History of the counties of McKean, Elk, Cameron and Potter, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections; including their early settlement and development; a description of the historic and interesting localities; sketches of their cities, towns and villages biographies of representative citizens; outline history of Pennsylvania; statistics, Part 147

Author: Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.) comp. cn; J.H. Beers & Co., pub
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago, J. H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1320

USA > Pennsylvania > McKean County > History of the counties of McKean, Elk, Cameron and Potter, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections; including their early settlement and development; a description of the historic and interesting localities; sketches of their cities, towns and villages biographies of representative citizens; outline history of Pennsylvania; statistics > Part 147
USA > Pennsylvania > Potter County > History of the counties of McKean, Elk, Cameron and Potter, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections; including their early settlement and development; a description of the historic and interesting localities; sketches of their cities, towns and villages biographies of representative citizens; outline history of Pennsylvania; statistics > Part 147
USA > Pennsylvania > Elk County > History of the counties of McKean, Elk, Cameron and Potter, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections; including their early settlement and development; a description of the historic and interesting localities; sketches of their cities, towns and villages biographies of representative citizens; outline history of Pennsylvania; statistics > Part 147
USA > Pennsylvania > Cameron County > History of the counties of McKean, Elk, Cameron and Potter, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections; including their early settlement and development; a description of the historic and interesting localities; sketches of their cities, towns and villages biographies of representative citizens; outline history of Pennsylvania; statistics > Part 147

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A. G. OLMSTED, Coudersport, the president judge of the Forty-eighth Judicial District, was born September 3, 1827, at Masonville, Delaware Co., N. Y., and is a son of Daniel and Lucy A. (Scofield) Olmsted, both natives of Delaware county. N. Y. At the age of nine years he moved with his parents to Ulysses, Potter Co., Penu., where he lived until he was twenty years of age.

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HISTORY OF POTTER COUNTY.

During this time he was employed upon his father's farm, attending the district school during the winter, and this, with the exception of a short experience at the Coudersport Academy, was the extent of his school advantages. He must have made good use of these meager opportunities, however, for in conversa . tion he is found to be well informed upon any topic. His rhetoric is almost faultless, his vocabulary exceptionally large, and his choice of words most happy; which acquirements, together with his impressive and pleasant manner of address, make him a most successful advocate and interesting speaker. Mr. Olmsted commenced the study of law with Hon. John S. Mann, and was admit- ted to the bar January 12, 1850, Hon. Isaac Benson, Carlton B. Curtis and Jas. Lowery comprising his examining committee. In those days Messrs. Curtis, Lowery, S. P. Johnston and others used to travel what was called the " circuit," generally on horseback, through Warren, McKean, Potter, Tioga, Bradford and other counties. Before he was eligible to the office, at the gen- eral election of 1850 Mr. Olmsted was elected district attorney of the county, and served his term with credit. The office could not have been very lucrative, however, for (the Judge himself being the authority for the statement) he only received ninety dollars from his profession for the first three years after his admission to the bar. He very soon, however, became the leading lawyer of his county, his practice widening out into McKean and Cameron, and into even more remote counties, so that, when he left his office for the bench, he enjoyed a pleasant and extensive practice. In his own county he was identified with nearly every important case on the calendar, which alone must have afforded a nice income. In 1862 he was elected assemblyman, representing Tioga and Potter counties, then an assembly district having two members. In this capac- ity he served three successive terms, in the last of which he was chosen speaker of the house. On account of ill health, however, he was compelled to aban- don public life, and was an invalid for a year or more. In 1868 he was elected to the State senate, in which he took a very active part, and during his term was the author of many of our most carefully drawn acts-the " Attachment Act" of 1869 being an instance of his skillful legislation. Upon retiring from the senate, he was appointed president judge of the district, comprising Mont- gomery and Bucks counties, to fill a vacancy caused by the death of the resi- dent judge. He was there offered an election, if he would move into the dis- trict, but this he declined, and returned to his practice. In 1874 he was the Republican nominee for lieutenant-governor, but, that being an "off year," he was defeated. From this time forward the Judge insisted that he was out of politics-"shelved," as he styled it. In 1882, however, his popularity asserted itself, and he was elected additional law judge for the Fourth Judicial District, but this district having been divided, he is now president judge of the Forty-eighth District, comprising McKean and Potter counties. Judge Olmsted has been very fortunate in his rulings, and during the comparatively short time he has sat upon the bench in this county he has kept attorneys and litigants busy, holding unprecedented sessions of courts in order to dispose of the busi- ness which was four or five years behind. In court he is a very patient listener, quick to act and rule, and most persistent in urging business. Being possessed of natural executive ability, his courts are very decorous and orderly. He has a system of routine which is strictly adhered to, and the wheels of justice under his direction run very smoothly. In his younger days, it is said, the Judge was very diffident, and in spite of his most active public life this char- acter has remained with him to such an extent that he appears, to those who know him but little, of a cold and repelling disposition, though this is a mis- taken idea. He does not generally seek acquaintance, but when called upon

