History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Part 86

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

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gave liberally to religion, charity and education, and was one of the most generous citizens of Wellsboro throughout his long and active business career. Mr. Bailey wielded a wide influence in the local councils of the Democratic party, and was a stalwart in his fealty to its principles and candidates. He was chairman of the county committee a number of years, represented the county in several state con- ventions, and was a delegate to the national convention at Chicago in 1892. He served in the borough council several terms, and also filled the offices of burgess and school director, always taking a deep interest in the growth of the public school system.

On Christmas Day, 1843, Mr. Bailey married Margaret L. Lewis, a daughter , of Thomas Lewis, of Charleston township. She was born October 17, 1827, and died November 19, 1883, after a happy companionship of nearly forty years. They became the parents of twelve children, ten of whom grew to an adult age, as follows: Eva A., wife of Dr. M. L. Bacon, of Wellsboro; Edward, deceased; Llewellyn L., of Wellsboro; Ada B., deceased wife of Louis Doumaux; Morton S., a resident of Colorado; Lloyd J., of California; Leon O., who lives in Indiana; Lee M., deceased; Fred W., a resident of Denver, and Mildred L. On November 28, 1889, Mr. Bailey married Mrs. Julia McClelland, a daughter of Michael Dunkle, of Jersey Shore, who yet survives. He died July 12, 1892, soon after his return from the Democratic National Convention, and was buried with Masonic honors, as he was a member of Ossea Lodge, No. 317, F. & A. M. The whole community sincerely mourned the death of one whose place could not be easily filled-a man whose warm, friendly greeting and substantial assistance brought sunshine into many a weary and discouraged heart. On the day of his funeral the stores and shops in Wellsboro were closed and a large delegation of workingmen marched in the funeral procession as a mark of respect to his memory.

LLEWELLYN L. BAILEY was born in Charleston township, Tioga county, January 30, 1849, a son of John W. Bailey, and grandson of Roswell Bailey. He was educated in the public schools and at Mansfield State Normal, and when seventeen years of age entered a drug store in Blossburg, where he clerked three years. He then came to Wellsboro and worked for his father two years, at the end of which time he established a feed and supply store at Antrim. Two years later he sold out and entered the First National Bank of Wellsboro as book-keeper, which position he filled from 1873 to 1882. In 1880 he was elected a director and served until July, 1896. He was made assistant cashier in 1882 and acted as such until January 1, 1893, when he became cashier, and occupied that position until October, 1894, when he resigned to take charge of the estate of Philip Williams. In January, 1897, he was elected vice-president of the Wellsborough National Bank. Mr. Bailey mar- ried Elizabeth C. Hill, a daughter of Rev. H. F. Hill, of Lindley, New York. Seven children blessed this union, named as follows: Mabel E., deceased; Arthur L., book-keeper for Mathers, Graves & Company; Harry F:, Margaret L., John W., Edith A. and Catherine F. Mrs. Bailey died June 11, 1888, and he was again married to Carrie J. Hastings, a daughter of E. H. Hastings, of Wellsboro. The family are adherents of the Baptist church, and in politics, Mr. Bailey is a Democrat. He has filled the offices of school director and councilman for two terms each, and is one of the enterprising and progressive citizens of his native county.

HON. MORTON S. BAILEY was born in Charleston township, Tioga county, July /

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3, 1855, a son of John W. Bailey, and was reared on the homestead farm. Removing to Wellsboro with his parents in 1870, he attended the Wellsboro High School and later followed teaching for a short period. He graduated at Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, in 1880, and soon after went to Colorado, where he began at once the study of law, and was admitted to practice in August, 1882. He soon developed into political prominence and was elected to the State Senate by the Democratic party in a district at that time largely Republican. After serving one session, he was elected in the autumn of 1891, judge of the Eleventh Judicial district and resigned his seat in the Senate to go upon the bench. Judge Bailey was re-elected in 1894, as the candidate of the Democrats and Populists. The Eleventh district had heretofore been Republican, and his election twice in succession was a high tribute to his worth and popularity. Judge Bailey is recog- nized in his State as a lawyer of solid legal attainments and unquestioned integrity, and he has won a high reputation for the impartiality and fairness of his decisions. In the fall of 1896 he was the Democratic nominee for governor of Colorado, but failed of election.

