The subject of this sketch was reared in Tionesta township until thirteen years of age, then removed to Scrubgrass, Venango Co., Penn., where he resided five years. He spent a good share of his life in farming, and cleared and improved a farm in Harmony township, on which he resided from 1848 to 1864, when he sold out and bought the Dawson farm on Stewart's run, removing in 1889 to Tionesta township. During the oil excitement at Pit Hole City he kept a grocery store at Stewart's run four years. In 1843 he married Ann, daughter of William and Sarah (Range) Hunter, of Tionesta, and they had five children who grew to maturity: Belle (Mrs. John Parker), Jane (Mrs. Thomas Allender), Leonard, Martha A. (deceased) and Louie (Mrs. S. N. Norris). Mrs. Range died October 13, 1887. Mr. Range is a prominent farmer and citizen, and in politics is a Republican.

GEORGE W. ROBINSON, merchant, Tionesta, was born in Manor township, Armstrong Co., Penn., July 24, 1839, and is the son of John and Hannah (Williams) Robinson. His paternal grandfather was Samuel Robinson, a native of Ireland, whose parents were among the pioneers of Armstrong county, Penn., and his maternal grandfather was George Williams, of Welsh parentage, also an early settler of Armstrong county. The father of our subject, a farmer by occupation, cleared and improved a farm in Valley township, Armstrong county, and in later life removed to Reynoldsville, Jefferson county, same State, where he died. The old homestead in Armstrong county is now owned by our subject, who was reared in his native county. He was in the Civil war, enlisting in July, 1862, in Company B, One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Pennsylvania Volunteers. He participated in all the battles of the army of the Potomac, from Antietam to Appomattox; became first sergeant of his company, and was honorably discharged from the service in June, 1865. In March, 1866, he entered a general store in Armstrong county as a clerk, serving in that capacity two years, when he became a partner in the business, continuing until 1872. He then removed to Tionesta, and embarked in general mercantile business with Jeremiah Bonner, which partnership existed until 1878, when his partner transferred his interest in the business to his son, Charles Bonner, who remained in the firm until the spring of 1886, when our subject bought his interest, and has since conducted the business alone. Mr. Robinson married, in October, 1867, Martha, daughter of Jeremiah and Martha (McCollum) Bonner, of Armstrong county, Penn., and they have three children: Margaret, Arletta and George. In 1883, in company with. Charles Bonner, Mr. Robinson purchased a lumber-mill on Tionesta creek, which they operated in partnership up to 1886, and Mr. Robinson has since conducted the business alone. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church and of the G. A. R. Politically he is a Republican.

GEORGE W. SAWYER, carpenter and joiner, and sheriff of Forest county, Tionesta, who was born in Charlestown, Mass., January 24, 1838, is a son of Seth and Susan (Frost) Sawyer, and is of Puritan stock. He was reared and educated in his native city, and at the age of seventeen years located in Piqua, Ohio, where he served an apprenticeship of two years at the carpenter's trade; then removed to Illinois where he served other two years. He then returned to Massachusetts, working at his trade as a journeyman until the breaking out of the Civil war, when, in April, 1861, he enlisted in Company G. First Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. In the spring of 1865 he located in Tidioute, Penn., and in the fall of same year settled in Tionesta, where he has since resided, and where he has done extensive business as a carpenter and builder, having erected nearly all of the principal residences and public buildings of Tionesta. His wife was Nellie E., daughter of Henry and

Myra (Haynes) Robinson, of Concord, Mass., and by her he has two children living: Anna F. (Mrs. John T. Carson) and Emma J. (Mrs. Charles Hunter.) Mr. Sawyer is a prominent member of the I. O. O. F. and A. O. U. W. He has held many of the local offices of Tionesta; is chief of the fire department; was elected sheriff of Forest county in the fall of 1887; is a Republican in politics, and was chairman of the Republican county committee, 1888.

ZACH T. SHRIVER, driller, Tionesta, was born in Tionesta, April 18, 1850, and is a son of Jacob and Margaret (Range) Shriver. His father, who was a native of Gettysburg, Penn., and a cabinet maker by trade, also following carpenter work for some time, was among the early settlers of Tionesta, where he resided until his death, his last business being the operating of a planing-mill, which he carried on for several years. He had ten children who grew to maturity: John, James, Jacob (killed in the war), Zach T., Susan (Mrs. Robert Christy), Mary (Mrs. James Woodington), Margaret (Mrs. Albert Pollock), Jennie, Annie, Hattie (Mrs. W. G. Ladds). Zach T. Shriver was reared and educated in Tionesta, where he learned the carpenter's trade, and since the beginning of the oil excitement has followed the occupation of a driller. He married, November 10, 1874, Alice J., daughter of Silas J. and Martha (Teed) Wolcott, of Tionesta, and they have four children: Arthur Clyde, Linus T., Silas J. and James R. Mr. Shriver is a member of the P. O. S. of A., and in politics is a Republican.

