USA > Pennsylvania > Lycoming County > Genealogical and personal history of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. Volume II > Part 39
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way between Hughesville and Muncy, in the yard adjoining which are the graves of himself and his wife. He had three sons: John Hill, Daniel Hill and Jacob Hill; and five daughters: Susanna, wife of Henry Dieffenbach; Catherine, wife of Frederick Steck; Elizabeth, wife of John Steck; Hannah, wife of Adam Sarver, and Christina, wife of John Houseknecht.
John Hill, the oldest son of Jacob Hill, was born at Windsor Castle, Berks county, Pennsylvania, May 24, 1787. When his father purchased and removed to his farm near Hughesville he was a boy of seven years. Upon the death of his father, in 1824, John Hill purchased the farm and resided there until the year 1855, when he removed to a residence he had erected in the borough of Hughesville. In 1815 he was married to Catherine Steck, daughter of Baltzer Steck, by whom he had twelve children: Dr. George Hill; Rev. Dr. Reuben Hill; Dr. Charles M. Hill; Jacob and John, who died in infancy; Elizabeth, wife of Elwood Hughes; Sarah A., wife of Rev. Dr. P. Born; Susanna, wife of Rev. Joshua Evans; Hannah, wife of Captain A. C. Mench; Martha; wife of Rev. C. J. Ehrehart; Mary C., wife of Rev. J. R. Dimm; and Margaret.
John Hill in his earliest manhood became a member of the Lutheran church, was one of the founders of the present Lutheran church of Hughesville, and held official position in it continuously until his death. He was the uncompromising foe of intoxicating liquors. In 1830 he introduced the innovation of excluding all liquors from his harvest and hay fields, a step which produced severe criticism at the time, and nu- merous predictions that he could not get his crops harvested. He soon demonstrated, however, that ready cash was a satisfactory substitute, and never found it necessary to return to the custom then so prevalent of furnishing stimulants to hired men. He served several terms as justice of the peace, was a major of the militia for many years, and
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throughout his life was highly respected and esteemed. In politics he was a Democrat until the second election of General Jackson, when he voted for Henry Clay. Thereafter he was a Whig until 1856, when he voted for Fremont, and from that time advocated and voted the Repub- lican ticket. He died on June 1, 1873, at the age of eighty-six years, his wife Catherine having died a few years previously.
Dr. George Hill, the oldest son of John Hill, was born in Wolf township, Lycoming county, January 14, 1816. His education was acquired at the Milton Academy under the instruction of David Kirk- patrick and David Ferguson. He chose the profession of medicine, and graduated at Jefferson Medical College in 1838. He immediately there- after began the practice of his profession in Hughesville. Nine years later he removed to Bloomsburg, Columbia county, Pennsylvania, where he continued the practice of medicine very arduously for seven years. In 1855 he purchased his father's farm near Hughesville and removed thereon. For forty-one years he managed the farm and practiced his profession in that vicinity. He was highly esteemed as a physician, and there were not many families for miles about him which during all those years did not receive the benefit of his professional ministrations. On the 10th of September, 1840, he was married to Rachel Hughes, daugh- ter of Jeremiah Hughes, whose father, William Hughes, was prominent in the Society of Friends, and a lineal descendant of John ap Hugh (written Hughes at later date), who came from Wales in 1698 and set- tled in Philadelphia.
Dr. Hill died on the 27th day of November, 1896, at the age of nearly eighty-one years, his wife having died two years previously. He was an active and ardent member of the Lutheran church at Hughes- ville, then at Bloomsburg, and again at Hughesville to the end of his life, which was one of great activity and widely extended usefulness.
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Dr. Hill had seven children, six of whom survived him: J. Clinton Hill, a member of the bar of Lycoming county, located at Williamsport; J. Harvey Hill, M. D., a physician located at Baltimore, Maryland; G. Alvin Hill, M. D., a physician in Philadelphia; Justin L. Hill, pharma- cist in Williamsport, and Cornelia and Rachel Ada Hill, who reside in Hughesville.
