History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with Illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 104

Author: Craft, David, 1832-1908; L.H. Everts & Co
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia : L. H. Everts
Number of Pages: 812

USA > Pennsylvania > Bradford County > History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with Illustrations and biographical sketches > Part 104

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" Suppose, elder, on working up a lot of timber into a frame, you found, among the rest, a stick which was so crooked and warped that you could neither line nor square it, what would you do with it ?"

" Mr. Sill," replied the elder, after a moment's thought, " if I found that to be the case, I would just flatten one side of it and make it into a sill !"

Elder Oviatt lived for some time on the Sylvania road, near the present residence of Edward Redington, and en- gaged himself in the manufacture of nails wrought by hand, then much in use. Although a preacher, he was afflicted with an impediment in his speech, in connection with which the following circumstance is narrated. Several years after his removal from this place he came back on a visit. The lapse of time had brought with it some change in his personal appearance, and many of his former acquaintances did not at once recognize him. It was about that time that Gen. Case, wending his way homeward, towards

evening, from a day's surveying, noticed an elderly man ap- proaching from the opposite direction. On getting nearer the general turned out of his path to afford him a passage, but the stranger turned out to the same side; trying another tack to the left, he found himself again confronted. It seemed a game of cross-purposes. Gen. Case finally stood still, and inquired, -- .

" Do you know who I am ?"

"Yes," was the reply, " I have known you of old. You are Elihu Casc. Do you know me ?"

" I do not," was the reply.

" Then I will tell you. I am an unworthy preacher of the gospel, to whom you once said you doubted the Lord's ever having given me a call to preach, for the reason that, if so, he would, as you believed, at the same time have loosened the cords of my tongue."

VINE BALDWIN

is another name on the school-house subseription. He was the father of Thomas B. Baldwin, of this township. He then had a store at this place, and for some time kept tavern in a building standing where the Troy House now stands. His store-building stood a little cast of the present corner- store building of Pomeroy Brothers, and stood on what was then the corner. To illustrate the value of corner-lots and other real estate in this town and vicinity, we may state that on his purchasing his store-lot (the best business location in the place) the valuation of the ground, being in its dimen- sions about 24 by 38 feet, was left to two disinterested citizens, Churchill Barnes and Adriel Hebard, who promptly and unanimously decided upon the sum of $10 as the pur- chase-money to be paid, which award scems to have been entirely satisfactory to all concerned.

Another purchase made subsequently by Vine Baldwin, was of the land on the hill towards Long's mills, including the present farm of V. M. Long and Rufus Rockwell's estate,-160 acres with 40 sheep, 7 cows, 5 hogs,-for the sum of $700.

ELIHU NEWBERY,

another of the subscribers, came here with a horse, saddle, and bridle, for which he purchased of Elihu Smead a lot of land about two and a half acres, including that on which his son, Geo. N. Newbery, now lives ; the consideration mentioned in the deed being twenty dollars per acre.

COL. ISAAC N. POMEROY

and Ebenezer Pomeroy came in about 1818. They were natives of Connecticut, and for some years carried on the carding and cloth-dressing works below Long's mills. Like Dr. Herrick, they had for some time no intention of mak- ing this a permanent home. Col. Pomeroy in a few years bought Conant's tavern on the corner, which was replaced by him in 1837-38 by the Eagle tavern, a wooden building with lofty columns, which was destroyed by fire in 1852. A little house standing on the summit of the hill, above where his son is now erecting a large mansion, was for a time the residence of Col. Pomeroy* after his arrival.

# Col. Isaae Pomeroy died at Troy, May 30, 1861, aged seventy-one years. He was a native of Tolland Co., Conn., and settled in Troy in 1818.

JOHN M KEAN

MRS. JOIIN M'KEAN.

JOHN MCKEAN.

The Mckean family are of Scotch extraction. James Mckean, the grandfather of our subject, came from Scot- land some time previous to the Revolution, and settled in Maryland, whence James McKean, Jr., the son of the progenitor of the family in this country, emigrated to Brad- ford County in 1791, and settled in what is now Burling- ton township, where he was the first white settler. His family consisted of eight children,-six sons and two danghters,-James Jr., Andrew, John, Robert, Samuel, Benjamin, Rebecca, and Jane.

