History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 147

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 147

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 H. VANDYKE, ex-county commissioner, Ulster, and a leading farmer, was born in Bradford county, Pa., August 27, 1819, and bas lived all his life in Ulster township. In 1845 he began farming, but continued to saw and raft lumber until 1869, since which year he has devoted his time entirely to farming and dairying ; he owns 160 acres of fine river land, well improved and under a high state of cultivation, and keeps a dairy of not less than twelve cows. His early education was received in the common schools of his day, when the children walked five or six miles through the woods to a round log school-house ; in going to and returning from school the children would frequently have to run nearly all the way to keep from being late. His parents being poor, he was compelled to labor hard on the farm, and so his edu- cational privileges were limited to three months in the year, for about four years. He accumulated his first property by the lumber business, in which he was successful. In 1845, he was united in marriage with Caroline Hutchinson ; by this marriage there were two children, viz .: William, who died April 4, 1888, and Henrietta, wife of C. Fergurson, of Elmira, N. Y. In June, 1865, his wife died, and in September, 1868, he was married to Lizzie, daughter of William and Mary Willie, natives of West Virginia; there were no children by this marriage ; his second wife died in January, 1870, and on December 25, 1874, Mr. Vandyke was married (the third time) to Mary Esby, daughter of John Taylor, and she died in February, 1878; the fruit of this marriage was two children : James, who died December 31, 1881, and Frank. Mr. Vandyke has for many years been a member of and earnest worker in the Presbyterian Church, holding the position of elder ; in politics

1246

HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

he has always been a Democrat, casting his first vote for Martin Van- Buren; he now holds the office of county commissioner, being on his second term; has held the office of justice of the peace for more than twenty years; and has also held various other township offices. His father's family consisted of seven children, of whom he is the fourth, all of whom are in Ulster township. Mr. Vandyke has always been successful in his business, having secured an ample competence entirely through his own endeavors, and of the many excellent farmers of the county none stand fairer among all people.

JAMES VANDYKE, farmer and stock-grower, Towanda, was born in Northumberland county, Pa., January 13, 1816, a son of William and Susan (Daugherty) Vandyke. His father's family con- sisted of seven children, five of whom survive, all residents of this county and Ulster township. Mary Ann, the only daughter, is the wife of John Gillmore. William Vandyke came to this county in 1816, and located in Towanda, shortly afterward purchasing the property known as "Hale's mill," and afterward moved on to the farm now owned by Davis, where he died, aged seventy-eight. Our subject received his education in the Ulster schools, at a tender age, securing a fair education, for the time. His father having purchased a large tract of land covered with pine forests, James and his brother George, together, erected sawmills, sawed the lumber on the farm and rafted it down the river to Port Deposit. In 1859 he retired, having purchased the farm he now occupies in 1845; then it was deep woods, but it is now one of the finest farms in the county, containing 160 acres well-improved, and, with the exception of about twenty acres of wood-land, is under a high state of cultivation. Mr. Vandyke was married, February 4, 1858, to Frances, daughter of Henry Reitzel, of Lancaster county, Pa .; they have no children. Mr. Vandyke is one of the most successful men in the county ; has secured a competence through his own exertions, and is surrounded with all the comforts of life. He is a Democrat in politics.

J. P. VAN FLEET, deputy county sheriff, Towanda, is a native of New York City, and was born July 23, 1830. His parents were Sam- uel C. and Deborah (Denton) Van Fleet, natives of Orange county, N. Y. In early life his father worked at the cooper's trade, and later at farming. He moved to LeRoy township, this county, in December, 1837, and died here in September, 1873, in his seventy-first year. Mrs. Debo- rah Van Fleet was born in 1807, and died in Towanda, December 29, 1881. Our subject is the eldest of two sons, and was reared on the farm. Shortly after he became of age he suffered from a white swelling so much that his leg had to be amputated, in 1854. He then set about preparing himself for some other business. The opportunities for acquiring an education in those days were limited, but he attended private or subscription school for some time, and then taught five terms of public school and one term of subscription school. He was married in LeRoy township, in February, 1862, to Miss Sarah A. Ing- ham, daughter of David and Hannah Ingham, natives of England. Mrs. Van Fleet is the fifth in a family of seven children, and was born in Monroe township, in 1839. To Mr. and Mrs. Van Fleet were born

1247

HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

three children : the youngest died in infancy, Fannie (deceased) and J. Monroe. Mr. Van Fleet moved to Towanda in December, 1863, as deputy sheriff under J. Monroe Smith. In 1865 he was elected county treasurer. In 1869 he was elected sheriff of Bradford county, and has been connected with the office since, except three years. Mr. and Mrs. Van Fleet are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., No. 167, and of the Encampment, also of the K. of P., and in politics is a Republican.

