History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 88

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

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WILLIAM H. EATON, locomotive engineer, L. V. R. R., P. O. Sayre, is a native of Towanda, this county, and was born April 2, 1850, a son of Gurden H. and Lucinda (Holcomb) Eaton, the former a native of New York, and the latter of Ulster, this county. The father, who was a cabinet-maker, and served a number of years as justice of the peace and constable in Towanda, died there in the spring of 1878, in his sixty-fourth year; the mother died in 1856, in her thirty-ninth year. William H., who is the youngest in a family of five children, was reared in Towanda, and completed his education, attending the collegiate institute at that place three terms. He began work in the station baggage room in Towanda in the fall of 1868, and was appointed baggage master same year; served one year, and then com- menced firing on the road, and was on the line until 1874. Afterward

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

he worked with his father about two years, and was then employed firing on the G. I. & S. R. R .; was promoted to engineer in 1877, and ran one year and three months, when he went to Buffalo, and was on the B. & W. R. R. braking three months ; then went on the N. Y. C. R. R. as conductor of a yard engine, remaining with the company three years, after which he came to Sayre in 1883, fired one year, was then promoted to engineer, and has been running on the line since. Mr. Eaton was married in Waverly, N. Y., April 26, 1882, to Miss Emma, daughter of Jabez B. and Adelia (Rightmire) Harding, the former a native of Tunkhannock, Pa., and the latter of Tompkins county, N. Y. Her father was a farmer in early life, and has been in the employ of the L. V. R. R. over twenty years as general yard master at Waverly Junction. Her great-grandfather, Elisha Harding, was in the Wyoming massacre, and had two brothers killed two or three days before the massacre, while hoeing corn. Mrs. Eaton is the eldest in a family of three children, and was born in Tompkins county, N. Y., March 4, 1853. To Mr. and Mrs. Eaton has been born a son : Clarence Harding. Mr. Eaton is a member of the Order of Red Men, Iron Hall, Brother- hood of Locomotive Engineers, Division No. 380, and has been first assistant engineer since the Lodge was organized ; is secretary of the Locomotive Engineers Life Insurance Association, and in politics is a Democrat.

PETER H. EDINGER, farmer in Tuscarora township, P. O. Spring Hill, was born in Stroudsburg, Monroe county, Pa., April 9, 1844, son of David and Sally (Learn) Edinger, natives of Pennsylvania, and of German origin. Mr Edinger was educated in the common school, and learned the carpenter and joiner trade at Laceyville, with Samuel Gregory of that place, and at the age of twenty-five he com- menced life for himself, working at his trade in Laceyville, Wyalusing, Tunkhannock, and various other places ; about six years later he pur- chased his present place of 100 acres and engaged in farming, at which he has since continued. He was married, March 7, 1877, to Miss Effie, daughter of Demmon and Abigal (Lacey) Ackley, of Tus- carora township, and the following named children are the fruits of this union ; Harry Ackley, born July 31, 1882; Helen, born January 2, 1887, and Vernie Florence, born May 10, 1891. Mr. Edinger, although not a professional politician, is a firm adherent of the principles of the Democratic party.

JOHN W. EDSELL (deceased), late farmer in Pike township, was born August 12, 1835, and died March 14, 1886. He was married January 2, 1859, to Sarah E., daughter of Wells and Roth Pratt, in whose family there were ten children, Sarah E. being the sixth. To Mr. and Mrs. Edsell were born the following named children : Wisos W., a farmer; Salona L., who resides at home; Clarence S., a farmer ; Vernon L., at home; and Nettie (deceased). The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Republican in politics.

