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 58

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 58
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 58
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 58
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 58

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).

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HISTORY OF MCKEAN COUNTY.

addition to his other interests, Mr. Rose is attorney for the county commission- ers; and in this connection, at the time of his appointment, a local paper paid him the following just tribute to his ability as an attorney and his integrity as a citizen: "The Appointees. The new board of commissioners appointed, as their legal counsel, Hon. Robert H. Rose. Mr. Rose is one of the younger. yet one of the ablest, members of the bar of Mckean county. He represented this county in the legislature of 1885 with great credit, and as a member of the law firm of Sterrett & Rose he has had very considerable legal experience. Other attorneys sought the position who were backed by strong friends, but the commissioners finally decided in favor of Mr. Rose, and no one can deny but that the selection is a singularly meritorious one." Mr. Rose has been actively engaged in the oil trade since 1878, and is a member of the Bradford Exchange; has operated in the Bradford, Allegany and Washington fields largely, and is recognized as a thorough, able and successful business man and financier. On September 5, 1877, he was married to Laena D., daughter of Hon. Henry Hamlin, and their union, a most happy one, has been blessed in the birth of two children: Robert Craig and Marion. Mr. Rose has repre- sented his district in the State legislature, where he made an enviable record. He takes a just pride in being a thirty-second degree Freemason, a Knight Templar, and a member of the consistory at Pittsburgh; as also a member of the Mystic Shrine. In his political views Mr. Rose has always been a Repub- lican. His home is one of the fine residences of the borough, and he is rec- ognized as one of the leading representative citizens. Mr. Rose is of a re- markably genial and kindly nature, and his home is the center of a refined social life, to which his own personality gives much of the zest. Here he has also given free scope to his love of the fine arts, notably pictures by modern artists, of which he is an enthusiastic admirer and intelligent judge.

MOSES ROSENFIELD, dealer in clothing and jewelry, Smethport, son of S. A. and Sarah Rosenfield, was born in Germany, near the Russian line, March 15, 1862, and was educated in the Hebrew school in his native country. His father, who was a merchant and dealer in produce, employed about 150 men. and Moses assisted him, making his home with his parents until he emi- grated to America. His parents are still living in Germany. Their children were Joseph, Rebecca (who died in 1879, at the age of twenty-two, having been married only eighteen months), Levi, Barney, Jacob and Moses. The first two sons are in Germany, Barney is a merchant at Bradford, Penn., and Jacob is with Moses. Moses came to America in 1878, and located in New York City, where he remained a little over two years. He began his business career as a merchant in a small way, and, as funds increased, enlarged his stock, until by hard work, economy and strict attention to business, he has secured a sum which enables him to do a trade on a large scale. He located at Smethport in the fall of 1880, and in 1888 he erected the building he now occupies (having previously purchased the lot), where he is now extensively engaged in the clothing and jewelry trade. Mr. Rosenfield is a member of the I. O. O. F., lodge and encampment. He is a member of the Hebrew Church.

H. W. RUBIN, merchant tailor and dealer in clothing, Smethport, was born in Germany, February 23, 1855, receiving his education in his native country. When fourteen years of age he came to Syracuse, N. Y., and com- menced business for himself by selling goods upon the road, coming in 1879 to Smethport, where he engaged in his present business. He married Sep- tember 28, 1879, Miss Sarah Rosenson, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and they are the parents of four children: Rachel, Harry, Ida and Estella. Mr. Rubin is now one of the largest and most successful business men in Smethport. He is a

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member of McKean Lodge, No. 38S, F. & A. M. ; also of Smethport Lodge, No. 389, I. O. O. F., and encampment No. 273.

