History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 65

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

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disperse his cattle and sheep, lending a charm to the beautiful per- spective, the whole constituting one of the best farms and delightful rural homes in the county. Maj. Avery is president of the District Association of the Patrons of Industry, of North America, of which there are fifteen subordinate orders in Bradford county. Mr. Avery's first marriage was December 23, 1841, with Caroline A. Brown, daughter of James Brown, of Eaton township, and of this marriage there were four children, as follows: A. J., born May 14, 1843, a farmer in Missouri; E. F., born May 28, 1846, now a dentist in Tunkhannock; C. L., born September 30, 1848, an undertaker in Penfield, Pa., and Washington B., born May 7, 1851, and died young. His second marriage was in Bradford county, in November, 1852, with Mary P. Ingham, daughter of John and Marinda Ingham, and by her there were three children : John M., born June 23, 1855, died February 9,1862; Joseph C., born September 12, 1859, died November 18, 1878 ; Mary E., born December 2, 1861, wife of C. C. Smith, merchant, Camptown. To the interviewer the Major expressed much of the facts in the case when he said : " I am in good health and delight in superin- tending the farm and looking after the domestic animals." A model home and pleasant household surrounded by those who give and receive that respect and love that is the supreme type of the best of civilization. It is meet and proper here to say a word of Mrs. Avery -a royal helpmeet and companion of a husband ; cultured, refined, a motherly mother of as peaceful and enjoyable home as there is in Brad- ford county, made so chiefly by her presence.

O. F. AYER, poprietor of the Valley Mills, Sheshequin, was born in Sheshequin, Pa., August 11, 1840, and is the only child of F. S. and Sarah (Tuttle) Ayer, his father being a native of Madison county, N. Y., and his mother of Sheshequin, Pa .; the mother died in 1868, aged forty-two years ; the father is engaged in the lumber and milling business. O. F. Ayer received his early education in the common schools of Sheshequin, and afterward in the Collegiate Institute, of Towanda, attending the latter three years. After leaving school he engaged in the lumber business in connection with his father, under the firm name of F. S. Ayer & Son, until 1868, when they moved to Sheshequin ; he built his sawmill in 1868 ; his father's gristmill was built in 1870, it has three run of stone for flour, and one for corn and feed ; the sawmill consists of a circular saw, shingle machine and planing mill. Mr. Ayer was united in marriage December 25, 1863, to Anna, daughter of Jacob and Harriet (Knapp) Morley, and the fruits of this marriage are four children, viz. : F. O., draughtsman ; Sarah M., music teacher; Frederick E., aged fourteen years, and Harry O., aged eleven years. Our subject is a member of the I. O. O. F., has taken all the degrees ; is attached to the Lodge at Sheshequin, and holds a withdrawal card from the Encampment at Towanda ; in politics he is a Republican.

HON. ENOCH J. AYRES, farmer, P. O. Macedonia, was born in Sussex county, N. J., September 20, 1828, and is a son of John and Anna (Vansickle) Ayres, also natives of New Jersey, the ancestry being

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Scotch and English. The paternal great-grandfather of our subject was in the Revolutionary War.

Enoch J. Ayres was educated in the schools of his native place, and was reared on his father's farm. On September 20, 1855, he was married to Nancy. daughter of Mathew Jackson, of Paterson, N. J., and to them have been born three children, one of whom is now living, Annie, born September 8, 1866. Mr. Ayres was for several years in mercantile business in Paterson, N. J., of which city he was at one time elected alderman. During the War of the Rebellion he was a soldier in the Twenty-fifth N. J. V. I., and was elected and com- missioned lieutenant-colonel of the regiment; he served during the term of his enlistment, and was mustered out with the regiment. Mr. Ayres came to Asylum township, this county, in the spring of 1866, and located on his present farm of over two hundred acres, one of the finest in the county, where he soon became one of the leading agri- culturists of this section. He was elected, in 1882, representative to the State Legislature, and served with great credit and to the eminent satis- faction of his constituents. He has always been a Republican in his political preferences, has held many positions of public trust, and is much respected by a large circle of friends.

