USA > Pennsylvania > Crawford County > Our country and its people. A historical and memorial record of Crawford County, Pennsylvania. > Part 95
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gage in business on his own account. About this time he married Julitte, daughter of Sanford Holbrook, of Monroe county, New York, and soon after- ward entered into partnership with his brother-in-law, Sanford F. Holbrook, in the lumber business. They also engaged in rafting logs on the Ohio river, but after a few months the partnership was dissolved and Mr. York removed his family to Dover, Kentucky, in order to be in closer touch with his busi- ness. The venture, however, did not prove successful and returning to the Empire state he entered the employ of the Erie Railroad Company.
Not long after Mrs. York died, leaving a young son, W. H., and as the result of a general strike Mr. York lost his position as engineer. He next entered the employ of the Michigan Southern Railroad, was afterward with the Delaware & Lackawanna Railroad, and at the time of the construction of the Atlantic & Great Western Road he entered the employ of that company. Re- moving at the time to Meadville he continued with that road under its various managements during the remainder of his railway career. At the opening of the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893 he was chosen to run a grass- hopper engine, of which he had had charge as engineer sixty years before on the Baltimore & Ohio. In June he was taken ill and returned to his home, where he died two weeks later. He was one of the oldest railroad men of the country and was widely and prominently known in railroad circles.
Mr. York was a second time married, his union being with Elvira B., widow of Ephraim Altenburg, and a daughter of Josiah and Julilana Bushnell, of Napoli, Cattaraugus county, New York. She still survives her husband. His only surviving son is an engineer on the Jacksonville & St. Augustine Rail- road, a position he has held for several years.
William H. Forker, son of Samuel, was born March 21, 1828. in Mead- ville, and is a gunsmith. In 1849 he married Elizabeth Harrington and they nad seven children, five of whom are still living. He is an active member of Crawford Lodge, No. 234; Solomon Chapter, No. 191 ; Northwestern Com- mandery, No. 25, and also joined the North Star Lodge in 1853.
His son, M. Tarbelt Forker, was born October 24, 1866, learned photo- engraving of M. Wolf, of Dayton, Ohio. He married Mamie Horn and has one child, Major Tarbelt, Jr.
Samuel Forker, grandfather of Wm. H., was born in Brownville, Penn- sylvania, November 25, 1798, and came to Meadville in 1823. He married Rohannah Paxton and they had four children. He was a gunsmith by trade and had two brothers that were gunsmiths. He was also county commissioner and died July 29, 1860, and his wife died February 9, 1875.
Adam Forker, father of Samuel, came to Mercer, Pennsylvania, from New Jersey and was a blacksmith.
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John T'ancisc .- Among the early settlers of Crawford county was John Vancise, who, coming here from Westfield, New York, located on the farm in Athens township, now owned by William Marsh. His wife was a Miss Margaret E. King, a daughter of Captain Joseph T. King, and unto theni eight children were born. Five of the number have passed away and only three sons survive, namely : Oscar L., George W. and John. The parents followed agricultural pursuits as long as they lived, and continued to dwell in this town- ship until death.
John Vancise, Jr., was born August 31. 1840, and was but two years of age when he came to this locality. Since he grew to manhood he has given his whole time and attention to farming, his home being in Athens township. While the Civil war was in progress he enlisted in Company I. Eighty-third Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, and went to the front. At the battle of Preble's Farm, September 29, 1864. he was severely wounded in the left fore- arm and shoulder, and after suffering for many months he was honorably dis- charged from the Lincoln general hospital, April 14, 1865.
Ere the close of that memorable year Mr. Vancise married Miss Maritta Elderkin, a daughter of Phineas and Maria ( Noble) Elderkin. Ten children came to bless their union, and all but two of the number survive.
John Hines, son of Anson Hines, was born at Angola, New York, in 1849, and when fifteen years of age became brakeman on the W. S. Railroad, and two years later he located at Randolph, where he was brakeman on the Erie Railroad from Meadville to Salamanca. March 23, 1877, he became con- ductor, which he continued until 1896. In February, 1877, he married Amanda MI. Gehr and has resided in Meadville since March 17, 1897. He purchased the Farler Bottling Works. He is a member of the B. P. O. E. and Order of Railway Conductors.
George L. Bresce, of Richmond township, is a son of Benjamin and Eliza ( Douglas) Bresee, and was born in this township in 1851. His grandfather. Michael, who was of French extraction, came into the county from the neigh- borhood of Rochester, New York. in 1820. In 1874 Mr. Bresee married Ettie. daughter of Seymour and Jane Morris Teed, of Randolph. They have 110 living children. Mr. Bresee resides on his farm of forty acres about one mile north of Hickory Corners. He has also a small farm in Randolph township.
