Rev. William Coonan, sub-deacon, and Very Rev. Francis Winter, master of ceremonies. The Smethport Catholic choir did the singing. The Rt. Rev. Bishop preached, and during his very appropriate remarks paid a deserved tribute to the memory of the deceased. The services in the church being over, the remains were viewed by hundreds of sorrowing people, after which the body was borne to the grave by six laymen, namely: Eugene Mullin, James Cremin, James McGavis, James Hooly, James McKean and T. D. Nash. Arriving at the grave, the last absolution was pronounced by the Rt. Rev. Bishop, when all that was mortal of the gifted priest and pastor, kind brother and friend, was consigned to the silent tomb.

WILLIAM H. TAYLOR, retired, Turtle Point, was born in Georgetown, Madison Co., N. Y., April 26, 1815, a son of Reuben and Achsah (Alderman) Taylor, who settled in Allegany county, N. Y., in 1818. In 1834 they moved with their family to Ceres township, this county, and to Annin township in 1844, later to Potter county, same State, where they died. They had four children: William H., Norman, Riley (killed in the Mexican war) and Jane (Mrs. Harrison Ruby). William H. Taylor, the subject of this sketch, came to Ceres township in 1834, where he bought a farm on Bell's run, six miles in the woods. Here he built a log house covered with stakes, with floors made of split timber, a coverlet hung up for a door, and greased newspapers tacked up for windows. In those early days, deer, bears, wolves, and all kinds of game were plentiful; and Mr. Taylor having a good rifle, and being a keen sportsman and a crack shot, enjoyed many a day's good sport. So there was always plenty of meat in the cabin, but flour was $16 per barrel, corn $1.50 per bushel, potatoes $1, calico and shirting each twenty-five cents per yard, and other things in proportion. Mr. Taylor cleared here a fine farm, which, however, he sold and then moved into Annin township where he bought the Annin farm, once owned by William Annin (after whom the creek and township were named), who was murdered near Pittsburgh for his money. Mr. Taylor cut a road through the bush, and moved in on an ox-sled. This farm was located on the Allegheny river, and there was no road, neither up nor down the river, nor was there any neighbor within five miles. Mr. Taylor at once set to work to clear his farm, and immediately put up the necessary buildings. Deer was plentiful, and he says he has killed as many as six in one day, and on one occasion he killed two deer and a bear-pretty good sport! He erected the first saw-mill, and put in the first shingle machine ever used in McKean county. He was the first to discover bituminous coal in this region, and he opened the vein in Liberty township, his interest in which he sold for $2,500. He also built two saw-mills, one hotel, two dry goods stores and fifteen other buildings for renting purposes; in fact, there is not a man living who has contributed more toward the advancement of his township and county. There was a time when he knew every man in the county, and every man knew him, and his reminiscences of olden times are most interesting. Speaking of the county generally, he says land was $1 per acre when he came into it; timber was pine in abundance, hemlock and hardwood; the smaller streams were filled with trout, and the Allegheny river with shad, suckers, bass, and pike weighing twenty-eight pounds each. The first murder was committed, in 1845, by Uzza Robbins, two miles above Port Allegany, for which he was executed at Smethport; the third night after his burial his body was dug up and his head cut off by young Burrows. The next murder was the deed committed by "Old Aunt Betty," who cut her brother's head off and then put him under the bed, but the jury returned a verdict of "not guilty." Next followed August 4, 1874, the murder at Port Allegany of Calvin H. Hobar by

one Crow, for which crime the murderer got one year in the State prison. The next was the shooting of Miss Riley by her cousin, for which he was executed; then came the murder of John Yohe by a man named Thompson, in 1886, for which he got twelve years in the State prison, and then, in 1889, came the killing of Henry Robertson or Robinson by Anson or Anderson. Many more interesting events Mr. Taylor could narrate.

Mr. Taylor was married in 1835 to Martha, daughter of John and Jane (Gibson) Rountree, of County Cavan, Ireland, and they have reared eight children-six boys and two girls, viz.: George W., Benjamin, William H., Nathan, Charles, James, Harriet (Mrs. George Helmig) and Mary J. (Mrs. George Campbell). The six sons are model men, using neither whisky nor tobacco, and never allowing profane language to cross their lips. They are well to do, and own farms with good buildings within sight of Turtle Point. George W., the eldest, carries on a dry goods store at Turtle Point, along with his brother Nathan. The parents are yet living-the father in his seventyfifth year and the mother in her seventy-eighth-both highly respected. In politics Mr. Taylor is a Republican.

