History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, Part 118

Author: edited by John F. Meginness
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1650

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JAMES LAIRD was born, May 11, 1761, and married Mary McFarland, February 12, 1788. She was born, November 15, 1770, and to their union were born three children: John, who was born, August 2, 1789, and died, September 23, 1862; William, born October 11, 1791, and Mary, born March 15, 1794. Mrs. Laird died, July 24, 1796, and he was again married, to Miss Sarah Watson, May 11, 1797. She was born, January 21, 1772, and to them were born the following children: Samuel, born March 8, 1798; Jane Mckinney; James, born July 27, 1801; James, born October 21, 1806, and Thomas, born March 21, 1810. Mr. Laird removed from the Cumberland valley to Montour county, Pennsylvania, where he died, Feb- ruary 15, 1846.

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

JOHN LAIRD, son of James Laird, moved to what is now Lairdsville in 1822. He taught school during the winter and followed surveying during the summers for several years. November 22, 1810, he was married to Miss Margaret Smith, born June 2, 1790, and to them were born six children: Mary, born December 26, 1811; Hugh, deceased, born February 18, 1813; James, deceased, born April 1, 1814; Elizabeth, deceased, born September 7, 1819; John, born February 19, 1812, and William, deceased, born January 3, 1832.

JAMES LAIRD, son of John Laird, was a merchant and lumberman in the early part of his life. In 1869, in company with his sons, he built the first furniture fac- tory in Hughesville. He married Ruth A. Carver, and, died January 1, 1882, fol- lowed by her, June 7, 1891. They were the parents of five children: E. Livingston, deceased in 1872; John C .; Martha, who married J. K. Rishel; William L., and H. Newton. Mr. Laird helped to build the first Lutheran church in Hughesville, organized the first Sunday school in 1850, and was its superintendent for twelve years.

J. C. LAIRD, foreman of Rishel's furniture factory, was born at Hughesville, Pennsylvania, May 21, 1844, son of James and Ruth A. (Carver) Laird. He was educated in the common schools, and in 1863 engaged in the lumber business, which he continued for six years. He then became interested in the furniture factory as a partner until 1878, when he sold and has since been foreman of that enterprise. He has served in the town council, and has been burgess of Hughesville and school director. June 6, 1867, he was married to Miss Sophia S. Tallman, and to them was born one child, Frank L., October 28, 1872. Mr. Laird and family are members of the Lutheran church and he is assistant superintendent of the Sunday school.

THOMAS NEWMAN, son of Joseph Newman, who immigrated from England to America and settled in New Jersey, came to Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, prior to the Revolutionary war, and settled on a farm near the present site of Hughes- ville. His brother Joseph accompanied him, and the latter raised a company and served as captain in the Revolutionary war. Thomas Newman was the father of two children: Rebecca, deceased at the age of fourteen years, and Joseph.

JOSEPH NEWMAN, son of Thomas Newman, was born in 1796. He started to join the army to serve in the war of 1812, but before he reached his destination the war was over. He returned and lived on the farm which his father had left him until 1840, when he removed to Sullivan county, Pennsylvania, remaining there six years and then returning to Lycoming county and settling near Tivoli, where he and his wife both died in 1877, having reared a family of eleven children: Jeannette; Rebecca; Sarah, deceased; Rosetta, deceased; Margaret; Elizabeth, deceased; Ann; Seth C., deceased; Joseph, who enlisted in Company F, Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry, in 1861; John, who enlisted in Company F, Eighty-fourth Pennsylvania Volunteers, and George. Joseph and John both died from wounds received in the wars.

GEORGE NEWMAN, carpenter, was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, Sep- tember 29, 1836, son of Joseph and Mary (Marsh) Newman. He was educated in the common schools and learned the carpenter trade, which he has followed for thirty-three years. May 20, 1860, he was married to Phobe H. Hill, and to them were born the following children: P. Burley, who is employed in the railroad office at Hughesville; Joseph S., who is employed in the railroad office at Nordmont; Mabel

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HISTORY OF LYCOMING COUNTY.