JACOB J. AYRES, farmer, P. O. Gillett, was born in Milton, Northumberland county, Pa., March 2, 1816, a son of Daniel and Eliza- beth (Sheive) Ayres. Daniel Ayres was a valiant soldier in the War of 1812, was by trade a general blacksmith, and was an excellent mechanic. He married Miss Elizabeth Sheive, by whom he had six children, all of whom grew to maturity, two now living. Jacob J., who is the sixth in the family, was reared and educated in Montgom- ery county, and at the age of sixteen he went to Philadelphia to learn the carriage-maker's trade. After he served his time as an apprentice he opened a shop for himself in Jackson, Tioga Co., Pa., where he succeeded in building up a large country trade. Here he worked four- teen years and then, in 1851, removed to Wells township, this county, locating about three miles west of Gillett, where he purchased ninety- four acres of uncultivated land, heavily timbered and without any buildings. By perseverance, patience and improving, he worked at his trade in the winter and at farming in the summer until he converted the forest into a comparative paradise. On September 15, 1839, Mr. Ayres married at Rutland, Tioga Co., Pa., Miss Delilah, daughter of Isaac and Amanda Parker, and by this union there were born six children, five of whom grew to maturity, viz .: Sylvester, Lewis, Archi- bald, Sarah and George W., all married and prosperous. Mr. Ayres is grandfather to seventeen children. He is a man of enterprise and push and a successful agriculturist, his farm being a model one; the fruit grown thereon is of the finest and of several varieties, and his stock comprises some full-blooded Jerseys : Mr Ayres is a member of the Grange, and a consistent member of the Baptist Church.

M. P. AYRES, farmer, in Canton township, P. O. East Canton, is a native of Canton township, this county, having been born September 20, 1841, a son of Abijah and Thirza (Palmer) Ayres, natives of Connecticut, Abijah Ayres was a farmer and an early settler of

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Canton township, coming here in 1809 and settling three-quarters of a mile northwest of where his son now resides. He enlisted as a soldier in the War of 1812, but was not in active service; he died in 1860 in his seventy-third year. Mrs. Ayres was born July 17, 1806, and resides in Covington township, Tioga Co., Pa. The paternal grandfather, Abijah Ayres, who was a native of Connecticut, also settled in Canton town- ship about the year 1809, and died in 1836. The subject of these lines, who is the eighth in order of birth in a family of eleven children, was reared in his township, and received his education in the public schools. On August 31, 1864, he enlisted in Company I, Fifteenth New York Engineers, and was in active service in Virginia and North Carolina until two months before the close of the war, when he was sent to David's Island Hospital, N. Y., on account of disability; was mustered out on June 13, 1865, returned home, and has since been engaged in farming. He was married in Sullivan township, Tioga Co., Pa., October 21, 1869, to Augusta M., daughter of Thomas and Isabel (Wilson) Case, natives of Vermont and Chester county, Pa., respectively, and who came here in early life and were married in Canton township, afterward removed to Troy township where they resided two years, and then returned to Canton. Thomas Case, who was a farmer, and a soldier in the War of 1812, was born February 12, 1798, and died July 27, 1872. Mrs. Case was born January 29, 1804, and died August 3, 1873. The paternal grandfather, Samuel Case, a native of Vermont, settled in Troy township ; the maternal grandfather, William Wilson, came from Chester county, Pa., and settled in Burlington township; Mrs. Ayres' grandmother, Margaret (Ballard) Wilson, was a native of Connecticut. Mrs. Ayres, who is the youngest in order of birth in a family of six children, was born in Canton township, this county, December 1, 1845. They have an adopted son named Bernard. The family are members of the Disciple Church. Mr. Ayres is a member of the West Granville Grange, and served one term as township commis- sioner. Politically he is a Republican. He owns a well-improved farm of ninety acres.

