History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 106

Author: Bradsby, H. C. (Henry C.)
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1340

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T. B. JOHNSON, M. D., Towanda, a prominent member of the medical fraternity of the place, is a son of Alexander T. and Jane (Cuddeback) Johnson, and was born May 14, 1844, in Orange county, N. Y., of which place his parents were also natives, of French and

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

Dutch descent. The father was a school teacher, county superintendent of schools, and latterly a farmer; he was a man of prominence and influence in his native place. His family comprised four children, viz .: Dr. W. E., of Waverly; Blandena E., married to B. F. Dunning; Dr. T. B., and Lyman H., who died in 1885. The subject of this brief sketch grew to manhood in his native place, Port Jervis, received a good education and clerked in a drug store in Port Jervis, practicing the study of medicine at the same time. In 1864 he entered the army, and served two years in the capacity of hospital steward, in the U. S. A .; in the latter part of the term he was under Maj .- Gen. Thomas, and had charge of the medical stores of the Army of the Cumberland. He was mustered out after the close of the war, in 1866, and returned to his home. Hethen attended lectures at Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York City, was graduated March 1, 1868, and April 5, following, arrived at Towanda, where he has made his permanent home, and has enjoyed an extended practice. He is a member of the County Medical Society, and has served as its president, and is also a member of the State Medical Society; he has taken a deep interest in the public schools, and served as president of the board ; is a Sir Knight Templar, and of the Scottish Rite Degree, and is an Independent in politics. In 1871 he was married, in Towanda, to Miss Henrietta Barstow, a native of Towanda, and daughter of the late D. F. Barstow. This happy union has been blessed with three children, as follows: Carrie B., Alexander T. and T. B., Jr. The family worship at the Episcopal Church, and the Doctor is a member of the vestry. In the social life of the town this is one of the prominent and much respected families.

CHARLES F. JONES, merchant, Stevensville, was born in Pike, this county, November 10, 1848, a son of Edward W. and Arabella B. (Bosworth) Jones, the former a native of Connecticut, of Welch and English origin. Edward W. was a lawyer and farmer, was also engaged in the mercantile business; when he first came to Pennsylva- nia he taught school at Bailey Hollow, where Scranton now is, and received a school order, but there was no money in the treasury, so he traded his order for a pair of oxen, and refused an offer of a large tract of land for the oxen, and afterward saw the land become worth many millions. In his family were thirteen children, of whom Charles F. was the tenth. He was reared on a farm, educated in the common school, and at Holland Patent Academy. He began life at twenty-one, and clerked in a store in Stevensville for six years; then engaged in farming two years, after which he was in the business of shipping hay and grain for six years. In 1871 he was clerk in the store of Ross & Stevens, and in 1887 was admitted as third partner. Mr. Jones married, October 8, 1888, Miss Nellie, daughter of Henry A. and Sarah U. (Stevens) Ross. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are consistent members of the Presbyterian Church; he is a member of the I. O. O. F. Lodge, at Camptown, and in politics is a Republican ; has been col- lector of the taxes in Pike two years, and town clerk five years.

HENRY JONES, farmer, carpenter and joiner, Pike township, P.O. LeRaysville, was born at St. John, Quebec, Canada, June 16, 1832, a son of John and Elizabeth (Jones) Jones, natives of Neath, South

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

Wales, who came to this country in 1832. Their ship, bound for New York, was driven by storm, and they landed in Quebec. Henry was born the day after landing, and when six years old went to live with John Williams, at Neath, Pa., where he resided until twenty-one; then learned the carpenter and joiner's trade, which he followed fifteen years. In 1865 be purchased his present home, and hassince worked chiefly at farming. April 28, 1866, he married Jane S., daughter of Philip and Gweny (Davis) Philips, natives of South Wales, and their children were as follows: Mary E., Alfred M. (deceased), Achsah M., Alice R., Sarab G., Hattie Belle (deceased), Samuel P., William U. and Gorner R. Mr. Jones is a member of the Farmers' Alliance, and is a Republican.