ROSWELL SARTWELL, retired. Smethport. The first of the Sartwell family in America was Simon Sartwell, who located at Charlestown, N. H .. and was killed by the Indians while he was plowing on his farm. He had two sons, Obediah and John. Obediah lived in the town of Langdon, N. H., and had a family of six sons: Solomon, Phineas, Joel, Obediah, Thomas and Ros- well. John had a family of nineteen sons and one daughter. Solomon, the eldest son of Obediah, was reared in Langdon, N. H., and was there married and later settled on Sartwell creek, in Potter county, Penn., and about 1815 moved to Farmers Valley, McKean county, where he died. He was twice married, and had a family of eight children: Betsey, born May 20, 1794; Solomon, January 16. 1796; Joel. April 16, 1798; Asa. August 19, 1800; Sally, February 13, 1803; Almond, November 14, 1806; Armena, July 11, 1808, and Cordelia, September 11, 1817. Solomon Sartwell, the eldest son of this family, removed when a young man to Rochester, N. Y., where he worked at the carpenter's trade, and thence came to Smethport. Penn., where he engaged extensively in the lumber and mercantile businesses. He was a prominent man in his day. He was sheriff of the county, was appointed associate judge, and at the time of his death was a justice of the peace. January 1, 1822, he married Sally, daughter of Isaac and Phoebe King, and they had six children: Alfred Mortimer, born December 30, 1822, died June 12. 1831; Chester King, born May 12, 1824: George Washington, born February 22, 1826; Roswell, born November 7, 1827; Mary, born February 28, 1830, died May 16, 1860, and Samuel Babcock, born April 8, 1833, died June 8, 1882. The father died August 24, 1876, and the mother October 28. 1877. Of these, Roswell, the fourth son, and whose name heads this sketch. enlisted in 1861 in Company H, Fifty-eighth Regiment P. V. I., but was discharged after a short service on account of disability. He has been extensively engaged in the lumber and mercantile businesses, but is now living retired from active life. In 1878 he was elected sheriff of the county, and made an efficient officer. Mr. Sartwell married Mary A., daughter of Henry Chapin, and they have two sons, T. L. and F. C. T. L. is married and has one son, Roswell C. Mr. Roswell Sartwell is a member of the G. A. R. In poli- tics he is a Democrat.

JOHN R. SHOEMAKER, late county treasurer, Smethport, son of Jacob Shoemaker, was born in Monroe county, Penn., in 1841, and received his education in the common schools. In 1865, for a couple of months, he filled a clerkship at Port Jervis, N. Y., and in May of that year he removed to Man- kato, Minn., where he was engaged in a dry goods store, and in the winter of 1865-66 he had charge of a store at Winnebago City, same State. In May. 1866, he married Miss Sarah A. Wood, of Mankato, Minn., and returned east to Monroe county, Penn., the following winter. In 1867 and 1868 Mr. Shoe- maker was engaged in the wholesale notion trade; in 1869 he was a traveling salesman for the house of H. C. Leet & Co., of New York City, and in 1870 he similarly represented the house of Huntington & Darn, wholesale grocers; also in 1871, owing to the death of a brother, he took charge of his store in Northampton county, Penn., and settled his estate; in 1873-74. he had charge of a store for Monroe Howell, at Troy, Morris Co., N. J., and in October, 1874. he removed to Mckean county, Penn., locating in Clermont in Novem- ber, 1875, where he filled a position as book-keeper and cashier for the Buf. falo Coal Company for a period of five years. In July, 1880, he became clerk in the commissioners' office, of Mckean county, where he remained until Jan-

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uary 1, 1887, when, having at the preceding election been made treasurer of the county, he took possession of that responsible office, which, as an affable, courteous gentleman, he filled with honor to the county and credit to himself until his retirement, January 1, 1890. Mr. Shoemaker is an active Republi- can. He is a member of Mckean Lodge, No. 388, F. & A. M.

CASPAR SMITH, farmer, P. O. Farmers Valley, son of George and Katrina Smith, was born in Germany in 1839, being one of a family of seven children, viz. : George C., John, Andrew, Margaret E., Dorotha, Lenora and Caspar. Caspar Smith immigrated to America in 1849, and located in Pitts- burgh, Penn., where he was engaged at his trade as a tailor for a period of seven years. In 1852 he married Miss Anna D., daughter of Conrad Dean, of that city, and in 1856 came to Mckean county, locating at Clermont, where he was engaged in farming until 1874, when he removed to Keating township to the farm he now owns near Farmers Valley. He erected a grist-mill there of three run of stone, of which he is a one-half owner. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have six children, viz. : Margaret (now Mrs. George Boyer), John, Mary, Regina (now Mrs. Eugene Day), August and Ella. They are members of the Lutheran Church, and Mr. Smith is a member of Mckean Lodge, No. 388, F. & A. M.,- of Smethport. He is a Republican in politics, was elected justice of the peace in 1869, and in 1877 was elected commissioner of the county.

WILLIAM SPECHT, dealer in furniture, Smethport, was born in Han- over, Germany, in 1825, son of Eingenhouse and Louisa Specht. After the death of Eingenhouse, Louisa Specht was married to Jacob Sasse, and became the mother of Carl Sasse, mentioned below. William Specht was educated in his native country, immigrated to America in 1851, and the same year located at Smethport, where he worked at the cabinet maker's trade. He married, December 3, 1854, Elizabeth Heineman (who died February 25, 1881), and they had two children: Carrie (who died December 23, 1886), and William F. In 1879 he, with Carl Sasse, erected a fine, commodious building in Smethport, and engaged in the furniture business, which they still continue. He is a member of Mckean Lodge, No. 388, F. & A. M. He and his wife are members of the Catholic Church, and he is a Republican in politics.

