History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Part 140

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

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he was stationed at St. Louis as a member of the court martial board, and was honorably discharged with the regiment at Fort Leavenworth in September of that year. The following December he returned to Mansfield, and in February, 1866, went into the mercantile business with J. S. Murdough and his brother, D. H. Pitts, the firm being Murdough & Pitts Brothers. In 1869 the firm became Pitts Brothers, and so continued until 1879, when Aaron M. withdrew and embarked in the lumber and real estate business. He later engaged in the sale of agricul- tural implements and buying grain, which he continued until failing health com- pelled him to retire. Captain Pitts was married May 1, 1866, to Fannie A. Bixby, a daughter of Amos and Lydia G. (Sheffield) Bixby. She was born in Yonkers, New York, May 4, 1839, and came to Mansfield with her parents in 1844. Two children were born of this union, viz: Harriet, wife of Rev. Charles K. Newell, a resident of Big Flats, New York, and Wayne A., a merchant of Mansfield. Though a life-long Democrat, Captain Pitts was proud of having voted for Lincoln in 1864. He was a trustee of the Mansfield State Normal for many years, and was a prominent member of the G. A. R. and the Tioga Valley Grange. He died October 2, 1891. For over quarter of a century he was one of the leading citizens of Mansfield, noted for his energy, enterprise and public spirit.

DANIEL H. PITTS, son of Apollos Pitts, was born in Mansfield, Tioga county, May 11, 1839, and was educated in the common schools and Mansfield Classical Seminary. After leaving school he worked on the homestead farm until April, 1861, when he enlisted in Company K, Fifth Pennsylvania Reserve, and served with his regiment until June, 1864. Among other battles, he participated in the Seven Days' Fight before Richmond and the battles of the Wilderness, where he was wounded in the right arm. After his discharge from the service, he became sutler of the Seventh Kansas Cavalry, and continued as such until the close of the war, when he returned to Mansfield. In February, 1866, he became a member of the firm of Murdough & Pitts Brothers, which three years later was changed to Pitts Brothers. In 1879 his brother, Aaron M., withdrew, and Frank Hart acquiring an interest, the firm then became D. H. Pitts & Company. A short time afterwards Mr. Pitts purchased Mr. Hart's interest, and has since carried on the business alone, his store now being the leading mercantile establishment in Mansfield. Janu- ary 4, 1870, he married Jennie Bodine, a daughter of Frederick Bodine, to which union have been born three children, viz: Clyde D., Eva B. and Lew F. In poli- tics, Mr. Pitts is a Democrat, and has served as burgess, member of the council, and school director. As a business man, his career has been one of uninterrupted success, and he justly ranks as one of the leading citizens of his native county. His store stands upon the spot where he was born, and the large business which he has built up is the most enduring and appropriate monument that it could bear to mark the growth and development of the town. Mr. Pitts has been a warm friend of the State Normal School, and has served for many years as a member and president of the board of trustees. He has taken an active interest in local and national politics, and has been a delegate to many county conventions. In 1888 he was a delegate from this congressional district to the National Democratic Convention at St. Louis that re-nominated Grover Cleveland for the presidency.

JOHN F. PITTS was born in Richmond township, Tioga county, July 3, 1849,

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and is the youngest living child of Apollos Pitts. He was reared on a farm, and was educated in the common schools of his township. When twenty-one years of age, he purchased one-half of the old homestead, and in 1891 bought the other half, making a farm of 300 acres, located a short distance southeast of Mansfield. In December, 1871, Mr. Pitts married Sarah J. Baker, a daughter of Russell Baker, of Charleston township, and has four children, viz: Mary E., Raymond D., Josephine M. and Arthur H. Mr. Pitts gave his whole attention to farming until his election, in November, 1893, to the office of county commissioner. His term expired January 1, 1897, since which time he has devoted himself to his farm. He had previously served as supervisor of Richmond township, in 1889 and 1890. Like his father, Mr. Pitts has been a life-long Democrat, and is a stanch supporter of Democratic principles. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., and the family adhere to the Metho- dist Episcopal church. Mr. Pitts is not only one of the leading farmers of his town- ship, but is one of the substantial, enterprising and progressive citizens of his native county.