J. Clinton Hill, the oldest son of Dr. George Hill, was born at Hughesville, Pennsylvania, June II, 1841. He graduated at Pennsyl- vania College, Gettysburg, in 1864, and was admitted to the Lycoming county bar in 1867, and since that time has practiced law continuously at Williamsport, Pennsylvania. On September 8, 1870, he was married at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to Sophia Catherine Weise, daughter of Henry Weise, of Hagerstown, Maryland. He has five children : Harvey Russell Hill, a member of the Lycoming county bar, practicing at Will- iamsport; George Henry Hill, an electrical engineer with the General Electric Company at Schenectady, New York; Leila Catherine; Robert Clinton, in the West Branch National Bank of Williamsport; and Fred- erick Weise Hill. George Henry Hill was married December 21, 1899, to Hazel Thompson, daughter of William B. Thompson. They have three children, all of whom are boys.
George Alvin Hill, the third son of Dr. George Hill, was born at Bloomsburg, Columbia county, Pennsylvania, August 20, 1850, and at the age of four years moved with his parents to Lycoming county. He was educated at Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, which institution later conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. He then began the study of medicine with his father as his preceptor, and after attending the University of Maryland and the University of Pennsylvania was graduated from the latter in 1874. and at once entered upon the practice of his profession in Hughesville. A few years later
.
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he removed to Williamsport, where he continued in active private and hospital practice for sixteen years. In 1896 he left Williamsport for an extended course of study in the hospitals and post-graduate schools of Philadelphia on the subjects of ophthalmology and otology, and in the year following opened an office in that city for the practice of that branch of medicine. He was for some years instructor in the Polyclinic Hospital, and clinical assistant at Wills Eye Hospital.
In 1881 Dr. Hill married Mary, daughter of Mrs. M. E. Robison, of Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, with whom he lived but a year, she having died on December 3 of the year following, after an illness lasting only a day. On March 10, 1888, he was married again, at Ardmore, Pennsylvania, to Alice Gertrude, daughter of Charles Byers, late of Springfield, Massachusetts, whose ancestors were prominently connected with the early history of New England. To this union was born in July, 1889, a daughter, Dorothy Alice, who died after an acute illness, at the age of two years and two months.
DANIEL EMERY BROWN.
Daniel Emery Brown, of Williamsport, who bears a full share in the promotion of community interests, labors efficiently to develop in- dustrial and commercial enterprises, and is the ardent supporter of edu- cational and religious institutions, is a native of the town of Carroll, Penobscot county, Maine, his birth having occurred in the year 1846. He is the son of Horace and Rebecca (Cole) Brown, and the grandson of Ezekial M. Brown. Horace Brown (father) was a lumberman, trader and farmer, served in the army, also in the state legislature of Maine, was a well educated man, a Baptist in religion and a Democrat in politics. Daniel E. Brown is one of six children, the others being as
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follows: Susan C., deceased; Almira T., wife of Samuel Mallett, and mother of three children; William H., married Emma Bishop, and they are the parents of two children; Charles A., married a Miss Weatherbee, of Maine, and their family consists of four children; Annie R., who died in early childhood.
Daniel E. Brown received his early education in the public schools of Maine, and this was supplemented by attendance at the Lee Normal Academy, of which institution he is a graduate. He resided on the farm with his parents until the year 1865, when he took up his residence in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in which city he has since made his home. His first employment was with George B. Merrill in the bark woods near Williamsport, and after remaining with him for two years he turned his attention to scaling logs and lumber, and worked in the woods in the winter, and on the Susquehanna boom during the summer months. This line of work he followed until the flood of 1889, when he retired from an active life and invested the accumulation of years in the pur- chase of timber lands in various sections, and at the present time ( 1905) is associated with the Bowman Lumber Company in their large lumber operations in West Virginia, and the Saluda River Lumber Company, of South Carolina, and the Avoyelles Company at Marksville, Louisiana, and also interested in other states, Tennessee and North Carolina. He is also a large stockholder in the United States Rubber Trust, the Ly- coming Rubber Company, and various other enterprises which materially advance the prosperity of the community. In all his business transac- tions he has acquitted himself in such a way as to gain the confidence and esteem of all with whom he is associated. He holds membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, also the Encampment, and is a staunch supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, as laid 34
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down by Thomas Jefferson. He is the only member of his father's family to cast his vote with that party.
Mr. Brown was married at Lee, Maine, 1872, to Ruth M. Mallett, a graduate of Lee Normal Academy, daughter of William and Sally (Merrill) Mallett, and granddaughter of Samuel T. and Mary M. Mal- lett. William and Sally (Merrill) Mallett were the parents of nine other children, as follows: Mary, Howard, Samuel T., George W., Lenora T., Hannah W., Willis P., Rowena L., and Charles W. Mallett. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Brown, M. Agnes, a graduate of Wellesley College, Massachusetts. Mr. Brown and his family are members of the Presbyterian church.