SHELLY AYRES, farmer, P. O. Windfall, was born in Canton township, this county, April 19, 1830, and is a son of Abijah and Polly (Shelley) Ayres. His paternal grandparents were Abijah and Hannah (Edward) Ayres, who settled in Troy township in 1815, and what is now Granville township in 1817, cleared a large tract of land, and died there, the homestead being the one now occupied by their grandson, Shelly Ayres ; their children were as follows: Abijah, Gil- bert, John, Jemima (Mrs. Elihu Andrews), Moses, Isaac, Anna (Mrs. M. J. Porter), Sally (Mrs. Silas Packhard), Rachel (Mrs .- Phillips), Lemuel, Marcus and Mary (Mrs. Reuben J. Palmer). The father of our subject cleared and improved a farm in Canton township, and died there. His children were as follows: John, Betsey, Henry, Moses, Ellen, Hannah and Shelly ; by his second wife, Thurza (Pal- mer), he had nine children : Mary, Eliza, Sarah, Christine, Lucy, Naomi, Marcus, Andrew and Burton. Shelly Ayers was reared in Canton, and has been a resident of Granville thirty-five years. He married Roxanna, daughter of M. T. and Amanda (Spencer) Porter,

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of Granville township, and has had the following named children : Mary, Flora, Deliva, Fremont, Oscar and Frank. Mr. Ayres enlisted August 15, 1864, in Company I, Fifteenth New York Engineers, and, after eleven month's service was honorably discharged. Politically he is a Republican.

MRS. GEORGE W. BAILEY, retired, LeRaysville, was born April 27, 1847, in Pike township, this county, a daughter of Jonathan and Abigal (Steven) Brink, natives of Pennsylvania, and of New England origin, in whose family there were three children, of whom Marian (Mrs. Bailey) is the second. She was educated in the common school, and at LeRaysville Academy, and September 26, 1865, she was married to George W. Bailey, the youngest of six children of Daniel and Laura (Baldwin) Bailey. They lived on a farm for a year and a-half, and then Mr. Bailey engaged with his brother, Daniel, in mercantile business in the store which his father had carried on many years. To Mr. and Mrs. Bailey were born two children : Nettie A., born September 6, 1867, married February 27, 1882, to George W. Payson, a dentist of Newark Valley, N. Y., and Harry C., born January 26, 1871, died March 22, 1872. Mrs. Bailey and her daughter are mem- bers of the Congregational Church ; she is one of the highly respected ladies of LeRaysville.

NEWTON J. BAILEY, Towanda, was born in North Towanda township, this county, March 18, 1847, and is a son of Jeremiah and Electa (Baldwin) Bailey. His paternal grandfather was a native of Orange county, N. Y., and came to Wyalusing in 1791, and in 1792 settled on Sugar creek in what is now North Towanda township; the same year he married Susan Bennett, daughter of Amos Bennett, of Wyalusing, but formerly of Orange county, N. Y. Mr. Bailey, settled on the farm now occupied by his sons and resided there until his death which occurred in 1861, when aged ninety-two years. His children were Pruda (Mrs. Stephen Avery), Joshua, Nehemiah, Nathaniel, Anna (Mrs. Andrew C. Gregg), Phebe (Mrs. Austin Rundell), Susan (Mrs. William McNeal), Polly (Mrs. Harry Coolbaugh), Mehitable (Mrs. Gordon Goff), John, Clara (Mrs. Alfred Strope), Enos and Jeremiah. Jeremiah Bailey succeeded to the homestead, on which he was born and reared, and where he died at the age of seventy-four. His wife was a daughter of Thomas and Lucy A. Baldwin, of Troy, this county, and by her he had ten children, of whom seven grew to maturity, as follows: Thomas J., Newton J., Susan, Joseph, Dora (Mrs. S. Slater), Lucy (Mrs. Perry Hess) and Jeremiah. Newton J. Bailey was reared on the old homestead, a part of which he now owns and occupies ; in connection with his farming interests, he has followed butchering for twenty years, and for eighteen years has conducted a market in Towanda. In 1868 he married Susan, daughter of Asa and Lucinda (Rundell) Slater, of Burlington, and has seven children, viz : William. Mary (Mrs. U. M. Slater), Minnie, Archie, Cora, Ida and John. Mr. Bailey is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church ; in politics he is a Republican.

