Cover - Susquehanna County Centennial 1787-1887
Tag Archives: Documents
Eldad Geer
On March 16, 1911, Eldad Geer states that he was born on January 27, 1836 and that the only written proof of his birth – an entry in the family bible – was destroyed in a house fire. He also states that he is the “sole surviving member” of his family. Throughout his entries and statements made in his Civil War Pension Papers, we get bits and pieces of who Eldad Geer was and what his life was like after his service in the Civil War. We find out that he was married to Charlotte Louise Greenman on November 11, 1860 in Lake Como, PA. In a signed affidavit, he states that he has 4 children, 3 girls; Eudora, Vernie, Mary and 1 boy, Rufus. (In the 1900 census, Eldad and Charlotte state that they had 8 children, but only 4 are living).
After his service with Co. K, 137th Penna. Vol., Eldad returns home an injured veteran with both a severe eye injury and harsh bouts of rheumatism. These ailments continue to affect his life rendering him unable to procure employment on a permanent basis. Throughout the pension papers, neighbors, doctors and certified “surgeons” for the United States Bureau of Pensions submit written affidavits concerning his condition and sometimes approve, disapprove his meager pension/stipend. In several cases, statements are made about his poor physical condition.
Eldad Geer was my great grandfather and died on Feb. 6, 1912. He is buried in the Balls Eddy Cemetery in Balls Eddy (Wayne County), PA. Several of his papers have been posted in the gallery so you, too, can read about this Civil War Veteran. A picture of his son, my grandfather, Rufus Geer and his wife, Della (Quick) Geer has been posted as well.
Eldad Geer Tombstone
Susquehanna Centennial
Susquehanna Centennial Cover
Scanned pages from the Susquehanna Centennial can be found in the Susquehanna Centennial gallery
Emma Seamans
Emma Seamans Biography
Emma Seamans
Scanned signatures from Emma’s autograph book can be found in the Emma Seamans gallery.
The Stevens Point Church 58th Anniversary
Tucked inside of the Old Home Day Guest book, are three handwritten pages of notes taken during an anniversary service held at the Stevens Point Methodist Episcopal Church on November 10, 1944. The writer refers to this service as the “58th anniversary of the founding of building the Stevens Point church.” When I first read this, I thought that the author was incorrect with the anniversary date as the cornerstone on the church has 1896 as its inscription. Upon re-reading the text, it refers to the “founding of the building” and maybe not the actual completion date. And there definitely would have be a time difference- from the date of land purchase, planning, materials, finding enough men for the labor and finalizing the building to completion-it may have been quite a few years.
If you had a relative that lived in or around Harmony Township during the 1940’s, there is a good chance that they were at this celebration. So, come now, read the notes from that day as our secretary has graciously written everything down, even the names of all of the attendees….
The Stevens Point Methodist Episcopal Church - April 2009
Stevens Point Methodist Church Community Hall - April 2009
Stevens Point Methodist Church Community Hall Inside - April 2009
Abram Walker
Because Ianthus Walker doesn’t mention anything about his parents or siblings in all of his Civil War Pension Papers, I was intrigued when an Abram Walker gave a deposition on Ianthus’s behalf in an affidavit dated 1891. In the Commemorative Biographical Record by J. H. Beers, an extensive account of Abram Walker and his life is given – that he had lived in Brandt before his enlistments in the Civil War and then in Lanesboro after the war had ended. So, I didn’t know if it was mere coincidence that he and Ianthus shared the same last name or if they were indeed brothers or cousins. It has been something that I have been trying to find out now for the last few years….
Abram Walker was born in Sanford, NY in July of 1833, to William and Debbie (Monroe) Walker. CBR goes on to state that Abram was one of a family of thirteen children, (five of whom died in infancy) and it does list the remaining seven brothers and sisters but– Ianthus is not one of them. Because Abram’s father died when he was just a small boy, he was placed with a family in Deposit, NY (Delaware County). It was there that he learned to be a mason, and later, in 1856, he married Susan Finch. After the marriage, they settled in Brandt until 1861 when the Civil War broke out. Like Ianthus, Abram mustered into the army but served a longer term with two different companies.
In Abram Walker’s Civil War Pension Papers, there isn’t any reference to relatives at all. No children are mentioned in the papers – just one brief account by his wife on a Widow’s Pension Application that states “there aren’t any children under the age of 16 living in the household”. But in Beers’ Commemorative Record, it states that Abram and Susan had five children; three daughters and two sons but both sons drowned.
