History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 71

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

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

boy, and as soon as he was old enough he went out to work as a farm hand, and with his wages of $10 a month paid for fifty acres of his father's farm; when he came of age had but a single dollar as his worldly possession, and now he owns one hundred and fifty acres of fine, well-improved farm land. He was married in Warren township to Sabra Young, daughter of Nathan and Lucy (Burton) Young, natives of Vermont, who came to Bradford county in 1816, and settled in Warren; their family were six in number, of whom Sabra was the eldest, born October 28, 1818; her father died in 1872, and her mother in 1874. To Mr. and Mrs. George W. Bowen were born seven children, three of whom died in infancy, and four grew to maturity, as follows: George Nathan, married to Hannah McCreary (has two children) ; Oscar W., married to Julia Gallup (has three children); Lucy Anna (Mrs. Edward Pitcher) died in 1872; Zachary T., born December 6, 1847, is now a prominent farmer and manages his father's farm (he married Lois R. Abell, daughter of Caleb and Rebecca (Gauff) Abell, of Rhode Island, who had five children, of whom Lois was the youngest; Zachary T. and Lois R. Bowen had two children, Lois Annah and Walter Abell, whose mother died February 12, 1888). Three generations it will be thus seen are under the roof-tree, and the above is an account of five generations of this family-one of the largest and most prominent families in the county. Mr. and Mrs. George W. Bowen are venerable with the frosts of many winters, yet bright, active and intelligent, and full of interest in the affairs of their younger heads about them. The father's family are Presbyterians, while the son's family are Methodists, and in politics the father and son are Democrats.

RICHARD T. BOWEN, farmer and stockman, P. O., Warren Centre, was born in Warren township, this county, December 22, 1843, a son of Richard D. and Sabina (Thayer) Bowen, natives of Rhode Island and of. English descent. The father was a farmer in this county, but had been a miller prior to coming here; he removed to Bradford county in 1837 and settled in Warren township, where he farmed the remainder of his days, and died in 1881; his widow sur- vives. They had seven children, viz., Maria (Mrs. Dexter Chaffee. of Orwell) ; Mary (Mrs. Nathan Newman, of Warren) ; Martha A. (Mrs. Franklin Pendleton) ; Caleb N., who enlisted in 1862, in Company D, Seventeenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, and followed the hard service of his regiment in all its battles and marches (he was taken prisoner while carrying dispatches, and died in Salisbury prison, February 21, 1865); Richard T .; Joseph N., a farmer, and Horace E. Richard T. Bowen was reared in Warren township, became a farmer, and is now the owner of sixty acres of land, all finely improved with good build- ings. He was married in Pike township, in 1870, to Henrietta, daughter of Russell and Elvira (Dimon) McCrery of Connecticut, of Scotch-English descent ; her father died June, 1876, her mother sur- vives; they had two children : Celinda (Mrs. Martin W. Smith) of Tuscarora township, and Henrietta, who was born. educated and mar- ried in Pike township. Mr. and Mrs. Richard T. Bowen have one

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child, Wesley A. This is one of the most highly respected families in the county.

FRANK A. BOWMAN, conductor, Lehigh Valley Railroad, Ulster, is a son of William and Eleanor J. (Harsh) Bowman, and was born in Ulster, November 22, 1846. His father was a common laborer, and the son was put to work at an early age; in the summer he would drive the mules on the North Branch Canal, then attend school in the winter, and secured a fair common-school education ; he began driving when only eight years old, and followed the canal until July 24, 1870, when he began braking on the railroad, but worked only one year at that when he was promoted to freight conductor, which position he has since held. He enlisted in the army, February 14, 1864, in Com- pany D, One Hundred and Sixty-first Regiment N. Y. V., and was discharged as sergeant November 12, 1865 ; he participated in the bat- tles of Sabine Cross Roads, Pleasant Hill, Cane River, Morgangies Bend, Siege of Mobile, Ft. Blakesly, and was in the Red River expedition. His mother dying February 17, 1881, at the age of sixty vears, his father makes his home with our subject, who has just com- pleted an elegant nine-room residence in the village of Ulster, this being a modern house and one of the finest residences in Ulster valley. Mr. Bowman was never married ; he has been a member of the F. & A. M., Rural Amity Lodge, No. 70, Athens, since 1871, and has taken the third degree ; is a member of Gillmore Post, No. 227, G. A. R., and held the office of commander for three successive years; is a mem- ber of the Iron Hall, in which he fills the chair of cashier of Local Branch No. 886; also a member of the Brotherhood of O. R. C., No. 10, Waverly; in his religious views, he is a Methodist, and in his polit- ical belief he is a strong Republican.

