USA > Pennsylvania > Crawford County > Our country and its people. A historical and memorial record of Crawford County, Pennsylvania. > Part 84
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Born in Randolph, Tipton county, Tennessee, July 28, 1839, he be- longed to one of the oldest and most prominent families of America. His ancestry can be traced back to Henry Sherman, who lived in Dedham, Essex county, England, in the year 1520. His grandson, Edmond Sherman, came to America about 1632, and from him was descended Roger Sherman. The members of the family seemed to be endowed with those qualities which make the successful pioneer and colonizer. At the time of the American revolu- tion they had resided in this country for nearly a hundred and fifty years, and from the earliest times they were known as lovers of liberty, strenuous in asserting their rights, with the courage to maintain their convictions and
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determined in their opposition to all forms of tyranny. It is therefore not strange that we find many of the Shermans of New England taking an active part in the events which brought on, and in the prosecution of, the war for independence.
The father of our subject, Isaac De Blois Sherman, was born in Pom- pey. New York, in 1797, and was graduated at Williams College, in Massa- chusetts. December 26, 1824, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. From 1831 until 1833 he edited and published the Syracuse Argus, of Syracuse, New York, but during the greater part of his life followed his profession. He was married June 1, 1828, to Miss Phoebe Conkling, of Amaganset, Long Island, and in November, 1835, they left Syracuse, New York, going to Ran- dolph, Tipton county, Tennessee. Mrs. Sherman was a sister of the late Hon. Alfred Conkling, of Auburn, New York, member of congress from 1821 until 1823, United States district judge, and minister to Mexico in 1850. Dr. Sherman afterward practiced his profession in Arkansas, as well as in Tennessee. He was gifted with an ardent and enthusiastic temperament, an excellent physical organization, a studious nature and keen and practical mind, with great energy and force of will. He died about the close of the civil war, his wife having passed away in December, 1855. She was a lady of great refinement, of high education and literary taste, of calm and dignified de- meanor and steadfast character.
Roger Sherman was therefore very fortunate in his early home sur- roundings, which naturally bore marked influence on his character. He prepared for college in a school conducted by Rev. Dr. Prentice in Geneva, New York, but did not continue his literary education. In a history of the Sherman family, of which he was the author, he said: "My father found himself unable to carry out his cherished idea of a collegiate education for his son, and when little more than fifteen years of age I was confronted with the problem of earning my living." He followed civil engineering for one or two years with a surveying party for the projected Burlington & Missouri River Road, and three times he walked nearly across the state of Iowa during one of the most severe winters ever experienced. The financial panic of 1857, however, paralyzed railroad enterprises and the surveying party returned to the east.
After a short enforced idleness he turned his attention in another direc- tion. On the suggestion of his father and the receipt of a copy of Blackstone, from his aunt, Elizabeth H. Conkling, Mr. Sherman went to his father's home in Arkansas and began the study of law. In November, 1860, when twenty- one years of age, he was admitted to the bar. His father's long residence in that part of the country and his extensive acquaintance, combined with his own superior qualifications and natural ability, enabled him soon to win a good practice, and before the breaking out of the civil war he had secured
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a fair clientage. At the inauguration of the war his sympathies were withi the Union, but living in the south and surrounded on all sides by Confederates he was persuaded to enter their ranks and enlisted as a cavalryman under General W. B. Forrest.
