History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, 1887
Tinsman Family - GARRET D. TINSMAN Biography
The Tinsman family, so worthily represented in the present generation by Garret D. Tinsman, a well known and respected citizen of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, was founded in that state by his grandparents, Peter and Mary (Pursel) Tinsman, natives of New Jersey, the former named having been for many years a successful lumber manufacturer of Hunterdon county, New Jersey.
Garret Tinsman, father of Garret D. Tinsman, was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, November 28, 1808. At an early age he began assisting his father in the manufacture of lumber, thus acquiring a thorough knowledge of the business in all its details, and afterwards engaged in lumbering and milling on the Delaware river and at Milford, New Jersey, until 1843. In that year he removed his business to Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, and in partnership with Runyon Woolverton continued operations on the Lehigh river until the spring of 1852, a period of nine years. He then came to Williamsport, which at that time was but a small village, containing only three or four sawmills, one of which was in course of construction by his brother, Peter Tinsman, mentioned hereinafter, and here he found plenty of opportunity for the display of his untiring energy in the development of the lumber industry, then in its infancy, and in the prosecution of this work he devoted the best years of his life. As a member of the firm of Woolverton & Tinsman he erected a mill on the site of the present plant of that firm, and in 1855 he purchased his brother's interest in the mill built by the latter and George W. Quinn in 1852, for a number of years the firm of Quinn & Tinsman conducting a very successful lumber trade. Subsequently he became the senior member of the firm of Tinsman & Ryan, and continued his connection with that firm, also with the firm of Woolvertona & Tinsman up to his decease.
In addition to his extensive lumber interests, Mr. Tinsman was identified with various leading enterprises that conduced to the growth and prosperity of the city of Williamsport and vicinity. He was a director in the Savings Institution, the Williamsport National Bank, and the Wildwood Cemetery Company, being one of the organizers of the latter named. He was one of the organizers of the Loyalsock Boom Company, serving as president in 1857, and for several years was an extensive stockholder in the Susquehanna Boom Company. During his eminently successful business career he accumulated a large and valuable estate and a handsome competence, and thus he was enabled to contribute liberally to charitable, religious and educational institutions. He held membership in the First Presbyterian Church of Williamsport, to the support of which be contributed liberally, and he gave a generous donation toward the erection of the present church building. He adhered to the principles of Democracy, and always manifested a deep interest in local and national affairs. Mr. Tinsman died December 25, 1888.
Mr. Tinsman married, April 12, 1838, Margaret S. Saylor, who was born in Hunterdon county, New Jersey, daughter of Andrew and Annie (Sinclair) Saylor, natives of New Jersey. She was a loving helpmate for over half a century, and much of the success which attended the business ventures of Mr. Tinsman was due to her wise foresight, prudent counsel and loving assistance. Their family consisted of four children : Peter I., deceased, who has a son Drew S.; Andrew S., deceased; Emeline, wife of John R. T. Ryan; and Garret D., whose name heads this memoir, who married Mary R. Hepburn, daughter of William Hepburn, and their children are: Margaretta, wife of Dr. Thomas S. Steele, one child, Marie Elizabeth; and William H., unmarried.
Peter Tinsman, son of Peter and Mary (Pursel) Tinsman, and brother of Garret Tinsman, was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, on the Delaware river, August 18, 1818. During his early manhood he obtained a thorough knowledge of the lumber business from his father, a successful lumber manufacturer of Hunterdon county, New Jersey. Later he purchased timber lands in the vicinity of White Haven, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, on which he erected a small saw mill, which he operated until 1849, then disposing of his plant to his brother Garret Tinsman. During the summer of the following year he visited the West Branch valley, and after several trips up Pine and Sinnemahoning creeks, exploring the valuable lands lying along those streams, he concluded to embark in the lumber business in Williamsport. On January 1, 1852, he purchased from Thomas Updegraff a piece of land bordering on the river, east of the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad, and the same year he entered into partnership with George W. Quinn and erected the first steam saw mill in the town, which they put into operation in the fall of 1852. Mr. Tinsman continued in the lumber business in Williamsport until 1855, in which year he sold his interest in the mill to Woolverton & Tinsman and located in Reading, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in the retail lumber business, continuing the same until 1867, when he disposed of his business and returned to Lycoming county. In 1873 he purchased the steam saw mill of Alexander Davidson, which was located across the river from Williamsport, but met with the misfortune of the panic of that period, which wrought destruction throughout the country. He then retired from active pursuits, and from that date up to the time of his decease, enjoyed the competence he acquired during many years of activity. In 1855 he was united in marriage to Elizabeth H. Allen, of Trout Run, Pennsylvania.
Source: Genealogical and Personal History of Lycoming County, John W. Jordan, Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1906.