History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Part 40

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

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Calvary Cemetery is situated in the southern part of the borough limits, and is the burial ground for St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church. It contains eight acres, purchased in April, 1883, from Nelson Dunham, for $500, and deeded to Right Reverend Bishop O'Hara. It is neatly laid out in burial lots, drives and walks, and contains a number of handsome marble and granite gravestones and monu- ments. The location is elevated and overlooks the borough. This cemetery is well taken care of, and will in time be a really beautiful burial place.

SOCIETIES.

Tyoga Lodge, No. 230, I. O. O. F., was organized February 15, 1847, with the following officers: Robert C. Simpson, N. G .; William Garretson, V. G .; James P. Magill, S .; James S. Bryden, A. S., and James D. Booth, T. The lodge main- tained its existence for about ten years and then went down. In the spring of 1871 a sufficient number of the old members petitioned the grand lodge for a return of the charter. It was returned April 12, 1871, and the lodge reorganized, with the following officers: Andrew Foley, N. G .; H. W. Dartt, V. G .; N. T. Chandler, S., and Joseph Riberolle, T. The lodge now numbers 190 members.

Wellsboro Encampment, No. 78, I. O. O. F., was instituted April 10, 1848, with the following officers: John S. Williston, C. P .; James S. Bryden, H. P .; John F. Donaldson, S. W .; Edward W. Ross, J. W .; Simon H. Landis, S .; Joseph Weaver, T .; L. B. Reynolds, G. The encampment surrendered its charter about 1856 or 1857, and was re-instituted under the same charter March 27, 1873, the grand encampment officers of the State being present. The officers installed were: A. Foley, C. P .; Robert C. Simpson, H. P .; E. J. Brown, S. W .; N. T. Chandler, J. W .;

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Hiram W. Dartt, S .; Joseph Riberolle, T .; George O. Derby, G. The present mem- bership is sixty-seven.

Canton Keystone, No. 5, Patriarchs Militant, I. O. O. F., mustered March 13, 1886. The first officers were as follows: E. C. Deans, C .; Frank A. Deans, L .; Charles A. Sweet, E .; B. F. Milliken, C .; A. C. Rowland, A. There are now about forty members. This and the two preceding societies meet in the Odd Fellows' hall in the Jacobson block.

Ossea Lodge, No. 317, F. & A. M., was constituted January 11, 1858, with the following officers: Ebenezer Pratt, W. M .; William A. Roe, S. W .; William Roberts, J. W .; James Kimball, T .; Thomas B. Bryden, S .; Robert Roy, S. D .; Angus Griffin, J. D., and Hubbard Carpenter, T. The lodge now numbers 115 members. For a number of years previous to May, 1894, the lodge met in the Masonic hall in the Williams block. With the beginning of 1894, the lodge secured a lease of Annan- dale hall, previously used as an opera house, in the Simpson block. This was remodeled for the use of the lodge, the chapter and the commandery, the main auditorium being set apart as a hall, with ante rooms and club rooms at the rear. The gallery was inclosed and transformed into a dining-room. The lodge hall is two stories from floor to ceiling, the latter being studded with forty-eight thirty-two candle power electric lights. A rich velvet carpet covers the floor. The furniture is antique oak of massive Gothic design, the officers' chairs and the settees occu- pied by the members being upholstered in leather. This hall, now known as the Masonic Temple, is regarded as one of the largest and most finely furnished in the State, and those who enjoy the privilege of meeting in it are justly proud of its reputation as a model Masonic hall.

Tyoga Chapter, No. 194, R. A. M., was constituted August 15, 1859. The fol- lowing were the first officers: Robert C. Simpson, H. P .; William Butler, K .; A. W. Howland, S .; William Roberts, T .; Thomas B. Bryden, S., and Hubbard Carpenter, T. The chapter now numbers fifty-five members.