JOSEPH G. BOYCE, finisher, Oliver's furniture factory, Troy, was born in Troy, Pa., August 16, 1847, and is a son of David and Nancy (Keyser) Boyce. His father was a native of Herkimer county, N. Y., born in 1802, and settled in Troy township, this county, in 1826, where he cleared and improved the farm now owned by Caleb Case; in 1869 he removed to Kansas, where he died in 1875 ; his wife was a daughter of John Keyser, of Troy township, by whom he had eight children : Hiram, Thankful (Mrs. Henry Olds), Francina (Mrs. Moses Ingalls), James, Elizabeth, Joseph G., Abigail and Edwin. Our subject was reared in Troy township, where, with the exception of twelve years, he has always resided ; he was in the Civil War, enlisting December 28, 1863, in Company E, Eleventh Pennsylvania Cavalry, and participated in the engagements in front of Richmond, Petersburg, Ream Station, Wilderness, Johnson Farm, Five Forks, and was at Lee's surrender at Appomattox, and was honorably discharged in August, 1865. After the war ended he learned the finisher's trade in Troy, where he worked five years, then spent ten years in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, returning to Troy in 1880, where has since been in the employ of L. H. Oliver. In 1868 he married Sarah E., daughter of Stephen Wheeler, of Troy township, and has five children : Newton (proprietor of "Troy House " barber shop), C. Ernest, Jennie, Dewitt and Alice. Mr. Boyce is a member

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of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of Gustin Post, G. A. R., and politically is a Republican.

J. W. BOYD, farmer and stock grower, Wyalusing township, P. O. Wyalusing, a son of Charles and Elizabeth (Morrow) Boyd, was born in Wyalusing township, April 16, 1865. He passed his boyhood on the farm, and had the advantages of a good common-school education ; he adopted farming as an occupation, and has successfully pursued the same until the present time, farming on the old homestead in connec- tion with his father, as well as operating a hay press and threshing machine in their season, until 1889, when he purchased his present home, known as the L. D. Biles estate. This is a well-improved and beautifully-located place, containing seventy-five acres, and Mr. Boyd has it well stocked. He was married, March 13, 1889, to Elnasa Stevens, and to them has been born one child, Florence Virginia. Mr. Boyd is an active politician, casting his interests with the Republican party .. He now fills the office of town commissioner, having been elected to that position in 1890. He is one of Bradford's energetic young farmers, and has created for himself a host of friends.

FRANCIS BOYLE, hotel proprietor, in Rummerfield, was born in Wyalusing township, this county, August 11, 1841, a son of Patrick Boyle who was born in County Cavan, Ireland, August 22, 1805, and grandson of Thomas Boyle, who was born and died in Ireland and had a family of seven children : Patrick, Ellen (wife of Mike O'Connell), Michael, Thomas, Peter, James and Anne. Patrick came to this country in 1826, remaining one year on Long Island, then worked on the Erie Canal one year, then on the North Branch Canal three years, then went to Wyalusing and purchased 100 acres and added fifteen acres more, and built his house in 1867. He was a prominent and successful farmer, and the family are members of the Catholic Church ; his politics are Democratic. He married, in 1827, Susan, daughter of Francis Flanigan, of New York City, and had six children, as follows : Anne (wife of J. J. O'Brien), John, Thomas, Francis, Peter and James. The mother died in February, 1851, and he again married in October of same year, Anne, daughter of Patrick Monoghan, and by this marriage had one child, Cornelius. Patrick Boyle died, August 22, 1890.