RODOLPHUS D. BAILEY, farmer, P. O. LeRoy, was born in LeRoy, this county, February 17, 1835, a son of Samuel and Adaline

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(White) Bailey. His paternal grandfather, Timothy Bailey, of Con- necticut, was one of the pioneers of LeRoy township; his wife was Eleanor Harris, and their children were Harriet (Mrs. Eli Holcomb), Abby (Mrs. Jacob Roberts), Electo (Mrs. Marlin Holcomb), Maryan (Mrs. Richard Benson), Lucinda (Mrs. George Browning), Samuel, Lymon, Jeremiah, Alvin and Warren. Of these, Samuel was a shoe- maker by trade, and most of his life worked on the bench in LeRoy; later in life he was engaged in mercantile business at the same place, and died there ; his wife was a daughter of David White, of Gran- ville township, by whom he had six children, as follows : Lovisa (Mrs. James McCraney), Dorleska (Mrs. James Griswold), Elozia (Mrs. Christopher Hartman), Franteska (Mrs. Amos Harris), Manning and Rodolphus D. Our subject was reared in Le Roy township, learned the shoemaker's trade with his father, which he followed twenty - eight years ; then engaged in farming in Granville township, in which he has since continued. His wife was Annette, daughter of Ebenezer and Ovanda Marvin, of Granville, and there are three children : Ovanda, Mattie (Mrs. Solomon Lindley) and Marion. Mr. Bailey is a member of the Church of Christ, and in politics is a Republican.

ROBERT BAILEY, one of the oldest residents of Granville town- ship, P. O. Granville Centre, was born March 27, 1815, on the farm where he now resides, a son of Scovil and Jerusha (Hale) Bailey, natives of Connecticut, who settled in Granville in 1801 and cleared and improved the farm occupied by our subject, and died there; their children were: Julius, Jerusha (Mrs. Luman Putnam), Eliza (Mrs. John Taylor), Hezekiah, Harry, Amanda (Mrs. Samuel W. Shepard), Robert and Hannah (Mrs. William Rockwell). Our subject has always lived on the old homestead, a part of which he cleared. He has been twice married, his first wife being Maryette, daughter of Bradford Robbins, of Granville, and by her he had two children, Moses I. and John ; his second wife was Lucia, daughter of Erastus Booth, of Troy township. Mr. Bailey is a member of the Free Will Baptist Church ; in politics he is a Republican, and he served as justice of the peace of Granville twenty-five years.

WILLIAM FLOYD BAKER, farmer and quarryman, Troy, was born in Rutland, Tioga Co., Pa., March 9, 1842, and is a son of Harlin and Sarah A. (Longwell) Baker. His paternal grandparents, George and Kate Baker, originally from Maryland, settled in Wells township, this county, in 1814, cleared a farm and later moved to Columbia township where they resided until their death. Their children were Parmina, Harlin, Joseph, Ruth, Rebecca, Sally, Zuba, Amanda, Wil- liam, George and Gibbons. Harlin Baker settled in Wells township with his parents, in 1814, where he cleared a farm; about 1835 he removed to Rutland, Tioga Co., Pa, where he cleared a farm of four hundred acres. In the spring of 1871 he removed to Troy township, where he died May 7, 1886, aged eighty-one years; his widow still survives him, now aged eighty-three ; their children were six in num- ber : John (deceased), Emmett, George, Sarah, William F. and Wilmot. The subject of this sketch was reared in Rutland township, and in 1871 he moved on the farm he now occupies, on which he opened an

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extensive stone quarry of the best quality of blue stone. He was married September 3, 1871, to Carrie, daughter of Jefferson and Eliza (Brewer) Prutsman, of Rutland township, and they have four children : Damon, Bertha, Guy and Fannie. Mr. Baker is a member of the I. O. O. F., of Troy Farmers Club, and of the P. of H .; in politics be is a Republican.