LEON O. BAILEY was born in Charleston township, Tioga county, June 21, 1857, and was educated in the public schools of Wellsboro and at Cornell University. He later removed to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he studied law in the office of Baker, Hord & Hendricks, and was admitted to the bar of Marion county at the age of twenty-three. In 1886 he was elected to the State Senate, as a Democrat, and served one term as assistant to the attorney general of Indiana. He was sub- sequently the Democratic nominee for Congress in that district, and also served as city solicitor of Indianapolis, in which city he still resides.

JULIUS M. BAILEY, second son of Clark W. Bailey, was born in Charleston township, Tioga county, March 30, 1835, was educated in the common schools, and has followed agriculture the greater portion of his life. He also operated for a time a saw and grist-mill in his native township. On February 11, 1856, he married Eunice Benedict, a daughter of Marcus and Lucy (Jennings) Benedict, of Charleston township, to which union have been born five children, viz: Ransom W., Alice E., deceased wife of Garrett Campbell; Flora A., who died in infancy; Lucy B., wife of Frank Rockwell, and Lora V., wife of Peter L. Abrams. In January, 1893, Mr. Bailey and his son, Ransom W., purchased their present business in Wellsboro, and in April, 1894, he removed his family to that borough, where he has since carried on the wagon, farm implement and harness business.

RANSOM W. BAILEY, eldest child of Julius M. Bailey, was born in Charleston township, Tioga county, October 24, 1857, and obtained his education in the public schools and the State Normal School of Mansfield. He afterwards taught school for two years, and for the following three years worked on his father's farm, and then purchased a farm in Charleston township, upon which he lived seven years. Forming a partnership with his uncle, Clark B. Bailey, he went to Elkland and engaged in the foundry and agricultural implement business, which he followed three years. On January 1, 1893, he and his father purchased their present business in Wellsboro, where they have since been engaged as dealers in wagons, farm implements, harness, etc. Mr. Bailey was married June 23, 1879, to Lena Partridge, a daughter of Chester and Rachel Partridge, of Charleston town- ship, and has four children, viz: Edith M., Eunice, Julius and Catherine. The

Jur Bailey

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family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Bailey is connected with the Knights of Honor.

ELLIS M. BODINE was born in Jersey Shore, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, January 3, 1801, a son of Isaac and Catherine (Casper) Bodine. His father came from New Jersey with the Mannings in the last decade of the Eighteenth century, and settled in Jersey Shore, Lycoming county, where both he and wife died. Ellis M. was the third in a family of seven children. He grew to manhood in his native town, where he attended the public schools in boyhood, and learned the tanner's trade with Abram Lawshe, of that place. In 1827 he married Margaret Shearer, a daugh- ter of James Shearer, an early settler of Lycoming county, and in 1828 came to Wellsboro and purchased the Joseph Fish tannery. He conducted this business until 1846, when he erected a larger building, in which he carried on the business up to 1848, when the plant was burned. He then became a farmer, and followed agriculture until five years before his death, when he sold the farm to his son, Abram L., and retired from active labor. Nine children were born of his marriage with Margaret Shearer, as follows: Sarah E., wife of Dr. H. S. Greeno, of Kansas City, Mo .; Isaac M. and Abram L., residents of Wellsboro; Ellis B., who died at the age of fifty-six; Ellen A., widow of Rev. M. F. DeWitt; Catherine A., wife of John W. Wright, of Washington, D. C .; Lewis T., a resident of Chicago; Robert W., of Wellsboro, and Margaret A., wife of Charles M. Moore, of Williamsport. Mrs. Bodine died February 3, 1845, in her thirty-third year, having been born March 2, 1812. Mr. Bodine was again married, to Anrilla H. Coolidge, a daughter of Amos Coolidge, who bore him two children: Henry F., of Billings, Montana, and Ida, who died at the age of twenty-five years. Mr. Bodine died in Wellsboro, August 14, 1889, in the eighty-ninth year of his age. His widow resides with Abram L. Bodine, of Wellsboro, and is in her eightieth year. Mr. Bodine was active in the cause of education, and the part he took in organizing the first common schools in the borough will be found related in the chapter on the schools of Wellsboro. He was also foremost in promoting the interests of his adopted home, and lived long enough to see it become a thrifty and prosperous town.

