History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 148

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

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built by Mr. Charlott. He added to his farm until he had 650 acres ; he followed lumbering during the winter, owned a sawmill on Stal- ford creek, and during summer would farm and clear land. Before his death he had cleared at least 200 acres; he built a frame house and barn, both of which have been destroyed ; he was an Old-School Bap- tist, and at his house religious services were held prior to the building of the church. He filled various offices and was an important factor in the early settlement; he also held a captain's commission in the State Militia, was a large land-owner and an industrious and enter- prising man, and always endeavored to develop his section of the country.

Edward W. Vaughan passed his boyhood in the wilderness, assist- ing his father in clearing and farming; attended school at Wyalusing and at the Vaughan school-house, also down at Fairbanks, frequently going three miles to school. He passed his whole life here, clearing and farming, living on and owning a portion of his father's estate, and has 145 acres nearly all cleared, with the necessary buildings and improvements, and has his farm under a high state of cultivation. He married, July 12, 1849, Almira, daughter of Samuel Cox, a farmer of Vaughan Hill, and they have a family of five children : George H., married to Mary Daley, resides in Fremont, Neb., where he is deputy sheriff ; Fremont and Almira (twins, latter deceased); Emma, married to E. L. Condon, foreman in the paint department of a car shop at St. Paul, and William, married to Elizabeth Haney, and living on the old homestead. Mr. Vaughan is a member of White Lilly Lodge, No. 808, I. O. O. F., Wyalusing, and has passed all the chairs; he is a Republican, and has filled nearly all the township offices.

JAMES C. VAUGHN, farmer and stock-grower, Wyalusing town- sbip, P. O. Wyalusing, who is among the pioneers of Wyalusing township, was born on the old Vaughn homestead (now in possession of Lyman Overton), January 18, 1816. His grandfather was born in England, and came to this country when a young man, married, and had the following children : William, who was a number of years a naval officer, and resided at Sacket's Harbor, N. Y., participating in the War of 1812, commanding a sloop of war; Robert, settled in Canada; Richard, also of Canada, but removed to Rochester. where he died; Elias, father of subject; Justice; Polly, married to Walter Seaman ; Phebe, married to William Eddy, and located in Canada ; Anna, married to Daniel Coolbaugh, of Wysox township, and Rhoda. married to Daniel Martin, also of Wysox. Elias Vaughn removed from Wyoming to Laceyville, Luzerne county, when sixteen years of age, where his father died ; he and his mother moved to Rummerfield, where he was connected with a corps of men, engaged in constructing a Government road through Allegany county, N. Y., and there met and married Sarah Abbott; he returned to Rummerfield, and was postmaster of the place, making his home there until after the close of the War of 1812; he owned a farm, which he traded for his property on Vaughn Hill; after the birth of his daughter Eleanor, John and Elias, he removed to Vaughn Hill, where he owned 800 acres of land, built a saw- mill and began clearing and lumbering, rafting his lumber down the

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Susquehanna. In 1838 he built a large house, which was constructed of three-inch plank, which was a fine substantial farm house; this house stood in good condition until six years ago, when it was destroyed by fire. James C. Vaughn, the subject of this sketch, who is the eldest sur- vivor of the family, passed his boyhood on the old farm, and attended the common school at Wyalusing. He spent his early life assisting his father in clearing the farm and in lumbering, also in rafting the same down the river ; he took possession of his first farm, which is the one now owned by William Boyd, in 1841, where he resided seven years; then traded with his father for the farm he now owns, which he has cleared and improved to its present state of excellence; this farm contains 120 acres of beautiful and fertile land. He was united in marriage, in 1843, with Elizabeth Ann, second in the family of seven children of Joseph and Sarah (Spaulding) Gamble. To Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn have been born seven children, viz .: Elwood L., born October 6, 1844, married to Lois L. Fuller, of Camptown, and died May 19, 1872; Sarah E., born September 3, 1846, married to Nelson C. Dyer, farmer, of Abilene, Kans .; Joseph G., born August 22, 1848, of Kingston, Pa .; Charlotte A., born June 10, 1851, married to W. R. Safford, of Kingston; Richard, born June 27, 1853; Orrilla W., born April 21, 1855, and Ralph B., born May 9, 1859, of Kingston, Pa., mar- ried to Rilla Major. Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn are members of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, Wyalusing, of which he is steward; in politics he is a Republican, has filled numerous township offices, and while firm in his political opinion has never been an aggressive politician ; he is one of Bradford's most successful farmers, receiving but little aid out- side of his own resources; he has during his life amassed a fortune ample for his needs.