Tyagaghton Commandery, No. 28, K. T., was constituted June 12, 1867, with the following officers: Robert C. Simpson, E. C .; William Roberts, G .; Andrew Foley, C. G .; M. H. Cobb, P .; Robert Roy, T., and Thomas B. Bryden, S. The present membership is sixty-five.

George Cook Post, No. 315, G. A. R., was first organized February 6, 1872, as Cook Post, No. 224, with the following officers and members: Alanson E. Niles, C .; E. Jeffers, S. V. C .; George O. Derby, J. V. C .; Daniel Bacon, S .; Rev. D. D. Buck, C .; George W. Merrick, O. D .; E. J. Henry, O. G .; H. D. Deming, A .; Lucius Truman, Q. M .; George W. Sears, Q. M. S .; R. C. Bailey, S. M., and William S. Hoagland, Robert C. Cox, Benjamin Seeley, J. A. Hill, James M. Wilkinson, W. W. Webb and E. Whitney. Lack of sufficient numbers caused the post to lapse for a time. In March, 1883, it was re-organized as Cook Post, No. 315, with the fol- lowing officers: John A. Fletcher, C .; Jonathan V. Morgan, S. V. C .; Edwin B. Carvey, J. V. C .; David H. Belcher, Q. M .; Daniel Bacon, S .; J. W. Brewster, C .; A. E. Niles, O. D .; Joseph O. English, O. G .; John H. Buckley, A .; Sylvester Houghton, Q. M. S., and Samuel D. Evans, S. M. The post now numbers about 125 members. In 1884 the post purchased the old Baptist church building and a lot on the east side of Main street, north of the public square. The building was fitted up for the use of the post, the whole investment being about $1,500. It is

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also the meeting place of the Union Veteran Legion, and the Woman's Relief Corps. Sometime after the re-organization, by amendment to the charter, the name was changed to George Cook Post.

George Cook Corps, No. 88, W. R. G., was organized July 14, 1887, with seven- teen members. The first officers were as follows: Mrs. Antoinette Horton, P .; Mrs. Catherine Denmark, S. V. P .; Mrs. Albina Houghton, J. V. P .; Mrs. Belle M. Allen, S .; Mrs. Mary M. Miller, T., and Mrs. Isabella R. Boyce, C. There are now fifty-eight members. The corps meets in George Cook Post hall.

Tioga County Association of Ex-Union Prisoners of War was organized Feb- ruary 26, 1886, with the following officers and members: Jonathan V. Morgan, P .; James O. English, V. P .; D. H. Belcher, S .; L. Truman, T., and Peter D. Wal- bridge, Henry H. Smith, A. B. Horton, John J. Johnson, S. D. Moore and J. D. Strait. There are now thirty-one members. Owing to its members being scat- tered over the county no stated meetings are held, the members coming together, upon the call of the president, Jonathan V. Morgan, who has held that office since the organization.

Encampment No. 105, Union Veteran Legion, was organized May 2, 1892, with the following officers and members: George A. Ludlow, Col .; Thomas J. Davies, Lt. Col .; J. H. Buckley, Chap .; J. J. Rogers, Maj .; J. V. Morgan, O. D .; W. W. English, Q. M., and E. R. Allen, E. T. Kelley, J. C. Kriner, Alexander Leslie, D. H. Hotchkiss, J. H. Robbins, H. T. Graves, Bernhartt Metzgar, D. E. Bowen, David Hart, Ephraim Jeffers, John Fletcher, and Vihemus Culver. The following have served as colonels of the encampment: George A. Ludlow, 1892-93; Ephraim Jeffers, 1894; Noah Wheeler, 1895; J. C. Herrington, 1896, and Jonathan V. Morgan, 1897. There are now sixty-eight members. The encampment meets in George Cook Post hall.

Wellsboro Lodge, No. 949, K. of H., was organized March 17, 1879, with twenty members. It meets in the Converse & Williams block and now has twenty-five members.