WILLIAM W. BAKER, proprietor of a creamery and farmer of Warren township, P. O. Wapasening, is a native of Windham town- ship, Bradford Co., Pa., was born December 3, 1827, a son of Ivers and Elizabeth (Russell) Baker, natives of Massachusetts and Con- necticut, respectively, and of English origin, farmers who came to Bradford county, locating in Windham township, in 1824, where the former died in 1836, his widow surviving until 1886; they were the parents of four children, of whom William W. is the second. William W. Baker spent his young life on his father's farm, having only the limited advantages of the youth of that early day; he learned well to farm and loved to attend to domestic animals of the farm, and in early manhood began farming and dealing extensively in stock, following this business without interruption thirty years. He com- menced on the first round of the ladder of life, and is now independent and owns a farm of one hundred and seventy-five acres, and carries on an extensive creamery, having two in Orwell township and one in Nichols, N. Y. He was married in 1854, in Pike township, to Pris- cilla R. Rodgers, daughter of Philip and Elizabeth (Lamoreux) Rodgers, natives of New York, of English and French extraction. To Mr. and Mrs. Baker have been born three children, as follows: Jennie (died in August, 1890, aged thirty-three), Rachel, Libby and Franklin B. The Baker family is one of the prominent ones of Bradford county. Mr. Baker in politics is a Democrat, is postmaster at Wapasening, a jus- tice of the peace and a school director.

VINE H. BALDWIN, of the firm of Baldwin Bros., Canton, is a native of Chemung, N. Y., born November 24, 1852, the second in order of birth in a family of three children of Robert C. and Rebecca (Foulke) Baldwin; he was reared in Chemung, N. Y., and received his education in the public and graded schools. He clerked for the firm of Newberry, Peck & Co., in Troy, six years; then was with Redington, Leonard & Co., of Troy, six years; removed to Canton in the spring of 1884, where he has continued in business since. He was married in Troy, in 1877, to Helen, daughter of Harry and Maria (Childs) Lowman, natives of Lycoming county, Pa. Harry Lowman was a lumberman, and died in Montoursville, Pa .; his widow stilll survives him. Mrs. Baldwin is the third in a family of five children. To Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin were born two sons : William F. and Harry L. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Baldwin is a member of the F. & A. M., Canton Lodge, No. 415, Troy Chapter, No. 261, and Canton Commandery, No. 64, holding the office of eminent commander in the latter. Politically he is a Democrat.

WILLIAM F. BALDWIN, of the firm of Baldwin Bros., dealers in dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes, Canton, was born in Towanda, Pa., October 7, 1850, a son of Robert C. Baldwin, who was born at

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Bentley Creek, Tioga Co., Pa., March 25, 1813, and died in Chemung, N. Y., June 14, 1886; he was a son of Vine Baldwin, who was the first business man in Troy, and a grandson of Isaac Baldwin ; he was the third in order of birth of a family of five sons, was a builder and contractor, and also followed farming. Our subject's mother, Mrs. Rebecca (Foulke) Baldwin, was a daughter of William and Anna [Alexander) Foulke, natives of Dauphin county and Hummelstown, Pa., respectively. William Foulke was a surveyor and owned a grist- mill and farm; he died in Chemung, N. Y., in 1836 in his fifty-eighth year. Mrs. Foulke died September 1, 1883, in her eighty-sixth year. Mrs. Baldwin, who is the fourth in order of birth in a family of eight children, was born in Chemung, N. Y., April 27, 1824. William F. Baldwin is the eldest in a family of three children. When he was one year old his parents removed from Towanda to Chemung, N. Y., where he resided until seventeen years of age, and then removed to Troy, Pa. He received his education in the public and graded schools ; clerked in the store of Newberry & Peck, Troy, four years, and then went to Williamsport and engaged in the grocery business with A. B. McKean and John T. Blackwell, under the firm name of Mckean, Baldwin & Co. At the end of one year J. C. Everett succeeded McKean & Blackwell and the firm became Everett & Baldwin. They continued in business four years, when they sold out in 1878, and Mr. Baldwin went West, locating at Ogallah, Trego Co., Kan. He purchased a one-half section of land adjoining a town site that was laid out, in partnership with his brother Vine, built a store, and continued in busi- ness there two years ; then removed to Gunnison county, Colo., where he engaged in mercantile business under the firm name of Baldwin & Ripperton, and also prospected in mining country. At the end of two years he returned home, and in April, 1874, he removed to Canton, where they engaged in their present business, under the firm name of Baldwin Bros. & Co. In 1887 the brothers bought out the other partners, and the firm changed to Baldwin Bros. William F. Baldwin was married in Troy, in June, 1884, to Mary A., daughter of Albion and Sarah (Wilbur) Budd, natives of this county. Albion Budd is a farmer, and resides in Austinville. Mrs. Baldwin is the youngest in a family of four children living, and was born in Austinville, August 22, 1858. Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin are members of the Presbyterian Church, of which he is one of the board of trustees; is a member of the F. & A. M .. Canton Lodge, No. 415. Politically he is a Republican.

