History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 107

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

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John A. Keen attended the district school until his twentieth year, then worked on a farm. Coming to this county, in 1847, on a prospecting trip, he found employment in a lumber camp two years. In the latter part of 1847 he purchased the settler's claim of E. R. Myer, and perfected the title by purchasing the land of Michael Meylert (about 147 acres), and has added to this more or less acres nearly every year since; has built his residence and farm buildings, and made all general improvements, having now one of the best farms in the county. He is to-day a fine sample of what an American boy, full of energy, honesty and hope can do for himself in this favored land. He mar- ried. in 1851, Sarah, daughter of Theodore and Maria (Crawn) Daugh- erty, natives of New Jersey. To John A. and Sarah Keen have been born fourteen children, of whom those now living are Aaron, Henri- etta, John, Ada, Edie, Julia, Ella and Emma-a large family, but of that kind for which this world will always have plenty of room.

ROBERT KEEN, farmer, Towanda township, P. (). Towanda, was born October 19, 1844, and is a son of Andrew and Mary (Auble)

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

Keen, natives of New Jersey, whose ancestors were of German extrac- tion. Robert Keen is the fourth of a family of seven-one daughter and six sons-all of whom, excepting the daughter, are living. Mr. Keen was united in matrimony, November 17, 1866, to Abbie C., daughter of Henry and Laura L. (Overton) Donley, natives of this State; she was born March 25, 1846, the eighth in a family of ten children-six girls and four boys-and is a native of this county. There have been born to them four children, as follows: Ella, wife of Edward Barnes, son of William Barnes ; Miles, Nora and Oakley. Mr. Keen has had his own way to make in the world, and by his persever- ance and industry is now the owner of a well-improved farm in North Towanda, where he resides, in a very picturesque locality. He is one of the leading farmers in the vicinity, having combined the raising of tobacco with general farining and stock-raising. He is an active member of the I. O. O. F., and has taken a great interest in the public schools, having served nine years as school director. He is a Demo- crat in politics, and a man of good moral principals and much respected by the community; he came from Sussex county, N. J., abont thirty-three years ago, to Standing Stone, and soon after located where he now lives. Mrs. Keen is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of Towanda, and has taken an active interest in the Sunday-school.

AUGUSTUS G. KELLEY, farmer, P. O. LeRoy, was born in Mid- dletown, Delaware Co., N. Y., a son of Edmund and Salina (Stephens) Kelley, the former born in Albany county, N. Y., the latter in Dela- ware county, N. Y. Edmund Kelley is the son of Edmund Kelley who was born in Dutchess county, N. Y., and served in the Revolutionary War a term of three and one half years; after his discharge from Washington's army he was in the War of 1812, when again, though advanced in years, the old soldier met the enemy of his country. Edmund Kelley, Jr., removed from Delaware county to LeRoy town- ship in 1847, and took up a tract of land of 300 acres; he is now living, at the age of eighty-eight, able to chop his own wood, and make his own garden ; his family consists of ten children, all of whom are now living. Augustus G. was reared and educated in Delaware county, N. Y., until his thirteenth year, when he removed with his father to this county. At the age of twenty, May 21, 1854, he married Dillie, daughter of H. K. and Sallie Holcomb, of LeRoy. Mrs. Kelley is a granddaughter of Alpheus Holcomb, one of the first settlers of LeRoy township. To them were born two children : the elder, Eugene, was born in October, 18-, married to Laura, daughter of Hoyt and Mary Ann Chaapel, and has two children ; the younger, George, was born May 16, 18 -. Mr. Kelley is an enterprising farmer, having cleared and improved 200 acres of land ; he owns about four hundred acres in this county, and almost the same in Cameron county, Pa., all of which he accumulated by his own industry; he is also an extensive stock-raiser and speculator ; is Independent in politics.

