Samuel G. Breese

Samuel G. Breese, son of Henry and Sarah (Johnson) Breese, was born December 25, 1830. His father was born in Luzerne county, Wyoming Valley, Pa., December 21,1797, died October 21, 1875. He was one of nine children of Samuel and Hannah (Pierson) Breese of Somerset county, New Jersey, and grandson of John and Dorothy (Riggs) Breese of Basking Ridge, N. J., the same John who was a soldier of the Revolution. Henry Breese, father of Samuel G. came here from Luzerne couuty, Pa., in 1835, with three sons and two daughters, namely: Stephen D., Milton, Johnston, Ellen and Amy, while here the subject of this sketch was born. He, with Stephen and Amy, now Mrs. A. Y. Fuller, are the only survivors here, of this large and prominent family. Milton resides at Neponset, Johnson, at Kewanee, and Ellen is the wife of Samuel Besett, residing near Chenoa, Ill. Samuel G. grew to manhood here, at 18 years he engaged in his father's business at Neponset, Ill.; visited Omaha, Neb., returned in 1864 to Prairie city, and was engaged in mercantile work until 1870, when he moved near Castleton, where he was engaged in farming up to 1882, when he took charge of his present business at Wyoming, still holding his farm in Penn township. He was married December 24,1865, at Prairie city to Miss Elvira C, daughter of Moses and Martha A. (Yocum) Craig, of Virginia and Kentucky respectively. They are the parents of Maude, Henry C. and Mattie. Mr. Breese supports all religious denominations, but is not a member of any church, Throughout the township history and in many pages of the general history, this family is referred to. Mr. Breese was born in a small log cabin, and at time of birth, had four teeth, two above and two below, a rather strange or unusual thing, but necessity is always the mother of invention, and the teeth must have been provided, so as he could become self-sustaining very young, and learn to live on nuts and acorns, etc., as at that time most pioneers had very little of the luxuries to eat. His elder brothers used to heat clapboards by the fire place and carry them out to the wood pile to stand on barefooted while they chopped wood. Such are a few incidents peculiar to life here over half a century ago.