CHARLES BARTLES.
Charles Bartles, one of the oldest members of the Lycoming bar, enjoys the unique distinction of never being associated with a partner in all the long period of his professional career covering a space of thirty-eight years. He is a native of New Jersey, born in Flemington, October 7, 1843. He is of German ancestry, his paternal grandfather, Frederick Bartles, being a native of Hamburg, Germany. Frederick Bartles served in the Prussian army under Frederick the Great, was taken prisoner and later escaped to France, from whence he came to America, being still a young man. He settled in New Germantown, New Jersey, where he passed his life as a farmer, and his death occurred in Fleming- ton, New Jersey. He married a Miss Plumb, and all their eight children, except one son who went to Indiana, settled in New Jersey, near Flem- ington, where they were farmers and merchants. This family was noted for its phenomenal longevity, all of the children living to upwards of eighty years.
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Charles Bartles, son of Frederick Bartles and father of Charles Bartles to whom this narrative principally relates, was born in Flem- ington, New Jersey, in 1801, and died there in 1882. He was a man of broad attainments and great nobility of character. He was a grad- uate of Union College, at Schenectady, New York, where he was a classmate of Hon. William H. Seward, who became secretary of state in the cabinet of President Lincoln. He was a lawyer by profession, and was prominently identified with various great enterprises, among them the Camden & Amboy Railroad, and he was president of one of its constituent lines. He married Eliza Holt, who was born in Flemington, New Jersey, and died there. Her family was of Scotch extraction, and she was a grandniece of John Holt, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Charles and Eliza (Holt) Bartles were the parents of four children: George, who died in youth; Mary, who also died young; William, a retired physician, now resides upon the old home- stead; and Charles. All the family were Presbyterians in religion, and Republicans in politics.
Charles Bartles, youngest child of Charles and Eliza (Holt) Bartles, obtained his elementary education in Flemington, New Jersey, where he attended a private school, and subsequently was a student in the Trenton Academy. He prepared for his profession in the Harvard Law School, from which he was graduated with the class of 1866. He was admitted to the superior court in Boston, December 19, 1866, of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, of Suffolk county. In 1867 he came to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where he has since resided. At his com- ing he entered the law office of William H. Armstrong, and in the same year was admitted to practice in the courts of that state. From that time to the present he has been actively and usefully engaged in his pro- fession and, as has before been remarked, it is his unusual experience
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to have had no partnership association with any other lawyer during all this long period. He has been interested in many prominent enterprises of Williamsport and also of Clearfield county, Pennsylvania. He is vigorous both physically and mentally, and bids fair to round out at least two score years of active professional life. With his family he attends Trinity (Protestant Episcopal) church. He has always been a Repub- lican in politics, his first presidential vote having been cast for the second election of Abraham Lincoln.
April 7, 1869, Mr. Bartles married Mary Bell, a native of Virginia, and reared in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Thomas and Char- lotte (Harvey) Bell. Of this marriage were born four children : Charles, Charlotte, Frederick and Mary.
JOHN C. ROGERS.
The Rogers family, of which John C. Rogers is a worthy repre- sentative in the present generation, is supposed to have been founded in this country by Joseph Rogers, one of four brothers who came from England and settled in Salem, Massachusetts. Joseph Rogers married Sarah Cuvier or Currier, and shortly afterward joined an expedition to Port Royal, where he was probably killed by the Indians or French, as he was never heard from afterwards.
Hope Rogers, the ancestor of this branch of the family, is supposed to have been the only son of the above named couple, and to have re- ceived his name in hopes of his father's return. The earliest records of Hope Rogers were found in Windham county, Connecticut, and are to the effect that he purchased lands of John Waldo, in Windham, June 5, 1713, one hundred acres for one hundred and fifteen pounds sterling. He was a resident of Mansfield. According to one tradition he had four
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wives and thirteen children, but fails to name any wife except Esther Meacham, whom he married November 14, 1715, or any children except the following, which were taken from the Windham county records : Joseph, born August 5, 1716, died in infancy ; Ishmael, born July 7, 1717; Ichabod, born January 19, 1719, married, November 10, 1743, Priscilla Holt, born at Andover, Massachusettts, September 14, 1725, daughter of Elias and Mary (Bixbee) Holt; Josiah, born October 7, 1720, mentioned hereinafter ; Jethro, born April 14, 1722; Jeduthan, born February 16, 1724; Sarah, born February 21, 1726, married, October II, 1744, Robert Greene; Mary, born October 6, 1727; Joel, born October 14, 1729; Ruth, born August 23, 1732.