Charles E. Baldwin, deceased, was born in Meadville, in 1845, and was a son of Jesse and Elizabeth (Hale) Baldwin, who were natives of southern Pennsylvania. Their ancestors were prominent residents of Meadville two centuries ago. Before coming to this city the parents conducted a hotel at Saegerstown. They reared four children : John, a resident of Chicago: Jesse,
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who is living in Princeton, Indiana : Rebecca, wife of Conrad Ottenstadter, of Meadville; and Charles E., who is the youngest. In 1870 he was united 311 marriage to Elizabeth, daughter of Daniel and Catherine Schenck, who were natives of New York and located in Mead township about 1848. They had eight children : Frederick, deceased ; Elizabeth ; Louise, wife of Joseph Delard. of Dallas, Texas; John Lewis, who is living in Akron, Ohio; William, an engineer on the Erie Railroad; Henry, a conductor on the same road ; Frank, a resident of Townville ; and Mrs. Baldwin. For a number of years Mr. Bald- win was engaged in the grocery business, and was successfully conducting his store at the time of his death, which occurred in 1880. He left a widow and three children to mourn his loss, the latter being Louise Isabella, Rebecca An- nesti and Marion Eugene.
Edward Pettitt, a son of Philip Pettitt, was born in Suffolkshire, Eng- land, and crossed the Atlantic to Canada at an early day. About 1862 he settled in Rockdale, Crawford county, and is still living in that place. He chose Clarissa Grant, a daughter of Duncan Grant, for his wife.
Allen Pettitt, a son, was born in 1847. In 1864 he ran away from home and enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Seventh Regiment of Pennsyl- vania Volunteers, serving with them until they were honorably discharged. Since the close of the war he has been engaged in agricultural pursuits, and for the past thirteen years he has made his home in the town of Little Cooley, Athens township, Crawford county.
Mr. Pettitt married Miss Geda Bunce, daughter of Horace and Fanny (Brown) Bunce. She died, leaving motherless three children, Hickory, Lillie and Donna.
Harry Radebush .- Michael Radebush came from the eastern part of the state and settled in Crawford county early in its history. To his son George and his wife, Eliza Gilmore, of Woodcock, was born Harry, the subject of this sketch, September 9, 1859, in Blooming Valley. In 1882 he married Addie, daughter of Wesley Davison. They have three children,-Belva, I.cla and Cynthia. Mr. Radebush lives on his farm of sixty-one acres, located about one mile from Blooming Valley. His older brother, Oscar, was a soldier in the Civil war.
IT'illiam H. Hardy, son of John Hardy, was born at Geneva, New York, in 1853, was educated at the public schools of Geneva, and learned massage treatment at the Hygienic Institute of Geneva. In 1872 he married Delia A. Johnson and has three children. In 1885 he came to Saegerstown and worked for Eureka Mineral Springs Company, giving baths and massage treatment, and in November, 1896, opened Turkish bathrooms in Meadville.
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George W. Marsteller, deceased, was born in 1866 and died October 13, 1896. He was a son of Jesse and Mary Ann (McClinstoch) Marsteller. The former died June 20, 1891. Our subject married Jennie, daughter of H. D. and Jane ( Record) Walker, of East Fairfield township, who with two twin daughters,-Esty May and Jessie Day,-survive. Mrs. Marsteller is the second child of a family of seven children, viz. : William A. Walker; Jennie S., wife of subject ; Wilson M .; John R. ; James N .; Mary E. ; and Stewart F. Walker. He was of a family of five children : Edward; Madison, deceased ; Monroe, Della, deceased, and Grace. Mr. Marsteller was educated in the pub- lic schools, was a highly respected citizen, and a kind and loving husband and father. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Cochranton, in which he was an active worker, and also in the Cochranton Lodge, I. O. O. F.
Milo F. Shreve, Richmond township .- The Shreve family originated in Greece, from which some of its members emigrated to France. On account of religious differences they removed to Holland, but, not being pleased there, afterward crossed the ocean and settled in New Jersey. One of them was employed by General Washington, who gave him control of a large tract of land and a mill. His son Brazil settled at Riceville, where he built a mill. His son, Oliver H. P., also a miller, was the father of seven sons and three daugh- ters, all of whom are living. One of these, Milo F., was born July 7, 1845, at Riceville. In 1860 he married Mahala, daughter of Jedidiah Shafer, of Rice- ville. Their children are Ernest, Harry and Forrest. His wife dying, Mr. Shreve married, in 1875, Alzada, daughter of Philander Sherlock. Their children are Preston, Emma, Susie, Bennie and Albert. Mr. Shreve lives upon his farm of ninety-six acres, and has another of twenty-one acres. He is a member of the United Brethren church.