CARL SASSE, his partner in business, was born in Duderstadt, Hanover, Prussia, in 1838, and immigrated to America in 1863. He located in Smeth- port, and engaged in cabinet making until he became associated with Mr. Specht in business. He married, in 1867, Margaret Koenig, also a native of Duderstadt, and they have had five children: Leonard (deceased), Amanda, Herman, Rudolph and Waldo. Mr. Sasse is a member of the A. O. U. W.

DR. M. A. SPRAGUE, merchant, Smethport, son of Parris A. and Elizabeth Sprague, is a native of Erie county, N. Y., born in 1833. He was educated at what is now Griffith Institute. He began his professional life as a dentist in Erie county, N. Y., and in February, 1860, removed to Smeth- port, Mckean county, where he designed to remain only over night, but, find- ing a desirable field here for the practice of dentistry, located here and practiced until 1872. He then purchased a half-square, and erected on the corner of Main and Fulton streets one of the first brick blocks built in Smeth- port, and engaged in the hardware trade, in which he has since done a pleas- ant and remunerative business, and where he is still to be found. The Doctor has been made the recipient of nearly all the honors the borough can confer upon an individual-having been its burgess, member of council, school di- rector, and having filled all the minor official positions in the borough, In 1866 he was appointed assessor of internal revenue for Cameron and Mckean coun- ties, a position he held for three years, when he was made deputy prothono-

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tary, register and recorder of Mckean county; upon the resignation of Mr. Rogers he was appointed prothonotary, and at the ensuing election was elected to that office. In 1882 he was appointed by President Arthur post- master at Smethport, and after repeated requests to have a successor appointed, and his many refusals to retain the office, he succeeded in June, 1888, of being relieved of the cares of a public trust. He is a member of the Republican party, but never was an office seeker, and honors came without an effort on his part to secure them. He is a member of Smethport Lodge, No. 388. F. & A. M., and of Trinity Commandery of Bradford. In 1862 he married Emma J., daughter of Nelson Richmond, one of the prominent citizens of Smeth- port, having been judge of the county, and was one of the largest landholders in the county. Dr. and Mrs. Sprague have two children: Carlton R. and Rose A.

GEORGE A. STICKLES, farmer, P. O. East Smethport, the second son of Stephen and Elizabeth (Teal) Stickles, was born in Columbia county, N. Y., in 1827. He moved to Seneca county, N. Y., thence to Yates county, same State, and then, in 1841, to McKean county, Penn., remaining with his parents until manhood. His grandfather, Adam Stickles, lived on the place he now owns, and there he died. George A. Stickles married. in July, 1855, Caroline Grimes, daughter of John Grimes, of Liberty township, Mckean Co., Penn., and their children are: Adelbert, Jay and Ella. Mr. Stickles is a supporter of the principles of the Republican party.

MILLER C. STICKLES, farmer and lumberman, P. O. Smethport, is a son of Stephen and Elizabeth Stickles, and was born in Claverack. Colum- bia Co., N. Y., on December 22, 1830. In 1836 the family moved to Waterloo. Seneca county, and thence, in 1838, to Yates county, N. Y., and, in 1841. to Keating township, Mckean Co., Penn., where they located on a farm adjoining the one now occupied by Miller C. Here the parents reared their family of six children, named as follows: Jacob F., Catherine M., George A., Miller C., Hiram S. and Lydia E. The father died in August, 1864, and his widow then made her residence with our subject until her death, in February, 1880. Miller C. returned to Columbia county, N. Y., in 1855, and in May of that year married Miss Catherine E., daughter of W. H. Hurd. He remained the fol- lowing summer in Columbia county, working for his uncle, Jacob Teal, at $12 per month, until November 1, when, with his wife, he returned to Mc- Kean county, Penn., and settled on the farm he still lives on, and en- gaged in lumbering and clearing up his place. His first purchase was a contract for twenty-four acres, then in the hands of a third party, with about two acres improved. As fast as he acquired means he bought of his neigh- bors who wanted to go west, and in this manner secured five different lots, which comprise his present homestead. He has now one of the largest barns in the county, it being 100x50 feet, with outside posts twenty-four feet long; it has forty windows and a mow for hay 100 feet long. In ad- dition to the homestead he owns several other farms, some timber land, and considerable village property. In politics Mr. Stickles is a Republican, and has filled many official positions in the township, in fact he is one of the most substantial and influential citizens. To revert to the pioneer days, a recital of the following circumstances may not prove uninteresting: When Stephen Stickles arrived in Keating township he had but $2.50 left, and had but one acquaintance in his neighborhood, P. B. Fuller. Work was scarce and wages very low, and the father and boys went to making shingles, which brought 75 cents per thousand, and "store pay" at that; having little or no hay they chopped browse for the cow and yearling once a day, and thus worried through the winter of 1841-42. In the spring of 1842, the father, having a net, caught