AMOS BIXBY was born in Windham county, Vermont, and was reared in Sus- quehanna county, Pennsylvania. He was a son of Darius and Rachel (Smith) Bixby, natives of Vermont. In January, 1836, he was married in Earlville, New York, to Lydia G. Sheffield, and in 1844 came to Mansfield, Tioga county. He first engaged in the lumber and general merchandising business, and in building canal boats at a yard northeast of the borough bridge crossing Tioga river. He later became a railroad contractor and built several sections of the New York and Erie road, being also engaged in track laying on that and the Northern Central. He built and operated the plaster and paint-mill at the south line of what is now Mansfield borough; also a saw-mill on the same site. In connection with the mills was a farm on which he resided for ten years preceding his death. Mr. Bixby was a stanch Whig and later a Republican. He was greatly interested in the varying fortunes of the Mansfield Seminary, now the State Normal School, and served many terms as a trustee. He also filled the office of county commissioner for two years, resigning in 1862 on account of ill health. He died August 4, 1862, leaving a wife, one son and two daughters. His wife died in 1881. The children are as follows: Joseph Newell, who died in 1895; Fannie A., widow of Capt. A. M. Pitts, and Harriet M., who died in 1863.

DANIEL SHERWOOD, a son of Henry Sherwood, was born in Connecticut, Oc- tober 23, 1774, and was a descendant of Thomas Sherwood, who came to America in 1634 and settled in New England. While yet a young man the subject of this sketch removed to the vicinity of Marathon, Cortland county, New York, where he was married March 30, 1800, to Anna Stevens, a daughter of John Stevens. She was born May 8, 1783, and became the mother of nine children, all of whom are dead except Hiram M., of Mansfield. In 1830 Mr. Sherwood, several of his sons, and his brother, Noah, came to Tioga county and settled a short distance below the site of Lamb's Creek, where they built a saw-mill. In 1839 they removed to Mansfield, where Mr. Sherwood continued to reside until his death, April 7, 1859. His wife died February 9, 1848. Before coming to Tioga county, Mr. Sherwood represented Cortland county, New York, in the state legislature for several years, and usually made the journey to and from Albany on horseback. He was the founder

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of the Baptist church at Mansfield, of which his son, Rev. Abijah Sherwood, was the first pastor. He was a man of intelligence, strict integrity and good business ability. His son, Daniel Lee Sherwood, born near Marathon, New York, December 5, 1809, represented Tioga and Potter counties in the legislature in 1842-43, and Tioga and Bradford in the State Senate from 1844 to 1846, being speaker during the latter year. From 1877 to 1880 he was a representative from Northumberland county. He died at Northumberland, Pennsylvania, October 7, 1886.

ALBERT SHERWOOD, son of Daniel Sherwood, was born near Marathon, New York, August 27, 1817, and was about thirteen years old when his parents came to Tioga county. In early life he devoted his attention to lumbering, and after the family removed to Mansfield he engaged in farming. On May 28, 1845, he mar- ried Julia A. Clark, a daughter of Justus B. and Catherine (Hart) Clark, of Rich- mond township, to which union were born the following named children: Andrew J., deceased; Daniel Andrew, a resident of Mansfield; Anna M., wife of Daniel L. Fralic, of Corning, New York, and Clark B., who resides in Mansfield. Mr. Sher- wood was for many years a Democrat, but in later life acted with the Prohibition party. He was one of the early trustees of the State Normal School at Mansfield, and the longest in service, and some years before his death was made an honorary trustee for life. He was also a member and a deacon of the Baptist church of Mans- field. He died September 4, 1896, aged seventy-nine years.

DANIEL ANDREW SHERWOOD was born at Mansfield, Tioga county, July 16, 1848, a son of Albert Sherwood, and grandson of Daniel Sherwood. He obtained his education in the common schools, the State Normal School of his native town, and the University of Chicago. In 1870 he assisted in the Geological Survey of Ohio, under Prof. J. S. Newberry, and was also engaged for five years in field work on the New York Survey, under Prof. James Hall. From 1873 to 1878 he assisted in the Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, with Prof. J. P. Lesley, working principally in Tioga, Bradford, Lycoming and Potter counties. During the World's Fair in Chicago, he was the manager of the Pennsylvania Mineral Exhibit. He has also been in the employ of the Anchor Oil Company in surveying and locating wells. Mr. Sherwood was married April 17, 1872, to Jennie L. Knapp, a daughter of A. M. and Elizabeth Knapp, of Lawrence township, and has five children, viz: Anna L., Hugh M., Mattie J., Lola I. and Jennie E. Mr. Sherwood is a member of the Baptist church, a writer of gospel hymns and sacred songs, and takes an interest in religious work. In politics, a Prohibitionist, he was the candidate of that party for the Assembly in 1884, and for Congress in 1894. He is one of the well-known residents of Mansfield, where nearly his entire life has been passed.