In 1863. however, Mr. Sherman left the army and made his way to Erie. Pennsylvania, where for the next two years he was engaged in newspaper work and in pursuing his legal studies. He then applied for admission to the bar of Erie county. but was refused by Judge Johnson on the ground that he was once a Confederate soldier. On the 19th of July. 1865. he went to Pithele. Venango county, and in November. 1866, was admitted to the bar of that county by Judge Trunkey, who considered a man's fitness for law practice paramount to his political beliefs. On the Ist of April. 1868. he removed to Pleasantville, Pennsylvania, and on the 5th of July. 1870, came to Titusville, where he made his home until his death. continuing in the active practice of law. A local paper said of him: "As a lawyer Mr. Sherman was learned. strong and resourceful, a diligent student. grounded in the prin- ciples of the law, ready and apt in applying those principles to a given condi- tion of facts: in detecting at once the dominant features of a case, and. while not neglecting the lesser issues, compelling the attention of the court to the substance of the controversy. He was said to be the best equity lawyer in his part of the state, and he possessed one of the most extensive private law libraries in west Pennsylvania. He was a constant student of the state and federal court reports and thus kept abreast with the advanced decisions. He was also interested in the improvement of the science of the law; in taking away, as far as possible, the familiar reproach of its dilatory processes, and in the spring of 1896 a bill which he had drawn and caused to be introduced in the interests of common sense and a speedier arrival at the merits of an action at law was passed by the legislature and approved by the governor. But above all his characteristics as a lawyer was his faithfulness to the trusts reposed in him, and they have been great. A client's interests once assumed hecame. for the purposes of the contest, his own, and no legitimate means of securing the rights placed in his custody was left untried."
JIr. Sherman was instrumental in securing legislation which secured privileges and rights to the laboring people which the monopolies tried their best to overthrow. In 1868 he procured the passage of a law giving to laborers upon oil-mining leaseholds a lien for their work and materials. At all times he was interested in securing and protecting the rights of the labor- ing man as against the oppression of the monopolists and was a very promi- nent factor in the affairs of the oil-producing region. During the period from 1872 until 1880 the majority of the oil producers were struggling to preserve their business from the grasp of monopolies. Among the rem- edies proposed for this condition of things was the passage of a law by
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congress regulating commerce between the states and forbidding unjust dis- crimination in rates of freight. This measure originated in Titusville and Mr. Sherman was one of the leading spirits in the movement, doing much to push vigorously the matter from time to time, but the law was not passed until 1887. At different times he engaged in editorial work and through the columns of his paper advocated reform, progress and advancement. On the Ist of January, 1885, he furnished the capital for the purchase and became the editor of the American Citizen, a weekly paper published in Titusville. Prior to this time the Petroleum World, a daily paper, was established in Titusville. September 1, 1879, in the interest of the oil producers. A stock company was formed and throughout the existence of the paper Mr. Sherman was one of the managers, and frequently contributed to its columns. It was independent in politics, and during its brief career advocated measures of re- form of political abuse. in the interests of the people.
Personally, Mr. Sherman gave his political support to the Democracy. In 1881 he was a delegate to the Democratic state convention, which met at Williamsport. It was determined to take strong grounds against the ag- gressions of corporations and the oppressive methods by which they acquired control of the business of the country and endeavored to establish for them- selves monopolies in various products. Mr. Sherman was placed on the com- mittee upon resolutions and drafted and caused to be adopted the declarations of the platform from the seventh to the eleventh inclusive given in the reports of that convention. The opinions which he therein expressed continued his belief until his death. He was never an office-seeker, although he was always prominent in the counsels of his party, for his opinions were ever practical. progressive and in the interests of true American principles. In 1884 he was the Democr: tic nominee for mayor of Titusville, and in 1891 the Demo- cratic state convention nominated him as a delegate-at-large to the state con- stitutional convention, and he would have been a member of that body had it not been that the proposition to hold the same was voted down at the fall election. He was also prominently mentioned for the nomination for the superior court judgeship in 1895, but political honors were not necessary to him, for through all the years he had a very extensive and profitable law practice.
On the 16th of March. 1871, in Pleasantville, Mr. Sherman and Miss Alma Seymour were married by the Rev. James J. Smythe, and the following year they moved into the home in Titusville which is still Mrs. Sherman's place of residence. They have two children,-Roger Seymour, born March II. 1879, and Almia Janet, born August 7. 1882. Mrs. Sherman belonged to the old Seymour family of Connecticut, one of the most notable and respected families of New England. Among its members have been several eminent
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lawyers, distinguished jurists and governors. Her maternal grandfather, Dr. Thomas Hopkins, was a college graduate and a man of wide learning.
