USA > Pennsylvania > Lycoming County > Genealogical and personal history of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. Volume I > Part 8
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place being succeeded to by Stephen Soars, at the dying request of his father-in-law, Lewis B. Sprout; and the latter by J. Russell Smith, a young man who as bookkeeper and assistant to the elder Sprout had shown himself worthy of trust and deserving of advancement. In 1899 an addition was made to the official staff by the election of N. L. Vreden- burg, an accomplished miller, to the newly created place of vice-presi- dent. And so the great factories stand as enduring monuments to their founder and those who had them in charge in their earlier years, and of their successors it is said: "Forgetting the past, except as they learn its rich lessons of experience, they face the new century full of faith in themselves and their ability to serve those whose confidence they have been proud to win, and whose future favors they shall endeavor to merit."
Mr. Waldron was an impressive personality. Of splendid physique, his fine frank open countenance, ever beaming with good nature, was a benediction upon every one who gazed into it, while his empty sleeve was a pathetic reminder of his self-sacrificing patriotism. He entered largely into the life of the community, bearing a full measure of the labors of promoting every worthy and needy cause, and of aiding the un- fortunate. He was an attendant at the services of the Baptist church, and a liberal contributor to its support and that of its various benevolences. His political affiliations were with the Republican party. He was prom- inent and widely known in Grand Army circles, an active member of John D. Musser Post, No. 66, in which he had held the position of com- mander for several years, also those of chaplain, adjutant, senior vice- commander, and quartermaster-sergeant, in which latter station he was serving at the time of his death. He was also a charter member of the Royal Arcanum.
December 9, 1875, Mr. Waldron married Miss Maggie Sprout, a daughter of Lewis B. Sprout, and to them were born four sons and one
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daughter-Charles M., W. Harris, J. Howard, Fred S., and Amelia, who are all living; and five children who died in infancy.
Mr. Waldron died on August 4, 1902, at his home in Muncy, after an illness of several months, in the fifty-ninth year of his age, and the sad event came as a personal bereavement to countless members of the community, who honored him for his usefulness and held him in affection for his excellences of personal character. The funeral services were held in the Baptist church, the same sacred edifice where were held those over the remains of the father-in-law and brother-in-law of the lamented de- ceased, and the same clergymen officiating. The employes of Sprout, Waldron & Company attended in a body, and there were also present large delegations from the Royal Arcanum and Musser Post, G. A. R., the active pallbearers being from that last named, headed by Comrade Samuel B. Sprout. Interment was made in the Muncy cemetery, in the family burying plot, already hallowed by the silent presence of the loved ones gone before.
MORTON I. SPROUT.
Morton I. Sprout, of the Handle and Excelsior Company, at Pict- ure Rocks, Pennsylvania, is a member of the Sprout family whose an- cestry is the subject of a preceding narrative. He was born in the village which is now the field of his busy effort, November 17, 1862.
His father, Amos B. Sprout, was born in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, where he married Catherine Hinds, daughter of Conrad Hinds, of Scotch-English extraction, and whose ancestors settled in Con- necticut on their arrival in America. Amos B. Sprout came to Picture Rocks about 1848, being one of the early settlers here. He engaged in the saw mill and planing mill business, and developed into a manufacturer
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of sash, doors, blinds, and wooden measures for grain, etc., and con- tinued so engaged until shortly before his death, which occurred in Pict- ure Rocks, August 31, 1904, about two years after the death of his wife. He was a man of industrious habits, excellent character, and wide influence in the community. He occupied various positions of honor and trust, was a justice of the peace during nearly his entire active career, and occupied several borough offices. He was a Baptist in religion, a deacon in his church during all his mature years, and assisted in its organization, and was also a lifelong teacher in the Sunday school. He was a man of remarkable cleanliness of life, a strict abstainer from all intoxicants, an ardent temperance worker, and was averse to tobacco in all its forms. He was a Republican in politics. He was a man of pro- nounced intellectuality, a deep and thoughtful reader, and was the writer of much meritorious verse, principally in advocacy of temperance and in opposition to the use of narcotics.
To Amos B. and Catherine (Hinds) Sprout were born four chil- dren : Judson H., Gordon D., Morton I. and Orpha D .; the daughter is now the wife of Ellis M. Cruse, of Picture Rocks.
