History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Part 131

Author:
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Harrisburg : R. C. Brown
Number of Pages: 1454

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LYMAN N. ADAMS, son of Capt. Lyman Adams, was born in Wellsboro, Tioga county, and grew to maturity in Tioga township. He engaged in the butchering. business, which he followed during his residence in Tioga borough, where he located in the thirties. He married Caroline Mantor, who bore him a family of three chil- dren, viz: Frank H., of Tioga; Mary, wife of Jude Sweet, of Niles Valley, and Charles, deceased. Mr. Adams died November 18, 1880, in the sixty-fifth year of his age. His widow is still living in Tioga.

FRANK H. ADAMS, only living son of Lyman N. Adams, and grandson of Capt. Lyman Adams, was born in Tioga borough, Tioga county, April 19, 1842. He received a common school education and later began clerking in the store of Thomas L. Baldwin, whom he bought out in 1865 and has since conducted the business successfully. He carries a stock valued at $10,000, and owns the building in which his store is located. Mr. Adams is one of the leading business men of Tioga, as well as a progressive, public-spirited citizen. September 26, 1868, he married Ellen M. Carpenter, a daughter of. A. Carpenter, of Warsaw, New York, and has one son, Walter C. In politics, he is a Republican, and in religion, a member of the Episcopal church. He is connected with Tioga Lodge, No. 373, F. & A. M .; Tioga River Lodge, No. 797, I. O. O. F., and Phoenix Lodge, No. 933, K. of H., in all of which he takes an active interest.

IRA MCALLISTER was born in Chenango county, New York, November 24, 1789. When about eight years old he came with Ambrose Millard to Tioga, Pennsylvania, and in later years settled on the site of Tioga village. In January, 1824, he mar- ried Mary F. Hall, a daughter of Roland Hall. She was born November 9, 1788, and became the mother of three children, viz: Thomas and Eliza, twins, born

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September 19, 1825, and R. P. H., who lives in Tioga. Mr. McAllister was a blacksmith and worked at his trade for a number of years. He died on March 29, 1854, and his wife, December 31, 1870.

R. P. H. MCALLISTER, youngest child of Ira McAllister, was born in Tioga village, Tioga county, August 17, 1828. He received a common school education, and after arriving at manhood engaged in farming and lumbering. In 1871 he furnished the ties for the Fall Brook railroad. Upon the completion of the road he was appointed ticket and freight agent at Tioga village, a position he held twenty-three years, resigning July 1, 1894, because of ill health. Mr. McAllister was married September 5, 1853, to Phoebe C. Hall, a daughter of Benjamin R. and Deborah Hall. Six children were born to this union, viz: Mary, who died July 5, 1889; David C., a resident of Tioga; Bennie R., who died in youth, and three that died in infancy. In politics, Mr. McAllister is a Democrat, and has filled the offices of constable, justice of the peace, school director, collector and supervisor. In religion, he is a Universalist, and is also a member of Tioga River Lodge, No. 797, I. O. O. F. He built and at one time owned every house in Tioga village, and still owns a number of them. He has made an honorable record as an enterprising and public-spirited citizen.

DAVID C. MCALLISTER, postmaster of Tioga, is a native of that borough and a son of R. P. H. McAllister. He was reared and educated in Tioga, and in 1889 em- barked in merchandising in Tioga village, as senior member of the firm of McAllister & Shay. In 1891 he bought his partner's interest and continued the business alone until 1893, when he sold out. On February 10, 1893, he was appointed postmaster of Tioga, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James T. Davis, which position he still holds. Mr. McAllister was married to Ruth H. Daily, a daughter of V. B. and Mary Daily, October 10, 1888, and has three children: Edna, Beatrice and Bennie. In politics, he is a Democrat, and served as township collector in 1890. Mr. McAllister is a member of Tioga River Lodge, No. 797, I. O. O. F., and also of Lawrenceville Encampment. He is one of the respected and popular citi- zens of his native place.

OBADIAH INSCHO was born in Delaware, in 1758, and was a descendant of one of the pioneer families of that State. He came to Tioga county, Pennsylvania, with his family, in 1798, and settled on the east side of the Tioga river, a short distance above the site of Lawrenceville. Here he cleared and improved a farm, upon which he dicd, May 9, 1820, aged sixty-two years, and was buried in the Bentley graveyard. His wife, whose maiden name was Judith Jennings, survived him until August 10, 1842. Their children were as follows: Polly, who married Dr. Simeon Power; John, Moses, Isaiah, Rachel, James, 'Thomas, Obadiah, Lavina M., who married John Kemp; Solomon, Ruth, who married Asa Lincoln, and Robert.