HENRY USTICK JONES, farmer, and a dealer in agricultural implements, Stevensville, was born May 15, 1841, a son of Edward Wadsworth and Arabella (Bosworth) Jones, former of whom was a relative of James W. Wadsworth, who was governor of New York and a brigadier-general in the Civil War, a member of Congress, and also of the Capt. Wadsworth "Charter Oak" fame. In Edward Wadsworth's family there were thirteen children : Norval Wadsworth, a member of the bar of Baltimore, who died in Washington in 1863 ; Sarah Louisa, educated in the common school, and female seminaries of Frederick county and Geneva, N. Y. (she has taught in many different places, and in 1877 returned to Stevensville, where she has since made her home with her brother Henry U.); Frances Arabella, married to William Chassell; Theodore Vernon, who died in infancy; Dr. Edward Salmon, in the Treasury Department at Washington; Helen Susan, married to Levi Wells, a farmer in Tuscarora township, died in 1887; Henry U .; Harvey Whittlesey, enlisted in 1862, at the age of eighteen, was mustered out in 1866 (he was engaged in various pursuits in many parts of the United States, returned to Washington, where he died in 1873); Julia Bosworth, married to A. B. Cummings, of Washington ; Frederick William, died in 1888, in Iowa; Charles F .; Lynds Flavius, a graduate of Georgetown Law School, employed in the Census and Interior Departments, admitted to practice law in Washington (he died January 18, 1878); the youngest of this large and influential family is Mary Electra, who married Joseph Kalbfus.

HENRY USTICK JONES, the subject proper of this biographical memoir, was reared on the farm, educated in the common school, LeRaysville Academy, and Fort Edward Collegiate Institute, Washing- ton county, N. Y .; began teaching at seventeen, in Luzerne county. He enlisted at Towanda, August 13, 1862, in Company B, One Hun- dred and Forty-first Pennsylvania Volunteers; was made First Lieu- tenant, Mav 23, 1863; was wounded at Petersburg, June 18, 1864, while on the staff of Gen. Madill ; was detailed quartermaster of the regiment till 1864, and was then made quartermaster of the brigade, until the close of the war. Returning to Stevensville he went from there to Iowa, where he purchased a farm, and remained two years; then returned to Pennsylvania one year, and was then in the United States Signal Service ; he purchased his present home in 1887. The family worship at the Episcopal Church, and they are Republicans. Israel Jones, the grandfather of Henry U., was colonel in a Connecti-

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

cut regiment in the Revolutionary War; he married Lois Wadsworth ; they had a family of twelve children, of whom Edward Wadsworth was the youngest.

REV. JOHN D. JONES, pastor of the Welch Congregational Church at Neath, was born October 7, 1857, and reared on a farm near Carmarthen, South Wales, a son of Evan and Jane (Davis) Jones, in whose family there were eight children, of whom John D. is the sec- ond. After some time spent in the common and preparatory schools, Mr. Jones entered Carmarthen College, where he was graduated in 1882; he came to America and entered the Theological Seminary at Yale, and was graduated from there in 1885, since which time he has filled his present position, where he is greatly esteemed by his congre- gation, which numbers about 200. Mr. Jones was married, October 26, 1885, to Mrs. John L. Jones, daughter of William and Sarah (Thomas) Davis, natives of Aberavon, South Wales, and three bright children bless this happy union, viz .: Clifford, born February 4, 1887; Jane Olive, born September 21, 1888, and Grace, born January 6, 1891.

JOHN F. JONES, merchant, Stevensville, was born in Middle- town, Susquehanna Co., Pa., July 21, 1855, a son of William E. and Betsy M. (Pierce) Jones, natives of Pennsylvania. In his father's family there were eight children, of whom J. F. is the fourth. At eighteen years of age he was given the management of the Henry Lacey mill, where he remained one year, then was successively engaged in milling at Monroeton one year, Rushville two years, Monroeton six years, Great Bend one year, Apalachin one year, Stevensville four years; at the end of this time he engaged in his present mercantile business. He was married, January 14, 1880, to Carrie M., daughter of Joseph and Mary Ann (Neiley) Swartwood, natives of Pennsylvania, and of Holland origin. They have four children : Georgiana, born December 2, 1880; Joseph W., born September 18, 1882; Martin L., born January 24, 1885, and Frances May, born January 27, 1887. Mr. Jones is a member of the Knights of Honor, at Monroeton, and is a Republican.