CLARK BURR SHERWOOD, youngest child of Albert Sherwood, and grandson of Daniel Sherwood, was born upon the old homestead at Mansfield, Tioga county, February 23, 1852, and was educated in the common schools. After arriving at manhood, he adopted farming as his avocation and has successfully pursued it up to the present time. Mr. Sherwood married Sarah E. Smith, of Lawrence township, a daughter of Morton and Deborah (Ingersoll) Smith, formerly of Fairfield county, Connecticut. They are the parents of three children, named as follows: Julia Floy, by a former marriage; Lorena J., and Daniel Albert. In politics, Mr. Sherwood is

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a Democrat, with independent tendencies. He is a member of the Patrons of Hus- bandry, and is one of the prominent and successful farmers of his native township.

DR. JOSEPH P. MORRIS, son of Isaac W. and Sarah (Paschall) Morris, and grandson of Capt. Samuel Morris, a soldier of the Revolution, was born in Philadel- phia, Pennsylvania, February 8, 1809. In 1834 he came to Tioga county, and soon afterwards located in Blossburg, there being at that time only a few families in the place. He became a member of the Arbon Coal Company, the first company formed to develop the Blossburg coal and iron deposits, among his associates being James R. Wilson, of Philadelphia; Dr. Lewis Saynisch, of Blossburg, and James H. Gulick, of New Jersey. He also was interested in and helped to build the Tioga railroad. In 1842 he purchased of James R. Wilson 1,100 acres of land, formerly the Asa Mann property, for $12,000. This included nearly all the ground now occupied by the borough of Mansfield. Here he resided until 1846, devoting his time to his land and to the practice of medicine. In the latter year he moved to Wellsboro, resided there up to 1854, and then returned to Mansfield. As the village increased in population, his land was laid out in town lots, and the sale of these and the pro- motion of enterprises calculated to advance the growth of the town, kept his time fully occupied, although he occasionally answered the call of those needing his medical services. Dr. Morris was one of the original friends and promoters of the Mansfield Classical Seminary and gave six acres of land as a site for that institu- tion. He served as trustee and corresponding secretary of the Seminary for many years, and was one of its stanchest friends, giving liberally of his means towards its support. He was later a trustee of the State Normal School for some years, and also gave the site for the Protestant Episcopal church at Mansfield. Dr. Morris was married November 2, 1836, to Sarah E. Morris, a daughter of Judge Samuel Wells and Anna (Ellis) Morris. Her father was a son of Benjamin Wistar Morris, a pioneer of Wellsboro, and married Anna Ellis, a daughter of William Ellis, of Muncy, Lycoming county. To Dr. Joseph P. and Sarah E. Morris were born three children, viz: Alfred, born September 6, 1837, and died June 17, 1860; Catherine, widow of Charles F. Swan, and James Wilson, a civil engineer of Galion, Ohio. In politics, Dr. Morris was a Republican, and an earnest supporter of that party. He died December 17, 1892, at the ripe age of nearly eighty-four years. Though eighty years of age, Mrs. Morris is bright, active and energetic, and gives her per- sonal attention to all matters pertaining to her late husband's interests. She pos- sesses a fund of interesting information concerning the early history of Mansfield, her memory of dates and events being remarkably clear and accurate.

OLIVER ELLIOTT, a son of Nathaniel Elliott, was born near Portland, Maine, May 13, 1805. In 1808 his parents came to Tioga county and settled near Coving- ton, removing to Cherry Flats in 1820. Here his father died in 1840, aged seventy- one years, and his mother, in 1845, aged seventy-nine years. Mr. Elliott married Mary Ann Rockwell, of Troy township, Bradford county, in 1826, who became the mother of eight children, viz: Orson V., a merchant of Mansfield; Oliver W., who died in the army; Anna B., deceased wife of Irving S. Harkness; Thomas D., a resident of Mansfield; Victor Alanson, a resident of Denver, and for twelve years circuit judge, and five years judge of the Supreme Court of Colorado; and Mary and Silas, both deceased. Mrs. Elliott died in 1846, and in 1847 he married her

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widowed sister, Mrs. Julia Bailey, who died in 1849. In 1850 he married Maria Harkness, a daughter of Joel and Almina Harkness, early settlers of Covington township. Three children were born to this union, only one of whom grew up, Judson A., a resident of Mansfield. From 1836 to 1849 Mr. Elliott resided on his farm near Mansfield, but in the spring of 1850 he returned to Cherry Flats, where he carried on a general store until 1868. From 1868 to 1872 he was a partner with his eldest son, Orson V., in the shoe business at Mansfield. In 1872 he sold his interest to his son and removed to Charleston township, and engaged in farming. A year later he returned to Mansfield, and in 1876, with his youngest son, Judson A., purchased the mercantile business of William Adams, and established the firm of 0. Elliott & Son, in which he continued until his death, April 24, 1891.

