Page:Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania, Containing a Concise History of the Two Counties and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families.pdf/614

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COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES

bom near Espy on the homestead, and attend­ ed the country schools, lie came to Blooms­ burg and worked at the coachmaking busi­ ness with Kiias K. Furman and Isaac D. Gulick, who had established the shop in 18 3 1. H e had previously worked at the trade in Danville, Pa., and Bath, N. Y. When Isaac D. Gulick went imo (he business o f canalboating M r. Funiian took charge of the boats and operated them from Bloomsburg to Co­ lumbia, Dauphin county. F o r a time after that he was a part owner n f the Paxinos fu r­ nace, for two years superintendent o f a coal mine at Kingston, Ltntemc county, and then returned to Bloomsburg to open an office for (he sale o f coal and hauling it from the canalboats to the railroad. He also had an inter­ est in several bridge contracts. In 1861 Josiah I'lirman was elected sheriff o f Columbia county for a tenn o f three years. He was made director of the Bloomsburg tice of the peace, holding the position until his death. Ju ly 22. 1870. H is rcnuins lie in Kosemom cemetery. In February. 18 3 1. he married Fanny Yclls. daughter o f Solomon W ells, o f Massachusetts, and they had the following children; W atson: M artha, w ife o f John I’u rsel; Erastu s: Chester S., and Elias. E lias Furm an, son o f Josiah, was a cabinet­ maker by trade and resided in Bloomsbuig. He enlisted at the age o f sixteen in Company C. 28th Penn.sylvania Volunteers. scr‘ing un­ til the end of the war. H e married Glovcnia Barkley, and they had (wo sons: H oward C., bom lu ly 30. 18 7 4 : and Kenneth, born June 29, 1W 2. I toward C. Furman married M ary Pursel and they had three children; Dorothy, Clinton and Joshua. Chester S . Fum ian learned ham tssm aking in Bloomsburg with John Grotz, and was working at it when he enlisted in Company A . 6lh Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, for service during the Civil war, being then but nineteen years o f age. He served three years and participated in fourteen engagements o f note. F o r his bravery and valor in action he received a medal from Congress, and w as p ro ­ moted to be corporal o f his com|Kiny. Dur­ ing (he battle o f Gettysburg he w as sent with a few comrades (0 charge a log house filled with the enemy's sharpshooters, who were rapidly decimating the Union ranks. 'Phe charge was succcs.sful. and for Ihc valor dis­ played during this action M r. Furman was given his highly prized gold medal, which is now a relic o f ihcir father which his children
 * X)or district and elected to the office o f ju s­

preserve with loving carc. Mr. Furm an and a comrade, George W. M ears. were the only men in Company A, from Bloontsburg, to re­ ceive medals. M r. M ears is still living ( 19 14 ) in Bloomsburg. A t the clasc of the period o f service for which he enlisted M r. F u m u ii returned to Bloomsbuig and resumed his trade, follow­ ing it uutil his death. Ju ly 22. 19 10 . H e is buried in Rosemont ccmeteni'. F o r years he was a mcmiicr o f W. H. Knt Post, No. 250. G. A. k ., and also of the Union Veterans lanion. l i e was independent in politics and was a member o f T rinity R efom ied Church. Bloomsburg. H e was a director o f Rosemont cemetery and a charter member of the Royal .-rcanum I ^ g e of Bloomsburg. On Nov. 25, 1868. M r. Furm an married Sarah Barkley, who w as born Feb. 23. 1844, daugh­ ter o f joscph and Ju lia (M elick) BarkleyT hcir cnitdrcn w ere: Ralph B., who died at the age o f eleven; Josiah H., Ju lia H ., H ervey F .. ^ y d V., O icsier Clinton and Clora ( i. Josiah H . Furm an attended the schools of Bloomsburg and entered the Philadelphia Col­ lege o f Pharmacy, from which he graduated in 1893. He then became dean of the phar­ maceutical department and lecturer at the Col­ lege o f I’hysicians and Surgeons. Memphis. Tcnn. H e next entered the drug business with a prominent firm in Memphis, later o p w ing a store o f his own at the com er o f W e l­ lington and W alker streets, that city. On Oct. 3 1 . 1907, he w as united in m arriage to NIyrtis M ay I-XMig, o f Memphis, and they had one child, now deceased. M r. Furm an died in that city on A pril 6. 19 13 . and his widow still resides there. He is buried in the beautiful Forest H ill ccmeters*. one of the famous spots o f Memphis. Ju lia II. Furman graduated from the Bloomsburg high school in 1893. from the State Normal school in 1895. .She then attended the Lying-in Hospital for N u rses at Philadelphia, graduating therefrom in 19 0 1. She is now a ro iste re d nurse at Bloomsburg. H ervey F. Furman married Nellie G andy, o f Grecnsbuig. N. J .. on Ju ly 4. 1902, and she died Sept. 30. 1909. On Sept. 18. 19 10 . he married Itcatricc Falkcnberg. o f B am egat. N. J .. and they have one child. H ervey F. Mr. Furman resides in Philadelphia. Boyd W. Furm an, after his .school days were i>ast, clerked for different firms in Bloomsburg. and a fte r his marriage wa.s for .some time bookkeeper fo r his father-in-law. J. I - Dillon, the leading florist o f Bloomsburg. In 19 14 he bought the farm formerly owned