B .; George H .; John W .; Mary R., deceased, and Seth Q., deceased. Mr. Newman enlisted in July, 1862, in Company F, Eighty-fourth Pennsylvania Volunteers, and saw active service until the close of the war. After the close of the war he lived for several years in Virginia, five years in Williamsport, and two in Texas, and then returned to Lycoming county, where he has since resided.

THE FRONTZ FAMILY in Lycoming county are descendants of William Frontz, who immigrated from Switzerland to America prior to the Revolution, and located in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. He married Mary Gower and lived in Monroe county, Pennsylvania. They reared a family of twelve children: Sarah, who mar- ried George Shaffer; Jacob, who married Mary Wies; Jonas, who married Elizabeth Getz; George, who married Betsy Shoemaker; Catharine, who married Jacob Smith; Mary, who married John Smith; Susan, who married Joseph Metzger; Samuel, who married Elizabeth Young; Michael, who married a Miss Smith; Peter, who married Betsy Beaver; John, who married Christiana Lessick, and Solomon, who married Elizabeth Young. Of these children George, Jacob, Jonas, and Solomon removed to Luzerne county, where they died; Michael, Samuel, Sarah, Catherine, Mary, and Susan lived and died in Monroe county, and John and Peter came to Lycoming county. John Frontz reared a family of six children: Jacob; Joseph; John; Philip; Mary, and Elizabeth. Jacob Frontz, son of John Frontz, learned the wagonmaker trade in the building where his son, William Frontz, is now doing business. He purchased this property in 1837, and carried on wagonmaking until his death, which occurred May 6, 1855. He married Lydia Gray, and to them were born two chil- dreu: William, and George C., deceased. His widow survived him until April 6, 1879.

WILLIAM FRONTZ, merchant and lumber manufacturer and dealer, was born in Hughesville, Pennsylvania, December 17, 1831, son of Jacob and Lydia (Gray) Frontz. He was educated in the common schools and began his business life in a store. In partnership with Jeremiah Kelly, he purchased a mercantile establish- ment from Mr. Kelly's father, and did a thriving business for two years, when Mr. Kelly withdrew and Mr. Frontz continued alone until his brother, George C. Frontz, returned from the army and joined him in the business. This partnership lasted until July 3, 1880, when his brother died. In 1883 his son Walter C. became a partner and the business has since been conducted under the firm name of William Frontz & Son. He was married, November 14, 1855, to Sarah A. Saunders; to this union were born three children: Walter C., cashier of the First National Bank of Hughesville; Howard, deceased, and Eulilia, who married J. H. Laird. Mrs. Frontz died, August 11, 1880, in the Lutheran faith. Mr. Frontz is a member of the Lutheran church, in which he is an elder, while his son Walter C. is superin- tendent of the Sunday school. He is a director in the First National Bank of Hughesville. Politically he is a Republican, and has always takeu an active interest in the growth and progress of his native county.

GEORGE P. FRONTZ, insurance agent, was born in Penn township, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, November 3, 1842, son of Philip and Hannah (Poust) Frontz. His father was born and died on the same farm in Penn township, and his children were named as follows: George P .; John; Wilson; Emeline, who married A. L. Starr; Mary, and Elizabeth, deceased. Our subject was educated at the public

yours truly Peter Reeder

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

schools of Penn and Hughesville, and taught school for eight winters. He learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for ten years, and has since engaged in farming and the insurance business. Mr. Frontz was married, June 3, 1867, to Emeline, daughter of Matthias Fague, and to this union has been born one child, Edward E., a druggist of Williamsport. He and wife are members of the Lutheran church of Hughesville, of which he has been deacon and at present is one of the trustees.

GEORGE FAGUE came to Lycoming county at an early day, locating on a farm one mile east of Hughesville. He was the father of seven children: Jacob; Peter; Matthias; Hannah; Savilla; Elizabeth, and Susan. Matthias, the youngest son, was a farmer by occupation, and died November 26, 1872; his wife, whose maiden name was Ann Derr, died in 1869. They were the parents of nine children: Sarah J .; George; Emeline; Clara; J. Harvey; Ella: James P .; William M., and Mary, deceased.