JACOB L. BALL, farmer, of Litchfield township, P. O. Litchfield, was born July 13, 1839, a son of Benjamin and Sarah Ball, the former of whom was a native of Orange county, N. Y., the latter of Vermont ; they were the parents of eight children, six of whom grew to maturity, and five are living at present ; they settled in Litchfield in 1812, being among the pioneers in the township. The grandparents of our subject were extensive farmers of Orange county, N. Y. Jacob L. was reared in his native township and educated at the common school. In November, 1864, he married Cornelia, daughter of Aaron Wood, of Pike township, an old soldier of the War of 1812. Mr. Ball is the father of eight children, as follows : Ida A., born November 28,

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1865, married to F. Halstead, a farmer; Amy A., born June 28, 1867, married to Alonzo Scott, a mechanic ; Mary A., born October 7, 1868, married to James Munn, a farmer ; Sarah C., born October 15, 1869; Hattie A., born August 6, 1871; Victoria (deceased) ; Jacob L., born April 4, 1874 ; and Ethiel W., born September 12, 1876. Mr. Ball is an enterprising farmer, and at times deals in lumber extensively. He was a soldier in the Civil War, serving one year under Gen. Sberman in the Port Royal expedition, after in the Fiftieth Pennsylvania Regiment, from which he was honorably discharged. In politics he is a Republican, and has the confidence of his fellow citizens, holding at the present time the office of justice of the peace; he is member of the G. A. R., and in religious views is a member of the Methodist. Episcopal Church.

JOSEPH A. BALL, justice of the peace, East Troy, was born at Painted Post, N. Y., June 9, 1837, and is a son of Chauncey and Eliza (Burst) Ball, who settled in Troy township about 1841. The father was a distiller and for many years was employed at Long's distillery; he died in 1859, and had eight children : Joseph A., Julia (Mrs. Charles Murray), Jane (Mrs. Thomas Knights), James, John, Martha, Mary and Isolmer (died March, 1861, of diphtheria). Our subject, the only sur- vivor, was reared in Troy, and educated in the common schools and Troy Academy. After attaining his majority he engaged in farming, and in April, 1861, he enlisted in Company D, Twenty-third N. Y. V., participating in the following battles : Second Bull Run, South Moun- tain and Antietam, losing his right arm at the latter engagement ; he received an honorable discharge in 1862, returned home, and from 1875 to 1885 was engaged in general merchandising at East Troy. January 28, 1863, he married Emma A, daughter of Carlton H. and Naomi (Smith) Campbell, of Springfield, this county, and has four children : Ada, Myra, Libbie and Willis. Mr. Ball is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of the I. O. O. F. and G. A. R. He has been justice of the peace of Troy township, fifteen years, and was re-elected in spring of 1891, for a fourth term ; politically he is a Republican.

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History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 65

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