JOHN M. EDSON, machinist and inventor, Towanda, was born in Wareham, Plymouth Co., Mass., May 8, 1847, a son of William and Eunice B. (Morton) Edson, and comes of Puritan stock. He was reared in his native town, and received a common-school education. On

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

August 15, 1862, when but fifteen years of age, he enlisted in Company A, Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteers. At Antietam he volunteered to go into the battle, as his father did at the battle of Ball's Bluff, where he was wounded, a ball passing through his body, on account of which he was discharged. After regaining his strength, however, he re-enlisted in the same company and regiment (Company A, Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteers), and gave his consent to his son's going, and at Antietam the boy was shot down by his father's, side, being wounded in the right thigh. He was sent to the hospital, and honorably discharged in January, 1863, on account of disability. On January 4, 1864, he re-enlisted, this time in Company F, Fourth Massachusetts Cavalry, and was in several skirmishes and at the battle of Deep Run, after which he was placed on the staff of Gen. Ord, Twenty-fourth Army Corps, as orderly; was afterward transferred to the First Division, Twenty-fourth Army Corps, under Gen. Terry, and later under Gen. Frisbie and Gen. Foster, and was then transferred to the First Division, Third Brigade, under Gen. Plaisted, and later under Gen. Dandy, until the close of the war. He was at the battle of Hatcher's Run, in the charge of Fort Gregg and at the surrender of Gen. Lee at Appomattox. After the surrender of Lee our subject was on patrol duty at Richmond, Va., four weeks, and was then sent to Surrey in charge of seven men, to take the census of the colored peo- ple of that county. After finishing his work there he was ordered to Richmond, where he was honorably discharged from the service in January, 1866. He then returned home and followed the sea until 1871. In 1867 he made his first voyage, a cruise in a whaling ship on the Pacific Ocean, steering about as far south as the Equator, near where they killed a sperm whale that yielded 120 barrels of oil. This was soon after the war, when oil was selling at $2.60 per gallon; and though this was their only catch during a six months' voyage, still it paid them very well. Mr. Edson also made two voyages to the Western Banks and the Grand Banks, cod fishing. He was always looked to in time of danger by the captain and crew as the safest man at the wheel, and on two occasions, during storms, he had to be lashed to the wheel for security. After his return from the sea he went to Boonton, N. J .. where he learned the machinist's and nailer's trade, under Fuller, Lord & Co, and while with them he built the first nail self-feeder ever made. He has since that time followed nail mak- ing; has been employed much of his time during twelve years at the Towanda Nail Works; has worked at the trade in the following States : Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, Illinois, Alabama, Tennessee and Virginia. It is his intention to abandon the nailing business in the spring of 1892, and devote his time to inventing. He is the inventor of the " Edson Automatic Nail Feeder," now extensively used in the principal nail factories of the country.

Mr. Edson was married, in 1879, to Anna E., daughter of Gen. John Sheets, of Pottstown, Pa., and by her has four children : Huldah M., Oscar N., Eunice B., and John M. Mr. Edson was connected with the National Guard of Pennsylvania for five years, and repre_

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

sented the State in 1879-80-81 in the Interstate Military Match at Creedmoor. He was captain of the South Chicago Illinois Rifle Club, three years, and of the Towanda, Pa., Rifle Club until he went West, and was always considered one of the best rifle shots in the State. He is a member of the F. & A. M., the G. A. R. the K. of L., also of the United Nailers of America and of the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers. Politically Mr. Edson is Independent.

