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A  TWENTIETH  CENTURY 


History  and  Biographical  Record 


Branch  County,  Michigan. 


REV.  HENRY  P.  COLLIN,  M.  A. 

AUTHOR  AND  EDITOR. 


ILLUSTRATED. 


THE  LEWIS   PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

NKW  YORK     :;    CHICAGO 

1906 


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PREFACE. 


The  purpose  of  a  preface  is  generally  only  to  supplement  the  introductory 
chapters.  In  the  introductory  chapter  of  this  hook  the  aim  and  character 
of  it  as  planned  in  the  minds  of  the  makers  were  set  forth. 

The  editor  and  publishers  have  done  their  best  to  make  their  work 
what  they  promised  it  should  be,  and  they  have  given  no  small  amount  of 
labor  and  money  to  realize  their  plans.  The  editor  believes  that  the  volume 
fairly  fulfills  the  promises  made,  and  approximates  the  ideal  of  a  twentieth 
century  history  and  biographical  record.  It  is  thought  that  the  work  will 
be  one  of  value  and  interest  to  all  former,  present  and  future  residents  of 
the  county  of  Branch. 

In  the  execution  of  every  work,  however,  men  find  themselves  sub- 
ject always  to  certain  limitations  of  space,  time  and  abilit}'.  Generally 
no  one  becomes  so  conscious  of  how  much  more  might  have  been  done  in  - 
■  the  doing  of  any  work,  and  how  much  better  it  might  have  l^een  done, 
than  he  who  has  gone  through  with  it.  The  editor  is  very  sure  that  no  one 
will  see  as  much  that  seems  to  be  omitted,  or  so  much  lack  of  due  propor- 
tion as  he.  But  at  the  same  time  he  feels  that  he  may  reasonably  assume 
that  no  one  can  judge  as  well  \vhat  to  omit  where  much  must  be  omitted, 
as  one  who  has  gone  over '  the  entire  field,  and  has  seeri  the  variety  of  sub- 
jects and  the  immense  amount  of  matter  contained  within  it. 

The  writer  of  a  local  history  is  necessarily  dependent  to  a  large  degree 
uiwn  other  persons  for  material  and  for  co-operation.  It  is  a  pleasure  for 
the  editor  to  record  here,  on  the  one  hand,  the  kindly  willingness  of  the 
people  of  the  county  to  furnish  material,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  gen- 
erous co-operation  of  the  publishers  in  affording  ways  and  means  to  bring 
the  material  together  and  to  assist  in  putting  into  form.  In  this  mention 
of  co-operation  on  the  part  of  the  publishers,  special  acknowledgment  must 
be  made  of  the  assistance  rendered  by  the  general  historian  of  The  Lewis 
Publishing  Company.  To  him  credit  must  be  given  for  a  large  part  of  the 
work  of  preparing  the  general  history  for  the  press,  in  the  gathering  o£ 
material,  in  working  out  the  details  of  arrangement,  and  also  m  the  actual 
composition  of  copy.  .       .    ,  ,    ,  .       ,  .       . 

It  is  proper  as  a  matter  of  historical  record  that  mention  be  made  of 
those  to  whom  the  editor  has  been  specially  indebted  for  information  and 
assistance.  The  most  fruitful  sources  of  historical  data  are,  of  course,  the 
county  papers.  Mr.  Charles  H.  Newell,  the  proprietor  of  the  Coldwater 
Conner,  has  a  file  of  county  papers  in  the  Courier  office,  of  earlier  date  and 
more  nearly  continuous  than  any  other  file  or  collection-  in  the  county.     Mr. 


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iv  PREFACE 

Newell  has  given  us  free  access  to  these  files,  which  begin  with  1841.  The 
like  courtesy  has  been  shown  us  by  Mr.  Horace  Kitchel  of  The  Reporter, 
Mr.  John  S.  Evans  of  The  Sim  and  Th^  Star,  m  CoMwater,  by  Mr.  C.  W. 
Owen  of  the  Quincy  Herald.  Mr.  C.  H.-  Young  of  the  Quincy  Neivs,  Mr. 
A.  D.  Shaffmaster  of  the  Bronson  Journal,  Mr.  Will  L.  Robinson  of  the 
Union  City  Register-Weekly,  and  Mr.  Easton  of  the  Sherwood  Register. 

The  official  records  of  the  county  officers  in  the  court  house  are  in  some 
respects  more  valuable  than  newspaper  files.  To  Mr.  Henry  E.  Straight, 
county  clerk,  Mr.  Charles  F.  Carpenter,  register  of  deeds,  Mr.  Hiram  Ben- 
nett, county  treasurer,  Mr.  W.  Gienn  Cowell,  prosecuting  attorney,-  Mr. 
Charles  Hamilton,  county  surveyor,  Mr.  James  Swain,  county  commis- 
sioner of  schools,  and  Mr.  Daniel  E.  Weage,  county  drain  commissioner,  we 
are  indebted,  not  only  for  access  to  records  in  their  charge,  but  also  for 
favors  shown  otherwise  than  as  county  officials.  The  officers  of  the  city 
of  Coldwater  and  of  the  several  villages  and  townships  of  the  covmty,  have 
generally  been  willing  to  furnish  any  data  desired.  To  Mr,  Calvin  J.  Thorpe, 
secretary  of  the  Pioneer  Society  of  Branch  County,  Mr.  Horris  Wilson  of 
the  Quincy  Pioneer  Society,  and  Miss  Florence  M.  Holmes,  librarian  of  the 
Coldwater  Free  Public  Library,  our  acknowledgilients  are  due  for  kind- 
ness in  furthering  our  quest  for  historic  facts.  It  would  be  impracticable  to 
mention  the  names  of  the  many  men  and  women  in  all  parts  of  the  county, 
from  whom  information  has  been  received  that  has  been  incorporated  in 
this  volume.  To  all  these  the  editor,  on  his  own  behalf  and  on  that  of  The 
Lewis  Publishing  Company  as  well,  takes  this  opportunity  to  express  sincere 
thanks. 

It  is  proper  that  we  further  mention  that  Mr.  Fred  G.  Wahl,  Mr.  Henrv 
C.  Bailey  and  Mr.  Tom  L.  Robinson  have  assisted  in  writing  up  some  of 
the  subjects  of  the  genera!  history.  Mrs.  Jennie  C.  Donley  of  Coldwater 
took  the  photographic  views  from  which  nearly  all  the  illustrations  in  the 
history  have  been  made. 


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TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  I. 
The  County  as  a  Subject  of  History I 

CHAPTER  H. 
The  Creation  and   Survey  of  the  Coimty f) 

CHAPTER  HI. 
Topographical  Features  of  Branch   County — The  Drainage  System..      i6 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Indiairs  and  the  Early  Settlers'  Life  With  Tliem. 24 

CHAPTER  V. 
Xumljer,    Nature  and   Distribution  of  the   County's   People 28 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Routes    of    Inrinigratioir 33 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Forniation   o£    Townships 38 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Settlement   and    Beginnings > 41 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Settlement  and   Beginnings    (Coutimied) 49 

CHAI'TER  X. 
County  Seat  Contest 60 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Settlelnent  and  Beginnings  (Continued) 65 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Settlement  and   Beginnings    (Continued) 78 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
The  City  of  Coldwater 93 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Branch  Cotmty's   Villages 98 


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vi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XV. 
The  Agricultlira}  Industry — The  Grange Io8 

CHAPTER  XVL 
Mannfacturing   in  Branch   County Il6 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Branch  County's  Banks  and  Einance 124 

CHAPTER  XVIH. 
Railroads,  Transportation  and  Communication 129 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
The    County's    Newspapers 138 

CHAPTER  XX. 
Education     148 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
Education   ( Continued)    157 

CH.APTER  XXII. 
The  State  Public  School — Branch  County  Infirmary 175 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
Libraries — Activity  in  Literature,  Music,  .Art 181 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
Religion   and   Cliurch   Organizations 190 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
Political  History  of  Branch  County 210 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
Courts  and  Lawyers 214 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 
The   Medical    Profession 221 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
Fraternities  and  Clubs 237 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

The   Pioneer  Society — Pioneer  Record 2^8 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

The  County  in  the  Cottntry's  Wars 256 

Lists  of  County.  Township  and  Village  Oihcials 297 


sedbyGoOgle 


INDEX. 


Abel,  Moses  T.— 768. 

Adams,  Wales.— quoted,  42 ;  sawmill,  43 ;  2io- 

Adolph,  Willard.— 828. 

Agriculture. — 108-113;     effects     of     drainage. 

Agricultural    Society.— Branch    county,    115. 

Air  Line  R.  R.— 132;  78;  g8. 

Aldrich,  Abram.— 75;  80. 

Aldrich,  Abram  J.— 141 ;   143 ;  186 ;  674, 

Algansee  township. — 39;  settlement  of,  8?-88; 
officials  of,  300. 

Alger,  Isaac  P. — 94;  223. 

Allen,  Alonzo  B. — 374. 

Allen,  D,  C  &  Co.— 96. 

Alumni— of  Coldwaler  High  School,  160-164; 
of  Quincy  High  School,  165-167;  of 
Union  City  High  School,  169-171;  of 
Bronson  High  School,  172-173;  of 
Shei-wood  High  School,  174. 

Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen — 228; 
230. 

Anderson,  J.   H.— 829. 

Anderson,  Mrs.  Hattie.~5i6. 

Andrews,  William  L.— 188. 

Andrus,  Nelson  H. — 512. 

Ann  Arbor  convention. — 13. 

Arnold,    Samuel — 73;    Arnold's    Corners,    73. 

Art — Activity  in,  184. 

Austin,  Edmund.— 473. 

A  utom  obiles. — 1 36. 

Bailey,  H.  F. — 141. 

Bailey,  Willis  €.—143;  144;  186. 

Baker,  Joshua.— 85. 

Baldwin,  Newton. — 224, 

Ball  Bros.— 96. 

Banford,  J.  J.— ^52. 

Banking  and  Finance. — 124-128. 

Baptist  churches— 196  et  seq. ;  at  Coidwater, 
196;  Quincy,  197;  Algansee,  198;  Un- 
ion City,  198;  Bronson,  ig8;  Girard, 
199;  Kinderhoofc,  igg. 

Bar  Association  of  Branch   County.— 220. 

Barber,  Julius  S.— 94;  125;  335. 

Barlow,  Henry  H.— ai8;  579. 

Barnes,  Walton  J.— 714. 

Barnhart,   Martin, ^75. 

Bassett,  John. — 41 ;   47. 

Bassett,  L.  M.  &  Son.— 96. 

Batavia  township.— 39 ;  early  settlement,  46; 
population  in  1837,  46 ;  topography,  47 ; 
first  officials,  48;  officials  of,  301. 

Bater,  Samuel.— 471. 


Bates,  Edwin  R.— 331- 

Bates,  Julius  M.— 455- 

Battery  A.— 284-286. 

Beech,  John  _H.— 223;   450. 

Beardsley,  Ezra  E. — 771. 

Beers,  Calvin.— 476. 

Belote,  John  S.— 37- 

Bennett,  Charles  W.— 145;  187;  390- 

Bennett,  Hiram.— 121, 

Bennett,  Ida  D.— 187- 

Bennett,  Isaac — 464. 

Bennett,  Isaiah  W.— 79. 

Bennett,  James  K.— 83. 

Bennie.  James.— 46;  72;  73. 

Benton,  C.  P.— 214;  186;  210. 

Berry,  Enos  G. — 67;  loi ;  221. 

Berry,  Eira,— 67;  218. 

Berry,  Joseph.— 67;  101. 

Berry,  Samuel  H.— 37;  67- 

Bethel  township.— 40 ;  early  settlement,  44; 
early  roads,  44;  topography,  45;  pop- 
ulation in  1837,  45;  Snow  Prairie  set- 
tlement, 45;  first  officials,  46;  officials 
of.  303. 

Bidelman,   Horatio   N.— 640. 

Black  Hawk  Mill.— 51 ;  S3- 

Blackman,  Edsou. — 224;  603- 

Blackman,  J-  Morehouse,— 626- 

Blackwell,  George  W.— 535- 

Blake,  John  R.— 491- 

Bicycles.— 136. 

Bingham,  Lemuel,  blacksmith.^so. 

Bolfon    \    F— 50    54 

Booth    familj  of  Gilead  — 72. 

Bostwick,  E    E— 088 

Buundarie'; — Of  Branch  county,  i;  southern 
boundary  history  of,  1 1  following ; 
northern  bomidary  of  Indiana,  11; 
northern  boundary  of  Ohio,  12;  south- 
ern boundarv  delays  statehood  for 
Michigan,  13,  survey  of  southern 
boundary  when  begun,  14;  latitude  of 
southern  boundary,  14 ;  Harris  line, 
li    Hendricks  line,  14. 

Bow  en    Jerome  ^217 

Bon  en    Jerome  K— 146 

Bow  en    M   S— 218 

Bowen,  Willard  J— 141;  217. 

Bowers   L.  M,— 625. 

Boynton,  Stanley  W.— 458. 

Bradley.  Howard,— 86. 

Brainard,  E.  S.  E.— 87. 


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Branch  county — Subject  of  history,  i;  creat- 
ed and  bounded,  i ;  population,  2 ;  28- 
32;  objects  of  hi5tory  of,  4;  creation 
and  survey  of,  6-15;  Territorial  Act 
creating,  I,  8 ;  topography,  16-20 ; 
drainage,  20-23;  Indians  of,  24-37. 

Branch  Count v  Savings  Bank,— 126. 

Branch,  J.  B.^96;  559. 

Branch  village — History  of,  51-54;  laid  out 
by  Elisha  Warren,  52. 

Bray,  Byron  W.— SOS- 

Brinton,  Albert  N,— 447. 

Bronson,  Jabe.— 3;  first  settler,  41;  103;  108. 

Bronson,  original  name  of  Kalamazoo.— 103. 

Bronson  Prairie. — 41 ;  settlers  in  1830,  42. 

Bronson  township. — 40;  first  settlement,  41; 
population  in  1837,  44;  first  schools, 
151. 

Bronson  viilage,^ — Nucleus  of,  43;  history  of, 
103-106;  manufacturing,  116  et  seq. ; 
schools,  171  et  seq;  library,  181 ; 
churches,   190  et  seq. ;  officials  of,  304. 

Brooks.  Loren  R.— 500. 

Broughton,  John.— 68;  loi. 

Brown,   Alva ra do .—^37. 

Brown,  Asahei.— 87 ;  432. 

Brown,  Elisha  J.— 533. 

Brown,  J.  Wesley. — 434. 

Buell   family — In  Union  township,  80. 

Buell.  Geo.   W.— loi. 

Buell,  Martin  F.— loi ;  486. 

Buell,  Perry  J.— 850. 

Burdick,  Geo.  E.— 179;  586. 

Burdick,  James  M.— 37;  68. 

Burlingame,  Joel  and  Anson. — 53. 

Burnett,  Charles  L.— 766. 

Burnett,  Leander  S. — 548. 

Burrows,  Arthur. — 748. 

Burton,  George  A. — 582. 

Bushnell,  William  B,— 624, 

Business. — Firms  at  Coldwater,  95-97;  at 
Union  City,  100- loi  ;  at  Quincy,  103; 
at  Bronson,   106. 

Butler  township.^40 ;  settlement  of,  76-77; 
pioneers,  77;  officials,  305. 

Cahfomia    township — 39;    settlement   of.   ()0- 

92;   officials  of,  306. 
California  village .^^1-92. 
Calkins  B.  H.  &  Son.  Co.— 117. 
Calkins,  Thomas  N.^r39. 
Campbell,  Hugh. — 54. 
Campbell,  Milo  D. — 56;  219;   386. 
Campbell,  Oliver  C— 212;  844, 
Campbell,  William  J.— 706. 
Canals— At  Union  City,  98  (see  Erie  Canal). 
Carey  Mission. — 25, 
Carpenter,  Charles  F.— 328. 
Carter,  George.— 588, 
Gary,   Samuel   H. — 48. 
Case.  Almeron  W.— -85. 
Cemen (^Manufacturers  of,    120-123. 
Census   Records-— 28-32;    analysis   of   census 


Chain  Lake  Channel  Co, — 22. 

Champion,  Charles  U,— 822. 

Champion,  John  R.— 218;  821. 

Chandler,  Albert.— 94;  96;  140;  184. 

Chanute  Cement  &  Clay  Product  Co.,  Bron- 
son.— 123. 

Chapman,  Charles  W. — 811. 

Chase,  Bishop  Philander.^69  et  seq. ;  site  of 
home,  71;  84;  109;  151. 

Chase,  Enoch. — 222. 

Chase,  H.  H.— 100. 

Chauucey,  M.  E. — 223. 

Cherdavoine,  Robert.— 785. 

Chicago  Road. — 34-36;  129;  early  condition 
of,  42;  in  Coldvtater  tovunsliip,  50;  and 
village  of  Branch,  53 ;  Quincy  town- 
ship, 65. 

Chiesman.  W.  B.— 746. 

Church,   Edwin  B. — 410. 

Churches. — 190-209;    (see  Religion). 

Circuit  Court  Commissioners — List  of,  298- 
299. 

Circuit  Coiirts. — 214. 

Circuit  Judges— List  of,  297. 

Civil  War — Soldiers  from  Branch  comity  in, 
258-296. 

Clark  family— In  Bronson,  106. 

Clark,  Israel  W.— 79. 

Clark,  Leonard  C. — 105. 

Clark,  Leonard  D. — 442. 

Clark,  Oliver  J,— 676. 

Clarke,  Edwin  R. — Store,  95 ;  library,  95,  183, 
735- 

Clawson,  John.^79. 

Clerks— Township,  lists  of,  300-321. 

Clerks—Village,  lists  of,  321-326. 

Cleveland,  Augustus  A.-— 875. 

Cleveland,  George  W. — 496. 

Clizbe,  S.  H.^ — 224. 

Clubs — Woman's,  of  Coldwater,  188;  Twen- 
tieth Century,  gf  Coldwater,  188 ; 
Fortnightly  Musical,  188 ;  New  Cen- 
tury, Quincy,  235 ;  Columbian,  Quincy. 
236;  Nika,  Quincy,  236;  Chautauqua 
Circle,  236;  Woman's,  Bronson,  236; 
Tuesday,  Union  City,  237. 

Coddington,  Frederick  M.— 781. 

Coldwater— History  of,  93-97;  origin  of,  54 
et  seq.;  first  house,  55;  platted  by  Tib- 
bits  and  Hanchett,  55;  Dr.  W.  B. 
Sprague's  History  of,  56;  citizens  of 
183s,  57 ;  incorporated,  57 ;  contests  for 
county  seat,  60  et  seq.;  schools,  151 
et  seq.;  library,  182-184;  churches,  190 
et    seq.;    lawyers,   214-220;    physicians, 


Coldwater  L  ght  G      d  —256. 

Coldwater   N  t      al    B  nk— 125. 

Coldwater    P  —Vily     not    first    settled, 

49;        I        tl         54    109. 
Coldwater  P      land  C  m     t  Co.— 123. 


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Cofdwater  Public   Library.— 182-184. 

Coldwater  River.— 18-19. 

Coldwater  Township.— 39 ;  early  settlement 
and  growth,  49  et  seq. 

Cole,  Archie  W.— S4i- 

Cole,  George  H.— 437- 

Collin,   Henry    P.— 878. 

"Company  A." — 257. 

Compulsory  Education.— 156. 

Conant,   Sarah   E.— 56;   452. 

Congregational  Churches. — 202  et  seq. ;  at 
Union  City,  202;  Algansee,  203;  Gil- 
ead,  204;  Bronson,  204. 

Conklin,   Charles  P.— 456- 

Conklin,   Fred  J— 526. 

Conover,  Charles  A.— 96,  547. 

Conover    Engraving  &    Printing   Co. — 118. 

Conover,  Jefferson  S.— 186,  545. 

Conover,  William  N.— 551. 

Coombs.—Mills  at  Coldwater,  59. 

Coombs,  William  A.— 621. 

Coon  Pen. — Name  of  building  used  for  coun- 
ty and  public   purposes,   62. 

■Copeland,  Arthur  G. — 503. 

Corbin,  Horace  A. — 100. 

Corbus,  Family.— In  Girard,  74. 

Corbus,  James  G. — 36;  65. 

Cornish,  John. — First  settler  of  Quincy  vil- 
lage, 66;  his  tavern.  67. 

Cotnwell,  Charles  T. — 414, 

■Coroners — List  of,  299. 

Corson,  John.— 83. 

Corn-in,  L.  J.— 445- 

County  Clerks— List  of,  297. 

County  Courts.— 214. 

County  School  Commissioners — List  of,  298. 

County  Seat.— First  located,  51;  at  Hason- 
viile,  51;  at  Branch,  52;  history  of 
contest,   54;    60-62. 

County  Treasurers — List  of,  298. 

Courier,  The  Coldwater,— 141. 

Court  House. — First  in  county,  52;  located 
at  Coldwater,  61;  history  of,  62-64; 
names  of  building  co -"--    ■^- 

Courts  and  Lawyers. — 214-: 

'Cox,  Frank  L. — 575. 

Crater,  Andrew.— 88. 

Crater,   Morris.— 88. 

Crippen,  L.  0,-37;  94;  124- 

Crissy,  Hiram.— 838. 

Cross,  Robert  J.— 54. 

Cross,  William  H.— 76. 

Culp,  John  W.— 511, 

Culver,  Abiathar,— 83, 

Culver,  Oliver  E.— 567. 

Cunningham,   Daniel   5,-224 

Cutter,  S.   S,— 222-223, 


Dall.  Benedict,— 599, 
Daniels.   Frank   M,- 
Davis,  Eber  7,-764. 
Davis,  J,  Harlan,— 830, 
Denham,   Horace,— 438. 
Dexter,  Thomas,— 799. 


577- 


Dickey,  James  K, — 711, 

Dickey.   James   R,— 382. 

Dimond.    Isaac    M, — 79. 

Doolittle,   Fred   W,— 330. 

Dorrance,  Albert  A,— 96;  426. 

Dorrance,   A,   J,— -430. 

Doubleday,  Hiram.— -Ss. 

Doubleday,  Harvey  M. — 356. 

Douplas.    Charles    H,— 568. 

Douglas,  Jenny  C— 568. 

Drainage  System, — 20-23;  value  of,  20;  early 
methods,  2o;  officials.  21;  in  different 
townships,  21-23;  in  Butler,  76, 

Draper,   OIney  W.— 678- 

Driggs,  Alfred  L, — 43 ;  builds  sawmill,  43, 

Dry  Prairie,— 8r. 

Dufur,  Ira,— 796, 

Dunkards. — 207. 

Dimks,  F,  J, — 430, 

Dunlap,  John,— 580, 

Dunn,   Polly  A,— 650. 

"Dutch    Settlement."— 89, 

East  Gilead.— 73. 

Easton,  D.  J.— 140;  146;  186, 

Eaton,   Franklin. — 474, 

Eddy,  Mary  A,— 184, 

Education — History       of,       148-174.         (See 

Schools.) 
Eldred,  Joseph  G,— 858, 
Electric   Railroads. — 133, 
Elizabeth  Township. — 40;  changed  to  Bethel, 

40, 
Elting,  Theron,~637, 
Engel,   Eugene, — 837, 
Ensley,    Homer, — 563. 
Ensley,  Jacob. — 5&. 
Erie  Canal.— When  built,   33;   importance  to 

Branch   County   settlement,   33   el  pas- 

Erie  and  Kalamazoo  R.  R, — 129. 
Etheridge,  A.   Munson,— 622, 
Etheridge,    Kirkland    6,-372. 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Churches. — 205. 
Evans,  John  S.— 143;  i44;   186;  86g. 
Evans,  Thomas   P. — 367. 
Ewers,  Dr.  H.  F.— 132. 
Exchange  Bank,   Bronson, — 128. 
Exchange  Bank  of  Crippen  and  Fisk,^i24. 

Factories.     (See  Manufacturing,) 

Farmers'  Institute  Society,  Branch  County. — 

114-115, 
Farmers'  Muiuai  Insurance  Co. — tz8. 
Farmers'  National  Bank  of  Union  City,— 127. 
Farmers'  and  Merchants'  Bank  of  Sherwood, 

—128, 
Farming,     (See  Agriculture.) 
Farrand,  Joseph  P. — 753 
Fellows,  Burt  M.— 804. 
Fenner,  Charles   C, — 406, 
Fenner,  Corydon  M, — 498, 
Fet^uson,  Benjamin  R, — 873, 


yGoogle 


Field  Notes,  Surveyors', — 7;  first  of  Branch 
County,  7-9;  original,  where  kept,  9; 
d^cribed,   10;  copy  of.  II. 

First  National  Bank  of  Quincy,— 127. 

Fisk,  A.  C— 37. 

Fisk,  Clinton  B.— 124, 

Fisk,    Samuel.— S73. 

Flandermeyer,  Herman  H. — 96;  814. 

Follett,   Thaddeus.— 463, 

Foote,  Burnley.— 760. 

Foresters,  Independent  Order  of, — 231. 

Fort  Wayne,  Jackson  and  Saginaw  R.  R. — 
132. 

Foster,  J.  N. — 141. 

Fox,  Aaron  O. — 594. 

Fox,  David,— 7g8. 

Fox,  John  P.— 620. 

Fraser,  Robert. — 461. 

Fraternities  and   Clubs.- 227-237. 

Frederick,    H.    E.— 566. 

Freeman,  Isaac. — 45. 

Free  Methodist  Churches. — 195. 

Free   Public  Library   of  Bronson. — 181, 

Free- Will    or    Free    Baptist    Churches. — 199 

Friedrich,  William   H-,  Co.— 119. 
Fry,  Fred  P.— 425. 
Fuller,  E.  G.— 139;  215. 

Gamble,   E.  F.— 459. 

Gardner,  Amos  M.^524, 

Gardner   Family,   in    Matteson,— 83. 

Gardner,  Samuel. — 361. 

Gas  Light  and  Fuel  Co.,  Coldwater. — 119. 

Gattschalk,   William   H.— 846. 

Gazette,  The  Branch   County.— 140, 

Germans,  hi   Branch   County. — 31. 

Gilbert,  H.  C— 140 

Gilead  Township. — 40 ;  Bishop  Chase  and, 
69;  early  history,  69-73;  population  in 
5837,  73;  first  schools,  151;  officials 
of,  308. 

Gillam,  George  F. — 104. 

Girard  Prairie. — 74, 

Girard  Township, — 39;  early  history,  73-76; 
pioneers  of,  76;  officials  of,  309. 

Globensky  Bros .^120. 

Gloyd,  Cynthia. — 151. 

Goodwin,  Justus. — 79. 

Goodwinsvtlle . — 79, 

Gorman,   Benjamin   B.— 591. 

Graduates.     (See  Alumni.) 

Grand  Army   Posts.— 233-235. 

Grange,  The — History  of,   113-114. 

Granger,   Adeline, — 514. 

Graves,  Henry  A.— 103,  388. 

Gray,  Burr  0,-73, 

Gray,  Charles  W. — 600. 

Gray,  John  H.— 186. 

Gray,  J.  M. — 466 

Gray,   Perry  D.— 521. 

Green,  B.  F. — 647. 

Green,  David  N.^-94;  239. 

Green,  Mrs,  David  N, — 151, 


Greenamyer,  John  A, 
Green  Township.— 38,  39. 
Greenwood,   George,— 368 
Grove,  Elijah,- 337. 
Grove,.  Theron.— 604. 
Grube,   Howard   A.— 660, 
Griiner,  Anton.^ — 847, 
Gruner,  Starr  W.— 53i- 
Gruner,  Ward  C, — 386. 
Gunsaulliis.   Pyrl   H, 


■552- 


■703- 

Hall,    Charles    H.— 832. 

Hall,  Clark  M,— 834.      , 

Hall,  Willis,— 661, 

Hall's  Corners,— 91. 

Halsted.  L,  D.— 37;  56;  239; 

Hamilton,   Charles. — 417, 

Hamman,    Henry.— ^730. 

Hammond   Family,—^, 

Hanchett,   Edward   S,— 75;  76, 

Hanchett    Family,    in 

Hanchett,  Joseph, — 54. 

Hanchett,  William,- 222, 

Hardenbrook,  John. — 444, 

Harris,  Charles  J, — 703, 

Harris   Line,— 13- 

Harvesting  (see  Agricuhurc),— Pioneer  har- 
vesting machinery,  no. 

Hawks,   Joseph  5,-85, 

Hawley,  Hiram  B.— 762. 

Hawley,  WiUard  S,— 487- 

Haynes,  Harvey,— 37-   1S2.   177- 

Hazen,  Earl.— 492, 

Hazen,  E,  F,— 107. 

Ha^enville-- 107. 

Hendricks,  E.  P.,  surveyor  of  southern 
boundary   of   Branch   County,— 14, 

Hendricks'  Line.— 1 4- 

Henry,   Warren,— 196;  480. 

Herald,   Bronson. — 145. 

Herald,   The   Quincy,— 144. 

Hewelt,  J.  B,— 462, 

Hickory   Comers.-^89, 

Highway   Commissioners — Lists    of,   3CO-321, 

Hildebrand,   Frederick,— 454, 

Hildebrand,  Louie  F,— 455, 

Hilton,  Thomas  A,— 96;  610. 

Himebaugh  Family, — in  Noble,  89;  Emanuel, 

212. 

Hodunk.— 76;   78;  80, 

Holbrook,  Arthur  G.— 823, 

Holbrook,   David   L.— 557, 

Holbrook,  Silas  A,— 56;  215, 

HoUenbeck,    Russell    B,— 642. 

Holmes,  Cicero  J.— 853. 

Holmes,  Florence  M.— 184. 

Holmes,  Jonathan  and  Samuel, — 44 ;  build 
grist  mill,  44. 

Holmes,  Thomas.— 43;  70. 

Hotels,  Early,— New  York  House,  46,  47; 
Rose  House,  42;  Taylor  House,  47; 
Batavia  House,  47;  Dudley  Tavern, 
48;  Morse  Tavern,  50;  Eagle  House 
in    Coldwater,  57;    Corbus   House    ii» 


lyGoogle 


Qiiincy,  65;  Cornish's  Hotel,  67;  Berry 
House  in  Qu'iO".  6?;  Judson  House 
in  Bronson,  6g;  Union  City  House, 
79;  "tog  tavern"  in  Sherwood,  81;  in 
California  township,  90;  Quincy,  loi ; 
in  Bronson,  105. 

Houghlaling    Family,    at   Quincy.— 103. 

Hughes,  Edwin  W,— 682. 

Hulse,  John.— *56. 

Humphrey,  Leonard  F.— 523. 

Hungerford,   Virgil  U.— 435. 

Hurd  Family,  at  Union  City,—??, 

Hurd,  Mrs.  C.  E.— 558. 

Hurd,  Theodore  C.  William  P.,  Henry  S  — 
221 ;  William  P.,  223. 


Immigration. — Va 

33-37 ;  influenced  hy  Erie  canal,  33 ; 
sources  of,  36;  beginning  of,  41;  by 
Marshall  road,  75;  to  Butler,  77;  to 
Branch  County  at  present,  112. 

Indians  of  Branch  County.— 24-27 ;  treaties 
with,  25;  villages,  26;  trails  in  Branch 
County,  26;  on  Coldwater  prairie,  49; 
on  Girard  prairie,  74;  Indian  trail  in 
SherwocMl,  81 ;  Indian  trail  in  Mat- 
teson,  82 ;  in  Kinderhook,  84. 

Infirmary,   Branch   County— History  of,   179- 


Jail,   at  Branch. — 52;   destroyed,  61;  jaiis   at 

Coldwater,  61,  62. 
James,  Lemander.— ^50. 
Jardon,   E.  M.— 457- 
Johnson,  Ad i son   P, — 396. 
Johnson  Cooperage  Co.— 119. 
Johnson,  Ezra.- 720. 
Johnson,  Ira  D. — 363. 
Johnson,  John.— 333. 
Johnson,  Jonathan. — 848. 
Johnson,  Leon  A.^ — 168;  831. 
Johnson,   Prosper  C. — 439. 
Johnson,  Roll  in  A.— 346, 
Jones,  Clarence  C. — 428. 
Joseph,  Lucas,— roi. 
Journal,   The    Branch    County.— 140. 
Journal,  The  Bronson.— 145, 
Judd,  Alfonso  C. — 595. 

Kellor,    Frances    A.— 187. 

Kellsy,  Ira.— 583. 

Kelso,  Robert,— 488. 

Kempster,  Stephen  W.— 350. 

Kent.  William  A— 43;  215, 

Kilbourn,  Samuel  L.— 448, 

Kinderhook   Postotfic 6.-85. 

Kinderhook    Township, — 40;     settlement    of. 

84-85;  pioneers,  84;  officials  of,  311. 
King,  Hawkins  A.— 224. 
King,  Seth. — 792. 
Kinter,  George.— 574. 
Kitehel,  Horace.— 380. 
Kitchel,  Simon  3.-143:  186;  218;  -fSo. 
Klock,  Geo.  W.— 188. 


Knapp,  Frank  E. — 165 ;  470. 
Knapp,   Thomas    C. — 756. 
Knapp,    Wells. — 106. 
Knauss,   Henry  D. — 735. 
Knauss,    Samuel.— 651. 
Knecht,   John,— 482. 
Knights  o(  rytnias. — 232. 
Knights  and  Ladies  of  the  Maccabees 
229;  230;  231;  232:  233. 


130 
Lakes  ot  Brmch  County.— 16;   outlets,   18. 
Larapman    Ambrose.— 856. 
Lanipnnn    Henry  S.— 77. 
Lampson    Bon  z.— 85. 
Lancaster    Columbia.— 151 ;  215. 
La  rz  el  ere    Diniel.— 747. 
Lawrence    James  H.— 90. 
Lawyer    Justm. — 214,  216. 
Lawyeri    of    Branth    County. — 215-220;    roH 

of  m  1875,  216;  in  1895,  219;  in   1906, 

Leek  er    Wesley.— 484. 

Legg   Charles  N.— 218;  history  of  Coldwater 

schools    151,  157;  804. 
Leonard    D    P.— 779. 
Levis  Art   Gallery.— 184 ;   188. 
Lewis    Ed  E— 842.      , 
Lewis    Henrv   C. — 451, 
Libraries. — 181-184. 
Lime  Lake,— 120. 

Lincoln   Family,   in   Union   lownihip, — 80. 
Literature — Activity  in,  184, 
Littlefield,  Darwin. — 222. 
Locke,  A.  LeRoy.— 56!;. 
Lockerby,   William   H^— 667. 
Lockwood,   Edward   C, — 418. 
Loekwood,  George. — 77. 
Lockwood  Family,  in   Ovid. — 86, 
Lockwood,    Herbert    B,— 612. 
Long,  James  M.— 223. 
Loomis    Battery.— 284-286. 
Loring,  Mrs.  George  E.— 783. 
Lover idge,  H.  C— 820. 
Loveridge,  Noah  P.— 217;  818. 
Lowry,  Jefferson. — 833. 
Lowry,  William   T.— 584. 
Luce,   Cyrus   G. — 212,   327. 
Lyons.— First  name  of  Coldwater,  55. 
Lytle,  A.  L.— 103. 

Mack,  Thomas  W.— 395. 

Mack,   Truman    C. — 452. 

Mallow  Family,  in  Noble.— 89. 

Mallow,  George  W. — 732. 

Mallow,  William.— 336. 

Mann,  Jacob  W.— 741. 

Mann,  Mark  H.— 672. 

Mansell.  George. — 96;  Edwin,  97. 

Mansfield.    Coldwater    and     Lake    Michigan 

R.   R,-i33, 
Mansfield.    Pizarro,— 855, 


yGoogle 


Man u fact uring.^Un ion  City  Iron  Co.,  98 ; 
in  Branch  County,  116-123;  Cement  in- 
dustry, 120-123. 

Marl.— 120. 

Marqiiart,   William.— 4?8. 

Marsh  Family. — 45. 

Marsh,  Francis  E, — 103 ;  224. 

Marsh,  Franklin   D.— 94. 

Marsh,  Lansing  C. — 224. 

Marsh,  Loren, — 26. 

Marshall  and  Coldwatcr  R.  R,— 133, 

Marshall   Road.— ?5, 

Martin,  George.-— S9S. 

Martin,   Ira   A.— 556, 

Martin,  John  G.— 597- 

Martin,   Peter,— 56;  his  sawmill,  58. 

Masonic    OrKanizations. — 227-228;    229;    230. 

Masonville — History  of,  51. 

Matfeson,    Amos. — 83. 

Matteson  Township, — 40;  settlement  of,  82- 
84;  pioneers  of,  84;  officials  of,  312. 

McCarger,  A.  T.— 147. 

McCarty,  William. — 56;  his  house  the  oldest 
in  Coldwater,  56. 

McCausey,  Joseph  W.— 371. 

McCrary,  Alexander  0,-643. 

McCrary,   Clay. — 649. 

McCrary,  Mrs.    Alexander    C. — 646, 

McCrary,  Roy.— 648. 

McGowan,  Jonas  H, — 140;   186;  217;  212. 

McKende  Cereal  Food  and  Milling  Co. — 
120. 

Mclntyre,   Alexander, — 616. 

Mclntyre,  John  F. — 716. 

McLane,   John   H. — 701. 

McLean,   Hector. — 419, 

McNall,  Irving. — 867. 

Mc Murray,  Hu^h.— 519. 

Medical  Profession— History  of,  221-226. 

Medical    Society.   The   Branch   County, — 226. 

Mennonites. — 89;  206. 

Meridian,  for  survey  of  Branch   County, — 8, 

Merrifield,  Marc  A,— 218,  635. 

Merrill,  Js, — 632, 

Methodist  Episcopal  Churches. — 190  et  seq. ; 
at  Coldwater,  190;  Quincy,  191;  Bron- 
son,  192;  Sherwood,  193;  Girard,  193; 
Union   City,   194;   other  churches,   194, 

Michigan   State  Telephone  Co, — 135. 

Military  History. — 256-296. 

Miller,  Harvey  D.— 769. 

Miller,  Joseph. — 494, 

Miller,  Willis  A, — 752. 

Mills, — Adams'  sawmill,  43 ;  Driggs',  43 ; 
Holmes'  grist  mill,  44;  Woodard  mill, 
47;  Black  Hawk,  51,  53;  first  at  Cold- 
water,  58;  Coombs'  mills,  59;  Bishop 
Chase  at  Adams'  mills,  69;  Gilead 
mill,  71;  first  in  Girard,  75;  Hodunk, 
76,  80;  Union  City,  79;  Crater's  in 
Algansee,  88;  Wakeman's  in  Algansee, 
88;  in  California,  92;  at  Coldwater, 
93;  Quincy,  102,  (See  Manufactur- 
ing,) 


Milnes,  Alfred.— 212;  681, 
Milnes  Supply  Company.— 96, 
Mintling,  James   B,— 666. 
Mockridge,  Robert  F. — 94- 
Modern   Woodmen.^ — 232. 
Monlux,   George, — 91, 
Monroe,  George.- 727, 
Montague,  J,  H.— 717, 
Moore,  Bradley  O. — 1538, 
Moore,  W.  G,— 141;  186, 
Morgan,  F.  E,— 218, 
Morrill.  Oliver,— 426. 
Morrison,  Paschal  P.— 778, 
Morse,  John.— 50;  54. 
Moseley,   Augustus   C, — 728. 
Mosher,    J.    D.— 765, 
Mowry,  Henry  P.— 224;  671. 
Music, — Activity  in,  184. 
Mystic  Workers  of  the  Worid.- 


-230, 


Nationalities   in  Branch    County,— 31. 

Neal,  John   N.— 813, 

Nesbitt,   John    S,— 354. 

Nettleton,  V,  L,  and  Company, — 96, 

Newberry,  Frank  D.— ^5.38. 

Newberry,  Mrs.  Fannie  £.—187;  540, 

Newberry,   Peter  M.— 37. 

Newell,   Charles   H.— 141 ;  483, 

Newman,   Stephen.— 592, 

News,   The  Quincy.- 145. 

Newspapers — History  of,  in  Branch   County, 

138-147. 
New  York  House,— 41. 
NichoUs,  An  set  I. —37. 
Nichols,  P.  P.— 140;  141;   186. 
Noble   Township, — 40;    seltiemcnt   of,  Hg-go; 

officials   of,  313, 
Northwest    Territory, — Ordinance     of      1787 

for  government  of,   12, 
Norton,  William   P,— 506. 
Noyes,  Orlando  G, — 560. 

Observer,  The  Coldwater,— 139, 

Odd  Fellows  Organization,— 228 ;  232, 

Odren,  Alex.— 91. 

Officials   of   Branch   County   and   Townships 

and  Villages.— 297-326. 
Ogden,  James   S, — 403, 
Ohio, — Boundaries,   source  of  trouble,   13, 
Olds,  Clarence  L.— 689. 
Olds,  Fred,— 422. 
Olds,  Martin.— 47;  36. 
Olmstead,   Benjamin,— 48. 
Olmstead,  Moses,— 45, 
OIney,  Henry,— 786. 
O  range  vi  lie.— 80. 

Order  of  Eastern  Star, — 231 ;  233, 
Ordinance  of  1787, — quoted,  12. 
Ordinance   Line,— 12,   13. 
Osborn,  Zelotes  G.— 211 ;  802. 
OutWaler,  John   £,—663, 
Ovid    Township,— 39 ;    settlement    of,    85-87; 

officials   of,  314, 
Owen.  Charles  W,— 141,  144,  145,  186,  774. 


i,Google 


Palm 


,  Elm 


,   710. 


Paradine,  Mrs,  E,  R.   G,— 460. 

Parker,  Marcellus  H,— 64,  i8g,  413. 

Parker,  Richmond  F,— 722. 

Parkhtirst,  John  G,— 218;  212;  339. 

Parks,  John  D.— 854. 

Parley's   Corners.— 87. 

Parrish,  Kimhle.— 499- 

Parsons,  Alfred.— 344- 

Patrons  of  Husbandry  (see  Grange). 

Paul,  James  B.— 508.      • 

Paul,  Wilson  S.— 697. 

Pearce,  Edwin  K.— 585. 

Peerless  Portland   Cement   Co,— 121. 

Phillips,  John  F.— 393- 

Physici an s.— 221-226 ;  list  of,  225. 

Piatt,  Nathaniel.— 684. 

Pierce,  Charles.— 860, 

Pierce,  Oren  L— 563. 

Pierson,   Clara    D.— 187. 

Pioneer   Society— History   of,  238-239. 

Pioneers,  Alphabetical  Record.— 239-255, 

Pitcher,  David.— 871. 

Pixley,  Augustus.— I  OS. 

Polish  People  of  Branch  County,— ^20,  32, 
105- 

Political  History  of  Branch  County,— 210- 
213;  see  sketch  of  Isaac  Bennett, 

Pollock,  Samuel. — 820. 

Pomona   Grange,— 114. 

Pond,  C.  V,  R,— 144,  186. 

Pond.  Elihu  B.— 140,  186. 

Pond,  ^ared. — 210, 

Population, — In  Branch  County,  increase  and 
distribution  of,  28-32;  influence  of 
Black  Hawk  war  on,  29 ;  nationalities. 
31;  sources  of,  36;  attracted  to  Girard 
prairie,  74;   of  Bronson  village,   105. 

Porter,  Philo.— 48. 

Postal  Service.— 134   (see  Postoffices). 
Postoffices, — Bronson,  42;   Prairie  River,  43; 
Quincy,   67;    Goodwinsville,    79;    Mat- 
teson,    83;    Kinderhook,    85;    Parley's 
Comers,    87;    Algansee,    88;    Hickory 
Comers,   89;   Union   City,    100;   Rural 
Delivery,  114;   134-135. 
Pofawatomi   Indians, — 24;    treaties   with,  25; 
villages,  26;  on  Coldwater  prairie,  49; 
on  Girard  prairie,  74,      (See  Indians,) 
Powers,   D.    C. — 223. 
Powers,  Randall  D.  and  Charles, — ro6, 
Prairie  River  Township. — 39,   40, 
Pratt  Manufacturing  Co.— 118. 
Presbyterian    Churches,- 200   ef    seg,;    Cold- 
water,   200;    Quincy,    201;    California, 

Presidents.— Village,  lists  of,  321-326. 
Pridgeon,  John,  Jr. — 362. 
Primary   School  Fund,— 148. 
Probate  Judges— List  of,  297. 
Prosecuting  Attorneys— List  of,  297. 
Protestant  Episcopal  Churches— 207-208, 
Purdy,   Fred, — 772. 
Purdy,    Horace. — 87. 


i^r^  xiir 

Quick.  Edmund  W,— 408, 

Quincy  Independent  Telephone  Co— n6 

Quincy  State  Bank.— 127, 

Qmncy   Township,— 39 ;   early   settlement,   65 

et   seq,;   first   officers,  68;   officials   of, 

316, 
Qumcy    Village,— 66;     history    of,     101-103  r 

manufacturing,    117    et    seq,;    library 

182;    .schools,    164    et    seq.;    churches' 

190-209. 

Railroads.— In  the  thirties,  34,  93,  98;  under 
.around,  99;  history  of  railroads  in- 
Branch  County.   120-111 

Randall,  Caleb  D.— 176,  316 

Randall,  Dr.  AJvah._22i 

Randall,  Seth  8,-654 

Ransford,  Edward  6—825 

Ransom,  Alvarado  B,— ■128 

Rate   Bill,-i32,    ,58 

Rathhurn,   Charles   D-^7 

Rathbum,  P.  J,-836, 

Regal  Gasoline  Engine  Co,— n8 

Regiments  of  Branch  County  Soldiers  (see- 
under  Soldiers).  ' 

Register,  The   Sherwood,— 146 

Register.   The  Union   City,— 146 

Registers  of  Deeds— List  of,  298 

Religion  and  Churches— 190-209 ;  Bishop 
Chase  at  Adams'  Mills.  70;  Mennon- 

ioI/y.^S'^C^^  V'"^'"^^'^ 
Reporter,  The.— 142 
Republican,  The,— 140, 
Republican.  The  Branch  County,-uo 
Reynolds  Family,   in  Batavia  Township,-47 
Reynolds,  Frank   6,-619. 
Reynolds,   Norman   A,— 617 
Rheubottom,   F,    C— 100 
Rice,  Samuel  W.— 353. 
Richey,  James.— 400. 
Roads,--Oyerland,  33  et  seq;  Chicago  road 

<s«e>;34.  41;  Indian  road  into  Gilead 

72;_Marshall  road,  75;  state  road,  78; 

tentorial     road     in      Sherwood,     8i ; 
Kalamazoo   trail,"   82;    state   road   iir 

Matteson. 
Robinson,   Arthur   E— 658, 
Robinson,  T,  F.— 146 
Rohinson,  W.  L,— 146. 
Roman  Catholic  Churches.— 207 
Ronan,   Michael,— 659. 
Root.  Edward  R,— 123,  863 
Root,  Roland.— 51,  So,  211, 
Rose  House,   in   Bronson.— 42 
Rose,   L.    A,— 104,    los- 
Rossraan    Family,   in   Bufler— 77 
Royal  Arcanum,— ^231. 
Rndd,  L,  and  Son,  Bank,— 128 
Runyan,  Henry, — 699. 
Rural   Free  Delivery.— 1 14,   i-u-iii; 
Russell,  George  A,-S6s.  ^^' 

Sager,  Charles  H,— 390. 


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XIV 


Salisbury,    Joseph    N.— 549- 

Salsberry  Family,  in   Ovid.— 86. 

Sanders,  Abishi.— 72. 

Sanders,  Levi. — 877. 

Sanford,    George   R. — ?39. 

Saunders,  H.  R.— 700. 

Sawdey,  R.  C.  and  W.  S.— 96- 

Schaffmaster,   Christopher. — 377. 

Scheidler,  L.  F.— 755- 

Schools  (see  Education)  .—First  in  Batavia, 
48;  at  Branch,  52;  in  Quincy  town- 
ship, 6g;  in  Algansee,  88;  in  Caf,- 
fornia,  ca;  character  of  early  schools, 
148  et  seq.;  early  schools  in;  Bron- 
son,  151;  Gilead,  151;  Coldwater,  151  et 
seq.;  "rate  bill,"  152;  Union  schools, 
153;  administrative  officers,  153;  con- 
solidation of  districts,  155;  Coldwater 
city  schools,  157-164:  Quincy  Schools, 
164;  Union  City  schools,  167;  Bron- 
son  schools,  171 ;  Sherwood  schools, 
T73. 

School   Books   in   Early  Use.— 150, 

School  Reports,— From  various  townships, 
154;  from  Bronson,  172. 

School   Taxes.^ — 153. 

Schultz,   Samuel.— 803. 

Sears,  Clark  C.-747g. 

Sears,   Charles   8.-665. 

Sebring,  John.— 628. 

Secor,  John.— 874. 

Seely,   Southerland  M.— 405- 

Segur,  M.  S.— 103. 

Sentinel,  The  Coldwater.— 138 ;  139  et  passim. 

Settlement  and  Beginnings.— 41  et  seq.;  in- 
fluence of  Chicago  road,  34,  49-59,  65- 


?7- 


3-g2. 


Seymour,  George  H.— 550. 

Seymour,  Henry.— 826. 

Shaffmaster,   A.   D.— 146,    187. 

Shaw,  William  E.— 744. 

Shedd,  Louisa. — 851. 

Shepard,    Albert.— 493. 

Sherer,  Samuel, — 442. 

Sherer,  William.— 442- 

Sheriffs—List  of,  298. 

Sherman,  Albert   A.— 812. 

Sherwood  Heading  Co, — 119, 

Sherwood  Township. — 39;   settlement  of,  81- 

82;  pioneers  of,  81;  officials  of.  317. 
Sherwood  Village.- History  of,  107;  schools, 

173  et  seq. ;  churches,  190  et  seq. 
Shipman,  J.  B.— 2X8,  211. 
Shook,   Jacob.— 77,   214, 
S hook's'  Prairie. — 76. 
Shoudler,  Hiram. — 211. 
Silo  Tanks. — 112. 
Simmons,  Reuben  M. — 806. 
SI  Oman,  Louis. —530. 
Skeels,  F.  L.— 186,  218. 
Smead,  Daniel. — 46. 
Smith,  Abram  I,. — 693. 
Smith,  Benjamin  H.— 75. 
Smith,   F.  v.— 94,   186, 


Smith,  George  K.— 223. 

Smith,  Marshall  F.— 415. 

Smith,  Orin  L.— 578. 

Smith,   Sarah   A.— 343. 

Snider,  William  W.— 738. 

Snow  Prairie. — settled,  45. 

Soldiers,  Roster  of.— 1st  Mich.  Inf.,  258- 
260;  7th  Mich.  Inf.,  261-262;  9th  Mich. 
Inf.,  262-264;  nth  Mich.  Inf.,  264-269; 
■  rsth  Mich,  Inf.,  269-270;  16th  Mich. 
Inf.,  270-271;  17th  Mich.  Inf.,  271-272; 
igth  Mich.  Inf.,  272-275;  28th  Mich, 
Inf..  275-276;  1st  Mich.  Sharpshooters, 
276-277;  4th  Mich.  Cav.,  277-279;  5th 
Mich.  Cav.,  279-280;  8th  Mich.  Cav., 
280-282;  9th  Mich.  Cav.,  282-283;  nth 
Mich,  Cav.,  283-284;  Battery  A„  284- 
286;  Battery  D,  286-288;  Battery  F, 
289-290;  Battery  G,  290-291.  Other 
regiments,  292-296. 

Sorter,  Delivan.— 391. 

Sorter,  William  C. — 420. 

Southern   Michigan  National   Bank. — ^125. 

Southworth,   Floyd    E. — 841. 

Spanish- American  War. — Branch  County's 
record  in,  256-258. 

Spore,    Clarence    B. — 518. 

Sprague,  W.  B.— 37;  history  of  Coldwater. 
56,   210. 

Sprout,   DeWitt   C— 468. 

Stafford,  Charles  W.— 724. 

Staley,   Frederick. — 630. 

Stanton,  Edward  D.— 823. 

Stanton,  John   A.— 558. 

Stanton,  William  A.^365. 

Star,  The.— 143. 

Star,   The  Michigan.— 139. 

Starr,    George.— 707. 

State  Roads.— 36.     (See  Roads,) 

State   Public  School — History  of,   175-180, 

Stearns,   George  W, — 675. 

Stepper,  John  G,— 338- 

Stewart,  Frederick  W,— 573. 

Stiles,  Luther,— 88, 

Stillman,  H,  B.— 140,  222, 

St,  Joseph  River.— 19,  78. 

St.    Mary's    Parish.— 462. 

Stokes,  Mary  A.— 351. 

Straight,  Henrv  E,^220,  731. 

Stray,  George  J,~788, 

Stuart,   James   B.— 51. 

Studley,   Jerome   J. — 107. 

Styles,  George.— 218. 

Sun.  The.— 143. 

Sunday  School  Association,  Branch  County. 
—209, 

Supervisors — Lists  of,  300-321, 

Survey  of  County.— 6-15;  value  of,  6;  "rec- 
tangular system,"  6;  meridian  and  base 
line,  6;  "Field  Notes,"  7;  beginning 
of,  7;   survey  of  Chicago  road,  36. 

Surveyors,  County— List  of,  9;  299, 

Swain,  Charles  E, — 440. 

Swain,   Frank-,— 518, 


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Swain,  James.-iS3.   156,   m.   5I3. 

Tappan,  F""'*^  T.— Hoi. 

Taylor,  Leonard.— 507- 

Telegraph.-First  in  county,   130. 

Telephones.-History  o£,  13M36. 

Thatcher,  Reuben  J.— S73- 

Thompson,    David.— 217. 

Thompson.  Roy.— 607. 

Thorpe,  Calvin  J.-I43.  144,  1S6   187,  211- 

Tibbits,  Alkn.-54;  settles  m  Coldwater,  55; 

zeal  in  promoting  village.   57- 
Tibhits  Opera  House.— 95- 
Tift,  David.— 87- 
Times,  The  Quincy.— 145- 
Toledo  War.— 13- 
Tomlinson,  Alex  E.-Si. 
Tompkins,  Charles  A.— 309- 
Tompkins,  Francis  J-— 55,  839. 
Tompkins,  James  B.-75.  76- 
Tompkins,   James  T.--679- 
Tompkins,  William  A.— 743.  ^      .„ 

"  Toole,  John.— Pioneer  teacher  and  mill  pro- 
prietor,  51    (see  Bronson). 
Topography    of   Branch    County.— 16-20. 

Tower,  Isaac— 384. 

Tower,  Willis  H.— 385. 

Townships.— Four  fractional,  when  surveyed, 
14;  drainage.  21-23;  formation  of,  38- 
41;  government  and  civil.  38;  Green, 
38;  Coldwater,  39;,  Prairie  River,  39 
(see  under  township  names). 

Township  Officers — Lists  of,- 300-321- 

Trails,   Indian.— 35    (see   Indians). 

Transportation.— By  St.  Joseph  river,  78  (see 
Chicago  road)  ;  history  of,  in  Branch 
County,  129-137. 

Treasurers.- Township,    lists   of,   300-321. 

Treasurers.— Village,  lists  of,   321-326. 

Treat,   Samuel   I.— 423- 

Treat,  Samuel  M.— 86. 

Tripp,  David.— 434. 

Tripp,  George.--85. 

Truesdell,  C.  L.— 103. 

Tucker,  Chester  S.— 223. 

Turner,  G.   H.— 141 ;   ISS.  .__ 

Turner,  John  W.— 217,  211. 

Turner,  Nathaniel.— 83. 

Turner,  Sarah  M. — 709. 

Turner,  Samuel  R. — 596. 

Turner,  Thomas  J.— 865. 

Tuttle,   George  A.— 460. 

Twadell.  Rodney  K.— 685. 

Tyler,  Alphonso.— 446. 

Tyler,  William  M.— 359. 

Underground  Railroad. — 99. 
Union  City.— 78;  platted,  79;  history,  98-11:-  ■ 
manufacturing,    117    et    seq. ;    schools, 
.   167  et  seq. ;  library,  181 ;  churches,  190 

Union   City   National   Bank.^126. 
Union  Schools — Origin  of,  153;  172, 


Union   Township.— 39;   settlement  of.   78-81; 

pioneers  of,  80;  officials  of.  318. 
Unitarian   Churches. — 206. 
United  Brethren  Churches.- 205. 
Upson,   Alonzo   S. — 125,   35°. 
Upson,  Charles.— 214,   216,   21?,  348- 

Van   Aken,   George  W. — 114,  712- 

Van  Aken,  M.  J.— 8i5. 

Van  Blarcum  Family. — 75. 

Van  Every,  Chauneey  M.— 358. 

Van   Nuys,   J.   H.— 544. 

Van   Schoick,   Rev.   R.   W-— 187. 

Van   Slvck,   William,— 810. 

Villages    of   Branch    County.— 98-107. 

Vosburgh,  Mortimer. — 849. 

Waggot,  D.  D,— 14s. 

Walter,    William,— 564. 

Wanar,   William,— ^52. 

Warner,   C.   D.— 615. 

Warner,  E.  A,— 216. 

Warner,  Harvey.— At  Village  of  Branch,  52, 

53- 
Warren,   Elisha.— Plats   Branch   Village,   52; 

sketch,  S3. 
Warren's  Military  Band.— 106. 
Wars.— Branch  County  in  the  country's,  256- 

Warsabo,  L.  A.— 224,  490, 

Waterhouse  Corners. — 85. 

Waterhouse,   John.— 85. 

Waterman,  David  and  Alonzo.- 42- 

Waters,  Samuel. — 409. 

Waterworks. — In    Coldwater.    94;    in    Union 

City,  100;   Quincy,  102. 
Watkins,   Ed«ard   M.— 542. 
Watkins,  Ed  W.— 663. 
Watson,  Frank  J.— 634. 
Watson,  Joseph ,^106. 
Watson,  Robert,— 83,  627. 
Wattles.  George  C— S37. 
Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  at  Coldwater,- 

West,  Charles  P.— 139,  185. 
West,  Laura.— 186. 
White,  Dana  P.— 75o. 
White,   Geo.   M.— 817. 
Whitehead.   Henry   V.— 870. 
Whitley,   Henry   C— 755. 
Whitney,  Willard,— 609. 
Wilber,    Havens,— 570. 
Wilcox,  Edward  P-— 555. 
Wilcox,   Loring   P. — 704. 
Wilkins,  John  H.— 758- 
Willbur,   P,  D.-614. 
Williams,  C.  Ross.— 510. 
Williams,   E.   H.— 485. 
Williams,   Frank   N.— 397- 
Williams,  Harlow  W.— 468. 
Williams,  Mary  M.— 794. 
Williams,  Sheldon.— 85. 
Willis.  Geoi^e  £,—670. 
Willis,   William.— 602. 


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Willson,  Horris.^Qiiincv  pionee 
Wilson,  L.  T.  N.— 2i6. 
Wilson,  Reuben  and  Daniel. — S 
Wilson,  William. — 224 ;  623. 
Wing,   Lucius  M.— 740. 
Withinston,  Myron  J.— ?i8. 
E  Telephone  Co.— 136. 


Wolver 


Woman's  Christian  Temper 
Woman's  Relief  Corps. — Union 
Women's  Clubs   (see  Clubs). 
Wood,  David  H.-7-6gi. 
WoodcoK,   Cornelius   H. — 224. 
Woodward,  Horace  J. — 669. 
Wooley,    Celia    Parker.— 187. 


Wright,  C,  D.— 218. 

Yeatter,  Sydney  E.— 789. 
York    Village,— Original    natir 

40,  42, 
Young,  Charles  H.— 145.  6g2. 
Young,  D.  W,— 103, 
Young,  Hiram, — 608, 
Young  Men's  Christian    ' 
Young,  William  F.— 475. 
Youngs,  Dwight  E.— 861. 


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The  location  and  numbtr  of  every  achoolhouse  in  the  county  ia  indicated  by  a  aquare  and  a  heavy-faced  numeral. 

The  oatne,  of  varion,  -en.,.-  a.d  focm.r  ,o.,offic..  a„  <iv..  .v..  thc^h  no  c.nt.r  now  .xiat.  there. 

Pain,  have  been  take,  to  ,c,,e-.t  evc„  bi(h.ay  a.  found  in  the  couaty  "  the  d.t.  of  p.blication.      :  b,  ^^lOLH^  IL 


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History  op  Branch  County. 


THE  COUNTY  AS  A  SUBJECT  OF  HISTORY. 

"All  parti-colored  threads  the  weaver  Time 
Sets  ill  his  web,  now  trivial,  now  sublime, 
Ail   memories,   all  forebodings,   hopes  and   fears, 
Mountain  and  river,  forest,  prairie,  sea, 
A  hill,  a  rock,  a  homestead,  field,  or  tree. 
The   casual   gleanings   of   unreckoned  years. 
Take  goddess-shape  at  last  and  there  is  She." 

— /ajiir.(  Russi-ll  LoivclL 

Branch  County,  Michigan,  is  a  name  having  two  distinct  though  closely 
cfinnected  meanings.  It  denotes  a  certain  definite  ixjrtion  of  the  earth's  sur- 
face, and  also  the  people  inhabiting  that  portion.  This  definite  area  is  a 
))art  of  the  territory  of  the  "The  State  of  Michigan,"  and  is  thereby  also  a 
part  of  the  domain  of  that  great  body  politic  known  as  "  Tlie  United  States 
of  .Xmerica."  In  its  designation  of  the  people  inhabiting  this  area,  the  name 
Branch  county  .signifies  that  they  are  themselves  an  organized,  pohtical  "  body 
ci»q)orate,"  with  a  certain  distinct  life  of  their  own,  and  that  at  the  same 
time  they  are  a  part  of  "  The  People  of  the  State  of  Michigan,"  and  also  of 
ihat  great  republic  of  united  states  of  which  the  State  of  Michigan  is  one. 

Jn  this  volume  the  writers  and  publishers  of  it  have  undertaken  to  pre- 
sent in  printed  form  a  history  of  Branch  County.  Michigan,  as  thus  defined. 
"Jliese  sentences  are  being  written  in  the  year  1905  A.  D.,  or  in  the  fifth 
year  of  the  twentieth  century  of  the  Christian  era.  We  proiwse  to  look 
at  the  life  the  people  of  this  county  have  lived  upon  their  land  in  the  light 
of  the  knowledge  and  thought  of  this  Twentieth  Christian  Century.  We 
shall  attempt  to  comiMse  their  history,  as  nearly  as  we  may,  in  accordance 
witli  the  principles  and  methods  with  which  the  Twentieth  Century  historian's 
art  portrays  humanity's  past. 

The  area  now  definitely  known  as  Branch  county  was  made  definite,  was 
made  into  a  county,  and  the  name  of  "  Branch  "  was  given  to  it,  by  the  Legis- 
lative Council  and  Governor  of  the  Territory  of  Michigan,  on  the  29th 
of  October,  1829.  The  part  of  the  act  by  which  this  was  done  reads  thus : 
"  That  so  much  of  tlie  country  as  lies  west  of  the  line  between  ranges  four 
and  five,  west  of  the  meridian,  and  east  of  the  line  between  ranges  eight 
and  nine  west,  and  south  of  the  line  Ijetween  townships  four  and  five,  south 


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2  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

of  the  base  line,  and  north  of  the  boundary-hne  between  this  Territory  and 
the  State  of  Indiana,  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  set  off  into  a  separate  county, 
and  the  name  thereof  shall  be  Branch."  As  thus  created,  defined,  and 
nained,  this  area  has  remained  without  change  in  its  boundaries  from  the 
above  date  to  the  present,  and  has  been  recognized  as  Branch  County  by  all 
the  people  and  powers  that  be  that  have  had  anything  to  do  with  it.  It  has 
thus  had  a  continuous  existence  for  seventy-six  years.  It  is  true,  as  will 
be  noted  more  particularly  in  later  pages,  that  in  the  full  political  sense  of 
the  term  "  county  "  the  people  residing  on  the  area  so  named  did  not  become 
a  complete,  organized,  separate  county  imtJi  March  i,  1833,  or  until  nearly 
four  years  after  the  area  had  been  made  such  geographically. 

The  second  and  more  important  part  of  what  the  word  "  county  "  denotes 
in  American  speech  and  literature,  is  the  people  inhabiting  its  area  as 
organized  into  a  civil  social  body  or  body  politic.  The  census  taken  by  the 
State  of  Michigan  in  1904,  one  year  ago,  gave  the  population  of  Branch 
County  as  26,397.  The  separate  enumeration  of  the  people  of  Branch 
Coimty  as  such  was  made  in  the  first  state  census  in  1837.  At  least  this  is 
the  first  such  enumeration  of  which  the  records  are  known  by  the  officials  of 
the  county  and  state  to  be  in  existence.  That  census  of  1837  made  known 
the  fact  that  Branch  County  as  a  distinct  body  poHtic  consisted  of  4,016 
persons.  Ouring  the  68  years  from  1837  to  1905,  that  body  of  4,016  men, 
women  and  children  became  26,397. 

The  subject  before  us,  both  as  writers  and  readers,  is  Branch  County  in 
the  twofold  meaning  of  the  name  as  thus  described.  In  writing  its  historj', 
its  people  and  their  life  will  be  the  continuous  and  chief  object  of  our 
attention.  We  accept  the  generally  recognized  truth,  that  the  life  of  people  ■ 
is  largely  determined  by  the  land  upon  which  they  live,  by  climate  and  the 
other  various  factors  of  nature's  environment.  But  the  central  object  of 
our  conteniplation  will  be  first,  those  4,016  men,  women  and  children  who 
were  living  the  county's  life  in  1837,  and  then  those  who  inherited  it  and 
further  developed  it  through  the  decades  and  geiierations  following.  To 
portray  what  this  life  has  been  in  its  manifold  forms,  to  indicate  the  causes 
of  it,  to  trace  the  generative  and  formative  forces  at  work  in  it,  and  to  show 
some  of  the  facts  and  truths  that  wilt  help  the  26,000  people  of  the  county 
today  in  their  efforts  for  even  greater  prosperity  and  welfare  in  the  years 
before  them,  this  is  the  task  we  liave  undertaken.  Among  the  matters  thus 
to  be  written  of  in  this  history  are  these:  the  physical,  mental,  moral  and 
religious  character  of  those  who  l">egan  the  communities  of  Coldwater,  Quincy, 
Union  City  and  Bronson  and  of  those  who  formed  the  sixteen  organized  town- 
ships of  the  county;  their  nationality,  whether  born  in  the  United  States 
or  in  some  foreign  country;  from  what  other  portions  of  the  United  States 
those  who  have  moved  into  the  county  have  come,  and  thus  what  ideas 
and  customs  they  have  brought  with  them  and  made  a  part  of  the  county's 
life;  the  industries  in  which  the  people  have  engaged,  the -wealth  that  has  been 
accumulated,  the  kind  of  dwellings  the  inhabitants  have  built  for  themselves, 
and  the  domestic  conveniences  they  have  had  in  them;  the  general  conditions 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  3 

as  to  health  aiKl  sanitary  care;  the  means  of  intercourse  and  transirartation, 
that  is,  roads,  highways,  railroad?,  vehicles,  bicycles  and  automobiles,  tele- 
graphs and  telephones;  the  kinds  of  persons  who  have  been  the  teachers, 
clergymen,  physicians  and  lawyers  of  the  county;  the  institutions  and  social 
agencies  through  which  education,  intelligence,  culture,  music,  painting, 
morality,  public  spirit  and  religion  have  been  promoted,  that  is,  schools, 
newsi>apers,  fraternal,  philanthropic  and  political  societies,  theaters  and  opera 
houses,  churches  and  Sunday  schools ;  the  divisions  of  the  people  among  the 
great  political  parties  of  the  nation,  party  politics  in  the  county,  and  the 
administration  of  the  various  offices  of  the  county,  of  its  one  city,  and  its 
several  villages  and  townships.  The  life  of  the  county  in  these  various  forms 
has  embodied  itself  more  largely  in  some  individual  men  and  women  than 
in  others.  Accordingly,  it  is  part  of  the  plan  of  this  work  to  give  large  space 
to  the  biographies  and  portraits  of  persons  in  whom  the  life  of  the  county 
has  more  largely  and  influentially  expressed  itself.  We  shall  strive  to  make 
our  record  as  complete  as  space  will  permit.  Absolute  freedom  from  error 
will  he  impossible,  but  we  shall  take  gi'eat  care  to  make  the  history  and  bio- 
graphical sketches  accurate  in  statement  and  truthful  to  life  as  it  has  been 
lived  by  individual  men  and  women  and  by  the  people  of  the  county  as  a 
whole. 

The  white  inhabitants  of  Branch  coimty's  area,  besides  thus  living  their 
own  life  within  it  among  themselves,  have  also  lived  a  life  in  mutual  rela- 
tions with  the  rest  of  mankind.  They  have  been  a  part  of  larger  wholes. 
They  have  put  elements  into  the  larger  life  of  these  larger  wholes,  and  have 
received  elements  from  them  into  its  own  life.  A  complete  history  of  the 
county's,  area  and  inhabitants  must  recognize  this  connection.  The  area  of 
the  county,  along  with  the  peninsula  of  which  it  is  a  part,  has  been  under 
the  jurisdiction  successively  of  the  kingdom  of  France,  the  kingdom  of  Great 
Britain,  and  the  republic  of  the  United  States.  Indeed  there  is  a  still  more 
primary  relation  of  this  area  of  which  a  complete  history  must  take  note, 
•namely,  its  natural  relation  as  a  part  of  the  earth's  surface  to  the  peninsula 
lying  between  Lakes  Erie  and  Huron  on  the  east  and  Lake  Michigan  on  the 
west.  As  an  arena  of  the  history  of  the  people  occupying  it,  beginning  with 
the  family  of  "  Jabe  "  Bronson  in  1828,  it  has  had  its  animal  life  and  its  vege- 
tation, or  its  fauna  and  its  flora,  its  rainfall  and  other  meteorological  condi- 
tions, its  surface  with  slopes  and  prairie-like  portions,  its  land  and  its  water, 
its  lakes  and  streams  with  the  direction  and  movement  of  their  waters,  its 
soil,  its  stone,  its  clay  and  mari,  and  its  underlying  and  ontcropping  geo- 
logical strata.  All  these  natural  factors  have  affected  the  life  of  the  people 
who  have  increased  from  one  family  to  26,oc»o.  But  these  factors  and  their 
effect  upon  the  i^eople  cannot  be  understood  and  historically  exhibited  with- 
out considering  their  relation  to  the  large  region  to  which  this  particular  area 
belongs.  The  several  sciences  into  which  these  natural  features  fall  have 
described  and  explained  the  corresponding  phases  of  nature  in  this  large 
region.  Even  the  history  of  a  county,  or  of  a  township,  must  recognize  the 
influence  of  nature  in  it  upon  man's  life  in  it,  and  must  use  what  science 


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4  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

tells  lis  are  the  facts  and  truths  of  nature  in  the  large  region,  in  exhibiting  the 
facts  and  truths  of  nature  in  the  lesser  area.  On  this  arena  with  its  physical 
condition  and  its  previous  political  relations  with  France,  Ejiglantt  and  the 
United  States,  the  4.016  white  inhabitants  of  Branch  county  in  1837  began 
their  relation  with  the  new  state  of  Michigan,  which  that  year  was  admitted 
as  such  into  the  Union.  Since  that  time  the  inhabitants  of  the  county  as  a 
body  politic  have  carried  on  their  life  as  an  organic  part  of  the  state  of 
Michigan,  and  through  it  also  as  an  organic  part  of  our  great  American 
republic,  while  in  numerous  other  ways  than  those  strictly  civil  and  political 
the  people  of  the  county  have  entered  into  the  life  of  tlie  people  of  the  com- 
monwealth, of  the  nation  and  of  the  world,  and  have  taken  the  life  of  these 
larger  realms  into  their  own.  Tlie  forms  and  the  products  of  this  continuous 
interaction  will  be  to  many,  perhaps,  the  more  interesting  part  of  our  county's 
history. 

These  introductory  thoughts  indicate  the  scope  of  this  work  and  our 
aims  in  it.  Stated  briefly,  these  aims  have  been  three  fold :  i .  To  show  how 
Branch  county  came  into  existence  as  a  definite  area  and  what  it  lias  been  as 
such.  2.  To  portray  what  the  life  of  the  people  within  this  area  has  been. 
3.  To  make  the  \-ision  of  the  ])ast  a  pleasure  and  a  recompense  to  those  who 
have  done  anything  for  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  Branch  county's  people 
and  the  world  thus  far,  and  an  incentive  and  inspiration  to  all  to  live  for  this 
welfare  and  happiness  in  even  a  higher  degree  in  the  future. 

In  preparing  to  write  this  history,  it  was  natural  that  we  should  acquaint 
ourselves  with  H^iiate\'er  history  of  the  county  may  have  l>een  composed  by 
previous  writers.  Any  such  previous  work  would  be  sure  to  be  of  service  in 
presenting  another  and  later  picture  of  Branch  county's  life.  Considerable 
of  a  historical  nature  relating  to  the  county  has  been  written  and  printed  dur- 
ing the  last  fifty  years,  and  much  too  in  the  way  of  biography  of  persons  who 
have  been  resiclents  in  it.  What  has  been  thus  done  is  itself  material  foi"  our 
history.  Moreover,  justice  to  preceding  writers  and  honesty  with  our  read- 
ers require  that  the  work  of  those  writers  be  recognize{l  and  that  acknowl-' 
edgment  be  made  of  its  value  and  use.  It  is  our  puqrose  to  give  in  another 
place  in  this  volume  a  complete  bibliography  of  the  county.  In  onlv  two 
instances,  however,  have  a  history  of  the  county  and  biographies  of  its  resi- 
dents been  printed  in  book  form  with  contents  extensive  enough  to  be  prop- 
erly called  a  county  history  or  a  county  biography.  We  make  mention  here 
of  these  two  works,  inasmuch  as  the  first  one  in  particular  comes  into  con- 
sideration in  laying  out  the  plan  and  the  periods  of  the  present  history.  The 
first  one  was  entitled  as  follows:  "History  of  Branch  County,  Michigan, 
with  Illustrations  and  Biographical  Sketches  of  Some  of  its  Prominent  Men 
and  Pioneers."  This  history  was  written  by  Mr.  Crisfiekl  Johnson,  and  was 
published  by  Everts  and  Abbott  of  Philadelphia,  in  1879.  Tt  is  a  medium 
sized  quarto  volume  of  347  pages.  The  second  work  referred  to  has  the  fol- 
lowing title  page:  ".Portrait  and  Biographical  Album  of  Branch  County, 
Michigan,  containing  Full  Page  Portraits  and  Biographical  Sketclies  of 
Prominent  and  Representative  Citizens  of  the  County,  Togedier  with  Por- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  5 

traits  and  Biographies  of  all  the  Governors  of  tlie  State  anil  the  Presidents 
of  the  United  States.  Chicago,  Chapman  Brothers.  1888."  This  volume 
is  a  smaller  sized  quarto  than  the  other,  but  contains  654  pages.  The  latter 
part  is  devoted  to  Branch  county  and  begins  with  page  180,  thus  giving  to 
the  county  474  pages. 

The  former  of  these  works  was  a  real  history  of  the  county.  The  lat- 
ter was  a  collection  of  brief  biographies  of  "  prominent  and  representative 
citizens  of  the  county,"  364  in  number.  Imt  it  contained  no  history  proper 
a])art  from  the  "  biographical  sketches."  The  other  volume  compiled  by  Mr. 
Johnson  was  a  fairly  full  general  history  of  the  county  as  a  whole,  with  a 
particular  history  of  its  one  city,  its  four  villages,  and  its  sixteen  townships, 
np  to  the  date  of  its  publication,  the  year  1879.  Since  then  no  such  particular 
history  of  the  coimty  as  a  whole  has  lieen  given  to  the  public  or  attempted 
until  the  present  work  was  begun. 

We  now  ]iresent  the  periods  into  which  the  entire  time  of  the  comity's 
life  may  be  con\'eniently  divided  by  reason  of  events  and  de\'elopments  in 
it.  These  periods  will  fomi  the  general  framework  which  we  shall  use  in 
building  up  the  present  history. 

1.  From  1828  to  1842 :  or,  from  the  year  of  the  first  white  settlement  in 
the  county  at  Bronson  to  the  transfer  of  the  county  seat  from  the  village  of 
Branch  to  Coldwater. 

2.  From  1842  to  1865 ;  or.  from  the  location  of  the  county  seat  in 
Coldwater  to  the  close  of  the  Civil  war. 

3.  From  1865  to  1879:  or,  from  the  return  home  of  Branch  county's 
soldiers  in  the  Civil  war  to  the  publishing  of  Mr.  Crisfietd  Johnson's  history 
of  the  county. 

4.  From  1879  to  1906;  or.  from  the  publishing  of  Mr.  Johnson's  hi,story 
by  Everts  and  Abbott  to  the  publication  of  The  Twentieth  Century  History 
of  the  County  by  The  Lewis  Publishing  Company  of  Chicago. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  II. 
THE  CREATION  AND  SURVEY  OF  THE  COUNTY. 

Let  us  now  note  precisely  what  and  where  Branch  county  is,  its  area, 
and  how  men  came  to  define  its  boundaries  with  the  precision  of  civdized 
custom  and  to  make  them  permanent.  We  have  already  referred  to  the  act 
by  which  the  county  was  created,  and  have  quoted  from  it  the  exact  language 
in  which  its  area  was  described  and  its  boundaries  established.  The  language 
thus  used  by  the  legislative  council  of  the  territory  of  Michigan  is  that  in 
which  the  United  States  government  describes  and  bounds  the  surveyed  divi- 
sions of  its  public  lands.  It  implied  that  already,  previous  to  1S29,  the  sur- 
veyors of  the  United  States  had  been  over  the  territory  to  be  made  into 
Branch  county,  and  had  divided  it  into  "  ranges ''  of  townships  "  west  of  the 
meridian,"  and  into  "  townships  "  "  south  of  the  base  line."  These  terms 
assumed  that  these  men  had  already  measured  and  marked  off  this  land  into 
portions  six  mile.s  square  and  containing  a  certain  number  of  acres. 

This  work  of  the  United  States  surveyor  must  be  done  before  people  in 
the  domain  of  the  United  States  can  begin  to  live  upon  Its  land  and  form  such 
associations  with  each  other  as  constitute  a  county.  Only  on  condition  of 
this  preliminary  work  having  been  done  can  definite  individual  ownership 
exist,  and  those  mutual  rights  and  duties  of  men  with  each  other  be  established, 
which  make  an  organic  body  such  as  a  township  or  a  county  possible.  The 
legislative  council  of  Michigan  territory  were  able  to  declare  where  and  what 
the  area  of  our  covinty  should  be,  liecause  the  United  States  measurers  of 
land  had  already  laid  their  measuring  chain  upon  the  land  out  of  which  the 
county  was  to  be  made.  It  was  this  fact  that  made  it  possible,  for  example, 
for  John  Morse  in  1830  and  Robert  H.  Abbott  in  1831  to  each  become  the 
owner  of  "80  acres"  now  lying  within  the  limits  of  the  City  of  Coldwater. 
In  1796  congress  enacted  the  law  in  accordance  with  which  all  the  public 
lands  were  to  be  surveyed.  The  system  embodied  in  this  act  is  called  "  The 
Rectangular  System."  The  original  act  has  been  repeatedly  amended  by  con- 
gress, and  the  methods  of  making  the  surveys  under  it  have  been  continually 
modified  and  improved,  but  the  system  as  such  has  been  used  through  the 
hundred  years  from  1796  to  the  present  time.  The  entire  territory  of  the 
present  state  of  Michigan  has  been  surveyed  and  divided  into  townships  in 
accordance  with  this  system  and  with  reference  to  a  certain  "  meridian  "  and 
"  base  line." 

"  ITie  meridian  "  spoken  of  in  the  territorial  act  as  determining  the  loca- 
tion of  Branch  county  was  a  north  and  south  Hne  known  in  the  United  States 
survey  as  "the  principal  meridian  of  the  peninsula  of  Michigan."     It  is  a 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  7 

line  running  tlue  north  from  the  niouth  of  the  Auglaize  river,  which  empties 
into  the  Maumee  near  Defiance,  Ohio.  "  The  base  Hne,"  or  the  east  and 
west  line  also  mentioned  in  the  act  creating  the  county,  is  a  line  crossing 
the  principal  meridian  at  a  point  54  miles  north  of  the  southern  boundary 
of  tiie  state.  It  now  forms  the  northern  boundary  of  all  the  counties  in  the 
second  tier,  or  of  the  counties  from  Wayne  on  the  east  to  Van  Buren  on 
Lake  Michigan,  the  tier  next  north  of  Branch.  With  this  principal  meridian 
and  this  base  line  established,  the  surveyors  of  the  genera!  government  began 
to  go  over  the  public  land  of  the  peninsula  of  Michigan  lying  north  of  Indiana 
and  Ohio,  with  compass  and  chain,  and  to  mark  trees  and  set  posts  for  the 
boundaries  of  townships  and  sections  and  quarter-sections,  liiese  survey- 
ors knew,  of  course,  no  names  of  counties  and  townships  as  we  know  them 
now,  neither  did  they  give  names  at  all  to  townships  or  groups  of  town- 
ships as  they  surveyed  them.  They  recorded  and  dated  carefully  day  by 
day  their  measurements  and  tfipographical  notes  in  their  note-books,  thus 
creating  the  original  "  Field  Notes,"  which  in  Branch  county  and  every 
county  today  are  of  such  primary  and  incalculable  importance  for  titles, 
deeds,  mortgages  and  all  transactions  involving  buying,  selling  and  owning 
of  land.  As  they  tramped  over  the  surface  of  the  country,  measuring  and 
marking  it  off  into  portions  each  exactly  six  miles  square,  making  a  town- 
ship, Ihey  gave  no  names  to  the  townships,  but  merely  numbered  them  in 
their  relation  to  meridian  and  base  line,  according  to  the  ingenious  but  simple 
system,  the  principles  of  which  were  struck  in  the  Land  Ordinance  of  178.5,  but 
which  api^eared  fairly  well  developed  in  the  Congressional  Act  of  1796, 

Mr.  Silas  Fanner,  in  his  "  Michigan  Book  "  of  1901,  says:  "  The  pub- 
lic surveys  of  the  region  including  Michigan  were  begun  in  1815."  In  the 
"  Outline  History  of  Michigan."  contained  in  the  Legislative  Manual  of  1905, 
the  statement  is  made  that  "  the  survey  of  public  lands  began  in  1816."  We 
shall  see  that  there  is  a  sense  in  which  each  of  these  authorities  is  correct 
as  to  the  year  in  which  the  United  States  surveyors  iDegan  laying  the  founda- 
tions of  the  white  man's  civilization  on  the  public  lands  of  the  Michigan 
peninsula.  The  earliest  date  appended  to  any  part  of  their  records  or  "  field 
notes  "  of  their  survey  of  what  afterward  became  Branch  county,  is  January 
23,  1825.  It  was  thus  ten  years  after  the  beginning  of  their  work  in  the 
Michigan  country  that  the  sur\'eyor's  chain  was  first  laid  down  within  the 
limits  of  our  county.  The  eastern  boundary  of  Branch  county  was  stated 
in  the  creating  act  to  be  "  the  line  between  ranges  four  and  five  west  of 
the  meridian."  Its  distance  west  from  the  meridian  was  accordingly  twenty- 
four  miles.  The  surveyors  must  necessarily  start  from  the  principal  merid- 
ian in  measuring  off  their  townships,  and  work  east  and  west  from  it.  In 
working  westward  from  it  towards  our  area,  they  must  first  lay  out  the 
townships  which  are  now  Hillsdale  county,  as  this  is  the  first  county  west 
of  the  meridian  in  the  southern  tier  of  counties,  and  indeed  is  the  only 
county  between  the  meridian  and  Branch  county.  The  exact  location  of  the 
townships  destined  to  become  Branch  county  would  be  dependent  upon  the 
previous    location    of   the   townships   to    become   Hillsdale   countv,   and    the 


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8  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

dependence  of  all  these  townshijis  of  both  counties  was  dependent  upon  the 
Michigan  meridian.  This  dependence  was  so  close  and  so  important  that 
a  glance  at  the  survey  of  Hillsdale's  townships  and  at  the  history  of  the 
meridian  itself  will  be  interesting  and  wJl]  make  our  own  history  more  com- 
plete. 

The  Territorial  Act  of  October  39.  1829,  creating  Branch  county,  at  the 
same  time  also  created  and  set  off  all  the  counties  touching  it  on  its  three 
Michigan  sides,  namely,  Hillsdale,  Jackson,  Callioun,  Kalamazoo  and  St. 
Joseph.  The  meridian  itself  was  made  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  county 
to  be  called  Hillsdale.  This  meridian  has  already  been  stated  to  be  a  line 
starting  from  the  mouth  of  the  Auglaize  river  in  Ohio  and  running  due 
north.  -But  how  come  it  to  start  from  that  point?  Mr.  Crisfield  Johmson 
in  his  History  of  Branch  County,  p.  29,  has  indicated  the  answer.  In  a 
treaty  made  with  the  Indians  Novemher  17,  1807,  they  ceded  their  rights 
to  certain  land.  The  exact  language  of  the  treaty  describing  the  western 
boundary  of  this  land  was  in  part  the  following :  "  To  the  mouth  of  the 
great  An  Glaize  river;  thence  running  due  north  until  it  intersects  a  parallel 
of  latitude,  to  be  drawn  from  the  outlet  of  Lake  Huron,  which  forms  the 
river  Sinclair."  Evidently  the  boundary  line  in  this  Indian  treaty  of  1807 
is  the  origin  of  the  Michigan  meridian,  but  when  it  was  officially  deter- 
mined upon  and  proclaimed  as  such,  or  when  the  actual  survey  of  it  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Auglaize  was  begun,  the  present  writer  has  not  yet  with 
certainty  discovered. 

However,  as  to  when  that  part  of  the  meridian  lying  within  the  state 
of  Michigan  was  actually  run,  the  book  of  Field  Notes  of  Hillsdale  County 
in  the  office  of  its  county  sur^'eyor  shows  us  with  almost  conclusive  certainty. 
The  eastern  boundary  of  all  the  townships  in  the  easternmost  range  of  Hills- 
dale county  is  identical  with  the  principal  meridian.  All  these  townships 
are  in  "  range  i  west,"  that  is,  in  the  first  range  west  of  the  meridian.  The 
present  names  of  these  townships  from  south  to  north  are  Wright,  Pittsford. 
Wheatland  and  Somerset.  At  the  end  of  the  field  notes  of  the  survey  of 
the  "  East  Boundary  "  of  Wright  township,  or  T  S  S,  R  i  W,  in  the  Hills- 
dale Coimty  Book  of  Field  Notes,  is  written  the  following:  "Oct.  6,  1815. 
Benj.  Hough,  D.  S."  Tlie  notes  of  the  eastern  boundaries  of  the  other  three 
townships  are  subscribed  in  nearly  the  same  manner.  Tiie  notes  of  Pittsford. 
or  T  7  S,  R  I  W,  are  subscribed  thus:  "Surveyed  in  1815  by  Benj. 
Hough,  D.  S.";  of  Wheatland,  "Oct.  6,  iSi.^.  Surveyed  by  Benj,  Hough. 
D.  S." ;  and  of  Somerset,  "  Surveyed  in  1815  by  Benj.  Hough.  D.  S."  These 
subscriptions  or  certifications,  copied  from  the  manuscript  volume  of  Field 
Notes  in  the  office  of  the  county  surveyor  of  Hillsdale  county,  are  in  them- 
selves almost  decisive  proof  that  all  that  part  of  the  principal  meridian  of 
Michigan  forming  the  eastern  boundary  of  Hillsdale  county  was  run  and 
marked  out  in  1815  and  probably  in  the  month  of  October.  Quite  likely 
nothing  more  was  done  by  the  surveyors  in  the  year  181 5  than  the  running 
of  the  principal  meridian.  This  may  be  thought  of  as  the  Ijeginning  of  the 
public  survey  of  the  region,  and  in  tliis  sense  the  survey  of  the  public  lands 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  0 

of  Michigan  may  be  said  to  have  begun  in  tSi5-  ^n  the  stricter  sense, 
tlic  survey  did  not  begin  until  the  surveyors  actuahy  began  to  lay  off  town- 
ships, and  this  probably  did  not  commence  until   1816, 

But  while  the  eastern  boundaries  of  Hillsdale's  eastern  range  of  town- 
sJiips  were  all  run  in  1815,  none  of  the  other  boundaries  of  those  townships 
nor  any  boundary  of  any  other  township  was  run  until  in  1823.  Then  in 
1823,  1S24  and  1825  the  country  which  now  forms  the  area  of  Hillsdale 
county  was  marked  off  by  the  United  States  surveyors  into  six-mile  square 
townships  in  ranges  west  of  the  meridian  and  south  of  the  base  line,  and 
<!esignated  accordingly.  In  the  Field  Notes  of  Hillsdale  County  over  the 
date.  "Feb.  3.  1825."  and  over  the  name,  "'John  Mullett,  D.  S.",  stands  a 
note  which  shows  that  on  that  day  the  surveyors  touched  territory  that  is 
now  Branch  county.  That  note  is  this:  "set  jxist  cor.  T  5  &  6  S,  Rs  4 
&  5  W."  This  was  the  post  now  marking  the  common  corner  of  the  two 
townships  in  Hillsdale  now  known  as  Litchfield  and  Allen,  and  the  two 
in  Branch,  now  known  as  Butler  and  Quincy. 

We  thus  see  that  in  working  westward  from  the  principal  meridian,  the 
surveyors  reached  what  was  to  become  Branch  county  land  on  the  3d  of 
February,  1825.  or  a  week  or  ten  days  Irefore.  We  have  already  noted  that 
the  earliest  date  of  a  day's  survey  entered  in  the  Branch  County  Book  of 
Field  Notes  was  January  23.  1825,  A  photographic  fac-simile  of  the  page 
on  which  this  date  stands  is  inserted  in  this  volume,  it  being  j^rerhaps  a  repre- 
sentation of  the  oldest  official  document  originating  within  our  county. 
The  surveyor  who  signed  his  name  to  these  field  notes  and  entered  this 
earliest  date  apiiears  to  have  Ijeen  William  Brookfield.  The  latest  date  given 
in  the  volume  of  Field  Notes  is  June  12,  1820.  The  time  during  which 
the  'United  States  surveyors  were  occupied  in  the  survey  of  our  county 
lands  was  about  four  and  a  half  years. 

The  men  who,  during  these  four  and  a  half  years  of  1825  to  1829, 
actually  went  over  the  land  of  Branch  county  as  United  States  surveyors 
were  John  Mullett,  Robert  Clarke.  Jr.,  William  Brookfield,  and  Orange 
Risdon.  The  original  "  field  notes  "  or  records  which  they  made  of  their 
surveys  are  to  the  people  of  Branch  cotinty  without  question  the  most  import- 
ant documents  in  existence.  A  few  statements  as  to  the  history  of  these 
"  notes "  will  be  of  interest  to  those  who  see  the  important  things  in  a 
county's  life  e\-en  though  they  may  not  be  .conspicuous.  At  the  close  of  each 
day,  these  men  wrote  ofif  in  small  blank  books  the  records  of  the  Hues  they 
had  run,  their  direction,  the  exact  <listance  measured,  the  posts  they  had 
set,  and  the  trees  or  other  objects  they  had  marked  to  indicate  the  location 
of  their  lines.  The  original  note  books  written  out  by  these  surveyors  were 
deposited  with  the  land  commissioner  of  the  state  after  its  organization. 
They  are  now  in  the  office  of  the  commissioner  in  Lansing.  In  November, 
1905,  the  present  writer  called  at  the  rooms  of  the  state  land  office  in  the 
capitol  at  Lansing,  and  at  his  request  the  land  commissioner,  William  H. 
Rose,  kindly  put  the  original  note  books  of  Branch  county  as  written  up 
by  the  United  States  surveyors  into  his  hands  for  examination  there.     These 


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10  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

books  are  in  general  about  four  inches  wide,  six  inches  long,  and  alxiut  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  thick,  and  contain  about  thirty  leaves.  Each  book  con- 
tains commonly  the  records  of  the  survey  of  one  township,  that  is,  of  the 
lines  which  were  run  to  form  the  boundaries  of  the  township  itself,  and  its 
sections,  and  quarter-sections.  With  an  eager  interest  the  writer  took  in 
his  hand  the  book  containing  the  Field  Notes  of  T  5  S,  R  5  W,  now 
the  township  of  Butler,  the  features  of  which  may  serve  as  an  example  of 
the  entire  set.  The  book  contains  thirty-two  leaves.  On  the  first  page  is  a 
map  of  the  township,  with  its  sections  numbered  from  i  to  36,  and  with  its 
streams  and  some  other  topographical  features  indicated.  Underneath  the 
map  is  written,  "  Recorded  S.  Morrison,"  which  is  understood  to  mean,  that 
the  notes  of  this  book  have  been  copied  into  books  of  record  in  the  United 
States  Land  Office  in  Washington,  and  that  the  fact  and  the  correctness  of 
the  recorded  copy  were  certified  to  by  S,  Morrison.  The  pages  of  this  par- 
ticular little  book  are  not  numbered.  On  the  leaf  following  that  having  the 
map,  the  notes,  written  in  ink,  begin.  Apparently  the  notes  were  made 
during  the  day  or  at  the  close  of  each  day's  work,  and  when  a  day's  work 
was  done  and  the  notes  of  it  were  written  out,  the  date  of  the  day  was  ap- 
pended to  them.  The  first  date  thus  written  is  "  Oct.  30,"  but  the  year  is 
not  written;  then  follow  notes  and  dates  consecutively  until  "Nov.  7,"  im- 
.  plying  that  the  surveyors  worked  nine  days  in  succession  in  going  through 
the  timbered  lands  and  swamps  and  streams  and  openings  of  Butler  town- 
ship as  they  were  in  1825,  one  of  which  days  must  of  course  have  been 
Sunday.  Thirteen  dates  in  all  are  entered  in  the  notes,  the  last  being  "  Nov. 
13,"  ali  without  the  year.  On  the  last  page,  however,  stands  this  entry, 
"  Certified  this  21st  day  of  January,  1826.     Robert  Clark,  Jr.,  Dep.  Sun" 

The  "  field  notes  "  in  these  original  small  note  books  of  the  U.  S.  deputy 
surveyors  were  afterward  copied  into  books  of  record  in  Washington,  as  was 
illustrated  above  in  the  case  of  the  original  book  of  Robert  Clark,  Jr.,  con- 
taining  the  notes  of  Butler  township.  When  the  survey  of  the  entire  state 
was  completed,  the  original  books  themselves  were  given  into  the  possession 
of  the  state  land  commissioner  in  Lansing.  The  survey  was  finished  in 
1857,  and  May  nth  of  that  year  the  origmals  were  deposited  with  the 
commissioner. 

The  records  contained  in  these  note  books  have  been  very  important 
in  the  life  of  the  county  from  its  beginning  continuously.  They  are  the 
ultimate  authority  of  the  county  surveyor  in  determining  the  boundaries  of 
townships  and  of  farms  owned  and  bought  and  sold.  While  these  books 
in  Lansing  were  the  only  legal  records  of  these  surveys,  the  people  of  the 
county  were  obliged  to  obtain  certified  copies  of  the  records  from  Lansing 
when  needed.  It  would  seem  that  this  was  done  until  1871.  At  present 
the  county  surveyor  of  Branch  county  has  in  his  official  possession  in  one 
large  book  a  copy  of  all  the  field  notes  contained  in  the  small  note  books 
as  made  by  the  U.  S.  surveyors  in  surveying  the  entire  area  of  the  county. 
This  book  is  the  official  "  Field  Notes "  of  the  county.  At  the  dose  of 
the  notes,   on  page  579,   stands  the  written  certification  of  E.    H.   Parker, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  U 

deputy  commissioner  in  the  land  office  at  Lansing,  with  the  date  of  March  22, 
1871,  that  tliese  notes  are  a  correct  and  complete  copy  of  the  originals.  There 
exists  only  one  other  copy  of  these  notes,  it  is  believed,  and  this  copy  is 
now  in  possession  of  Mr.  lanthus  D.  Miner,  a  resident  of  Coldwater. 
Mr.  Miner  obtained  this  copy  from  Dr.  John  H.  Bennett,  who  had  it  made 
from  the  county's  book. 

The  act  by  which  our  county  was  created  and  its  boundaries  named 
described  its  eastern  and  western  boundaries,  as  we  have  seen,  by  lines  be- 
tween ■'  ranges,"  and  its  northern  boundary  by  "  the  line  between  townships 
4  and  5  soulh  of  the  base  line."  Its  southern  boundary,  however,  was 
described  in  different  terms,  namely,  "  the  boundary  line  between  this  terri- 
to.^'  and  the  state  of  Indiana."  The  year  of  this  act  was  1S29,  and  it  recog- 
nizes the  lx)undai-y  of  Indiana  as  already  established.  The  boundaries  of 
states  are  determined  by  Congress.  The  act  authorizing  the  formation  of 
the  state  of  Indiana  and  naming  its  boundaries  was  approved  by  the  presi- 
dent April  19,  1816.  The  state  by  this  act  was  to  be  bounded  on  the  north 
"  by  an  east  and  west  line  drawn  through  a  point  ten  miles  north  of  the 
southern  extreme  of  Lake  Michigan,"  and  extending  from  that  point  on 
Lake  Michigan  to  the  north  and  south  line  forming  the  western  boundary 
of  Ohio.  This  is  the  first  time  that  this  line  appears  in  any  official  acts  of 
the  national  or  state  governments.  The  people  within  the  boundaries  named 
responded  to  the  enabling  act  of  Congress  by  electing  representatives  who 
were  to  meet  in  convention  at  Corydon,  June  10,  1816.  The  convention 
was  in  session  from  June  10  to  29.  It  accepted  the  boundary  proposed  by 
the  enabling  act,  and  December  nth  of  the  same  year  the  state  of  Indiana 
was  admitted  into  the  Union  with'  its  northern  land  Iwundary  a  line  drawn 
as  described,  from  a  point  on  Lake  Michigan  straight  east  until  it  meets  the 
western  boundary  of  Ohio  extended  northward.  This  northern  Iraundary 
of  Indiana,  thus  established  in  1S16,  remained  unchanged  from  that  time 
on.  It  became  consequently  a  line  to  be  recognized  by  the  U.  S.  surveyors 
in  their  survey  of  the  public  lands  and  their  laying  out  these  lands  into 
townships  from  certain  meridians  and  base  lines.  Some  nine  years  befoi'e 
any  of  the  land  now  forming  Branch  county  had  been  touched  by  the  U.  S. 
surveyors  this  northern  boundary  of  Indiana  had  been  authoritatively  pro- 
claimed on  paper,  though  the  boundary  was  not  actually  run  by  surveyors 
until  1827  and  1S28.  Moreover,  when  the  United  States  surveyors  began 
laying  off  the  public  lands  of  the  Indiana  country  into  rectangular  townships, 
they  did  it  from  another  meridian  and  another  base  line,  and  when  the  year 
1816  determined  the  northern  boundary  of  the'  state  of  Indiana,  it  deter- 
mined also  the  southern  limit  of  the  country  to  be  laid  off  into  townships 
from  Michigan's  meridian  and  base  line.  Hence,  when  in  working  south 
from  our  base  line  in  laying  off  their  six-mile  square  townships,  the  sur- 
veyors came  to  the  Indiana  line,  they  had  reached  the  limit  of  land  to  be 
made  into  townships   from  the  Michigan  base  lijie  and  meridian. 

It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  U.  S.  survey  of  the  land  that  became 
Branch  county  was  made  after  Indiana  had   become  a  state   in    1816,   and 


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I--i  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

while  ilicliigau  was  a  territory,  and  that  the  creation  and  naming  of  the 
boundaries  of  our  county  was  an  act  of  our  territorial  authorities  in  1829. 
The  southern  boundaries  of  all  the  counties  in  Michigan's  southern  tier  are 
coincident  of  course  with  the  boundary  lines  between  the  state  and  the  two 
states  south  of  it,  Indiana  and  Ohio.  The  history  of  these  state  lines  is 
the  history  in  general  of  the  county  boundaries.  We  have  given  in  brief 
the  history  of  the  Indiana  state  line  and  of  its  particular  connection  with 
Branch  county.  Branch  is  the  easternmost  of  the  four  counties  having  the 
Indiana  Hue,  a  due  east  and  west  line,  as  tlieir  entire  southern  boundary. 
Hillsdale  county  lias  about  one  mile  of  this  Une  in  its  boundary,  which  then 
follows  the  Indiana  Ixiundary  south  about  two  miles,  when  it  reaches  the 
Ohio  line  at  its  starting  iK)int  eastward.  But  the  northern  boundary  of 
Ohio  is  not  exactly  a  due  east  and  west  line,  as  3  careful  look  at  any  accurate 
map  of  Ohio  and  Michigan  will  disclose,  and  the  same  is  true  of  course 
of  the  southern  boundary  of  Michigan  and  of  all  the  counties  bordering 
upon  Ohio.  These  state  lines  have  a  long,  large  and  interesting  history,  and 
this  is  especially  true  of  the  one  between  Ohio  and  Michigan.  But  Branch 
county  does  not  touch  Ohio  even  at  its  corner,  and  it  must  suffice  for  a  his- 
tory of  this  county  to  merely  indicate  the  movement  in  men's  thought  and 
the  chief  events  which  took  place  in  the  course  of  the  settlement  of  the  Ohio 
and  Indiana  state  boundaries  on  the  north. 