WILLIAM SMEARBAUGH, lumberman and merchant, Tionesta, was born in Tionesta township, Forest Co., Penn., October 7, 1854, and is a son of Ferdinand and Dorcas (Mathie) Smearbaugh, natives of Germany, who came to America in 1848, and settled in what is now Tionesta, engaging in farming. The father was a carpenter, which trade he followed to some extent, and as an agriculturist he cleared the farm now owned by Charles Leeper. He died in 1858, leaving two sons: Jacob and William. His widow afterward married Nicholas Weant, and by him she had one son, George Weant. The paternal grandfather of the subject of these lines was Christopher Smearbaugh, a cooper by trade, who settled in Tionesta in 1848, and died at the age of eighty-five years. Nicholas and Anna M. (Byers) Mathie, the maternal grandparents of William Smearbaugh, came from Hesse-Cassel. Germany, to Tionesta in 1848, and died there, aged eighty-five and eighty-four years, respectively. William Smearbaugh was reared in Tionesta, and received a limited education in the common schools. In 1881 he embarked in the hotel business at Tionesta, and conducted the Lawrence House two years. In 1883 he was elected treasurer of Forest county, serving one term of three years. In 1880 he engaged in mercantile business in Tionesta, with G. G. Butterfield, under the firm name of William Smearbaugh & Co., which they have since carried on; he has also been in the lumber business since 1886 along with William Lawrence, under the firm name of Lawrence & Smearbaugh. Mr. Smearbaugh married, March 22, 1881, Eva A., daughter of Daniel S. and Elizabeth (Spence) Knox, of Tionesta, and they have three daughters: Florence Marie, Helen and Josephine. Our subject is a member of the German Reformed Church, and of the A. O. U. W. Politically he is a Republican.

GEORGE F. WATSON, lumberman, Tionesta, was born in what is now Kingsley township, Forest Co., Penn., October 20, 1848, and is a son of Francis and Cordelia (Johnson) Watson. His paternal grandfather, Robert Watson, was a native of Ireland, and a pioneer of Titusville, Penn., where he lived and died, and his maternal grandfather, John Johnson, was a native of Vermont, and a pioneer of Venango county. Francis Watson was born in Titusville, Penn., in 1816, and in early manhood located in Tionesta, where he followed

the rivers as a pilot for some years; then engaged in lumbering for twenty years. Since 1869 he has resided in Kingsley township, Forest county, with his son, John G. His children were five in number: George F., William H., John G., Harvey B. and Rebecca (Mrs. Humphrey Downing). George F. Watson was reared in Kingsley township, receiving his education in the common schools, and at Neillstown Academy. He began life as a lumberman with his fatherin-law, A. B. Root, and later was associated with his brother-in-law, Aaron Root, and since 1887 has been associated in business with T. B. Collins, under the firm name of Collins & Watson, now operating a mill at Pine Hollow, and turning out from three to four million feet of lumber per annum. Mr. Watson married, in September, 1868, Anna, daughter of Aaron B. and Elizabeth (Zuendel) Root, early settlers of Green township, and by her has five children: Harry B., Minnie, Vernie, Cora and Georgianna. Mr. Watson is a member of the I. O. O. F. Politically he is a Democrat, and an advocate of prohibition.

GEORGE WEANT, farmer and lumberman, Tionesta, was born in Kingsley township, Forest Co., Penn., March 20, 1861, and is a son of Nicholas and Dorcas (Mathie) Weant, natives of Germany and pioneers of what is now Tionesta township, this county, where they still reside. George Weant was reared and educated in Tionesta township, began life as a farmer, and now owns and conducts two farms in that township; he has been engaged in lumbering since 1886. Mr. Weant is a popular and representative citizen. Po litically he is a Republican, and is serving his second term as township auditor.