Wellsboro Lodge, No. 72, I. O. G. T., was organized April 9, 1887, with twenty members. The first officers were as follows: H. D. Gifford, W. C. T .; Mrs. F. A. Johnson, W. V. T .; C. W. Sears, W. C .; Frank Watkins, W. S .; Mrs. C. H. Strait, W. A. S .; William G. Shaw, W. F. S .; F. A. Johnson, W. T .; James Vandusen, W. M .; Mrs. H. G. Ireland, W. I. G .; G. W. Merrick, P. W. C. T. This lodge now numbers about sixty-eight members in good standing.

Wellsboro Tent, No. 152, K. O. T. M., held its first review February 24, 1893, when twenty-one persons became charter members. A charter was secured April 15, 1893. The first officers were: A. A. Schand, P. C .; D. W. Navle, C .; George A. Weller, L. C .; S. L. Blair, R. K .; Charles E. Grinnell, F. K .; N. W. Mastin, Phy .; James Cummings, S .; Walter Brooks, M. at A .; S. L. Baker, M. F. of G .; D. C. Hughes, S. M. of G .; W. D. Furman, S .; D. J. Jackson, P. The tent is in a flourishing condition at the present time, and the membership exceeds sixty.

Wellsboro Hive, No. 45, L. O. T. M., was organized March 29, 1894, with twenty- eight charter members. The first officers elected were as follows: Mrs. A. B. East- man, L. P. C .; Mrs. A. A. Schand, P. C .; Mrs. O. L. Butts, L. C .; Mrs. Belle M. Allen, R. C .; Miss Minnie E. Burgin, F. C .; Mrs. Frank Baldwin, C .; Mrs. C. C.

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Kirtland, S .; Miss Anna Abernathy, L. M. at A .; Mrs. Robert Loyd, S .; Mrs. G. A. Weller, P. The hive now numbers thirty-three members.

Division No. 5, A. O. H., was organized April 22, 1894, with fifteen members. Its first officers were as follows: M. F. Moran, P .; W. B. Sullivan, V. P .; H. L. Kerwin, S .; M. J. McMahon, F. S., and E. J. Rogers, T. Its meetings are held in the K. of H. hall. The county organization of this order numbers about 300 members.

WELLSBOROUGH'S MILITARY BAND.

The first "Brass Band" in the county was the "Charleston Band," organized about 1850. Its leader was the late Col. Alanson F. Niles, the other members being as follows: Nathan and Nelson Austin, Sylvester Kelley, Lewis, Job and Almon Wetmore, Henry Dockstadter and Henry Dartt, all residents of Charleston township. This band maintained its organization for four or five years and fre- quently made its appearance in Wellsboro, being called upon to furnish music for public celebrations and festal occasions. Then came the Wetmore Band, composed of Louis, Job, Almon and Philip Wetmore. This was, however, a string band, organized mainly for the purpose of furnishing music for dances and other social merry-makings. When the Civil War came Job and Almon enlisted in Company H, Sixth Reserves, and were soon assigned to the First Brigade Band, Pennsylvania Reserves. Philip, who enlisted soon afterwards, did duty as a member of the Forty-fifth Regimental Band, and later as a bugler in the One Hundred and Eighty- seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers. After the close of the war this band was re- organized and continued in existence until 1880.

In 1870 a small brass band was organized in Wellsboro. Among its members were Arthur M. Roy, Frank A. Deans, and Job, Lewis and Almon Wetmore. It lasted two years. During the intervening years it has had a number of successors, the most notable being the Fire Department Band, organized in 1881; the Apollo Band, organized in 1883, and incorporated; the Academic Literary Society Band, and the Wellsboro Band, organized in 1896, and recently re-named Wellsborough's Military Band. From 1878 to 1880 Prof. Fred Hager, of Elmira, New York, was employed as instructor of the band then existing and brought it up to a high standard of excellence. In the meantime the Fischler brothers, all excellent musicians, had organized an orchestra. From these various bands have gone forth a number of noted players on wind and string instruments, prominent among whom is John D. VanOsten, the celebrated trombone player.