Mr. Sherman was an active factor in the social, political and literary life of Titusville and was one of the founders of the Titusville public library. As a member of the National and Pennsylvania Societies of the Sons of the American Revolution, he was greatly interested in American historical re- search, and in 1895 he was vice-president of the state organization. He was a member of the Society of American Civics, of the Society of Civil Service Reform and of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. A inan of scholarly tastes, he was a great lover of books and left to his family one of the largest and best selected libraries of western Pennsylvania. He was a constant reader of such works as would keep him in touch with ancient as well as modern thinkers, and at all times he was abreast with modern thought. He was a ready writer, forcible and convincing, and his broad fund of knowledge and genial disposition made him a most delightful com- panion. He contributed generously, and believed it to be the duty of every true citizen so to do, toward the maintenance of many organizations which foster a true spirit of Americanism. Incorruptible and conscientious, he made inany sacrifices which in these days of love of money and rush after wealth were looked upon as almost fanatical.
Perhaps we cannot better close this review of one whose life was ever pure, true and upright, than by quoting the words of one who knew him, showing his attitude to the unfortunate ones of earth : "I never knew a man more charitable than Roger Sherman. It was his delight to help the poor and administer to their wants. He spent large sums of money in this way, nor would he allow his name to be used in connection with almsgiving. The poor of Titusville will sadly miss Roger Sherman, for he was their friend." His home relations were to him a sacred trust, and to his family he was tender, devoted and faithful, counting no personal sacrifice too great which would promote the welfare or enhance the happiness of his wife and children.
William McCracken, of Meadville, a son of Robert and Jane Russell, was born in Sheakleyville, Pennsylvania, March 14, 1837, and educated at common schools and Meadville Academy, his people moving to Meadville about 1845. In August, 1861, he enlisted in Company B, Eighty-third Regi- ment, and served three years and four months. He held the office of lieuten- ant and after the war returned to Meadville. He is now a member of Pefer Post. No. 331. July 8, 1875, he married and has had two children,-Willard and Ellis. He is a direct descendant of William McLettin, the third, of Marsh Creek, who came from Ireland in 1739. He has been engaged in the livery business since 1881.
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W'illiam Bookhammer, freight agent, Titusville, is a native of Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, born in 1862. His father, H. J. Bookhammer, was the first master mechanic of the Oil Creek Railroad in the early days. He came to the oil country in 1865 and was identified with the interests of the locality until his death, which occurred in December, 1890, when his age was fifty-five years. Mrs. Anna M. ( Bussom) Bookhammer, mother of Mr. Bookhammer. died in May, 1867, at the age of thirty-three. Mr. Bookhammer is the sec- ond son of four children, viz .: Sylvester, deceased; William, of this sketch; Alice, wife of C. H. Oliver, of Butler, Pennsylvania, and Frank J., of Mc- Donald, Pennsylvania.
June 30, 1891, at Youngstown, Ohio, Mr. Bookhammer was married to Emma C., daughter of C. H. and Caroline (Christopher) Smith, of Oil City. They have one child, Charles H. Mrs. Bookhammer has two sisters and three brothers, as follows: Ophelia, wife of L. H. Banister; Lillian C., wife of Dr. J. Thornton Barnsdale, of Buffalo, New York: Charles F., ex- press and baggageman of the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad Company ; William H., of Oil City, and A. C. W., with the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad at Titusville.
Mr. Bookhammer began his career as a messenger boy in Oil City and was afterward clerk in his father's office, and in September, 1892, he was appointed freight agent of the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad, of Titusville, which position he now holds. In this responsible position he has been a faithful employe and has not only worked for the best interests of the company but the public as well.
Thomas S. Morris, of Wayne township, was born at North Bank, near Linesville, in 1836. In 1862 he enlisted in the One Hundred and Fifth Ohio Volunteers, was wounded at Perryville, Kentucky, and taken prisoner near Murfreesboro, but in five days was paroled. The parole not being recognized by the federal government, he re-entered the service and marched with Sher- inan to the sea, taking part in many engagements. In 1869 he made a trip to the west.
On November 27, 1866, Mr. Morris married Susannah, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Thompson, of Mercer county. Their children are Ida May, wife of Thomas Wentworth, and Emma Jane, wife of Aaron Beers.
Mr. Morris moved to Wisconsin, where his wife died. Jannary 30, 1871 ; and in that state he married Lydia A. Smith, who departed this life April 14, 1875. In 1882 Mr. Morris returned to Crawford county.