Morton I. Sprout was reared in his native place, and was educated in the local schools and in the Muncy Normal School, graduating from that institution with the first class. On leaving school he entered upon an active career in association with his brother, Gordon D. Sprout, in 1887, and has contributed a full share to the development of the present large business of the Handle and Excelsior Company, one of the principal manufacturing enterprises of the Lycoming Valley. Mr. Sprout is otherwise active in the affairs of the community, and exerts himself use- fully in the furtherance of its interests, whether in material or moral lines. He is a member of the school board, and treasurer of that body, and secretary of the town council. He is a member of the Baptist
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church, in which he is a deacon and one of the trustees, as well as super- intendent of the Sunday school. He is also president of the North- umberland Baptist Sunday School Convention, and treasurer of the Northumberland Baptist Association. Like his father, he is an earnest supporter of temperance principles. In politics he is a Republican.
Mr. Sprout married, September 23, 1885, Miss Lucinda Little, a daughter of John P. Little, sketch of whom appears in this work. To Mr. and Mrs. Sprout were born six children: Will Carleton, Wesley Lee, Donald A., Martha C. (deceased), Clinton I. and Marjorie E. The eldest son, Will Carleton, is attending Bucknell College; Wesley Lee is a graduate of the Muncy Normal School; and the other children are attending the Picture Rocks high school.
CLARENCE E. SPROUT.
Clarence E. Sprout, an attorney of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, was born at Muncy, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, March 16, 1861, the son of S. E. and Mary (Sutton) Sprout, who were natives of Susque- hanna county, Pennsylvania, and residents of Muncy, where his father was engaged in manufacturing. Clarence E. was reared in his native town, receiving a good public school education, and later entered Buck- nell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, from which institution he graduated in 1883, later receiving the degree of Bachelor of Law from the University of Pennsylvania. He read law with Crawford & Dallas, a well-known law firm of Philadelphia, and was admitted to the bar, June, 1885. He began the practice of law in Williamsport and still follows his chosen profession. Politically Mr. Sprout is a staunch de- fender of the Democratic party, but never has aspired to local office. He
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Henry fokuson
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is a stockholder in various institutions in the city, and is in active sup- porter of every up-to-date business enterprise.
He was married November 4, 1886, to Anna, daughter of Daniel Clapp and wife. Mr. Sprout's father was a prominent manufacturer of Lycoming county for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Sprout are members of the First Presbyterian Church of Williamsport.
HENRY JOHNSON.
Among the many representatives of ancient families who have ren- dered to their country the service of loyal and public-spirited citizens, and whose names are recorded in the annals of Pennsylvania, there is none whose memory is more intimately associated with the attributes of highminded patriotism than that of Henry Johnson, for many years an honored citizen of Muncy and later of Williamsport. The race from which Mr. Johnson sprang was honorably represented in the colonial service, gave to the patriot army of the Revolution an illustrious leader, and was instrumental in rearing and upholding the fabric of our na- tional government.
The Johnson family traces its origin from Gasper Johnson, who was a colonel of infantry in the French army, and in religious belief a Huguenot. Being one of those noble souls who in times of persecution chose exile rather than apostasy, he fled from France in 1505. His de- scendants at a later period emigrated to America, and several of his race and name served in the Revolutionary army and in the war of 1812. Samuel Johnson, a lineal descendant of Gasper Johnson, the Huguenot ancestor, was a resident of Newton, Sussex county, New Jersey. He married Rebecca Justina Brodhead Heiner, a member of an old colonial family, the history of which is traced through the following generations :
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Daniel Brodhead (1), a native of Yorkshire, England, was a captain in the service of King Charles II, and in 1664 accompanied the expedition which under command of Colonel Richard Nicolls took possession of New York (then New Amsterdam), in September of that year. After the surrender of the city he was sent to Albany, and was one of the witnesses to the treaty there made with the Indians in September, 1664. The following year he was appointed by Governor Nicolls to the chief command of the militia at Esopus (now Kingston), Ulster county, his commission bearing date September 16, 1665. He married in England, Ann Tye, and they were the parents of three sons: Daniel, died un- married; Charles, born in 1664, married Maria Ten Broeck, and left de- scendants; and Richard, mentioned at length hereinafter. Captain Daniel Brodhead spent the remainder of his life in Ulster county and died there in 1670.
Richard Brodhead (2), third son of Daniel and Ann (Tye) Brod- head, was born in Ulster county, New York, and married Jan- sen, by whom he had a son Daniel; mentioned at length hereinafter. Richard Brodhead was twice married, the family name of his second wife being Pauling.