John was born in Burlington, May 10, 1809 When fifteen years of age he came to Troy, and commenced life as a blacksmith's apprentice ; but the trade not proving congenial to his tastes, he entered the employ of O. P. Ballard as clerk, with whom he remained ten years. He was possessed of a great deal of business acumen, and such was his employer's confidence in his ability and integrity that he sent him to Philadelphia with a drove of cattle, the proceeds of which he invested in goods.

In 1832, Mr. McKean was married to Miss Electa Moore, daughter of William and Polly Moore, of Springfield. She was born in Columbia, May 22, 1811. Soon after his marriage, he associated himself with Ira P. Ballard in the manufacture of baskets, in connection with which they carried on a small grocery trade. They did business two years, when Mr. Mckean went to Springfield, Ill., where he engaged in the mercantile business with a gentleman by the name of Spalding. He was interested in other

enterprises, and remained in Illinois until the year 1840, when he returned to Troy, where he met a younger brother, Timothy Mckean, who was a resident of Texas, and who persuaded him to try his fortune in the " Lone Star State." Accordingly, in September of the same year, they purchased in New York a large stock of goods, which they shipped for Galveston, Texas, with the intention of establishing themselves there in trade. They took passage on the same vessel, and were wrecked on the Bahama islands, losing all excepting what money they had on their persons. They took passage in another vessel, and after a stormy passage, arrived in Galveston, where they found everything in a very unsettled condition, the State having just declared its independence.

After a sojourn of eight months, he again returned to Troy, where he continued to reside until his death. For some time after his return he was engaged in clerking, in which occupation he remained about four years, when he commenced the business of a broker, which he followed the balance of his life.

Mr. Mckean was pre-eminently a self made man, and possessed of more than ordinary business ability, and per- baps the two most prominent points in his character were energy and perseverance. Misfortunes never daunted him, but only stimulated him to renewed effort. He was ex- tensively known for years as one of Troy's best citizens, and in his deatlı, which occurred March 8, 1877, the borough met with an irreparable loss.

ALLEN TAYLOR.

MRS. ALLEN TAYLOR.

ALLEN TAYLOR.

Among the prominent old settlers of the township of Troy, none are more deserving of a place in the history of Bradford than Allen Taylor. He was born in the State of Vermont, May 23, 1792, and was the son of Moses and Martha Taylor, who had the good old-fashioned family of ten children. In 1803 the elder Taylor emigrated from Vermont and settled in the town of Athens. Like the majority of those who came to found homes for themselves and families, he was in limited circumstances, and for the three years succeeding his arrival he rented a farm. At the expiration of this time he came to Columbia, where he re- mained a short time, having decided to settle permanently in Troy, where he lived until he died. Allen remained with his father until he was twenty-four years of age, sharing the privations and hardships of a pioneer family, and none are better qualified to speak of the hardihood, endurance, and the almost unsurmountable obstacles that lay in the pathway of the early settlers than he; and did our space permit, we could pen from his own lips many a tale of suf- fering and privation that to the present generation would sound more like fiction than fact.

In 1816, Mr Taylor was united in marriage to Miss Olive H. Stevens, daughter of Joel and Lydia Stevens, of Troy, and shortly after, Mr. Taylor purchased one hundred acres of land near where he now resides, and commenced life for

himself. Being a man of remarkable perseverance and industry, he has been successful, and to his first purchase one hundred and thirty aeres have been added; he is enjoy- ing in his old age a well-earned competency, the result of a long life characterized by industry, integrity, and honorable dealing. Mr. Taylor is now living at the advanced age of eighty-five, and his life has been devoted almost entirely to the cares of his farm and family. He has, however, been called to fill several positions of trust. He has been assessor of his town for three terms, and the office of supervisor he has held for a number of years. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have been blessed with a family of thirteen children, ten of whom grew to maturity ; eight are now living.

In closing this brief sketch we should prove recreant to our duty did we not speak of the many virtues of Mrs. Taylor. She has proved to be a helpmeet in the truest and fullest sense of the word, a kind mother, a worthy wife. She is all, in fact, that is expressed in the term amiable and intelligent. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor are both worthy and consistent members of the Disciple church. Thus closes the brief history of one who has done his part in laying the foundation for the present wealth and pros- perity of the town, and to him will be said, " Well done, tlou good and faithful servant."

Alfred Parsons

ALFRED PARSONS, M.D.