Hugh Coyle, of Sparta township, was a son of Roger Coyle, whose father was an early settler in Rome township. He was united in marriage to Catharine McGee, daughter of John McGee, and settled in Sparta in 1815.
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on the farm now owned by George Snapp. He took up a lot of land which he improved and made a home. He was a farmer, hunter and also a Baptist minister. He had eleven children, two of whom are still living .- Mrs. Lucinda Obert and Mrs. Ellen Carr.
Charles A. Bortles .- For more than forty-five years Charles A. Bortles. now deceased, was a resident of Crawford, and for a third of a century was prominently identified with the agicultural interests of this section of the state. Industry and perseverance were among his marked characteristics and brought to him a comfortable competence as the reward of his labors. As a citizen, too, he ranked among the foremost, giving his support to all meas- ures and movements which he believed would promote the public good. Honorable in his dealings, reliable in the discharge of every trust reposed in him, faithful to his duties of private life, he commanded the respect of his fellow men, and enjoyed the friendship of many with whom he came in contact.
Mr. Bortles was numbered among Pennsylvania's native sons, his birth occurring in Waterford, Erie county, on the 30th of April, 1832. He spent the greater part of his youth in the place of his nativity and when twenty years of age accompanied his parents on their removal to Crawford county, where he resided upon a farm for several years. Early trained to habits of industry and economy and to the work of the farm, he was well fitted for the life of the agriculturist, when he began farming on his own account. In 1860 he was married and purchased a part of the land now included within the Bortles homestead. His wife also inherited a portion of the property from her father, and upon their well developed farm in Conneaut township he spent his remaining days. He prosecuted his labors with diligence, and the well developed fields yielded to him a good return for the care and cultivation he bestowed upon them. Neatness was manifest in field, meadow and the home surroundings, and the well kept appearance of the place indicated the careful supervision of a progressive owner.
In the year 1860 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Bortles and Miss Sarah, a daughter of A. H. and Rhoda (Drake) Barber, the former a native of the Empire state and the latter of Hartford, Connecticut. Mr. Barber came to Crawford county about the year 1835 and purchased the land now owned by Mrs. Bortles. It was then covered with timber, but with charac- teristic energy he began to clear and develop it, and in course of time trans- formed it into richly cultivated fields. There he carried on agricultural pur- suits until his death, which occurred when he had reached the age of sixty- two years. He was successful in his business undertakings, and was a self- made man, whose untiring industry and sound judgment brought him the prosperity which rewarded his labors. His political support was given the
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Republican party. His wife, who was a representative of a prominent old family of Connecticut, survived him several years, and passed away at the age of seventy-seven. They were the parents of two daughters, the younger being Myra, wife of Charles D. Anger, of Andover. The elder, Mrs. Bortles, has spent her entire life on the farm which is now her home with the exception of the time she was away at school. She is a lady of culture and ability, and to her husband was a faithful helpmeet and companion. Their marriage was blessed with three children : Minnie, wife of H. J. Walrath, of Crawford county : Clarence A., who now has charge of the home farm, and Gertrude. wife of Elgood A. Whitford, of Wheeling. West Virginia.
In his political views Mr. Bortle was a stanch Democrat, and took an active interest in the work and success of his party. He was recognized as one of its leaders in this community, filled various township offices, and re- ceived his party's nomination for county commissioner. He belonged to the state police, and socially w's connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Grange. In religious faith he was a Universalist and when a young man sang in the church choir, but never united with any church organization. He died September 30, 1896, at the age of sixty-four years, and the community thereby lost one of its valued citizens and his family a devoted husband and father. His widow still resides upon her fine farm of three hundred acres, and in the county where her entire life has been passed she has many warm friends.
Wesley B. Best, of Meadville, an attorney at law and leading member of the Crawford county bar, was born January 12, 1862, a son of the well known Dr. David Best. In 1883 he graduated at Allegheny College and of late years he has been honored by being chosen to act as one of the trustees of his alma mater.