J. H. FAGUE, merchant. was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, May 4, 1849, son of Matthias and Ann (Derr) Fague. He was educated in the common schools, and in 1873 he went into the general mercantile business in Hughesville in company with W. H. Kitchen. At the end of five years he withdrew from the firm, purchased a property, fitted up a store-room of his own, and took C. B. Vandine into co-partnership with him; at the expiration of five years, the latter withdrew, and Mr. Fague has been sole proprietor. He was married in 1874 to H. Agusta Tallman, and to this union has been born one child, Laura.

HENRY DIEFFENDERFER was born in Union county, Pennsylvania, July 14, 1814, son of Philip and Catherine (Seibert) Dieffenderfer. He is a blacksmith by trade and has worked at that occupation for thirty-five years. Jannary 11, 1844, he was married to Susan Steck, a half-sister of Daniel Steck, whose sketch appears in this work, and to them were born the following children: Frank, who enlisted in Company K, One Hundred and Thirty-First Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was killed in battle; William, who married Lavina Sharrow; Elizabeth, who married Dan Stephenson; Michael, who married Miss Alice Sones; Clara, who married David Bryan; Fannie, who married Charles W. Buck; George M .; Katie, deceased; Rose, deceased. and Frederick, deceased. MIr. Dieffenderfer is a Democrat in politics, and his wife is a member of the Lutheran church.

JOHN P. DERR. retired farmer, was born in Penn township, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, November 11, 1822, son of John P. and Ann (Bartlow) Derr. His grandfather came from Germany and was one of the first settlers of Moreland township, Lycoming county, and was the father of four children: George, deceased; Frederick, deceased; John, deceased, and Peggy. Our subject's father, John P. Derr, was the father of eleven children: Sarah, deceased; Peter, deceased; Daniel, deceased; Catherine; Andrew J., deceased; John P .; Jane; Martha, deceased; Lavina, deceased; Charles W., and one deceased in infancy. John P. Derr died in 1866, and his widow died in 1SS2. Our subject was educated in the com- mon schools and has followed lumbering and farming. He was married in 1846 to Miss Mary Freeman, and to this union have been born five children: Ella J., who married Wilson Grundrom; Anna. deceased; Alice, who married Jacob Miller; Charles F., who is a merchant at Hughesville. and Martha E., who married Joseph Parker. Mr. Derr and wife are members of the Lutheran church.

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HISTORY OF LYCOMING COUNTY.

THOMAS NUNN was born in New Jersey, and migrated to Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, before the Revolutionary war, but was forced by the Indians to return to his native State at the time of what is known as the "Great Runaway." He returned in 1796, a short time after he was married. He was the father of one child, Aaron, who was born in 1794. Thomas Nunn died at the age of eighty years, followed by his wife a few years later. Aaron Nunn, son of Thomas Nunn, a farmer by occupation, was married to Miss Ann Hall, and to them were born four children: Thomas; Mary, deceased; Elizabeth, and William.

THOMAS H. NUNN, retired farmer, was born in Mill Creek township, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, January 26, 1825, son of Aaron and Ann (Hall) Nunn. He was educated in the common schools and taught one term, and has devoted the remainder of his life to farming. In January, 1851, he was married to Barbara Gortner, and to this union have been born eleven children: Two deceased when young; J. Asher; Susan; Ellis; Ann; Amanda; A. Beeber; Jane; Rachel, and Julia, deceased. Mrs. Nunn died in April, 1889. Mr. Nunn is a stanch Democrat.