DANIEL VAN GORDER, was born in New Jersey, January 10, 1812. About 1814 his parents located near Ithaca, N. Y., then removed to Pennsylvania, where they resided until their deaths. Our subject removed to New York in 1822, where he engaged in farming and lumbering. In 1837 he married Sarah Bensley, and located at Factoryville, now Eilistown, N. Y. To them were born four children, as follows: Anna, now Mrs. A. Warner, of Chemung Co., N. Y .; Lydia, Mrs. Barney Kane, Litchfield township; Eliza, married to John Albert, of Athens borough ; and Sarah, married to William Canfield, of Athens township. Mrs. Van Gorder died June 26, 1853. In 1855 our subject removed to Bradford county, and settled in Athens town- ship, where he purchased the farm he now owns and which he almost entirely cleared. August 3, 1858, he married his second wife, Maria Ann, daughter of Walter and Lucinda (Chaffee) Tucker, and grand- ' daughter of Samuel and Azubah (Sanger) Chaffee, on her mother's side, while her paternal grandparents were Walter Tucker, Sr., and his wife, whose maiden name was Franklin, all of Woodstock, Conn. Samuel Chaffee served in the Revolutionary War, and was in the division in which John Murray, one of the first preachers of Universalism in America, was chaplain, and enjoyed the favor of hearing him preach. The Tuckers in the United States are supposed to be descendants of three brothers of that name, who came from England in 1635. Mrs. Van Gorder's parents came to Pennsylvania in the year 1822. She was born May 19, 1829. Although not a modern spiritualist, she is inclined to be visionary. When nine years of age she was living with an aunt in Massachusetts, and there saw her first vision; she some- times writes for publications, mostly obituaries, nearly always adding some original poetry. Her marriage with Mr. Van Gorder has been . without issue.

LUTHER C. VANHORN, farmer, P. O. Granville Summit, was born May 31, 1821, in Delaware county, N. Y., in the town of Walton, and is a son of Sidney and Amelia (Curtis) VanHorn, natives of Springfield, Mass., and Bristol, Conn., respectively, who settled in Troy township, this county, in 1838, locating on the farm now owned by Lester Van Horn, which they cleared and improved, and there died; their children were as follows: Luther C., Leonard, Rachel (Mrs. William Barto), Lyman and Lester. The subject of the sketch was reared in Delaware county, N. Y., until seventeen years of age, when he left for Troy, this county, with a knapsack on his back (used in the War of 1812), containing his provisions, and a dollar and-a-half in money, arriving at his father's house with three and sixpence left. After reaching his majority he cleared a farm of 165 acres situated in

1248

HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

Granville and Troy townships, which he still owns, and in 1856 he settled on the farm he now occupies in Granville, most of which he cleared, and made all improvements in buildings, etc. On June 15, 1842, he married Esther, daughter of Clark and Flavia Hooker, of Springfield township, and has children as follows : Sidney, Edgar, Stanley (deceased), Emery, Ella and Alice (Mrs. Wesley Hanscom). Mr. VanHorn is a leading farmer of Granville; is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in politics is a Republican.