Frank W. Smith, of Randolph township, is the grandson of Lemmel Smith, who came into the county at an early day from Massachusetts. The children of Lemmel are Nelson, the father of the subject of this sketch; Lemmel, Jr .; Sarah, wife of Merritt Hall; Mary Estie, wife of Leonard Delamater, and Hannah, wife of Daniel Bannister. Frank W. has five brothers: Herman, William, Beecher, Ansel and Millard. Born in 1863, Mr. Smith married Janc, daughter of John and Mary Murdoch, in 1887. They have three daughters,- Patty, Joye and Henrietta.
Homer E. Bollard .- In every community there are representative citizens who stand for all that is beneficial to the general public and who are always confidently relied upon to cast their influence on the side of good government, law and order, and to uphold those things which make for progress, peace and prosperity. Of this class is Homer E. Bollard, a sterling citizen of Conneaut
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township, Crawford county. He is a thrifty, industrious agriculturist, and has taken quite an active part in the affairs of his locality, serving as road super- visor for several terms and officiating in other minor positions of more or less responsibility. For years he has used his right of franchise in favor of the Republican party.
The father of the above-named gentleman was John Bollard, a native of England. There he grew to manhood and learned the shoemaker's trade, which calling he followed for a number of years with success, both in his native isle and in the United States. Upon his arrival on this continent, he settled in Ashtabula county, Ohio, where he worked at his trade up to the fall of 1850, when he came to this county, and purchased a farm in Conneaut town- ship. Here he spent the remainder of his life, occupied in the development and cultivation of his homestead. He died when sixty-eight years of age, respected and esteemed by a wide circle of friends. He was a member and for a great many years a deacon in the Congregational church and was liberal in his donations to all worthy enterprises of a religious or benevolent nature. Though not a rich man he left a good estate, which was divided among his children. His wife, whose maiden name was Elzina Barnum, was a native of Ashtabula county, Ohio, and died when in her forty-ninth year. Of their eight children Elizabeth Ann is the wife of John Wyatt; Mary married Hiram Waters; Richard D. is the present county recorder of Pocahontas county. Iowa; Homer E. is the next in order of birth; Emma F. died at the age of fourteen years ; Joseph B. is engaged in business in Fonda, Iowa ; John E. died at the age of thirty years ; and Sarah is the wife of Frank Tyler.
Homer E. Bollard was born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, June 15, 1849, and was brought to this county in his infancy. Here he was reared to be a good and useful citizen and thoroughly initiated into the various departments of farming. When he was twenty-two years old he started on an independent life and two years later was married and settled down. His farm comprises eighty-nine acres, all in a high state of cultivation and showing the watchful attention bestowed by the owner. He has become well-to-do by the exercise of good judgment, industry and economy, and has an abundance for his declin- ing years. He has been active in the work of the Methodist Episcopal church and Sunday-school, having been a class-leader and steward, and at present is the superintendent of the school and trustee of the parsonage. Fraternally, he is identified with the Junior Order of United American Mechanics.
In 1873 Mr. Bollard married Miss Almeda Bean, of Beaver township. and four children blessed their union. One died in infancy, and the others are Grace A., Glenn D. and John Dale, all at home.
Enoch Barnum, the maternal grandfather of our subject, was a native of New Jersey and removed to Ohio, then a western state, at an early day, and there devoted himself to farming. He was a hero of the war of 1812, in
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which he served as a private, and during that conflict he lost his arin by the accidental discharge of a gun, while he was on a march, and for that misfor- tune he was granted a pension, which he drew as long as he lived.
Henry Roberts, of West Fairfield township, was born in Deer Creek township. Mercer county, in 1872, and came into Crawford county with his parents, Addison P. and Sarah Roberts, about 1887. He has three sisters : Minnie, wife of C. P. Boylan; Mary, wife of T. A. Stover, and Janey, wife of George Baker ; and one brother, Samuel J. On July 11, 1892, he was united in marriage with Lizzie, daughter of Francis and Margaret Ann Bayley, of West Fairfield.