JOHN INSCHO, eldest son of Obadiah and Judith Inscho, was born November 1, 1789, and came with his parents to Lawrence township, Tioga county, in 1798. He was reared on the homestead farm, and married Lavina Mitchell, a daughter of Richard Mitchell, Sr. She was born at Mitchell's Creek August 26, 1795. After their marriage they settled in Tioga township, locating a little north of her father's place, at Mitchell's Creek. The following children were born to them: Richard J., Ruby K., wife of Alpheus Keeney; Obadiah, Judith J., wife of Rev. Samuel

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Broakman; John J., William M., Thomas M. and Lavina M. Mr. Inscho died April 20, 1865, and his wife, November 11, 1861.

RICHARD J. INSCHO, eldest son of John and Lavina Inscho, was born on the homestead in Tioga township, there grew to manhood, and married Ruth P. Parshall, a daughter of Asa and Susan (Keeney) Parshall. For a number of years after his marriage he resided in Jackson township, then purchased the Prutsman farm, just north of Tioga borough, where he passed the remainder of his life. By his mar- riage to Ruth B. Parshall, he became the father of the following children: Susan K., wife of Seth Snell, of Woodstock, Maryland; Lavina M., deceased wife of Ira H. Ayres, of Jackson township; Asa, deceased; John L., of Tioga borough; Jesse P., of Elmira, New York; Albert, deceased; William W., of New Camp, Penn- sylvania; R. Louisa, wife of T. F. Rolason, of Mansfield; Mary E., wife of Dr. J. W. Stewart, of Big Flats, New York, and Eva B., wife of Charles T. Rhodes, of Tioga. Mr. Inscho died January 20, 1875. His widow is a resident of Tioga.

JOHN L. INSCHO, eldest living son of Richard J. Inscho, was born in Jackson township, Tioga county, April 11, 1844, and was reared upon the homestead farm. He received a common school education, supplemented by a course at the Elmira Commercial College, from which he graduated in 1865. He remained on the farm until 1873, when he embarked in merchandising at Holiday. In 1875 he removed to Tioga and carried on a meat market and grocery there for several years. He is now a member of the firm of Alford & Inscho, coal dealers, and also of Inscho & Kimball, hardware merchants. Mr. Inscho was married February 13, 1868, to Mary E. Miller, a daughter of Cephas C. and Lucy D. (Kelley) Miller, and has had two children, Lena M. and Ida M., the latter of whom died June 17, 1882. Mrs. Inscho's father resides at Mill Creek, Tioga township; her mother died March 17, 1892, aged seventy years. The family are members of the Baptist church, and in politics, Mr. Inscho is a Prohibitionist, and stands high in the respect and esteem of the community in which he lives.

ALVAH C. BUSH was born in Bainbridge, New York, November 13, 1804, on the place originally located by his father and now owned by his youngest brother, Hon. Joseph Bush. His parents, Joseph and Betsey (Strong) Bush, were pioneers of Chenango county, New York, the first house in Bainbridge having been erected by his grandfather, Elnathan Bush. Alvah C. early displayed great energy and a | decided preference for an active business career. At the age of twenty-two he embarked in merchandising and lumbering, and by enterprise, industry and the exercise of good judgment his ventures proved successful. Desirous of finding a more favorable field of operation, he spent the years of 1830 and 1831 in traveling over the West, and in the latter year located in Tioga, Pennsylvania. Here in part- nership with his brother, Jabin S., he engaged in merchandising and lumbering on an extensive scale, and through his untiring energy became one of the leading business men of Tioga county. About 1872 he began operating in Wall street, New York, his ventures there also proving successful and adding to his reputation as an able and sagacious financier. During the last fourteen years of his life he and his wife spent their winters in New York City and their summers in Tioga. His Tioga residence was erected in 1841, and is one of the ideal homes of the county, as well as one of the landmarks of the borough. Mr. Bush was married in March,

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1831, to Ellen Bigelow, a daughter of the late Hon. Levi Bigelow, and a native of Bainbridge, Chenango county, New York, who came to Tioga about 1850. During his lifetime Mr. Bigelow occupied a number of positions of trust and honor, among them that of judge of the circuit court. Mrs. Bush died December 3, 1831, leaving an infant daughter, now Mrs. John A. Mathews, of Winona, Minnesota. He mar- ried for his second wife her sister, Anna Bigelow, also a sister of Mrs. Frederick E .. Smith, of Tioga. Mr. Bush was a Democrat, in politics, but never sought or held office, although he took a citizen's interest in public matters. He was fore- most. in every movement or enterprise calculated to promote the growth and pros- perity of the borough. In 1873 he established Bush Park, on the hillside east of town, as a free pleasure resort for the public. He was known as a large-hearted, public-spirited man; thoroughly practical in all business matters; untiring in energy, and well informed upon everything relating to the commercial interests of the country .. In his reading and studies he kept pace with the advanced thought of the day. Mr. Bush died on October 14, 1880, after an earnest and useful life of seventy-six years. His widow survived until August 11, 1895. She was a woman of culture and refined tastes, whose kindly acts, unostentatiously performed, gave her a high place in the esteem and regard of all within the circle of her acquaintance.