URI N. VERBECK, carpenter, East Troy, was born in Litchfield, this county, July 29, 1836, a son of William and Lucretia (Norton) Verbeck. His paternal grandfather, Henry Verbeck, a native of the Mohawk Valley, N. Y., settled in Windham township, this county, in 1808, cleared and improved a farm and died there. He married a Miss Dunham, by whom he had nine children: William, Philip, Henry, Sylvanus, Abigail, Lydia, Sarah, Elizabeth and Matilda; of these, William, the father of the subject of this sketch, was a carpenter by trade; he spent most of his life in Bradford county, resided in East Troy forty-one years, and died there in March, 1890, at the age of eighty-nine; his wife was a daughter of Henry Norton, of Sheshequin township, this county, formerly of Connecticut, and a soldier of the revolution; by her he had six children: Almira (Mrs. J. Warren Park), Jonathan D., Margery, Uri N., Arlette (Mrs. Marvin Leonard) and Eli. Uri N. Verbeck was reared in Bradford county, and educated in the public schools of Elmira, N. Y. He learned the carpenter's trade in East Troy, which he followed for eighteen years, and has since been working at wagon-making. He was in the Civil War, enlisting in September, 1861, in Company C, Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry, was wounded at the battle of Gallatin. Tenn., and participated in fifty- three battles and engagements of his regiment, was promoted to cor- poral in the winter of 1862, was for a year commissary sergeant, and

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discharged in that capacity in September, 1865. He married in March, 1866, Julia, daughter of John Edsall, of Monroe township, this county, and has two children living : Meena E. and Edsall H. Mr. Verbeck is a member of Hector Lodge, I. O. O. F., No. 166, of East Troy, and Gustin Post, G. A. R., Troy; he has held various township offices, and in politics is a Republican.

GREELEY P. VOORHIS, farmer, of Springfield township, P. O. Big Pond, was born July 9, 1856, in Springfield, a son of John and Helena (Hosley) Voorhis, natives of Springfield. His father was a farmer, and died, at the age of thirty-five years, June 2, 1863, and the mother died, at the age of thirty-five years, September 15, 1857. Our subject was the only son by his father's first marriage; he was edu- cated in the schools of the township and became a farmer. March 30, 1886, he married Alice, daughter of Theodore and Mary (Brooks) Watson, who was born December 17, 1859. Her father was born in Greene, Chenango Co., N. Y., December 26, 1828, and his parents were John H. and Maria (Upham) Watson. Mrs. Watson was born at East Hampton, Conn., and came here when fourteen years of age. Mr. Watson is a general merchant at Big Pond ; is a Republican and a member of the I. O. O. F. Mr. Voorhis' grandfather was one of the first settlers in the township, and died here, at the age of eighty years, November 19, 1861; and his father, John K., died at the age of sixty-eight years, on November 4, 1872. Mr. Voorhis was an only child, and was educated in the schools of the township and at Smithfield graded school, and was a teacher from the time she was sixteen years of age until her marriage. They have no children. Mr. Voorhis owns a fine farm of about sixty acres, which he has under a good state of cultivation. He is a Republican in politics, has been a constable and collector in the township; is a member of the I. O. O. F., and is a man much respected by bis many friends.