JACOB R. HILL was born in Hughesville, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, Janu- ary 4, 1832, and is a son of Martin and Mary (Dougherty) Hill, also natives of Lycoming county. Martin Hill was a farmer and shoemaker, and a son of Frederick Hill. The latter was a Revolutionary soldier, and also served in the war of 1812, and was quite prominent in early military affairs in Lycoming county. The subject of this sketch was reared in Hughesville, and learned the cabinet maker's trade, which he has since followed. In 1864 he enlisted in Company F, Fifty-sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers, and served until the close of the war. Mr. Hill was twice married. His first wife was Jamella Kahler, who bore him four children: Spencer W., of Will- iamsport; Llewellyn K., of Egg Harbor City, New Jersey; Norman P., assistant station agent of the Williamsport and North Branch railroad at Hughesville, and Hester C., wife of Joseph W. Shea, of Picture Rocks. Mrs. Hill died in 1868, and he subsequently married Almira Renn, who became the mother of four children, as follows: Arthur E .; Edwin E .; Jacob Wilber, and Hattie. Mr. Hill is a Repub- lican, and has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church since boyhood.

JOHN G. BARTCH was a son of Frederick Bartch, a native of England, who emigrated to America from Germany and settled on a farm in Berks county, Penn- sylvania, at a very early day. He was the father of three children: John G .; Fred- erick, and Barbara. John G. was a farmer during the early part of his life, but for several years preceding his death, he was a minister of the Evangelical denomina- tion. He married Magdalena Stiner, and to this uuion were born ten children: John; Fred; Franklin; Washington, who is judge of the court in Salt Lake City, Utah; Gottleib; Maggie; Eliza; Lena; Barbara, and Mary A. John G. Bartch died in 1859, and his wife died in 1851.

FRED BARTCH, retired, was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, April 12, 1832, son of John G. and Magdalena (Stiner) Bartch. He was educated in the com- mon schools and farmed for a number of years, after which he began the lumber business, manufacturing the same for a period of thirteen years. In 1877 he came to Hughesville where he has lived a retired life ever since. He was married in 1855 to Miss Mary, a daughter of John and Julia Sanger of Hughesville, aged eighty-three years and seventy-two years, respectively. Mr. Bartch and wife are members of the Lutheran church of Hughesville.

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

SAMUEL B. WHEELOCK, deceased, was born in Tompkins county, New York, December 23, 1840, and was educated at Northampton, Massachusetts. After spending a few years with the firm of W. M. Seymore & Company of New York City, he in 1860 went to Warren, Pennsylvania, where he was employed as teller in the Northwestern Bank of that city. September 12, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Kane's Rifle Regiment, and served all through the war, receiving several promo- tions. At the close of the war he went to Santa Fé, New Mexico, where he studied law and practiced for a short time, when he was elected cashier of the First National Bank of that city. In 1878 he came to Hughesville, Pennsylvania, where he died, December 14, 1879. He was married to Harriet Steck, and to them were born four children: Harriet; Charles; Catharine, and Alice.

CORNELIUS BODINE was descended from Huguenots who settled in New Jersey and New York. He was born in 1757, and settled in the vicinity of Hughesville. He married Margaret Sutphen, and with her migrated to Lycoming county in 1802. They subsequently settled in Seneca county, New York, where Mr. Bodine died on June 12, 1820, and Mrs. Bodine, on November 15, 1824. Their children were Charles, Isaac, Peter, John, Gilbert, George, Abraham, and Cornelius. Abraham was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, and was twice married; his first wife was Mercy Paxon, and to this union were born five children: John; Charles; George; Margaret, and Elizabeth; his second wife was Barbara Cruze, by whom he had one son, Russell. Charles Bodine, son of Abraham Bodine, was a merchant and one of the most prominent and enterprising men of Hughesville during his life. He married Maria Christman, and to them were born five children: Clinton, deceased; C. Christman, deceased; De Witt; Milton, and Mary, who is deceased. Charles Bodine died in 1850, and his wife, February 26, 1880.

