History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Part 21

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

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HENRY ALLEN was born in Smithfield, Bradford county, Pennsylvania, August . 10, 1823, and was the third son of Ezra Allen, who came to Pennsylvania from Hali- fax, Vermont, in 1819. He was of the sixth generation from James and Anna Allen, who came probably from Scotland, and settled in Dedham, now Medfield, Massachu-

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setts, in 1639, the line of descent being as follows: Joseph, youngest son of James and Anna Allen; Nehemiah, youngest son of Joseph; David, sixth son of Nehemiah; David, Jr., first son of David; Ezra, second son of David, Jr., and Henry, third son of Ezra. The subject of this sketch studied law in Cherry, Luzerne county, under Judge Dietrick, and in Smithfield, Bradford county, under Judge Bullock, and was ad- mitted to the Bradford county bar in 1854. He soon after came to Mansfield, Tioga county, where he continued in the practice of his profession, and filled the office of district attorney from December, 1859, to December, 1862. In March, 1860, he was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and in 1570 to the United States district court. He was a law clerk in the office of the in- ternal revenue department at Washington, D. C., from September, 1864, to October, 1865, when he resigned on account of ill health. In 1869 he was ap- pointed notary public and held the office during the remainder of his life. On Octo- ber 25, 1846, Mr. Allen married Elizabeth Fralic, a daughter of Benjamin Fralic, of Richmond township. She died January 9, 1862. He was again married March 25, 1863, to Jean M. Butts, a daughter of Lorin and Harriet Butts, of Mansfield. Her parents were natives of Canterbury, Connecticut, and came to Mansfield in 1832. Mrs. Allen became the mother of one daughter, Fredrika Bremer, now the wife of George A. Clark, of Mansfield. Mr. Allen died January 4, 1888, aged sixty-four years, and his wife, May 12, 1896, aged seventy-two years. In politics, he was a Republican, and in religion a member of the Baptist church. He was also connected with the Masonic order, in which he was a Knight Templar. Mr. Allen was zealous, painstaking, industrious and persevering in behalf of his clients, and occupied a prominent place in his profession. He was the first burgess of Mansfield, was at different times a member of the school board, and was prominently identified with the borough's history.

SAMUEL E. KIRKENDALL was born in Barton, Tioga county, New York, March 29, 1834, a son of Ilenry P. Kirkendall, and was eight years old when his parents came to Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania. IIe attended the common schools in the win- ter, and worked at farming and lumbering in the summer, until he was sixteen years old. He then went to a private school for about a year, and finally entered the Lawrenceville Academy, which he attended about two years. When only nineteen years of age he received a certificate authorizing him to teach in the common schools, and he taught until 1857. Ile then commenced the study of law with Kasson Park- hurst, of Lawrenceville, and was admitted to the bar of Tioga county in 1859. In 1860 he located at Millerton, where he followed teaching for thirteen years, and then began the practice of his profession, to which he has since devoted his attention. Mr. Kirkendall married Jerusha Tillinghast. a daughter of Charles Tillinghast, of Jackson township, Tioga county, whose father was a captain in the Continental army, and whose grandfather was Gien. John Lamb, of Revolutionary fame. Mrs. Kirkendall died October 3, 1895. She was the mother of four children, viz: Arthur, Ella May, Pratt and Franz Joseph. Of these, Pratt, now a student at Mansfield State Normal School, is the only survivor. In politics, Mr. Kirkendall is an ardent Demo- crat, and has been the nominee of his party on several occasions for important offices, among them that of president judge. He is one of the oldest member of the Tioga

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county bar, and has also been admitted to the United States district and circuit courts for the Eastern district of Pennsylvania.

WALLACE PULASKI RYON, son of Judge John Ryon, was born in Elkland, July 18,1836, and was educated in the Lawrenceville Academy, Lawrenceville; Lima Col- lege, New York, and Dickinson Seminary, Williamsport. He studied under the pri- vate tutorship of Rev. Sidney Mills. He read law with his brother, Hon. John W. Ryon, now of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, and was admitted to the Tioga county bar in 1861. He then clerked for his brother, John W., who was paymaster in the Penn- sylvania Reserve Corps, and in the spring of 1862 located at Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, and practiced one year. He next removed to Pottsville and practiced with his brother, John W., until 1879. From 1869 to 1872 he was cashier of the Pennsylvania National Bank, of Pottsville, and in 1873 president of the Merchants' Exchange Bank of the same place. From 1879 to 1882 he was connected with the coal and iron busi- ness in Philadelphia. In the latter year he returned to the old homestead in Law- renceville, and has since devoted his attention to farming and the practice of law.