FREDERICK EMERSON SMITH was born at Amherst, Hampshire county, Massa- chusetts; November 15, 1822. His father was Samuel Smith, whose ancestors landed in this country, at the mouth of the Connecticut river, about 1635, and thence found their way upward and settled along upon its banks. His mother, Mary (Hastings) Smith, was a daughter of Thomas Hastings, a Revolutionary soldier, the fourth bearing that name in direct descent from Deacon Thomas Hastings, an emigrant from Ipswich, England, in the year 1634, and through him the family lineage runs back to a younger brother of Sir Henry Hastings, Earl of Huntingdon, a grandson of. Lord William Hastings, a Yorkist Nobleman, born in 1430, the family being one of the extremely few in England that can trace their pedigree as far back as even the Fourteenth century. Hastings, one of the Cinque Ports, still shows the remains of its castle, where William the Conqueror lodged before the decisive battle of Hastings, October 14, 1066, in which he defeated the English under Harold and overthrew the Saxon dynasty. Mr. Smith removed with his parents during boy- hood to Marion, New York, where he prepared for college at the Marion Collegiate Institute. In September, 1840, he entered the sophomore class in Union College, Schenectady, New York, and graduated with honors from that institution in July, 1844. When in college he was a Delta Phi, and was graduated with the honor of Phi Beta Kappa. In the same graduating class were James C. Duane, afterwards brigadier-general of the United States army, and chief engineer of the Army of the Potomac; Alexander H. Rice, ex-member of Congress and governor of Massa- chusetts for three terms, and Frederick Townsend, adjutant general of New York, and brigadier-general in the United States army. After graduation Mr. Smith was principal of Wolcott Academy, Wolcott, New York, for one year, and of the Academy at Clyde, New York, for the same length of time. Upon retiring from the princi- palship of the latter seat of learning, he commenced the study of law with Hon. Chauncey F. Clark, of Wolcott, New York. He removed to Tioga, Pennsylvania, in 1846, completing his law studies with Hon. John W. Guernsey, of Tioga, and

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was admitted to the bar of Tioga county in 1849, to the supreme court of Pennsyl- vania in 1852, and to the United States courts in 1865. In 1849 he formed a co-part- nership with Hon. Charles H. Seymour of Tioga, in the practice of law, which asso- ciation continued until 1853. On June 14, 1853, Mr. Smith was married to Stella F. Bigelow, of Tioga, the youngest daughter of the late Judge Levi Bigelow.

In early life Mr. Smith was a Democrat, but became a Republican upon the organization of that party, of which he was one of the founders. He ever after took an active and prominent part in sustaining and defending the principles enunciated by the Republican party and always had the courage of his convictions. In 1856 he was elected a presidential elector on the Fremont ticket and served with distinction, doing all in his power for the success of that ticket. In 1860 he was elected a presidential elector on the Lincoln ticket. During the dark days of the Rebellion, when the glorious Union seemed destined to be torn asunder, Mr. Smith sustained the Union cause with a fidelity and courage only equaled by the brave soldiers at the front, whose friend he ever was, contributing freely of his time and money in defense of the flag. In 1865 he was appointed a United States commis- sioner, which office he held until his death. In 1867 he was appointed United States register in bankruptcy for the Eighteenth (now the Sixteenth) district, which office he held until the repeal of that law, serving with distinction and having before him many important cases from both his own and other districts in the State. On June 13, 1879, he formed a partnership with Horace and Samuel W. Pomeroy, of Troy, Pennsylvania, in the well known banking house of Pomeroy Brothers & F. E. Smith, at Blossburg, the firm continuing under the same name until July 8, 1895, when it was succeeded by the Miners National Bank of Blossburg. In De- cember, 1883, when the banking house of B. C. Wickham & Company, of Tioga, failed, Mr. Smith was appointed one of the assignees. Considering the resources of that defunct house the affairs were executed in a manner that reflected much credit on his business ability. Mr. Smith was a prominent Mason, being first a member of Painted Post Lodge, No. 117, and afterwards one of the organizers of the present Tioga Lodge, No. 373, F. & A. M., of Tioga, chartered October 16, 1866. He was also a thirty-second degree member of the Supreme Council Ancient Ac- cepted Scottish Rite of Free Masonery, Corning Consistory, of Corning, New York; a member of Wellsboro Lodge, I. O. O. F., and a charter member and first Noble Grand of Adelphic Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Tioga, organized October 8, 1847. He was also one of the trustees of Union College, his alma mater, and always took a deep interest in the cause of education.