DE WITT BODINE, lumber dealer and banker, was born in Lycoming county, Penn- sylvania, September 22, 1841, son of Charles and Maria (Christman) Bodine. He received his education at Dickinson Seminary, Williamsport, from which institution he was graduated with high honors; he has established a scholarship in Dickinson Seminary, of which he is a director, which is awarded yearly to the student of Hughesville high school having the best degree of advancement at the close of the school year. He is also a director of the Missionary Institute at Selinsgrove, Penn- sylvania. He enlisted in the Fourteenth Pennsylvania Emergency Regiment, and on his return from service he began the lumber business in partnership with his uncle, George Bodine, and continued until the death of the latter, at which time Mr. Bodine became sole proprietor of their business. He is president of the First National Bank of Hughesville. He was married in October, 1876, to Emma Biddle.

SALATHIEL KELLY was a son of Jeremiah and Anna (Hahn) Kelly, and came from Berks county, Pennsylvania, to Hughesville, Lycoming county, with his parents in 1828. His father was a farmer and cooper, and died in 1856, leaving two sons, John and Salathiel, both of whom are dead. Salathiel learned the cooper's trade, and followed it for many years, but the last sixteen years of his life were devoted to the mercantile business. He married Christiana Sanders, who was born February 28, 1817, in Lycoming county, daughter of Israel and Sarah (Kelly) Sanders. Her parents came from Berks county, Pennsylvania, in 1794, and settled in the Muncy Hills, Lycoming county; they reared a family of nine children, of whom Mrs. Kelly

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HISTORY OF LYCOMING COUNTY.

is the only survivor. Salathiel Kelly was the father of six children, four of whom are living: Jeremiah; Sarah C., widow of William A. Krouse; Anna, wife of Israel Buck, and William B., general agent of the American Life Insurance Company of Philadelphia.

JEREMIAH KELLY, merchant, was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, April 9, 1838, son of Salathiel and Christiana (Sanders) Kelly. He was educated in the common schools, and was married December 13, 1863, to Mary, daughter of Philip and Sarah Stetler, and to this union have been born four children: Harry; Charles; Elma, and Walter. Mr. Kelly and family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Hughesville. Politically he is a Republican, and has always taken a deep interest in the social and material growth of Hughesville.

W. H. WARN, of the firm of Bodine & Warn, manufacturers and dealers in lum- ber, shingles, and general merchandise, was born in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, in 1840, son of Isaac S. and Maria (Corson) Waru. Isaac S. Warn came to Lycom- ing county at an early day. He was a tanner by trade, and died iu 1846, followed by his widow in 1880. They were the parents of three children: Isadore, who is deceased; W. H., and M. C., deceased. W. H. Warn was educated in the common schools, and from fourteen to eighteen years of age he drove a hack from Muncy to Sonestown and Dushore, Sullivan county, Pennsylvania. He then learned the blacksmith trade, which he followed for five years. In 1864, in company with Ira Robins, he engaged in the manufacture of spices and coffee in Hughesville, and one year later they purchased the mercantile store of William Stetler, which they con- ducted for two years. De Witt Bodine then purchased Mr. Robins's interest and it was conducted by these gentlemen for several years in connection with their lumber business. They sold their store in 1873 to Fague & Kitchen. In a few years Mr. Warn, in company with Milton Bodine, again bought the store and still continues the business. They are also extensively engaged in the manufacture of lumber. Mr. Warn was married in 1875 to Miss Elizabeth Kline, of Williamsport, and to this union have been born four children: Prestou S .; George K .; W. H., and Rob- ert B. Mr. and Mrs. Warn are members of the Lutheran church of Hughesville.

JAMES K. BOAK was a lumber merchant in Centre county, Pennsylvania, and died in 1870. He married Sarah Rupley, and to them were born the following children: George; R. Addie, who married a Mr. Ash; Sarah, who married a Mr. Cook, of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania; James K .; Cameron, a merchant at Snow Shoe, Centre county; Mary E., who married a Mr. Shaw, of West Virginia; Theodore; Anna, who married a Mr. Weakley, of Harrisburg, and Lucy, deceased. Mrs. Boak, widow of James K. Boak, resides on the old homestead at Pine Glen, Centre county, Penn- sylvania.