James Cooper, West Fairfield township .- Robert and Elizabeth Cooper came into Crawford from Portage county, Ohio, about 1842. They reared a family of eleven children : Jane, wife of Andrew Reed; John : Mary Ann, wife of George Eaton; Adeline, wife of Edward Maginiss; William; Eliza- beth, wife of Jolin Chism; Benjamin. Robert, James, Richard and Nicholas. James was born in Moon township, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, in 1830. He has been twice married,-April 20, 1854, to Margaret, daugliter of Alex- ander and Pollie Leslie, and January 5, 1864. to Margaret, daughter of Alex- ander and Jane Axtell. The children by the first marriage are Cassius, Frank and William: by the second, Samuel, Robert. Lavernia, wife of James Crow- ther, and Mary. Mr. Cooper is a member of the Presbyterian denomination, and has been a member of the session for thirty years. His farm contains eighty acres.
Charles Braymer, of West Fairfield township, is a son of W. H. and Clarissa ( Oakes ) Braymer : was born at Black Ash, July 19, 1863. His father, returning from the army, moved to the west about this time, returning in 1874. There is also a son, Ernest L., and a daughter by adoption. Elizabeth. Charles married March 1, 1886, Edith, daughter of William Boylan, of Mer- cer county, and settled in West Fairfield. They have three children,-Ber- ceen, Edward and Leland. Mr. Braymer is a member of the I. O. O. F.
John H. Hilton, broom manufacturer, at Meadville, was born April 21. 1871. in Dunkirk, New York, learned his trade in 1884 in the factory of the firin of Hall & Lippitt. and August 5. 1895, began business on Water street. Two months later he purchased the plant he now owns of C. P. McCurdy, corner of Park avenue and Pine street, where he has since conducted a stic- cessful business, manufacturing a superior quality of brooms for the city trade.
His parents, who are of Scotch-American descent, have been lifelong resi- dents of New York state, where our subject spent a portion of his early years.
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later removing to Meadville. He is a son of John H. and Elizabeth ( Davi- son) Hilton. Their children are: William, of New Castle, Pennsylvania ; John H .. the subject of this sketch ; Albert, and Grace E. Hilton, Meadville. December 24, 1895, Mr. Hilton was united in marriage with Miss May Han- nen, of Meadville.
Dr. Clarence E. Spicer, of Rome township, was born in Oshtemo, Mich- igan, August 7, 1874, the son of Nathan and Sarah (Gray) Spicer. After a suitable preliminary education he attended the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati, Ohio, at which he was graduated as M. D., in 1884. He began medical practice at Vicksburg. Michigan, in 1887, removed to Grand Rapids and in 1888 located at Tryonville, this county. After three years' residence there he established himself at Centerville, his present home. Dr. Spicer has attained note as a physician, has served acceptably as president of the State Eclectic Medical Society, and at the present writing is the corresponding secretary of that organization. He is high in Masonic circles, holding mem- bership in Oil Creek Lodge, F. & A. M., Aaron Chapter, R. A. M., Occident Council, R. & S. M., and Rose Croix Commandery, K. T.
By his marriage to Carrie Tryon, daughter of Henry, Dr. Spicer con- nected himself with one of the oldest families of the county. He has one child, named Irene. Ancestry of family, English.
Lucius P. Morris, Randolph township, was born in Greenwood township, July 22, 1861. His father, Herman P. Morris, with his wife, Lucy M. Bentley. moved into the county about forty years ago. He has three sisters : Angeline, wife of George Benedict ; Beula, wife of Charles Randall, and Hannah, wife of Cyrus Brown. December 28, 1886, Mr. Morris married Lilla, daughter of Robert and Nancy Julia Porter, of West Fairfield, by whom he has two sons, ---- Clinton and Melvin. Besides his farm of ninety acres, Mr. Morris has a farm of sixty-two acres in Warren county, where he for a time resided.
Stephen Atherton, of Rome township, is a son of Eber and Abigail (Wheeler ) Atherton, and was born in Whitingham Town, Windham county, Vermont. May 12, 1825. In 1847 he married Almeda L. Dix, daughter of Solomon and Betsy (Loomis) Dix, who was born in the same town. In 1847 Mr. Atherton came to the town of Athens, where he settled, having bought a lot of uncultivated land, built a log house and prepared to clear his farm. In 1866 he settled at Centerville, on the farm where he now resides. He has five children : B. Jane, Mrs. Orrin Dalrymple; S. E. Atherton, farmer ; Eugenie V., Mrs. Frank B. Vantassel ; Albert A., station agent of the W. N. Y. & P. R. R. ; and Harry D.
The Atherton family were early settlers in Vermont. Three brothers of
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the Dix family came to America from England at an early day. John E. Dix was a soldier in the Eighty-third Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was killed in the battle of the Wilderness and his body was never recovered. He was the son of Solomon Dix, who came to Athens township, in 1848, was a well known farmer and lived and died in the town.