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thousands of wild pigeons, but, as there was no market for them, he hired him- self and his net to his neighbors at $2 per day, capturing 500 to 2,000 per diem. In 1844 Miller C. Stickles began carrying the mail for Capt. A. H. Cory from Smethport to Great Valley, N. Y., via the Tunuanguant, a distance of thirty-six miles, going on horseback one day and returning the next day; for this service he received 25 cents per day. John F. Melvin was the post- master at Kendall Creek, and A. K. Johnson, deputy. The next post- office was at Rice's, two or three miles south of the mouth of Tunuangnant creek, but there was no bridge, and the Allegany river had to be forded. The next post- office was at Kill Buck, with John Green in charge, and the next office was at Great Valley, of which Daniel Farrington was postmaster, and there Mr. Stickles passed the night. At times the trip would reach far into the night, as late, very often, as 11 o'clock. This contract ended in July, 1848, when Mr. Stickles en- tered into a new one with Lemuel Southwick, to carry the mail from Smethport to Bellefonte, a distance of 126 miles. At that time the turnpike went over Bunker Hill and through Williamsville and Montmorency to Ridgway: the next office was at Hyetts, seven miles from Ridgway; the next at Caledonia. on Bennett's Branch; then, from Caledonia through the Twenty-four- Mile woods to the Dutch settlement or Karthaus; thence to Snow Shoe; thence down Four-mile Mountain to Milesburg; thence to Bellefonte, the round trip consuming six days, and the recompense being 35 cents per day. In 1849 Mr. Stickles carried the mail for John G. Young from Smethport to Condersport; then from Couders- port on to Wellsborough, and then back to Smethport, the trip consuming four days, for which he received $1.50 per round trip. Mr. Stickles was one of the most successful pigeon trappers in Mckean county. In 1854 W. S. Oviatt agreed to pay him 31 cents per dozen for all he could catch between April 4 until May 4. Mr. Stickles trapped, April 4, 5 and 6, and in three days earned $76.25; he could easily have made $2,000 had he trapped until May 4, but after netting during the three days mentioned, the market dropped to 10 cents per dozen. In 1868, however, prices were good, reaching $1 per dozen, and Mr. Stickles caught over 1,200 dozens, in one forenoon capturing 105 dozens.

JAMES H. STULL, proprietor of meat market, East Smethport, is the eldest son of John and Phebe Stull, and was born at Eldred, Mckean Co., Penn., in 1839. John Stull was born in Reading, Steuben Co., N. Y., in December, 1808, and his father, Joseph Stull, settled in what is now Eldred township, McKean county, in 1808, during the winter, reaching his destination by traveling on the ice, Jacob, brother of Joseph, accompanying him. They each cleared a ten-acre lot, when they discovered they were on a 600-acre tract owned by others and were compelled to remove. Joseph came to what is now Stull Town, McKean county, cleared a farm, and remained there throughont his life, dying at the age of ninety-one years and ten months. His children were Alma, Abram, John, Abbey, Camilla, Baker, Lorinda, Mary, Jerome, George and Joseph. John, the second son of Joseph Stull, married Phebe Windsor, in 1831, located in Pennsylvania, and afterward in New York. remaining seventeen years, when he returned to Eldred and worked at his trade, that of carpenter and joiner. In 1884 he removed to Smethport. and has his home with his son, James H. His wife died September 17, 1883. Their children were James H., Phebe M., Almeda, John E. and D. L. James H. Stull married, in 1870, M. E. Keyes, and after their marriage they located on a farm in Eldred township, where they remained until 1883, when they removed to East Smethport, where Mr. Stull has since been engaged in his present business. They have four children: Myrtie, Cora. Grace and Hattie. Mr. Stull enlisted October 21, 1861, in Company H, One Hundred and Tenth

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Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, which was afterward consolidated with the Fifty-eighth Regiment, and he was transferred to Company D, Fourth United States Light Artillery, in which he served until February, 1867. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Knights of the Maccabees, and in politics is a Republican.