JAMES K. BOAK, manufacturer, was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, in 1848, son of James K. and Sarah (Rupley) Boak. He was educated in the com- mon schools and at Dickinson Seminary, Williamsport. He was engaged in farming until 1879, when he began the manufacture of furniture at Hughesville, which he has continued ever since with good success. He was married in 1869 to M. Ella Bodine, and to this union have been born four children: E. May; Ida; George R., and James E. Mr. Boak is a Republican in politics, a member of Baldwin Com- mandery, K. P., and with his family belongs to the Lutheran church of Hughesville, of which he is a trustee.

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

THEODORE A. BOAK, furniture manufacturer and merchant, was born in Centre county, Pennsylvania, son of James K. and Sarah (Rupley) Boak. He was edu- cated in the common schools and at Millersville State Normal School, and for several years was general freight agent at Hughesville for the Williamsport and North Branch Railroad Company, and was also a conductor for the same. He was engaged in the coal and lumber business in his native county for ten years; in 1887 he returned to Hughesville, where he purchased Jeremiah Kelly's interest in the Hughesville furniture factory. In January, 1891, he and his brother, James K. Boak, purchased A. B. Worthington's interest, and now control the entire establish- ment, employing from seventy-five to 100 men, and doing a business of about $150,000 per year. He was married in 1885 to Miss Lydia Yarnell of Centre county, Pennsylvania. He was appointed postmaster at Hughesville in 1889 and is the present incumbent. He and wife are members of the Lutheran church of Hughesville, and he belongs to the Masonic order.

C. WILLIAM WODDROP, of the firm of Woddrop & Welch, lumber dealers, is a native of Philadelphia and came to Hughesville, January 31, 1881, as secretary and treasurer of the Williamsport and North Branch Railroad Company, which position he filled for about five years. In 1885, in company with Harvey Welch, he went into the lumber business and has continued it to the present time; he was a member of the firm of Boak, Woddrop & Company for two years in the general mercantile trade. Mr. Woddrop is president of the Eaglesmere Railroad Company, vice- president of the First National Bank of Hughesville, and a member of Woddrop & Company of Philadelphia, wholesale shoe dealers. He has been superintendent, and at present is a teacher of the Methodist Sunday school, and is one of Hughes- ville's enterprising citizens.

BENJAMIN WELCH immigrated from England to America in 1849, and settled in Philadelphia, where he engaged in manufacturing until his death in 1876; his widow died in 1889, and was the mother of six children: John, who is the treas- urer of branches of the Reading railroad; Jane, who is the widow of Dr. Robert S. Woddrop; Anna, deceased; Joseph, who is a Methodist Episcopal minister and chaplain of the State Prison at Philadelphia; Benjamin G., and Sarah S., wife of J. S. Bailey, of Philadelphia.

BENJAMIN G. WELCH, general manager of the Williamsport and North Branch rail- road, was born in Birmingham, England, in 1839, son of Benjamin and Mary (Wilkes) Welch. After he was graduated from the Philadelphia high school he engaged in the wholesale saddlery hardware business in that city for eight years. In 1861 he moved to Danville, Pennsylvania, where he was general manager of the iron works of Hancock & Foley, for ten years. He spent the following two years in Toronto, Canada, as manager of a street railway, and two years in Kingston, Canada, as manager of an iron ore mine. Returning to the United States he engaged in the coal business at Pittston, Pennsylvania, for a short time, after which he came to Hughesville, in 1881, having been appointed receiver of the Muncy Creek Railroad Company. He held this position until that company was reorganized and changed to the Williamsport and North Branch Railroad Company, of which he has been general manager ever since. He was the organizer of the Eaglesmere land syndi- cate. In 1864 he was married to Sarah, daughter of William Hancock, of Dan-

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History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, Part 118

Author: edited by John F. Meginness Publication date: 1892 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk Number of Pages: 1650

Author: edited by John F. Meginness
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1650