History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 86

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

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WILLIAM F. DEWITT, senior member of the firm of De Witt & Ballard, dealers in general merchandise, Troy, was born in Monroe county, Pa., Angust 24, 1848, and is a son of Caleb H. and Mary (Albert) DeWitt. His paternal grandfather, Col. Joseph DeWitt, a native of New Jersey, was a pioneer of Wells township, this county, where he engaged in farming and merchandising and reared his family ; he was a colonel in the militia in Bradford county. The father of our subject, a native of New Jersey, was reared in Bradford county, but spent most of his life in Tioga county, where he engaged in farming and died ; his wife was a daughter of Peter T. Albert, of Monroe county, Pa., by whom he had four sons : Joseph H., William F., John W. and Calvin H. Our subject was reared in Tioga county until twenty-one years of age, and was educated at the State Normal School at Mansfield; on March 8, 1869, he came to Troy and for thir- teen years was a clerk in the general store of Leonard & Redington. In 1881 he embarked in business with L. J. Ballard, under the name of Dewitt & Ballard in which he has since continued. He married twice, his first wife was Jennie, daughter of John and Mary (Dimm) Rooker, of Muncy, Pa., by whom he had one daughter, Helena; his.

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second wife was Blanche, daughter of Gen. George and Elizabeth (Miter) Armstrong, of Milton, Pa., by whom he has one son, William A. Mr. DeWitt is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church ; in politics he is a Democrat, and is one of the present school directors of Troy borough ; socially he is a Royal Arch Mason.

JOEL DIBBLE, farmer, of Burlington township, P. O. Mountain Lake, settled here in 1847, in the wilderness, and cleared a large farm, having come from Dutchess county, N. Y., where he was born July 18, 1824, a son of Sanford and Phebe (Denton) Dibble, natives of Dutch- ess county, and of English origin. Mr. Dibble has been obliged, since seven years of age, to depend upon his own resources for a livelihood, and necessity has taught him the strictest economy, but by great per- severance he has been enabled to accumulate a fine property, being now the owner of a farm of over ninety acres, under a good state of cultivation. He has been twice wedded : on March 6, 1845, he was married to Hannah Mead, by whom he had three children: Van Wike, Washington F. and Charles. This wife died February 14, 1856, and December 16, 1857, he married Elizabeth Wright, of Burlington, who was born March 19, 1838, in Dutchess county, N. Y., a daughter of Horace and Lydia Ann (Mead) Wright, of English extraction, and natives of the above-named county. Horace Wright was a soldier of the War of 1812, and Mrs. Dibble's brother, Thomas, was a soldier in

the War of the Rebellion, losing his life through long exposure. Mr. Dibble has had, by his second wife, five children, as follows : Ella A., born September 29, 1858, died March 18, 1870; Edgar, born March 7, 1860; Clara, born October 2, 1864, died August 13, 1882; Oscar, born January 24, 1874, died February 2, 1877; and Cora, born November 27, 1877. Mr. Dibble has been a successful farmer, and was many years an extensive shingle manufacturer. He is a Republican, and takes an interest in the affairs of the party. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

LEVI S. DICKINSON, farmer, P. O. Wetona, was born October 28, 1823, in Haddam, Middlesex Co., Conn., a son of Daniel C. and Christiana (Clark) Dickinson, natives of the same place, born of Eng- lish and French descent, and who removed to Bradford county on May 1, 1840, settling in Springfield, near where Mr. Dickinson now resides. Daniel C. Dickinson was a farmer, and was in the stone quarry business a great many years; he and his wife were members of the Congregational Church. The Dickinsons have a genealogical family history in which the ancestry is traced back to one, Nathaniel Dickinson, who settled near Boston in 1630, and among the relatives are found the names of many men of prominence; the father died in December, 1882, aged ninety-three years, and the mother in 1852, at the age of fifty-seven years. The subject of this memoir was reared on the farm, educated in the public shools, and has been a farmer and a lumberman; is now the owner of 208 acres, in two farms, of as fine land as is to be found in Springfield township. He was married November 23, 1848, to Lucy Tracy, who was born January 14, 1830, daughter of James O. and Anna (Watkins) Tracy, of Smithfield, and who were natives of East Haddam, Conn., the Tracy family trace