CURTIS KELLEY, farmer, P. O. LeRoy, was born in LeRoy town ship, this county, August 4, 1849, a son of Edmund and Salina (Stephens) Kelley, the former a native of Albany county, N. Y., the latter of

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

Delaware county, N. Y. The father is the son of Edmund Kelley, of Revolutionary fame, and who afterward fought in the War of 1812. Edmund Kelley, Jr., removed from Delaware county, N. Y., to LeRoy, settling on a tract of land of 300 acres, where he engaged in farming and lumbering; he is now living, at the age of eighty-eight, and able to do his own gardening; his family consists of ten children- eight sons and two daughters-all of whom grew to maturity, and are now living, seven in this county. The subject of this memoir is the seventh in the family, and was reared and educated in the town of LeRoy, confining himself to farming and lumbering. At the age of twenty-three he married Arsula, daughter of Frederick and Lucy Smith, natives of this county ; Mr. Smith was a blacksmith, and died while in the army. To Mr. and Mrs. Kelley were born three daughters : Amy, born in July, 1874; Edith, born in November, 1876, and Matie, born in 1883. Mr. Kelley is an extensive farmer, confining his business to stock-raising and butter-making. Politically he is Democratic.

C. A. KELLEY, farmer, P. O. LeRoy, was born in LeRoy, Septem- ber 24, 1841, a son of John and Abigail (Burroughs) Kelley, both of · whom were born in the town of Roxburg, Delaware Co., N. Y., the former being a son of Edmund Kelley, a Revolutionary soldier. John Kelley removed to LeRoy about 1838, and engaged in farming; his family consisted of six children-four sons and two daughters-all of whom grew to maturity. The subject of this memoir, who is the sixth in the family, was reared in LeRoy, and educated at the common schools. He married Lydia S., daughter of J. G. and Salome Ham- mond, of LeRoy, and to them were born three children, as follows : Judson, born January 15, 1871; Florence, born June 20, 1873; and Fanny, born November 7, 1876, all of whom are living and unmarried at this date. In early life Mr. Kelley was somewhat engaged in lum- bering ; also kept a store at LeRoy Corners. His farm consists of 250 acres of land, well adapted to general farming. He served his country by paying $700 for a substitute. He is a member of the Baptist Church ; in politics he is an Independent.

CHARLES KELLOGG, mechanical engineer, Athens, is a native of Montgomery county, N. Y., born July 12, 1836, a son of William and A. M. (Lovell) Kellogg, the former a native of Connecticut, and the latter of Dutchess county, N. Y. William Kellogg was a general mechanic and bridge builder, and for some years resided in Easton, Pa., where he died in his seventieth year in 1883; his wife, and mother of his children, had died in the same place six years previously, 1877, in her sixty-first year. The Kelloggs are of the good old Revolutionary stock. The paternal great-grandfather of the gentleman whose naine heads this article, was a soldier in the line under Washington. William Kellogg had a family of four children, of whom Charles is the third in the order of birth. The subject grew to manhood in his father's home and learned the lesson of an honest mechanic's son at his father's trade, and gave the usual attendance upon the neighborhood schools in the vicinity; and by the time he had attained his majority he was a fairly skilled mechanic, millwright and bridge builder. His father's family removed from Albany to Easton in 1857, and in 1862 the young man

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

embarked in business for himself, contracting and bridge building, and was thus engaged in Easton until 1869, when he changed his residence to Athens, his present home. Here he started, without capital, his little shop, in Marcb, 1869, that is now the great and world-wide Union Bridge Company, but at first was known as the Athens Bridge Works. In 1884 he sold his interests here in the Bridge Works, and in 1889 organized the Elmira Bridge Company, and he is the present head of the concern, which employs in the shops over two hundred men. Charles Kellogg and Anna A. Pike were united in marriage, in 1867, in the borough of Athens; she is the daughter of John M. and M. S. (Lockwood) Pike, of the city of New York and Bradford county, respectively ; there were three children in this family who grew to maturity, of whom she is the third, and was born in Ulster township, this county, in June, 1842. Of this union there are two children : Clara A. and Charles F. Kellogg. This is one of the pleasant and prominent families in the social circles of Athens. Mr. Kellogg is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, Rural Amity Lodge, No. 70, also a member of the Amrican Society of Civil Engineers and the American Geographical Society. In political matters he affiliates with the Republican party, but is not a politician, rather giving his time and attention to his business, and the claims of his little family circle.

