History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 61

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

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But the pre-historic character of Wysox was a very dirty and buggy hermit known as "Fencelor." Traditions say he was an old resident in his hole or cave when the first foxes and wolves arrived, and the first superstitious Indians both worshiped and feared him-possibly because he was so much dirtier than they dared to be. His "hole " was about a mile north of Myersburg, owned afterward by Dr. Seth T. Barstow, and finally by Col. Robert Spalding. The place of the "Hermit of Weasauking," as the name went into fiction, was called by Dr. Barstow " Fencelor Castle." There are descend- ants of people who, it is said, actually saw the " Hermit " and talked with him. The old fellow was found dead in his residence about 1808 or 1810.

The first settler in the Pond hill neighborhood was one Grover, who came about 1806 and built near that beautiful lake that gives the name

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

to " Pond hill," a deep, placid body of water on the hill that has so long mystified every beholder on the question as to whence it gets its supply. It is on a high elevation about a mile north of Myersburg. In later years property known as the " Allen property" was purchased by Miner York, father of Amos York, and the Narrows eventually took the name of "York Narrows." The first settler on the Owens farm, west of and adjoining the Piollet land, was a man named Price, who located in 1805; he built the first distillery in the township, which was eventually removed to Myersburg.

Burr Ridgeway came in 1803. Naphtali Woodburn came to Wysox in 1805, and settled on the creek above Barstow's, in an old house that had been built for a Baptist meeting house. He brought a small stock of goods and soon after built a sawmill . . Elisha Tracey lived on the creek near Peter Johnson's, and near him was Dr. Gillette. . Elisha Whitney came in 1816. . [For an account of the coming of the Piollets to Wysox see biographical sketches on another page.]

Dr. Seth D. Barstow was one of the first physicians in Wysox, in 1810 ; his residence was called "Fencelor Castle"; he married Clarissa Woodruff. Dr. Warner came to Wysox when a young man, and he died there in 1845, aged seventy years. . Shepard Pierce came in 1810, married a Coolbaugh, and bought the John Shepard farm.

The first school-house was built near Alonzo Bishop's. . John Hinman built a grist and saw mill on the Little Wysox, in the rear of the Laning farm-the first in the township. The Myers' mill was built in 1802 or 1803. The Woodburns later had a sawmill on the Wysox.

Wysox, a station on the Lehigh Valley Railroad, situated in almost the center of the beautiful broad Wysox valley, is a place of consider- able importance, and has long been noted for its wealth and public spirit. ¡ It has two stores, a large hotel, and a creamery built in 1891 . . Myersburg is two miles north of Wysox.

PART II.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES,

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

WALLACE D. ABBOTT, farmer, of Pike township, P. O. LeRaysville, was born here March 16, 1854, and is a son of Elisha C. and Alvira (Goodell) Abbott, natives of Pennsylvania and of New England descent. In their family there were two children : Wallace D., and Minnie C., who married Milton Brink, a farmer of Pike town- ship. John and Prudence (Ford) Abbott, grandparents of subject, came to Pike township as early as 1810, and located on a farm. Wallace D. Abbott spent his boyhood on his father's farm, and completed his education in the district school. He began life for himself at the age of twenty-one, a farmer, which occupation he has followed except from 1886 to 1891, when he was engaged with Johnson & Son in the furniture business in LeRaysville. Mr. Abbott was married April 12, 1879, to Miss Celia L., daughter of Zenas and Elizabeth (Sherwood) Cooley, natives of Pennsylvania, and of New England origin; they have had three children, none of whom are now living. Mr. Abbott has held all the offices in the I. O. O. F., and belongs now at Athens; is a member of the Farmers' Alliance, and is a Republican.