F. E. VAN LOAN, commercial salesman, Rome, was born in the township of Lenox, Susquehanna Co., Pa., Jannary 25, 1858, and is a son of Daniel and Mary Van Loan, who now reside in Athens, this county. John Van Loan, great-grandfather to F. E. Van Loan, was born in Waalwijk, Holland, and immigrated to this country with his family, locating near the spot where East Durham now stands, in Greene county, N. Y., about the year 1790 ; the wife of John Van Loan was a weaver, and had a large loom in one corner of their log cabin, and one day, while at work at the loom; weaving the " home-spun gray," a band of twelve Cahoose Indians came in, who, after plundering the cabin for eatables, left, each Indian striking his hatchet in the yarn beam of the loom, severing the warp. John Van Loan, Jr., grand- father to F. E., also lived many years at East Durham, N. Y., but later removed to Susquehanna county, this State, having a family of twelve children, viz .: Randsom, Thomas, John H., James, George and Jacob (twins), Daniel, Edgar, Libbie, Hattie and Kathron (twins), and Caroline. Frank's father was a farmer until 1883, when he retired from active life, and removed from his farm at North Rome to Athens, where he now resides. He was united in marriage, March 22, 1857, with Mary E. Richards, of Orwell township, daughter of Robert Richards, whose grandfather was born in North Wales, England, and immigrated to America with his two brothers. Daniel and Mary Van- Loan had two children born to them, viz .: Frank E. and Lizzie V., wife of B. E. Heath, who reside in Athens; Frank grew to manhood with his parents, and worked upon his father's farm, and, being a bright boy, received a good education. Frank's father was a private in the War of the Rebellion, serving in the latter part of the war, under Gens. Schofield and Terry, accompanying the expedition to Fort Fisher, under Butler; was in Company G, Seventy-sixth Pennsylvania Volun- teers, Second Division, Tenth Army Corps. In November, 1878, Frank, then twenty years of age, left the farm, and went to Sandwich, DeKalb Co., Ill., and at this time partook of his first meal in a hotel. He became an agent for a local sewing machine dealer, selling machines from a wagon. He remained there over a year, and then he went to Clinton, Clinton Co., Iowa, having in charge the city trade for a sew- ing machine company. While there, December 10, 1880, he was united in marriage with May F. Newhard, of Fairview, Jones Co., Iowa, and returned to Bradford county in the latter part of December, 1880, his wife accompanying him. He remained but a short time, when he was offered and accepted a lucrative position as general traveling salesman for E. Remington & Sons, of New York City and Ilion, N. Y., who were interested largely in the manufacture of fire-

1249

HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

arms, typewriters, sewing machines, etc., they sending him at once into the State of Wisconsin. For several years he was successfully employed traveling in the West, East and South. In August, 1885, he returned from the State of Georgia, removing his family from Athens to North Rome, where he remained with them on the homestead, work- ing on the farm a year, when he accepted a traveling position with an oil-refining company, which position he still occupies. He has attained a fine knowledge of the oil business, and has published a small book on the manufacture of the various oils, their adaption, and of petro- leum and its products. In the fall of 1891, Mr. Van Loan removed his family from his farm to Rome, this county. Mrs. Van Loan was born in Greenfield township, Jones Co., Iowa, October 1, 1857 ; her father, William Newhard, came to Iowa from Ohio, where he was born; her mother, Emily McFarlane, was a native of Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Van Loan have had born to them three children, viz .: Karl F., born August 31, 1881; Lizzie May Ione, born August 7, 1885, and Nathaniel R., born April 19, 1888. The family worship at the Methodist Epis- copal Church. In his political views Mr. Van Loan is a stanch Repub- lican, and takes considerable interest in politics. He is one of the best known of Bradford county's many business men, and is a self-made man, of whom Bradford county is justly proud.

JACOBR. VANNOY, East Troy, was born in Sanderson township, Sussex Co., N. J., December 25, 1842, and is a son of Jacob and Maria (Ayres) Vannoy, who had a family of five children : John J., Sidney, Jefferson, Jane (Mrs. C. B. McClelland) and Jacob R., and settled in Wells township, this county, in 1855. Jacob R. Vannoy, the subject of this sketch, was reared in Bradford county, and from twelve years of age has spent most of his life in farming, and has occupied his present farm in Troy township, on what is known as the Loomis homestead, (now called " Bono farm"), since 1883; he was in the Civil War, enlisting August 26, 1861, in Company F, Eleventh Pennsylvania Cavaly; re-enlisted as a veteran in same company and regiment in January, 1863, and was honorably discharged from the service assergeant, August 22, 1865; he participated in sixty-four engagements, and was wounded in the right hip, near Petersburg, June 9, 1864. He married, October 23, 1866, Rossa, daughter of Leonard and Caroline (Loomis) Upham, of Troy township, and has two children : Fred P. and Leon O. Mr. Vannoy is a member of the Evangelical Church; Hector Lodge, No. 166, I. O. O. F., of East Troy ; Gustin Post, No. 154, G. A. R., of Troy; Patrons of Husbandry; Union . Veteran Legion, Encampment No. 48; and is secretary of the Troy Farmers' Club. In politics he is a Republican.

