USA > Pennsylvania > Lycoming County > Genealogical and personal history of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. Volume II > Part 11
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The subject of our sketch, N. B. Messimer, is a worthy and re- spected citizen of Jersey Shore, in which place he was reared and edu- cated. At the age of fifteen he entered the employ, as an apprentice, of Jacob Shoup, a carriage blacksmith. After serving his apprentice- ship he worked at his trade in Williamsport, remaining there until 1882. Two years of this time he was engaged in the sale of pianos and organs. In 1882, in the month of January, he accepted a position as blacksmith in the Pennsylvania railroad shops at Renovo, Pennsylvania. He remained there until July, 1884, then accepted a similar position with the Beech Creek railroad (New York Central) at Jersey Shore, where he is still employed. In May, 1895, he was made foreman of the black-
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smith department, which position he is now filling. His politics are Republican, and he has served his borough in many ways, filling the offices of school director and councilman. He is a member of the Baptist church.
Mr. Messimer married, June 15, 1882, Rebecca Viola Snyder, daughter of Samuel and Sarah Cromley Snyder of Wayne township, Clinton county. They have three children: Charles W. Messimer; Bertha, deceased; and Ward Nelson.
JOHN C. GREEN.
John C. Green, a retired business man of Williamsport, Pennsyl- vania, with the interests of which city he has been actively identified since early manhood, was born at Hughesville, Lycoming county, Penn- sylvania, October 24, 1843.
Richard Green, grandfather of J. C. Green, was one of three brothers whose parents came to America from England and located in the state of New Jersey. When the brothers attained their majority they left the state of their adoption, one locating in Canada, one in Ohio, and Richard (grandfather) about one mile up the Loyalsock creek from Hillsgrove, Sullivan county, Pennsylvania. He there purchased a timber tract, erected a saw mill, cleared up a farm of rich creek bottom land and established a home. At the time he located on the Loyalsock there were no roads, simply a path over the mountain from Muncy creek, and he experienced all the hardships and discomforts pertaining to pioneer life. Many choice pine lumber rafts were floated down the Loyalsock to the Susquehanna and sold at points beyond Harrisburg for five dol- lars per thousand feet. He married Polly Plotts, who bore eleven chil- dren, six sons and five daughters.
J. b. Green
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Joseph Green, father of J. C. Green, was born on the farm in Hillsgrove township, Sullivan county, Pennsylvania, 1814. In early life he left the old homestead and located at Hughesville, where he learned the trade of blacksmith with Samuel Kohler, and continued that business until 1859, in which year he purchased the homestead of his wife's people in Shrewsbury township, Lycoming county, whereon he resided until January, 1866, devoting his time to agricultural pursuits and lumbering, the timber being secured from his own property. He then moved to McHenry county, Illinois, and purchased a farm in Riley township, which he cultivated for a period of almost twenty years, and then purchased a home in Genoa, Illinois, where he resided until his decease in the year 1898, aged eighty-four years. He married Catharine A. Courson, born January 1, 1818, second eldest daughter of John Courson, of Shrewsbury township, Lycoming county, whose family con- sisted of eleven children. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Green, four of whom died in early life and the three surviving children are: Mary Elizabeth Hoof, of Chicago, Illinois; Harriet Portner, of Genoa, Illinois, and J. C. Green, of Williamsport. Mrs. Green, mother of these children, is now ( 1905) nearly eighty-eight years of age. In the summer of 1904 she came alone from Chicago to Williamsport on a visit of three months, which fact demonstrates that her abilities and faculties are not impaired despite her old age, and that she is a most remarkable woman of whom her children should be proud.
John C. Green was educated in the public schools of Hughesville, and in 1864 he took a business course at Eastman's Business College, Poughkeepsie, New York, having taught several winter terms of school prior to the time of his going to Poughkeepsie. Shortly after his return from college he took up his residence in Williamsport at the solicitation of Captain George Webb, the superintendent of what was then the Cata-
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wissa railroad, operating from Milton to Port Clinton, with superin- tendent's office on Pine street north of the Pennsylvania railroad. He took the position of car and ticket agent, assisting J. H. H. Park, then station agent, at special times. On April 1, 1866, Mr. Green and Mr. George S. Eves embarked in the grocery business and continued in partnership for seventeen years, during which time the firm prospered remarkably, their business increasing from a few hundred dollar sales the first year to many thousands of dollars during their business career, and with the profits derived they erected two business houses on Pine street and numerous dwelling houses throughout the city of Williams- port. In 1886 Mr. Green purchased the interest of Mr. Eves, his part- ner, in the store business and conducted the same successfully until 1890, when he closed out his stock, rented his store room and retired from active business pursuits. Mr. Green served several terms in both branches of council, rendering efficient and faithful service. He was for a number of years a member of the board of overseers of the poor of the city, and is now by appointment one of the jury commissioners. He also served for almost twenty years as one of the directors of Will- iamsport Dickinson Seminary. He served in the army both times that the state of Pennsylvania was invaded during the civil war, and has in his possession a United States discharge. He is a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church.