ISAAC M. BODINE, a son of Ellis M. and Margaret (Shearer) Bodine, was born in Wellsboro, Tioga county, February 4, 1830, and was educated in the common schools of the borough. From 1848 to 1850 he clerked in the store of C. & J. L. Robinson, and during the years 1850 and 1851 he traveled through the South. Upon his return to Wellsboro he accepted the position of superintendent of the mines at Blossburg, where he had charge of the company store and also acted as paymaster for eight years. In 1860 he returned to Wellsboro and built the saw-mill on Queen street, now operated by S. A. Hiltbold. The same year he also purchased the farm in the northwestern part of the borough upon which he now lives, and during recent years has devoted his attention to farming. Mr. Bodine was married September 9, 1863, to Mary E. Stowell, a daughter of Hezekiah and Anna Stowell, and has two children, viz: Anna, wife of Clarence E. Shumway, of Corning, and Mayne C., and employe of the Fall Brook Coal Company in the same city. Mrs. Bodine died January 26, 1876, aged thirty-five years. In politics, Mr. Bodine was an old line Whig until the organization of the Republican party, with which he has since affiliated. In religion he is an adherent of the Protestant Episcopal church.

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He has served a number of years as deputy sheriff, fifteen years as a justice of the peace, and has filled various borough offices.

ABRAM L. BODINE was born in Wellsboro, Tioga county, October 9, 1832, and is the second son of Ellis M. and Margaret Bodine. He attended the public schools of his native town, and when twenty-one years of age began clerking in a general store at Blossburg, where he later engaged in merchandising, which he followed about thirteen years. He was also in the hotel business at Blossburg and Morris for a period. In 1882 he purchased the homestead farm from his father, and two years later sold it and bought his present one in Delmar, now occupied by his son, William T., and finally took up his residence in Wellsboro, where he now lives. Mr. Bodine was married February 3, 1855, to Julia A. Tillotson, a daughter of Napoleon B. Tillotson, of Delaware county, New York, born February 3, 1839. Five children are the fruits of this union, viz: Ada M., William T., Frederick M., Catherine J. and Henry E. Mr. and Mrs. Bodine are members of the Presbyterian church. In poli- tics, he is independent, and is connected with the Patrons of Husbandry.

WILLIAM T. BODINE, eldest son of Abram L. Bodine, was born in Wellsboro, Tioga county, August 15, 1861, and obtained a public school education. He has devoted his entire attention to farming, and has charge of his father's farm in Delmar. On January 4, 1882, he married Ettie G. Wilkins, a daughter of Alva Wilkins, of Morris, and has three children: Alfred W., Josephine M. and Julia C. Mr. Bodine and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and also of the Patrons of Husbandry. In politics, he is a Democrat, and one of the enter- prising farmers of Delmar.

FRED. M. BODINE, D. D. S., was born in Wellsboro, Tioga county, September 23, 1867, a son of Abram L. Bodine, and grandson of Ellis M. Bodine. He was educated in the public schools of his native town, and graduated in dentistry from the University of Pennsylvania in the spring of 1892. He opened an office in Wells- boro, in June, 1892, where he has since devoted his attention to the duties of his profession, and has built up a good practice. Dr. Bodine was married on August 23, 1893, to Adelaide Shaw, a daughter of Rev. A. C. Shaw, of Wellsboro. He is a member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the dental fraternity, Delta Sigma Delta, and Edwin T. Darby Dental Society of Philadelphia, and both he and wife are members of the Presbyterian church.

ERASTUS P. DEANE, a native of Petersham, Massachusetts, born November 26, 1809, was a son of Daniel and Jerusha (Houghton) Deane. His father was born in Petersham, in 1771, a son of Jeremiah Deane, a native of Dedham, Massachusetts, and spent about eighty years of his life on a farm in his native State. He died at the home of his son, Erastus P., in Delmar township, Tioga county, October 10, 1866, aged ninety-five years. Erastus P. was reared on a farm, and received an academic education, devoting particular attention to the acquisition of the knowl- edge of surveying, a business he followed throughout his whole life. In a letter written to a friend in 1879, Mr. Deane tells how he came to settle in Tioga county. He says:

I came to Wellsboro April 25, 1834, very much broken in health. I left Petersham, Worcester county, Massachusetts, with the design of spending the summer somewhere among the Allegheny hills, and fetched up at Wellsboro. As my health was somewhat

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improved, I agreed to take charge of the Academy three months, designing at that time to go south in the early autumn. The three months' engagement having expired, and no teacher having been employed, I agreed to continue the school a month and a half longer. At the expiration of that time-October 12, 1834-I was so much mended up that I went into the woods with my compass, where I have been most of the time since.