JACOB E. WENK, publisher of the Forest Republican, Tionesta, was born in Tionesta December 13, 1853, and is a son of Jacob and Dorothea E. (Mathe) Wenk. His father was a native of Hesse-Cassel, Germany, a shoemaker by occupation, and came to Tionesta in 1847, where he worked at his trade until his retirement from business, in 1884. His children are Lizzie (Mrs. G. G. Butterfield), Ferdinand and Jacob E. The subject of this sketch was reared in Tionesta, and learned the printer's trade in the office of the Forest County Bee (now Forest Republican). He worked at the case as a journeyman, ten years, and in January, 1879, purchased the Forest Republican, which he has since successfully conducted as editor and proprietor. On April 20, 1882, he married L. Florence, daughter of Daniel S. and Elizabeth (Spence) Knox, of Tionesta, and they have two children living: Carl E. and a son born January 6, 1890 (not yet named). Mr. Wenk is a member of the German Reformed Church and of the A. O. U. W. In politics he is a Republican.

SILAS J. WOLCOTT, oil operator, Tionesta, was born in what is now Hickory township, Forest Co., Penn., November 8, 1833, and is a son of William and Nancy (Gates) Wolcott. His father, who was a native of New England, and a farmer by occupation, was a pioneer of what is now Forest county, and cleared and improved a farm in Hickory township, where he died in 1861. Both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Their children were seven in number, viz. Catherine G. (Mrs. Daniel Noble), Elizabeth (Mrs. Luther Bennett), Sarah A. (Mrs. Philo Barnes), Mary J. (Mrs. Charles Hill), Belinda (Mrs. Joseph Grove), William L. and Silas J. subject of this sketch was reared in his native township, and received a common-school education. He has been successively a farmer, lumberman, real estate dealer, and has been in his present business since 1879, residing most of his life within the limits of what is now Forest county. He married, in 1855, Martha J., daughter of Joseph and Mary (Richardson) Teed, of Crawford county, Penn., and they have three children: William M., Alice J. (Mrs. Z. T. Shriver) and Nannie B. (Mrs. Harrison Weston). Mr. Wolcott is a mem

Myra (Haynes) Robinson, of Concord, Mass., and by her he has two children living: Anna F. (Mrs. John T. Carson) and Emma J. (Mrs. Charles Hunter.) Mr. Sawyer is a prominent member of the I. O. O. F. and A. O. U. W. He has held many of the local offices of Tionesta; is chief of the fire department; was elected sheriff of Forest county in the fall of 1887; is a Republican in politics, and was chairman of the Republican county committee, 1888.

ZACH T. SHRIVER, driller, Tionesta, was born in Tionesta, April 18, 1850, and is a son of Jacob and Margaret (Range) Shriver. His father, who was a native of Gettysburg, Penn., and a cabinet maker by trade, also following carpenter work for some time, was among the early settlers of Tionesta, where he resided until his death, his last business being the operating of a planing-mill, which he carried on for several years. He had ten children who grew to maturity: John, James, Jacob (killed in the war), Zach T., Susan (Mrs. Robert Christy), Mary (Mrs. James Woodington), Margaret (Mrs. Albert Pollock), Jennie, Annie, Hattie (Mrs. W. G. Ladds). Zach T. Shriver was reared and educated in Tionesta, where he learned the carpenter's trade, and since the beginning of the oil excitement has followed the occupation of a driller. He married, November 10, 1874, Alice J., daughter of Silas J. and Martha (Teed) Wolcott, of Tionesta, and they have four children: Arthur Clyde, Linus T., Silas J. and James R. Mr. Shriver is a member of the P. O. S. of A., and in politics is a Republican.

The

WILLIAM SMEARBAUGH, lumberman and merchant, Tionesta, was born in Tionesta township, Forest Co., Penn., October 7, 1854, and is a son of Ferdinand and Dorcas (Mathie) Smearbaugh, natives of Germany, who came to America in 1848, and settled in what is now Tionesta, engaging in farming. The father was a carpenter, which trade he followed to some extent, and as an agriculturist he cleared the farm now owned by Charles Leeper. He died in 1858, leaving two sons: Jacob and William. His widow afterward married Nicholas Weant, and by him she had one son, George Weant. paternal grandfather of the subject of these lines was Christopher Smearbaugh, a cooper by trade, who settled in Tionesta in 1848, and died at the age of eighty-five years. Nicholas and Anna M. (Byers) Mathie, the maternal grandparents of William Smearbaugh, came from Hesse-Cassel. Germany, to Tionesta in 1848, and died there, aged eighty-five and eighty-four years, respectively. William Smearbaugh was reared in Tionesta, and received a limited education in the common schools. In 1881 he embarked in the hotel business at Tionesta, and conducted the Lawrence House two years. In 1883 he was elected treasurer of Forest county, serving one term of three years. In 1880 he engaged in mercantile business in Tionesta, with G. G. Butterfield, under the firm name of William Smearbaugh & Co., which they have since carried on; he has also been in the lumber business since 1886 along with William Lawrence, under the firm name of Lawrence & Smearbaugh. Mr. Smearbaugh married, March 22, 1881, Eva A., daughter of Daniel S. and Elizabeth (Spence) Knox, of Tionesta, and they have three daughters: Florence Marie, Helen and Josephine. Our subject is a member of the German Reformed Church, and of the A. O. U. W. Politically he is a Republican.