AMAZIAH A. ABELL, funeral director, Warren Centre, is a native of Warren township, this county, and one of the noted Abell family, who are related to the great Baltimore publisher Arunah S. Abell. Our subject was born February 19, 1835, near where he now resides, and is a son of Daniel and Mary (Allyn) Abell, of Rhode Island and of English descent. The father, a farmer by occupation, came to Bradford county in 1828, and settled on the farm Amaziah now owns, at which time it was wild and drear and desolate, and Capt. Abell valiantly went to work to clear up his farm and make a home in the wilderness. He was for many years a captain in the militia ; was a man of public spirit, mnuch respected by all who knew him, for many years held public offices, and died in 1877, ripe in years and wisdom; his widow died in 1882. They had four children : Catherine (Mrs. Dr. D. S. Pratt), of Towanda ; Freelove E. (Mrs. John B. Russell) who removed to Wisconsin, where she died February 4, 1878; Amaziah A., the subject of this sketch, and Dr. Daniel T., of Missouri. Amaziah A. Abell was reared in his native place, attended the neighboring schools and then became a student at the Susquehanna Collegiate Institute, Towanda, where he completed his education and engaged in farming. He inherited the old homestead, and now has one hundred and twelve acres of land, but resides in the village of Warren Centre, in his elegant new residence. He was married in Nichols, N. Y., in 1867, to Helen Ball, only child of E. B, and Almira

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

Ball, natives of New York and Pennsylvania, respectively. To this marriage have been born two children : Guy Walter and Charlie Leonard. Mrs. Abell is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Abell is a Freemason, and in politics is a Republican.

PRESERVED THOMPSON ABELL, retired farmer, Warren Centre, is a native of Bristol county, Mass., born December 13, 1811, a son of Caleb and Elona (Shepherdson) Abell, of Massachusetts, and of English stock. The family were farmers from remote times, and the father was a leading man of his day, having held the position of town clerk for over forty years, together with various other local offices ; he came to Bradford county about 1840, only on a visit, how- ever, and died in his native place in 1842; his widow died in 1847; they had ten children, viz : Lois (Mrs. Ezra French), of Providence ; Daniel H., a farmer of this county ; Mary (Mrs. Samuel Wheaton), of this county ; Nancy (Mrs. Benajah Allyn), of Warren township ; Caleb ; Robert; Pawtucket ; Arunah S., a printer and publisher, of Baltimore, who died a millionaire, his thirty-two nephews receiving at his death $10,000; Sarah, who died in 1830, aged twenty-two; and Preserved Thompson, the subject of this sketch, the only survivor of the family, who was reared in Massachusetts and engaged in farming. He came to Bradford county in 1867, and located in Warren township; was married in his old Massachusetts home, in 1838, to Sarah Ann Daggett, daughter of Simeon and Barbara (Brown) Daggett, natives of Seekonk, Mass., born of English stock, and of this marriage there were ten children, eight of whom grew to manhood and womanhood, and four are now living, as follows: Lois A .; Helen A. (Mrs. George Leasure), who has six children ; Eugene, a merchant of Binghamton, and Etta M., also of Binghamton. Mr. Abell has long been a leading farmer of the county, noted for his industry and integrity. He is a Democrat, and was town clerk eight years at his old home in Seekonk, Mass., and the number of terms the father and son held the office added together shows an unbroken record of half a century. The venerable gentle- man is with his family, where love and respect are the beautiful order of their daily lives, his daughter Lois A. soothing with tenderest love that father's evening of life that crowns the gray hairs with a sacred halo-making age lovely and youth noble.