People's  thought  relating  to  these  boundary  lines  found  its  first  formal 
legislative  expression  in  that  great  regulative  document,  "  The  Ordinance 
of  1787  for  the  Government  of  the  Northwest  Territory."  Article  5  of  this 
ordinance  named  the  eastern,  southern  and  western  boundaries  of  what  be- 
came Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois,  and  theii  said:  "If  Congress  shall  find  it 
hereafter  expedient,  they  shall  have  authority  to  establish  one  or  two  states 
in  that  part  of  said  territory  which  lies  north  of  an  east  and  west  line  drawn 
through  the  southerly  l^end  or  extreme  of  Lake  Michigan."  May  7,  1800, 
Congress  made  the  eastern  part  of  our  peninsula  a  part  of  the  Northwest 
Territory  along  with  what  is  now  Ohio,  while  the  western  part  was  included 
in  Indiana  territory.  The  country  now  forming  Branch  county  belongs  to 
this  western  part  along  with  what  is  now  the  state  of  Indiana.  April  30, 
1802,  Congress  passed  an  enabling  act,  according  to  which  the  people  within 
certain  boundaries  might  form  a  state  to  be  called  Ohio.  The  northern 
boundary  of  the  new  state  was  to  be  the  east  and  west  line  of  the  Ordinance 
of  1787,  running  east  from  the  western  boundary  named  for  it.  Tlie  west- 
em  boundary  named  was  what  it  is  today,  and  as  this  line  lies  a  short  dis- 
tance east  of  Branch  county's  territory,  Ohio's  boundary  lines  formed  no 
actual  part  of  Branch  county's  boundaries  that  were  to  be.  Uncertaintv 
arose  in  the  minds  of  the  Ohio  people,  when  their  convention  came  to  con- 
sider the  enabling  act,  as  to  where  the  line  running  due  east  from  "  the 
southerly  1»end  or  extreme  of  Lake  Michigan  "  would  strike  Lake  Erie.  Not- 
withstanding this  uncertainty  and  a  proviso  adopted  by  the  convention  to 
meet  it.  Congress  admitted  Ohio  as  a  state,  February  19,  1803,  with  the 
due  east  and  west  line  of  the  ordinance  as  its  prescribed  constitutional  bound- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  1;! 

arj'.     But  the  uncertainty  remained,  and  immediately  began  to  produce  trouble 
between  the  ?tate  and  the  people  of  the  territory  of  Michigan. 

The  dispute  over  the  exact  location  of  this  boundary  line  lasted  from 
1803  to  1837,  the  year  in  which  Michigan  was  admitted  to  the  Union.  Janu- 
ary 26  of  that  year  the  act  of  Congress  admitting  Michigan,  with  the  consti-. 
tntion  which  had  been  adopted  for  it,  was  approved  by  Andrew  Jackson  as 
president.  That  constitution  declared  definitely  what  tlie  southern  lx>undary 
of  Michigan  should  be,  and  the  act  of  Congress  settled  the  dispute  which 
had  been  troubling  the  people  of  Michigan  for  thirty-four  years,  in  which 
die  people  of  Branch  county  had  become  involved  along  with  the  rest.  Article 
I  of  the  constitution  of  our  state  describes  its  boundaries,  and  the  portion 
relating  to  the  line  between  it  and  Ohio  bears  so  many  interesting  marks 
uf  its  history  that  we  quote  it :  "  Commencing  at  a  point  on  the  eastern 
boundary  line  of  the  state  of  fndiana,  where  a  direct  line  drawn  from  the 
southern  extremity  of  Lake  Michigan  to  the  most  northerly  cape  of  the 
Maumee  bay  shall  intersect  the  same — sai<l  ]Mint  being  the  northwest  corner 
of  the  state  of  Ohio,  as  established  by  the  act  of  Congress,  entitled  '  An  act 
to  establish  the  northern  Ixaundary  of  the  state  of  Ohio,  and  to  provide  for 
the  admission  of  the  state  of  Michigan  into  the  Union  upon  the  conditions 
therein  expressed,"  approved.  June  fifteenth,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
thirty-six,  thence  with  the  said  boimdary  line  of  the  state  of  Ohio  till  it. 
intersects  the  boundary  line  Ijetween  the  United  States  and  Canada  in  Lake 
Erie." 

This  boundary  line  between  the  two  states,  as  finally  fixed,  was  not  a 
due  east  and  west  line,  as  we  have  already  stated.  It  runs  a  little  north  of 
east.  Branch  county's  southern  Iwundary  has  not  been  at  all  a  part  of  that 
state  boundary  line.  Our  entire  southern  boundary  is  a  part  of  Indiana's 
northern  line,  but  this  was  defined  and  laid  out  with  a  reference  to  the  same 
IKiint  from  which  the  Ohio  boundary  line  at  first  and  finally  was  determined, 
namely,  "  the  southern  extremity  of  Lake  Michigan."  Moreover,  Branch 
county  people  in  1835  took  part  in  the  so-called  Toledo  War,  which  ai^ose 
ill  the  controversy  over  that  Ohio  line. 

We  have  already  narrated  the  action  of  Congress  and  of  the  people  of 
Indiana,  by  which  the  northern  boundary  of  Indiana^as  a  state  was  estab- 
lished in  1816,  and  made  to  be  a  line  due  east  from  Lake  Michigan  nmning 
ten  miles  north  of  the  east  and  west  line  of  (he  Ordinance  of  1787.  Through 
all  the  nearly  thirty  years  from  1787  to  1816,  the  people  of  the  Michigan 
peninsula  had  assumed  that  the  Or<linance  line  east  from  the  southern  ex- 
treme of  Lake  M  ichigan  was  to  be  recognized  as  the  Ixjundary  line  of  states 
south  of  them.  In  1818  the  authorities  of  Michigan  territory  protested 
that  Congress  had  no  right  to  include  in  the  state  of  Indiana  the  strip  oS 
land  ten  miles  wide  north  of  that  line.  They  continued  to  insist  iiixin  their 
just  claims  to  this  strip  even  up  to  the  years  of  1835  and  1836,  when  the 
people  through  their  conventions  were  seeking  admission  as  a  state.  The 
convention  at  Ann  .^rbor.  December  14,  1S36,  finally  agreed  to  the  condi- 
tions set  forth  in  the  act  of  Congress  for  the  admission  of  Michigan  as  a 


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14  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

state,  namely,  that  Michigan  should  accept  the  boundaries  claimed  by  Ohio 
and  Indiana  and  should  receive  the  Upper  Peninsula  as  a  compensation  there- 
for. The  congressional  act  of  admission  soon  followed,  and  from  January 
26,  1837,  the  boundary  lines  therein  laid  down  have  been  accepted  without 
serious  question. 

Thus  we  have  seen  that  the  southern  boundary  of  our  county  as  a 
legally  described  line  came  into  existence  in  1816,  that  that  line  was  de- 
scribed with  reference  to  a  geographical  point  used  in  the  Ordinance  of  1787, 
and  that  it  became  the  boundary  of  our  county  as  it  now  is  by,  territorial  act 
in  1829.  But  this  line  as  the  northern  boundary  of  Indiana  was  not  actually 
run  and  marked  off  until  1827  and  1828.  In  the  former  year  a  bill  was 
passed  by  Congress  providing  for  its  being  run  and  marked.  The  work 
was  begun  October  8,  1827,  by  Mr.  E.  P.  Hendricks,  under  the  authority  of 
the  surveyor  general  of  the  United  States.     ' 

The  four  small  townships  of  our  county  bordering  on  Indiana  were  not 
laid  ofif  by  the  United  States  surveyors  until  1828,  and,  as  appears  quite 
plainly  from  the  Field  Notes  of  the  county,  not  until  after  the  Indiana 
boundary  had  been  run  and  marked  by  Mr.  Hendricks.  These  four  are  town- 
ships 8  south,  of  ranges  5,  6,  7  and  8  west,  or  what  afterward  became  Cali- 
fornia, Kinderhook,  Gilead  and  Noble.  The  Notes  show  naturally  that  the 
township  of  range  5,  or  California,  was  the  first  to  be  surveyed.  Over  the 
date  and  name,  "April  7,  1S28,  Robert  Clarke,  Jun.  D.  S.,"  stands  the  fol- 
lowing note  of  the  east  boundary  of  this  township :  "  Intersected  N.  bound- 
ary of  Indiana  30.89  west  of  104th  mile  post.  Set  post."  April  13th  fol- 
lowing, Mr.  Clarke  ran  the  western  boundary  of  this  township  to  the  Indiana 
line  and  set  a  post  at  the  intersection  of  the  two,  "  Snowed  this  day  three 
inches  deep,"  he  wrote  as  a  beginning  of  our  weather  bureau  records.  April 
23d  he  did  the  same  for  the  western  boundary  of  Kinderhook,  or  the  eastern 
boundary  of  Gilead ;  April  30th,  the  same  for  the  western  boundary  of  Gilead ; 
and  May  6th,  1828,  he  ran  and  marked  the  western  toundary  of  T  8  S, 
R  8  W,  or  of  Noble  township,  and  set  a  post,  which  marked  the  southwest 
corner  of  the  county  when  it  came  into  existence  in  1829,  and  whicJi  marks 
it  probably  today. 

The  southern  boundaries  of  these  townships,  or  the  southern  boundary 
of  the  county,  piay  also  be  described  in  terms  of  latitude,  if  the  boundary 
between  the  two  states  has  thus  been  determined  and  recorded,  inasmuch  as 
the  former  boundaries  ought  to  be  identical  with  the  latter  one  or  the  latter 
ones.  The  1906  edition  of  Lippincott's  Gazetteer  gives  the  north  boundary 
of  Indiana  as  "  the  parallel  of  4:  degrees,  46  minutes,  north,"  and  the  south 
boundary  of  Michigan  as  "  the  parallel  of  41  degrees  and  42  minutes  north." 
There  seems  to  be  a  difference  of  four  minutes  between  the  latitude  of  the 
north  boundary  of  Indiana  and  that  of  the  south  boundary  of  Michigan, 
though  there  is  no  difference  among  authorities  as  to  the  exact  location  of 
the  one  line  forming  the  two  boundaries  on  the  surface  of  the  ground. 

The  exact  courses  of  the  line  referred  to  in  the  Ordinance  of  1787  of 
the  Harris  line  run  in  1816  for  the  northern  boundary  of  Ohio    and  of'the 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  15 

line  named  as  the  northern  boundary  of  Indiana,  and  becoming  the  southern 
boundary  of  Branch  county,  the  exact  courses  of  all  these  lines  depended  upon 
the  exact  location  of  one  point,  namely,  the  point  asstimed  to  be  the  southern 
bend  or  extreme  of  Lake  Michigan.  When  this  point  was  actually  deter- 
mined and  marked  by  the  United  States  surveyors  I  have  not  been  able 
definitely  to  ascertain.  The  first  actual  survey  of  a  line  from  this  point,  of 
which  I  know,  was  the  one  run  in  part  in  1S15,  and  which  was  l>egun  anew 
and  completed  in  1816  and  1817  by  a  Mr.  Harris,  in  accordance  with  the 
proviso  of  Ohio's  state  constitution..  The  point  must  have  been  established, 
therefore,  as  early  as  the  surveys  of  1815  and  1816,  at  any  rate.  In  1820,- 
imder  the  direction  of  President  Monroe,  a  line  was  run  and  marked  for 
the  northern  boundary  of  Ohio  in  accordance  with  the  act  of  Congress  of 
May  30,  1812,  that  is,  due  east  from  that  point. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER    HI. 

TOrOfiRAPHTCAL     FEATURES     OF     BRANCH     COUNTY— THE 
DRAINAGE  SYSTEM. 

Branch  comity,  situated  as  it  is  midway  between  Lake  Michigan  and 
Lake  Erie,  occupies  the  highest  position  in  the  lower  tier  of  counties.  Its 
average  elevation  is  between  ten  hundred  and  eleven  liundreii  feet  above  sea 
level. 

Its  surface  structure  is  easily  seen  to  be  due  to  glacial  action.  In  fact 
Branch  county  is  situated  upon  the  crest  of  a  moraine  beginning  near  Sagi- 
naw, Michigan,  and  extending  southward  into  Indiana.  The  soil,  rocks, 
hills,  valleys  and  lakes  all  bear  unmistakable  evidence  of  a  glacial  origin. 
There  are  no  mountains  in  Branch  county,  and  but  few  conspicuous  eleva- 
tions. "  Warner's  hill,"  immediately  south  of  the  city  of  Coldwater,  is  the 
highest  hill  in  Coldwater  township,  but  it  is  a  comparatively  gentle  slope 
whose  elevation  is,  perhaps,  sixty  feet.  Its  crest  extends  almost  east  and 
west  and  finally  merges  itself  into  the  surrounding  country  alwut  tw(5  and 
one-half  miles  east  of  the  state  road  running  south  of  Coldwater.  There 
are  notably  two  other  hills  in  the  northeastern  portion  of  Algansee  township 
conspicuous  for  both  height  and  slope.  They  occur  one  directly  after  the 
other,  their  elevation  being  about  seventy  feet  and  their  slope  making  an 
angle  of  al»ut  fifty  degrees  with  the  horizon.  These  are  three  of  the  more 
noticeable  hills  in  Branch  county,  but  all  of  them  will  bear  practically  the 
same  description. 

Branch  county  owes  its  beauty  almost  entirely  to  its  many  l>eautiful  and 
picturesque  lakes.  In  tracing  out  its  system  of  lakes  it  is  natural  to  start 
with  its  largest,  viz. :    Coldwater  Lake. 

Coldwater  Lake  lies  in  the  southeastern  part  of  Ovid  township  in  sec- 
tions 26,  27,  34  and  35.  and  also  sections  2  and  3  of  Kinderhook  town- 
ship. Its  extreme  length  from  north  to  south  is  about  two  and  one-half 
miles  and  its  greatest  width  from  east  to  west  al)out  two  miles.  An  island 
consisting  of  80  acres  lies  in  the  southeastern  i>ortion  of  the  lake  and  is 
almost  entirely  within  section  35. 

There  are  three  places  along  its  shores  where  cottages  have  been  built 
for  purptises  of  summer  resort.  Sans  Souci,  designating  the  largest  assembly 
of  cottages,  is  directly  opposite  the  island  on  the  eastern  shore.  Crystal 
Beach  is  next  in  size,  and  is  located  on  the  eastern  shore  near  the  northern 
extremity  of  the  lake.  The  third,  Idlewild,  is  on  tlie  western  shore  facing 
Crystal   Beach   and   about  one-half  a  mile   from   it.     The   sccnerv  at   Cold- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  17 

water  lake  is  so  picturesque  and  attractive  that  many  resorters  irom  other 
parts  of  the  county  and  from  other  regions  spend  a  great  part  of  the  sum- 
mer there. 

The  outlet  of  Coldwater  lake  starts  about  one-fourth  of  a  mile  south  of 
IdleAviid  in  section  27  of  Ovid  township  and  runs  in  a  generally  westerly 
direction  through  that  section.  It  just  cuts  across  the  northeastern  corner 
of  section  28,  and  pursues  a  northerly  course  through  the  eastern  portion  of 
section  21  into  section  i6,  where  it  clianges  to  a  northwest  course  and  enters 
section  9.  In  section  9  it  again  runs  straight  west  into  section  8,  where  it 
empties  into  the  eastern  end  of  a  small  lake.  At  the  western  end  of  the 
lake  it  resumes  its  westerly  course  and  keeps  it  as  far  as  the  southwest  corner 
of  section  8.  At  this  point  it  receives  the  waters  of  Little  lake,  Lake  of  the 
Woods,  and  Bingham  lake. 

Bingham  lake  lies  in  the  northwestern  portion  of  section  30  and  covers 
about  100  acres.  The  water  of  Bingham  lake  empties  north  into  a  very 
teautifnl  lake  called  Lake  of  the  Woods.  This  lake  lies  mostly  in  section  19, 
but  it  also  occupies  parts  of  sections  20,  17  and  18.  It  is  about  300  acres  in 
extent.  Its  outlet  is  in  the  southeastern  quarter  of  section  18.  It  flows 
north  and  empties  into  Little  lake,  which  is  about  equally  divided  between 
sections  17  and  i8.  Little  lake  empties  northward  into  the  outlet  stream 
(]f  Coldwater  lake  at  the  point  mentioned  above. 

This  stream,  which  is  called  the  Branch  of  the  Coldwater  river,  now 
flows  north  through  sections  7  and  6  of  Ovid  township  into  section  31  of 
Coldwater  township,  where  it  empties  into  the  millpond  at  the  Black  Hawk 
mills.  From  this  millpond  it  flows  north  through  section  30  into  section  19, 
where  it  takes  a  northeasterly  course  through  the  southeast  portion  of  sec- 
tion 19  into  section  20,  emptying  into  the  western  side  of  South  lake,  which 
lies  just  west  of  the  city  of  Coldwater.  Into  this  lake  the  other  outlet  of  Cold- 
water  lake  also  empties. 

Returning  now  to  Coldwater  lake,  we  will  speak  of  the  two  Jakes,  Mud 
lake  and  Bartholomew  lake,  whose  waters  flow  into  it. 

Long  lake  is  situated  almost  entirely  in  section  23  of  Ovid  township, 
lying  diagonally  across  it.  One  peculiar  feature  of  this  lake  is  its  great 
depth.  Of  several  people  who  have  attempted  to  sound  its  depths  each  claims 
to  have  been  unable  to  reach  bottom.  The  shore  on  almost  all  sides  plunges 
down  almost  perpendicularly.  It  is  almost  as  if  an  earthquake  had  opened 
up  a  great  deep  fissure  which  had  afterward  filled  up  with  water.  Long 
lake  occupies  also  small  portions  of  sections  14  and  13.  In  the  southwest 
corner  of  the  latter  section  Loner  lake  receives  the  water  of  Mud  lake,  also 
in  section  13. 

Between  Mud  lake  and  Bartholomew  lake,  a  distance  of  perhaps  half 
a  mile,  there  is  a  natural  watershed,  dividing  the  two  chains  of  lakes  form- 
ing the  two  sources  of  the  two  streams,  the  Coldwater  river  and  its  branch, 
which  unite  west  of  Coldwater.  Some  years  ago  a  channel  was  cut  through 
this  watershed,  when  it  was  found  that  the  waters  of  Bartholomew  and  of 
the  lakes  north  of  it  would  flow  south  into  Mud  lake.     The  channel  at  this 


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18  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

point  was  afterwards  closed.  An  account  of  this  channel  is  given  elsewhere 
in  this  work. 

Bartholomew  lake  lies  in  the  central  portion  of  section  7  of  Algansee 
township  and  empties  by  a  channel  into  Middle  lake,  lying  for  the  most  part 
in  sections  7  and  5  of  Algansee  township.  A  channel  connects  Middle  lake 
with  Marble  lake,  a  comparatively  large  body  of  water,  about  half  the  size 
of  Coldwater  lake  and  located  in  sections  4  and  5  of  Algansee  township  and 
sections  32,  33,  28,  29  and  21  of  Quincy  township.  Cedar  Pbint  on  the 
eastern  shore  of  the  lake  in  section  33  is  the  location  of  a  summer  resort 
of  increasing  popularity.  A  small  but  exceedingly  picturesque  lake  in  the 
northwestern  corner  of  section  9  empties  into  Marble  lake.  This  lake  is  also 
very  deep,  no  bottom  having  as  yet  been  found,  although  it  has  been  sounded 
with  more  than  300  feet  of  line.     It  is  called  Hanchett  lake. 

Marble  lake  has  two  outlets,  the  one  leaving  the  lake  almost  on  the 
north  line  of  section  32  at  the  middle  point,  the  other  in  the  nortlieastem 
quarter  of  section  29.  The  former  flows  northwest  through  the  southwest 
corner  of  section  30.  where  it  turns  to  the  northeast  back  into  section  29 
again.  The  latter  flows  west,  uniting  with  the  first  branch  in  the  north- 
west corner  of  section  29.  From  here  the  stream  is  called  the  Coldwater 
river,  and  flows  northwest  through  section  20  into  section  19,  where  it  pur- 
sues a  westerly  course  into  section  24  of  Coldwater  township.  Immediately 
over  the  border  line  its  course  is  changed  to  the  southwest,  running  into 
section  25.  From  here  the  stream  runs  approximately  west  through  the 
northwest  part  of  section  26.  It  leaves  this  section,  entering  the  southeast 
corner  of  the  city  of  Coldwater,  through  which  it  flows  in  a  west-northwest- 
erly direction. 

The  stream  through  the  city  alternately  divides  and  imites  four  times, 
finally  entering  South  lake  west  of  the  city  in  two  separate  places.  It  is  for 
the  most  part  shallow,  deepening  only  where  it  has  been  dammed. 

From  South  lake  the  water  flows  into  a  channel  (natural,  but  dredged 
out  by  the  Wolverine  Cement  Co.  in  1905  and  1906)  running  due  north 
into  section  17,  where  it  empties  into  North  lake.  From  North  lake  through 
what  is  practically  a  continuation  of  the  same  lake  the  current  passes  into 
McCrea's  lake  and  then  into  Randall's  lake  in  section  5.  From  here  through 
what  is  known  as  "  The  Narrows  "  the  current  flows  into  Morrison's  lake, 
which  occupies  about  one-half  of  section  32  of  Girard  township.  Resorters 
have  also  built  a  few  cottages  on  the  eastern  edge  of  this  lake,  which  are 
known  as  Templar  Beach. 

At  its  northwestern  portion  Morrison's  lake  sends  its  water  into  an 
outlet,  which  runs  a  short  distance  north,  then  makes  a  bend  eastward  and 
with  another  northward  turn  expands  into  something  of  a  lake,  situated  in 
section  29.  From  this  the  Coldwater  River  again  takes  up  its  course  as  a 
stream  considerably  larger  than  before  it  entered  South  lake.  Its  course  is 
a  meandering  one,  its  general  direction  being  westerly  through  sections  29 
and  30  of  Girard  township  into  sction  25  of  Union  township,  where  it  flows 
into   the  Hodunk  millpond.     Pursuing  a  westerly  course  on  the  boundary 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  19 

line  of  sections  24  and  25  it  widens  considerably  in  a  northerly  direction  in 
section  23.  Soon  after  leaving  the  Hodunk  millpond  it  receives  the  waters 
of  Hog  creek,  which  serves  as  the  outlet  of  Vincent  lake  in  section  4  of 
Girard  tow-nship  and  also  of  a  few  minor  lakes.  In  section  23  the  Coldwater 
river  narrows  again  and  takes  a  northwesterly  direction  through  sections  23 
and  22  into  section  15  of  Union  township;  here  it  runs  due  north  through 
sections  15  and  10  to  section  3,  where  it  turns  abruptly  to  the  west  into 
section  4.  Here  it  again  turns  to  the  north  and  then  west  into  Union  City, 
where  it  receives  the  waters  of  another  small  stream  from  Calhoun  county. 
From  here  on  the  stream  is  known  as  the  St.  Joseph  river. 

The  St.  Joseph  river  now  flows  west  through  Union  township  into  section 
12  of  Sherwood  township.  From  here  it  pursues  a  generally  southwest  di- 
rection through  Sherwood  township  into  the  northwest  section  of  Matteson 
township.  After  only  about  a  mile  in  this  township  it  leaves  Branch  and 
enters  St.  Joseph  county.  In  section  21  of  Sherwood  township  the  St.  Joseph 
receives  the  waters  of  the  outlet  of  Sherwood  Jake  and  several  minor  lakes 
near  it.  This  stream  also  drains  Haven  lake  and  two  smaller  lakes  and  also 
Blossom  lake  in  sections  31  and  30.  , 

To  summarize,  it  is  seen  that  the  St.  Joseph  river  has  two  sources,  both 
in  Branch  county  and  within  a  few  miles  of  each  other,  viz. :  Coldwater 
lake  through  the  branch  of  the  Coldwater  river,  and  Marble  lake  through 
the  Coldwater  river ;  west  of  Coldwater  both  streams  unite  and  continue  their 
way  through  the  cliain  of  lakes  to  Union  City.  This  system  takes  in  nearly 
all  the  lakes  of  Branch  county.  The  remaining  lakes  empty  into  minor 
streams  and  creeks. 

South  of  Coldwater  lake  in  Kinderhook  township,  between  Silver  lake 
and  Crooked  lake,  there  is  a  natural  watershed.  As  we  have  seen,  the  Cold- 
water  lake  sy.stem  flows  north.  Silver  lake  of  section  25,  Kinderhook  town- 
ship, and  Fish  lake  of  section  14  of  the  same  township  empty  southeast  into 
Indiana.  Crooked  lake  of  section  8,  Pleasant  lake  of  section  17,  and  Lavine 
lake  of  sections  18  and  20  of  Kinderhook  township  are  distant  from  Silver 
lake  only  by  a  mile  or  two  on  the  other  side  of  the  divide  and  have  Prairie 
river  flowing  west  as  their  outlet. 

Matteson  lake  of  section  23,  Matteson  township,  empties  west  into 
Little  Swan  creek. 

The  numerous  marshes  which  accompany  such  an  abundant  supply  of 
lakes  have  been  for  the  most  part  drained  and  turned  into  tillable  land. 
The  rainfall  supplying  these  lakes  is  between  60  and  70  inches  annually,  the 
greater  portion  falling  in  the  months  of  April,  May  and  June. 

The  soil  of  Branch  county  is  very  fertile,  and  except  in  a  few  places 
not  stony. 

The  mineral  wealth  of  Branch  cormty,  except  for  the  marl  ocairring 
in  nearly  all  the  lake  bottoms,  which,  mixed  with  clay,  is  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  cement,  is  nil. 

In  general  Branch  county  is  a  prairie  pitted  here  and  there  by  prehistoric 


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20  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

glacial  action  and  these  pits  are  now  filled  with  water  forming  the  beautiful 
and  extensive  lake  system  we  have  described. 

The  Drainage  System. 

Jn  Branch  county  in  the  year  of  this  writing  there  are  in  round  num- 
bers four  hundred  public  drains,  approximating  a  total  lengfth  of  one  thousand 
miles.  The  four  townships  of  Algansee,  Bronson,  Bethel  and  Butler,  which 
have  received  the  greatest  benefits  from  this  system,  have  had  their  land 
valuations  nearly  doubled.  Since  1898  an  average  of  about  $30,000  has 
been  expended  each  year  on  this  department  of  public  works.  Although 
under  the  direction  of  a  county  drain  commissioner,  an  ofiicer  elected  each 
two  years  by  the  board  of  supervisors,  these  improvements  are,  in  a  very 
important  sense,  not  "  public  works."'  The  cost  of  every  drain  is  assessed 
entirely  on  the  area  benefited,  not  on  the  county  or  township,  and  the  en- 
terprise is  thus  one  of  concern  and  expense  to  the  group  of  individuals  who 
receive  the  varying  benefits.  But  in  vieu'ing  the  system  as  a  whole,  and  its 
effects  on  the  county,  the  conclusion  is  easily  and  inevitably  reached  that  the 
drainage  work  done  during  the  last  fifty  years  has  actually  created  wealth 
to  the  aggregate  of  millions  of  dollars.  One  strikiing  illustration  will  suf- 
fice. For  years  a  large  portion  of  the  township  of  Bronson  was  impractic- 
able for  agriculture  because  of  its  low,  swampy  nature.  Abo\it  twenty  years 
ago  a  community  of  Polish  people  settled  there,  bought  the  swamp  lands  in 
small  lots,  instituted  a  proper  system  of  drainage,  and  now  own  some  of 
the  most  productive  farm  lands  in  the  county  and  have  nearly  doubled  the 
valuation  of  the  township. 

Drainage  began  in  a  limited  way  during  pioneer  times.  The  settlers  in 
the  valleys  of  the  many  sluggish  water  courses  were  compelled  to  ditch  chan- 
nels to  carry  off  the  water  that  otherwise  would  have  stood  for  a  large  part 
of  the  year  on  the  arable  land.  The  clearing  away  of  the  timber  and  brusli 
and  the  breaking  up  of  the  soil  and  consequent  destruction  of  the  grassy 
turf  that  had  become  matted  through  centuries  of  growth,  all  contributed  to 
more  effective  drainage.  To  get  rid  of  the  excess  of  surface  water  was  a 
hve  question  sixty  and  seventy  years  ago.  In  fact,  it  demanded  partial  sohi- 
tion  at  once.  But  the  means  already  indicated  were  so  far  effective  that  the 
greater  portion  of  the  lands  became  available  at  an  early  date,  without  any 
general  system  of  co-operation. 

Tlie  first  state  law  on  the  subject  of  drainage  was  passed  in  1S56.  This 
act  created  a  drain  commissioner  for  each  township,  who  should  have  juris- 
diction over  all  the  drains  entirely  within  his  township;  while  one  county 
drain  commissioner  exercised  supervision  over  the  drains  in  which  two  or 
more  townships  were  concerned.  This  created  an  unwieldy  system.  Seven- 
teen men,  with  varying  views  as  to  the  usefulness  and  practicability  of  drain- 
age work,  and  few  if  any  possessed  of  the  engineering  skill  needed  in  such 
construction,  formed  a  body  without  the  concentrated  ability  needed  in  sci- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  21 

entific  drain-making.  Nevertheless,  the  stun  total  of  their  work  reclaimed 
or  benefited  thousands  of  acres  in  the  county. 

In  June,  1897,  an  act  of  the  legislature  took  effect  abolishing  the  office 
of  township  drain  commissioner,  and  put  all  the  drains  of  the  county  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  county  drain  commissioner.  It  further  providerl  that 
the  new  counti,'  commissioner  should  collate  and  systematize  the  drainage 
records,  which  hitherto  had  been  very  imperfectly  kept  by  the  township  com- 
missioners. This  task  of  recording,  alone,  has  consumed  a  large  part  of  the 
commissioner's  time,  and  it  is  due  to  the  present  commissioner,  D.  E.  Wea^, 
to  state  that  the  records  and  plats  belonging  to  this  branch  of  the  county's 
business  are  thoroughly  we!!  made  and  arranged.  Mr.  Weage  has  been  com- 
missioner the  greater  part  of  the  time  since  the  office  was  created,  and  it  has 
been  under  the  new  law  that  the  county's  drainage  has,  in  the  main,  become 
systematic  and  scientific. 

It  has  been  thought  well  to  present  a  brief  account  of  the  important  feat- 
ures of  the  drainage  work  in  the  variotis  towmships  of  the  county.  Butler 
township,  which  is  one  of  the  four  that  have  received  greatest  benefit  from 
the  worif,  has  forty-five  public  drains  wholly  or  partly  within  its  borders. 
The  land  of  this  township  is  largely  a  clay  subsoil,  originally  covered  with 
heavy  timber,  and  hence  lacking,  over  a  great  portion,  in  natural  <lrainage. 
More  land  has  been  reclaimed  in  this  township  than  in  any  other.  The  most 
important  drain  is  known  as  the  Warren  Brook  ditch,  which  crosses  tlie 
township  from  east  to  west,  almost  centrally  o\'er  the  area  between  Hog  creek 
and  Tekonsha  creek.  This  drain  was  constructed  in  the  seventies.  Another 
drain,  crossing  the  northeast  comer  of  the  townsliip,  from  Hillsdale  county 
into  Calhoun,  will,  when  completed,  reclaim  five  hundred  acres  and  liienefit 
about  fifteen  hundred  acres  in  Butler. 

Girard  township,  whose  most  conspicuous  feature  is  the  beautiful  and 
fertile  prairie  in  the  center,  has  required  as  little  artificial  drainage  as  any 
township  in  the  county.  Tliere  are  about  tweli'e  public  drains,  the  two  most 
important  being  a  continuation  of  the  Warren  Brook  and  the  Tekonsha 
Creek,  which  come  from  Butler,  the  former  finding  an  outlet  in  Hog  creek. 

Union  township,  though  originally  thickly  wooded,  has  more  natural 
drainage  than  Butler.  Its  thirty  public  drains  affect  about  five  sections  of  its 
area.  Tlie  largest  drains  are  Buell  No.  10,  in  sections  19,  30  and  31:  and 
Union  No.  36,  in  sections  2,  3.  il.  13.  14.  and  24,  afl^ecting  a  lar^e  area  in 
the  northeast  comer  of  the  tow'nship. 

Sherwood  township  is  cut  up  with  natural  water  courses,  chiefly  the  St. 
Joseph  river,  and  consequently  its  eighteen  ixtblic  drains;  are  comparatively 
short.  The  Kiiboura,  Blackwel!  and  Fimple  drains  are  the  largest. 

In  Matteson  township  are  twenty-five  public  drains,  none  of  them  ex- 
tensive. No.  16  and  No.  17  lieing  the  largest.  Nevertheless,  drainage  has 
added  materially  to  the  agricultural  wealth  of  this  township.  Along  the 
courses  of  several  of  these  drains  lie  large  areas  of  peat  or  muck  lands,  and 
since  they  have  become  available  for  cultivation  the  owners  have  engaged  in 


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22  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

mint-raising,  a  crop  that  is  becoming  a  strong  asset  in  the  agricuftnre  of 
southern  Michigan,  and  which  is  best  grown  on  the  reclaimed'  swamp  lands. 
With  an  average  yield  an  acre  of  such  mint  land  as  is  foiind  along  drain  No. 
17  will  produce  sixty  pounds  of  mint  oil,  for  which  the  market  price  is  three 
dollars  per  pound,  a  large  income  from  the  land  and  labor  expended. 

Batavia  township  is  crossed  from  northeast  to  southwest  by  the  swampy 
valley  of  Mill  creek.  Tlie  principal  drainage  worff  to  be  done  in  this 
town  is  the  straightening  and  dredging  of  this  sJuggish  stream,  some 
work  having  already  been  done.  Altogether  Batavia  has  thirty-three  drains, 
the  largest  being  county  drain  No.  5,  in  sections  6,  7,  17,  20. 

In  Coldwater  township  are  twenty-three  drains.  The  most  important  are 
drain  No.  15,  Benton  Pond  and  Williams  No.  28.  These  three  especially 
concern  the  city  of  Coldwater.  Benton  Pond  was  constmcted  to  take  the 
storm  sewerage  from  tlie  second  ward,  wliile  No.  15  and  No.  28  w^ere  also 
constructed  mainiy  for  the  city.  The  city  is  at  the  bottom  of  a  watershed 
of  abornt  five  square  miles  extending  east  into  Quincy  township.  In  freshet 
seasons  the  drainage  from  this  area  not  infrequently  sprrad  over  the  prairie 
and  caused  inundations  in  the  city.  The  municipality  therefore  constructed 
a  drain  along  its  eastern  border  to  divert  this  water,  in  1904,  and  after  it 
had  proved  ineffective  against  a  recurrence  of  tli*  flood,  the  'county  took 
charge  of  the  drain  and  improved  it  and  made  it  county  drain-  No.  15. 

Quincy  township  has  thirty-four  drains,  the  largest  being  No.  8,  which 
was  laid  out  in  1861,  but  did  not  become  fidly  effective  until  two  years  ago, 
when,  after  the  expenditure  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  it  drained  and  reclaimed 
a  large  amount  of  land  in  the  township. 

An  interesting  bit  of  history  may  be  told  in  connection  with  Quincy 
drainage.  In  1878  was  formed  the  "  Quincy  Chain  Lake  Channel  Company,"' 
the  president  of  which  was  James  Donovan  of  Quincy,  and  the  secretary  and 
treasurer  was  R.  W.  Berry.  These  men  and  their  associates  proposed  to 
dredge  out  a  navigable  channel  connecting  the  chain  of  lakes  in  Quincy,  Al- 
gansee  and  Ovid  townships,  so  as  to  afford  a  continuous  water  way  from 
Marble  lake  to  Coldwater  lake;  in  other  words,  to  connect  the  headwaters  of 
both  branches  of  the  Coldwater  river,  the  east  branch  of  that  stream  having 
its  origin  in  Marble  lake,  and  the  west  branch  rising  from  Coldwater  lake. 
The  purpose  of  the  channel  company  was  to  make  a  continuous  water  course 
of  some  twenty  miles'  length,  affording  magnificent  fishing  and  pleasure 
resorts.  The  enterprise  was  begun  with  much  popular  enthusiasm  and  the 
channel  was  actually  dredged  out  and  completed  according  to  program. 

About  that  time  it  was  discovered  that  the  surface  of  Marble  lake  was 
eight  inches  higher  than  that  of  Coldwater  lake.  It  had  previously  been  con- 
tended that  the  lake  were  of  equal  level,  and  that  the  connecting  channel 
would  have  no  effect  on  the  flow  of  the  water  though  their  natural  outlets.  But 
as  a  matter  of  fact.  Marble  lake  being  the  higher  of  the  two.  and  the  new 
channel  affording  a  freer  escape  for  the  waters  than  the  natural  river  bed.  the 
result  would  have  been  for  Marble  lake  to  empty  its  waters  through  the  chain 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  i!3 

of  lakes  and  thence  by  way  of  the  west  branch  of  tlie  Coidwater  river,  while 
the  east  branch  of  the  river  would  receive  a  greatly  diminished  supply  and 
might  eventually  become  entirely  dry. 

As  is  known,  the  Quincy  branch  of  the  Coidwater  supplied  the  W.  A. 
Coombs  mills  at  Coidwater  with  power.  As  soon  as  he  saw  that  the  opera- 
tions of  the  Channel  Company  would  threaten  his  water  supply,  Mr.  Coom!)s. 
secured  an  injunction  against  Mr.  Donovan  and  his  associates  preventing 
them  from  diverting  the  waters  of  Marble  lake  frc*n.  its  former  outlet.  Tlie 
courts  upheld  this  injunction  and  the  Qiannel  Company  was  compelled  to 
fill  up  part  of  the  channel,  etfectually  preventing  them  from  carrying  out  the 
broad  plan  they  had  contemplated. 

Algansee  township  has  thirty-seven  drains.  Most  !mjx>rtant  of  these, 
and  the  largest  in  Branch  county,  is  the  Pridgeon  and  Warner  drain,  which 
was  completed  in  1905  at  a  cost  of  twenty  thousand  dollars.  This  ditch  also 
drains  a  large  portion  of  California  township. 

In  Ovid  township  are  eighteen  drains.  Tlie  largest  is  the  Betts  drain, 
which  was  dug  in  1901,  its  course  lying  in  sections  6,  7,  8,  18,  19,  29,  30,  32. 
All  of  section  29,  as  well  as  portions  of  several  other  sections,  was  long 
known  as  "  Grass  Lake,"  and  the  land  was  sold  again  and  again  for  taxes, 
l>eing  totally  unfit  for  use.  The  old  drain  No.  7,  which  passed  through  it, 
did  little  to  reclaim  the  land.  Since  the  completion  of  the  Betts  drain  prac- 
tically all  this  submerged  land  has  been  reclaimed. 

Bethel  township  has  for  years  known  the  value  of  drains.  Elias  C. 
Tozier  now  deceased,  was  township  drain  commissioner  for  about  twenty- 
five  yearSj.laid  out  most  of  the  drains  during  his  term  of  service,  and  the 
results  of  his  careful  and  energetic  work  make  his  name  deserving  of  men- 
tion in  this  connection.  Bethel  now  has  thirty-six  drains,  all  of  about  equal 
importance  and  size,  running  over  fronr  one  to  three  sections. 

Bronson  township  has  thirty-two  drains,  the  largest  being  county  drain 
No.  ID,  built  in  1861  and  ninning  through  sections  13,  14,  15,  16,  20,  21, 
23  and  29. 

Noble  township  has  not  required  much  artificial  drainage.  Tliere  are 
eleven  drains,  Biosser  drain  and  Noble  drains  No.  4  and  Noi.  5  being  the 
largest. 

In  Gilead  township  a  large  acreage  in  the  central  portion  had  little  value 
until  it  was  cleared  and  drained.  Lang's  drain,  running  through  this  sec- 
tion from  Pleasant  lake,  has  lowered  the  waters  to  such  an  extent  that  at  the 
liresent  time  the  north  shore  line  of  that  lake  has  receded  south  of  the  state 
line.  Drain  No.  39  is  also  a  large  drain.  There  are  seventeen  public  ditches 
in  the  township. 

Kinderhool<  townshii)  has  ten  drains.  Kinderbook  No.  4,  which  is  the 
largest,  passes  from  the  center  of  the  town  out  through  the  lakes  into  Gilead. 

California  township  has  fifteen  drains,  the  most  important  being  the 
Pridgeon  and  Warner  drain  already  mentioned  in  connection  with  Algansee. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER    IV. 
THE  INDIANS  AND  THE  EARLY  SETTLERS'  LIFE  WITH  THEM. 

Tlie  first  settlers  of  Branch  county  had  Indians  as  their  neighbors,  and 
for  several  years  after  settlenient  began  there  were  more  red  men  than 
whites  in  the  county.  In  the  work  of  development  and  civilization  the 
Indians  had  no  part;  in  fact  they  were  an  adverse  element  which  had  to  be 
removed  before  white  men  could  proceed  to  build  homes,  make  farms  and 
lay  the  foundation  of  business  and  institutions.  Happily  for  the  history  of 
Branch  county,  the  Indians  were  never  hostile  to  the  degree  that  was  true  of 
Indians  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  notably  in  the  far  west,  Tbe  repre- 
sentatives of  the  government  were  able  to  conciliate  them  and  generally 
treated  them  fairly,  and  therefore  this  history  can  recount  no  revengeful 
outbreaks  nor  pitched  battles  between  the  two  races.  It  seems  necessary  in  a 
general  way  to  describe  the  people  who  lived  here  before  the  coming  of  the 
whites,  the  manner  of  disposition  of  their  lands  and  their  removal  to  the 
west,  and  what  relations  subsisted  between  the  natives  and  the  settlers. 

The  Indians  whom  the  pioneers  to  Branch  county  encountered  were  in 
nearly  every  case  Potawatomis,  an  Algonquian  tribe  that  originally  were 
found  by  the  whites  in  the  vicinity  of  Green  Bay,  Wisconsin.  But  about 
1670,  being  harassed  by  hostile  tribes,  they  were  moving  south,  and  by  the 
close  of  the  seventeenth  century  had  established  themselves  on  Milwaukee 
river,  at  Chicago,  and  on  the  St.  Joseph  river,  mostly  in  territory  that  had 
previously  been  held  by  the  Miami.  By  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century  they  were  in  possession  of  the  country  around  the  head  of  Lake 
Michigan,  from  Milwaukee  river  in  Wisconsin,  to  Grand  river  in  Michigan, 
extending  southwest  over  a  large  part  of  Illinois,  east  across  Michigan  to 
Lake  Erie,  and  south  in  Indiana  to  the  Wabash  and  as  far  down  as  Pine 
creek.  Within  this  territory  they  had  about  fifty  villages.  The  principal 
divisions  were  those  of  St.  Joseph  river,  Michigan,  Huron  river,  Michigan, 
Wabash  river,  and  the  Potawatomis  of  the  Prairie  in  Illinois  and  Wis- 
consin. 

The  Potawatomi  sided  actively  with  the  Frencli  down  to  the  peace  of 
1763.  They  were  prominent  in  the  rising  under  Pontiac,  and  on  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  Revolution  in  1775  took  arms  against  the  United  States,  and 
continued  hostilities  until  the  treaty  of  Greenville  in  1795.  They  again  took 
up  arms  in  the  British  interest  in  1812,  and  made  final  treaties  of  peace  in 
1815.  As  the  settlements  rapidly  pressed  upon  them  they  sold  their  land  by 
piecemeal  and  removed  beyond  the  Mississippi.  Those  who  went  west  were 
settled  partly  in  western  Iowa  and  partly  in  Kansas,  the  former,  with  whom 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  25 

were  identified  many  individuals  of  other  tribes,  being  known  as  Prairie 
Potawatomi,  while  the  others  were  known  as  the  Potawatomi  of  the  Woods. 
In  1846  they  were  all  united  on  a  reservation  in  southern  Kansas.  In  1861 
a  large  part  of  the  tribe  took  lands  in  severalty  and  became  known  as  citizen 
Potawatomis,  but  in  1868  they  again  removed  to  a  tract  in  the  Indian  Terri- 
tory, where  they  now  are.  The  others  are  still  in  Kansas,  while  a  consid- 
erable body,  part  of  the  Prairie  band,  are  still  in  Wisconsin,  and  another 
l)and,  the  Potawatomi  of  the  Huron,  are  in  lower  Michigan.  According  to 
the  census  of  1820  there  were  3,400  Potawatomis  in  the  United  States.  In 
1884  those  in  the  United  States  were  reported  to  number  1,332,  distributed 
as  follows;  Citizen  Potawatomi  in  the  Indian  Territory,  550;  in  Kansas, 
430;  Prairie  band  in  Wisconsin,  280:  and  Potawatomi  of  Huron,  in  Cal- 
houn county,  Mich.,  72.  A  few  besides  these  are  scattered  through  their 
;incient  territory  and  at  various  other  points.  The  numbers  in  the  United 
States  in  1903,  according  to  the  official  report  were  as  follows:  Prairie 
band  in  Kansas,  602;  Potawatomi  of  Huron,  78;  Citizen  Potawatomi  in 
Oklahoma,   I.6S6. 

The  Indians  of  this  tribe  are  described  in  the  early  notices  as  the  "  most 
docile  and  affectionate  toward  the  French  of  all  the  savages  of  the  west." 
They  were  also  more  friendly  disposed  toward  Christianity,  besides  being 
more  humane  and  civilized  than  the  other  tribes.  Their  women  were  more 
reserved  than  was  usual  among  Indians,  and  showed  some  tendency  toward 
refinement  in  manners.  As  slaves  were  found  among  them  when  first  visited 
])y  the  white^i,  it  is  probable  they  were  in  the  habit  of  making  slaves  of  their 
captives  rather  than  torturing  and  slaying  them,  though  no  positive  state- 
ment on  this  ]H3int  is  on  record.  Polygamy  was  common  when  they  were 
visited  t>y  the  early  missionaries. 

These  \\ere  the  people  whom  the  first  settlers  in  Branch  county  found 
dwelling  in  small  village  groups  or  passing  across  the  county  over  the  Indian 
trails.  But  even  then  they  were  living  in  the  county  merely  by  sufferance  of 
the  government,  for  they  no  longer  had  \ega\  claim  to  the  land.  The  im- 
portant treaty  that  affected  Branch  and  other  counties  of  southern  Michigan 
was  the  Chicago  treaty  of  1S21.  which  was  negotiated  at  Fort  Dearborn 
on  the  29th  of  August  by  Governor  Cass  and  Solomon  Sibley  with  the  Pota- 
watomis, Chipewas  and  Ottawas.  the  first  named  being  the  tribe  principally 
interested  and  the  others  signing  the  instrument  as  auxiliaries  or  friends. 
By  this  treaty  the  Indians  ceded  to  the  government  a  tract  of  land  embracing 
nearly  eight  thousand  square  miles,  containing  Branch  county  and  all  those 
surrounding  it,  besides  practically  all  of  the  country  now  designated  as  south- 
western Michigan.  As  mentioned  in  the  history  of  Coldwater  township,  five 
small  tracts  were  reserved  from  this  cession,  one  of  them  being  in  the  center 
of  Branch  county. 

On  the  19th  of  September,  1827,  a  treaty  was  made  at  the  Carey  Mission 
(Niles)  by  Gov.  Cass,  the  object  of  which  was  to  gain  the  cession  of  a  num- 
ber of  small  Indian  reservations  (that  in  Branch  county  being  of  the  num- 
ber) "  in  order  to  consolidate  some  of  the  dispersed  bands  of  the  Potawatomi 


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26  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

tribe  in  the  territory  of  Michigan,  at  a  point  removed  from  the  road  leading 
from  Detroit  to  Chicago,  and  as  far  as  practicable  from  the  settlements  of 
the  whites."'  This  last  reservation  was  along  the  St.  Joseph  river  near  Niles. 
A  few  years  later  this  last  foothold  of  the  tribe  in  Michigan  was  signed 
away,  and  the  chiefs  of  the  St.  Joseph  band  of  the  Potawatoniis  agreed  that 
they  and  their  people  would  remove  from  the  country  in  1836.  This  was 
the  result  of  the  second  treaty  of  Chicago,  signed  on  September  26,  1S33. 
There  were  Indians  in  Branch  county  during  the  greater  part  of  the  decade 
of  the  thirties.  They  did  not  willingly  leave  their  Michigan  home.  When 
the  commissioners  escorted  the  bulk  of  the  tribe  to  their  new  homes  beyond 
the  Mississippi,  many  eluded  the  vigilance  of  the  officers  and  remained 
behind.  Some  even  returned  after  they  had  reached  the  western  reserva- 
tion. The  efforts  at  collecting  the  Indians  had  to  be  repeated  several  times, 
and  as  already  mentioned,  some  were  never  taken  away  and  their  descend- 
ants are  still  to  be  found  in  certain  localities  of  southern  Michigan. 

The  Indian  villages  that  were  found  in  the  county  by  the  early  settlers 
are  to  be  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  story  of  se'ttlement.  There  was 
one  on  Coldwater  prairie.  When  Wales  Adams  came  along  the  Chicago 
trail  in  September,  1830,  and  stopped  over  night  at  the  Bolton-Morse  taveni 
on  the  east  side  of  the  prairie,  he  learned,  to  quote  his  own  words,  that 
"  a  lodge  of  several  hundred  Potawatomi  Indians  was  encamped  about  one 
and  a  half  miles  in  a  northwest  direction,  to  which  place  the  travelers  re- 
paired. The  Indians  occupied  their  time  in  smoking,  dancing  and  speech- 
making  alternately.  They  were  discussing  the  subject  of  their  removal  be- 
yond the  Mississippi."  Girard  prairie  was  also  a  favorite  haunt  of  the  In- 
dians, and  in  historical  times  a  small  village  existed  in  Kinderhook  town- 
ship. 

The  relations  of  the  Indians  and  the  settlers  were  generally  amicable. 
Then,  as  now,  vagrancy  was  a  notable  characteristic  of  Indian  nature,  and  it 
was  chiefly  petty  stealing  and  meddling  that  made  the  whites  apprehensive 
of  such  neighbors.  Dnmkenness  was  the  source  of  most  of  the  crime,  and 
this  coupled  with  natural  shiftlessness  made  the  Indian  a  generally  unwel- 
come though  not  dangerous  visitor. 

The  presence  of  the  Indians  actuated  the  establishment  of  the  first  mer- 
cantile businesses  in  Branch  county.  Roland  Root,  the  father  of  E.  R.  Root 
of  Coldwater,  is  said  to  have  had  a  trading  post  on  the  banks  of  the  Cold- 
water  river  west  of  present  Coldwater,  and  there  trafficked  with  both  the 
Indians  and  the  whites.  Loren  Marsh  in  1831  had  established  a  trading 
post  in  the  eastern  part  of  Coldwater  township,  and  later  moved  to  a  location 
west  of  the  Coldwater  river,  where  he  carried  on  his  trade  with  the  Indians 
over  a  large  circuit. 

So  often  in  the  course  of  this  history  will  Indian  trails  of  Branch  county 
be  referred  to  as  affecting  settlement,  that  credit  should  be  given  at  this 
point  for  what  was  practically  the  only  public  improvement  which  mav  be 
said  to  have  originated  with  the  Indian.  The  eariy  settlers  were  familiar 
with    several    trails,    which    they    used    until    straight    roads    could    be    laid 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  27  ■ 

out.  and  in  some  cases  the  trail  bed  became  the  route  and  foundation  of  the 
highway;  the  conspicuous  example  of  this  being  the  Chicago  road. 

As  late  as  1840  Indians  were  not  uncommon  in  Branch  county.  They 
caused  the  settlers  much  annoyance,  and  the  latter  at  every  opportunity  urged 
their  removal  from  the  country  to  which  they  had  no  longer  any  legal  right. 
The  civil  authorities  finally  co-operated  with  the  military  of  the  United 
States,  and  a  detachment  of  troops  under  Gen.  Brady  of  Detroit  was  sent 
to  gather  up  and  take  away  all  the  Indians  who  still  remained  in  Branch 
and  surrounding  counties.  Even  then  some  escaped  the  forced  exile,  but 
with  the  departure  of  that  band  from  the  home  of  their  ancestors  the  Indian 
ceased  to  be  a  considerable  factor  in  the  life  of  Branch  county. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER    V. 

NUMBER,    NATURE  AND  DISTRIBUTION   OF  THE   COUNTY'S 
PEOPLE. 

The  first  enumeration  of  the  people  of  Branch  county  as  a  county  by 
itself  took  place  in  1837.  At  least  this  is  the  year  of  the  first  census  of 
which  there  now  remains  any  particular  record.  The  number  of  white 
men,  women  and  children  then  making  their  home  within  the  county's  boimd- 
aries  was  4,016.  This  census  was  taken  by  the  state  government  a  few 
months  after  the  admission  of  the  state  into  the  Union.  No  Indians  were 
included  in  this  census,  and  no  Indians  not  taxed  have  been  included  in  any 
census  of  the  county  taken  either  by  the  state  or  national  government. 

There  was,  however,  one  enumeration,  and  probably  two,  previous  to 
1837,  of  the  people  residing  within  our  county's  area.  The  year  of  the  first 
settlement  of  a  white  man  in  this  area  was  1828,  the  year  before  the  county 
was  created  and  named.  The  first  regular  decennial  census  of  the  United 
States  after  the  white  man  had  thus  begim  to  live  within  our  limits  came  in 
1830.  Branch  was  not  yet  separately  organized  as  a  county,  but  for  all 
judicial  purposes  was  attached  to  St.  Joseph  county,  and  along  with  "  Cal- 
houn and  Eaton,  and  all  the  country  lying  north  of  the  county  of  Eaton," 
formed  the  township  of  Green.  The  population  of  St.  Joseph  county  is  given 
n  the  census  of  1830  by  four  subdivisions  of  the  county,  the  second  of  which 
"  Green  and  Flowerfield."  The  total  population  of  Green  and  Flowerfield 
s  given  as  no,  71  males  and  39  females.  Green  and  Flowerfield  were  the 
westernmost  of  the  four  subdivisions  of  St.  Joseph  county,  and  the  total  of 
no  inhabitants  was  the  smallest  of  the  four,  "Sherman"  having  205,  the 
"Township  of  Brady"  391,  and  "White  Pigeon"  607.  Within  the  bound- 
aries of  our  Branch  county  itself  there  were,  it  can  be  said  with  certainty, 
not  a  hundred  people  in  the  year  1830,  and  probably  not  more  than  fifty. 
But  here  in  this  census,  we  see  at  any  rate  at  this  time  towards  fifty  people 
living  within  our  area,  the  fountain  head  or  nucleus  of  all  our  history. 

In  1834  a  census  of  the  Territory  of  Michigan  was  taken  by  order 
of  the  Legislative  Council  in  preparation  for  the  admission  of  the  territory 
as  a  state.  The  act  provided  that  the  enumeration  be  taken  by  the  sheriffs 
of  the  counties  "  between  the  second  Monday  of  October  and  the  first  Mon- 
day of  November,"  and  that  returns  be  made  to  the  county  clerks  and  to  the 
territorial  secretary.  The  county  had  been  organized  for  its  own  action  sepa- 
rate from  St.  Joseph,  March  i,  1833.  William  McCarty  had  been  elected 
sheriff  in  April.  But  there  is  no  record  now  in  the  county  clerk's  office  of 
any  census  taken  in  this  county  in  that  year,  nor  are  there  any  records  of 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  29 

sucli  census  of  this  county  in  the  state  hbrary  or  in  the  archives  of  the  De- 
partment of  State  in  I,ansing.  The  total  population  of  Michigan  territory 
bv  that  census  is  known,  but  not  that  of  Branch  county. 

In  starting  with  the  first  enumeration  of  our  county's  inhabitants,  and 
making  our  first  note  of  the  increase  of  population,  we  have,  therefore,  to 
think  of  the  period  of  seven  years  from  1830  to  1837.  Inferring  the  num- 
ber to  have  been  fifty  in  1830,  as  we  have  done,  1837  shows  the  number  to 
have  reached  4,016.  AH  the  counties  adjoining  us  had  in  1837  a  larger 
population  than  we.  Hillsdale  to  the  east  of  us  had  4,749;  Calhoun  on 
the  north,  7,959;  and  St.  Joseph  and  Cass,  with  areas  exactly  equal  to  ours, 
had  6,337  ''nd  5,296,  Today,  according  to  the  census  of  1904,  our  popu- 
lation considerably  exceeds  that  of  St.  Joseph  and  of  Cass. 

In  1840,  three  years  after  the  first  state  census,  another  national  census 
was  taken  and  in  1845  the  second  state  census.  In  1850  a  new  constitution 
was  adopted,  which  required  the  legislature  to  "  provide  by  law  for  an  enumer- 
ation of  the  inhabitants  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-four  and  every 
ten  years  thereafter."  Accordingly,  from  1S50  on,  a  census  of  the  county 
has  been  taken  every  four  and  six  years  in  alternation,  the  work  being  doniC 
alternately  by  the  national  and  by  the  state  authorities.  We  present  here  in 
one  view  the  population  of  the  county  at  the  times  of  these  several  censuses 
from  1837  to  1904: 

1837 4,016  1870 26,227 

1S40 5.715  1874 25.726 

1845. ........   9.070  1880. ........ .27,941 

1850 12,472  1884 1..,.  .27,661 

1854 15,686  1890, 26,791 

i860.  ,  . 20,981  1894.  ... ... .  .  .26,207 

1864 22,458  1900 27,811 

I9CM- 26,397 

Space  will  not  permit  us  to  direct  attention  with  much  particularity  to 
the  facts  which  appear  011  the  face  of  these  figures,  nor  to  bring  forward 
facts  and  causes  which  lie  behind  them.  We  present  only  a  few  of  the 
more  general  and  striking  phases  of  the  population  during  the  seventy-four 
years  between   1830  and   1904. 

First,  as  to  the  first  decade  of  1830  to  1840.  Inferring  as  we  have 
done  from  the  census  of  :830,  that  the  county  began  with  fifty  inhabitants 
ill  that  year,  we  see  1837  giving  it  4,016,  and  1840,  5,715.  This  was  an 
increase  on  the  average  of  over  five  hundred  people  in  each  one  of  those  first 
ten  years.  Our  knowledge  of  the  persons  who  were  living  in  the  county  in 
1831  makes  it  certain  that  by  the  end  of  that  year  there  were  thirty  or  forty 
families  settled  in  it,  and  we  may  say  that  the  fifty  inhabitants  of  1830  had 
increased  to  150  or  200.  As  to  the  points  about  which  they  were  nearly 
all  settled,  these  were  Bronson,  Branch,  Coldwater  and  Girard. 

In  May,  1832,  the  call  for  Michigan  militia  to  aid  in  defending  Chicago 
in  the  "  Black  Hawk   War"   put  a  stop  almost  entirely  to  the  coming  of 


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30  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

people,  which  had  been  growing;  from  1830  up  to  that  time.  People  coming 
from  the  east  hecame  afraid  to  settle  where  there  were  any  Indians.  About 
the  same  time  in  1832,  cholera  was  brought  from  Quebec  to  Detroit  and 
Chicago.  Fear  of  cholera  combined  with  fear  of  Indians  to  prevent  emi- 
gration to  southern  Michigan.  After  May  many  of  the  stages,  which  had 
been  doing  a  larger  passenger  business  during  the  spring  over  the  Chicago 
road  than  ever  before,  were  taken  off.  The  check  put  upon  immigration  into 
the  county  in  1832  by  these  two  causes  was  felt  through  the  two  years  fol- 
lowing. There  was  increase,  but  it  was  slow.  With  the  opening  of  1835. 
however,  the  tide  began  to  flow  strong  again  along  the  Chicago  road.  A 
goodly  share  of  prospectors  and  of  the  occupants  of  the  white-covered  emi- 
grant wagons  were  attracted  by  the  lands  of  Branch  county.  In  the  spring 
of  1836  the  tide  doubled  its  volume.  It  seemed  to  those  already  on  the 
ground  as  if  the  whole  country  was  alive  with  emigrants.  Speculation  in 
land  and  platted  village  lots,  with  visions  of  great  profits,  was  a  large  factor 
in  the  movement.  The  numbers  coming  continued  to  increase  through  1836, 
and  with  the  opening  of  1837.  In  the  early  part  of  1837  Dr.  Isaac  P.  Alger 
found  thirty-three  taverns  on  the  Chicago  road  in  Branch  county  in  going 
from  Quincy  to  Sturgis.  But  in  May  and  June  of  1837  this  tide  of  immi- 
gration and  of  business  inflated  by  "  wild  cat "  currency  reached  its  height, 
and  then  began  rapidly  to  decline.  By  the  latter  part  of  autumn  [people  had 
stopped  coming.  The  standstill  of  1832  was  repeated.  But  the  people  who 
had  been  brought  into  the  county  by  the  three  years  from  1835  on,  mostly 
remained,  and  the  state  census  of  1837  took  them,  and  found  them  to  be 
4,016,  as  we  have  seen.  Probably  more  than  three  thousand  of  this  number 
came  into  the  county  during  the  three  preceding  years.  The  three  following 
years  added  only  1,699,  according  to  the  United  States  census  of  1840,  whicli 
made  the  population  of  the  county   5,715. 

We  will  next  take  a  general  view  of  the  population  of  the  county  as 
to  numbers  during  the  entire  time  of  the  county's  life.  We  note  in  this 
view,  first,  that  the  census  of  1880  stands  out  as  the  high-water  mark  of  all 
the  census  years  between  1837  and  1904,  that  highest  population  being 
27,941.  It  win  be  natural  now  to  note  the  movement  during  the  forty-three 
years  preceding  that  year,  and  the  twenty-four  years  subsequent  to  it. 

From  1837  to  1870,  or  during  tlie  first  thirty-three  years,  each  census 
showed  an  increase  over  the  one  immediately  before  it.  But  four  years 
later,  or  in  1874,  the  first  decrease  appears;  this,  however,  is  more  than 
overcome  in  the  six  years  following,  which  brings  us  to  the  high-water 
census  of  1880.  The  rate  of  increase  was  very  rapid  from  1840  to  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Civil  war  in  1861.  Tlie  four  years  of  the  war  lowered  the  rate 
of  increase,  but  during  the  six  years  from  1864  to  1870  the  rate  rose  to 
about  what  it  was  during  the  six  years  before  the  war. 

As  to  the  twenty-four  years  since  1880,  it  will  be  a  taie  genera!  state- 
ment to  say  that  the  population  of  the  county  in  numbers  has  continued  at 
a  standstill.    The  United  States  census,  taken  twenty  years  after  1880,  made 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  31 

a  difference  of  onlj'  130  between  the  population  then,  in  1900,  and  that  of 
1880.  it  being  130  less. 

To  understan<l  the  nature  of  the  i>eople,  whose  history  we  are  writing, 
we  mnst  give  some  attention  to  their  nationality,  to  the  communities  from 
which  they  came,  to  their  occupations,  and  to  their  intelligence  and  moral 
and  religious  ideals.  Very  few  counties  in  Michigan,  and,  indeed,  in  any 
western  state,  have  had  an  American  bom  and  homogeneous  population  to 
file  degree  which  Branch  has  had  all  through  its  history.  We  use  a  few 
facts  from  the  census  of  1880  to  illustrate  this  statement. 

By  that  census  there  were  no  Indians  and  no  Chinese  in  the  county,  and 
only  65  colored  persons.  St.  Joseph  had"230  colored  people  and  Cass  1,837. 
In  its  entire  population  of  27,941,  Branch  had  1,808  persons  of  foreign  birth. 
This  was  one  in  fifteen,  or  six  per  cent  of  the  total.  St.  Joseph  county  had 
in  that  year  3.554  foreign-born  in  its  poinilation,  and  its  total  was  some- 
what less  than  that  of  Branch.  There  is  an  interesting  significance  in  the 
several  numbers  of  these  1,808  foreigners  coming  from  different  foreign 
countries.  The  number  born  in  England  and  Wales  was  the  larg^est;  it  was 
481.  This  is  quite  a  sprinkling  of  fresh,  genuine  Englishmen  among  the 
inhabitants  of  the  county,  and  those  who  have  been  residents  of  it  have 
been  aware  that  they  are  a  perceptibly  distinct  element  of  its  life.  Se].>arate 
from  those  who  were  born  in  England  and  Wales,  the  census  of  1880  made 
enumerations  of  those  who  were  born  in  Ireland,  in  Scotland,  and  in  British 
America  or  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  It  is  rather  surprising  perhaps  that  a 
less  number  of  persons  had  come  into  Branch  county  from  Canada,  just  across 
t!ie  Detroit  and  St.  Clair  rivers,  than  had  come  directly  from  old  England 
across  the  ocean,  or  than  had  come  from  Ireland  alone.  There  were  276  of 
Branch  county's  [jeople  who  had  been  born  in  British  America,  while  330 
had  been  born  in  Ireland,  and  481  as  we  have  noted  were  natives  of  England 
and  Wales.  Besides  these  there  were  46  who  had  been  born  in  the  land 
of  Burns  and  Carnegie,  Counting  these  ail  together  as  being  in  the  large 
sense  British  bom,  they  make  a  total  of  1,133,  ^^^  become  by  far  the  largest 
foi'eign-born  ingredient  in  the  county's  population.  But  in  the  bearing  of 
this  fact  on  the  homogeneous  and  American  quality  of  the  population  as 
a  whole,  it  is  to  be  noted  that  all  these  English  speaking  foreigners  are  nearer 
than   any   other   nationality   to   native  born   Americans. 

Next  in  number  to  the  British  born  component  stood  in  18S0  those  born 
in  Germany.  There  were  479  of  them,  two  less  than  the  481  born  in  Eng- 
land and  Wales.  ITie  larger  portion  of  the  Germans  have  always  been 
found  in  the  city  of  Coldwater  and  its  immediate  vicinity.  Since  1858  a 
German  Lutheran  congregation  ha\-e  held  services  in  the  cit;'  in  German. 
Next  to  Coldwater  city  and  township.  Algansee  is  t^e  region  in  which  men 
from  the  land  of  Luther  and  Lessing  have  settled.  The  numl>ers  of  foreign- 
born  in  the  county  in  1880  from  other  countries  were  given  as  follows: 
Born  in  Poland,  141;  in  p-rance,  9:  in  Sweden  and  Norway,  7;  and  in  Hol- 
land, 3.  The  Poles  of  1880,  with  the  14.1  who  had  been  born  In  the  Poland 
of   Europe,  were  settled  almost  entirely  by  themselves  in  the  township  of 


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33  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Bronson,  south  and  west  of  the  village.  They  have  since  then  multiplied 
rapidly,  and  have  been  spreading  out  from  their  locality  in  1880.  By  their 
industry  and  cheap  mode  of  living  they  have  saved  money,  have  bought  not 
a  little  of  the  land  upon  which  they  began  to  labor  for  wages,  and  have  been 
steadily  improving  their  condition  in  every  respect.  They  are  almost  uni- 
versally Roman  Catholics,  and  now,  in  1906,  form  a  large  Roman  Catholic 
congregation  with  a  church  building  in  Bronson  which  is  the  largest  in  the 
village.  A  PoHsh  priest  resides  there  and  conducts  the  church  services  in  the 
Polish  language  and  superintends  a  parish  school  in,  a  fine,  large  brick  school 
building,  in  which  the  teaching  is  in  Polish.  Our  Polanders  are  gradually 
becoming  assimilated  to  our  American  life,  but  as  yet  they  are  noticeably 
the  most  foreign  and  un-American  portion  of  our  county's  population  in 
physique,  in  language  and  in  religion. 

With  only  1,808  foreign-born  people  in  a  population  of  27,941,  the  mass 
of  Branch  county  people  are  seen  at  once  to  be  American  born.  But  the 
different  portions,  the  different  states  even,  of  the  Union  have  always  shown 
distinctive  qualities  in  their  people.  Michigan  belongs  to  the  first  or  perhaps 
the  second  group  of  western  states  that  were  settled  by  migrations  from  the 
eastern  states.  It  remains  to  glance  at  the  nativity  of  the  American-born 
portion  of  our  county's  people. 

The  census  of  1880  gave  the  following  figures  as  to  the  nativity  by  cer- 
tain states  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  county  at  that  time :  born  in  the  sitate, 
13,873;  born  in  New  York,  6,425;  in  Ohio,  2,706;  in  Pennsylvania,  828; 
in  Indiana,  790 :  in  Vermont,  301 ;  in  Massachusetts,  203 ;  in  New  Jersey, 
t43  in  Wisconsin,  83.  It  thus  appears  that  when  the  county  had  attained 
its  growth  as  to  population,  almost  one-half  of  the  people  were  Michigan 
born.  As  to  those  born  in  other  states,  the  figures  confirm  a  fact  generally 
perceived  and  frequently  commented  upon  by  the  people  of  the  county,  that 
they  are  more  largely  from  New  York  state  than  from  any  other.  More 
than  22  per  cent  of  the  population  in  1880,  or  nearly  one  in  four,  were  born 
in  the  Empire  state.  If  we  go  back  a  decade  to  the  census  of  1870,  the  fact 
of  New  York  state  people  leading  those  from  all  other  states  in  the  early 
population  of  the  county,  grows  more  conspicuous.  In  that  year  7,875  out 
of  a  total  of  26,227  were  natives  of  New  York.  This  is  30  per  cent,  or 
■nearly  one  in  three.  The  census  of  i860  made  no  note  of  the  nativity  of  the 
population  by  counties.  The  events  and  influences  which  caused  this  main 
stream  of  the  migrations  from  other  states  to  flow  from  New  York  will  be 
set  forth  in  a  future  chapter,  especially  in  the  one  treating  of  the  Chicago 
road. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  VI. 
ROUTES  OF  IMMIGRATION. 

THE  ERIE   CANAL. 

In  1S25  the  Erie  canal,  after  eight  years  in  building,  was  opened  to 
traffic,  and  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie  flowed  across  the  state  of  New  York 
into  the  Hudson  river.  Tlie  dream  of  Henry  Hudson  in  seeking  a  northwest 
passage  up  the  river  that  bears  his  name  was  realized  after  more  than  two 
centuries,  only  instead  of  the  spice-laden  orient  the  new  way  led  to  the  far 
more  desirable  and  potentially  richer  American  west.  The  land-bound  com- 
merce of  the  Atlantic  seaboard  found,  in  this  direction,  outlet  to  the  eager 
west,  and,  borne  along  the  same  channel,  the  grain  harvests  of  the  inland 
were  brought  to  the  markets  of  the  world.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  for 
fifty  ark-like  boats,  loaded  with  passengers  and  freight,  to  depart  from 
the  eastern  terminus  of  the  Erie  canal  in  a  single  day,  passing  to  the  west  at 
the  rate  of  four  miles  an  hour.  While  before  the  water  was  turned  into  the 
"  Big  Ditch  "  the  toilsome  urging  of  creaking  wagons  had  not  carried  a  frac- 
tion of  the  commerce  that  passed  along  this  waterway. 

The  Erie  canal  not  only  gave  a  tremendous  impetus  to  westward  expan- 
sion and  development,  but  it  changed  its  direction.  Herein  lies  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  canal  in  the  history  of  southern  Michigan,  including  Branch 
county. 

Before  1825  the  trend  of  western  migration  had  been  down  the  Ohio 
valley.  The  great  water  courses  were  fringed  with  settlements  when  the 
inland  country  was  still  an  unbroken  wilderness.  The  regions  bordering  the 
riverways  and  great  lakes  were  populous  before  a  tree  had  been  felled  for  a 
settler's  cabin  on  the  fertile  prairies  and  woodlands  of  northern  Indiana  and 
southern  Michigan.  In  proof  of  this  witness  the  admission  of  Indiana  to 
statehood  ten  years  before  the  first  settlers  came  to  her  northern  tier  of  coun- 
ties. Southern  Michigan  was  aside  from  the  current  of  emigration,  and  its 
settlement  was  delayed  while  settlers  were  overrunning  the  country  to  the 
south  and  the  Illinois  prairies. 

OVERLAND  ROADS. 

There  were  no  roads  in  southern  Michigan  even  for  several  years  after 
the  completion  of  the  Erie  cana!.  A  inap  of  the  highways  of  travel  in  the 
United  States  in  the  year  1825  shows  a  network  of  routes  along  the  Ohio 
valley,  but  none  north  of  the  watershed  into  the  great  lakes  which  would 
bring  emigrants  within  many  miles  of  Branch  county. 


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34  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

The  homeseekers  who  traveled  across  Lake  Erie  to  its  western  end 
would  on  their  arrival  at  Detroit  find  one  generally  used  road  to  the  west. 
'I'hat  led  southwest  to  Monroe,  up  the  valley  of  the  Maumee  river  past  Defi- 
ance, Ohio,  through  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana,  and  thence  northwesterly  around 
the  lower  end  of  Lake  Michigan  to  Chicago  or  further  west.  Fort  Wayne 
was  the  converging  jjoint  for  several  other  roads  leading  from  different 
points  along  the  Ohio  river.  The  great  bulk  of  the  pioneers  who  settled 
the  northern  Indiana  and  southwest  Michigan  counties  bordering  on  Lake 
Michigan  came  by  way  of  Fort  Wayne.  This  accounts  for  the  more  cosmo- 
politan character  of  the  population  of  that  region  than  is  found  In  Branch 
county.  Through  Fort  Wayne  passed  streams  of  emigrants  not  only  from 
the  New  England  states  and  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  but  also  from 
Maryland,  Virginia,  the  Carohnas  and  Kentucky, 

It  should  also  be  mentioned  that  a  large  number  of  emigrants,  instead 
of  debarking  at  Detroit  and  taking  the  Fort  Wayne  route,  made  the  entire 
circuit  of  the  lakes  by  way  'of  Mackinac,  not  beginning  their  journey  over- 
land until  they  reached  the  lower  end  of  Lake  Michigan.  But  this  route 
also  took  them  far  from  Branch  county,  which  remained  practically  isolated 
except  as  a  chance  settler  might  fiiid  his  way  here. 

Railroads  at  that  time  had  not  become  a  factor  in  directing  and  assist- 
ing emigration.  In  1830  only  thirty-six  miles  of  railway  were  in  operation 
in  all  the  United  States.  Only  two  years  before  had  the  first  mile  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  been  built.  The  decade  of  the  twenties  was  prolific  of 
railroad  charters  and  plans,  but  Only  the  beginnings  were  made  of  the  rail- 
road building  which  soon  absorbed  the  energies  of  the  nation.  In  fact,  the 
part  of  the  railroad  in  southern  Michigan  was  that  of  development  rather 
tlian  settlement.  When  the  first  railroad  penetrated  Branch  county  its  popu- 
lation was  nearly  fifteen  thousand.  The  lands  had  been  taken  up,  and  the 
pioneer  period  was  practically  over  when  the  Southern  Railroad  began  push- 
ing west  from  Lake  Erie. 

CHICAGO   ROAD. 

Such  was  the  situation  for  Branch  county  at  the  completion  of  the  Erie 
canal.  The  routes  of  travel  were  around  the  lakes  to  the  north  or  through 
Fort  Wayne  on  the  south,  converging  a  hundred  "miles  to  the  west,  where 
settlement  was  begun  before  Branch  county  had  any  inhabitants,  except  the 
Indians  and  some  wandering  hunters.  What  reason  is  to  be  found  for  the 
settlement,  within  a  period  of  twenty,  years,  of  fifteen  thousand  people  in  this 
county?    Pre-eminently  above  all  other  causes,  the  "  Chicago  Road." 

While  the  stream  of  migration  that  poured  forth  from  the  western  end 
of  the  Erie  canal  would  in  time  have  overflowed  all  the  peninsula  between 
Lake  Erie  and  Lake  Michigan,  it  was  the  Detroit  and  Chicago  national  ^oad 
that  gave  it  direction  and  caused  the  rapid  settlement  of  the  southern  tier  of 
counties.  To  this  institution  more  than  any  other  except  the  character  of  the 
settlers   it  brought,  Branch  county  is   indebted  for  the  establishment  of  its 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  35 

prosperity  on  the  substantial  Ijasis  which  has  endured  more  than  two  genera- 
tions. 

The  famons  thoroughfare  which  passes  centrally  through  Branch  county 
from  east  to  west  may  reasonably  be  called  an  overland  extension  of  the  Erie 
canal.  It  was  a  national  highway  built  to  connect  two  important  strategic 
jjoints,  to  afford  rapid  transportation  of  military  supplies  and  armies  from  the 
■western  terminus  of  the  waterways  at  Detroit  to  Fort  Dearborn  on  Lake 
Michigan.  Fjnpowered  by  the  constitution  to  establish  post  roads,  the  gen- 
eral government  designed  this  road  as  an  important  section  of  the  postal  route 
l)etween  the  east  and  the  west,  and  for  the  twenty  years  before  the  railroad 
came  the  New  York-Chicago  mail  was  carried  by  stage  over  this.  road.  But 
its  character  as  a  government  highway  was  almost  lost  sight  of  in  the  im- 
portance it  attained  as  an  emigrant  route.  The  coming  of  the  mail  coach 
never  lost  novelty  or  ceased  to  be  the  event  of  the  day  for  the  people  dwelling 
along  the  road,  but  the  almost  continuous  line  of  settlers'  wagons  became  one 
of  the  commonplaces  of  life  at  that  time  and  attracted  little  attention. 

In  accordance  with  congressional  legislation  for  the  construction  of  a 
military  and  postal  road  between  Detroit  and  Chicago,  in  1825  the  president 
was  authorized  to  appoint  commissioners  to  survey  and  mark  this  road.  In 
1827  congress  appropriated  twenty  thousand  dollars  for  the  construction  of 
the  road.  It  was  the  original  purpose  to  build  the  road  in  a  straight  line 
between  the  designated  termini,  but  the  commissioners  soon  found  that  with 
the  money  at  hand  they  could  hardly  make  a  beginning  of  the  undertaking 
on  that  basis.  The  straight  course  had  to  be  abandoned,  and  one  was  adopted 
which,  while  presenting  fewer  engineering  difficulties,  was,  historically,  more 
natural  and  interesting. 

Before  civilization  introduced  scientific  road-making,  wild  animals  were 
doubtless  the  markers  and  surveyors  of  roads.  The  narrow,  deep-worn  and 
wavering  path  through  the  woods,  indicating  the  route  of  the  wild  animal 
i)etween  its  lair  and  the  spring  where  it  quenched  its  thrist  or  the  spot  where 
it  sought  its  quarry,  was  the  course  which  the  Indian,  and  later  the  white 
man,  took  in  going  through  the  woods  or  across  the  prairie.  Thus  animals 
were  the  first  road-makers,  and  blazed  the  way  for  their  immediate  succes- 
sors, the  roving  Indians.  The  latter  would  naturally  extend  and  connect  the 
trails  into  certain  long  avenues  of  travel  across  the  country,  which  they  would 
follow  in  making  their  pilgrimages  from  one  hunting  ground  to  another  or 
for  their  war  expeditions. 

Several  of  these  trails  existed  in  Branch  county  long  before  white  man 
set  his  foot  here.  Most  used  of  all  was  that  one  extending  centrally  across 
the  county  from  west  to  east.  This  was  not  only  a  favorite  route  pursued  by 
the  Indians  of  southern  Michigan,  but  since  the  war  of  1812  the  Indians 
dwelling  in  Illinois  had  been  accustomed  to  make  their  annual  pilgrimages 
along  this  route  to  Canada,  where  the  British  government  paid  them  their 
annuity  earned  by  loyalty  to  that  government  in  its  war  against  the  Ameri- 
cans. The  Detroit-Chicago  Indian  trail,  therefore,  had  historic  importance 
long  before  any  marks  of  civilization  had  been  made  in  Branch  county. 


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36  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Accordingly,  when  the  government  surveyors  who  sought  to  carry,  out 
instructions  and  define  a  military  road  from  Detroit  to  Fort  Dearborn,  found 
tliat  the  appropriation  for  that  purpose  was  far  from  adequate,  they  deter- 
mined to  follow  the  route  that  had  been  surveyed  and  marked  by  the  animals 
and  the  Indians.  Of  course  many  of  the  windings  of  the  original  trail  have 
been  corrected,  either  when  the  road  was  made  or  later.  But  the  traveler 
whose  journey  lies  along  this  thoroughfare  may  say  with  approximate  fidelity 
to  history  that  the  road  is  but  an  Indian  trail  enlarged  and  improved  to  a 
modern  highway. 

The  engineers  who  began  the  work  of  marking  this  road  in  1825  did  not 
"make"  the  road;  they  merely  designated  its  course.  As  late  as  1829  the 
pioneers  through  this  county  called  the  road  little  better  than  an  Indian  trail. 
It  was  planned  that  the  road  should  be  one  hundred  feet  wide,  but  in  the 
actual  process  of  construction  it  seemed  most  expedient  only  to  cut  off  the 
trees  for  that  width  and  to  clear  the  stumps  and  smooth  the  roadway  for  a 
width  seldom  exceeding  forty  feet.  From  available  data,  it  seems  probable 
that  the  Chicago  road  was  still  in  process  of  construction  through  Branch 
county  as  Jate  as  1832.  For  James  G.  Corbus  in  that  year  was  a  contractor 
engaged  in  building  a  portion  of  the  way  on  Bronson's  prairie.  And  when 
Martin  Olds,  the  Batavia  pioneer,  came  along  this  road  in  1834  the  first 
stream  over  which  he  found  a  bridge  was  the  Coldwater,  the  bridge  at 
Masonville  having  just  been  completed  before  his  arrival  in  June.  Stages 
had  been  running,  however,  since  1830,  so  that  the  road  must  have  been 
passable  at  that  date  or  earlier. 

It  should  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  Chicago  road  was  a  national  highway, 
was  constructed  and  maintained  by  appropriations  from  Congress.  ■  At  a 
later  date  the  Michigan  legislature  provided  for  numerous  "  State  roads," 
sfeveral  of  which  were  built  through  or  in  Branch  county,  and  are  still  known 
as  "  State  roads."  The  third  class,  to  whicli  most  of  the  roads  in  the  county 
belong,  are  those  laid  out  by  the  township  highway  commissioners.  But 
both  state  and  township  roads  were  maintained  by  local  taxation. 

SOURCES  OF  EARLY   SETTLERS. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  themes  of  early  Branch  county  history  is 
concerned  with  the  sources  which  furnished  the  pioneer  settlers.  The  same 
study  will  indicate  in  a  graphic  manner  the  combined  influence  of  the  Erie 
Canal  and  the  Chicago  Road  in  directing  migration  to  this  county.  This 
route  was  the  most  natural  one  for  the  people  of  New  York  and  the  New 
England  states  to  take  in  moving  to  the  west.  It  is  from  New  York  state, 
indeed,  that  we  find  the  bulk  of  the  early  settlers  of  this  county  to  have 
come.  While  that  state  may  not  be  called  the  first  state  home  of  al!  these 
people,  it  will  be  found  that  in  most  cases  the  people  of  Massachusetts,  of 
Vermont,  or  of  Connecticut,  made  some  point  in  New  York  the  first  stage 
of  their  westward  movement,  in  many  instances  spending  several  years  there 
before  proceeding  to  Michigan. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  37 

Samuel  H.  Berry,  father  of  the  Quincy  pioneers  among  whom  was  the 
late  Dr.  E.  G.  Berry,  while  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  moved  from  that 
state  to  Pennsylvania,  then  to  New  York,  and  from  there  came  to  Brand 
county,  in  1835.  Saratoga  county,  New  York,  was  the  birthplace  of  Peter 
M.  Newberry,  also  of  Quincy,  who  in  1836  started  from  New  York  with 
the  intention  of  settling  in  Ohio,  but  landing  in  Detroit  came  down  the 
Chicago  road  to  Jonesville,  and  then  on  to  Quincy  township,  where  he  was 
one  of  the  early  settlers.  Other  pioneers  of  Quincy  who  came  from  New 
York  were  Alvarado  Brown,  from  Orleans  county;  John;  S.  Belote,  from 
Albany  in  1835 ;  B.  F.  Wheat,  the  banker,  who  came  from  Ontario  county 
to  Lenawee  county,  Michigan,  in  1836;  AnseH  Nicholls,  who  settled  in 
Quincy  township  in  1836,  was  from  Oswego  county.  New  York;  Chautauqua 
county  was  the  starting  point  of  William  P.  Arnold,  who  located  two  miles 
east  of  Coldwater  along  the  Chicago  road  in  1833,  and  in  1839  bought  a 
hundred  acres  in  the  present  Quincy  village. 

The  late  Dr.  W.  B.  Sprague  of  Coldwater  came  from  Rochester  to  this 
county  in  1835,  and  Syracuse  was  the  birthplace  of  Alonzo  Waterman,  who 
came  to  Bronson  in  1832  and  later  to  Coldwater  and  became  noted  as  a  miller, 
merchant  and  successful  business  man.  The  Erie  Canai  was  the  route  that 
Lorenzo  D.  Halsted  followed  in  coming  to  this  county  in  1836.  He  drove 
a  horse  on  the  towpath  from  Albany  to  Buffalo,  and  from  there  worked 
his  way  on  a  steamer  to  Detroit,  whence  the  Chicago  road  iinally  guided  him 
to  Coldwater, 

Monroe  county.  New  York,  was  the  home  of  many  who  later  became 
well  known  in  Branch  coi;nty.  James  M.  Burdick  walked  from  there  to 
Buffalo  in  1830,  took  a  steamer  to  Detroit,  and  by  the  roughly  marked 
Chicago  trail  reached  Allen's  in  Hillsdale  county,  whence  he  came  to 
Quincy  in  1836.  The  well  known  horseman,  Abram  C.  Fisk,  who 
settled  on  the  Chicago  road  just  east  of  Coldwater,  was  from  Monroe  county, 
and  in  the  next  year  the  pioneer  Harvey  Haynes  came  from  the  same  locality. 
In  1835  came  Lorenzo  D.  Crippen  from  Herkimer  county,  and  began  his 
career  as  merchant,  manufacturer  and  public-spirited  citizen  of  Coldwater. 
And  in  the  next  year  James  R.  Wilcox,  also  of  Coldwater  township,  came 
from  Cayuga  county. 

Many  other  instances  of  this  community  of  origin  might  be  set  down 
here,  but  it  is  sufficient  to  indicate  the  subject  to  the  reader,  who  will  find 
abimdant  examples  of  the  historical  phenomenon  on  nearly  every  page  of  the 
following  narrative. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  Vn. 
FORMATION  OF  TOWNSHIPS. 

A  map  of  Branch  county  shows  sixteen  civil  townships  blocked  out  four 
square,  and  laid  out  on  the  lines  of  the  original  United  States  government 
survey.  Although  the  government  surveyors  blocked  out  the  territory  that 
became  Branch  county  by  means  of  the  range  and  township  lines  that  desig- 
nate the  boundaries  of  the  present  civil  townships,  it  was  more  than  fifteen 
years  after  the  creation  of  Branch  county  before  the  townships  were  all  ■ 
organized  and  named  as  we  know  them  at  present.  •  The  civil  townships  and 
the  townships  of  government  survey  happen  to  correspond  in  Branch  county ; 
but  there  is  no  necessary  connection  between  the  two,  and  in  some  other 
counties  one  civil  township  is  more  than  an  area  six  miles  square.  The 
civil  township  is  created  for  the  convenience  of  government,  and  in  Michigan 
the  legislature  has  almost  invariably  caused  its  boundaries  to  coincide  with 
those  of  the  United  States  survey,  as  has  been  the  case  in  this  county.  But 
during  the  period  of  early  settlement  the  population  was  not  dense  enough  to 
warrant  a  civil  organization  in  each  of  the  sixteen  surveyed  townships.  So 
it  is  that  the  map  of  Branch  county  underwent  many  changes  up  to  1846. 
There  were  townships  of  varying  extent  and  form,  and  several  whose 
names  are  practically  forgotten.  It  will  be  the  purpose  of  the  following 
paragraphs  to  show  how  the  county  was  divided  from  time  to  time  and  to 
describe  the  process  of  township  making  until  the  boiindaries  were  fixed  as 
at  present. 

It  has  been  elsewhere  related  that  Branch  county,  although  created  in 
1829,  did  not  obtain  a  separate  county  government  until  1833,  ^nd  that  in 
the  meantime  it  was  attached  to  St.  Joseph  county  for  judicial  purposes. 
The  great  area  of  adjoining  country  which  for  legal  purixjses  became  a  part 
of  St.  Joseph  county  was  divided  into  townships,  and  the  township  of  whicli 
Branch  county  was  first  a  part  was  known  by  the  name  of  Green.  Not  only 
did  the  "  Town  of  Green  "'  comprise  Branch  county,  but  several  other  counties 
as  well,  and  a  vast  territory  not  yet  laid  out  in  county  form. 

In  the  first  instance,  then.  Branch  county  was  only  part  of  a  town,ship. 
As  population  increased,  but  before  it  was  sufficient  to  warrant  county  organ- 
ization, Branch  county's  area  was  laid  off  into  two  townships.  This  act 
was  approved  June  29,  1832,  but  was  not  to  take  effect  until  March  i,  1833. 
In  the  meantime  the  legislature  provided  for  the  organization  of  county 
government  in  Branch  countv,  which  was  also  to  take  effect  on  March  i 
1833- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  39 

Accordingly,  on  the  date  of  the  county's  organization  two  townships 
came  into  existence.  All  of  the  county  east  of  a  north  and  south  line  passing 
through  the  center  was  called  Coldwater  township,  from  which  eight  town- 
ships have  since  been  made.  Ail  the  western  half  of  the  county  was  made 
into  a  township  named  Prairie  River. 

Less  than  two  months  later,  on  April  2,-^,  1833,  the  following  section 
of  act  of  the  legislature  was  approved : 

"  That  the  township  of  Prairie  River  in  the  county  of  Branch  shall  be 
called  Green,  and  by  the  name  of  Green  shall  hereafter  be  known  and  dis- 
tinguished, any  law  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding." 

Notwithstanding  the  passage  of  this  act  which  revived  the  name  of 
Green  in  such  emphatic  terms,  the  township  continued  to  be  known  as  Prairie 
River  .both  in  the  supervisors'  records  beginning  with  the  first  meeting  in 
Octo!)er,  1S33,  and  also,  as  will  be  seen,  in  the  later  laws  affecting  the  parti- 
tion of  that  township. 

March  7,  18134,  was  the  first  act  in  the  process  of  division  of  these  two 
larger  townships.  By  a  law  approved  on  that  date  the  north  tier  of  surveyed 
townships,  technically  known  as  "  townships  5  south,  in  ranges  5,  6,  7  and  8 
west,"  was  created  a  township  by  name  of  Girard.  This  reduced  the  area 
of  the  other  two  townships,  and  made  one  long  narrow  township  and  two 
relatively  square  ones. 

Two  years  passed  before  the  next  change.  By  act  approved  March  23, 
1836,  three  new  civil  townships  were  carved  from  the  older  ones.  Coldwater 
township  was  cut  in  two  by  the  north  and  south  line  between  ranges  five  and 
six,  and  the  east  half  was  called  Quincy,  comprising  the  present  townships 
of  Quincy,  Algansee  and  California, 

At  the  same  time  Prairie  River  was  reduced  by  almost  half.  The 
following  is  the  law :  "  All  that  portion  of  the  county  of  Branch  designated 
by  the  United  States  survey  as  townships  six  and  seven  south,  of  range 
seven  west,  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  set  off  and  organized  into  a  separate 
township  by  the  name  of  Batavia,  and  the  first  township  meeting  therein  shall 
be  held  at  the  dwelling  house  of  William  Reynolds  in  said  township." 

Original  Batavia  was  thus  twice  as  large  as  now,  and  it  so  remained  for 
nearly  a  year. 

Also  in  March,  1836,  Girard  was  cut  in  half,  and  the  two  surveyed 
townships  on  the  west  were  set  off  by  the  name  of  Sherwood.  In  1837,  the 
year  of  Michigan's  admission  to  the  Union,  Branch  county  had  six  town- 
ships—on the  north  were  Girard  and  Sherwood,  and  from  east  to  west  they 
were  Quincy.  Coldwater,  Batavia  and  Prairie  River,  all  of  rectangular  shape 
except  Prairie  River,  from  the  bottom  of  which  projected  eastward  the  frac- 
tional township  that  soon  became  Gilead. 

The  act  of  the  legislature  approved  March  11,  1837,  gave  five  more 
civil  townships  to  Branch  coiintj-.  Sherwood  was  divided,  and  the  east  half 
was  called  Union.  The  previous  section  of  the  same  act  organized  the  town- 
ship of  Ovid,  bounding  it  so  as  to  include  the  present  Kinderhook.  Ovid 
being  set  off  from  Coldwater,  the  latter  was  accordingly  left  with  its  present 


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40  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

boundaries  and  must  be  considered  the  first  township  in  Branch  county  to  be 

reduced  to  the  regular  area  of  the  government  township. 

At  this  date  the  southern  haif  of  Batavia  township  was  set  off  under 

the  name  of  the  "  Township  of  Ehzabetli."     After  two  years  the  "  Town  of 

Elizabeth  "  became  the  "  Town  of  Bethel  "  by  act  of  the  legislature  of  1838-39, 

and  as  Bethel  it  has  since  been  known  to  history. 

The  next  section  of  this  act  of  March   li,   1837,  brings  into  existence 

the  township  of  Galead.     Up  to  that  date  the  membiers  of  Bishop  Chase's 

colony  and  the  other  settlers  of  fractional   township  eight  in  range  seven 

had  been  citizens  of  Prairie  River  township.  Gilead  was  the  first  of  the 
four   fractional   townships   to  obtain   separate   town   government,    its    rapid 

settlement  entitling  it  to  this  privilege  as  soon  as  any  of  the  full  townships. 
With  the  approval  of  the  act  of  March  11,  1837,  the  township  of -Prairie 

River  ceased  to  be  a  name.  Originally  comprising  the  west  half  of  the 
county,  it  had  been  reduced  in  size,  first  by  the  formation  of  Girard,  then 
Batavia,  then  Gilead,  and  now  ail  that  remained,  in  the  range  south  of  Sher- 
wood, was  given  the  name  of  Bronson.  The  section  providing  for  this 
change  is  worth  quoting  for  several  historical  points  contained.  It  reads : 
"  All  that  portion  of  the  county  of  Branch  known  as  the  township  of  Prairie 

River,  and  the  village  in  said  township  by  the  name  of  York,  shall,  on  and 
after  the  first  Monday  of  April,  next,  be  known  and  designated  by  the  name 
of  Bronson." 

The  next  act  dealing  with  Branch  county  townships  was  approved  March 
6,  1838.  On  that  date  Matteson  township  was  formed  from  Bronson,  while 
in  the  northeast  comer  of  the  county  the  double  area  of  Girard  was  halved 
and  the  eastern  part  was  named  Butler. 

After  all  these  divisions  Quincy  remained  the  largest  township  in  the 
coumy.  But  on  April  2,  1838,  the  Quincy  as  we  know  it  to-day  came  into 
existence,  and  the  block  of  territory  south  of  it  to  the  state  line  was  named 
Algansee. 

The  county  now  had  thirteen  townships.  It  was  nearly  four  years  later, 
on  February  16,  1842,  when  Kinderhook  was  set  off  from  Ovid.  Noble  was 
named  and  permitted  to  form  its  own  government  apart  from  Bronson  on 
March  19,  1845.  Last  of  all  the  sixteen  townships  to  come  into  being, 
California  was  separated  from  Algansee  on  March  25,  1846.  It  was  not 
until  these  respective  dates,  of  course,  that  Ovid,  Bronson  and  Algansee 
assumed  the  area  which  each  now  has. 

For  the  past  sixty  years  there  has  been  no  further  change  of  civil 
boundaries  if  we  except  the  formation,  in  1861,  of  the  City  of  Coldwater 
within  the  area  of  Coldwater  township.  Three  names  that  once  designated 
areas  in  this  county  have  disappeared,  namely.  Green,  Prairie  River  and 
Elizabeth,  and  references  to  these  names  and  the  territory  they  represented 
would  be  the  only  source  of  confusion  to  the  present  generation  in  reading 
the  records  of  the  past. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  VTH. 

SETTLEMENT  AND  BEGINNINGS. 

Bronson. 

The  movement  of  settlers  along  the  Chicago  road  began  in  the  last 
two  years  of  the  twenties.  A  large  proportion,  perhaps,  of  those  who  went 
through  this  county  were  prospectors  for  homesteads;  that  is,  they  had  no 
definite  locality  in  mind,  but  were  merely  on  their  way  to  a  home  in  that 
vague  country  called  "  the  west,"  which  at  the  time  lay  anywhere  between 
the  Alleghany  and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Some  had  in  mind  the  prairies 
of  Illinois,  but  even  they  sometimes  stopped  before  reaching  that  destina- 
tion by  reason  of  having  found  the  land  of  their  heart's  desire  along  the 
route.  An  iliiistration  of  this  is  presented  in  the  case  of  a  Batavia  pioneer, 
John  Bassett.  Starting  from  his  home  in  New  York  state  in  1835,  he  had 
shipped  his  goods  by  canal  and  the  lakes  to  Chicago,  and  he  and  fan-rily 
came  overland  by  wagon,  his  purpose  being  to  settle  in  Illinois.  But  while 
spending  the  night  at  the  old  "  New  York  House  "  on  the  Chicago  road,  the 
Bassetts  discovered  an  old  friend  in  the  person  of  the  wife  of  the  landlord, 
William  Reynolds,  and  instead  of  resuming  the  journey  the  next  morning, 
were  induced  to  locate  a  home  in  Branch  county.  Not  on\y  that,  but  two 
other  families  traveling  with  the  Bassetts  also  chose  to  settle  here.  It  was 
no  easy  matter  to  bring  east  the  goods  that  had  been  shipped  to  Chicago,  but 
Mr.  Bassett  adhered  to  his  detenni nation,  and,  obtaining  a  homestead  in 
section  34,  became  one  of  the  substantial  citizens  of  Batavia. 

The  first  spot  along  the  road  to  attract  the  passing  emigrants  was  the 
burr-oak  plain  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  what  is  now  Bronson  township. 
In  1828  Jabe  Bronson,  a  Connecticut  shipwright  who  had  turned  pioneer,  in 
the  course  of  his  wandering  through  southern  Michigan  found  the  attrac- 
tions of  this  place  too  strong  to  resist,  and  remained  here  long  enough  to 
become  identified  with  history  as  the  first  settler  and  the  first  official  of 
Branch  county.  There  are  no  records  to  indicate  the  exact  motives  that 
caused  Mr.  Bronson  to  locate  where  he  did,  and  with  such  a  character  the 
ijeauty  of  the  country  and  its  location  along  the  Chicago  road  may  have 
fulfilled  all  the  conditions  that  would  satisfy  his  restless  nature.  The  fact 
that  he  made  a  taverji  of  his  log  house  and  accommodated  there  some  of  the 
first  emigrants  who  passed  through  the  county  is  itself  sufficient  reason  for 
his  location.  He  had  spent  the  summer  of  1827  in  raising  a  crop  in  St. 
Joseph  county,  and  thus  had  time  to  pick  out  what  he  beheved  the  most 
eligible  site  for  a  home  and  place  of  business. 


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43  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

By  Sqjtember,  1830,  six  families  had  settled  on  Branson's  Prairie. 
This  is  on  the  authority  of  the  late  Wales  Adams,  who  passed  through  that 
locality  at  that  date,  and  who  named  the  heads  of  the  families  as  follows: 
Seth  Dunham,  who  was  then  supervisor  of  Green  township;  Jabe  Bronson, 
who  besides  acting  as  landlord  was  the  justice  of  the  peace;  John  J.  Rich- 
ardson, constable  and  collector;  Samuel  Smith,  who  had  come  in  1829  and 
was  by  trade  a  cooper,  ahhough  owning  a  farm  and  engaging  in  its  duties 
as  nearly  all  the  pioneers  did ;  Jeremiah  Tillotson,  who  had  located  there  in 
the  spring  of  1829  and  become  a  competitor  of  Jabe  Bronson  as  inn-keeper, 
and  whose  position  in  the  community  is  evidenced  by  his  election  as  the  first 
sui>ervisor  of  Prairie  River  township ;  and  Samuel  Haslet. 

This  community  was  the  nucleus  of  Bronson  village.  Already  in  1829 
a  postoffice  had  been  established  in  the  house  of  Jabe  Bronson.  In  1833 
came  David  and  AJonzo  Waterman,  and  in  part  of  the  building  which  they 
erected  on  the  east  side  of  the  present  village  they  placed  a  small  stock  of 
such  things  as  a  pioneer  community  would  buy,  and  thus  inaugurated  the 
commercial  side  of  the  settlement.  It  seems  that  these  men  might  well  be 
given  the  honor  of  founding  the  village  of  Bronson,  for  they  made  the 
original  plat  of  the  village,  to  which  they  gave  the  name  "  York,"  This 
name  was  changed  to  Bronson  by  the  same  legislative  act  which  gave  the 
name  of  the  first  settler  to  the  township. 

At  this  point  it  is  not  our  purpose  to  give  in  detail  the  history  of  Bronson 
village,  but  rather  to  indicate  the  extension  of  settlement  with  the  Chicago 
road  as  the  central  axis  and  directing  force.  Jabe  Bronson  moved  away 
about  1836.  and  his  log  tavern  was  occupied  soon  after  by  E,  L.  Rose,  wlio 
had  come  from  Niagara  county,  New  Y'ork,  and  who  in  1838  built  the  well 
known  "  Rose  House,"  which  stood  on  the  north  side  of  Chicago  street.  In 
1837.  on  the  south  side  of  Chicago  street,  and  a  short  distance  west  of  Rug- 
gles  street,  Mr.  James  Ruggles  built  a  frame  house  in  which  he  lived  and 
kept  public  house  for  sixteen  years. 

In  the  meanwhile  many  other  historic  settlements  bad  been  made  along 
the  great  road  in  Bronson  town.  To  describe  one  of  the  most  important  of 
them  no  quotation  could  be  so  apt  as  one  drawn  from  the  oft-quoted  histori- 
cal sketch  prepared  by  Wales  Adams  for  the  Branch  Countv  Directory  of 
1870. 