MYRON KELLOGG, farmer, of Asylum township, P. O. Liberty Corners, was born in Monroe township, this county, March 19, 1825, and is a son of Moses and Mehetabel (Mason) Kellogg. The Kellogg family in America date back to three Scotch brothers, who removed to Massachusetts at a very early day. Amasa, a descendant of one of the brothers, and the grandfather of Myron, came to Monroe town- ship in 1813, to act as deputy for Abner C. Rockwell, then sheriff of the county ; he was in the War of 1812. In the family of Moses Kel- logg there were eleven children, eight yet living, of whom Myron is the eldest. Our subject was reared on the farm, educated in the common school, and began life for himself at twenty-one, lumbering and farm- ing on a part of the old homestead; he purchased his present home in 1864, where he has since given his undivided attention to the cultiva- tion of the soil. He was married, October 28, 1850, to Miss Lydia McMichen, of Towanda, by whom he had four children : Amanda E. (horn November 10, 1851, married to Edward Shepherd, of Terrytown); John Myron (born October 21, 1860, a civil engineer of Baltimore, Md.), and two who died in infancy. Mrs. Kellogg died June 5, 1863, and Mr. Kellogg was married, February 28, 1864, to Mrs. Charles Atnot, formerly Miss Rebecca M. VanGorder, daughter of T. M. and Julia A. (Overton) VanGorder, of Asylum. Mr. Kellogg was for- merly a Whig, and is now a Republican ; has been road commissioner, school director and collector of taxes.

EPHRAIM B. KENDALL, farmer, Granville township, P. O. Lc- Roy, was born in Tompkins county, N. Y., December 13, 1844, a son of Sylvester and Emily (Gray) Kendall, who settled in Granville, in 1853, where the father purchased the farm now owned by Horace Welch, and lived there until 1868, when he removed to East Troy, this county, where he now resides; he had a family of five children : Ephraim B.,

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

Horatio, Joseph, Lawrence and Orange. The three eldest of these were soldiers in the Civil War, Horatio dying while in the service. Our subject enlisted, September 15, 1864, in Company K, Second New York Cavalry, and was in the following battles: Cedar Run, Five Forks, and some minor engagements. After nine months' service he was honorably discharged, and since the war he has resided in Gran- ville township, and engaged in farming. In 1876, he married Sarah, daughter of Silas Mallory, of Chemung county, N. Y. Mr. Kendall is an enterprising citizen of Granville; in politics he is a Republican. J. W. KENDALL, dealer in musical instruments, Athens, is a native of East Burlington, this county, and was born February 7, 1864, a son of Lawrence W. (a farmer) and Jane ( Burns) Kendall, natives of this county. He is the youngest in a family of five children, and was reared on a farm, receiving a common-school education. He served an apprenticeship of four years, at the cabinet-maker's trade, and came to Athens in September, 1888, commencing business where he is located at the present time. He was married in Rome, N. Y., October 20, 1885, to Miss Lizzie, daughter of George and Anna (Mar- tin) Neiss, natives of Germany (she is the youngest in a family of seven children, and was born in Rome, Oneida Co., N. Y., November 23, 1864). They are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. Kendall is a member of the Iron Hall, Golden Cycle and I. O. O. F .; politically he is a Democrat.