The band as now organized consists of thirty pieces. The instruments are the finest obtainable, and the individual members are all excellent musicians. Frank A. Deans, the leader, has been identified, as member and leader, with the various Wellsboro bands, since 1870. He has all the qualifications for successful leadership and has brought the band up to a high standard of excellence, until it ranks among the best bands in the State. The people of Wellsboro take a just pride in it and accord it a generous support.

CHAPTER XX.

WELLSBORO (CONTINUED).

THE TIOGA PIONEER-ITS EDITORS AND PUBLISHERS-REMOVAL TO TIOGA-EARLY ADVERTISEMENTS-THE PHOENIX APPEARS-THE TIOGA HERALD-GEORGE HIL- DRETH, THE OLD-TIME PRINTER-THE WELLSBORO ADVERTISER-THE WELLS- BORO AGITATOR-THE DAILY RECORD-THE TIOGA EAGLE AND ITS SUCCESSORS -THE WELLSBORO GAZETTE-THE TIOGA BANNER-THE HERMAIC JOURNAL- THE TIOGA COUNTY LEADER-THE REPUBLICAN ADVOCATE-A NOTED CORRE- SPONDENT.

HE first newspaper published in Tioga county made its appearance in Wellsboro, December 3, 1825. It was named The Tioga Pioneer, and its publishers were Rankin Lewis & Company. Rankin Lewis, whose name appears as "printer" in the assessment list of 1826, was in charge of the mechanical department. His uncle, Ellis Lewis, the other member of the partnership, and the editor, was a young attorney who had just located in Wellsboro. He was also a practical printer and had for a short time, while living in Williamsport, been connected with the Lycoming Gazette. The plant of the Tioga Pioneer consisted of a Ramage press-there were no others in those days-which had been secured at Sunbury and transported over the State road from Williamsport, together with a small quantity of type and other requisite material. The paper itself, which, considering the primitive condition of the town and county, was appropriately named, was a folio sheet, with four columns to the page, and bore this expressive motto under its name: "Knowledge is power-is wealth-is happiness." That it created a sensation among the few inhabitants of the town is not doubted, and they hailed its appearance as a harbinger of better times. Judge Morris, John Norris and other leading men of the village gave the enterprising young publishers their support and encouragement. They now felt that they were on a par with Williamsport, although the Lycoming Gazette had been founded in 1801, twenty-four years before.

That the Tioga Pioneer encountered many difficulties and discouragements at first, and was irregular in making its appearance, there is no doubt. Such was the fate of all enterprises of this kind started on the verge of civilization. The terms of the paper were $1.50 in advance; $2 at the end of six months, and $3 if not paid until the end of the year.

The connection of Ellis Lewis with the T'ioga Pioneer appears to have lasted about two years. Early in 1827 the plant was removed to Tioga and the publication continued there under the old name and firm, with William Garretson as editor, until 1828, when it was purchased by Rev. Elisha Booth and its name changed to the Northern Banner. The removal to Tioga was brought about by Dr. William Willard and his friends, who were also ambitious of having the county seat removed to their town. After the removal of the paper to Tioga and its purchase by Rev. Elisha Booth, William Garretson became the editor.

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During the two years the paper was in Wellsboro, Ellis Lewis was deep in the law, and had little or no time to devote to newspaper work. It will be seen by reference to his biographical sketch that he was politically ambitious; that he was living in Towanda in 1828 and in 1832 had become a member of the legislature, attorney general of the State in 1833, and before the year was out he was appointed a president judge. He was then only about thirty-five years of age. The time and effort he devoted to founding and editing a newspaper may have been the stepping stone to his political and judicial preferment. He gave aid and comfort to Governor Wolf, who showed his gratitude by rewarding him.

Copies of this old paper are very scarce. A copy before us, No. 7, of Vol. II, is dated Wellsboro, Saturday, January 13, 1827, from which, figuring back, it appears that the first number of Vol. 1 must have been issued December 3, 1825. Another copy (No. 24, of Vol. II), is dated Saturday, May 19, 1827. Both of these copies may be found among the collection of old papers owned by Arthur M. Roy, one of the editors and publishers of the Agitator.