"They  (Wales  Adams  and  Willard  Pierce)  traveled — after  stopping 
at  Bronson's  prairie  in  September,  1S70,  as  above  referred  to — through  the 
counties  of  St.  Joseph  and  Kalamazoo  and  saw  many  beautiful  and  unoccu- 
pied locations;  but  unaccustomed  to  agricultural  pursuits  and  country  h"fe, 
they  knew  not  in  what  business  to  engage.  After  much  reflection  they  con- 
cluded to  retrace  their  steps.  Accordingly,  about  the  first  of  October,  they 
left  Prairie  Ronde  in  the  morning,  followed  the  trail  through  Nottawa  and 
reached  the  Chicago  trail  about  an  hour  after  sunset,  five  miles  west  of  Bron- 
son prairie  and  near  where  the  Chicago  road  now  crosses  Prairie  River." 
Here  he  states  that  the  road  to  Bronson  was  circuitous  and  difficult  to  fol- 
low— an  interesting  side  light  on  the  condition  of  the  Chicago  road  at  that 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  43 

time.  While  debating  whether  to  continue  the  journey  to  Bronson  or  to 
remain  without  shelter  in  the  wiiderness,  the  tired  travelers  discovered  the 
camp  of  an  emigrant  party  consisting  of  Resin  Holmes  and  Thomas  Holmes 
wit!)  their  families,  who  had  come  from  Marion  county,  Ohio,  and  were 
on  their  way  further  west.  Adams  and  his  friend  having  been  accommo- 
dated over  night  in  their  roadside  quarters,  "  the  next  morning,"  to  resume 
Mr.  Adams'  narrative,  "  the  parties  examined  tlie  surrounding  country,  and 
before  night  it  was  stipulated  tliat  Pierce  and  Adams  should  build  a  sawmill 
where  the  Chicago  trail  at  that  time  crossed  Prairie  river,  and  that  the 
Holmeses  should  settle  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  Accordingly,  in  the  course 
of  a  few  days,  Pierce  went  on  foot  to  Monroe,  where  the  land  office  was  then 
ideated,  entered  the  land,  and  returned  by  the  way  of  Detroit;  purchased  the 
mill  irons  and  shipped  them  around  the  lakes  to  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Joseph 
river,  and  from  thence  up  the  river  to  Mottville.  The  following  July  (1831) 
the  mill  was  in  operation.  Mr.  Pierce  became  dissatisfied  with  the  country 
and  with  the  business  of  making  himber,  sold  his  interest  in  the  sawmill  to 
William  A.  Kent,  and  returned  east." 

Interesting  as  is  the  story  of  origin  of  this  settlement,  there  is  httle  to 
cdimect  this  place  with  the  subsequent  history  of  the  township.  The  site 
cliosen  for  the  mill  (in  the  northwest  corner  of  section  29),  was  in  the  dense 
woods  and  low  and  swampy  groiflid  that  did  not  attract  settlers  looking  for 
farms.  The  sawmill  was  an  institution  of  great  value  to  the  settlers  for 
miles  around,  but  the  dam  was  considered  a  nuisance  and  after  it  was  swept 
away  by  high  water  no  attempt  was  made  to  rebuild.  "  Adams  Mills  "  was 
llie  |5lace  at  which  Bishop  Chase  stopped  over  night  and  where  he  received 
tlie  information  which  led  him  to  settle  in  Gilead.  The  Bishop  mentions  the 
landlord  Judson,  who  had  come  from  New  York  state  in  the  fall  of  1831 
and  had  established  a  tavern  at  this  point  maittly  for  the  accommodation  of 
those  employed  at  the  mill.  The  Bishop  also  held  services  here,  to  wh-ich 
nil  the  settlers  came. 

At  the  Judson  House  was  established  the  Prairie  River  postoffice  in 
1832,  with  Judson  as  the  first  postmaster,  followed  by  William  A.  Kent.  The 
office  was  discontinued  on  the  completion  of  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad  tlirougb 
this  locality. 

Yet  another  instance  may  l)e  related  of  how  one  thing  leads  to  another 
ill  the  settlement  of  a  new  country.  In  the  winter  of  1S31-32  there  arrived 
at  the  Adams  mill  from  the  state  of  New  York  a  man  named  Alfred  I* 
Diiggs,  Without  independent  means  and  seeking  employment,  he  obtained 
a  place  with  Mr.  Adams  as  sawyer  in  the  mill.  He  was  ambitious  to  buikl 
;iiid  ojjerate  a  mill  on  his  own  account,  and  assisted  by  Mr.  Adams  as  security 
he  bought  the  necessary  material  at  Detroit,  he  had  if  shipped  to  Mottville, 
as  Adams  and  Pierce  had  previously  done,  and  from  there  was  brought  by 
ox  team  and  wagon  to  Branch  county.  The  location  selected  for  this  enter- 
pn,sc  was  on  Swan  creek  in  the  northeast  corner  of  section  17.  a  short  dis- 
tance north  of  the  present  line  of  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad.  The  mill  was 
limit,   and   its   operation   gave   anodier   industry   to   Bronson   township.      In 


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44  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

June,  1836,  the  property  was  sold  to  Jonathan  and  Samuel  Holmes.  These 
men  were  from  the  state  of  New  Hampshire.  Samuel  never  became  a  resi- 
dent of  this  county.  Jonathan  was  one  of  the  best  known  of  Bronson 
pioneer  citizens.  In  September,  1837,  he  brought  his  family  to.his  new  loca- 
tion in  this  county,  the  mill  in  the  meantime  having  been  run  by  his  brother- 
in-law,  David  Taggart.  After  much  delay  he  finally  completed  and  had 
ready  for  operation  in  1839  the  first  grist  mill  in  the  township.  For  thirty 
years  the  Holmes  mill  ground  corn  and  wheat  for  settlers  in  all  the  surround- 
ing country.  As  an  institution  in  the  development  of  the  country  its  im- 
portance is  clear.  Early  settlers  everywhere  have  had  to  contend  with  that 
paramount  need  of  getting  bread-stuff,  and  when  it  was  necessary  to  go  long 
distances,  over  almost  impassable  roads,  with  a  load  of  corn  or  wheat,  be 
obliged  to  wait  at  the  mill  several  days  and  nights  for  their  "turn,"  the 
entire  trip  often  consuming  a  week  or  more  of  time,  it  is  easy  to  comprehend 
how  essentia!  such  a  mill  as  that  just  described  was  to  rapid  settlement. 

By  the  census  of  1837  Bronson  township  contained  635  inhabitants, 
ranking  second  among  the  townships  of  the  county.  But  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  at  this  date  Bronson  township  incUided  the  territory  from  which 
have  since  been  formed  Mattesou  and  NoTjle  townships.  With  this  modifi- 
cation the  population  is  clearly  not  so  concentrated  as  would  otherwise  be 
supposed.  Bronson's  prairie,  of  course,  was  the  central  and  largest  group, 
but  as  just  indicated  there  were  other  centralizing  points,  and  more  important 
stii!,  there  was  a  gradual  extension  of  population  over  all  the  available  terri- 
tory. This  extension  can  only  be  stated  in  general  terms.  Only  the  "high 
lights  "  of  settlement  can  be  portrayed  in  a  work  that  must  stop  far  short  of 
being  encyclopedic  and  at  the  same  time  tedious. 

Bethel. 

Since  we  have  taken  the  Chicago  road  as  the  central  theme  in  our  nar- 
rative of  the  settlement  and  growth  of  Branch  county,  and  having  begun 
with  Bronson  prairie  as  the  chronological  starting  point  of  this  narrative, 
it  will  prove  not  uninteresting  to  pursue  the  subject  in  like  manner,  consid- 
ering the  townships  through  the  center  of  the  county  successively  from  west 
to  east. 

Going  east  from  Bronson  the  Chicago  road  next  enters  the  town  of 
Bethel,  passing  through  the  northwest  corner.  Since  so  much  emphasis 
has  been  placed  on  routes  of  travel  as  factors  in  the  development  of  this 
county,  it  is  preliminary  to  the  following  paragraphs  to  state  that  Bethel 
township  had  two  other  roads  that  influenced  early  settlement.  One  was  the 
old  Indian  road  already  mentioned,  running  from  Adams  mill  along  Prairie 
river  across  the  southwest  corner  of  Bethel  township.  The  other  was  the 
state  road,  authorized  by  the  legislature  in  March,  1S36,  and  running  centrally 
across  the  county  from  north  to  south  toward  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana.  This 
road,  however,  was  not  immediately  constructed,  and  did  not  become  a 
large   factor  in  the  very  early  settlement  of  the  south  part  of  the  county. 


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HISTO'RY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  45 

It  runs  along  the  eastern  Lx^rder  of  the  town  of  Bethel,  and  when  built  be- 
came a  route  much  traveled  by  immigrants. 

As  to  the  original  topography  of  this  township,  it  has  been  stated  that 
the  timber  lands  and  the  burr-oak  openings  were  about  of  eqvial  extent,  so 
that  its  attractiveness  to  early  settlers  would  compare  favorably  with  that 
of  other  townships.  When  the  process  of  settlement  was  practically  com- 
plete, the  population  of  Bethel  was  equal  to  that  of  any  of  the  townshipis 
except  those  containing  villages  or  cities.  None  the  less,  Bethel  township  re- 
ceiA'cd  the  smallest  proportion  of  the  early  settlers  of  all  the  townships  trav- 
ersed by  the  Chicago  road.  This  is  shown  by  the  figures  of  the  census  of 
T837.  which  gave  Bethel  (or  Elizabeth  as  it  was  still  called)  township  only 
177  inhabitants.     An  outline  of  Bethel  beginnings  may  be  briefly  given. 

The  article  by  Wales  Adams  already  quoted  tells  of  Bethel's  first  settler. 
"A  Mr.  Snow  (EJeazer  Snow)  boarded  with  Mr.  Tillotson  {at  Bronson  in 
tS^o),  and  was  cultivating  a  patch  of  corn  and  potatoes  without  a  fence, 
alxjut  three  miles  east  of  Bronscwi,  at  a  place  now  called  '  Snow  Prairie.'  " 
This  was  the  first  improvement  commenced  in  Bethel,  and  likewise  gave  to  the 
locality  the  name  it  has  ever  since  borne.  This  first  settler  is  thus  honored 
more  by  accident  of  time  and  circumstance  rather  than  as  a  builder.  He  was 
of  the  restless,  wandering  sort,  and  in  the  fall  of  1831  sold  out  his  claims  and 
improvements  to  Moses  Olmstead,  a  man  of  sturdier  mold.  It  was  at  the 
letter's  home  that  the  first  town  meeting  was  held.  Of  his  sons,  Lyman  Olm- 
sead  was  for  thirty  years  one  of  the  substantial  citizens  of  Bethel. 

In  the  following  years  other  accessions  to  the  Snow  Prairie  settlement 
were  made,  and  it  is  one  of  the  oldest  distinct  localities  in  the  county. 

The  best  farming  land  of  the  township  lay  in  the  southwest  comer,  and 
it  was  there,  along  the  Indian  road  above  mentioned,  that  the  strongest  settle- 
ment was  made.  First  of  all  are  the  names  of  the  Freeman  and  Marsh  fami- 
lies. They  increase  the  list  of  strong  pioneers  that  Onondaga  coimty,  New 
York,  gave  to  Branch  county.  Having  entered  land  in  the  timbered  region 
nf  I^nawee  county,  Mr.  Isaac  Freeman,  in  the  fall  of  1834,  started  west 
by  the  Erie  Canal  and  Lake  Erie  to  Detroit,  and  then  overland  to  Ypsilanti. 
There  he  met  a  man  from  Jackson  Prairie,  Indiana,  who  convinced  him  of 
the  far  superior  advantages  of  the  burr-oak  region  over  the  timber  lands 
of  I^nawee  county.  Determined  to  see  this  country  before  settling  perma- 
nently on  his  first  claim,  Mr.  Freeman  came  on  west  to  Bronson  township, 
and  then  southeast  along  the  road  leading  to  Jackson  prairie.  The  region 
of  Bethel  and  Gilead  townships  through  which  he  passed  fulfilled  all  his  ex- 
pectations, and  he  at  once  returned  to  Ypsilanti  to  bring  on  his  familv  and 
his  goods.  The  Marsh  family,  consisting  of  the  mother  and  four  sons, 
Ebenezer,  Daniel,  Wallace  and  John,  had  accompanied  Mr.  Freeman  on  his 
prospecting  trip,  and  when  all  were  once  more  united  they  moved  into  a 
house  on  section  5  in  Gilead  township,  half  a  mile  south  of  the  Bethel  line. 
Soon  after  Mr.  Freeman  bought  land  in  section  30,  of  Bethel,  and  later  in 
section  32.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  community  in  southwest  Bethel. 
Others  came  soon  after,  among  whom  should  be  mentioned  the  Scotchman, 


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46  HISTO'RY  OF  BRA^XH  COUNTY 

James  Bemiie,  whose  first  experiences  in  Branch  county  were  connected 
with  the  Bishop  Chase  estabhshment,  and  who  in  1836  located  on  the  south- 
east quarter  of  section  31  in  Bethel.  About  the  same  time  the  families  of  Mc- 
Millan, McWilliams  and  Olds  located  in  this  vicinity.  Mrs.  Margaret  Mc- 
Millan and  sons,  Stephen  and  James,  bought  land  in  sections  29  and  30,  near 
Prairie  river,  building  their  house  on  what  was  known  as  the  Bronson  road, 
a  short  distance  north  of  the  section  line.  Philander  Olds  bought  a  small 
plat  of  land  in  section  29,  and  had  a  cooper  shop  there  several  years.  Ebenezer 
Green  and  sons,  Amos  and  Silas  S..  were  other  accessions  to  this  settlement, 
their  land  being  on  section  30. 

A  sudden  illness  was  the  cause  that  deprived  the  state  of  Illinois  of  a 
party  of  settlers  and  gave  them  to  north  Bethel.  Daniel  Smead,  at  the 
head  of  his  family  of  eleven  persons,  had  halted  for  the  night  at  the  Taylor 
Tavern,  and  while  there  was  prostrated  by  a  disease  which  precluded  the 
possibility  of  further  progress.  It  was  in  the  month  of  November,  1835,  that 
the  party  stopped  there,  and  being  compelled  to  spend  the  rest  of  the  winter 
there,  the  sons  spent  the  time  in  prospecting  ateut  the  surrounding  country 
and  were  so  pleased  that  they  determined  to  locate  permanently  instead  o£ 
continuing  the  journey  to  Illinois.  The  father,  on  recovering  from  his 
illness,  was  brought  to  the  same  way  of  thinking,  and  early  the  next  vear 
they  entered  a  large  tract  of  land  in  sections  3,  4  and  9,  of  Bethel  township. 
Two  of  the  sons,  Morgan  L.  and  Lyman  Smead,  lived  there  nearly  half  a 
century. 

By  the  state  road  from  Coldwater  there  came  into  the  eastern  sections 
of  the  township  the  families  of  Heman  Lake.  Origen  Bingham.  Lemuel 
Bingham,  Adam  Bower,  Thomas  Judson,  Lyman  Seymour,  Timothy  Colby, 
Job  Devol  and  Otis  Davis,  all  being  from  Erie  county.  New  York,  and 
coming  to  this  county  in  1S36.  Most  of  them  settled  in  section  25,  about  the 
Bethel  postoffice  neighborhood,  and  all  had  their  homes  adjacent  to  the  state 
road. 

It  has  been  stated  that  at  the  census  of  1837  there  were  177  persons  in 
Bethel  township.  It  is  likely  that  the  township  officers  elected  at  the  first 
town  meeting,  held  in  the  spring  of  the  same  year,  would  fairly  represent 
the  citizenship  at  that  time,  and  for  that  reason  their  names  are  given,  as 
follows :  Elijah  Thomas,  David  M.  Clark,  Silas  S.  Green,  Isaac  Freernan, 
David  Cummings,  Ebenezer  Green,  Daniel  Smead,  Moses  Olmstead,  Jr.' 
Lauriston  Smead,  Stephen  McMillan,  Morgan  Smead.  Phillip  Olmstead  Mor- 
gan Johnston,  O:  Dickinson,   Samuel  Handy,  James  Thurston. 

Batavia. 

In  October,  1837.  Batavia  township  had  357  inhabitants.  When  one 
considers  the  position  of  this  township  both  with  reference  to  the  Chicago 
road  which  runs  for  four  miles  across  its  southeast  corner,  and  to  the  village 
of  Branch'  which  lay  close  to  the  east  line  of  Batavia,  it  will  be  possible  to  judge 
beforehand  about  where  this  population  of  1837  was  largely  located.     Topog- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  47 

raphy  also  played  its  part  in  the  shaping  of  settlement.  Mill  creek  running 
from  northeast  to  southwest  gave  a  strip  of  low  land  along  its  banks  in  the 
central  portion  of  the  township.  Between  this  strip  and  the  line  of  the 
Chicago  road  was  the  oak-openings  land,  which  seems  to  have  been  favored 
most  in  the  settlement. 

In  the  northwest  corner  of  section  25,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Chicago 
road,  Timothy  R.  Wallace,  in  1832,  established  the  first  public  house  in  this 
township.  Five  years  later  it  was  purchased  by  Leonard  Taylor,  a  New 
York  state  settler,  and  under  his  ten  years'  management  became  known  far 
and  wide  as  the  "  Taylor  House,"  and  still  later  as  the  "  Batavia  House." 
During  the  twenty  years  before  the  coming  of  the  railroad,  thousands  of  emi- 
grants must  have  stopped  there,  and  in  many  ways  it  was  a  part  oif  the 
pioneer  life. 

Even  more  noted  was  the  "  New  York  House."  a  log  tavern  on  section 
■^3  on  the  south  side  of  the  Chicago  road,  built  in  1833  by  Jeremiah  Tillotson, 
the  first  supervisor  of  Prairie  River  township.  About  a  year  later  the  house 
and  tlie  farm  were  sold  to  the  Reynolds  family,  who  had  come  from  Genesee 
county,  New  York.  Tliis  family,  so  long  identified  with  this  portion  of  the 
county,  consisted  of  the  father,  Alpheus,  and  his  sons,  Alpheus,  William, 
Lewis,  Jacob  and  John.  The  "  New  York  House  "  had  the  distinction  of 
being  a  stage  station.  A  stage  station  was  not  so  important  to  the  sur- 
rounding locality  as  a  railroad  station  of  later  date,  but  many  a  village  that 
grew  up  along  the  Chicago  road  dated  its  history  from  the  time  when  the 
,st.iges  began  making  their  over-night  halts  at  that  point.  And  for  a  time  it 
seemed  likely  that  the  "  New  York  House "  would  be  the  nucleus  of  a 
village,  for  about  a  dozen  houses  were  grouped  around  the  station.  The 
railroad  was  built,  the  stage  coach  ceased  to  arri\'e,  and  the  community  dis- 
integrated. It  is  of  interest  that  the  first  town  meeting  of  Batavia  was  held 
at  this  place,  in  1836. 

The  next  important  settlement  was  made  at  the  east  side  of  the  town- 
ship. In  the  southwest  corner  of  section  24,  Abel  Olds  settled  in  1834. 
His  brother,  Martin  Olds,  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  early  settlers, 
came  in  June  of  that  year.  He  journeyed  hither  from  Ohio,  and  passing 
through  Coldwater  halted  at  the  Wallace  House  already  mentioned.  Here 
his  family  remained  until  he  had  completed  his  land  entries,  which  were  made 
in  the  oak-openings  of  sections  13  and  14.  His  house  was  built  at  the 
southwest  comer  of  section  13.  Martin  Olds  became  the  first  supervisor 
of  this  township,  and  was  later  probate  judge  of  the  county. 

John  H.  Stephens,  one  of  the  early  sheriffs  of  Branch  county,  also  settled 
on  section  14  about  a  year  after  Mr.  Olds,  his  farm  being  located  along  the 
state  road.     Another  neighbor  of  Mr.  Olds  was  Allen  Stoddard. 

Tliere  was  soon  a  settler  on  every  section  of  the  land  south  and  east 
of  Mill  creek.  The  circumstances  connected  with  the  settlement  of  John 
Bassett  on  section  34  have  been  recounted.  In  1835  the  first  blacksmith 
shop  in  the  town  was  established  in  section  2S,  its  proprietor  being  John 
Woodruff.     In  the  same  section,  on  Mil!  creek,  was  located,   in   1836,  the 


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48  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

first  sawmill  of  the  township,  long  known  as  the  "  Woodard  Mill."  It  was 
built  by  Alphens,  William  and  John  Reynolds,  but  was  later  owned  by 
Samuel  Woodard,  hence  its  name.  Here,  too,  was  the  site  of  a  boom  town, 
"  Lawtonville,"  whose  location  was  described  as  beautiful  and  whose  lots 
were  sold  in  the  east  to  any  credulous  purchaser  who  was  willing  to  take  a 
well  executed  village  plat  as  evidence  of  a  flourishing  village. 

In  1836  Benjamin  Olmstead  and  Philo  Porter  located  on  section  27.  The 
latter  served  two  terms  as  sheriff  of  the  county.  In  1838  another  tavern  was 
opened  along  the  road,  in  section  34,  by  Sainuel  H.  Gary,  a  settler  of  that 
year  from  Ithaca,  New  York.  He  also  gave  the  name  to  Gary's  Lake,  and 
when  the  government  consented  to  the  estabHshment  of  a  postoffice  in  this 
town  in  1840,  he  became  first  postmaster.  On  the  building  of  the  railroad 
the  office  was  moved  and  became  the  central  institution  of  the  little  hamlet 
since  known  as  Batavia.  The  office  was-kept  in  another  of  the  Chicago  road 
hostelries,  the  "  Dudley  House,"  which  had  been  built  by  Albert  Dudley. 

That  the  sections  just  mentioned  contained  the  bulk  of  the  early  popu- 
lation, finds  additional  proof  in  the  fact  that  when,  in  1835,  ^^^  citizens 
decided  they  needed  a  school  they  built  the  first  one  in  section  13.  A  year 
later  the  site  was  changed  to  a  location  on  the  Chicago  road  in  section  27. 
The  second  district,  organized  in  the  winter  of  1836-37,  had  its  building  on 
section  25,  the  land  being  donated  by  Timothy  R,  Wallace. 

The  names  of  the  first  settlers  already  mentioned  find  repetition  in  the 
record  of  the  first  town  meeting  of  Batavia,  held  in  April,  1S36.  The  fol- 
lowing are  the  men  who  were  chosen  at  that  meeting  to  act  as  officials  of  the 
township :  Alphens  Reynolds,  Martin  Olds,  J.  H.  Stephens,  Jabe  Bronson 
(who  hved  in  Batavia  after  leaving  Bronson),  Samuel  Woodard,  L.  Taylor, 
Abel  Olds,  Morgan  Smead,  Shirlock  Cook.  Amasa  Miller,  T.  R.  Wallace, 
James  L.  Young,  Ira  Gifford,  George  D.  Babbet,  Horace  Field,  John  Bas- 
sett,  John  M.  Chapin,  Moses  Olmstead,  Benjamin  Parker,  John  Woodruff. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  IX. 
SETTLEMENT  AND  BEGINNINGS  (CONTINUED). 

COLDWATER    ToWNSIIIP. 

When  the  census  of  1837  was  taken,  Branch  county  had  ten  townships. 
Of  these  Cbldwater  was  by  much  the  most  populous.;  indeed,  it  contained 
nearly  a  fourth  of  the  entire  population  of  the  county.  That  ratio  has  been 
maintained  practically  throughout  the  subsequent  seventy  years.  Approxi- 
mately, a  quarter  of  the  entire  population  of  Branch  county  now  live  in 
Coldwater  township,  including  Coldwater  city. 

Coldwater  township  did  not  receive,  the  first  settlers  of  Branch  county. 
This  is  a  circumstance  retjuiring  some  attempt  at  explanation.  It  might 
ha\-e  been  an  accident  of  history.  But  when  we  consider  that  the  west- 
bound emigrants  saw  the  beautiful  plain  known  as  Coldwater  Prairie  before 
they  reached  Bronson's  Prairie,  it  is  pertinent  to  ask  why  the  nucleus  of  the 
county's  settlement  was  formed  at  Bronson,  that  Jabe  Bronson's  house  was 
the  first  civic  center,  rather  than  on  Coldwater  prairie. 

Major  Abraham  Edwards,  of  Kalamazoo,  who  went  along  the  Chicago 
trail  in  August,  1828,  stated  that  on  the  site  of  the  village  of  Coldwater  was 
an  Indian  trading  post  kept  by  Beaubien  and  that  on  the  prairie  adjacent 
was  a  large  Indian  settlement.  The  same  traveler  found  Bronson  settled  on 
his  prairie,  and  both  Hillsdale  county  on  the  east,  and  St.  Joseph  county 
on  the  west  had  begun  to  be  settled.  But  the  existence  of  a  large  Indian 
reserve  in  central  Branch  county  and  the  presence  of  a  number  of  Indians  in 
)Kissession  of  one  of  the  most  eligible  regions  along  the  Chicago  road,  would 
seem  to  be  sufficient  explanation  of  the  fact  that  no  settlement  had  yet  Ijcen 
attempted  there. 

At  the  Chicago  treaty  of  August,  1821,  the  Indians  of  southern  Mich- 
igan ceded  to  the  government  all  their  lands  except  five  comparatively  small 
reservations,  on  which  it  was  the  policy  of  the  government  to  collect  the 
various  bands  and  retain  them  until  the  convenient  season  should  arrive  for 
removing  all  the  tribes  to  the  west.  The  "  Mick-ke-saw-be  "  reservation, 
which  was  one  of  the  five,  was  located  wholly  in  Branch  county.  It  was  six 
miles  square,  and  comprised  the  eastern  two-thirds  of  what  is  now  Coldwater 
township,  and  the  western  one-third  of  the  present  Quincy  township.  How- 
ever, in  compliance  with  the  request  of  the  Indians,  the  west  boundary  of 
the  reserve  was  run  sixty  rods  west  of  the  appropriate  section  line  in  Cold- 
water  township,  and  the  same  was  true  of  the  east  boundary  in  Quincy 
township. 

Thus  the  greater  part  of  the  present  Coldwater  township  was  an  Indian 


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60  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

reserve,  until  it  was  ceded  to  the  United  States  by  a  treaty  of  September, 
1827.  Notwithstanding  this  treaty,  the  Indians  did  not  at  once  quit  their  old 
reserve  in  this  county,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  their  presence  acted  as 
a  retarding  influence  on  settlement  for  at  least  a  year  or  so  after  the  treaty 
of  1827. 

But  with  a  population  of  960  in  October,  1837,  Coldwater  township 
must  have  been  settled  very  rapidly  between  1830  and  that  date.  In  the  other 
townships  we  have  indicated  the  focal  points  of  settlement  and  the  general 
directions  of  growth.  In  Coldwater  township  the  prominent  facts  are  con- 
cerned with  the  county  seat  at  Branch  and  with  the  gradually  overshadowing 
importance  of  Coldwater  village.  Therefore,  the  story  of  beginnings  in 
Coldwater  township  becomes  the  story  of  the  origin  of  Coldwater  City, 
around  which  the  rest  of  the  township  extends  as  a  fringe  to  the  central 
coinmercia)  and  social  area. 

A  little  more  than  seventy-five  years  ago,  not  a  habitation  nor  institu- 
tion of  white  man  existed  on  the  ground  now  covered  by  Coldwater  city. 
The  Chicago  trail,  entering  at  the  center  of  the  east  line  of  the  township, 
continued  a  distance  of  one  mile  over  the  gravelly  drift  ridges  that  were 
once  the  east  shore  of  a  large  lake,  and  then  descended,  at  what  is  known  as 
the  Fisk  schoolhouse,  to  a  plain  of  burr-oak  openings,  almost  perfectly  level, 
and  stretching  to  the  west  for  a  distance  of  over  three  miles  until  the  trough 
of  the  Coldwater  river  and  the  chain  of  marl  lakes  is  reached.  Along  the  trail 
a  small  band  of  Indians  still  had  their  homes,  and  there  was  an  Indian  trading 
post  near  the  east  side  of  the  prairie,  and  another  on  the  ground  now  occupied 
by  the  cemetery.  From  the  point  where  the  trail  came  to  the  level,  a  ridge  of 
gentle  ascent  passed  around  the  northwest,  while  to  the  southwest  a  more 
prominent  acclivity,  since  known  as  the  Warner  hills,  seemed  to  guard  and 
give  direction  to  the  little  stream  that  wound  at  its  northern  base. 

At  this  point,  at  the  eastern  edge  of  Coldwater  prairie,  there  settled,  in 
1830,  Abram  F.  Bolton  and  John  Morse,  on  the  east  part  of  section  23.  This 
was  "  university  land,"  and  had  not  yet  come  into  market,  consequently  these 
men,  and  those  who  became  their  neighbors,  were  "  squatters."  They  built  a 
log  cabin  of  two  rooms,  which  they  opened  to  the  use  of  the  traveling  public 
as  the  lirst  hotel  in  the  vicinity.  Here  also  was  held  the  first  town  meeting  of 
Coldwater  township,  and  the  "  Morse  Tavern  "  belongs  among  the  institu- 
tions of  early  Branch  county.  Another  well  known  family  that  settled  on 
these  university  lands  east  of  Coldwater  were  the  Arnolds,  who  located  there 
in  1833,  and  who  soon  after  became  identified  prominently  with  Quincy  town- 
ship. 

But  this  was  not  the  only  event  of  that  year  of  beginnings,  1830.  Lem- 
uel Bingham  put  up  his  cabin  near  the  house  of  the  Indian  trader,  Phineas 
Bonner,  also  near  the  east  side  of  the  prairie,  and  there  established  a  black- 
smith shop,  at  which  many  an  emigrant's  horses  were  shod  and  wagons 
mended. 

In  another  important  event  of  that  year,  Mr,  A.  F.  Bolton  was  con- 
cerned.    Although,  as  stated,  he  had  located  with  Morse  at  the  east  end 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  51 

of  the  prairie  when  he  brought  his  family  here  in  1830,  in  1829  he  had  been 
over  this  ground  and  had  purchased  a  tract  of  land  on  the  east  side  of  Cold- 
water  river  where  the  Chicago  road  crossed  the  stream.  In  the  summer  of 
1830  the  three  commissioners  appointed  to  locate  the  spot  where  the  county 
seat  should  stand  when  the  county  was  organized  came  to  transact  their  busi- 
ness in  Branch  county.  Mr.  Bolton  at  once  became  an  interested  party,  and 
explained  convincingly  the  eligibility  of  his  land  for  the  purposes  intended. 
As  one  looks  back  from  the  present,  it  seems  that  the  commissioners  exercised 
good  judgment  in  locating  the  site  of  the  future  court  house  on  the  east  bank 
of  Coldwater  river  near  where  the  bridge  is  located;  for  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  village  of  Coldwater  had  not  yet  begun,  and  few  spots  along 
tjie  Chicago  road,  and  in  the  central  area  of  the  county,  offered  more  advan- 
tages than  the  one  selected.  But  the  commissioners  had  failed  to  be  "  sworn 
in  "  before  proceeding  with  the  exeaition  of  their  duties,  and  for  that  reason 
iheir  action  in  "  sticking  the  stake  "  on  Mr.  Bolton's  land  was  invalid.  Had 
their  work  been  legal,  the  history  of  the  Branch  county  seat  and  of  Cold- 
water  city  might  have  been  different. 

This  event  leads  us  to  the  brief  recital  of  the  ephemeral  existence  of  the 
village  of  "  Masonville,"  which  long  since  became  an  empty  name,  and  whose 
site  many  years  ago  was  absorbed  in  the  growing  city  of  Coldwater.  Mason- 
ville was  the  name  given,  probably  by  Mr.  Bolton,  to  the  prospective  village 
that  would  inevitably  grow  up  around  the  county  seat.  Furthermore,  at  the 
spot  now  occupied  by  the  cemetery,  there  had  been  for  some  years  an  Indian 
trailing  post,  and  as  early  as  :83i  Roland  Root  and  James  B.  Stuart  were 
engaged  in  merchandising  there,  principally  with  the  Indians.  About  the 
(iame  time  Mr.  Bolton  had  procured  the  services  of  two  carpenters,  and  just 
east  of  the  river,  on  his  land,  had  a  frame  hotel  constructed.  The  "  BoHon 
House,"  according  to  the  authority  of  the  late  Dr.  W.  B.  Sprague,  was  kept 
for  awhile  by  such  well  known  men  as  EJisha  Warren  and  Harvey  Warner, 
and  in  18.33  Passed  into  the  hands  of  James  E.  Stuart,  who  was  a  very  popu- 
lar landlord.  Shortly  after  his  death  the  hotel  burned,  and  so  far  as  known 
that  was  the  last  page  in  the  history  of  Masonville,  which  had  once  aspired 
to  be  the  county  seat  and  commercial  center  of  Branch  county. 

For  the  time  being  the  western  side  of  the  township  was  in  the  lead. 
Ill  1830  John  Toole,  the  schoolmaster  and  pioneer  of  Eronson,  had  begun 
the  construction  of  a  sawmill  on  the  west  branch  of  the  Coldwater,  on  sec- 
tion 30,  at  the  site  of  the  historic  Black  Hawk  mills.  The  work  progressed 
slowly,  and  during  the  same  year  Seth  Dunham,  John  Allen  and  others  took 
a  share  in  the  enterprise.  Toole  became  discouraged  and  left,  but  the  others 
had  the  mill  in  operation  by  the  spring  of  183 1,  Mr.  Allen  being  in,  charge. 
This  was  the  first  sawmill  in  the  county,  and  from  it  the  settlement  at  Cold- 
water  obtained  its  lumber  for  several  years. 

Village  of  Branch. 
Half  a  mile  north  of  this  mill  site  the  land  rises  rather  abruptly  from 
the  river  and   forms   a   well   defined  eminence.     On  this  broad  surface  the 


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52  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

three  commissioners  appointed  imder  an  act  of  March  4,  1831,  formally 
located  the  county  seat  of  Branch  county.  Mr.  Bolton  tried  without  effect 
to  prevail  on  them  to  accept  the  original  but  invalid  location  of  Masonville. 
No  settlement  or  improvements  had  been  made  on  the  spot  thus  designated 
for  the  county  seat ;  but  no  censure  can  attach  to  the  commissioners  on  that 
account.  Nothing  resembling  a  village  had  yet  appeared  in  this  vicinity; 
and  their  choice  not  being  circumscribed  except  in  a  general  way,  the  com- 
missioners selected  what  at  that  time  must  have  seemed  the  most  suitable 
spot  for  the  civic  center  of  the  county. 

This  action  of  the  commissioners  gave  official  cause  for  the  existence  of 
the  "  village  of  Branch."  There  yet  remained  two  years  before  the  seijarate 
organization  of  the  county  when  this  county  seat  should  really  become  a  place 
for  the  transaction  of  county  business;  but  men  of  judgment  were  on  hand 
to  make  the  most  of  the  opportunity  thus  presented.  EJisha  Warren  and 
others  purchased  all  the  land  about  the  site,  and  at  once  laid  out  a  village. 

The  fortunes  of  the  village  are  soon  told.  A  few  of  the  old  pioneers 
lived  there  and  were  identified  with  the  only  years  of  prosperity  the  village 
had.  Seth  Dunham,  the  first  county  treasurer  and  one  of  the  proprietors 
of  the  mill  near  by,  was  one.  Another  was  Harvey  Warner,  who,  born  in 
Warren  county.  New  York,  in  1809,  had  come  from  Monroe  county,  that 
state,  by  the  Chicago  road  to  Coldwater  prairie  in  18:30,  and  in  1832  was 
appointed  the  first  postmaster,  the  office  being  located  in  Branch.  A  store 
was  opened  in  1833  ^Y  ^-  ^-  Pa^ton,  a  distillery  was  put  in  operation  about 
1835.  and  a  schoolhouse  was  erected  that  served  not  only  its  essential  pur- 
pose but  also  for  religious  worship  and  was  the  first  court  house  of  Brancli 
county.  In  the  summer  of  1837,  in  accordance  with  previous  action  of  the 
board  of  supervisors,  a  jail  was  built.  Branch  county's  prisoners  up  to  that 
time  having  been  detained  in  the  St.  Joseph  county  jail.  Five  hundred 
dollars  was  the  sum  set  aside  for  the  construction  of  this  building.  It  was 
thirty  feet  square,  built  of  hewn  logs,  and  while  the  lower  floor  was  utilized 
as  a  jail,  the  upper  part  was  used  for  court  purposes.  This  was  the  only 
public  building  that  Branch  county  had  until  the  construction  of  the  first 
court  house  of  Coldwater. 

The  village  of  Branch  was  also  the  home  of  the  first  newspaper  published 
in  the  county,  the  Michigan  Star,  issued  by  County  Clerk  Charles  P,  West 
for  the  first  time  in  May,  1837.  At  this  time  of  s],ieculation  and  "  wild-cat " 
business  promotion  preceding  the  great  financial  panic  of  1837,  several  efforts 
were  made  to  establish  in  Branch  a  bank,  along  the  lines  of  the  old  Cold- 
water  Bank  elsewhere  descril>ed.  The  principal  mover  in  this  enterprise, 
which  never  succeeded,  was  Joel  Burlingame,  father  of  Hon,  Anson  Bur- 
lingame,  the  statesman  and  diplomatist.  Four  or  five  years  of  the  latter's 
youth  were  spent  at  his  father's  tavern  in  Branch,  and  he  got  his  first  ac- 
quaintance with  men  and  affairs  in  the  original  county  seat. 

So  far  as  authentic  records  go,  the  above  may  be  considered  a  fair 
description  of  the  village  of  Erandi  in  the  high  tide  of  its  existence.  One 
other  institution  is  of  pregnaiit  importance  to  the  succeeding  iiarrative. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  53 

As  already  stated,  the  water  power  of  the  west  branch  of  the  Coldwater 
was  the  first  utihzed  for  mill  purposes  in  the  county.  The  same  power  was 
used  to  turn  the  first  grist  mill  in  the  county.  The  "  Black  Hawk  "  mills 
have  been  an  institution  in  Branch  county  almost  from  the  beginning  of  its 
history.  One  of  the  first  physicians  in  the  county,  a  Dr.  Hill,  was  the  pro- 
moter of  the  enterprise,  and  it  is  probable  that  Seth  Dunham  and  others  had 
a  part  of  the  control,  and,  as  Dr.  Hill  soon  left,  they  must  have  become  sole 
proprietors.  The  mill  was  a  small  affair,  located  alongside  the  sawmill,  and 
the  stones  were  about  two  feet  in  diameter,  and  the  bolting  clotli  a  sort  of 
gauzy  cotton  fabric.  At  that  early  day  it  was  best  known  for  the  bad  qual- 
ity of  flour  it  produced.  The  date  of  construction  of  this  mill  is  usually 
given  as  1832. 

But  the  important  fact  in  connection  with  this  mill  was  explained  by 
the  late  Judge  Harvey  Warner  at  a  pioneers'  meeting  in  1884.  While  the 
rush  of  settlement  was  at  its  height,  about  1836,  several  enterprising  men, 
among  whom  was  Francis  Smith,  determined  to  establish  a  mill.  "  And 
as  the  water  power  at  Branch  was  better  than  that  where  Coombs'  mill  is 
now  situated,  they  proposed  to  Mr.  EUsha  Warren  of  Branch  to  buy  the 
half  interest  in  his  property  at  that  place  for  $75  and  then  build  the  mill  there. 
This  offer  Mr.  Warren  would  not  accept,  and  on  that  account  the  mill  was 
located  at  Coldwater.  This  was  the  death  blow  to  Branch;  and  this  transac- 
tion was  the  turn  in  the  tide  that  ended  in  the  prosperity  of  Coldwater. 
Otherwise  what  is  now  the  city  of  Coldwater  woulcl  have  remained  a  beauti- 
ful broad  field  dotted  with  elegant  farm  houses."  Perhaps  the  importance 
01  the  mill  transaction  is  overestimated  in  the  quoted  words.  But  it  is 
certain  that  the  proprietors  of  the  village  of  Branch,  by  holding  the  land 
at  high  price,  did  not  encourage  the  formation  of  an  industrial  and  business 
center  at  that  jMint,  and  this  fact  is  to  be  kept  in  mind  in  considering  the 
waning  importance  of  Branch  and  the  growlh  of  Coldwater. 

The  situation  of  the  village  of  Branch  off  the  line  of  Chicago  road  must 
also  be  considered  an  adverse  circumstance  in  its  struggle  to  become  the 
center  of  the  county.  M'hen  we  remember  that  mail  stages  began  running 
along  this  road  from  Tecumseh  to  Niles  in  1830,  and  that  travel  increased 
constantly  from  that  date,  it  is  evident  that  a  position  even  a  mile  south 
of  the  thoroughfare  was  a  detriment  to  the  fullest  development  of  the  village. 
Concerning  Elisha  Warren,  the  founder  of  the  village  of  Branch,  Caleb 
D.  Randall,  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Pioneers  in  December,  1884,  gave 
this  sketch : 

Born  in  Connecticut  in  1795,  and  died  in  1857,  he  married  Caroline 
Hanchett,  daughter  of  Joseph  Hanchett,  and  moved  to  this  county  in  1831. 
Mr.  Warren  settled  at  Branch,  where  he  purchased  five  eighty-acre  lots  and 
platted  and  established  the  village  of  Branch,  where  he  secured  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  county  seat.  In  connection  with  the  ten  years'  contest  over 
the  county  seat  the  name  of  Mr.  Warren  is  intimately  associated.  After  the 
first  location  of  the  county  seat  (at  Masonvijle)  had  failed,  new  commis- 
sioners were  appointed  in   1831,  who  located  the  county  capital  at  Branch 


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54  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

where  the  court  house  and  jai! — a  cheap  wooden  building — was  located  on 
the  fine  rise  of  ground  just  west  of  the  present  group  of  houses.  From  that 
time  until  1840  there  was  a  contest  for  the  removal  to  Coldwater,  in  which 
Mr.  Warren  took  an  active  part  and  fought  his  battle  well.  Mr.  Warren 
frequently  visited  Detroit,  the  then  seat  of  the  state  government,  to  defend 
his  county  site,  and  it  was  not  till  1840  when  the  legislature  passed  the  definite 
act  of  removal  to  Coldwater.  The  question  entered  into  politics.  The 
county  was  canvassed  for  votes.  Mr.  Warren  was  able  to  carry  the  western 
part  of  the  county  with  him,  and  he  had  much  merit  on  his  side.  First,  the 
county  seat  was  already  located  at  Branch;  second,  it  was  the  geographical 
center  of  the  county;  third,  the  site,  by  its  high  rolling  ground,  purer  water, 
drainage,  etc.,  was  better  adapted  to  a  village.  But  he  had  a  hard  battle 
when  we  recall  that  against  him  were  the  Crippens,  Spragues,  Daugherty, 
the  Hayneses,  Francis  Smith,  Cross,  Chandler,  and  a  host  like  them,  young 
vigorous  men.  It  was  not,  after  all,  the  merits  of  the  case  that  decided  the 
issue.  The  population  of  Coldwater  and  the  eastern  part  of  the  county  in- 
creased the  more  rapidly,  and  so  it  had  by  1840  votes  enough  to  secure  com- 
missioners favorable  to  the  change,  which  was  accomplished.  Mr.  Warren 
remained  and  died  at  his  post. 

I  Origin  of  Coldwateii. 

In  the  meanwhile  Coldwater  Prairie  had  become  the  seat  of  a  thriving 
population.  In  October,  1829,  when  the  first  lands  of  this  vicinity  were 
offered  for  sale,  two  brothers,  Robert  J.  and  William  H.  Cross,  obtained  a 
patent,  signed  by  President  Andrew  Jackson,  to  three-fourths  of  section  22 
in  Coldwater  township.  The  following  year  both  these  men  came  to  this 
land  and  built  a  flat-roofed  log  shanty  on  the  north  side  of  the  Chicago  road, 
a  few  rods  west  of  the  present  eastern  limits  of  the  city.  The  improvements 
they  made  became  proverbial  with  the  people  in  the  county  and  with  travelers 
who  passed  through  this  region.  This  land  was  sold  in  1835  to  James  Fisk, 
Rev.  Francis  Smith  and  William  B.  Sprague,  and  Robert  J.  Cross  then  went 
to  Illinois.  His  brother,  William  H.,  who  held  oflicial  position  in  the  first 
years  of  the  coimty,  was  at  one  time  in  the  mercantile  business  as  a  partner 
with  Silas  A.  Holbrook,  and  his  later  career  was  identified  with  St.  Joseph 
county,  where  he  died  in  1886. 

On  section  15  John  Morse  purchased  eighty  acres,  in  1830,  and  in  Jan- 
uary of  the  following  year  A.  F.  Bolton,  Robert  J.  Cross  and  Robert  H. 
Ablwtt  each  purchased  eighty  acres  of  this  section. 

On  section  21,  Joseph  Hanchett,  Jr.,  took  up  eighty  acres  in  the  fail 
of  1830.  In  1831  entries  were  made  on  this  section  by  Elisha  Warren, 
Audrain  Abbott  and  Robert  J.  Cross. 

Section  22  was  entirely  taken  upi  by  Hugh  Campbell  and  the  Cross 
brothers,  their  entries  being  dated  in  the  fall  of  1830,  and  by  Allen  Tibbits, 
who  entered  the  remaining  eighty  acres  in  June,   1830.     In  February,  1831, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  55 

Campbell   sold   his   eighty   acres,   in  the   northwest   corner,   to   the   Crosses. 
Twenty  acres  of  this  had  been  plowed  and  sixteen  apple  trees  set  out. 

These  three  sections  comprised  the  area  on  which  the  village  of  Cold- 
water  had  its  beginnings.  The  first  entry  on  section  i6,  which  was  the  public 
school  section,  was  not  made  until  1837.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the 
men  above  mentioned  were  on  the  ground  in  1831,  and  were  the  landed 
proprietors  most  concerned  in  the  inauguration  of  any  village  enterprise, 

Hugh  Campbell,  whose  eighty  was  located  in  the  northwest  corner  of 
section  22,  built  a  log  house  on  the  north  side  of  the  Chicago  road.  This 
was  in  1830,  and  is  accredited  with  being  the  first  dwelling  erected  on  the 
original  site  of  the  village.  It  stood  near  the  corner  of  what  is  now  Hudson 
and  Chicago  streets,  about  the  site  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building. 

This  was  the  approximate  situation  when  the  Rev.  Allen  Tibbits  came 
along  the  Chicago  road  to  this  spot  in  the  autumn  of  1830.  An  itinerant 
Methodist  preacher,  with  headquarters  at  Plymouth,  twenty-five  miles  west 
of  Detroit,  he  was  at  this  time  a  young  man  of  twenty-six  years,  having  been 
born  in  Lyons,  New  York,  in  1S04,  The  purpose  of  his  visit  to  Coldwater 
prairie  in  1830  was  to  find  a  permanent  home,  and  when  he  returned  in  1831 
he  located,  as  above  shown,  eighty  acres  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section 
22.  In  the  meantime  Hugh  Campbell  had  moved  from  his  residence,  and  in 
liis  rough  log  cabin,  which  was  without  a  floor,  Mr.  Titoits  made  his  first 
home.  About  the  same  time,  also,  he  must  have  purchased  this  Campbell 
eighty  (from  the  Crosses)  in  the  northwest  corner  of  section  22,  From  the 
records  above  given  and  from  what  follows,  it  is  certain  that,  in  the  year 
183 1,  the  eighty  acres  in  the  northwest  corner  of  section  22  was  owned  by 
Mr.  Tibbets,  and  the  eighty  adjoining  that  on  the  west,  in  the  northeast  cor- 
ner of  section  21,  was  owned  by  Mr,  Joseph  Hanchett. 

Mr.  Hanchett,  who  had  arrived  on  the  ground  a  few  weeks  before  Mr, 
Tibbits,  also  lived  during  the  summer  of  1831  in  the  Campbell  cabin.  These 
two  men  decided  to  establish  a  village  on  jjart  of  their  land.  To  them  be- 
longs the.  honor  of  being  called  the  founders  of  Coldwater,  Calling  in  the 
services  of  James  B.  Tompkins,  they  platted  a  village.  The  original  plat, 
signed  by  James  B.  Tompkins,  the  surveyor '( whose  son,  of  the  same  name, 
died  in  Girard  township  in  1905),  and  dated  July  29,  1831,  is  now  in  the 
register  of  deeds  ofiice  at  Centerville,  where  it  was  filed  for  record  December 
I,  1832.  This  plat  was  acknowledged  by  Allen  Tibbits  and  Joseph  Hanchett 
on  November  29,  1832.  From  these  facts  it  is  proper  to  date  the  origin  of 
Coldwater  on  July  29,  183 1,  so  that  the  city  may  in  the  year  of  this  writing 
celebrate  its  seventy-fifth  anniversary. 

The  first  name  given  to  the  village  was  "Lyons,"  assigned  by  Mr.  Tib- 
bits in  honor  of  his  birthplace  at  Lyons,  New  York,  But  in  the  following 
year  it  was  christened  Coldwater,  which  was  a  translation  of  the  Indian  name 
"Chuck-sew-ya-bish,"  by  which  the  natives  are  said  to  have  designated  the 
waters  of  the  stream  flowing  south  of  the  village. 

The  two  eighty-acre  lots  owned  respectively  by  Joseph  Hanchett  and 
Allen  Tibbits,  as  above  stated,  were  both  included  in  the  act  of  incorporation 


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66  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

of  the  viliage.  But  only  part  of  this  land  was  surveyed  into  village  lots  at 
first.  The  extent  of  the  original  village  of  Coldwater  is  easily  stated.  On  the 
west  it  was  bounded  by  what  is  now  Monroe  street ;  on  the  east  by  what  is  now 
Jefferson  street.  The  north  boundary  was  the  section  line,  or,  approximatelyj 
Church  street;  while  the  south  was  what  is  now  Washington  street.  This 
area  was  divided  into  fifty-five  numbered  lots,  each  six  rods  wide  by  twelve 
rods  deep.  The  conspicuous  features  designated  on  the  original  plat  were, 
the  Public  Square,  sixteen  rods  wide  from  east  to  west,  and  thirty  rods  long 
from  north  to  south ;  the  Chicago  street,  one  hundred  feet  wide,  a  width  that 
has  been  one  of  the  chief  charms  of  this  broad  avenue  and  a  matter  of  pride 
to  citizens;  the  other  streets  named  on  the  plat — Pearl  and  Church  streets, 
running  east  and  west,  and  Hudson  ant)  Division  streets,  north  and  south- 
were  each  four  rods  wide. 

The  manuscript  history  of  "The  Origin  of  the  City  of  Coldwater,"  by 
the  late  Dr.  WilHara  B.  Sprague,  describes  the  first  twelve  buildings  erected 
on  this  village  plat  and  which  were  standing  at  the  time  the  Doctor  came  to 
Coldwater  in  1S35. 

The  first  was  the  log  structure  put  up  by  Hugh  Campbell,  the  location 
of  which  has  already  been  mentioned. 

The  second  was  more  pretentions,  a  log  residence,  finished  and  occupied 
by  Mr.  Joseph  Hanchett  in  the  fall  of  1831.  This  stood  on  Lot  44,  a  little 
north  of  the  E.  R.  Clarke  and  Company  building,  and  on  what  is  now  Monroe 
street. 

In  1832  John  Wilson,  a  brother-in-law  of  Allen  Tibbits,  built  for  him- 
self and  family  a  frame  residence  on  Lot  41,  on  the  north  side  of  Chicago 
street  and  next  to  the  Loomis  Battery  Park.  Mr.  Wilson  was  a  carpenter 
and  joiner  by  trade. 

On  the  next  lot  east,  where  the  Episcopal  church  now  stands,  William 
McCarty  in  the  same  year  built  a  frame  house.  This  house  is  still  standing, 
externally  intact,  as  part  of  the  barn  on  the  rear  of  the  premises  of  Mrs. 
Sarah  E.  Conant,  next  east  of  the  Loomis  Battery  Park.  We  were  assured 
by  Mr.  L,  D.  Halsted  early  in  the  present  year,  1906,  that  this  is  the  oldest 
house  in  Coldwater  ever  used  as  a  dwelling.  It  still  shows  so  well  what  it 
was  originally  that  an  illustration  of  it  is  given.  Mr.  McCarty  used  his 
dwelhng  as  a  jail  during  his  service  as  sheriff. 

Where  the  Edwin  R.  Clarke  Library  building  now  stands,  Peter  Martin, 
the  first  probate  judge  of  Branch  county,  erected  in  1832  a  frame  dwelling. 

Also  in  1S32,  the  first  building  used  for  store  purposes  was  built.  It 
was  a  frame  structure,  and  stood  on  the  south  side  of  Chicago  street  just 
west  of  the  public  square,  on  part  of  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  Bovee 
block.  Silas  A.  Holbrook  and  Grover  Hibbard  had  come  here  early  in  1S32 
from  Tecumseh,  and  in  this  building  the  first  Coldwater  store  was  opened, 
the  attic  being  used  for  the  residence  of  Mr.  Holbrook  and  family. 

On  the  north  side  of  Chicago  street,  near  Hudson,  on  the'  spot  now 
occupied  by  the  Milo  Campbell  residence.  Rev.  Allen  Tibbits  erected  a  small 


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Tlie  House  occupied  in  1833  in  Coldwater  by  the  first 
Sheriff  of  the  County,  W^illiam  McCarty.  as  tome  and  jail: 
now,  1905,  the  oldest  huilding  in  Coldwater  and  part  of  a 
harn. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  5T 

frame  house  in  1833.     Up  to  that  time  he  liad  continued  to  live  in  the  log  cabin 
built  by  Hugh  Campbell. 

On  the  west  side  of  Hudson  street,  a  short  distance  south  of  Chicago, 
Hiram  and  George  Hayden,  cabinet  makers,  put  up  two  dwellings  in  1834. 
On  the  northeast  corner  of  their  lot,  that  is,  on  Chicago  street,  they  had 
their  sliop. 

■  There  is  evidence  in  what  has  just  Ix^en  said,  that  the  proprietors  of 
Coklwater  village  were  very  miicli  in  earnest  in  promoting  the  interests  of 
their  village.  Every  encouragement  was  held  ovit  to  the  settlement  of  those 
who  would  become  factors  of  usefulness  in  the  community.  The  good  judg- 
ment of  the  founders  is  seen  in  the  fact  thai  all  of  the  settlers  just  mentioned 
became  closely  associated  with  the  affairs  of  the  village  and  county,  excepting 
only  the  Hayden  brothers,  one  of  whom  soon  died  and  the  other  moved  to  a 
farm  in  the  county. 

The  zeal  with  which  Allen  Tibbits  undertook  to  build  up  Coldwater  is 
well  shown  in  the  case  of  the  next  settler.  Matthew  Brink,  a  blacksmith,  had 
located  in  the  village  of  Branch.  Early  in  1835  he  was  induced  to  move  to 
Coldwater  by  the  gift  of  a  lot  in  the  village,  on  which  he  was  to  build  his 
home  and  have  his  shop.  This  lot  was  on  the  south  side  of  Chicago  street, 
at  the  east  edge  of  the  village,  near  the  present  Jefferson  street. 

Dr.  Sprague  mentions  three  other  buildings  that  were  on  the  village  plat 
in  1835.  One  was  a  plain  frame  house  on  the  west  side  of  Division  and 
between  the  square  and  Pearl  street,  about  where  the  Baptist  church  stands. 
On  the  east  side  of  Hudson  street,  a  little  north  of  Pearl,  was  built  the  first 
\illage  schoolhouse,'  standing  on  a  lot  also  donated  by  Mr.  Tibbits.  And  on 
the  north  side  of  Chicago  street,  just  west  of  the  public  square,  where  the 
Southern  Michigan  Hotel  now  stands,  was  a  two-story  frame  structure  still 
in  process  of  building.  Edward  Hanchett  was  building  if  for  a  tavern.  It 
remained  for  John  J.  Curtis  to  finish  it  and  open  it  to  the  public,  as  the  "Eagle 
House." 

Such  was  the  pioneer  Coldwatei-.  seen  at  a  time  when  it  was  still  possible 
tu  distinguish  the  individual  units.  In  the  men  who  were  there  in  1835  lay 
great  possibihties  for  ftiture  development;  but  still  more  in  the  group  of 
settlers  who  came  that  year.  In  that  list  would  be  found  such  names  as 
Bradley  Crippen  and  his  four  sons,  Lorenzo  D,,  Pliilo  H.,  Benjamin  and 
Rev.  Elliott  M.;  James  Fisk,  Thomas  Dougherty,  Rev.  Francis  Smith,  Dr. 
William  B.  Spragive,  Dr.  Darwin  Littlefield,  James  Haynes  and  his  sons 
John  T.,  Levi,  Harvey  and  James.  These  men,  whh  those  already  men- 
tioned, formed  the  bulk  and  sinews  of  the  community  and  were  the  real 
founders  of  the  city  of  Coldwater. 

The  developments  of  the  next  few  years  are  all  important.  The  de- 
tailed features  of  the  growth  of  Coldwater  cannot  be  noted.  The  strength  of 
its  citizenship  has  been  noted;  it  was  a  live,  enterprising  community,  with 
business  and  industrial  promise.  Alert  and  determined  to  make  the  most 
of  their  opportunities,  the  citizens  pressed  on  to  the  next  step  in  civic 
growth.     In  February,   1837,  the  legislature  passed  the  act  of  incorporation 


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68  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

for  the  village  of  CoMwater,  and  when,  pursuant  to  this  act,  the  citizens 
convened  on  the  first  Monday  of  May  at  the  "Central  Exchange,"  they  chose 
the  following  men  to  direct  the  affairs  of  the  village  during  its  first  year: 
Hon.  Hiram  Alden,  then  Branch  county's  representative  in  the  legislature, 
became  village  president;  Hiram  Shoudler,  recorder;  and  William  H.  Cross, 
Silas  A.  Holbrook,  Joseph  Hanchett.  Reuben  J.  Champion,  Harvey  War- 
ner and  John  J.  Curtis,  trustees. 

So  much  for  the  civic  community.  It  was  still  a  pioneer  village,  barely 
put  of  the  first  stages  of  individual  activity.  Organization  of  industry  and 
classification  of  pursuits  had  only  begun.  The  tilling  of  the  prairie  soil  was 
a  part  of  the  work  of  nearly  ali.  There  were  several  physicians,  whose  range 
of  duties,  however,  covered  most  of  the  county,  Dt.  William  H.  Hanchett  and 
Dr.  Hiram  Aiden  being  most  prominent ;  there  were  several  merchants,  hotel- 
keepers,  mechanics,  and  in  1837  came  the  first  lawyer.  Altogether,  the  basis 
of  village  growth  and  prosperity  was  well  laid. 

Manufacturing  received  its  first  strong  impulse  at  this  time.  It  is  not 
an  overstatement  of  the  truth  to  say  that  this  form  of  activity  was  the  vital 
element  in  Coldwater's  subsequent  growth.  Up  to  that  time  Branch,  with  the 
nearby  "Poka"  or  Black  Hawk  mills,  had  been  the  manufacturing  center  for 
lumber  and  flour. 

Of  similar  enterprises  at  Coldwater,  the  first  is  best  described  in  the 
words  of  Allen  Tibbits:  "Joseph  Hanchett  and  myself  were  the  sole  pro- 
prietors and  builders  of  the  first  grist  mill  erected  at  Coldwater.  It  con- 
sisted of  a  piece  of  an  oak  log  some  three  feet  long  set  firmly  in  the  ground 
with  a  hollow  on  the  top  and  in  the  shape  of  a  bowl,  hacked  and  burnt 
smoothly  out  for  a  nether  millstone.  It  would  hold  a  peck.  For  the  upi>er 
stone  a  large  piece  of  timber  made  roughly  in  a  pestle  form  was  suspended 
from  a  strong  springpole  above,  and  then  we  were  ready  for  custom  work 
as  well  as  our  own.  But  how  to  obtain  the  corn  to  grind  was  another  con- 
sideration, none  could  be  furnished  so  early  by  the  people — it  had  not  yet 
been  grown ;  so  we  went  to  northern  Indiana  where  the  settlements  along  the 
Vistula  turnpike  were  more  advanced,  and  this  all  here  were  obliged  to  do. 
Our  profits  from  this  investment  were  not  large,  scarcely  enough  to  pay  for 
outlays  and  labor,  though  our  patronage  was  large,"  This  mill,  operated  in 
the  summer  of  1S31,  stood  at  the  south  front  of  Mr.  Hanchett's  log  resi- 
dence already  described. 

In  1834  Peter  Martin,  the  judge  of  probate,  built  a  sawmill  that  stood 
a  trifle  north  from  where  Division  street  intersects  Clay  street,  and  the  dam 
occupied  the  line  upon  which  Division  street  crosses  the  Coldwater  river. 
Traces  of  the  old  mill  race  may  still  be  seen  along  the  north  bank  of  the 
river.  The  pond,  which  spread  over  quite  a  large  surface,  was  after  about  four 
years  considered  to  be  a  source  of  disease  and  was  torn  away  by  the  people 
as  a  nuisance.  On  the  authority  of  Dr.  Sprague,  this  property  had  passed  into 
the  hands  of  L,  D.  and  P.  H,  Crippen  about  1835. 

On  a  previous  page,  in  connection  with  the  history  of  the  village  of 
Branch,   has  been   mentioned  the   failure  of  an  attempt  to  establish  a  mill 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  59 

there,  and  the  significance  of  the  event  in  the  contest  between  Branch  and 
Ccildwater.  It  is  now  proper  to  describe  how  that  attempt  which  failed  at 
Branch  resulted  in  the  estabhshment  of  early  Coldwater's  chief  manufactur- 
ing industry. 

Early  in  1836  the  partners,  Francis  Smith,  Thomas  Dougherty  and  Will- 
iam B.  Sprague,  selected  a  site  at  the  west  end  of  Pearl  street  as  the  location 
for  their  saw  and  grist  mil!.  Work  on  the  sawmill  was  begun  the  same  season 
and  was  finished  some  time  in  the  fall.  The  flouring  mili  was  commenced 
quite  early  in  the  spring  of  1837,  and  completed  early  in  the  following  winter. 
Samuel  Etheridge,  another  pioneer  citizen  of  Coldwater,  was  chief  engineer, 
architect  and  builder.  The  mills  were  built  in  accordance  with  the  most  mod- 
ern standards  of  the  time. 

In  1838  the  mills  were  sold  to  John  J.  Curtis  and  O.  B.  Clark,  from  whom 
thev  passed,  in  1841,  to  L.  D.  and  P.  H.  Crippen.  On  the  withdrawal  of 
P.  H.  Crippen  in  1844  the  firm  became  Crippen  and  Etougherty,  and  later 
L.  D.  Crippen  was  sole  owner.  The  mills  were  burnt  in  1S58,  but  rebuilt  the 
next  year.  James  B.  Crippen  became  owner,  and  then  E.  R,  Clarke,  and  in 
r86g  William  A.  Coombs  bought  the  plant,  since  which  time  his  name  has 
|]een  connected  with  the  institution. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  X. 
COUNTY  SEAT  CONTEST. 

With  this  understanding  of  the  growth  of  Coldwater  village,  the  ability 
of  its  citizenship  and  its  material  resources,  we  may  now  describe  the  final 
stages  of  the  county  seat  contest,  which  resulted  in  the  complete  loss  of 
prestige  for  the  vitiage  of  Branch  and  the  transfer  of  all  its  power  to  the 
rival  village  on  the  prairie. 

As  mentioned  in  the  sketch  of  Elisha  Warren,  the  citizens  of  Coldwater 
never  allowed  the  county  seat  to  rest  quietly  with  Branch.  In  the  end  the 
question  was  settled  by  local  option,  and  Coldwater,  being  able  to  summon 
the  greater  political  power  to  the  support  of  her  contention,  won  the  county 
seat. 

An  act  of  the  legislature  approved  March  16,  1840,  declared  that  after 
July  4,  1840,  the  seat  of  justice  of  the  county  of  Branch  was  vacated  and 
that  the  same  should  be  selected  and  fixed  upcn  by  "three  commissioners  to 
be  appointed  by  the  governor  by  and  with  the  advice  of  the  senate."  Of  course 
these  commissioners  could  choose  to  allow  the  seat  to  remain  with  Brancli, 
and  removal  to  another  location  was  conditioned  on  a  land  site  being  donated 
and  all  cost  of  court  house  and  jail  being  secured  by  money  or  bond  from  the 
interested  parties.  The  entire  transaction  of  removal  should  cause  no  expense 
to  attach  either  to  the  state  or  the  county. 

The  commissioners  were  to  make  their  selection  on  or  before  the  first 
Monday  in  June,  1841.  Whether  the  opposition  to  the  change  was  still  too 
strong  in  the  western  part  of  the  county,  or  whether  the  citizens  of  Cold- 
water  were  unable  or  unwilling  to  fulfill  satisfactorily  the  conditions  of  the 
bill,  cannot  be  definitely  stated,  since  neither  the  county  nor  newspaper  rec- 
ords throw  any  light  on  the  matter.  Certain  it  is  that  the  county  seat  was  not 
changed  under  the  provisions  of  this  bill  of  1840. 

But  on  February  5,  1842,  an  act  was  approved  declaring  the  seat  of 
justice  vacated  and  to  be  established  in  the  "  village  of  Coldwater;"  provided, 
that  security  should  be  given  to  the  county  commissioners  for  a  sum  equal  to 
the  appraised  value  of  the  court  house  ami  jail  at  Branch;  that  at  least  three- 
quarters  of  an  acre  of  land  in  the  village  of  Coldwater  should  be  donated 
for  the  county  site;  and  that  the  persons  interested  in  the  removal  should 
furnish  free  temporary  quarters  for  the  holding  of  the  terms  of  circuit  court 
until  a  court  house  could  be  erected.  The  terms  of  the  bill  were  to  be  com- 
plied with  on  or  before  March   i,   1842, 

By  this  act  the  selection  of  the  site  was  to  be  determined  by  the  three 
county  commissioners.      (It  should  be  stated  that  the  system  of  countv  gov- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  61 

enimeiit  by  a  board  of  township  supervisors  had  been  abolished  in  1837  and 
the  county's  affairs  placed  under  the  jurisdiction  of  a  board  of  three  county 
commissioners.  The  office  of  county  commissioner  had  been  a.boHshed  in 
1841  and  a  return  made  to  the  township  supervisor  system.  Accordingly  the 
last  important  official  acts  of  the  Branch  county  commissioners  was  the  selec- 
tion of  the  new  county  seat)  The  county  commissioners  at  this  time  were 
Hiram  Shoudler,  of  Union,  chairman  of  the  board;  Oliver  D.  Colvin,  of 
Kinderhook;  and  Hiram  Gardner,  of  Matteson.  Mr.  Gardner  had  been  chosen 
the  preceding  autumn  in  place  of  Wales  Adams  of  Bronson,  and  as  stated  in 
the  sketcJi  of  Mr.  Elisha  Warren,  the  election  had  largely  hinged  on  the 
county  seat  question. 

The  political  issues  involved  had  been  settled,  therefore,  before  the  act 
of  the  legislature  passed,  and  there  was  no  delay  after  the  act  had  been  a\y- 
proved,  on  February  5th.  The  issue  of  the  Coklwater  Sentinel  of  February 
nth  contained  the  following  paragiaph:  "The  requisitions  of  the  bill  which 
■  h,'is  passed  the  present  legislature  to  vacate  the  seat  of  justice  and  establish 
the  same  at  the  village  of  Coldwater  have  been  complied  with^he  county 
commissioners  have  performed  their  duty  under  the  law ;  and  the  result  of 
their  deliberations  has  been  to  drive  the  stake  for  the  court  house  on  a  lot  on 
the  southeast  corner  of  the  public  square,  taking  land  for  the  jail  a  little  east 
of  the  public  square  on  land  owned  by  Mr.  James  Shoecraft." 

One  other  incident  of  the  contest  should  be  noted.  It  was  provided  that 
the  jail  at  Branch  should  be  used  for  the  confinement  of  prisoners  until  one 
could  be  built  at  the  new  seat.  Tlius  Branch  retained  a  part  of  the  county 
seat  until  the  event  recorded  by  the  Sentinel  of  June  16,  1843:  "Tlie  old 
court  house  and  jail  at  Branch  was  destroyed  by  fire  during  the  night  of  Sun- 
day. tJie  I  ifh.  Tlie  building  had  not  been  in  use  by  the  county  except  as  a  jail 
since  the  removal  of  the  county  seat  to  this  place.  One  room  in  the  building 
was  occupied  as  an  office  by  Dr.  H.  B.  Stillman.  Tlie  fire  was  evidently  the 
work  of  an  incendiary,  and  circumstances  having  transpired  to  fasten  sus- 
|)icion  on  Lawson  Woodward,  a  young  man  who  had  previously  been  confined 
in  the  prison,  he  was  arrested,"  etc.  Thus  ended  the  first  county  seat.  It 
has  l^een  asserted  that  the  former  prisoner  was  paid  to  bum  the  old  building, 
the  motives  being,  apparently,  to  destroy  Branch's  last  claim  to  the  seat  of 
justice,  and  also  perhaps  to  hasten  the  building  of  a  jail  at  Coldwater.  Until 
a  new  jail  was  provided,  Branch  county  prisoners  were  kept  in  St.  Joseph 
county. 

Pursuant  to  the  act  for  the  removal'  of  the  seat  of  justice,  the  citizens 
of  Coldwater  had  guaranteed  three  hundred  dollars  toward  the  erection  of  a 
county  building,  that  sum  representing  the  value  of  the  structure  at  Branch. 
In  October,  1843,  the  board  of  supervisors  resolved  to  submit  to  the  electors 
a  proposition  to  raise  four  hundred  dollars  in  addition  to  this,  sum  of  three 
hundred,  with  which  to  build  a  jail.  But  the  people  were  not  yet  ready  to  vote 
money  for  county  buildings,  and  this  resolution  and  similar  ones  were  neg- 
atived. In  the  spring  of  1846  a  proposition  to  expend  a  thousand  dollars, 
besides  the  sum  guaranteed  by  Coldwater,  was  approved  by  the  votes  of  the 


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62  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

people.  The  jail  was  built  in  the  summer  of  that  year,  and  was  accepted  as 
completed  in  January,  1847.  This  old  jail,  which  was  built  of  heavy  plank- 
ing straight  up  and  down,  and  riveted  together,  stood  on  the  north  side  of 
Pearl  street  and  about  midway  between  Hudson  and  Jefferson  streets.  It 
was  burned  in  April,  1S59,  while  Sheriff  David  N.  Green  was  residing  in 
it.  After  the  fire  a  bam  that  stood  on  the  comer  where  the  jail  now  stands 
was  converted  into  a  lock-up,  and  five  or  six  years  later  that,  too,  was  burned. 
A  temporary  wooden  structure  was  then  erected,  and  served  as  a  jail  until  the 
present  brick  jail  was  erected  in  1875.  The  present  jail,  which  was  built  at 
a  cost  of  $18,358.70,  was  constructed  under  the  direction  of  a  building  com- 
mittee of  which  the  late  Cyrus  G.  Luce  was  chairman,  the  other  two  mem- 
bers being  the  late  Judge  David  N.  Green  and  William  P.  Arnold.  Their 
committee  report  was  accepted  bv  the  board  of  supervisors  on  October  12, 

1875- 

COURT    HOUSE. 

More  than  six  years  elapsed  from  the  time  Coldwater  became  the  county 
seat  before  a  court  house  was  erected.  The  various  permanent  officials  had 
their  quarters  in  hired  rooms,  while  the  courts  were  conducted  in  a  rickety  old 
building  that  occupied  the  site  of  the  brick  residence  erected  by  the  late  Dr. 
J.  H.  Beach.  During  one  of  the  presidential  campaigns  this  building  received 
the  name  of  "Coon  Pen."  It  was  well  entitled  to  this  name,  and  bore  it  long 
after  it  was  given  up  for  court  purposes. 

The  jail  being  the  important  public  building,  it  was  not  until  after  that 
had  been  provided  that  the  svipervisors  turned  iJieir  attention  to  the  erection 
of  a  court  house.  Resolutions  were  finally  passed  making  the  building  of  a 
court  house  a  proposition  to  be  voted  on  by  the  people  of  the  county  at  the 
spring  election  of  1847.  The  vote  cast  in  favor  of  the  building  was  824,  with 
797  votes  against  it.  It  is  a  noteworthy  coincidence  that  this  majority  of 
27  by  which  the  building  of  the  first  court  house  in  Coldwater  was  assured, 
was  exactly  duplicated  forty  years  later,  when  the  erection  of  the  present 
court  house  was  decided  upon,  27  being  the  decisive  number  in  both  instances, 
although  of  course  the  total  vote  was  much  larger  in  1887. 

The  old  court  house  pictured  on  another  page  was  accordingly  erected 
in  1848,  at  a  cost  of  five  thousand  dollars,  being  accepted  by  the  supervisors 
in  the  fall  of  that  year  and  first  occupied  for  public  purposes  in  December. 

The  court  house  erected  by  the  county  in  1848  served  for  the  home  of 
official  business  a  generation  of  time,  and  then  as  the  county  developed  there 
came  a  time  when  the  building  became  unsuited  to  be  the  seat  of  a  flourishing 
county  like  Branch.  All  this  and  more  is  recited  in  the  preamble  of  a  resolu- 
tion offered  for  the  consideration  of  the  board  of  supervisors  at  their  regular 
October  session  of  18S5  by  the  committee  on  county  poor  and  county  prop- 
erty. This  committee  consisted  of  ElHston  Warner,  Jerome  Corwin  and  C.  C. 
Van  Vorst.  After  describing  the  unsuitableness  of  the  court  house  for  its 
purposes,  the  lack  of  fire-proof  offices  for  the  keeping  of  the  records,  the 
impossibility  of  repairing  the  court  house  so  as  to  accommodate  the  business 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  63 

of  the  county,  and  calling  the  attention  of  the  board  to  the  cheapness  of 
labor  and  material  as  opportune  for  the  erection  of  a  new  building,  the  com- 
mittee resolved  "that  the  question  of  raising  by  tax  upon  said  county  the 
sum  of  $50,000,  one-third  of  the  same  to  be  raised  in  eadi  of  the  years  i886, 
1887  and  1888,  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  new  court  house,  be  submitted 
to  the  electors  of  Branch  county  at  the  next  annual  township  meetings." 
The  resolution  was  adopted  without  a  dissenting  vote. 

When  the  real  decision  of  the  question  came  before  the  people  of  the 
county  on  April  5,  1886,  an  adverse  majority  of  687  was  rendered  against 
the  proposition.  Nothing  more  was  done  during  that  year,  except  to  carry 
on  the  agitation  and  call  for  plans  of  a  proposed  building. 

At  the  January  session  of  1887  Supervisor  Warner  offered  another 
resolution,  which  was  adopted  by  the  board,  to  submit  the  matter  of  raising 
the  required  sum  for  the  new  court  house  to  the  people.  Some  of  the  super- 
\'isors  had  evidently  been  instructed  by  their  constituents,  for  five  votes  were 
recorded  against  the  resolution.  This  motion,  it  should  be  noticed,  provided 
for  the  raising  of  the  sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  by  loans  instead  of  by  tax, 
such  loans  to  be  paid  with  interest  in  five  animal  instalments  on  the  first  of 
February  of  the  years  1888,  1889,  1S90,  1891,  1892. 

To  safeguard  the  interests  of  the  people  another  motion  was  then  car- 
ried to  the  effect  that  "we  as  members  of  the  board  of  supervisors  pledge 
ourselves  individually  and  collectively  that  in  no  event  shall  the  amount  ex- 
pended in  the  erection  of  the  court  house  exceed  the  sum  of  fifty  thousand 
dollars." 

The  vote  was  taken  in  April,  1887.  The  people  of  the  county  were  by 
no  means  unanimous,  the  canvass  of  votes  showing  2,791  for  and  2,764  against 
the  proposition,  so  that  the  erection  of  a  new  court  house  was  assured  by  a 
bare  majority  of  27. 

The  construction  of  the  court  house  was  entrusted  to  a  building  com- 
mittee of  five,  elected  by  the  supervisors  from  their  own  number.  As  the 
executive  responsibility  devolved  on  these  men,  it  is  proper  that  their  names 
should  be  given  in  the  history  of  the  building  that  is  still  in  use  for  county 
business.  They  were  George  W.  Ellis,  David  B.  Purinton,  George  Miller, 
M.  B.  Wakeman,  and  J.  H.  Davis. 

It  should  also  be  noted  that  the  block  of  land  on  which  the  court  house 
ami  jail  are  now  situated  was  squared  ofif  to  its  present  proportions  at  this 
time,  when  the  board  purchased  a  lot  of  land  fronting  on  Pearl  street  for  seven 
rods  and  running  north  fifteen  rods  and  three  feet,  "excepting  a  strip  ten  feet 
by  sixty  feet  out  of  the  southwest  corner." 

To  finance  the  building  operations  it  was  resolved  that  bonds  of  five  hun- 
dred dollars  each  to  the  amount  of  forty  thousand  dollars  should  be  issued, 
dated  July  i,  1887,  with  interest  at  five  per  cent,  payable  in  four  equal  instal- 
ments on  the  first  of  March  of  eacli  of  the  years  1889,  1890,  1891,  and  1892. 
There  were  two  local  bids  for  the  bonds,  that  accepted  coming  from  Mr. 
George  Starr  and  reading  as  follows :  "I  will  give  par  and  $425  with  accrued 
interest  to  the  first  day  of  any  month  within  one  year  from  the  date  of  bonds 


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64  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

for  the  court  house  bonds  in  lots  of  ten  thousand  dollars  until  the  whole 
amount  of  forty  thousand  dollars  in  said  bonds  are  delivered  to  me." 

The  preliminary  arrangements  completed,  the  actual  work  of  construction 
was  soon  begtin.  The  plans  of  Mr.  M.  H.  Parker,  a  Coidwater  architect,  were 
adopted,  and  at  the  June  sessitai  of  1887  the  committee  was  authorized  to  let 
the  contract  for  the  construction.  In  the  following  August  the  committee 
was  authorized  to  tear  down  the  old  building,  and  provision,  was  made  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  various  offices  during  the  time  of  building,  the  clerk, 
sheriff,  treasurer  and  superintendent  of  the  poor  being  quartered  in  the  old 
postoffice  building,  the  register  of  deeds  in  another  building,  rooms  in  the 
Masonic  block  being  rented  for  the  judge  of  probate,  whil»the  circuit  court 
sessions  were  held  in  Armory  Hall. 

Crocker  and  Hudnutt,  of  Big  Rapids,  Michigan,  who  were  awarded  the 
building  contract  as  the  lowest  bidder,  rapidly  pushed  the  work  of  construc- 
tion, and  since  the  summer  of  1888  the  present  court  house  has  been  in  use 
for  the  transaction  of  all  county  business.  The  building  committee  made  its 
finai  report  on  August  i,  188S,  and  a  few  days  later  the  report  was  approved 
and  the  building  formally  accepted  as  complete.  At  that  time  the  committee 
reported  the  total  receipts  for  the  building  of  the  court  house  tabe  $52,098.99, 
and  the  total  disbursements  as  $50,131.34,  leaving  a  balance  to  the  people  of 
$1,976.65.  Not  oniy  the  financial  management,  but  the  entire  transaction  was 
creditable  to  those  officially  concerned. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  XL 
SETTLEMENT  AND  BEGINNINGS  (CONTINUED). 

QUINCY. 

The  preceding  pages  have  carried  the  narrative  of  settlement  and  begin- 
nings along  the  Chicago  road  np  to  the  last  township  traversed  by  that  thor- 
oughfare, namely,  Quincy.  One  of  the  main  propositions  with  which  we 
started  this  account  of  settlement  was  the  remarkable  influence  of  the  Chicago 
road.  Nowhere  is  it  more  graphically  illustrated  than  in  the  case  of  Quincy 
township.  According  to  the  original  land  entries,  the  locations  for  the  year 
1830  were  chosen  on  sections  12,  13,  14,  the  last  two  sections  being  bisected 
by  the  road ;  the  locations  for  1832  were  on  section  15 :  those  for  1833,  on  sec- 
tion 19;  and  those  for  1834,  on  sections  17,  18  and  20 — all  being  on  or  near 
the  road.  Only  one  circumstance  can  qualify  in  any  way  the  deductions  to  be 
drawn  from  these  facts — namely,  that  the  best  land  for  settlement  lay  along 
the  central  area  traversed  by  the  Chicago  road,  the  "prairies"  and  the  ^ak 
openings  being  situated  in  this  portion,  while  both  the  north  and  the  south 
sides  of  the  township  were  originally  heavily  timbered. 

The  first  .settler  who  came  along  the  road  into  this  township  was  Horris 
WiUson,  who  came  from  Detroit,  where  he  had  lived  since  1825,  his  native 
place  being  Batavia,  New  York.  His  land  purchase,  which  was  the  first  in 
the  township  and  was  made  in  June,  1830,  consisted  of  three  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  in  one  body  but  lying  in  sections  12,  13  and  14.  Being  a 
carpenter,  with  the  assistance  of  a  hired  man,  he  constructed  a  house  of  hewn 
logs  on  the  north  side  of  the  Chicago  road  in  section  14,  and  soon  afterward 
opened  it  to  the  public  as  a  tavern.  To  quote  the  words  of  another,  Mr.  Will- 
son  "purchased  the  first  land,  built  the  first  house,  plowed  the  first  furrow, 
planted  the  first  corn,  sowed  the  first  oats,  and  kept  the  first  tavern  in  the 
township  of  Quincy."  He  did  not  live  long  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  pioneer 
labors.  Ellis  Russell  kept  the  tavern  for  his  widow  after  his  death.  Mr. 
Willson's  daughter  became  the  wife  of  Dr.  E.  G.  Berry. 

A  pioneer  whose  connection  with  the  township  was  longer  and  who  became 
one  of  the  prominent  men  in  the  early  history  of  the  county  was  James  G. 
Corbus.  who  was  born  in  Detroit  in  1804,  and  came  to  Branch  county  in 
June,  1832.  It  has  already  been  stated  that  he  was  a  contractor  during  the 
summer  of  that  year  on  a  portion  of  the  Chicago  road  in  Bronson  township, 
and  it  is  possible  that  this  work  led  him  to  locate  in  Branch  county.  Anyhow, 
in  the  fall  of  that  year,  he  purchased  some  land  in  section  13,  and  on  taking  up 
liis  actual  residence  in  1833  he  began  the  erection  of  the  first  frgme  house. 


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66  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

When  this  was  completed  it  was  also  opened  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
traveling  public.  This  house  was  located  on  the  north  side  of  the  Chicago 
road  and  almost  opposite  the  road  since  called  Maple  street.  The  house  stood 
for  many  years.  In  it  was  organized  the  first  Sunday  school  and  the  first 
temperance  society  of  the  township.  It  afforded  shelter  to  many  of  the  work- 
men engaged  in  the  construction  of  the  Lake  Shore  railroad,  which  destroyed 
the  importance  of  the  Chicago  road  and  at  the  same  time  took  away  the 
patronage  of  the  inn.  Mr.  Corbus  was  the  second  treasurer  of  Branch 
county. 

As  already  stated,  the  year  1832  showed  a  land  entry  on  section  15,  but 
as  this  has  particular  reference  to  the  village  of  Quincy,  it  will  be  well  to 
omit  its  consideration  at  present  and  speak  first  of  the  course  of  settlement  in 
the  other  portions  of  the  township.' 

On  the  western  side  of  the  township,  in  section  19,  Joseph  L.  Hartsough 
entered  land  in  1833,  and  in  this  same  section  Rice  T.  Arnold,  the  father 
of  William  P.  and  Anselum,  soon  after  purchased  land.  Henry  Van  Hyning 
entered  land  in  section  17  in  1834,  and  about  the  same  time  settlement  began 
in  sections  18  and  20.  Not  until  1835;  did  the  land  entries  reach  beyond  the 
central  belt  of  the  township.  In  that  year  sections  i  and  2,  on  the  north, 
and  section  30,  showed  entries,  but  by  that  time  all  of  the  two  middle  rows 
of  sections  were  entered  in  whole  or  in  part. 

Quincy  township  and  village  have  shown  the  slow  and  steady  growth  that 
marks  the  purely  agricultural  community.  In  the  period  of  pioneer  years 
which  we  are  now  discussing,  scarcely  any  occupation  was  followed  except 
farming.  The  population  spread  out  over  the  thirty-six  sections  of  the  town, 
and  in  time,  by  a  process  of  natural  selection,  began  grouping  around  the 
civic  center.  Here  settled  at  any  early  day  some  men  of  unusual  personality 
and  strength  of  character,  whose  influence  was  exerted  for  village  life,  and 
gradually  there  appeared  such  institutions  as  the  church  and  school,  the  post- 
office,  the  store,  and  representatives  of  the  trades  and  the  professions.  The 
point  to  be  emphasized  is,  that  for  many  years  the  community  which  became 
Quincy  village  was  the  central  settlement  of  Quincy  township  and  without 
the  sharp  distinctions  which  we  have  seen  marked  off  the  village  of  Cold- 
water  so  soon  from  the  rest  of  the  township.  This  natural  growtli  and  ab- 
sence of  rapid  business  changes  may  account  in  a  measure  for  the  appearance 
of  permanence,  of  continuity  in  life  and  institutions,  and  the  whol-esome  civic 
interest  and  pride,  which  impress  themselves  most  definitely  on  one  who 
studies  and  observes  the  history  of  Quincy  village. 

On  October  16,  1832,  the  first  land  was  entered  in  section  15,  it  being 
in  the  southwest  corner  of  the  section,  with  its  west  boundary  the  main  street 
of  Quincy  village.  The  course  of  history,  we  might  say  the  accidents  of  his- 
tory, caused  the  locator  of  this  land  to  be  honored  as  the  pioneer  of  Quincy 
village,  the  man  who  made  the  first  improvements  which  the  thousands  of 
after  generations  would  enjoy  and  carry  on  to  greater  development.  This 
pioneer  was  John  Cornish,  who  was  living  in  Girard  township  at  the  time  he 
made  his  land  purchase  at  Quincy,  being  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  former 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  67 

to\vnslii|D.  He  did  not  put  up  a  log  cabin  and  move  his  family  to  his  new  pur- 
chase until  the  fall  of  1833.  In  the  spring  of  1834  he  began  the  erection  of 
a  frame  house  on  the  north  side  of  the  Chicago  road  and  where  Main  street 
now  intersects  that  thoroughfare,  this  being  the  site  of  the  present  "Ouincy 
House."  As  soon  as  this  house  was  ready  he  opened  it  as  a  tavern.  That 
e\ent  marked  a  b^inning.  Travelers  along  the  road,  on  reaching  the  beau- 
tiful prairie  which  surrounded  this  house,  chose  to  stop  there  for  entertain- 
ment. Being  situated  at  the  center  of  the  township,  the  electors  made  the 
Cornish  tavern  the  place  of  their  first  township  meeting.  Mr.  Cornish  was 
moderator  at  that  meeting  and  was  elected  one  of  the  justices  of  the  peace. 
He  rented  his  tavern  in  the  spring  of  1836  to  Pearson  Anson,  and  soon  after 
Kfild  the  property  to  Joseph  Berry,  and  then  lived  in  his  first  log  house  until 
he  could  move  to  a  new  home  on  a  farm  in  the  township. 

But  for  the  first  year  after  the  establishment  of  his  tavern,  Mr.  Cornish 
was  practically  alone  so  far  as  permanent  neighlrors  were  concerned.  Other 
parts  of  the  comity  were  attracting  the  majority  of  the  immigrants.  But  in 
1835,  a  year  which  gave  hundreds  of  strong  and  able  citizens  to  Branch 
county,  Quincy  township  and  especially  its  central  area  received  a  great  im- 
pulse in  settlement. 

In  1834  Joseph  Berry,  one  of  the  several  sons  of  Samuel  Berry,  the 
family  being  originally  ^rom  New  Hampshire  but  at  this  time  residents  of 
Chautauqua  county.  New  York,  had  come  to  Branch  county  and  spent  the 
summer  at  the  Arnold  home  in  east  Coldwater  township.  His  enthusiastic 
descriptions  of  this  region,  recited  again  and  again  when  he  had  returned 
to  his  home  in  New  York  state,  were  sui^cient  to  induce  all  the  Berry  family 
to  become  pioneers.  The  father  came  out  in  the  spring  of  1835  and  after  pros- 
pecting as  far  west  as  Illinois,  in  the  summer  purchased  land  in  the  north- 
east corner  of  section  21  and  began  building  a  frame  house  near  the  Chicago 
roa{l.  In  the  same  spring  his  son,  Ejios  G.,  had  come  to  Branch  county,  and 
ill  the  fall  Joseph  arrived  with  the  household  effects.  Ezra,  the  youngest  of 
the  toys,  then  fifteen  years  old,  arrived  about  the  same  time,  having  driven 
the  two  cows  that  belonged  to  the  family  the  entire  distance  from  New  York 
to  Michigan. 

Tile  Berry  home,  which  was  located  on  the  south  side  of  the  road  about 
lliree-quarters  of  a  mile  west  of  Main  street,  became  a  hotel,  and  the  boy 
Ezra  assisted  his  father  in  its  management.  In  1836  the  hotel  was  leased 
to  another  party,  and  Mr.  Samuel  Berry  built  for  his  home  a  small  house  a 
few  rods  east.  This  house  is  also  of  historic  importance,  for  when  the  first 
postoffice  was  established  in  this  vicinity  it  was  located  at  the  Berry  home,  in 
1837.  Dr.  Enos  G.  Berry  was  the  first  postmaster,  and  it  is  of  well  established 
tradition  that  a  bushel  basket  was  the  receptacle  in  which  the  mail  was  kept. 
Ezra  Berry,  however,  performed  the  active  duties  of  the  office,  and  was  gener- 
ally called  upon  to  examine  the  contents  of  the  basket. 

The  Berry  family,  father  and  sons,  owned  most  of  the  land  on  which  the 
village  of  Quincy  was  afterwards  built.  Samuel  and  Dr.  E.  G.  were  the 
"li^inal  purchasers  of  a  large  part  of  section  21,  and  Joseph  Berry  bought  of 


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«8  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

John  Cornish  the  southwest  comer  of  section  15,  and  also  owned  a  large  part 
of  section  22.  At  the  time  now  under  consideration  this  part  of  the  town- 
ship had  few  evidences  of  village  life.  Dr.  Berry  was  the  physician  for  the 
people  of  the  vicinity,  besides  being  postmaster.  In  1835  Daniel  Bagley  had 
arrived  at  the  settlement.  Buying  an  acre  of  ground  from  Mr.  Cornish,  he 
put  up  a  frame  house  on  the  north  side  of  the  Chicago  road  and  on  the 
south  side  a  blacl^smith  shop,  where  he  attended  to  the  mechanical  needs  of 
the  community.  This  was  located  where  Dally  street  now  intersects  Chicago 
road.  Consequeni  ly,  a  blacksmith  shop,  a  postoffice.  two  hotels  and  a  physi- 
cian were  the  elements  of  village  life  that  would  have  been  found  here  in  1S37, 

But  several  other  settlers  had  come  in  during  1836  and  1837  who  were 
to  take  a  prominent  part  in  the  affairs  of  this  township.  In  1835  John 
Broiighton,  a  native  of  Vermont,  had  come  from  Lorain  county.  Ohio,  and 
had  located  on  the  Chicago  road  )vst  over  the  line  in  Coldwater  township. 
'  In  the  double  log  house  which  stood  adjacent  to  the  l>rick  kiln  (one  of  the 
first  brick-making  establishments  in  the  county),  he  kept  a  tavern  for  the 
first  year,  but  in  1836  moved  to  the  Quincy  settlement.  Oii  the  north  side  of 
the  Chicago  road,  about  opposite  what  is  now  Grove  street.  Silas  Hamilton 
{who  was  a  settler  of  the  fall  of  1835)  had  begun  the  erection  of  a  large 
log  house.  This  was  still  unfinished  when  Mr.  Broughton  bought  the  prop- 
eity,  completed  the  building,  and  moved  his  family  to  the  new  home  in 
December,  1836.  Just  across  the  road  from  the  Broughton  home,  the  same 
Mr.  Hamilton  had  erected  a  Httie  shanty  to  serve  as  his  first  shelter,  and 
here,  about  1837,  a  cobbler  named  Thomas  Valier  had  a  shoe  shop. 

One  other  settler  in  1836  deserves  mention.  James  M.  Burdick,  who 
came  to  Branch  county  and  spent  the  year  1831  in  the  employ  of  Abraham  F. 
Bolton  near  Coldwater,  and  then  lived  in  Hillsdale  county  for  several  years, 
moved  to  Quincy  township  in  the  spring  of  1836,  locating  on  section  24, 
which  was  his  home  during  many  years  of  worthy  citizenship. 

During  all  this  time  the  area  of  the  present  Quincy  township  had  not 
been  organized  separately,  and  as  we  know,  the  first  Quincy  township  com- 
prised also  what  are  now  Algansee  and  California.  Therefore,  at  the  first 
town  meeting,  which  occurred  in  April,  1836.  some  of  the  men  who  took 
part  were  resident  south  of  the  present  south  line  of  the  township.  But 
almost  all  the  officers  chosen  came  from  the  settlers  whose  names  have  been 
mentioned,  the  first  official  list  of  the  township  comprising  the  following: 
Enos  G.  Berry,  David  W.  Baker,  John  Cornish,  James  G.  Corbus,  Samuel 
Beach,  Samuel  H.  Berry,  Luther  Briggs,  James  Adams,  Joseph  T.  Burnham, 
Pearson  Anson,  James  M.  Burdick,  Griswold  Burnham,  Conrad  Rapp, 
Thomas  Wheeler,  Joseph  L.  Hartsough. 

In  October,  1837,  Quincy  township,  still  comprising  an  area  of  two  full 
townships  and  one  fractional,  had  569  inhabitants.  Just  what  per  cent  of 
these  lived  in  the  present  township  of  Quincy  cannot  be  stated,  but  it  is 
certain  that  they  were  the  great  majority,  and  furthermore  that  they  lived 
in  the  sections  convenient  to  the  Chicago  road.  This  concentration  of  popu^ 
iation  is  further  proved  by  the  location  of  the  first  three  schools  of  the  town- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  69 

ship.  The  first  school  house,  of  logs,  was  built  in  1837  on  land  nuw  owned 
by  the  railroad  in  Quincy  village ;  the  second,  built  the  same  year,  was  in  the 
'■  Hog  Creek  district,"  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  township;  ami  the  third,  ni 
JS38,  was  at  the  west  edge  of  section  20  on  the  Chicago  road. 

Bishop  Chase  and  Gilead  Township. 

The  Chicago  road  was  the  avenue  by  which  Bishop  Philander  Chasi 
came  to  Branch  county.  The  story  of  his  settlement  in  Gilead,  apart  from 
the  iniportarce  attaching  to  it  as  the  historical  beginning  of  Gilead  township, 
is  of  even  more  interest  for  the  threads  of  fact  concerning  the  county  in 
general  and  the  conditions  and  customs  of  the  time. 

Bishop  Philander  Chase  was  born  in  Cornish,  New  Hampshire,  in  i775t 
graduated  from  Dartmouth  College  in  1795,  studied  for  the  ministry  of  the 
Episcopal  church,  and  in  1819  was  consecrated  bisliop  of  04iio,  the  first 
bishop  of  the  Episcopal  church  west  of  the  Alleghany  mountains.  He  was 
the  founder  of  Kenyon  College  in  Ohio,  which  is  regarded  as  his  greatest 
achievement,  but  which  was  also  the  source  of  his  greatest  personal  disap- 
pointment. For,  being  unable  to  carry  out  his  plans  for  that  institution  be- 
cause of  the  interference  and  persecution  from  his  enemies,  he  felt  it  his  duty 
fo  resign  the  episcopate  of  the  diocese  and  the  presidency  of  the  college, 
which  he  did  in  September,  1831.  On  Easter  day  of  1832  he  administered 
holy  communion  for  the  last  time  in  Ohio,  and  on  the  following  morning  set 
out  on  horseback  with  a  friend,  Bezaleel  Wells,  with  the  intention  of  visiting 
a  son  of  the  latter  at  Prairie  Ronde  in  Kalamazoo  county,  Michigan.  It  was 
also  a  half -expressed  hope  of  the  bishop  to  find  in  the  course  of  his  explora- 
tions a  region  where  he  might  found  a  home  and  build  up  the  institutions 
of  the  church  and  education  in  accordance  with  the  plans  which  were  still  so 
cherished  by  him. 

Going  to  Monroe  and  from  there  to  Adrian  and  to  the  Chicago  road,  the 
j)arty  came  on  through  Jonesviile.  Coldwater  and  Bronson's  prairie.  At 
this  point  we  may  quote  the  bishop's  own  "  Reminiscences,"  written  in  1847, 
only  a  few  years  before  his  death.  "  It  was  Friday  night  when  they  reached 
a  place  called' Adams'  Mills  on  one  of  the  streams  of  the  St.  Joseph  river. 
'And  who  is  this?'  said  the  landlord  of  the  log-cabin  tavern  to  Mr.  Wells, 
in  a  low  voice.  '  Is  he  come  out  to  purchase  lands?  '  '  He  may  purchase  if  he 
finds  some  that  suits  him."  Mr.  Judson,  for  that  was  the  man's  name,  then 
strode  through  the  room  and  raising  his  voice,  said  aloud,  as  if  still  speaking 
to  Mr.  Wells,  '  Much  more  beautiful  scenery  and  richer  land  are  to  lie  found 
ill  this  neighborhood  than  further  west.  And  men  would  find  it  so  if  they 
would  only  stop,  go  about  and  examine."  These  words  were  meant  for  the 
ear  of  the  wTiter.  He  took  them  so  and  inquired.  '  Where  is  this  good  land 
>ou  speak  of?"  'Within  eight  miles  of  this,  to  the  southeast,  there  is  a 
charming,  limpid  lake,  surrounded  witli  rising  burr-oak  and  prairie  lands,  in- 
terspersed with  portions  of  lofty  timber  for  building.  The  streams  are  of 
clear  and  running  water,  and  like  the  lake,  abound  in  the  finest  kind  of  fish ;  and 


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70  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

what  is  quite  an  essential  point,  tliese  lands  are  now  open  for  market,  and 
(except  some  choice  sugar-tree  eighties  already  taken  by  persons  from  In- 
diana) may  be  entered  by  anyone  going  to  White  Pigeon  where  the  land 
office  is  kept.'  '  Will  you  show  me  these  lands  if  I  stay  with  you  a  day  or 
two  ? '  *  If  I  do  not,  Mr.  Adams,  the  owner  of  the  saw  null,  will.  I  w.in 
furnish  him  with  a  horse;  and  Thomas  Holmes,  who  lives  near  us,  shall  go 
along  with  you  on  foot  with  his  rifle  to  kill  game  and  keep  off  the  wolves.' 
*     *     * 

"  The  next  day  was  Saturday.  Notice  was  given  to  the  few  settlers  in 
the  neighborhood  of  these  then  solitary  mills  that  divine  service  would  be 
celebrated  and  a  sermon  preached  on  the  morrow.  The  day  proved  fine  and 
nearly  all  the  inhabitants  attended.  This  was  the  first  time  the  prayer  book 
had  ever  been  used  for  public  worship  in  all  the  St.  Joseph  country. 

"  On  Monday  Mr.  Judson's  pony  was  made  ready,  and  Mr.  Adams  and 
Thomas  Holmes  were  in  waiting.  The  weather  was  mild  and  the  streams 
of  water  soon  crossed.  The  path  we  fell  on  was  an  old  Indian  trail 
leading  from  northwest  to  southeast.  On  this  trail  we  had  traveled  mostly 
through  grass  land,  thinly  studded  with  trees,  till  the  eight  miles 
spoken  of  by  Mr.  Judson  were  judged  to  have  been  finished;  when,  on  the 
left  of  us,  we  came  in  sight  of  a  lake  of  pure  water  and  sloping  banks  thinly 
covered  with  trees,  having  grass  under  them  all  around.  The  lake  itself  was 
of  an  irregular  shape,  and  about  a  mile  and  a  half  long.  It  had  a  promontory 
running  into  it,  covered  with  trees  of  peculiar  majestic  shape,  in  the  manner 
of  the  finest  rookeries  in  England.  *  *  *  All  things  were  like  magic. 
Such  charming  scenery  seemed  to  rivet  the  beholder  to  the  spot.  This  was 
no  wonder ;  for  it  was  the  first  time  that  any  such  lands  had  ever  met  his  eye. 
"  The  remainder  of  the  day  was  spent  in  riding  round  this  charming 
region,  which  the  writer  named  '  Gilead;'  a  name  it  still  bears.  Before  night 
a  family  was  discovered  to  have  just  moved  on  to  these  beautiful  grounds; 
a  few  logs  had  been  rolled  one  upon  the  other,  around  a  space  of  nine  or  ten 
feet  square,  and  a  covering  put  over  it.  six  feet  high  on  one  side  and  five 
feet  high  on  the  other.  In  this  was  Mr.  John  Croy,  his  wife  and  three  or 
four  children.     *     *     * 

"  The  writer  soon  after  this  went  to  the  land  office,  thirty  miles  to  the 
west,  and  entered  and  paid  for  a  farm  in  this  charming  land  of  Gilead,  in- 
cluding the  promontory,  or  '  English  Rookery '  just  described.  The  price 
was  one  dollar  and  a  quarter  per  acre,  and  no  more.  As  he  returned  from 
White  Pigeon  he  engaged  a  carpenter  to  find  materials  and  draw  them  to  the 
newly  named  place,  Gilead,  sixteen  miles,  and  put  up  and  cover  a  framed 
room  for  a  ploughman  and  his  family,  fourteen  feet  square.  The  ploughman 
was  hired  nearly  at  the  same  time  to  break  up  fifty  acres  of  prairie  turf-land. 
All  this  was  accomplished  in  a  short  time,  so  as  to  allow  of  a  crop  of  sod 
corn  and  potatoes  the  same  year.  This  was  very  difficult  to  accomplish,  havuig 
little  help  in  planting  besides  himself,  for  all  the  neighbors  in  the  surrounding 
settlements  were  called  to  tear  anus  in  the  '  Sac  War '  then  raging  in  the 
state  of  Illinois,  with  the  famous  Black  Hawk  as  its  head." 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  71 

After  the  planting  was  over  the  bishop  went  back  to  his  family  in  Ohio, 
and  then  returned  to  Gilead  with  his  sons  in  July,  1832.  They  set  to  work 
hewing  timber  and  framing  it  for  a  house  of  five  rooms,  digging  a  cellar,  and 
making  preparations  for  the  arrival  of  the  rest  of  the  family.  He  also  looked 
out  a  proper  place  for  a  saw  mill,  which  he  selected  on  Prairie  river  at  the 
ontlet  of  Island  Pond  on  the  east  side  of  section  4,  and  purchased  the  adjacent 
woodland.  This  was  the  first  saw  mill  in  the  town,  and  the  site  continued  to 
be  used  until  recently.  The  bishop  says  in  his  reminiscences:  "  The  fenced 
fields  were  enlarged,  and  every  year  produced  more  and  more.  The  number 
of  horned  cattle  increased  to  more  than  one  hundred.  A  mill  was  buit  on 
the  stream,  for  the  preparing  of  lumber  to  erect  a  schoolhouse;  and  all  things 
seemed  to  flourish  and  succeed  beyond  his  fondest  expectation." 