GEORGE W. RYON, a well-known lawyer and banker of Shamokin, was born in Elkland, Tioga county, April 30, 1839, a son of George L. Ryon, now a resident of Lawrence township. He read law in the office of his uncle, Judge James Ryon, then practicing at Tamaqua, Schuylkill county, was admitted to the bar of that county September 10, 1861, and soon after opened an office at Lawrenceville. In 1869 he located in Shamokin, where he has since continued in the active duties of his profes- sion and won prominence at the bar of Northumberland county.

HON. JEROME B. NILES is one of the prominent and best-known members of the Tioga bar. He was born at Niles Valley, Tioga county, September 25, 1834, and is the only child of Aaron Niles by his marriage to Mrs. Betsey Kilbourne, widow of John Kilbourne and daughter of Rufus Butler. His youth was spent on his father's farm at Niles Valley, and he attended the common schools of the neighborhood until the fall of 1856, when he entered Union Academy, at Knoxville, where he remained a year. In the fall of 1858 and 1859 he taught the district school at Wellsboro. He finished reading law under the direction of Hon. Henry Sherwood, and was admitted to the bar at the September term of 1861. After filling several minor offices he was, at the session of the Pennsylvania legislature of 1862, appointed message clerk to the House. This was the beginning of his political career. In the spring of 1862 he was appointed mercantile appraiser of Tioga county, and in the fall of the same year he was elected district attorney and was re-elected in 1865. He filled the office very acceptably for six years. In 1864 he was again message clerk of the lower house of the legislature. In the meantime he had taken up his residence permanently in Wellsboro and entered into a law partnership with Stephen F. Wilson, which relation continued until the latter went upon the bench. In 1868 he was elected a member of the legislature and re-elected in 1869 without opposition. At this time Tioga county was only entitled to one member in the House, and as much important legislation was demanded a great deal of work necessarily devolved on him. It was during these sessions that a strenuous effort was made to dismember Tioga by taking away a portion of her territory to assist in forming a new county to be called Minnequa. Mr. Niles took an active part against the movement and contributed largely to its defeat. The act incorporating the Jersey Shore, Pine Creek and Buffalo Railroad Company was

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passed during the session of 1870, and received his ardent support upon the unani- mous vote of his constituents. In 1872 he was elected a member of the Consti- tutional Convention from the district composed of Cameron, Mckean, Tioga and Potter counties. He took a prominent part in the proceedings of that body, and was the author of the article relating to the formation of new counties. In 1880 he was again elected a member of the House, and in the ensuing session took a prominent position as a legislator. He developed great aptitude for leadership and took a con- spicuous stand in the movement which culminated in the election of Hon. John I. Mitchell, of Tioga county, as United States Senator. Mr. Niles was re-elected a member of the House in 1882, and in view of the creditable reputation he had made during his several terms in that body, he became the nominee of the Republican caucus for speaker. As, however, the Democrats had a majority, he was defeated for election. In 1883 he was nominated by the Republicans for auditor general of Pennsylvania and was elected. His term began on the first Monday of May, 1884, and his three years' administration of the office was marked by no deviation from the excellent record he had made in the public positions he had previously filled. The Philadelphia Times, in an article on "Lawyers of the State." published February 16, 1896, refers to General Niles' term as auditor general in the following language:

Upon the proper administration of the office the revenues of the State largely de- pended, and no incumbent of the position ever made a more earnest or more suc- cessful effort to give the State the utmost revenue possible under the laws. The law of 1885, making realized capital pay its fair share of the taxes, was in large part framed In his office. During his term the funds for ordinary expenses and for redeeming two and a half millions of the funded debt and the purchase of three and a half millions of government 4s for the sinking fund were provided. The annual reports of Auditor General Niles were model state papers, and his last annual report contains a statement covering banks and banking which attracted much attention and excited comment on its publication. During his term he suggested many reforms, recommended the repeal of defective laws and, as before stated, was largely instrumental in the framing of the law of 1885, by which the taxable basis of money capital was augmented one hundred and fifty per cent.