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

at his chambers or at his house he is found most entertaining and courteous. On account of his economy in early life, the Judge has acquired a habit of bus- iness which some would call closeness, but there is none of that element in his nature. In his own town (Coudersport) he is at the head of every public movement; his time, money, and business ability being always given toward improvements for the public good. For several years the Judge had been trying to secure the building of a railroad to Coudersport, but at last, becoming convinced that there was no other method, he headed the enterprise himself, organized a company and constructed the Coudersport & Port Alle- gany Railroad, which has proved a good investment, and a great boon to both borough and county. He also organized the Citizens' Water Company, of which he is president, and was also instrumental in the erection of the Soldiers' Monument, an honor to the builders and an ornament to the borongh. In all his business enterprises, which have been quite extensive, Judge Olmsted has been singularly fortunate. His business interests are extensive enough now to occupy any ordinary man's mind, but he has never allowed them to interfere with his professional duties, nor are they ever likely to weaken aught of his energies as a judge. He has just passed his sixty-second year, but having always been temperate in his habits, he is a well-preserved man. The Judge married, May 8, 1860, Miss Ellen, daughter of David and M. A. Ross, natives of New Hampshire, sister of Hon. Sobieski Ross, at that time a member of congress from this district, and they have two children: Ellen and Robert.

H. J. OLMSTED, hardware merchant, Coudersport, was born in Mason- ville, Delaware Co., N. Y., November 22, 1825, and with his parents removed to Ulysses, Potter Co., Penn., in 1836, where they engaged in farm- ing. He remained there with his parents until 1846, and in March, 1848, he removed to Coudersport, where he attended school, and afterward taught in Coudersport Academy for a year, and in the district school for a couple of terms. He was elected prothonotary of Potter county in 1851, and served one term, but was defeated at the next election. He then secured a position as clerk at Harrisburg, in the office of the secretary of the commonwealth, and in May, 1857, received the appointment of prothonotary for Potter county, and was elected at the ensuing election, which necessitated the resignation of his position at Harrisburg. He then served for a period of eighteen years as prothonotary, and as deputy for three years. In 1878 he engaged in hard- ware trade, but in 1880 suffered from the fire which devastated the business portion of Coudersport; with the characteristic enterprise of a business man, however, he rebuilt, and now has a fine brick store on Main street, where he has associated with him his two sons, H. C. and A. S., the firm name being H. J. Olmsted & Sons; they also have a branch store at Emporium, of which H. C. has charge, A. S. remaining at Coudersport. Mr. Olmsted having lost an arm in a threshing machine during the fall of 1847, fills the position of book-keeper. He is interested in the Coudersport Water Company; is an active Republican in politics, and has the respect and confidence of the entire com- munity. He married, in 1846, E. T., daughter of Lucas Cushing, of Ulysses, and to them were born ten children: M. E. Olmsted. a prominent attorney of Harrisburg, Penn., being attorney for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and the Standard Oil Company; C. Ardella, now wife of Rev. C. B. Sparrow; Clara, who died when eighteen years of age; H. Clinton, of Emporium; A. S. and Sumner P., of Coudersport; Mary W., now Mrs. Frank L. Andrews; George C. and Daniel L., clerks in the Coudersport store; and Will E., at home, who is, unfortunately, an invalid. Mr. Olmsted is a member of the Methodist Church, his wife being a member of the Baptist Church.