LEWIS EIGHMEY, proprietor of Opera House, Sayre, is a native of Durham, Greene Co., N. Y., and was born April 17, 1833; his parents were John and Henrietta (Woodard) Eighmey, natives of New York State; his father was a farmer, and died in 1885, in his seventy- seventh year ; his mother died in 1882, in her seventy-third year. Lewis is the second of a family of six sons and five daughters; received a fair public school education, and commenced life on his own account in the timber business and also ran a sawmill, and followed this a greater part of the time until 1884, when he removed from his native place to Athens township, in February, 1849; in 1861 went to Troy, this county and enlisted, in October, 1861, in Company C, Seventh Cavalry; and was in the commands of Gens. Buell, Rosecrans and Sherman ; was taken prisoner August 21, 1862, at Gallatin, Tenn., by Gen. Monroe, and was paroled after three days, and sent to Annapolis, Md., and returned to his command March 1, 1863. When his term of ser- vice expired he re-enlisted and served until the close of the war, and was mustered out at Macon, Ga., August 25, 1865 ; returned to Athens and remained there about a year, then went to Pine Creek township, Tioga county, and was tbere two years, and from there went to Warren, then to Pittsfield, and remained there until 1873; then to Bradford, and during the time he was there drilled oil wells; he remained in this place until 1882, when he removed to Sayre, and commenced building the "Opera House " which was finished in 1884; the building is 80 x 51, three stories: first floor, stores, second, dwellings, and the third, an opera hall, 80x51, and stage 51x24, and 455 chairs. He married, in Athens township, in 1857, Susan, daughter of John and Katy (Decker) Westfall, natives of New Jersey ; she is the fourth of a family of seven children, and was born in Sussex county, March 10, 1844. To this happy marriage was born a daughter, Linnia; they are members of the Episcopal Church ; he is a member of the G. A. R., Mallory Post, No. 285, Union Veteran Legion, No. 28, Athens and Union Veterans Union, No. 18, Sayre; a member of the school board of Savre, and is a Republican.

JOHN H. ELLIOTT, farmer, P. O. Stevensville, was born in Wyalusing, this county, October 17, 1833, a son of Harry and Euphe- mia (Beeman) Elliott, natives of Pennsylvania and New York, respect. ively, and of New England origin. In their family there were six children, vız .: John H., Deborah (born March 27, 1835, married to Dr. W. W. Smith, of Montrose), Ellen J. (born March 1, 1839, and living with John H.), Francis J. (born February 13, 1846, a farmer at Friendsville, Pa.), Clarence W. (born March 24, 1849, a farmer at Birchardville, Pa.); Alta M. (born September 23, 1854, living with our subject). John HI. Elliott was reared on a farm, educated in the com-

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

mon schools, and remained with his parents while they lived. He enlisted at Owego, N. Y., September 3, 1864, in Company D, Fifth New York Cavalry, was in the battle of Waynesborough and many minor engagements, was mustered out at Winchester, Va., June 13, 1865. The family were all born in Wyalusing, but lived in Rome from 1860 until 1868, and then returned to Wyalusing. In 1890 John H. and his two sisters removed to the A. B. Burrows farm in Pike township, and in 1891 to the farm of Mr. Charles Cobb, where they reside at present.

A. C. ELSBREE, retired, Athens, is a native of Warren township, this county, born October 3, 1821, a son of Joseph and Mary (Mackey) Elsbree, natives of Albany county, N. Y., who removed to this county about the year 1819. The father was a farmer, born July 15, 1790, and died in Windham township, this county, February 19, 1856; the mother was born January 20, 1793, and died July +, 1877. A. C. Elsbree, who is the third in a family of six children, removed to Athens township in April, 1845, and has devoted his energies to farming, dairying, also extensively engaging in lumbering, buying timberland and manufacturing the lumber and putting it on the market. In 1873 Mr. Elsbree removed to the borough of Athens. He has three dairy farms and one stock farm, and has also given some time to raising good horses. Mr. Elsbree was married in Windham township, February 12, 1846, to Miss Nancy, daughter of Platt and Laura (Pease) Rogers, natives of Windham township. Platt Rogers was born January 2, 1796, and died June 30, 1873. Mrs. Rogers was born April 3, 1796, and died in February, 1866. Mrs. Elsbree, who was the eldest of a family of eight children, was born in Windham township, February 28, 1819, and died October 8, 1888, a consistent member of the Baptist Church. To Mr. and Mrs. Elsbree was born one daughter, Jessie B., wife of Eugene Allen. Mr. Elsbree served one term as school director in Athens township, and is president of Tioga Point Cemetery. In politics he is a Republican.