Mr. Smith was an able lawyer, at the bar or in the office, well grounded in the principles of law, and had few superiors in northern Pennsylvania as an orator or public speaker. He possessed in a high degree the necessary qualifications of the wise counsellor, successful lawyer and safe financier. Conscientious, just and equitable in all his dealings, and endowed with fine legal and literary attainments, he won a well-deserved reputation at the bar. He took much pleasure in collecting rare and valuable books and had one of the best literary and law libraries in the State. Possessing an upright and honorable nature, he required and demanded the same standard of honor from others. The young sought him for advice, and he was ever ready to assist them and point out for their guidance the higher and nobler

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aims of life. His public spirit, liberality and charity were always up to the fullest measure, and he was ever ready to give his support to every undertaking that had for its object the up-building of Tioga or the welfare and prosperity of its citizens. He was a polished, genial and courteous gentleman, a loving husband, a kind father and faithful friend. Mr. Smith died at his beautiful home in Tioga, on October 8, 1889, after an illness of but a few days. His widow and three sons survive him. Alvah Lee Smith is president of the Miners National Bank, of Blossburg; Fred- erick Bigelow Smith is an attorney at Tioga, and a representative in the state legis- lature, and Dr. William Clive Smith, a physician at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

ALVAR LEE SMITH, president of the Miners National Bank of Blossburg, is the eldest son of Frederick Emerson Smith, and was born at Tioga, Pennsylvania, May 15, 1855. He was educated in the schools of his native town, and in 1871 entered the State Normal School at Mansfield, remaining there two years, when he went to New York City to enter the preparatory schools for Columbia College. In 1876 he commenced the study of law in his father's office, but instead of seeking admission to the bar he decided to pursue a business career. On June 13, 1879, he entered the banking house of Pomeroy Brothers & F. E. Smith, at Blossburg, as book-keeper, and in September of the same year was appointed cashier and gen- eral manager of that institution. In July, 1895, he re-organized the business and established the Miners National Bank, which succeeded the old firm, of which he became cashier. The duties of this responsible position he discharged for seventeen years with such ability and fidelity as to gain for him a well-earned reputation as a capable and conservative financier, careful alike of the interests of the institution under his charge and of its patrons and depositors. On January 12, 1897, he was elected president of the bank, as the successor of S. W. Pomeroy, deceased. So- cially, Mr. Smith is a gentleman of culture, of easy manners and approachable by anyone. He is much interested in art, and his fine apartments over the bank are filled with rare works of vertu, such as costly etchings, oil paintings, statuettes, India ink engravings, costly rugs, vases and bric-a-brac. He is a director in the Miners National Bank, and a member of the City Club of Elmira, and the Knickerbocker Yacht Club, of New York. He is also resident agent of many of the leading life and fire insurance companies. In politics, Mr. Smith is an ardent Republican, and in religion, a member of St. Andrew's Protestant Episcopal church, of Tioga. In March, 1897, he was appointed a member of the board of trustees of the Cottage State Hospital at Blossburg-an appropriate recognition of his prominence in the community.

FREDERICK BIGELOW. SMITH, attorney-at-law, was born at Tioga, Pennsyl- vania, April 3, 1863, and is the second son of Frederick Emerson Smith. He was educated in the High School of Tioga, and entered the Kinne and Cascidilla pre- paratory schools at Ithaca, New York, in 1879, and Cornell University, in Septem- ber, 1881. After a course at Cornell he began the study of law in his father's office; entered the law department of Columbia College, New York City, in 1886, and graduated therefrom in 1888, with the degree of A. B. He was admitted to the bar of Tioga county in 1888, and to the supreme court of Pennsylvania in 1893. For nearly a year after his graduation he was employed in the recorder's office at Wellsboro indexing the records of that office, having been appointed by the court

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to do that work. In October, 1889, he began the practice of his profession at Tioga, and is now recognized as one of the rising young lawyers of the county, having many important estates in his hands for settlement. Mr. Smith possesses high literary attainments, and takes a great interest in the welfare and business pros- perity of his town, of which he has been secretary for a number of years. He is a member of Tioga Lodge, No. 373, F. & A. M., and of Tyagaghton Commandery, No. 28, K. T., of Wellsboro. He is a director in the Miners National Bank of Blossburg, and local agent at Tioga of the leading fire and life insurance companies. He is also a member of the City Club of Elmira, and City Club, of Corning, New York. In religion, he is a member of St. Andrew's Protestant Episcopal church of Tioga, and a vestryman in that body. Politically a steadfast Republican, he takes an active interest in promoting the success of his party. Mr. Smith was nominated for the legislature in the spring of 1896 and was elected in November following by the usual party majority.

