History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 111

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

USA > Pennsylvania > Bradford County > History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections > Part 111

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

GEORGE W. LENTZ, foreman in foundry, L. V. R. R. shops, Savre, is a native of Weatherly, Carbon Co., Pa., born September 3, 1847, a son of George and Mary M. (Kibler) Lentz, natives of the same county. The father, who was a carpenter, died in Weatherly in 1873, in his sixty-fifth year; the mother resides in Carbon county. George W., who is the ninth in the order of birth in a family of ten children, of whom three are living, received a common-school educa- tion, and clerked in a dry-goods store a year; then in 1863 was employed by the Beaver Meadow Railroad Company (now a branch

966

HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

of the L. V. R. R.). in the foundry, where he worked about twenty- one years, acting in the capacity of assistant foreman from 1870 to 1884, when he went to Easton, Pa., and engaged in the foundry busi- ness for himself, but remained there only one year, and worked a short time in Birmingham, Ala .; then was in the Standard Steel Works, of Thurlow, Pa., and the Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia ; from the latter he came to Sayre in 1886, where he was employed as fore- man of the foundry, and has acted in that capacity since. Mr. Lentz was married in Weatherly, Pa., in December, 1874, to Miss Mary A., daughter of Joseph and Ann (Burn) Fletcher, the former of whom was a native of England, and the latter of Wales; her father is a molder and a resident of Waverly, N.Y .; she is the eldest of eight liv- ing children, and was born in Easton, February 10, 1854. Mrs. Lentz is a member of the Presbyterian Church; Mr. Lentz is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Sodi Lodge, No. 80. He is a stanch Repub- lican, and served a term as school director in Weatherly.

HENRY STEVER LEONARD, a prominent merchant, of Troy, was born in Springfield. township, this county, November 1, 1828, a son of Ezekiel and Huldah (Stever) Leonard. His paternal grand- father, Ezekiel Leonard, formerly of Springfield, Mass., moved to Springfield, this county, about 1806, and cleared and improved the farm now occupied by Mrs. Isaac P. Doane, where he resided until his death; his children were: Ezekiel, Nathaniel, Lyman, Eber, Fred K., Albert, Alfred, Laura (Mrs. Joel Calkins), and Abby (Mrs. Abel Leon- ard). Of these, Ezekiel, the eldest son, a native of Springfield, Mass., came to this county with his parents, and on attaining his majority cleared and improved a farm in Springfield; for some years he resided in Troy, and died there; his wife was a daughter of Jacob Stever, of Schoharie county, N. Y., and they had nine children: Huldah (Mrs. J. P. Burnham), Lucy (Mrs. Nathan Sherman), Rhoda (Mrs. Eleazer Pomeroy), Angeline, Olive S., Betsey (Mrs. William R. Buck), Henry S., Renselaer and Solyman M. Henry Stever Leonard was reared in Springfield, educated in the common schools and at Troy Academy. He began life as a clerk in Troy in 1845, and served in this capacity until 1852, when he purchased an interest in a dry-goods store, which, as Maxwell & Leonard, was run two years, when the business was sold to John E. Goodrich, Mr. Leonard remaining with Mr. Goodrich as manager for four years. On April 1, 1857, Mr. Leonard embarked in the dry-goods and grocery business, continuing alone for two years, when he took his brother, S. M. Leonard, and Thomas Maxwell into partnership, and the business was continued as Maxwell, Leonard & Bro., until 1862, when the business was sold to S. M. Leonard. Maxwell & Leonard thien conducted a produce busi- ness until the fall of 1866. In 1866 Mr. Leonard, with Mr. Maxwell and G. F. Redington, erected the handsome store now occupied by him, and on October 20, of that year, as Redington, Maxwell & Leon- ard, embarked in the business of general merchandising, which con- tinued until 1874, when Mr. Maxwell retired; the business was con- tinued as Redington & Leonard until 1878, and up to February 7. 1891, as the Redington & Leonard Co., and since as H. S. Leonard &

967

HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

Son. Mr. Leonard married, January 4, 1860, Ann E., daughter of Spencer and Amna (Austin) Crouch, of Cortland, N. Y., and has two children, Harry S. and Anna E. Mr. Leonard is one of Troy's leading merchants, and an enterprising and substantial citizen; he is a member of the Presbyterian Church and I. O. O. F., and he is a Republican.