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HISTORY OF POTTER COUNTY,

C. L. PECK, attorney at law. Coudersport, was born in Farmington, Tioga Co., Penn., in 1845, and was educated in the common schools and at Union Academy, near Knoxville, Penn. His father, William Peck, was born in Manlins, N. Y .. and married Harriet Paul, a native of Masonville, same State. After completing his studies, C. L. Peck taught school until 1870, when he became a law student with R. T. Wood, of Elkland, and later with Elliott & Bosard, of Wellsboro. He was admitted to the bar in June, 1872, and first practiced at Knoxville, Penn., for a period of five years, when, a desirable opening presenting itself, he removed to Condersport, where he was associated with the Hon. Isaac Benson in the practice of law until 1883, when this part- nership was dissolved and Mr. Peck became associated with Mr. H. A. Scoville, the firm name being Peck & Scoville. In 1886 Mr. Scoville was elected dis- triet attorney, and Mr. Peck has since been alone in business. Mr. Peck con- ceived the idea of the construction of the Coudersport, Hornellsville & Lacka- wanna Railroad, running from Coudersport to Hornellsville and connecting with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, and he, with Hon. D. C. Larrabee, has been instrumental in securing a sufficient amount of stock to complete the organization of a company, and active in trying to make the project a success. He procured the organization of a telephone company to operate a line from Coudersport to Harrison Valley, of which he was entrusted with charge of construction, and became its first president. Mr. Peck has for eight years been attorney for the Joel Parkhurst estate, of Elkland, Penn., makes large loans on real estate security in Potter county, and enjoys a re- mnnerative and constantly growing practice. He takes a lively interest in local educational matters, and was a member of the building committee in the construction of what is said to be one of the most perfect school buildings in the State, he having drawn the floor plans for it. It has perfect ventilation, fire escape, and is heated by the Ruttan system. He has also been school director for eight years. He is a member of Eulalia Lodge, No. 342, F. & A. M .. and procured the organization of the Knights of Honor lodge. He is an active Democrat, but has never sought political preferment, yet he pro- cured the establishment of a postal service between Harrison Valley and Lawrenceville, Tioga county. Mr. Peck is proud of the fact that he was reared on a farm, where he remained until twenty three years of age, and which he still owns, taking a lively interest in agricultural pursuits and stock-raising. He married, in 1875, Ida Stoddard, of Wellsboro, Penn., and they have two children: Lee and May Peck.

N. J. PECK, county treasurer, Coudersport, was born in Gananoque, Canada, in 1856. His parents are J. B. and Louisa Peck, the former a Meth- odist minister, who was stationed for the first thirteen years of our subject's life in Canada, and was then called back to the United States, his present residence being in Bath, N. Y. N. J. Peck remained in Canada with his parents until thirteen years of age. as stated, when he removed to Woodhull, Steuben Co., N. Y., and there attended an academical institution until twenty years of age, when he graduated. He then taught for several years, afterward becoming a merchant, and eventually studied law with L. H. Cobb, of Coudersport, Penn. He was admitted to the bar in March, 1885, and is now one of the ambitious and promising young attorneys of Condersport, and the future to him is auspi- cious and full of encouragement He is a member of Coudersport Lodge, No. 815, I. O. O. F., and of Forest Encampment, No. 283. He is a member of the Republican party, was chairman of the county committee in 1887, and at pres- ent is county treasurer. Mr. Peck married, April 14, 1878, Grace, daughter of Joel L. Raymond of Potter county, and they have two children: Louisa

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

and Raymond. November 5, 1889, Mr. Peck was elected on the Republican ticket, by a flattering majority, to the office of county treasurer.