Daniel Brodhead (3), son of Richard and - - (Jansen) Brod- head, was born in 1693 in Ulster county, New York, and in 1737 moved to Pennsylvania, where he passed the remainder of his life. He married Hester Wyngatt, also a native of Ulster county, and among their children was a son Daniel, mentioned at length hereinafter. Daniel Brodhead, the father, died in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, July 22, 1755.
Daniel Brodhead (4), son of Daniel and Hester (Wyngatt) Brod- head, was born in November, 1736. He was elected a deputy from Berks county to a provincial assembly convened in Philadelphia, July 15, 1774, and was one of a committee which reported in favor of calling
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a Continental Congress, and of passing acts of non-importation and non- exportation to or from Great Britain, these measures being among the first steps toward the war for independence. In May, 1775, he was appointed by the Pennsylvania Assembly to the command of the Eighth Regiment of Pennsylvania Riflemen, and participated in the battle of Long Island, August 26, 1776, in the official reports of which his regi- ment received meritorious mention. In 1776 he was stationed at Bor- dentown, New Jersey, in command of his regiment, and on March 15, 1778, was appointed by General Washington to the command of the Western Department at Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania. In June, 1778, he re- built Fort Muncy, in Lycoming county, a place of defense which had been destroyed by the Indians. As commander of the Western Depart- ment he conducted several campaigns against the Indians with successful results, and negotiated one treaty with his savage antagonists. He served until the close of the war and was mustered out as colonel of the First Regiment of Pennsylvania, the army having been reorganized. On September 30, 1783, he was appointed brevet brigadier-general. He served several terms as surveyor-general of the Commonwealth, and was active in forming the Society of the Cincinnati, being one of the com- mittee appointed to procure its charter. General Brodhead married Elizabeth Depui, of Monroe county, Pennsylvania, by whom he was the father of a daughter, Ann Garton, mentioned at length hereinafter. After the death of his wife he married Mrs. Rebecca Mifflin, widow of General Mifflin. The death of General Brodhead occurred November 15, 1809, at Milford, Pennsylvania, and was universally mourned, as that of one whose life had been so filled with achievement in the service of his country deserved to be. A monument to his memory is now standing in the Milford cemetery.
Ann Garton Brodhead (5), daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth
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(Depui) Brodhead, married Jasper Heiner, of Reading, Pennsylvania, and they were the parents of a daughter, Rebecca Justina Brodhead, who became the wife of Samuel Johnson, as mentioned above.
Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were the parents of the following children: I, John Brodhead, died unmarried; 2, Ann Garton, married Heman L. Cummings, and became the mother of two children; Henry Johnson Brodhead, who married Elizabeth Webster Robb and had one child, Laura Justina, who became the wife of James W. Miller, and Louis Jerome, who died unmarried; 3, Laura Evlina, who became the wife of Dr. Thomas Wood, of Muncy, Pennsylvania; 4, Josephine Harriet; 5, Sarah Hannah; 6, Henry, mentioned at length hereinafter. John Brod- head Johnson, the eldest child of this numerous family, was taken in a peculiarly distressing manner from those who had fixed their hopes on him. In 1825, while on a visit to New Orleans, he fell a victim to the yellow fever, so frequently epidemic in that city, and died far from his home and friends. This event was felt to be the more afflicting for the reason that in 1820 had occurred the death of Samuel Johnson, the father of the family.
Henry Johnson, son of Samuel and Rebecca Justina Brodhead (Heiner) Johnson, was born June 12, 1819, at Newton, Sussex county, New Jersey, and received his primary education in the schools of his native place. In 1837 he graduated from Princeton College, and for three years thereafter read law with Hon. Whitfield S. Johnson, after- ward secretary of state of New Jersey. In 1841 he was admitted to the bar after examination before the supreme court judges of New Jersey, as required by the rules of that state. The same year he accompanied his mother to Muncy, Pennsylvania, where they henceforth made their home, Mrs. Johnson, as one of the devisees of her grandfather, General Daniel Brodhead, having acquired a large amount of real estate in
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Pennsylvania. June 19, 1841, Mr. Johnson opened in Muncy the law office which he occupied for over fifty years, enjoying a successful and lucrative practice. His devotion to his chosen profession was life-long.