A. B. LEWIS, harness manufacturer, Wyalusing, was born in Del- aware county, N. Y., January 19, 1842, and is a son of James and Catherine (Belknap) Lewis, the former of whom was a native of Con- necticut, and the latter of New York. The father, who was a carpenter, but after many years turned his attention to farming and lumbering, removed, in 1847, from New York to Wyoming county, and from there to Bradford, in 1854, locating in Terry township, where he fol- lowed farming and lumbering until his death, in 1882, being then eighty-two years old; his wife died the following year, aged seventy- eight years. They had a family of eight children, viz .: Hannah, mar- ried to Abram C. Crounce, a farmer of New York; Martha, married to Israel VanLuvanel, a lumberman, of Terry township; Ransaler, a lumberman and mill-owner, of New Erie, Pa .; Sallie Ann, married to David A. Loomis, a carpenter, of New York; Aborn, who was a sol- dier in Company C, Fiftieth P. V. I., and was killed at Spottsylvania; Joseph C., a farmer, of Battle Creek, Mich .; A. B, and Julia, married to Norman White, of Sullivan county. A. B. Lewis spent his boy- hood in Wyoming and Bradford counties, attending the common schools until he was seventeen years of age; was then apprenticed to learn the harness maker's trade, and worked over five years. On March 20, 1864, he enlisted in Company G, Fiftieth P. V. V. I., and served until after the battle of Petersburg, participating in the follow- ing engagements : Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North Ann, Cold Harbor, Nye River and Petersburg ; during the battle of Petersburg, June 18, 1864, while in line of battle, and charging the enemy's works, he received a gunshot wound in the upper portion of the left arm, which shattered the bone, leaving a permanent injury, greatly impairing the use of the arm. He was taken from the battle field to Barrack Branch of Lincoln Hospital, and after two weeks was removed to Ches- nut Hill Hospital, Philadelphia, where he remained about seven months ; was then transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps, in which he served until mustered out. After returning home he commenced work, November, 1865, at his trade, and in the spring of 1867 he pur- chased the business of Mr. Towner, which he has since conducted alone ; his plant is supplied with modern machinery for the manufacture of hand-made harness, and his trade is extensive. Mr. Lewis was united in marriage April 4, 1868, with E. M. Adams, daughter of Lewis and Sal- lie (Robart) Adams; but, two of the family are living, Mrs. Lewis and Mrs. Daniel Bennett, of New Albany, this county. To Mr. and Mrs. Lewis were born two children : Frank C., born in 1869, and who lived about eight years, and J. Burt, born March 2, 1873, a student in Mil- ler's School of Commerce, at Elmira. Mr. Lewis is a member of White Lilly Lodge, No. 808, I. O. O. F., and has taken all the subordi- nate degrees, and has passed all the chairs ; is a member of Jackson

968

HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

Post, No. 74, G. A. R., and is past commander of the same; in politics he is a Republican, and has filled various town and borough offices.