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CERES TOWNSHIP.

POTTER BENSON, P. O. Ceres, N. Y., was born in Cincinnatus, Cortland Co., N. Y., February 18, 1814, a son of Didymus and Elizabeth (Fish) BenHe settled in Ceres township, McKean Co., Penn., in 1832, and for a number of years was engaged in lumbering in Ceres township, and in Sharon, Potter county. He has lived on his present farm in Ceres township for the past twenty-five years. He married June 4, 1836, Henrietta C., daughter of Robert and Mary (Bee) Gilbert, of Ceres, by whom he had the following named children: Statira C. (Mrs. Justus Rice), Gulielma M. (Mrs. F. G. Fuller), Mary (Mrs. G. W. Lewis), John (killed at the battle of Gettysburg), Elizabeth (Mrs. R. R. Bell), Harriet (Mrs. Alvah Hall), Brice B. and Rebecca. Mrs. Benson's maternal grandmother, Mary Law, was born in England and married, for her first husband, Thomas Bee, and for her second husband, John Bell, and with her second husband came to America, about 1800, bringing her five children, Thomas, Mary and John Bee, and William and John Bell, and were among the first settlers of Ceres township. Thomas Bee and his brother John, uncles of Mrs. Benson, and natives of England, were also pioneers of Ceres, John paying for the homestead and caring for his mother and stepfather while they lived.

BRICE B. BENSON, son of Potter and Henrietta C. (Gilbert) Benson, was born in Ceres, June 11, 1851, and resides on the homestead with his parents. In 1883 he married Eva, daughter of David and Ida (Holmes) Finch, of Portage. N. Y., and they have two children: Anna and Glenn.

JAMES BIGGINS, farmer, P. O. Eldred, was born in the Parish of Roban. County Mayo, Ireland, in June, 1834, a son of Patrick and Mary (Maloy) Biggins. He was reared in his native county until sixteen years of age. In the spring of 1851 he came to America and located in Livingston county, N. Y.. where he worked as a farm hand for three years and eight months. In 1854 he settled in Ceres township, McKean Co., Penn., on the farm where he now resides, which he cleared, and also made all improvements in buildings, etc. Besides attending to his farm interests, he has to some extent been engaged in lumbering, and has been a successful man. March 29, 1864, he enlisted in Company C. Second United States Sharpshooters, and participated in the battles of the Wilderness, Laurel Hill, Spottsylvania, North Ann River, Cold Harbor and Petersburg; was wounded in the right wrist in the latter en

gagement, and was honorably discharged June 20, 1865. In 1868 he married Ellen, daughter of Patrick Welch, of Ceres township, and they have five children: Mary A., Ella E., John, Patrick and James. Mr. Biggins is a member of the Catholic Church, and of the G. A. R. He has served his township as overseer of poor three years, school director six years, and six years as overseer of roads and tax collector. Politically he is a Republican.

OLIVER P. COON, farmer, of Ceres township, McKean Co., Penn., P. O. Ceres, N. Y., was born in Allegany county, N. Y., December 1, 1835, a son of Daniel B. and Nancy (Burdick) Coon. They settled in Ceres township in 1837, where our subject was reared from two years of age, and after attaining his majority, worked as a lumberman for a number of years, but has spent a good share of his life in farming. In 1882 he embarked in the drug business at Ceres, at which he continued six years. He has been married twice. His first wife was Cynthia Adams, of Linden, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y., and his second wife, Lucinda, daughter of Dr. Peter and Elizabeth (Woodring) Scholl, of Saegerstown, Penn., by whom he has one daughter, Lizzie. Mr. Coon has held several offices in Ceres township; was constable nine years in succession; served one term as jury commissioner of McKean county, and is at present holding the office of justice of the peace. He is a member of the K. O. T. M. and of the E. A. U. In politics he is a Democrat.

JOHN H. COON, carpenter, P. O. Ceres, N. Y., was born in Ceres township, McKean Co., Penn., June 30, 1842, a son of Daniel B. and Nancy (Burdick) Coon, the former a native of Rhode Island and his wife of Rensselaer county, N. Y. They settled in Ceres township in 1837, and engaged in farming, clearing and improving the farm now occupied by Mrs. A. Austin, and here they died. They reared a family of five children: Oliver P., Lorenzo O., John H., Orson L. and Jennie (Mrs. Prof. S. L. Maxon). John H. Coon was reared in Ceres, where, with the exception of three years that he lived in Wisconsin, he has always resided. He has followed the carpenter's trade twentyfive years, and was proprietor of the Grand Central Hotel at Ceres one and one-half years, and engaged in the livery business two years. In 1874 he married Maria, daughter of Fred and Mary (Maloy) Manning, of County Mayo, Ireland, and they have five children: Fred H., J. Leslie, Lee M., Arthur P. and J. Ralph. Mr. Coon is a leading representative citizen of Ceres; has held the office of justice of the peace fifteen years, and several minor offices; politically he is a Republican.