The following advertisement, signed by Hobart B. Graves, and dated Willards- burg, March 5, 1827, is taken from the issue of Saturday, August 18, 1827:

The subscriber has established a distillery in the village of Williardsburg, for the purpose of manufacturing whiskey, which he is determined shall not be exceeded, if equalled, in point of quality by any made or offered for sale in this region of country, and will exchange for rye or corn on reasonable terms.

All things are good that he can mash, But none so good as grain or cash.

There is also a notice signed by the publishers, Rankin Lewis & Company, to the effect that "wheat, rye and oats will be taken in payment" for the paper, which was then issued at Willardsburg, to which place it was removed in February or March, 1827.

THE PHOENIX APPEARS.

The removal of the Tioga Pioneer to Tioga left Wellsboro without a paper until Saturday, August 18, 1827, when the first number of a new paper called the Phoenix made its appearance. The publisher was Benjamin B. Smith, a spirited and versatile writer, who became one of the representative men of the town. The motto of the new paper was: "The liberty of the press is the palladium of our rights." The paper was Democratic in politics and ardently supported Jackson and Calhoun for president and vice-president in 1828. Mr. Smith secured the services of John F. Donaldson, a young printer from Danville, through Tunison Coryell, who was then publishing the Lycoming Gazette, in Williamsport, and with his aid in the mechanical department the Phoenix started on its career with considerable spirit and vigor. Smith was a cultured and original writer, quite a humorist, and considerably above mediocrity in intellect.

The people of Wellsboro were greatly elated at again having a newspaper in their midst, as it placed them once more on an equal footing with their active rivals at Willardsburg. Politics, too, was rife in those days, and it is a question whether the political animosities were not more bitter and intense then than they are to-day. The Phoenix ran along quite smoothly for a few years, when it began to meet with reverses and trouble loomed up to retard its progress. Much of Editor Smith's

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attention was given up to looking after other business, and Mr. Donaldson was devoting some time to clerking in the prothonotary's office, and studying the politics of the day. The paper finally languished, grew weaker, and at last suspended. This was a blow to the prospects of the town. A county seat without an organ looked bad for the people, to say nothing of the aspiring politicians. Pressure and promises were brought to bear, and in 1833 Mr. Smith was induced to revive the Phoenix, in partnership with Charles Coolidge. But it did not last long under this manage- ment. Smith had tired of newspaper work; and disappointment had something to do with his decreasing interest. Consequently, in 1834, the paper was sold to John F. Donaldson, the old printer, who conducted it for two years. In January, 1836, Mr. Donaldson was appointed prothonotary of Tioga county by Governor Ritner. He had labored hard to secure the office, but when the three years passed away Governor Porter appointed A. S. Brewster. In 1839 the office became elective, when Mr. Donaldson obtained the nomination, and was elected; and through his political sagacity, aided by an exceedingly obliging disposition, he managed to be re-elected at the close of each term until 1872. With but a single break of one term he served altogether for thirty-six years-thirty-three of which were con- tinuous.

With the departure of Mr. Donaldson from the Phoenix it passed into the hands of Josiah Emery and Asa H. Corey, and they continued its publication until the summer of 1838, when it was sold to Mr. Hartman. He seems to have changed the name to Tioga Phoenix and Potter County Gazette. Soon after Emery again appears as publisher, with J. Merry as editor. The number before us giving these facts is dated March 17, 1838, whole number 491. This would indicate an existence of nearly ten and a half years. Hartman, who seemed to have a controlling interest, changed the name to the Herald, but it nowhere appears just when this occurred. The paper evidently had a precarious existence. Sometime in 1838 Hartman died and the establishment passed into the hands of Howe & Rumsey. In the meantime the politics of the paper seems to have been changed from Democratic to Whig, thus leaving the Democrats without a party organ.