L. S. QUIMBY, proprietor of the Commercial House, Coudersport, was born in the town of Caroline, Tompkins Co., N. Y., in 1821. His father, Joseph Quimby, a native of Eastern New York, married Margaret Craton, who was born on shipboard, her parents being then on the voyage from Germany. Joseph Quimby died when L. S. was a child, and the latter began life for him- self when about eighteen years of age. He was one of seven children, viz. : James E .; Maria, now Mrs. L. Perry, of Tioga county, N. Y .; Eliza A., de- ceased wife of Furman Quick, of Iowa; John M. ; William C. ; Rachel, deceased wife of Daniel Mead. of Tompkins county, N. Y., and L. S. L. S. Quimby removed to Steuben county, N. Y., and worked in Addison and Woodhull, where he was engaged in various occupations, and for a period of six years was a commercial traveler. In 1843 he married Susan Northrup, and they became the parents of six children: Alice A., now Mrs. Eli Glossby, of Homer township, Potter county : Alda, now Mrs. Wm. Crosby, also of Homer township; Wilbur M .; Truman N. ; A. J., of Coudersport; and J. A., of Eulalia town- ship, Potter county. In 1866 L. S. Quimby, with his family, removed to the township of Homer, Potter Co., Penn., where he purchased a farm, and, being a carpenter, devoted his time to his trade, the boys being entrusted with the management of the farm. He lost his wife in 1867, and in 1869 he married Mrs. Sally M. Northup, of Oxford, Chenango Co., N. Y., and to them have been born two children: Homer N. and Minnie M. In 1884 he sold his farm and removed to Coudersport, where he purchased the Commercial House, now one of the noted hostelries of northern Pennsylvania, and although he found it in a dilapidated state and with but little custom, he built a large addition, rearranged and refurnished the house throughout, and, by affability and courtesy to all, has secured the immense trade the house now enjoys. In 1862 he en- listed in Company G, One Hundred and Forty-first New York Volunteers, and served until the close of the war. Disease, the result of exposure during that period, has weakened his constitution, and he has never recovered from its effects. He is an honored member of the G. A. R., and is now serving his third term as senior vice-commander. He is also a member of Eulalia Lodge, No. 342, F. & A. M. In religion he belongs to The Age to Come Adventists. He is a Republican, but takes no prominent part in politics.

O. J. REES, county surveyor, Coudersport, son of Eli and Harriet A. (Jackson) Rees, was born at Ayer's Hill, Summit township, Potter Co., Penn., in 1839. His grandfather, Eli Rees, was a native of Chester county, Penn., but removed to Potter county in 1828, and located on Sinnemahoning creek, Sylvania township. He came as agent for Samuel Webb to look after his land interests here, and, as an inducement to come, was given a deed of 400 acres of land and two village lots in Sylvania. Here he remained as agent for Mr. Webb throughout his life. Eli Rees, father of O. J., was a native of Chester county, Penn., and came here with his parents. When eighteen years of age (in 1837) he married, and in 1838 located at Coudersport, where he engaged in business as contractor and builder, erecting the court-house. churches, and most of the old buildings of the borough; for some time he was engaged in bridge building, having constructed many of the large bridges spanning the Susquehanna river. He was elected treasurer of the county in 1856. He was accidentally and fatally shot November 17, 1859, and thus terminated his career when in the prime of life, and when it was full of promise for the future. His widow is now in her sixty seventh year, and living with her youngest son. O. J. Rees read law with F. W. Knox, beginning at the age of

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HISTORY OF POTTER COUNTY.

nineteen, but as the law required a three-years course, he gave the study up before the time was completed, as he felt it his duty to volunteer his services in response to his country's call for soldiers. He enlisted, in 1861, in Company H, Forty- sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was discharged in 1864. He then lived in several of the Western States until he returned to Coudersport, in 1871. Here he followed the business of contractor and builder until 1877, when he lost an arm in a molding machine, which necessitated a change of occupation, and in the winter of the same year he began surveying. He was appointed county surveyor in 1884, was elected in 1885, and still holds that office. In 1866 Mr. Rees married, at Lafayette, Ind., Martha M., daughter of Joseph Hitchcock, and they have three children: Leonora, Eva and William Burton. Mr. Rees is a member of the G. A. R., Knights of Honor, Sons of Temperance, and Eulalia Lodge, No. 342, F. & A. M. He is a Democrat, is active in politics, has served as register and recorder for a period of five years, and has also been justice of the peace.