He had received a fine education, which not only qualified him for teaching, but surveying also. He purchased a farm in Delmar, and June 29, 1837, he mar- ried Mary E. McEwen, a native of Philadelphia, eldest daughter of John McEwen, also of Delmar township. He went to work with a will and cleared a fine farm which he took great pleasure in cultivating, as his tastes ran largely to agriculture. His profession of land surveying led him into all the counties of northern and central Pennsylvania, and he acquired much knowledge regarding the location of surveys. One of his great natural gifts was his wonderfully retentive memory. It was in fact phenomenal, and was of invaluable service to him in his profession. His ability to recall dates and data, and to identify marks and localities in the woods, was remarkable; and then to make it doubly sure, his correctness was found to be so absolutely true, that no doubt was entertained when his statement was heard. Mr. Deane lived on his farm in Delmar until 1874, when he moved his family into Wellsboro, where he resided until his death, September 22, 1881, which was caused by injuries sustained by falling into a railroad culvert at Corning, New York, while on his way to Williamsport to attend court. His wife died April 30, 1879. When he came into the county his health was poor, but constant exercise in the pure mountain air, and on his farm, made him strong and vigorous. He was inclined to be reticent, and was somewhat retiring in his disposition, but he was pos- sessed of extensive knowledge and his character was above reproach. He was appointed county surveyor in 1836 and served three years in that office. Mr. Deane and wife were the parents of the following named children: C. Augusta, wife of Henry Bacon, of Havanna, South Dakota; Darius L., of Wellsboro; Daniel A., deceased; Cecil A., a civil engineer of Denver, Colorado; Luella I., Caroline A., and Mary E., deceased wife of A. S. Cooper, of Black River Falls, Wisconsin.

DAVID STURROCK, one of the early and sturdy citizens of Wellsboro, was born in Forfarshire, Scotland, March 7, 1809. He learned the trade of a carpenter and joiner in his native country. When out of his apprenticeship he married Jane Sands, who was born in Scotland, August 25, 1811. She bore him eight children, as follows: A. G., a carpenter and builder of Wellsboro; Robert W., who enlisted in Company F, Fifth Reserve, was promoted to captain, and was killed at the battle of Gaines' Mills, June 27, 1862, being then in his twenty-sixth year; Margaret, widow of William Roberts, of Wellsboro; Jane, a resident of Port Townsend, Washington; Barbara, wife of Darius L. Deane, of Wellsboro; William D., who enlisted February 24, 1864, in Company A, One Hundred and Eighty-seventh Pennsylvania Volun- teers, and who died at David's Island Hospital, New York, August 20, 1864; Mary, deceased wife of W. J. Bowers, of Horseheads, New York, and George A., a resident of Port Townsend, Washington. In 1833 Mr. Sturrock came to America and in 1834 located in Wellsboro. He was recognized as one of the best practical builders of his time, and was respected for his honesty and integrity. Mrs. Sturrock died August 20, 1881, and he survived her until October 31, 1888.

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SALMON SHERWOOD was born in Fairfield county, Connecticut, within the limits of the present city of Bridgeport, where his ancestors had lived continu- ously since 1645. Thomas Sherwood, founder of the family in America, was an Englishman who sailed from Ipswich, England, in 1634, landing at Plymouth the same year, whence he removed to Fairfield, Connecticut, in 1645, where he resided until his death. Salmon was of the sixth generation from Thomas Sherwood. He was a man of fair education, a surveyor, school teacher and farmer, and served in a Virginia regiment, with the rank of lieutenant, under Generals St. Clair and Wayne during the campaigns against the Indian tribes of Ohio. After the cam- paign of 1793, he was employed by the proprietors of the lands about the Boone settlement in Kentucky as a surveyor. While there he married a Miss Stanley, who was massacred by the Indians. They had one son, Stephen, who escaped. After a residence in Kentucky of some four years, he returned to Connecticut on horse- back, bringing his young son, then three years old, with him. On his way from the Susquehanna valley to the lake country in New York, he passed through Tioga county, over the Williamson road. His son, Stephen, was killed or died in the naval service during the War of 1812. Salmon Sherwood was again married in 1797, to Phoebe Burritt, and by this marriage reared a family of nine sons and two daughters. Farming and surveying were his principal occupations. He served several terms in the legislature and Senate of Connecticut, and was a captain in the War of 1812. The wants of a growing family induced him to seek a new country where land was cheaper, and he removed from Connecticut to Chemung (now Schuyler) county, New York, in 1817, where he bought a large tract of new land. He gave his family such advantages as the schools of the period and neighborhood afforded. His eldest son, Burritt, was a graduate of a medical college and practiced his pro- fession in New York City until his death, in 1854, at which time he was surgeon of the ill-fated steamer, Arctic, which sunk off Cape Race in the fall of 1854. Dr. Sherwood was detained at home by sickness and died about the same time the vessel was lost. Three of the sons, Charles, Henry and Julius, became lawyers, the last two being well-known residents of Wellsboro, Tioga county, at their death. Charles died at Messina, Sicily, in 1846, where he was then serving as United States Consul. One son, Walter, was educated at West Point Military Academy, and was killed in Florida during the Seminole war. Another son, George, was an engineer and died in New Orleans, from sickness contracted during the Mexican War; while Stanley, Rollin and James were farmers, the first of whom died in Tioga county. Salmon Sherwood died in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, in 1853, aged eighty-four years. His wife, Phoebe, died in Schuyler county, New York, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Hinman, in 1872, aged ninety-six years. Four of their sons died in the service of the government, and during the Rebellion every one of their surviving sons and grandsons of military age were in the Union army or represented there. Two of their children still survive, viz: James, of Bradford county, aged eighty-six years, and Mrs. Phoebe Hinman, aged ninety years, who lives in Schuyler county, New York.