DAVID ABRAMS, farmer, P. O. Wilmot, was born in Wilmot township, this county, May 11, 1837, and is a son of David and Sarah (Morris) Abrams, natives of Wales. The father settled in Wilmot in 1837, being among the pioneers of the place. The subject of this sketch began life for himself at the age of twenty, lumbering and stock dealing ; purchased his present home of two hundred acres in 1868, which is a fertile tract of land in an excellent state of cultiva- tion. On September 5, 1864, he enlisted at Scranton, Pa., in Company E, Two Hundred and Third Regiment, P. V. I., and was in the follow- ing engagements : Siege of Richmond, Deep Bottom, Petersburg, Chapin's Farm, capture of Fort Fisher, where he received three gun- shot wounds, the most serious of which was on the head, and he was then taken to Fortress Monroe Hospital, where he remained until his regiment was mustered out at the close of the war. After that he

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

returned to Wilmot and was married August 17, 1866, to Emma, daughter of Daniel and Rhoda (Potter) Omsbury, of Wilmot. They have four children, viz : Stephen, born July 3, 1869 ; Morris, born July 19, 1875; Weston, born February 2, 1878, and Arthur, born March 14, 1880. Mr. Abrams is a member of the G. A. R., at Dushore; is a Republican and has been assessor of Wilmot two terms, and county auditor one term.

DEMMON ACKLEY, farmer, P. O. Spring Hill, was born on the old Ackley homestead in Tuscarora, April 26, 1822, and is a son of Harry and Abigail (Bennett) Ackley, the former of whom was born on the old homestead in Wyalusing township, April 5, 1795, and died January 11, 1864; he was a son of Benjamin Ackley, who was born in Connecticut, the grandfather of subject. Benjamin Ackley was twice married, first to Emeline Gordon, of Standing Stone, and afterward to Amy Lewis. By the first marriage he had the following children : Lloyd, Harry, Niram, Olive (married to Harris Scofield), Mary Ann (married to Aholiab Taylor) and Hannah (married to John Black) ; by his second marriage Benjamin Ackley had the following: Sally (deceased), Cordelia (married to Moses Tyler, and now resides in Sus- quehanna county), Caroline (married to Mr. Alphonzo Lloyd, resides in Wyalusing), Sterling (also resides in Wyalusing), Justice (deceased) and Benjamin (residing in Wyalusing). The grandfather was a black- smith, and many years carried on a shop at Merryall; he began farming and pursued that occupation until his death. The father of subject was married when nineteen years of age, and had the following children : Angeline, married Milton Lewis, and died February 21, 1890, aged seventy-five years ; Ferris, died September 26, 1888 ; Alfred, died December 26, 1884, aged sixty-four ; Lucretia, married John Lum, died April 2, 1888, aged sixty four; Ferris, died Sept. 26, 1889, aged seven- ty-three; Nancy, married Washington Taylor, now residing in Keokuk, Iowa; Demmon ; Lorenzo, now a resident of Buffalo, N. Y .; H. S., residing in Binghamton ; Helen, married to Stephen Bowen, and resid- ing in Mitchell, Dak .; Sophia, married to Stuart Biswork, residing in Marshal, Iowa; (Henry died February 2, 1883, aged forty-seven). The father, Harry Ackley, who was a farmer, after his marriage removed to Spring Hill, which was then a wilderness, and began to clear up the land ; at the time of his death he owned over five hundred acres of and, land had prepared at least two hundred and fifty acres for cultiva- tion and improved the land by building good farm buildings, fences, etc.

Our subject was born and reared on a farm and educated in the common schools. He worked with his father and brothers on the old homestead until after his marriage with Abigail B. Lacey, September 13, 1848; then removed to his present farm, in Tuscarora township, where he has since resided; his wife, who was a daughter of Daniel P. Lacey, of Wyoming county, died June 1, 1888. He owns eighty acres of fine farm land which he has well improved ; keeps a large dairy and also owns real estate in Binghamton and Lester Shire, N. Y. To Mr. and Mrs. Ackley were born four children, viz : G. S., born November 25, 1850, married to Helen Brook, is general superintendent for the Lester Boot & Shoe Co., and resides at Binghamton ; Effie L., married

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

P. H. Edinger, a farmer of Tuscarora township ; Callie A., married Charles G. Brown, a merchant, farmer amd lumber dealer, of Skinner's Eddy, Pa .; and Angie E., residing with and caring for the household of her father. Besides his occupation of farmer he has been an extensive dealer in stock and farm implements and machinery ; he has always been largely dependent on his own resources, has been a successful man, and now ranks among the wealthy and influential farmers of the county ; he is a Republican in politics and has filled the various town- ship offices ; is a director and adjuster of the Tuscarora Fire Insurance Company. Mr. Ackley has always been a man of push and enterprise, and is scrupulously honest, among his neighbors and friends none stand higher than he.