In 1890 he received nearly the entire vote of Tioga county for the Republican congressional nomination in the Sixteenth district, but the nomination was given to Clinton county. In 1892 this county again sent him to the legislature, and at the session of 1893 he introduced the bill to equalize taxation and was prominent in putting it in proper shape and advocating its passage. He was re-elected in 1894 and was an active participant in the debates of the long session of 1895, and strongly advocated the passage of the apportionment bills. In addition to his long legislative career, General Niles has devoted unremitting attention to his large legal practice. For many years he was counsel for the county commissioners. He also represents large real estate interests, prominent among them being the Dent and Bingham estates, and the Pennsylvania Joint Land and Lumber Company. He has a well fitted office in Wellsboro, which is filled with a large and valuable library.

General Niles was married July 18, 1858, to Phoebe Ann Toles, a daughter of Ransler Toles, and has three children: Aaron R., Alfred J., and Anna. The family are Presbyterians, and Mr. Niles is a K. T. in the Masonic order, and also a member of the I. O. O. F.

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HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.

HON. MORTIMER F. ELLIOTT, eldest son of Col. N. A. Elliott, of Mansfield, was born at Cherry Flats, Tioga county, September 24, 1840, and was educated in the common schools and at Alfred University, in Allegany county, New York. On his return from school he commenced the study of law under Hon. James Lowrey and Hon. Stephen F. Wilson, of Wellsboro, and was admitted to the bar June 2, 1862. At the time of his admission the Tioga bar possessed a strong array of able lawyers, but not in the least daunted he opened an office and entered the legal arena. His close application to business and his power as an advocate before a jury soon won for him a wide reputation and a large practice. Such a favorable im- pression did he make upon the people of the county, that he was selected as the Democratic candidate for president judge in 1871, and ran against Hon. Henry W. Williams. Although the Republican majority was large, he reduced it several thousand votes and gave Judge Williams a close race for the office. In 1872 he was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention and served with credit in that distinguished body. At the Democratic State Convention of 1882 he was nomi- nated for congressman-at-large, much against his will, and even after his name had been withdrawn by his order; but the times seemed to require his acceptance and he yielded to the popular demand of his party. He made the race and was elected, and served in the Forty-eighth Congress with great credit to himself and the State at large. In 1890 he was nominated by his party for Congress, to represent the Six- teenth district, and, though the district was largely Republican, he came within fifty-one votes of defeating A. C. Hopkins, his Republican opponent. Soon after this he accepted a position as attorney for the Standard Oil Company, since which time his headquarters have been at Oil City, Pennsylvania, though he also spends a portion of his time at the office of the company in New York City.

Mr. Elliott possessed marked natural ability for the profession of the law, which has been highly trained and developed by many years of rigid application and success- ful practice. He has pursued its study with devotion and has attained a prominent place in the legal arena of his native State. While a resident of Wellsboro his practice extended into many of the adjoining counties, where his great strength as an advocate, both in criminal and civil cases, was fully recognized by his con- temporaries. To the logical faculty, he adds the persuasive, and is equally strong at the counsel table and in the trial room. His arguments are terse and epigramatic, or discursive, as the cause and occasion may seem to require, and whether addressed to the court or jury, are strong, clear and convincing. As a lawyer, his strongest traits of character are his honesty, persistent industry and capacity for work; his sound knowledge of the law; his good judgment of men and facts; his great tact and power as an advocate before the jury, and his logical presentation of a legal proposi- tion to the court. A client who secures the services of Mr. Elliott never gets a half-hearted support. When he enters into a legal contest all his energies are given to the cause of his client, and when he wins a victory he never clamors for extreme measures against the defeated side. He is considered by his old associates at the bar of Tioga county as one of the best all-round lawyers in Pennsylvania. Mr. Elliott married Miss Sarah J. Merrick, a daughter of Israel Merrick, Jr., and sister of Major George W. Merrick, of Wellsboro. Though naturally proud of the high place he has attained and the success he has won in his chosen profession, he

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is nevertheless the same plain, unpretentious and affable gentleman as before. Mr. Elliott is one of the most popular citizens of his native county, and his success and eminence as a lawyer are referred to with pride by the companions of his boyhood days.