WILLIAM HARRISON was one of the pioneer carpenters of Wellsboro, Tioga county, coming here a single man in 1833, where he at once found employment on the stone court house, then in course of erection. He was a native of New

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Jersey, and soon after his advent in Wellsboro he married Catherine Meek, a daughter of Leonard and Mary Meek, natives of England, whence the family immi- grated to Pennsylvania. Her father was one of the early tailors and merchants of Wellsboro, coming here in 1833, where he conducted business for many years. Mrs. Harrison was born in England, October 10, 1816. She became the mother of seven children, viz: Jefferson, a lawyer, of Wellsboro; Mary, Albert, deceased; Sarah, Leonard, president of the First National Bank of Wellsboro, and William and Catherine, both of whom died in childhood. Mr. Harrison continued the business of carpenter and builder for a number of years, but later purchased a farm in Delmar and lived in that township for quite a long period. Returning to Wellsboro, he spent his declining years in the family home on Main street, now occupied by his widow, where he died January 18, 1885, aged eighty-four years. Mr. Harrison was a life-long member of the Presbyterian church, to which denomination his. widow belongs. He was a good neighbor and an honest man, and is kindly re- membered by the community among whom the greater portion of his life was passed.

LEONARD HARRISON, president of the First National Bank of Wellsboro, was born in that borough, January 10, 1850, a son of William and Catherine Harrison, and has spent his entire life in his native county. He attended the public schools until the age of fifteen, and then began clerking in the postoffice under Hon. Hugh Young. He subsequently worked with his father at the carpenter business up to 1878, and the following six years was clerk in the commissioners' office. In the meantime he had devoted some attention to lumbering, and in 1883 went into the coal business, with which he was connected over ten years. His principal success, however, has been attained in the lumber business, which he has prosecuted with energy and remarkable judgment for several years, being now recognized as one of the most successful lumbermen in Tioga county. As a tribute to his business and financial prominence and integrity, Mr. Harrison was chosen in August, 1896, presi- dent of the First National Bank, to succeed the late Jesse M. Robinson. On July 2, 1882, he married Miss Mary Green, a daughter of Peter and Agnes Green, of Delmar township, to which union have been born three children: Emily, deceased; Kate and George. The family are Presbyterians in religious belief. The handsome new church of that denomination in Wellsboro was erected under the personal super- vision of Mr. Harrison, and owes much to his generous liberality and knowledge of the builder's art. He is a member of the board of trustees, and takes a deep inter- est in the Sabbath-school, as well as in all else pertaining to the church. In politics, he has always been a Republican, and has filled the office of school director nine years, also that of burgess, collector and borough clerk.

ROBERT C. SIMPSON was born in the village of Moffat, Dumfrieshire, Scotland, September 27, 1823. His father was an Englishman and his mother a native of Scotland. In August, 1834, the family came to the United States and settled at Silver Lake, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, Robert being then about eleven years old. At the age of fourteen he began clerking in a general store at Montrose, and he subsequently became a teacher in the Montrose Academy. Here he was mar- ried in his twenty-first year, and two years later the young couple came to Wellsboro, Tioga county, where Mr. Simpson found employment as a clerk in the office of the

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History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Part 86

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