The  home  of  Bishop  Chase  while  in  Gilead  was  located  on  the  west  line 
of  section  9^  at  the  site  of  the  present  residence  of  Mr.  Ed  Keeslar.  When 
preparing  to  erect  his  house  a  few  years  ago,  Mr.  Kesslar  discovered  the  re- 
mains of  the  foundation  of  the  Chase  house.  At  one  spot  he  found  a  depres- 
sion that  required  several  loads  of  earth  to  make  solid,  and  at  this  point  no 
doubt  was  located  the  well  or  perhaps  the  cellar.  As  mentioned  in  the  chap- 
ter on  education,  a  schoolhouse  was  built,  and  this  stood  to  the  south  of  the 
residence,  and  just  west  of  where  Mr.  Kesslar's  barn  now  stands. 

The  bishop  remained  in  this  place  of  "  exile  "  as  he  felt  it  to  be,  for 
three  years.  He  attracted  many  other  settlers  to  this  township  and  his  work 
as  a  pioneer  must  not  be  underestimated,  but  so  far  as  founding  a  church  or 
carrying  out  any  other  ambitious  plans  he  may  have  cherished  on  coming 
here,  his  success  was  little  and  the  members  of  his  church  numbered  only 
a  handful.  Then  in  the  spring  of  1835  came  bis  appointment  as  bishop  of  the 
newly  formed  diocese  of  Illinois,  and  his  acceptance  preceded  by  only  a  few 
months  the  removal  of  his  home  and  active  influence  from  Branch  county. 
He  went  to  Illinois  to  look  over  the  field  of  work,  and  on  returning  to  Gilead 
made  preparations  for  a  visit  to  England,  where  he  spent  the  fall  and  winter 
of  1835  in  soliciting  subscriptions  for  his  new  work. 

While  in  England  the  bishop  received  a  letter  from  his  wife  in  Gilead 
which  cannot  fail  to  be  of  interest  to  those  who  prize  the  history  of  that  por- 
tion of  Branch  county.  This  letter,  containing  so  many  side-lights  on  the 
Gilead  community,  was  dated  December  23,  1835,  and  reads  in  part  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  Last  Saturday  night  we  went  to  bed  in  apparent  security,  but  about 
twelve  o'clock  a  slight  noise,  like  the  kindling  of  a  (ire  in  a  stove,  startled 
me-  I  sprang  from  bed  and  throwing  open  the  dining  room  door,  saw  the 
flames  bad  burst  from  the  upper  part  of  the  chimney  into  the  garret.  A  cry 
of  fire  instandy  assembled  all  the  family.  A  tub  of  water  was  in  the  kitchen, 
and  three  pailsful  in  as  many  seconds  were  thrown  on  the  fire.  It  was,  I  saw 
ill  vain;  the  fire  had  seized  the  roof;  and  I  bid  them  lose  no  time  but  throw 
cut  as  fast  as  possible.  My  first  care  was  your  sermon  box,  and  then  the  box 
of  English  letters,  with  your  letters  to  myself  from  England,  certificates 
and  three  hundred  dollars  in  money  received  for  sales  of  cattle. 


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73-  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

"  The  most  of  our  beds  and  clothing  were  saved.  *  *  *  That  we 
saved  so  much  is  more  to  be  wondered  at  than  that  the  rest  perished,  when  I 
assure  you  that  in  the  judgment  of  the  family  five  minutes  was  the  utmost 
allowed  us  from  the  first  alarm,  until  safety  compelled  us  to  abandon  the 
building.  The  west  wind  soon  wrapped  the  back  kitchen  in  flames,  from 
which  they  saved  but  one  bag  of  flour.  By  tearing  down  the  board  flaming 
fence  the  ruin  was  stayed,  and  the  schoolhouse  and  milkhouse  were  preserved. 
As  soon  as  things  were  moved  back  near  the  well,  we  had  our  beds  taken  to 
the  schoolhouse,  had  a  candle  lighted,  and  tried  to  preserve  our  health  by 
wrapping  up  in  blankets.     *    *    * 

"  With  the  help  of  Mr.  Glass  and  sons,  a  partition  has  been  nailed  up 
(in  the  schoolhouse),  the  floor  laid  double,  two  windows  put  in,  and  every 
hour  adds  something  to  our  comfort.  *  *  *  Eennie,  the  Scotchman,  served 
us  faithfully;  the  other  poor  fellow,  a  Dutchman,  who  was  hired  for  a  few 
days,  on  hearing  the  alarm,  like  most  weak-minded  persons,  was  so  bewildered 
that,  instead  of  going  down  stairs,  which  were  perfectly  safe,  he  threw  him- 
self out  of  the  window  without  even  raising  the  sash.  It  is  a  wonder  he  did 
not  break  his  neck." 

Until  June,  1836,  the  family  lived  in  the  schoolhouse  (which  remained 
standing  until  1877  and  was  used  as  a  dwelling  within  the  memory  of  many 
now  living).  The  bishop  returned  on  the  28th  of  June,  and  a  few  days  later 
the  family  departed,  by  way  of  Chicago  road,  for  the  west.  Thus  ended  the 
Bishop  Chase  episode  in  Gilead  history  and  the  romantic  settlement  which 
was  the  starting  point  of  the  township, 

Gtlead  Township. 

In  a  passage  already  quoted,  Bishop  Chase  mentioned  the  Indian  trail 
which  -he  followed  southeast  from  Adams  Mills  (in  section  29  of  Bronson), 
to  Gilead  lake.  By  noticing  some  of  the  settlers  who  followed  the  bishop 
into  Gilead.  it  will  be  seen  that  this  trail  was  the  important  route  that  directed 
the  pioneers.  Abishi  Sanders,  one  of  the  prominent  Gilead  pioneers  and  the 
first  supervisor  of  that  township,  came  along  the  Chicago  road  from  Marion 
county,  Ohio,  about  the  same  time  as  the  bishop,  and  on  reaching  Bronson's 
prairie,  turned  aside  and  followed  the  trail  into  Gilead,  where  he  entered  two 
hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land  in  sections  8  and  18. 

In  one  of  her  letters  to  the  bishop  Mrs.  Chase  mentions  her  neighbors, 
the  Booth  family.  Benjamin  Booth  started  from  Onondaga  county,  New 
York,  and  came  first  to  Oakland  coimty,  Michigan,  whence  he  journeyed  along 
with  another  Gilead  pioneer,  William  Purdy,  both  intent  on  finding  a  suita- 
ble place  of  settlement.  Arriving  at  Bronson  in  the  spring  of  1832.  they  heard 
of  Bishop  Chase  and  decided  to  make  him  a  visit.  Delighted  with  the  beauti- 
ful country  about  Lake  Gilead,  and  especially  with  the  burr-oak  openings, 
Mr.  Booth  entered  land  and  built  what  was  the  second  frame  house  in  the 
township,  on  the  south  shore  of  Gilead  lake.  Mr.  Purdy  likewise  made  settle- 
ment, being  the  first  blacksmith  of  that  community. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  73 

In  Mrs.  Chase's  letter  describing  tlie  Inirning  of  the  home,  she  men- 
tiniis  the  faithfulness  of  Mr.  Beiinie.  who  was  then  in  the  employ  of  the 
Chase  estabHshment.  This  was  James  Bennie,  who  with  his  brother-in-law, 
f<ihn  McKiiiley— both  names  being  familiar  to  Gilead  citizens — had  come 
from  Scotland,  and  after  spending  a  few  years  in  New  York  state  came  to 
Cilead  in  18,33.  Mr.  McKinley  made  his' first  location  on  section  8,  while 
Mr.  Bennie  soon  moved  into  Bethel. 

It  is  easy  to  see  how  settlers  coining  from  the  same  locality  in  the  east 
wonld  tend  to  settle  down  in  adjacent  conmnmities  at  the  end  of  their  west- 
ern migration.  The  necessary  isolation  of  pioneer  life  would  be  overcome 
to  some  extent  by  the  grouping  together  of  families  who  had  been  associated 
in  their  old  homes.  This  fact  seems  to  find  illustration  in  the  number  oi 
families  w-hich  Onondaga  county.  New  York,  furnished  to  the  early  settle- 
ment of  Gilead.  Included  in  the  mimber  are  the  well  known  names  of  Ben- 
jamin Booth,  Francis  Bull,  the  Marsh  family — Wallace.  Daniel,  Ebenezer 
and  John — and  William  .Sweeting,  all  of  whom  came  early  and  settled  about 
Lake  Gilead,  on  sections  5.  6,  7,  8  and  18. 

Thus  the  first  Gilead  community  was  formed  on  the  high  rolling  land 
about  the  lake.  But  in  entering  this  part  of  the  county,  some  followed  the 
Indian  trail  on  acmss  the  low.  marshy  land  to  the  east  of  the  Cliase  settle- 
ment, and  locating  near  the  east  line  of  the  township,  formed  the  nucleus 
of  East  Gilead.  The  first  of  these  was  Ezekie!  Fuller,  who  settled  near  the 
Kinderhook  line.  In  1836  came  Benjamin  S.  Wilkins,  who  took  up  land  in 
section  13.  And  in  the  same  year  Samuel  Arnold,  from  New  York  state, 
located  at  the  southeast  corner  of  section  11.  His  name  became  distinctive 
nf  the  locality  of  "Arnold's  Corners."  now  East  Gilead. 

Bv  the  census  of  October,  1837,  there  were  184  persons  in  Gilead  town- 
ship. The  greater  mimber  of  these  were  at  the  original  settlement,  the  Ar- 
nold's Comers  community  being  just  at  the  beginning  of  its  growth.  A 
postotfice  had  been  located  at  the  Chase  home  in  1834,  and  in  some  other 
directions  progress  was  being  made  from  the  first  stages  of  pioneer  existence. 
Included  in  this  census,  besides  the  families  of  those  already  named,  were 
probably  Don  C.  Mather,  who  lived  near  the  south  side  of  the  town  and  was 
a  millwright  by  trade;  Burr  D.  Gray,  a  carpenter  and  joiner,  who  built  some 
nf  the  early  houses  of  Gilead;  Obed  Dickinson,  who,  having  stopped  over 
night  at  the  old  Taylor  Tavern  on  the  Chicago  road,  was  induced  to  buy 
land  in  Bethel  and  Gilead.  and  who  at  this  time  had  the  largest  log  house  in 
the  \'icinity ;  and  Job  Williams,  whose  three  hundred  acres  of  land  were  on 
tiie  north  shore  of  Lake  Gilead. 

GiRARD  Township. 

As  concerns  fertility  of  soil,  ease  of  cultivation  and  drainage,  beautiful 
Girard  prairie,  seventy-five  years  ago  as  to-day,  was  one  of  the  garden  spots 
of  Branch  county.  There  is  little  doubt  that  at  one  time  this  level  area  was 
the  bed  of  a  large  lake,  whose  waters  were  hemmed  in  by  the  encircling  hills 


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74  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

on  all  sides  until  finally  a  cleft  was  made  for  tlie  outlet  at  the  western  end, 
a  short  distance  west  of  the  Hodunk  mills  and  the  junction  of  the  Coldwater 
and  Hog  creek  streams.  When  this  shore  line  was  torn  apart,  the  waters 
gradually  escaped  and  left  a  beautifully  level  floor,  soon  to  be  overspread  by 
luxuriant  vegetation,  in  which  state  it  remained  until  the  appearance  of  white 
settlers. 

Without  conspicuous  advantages  of  nature,  Girard  prairie  would  not 
have  been  one  of  the  first  spots  chosen  for  settlement  in  the  county.  It  was 
situated  five  or  six  miles  north  of  the  Chicago  road.  It  was  not  in  the  line  of 
migration.  Yet  Girard's  history  is  practically  contemporaneous  in  its  begin- 
nings with  that  of  Bronson  and  Coldwater  townships.  The  excellence  of  the 
locality  for  agricultural  purposes  offered  attractions  to  home-seekers  which 
no  other  parts  of  the  county  could  surpass,  and  thus  it  is  that  Girard  was  one 
of  the  first  townships  to  be  organized. 

By  reference  to  the  account  of  the  civil  organization  of  the  townships, 
it  will  be  seen  that  when  Girard  was  organized  in  1834  it  contained  the  entire 
north  tier  of  townships;  that  in  1836  this  long  strip  was  cut  in  half  and  that 
until  1838  Girard  township  comprised  what  is  now  Butler  and  Girard.  Con- 
sequently, the  census  of  October,  1837,  which  gave  448  inhabitants  to  Girard, 
included  also  the  settlers  in  the  present  township  of  Butler.  But  with  few 
exceptions  the  families  enumerated  at  that  date  lived  in  the  central  area  of 
Girard  township. 

The  Corbus  family  was  the  first  and  best  known  of  Girard's  pioneers. 
Joseph  C.  and  Richard  W.  Corbus,  leaving  Detroit,  their  native  home,  came 
along  the  Chicago  road  as  far  as  Hillsdale  county  in  1828.  In  the  following 
spring  Richard  W.  came  to  Girard  prairie.  The  specific  reasons  that  brought 
him  thither  are  not  assigned,  but  it  was  good  judgment  that  directed  him  to 
choose  that  place  for  his  home.  He  did  not  remain  alone  for  long,  and  he 
was  only  the  first  of  a  group  of  strong  and  worthy  pioneers. 

From  a  preceding  chapter  we  know  that  an  Indian  village  existed  on 
the  prairie  at  this  time.  It  consisted  of  about  twenty  huts  and  a  large  dance 
house,  and  was  located  near  the  northwest  comer  of  section  22.  The  Indians 
were  very  friendly,  were  generous  in  sharing  what  they  had,  and  in  one  of 
the  rough  houses  which  was  not  then  in  use  by  an  Jndian  family,  Mr.  Corbus, 
with  his  mother  and  niece,  made  his  first  home.  He  at  once  went  to  work 
to  build  a  log  house  of  his  own,  on  section  21,  and  in  about  six  weeks  after 
his  arrival  it  was  completed  and  ready  for  occupancy.  Richard,  though  the 
first  settler,  remained  only  until  1831,  when,  having  made  aji  exchange  of 
property  with  his  brother,  he  returned  to  Hillsdale  county,  while  Joseph  C. 
continued  the  name  and  activity  of  the  Corbus  family  in  Girard,  His  brother 
John  also  settled  with  him,  but  lived  only  a  year  or  so.  Joseph  C.  Corbus 
was  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  pioneers,  and  .his  name  often  figures  in 
township  and  county  history. 

Thus  the  first  white  settlement  was  located  near  where  the  village  of 
Girard  has  since  grown  up.  This  was  the  favorite  localitv.  and  was  known 
as  the  "  east  prairie,"  to  distinguish  it  from  the  "  west  prairie  "  settlement. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  75 

which  was  nearer  the  forks  of  the  Coldwater  river  and  Hog  creek.  Edward 
S.  Hanchett  became  a  neighbor  of  Mr.  Corbus  in  the  fall  of  1S30,  locating 
in  section  22,  and  in  July,  1831,  section  15  received  a  noted  settler  in  the 
person  of  James  B.  Tompkins,  the  surveyor  who  platted  the  village  of  Cold- 
water,  who  became  the  first  supervisor  of  Girard  township,  and  whose  own 
career  and  that  of  his  descendants  is  identified  most  honorably  with  this 
part  of  the  county.  His  land  was  partly  in  section  15  and  partly  in  section 
22,  being  covered  in  part  by  the  present  village.  John  Cornish,  the  Quincy 
pioneer  heretofore  mentioned,  had  come  here  about  the  same  time,  but  was 
not  a  permanent  settler.  William  McCarty,  the  first  .sherifT  of  Branch  county, 
also  settled  on  section  15  in  1831. 

Another  well  known  family  that  settled  on  the  "  east  prairie  "  before 
the  censtis  of  1S37  was  taken  was  the  Van  Blarcums,  consisting  of  the  father, 
William,  and  his  sons,  Joseph,  John,  Abram  and  William  W.  The  first 
entry  of  land  in  section.  16  was  made  in  1837  by  Aura  Smith,  who  had  come 
from  Saratoga  county,  New  York,  He  opened  the  first  stock  of  goods  in 
the  township  and  made  the  beginning  of  commercial  enterprise  for  the  village 
of  Girard, 

The  "  w^st  prairie  "  settlement  was  just  as  large  and  important,  and 
almost  as  early,  as  the  one  just  described.  On  the  west  side  of  section  20 
Henry  Van  Hyning  had  located  in  the  latter  part  of  1830,  and  in  January, 
1831,  Martin  Barhhart,  whose  name  has  already  figured  in  other  connections 
with  this  narrative,  located  on  the  section  to  the  north,  section  17.  Barnhart 
was  from  Wayne  county.  New  York,  and  from  the  same  county  was  John 
Parkinson,  who  settled  on  section  i8s  and  was  the  first  postmaster  of  this 
portion  of  the  county. 

Section  20  was  also  the  first  home  of  Benjamin  H.  Smith,  so  well  known 
to  the  early  annals  of  this  township.  A  native  of  New  Jersey,  he  came  from 
Wayne  county,  New  York,  to  Michigan  in-1829,  and  in  1831  settled  in  Girara. 
He  was  an  associate  of  Abram  Aldrich,  Martin  Barnhart,  James  B.  Tompkins, 
J.  W.  Mann  and  Lyman  Fox  in  the  first  mill  building  in  the  township.  Other 
"  west  prairie "  settlers  were  Samue!  and  James  Craig,  who  came  in  the 
spring  of  1831  and  moved  into  the  partially  completed  log  house  begun  by 
Mr.  Van  Hyning  on  section  20. 

Abram  and  Asa  Aldrich,  whose  names  receive  mention  in  connection 
with  other  localities  and  other  affairs,  were  settlerson  section  19  in  1833. 
and  helped  to  increase  the  number  of  aggressive  men  who  were  bent  on  de- 
veloping this  part  of  the  county. 

In  the  line  of  public  improvements  the  most  important  early  event  in 
the  history  of  Girard  township  was  the  establishment,  in  the  summer  of  1831, 
of  what  has  ever  since  been  known  as  the  "  Marshall  road."  This  is  the 
thoroughfare  that  bisects  the  township  from  north  to  south,  passing  through 
the  village  of  Girard,  and  continuing  on  till  it  meets  the  Chicago  road  at 
Coldwater.  Furnishing  the  route  of  immigration  to  the  feriiie  Girard 
prairie,  as  well  as  the  means  of  ready  communication  with  Coldwater  and 
the  central  Chicago  road,  the  Marshall  road  proved  a  great  boon  to  the  devel- 


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7ft  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

opment  and  growth  of  this  township.  This  road  was  surveyed  hy  James  B. 
Tompkins,  and  was  opened  by  the  commissioners  of  highways,  William  H. 
Cross  and  Edward  S.  Hanchett,  all  well  known  to  the  early  history  of  the 
county. 

When  the  first  township  meeting  was  held,  April  7,  1834,  Girard  was, 
as  already  mentioned,  four  times  as  large  as  now.  Several  items  from  the 
record  of  that  meeting  throw  light  on  the  history  of  the  township.  The 
first  is  that  it  was  held  in  a  schoolhouse,  situated  in  the' present  Girard  vil- 
lage. Furthermore,  all  of  those  who  took  official  part,  in  the  proceedings,  with 
one  and  perhaps  two  exceptions,  were  settlers  in  the  area  of  present  Girard 
township  and  on  the  two  "prairies."  John  Parkinson  was  the  moderator 
and  Joseph  C.  Corbus  the  clerk.  The  others  who  were  chosen  for  officers 
were  James  B.  Tompkins,  Benjamin  H.  Smith,  Justus  Goodwin  (from  what 
later  became  Union  township),  James  G.  Corbus,  William  Aldrich,  Robert 
Waldron,  James  McCarty,  Stephen  Hickox,  SamueJ  Craig,  Asa  Aidrich, 
James  Craig,  Martin  Bamhart.  It  was  resolved  to  hold  the  next  town  meet- 
ing at  the  house  of  "  Mr.  Aldrich,  at  the  mill,"  which  was  the  mill  on  the 
site  of  Hodunk. 

From  the  Girard  prairie  as  the  nucleus  the  settlement  spreaiJ  out  over  the 
rest  of  the  township,  and  by  the  end  of  the  thirties  every  section  had  one  or 
more  settlers.  Some  of  the  pioneers  of  this  period  who  have  not  been  men- 
tioned were:  Jabez  Aldrich,  Harris  H.  Aldrich,  Mains  Aldrich,  Lyman  Al- 
drich, Stephen  Birdsall,  D.  B.  Ogden,  Israel  Hoag,  Samuel  Estlow,  William 
Barker,  David  Stanton,  John  Strong,  Allen  Cobb,  Christian  Estlow,  Chaun- 
cey  Barnes,  John  Worden.  John  Moore,  Backus  Fox,  Cornelius  Van  Aken, 
John  B.  Mason,  Jacob  W.  Mann,  Lyman  Fox,  Robert  Gorbal,  Peter  I.  Mann. 
Girard  township  has  always  retained  its  value  and  importance  as  an 
agricultural  center.  It  was  one  of  the  first  townships  to  have  a  grange  organ- 
ization, and  some  of  the  liest  known  farmers  of  the  county  have  had  their 
home  in  Girard. 

Butler  Township. 
In  marked  contrast  with  the  settlement  of  Girard  was  that  of  Butler. 
The  first  settler  came  to  Girard  prairie  in  1829:  it  was  six  years  after  that 
before  permanent  settlers  located  in  Butler.  In  Girard  the  first  settlements 
were  in  one  locality.  No  conspicuous  grouping  of  settlers  can  be  observed 
in  Butler.  Girard  prajrie  was  beautifully  level,  comparatively  free  from 
heavy  timl^er,  and  had  a  natural  drainage.  Butler  township,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  "  Shock's  prairie  "  in  sections  26  and  27,  was  densely  wooded ; 
the  topography  such  that  large  areas  were  under  water  or  in  a  swampv  condi- 
tion, and,  as  elsewhere  stated,  Buder  township  has  received  incalculable  bene- 
fits from  the  public  drainage  works. 

Such  natural  conditions  did  not  favor  early  settlement.  And  vet  when 
the  era  of  settlement  was  completed  and  the  population  of  the  county  had 
assumed  something  like  its  present  standard,  Butler  township  had  a  few  more 
inhabitants  than  Girard.  Its  property  valuation  has  increased  to  a  remarka- 
ble extent  since  the   introduction  of   scientific  drainage.      The  forests   have 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  77 

been  cleared  off  and  given  place  to  fine  farms.  Some  of  the  most  productive 
land  in  the  township  was  formerly  swamp  and  considered  unfit  for  any  in- 
dustrial purpose.  The  township  is  agricultural:  a  very  small  part  of  the 
population  is  grouped  in  the  two  hamlets  known  as  Butler  and  South  Butler. 
Several  stave  and  heading  and  cooperage  mills  and  saw  mills  have  found 
a  iiatiiral  field  in  this  township  at  various  periods  of  history,  but  aside  from 
this  department  of  manufacture  the  industry  of  the  township  has  been  almost 
entirely  the  tilling  of  the  soil.  With  this  general  understanding  of  the  town's 
history  as  a  whole,  we  may  speak  briefly  of  the  period  of  Iwginnings  and  the 
first  settlers. 

Wayne  county,  New  York,  furnished  a  majority  of  the  pioneers  of  But- 
ler township,  which  was  given  its  name  to  commemorate  the  home  town  of 
Butler,  New  York.  From  Wayne  county  came  Caleb  Wilcox,  the  first  set- 
tler, who  found  a  home  in  section  2  in  the  spring  of  1836;  he  did  not  remain 
long,  but  sold  out  to  Charles  C.  Hayes  and  moved  away. 

The  southeast  corner  of  the  township  was  favored  with  settlement  about 
the  same  time.  In  sections  26  and  27  settle<l  Jacob  Shook,  whose  name 
ligures  in  county  history  as  one  of  the  few  county  judges  that  Branch  county 
had.  He  was  also  prominent  in  township  affairs.  At  the  same  time  Robert 
Wootl  settled  in  the  same  locality,  buying  land  in  sections  35  and  36.  Ail 
three  of  the  men  mentioned  were  from  Wayne  county.  New  York.  George 
Lockwood  came  to  this  part  of  the  town  in  the  fall  of  1836  and  for  half  a 
century  was  a  well  known  citizen. 

Calhonn  county  on  the  north  furnished  not  a  few  early  settlers  to  Butler, 
among  these  being  the  Rossman  family,  consisting  of  Isaac,  the  father,  and 
the  sons,  Thomas  J.,  Solander  and  William,  who  had  located  in  Calhoun 
county  about  1833,  and  all  came  to  Butler  township  before  1839.  From 
the  same  county  came  Henry  S.  Lampman,  another  well  known  pioneer  of 
Butler,  who  was  originally  from  Green  county.  New  York,  and  who  spent 
several  yeai;s  in  Calhoun  county  before  removing  to  Butler  in  December,  1836. 

John  T.,  Asa  and  Charles  M.  Wisner  were  active  and  influential  in  early 
township  and  business  affairs;  Asa  being  the  first  township  clerk  and  Charles 
M.  the  first  school  teacher.  David  Lindsay,  the  first  supervisor,  who  located  on 
section  15.  opened  the  first  store  at  what  is  now  South  Butler  (then  known 
^s  Whig  Center)  in  1843. 

The  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  David  iLindsay's  house  in  April,  1838. 
There  were  only  twenty  voters  in  the  town.  Most  of  these  received  office, 
and  the  names  of  those  who  were  burdened  with  the  official  managment  of 
the  town  for  the  first  year  of  its  organized  existence  will  be  a  fairly  complete 
record  of  the  pioneer  settlers.  They  were :  John  T.  Wisner,  southeast  But- 
ler: Jesse  Bowen,  sec.  36;  Asa  R.  Wisner,  sec.  24;  Tyler  McWhorter,  sec. 
35:  David  Lindsay,  sec.  15:  Jacob  Shook,  sees.  26  and  27;  T.  J.  Rossman, 
sec.  14;  Charles  M.  Wisner.  sec.  24:  Solander  Rossman,  sees.  12  and  13; 
Henry  S.  Lampman,  sec.   14:  Daniel  Shook,  sec.  26;  Caleb  Wilcox. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  XII. 

SETTLEMENT  AND  BEGINNINGS   (CONTINUED). 

Union  Township. 

In  October,  1837.  the  ni'niber  of  persons  residing  in  Union  township 
was  260.  The  town  had  already  heen  or^iiized  with  its  present  boundaries, 
so  tbo^e  figures  apply  to  the  Union  township  as  we  now  know  it.  The  popu- 
lation has  since  increased  more  than  ten  times,  and  material  development 
has  been  even  greater. 

Though  topographically  one  of  the  most  attractive  townships  in  the 
county,  Union  was  not  easily  accessible  for  several  years  after  the  heavy 
stream  of  immigration  began  and  the  dense  woods  that  covered  its  fertile 
soil  were  here,  as  in  Butler  and  elsewhere,  an  impediment  to  early  settlement. 
The  abundant  water  power  furnished  by  the  St.  Joseph  and  Coldwater  rivers 
had  undoubtedly  induced  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  first  inhabitants  to 
locate  in  this  town.  The  principal  centers  of  settlement  were  at  the  junction 
of  the  Coldwater  with  the  St.  Joseph — ^Union  City — at  the  junction  of  Hoff 
creek  with  Coldwater  river- — the  Hodunk  community — and  the  more  open 
countrv  in  the  southwest  part  of  the  township. 

The  Chicago  road  could  not  influence  settlement  in  this  township  to  the 
extent  that  was  true  of  the  townships  previously  described.  The  State  road, 
tliat  follows  an  angling  course  from  Hodunk  to  Union  City,  forming  part  of 
the  route  from  Kalamazoo  to  the  state  line,  was  not  authorized,  until  1837. 
Communication  with  the  centra!  part  of  the  county  was  by  the  haphazard 
windings  of  Indian  trails  or  blazed  paths  through  the  woods.  The  first 
regular  road  into  Union  township  was  probably  the  state  road  that  followed 
the  course  of  the  old  Washtenaw  Indian  trail,  and  was  laid  out  in  1834  from 
Jackson  to  White  Pigeon  through  Union  City.  This  road  and  its  predecessor, 
the  Indian  trail,  as  well  as  the  St.  Joseph  river,  which  was  utilized  for  trans- 
portation to  no  inconsiderable  extent  in  the  early  days,  brought  north  Union 
township  in  connection  with  Calhoun  and  other  second-tier  counties  and  many 
of  the  earlier  settlers  came  along  that  way.  The  building  of  the  railroad, 
in  1870.  along  practically  the  same  route  strengthened  the  commercial  connec- 
tion with  the  towns  and  cities  along  that  line. 

It  was  at  the  confluence  cff  the  Coldwater  and  the  St.  Joseph  rivers  that 
settlement  was  first  made.  Because  of  its  accessibility  by  water  this  spot  had 
been  conspicuous  for  many  years.  Perhaps  the  French  missionaries  of  the 
eighteenth  century  had  penetrated  this  far.  and  it  is  reasonably  certain  that 
French  traders  had  a  trading  post  at  this  point.     A  successor  to  these  Indian 


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■      'U 

HJL      li 


Congregational  Cliurcli^and  Soldiers' 
Monument,  Union  City 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  T9 

traders.  John  Clawaon,  was  located  at  tlie  mouth  of  the  Coldwater  about 
1830,  and  it  has  been  customary  to  grant  him  the  honor  of  being  the  first 
settler  in  Union  township. 

Abont  1831  Isaiah  W.  Bennett,  a  well  known  pioneer  character  and  the 
founder  of  the  city  of  Jackson,  and  Jeremiah  Marvin  bought  a  large  tract  of 
land  about  the  forks  of  the  two  rivers.  Tliey  understood  the  advantages 
offered  by  the  site  for  commercial  and  industrial  development,  and  bought 
the  land  with  the  intention  no  doubt  of  personally  exploiting  a  village  at  this 
point.  Bennett  did  not  locate  here  until  1834.  He  kept  the  old  Union  City 
House  in  1837,  and  later  a  store  on  the  southwest  comer  of  Broadway  and 
High  streets. 

!n  the  meantime,  in  1833,  the  first  permanent  settler  had  come  to  the 
site  of  Union  City,  He  purchased  of  Bennett  and  Marvin  a  large  tract  of 
land,  including  the  present  site  of  the  business  section,  and  began  the  work 
of  improvement.  According  to  his  own  notes,  when  he  came  here  in  May, 
1S33,  with  the  exception  of  two  settlers  and  a  few  settlers  on  Dry  prairie 
there  were  no  persons  between  his  location  and  Homer,  all  being  "  an  un- 
liroken  wilderness,  chiefly  government  land,  and  no  road  made  nor  even  laid 
out." 

Let  the  historical  notes  of  Mr.  Goodwin  carry  the  narrative  a  httle 
further:  "  Early  in  the  fall  of  1834  J.  Goodwin,  having  agreed  to  build  and 
sell  a  saw  mill  at  Union  to  I.  W.  Bennett,  commenced  improving  the  water 
power  by  making  a  race  and  building  a  saw  mill. (the  mill  being  located  south 
of  the  Coldwater  road  and  about  where  the  municipal  power  plant  now 
stands).  In  doing  this  work — or  rather  the  first  part  of  it— though  from  ten 
to  twenty  men  were  at  work,  there  was  no  woman  at  Union.  *  *  * 
Alxjut  the  first  of  December  of  that  year  a  postoffice  was  estabhshed  by  the 
name  of  Goodwinsville,  and  J.  Goodwin  appointed  postmaster,  who  held  that 
office  until  1846." 

In  November,  1833,  Mr.  Goodwin  had  sold  to  E.  W.  Morgan  of  Ann 
Arbor  322  acres  of  land,  and  in  1835  Mr.  Morgan  platted  a  village  to  which 
the  name  Goodwinsville  w-as  given,  the  plat  being  recorded  August  27,  1835. 
This  was  the  first  plat.  In  the  spring  of  1837  the  "  village  of  Union  City  " 
wits  platted  on  a  "  two  hundred  acre  tract "  that  had  been  purchased  by  a 
company  of  eastern  men  with  the  purpose  of  founding  a  village  and  develop- 
ing the  mill  facilities  of  the  place.  The  men  most  prominent  in  this  transac- 
tion were  Israel  W,  Clark  and  Isaac  M.  Dimond,  both  of  whom  came  here 
in  1838  and  with  a  targe  force  of  men  began  extensive  improvements.  The 
water  power  was  improved  and  both  a  saw  and  a  grist  mill  built,  A  store 
was  established  by  the  comj>any,  in  addition  to  one  or  two  that  had  been  con- 
ducted previously  by  individuals.  The  "  company  "  store,  which  was  kept 
by  John  N.  Stickney,  was  located  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Broadway  and 
High  streets,  opposite  the  hotel. 

Other  settlers  during  the  pioneer  period  of  Union  City,  were  various 
members  of  the  well  known  Hurd  family,  some  of  whom  lived  over  the  line 
ill  Calhoun  county  but  whose  interests  were  closely   identified  with  Union 


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80  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

City — namely,  Horner  C.  Hurd.  Dr.  William  P.  Hurd  and  Dr.  Theodore 
C.  Hurd.  Chester  Hammond;  originally  from  Chenango  county.  New  York, 
located  in  Union  City  in  1836.  His  son.,  Charles  G.  Hammond,  was  agent 
for  the  company  that  purchased  the  village  site  m  January,  1837,  and  he 
did  as  much  to  establish  the  town  and  further  its  interests  as  any  other  pioneer 
citizen. 

From  this  chief  center,  whose  subsequent  history  will  be  recorded  else- 
where, we  turn  to  other  portions  of  the  township.  In  the  history  of  Girard 
we  have  aiiuded  to  the  prominence  of  the  Aklrich  family  as  settlers  and 
citizens  on  the  west  sijJe  of  the  prairie. "  Abram  Aldrich.  who  had  located  and 
purchased  lands  on  Girard  prairie  in  1833.  built  his  home  just  over  the  town 
line  in  Union  township,  and  became  the  tirst  settler  at  what  became  known 
as  Orangeville  and  later  as  Hodunk.  Here,  near  the  confluence  of  the  Cold- 
water  and  Hog  creek,  he  built  a  saw  mill.  Lumber  from  this  mill  went  into 
buildings  in  many  parts  of  the  county.  When  James  G.  Corbus.  the  Quincy 
pioneer,  built  his  frame  house  in  18-33,  '^^  obtained  his  lumlier  from  this  mill. 
Several  years  later  Mr.  Aldrich  built  a  grist  mill,  which  was  a  story  and  a 
half  in  height.  It  was  the  second  grist  mil!  in  the  county,  and  began  grinding 
in  1837.  Its  product  was  superior  to  that  turned  out  by  the  old  Black  Hawk 
mill  at  Branch,  and  it  drew  a  large  patronage  from  all  over  the  county. 
This  mill  was  the  predecessor  of  the  present  "  Hodunk  Roller  Mills."  a  five- 
story  structure,  which  was  erected  by  Roland  Root  in  1847.  after  the  first 
mill  had  burned.  Nearly  sixty  years  of  use  have  caused  many  changes  in  the 
Hodunk  mill.  The  old  millstones  have  been  removed,  modern  roller  pro- 
cesses have  been  introduced,  and  the  old-fashioned  water  wheel  has  given 
place  to  the  powerful  turbine.  The  mill  building  is  a  striking  witness  of  these 
changes  of  more  than  half  a  century,  for  some  of  the  old  machinery  is  stiil 
to  be  found  on  the  floors,  and  the  location  of  former  mechanical  parts  and 
their  wear  on  the  woodwork  have  not  been  entirely  obliterated. 

In  the  southwestern  part  of  the  township  there  settled  beginning  with 
1836  a  very  prominent  group  of  men,  including  AJpheus  Saunders,  Lewis 
Hawley,  David  Kilboum,  Archibald  and  W.  M.  Mitchell.  Two  other  names 
that  have  been  closely  identified  with  this  part  of  the  township  as  well  as 
with  Union  City  are  those  of  Lincoln  and  Buell,  Thomas  B.,  Chauncev  and 
Justus  Buell  came  to  Union  City  in  1836.  their  original  home  having'  been 
Chenango  county.  New  York.  Thomas  and  Chauncey  purchased  land  in  sec- 
tion 30.  Justice  Buell  came  to  the  township  with  Charles  A.  Lincoln,  who 
was  also  from  Chenango  county  and  became  a  well  known  and  useful  citizen 
in  this  county.  He  was  a  carpenter  and  helped  build  the  first  Union  City 
House  and  the  Red  Schoolhouse,  and  spent  many  years  of  his  life  on  section 
17.  Caleb  Lincoln,  his  brother,  is  also  well  remembered  as  one  of  Union's 
pioneer  citizens. 

In  April,  1837,  the  first  town  meeting  was  held  in  the  town  of  Union, 
and  the  names  of  the  official  participants  no  doubt  represent  the  principal 
heads  of  families  who  were  enumerated  under  the  census  of  1837.  Chester 
Hammond  was  moderator  of  the  meeting,  while  Briant  Bartiett  was  clerk 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  81 

ami  the  inspectors  of  election  were  Alpheus   Saunders,   Isaiali  W.   Bennett    ■ 
and  Lewis  Hawley.  Then  the  Hst  of  officers  chosen  for  the  succeeding  year  in- 
cluded, tjesides  these,  the  following  pioneers:     Solomon  Parsons,  James  Pen- 
clell.  Henry  Rcaser,  Rufus  Hill,  Thomas  Buell,  Henry  W.  Potter,  Archibald 
M,  JNIitcheil,  Carpenter  Chaffee,  Gideon  Smith.  Chauncey  Buell. 

SnERWOOo  Township. 

The  pioneer  history  of  Sherwood  township  has  more  in  common  with 
Calhoun  county  than  with  Branch.  Here  the  influence  of  topography  and 
means  of  communication  upon  settlement  is  seen  with  peculiar  em- 
phasis. The  north  tier  of  sections  in  Sherwood  belongs,  topographically, 
to  "  Dry  Prairie,"  which  is  also  a  conspicuous  feature  of  Athens  township 
in  Calhoun  county.  From  a  reference  already  slated  in  the  history  of  Union 
township,  it  is  known  that  Dry  prairie  was  one  of  the  early  settled  regions. 
It  had  a  considerable  group  of  settlers  as  early  as  1832,  though  nearly  all 
li\-ed  in  Calhoun  county. 

This  region  of  oak  openings  and  arable  land  was  not  the  only  reason 
for  early  settlement.  The  "  territorial "  road  that  pursues  an  angling  course 
from  Union  City  westward  along  the  northern  part  of  this  township  into  St. 
Joseph  county  was  laid  out  about  1834.  An  old  Indian  trail  was  its  basis. 
This  was  a  much  traveled  route,  and  many  emigrants  along  its  course  chose 
homes  in  Sherwood  township.  Another  important  early  road  was  that  which 
followed  approximately  along  the  northern  liank  of  the  St  Joseph  river. 

It  was  in  the  northern  sections  of  the  town,  therefore,  that  the  first 
settlers  located.  The  first  was  Alexander  E.  Tomlinson,  who  in  the  spring 
of  1832  left  his  home  in  "  Sherwood  Forest,"  England,  and  in  the  following 
July  arrived  at  Dry  prairie.  When  this  township  was  organized  four  years 
later  he  was  allowed  to  give  it  the  name  which  suggested  his  English  home. 

In  section  2,  Mr.  F.  C.  Watkins  located  a  farm  in  1835,  and  on  the  terri- 
torial road  kept  for  eighteen  years  what  was  well  known  as  the  "  log  tavern." 
The  settlement  increased  rapidly  and  Sherwood  had  a  considerable  population 
before  its  neighbor.  Union,  had  fairly  started.  Among  the  names  of  early 
pioneers  may  be  mentioned  Joseph  D.  Lane,  Clement  Russell,  Robert  Wal- 
dron.  who  came  in  1833;  Joseph  Russell  and  William  Minor,  in  1834; 
Thomas  West,  Geo.  Moyer,  Benjamin  Blossom,  in  1835;  followed  in  the 
\Kxt  few  years  by  John  Giltner,  Thomas  Lee,  John  and  Nahum  Sargent, 
David  Keyes,  David  R.  Cooley,  Ira  Palmer,  and  many  others.  I.  D.  Beall, 
:ifterward  so  well  known  in  the  public  affairs  of  his  township,  settled  along 
the  St.  Joseph  road  in  section  30  in  1837. 

All  these  settlers  were  north  of  the  St.  Joseph  river,  and  the  central 
group  was  on  Dry  prairie.  John  Onderdonk  and  Ephraim  Plank  were 
probably  the  only  settlers  living  south  of  the  river  who  were  enumerated 
in  the  census  of  October,  1837,  at  which  time  Sherwood  township  had  217 
inhabitants.  This  number  was  only  slightly  less  than  the  similar  census 
(inures  in  Union.     The  latter  township  began  to  be  settled  at  a  later  date, 


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82  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

but  grew  more  rapidly  each  succeeding  decade,  until  in  1S70  it  showed  twice 
as  many  inhabitants  as  Sherwood. 

The  first  township  meeting  of  Sherwood  (with  the  government  town- 
ship of  Union  attached)  was  held  in  1836.  The  records  for  the  first  years 
have  not  been  preserved,  and  no  deductions  can  be  drawn  from  the  first  civil 
proceedings.  The  second,  and'  perliaps  the  first,  supervisor  of  the  township 
was  the  late  Hiram  Doubleday,  conspicuously  successful  for  many  years  in 
Sherwood  and  Union  as  farmer,  business  man  and  public-spirited  citizen. 
He  had  come  to  Calhoun  county  in  1832,  and  moved  into  Sherwood  four 
or  five  years  later,  purchasing  land  in  sections  2  and  4. 

The  history  of  the  village  of  Sherwood,  which  belongs  to  a  later  period, 
is  given  in  another  part  of  this  volume. 

Matteson  Township. 

In  common  with  the  other  townships  of  the  county,  Matteson  has  been 
"  settled  "  for  many  years.  Only  its  oldest  residents  can  remember  the  time 
when  the  land  was  not  all  taken  up  and  farm  houses  and  tilled  fields  were  not 
to  be  seen  in  every  direction.  With  a  knowledge  of  present  conditions  only, 
the  casual  obseryer  would  with  difficulty  select  any  portion  of  the  township 
that  is  historically  older  than  the  rest;  for  the  superficial  aspects,  the  evi- 
dences of  material  development,  are  generally  the  same  throughout  the  town. 
The  settlement  of  a  country  has  often  been  compared  to  an  overflood  of 
water.  Like  all  similes,  this  cannot  be  appHed  too  exactly.  Settlement  does 
not  proceed  like  a  tide,  covering  all  points  in  its  course  and  in  regular  order 
from  the  source.  It  is  rather  a  selective  process,  much  as  a  winged  seed 
is  carried  in  the  air  miles  from  its  parent  stalk,  finally  lodges  and  germinates 
and  becomes  a  new  source  of  plant  life  and  its  distribution.  The  pioneers 
did  not,  on  finding  one  section  filled  up,  always  pass  to  the  next  contiguous 
one  and  thus  always  keep  in  close  touch  with  the  main  nucleus.  But  rather, 
as  has  been  repeatedly  illustrated  in  this  history,  considerations  of  soil,  topog- 
raphy, communication  and  other  grounds  would  induce  one  or  more  home- 
seekers  to  press  on  beyond  a  community  that  had  already  been  established  and 
break  out  a  place  of  habitation  in  some  new  locality,  perhaps  miles  away 
from  other  settlements.  Such  was  true  of  Matteson  township,  and  the  his- 
tory of  its  early  settlement  has  some  individual  features  that  are  interesting 
and  instructive. 

Entering  the  western  side  of  the  township  in  section  18  was,  at  the  time 
the  first  white  men  knew  this  country,  an  Indian  trail,  often  called  the  "  Kal- 
amazoo "  trail.  The  course  of  this  trail  southeastwardly  through  Bronson 
township  and  thence  to  the  state  line  has  elsewhere  been  alluded  to,  also  its 
prominence  in  connection  with  the  settlement.  This  trail  has  been  partly 
preserved  and  adapted  to  modem  conditions,  for  the  angling  road  that  passes 
out  of  the  township  in  section  18,  toward  Colon  in  St.  Joseph  county,  follows 
af^roximately  this  Indian  trail,  which  originally  continued  its  course  south 
of  Matteson  lake.     About  1837  a  state  road  was  laid  out  over  part  of  this 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  83 

trait,  this  being  the  weli  traveled  highway  leading  west  from  Coldwater 
through  Matteson  postoffice  and  out  of  the  township  and  county  by  the 
angling  road  just  mentioned.  Not  only  this  state  road  but  the  Indian  trail 
pla^yed  a  large  part  in  the  early  settlement  of  Matteson,  and  because  of  their 
significance  this  brief  description  is  an  apposite  preface  to  the  pioneer  set- 
tlement. 

Along  the  Indian  trail,  in  section  i8  and  adjoining  portions  of  the  town- 
ship, lay  a  large  area  of  oak  openings,  always  attractive  to  the  pioneers  as 
))laces  of  settlement.  In  the  fall  of  1834  Robert  Watson,  from  western 
I'ennsylvania,  was  seeking  a  home  in  Michigan  and,  passing  through  this 
region,  chose  to  inake  his  land  entry  on  section  18  in  the  southwest  quarter. 
In  September,  1835,  he  brought  his  family  from  Pennsylvania  to  Detroit  and 
thence  followed  the  Chicago  road  until  he  could  branch  off  on  the  trail  which 
led  him  to  his  new  location.  He  built  a  story-and-a-half  log  house  near  the 
trail,  along  which  during  the  first  years  of  his  residence  it  was  a  common  sight 
to  see  large  bands  of  Indians  passing  from  one  camp  ground  to  another. 

By  the  time  Mr.  Watson  (who  continued  a  resident  of  this  township 
until  his  death  in  the  eighties)  had  arrived  to  begin  actvtal  residence,  two 
other  settlers  and  families  had  come  and  taken  up  land  on  the  same  section. 
These  were  Nathaniel  Tiimer  and  Abiathar  Culver,  both  of  whom  were 
identified  closely  with  the  upbuilding  of  the  town  and  left  descendants  who 
are  well  known  in  the  county.  They  were  from  Ontario  county.  New  York, 
and  the  date  of  their  settlement  in  Matteson  was  in  the  fall  of  1835,  shortly 
before  the  return  of  Mr.  Watson.  The  three  of  them  assisted  each  other  in 
estalilishing  themselves  according  to  pioneer  fashion  and  in  erecting  their 
lirst  houses.  Mr,  Watson  rendered  especially  valuable  assistance,  being 
trained  to  the  trades  of  millwright,  cabinet-making  and  carpentering. 

That  was  the  banning  of  settlement  in  the  west  part  of  the  town- 
ship. In  the  spring  of  1836  Amos  Matteson,  a  native  of  Rhode  Island  but 
directly  from  Otsego  county.  New  York,  came  to  Branch  county  and  settled 
Oil  the  west  shore  of  the  lake  which  now  bears  his  name.  A  man  of  mature 
\ears  and  with  the  natural  worth  and  experience  which  made  him  influential 
among  hts  fellow  citizens,  it  came  about  that  when  a  name  was  sought  for 
the  newly  organized  township  his  friends  honored  him  by  transferring  the 
name  of  its  leading  citizen  to  the  town. 

In  the  fall  of  1836  Mr.  Matteson  obtained  a  neighbor  in  the  person  of 
Hiram  Gardner,  who  settled  about  a  mile  north  on  section  11.  Mrs.  Gard- 
ner was  a  daughter  of  Amos  Matteson.  The  Gardner  family  has  also  been 
prominent  in  the  township  from  pioneer  times  to  the  present,  both  Hiram 
and  his  son  Amos  having  served  as  supervisor  at  different  times. 

On  the  east  side  of  Matteson  lake  at  this  time  there  was  another  settler, 
John  Corson,  whose  family  was  long  well  known  in  that  vicinity.  In  the 
same  neighborhood,  but  in  section  13,  James  K.  Bennett,  of  Ontario  county, 
New  York,  located  in  1838.  His  log  house  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  east 
of  the  "  corners  "  was  doubtless  the  first  structure  in  the  settlement  that  has 
since  become  dignified  with  the  name  of  Matteson  postoffice.  His  son,  C.  C. 


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84  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Bennett  was  the  second  postmaster  at  the  "  corners,"  the  office  having  been 
established  at  that  point  about  1S55.  A  saw  mill,  a  store,  blacksmith  shop, 
etc.,  have  at  various  times  given  a  business  aspect  to  this  spot,  but  it  never 
attained  the  dignity  of  a  village  and  a  few  years  ago,  when  rural  free  delivery 
was  extended  over  the  county,  even  the  postoffice  was  discontinued. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  early  settlers  were  mostly  located  along  the 
State  road  through  the  central  part  of  the  township,  and  until  the  inflow  of 
settlers  became  so  great  that  little  distinction  as  to  location  could  be  made  the 
population  of  the  township  was  very  noticeably  concentrated  along  this  road. 
No  statement  as  to  the  number  of  inhabitants  in  Matteson  in  1837  can  be 
made,  for  at  that  time  the  township  was  a  part  of  Bronson,  which  then  had 
635  population.  Just  what  share  of  this  number  lived  in  Matteson  cannot 
be  determined,  but  it  was  small,  for  when  the  town  of  Matteson  was  formally 
organized  in  the  spring  of  1838  there  were  hardly  enough  active  citizens  to  fill 
the  official  positions. 

The  first  township  meeting  was  held  in  April,  1838,  at  the  house  of 
Abiathar  Culver,  located,  as  we  know,  at  the  western  side  of  the  township. 
Nearly  all  those  who  took  part  are  familiar  to  the  reader  from  the  preceding 
narrative.  Amos  Matteson  was  moderator  of  the  meeting,  with  Robert  Wat- 
son as  clerk;  Jphn  Corson,  James  GilHs  and  Hiram  Gardner  were  inspectors 
of  election.  Those  elected,  besides  the  ones  just  named,  to  fill  the  various 
offices  were,  Joseph  Rudd,  Ephraim  Cline,  John  Vaughan,  I^zarus  Everhart, 
John  Stailey,  Charles  F.  Jackson,  Ashley  Turner  (son  of  Nathaniel),  Thomas 
E.  Watson,  James  L.  Gillis,  Abiathar  Culver,  Nelson  Washburn. 

KiNDERHOOK  ToWNSHIP. 

With  reference  to  the  early  history  of  Kinderhook  township  the  follow- 
ing extract  from  a  letter  written  by  Mrs.  Chase  to  Bishop  Chase  on  October 
21.  1S35,  furnishes  some  interesting  though  not  necessarily  literally  accurate 
information:  "How  many  thousands,"  she  exclaims,  "are  flocking  to  this  land 
of  promise,  without  a  shelter  or  any  provision  for  the  coming  season !  Tlie 
Indian  village  Episcopiscon,  six  miles  east,  had  not  a  white  inhabitant  when 
you  left  this  May;  there  are  now  more  than  forty  families.  And  I  hear  from 
Coldwater  that  sixty  families  often  pass  through  in  a  single  day  bound  west." 

Many  continued  along  the  Indian  trail  that  led  Bishop  Chase  into  Gilead, 
and  found  advantageous  sites  for  settlement  in  the  region  that  later  became 
Kinderhook  township.  As  Mrs.  Chase  said,  settlement  did  not  begin  there 
until  1835,  bnt  in  that  and  the  following  year  it  is  probable  that  more  than 
half  the  land  of  the  township  was  taken  up.  The  presence  of  the  Indians  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  present  Kinderhook  postoffice,  as  also  the  large  amount  of 
water  and  marshy  surface  which  was  a  more  marked  feature  of  the  town  in 
the  early  days  than  now,  may  have  combined  to  retard  settlement. 

Some  of  those  who  entered  land  in  this  township  in  1835  were  George 
Tripp,  Boaz  Lampson,  David  Tift.  Hiram  Canwright,  George  Matthews, 
Joshua  Baker,  Sherldon  Williams,  Joseph  Hawks,  Oliver  Johnson,  Jacob  Hall, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  S5 

Hiram  Baker.  The  sections  adjacent  to  t!ie  old  Indian  village  were  most 
favorer!  bv  the  pioneers.  When  George  Tripp,  whose  name  is  one  of  the 
ini)st  familiar  among  those  of  Kinderhook  pioneers,  arrived  in  1835  he  found 
otdy  three  settlers  who  had  precedeci  him,  namely.  Joshua  Baker,  Sheldon  Will- 
iams and  Boaz  Lainpson.  Others  came  during  "that  year,  although  it  is  hardly 
possible  that  there  were  forty  families  here  at  the  time  Mrs.  Chase  wrote. 

Of  those  who  came  the  first  year  George  Ti'ipp  became  very  prominent 
ill  township  afliairs  and  successful  in  private  business.  His  brother  David 
came  to  the  township  in  1S36.  In  the  same  year  came  John  Waterhouse,  from 
Oswego  county.  New  York,  and  purchased  the  land  where  in  time  the  hamlet 
of  \\'ater]ionse  Corners  grew'  up,  this  afterward  being  changed  to  Kinder- 
hook  Postoffice. 

Joseph  S.  Hawks,  who  was  a  native  of  Otsego  county.  New  York,  lo- 
cated his  land  on  the  banks  of  Silver  lake,  in  sections  10  and  15.  Almeron 
W.  Case,  of  Livingston  county.  New  York,  came  in  1837.  locating  in  section 
3,  half  a  mile  from  the  Corners.  Others  who  belong  among  the  prominent 
pioneers,  either  assisting  in  the  organization  of  the  township  or  being  identified 
with  its  life  through  a  long  period,  were  William  Chase,  who  came  to  the 
township  in  1841 :  O.  B.  Clark,  who  was  an  early  settler  l)uf  whose  career 
was  mainly  identified  with  the  city  of  Coldwater;  Oliver  D.  Colvin,  and 
others. 

As  elsewhere  stated,  Kinderhook  was  one  of  the  last  townships  to  be  organ- 
ized, the  legislative  act  for  that  purpose  being  dated  iu  February,  1842.  The 
township  received  its  name  from  the  birthplace  of  Martin  Van  Buren,  then 
presidential  candidate,  and  not  because  any  considerable  proportion  of  the 
settlers  were  of  Holland  extraction  or  were*  from  Kinderhook.  New  York,  or 
vicinity. 

Tlie  first  town  meeting  was  held  in  April,  1842,  and  the  official  list  com- 
lirises  in  the  main  those  who  were  foremost  in  the  affairs  of  the  township  at 
the  time.  Oliver  D.  Colvin  was  the  first  supervisor,  and  the  other  offices 
were  filled  by  George  Tripp,  Almeron  W.  Case,  William  Chase,  Ira  Bonner, 
David  Tripp,  Ellery  Patterson  (who  entered  land  in  1841),  Isaac  Eslow,  Jolm 
I).  Depue  (a  settler  of  1836),  Arba  L.  Lampson,  Bentley  Reynolds,  Lathrop 
G.  Fish.  Hiram  Canwright,  John  Waterhouse.  Jr.,  John  Bradley. 

Kinderhook  has  always  been  an  agricultural  community.  Aside  from  the 
settlement  at  Kinderhook  postoffice.  which  has  experienced  the  usual  business 
activity  and  general  importance  of  a  rural  center,  and  leaving  out  of  consid- 
eration the  several  mills  for  the  manufacture  of  lumber  or  fJour  which  at 
various  times  and  in  different  locations  have  existed  in  the  township,  the 
occupations  of  the  people  of  Kinderhook  have  been  essentially  agricultural, 
and  the  progressive  men  and  the  leading  citizens  have  with  few  exceptions 
been  farmers. 

Ovid  Township. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  therefore  one  permitting  repetition,  that  certain 
townships  of  Branch  county  were  settled  within  a  year  or  so  after  the  first 


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86  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

land  entry  was  made ;  by  a  "settled"  condition  would  be  meant  that  on  nearly 
every  Section  in  the  town  would  be  found  one  or  more  famihes,  and  that  the 
time  of  biazing  pathways  through  the  wilderness  and  groping  about  in  un- 
certainty for  homes  was  past. 

This  was  true  of  Ovid  township.  Coldwater  village  was  an  ambitious 
village,  with  an  energetic  though  smalt  population,  and  with  several  busi- 
ness enterprises,  before  the  first  permanent  settlers  had  located  in  the  wilder- 
ness to  the  south  and  become  pioneers  in  what  was  organized  by  the  legisla- 
ture in  March,  1837,  as  Ovid  township.  But  in  1835,  1836  and  1837  such 
a  number  of  immigrants  came  in  that  when  the  census  of  October,  1837,  was 
taken  Ovid  township  (which  then  included  the  as  yet  unorganized  town  of 
Kinderhook)  contained  209  inhabitants. 

The  proximity  of  the  villages  of  Coldwater  and  Branch  no  doubt  had 
some  influence  in  directing  this  settlement,  the  more  so  from  the  fact  that  the 
early  settlements  of  Ovid  were  grouped  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  the 
township,  largly  in  the  sections  traversed  by  the  Coldwater  river.  In  this 
part  of  the  town  Howard  Bradley  and  Richard  and  Nelson  Salsberry  settled 
about  1834,  being  the  first  settlers,  and  their  land  being  located  in  sections 
6  and  7.  In  1835  several  prominent  men  located  in  that  vicinity,  among  the 
best  known  being  Uriah  Lockwood  and  his  son  Henry,  whose  large  landed 
possessions  were  also  in  sections  6  and  7. 

The  others  who  entered  land  in  1835  were  William  T.  Green.  Horatio 
J.  Olcott,  Silas  Hutchinson,  Elisha  Spencer,  Alexander  Marshal!,  Charles  M. 
Marshall,  Isaac  T.  Dudley,  Oliver  Johnson,  Moses  Hawks,  Charles  Fox,  Joel 
L.  Putnam,  Reuben  Wilson,  William  Bockes,  John  Wilson,  Don  A.  Dewe\* 
and  Amos  Hough, 

The  northwest  corner  of  the  township  continued  to  receive  the  large 
share  of  the  immigrants.  In  1836  Samuel  M.  Treat,  a  native  of  Oneida 
county.  New  York,  located  in  section  8  and  with  eighty  acres  of  land  as  a 
nucleus  began  a  successful  career  which  in  time  made  him  one  of  the  large 
land  owners  of  Ovid.  Henry  Treat  also  located  in  this  vicinity,  as  also  Jared 
G.  Brooks  and  Stuart  Davis,  Tlie  south  side  of  section  8  was  the  site  of  a 
sawmill,  built  by  Gardner  Scofield  during  the  early  forties.  Stephen  Bates 
was  another  early  settler  in  this  vicinity. 

A  httle  further  east,  sections  3,  4  and  10  furnished  homes  to  the  well 
known  famihes  of  Baldridge,  Smith  and  Willets.  That  the  bulk  of  the  first 
settlers  were  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  township  is  further  indicated  by 
the  fact  that  the  first  school  of  the  town  was  established  in  section  6. 

One  of  the  best  known  later  settlers  was  Dr.  Daniel  Wilson,  whose 
home  for  many  years  was  in  section  28,  His  father.  Reuben  Wilson,  was  one 
of  the  earliest  settlers  in  this  portion  of  the  township,  much  of  his  land  being 
in  section  21.  Dr.  Wilson  located  permanently  in  this  township  in  1839,  and 
became  noted  as  a  physician,  farmer,  sheriff  of  the  county  and  in  many  ways 
identified  with  public  interests. 

The  part  of  the  township  lying  east  of  Coldwater  lake  was  also  early 
settled,  the  Ouimby  family  being  perhaps  the  best  known. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  S7 

One  otiiei'  locality  should  be  mentioned — Parley's  Corners,  which  at  one 
time  had  business  activities  almost  sufficient  to  dignify  it  with  the  name  of 
village.  Parley  Stockwell,  mentioned  in  the  history  of  Coldwater  township, 
settled  in  the  northeast  corner  of  section  i6  about  1842,  and  established  an 
asherv  for  the  mamifacture  of  potash.  A  little  later  a  postoffice  was  estab- 
lished there,  with  Mr.  Stockwell  as  postmaster.  He  usually  kept  the  mail  for 
the  community  in  one  of  his  pockets.  A  schooliiouse  was  also  built  at  this 
point,  a  blacksmith  shop  and  tavern  opened.  But  little  growth  toward  vil- 
lage proportions  was  made,  and  Ovid  has  always  continued  an  agricultural 
community.  In  recent  years  the 'attractions  of  Coldwater  lake  as  a  summer 
resort  and'  the  building  of  numerous  cottages  around  its  shore  have  made  it 
a  center  for  social  life,  but  the  business  center  for  the  people  of  the  township 
is  at  Coldwater. 

Algansee  Township. 

From  the  history  of  earJy  settlement  in  Branch  county  certain  conclu- 
sions might  be  deduced  that  would  obtain  almost  with  the  force  of  Jaws.  One 
is  that  those  portions  of  the  county  which  bore  the  topographical  definition  of 
''oak  ojjenings"'  were  almost  invariably  the  first  spots  to  be  taken  in  settle- 
ment. It  would  also  seem  true  that  where  water  power  has  been  advantage- 
ously situated  it  has  been  made  the  object  of  enterprise  on  the  part  of  one  or 
more  of  the  earliest  settlers.  In  the  case  of  Algansee  township  we  find  very 
|)ei"tinent  illustration  of  these  historical  observations. 

Algansee  was  one  of  the  later  townships.  No  settlements  were  made  until 
after  1835.  The  census  of  1837  did  not  name  it,  and  the  inhabitants  then 
residing  within  its  present  boundaries  were  included  with  those  of  Quincy 
township,  Algansee  was  set  off  from  Quincy  in  April,  1838,  as  already  ex- 
plained, but  even  then  included,  until  March,  1846,  what  is  now  California. 

When  the  first  settlers  came  to  this  township  they  found  its  southwest 
corner  the  only  considerable  area  that  was  not  densely  timbered.  It  is  not 
surprising  to  find,  therefore,  that  the  resident  landowners  in  the  township  in 
1837  were  mostly  grouped  on  sections  28,  29,  30,  31,  32  and  33.  In  the  very 
c(jrner  of  the  town,  with  his  residence  on  the  State  road  through  section  31, 
we  find  in  that  year  the  pioneer  and  prominent  citizen,  Asahel  Brown,  who 
liad  entered  and  purchased  land  here  in  1836  and  lived  here  in  active  useful- 
ness until  his  death  in  1874.  He  was  town  supervisor  twenty-one  years,  a 
oiemlier  of  the  state  constitutional  convention  of  1850  and  later  of  the  state 
senate,  and  easily  the  foremost  citizen  of  his  part  of  the  county. 

Near  him,  on  section  33,  Hved  E.  S.  E.  Erainard,  another  pioneer  name 
that  evokes  many  personal  associations  in  that  part  of  the  county.  He  had 
also  come  to  the  town  in  1836,  making  the  journey  overland  from  Detroit 
with  ox  team.  He  was  prominent  in  the  organization  of  the  township,  and 
his  name  will  frequently  be  found  in  the  list  of  township  officers. 

Owning  land  in  sections  28  and  29  was  Horace  Purdy,  at  whose  house 
\\"as  held  the  first  township  meeting  in  1838,  in  accordance  with  the  act  of 
legislature.     Section  29  was  also  the  home  of  David  Tift,  who  on  coming 


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88  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

to  Branch  county  in  1836  had  first  settled  in  Kinderhook  but  in  the  same  year 
located  in  Algansee,  where  he  lived  until  his  death  in  1859.  His  two  sons 
Roswald  and  Jerome  B.  were  long  residents  of  this  part  of  the  township. 

Other  settlers  in  the  southwest  corner  of  the  township,  according  to  the 
census  of  1837,  were  Jesse  Craft  and  James  Nichols,  on  section  29;  Isaac 
George,  whose  land  was  in  sections  19,  28  and  29;  Thomas  Pratt,  who  had 
located  on  section  33  only  a  few  weeks  after  his  brother-in-law  S.  E.  Brainard; 
and  Nathan  Austin,  on  section  32. 

The  only  other  settlers  in  the  township  in  1837,  so  far  as  the  records 
show,  were  Leonard  Nelson  and  Almon  Nichols,  on  section  25 ;  Ludovico  Rob- 
bins,  who  owned  a  large  tract  of  land  in  sections  15  and  22;  and  Morris  Crater 
and  Luther  Stiles. 

The  last  two  settlers  deserve  some  special  mention.  Luther  Stiles  shares 
with  Ludovico  Robbins  the  honor  of  being  the  first  permanent  settler  of 
Algansee,  both  ari-iving,  though  not  as  companions,  on  the  same  day.  Morris 
Crater  came  from  Livingston  county,  New  York,  to  this  township  in  July, 
1S36,  his  land  entry  being  on  section  13,  while  that  of  Stiles  was  in  section  9, 
bordering  on  Hanchett  creek.  In  the  fall  of  1836  Crater  and  Stiles  began  the 
construction  of  the  first  sawmill  in  the  township  and  completed  it  for 
operation  in  the  following  February.  This  mill  was  located  on  the  creek  in 
the  east  half  of  section  9,  at  the  site  so  long  utilized  for  mill  purposes.  Mr. 
Stiles  left  the  township  in  1837  and  Mr.  Crater  moved  to  Quincy  a  few  years 
later,  but  in  establishing  this  mill  they  did  an  important  pioneer  work. 

This  was  the  status  of  settlement  in  Algansee  in  1837.  From  that  time 
on  population  increased  steadily  and  in  time  even  the  heavily  timbered  portions 
were  cleared  and  occupied  and  beginnings  were  made  in  the  work  of  drainage 
which,  as  explained  elsewhere,  was  of  first  importance  to  the  proper  agri- 
cultural development  of  this  township.  Two  of  the  prominent  settlers  of 
1838  were  Seth  E.  and  Samuel  B.  Hanchett,  both  locating  on  section  9.  An- 
drew Crater  located  on  section  15,  and  the  settlement  in  the  southwest  comer 
was  increased  by  Daniel  Eickford,  w^hose  land  was  in  section  29.  In  this  lo- 
cality and  in  1838  was  taught  the  first  school,  a  summer  term  by  Miss  Jane 
Woodard.  Jasper  Underhill,  the  first  town  clerk,  settled  in  section  31  about 
this  time. 

Others  who  may  have  taken  part  in  the  first  town  meeting  at  the  house 
of  Horace  Purdy,  in  May,  183S,  were  John  Vanderhoof  and  Eli  Gray,  from 
section  6;  Barney  Smith,  on  section  13;  Abram  Ackerson,  on  section  20;  H. 
Hildreth,  section  25 ;  Thomas  Goodman,  section  22 ;  and  Jesse  Doyle,  sec- 
tion 35. 

In  the  vicinity  of  the  Stiles-Crater  original  mill  there  m  time  grew  up  a 
little  center,  consisting  of  the  posfoffice,  school,  several  churches.  It  was  the 
home  of  the  well  remembered  physician  and  public  official,  Dr.  James  A. 
Williams,  who  located  there  in  1854. 

In  the  southern  part  of  the  township,  in  section  27,  a  steam  sawmill  was 
built  by  the  Wakemans  in  1854,  and  in  1878  a  large  grist  mill  was  erected 
at  the  same  place  by  Eli  and  Mortimer  B.  Wakeman. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  89 

Noble  Township. 

The  fractional  township  of  Nohle  was  not  set  off  from  Bronson  until  the 
legislative  act  of  March,  1845,  o'^'*^^  "'"^  years  after  the  first  settler  had  lo- 
cated within  its  borders.  At  the  first  township  meeting,  which  was  held  at 
the  house  of  John  Grove  in  section  9,  in  April,  1S45,  the  following  settlers 
took  official  part :  Ambrose  Hale  (two  of  the  same  name),  E.  W.  Craig,  Will- 
iam Butts,  William  Rippey,  Sidney  Marble,  I.  Driggs,  Thomas  Siiane,  Cyrus 
Ueardsley,  Jared  Fuller,  Samuel  S.  Bushnell,  William  Shane,  I.  H.  Foust, 
J.  H.  Smith,  William  Milliman,  Sidney  S.  Matthews,  John  Curtis,  James 
Anderson,  David  Foster,  Levi  M.  Curtis,  Andrews  Watling,  Walter  W. 
Smith,  Moses  Strong,  I.  D.  Hart. 

In  this  list  of  active  citizens  can  undoubtedly  be  found  the  majority  of 
the  first  settlers  and  those  most  prominent  in  the  time  of  beginnings  for  Noble 
township.  The  group  of  first  settlers,  who  came  in  1836,  would  comprise 
tlie  names  of  Walter  W.  Smith,  on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  ro;  Will- 
iam Rippey,  William  Butts  (who  was  a  blacksmith),  and  John  Grove.  In 
the  same  year  what  has  always  been  known  as  the  "Dutch  settlement"  was 
started  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  township  by  the  settlement  in  section 
6  of  Daniel  Himebaugh,  a  family  name  that  has  been  conspicuous  in  southwest 
Branch  county  from  pioneer  days  to  the  present.  Others  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Dutch  stock  followed,  bringing  with  them  their  habits  of  simplicity  and  thrift- 
iness  and  their  Mennonite  religion.  Tlie  Mennonite  church  on  section  2 
is  the  visible  evidence  of  the  faith  which  has  bound  this  community  together 
in  Noble  townsliip  for  many  years. 

David  Foster  was  one  of  the  settlers  of  1837,  locating  half  a  mile  east 
of  Hickory  Corners.  Hickory  Corners,  while  a  well  known  landmark  In 
Noble  township  and  with  historical  associations  running  back  seventy  years, 
has  never  been  a  business  center  further  than  having  been  the  location  of 
the  postmaster's  home  at  one  time  and  of  the  schoolhouse.  The  name  was 
given  and  clung  to  this  crossroads  because  at  one  time  a  group  of  hickory 
trees  stood  there.  Thomas  Henderson  was  a  settler  there  in  1836;  also  Am- 
brose Hale,  the  first  supervisor  of  the  township.  Joseph  Smith  and  his  son 
C.  R.  Smith  were  early  settlers  in  the  same  locality,  their  land  being  in  sec- 
tion 3.  William  Robinson  settled  on  the  same  section  in  1836.  A  settler 
of  1841  in  the  oak  openings  east  of  the  Corners  was  John  H.  Lane.  John 
Ciutis,  also  mentioned  as  taking  part  in  the  first  town  meeting,  had  located 
in  the  year  preceding  the  meeting  on  section  2. 

James  Anderson,  a  native  of  Scotland,  who  settled  in  the  southeast  corner 
of  Noble  in  1842,  where  the  little  lake  still  bears  his  name,  was  responsible  for 
the  name  that  was  given  to  the  township.  He  was  an  active  citizen  of  Noble 
for  alrout  six  years,  and  then  moved  to  Coldwater  and  went  into  business. 

Samuel  S.  Bushnell  located  on  section  11  in  1838  and  lived  there  until 
liis  death  in  1872.  He  and  his  son  Ephraim  B.  were  both  active  in  township, 
iiffairs.  Section  5  was  the  pioneer  home  of  Peter  Mallow,  one  of  the  best 
known  of  Noble's  early  settlers,  who  located  there  in  1840  and  spent  his  life 


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90  HISTORY  OF  BRANXH  COUNTY 

in  developing  a  home  from  the  wilderness  which  he  found.  His  sons  Will- 
iam and  George  W.  are  still  living  in  Noble  and  active  in  business  and  citizen- 
ship. 

Until  rural  free  delivery  brought  postal  facilities  to  every  home,  Noble 
township  had  a  postofTice,  located  at  different  times  with  different  residents  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  town.  Further  than  this,  there  has  been  nothing  in 
the  way  of  a  center  in  the  township,  which  from  the  first  has  been  chiefly  noted 
for  its  agricultural  possibilities  and  its  thrifty  farming  class. 

California  Township. 

California  township,  which  was  not  separately  organized  until  March, 
1846.  began  to  be  settled,  nevertheless,  about  the  same  time  as  Algansee,  Ovid 
and  Kinderhook,  the  adjoining  towns.  Although  there  is  little  distinctive  in 
the  history  of  this  town's  settlement,  some  very  interesting  personalities  and 
worthy  characters  are  found  among  the  pioneers. 

The  late  James  H.  Lawrence,  whose  death  occurred  in  1897,  wrote  and 
published  a  number  of  reminiscences  concerning  his  first  experiences  in  Cali- 
fornia township,  where  he  was  one  of  the  first  settlers.  In  the  latter  part  of 
1S35,  in  company  with  Samuel  Beach  and  son  William  Beach,  he  traveled  the 
Chicago  road  as  far  as  Coldwater,  and  from  there  came  by  trail  as  liest  they 
could  as  far  as  Waterhouse  Corners  in  Kinderhook  township,  where  they 
met  the  Kinderhook  pioneers  already  known  to  the  reader — Tripp,  Water- 
house  and  Lampson. 

Evidently  the  Beach -Lawrence  party  bad  determined  beforehand  on  a  lo- 
cation in  the  fractional  township  that  later  became  California,  for  they  con- 
tinued on  to  their  "destination,"  on  section  4.  where  they  commenced  to  build 
a  house  "by  felling  the  first  tree  cut  by  a  white  man  in  Cahfomia  township." 
Whilg  engaged  in  this  labor  two  other  home.'ieekers  already  known  to  ns, 
Asahel  Brown  and  Nathan  Austin,  paid  them  a  brief  visit,  but  did  not  re- 
main in  California,  locating  instead  in  the  southwest  corner  of  Algansee  as 
told  on  a  former  page.  The  log  house  was  soon  constructed  and  properly 
chinked  with  mud  and  roofed  over,  and  then,  early  in  1836,  Mr.  Beach  came 
with  his  familv  and  made  his  settlement  permanent. 

According  to  the  description  given  by  Mr.  Lawrence,  the  isolation  of 
this  family  for  a  time  was  almost  complete,  and  of  course  the  same  was  true 
of  many  other  pioneer  households  in  Branch  county.  Only  rough  and  devious 
Indian  trails  led  from  one  part  of  the  country  to  another,  and  not  even  these 
could  be  relied  upon  since  the  white  settlements  were  often  situated  without 
regard  to  these  primitive  avenues  of  communication. 

To  quote  a  paragraph  from  Mr.  Lawrence's  narrative:  "Ira  Purdy  was 
the  next  settler,  and  the  first  one  to  build  after  us.  He  came  early  in  the 
spring  of  1836.  and  built  a  small  log  house  on  section  3,  He  too  had  to  go 
into  the  hotel  business,  and  declares  that  some  nights  he  kept  as  many  as  forty 
people.  The  same  spring  we  went  to  Ouincy,  ten  miles  north  of  us,  to  attend 
town  meeting,  when  Mr.  Beach  was  elected  a  justice  of  the  peace.     Our  route 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  91 

la}-  through  an  unbroken  wilderness,  and  our  only  guide  was  section  lines, 
w  iiicli  were  followed  through  swamps  and  marsh,  brush  and  brakes." 

Many  settlers  came  during  1836,  and  it  is  noteworthy  that  most  of  them 
settled  in  the  northern  part  of  the  township-  and  about  the  site  of  the  present 
California  village.  Ira  Cass,  George  Monlux  and  Alexander  Odren,  arrivals' 
of  that  year,  were  founders  of  families  that  have  been  well  and  favorably 
known  since.  Alexander  Odren,  who  died  in  this  township  in  1888,  aged 
ninety-seven  years,  perhaps  the  oldest  native  of  Michigan  at  the  time,  located 
on  section  i  and  spent  over  fifty  years  there.  Ira  Cass  was  a  well  known  pio- 
neer character,  about  whom  many  anecdotes  were  told,  and  he  had  a  large 
family  of  four  sons  and  six  daughters.  Israel  R.  Hall  was  another  settler  of 
this  year. 

According  to  the  census  returns  of  1837  the  resident  land  owners  in  Cal- 
ifornia were  located  as  follows :  Samuel  Beach  lived  on  section  4.  Israel  R. 
Hall  had  land  in  the  same  section  and  also  in  sections  3  and  9.  Another 
neighbor  was  Ira  Purdy,  in  section  3.  The  Lawrences,  comprising  J.  W.,  J. 
\V.,  Jr.,  and  James  H.,  lived  on  section  5,  but  James  H.  soon  became  a  resi- 
dent on  section  10.  George  Monlux  was  on  section  4,  Ira  Cass  had  his  land 
in  sections  2  and  3,  while  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  town  were  Alexander 
Odren,  on  section  i,  John  W.  Harris,  section  i,  and  Theodore  G.  Holden, 
whose  extensive  landed  possessions  were  on  sections  i,  3  and  12.  The  other 
settlers  were  Azam  Purdy,  a  brother  of  Ira,  on  section  23;  William  ThomiJ- 
son.  section  12;  Stiliman  Ehvell,  section  10;  and  Jacob  B.  Brown  and  Jonathan 
Hall,  on  section  6. 

The  two  north  tiers  of  sections  also  received  most  of  the  settlers  of  1838. 
Some  of  the  settlers  of  that  year  were:  On  section  i,  Fowler  Quimby  and 
Kidgeway  Craft;  section  12,  Justus  Leuse;  section  11,  Joseph  F.  Reynolds 
and  John  Vincent;  section  8,  Gilbert  Gordinier;  section  6,  Asel  Whitney  and 
Isaac  Withey;  on  sections  15  and  21,  James  Craig;  section  16,  Rev.  George 
Bryant. 

'iliese  were  the  -pioneers.  By  the  time  California  township  was  organ- 
ized the  process  of  settlement  was  fairly  complete,  for  not  a  section  was  with- 
out at  least  one  landowner,  and  at  the  first  town  meeting  sixty  male  voters 
took  part  in  the  proceedings.  Some  of  the  pioneers  aixive  mentioned  were 
chosen  to  office,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  list  from  supervisor  down — George 
MonJitx,  William  Beach,  Ira  Purdy,  Samuel  Beach,  George  D.  Avery,  James 
M,  Hall,  Robert  Merrill,  James  Craig.  Talcott  Merwin,  Isaac  n'  Miner, 
Thomas  H.  Reynolds,  Chauncey  Miles,  Cephas  B.  Dresser,  Alexander  Odren, 
Jr.,  Andrew  J.  Critchfield,  John  C.  Reynolds,  Isaac  Purdy,  Hart  Hazen, 
Screno  Gillelt,  Ebenezer  Adams,  James  Hall. 

We  have  noticed  that  the  first  settlers  formed  a  group  on  sections  3,  4, 
9  and  10.  At  the  crossroads  corners  of  these  sections,  about  1846,  Joseph  Hall 
opened  a  stock  of  goods  and  became  the  first  merchant.  From  this  circum- 
s^tance  this  locality  was  long  known  by  the  name  of  "Hall's  Corners."  but  the 
present  generation  has  been  more  familiar  with  the  designation  of  "California" 
village  or  postoffice.     This  place  has  gone  through  the  usual  stages  of  growth. 


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92  HISTO'RY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

A  biacksniith  shop  was  built  near  the  store,  ].  W.  Lawrence  of  pioneer  fame 
being  the  blacksmith,  a  carpenter  furnished  another  kind  of  mechanical  skill. 
The  first  schoolhouse  in  the  town  had  been  located,  about  1838,  on  Ira  Purdy's 
farm,  not  far  from  the  Corners,  and  in  time  it  was  moved  to  the  northeast 
corner  of  section  9,  making  another  institution  that  promotes  community  life. 
A  postoffice  was  established  there,  the  Presbyterian  church  had  been  located 
there  since  1S40.  Edward  and  Thomas  Morrow  erected  a  steam  sawmill  in 
1867.  With  these  institutions  and  industries  California  has  long  maintained 
its  quiet  position  as  an  inland  village,  having  a  population  of  162  at  the  last 
census.  Cephas  B.  Dresser  was  the  first  lawyer  with  a  home  at  that  point, 
and  since  then  several  professional  men  have  been  located  there.  Unfor- 
tunately, when  the  Fort  Wayne  and  Jackson  branch  railroad  was  constructed 
about  1870  CaHfornia  was  left  to  one  side,  and  the  hamlet  is  three  miles  from 
the  State  Line  station.  With  a  railroad  California  would  doubtless  have  ex- 
perienced similar  growth  to  that  of  Sherwood  in  the  opposite  comer  of  the 
county. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  XHI. 
THE  CITY  OF  COLDWATER. 

Tlie  origin  of  Coldvvater  has  been  sketched  on  other  pages;  as  the  of- 
licial  center  of  the  county  and  the  principal  business  place  and  the  only  city, 
it  lias  necessarily  occupied  a  large  share  of  attention  in  the  narrative.  It 
seems  fitting,  however,  in  the  following  paragraphs  to  set  down  in  consecu- 
ti\e  order  such  facts  as  will  show  the  progress  of  the  city  from  the  village 
Hlnte  to  the  prosperous  city  which  with  proper  pride  can  celebrate  its  existence 
oi  three  quarters  of  a  century. 

From  the  incorporation  of  Coldwater  village  in  1837  to  the  incorporation 
of  Coldwater  city  in  1861,  there  are  few  matters  to  chronicle  more  than  the 
steady  growth  which  made  a  city  government  appropriate  and  necessary.  As 
eli^ewhere  mentioned,  the  transfer  of  the  county  seat  from  Branch  to  the  pub- 
lic square  where  it  is  now  located  was  the  event  of  pregnant  importance  for 
the  early  development  of  Coldwater.  The  building  of  the  mills  along  Cold- 
water  river  inaugurated  the  manufacturing  which  in  1905  was  represented  by 
34  firms. 

In  speaking  of  the  growth  of  Coldwater  one  fact  deserves  prominence. 
Tiie  city  has  maintained  an  even  balance,  a  fair  proportion  between  the  various 
institutions,  industries  and  professional  and  commercial  activities.  Coldwater 
is  not  a  "factory  town,"  and  yet  its  annual  aggregate  of  manufactured  prod- 
ucts is  large.  It  is  not  pre-eminently  a  trade  center,  in  the  sense  that  the 
daily  retail  transactions  on  Chicago  street  are  the  index  of  the  city's  prosperity. 
Nor  is  it  the  home  of  retired  wealth  and  latent  capital,  notwithstanding  a 
million  dollars  of  surplus  and  deposits  in  its  three  Iranks.  Coldwater  could 
not  be  called  a  "county  seat  town,"  meaning  that  the  court  house  was  the  hub 
of  its  enterprise.  In  fact,  Coldwater  is  all  of  these  things,  and  yet  in  sucli 
proportion  that  its  welfare  does  not  depend  on  any  one  class  of  enterprise. 
Coldwater  has  never  been  "boomed,"  but  has  grown  steadily  and  conservatively 
since  Allen  Tibbits  and  Joseph  Hanchett  platted  the  first  site  seventy-five  years 
ago.  Very  few  towns  survive  a  genuine  "boom,"  just  as  very  few  speculators 
e\er  leave  the  stock  market  with  a  fortune — and  for  the  same  reason.  The 
business  men  of  Coldwater  would  not  welcome  a  flush  of  enterprise  whose 
after  effects  might  prove  disastrous  to  the  stability  of  the  city.  For  fifteen 
years  Coldwater  and  Branch  cbunty  have  been  doing  business  on  the  credit 
side  of  the  ledger,  have  ceased  to  be  borrowers  and  become  lenders,  and  this 
is  the  kind  of  prosperity  that  is  worth  maintaining. 

The  courthouse  was  built  in  Coldwater  in  1848.  About  the  same  time 
came  the  telegraph,  and  in  1850  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad     These  were  the 


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94  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

events  of  most  importance  during  the  history  of  the  village.  The  stage  coach 
ceased  as  an  institution,  and  the  expectant  postmaster  ceased  to  listen  for  the 
blast  which  announced  the  coming  of  the  mail  coach,  and  instead  Hstened  for 
the  whistle  of  the  locomotive  on  the  south  side  of  the  village.  Aflother  evi- 
dence of  growth  was  the  organization  of  the  first  regular  fire  protection  serv- 
ice, in  August,  1856,  when  Excelsior  Company  No.  i  came  into  existence  with 
its  manual  engine  and  hose  cart. 

These  improvements  led  the  way  for  the  formation  of  a  city  government 
in  1861,  by  special  charter  from  the  legislature.  The  first  mayor  was  the  late 
Albert  Chandler,  and  his  fellow  ofticials  comprised  such  well  known  names  as 
Robert  F.  Mockridge,  John  S.  Youngs,  Franklin  D.  Marsh,  F.  V.  Smith,  J.  S. 
Barber,  Isaac  P.  Alger,  E.  W.  Bovee,  L.  D.  Crippen,  David  N.  Green,  E.  A. 
Knowlton,  The  principal  city  and  village  officers  from  1837  to  the  present 
will  be  found  in  the  official  lists. 

The  municipal  improvements  and  institutions  of  Coldwater  have  come 
into  existence  in  keeping  with  its  material  wealth  and  the  general  spirit  of 
progress.  By  looking  back  it  is  possible  to  date  the  beginning  of  many  im- 
provements that  now  seem  to  be  the  very  basis  of  comfort  and  security.  We 
recall  the  frequent  admonitions  of  the  editor  of  the  Sentinel  during  the  forties 
that  the  citizens  should  give  attention  to  the  streets  and  sidewalks,  which 
were  in  an  execrable  condition,  calling  particular  attention  to  the  many  mud 
holes  and  lack  of  sidewalks  on  the  business  .section  of  Chicago  street.  It  is 
the  faculty  and  privilege  of  "practical  optimism"  while  realizing  the  much 
that  remains  to  be  accomplished  that  it  yet  delights  in  the  present  conditions 
which  form  so  happy  a  contrast  with  the  past.  Since  the  decade  of  the  forties, 
and  in  every  subsequent  decade,  a  constant  change  for  the  better  has  been 
going  on  to  affect  the  beauty  and  convenience  of  Coldwater's  thoroughfares. 
Some  day  the  grateful  citizens  may  erect  a  monument  in  honor  of  those  whose 
foresight  and  care  proyided  for  the  planting  of  the  thousands  of  shade  trees 
along  the  principal  streets.  The  usefulness  of  the  cement  which  is  now  manu- 
factured in  such  large  quantities  in  the  county  finds  no  better  evidence  than  in 
the  miles  of  sidewalk  which  have  taken  the  place  of  the  old-time  board  or 
grave!  walk  and  to  a  large  extent  the  brick  walks. 

The  business  section,  which  was  the  special  object  of  attack  on  the  part 
of  the  Sentinel  editor,  now  would  certainly  satisfy  his  ideals.  About  1900 
Chicago  street  from  the  public  square  to  Jackson  street  was  substantially  paved 
with  brick,  and  one  or  two  of  the  intersecting  streets,  notably  Monroe,  were 
paved  for  a  short  distance  on  either  side.  This  paving  has  done  as  much  as 
anything  else  toward  rendering  the  business  section  cleanly,  convenient  and 
giving  it  a  metropolitan  appearance. 

This  anticipates  the  consecutive  order  of  municipal  progress.  The  most 
valuable  of  all  municipal  works  is  water  works.  The  proposition  to  build  a 
system  of  water  works  in  Coldwater  was  submitted  to  the  citizens  on  April 
8,  1890,  and  carried  by  a  majority  of  345  out  of  1,199.  votes  cast.  The  first 
cost  of  the  plant  was  seventy  thousand  dollars,  but  improvements  and  exten- 
sions since  that  date  have  cost  half  as  much  more.     Mimicipal  ownership  of 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  1>5 

these  and  similar  public  utilities  is  fixed  by  principle  and  long  custom  in  Cold- 
water,  and  so  we  find  the  water  works  and  the  electric  lighting  plant  run  in 
conjunction.     The  city  electric  lighting  plant  was  installed  in  1891. 

From  the  time  of  their  establishment  until  1903  these  plants  were  under 
the  control  of  an  electric  light  and  water  works  committee,  but  in  the  latter 
\ear  the  legislature  created  a  boai'd  of  public  works  with  supervision  and 
control  over  these  utilities.  The  meuibers  of  this  board  are  appointed  by  the 
mayor  with  the  consent  of  the  council,  and  are  chosen  outside  of  the  council, 
and  after  the  first  year  one  new  member  has  been  chosen  each  year  for  a  term 
of  five  years.  The  first  board  of  public  works,  with  varying  lengths  of  term, 
were  A.  A.  Dorrance,  J.  M.  Crocker,  E.  D.  Luedders,  A.  A.  Sherman,  B.  H. 
Calkins. 

Water  works  is  a  very  essential  factor  in  fire  protection,  but  as  already 
stated,  Coldwaler  had  provisions  in  this  line  years  before  the  water  works  were 
established.  In  1866  the  different  companies  were  organized  as  "The  Fire 
Association  of  Coldwater,"  and  in  1872  this  dejiartment  of  jmblic  service  be- 
came "  The  City  of  Coldwater  Steam  Fire  Engine  Company,"  that  being  the 
date  of  the  purchase  of  the  first  steam  fire  engine.  The  department  was  or- 
ganized on  its  present  basis  in  the  nineties,  consisting  of  a  chief  and  a  num- 
jjer  of  firemen,  all  of  whom  are  paid  a  salary,  but  only  two  are  constantly  on 
duty  at  the  fire  station.  James  B.  Smullen  is  at  present  chief  of  the  depart- 
ment. The  apparatus,  consisting  chiefly  of  engine,  hose  cart  and  hook  and 
ladder  truck,  is  housed  in  the  lower  story  of  the  city  hail,  on  South  Monroe 
street,  the  second  story  of  this  building  being  used  as  council  chamber  and  of- 
fices for  the  city  officials: 

Churches  and  schools  are  described  on  other  pages,  also  the  public  li- 
brary, which  was  instituted  in  1880,  and  the  E.  R.  Qarke  Library  building, 
erected  in  1886.  A  building,  which,  though  buiit  by  private  enterprise,  is  in 
every  sense  a  public  institution,  is  the  Tibbets  Opera  House.  It  was  erected 
by  B.  S.  Tibbits,  and  was  opened  for  the  first  performance. on  September  21, 
1882,  the  "  Maid  of  Arran  "  being  given  on  that  night.  This  beautiful  little 
playhouse  on  South  Hanchett  street  has  been  a  familiar  center  for  meetings 
and  entertainments  of  many  kinds  through  nearly  a  generation. 

It  remains  to  record  briefly  some  of  the  more  important  and  long  estab- 
lished business  concerns  of  Coldwater.  The  professions  and  the  manufactur- 
ing interests  are  elsewhere  described.  No  doubt  the  oldest  mercantile  con- 
cern of  Coldwater  is  E.  R.  Clarke  &  Co.,  which  was  established  in  1850 
by  the  late  Edwin  R.  Clarke  as  a  drug  store.  The  store  has  always  been  con- 
ducted by  the  Clarke  family,  and  has  grown  to  be  one  of  the  best  known  es- 
lablishments  in  Branch  county,  its  location  always  having  been  on  the  north- 
east corner  of  Monroe  and  Chicago  streets. 

One  who  was  familiar  with  the  mercantile  section  of  Coldwater  thirty 
years  ago  but  who  had  in  the  meantime  been  away,  would  find  on  returning 
at  this  time  several  of  the  familiar  merchants  and  stores  that  he  had  once 
known.     Among  these  would  be  the  Sloman  clothing  house.  The  drug  house 


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96  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

formerly  conducted  by  A.  A.  Dorrance  would  now  be  found  in  the  hands  of 
his  son,  A.  J.  E>orrance.  The  Flandermeyer  boot  and  shoe  house  was  in  bus- 
iness thirty-five  years  ago  as  well  as  to-day.  The  Woodward,  Barber  &  Co. 
of  that  time,  general  dealers,  has  since  become  the  Woodward  &  Son  dry 
goods  and  furnishing  store.  Another  outgrowth  of  this  old  firm  is  the 
present  department  store  of  J.  B.  Branch  &  Company,  which  was  organized 
in  1877.  In  1877  also  was  established  the  Conover  Engraving  and  Printing 
Company,  by  the  late  J.  S.  Conover.  Charles  A.  Conover  now  conducts  the 
business,  which  covers  an  individual  field  in  Coldwater  and  is  one  of  the  larg- 
est concerns  of  its  kind  in  Southern  Michigan. 

T.  A.  Hilton,  the  clothier,  is  another  business  man  who  has  been  suc- 
cessfully engaged  in  merchandising  on  Chicago  street  for  thirty  years  or 
more.  Mr.  A.  B.  Walker,  proprietor  of  the  Coldwater  steam  laundry,  has 
been  in  that  line  of  business  since  1888.  The  real  estate  firm  of  R,  C.  Saw- 
dey  &  Son,  which  was  founded  by  the  late  R.  C.  Sawdey  over  thirty-five 
years  ago  and  is  now  conducted  by  W.  S.  Sawdey,  has  a  long  and  enviable 
record  in  its  line  of  business. 

L.  M.  Bassett  &  Son  are  jewelers  at  48  West  Chicago  St.  in  the 
same  building   in   which   Mr,    Bassett,   the   father,   began  business  in   1851. 

The  business  of  the  Milnes  Supply  Company,  54-56  W.  Chicago  St., 
was  begun  by  Mr.  Henry  Milnes,  the  grandfather  of  Mr.  Harry  L.  Milnes 
of  the  present  firm,  in   1863. 

The  hardware  business  of  the  Chandler  family  dates  back  to  1S41, 
when  Hon.  Albert  Chandler  began  his  long  and  active  life  as  a  resident 
of  Coldwater.  The  family  has  been  represented  in  this  business  ever  since, 
the  name  being  continued  now  in  the  firm  of  Chandler  &  Lee,  38  W. 
Chicago  St.  V.  L.  Nettleton  &  Co.,  at  49  W.  Chicago  St.,  continue  the 
hardware  business  begun  by  the  father  of  Mr.  Vernon  L.  in  1866.  Previous 
to  1889  there  had  been  only  three  hardware  stores  in  Coldwater.  In  that 
year  Kerr  Bros,  opened  the  fourth  in  the  city's  history,  goiilg  into  the  fine 
building  which  they  erected  and  now  occupy  in  1891.  On  Dec.  30,  1889, 
David  C.  Allen  began  to  carry  on  the  hardware  business  which  had  been 
previously  owned  by  John  T.  Starr.  He  continues  the  business  at  9  W. 
Chicago  St.,  under  the  firm  name  of  D.  C.  Allen  &  Co. 

The  planing  mill  of  Ball  Bros,  has  for  years  shaped  the  lumber  for 
the  woodwork  of  many  a  building  in  the  county.  Their  business  was 
begun  in  1866  with  the  firm  of  Ball  &  Mauger.  Lewis  Hedgerton  has  a 
record  of  thirty-four  years'  continuous  work  in  the  city  as  blacksmith  and 
horseshoer,  He  began  in  the  stone  shop  on  W,  Chicago  St.  in  1872,  but 
soon  came  to  Hancbett  St.,  where  he  now  is  with  Mr.  John  M.  Chadsey 
as  his  partner.  Rumbing  is  no  unimportant  item  in  the  life  of  a  modem 
civilized  community.  The  firm  of  Mansel]  &  Kappler,  plumbers,  con- 
tinue at  23  South  Monroe  St.  the  business  begvm  by  Mr.  George  Mansell 
in  1865.  when  he  bought  out  the  business  of  Mr.  Wilder.  Mr.  Mansell 
has   been   continuously    in   the   plumbing   business    in    Coldwater   for   over 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  97 

forty  years.  The  first  real  modern  plumbing  in  any  house  in  the  county  was 
that  in  the  residence  of  Mr.  Henry  C,  Lewis  on  E.  Chicago  St.,  which  was 
pi.it  in  by  Mr.  Mansell  in  1S64.  The  son,  Mr.  Edwin  Mansell,  now  has  his 
father's  place  in  the  firm. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

BRANCH  COUNTY'S  VILLAGES. 

Union  City. 

A  brief  .summary  of  the  conspicuous  features  of  Union  City's  history 
from  the  time  of  settlement,  which  has  already  been  sketched,  will  be  given 
in  this  chapter,  as  also  similar  sketches  of  the  other  villages  of  the  county. 
Union  City  had  splendid  natural  advantages,  especially  in  the  way  of  water 
power  for  manufacturing  purposes,  and  we  already  know  that  the  site  was 
selected  for  this  reason.  That  these  resources  were  not  developed  and  that 
Union  City  did  not  become  a  place  of  first  imixjrtance  was  due  evidently 
to  the  fact  that  during  the  greater  part  of  the  last  century  the  village  had 
no  transportation  facilities.  It  was  the  building  of  the  Air  Line  Rail- 
road in  1870  that  gave  the  village  its  greatest  impulse,  and  since  then  it 
has  in  large  nieasiu'e  overcome  the  handicap  which  its  sister  villages  of 
Quinry  and  Bronson  did  not  have. 

riuring  the  thirties  and  forties  the  people  of  the  middle  west  were 
about  efjiialiy  agitated  and  divided  in  opinion  as  to  advisabiHty  between 
ship  canals  and  railroads.  Union  City  declared  in  favor  of  canals.  That 
was  not  unnatural,  because  in  the  St.  Joseph  river  the  citizens  thought  they 
had  a  natural  water  way  that  needed  only  a  httle  dredging  and  straighten- 
ing to  become  navigable  from  I-ake  Michigan  to  Union  City,  whence  an 
overland  canal  would  connect  with  the  Lake  Erie  watershed.  Both  the 
Michigan  Central  and  Michigan  Southern  railroads  were  in  process  of  con- 
struction at  this  time,  hut,  absorbed  in  the  canal  project.  Union  City  let 
both  pass  her  to  the  side.  The  hopes  of  a  canal  soon  after  died  and'  the 
disappointed  villagers  had  to  wait  twenty  years  before  opportunity  again 
appeared.  This  time  it  was  the  railroad,  the  short  line  that  was  being  con- 
structed largely  by  private  enterprise  and  popular  subscription  from  Jack- 
son to  Niles.  Union  City  became  a  station  on  this  road,  and  when  trains 
began  running  over  the  line  in  1870  the  problem  of  transportation  was 
solved  and  the  industrial  and  business  development  so  long  delayed  could 
now  proceed  without  interruption. 

Union  City  during  her  early  days  made  no  mean  efforts  to  become  a 
manufacturing  center.  The  "  Union  City  Iron  Company,"  which  was  in- 
corporated in  March,  1847,  was  the  most  pretentious  of  these  pioneer  en- 
terprises. Bog  iron  ore  exists  in  many  places  in  southern  Michigan,  Butler 
and  Union  townships  having  large  deposits  in  their  lake  beds,  and  the 
company  was  formed  to  manufacture  this  ore  into  pig-iron.     A  blast  fur- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  99 

nace  was  built  at  Union  City,  and  the  smelting  of  the  ore  continued  for 
some  years.  Finally  the  plant  was  converted  into  a  foundry  for  the  manu- 
facture of  ijlows  and  other  iron  work. 

Before  the  coming  of  the  railroad,  Union  City  was  incorporated  as  a 
village.  The  petition  for  incorporation  was  put  before  the  board  of  super- 
visors in  1865,  when  there  were  545  inhabitants  within  the  area  proposed  to 
be  incorporated.  In  response  to  the  petition  the  board  incorporated  the 
"  Village  of  Union  City,"  and  at  the  first  election,  held  January  25,  1866, 
the  following  were  the  citizens  chosen  to  direct  village  affairs :  President, 
Isaac  Jones;  Trustees,  H.  F.  Ewers,  J.  D.  Hawthorn,  J.  W.  Smith,  Caleb 
Lincoln,  Ansel  Knowles,  Richard  Avery ;  Clerk,  G.  W.  Buell ;  Treasurer, 
C,  A.  Seymour;  Assessors,  E.  Barber,  Hiram  Crissy;  Street  Commissioners, 
C.  E,  Ewers,  S.  B.  Simms,  J.  S.  Rowell.  Mr.  Jones  did  not  qualify  and 
the  vacancy  was  filled  by  the  appointment  of  Dr.  H.  F.  Ewers  as  president. 
At  the  regular  election  held  March  6,  1866,  the  following  officers  were  chosen 
for  the  ensuing  year:  President,  S.  H.  Nye;  Trustees,  A.  P.  West.  J.  C. 
Leonard,  H.  F.  Ewers,  Solomon  Parsons,  A.  B.  Aiken,  C.  A.  Whiting; 
Clerk,  C.  W.  Saunders ;  Treasurer,  J.  T.  Leonard ;  Marshal,  M,  Morrill ; 
Assessors,  Edwin  Barber,  Hiram  Crissy;  Street  Commissioners,  Sindal  Mor- 
rill, Asa  Hawley,  J.  S.  Rowell.  Tlie  village  was  granted  a  new  charter 
by  the  state  legislature  March  23,  1869,  under  which  aff'airs  were  con- 
ducted until  the  passage  by  the  state  legislature  in  1895  of  the  blanket 
charter  now  governing  all  villages  in  the  State  of  Michigan. 

Union  City  was  a  station  on  the  "  underground  railroad '"  in  the  years 
of  anti-slavery  agitation.  The  village  was  a  hotbed  of  freedom.  Many  of 
the  citizens  had  pronounced  views  on  the  vital  questions  then  disturbing  the 
country.  But  the  foremost  actor  in  the  cause  of  anti-slavery  when  it  came 
to  practical  helpfulness  was  the  late  John  D.  Zimmerman,  blacksmith  by 
trade,  a  pioneer  settler  of  1838,  and  one  of  the  strongest  and  most  pictur- 
esque tigures  in  the  early  history  of  the  village.  He  was  the  "  station 
master  "  for  the  "  slave  railroad,"  and  many  a  time  he  would  get  up  from 
his  bed  at  midnight  to  carry  a  slave  to  the  next  station  at  Marshall.  He 
was  a  man  of  deep  religious  and  moral  convictions,  and  never  once  did 
he  murmur  at  the  hardships  and  actual  dangers  that  this  work  put  upon  him. 