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

their lineage back to the "Mayflower," to the time of Mary Chilton, who was the first person on Plymouth Rock. Mrs. Dickinson's father died in February, 1870, aged seventy-nine years, and her mother in June 1872, aged seventy-four years. Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson have had born to them two children : Charles C., born March 11, 1859 (he married twice, first time to Nellie Grace, and on second occasion to Carrie L. Storch ; he is a farmer on the homestead) and Jay T., born July 28, 1864 (married T. Belle Brooks; he is a physician at Pine City, N. Y.). Mr. Dickinson is a Republican, but an independent voter ; is well informed upon all matters of the day, and is strong in the temperance cause. The family are consistent members of the Congre- gational Church.

W. S. DIEFFENBAUCH, Overton township, P. O. Overton, one of the prominent citizens of Overton township, a farmer and mechanic, has spent the years of his life in the locality where he was born, July 10, 1840, a son of Charles and Martha ( Mullen) Dieffenbauch, Pennsyl- vanians, of German and English descent, respectively ; the father was also a farmer and mechanic, and came to Overton with his family about the year 1836, where he died in 1876, his venerable widow surviving. Their children were seven in number, of whom the subject of this sketch is the second in order of birth. He spent his childhood and youth on the old homestead, early learning the working duties of a farmer's boy, and about his shop became a skilled mechanic. From his father's estate he received fifty acres which he sold and then pur- chased his present place, containing fifty-eight acres. He was married in Sullivan county, in 1866, to Maria, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Bird) Norton, natives of England and Pennsylvania, respectively. Of this union there are children, as follows : Mary, wife of J. E. Trevis ; Martha V., wife of W. N. Aylesworth ; Libbie L., wife of Edgar F. Kunes ; Charles T., with his parents on the farm; Bertha L. and Kittie B. The family worship at the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which heis a trustee, and has filled the offices of Sunday-school super- intendent and treasurer. He has also been school director, and in pol- itics he is a Prohibitionist.

GEORGE DILLIN, proprietor of Dillin's Flouring Mills, Troy, was born in Queen's County, Ireland, June 29, 1828, a son of Joseph and Eliza (Breath wate) Dillin, who immigrated to America in 1831, and located at Underhill, Chittenden Co., Vt., living there nine years ; then moved to Bradford county, Pa., settling in Springfield township, and later, in Columbia township, where the father died in 1845. The mother afterward removed to Illinois and died there; their children were nine in number, viz .: Ann (Mrs. Alsinus Ward), Elizabeth, Hannah (Mrs. John Sheridan), Arthur, George, Sophia (Mrs. C. F. Crandall), Charlotte (Mrs. William Graves), Maria (Mrs. Henry Cole) and Joseph. Our subject was reared in Ireland and came to America in 1848, locating in Troy, this county, where, with the exception of two years spent in Smithfield, he has since resided, for forty years ; he has been identified with the gristmill interests of Troy, learned the miller's trade at Long's mills, where for twenty-three years he was employed by H. F. Long, and, beginning in 1874, was associated for four years

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

with G. F. Ville, as a partner in Ville's mills. In 1878 the mills came into the possession of H. G. McKean, of whom Dillin rented same for two years ; in 1880 he purchased the mill which he operated alone six years, when he admitted his sons, Arthur H. and Joseph R., into part- nership, since which time the mill has been conducted under the firm name of George Dillin & Sons; the original mill on this site was erected in 1847, and known as " Taylor & Dobbins Mill." Mr. Dillin was married in June, 1855, to Lucy L. Phelps, of Mainsburg, Tioga Co., Pa., and has had nine children : Arthur II., Joseph R., George A. (deceased), Philander W., Sophia, Rose (deceased), Ida B. (deceased) Eliza and Anna. Mr. Dillin is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, is a Royal Arch Mason, and politically he is a Republican.