LEONARD W. JONES, liveryman, Troy, was born in Canton township, this county, March 15, 1851, son of John B. and Betsey (Crandall) Jones. His father came to Bradford county about 1818, and located in Canton township, where he cleared and improved a farm and died there. He reared a family of eleven children, as follows: Lewis, Vincent K., Ellen (Mrs. George Streeter), John, Leonard W., Andrew, Rosette (Mrs. Sniffin Vermilyea), Josephine (Mrs. Frank Whiteman), Merrick, Alice, and Mary (Mrs. Charles Rodebangh). Leon- ard W. was reared in Canton township, and after attaining his major- ity engaged in farming, until 1890, when he located in Troy, and embarked in the livery business as a member of the firm of Steele & Jones, which he continued seven months, since which time he has con- ducted a successful business alone. In 1879 he married Ella L., daugh- ter of Edward and Josephine (Wright) Rodebaugh, of Canton, and they have two children: Walter and Helen. He is a member of the Church of Christ; in politics he is a Republican.

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

S. O. JONES, farmer and stock-grower, Wyalusing township, P. O. Wyalusing, was born in Tunkhannock, Wyoming county, August 19, 1843, and is a son of Joseph Benson and Elizabeth (Sharps) Jones, the former of whom was a native of New York, and the latter of Pennsylvania. The father was a teacher, carpenter and finally a mer- chant of Centre Moreland, Pa., where he died in 1856, aged thirty-three, leaving a family of two children : S. O., and Carrie E., who married Harry E. Chamberlain, a merchant of Mansfield, Ohio; and died in 1879. Our subject's boyhood was passed in Tunkhannock, Centre More- land and Dallas, Pa., attending public school at these places and at Wilkes-Barre. In 1859 he became elerk in the recorder's office at Wilkes-Barre, and remained there until October, 1862, when he enlisted in Company G, One Hundred and Seventy-seven P. V. I., and served with honor until August, 1863, expiration of term. During service he spent most of his time at Deep Creek, Va., building a fort and sup- porting a battery, after his return he was in the recorder's office a short time; then about three years was engaged as book-keeper for a lumber company of Wilkes-Barre. Mr. Jones traveled through the Western States for five years, and upon his return served about eighteen months in an insurance office, and afterward served as assistant city clerk and as the city clerk of Wilkes-Barre, for a period of twelve years. In the spring of 1886 he came to Wyalusing and purchased a farm on Lime Hill, and now resides on Vaughn Hill; he has 170 acres of well- improved farm land, and has his farm well stocked with horses and cattle. He was united in marriage, September 13, 1875, with Florence E. Barnes, daughter of Albert Barnes, of Wilkes-Barre, and this union has been blessed with the following children: Carrie E., Grace M., Benson S. Olin A., Robert S. and Agnes V. Mr. Jones is identified with the Democratic party; he has made his own way in life, and has always been successful,

WILLIAM H. JONES, foreman of the Franklin Blue Stone Quarry, Sheshequin township, P. O. Quarry Glen, was born in Ulster county, N. Y., May 19, 1842, and is a son of Ezekiel D. and Rachel (Place) Jones, natives of Ulster county. His parents had seven children; the father now resides in Shesbequin township, in the employ of the Franklin Blue Stone Company; the mother is dead. William spent his boyhood in his native place, and received his education, and began life as a teamster; then went to work in the quarries, and learned the stone-cutter's trade, and worked there until he enlisted in the army, September 15, 1863, in Company G, One Hundred and Seventy-sixth N. Y. V., and served until May 26, 1866. He participated in the battles of Winchester, Cedar Creek, and numerous minor engagements, and was wounded in the battle of Cedar Creek, in the right shoulder, by a musket ball, which struck him on the side, close to the shoulder blade, and ranged backward and lodged under the shoulder blade ; he still carries the ball in his body. He was sent to Chestnut Hill Hospital, Philadelphia, and was there four months; after leaving the hospital he returned to his regiment. On leaving the army, he returned to his former place, and went with J. D. Morris, where he is at present. He was married, July 2, 1867, to Ellen, daughter of Jacob

