History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania, Part 85

Author: Mathews, Alfred, 1852-1904. 4n
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co.
Number of Pages: 1438

USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 85
USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 85
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 85

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

officially and otherwise identified with the Wayne County Bible Society. Rev. Mr. Ward's name is probably more familiar in Wayne and adjoining counties than almost any other min- ister of the gospel, from the fact, that during his long sojourn in Bethany his acquaintance has obtained a wide range, and during his ministry he has joined in wedloek some four hundred and thirty couples, and been called upon to bury four hundred and sixty persons.

He has taken an active interest in school-

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work, and for a little over six years served as school superintendent of Wayne County. His proficiency in this capacity is well known, and has worked inestimable benefit to the schools of the county.

His father, Moses Ward (1784-1867), and mother, Jane (1790-1871), daughter of Stephen and Mary (Bonnel) Day, were both natives of New Jersey, were members of the Presbyterian Church, and their remains rest in the cemetery at Bethany. Moses Ward was a carpenter by trade, was engaged in building the Gravity Railroad, and was in the employ of that corpor- ation the remainder of his active life. His maternal grandparents settled on Dyberry Creek, in Dyberry township, in 1816. A sketch of them may be found in another part of this volume.

The other children of Moses and Jane Ward were Stephen D. (1818-74), clerk and cashier in the Honesdale National Bank for many years ; Mary Budd (1811-33), was the mother of the late Mrs. Thaddeus Fitch, of Honesdale. The children of Rev. Elias O. and Emeline Amy Ward are Stephen Day, served in the late Civil War in the army of the Potomac, was in the Peninsular campaign with Mcclellan, and in the battles of Chancellorsville and Second Bull Run. He died soon after the latter battle at Fairfax Seminary Hospital, Va., September 8, 1862, aged twenty years and eight days. Edward Oscar married Alice, daughter of Hon. A. B. Gammell, and is a merchant at Bethany, and Mary Elizabeth is the wife of Dr. Reed Burns, of Honesdale, Pa.

THE BETHANY BAPTIST CHURCH .- Rev. Epaphras Thompson was one of the earliest Baptist preachers in Bethany, and as early as 1807 preached tliere occasionally. He was fol- lowed by Rev. Elijah Peck, and, as has already been stated, the first communion took place under the auspices of the Baptist Church. On the 12th of December, 1809, a meeting was held at the residence of Mr. David Bunnell, at which five persons were received as candidates for baptism, and this ordinance was performed the next day at the house of Mr. Coleman. On the following Sabbath, Rev. Jesse Hartwell, of Massachusetts, preached twice, and, on the fol- lowing day, baptized Ephraim Torrey, the or-

dinance being administered in the Lackawaxen Creek, a few rods below the residence afterward occupied by Rev. Henry Curtis. In 1810 Mr. Peck again visited the place and three more converts received the ordinance. Rev. John Lowton, of New York, while on a tour, under the patronage of the Hamilton Missionary So- ciety, preached twice at the court-house, in Bethany, in the summer of 1811.

The early converts united with the Baptist Church, of Mount Pleasant, and acted as a branch of that body, until, by the settlement of several members of the Palmyra Church in the vicinity, it was deemed advisable to organ- ize a separate congregation at Bethany. This was done on December 28, 1816, at a meeting held at the house of Mr. Isaac Dimmick, when a committee was appointed to draft a Covenant and Articles of Faith and Practice. The final report was made and accepted on June 8, 1817, at the residence of Mr. Benjamin Raymond. This church was reorganized by a council, whichi convened in the court-house at Bethany, June 17, 1817, composed of delegates from Palmyra, Abington and Mount Pleasant Churches, Rev. John Miller acting as moderator. Eighteen persons were then received. Other additions followed, and the list of constituent members contained the following nanies at the time and was entered in the records :

Rachel Jennings.

Catherine Raymond.

Betsy Jennings. Elvira Raymond.

Mary Arnold. Eleanor Smith.

Hepzibah Arnold.

Azubah G. Torrey.

Parthenia Bunnell.

Lavenia Purdy.

Elizabeth Pullis.

Eunice Purdy.

Eunice Torrey.

Elizabeth Bidwell.

Sally Dimmick.

Violette Olmsted.

Jonathan Jennings.

Deborah Chamberlain.

William Purdy, Jr.

Elvira Brooks.

Isaac Dimmick.

Eleanor Bunnell.