CHARLES DIMON, farmer, Pike township, P. O. South Warren, was born January 25, 1830, on the farm where he now lives, and is the eldest of the nine children of Gilbert and Hannah (Wilson) Dimon, natives of Connecticut; who came to Pike from New York State, in 1817. Charles was reared on a farm and educated in the common school; began life for himself at nineteen, and embraced farming as his occupation, which he has followed since; has also worked at the car- penter's trade. He married, July 4, 1852, Francis, daughter of John and Fannie (Medbrey) Chaffee; her parents came to Bradford county in 1824, and settled in Warren township; they had the following children: Edmund L., born April 4, 1853, died July 25, 1877; John G., born October 23, 1854, died July 8, 1881; Fannie E., born December 20, 1856, married to S. Edgar Chubbuck, a farmer in Orwell township; Martha, E., born December 20, 1857, married to Oscar Brown, a farmer in Orwell township; Ida A., born August 7, 1859, married to Richard Andrews, of Lestershire, N. Y .; Lester A., born May 12, 1862, died in infancy; Charles A., born November 2, 1864, died June 27, 1877; Jesse A., born July 21, 1866, died October 25, 1890; Frances A., born Mav 29, 1870, now living at home. In politics Mr. Dimon is an Independent voter.

THOMAS J. DINAN, JR., finisher and decorator of furniture, Towanda, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., April 30, 1859, a son of Thomas J. and Sophia (Fineour) Dinan, and is of Irish and French descent; his father was a native of Philadelphia, a son of Patrick Dinan who was a native of Ireland, and one of the oldest mail contractors of Pennsylvania. Thomas J Dinan, Sr., who is a cabinet-maker by trade was a soldier in the Civil War, and is a prominent member of the G. A. R .; he has been a resident of Williamsport, Pa., since 1871; was elected to the Lower House of the State Legislature to represent Lycom- ing county in 1884, and is the only Republican ever elected to that office from that county; he is now custodian of the public buildings at Williamsport and has been chief clerk under Superintendent Wayne two years. Thomas J. Dinan, Jr., was educated in the common schools, learning his trade in Williamsport, and has held the position of foreman in four of the largest shops in the country, one in Illinois and three in Pennsylvania, and is now contractor and foreman in the factory of J. O. Frost's Sons, Towanda, which position he has held since coming to that place in 1888. In 1881 Mr. Dinan married Helen C., daughter of J. H. and Elizabeth (Lane) Mccullough, of Wilmington,

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

N. C., and has two children living: Herbert and Sophia A. Mr. Dinan is a member of the German Mænnerchor and Leiderkranz, and in pol- itics is a Republican.