The subject of this sketeh was identified for a period of forty years with the physical, moral, and social development of western Bradford. He was the oldest of five children in the family of Thomas and Anna Osborne Parsons, and born at Enfield, Hartford Co., Conn , on Nov. 16, 1797. In the year 1800 his father removed to Franklin, Delaware Co , N. Y. In his father's family he remained until, at the age of eighteen, he entered Williams college. During two years' stay there his whole time was given to earnest and laborious study, and while there the foundation was laid for that learn- ing, the possession of which, in after-years, contributed so much to his prominence in the profession of medicine. A re- verse in the pecuniary affairs of his father, at this time, com- pelled him to abandon the idea of acquiring a classical educa- tion, and returning home he entered the office of Dr. Dewey as a student of medicine. After remaining for some time with Dr. Dewey, he put himself under the instruction of Dr. Morse, of Otego, N. Y., then one of the most skillful practi- tioners in the State. His medical education, as a student, was completed by attending lectures at the old " Fairfield college," where he graduated in 1825, receiving from " The president and members of the Medieal Society of the county of Herkimer, State of New York," a diploma as physician and surgeon. At the same time he was made a member of "The Medical Society of the College of Physicians and Sur- geons of the Western District, New York "

About the year 1826, being on a visit to Eli Parsons, a pa- ternal uncle, one of the pioneers of the county then residing at Columbia, in the county of Bradford, he was persuaded to locate there for the practice of his profession, and entered upon a career of usefulness which continued for a period of forty years. In June, 1834, Dr. Parsons was united in mar- riage with Jane, the oldest daughter of Hon. Reuben Wilber, one of the early settlers of this section, whose personal history may be found in another part of this volume.

The perseverance and integrity, which are marked charac- teristics of the family from which he sprung, combined with his great skill and learning, brought its sure reward. Busi- ness accumulated rapidly on his hands; he attained a leading position in his profession, and in his later years had acquired

a competeney which enabled him to rejoice that his family need not endure the privations to which he had been subjected. Dr. Parsons was one of the founders of the Bradford County Medical Society, and took a deep interest in all its meetings and deliberations Three times elected its president, he was honored and revered by each of its members. In matters of education he was always prominent, contributing freely to the establishment and maintenance of the old Troy acad- emv.

In religious matters he was among the foremost. The ground upon which the beautiful structure of the First Pres- byterian church of Troy now stands, was his gift to the society many years ago.

Always energetic in business, and keenly alive to the suffer- ings of others, the calls of his profession, whether in sunshine or in storm, at early hours or late, whether for the poor with- out hope of remuneration, or for the wealthy, were never dis- regarded. He died Oct. 24, 1865, of disease contracted while in attendance upon a patient. Two children, Mary Helen, in childhood, and Sarah Ann, wife of Theodore Waldron, of Troy, in 1865, had preceded him to the grave. Surviving him were his widow and two children, Sophia L., the wife of W. H. Carnochan, Esq., of Towanda, and John A. Parsons, of Troy.

Dr. Parsons was a man of fine personal appearance and an easy, frank address, possessed of a kindly nature which won the esteem and retained the confidence of all with whom he came in contact. Frequently called in consultation with the eminent physicians of his day, his cautious but sure judgment was always recognized, and he is still remembered by the older members of the profession as a skillful physician and cultured gentleman. Sound in judgment, resolute in pur- pose, and possessing those qualities of head and heart which gained the affection of the community, he was enabled to maintain during life the supremacy in this respect which he early attained. As he lived, so he died, worthily. His remains are buried in the "old cemetery" at Troy, and of those who knew him in hfe, none rend the inscription upon the plain granite monument which marks his grave, with- out feeling that there lies one worthy to be remembered, an example of patient self-denial, a lover of his kind, a Christian gentleman.

PLA

DUMMER LILLEY.