GEORGE F. WATSON, lumberman, Tionesta, was born in what is now Kingsley township, Forest Co., Penn., October 20, 1848, and is a son of Francis and Cordelia (Johnson) Watson. His paternal grandfather, Robert Watson, was a native of Ireland, and a pioneer of Titusville, Penn., where he lived and died, and his maternal grandfather, John Johnson, was a native of Vermont, and a pioneer of Venango county. Francis Watson was born in Titusville, Penn., in 1816, and in early manhood located in Tionesta, where he followed

the rivers as a pilot for some years; then engaged in lumbering for twenty years. Since 1869 he has resided in Kingsley township, Forest county, with his son, John G. His children were five in number: George F., William H., John G., Harvey B. and Rebecca (Mrs. Humphrey Downing). George F. Watson was reared in Kingsley township, receiving his education in the common schools, and at Neillstown Academy. He began life as a lumberman with his fatherin-law, A. B. Root, and later was associated with his brother-in-law, Aaron Root, and since 1887 has been associated in business with T. B. Collins, under the firm name of Collins & Watson, now operating a mill at Pine Hollow, and turning out from three to four million feet of lumber per annum. Mr. Watson married. in September, 1868. Anna, daughter of Aaron B. and Elizabeth (Zuendel) Root, early settlers of Green township, and by her has five children: Harry B., Minnie, Vernie, Cora and Georgianna. Mr. Watson is a member of the I. O. O. F. Politically he is a Democrat, and an advocate of prohibition.

GEORGE WEANT, farmer and lumberman, Tionesta, was born in Kingsley township, Forest Co., Penn., March 20, 1861, and is a son of Nicholas and Dorcas (Mathie) Weant, natives of Germany and pioneers of what is now Tionesta township, this county, where they still reside. George Weant was reared and educated in Tionesta township, began life as a farmer, and now owns and conducts two farms in that township; he has been engaged in lumbering since 1886. Mr. Weant is a popular and representative citizen. Politically he is a Republican, and is serving his second term as township auditor.

JACOB E. WENK, publisher of the Forest Republican, Tionesta, was born in Tionesta December 13, 1853, and is a son of Jacob and Dorothea E. (Mathe) Wenk. His father was a native of Hesse-Cassel, Germany, a shoemaker by occupation, and came to Tionesta in 1847, where he worked at his trade until his retirement from business, in 1884. His children are Lizzie (Mrs. G. G. Butterfield), Ferdinand and Jacob E. The subject of this sketch was reared in Tionesta, and learned the printer's trade in the office of the Forest County Bee (now Forest Republican). He worked at the case as a journeyman, ten years, and in January, 1879, purchased the Forest Republican, which he has since successfully conducted as editor and proprietor. On April 20, 1882, he married L. Florence, daughter of Daniel S. and Elizabeth (Spence) Knox, of Tionesta, and they have two children living: Carl E. and a son born January 6, 1890 (not yet named). Mr. Wenk is a member of the German Reformed Church and of the A. O. U. W. In politics he is a Republican.

SILAS J. WOLCOTT, oil operator, Tionesta, was born in what is now Hickory township, Forest Co., Penn., November 8, 1833, and is a son of William and Nancy (Gates) Wolcott. His father, who was a native of New England, and a farmer by occupation, was a pioneer of what is now Forest county, and cleared and improved a farm in Hickory township, where he died in 1861. Both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Their children were seven in number, viz.: Catherine G. (Mrs. Daniel Noble), Elizabeth (Mrs. Luther Bennett), Sarah A. (Mrs. Philo Barnes), Mary J. (Mrs. Charles Hill), Belinda (Mrs. Joseph Grove), William L. and Silas J. The subject of this sketch was reared in his native township, and received a common-school education. He has been successively a farmer, lumberman, real estate dealer, and has been in his present business since 1879, residing most of his life within the limits of what is now Forest county. He married, in 1855, Martha J., daughter of Joseph and Mary (Richardson) Teed, of Crawford county, Penn., and they have three children: William M., Alice J. (Mrs. Z. T. Shriver) and Nannie B. (Mrs. Harrison Weston). Mr. Wolcott is a mem