Francis, the subject of this sketch, attended school until his twentieth year; then worked on a farm until 1865. In 1866 he pur- chased fifty acres of land which he sold in 1870, then managed his father's farm until 1889, when he rented the "Rummerfield Hotel," which he conducted until 1890, then returned home, and at his father's death he inherited the homestead. November 22, 1890, he purchased the "Rum- merfield Hotel." Mr. Boyle is a Democrat ; and the family are mem- bers of the Catholic Church. He married in 1876, Bridget, daughter of Michael and Sarah (Hammersley) Ryan, the third of a family of seven, five of whom are living, and of this marriage were born seven children : Susan, born April 29, 1868, wife of George McCrossen, they have one child, Francis, born September 30, 1888; Sarah and Kate (twins), born April 6, 1870 ; Annie, born March 28, 1873; Mary, born

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February 6, 1875 ; Patrick, March 11, 1879, and Michael, born Novem- ber 25, 1881. This family is one of the leading ones of the county.

CAPTAIN DANIEL BRADBURY, machinist, Athens, is a native of Ulster county, N. Y., born September 23, 1830, a son of Thomas J. and Clarinda (Hayes) Bradbury, natives of Ulster and Dutchess coun- ties, N. Y., respectively. The father is a retired farmer and resides in Southport, Chemung Co., N. Y., now eighty-three years old. Sub- ject's grandfather, Amirheuhama Bradbury, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, in Col. Shepherd's Massachusetts Regiment. The maternal grandfather, William Hayes, was. a soldier in the War of 1812. Capt. Daniel Bradbury is the eldest in a family of seven children, of whom six are living. He was reared principally in Tomp- kins, N. Y .; worked three years on a farm, and at eighteen began an apprenticeship at the machinist's trade in Elmira; then, in 1851, removed to Athens, and worked at his trade until 1856, when he went to Newark, Ohio, and from there to Buffalo, and thence to Corning, N. Y. Returning to Athens in 1858, he here worked at his trade until the breaking out of the Civil War, when he enlisted, April 23, 1861, in the three-years' service, in Company F, Sixth Pennsylvania Reserves, and was appointed captain. He was wounded at Draines- ville, Va., December 20, 1861, and was an invalid in camp until March 1, 1862 ; he was furloughed home, where he remained until May, when he returned to his command in Virginia, but after his examina- tion was rejected on account of his wound; was discharged from the service July 15, 1862. Returning to Athens he worked at his trade until 1867, when he went to Penn Yan, N. Y., and in 1879 to Elmira, same State, where he worked for Reid & Cooper, manufacturers of steam engines and general machinery, until January, 1885, when he came to Athens and worked in the Lehigh Valley machine shops ; he is now in the employ of Reid & Cooper. Elmira, N. Y. Capt. Brad- bury was married in Smithfield township, this county, to Miss Polly. daughter of Jared and Eliza (Hackett) Phelps, natives, respectively, of Massachusetts and Vermont ; the father, who was a farmer, was born January 24, 1789, and died August 17, 1869, in Smithfield. Mrs. Phelps was born May 20, 1795, and died May 2, 1839. Mrs. Bradbury's grand- father, Jared Phelps, served one full term of three years in a Connecti- cut regiment during the Revolutionary War, and soon after his discharge again enlisted for a term of three years, and served until the close of the struggle; he was first a drummer, and afterward a fifer. Mrs. Bradbury is the youngest in a family of nine children that grew to maturity, and was born in Smithfield township, this county, December 4, 1831. To Mr. and Mrs. Bradbury were born four chil- dren, viz .: Thomas J., married to Clara Paul, residing in Argentine, Kan .; Harry B., married to Mary V. Massey, residing in New York City (he is a reporter on the New York Tribune); Margaret E., and Asa, deceased. The Captain is a member of the G. A. R., Mallory Post, No. 285, and Union Veteran Legion, No. 28; he served two years as commander of the Post, and one year of the U. V. L .; is serving his second year as president of the Sixth Regiment Pennsyl- vania Reserve Association. Politically he is a Republican.