From the time of his settlement in Lycoming county Mr. Johnson took a prominent part in political affairs, first as a Whig and afterward as a Republican. In 1848 he was among the earliest supporters of Gen- eral Zachary Taylor, as such was elected one of the presidential electors of Pennsylvania, and voted directly for Taylor and Fillmore. In 1861 he was elected to the state senate for the counties of Lycoming, Union, Clinton and Centre, and served during the war times of 1862, '63 and '64. During this period he was a member of various committees. In 1864 he was chairman of the judiciary committee, and thus became the political leader of the senate, of which he was for a considerable period speaker pro tem. The supreme court of Pennsylvania having decided that the act of 1812 authorizing and regulating elections by soldiers in the field was unconstitutional, thereby deprived a very large number of citizens of the right of suffrage, and endangered the re-election of Abraham Lin- coln and the permanence of the Union. The legislative record of 1863, page 60, records on June 22, that Mr. Johnson read in his place, "a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the constitution extending the right of suffrage to citizens in actual military service." Subsequent pro- ceedings show that it was adopted by both houses. Mr. Johnson also proposed and on June 6, 1864, introduced another bill submitting this amendment to a vote by the people, providing for a special election in July of that year; an adjourned session to receive the returns and an- nounce the vote was to be held in August, 1864. The election was duly held, and the people by a very large majority adopted the amendment. The following brief extract from Mr. Johnson's speech on "The Soldiers' Amendment Bill" furnishes full explanation of its object and necessity :
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"It simply contemplates incorporating into the constitution of the state a great measure of remedial justice to our patriotic and brave soldiers in the field." February 29, 1864, in order to render the amendment effectual, he introduced "an act to regulate election by soldiers in active military service." This was passed at the special session in August, 1864, and the amendment thus made effective secured the re-election of Lincoln and the ultimate triumph of the Union cause. These official acts of Mr. Johnson constitute a record of patriotism, ability and zeal in the public service which will endure as long as the constitution itself, for in the new and present constitution the soldiers' voting provision is re- tained as originally proposed by him, and the law regulating the mode of voting thereunder, as framed by him, remains on the statute book.
Mr. Johnson was a member of Company K, Fourteenth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia, refusing any higher rank than that of private. It was during his senatorial term that he thus rendered mili- tary service under command of General Reynolds, being stationed at and around Hagerstown, Williamsport, on the .Potomac, and other places in the south. His enlistment was in response to Governor Curtin's call at the time of the Antietam campaign. He was a member of Post No. 66, G. A. R., and affiliated with Muncy Lodge, No. 299, F. and A. M.
Mr. Johnson married, July 22, 1856, Margaret, youngest daughter of Enoch Green, and sister of Hon. Henry Green, judge of the supreme court of Pennsylvania, and at the time of his death chief justice. Their children were: I, Rebecca Justina, who married Charles Lose, and be- came the mother of the following children: Henry Johnson, James, Jr., Charles, Jr., Phoebe Starr, Margaret Green, Edith Brodhead, John Johnson (deceased) and William Brodhead. 2, Mary Green; 3, Ida Josephine, who married Jabin Bush Baldwin; 4, Laura Louise; 5, Helen Gertrude; 6, Anna Holstein, who is the wife of Hon. Emerson Collins,
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and mother of one child, Helen Johnson; 7, Margaret Green, deceased, who married Herman Le Roy Collins, and became the mother of one child, Edith Johnson, who is deceased; 8, Edith Brodhead, who died January 21, 1890.
In November, 1890, Mr. Johnson moved to Williamsport, where he occupied a beautiful home of his own erection on the corner of West Fourth and Maynard streets. Among the most precious treasures of this home were certain memorials of the past, including the dress-parade sword of General Brodhead, and a miniature of the hero, set in gold, and almost as perfect as when it was painted in 1776. There is in the surveyor-general's department at Harrisburg an enlarged copy of this miniature, which was procured from Mr. Johnson by one of General Brodhead's successors in office. Mr. Johnson also had in his possession six autograph letters of General Washington, among them one dated March 15, 1778, appointing General Brodhead to the command of the Western Military Department of Pennsylvania. It was in this home, consecrated by the presence of these heirlooms, that Mr. Johnson breathed his last, August 11, 1895. The close of this long life of usefulness and honor was felt to be a public calamity as well as a private loss, and all classes mourned for one whose example had afforded a picture of the ideal citizen and true patriot.