JOHN J. VANNOY, farmer, P. O. West Burlington, was born in Sussex county, N. J., September 14, 1834, a son of Jacob and Maria (Ayres) Vannoy, farmers and natives of that county, born of Dutch and English descent, respectively. John J. Vannoy was reared on the farm, and educated in the schools of the town ; was a teacher several years, and also a farmer, which occupation he has continued. When he was twenty-one years of age he removed to Bradford county and settled in Wells township, where he engaged in farming and remained

1250

HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

several years ; then removed to Columbia, where he remained six years, and in 1870 he came to his present farm in West Burlington township, which consists of 135 acres, nicely located and under a fine state of cultivation ; he has an excellent dairy. Mr. Vannoy has been twice mar- ried ; first time in September, 1861, to Harriet Baker, by whom he had five children, as follows : Milton (a farmer, married to Hattie Spencer), William, George, Myrta and Nellie. Mrs. Vannoy died November 18, 1883, and in October, 1885, Mr. Vannoy married Miriam Kymer, of West Burlington, sister of Rev. M. S. Kymer, now a merchant. Our subject is a Democrat in politics, but his sympathies are with the Pro- hibition movement. The family are consistent members of the Pres- byterian Church. Mr. Vannoy is a man of sterling integrity, much respected by his neighbors and a wide circle of friends.

JOHN A. VAN WERT, carpenter, of South Creek township, P. O. Fassett, was born in Veteran township, Chemung Co., N. Y., July 26, 1838, a son of William and Catherine (McCann) Van Wert, natives of New Jersey. William Van Wert was a son of John Van- Wert, who was a soldier in the War of 1812. They came to this county about 1830, traveling in a lumber wagon, in company with Jehile Ayres and Thomas Ferguson, and located near Aspinwall, in Wells township, on a farm of 100 acres, now known as the Nathan Shephard farm. Two years later his father and brother, both named John, came to Wells and located in the same neighborhood. William was a carpenter, and, in conjunction with his farming, worked at his trade. He lived in Wells about twenty years, then removed to LeRoy, this county, and remained three years, and while there built the Baptist Church. He then moved to Fassett, where he remained until his death, which occurred in 1874, at the age of sixty-four; he reared a family of five children, all of whom are now living. Our subject, who is the third in his father's family, was reared and educated at Fassett, and attended a few terms at a select school in Columbia. He learned the carpenter's trade of his father, with whom he worked until the death of the former. At the age of twenty-four, in 1862, he joined Company G, Pennsylvania Drafted Militia, and served nine months, and attained the rank of corporal, and was honorably discharged. He afterward recruited a company for the First New York Veteran Cavalry, of which he took charge, and delivered them to their com- mand in West Virginia. During his last term of service he was pro- moted to corporal, and served in the commissary department as commissary sergeant until the close of the war, and was honorably discharged. He married, for his first wife, Martha, daughter of Ammon and Alice Cook, December 29, 1869; she died ten months after their marriage; his second wife was Mrs. Mary Jane, widow of the late Benjamin Smith, whom he married December 6, 1884; politically he is a Democrat, as were all his family.

SAMUEL VAN WOERT, farmer, P. O.Athens, was born in Athens, Greene Co., N. Y., May 3, 1837, a son of Nicholas and Maria (Van- Gorder) Van Woert, the former of whom was born in Athens, Greene Co., N. Y., the latter in Orange county, N. Y. John Van Gorder, grandfather on his mother's side, was a Revolutionary soldier and a

1251

HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

native of Holland. Nicholas, is a son of Jacob Van Woert, born May 6, 1799; he removed from Athens, Greene Co., N. Y., in 1838, locating in this county and Athens township. In 1841 or '42, he purchased a farm on " Shutliff Hill," where he made his subsequent home; he died during a short absence at Wilawana, February 15, 1866; his family consisted of six children, all of whom grew to maturity. Our subject, the sixth of the family, was reared and educated in Athens township; at the age of nineteen he began business for himself, and when thirty- one years of age married, February 12, 1868, for his first wife, Miss Isarella, daughter of Fred B. and Anna Weller; November 25, 1874, he married his second wife, Miss Mary A., daughter of Samuel and Marion Spear. He is an enterprising farmer, and is a member of the Presbyterian Church.

HENRY VON WOLFFRADT, farmer and stock-grower, Ulster township, P. O. Milan, born in Greifswald, Prussia, October 5, 1830, is the son of Herman and Julia (Below) Von Wolffradt, natives of same place; he received his education in the Strasund schools, attending until twenty-two years old. He enlisted in the German army during the Austro-German War, and remained in the service for about six months, until the war ended. His father was a farmer, and the son followed farming five years preceding his migration to America in 1868, when he located in Ulster township, renting a farm and farming the same until 1871, when he purchased a farm a short distance from the one on which he now resides, and owns 340 acres of fine farm land in the western part of the Milan valley, all susceptible of cultivation, and which he has improved since purchasing. He was married, in 1863, to Hedwig Baltasar, a native of Griefswald, Prussia, and there were born to them three children : Herman, William (of Athens) and Harriet. Mr. Von Wolffradt is a member of the Lutheran Church ; in politics he is a Democrat, and is one of the most extensive land owners in his township, having quite a model farm; he is popular and widely known as among the best citizens of Bradford county.