Conrad Pullis.

Clarissa Dimmick.

Ephraim Torrey.

Eleanor Nelson.

David Arnold. Hannah Thomas.

Charlotte Sibley.

Randall Wilmot.

David Oakley. Josiah Purdy.

Richard Briggs.

Jonathan S. Bidwell.

Osborn Olmsted.

Isaac Olmsted.

Amy Purdy.

Rockwell Bunnell.

Hannah Purdy.

At a meeting held ou the 11th of July fol- lowing, William Purdy, Jr., was appointed

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standing moderator and Ephraim Torrey clerk of the church. The church was united with the Abington Association the next autumn, and was the first received by that body. As yet there was no settled pastor, though services were held regularly, and the Word was preached by occasional visiting ministers. A call was ex- tended to Rev. John Smitzer, who assumed charge in the fall of 1821, dividing his labors between the churches at Bethany, Damascus and the C'anaan branch of the Mount Pleasant congrega- tion. Under his pastorate, which terminated in the spring of 1826, the church greatly enlarged, more than doubling its membership, though there occurred some cases of protracted difficulty, and painful discipline. For the next three years, the church had no settled pastor, until in 1829 Rev. Charles H. Hubbard was called, supplying the Mt. Pleasant church a portion of the time, and afterwards dividing his labors between Bethany and Damascus. During the year 1831 there was a great revival which ac- complished much. Mr. Hubbard resigned in 1832, and in the fall, Rev. Henry Curtis as- sumed the pastoral charge, remaining until 1845. During his ministrations the church reached its culminating point in numerical prosperity, having two hundred and ten com- municants, and then, by the formation of inde- pendent churches in the surrounding region, and from other causes, a decline commenced, which progressed steadily until the church was extinguished. When Mr. Curtis retired there were one hundred and thirty-three communicants.

In 1841 the meeting-house was built at a cost of seventeen thousand dollars and was ocu- pied for the first time in January, 1842, its dedication occurring on the 18th of February, of the same year. Until this time the meetings had been held in the fire-proof building the academy and at private dwellings. At a re- vival that followed the dedication, the work extended to Honesdale and resulted in the formation of an independent church there. Rev. M. M. Evarts was the next pastor, and remained for two years, being succeeded by Rev. Andrew Hopper in 1847. The latter was succceded by Rev. L. L. Still in 1850, and closed his labors in the spring of 1852.

Early in 1853 Rev. Henry Curtis again be- came pastor and remained for three years. He was succeeded by Rev. D. W. Halsted. Several other pastors served the church, but it grew weaker each year, and about fifteen years ago regular services were given up. At present the congregation exists only as a name.

THE FIRST SUNDAY-SCHOOL. - At Beth- any was founded not only the first Sabbath- school in Wayne County, but the first in north- castern Pennsylvania. In the summer of 1818 Dr. Virgil M. Dibold was returning from a visit to friends in Massachusetts and spent the Sabbath at Florida, Orange County, N. Y., where he found a Sunday-school in opera- tion and became much interested in its work. Having studied carefully the plan on which it was conducted, he returned to Bethany and told Sheldon Norton and some other Christian friends what he had seen. He proposed that they, too, start a Sabbath-school, and his enthu- siasm was such that they acquiesced. Notice was given on Sunday, July 12, 1818, that the school would be commenced in the court-house on the following Sunday morning at nine o'clock. The young people of the village were all visited and asked to commit the first ten verses of the fifth chapter of Matthew. Thirty scholars and five or six teachers accepted the invitation and Dr. Dibold was chosen superinten- dent. These carly teachers were Sheldon Nor- ton, Josiah Purdy, William and Ephraim Torrey, Miss Lydia Musey (Mrs. Dr. Dwight, of Salem), and Miss Maria Sanford. The number of scholars soon increased to ninety- tlirec. A few months after this Benjamin Tilghman, of Philadelphia, visited Bethany, and, having been detained over Sunday, he was invited to visit the school and inform himself as to what was being accomplished. Through his influence the Female Bible Society of Phila- delphia made a handsome donation of Bibles and Testaments, and Mr. Tilghman supple- mented this with a supply of hymn-books and tracts.