WILLIAM S. DOBBINS, retired farmer, Troy, was born in Bur- lington township, this county, June 27, 1806, and is a son of John and Rebecca (Mckean) Dobbins. His paternal grandfather, William Dobbins, who was of Irish parentage, settled in Burlington in 1791, on what is now the County Farm, and lived and died in that town- ship ; his children were: Robert, Daniel, John, William, Eleanor (Mrs. Johnson Miller), Jane (Mrs. Ebenezer Kendall), Susan (Mrs. Nathaniel Ballard), Sally (Mrs. Judge Reuben Wilbur), Betsey (Mrs. Nathan Ballard) and Polly (Mrs. Jesse Woodruff) ; his wife was Mary A. McLean. John Dobbins, father of our subject, located in Burlington township in 1791, and removed to Troy township in 1820, settling on what is now known as the Joraleman farm; later removed to near Dillin's Mills and died there; his wife was a daughter of James and Jane (Scott) Mckean, of Burlington township, by whom he had ten children : Jane (Mrs. Elihu Newberry), Mary A. (Mrs. Johnson Will- iams), Samantha (Mrs. Churchill Barnes), William S., Andrew McKean, Elizabeth (Mrs. Joseph Hunt), Julia (Mrs. Samuel McNitt), Daniel, Rebecca (Mrs. Marvin Rockwell) and Sarah (Mrs. Norman Palmer). Mr. Dobbins was a prominent citizen of his day, and was a justice of the peace for twenty years. William S., the subject of this sketch, was reared in Troy and Burlington townships; he located in Troy with his parents in 1820, has followed farming most of his life, settling, in May, 1833, on the farm of 200 acres where he now resides, which he cleared and improved, having cut the first stick on the place. He was twice married, his first wife being Nancy, daughter of Elibius and Nancy Bothwell, of Syracuse, N. Y., by whom he had ten chil- dren: Emeline S. (deceased), Andrew J., Nancy R. (Mrs. William Burgers), Marian (Mrs. John H. Grant), Emeline S. (second) (Mrs. A. H. Hepburn), William, James, John E., Samuel Mckean and Thomas; his second wife was Sarah, daughter of Adam and Elizabeth (Hoffman) Widle, of Lancaster county, Pa., by whom he had three children : Thomas H., Mary and Leonora. Mr. Dobbins is one of the oldest citizens of Bradford county ; he served as constable of Troy three years in succession, was deputy sheriff of Bradford county three years, and sheriff of the county three years, being elected to the office in 1848; he was delegate to the State Convention at Harrisburg several terms, and in his prime always took an active part in politics. Polit- ically he has always been a stanch Democrat, and socially he is a mem- ber of the F. & A. M.

WILLIAM A. DOBBINS, railway conductor, residence No. 606 Central avenue, Indianapolis, Ind., is a native of Bradford county, Pa., born on his father's farm near Troy, the second son of William S. Dobbins. At the old homestead William A. Dobbins spent his child- hood, learned to labor, went to school in the neighborhood, and in time became a student in the old Troy Academy. At the age of twenty he sought and found employment with a railroad, became a brakeman, and for the past twenty-five years he has been in railroad service, being

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

now passenger conductor on the St. Louis, Vandalia & Indianapolis Railroad. He has been in that company's employ the past fifteen years, and is regarded as one of the most efficient and reliable men on the line. During some years of his labors with the " Van " road, his headquarters were at Effingham, Ill., and it was here he met and wedded his wife, Miss Anna Meyers, daughter of William Meyers, of that place, and one of the early settlers of the county. She was some years a teacher in the Effingham public school. They built a nice home in Effingham and resided there until 1885, when they went to their pres- ent abode in Indianapolis. Mr. Dobbins is a Democrat and, as are pretty much all the voters of that name, is of the pronounced and uncompromising kind. Genial and sociable, he is widely popular in the West, as are his venerable father and brothers in Pennsylvania and New York. No family in the county is better known or more highly respected. John Dobbins was one of the early and most prominent of the settlers at the beginning of the century in what is now Troy town- ship, and the family name has been honored through the century.

JOHN E. DOBBINS, hardware merchant, Troy, son of William S. and Nancy (Both well) Dobbins, was born on the old homestead in Troy township March 8, 1846. He was educated in the common schools and seminary at Mansfield, Pa., and in 1862 he began life as a clerk, which occupation he followed until 1878, when he purchased an interest in a hardware business at Troy, with E. F. Johnson, which partnership existed under the firm name of Dobbins & Johnson, until 1884, since which time the business has been conducted under the name of Dob- bins & Correll. Mr. Dobbins is a prominent business man of Troy, and is also an active member of the Masonic Fraternity. He is Past Master of Trojan Lodge, No. 306, F. & A. M .; Past High Priest of Troy Chapter, No. 261, and Past Eminent Commander of Canton Commandery, No. 64, of Bradford county, and in politics he is a Democrat.