Josiah Rogers, fourth son of Hope and Esther (Meacham) Rogers, born October 7 (or 18), 1720, died December 4, 1815. He was tithing man of Windham in 1760. He subsequently removed to Pennsylvania, and after the Wyoming massacre he returned to Wyoming, and there his death occurred. He married, March 1, 1743, Hannah Ford, born September 19, 1726, and died July 10, 1778, in the wilderness between Sunbury and Reading, Pennsylvania, while fleeing from the Indians at the Wyoming massacre. Their children were as follows: Jonah, born December 15, 1743, mentioned hereinafter; Josiah, born August 15, 1747, died in infancy ; Hannah, born July 15, 1748.
Jonah Rogers, eldest son of Josiah and Hannah (Ford) Rogers, born December 15 (or 26), 1743, died January 24, 1799. He married, December 11, 1766, Deliverance Chaffee, born February 17, 1743, died August 31, 1826. Their children were as follows: Jonah ; Josiah, born December 18, 1768; Elihu married Rhoda Drake; Hannah married Griffin Lewis, issue, Philena, Deliverance, Amy, James and Jonah; Joze married (first) - Shaw, and (second) Hannah Lumcree; Joel, mentioned hereinafter.
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Rev. Joel Rogers, youngest son of Jonah and Deliverance (Chaffee) Rogers, married (first) Mary (Polly) Lumcree, and married (second) Mary (Polly) Jackson. His children, all by his second wife, were as follows: Joze, born July 24, 1816, married, October 25, 1849, Lydia Ann Rogers; Joel, who is doubtless the " Dr. Joel " quoted in Miner's History of Wyoming; Lydia Ann; and Stephen, born April 17, 1824, mentioned hereinafter.
Stephen Rogers, youngest son of the Rev. Joel and Mary (Polly) (Jackson) Rogers, was born at Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, April 17, 1824. His early life was spent on his father's farm in Huntington, Lu- zerne county, and his education was received in the common schools. In 1851 he purchased the sawmill of J. and J. Callahan, situated about fifty rods from where the iron bridge now crosses Little Pine creek, which was destroyed by the flood of 1889. He also purchased at the same time nine hundred and thirty-seven acres of timber land in part- nership with George Worral, and they settled upon the land and were engaged in the lumber business for a number of years. After the flood heretofore mentioned Mr. Rogers turned his attention to farming and getting out lumber and saw logs for the market. He filled the offices of school director, auditor, town clerk and justice of the peace, having been elected to the latter office in 1890. He was a Baptist in religion, a Whig and later a Republican in politics, and one of the enterprising citizens of his community. He was one of the Emergency Men, and in 1863 joined Company K, Thirty-seventh Pennsylvania Militia, with the rank of sergeant. Mr. Rogers was married August 29, 1868, to Phoebe, daughter of John Carson, and to this union were born three chil- dren ; Lewis W., born February 8, 1870; John C., born January 24, 1873, mentioned hereinafter, and Bertha M. Rogers, born May 3, 1885. Mr. Rogers died at his residence in Pine township, October 28, 1898, and
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his remains are interred at Carson Town cemetery in Pine township, Lycoming county.
John C. Rogers, second son of Stephen and Phebe (Carson) Rogers. was born on January 24, 1873, in Pine Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, and was reared on his father's farm. He attended the public schools of that District and later at Danville, Mountour County, Pennsylvania, graduating from the Danville High School in 1893. He located in Williamsport in the Fall of 1893, and took a course in stenog- raphy at Pott's Shorthand College, and in 1895 entered the law offices of W. D. Crocker, Esq., and prepared himself for admission to the bar of Lycoming County, and was admitted on July 20, 1898, since which time he has been actively engaged in the practice of the law. On June 3, 1902, he was admitted to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. In April, 1902, he was appointed by Frank P. Cummings, Esq., who was at that time elected to the office of City Solicitor, as his assistant, and served in that capacity during Mr. Cummings' first term of three years, and in 1905, Mr. Cummings being re-elected, he was again made assistant, which position he still holds. Mr. Rogers' office is located in the How Building, No. 32 West Fourth Street. He is a Republican in politics, and has always taken an active interest in public affairs. He is a member of Ivy Lodge No. 397, F. & A. M., and of the Williamsport Consistory of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite Masons.