Mr. Green married, October 24, 1868, Mary Levan, daughter of E. M. D. and Jane (Staub) Levan, of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the former named being deceased. The following named children were born to them: Edward Levan, deceased; Joseph E., deceased; Albert H., deceased ; Florence H., deceased ; Harry H., Jane L. and Helen M. Green.
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JUDSON R. CAMPBELL.
One of the numerous representatives of the Pennsylvania branch of the Campbells is Judson R. Campbell, of Cammal. Samuel Campbell, whose ancestors, of the famous clan Campbell, had crossed to Ireland (no doubt in consequence of the political agitations of the time), was a native of the northern part of that country, and sought a home in the American colonies at some period prior to the revolutionary war.
Samuel Campbell was one of the pioneers of Pine Creek, and his two sons, John and Robert, settled at Jersey Shore and finally moved to Cammal, where Robert became an extensive lumber dealer as well as farmer. He was converted to the Baptist faith and became one of the well-known preachers of his day. He married Rachel Morrison, and they were the parents of the following children: Samuel, mentioned at length hereinafter; George, Michael, Young, Abner, Robert, John, Jeremiah, Priscilla, Margaret and Elizabeth.
Samuel Campbell, son of Robert and Rachel ( Morrison) Campbell, was born in Pine Creek, where he passed his life as a farmer in summer and a lumberman in winter. He married Elizabeth Hostrander, who became the mother of the following children : George, Samuel, Jeremiah, mentioned at length hereinafter; Maria, Sarah, Joel, Elizabeth, Rachel, and some who died in infancy. The parents of these children both passed away in 1872, the father having attained the age of eighty years.
Jeremiah Campbell, son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Hostrander) Campbell, was born in Pine Creek, where he was the owner of a farm which he cultivated in summer, being occupied during the winter with the duties of a lumberman. He was a raftsman and was known as one of the best river pilots on Pine Creek. He married Lydia Kagle.
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by whom he was the father of the following children: Jeremiah, who died in infancy ; Jeremiah (2nd) ; Benjamin F., mentioned at length here- inafter; Ellen, who became the wife of W. H. Walters; James; Jacob; Mary, who was married to Eugene B. Blackwell; and Flora, who was the wife of R. C. Lewis.
Benjamin F. Campbell, son of Jeremiah and Lydia ( Kagle) Camp- bell, was born May 24, 1846, at Cedar Run, and was a shoemaker by trade. This calling he abandoned for the mercantile business in which he was engaged for several years, and in which he is still active at Rawlston, Pennsylvania. He married Catharine Doane, and the fol- lowing children were born to them: Judson R., mentioned at length hereinafter; Cora E., who is married to W. Raemore; Claud A., who married Elizabeth Kerr; and Carrie, who is the wife of Peter Raemore.
Judson R. Campbell, son of Benjamin F. and Catharine (Doane) Campbell, was born in 1873, and is the proprietor of one of the finest and most comfortably furnished cigar stores and pool rooms in that part of the county, being also the owner of valuable property in Cam- mal. He has served two terms as school director, and in May, 1905, was elected justice of the peace, thus becoming one of the youngest squires in the county, if not in the state. He was appointed by the state department of health to the office of local register of vital statistics for the district of Cummings, McHenry, Brown and Pine townships, Janu- ary 1, 1906.
Mr. Campbell married Mary J., daughter of James and Elizabeth Bonnell, and they have been the parents of three children: J. Bruse, Geraldine C., and C. Harold, deceased.
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WILLIAM H. LITTLE.