The subject of this sketch was born in Troy township, Bradford Co., Pa., Aug. 31, 1813. His parents, John and Nancy Lilley, emigrated from Vermont in 1809, and located in Troy. John Lilley, the father of Dummer, was born in Ireland, of English parents, in 1781, and was impressed into the military service of Great Britain and went to Canada, where he deserted, came to Ogdensburg, N. Y., then to Vermont, where he married Nancy Smith. Dum- mer was the fourth of twelve children, eight of whom are still living. When he was twelve years of age, Stephen Fowler, a celebrated physician, persuaded his father to consent to Dummer's living with him, promising to make him a physician. At Dr. Fowler's he enjoyed the benefit of three years' schooling, making rapid progress in his studies. When he was fifteen years old, Dr. Fowler moved to Ohio. Mr. Lilley then went home. His father told him that he was too fond of reading to make a successful farmer, and consented to his learning the printing trade. He soon com- menced work on the Bradford Settler, a paper published at Towanda by J. P. Bull. At the expiration of one year he left on account of the refusal of his father to sign inden- tures binding him till twenty-one years of age. IIe was employed on the Anti-Masonic Democrat, in 1830, pub- lished at Troy, and remained till the paper was discontinued two years afterwards.

In company with Mr. G. W. Kinney he printed the Troy Argus for a short time. He went to Towanda in 1834, and became a member of the firm of Utter, Kinney & Lilley, publishers of the Bradford Argus, the first number of which was dated Feb. 4, 1834. At the end of the first

year he sold out his interest to Utter, but became sole pro- prietor one year later. He published the paper with much ability and credit till 1840, when he sold out to Elhanan Smith. He soon afterwards purchased a farm in Canton township. In the fall of 1856 he was elected one of the commissioners for Bradford County. He discharged the duties of this office with strict fidelity. He represented Bradford County in the State legislature in 1862. He was re-elected in the following year by a handsome majority, which is a practical test of his popularity, ability, and in- tegrity as a legislator. During the war he was actively engaged in securing bounties for soldiers, which kept him most of the time either at Washington or Harrisburg. He was appointed in 1838, by Governor Ritner, register of wills and recorder of deeds, which appointment he held until the office was made elective by an amendment to the State con- stitution.

Mr. Lilley is in every sense of the word a self-made man. Few men have led more arduous and active lives, or dis- charged with greater ability and credit the numerous public trusts which he has filled. By means of his keen, practical insight into human nature, and his wide range of general knowledge, he has done as much, perhaps, as any other man in developing the early resources of Bradford County. He is an carnest friend of improvement and reform, and has always zealously forwarded every project with his pen and purse which tended to better the political and educational interests of his county. Mr. Lilley is still living, enjoying excellent health, and has every reason to feel gratified over his long and successful career.

413

HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

EARLY MERCIIANTS.

O. P. Ballard is believed to have established himself in trade here in the fall of 1822, having been, for a few years, a clerk in the store of Clement Paine, at Athens. He commenced with a few goods taken on commission of Charles L. Hopkins, of that place, and succeeded so well as to buy out his partner at the close of the first year. The people from this section had previously been under the necessity of going to Athens to trade for the most part, and, as he was accustomed to relate, dealt very freely accord- ing to their means, when they found an opportunity, at length, of buying goods near home; if they could not find just the article they came for they were pretty sure to in- vest in something else.

The staple articles of trade and produce in the country, as Clement Paine writes, in the year 1810, were cattle, wheat, and lumber. He adds :

" Lately the manufacture of potash bas been introduced into the adjacent towns. I have endeavored to promote this branch of busi- ness hy furnishing the necessary implements and materials, and we shall, the present year, receive about one hundred barrels of the article, whereas three years ago there was none manufactured."

This manufacture, carried on amid the forests of western Bradford, must have involved a destruction of timber that would now, even in this wooden country, be looked upon as deplorable, great quantities of the finest trees being cut, piled, and burned, merely to gather up the ashes for boiling down into potash. It was worth, in those days, about twenty or twenty-five dollars per barrel, and being an article easy of transportation, it soon afforded an important item of industry and income.

The difficulties of trade in those early days must have been very great ; it was mostly barter, owing to the scarcity of money, and the transportation of produce to market, or of goods from the city, was attended with great expense, delay, and risk. A trip to Philadelphia with wagons, as was customary, for goods, occupied about three weeks ; but in those days a few wagon-loads of goods made up what was considered a large assortment ; if the assortment was in fact small, the prices of course had to be large in an inverse ratio. When John Cummins, many years ago, opened a little store here, the advertisement he published was headed, “ Small boats must keep near shore ; larger ones may venture more." In connection with which idea, Nelson Adams (I think it was) made the remark, after noticing the limited extent of his stock, "I guess you must have come over in a canoe."