J. B. ACKLEY, stone cutter and contractor, Athens, is a native of Macedonia, this county, and was born February 14, 1849, a son of John and Susan (Bennett) Ackley, natives of same place ; his grand- parents were among the first settlers of Asylum township. His grand- father, Benjamin Bennett, was a soldier in the War of 1812, and lived to the advanced age of one hundred and one years. John Ackley was a farmer, and died in Asylum township in 1868 in his seventy-seventh year ; his widow is now a resident of Athens. J. B. Ackley is the seventh of a family of eleven children, and when he started in life for himself he served an apprenticeship at the stone cutter's trade, at which he worked until 1866, when he went to boating on the canal. In 1868 he resumed work at his trade doing all kinds of cut stone work for buildings and street work. In December, 1862, he enlisted in the army, in Company C, Twenty-second New York Cavalry, participated in thirteen general engagements, and was wounded September 7, 1864, in the third battle of Weldon Railroad (near the powder house); was mustered out in July, 1865. He was married May 30, 1868, in Litch- field, to Miss Sarah E., daughter of Benjamin and Phoebe (Mills) Kershaw, the former a native of England, and the latter of Pennsyl- vania. Mrs. Ackley was born March 4, 1849, in Litchfield township, and is the second born in a family of five children. Mr. and Mrs. Ackley are members of the Episcopal Church ; in politics Mr. Ackley is a Republican.

HON. JOHN ALDEN, ancestor of most persons bearing the name of Alden in this country, was one of the Plymouth Pilgrims, and the last male survivor of those who came in the " May Flower," and signed the compact in her cabin in 1620. He was not of the Leyden Church, but as Bradford in his " History of Plymouth Plantation " informs us, was hired for a cooper at Southampton, where the ship victualled, and being a hopeful young man, was much desired, but was left to his own liking to go or stay when he came here, so stayed and married here. He was distinguished for practical wisdom, integrity and decision, and early acquired, and retained during his long life, a commanding influence over his associates. He was much employed in public business, was an assistant to the governor many years, and, in every position he occupied, fulfilled his duties promptly and to the satisfaction of his employers. So far as is known his ancestry in England has not been traced. He was born in 1599, and died at

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HISTORY OF. BRADFORD COUNTY.

Duxbury, September 12, 1687, in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people, and his sons buried him. He married, in 1621, Priscilla, daughter of Mr. Molines or Mullens, who with his family came also in the " May Flower," and both died in the February succeeding their landing. Tradition represents Priscilla to have been very beautiful in her youth, and John also was a comely person, and considering his other accomplishments, it is not surprising that when he was sent by Capt. Standish, after the death of his wife, to solicit her hand in marriage, she preferred the messenger to the message:

"But as he warmed and glowed, in his simple and eloquent language, Quite forgetful of self, and full of the praise of his rival,

Arehly the maiden smiled, and, with eyes overrunning with laughter, Said, in a tremulous voice, 'why don't you speak for yourself, John?'"

Their residence, after a few years, was in Duxbury, on the north side of the village, on a farm which is still in possession of their de- scendants of the seventh generation, having never been alienated. It was supposed, until recently, that John and Priscilla Alden had but eight children. Bradford, however, states in his history, that, at the time of his writing, they were both living and had eleven children : John (born about 1622), Joseph (born 1624), John, Elizabeth (born 1625), Jonathan, Sarah, Ruth, Mary, David and two whose names are unknown.

