USA > Pennsylvania > Crawford County > Our country and its people. A historical and memorial record of Crawford County, Pennsylvania. > Part 103
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Albanas Rossiter, retired, was born September 4, 1818, in Chester county, Pennsylvania, a son of Lindley and Catharine (Vandeshire) Rossiter, life- long residents of Chester and Montgomery counties. Mr. Rossiter, imbued with the courage of an ambitious youth, at the age of seventeen years left his native heath and came to what was then the undeveloped portion of north Pennsylvania.
He first began life by learning a trade, that of coach building, which he followed as a vocation for several years ; later he became a pattern maker. This trade he learned in Phoenixville, Chester county. About the year 1845 he removed to South Shenango, where he ran a farm until about 1850. It was about this time that the Atlantic & Great Western road was opened and he wa's employed in the pattern shop until about 1854, when he removed to Ohio, where he purchased a farm on which he remained until 1870, when he returned to Meadville and entered the employ of Church, Dick & Company, at his former trade. He was in the employ of this company until 1878, when he continued at his trade in the employ of George B. Sennett until 1895, when he retired. March 12, 1840, he married Harriet, daughter of Thomas and Ann (Griffith) Lewellyn, natives of Chester county. Their children are Ed- ward, Thomas, William, Albanas. Jr., Stephen, deceased; Susan, wife of Robert Cook, and Richard. Mr. Rossiter is a member of the Presbyterian church of Meadville and of the Masonic order.
Ira Fetterman was born in the township of Summerhill, this county, on October 7, 1844, attended the district schools and in early life was a farmer. He enlisted in the Union army to suppress the rebellion, in Company I, Sec- ond Pennsylvania Cavalry, on February 18, 1864. In July, 1864, he received a wound in his left leg in an engagement before Petersburg, Virginia, but con- tinued in service until July 27, 1865, when he was honorably discharged. He was married to Mary E. Burns, of Clarksville, Pennsylvania, on April 25, 1867. Their children were James C., Perry L. (who died in his third year), Ralphi K. and R. Lyle.
Mr. Fetterman's father, John Fetterman, born in this state, was reared a farmer, and settled on and owned a farm in Summerhill township, one mile south of Conneautville. By his wife, Sally Crozier, he had six children,- Caroline. William (died young), Tinney, Mary, John and Ira. John Fetter- man died when Ira was not three years old, and his wife but two years later.
Ira Fetterman is a thorough Republican and was appointed justice of the peace on December 1, 1887, to fill a vacancy, and was elected to the same office in February, 1888, which he has held continuously since. He is a Royal Templar and a Grand Army man and has held the offices of quartermaster and commander of the local post. Ancestry of family, German and Scotch.
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Guy C. Schofield was born in Toronto, Canada, on April 22, 1825, edu- cated there, and after engaging in various occupations in different locations in 1849 he started for California, stopping at Conneautville to visit a sister. Through her persuasions and the existence of a good opening for business he was induced to relinquish his long journey and locate in that village. He established a dry-goods business and a lumber trade, both of which he con- ducted for years. He is now the senior member of the firm of Schofield & Slayton, engaged in manufacturing hammer handles for the use of railways. They have an extensive sale on numerous lines of railroads throughout the country. In November, 1860, Mr. Schofield married Helen E. Dewey, of Con- neaut township. His political creed is bimetallism. Mr. Schofield's father, James Schofield, was born in Connecticut in 1781. He became a surveyor and when a young man removed to Canada. Here he married Anna Cornwall, of St. Lawrence, Canada. Their children were Eliza, Adeline, Maria, Sophia, Guy C., Leonora, Julia and James. James Schofield died in 1862, his wife in 1859. Dr. James Schofield, grandfather of Guy C., was a native of London, England. Mrs. Schofield's father, Rodolphus Dewey, was born about 1781 in Hartford, Connecticut, marrying Sally Platt, of New Hamp- shire; he had twelve children,-Lydia, George, Caroline, Edwin, Charles, Maria, Giles, Louisa, Helen E., Sarah, Adolphus and Delia. Mr. Dewey died in 1858, his widow on February 20, 1872. Ancestry of family, New England, of English, French, Scotch and Irish origin.
D. S. Richmond is the second son of Hon. H. L. Richmond, who was for many years one of Meadville's most prominent citizens. He received his edu- cation at Allegheny College, and in 1874 embarked in the lumber business with T. A. Delamater, under the firm name of Richmond & Delamater. Later he became interested in the business of the Conneaut Lake Ice Company, and was in 1879 elected manager, which position he has held ever since and has ad- ministered the affairs of the company successfully and satisfactorily.