CHARLES REISSMANN, dealer in furniture, Coudersport, was born in Sachsen- Altenburg, Germany, in 1824. He came to America in 1854, and settled in New York City, but removed thence to Stedman, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., and from there to Coudersport. Being a carpenter and joiner, he worked here for a time at his trade, and then went into the furniture and undertaking business, which he continued until the fire of 1880, in which he met with a very heavy loss. He rebuilt in 1883, and has since continued bus- iness on Second street, in his commodious quarters, where his enterprise is meeting with the success it merits. Mr. Reissmann married Miss Catharine Schmitt, a lady of German birth, and they have three children: Julius, Anna (now Mrs. Shellenberger) and Kate (now Mrs. Stone). Mr. Reissmann is a member of the Knights of Honor. In politics he affiliates with the Repub- lican party, and has been a member of the council. He and his wife are mem- bers of the Presbyterian Church.

BENJAMIN RENNELLS, Coudersport, is a son of Ezra and Lydia (Clark) Rennells, and was born in Bradford county, Penn., in 1822. He remained with his parents until fourteen years of age, during which time the family removed to near Coudersport, Potter Co., Penn., where Benjamin, our subject, attended school. In 1836 he became an employe of Isaac Strait, at that time proprietor of a hotel, with whom he remained until 1843. He then learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed until within a few years. He has been continually a resident of Coudersport since the date of his coming, with the exception of a brief period he passed at Port Allegany, where he was employed in the lumber business. When he came here the present site of the borough was an almost unbroken wilderness, the land low, in fact a swamp; in excavat- ing for the cellar of his present residence, he was compelled to dig to a depth of thirteen feet before reaching a good gravel foundation. While digging here he found a solid white-ash log, pine knots, hemlock buds, leaves, and what, under a microscope, proved to be sawdust; upon examination of the logs found, with a powerful glass, it became evident that it was occasioned by the work of beavers, and gave unmistakable evidences of its having been, in past ages, a beaver dam. Of those who are now residents of the borough that were here in 1831, but two are now living-Mrs. Ross and Titus Losey. Mr. Rennells is a member of Eulalia Lodge, No. 342, F. & A. M. He is an active Repub- lican, and has been honored by being elected burgess of the borough, member of the council, school director, and to various other positions of honor and trust. In 1847 he married Maria, daughter of John Nelson, of Sweden town- ship, Potter Co., Penn., and they have one son, W. C. Rennells, who married

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Ella, danghter of Isaac Strait; they also had one daughter, Martha, now de- ceased. Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Rennells, in the evening of their life, are enjoying the fruits of earlier labor, and are living in Coudersport.

ALBERT L. RENNELLS, register and recorder of Potter county, Cou- dersport, was born in Homer, Potter Co., Penn., in 1844. He attended the common schools of that locality until 1862, when he enlisted in Company K. One Hundred and Forty-ninth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, remaining in the army for three years. At the battle of Spottsylvania he received a wound, which necessitated the amputation of a leg. After recovering, he re- turned to Coudersport, where he was engaged in various ways until in the fall of 1887, when he was elected register and recorder of Potter county. He is a member of Coudersport Post, No. 104, G. A. R. He is an ardent Republican, and is thoroughly imbued with the principles of the party. He is a gentle- man of good abilities, eminently qualified to fill the position he holds with credit to himself and acceptability to the people of the county. Mr. Rennells married, in 1867, Miss Elmina, daughter of Charles Parish, of Ulysses, Potter county, and they have two children (twin girls): Mary Belle and Kate M.