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

H. and Sarah (Sheltus) Moore, natives of Ulster county, N. Y., and to them were born three children : Carrie, Walter R. and Ira. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of Hornbrook. Mr. Jones is also a member of G. A. R., Watkins Post, No. 68, Towanda, and is officer of the guard; is a member of the I. O. O. F., Valley Lodge, No. 446, and is a Republican.

WILLIAM HENRY JONES, miller, Pike township, P. O. Stevens- ville, was born in Middletown, Susquehanna Co., Pa., a son of William E. and Betsey (Pierce) Jones, natives of Pennsylvania, early settlers in this county. In their family there were nine children, of whom our subject is the fourth. He spent his boyhood attending the district school, and assisting his father in his mill, in this way learning the miller's trade. In 1883 he located in his present place of business, where he does a large milling trade; also ships and imports grain and flour. He was married, January 23, 1884, to Ida E., daughter of Shuble W. and Sallie D. (Farr) Garey, and they have one child, Theo. W., born September 23, 1887. Mr. Jones is in sympathy with the Republican party.

CHARLES W. JORALEMON, farmer, P. O. Columbia Cross Roads, was born in Sparta, Sussex Co., N. J., April 12, 1828, and is a son of John and Zuba (DeWitt) Joralemon, who settled in Columbia township, in 1843, locating on the farm now owned and occupied by our subject, and a part of which they cleared and improved, and died there. Their children were seven, as follows : Margaret (Mrs. Joseph VanKirk). John H., James L., Abram, Charles W., Edward and Joseph. Charles W. was reared in New Jersey, until fifteen years of age, when be removed with his parents to Columbia township, in 1843; has always lived on the old homestead since, to which he succeeded upon the death of his father, and which he partially cleared and improved. May 4, 1851, he married Lydia, daughter of George and Leefe (Ken- nedy) Wolfe, and granddaughter of Michael and Elizabeth (Furman) Wolfe, who settled in Columbia township. This union has been blessed with three children : Edward, Hosea, and Leitha (Mrs. Stephen Budd). Mr. Joralemon is one of the prominent farmers and citizens of Columbia township; in politics he is a Democrat.

JOSEPH JORALEMON, Troy, was born in Sparta, Sussex Co., N. J., in the year 1834, and is a son of John and Zuba (DeWitt) Joral- emon. In 1843 he moved with his parents to Columbia township, this county. In 1859 he married Melissa Hall, and settled in Troy, where he kept a meat-market for a number of years, and during the war was proprietor of the "Bradford House," and at the same time had a contract with the Government to feed the invalid corps and drafted men. In 1864 he kept a clothing store at Troy, and from 1865 until 1871 was extensively engaged in lumbering in Orange county, N. Y., but at the latter date he returned to Troy with his family, which con- sisted of a wife and three children, namely: Mertin E., Lillian (Mrs. Dr. P. N. Barker) and Effie. Since 1871 he has been in the meat and oyster business in Troy, with the exception of 1876, when he kept a boarding house in Philadelphia.

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

H. D. JUMP, druggist, Sayre, is a native of Franklin, N. Y., and is a son of Willard and Mary (Howe) Jump, natives of New York, the former of whom, a farmer, died in Jefferson, Schoharie Co., N. Y., in 1865, in his thirty-second year. The mother survives, and resides in Sayre. The subject of this biographical memoir completed his educa- tion in the Delaware Literary Institute ; then served an apprenticeship at the drug trade, in Franklin, N. Y., where he clerked six years. In the spring of 1886, he came to Sayre, and engaged in the drug business in the Wilber House block, where he carries a large and fancy stock of drugs, school-books, and stationery. He is a member of the Iron Hall, Sexennial League, and Fraternal Guardian, and is a Republican in his political preferments.

