Sullivan-Luzerne County PA Archives Biographies.....THRASHER, Ransom 1839 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com April 22, 2007, 5:41 pm Author: Thomas J. Ingham (1899) RANSOM THRASHER. - The subject of this sketch, the treasurer of Sullivan county, is not only one of the foremost citizens of that county, but is also a representative of one of its foremost families. In the township of Cherry is the Thrasher settlement, thus made memorable by a hardy and enterprising pioneer, George Thrasher, the grandfather of our subject, who came to the county in its state of native wildness, and with the aid of his seven lusty sons made the welkin ring with the cheery and civilizing ax till the nucleus of a settlement rapidly developed into a prosperous community, radiating a beneficent influence throughout a widening region. George Thrasher, the pioneer, was a native of Reading, Pennsylvania, where he was born in 1774, just before the Revolutionary war. He married Catherine Fox, of that city, and became one of the strong and prosperous lumbermen and farmers of the Keystone state. He first settled in Luzerne county, where he remained until 1828. Purchasing from a land agent, a Mr. Kittwolder, a tract of eight hundred acres in what is now Cherry township, Sullivan county, he in that year emigrated with his household of hardy lads to the new county. Here he remained, an energetic and prosperous citizen, through life, and passed away July 12, 1846, aged seventy-one years, nine months and twenty-four days. His wife Catherine who was born July 18, 1773, and died May 8, 1854. The ten children of George and Catherine Thrasher were as follows: Elizabeth, who died unmarried; Catherine, who first married a Mr. Miller and afterward Philip Heverly; Hannah, who first married George Rupert and later Mr. Bendinger; George, father of our subject; Benjamin, who married Anna Hunsinger; Jonathan, who married Catherine Bostian; Samuel, who married Rachel Person; Adam who married Hannah Dieffenbach; Joseph, who died unmarried; and Reuben, who married Anna Suber. George Thrasher, father of our subject, was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, in 1803. He was raised in that county and there married Lydia Weaver a native of Luzerne county, the daughter of Christian and Maria Weaver, who on April 1, 1847, emigrated to Cherry township, Sullivan county, and there remained through life. Christian Weaver was a wheelwright and followed his trade in connection with farming. He died December 26, 1837, aged fifty-one years, five months and one day; his wife, Maria, died May 10, 1831, aged thirty-seven years and nine months; both are buried in the Thrasher cemetery. To Christian and Maria Weaver were born seven children, as follows: Lydia, mother of our subject; Rosanna, who married Christian Benninger; Anthony, who married Mary Dieffenbach; Barnhart, who married Mary Kizer; George and Jacob, twins, the former marrying Margaret Eagly and the latter having twice married, first Eliza Conley, and later a widow from New York; Margaret, who became the wife of George Eberling. The family of George and Lydia Thrasher consisted of the following children: Joseph, who married Sally Moyer and is a farmer of Cherry township, Sullivan county; Stephen, who married Caroline Kinsley and is now deceased; Phoebe, who became the wife of J. B. Lamberson and is now deceased; Ransom, subject of this sketch; Adam, who is unmarried and is the partner of our subject in the ownership and tilling of the old homestead; Rachel, widow of Benjamin Hiever, a farmer of Cherry township, who was killed by lightning at his home in June, 1895; Reuben, who married Elizabeth Barber and resides in Colley township, Sullivan county; and Catherine A. who died unmarried. George and Lydia Thrasher remained in Luzerne county until the death of the elder Thrasher in 1846. He then moved to the farm in Cherry township, now owned by his sons, Ransom and Adam. Two years later his life was cut short by an accident. While on his way to mill, March 18, 1849, with a load of grain, between his home and Dushore, his team ran away and he was killed, at the age of forty-five years, seven months and twenty-one days. The widow, who was born June 13, 1812, survived until June 13, 1887. Both are buried at the Thrasher cemetery, which adjoins the homestead of our subject, a spot which in 1829 was dedicated to burial purposes and where about sixty of the Thrasher family are now interred. The first burial in the lot was that of Joseph Thrasher, an uncle of our subject, who was there laid away in 1829. George Thrasher was a successful farmer and in political faith a Democrat. He and his family were members of the Lutheran church. Ransom Thrasher, the subject of our sketch, was born in Sugarloaf township, Luzerne county, February 5, 1839. He was seven years of age when he came with his parents to Sullivan county and but ten years of age when deprived of a father's care. He has remained a citizen of Cherry township and for his home clings to the old homestead which he and his brother Adam secured by purchasing the interest of the other heirs, and which they have since jointly and very successfully cultivated. Adam has avoided political honors, but the subject of our sketch has been called upon to fill some of the most responsible public duties. In 1882 he was elected collector of Cherry township, and in 1896 was elected to the office of county treasurer, an office for which his keen business grasp of mind has eminently fitted him. Mr. Thrasher has been highly successful in his business affairs, is public-spirited, and besides the general yet deep interest which he takes in public affairs is especially attached to home, party and religion. He is in politics a stanch Democrat and his religious affiliations are with the Lutheran church. The edifice of that denomination in which he attends services and the adjoining cemetery are situated on land taken from the old homestead. The premises are kept in that neat and tasteful manner which characterizes methods on the Thrasher homestead. Long since Mr. Thrasher has risen by his native talents and kindly disposition to an envied place in the esteem of his fellow citizens, and he now enjoys the full meet of respect and regard which come to a life so well and successfully spent. Additional Comments: Extracted from: History of Sullivan County Pennsylvania by Thomas J. Ingham Compendium of Biography The Lewis Publishing Company Chicago: 1899 This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/pafiles/ File size: 6.9 Kb