During the year 1884 W. B. Best was city editor of the Evening Repub- lican, published in Meadville, and about that time he took up the study of law. Admitted to the bar of Crawford county in May, 1886, he at once entered into successful practice in this city, and from 1891 to 1894 offi- ciated as district attorney. He also represented the city of Meadville as city solicitor during the years 1896-97. In 1886-87 he was the captain of Com- pany B, Fifteenth Regiment of Pennsylvania National Guards. A staunch Republican, he has sometimes attended local and state conventions of the party in the capacity of a delegate, and has ever sought to discharge his full duty as a patriotic citizen.
Sylvester Taylor .- For a period of about twenty years Sylvester Taylor was an honored citizen of Spartansburg, Crawford county, where he was the "village blacksmith." He was a native of Massachusetts, and with his father
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settled in Sheridan. Chautauqua county, New York, at an early day. In 1846 or 1847 he came to Spartansburg, where he followed his trade as a black- smith for many years, and won the respect of all who were associated with him in any manner. His busy and useful life came to a close October 18, 1867, but his memory is still treasured in the hearts of many of his old friends.
In 1836 Mr. Taylor married Sarah H. Emerson, a daughter of Wilder and Ruth (House) Emerson, of Westfield, New York, and she survived him. Their children were named as follows: John; Marcena, who died in child- hood; Ira, who was a soldier in Company I, Eighty-third Regiment of Penn- sylvania Infantry, and was killed near Richmond, in 1862; Lydia D., now Mrs. John Council, of Michigan; Ruth, wife of George W. Binney; Mary A., who is deceased; and Alice, wife of George Gillet, of Pennsylvania.
Valentine W. Eiler .- One of the enterprising, wide-awake young busi- ness men of Meadville, Crawford county, is the subject of this sketch. With the exception of a few years his whole life has been spent in this city, and none of its inhabitants are more genuinely concerned in its prosperity and high standing among its sister cities of this commonwealth than he. He pos- sesses the energetic, progressive spirit which always insures success, and the patriotism and high sense of duty which marks the representative, broad- minded citizen. Whatever tends to promote the well-being of his fellows and the permanent welfare of his city and community are matters of deep interest to him. and his influence and means are freely used in every such righteous cause.
A native of the city of Brooklyn, New York, V. W. Eiler was born on the 9th of June, 1859. In the sketch of his brother Edward Eiler. printed elsewhere in this work, may be found the family history. The first five years in the life of our subject were spent in his native place, but. during the prog- ress of the Civil war his parents decided to remove to Meadville, and accord- ingly did so. The lad became a student in the excellent public schools here and remained in them until he was about seventeen years of age. In the Centennial year he entered his business career by becoming a clerk in Cal- lender & Company's drug store, of Meadville, and there he continued to act in that capacity for some three years. Desiring to see something of the west he then went to Colorado and for the following three years was variously engaged in business operations, doing some mining and running a drug store in a western town for a short period. In January, 1883, he returned to his old home in this city and resumed clerking. On April 27, 1886, he opened his present drug store, which is centrally situated and fitted out with a well selected line of drugs and toilet articles. He is popular and receives a goodly share of the local patronage.
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April 13. 1887. Mr. Eiler married Miss Mary Abbie Clark, of Akron. Ohio, and a daughter of Lorenzo and Sarah Clark. They have five children, namely: Valentine Wallice. Jr .. Clark Chancy. Marguerite Ethel. Sturgis Clifton and Helen Adalade. They are bright. interesting children and are all at home with their parents. Mrs. Eiler is a member of the Baptist church and is a lady of good education and social qualities, much respected and loved by all who know her.
Barry Cummings, of Athens township. is a son of Isaac A. and Cynthia (Flint) Cummings. and was born October 12. 1855. and is a farmer and a justice of the peace. He married Letta Foster, daughter of Albert and Hannah Foster, and they have one child. named Mary Ellen.
Cornelius C. Laffer, M. D., Meadville, is a son of P. A. Laffer, was born in Meadville in 1867. and educated at the public schools of Meadville and Alle- gheny College, ultimately graduating at the University of Pennsylvania in 1893: was resident physician of the Methodist hospital one year. and then located at Meadville, where he has practiced medicine since 1894. He was united in marriage to Gertrude Sackett.
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