John C. Rogers was married on August 22, 1902, to Maud E. Brown, second daughter of Joseph Champ Brown and Henrietta M. (Wise) Brown, of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and they have one son, John Carson Rogers, Jr., born October 12, 1903.
Dr. Joel Jackson Rogers, second son of the Rev. Joel and Mary (Polly) (Jackson) Rogers, aforementioned, was born in Wilkesbarre, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, March 4, 1818. He acquired his early
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education chiefly under his father's direction, as he was a teacher as well as a minister of the Gospel. In the winter of 1842-43 he studied medi- cine in New York city, paying his personal expenses by selling books and periodicals during his leisure hours. He was regularly graduated from a medical institution, and in 1846 began his professional career in Lehman township. The following year he removed to Huntsville, and there lived and practiced for more than half a century, being at the time of his death, in 1902, the oldest member of the Luzerne County Medical Society. He married, April 15, 1851, at Trucksville, Pennsylvania, Sarah Caroline Rice, daughter of the Rev. Jacob and Sarah (Cook) Rice, and their children were: Lewis Leonidas, mentioned hereinafter ; Charles Jacob, born August 17, 1854; Mary Louise, born May 26, 1857; Joseph Alfred, born July 7, 1859; Sarah Carrie, born October 27, 1862.
CLARENCE J. DUN.
Clarence J. Dun, national secretary of the National Protective As- sociation, whose home office is located at No. 20 West Market Square, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, is a native of Elmira, Chemung county, New York, born December 20, 1872. He is a son of John and Ada S. (Feuksbury) Dun, and grandson of Owen Dun, who emigrated from England to the United States, settling at Elmira, New York. John Dun (father) was born December 14, 1850, and is at present (1905) engaged in the manufacture of mineral waters and soft drinks at Elmira, New York. He is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal church of Elmira, and a firm adherent of the principles of the Republican party. His wife, Ada S. (Feuksbury) Dun, born at Waterloo in 1855, died in 1896, and her remains were interred in the cemetery of her native city.
The common and high schools of Elmira afforded Clarence J. Dun
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excellent educational advantages. After his graduation from the latter institution in the class of 1890 he learned telegraphy with the Northern Central Railroad at Elmira, and from there went to the Lehigh Valley freight office, filling a clerkship for two years. He then accepted a po- sition as relief operator and station agent at headquarters, Sair, Penn- sylvania, remaining six months. The following two years he served as agent at Cayward Station, New York, and from there went to Geneva, New York, where he took charge of the transfer, which position he held twelve years, resigning therefrom in August, 1904. He then went to Albany, New York, and accepted a position with the People's Mutual Life Insurance Company of Syracuse, New York, from which he re- signed in April, 1905. He then came to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to institute the National Protective Association, a fraternal beneficiary society, which was incorporated under the laws of Pennsylvania, June 6, 1905, with home office at No. 20 West Market Square, Williamsport, and is now serving as national secretary of the same. The officers of the association are as follows: James M. Rook, national president ; Albert L. Scholl, national vice-president ; Clarence J. Dun, national sec- retary ; J. Harry Spencer, national treasurer; Asa A. White, national superintendent of agencies; Frank L. Moyer, M. D., national medical examiner ; Clarence L. Peaslee, national counsel; D. M. Hinkel, national director; Asakiah K. Gaul, national director; and F. W. Plankenhorn, national director. The trustees of the association are: Albert L. Scholl, Frank L. Moyer, M. D., and Asakiah K. Gaul. Politically Mr. Dun is an active supporter of the Republican party, and takes a deep interest in the success of that organization. He is a member of Mt. Vernon Lodge No. 3, Free and Accepted Masons, Albany, New York, and of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows No. 19, Trumans.
Mr. Dun married, July 27, 1896, Stella F. Predmore, a daughter
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of James and Jueba Predmore, residents of New York, where Mr. Pred- more is engaged in agricultural pursuits. Mr. and Mrs. Dun are mem- bers of the Presbyterian church.
JOSEPH ELMER SCHAEFER, M. D.
The ancestors of Dr. Joseph Elmer Schaefer, of Quiggleville, Ly- coming county, Pennsylvania, had their original home in Germany. Adam Schaefer was born in 1812, in the Fatherland, and landed in the United States July 4, 1854. His calling was that of a mason, which he con- tinued to follow after his arrival in this country. He was a member of the Lutheran church, which he served in various capacities.
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