J. L. ELSBREE, ex-county treasurer, Athens, is a native of Wind- ham township, this county, and was born December 6, 1837. His parents were Ira and Sally Ann (Dunham) Elsbree, also natives of this county ; his father is a farmer, resides in Athens township, and is now in his eighty-second year; the mother died in August, 1887. J. L., who is the youngest in a family of four children, was reared on a farm and received a common-school education, and became a farmer, and combined, with that, lumbering and stock dealing, and, although not actively engaged in farming personally, he has the business carried on, and, with his father, has eight farms, seven of which they have farmed themselves. Mr. Elsbree leased the ground of the skating rink, and afterward bought the building and fitted it up for an Opera House ; he is also one of the company that built the "Stimson House" block, and a stock holder in the Athens Coach Works, and is president of the Tiahoga Insurance Company, of Athens. He was married in Athens, in December, 1881, to Miss Jane Farr, a daughter of John Farr, a native of Ireland ; she is the fourth of a family of seven chil- dren, and is a native of this county. To Mr. and Mrs. Elsbree were

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

born three children, viz .: Anna, John I. and Rena, deceased. Mr. Elsbree was elected county treasurer in November, 1884, and served one term ; he served one term as councilman in Athens, and, while a Republican, is liberal and independent in his political actions ; is a man of decided force of character, and at all times pre-eminently has the courage of his convictions.

N. N. ELSBREE, a farmer and stock grower, P. O. Orwell, was born July 31, 1857, and is a son of James L. and C. C. (Lyon) Elsbree. The father was born November 22, 1833; a son of Martin Elsbree, who was born February 19, 1795. The father was born in Windham, and was a farmer, owning a farm in Windham, and died July 1, 1860; he had two children : George F., who was born May 16, 1856, died August 10, 1856, and subject. The father died when N. N. was quite a small child, and the mother soon after married S. N. Bronson. N. N. Elsbree was reared in Mr. Bronson's family, and was educated at Orwell Hill Academy, and at Towanda Collegiate Institute. Upon reaching his majority he began life for himself, and has devoted his attention to farming, stock raising and dealing in cattle and horses. In 1877 he purchased his present farm, which is the old Elsworth estate, and contains 147 acres. In 1887 he commenced breeding trotting horses, and now has some very promising colts of the Hambletonian stock ; his favorite mares were sired, one by Gen. Grant and another by David Hume, and show marks of speed though not yet harnessed ; has seven colts sired by Kire, a lineal descendant from Rysdyke's Hambletonian ; has a fine pair of blacks with which he won first premium at the Bradford Agricultural Society, both in 1889 and 1890, and also owns two fine brood mares, sired by Venango Chief, he by Venango, and he by Rysdyke's Hambletonian, dam, Lady Delivon; with them he won first prize at the same fair in 1890, as best road team. His barns are all planned by himself, and are models of con- venience and elegance ; his stables contain as promising a lot of youngsters as the county has ever produced, and, besides his horses, he keeps a large dairy. Mr. Elsbree was married April 26, 1882, to Kate L. Frisbie, daughter of A. C. Frisbie, and they have two chil- dren : James A., born September 28, 1884, and Harry S., born February 9, 1890. Mr. Elsbree is a Republican, and holds the office of town treasurer and postmaster.