George Kress was one of the early merchants of Troy, buying out the stock of Vine Baldwin. Gen. Kress built the house now owned by Robert Kendall, in its day prob- ably the most aristocratie style of residence in the place.

O. P. Ballard for some time controlled to a considerable extent the trade of the place. Gillet & Cone commenced business here about 1836 or 1837. G. F. Redington was here first as their clerk, until he and D. F. Pomeroy bought them out, and established their store on the corner, which was subsequently, and for quite a long period, the scene of business operations of the Pomeroy Brothers.

Butter, which is now the great article of production and trade, was in the early days a thing of not much account,

for the lack of a market. When sold it was merely in small parcels, and seldom put up in tubs and firkins. As a general thing, when sold, it would not command over six- pence per pound. When Eli Baird, about the year 1840, commenced paying 12} cents per pound, the producers of the artiele seemed to feel that it was opening a fine harvest for them. Since then the greater quantity produced, and the enhanced price, have brought the value of butter pur- chased at and shipped from this village in a single year to the sum of not less than $450,000 .*

TROY IN 1827.

To give an idea of the extent of Troy in 1827, the year in which Dr. Silas E. Shepard came here, we will give his statement of the residents : Caleb Williams then lived near the present site of Delos Rockwell and Warren Williams, in the old Spalding house; Ansel Williams in the old Seely Mann house, where E. B. Parson's house stands. Next was Joseph Wills, who married the widow of Moses Case, in the old two-story house still standing in the rear of S. H. Fitch's house. Along the present Canton street, at that time, the forest came for the most part within twenty-five rods of the road, and covered the hill west of the creek. Mr. Wells' saw-mill stood near where Bowen's tannery is at this time. A small foundry was afterwards erected there by Capt. Joseph Morse, and subsequently carried on by him and Thos. E. Paine. Jas. A. Paine afterwards took the business, and after him Seth W. Paine, who removed it finally to the place where, through a long term of years, he continued and extended it.

The next was the log house first occupied by Dr. Herrick, on the place long owned by him and afterwards by his son, Delos, where T. McCabe now lives. Elihu Newbery's house and blacksmith-shop came next, the house having been what is now the rear part of the residence of his son. Next was the old school-house and Col. Pomeroy's tavern on the corner. On the opposite corner was Geo. Kress'

# BUTTER TRANE IN TROY .- Only a small portion of the United States is fitted, hy the peculiarities of soil and elimate, for the prof- itable production, and this is the belt between the 40th and 42d parallels of latitude. To produce first-class butter, clear, soft water is required, and a climate not too variable during the summer season, and a soil capable of producing a tender, sucenlent grass. These conditions are better supplied in western Bradford than in any region with which we are acquainted. . .

. The butter region proper embraces portions of Tioga, Chemung, and Steuben counties, in New York; Tioga, Bradford, and Susquehanna counties, in Pennsylvania. In 1877 there were shipped from Troy and Canton about 2,300,000 lbs. ; the largest shippers being Redington, Maxwell and Leonard, in Troy, whose shipments are almost entirely to New York, while New- berry and Peck, whose establishment ranks next, ship mostly to Philadelphia, where Bradford County butter is peculiarly popular. The whole business is reduced to a most perfect system, adjusted to the rule of supply and demand. Most butter is contraeted for early in the season, especially of favorite dairies. In the early fall the loads of hutter begin to arrive, and from that time to the 1st of January, and even later, it comes in steadily, while shipments are made at seasons which will meet orders. The principal dealers have facilities for storage, so that farmers bring their packages of butter to the stores, where it is weighed, tested, branded with the producer's name, and stored for shipment when the orders call for it. The business has grown up almost entirely within the last twenty years ; it having received a marked impulse during the war, and has been steadily increasing ever since.

414

HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

store, and below was the residence of Esquire Churchill Barnes, near H. Pomeroy's and the bank. Next came the tannery with its half-dozen vats, probably then carried on by Calvin Dodge, on the lot afterwards owned by Matt. Carnochan ; and below, where stood afterwards S. W. Paine's foundry, was the old grist-mill, built by Aaron Case, and in which he was accidentally killed.

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History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with Illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 104

Author: Craft, David, 1832-1908; L.H. Everts & Co Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Philadelphia : L. H. Everts Number of Pages: 812

Author: Craft, David, 1832-1908; L.H. Everts & Co
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia : L. H. Everts
Number of Pages: 812