PATRICK KANE, farmer, Standing Stone township, P. O. Rum- merfield, was born in Londonderry, Ireland, November 16, 1827. His father, Hugh Kane, was born in the same place, a son of Owen Kane. Hugh Kane married Margaret McCloskey, and had six children, all of whom came to this country: John; Annie, wife of Augustus Con- nelly; Patrick; Katie, wife of Frederick Mall; Michael, Henry, and Mary, wife of Patrick Hart. Hugh Kane died in 1858, and his wife in 1873. Patrick, the subject of this sketch, first stopped at Philadel- phia, and went from there to Schuylkill county, where he remained until 1857, and then to Luzerne county, where he remained until 1867, during which time he was coal mining. He then came to Standing Stone, and began farming, and has followed it successfully ever since. In 1869 he purchased, from Henry Noble, 116 acres, and now has over 300 acres, all finely improved. He married, December 25, 18-, Bridget, daughter of James and Ella (McLoughlin) Kane, and had nine chil- dren, as follows: Unity M., born September 27, 1856 ; Maggie A., born April 6, 1858, married to James Moan ; Ella, born August 13, 1861, wife of John Myers; Bridget, born in February, 1864, died in 1867; Agnes, born in August, 1866, died in 1867; Patrick J., born April 30, 1866; Michael Henry, born June 4, 1868; James Christopher, born December 14, 1870, and Charles Francis, born March 20, 1874, and died August 24, 1886. Mr. and Mrs. Kane and family attend the Catholic Church ; Mr. Kane and his brother Michael served thirty days in Company D, Eighth Regiment Pennsylvania Militia.

ALANSON LAFAYETTE KEELER, telegrapher, Standing Stone, was born in Wyalusing township, August 11, 1860. His father, Edwin Keeler, was a native of Connecticut, born November 5, 1824; he came to this State in his sixth year, with his mother and two elder brothers, Lafayette and William ; he attended the district school, and learned cabinet-making, and followed this until his death, which occurred December 5, 1888. He married Ella Sill, a daughter of William and Mary (Butler) Keeler, natives of Connecticut, and they had six chil- dren : Amelia, wife of William Brown; Lydia; Helen, wife of John McDonald ; George William; Louisa and Alanson Lafayette; the mother died in 1862, and grandmother Keeler in 1867. Alanson Lafavette Koeler attended the public school until his twentieth year, and in his twenty-second year began an apprenticeship to his present business, and became thoroughly proficient therein; he then was

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

employed by the Lehigh Valley Railroad as night telegraph operator, which position he held until March 1, 1890, when he was transferred to his present position, as day operator. He was assistant postmaster at Standing Stone four years ; is a member of the Patriotic Order Sons of America; his politics are Democratic. He married, February 27, 1887, Mrs. Libbie Holman, widow of O. P. Holman, and daughter of J. J. and Lodema (Birdsall) Slyder. She died July 9, 1889, leaving one child, Cora Holman, who was born April 28, 1876.

EZRA P. KEELER, farmer, Pike township, P. O. Le Raysville, was born in Brookfield, Conn., April 5, 1838, and is the fourth child of Barrett B. and Cynthia (Whitlock) Keeler, who came to Bradford county in 1845, and located on a farm in Litchfield township. Ezra assisted his father in clearing up a farm of 100 acres, and attended the district school until his fifteenth year. At the age of eighteen he began life for himself, working on a farm in Pike township; from 1859 to 1864 he worked at the harness-maker's trade with G. N. De Wolf, at Brushville. On September 19, 1864, he enlisted, at Owego, N. Y., in the Fiftieth New York Engineers, and went to City Point, where he was transferred to Company M, Fifteenth New York Engineers ; he was discharged at Fort Berry, Va., June 13, 1865, and mustered out at Elmira, N. Y. He then returned to Brushville, where he lived three years, and during the next four years he resided on a farm in Orwell township; then purchased his present home. Besides attending to his farm Mr. Keeler has worked at his trade of harness- making. He was married, March 25, 1856, to Martha I., daughter of Platt and Lydia (Chapel) Wood, and they have had three children, of whom Newell C., the only survivor, is a farmer near Binghamton, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Keeler are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at LeRaysville; he is a charter member of Spalding Post, No. 33, G. A. R., and in politics he is a Republican.