JOHN E. DODGE, farmer, P. O. Terrytown, was born May 25, 1847, reared and educated in the pleasant hamlet of Terrytown, this county, and is a son of John F. and Melissa (Elliott) Dodge, the former a native of Terry township, born December 24, 1814, the latter a native of Wyalusing township, born August 22, 1817. The father is the son of Edmund and Rebecca Dodge, the former born in Connecticut, December 21, 1777, the latter a native of England. Edmund was the son of Oliver Dodge, who came to this county in its very early history, about the same time the Terrys came, in 1779, and located on the banks of the Susquehanna river, taking up about 600 acres on the west side, and about 400 on the east side, which in time was distributed among the heirs, sold and otherwise disposed of. Oliver, the first pioneer of the Dodge family, was a major in the Revolutionary army. Edmund was twice married : his first wife was Miss Abigail Terry, by whom he had three children : Oliver, Nancy and Alpheus ; his second wife was Miss Rebecca Franklin, by whom he had children as follows: Abigail, Jolin F., Susanna, Sally, Mary, Lynds B., Betsey. John F., who was the second in the family, was a successful farmer in his day, his life, like that of others, being uneventful ; he suc-

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

ceeded his father on the old homestead, and reared a family of seven children: George Elliott, Marietta R., John E., Nancy, Davis D., Alta S. and Lucy F., five of whom grew to maturity and are now living. John E., the subject of this sketch, has always devoted him- self to agricultural pursuits. On September 15, 1869, at the age of twenty-two, he married Miss Mary, daughter of Chester and Eliza Schoonover, of Terrytown. He is living on the old homestead where his father, grandfather and great-grandfather resided before him, and is a general farmer, raising a mixed crop. He enjoys the full confidence of his fellow-citizens, who have elected him to the following offices commissioner (three years), treasurer, and justice of the peace, which position he now bolds. He is a member of the F. & A. M. and of the I. O. O. F .; politically he is a Republican.

BENJAMIN H. DOTY, farmer, P. O. Wellsburg, N. Y., is a son of Joseph and Mehitabel (Horton) Doty, of Dutch origin. The father, who was a farmer, removed to Bradford county in 1837, and, settling in the wilderness. he cleared the farm where Benjamin H. now resides, the family experiencing all the privations of the early pioneer's life. The parents reared a family of six children, three sons and three daugh- ters, four of whom are now living; the parents were active and consis- tent members of the Wesleyan Methodist Church; the father died at the age of eighty-nine years, and the mother when aged sixty-two years. Benjamin H. Doty was reared on the farm, and followed agri- cultural pursuits successfully, till he is now the owner of 175 acres of fine land, including the old homestead, and carries on general farming. The property is located on a fine elevation in Ridgebury township. Mr. Doty was married April 10, 1856, to Martha A. Fassett, of South Creek, this county, a daughter of Philo and Permelia (Louk) Fassett; her grandfather Fassett was one of the pioncers of the township of South Creek; her father, who is a farmer, is now aged eighty years, and her mother is aged eighty-one. Mr. and Mrs. Doty have had five children, four of whom are now living: Alice, wife of Edgar Berry, a farmer, in Springfield township; Kitsie, wife of Joseph Craig, a farmer; Emma, wife of Charles E. VanBuskirk, an undertaker at Wellsburg, N. Y .; and Sumner N., married to Jenny Craig, of Ridgebury. Mr. Doty is a Republican in politics, has held several offices of public trust, and is much respected in the community.

L. H. DOUGLASS, merchant, Hornbrook, was born in Sheshequin township, this county, May 23, 1860, a son of Elias and Catherine (Childs) Douglass, the former of whom was a carpenter. They had a family of four children, of whom our subject is the eldest, the others being : Lucinda, married to Robert Keller, of Athens; George (deceased) and Benjamin. L. H. Douglass grew to his majority in the vicinity of Hornbook, and attended the schools of that place until eighteen years of age, receiving a good common-school education, then learned the carpenter's trade with his father, and followed that until 1888, when he engaged in mercantile trade, opening a store at Hornbrook. He carries a fine line for a country trade, and does a yearly business of about $2,500. He married, September 30, 1885, Mary, the fifth child born to Lois and Julia (Webb) Brainard, who yet resides in Litchfield ;

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she is the fifth child. Mr. and Mrs. Douglass have two children : Georgia L., aged three years, and Sarah E., aged ten months. Mr. Douglass' political views are Democratic, and he is recognized as a prominent and valued citizen.