A. N. TAYLOR (deceased) was a native of Madison county, N. Y., and was born June 11, 1822, of English descent, and died May 15, 1876, the result of a fall. on September 25, 1875. Some time in the last century Robert and James Taylor came from England, and April 10, 1785, the first named married Sally Bailey, at Groton, Conn., but was lost at sea about six months before his son, James, came into the world. Sally Taylor then married John Bailey, May 31, 1796, and by him was the mother of several children; again becoming a widow, she next intermarried, June 5, 1810, with Daniel Goth. Deacon James Taylor, son of Robert and Sally (Bailey) Taylor, was born at New London, Conn., December 28, 1788, and January 14, 1811, he married at Franklin, Delaware Co., N. Y., Lois Niles, who was born August 28, 1787, at Colchester, Conn., and they had a family of seven children, the subject of this sketch being the fifth child in order of birth. June 13, 1824, the family moved to Mckean county, and settled on a backwoods farm. The father, James Taylor, was elected the second sheriff of Mckean county. A. N. Taylor very early gave evidence of the untiring and indomitable energy that was so prominent a char- acteristic of his life, and, having a taste for mercantile business, at about the age of nineteen he entered, as a clerk, the store of Hawkins, Ford & Taylor, his father being one of the partners in the firm. Two years later he formed a partnership with his father, and commenced business in the old Astor building. A few years later he bought out his father's interest in the business, and built a store adjoining the Astor House, which he occupied until it was burned down in the fire of March 28, 1868. He afterward moved his store to the Sartwell block. When he first commenced business he had but $400 in the world. Although it is impossible to give a correct estimate, it is believed by those best acquainted with his affairs, that he was worth at the time of his death not less than $300,000. March 1, 1849, he became united in marriage with Ann E., daughter of William E. and Betsy A. (Bard) Fuller, and born December 28, 1828, at Unadilla, Otsego Co., N. Y. Five years after her birth her parents moved to Mexico, Oswego county, where her father carried on farming, and where he died May 4, 1854; her mother died at the age of twenty-six, Decem- ber 28, 1831. Mrs. Ann E. Taylor comes of " Mayflower" ancestry, her great- grandfather having been one of the Lutheran ministers who crossed the ocean on that historic vessel. Her grandfather, Isaac Fuller, was a lieutenant under Washington, and was promoted on the field of Bunker Hill, where he was wounded; he was a native of New Hampshire, where he married a German lady, their children being William E., father of Mrs. Taylor, and Christopher, for- merly a Presbyterian clergyman of Rochester, N. Y., now deceased. By the marriage of William E. Fuller and Betsy A. Bard three children were born. viz. : Ann E., Charlotte T. (now deceased, who married the late Hon. L. T. Moore, of Emporium, Penn., who in his lifetime had been made the recipient of various political honors) and M. C. (of Bedford, Iowa). To the union of A. N. Taylor and Ann E. Fuller were born three children: Ada M. (now Mrs. D. C. Young), Frank N. and Flora C. (now Mrs. J. J. Newman). A. N. Tay- lor was a man of remarkable business capacity, and should be classed among the most successful men of our day and time. His entire heart and mind was in . his business during his earlier days. He was keen and shrewd, quick to detect the weakness of an opponent, and improve an opportunity of favorable invest-

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HISTORY OF MCKEAN COUNTY.

ment. Many men may have complained that he was a hard man to deal with, yet the assertion can be ventured, without fear of successful contradiction, that no man whom he believed to be dealing honestly and fairly by him was ever oppressed or wronged by his authority, and that no man in Mckean county was found to be more sympathetic and tender hearted when approached in a proper manner. He was a business man in every sense. He expected men to live up to their obligations. He took all manner of chances, and gave accom- modation and time to men whom no other merchants would trust, in hundreds of cases. The loss that Mckean county, and the borough of Smethport espe- cially, sustains in the death of A. N. Taylor can not at once be estimated. When a town loses one of its ablest, most energetic, successful and wealthiest busi- ness men, the loss is not fully repaired in years. At the time of his fatal fall he had in contemplation the use of a portion of his ample means for the build- ing up and improvement of the borough, and had already taken energetic steps in that direction. He left a widow and three children, one son and two daughters; and though well provided for as to the things of this world, nothing can fully compensate the loss of a kind and wisely indulgent father and husband. Mr. Taylor, always a Republican in politics from the organization of the party, was once elected associate judge by an overwhelming majority. During the days of the Civil war he had the fullest faith in the ultimate success of the Union arms, and he had lost since that time none of his love for the principles of his party or his zeal for their success.

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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