During the severe winter months the school was divided into three parts,-one meeting at the court-house, one at the residence of Judge Woodward, a mile west of the town, and one at

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the residence of M. M. Whitman (now the resi- dence of Mr. Sidney Bushnell). All of these were organized as union schools and so re- mained for more than twenty years, all denomi- nations of Christians assisting in sustaining them. Afterward separate Sunday-schools were organized by the Baptist and Methodist churches, and the original organization was left in charge of the Presbyterians, ultimately be- coming incorporated as a branch of that church, by which it is still maintained.

time, and his literary attainments in after years, his general intelligence, and his ability in life's pursuits, all attest how well he spent his boy- hood.

He spent sometime in the store of his broth- er Royal, at Coventry, and was for a time in Brooklyn and New York. In 1815 he sought a place where he might establish himself in business, and with a team laden with goods, he set ont from his native place, and found his way, after a tedious journey, to Bethany. Adding

JUDGE JAMES MANNING.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

JUDGE JAMES MANNING.

Among those who followed the pioneers, and subsequently settled in Wayne County, none were more entitled to a niche in its history than the subject of this sketeh. Born at South Coventry, Conn., April 3, 1792, where education is regarded the sure foundation of the Republie, he early in life acquired more than an ordinary edneation for the young men of his

to his stoek of goods bought in New York, he opened a store and began a regular mereantile business, which he eontinned successfully for a period of some twenty years. The field of trade seemed not large enough at first to grat- ify his ambition, and as there were no means of communication with the sparsely settled people of the county, and Bethany having been made the county-seat of Wayne, he saw the necessity of establishing a newspaper, not only to record the incidents of daily occurrence, but also to place before its readers what might be gleaned

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from the great centres of trade and commerce in the country, and for the purpose of dissemi- nating general information.

In March, 1818, without assistance from others, he bought a printing press, and type, and published the first newspaper- Wayne County Mirror-in the County, which he con- ducted for some time, and afterwards assisted his successors with capital and in other ways to continue the paper, an account of which may be found in the chapter on the " Press" of the county in this volume.

Mr. Manning, upon settling in Bethany, iden- tified himself with church and Sunday-school work, and it is said he was the prime mover in founding the first Sunday-school in the county. In connection with Sheldon Norton, he went to New York and purchased a library, and estab- lished a Sunday-school at Bethany, which he superintended for many years. He was always interested in the cause of education, and those who remember him, say that he found time to frequently visit the "Old Beech Woods Acad- emy," and encourage those engaged in pursuit of an education. He gave his children a lib- cral education, not only at the Academy and the University, but he sent them away to the best boarding schools and colleges, and was generous in his support of all interests tending to improve the condition of others. For several years Mr. Manning served the county as regis- ter and recorder, and he sat on the bench as as- sociate judge, where his counsel was always on the side of justice and right, and his opinions respected by those associated with him. His political affiliations were with the old Whig Party, and, although conservative in his opin- ion, he allied himself to the first movement in the formation of the Republican party, was a loyal supporter of the Union cause during the late Civil War, and stood firmly intrenched in the justice and right of the suppression of the Rebellion and the abolition of slavery. Judge Manning continued an aetive business man, un- til nearly the time of his death, which occurred December 26, 1867. His parents were Calvin and Lydia (Robertson) Manning, who resided at South Coventry, where they dicd.

Cochecton, Sullivan County, N. Y., March 1, 1804, and is at the writing of this sketch in 1886, the only surviving person, perhaps save one, who was born of parents who were among the first settlers of Bethany. She retains largely the faculties of mind and body common to persons younger in years than herself, has been a devoted wife and mother, and reared her children under Christian influences. She early united with the Presbyterian Church, and by her religious zeal and high Christian character, has retained her membership with that church since seventeen years of age,-a period of sixty- five years. She is the daughter of David Wilder (1764-1840) and Sophia Tyler (1785 -1824)-the former a native of New Hamp- shire-the latter a native of Cochecton.

David Wilder removed to Bethany from Cochecton, Sullivan County, N. Y., in 1803, built a house there in 1809, and bought land and was a farmer until within a short time of his death. His only child that reached mature years is Mrs. James Manning. Her mother, Sophia Tyler, was the daughter of Paul Tyler and Hester Brink-the latter a sister of Judge Brink, of Sussex County, N. J., and her mater- nal grandfather, Paul Tyler, was the son of Bezaleel Tyler and Sarah Calkins, who came from New England, and were the first settlers of that name along the Delaware. The child- ren of Judge James Manning and Charity B. Wilder are :- Lucy, widow of Oliver D. Dumn- ham, of Hartford, James, of Bethany, Sophia, widow of Z. W. Arnold, of Clinton City, Iowa, David, of Bethany, Henry, of Keokuk, Iowa, George S., of Clinton City, Maria F., deceased, Augusta M., widow of Jackson Woodward, of New York, Charity L., wife of Clayton E. Sweet, of Dutchess County, N. Y., and Mary Melissa Manning, residing on the homestead with her mother at Bethany.

