David S. Bunting was a member. is also one of the oldest in Pennsylvania, having been founded here by Samuel Sellers, a native of Derbyshire, England, who in 1682 settled at Darby, then Chester, now Delaware county. In June. 1684. he married Miss Anna Gibbons also from Derbyshire. England, they being the first couple ever married in the "Darby Meeting" of the Society of Friends. They had six children born to them. The third. Samuel. born December 3, 1690, married, AAugust 12, 1712, Miss Sarah Smith, also of English descent. To them were born seven children, of whom the youngest was John Sellers, the maternal great-grandfather of
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