[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 125 (Friday, August 19, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1526]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING THE WILBUR FAMILY

                                  _____
                                 

                            HON. TOM MARINO

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, August 19, 2011

  Mr. MARINO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of my constituents, 
the descendants of Samuel Rathbone and Mary ``Polly'' Halstead Wilbur 
who are celebrating their 125th consecutive annual family reunion in 
Nicholson, Pennsylvania.
  Samuel Rathbone Wilbur was born on December 20, 1782, in Plainfield, 
Connecticut, and settled in Nicholson, Pennsylvania, in 1805. He was 
the son of Elizabeth Benjamin and Oliver Wilbur, a Revolutionary War 
soldier. Mary ``Polly'' Halstead Wilbur, the daughter of Samuel and 
Hannah Harding Halstead, was born January 14, 1791, in a log cabin in 
Nicholson. Polly's father, Samuel, was one of the signers of the 1794 
petition asking for the creation of the township of Wilkes-Barre. 
Polly's grandfather, Isaiah Hallstead, was the scrivener of the 
petition that formed Nicholson Township in 1795.
  Samuel married Polly in 1814. They established a large family in 
Nicholson, having 10 children. Samuel passed away at the age of 52. 
Polly, now a single mother, raised all 10 of their children, and lived 
until the age of 93.
  A large percentage of the Nicholson population and the surrounding 
area is directly attributable to the 10 Wilbur children, their 47 
grandchildren, and 84 great-grandchildren. At one time there were so 
many descendants living in the area that each year for the family 
reunion the passenger trains of Lackawanna would make a special stop in 
Nicholson for the masses of people attending the family reunion.
  As one of the early pioneer families to settle in Pennsylvania, a 
considerable number of the Wilbur family descendants have lived in 
Nicholson and the surrounding area for over the past 200 years. The 
Wilbur reunions are not just a typical gathering to renew 
acquaintances, but rather a tribute to the preservation of the historic 
richness of our forefathers.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor this great Pennsylvania family 
tradition and ask my colleagues to join me in praising the Wilbur's 
commitment to family, their community, and our nation.

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