JOHN G. KEELER, mechanic, was born in Wyalusing, April 12, 1834, and is a son of John and Elizabeth (Gregory) Keeler, of Litchfield county, Conn. His father was a mechanic, and came to this county in 1812, and manufactured the first sash and doors in this part of the county. He built a second factory at Keelerville, in 1836, where he remained until his death in 1876. Of their family of eight children six reached maturity : Henry, a lieutenant in Company B, One Hun- dred and Forty-First Regiment, P. V. I. (is now an attorney at Topeka, Kans.); Charles, a sergeant in Company K, Fiftieth Regiment, P. V. I., served nearly two years, and died one year after his discharge of injuries received while in service ; Elisha S., served nearly two years at the close of the war, having enlisted at the age of sixteen in Com- pany A, One Hundred and Forty-First Regiment, P. V. I, now living in Topeka, Kans., a manufacturer of farming tools; Eliza, married to L. B. Silvara, farmer, of Tuscarora, Pa .; Adelia, married to C. B. Hollen- back, and now resides in Wyalusing borough, and John G., the eldest of the family, who passed his boyhood in this township, and received his education in the common schools and Wyoming Seminary. After completing his education he adopted his father's business and followed it several years; then came to the village of Wyalusing and engaged

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

in the drug business, which he sold to I. M. Allis in 1872, and in 1878 opened a Yankee notion store, which he continued until the spring of 1885, when he was appointed postmaster. and served four years. In 1856, he married Mary S., a daughter of Elias Vaughan, Sr., of Wya- lusing township, and has a family of three children: John V., the eldest, graduated from Lafayette College in the class of 1884, taking the degrees of A. M. and A. B., and is now principal of the LeRays- ville Academy, which position he has filled for the past five years; S. Elizabeth ( deceased ), married to C. P. Wagner, of Wysox, Pa., and left one daughter, Iona, who now lives with her grandparents; and John G., who enlisted twice in the State militia, during the war, when the State was invaded by the Confederates. He is a prominent Free- mason and a Sir Knight. In his political views he is a Democrat, and has held the various township and borough offices: is now a member of the borough council.

JOHN A. KEEN, farmer, P. O. Rummerfield Creek, is one of the leading and influential citizens of Bradford county, and in his social and home life is regarded by all as a most valuable citizen. By the congrega- tion of the Keen Summit Church he is regarded as the foster father of that organization, and its fine church building and present prosperous congregation, as is well indicated by the corporate name of the insti- tution, toward the building up of which he is the leading spirit. He was born in Sussex county, N. J., January 30, 1820, and is a son of William Keen, a native of New Jersey, born in 1792, and a grandson of John Keen, of German descent, who had five children by his first wife : Peter, Abraham, George. Mary (wife of Richard Stull), and Lizzie (wife of George Emory); by his second wife, Rose, he had four children : William, Isaac, Aaron and Nancy. William Keen came to this State in 1847, bringing with him his wife, nee Elizabeth Huff, daughter of Peter Huff ; they had a family of eight children : John A., Sarah Anne (wife of James Crawn), Joseph, Aaron, Polly, Theophi- ilus, Peter, and Mary (wife of Sterling Dixon). William Keen died in September, 1880, and his wife in 1882.

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History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 106

Author: Bradsby, H. C. (Henry C.) Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Chicago, S. B. Nelson Number of Pages: 1340

Author: Bradsby, H. C. (Henry C.)
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1340