The Gleason Family of Smethport, Pennsylvania

While this name is not common, it is the name of one of the earliest immigrants to America. Thomas Gleason was probably in Massachusetts by 1653; he lived in several of its settlements. From him perhaps all the early Gleasons were descended. The present family, according to tradition, was formerly settled in Vermont; and it is a very probable conjecture that its descent is from this Massachusetts pioneer.

(I) Amos Gleason

Amos Gleason, the first member of this family about whom we have definite information, removed from Livingston county, New York, to Warsaw, Wyoming county, New York, about 1835; but, after the death of his wife, he returned to Livingston county, and there lived for the rest of his life, making his home with his daughter. He married Polly Sias, who died at Warsaw, in 1843. He had at least two children:

1. A daughter Gleason. Amos Gleason made his home with her in Livingston county.
2. Ira Sylvenus Gleason. Of whom further.

(II) Ira Sylvenus Gleason

Ira Sylvenus, son of Amos and Polly (Sias) Gleason, was born in Livingston county, New York, August 5, 1828, and died at Smethport, McKean county, Pennsylvania, December 30, 1896. He had but a limited education. In 1844 he became an apprentice in a harness shop at Warsaw where he remained until January, 1851. On the eleventh of that month he removed to Smethport, and entered the employment of Steele and Johnson, with whom he remained for three years. Then he went into the harness business for himself. He was also a stockholder in the Smethport Water Company. He was a Republican, and held the office of school director and other town offices. In the Methodist Episcopal church, both he and his wife were members, and he was constantly in some important position, holding at one time or another, nearly all; he was steward, class leader, treasurer, and superintendent of the Sunday school. He married, at Smethport, May 31, 1854, Emily Arminia, daughter of Samuel and Weltha (Copeland) Stanton, who was born in McKean county, January 13, 1833, and died at Smethport, November 8, 1898. In her infancy she was adopted by Ghordis and Armenia (Sartwell) Corwin (see Stanton). Children:

1. Dora Gleason. Born at Smethport, August 2, 1857, died July 26, 1877.
2. Ralph Corwin Gleason. Of whom further.

(III) Ralph Corwin Gleason

Ralph Corwin, son of Ira Sylvenus and Emily (Stanton) Gleason, was born at Smethport, July 2, 1874. There he received his education, attending the common school and the high school. In order to perfect himself in the art of photography, he took a technical course at the Oberlin Retouching School. Immediately after finishing this course, he opened a photographic studio at Smethport where he has been, and is at the present time, a successful photographer. While this is his principal, it is not his sole business interest, for he has interests outside of Smethport; he is a stockholder in the Smethport Water Company, in the Hamlin Bank and Trust Company and in the First National Bank at Eldred. He is a member of the Smethport Central Club. He is past grand of Smethport Lodge, No. 389, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is now its recording secretary. Since 1902 he has been a justice of the peace, and since 1903 tax collector for the borough. His party is the Republican.

Mr. Gleason married, June 28, 1905, Harriet Marsh, daughter of Thomas Henry and Harriet (Marsh) Ryan, who was born at Kane, Pennsylvania, October 7, 1881. She is a communicant of St. Luke’s Episcopal church. Mrs. Gleason has a very interesting ancestry, and, on her mother’s side, is descended from prominent New England families. Her father was the son of John Ryan; both were born in County Limerick, Ireland, and both came to North America. Her grandfather died at Guelph, Ontario, Canada; he was a grain and fur dealer; and he married Mary Maguinn, of County Clare, Ireland, who also died at Guelph. Thomas Henry Ryan was born August 26, 1841, and now resides at Kane; he is an oil producer. At the age of seventeen he left home in Canada, and, coming to the United States, he enlisted in the “Bucktail” regiment, officially the Forty-Second Pennsylvania Reserves, and served in the Civil war for three years. At the battle of Antietam, he was severely wounded in the shoulder.