C. J. LEWIS, the well-known merchant of Wyalusing borough, the senior member of the firm of C. J. & E. D. Lewis, one of the largest firms in the township, was born October 17, 1850, in Wyalusing town- ship, son of Augustus and Sarah I. (Stone) Lewis, who are yet liv- ing, residing in the borough. His parents had a family of seven children: of whom four are deceased; those living are G. M., an attorney of Wilkes-Barre; Sarah, wife of J. V. Taylor, farmer and stock-dealer, of Wyalusing, and C. J. The father of our subject devoted the greater portion of his life to mercantile pursuits, commencing business in Wyalusing in 1840 and continuing there until 1877, when he retired, selling to his son C. J., who had thus passed almost his entire life in Wyalusing. C. J. Lewis was educated in the Wyalsuing schools, Towanda Collegiate Institute and Wyoming Seminary, gradua- ting from the latter in 1870, and entered business associated with his father under the firm name of A. Lewis & Son, which firm continued until 1875, when it was changed to A. Lewis & Co., J. Mills Brown purchasing an interest in the same; thus they continued until 1877, when A. Lewis retired, and it became Lewis & Brown until 1883, when Mr. Brown sold; then, until 1886, it was C. J. Lewis, when E. D. Lewis purchased a one-half interest, and the firm has since been C. J. & E. D. Lewis. Their store is the first one started within what is now the borough of Wyalusing, and has had a continuous existence of over fifty years, the firm are probably the largest dealers in hay and country- produce in the county. Mr. C. J. Lewis was united in marriage, November 18, 1879, with Marion Fasset, daughter of Charles Fasset, of Scottsville, Pa. He is a charter member of White Lilly Lodge, No. 808, I, O. O. F .. and has taken all the degrees; he is an active member of the Presbyterian Church, and is a stanch Republican, but not a seeker after political spoils. He owns a handsome residence on Front street, besides other village property.

E. D. LEWIS, junior member of the firm of C. J. and E. D. Lewis, merchants, Wyalusing, was born April 11, 1859, a son of Elisha and Philena (Stevens) Lewis, the former of whom is yet living. His father's family consisted of four children, of whom two died in infancy, W. E., a farmer, of Wyalusing, and E. D. being the only ones left. E. D. Lewis spent his boyhood at Merryall, where he attended the common schools until be was seventeen, when he entered the Collegiate Institute. He was graduated in the commercial class of that institution in 1877, and then came to Wyalusing and entered the employ of Lewis & Brown as clerk, remaining with them until 1882, when he entered the employ of J. Hay & Sons, of Easton, as com- mercial salesman, with whom he was one year, and then returned to Wvalusing, re-entering the employ of Lewis & Brown, with whom he remained until the dissolution of their partnership. He was next for one year with C. J. Lewis, then went to North Carolina and from there to Wilkes-Barre, where he remained until July 31, 1886, when he returned to Wyalusing and became a member of the firm, as above stated. This is one of the large business houses of the borough, and

969

HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

they do an extensive business, carrying a general line of goods and dealing extensively in hay, grain and country produce. Mr. Lewis was united in marriage, December 25, 1883, with Hattie A., Smith, daughter of George Smith, wholesale grocer of Wilkes-Barre, and this union was blessed with two children: George, who died in infancy, and Charles B. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church; of White Lilly Lodge, No. 808, I. O. O. F., in which he has taken all the degrees, and passed all the chairs, and now fills that of R. S. N. G. He is a Republican, but takes no active interest in politics.

ELMER F. LEWIS, farmer, P. O. New Era, was born in Wyalus- ing township, this county, May 3, 1841, and is a son of Edwin and Polly B. (Lathrop) Lewis, the former of whom was born in Wyalus- ing, November 19, 1816; the latter in Susquehanna county, Pa., December 8, 1817. Grandfather, Ebenezer Lewis, also born in Wyalus- ing, was a son of Thomas Lewis, who was born in New London, Conn., April 11, 1745, and removed to this county in 1788, having previously purchased a Connecticut title in 1776; he was a patriotic Son of America, who, for freedom, liberty and equal rights, gave his life for his country ; he fought under Gen. Montgomery, and helped to build a bridge over a portion of Lake Champlain, and also to erect Fort Ticonderoga ; he was at the battle of Danbury, when that place was burned, and caught Gen. Wooster when he fell, wounded, from his horse; was an active Whig, serving his country faithfully to the end ; he died in February, 1810; his family consisted of ten children. Ebenezer Lewis had eight children, of whom Edwin, the first born, learned the wagon-maker's trade at Merryall, Pa., and died June 26, 1856, at the age of nearly forty years; he had a family of six children-five daughters and one son, Elmer-all of whom are now living. Elmer F. Lewis was reared and educated in Wyalusing, and in 1862, at the age of twenty-one, he enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and Forty-first P. V. I., for the term of three years ; he received a wound at the battle of Gettysburg, at which time, in his wounded and helpless condition, he fell into the hands of the enemy, but was recaptured again by some of his own forces; he served until the end of the war, and was honorably discharged. He was noted for his courage and coolness in battle. On his return from the army he married, March 25, 1868, Miss Ada Eliza, daughter of Ebenezer Chubbuck, by which union there were born four children : Frances D., Charles E., E. W. and Don C., all living and unmarried. Mr. Lewis is a prosperous farmer and a leading man in his township; has filled by the choice of his fellow-citizens the offices of commissioner, town clerk, auditor and school director to the entire satisfaction of all. He is a general farmer, and gives special attention to dairying.