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

DANIEL BRADFORD, a prominent and enterprising farmer of Columbia township, P. O. Sylvania, was born in Columbia township, this county, March 16, 1831, a son of Joseph R. and Mary (Monro) Bradford, natives of Rhode Island, who settled in Columbia township in 1829, where the father partially cleared and improved a farm, then removed to Tioga county, Pa., in 1837, where the father died in 1867, aged sixty-five years ; his children were as follows : Levi D., Mary A. (Mrs. Alex. Smith), Daniel, Leonard J., Harriet (Mrs. Stearn Ashley) and William H. Our subject was reared in Tioga county, Pa., from six years of age, and received a common-school education. After reaching his majority he engaged in farming in Tioga county, until 1865, when he removed to Columbia township, this county; since which time he has occupied the farm where he now resides, and has made all the improvements in buildings, etc. On March 30, 1853, he married Melinda, daughter of Robert and Mary (Gardner) Card, of Tioga county, Pa., formerly of Rhode Island, and has one son, Fred, D. Mr. Bradford is a member of the Presbyterian Church of Sylvania is a Republican in politics, and has served as county commissioner of Bradford county two terms.

SPENCER S. BRAINARD, farmer and stock grower, P. O. Warren, was born in Warren township, this county, June 29, 1847, a son of Sidney C. and Eunice H. (Moore) Brainard, natives of New York and Vermont, respectively, and of Scotch origin. Sidney C. was a son of Isaac, born August 27, 1778, and his mother was Zeruah Spencer, born December 24, 1775 ; Isaac was the son of Timothy, who was born April 22, 1740, and his wife, Elizabeth Spencer, was born May 21, 1744. Sidney C. Brainard was a farmer and carpenter, who came to Bradford county and located in Warren township in 1810, where he cleared and opened the first farm in the township, the spot being known for years as the "old clearing" (on this farm his son Spencer S. now resides), where he died May 16, 1884 ; his wife died March 10, 1870 ; they had ten children, of whom Spencer S. was the eighth. Our subject grew to his majority on his native farm, in time purchased the old homestead, and now has a fine farm of one hundred acres, widely known to be as fine as any in the township. He was joined in matrimony, in Warren township, with Mary E. Hardic, dangh- ter of Stephen and Emaline (Stephens) Hardic, natives of New Jersey, farmers of Camptown, and of German and English descent. Mrs. Hardic died in 1864, the mother of six children, of whom Mary E. was the eldest. Mr. and Mrs. Spencer S. Brainard had born to them two children, viz .: Rosabel and Arthur S. They are members of the Free Baptist Church. Mr. Brainard enlisted in the army July 12, 1864, in Company D, Seventy-seventh N. Y. V. I., was sent to Elmira and guarded prisoners ; he was discharged November 19, 1864, and returned to his home. Three of his brothers and two brothers-in-law were in the service. Mr. Brainard is a member of Spalding Post, No. 33, and in politics is a Republican.

PATRICK F. BRENNAN, farmer, of Monroe township, P. O. Liberty Corners, was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, October 20, 1837, and is a son of John and Johanna (Fogarty) Brennan. There

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

were thirteen children in their family, of whom subject is the seventh. His parents dying in 1855, he began life for himself, farming and teaming, and in 1861 he purchased six acres of land, where he now resides. When he had cleared and paid for this, he purchased more, and so on, until now he has sixty-two acres of well-cultivated land. Mr. Brennan was married December 25, 1858, to Miss Mary Ann McFee, daughter of Hannah M. Sullivan, and they have five children : George H., born January 14, 1860, resides with his parents, and is married to Alice McDaniels (they have one child, Thomas H., born September 14, 1890) ; Mary C., born March 31. 1863, married to Willis J. McDaniels, an employé in the Athens Bridge Works (they have one child, Anna E., born September 20, 1890) ; John M., born December 18, 1867, taught school seven terms in Bradford county (was graduated from Miller's Commercial College, and is now in the employ of the New York Railroad Supply Company, at New York, where he is a member of the Y. M. C. A.); Thomas P., born April 11, 1873, died December 4, 1881, and Frank A., born July 7, 1876. Mr. Brennan has always been a strong advocate of Democracy, as are all his children.