WILLIAM CLIVE SMITH, M. D., third and youngest son of Frederick Emerson Smith, was born at Tioga, Pennsylvania, April 18, 1868. He attended the High School of his native town, and in 1886 entered Exeter Academy, at Exeter, New Hampshire, and remained there for two years. In October, 1888, he entered the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and spent two years at that institution. In 1890 he entered the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, where he graduated in 1893 with the title of M. D. After graduation he became resident physician of the City Hospital at Pittston, remaining there four months, at the end of which period he became resident physician of the City Hospital at Wilkes-Barre, which position he filled one year, leaving there to become resident physician of the Nursery and Childs Hospital, in New York City, devoted entirely to children under four years of age and having over 400 beds. In Novem- ber, 1895, Dr. Smith located at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, but still retains his old liking for Tioga and his native county. Dr. Smith has been very successful in his profession, has had a large hospital experience in surgical cases and children's diseases, and is a rising young physician. He is a member of the Luzerne County Medical Society, and the Westmoreland and Country Clubs, of Wilkes-Barre; also of Tioga Lodge, No. 373, F. & A. M., and of the Psi Upsilon fraternity of the Uni- versity of Michigan and University of Pennsylvania, and the Psi Upsilon Club of New York.

ROBERT BRUCE SMITH, physician and surgeon, son of Russell N. and Caroline (Sessions) Smith, was born at Marathon, Cortland county, New York, August 23, 1840. His paternal ancestry was of Holland-Dutch descent. There is a tradition in the family that its ancestors in this country accompanied Henry Hudson on his famous voyage of discovery, in 1609, and that two brothers, Nicholas and Jacob Smith, returned to the New World a few years later and established homes on the Hudson river, in the vicinity of Albany, then Fort Orange. There is in possession of the family a large iron-bound chest which tradition relates accompanied Hudson on the voyage of the Half Moon. This story is doubtless a myth, but the chest is certainly of extreme age and probably was brought from Europe at an early date. It is a matter of conjecture whether the ancestors of the Smith family were Dutch or English, but a long residence among the Dutch settlers of the Hudson river

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imbued the family with Dutch customs, manners and traditions. The first authen- ticated record of this line of the Smith family, is that Jacob Smith was living in Albany county, New York, in the middle of the last century, and that he died there about the year 1794. Among other ancient and curious papers found in the old chest, was a bond and deed executed to Jacob Smith, bearing date 1767, to which was affixed the royal seal of King George III, of England. Jacob Smith had four sons, viz: Nicholas, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, who was born at Albany, New York, in 1768; Hendrick, born at the same place in 1773, and two others who were carried off by the Indians and kept in captivity seven years before being restored to their parents. In 1795 Nicholas and Hendrick, accompanied by their mother, removed to Upper Lisle, Broome county, New York, where Nicholas became the owner of a large amount of land and a prosperous sheep grower. Here he continued to reside until his death, in 1852.

Russell N. Smith, the second child of Nicholas and Elizabeth (Cornell) Smith, was born in Lisle, Broome county, New York, in 1813. He was an extensive land owner, and was noted for his honesty, industry and thrift. He married Caro- line Sessions, a descendant of Samuel Sessions, a native of Wantage, England, and a member of the King's Body Guard. Samuel came to America in 1630, with Gov. Thomas Dudley, as farmer of his estate, and settled in Massachusetts. The ancestry can be traced in an unbroken chain to Caroline Sessions, who was born in Union, Tolland county, Connecticut, February 20, 1815. She married Russell N. Smith, at Marathon, about 1837, and became the mother of three children, viz: Charles, who died in infancy; Robert Bruce, a physician of Tioga, Pennsylvania, and Elbert Burke, of Lexington, Nebraska. Russell N. Smith died in Cortland county, New York, March 7, 1881. His wife, Caroline, died October 25, 1888.

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History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Part 131

Author: Publication date: 1897 Publisher: Harrisburg : R. C. Brown Number of Pages: 1454

Author:
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Harrisburg : R. C. Brown
Number of Pages: 1454