THOMAS D. ELLIOTT, a retired farmer of Mansfield, was born in that borough in 1834, and is the fourth child of Oliver and Mary Ann (Rockwell) Elliott. He followed farming for some years, and later conducted a meat market in Wellsboro, whence he removed to a farm in Charleston township, and subsequently to Mans- field. He married Julia A. Macumber, of Richmond township, and reared three children, viz: Nettie, wife of S. C. Peake, of Troy, Bradford county; Walter V., a dentist of Waverly, New York, and George H., deceased. Mr. Elliott and wife are members of the Baptist church. In politics, he is a Republican, and served in the Rebellion as a member of the One Hundred and Forty-ninth Pennsylvania Vol- unteers.

GEORGE H. ELLIOTT, youngest child of Thomas D. Elliott, and grandson of Oliver Elliott, was born in Richmond township, Tioga county, July 4, 1863. He was reared on the Homestead farm, and obtained his education in the district schools and at Wellsboro High School. When twenty-two years of age he began running a huckster wagon in Charleston township, which business he continued five years, at the end of which time he purchased a farm of 112 acres in Delmar township, on which he resided until his death, January 26, 1897. Mr. Elliott was married October 14, 1885, to Louise H. Coolidge, a daughter of D. K. and Mary A. (Meacham) Coolidge, and left one child. He was a member of the Baptist church, to which his widow also belongs. In politics, he was an adherent of the Republican party.

LARMAN H. ELLIOTT was born in Ancrum, New York, June 4, 1794, a son of William Elliott. He acquired a fair English education in his youth and later learned the mason's trade. In 1804 he came to Pennsylvania and settled at Wysox, Bradford county, where he witnessed the great eclipse of 1806. He afterwards went to Sheshequin, in the same county, where, September 9, 1821, he married Mary Wright, a daughter of Matthew Wright. She was born in Lisle, Broome county, New York, December 23, 1804. In 1841 they came to Tioga county and located in Middlebury township, where he followed farming, school teaching and working at his trade. In 1848 they removed to Mansfield, which remained their place of residence until their death. Mr. Elliott died April 12, 1872, and his wife, December 28, 1888. They were the parents of two sons, Charles Volney and Simon Bolivar.

CHARLES VOLNEY ELLIOTT, M. D., son of Larman H. and Mary Elliott, was born in Sheshequin, Bradford county, Pennsylvania, March 27, 1824, and was

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seventeen years old when his father removed to this county. He read medicine with Dr. Nelson Packer, of Wellsboro, and afterwards took a course of study at Geneva Medical College, Geneva, New York. In 1847 he began the practice of his pro- fession in Mansfield. In the autumn of 1856 he removed to Hudson City, Wis- consin, but in 1859 returned to Mansfield, resumed his practice here, and also opened a drug store, which he carried on up to 1891, when he sold out to J. M. Smith. In 1860 he was appointed postmaster of Mansfield, and held the office for twelve years. In 1876 he was elected to the legislature, and was re-elected in 1878. He has also served as burgess of Mansfield, a member of the borough council, and as trustee of the State Normal School. Dr. Elliott was married in August, 1847, to Eliza A. Graves, a daughter of Elisha Graves, of Troy, Bradford county. Their only child, Mary E., is now the wife of Dr. C. W. Brown, of Washington, D. C. Mrs. Elliott died November 2, 1862, and Dr. Elliott married for his second wife, Julia Alice Holden, a daughter of D. L. and Elizabeth (Mudge) Holden, of Mans- field. The only child of this marriage, Arthur H., was born September 4, 1867; is a graduate of the College of Pharmacy, Philadelphia; married E. Mattie Doane, and is now a druggist in Wellsboro. In politics, Dr. Elliott is a Republican, and in religion, an adherent of the Protestant Episcopal church. He is also a member of Friendship Lodge, No. 247, F. & A. M. Dr. Elliott retired from business and the practice of his profession in 1891, since which time he has devoted his attention to the cultivation of his pleasantly situated homestead in the northern suburbs of Mansfield. During the many years he was engaged in the practice of medicine, he not only earned an enduring reputation as a skillful and successful physician, but has long been regarded as one of the foremost citizens of the county. His services in the legislature and in the various other offices he has filled, were characterized by an unfaltering fidelity to duty and an unwavering adherence to principle. True to every trust reposed in him, he enjoys the respect and esteem of the community in which the greater portion of his life has been spent.