ROBERT C. KENDALL, Troy, was born in what is now North Towanda township, this county, December 12, 1836, and is a son of William V. and Sarah M. (Cash) Kendall. His father was a native of Norwich, England, a son of William Kendall, and in early manhood came to America and settled in Bradford county, Pa; about 1833 he married a daughter of Isaac Cash, a pioneer of Sheshequin township; the issue of this union was four children : W. Cash, Robert C., Charles F. and George V .; for some years Mr. Kendall was associated with his brother John in the hotel business at Athens, this county; in 1848 he located in Troy, where he resided until his death in 1868; he was for a number of years a justice of the peace of Troy, and held the office at the time of his death. Robert C. Kendall, the subject of this sketch, was reared in Troy from twelve years of age, received a com- mon-school education, studied dentistry with Dr. A. M. Dartt, of Troy, later with N. W. Kingsley, and at Auburn, N. Y., with George W. Tripp; he began the practice of his profession in Troy in 1859, where, with the exception of two years, he has been in active prac- tice since. In 1863 he married Sarah, daughter of Thomas and Polly (Wilbur) Baldwin, of Troy, and has one daughter, Anna W. Mr. Kendall is a prominent member of the Masonic Fraternity; a charter member of Troy Chapter, No. 261, and past master of Blue Lodge; in politics he is a Democrat.

JAMES KERWIN, of the firm of Kerwin Brothers, liverymen, Towanda, was born in Towanda in 1848. a son of John and Julia (Blake) Kerwin, natives of County Tipperary, Ireland, who came to America about 1847. The father has been engaged in farming many years, and has resided continuously in Towanda since 1859 ; he was twice married :

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

his first wife was Julia Blake, by whom he had five children, viz .: Ellen (Mrs. Charles Huffner), James, William, Kate (Mrs. Simon Cullnan), and Mary (Mrs. John Cullnan); lus second wife was Bridget Butler, by whom he had six children, viz .: John, Daniel, Joseph, Thomas, Bridget and Agatha. James Kerwin was reared in Towanda, where he received a public-school education. For the past ten years he has been engaged in the livery business in Towanda, with his brother William, under the firm name of Kirwin Brothers. In 1874 he married Mar- garet, daughter of James and Lizzie (McGuone) Carron, of Seneca county, N. Y., and has eight children : John F., Lizzie M., Julia V., Annie, Mary M., James Edward, Genevieve and Bernard. Mr. Kerwin is a member of the Catholic Church, and in politics is a Democrat.

C. F. KIERSTED, physician, Gillett, was born in Fallsburg, Sullivan Co., N. Y., September 23, 1844, a son of J. L. and Abigail (Kniffin) Kiersted, the former of whom was born in 1806, in Phila- delphia, of German descent, and was a pioneer of Sullivan county ; the latter was born in New York. J. L. Kiersted was a mechanic as well as a farmer ; during the War of 1812 he used to go with his uncle, HI. T. Kiersted (who adopted him and who was a general in the army of that day) to see the soldiers drill. He had a family of nine children, six of whom grew to maturity, and five are now living. Our subject, who is the fourth in the family, was reared, and educated at the com- mon school, in Sullivan county; he studied medicine under Dr. Allen, of Broome county, N. Y., and was graduated from the Geneva Medical College. He began his medical profession in South Creek (Gillett), this county, in 1872, and has built up a large practice by his superior skill, and attention to his business, and has thereby accumulated quite a large property for his age and years of practice. In October, 1874, he mar- ried S. Elizabeth, daughter of Martin M. and Clarissa W. Carr, of Wells township. The Doctor and his wife are very fond of flowers and honse plants, well understanding their wants, and have the largest oleander in the county, measuring ten feet in heighth and five feet in width of branches, stem two and one half in diameter. Dr. Kiersted is a member of the Golden Cycle and K. of H .; politically he is a Republican.