He is one of Meadville's most enterprising business men, has filled the , positions of city auditor and member of the city council. In 1880 he was appointed supervisor of the United States census of the tenth district of Penn- sylvania. Mr. Richmond is a Republican in politics, is an active party worker, and has for several years filled the position of chairman of the Republican county committee. He is a devoted fisherman, and has landed some of the finest fish ever caught in Conneaut Lake.
Charles H. Sweetman .- In the railroad circles of Meadville no one stands better or has a longer and more creditable record as a faithful and efficient employee of the local railway corporation than Charles H. Sweetman. He was born April 18, 1837, at Oneida, New York, and is a son of John and Mat-
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tie (Davis) Sweetman. The father was one of two children, and his sister, Julia, widow of William Tuttle, is now a resident of Buffalo, New York. The brothers and sisters of Mrs. Sweetman were James, Abram, Alonzo, Chauncey, Caroline, Malinda (Mrs. Ira Cowden, of Versailles, New York), Mrs. Pheba Plough, of Smith Mills, same state, and Mrs. Maria Richmond, of Delhi Mills, Michigan; the three latter are deceased. Prior to 1840 John Sweetman and wife removed from Oneida to Cattaraugus county, New York, and subse- quently they were residents of Sheridan, Chautauqua county until the death of Mrs. Sweetman, January 3, 1890. The father did not long survive her, as he died in Meadville on the 3d of the ensuing September. They were the parents of three children, namely: C. H., William B. and Helen, who is now in San Francisco, California.
In his boyhood Charles H. Sweetman attended school in Chautauqua county, New York. When fifteen years of age he commenced learning the machinist's trade at Dunkirk, and three years later he went to Wisconsin and was given a position as engineer on a locomotive with the Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad, his headquarters being in Prairie du Chien. At the end of a year and a half of service in that place he went south and for eigliteen months held a similar position on the Galveston, Houston & Henderson Rail- road, his run being from Galveston. The unsettled conditions prevalent in that part of the country just prior to the outbreak of the Civil war caused Mr. Sweetman's return to his native state, where for about a year he was en- gaged in the drilling of oil-wells in the vicinity of Titusville. On the 19th of August, 1862, he became connected with the Atlantic & Great Western Rail- road, and has continued with that corporation and its successors until the present time, now being the oldest engineer in active service on this division, in years of actual work. A charter member of the local lodge of the Brother- hood of Locomotive Engineers, he still retains his connection with it, and has held the highest offices in the same.
The marriage of Mr. Sweetman and Miss Mary Mackey was solemnized September 3, 1863, in Waterford, Erie county, Pennsylvania. Two children, Jessie D., and Idalene May, blessed their union. Mrs. Sweetman is a daughter of Ebenezer and Rachel ( Barrachman) Mackey, who were of the old Mohawk Valley Pennsylvania Dutch stock.
William B. Sweetman, who is well known and popular in railroad circles in Meadville, was born in Versailles, Cattaraugus county, New York, December 6, 1844, a son of John and Mattie (Davis) Sweetman, a sketch of whom is given in the biography of Charles H., a brother of our subject.
When a child of but four years of age W. B. Sweetman commenced at- tending school and continued his studies until 1859. On the Ist of February, 1861, he went to Titusville, and for the following year operated a stationary
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engine for drilling oil. He began his career as a railroad man in the spring of 1863, when he took a position as a brakeman on the western division of the (then) New York & Lake Erie Railroad. Later he served as a fireman on the Oil Creek line, and still later acted in the same capacity under the veteran Joseph York on the Atlantic & Great Western. Promoted to be engineer of a freight train, August 20, 1864, he faithfully discharged his duties for ten years, when he was again promoted an engineer on a passenger train. Since that time, May 2, 1874, he has held some of the best runs on the division.
In 1864 Mr. Sweetman joined the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, and in September, 1868, he became a member of the insurance branch of the order. He has been chief of the local department for two years, and was a delegate to the Grand International Division of the Brotherhood, which con- vened in San Francisco in 1884, and in New Orleans in 1885. In politics, Mr. Sweetman is a "free-silver" Democrat.
In Sheridan, New York, on the 7th of February, 1867, a marriage cere- mony was performed by which Hannah, a daughter of John and Sarah (Thomas) Horner, became the wife of W. B. Sweetman. This worthy couple have two children, namely: Sarah M. and Cora May.