CAPTAIN DAVID ROSS (deceased), a native of Grafton county, N. H., was born in 1795, and died in 1872. He was of Scotch descent on his father's side, and Puritan on his mother's. His father was a soldier in the war of the Revolution. David Ross, the subject of these lines, came to Pennsylvania in 1820, and was more or less engaged in the lumbering business in Ceres, Mc- Kean county. In 1827 he moved to Coudersport, Potter county, where for several years he was surveyor and local agent for the sale of the Bingham lands, there being no general agent for the same in the county. He was also engaged in viewing and surveying the roads that became necessary in the county, for many years; also in clearing and improving village lots, in building, etc. In July, 1827, he married Mary Ann, daughter of John and Seclendia (House) Knight, and born January 21, 1810, near Syracuse, N. Y. John Knight was a native of Ireland, of Irish-English parentage, and about the close of the eighteenth century came to America with his father's family and an uncle, they being implicated in the Irish rebellion of 1798. They settled in Philadelphia, and started iron works there, which still bear their name, or did up to a few years ago. John Knight was educated in the Moravian school at Bethlehem, near Philadelphia, and in 1807 came to Onondaga county, N. Y., where, in 1808, he married Seclendia House. He was in the war of 1812, and was discharged from the army early in 1815, dying in June, same year, from sickness contracted by privations while in the army. Seclendia House was of Puritan parentage, a daughter of Jonathan and Mary (Smith) House, and born in Bennington county, Vt., in 1788. Her father was a volunteer in the Revo- lutionary war, and was with Gen. Stark at the battle of Bennington in Angust, 1777. His ancestors fought in the King Philip wars. The ancestors of Mary Smith House came to this country early in the seventeenth century, and shared in the privations of the early colonists at Plymouth, Mass. Jonathan House and family removed, in 1797, to Onondaga county, N. Y., at that time a new country with few houses and no churches. Mary Ann Knight came in May, 1825, to Coudersport, Potter county, with her mother and stepfather (J. L. Cartee), her mother having married John L. Cartee, in 1819 (four years after the death of Mr. Knight). Mary Ann Knight taught school at Lymansville, and in July, 1827, as already related, was married to David Ross. The children born to this union were Sobieski, Mary, Pulaski and Ellen. .

Sobieski Ross, eldest of these children, was born May 16, 1828, and when five years of age commenced attending the common school -. In 1840 he

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HISTORY OF POTTER COUNTY.

entered the academy opened that year at Coudersport, which he attended several years. At the age of sixteen he commenced surveying, and in the fall of 1845 we find him in the Bingham land office, his time being occupied for the next year or two in that office, in teaching school, and in buying land. In 1850 Mr. Ross was the nominee of the Whig party for the legislature, but was lefeated. In 1852 he was appointed associate judge by Gov. Johnson, and about the same time took charge of the Barber and Fox lands, and some others, which he continued to hold until his death. In 1853 or 1854 he made a large purchase still known as the Fox and Ross lands, and other purchases known as the Ross lands. From this time on, for many years, he was engaged in the duties of his land office, and in clearing, building and making improve- ments generally, which operations gave employment to many laboring men. When the Coudersport & Port Allegany Railroad Company was organized, early in the " seventies," he became president of the company, a position he filled up to the time of his death. He was elected to the XLIIId Congress, and re-elected to the XLIVth; in 1877 he received the nomination to the XLVth Con- gress, but declined on account of business responsibilities and impaired health. He died October 24, 1877. In October, 1846, Sobieski Ross married Mary Spangler, who was born in February, 1828. By this marriage there were born three sons and one daughter: John Sobieski, Mary, Henry Dent and George Fox. The mother of these children dying November 22, 1862, Mr. Ross mar- ried, in 1864, Isabella Havens (who survives him), who bore him one child, Thomas Havens Ross, now a practicing physician in Buffalo, N. Y. John Sobieski Ross, eldest son of Sobieski Ross, was born January 7, 1848, and died December 14, 1882. He was truly a Coudersport man. Thoroughly business like and upright, he contributed largely to the progress of his native town, and his death, while still young, brought genuine sorrow in the community. He was credited with being the most scholarly man in the village. Mary Ross, said to be the only graduate of Vassar College from this county, mar- ried Alfred Stanton, of Virginia, and now resides in Belmont, Va .; George Fox Ross, born June 19, 1859, died September 27, 1887, leaving a widow and two children. residents of Condersport.

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Author: Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.) comp. cn; J.H. Beers & Co., pub Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Chicago, J. H. Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1320

Author: Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.) comp. cn; J.H. Beers & Co., pub
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago, J. H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1320