WILLIAM E. VOORHIS, merchant, East Smithfield, was born November 17, 1823, in Springfield, Bradford Co., Pa., a son of James and Charlotte (Wilson) Voorhis, the former of whom was a native of New York, and the latter of Massachusetts. The father, who was a carpenter and builder, came to Springfield when a young man and took up farming. William E., who is the eldest in a family of seven children, five of whom are living, was reared on his father's farm, remaining there until twenty-five years ago, when he came to East Smithfield and commenced in the manufacturing and dealing of furniture. He was married, September 10, 1845, to Nancy M., daughter of Asher Hunt- ington (she was born May 14, 1827, in Vernon, Conn.), and they have had born to them four children, two of whom are living : Clarence, born August 3, 1847, married to Celia Burt ; Wilson F., born June 4, 1856, married to Carrie Cowell. The sons are partners in business with their father, and Wilson is the present postinaster. Mr. Voorhis continued in the furniture business ten years, then commenced in his present business, that of a general merchant. He is a member of the Freemasons and of the I. O. O. F., as is also his son Wilson. Both father and sons are Republicans. Mrs. Voorhis is a member of the Universalist Church.

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

FRANK M. VOUGHT, farmer and dairyman, P. O. Towanda, was born July 24, 1847, a son of Edward and Lydia (Horton) Vought, natives of this county, and whose grandparents were also reared in this State; the family have always been tillers of the soil. Frank M. Vought is the third in a family of eight children, as follows : Joseph M., Lewis G., Frank M., Hannah M., Edward M., Charlotte M., Charles S. and Emerson W., all of whom grew to maturity, six still living in this county. Mr. Vought was married, November 20, 1872, to Maretta J. Gillett, who was born August 22, 1851, daughter of Lewis and Jemima (Shores) Gillett, the former of whom wasa native of Connecticut, and the latter of Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Vought are the parents of three children, viz .: Ruth, who died at the age of five years; Emerson W., born September 28, 1883 ; and Ethel May, born May 2, 1886. Mr. Vought was born and reared in this county, and lived on his father's farm the early part of his life ; then taught school several years. He is now the owner of an excellent farm in Shesquehin township, in a fine state of cultivation. Mr. and Mrs. Vought were visited in their early married life with calamity which came nearly destroying the life of the latter : On January 16, 1875, at midnight, they were awakened by the house being on fire, and Mrs. Vought, who was very ill, was carried out on a feather bed, along with little Ruth, who was but five days old, into the snow, which was two feet deep, whereby her health was so impaired that she has never fully recovered. The family are devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, are active in the Sunday-school, and are very genial, agreeable people. Mr. Vought is a Republican, and takes an active interest in public affairs.

AMOS P. WALCOTT, farmer, of Litchfield township, P. O. Litch- field, was born in that township, May 20, 1826, son of Elijah and Eliza- beth Walcott, the former of whom was born at Penn's Valley, Pa, in 1770, and the latter in Luzerne county, Pa., in 1778. Elijah W. settled in this county in 1807; his wife, Elizabeth, was the daughter of Thomas Park who came from Connecticut and settled in the Wyoming Valley. Mr. Park married Mrs. Heady, who resided in the Valley, and was there during the Wyoming massacre; Thomas being absent at the time ser- ving his country under Washington. Two years subsequent to this event he purchased 400 acres of land in Litchfield, where with others under Sullivan he drove the Indians Westward. Elijah W. was the father of twelve children, all of whom grew to maturity, Amos P. being the tenth in the family; he was reared on the old homestead, and educated at the common school. In September, 1851, he was married to Esther J., daughter of Lemuel and Harriet Munn, of Litchfield. This union was blessed with four children, as follows: Countess D., married to Sylvester K. Walcott; Prentice W., married to Ruth, daughter of John and Phoebe Haddock; Marion L., married to Franklin I. Decker; and Viola C., who married Iram David. In early life Mr. Walcott was exten- sively engaged in lumbering; during his lifetime he held many town offices, such as commissioner, auditor, judge of elections and at one time was a candidate for the Legislature. He is a member of the I. O. O. F, at various times holding the different offices of the Lodge, and in politics

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he is a Democrat, and holds a lieutenant-colonel's commission, appointed by Gov. William Bigler.