Harriet (Marsh) Ryan was born at Rockingham, Vermont, May 14, 1842, and died at Kane, Pennsylvania, June 7, 1904. Her first American Marsh ancestor was Lieutenant Alexander Marsh, of Braintree, Massachusetts, who died March 7, 1698. He married, October 19, 1655, Mary Belcher, also of Braintree. Their son John, born February 17, 1678, and died in 1747, was prominent in town affairs; he married, August 28, 1701, Sarah Wilson, of New Haven. Their son Moses, living at Braintree, was born in 1714, and died at Greenbush, New York, in the provincial army; he married, September 5, 1739, Sarah Crosby. They had a son, also named Moses, born at Braintree, February 5, 1744, died at Rockingham, Vermont, in 1828; his name is given in the New Hampshire Revolutionary rolls, as a private in Colonel Samuel Ashley’s company, at Chesterfield. He married Jerusha Owen, who was born at Braintree, June 16, 1747, and died at Rockingham, in 1828. Among their children was Joseph, born at Braintree, August 3, 1769, died at Rockingham, March 14, 1846. Joseph married, at Rockingham, May 19, 1793, Joanna Pierce, born April 10, 1776, died at Marshall, New York, April 4, 1873. She was descended from John Pierce, freeman of Watertown, Massachusetts, 1638, the line being: John; Anthony; Joseph; Joseph; John; Anthony; Ebenezer (fought at the battle of Bennington, in the Revolution, and was killed there ten days later, while engaged in a scouting expedition); Joanna. Charles Pierce Marsh was son of Joseph and Joanna (Pierce) Marsh, born July 20, 1820; married at Keene, New Hampshire, Celina Thayer Locke. Among their children was Harriet (Marsh) Ryan.

Children of Thomas Henry and Harriet (Marsh) Ryan:

1. Kate Ryan. Born April 21, 1867, a trained nurse at Kane, and graduate of Bellevue Hospital, New York.
2. Benton Charles Ryan. Born August 17, 1868; married (first) Agnes Marr; (second) Margaret McCarty.
3. Josephine Ryan. Born May 16, 1871; married Ralph P. Yerdon.
4. Myra Ryan. Born March 23, 1873; married John K. Morrison.
5. Edmund Locke Ryan. Born February 18, 1875; married (first) Delia Hicks; (second) Lillian May Patterson; he is a lawyer, at Buffalo, New York.
6. Ruth Ryan. Born in 1877, died in 1880.
7. Mary Louise Ryan. Born January 17, 1879; married Roy Carleton Gifford.
8. Harriet Marsh Ryan. Married Ralph Corwin Gleason.
9. Florence Ryan. Born November 29, 1883, died in 1900.
10. Jane (Jennie) Ryan. Born August 15, 1887, unmarried.

Ralph Corwin and Harriet Marsh (Ryan) Gleason have no children.

The Stanton Line

This name is said to be derived from two Anglo-Saxon words meaning Stone-town. It is often spelled Staunton, and in the present family some of the descendants spell it the one way, some the other.

(I) Thomas Staunton

Thomas Staunton, the founder of this family, was born about 1614, and died December 2, 1676. January 2, 1635, he took passage for Virginia in the merchantman “Bonaventura.” If he ever went to Virginia, in the modern sense of the term, his stay was very short; yet there is some slight indication of such a residence. In 1636 he was a magistrate in Boston. In the Pequot war, he acted as interpreter and was a brave soldier, and after this war, he returned to Boston, but settled soon in Hartford, Connecticut. He acted as interpreter in the treaty of purchase of New Haven from the Indians. At Hartford, he was an official of the court. He was appointed in 1650 to assist, presumably as interpreter, in preaching among the Indians. In 1650 he also established a trading house at Stonington, Connecticut. It was probably in 1651 that he removed with his family to Pequot (New London), Connecticut, and in 1658 that he finally settled at Stonington, or rather, two and a half miles east of the village; this settlement was then in the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, but was given to Connecticut in 1662. He was the first white inhabitant on the Pawcatuck river. At Stonington, especially, he was much employed about Indian affairs, his knowledge of their tongue making him a valuable citizen. Whenever a court, conference, or treaty was to be held, his services were indispensable, and he was connected with almost every Indian transaction on record. Uncas visited him in 1670 with a train of warriors and captains, to get him to write his will. He was also prominent in other public affairs, and received large grants of land; in October, 1667, the general court granted him, for his services, two hundred and fifty acres in what became the town of Preston, New London county. He took an active part in King Philip’s war; served as commissioner of Indian affairs; in 1665 was made a commissioner of Stonington, with authority to hold a semi-annual court at New London, to which office he was annually re-elected until his death, twelve years later. In 1666 he was elected a member of the general court of Connecticut, and he was repeatedly re-elected until 1675. He held other offices beside these. In the organizing of the First Congregational church at Stonington, he was a leader, and his name was the first on its roll. He married Ann, daughter of Thomas and Dorothy Lord, who was born about 1621, and died in 1688. Her father received, in Connecticut, the first license to practice medicine which was granted in New England. Children:

1. Thomas Stanton. Born in 1638, died April 11, 1718, married Sarah Denison.
2. John (1) Stanton. Of whom further.
3. Mary Stanton. Born in 1643, married, November 17, 1662, Samuel Rogers.
4. Hannah Stanton. Born in 1644, married, November 20, 1662, Nehemiah Palmer.
5. Joseph Stanton. Died in 1714, married (first), June 19, 1673, Hannah Mead, (second), August 23, 1677, Hannah Lord, had two other marriages.
6. Daniel Stanton. Born in 1648.
7. Dorothy Stanton. Born in 1651, died January 19, 1742, married, September 11, 1674, Rev. James Noyes.
8. Robert Stanton. Born in 1653, died October 25, 1724, married, November 12, 1677, Joanna Gardiner.
9. Sarah Stanton. Born in 1655, died in 1713, married (first) Thomas Prentice, (second) William Denison.
10. Samuel Stanton. Born in 1657, married June 16, 1680, Borodell Denison.

(II) John (1) Stanton

John (1), son of Thomas and Ann (Lord) Stanton, was born at Hartford, in 1641, and died at Stonington, October 31, 1713. In 1664 he was sent by the court of commissioners to be educated for a teacher of the Gospel to the Indians, but he did not finish his studies. In 1664 he was the first recorder of Southertown (Stonington). He was captain of one of the Connecticut regiments in King Philip’s war, and was in command when Canonchet was captured. He married, in 1664, Hannah Thompson. Children:

1. John (2) Stanton. Of whom further.
2. Joseph Stanton. Born January 22, 1668, married, July 18, 1696, Margaret Cheseboro.
3. Thomas Stanton. Born in April, 1670, married, in 1692, Anna Stanton.
4. Ann Stanton. Born October 1, 1673, died March 23, 1680.
5. Theophilus Stanton. Born June 16, 1676, married, June 5, 1698, Elizabeth Rogers.
6. Dorothy Stanton. Born in 1680, died April 28, 1690.

(III) John (2) Stanton

John (2), son of John (1) and Hannah (Thompson) Stanton, was born May 22, 1665, his will was dated February 13, 1747, probated July 8, 1755. He lived on lands given him by his father at Preston. He married Mary. Children:

1. John Stanton. Born November 13, 1706, married, in 1735, Desire Denison.
2. Daniel Stanton. Born June 8, 1708, married, in 1737, Dinah Stark.
3. Joseph Stanton. Born February 11, 1710, married, in 1737, Abigail Freeman.
4. Lydia Stanton. Born July 15, 1712, married, August 9, 1733, Daniel Leonard.
5. Robert Stanton. Born February 26, 1714, married, in 1741, Mary Lester.
6. Hulda Stanton. Born June 3, 1716.
7. Jabez Stanton. Born December 10, 1718, married, in 1745, Sarah Morse.
8. David Stanton. Born October 22, 1720, married, in 1755, Sarah Kimball.
9. Mary Stanton. Born September 11, 1722.
10. Sarah Stanton. Born January 20, 1724.
11. Samuel (1) Stanton. Of whom further.

(IV) Samuel (1) Stanton

Samuel (1), son of John (2) and Mary Stanton, was born at Preston, June 26, 1726, and died at Preston, in March, 1803. His home was at Preston. He married, at Voluntown, Connecticut, November 1, 1754, Mary Palmer, who was born about 1737, and died January 20, 1815. Children:

1. Mary Stanton. Born March 15, 1756, died in 1763.
2. Samuel (2) Stanton. Of whom further.
3. Lydia Stanton. Born February 24, 1761.
4. Daniel Stanton. Born October 14, 1762, died in 1769.
5. Rebecca Stanton. Born April 7, 1765.
6. Mary Stanton. Born March 22, 1767.
7. Freelove Stanton. Born January 19, 1770, died in 1775.
8. Daniel Stanton. Born in January, 1776, married Catharine F. Roth.