In 1864 Mr. Atherton enlisted in the navy and took an active part on the gunboat Fair Play, also in the western squadron on the Cumberland and Ohio rivers. He lost his health in the war and therefore draws a pension.
Emmett W. McArthur, of Meadville, is a son of Jeremiah P. and Hannah (Elliott) McArthur, and was born in South Shenango township, Crawford county, July 10, 1853, on the farm settled by his grandfather, Thomas Elliott, in 1795. Mr. McArthur's early life was spent on the farm. He was educated in the district schools of his native home, the Jamestown Seminary and the Edinboro State Normal School, taught school for a number of years, then read law in the office of J. B. Brawley at Meadville and was admitted to practice at the bar of Crawford county, February 25, 1884, and of the supreme court of Pennsylvania, February 4, 1886. In 1883 Mr. McArthur became identified with the Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Crawford county, and for three years was its secretary and treasurer. He was appointed postmaster of Meadville April 6, 1886, by President Cleveland.
John S. Kean, deceased, was a lifelong resident of Sadsbury township, Crawford county, and was honored and highly esteemed by all who knew him. Born November 12, 1834, he was the eldest son of Conrad and Susanna (Broadt) Kean, and in his boyhood he attended the district schools of this township.
During the Civil war Mr. Kean joined the One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Regiment of Pennsylvania Infantry, enlisting October 16, 1862. He was discharged July 26, 1863, and re-enlisted on the 30th of the ensuing month in Company A, Two Hundred and Eleventh Regiment of Pennsylvania In- fantry, his service extending to the close of the war. His record while in the army was one reflecting great credit upon him, for he was brave, faithful to .every trust, and equal to any emergency.
When his country no longer needed him, Mr. Kean returned home and thenceforth devoted his energies to farming and dairying. He held about every local office in his township, and was a justice of the peace two terms. For some time he was a member of the executive committee of the Crawford County Agricultural Society, and in 1895 was elected superintendent of the Conneaut Lake Exposition Company, which office he held at his death. He was a member of the Odd Fellows' Society and of the Ancient Order of
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United Workmen, being connected with lodges at Conneaut Lake. He married Myra Congdon August 19, 1857, and of their three children two survive.
Il'. H. Bartle, Meadville, was born in that city October 1, 1861, a son of Wilmot and Caroline ( Handson) Bartle, deceased; was educated in the public schools there and was engaged in the grocery business from 1884 to 1886, then was variously employed until 1895, when he became proprietor of the St. Cloud Hotel. This hostelry he continued to conduct until 1897, and since July, 1898, he has been employed at the Commercial Hotel.
May 3, 1883, he married Mary, daughter of Thomas Breene, and to this union have been born three children,-Caroline, Martha and Wilmot.
Wilmot Bartle was prominently identified with business interests in Meadville. He was first engaged in the hardware business, under the firm name of Bartle & Sample, next, in the grocery business, under the firm name of Bartle, Forsythe & Patterson; after this he engaged in the tannery business in Kerrtown, under the firm name of Bartle & Patterson, and his last under- taking was to run a malt-house. He died in 1877, at the age of sixty-seven years. He was a charter member of the Meadville fire department, and a member of the F. & A. M. and I. O. O. F.
Il'illiam Lord .- The quaint old town of Penn Line, in Conneaut township, Crawford county, possesses, as one of its chief points of interest. the old hotel which has been owned and managed by the subject of this narrative for over thirty years. It has always been a popular hostelry with the inhabitants of this region and with many a chance visitor, and among the illustrious guests which it has entertained in days gone by, was Vice-President Colfax, who was making a tour through this section of the state and stopped here for dinner upon one occasion. Mr. Lord, who has carried off the honors of host for over three decades, is as popular with his patrons as it often falls to the lot of a hotel keeper to be, and his genuine, kindly interest in the comfort of his guests is particularly grateful to the world-weary pilgrim, tired of the grasping, unc- tuous landlord and "mine host" of other cities.
For several generations the Lords have been residents of New York state. Our subject's grandfather, Russell P. Lord, was a native of Oneida county, New York, and there spent his entire life, his death occurring when he had attained an advanced age. Alonzo Lord, father of William Lord, was born in Onondaga county, New York. and was reared to maturity in that section of the state. In his early manhood he removed to Genesee county, New York, and there worked at his trade of stone-cutting. Later in life, he engaged in farming and devoted the rest of liis days to agriculture. He was about seventy-five years of age at the time of his death. The mother of our subject, a Miss Mary Crosby prior to her marriage, was likewise born in the
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