EVAN LEWIS, Ulster, farmer and stock-dealer, P. O. Towanda, was born in Ulster township, this county, September 1, 1823, and is a son of John and Anna (Reese) Lewis, natives of Wales. His father followed the occupation of repairing farm implements, carrying a kit of tools from farm to farm, and doing the necessary work on the prem- ises. After coming to the United States, in 1820, he bought a farm, and

970

HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

located in Ulster township, Mr. Lewis being the fourth man to settle in the vicinity of Moore's Hill ; he cleared that farm and built the fourth honse in that vicinity. He died, December 1, 1853, aged sixty- six years; his widow died September 20, 1868, aged eighty-three; their family of children was as follows: John (deceased), Anna (wife of William Wright, residing on Moore's Hill), Mary (wife of David Bevans, of Burlington township), Elizabeth (who died of small-pox in Wales), Lewis (of Monroe township), these were born in Wales; Evan, Thomas (who died young), Elizabeth (married to Stephen Bennet, died leaving two children), Margaret (widow of William Manger), and William (of North Dakota.) Evan Lewis, the subject of the sketch, had no school privileges until he was ten years old, as there was no school-house in his neighborhood prior to that time; he obtained, nev- ertheless, a very practical education. He commenced life farming and rafting. He was married, November 6, 1850, to Amanda, daugh- ter of John and Nancy (Shaver) Mingus, natives of Tompkins county, N. Y .; her father's family consisted of fourteen children (she being the eldest) of whom six girls and three boys, residents of Bradford county, survive. Mr. Lewis moved on the farm he now occupies, in 1850. He cleared 100 acres altogether, and set out orchards ; he put up the present buildings in 1869, all of which are substantial frames and have all modern conveniences; the house contains fourteen rooms, and is one of the best in the county. Besides the farm he occupies, Mr. Lewis owns two others in Ulster township-about 286 acres alto- gether-and, with the exception of about fifty acres, all are susceptible of cultivation. He had nine children, seven of whom are living, as fol- lows: Thomas H. (married to Belle Brown), Sarah Ann (married to James Olmstead), John James (married to Sarah Heath), William A. (married to Emma Kindle), Ida (married to Charles Olmstead), Ettie (married to Allen McMorran) and George (married to Tillie Ayres). In his political views Mr. Lewis is Democratic.

LEONARD LEWIS, member of the State Legislature, and resid- ing at Alba, is a native of Canton township, this county, born March 4, 1830, a son of R. S. and Maria (Bakeman) Lewis, natives of New York. R. S. Lewis, who was a farmer, was born April 8, 1800, and died in Canton township, November 29, 1883, in his eighty-fourth year. Mrs. Maria Lewis was born April 16, 1806, and died May 30, 1875, at the age of sixty-nine years. The grandfather, Elnathan Lewis, was a native of New York, and died in the western part of this county. The subject of this sketch is the third in order of birth in a family of fourteen children, and was reared on a farm, receiving his education in the public schools. He has made farming and dairying his occupation until the present time. He was married in Alba, Octo- ber 4, 1854, to Amanda M., daughter of Samuel and Betsey (Granteer) Rockwell, the former a native of Vermont, the latter of New York, who had a family of eight children, of whom three are now living ; Mrs. Lewis is the youngest in the family in order of birth, and was born in Canton township, August 28, 1836. To Mr. and Mrs. Lewis were born two children : C. S., married to Myra Jane Greenlaw, and Jennie, wife of E. A. Lilley, residing in Williamsport. Mr. and Mrs.