James G. Leffingwell, M. D., Conneautville, was born eight miles north of Meadville, at Woodcockboro, on January 21, 1846. He was educated in the common schools and at the University of the State of Michigan at Ann Arbor, in the medical department of which he was graduated in 1873. Pre- vious to this, on August 8, 1862, he enlisted as a soldier of the Union in Com- pany B, One Hundred and Thirty-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers, and served until honorably discharged, in June, 1863. Dr. Leffingwell was in the active practice of medicine for thirteen years, coming to Conneautville in 1868 and locating as a physician. For the past seven years, however, he has been the proprietor of a well appointed drug store.
On October 17, 1874, he married Mary I. Meyler, and they have two sons : L. George, a graduate of the commercial college at Erie, and now a druggist with his father; and Harry A., now attending the same commercial college. Andrew B. Leffingwell, the Doctor's father, was born in Norwich, Massachu- setts, on February 28. 1814, and came to this state with his parents when a boy. He became an attorney-at-law and on February 14, 1839, married Par- nell Gibbs, of Jamestown, Pennsylvania. Their children were Adelaide P., Charles A., Andrew E., James G., Eva V., Orsamus A. and Missouri R. Mrs. . Parnell Leffingwell was born in Clay, Onondaga county, New York, on December 25, 1822. She survives her husband, who died on March 27, 1853.
Dr. Leffingwell belongs to the local Grand Army post, is a member and a past master of Western Crawford Lodge of Freemasons, also a member and a past high priest of Oriental Chapter, R. A. M., and belongs to Mount Olivet
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commandery K. T., of Erie, and to Zem Zem temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. The Doctor is an ardent free-silver Democrat in political belief. Ancestry of family, Welsh in both lines.
Abram P. Townsend was born in Putnam county, New York, Novem- ber 15, 1837, and came to Crawford county with his parents in 1840. His education was obtained in the common schools, and by occupation he has been a blacksmith. He has been twice married : first, on May 4, 1862, to Loretta Carr, of this locality. She died on January 16, 1865, and on June 11, 1868, he married Louisa Lord, of Linesville. They have two children, Elton C. and Pearl; the latter is a student in the high school, and Elton C. is a clerk in the employ of H. R. Hatch, a dry-goods merchant of Cleveland, Ohio.
Mr. Townsend's father, Isaac, was born in the state of New York in 1811. He was well educated for his day, and was a farmer. He married Charlotte Barnes, and of their ten children nine attained maturity,-Joseph, Charles, Margaret A., Abram P., Peter, Phebe J., Isaac, Samuel and William P. Mr. Townsend died in 1895, and his widow one month later in the same year. Mrs. Townsend's father, Willard Lord, was a resident of Linesville in this county. He was educated in the district schools, and by occupation was a shingle-maker. Hle married Anna Madison, by whom he had five children,- Louisa, James, Hattie, Alfred and a son who died in infancy. Mrs. Lord died about 1846. Mr. Lord married a second time, and died about 1883. Mr. Townsend in his political choice is a free-silver Democrat. Ancestry of family, English, Dutch, French and Scotch.
John W. Wright, of Spring township, was born in Shoreham, Madison county, Vermont, on June 20, 1831. His parents moved to this county when he was a mere lad, and here he was educated at the common schools and at Wilson's academy. Learning the shoemaker's trade, he wrought at it for years and finally became a farmer. He is a deacon of the Baptist church and in political belief a stalwart Republican. By his first marriage, to Maria Dauchy, he had one son, Cary W., now a resident of Kansas, who married Addie Sheldon, and has children, Harry, John, Bessie and an infant. Mrs. Maria D). Wright died in 1860, and Mr. Wright married, secondly, Arminda Bowman. Of their four children only one survives, Andrew P. Wright, of Galesburg, Illinois. Mrs. Arminda Wright died in 1878, and on May 21, 1882, Mr. Wright was married to his present wife, whose maiden name was Jane Sloan. She was of Collins, Erie county, New York. Mr. Wright's father, Andrew Wright, was born at the old family homestead in Vermont, in 1775. Ile married Almira Pond. of his native place, and they had eleven chil- dren. The family came to Niagara county, New York, when Mr. Wright was a lad, and here the father died in 1838 and the mother in 1842. Jonathan
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Sloan, father of the present Mrs. Wright, was born in Washington county, New York, in 1793. He was educated in the public schools and married Cyn- thia Goodell. They made their home for a time in Dansville, Livingston county, New York, and then removed to Collins, Erie county, same state. Mr. Sloan died in 1859 and Mrs. Sloan in 1877. Their children were Lydia A., John, Asel V., Archibald, J. Jay, Jane, Hannah Cary and Maria. Remote ancestry of family, English and Scotch, coming down through New England residents. The Ponds came from Dorchester, England, about 1630.