JAMES R. GROW, farmer, P. O. Myrtle, Penn., was born in Almond, N. Y., February 21, 1827, a son of George W. and Ruth (Cornell) Grow, who settled in Ceres township, McKean Co., Penn., in 1837, locating on the farm now owned and occupied by James R. Grow, a part of which they cleared and improved. They had six children who grew to maturity: Martin C., Hannah M. (Mrs. Peter North), Sally (Mrs. N. Lanphere), Angeline (Mrs. Almond Haskins), James R. and Celania T. (Mrs. Charles Fuller.) James R. Grow was reared in Ceres from ten years of age; he purchased the homestead of his father in 1853, cleared a good share of the farm and erected the present buildings. He married, in 1850, Martha A., daughter of Dwelley and Minerva (Fuller) Fuller, of Ceres township, and they have two children: Hattie M. (Mrs. C. B. Robarts) and Jennie A. (Mrs. Alton W. Maxon.) Mr. Grow is a prominent and representative farmer of Ceres. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Sons of Temperance; has held the office of commissioner and supervisor of his township seven years, and school director several years. In politics he is a Republican.

GEORGE N. HACKETT, farmer, P. O. Glenn, was born in Oxford, Che

nango Co., N. Y., May 2, 1828, a son of George and Mercy (Hall) Hackett. He was reared in his native county, where he received a common-school education and learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed as a journeyman for three years. In 1847 he located in Ceres township, McKean Co., Penn., and in 1852 purchased the land he now occupies, all of which he cleared and improved, and where he has since resided. He was twice married. His first wife was H. Charlotte, daughter of William J. and Anna (Edwards) Hornblower, natives of England and early settlers of Ceres township. To them were born seven children, two of whom are living: George W. and Henry N. His second wife was Hannah E., daughter of John and Jane (King) Bell, of Little Genesee, N. Y. Mr. Hackett is a prominent and representative farmer. He has held the offices of supervisor, poormaster and school director, each nine years, and is at present township auditor; in politics he is a Republican.

GEORGE W. HACKETT, druggist, P. O. Ceres, N. Y., was born in Ceres township, McKean Co., Penn., October 8, 1863, a son of George N. and Charlotte (Hornblower) Hackett. He was reared on the old homestead in Ceres township, where he remained until twenty-one years of age. When he was eighteen years old he taught school during the winter months for three seasons, and at the same time studied medicine with Dr. H. A. Place, of Ceres. In 1885 he was clerk in a drug store for six months, after which he became a partner with C. D. Voorhees in the drug business at Shinglehouse, Potter Co., Penn., which partnership existed until February 27, 1888, when he purchased a drug store in Ceres, which he has since successfully conducted. He was married June 16, 1887, to Mae, daughter of George J. and Maggie (Scholl) Odenheimer, of Saegerstown, Penn., and they have one son, James N. Mr. Hackett is a member of the K. O. T. M.; politically he is a Republican.

NIMROD LANPHERE, farmer, P. O. Myrtle, was born in Almond, N. Y., April 21, 1817, a son of George W. and Hannah (Haskins) Lanphere, both natives of New England, who settled in Ceres township in 1835, on the farm now owned by William Worden, where they made some improvements and resided until their death. They had five children who grew to maturity: John, Lois (Mrs. John Chapman), Nimrod, Esther (Mrs. Clark Wells) and Martha (Mrs. Joseph Trumbull). Nimrod Lanphere was eighteen years of age when he removed to Ceres with his parents. He cleared and improved the farm he now occupies. He was married in 1840 to Sally, daughter of George W. and Ruth (Cornell) Grow, of Ceres township, and they have the following named children: George, Albert, Rosa A. (Mrs. Oscar Cooper), Winfield, Frank and Nellie (Mrs. Milo Eckert). The two eldest sons, George and Albert, were in the war of the Rebellion. George enlisted in a New York regiment, was wounded at Roanoke, Va., and was discharged on account of disability after one year's service; he re-enlisted in 1864, and served until the close of the Albert went out with the Pennsylvania Bucktails, was wounded at Gettysburg, and discharged after three years' service. Mr. Lanphere is a leading citizen of Ceres, and has held the offices of supervisor, judge of election, assessor and school director of the township. He is a member of the Seventh-Day Baptist Church; in politics he is a Republican.