GEORGE W. BRINK. farmer, P. O. Bentley Creek, was born in Branchville, Sussex Co., N. J., August 26, 1826, a son of Garret and Mary (Bowman) Brink, natives of Sussex county. Garret Brink followed the calling of an auctioneer many years, and died at the age of fifty. His family consisted of five children-three sons and two daughters-all of whom grew to maturity, and three are now living. George W. Brink, who is the fifth in the family, was reared and edu- cated in Sussex county, N. J. At the age of twenty he married, for his first wife, Susan, daughter of Lewis Johnson, by which union there were born to them seven children-six boys and one girl-as follows : Andrew, Benjamin, Alfred, Willis, Frederick, Frank and Alice, all of whom are married and prosperous ; his second wife was Sarah Patter- son, whom he married December 26, 1875. Mr. Brink removed to this county in 1856, locating in Wells township, where he lived until 1878 when he removed to Bentley Creek, and has since resided here. His wife, Sarah, purchased what is known as the "Cook Place." Mr. Brink is an extensive dairyman, and has two registered Alderneys.

T. W. BRINK, P. O. Brink Hill, who ranks among the most prominent farmers of Litchfield township, was born in Sheshequin township. this county, March 21, 1820, on the farm now owned by Rufus Mallory, a son of Benjamin and Rhoda (Rodgers) Brink, the former of whom was a farmer, and resided at the old Rodgers home- stead in Sheshequin from 1825 until his death. Our subject is the eldest of four children, of whom Amanda married Henry Mckinney, and died in 1883. Benjamin Brink married, for his second wife, Polly Forbes, and by her had two children, viz., Delila, married to Philip Crans, of Athens, and John F., married to Emily Crans. The grand- father was a soldier of the War of 1812. T. W. Brink was reared on the old homestead, and received a limited common-school education. Leaving school at the age of seventeen years, he took charge of a farm in Sheshequin township, and at the age of twenty-one removed to the farm now owned by George Page, in Athens township, then

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returned to the old homestead, where he remained until 1859, in which year he came to Litchfield on the farm he now owns, comprising two hundred and ten acres, of which one hundred and fifty are improved, with comfortable buildings. He has been twice married ; first time in 1841, to Martha Harrington, by which union were born eight children : Mary, married to George W. Morse of Washington, D. C .; George, married to Owilda Carmer, and resides at Litchfield ; Henry, married to Kate McGovern, and lives in Athens township; Dell, who first married Orlando Park, and for her second husband married Perley Phalin, of Athens; Alonzo, died at the age of six ; Alfred, died at the age of two; Henrietta, died in infancy ; Fred, married Ida Munn, and lives on part of his father's farm. Our subject married for his second wife, in 1869, Clarissa McKinney, third in the family of six children of Joseph and Mary (Bidlac) Mckinney. Mr. Brink is a Republican, and has held various town offices. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