NORMAN H. RYAN, spelled by the other members of the family "Ryon," was born in Lawrence township, Tioga county, December 1, 1839, a son of Samuel Ryon, a sketch of whom appears in this work. He was educated in the common schools and at Lawrenceville Academy, subsequently took a collegiate preparatory course at Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, Lima, New York, and spent three years at Genesee College, where he won the prize for the best declamation. In 1860 he graduated from Union College, Schenectady, New York, in full classical course, which com- pleted his education. Returning to Tioga county he began the study of law with Lowrey & Wilson, of Wellsboro, later studied with Hon. John W. Guernsey, of Tioga, and was admitted to the bar April 4, 1863. In December, 1864, he located in practice at Amboy, Lee county, Illinois, where he continued in the active duties of his profession until the spring of 1878. During this period he filled the offices of city attorney and prosecuting attorney of the city court of Amboy. From 1870 to 1872 he served in the Illinois legislature frora the Eighty-fifth district, the first after the adoption of the new constitution, which codified and remodeled the laws of the State. In 1822 he was presidential elector, on the Republican ticket, of the Fourth congressional district of Illinois, and stumped the district for his party. For eight years he represented that district in the State Republican committee. In the spring of 1878 he removed to Bloomington, Illinois, and practiced there until the spring of 1882, tighting his way to a front place at the bar. The malarial climate of Illinois seriously affected his health and he returned to his old home in Lawrenceville, where he remained a few years re- cuperating his shattered constitution. During this time he familiarized himself with the laws and practice of Pennsylvania and then located in Wellsboro, where he has since enjoyed a lucrative practice. Mr. Ryan was married August 16, 1865, to Elizabeth MeIntyre, of Elbridge, New York, and has two children, Stella M. and Frank W.

JEFFERSON HARRISON, a native of Wellsboro, was born July 24, 1838. ITis father, William Harrison, came from New Jersey to Wellsboro in 1833. Mr. Har- rison received his education in the common schools and the "Old Academy," so fondly remembered by the older inhabitants of the borough. He read law under the direction of Hon. Henry Sherwood, commencing in 1862, and was admitted to the bar in 1864. He at once entered on his profession, which he has followed up to the present time. He is secretary nnd treasurer of the Wellsboro Water Company and takes a deep interest in that important public improvement. He has also been connected with the Pine Creek Railway Company for many years, and in January, 1897, succeeded the late IIon. Henry Sherwood as president of that company.

('LARK W. BEACH Was born in Dryden, New York, June 29, 1829. He studied law under IIon. Henry Sherwood and was admitted to practice in 1865. He located at Westfield, where he has since practiced his profession.

FRANK W. CLARK was born in Richmond township. Tioga county, August 21, 1839, a son of Elijah Pincheon and Fanny (Fitzgeraldl) Clark. and grandson of

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Elijah and Lydia (Mixter) Clark. He was reared in his native township, and re- ceived his education in the public schools of Mansfield, Wellsboro High School, and Mansfield Classical Seminary. He spent the summer of 1863 in the west with his invalid brother, Daniel E., remaining with him until his death. In the early part of 1864 he commenced the study of law under Hon. Henry Sherwood, of Wellsboro, with whom he remained two years. Upon his admission to the bar, in 1866, he located in Mansfield, where he has since resided and practiced his profession. Mr. Clark was married September 9, 1875, to Lelia S. Cole, a daughter of Alston J. and Mary B. (Adams) Cole, of Mansfield, who has borne him two children, viz: Fanny and Julia Genevieve. In politics, Mr. Clark is a Democrat, and has been quite active in promoting the interests of his party. He has served as chairman and secretary of the Democratic county committee for several years, and has been the nominee of his party for the legislature, and twice for district attorney. He has filled various municipal offices, has been a trustee of the State Normal School, and for the past three years has been borough attorney and secretary of the council. He is also president of the Mansfield Hook and Ladder Company. In religion he is a Presby- terian. Mr. Clark is not only a prominent and successful lawyer, but one of the progressive and public-spirited citizens of Mansfield.

