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Samuel Adams Worman |
Samuel Adams Worman was born on June 4, 1818 in Espy, also known as Espytown, Columbia County, PA, the son of Samuel and Regina (Kreider) Worman.
He is believed to have been baptized on Christmas Day 1818 in the Lutheran Church of Bloomsburg. A notation of his birth was made in church records in German handwriting.
Advertising in the Columbia Democrat in 1845 shows him engaged in selling dry goods and Timothy seed in Espytown. A bachelor at the age of 30, in 1850, he lived with his mother in Bloom Township, Columbia County, PA and earned a living as a merchant.
He and Gilbert H. Fowler in 1855 are known to have filed a legal complaint in county court against Henry Trembley for causes not yet known, and in 1856 against the executors of the late William Trembley of Bloom Township. Samuel also appears to have been a justice of the peace in Jackson Township circa 1857 and to have officiated weddings.
Samuel entered into marriage in the 1850s with Martha Matilda Stiles (June 13, 1833-1909), a native of Briar Creek Township, Columbia County, and the daughter of John and Nancy (Hess) Stiles.
Their brood of six known children were Robert McCurdy Worman, Charles Albert Worman (1858- ? ), twins Ada and Eva Worman (both 1863-1864), Barton Styles Worman (1864-1865) and Samuel Kreider Worman (1869-1962). As evidenced by their many markers in the Creveling Cemetery, all but one of the children died young, with only youngest son Samuel reaching adulthood.
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| Worman infant graves, L-R: Robert, Barton, Ada and Eva - courtesy Gary Roberts |
When the federal census enumerations were made in 1870 and 1880, Samuel generated income as a dry goods merchant in Espy.
Sadly, at the age of 68, Samuel died in Espy on July 27, 1886. His remains were lowered into the slumber of the ages in Creveling Cemetery. Two years after his death, with Martha serving as executrix, a sales of their real estate was ordered by the county orphans court, comprised of a seven-acre tract along the road from Espy to Lightstreet, a 62-acre tract in Main Township, along the Susquehanna River, and a town lot in Espy along Third Street.
Martha remained in Espy and, stricken with pleurisy, died there at the age of 75 on Jan. 11, 1909.
~ Son Samuel Kreider Worman ~
Son Samuel Kreider Worman (1869-1962) -- the only surviving child -- was born on Sept. 15, 1869 in Espy, Columbia County, PA.
In young manhood he helped conduct a general store and a repair shop for bicycles and automobiles.
Samuel was twice wed. His first bride, whom he married on Sept. 21, 1893, was Lena Hartman ( ? - ? ), daughter of Eli Hartman, and announced in the Columbian. Sadly, she died after just two years of marriage, with word printed in her hometown newspaper, the Clarion (PA) Democrat.
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| Panorama of Danville, PA, looking east - courtesy Library of Congress |
His second spouse, with whom he tied the knot in 1913, was Nellie M. Schweppenheiser (1884-1975). The wedding, a simple ceremony, was held in their new Danville home.
Together they bore a son, Samuel Frederick Worman.
Samuel made news in August 1912 when catching 11 bass, each weighing more than a pound, while fishing at Willow Grove for 90 minutes one day.
He is known for constructing and operating the first coal dredging operation on the Susquehanna River near Espy. It was built about 1901 and was in operation for about a decade, selling coal to many industrial businesses in the Bloomsburg area. The dredge was 30 feet in length and about 10 feet in width, with most of the machinery made by hand.
Samuel in 1911 moved to Danville to accept a position with the Danville Stove Manufacturing Company. Said the Danville News, "He was employed with the firm as an engineer and became busily engaged in installing some of the furnaces built by the company. One of his major contributions while working with the company was the designing of the mail box which was built locally and which can still be found in many cities throughout the United States. At the time, the United States government had rejected many designs submitted but Worman finally came up with one which proved satisfactory to all concerned and Danville Stove Company began production." He also helped build an overhead crane to simplify production and loading at the stove company.
After the plant closed in 1941, he went to work for the Danville YMCA. They were members of Grove Presbyterian Church.
At his 92nd birthday, in 1961, he and his coal dredge were featured in the News. His last address was 4 Mill Street, Danville. For the last 10 years of his life, Samuel was burdened with hardening of the arteries.
After suffering bleeding on the brain, he passed away at the age of 92 on April 23, 1962. Rev. David M. Thompson, his pastor, led the rites. Interment of the remains was in Creveling Cemetery, with Dr. A.B. Vastine, Frank Lovett, Stanley Charleton, John Paulick, Howard Sechler and Andrew Sechler serving as pallbearers. An obituary was published in the Daily Danville News.
Son Samuel "Frederick" Worman (1918-2003) was an alumnus of Danville High School and earned a degree from Bloomsburg State Teachers College. In 1952, he resided in Milton, FL and was named as the "outstanding band-leader in the northwestern district of Florida," said the Daily Item. Frederick dwelled in Hagerstown, MD in 1962. He was the father of Regina Marydent Worman.
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Copyright © 2023-2024, 2026 Mark A. Miner |
Preliminary research for this page conducted by Della Shafer. |