George Henry Wentworth, Randolph township .- Mr. Wentworth's grandfather, John HI., when a boy, was in the service of Captain Hart, who was with General Anthony Wayne in his campaign against the Indians of northwestern Pennsylvania, and was the first white man to settle on French creek, locating four miles below Cochranton. His son William married Mary, daughter of George Henry. To them were born three sons,-Andrew Thomas, George Henry and Leon D.
The subject of this sketch was born in 1840, in East Fairfield. He mar- ried, July 22, 1862, Susan M., daughter of John and Elizabeth Carey, of Mer- cer county. Their children are Mary E., wife of John Kirk, William L., John C., Fred C., Lettie P., wife of H. A. Moyer, and Rodney D. Mrs. Kirk is a practicing physician of Rome township. Mr. Wentworth has a farm of seventy acres.
Abner C. Calvin was born October 21, 1854, at Hartstown, Crawford county, Pennsylvania. His father, Joseph A. Calvin, and his grandfather, John C. Calvin, were farmers, and natives of Jefferson county, Pennsylvania. The latter lived the allotted three-score and ten years.
Joseph A. Calvin remained on the original homestead until he was sixteen years old, at which time he removed with his father to the farm near Harts- town, which has since been his home, and where at the advanced age of sev- enty-five he is still a prominent figure in the community and a progressive, successful farmer. Joseph A. Calvin is a stanch Democrat, and has held various township offices, his term of service as justice of the peace extending over many years. Ile is an elder, and member of long standing, of the United Pres- byterian church.
The youth of Abner C. Calvin was of the quiet, uneventful sort, peculiar to the average boy who lives on a farm and acquires solid ideas of life and work from the habit of carly rising and through the medium of the district schools. His horizon broadened perceptibly when, at the age of sixteen, he went to the Academy of Jamestown, Pennsylvania, at which he graduated after a three- years' course. He also attended the Allegheny College at Meadville for two years.
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The inspiration of Mr. Calvin's successful life work, aside from his own enterprise, was his cousin, Dr. D. M. Calvin, of Meadville. It was in the office of this eminent practitioner that the wonderful scheme of medical and sur- gical science began its slow and fascinating unrolling before the eager student eyes, to be later more fully comprehended and intelligently absorbed at that famous seat of medical lore, the Jefferson Medical College, of Philadelphia. Mr. Calvin graduated at this institution in March of 1878.
A pleasant and fitting sequel to the earlier association of the cousins Cal- vin, was the partnership entered into, and sustained by them for ten years, until, owing to the unsatisfactory condition of his wife's health, Dr. Abner Calvin, hoping much from a change of surroundings, established a home in the country about four miles from Meadville. This home has since been the Doctor's permanent residence.
Dr. Calvin married Miss Priscilla Price, of Meadville, and their only child, J. Mac, is living with his parents.
Dr. Calvin's political inclinations are toward the policies of the Demo- cratic party. He has never sought official distinction, but, owing to his own ex- ceptional advantages and consequent interest in matters educational, has been indneed to serve several terms as a member of the school board. He has been a township committeeman for ten years, and is a member of the I. O. O. F., Crawford Lodge, No. 734, of Meadville.
In Dr. Calvin's genial, magnetic personality, the neurotic pharmacopoeia has an added potent unrecorded antidote for human ills. The strength and kindliness of his nature seem to satisfy the needs and find an echo in the hearts of friends that are legion. His practice is far-reaching and remunerative, his home renowned for beauty of location and hospitable intent, and he is known wherever his skill is appreciated and influence felt, as an all-around "jolly good fellow."
Frank W. Smith is the grandson of Lemuel Smith, who came into the county at an early date from Massachusetts. The children of Lemuel are Nel- son, the father of the subject of this sketch ; Lemuel, Jr. ; Sarah, wife of Mer- ritt Hall : Mary Estie. wife of Leonard Delamater ; and Hannah, wife of Dan- iel Bannister. Frank W. has five brothers, Herman, William, Beecher, Ansel and Millard. Born in 1863, he married Jane, daughter of John and Mary Murdoch, in 1887. They have three daughters .- Patty, Joye and Henrietta.
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