PERRY H. ELSBREE, farmer, P. O. East Smithfield, was born in the town of East Smithfield, this county, March 7, 1853, a son of Joseph and Betsey (Allen) Elsbree, the former of whom was born in Cayuga county, N. Y., and came to this county with his parents when a boy, one of a family of nine children, that were pioneers to this county when it was a wilderness, and cleared the farm where Perry H. now lives; the father was a man of influence in political and church matters, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Our subject's mother was born in Smithfield township, this county, and her father lived west of Smithfield Centre ; she was a teacher for many years, and a member of the Baptist Church. Perry H. Elsbree, who is fourth in a family of six children, was reared on his father's farm and educated in the common schools of the town. His brother,

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

Charles, was in the Civil War, and proved a good soldier. Mr. Elsbree was married in 1879 to Mary, daughter of J. V. and Roxanna (Watkins) Huff, of Ulster, natives of New Jersey ; her grandfather, Watkins, was a a justice of the peace and a hotel keeper, and was a man of great influence in his time. Mr. and Mrs. Elsbree have had four children, viz .: John Carl, born December 10, 1880; Jesse David, born November 11, 1883; Claude Huff, born October 27, 1885; Bessie May, born October 25, 1887. Mr. Elsbree is a Republican, has been an auditor of his town, and is a man of fine qualities, highly respected by a large circle of friends. The family are members of the Baptist Church.

EPHRAIM W. ELWELL, freight agent of the Lehigh Valley Rail- road, Towanda, was born in Towanda, July 3, 1845, and is.son of William and Mary (Thayer) Elwell. His paternal grandfather was a native of Dutchess county, N. Y., and a pioneer of thenorthern portion of this county. He resided at Milltown (now Athens) for nearly fifty years. In later life he removed to Van Etten, N. Y., where he died at the advanced age of ninety-four years. His children were John, Nancy, Prentice, William, Evert, King, Edward and Phebe. The father of our subject was born in Athens. He received a good academical education, and taught school several years; he worked for a time with his father who was a carpenter and builder. He studied law under the late Judge Williston, and for thirty years practiced law in the northern counties, residing at Towanda. In 1862 he was elected president judge of the twenty-sixth Judicial District and removed to Bloomsburg, Pa. He was three times elected to that office, and served therein for twenty-five years ; at the age of eighty years, in 1888, he resigned. He was twice married. His first wife was Miss Clemana Shaw, by whom he had two children who grew to maturity, viz. : William and Clemana (Mrs. P. H. Smith) ; by his second wife, Mary L. Thayer, he had four children who grew to maturity, viz. : Ephraim W., George E., Mary L. (Mrs. N. U. Funk) and Charles P. Ephraim was reared in Towanda and Bloomsburg, was educated in the common schools and at Eastman's Business College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Since 1869 he has been in the employ of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company and has held his present position since 1882. In 1872 he married Harriet M., daughter of William and Catherine Neal of Blooms- burg, Pa., and has one daughter living, Katharine N. Mr. Elwell is a member of the Episcopal Church, and politically is a Democrat.

JOSEPH M. ELY, furniture manufacturer, Athens, is a native of the city of New York, and since 1868 has been a prominent and active citizen of the borough of Athens. In the ante-bellum days he was a merchant in his native city, and when Fort Sumter was fired on, his vessel, laden with stores, happened to reach a Southern port just in time to be confiscated by the Confederates. He is a son of Joseph M. and Julia A. (Camp) Ely, the former of whom was born in Springfield, Mass., and the latter in Tioga county, N. Y. Joseph M., Sr., went to New York City to take charge of the Polytechnic School of that place, and afterward was in the South, engaged in stock raising, and in 1859, came to Athens and established a select high school, and died here in 1873, in his seventy-third year; his widow survived until 1888, and