(V) Samuel (2) Stanton

Samuel (2), son of Samuel (1) and Mary (Palmer) Stanton, was born at Preston, April 17, 1759, and died at Bellefonte, Center county, Pennsylvania, April 15, 1816. In June, 1789, he bought a tract of three hundred and twenty-two acres in Wayne county, Pennsylvania, and became the first actual settler in Mount Pleasant township; he had previously done some surveying in that section. The day following his purchase he bought nearly three thousand acres more. About a year later he began to work this land, and he brought his family here in April, 1791. During the following winter he and his family nearly died of starvation. When they were almost beyond hope, a passing hunter killed a deer near their cabin; then discovering their plight, he generously and effectually relieved them. In 1796 Mr. Stanton was appointed justice of the peace in Northampton county. When Wayne county was organized, two years later, he was a commissioner to build the court house, and he was engaged in many enterprises in Wayne county. In October, 1814, he was appointed associate judge of that county. Near the close of his life, however, he removed westward, and purchased seventeen hundred acres of land on Marvin creek, in what is now Hamlin township, McKean county, and three or four hundred acres in Liberty township. In the latter township he erected a store and log house; he also planned for many buildings. His project was, to bring two hundred families to what is now Port Allegany. In this new home he was commissioner of a state road; business growing out of this position called him to Harrisburg. Taking his family, he went as far as the west branch of the Susquehanna; and it was while stopping at Bellefonte to visit a friend, as he was making his journey to Harrisburg, that he died. When he had started with his family, they had just had a visitation of typhoid in which seven of his children had been sick. Mrs. Stanton, after his death, continued the journey to Port Allegany. The main body of the intended colonists settled in Ashtabula county, Ohio. Judge Stanton was a pious Christian man, a member of the Free Communion Baptists, and was the author of about fifty hymns. He was a man of lively imagination, well developed intellect and unusual power of concentration. It is said that he read over two thousand books, and could discourse intelligently about their contents. In disposition he was cheerful, entertaining, yet not jovial, and with a thirst for information which made him alert. He married, at Preston, December 3, 1786, Martha Carpenter, daughter of Daniel and Anna (Carpenter) Morse, who was born at Preston, October 15, 1764, and died at Port Allegany, May 8, 1830. Children:

1. Martha Stanton. Born November 18, 1787, married, May 12, 1806, William Green.
2. Samuel (3) Stanton. Of whom further.
3. Polly Stanton. Born August 26, 1791, married, March 31, 1808, Thomas Lillibridge.
4. Rebecca Stanton. Born June 1, 1793, married, December 10, 1809, William Haines.
5. Anna Carpenter Stanton. Born February 9, 1795, married, April 28, 1814, Lodowick Lillibridge (see Lillibridge).
6. Lucy Stanton. Born January 5, 1797, married, February 11, 1819, Elias Morse.
7. Daniel Stanton. Born June 18, 1799, married, January 29, 1824, Lydia Chadwick.
8. Thomas Stanton. Born November 15, 1801.
9. Lydia Stanton. Born June 16, 1803, married, February 11, 1819, Horace Morse.
10. Abel Stanton. Born June 30, 1805, married, in 1837, Sarah Scott.
11. Hannah Stanton. Born July 18, 1807, married, September 12, 1824, James Steele.

(VI) Samuel (3) Stanton

Samuel (3), son of Samuel (2) and Martha Carpenter (Morse) Stanton, was born at Preston, February 26, 1789, and died in Minnesota. He married (first), in 1826, Weltha Copeland, (second), in 1851, Polly Roland. Children, all except the last-named by first wife:

1. Marietta Stanton. Born April 26, 1829, married, March 10, 1847, Thomas Horton.
2. Mary Ann Stanton. Married Green.
3. Pauline Stanton. Married Luther Lucas.
4. Emily Stanton. The second name, Arminia, we suppose to have been later conferred by her adopted parents, Ghordis and Armenia Corwin; married Ira Sylvenus Gleason (see Gleason).
5. Betsey Ann Stanton. Child of the second wife.

See: Genealogy of the Allegheny Valley Pennsylvania

Source

Jordan, J. W. 1840-1921. (1913). Genealogical and personal history of the Allegheny Valley, Pennsylvania. New York: Lewis Historical Pub. Co.

This genealogy is based upon the source cited above. Only the structure and formatting have been changed for clearer presentation; the genealogical and biographical content