H. EUGENE WALDO, miller, Wyalusing, was born in Berkshire, Tioga Co., N. Y., August 20, 1839, a son of Orson and Lydia (Waldo) Waldo, who were born in the same house and in thesame year (1802) in Berkshire, N. Y. The Waldo family originated in France about the middle of the Twelfth century; they left there on account of the Huguenot persecutions, and settled in the Netherlands about 1569-70. About 1650 Cornelius came to America and settled in Chelmsford, Mass. He married Hannah Coggswell and had five children, and died June 3, 1701. Of his children, John, the eldest, is the branch through which Eugene Waldo descended. John was born in Chelmsford, Mass., about 1653, and married Rebecca Adams, of the same line as John Adams, late ex-President of the United States. He died in 1700, having had seven children, of whom Edward, the second son, is the ancestor of our subject. He was born in Chelmsford, Mass., in 1683 and at Windham, Conn., in 17-, married Thankful Dimmock, of Mansfield, Conn., and had ten children. His ninth son, Zacheus, is in the line of our subject's ancestors, and was born in Windham, Conn., July 19, 1725, married Tabitha Kingsbury, and had eleven children, the second, John, being this branch of the family. He was born in Windham, Conn., April 22, 1750, was a physician and resided at Coventry, Conn., and married Lucy Lyman, August 19, 1773; he was a surgeon in Col. Huntington's regiment of State Militia, in 1775, and probably served during the Revolution ; he had six children, from two of whom our subject is descended, viz .: John, Jr., the second child, who was our subject's grandfather, and Lyman, the eldest, who was our subject's mother's father. Orson, our subject's father, was born March 17, 1802, and his wife, Lydia, was born May 25, 1802 ; they had the following children : Lucius Alva, Arthur Tap- pan, Reynold Heber and Herbert Eugene. Orson was a mill-wright and worked at his trade, and built numerous mills in north western New York, and invented various appliances for use in mills, among which was a water wheel patented during Jackson's administration. Our subject was educated in the common schools and at Waverly Academy, and at the age of seventeen began work as a mill-wright with his father; he worked with his father and brother until after his mar- riage, and then started out for himself. He has built mills in all sections of northwestern New York, and in 1871 took charge of a mill owned by Otis G. Parker, at Moravia, N. Y., and was there three years; then rented the Stone mill at Moravia, where he remained until April 6, 1880, when he came to Wyalusing, and assumed charge of the Welles mills, where he has since remained. He married, June 21, 1865, Lucy Ann, daughter of Joseph A. and Lucy Hendel (Bell) Armstrong. Her parents had a family of seven children: Jasper (deceased), who was for a number of years general superintendent of the water supply for the Atchison, Topeka & Sana Fe Railroad ; Millicent (deceased); Ruth J., married to John W. Hollenback, a traveling salesman of Owego, N. Y .; Fendall, resides in the West; Lucy Ann; Addie W., married to C. W. Hemenway, a merchant of Owego, N. Y .; and Charles H., who

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died in infancy. To Mr. and Mrs. Waldo have been born the following children : Jessie Gertrude, born September 29, 1867, married, May 2, 1886, to Frederick Armstrong, of Athens; Edward, born November 26, 1868, a clerk, married, June 25, 1891, to Jennie Carpenter, of Wyalu- sing; Lucius J., born July 1, 1873, clerk ; Earnest E., born November 22, 1877; Nettie A., born March 6, 1881 ; and Raymond W., born Feb- ruary 1, 1890. He and his wife are both members of the Presbyterian Church of Wyalusing ; he is a member of the F. & A. M., Sylvan Lodge, No. 41, Moravia, N. Y .; politically he is a Republican.