C. H. VARGUSON, carpenter and contractor, Wyalusing, was born in Wysox township, this county, May 12, 1847, and is a son of Benjamin and Clarissa (Howard) Varguson, natives of New York. His father came while a boy to Wysox and located on Pond Hill, where he married and had a family of eleven children, five of whom are yet living. C. H. Varguson, who is the fourth in the family, was born and reared on his father's farm on Pond Hill, and attended the public school at Myersburg. Upon reaching his majority he began farming, which he followed until 1879; then began teaming and the carpenter's and joiner's trade, working two years each with Martin Fee and William Kingsley ; then began contracting for himself and now contracts for all kinds of carpenter work. He came to Wyalusing in 1868, and five years ago purchased his present place, and built his house and barn, it being a portion of the "Old Black farm."' Mr. Varguson was united in marriage, June 28, 1868, with Julia A. Hoover, daughter of Freder- ick Hoover, of Wyalusing (deceased), and this union was blessed with three children : Lizzie Belle, Lyda, and Harrison, who married, May 27, 1891, Anna Adams, and is living in Lester Shire, where he works at

1252

HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

his trade; Mr. Varguson is Independent in politics, but takes little interest in such matters.

IRA VARNEY, than whom there is no more highly respected citizen of Franklin township, is a native of Luzerne township, Warren Co., N. Y., having been born August 13, 1810. He is a son of Joseph and Mary (Hartman) Varney, and was reared on the farm, where he assisted his father in tilling the soil, also in making rafts and shipping lumber down the Hudson river. His earliest educational advantages were very meager, but after attaining his majority he attended a pay school. At the age of twenty-two he married Miss Mercy Barrows, who lived but two months after her wedding, and two years later Mr. Varney was married to Mary Ogden, by whom he had six children-two sons and four daughters-as follows : Mercy (deceased), Ogden, Mary, Susannah, Helen (deceased) and an infant unnamed. The mother of these children died in 1884. Mr. Varney began life a poor boy, and now ranks among the most substantial men in his township. The story of his well-spent and busy life may be summed up in a few words : In 1839 he came to Bradford county as agent for an extensive lumbering firm, and their affairs he successfully managed for a period of seven years. This lumber was rafted down the Towanda creek, and when reaching the river was made up in squares, and floated to the market. Mr. Varney relates with much pleasure, that in all his extensive ship- ping not one drop of whisky was used, a thing uncommon in those days. He then commenced, for his own account, in the real estate line, making his first purchase of land in the year 1845, 140 acres, the same being his present home in Franklin township. To this he has added, until he now owns in all 452 acres. Mr. Varney has always voted the Republican ticket, has held all the town offices of West Franklin except justice of the peace, and was treasurer twenty-seven consecutive years. In his religious connections he was reared in the Quaker faith. Mr. Varney has now passed the honored age of four-score years, and both mentally and physically he is well preserved.

EDWARD W. VAUGHAN, farmer, P. O. Wyalusing, was born in Wyalusing township, this county, on the old homestead, January 21, 1818, a 'son of Elias and Sarah (Abbot) Vaughan. His father was born in what is now Wyoming county, then Luzerne, June 10, 1785, and died in Wyalusing, November 1, 1865; he had thirteen children, (of whom six are living), viz .: Elmer, born June 9, 1808; John, born November 9, 1809; Elias, born January 20, 1812; Harriet, born Feb- ruary 22, 1814 ; James, born January 18, 1816; Edward W., our sub- ject ; Evander R., born October 24, 1819; Alonzo, born August 15, 1821; George H., born July 2, 1823; Rhoda H., born April 9, 1825; Harriet, born January 20, 1827; Mary S., born August 10, 1830, and Aurelia W., born February 28, 1833. Richard Vaughan, grandfather of our subject, was a Revolutionary soldier, and came to this county after the close of the war, and was the second person buried in the Wyalusing Cemetery. Edward's father was a farmer, and moved to what is known as Vaughan Hill about 1812, also lived at Rummerfield and was postmaster there; took up 100 acres of woodland, about two acres of which were cleared, and had a log cabin on it that had been

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 147

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