CAPTAIN GEORGE W. KILMER, farmer, P. O. Towanda, was born in the town of Asylum, this county, February 2, 1842, and is a son of Joshua and Margaret (Dings) Kilmer, natives of Schoharie county, N. Y., born of Dutch extraction, and who came to this county in 1840, locating in Asylum. Capt. Kilmer was reared on his father's farm, the one now owned by Joel Stevens, and educated in the schools of the town, and at the Susquehanna Collegiate Institute, Towanda. He taught school a short time, and when nineteen years of age he enlisted in Company C, One Hundred and Forty-first P. V. I., went to the front, and was soon elected sergeant ; also, for distinguished brav- ery in many battles, he was commissioned first lieutenant, and soon thereafter was promoted to a captaincy, being the youngest officer in his regiment; he was wounded at the battle of Morris' Farm, in Vir- ginia, was taken prisoner and sent to Libby prison, but returned home at the close of the war. Capt. Kilmer was united in marriage, Octo- ber 11, 1865, with Helen A. Noble, who was born March 12, 1840, a

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

daughter of Levi and Diana (Clough) Noble, natives of Broome county, N. Y., and there have been born to them two children, as follows: J. Noble, born April 22, 1868, married to Tillie DeLong; and J. Marion, born March 18, 1880. Capt. Kilmer is a member of the G. A. R. Post, is president of the Farmers' Alliance Lodge, and in politics is a Republican. In 1875 he was elected county commis- sioner, and has since been frequently honored with positions of public trust, having always proved an efficient and popular officer, one of pleasing and cominanding address, and one of the county's most worthy citizens. The family are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which Mr. Kilmer has been a steward twenty-five years. He has a fine farm of nearly two hundred acres, highly im- proved and successfully operated.

WILLIAM H. KING, farmer, Wysox township, P. O. Wysox, was born in Orange county, N. Y., December 27, 1836, a son of Gabriel and Sarah (Bull) King, natives of New York, the former of French and the latter of German and Irish descent. In his father's family there were nine children, of whom our subject is the eldest; he located on his present home in 1866, and has given his attention chiefly to farming. He married, December 5, 1866, Emma E., daughter of Jackson and Elizabeth (Olendoofe) Poole, natives of New York, and of Holland and German lineage, respectively. They have had five children born unto them, as follows: Elizabeth, born September 5, 1867, and died May 31, 1869; Edith A., born October 4, 1870, mar- ried to L. D. Green, farmer and carpenter, Wysox, and has one child, Carrie O., born August 16, 1889; George H., born September 3, 1872, died February 15, 1874; Abel S., born May 28, 1875, and Robert L., born June 11, 1887. Mr. King is a stanch Democrat, and has held the offices of school director, commissioner and assessor.

L. S. KINGSBURY, farmer, Sheshequin, is the son of Col. Joseph Kingsbury, a surveyor, who was born in Enfield, Conn., in 1774, who came to this county when nineteen years old, his baggage in a hand- kerchief, and made his home with Gen. Simon Spalding, and surveyed and plotted nearly all the land of this and adjoining counties. Joseph Kingsbury married Miss Spalding, a daughter of Gen. Spalding, and died January 22, 1849, leaving ten children-five boys and five girls-who grew to maturity, as follows: Polly, married to Allen Smith ; Almira, married to Charles Comstock; Byron, married to Wealthy Ann Gore; Burton, married to Rowena Scott; Eliza, married to Ira H. Stevens; Henry, married to Matilda Clisba; Joseph, married to Matilda Mix; Marion, married to George Sanderson; Helen, mar- ried to M. C. Mercur; and L. S. Kingbury. The first house built in the township was on the farm now owned by Mr. Kingsbury, a log house built by Gen. Spalding in 1783, on the banks of a little run a short dis- tance from the river. L. S. Kingsbury grew to manhood on his father's farm in Sheshequin, and attended school at the academy of Athens and Towanda, gaining a good education. When seventeen years old he commenced life for himself, working his father's farm, and has con- trolled the homestead since. In 1866 he purchased a stable in Towanda, and was proprietor of that for nearly twenty years. In 1884 and 1885,

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

he was at Athens engaged in training trotting horses for the track, and among others was W. M. Mallory, that sold for $10,500; he is the owner of G. D. S. that has a record of 2.291. The old homestead contains 180 acres, one half of which is bottom land. He was married February 28, 1844, to Sarah, daughter of William and Jennie Myers Osborn, natives of Orange county, N. Y .; their family consisted of three daughters: Alice, married to O. D. Kinney, and died without issue; Gracie G., married to John Childs, also died childless; and Myra, who is an Universalist minister of note of Morrisville, Vt. The family are Universalists. Mr. Kingsbury is a member of the I. O. O. F., Valley Lodge, No. 644, and has passed all the chairs ; and in politics he is a Republican.