William H. Little, a prominent citizen of Picture Rocks, proprietor and only surviving member of the firm of John P. Little & Company, was born near Forksville, Sullivan county (then a part of Lycoming county ), Pennsylvania, August 15, 1854. He comes of a distinguished ancestry, descended from families which settled in New Jersey about the year 1700, and which were represented in the war for independence by several whose names figure conspicuously in that glorious struggle. Among these were of the Little family three captains-Christopher, Theophilus and Thomas ; and of the Polhemus family also two captains-Nathaniel, and Tobias, who was captured at the same time as Captain Thomas Little. After the revolution one of the family, Captain Theophilus Little, moved to what is now Eagles Mere, Lycoming county, and from him are de- scended the numerous members of the Little family dispersed throughout that and the neighboring county of Sullivan. Captain Theophilus Little and his wife, Mary (Polhemus) Little, were the parents of a family which included Daniel, John, Thomas, Theophilus and Tobias, and other children, names unknown.
Theophilus Little, Jr., son of Captain Theophilus and Mary (Pol- hemus) Little, was born in New Jersey, December 2, 1776. He accom- panied his father upon his removal to a tract of several thousand acres near Eagles Mere, Lycoming county (now Sullivan county), Pennsyl- vania, where he was reared and educated, and where the father died. Theophilus Little, Jr. (grandfather), married, January 17, 1809, Eliza- beth Holmes, born November 7, 1786, died March 29, 1862, a member of an old family of New Jersey extraction, a descendant of Thomas Holmes, who was surveyor-general to William Penn, laid out the city of Philadelphia, and was at one time governor of Pennsylvania. After
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marriage Theophilus Little settled on a tract of land near Forksville, which he cultivated and improved, and there reared his family of nine children, namely : Maria, born November 12, 1809; David H., April 17, 18II; Benjamin, December 25, 1812; Ann, June 22, 1815; Clemen- tina, May 10, 1817; John P., May 19, 1820, mentioned hereinafter ; Josiah, December 23, 1822; Louisa, March 18, 1825; and Daniel, May 5, 1827. Mr. Little died January 26, 1862, and his remains were interred in the graveyard at Eagles Mere, which was donated to the public.
John Polhemus Little (father) was born near Forksville, now Sullivan county, Pennsylvania, May 19, 1820, and lived to the age of nearly eighty-four years. His life was one of peculiar activity and use- fulness. As early as 1843 he taught school in what is now Sullivan county, and later was in business with his two brothers-Josiah and Benjamin-at Forksville, where they conducted a sawmill, rafting their lumber down the Loyalsock creek and Susquehanna river to the market at Harrisburg and other cities. In 1842 he engaged in the mnaufacture of hubs, sleigh and buggy materials, being one of the first manufacturers of bent wood in the state of Pennsylvania. In 1873 he removed to Picture Rocks, where he continued in the same line of business, which in 1876 was reorganized under the firm name of John P. Little & Company, under which style it is still known. Mr. Little took a deep interest in educational and religious work. For more than sixty-five years he was an earnest worker in the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he held all the official positions, and was an active factor in the camp meetings. In politics he was a Whig, until the dissolution of that party. He also evinced a deep interest in the abolition movement, and became a mem- ber of the Republican party at its organization, casting his vote for John C. Fremont, its first presidential candidate. He subsequently took an active interest in the prohibition movement. Mr. Little married
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Martha H. Edkin, who was born near Stroudsburg, Monroe county, Pennsylvania, October 23, 1827, daughter of Francis and Mary ( Palmer) Edkin, members of the Society of Friends, whose family consisted of the following named children: William, Catherine, Jane, Sarah, Martha H., above mentioned, George, Elias, Mary, Joanna and Eliza Edkin. Martha H. (Edkin) Little was an ideal wife and mother. Her life of devotion and sacrifice deserves a place in this sketch. A portion of her early life was spent in Williamsport, where she lived with her brother, William Edkin. This was then a small village, and her acquaintance included many of the oldest families of today, afterwards removing to her uncle's home near Eagles Mere, where she taught district school and first met her future husband. Having joined the Methodist church, with him she shared in every active work pertaining to the spiritual, social and benevolent enterprises of church and community. While she lived for others, caring for the sick and afflicted, helping the needy and destitute, yet her principal lifework was in her home and family, a com- bination of energy and loving devotion such as characterizes a great mother. Mr. and Mrs. Little were the parents of the following children : I. Mary E., born March 18, 1849, became the wife of Michael W. Fer- rell, and they reside in Picture Rocks. 2. George E., born October 24, 1850, married Marian Reynolds and resides in Picture Rocks, Penn- sylvania. Mr. George E. Little is a man of prominence, being the author of several publications, such as books of instruction on the art chalk and crayon work, and has traveled extensively, lecturing and in- structing in the industrial art of chalk and crayon work. 3. Sarah J., born August 26, 1852, who married Samuel R. Sprout. Her death occurred in 1899, at Montrose, Pennsylvania. 4. William H., born August 15, 1854, mentioned hereinafter. 5. Joanna E., born October 20, 1856, became the wife of Clinton N. Molyneux, resides in Picture
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Rocks. 6. Clara B., born May 11, 1859, deceased, was the wife of Joseph Y. Rothrock, and died at Picture Rocks in 1890. 7. Catherine F .. born January 19, 1862, unmarried. 8. Lucinda, born February 6, 1865, became the wife of Morton I. Sprout, of Picture Rocks. 9. J. Wesley, born August 24, 1867, married Susan Heim, and resides in the vicinity of Philadelphia. He is an artist, and is now ( 1905) traveling abroad.