D. H. DUART, farmer, Canton township, P. O. Windfall, is a native of York, Canada West (now Toronto, Ontario), born April 11, 1819. His parents were John and Jane (Hicks) Duart, natives of County Down, Ireland, and Scotland respectively. John Duart immi- grated to New York City when a young man, was a stone mason by trade, and he helped build the main tunnel used by the New York City Water-works; he lost his health while engaged in working on that tunnel, and died in 1823, in his fortieth year. Mrs. Duart died at the age of seventy years. D. H. Duart, who is the fourth in order of birth in a family of seven sons and two daughters, was reared in Canada West, receiving a public-school education, and removed to Towanda about 1837, where he worked five years at the carpenter's trade; then came to Canton township, where he has since resided; he settled in the woods and cleared out his farm. He was married in Washington township, Wyoming Co., Pa., in 1840, to Sarah, daughter of William and Elner (Myers) Place, the former of whom was a farmer and died in his native home; her grandfather, James, was of English descent and died in Pike county, Pa. Mrs. Duart, who is the sixth in order of birth in a family of thirteen, was born in Hamilton township, Monroe Co., Pa., June 26, 1817. To Mr. and Mrs. Duart were born thirteen children, of whom two are now living: Mary Jane (wife of Hiram Thomas) and John W. (married to Effie Bunyan). Mr. Duart is a member of the F. & A. M., Trojan Lodge, No. 306, also of the West Granville Grange ; politically he is a Republican.

GEORGE W. DUBERT, farmer, P. O. Big Pond, was born Octo- ber 29, 1855, in Springfield township, this county, a son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Fraley) Dubert, natives of Saxony, Germany, who came to this country when young people, with their parents; they were agriculturists, and the father is still living. Grandfather Fraley is seventy-seven years of age. Grandfather Dubert was a soldier in the German army, and died in January, 1890, at the age of eighty- two years. George W. Dubert, who is the eldest in a family of four children, all now living, was reared on the farm and educated in the schools of the township; he has been a carpenter and farmer. The family are owners of a fine farm of 200 acres, dairying being the principal business. Mr. Dubert was married, October 12, 1887, to Estella W. Burnham, who was born August 10, 1864, a daughter of Orrin A. and Fannie J. (Rayner) Burnham, of Ridgebury, this county, who are still living in the county and are tillers of the soil ; her father was of English ancestry, tracing his lineage to the Wisners, who were among the Pilgrims of the "Mayflower;" her grandfather, Rayner, who had been in the War of 1812, and was a pensioner, died at the age of seventy years ; and her grandmother died at the age of eighty- eight years. Mr. and Mrs. Dubert have no children. They have a very fine home, the location being one of the best in the township,

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having a magnificent prospect. Mr. Dubert is a Republican, and takes an active part in political affairs.

WILLIAM E. DUMOND, farmer, P. O. Alba, was born in Armenia township, this county, November 12, 1845, and is a son of Jacob Y. and Harriet (Kiff) Dumond, natives of Delaware county, N. Y., who settled in Armenia in 1839, and cleared and improved the farm occupied by subject. Jacob Y. Dumond was a son of James Dumond, and his wife a daughter of James Kiff ; their children were : James, Jane (Mrs. Samuel Kendreick), William E., Imogene (Mrs. William Barber), John H., Hamilton T., Clarence, and Florence (Mrs. Albert Moggan). William E. Dumond was reared in Armenia, and was a member of Company C, Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry, during the War of the Rebellion, and after two years was honorably dis- charged. His wife was Lelia, daughter of Asa and Mary (Harding) Pratt, and by her he has two children : Perry and Minnie. He is a member of the G. A. R., and in politics is a Republican.

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History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 86

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