In  public  improvements  Union  City  is  abreast  of  the  times.  Naturally, 
one  of  the  first  movements  would  be  for  efficient  fire  protection,  which 
resulted  in  the  fire  department.  The  bucket  brigade  system  was  superseded 
when  the  village  council  voted  an  appropriation  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars 
to  buy  a  hand  engine  and  complementary  equipment.  This  apparatus  was 
installed  in  July,  1872,  and  on  February  4,  1873,  the  fire  company  was 
organized,  consisting  of  43  members,  A  new  fire  company,  of  33  members, 
was  formed  in  January,  1875,  and  called  the  "  St.  Joseph  Fire  Company  of 
Union  City."  In  1876  a  lot  was  purchased  on  High  street  east  of  Broadway 
and  the  two-story  brick  engine  house  was  built  at  a  cost  of  $2,150.  This 
building  is  still  the  fire  department  and  municipal  headquarters,  the  council 
rooms  being  located  on  the  second  floor.     A  steam  fire  engine  was  purchased 


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100  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

in  1886.  btit  lias  been  little  used  since  the  water  works  were  built.  Tlie 
.  Union  City  Fire  Department  now  has  twelve  volunteer  members,  of  which 
the  chief  is  W.  H.  Rowe,  and  their  prompt  and  efficient  service  is  all  that 
is  needed  to  supplement  the  excellent  mechanical  equipment. 

In  1894  the  citizens  of  Union  City  voted  to  build  and  operate  a  water 
works  plant  and  also  purchase  the  electric-light  plant  which  had  been  there- 
tofore operated  as  a  private  enterprise  by  Rheubottora  and  Bond.  The 
proposition  provided  for  the  issue  of  $25,000  of  municipal  bonds,  $20,000 
to  build  the  water  works  and  $5,000  for  the  electric-light  plant.  In  the 
spring  of  1895  both  plants  were  in  operation  by  the  city.  The  original  cost 
of  the  water  works  was  $21,450,  and  extensions  have  been  made  to  new 
portions  of  the  village  at  various  times  since  then.  The  water  supply  is 
obtained  from  deep  wells.  The  pumping  station  is  in  the  same  building 
with  the  electric  power  house,  and  the  two  plants  are  run  in  conjunction. 
The  electric  light  plant  was  entirely  remodeled  in  1900,  a  new  equipment 
of  the  best  and  latest  electrical  macliinery  being  installed.  For  this  im- 
provement additional  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $8,000  were  voted. 

In  describing  Union  City  in  1903,  Mr.  T.  F.  Robinson  of  the  Register- 
Weekiy  had  this  to  say  of  some  other  features  of  the  village,  and  the  de- 
scription is  as  true  to-day  as  three  years  ago: 

"  The  wide  streets  of  the  city  are  remarkably  well  looked  after  and 
there  are  miles  of  handsome  and  durable  cement  sidewalks  and  cross-walks. 
Two  public  parks  are  well  cared  for  and  they  prove  most  convenient  for 
public  assemblages  in  the  summer  time.  In  Monument  Park  stands  a  fine 
soldiers'  monument,  flanked  on  either  side  by  cannon  which  were  contrib- 
uted by  the  United  States  government.  Thousands  of  beautiful  shade  trees 
line  every  residence  street,  and  citizens  generally  take  great  pride  in  the 
appearance  of  their  lawns  and  grounds.  The  Union  City  Opera  House 
has  been  just  recently  remodeled  by  its  new  owner,  Mr.  N.  E.  Tower.  The 
Union  City  postoffice  now  occupies  a  new  brick  block  on  Hammond  street, 
and  the  interior  was  fitted  up  expressly  for  the  purpose.  The  outfit  is 
unexcelled   in   this  section,   and  patrons   feel   correspondingly  proud   of   it." 

For  a  list  of  the  important  village  officers,  for  a  description  of  the 
schools,  the  manufacturing  and  banking  interests,  the  churches  and  societies, 
the  reader  is  referred  to  other  chapters  of  this  volume.  This  sketch  of 
Union  City  may  properly  be  concluded  with  brief  notice  of  some  of  the 
men  who  have  for  3  number  of  years  been  connected  with  the  mercantile 
life  of  the  village. 

One  of  the  first  to  be  named  would  be  F.  C.  Rheubottom,  who  entered 
upon  his  career  as  manufacturer  and  merchant  at  Union  City  in  1868. 
H.  H.  Chase,  the  jeweler,  made  the  beginning  of  a  large  business  in  1S67 
and  his  is  one  of  the  few  names  of  the  present  that  were  listed  in  the 
old  Branch  County  directory  of  1870.  One  of  the  long-time  merchants  now 
deceased  was  Horace  A.  Corbin,  who  became  the  partner  of  Hiram  Crissv 
in  a  general  store  as  long  ago  as  1856,  and  was  for  about  thirty  years  jn 
business.     He  died  in  1896.     The  associate  of  Mr.  Corbin  in  the  dry-goods 


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,  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  101 

business  during  the  later  years  was  John  B.  Tucker,  who  died  in  1895  after 
half  a  centtiry  of  business  activity  in  Union  Citv- 

In  the  death  of  George  W.'Buell  in  1905' Union  City  lost  a  pioneer 
business  man,  who  was  in  mercantile  business  here  during  the  sixties  and 
was  a  principal  in  the  old  Exchange  Bank  and  in  the  organization  of  the 
Union  City  National  Bank,  and  in  many  ways  was  identified  with  the  in- 
terests of  his  village. 

Other  business  men  of  Union  City  are  Martin  R  Buell,  now  retired,  but 
for  twenty-eight  years,  from  January,  1871,  station  agent  at  this  point. 
Mortimer  Vosburgh  has  also  been  in  various  positions  here  since  1871,  Fred 
C.  Wilkins  began  the  drug  and  book  business  here  in  1878.  James  R. 
Corwin,  who  established  a  marble  and  granite  business  in  188 1 ;  Samuel 
Corbin,  who  began  business  as  wool  and  grain  buyer  here  before  the  com- 
pletion of  the  railroad :  Henry  Seymour,  who  began  the  grocery  business  in 
1877  and  afterward  ijecame  prominent  in  other  lines  as  well  as  public 
official;  M.  P.  Maxon,  whose  career  as  merchant  began  in  1880;  Chauncev 
W.  Saunders,  now  deceased,  who  began  a  retail  shoe  business  in  1858  and 
who  for  years  was  influential  in  business  and  civil  life,  are  names  verv 
closely  associated  with  the  business  life  of  Union  City, 

QulNCr. 

In  time  the  settiement  at  the  central  portion  of  Quincy  township  de- 
veloped into  a  village.  The  stores  and  mechanical  and  professional  activ- 
ities, already  described  during  the  first  years,  did  not  stop  at  the  stage 
which  would  make  a  country  hamlet,  as  we  have  seen  to  be  the  case  in  more 
than  one  such  nucleus  of  settlement.  No  doubt  the  great  impulse  to  growth 
was  given  by  the  railroad,  which  was  built  through  the  site  of  Quincy  in 
1850.  It  is  said  that,  had  not  the  enterprise  of  several  citizens  intervened 
to  prevent,  Quincy  would  not  have  been  made  a  station  on  the  railroad, 
but  the  station  would  have  been  located  several  miles  east  on  the  county 
line.  The  location  depended  on  the  ability  of  Quincy  to  build  a  freight 
house,  and  it  was  owing  to  the  energy  and  zeal  of  the  late  Lucas  Josepih, 
whose  career  was  so  markedly  identified  at  ail  times  with  the  best  interests 
of  this  village,  that  the  building  was  erected. 

In  1853  the  old  tavern  on  the  site  of  the  Quincy  House,  one  or  two 
stores,  the  postoffice,  and  some  professional  and  mechanical  interests  were 
all  that  Quincy  could  claim  in  the  direction  of  village  growth.  But  in  the 
following  three  or  four  years  a  number  of  business  and  dwelling  houses 
were  erected.  In  1856  the  village  was  platted,  the  plat  being  signed  by 
the  owners  of  the  site,  being  the  well  known  names  of  Enos  G.  Berry, 
Joseph  Berry,  John  Broughton,  William  Cole,  John  Sebring,  WiUiam 
Arnold,  Cyrus  Lusk,  Christopher  Conley,  and  Martin  Hawley. 

Two  years  later,  when  it  is  estimated  there  were  four  hundred  people 
on  the  village  plat,  the  village  was  incorporated  by  the  county  board  of 
supervisors,  on  October   14.   1858.     At  the  first  village  election,  which  was 


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102  HISTORY  O'F  BRANCH  COUNTY 

held  in  the  following  November,  the  following  men  were  chosen  to  conduct 
the  affairs  of  the  corporation:  Ebenezer  Mudge,  President;  Moses  A. 
Hewett,  Cierk;  Cornelius  Shear,  Havens  Wilhur,  David  C.  Myers,  John 
Sebring,  William  P.  Arnoid,  Martin  Hawley,  Trustees;  Aldeii  Gregory, 
Treasurer;  Harlow  W.  WilHams  and  Julius  I.  Gregory,  Assessors;  Allen 
C.  Culver,  Marshal.  The  principal  officers  of  the  village  for  all  the  years 
will  be  found  in  the  official  lists. 

By  1870  Ouincy  had  become  a  village  of  nine  hundred  population. 
During  the  preceding  decade  its  enterprise  had  been  broadened  in  many 
ways.  A  stave  and  heading  factory  had  been  established  in  1864.  and  was 
one  of  the  cornerstones  of  the  village's  subsequent  growth.  A  sawmill  had 
been  built  in  1855  and  a  flouring  mill  in  1863. 

An  interesting  contrast  illustrating  the  growth  of  the  village  is  found 
in  the  character  of  the  buildings.  The  first  brick  building  was  erected  on 
Chicago  street  in  1855.  The  Imsiness  section  for  a  number  of  years  has 
been  composed  almost  entirely  of  this  class  of  buildings,  and  there  are  only 
a  comparatively  few  frame  structures  in  use  for  business.  Furthermore, 
the  sidewalks  are  largely  of  cement  or  brick.  The  change  from  wooden 
material  to  brick  and  stone  has  done  more  than  anything  else  to  alter  the 
outward  appearance  of  villages  and  cities  from  the  conditions  of  a  genera- 
tion past. 

In  the  direction  of  public  improvements  Ouincy  has  much  to  be  proud 
of.  A  special  election  on  August  4,  1890,  provided  for  the  bonding  of  the 
village  to  an  amount  not  to  exceed  $6,000  to  build  an  electric  light  plam. 
In  a  short  time  the  old  kerosene  street  lamps,  which  were  the  cause  of 
frequent  complaint  to  the  council,  disappeared  in  favor  of  electricity  on  the 
streets  and  in  many  of  the  stores  and  private  homes. 

Only  four  years  later  Quincy  made  another  step  in  municipal  progress, 
and  this  by  far  the  most  important  in  its  results  for  the  comfort  and  con- 
venience of  the  citizens.  There  was  a  special  election  in  the  village,  August 
6,  1894,  to  vote  on  the  council's  resolution  to  raise  not  to  exceed  $18,000 
by  bonds  for  constructing  and  maintaining  water  works.  The  proposition 
was  carried  by  a  vote  of  203  to  118,  and  the  water  works  were  built.  Tlie 
water  is  pumped  from  driven  wells  adjacent  to  the  power  house  in  the 
public  park  north  of  the  depot.  Both  the  water  works  and  the  electric  light 
plant  are  conducted  by  the  city.  Municipal  ownership  and  operation  of 
purely  public  utilities  seems  to  be  a  well  established  civic  principle  in  Branch 
County. 

The  fire  department  and  council  chambers  are  located  in  a  two-story 
brick  building  on  Main  street  north  of  Chicago.  The  fire  department,  with 
complete  apparatus  of  hose  cart,  hook  and  ladder,  truck  and  other  appur- 
tenances, with  electric  signal  alarms,  and  with  a  disciplined  force  of  volun- 
teer firemen,  had  its  origin  in  some  very  primitive  means  of  fire  protection 
adopted  by  the  village  council  over  forty  years  ago.  In  January,  1863,  the 
council  authorized  the  purchase  for  village  use  of  eight  ladders,  fire  hooks 
and  other  like  equipment,  and  in  1869  a  hundred  feet  of  hose  was  bouo-ht.' 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNl^  103 

The  Quincy  Union  Fire  Company  was  organized  in  January,  1871,  but 
their  apparatus  at  first  consisted  only  of  "  hooks,  ladders  and  pails."  Soon 
after  a  house  was  constructed  for  the  storing  of  apparatus.  In  1873  a 
second-hand  engine,  hose  cart  and  hose  were  purchased  from  Adrian  city, 
and  since  then  the  apparatus  has  been  added  to  in  keeping  with  the  growth 
of  the  village. 

Leaving  for  other  chapters  the  mention  of  specific  interests  of  Quincy, 
this  sketch  may  be  concluded  with  the  mention  of  the  business  men  who 
have  longest  been  identified  with  the  trade  and  other  interests  that  center 
about  the  intersection  of  Main  and  Chicago  streets.  D.  W.  Yoimg.  who 
has  recently  retired,  has  been  in  the  grocery  business  in  Quincy  for  forty- 
two  years.  Tlie  name  Houghtaling  is  synonymous  with  the  drug  business 
as  welt  as  with  the  public  spirit  that  has  been  responsible  for  Quincy's 
advancement.  C.  H.  Houghtaling  has  lived  in  Quincy  and  been  con- 
nected with  its  mercantile  affairs  since  1864,  and  almost  continuously  since 
1881  has  been  in  business  on  his  own  account,  the  firm  now  being  C.  H'. 
Houghtaling  and  Son.  G.  J.  Fillmore,  proprietor  of  the  Commercial  Hotel, 
which  was  formerly  the  Fayette  House,  is  another  who  has  been  identified 
with  the  business  affairs  of  Quincy  for  a  number  of  years  past.  H.  A. 
Graves,  the  present  postmaster,  who  has  lived  here  since  1865,  has  been  in 
the  grocery  business  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century.  F.  E,  Marsh,  former 
postmaster,  has  lived  in  the  village  practically  all  his  life.  As  stated  in  the 
sketch  of  the  First  National  Bank,  C.  L.  Tniesdell  has  been  connected 
with  that  institution  over  twenty  years.  Mr.  M.  S.  Segur,  who  occupies  the 
position  of  cashier  with  the  State  Bank  across  the  street,  was  in  the  mer- 
cantile business  many  years  before  entering  the  bank. 

The  oldest  merchant  in  Quincy  is  A.  L.  Lytle,  who  has  conducted  a 
general  hardware  store  since  1866.  forty  )'ears.  In  the  line  of  lumber  and 
building  material  and  planing  mill  products,  the  name  Salisbury  has  been 
known  for  half  a  century.  Thirty-five  years  ago  J.  B.  Salisbury  appears  ' 
in  an  old  directory  as  proprietor  of  a  sash,  door  and,  blind  factory  and 
steam  sawmill,  and  the  business  is  now  conducted  by  his  son  J.  N.  Salisbury, 
who  has  been  a  resident  of  Quin?y  since  1856.  Other  business  men  are 
J.  B.  Ganong,  who  engaged  in  the  hardware  business  in  Quincy  in  1882  and 
for  some  years  has  conducted  a  plumbing  business  and  windmill  and  gas- 
oHne-engine  retail  house;  also  E.  H.  Kinyon,  proprietor  of  a  general  store, 
and  C.  N.  Wilcox,  the  boot  and  shoe  man. 

The  Village  of  Eronson. 

The  Bronson  in  Branch  county  was  not  the  first  village  in  Michigan 
to  receive  that  name.  In  fact,  it  is  probable  that  the  name  of  the  pioneer 
Jabe  Bronson  would  not  have  been  perpetuated  by  the  Branch  county  vil- 
lage had  not  another  pioneer  been  deprived  of  a  similar  honor.  Here  are 
the  historical   facts  of  the  case: 

In  June,  1S29,  Titus  Bronson,  a  native  of  Middlebury,  Conn.,  came  to 


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lOi  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

the  site  of  the  present  Kalamazoo  city  and  soon  built  a  shanty,  pre-empted 
a  large  share  of  the  plain  on  which  the  village  was  built,  the  hamlet  beinig 
called  Bronson  after  its  founder.  Mr.  Bronson  laid  out  the  village  and 
set  apart  land  for  public  uses,  and  for  several  years,  when  people  spoke  of 
Bronson,  they  referred-  to  what  we  now  know  as  Kalamazoo.  But  in  1836, 
the  legislature,  at  the  instance  of  Bronson's  enemies,  it  is  alleged,  changed 
the  name  to  Kalamazoo,  and  in  the  same  year  Titus  Bronson  moved  away 
to  Illinois. 

A  year  before  Titus  Bronson,  the  founder  of  Kalamazoo,  settled  at 
that  place,  Jabe  Bronson  had  located  on  Bronson's  prairie.  He  was  also 
from  Connecticut,  and  it  is  a  reasonable  inference  that  he  was  a  relative 
of  Titus.  But  as  the  first  settler  of  this  locality  he  fared  better.  For 
not  only  was  the  township  named  for  him,  but  the  village  of  York,  as 
it  was  first  known,  became  and  has  since  remained  Bronson  village.  This 
was  done  by  an  act  of  the  legislature  approved  in  1837,  and  reading  as 
follows : 

"  All  that  portion  of  the  county  of  Branch,  known  as  the  township  of 
Prairie  River,  and  the  village  in  said  township  by  the  nam-e  of  York,  shall 
*     *     *     be  known  by  the  name  of  Bronson." 

The  village  of  Bronson  has  been  the  continuation  of  the  early  settle- 
ment begun  on  Bronson  prairie  in  1828.  An  account  of  the  beginnings  of 
this  settlement  has  been  given  in  a  pre\'ious  chapter.  Though  this  Bronson 
community  was  the  first  in  the  county  to  begin  its  life,  that  of  Quincy 
preceded  it  in  becoming  incorporated  as  a  village,  Quincy  was  incorporated 
in  1858.  it  was  not  until  eight  years  later,  1866,  that  the  Bronson  people 
applied  to  the  powers  that  be  to  become  a  village.  In  this  same  year  of 
1866,  though  a  few  months  earlier,  Union  City  had  been  incorporated,  so 
that  of  the  four  villages  in  the  county  Bronson  stands  third  in  the  order 
.  of  their  incorporation.  Sherwood,  the  fourth,  did  not  reach  this  status  un- 
til  1S87. 

In  1866  the  law  relating  to  the  incorporation  of  villages  was  the  legis- 
lative act  of  1857,  which  vested  autboMty  for  it  in  the  boards  of  super- 
visors of  counties.  At  the  October  session  of  the  board  of  supervisors  of 
Branch  county,  a  petition  was  presented  to  them  asking  that  they  incor- 
porate the  Village  of  Bronson.  This  petition  is  spoken  of  in  the  records 
of  the  board  in  the  county  clerk's  office  as  having  been  signed  by  George  F. 
Gillam,  Henry  Powers,  L.  A.  Rose  and  fourteen  others.  October  10,  1866, 
the  board  granted  unanimously  the  petition,  and  made  the  persons  within 
a  certain  tract  of  land  a  body  corporate  and  [Xilitic  under  the  name  of  the 
"  Village  of  Bronson."  Tlie  tract  of  land  was  just  a  mile  square,  and  lay 
in  sections  11,  12,  i;^,  and  ,14.  It  was  thus  described:  The  south  half  of 
the  northeast  quarter  and  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  11,  the  south 
half  of  the  northwest  quarter  and  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  12, 
the  north  half  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  13,  and  the  north  half  of 
the  northeast  quarter  of  section  14.     The  area  as  then  defined  has  remained 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  105 

unchanged  in  its  IxJundaries,  and  will  be  observed  to  stand  uijon  any  map 
of  it  as  a  perfect  square. 

The  act  of  incorporation  ordered  the  f:rst  election  to  "  be  held  in 
that  territory  at  the  hotel  in  Bronson  formerly  kept  by  Mariam  Thompson, 
on  Monday,  the  26th  day  of  November  next."  At  that  election  officers  were 
chosen  as  follows :  President,  Warren  Byms ;  trustees,  Cyrus  J.  Keyes, 
Jason  Shepard,  Augustus  Pixley,  Lorenzo  A.  Rose,  Leonard  C.  Qark, 
Henry  Powers;  corporation  clerk,  Andrew  S.  Parrish;  treasurer,  Joseph  E. 
Earl;  marshal,  Spellinan  Dennis;  assessor,  George  Gillam;  highway  commis- 
sioner, Joseph  E.  Earl. 

In  1871  the  village  was  reincorporated  by  an  act  of  the  state  legisia- 
ture,  approved  March  2.  The  first  election  under  the  new  charter  was  or- 
dered to  be  held  "  at  the  hotel  on  the  corner  of  Matteson  and  Chicago  streets  " 
on  the  first  Monday  of  March,  1871.  By  this  new  charter  the  marshal  was 
to  be  appointed  by  the  trustees  and  was  to  hold  office  for  one  year. 

The  numlier  of  people  who  Fssociated  themselves  together  in  1866  to 
live  as  an  incorporated  village  was  603.  This  was  the  number  found  by  a 
special  census  and  reported  to  the  board  of  supervisors  in  the  petition  for  in- 
corporation. The  volumes  of  the  national  census  of  1870  and  of  the  state 
census  of  1874  do  not  give  us  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  separate  from 
those  of  the  township.  Not  until  1880  do  the  census  men  seem  to  realize 
that  the  village  is  distinct  and  important  enough  to  be  reported  by  itself. 
But  from  1880  on  we  can  give  its  population  according  to  every  census  taken 
by  the  state  and  by  the  general  government.  It  is  as  follows:  in  1880.  826; 
in  1884,  823;  in  1890,  875;  in  1894,  864;  in  1900,  1,176;  and  in  1904,  1,107. 
In  the  14  years  from  1866  to  1880,  the  population  increased  from  603  to  826, 
or  about  200.  The  next  14  years  it  was  virtually  stationary  at  about  850. 
But  during  the  next  six  years  from  1894  to  1900  it  jumped  from  864  to  1,176, 
an  increase  of  312.  The  stationary  period  of  the  village  from  1880  on  is  a 
part  of  the  stationary  period  of  the  population  of  the  county  as  a  whole 
from  that  year  on.  exhibited  in  a  previous  chapter.  The  local  break  and 
large  increase  in  the  population  of  the  village  in  1900  is  doubtless  due  to 
the  establishment  of  the  Portland  cement  plant  a  mile  northeast  of  it 
in  1897.  That  year  igoo  was  the  high-water  mark  of  its  population  in 
the  census  years,  the  census  of  1904  showing  a  decrease  of  69  in  the  four 
years   following   1900. 

A  large  number  of  Poles  have  settled  in  Bronson  township,  but  only 
a  few  have  ever  lived  in  the  village.  In  1884  there  were  only  45  foreign- 
born  persons  in  the  village  in  a  population  of  823.  This  was  only  a 
little  more  than  five  per  cent,  or  one  in  18.  ■ 

The  more  important  events  that  have  taken  place  in  the  life  of  Bronson 
during  the  forty  years  of  its  corporate  existence  as  a  village  are  the  fol- 
lowing: The  burning  of  the  store  of  Powers  &  Gillam,  Jan.  9,  1867; 
the  erection  of  a  fine  brick  business  block  on  the  south  side  of  Chicago  street 
next  to  Matteson  street  in  1867;  the  building  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  in   1871;  the  building  of  the  first  Roman  Catholic  church   and  the 


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106  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

organization  of  the  Bronson  Cornet  Band  in  1877;  the  organization  of  the 
Ladies'  Library  Association  in  i88o;  the  erection  of  Clark's  opera  house, 
the  establishment  of  the  bank  of  L.  M.  Rudd  &  Son,  and  the  great  fire  on 
the  north  side  of  Chicag-o  street  in  1884;  the  fire  on  Matteson  street  in 
which  the  Htirleys  perished  in  1886;  the  introduction  of  electric  light  in 
this  same  year;  the  erection  of  the  Congregational  church  in  1887;  the 
change  of  the  Ladies'  Library  to  the  Bronson  Public  Library  in  :888;  the 
burning  of  J.  Francis  Ruggles'  valuable  collection  of  books  and  historical 
material,  and  the  erection  of  his  present  building  on  Chicago  street  in  i88g; 
the  organization  of  Warren's  Military  Band  in  1892;  the  erection  of  the 
new  Roman  Catholic  church  about  this  time,  and  later  of  St.  Mary's  School ; 
the  establishment  of  the  Portland  cement  plant  and  the  beginning  of  Coward 
Monroe's  banking  business  in  1897;  the  erection  of  the  fine  new  school 
building  in  1901 ;  and  the  or^nization  of  the  Bronson  Woman's  Qub 
in  T903. 

Mr.  Wells  Knapp  has  been  a  business  man  of  Bronson  for  thirty-nine 
years,  having  succeeded  his-  father  in  the  shoe  business.  He  came  to  a 
farm  in  Coldwater  township  in  1866  and  to  Bronson  in  September,  1867, 
where  he  opened  a  shoe  store  and  has  been  in  the  same  bxisiness  on  the  same 
spot  continuously  ever  since,  arid  his  business  career  excels  in  continuous 
length  that  of  anyone  in  Bronson. 

Joseph  Watson,  now  postmaster  and  member  of  the  firm  of  Watson 
and  Davis,  has  been  in  the  jewelry  business  for  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
George  Robinson,  the  grocer,  has  been  here  fifteen  years;  Turner  and  Bush- 
nell,  furniture,  succeeded  Amasa  Ruple  &  Son  ten  years  ago.  A.  J.  Ash- 
breck,  the  druggist,  has  been  in  business  fifteen  years.  Charles  Whitaker 
has  conducted  his  market  15  years.  Randal!  D.  Powers,  dry  goods  and  gro- 
ceries, succeeded  his  father,  Charles  Pmvers,  who  was  listed  as  a  "  general  mer- 
chant "  in  the  okl  directory  of  1870.  Werner  Brothers,  hardware  and 
carriages,  have  been  located  here  fifteen  years.  The  Clark  family  have  been 
identified  with  the  commercial  side  of  the  village  for  many  years.  Milo 
Clark  built  the  principal  hotel  about  1875.  L.  D.  Clark  was  a  merchant  on 
Matteson  street  about  thirty-five  years  ago,  and  Eugene  R.  Clark,  the  dry- 
goods  merchant,  began  business  in  his  father's  store.  Another  son  is  Mvron 
Clark,  also  a  merchant. 

The  library,  the  schools,  the  churches,  the  banks,  the  cement  works  and 
other  features  of  Bronson  are  described  in  the  proper  place  on  other  pages. 

Warren's  Military  Band,  now  the  Bronson  Band,  was  organized  in 
August,  1892.  Mr.  Fred  L.  Warren  was  the  first  leader  and  continued  in 
that  capacity  about  seven  years.  William  Henry  Davis  was  also  with  the 
band  at  the  beginning  and  succeeded  Mr.  Warren  as  leader  and  is  such  at 
the  present  time.  Tliere  were  thirteen  members  at  the  start,  now  there  are 
eighteen.  There  has  been  no  break  in  the  organization,  and  only  one  death-^ 
that  of  Mr.  Charles  Knapp.  The  "  Bronson  Cornet  Band  "  was  an  active 
organization  some  years  ago. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  107 

Sherwood. 

SheTHOod  village  was  born  of  tlie  Air  Line  Railroad.  E.  F.  Hazen 
owned  most  of  the  land  in  section  28  on  which  the  village  has  since  l^een 
built.  The  railroad  was,  constructed  and  trains  began  running  in  1870.  Al- 
most coincideiit  with  that  event  Mr.  Hazen  and  Manton  E.  Sawin  platted  a 
village,  whose  original  name  was  designated  "  Hazenville,"  in  honor  of  its 
founder.  This  site  was  considered  either  so  unpromising  or  so  inconse^ 
qiiential  by  the  directory-makers  of  1870  that  no  mention  is  to  Ijw  foun<l  of 
any  such  village. 

Frank  M.  Warner  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  merchant  opening  a 
grocery,  in  a  building  afterward  used  as  a  hotel.  He  was  succeeded  in  1871 
by  Jerome  J.  Studley,  who  was  also  postmaster.  E.  F.  Hazen  was.  the  rail- 
road agent  at  this  point  and  also  dealt  in  grain.  The  only  im^Mrtant  industry 
in  the  place  at  this  time  was  the  steam  planing  mill,  on  the  south  side  of  the 
village,  its  early  proprietors  being  Sawin  &  Safford.  Tliere  was  also  a 
steam  sawmill  north  of  the  railroad. 

From  this  state  of  beginnings  Sherwood  increased  so  that  in  1887  it  was 
incoqrarated.  In  the  subsequent  twenty  years  its  improvement  has  been  even 
more  marked.  The  wide  streets,  lined  with  luxuriant  shade  trees,  the  hand- 
some public  park,  the  cement  walks — and  the  extent  of  these  is  a  matter  of 
special  pride— are  the  superficial  aspects  of  a  well  ordered  and  enterprising 
village.  The  first  village  cotmcil  convened  March  31,  1887,  the  principal  of- 
ficers in  that  first  body  being  Robeit  Eraser,  president,  and  Elgin  Barton, 
clerk.     The  principal  officials  of  the  village  will  be  found  on  other  pages. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  XV. 
THE  AGRICULTURAL  INDUSTRY— THE  GRANGE, 

Agriculture  as  the  basic  industry  of  America  is  taken  so  much  as  a 
matter  of  course,  and  in  this  history  has  been  so  considered  in  its  smaller 
application  to  Branch  county,  that  specific  statement  of  its  importance  would 
be  superfluous.  The  first  settlers  in  almost  every  instance  were  farmers. 
Even  when  his  ostensible  occupation  was  in  other  lines,  the  pioneer  usually 
cultivated  a  patch  of  ground.  We  remember  that  this  was  true  of  Jabe 
Bronson,  the  tavern-keeper  and  justice.  It  was  true  of  all  those  who  had 
inns  along  the  Chicago  road;  it  was  true  of  the  earliest  merchants  and  doc- 
tors. Specialization  of  industry  did  not  arrive  till  after  the  county  was  well 
settled,  and  ability  to  till  the  soil  was  the  first  requisite  of  the  pioneer.  With 
all  the  building  of  factories  and  mills,  the  increase  of  trade,  the  growing 
importance  of  mechanical  pursuits,  and  the  attraction  of  the  professions, 
agriculture  yet  remains  the  supreme  industry  of  Branch  county.  Leaving 
aside  statistics  concerning  the  industry,  any  abundance  of  which  may  be 
found  in  agricultural  reports  and  census  returns,  it  will  be  the  purpose  of 
this  chapter  to  describe  as  far  as  possible  the  methods  and  circumstances  of 
early  agriculture,  and  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  past  indicate  the  great 
changes  that  have  preceded  modem  agriculture. 

The  pioneer  farmers  of  Branch  county  were  probably  as  progressive 
as  those  of  any  other  part  of  the  country  at  that  time.  TTiey  brought  with 
them  from  their  homes  in  the  older  states  the  methods  which  prevailed  there. 
And  as  many  of  them  came  from  the  east,  which  was  considered  the  most 
progressive  section  of  the.  country,  they  must  have  known  the  best  methods 
of  farming  which  were  practiced  in  their  day. 

But  the  first  farmers  of  this  county  were  confronted  with  a  task  such  as 
has  been  unknown  in  the  settlement  of  the  more  western  prairie  states.  The 
obstacles  to  be  overcome  were  great,  the  implements  and  means  were  primi- 
tive. The  steel  plow  was  not  invented  until  after  Branch  county  had  been 
substantially  settled  and  improved.  Whereas  the  western  prairie  sod  is 
turned  over  for  the  first  time  by  immense  gang-plows,  drawn  by  four  or 
five  horses  or  even  by  a  traction  engine,  the  farmer  of  the  twenties  and 
thirties  had  to  depend  on  a  wooden  moldboard  shod  with  an  iron  share 
roughly  made  at  a  local  blacksmith  shop.  With  this  hint  at  pioneer  condi- 
tions it  is  evident  that  agriculture  has  undergone  development  in  as  wonder- 
ful degree  as  any  other  phase  of  the  county's  history. 

The  pioneer  farmer's  first  work,  after  a  nide  temporary  shelter  had 
been  provided,  was  to  prepare  a  little  spot  of  ground  for  the  first  crop.     Those 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  109 

who  located  on  Coldwater,  Girard  and  other  well  known  prairies — and  as 
we  know  those  were  the  favorite  selections  of  the  first  settlers — were  very 
fortunate  in  this  respect.  Relieved  of  the  necessity  to  clear  off  the  trees, 
they  had  only  to  turn  over  the  sod.  But  even  so  the  undertaking  involved 
labor  that  one  man  alone  could  hardly  accomplish.  The  turf  on  the  so- 
called  prairies  was  very  tough,  and  the  ground  in  most  places  filled  with  a 
net-work  of  wire-like  roots.  If  the  location  was  in  the  woods,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  girdle  the.  trees,  clearing  away  the  underbrush  and  sweeping  the  sur- 
face with  fire.  The  dead  trunks  of  the  trees  were  usually  left  standing  the 
first  season,  and  the  corn  grew  up  among  the  aisles  of  the  blasted  forest. 

Although  the  surface  of  the  ground  had  been  cleared,  just  beneath 
there  remained  the  roots  of  the  former  growth,  and  these,  formed  into 
massive  "  stools,"  were  for  several  years  insuperable  obstacles  to  easy  farm- 
ing. An  ordinary  plow  team  would  have  been  useless  among  the  stools  and 
grubs,  and  a  common  plow  would  have  been  quickly  demolished.  The  plow 
used  was  a  massive  construction  of  wood  and  iron,  and  was  known  as  the 
"  buH  plow."  The  share  and  coulter  were  of  iron  and  made  very  heavy  and 
strong.  The  beam  was  long  and  of  huge  proportions  to  resist  the  enormous 
strain  brought  upon  it.  Usually  the  weight  of  one  of  these  ponderous  bull 
plows  was  about  three  hundred  pounds.  Six  or  seven  yoke  of  oxen,  and 
sometimes  more,  were  required  to  pull  this  implement  through  the  ground. 
With  such  an  equipment  the  ordinary  roots  were  torn  from  the  ground 
like  straws  and  subsequent  cultivation  was  made  easy.  It  usually  took  two 
persons  to  do  the  plowing,  a  man  to  hold  the  plow  and  either  a  man  or  a  boy 
to  drive  the  team.  This  process  of  "  breaking  "  new  land  was  made  a  regu- 
lar business  by  some  of  the  pioneers,  just  as  threshing  is  at  the  present 
time. 

In  a  few  years  plows  with  iron  moldboards  were  introduced,  but  as 
they  would  not  scour  well  in  all  kinds  of  soil  they  were  not  considered  a 
success  at  first.  Besides,  as  the  ground  was  full  of  roots,  of  new  stumps 
and  standing  trees,  the  wooden  moldboard  was  less  liable  to  break  than  one 
of  iron,  so  it  was  better  adapted  to  the  conditions  than  the  iron  one.  The 
cultivation  was  done  with  the  hoe  at  first,  then  came  the  single-shovel  plow, 
which  was  in  use  for  a  number  of  years.  Among  the  trees,  stumps  and  roots 
both  the  plowing  and  cultivation  were  tedious,  laborious  and  disagreeable 
work.  This  condition  continued  for  a  number  of  years  until  the  stumps  had 
decayed  sufficiently  to  make  it  possible  to  remove  them. 

The  planting  was  likewise  primitive.  As  the  sod  was  turned  over  a 
man  followed  about  every  third  furrow,  dug  into  the  top  of  the  furrow  with 
his  foot  or  with  a  hoe  and  planted  corn,  covering  it  the  same  way.  In  some 
instances  the  corn  was  dropped  in  the  furrow  very  near  the  outside,  so  that 
the  edge  of  the  next  furrow  when  turned  over  would  be  directly  over  the 
grain.  The  corn  would  then  come  through  between  the  furrows.  In  a 
somewhat  similar  way  Bishop  Chase  planted  his  first  crop  of  potatoes  in 
Gilead  in  the  summer  of  1832.  Wheat  was  sown  among  the  stumps  and 
trees.      The  grain   was  harrowed  in  with  a   wooden-toothed   harrow.      The 


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no  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

farmer  who  did  not  have  even  one  of  these  rude  implements  would  cut  a 
small  tree,  trim  off  part  of  the  limbs  so  as  to  leave  a  bushy  end,  weight  jt 
with  a  log,  and  hitching  his  team  to  it  would  get  about  the  same  results  as 
from  a  tooth  harrow. 

In  harvesting  the  corn,  the  stalk  was  not  utilized  as  is  done  at  the  pres- 
ent day.  The  prevailing  practice  was  to  pull  the  ear  from  the  stalk,  husk 
and  all,  haul  the  corn  to  a  pile  and  then  husk  it.  The  husk  was  utilized  for 
feed,  and  as  much  of  the  grain  as  was  not  needed  for  home  consumption 
was  hauled  away  to  market.  As  soon  as  large  crops  of  corn  were  grown 
husking  bees  became  the  fashion.  The  corn  was  pulled  from  the  stalk  and 
put  in  a  pile,  as  when  the  farmer  himself  or  he  and  his  family  did  the  husk- 
ing. Then  a  number  of  neighbors  assembled  and  everybody  husked.  This 
was  repeated  at  the  home  of  each  farmer  until  all  had  their  crops  husked. 

Wheat  was  harvested  with  the  cradle,  such  an  implement  as  a  reaper 
or  harvesting  machine  of  any  kind  not  then  being  dreamed  of.  Besides 
the  cradle  the  sickle  also  was  in  use  at  that  time.  But  that  was  used  only 
in  wheat  that  had  blown  down  or  grew  among  stumps  and  trees,  making  it 
difficult  and  sometimes  impossible  to  cradle.  And  for  the  first  few  years 
that  was  a  large  portion  of  the  crop.  It  was  well  that  only  a  limited  areai 
could  be  sown,  because  had  there  been  a  greater  acreage  it  doubtless  would 
not  have  been  harvested.  The  work  of  harvesting  with  those  old-time  im- 
plements was  extremely  slow  in  comparison  with  the  way  it  can  be  done  with 
our  improved  harvesting  machinery,  Tlie  inventions  with  which  we  at  this 
day  are  so  familiar  at  that  time,  even  in  their  crudest  form,  seemed  far-off 
and  visionary.  For  instance,  it  was  with  the  air  of  wonder  that  a  twentieth 
century  newspaper  would  describe  the  achievement  of  a  dirigible  air-ship 
that  an  issue  of  the  Coldwater  Sentinel  of  June,  1843,  speaks  of  a  new  reap- 
ing machine  invented  by  McCormick.  The  reader  can  judge  from  the 
description  how  crude  that  machine  was  when  compared  with  those  that  will 
be  found  in  nearly  every  farmer's  barn  at  this  age.  "  The  machine,"  reads 
the  article,  "  placed  on  small  wheels,  was  moved  by  two  horses  around  the 
rye  field  where  the  exhibition  took  place,  at  a  quick  pace:  making  a  clear 
passage  through  the  grain  as  it  moved,  about  five  feet  wide.  This  it  did 
with  a  completeness  which  it  is  impossible  for  a  cradle  to  accomplish.  The 
wheels  of  the  machine  kept  in  motion  a  saw,  with  edge  and  teeth  not  unlike 
a  reap-hook,  which  saws  down  the  grain  as  it  is  bent  and  forced  against 
its  edge  by  a  revolving  apparatus  resembling  a  seine-reel.  The  grain  falls 
upon  a  bed  or  platform  just  behind  the  teeth,  whence  it  is  raked  by  hand," 

The  threshing  was  done  either  with  a  fJail  or  the  grain  was  tramped 
out  by  horses.  Both  processes  were  very  slow,  the  former  being  about  as 
slow  as  harvesting  with  the  sickle.  When  horses  were  used  a  threshing  floor 
was  made  out  of  doors  by  smoothing  the  ground  or  beating  it  until  it  was 
as  solid  as  could  be  made.  The  horses  were  ridden  by  boys,  while  two  men 
worked  the  grain  toward  the  center  of  the  floor  and  threw  out  the  straw. 

In  the  early  forties  a  machine  came  into  use  which  threshed  out  the 
grain  and  dispensed  both  with  the  use  of  the  flail  and  the  tramping  of  horses 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  lU 

This  machine  consisted  only  of  a  cylinder  and  was  operated  by  horse  power. 
When  the  threshing  was  done  by  any  of  these  methods  the  grain  had  (o 
be  separated  from  the  chaff  by  fanning  with  a  sheet,  the  wind  blowing  the 
chaff  away.  There  were  no  fanning  mills  then,  but  they  were  introduced 
a  few  years  later.  These  mills  were  in  the  crudest  form,  but  they  were 
considered  a  great  improvement  over  the  winnowing  sheet.  All  of  this 
labor  had  to  he  done  in  order  that  the  farmer  might  produce  a  supply  of 
wheat  sufficient  to  provide  bread  for  his  famiiy  and  if  possible  a  small  sur- 
plus to  sell. 

Com  and  wheat  were  the  two  leading  crops  then  as  they  are  now. 
Other  crops  that  were  grown  were  oats,  rye,  potatoes,  buckwheat  and  flax. 
Oats  were  usually  fed  in  the  straw,  only  enough  being  threshed  out  for  the 
next  year's  seed.  A  patch  of  potatoes  was  planted  on  every  farm  for  home 
use,  but  there  were  very  few,  if  any,  grown  for  market.  The  crop  being 
a  bulky  one  and  the  market  so  distant  made  the  growing  of  potatoes  as  a 
market  crop  impracticable.  Flax  was  raised  for  home  use,  the  product  being 
manufactured  into  hnen  for  a  part  of  the  family's  wearing  apparel. 

For  many  years  the  bay  crop  consisted  of  the  native  grasses.  Many 
farmers  belie\^ed  that  the  improved  domestic  grasses  could  not  be  grown 
here,  and  it  was  some  time  before  this  prejudice  was  overcome.  When 
the  settlers  were  yet  few  in  number  the  prairie  grasses  furnished  an  abundant 
supply  of  hay  for  their  live-stock.  When  the  prairie  lands  were  all  taken 
up  each  farmer  on  those  lands  set  off  a  portion  of  his  farm  for  meadow,  but 
this  was  sufficient  only  for  the  owner,  and  those  who  had  settled  in  the 
timber  had  to  look  elsewhere  for  a  supply.  There  was  ar»  abundant  growth 
of  grass  on  what  were  then  known  as  wet  prairies,  which  we  now  call  marshes. 
At  first  every  settler  could  find  a  sufficient  supply  of  this  marsh  grass  near 
his  home  if  he  had  none  on  his  farm.  This  hay  had  to  be  mowed  by  hand, 
then  thrown  together  and  hauled  from  the  marsh  on  a  small  sled  drawn  by 
a  yoke  of  oxen,  or  even  at  times  had  to  be  carried  to  firm  ground  "  on  a 
.  pole,"  as  was  the  expression  used  at  the  time.  The  ground  was  so  soft  that 
a  team  of  horses  and  a  wagon  could  not  be  driven  over  it.  Only  a  small  bit 
could  be  hauled  out  at  a  time  in  this  way,  and  it  took  a  number  of  these  sled 
loads  to  make  a  wagon  load.  The  same  method  of  making  hay  had  to  be 
employed  on  all  the  wet  prairies  of  those  days. 

With  this  view  of  the  status  of  agriculture  sixty  years  ago,  it  is  not 
difficult  to  realize  the  broad  developments  that  have  taken  place  since  then. 
Farming  has  become  easier  with  every  year.  Its  conditions  and  surroundings 
are  no  longer  those  of  the  common  laborer.  Several  things  have  contrib- 
uted to  this  change.  Some  claim  that  the  invention  of  labor-saving  machin- 
ery and  its  general  use  has  done  more  to  elevate  agriculture  than  any  other  . 
factor.  It  certainly  is  not  wide  of  the  mark  to  measure  the  progress  of 
agriculture  by  the  distance  that  separates  the  self-binder  from  the  cradle. 
Yet  there  are  other  factors.  The  working  and  hiring  of  help  has  been 
quite  reformed  from  the  methods  of  forty  years  ago.  The  progressive 
farmer  no  longer  depends  on  transient  labor.     Not  many  years  ago,   when 


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112  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

harvest  time  or  other  extra  press  of  work  arrived,  the  farmer  would  start 
out  into  the  surrounding  country  and  hire  by  the  day  such  men  as  were 
available.  This  is  neither  practicable  nor  possible  now.  Improved  ma- 
chinery has  done  much  to  relieve  the  farmer  of  the  necessity  of  hiring  day 
laborers.  Hi.s  policy  now  is  to  hire  a  man  by  the  year,  and  often  a  man  of 
family,  who  will  Jive  on  the  farm  and  give  it  his  entire  attention. 

Transportation  has  also  effected  many  changes  in  farming  methods.  In 
place  of  marketing  by  the  bushel,  the  farmer  now  markets  "  on  the  hoof," 
that  is,  feeds  his  grain  products  to  stock.  And  of  recent  years  the  farmers 
do  not  hesitate  to  import  stock  cattle  from  distant  ranges  of  the  Dakotas  or 
the  Southwest  and  feed  them  for  market  on  grain  raised  in  Branch  county. 
This  in  itself  is  one  of  the  most  important  developments  in  Branch  county 
agriculture.  In  the  words  of  a  well  known  farmer,  "  Branch  county  is  now 
becoming  a  feeding  ground  for  foreign  stock  and  grain." 

In  a  general  upward  trend  of  property  values,  land  is  the  last  thing  to 
appreciate.  At  a  distance  of  ten  years  from  the  beginning  of  the  present 
era  of  remarkable  prosperity,  the  farm  lands  of  Branch  county  show  only  a 
slight  upward  trend  in  value.  But  there  is  greater  demand  for  land  than 
ever  before,  and  as  a  rule  it  is  passing  into  the  hands  of  an  immigrating 
farmer  class  from  Ohio  and  Northern  Indiana,  where  farm  lands  are  held 
about  twenty  per  cent  higher  than  here.  This  direction  of  immigration  will, 
if  it  continues,  prove  a  considerable  factor  in  the  next  twenty-five  years  in 
giving  type  and  character  to  the  population  of  the  county. 

In  the  matter  of  stock-raising  one  example  will  suffice.  Branch  county 
has  always  been  a  sheep  county.  Wool  was  one  of  the  first  commodities  to 
be  produced,  and  in  an  early  day  there  were  several  woolen  mills  in  the 
county.  Formerly  each  farmer  had  a  few  sheep  among  his  other  stock,  but 
no  extensive  sheep-feeding  was  done.  As  instanced  above,  sheep  are  now 
being  brought  in  from  western  ranges  to  be  fed  on  Branch  county  farms, 
and  while  the  native  sheep  are  still  a  large  number  it  is  more  profitable  tb 
import  the  stock  and  only  condition  them  for  market  in  this  county. 

One  of  the  conspicuous  methods  of  caring  for  crops  should  be  men*- 
tioned.  Within  recent  years  progressive  farmers  have  built  silo  plants  for 
the  purpose  of  preserving  the  essential  qualities  of  "  roughening  "  or  fodder 
throughout  the  winter  season.  One  of  the  first  things  to  catch  the  atteji- 
tion  on  many  farms  in  the  county  is  the  silo  plant,  and  often  there  are  several 
of  them.  In  these  huge  cylindrical,  air-tight  tanks,  built  of  "  silo  lumber," 
and  some  of  the  recent  ones  of  cement,  the  green  corn,  stalk  and  all,  after 
being  cut  up  by  a  special  machine,  is  stored  very  much  as  vegetables  are 
canned.  While  in  the  reservoir  it  undergoes  a  slight  fermentation  process, 
but  with  the  exception  of  a  small  portion  on  the  surface,  which  rots  and 
molds  just  as  the  top  of  a  can  of  fruit  often  does,  and  which  is  thrown  out 
before  the  rest  is  used,  the  entire  contents  of  the  tank  are  preserved  with 
original  sweetness  and  wholesomeness  for  feeding  to  stock  during  the  severe 
winter  season.     M'hat  an  improvement  this  method  is  over  the  old  one  of 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  113 

stacking  the  dry  fodder  in  the  late  fall,  when  most  of  its  essential  qualities 
had  dried  out,  even  one  unfamiliar  with  agriculture  can  readily  realize. 

The  Grange, 
We  have  sijoken  of  some  of  the  factors  which  have  worked  for  the  uplift 
and  improvement  of  agriculture  and  its  conditions.  The  leading  organized 
movement  tliat  has  worked  to  this  end  is  conceded  to  be  the  Grange,  whose 
basic  purposes  are  educational,  fraternal  and  the  general  improvement  of 
the  farmer  and  his  family  and  the  conditions  under  which  he  works.  The 
Grange  was  the  first  fraternal  organization  to  admit  the  wives  and  daugh- 
tei's  on  an  equal  basis  in  every  way,  and  it  has  done  more  to  educate  farming 
communities  than  any  other  movement. 

The  national  Grange  organization  was  commenced  in  1867,  but  it  was 
the  fall  of  187,^  before  the  movement  had  reached  Branch  county.  High 
tide  was  reached  in  1875,  when  the  county  had  seventeen  granges.  The 
general  name  applicable  to  the  organization  as  a  whole  is  "  Patrons  of  Hus- 
fendry."  the  "  granges  "  being  the  subordinate  branches,  but  the  name  grange 
is  the  one  generally  used  in  referring  to  all  departments  of  the  •organiza- 
tion. 

The  oldest  grange  in  the  county  with  a  continuous  existence  from  the 
date  of  foundation  to  the  present  time  is  Butler  Grange  No.  88,  which  was 
organized  October  so,  1873.  As  will  be  seen  from  the  number,  Matteson 
Grange  No.  86  was  organi;:ed  some  time  previous,  but  is  no  longer  existent. 
The  granges  in  the  state  are  numbered  according  to  the  order  of  their  for- 
mation, and  taking  the  granges  of  Branch  county  in  the  order  of  their  age, 
the  eleven  active  granges  as  well  as  those  no  longer  active  are  as  follows: 
Matteson  No.  86  (defunct),  Butler  No.  88,  Bronson  No.  91,  Batavia  No.  95, 
Sherwood  No.  96,  Union  No.  97,  Athens  No.  98  (whose  members  were  mainly 
from  Branch  county — now  defunct),  Kinderhook  No.  135  (defunct),  Girard 
No.  136,  Coldwater  No.  137,  Grove  No.  13S  (defunct),  Bethel  No.  148 
(defunct),  Quincy  No.  152,  Summit  No.  217  (defunct),  California  No.  233 
(defunct),  North  Algansee  No.  234,  Champion  No.  261  (defunct),  Gilead 
No.  40c,  and  Four  Towns,  which  has  been  recently  organized.  How  rapidly 
these  granges  were  organized  during  the  first  years  of  the  movement  may 
be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  though  Girard  Grange  No.  136  was  organized 
November  25,  1873,  only  a  few  weeks  after  Butler,  there  were  six  Branch 
county  granges  that  intervened,  while  its  number  was  forty-eight  removed 
from  Butler, 

The  grange  meetings  were  at  first  held  in  some  convenient  schoolhouse, 
but  now  nearly  every  grange  in  the  county  owns  its  own  hall,  which  is  dedi- 
cated to  the  use  of  the  society  and  is  seldom  used  for  any  other  purpose. 
The  strength  of  the  grange  in  this  county,  in  point  of  membership,  is  be- 
tween eight  hundred  and  a  thousand  members.  There  is  a  regular  system 
of  representation  in  the  organization  from  the  subordinate  bodies  through 
the  State  and  National  bodies.  From  the  eleven  subordinate  granges  in 
this  county  three  delegates  are  elected  to  the  annual  meeting  of  the  State 


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11*  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Grange,  and  Pomona  Grange,  which  is  the  county  grange,  is  entitled  to  one 
delegate  to  the  State  Grange.  The  masters  of  the  State  Grange  are  the 
official  delegates  to  the  National  Grange. 

Branch  County  Pomona  Grange  No.  22,  which  is  a  connecting  link 
between  the  subordinate  granges  and  the  State  Grange  and  which  exercises 
friendly  and  advisory  oversight,  but  no  official  control,  over  the  subordinate 
bodies,  was  organized  March  21,  1878.  The  petitioners  for  its  organization 
were :  George  W.  Van  Aken,  a  pioneer  granger,  who  was  active  in  the 
formation  of  the  Girard  Grange  in  1873;  John  G.  Parkhurst  and  wife,  Eli 
Bidleman,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  B.  George,  Charles  H.  Austin.  D.  C.  Fonda, 
A.  S.  Archer,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  C.  Pierce,  William  Joseph,  Wallace  E.  Wright, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  H.  Jones.  r>arwin  Thompson,  and  John  Bell. 

The  officers  of  Pomona  Grange  for  1906  are:  Master,  Isaac  E.  Corless; 
overseer,  Belle  Bailey;  lecturer,  Mrs.  Lucy  Corless;  steward.  A,  L.  Smith; 
asst.  steward,  P'rank  Coward;  treasurer,  I,  A.  Martin;  secretary,  Asa  W. 
Ferguson;  gatekeeper,  I.  A.  Van  Orsdal;  pomona,  Mrs.  Elmer  Warner; 
flora,  Mrs.  Fred  Locke;  ceres,  Theda  Bailey;  lady  assistant  steward,  Mrs. 
L  A.  Maj-tin. 

A  few  words  should  be  said  about  the  work  of  the  grange  in  general. 
The  grange  was  one  of  the  most  active  forces  behind  pure-food  legislation 
in  Michigan,  and  to  its  efforts— to  give  only  one  example — is  due  the  fact 
that  oleomargarine  must  be  labeled  with  its  true  name  and  not  as  butter. 
The  grange  has  more  or  less  actively  entered  the  field  of  commerce.  In 
some  counties  "  Grange  Stores "  have  been  established  and  successfully 
conducted. 

The  grange  claims  to  be  the  father  of  rural  free  delivery.  Certainly 
it  has  used  its  influence  nowhere  to  better  advantage,  for  free  delivery  in 
the  country  is  now  conceded  to  be  the  greatest  boon  that  has  come  to  the 
farmer.  It  has  brouglit  the  farmer  in  touch  with  the  world  and  more  than 
anything  else  has  made  obsolete  the  term  "  countryfied  "  as  applied  to  the 
tiller  of  the  soil.  And  this  is  in  direct  line  with  the  purposes  of  the  grange, 
as  stated  in  a  former  paragraph, 

When  the  grange  first  brought  the  matter  before  Congress,  it  was 
objected  that  the  "  system  would  be  too  expensive,"  despite  its  great  benefits. 
Tentative  experiments  were  made  at  rural  delivery  of  mail  about  1894.  In 
1896  the  annual  report  of  the  State  Grange  "  hails  with  delight  that  the  plan 
is  to  be  started  in  this  state."  As  is  well  known,  the  movement  thus  begun 
has  now  spread  all  over  the  country  and  every  farmer  in  Branch  county  can 
have  his  daily  paper  with  little  if  any  more  exertion  than  the  citizen  of  the 
village  or  city. 

BRANCH    COUNTY  FARMERS'  INSTITUTE  SOCIETY. 

This  society,  so  closely  identified  with  the  interests  of  the  agriculturist 
that  its  history  belongs  to  this  chapter,  was  organized  at  Coldwater  July  27, 
1895,  with  thirty-two  charter  members.  The  constitution  proposed  by  the 
state  board  of  agriculture  was  adopted,  and  the  following  were  elected  its 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  115, 

first  officers:  L.  M.  Marsh,  president;  A.  J.  Aldrich,  secretary-treasurer. 
The  executive  commitlee  was  composed  of  the  president,  the  secretary  and 
A.  L.  Smith,  E.  E,  Lewis,  and  A.  M.  Ettieridge.  TTie  vice-presidents  from 
the  various  townships  and  wards  were:  Butler,  T,  P.  Evans;  Quincy, 
A.  M.  Etheridge;  Algansee,  A.  F.  Archer;  California,  John  Flynn;  Kinder- 
hook,  A.  C  Doerr:  Ovid,  E.  C.  Lockwood;  Coldwater,  Henry  Straight; 
Girard,  A.  L.  Smith;  Union,  Byron  W.  Bray;  Batavia,  Edwin  R  Lewis; 
Bethel,  Henry  Fowler ;  Gilead,  E.  G.  Luce ;  Noble,  Ambrose  Eushnell ;  Bron- 
son.  Richard  Coward;  Matteson,  Amos  Gardner;  Sherwood,  L.  P.  Wilcox; 
Coldwater,  first  ward,  Cyrus  G.  Luce ;  second  ward,  George  W.  Van  Aken ; 
third  ward,  G.  H.  Turner;  fourth  ward,  E.  W.  Treat. 

The  society  had  a  totai  membership  in  1899  of  335,  and  it  has  main- 
tained that  strength,  the  membership  in  1906  being  332.  The  meeting  of 
February,  1906,  was  the  largest  ever  held,  3,731  persons  attending  the  lit- 
erary, musical  and  educative  programs  offered. 

The  officers  for  1906  are  as  follows:  Abram  L.  Smith,  president; 
Henry  E.  Straight,  secretary-treasurer ;  and  vice-presidents :  California,  D. 
T.  Bascom;  Kinderhook,  A.  C.  Doerr;  Gilead,  W.  J.  Bucklin;  Noble,  A. 
Bushnell;  Algansee,  L.  G.  Taylor;  Ovid,  Lafayette  Scheidler;  Bethel,  Charles 
Daniels;  Bronson,  Frank  Coward;  Bronson  Village,  T.  A.  Eberhard;  Quincy, 
M.  D.  Knauss;  Quincy  Village,  A.  L,  Bowen;  Coldwater,  Robert  Brewster; 
first  ward,  M.  E.  Wattles;  second  ward,  L.  E.  Lockwood;  third  ward,  C.  J. 
Thorpe;  fourth  ward,  E.  W.  Treat;  Batavia,  L  A.  Martin;  Matteson,  Frank 
Martin ;  Butler,  F.  M.  Holmes ;  Girard,  E.  T.  Waffle ;  Union,  B.  W.  Bray ; 
Union  City,  D.  D,  Buell;  Sherwood,  J.  S.  Dunks;  Sherwood  Village,  F.  m! 
Daniels. 

BRANCH    COUNTY   AGRICULTUR.'VI,    SOCIETY.  ' 

This  society,  under  whose  auspices  the  county  fairs  have  always  been 
conducted,  was  organized  October  17,  1S51.  The  first  officers  of  the  society 
were  James  B.  Tompkins,  president ;  John  Allen,  vice-president ;  F.  V.  Smith, 
secretary;  and  H.  W.  Wright,  treasurer.  Other  well  known  men  took  part 
in  the  work  of  organization,  such  as  Asahel  Brown,  Alvarado  Brown,  K  B. 
Pond,  William  P.  Arnold,  Darwin  Wilson,  John  Root,  Oliver  Burdick,  Jr., 
Emerson   Marsh. 

The  first  annual  fair  was  held  at  Coldwater  October  7,  1S52,  only  one 
day  being  given  to  it  and  the  premium  list  aggregating  only  two  hundred 
dollars.  In  1854  the  session  was  extended  to  three  days.  In  the  same  year 
the  society  purchased  six  acres  on  Grand  street  near  the  north  edge  of  the 
village,  as  a  place  for  holding  their  exhibitions.  This  ground  was  sold  in 
1863,  and  the  Agricultural  Society  and  the  Coldwater  Agricultural  and 
Breeders'  Association,  which  had  been  organized  in  1862,  united  in  buying 
twenty  acres  on  the  west  side  of  Marshall  street  near  the  north  side  of  the 
village.  This  is  the  ground  now  commonly  referred  to  as  "  the  old  fair 
grounds."     It  was  increased  to  thirty  acres  in  1878. 

Fairs  were  held  annually  until  after  1897,  and  the  association  did  much 
to  promote  agricultural  and  live-stock  interest  in  the  county. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

MANUFACTURING  IN   BRANCH   COUNTY. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  just  how  the  population  of  Branch  county 
is  classified  among  the  various  business  activities,  that  is,  the  proportion  of 
the  county's  twenty-six  thousand  people  engaged  in  each  general  class  of 
occupation.  At  best  it  would  be  possible  only  to  approximate  such  a  classi- 
fication. But  as  regards  the  industrial  and  manufacturing  situation,  some 
very  interesting  deductions  may  be  drawn  from  the  last  report  of  the  Michi- 
gan Bureau  of  Labor,  giving  the  results  of  factory  inspection  made  in  this 
county  in  April,  1905, 

In  this  report  sixty-one  firms  and  factories  are  named,  thirty-four  of 
which  are  located  at  Coldwater,  nine  at  Union  City,  eight  at  Quincy,  seven 
at  Bronson,  two  at  Sherwood  and  one  at  Batavia.  The  whole  number  of 
employes  found  at  the  time  of  inspection  was  1,173.  This  approximates 
fi.ve  per  cent  of  the  population  of  Branch  county  dependent  on  what  are 
officially  designated  as  "  factory  "  industries.  Were  the  data  at  hand  for 
a!i  the  handicrafts  and  manufactories  of  the  county,  the  proportion  of  those 
engaged  in  industrial  pursuits  would  he  much  larger,  perhaps  at  least  ten 
per  cent  of  the  entire  population. 

Of  the  plants  reported,  thirty-four  were  located  at  Coldwater.  In 
these  twenty-three  kinds  of  goods  were  made  or  handled.  There  were  re- 
ported 712  employes,  indicating  that  in  a  city  of  six  thousand  population 
one  person  out  of  nine  depends  on  these  industries  for  means  of  livelihood. 
This  proportion  is  too  small  to  place  Coldwater  among  so-called  "  factory 
towns,"  where  the  percentage  of  factory  operatives  is  often  twenty-five  per 
cent  of  the  population;  at  the  same  time  this  form  of  activity  is  a  consid- 
erable and  distinct  part  of  the  city's  general  prosperity. 

Of  the  manufacturing  establishments  named  in  the  report,  those  which 
extent  of  business  or  length  of  time  established  make  worthy  of  mention  in 
this  chapter  are : 

At  Bronson:  The  Bronson-Kalamazoo  Portland  Cement  Company, 
which  was  established  in  1897  and  at  the  date  of  inspection  had  61  employes' 
(See  elsewhere.)  The  Bronson  Basket  factory,  established  in  1895;  the 
electric  light  plant,  established  in  1886;  the  William  Friedrich  -Company 
(see  elsewhere). 

At  Coldwater:  Ball  Brothers  Planing  Mill,  established  in  1866  and 
employing  14  hands  at  the  time  of  inspection;  the  Coldwater  Gas  and  Fuel 
Company,  organized  in  i860,  having  14  employes  in  1905;  W.  A.  Coombs 
Milling  Company,  the  early  history  of  which  is  given  elsewhere,  and  which 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  117 

at  its  three  establishments  employs  36  men ;  the  Conover  Engraving  and 
Printing  Company,  established  in  1898  and  employing  nine  persons;  the  City 
Brewery,  established  in  1894;  Charles  W.  Chapman,  manufacturer  of  cigars, 
established  in  1880:  Henry  B.  George,  custom  flour  and  feed  grinding,  estab- 
lished in  1880;  Hellinburg  &  Son,  turning  and  wood  work,  16  employes, 
and  established  in  1876;  Johnson  Cooperage  Company,  established  in  1868; 
National  Burial  Device  Company,  14  employes,  estabiished  in  1899;  Pratt 
Manufacturing  Company  (see  elsewhere) ;  A.  J,  Pierce,  cigar  manufacturer, 
10  employes,  established  in  1890;  Regal  Gasoline  Engine  Company  (see 
elsewhere);  William  H.  Schmedlen,  carriages,  established  in  1SS3;  Titus 
Thurlow,  iron  castings,  established  in  1868:  Tappan  Shoe  Manufacturing 
Company,  with  86  employes,  established  in  1897;  Wolverine  Portland  Ce- 
ment Company   (see  elsewhere.) 

At  Quincy:  Globensky  Brothers,  barrel  manufacturers  (see  elsewhere)  ; 
Felix  A.  McKenzie.  milling  (see  elsewhere);  J.  N.  Salisbury,  building  ma- 
terial, established  in  1886;  Wolverine  Portland  Cement  Company,  estab- 
lished in  1899  (see  elsewhere). 

At  Sherwood:  J.  N.  French,  iumljer,  with  22  employes,  established 
in   1881 ;   Sherwood  Heading  Company    (see  elsewhere). 

At  Union  City:  B.  F.  Green,  general  repairing,  established  in  1870; 
Peerless   Portland   Cement   Comixiny    (see  elsewhere). 

SOME    BEPKESKNTATIVE    MANUFACTURING    ESTABLISHMENTS.* 

B.  H.  Calkins  &  Son  Co.,  manufacturers  of  cooperage  and  cooperage 
stock  at  Coldwater,  was  first  organized  in  Butler  township  in  1869.  by 
B.  H.  Calkins  and  his  brother  M.  M.  Calkins,  and  was  known  as  Calking 
Brothers.  Owing  to  a  lack  of  railroad  facilities  in  that  place  the  factory  was 
removed  in  187;]  to  its  present  location.  After  locating  in  Coldwater,  Mr. 
L.  B.  Johnson,  G.  H.  Taylor,  and  the  banking  firm  of  Bowen  &  McGowan 
also  entered  into  partnership.  This  arrangement  existed  imtil  1877.  During 
all  of  the  subsequent  changes,  Mr.  B.  H.  Calkins  has  been  at  the  head.  Since 
1897  Mr.  M.  D.  Calkins  has  been  a  member  of  the  firm,  and  up  to  June  23, 
1905,  the  firm  was  known  as  B.  H.  Calkins  &  Son,  at  which  time  the  com- 
pany was  incorporated  under  its  present  name,  B.  H.  Calkins  &  Son  Co. 
The  business  has  always  been  successful,  although  passing  through  five  fires, 
the  last  being  March  6,  1901,  at  which  time  Mr.  B.  H.  Calkins  was  severely 
burned,  and  was  forced  to  give  up  active  business  relations.  He  never  re- 
covered from  the  shock  to  the  nervous  system,  and  passed  away  October  1 5, 
1905.  Mr.  M.  D.  Calkins,  who  has  had  charge  of  the  business  since  March, 
1901,  is  president  and  manager  of  the  corporation,  Miss  Almera  H.  Calkins, 
secretary  and  treasurer.  This  business  has  afforded  a  market  to  the  farmers 
for  all  kinds  of  timber,  at  good  prices.     The  firm  purchase  each  year  from 

♦Letters  asking  for  data  were  sent  to  sll  the  larger  mami tact n ring  firms  in  the  county 
and  information  has  been  nought  from  other  sources,  but  sufficient  material  for  a  sketch  was 
not,  obtained  in  every  case.^EoiTOH. 


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118  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

eight  to  ten  thousand  cords  of  timber,  which  means  a  yearly  expenditure  of 
$30,cxx>  in  that  Hne.  They  also  pay  out  an  equal  amount  for  labor.  The 
firm  enjoys  a  large  trade  in  flour,  cement,  poultry,  glass,  fruit  and  pork 
barrels.  A  great  amount  of  the  heading  and  staves  manufactured  is  also 
shipped  to  outside  shops. 

The  Pratt  Manufacturing  Company  was  established  in  1882  by  J.  F. 
Pratt  and  Wellington  Chase,  who  came  to  Coldwater  from  Homer,  New 
York,  in  that  year.  The  business  was  started  under  the  name  of  Pratt  ■& 
Chase'  and  continued  under  that  title  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Chase  in  1890. 
The  business  was  established  in  a  modest  way  in  an  old  country  tavern  or 
inn  known  as  the  Bolster  House  and  located  at  the  corner  of  Railroad  and 
Division  streets.  Changes  and  additions  to  the  building  were  rapidly  made 
until  within  ten  years  the  old  tavern  had  almost  entirely  disappeared.  In 
1902  Mr,  J-  F.  Pratt  retired  from  the  business,  and  a  corporation  was  formed, 
which  took  over  the  entire  business  and  plant  which  had  accumulated  up 
to  that  time.  At  present  the  buildings  have  about  80,000  feet  of  floor  space, 
and  gi\'e  steady  employment  the  year  round  to  about  125  men.  The  product, 
which  consists  of  children's  sleds  as  the  larger  part,  is  sold  through  the  entire 
snow-belt  of  the  United  States.  During  the  spring  and  summer  months 
this  company  manufactures  a  line  of  porch  and  lawn  furniture,  which  is 
shipped  throughout  the  United  States  from  ocean  to  ocean.  The  officers 
of  the  company  are  H.  B.  Fisher,  president ;  A.  B.  Schied,  vice-president : 
A.  J.   Pratt,  secretary  and  treasurer. 

The  Regal  Gasoline  Engine  Company,  manufacturers  of  marine  and 
stationary  engines,  Coldwater,  was  incorporated  in  August,  1901.  The  pres- 
ent officers  of  the  company  are  A.  E.  Robinson,  president:  H,  D.  Robinson, 
vice-president ;  H.  R.  Saunders,  secretary  and  treasurer.  All  of  the  stock  is 
owned  by  these  and  Elmer  J.  Allen.  They  build  a  line  of  marine  engines, 
also  some  sizes  of  stationary  engines,  but  give  marine  engines  the  most 
attention,  They  employ  30  to  40  machinists.  The  output  is  sold  princi- 
pally on  the  eastern  coast  from  Maine  to  Florida,  on  the  western  coast  from 
Seattle  to  San  Diego.  They  also  have  many  desirable  agencies  in  New 
England,  middle  states  and  extreme  south.  They  have  an  excellent  trade 
with  New  Zealand,  Australia.  Fiji  Islands,  Italy,  Belgium,  and  Finland, 
The  Regal  Gasoline  Engine  Company  started  in  rather  a  small  way,  but 
has  steadily  increased  in  size. 

The  Conover  Engraving  and  Printing  Company  was  founded  in  1877 
by  the  late  J.  S.  Conover,  The  beginning  was  a  small  one,  the  outfit  con- 
sisting of  a  small  hand  lever  printing  press  and  some  second-hand  tvpe  from 
the  "  hell-box  "  of  a  Quincy  printing  office,  but  under  careful  management 
the  business  grew  rapidly  and  in  1881  the  present  building  was  purchased 
and  new  machinery  and  material  were  added  as  fast  as  needed.  Althmigh 
all  classes  of  engraving  and  general  commercial  printing  are  done  here,  still 
the  Conover  Engraving  and  Printing  Company  makes  a  specialty  of  labels 
and  show  cards,  as  well  as  high-class  color  work.'  A  leading  feature  is  the 
manufacture  of  'cigar  labels.     The  Conover  establishment  is  a  model  engrav- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  119 

ing  and  printing  plant.  The  headquarters,  are  in  a  substantial  three-story 
brick  block  on  West  Chicago  street,  the  three  floors  being  devoted  to  the 
business.  The  printing  equipment  is  one, of  the  best  in  this  portion  of  the 
state  and,  as  can  well  be  imagined,  the  patronage  is  very  large. 

The  Johnson  Cooperage  Company  was  established  in  Coldwater  in  1868 
by  Mr.  Chas.  W.  Johnson.  The  first  plant  was  of  necessity  a  small  one, 
but  it  has  steadily  grown  until  today  the  factory  and  yards  cover  over  five 
acres  of  ground.  The  company  manufactures  barrels,  kegs,  paiis,  etc.  The 
Johnson  Cooperage  Company  was  organized  in  its  present  form  in  1894, 
capitalized  at  $15,000. 

The  Coldwater  Gas  Light  and  Fuel  Company  had  its  origin  in  i860, 
when  A.  W.  Parkhurst,  H.  C.  Lewis,  J.  G.  Parkhurst.  D.  S.  Harrington  and 
Artemus  Allen  organized  the  Coldwater  Gas  Light  Company,  with  a  capital 
stock  of  $25,000.  The  works  were  built  in  i86i,  and  extensions  and  im- 
provements have  taken  place  consistent  with  the  growth  of  the  business  and 
the  city.  Through  the  efforts  of  the  late  William  A.  Coombs  the  business 
was  reorganized  in  1895  as  the  Coldwater  Gas  Light  and  Fuel  Company 
with  a  capital  stock  of  $40,000.  It  is  estimated  that  there  are  a  thousand 
patrons  of  the  company  in  Coldwater,  where  gas  has  been  in  general  use  for 
fuel  and  light  during  nearly  half  a  century.  The  present  officers  of  the 
company  are:  L  M.  Wing,  president;  J.  W.  Thompson,  vice-president; 
Geo.  C.  Turner,  secretary  and  superintendent;  W.  E.  Moss,  treasurer. 

The  Sherwood  Heading  Company,  manufacturers  of  slack  barrel  and 
keg  heading,  was  organized  and  put  in  operation  about  the  year  1883  by 
Stafford  &  Ott,  sold  to  H.  Sayers  &  Son  about  1886,  then  to  C.  B.  Wilcox 
in  i8g6,  then  to  J.  F.  Mclntyre  &  Company.  April  15,  1903,  and  reorganized 
January  i,  1906,  under  the  name  of  Sherwood  Heading  Company,  which 
is  the  firm  name  now.  They  employ  about  fifteen  men,  on  an  average,  and 
turn  and  sell  about  one  carload  of  heading  per  week,  which  is  sold  al!  over 
the  country,  but  principally  in  New  York  and  Pittsburg,  Pa.  They  use 
from  five  thousand  to  six  thousand  cords  of  bolts  each  year  to  get  out  this 
amount  of  stock.  The  officers  of  the  company  are :  J.  F.  Mclntyre,  presi- 
dent and  general  manager :  Geo.  H.  Seymour,  vice-president  and  treasurer ; 
Guv  E.   Mclntyre,  superintendent  and  secretary. 

The  William  H.  Friedrich  Comixiny,  manufacturers  of  veneers  at  Bron- 
son,  whose  plant  was  entirely  burned  June  3,  1906,  commenced  operation  in 
Bronson  in  1900  by  remodeling  and  installing  an  electric  light  plant  which 
■  then  had  about  450  lights.  The  village  now  has  over  three  thousand  lights 
installed,  which  shows  a  lively  increase  for  the  size  of  the  town.  In  1901 
the  company  added  the  coal  business,  which  has  been  well  patronized  ever 
since,  and  m  1902  .started  the  veneer  mill,_  making  a  good  home  market 
for  high-grade  logs  and  timber,  which  business  has  also  increased  every 
year.  In  1903  was  added  a  saw  mill,  which  also  made  a  home  market  for 
cheaper  grades  of  timber,  and  with  the  combined  industries  the  plant  was 
running  day  and  night  at  the  time  it  burned.  They  took  measures  to  rebuild 
at  once. 


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130  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Globensky  Brothers,  at  Quincy,  are  the  successors  in  manufacturing  of 
the  Quincy  Stave  and  Heading"  Factory,  which,  as  elsewhere  stated,  was 
one  of  the  first  large  industries  in  the  village.  It  was  established  by  H.  L. 
and  E.  G.  Lownsberry  and  L.  P.'  Alden  in  1864,  was  for  some  time  con- 
ducted under  the  firm  name  of  H.  L.  Lownsberry  &  Company,  and  its  manu- 
factured product  of  staves  and  headings  was  very  large,  as  many  as  fifty 
persons  often  being  employed.  Gfobensky  Brothers  bought  the  plant  about 
1890,  and  after  remodeling  and  refurnishing,  began  a  general  tarrel,  stave 
and  cooperage  business. 

The  McKenzie  Cereal  Food  and  Milling  Company  is  another  Quincy 
manufacturing  plant  that  is  historical  as  well  as  extensive  in  its  present 
business.  Tlie  first  flour  mill  was  built  in  Quincy  in  1S63,  and  it  is  from 
this  small  mill,  through  a  number  of  successors,  that  the  present  plant  origi- 
nated. Mr.  F.  A.  McKenzie  has  been  the  energizing  spirit  since  1887,  at 
which  time  the  business  passed  under  control  of  the  firm  of  McKenzie  and 
Hyslop.  In  1894  Mr.  McKenzie  became  sole  proprietor,  and  in  1903  the 
business  was  incorporated  mider  the  name  as  given  above,  Mr.  McKenzie 
owning  most  of  the  stock.  The  plant  has  been  entirely  rebuilt  five  times 
and  its  capacity  increased  accordingly.  From  ten  to  fifteen  men  are  employed' 
and  the  company  has  a  warehouse  in  Erie.  Penn.,  for  the  distribution  of 
their  products,  which  consist  of  several  special  food  preparations,  liesides 
flour,  buckwheat  and  mill  feed. 

The  Portland  Cement  Industry. 

Until  a  few  years  ago  the  natural  products  of  Branch  county  were  prac- 
tically all  confined  to  the  agricultural  class.  There  are  no  coal  deposits 
beneath  the  surface,  no  certain  supply  of  gas,  no  minerals.  Brick  has  been 
made  here  from  an  early  day,  there  is  a  supply  of  building  stone,  but  aside 
from  these  the  products  of  the  county  have  been  mainly  those  of  the  soil. 

From  the  enrly  days  the  settlers  had  known  of  the  existence  of  marl, 
more  populariy  called  "  merle  "  or  "  bog  lime."  No  doubt  they  had  discov- 
ered it  in  sinking  their  wells.  They  also  found  that  this  marl  would  serve 
as  a  substitute  for  quick-lime  in  making  building  mortar,  and  as  lime,  like 
all  other  materials  that  had  to  be  imported,  was  hard  to  get  and  exjiensive 
to  the  first  settlers,  where  a  marl  deposit  was  convenient  they  used  the  raw 
material  for  plastering  up  the  chinks  of  their  log  houses.  In  some  locaflties 
the  marl  was  burned  in  kilns  and  thus  reduced  to  quick-lime.  It  is  said  that, 
scattered  over  the  marl-producing  area,  many  log  houses  are  still  standing 
which  were  built  with  mortar  of  this  kind,  or  even  with  the  nnbvirned  marl 
itself. 

Lime  lake  on  section  26  of  Batavia  township  was  named  because  of 
the  deposit  of  marl  found  along  its  shores.  The  manufacture  of  lime  from 
this  deposit  is  proved  by  an  advertisement  that  appeared  in  the  CoMwater 
Sentinel  in  November,  1843.  In  this  paper  it  is  stated  that  Hervev  Miller 
"  has  constantly  on  band  a  quantity  of  lime  at  his  kiln,  five  miles  west  of  this 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  121 

village  on  the-  Chicago  road.  It  is  nmnufactiired  from  the  marl  of  the 
marshes,  and  is  as  strong  as  the  best  stone  lime." 

But  aside  from  this  manufacture  and  use  of  the  marl  deposits,  marl  did 
not  become  an  article  of  commercial  importance  in  Branch  county  until  very 
nearly  the  close  of  the  last  century.  From  the  preceding  paragraph  it  is  evi- 
dent that  marl  is  not  a  recent  "  discovery  "  in  this  county,  any  stories  to  that 
effect  notwithstanding.  But  it  was  only  ten  years  ago  that  the  marl  deposits 
became  the  basis  for  the  most  valuable  manufacturing  interests  which  the 
county  possesses. 

Marl  and  clay  are  the  principal  raw  materials  in  the  manufacture  of 
Portland  cement.  The  existence  of  both  in  large  quantities  in  Branch 
county  makes  this  a  field  of  great  value  for  the  production  of  cement.  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  state  the  commercial  uses  to  which  Portland  cement  is 
now  put  in  the  world's  industries.  It  is  only  a  few  years  since  it  began  to 
enter  into  engineering  and  architectural  construction,  and  now  it  is  being 
used  by  the  millions  of  barrels.  Vast  quantities  will  be  used  in  constructing 
the  Panama  canal.  Its  use  in  steel  construction  is  now  thoroughly  estab- 
lished. Cement  blocks  are  being  substituted  for  stone  and  brick  in  dwelling, 
business  and  public  edifices.  Stone,  brick  and  wood  have  been  building  ma- 
terials through  all  the  ages.  The  age  of  "  steel  construction  "  began  some 
years  ago ;  and  this  history  is  being  written  at  what  is  probably  the  beginning 
of  a  "  cement  age,"  in  which  cement  either  alone  cr  in  combination  will  be 
employed  in  greater  quantities  than  any  other  material. 

Michigan  now  manufactures  cement  next  in  quantity  to  New  Jersey, 
although  ten  years  ago  this  product  was  inconsiderable  in  this  state  and  was 
confined  almost  entirely  to  New  Jersey,  New  York  and  Pennsylvania.  Branch 
county  can  claim  recognition  as  a  pioneer  in  this  manufacture.  Not  only  had 
the  existence  of  marl  beds  been  known  for  years,  but  experimentation  and 
prospecting  had  been  done  for  several  years  before  the  first  plant  was  actually 
established.  Hiram  Bennett,  of  QuJncy,  after  having  visited  the  cement 
■works  at  South  Bend  and  finding  that  marl  was  used  in  *he  manufacture  of 
cement,  in  1892  prospected  in  and  around  the  lakes  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  county,  and  tried  to  induce  capitaHsts  to  invest  nn^ney  in  an  enterprise 
which  would  make  use  of  the  marl.  But  nothing  was  effected,  and  it  re- 
mained for  another  village  of  the  county  to  gain  the  first  h^nor  for  beginning 
the  manufacture  of  cement  from  the  marl  beds. 

The  oldest  cement  manufactory  in  the  county  is  at  Union  City.  Not 
only  so,  but  it  is  claimed  that  it  is  the  oldest  successful  Portland  cement  com- 
pany in  Michigan.  The  Peerless  Portland  Cement  Company  was  organized 
August  23.  1896,  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  Michigan,  with  a  capital 
of  $250,000,  and  first  began  the  manufacture  of  cement  in  1897.  Important 
changes  in  equipment  and  methods  were  made  from  time  to  time,  and  the 
daily  capacity  is  now  1,800  barrels  of  the  Peerless  brand.  The  plant  is 
located  at  Union  City,  and  the  company  owns  marl  and  clay  lands  within  a 
mile  of  the  works  and  also  at  Spring  Arbor.  Mr.  J.  R.  Patterson  has  been 
manager  of  the  company  since  1899. 


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122  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

A  brief  description  of  the  process  of  manufacture  at'this  plant  will 
apply  to  cement  manufacture  in  general  throughout  the  county.  The 
marl  is  dredged  from  the  lakes  and  loaded  on  cars  and  hauled  to  the  factory 
by  a  railroad  owned  and  operated  by  the  company.  There  the  marl  is  weighed 
and  dumped  directly  into  a  mixing  machine,  where  water  and  the  right 
amount  of  clay  are  added.  After  a  thorough  mixing  in  this,  it  is  dumped 
into  a  pug  mill,  where  the  mixing  process  continues.  After  a  sufficient 
pugging,  the  mass,  then  called  "  slurry,"  is  run  into  a  large  vat,  which  is 
furnished  with  mixing  and  stirring  devices.  As  soon  as  one  vat  is  filled  and 
thoroughly  mixed,  two  samples  are  taken  for  analysis.  If  the  composition 
proves  to  be  lacking  in  any  respect  the  required  ingredient  is  added  and  the 
whole  mass  mixed,  sampled  and  analj'zed  as  before.  Thia  is  repeated  until 
the  correct  chemical  composition  is  obtained.  The  slurry  is  then  elevated 
and  run  into  large  cylinder  tube  mills  half  filled  with  Bint  pebbles.  As  these 
mills  revolve  the  slurry  is  ground  to  a  fine  silky  paste.  As  the  slurry  leaves 
the  tube  mills  it  is  conveyed  into  large  storage  vats,  where  it  is  kept  in  con- 
stant motion  by  the  aid  of  compres,sed  air,  thus  avoiding  all,  settling  and 
assuring  additional  mixing.  From  these  vats  it  is  again  elevated  and  passed 
into  a  battery  of  rotary  kilns.  These  rotaries  at  the  Union  City  plant  are 
each  seventy  feet  long.  The  slurry  runs  in  at  one  end  and  in  its  progress 
through  the  kiln  is  thoroughly  dried  and  burned,  dropping  out  at  the  other 
end  in  the  form  of  clinker.  The  fuel  used  is  pulverized  ct^l,  which  is  ignited 
and  blown  into  the  kiln  at  one  end.  After  the  clinker  is  passed  through  the 
cooling  machines,  a  steel  conveyor  delivers  it  into  a  set  of  very  heavy  steel 
rolls,  where  it  is  reduced  to  the  size  of  rice.  Then  it  is  conveyed  to  the 
hoppers  which  feed  the  Griffin  mills,  by  which  it  is  ground  to  a  fine  powder. 

These  are  the  salient  features  of  the  manufacture.  A  cement  plant  is 
a  large  institution,  representing  a  great  outlay  of  capital  (it  is  said  that  the 
first  cost  of  a  plant  is  at  the  minimum  three  hundred  thousand  dollars), 
much  executive  aiblity,  and  a  large  supply  of  skilled  and  common  labor. 
When  it  is  recalled  that  Branch  county  now  has  four  of  these  plants  within' 
her  area,  all  built  within  the  last  ten  years,  it  is  seen  how  large  and  important 
has  been  the  contribution  of  this  industry  to  the  permanent  wealth  and  active 
resources  of  the  county.  According  to  the  state  reiwrt  for  1905  there  were 
only  thirteen  plants  in  operation  in  the  entire  state  of  Michigan,  the  total 
number  of  plants  being  seventeen.  Thus  Branch  county  has  at  least  a  fourth 
of  the  cement-producing  equipment  of  the  state  of  Michigan.  From  the  same 
report  the  total  daily  capacity  of  the  seventeen  plants  was  19,200  barrels,  and 
of  the  four  Branch  county  plants,  5,800,  which  is  more  than  a  fourth  of  the 
combined  cai>acity  of  Michigan  cement  industries.  The  total  number  of 
employes  in  these  four  industries  is  458,  taking  the  figures  of  the  factory 
inspector  in  1905. 

At  Eronson  village  is  the  cement  plant,  the  largest  manufacturing  in- 
dustry in  the  western  part  of  the  county.  Cement  was  first  manufactured 
at  these  works  in  1897,  and  the  capacity  has  been  increased  to  1,200  barrels 
a  day.     The  company  owns  about  five  hundred  acres  of  low,  wet  land  about 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  123 

the  works,  and  both  the  clay  and  the  mari  are  obtained  from  the  land.  The 
stvatiim  of  marl  is  found  three  feet  below  the  surface,  the  top  three  feet 
being  peat,  which  is  removed  by  dredging. 

The  Bronson  plant  was  first  operated  as  the  "  Bronson -Kalamazoo  Port- 
land Cement  Company,"  but  in  1905  it  was  made  a  part  of  the  Chanute  Ce- 
ment and  Clay  Product  Company,  the  Bronson  plant  being  known  as  the 
"  Brongon  Division"  of  the  same.  The  officers  in  igo6  are:  President, 
John  F.  Townsend,  Akron,  O. ;  vice-president  and  general  manager,  J,  R. 
Patterson,  of  Union  City ;  treasurer,  Henry  Robinson ;  secretary,  W.  E.. 
Wheeler;  Michigan  agent,  C.  H.  Powley,  Bronson. 

The  history  of  the  Coldwater  Portland  Cement  Co.,  which  was  organ- 
ized May  25,  1898,  and  of  its  successor,  the  Michigan  Portland  Cement  Co.. 
which  was  organized  June  30,  i8g8,  is  continued  in  the  Wolverine  Portland 
Cement  Company,  which  was  organized  early  in  1902,  with  a  capital  stock 
of  $1,000,000.  Tliis  group  of  companies  has  had  a  somewhat  varied  finan- 
cial history,  but  this  has  not  prevented  the  steady  production  of  cement  under 
the  Wolverine  brand.  The  first  company  planned,  the  Coldwater,  was  a 
relatively  modest  affair,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $300,000.  Soon  the  plans 
were  enlarged,  and  the  original  company  under  the  name  of  the  American 
Construction  Company  took  the  contract  of  preparing  the  plant,  turning  in 
what  it  had  done  to  the  larger  company,  the  Michigan  Portland  Cement 
Company,  which  issued  a  million  dollars  of  bonds,  covering  the  plant  and 
the  lands.  In  recapitalizing,  $100  in  six  per  cent  bonds  was  offered  with 
every  $100  of  stock  for  $100  cash.  When,  therefore,  in  the  fall  of  1901, 
interest  failed  to  l>e  paid  on  these  bonds,  foreclosure  proceedings  were  begun, 
and  as  a  result  of  the  conference  between  the  bondholders,  who  may  be 
taken  to  represent  the  subscribing  public,  and  the  other  creditors,  prominent 
among  which  was  the  Constniction  Company,  representing  the  promoters, 
the  present  company,  the  Wolverine  Portland  Cement  Company,  was  formed. 

The  Wolverine  Company  control  and  operate  both  the  plant  at  Quincy 
and  that  at  Coldwater.  The  "  Wolverine  "  brand  of  cement  has  been  on 
the  market  since  1898,  when  the  Coldwater  plant  was  completed,  and  the 
"  Eclipse  "  brand  since  1900,  when  the  plant  at  Quincy  was  put  in  operation. 

The  present  officers  of  the  Wolverine  Portland  Cement  Company  are : 
L.  M.  Wing,  of  Coldwater,  president;  Frank  M.  Rudd,  of  Bronson,  Mich., 
vice-president;  and  E.  R.  Root,  Coldwater,  secretary  and  treasurer. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  XVH. 
BRANCH  COUNTY  BANKS  AND  FINANCE. 

The  history  of  hanking  in  Branch  county  goes  back  to  the  days  of 
"  wild-cat "  currency  and  reckless  speculation,  which  set  in  shortly  after 
Michigan  was  admitted  to  statehood.  The  old  Coldwater  Bank  began  its 
existence  in  December,  1837,  when  it  was  organized  under  the  provisions  of 
an  act  of  the  legislature  passed  in  the  preceding  March.  Some  of  the  most 
prominent  men  of  that  day  were  directly  concerned  in  its  organization,  the 
stockholders  being  Hanchett  &  Holbrook,  William  A.  Kent,  L.  D.  &  P,  H. 
Crippen,  James  H.  Hanchett,  Robert  Baker,  R.  J.  Champion,  William  Rey- 
nolds, H,  Cowles,  Ed  Sloan,  B.  Crippen,  Lewis  Goddard  of  Detroit,  John  J. 
Curtis,  Loren  Marsh,  John  Conley,  Martin  Olds,  Harvey  Warner,  Lot  Whit- 
comb,  J.  S.  Ware,  Enoch  Jones,  L  Taylor  and  E.  G.  Fuller. 

The  bank  was  opened  in  a  little  one-story  building  on  the  north  side  of 
Chicago  street,  east  of  Monroe,  where  Sloman's  and  Flandermeyer's  stores 
"  are  located.  L.  D.  Crippen  was  the  first  president.  The  directing  spirits 
of  the  institiition,  however,  were  two  men  from  outside  the  county,  Goddard 
and  Ware,  whose  business  it  was  to  organize  banks  and  to  manipulate  the 
clever  financial  schemes  of  that  day.  Their  theories  as  to  banking  and 
finance  were  so  elaborate,  yet  so  plausible,  that  the  other  stockholders  and 
directors  submissively  put  away  practical  opinions  and  every-day  business 
methods  and  followed  their  lead  almost  without  question.  The  bills  of  the 
bank  were  issued  to  the  amount  allowed  by  law,  with  no  specie  in  the  vault 
to  redeem  them.  The  two  promoters  soon  after  carried  away  with  tiiem 
about  fifty  thousand  dollars  of  these  bills  for  the  purpose  of  turning  them 
into  cash  and,  as  they  said,  "  creating  specie."  They  did  dispose  of  most 
of  the  bills,  but  they  never  returned  with  the  proceeds  to  Coldwater,  and 
the  honest  pioneer  stockholders  who  remained  behind  were  left  to  pay  the 
incoming  bills  as  best  they  could.  The  Crippens  struggled  hard  to  main- 
tain the  integrity  of  the  institution,  becoming  personally  responsible  to  the 
amount  of  twenty  thousand  dollars,  but  without  avail,  for  the  bank  failed 
utterly  within  a  year  after  it  was  founded. 

Some  time  after  this  experience  in  "  wild-cat "  finance,  Lorenzo  D. 
Crippen  and  Clinton  B.  Fisk  ooened  the  "  Exchange  Bank  of  Crippen  and 
Fisk,"  ITiis  bank,  though  without  a  hint  of  the  methods  of  Its  predecessor, 
had  a  very  difficult  career,  for  banking  and  finance  were  in  a  state  of  terrible 
confusion  owing  to  the  lack  of  uniformity  and  inadequacy  of  the  laws,  both 
state  and  national,  that  regulated  such  matters.  Crippen  and  Fisk  suspended 
payment  in  1857,  during  the  financial  panic  of  that  year,  but  the  proprietors 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  125 

of  the  Exchange  Bank  settled  with  all  their  creditors  in  full  and  no  stigma 
attached  to  their  failure.  The  following  partnerships  successively  operated 
the  Exchange  Bank  after  the  suspension:  Clinton  B.  Fisk  and  Henry  C. 
Lewis;  H.  C,  Lewis,  Alonzo  F.  Bidwell,  and  I.  G.  Miles;  Lewis  and  (George 
A.)  Kellogg:  Lewis  and  (George)  Starr;  Edwin  R,  Clarke  and  Starr;  and 
David  B.   Dennis  and   Starr. 

Coldwater  National  Bank. 

Dennis  and  Starr  were  succeeded  by  the  Coldwater  National  Bank, 
which  with  over  forty  years  of  continuous  financial  operation,  not  to  men- 
tion its  antecedents,  is  the  oldest  banking  house  in  Branch  county.  It  was 
organized  May  30,  1865,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $100,000.  The  first  officers 
and  directors  were:  H.  C.  Lewis,  president;  D'.  B.  Dennis,  vice-president; 
George  Starr,  cashier,  who  had  begun  with  the  Exchange  Bank  in  1856. 
The  directors  were :  H.  C.  Lewis,  D.  B.  Dennis,  George  Starr,  Artemus 
Allen.  Charles  Upson,  C.  B.  Jones,  A.  Waterman,  David  Thompson,  D.  R. 
Cooley,  C.  G.  Luce, 

The  Coldwater  National  Bank  now  has  a  capital  and  surplus  of  $135,000. 
Its  present  officers  and  directors  are:  L.  M.  Wing,  president:  Z.  G.  Osborn, 
vice-president;  H.  R.  Saunders,  cashier.  Directors,  Louis  Sloman,  H.  R. 
Saunders,  K.  R.  Williams,  F.  W.  Moore,  John  T.  Starr,  Z.  G.  Osborn, 
L.  M.  Wing. 

Southern  Michigan  National  Bank. 

The  Southern  Michigan  National  Bank  of  Coldwater  has  a  history  of 
nearly  thirty-five  years  of  continuous  and  successful  activity.  A  bank,  when 
prosperous,  comes  to  be  regarded  by  the  people  generally  as  an  "  institution" 
and  the  personal  character  behind  it  seldom  comes  to  light.  None  the  less 
the  strength  of  the  institution  depends  on  the  directors  and  officers  who  control 
its  affairs,  -and  the  confidence  of  tlie  people  in  the  bank  is  only  another  way 
of  stating  the  reliability  of  the  men  responsible  for  its  financial  management. 
Many  well  known  men  of  Branch  county  have  Ijeen  identified  with  the  South- 
ern Michigan  National  Bank,  and  it  is  also  noteworthy  that  some  of  the 
original  stockholders  and  officials  are  still  connected  with  the  active  control. 

The  names  of  the  original  stockholders  are:  Caleb  D.  Randall.  Juhu3 
S.  Barber,  Cyrus  G.  Luce,  Henry  Safford,  Lester  E.  Rose,  Edwin  R.  Clarke, 
John  O.  Pelton.  David  C.  Powers.  Luther  F.  Hale,  Charles  A.  Spaulding, 
Robert  F.  Mockridge,  Simon  B.  Kitchel,  Alonzo  Waterman,  Thomas  W. 
Dickinson.  Hibbard>.  Jones,  Olivia  Safford,  Isaac  Mains,  Emeline  Barber, 
Thomas  Smith.  Noah  P.  Loveridge.  Robert  Reade,  Daniel  E.  Dyer.  D.  C. 
Smith,  J.  Sterling  Smith,  Lois  Smith.  Mary  Rodman,  Orlando  Wilder. 

The  first  board  of  directors  were:  Henry  Safford,  E.  R.  Ciarke,  J.  S. 
Barber,  C.  D.  Randall.  L.  F.  Hale,  D.  C.  Powers,  C.  G.  Luce.  The  present 
directors  are  L.  E.  Rose,  J.  S,  Barber,  E.  G.  Luce,  R.  E.  Clarke,  M.  D.  Camp- 
bell, A.  S.  Upson. 

The  first  executive  officers  are:     C  D.  Randall,  president;  C.  G.  Luce, 


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126  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

vice-president:  Lester  E.  Rose,  cashier:  A.  Sidney  Upson,  teller  and  book- 
keeper. On  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Randa!!,  Mr.  Rose  became  president,  and 
the  recent  death  of  C.  G.  Luce  necessitated  the  only  other  change  that  has 
occurred  since  the  bank  began  business.  The  officers  at  present  are :  L.  E. 
Rose,  president ;  J.  S.  Barber,  vice-president ;  A.  S.  Upson,  cashier. 

In  February,  1872,  the  Southern  Michigan  National  Bank  was  opened 
for  business  in  the  Southern  Michigan  Hotel  block,  but  since  the  fall  of  the 
same  year  has  been  located  in  the  building  erected  by  the  banking  associa- 
tion at  the  southeast  corner  of  Chicago  and  Monroe  streets.  The  capital 
stock  is  $165,000,  and  the  surplus  and  undivided  profits  are  $145,000. 

The  Branch   County  Savings  Bank. 

The  Branch  County  Savings  Bank  at  Coldwater  was  organized  Decem- 
ber 9,  1890,  with  the  following  officers:  President,  B.  S.  Spofford;  first 
vice-president,  F.  L.  Burdick;  second  vice-president,  B.  R.  Moore;  cashier, 
C.  T.  Gilbert;  directors,  B.  S.  Spofford.  B.  R.  Moore,  N.  A.  Reynolds,  C.  T. 
Gillwrt,  W.  S.  VanBlarcum,  H.  J.  Woodward,  F.  L.  Burdick,  G.  W.  Van- 
Aken,  R.  G.  Chandler.  The  bank  proved  a  success  from  its  inception,  its 
savings  feature  being  particiilarly  attractive  to  the  small  depositor — an  im- 
portant branch  of  the  banking  business  too  often  overlooked  by  many  banks. 
A  general  banking  business  is  conducted  in  all  of  its  branches  and  the  out- 
side connections  of  the  Branch  County  Savings  Bank  are  extensive.  The 
present  officers  of  the  bank  are  B.  S,  Spofford,  president;  F.  L.  Burdick, 
vice-president;  M.  W.  Wimer,  cashier.  The  directors  are  B.  S.  Spofford, 
A.  Milnes,  j .  W.  McCausey,  F.  L.  Burdick,,  S.  H.  Clizbe,  N.  Baldwin,  G.  W. 
VanAken,  N.  A.  Reynolds,  Harry  P.  Woodward.  The  capital  and  surplus 
are  $65,000. 

Union  City  National  Bank. 

The  building  of  the  railroad  through  Union  City  was,  as  told  on  other 
pages,  a  powerful  impetus  to  business  and  growth  of  all  kinds.  Further 
proof  of  the  statement  is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  village's  oldest  bank  was 
established  about  that  time.  The  Union  City  National  Bank  was  organized 
under  a  charter,  May  17,  1871,  with  the  following  officers:  President, 
David  R.  Coolev ;  vice-president.  Dr.  Wm.  P.  Hurd ;  cashier,  Ira  W.  Nash ; 
directors,  S.  P.  'WiiHams,  I,  W.  Clark,  Ezra  Bostwick,  J.  B.  Tucker,  H.  H. 
Hitchcock.  Mr.  Cooley  was  president  for  three  years  when  he  was  succeeded 
by  Dr.  W.  P.  Hurd,  who  filled  the  position  in  a  satisfactory  manner  until 
his  death  in  1881.  Mr.  Ezra  Bostwick  succeeded  to  the  office  and  was 
president  until  his  death  in  1895.  Mr.  J.  W.  McCausey,  who  had  been 
cashier  of  the  institution  since  1883,  was  then  elected  president,  a  position 
which  he  still  fills.  The  bank  is  situated  in  commodious  quarters  of  its  own 
at  the  comer  of  Ellen  street  and  Broadway,  where  steel  vaults  and  safes  of 
modern  construction  afford  safety  to  the  funds  of  the  institution.  A  general 
banking  business  is  done,  and  that  the  bank  possesses  fully  the  confidence  of 
the  public  is   evidenced  by   the   large  volume  of  business  transacted.     The 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  12T 

present  ofikers  are  as  follows:  President,  J.  W.  McCausey;  vice-president, 
Isaac  Tower;  cashier,  J.  S.  Nesbitt;  teller,  L.  F.  Holcomb;  directors,  J.  W. 
McCausey,  Isaac  Tower,  Mrs.  C.  E.  Hurd,  M.  F.  Biiell,'  Henry  Seymour, 
Warren  Baker,  W.  H.  Tower, 

Farmers  National  Bank  of  Union  City. 