JOHN WILLARD ADAMS, only living child of William and Ruth Ann Adams, and grandson of Capt. Lyman Adams, was born in Tioga township, Tioga county, February 8, 1843, and was about twelve years old when his parents removed to Mansfield. He received a good education, studied law with his father and the late Henry Allen, and was admitted to practice in November, 1867. Mr. Adams was married April 27, 1868, to Marian A. Vincent, who has borne him three children, viz: Ruth O., Edna Lou, and Edith, who died in infancy. Ruth graduated at the State Normal School in the class of 1889, and Edna in that of 1893. Ruth married Arthur G. Brown, of Elmira, New York, and has one son, John Willard Adams, born January 6, 1892. In politics Mr. Adams is a Republican, and takes an active interest in public affairs. He is a stockholder in, and has been a trustee of, the State Normal School and has always been a friend of education. During the past twenty-nine years he has built up a lucrative practice, has been quite successful in his profession, and is one of the leading members of the bar of his native county.

WALTER SHERWOOD was born in Knoxville, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, No- vember 21, 1843, and is the only child of the late Hon. Henry Sherwood, for many years one of the best known citizens of Tioga county. His parents removed to Wellsboro when Walter was three years old, where he received a common school and academical education. He taught the primary department in the Wellsboro Academy one year, and was then made principal of the Wellsboro High School, which position he filled one year. During this time he studied law in his father's office, and at the end of his first year as principal of the High School he gave up that position and devoted his entire attention to the study of the legal profession. He was ad- mitted to practice in 1867, acted as clerk for his father for two years and was then taken into partnership, the firm being known as Henry Sherwood & Son. They did a very large business up to the fall of 1888, when his father retired from the active duties of the profession and the present firm of Sherwood & Owlett was then formed. Mr. Sherwood was married March 23, 1870, to Juliet E. Nichols, a daughter of

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Judge Levi I. and Sarah J. (Brown) Nichols, to which union have been born three children, viz: Harry N., a member of the bar; Anna J., and Allen. The family are members of the Protestant Episcopal church, and Mr. Sherwood is connected with the I. O. O. F. Politically, he has always been a Democrat, and has given his earnest support to the measures and principles of that party. He has served in the borough council sixteen years, and as burgess four years. He is also a director in the Pine Creek Railway Company. Mr. Sherwood is one of the best informed men in Tioga county on all matters pertaining to its history. He possesses a remarkable memory, and has freely given much valuable information in the preparation of this work. Kind, courteous and obliging at all times, he is held in high esteem by the best people of the community.

HON. CHARLES TUBES was born in Elkland township (now Osceola), Tioga county, Pennsylvania, July 11, 1843, and is a son of James and Anna (Gleason) Tubbs. Ile early evinced a taste for learning, which was gratified in the common achools of the district. At the age of thirteen he was sent to Union Academy, then under the principalship of S. B. Price, and he subsequently studied at the same institution under Prof. A. R. Wightman. In 1860 he taught school at Osceola, Union Academy and Mill Creek, and for a short time in 1861 at Wellsboro Academy. He then entered Alfred University, and in 1863 was admitted to Union College, Schenectady, from which he was graduated in the classical course in July, 1864. In 1865 he entered the law department of Michigan University, Ann Harbor, from which he was graduated in March, 1861. Returning home he was admitted to the bar of 'Tioga county, and in connection with his other business affairs, has since practiced his profession at Osceola. In March, 1896, he. was admitted to the United States district court.

Having a taste for politics, Mr. Tubbs served as transcribing clerk of the House of Representatives, Harrisburg, during the session of 1869, and took an active part in caucuses, conventions and elections of the Republican party. In 1876 and Ists he was presiding officer of the Republican county convention, and in 1878 and 1880 he stumped the county for his party. In the latter year he was nominated without opposition as one of the representatives of Tioga county in the legislature and was elected. During the session of 1881 he served upon the judiciary, elections, federal relations and judicial apportionment committees, and was appointed by Governor Iloyt a member of the commissions on prisons. He was re-elected to the House in 1882, thus serving two terms in that body. In 1579, 1883 and 1501 he represented 'Tioga county in the Republican State Conventions, and for many years has been a prominent factor in the local councils of his party.

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History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Part 21

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