WILLIAM M. BARDEN, M. D., was born in Benton, New York, February 14, 1812, and was educated at Geneva Medical College. He married Olive Hanley, a native of Hector, Schuyler county, New York, to which union were born four chil- dren, viz: O. P., recently deceased, who for many years was a practicing physician in Tioga borough; Samuel O., a resident of Richmond township; Olive Louise, who died in infancy, and John M., a physician of Roseville, Tioga county. Mrs. Barden died in 1847, in Benton, New York, and in 1852, Dr. Barden came to Mans- field, Tioga county. He was the first homeopathic physician in the borough, and, notwithstanding the prejudice in favor of the old school, he soon established a repu- tation as a skillful and successful practitioner. He died September 30, 1884.

JOHN M. BARDEN, M. D., son of Dr. William M. Barden, was born in Benton, Yates county, New York, January 23, 1834. He was educated in the common schools and at Peach Orchard Academy, Hector, New York, studied medicine under his father, and was admitted to practice in 1862. He located at Roseville, Tioga county, where he continued his professional duties until 1881, when he removed to Mansfield. Here he practiced his profession until April, 1895, when he returned to Roseville, where he now resides. Dr. Barden was married to Harriet H. Ketchum, a daughter of Joseph and Phoebe Ketchum, January 5, 1860. Her parents came

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from Lisle, Broome county, New York, to Mansfield, in 1858. Four children have blessed this union, as follows: Kate, wife of A. W. Stevenson, of Mansfield; Estelle, wife of J. C. Gallop, of Smethport, Mckean county; John L., who lives with his parents, and Otis, who died in infancy. Dr. Barden is a stanch Republican, and while a resident of Mansfield filled the office of burgess, served in the borough council, and was president of the board of trade, and the Smythe Park Association. He is a member of the Baptist church, also of Friendship Lodge, No. 247, F. & A. M., and Mansfield Lodge, No. 526, I. O. O. F. He is connected with the Southern Tier Homeopathic Association, of New York, and is one of the well-known practi- tioners of his school of medicine. To a successful career as a physician, Dr. Barden has added that of a citizen ever ready to forward the best interests of the commu- nity in which he lives.

ANDREW J. Ross was born in Pike township, Bradford county, Pennsylvania, February 23, 1827. His father, Isaac Ross, was an early settler of Bradford county, and also a contractor on the North Branch canal, where Andrew J. was employed as a foreman. He afterwards clerked in a store at Stanton, Pennsylvania, and in 1854 located in Wellsboro, Tioga county. A year later he removed to Mansfield, and in partnership with the late Philip Williams, under the firm name of Ross & Williams, engaged in merchandising. In 1860 the firm added lumbering to their business, and in 1865 sold out the store, but continued their lumber operations, and also opened a loan office. On May 24, 1872, they established the banking house of Ross & Williams, of which Mr. Ross continued as senior partner until his death, August 18, 1875. On April 22, 1856, he married Sarah McKune, a daughter of James McKune, to which union were born two children, Charles S. and Edward H. Mrs. Ross died on July 9, 1882, aged fifty-two years. During the thirty years of his residence in Mansfield, Mr. Ross was prominent both as a business man and a citizen. He took a deep interest in the building up of the borough, and gave a cordial and earnest support to every enterprise having that end in view. He was a warm friend of the Mansfield Classical Seminary, and its successor, the State Normal School, during the years it was beset with difficulties and vicissitudes, and served on the board of trustees and as treasurer of the institution for a number of years. In politics, he was a Republican, and in religion, a member of the Protestant Episcopal church.

CHARLES S. Ross, eldest son of Andrew J. Ross, was born in Mansfield, Tioga county, February 14, 1857. He was educated in the State Normal School, from which he graduated in 1876. Immediately afterwards he entered the banking house of Ross & Williams, as the representative of his father's interest, and in the summer of 1878 he succeeded to the place in that firm made vacant by his father's death. After the death of Mr. Williams, in July, 1894, Mr. Ross carried on the business as surviving partner, until January 1, 1895, when he became the sole proprietor, but continued under the old firm name. In politics, Mr. Ross is a Repub- lican, but has never sought or held office.

EDWARD H. Ross, youngest son of Andrew J. Ross, was born in Mansfield, Tioga county, November 10, 1865. He was educated at the State Normal School, Mans- field, and the military academy at White Plains, New York, from which institution he graduated in 1883. He studied law in the office of Elliott & Watrous, of Wells-

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History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Part 140

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