The  Farmers  National  Bank  was  incorporated  October  4,  1877,  with 
the  following  officers:  Tliomas  B.  Buell,  president;  H.  F.  Ewers,  vice- 
president;  H.  T.  Carpenter,  cashier;  T.  B.  Bnell,  R.  F.  Watkins,  Rnfus 
Osborn,  H.  F.  Ewers,  H.  T.  Carpenter,  D.  R.  Cooley,  H.  L.  Bisbee,  directors. 
Thomas  B.  Bueli  continued  as  president  until  his  death  in  1900,  when  he 
was  succeeded  by  his  son  D.  D.  Buell.  Ever  since  its  organization  the  bank 
has  been  under  the  management  of  its  cashier,  H.  T.  Carpenter,  whose  long 
record  in  the  same  position  is  not  excelled  in  the  history  of  Branch  county 
banking.  The  present  officfers  are :  D.  D.  Buell,  president ;  J.  P.  Fox,  vice- 
president;  H.  T.  Carpenter,  cashier.  According  to  one  of  its  latest  state- 
ments, the  Farmers  National  has  a  capital  stock  of  $50,000,  surplus  and 
undivided  profits  of  nearly  $18,000,  and  deposits  of  nearly  $200,000. 

First  National  Bank  of  Quincy. 

In  April,  1877,  the  banking  house  of  Lee  and  Hannan  was  estabHshed 
in  Quincy.  Four  years  later,  in  1881,  Mr.  Charles  R.  Hannan  organized 
the  First  Notional  Bank  of  Quincy,  which  now,  at  the  close  of  its  twenty-' 
fifth  year,  is  the  oldest  bank  of  Quincy  and  one  of  the  most  successful  in  the 
county.  Its  management  has  been  solid  and  conservative  throughout,  and 
it  has  the  record  of  never  having  paid  a  cent  of  interest  on  deposits.  Its 
deposits  in  April,  1906,  were  nearly  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

Associated  with  Mr.  Hannan  in  the  establishment  of  this  bank  were 
the  first  president,  B.  F.  Wheat;  the  vice-president,  John  H,  Jones,  while 
Mr.  Hannan  took  the  post  of  cashier.  One  instance  of  the  solidity  of  the 
bank  is  to  be  found  in  the  length  of  service  of  the  men  now  officers.  Mr. 
C.  H.  Winchester,  the  president,  has  been  with  the  bank  about  fifteen  years, 
following  Mr.  Wheat ;  the  vice-president,  E.  B.  Church,  has  a  record  of 
twenty  years  with  the  institution,  while  Mr.  C.  L,  Truesdell,  the  cashier, 
has  stood  regularly  at  his  window  for  twenty-three  years. 

Quincy  State  Bank. 

The  Quincy  State  Bank  was  incorporated  January  20,  1899.  With 
the  exception  of  the  office  of  vice-president,  which  for  the  first  three  years 
was  held  by  H.  W.  Whitmore,  the  principal  officers  and  the  directors  have 
remained  the  same  to  the  present  time.  They  are:  F.  A.  Roethlisberger, 
president;  N.  H.  Andrus,  vice-president;  M.  S.  Segur,  cashier;  directors, 
S.  M.  Golden,  N,  H.  Andrus,  M.  S.  Segur,  Harvey  Chase,  F.  A.  Roethlis- 
berger. Charles  Harphan  was  assistant  cashier  two  years,  L.  T,  Etheridge 
for  one  year,  and  Pearl  Power  now  holds  that  position. 


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138  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Shenvood. 

The  Farmers'  and  Merchants'  Bank  at  Sherwood  was  established  in 
1883.  It  is  capitalized  at  $10,000.  The  president  is  Henry  Seymour  anc! 
the  cashier  George  H.  Seynronr,  who  are  the  owners  of  the  institution. 
Sketches  of  these  business  men  will  be  found  elsewhere  in  the  volume. 

Bronson  Banks. 

The  L.  Rudd  &  Son  private  banking-  business  was  begun  in  1883. 
Laurendus  Rudd,  the  founder,  who  was  Ixirn  in  New  York  in  1815,  and  died 
in  Bronson,  December  27,  1884,  came  to  Bronson  in  1854  and  was  foremost 
in  business  affairs  until  his  death.  His  was  the  first  banking  house  in  the 
village.  The  firm  aie  now  the  only  bankers  in  the  county  whoi  are  mem- 
bers of  the  American  Banking  Association.  F.  M.  Rudd,  the  son,  now  car- 
ries on  the  principal  interests  in  succession  to  his  father  and  has  also  enlarged 
the  scope  of  his  business  efforts. 

The  Exchange  Bank,  also  a  private  bank,  was  established  in  1897,  the 
original  firm  name  being  Coward  &  Monroe  Brothers.  In  1902  Wallace 
Monroe  sold  his  interest,  and  the  firm  became  Coward  &  Monroe.  Richard 
Coward  and  William  Monroe  are  now  the  proprietors  of  this  bank,  which  has 
a  capital  of  $50,000  and  large  deposits  and  is  in  a  substantial  condition.  Mr. 
Coward,  who  is  of  English  birth,  has  lived  in  Branch  county  since  1865. 

Farmers'  Mutu.\l  Insurance  Company. 

One  of  the  oldest  and  best  known  financial  institutions  of  Branch  county 
is  the  Farmers  Mutual  Insurance  Company  of  Branch  County,  which  has 
had  a  continuous  and  successful  existence  since  the  date  of  its  founding, 
January  21,  1863.  The  mutual  plan  has  always  been  strictly  adhered  to, 
and  the  insurance  reports  issued  from  the  state  have  always  given  the  com- 
pany favorable  mention,  which  is  substantiated  in  the  sworn  statements  of 
business.  The  founders  of  the  company  are  named  in  the  first  official  list, 
namely:  Philo  Porter,  president;  John  S.  Strong,  secretary:  and  Asahel 
Brown,  Stuart  Davis,  Moses  V.  Calkins,  George  W.  VanAken,  E.  W.  Pliet- 
tiplace,  directors. 

The  company  has  written  policies  for  more  than  forty  years.  Its  im- 
portance as  an  individual  financial  institution  is  shown  in  the  erection,  during 
the  year  of  this  writing,  1906,  of  a  brick  building  on  Division  street  opposite 
the  court  house,  which  will  be  devoted  to  business  offices  for  the  company. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  XVin. 
RAILROADS,   TRANSPORTATION   AND  COMMUNICATION. 

The  laying-  out  of  the  Chicago  Road  and  the  operation  of  the  line  of 
stages  from  Detroit  to  Chicago  had  a  tremendous  importance  in  the  devel- 
opment of  southern  Michigan.  But  the  time  came  when  the  last  coach  rum- 
bled along  this  thoroughfare,  and  the  stage-coach  era  passed  on  beyond  the 
Mississippi  river.  Following  it,  as  one  phase  of  progress  follows  another, 
came  the  railroad  period.  The  very  fact  that  the  transition  from  one  to  the 
other  was  a  gradual  process,  covering  some  years,  partly  ohscured  the  sig- 
nificance of  the  event  even  to  its  actual  beholders,  while  to  people  who  have 
never  lived  out  of  hearing  of  the  locomotive  whistle,  imagination  affords  a 
dim  idea  of  the  epoch  when  the  stage  coach  and  the  Conestoga  wagon  were 
the  onl)'  means  of  transportation. 

Railroad  building  was  extended  westward  in  the  wake  of  the  great 
emigration  movement  of  the  thirties  and  forties.  Although  the  first  rail- 
road in  the  United  States  was  not  built  until  the  decade  of  the  twenties,  each 
year  thereafter  increased  the  railroad  mileage  by  hundreds  and  then  by 
thousands  of  miles.  Branch  county  was  fortunate  in  being  on  the  route 
of  westward  extension  which  finally  Ixtund  the  east  and  the  west  by  trunk 
lines,  and  in  1850  was  traversed  by  one  of  these  lines  and  twenty  years  later 
by  a  second. 

It  was  not  until  1S37  '^'''^t  ^^^  Michigan  pioneer  could  make  any  part 
of  his  journey  in  this  state  by  rail.  The  Erie  and  Kalamazoo  Railroad,  the 
oldest  of  the  original  companies  which  are  now  embraced  under  the  name 
of  the  Lake  Shore  and  Michigan  Southern,  was  incorporated  in  1833,  was 
built  between  Toledo  and  Adrian,  a  distance  of  thirty-three  miies,  and  opened 
for  traffic  in  1837.  The  motive  power  was  furnished  by  horses  until  a  loco- 
motive could  be  obtained.  This  road  had  many  difficulties,  and  its  owners 
finally,  in  August,  1849,  leased  it  to  the  Michigan  Southern. 

In  1837  the  then  new  state  of  Michigan  launched  out  in  a  grand  scheme 
of  internal  improvements,  providing  for  a  loan  of  five  million  dollars  (an 
enormous  sum  'at  that  time)  for  the  improvement  of  rivers,  ccwistroction  of 
canals,  and  for  three  railroads — a  Southern,  a  Central  and  a  Northern  Rail- 
road. The  Southern  Railroad,  it  should  be  noticed,  was  fJanned  to  start 
at  Monroe,  on  Lake  Erie,  traverse  the  southern  tier  of  counties,  and  ter- 
minate at  St.  Joseph  on  Lake  Michigan.  The  Central  was  to  cross  the  state 
and  terminate  on  Lake  Michigan  at  a  point  further  north.  At  the  time  these 
roads  were  planned,  Chicago  was  little  more  tlian  a  trading  post,  but  long 
before  either  of  them  was  completed  it  became  obvious  that  the  value  of  each 


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130;  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

road  depended  on  having  its  western  terminus  in  Chicago.  The  Central,  af- 
ter the  state  relinquished  its  control,  was  constructed  rapidly  and  across  the 
prescribed  route  of  the  Southern  through  New  Buffalo  and  along  the  south- 
ern shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  its  arrival  in  Chicago  anticipating  that  of  the 
Southern  by  several  months. 

In  the  meantime  the  state  was  proceeding  with  the  construction  of  the 
Southern  Railroad  also.  The  road  was  opened  from  Monroe  to  Petersburg, 
eighteen  miles,  in  1839,  to  Adrian  in  1840,  to  Hudson  in  1843,  and  to  Hills- 
dale in  1843,  i"  ^"  ^  distance  of  66  miles.  That  was  all  of  the  Southern 
Railroad  built  by  the  state.  Michigan's  experience  in  the  construction  of 
great  internal  improvements  was  unfortunate,  and  in  less  than  ten  years  it 
seemed  the  part  of  wisdom  to  turn  over  such  enterprises  to  private  capital. 
In  1846,  accordingly,  the  state  sold  its  Southern  road  to  a  company  for  five 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  to  be  paid  in  ten  equal  annual  installments. 

Tliis  was  the  status  of  the  railroad  question  at  the  time  when  we  may 
begin  to  view  it  from  the  standpoint  of  the  people  of  Branch  county. 
Despite  the  constant  agitation  on  the  part  of  the  citizens,  the  mass  meet- 
ings, the  memorials  to  the  legislature,  the  western  terminus  of  the  railroad 
remained  at  Hillsdale  for  nearly  seven  years.  The  inhabitant  of  Coldwater 
who  wished  to  go  to  Detroit  must  make  the  first  twenty-two  miles  of  the 
journey  by  stage,  and  the  trip  was  not  at  all  tempting  to  one  bent  on  a  holiday 
excursion.  The  railroad  question  was  vital.  Hardly  an  issue  of  the  Cold- 
water  Sentinel  during  the  late  forties  did  not  contain  an  editorial  of  protest 
against  the  delay.  The  progress  of  negotiations  was  followed  in  great  detail, 
and  at  a  time  when  neivspapers  gave  scant  attention  to  matters  of  local  inter- 
est this  fact  is  significant  of  the  importance  that  marked  the  building  of  the 
railroad  in  contrast  with  all  other  affairs. 

The  Telegraph, 
The  villages  of  Branch  county  were  placed  in  communication  with  the 
world  by  means  of  the  telegraph  a  year  before  the  railroad  came.  In  1S45 
the  first  commercial  use  was  made  of  the  telegraph.  Four  years  later  its 
wire  threads  were  being  carried  across  the  continent,  enabling  the  people  of 
Coldwater  to  know  what  had  occurred  in  New  York  two  hours  before.  "  On 
Tuesday,  Nov.  6,  1849,  the  office  of  the  Southern  Michigan  Telegraph  line 
in  this  viliage  was  put  in  operation,"  But  while  marking  this  as  an  im- 
portant day  in  the  history  of  Coldwater,  the  editor  of  the  Sentinel  in  the 
same  issue  sagely  comments  that,  despite  material  inventions  and  improve- 
ments, the  disposition  of  men  remains  about  the  same.  "  We  have  wit- 
nessed," he  savs,  "  the  anxiety  of  our  citizens  when  the  lumbering  stage 
coach  was  the  "only  medium  by  which  news  was  conveyed.  We  saw  no  less 
anxiety  when  the  stage  coach  gave  place,  in  part,  to  the  locomotive  as  it 
rolled  along  its  iron  track.  An  increase  of  speed  had  increased  their  expec- 
tations. And  now,  when  they  can  talk  by  lightning,  send  their  communica- 
tions and  receive  answers  in  less  than  no  time,  they  are  more  dissatisfied 
than  ever.     There  was  more  anxiety  depicted  on   the  countenances  of  the 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  131 

crowd  in  waiting  Tuesday  evening  and  Wednesday,  whik  the  election  re- 
turns were  coming  in,  than  we  ever  saw  manifested  by  a  postoffice  full  of 
politicians  when  they  had  waited  patiently  a  week  or  ten  days  without  any 
intelligence.  Lightning  was  too  slow,  and  we  were  convinced  that  the  more 
me*n  have,  the  more  they  want." 

The   First   Railroad. 

But  now  the  attention  of  the  press  and  the  people  became  concentrated 
on  the  railroad  situation.  The  rivalry  between  tbe  Michigan  Southern  and 
the  Michigan  Centra!  was  by  this  time  intense,  and  each  company  was  using 
all  the  means  in  its  power  to  prevent  the  other  from  reaching  Chicago.  As 
already  mentioned,  the  Michigan  Central  had  been  diverted  southward  from 
its  original  course.  The  Southern  people  were  fighting  in  the  legislature 
for  the  privilege  likewise  of  diverging  from  the  straight  course  across  the 
southern  tier  of  counties  and  building  a  large  part  of  their  line  across  north- 
ern Indiana.  The  interest  in  this  matter  was  not  confined  to  the  legislative 
halls  and  railroad  circles.  In  March,  1850,  a  mass  meeting  of  citizens  was 
held  in  the  Branch  county  court  house,  long  series  of  preambles  and  reso- 
lutions were  adopted,  of  which  the  main  tenor  was  a  protest  against  the 
monopoly  of  the  Michigan  Central  and  an  emphasizing  of  the  uselessness 
of  constructing  the  Michigan  Southern  to  a  terminus  within  the  state  of 
Michigan  instead  of  to  Chicago. 

The  agitation  here  and  elsewhere  bore  fruit.  Greided  to  action  by  an 
aroused  constituency,  the  legislature  in  the  closing  days  of  its  session  of 
1849-50  passed  a  bill,  two  important  features  of  which  were  that  the  South- 
em  road  should  be  extended  from  Hillsdale  to  Coldwater  by  the  fall  of  1851, 
and  requiring  the  road  to  strike  the  St.  Joseph  river  before  it  should  be 
diverted  from  the  state.  The  line  was  to  be  equipped  with  a  heavy  T-rail 
instead  of  the  strap  rail,  "  so  that  trains  may  whiz  along  at  thirty  miles  an 
hour,"  to  quote  again  from  the  Sentinel. 

The  railroad  now  became  an  immediate  and  definite  prospect  for  Branch 
county.  By  the  latter  part  of  October,  1S50,  trains  were  running  to  Jones- 
ville,  with  the  grading  between  Coldwater  and  Jonesville  nearly  ready  for 
the  track.  On  December  6.  1850.  the  eager  readers  of  the  Sentinel  saw  this 
item :  "  We  saw  the  locomotive  come  snorting  through  Quincy  on  Monday 
last,  with  a  load  of  iron ;  a  somewhat  unusual  sight,  but  with  all  the  noise 
and  confusion,  an  agreeable  one." 

The  next  issue  contained  the  climax  of  the  story.  '■  What  our  citizens 
have  looked  eagerly  for  during  the  last  twelve  years  is  at  last  accomplished, 
and  the  Michigan  Southern  is  finally  completed  to  Coldwater.  For  the  first 
time,  on  Tuesday  (December  10,  1850),  the  iron  hqrse  made  .his  appearance 
in  this  village.  A  freight  train  arrived  at  noon  and  commenced  taking  on  a 
load  of  flour  at  the  depot.  About  4:15  a  large  number  of  our  expectant 
citizens  witnessed  the  arrival  of  a  passenger  train  from  the  east."  That 
was  a. red  letter  day  in  the  history  of  Coldwater.  In  the  evening-a  ball  was 
held  at  the  old  Franklin  House  in  honor  of  the  event,  and  on  the  following 


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J33  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Friday,  when  a  train  load  of  visitors  from  Adrian,  Toledo  and  other  points 
along  the  line  came  to  the  Coldwater  terminus,  there  was  a  second  cele- 
bration and  rejoicing,  all  the  homes  in  the  viilage  were  open  to  entertain 
the  strangers,  and  there  was  another  dance  in  the  evening.  These  social 
gi  a  tula  t  ions,  however,  were  mere  incidental  manifestations  of  the  intro- 
duction of  an  epoch  which  closed  the  pioneer  era  of  Branch  county. 

Constmction  work  did  not  stop  at  CoMwater.  By  the  middle  of  Feb- 
niary,  1851,  track  had  been  laid  to  the  county  line,  thus  giving  Bronson 
communication  by  rail,  and  on  March  13th  a  train  ran  through  to  Sturgis. 
A  year  later,  in  March,  1S52,  the  road  reached  Chicago,  and  the  distance 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  between  Toledo  and  Chicago  was  open  to 
traffic  without  the  use  of  the  stage  for  any  portion  of  the  way. 

Air  Line  Railroad. 

The  Air  Line  branch  of  the  Michigan  Central,  which  enters  the  county 
at  Union  City  and  crosses  the  county  diagonally  out  through  Sherwood 
township,  was  projected  almost  entirely  by  local  capital  and  enterprise,  the 
corporate  name  being  the  Michigan  Air  Line  Railroad  Com[mny.  The  peo- 
ple of  the  counties  of  Cass,  St.  Joseph,  Calhoun,  Branch  and  Jackson  were 
the  ones  most  vitally  interested.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  sixties  the  town- 
ships of  Union  and  Sherwood  were  thoroughly  canvassed  for  contributions 
to  the  enterprise,  the  promoters  sending  a  man  of  address  and  eloquence 
all  over  this  section  to  hold  meetings  and  to  use  personal  suasion  in  the 
interest  of  the  project.  The  following  item  from  the  first  copy  of  the  Union 
City  Independent,  in  October,  1867,  indicates  how  local  interest  and  finan- 
cial support  were  worked  up  for  this  railroad. 

"  We  understand  that  Dr.  H.  F.  Ewers  and  E.  Perry,  Esq.,  are  can- 
vassing the  townships  of  Union  and  Sherwood  for  stock  subscriptions  and 
right  of  way  for  the  railroad,  and  that  thus  far  they  have  met  with  good 
success.  Nearly  or  quite  enoug'h  stock  has  been  taken  east  of  Jackson  to 
prepare  the  road-bed  for  the  iron,  and  we  understand  that  on  that  portion 
of  the  rotite,  the  contracts  are  to  be  let  this  fall." 

Jackson  county  subscribed  nearly  two  hundred  thousand .  dollars  to  the 
undertaking,  and  the  principal  officers  of  the  original  organization  were 
citizens  of  Jackson.  The  line  was  opened  to  travel  from  Jackson  to  Homer 
in  the  summer  of  1870,  to  Three  Rivers  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year,  and 
was  completed  to  Niles  in  February,  1S71.  Almost  coincident  with  the 
completion  of  the  road  it  was  leased  to  the  Michigan  Central  Railroad  Com- 
pany, and  soon  became  the  property  of  that  company.  The  Air  Line  has 
been  of  special  value  in  upbuilding  Union  City  and  was  the  foundation  of 
the  village  of  Sherwood. 

Other  Railroads. 

The  Fort  Wayne,  Jackson  and  Saginaw  Railroad,  which  crosses  the 
southeast  corner  of  California  township,  was  completed  and  opened  for 
traffic  from  Jackstin  to  Angola,  Indiana,  in  January,  ig^o,  about  the  same 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  133 

time  the  Michigan  Air  Line  was  constructed  across  the  northwest  corner 
of  the  county. 

The  futility  of  forecast  even  in  such  a  substantial  matter  as  railroad 
building'  is  well  illustrated  in  the  Branch  County  Atlas  published  in  1872. 
With  this  as  his  only  guide  we  mJ^it  conceive  of  a  trrtveler  planning-  to  take 
train  at  California  postotfice  and  riding  thence  north  through  Coldwater  and 
Girard  and  leaving  the  county  about  the  center  of  the  north  boundary.  For 
this  is  the  designated  route  of  the  Mansfield,  Coldwater  and  Lake  Michigan 
Railroad,  over  which,  unfortunately,  no  train  of  cars  ever  ran  through 
Branch  county.  None  the  less,  the  map  makers  were  not  open  to  censure 
on  that  account,  for  they  merely  indicated  the  line  which  it  was  confident!;' 
believed  at  the  time  would  soon  be  in  operation,  and  which  was  even  graded 
and  ready  in  some  portions  for  the  laying  of  the  iron.  And  now,  as  one 
unacquainted  with  this  chapter  of  Branch  county  history  rides  over  the 
county,  he  would  be  puzzled  in  places  to  account  for  the  grass-grown  cuts 
and  ridges  which  are  a!!  that  remain  of  the  ambitious  attempt. 

The  Mansfield,  Coldwater  and  Lake  Michigan  Railroad  was  largely  a 
ColdAvater  project.  The  report  of  the  state  railroad  commission  for  Decem- 
ber, 1872,  gave  among  the  list  of  officers  of  the  corporation  the  names  of 
H.  C.  Lewis  as  vice  president  (who  soon  after  became  president),  David 
B.  Dennis,  treasurer;  Justin  Lawyer,  assistant  secretary-,  and  F.  V.  Smith, 
register  of  transfers,  ail  of  Coldwater,  and  besides  these  the  late  Gen.  J.  G. 
Parkhurst  was  a  director.  It  was  planned  to  build  this  road  from  Mans- 
field, Ohio,  to  Allegan,  Michigaii.  In  1875  eleven  and  a  half  miles  were  in 
operation  from  Allegan  to  Monteith,  and  the  official  railroad  map  of  1875 
shows  it  as  a  stump  line  projecting  east  of  Monteith  a  few  miles  and  under 
lease  for  oi>eration  purposes  by  the  Grand  Rapids  and  Indiana.  August  28, 
1877.  t^^^  road  was  sold  under  foreclosure  of  mortgage,  the  name  then 
changing  to  the  Allegan  and  Southeastern  R.  R.  Co.  Its  subsequent  historj' 
is  not  pertinent  to  present  consideration. 

Contemporaneous  in  origin  and  perhaps  connected  in  other  ways  with 
the  above  enterprise,  was  the  Marshall  and  Coldwater  Railroad.  This  road 
was  projected  to  run  from  Coldwater  to  Elm  Hail  in  Gratiot  county,  and  a 
map  of  the  time  indicates  its  line  as  parallel  to  the  Mansfield  road  as  far  as 
Girard  village^  whence  it  goes  directly  north  towards  Marshall.  "  That  part 
of  the  line  from  Coldwater  to  the  Peninsular  Railroad,  a  distance  of  forty 
miles,  was.  January  T.  1873.  substantially  graded,  bridged  and  tied."  Such 
was  the  railroad  commissioner's  report,  but  no  track  was  ever  laid,  and  the 
name  and  record  of  the  corporation  disappear  from  the  reports  after  1873. 
Neariy  all  the  officials  named  were  citizens  of  Marshall. 

It  is  within  the  province  of  this  history  to  record  the  status  of  electric 
lines  in  the  county.  About  three  years  ago  the  Toledo  and  Michigan  Elec- 
tric Railroad  was  "  in  course  of  construction "  through  the  county,  the 
designated  termini  being  Toledo  and  Elkhart.  Along  the  highway  between 
Coldwater  and  Quincy   for  nearly  the  entire  distance  can  now  be  seen  the 


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134  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

grade  that  was  made  for  this  road.  But  so  far  this  construction  is  for 
nothing,  although  it  is  expected  that  a  new  corporation  will  utilize  the  grade: 

Furthermore,  at  the  time  of  this  writing,  a  company  is  in  the  field 
acquiring  right  of  way  and  other  concessions  along  the  route  of  the  old  Cold- 
water  and  Mansfield  route  from  Coldwater  to  Battle  Creek,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  constmcting  an  electric  line  that  will  cross  the  county  at  right  angles 
to  the  steam  roads  and  furnish  much-needed  transportation  between  por- 
tions of  the  county  that  are  now  practically  isolated. 

It  remans  for  a  later  historian  to  describe  the  improvements  which 
these  proposed  electric  lines  will  accomplish.  No  doubt  many  things  that 
are  now  novel  or  tentative  will  be  obsolete  or  thoroughly  founded  twentyr 
five  years  from  now. 

Postal  Service. 

One  of  the  first  improvements  soug'ht  after  actual  home  and  shelter  and 
means  of  subsistence  were  provided  was  a  postal  service,  such  as  all  the 
settlers  had  been  familiar  with  in  their  former  homes  in  the  more  settled 
regions.  We  have  seen  how  the  government  early  made  provision  for  the 
establishment  of  a  great  post  road  from  the  east  to  the  west.  But  the  actual 
transportation  and  distribution  of  mail  was  a  very  uncertain  matter  for 
many  years,  and  depended  largely  on  the  provision  that  each  community 
could  make  for  that  purpose.  The  mail  stage  b^ail  running  in  the  early 
thirties  along  the  Chicago  road,  and  the  various  stations  along  that  highway 
were  the  distributing  points  from  which  mail  was  carried  to  the  settlements 
in  the  remote  townships.  Some  convenient  settler's  cabin  was  selected  a? 
the  posVoffice.  and  there  the  neighbors  would  gather  to  recei^'e  a  chance  letter 
or  hear  the  reading  of  a  newspaper  brought  in  by  the  last  mail.  Since  the 
establishment  of  a  postoffice  usually  marked  an  important  stage  in  the  history 
of  a  village  or  hamlet,  the  individual  postoffices  of  the  county  have  received 
appropriate  mention  in  connection  with  the  account  of  the  different  localities. 

Letters  were  a  luxury  in  pioneer  times.  Tliey  were  written  on  foolscap 
paper  and  so  folded  that  one  side  was  left  blank,  so  as  to  form  its  own 
envelope,  it  beJng  sealed  with  wax  or  a  wafer.  This  latter  custom  was 
followed  for  many  years,  and  some  of  these  sheets  folded  according  to  the 
usual  manner,  with  some  of  the  wax  of  the  seal  still  adhering  to  them,  and 
with  the  post-mark  "  Mic.  T."  showing  that  they  were  sent  during  the 
territorial  days,  may  be  seen  in  some  of  the  first  miscellaneous,  files  in  the 
county  clerk's  office. 

Postal  advantages  were  centralized  formerly.  To  get  one's  mail  it  was 
necessary  to  go  where  it  was  distributed,  whether  that  was  at  the  settler's 
cabin  above  mentioned  or  at  a  pennanent  office  fitted  up  for  the  purpose,  as 
is  the  case  with  larger  places.  The  most  striking  change  in  postal  service 
was  effected  when  mail  matter  began  to  be  carried  to  the  persons  addressed 
instead  of  those  persons  calling  at  a  central  place  where  the  mail  was  kept. 
Mail  delivery  marks  a  great  step  of  progress,  not  so  nnich  in  the  case  of  the 
cities,  as  in  the  country,  where  the  system  of  rural  free  delivery  has  undoubt- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  J  35 

fldly  effected  more  for  the  welfare  and  intelligence  of  the  rural  population 
than  any  other  factor  of  recent  years. 

In  the  history  of  the  grange  movement  something  has  been  said  con- 
cerning the  beginnings  of  rural  delivery.  The  first  routes  were  established 
from  the  Coldwater  postoffice  in  1901,  and  since  that  time  the  entire  county 
has  received  these  facilities,  there  being  sixteen  carriers  over  as  many  routes, 
with  CoMwater  city  and  each  of  the  four  villages  as  centers,  with  one  or 
more  routes  also  from  Batavia  and  Kinderhook. 

Telephone. 

ComnninJcation  by  telephone  is  now  in  such  general  and  familiar  use 
in  the  county  that  it  is  difficult  to  realize  that  this  invention  is  modern. 
There  is  probably  not  a  person  in  Branch  county  who  does  not  at  least  know 
of  the  telephone,  and  in  hundreds  of  homes  and  in  nearly  every  business 
house  will  be  found  one  of  these  instruments.  Every  road  has  its  line  of 
poles  and  strings  of  wire,  binding  together  separate  homes,  communities, 
villages  and  distant  cities.  Less  than  thiry  years  have  sufficietl  to  effect  this 
condition.  Mr.  A.  Graham  Belt,  the  inventor  of  the  telephone,  was  suc- 
cessfully conducting  experiments  in  the  early  seventies, .  but  the  first  time 
his  invention  was  exhibited  in  a  practical  form  to  the  general  public  was  at 
the  centennial  exposition  at  Philadelphia  in  1876.  A  standard  encyclopedia, 
pubHshed  in  1877,  in  describing  this  invention,  speaks  of  it  as  "  telegraphic 
transmission  of  articulate  sounds,"  and  further  goes  on  to  state  as  the  climax 
of  the  wonderful  discovery  that  "  we  may  confidently  expect  that  Mr,  Bell 
will  give  us  the  means  of  making  voice  and  spoken  words  audible  through 
the  electric  wire  to  an  ear  hundreds  of  miles  distant." 

Branch  county  began  using  this  invention  in  1882.  Tlie  Coldwater 
Republican  of  September  i.  1882,  states  that  "the  labor  of  putting  up  a 
line  has  commenced.  The  central  office  will  he  located  in  the  third  story 
of  the  F.  V,  Smith  &  Co.'s  building.  About  forty  instruments  have  been 
ordered,  and  connection  will  also  be  made  with  Quincy  and  Union  City." 
How  the  invention  was  regarded  is  best  told  in  an  issue  of  the  same  paper 
published  in  October,  1882.  The  telephones  by  that  time  were  in  operation, 
and  the  writer  declared  that  "  a  person  standing  at  any  telephone  in  the  city 
can  converse  with  parties  at  the  State  School  in  an  ordinary  tone,  and  many 
times  can  distinguish  the  voice  of  the  speaker.  It  is  certainly  a  wonderful 
and  useful  instrument,  and  we  hoix;  to  see  our  city  connected  this  fall  with 
Union  City  and  Quincy." 

This  was  the  beginning  of  telephone  communication  in  Branch  county. 
The  first  telephones  were  operated  by  the  original  Bell  company,  but  not 
long  after  the  system  of  which  they  were  a  part  was  formed  under  the  sepa- 
rate name  of  the  Michigan  State  Telephone  Company,  which  is  now  virtually 
a  Michigan  company,  run  by  Michigan  men  and  capital,  and  with  long-dis- 
tance connections. 

7  he  Michigan  State  Telephone  Company  now  has  950  subscribers  to 


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136  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

the  Coldwater  exchange;  in  1889  there  were  39.  The  headquarters  of  the 
company  are  in  Detroit,  The  Ouincy  exchange  of  this  company  was  opened 
about  igoi,  and  that  Jn  Union  City  about  fifteen  years  ago.  In  Quincy 
there  are  about  60  subscribers,  and  in  Union  City  300  subscribers,  two-thirds 
of  tiljese  being  farmers.  Three  hundred  of  the  Coldwater  subscribers  are 
farmers.  In  Sherwood  is  an  exchange  with  75  subscribers,  and  at  Kast 
Gilead  Mr.  F.  J.  Conldin  is  a  sub-licensee  with  50  subscribers.  An  exchange 
is  also  to  be  opened  in  Bronson. 

The  Wolverine  Telephone  Company  was  the  first  independent  telephone 
company  in  Branch  county.  It  began  oi^erating  in  the  county  March  25, 
1904.  December  29,  1905,  this  line  was  consolidated  with  the  Southern 
Michigan  Telephone  Company,  whose  main  office  is  at  Burr  Oak,  and  which 
was  fomterly  known  as  the  Himehaugh  line. 

Ttie  Quincy  Independent  Telephone  C'.MTipany  began  operating  May 
15,  1904.  Though  a  separate  line,  it  works  in  connection  with  the  Southern 
Michigan  Company,  and  service  from  one  to  the  other  of  these  lines  over 
the  entire  county  is  free.  The  establishment  of  these  independent  hues  has 
brought  alxiut  reduction  of  rates  from  the  older  company  and  both  lines 
liave  been  stimulated  to  offer  better  service.  Besides  these,  there  are  three 
or  four  farmers'  private  lines  in  the  county,  the  best  known  being  the  DoiJar- 
hite  line,  working  south  of  Ouincy,  with  some  eighty  subscribers.  Mr.  John 
Babcock,  now  of  Quincy,  was  the  original  promoter  of  the  indqiendent  lines 
east  of  Coldwater.  In  1902-3  he  was  living  about  four  miles  east  of  Quincy. 
In  1903  he  and  eight  other  farmers  formed  a  line  of  their  owTi.  Mr.  H.  W. 
Noble.  Mr.  A.  L,  Bowen  and  Mr.  Samuel  N.  Swan  were  associated  with  him 
in  the  management.  The  Quincy  Independent  Line  now  has  130  subscribers 
in  the  village  and  250  in  the  country  about  it. 

Present  Conditions. 

One  other  aspect  of  communication  deserves  mention.  Tlie  rapid 
progress  in  this  department  of  human  affairs  is  almost  bewildering,  and  the 
events  fellow  in  such  succession  that  at  this  time  it  is  difficult  to  designate 
each  one  witn  date  and  results.  In  June,  igo6,  there  were  107  automobiles 
owned  by  citizens  of  Coldwater.  a  remarkable  number  considering  the  size 
of  the  city  and  comparing  favorably  with  the  number  in  cities  of  twice  tl'e 
size.     There  are  also  several  machines  in  each  of  the  villages. 

In  the  year  of  this  writing  the  automobile  measures  the  highest  develop- 
ment cf  what  may  be  termed  "  individual  conveyance."  that  is,  means  of 
transpoi tation  apart  from  the  organized  and  systematic  facilities  furnished 
by  the  railroad  or  steamship  companies.  Ten  years  ago  the  bicycle  repre- 
sented that  highest  development.  Wagons  and  carriages  drawn  by  horses, 
which  have  been  most  depended  on  throughout  the  period  of  this  history, 
have  not  been  superseded,  but  it  remains  a  matter  of  interesting  speculation 
what  the  subsequent  decades  will  bring  about  in  this  matter  of  communica- 
tion.    What  roads  have  done  in  directing  the  settlement  and  upbuilding  of 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  137 

this  county  has  been  described  at  length,  and  easy  communication  has  been 
emphasized  as  a  dominant  factor  of  our  development.  But  with  the  improve- 
ment of  roadways  in  keeping  with  the  progress  in  means  of  conveyance,  the 
civilization  of  the  next  quarter  century  may  be  entirely  rearranged. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
THE  COUNTY'S  NEWSPAPERS. 

Something  should  be  said  concerning  the  general  character  and  make- 
up of  the  early  newspapers.  An  examination  of  newspaper  files  dated  during 
the  forties  and  fifties  and  published  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  leads  one 
to  believe  that  there  was  little  individuality  in  the  pioneer  press.  A  uniform 
method  was  followed  in  arranging  and  selecting  matter  thought  to  be  suita- 
ble for  the  public's  reading.  Cut  off  the  title  head  and  the  place  of  publica- 
tion, and  it  would  require  considerable  search  to  discover  the  exact  locality 
where  the  paper  was  issued. 

Of  local  news  scarcely  any  is  to  be  found  in  the  papers  of  sixty  years 
ago.  For  that  reason  the  historical  investigator  is  usually  disapix)inted  so 
far  as  large  returns  for  his  study  of  the  files  are  concerned.  Here  and  there, 
lodged  between  an  account  of  a  political  campaign  in  another  state  and  a 
continued  story,  may  be  found  an  item  of  value,  like  a  bit  of  gold  quartz 
buried  in  worthless  drift.  Of  the  columns  of  personal  mention  and  local 
happenings,  which  are  the  real  life  of  the  modern  newspaper,  nothing  can 
be  found  in  the  early  files  in  Branch  county,  which  is  no  exception  to  tiie 
rule  in  other  counties.  As  a  veteran  Michigan  editor  says,  the  old-time 
publisher  would  delightedly  seize  upon  a  letter  from  Europe  containing 
news  three  months  old,  giving  it  several  columns  on  his  front  page,  while 
matters  of  local  concern  would  be  disregarded  entirely. 

The  most  graphic  illustration  of  these  facts  about  the  old-time  news- 
paper is  to  be  seen  in  a  description  of  the  contents  of  the  first  number  of  the 
Coldwater  Sentinel,  which  was  issued  April  i6,  1841,  and  which  is  no  doubt 
typical  in  form  and  content  of  three-fourths  of  the  local  newspapers  pub- 
lished throughout  the  country  in  that  week. 

The  first  two  columns  of  this  old  Sentinel  are  filled  with  advertisements 
of  medicine,  of  the  magazine  New  World,  the  millwright  Jeremiah  Case 
of  Broiison,  an  insurance  company,  a  list  of  letters,  and  some  legal  notices. 
The  third  column  begins  with  some  selected  poetry,  and  is  filled  out  with 
paragraphs  of  wit  and  humor.  The  fourth,  fifth  and  sixth  columns,  half 
of  the  front  page,  are  devoted  to  foreign  news,  which  is  also  continued  in 
the  first  column  of  the  second  page,  followed  by  two  columns  of  news  from 
the  state  legislature.  All  the  column  rules  of  the  two  inside  pages  are 
inverted  in  token  of  the  death  of  President  William  Henry  Harrison,  which 
occurred  on  April  4th.  An  account  of  this  fills  the  remaining  columns  of 
the  second  page.  Page  three  is  entirely  filled  with  political  news,  legal 
notices,  advertisements,  with  a  few  miscellanies  intermingled.     On  page  four 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  139 

begins  the  story.  "  The  Banker's  Daughter,"  and  her  interesting  fate  is  told 
in  three  and  a  half  cohimns.  The  story,  by  the  way,  was  clipped  from  a 
London  paper.  The  rest  of  the  page  contains  advertisements  of  "  household 
magazines  "  and  a  certain  brand  of  pills.  In  the  entire  sheet  the  only  items 
of  local  interest  are  a  few  advertisements  inserted  by  business  and  profes- 
sional men,  and  a  brief  account  of  the  formation  of  a  county  medical  society. 

Michigan.  Star. 

The  first  newspaper  ])ubHshed  in  Branch  county  was  the  Michigan  Star, 
by  the  Branch  County  Printing  Company,  the  first  number  being  issued  at 
the  old  county  seat  at  Branch  village  in  May,  1837.  Charles  P.  West  wai 
the  first  and  only  editor  and  publisher,  for  the  career  of  the  Star  was  ended 
in  less  than  a  year,  and  it  was  the  only  paper  that  Branch  village  ever  had. 

CoMzoatrr  Obscn'cr. 

The  rivalry  between  Branch  and  Coldwater  during  the  thirties  is  in  no 
way  better  illustrated  than  in  the  history  of  this  paper.  The  Observer  was 
established  to  offset  the  advantage  that  accrued  to  Branch  from  having  the 
Star  to  advertise  the  county  seat  village  to  the  world  and  thus  focus  atten- 
tion upon  its  location.  Dr.  Thomas  N.  Calkins  and-  E.  G.  Fuller  were 
behind  the  enterprise,  circulated  the  subscription  paper,  and  when  the  paper 
was  started  acted  as  editors  and  managers.  How  shrewdly  they  engineered 
the  enterprise  to  the  detriment  of  its  rival  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  they 
procured  the  foreman  of  the  Star  to  act  as  publisher  of  the  Observer.  The 
first  number  was  issued  July  18,  1837,  and  its  appearance  was  an  occasion 
of  rejoicing  among  the  people  of  Coldwater.  Dr.  Calkins  was  soon  called 
to  a  higher  place  in  journalism,  becoming  one  of  the  editors  of  the  Detroit 
Free  Press.  Another  physician.  Dr.  Bement,  succeeded  him,  some  time  in 
1838.  and  changed  the  pa[>er  to  the  Branch  County  News.  In  the  meantime 
the  old  Michigan  Star  had  discontinued,  and  the  necessity  for  a  paper  iq 
Coldwater  was  no  longer  so  great.  The  publication  was  soon  suspended, 
therefore. 

The  material  remained,  however,  and  two  young  men  named  Jocelyn 
and  Horton  originated  and  gave  a  brief  existence  to  the  Branch  County 
Democrat. 

Coldwater  Sentinel. 

April  16,  1841,  Mr.  Albert  Chandler,  so  long  and  prominently  identified 
with  the  newspaper  and  business  interests  of  Erandi  county,  published  the 
first  number  of  the  Coldwater  Sentinel,  announcing  that  he  had  bought  the 
Horton  printing  equipment,  so  that  in  a  sense  the  SenUnel  was  a  continua- 
tion of  the  first  Coldwater  paper. 

The  Sentinel  had  an  existence  of  nearly  twenty  years,  and  its  bound 
volumes,  which  are  preserved  practically  complete  until  1854,  contain  the 
most  exact  and  detailed  data  on  Branch  county  history  of  that  period  that 
can  be  found  anywhere.     Various  firm  names  appeared  as  publishers  through 


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1*0  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

this  time.  Chandler  and  Haynes  (John  T.)  were  publishers  in  1844.  In 
1846  it  became  Chandler  and  Stillmaii,  the  latter  being-  Dr.  H.  B.  Stillman, 
and  in  September  of  the  same  year  the  firm  was  Chandler  and  Waterman 
(David).  In  1849  Elihu  B.  Pond  became  editor  and  proprietor.  He  was 
one  of  the  most  forceful  of  early  Branch  county  editors,  and  made  his  paper 
a  practical  and  decided  influence.  He  began  what  he  called  the  "  new 
series  "  of  the  Sentinel,  the  issue  o£  December  7,  1849,  heing  numbered  as 
Volume  J,  No.  i.  In  June,  1854,  S.  W.  Driggs  and  H.  C.  Gilbert  became 
proprietors  and  conducted  the  Sentinel  two  years,  Barrett  and  Reynolds 
conducted  it  two  years  longer,  from  the  fall  of  1856,  and  it  then  passed  into 
the  possession  of  Judge  J,  H.  Gray,  who  soon  sold  the  plant  and  it  was  re- 
moved to  Port  Huron,  where  it  was  used  to  print  the  Port  Huron  Press. 
The  Sentinel  was  the  upholder  of  Democratic  principles  on  all  occasions. 

Branch  County  Journal. 

In  the  meantime  Coldwater  had  another  paper.  B.  F,  Thompson  estab- 
lished and  issued  the  first  number  of  the  Branch  County  Journal  on  No\'em- 
ber  II,  1851.  This  was  the  first  Whig  paper  in  the  county.  In  June,  1852, 
the  proprietors  became  C.  A-  and  B.  F.  Thompson,  the  former  being  the 
father  of  B.  F.  March  8,  1853,  E.  J.  Hard  and  H.  B.  Robinson  became 
proprietors,  two  years  later  Bames  and  Way,  and  it  then  passed  through 
the  hands  of  Bates  Dewey  and  Clinton  B.  Fisk  to  E,  B.  Dewey,  who  moved 
the  plant  to  Elkhart  about  1856. 

The  Branch  County  Republican. 

This  paper,  the  first  in  Branch  county  to  become  the  outspoken  exponent 
of  Republican  party  principles,  was  established  at  Coldwater  in  the  fall  of 
1857?  by  Messrs,  Eddy  and  Gray.  Judge  J.  H.  Gray  has  already  been  men- 
tioned in  connection  with  the  concluding  history  of  the  Sentinel.  About  a 
year  and  a  half  after  its  establishment  the  Republican  became  the  sole  prop- 
erty of  Judge  Gray,  who  conducted  it  with  his  son  Horace  J.  Grav,  until 
1861. 

In  the  latter  year  F.  B.  Way  bought  the  Republican  and  changed  the 
name  to  the  Branch  County  Casette,  although  it  was  conducted  loyally  to 
the  Republican  party  and  to  the  Union  cause  during  the  succeeding  Civil 
war.  Diiring  this  period  two  well  known  men  in  county  politics  were 
editors  for  a  time,  J.  H,  McGowan  and  C.  P.  Benton.  Tlie  next  event  in 
the  history  of  the  Gazette  brings  us  to  the  consideration  of 

The  Republican. 

August  23,  1866,  Major  D.  J.  Easton,  later  the  founder  of  the  Union 
City  Register,  published  the  first  number  of  the  Republican  at  Coldwater. 
In  the  following  December  Dr.  P.  P.  Nichols,  another  well  known  news- 
paper man  of  the  county,  purchased  an  interest  and  became  one  of  the  editors 
of  the  Republican.     Easton  and  Nichols  sold  out  after  a  year  to  W.  J.  and 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  141 

O.  A.  Bowen.  The  Republican  was  growing  as  the  leading  Republican 
paper  of  the  county,  and  in  1868  the  firm  bought  its  only  rival  for  the 
patronage  of  that  party,  the  Gazette,  the  history  of  which  paper  ends  at  that 
time.  W.  J.  Bowen  continued  as  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Republican 
for  several  years,  and  the  firm  at  one  time  was  Bowen,  Rose  and  Skeels,  the 
latter  being  F.  L.  Skeels,  the  Coldwater  lawyer. 

In  1873  A.  J.  Aldrich  and  Company  bought  the  Republican.  Mr.  A. 
J.  Aldrich,  who  was  born  in  Girard  township  and  whose  grandfather  built 
the  first  mill  on  the  site  of  Hodunk,  is  yet  Jiving  in  Coldwater.  He  was  in- 
terested in  the  Republican  as  editor  or  proprietor  imtil  1893.  The  enterprise 
of  the  new  firm  was  manifested  in  the  issue,  August  3,  1875,  of  the  first 
number  of  the  "  Setm-Weekly  ReptihUcan,"  the  first  newspaper  in  Branch 
county  to  break  away  from  the  once-a-week  issue.  Tlie  paper  was  enlarged 
on  December  3,  1875.  Th^  Republican  continued  as  the  leading  Republican 
newspaper  for  many  years,  and  for  many  reasons  is  the  best  known  of  former 
Coldwater  papers.  It  continued  to  hold  a  place  in  the  field  of  active  and 
enterprising  journalism  until  1897,  when  it  was  consolidated  with  the 
Courier,  and  its  history  is  practically  a  part  of  the  following  account  of  the 
Cojirier. 

The   Canrier. 

The  history  of  the  Coldwater  Courier  dates  from  November  4,  1882, 
when  the  first  numlier,  a  large  size  folio,  was  issued  with  the  names  of  W.  G. 
Moore  and  P.  P.  Nichols.  Mr.  Moore,  who  is  still  a  resident  of  Coldwater, 
was  connected  with  this  paper  as  citj'  editor  for  about  twenty  years,  until 
he  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  H.  F.  Bailey,  the  present  city  editor.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1885.  the  Courier  became  an  eight-page  paper,  and  at  various  times  the 
size  of  the  page  was  changed  to  conform  to  the  needs  of  the  publishers. 

The  next  change  of  proimetorship  to  he  noted  from  an  examination 
of  the  files  occurred  in  November.  1888,  when  J.  N.  Foster  became  the  asso- 
ciate of  Mr.  Moore,  the  firm  being  known  as  Foster  and  Moore.  September 
28,  1889,  they  announced  the  sale  of  the  Ccnirier  to  C.  H.  Newell  and  C.  W". 
Owen.  Mr.  Newell  had  been  connected  with  the  Wabash,  Indiana,  Plain 
Dealer,  and  Mr.  Owen  came  from  Bronson,  where  he  had  been  editor  and 
publisher  of  the  Herald.  This  partnership  continued  until  September  27, 
1890.  when  Mr.  Newell  went  to  other  fields,  and  Mr.  Owen  then  conducted 
the  paper  alone  until  April  2,  1892,  when  we  again  find  over  the  editorial 
column  the  names  Newell  and  Owen.  A  little  more  than  a  year,  and  on 
.April  8,  1893,  the  Courier  was  pubhshed  by  Mr.  Owen  and  Major  G.  H. 
Turner.  September  i,  1894,  Mr.  Neweil  took  the  place  of  Mr.  Owen,  and 
for  more  than  six  years  these  gentlemen  remained  in  iiartnership.  Since 
February  22,  1901,  Mr.  C.  H.  Newell  has  been  sole  proprietor. 

March  23,  1897,  a  consolidation  was  effected  of  two  of  Branch  county's 
well  known  journals.  On  that  date  Newell  and  Turner  bought  the  Cold- 
water  RepuhUcan.  and  three  days  later  the  issue  appears  with  the  title  "  The 
Courier  and  Republican."     Although  generally  known  as  simply  the  Coitrier, 


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142  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

this  combined  title  remained  until  April  30,   1906,  when  the  second  part  of 
the  heading  was  dropped. 

Beginning'  with  the  issue  of  November  24,  1899,  the  Courier  and 
Republican  was  enlarged  to  twelve  pages  a  week  instead  of  ten,  and  was 
issued  in  two  parts — four  pages  on  Tuesday  and  eight  on  Friday.  On  July 
7,  1902,  the  Courier  became  a  daily  paper,  and  was  so  continued  through  the 
political  campaign  of  that  year  until  December  ist,  when  the  number  o£ 
weekly  issues  was  reduced  to  three,  or,  to  quote  its  own  statement,  it  is 
published  "  every  other  day." 

The  Reporter. 

The  Daily  Reporter  of  Coldwater  was  founded  as  the  result  of  a  spon- 
taneous interest  in  journalism  combined  with  the  means  to  gratify  that 
interest  without  the  large  outlay  for  plant  and  equipment  needed  by  the 
modern  newspaper.  The  late  Mr.  S.  B.  Kitche!  had  for  several  years  before 
the  establishment  of  the  Reporter  conducted  a  considerable  plant  to  supply 
the  printing  required  for  a  very  extensive  system  of  advertising.  A  regular 
force  was  employed  in  this  department,  and  the  machinery  and  type  assort- 
ment were  quite  equal  to  the  publishing  of  a  periodical  paper. 

Tt  was  during  the  early  winter  of  1895-96  when,  to  avoid  a  shut-down 
of  the  printing  plant  during  the  usually  dull  period  in  that  department,  it 
was  deemed  expedient  to  start  a  daily  paper.  Accordingly  on  the  i6th  of 
December,  1S95,  the  first  number  of  the  Daily  Reporter  appeared,  with  S.  E. 
Kitchel  as  publisher.  At  the  time  there  was  no  intention  to  continue  the 
enterprise  beyond  the  holiday  season,  when  the  business  printing  would 
again  make  full  demands  on  the  establishment.  But  the  Daily  Reporter 
seemed  to  fiU  an  important  place  in  the  city  and  county.  The  people  were 
pleased  with  the  new  journal,  and  the  publisher  was  satisfied  with  his  new 
departure  in  business.  So  the  Reporter  continued  to  be  issued  daily,  and 
has  maintained  an  iminterrupted  record  in  this  respect  to  the  present  time. 
As  a  financial  investment  the  Reporter  was  not  a  dividend-maker  for  several 
years.  ,Tn  fact  Mr.  Kitchel  is  reported  to  have  said,  "  I  do  not  want  any 
money  out  of  the  Reporter.  Keep  the  balance  just  enough  on  the  right  side 
to  be  sure  not  to  lose  money,  and  give  the  people  all  the  news  they  will  pay 
for."  The  personal  satisfaction  he  got  in  maintaining  a  daily  paper  in  Cold- 
water  was  more  important  to  its  publisher  than  financial  returns, 
i  After  the  Daily  Reporter  had  been  in  existence  about  a  year  a  weekly 
issue  was  established,  and  then  on  March  15,  1898,  the  Semi-Weekly  Re- 
porter b^an  its  first  volume.  Mr.  S.  B,  Kitchel  continued  in  active  control 
of  the  paper  until  his  death  in  July,  1905,  since  which  time  his  son  Horace 
has  been  publisher. 

The  mechanical  equipment  of  the  Reporter  office  is  not  excelled  in 
southern  Michigan  west  of  Detroit.  To  guard  against  delays  the  important 
machinery  has  been  duplicated,  so  that  there  are  two  engines,  dynamos,  two 
folding  machines,  three  job  presses,  a  large  cylinder  press,  and  recently  there 
has  been  installed  a  Cox  Duplex  newspaper  press  with  a  capacity  equal  to 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  143 

aH  the  demand  that  many  years  of  increase  may  make.  All  the  regular  news- 
paper composition  is  done  by  linotype,  there  being  two  of  these  machines 
in  the  office.  The  foreman  of  the  press  room  is  Harry  W.  Barber,  who  has 
been  connected  with  this  department  in  various  capacities  for  ten  years. 

Of  the  city  editors  of  the  Reporter  there  should  be  named  Charles 
Segiir,  until  recently  with  the  Hudson  Gazette;  A.  J.  Aldrich,  now  retired ; 
Willis  Bailey,  now  in  the  job  printing  business  in  Coldwater;  Harry  Bailey, 
now  city  editor  of  the  Courier;  James  J.  Hudson,  now  with  the  Jackson 
Citizen,  and  A.  Riley  Crittenden. 

Of  the  general  character  of  the  Reporter  as  a  newspaper  and  in  its  rela- 
tions to  the  community,  it  may  be  stated  that  it  has  been  conducted  inde- 
pendently as  to  political  and  general  afifairs.  It  should  also  be  said  that  its 
columns  have  always  been  open  to  the  individual  citizen,  and  contributions 
to  its  pages  have  come  from  a  large  number  of  locai  writers  covering  a  wide 
variety  of  topics. 

The   Sun    and  Star. 

The  Coidwater  Sun  is  one  of  the  papers  of  the  county  with  a  continuous 
existence  of  a  quarter  of  a  century.  It  was  established  in  1881,  its  first 
publisher  being  Mr.  C.  J.  Thorp>  still  a  resident  of  Coldwater.  After  Mr. 
Thorp  the  principal  management  of  the  Sun  passed  into  the  hands  of  Mr. 
W.  C.  Bailey. 

September  24,  1891,  the  Sun  Publishing  Co.,  was  organized  and  in- 
corporated, with  a  capital  stock  of  five  thousand  dollars,  all  paid  in.  The 
original  stockholders  were  well  known  men  of  Branch  county,  the  articles 
of  incorporation  being  signed  by  Gen.  J.  G.  Parkhurst,  Judge  J.  B.  Shipman, 
Rev.  Henry  Hughes,  C.  E,  Barlow,  A.  E.  Elackman,  Gilbert  Hoopengarner, 
C.  McKay,  of  Quincy;  W.  B.  Downer,  H.  D.  Pessell,  of  .Qnincy.  The  first 
directors  of  the  company  were  H.  D.  Pessell,  president ;  C,  E.  Barlow,  vice 
president;  J.  G.  Parkhurst,  secretary  and  treasurer.  Mr.  A.  E.  Blackman 
was  the  principal  stockholder,  and  two  days  after  the  organization  of  the 
company  the  plant  was  leased  to  A.  E.  Blackman  and  Son,  who  published 
the  paper.  In  June,  1892,  H,  C.  Blackman,  the  son,  and  now  of  the  Hills- 
dale Democrat,  succeeded  to  the  management  of  the  paper.  The  next  change 
occurred  Jime  14,  1892,  when  C.  A,  White  became  owner  of  most  of  the 
stock  and  took  the  lease  from  Mr.  Blackman.  The  next  lessee  of  the  plant 
and  publisher  was  Mr.  H.  A.  Bates,  who  conducted  the  Sim  from  April 
26,  1894,  until  June  15,  1903. 

On  the  latter  date  Mr.  J.  S.  Evans  came  into  control  of  the  stock.  The 
Sun  Publishing  Company  is  still  a  corporation,  but  Mr.  Evans  is  virtual 
owner  and  has  entire  control  of  the  management  and  policy  of  the  paper. 
The  present  directors  of  the  company  are  J.  S.  Evans,  president;  Mrs. 
Carrie  E.  Eigenherr,  vice  president;  Nellie  F.  Evans,  treasurer,  and  Robert 
G.  Evans,  secretary. 

On  June  15,  1893,  a  number  of  Branch  county  citizens  associated  them- 
selves under  articles  of  incorporation  as  the  Star  Publishing  Company.     The 


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Hi  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

authorized  capital  was  five  thousand  dollars,  but  only  about  a  fourth  of  the 
stock  was  issued.  The  incorporators  comprised  a  long  list  of  well  known 
names  in  Coidwater  and  vicinity,  and  the  first  directors  were  D.  T>.  Pretty, 
president;  DeWitt  C.  Shaw,  Rev.  E.  O.  Smith,  E.  E  Bostwick.  of  Union 
City,  and  I^ancaster  Coffnian.  These  men  founded  the  Coldwater  Star  as  a 
Prohibition  newspaper.  It  has  since  remained  the  official  organ  of  that 
movement  in  Branch  coitnty,  opposing  the  liquor  business  either  through  the 
formation  of  public  opinion  or  through  political  means  or  in  whatever  way 
the  fight  is  carried  on. 

Mr.  W.  C.  Bailey  was  employed  as  the  manager  and  editor  of  the  Star, 
at  first  on  a  salary  basis,  and  later  took  the  entire  business  management. 
Mr.  J.  S.  Evans  was  one  of  the  original  stockholders  of  the  enterprise,  had 
acted  as  legal  adviser  of  the  company,  and  on  July  12,  1899,  he  took  the 
management  of  the  paper,  Mr.  Evans  has  since  published  the  Star,  and 
after  acquiring  control  of  the  Sun,  as  above  mentioned,  he  continued  both 
pai>ers  as  independent  ptiblications  until  December,  1905.  when  he  joined  the 
two  papers  into  the  nature  of  a  semi-weekly,  issuing  the  Star  on  Monday 
and  the  Sun  on  Thursday. 

Other  Coldwater  Papers. 

Several  other  newspapers  have  had  a  more  or  less  brief  and  influential 
career  in  Coldwater.  After  the  passing  of  the  old  Sentinel,  the  next  Demo- 
cratic organ  in  the  county  was  the  Democratic  Union,  published  from  1859 
to  1861  by  J.  U.  Hackstaff.  In  1864  the  Coldwater  Union  Sentinel,  Demo- 
cratic but  loyal  to  the  Union,  was  established  by  F.  V.  Smith  and  W.  G. 
Moore,  they  purchasing  the  plant  of  the  ephemeral  Southern  Michigan 
News,  which  had  been  published  for  a  short  time  in  1863  by  T.  G.  Turner. 
Smith  and  Moore  continued  the  publication  of  the  Sentinel  until  1870,  and 
Gibson  brothers  were  the  publishers  until  the  plant  was  burned  and  the  paper 
suspaided. 

In  1S72  the  old  Coldwater  Reporter  was  started,  as  an  independent 
paper,  by  the  late  J.  S.  Conover.  It  passed  through  several  proprietorships, 
Mr.  C.  J.  Thorpe,  now  of  Coldwater,  having  been  connected  with  it  from 
1874  to  1876. 

The  Coldwater  Weekly  Press  was  established  in  October,  1877,  by  B.  L. 
Kingstcm  and  J.  L.  Dennis,  and  soon  after  was  purchased  by  D.  D.  Waggot. 
This  was  the  first  paper  to  attempt  a  daily  issue,  which  continued  from 
January  l,  ta  March  15,  1878,  when  the  usual  aistwn  was  resumed. 

Quiney  Herald. 

The  Qnincy  Herald  was  first  issued  Novernijer  8,  1878.  It  was  pub- 
lished by  the  well  known  soldier  and  Quincy  citizen,  C.  V.  R.  Pond,  until 
June,  1884,  at  which  time  it  passed  to  Mr.  F.  E.  Kittredge,  and  on  April  7, 
1888,  to  Robert  J,  Stephens.  Mr.  Stephens  conducted  it  little  more  than 
two  years,  selling  to  J.  C.  Joiner  on  August  22,   1890.     Mr.  C.  W.  Owen, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  145 

the  present  editor  and  publisher,  boug-ht  the  Herald  of  Mr.  Joiner,  October 
r,   1894- 

The  Herald  has  long  been  issued  as  a  six-column  quarto,  has  been 
issued  continuously,  and  is  a  Ouincy  paper,  devoted  to  the  welfare  and  in- 
terests of  that  village.  Complete  files  of  the  Herald  are  preserved  in  the 
oflice,  although  not  bound. 

Quincy  Neivs. 

The  Quincy  Netvs  was  established  in  T889,  as  a  weekly.  Mr.  C.  H. 
Young,  the  present  editor  and  manager,  has  been  directing  head  of  the  paper 
since  its  establishment,  and  he  was  its  founder.  In  the  early  part  of  1899  the 
Nezvs  was  improved  by  being  made  a  twice-a-week  newspaper,  and  its  eighth 
volume  as  such  is  now  being  issued.  At  first  it  was  published  as  a  six- 
column  quarto,  but  is  now  a  large  seven-column  folio.  The  News  Pub- 
lishing Company  is  the  name  of  the  business  corporation  publishing  the 
Nezvs,  but  as  already  said,  Mr.  Young  has  always  been  the  leading  spirit  in 
the  management.  No  important  changes  other  than  those  named  have 
occurred  to  lengthen  a  historical  account  of  the  Nczvs.  As  its  history  is 
brief,  so  its  career  has  1)een  successful, 

Quincy  Times. 

The  above  are  the  newspapers  still  in  existence  in  Quincy.  The  first 
paper  of  that  village,  however,  was  the  Quincy  Times,  which  was  estab- 
lished September  11.  1868,  by  R.  W.  I^ockhart.  The  "Times  Company" 
soon  purchased  it,  Ebenezer  Mudge  becoming  the  editor,  and  his  business 
associates  being  S.  Mowrey  and  I,.  L.  Briggs.  Mr.  A.  C.  Culver  purchased 
the  Timfs  March  25,  1876.  The  Times  was  conducted  until  some  time  in 
the  eighties,  when  it  yielded  the  field  to  its  competitor. 

The  predecessor  of  the  Quincy  Herald  was  the  "  Grcenbacker,"  which 
was  established  in  May-  1878,  by  L.  E.  Jacobs.  Its  existence  terminated  in 
October,  and  shortly  after  Mr.  Pond  obtained  the  material  and  began  the 
publication  of  the  Herald. 

The  Literary  Reporter  was  a  monthly  magazine,  established  in  Decem- 
ber, 1872,  whose  publisher  was  Mr.  C.  W.  Bennett,  now  of  Coidwater. 

Branson  Herald. 

The  first  paper  published   outside  of  Coidwater,   except  the  Michigan 

Star  at  Branch,  was  the  Bronson  Herald,  which  was  established  in  the  fall 

of  1865  by  T.  Babcock  and  Company.    It  suspended  publication  in  1871  and 

the  proprietors  moved  the  plant  to  Nebraska. 

Bronson  Journal. 

The  Bronson  Journal  was  founded  in  1881  by  Daniel  D.  Waggot.  In 
August,  1885,  the  well  known  Branch  county  newspaper  man,  C,  W.  Owen, 
purchased  the  Journal  of  I>.  D.  Waggot,  In  February,  1886,  Mr.  Owen 
consolidated  his  paper  with  the  Bronson  Independent,  which  had  been  estab- 


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146  HISTORY  O'F  BRANCH  COUNTY 

lished  in  18S4  by  W.  H.  Wieand  and  N,  Byron  Rii^gles,  and  the  paper  was 
conducted  as  the  Independent- Journal  for  a  few  months  by  the  firm  of  Owen 
;md  Ruggles.  In  September,  1886.  Mr.  Owen  boug'ht  his  partner's  interest, 
changing"  the  name  to  the  Bronson  Journal.  As  such  it  has  since  been  con- 
ducted. Mr.  Owen  sold  the  Journal  in  1889  to  Lon  E.  Draper.  In  1894 
Mr.  Allan  D'.  Shaffmaster,  the  present  editor  and  proprietor,  jiurchased 
the  paper  of  Mr.  Draper. 

Sherwood. 

The  first  newspaper  established  in  the  village  of  Sherwood  was  the 
SherwootI  Neii'S.  Its  career  began  in  1884  under  the  direction  of  A.  C. 
Culver,  although  previous  to  this  time  Maj.  D.  J.  Easton  had  issued  a  Sher- 
wood edition  of  the  Union  City  Register.  Mr.  Culver's  Ne-cvs  continued  for 
two  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Sherwood  Press,  published  by  Ran- 
dall &  Robinson.  The  Press  was  conducted  until  1895.  Mr.  E.  S.  Easton 
established  the  Sherwood  Register  in  1896  and  it  is  still  flourishing.  It  is 
a  four-column,  eight-page  paper,  with  illustrated  supplement  each  week,  and 
faithfully  advances  Sherwood's  interests. 

Union  City  Newspapers. 

The  hi.story  of  newspapers  in  Union  City  is  furnished  by  Mr.  T.  V. 
Robinson,  who  himself  has  been  connected  with  the  newspaper  interests 
of  that  village  for  more  than  twenty  years. 

The  first  newspaper  published  in  Union  City  was  the  Union  City  lyide- 
pcndent,  it  making  its  appearance  in  six-column  folio  form,  October  5, 
1867.     It  was  published  weekly  by  A.  H.  Pattee,  but  was  suspended  in  1868. 

The  Union  City  Independent  was  followed  by  the  Union  City  Register, 
which  first  made  its  appearance  as  a  weekly  publication  in  1869,  the  pub- 
lishers being  Major  D.  J.  Easton  and  Jerome  K,  Bowen.  Major  Easton 
soon  became  the  sole  proprietor,  and  he  continued  as  such  unti!  the  time  of 
his  death,  Augnist  37,  1901.  Major  Easton  was  for  many  years  a  leading 
spirit  in  the  advancement  of  the  material  interests  of  the  town.  In  his  posi- 
tion as  publisher  of  the  sole  paper  here  for  an  extended  period,  he  had  oppor- 
tunities for  doing  good  work  in  these  lines,  and  these  opportunities  he  did 
not  neglect.  He  was  also  a  capable  city  official  for  years,  and  he  was  in- 
strumental in  securing  for  the  place  many  of  the  modern  improvements  we 
now  enjoy.  After  his  death  the  newspaper  was  continued  for  several  months 
by  his  son,  Glenn  S.  Easton,  until  the  sale  of  the  property  to  F.  A,  Bement, 
May  I,  1902. 

Randall  and  Robin,son  established  the  Union  City  Local  here  in  August, 
1885.  In  conjunction  with  this  paper  they  also  published  the  Sherwood 
Press,  the  Tekonsha  News  and  the  Burlington  Echo.  A  large  business  was 
done  until  the  plant  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1894,  and  then  the  subscription 
list  was  sold  to  the  Union  City  Register. 

May  I,  1896.  Tom  F.  Robinson  commenced  the  publication  of  Robin- 
son's Weekly,  and  in  1899  Will  L.   Robinson  was  taken  into  the  business, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  147 

the  firm  name  being;  Robinson  Bros.  They  continued  the  publication  of  the 
paper  until  it  was  merged  with  the  Union  City  Register  as  the  Register- 
Weekly,  the  publisher  being  Frank  A..  Bement. 

A.  T.  McCargar  and  Son  purchased  the  plant  and  good  will  of  the 
Register-Weekly  in  November,  1902.  Mr.  A,  T.  McCargar,  the  senior 
member  of  the  firm,  came  here  from  New  York  City,  where  he  had  been  for 
some  years  as  president  and  treasurer  of  the  Baldwin  &  Gleason  Company, 
engravers,  lithographers  and  printers.  Mr.  Will  I..  Robinson,  whose  name 
now  appears  as  publisher,  has  had  the  management  of  the  Register-Weekly 
since  November  i,  1895.  May  i,  T906,  it  was  enlarged  to  a  seven-column 
quarto.  On  July  20,  1906,  it  will  be  enlarged  to  twelve  pages,  of  seven  col- 
umns each. 


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HISTORY  OP  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  XX. 
EDUCATION. 

"  Schools  and  the  means  of  education  shall  forever  be  encouraged." 
These  words  are  found  in  the  famous  ordinance  of  17S7  for  the  govemraent 
of  the  Northwest  Territory  including  the  region  which  is  now  Michigan. 
A  congressional  act  of  1804,  also  with  reference  to  what  is  now  Michigan, 
reserved  from  sale  section  16  of  each  township  "  for  the  support  of  schools." 
These  acts  of  the  national  government  were  passed  before  the  territory  of 
Michigan  was  organized,  and  years  before  the  surveys  were  made  and  the 
hoimdaries  defined  for  Branch  county.  But  the  educational  system  which 
the  people  of  this  count}''  have  used  has  been  provided  by  the  state  in  so  far 
as  the  state  has  undertaken  to  control  the  scheme  and  machinery  of  educa- 
tion. A  brief  glance  at  the  history  of  education  in  Michigan  will  be  a 
proper  introduction  to  a  more  detailed  account  of  the  educational  affairs  of 
the  county. 

The  national  government  took  the  first  steps  in  providing  for  educa- 
tion in  Michigan.  The  sixteenth  section  of  each  township  granted  for  the 
support  of  schools  became,  through  the  efforts  of  Gen.  Isaac  E.  Crary,  Mich- 
igan's first  congressman,  a  principal  source  of  the  State  Primary  School 
Fund,  which  is  now  a  matter  of  pride  to  every  citizen  of  the  state.  It  was 
a  wise  provision,  based  on  the  experience  of  other  states,  that  turned  the 
proceeds  from  the  sale  of  school  lands  into  a  state  fund  instead  of  giving 
them  to  the  township  in  which  the  section  was  located.  Where  the  latter 
system  prevailed  serious  inequalities  resulted  from  the  fact  that  the  desig- 
nated section  was  in  many  cases  inferior  land  and  when  sold  brought  little 
or  nothing  to  the  township  treasury.  And,  also,  the  management  of  one 
large  central  fund  was  more  economical  and  subject  to  less  risks  than  if  the 
money  had  been  left  in  the  many  township  treasuries.  It  is  unnecessary  to 
go  into  the  history  of  the  Primary  School  Fund  further  than  to  say  that 
it  has  increased  from  year  to  year  so  that  the  per  capita  annual  distribution 
of  interest  therefrom  has  more  than  kept  pace  with  the  increase  of  school 
population;  so  that  while  in  :845  the  amount  apportioned  among  the  various 
schools  of  Branch  county  aggregated  $596,  the  November,  1905,  distribu- 
tion alone  amounted  to  $17,563.50,  or  two  dollars  and  seventy  cents  per 
capita. 

The  school  legislation  of  Michigan  while  a  territory  had  little  bearing 
on  the  schools  of  Branch  county,  nor,  in  fact,  on  those  in  any  other  part 
of  the  territory.  But  the  legislature  in  1827  provided  that  "  every  township 
containing  fifty   inhabitants  or  householders  should  employ  a   schoolmaster 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  U'J 

of  good  morals  to  teach  children  to  read  and  write  and  to  instruct  tlieni  in 
the  English  language  as  well  as  in  arithmetic,  orthography  and  decent  be- 
havior." A  department  of  education  was  also  establishecl,  at  whose  head 
was  to  be  a  superintendent  of  common  schools  appointed  by  the  governor, 

Bitt  very  little  was  actually  done  in  the  way  of  public  schools  previous  to 
the  state  organization.  The  first  schools  in  Branch  county  were  the  result 
of  voluntary  effort  on  the  part  of  the  pioneers.  Tlie  first  settlers  came,  as 
we  know,  largely  from  the  northeastern  states,  where  education  was  funda- 
mental and  thoroughly  a  part  of  every-day  life.  It  was  natural,  therefore, 
that  whenever  half  a  dozen  families  within  a  circle  of  two  or  three  miles 
had  secured  a  comfortable  home  shelter,  the  next  business  in  order  was  to 
organize  a  school.  A  site  was  selected,  a  log  building  erected,  and  some 
person  in  the  community  who  had  had  exceptional  advantages  in  the  east  or 
who  professed  an  ability  as  pedagogue  was  employed  to  conduct  the  school. 
And  from  each  home  a  path  was  blazefl  through  the  forest  trees  by  which  the 
children  could  find  their  way  to  and  from  the  schoolhouse. 

The  building  of  this  first  schoolhouse  marked  a  stage  in  the  history 
of  the  community.  Almost  without  exception  in  this  part  of  the  middle 
west  the  school  was  the  first  institution.  It  preceded  the  cimrch,  and  some- 
times the  first  town  meeting  was  held  there.  Tt  was  the  central  point  of  the 
community  life.  There  the  settlers  met  to  vote  and  perform  the  civil  busi- 
ness; there  the  questions  that  confront  a  new  social  organization  were  dis- 
cussed and  solved;  there  men  and  women  met  for  social  enjoyment,  and 
there  they  came  together  for  religious  worship.  The  schoolhouse  was  the 
focal  point  of  pioneer  life,  and  its  imixirtance  cannot  be  too  strongly  em- 
phasized. 

The  early  schoolhouses  have  often  been  described.  Many  were  built  of 
logs,  some  of  sawed  lumber,  while  a  few  were  of  stone  or  brick.  That  the 
log  schoolhouse  is  something  more  than  a  tradition  to  men  and  women  of 
Branch  county  who  are  still  in  the  prime  of  life,  may  be  inferred  from  the 
fact  that  as  late  as  1868  the  county  superintendent  of  schools  reported  five 
log  schoolhouses  in  use.  In  the  following  year  he  reported  that  all  these 
had  disappeared  but  one. 

While  the  exterior  of  the  building  varied,  the  interior  furnishings  were 
about  the  same.  Built  at  one  end  of  the  room  was  the  mud  and  stick  chim- 
ney, with  the  broad  fire-place.  To  keep  the  fire  blazing  briskly  by  a  plentiful 
supply  of  logs  was  the  task  of  the  older  boys,  while  in  the  summer  some  of 
the  girls  would  often  fill  the  bare  hearth  space  with  flowering  plants.  The 
rough  walls  of  the  room  were  unadorned  except  as  the  individual  taste  of 
a  teacher  might  seek  to  relieve  its  dreariness;  the  floors  were  often  of  broad, 
roughly  hewn  puncheons  laid  on  the  ground,  or,  if  the  building  was  of 
frame,  thick  boards  were  spiked  to  ground  sills,  with  wide  cracks  between 
the  boards  affording  an  easy  escape  for  pencils,  jack-knives  and  other  school- 
boy impedimenta. 

The  seats  w;ere  indeed  primitive.  They  were  nothing  more  than  a  split 
log  with  the  flat  surface  up,  and  resting  on  It^s  driven  into  holes  on  the 


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150  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

under  side,  or  the  timber  for  the  seat  might  be  a  plank  with  some  attempt  at 
smoothing'  the  top  surface.  But  there  were  no  backs  to  these  benches,  and 
the  tired  httle  bodies  of  pioneer  children  got  no  rest  except  by  leaning  for- 
ward; little  attentioti  was  paid  in  those  days  to  erectness  of  carriage.  There 
were  no  desks  in  the  modern  sen?e  of  the  term.  Around  two  or  three  sides 
of  the  room  was  fixed  a  broad  board,  with  a  slant  convenient  for  the  writer, 
and  on  this  the  pupils,  or  as  many  of  them  as  this  rough  form  of  desk  would 
accommodate,  did  their  writing  and  figuring.  A  piece  of  slate  was  used  for 
all  calculations,  and  paper  was  only  used  for  penmanship  exercises. 

Of  school  apparatus  there  was  none.  In  tlie  report  for  t868  alxjve 
quoted  the  superintendent  says  a  blackboard  was  the  extent  of  equipment 
in  most  schools,  and  the  blackboard  was  introduced  many  years  after  the 
pioneers'  children  had  gone  from  the  schools  into  actual  life.  Graphite 
pencils  were  also  unknown.  A  "pen  knife"  was  then  a  necessary  part 
of  the  teacher's  equipment^  for  he  used  that  instrument  in  a  way  to  suggest 
the  name,  that  is,  to  manufacture  for  each  scholar  a  pen  from  a  selected 
goosequill.  Paper  was  coarse  and  expensive,  and  the  era  of  cheap  wood- 
pulp  paper  tablets  did  not  begin  until   comparatively  recently. 

When  the  settlers  came  from  the  east  many  of  them  brought  along 
a  few  school  books  such  as  the  parents  had  used,  coming  from  every  one 
of  the  New  England  and  middle  Atlantic  states,  these  books  when  brought 
into  the  school  by  individual  pupils  formed  a  heterogeneous  collection.  Yet 
from  these  the  teacher  was  supposed  to  assign  the  lessons,  and  from  a  chaos 
of  texts  to  reduce  uniformity.  The  difficulty  was  not  so  great  as  might 
be  imagined.  For  the  curriculum  consisted  of  the  three  r^s,  "  reading, 
'ritmg  and  'rithmetic."  and  so  far  as  the  instruction  in  these  branches  went 
it  might  be  obtained  from  almost  any  set  of  books.  The  one  book  that 
seems  to  have  an  abiding  place  in  ever;-  memory  was  the  old  blue^backed 
Webster's  Elementary  Speller.  This  was  the  backbone  of  every  school,  and 
far  from  being  cast  aside  when  school  days  were  oi'er  it  continued  as  the 
basis  for  the  spelling  schools  which  young  and  old  attended  until  within 
the  memory  of  men  and  women  who  are  not  yet  past  the  prime  of  life. 
And  if  we  may  trust  the  judgment  of  many,  spelling  was  a  more  carefully 
cultivated  art  in  those  days  than  at  present,  and  the  boys  and  girls  of  half  a 
century  ago  would  be  more  than  a  match  for  the  present  generation  of  spellers. 

A  school  inspector's  report  on  Batavia  township  for  183S  names  the 
following  books  as  most  commonly  used  in  the  schools:  The  Elementary 
Speller,  OIney's  Geography  and  Atlas,  Daboll's  Arithmetic,  and  Murray's 
Grammar,  and  Murray's  English  Reader.  To  modern  taste,  these  books 
are  dry  and  unattractive  both  in  form  and  content.  What  would  a  bov  or 
girl  think  of  a  reader  without  a  single  illustration  and  with  such  a  title 
page  a.s  this : — "  The  English  Reader :  or  Pieces  in  Prose  and  Poetry,  sel- 
ected fron\  the  Best  Writers,  designed  to  assist  young  persons  to  read  with 
Propriety  and  Effect;  to  Improve  their  Language  and  Sentiments,  and  to 
inculcate  some  of  the  most  important  Principles  of  Piety  and  Virtue;  with 
a  few  preliminary  observations  on  the  Principles  of  Good  Reading."     Such 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  151 

was  the  Murray  English  Reader,  printed  in  1818  and  in  common  use  among 
the  first  schools  of  Branch  coimty. 

Such  were,  in  general,  the  first  schools  in  Branch  county.  Although  no 
efficient  system  of  education  was  established  until  after  Michigan  became  a 
state,  there  were,  as  above  noted,  voluntary  associations  among  the  settlers 
for  holding  school  sessions  in  certain  localities.  The  data  is  not  available 
for  a  complete  .sketch  of  the  eariy  schools,  and  no  complete  reports  from 
over  the  -county  are  to  be  found  previous  to   1850. 

Tile  first  school  was  taught  in  the  locality  of  the  first  settiement.  John 
Toole,  an  immigrant  of  i82g,  located  in  what  is  now  Bronson  township 
and  taught  a  small  school  there  in  the  winter  of  1829-30.  There  were  at 
that  time  probably  not  more  than  five  or  six  families  in  all  to  contribute  to 
its  support.  Shortly  after,  perhaps  in  the  next  winter,  a  school  was  taught 
rai  Bronson  prairie  by  Columbia  Lancaster,  the  versatile  pioneer  who  could 
be  pedagogue,  lawyer  and  doctor  at  will.  School  was  held  in  a  log  build- 
ing, probably  the  first  erected  for  that  purpose  in  the  county.  Mrs.  David 
Waterman  was  teacher  of  a  summer  school  at  the  same  place.  Cynthia 
Gfoyd  is  also  named  as  one  of  the  first  teachers  of  the  township. 

In  1832  the  well  known  Bishop  Philander  Chase,  who  did  so  much  in 
building  up  Episcopacy  in  the  west,  came  to  the  county  seeking  a  farm. 
Delighted  with  the  country  about  Gilead,  he  settled  there  with  his  family, 
and  built  a  school  building  in  1833.  Tliis  house  was  twenty  by  thirty  feet 
and  two  stories  high.  The  first  teacher  was  the  Bishop's  nephew,  Samuel 
Chase.  The  old  "  seminary  "  building  remained  standing  on  section  9  for 
over  forty  years,  and  became  in  time  a  dwelling,  being  used  as  such  until 
lorn  down.  This  Episcopal  school  was  maintained  for  several  years,  and 
the  children  of  the  first  settlers  were  schooled  there.  Mrs.  David  N.  Green 
of  Coldwater  is  probably  the  only  surviving  pupil  of  that  school,  she  having 
come  to  the  settlement  in  1838  and  attended  tlie  school  while  Dudley  Chase, 
a  son  of  the  Bishop,  was  teacher. 

The  subject  of  the  early  schools  of  Coldwater  has  been  very  thoroughly 
treated  by  Mr,  C,  N.  Legg.  He  says:  "The  earliest  settlers  appear  to 
have  combined  to  hire  instruction  for  their  children  by  tutors,  and  the  chil- 
dren, the  few  there  were,  met  in  the  cabins  of  the  pioneers.  Cynthia  Gloyd, 
a  woman  who  later  taught  in  the  first  schoolhouse,  was  engaged  to  teach 
at  different  places  prior  to  the  erection  of  a  schoolhouse.  The  first  build- 
ing for  use  as  a  schoolhouse  was  erected  at  the  comer  of  where  is  now 
Pearl  and  Hudson  streets,  and  very  near  the  present  location  of  the  residence 
of  Mr.  Frank  Treat.  This  was  a  frame  one-room  building  and  painted  red. 
It  was  called  as  long  as  it  stood  the  "  Red  School  House."  It  was  built  in 
1834.  but  when  it  ceased  to  be  used  as  a  schoolhouse  I  have  no  means  of 
learning.  Cynthia  Gloyd  was  probably  the  first  person  who  taught  here. 
A  man  bv  the  name  of  McWhorter  also  taught  for  some  time.  Mr.  L.  D. 
Haisted  recently  related  to  me  his  recollections  of  this  schoolhouse  and  the 
man  McWhorter.  One  circumstance  which  fixed  in  his  mind  the  man  wa.s, 
that  in  the  winter  of  1836  he  attended  a  singing  class  taught  in  the  school- 


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152  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

lioitse,  and  McWhorter  became  angry  because  he  was  compelled  to  «\veep 
up  the  room  after  the  sessions  of  the  sin^ng  class.  The  late  Harvey  Haynes 
also  taught  here  in  1838.  Here  the  children  of  the  pioneers  were  taught  the 
rudimeiits  of  such  an  education  as  they  were  able  to  acquire.  It  is  a  fact 
which  should  be  borne  in  mind  by  this  as  weli  as  subsequent  generations  that 
the  first  task  of  the  early  pioneers  of  this  city  was  to  provide  shelter  and 
food  for  their  families,  and  the  next  was  to  provide  shelter  and  teacher  for 
instruction  of  their  children. 

So  much  for  the  first  schools  and  those  originating  while  Michigan  was 
yet  a  territory.  Under  the  first  state  constitution  Rev.  John  D.  Pierce  was 
appointed  the  first  superintendent  of  public  instruction.  In  accordance  with 
a  vote  of  the  legislature  Mr.  Pierce  reported  to  that  body  in  January,  1837, 
a  code  of  school  laws,  which  was  adopted  with  but  little  change.  The  gen- 
eral plan  of  education  thus  established  is  the  foimdation  ujx)n  which  the. 
present  system  has  been  built. 

The  township  was  the  unit.  Each  township  had  three  school  inspectors, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  organize  school  districts,  to  apportion  the  school  moneys 
to  the  districts ;  to  examine  teachers  and  grant  certificates ;  and  to  appoint 
one  of  their  number  to  visit  the  schools  twice  a  year  and  to  make  an  annua! 
report  to  the  county  clerk.  These  boards  of  inspectors  continued  to  exercise 
control  over  the  schools  of  their  respective  townships  until  the  county  super- 
intendency  was  established  in  1867. 

Each  district,  however,  had  the  control  of  its  own  school.  A  district 
could  vote  a  tax  for  buildings,  not  to  exceed  five  hundred  dollars  in  any 
one  year.  Each  district  was  required  to  hold  school  at  least  three  months 
each  year.  Each  district  had  to  assess  a  tax  to  the  primary  school  fund 
apportioned  to  the  district,  and  if  the  teacher's  wages  exceeded  the  funds, 
the  board  could  assess  a  tax  to  meet  the  deficiency,  but  not  to  exceed  ninety 
dollars,  the  limit  fixed  by  law.  Also,  the  district  could  vote  ten  dollars  a 
year  for  a  library, 

it  was  soon  found  that  this  method  of  raising  school  revenues  by  district 
taxation  proved  insufficient  for  the  support  of  schools.  To  remedy  this  the 
legislature  pas.sed.  in  1843,  the  famous  "  rate  bill  "  law,  which  provided  that 
the  patrons  of  each  school  might  raise  the  funds  necessary  to  continue  the 
school  through  the  term.  The  parents  or  guardians  of  the  children  were 
assessed  a  tax  in  proportion  to  the  time  such  children  attended  school.  This 
rate  bill  was  made  out  by  the  teacher  at  the  close  of  each  term,  and  the  amount 
distributed  among  the  patrons.  The  law  did  not  work  well,  for  the  poor 
parents  or  those  indifferent  to  education  would  send  to  school  as  long  as  the 
public  funds  lasted,  and  when  the  rate  bill  set  in  would  take  their  children 
out.  Primary  education  thus  became  a  question  of  ability  to  pay  for  it,  and 
the  fundamental  principle  of  popular  education  was  threatened.  Neverthe- 
less, despite  the  inequality,  the  rate  bill  law  was  not  repealed  until  1869. 
Some  idea  of  the  working  of  this  rate  bill  law  may  be  gained  by  reference  to 
the  township  reports  for  1850.  The  report  from  Batavia  shows  that  district 
No.  S  raised  $62.65  on  the  rate  bill.     Estimating  the  teacher's  wages  at  the 


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HISTORY  O'F  BRANCH  COUNTY  153 

tlieii  prevailing  average  of  six  Hollars  a  month  for  a  woman  teacher  and 
thirteen  for  a  man.  it  will  be  seen  that  this  school  was  continued  for  several 
months  of  the  year  from  the  proceeds  of  the  rate  bill,  the  children  of  the 
jXHirer.  parents  probably  being  without  instruction  during  this  time.  In  the 
same  township  district  Nu.  2  raised  by  the  same  method  $43-14.  and  dis- 
trict No.  I,  $33.  In  Bronson  township  the  four  districts  raised  $184.06  in 
this  way,  and  the  six  districts  in  California  raiseil  $217. 

TTie  original  plan,  as  above  outlined,  contemplated  only  single  districts, 
■with  a  single  house,  and  but  one  teacher;  and  all  references  to  teacliers  and 
sites  were  in  the  singular  number.  But  as  the  population  increased  it  was  seen 
that  expediency  often  demanded  more  than  one  teacher,  and  sometimes  more 
than  one  schoolhouse  in  the  same  district.  The  township  board  under  these 
conditions  would  have  had  no  option  but  to  sub-divide  the  district  and  pro- 
vide for  two  or  more  separate  schools  in  the  original  district.  To  maintain 
several  adjacent  district  schools,  co-ordinate  in  work  and  rank,  was  evidently 
at  the  expense  of  efficiency  and  economy.  H'he  laws  were  therefore  amended 
so  as  to  permit  a  union  of  adjoining  districts  wherever  the  population  was 
sufficiently  dense  to  admit  of  bringing  a  large  number  of  children  into  one 
system  of  graded  schools,  without  embracing  too  much  territory  to  be  thus 
well  accommodated. 

Tiiis  was  the  origin  of  the  "  union  school "  in  Michigan.  The  true  sig- 
nificance of  the  term  had  reference  not  so  much  to  the  uniting  of  the  districts 
as  to  the  system  of  grading  which  resulted  from  the  union.  Tlie  real  mean- 
ing of  a  "union  school  "  was  therefore  a  graded  school,  located  in  the  more 
populous  communities,  with  one  central  schoolhouse,  having  several  differ- 
ent rooms  and  employing  several  different  teachers.  No  such  school  was 
established  in  Branch  county  until  the  decade  of  the  6ft!es.  and  the  organi- 
zation of  a  union  or  graded  school  marked  in  important  stage  in  the  devel- 
opment of  educational  institutions  in  each  of  the  villages. 

Ttie  genera]  supervision  and  control  of  the  sdiools  of  tlie  county  and 
townships  has  been  vested  by  the  legislature  in  difYerenf  bodies  at  various 
times.  The  township  board  of  inspectors  established  by  the  original  laws 
was  changed,  as  noted  above,  by  an  act  of  March  13.  1867.  which  created  the 
office  of  county  superintendent  of  schools.  Less  than  ten  years  later  this  act 
was  rei^ealed,  and  on  March  31.  1875.  the  law  took  effect  transferring  the 
control  once  more  to  the  township,  and  requiring  the  election  in  each  town- 
ship of  one  superintendent  of  schools  and  one  school  inspector.  The  town- 
ship superintendent  was  required  to  examine  teachers,  grant  certificates  and 
visit  the  schools  of  his  township  twice  a  year.  He  with  the  school  inspector 
and  the  township  clerk  constituted  the  board  of  school  inspectors  for  each 
township.  This  system  endured  for  a  number  of  years,  until  it  was  again 
thought  best  to  centralize  the  control  of  county  schools  in  one  office.  June 
JO,  1891,  the  law  still  in  effect  was  approved.  This  required  that  the  board 
of  supervisors  should  appoint  a  county  commissioner  of  schools  who  should 
hold  office  until  July  i,  1893,  at  which  time  the  commissioner  regularly 
elected  by  the  voters'  at  the  election  in   April   should  begin  his  duties.     At 


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154  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

the  same  ineeting  the  supervisors  were  to  appoint  two  school  examiners,  for 
one  and  two  year  terms  respectively,  and  the  board  should  thereafter  appoint 
one  examiner  at  each  annual  meeting.  The  county  commissioner  and  the 
two  examiners  constitute  the  board  of  school  examiners.  The  county  com- 
missioner has  general  oversight  of  the  schools  in  the  county,  being  required 
to  visit  each  school,  and  also  advises  with  the  board  of  school  inspectors  in 
each  township. 

As  soon  as  the  machinery  of  education  was  set  in  operation  by 
the  first  state  legislature;  the  various  townships  took  measures  to  form  dis- 
tricts and  conform  to  the  general  scheme  of  education.  The  existing  reports 
and  other  school  data  do  not  suffice  for  a  complete  account  of  the  status  of 
schools  in  1837,  but  it  will  be  of  interest  to  describe  conditions  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, tor  that  year  one  report  of  the  school  inspector  in  Ovid  township  has 
been  found.  In  this  it  is  stated  that  there  was  one  district  school  in  tlie 
township,  thirty-six  children  of  school  age  and  twenty-three  who  attended 
the  sessions  of  the  three  months'  term.  The  total  amount  raised  in  the  dis- 
trict was  eighteen  dollars,  which  went  to  pay  the  teacher.  This  no  doubt  was 
the  first  school  in  the  township,  but  no  further  information  is  given  concern- 
ing it.  This  also  indicates  an  error  in  the  History  of  1879,  in  which  it  is 
stated  that  Mr.  Parley  Stockwell,  who  came  to  the  township  as  !ate  as  1842, 
built  the  first  schoolhouse  and  taught  the  second  term  of  school  that  was  held 
therein.  It  is  probable  that  Mr.  Stockwell's  school  was  the  first  in  that  part 
of  the  township,  that  is,  at  Parlej''s  Comers  in  section  16. 

The  only  other  report  found  for  1837  relates  to  Butler  township.  No 
school  had  been  kept  there  during  the  year  but  there  were  twenty  children  of 
school  age  and  five  hundred  dollars  had  been  raised  for  a  schoolhouse.  This 
school  was  built  on  Shock's  Prairie,  and  during  the  winter  of  1838-39 
Charles  M.  Wisner  presided  as  the  first  teacher. 

Batavia  township  reported  in  1838  three  district  schools,  with  29,  46 
and  31  pupils  respectively,  and  the  total  amount  raised  by  taxation  in  the 
township  as  ninety  dollars.  TTie  record  pertaining  to  the  organization  of  two 
of  these  districts  will  be  found  quoted  in  the  former  history,  and  from  these 
it  is  seen  that  the  meeting  for  organization  of  district  No.  i  took  place  in 
May,  1836,  and  that  for  the  formation  of  No.  2,  in  December  of  the  same 
year. 

Each  township  established  one  or  more  schools  about  this  time.  As  is 
well  known,  although  the  settlement  of  Branch  county  had  hardiv  begun  in 
1830.  in  twenty  years  from  that  date  the  population  had  increased  to  a  stage 
from  which  there  has  been  only  moderate  changes  to  the  present  day.  The 
formation  of  schools  kept  pace  with  this  increase  of  population,  and  it  is 
unfortunate  that  the  records  of  this  period  of  growth  have  not  been  preserved, 
for  at  the  time  complete  statistics  are  available  the  school  iwpulation  and 
number  of  districts  had  reached  very  nearly  the  normal  figures. 

Thus  the  whole  number  of  children  included  in  the  school  census  of 
1905  was  6,505,  while  in  1855  the*  number  was  6.359.  While  the  school 
population  and  the  number  of  districts  has  remained  about  the  same,   the 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  155 

story  of  educational  growth  in  fifty  years  is  best  told  in  a  comparison  of 
the  money  expenditures.  Whereas  the  Primary  School  interest  apportioned 
for  the  year  1855  totaled  $3,383.23,  or  a  little  more  than  fifty  cents  to  the 
child,  in  1905  the  total  distributed  in  the  May  and  November  apportion- 
ments was  $21,466.50,  or  two  dollars  and  thirty  cents  to  the  child.  While 
population  has  remained  stationary,  wealth  has  increased  enormously.  The 
county  schools  in  1855  raised  nearly  $3,500  by  means  of  the  rate  bill,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  $2,500  raised  by  the  mill  tax.  At  the  present  time  some  of  the 
districts  support  their  schools  almost  entirely  throug-h  the  income  of  the  state 
fund. 

Fifty  years  ago  a  blackboard  was  the  extent  of  apparatus  in  most 
schools;  now  the  schools  in  the  majority  of  the  127  districts  in  the  county 
are  supplied  with  dictionaries,  globes,  maps,  and  the  scholars  have  access  to 
libraries  which  in  themselves  offer  advantag'es  unknown  to  the  children  of 
the  former  date. 

As  early  as  1868  the  state  superintendent  of  public  instruction  called 
attention  to  the  need  of  uniting  rather  than  dividing  districts.  He  showed 
the  waste  and  inefficiency  of  small  districts,  which  condition  continued  be- 
cause the  people  desired  to  have  a  schoolhouse  "  near  by,"  a  false  estimate 
being  placed  upon  the  value  of  a  home  school.  Since  then  conditions  have 
materially  changed.  Roads  are  better,  and  with  increased  facilities  of  trans- 
portation the  bounds  of  community  life  have  been  widened.  Tlie  interests 
of  the  people  are  more  closely  knit  tog^her,  and  old  fom^  of  individualism 
are  disappearing. 

The  movement  which  fifty  years  ago  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the 
first  "  union  schools  "  is  now  being  extended  to  the  rural  schools.  In  line 
with  this  direction  of  progress,  the  state  legislature  enacted  a  law  which  be- 
came effective  September  17,  1903,  permitting  the  transportation  of  pupils 
to  and  from  school  at  the  expense  of  the  districts  concerned.  This  is  per- 
haps the  most  important  legislation  of  recent  years  affecting  the  rural  schools. 
As  yet  the  people  of  Branch  county  have  not  taken  advantage  of  recent  leg- 
islation permitting  the  consolidation  of  school  districts  into  larger  districts 
comprehending  in  some  cases  an  entire  township,  with  a  central  graded  school 
accessible,  by  means  of  public  transportation,  to  all  the  pupils  in  the  district. 
As  the  county  school  commissioner,  Mr.  James  Swain,  has  said  in  his  report 
for  1905,  "  We  have  too  many  small  schools,  but  many  people  seem  to  be 
jealous  of  their  rights  and  are  very  slow  to  see  the  benefit  to  be  derived  from 
consolidation  of  schools." 

One  or  two  other  statements  from  the  county  commissioner's  report  may 
serve  as  a  basis  from  which  subsequent  developments  in  educational  affairs 
may  be  reckoned.  With  reference  to  the  study  of  agriculture  in  the  rural 
schools  he  says,  "  Agriculture  is  best  taught  by  practical  experiments,  and 
many  schools  have  placed  the  book  'Agriculture  for  Beginners',  in  their  li- 
brary, which  is  a  source  of  help  and  a  guide  for  the  boys  and  girls."  As  to 
manual  training,   it  "  has  reccivetl  attention  only   in  a  limited   way   in  the 


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156  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

rural  schools.  A  few  teachers  fee!  that  they  have  the  time  to  devote  at  least 
one  hour  each  week  to  the  subject" 

Another  subject  that  should  be  mentioned  in  a  history  of  the  Branch 
county  schools  is  that  concerning  compulsory  education.  Until  1905  the  law 
vested  the  power  to  compel  attendance  in  the  township  hoard,  the  chairman 
of  which  was  the  executive  officer  to  carry  the  law  into  effect.  Practically, 
it  was  optional  with  this  boarti  whether  the  law  should  be  enforced,  and  at 
best  the  board  could  require  the  child  to  attend  school  only  four  months  of 
sixteen  days  each,  or  sixty-fonr  days  in  the  entire  year.  Tliat  the  plan  was 
defective  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  1905  only  47  out  of  127  districts  in  the 
county  attempted  to  enforce  the  law. 

Beginning'  with  the  year  1905-06  a  new  law  became  operative.  Instead 
of  the  enforcement  of  the  law  being  left  with  each  township,  it  is  the  duty 
of  the  county  commissioner  of  schools  to  see  that  its  provisions  are  effective 
in  all  districts  throughout  the  entire  school  year.  The  executive  or  truant 
officer  is  a  deputy  sheriff  appointed  by  the  sheriff  and  acting  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  county  commissioner.  All  children  between  and  including  the 
ages  of  seven  and  fifteen  years  are  compelled  to  attend  school  so  long  as 
schools  are  in  session  in  their  district,  in  other  words,  for  the  entire  school 
year.  'The  only  exception  to  this  rule  are  children  excused  by  physician's 
certificate;  or  those  in  attendance  at  a  private  or  parochial  school  in  which 
the  same  grade  of  work  is  done  as  in  the  public  schools;  or  in  case  of  chil- 
dren over  fourteen  years  of  age  whose  labor  is  necessary  to  the  support  of 
the  family,  who  may  be  excused  from  attendance  with  the  unanimous  consent 
of  the  township  board  and  the  recommendation  of  the  county  commissioner. 

As  to  the  actual  workings  of  the  law  during  the  first  year  it  has  been  in 
effect,  County  Commissioner  Swain  states  that  no  difficulty  has  Jjeen  experi- 
enced in  enforcement  except  among  the  few  foreign  families  in  the  county. 
This  is  evidence  of  the  strong  sentiment  for  popular  education  in  the  county, 
and  it  is  no  weak  proof  of  the  prosperity  of  the  county  which  after  three 
quarters  of  a  century  of  growth  and  development  can  afford  to  provide  all 
the  means  of  primary  education  and  require  its  children  for  the  first  sixteen 
vears  of  their  lives  to  attend  school  an  average  of  eight  months  in  the  year. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

EDUCATION  (CONTINUED). 

CoLDWATER  City  Schools. 

With  reference  to  the  schools  of  Coldwater  village  and  city.  Mr.  Legg, 
whose  article  has  Iweii  above  quoted  concerning  the  first  Coldwater  school- 
house,  continues  thus:  "  The  next  schoolhouse  was  built  on  a  part  of  the  lot 
No.  104  at  the  comer  of  Pear!  and  Clay  streets  on  land  largely  ownerl  by 
Dr.  I.  C.  Ives.  A  meeting  was  called  at  the  '  Exchange'  on  June  1,  1839,  at 
which  time  a  new  district  was  formed  designated  as  '  district  No.  11.'  This 
new  district  embraced  all  the  territory  north  of  Chicago  street  and  for  a 
mile  west  of  Marshall  street  and  extending  north  two  miles:  also  all  the  land 
on  section  21  lying  south  of  Chicago  street  and  west  of  Division  street. 
Tlie  officers  of  this  new  district  were :  Silas  A.  Holbrook.  moderator ;  Orse- 
mus  B.  Clark,  director;  Henry  Lockwood,  assessor.  At  a  meeting  cailetl 
and  held  eight  days  later,  the  district  board  was  authorized  to  purchase  a 
part  of  the  lot  mentioned  above  as  a  school  site  and  to  raise  money  to  con- 
struct a  building.  This  was  built  in  1839.  Mr.  Halsted  remembered  the 
building  well,  and  Mrs.  R.  M.  Wilder  attended  school  in  this  building  and 
remembers  seeing  it  being  moved  away  years  later.  It  is  not  probable  that 
this  building  w'as  used  as  a  schoolhouse  longer  than  about  ten  years,  as 
about  this  time  population  began  to  increase  very  rapidly  and  more  commodi- 
ous quarters  were  soon  demanded.  This  building  th«i  was  the  second  for 
school  purposes.  It  evidently  was  of  modest  proportions,  as  its  cost  must 
have  been  less  than  five  hundred  dollars.  The  district  contained  in  1839  but 
68  children  of  school  age.  In  the  following  year  the  number  increased  to 
93.  It  is  probable  that  the  late  Hiram  Shoudler  taught  here.  A  Mr.  Ethe- 
ridge  also  taught  here,  but  whether  tt  was  the  late  Burt  Etheridge  who  li-\-ed 
here  at  that  time,  or  Samuel  Etheridge  who  was  moderator  of  this  district 
in  1 84 1,  or  a  younger  man,  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain. 