John P. Little, father of these children, died at his home in Picture Rocks, January 17, 1904, surviving his wife a number of years, she having passed away December 26, 1889. The funeral of Mr. Little was conducted by the Rev. A. S. Williams, in the presence of a large and deeply affected gathering of relatives and friends. In his discourse the reverend gentleman said: "We have been called together this after- noon by the death of a man whose life stretches across more than three- fourths of a century, a period of time which may be considered the heroic age of our country's history. Brother Little was born near Forks- ville, Pennsylvania, May 19, 1820. That was before the United States had reached its fiftieth birthday, before the great church to which he belonged was thirty-eight years old. In boyhood he was but a few years distant from our second war for independence. There was no such thing as the locomotive and none of the modern appliances of civilization. To see him at his best and to properly interpret his character and life we must look upon him as he moved and wrought in the religious sphere. What he was he was by the grace of God. He boasted, like Paul: 'I can do all things through Christ which strength- eneth me.' The discourse included a complete review of Mr. Little's life-a sermon in itself-and made a profound impression.
William H. Little, fourth child and second son of John P. and Martha (Edkin) Little, resided at Forksville until seventeen years of
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age, in the meantime attending the district school, afterwards the school at Picture Rocks, and the Williamsport Commercial College. On June 12, 1876, he entered into partnership with his father, John P. Little, and his brother-in-law, Samuel R. Sprout, the business being then con- ducted under the firm name of John P. Little & Company. Mr. Sprout retired from the firm in 1879, and the business was then conducted by father and son under the same name. They began by manufacturing bent woods, and later added to their products "Home Rule" (patent) clothes racks, ironing boards, step-ladders, snow shovels, etc., Mr. Little having invented the goods which he manufactures. Since the death of his father, January 17, 1904, William H. Little has conducted the busi- ness alone, this being one of the leading industries of Picture Rocks. Mr. Little is a Prohibitionist, not only in politics, but in principle, and is actively identified with the temperance movement.
Mr. Little married, June 9, 1886, Kate G. Rothrock, a daughter of the Rev. J. Y. and Caroline L. (Shriner) Rothrock, and three children were the issue: Leslie T., born March 24, 1889; Paul, born April 15, 1892, died August 18, 1893; and Harold, born June 15, 1894. The Rev. J. Y. Rothrock was born at Shrewsbury, York county, Pennsyl- vania, 1823, and died November 11, 1894, a member of a prominent old family. He was educated in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, was a Meth- odist minister, actively engaged in the field for forty-two years, and a member of the Central Pennsylvania Conference. His wife, Caroline L. (Shriner) Rothrock, was a native of Mifflinsburg, Union county, Pennsylvania. Mr. Little and his family are members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, in which he is a trustee, teacher in the Sabbath school, and has been a member of the choir for twenty-three years.
At Eagles Mere, August 23, 1900, was held the first reunion of the Little family, in a beautiful grove not far from the original home-
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stead of the first Little settler, Captain Theophilus Little. About one hundred and twenty persons were present, representatives of various branches of the family. Mr. A. C. Little gave an interesting history of the family, epitomizing its revolutionary record, and showing that it came from an ancestry worthy of any true American, and adorned with traits of character in every way worthy of emulation.
THE HAYES FAMILY.
