BIOGRAPHY: James Densmore; Moscow, Livingston co., NY
surname: Densmore

submitted by Teri Brown (sanchoinc at houston.rr.com) 
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Submitted Date: October 25, 2004
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Author: Directory of Crawford County, PA, 1879-80

JAMES DENSMORE,
The eldest son of Joel Densmore, who was a somewhat conspicuous mechanic of 
the county [Crawford County, PA], was born February 3d, 1820, at Moscow, 
Livingstone County, N. Y., and came, with his father's family, into Woodcock 
township, on Woodcock Creek, near Blooming Valley, on January 1st, 1836. From 
his seventh to his thirteenth year he had the advantages of the common schools 
of the city of Rochester, N. Y., such as they then were. During the winter of 
1841-42, feeling the need of better advantages of schooling, by advancing a 
portion of the wages himself, he prevailed on the trustees of the so-
called "Cowen District" to employ Mr. John R. Donnelly, a former tutor of 
Allegheny College, to teach the district school. It was an event in that town 
ship. Scholars sought admission from the contiguous districts. The result was 
a crowded and most successful school. The next winter, the winter of 1842-43, 
he attended Allegheny College one session. These constitute the school 
advantages he enjoyed. In 1844 he entered as a student at law with Hiram L. 
Richmond, Esq., and was admitted to the bar of the county April 18th, 1848, 
but he never practiced the profession. In October of that year he went to 
Wisconsin, and there drifted into political writing as a profession, and for 
fourteen years following was engaged in conducting several weekly political 
newspapers. In 1862 he returned to Crawford County, and in 1864 took up his 
residence in Meadville.

Politically, he was educated in the old so-called Democratic school, and voted 
with that party for the first seven years of his voting life. But early in 
life he became converted to the general doctrines of William Lloyd Garrison, 
and in 1848 he inaugurated the Free Soil Party in Crawford County. The county 
was then divided among Whigs and Democrats, and so unpopular was political 
anti-slavery that he failed to get any names to a call for a county 
convention, and was constrained to call it anonymously. But a small band was 
found to join him, among whom were Dr. Sargeant, Thomas S. Minniss, Henry C. 
Johnson, Ezek Jones, Benjamin David, Lewis Thickstun, and a few others. This 
was the beginning of the party in that county now known as the Republican. In 
July, 1854, at Madison, Wisconsin, he was a delegate to the convention which 
form ally organized the Republican party in that State. He has always been
somewhat prominent as an independent radical, both in politics and religion.

For the last dozen years he has been connected with the enterprise of 
developing the type-writer a machine to write with types instead of the pen, 
and is now connected therewith.

Directory of Crawford County, PA, 1879-80, pages 235-236.

Additional Comments:
Submitted in conjunction with the Crawford County PA USGenWeb site:  
http://www.rootsweb.com/~pacrawfo