HON. EPHRAIM W. HAMLIN.

Judge Hamlin (1803-84) was eighth child in a family of eleven children of Harris Hamlin (1767-1854) and Rue Easton (1770-1833), who were natives of Connecticut, left their home in

His wife, Charity B. Wilder, was born in { Middletown, that State, in 1801, and with five

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children made their way via Newburg and Carpenter's Point, below Port Jervis, to Mil- ford ; thence by way of Shohola, Blooming Grove and Palmyra to Major Ansley's and finally through the Seven-Mile Swamp to Little Meadows, in Salem township. They erected a log house in which they resided until about 1808, when it was supplanted by a framed one -the first built in that part of the county. Until he reached the age of sixteen years, Eph

that age he began a clerkship in his brother Oliver's store at Salem, where he remained until 1822, when he went to Bethany, then the county- seat, and engaged with Daniel Baldwin, his brother-in-law, to learn the trade of a hatter. Three years later he bought the shop and tools of Mr. Baldwin and began business for himself. In the following year, 1826, he married Da- maris, daughter of Stephen and Mary (Bonnel) Day, who had settled in the township of Dy-

ENHamelin

raim worked on the home farm and attended the district school for a few months during the winter season. He was delicate in health while young and in consequence of this, unable to avail himself of even all the then meagre op- portunities for an education from books, but this he partially made up by study at home, so that on reaching manhood he had secured a good knowledge of the elementary branches. At

| berry, from Chatham, N. J., in 1816. She was born in 1804 and resides in the honse in 1886 where herself and husband began house- keeping sixty years ago, and where their many friends celebrated with them their fiftieth anni- versary and golden wedding. Her hospitality through life, her kindness of heart, her charity and good works and her identification with moral influences and religious work in the com-

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munity are numbered among her many virtues. In 1840 Mr. Hamlin entered the mercantile business in Bethany and continued in trade un- til 1852, since which time he has been engaged only in agricultural pursuits so far as his private interests have been concerned.

Notwithstanding the unpropitious commence- ment of Mr. Hamlin's carcer, and the disad- vantages of a limited education and feeble con- stitution against which he was forced to strug- gle, it is doubtful whether Wayne County has ever produced a more useful and honored citizen or one the impress of whose life will be longer felt, not only in the community amidst whom his lot was cast, but among the generations who shall follow them. For the past fifty years scarcely a concerted movement for the moral or intellectual improvement of our people has been inaugurated with which he has not been in active sympathy if not indeed its originator. His name gleams like a golden thread through the records of all the temperance organizations which had an existence in the county, and is linked with every step in advance taken by the church of which he was a communicant and in whose official board he was senior warden at the time of his death. Nor was his desire to advance the interest of the community confined by any means to their spiritual welfarc. Wc have before us as we write the report of a meet- . ing held in Honesdale in February, 1834, to consider the necessity for the establishment of a bank in this place, whereat Mr. Hamlin was appointed one of a committee to defend resolu- tions embodying a statement of the needs and claims of the community in this direction, to accompany the application to the Legislature for a charter. The Honesdale bank, as the re- sult of this movement, was incorporated in 1836, Mr. Hamlin being chosen one of its first board of directors, a position which he continued to hold until his death. He entered hcartily into the movement for the building of the Jefferson Branch to Honesdale, and was personally instru- mental in disposing of a large proportion of the stock issued by that corporation to raise the necessary funds. Among the farmers of the county he has been for many years held in the highest esteem, being regarded as the father of

the Wayne County Agricultural Society, which he was largely instrumental in establishing, and of whose board of directors he was from its organization in 1861 to the date of his decease either an active or honorary member. On his re- tirement from the presidency of the society a few years since his associates in the board adopted a series of resolutions expressive of their appreciation of his services, and presented him with an elegant gold-headed cane, appro- priately inscribed, as a token of their personal regard.