It seems probable that Abram and Ianthus Walker were related- they were both born in Sanford, NY just a few years apart. Ianthus lived in a household with a Thomas and Debbie Henderson. Both were married in January of 1856 – by the same minister. Familiar signatures appear on affidavits for Abram, giving the same testimonies as for Ianthus. Being that Brandt and Lanesboro were such little towns with only a few miles apart, it seems likely that they certainly knew each other and were possibly well acquainted.
Four years of soldiering took its toll on Abram Walker and his family – after his return from the Civil War, he was plagued with ill health and unable to keep steady work. Through his pension papers that I have posted in the gallery, you can read and appreciate this life story of another small family from Harmony Township…
Abram Walker gravestone in Lanesboro Cemetery
Abram Walker Tombstone
I have posted numerous pages of Abram’s pension papers in the Abram Walker gallery.
The Storer Family
The Storer family is one of the earlier families to have settled in Harmony Township. Coming from Derbyshire, England, five children of George and Julia Storer’s eleven offspring came to America while their parents remained in England. Of the five that settled in and around Susquehanna and Bradford County, it is Moses and Mary Ann ( Hartshorn) Storer that I am most interested in as they are the parents of Hannah (Storer) Walker – my great, great grandmother.
Moses and Mary Ann Storer
Moses and Mary Ann (Hartshorn) were married in England and came to this country in 1847 to make their home in Stevens Point, PA. According to several mentions of the Storers in Beers’ Commemorative Biographical Record of Northeastern Pennsylvania, these families settled in “the wilds of Harmony Township”. Moses and Mary Ann had six children and it is their second child, Hannah that married Ianthus W. Walker. Several of the Storer family members are buried in the Brandt Cemetery; Moses and Mary Storer, Hannah and Ianthus Walker, George W. Storer ( 1851-1906). It seems that John Storer is buried there as well – a stone that lies next to one where the inscription has long faded away, bears the name of “Myra Storer, wife of John Storer”. There may very well be other family members buried there without a stone.
In 1985, Sarah (Bailey) Warder gave my family her extensive research on the Storer family; it is her work that I have posted here..
Storer family history from Sarah (Bailey) Warder - Page 1
Storer family history from Sarah (Bailey) Warder - Page 2
Ianthus and Hannah Storer Walker
Researching family history is a bit like unraveling a big ball of tangled yarn….if you have patience and perseverance, you might end up with enough yarn to make a nice sweater but if you give up too easily and cut away half the knots, you might only have enough for a pair of small mittens. The same goes with searching out family members from the past, sometimes it just take time, patience and perseverance. And with the right mixture of all three, you might be able to sort out some of your relatives! That was the way it seemed when a few years ago, I began to be interested in Ianthus and Hannah Walker, my great, great grandparents. I had seen beautiful portraits of both and I realized that I didn’t know too much about them-where they were born, where they had lived and what other children they might have had. I only knew that they were my grandfather’s– Ray Milton Rockwell– grandparents. Ray Rockwell’s mother, Mary (Walker) Rockwell was their daughter and Mary (Walker) Rockwell had a twin sister, Sarah (Walker) Carnegie.
Ianthus Walker
Hannah Storer Walker
It was only by chance that I happened upon Ianthus’s civil war card at a Veterans Administration and my interest was peaked when I learned that he was buried alongside his first wife, Hannah (Storer) Walker in the Brandt Cemetery in Brandt, PA. I was thrilled to see that the names and dates were still pretty legible. The quest was on!
Ianthus Walker Tombstone
Hannah Storer Tombstone
Ianthus W. Walker was born on July 13, 1836 in the little town of Sanford, NY to unknown parents. He gives no information about parents or siblings in his Civil War Pension Papers, just his birthdate and where he was born. His name first shows up on an 1850 census as a 14 year old boy living with a Thomas and Debbie Henderson, in 1860 he is married to Hannah Storer and they have a small daughter, Harriet. He is elusive in the 1870 census – his name can not be found. In 1880, Ianthus is living in Tioga County, NY and is married to Abigail (Carnegie) with several children, I have found out later through Ianthus’s Civil War Pension Papers that some of the children are Hannah’s and some are Abigail’s.
Ianthus Walker once farmed a large piece of land in Stevens Point but sometime after his return from Civil War, he moved to Brandt and was employed by neighbors to do farming and light carpenter work, at one time he worked at the Brandt Chair Factory. He came home a wounded man, was only able to work some of the time and as he got older and was steadily worsened by his wounds; he was barely able to keep employment at all. It has only been through Ianthus’s Civil War Pension Papers that I have been able to piece together this life story…I have posted numerous pages from his pension papers along with his and Hannah’s portraits, their gravestones, so you, too, can see how the Civil War had affected this small family from Harmony Township.
Quarry Documents
These documents were typical of quarry transactions of the period.