THE TIOGA HERALD.

This paper, which appears to have been the successor of the Herald mentioned in the foregoing paragraph, began its career November 25, 1845, with Henry D. Rumsey as publisher. In December, 1846, George Hildreth took charge of the paper, which soon after came out as the Tioga County Herald. It was Whig in politics, and the plant was the property of a stock company, organized doubtless for the purpose of maintaining a party organ at the county seat.

Mr. Hildreth was a true type of the old-time printer. He was born in Delmar township, December 3, 1818, and in 1827, when but nine years of age, became an apprentice in the office of the Pheonix, soon after it was started by Benjamin B. Smith. The office of the paper was then in a room in the home of Mr. Smith, which stood on the site of the residence of Mrs. Sarah M. Billings, on Main street. In 1836, when Mr. Donaldson sold out, Hildreth went to Philadelphia, where he obtained a situation as compositor on the United States Gazette, which paper was afterwards merged into the North American. He worked there for a year and a half and was known as the most rapid typesetter in the office. He was frequently

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HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.

heard commenting upon his record of a daily average of 10,000 ems in composition while he was engaged in that city. This is considered a remarkable record among printers for a single day's work under pressure; but such an average, covering a long period, attests the faithfulness and untiring industry of the man.

In one sense Mr. Hildreth was the Nestor of the Agitator, the establishment in which he learned his trade being the progenitor of that paper, and the line being continued unbroken to this day. After retiring from the Herald Mr. Hildreth engaged in farming at Stony Fork and so continued for many years; but during that time if an extra hand was wanted in the Agitator office he was frequently employed until the rush was over. In January, 1870, he was regularly employed in the office and continued with little loss of time until 1890. In announcing his death, which occurred December 11, 1892, the Agitator gave this interesting sketch of his life:

Mr. Hildreth was forced to give up his work here by reason of failing health and de- clining mental vigor. For many months before he relinquished his place at the "case" it was noticeable to those around him by

The types decreasing click, click, As they fell within his "stick," That of his life's clock the tick Was running down.

He was an accurate compositor, untiring and faithful in the discharge of his duty, and his great fund of general information made him a most valuable helper in the de- partment for which he had been specially trained. Mr. Hildreth was a printer of the old school. He knew comparatively nothing of the art of job printing, and he used to say that when he was young that department of the printing business was a mere cipher, a few posters or an occasional sign-card or legal form being the extent of the demand made on a country printer, and even of such work the jobs were few in a year.

When we come to think of the experiences of Mr. Hildreth in early life, we are for- cibly reminded that in no business or practical art has there been greater improvement during the last half century than in the appliances and machinery for printing. When young Hildreth worked in the Phoenix office, that paper was printed on a Ramage hand- press, and it is probable that all the type and tools of the office were worth less than $300, and if that paper had a circulation of 300 copies it was considered good in those days. The forms were made up and proofs taken and corrections made on the press. The type- forms were inked with two balls made of leather and stuffed with cotton; and when the composition rollers came into use, by which the speed of printing the papers on those old hand-lever presses, "the levers of the world," could be increased to 250 or 300 an hour, those old-time newspaper proprietors felt more pride over the matter than a proprietor does to-day in fitting out his office with stereotyping machinery and a perfecting press capable of turning out in an hour 15,000 completely printed and folded newspapers.

Mr. Hildreth's paper cutter was a shoe knife and a straight-edge. Besides his crude press, fifty years ago a dozen fonts of type, all told, comprised the outfit, besides a wood stove, a mallet, shooting-stick, composing-stick, and perhaps a wooden galley or two. This reminds us that in the Agitator office to-day is an old wooden galley made of pine, the only connecting link left to remind us of the Phoenix of sixty-five years ago, when typesetting at night was done by the light of tallow "dips," and when to be an editor meant also to be business manager, typesetter, pressman and chore boy-and it was a precarious living at best.

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History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Part 40

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