J. C. KINGSLAND, blacksmith, Gillett, was born in Windham township, this county, July 1, 1854. He was reared and educated in Windham and Sheshequin townships, and when nineteen years old commenced to serve an apprenticeship of nearly three years to W. M. Segar, as blacksmith and horse-shoer, serving additional time in another shop where he completed the rudiments of his trade. He is the son of John and Elmira (Elsbree) Kingsland, former of whom is a native of New York City, a stone-cutter by trade, who removed to this county about the year 1840, the latter, a native of Windham, Bradford Co., Pa., a daughter of Joseph Elsbree, who came from the East in the early settlement of the county ; she was a near relative of William Mackey, of Revolutionary fame. To them were born three children, all of whom are living, prosperous and enterprising, our subject being the second in order of birth. J. C. Kingsland first opened a shop for himself in Fassett, near the State line, where he spent thirteen years of his best days, in building up a trade both extensive and lucrative. He is a practical horse-shoer, and has made the anatomy of that animal, especially the foot, a study; he can name all the parts in relation of the one to the other ; demonstrate the shoe as adapted to the various forms of particular hoofs, also the peculiar gait or habit of the horse while on the road, and the advantages of one kind of shoe over the other; he manufactures 213 different kinds of practical shoes, and treats to some extent the diseases of the foot; he has samples of shoes showing the various kinds in use and their purpose, also dis- playing his great skill in their construction. Owing to failing health Mr. Kingsland contemplates converting his shop into a lecture room, and, as lecturer, his subject will be the horse-his habits, tempera- ment, how to handle, and especially how to properly shoe him. Mr. Kingsland removed from Fassett to Gillett in 1886, where he had married, in 1877, Miss Mary E., daughter of John and Esther Darmstead, of Steuben county, N. Y. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kingsland, named as follows : George A., Lela (deceased), Clara, Roxanna, Edna and Helen.ª

G. A. KINNEY, of the firm of Fitch & Kinney, dealers in hard- ware, Athens, is a native of Steuben county, N. Y., born March 23, 1843, a son of C. D. and Eliza (Northrup) Kinney, natives of New York. The father, who was a minister of the Christain Church, died in Lawrenceville, Tioga Co., Pa., in 1878 ; the mother died in Osceola,

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

Pa., in 1884. G. A. Kinney is the eldest in a family of three children. Upon completing his studies at the public schools, he attended the State Normal School at Mansfield, Pa., about one year; then taught school three years, and clerked in a hardware store about one year; then embarked in the hardware business at Osceola, Pa., whence, after eighteen months, he removed to Covington, Pa., remaining there about two years, when he removed to Athens, in the spring of 1870, and engaged in the hard ware trade with Mr. Eitch. In connection with their extensive hardware establishment the firm have a tinning and plumb- ing department, and they also do a large business in steam and hot- air heaters, for public and private buildings. During his early life Mr. Kinney had to depend on his own resources. He was married, in Athens, June 7, 1876, to Miss Laura, daughter of J. M. and Juliett (Camp) Ely, the former a native of Springfield, the latter of Owego, N. Y. She was the youngest in a family of five children that grew to maturity, born in New York City, in 1848, and died in Athens, in 1879 ; she was a consistent member of the Presbyterian Church. By this union was one son, Ely M. Mr. Kinney was married, the second time, September 24, 1885, to Miss Juliett Ely, a native of New York City, born in 1846. Mr. and Mrs. Kinney are members of the Presby- terian Church, in which he holds the office of deacon. He is a mem- ber of the F. & A. M., Rural Amity, Lodge, No. 70, also the Knights of Honor. He is a Republican, and served one term in the council; in 1888 he was elected burgess, and has been re-elected twice.

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History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 107

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