"  The  next  school  building  in  order  of  construction  was  the  '  Old  White 
Schoolhouse '  as  called  in  later  years,  erected  on  the  present  site  of  the  sec- 
ond ward  building.  After  searching  the  files  of  the  Sentinel,  edited  by  the 
late  Albert  Chandler,  it  appears  that  this  building  was  erected  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1847.  The  dimensions  were  30  by  60  feet,  two  stories  high,  and  the 
contract  price  of  the  construction  was  $1,200.  During  two  or  three  years 
prior  to  this  time,  notices  of  political  meetings  and  other  assemblages  men- 
tioned the  '  White  Schoolhouse  '  as  the  place  of  meeting.  It  is  therefore  evi- 
dent that  the  schoolhouse  on  lot  104  at  the  corner  of  Pearl  and  Qay  streets 


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158  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

was  painted  white.  The  records  of  St.  Mark's  church  mention  a  meeting  at 
the  '  White  Schoolhouse,'  where  the  society  had  heretofore  held  stated  meet- 
ings, for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  parish.  This  was  in  February,  1848, 
and  probably  refers  to  the  building'  on  lot  No.  104  rather  than  the  new 
building.  There  remain  quite  a  number  of  the  older  people  of  the  city  who 
attended  school  here  and  the  names  of  Mrs.  George  Holbrook,  John  Murphy, 
Mrs.  D.  H.  Davis.  Miss  Hadley,  L.  R.  Austin  and  others  are  remembered  as 
teachers  in  this  building.  The  first  county  fair  was  he!d  in  this  building  and 
on  the  adjoining  grounds.  It  served  the  purposes  of  a  schoolhouse  for  many 
years  an(>  was  finally  removed  to  the  comer  of  Chicago  and  Hudson  streets, 
where  it  was  occiipied  as  a  wagon  shop  until  finally  destroyed  by  fire. 

"  The  next  biiilding  erected  for  school  purposes  was  the  two-story  brick 
building  on  the  present  site  of  the  third  ward  building.  In  recent  years  of 
its  existence  it  was  commonly  known  as  the  '  Old  Brick.'  This  was  con- 
structed in  1848,  the  year  following  the  building  of  the  'Old  White.'  but  in 
district  1 1 .  The  movement  to  consolidate  the  two  districts  appears  not  to 
have  been  carried  into  effect  until  several  years  later.  This  building  con- 
tinued in  use  for  school  purposes  until  torn  down  in  1887  to  make  room  for 
the  present  third  ward  building.  In  this  building  the  late  D.  H.  Davis  taught 
for  several  years  while  it  remained  the  principal  school  of  the  city  before  the 
erection  of  the  Old  High  School.  One  of  the  teachers  whom  some  may 
recall  was  Miss  Parthenia  Havens.  A  man  by  the  name  of  Gibson  was  prin- 
cipal at  the  time  the  Old  High  School  building  was  afterwards  constructed, 
and  was  transferred  to  the  new-  building  as  its  first  principal.  The  late 
George  W.  Stevens,  as  well  as  his  wife,  taught  here  for  many  years  after 
Gibson  left." 

Mr.  Legg  has  referred  to  the  movement  to  consolidate  the  two  Cold- 
water  districts.  Some  facts  taken  from  Principal  D.  H.  Davis's  report  to 
the  superintendent  of  public  instruction,  dated  Jan.  16,  1858,  will  show  when 
this  consolidation  took  place  and  some  other  features  of  the  schools  at  that 
time.  "  Our  union  school,"  says  Mr.  Davis,  "  was  organized  in  September, 
1853.  It  embraces  two  school  buildings,  on  sites  distant  from  each  other 
one-haif  mile.  The  east  site  embraces  two  acres,  the  west  one  and  a  fourth 
acres.  The  school  has  no  apparatus  or  library.  We  have,  however,  a  town 
library  of  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  volumes,  to  which  the  pupils  have 
access.  The  number  of  teachers  at  present  employed  is  eight;  the  average 
number  of  students  the  past  year  was  about  three  hundred  and  fifty.  The 
num1)er  at  present  in  attendance  is  about  four  hundred  and  fifty.  After  con- 
siderable experience  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  co-eilucatinn  of  the  sexes  is 
decidedly  preferable  to  their  being  educated  sejrarately.  *  *  *  jYi^.  ex- 
penses of  the  school  are,  in  part,  met  by  a  rate  bill.  Perhaps  one-fifth  of  the 
expenses  are  paid  in  this  way.  *  *  *  Our  union  school  organization 
has  from  the  first  encountered  considerable  opposition,  and  T  am  not  pre- 
pared to  say  that  the  views  and  feelings  of  our  citizens  are  as  yet  quite  united 
and  harmonious  in  its  favor." 

"  The  building  about  which  cluster  the  memories  of  the  school  davs  of 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  159 

the  early  and  older  alumni,"  continues  Mr.  Legg,  "  was  the  first  Union  or 
High  School  so-called,  erected  in  1861  on  the  site  of  the  present  high  school 
buikiing.  It  was  dedicated  by  public  exercises  held  in  the  auditorium  on 
Saturday  evening,  February  i,  1862.  This  was  an  imposing  structure, 
and  contained  thirteen  rooms,  as  I  remember,  including  the  two  recitation 
rooms  adjacent  to  the  high  school  room  so-called.  The  rooins  were  high, 
the  stairways  were  long,  and  by  the  time  students  attained  the  third  floor 
it  was  time  to  rest. 

"  This  building  was  the  home  of  most  of  the  members  of  the  Alumni 
Association  in  their  school  days.  It  was  unfortunately  constructed  for 
school  purposes,  being  high  and  difficult  to  climb  and  dangerous  perhaps  to 
descend.  I  am  egotistical  enough,  however,  to  believe  that  few  if  any  high 
schools  in  the  state  have  afforded  better  or  more  efficient  instruction.  Janu- 
ary 19,  1890,  in  the  later  hours  of  the  night,  when  the  building  fortunately 
was  unoccupied,  it  v/as  completely  destroyed  by  fire,  including  most  of  the 
school  records  and  books,  and  the  books  of  the  students." 

May  5,  i8go.  the  city  voted  a  new  school  building,  only  twenty  adverse 
votes  being  recorded  against  the  proposition.  Tiie  large  Lincoln  school 
building,  which  is  one  of  the  architectural  features  of  the  city,  was  accepted 
as  completed  by  the  board  of  education  on  July  9,  i8i9i,  and  since  that  time 
it  has  been  in  use  throughout  the  school  years.  As  large  as  is  this  building, 
it  is  crowded  to  full  capacity,  and  in  a  short  time  additional  room  will  have 
to  be  provided  either  in  the  shape  of  a  new  high  school  building  separate 
from  the  grades  or  some  other  combination  of  facihties. 

Of  the  ward  schools,  the  fourth  ward  building  was  erected  in  1867  and 
has  been  in  continual  use  as  a  ward  building  since.  The  present  second 
ward  school  was  built  in  the  summer  of  18S3. 

Of  school  life  forty  years  ago.  Mr.  Leg^  says:  "  In  those  years  ath- 
letics cut  a  slight  figure.  There  was  no  base  ball,  foot  ball  nor  field  days  for 
the  display  of  physical  prowess.  Considerable  attention  was  given  to  lit- 
erary exercises  and  as  I  believe  to  the  great  advantage  of  the  students.  Two 
literary  societies  in  the  high  school  'alternated  in  giving  Friday  afternoon 
exercises,  and  considerable  rivalry  existed  between  them.  Charles  S.  War- 
burton  was,  for  a  greater  part  of  the  time  he  was  a  student  in  the  high 
school,  president  of  one  of  these  societies  until  he  left  to  complete  his  educa- 
tion at  Evanston,  Illinois.  He  was  a  persistent  fighter  and  debater— ele- 
ments of  his  personal  character  which  have  been  the  key  to  his  success  in 
after  life.  He  is  now  a  resident  of  Springfield,  Mass.,  a  director  of  the 
Massachusetts  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Co.,  having  charge  and  control  of  the 
loans  of  that  company,  amounting  to  many  millions  of  dollars.  Among  the 
students  of  those  days  who  were  active  in  the  literary  societies  were :  R.  F. 
Tinkham,  Frank  Sherman,  Cad  White,  Amos  Jennings,  W.  V.  W,  Davis, 
Anna  Chandler,  Celia  Parker,  Franc  Wendell,  Eliza  Benton,  and  others 
equally  active  whom  I  do  not  now  recall." 

It  was  on  June  30,  1866,  that  the  nucleus  of  the  present  Alumni  Associ- 
ation was  formed  under  the  name  of  "  The  Retmion  Society  of  the  Cold- 


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160  HISTO'RY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

water  High  School."  The  first  officers  elected  were  Charles  N.  Legg,  pres- 
ident: R.  F.  Tinkham,  vice  president;  Ahce  Adams,  secretary;  NeHie  Dib- 
ble, treasurer.  All  of  these  are  living.  Alice  Adams  later  became  the  wife 
of  Prof.  George  E.  Church,  and  Nellie  Dibble  the  wife  of  Norton  F...  Cham- 
pion. In  addition  to  the  officers  a  committee  of  arrangements  was  appointed 
consisting  of  Miss  Franc  Wendell,  Mr.  Hastings,  Laura  A.  Warren,  and 
George  A.  Coe,  Jr.  A  committee  on  constitution  and  rules  comprised  C.  M. 
White,  Charles  T.  Allen  and  Eliza  Benton. 

The  alumni  of  the  Coldwater  high  school  from  1868  to  the  present  year 
are  as  follows : 

186S— Eliza  Benton,  Chas.  N.  Leg'g.  R.  F.  Tinkham. 

1869— *Anna  M.  Chandler,  Alice  L.  Rose  (Mains).  *Frank  L.  Sher- 
man, IJbbie  E.  Townsend  (Inland),  Mary  L.  Wright  (Meyers). 

1870 — ^Florence  J.  Bums  (Howd),  Mary  E.  Bums  (Mcl-aughlin). 
*Eliza  Day,  George  L.  Harding,  Carrie  L.  Perry  (Towne),  Augusta  E. 
Rose  (Burr),  *Merritt  Sherman,  A.  M.  Steams,  *P!iny  W.  Titus,  Homer 
B.  Walling. 

1871— Kittie  M.  Cutter  (Buggie).  Milo  D.  Campbell.  M.  L,  Dakin 
(  Campbell ) . 

i872^Celia  Cohen,  Byron  S.  Spofford,  *Dora  S.  Titus. 

1873— Eva  M.  Abbott.  Frank  R.  Cook.  *Allie  E.  Hudson  (Drake), 
Albert  J.  Norton,  *Sarah  E.  Warne,  Hattie  E.  Wright  (Ingram). 

1874 — John  W.  Barron,  Lillian  M.  Burdick  (Galloway),  Anna  S. 
French  (Young),  H.  Clarence  Loveridge,  Eva  L.  Tinkham  (Seaman), 
*Cora  I.  Townsend,  Rose  E.  Wade  (Dickinson).  Andrew  J.  Wh^telieat], 

1875 — Eva  A.  Ball  (Martin),  *Wa)lace  A.  Demarest,  Jennie  M.  Dick- 
inson (Bishop),  Emma  Kritchbaum  (Quay),  Lillah  M.  Mockridge  (Van- 
derhoof),  Ella  E.  Murphey,  *Henry  C.  Stafford,  Belle  Whittaker  (Alex- 
ander). 

1876— Belle  J.  Culver  (Shinn).  I^wis  F.  Culver,  Birdie  L.  Cutter 
(Pratt),  Nellie  L.  Driggs,  *Judson.  P.  Etheridge.  Nellie  H,  Ferguson 
(Evans),  Fred  W.  Fonda,  Mary  O.  Hyde,  Flora  Oakley  (Jaynes),  Alice  C. 
Perkins  (Kerr),  Ella  V.  Perkins  (Taylor),  Jessie  D.  Pope  (Sawyer).  Julius 
Rodman,  Dell  Root  (Howard).  Maggie  C.  Upson  (Clarke). 

1877 — ^*Annie  L.  Alden  (Sampson),  Albert  A.  Allen,  Lizzie  M.  Bur- 
nett, Clara  E.  Bushnell  (Castle),  Florence  A.  Cornell  (Palmer),  Mattie  A. 
Griraiell  (Green),  Hattie  L.  Grove  (Wurtz).  Allie  Mansfield  (Cunning- 
ham), C.  Burdett  Sawyer.  Norton  D.  Walling,  Etta  A.  Warne  (Hathaway), 
Edwin  K.  Whitehead,  Leilah  G.  Woo<!ward. 

1878 — Florence  E.  Buck,  *Ida  E.  Burrows  (Calkins),  Frances  E 
Chandler  (ElHs),  Ralph  F.  Clarke.  L.  Belle  Cogshall  (Barnard),  *Hattie 
E.  Demarest  (Schrontz),  I.^ura  M.  Halsted  (Dunn),  *Flora  T.  Hyde, 
Mary  E.  Ketcham  (Crippen),  Mary  E.  Lockwood  (I..ockwood),  *CIara' m! 
Murphey,  Ida  L.  Newton,  Emma  L.  Perkins  (Edgerton),  Emma  L,  Purin- 

*Dec  eased. 


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HISTORY  O'F  BRANCH  COUNTY  161 

ton  (Howe),  Fannie  G.  Shaw  (Streeter),  Belle  Stevenson,  William  Streeter, 
Mae  C.  Warren  (Parker),  *Herbert  J.  Williams,  Harry  P.  Woodward. 

i879~Floyd  Bellamy,  Henr>'  Bradley,  Delia  Buffham  (Potter),  *Mary 
Burt  (Schrontz),  Mary  Button  (Johnson),  Lilla  Carletoo  (Hatch),  Sue 
Everett  (Cot*),  Delia'  Filkins  (Osband).  *Mary  Fonda  (Beebe),  Eva 
Haynes  (Snover),  Ella  Ludwig,  *Belle  Mansell.  Willis  Phinney,  Maggie 
Parkhurst   (Morey),  Fannie  Rose,  Ettie  Twadell,  M.  J.  Withington. 

1880— Mae  Bradlev.  John  S.  Evans,  Philip  Gilbert,  Sarah  Hanburg 
(Cody),  *Rufie  A.  Jordan  (Blake),  Clarence  Vincent. 

1881 — Fanny  Andrews  (Goodjon),  Edson  P.  Bradley,  *Ethel  Snyder, 
John  T.  Starr.  *Minnie  Tinkham. 

i8S2--*Mable  Clarke  (Worcester),  Juno  Edmonds  (Conover),  Nettie 
l~isher  (Baldwin),  Warren  French,  Mary  Gruner  (Mitchell),  Belle  Kerr 
(Cudner),  Flora  Moss  (Jackson),  WilHs  H.  Osborn,  Cora  Styles  (Hmn- 
plirey),  Carmi  Smith,  Blanche  Vincent. 

1883 — Elmer  J.  Allen,  Mamie  Boc^lass  (Sayks),  Cora  Crippen  (Kel- 
ly), J.  Amanda  Davis  (VanNess),  Adda  Filkins  (Breed),  Clayton  C.  John- 
son, Harry  King,  Eva  Nye  (Myers). 

1884 — Carrie  Adams,  Cora  L.  Allen,  Flora  Burr  (Shaffmaster),  Nina 
Clark,  Mary  Crippen  (Buttrick),  Edith  E.  Holbrook,  Cora  Lee  (Osborne), 
Jessie  F.  Marshall  (Woodward),  Lizzie  Orr,  *Stel]a  Rosenbauni,  Linnie 
Sanford  (Parker),  Jennie  Vincent  (Nettleman),  I^ura  E.  Whitley 
(Moore). 

1885 — Flora  Barnes  (Gallaher).  Charles  U.  Champion,  James  Smith 
Chandler,  Ida  Engle,  Nettie  E.  Filkins,  Georgia  Fisher,  *Orson  Fonda, 
Florence  E.  Munson  (Nason),  Minnie  Painter  (Howe),  Mabel  Randall, 
*I^Iattie  R.  Robinson,  Mary  Whitten. 

1886 — Inez  Bell,  Aggie  Brown  (Wise),  Eva  Engle,  Charles  F.  Howe, 
George  S.  Lee,  Maud  Paddock  (Lee),  Lottie  Rawson  (Hawes),  Elizabeth 
Wallace  (Cogshall). 

18S7— L.  Dell  Gripman,  Arthur  G.  Holbrook,  John'  T.  Holbrook,  Car- 
rie V.  Ingram  (George),  Jennie  M.  Lind  (Gripman),  Will  S.  Lockwood, 
Minnie  A.  Nivison,  Jesse  F.  Orton,  *Edwin  M.  Reynolds,  Mabel  Tliorpe 
( Jones) . 

1888 — Anna  M.  Coombs  (Moore),  M-'ilHam  Smith  Chandler,  *Burr 
Fairbanks,  Ella  L.  Fisher,  *Harriet  Ives,  *Sarah  Ives,  *Della  Saxton,  Mabel 
Smith  (Biery),  Cora  Taggart  (Westfall),  Maude  B.  Wheeler  (Champion), 
Eliza  M.  Young  (Weaver). 

1889 — *Len9  Amner  (Gowciv),  *Kate  Bishop,  Carl  Brundage,  Ralph 
Drake,  tida  GiUett  (Bixler),  Edwin  D.  Hoyt,  Lola  Paddock,  Ida  M.  Rob- 
lee  (Van  Aken),  Anna  Seely,  George  C.  Turner,  Edward  T.  Waffle. 

T890 — Qara  M.  Bennett,  Maud  E.  Chestnut  (Stebbins),  Ruth  H. 
Crippen,  David  N.  Gillett.  W.  Edwin  Hodgman,  Florence  M.  Holmes, 
Nathaniel  L.  Holmes,  *Michael  E.  Keely,  *Maud  L.  Milnes  (Burnell), 
Edna  L.  Paddock,  Helen  L.  Randall  (Kidder),  Hari-y  W.  Simons,  Rose  E. 
Sweet  (Smith). 


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162  _  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

1891— Mabel  Aldrich  (Griffin).  William  I.  Aldricli.  George  W.  Bar- 
ron, Mary  Esther  Bowers  (Olds),  Nellie  F.  C.  Bray  (Bennett).  Carrie  H. 
F,g^leston,  Maude  Lucile  Eggleston,  Thomas  Fofman  Ewing,  Olive  Blanch 
Lind,  William  Henry  Milnes.  Frank  Bernard  Reynolds,  Effie  I^s  Roberts 
(Luedders).  Byron  Clement  Thorpe,  Cora  Blanch  Thorpe  (Spotts),  Lottie 
E.  Weidy.  Myrtle  Enola  Woodcox  (Stevens). 

1892 — Reg-ena  E.  Bates  (Corless),  Hella  B.  Bixler  (Lee),  Harrison 
W.  Brodhead,  *Harriette  E.  Brown,  Mary  Louise  Brown  (Bingham),  E.  Vir- 
ginia Ewing  (Pitcher),  Florence  E.  Hiatt,  Bertha  Hilton  (Mason),  Jessie 
E.  Ives,  *Thomas  B.  Lee,  Esther  C.  Paddock,  Leroy  Palmer.  Edith  Irene 
Root  (Calkins),  *Charles  Coville  Shearer,  Louise  AdeJle  Spaulding 
(Miines),  Georgiana  L.  Starr,  *L.  Dudley  Stevens,  Lizzie  M.  Stevens 
(Campbell),  Ralph  R.  Stoddard. 

1893 — Nathan  E.  Barlow,  Nettie  C.  Bate,s,  Everett  D.  Brodhead, 
Charles  J,  Chubb,  Dollie  N.  Cosper  (Morey),  Leon  L.  Goodnow,  Floy  Hun- 
gerford,  F.  Eo!a  Kerr,  Charles  C.  King,  Fanny  C.  King  (Mafbone).  Dora 
Maxon,  F.  Maud  Pratt,  Jessie  M.  Styles  (Cross),  Mayme  A.  Williams 
(Fletcher). 

i894^NelIie  M.  Burk,  Celia  Belle  Bums  (Oxenham),  Howard  Brod- 
head, Jr.,  Kate  Eemice  Conover,  Edna  Adelle  Cummings,  *Clarence  G. 
Dickey,  Harriet  E.  Estlow  (Randolpb),  Harlow  J.  Evans,  Lola  Adelle  Fair- 
banks, Myrtle  Elizabeth  Filkins,  Fred  H.  Harris,  Minnie  Chandler  Hawks, 
Albert  Curriden  Howe,  Alva  M.  Hungerford,  Horace  Kitchel,  *Clayton  B. 
LangweSl,  Cecelia  Adeline  Miines  (Turner),  Myrtle  K.  Montague,  Grace 
Newberry  (Kitchel),  Elizabeth  H.  Paddock,  Minnie  E.  Pollock  (Brown), 
Frank  Ira  Post,  Nina  Rosamond  Spaulding  (Turner),  LaVeme  W.  Spring, 
William  J.  Sweeney. 

1895 — Gertrude  Anna  Baxter  (Brock),  *Adeibert  Guy  Bender,  .*Ai- 
meda  Maud  Black,  Ella  Porter  Bowen  (Hudson),  Marietta  Bvirdette,  Fran- 
cis Xavier  Busch,  Grace  Homan  Dennis  (Barlow).  Eber  Ward  Farwell, 
George  W.  R.  Ferguson,  Nellie  Mae  Hiatt,  Volney  R.  Hungerford.  Vanchie 
Parks  Moses,  Bertha  Louise  Nixson,  BeuJah  Grace  Palmer  (Manning),  Ma- 
bel Julia  Perry.  Charles  Milton  Perry,  Bertha  V.  Sitter  (Bowerman),  Evelyn 
Fernica  Squires,  Clara  Louise  Thompson,  Guy  A.  Thurston,  Carl  Yaple. 

1896 — Daisy  Gathel  Allen  (Tift),  Stanislaus  J.  Bounavicz,  Josephine 
M.  Brown  (Warner),  Sarah  Gertrude  Chubb,  Leon  Bennett  Clark,  Eliza- 
beth Eugenie  Compton,  Louis  Jerome  Compton,  Sarah  Belle  DePue 
(Straight),  *Carlton  L-eroy  Gorman,  Emily  E.  Hungerford,  Josie  Margar- 
ite  Keetey,  Margaret  Louise  Maloney,  Anna  Marie  Monroe  (Thurston), 
Mamie  B.  Nixon  (Johnson),  Grace  Aima  Smith  (Vernon),  Lena  L.  Teach- 
out  (Gruner),  Orton  AJonzo  Turner,  Nina  Roxana  Walker  (Holz). 

1897— Lyle  D.  Balcom.  Burt  E.  Barlow,  Clifford  Allen  Bishop,  E.  R. 
Clarke,  Jr.,  Jessie  Ethel  Corless,  Joseph  Thomas  Deuser,  Emery  Jennings 
Doerr.  Rollin  Lawrence  Drake.  Lela  EHza  Dustman  (Sherwood),  Kittie 
May  Eligh,  Claude  D.  Filkins,  Hervey  Canfield  Fisk,  Frank  Willis  French, 
Rua  Ethelind  Greenamyer,  Edith  Hazel  Holt   (Mannerow),  Blanche  Hutch- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  163 

ins,  Verna  Mae  Kerr,  Margaret  Ang-ella  Lilly  (Clare).  Bertha  Mae  Morgan, 
Clarence  Lee  Morrison,  Max  E.  Neal,  Carrie  Mae  Olmsted  (Sweet),  Carl 
Byron  Paddock.  Alice  Amanda  Patterson  (Goble),  Myrtie  E.  Phillips  (Bur- 
nett), Ella  Belle  Quimby  (Bassett).  J.  Gordon  Spofford,  Eva  Lena  Spring 
(Herrick),  Iva  Leona  Thompson,  Ciara  S.  Warsabo  (Haynes),  Clark  Wil- 
son Williams. 

1898 — Maggie  Lulu  Anderson  (Miller),  Paul  Barnhart.  Nina  Barron, 
A.  Frederick  Bruehl,  Mabel  Burk.  C.  Elizabeth  Coombs  (Saunders),  Alta 
Lorene  Coppin  (Robbins),  Merle  Evelin  Darrow,  D.  Duella  Dickey,  Esther 
Clarina  Dimond.  Delsie  Dorena  Dubendorf  (Cook),  Roy  Kerr  Eldridge, 
T\Iabei  Ariean  Ewing  (McCrackai),  *Mattie  Maude  Freeman,  Lloyd  C. 
Greenamyer,  B.  lone  Gripman  (Tripp),  C.  Vernon  Hathaway,  Flora  E.  Hil- 
ton (Fellman),  Edmund  George  Johnson,  Agnes  Anna  Lilly,  Robert  E.  Lee, 
F.  Edith  Miner  (Russell).  Owen  Bayard  Parham,  Ethelyn  Gertrude  Simons, 
C.  Steele  Spofford,  Myrtle  Irene  Thornton. 

1899 — Grace  W.  Barron,  Marie  Elizabeth  Blye  (Perine),  Frederick 
Starr  Buggie,  Carolyn  M.  Chubb  (Baker),  Harriett  Bernice  Cooley,  Edith 
Joyce  Goodman.  Jennie  Berdenah  Hickey,  Louis  Alton  Hutchins.  Nellie 
Ethelyn  Jones,  Elsie  AlMayda  Long,  Arthur  George  Lyon,  Jessie  Harriet 
Paddock,  Kathleen  Pratt,  Charlotte  S.  Ray,  Harriette  G.  Yesner. 

1900— Bertha  M.  Basselt,  Mabel  A.  Black,  Hugh  Wallace  Clarke, 
Bertha  R,  Cook,  Florence  Rena  Cooley,  Lois  Maude  Cowell,  Ralph  Norton 
Conkhn.  Frank  Meek  Hiatt,  Louise  Margaret  Hoyt  (Hamilton),  Rachel  E. 
Ladd,  Lewis  Henry  Osborn.  Jessie  M.  Pollock,  Eliatheda  Spofford,  Mabel 
Ellen  Smith.  Leon  Clarence  Yapp. 

igoi — Joel  Martin  Barnes,  Archibald  Lamont  Chubb,  Rolla  Stuart  Da- 
vis, Laura  Edgerton  Hughes,  Josie  Belle  Molby,  George  Adelbert  Morrison, 
Mary  Elizabeth  Phinney,  Winnie  May  Sawin,  Ezra  Collin  Shoecraft,  Marv 
Julia  Simons,  *Charles  Sumner  Stuart,  Jr.,  Fred  George  Wahl. 

igo2 — Helen  Louise  Baldwin  (Shoecraft),  Mariet  Margaret  Buggie, 
Jessie  Helena  Cameron,  Mara  Watrous  Conover,  Louise  Qizbe,  Angeline 
Marion  Dean,  Don  Dewey,  Herbert  Eldridge,  Grace  Houghton  Fuller,  Carl 
Henry  Goodwin,  Carrie  Parham,  Rolene  Alta  Root,  Abishai  J.  Sanders, 
Archie  Sanders,  Mabel  Victoria  Sinclair,  Alice  Eleanor  Southworth.  Will- 
iam Stroh,  Roland  George  Swaffield,  Montie  B.  Taylor,  Elmina  Coe  Thomp- 
son, J.  Garfield  Upp,  Lena  Elizabeth  Weage,  Mabel  Yesner. 

1903 — Robert  Russell  Burdick,  Glenn  Danford  Bradley,  Flora  May 
Barnard,  Anna  Bishop,  Alma  Agnes  Cooley,  Bert  MHlson  Culver.  Amy 
Dimond,  Edna  May  Evans,  Robert  George  Evans,  Perry  William  Flander^- 
mcyer,  Dorlesca  Cordelia  Howe,  Mabelle  Louise  Holmes,  Edith  Alice  I-en- 
nox,  Olive  Beatrice  Lennox,  Arthur  Edward  Legg,  Mary  May  Macdonough 
(Wahl),  Harriet  Pratt,  Flora  Elizabeth  Root,  Marie  Beatrice  Ronan,  Rex 
Cameron  Starr,  Alice  Elizabeth  Vincent,  Sarah  Caroline  Worcester. 

1904— Carrie  Barnard,  Rolene  Chandler  (Cummins),  Guy  Chiesman, 
Reo  Gripman.  Ray  Keeslar  Imniel,  Lucile  Jones,  Satie  Keep,  Harry  Kemp- 
ster,  Jessie  Lawton,  Rav  Locke,  Jessie  Thurston,  Myrtle  White. 


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16f  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

T905— Harriet  N.  Evans,  Mabel  Gripman,  Wava  Junk,  Lou  Kramer, 
Ethel  Kerr,  Rache!  MacGowan.  Btirr  Osbom,  Burt  Pitcher,  Philip  Robinson, 
Pear!  Schrontz,  Eleanor  Stowell,  George  Wicker. 

1906— Norah  Jane  Carroll,  Rena  Marguerite  Clark,  Fern  Anchore 
Doerr,  Harold  Lewis  George,  Grace  I-eona  Gray,  Earl  Ostrander  Immel, 
Grayson  Thomas  Kinney,  Frank  Gardner  I-egg.  Ray  Howland  Lockwood, 
Marv  Grace  Rawson,  Harold  Arthur  Robinson,  Tsabelie  Ellen  Ronan,  Mary 
Merle  Schmedlen,  Constance  Stratton,  Ethel  Leone  Stroh,  William  Embry 
White. 

QuiNCy  Schools. 

The  first  school  held  at  the  center  of  Qiiincy  township  and  attended  by 
the  children  of  persrais  now  Hving  in  Quincy  village  was  taught  by  Mrs. 
Peter  Newberry  at  her  home  north  of  town.  Mrs.  E.  B.  Church  and  ■ 
Jerome  Clizbe  are  the  only  ones  of  her  scholars  still  living.  Tlie  first  school- 
house  erected  was  of  logs  and  stood  on  the  site  of  the  depot  grounds.  After 
about  four  or  five  years  the  log  house  was  torn  down  and  a  frame  school- 
house  put  up  in  its  place.  In  a  few  years  the  district  became  so  lar^e  that 
one  schoolhouse  would  not  accommodate  all  the  pupils,  so  a  private  school 
was  organized  in  1844,  with  Mrs.  Bundy  as  teacher.  When  the  railroad 
was  built,  in  1850.  the  schoolhouse  was  moved  to  where  the  Methodist  church 
now  stands,  on  West  Chicago  street.  The  Methodist  church  obtained  this 
site  about  1854.  and  the  schoolhouse  was  moved  to  Jefferson  street.  On 
this  occasion  quite  an  argument  arose  as  to  whether  the  building  should  be 
moved  east  or  west,  so  the  people  who  lived  in  the  west  part  of  the  district 
hitched  their  oxen  to  the  west  side  of  the  building,  and  those  in  the  east  part 
hitched  their  oxen  to  the  east  side.  When  all  were  ready  the  spectators  cried, 
"  Pull  long!  Pull  strong!  "  and  the  building  moved  to  the  east,  thus  decid- 
ing the  question. 

The  district  had  grown  so  large  noiw  that  the  frame  building  and  Mrs. 
Bundy's  select  school  would  not  accommodate  all,  and  another  select  school 
was  organized,  in  1854,  to  accommodate  the  older  pupils.  Tliis  was  taught 
by  a  Mr.  Watkins  and  was  the  first  graded  school  in  the  district.  Two  years 
later  the  district  decided  to  buiid  another  schoolhouse.  This  building  was  of 
brick,  located  on  the  corner  of  East  Jefferson  and  Fulton  streets,  on  the  site 
still  occupied  by  the  central  school  building.  The  old  frame  building  which 
had  so  long  served  the  purposes  of  a  school  was  sold  to  Jonas  Culver,  who 
moved  it  away  and  converted  it  into  a  dwelling. 

The  Union  school  mo\'ement  described  on  a  previous  page  was  now  tak- 
en up  by  the  people  of  Quincy. 

In  1869  the  first  brick  building  was  remodeled.  The  front  portion  of  the 
present  building  was  erected  as  an  addition  to  the  old  structure.  This  addi- 
tion stands  to-day,  but  in  1904  the  part  that  had  stoo^l  since  1858  and  in 
which  children  and  children's  children  and  even  grandchildren  had  learned 
their  first  lessons,  was  torn  down,  and  replaced  by  a  large  and  convenient  ad- 
dition at  a  cost  of  about  ten  thousand  dollars.    Thus  the  school  building  in 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  1^5 

use  at  the  present  writing  is  a  coinbination  of  the  old  and  tlie  new  in  school 
architectnre,  the  front  part,  surmounted  bv  the  cupola,  dating  back  to  1869 
and  the  south  side  of  the  biiilding  being  only  two  years  old. 

The  Quincy  high  school  maintains  the  high  standard  of  Michigan  high 
schools,  is  on  the  approved  list  of  the  State  lTm\'ersity  and  the  State  Normal, 
and  its  influence  as  an  institution  is  shown  by  the  ties  which  bind  its  alumni 
together  and  the  pride  the  people  in  general  manifest  in  the  work  of  local 
education.  The  superintendent  of  the  schools  is  F.  E.  Knapp,  and  his  assist- 
ants in  the  upper  grades'  work  are  Amelia  Todd,  Ethe!  Fok  and  Jennie 
Burns.  The  board  of  education  at  this  writing  consists  of  these  citizens: 
K.  B.  Etheridge,  president ;  VV.  H.  Lockerby,  secretary ;  F.  A.  McKenzie, 
treasurer;  A.  L.  Bowen  and  M.  J.  Rawson,  trustees. 

The  Alumni  Association  of  the  Quincy  high  school  was  formed  July 
5,  :884,  its  first  officers  being:  Miss  Gertie  Dobson,  president;  Dr.  Will 
Marsh,  vice  president,  and  Samuel  J.  Gier,  secretary  and  treasurer.  The 
associations  of  early  years  have  been  renewed  at  each  subsequent  annual 
meeting,  and  the  ties  that  form  the  basis  of  such  an  organization  are  such  that 
the  names  of  its  members  as  they  have  been  added  from  year  to  year  are  the 
most  important  document  in  the  school's  history. 

As  compiled  from  the  records  of  the  Alumni  Association,  the  classes 
from  1876  to  the  present  are : 

1876 — A.  V.  R.  Pond;  W.  C  Marsh,  a  graduate  of  the  University  of 
Michigan's  medical  department,  practicing  in  Quincy  a  few  years,  and  now 
a  prominent  physician  of  Albion.  Mich.;  R.  Upton  Gay. 

1880 — Carrie  Clark,  Cora  Clizbe.  Livonia  Rogers,  May  Wilson,  May 
Collins.  Adda  Culver. 

1882 — Maude  Joseph ;  Gertie  Dobson,  a  teacher  in  Quincy  schools  for 
a  long  time,  later  a  department  teacher  in  Mt.  Pleasant  (Mich.)  Normal, 
and  now  studying  medicine  in  Rush  Medical  College;  Jessie  E.  Cook; 
Howard  J.  Hill,  formerly  a  dentist  at  Alma,  Nebraska,  where  he  has  been 
successful  in  business  and'  has  now  given  up  practice. 

1883 — Joie  Golden,  Elsie  Babcock,  Adda  .Archer,  Cora  E  Brown,  Hu- 
bert Jo.seph. 

1884 — Blanche  Daggett:  Samuel  J.  (jier,  now  superintendent  of  the 
Hillsdale  city  schools;  John  B.  Daish.  an  attorney  at  Washington,  D.  C. ; 
Claude  Larzelere.  who  graduated  from  the  University  of  Michigan,  took  a 
post-graduate  course  at  Harvard,  and  is  now  head  of  the  history  depart- 
ment of  Mt.  Pleasant  Normal. 

18S5 — Rena  S,  Barber,  the  wife  of  Prof.  Larzelere  just  mentioned; 
Grace  Markel,  Orcelia  Marshall.  Grace  M.  Lytle,  Ida  M.  Wilcox,  Ella  D. 
Sweeney;  Ida  A.  Macklem  and  Franc  M.  Macklem,  both  teaching  in  the  Elk- 
hart schools. 

1886— Rena  B.  Wright,  Minnie  M.  Rathbun,  Minnie  M.  Myers,  Charles 
L.  Van  Orsdal. 

1887— Gertie  Blackman,  Florence  Mann,  Hattie  Swan,  Allierta  Hoff- 
man, Vieva  Wilcox.  Atita  Pratt,  Estella  Sanderson,  Orlo  Dobson. 


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166  filSTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

1888 — Lillian  Bigneli,  the  only  graduate  of  that  year,  is  now  svii>erin- 
tendent  of  the  schools  at  Galesburg',  Mich. 

1889 — ^Justus  G.  Lawson,  a  prominent  attorney  at  Grand  Rapids:  J. 
Harry  Nichoh,  J.  Whitney  Watkins,  Charles  L,  Wood. 

1891 — Matie  Decker.  Phi  Berry.  Pearl  Kinyon,  Lena  Berr\-,  Ralph 
Turner,  Ed.  Crevie. 

1892 — Jessie  C.  Mason,  Alice  C.  Ethridge,  Allen  J.  Talent,  Azalia  M. 
Drake,  Nettie  M.  Ba!!,  Percy  L.  Freeman. 

i8q3— Charles  W.  Morey,  an  electrical  engineer  in  Chicago ;  Ethel 
Noble,  T.  Howard  Hyslop,  Blanche  Baker.  Georgia  M.  Turner,  Fred  J, 
Rathbun,  Cora  M,  Blackman,  Hattie  L.  Denham. 

t8<)4 — Charles  Harpham,  now  a  member  of  the  faculty  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Michigan;  Arthur  Bellis,  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Michigan, 
and  now  superintendent  of  schools  at  Birmingham,  this  state ;  James  Bellis, 
a  teacher  in  a  business  college  at  Ypsilanti;  Dr.  J.  M.  Blackman,  of  Quincy; 
W.  G.  Cowell,  now  prosecuting  attorney  of  Branch  county;  AlHe  Day,  Gene- 
vieve Allen,  Fern  Haysmer,  Edith  Haight. 

1895 — Charles  A.  D.  Young,  a  government  engineer  on  the  Sault 
canal;  Will  Moore,  Fred  Wilbur,  Bert  Herrick.  l^wis  Powel.  Arthur  Noble, 
An)brose  Bailey,  Pearl  Herendeen,  Rena  Bowers,  Minnie  Bailey,  Georgia 
Marks,  Myrtie  Sanderson,  Louie  Kinyon. 

1896— -Orrin  Bowen,  the  Bronson  attorney;  Lu!a  R.  Knapp,  wife  of 
Volney  Hungerford,  superintendent  of  schools  at  Decatur,  Michigan;  Mary 
E.  Alien,  Ward  W.  Allen.  Maud  Babcock.  Clifford  A.  BJsho]),  Erma  M. 
Bogue,  Cora  M.  Briggs,  Lillian  B.  Culver.  Julia  E.  Harpham,  Ella  Lashuay. 
Mabel  Noble,  Arthur  E.  Rogers,  Fannie  E.  Spauiding,  Lucinda  Spaulding. 

1897— -Mabel  Luse,  Lottie  Safford,  Ira  Trimm,  Lulu  Wiser.  Bertie 
Mason,  Ora  Safford.  Eva  Vaughn,  Mertie  Strang,  Frank  Berry,  Anna  B. 
Orcutt,  Maud  Thompson,  Arthur  Berry.  Minnie  Oliver.  Jennie  Oliver. 

1898 — ^Alice  Hougbtaling,  Angelene  Haynes,  Henry  W.  Austin.  Mabel 
J.  Belote,  James  W.  Bums,  Salla  Spaulding,  Joseph  W.  Barker,  Carlotta  E. 
Dean,  Laura  E.  Eldred,  Grace  M.  Harpham,  Everett  E.  EiOrris,  Grace 
Bailey. 

T899 — Ruby  Kinyon,  Grace  Kinyon,  Em.ma  Barber,  W.  Albert  Eldred. 
Tnis  Herrick.  Edith  Hewitt,  Edna  Knapp.  Otis  Ransom.  Essie  Sharp,  Vera 
Thompson,  Eliza  Warner,  Orson  Warner. 

1900 — Joe!  M.  Barnes,  now  a  special  science  .student  in  the  University 
of  Michigan:  Walter  Failor,  an  electrical  engineer  and  superintendent  of 
an  electric  railway  on  the  Pacific  coast:  Carl  C.  Sears,  now  practicing  medi- 
cine at  Ouincy;  Millie  Barnes,  Maria  Bradon,  W.  John  Bums,  Nellie  Her- 
endeen. 

iQOi — Carl  Gottscha?k,  a  graduate  in  electrical  engineering  from  the 
University  of  Michigan;  Harold  C.  Jones,  a  special  student  in  chemistrv  at 
the  University;  Ralph  S.  Andrews,  bookkeeper  for  the  Wolverine  Portland 
Cement  Co.  at  Quincy;  Kittie  B.  lies,  George  R.  Oxenham.  Leona  D.  Bar- 
ber, Ida  M.  Walter,  Leora  A.  Walter,  H.  Lea  Benge,  Mable  L.  Ethei-idge 


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Union  City  School  Buildmj 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  167 

1902 — Ray  Whitniore,  a  graduate  in  metlicine  at  the  University  of 
Michigan;  Grace  B.  Walsh.  Carry  M.  Sheldon,  Anna  Oxenham,  Everett 
Benge. 

1903 — Harry  Farwell,  a  draftsman  at  Detroit;  Edith  M.  Green, 
formerly  a  Quincy  teacher  and  now  in  the  Ypsilanti  NoiTna! :  Fred  Eoley, 
an  electrical  engineer  at  South  Bend:  Elva  Gage,  Lena  Wilmarth.  Sarah 
Safford,  I^iiis  Hoxie,  Edith  Walter,  Ralph  Keeler,  Glenn  Ransom. 

1904 — Ralph  McKenzie,  Robert  Sanderson,  Ross  D.  Porter.  Morean 
Elheridge.  Myrta  Crater,  Clara  Stafford,  Jessie  Bowerman,  Jessie  Robinson, 
Wilhelmina  Walsh,  Rc»e  Horning,  Loviie  Knirk. 

1905— Charles  H.  Walters,  Edan  M.  Ransburg,  Greta  W.  Forte,  Ray 
R.  Brott,  Mary  E.  Peiioyer,  Florence  M.  Dickerson,  Charles  H.  Waiters, 
Lulu  B.  Brott,  Jessie  M.  Aldrich,  Rena  A.  Tompkins,  Roy  A.  Botey,  NeiHe 
M.  l«irzelere,  Bernice  V.  Newberry,   Harry  E.  Robinson. 

The  officers  of  the  Alumni  Association  for  1905-06  were:  Mrs.  George 
Houghtaling.  president;  Miss  Jessie  Aldrich,, vice  president;  Dr.  Carl  Sears, 
secretary  and  treasurer. 

Union  City  Schools. 

The  first  schoolhouse  in  Union  City,  built  in  1837,  a  frame  structure, 
painted  red  and  long  known  as  "  the  reel  schoolhouse,"  is  still  standing  upon 
its  original  site  at  the  corner  of  Ellen  and  Ann  streets,  having  been  for  many 
years  in  use  as  a  dwelling.  A  little  further  down  on  Ellen  street  is  the 
handsome  three-story  brick  and  stone  building  that  for  the  past  thirty  years 
has  been  the  central  school  building  of  the  village.  These  two  buildings 
graphically  illustrate  the  contrast  between  the  educational  facilities  of  the 
first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  and  those  of  the  present.  The  pioneer 
equipment  of  schools  described  in  an  earlier  part  of  this  article  on  education 
has  been  displaced  by  apparatus  ami  methwls  in  all  res]>ects  in  keeping  with 
the  character  of  the  buildings  which  now  provide  shelter  for  educational 
work.  The  people  of  Union  City  are  justly  proud  of  their  schools,  and  the 
principal  events  in  the  progress  of  the  educational  institutions  of  the  village 
should  be  given  at  this  point. 

April  26,  1837,  soon  after  the  organization  of  the  township  of  Union, 
it  was  divided  into  four  school  districts,  and  that  the  assistance  rendered 
by  the  state  at  this  early  date  was  not  large  will  be  plainly  seen  when  we 
state  that  the  apportionment  of  school  moneys  to  all  the  schools  in  the 
township  in  1838  was  only  $51.38.  School  District  No.  2  included  Union 
City,  and  the  first  teacher' to  have  charge  here  after  the  organzation  of  the 
districts  was  Miss  Ellen  E.  Hammond,  daughter  of  Deacon  Chester  Hanv 
mond.  This  was  a  summer  school  and  was  taught  in  1838.  The  teachers 
immediately  following  Miss  Hammond  ivere  Henry  Hammond  and  Miss 
Sarah  Sargent,  although  it  is  creditably  related  that  Miss  Sargent  was  really 
the  first  teacher  in  Union  City,  she  giving  instruction  during  the  winter  of 
1836-37,  before  the  organization  of  districts.     Certain  it  is,   however,  that 


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168  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Miss  Sargent  taught  a  school  during  the  winter  of  1839-40  in  the  office  of 
Justus  Goodwin,  on  the  county  line. 

The  first  schoolhouse  was  built  in  Union  City  in  1837,  and  the  building- 
was  also  used  by  the  Methodist  and  Congregational  societies  on  alternate 
Sundays.  At  about  this  time  schools  were  also  established  in  the  rural  dis- 
tricts surrounding  Union  City,  and  among  the  first  was  the  one  in  the  l,inco!n 
district,  south  of  town,  where  in  the  summer  of  1838  a  school  was  taught 
in  a  chamber  of  Caleb  Lincoln's  house,  the  school  building  being  erected 
the  following  year. 

The  real  development  of  the  Union  City  schools  began,  howei-'er,  with 
the  erection  of  the  present  handsome  school  building  on  Ellen  street.  The 
town  had  grown  so  rapidly  in  population  that  in  the  early  seventies  it  became 
evident  that  there  must  be  additional  room  and  facilities  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  rapidly  growing  number  of  pupils.  Accordingly  the  present 
building  was  completed  in  1877  at  a  cost  of  about  $25,000.  It  is  a  remarka- 
bly elegant  and  substantial  building  of  stone  and  brick,  three  stories  high, 
and  the  improvements  made  upon  it  each  year  have  served  to  make  it  a 
model  of  convenience  and  utility.  It  has  a  fine  public  hall,  a  completely 
equipped  laboratory,  a  well-selected  library,  and  all  the  modern  equipments 
and  accessories,  including  water  and  electric  lights  upon  every  fioor. 

Excellent  work  is  done  in  the  lower  grades  and  the  high  school  is  con- 
sidered among  the  very  best  in  this  portion  of  the  state.  There  are  seven 
regular  courses  of  study  and  such  is  their  thoroughness  and  completeness 
that  the  high  school  has  for  years  been  on  the  approved  list  of  the  University 
of  Michigan,  graduates  therefrom  being  admitted  direct  to  the  university 
without  examination. 

The  graduates  of  the  Union  City  High  School  during  the  different 
vears  from  the  first  class  in  1880  to  the  class  of  1906  are  named  in  follow- 
ing paragraphs.  It  seems  just,  however,  to  single  out  certain  names  from 
the  various  classes  and  mention  the  position  which  has  lieen  attained  by  the 
person  in  each  case  since  he  left  the  high  school  to  begin  the  battle  of  life. 
Of  the  class  of  1880,  C.  E.  Wisner  is  now  a  resident  of  Toledo  and 
engaged  in  land  development  in  the  south.  E,  L.  Moseley  is  an  entomologist 
who  has  gained  considerable  prominence  in  his  profession.  W.  H,  Bnim- 
field  is  at  the  head  of  a  signal  service  bureau  in  the  west.  Of  tjie  class  of 
1884,  Walter  Groesbeck  is  a  patent  attorney  at  Washington,  D.  C;  G.  H. 
Sevmoiir  is  head  of  the  banking  business  in  Sherwood,  and  Delia  Page  is  a 
teacher  of  deaf  mutes  in  West  Superior,  Wisconsin. 

Two  well  known  representatives  of  the  class  of  1886  are  Leon  A.  John- 
son, present  supervisor  of  Union  township,  and  C.  H.  Jotwell,  connected 
with  the  Farmers  National  Bank  of  Union  City.  From  the  class  of  1887 
should  be  mentioned  Edward  Guernsey,  a  foreign  buyer  for  Marshall  Field 
and  Company;  and  Mrs.  Jennie  (Walker)  Spore,  who  is  the  sole  founder 
and  manager  of  the  Union  City  Creamery,  an  enterprise  which  she  has  built 
up  by  her  own  biisiness  judgment   and  energy.     From  the  class   of    1888, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  169 

Herbert  Johnson  is  a  snccessfui  music  teacher  of  Battle  Creek,  and  Walter 
Lowell  is  in  charge  of  a  sugar  plantation  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands. 

In  the  class  of  1SS9  were  Carolyn  L.  Willard,  now  a  well  known  con- 
cert pianist,  associated  with  Madame  Blooinfield  Zeisler  of  Chicago ;  and 
Edwin  Hayden,  who  fills  the  chair  of  sociology  in  the  University  of  Mis- 
souri. Ray  Buflinganie  of  the  class  of  1890  is  a  druggist  at  Dowagiac.  Of 
those  who  went  out  in  1892,  R.  W,  Coddington  is  a 'superintendent  of  schools 
in  Michigan,  and  Jessie  Willard  is  a  doctor  of  osteopathy  in  Chicago.  Lulu 
Palmer,  of  1893,  is  a  teacher  in  one  of  the  Wisconsin  state  normals.  Of 
1894,  I^eo  Warren  is  superintendent  of  schools  in  North  St.  Paul,  Minn. ; 
Hubert  Bell  is  superintendent  of  schools  at  Boyne  City,  Mich.,  and  E.  M. 
Chauncey  is  a  physician  at  Girard.  George  Gaw.  of  the  class  of  1895,  '^ 
cashier  in  an  Ypsilanti  bank,  and  his  classmate,  Ralph  Morrill,  is  a  physician 
in  Lincoln,  Neb.,  and  on  the  faculty  of  a  medical  college  in  that  city.  Clay- 
ton Crandall  and  Carrie,  of  the  class  of  1896,  are  high  school  teachers,  and 
many  other  of  the  graduates  fill  similar  positions  throughout  this  and  ad- 
joining states.  Of  the  class  of  1897,  Arthur  Barnes  is  superintendent  of 
schools  at  Olivet  and  F.  W.  Ackerman  is  principal  of  the  Union  City  schools. 
T^o  L.  Eddy  is  superintendent  of  the  schools  at  Sherwood,  and  N.  P.  Olm- 
sted is  a  minister.  George  Barnes,  from  the  class  of  1898,  gained  the  high 
scholastic  honor  of  a  Rhodes  scholarship  at  Oxford,  England,  and  is  now 
attending  that  university.  H.  H.  Willard,  of  1899,  is  on  the  faculty  of  the 
school  of  pharmacy  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  and  A.  H.  Tower  of  the 
same  class  is  a  doctor  at  Centerville. 

The  graduates  for  the  different  years  are: 

1880 — Elbert  L.  Page,  A.  Harshman  Harrison.  George  E.  Willitts,  C. 
Edward  Wisner,  Lorenzo  D.  Cochrane,  Edward  L.  Moseley.  Willard  H. 
Brumfield,  William  H.  Bauer,  Robert  H.  Baker,  John  D.  H.  Wallace,  Jay 
P.  Lee,  Norris  A.  Cole,  Ward  C.  Walker,  Elma  Lynn. 

1881— Ida  Soiitherland,  Jamie  Rowe.  M.  Ross  Graham,  Warren  D. 
Converse. 

1883— Nettie  Doty. 

1884— Mvra  McDonald,  Walter  Groesbeck.  Erta  Tuthill.  George  H. 
Seymour,  Jennie  Corbin,  John  Bishop,  Edward  Stafford,  Doane  Smith. 
Lydia  Race,  Eva  Lester,  Delia  Page,  Lida  Neabitt. 

1885— Nellie  Giltner,  Nellie  lathrop.  Rose  Swartout,  Sabrie  Van  Vleet, 
Hattie  Johnson,  Verona  Smith,  Lura  l^verty. 

iSSe^I^on  A.  Johnson,  Minnie  Van  Camp,  Cora  D.  Fulton,  Chade? 
H.  Burton,  Minnie  Eddy,  Jennie  Chase,  Charles  H.  lx>well. 

i887~Edith  Underwood,  Hattie  Blake,  Nathan  Rowe.  Jessie  Peck, 
Nanette  Jeffery.  Edward  Guernsey,  Stella  Buell,  Isaac  J.  Margeson,  Freti 
Stafford,  Bertha  Sawin,  Frank  Cain,  Robert  McDonald,  Jennie  Walker. 

1888— Herbert  Johnson,  Mary  Stevens,  Walter  Lowell,  Wylie  Hub- 
bard, Fred  M.  Hodge,  Nettie  Lee,  Habey  Haas,  Mae  Swartout,  Ophelia  Van 
Vleet,  Maude  Hubbard.  Mattie  Stratton,  Nellie  Tliompson. 


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170  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

18S9-— Frances  Russeil,  Carrie  L.  Willard,  Edwin  Hayden,  Clarence 
Brace,  Millie  Simmons. 

1890 — E.  May  Thompson,  Lanrene  Corbin.  Mertis  Wellman.  Bvrdie 
Gaw.  Ray  Burlingame,  Claude  Whitney,  Daisy  Buell,  Georgia  Smythe,  J-'eha 
Mattheu-s. 

1891— L.  Belle  Watkins.  Fred  J.  French,  Frances  C.  Wilkins.  Nellie 
Clark,  Alta  McCrary,  V.  D.  Lee.  Isabella  Maxon,  Myrtie  Mitchell,  Hannah 
Russell,  Emma  Merritt,  Lois  French. 

T892 — Ralph  Waldo  Coddington.  Fred  Hammond,  Earl  Hubbard. 
Thomas  Cain.  May  Burlingame,  Frank  S.  Mann,  Edna  Peck,  Fannie  Bailey, 
May  I.  Lowell,  Jessie  WiUard,  Sophia  Page,  Ella  Gillett. 

1893 — Jessie  Banford.  Grace  Smith,  Grace  Dmmm,  Mae  Lee,  IJbbie 
Fitzgerald,  Sereno  B.  Clark,  Albert  Milier.  Lizzie  Peck,  Lulu  Palmer,  Earl 
Hayner. 

1894 — Hattie  Wells,  Georgia  Bassett,  Anna  Melody,  Leo  Warren, 
Chauncey,  Lina  Merrill. 

1895 — Nettie  Stevens,  Ethel  Kiiboum,  Clara  Page,  Bertha  Greenfield, 
Myrta  Bartlett,  Edna  Case.  George  Gaw,  Ralph  Morrill,  Lizzie  Norton. 

1806— Elmer  Wilson,  Winfred  Pierce,  Harry  Kimball.  Ora  Hayner, 
Carrie  Hurd,  Miles  Rider.  Harry  Wilcox,  Frank  Buell,  Clayton  Crandali. 

1897 — 'John  L.  Moore,  Lillie  Mitchell.  Coral  Johnson,  J.  C.  Studley, 
Kittie  Bell,  Jennie  Smith,  Thomas  Buell,  Arthur  Barnes,  Simeon  Bole, 
George  Howard,  Minnie  Smith,  Clarence  Reynolds,  J.  Carl  Gaw,  John 
Tniax,  F.  Ella  Kiiboum,  F.  W.  Ackerman,  Marcella  Bums,  Roy  McEwen, 
G.  E.  Ackerman,  Carrie  Saunders,  Ethel  BumViam,  N.  Perl  Olmsted,  Carle 
Smith,  Nellie  Strong,  Henry  Wells,  Leo.  1,.  Eddy,  Alice  Pierce. 

1898' — George  Barnes,  Gertrude  Travis,  Bertha  Simons,  Blaine  Brown. 
Carrie  Ward,  Victor  Crandali,  Hettie  Smith,  Flora  Banford,  Lester  Crandal!, 
Earl  Fuller,  James  Melody,  Daisy  Matteson,  Ber\-i  Knauss,  Floyd  Davis, 
Veva  Bole,  Grace  Gaw,  Lena  Fox. 

1899 — Levi  A.  Geer.  Cora  E.  Seymour,  Holxirt  H.  Willard,  Ethel  M. 
Kimball,  Lottie  Bell,  NelHe  M.  Spencer,  Inland  H.  Tower.  J.  Morris  Smith, 
William  H.  Bruening,  Fred  H.  Hass,  Jessie  R.  Morrill,  Bessie  F.  Hubbard. 

1900— Clara  L.  Buell,  Ora  L.  .Smith,  Fred  S.  Dunks,  Erta  B,  Kimball, 
Mertie  M.  Hass,  Harry  M.  Simmons,  Courtney  B,  Aiken,  Henrietta  M. 
Knauss,  Ervin  A,  Warsop. 

1901 — Mary  L.  Dibble.  Grace  R.  Dunks,  Daisy  L.  Eberhardt,  Lura  V. 
Eitniear.  Nellie  E.  French,  Jesse  N.  Hayner,  William  H.  Melody,  Nina  E. 
Palmer,  Amy  Mortina  Sweet.  H.  Harris  Ward,  Sherman  Wilson. 

1902 — Dean  S.  Johnson,  Ernest  E.  Baird,  Mildred  N.  Wood.  Elcy  T. 
McCausey.  Dean  E.  Shannon,  Zella  E.  Merrifield,  G.  Belle  Fisk,  Lula  Libhart, 
Dorr  D.  Buell.  Hilda  M.  Bmening,  Pauline  G.  Hawley,  Claude  L.  Bullock, 
Maude  E.  Grill.  Maiorie  Buell,  Viva  A.  Spore. 

190;^ — Bennett  H.  Ackerman.  Franklin  F.  Holhrook,  Iza  S.  Holbrook. 
Claude  W.   Johnson,  Howard  I.   Ludwig,   Homei-  R.   Mallow,   Harland   A. 


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HISTORY  O'F  BRANCH.  COUNTY  171 

Johnson,  Viletta  B.  Loivejoy,  Jessie  Wheeler,  Roy  S.  Wheeler,  Jesse  C.  Kim- 
ball, John  C.  Corbin,  Roy  G.  Newman,  Louise  L.  Lux. 

1904— Mary  I^  McCausey,  Mary  Copeland,  Glviin  Buell,  Hazel  Bowen, 
Burr  Collyer,  Bessie  Corbin,  Thomas  McCanse>-,  May  Clifford,  Ray  Warren, 
David  Church,  Lncia  Drake. 

1905— Petra  Lundteigen,  Edith  V.  Smith,  Charlotte  P.  Carr,  Aimee 
Palmer.  Maude  A.  Knauss,  Hazel  V.  Whitney,  Ethel  F.  Pullman.  Eva  D. 
Lux,  Ethei  A.  Johnson,  Lynn  E.  Wooti.  Gladys  Brown,  Aaron  W.  Poole, 
Frank  R.  Corwin,  Deo  R.  Parsons. 

1906— Harry  Clifford.  Matt  Corwin,  Margaret  Stitt,  Don  Nichols, 
Bessie  Kilbourn,  Emma  Boyer,  Carma  Libhart,  Vivian  Baker. 

Bronson  Village  Schools. 

The  first  school  in  the  county,  taught  by  Columbia  Lancaster  at  Bron- 
son Prairie  in  the  winter  of  1830-31,  has  already  been  spoken  of.  This  and 
several  otiier  schools,  supported  in  a  private  way  by  several  families  co- 
operating in  carrying  them  on,  preceded  the  first  public  school  on  the  prairie 
in  the  township,  and  this  first  public  school  was  the  banning  of  what  has 
become  "  the  Public  Schools  of  Bronson." 

The  "Bronson  Public  Schools,"  as  a  i>aniphlet,  pubhshed  for  1905-06 
by  the  Board  of  Education,  is  entitled,  are  not  schools  in  several  buildings, 
nor  are  they  schools  free  to  pupils  residing  in  the  village  only.  'ITiey  are 
schools  in  one  building,  and  this  building  is  the  schoolhouse  of  a  school  dis- 
trict, including,  besides  the  village,  territory  from  one  to  two  miles  beyond  it 
in  all  directions.  The  district  bears  today  the  designation,  "District  No.  i," 
the  number  indicating  that  it  was  the  first  district  organized  in  the  township. 
The  schools  carried  on  in  this  one  building  of  the  district  are,  the  high  school, 
the  grammar  or  intermediate  school  and  the  primary  school,  the  latter  being 
more  commnly  spoken  of  as  "  grades  "  or  "  departments."  The  time  of  tlie 
entire  course  is  twelve  years,  four  years  being  given  to  each  department. 
Graduates  of  the  high  school  may  lie  admitted  to  any  of  the  Michigan  State 
Normal  colleges  without  examination. 

This  District  No.  i  was  certainly  organized  some  time  before  1839, 
probably  in  1837.  Its  first  school,  the  first  public  scJiool  of  the  township, 
was  taught  in  a  building  on  the  ground  where  the  Werner  Bros,  building 
now  stands  on  Matteson  street,  south  of  Chicago  street.  Among  the  early 
teachers  in  this  building  were  Miss  Salona  Pixley  and  Miss  Maria  Taggart. 
Mr.  Ij^ring  Grant  Jones,  still  living  in  the  village,  remembers  attending 
school  in  this  building.  Later  a  schoolhouse  was  built  a  considerable  distance 
to  the  east  on  a  corner  of  the  Chicago  road  and  the  rc«d  running  south  on  the 
eastern  Imundarv  of  the  village.  Here  Miss  Mary  Ann  Clark  taught  for  a 
time.  Mr.  Jones  remembers  as  otlier  teachers  also,  Mr.  Mitchell,  Mr. 
"  Dick  "  Daugherty  and  Mr,  Homer  Wright,  a  brother  of  Mr.  P.  P.  Wright. 

Population  on  the  prairie  increased  and  when  the  village  stage  arrived 
a  union  school  was  established.     The  report  of  the  director  on  this  union 


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,172  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

school  is  illustrative  not  only  of  this  particular  school  but  in  g-eneral  of  the 
status  of  most  village  schools  at  the  time.  The  state  superintendent  of 
public  instruction,  in  1857,  asked  information  concerning  each  of  the  union 
schools  then  in  the  state,  and  Jason  Shepard,  then  director  of  the  Bronson 
school  district,  in  his  reply  dated  January  13,  1858,  gave  the  following  cate- 
gorical answers  to  the  series  of  questions: 

rst.     Our  school  wai  e'itabbshed  on  the  4th  of  the  present  month      (Jan  larj     i'*';8  ) 

2nd,     The  size  of  the  site  is  one  acre  of  land 

3rd,  The  schoolhou'e  i'  33  by  43  feet  on  the  ground  two  'tones  high  rooms  i-  feet 
in  the  clear  mith  recitation  rooms  in  each  story     Cost  of  the  house  $2500 

4th,  The  apparatus  is  small  consisling  only  of  Mitchells  Outline  Maps  Lostmg  $1100, 
Number  of  volumes  m  library   125 

Sth,  At  present  there  i"  bit  one  depirtment  to  our  school  hut  on  the  first  of  April 
it  is  expected  another  will  be  added    m  ivhiLh  the  higher  branches  will  be  tau(.ht 

6th.  We  ha\e  one  male  and  one  female  teacher — a  gentleman  ind  his  ladj — at  a  salary 
of  $50  per  month    for  boih 

7th,     The  aieratje  number  of  scholars  in  attend  nee    s  one  h      ired 

Sth.  The  course  of  stud  es  embraces  Primary  Geographi  Ph  losophj  Mtcbri  C  m- 
etry  and  Astronomj 

9th.     There  have  no  st  dents  been  fitted  for  higher  schools 

loth.  As  far  as  I  am  acquainted  the  co  education  of  the  sex:es  is  advisable  a  d  T  an- 
not  but  recommend   t 

nth.  The  expenses  of  our  school  -ire  at  present  met  bj  rate  bill  but  I  th  1  alter  tur 
next  annual  meeting  it  will  be  free  to  scholars  of  our  district 

I2th,  The  cost  of  this  system  of  schools  I  think  no  greater  thin  that  of  the  single 
district,  while  the  advantages  for  advancement  are  much  greater 

Our  school  and  schoolhouse  although  new  and  just  commenced  has  an  infliien(.e  among 
us  that  no  one  would  be  viilling  to  part  with  It  his  created  1  spint  of  energy  never  felt 
among  us  before  as  well  ts  1  desire  for  advancement  among  parents  and  thil  Iren  \\here  in- 
difference has  hitherto  prevailed  among  our  citizens,  it  is  now  asked,  what  shall  be,  and  who 
will  be  first  in,  our  next  enterprise. 

We  hope  to  give  a  good  account  of  our  school  as  time  advances,  and  that  our  reports 
hereafter  may  compare  favorably  with  other  schools. 

Yours  truly,  Jason  Sheparp,  Director. 

The  building  described  was  of  frame,  and  in  1878  a  brick  addition, 
two  stones  high,  was  constructed  in  front  of  the  old  building. 

Tlie  Bronson  school  officers  at  the  time  of  this  writing  are:  William 
Scribner.  president  of  Board  of  Education;  William  Bushnell,  secretary; 
Jacob  F.  Werner,  treasurer;  Warren  Boughton,  James  Davis,  trustees.  The 
teaching  force  are:  Frank  E.  Robinson,  superintendent;  Miss  Bertha  Rob- 
inson, principal ;  Miss  lies,  assistant  principal ;  Miss  Mernie  Bailey,  eighth 
grade;  Miss  Lucinda  Bowen,  second  and  third  grades;  Miss  Delia  Osborn, 
third  grade:  Miss  Florence  Anderson,  primary. 

The  following  paragraphs  name  the  graduates  who  in  the  years  since 
1887  have  gone  from  the  high  school : 

1887— Elison  WeJdon. 

1888— Claire  Russell.  Guella  Boughton  (Parham),  Edwin  Powers, 
Florence  Van  Every. 

i8go — Edwin  Moffit. 

1891 — Cora  Washburn   (Chapman),   Nellie  Hamilton. 

1892— Delia  Wait  (Butler),  Neihe  Ellis  (Paul).  Grace  Douglas 
(Deane),  Gula  Albertson  (Werner),  Josie  Jump,  Anna  Harris. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  173 

1893— Hattie  Randall  (Faust).  Rose  Jump  (Staymen),  Nan  Hoskins 
(Rider),  Gussie  Van  Fleet  (Davis).  Cora  Ticknor,  Burt  Corey.  Emma  Rus- 
sell (Coon),  Ora  Cockle  (Clark),  Grace  Jones  (Howe),  Myrtle  Van  Anken, 
Rose  Parfiam  (PfafF),  Frank  Douglas. 

1895 — George  Davis,  Burt  Walker,  Howard  Horton. 

1897 — Mabel  Earle,  Lora  Quear  (Tinkham),  Mabel  Perrin,  Christie 
Shaffmaster.  Gertrude  Baxter,  Emma  Wait,  Gertie  Bush  (Chapman),  Ina 
Fox. 

1898— Estelle  Blass. 

1899— Loa  Secor  (Lindsey).  Elhel  Turner  (Gibbs),  Glenn  Green, 
Ethel  Latta.  Fred  Baxter,  Margaret  Cunningham. 

1900 — Eva  Jones,  Cornelius  Lane,  Peter  Greenwald. 

igoi^Qara  Squier,  Stella  Keyes  (Nash),  Clifford  Carpenter,  Ge<.>rge, 
Holcomb,  Rose  Davis. 

1902 — Tbeda  Bailey,  Aiidra  Spitz,   Josephine  Burnell. 

1903— Vera  Himehaugh  (Flanders).  Jeanette  Holmes.  Ina  Cfark, 
Goldie  Bush,  Julia  Tisdel,  Cicero  Holmes.  Maude  Stevenson,  Oral  Clark, 
Clyde  Bushnell. 

1904— Elwood  Bushnell,  Maude  Taggart,  Maude  Hurford,  Myra  Rug- 
gles,  Lola  Perrin.  Willie  Cook. 

1905— Cass  Scribner. 

1906 — Hazel  Branyan.  Edith  DeWitt.  Gatha  Dorn.  Kathryn  Hime- 
baugh.  Myrtle  White,  Joy  Shaffmaster,  Clesson  Bushnell,  Charles  Rich, 
Harold  Bennett  Clark. 

Shew  WOOD. 

Sherwood's  first  school  was  the  district  school  located  on  the  angling 
road  west  of  the  present  village.  With  increase  of  population  following  the 
establishment  of  the  village  in  the  seventies  a  school  was  established  within 
the  village.  In  the  late  eighties  the  schools  were  graded  and  placed  tipon 
a  good  standing  by  Mr.  James  Swain,  now  county  commissioner  of  schools, 
at  that  time  superintendent  of  the  Sherwood  schools.  In  1894  the  Sherwood 
College  buildings  were  purchaser^  and  devoted  to ,  village  school  purposes. 
Tlie  structures  are  substantial  and  modem  and  occupy  a  commanding  site. 
There  are  now  the  r^tilar  twelve  grades,  with  four  teachers,  those  for 
1906-0;'  being  Ray  Locke,  superintendent;  Bessie  Cogswell,  grammar 
grades:  Ethe!  Monteith,  intermediate,  and  Eemice  WiJIer,  primary.  The 
Ijoard  of  education  consists  of  J.  W.  Finch,  Dr.  C.  E.  Nelthorpe,  Frank 
Swain,  Charles  Hall  and  Dr,  R.  Fraser.  The  schools  are  on  the  approved 
list  of  a  large  number  of  colleges,  graduates  being  admitted  to  these  without 
exaipination. 

The  Sherwood  High  School  has  an  alumni  association  of  sixty  mem- 
bers, which  holds  annual  reunions.  The  graduates  since  1892  are  named 
as  follows ; 

1892— May  (Jackson)   Stickney,  J.  A.  Annis. 

1893— Nellie  (Thayer)   Bower,  Guy  Thurston. 


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IT*  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

1894 — Edna  R.  Locke,  Amos  Cross. 

1895 — Harry  Wilcox,  Wave  (Locke)  Wright,  Frank  French,  Mamie 
(Banker)   Hill. 

i8g6 — Grace  Smith,  Daisy  (Collins)  Clark,  Florence  Crocker,  Hattie 
Blossnnj. 

1897 — Frank  Thorns,  Edw.  Mowry,  Jennie  (Runyan)  Lampman,  Ber- 
nice  Sargent,  Adrian  Sturgis,  Nellie  (Mowry)  Cline,  Leo  R.  French,  Inez 
(Quinlan)  French,  Etta  Mowrj'. 

iSg8 — Mamie  (Hazen)  Chipman,  Gertie  (Bartlett)  Collins,  Effie 
(Alger)  Jones,  Ray  Hall. 

1899 — Glenn  Cline,  Clayton  Selby,  Josie  Mowry,  Robert  Osbom,  Guy 
L.  Mowry,  Nina  Thurston. 

1900— Lou  (Sturgis)  French,  Ear!  Taylor,  Ed.  Sargent,  Carson  Eraser, 
Vern  French,  Ernest  Cole,  Margaret  Kidney,  Glenn  Sipes,  Blanche  (Nelson) 
Bennett,  Hazel  Strickland,  Hubert  Thornton,  Susie  Davis, 

1901 — Ray  E.  l-ocke. 

Tgo2— Beulah  Gwin,  Gertrude  Robinson,  Myrtle  Robinson.  Eva  Leath- 
erherry. 

1903 — Blanch  I.  French,  George  E.  Ladyman,  Jesse  E,  Thornton. 

1904— No  graduates. 

1905— Lloyd  Warren,  Lulu  Smith,   Katie  Eddy,  Bertha  Mitchell. 

igo6 — Alice  Wattles,  Lena  Spencer. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  XXn. 
The  State  Public  School. 

,In  1836  a  company  of  charitably  inclined  ladies  of  Detroit  organized 
the  Protestant  Ot^ihan  Asylum  of  that  city.  Governor  Henry  P.  Baldwin 
was  for  some  years  a  trustee  of  that  institution  aaxd  became  considerably 
interested  in  its  work.  Following;  his  election  as  governor  in  1868  Governor 
Baldwin  made  a  trip  to  all  the  state  institutions  and  many  oi  those  of  a 
public  and  private  charitable  nature  in  the  various  counties,  and  thoroughly 
informed  himself  of  conditions  which  he  would  meet  in  the  performance  of 
his  official  duties.  So  impressed  was  he  that  a  thorough  and  radical  change 
should  be  made  in  certain  lines  that  he  dwelt  upon  them  at  length  in  his 
inaugural  message  and  recommended  that  a  commission  be  appointed  to  give 
to  them  a  thorough  investigation  and  report  to  the  le^slature  of  1871.  The 
commission  appointed  in  accord  with  this  resolution  consisted!  of  Hon.  C.  1. 
Walker,  of  Detroit,  and  Hon.  F.  H.  Rankin,  of  Flint. 

Largely  because  of  his  connection  with  the  orphan  asylum  above  men- 
tioned Governor  Baldwin  was  in  position  to  see  the  child  problem  both 
from  a  humane  and  pviblic  policy,  and  his  message,  which  became  the  gen- 
eral instructions  of  the  commission,  set  up  that  problem  clearly.  A  short 
t|uotation  from  the  report  of  the  commission  will  describe  dependent  child 
life  as  they  found  it  in  the  county  houses,  the  onh'  home  provided  up  to 
that  time. 

"Think  of  their  surroundings:  the  raving  of  the  maniac;  the  frightful 
contortions  of  the  epileptic;  the  driveling  and  senseless  sputtering  of  the 
idiot;  the  garrulous  temper  of  the  decrepit,  neglected  old  age;  the  peevish- 
ness of  the  infirm:  the  accumulatefl  fiJth  of  all  these;  then  add  the  moral 
degeneracy  of  such  as  from  idleness  and  dissipation  seek  a  refuge  from 
honest  toil  and  you  have  a  faint  outline  of  the  surroundings  of  these  little 
boys  and  girls.  This  is  home  to  them.  Here  their  first  and  most  enduring 
impressions  of  life  are  made.  And  is  it  any  wonder  that  so  large  a  per- 
centage go  from  such  sitrixmndings  to  lives  of  idleness  and  crime  and  thus 
to  propagate  and  perpetuate  a  pauper,  dependent  and  depraved  class  for 
public  support  and  maintenance?" 

The  commission  found  two  hundred  and  twelve  dependent  children  of 
sound  mind  and  sound  bodies  in  the  county  poor  houses  and  strongly  sup- 
ported Governor  Baldwin's  recommendation  that  they  be  taken  from  these 
institutions  and  made  wards  of  the  state.     They  suggested  three  plans : 

"  1st.    Placed  bv  indenture  directly  in  families;  or 


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176  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

"  2d.     Placed  in  orphan  asylums  at  the  expense  of  the  state;  or 

"  3d.  Committed  to  an  institution  like  the  State  Primary  School  at 
Munson,  Massachusetts," 

When  the  report  of  this  commission  reached  the  legislature  in  1871  it 
was  referred  to  a  joint  committee  from  both  houses^  of  which  the  late  Hon. 
C.  D.  Randall,  of  Coldwater,  then  state  senator  from  thi?  district,  was  chair- 
man. As  its  work  progressed  various  meml^ers  of  the  committee  took  up 
the  questions  presented  and  Mr.  Randall  was  assigne<i  to  the  child  problem. 
All  three  of  the  plaris  suggested  by  the  commission  had  adherents.  '  Bills 
were  introduced  in  the  legislature  and  referred  to  the  joint  committee,  favor- 
ing each.  The  Michigan  Orphan  Asylum,  at  Adrian,  largely  under  the 
management  of  Aunt  Laura  Haviland,  as  she  was  generally  known,  was  very 
persistent  in  its  advocacy  of  the  second  of  these  plans. 

It  was  most  provident  that  the  whole  problem  went  intO'  the  hands  of 
a  man  like  Mr.  Randall,  who  was  then  in  the  height  of  his  successful  busi- 
ness career,  and  that  that  gentleman  gave  to  it  the  best  of  his  business  abiiity. 
Analyzing  each  proposition  in  turn,  he  formed  the  following  conclusions : 
The  first  plan  would  doubtless  have  proved  a  failure,  as  Mr.  Randall  argued, 
"  for  several  reasons.  Families  would  seldom  receive  children  directly  from 
the  poor  houses.  Many  of  these  children  have  been  neglected  and  need 
certain  training  before  they  can  be  successfully  placed  in  homes.  Unless 
carefully  watched  after  l>eing  placed  in  homes,  no  matter  how  carefully  the 
homes  are  selected,  great  injustice  to  the  children  must  often  result."  His 
study  of  the  orphan  asylum  plans  as  they  have  been  worked  out  in  New 
York  and  California,  under  the  contract  system,  turned  Mr.  Randall  against 
that  plan.  When  he  secured  statistics  of  the  general  lack  of  success  in  active 
life  by  institutionally  raised  children  he  could  not  be  won  to  that  plan  by  the 
persistent  Adrian  lobbyists  or  anyone  else.  The  special  institution  referred 
to  in  the  third  plan  was  more  on  the  line  of  what  the  industrial  schools  of 
this  state  have  since  become,  except  that  it  was  for  both  dependent  and  de- 
praved children.  Their  union  in  one  institvition  at  once  became  a  menace  to 
the  better  class.  From  a  union  of  all  these  Mr.  Randall  tinally  evolved  a 
plan  which  he  presented  to  the  committee  in  two  short  sections  : 

"  ist  The  state  assumes  guardianship  of  all  dependent  children  of 
sound  mind  and  body  between  ten  and  sixteen  years  of  age. 

"  2d.  There  shall  be  a  state  public  school  for  these  children  connected 
with  the  common  school  system,  to  be  their  temporary  educational  home  until 
they  can  be  placed  in  family  homes,  the  state  to  supervise  them  during 
minority." 

Mr.  Randall's  ideas  were  unanimously  endorsed  by  the  joint  committee, 
and  he  was  instructed  to  draft  a  bill  which  he  introduced  on  February  22. 
Tt  passed  both  houses  and  was  signed  by  Governor  Bagley  on  April  17,  1871. 
and  created  the  State  Public  School  on  substantially  the  same  lines  it  has 
always  followed — the  first  state  institution  of  its  kind  in  the  world.  After 
an  experience  of  thirty-four  years  the  greatest  change  from  Mr.  Randall's 
original  plan  is  the  reduction  of  the  age  limit  at  each  end.     Everyone  Ijelieves 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  177 

tlie  admission  of  the  babies  is  a  good  thing,  but  whether  the  limit  should 
have  been  ait  below  sixteen  years  is  a  debatable  problem. 

As  soon  as  the  bill  was  passed  Mr.  Randall  beg^n  a  campaign  to  secure 
the  institLition  for  Coldwatcr.  Jackson,  Flint,  Albion,  Holly,-  Adrian,  Brook- 
lyn. Northville,  Grand  Haven,  Plymouth,  St.  Johns,  Lansing,  North  Lan- 
sing, Portland,  Jonesvilte  and  Monroe  also  came  out  with  bids  for  its  location. 
The  late  Hon.  Harvey  Haynes  proposed  to  Mr.  Randall  to  take  equal  chances 
and  offer  the  board  of  location  the  sum  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  if 
the  school  should  be  located  here.  On  April  19,  1872,  John  J.  Bagley 
(afterward  governor),  .secretary  of  the  commission,  wrote  Mr.  Randall,  in 
behalf  of  the  commission,  offering  to  locate  here  if  the  city  would  donate  the 
Haynes  tract  and  seven  acres  east  of  it,  in  all  twenty-seven  acres,  and  give 
Ixmds  to  pay  into  the  treasury  of  the  institution  five  thousand  dollars  per 
vear  for  five  years.  It  took  a  lot  of  bard  work,  but  the  funds  were  secured 
and  the  offer  accepted. 

Tlie  .State  Board  of  Corrections  and  Charities  was  another  outgrowth  of 
Governor  Baldwin's  message  and  the  commission  above  referred  to.  By 
its  provisions  the  Governor  appointed  an  agent  of  this  board  in  each  county 
of  the  state.  Among  his  duties  this  officer  is  to  constantly  search  for  suitable 
homes  for  dependent  children  in  his  county,  and  is  the  legal  guardian  of 
children  from  the  State  Public  School  during  their  indenture  into  homes 
in  his  county.  The  legislature  has  since  provided  for  a  state  agent  who 
travels  from  county  to  county  assisting  county  agents  and  inspiring  them  to 
do  good  vrork.  The  work  of  the  school  has  been  to  reduce  the  per  capita  of 
dependent  children  of  the  state  to  a  very  large  extent,  while  the  population 
has  more  than  doubled.  The  institution  opened  in  1874.  During  that  year 
one  hundred  and  thirteen  boys  and  forty-seven  gir5s  were  received  and  caretl 
for.  a  total  of  one  hundred  and  sixty.  During  the  school  year  of  1903-04 
there  wer^  ninety-eight  boys  and  eighty-one  girls  received,  a  total  of  one 
hundred  and  seventy-nine.  The  total  number  of  boys  received  up  to  the  close 
of  the  year  1903-04  was  three  thousand  five  hundred  and  forty-two,  and  the 
total  number  of  giris  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  thirty-eight;  total 
number  of  children,  five  thousand  four  hundred  and  eighty  to  the  close  of 
that  fiscal  year,  which  is  the  last  published  report  of  the  institution. 

From  a  table  in  the  last  monthlv  report  of  the  clerk  of  the  mstitution 
to  the  board  the  following  figures  will  be  of  interest,  showing  the  disposition 
of  all  children  since  the  school  opened. 

Received  since  school  opened  in  May,  1874 57QO 

Tn  families  on  indenture  first  of  the  month - 1 1  Ig 

In  families  on  indenture  became  operative  dunng  month 2« 

In  families  on  trial    ■ ■  ■  ■■ -> 

Placed  in  families  and  residence  unknown  for  over  a  year. ...  10 


Total  from  whom  reports  are 


to  be  obtained 1207 


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ITS  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  '    ; 

Remaining'  in  the  institution  at  this  date   .  . 172 

Total  present  wards  of  the  school    , 1379 

Returned  to  ctninties  by  order  of  the  board 749 

Died  in   families  and  in  school    .  . ., 227 

Adopted  by  proceeding's  in  the  probate  courts , 687 

Have  become  of  legal  age   .  .  ., , ,^60 

Girls  married ,,  , ., , 186 

Have  been  restored  to  parents 589 

Have  become  self-supporting    1613 

Total    5790     5790 

Of  the  children  received  up  to  the  last  published  report  5,190  have  been 
white,  269  colored  and  21  Indian;  1,289  were  American  born,  1,067  foreign 
born  and  3,124  nationality  unknown;  384  were  orphans,  1,069  half  orphans. 
2,667  both  parents  living,  360  unknown  parentage.  Tlie  average  time  of 
residence  at  the  school  for  all  children  has  been  4.05  months.  The  success 
of  the  plan  is  e^'idenced  by  the  fact  that  of  all  the  children  indentured  into 
homes  3,017  have  had  to  be  indentured  but  once,  and  800  were  successfully 
placed  at  the  second  trial.  When  it  is  remembered  that  misfits  as  to  disposi- 
tion are  more  conducive  to  lack  of  success  both  as  to  the  home  and  the  child 
than  any  other  cause,  this  record  is  remarkable.  Of  the  854  children  visited 
in  homds  by  the  state  agent  in  the  year  previous  to  his  last  report  he  sum- 
marized 524  as  "  doing  well,"  223  as  "  doing  fairly  well  "  and  only  36  as 
"  doing  poorly."'  and  this  was  only  five  per  cent  of  those  visited. 

While  the  maintenance  of  children  in  orphan  asylums  costs  other  states 
from  fifty  to  one  hundred  dollars  per  year  for  each  child,  the  larg-e  number 
who  are  successfully  indentured  into  good  homes  by  the  "  Michigan  plan  " 
as  it  is  generally  known,  has  reduced  the  average  expense  to  the  state  per 
child  from  year  to  year  to  less  than  hventy-eight  dollars,  and  the  "  Michigan 
plan  "  places  children  in  that  best  of  all  places  for  their  sviccessful  growth  to 
the  idea!  manhood  and  womanhood,  the  homes  of  its  people. 

There  are  several  things  which  have  been  factors  in  the  success  of  the 
State  Public  School.  Among  them  has  been  the  careful  and  efficient  man- 
agement of  its  various  superintendents.  In  turn  they  have  been  Zeiotus 
Truesdell,  Lyman  P.  Alden,  John  N.  Foster,  Wesley  Sears,  Chancy  F.  New- 
kirk,  W.  H.'Wieand,  A.  N.  Woodruff.  A.  J.  Murray.  John  B.  Montgomery. 
The  latter  gentleman  has  held  the  position  since  December  15.  1S97.  The 
present  board  of  control  are  Governor  Fred  M.  Warner,  ex-officio;  Frank 
M.  Stewart,  Hillsdale;  John  D.  Shull,  Tecumseh;  and  Norman  A.  Reynolds, 
Coldwater. 

Of  course,  there  have  been  changes  since  the  school  started.  The 
original  plot  of  twenty-seven  acres  has  gradually  expanded  to  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres.  The  buildings  now  include  a  fine  administration  building, 
chapel  and  dining  room,  a  commodious  school  building,  nine  cottages,  hos- 
pital, power  house,  bams,  laundry,  etc.     The  last  invoice  of  state  property  at 


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C.ooj^lo 


BrancK  County  Infirmary 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  179 

the  institution  placed  the  huiklings  at  $159,111 ;  the  steam  heating  plant,  etc., 
at  $25,000;  the  land  at  $26,000.  and  the  whole  outfit  at  $259,950. 

Among  the  recent  changes  is  the  admission  of  babies,  which  has  now 
been  done  for  nearly  five  years,  at  first  onlv  in  a  limited  way,  but  of  late 
taking  all  that  have  come,  Tlie  experiment  has  been'  entirely  successful. 
Instead  of  these  waifs  being  promiscuously  given  away  and  drifting  to  no 
one  knows  where,  they  are  now  carefully  cared  for  and  their  interests 
properly  guarded.  Children  of  these  institutions  have  no  taint  upon  them, 
they  are  simply  dependent.  Many  of  them  have  gone  out  to  win  positions  of 
trust  and  honor,  and  several  are  leading  citizens  in  various  state  circles. 

The  Branch  County  Infirmary  for  dependent  people,  after  an  ex- 
istence of  nearly  forty  years,  stands  today  as  a  monument  to  the  wisdcsn 
and  sagacity  of  the  state  legislators  of  the  early  sixties,  who  enacted  the 
laws  providing  for  its  establishment  and  maintenance. 

Michigan  has  long  been  noted  for  her  charitable  institutions,  but  proba- 
bly no  public  institution  has  been  productive  of  more  genuine  good  than  this 
Branch  county  infirmary  for  the  poor  and  distressed  people  of  our  county. 

The  institution  is  located  just  north  of  the  city  on  the  Marshall  road. 
A  fine  farm  of  one  hundred  and  forty  acres  admirably  managed  provides  a 
goodly  share  of  the  table  supplies,  while  supporting  a  fine  herd  of  Jersey  and 
Durham  cattle  from  which  is  obtained  the  large  amount  of  milk  and  butter 
necessary  in  an  institution  of  this  kind.  Mr.  George  E.  Burdick,  the  keeper, 
manages  to  turn  over  to  the  treasurer  from  six  to  twelve  hundred  dollars  each 
year,  for  products  taken  from  the  farm.  The  main  building  is  a  large  three- 
story  brick  structure  of  forty  rooms  and  admirably  constructed  for  the  pur- 
pose intended.     The  arrangements  are  convenient  and  grounds  beautiful. 

The  main  building  contains  the  superintendent's  office  and  keeper's 
private  apartments.  On  the  first  floor  are  the  inmates'  dining-rooms,  pantries, 
sitting  rooms,  one  iarge  kitchen,  supplied  with  lai^e  range  and  steam  cookers. 
One  large  room  with  six  beds  is  expressly  for  the  old  ladies  that  are  not 
able  to  go  to  the  second  floors;  second  and  third  floors  are  arranged  as  dorma- 
tories,  while  the  basement  is  utilized  as  store  rooms  for  the  large  amount  of 
needed  supplies.  At  convenient  points  upon  the  grounds  are  the  hospital, 
power  house,  laundry,  vegetable  cellar  and  many  other  buildings  necessary 
for  the  management  of  an  institution  of  this  kind. 

The  law  provides  for  the  admission  of  inmates  to  the  institution  on  the 
certificate  of  one  of  the  superintendents  of  the  poor,  to  be  issued  only  to 
dependent  people  who  have  no  one  to  care  for  them.  Since  the  establishment 
of  the  infirmary  in  i860  over  two  thousand  persons  have  been  received  and 
cared  for;  there  are.  on  an  average,  forty  inmates.  A  physician  is  hired  by 
the  year,  Dr.  Legg,  of  Coldwater,  being  the  present  physician.  The  inmates 
are  well  looked  after,  comfortably  clothed  and  fed  on  good  wholesome  food. 
All  beds  throughout  the  in,sthution  are  iron  with  good  springs  and  mat- 
tresses and  plenty  of  bedding.  Those  that  are  able  to  work  are  furnished 
with  such  employment  as  he  or  she  is  able  to  perform. 


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180  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

The  main  building  and  hospitals  are  heated  by  steam.  An  electric  light- 
ing plant  has  just  been  installed,  which  adds  to  the  convenience  and  safety; 
also  three  fire  escapes  on  the  main  building. 

The  laundry  is  thoroughly  equipped  with  all  modern  machinery.  The 
plant  has  its  own  water  works  and  sewerage,  and  every  attention  is  paid  to 
sanitary  measures. 

Devotional  exercises  are  conducted  once  a  month  by  the  W.  C.  T,  U. 
and  are  looked  forward  to  with  a  great  deal  of  interest  by  the  inmates.  The 
holidays  are  always  observed  in  due  form.  The  infirmary  is  in  direct  charge 
of  a  board  of  superintendents.  Tlie  present  board  are  E.  F.  Rolpb,  Cold- 
water;  D.  W.  Dodge,  Union  City,  and  Dr.  E.  Blackman,  of  Quincy.  The 
keeper  and  matron,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  E.  Bnrdick,  have  complete  man- 
agement and  have  as  assistants  in  their  work  two  engineers,  one  farm  hand 
and  two  cooks.  Institutions  of  this  kind  are  being  looked  after  more  care- 
fully than  in  the  past,  their  development  and  management  are  increasing 
year  by  year,  so  that  they  are  now  ranking  with  state  and  other  large  institu- 
tifms  of  the  day. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  XXTII. 
LIBRARIES— ACTIVITY  IN  LITERATURE,  MUSIC,  ART. 

The  library  movement  in  this  county  may  be  said  to  have  had  its  prac- 
tical beginning  in  connection  with  the  schools,  there  being-  provisions  for  the 
estabhshment  of  school  libraries  in  the  first  scliooi  legislation.  The  pioneer 
conception  of  a  school  library  Avas,  like  most  things  of  that  time,  primitive 
and  crude.  It  is  related  that  the  citizens  of  one  district  in  the  county  set 
aside  £tie  dollars  to  "  establish  "  a  library  and  an  eqnal  amount  for  the  pur- 
chase of  a  suitable  case  in  which  to  keep  the  books.  Only  ten  dollars  each 
year,  in  fact,  could  by  law  be  set  aside  for  a  library.  This  was,  of  course, 
strictly  a  school  library,  and  as  such  a  part  of  school  apparatus;  it  would 
hardly  come  nnder  the  consideration  of  this  chapter. 

Later  the  law  was  enacted  providing  that  a  township  might  tax  itself  to 
maintain  a  township  library.  Union  City  has  a  township  library  which  as 
yet  provides  all  the  library  facilities  to  be  found  in  that  village  except  the 
school  libraries.  In  some  villages  of  the  state  the  township  library  is  in  a 
flourishing  condition,  but  as  a  rule  the  township  library'  does  not  fill  the  place 
that  the  makers  of  the  law  propose<l. 

Bronson. 

Eronson  has  a  townshi]>  library  which  has  become,  largely  through  the 
efforts  of  the  ladies  of  the  village,  an  institution  worthy  of  the  name.  "  The 
Free  Public  Library  of  Bronson  "  had  its  beginning  in  a  "  Ladies'  Library 
Association,"  of  which,  in  the  catalogtie  of  1901,  the  following  are  named 
as  members:  Mrs.  Mary  Powers  Gillam  (nee  Shepard),  Mrs.  Nellie  Corey. 
Mrs.  Warren  Byrns,  Mrs.  J.  Decatur  Driggs  (nee  Flanders),  and  Mrs.  E.  C. 
Stevens  and  others.  The  association  was  begun  about  1880,  and  a  reorgani- 
zation and  change  of  name  occurred  in  1888.  Mrs.  Corey  was  the  first 
librarian.  In  1901  a  catalogue  was  printed,  whh  an  ordinary  sized  octavo 
page  of  seventy-two  pages.  Previous  to  this  the  catalogue  was  printed  on 
both  sides  of  large  cards  about  12  by  16  inches.  The  number  of  volumes 
in  the  Bronson  library  in  1901  was  about  2800.  The  library  is  located  in  the 
town  hall  of  Bronson  township,  and,  as  stated,  is  a  township  and  not  a  village 
librarv.  It  is  open  every  Saturday  from  2  to  5  p.  m.,  and  also  in  the  evening. 
Mr.  Frank  Keyes,  Miss  Louise  Stevens,  Miss  Helen  Powers,  Mrs.  Mary  Akers 
have  been  librarians,  and  the  librarian  since  April  i,  1901,  has  been  Mrs. 
Josephine  (Bumell)  Green.  The  board  of  trustees  in  igoi  were  Henry  P. 
Mowry,  John  R.  Bonnev,  \'inton  H.  Shaw,  Clinton  Himebaugh,  John  D. 
Schurtz,  Nathaniel  L.  Holmes. 


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182  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COU.NTY 

Ladies'  Library  Association  of  Quincy. 

About  eig-ht  years  ago  Miss  Frey.  a  teacher  in  the  pubhc  schools,  sug- 
gested the  idea  which  was  worked  out  and  resulted  in  the  organization  of 
the  Ladies'  Library  Association.  In  January,  1898,  the  ladies  of  the  village 
held  a  sociai  at  which  each  one  contributed  one  volume  for  the  nucleus  of  tlie 
library,  and  since  then  the  members,  who  now  number  about  seventy-five, 
have  contributed  an  annual  due  of  fifty  cents,  and  besides  have  given  enter- 
tainments of  various  kinds  to  raise  revenue.  A  small  amount  is  also  derived 
from  the  five-cent  fee  charged  each  outsider  who  takes  a  book. 

There  is  no  question  of  the  success  of  the  association's  efforts.  In 
almost  every  case  the  mimermts  Carnegie  and  other  public  libraries  of  the 
country  have  started  from  the  nucleus  established  by  a  local  association  sim- 
ilar to  that  in  Quincy,  and  the  work  now  being'  done  by  the  ladies  of  Quincy 
will  bear  fruit  through  all  the  future  years,  Tlie  library  now  contains  750 
volume.^,  mostly  fiction.  Room  for  the  books  was  first  furnished  by  Mr. 
W.  H,  Lockerby,  they  were  next  kept  for  a  time  in  rented  quarters,  until  the 
State  Bank  donated  a  room  in  the  rear  of  their  building,  where  the  collection 
is  now  located. 

Mrs.  M.  S.  Segur  has  been  president  of  the  association  since  its  incep- 
tion. Mrs.  Rodney  Twadeli  was  the  first  vice  president,  Mrs.  Charles 
Houghtaling'  being  her  successor  and  the  present  occupant  of  the  office.  Mrs. 
Walton  Barnes  is  secretary,  and  Mrs,  W.  H.  Lockerby  treasurer.  The  first 
librarian  was  Mrs.  E.  C.  Dove,  then  Mrs.  R.  D.  Rawson,  and  Mrs,  Segur  at 
present  acts  in  that  capacity. 

'  Coi.DWATER  Public  Library. 

The  history  of  the  Coldwater  Library,  which  as  an  object  of  civic  pride 
deserves  to  rank  first  among  the  city's  institutions  since  few  cities  of  the  size 
anywhere  in  the  country  have  larger  and  better  equipped  libraries,  illustrates 
a  praiseworthy  combination  of  associate  enterprise,  of  individual  liberality 
and  municipal  public  spirit. 

The  history  of  the  Coldivater  library  goes  back  iorty  years,  to  an  effort 
of  the  ladies  of  the  city  to  conduct  a  lecture  course.  Money  for  this  purpose 
was  raised  to  the  amount  of  five  hundred  dollars  by  a  series  at  home  enter- 
tainments. The  public  lecture  movement  having  by  that  time  lost  favor,  the 
lecture  association,  in  1869,  resolved  itself  into  a  Indies'  Library  Association. 
The  charter  members  of  this  association  were:  Margaret  L,  Powers,  Mari- 
etta K.  Loveridge,  Georgiana  L,  Cutter.  Emeline  Barber,  Mary  A.  Wade, 
Mariet  Smith,  Harriet  D.  Morgan,  Mary  C,  Champion,  Mary  Shipman, 
Alma  I,ewis,  Alice  C.  Randall.  Lizzie  P,  Woodward,  Ardessa  Crippen.  Helen 
L.  Lanphere.  Harriet  L.  Mockridge,  Olivia  Safford,  Josephine  P.  McGowan, 
Adeline  M.  Wing.  Sallie  G.  Nichols.  Mary  A.  Rose,  Arn  Van  Valkenburgh. 
These  may  be  considered  the  founders  of  the  public  library  in  Coldwater, 

Besides  the  money  which  had  accumulated  from  the  lecture  movement, 
the  city  was  canvassed  for  subscriptions  to  annual  memberships  in  the  library 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  1^3 

association,  and  tweiity-three  life  memberships  were  also  sold  at  thirty  dollars 
each.  This  gave  the  association  an  original  capital  of  twelve  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars. 

Fifteen  hundred  dollars  were  expended  during  the  first  year  for  books, 
and  by  the  end  of  1870  there  were  twelve  hundred  volumes  in  the  library. 
The  first  Hbrary  quarters  were  the  parlors  of  the  late  Dr.  Beach's  home  on 
East  Chicago  street,  which  he  donated  to  the  association.  In  1874  he  pre- 
sented the  association  with  a  building  in  the  rear  of  his  dwelling  and  a  five- 
year  lease  on  the  ground.  Several  hundred  dollars  were  spent  in  making  the 
building  convenient  for  Us  purpose.  Thus,  by  1880,  the  Ladies'  Library  As- 
sociation of  Cofdwater  was  in  a  flourishing  condition,  having  a  library' of 
two  thousand  volumes,  a  steady  membership  and  having  been  untaxed  by 
rent  and  other  heavy  expenses. 

Besides  the  ladies'  library,  there  was  a  school  library  of  about  a  thousand 
volumes.  This  had  accumulated  in  regular  course  from  scliool  tax  devoted 
to  that  purpose,  and  the  books  were  kept  in  the  schoolhouses. 

Tn  March,  1880,  the  Coldwater  city  council,  in  accordance  with  an  act 
of  the  legislature  providing  that  public  libraries  might  be  organized  and 
maintainetl  by  townships  and  municipalities,  adopted  a.  resolution  providing 
for  the  establishment  of  a  city  library,  the  same  to  be  free  to  all  citizens, 
and  to  be  in  charge  of  a  library  Ixiard  of  nine  citizens,  who  were 
to  have  complete  control  of  the  library.  Tlie  act  of  the  city  coiincil 
was  part  of  the  general  plan  for  a  combination  and  enlargement  of  the  city's 
library  facilities.  The  legislature  passed  a  special  law  allowing  the  school 
library  to  be  transferred  to  the  city  library,  and  the  Ladies'  Association  also 
transferred  their  property  and  pri\'ileges  to  the  public  library,  thereby  losing 
their  existence  through  integration  with  a  larger  institution.  The  consolida- 
tion of  the  two  libraries  was  effected,  and  when  the  first  library  board  took 
charge  the  history  of  the  present  library  began. 

There  was  an  excellent  nucleus  of  books,  but  otherwise  the  growth  of 
the  library  to  its  present  proportions  has  taken  place  since  the  creation  of  the 
public  hbrary  in  1880.  Ahnost  at  the  beginning  of  its  e>:istence  the  board 
procured  the  fine  site  on  F,ast  Chicago  street  just  east  of  the  public  square, 
hut  there  were  no  funds  with  which  to  erect  a  suitable  building,  and  a  spe- 
cial appropriation  of  public  credit  for  that  purpose  was  out  of  the  question. 
The  library  had  outgrown  its  quarters,  and  its  usefulness  was  seriously  im- 
paired. In  March.  1885,  the  niunber  of  volumes  had  increased  to  5.688,  and 
the  value  of  the  institution  depended  on  the  kind  of  building  that  should 
shelter  it. 

The  public  spirit  of  a  successful  business  man  could  find  no  better  expres- 
sion and  monument  than  in  such  a  structure  as  the  Edwin  R.  Clarke  Library 
Building,  The  late  Edwin  R,  Clarke  came  to  Coldwater  in  1850,  so  that  he 
belongs  among  the  pioneers,  and  in  that  year  estabHshed  the  drug  business 
on  the  corner  of  Chicago  and  Monroe  streets  which,  at  the  same  location,  has 
been  increased  and  has  been  successfully  conducted  to  the  present  time.  Mr. 
Clarke's  ability  and  success  as  a  merchant  were  equalled  by  his  interest  in  his 


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184,  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

city.  He  did  not  give  recklessly  without  thought  of  results;  but  exercised 
the  same  care  in  that  direction  which  had  made  his  business  prosperous. 
With  mature  forethought,  therefore,  he  offered  to  build  a  home  for  tlie 
Coldwater  public  library,  and  at  the  same  time  submitted  plans  of  the  build- 
ing which  he  proposed  to  erect.  His  generous  offer  was  accepted.  The 
building  was  begun  in  the  summer  of  1886,  and  on  December  29,  1886,  the 
formal  presentation  and  dedication  were  celebrated  in  the  Tibbits  opera 
house.  It  is  proper  to  quote  the  words  with  which  Mr.  Clarke  presented  the 
building  to  the  city:  "  When  I  first  came  to  Michigan,"  he  said,  "  the  coun- 
try' was  new.  The  people  generally  were  in  moderate  circumstances,  and 
f)ooks  and  reading  matter  were  not  pientiful.  I  well  remember  the  great 
privilege  it  seemed  and  the  kindness  I  felt  it  to  be  when  some  of  those  early 
settlers  gave  me  access  to,  and  the  use  of,  their  limited  collection  of  books. 
Recollections  of  those  early  days  and  the  desire  to  express  tlie  friendship  I 
feel  toward  a  community  in  which  I  have  lived  so  long,  induced  me  to  offer 
to  build  for  you  a  library  building." 