The genealogy of the Green family is traced through the following generations :
William Green( I), on account of dissatisfaction with some new re- lationships in his father's family, left his home in England at the age of twenty and crossed the sea to seek his fortune in the New World. He landed in Philadelphia, and after a time, being desirous of returning home, and finding no vessel about to sail from that port, went to New York. Meeting with no opportunity of embarking immediately from
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that city, he visited Long Island, and there became acquainted with the . family of John Reede, recently arrived from England. He subsequently married Joanna, the sister or daughter of Mr. Reede, and about 1700 settled in Ewing township. He purchased of Daniel Coxe, as recorded in a deed dated 1717, three hundred and forty-five acres of land which in 1883 were in the possession of his descendants of the fifth generation. He was appointed one of the first judges of Hunterdon county. Among the children born to him and his wife was a son Richard, mentioned at length hereinafter. The death of William Green occurred in 1722. He was a prominent and useful citizen, conspicuous in the conduct of public affairs and in the negotiation of important business transactions.
Richard Green (2), eldest child of William (1) and Joanna (Reede) Green, and first to bear the name of Richard, married Mary, daughter of George Ely, of Trenton, and they were the parents of four children : Richard, mentioned at length hereinafter; Rebecca, Christian, and William.
Richard Green (3), eldest child of Richard (2) and Mary (Ely) Green, and second of the name of Richard, married Phoebe, daughter of Nathaniel Moore, and their children were: William, Nathaniel, Rich- ard, Enoch, John, mentioned at length hereinafter; Samuel, Benjamin, Joseph, George, Rebecca and Sarah.
John Green (4), fifth child of Richard (3) and Phoebe (Moore) Green, married Rhoda, daughter of Daniel Howell, and the following children were born to them: Enoch, mentioned at length hereinafter; Charles, Richard, William, Elizabeth, and Lydia.
Enoch Green (5), eldest child of John (4) and Rhoda (Howell) Green, married Mary, daughter of George Bidleman, and they were the parents of the following children: I, Ellen (deceased), who married Whitfield S. Johnson, a lawyer of Sussex, New Jersey, and for several
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years secretary of state; their children are: William M., a lawyer of Hackensack; Mary M .; Emily E., deceased; Laura C .; Elizabeth B .; Margaret G., deceased, and Ellen Green. 2, George B. (deceased), who married Ann Disbrow and resided in Jersey City. 3, Mary, who was the wife of George Woodruff, a merchant of New York City, both now deceased. 4, John, and 5, Joseph, both deceased. 6, Henry, who was a graduate of Lafayette College, a lawyer of Easton, and judge of the supreme court, now deceased. He married Ann Hultzizer, of East- on, and their children are: Caroline, who married Hiram Howland, of Indianapolis; Frances, who is the wife of Henry E. Potter, of Orange, New Jersey ; Frederick, and Ada (deceased), married William Shaeffer, of Pottsville, Pennsylvania. 7, Margaret, who became the wife of Henry Johnson, of Muncy, Pennsylvania, as mentioned above. After the death of his wife, the mother of these children, Mr. Green married Catherine Ten Eyck, of Princeton. This marriage was without issue.
CHARLES LOSE.
Charles Lose, a prominent citizen of Williamsport, and county su- perintendent of public schools, is well known and highly respected.
James Lose, father of Charles Lose, was reared on a farm in North- umberland county, Pennsylvania, and came to Lycoming county, Penn- sylvania, at the age of eighteen years. He was apprenticed to and learned the shoemaker's trade at Muncy, Pennsylvania, and at the present time is a prosperous merchant in the boot and shoe line at Montoursville, Ly- coming county, Pennsylvania. He married Phoebe Starr, who died in 1884. Mr. and Mrs. James Lose had six children : I, Kate; 2, Charles, of whom later; 3, Bartley ; 4, Sallie; 5, Irvin; and 6, James, deceased.
Charles Lose, second child and eldest son of James and Phoebe
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(Starr) Lose, was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, March 9, 1856. He received an excellent education, having attended Lafayette College and Bucknell University. He was an earnest student and began teaching at the early age of seventeen years. He was principal of Mon- toursville high school for one year, and of the Lycoming County Normal School for four years, being very successful in the many new methods of instruction which he introduced. In 1884 he was appointed county super- intendent of public schools by the state superintendent to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of his predecessor, and was elected to the same position in 1887 and 1890. His work as county superintendent of pub- lic schools has been eminently satisfactory. Mr. Lose married, June 22, 1882, Rebecca J., eldest daughter of Hon. Henry Johnson of Williams- port. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Lose are the parents of four children.
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