971

HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

Lewis are members of Christ's Church. He is a member of the Key stone Grange. Politically he is a Republican, and was elected to the State Legislature in the fall of 1890; he served two terms as school director, and filled an unexpired term; served one term as township auditor, also two terms as road commissioner, and was serving his third when elected to the Legislature in 1890; was assistant assessor one term.

W. S. LEWIS, M. D., Canton, is to the "manor" born, which controlling event in his active professional career occurred in Mon- roe township, on August 12, 1841. His parents were Timothy and Lucy Lewis, the former a farmer, as well as a successful merchant, lumberman and hotel proprietor; he died in this county, in April, 1873, aged seventy-three years; the latter died in February, 1869, aged sixty-three years. The father was also a native of this county, a son of James Lewis, who came here and settled in Monroe, in 1806. His maternal grandfather was born seven miles above Wilkes-Barre. The paternal great-grandfather was a native of Wales, and came to America with a party of 3,000 colonists, brought by William Penn, when he came to plant his colony in his American purchase. Timothy Lewis' family consisted of three sons and four daughters, who grew to maturity, and four of whom are yet living. Dr. Lewis, who was the fourth of the children, lived with his parents in Green wood until 1857, when, with his family, he went to Franklin township, where he attended the public schools, and then became a pupil in the high school of Monroeton, and afterward attended the Normal School at Mansfield, Pa. He then commenced a course of reading in medicine, and became a student of the Eclectic Medical Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio, where he graduated February 28, 1873, and at once returned to Franklindale and opened his office, and was actively employed there until May 3, 1879, when he removed to his present home, Canton, and has been professionally engaged here since. He married, in Franklindale, March 21, 1869, Arilla E., daughter of Charles W. and Mary (Manley) Stevens, of Vermont and Connecticut, respectively, who came to this county with their families, when each was three years old. Mr. Stevens is a retired farmer. Mrs. Lewis' grandfather, Thomas Manley, was a soldier in the War of 1812, and was one of the prominent men of his time. Mrs. Lewis' father had a family of five sons and two daughters, of whom she is the fourth, and was born at Franklin, June 5, 1845. To Dr. and Mrs. Lewis have been born four children : Liston Leone (junior in Cornell University), Lucy May, Mary E. and Z. Freeman. Mrs. Lewis is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church; the Doctor is a member of the I. O. O. F., and G. A. R., Ingham Post, No. 91. He served five years in Franklindale, and is now serving, in Canton, his third term as presi- dent of the school board. In September, 1861, he enlisted, although among the youngest, in Company E, Fifty-second P. V. I., a regiment noted in the annals of the Civil War for its long, severe and efficient service, in which the Doctor bore his part with tireless energy. At the organization of the regiment he was made lieutenant. He resigned his commission, and returned home in May, 1862. He is identified in

972

HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

politics with the Republican party. Mrs. Lewis' eldest brother, Manley T. Stevens, a member of Company K, Fiftieth Infantry Regi- ment, was killed in a skirmish, in South Carolina, May 29, 1862, the shot being instantly fatal. The four surviving children of Timothy Lewis, in order of birth, are as follows: James W., Dr. W. S., Benjamin . L., and Mary D., a resident of Detroit. Timothy Lewis' father was James Lewis, who, when aged twelve, lived with his parents near Sunbury, on a farm where they had been removed for safety, at the time of the French-Indian War. One night they were attacked hy a band of Indians, the father was killed, and James and his brother escaped by climbing out of a window ; the former took to the woods and was captured by the savages, while his brother reached Sunbury. The Indians carried young Lewis to Canada, where he remained in captivity three years, and when released rturned home. In after years he came to this county, settling on the Schræder branch of Towanda creek, and lived to be eighty years old, dying about 1830. His children were four sons and two daughters. Timothy H. and Benjamin, only, were residents of Bradford ; the former died in Greenwood, in 1873, and was buried in Franklin.