JOSEPH G. WALDRON, farmer, Smithfield township, P. O. Hoblet, born August 13, 1845, son of Billings and Jane (Gray) Wal- dron, natives of Bristol, R. I., who came to this county in 1837. Joseph was one of eleven children, five of whom are living ; he was reared on his father's farm. On February 9, 1873, he was married to Ella, daughter of John J. and Mary Jane (Riley) Woodin, early settlers of Burlington (she was born August 27, 1854, and is a member of the Baptist Church). They have had born to them four children, three of whom are now living, as follows : Bertha, born August 7, 1874; Grace, born June 17, 1881 ; and Ruth, born September 11, 1888. Mr. Waldron is a member of the F. & A. M., Lodge No. 428, is a Republican and takes an active interest in politics.

WILLIAM N. WALDRON, farmer, Smithfield township, P. O. Hoblet, born in Bristol, R. I., May 29, 1835, a son of Billings and Jane (Gray) Waldron, also natives of Bristol, R. I., of English descent. His paternal grandfather was a colonel in the Revolutionary War, as was also his grandfather, Gray. Mr. Waldron's father came to Smithfield township in 1837, and settled near where William now lives. William N. Waldron is the eldest in a family of eleven children, five of whom are still living. He enlisted, at the commencement of the Civil War, in Company F, Sixth Pennsylvania Reserves Volunteers, in which he served until 1862, when he was transferred to Battery B, First Penn- sylvania Artillery; he was wounded severely in June, 1862, and the following January was discharged, on account of disability caused by this wound. He was married, April 25, 1863, to Hannah, daughter of James Phillips, who was born in Broome county, N. Y., October 31, 1830; they have an adopted daughter, wife of Charles K. Burnside. Mr. Waldron has a fine farm, under a good state of cultivation, and has been an extensive dealer in stock for the last fifteen years ; he is a member of the G. A. R., and is a Republican in politics; he has held several positions of public trust, and has been school director nine years. The family are members of the Congregational Church of East Smithfield, Bradford county.

CHARLES W. WALKER, general merchant, Monroeton, was born Sept. 1, 1842, in Painted Post, N. Y., a son of Delinius and Cath- erine (Keeney) Walker, and is of Scotch descent. He was reared in Tioga county, Pa., where he received a common-school education, and took a commercial course at Elmira, N. Y. He was in the Civil War, enlisting August 26, 1861, in Company F, Eleventh Pennsylvania Vol- unteer Cavalry, participating in the battles of the regiment, and between June and Angust, 1864, was in a fight every day-in all twenty-six

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engagements. He was discharged August 26, 1864. Since the War Mr. Walker has been engaged in mercantile business principally. He has spent thirteen years in Monroeton, where he located in 1878. On November 26, 1868, he married Sarah, daughter of Rev. Enoch and Parmelia (Griggs) Cranmer, of an old family of Monroeton. This union was blessed with two children ; Fred E. and Maud A. Politi- cally our subject is a Republican ; he is a member of the G. A. R. and K. of H., was school director and treasurer of Monroeton several times. EDMUND L. WALKER, farmer and breeder of blooded stock, P. O. Ulster, was born in Ulster township, Bradford Co., Pa., December 16, 1845, and is a son of Daniel and Mary Ann (Lockwood) Walker, of German and English origin, respectively. His grandfather, who was a mill-wright, spelled the name Walger, and from the corruption of that name comes Walker ; he built a mill at Seeling's Grove, at the beginning of the present century, when Indians were more numerous than whites, and when going to mill was equal to a journey across the continent to-day. As soon as the mill was completed he leased it and a large tract of land for one hundred years, and of late years there has been a controversy over this property, in which Mr. Walker is interested, but on account of the changes in the names they have been unable to trace anything definite. The farm Mr. Walker now owns consists of 165 acres, and is a part of the old Lockwood estate. He attended the schools of Ulster, and secured quite a fair education, and taught a short time. In 1872 he went to Michigan and purchased a tract of timber land, and erected mills and opened a lumber camp, but sold it, and after two years' residence there returned and pur- chased what is known as the Col. Wells land, cleared 300 acres of stump land, and made a fine farm of it, after which he returned to Ulster and engaged in the breeding of Jersey cattle, and has the finest herd in this section of the State. He also devotes attention to breed- ing trotting horses, and owns two Don Cossack stallions, mahogany bays, and which show all the points of speed, pluck and endurance for which the Wilkes strain is famous. He married Della, daughter of Benjamin and Mary (Shackelton) Park, natives of this county, May 8, 1872. Her grandfather, Daniel Park, was one of the first board of commissioners, and helped frame the first tax list for Bradford county. They have one child, Della. Mr. Walker is a member of the Order of the Iron Hall, and fills the chair of vice justice ; also of the Equitable Aid Union, and is a member of the finance committee. Politically he is a Republican. His father was the first officer from Ulster township, coroner, and is a member of the board of school directors, which office he has held a number of terms.