SAMUEL N. BRONSON, retired merchant, Orwell. John Bronson came from England in Colonial times with a colony under the leadership of Rev. Thomas Hooker, in 1636, and settled at Hartford, Conn .; he was in the bloody Pequot War of 1637, and removed to Tunxis (Farmington), about 1641; he was one of the organizers of the Farmington Church, October 13, 1652 ; he died November 28, 1680, having reared a family of seven children, of whom the fifth child, John, the ancestor of the gentleman whose name heads this sketch, was born in January, 1644; he became an early settler of Waterbury, where he died. His family consisted of seven children, of whom John, the eldest in this branch of the family, was born in 1670, and removed from Waterbury to Southington, where in January, 1697, he was married to Rachel Buck, of Weathersfield, and had seven children, of whom Jonathan, born May 14, 1706, married Abigail Clark, May 17, 1732, and lived in Southington, where he died, August 20. 1751 ; his family consisted of ten children, of whom the second, John, born July 16, 1735, married, for his first wife, Sarah Barnes, March 30, 1758, and soon after settled in Wolcott, where she died December 17, 1804; he then married the widow of Curtiss Hall, and died November 10, 1838, aged one hundred and three years, three months and twenty-five days; his family of six children were as follows : Joel, born March 9, 1759; Isaac, born July 19, 1761; Benjamin Barnes, born August 19, 1763; Philenor, baptized April 27, 1766; Hannah ; John, born January 31, 1776. Of these, Joel, who was the grandfather of Samuel N. Bronson, married Cynthia Minerva Squires, December 3, 1783, and had the following children, all now deceased : Ira, born September 11, 1784 ; Samuel Squire (father of subject), born May 6, 1787 ; Avis Finch, born October 27, 1790 ; Mary Woodruff, born July 13, 1793; Nancy Barns, born April 25, 1796; Joel, Jr., born May 23, 1799 ; Cynthia Minerva, born August 5, 1809, and died March 14, 1891, at Kennett Square, Pa.

[The Humphrey family in America dates from Michael Humphrey, " the emigrant " from England whose first record here is in 1643 in Windsor, Conn .; he married October 14, 1647, Priscilla Grant,

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

daughter of Matthew Grant, of Windsor, of whom ex-President U. S. Grant was of the seventh generation. He had a family of seven children, of whom the third child, known as Lient. Samuel, was born May 15, 1656, in Windsor. He married Mary Mills, and died June 15, 1736, having had eight children, of whom the third child, known as Ensign Samuel, born May 17, 1686, in Simsbury, was married four times, reared nineteen children, and died October 16, 1759; he married his third wife, Lydia North, of Farmington, Conn., in December, 1714, of whom his fifth child, known as Capt. Ezekiel (great-grand- father of S. N. Bronson), born August 28, 1719, in Simsbury, Conn., married Elizabeth Pettibone, October 2. 1740, and they had ten children : Ezekiel, born May 28, 1741; Elijah, born September 20, 1747; Elizabeth, born 1750; Frederick, born December 9, 1753 ; George, born 1756; Ann, born 1758; Giles (grandfather of S. N. Bronson), born 1760; Chloe, born June 28, 1762; Lydia, born 1769; Betsey, born February 12, 1771. Giles, the seventh child, a native of West Simsbury, Conn., married Elizabeth Case, of same place, and had seven children : Norman, born May 17, 1781; Sarah, born April 4, 1783 ; Elizabeth, born June 3, 1785 ; Lydia, born November 29, 1787 ; Lyman, born February 11, 1791; Ursula (the mother of S. N. Bronson), born August 1, 1794, and Anna. He died in 1816 in Burlington, Conn.]

Samuel S. Bronson married Ursula Humphrey, April 28, 1814, and had the following children : Samuel H., born July 12, 1815 ; a son, born November 18, 1816, and died ; Lyman H., born March 17, 1818 ; Cynthia Ann, born January 10, 1821 ; Perintha, born July 7, 1823 ; and Samuel Newton, born July 2, 1825, the only survivor. The subject of this sketch was first married July 21, 1853, to Margaret Garretson, of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., a daughter of Stephen and Mary Ann Garretson, and by this marriage were born the following children: Edith May, born June 25, 1858 ; Jennie C., born August 21, 1859, and died in infancy ; Edith May, married to L. De Witt Griswold, May 9, 1878. This wife dying January 3, 1861, Mr. Bronson married September 19, 1861, Mrs. Caroline C. Elsbree, of Warren, Pa., widow of James T. Elsbree, and daughter of Samuel Lyon, by which marriage there were two children : Ira Lincoln, born May 20, 1865, now in Chicago, and Flora A., born September 19, 1867, married to Charles W. Eastman, August 4, 1890.

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History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 71

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