MCKEAN LILLEY, farmer, P. O. LeRoy, was born in Alba, Bradford Co., Pa., in December, 1845, a son of John and Lemira (McKean) Lilley, natives of Vermont and Burlington, this county, respectively. John Lilley, Jr., was the son of John Lilley, of Irish extraction, who came to America and located in Columbia town- ship, where he followed farming until the time of his death. John, Jr., lived in Columbia sixteen years, after which he removed to Alba, where he lived the rest of his years, and died in Canton, in 1885; his family numbered eight children-six sons and two daughters-seven of whom grew to maturity, and five of whom are now living. This family is the result of two marriages, four children by each wife. Our subject is the fifth in order of birth of the family, and the first child by the second wife; he was reared and educated at Alha, and has always followed farming. At the age of twenty-five, October 12, 1870, he married Nancy E., daughter of Daniel and Charlotte Randall, natives of this county. They have an adopted son, Carl, who is now seven- teen years of age. Mr. Randall owns and operates a gristmill, almost one and one-half miles east of Canton. Mr. Lilley is a general farmer living on seventy acres of fertile land, and has his farm well stocked with Jerseys (registered). When twenty years of age he entered the army, in Company G, One Hundred and Twelfth Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery Volunteers, for a term of three years, of which he served two. He was wounded in front of Petersburg, June 1, 1864, was honorably discharged, and now draws a pension. He is a member of the G. A. R. Post; the Church of Christ, at LeRoy, and also of the Grange Association, and has been honored with offices of trust by his fellow-citizens; politically he is a Republican.

MIAL E. LILLEY, attorney and counselor at law, Canton, is a native of Canton township, this county, born May 30, 1850, a son of Eben and Emeline (Slade) Lilley, the former a native of Columbia township, the latter of Fall River, Mass. Eben Lilley was a farmer,

973

HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

and served a full term as treasurer of Bradford county, and died in October, 1890, in his seventy-sixth year; the mother died in 1872, in her fifty-seventh year. They were the parents of five children, of whom our subject is the fourth. He received his education in both public and private schools in his native place, and was a farmer-boy until nineteen years of age, when he went to learn the blacksmith's trade, in which employment he remained seven years, when the condition of his health made it imperative to seek other occupation ; so, while pounding hot iron, and vigorously thinking for himself, he decided to commence reading law, and in 1878 entered the law office of J. W. Stone, in Can- ton, as a student of Blackstone and Coke-upon-Littleton. In 1880 he was an applicant, and having passed an examination successfully, he was licensed an attorney of the Bradford county bar, and, from that day to the present, has been actively engaged in his profession. He is recognized as strong on the "stump," and yet stronger in the councils of his party, and, as chairman of the Republican County Com- mittee, he has carried the weight of heavy responsibilities; and, in times of unusual party disturbances, he has performed every duty with signal ability and fidelity. Here his labors have not only been responsible and pecuniarily profitless, but extremely onerous; but his presence and guidance have constantly been called for in every voting district in the county, and his prompt response to every demand has signalled every hour of the incumbency of his position. Compara- tively a young man in both law and politics, he is yet well known as a leader. He married, in Liberty, Tioga Co., Pa., in 1874, Mary, daugh- ter of J. W. and Elizabeth (Irwin) Childs. Her father was a native of Clearfield, and her mother of Tioga county, and are residents of Cedar Run, Lycoming Co., where he is a lumberman. Mrs. Lilley was born August 24, 1856, and was the second in a family of eight chil- dren. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Lilley, of whom two are living, J. Roy and Floy, who, with their parents, worship at the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Lilley is a inember of Canton Lodge, No. 415, F. & A. M., Troy Chapter, No. 261, and Troy Com- mandery, also of the I. O. O. F., Canton Lodge, No. 321, and has passed all the chairs. He was the nominee of his party, in 1890, for the office of prothonotary of the county, but suffered defeat with his ticket, on account of divisions in the party.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 111

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