Joseph Alden, Bridgewater, Mass., farmer, son of John (first), was born in 1624, died February 8, 1697, aged seventy-three; he was admitted freeman in 1659; had his father's proprietary share in Bridgewater, where he settled in that part of the town, now West Bridgewater; his will was dated December 14, 1696, and proved March 10, 1697, with his wife and son John as executors. He married Mary, daughter of Moses Simmons. To them were born the following children : Isaac, Joseph (born 1667), John, Elizabeth, Marv.

John Aiden, Bridgewater and Middleborough, Mass., farmer, was son of Joseph (second); had his father's homestead in West Bridge- water, which, upon June 20, 1700, he conveyed to Isaac Johnson, and removed to Middleborough, where he died September 29, 1730, aged fifty-six. He married Hannah, daughter of Capt. Ebenezer White, of Weymouth, who was born May 12, 1661, and died October 5, 1732. Their children were as follows: David, born May 18, 1702; Priscilla, born March 2, 1704; Thankful, born May 3, 1706; Hannah, born March 24, 1708 ; Lydia, born December 18, 1710; Mary, born Novem- ber 10, 1712; Abigal, born September 8, 1714 ; Joseph, born Septem- ber 11, 1716 ; John, born October 8, 1718; Ebenezer, born October 8, 1720; Samuel, died in infancy ; Nathan, born June 12, 1723, died young ; Noah, born May 31, 1725.

Rev. Noah Alden, of Stafford, Conn., and Bellingham, Mass., the son of John Alden (third), was born May 30, 1725, and died at Belling- ham, May 5, 1797, aged seventy-two. He was received into the Middleborough Congregational Church, March 7, 1742, dismissed to the Congregational Church in Stafford, Conn., in 1744, and continued a member there until 1753, when he changed his religious views, and became a Baptist minister, and was ordained at Stafford, Conn., June 5,

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

1755, and in Bellingham, November 12, 1766. He was a member of the convention for adopting the constitution of Massachusetts, and was a pious and worthy man, and was one of four ministers who formed the Warren association in 1767. A further account of him may be found in the annals of the American pulpit, by Rev. Dr. Sprague). He married Mary Vaughn, by whom he had the following children : Joanna, Lucy, who married A. Marshall ; Ruth, married to Benjamin Thayer; Elisha, Israel and Noah.

Israel Alden, Tryingham, Mass., and Windsor, N. Y., the son of Noah Alden, died at Windsor, N. Y., July 20, 1817, aged seventy-one ; He was a farmer and purchased land at Windsor. which is still in the possession of his descendants residing there: He married Lucy Mark- ham and had children as follows: Israel, Noah (born March 6, 1768, in Barrington, Mass.), Timothy, Lucy, Zilpah, Samuel, Abner (Windsor, N. Y.), Elisha, Benjamin (Windsor, N. Y.), Thankful, Moses (Windsor, N. Y.), David (Windsor, N. Y.) and Ruth.

Timothy Alden, Tryingham, Mass., and Monroe, Bradford county, Pa., the son of Israel Alden, was born February 22, 1770, and died September 20, 1859. He was one of the pioneer settlers of this coun- try, having located in Bradford county in December, 1800, as he had visited the country the year before, and being satisfied with the prospects, decided to make it his home. He purchased eight hundred acres of land under the Connecticut title, paying the money for it ; he built a log house a few rods from the stone house now standing on the place which he settled ; the stone house was built by him in 1827, and is but a short distance from the present town of Monroeton. Many were the adventures related by him and his son, S. W. Alden, of early pioneer life. A high sense of humor prevails in all the accounts of hairbreadth escapes, fights with wild beasts and all the dangers inci- dent to such a life. "He is described as a man six feet two inches in height, well-proportioned, commanding and of a noble bearing ; he was firm, benevolent and possessed of good judgment, and though not given to frivolous things he was fond of humor. For some time he was captain of militia and, hence, was generally addressed as Captain ;" was one of the first and most liberal supporters of the Baptist Church of Mon- roe, and remained a consistent and faithful member until the time of his death. The following appeared in the Bradford Reporter October 13, 1859 :