In politics Mr. Hamlin was always a pro- nouneed and consistent Democrat. That he was a trusted and honored member of the party may well be inferred from the fact that he was repeatedly called to head its ticket in important elections, and invariably led it to an overwhelm- ing victory. He was appointed postmaster at Bethany in 1829 and retained the office until elected to the State Legislature in 1838. On the 8th of January, 1832, he accepted the dep- uty treasurership under Richard Lancaster, serv- ing one year, when he was himself appointed county treasurer and filled the office for two years. He then served as deputy for two years under Thomas Mumford, and two years more under Thomas Clark. In 1838 he was elected to represent Wayne and Pike Counties in the Legislature, and was re-clected in 1839, serving until July, 1840, including the session made memorable by the famous " Buck-Shot War." In 1840 he again accepted the position of post- master of Bethany and held the office until his election to the State Senate in 1851. He was twice nominated for Congress by the Democracy of Wayne and Pike Counties, but was defeated in conference by what were always regarded as underhanded and inexcusable alliances between the delegates from Northampton and Carbon and Northampton and Monroc Counties. While in the Legislature Mr. Hamlin's course was always conspicuous for his devotion to the inter- ests of his constituents. When a senator he secured the passage of a bill increasing the cap- ital of the Honesdale bank from one hundred thousand to three hundred thousand dollars. The act was vetoed by Governor Bigler, but through the influence of Mr. Hamlin the bill

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WAYNE COUNTY.

was passed over the veto and became a law. He was also largely instrumental in crowning with success the effort of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company to retain their charter as amended in 1852, a service which was never forgotten by that corporation, and whose bene- fits to this community can hardly be over-esti- nıated.

Mr. Hamlin possessed a strong and well- balanced mind, sound judgment, and a large measure of administrative ability. His course in all matters demanding his attention was al- ways carefully considered, and it was uniformly marked by a sterling common sense and an ap- plication of practical methods and considera- tions which contributed in a high degrec to the success attending the various enterprises in which he was engaged. He was known as one of the most public-spirited men in the com- munity, and was looked to as a leader in every measure tending to the public good. He was generous, unselfish, of inflexible integrity and in every positition and relation of life com . manded absolute confidence. Many years ago he united with the Protestant Episcopal Church, and amid the varied labors of a long and active life he maintained a consistent Christian char- acter.

The only surviving, child of Ephraim W. Hamlin is Hon. Edward O. Hamlin, of Beth- any, whose sketch may be found in the law chapter of this volume.

CHAPTER XIII.

BERLIN TOWNSHIP.'

ON the 27th of November, 1826, many citi- zens living in the eastern part of Dyberry joined in a petition to the court then sitting at Bethany to ereet a new township bounded by lines therein specified, since the condition of the roads and the location of the election house was such as to cause the petitioners great inconve- nience in the exercise of their rights as citizens. On the same day the court appointed Jason Torrey, Bulkley Beardslee and Jacob S. Davis a committee to view the proposed new territory

and report on the advisability of a division, and submit a dividing line for approval. On the following day, the report was submitted, and the court directed the excision to be made, and the new township to be called Berlin. The first township officer of whom there is any record, is Lawrence Camfield, who was sworn in as constable, April 23, 1827.

In 1846 its area was diminished by the excision of Oregon and left the township bounded on the north by Oregon and Damasens, east by Pike County, - south by Palmyra and Texas, west by Texas and a small portion of Dyberry. The divide between the drainage areas of the Delaware River on the east and the basin of the Lackawaxen passes through the township from north to southi, and the surface is watered by a number of brooks, and broken by several natural ponds. While in contour the topogra- phy conforms to the general character of the adjacent regions, it is not broken by any very high hills, and is, for the most part, excellent farming country, with plenty of red shale soil and some rich alluvial deposits. There are, however, some sterile lands near the Adams pond. The chief streams are the tributaries to the Mast Hope and Beardslee's Creeks, and the Holbert Brook, and the ponds are Long, Beech, Adams, Open Woods and a portion of Catchall.

The carly settlements of the township took place in the northern portion-then nearly the centre-at Beech Pond, Berlin Centre and along the ridge known as "Smith Hill," which extends into Oregon township. The earliest assessment list extant is that for the year 1829, which contains the following taxables :

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History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania, Part 85

Author: Mathews, Alfred, 1852-1904. 4n Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co. Number of Pages: 1438

Author: Mathews, Alfred, 1852-1904. 4n
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co.
Number of Pages: 1438