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THOMAS LYNCH, farmer, P. O. Ceres, was born in the town of Askelow, in County Limerick, Ireland, December 25, 1827, a son of Thomas and Mary (Reagan) Lynch, who emigrated to America in 1848, and settled in Washington, D. C., where they resided until their death. They had eight children, seven of whom came to America: Thomas, Margaret (Mrs. Thomas McMann), Bridget (Mrs. Thomas Mulqueen), Johanna (Mrs. John Scanlon), Ellen (Mrs. John McCarty), William and Patrick. All are now deceased ex

cept Patrick, who resides in Washington, D. C., and Thomas, the subject of this sketch, who was reared and educated in his native country, and came to America in 1847, remaining at Quebec, Canada, one year. He then went to Vermont, where he remained two years, and in 1850 settled in Ceres township, McKean county, and resided in Ceres village five years, working in the lumber mills of that place. In 1855 he settled on the farm he now owns and occupies, where he has since resided, and which he cleared and improved. He was married in 1855 to Mary A., daughter of John and Johanna (Powers) Kennedy, of County Limerick, Ireland, and they have four children living: John, William, Edward and Margaret. Mr. Lynch is a member of St. Mary's,Church, Sartwell; in politics he is a Republican.

JUDSON RILEY, farmer, P. O. Sartwell, was born in Ceres township, McKean Co., Penn., August 13, 1865, and is a son of Jeremiah and Bridget (Lundrigan) Riley. His paternal grandfather was Jeremiah Riley, a native of County Cork, Ireland, who came to America in 1840, and settled in Ceres township, McKean Co., Penn. His maternal grandfather, James Lundrigan, was also a native of County Cork, Ireland, and was a pioneer of Annin township, McKean county. The father of the subject of this sketch was a native of County Cork, Ireland, and Judson's mother was born in Waddington, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. Judson's father cleared and improved the farm in Ceres township now occupied by his widow and heirs, and there it was that he died. His children were eleven in number: Elizabeth (Mrs. Delon Beeman), Henry, Hannah (Mrs. John Bly), Ellen (Mrs. Thomas Foley), Kate, James and Judson (twins), Anna, John, Joseph and Winifred. Mr. Judson Riley was reared on the old homestead, and with his brothers, John and Joseph, conducts the farm. He is a member of the Catholic Church, and in politics is a Democrat.

JOHN J. ROBARTS, of the firm of Robarts Bros., dealers in general merchandise, Ceres, P. O. Ceres, N. Y., was born in Westfield, Tioga Co., Penn., April 16, 1844, a son of John J. and Phebe (Trowbridge) Robarts, natives of Luzerne county, Penn., and Painted Post, N. Y., respectively. His paternal grandfather was Josiah Robarts, a native of Connecticut, of Welsh and Scotch descent, a pioneer of Luzerne county, Penn., and his maternal grandfather was Henry B. Trowbridge, a native of Vermont, who, with his parents, settled in Tioga county, Penn., in an early day, and was a prominent business man of his time in Westfield, that county. The parents of John J. Robarts settled in Pleasant Valley, Potter Co., Penn., in 1853, where his father cleared and improved a farm, and resided there until 1866, when he removed to Annin (now Ceres) township, this county, locating on the farm now owned by his son C. B. Robarts, which he also cleared and improved, and resided there until his death, in 1878, at the age of sixty-six years. His children were Daniel P., Henry B.. Jemima L. (Mrs. Lewis R. Palmer), Phebe S. (Mrs. E. B. West), Sarah E. (Mrs. J. S. Butters), John J., Martha E. (Mrs. H. S. Gleason), Polly M. (Mrs. E. Clark), Caleb B., Mary L. (Mrs. Henry Terrette) and William G. Of these, two were in the war of the Rebellion. Daniel P. enlisted in the Pennsylvania "Bucktails,' was afterward transferred to the Invalid Corps, served three years, and was honorably discharged. Henry B. enlisted in 1864, in Company A, Eighty-fifth New York Volunteers, and was honorably discharged July 17, 1865. John J. Robarts was reared in Potter county, and received a limited education in the common schools. After leaving the farm he engaged as a clerk in a store at Port Allegany, and followed that occupation until 1868, including three years at Ceres. In March, 1868, he embarked in business for himself at Ceres, with V. Perry Carter, under the firm name of Carter & Robarts, dealers in general merchan