"Capt. Alden was one of the pioneer settlers of northern Penn- sylvania, emigrating from Massachusetts and fixing his home in these sylvan wilds in December of the year 1800. His ax cut the road for the teams as he approached the place which he selected for a home; he grappled manfully with the inconveniences of frontier life, and wild beast of the mountain and forest alike stood out of his way, and the earth and his mechanical genius were compelled to yield him a sup- port. He has lived until all the original surroundings have changed while he gazed upon them ; the village, the church, the railroad and all the accompaniments of thrift now occupy the cities upon which he gazed in their original attire. The red man has gone to his imaginary hunting ground, the sturdy pioneer has fallen a martyr to his priva-

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

tions and hardships, and two generations have passed away from this western home, leaving a patriarch to tell us of events that were well- nigh a century agone, and thus to stand as a connecting link, associ- ating us with men and events of quite another era of time. The aged oak has finally fallen and the connecting link is broken and forever gone, bowed with age and with locks whitened by the frosts of many winters. The sluggish stream is stayed, and the weary wheels of life have ceased to move. Panoplied by a life of rich experience and fed by fruitful thought and meditation, and nerved for the event by long and careful observation, he wrapped around him the mantle of his Christian faith and sat down to await the day of his appointed time as quietly as the infant reposing in the arms of maternal affection ; he was gone on that long journey. Verily, as the waters fail from the sea and the flood drieth up, so man lieth down and raiseth not till the heavens be no more."

Before Timothy Alden removed to Monroe he married Lois, daugh- ter of Sheffield Wilcox, one of the early pioneers in Albany. They had nine children:

Adonijah, born about 1791, married to Vesta, a daughter of Rev. M. M. York, of Wysox, and after a few years went to Illinois ; their children were Adaline, born February 25, 1816: Adrian Minor, born April 5, 1819 ; Timothy Wells, born March 13, 1821 ; Elizabeth, born September 29, 1822, died April 20, 1839; Mahala, born August 30, 1824, died May 22, 1839 ; Charles Edward, born July 23, 1826; Cora Caroline, born June 13, 1828; Percival York, born July 22, 1830, died May 17, 1839; Sylvester Jerome, born May 28, 1832; twins, son and daughter, born September 23, 1834, died in infancy ; Marinda Arloa, born May 12, 1836. Adonijah Alden died August 6, 1839, and his wife May 17, 1839. Their descendants now reside in parts of Illinois and Iowa.

Infant born, April 19, 1792, died in infancy.

Sophronia, born May 9, 1793, married Jared Woodruff, a pioneer in this country, and remained here until her death, April 8, 1876.

Philinda, born February 10, 1795, married Warner Ladd, of Albany, in 1818, and lived there until her husband's death, when she removed to Monroe and died ; she is buried at Albany.

Louisa, born January 5, 1797. married Benjamin Coolbaugh, of Monroe, and died in Monroe township, July 16, 1846.

Timothy Wells, born June 9, 1800. died in infancy.

Parmelia, born December 18, 1801, married Jacob Arnout, and, afterward, Charles Homet ; died June 4, 1876, in Monroeton.

Sylvester Williams and Sevellon Wells (twins) born March 19, 1810. Sylvester Williams, married Francis Wilcox at Middletown, Bradford Co., Pa., September 25, 1833, and removed to Menekaunee, Marinette Co., Wis., in the fall of 1855, and died at Green Bay, Brown Co., Wis., July 13, 1881. Francis Alden, wife of Sylvester Williams Alden, was born July 31, 1815, at Middletown, Bradford Co., Pa., and died at Monroe, Bradford Co., Pa., August 29, 1847. Sylvester married, for his second wife, Harriet Bishop, who survives him. De Alanson Taylor Alden, son of Sylvester Williams and Frances Alden, was born

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History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 61

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