The Hayes family has been represented in Pennsylvania for a num- ber of generations. The earliest definite record of them is of: I. Isaiah Hayes, who was born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, Febru- ary, 1796, and in 1800 came with his father and his family to Lycoming county, Pennsylvania. When he was quite young his father died, leav- ing him to the care of his mother and brothers. He was but a young man when he engaged in the lumber business in partnership with his brother and John Reed. In the spring of 1820 he started with his part- ner for Baltimore with an ark loaded with poplar boards; at the Indian Steps, above McCall's Ferry, between Columbia and Tidewater, Mary- land, they ran into the ice, destroying the ark and sustaining a loss of eight hundred dollars. Shortly after this Mr. Hayes constructed a log house on the homestead and commenced to clear a farm. For some time he was employed as a laborer in the construction of a canal, and afterwards took contracts to build a straight road over Laurel Hill and in other places. He also engaged in the manufacture of arks for the grain dealers of Milton, Lewisburg and elsewhere. Observing while thus employed the need of grist mills, and being encouraged by his father-in-law, he built a substantial mill in 1831, which he operated until 1837. At that time it was destroyed by fire, and was a total loss
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as he carried no insurance. His neighbors came to his assistance, how- ever, making up the loss of the grain, and he erected a new mill. In 1847 he started a subscription, heading it with fifty dollars, to raise the funds necessary to build a bridge across Lycoming creek at Perryville. He suc- ceeded in securing four hundred and fifty dollars of the amount needed, and the balance was furnished by the county commissioners. The contrac- tor failed to complete the bridge, and Mr. Hayes took the matter in hand and finished it himself. About 1839 he purchased land in Cogan House township, hauled logs from the same to a sawmill at Perryville, and in 1845 built a sawmill in Cogan valley. From time to time he purchased tracts of pine timber and in that way accumulated thousands of acres. A few years after this he built a mill on Larry's creek, making in all four saw mills and two grist mills. He sold the grist mill at Perryville in 1863, and in 1868, in partnership with John Miller, bought a farm of five hundred acres on the Rappahannock river in Virginia. When the farm was subsequently divided he retained one-fourth, the remainder going to his sons-Ambrose and William. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, and was actively interested in building the new stone church at Hepburnville. In 1819 Isaiah Hayes married Mary Ann Miller, and they were the parents of ten children, five of whom are still living: William married Miss Margaret Follmer; Ambrose; Rachel R., who married W. W. Meyer; Benjamin; Sidney; Lawrence M .; Isaiah; Mary Elizabeth; Joanna ; and Josiah. Isaiah Hayes, I, died November 18, 1888, and his wife died June 24, 1883.
II. William Hayes, eldest son and eldest child of Isaiah and Mary Ann (Miller) Hayes, was born in Lycoming township, March 21, 1820. He received his education in the township schools of that period, and upon leaving school learned the milling business with his father, took charge of the latter's mill at Perryville, in 1844, and did a prosperous
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business for fourteen years, at the end of which period of time he bought a mill at Youngdale, Clinton county, Pennsylvania, and operated the same for five years. In 1862 he entered into partnership with William Follmer, and built and took charge of the Loyalsock mills, four miles above Montoursville. This partnership continued for one year, when Mr. Hayes became the sole proprietor. In 1884 he purchased the Mon- toursville rolling mills, and in company with Clarence Wheeland and his own son, John Hayes, operated them. Mr. Wheeland sold his interest to Mr. Meyer in April, 1887, and two years later Mr. Meyer sold his interest to Mr. Pidcoe, and the business has since been conducted under the firm name of Hayes, Pidcoe & Company. Mr. Hayes is also en- gaged in farming in Loyalsock township and in Virginia. Mr. Hayes was president and a large stockholder of the Wayne Ferry Company while he lived in Clinton county. About the year 1873 he engaged in the lumber business on Little Bear creek with Warner Woolever, and this firm continued business for five years, after which Mr. Hayes conducted its affairs on his own responsibility. In 1890 Mr. Hayes moved from Farragut to Montoursville, Pennsylvania, where he erected a fine dwell- ing, in which he now resides. In politics he is a Republican, and has served as supervisor of Upper Fairfield township. He married, Novem- ber 2, 1848, Miss Margaret Follmer, who was born March II, 1827. Mr. and Mrs. Hayes are the parents of six children: Amelia Cleme- tine, born October 4, 1849; Follmer Adam, born November 17, 1851; Mary Catharine, born March 3, 1855; John M., born August 2, 1858; Margaret Emma, born January 15, 1863; Frank W., born August 31, 1875.
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