ZEPHON FLOWER WALKER is the fourth child of the union between George Walker, Jr., and Zulimma W. Walker (nee Flower), and was born at Factoryville (now East Waverly), Tioga Co., N. Y., July 1, 1824. His paternal grandfather, George Walker (in the vul- gate Walger), was of German nationality. Tradition is that he was one of a colony of Germans that migrated from central New York, near the source of the Susquehanna river, by boats down the same, and settled in central Pennsylvania, now Nescopeck, where he bought 400

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acres of land, and being a miller by trade constructed a gristmill near the mouth of the Nescopeck creek. Soon after the completion of the inill, the same was destroyed by a flood. Next we find him at Salem, Luzerne county, same State, where he purchased a tract of land of Wm. Gray, of Philadelphia, and here erected anothor mill, which in the course of a few years met the same fate as the mill at Nescopeck. During this interval his wife had died and he married again. Becom- ing discouraged by constant reverses, he sold out his property here, or, as is averred by his son Henry, also his daughter Mary, he leased the property to Jacob Schaffer for ninety-nine years, on a money consid- eration which was paid in silver, being counted out into the grand- mother's apron on the eve of their departure from this place. But no lease or record of this transaction can be found. In about 1787 or 1788 he moved from Salem up the Susquehanna river by what was then called " Durham Boats " (propelled by men pushing the boats with setting poles), his family and household goods being sent by that con- veyance, and his stock by the overland route. He sojourned until he passed the line between the States of Pennsylvania and New York, where he struck camp at a place on the west side of the Susquehanna river, known as the " Isaac Raymond farm " in Ellistown, about two miles east of Waverly, N. Y., and where the Hannas settled. Remain- ing here for a short time he purchased, in the township of Nichols, 480 acres of " Patent No. 1," adjoining the State line on the east side of the river, and moved thereon, cleared up the land and carried on the distilling business, becoming successful in all his undertakings. Next he purchased 500 acres on Cayuta creek, known as the "Cantine lot on the Thomas tract," which is adjacent to Waverly corporation and in East Waverly, and constructed another gristmill, which he success- fully operated until his death in 1812. His family by his first wife were: Peter (who was drowned in Rocky Riff, Luzerne county, Pa.), Jacob, Daniel, and a daughter who married a Mr. Reap; by his second wife the children were: Betsy, Mary and Henry (born at Salem, Pa.), and Samuel, Elias, George and John (born in Nichols, N. Y.). His son, George, who was the father of subject, was born March 3, 1795, at Nichols, N. Y., and died February 14, 1837; was married November 1, 1817, to Zulimma W. Flower, who was born April 6, 1800, and died September 1, 1852. To them were born Glencarn, Leanora Leander, Zephon Flower (the subject of this sketch), Thaddeus S., Helen V., Ma- rion B., George C. and Portia Z., all yet living except Glencarn, Leanora, Helen V. and Portia Z. The mother was a daughter of Maj. Zephon Flower, a Revolutionary patriot, who was of English nationality, and a descendant of the family who gave the first school teacher to Phila- delphia under the Colonial government. He was born at Hartford, Conn., November 30, 1765 ; on March 28, 1785, he was married to Mary Patrick, a lady of Irish nationality, who was born at Valentine, Conn., December 25, 1765, and died at Athens, March 5, 1848. They reared a large family who settled in various localities of the United States, and are now all dead except Ithurael, who lives at Oshkosh, Wis., and is now ninety-four years old.

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History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 148

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