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died in her eighty-second year. The great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch on the maternal side was Captain Asaph Whittlesy, of Revolutionary War fame, who was killed at Forty Fort. The great- grandfather on the paternal side was Richard Ely, a sergeant in the Revolutionary War. The Elys came originally from Wales, and were among the earliest immigrants into New England. In the family of Joseph M. Ely, Sr., were seven children, of whom our subject was the second, and spent his young life in his native city, where he was well grounded in the higher education and prepared to enter Yale College. Ul on attaining his legal majority he became junior member of a wholesale grocery house, and successfully conducted this until the breaking out of the late war, when he entered the military service and became first corporal of the famous New York Seventh Regiment, National Guards, in the company in which his brother was captain. This organization answered promptly the country's first call for troops. He was in this service one year, and afterward was in the service quite a while at, and after the draft, at the time of the riots in New York. He then became a book-keeper in the New York Continental Bank. In 1868 he came to Athens and engaged in the hay, grain and coal trade until 1884, when he accepted a position with the Athens Furniture Company and is still in their employ. In January, 1870, he married Miss Lizzie, daughter of Robert and Margaret (Grinley) Hinshelwood, natives of Scotland and New York, respect- ively. Mr. Hinshelwood was president of the New York Bank Note Company. Both he and his wife died in New York City. Their family consisted of four children, three living, of whom Mrs. Ely is the eldest. She is a member of the Episcopal Church, and her husband of the Presbyterian Church, and a member of A. F. & A. M., Rural Amity Lodge, No. 70, Northern Commandery No. 10, Chapter No .- , and is a member of I. O. O. F., Lodge No. 165, and has passed the chairs; a member of the Veteran Association of the Seventh Regiment. He was chief of the Athens Fire Department, and organized the same, and was for years one of the active volunteer "fire laddies; " a member of the Excelsior Hose Company, No. 14, New York ; has served in the Athens borough council, and as borough clerk for years ; politically he affiliates with the Republican party.

JACOB EMERY, blacksmith, Asylum, was born in Asylum town- ship, this county, May 13, 1833, and is a son of Jacob R. and Sarah A. (Ennis) Emery. Jacob Emery came to this town when a boy, and being a blacksmith his son learned the trade of him; he was third in a family of fifteen children; his brother, Levi, was a soldier and was killed in the battle of the Wilderness soon after his arrival at the front. Jacob Emery was married June 11, 1854, to Lucy A., daughter of James and Lyda (Merithew) English, and was born January 13, 1837, in Monroeton; her parents were natives of this country, her father be- ing one of the pioneers of Albany township and a preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mrs. Emery is the eldest in a family of five children; three of her brothers, Orlardo, William and John, were soldiers in the Civil War. There have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Emery eight children, (seven of whom are living) as follows: Ida, born October

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HISTORY OF BRADFORD COUNTY.

13, 1855; Acta L., born April 5, 1857, married to James Warring ; Lucy E., born October 21, 1858, married to Theodore Sluyter ; James R., born April 3, 1860, married to Mary Lewis; Francis O., born December 29, 1862, married to Julia R. Piatt; Mary N., born February 8, 1873, now deceased; Jacob L., born January 23, 1879; Levi E., born Novem- ber 8, 1880. Mr. Emery has always been a Republican, but is inde- pendent. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he has been a trustee many years. The family are much esteemed by a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.

O. ENGLISH, farmer, P. O. Terrytown, was born on Harland Hill, Monroe township, this county, May 25, 1844, and is the son of James and Lydia (Merrithews) English, the former of whom was born in Albany, N. Y., and came to this county, locating in New Albany, where he made his residence some time, but afterward removed to Monroe township, where he now resides, a prosperous, practical farmer ; his wife died in 1851; his family consists of five children, all of whom are living. The subject of this sketch was reared and edu- cated in Monroe township, and has always been a tiller of the soil, at which vocation he has been successful. At the age of twenty-two, in 1867, he married, in Monroe township, Miss Euphame, daughter of Peter and Amanda Aumick, and there was born to them one son, Addison, now sixteen years of age. In 1861 Mr. English enlisted in the Fiftieth P. V. I., and served until the close of the war ; he was severely wounded at the battle of Chantilla, Va., at which time he was taken prisoner. He was honorably discharged as corporal, and now enjoys a life pension ; he is a member of the G. A. R, and also of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He owns a neat farm of fifty acres, under perfect cultivation, with a beautiful house and spacious out- buildings, all of which he built recently; he is a self-made man, respected by his fellow citizens.

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History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 88

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