The  library  is  supported  by  the  fines  which  formerly  went  to  the  school 
library  and  also  a  half-mill  tax  on  city  property.  From  six  thoaisand  volumes 
in  1885  the  main  library  floor  is  now  overcrowded  with  sixteen  thousand 
volumes,,  and  there  are  hundreds  of  documents  and  other  material  stored  in 
the  lecture  room  on  the  second  floor.  The  most  notable  single  addition  was 
the  private  library  of  the  late  H,  C.  Lewis.  Among  the  three  thousand  vol- 
umes of  the  collection  are  many  costly  and  valuable  works  on  art.  Mr.  Lewis 
was  also  a  connoisseur  in  fine  bindings,  and  the  examples  which  he  gathered 
at  much  cost  of  money  and  effort  are  also  preserved  in  the  library. 

Miss  Mary  A.  Eddy,  who  had  been  for  some  time  librarian  of  the  La- 
dies' Association,  was  appointed  librarian  of  the  public  library  July  6,  1881.. 
She  was  succeeded  by  Miss  Florence  M.  Hoimes,  who  has  held  the  position 
of  librarian  since  1895.  The  usefulness  of  the  library  to  the  public  has  been 
largely  due  to  their  capable  and  intelligent  direction.  The  board  of  directors 
at  this  writing  are  the  following :  Z.  G.  Osborn,  president ;  C.  U.  Champion, 
vice  president;  H.  H.  Barlow,  secretary;  and  Mrs.  G.  Van  Valkenburgh,  M. 
W.  Wimer,  Mrs.  Margaret  U.  Clarke,  Mrs.  Alma  M.  Cunningham,  Will- 
iam Wilson  and  Elmer  E.  Palmer. 

Activity  in  Literature,  Art  and  Ml-sic. 
An  institution  that  for  a  number  of  years  did  much  to  foster  an  in- 
terest and  taste  in  the  best  works  of  art  was  the  Lewis  Art  Gallery,  which 
was  established  by  the  late  H.  C.  Lewis  some  time  during  the  sixties.  The 
collection  had  been  gathered  during  the  sojourn  of  Mr.  Lewis  and  his  wife 
abroad,  especially  in  Italv,  and  consisted  of  a  number  of  originals  and  copies 
of  well  known  works  of'  the  ancient  and  modern  schools.  To  afford  proper 
quarters  for  this  collection  Mr.  Lewis  erected,  just  west  of  his  residence,  a 
gallery,  which  is  the  south  portion  of  the  present  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building;  and 
when  the  collection  continued  to  grow,  he  built  an  addition,  forty  by  forty 
feet,  on  the  north  side  of  the  first  gallery.     Some  time  after  the  death  of  Mr. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  185 

Lewis  the  collection  of  paintings  was  removed  to  Ann  Arbor,  having  been 
bequeathed  to  the  State  University.  The  Lewis  Art  Gallery  building  was 
afterwards  remodeled  to  some  extent  and  has  since  served  as  the  home  of 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

Writers,  Artists  and  Musical  Organizations. 

The  number  of  individuals  belonging  to  Branch  county  who  have  been 
original  producers  in  the  fields  of  literature  and  the  fine  arts  cannot  be  said 
to  be  large.  And  yet  comparison  with  other  communities  might  reveal  it  as 
a  fact,  that  in  proportion  to  its  population  its  number  of  producers  in  these 
fields  is  as  high  as  the  average  in  our  state  or  in  the  entire  country.  There 
are  not  many  Branch  county  people  who  have  written  books,  or  painted  fine 
pictures,  or  composed  music,  or  chiseled  works  of  sculpture,  or  designe{l 
artistic  structures  as  architects.  The  large  cities  with  their  wealth  and  social 
stimulus  and  culture  draw  to  themselves  the  talented  and  ambitious  indi- 
viduals. Branch  county  has  only  one  city,  and  that  with  a  population  only 
a  little  more  than  6,000.  The  county  has  no  college,  while  Hillsdale  on  the 
east  of  it  has  Hillsdale  College,  Calhoun  on  the  north  has  Albion  College. 
;md  Kalamazoo  cornering  on  the  northwest  has  its  ICalamazoo  College.  The 
three  counties.  Branch,  St.  Joseph,  and  Cass,  so  similar  in  many  respects,  as 
we  have  noted,  are  alike  also  in.  this,  that  no  one  of  them  has  the  scholarship 
and  culture  of  a  college  within  its  borders. 

The  classes  of  persons  in  every  community  who  are  naturally  tnost  in- 
clined to  write  out  their  thoughts  and  have  them  printed  for  others  to  read 
are  its  editors,  ministers,  lawyers,  physicians  and  teachers.  Besides  these, 
every  American  community  as  large  as  a  county  is  likely  to  have  individuals 
in  it  who  make  writing  for  the  reading  world  a  part  of  their  work.  Branch 
county  has  persons  in  it  belonging  to  every  one  of  these  classes,  whose  writ- 
ing has  been  printed  and  has  gone  into  the  reading  matter  of  the  people  of  the 
county  or  of  a  wider  public. 

Of  course  the  class  who  give  the  most  reading  matter  to  the  public  are 
the  editors  of  the  newspapers.  From  the  very  beginning  Branch  county  has 
had  men  among  the  editors  of  its  papers,  who,  besides  giving  to  the  people 
a  large  and  well  arranged  amount  of  local  news,  have  done  strong,  thought- 
ful, and  effective  editorial  writing,  men  too  whose  work  has  something  of 
real  literary  quality  in  it.  The  names  of  most  of  these  editorial  writers  have 
been  mentioned  already  in  treating  of  the  press  of  the  county,  but  a  sketch  of 
its  literary  activities  requires  allusion  at  least  also  here  to  the  editors  as  a  class, 
if  not  some  particular  mention  of  persons. 

First  in  the  list  of  editors  who  have  done  large  and  influential  work  in 
the  county  in  putting  their  thought  into  language  stands  the  name  of  Albert 
Chandler.  For  eight  years  from  April  6,  i&l-i,  he  wrote  something  every 
week  in  the  Coldwater  SenHnel  that  the  people  of  the  county  read.  To  re- 
cord the  beginning,  however,  of  this  kind  of  literary  production  in  the  coun- 
ty requires  that  we  go  back  four  years  farther  to  the  year  1837  and  into  the 
extinct  little  village  of  Branch.    There  Charles  P.  West  put  his  own  editorials 


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186  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

into  the  Michigan  Star  with  now  and  then  a  brighter  and  keener  article  from 
the  pen  of  his  sister.  Miss  Laura  West.  Between  1S50  and  i860  Ehhii  B. 
Pond,  H.  B.  Stillman,  Seth  W.  Driggs,  Col.  H.  C.  Gilbert,  Judge  John  H. 
Gray,  and  his  son,  John  H.  Gray,  Jr.,  sent  from  Coldwater  week  by  week 
the  product  of  their  pens,  a  product  exhibiting  no  low  literary  quality,  Dur- 
ij.g  the  next  decade,  i860  to  1870,  Coldwater  still  continued  to  do  almost  the 
entire  editorial  writing  done  in  the  county.  The  men  who  did  it  were :  Jonas 
H.  McGowan,  C.  P.  Benton,  F.  V.  Smith,  W.  G.  Moore.  Major  David  J. 
Easton,  P.  P.  Nichols,  and  Frank  L.  Skeels. 

The  man  who  ranks  as  the  Nestor  of  Branch  county  editors,  both  by 
reason  of  his  long  service  and  the  large  amount  and  high  character  of  his 
work,  is  Abram  J.  Aldrich.  Beginning  with  the  weekly  in  1873  and  going  on 
from  1875  with  a  semi-weekly,  for  twenty  years  continuously  he  put  his 
thought  week  by  week  upon  the  pages  of  his  paper.  Behind  his  thought  was 
the  scholarship  of  a  university  graduate,  a  wide  range  of  reading,  and  high 
moral  ideals.  His  thought  had  substance,  insight,  breadth  and  moral  earn- 
estness, and  his  language  had  vigor  and  aptness  of  phrase.  The  following 
extract  from  his  editorial  in  the  first  number  of  the  Semi-Weekly  Republican, 
issued  August  3.  1875.  is  typical  of  the  man  and  his  paper,  and  is  an  his- 
torical example  of  the  kind  of  literature  produced  by  a  Branch  county  man 
and  read  by  Branch  county  people  for  twenty  years.  Tlie  editorial  was  head- 
ed, "Independent  Journalism,"  and  contained  the  following:  "We  hear 
more  about  independent  journalism  in  these  clays  than  ever  before.  It  is  said 
that  one  with  God  is  a  majority.  True.  Butoftentimesi  that  one  who  imag- 
ines himself  on  God's  side  may  be  mistaken ;  and,  at  all  events,  he  most  gen- 
erally finds  the  majority  of  voters  against  him  when  it  ctrnies  to  an  election. 
■'"  *  *  At  this  time  in  our  poHtical  history  we  are  attaining  the  point 
where  but  two  parties  exist.  While  the  editor  must  choose  the  fold  to  which 
he  shall  belong,  it  is  not  his  duty  to  blindly  accept  the  following  of  any  per- 
son who  may  for  the  nonce  be  the  recognized  party  leader.  The  Republican 
has  always  been  and  still  continues,  the  advocate  of  Republican  principles." 

In  the  years  following  1870,  besides  by  Mr.  Aldrich,  editorial  writing  has 
been  done  in  Coldwater  by  Jefferson  S.  Conover,  Calvin  J,  Thorpe,  Henry  C. 
Bailey  and  his  son,  Willis  C.  Bailey,  S.  H.  Egabroad,  Frederic  Martin 
Townsend,  Major  George  H.  Turner,  Charles  S.  Newell,  John  S.  Evans, 
Simon  B.  Kitchel  and  his  son,  Horace  Kitchel.  The  writings  of  C.  J.  Thorpe 
were  characterized  by  scholarship,  scientific  ideas  and  literary  form;  those 
of  Major  Turner  by  historical  and  classical  allusion  and  by  rhetorical  and 
even  poetical  style.  About  1870  the  villages  of  the  county  too  began  creat- 
ing a  good  quality  of  literary  product  in  their  local  papers.  In  1869  David 
J.  Easton  left  the  sanctum  of  the  Republican  in  Coldwater  and  set  up  that  of 
the  Register  in  Union  City,  where  he  went  on  to  the  end  of  his  long  and  in- 
fluential editorial  career.  In  1S78  Colonel  Cornelius  VanRennselaer  Pond 
began  printing  his  vigorous  English  in  the  Quincy  Herald.  In  1880  the 
Bronson  Journal  began.     Mr.  C,  W.  Owen  was  at  one  time  editor  of  that 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  187 

paper;  later  he  did  editorial  work  in  Coldwater,  and  afterwards  he  made  the 
Ouiiicy  Herald  the  rnedium  of  his  ideas. 

In  addition  to  the  strictly  editorial  literature  contained  in  the  press  o£ 
the  county,  its  editors  have  always  opened  their  columns  generoiisiy  to  others. 
The  papers  of  the  county  during  the  past  forty  years  thus  show  on  their  pages 
sermons  of  resident  ministers,  and  well  written  articles  on  varied  subjects 
by  the  thinking,  educated  men  and  women  of  the  county.  Two  persons 
especially  have  done  a  large  amount  of  this  work  in  the  county  papers  dur- 
ing the  past  fifteen  years,  Mr.  C.  J.  Thorpe  and  Mr,  Charles  W.  Bennett, 
the  former  on  economic  and  philological  subjects,  the  latter  on  geological  and 
theological. 

Besides  the  literary  product  that  has  thus  been  printed  week  by  week 
upon  the  pages  of  its  papers,  books  have  been  written  by  some  of  the  natives 
and  residents  of  the  county.  We  name  the  following  in  this  connection : 
Mrs.  Fannie  E.  Newberry,  Mrs.  Ceha  Parker  Woolley,  Miss  Ida  Dandridge 
Bennett.  Mr.  Allen  Dyer  Shaffmaster,  Rev.  Robert  W.  Van  Schoick.  D.  D., 
Mrs.  Clara  Dilhngham  Pierson.  and  Miss  Frances  Alice  Kellor, 

Mrs.  Newberry,  Miss  Bennett,  and  Mr.  Schaffmaster  have  re,sided  in 
the  county  for  years,  and  these,  with  Dr.  Van  Schoick,  wrote  their  books 
while  residents  of  the  county.  The  parents  of  Mrs.  Woolley  have  been  resi- 
dents of  the  county  continuously  since  1S48.  Though  she  herself  was  born 
in  Toledo,  0.,  nearly  all  her  early  life  was  spent  in  Coldwater  and  her  edu- 
cation was  received  there.  Mrs.  Pierson  and  Miss  Kellor  were  born  in  Cold- 
water  and  there  grew  to  adult  years. 

In  the  Coldwater  Scmi^Weckiy  Republican  of  April  4,  1876.  there  is 
printed  upon  the  first  page  a  story  with  this  heading:  "Written  for  the 
Republkaiw.  '  A  Lordly  Soul,'  by  Fannie  E.  Newberry."  In  1891  Mrs.  New- 
berry began  putting  hei'  work  into  book  form.  Since  then  she  has  written  the 
following  fifteen  volumes:  "The  Impress  of  a  Gentlewoman,"  "Brian's 
Home,"  "Comrades,"  "Transplanted,"  "The  Odd  One,"  "Sara:  A  Prin- 
cess," "  All  Aboard,"  "  House  of  Hollister,"  "  Everyday  Honor,"  "  The 
Wrestler  of  Philippi,"  "  Strange  Conditions,"  "  A  Son's  Victory,"  "  Bubbles," 
"Not  for  Profit,"  "  Joyce's  Investment," 

Miss  Ida  Bennett  has  been  writing  regularly  for  several  magazines  since 
1895.  Among  them  are :  The  Woman's  Home  Companion,  American  Homes 
and  Gardetis,  Indoors  and  Out,  Tozvn  and  Country,  Ladies'  Home  Journal, 
and  Suburban  Life.  In  1893  she  wrote  "  The  Flower  Garden,  A  Handbook 
of  Practical  Garden  Lore,"  which  was  published  by  McClure,  Phillips  &  Co., 
of  New  York,  as  a  book  of  282  pages  with  numerous  illustrations. 

Mr.  Shaffmaster's  home  is  in  Bronson,  where  he  is  editor  of  the  Bron- 
son  Journal.  In  1904  he  prepared  for  the  press  "  Hmiting  in  the  Land  of 
Hiawatha,  or  the  Hunting  Trips  of  an  Editor."  It  made  a  volume  of  220 
pages  with  40  illustrations  as  published  by  M,  A.  Donohue  &  Co.  of  Chi- 
cago. 

Rev.  Dr.  Van  Sclioick  while  a  resident  of  Coldwater  attended  the 
World's  Fourth  Sunday   School  Convention  in  Jerusalem  in  1904.     In  con- 


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188  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

iiection  with  his  journey  he  wrote  articles  or  letters,  which  were  first  printed 
in  the  Coldwater  Reporter  and  afterward  pubhshed  in  book  form  by  Eaton  & 
Mains,  making  a  book  of  253  pagea  with  25  illustrations. 

Branch  county  people  have  noted  with  interest  and  with  allowable  pride 
the  work  that  has  been  done  and  the  books  that  have  been  written  by  Mrs. 
Woolley  jti  Chicago,  Mrs.  Pierson  in  Stanton,  Mich.,  and  Miss  Kellor  in 
New  York  City,  and  they  may  claim  some  share  of  influence  in  originating 
and  developing  the  abilities  which  have  already  wrought  such  results.  As  to 
their  literary  productions  we  record  the  following:  Mrs.  Woolley  wrote  in 
1897  "Rachel  Armstrong,  or  Love  and  Theology,"  in  1889  "A  Girl  Gradu- 
ate," in  1892  "  Roger  Hunt."  Mrs.  Pierson  since  1897  has  written  and  pub- 
lished through  E.  P.  Dutton  &  Co.  of  New  York,  ten  volumes :  "  Among  the 
Meadow  People."  "  Among  the  Forest  People,"  "  Among  the  Farmyard  Peo- 
ple," "  Among  the  Pond  People,"  "  Among  the  Night  People,"  "  Notebook 
of  an  Adopted  Mother,"  "  Dooryard  Stories,"  "  Tales  of  a  Poultry  Farm," 
"  Three  Little  Millers,"  and  the  "  Millers  of  Pencroft."  Miss  Kellor  wrote 
in  1901  "  Experimental  Sociology,  Descriptive  and  Analytical,"  which  was 
published  by  the  Macmillan  Company,  and  in  1904  "  Out  of  Work,  a  Study 
of  Employment  Agencies,"  published  by  G.  P.  Putnams'  Sons. 

Early  in  1876  there  was  in  Coldwater  "  Tlie  Woman's  Club,"  which 
studied  especially  United  States  history  in  preparation  for  the  interests  and 
observances  of  the  Centennial  year.  In  1892  and  1893,  largely  through  the 
suggestion  and  direction  of  the  librarian  of  the  Coldwater  Public  Library, 
Miss  Mary  A.  Eddy,  the  Columbian  Woman's  Club  was  organized,  dividing 
itself  into  several  "  circles."  This  club  has  continued  its  existence  and  con- 
nected itself  with  the  Michigan  Federation. 

The  Twentieth  Century  Club  of  Coldwater  was  organized  and  incorpor- 
ated April  20,  1892.  Its  object  was  stated  to  be  "  intellectual,  scientific  and 
esthetic  culture."  The  membership  has  been  composed  of  men  and  women 
and  has  been  limhed  to  forty  in  number.  It  has  regularly  held  its  meetings 
every  two  weeks  in  each  year  between  Oct.  i  and  June  15.  The  presidents 
of  the  club  have  been:  Caleb  D.  Randall,  George  H.  Turner,  ex -Governor 
Cyms  G.  Luce,  and  Milton  W.  Wimer.  In  Batavia  township  the  Bay 
View  Reading  Club  has  been  active  for  more  than  ten  years. 

The  fortnightly  Musical  Club  of  Coldwater  is  a  strong  organization  of 
the  women  of  the  city.  The  choirs  of  the  several  churches  with  their  or- 
ganists have  done  much  to  promote  musical  culture  everywhere  in  the  county. 
George  W.  Klock  has  been  an  organist  and  teacher  of  music  in  Coldwater 
for  more  than  twenty-five  years.  For  a  still  longer  time  Dr.  William  L.  An- 
drews was  a  choir  leader  in  the  city,  and  by  his  enthusiasm  and  unselfish  de- 
votion to  musical  work  probably  did  more  than  any  other  one  man  in  the 
county  in  creating  a  popular  interest  in  music. 

The  Lewis  Art  Gallery,  already  spoken  of,  left  some  of  its  works  in 
Coldwater  and  thus  has  continued  somewhat  to  help  maintain  an  interest  in 
painting  and  sculpture.  Coldwater  has  no  sculptural  nor  architectural  mon- 
ument to  its  soldiers  of  the  Civil  war.     In  this  regard  Ouincy  and  Union  City 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  189 

excel  the  county  seat,  each  having  erected  a  worthy  monument  to  its  heroes 
of  1S61-65.  The  most  imposing  building  in  the  county  is  the  county  court- 
house. One  of  Coldwater's  own  citizens  was  the  architect  of  this  edifice, 
Mr.  Marcellus  H.  Parker.  Mr.  Parker  also  designed  the  main  building  and 
five  cottages  of  the  State  Public  School,  the  Lewis  Art  Gallery,  the  Bap- 
tist church,  and  the  Edwin  R.  Clarke  Public  Library  building. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  XXrV. 

RELIGION  AND  CHURCH  ORGANIZATIONS. 

Religion  and  its  institutions  and  organizations  have  been  a  prominent 
part  o£  mankind's  life  everywhere  in  historic  time.  The  religion  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States  is,  of  course,  in  general  the  Christian  religion  in 
distinction  from  Mohammedanism  and  Buddhism.  Of  the  three  great  forms 
of  Chr!,=tianity,  the  Roman,  the  Greek  and  the  Protestant,  6n\y  the  two,  the 
Roman  and  the  Protestant,  have  entered  in  any  organized  form  into  the  life 
of  the  people  of  Branch  county. 

Religious  feeling  and  thought  express  tliemselves  most  conspicuously 
in  church  organizatioois  and  church  activity.  We  shall  endeavor  to  give 
a  brief  account  of  the  church  organizations  in  the  county  in  which  the 
Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic  belief  of  its  people  has  been  embodied.  Prot- 
estantism in  its  history  has  differentiated  itself  into  its  well  known  denomin- 
ations, having  in  every  region  their  local  churches,  in  one  or  both  senses  of 
the  word  church,  that  is,  a  social  organization  only,  or  a  social  organization 
and  a  building  in  which  it  carries  on  its  activities.  We  shall  group  together 
all  the  churches  in  the  county  connected  with  each  denomination,  following 
mainly  the  chronological  order  in  their  treatment. 

There  have  always  been  in  the  churches  of  the  county  the  forms  of 
church  activity  common  in  the  several  denominations  throughout  the  world. 
Every  seventh  day,  Sunday  or  Saturday,  lias  been  a  day  for  gathering'  of 
men,  women  and  children  in  their  church  buildings  for  their  various  exercises 
of  "  worship,"  or  "  divine  service,"  and  for  Sunday-schools  in  which  the 
Bible  and  Christian  life  and  history  have  been  studied  and  taught.  One  or 
more  evenings  of  the  week  have  been  used  for  prayer  and  conference  meet- 
ings, for  improvement  in  church  music,  for  study  of  the  Bible  and  Christian- 
ity and  for  social  fellowship.  The  church  buildings  have  thus  been  centers 
in  which  a  large  amount  of  associative  activity  has  been  carried  on,  producing 
a  large  amount  of  thought,  feeling,  determination,  and  action  of  the  kind  com- 
monly spoken  of  as  religious,  moral,  ethical  and  spiritual.  At  the  same 
time  all  this  activity  and  all  these  forms  of  life  have  been  essentially  social, 
and  have  exerted  a  continuous  and  powerful  influence  in  many  w^ays  upon  the 
life  of  the  people  of  our  county. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Churches. 
The  first  denomination  to  begin  an  organized  church  life  in  the  countv 
was  the  Methodist  Episcopal.     In  Allen  Tibbits'  log  house  in  Coldwater,  June 
19,   1832,  Rev.  E.  H.   Piicher,  of  the  Tecumseh  circuit,  organized  the  first 


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lA)  .MKTHdIHST   l.-HrKrH. 


CoUw.ler,  kuill  1836-38 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNT!'  lyi 

Methodist  class  in  Branch  county,  its  charter  membership  being  Allen  Tib- 
bits,  who  was  also  the  local  preacher;  Caroline  M.  Tibbits.  his  wife;  Joseph 
Hanchett  and  wife  Nancy,  and  Amelia  Harrison.  These,  the  founders  of 
Coldwater  village,  were  likewise  the  founders  of  Methodism  in  the  county. 
Allen  Tibbits  preached  the  first  sermon  in  his  log-  house  in  the  montli  of 
July  following.  Early  Methodism  in  Coldwater  was  represented  by  stich 
well  known  families  as  the  Crippens,  Dr.  W.  B.  Sprague,  Dr.  D.  Lii'tlefield, 
Thomas  Daugherty,  James  Fisk  and  Rev.  Francis  Smith. 

.The  class  was  a  mission  until  1836,  when  it  became  a  self-supporting 
circuit,  and  in  June,  1838,  the  first  church  building,  a  wooden  structure,  and 
standing  on  the  site  of  the  present  Methodist  church  on  North  Marshall 
street,  was  dedicated.  This  served  as  the  church  home  for  thirty  years  and  is 
illustrated  on  another  page.  January  26,  1869,  Rev.  F.  M.  Eddy  dedicated 
the  present  brick  church,  which,  with  an  addition  constructe<l  in  1878,  has 
served  the  Methodist  congregation  until  the  present  time.  The  building  as 
first  constructed  cost  $25,000.  In  1878  the  pipe  organ  was  installed,  this 
lieing  the  gift  of  Alonzo  M'"aterman  and  his  daughters,  Mrs.  Mary  C.  Fenn 
and  Miss  Allie  A.  Waterman. 

Beginning  with  the  Rev.  Allen  Tibbits,  some  of  the  best  known  pastors 
who  have  served  this  church  were:  William  Sprague,  Peter  Sabin,  in  1836; 
Benjamin  Sabin,  I.  Cogshall,  in  1875-6,  and  in  more  recent  years  J.  O.  Buell, 
A.  P.  Moors.  D.  F.  Barnes,  D.  D.,  H.  M.  Joy.  W.  A.  Hnnsberge'r'.  James 
Hamilton,  Wm.  Denman,  A.  M.  Goold,  W.  L.  Barth,  W.  I.  Cogshall,  Wm. 
P.  French,  L,  E.  Lennox,  and  F.  M,  Chapman,  D.  D. 

MtTHonisT  Episcopal  Church,  Ouincy. 

Ilie  first  Methodist  class  at  Ouincy  was  formed  in  1836  at  the  home  of 
the  pioneer,  John  Eroughton.  He  and  his  wife.  Bartholomew  Hewitt  and 
wife,  Rev.  James  Clizbe  and  wife,  and  Dr.  Berry  composed  the  members  of 
this  class.  The  ministers  were  supplied  from  the  Coldwater  charge  until 
1843,  ^"^1  after  that  they  came  from  the  Litchfield  circuit.  Rev.  B.  N.  Shel- 
don, whose  widow  was  the  author  of  the  historical  paper  from  which  these 
facts  are  taken,  was  the  first  resident  minister  at  Quincy,  coming  about  1853. 
It  wag  through  his  efforts  that  the  first  church  edifice  was  erected  and  dedi- 
cated on  January  i,  1855.  In  the  summer  of  i86g  the  church  was  entirely 
rebuilt  and  refurnished,  at  a  cost  of  between  three  and  four  thousand  dol- 
lars, and  largely  by  the  efforts  of  the  late  Lliram  Bennett  all  the  church 
indebtedness  was  cleared  off  by  i^74-  Repairs  have  subsequently  been  made 
to  the  structure,  but  the  present  building  practically  has  seen  nearly  forty 
years  of  service.  The  brick  parsonage  was"  built  on  Jefferson  street  about 
1S88,  at  a  cost  of  about  fifteen  hundred  dollars,  the  land  for  the  site  being 
donated  by  Enoch  Myres. 

The  pastors  from  the  time  of  Rev.  Sheldon  to  the  present  have  been : 
L.  W.  Earl,  S.  C.  Woodard.  WiHiam  Doust.  W.  W.  Johnson,  A.  Coplin, 
T.  J.  Conden.  N.  M.  Steele,  David  Thomas,  Isaac  Bennett,  James  N.  Dav- 
toii.   William  Paddock,   G.   S.  Bames,  Thomas  Lyon,  G.  L.   Haight,  C.   C. 


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192  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

0]ds,  A.  M.  Fitch,  N.  I-.  Bray,  Louis  Gro&enbaiigh,  E.  L.  Kellog!  D.  C. 
Reihl,  W.  H.  Thompson,  E.  A.  Armstrong,  W.  H.  Parsons,  F.  M.  Taylor, 
G.  S.  Robinson,  and  P.  A.  Buell,  who  came  to  the  charge  in  the  fall  of  i'905. 

The  board  of  trustees  at  this  writing  are:  M.  J.  Rawson,  L.  C.  Failor, 
H.  P.  Norton,  E.  C.  Foster,  H.  W.  Noble;  and  the  board  of  stewards,  Mrs. 
C.  H.  Halleck,  Mrs.  M.  J.  Rawson.  Mrs.  N.  C.  Herendeen,  Mrs.  H.  P. 
Norton,  Mrs  Dora  Barber,  W.  H.  Shipway,  E.  A.  Dorris,  and  J.  R.  Smith. 
The  membership  now  numbers  about  two  hundred  and  thirty. 

The  Algansee  M.  E.  church  is  a  part  of  the  Quinc>-  cliarge.  Its  mem- 
bership is  about  one  hundred,  and  their  nice  brick  church,  which  was  the 
first  and  only  building,  was  constructeirl  about  thirty-five  years  ago.  The  foJ- 
lowing  compose  the  board  of  trustees:  R.  D.  Reynolds,  Fred  Wilbur,  Purl 
Hard,  A.  D.  Ransom,  lilmer  Hoffman.  Omer  Winchell.  L.  W.  Zeller.  The 
board  of  stewards:  M.  A.  GriswoM,  H.  B.  Walbridge,  C.  C.  Foster,  Emory 
Waterbury. 

Wesleyan  Methodist  Church. 

There  is  no  definite  information  concerning  the  bringing  of  the  first 
musical  instruments  to  Branch  county,  especially  such  as  piano  and  organ, 
although  the  date  of  their  introthiction  would  measure  another  step  in  gen- 
eral progress.  But  in  the  history  of  the  Wesleyan  branch  of  the  Methodist 
church  at  Coldwater  may  be  deduced  the  conclusion  that  at  the  time  of  its 
founding  instrumental  music  was  becoming  more  or  less  firmly  fixed  in 
favor.  In  1850  a  small  number  of  the  Methodists  in  Coldwater  withdrew 
from  the  church  because  the  majority  insisted  that  the  bass  viol  be  used  to 
supplement  the  vocal  music.  This  schism  res\ilted  in  the  formation  of  the 
Wesleyan  church',  whose  first  services  were  held  in  an  old  schoolhouse  a 
mite  and  a  half  south  of  the  A'illage,  the  charter  membei-s,  among  whom'  was 
the  late  James  Fisk,  numbering  only  six  persons.  For  a  number  of  years 
services  were  conducted  in  a  schooihouse,  until  the  erection  at  the  comer  of 
North  Hudson  and  Church  street?  of  a  modest  frame  church,  which  several 
years  ago  was  remodeled.  The  membership  has  always  been  small,  but  has 
maintained  its  organization  and  the  r^^lar  church  activities.  At  the  legal 
incorporation  of  the  church  in  Nov.,  1861,  the  following  jjersons  signed  the 
articles  of  association,  their  names  constituting  the  bulk  of  the  early  mem- 
bership: S.  B.  Smith',  Salmon  Chapman,  John  P.  Bradley,  Aaron  Eurritt, 
C.  B.  F.  Bennett,  William  C.  Woodward,  D.  J.  Smith,  Olive  Bullock.  E. 
Paine,  Fanny  Chapman,  James  Fisk,  Silas  Burton,  C.  Coffman. 

Bronson. 

The  first  Methodist  class  was  formed  at  Brwison  in  1836.  but  died  out, 
and  the  present  organization  dates  from  1857.  Mrs.  Phurna  Isabell  Bartlett 
nee  Wing,  who  came  to  Bronson  about  1844,  says  that  the  first  minister  of 
the  village  within  her  remembrance  was  a  Presbyterian,  named  Patch,  living 
in  Orland.  The  first  Methodist  minister  in  her  recollection  was  Rev.  Ercan- 
brack,  who  was  in  charge  of  the  Coldwater  church  in  the  early  forties.     Rev. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  193 

Sabin,  named  in  connection  with  the  Coldwater  church,  also  preached  in 
Bronson.  Rev.  James  N.  Dayton,  besides  preaching,  taught  the  union 
school.  The  meetings  at  first  were  held  in  the  old  "white  schooihouse "  in 
the  east  of  the  village  on  the  street  leading  to  the  cemetery,  south  of  Chicago 
street  and  on  the  east  side  of  the  road,  then  called  the  "  quarter  line  raad." 
A  Sunday-school  was  maintained  in  this  schoolhouse  at  the  time  of  Mrs. 
Rartlett's  coming,  and  she  recalls  that  Mary  Ann  Vance  was  her  teacher. 

Rev.  John  Cliibine  instituted  the  present  Methodist  society  at  Bronson 
in  1857.  It  was  a  station  of  the  Burr  Oak  charge  until  1866.  The  oldest 
book  of  records  in  possession  of  Rev.  C.  L.  Keene,  present  pastor  of  the  M. 
E.  church  at  Bronson,  and  the  oldest  record  of  the  church  of  which  he 
knows,  begins  with  "  Dec.  22,  1866,"  as  its  earliest  date.  The  first  entry  is 
that  of  "  Minutes  of  the  first  quarterly  conference  for  Bronson  circuit  * 
*  *  held  at  Snow  Prairie,  Dec.  22,  1866,  Rev.  Isaac  Taylor  in  the  chair." 
The  parts  of  the  circuit  mentioned  are  Snow  Prairie.  Matteson,  North  Gilead, 
Bronson  and  Gilead.  TTie  following  apportionment  for  the  [jastor's  salary  would 
seem  to  indicate  the  relative  strength  and  membership  of  the  "  societies  of 
the  circuit."  They  were  as  follows:  Gilead,  $2.20:  Snow  Prairie,  $2.00; 
North  Gilead.  $1.70;  Bronson,  $:.25;  Matteson,  $.85.  In  Februarj-.  1867, 
the  "Shaw  Schoolhouse  Oass"  was  added,  and  in  September  following 
Strong's  Island  was  added.  In  Sqitember,  1869,  Gilead,  Noble  Center,  East 
Gilead,  Snow  Prairie  and  Kinderhook  were  set  off  as  Gilead  circuit. 

The  Bronson  society  held  its  meetings  in  a  schoolhouse  or  public  hal! 
unfij  the  erection  of  the  present  brick  building  in  1871. 

Sherwood. 

The  first  Methodist  class  in  Sherwood  township  was  organized  in  183S, 
with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lyman  Studley,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Onderdonk  and  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Ryan  Williams  as  charter  members.  The  frame  church  building 
was  erected  about  1858.  The  pastors  since  1877  have  been:  O.  S.  Paddock. 
J,  W.  Buell,  John  Klose,  S.  George,  C.  C.  Dawkins,  M.  H.  Mott,  W.  J. 
Tarrant,  William  Earth,  D.  D.  Martin,  J.  T.  Iddings,  G.  D.  Lee,  E.  A.  Ann- 
strong,  L.  A.  Sevitts,  J.  C.  Upton,  J.  G.  Ruoff,  Walter  Burnett,  Russell 
Bready,  A.  W.  Mumford,  J.  W.  Gosling,  W.  H.  Parsons,  Quinton  Walker, 
K.  A.  Baldwin,  F.  H.  Larabee. 

GiRARD. 

The  Methodists  were  early  in  the  field  in  Girard,  meetings  being  held 
in  the  home  of  John  Cornish  while  he  was  sUil  a  resident  of  that  township. 
Allen  Tibbits  preached  here  and  in  a  schoolhouse.  The  church  was  organ- 
ised in  1840,  the  first  board  of  trustees  being  the  folJowing  settlers:  l.yman 
Fox,  Mason  Chase,  Joseph  C.  Corbus.  John  Parkinson,  Lyman  Aldrich,  Ben- 
jamin H.  Smith,  John  Worden.  The  first  house  of  worship  wasi  put  up  m 
1844,  this  was  repaired  in  1848,  and  the  present  brick  church  bears  the  date 
of  1876.     Rev.  Isaac  Bennett  preached  at  Girard  in  tlie  sixties. 


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194  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Union  City. 

Tn  almost  every  locality  the  Methodists  were  the  pioneers  in  church 
work  in  Branch  county.  At  Union  City  they  organized  a  short  time  before 
the  Congregaticnalists,  their  first  class  being  held  in  the  winter  of  1836-37. 
Isaiah  Bennett  and  family  and  Mrs.  Carpenter  Chaffee  are  named  among 
the  first  members.  Coldwater  supplied  some  of  the  first  preachers.  Revs. 
Sabin,  Tibbits  and  Crippen  being;  named  in  this  connection.  Some  time  in 
the  forties  a  frame  church  was  erected,  and  this  gave  place  about  twenty  years 
ago  to  the  handsome  brick  church,  of  modern  design  and  proportions. 

Other  Methodist  Societies. 

The  circuit  of  which  Girard  was  a  part  during  the  forties  comprised 
appointments  at  East  Girard,  West  Girard,  Eronson,  Clizbe's  (now  Quincy), 
Brooks  schoolhouse,  Branch,  Day's,  and  Union.  There  was.  a  Methodist 
society  on  Shock's  prairie  in  Butler  township  as  early  as  1838,  the  Shook 
and  VVisner  families  being  prominent  in  this  organization. 

■A  Methodist  class  was  formed  in  Kinderhook  in  the  winter  of  1S36-37, 
being  a  part  of  the  Coldwater  circuit  at  first  and  later  of  Gilead. 

The  church  at  'Snow  Prairie  was  organized  in  1857,  the  class  consist- 
ing of  T\lr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  Warburton.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  EHngman  and 
Mrs.  William  I.amoreaux.  The  frame  church  on  section  16  was  erected  in 
1863,  the  first  trustees  being;  John  Reynolds,  Lucius  Williams,  John  Bas- 
sett",  Charles  Brook,  Charles  Warburton,  Nicholas  G.  Ellis,  Ebenezer  McMil- 
lan, ColHns  Fenner  antl  Moses  M.  Oimstead, 

The  Methodists  in  Gilead  township  outnumbered  the  followers  of 
Bishop  Chase  even  while  that  divine  was  endeavoring  to  build  up  an  organi- 
zation and  school  in  the  locality.  This  is  alleged  as  one  reason  why  the 
bishop  l>ecame  discouraged  with  Gilead  and  went  to  Ilhnois.  In  May,  1836, 
a  .-^ort  time  before  the  departure  of  the  Chase  family  for  Illinois,  a  Meth- 
odist class  was  formed  at  the  house  of  Benjamin  Booth,  his  wife  and  a  Mrs. 
Jones  being  the  only  ones  present,  but  the  next  meeting  being  attended  by 
t)ie  Williams,  Bogardus  and  Smith  families,  and  E.  B.  Williams  becoming 
the  first  class  leader.  The  class  belonged  to  various  circuits  for  thirty  years, 
and  in  1869  the  Gilead  circuit  was  set  off,  as  elsewhere  stated.  The  church 
building  on  section  S  was  dedicated  in  August.  1862,  and  the  first  board  of 
trustees  were  the  following;  Daniel  Marsh,  Elisha  B.  Williams,  Samuel 
Booth,  John  Feller,  Edward  M.  Williams,  Don  C.  Mather,  Horace  C.  Will- 
iams. 

The  active  Methodist  societies,  with  r^rular  preachmg.  now  m  Branch 
county  are  as  follows :  Coldwater,  ^tincy,  Bronson,  Union  City  and  Sher- 
wood are  the  five  Methodist  churches  in  the  one  city  and  the  four  villages  of 
the  coimty.  Some  particular  account  of  these  has  been  given.  We  take 
occasion  here  to  state  that  in  our  endeavor  to  gather  information  concerning 
the  religious  societies  of  the  county,  a  letter  was  sent  to  the  pastor  of  every 
active  church.  "Where  no  response  was  made,  we  have  not  been  able  to  give 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  193 

as  much  information  as  we  otherwise  might  have  done.  Besides  the  five 
Methodist  Episcopal  churches  just  mentioned,  the  others  in  the  county  are 
the  following;,  taking-  them  hy  townships  and  beginning  with  Butler :  South 
Butler  or  Butler  Center,  and  Herricksville  or  North  Butler;  these  both  have 
church  buildings,  the  present  pastor  being  Rev.  B.  Silverthome.  Girard 
has  one  society  with  a  church  building,  as  already  noted,  with  two  classes 
besides,  one  at  Hodunk  and  one  in  the  Cotmell  district.  The  pastor  in 
charge  is  Rev.  J.  F.  Bowerman.  There  are  no  societies  in  the  townships  of 
Union  and  Sherwood,  CoMwater,  Qiiincy  and  Bronson  other  tlian  those  in 
the  city  and  villages.  Matteson,  Batavia,  Ovid,  and  California  have  never 
had  any  organized  Methodist  churches.  In  Algansee,  the  Algansee  or  Fish- 
ers society  has  a  good  brick  building.  Kinderhook  has  one  society  with  a 
biu'lding  at  its  center.  Tn  Gtlead  there  are  two,  South  Gilead  and  North 
Gilead,  each  with  a  building.  Noble  has  one  society  with  a  building  erected 
near  the  townhouse  in  1903,  In  all  thei'e  are  thirteen  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  buildings  in  the  county. 

Free  Methodist  Church  of  Sherwood. 
[The  following  sketch  has  been  furnished  for  publication  in  this  work.] 

Rev.  John  Ellison  was  the  instrviment  in  the  hands  of  God  to  raise  up 
the  first  Free  Methodist  class  in  this  place  and  in  the  spring  of  1866  a  church 
was  erected — the  first  Free  Methodist  church  in  the  state  of  Michigan.  Tlie 
following  September  the  annual  conference  was  held  in  the  new  church  and 
it  was  dedicated  to  God's  service  by  Rev.  Joseph  Travers.  Twenty-six  names 
were  on  the  first  enrollment,  but  time,  death  and  distance  have  done  their 
work  and  Bro.  John  Coward  is  the  only  charter  member  left  in  the  church. 
Rev.  E.  T.  Roljerts,  the  father  of  Free  Methodism,  and  Rev.  E.  T.  Hart 
rendered  faithful  service  as  district  elders  in  those  pioneer  days.  The  first 
ministers  sent  to  this  work  were  D.  W.  Bishop  and  B.  R.  Jones,  the  Ixiy 
preacher,  as  he  was  then  called.  Following  these  were :  Bro.  Gitchel,  Charles 
Cnsick,  T.  C.  Frink,  Bro.  Forbs,  Bro.  Billings,  Ero.  Marshall,  L.  Lezenring, 
M.  D.  Baldwin,  G.  R.  Tompkins,  Bro.  Baxter,  George  Tliompson,  N.  R. 
Woods,  J.  Baker,  E.  Bradfield,  W.  S.  McDivett,  G.  W.  C.  Smith.  A.  Brad- 
field,  P.  S.  Shoemaker,  C.  H.  Jerome,  D.  J.  Vanantwerp,  I.  L,  King,  R.  L.  ■ 
Scamerhorn,  C.  M.  Miller.  The  names  of  charter  members  are:  George 
Mover' and  wife,  William  Davis  and  wife,  Peter  Rums^  and  wife,  Bro. 
Newton  and  wife  and  sister,  John  Tomlinson  and  wife,  Ero,  Maston  and  wife 
and  daughters,  Orpha,  Marette  and  Mirtie,  C.  Hauganbaugh  and  wife  and 
daughter  Martha.  M.  J.  Drook  and  S.  Drook,  John  Coward,  AHva  V.  Moyer, 
Waid  Bond,  Ann  Waugh.  Sister  Bartlett. 

Besides  the  Sherwood  church,  there  are  also  four  other  Free  Methodist 
societies  in  the  county,  one  in  the  city  of  Coldwater  on  Perkins  street,  an- 
other in  the  southwestern  part  of  Quincy  township,  a  third  in  Algansee,  and 
the  fourth  in  Bethel.  The  Coldwater  .society  has  this  year,  igo6,  built  a  new 
house  of  worship.  Rev.  John  R.  Poet  ministers  at  present  to  all  four  of 
these  churches.    AH  have  church  buildings. 


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196  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Baptist  Churches. 
Coldzwter. 

The  history  of  the  Baptist  church  of  Coldwater  has  been  carefully  com- 
piled from  the  church  records  by  Mr.  A.  R.  Burroughs  in  response  to  a  re- 
quest from  the  editor  of  this  work.  The  beginnings  of  the  church  involve 
so  many  pioneer  names  and  circumstances  of  early  days  that  it  is  deemed  best 
to  quote  some  of  the  first  records. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  several  brethren  of  the  Baptist  denomination  held  at 
the  house  of  Hiram  Alden  in  said  village  on  the  evening  of  December  31, 
1834,"  is  the  initial  statement  of  one  minute,  "  it  was  resolv^ed  to  circulate  an 
article  among  the  Baptists  of  the  vicinity  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a 
Baptist  society.  The  signatures  to  this  article  tell  us  the  pioneer  Baptists 
who  resided  in  the  vicinity  of  Coldwater  viJlage  in  that  early  year,  1835,  and 
who  became  the  nucleus  of  the  first  church.  They  are:  Chauncey  Strong, 
Nathan  Strong,  WilHam  D.  Strong,  George  W.  Arnold,  Hiram  Alden,  Par- 
ley Stockwel!,  Ann  Logan,  Matilda  Alden,  Prudence  Arnold,  Eunice  Strong, 
SaJly  Strong,  Sarah  Strong,  Betsey  Strong,  Sarah  Sheldon,  Nathan  H. 
Strong. 

The  first  conference  of  these  persons  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a 
church  was  held  in  the  village  schoolhouse  January  17,  1835,  ^"'^^  °^  Febru- 
ary nth  a  council  assembled  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Alden,  consisting  of  eld- 
ers and  official  members  from  other  churches,  who  examined  credentials  of 
prospective  members  of  the  local  society  and  concluded  with  the  following 
resolutions :  "  That  we  recognize  the  above-named  brethren  and  sisters  as  a 
regular  Baptist  church,  and  that  Bro.  Powell  preach  on  the  occasion  and 
that  the  moderator  present  the  hand  of  fellowship." 

The  church  has  continued  from  its  organization  until  the  present  time. 
At  first  it  had  no  settled  pastor,  but  was  supplied  a  part  of  the  time  by  Rev. 
E.  Loomis  of  the  Baptist  Home  Missionary  Society.  Rev.  Reuben  Graham 
was  the  first  settled  pastor,  from  Oct.,  1835,  to  Sept.,  1837.  From  this  time 
until  July,  1842,  Rev.  John  Southworth,  Re\'.  Mallory  and  Rev.  W.  B. 
Brown  served  as  pastors. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  pastors  who  have  since  served  the  church, 
with  period  of  their  several  pastorates: 

Rev.  James  Davis,  Dec.,   1842 — July,   1844. 

Rev.  J.  A.  Keyes,  Nov.,  1844 — Aug.,  1845. 

Rev.  OHver  Comstock,  Oct.,  1845— June,  1S48. 

Rev.  Anson  P.  Tucker,  Nov.,  1848— May,  1850. 

Rev.  F.  O.  Marsh,  Oct,,  1850— Oct.,  1853. 

Rev.  E.  J.  Covey,  Dec,  1853— June,  1856. 

Rev.  A.  A.  Ellis,  Jan.,  1857— April,  1858. 

Rev.  Edwin  Eaton,  June,  1858 — April,  1866. 

Rev.  E.  Curtis,  Sept.,  1866— Sept.  1868. 

Rev.  N.  Pierce,  Oct.,  1868— Dec.,  1870. 

Rev.  W.  T.  Lowry,  August,  1871— July  i88r. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  197 

Rev.  J.  H.  Donelly,  Feb..  1882— May,  1884. 

Rev.  J.  H.  Groff,  Sept.,  1884— Nov.,  1885. 

Rev.  J.  P.  Phillips.  Feb.,  i886— Feb.,  1890. 

Rev.  F-  Otheman  Smith,  July,  1890— Feb.,  1894. 

Rev.  Benjamin  Otto,  August,  1894 — Feb..  1897. 

Rev.  Chas.  F.  Vreeland,  March.  1897— -March,  1900. 

Rev.  Ira  D.  Hall,  July.  1900 — May,  1902. 

Rev.   M.  A.  Graybiel,  July,   1902 — Continues. 

From  the  time  of  organization  up  to  the  present  time  the  church  has 
been  served  by  twenty-three  pastors,  on  an  average  of  three  years  to  eacli 
pastorate. 

December  30th,  1843,  the  church  voted  to  build  a  hort.ise  of  worship, 
and  soon  thereafter  a  frame  building  was  erected  on  the  lot  where  the  Old 
Bank  Building  now  stands  (Chicago  and  Monroe  streets).  Here  the  church 
worshipped  until  the  winter  of  1852-53,  when  the  lot  was  sold  and  the  build- 
ing moved  to  the  northwest  comer  of  Monroe  and  Pearl  streets. 

The  present  church  edifice  on  the  northwest  comer  of  Pear!  and  Divi- 
sion streets  was  erected  during  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Edwin  Eaton.  1863. 
and  was  dedicated  free  from  debt  in  August.  1865.  and  was  enlarged  dur- 
ing the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Otheman  Smith.  The  origina!  cost  of  the  church 
was  $25,000,  and  the  extension  between  three  and  four  thousand.  A  pipe 
org^n  costing  $2,500,  built  in  the  church  during  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  W.  T. 
Lowry  in  1876.  and  a  fine  bell  have  been  added  to  the  church  building  since 
its  erection.  During  the  first  year  of  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  M.  A.  Gray- 
biel the  church  made  purchase  of  a  fine  house  and  property,  northeast  corner 
of  Division  and  Washington  streets,  costing,  with  improvements^  $3,750.  to 
be  used  as  a  church  parsonage.  During  the  years  1905-6  the  church  by  gift 
of  individual  members  placed  eight  memorial  windows  in  the  audience  room 
at  a  cost  of  $1,000. 

The  present  officers  of  the  church  are:  Everett  F.  Collins,  clerk:  W.  H. 
Simons,  treasurer;  H.  C.  Simons.  C,  T.  Yapp,  H.  B.  George,  E.  A.  Dunton. 
Dr.  George  Ferguson.  N.  A.  Angell.  deacons;  W.  H.  Simons,  Eli  Ball.  Dr, 
F.  G.  Legg.  Clarence  T.  Yapp,  Thomas  A.  Hilton,  Zelotes  G.  Osbom, 
trustees. 

From  the  best  infomiation  to  he  obtained,  the  Sabbath-school  was  or- 
ganized during  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  J.  A.  Keyes  in  1845.  The  present 
superintendent  is  Henry  B.  George. 

Quim-y. 

The  persons  composing  the  meeting  for  organization  of  a  Baptist  soci- 
ety, heM  in  the  schoolhouse  in  Hog  Creek  district  of  Qmncy  township  June 
27,  1846,  represented  in  the  main  the  core  of  the  Baptist  adherents  in  that 
township  at  that  dav.  Thev  were:  Alfred  Wilmarth,  George  Boon,  Marcus 
Muckey,  1.  W.  Pratt.  Simon  Gager,  Francis  Ransom.  Ansel  Nichols,  Samuel 
Etheridge.  Sillman  Hedge.  -Mrs.  T.  H,  Wilmarth,  Mary  Boon.  .Mmira 
Brown,   Lucetta  H.   Pratt,   Rebecca  Gager,  Chloe  Ransom.   Susan   Nichols, 


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198  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Cynthia  M.  Etherjdge,  Aseneth  Nichols,  Sally  Muckey,  Mrs.  Asa  Bowen. 
A  council  in  August  of  the  same  year  recognized  them  as  a  church,  and  at- 
tached it  to  the  Hillsdale  association.  In  September,  1855,  forty  members 
were  dismissed  to  form  the  Second  Aigansee  Baptist  church. 

The  iiTSt  meetings  were  held  in  the  Hog  Creek  church,  soon  the  school- 
house  in  Quincy  village  became  the  place  of  worship,  this  alternating  with 
the  Mudge  schoolhouse  until  the  erection  of  a  house  o£  worship,  which  was 
completed  in  the  spring  of  1854. 

A[gcmsce. 

As  mentioned  in  the  sketch  of  the  Onincy  church,  in  1855  a  division  of 
its  membership  occurred  and  about  forty  persons  living  mainly  in  Aigansee 
township  formed  what  was  known  as  "  the  Second  Aigansee  Baptist  church." 
The  First  Baptist  church  of  Aigansee  was  formed  in  1854,  their  meetings, 
during  their  existence  of  twelve  years,  being  held  in  the  Wakeman  school- 
house.  The  Second  church  was  recognized  by  a  council  on  March  13,  1856, 
and  the  charter  members  were  as  follows  :  Francis  D.  Ransom.  Phares  Chit- 
tenden, Jason  L.  Ransom,  John  H.  Ransom,  John  Ransom,  Zebina  G.  Trim, 
Joel  Campbell,  David  Hillman,  John  C.  Perring,  Benjamin  Bishop,  Amos 
Hough,  Petar  Leighton,  Nathan  I^ighton,  Spencer  Cory,  John  Cory,  Henry 
W.  Waterbury,  James  A.  Ransom,  William  \V.  Potter,  David  Robb,  and 
Sisters  C.  Ranson,  L.  Chittenden,  C.  Ransom,  H.  Ransom,  U.  Trim,  M. 
Campbell,  H.  Hillman,  L.  Perring,  L.  Bishop,  L.  Bishop,  O.  Hough.  S. 
Jordan,  L.  Fisher.  O.  Cory,  S.  A.  Barber,  J.  A.  Ransom.  Margaret  Hillman, 
M.  Hoxie,  L.  Robb.  The  church  building,  on  the  south  line  of  section  2. 
was  erected  in  1S68. 

Union  City. 

The  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  at  Union  City.  Rev.  H.  Z.  Davis,  has 
furnished  the  following  facts  concerning  the  history  of  his  church.  The 
first  Baptist  church  of  Union  City  was  oi^nize<:l  May  14,  1870,  was  recog- 
nized by  a  council  on  October  13,  1870,  and  was  received  into  the  St.  Joseph 
Valley  Association,  May  13,  1871.  The  church  met  for  business  meetings 
and  worship  in  a  hall,  and  later  at  Mr.  Barrett's  home,  until  the  present 
frame  house  O'f  worship  was  erected  and  dedicated  on  February  24,  1886. 
the  church  being  located  on  the  south  side  of  the  village. 

The  charter  members  of  this  chvirch  were:  Lucius  Blosson,  Alma 
Blosson,  Ira  Lake.  Clark  C.  I^ke,  Zeruch  I.^ke,  Cliarlotte  Prentiss,  Mary 
Johnson.  The  successive  pastors  who  have  served  the  congregation  have 
been :  William  Pack,  Samuel  A.  Cole,  S.  G.  Brvmdage.  I.  H.  Ainsworth, 
William  Haas,  B.  Ashton,  T.  E.  Hauser,  E.  D.  Way,  H.  Z.  Davis. 

Branson. 
The  Baptist  church  of  Bronson  was  organized  in   1857  at  a   meeting 
held  in  the  house  in  which  Mr.  C.  M.  Van  Every  now  (May.   1906)   lives. 
This  house  was  built  in  1839  by  Alonzo  Waterman,  aftenvards  of  Coldwater. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  199 

The  original  members  were:  Wildman  Bennett,  Ann  Bennett,  David  M. 
Johnson,  Jane  Johnson,  N.  O.  Brown,  Mrs.  M.  J.  Brown,  S,  H.  Collins,  Mrs. 
F.  Coiiins.  Bro.  O.  Oliver,  Sister  E.  Allen,  Bro.  J.  Boughman,  Sister  A. 
Boughnian,  Sister  Eeesmer,  Sister  J.  A.  Carr,  Sister  S.  Earle,  Dr.  W.  Byms, 
Sister  Atwater. 

Meetings  were  conducted  from  1857  to  1864  under  Licentiate  A.  J. 
Hunt,  Elder  J.  Southworth  and  Elder  Pease.  The  building  of  the  house  of 
worship  was  commenced  in  the  spring  of  1861,  but  on  account  of  limited 
means  was  not  opened  for  worship  until  January  22,  1S64.  The  building  is 
stiii  standing  as  first  put  up  forty  years  ago.  Rev'  J.  Kelley  fallowed  Rev. 
Pease,  remaining  until  Feb.  18,  1865,  and  in  March.  1865,  Elder  Phillip 
Rowden  became  pastor.  A  pipe  organ  was  purchased  in  1878.  Re\'.  James 
H.  Gagnier,  the  present  pastor,  began  his  work  with  the  church  June  i,  1904. 

In  the  northwestern  part  of  Bronson  township  is  an  organized  Baptist 
society  known  as  the  Shawtown  Baptist  church.  It  holds  its  meetings  in 
the  schoolhouse  of  district  No.  7. 

There  are  thus  eight  regular  Baptist  organizations  in  the  county.  About 
1875  there  was  a  Baptist  society  in  Ovid  township.  It  was  disbanded  about 
1895,  though  the  church  building,  a  brick  structure,  is  still  standing  and  is 
known  as  "  the  Lockwood  church." 

Girard. 
The  First  Baptist  church  of  Girard  was  organized  at  the  house  of  Will- 
iam Van  Blarcum  in  Girard,  June  8,  1859,  the  charter  members,  who  had 
previously  been  connected  with  churches  at  Coldwater  and  Tekonsha,  be- 
ing as  follows:  William  Van  Blarcum,  E.  M.  Waldo,  George  B.  Johnson, 
Amasa  R.  Day,  E.  T.  Todd,  Marv  Smith,  Harriet  C.  Day,  Sarah  Burr, 
Mary  Van  Blarcum,  Matilda  B.  Wa'klo,  Alvina  Todd,  Eunice  L.  Burr,  Mary 
Olney. 

Tlie  first  regular  hoiise  of  worship  was  the  old  district  schoolhouse.  whicli 
had  been  purchased  and  donated  to  the  society  by  William  Van  Blarcum  and 
remodeled  for  church  purposes.  The  building  of  the  present  church  was 
begun  in  1876,  but  it  was  not  finished  until  several  years  later.  Rev.  E.  R. 
Clark  closed  his  pastorate  of  two  years  March  31.  1880.  October  i,  1880, 
Rev.  S.  A.  Cole  began  ser\'ing  the  church  and  continued  until  Aug.  i,  1884. 
Kindcrhook. 
The  only  other  regidar  Baptist  society  in  the  county  witli  a  building  of 
its  own  is  that  of  Kinderhook.  It  was  organized  Oct,  25,  1856.  From  that 
time  to  the  present  it  has  continued  to  be  an  active  church  organization,  nev- 
er long  without  a  pastor  preaching  regularly.  Rev.  Charles  A.  Cutler  its 
latest  minister,  resigned  in  1905. 

Free-Will  or  Free  Baptist  Churches. 
One  of  the  earliest  societies  of  this  denomination  was  formed  at  Girard, 
May   10,    1849.     The  thirteen  original   members  were :     L.   Y,   Lmibocker, 


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200  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Hiadama  Tjnibocker,  John  Loring,  N.  M.  Millard,  Cynthia  Millard,  Qiarles 
I-ane,  Henry  Aurend,  Matilda  Aurend,  Alexander  Ladow,  John  Smart.  An- 
na Cntler,  Mary  E.  Cutler.  The  congregation  erected  a  building  in  Girard 
village,  on  Marshal  street,  just  north  of  the  regular  Baptist  church,  in  1856. 

West  Kinderkook. 

Rev.  E.  W.  Hughes,  pastor  of  the  Free-Will  Baptist  church  at  West 
Kinderhook,  states  that  the  society  was  formed  March  10.  1850,  by  J.  H, 
Miner  and  Elder  Hadle^'.  The  first  members  have  all  passed  away.  The 
church  was  incorporated  in  1S82,  and  also  in  that  year  the  brick  church  which 
is  now  the  house  of  worship  Avas  constructed.  The  present  membership  is 
about  forty-five. 

Bethel. 

The  Free-Will  Baptist  church  of  Bethel  was  organized  August  28, 
1853.  For  many  years  the  meetings  were  held  in  the  Butcher  schoolhouse  in 
section  i,  but  in  1903  a  house  of  worship  was  erected  in  the  same  locality  by 
the  congregation.     Among  the  earliest  members  of  this  church  were:     Orrin 

B.  and  Martha     .S.  Cummings,  James  and  Abigail  Thurston,  Arwin,  Peleg 

C.  and  Mercy  Bates,  Alanson  and  Ann  Harris,  Hiram  Olmstead,  Mrs.  Mary 
Carmer. 

Batai'ia. 

A  more  complete  record  of  the  Eatavia  church  has  been  furnished  the 
editor  by  Mrs.  E.  C.  Mintline,  cierk  of  the  church.  The  church'  originated 
in  a  series  of  meetings  held  in  the  old  brick  schoolhouse  near  Batavia  station 
by  Rev.  Lura  Mains,  A  council  which  met  in  the  schoolhouse  Feb.  28,  1880, 
organized  a  church  with  six  charter  members,  namely,  Myron  Draper, 
Augtista  Draper,  Dewitt  Draper,  William  Westerman,  W.  R.  Card,  Emily 
Card.  W,  R.  Card  is  the  only  charter  member  remaining.  Other  names 
added  to  the  membership  the  next  day  were :  Anna  G.  Shay,  David  J.  Per- 
rin,  Betsey  Perrin,  Alonzo  Olmstead,  Christina  Olmstead.  A  plot  of  ground 
from  the  John  Sheneman  farm  was  purchased  in  1880  and  in  the  autumn  of 
the  following  year  the  neat  little  church  building  was  completed.  Sabbath- 
school  was  conducted  from  the  first  and  in  1884  the  Woman's  Missionary 
Auxiliary  was  formed.  The  church  property  is  now  valued  at  $1,500,  and 
the  members  are  about  thirty  in  number. 

Some  of  the  prominent  members  past  and  present  who  have  been  iden- 
tified with  this  church  are:  George  Barnard,  Elizabeth  Gray,  E.  D.  Hark- 
ness,  for  twenty-three  years  officiaily  connected  with  the  church;  C.  H.  Aus- 
tin, treasurer  for  the  past  twenty-three  years;  Mrs.  E.  M.  Jordan,  Mrs.  John 
Sheneman,  Asa  Russell,  and  others, 

Presbyterian  Churches. 
The  First  Presbyterian  church  of  Cotdwater  originated  in  pioneer  times, 
and  the  names  of  well  known  first  settlers  are  included  in  its  meeting  for  or- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  201 

g^nization.  Tliis  meeting-  was  held  in  the  village  sdiooihouse  Sept.  30,  1837, 
Rev.  P.  W.  Warriner  preached  the  sermon,  and  the  charter  members  consti- 
tuting the  6rst  church  were:  Luther  and  Clarissa  Stiles.  James  and  Abigail 
Smith,  Edmond  and  Catherine  Sloan,  E.  G.  Fuller,  Ambrose  and  Eliza  Grow. 
Mrs.  Alexander  Reynolds,  Mary  Ann  Revnolds,  Sophirmia  Reynolds.  Mrs. 
Amaty  Cmson,  Mary  Smith.  James  SmitJi,  Jr.,  Lydia  Smith.  Prominent 
among  the  members  who  were  soon  added  were  Silas  A.  Holbrook,  Will- 
iam H.  Cross,  and  Alexander  Reynolds. 

During  the  first  few  years  the  meetings  were  l^eld  in  the  schoolhouses 
on  Hudson  street  or  on  Gay  street,  and  also  in  the  temporary  court-house 
room  in  the  "  Coon  Pen  "  building,  elsewhere  described.  A  church  organi- 
zation according  to  legal  form  was  effected  at  a  meeting  in  the  "  Coon  Pen," 
Aug.  9,  1843,  and  about  the  same  time  the  building  of  a  church  was  under- 
taken. The  edifice,  which  was  of  frame,  was  dedicated  in  the  fall  of  1844. 
under  the  pastorate  of  S.  C.  Hickok.  This  served  as  the  church  home  until 
the  sixties.  Both  the  Methodist  and  Baptist  congregations  had  erected  fine 
churches,  and  the  Presbyterians  built  one  still  larger.  The  first  plans  were 
laid  in  1864,  but  it  was  not  until  Oct.  12,  1869.  that  the  present  brick  build- 
ing was  dedicated. 

Revs.  Warriner.  Charles  W.  Gimey  and  Louis  Mills  were  the  principal 
pastors  during  the  early  years  of  the  church.  Rev.  S.  C.  Hickok  served  from 
1844  to  1847.  Following  him  were  Elihti  P.  Marvin,  O.  W.  Mather.  R.  S. 
Goodman,  from  1853  to  i860:  Horace  C.  Hovey,  G.  L.  Foster,  W.  C.  Por- 
ter, J.  Gordon  Jones,  from  April.  1S72.  to  October,  1878;  H.  P.  ColUn, 
Dec.,  1878,  to  March  31,  1905.  Rev.  Willis  L.  Gelston.  the  present  pastor. 
hegan  his  work  in  Sept..  1905. 

Qiiincy. 

The  First  Presbyterian  church  of  Quincy  was  organized  Feb.  2'^,  1857. 
the  following  persons  associating  themselves  into  an  organization :  Will- 
iam N.  Carter,  JuHa  Carter,  Marcia  Potter,  Mrs.  J.  W.  Chapin.  William 
Hughes,  Jeremiah  B.  Whelan,  Elijah  Leland.  Mrs.  William  Hughes,  Mrs. 
J.  B,  WTielan  and  Mrs.  Withington  were  soon  added  to  the  original  member- 
ship. The  society  was  small  during  its  first  years  and  had  difficulty  in  main- 
taining its  organization.  The  church  building  was  not  constructed  until 
i860.  Since  that  time  it  has  carrieti  the  usual  church  activities  with  but  few 
interruptions. 

CalifornM. 

California  township  has  been  a  center  of  Presbyterian  activity  from  an 
early  day.  At  a  meeting  for  organization  of  a  Presbyterian  church,  held  in 
the  schoolhouse  at  Hall's  Comers,  April  11,  J840,  the  following  well  known 
pioneers  associated  themselves  to  form  a  church:  Josqjh  W.  Lawrence.  Sr.. 
Sybil  I^wrence.  Thomas  Pratt,  Aima  Pratt,  Joseph  W.  Lawrence,  Jr..  Susan 
N.  Lawrence.  Ezra  S,  E.  Brainard,  Walter  H.  Lathrop,  Emeline  Lathrop, 
Mrs,   Lucy   Robbins.     Their  building,  which   is  located  at  California  post- 


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202  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

office,  was  completed  and  dedicated  in   1871,  at  a  cost  of  about  twenty-five 
hundred  dollars. 

The  United  Presbyterians  and  the  Reformed  Presbyterians  also  gained 
a  foothold  in  California  township.  A  society  of  the  former  denomination 
was  org'anized  June  16,  1865,  some  of  its  original  members  being  Wilham 
C.  Thon^on,  Alexander  Thompson,  Thomas  Hall,  John  S.  Patterson,  Will- 
iam Stewart,  Oscar  Jameson,  Alexander  Vance. 

Congregational  Churches. 
Union  City. 

The  First  Congregational  church  of  Union  City,  Branch  county.  Mich- 
igan, was  organized  March  7th,  1837.  Tlie  meeting  was  conducted  by  Rev. 
Calvin  Clark  of  Homer.  The  following  sixteen  persons  having  letters  of 
dismission  and  recommendation  from  other  churches,  and  two  on  confession 
of  their  faith,  entered  into  covenant:  Chester  Hammond,  Fanny  Hammond, 
Ellen  F,  Hammond.  Alphens  Saunders,  Ludna  Saunders,  Lewis  Hawley, 
Charlotte  Hawley,  David  Kilboum,  Clarinda  Kilbourn,  Justus  B.  Euell,  Fme- 
line  Buell,  Thomas  B.  Buell.  Charles  A.  Lincoln,  Chares  H.  Coates,  Esther 
Maxfield.  Sarah  Jane  Hurd,  Mary  Ann  Saunders,  Charlotte  Bernard. 

March  i6th.  1839,  the  church  became  connected  with  the  Marshall 
Presbytery  on  thle  "Plan  of  Union  of  1801."  At  the  formation  of  the 
Marshall  Conference  of  Congregational  Churches  in  Union  City,  January- 
13th,  1841,  the  church  united  with  that  body.  In  November,  1837.  Rev. 
Charles  W.  Gumey,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  was  employed  to  lalx>r  in  the 
ministry  Oif  the  Gospel  with  this  church,  which  he  continuetl  to  do  until  June, 
1839.  In  the  following  October  Rev,  Elijah  Buck,  also  a  Presbyterian  min- 
ister, was  employed,  and  continued  his  labors  until  September,  1840.  The 
ministry  of  Rev.  L.  Smith  Hobart  commenced  on  the  Sabbath,  the  first  day 
of  November,  1840.  The  services  were  held  in  the  district  schoolhouse, 
which  was  the  usual  place  of  public  worship.  After  the  completion  of  a 
pastorate  of  eight  years,  he  was  dismissed  bv  the  advice  of  a  council,  Novem- 
ber 2nd,  1848. 

The  first  house  of  worship  occupied  by  the  church  was  erected  on  High 
street.  This  was  dedicated  December  24th,  1840.  It  was  furnished  with  a 
suitable  bell  in  May,  1843,  enlarged  in  1850,  and  sold  in  1869. 

Rev.  Henry  C.  Morse  commenced  his  ministry  with  the  church  Nov. 
5th,  1848.  His  work  closed  in  March,  1853.  Rev.  Adam  S.  Kedzie  followed 
in  the  ministry  without  interval.  His  vrork  ended  in  the  month  of  September, 
1854.  Rev.  Joseph  S.  Edwards  was  engaged  in  November,  1854,  and  con- 
tinued his  work  about  six  months.  In  December,  1855,  Rev.  Reuben  Hatch 
commenced  his  labors  with  the  church  and  remained  until  April,  1859.  Dur- 
ing this  period  the  enterprise  of  building  the  present  brick  church  edifice  was 
undertaken.  Rev,  Sereno  W.  Streeter  commenced  his  ministry  here  in  No- 
veml>er,    1859.      He    was    installed    as    pastor    by    an    ecclesiastical    council 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  203 

in  February,  1863.  In  November,  1869,  he  was  dismissed  by  a  council, 
closing  his  ministry  of  ten  years. 

The  present  brick  church  edifice  was  dedicated  February  5th.  1S62. 
The  ministry  of  Rev.  Emory  G.  Chaddock  began  January  25th.  1870.  Dur- 
ing this  year  the  church  edifice  was  reseated,  the  gallery  raised  and  extended, 
thus  adding  accommodations  for  a  much  larger  audience.  Mr.  Chaddock 
was  dismissed  by  the  advice  of  a  council  December  18th,  1873.  On  the  sec- 
ond of  April,  1872.  the  records  and  papers  of  the  church  were  wholly  con- 
sumed by  fire.  The  chapel  in  the  rear  of  the  church  edifice  was  built  hy 
DeaccMi  David  R.  Cooley,  and  completed  October  30th,  1873.  ^*  '"^  ^°^^  ^'^ 
$850,  including  the  furnishings. 

Rev.  Warren  F.  Day  commencetl  his  ministry  with  this  church  Febru- 
ary 1st,  1874,  and  closed  it  October  12th.  1877.  Tlie  pastorate  of  Rev.  Hei- 
muth  H.  Van  Auken  tjegan  December  30th,  1877,  and  continued  until  Feb- 
ruary 22nd,  1885.  During  this  time  the  present  chapel  was  enlarged  and 
repairs  were  made  in  the  main  building.  The  «rgan  was  purchased  and  the 
alcove  built  for  it  at  the  rear  of  the  pulpit. 

Dr.   Horatio  N.   Burton  entered  upon  his  labors  as  pastor  April   3rd, 

1885,  and  continued  with  the  church  until  January  14th.  1888.  when  he  re- 
signed on  account  of  failing  health.  During  his  pastorate  the  church  build- 
ing was  repaired,  painted  and  frescoed  at  a  cost  of  $1,500.  The  Order  of 
Deaconesses  was  instituted  in  1886, 

Rev.  James  R.  Knodell  was  called  to  the  church  as  its  pastor,  beginning 
his  work  March  i8th,  1888,  and  continuing  until  September  27th,  1891, 
Rev.  Harlow  S.  Mills,  having  been  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  church, 
commenced  his  labors  November  ist,  1891.  and  continued  until  September 
27th,  1896.  February  7th,  1897,  Rev.  Joseph  A.  Barnes  began  his  work 
as  pastor  of  the  church,  continuing  his  labors  until  June  24th,  1900. 

For  a  number  of  yeat^  the  Church  Helpers  had  been  accumulating  a 
fund  for  the  purchase  of  a  parsonage.  In  1899  Mr.  Thomas  B.  Buell  pre- 
sented the  church  with  a  deed  of  property  antj  a  sum  of  money  toward  the 
same  object.  In  October,  1900,  an  additional  gift  was  made  by  Mrs.  Sarah - 
Case  in  memory  of  her  mother.  Mrs.  Thomas  Buell.  The  union  of  these 
fimds  and  gifts  enabled  the  church  to  acquire  the  large  and  beautiful  resi- 
dence near  the  church  which  is  to  be  known  as  the  Buell  irarsonage. 

Rev.  David  L,  Holbrook,  the  present  pastor,  entered  upon  his  work 
November  4th.  1900.     The  church  was  incorporated  January  i,   1901. 

Alga^i'Scc. 

The  First  Congr^ational  church  of  Algansee  was  organized  Aug.  26 

1886.  by  Rev-.  E.  D.  Curtis  of  Grand  Rapids,  who  preached  the  sermon,  and 
Rev.  J.  R.  Preston,  who  gave  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  to  the  following 
charter  members:  M.  B.  Wakeman.  Mrs..  Abigail  Wakeman,  R.  D.  Tift, 
Mrs,  Rosp.na  Tift,  Miss  Lizzie  Tift.  H,  W.  Hungerford.  Mrs.  Sophia  Hun- 
gerford  Miss  Mary  G.  Hungerford,  Mrs.  Lettie  Braman,  Mrs.  Tlieresa 
Cleveland,  Mrs.  Maria  Pridgeon.  Mrs.  Anna  C.  Webber,  Miss  Lizzie  Duggs, 


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204  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Miss  Lillie  Draper.  Meetings  were  held  in  the  schoolhouse  until  a  suitable 
church  building  was  erected  and  dedicated  January  ii,  1903,  at  an  expense 
of  $2,500. 

The  churth  has  been  served  by  the  following  named  pastors:  Revs.  T- 
R.  Preston,  E.  A.  Childs,  F.  W.  Brown,  J.  R.  Edgerton.  A.  A.  Luce,  N.  D. 
Lanpere,  C.  E.  Groves,  Winslow,  Joliln  Gordon,  Herbert  A.  Kern,  Wil- 
fred Frost,  George  Brown,  Perry  D.  Gray,  who  is  now  in  bis  third  year. 

Gilcad. 

One  of  the  oldest  Congregational  societies  in  the  county  was 
that  formed  at  John  McKiniey's  residence  in  northwest  Gilead  township, 
Dec.  25,  1S47.  Those  forming  the  society,  while  subscribing  to  the  Congre- 
gational form  of  government,  adhered  to  the  Presbyterian  "  confession  of 
faith  and  doctrine."  The  actual  organization  of  the  society  occurred  at 
Emerson  Marsh's  house,  and  the  first  members  were:  Emerson,  Maria  and 
Martha  K  Marsh,  George  W.,  FYancis  C,  Mary  and  Rebecca  Bull,  Will- 
iam S.  and  Sarah  W.  Evans,  Jason  and  Polly  R.  Harris,  John,  Jean- 
ette  and  Margaret  McKinley,  Stephen  and  Margaret  McMillan,  Eme- 
line,  Caroline  and  Polly  Ried,  Kafherine  and  Deborah  Freeman.  Betsey, 
Clarissa  and  Electa  Smith,  Richard  C.  Dickinson,  Walter  O.  Richards,  Eliz- 
abeth Hale,  Eunice  Fuller,  Hannah  Gaines. 

The  church  withdrew  from  its  Presbyterian  connection  in  1876-77  and 
became  a  purely  Congregational  society.  About  1864,  in  conjunction  with 
the  Methodists  of  Giiead.  this  society  built  the  imion  church,  which  stands 
near  Lake  Gilead  on  section  5.  Rev.  J.  R.  Bonney  acted  as  pastor  of  this 
church  from'  1881   to  1885. 

Besides  the  foregoing  there  are  also  four  other  Congregational  societies 
in  the  county,  known  as  the  Matteson,  Bethel,  North  Batavia  and  Kinder- 
hook  Congregational  churches.  All  of  these  have  churdi  buildings.  The 
Matteson  church  was  organized  March  9,  18S9.  by  Rev.  J.  M.  Sutherland  in 
Bennett's  Hall,  east  of  the  store  at  the  head  of  Matteson  Lake.  Albert  A. 
.Luce  was  chairman  of  the  meeting  at  which  the  church  was  organized. 

Branson. 

The  Congregational  church  at  Bronson  was  organized  in  a  meeting  at 
Rose's  Hall,  May  7,  1868.  Five  ladies  constituted  the  charter  member- 
ship, their  names  being  Mrs.  Isabella  Waite,  Mrs.  Mary  Shepard,  Mrs.  Har- 
riet Nott,  Mrs.  Harriet  Fellows,  Mrs.  Cornelia  Babcock.  The  legal  society 
was  not  organized  until  March  21,  1870,  when  Christopher  G.  Babcock.  F. 
A.  Waite,  George  F.  Giliam,  Reuben  M.  Roberts  and  Jason  Shepard  were 
elected  trustees.  Of  these  trusteees  Mr.  Babcock  was  made  treasurer  and 
Mr.  Waite  clerk. 

The  names  of  the  ministers  who  have  been  pastors  of  the  church  are 
the  following:  John  Randolph  Bonney,  from  Feb..  1868-,  to  June,  1878; 
Frank  B.  Olds,  Sept.  26,  1878,  to  the  spring  of  1879;  J.  R.  Bonney  again  in 
j88o;  lohn  M.  Sutherland,  Mav,  1887;  G.  F.  Holcombe;  Albert  E.  Seibert, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  205 

Sept.  5,  1890,  to  Oct.  30,  1892;  Henry  A.  Decker.  Sept.  12.  1893.  to  March 
J2,  1895;  Charles  H.  Seaver.  June  i.  1895:  Frank  H.  I.x>ckwoocl,  Jan., 
1897;  David  G.  Blair,  Nov.  i.  1898,  to  May  29.  1904;  William  W.  Sdiu- 
maker,  Aug.  5.  1904.  to  Sept.  24,  1905 ;  Henry  Park  Collin,  Nov.  19,  1905, 
who  is  the  present  pastor. 

In  1872.  during  the  first  pastorate  of  Mr.  Eonney,  a  frame  chapel  was 
erected.  This  was  used  as  the  chnrch  huikling;  imtil  J887,  when,  during 
the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Sutherland,  a  building  of  brick  was  put  up  on  the  sonth 
side  of  Chicago  street  between  Matteson  and  Walker  streets,  which  is  the 
society's  present  church  building.  This  house  has  thus  been  in  use  by  the 
church  nineteen  years. 

Rev.  J.  R.  Bonney,  as  is  shown  by  the  foregoing  list  of  pastors,  has 
served  this  church  through  two  periods,  the  first  of  ten  years  and  the  second 
of  six,  or  sixteen  years  out  of  the  entire  thirty-eight  of  its  life.  No  minister 
has  ever  labored  so  long  in  the  western  part  of  the  county  as  has  Mr.  Bon- 
ney. He  was  ordained  in  the  county  in  1863,  in  connection  with  his  preach- 
ing in  a  srhoolhouse  in  Matteson  township.  At  the  present  writing,  JuJy, 
1906,  he  and  his  wife  are  residing  in  Bronson,  passing  their  later  years 
respected  and  beloved  by  the  village  community  and  by  many  in  all  parts  of 
the  county. 

In  T893  the  church  reported  102  residait  members.  From  an  examina- 
tion of  the  reports  of  several  years,  this  would  seem  to  be  its  lai^st  member- 
ship. For  1906  its  resident  membership  is  given  as  86.  The  membership 
and  activity  of  the  church  have  been  lessening  for  several  years,  arid  prob- 
ably at  no  time  since  the  erection  of  the  present  house  of  worship  in  1887 
has  the  church  been  so  low  in  numbers,  in  activity,  and  in  financial  ability. 

United  Brethren. 

A  church  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ  was  organize<l  by  R.  T. 
Martin  in  the  Block  schoolhouse  in  Bethel  township  in  1849.  with  a  char- 
ter membership  of  fortv-five.  The  first  church  house  was  dedicated  August 
2.  T869,  by  Bishop  J.  Weaver.  The  second  church  was  dedicated  in  1899  by 
Rev.  Wesley  Tilley.  The  building  cost  about  two  thousand  dollars.  The 
present  membership  is  43,  the  officials  being:  Frank  Lamjmian,  N.  Piatt, 
W.  Nagle.  A.  McEndarffer,  William  Ammemian,  trustees;  Frank  Lamp- 
man,  leader,  and  George  Lobdell,  steward,  and  O.  S.  Martin,  superintendent 
of  Sundav-school.  The  names  of  the  successive  pastors  are:  Revs.  R.  T. 
Martin,  j'.  J.  Johnston,  Redman,  A.  Zeever,  J.  Woldorf,  D.  Bender,  J.  W. 
Hill,  George  Crawford,  Kester,  J.  Brown,  J.  Tedrow,  Hight.  J.  W. 
Martin,  Swank,  Hopkins,  Kneep,  E.  E.  Rhodes. 

Evangelical  Lutheran  Churches. 

St.  Paul's  Lutheran  church  at  Coldwater  had  its  origin  in  services  held 
in  1858  by  Rev,  Speichard  of  Hillsdale.  Organization  followed  in  i860, 
the  charter  members  being:     L.  Erb.  F.  W.  Flandermeyer,  H.  H.  Flander- 


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206  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

meyer,  L.  Denner,  F.  Korff,  G.  Meyer,  Mr.  Nehring.  H,  Lingle.  G.  Wahl. 
The  property  and  church  Uiilding  were  purchased  in  1863.  Until  1877  the 
congregation  was  supplied  with  a  minister  froni  Hillsdale,  but  in  1878  be- 
came a  separate  charge,  under  Rev.  F.  Haueser.  'The  parsonage  was  built 
in  1880  and  the  school  in  1882.  Rev.  Haueser  was  succeeded  in  1884  hy 
Rev.  M.  Toewe:  he  by  Rev.  A,  Roetler  in  1891.  who  remained  until  T903, 
Tn  IQ04  Rev.  C.  J.  Homan  came  to  the  vacancy. 

ZioN  Church  of  the  Evangelical  Association, 

This  society  at  East  Gilead  was  organized  in  i860  by  Rev.  R.  Sneilly 
with  the  following  charter  members:  C.  S.  Brown  and  family,  Jacob  Doer 
and  family,  Josiah  Snyder  and  family.  C  S.  Brown  was  class  leader  until 
1865,  when  he  entered  the  ministry.  In  1866  the  present  church  edifice  was 
erected.     The  present  minister  is  Warren  Brown. 

The  Unitarians. 

Unity  church  at  Sherwooti  was  organized  in  1878,  and  the  society  was 
incorporated  Feb.  3,  1894.  The  first  church  building  was  erected  in  1881, 
and  the  present  structure  in  1892.  The  charter  members  of  this  church, 
which  is  now  in  a  flourishing  condition,  are  the  following  named :  John  F, 
Williams,  Sol  F.  Downs,  John  F.  McTntyre,  Menton  E.  Sawin,  Leverett  R. 
Daniels,  Ryan  Williams,  Edward  Carswell,  Spencer  Bennett,  Judson  H. 
Watkins,  William  T.  Smith,  Chas.  W.  Eisenmann,  Homer  J.  Craft,  G.  B, 
Williams,  Mrs.  M.  Williams,  Mrs.  A.  Williams,  John  Studley,  Dr.  Robt, 
Eraser,  Mrs.  Dr,  Robt.  Eraser,  Samuel  Cline,  Mrs.  Samuel  Cline,  Mrs,  A. 
L.  Williams,  Mrs.  Laura  E.  Turrell,  Mrs.  Isabell  Salisbury,  Catherine  Re- 
new, Mrs.  Rebecca  Bennett,  Nora  Moyer,  Mrs.  Ada  Eish,  Orpha  A.  Can- 
field,  Andrew  Renew,  Mrs.  Jennie  E.  Case,  Wm,  Wriggleworth,  Dwight 
Coddington,  R.  M,  Barton,  Isaac  C,  Maltby,  S.  S.  Kilbum,  A.  C,  Bell,  E, 
E.  Coddington,  Wallace  Kilbum,  Geo.  D.  Eish,  ?I.  H.  Cross,  Geo.  W.  Black- 
well,  H.  W.  Locke,  James  Gwin,  Esther  A.  Rimisey.  Emma  Hazen,  Louisa 
Hinkle,  Geo,  Sexton,  Thomas  Lockard,  Susan  Tinney,  Ann  Waugh,  Elver 
Gwinn,  Alta  Gwinn,  Mrs.  J.  Maltby,  Mrs.  Miller,  Jacob  Mound,  Mrs.  S. 
M.  Kilburn,  Vine  Bennett,  Melinda  Wrigg-leworth,  James  TJlletson,  R.  R. 
Jones,  J.  B,  Olney,  Mrs,  Elvira  Kilbum.  Mrs.  M.  E.  Bell,  Amasa  L.  Hills, 
Holton  Kilbum,  Clark  Canfield.  Ida  S.  I>aniels,  C.  Sanderson,  J.  F.  Tillet- 
son,  Lucretia  St.  Clair.  Ella  Frye.  Mrs.  J.  Worts,  Celinda  A.  Sawin,  Edwin 
Tinney,  Jasper  T.  Davis,  Sarah  Mastin,  Melvin  Gwinn, 

The  ministers  who  have  served  the  Unitarians  at  Sherwood  are:  Rev. 
M.  V.  Rorks,  Rev.  Ida  C.  Hultin,  Rev.  F.  M.  Aunks,  Rev.  Henry  Vassema, 
Rev.  Andrews,  Rev.  F.  W.  Hayes,  Rev.  E.  H.  Barrett,  Rev.  B.  A.  Hills. 

Mennonites  and  Dunkabds. 

In  Noble  township  is  an  organization  known  as  Mennonites,  the  exact 
name  of  which  is  the  "  Mennonite  Brethren  in  Christ."    This  denomination. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  207 

to  ivhicli  tlie  Mennonites  of  Noble  belong,  was  formed  by  a  union  of  two  sim- 
ilar bodies  at  Jamestown,  Ohio,  Dec.  27,  1883.  Acceding  to  the  book  of 
discipline.  "  it  is  not  allowed  to  introduce  eitlier  musical  instnunents  or 
choirs  into  our  public  worship:  "  no  member  shall  be  permitted  to  have  his 
life  insured;  baptism  is  by  immersion  only:  they  recommend  and  practice 
feet  washing,  this  rite  being  observed  in  connection  with  communion,  which 
is  observed  every  three  months.  The  officers  of  the  Noble  church  at  this 
writing  (January,  1906)  are:  Rev.  Wihiam  H.  Moore,  miinister;  William 
Smith,  superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school;  John  Teachont,  class  leader: 
Menno  Good,  deacon. 

Another  similar  organization,  namely,  the  Dimkards,  hold  meetings  in 
the  Mennonite  church  in  Noble  everj'  two  weeks. 

Roman  Cathoi-ic  Chukches. 

St,  Charles  Roman  Catholic  church  at  Coldwater  was  organized  in 
1849.  A  small  frame  church  was  erected  in  1S56  on  the  present  church  site 
on  Harrison  street  near  Clay.  This  building  was  destroyed  by  incendiaries 
in  Jinie,  1859.  A  brick  building  was  ero:ted  in  1860,  and  this  was  remoxl- 
eled  a  few  years  ago.  The  brick  parsonage  was  built  in  1867,  and  the  St. 
Stanislaus  chapel  was  constructed  about  three  years  ago  at  the  time  of  the 
remodeling.  Rev.  Father  C.  Korst  was  pastor  of  this  parish  about  thirty 
years.     Father  Dennis  A.  Hayes  is  the  present  i>astor. 

Branson. 

Father  Korst,  of  Coldwater,  also  organized  St.  Mary's  Roman  Catholic 
church  at  Bronson  in  the  eighties.  Father  Korst  was  the  first  priest  officiat- 
ing at  Eronson.  After  him  came  Father  Crowe,  who  built  the  present  brick 
church  and  the  parsonage.  His  successors  ha\'e  been  Father  Roskie,  Father 
Meziskie,  Father  Heweit,  who  buiit  the  schoolhouse  in  1900  at  a  cost  of  four 
thousand  dollars.  Father  Heweit  left  in  April,  1906,  and  the  present  pastor 
is  Father  Maruszczyk. 

Protestant  Episcopal  Churches. 


couni 


Tlie  pioneer  of  the  Episcopal  form  of  religious'  worship  in  Branch 
Lty  was,  of  course,  Bishop  Chase,  who  conducted  the  first  Episcoi^al  serv- 
ice in  the  county  at  the  location  then  known  as  Adams  Mills,  in  west 
Bitmson  township,  in  1832.  The  history  of  his  settlement  in  Gilead,  de- 
scribed elsewhere,  should  be  read  in  connection  with  the  history  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  church  in  this  county. 

St.  Mark's  Protestant  Episcopal  church  at  Coldwater  had  its  origin 
at  a  meeting  February  9,  1848,  "at  the  White  schoolhouse"  in  Coldwater, 
where  legal  incorporarion  was  effected  and  the  following  persons  chosen  as 
wardens  and  vestrymen:  Joseph  H.  Moss,  Richard  Greenwood,  wardens; 
Luman  Howe,  E.  G.  Fuller,  L,  D,  Crippen,  James  Pierson  and  George  A. 
Coe,  vestrymen.     Services  with  the  Episcopal  liturgy   were  held   in   Cold- 


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208  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

water  before  this  time,  and  for  some  years  after  the  organization  the  place  of 
worship  was  the  schoolhoiises  and  the  conrt  house.  In  1859  a  site  was 
purchased  on  Hanchett  street  and  a  building  attempted,  but  failed  through 
a  defective  title.  Several  years  later  a  frame  building  was  constructed  at 
another  site  on  Hanchett  street,  the  church  being  consecrated  April  14,  1863. 
A  rectory  was  built  on  East  Chicago  street  at  the  present  church  site  in  1S70, 
During  the  following  decade  plans  were  laid  for  a  new  building  and  in  1880 
the  corner  stone  of  the  present  edifice  was  laid,  and  September  29,  1886,  the 
church  was  consecrated.  Extensive  improvements  were  made  in  1S95,  in- 
cluding a  new  organ. 

The  rectors  of  the  church  and  the  years  in  which  tliey  began  their 
service  are  as  follows:  George  Willard,  1848;  Gardner  M.  Skinner,  1855; 
Henry  Safiford,  i860;  Joseph  Wood,  1863;  J.  Wainright  Ray,  1866;  George 
.P.  Schetky.  D.  D.,  1869;  Henry  Safford.  1870;  Herbert  J.  Cook,  1875; 
Henry  Hughes,  1886:  Herbert  Sowerby,   1895. 

Union   City. 
Grace  Episcojxil    Church,   which  no  longer  maintains   regular   services, 
was  organized  at  the  home  of  Dr.  H.  E.  Ewers,  Dec.  23,  1864,  with  eighteen 
charter  members.     The  present   frame  church  building  00  Ellen  street  was 
erected  in  1865,  the  first  rector  being  Rev.  George  Verner, 

In  the  foregoing  we  have  given  some  account  of  all  the  church  organi- 
zations in  the  county  connected  with  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  with 
the  larger  and  longer  existing  denominations  of  Protestantism.  Other  re- 
ligious beliefs  than  those  held  by  the  bodies  described,  have  been  held  by 
people  in  the  county  all  through  its  history.  The  numbers  holding  these  be- 
liefs have  been  relatively  small.  The  names  of  these  beliefs,  or,  rather,  of 
the  people  holding  them,  are  these:  Disciples  or  Christians,  Seventh  Day 
Adventists,  Spiritualists,  the  Reorganized  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter 
Day  Saints,  Christian  Scientists,   the  Church  of  God,  and  Dowieites. 

The  Disciples  or  Christians  have  had  for  a  number  of  years  a  society 
in  Quincy,  and  they  have  also  there  a  small  church  building. 

The  Seventh  Day  Adventists  have  had  organizations  in  CoWwater, 
Quincy  and  Bronson. 

The  Reorganized  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter  Day  Saints  are  some- 
times called  Mormons,  but  they  are  entirely  disconnected  in  their  organiza- 
tion from  the  Utah  Mormon  Church.  They  have  an  organized  society  or 
"  branch  "  in  the  county,  and  a  church  building  which  is  located  on.  section 
19  of  Quincy  township  on  the  north  side  of  the  Chicago  road.  The  "  branch  " 
was  oi^anized  in  1864  in  the  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bradford  Corliss,  who 
were  then  residing  in  southwest  Quincy.  The  building  was  not  erected  until 
About  1895.  Mr.  Corliss,  who  now  resides  in  Coldwater,  has  been  for  twen- 
ty-five years  president  of  the  branch,  which  is  known  as  "  the  Coldwater 
Branch  of  the  Northern  Indiana  and   Southem  Michigan   District."     Rev. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  209 

S.  W.  L.  Scott,  residing  in  Coldwater,  is  an  active  missionary  of  this  re- 
ligious denomination. 

From  an  early  day  in  tlie  life  of  the  county  to  the  present  time  there 
have  always  been  some  Spiritualists  among  its  people,  the  mimbers  varying 
with  the  decades.  At  times  they  have  been  numerous  enough  to  have  one  or 
more  organizations.  At  one  time  in  Coldwater  tiiey  were  strong  enough  to 
erect  a  fine,  substantial  brick  structure  for  their  meetings.  This  house  is 
stilt  standing  on  the  southeast  comer  of  Pearl  and  Division  streets,  though 
for  the  past  forty  years  it  has  been  owned  and  occupied  as  a  private  res.i- 
dence. 

In  January,  igo6,  the  First  Church  of  Christ,  Scientist,  .of  Coldwater, 
was  organized.  For  some  years  before,  however,  the  Chrisitan  Scientists 
had  held  their  regular  meetings  in  the  city. 

The  inclination  on  the  part  of  the  churches  of  the  county  to  co-operate 
with  each  other  in  various  ways  for  the  religious  and  moral  welfare  of  the 
peo])le  has  grown  steadily  through  all  the  years  ot  its  history.  This  has 
jjeen  exemplified  in  inter-denominational  activity  in  Sunday  schools,  in  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  Unions,  in  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations,  and  in  union 
meetings  held  on  special  days,  such  as  Thanksgiving  Day  and  at  other  times. 

March  2,  1887,  The  Branch  County  Sunday  School  Association  was 
arganized  in  Coldwater,  or,  more  correctly,  revived,  for  there  had  been  such 
an  organization  years  before,  though  it  had  ceased  its  activity  for  about  ten 
years.  The  first  president  was  Rev.  J.  P.  Philips,  pastor  of  the  Baptist 
church  of  Coldwater.  Rev.  Henry  P.  Collins  was  elected  secretary  at  the 
time,  and  has  served  as  such  for  nineteen  years. 

For  several  years  the  Branch  County  Christian  Endeavor  Union  held 
its  conventions  annually,  but  none  has  been  held  since  1903. 

The  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union  of  Branch  County  has  been 
in  existence  for  years,  and  is  carrying  on  its  work  as  actively  as  ever.  In 
1905.  in  connection  with  the  Coldwater  Union,  it  invited  the  State  Associa- 
tion" to  hold  its  annual  convention  at  the  county  seat  of  the  county.  The 
invitation  was  accepted,  and  June  5  and  6,  1906,  the  Thirty-second  Annual 
Convention  of  the  Michigan  Woman's  Christian  Union  was  held  in  Cold- 
water. 


C.ooiik' 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY. 

Previous  to  the  year  1841,  records  of  the  doings  of  the  political  parties 
in  Branch  county  have  not  been  preserved,  but  in  August  of  that  year  con- 
ventions were  held  by  both  the  Democratic  and  Whig  parties.  August  20  the 
Democratic  convention  was  held  at  the  court  hmise  in  Coldwater,  and  the 
following  delegates  were  elected  to  the  state  convention,  to  be  held  in 
Marshall,  September  i  :  Chas.  G.  Hammond,  John  T.  Haynes  and  Enos  G. 
Berry.  Wales  Adams.  Albert  Chandler  and  Hiram  Shoudler  were  elected 
delegates  to  the  senatorial  convention  to  be  held  at  Albion  Avigiist  29.  Ac- 
cording to  a  call  printed  in  the  Coldwater  Sentinel  of  August  20,  a  Whig 
convention  was  held  August  21,  for  the  purpose  of  electing  delegates  to  a 
like  convention,  but  the  subsequent  issues  of  the  paper  contain  no  account 
of  such  a  convention  being  held.  The  Democratic  convention  nominatefl 
John  G.  Barry  for  governor  and  the  Whigs  nominated  Philo  C.  Fuller. 
The  Democratic  nomiinees  for  state  senators  were  Edward  A.  Warner,  of 
Branch,  and  Henry  Hewitt,  of  Calhoun.  Enos  G.  Berry  was  nominated 
for  representative.  At  the  election  the  following  November  the  county  gave 
Barry  a  majority  of  355. 

At  the  general  election  held  in  November,  1844,  the  county  was  carried 
by  the  Democrats  by  about  240  majority,  electing  Wales  Adams,  representa- 
tive: Anselum  Arnold,  sheriff;  John  T.  Haynes,  treasurer;  Corydon  P. 
Benton,  clerk,  and  Jared  Pond,  register. 

In  the  fall  of  1845  Branch  county  gave  the  Democrats  a  majority  of 
347  for  Alpheus  Felch,  candidate  for  governor,  but  for  the  first  time  in  the 
history  of  the  county  the  Whigs  elected  a  portion  of  their  ticket.  George  A. 
Coe.  of  Coldwater,  Whig  nominee  for  state  senator,  defeated  Ephraim  B. 
Danforth  by  78  votes,  and  William  B.  Sprague,  a  Whig,  was  elected  repre- 
sentative by  a  majority  of  32  votes.  At  this  election  James  G.  Bimey,  after- 
wards famous  as  an  Abolitionist,  received  81  vo^es  for  governor  on  the 
Abolition  ticket. 

At  the  November  election  in  1S46  the  Democrats  elected  their  entire 
ticket  bv  majorities  ranging  from  50  to  300_.  and  in  the  fall  of  1847  *e 
Democratic  ticket  from  governor  down  received  majorities  ranging  from 
301  to  378,  with  the  exception  of  Enos  G.  Berr}',  who  was  defeated  by  Geo. 
A.  Coe  for  the  state  senate  by  a  majority  of  18  votes. 

Again  in  the  general  election  of  November,  1848,  the  Democrats  were 
generally  victorious,  giving  420  majority  for  Cass  and  Butler,  nominees 
for  president  and  vice  president.     But  the  Whigs  made  still  further  inroads 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  211 

upon  the  local  Demoa-atic  ticket  by  electing  Geo.  A.  Coe  representative  by 
a  majority  of  17,  James  Pierson  sheriff  by  12  majority  and  Hiram  Rathbum 
Alden  treasurer  by  13  majority. 

In  November,  1849,  the  Democrats  gave  John  S.  Barry,  their  nominee 
for  governor,  a  majority  of  379,  but  Roland  Root,  a  Whig,  was  elected  repre- 
sentati\'e  by  a  majority  of  53  over  Henry  C.  Gilbert. 

tn  November,  1S50,  the  whole  Democratic  ticket  was  elected,  with  the 
excqrtion  of  one  representative,  by  majorities  ranging  fronr  8  to  600.  Jared 
Pond  was  defeated  by  S.  L.  Lawrence,  a  Whig.  In  this  election  the  Free 
Soilers  united  with  the  Whigs  upon  several  candidates. 

The  election  held  in  the  fall  of  185 1  appears  to  have  been  very  tame,  as 
only  a  governor  and  lieutenant  governor  were  to  be  elected.  The  result 
was  that  Branch  gave  Robert  McClelland,  the  Democratic  candidate,  a  major- 
ity of  231.     At  this  election  only  1,125  votes  were  cast. 

The  campaign  of  1852  was  an  exciting  one.  Party  feelings  ran  high 
and  mass  meetings  were  held  by  both  the  Democrats  and  Whigs.  The  Demo- 
crats gathered  in  front  of  the  old  court  house  on  Monday,  October  11,  and 
listened  to  addresses  by  Gen.  Lewis  Cass,  Senator  Felch  and  Gov.  McClelland, 
and  it  was  claimed  that  fully  four  thousand  were  in  attendance.  The  Whigs, 
being  in  the  minority,  did  not  gather  in  crowds  as  great  as  the  Democrats, 
but  they  were  enthusiastic  for  their  ticket,  which  was  headed  by  Gen.  Win- 
field  Scott  for  president,  while  the  Democrats  were  hurrahing  for  Franklin 
Pierce,  who  received  a  majority  of  303  votes  in  the  county.  The  Democrats 
elected  their  entire  county  ticket  by  majorities  of  250  to  350, 

During  the  summer  of  1854  the  Republican  party  was  organized  at 
Jackson,  Michigan,  and  at  the  fall  election  it  administered  to  the  Democratic 
party  the  first  defeat  ever  known  by  that  organization  in  Branch  county. 
Kinsley  S,  Bingham,  Republican  candidate  for  governor,  received  a  majority 
of  734  in  the  county,  and  Daniel  Wilson,  Republican,  defeated  Ebeaiezer 
Butterworth,  Democrat,  for  the  office  of  sheriff,  by  a  majority  of  5S1.  For 
county  clerk  Eben  O.  Ijeach  was  elected  over  Albert  Chandler  and  Curtis 
Young  was  elected  register  of  deeds  over  Joseph  C.  Leonard.  For  county 
treasurer  Hiran  Shoudler  defeated  Wales  Adams,  and  John  W.  Turner  de- 
feated John  G.  Parkhurst  for  the  ofifice  of  prosecuting  attorney. 

This  election  was  followed  by  an  almost  unbroken  series  of  Republican 
majorities  until  November,  1878,  when  the  Greenback  party,  which  had  lately 
beaime  quite  a  power,  united  with  the  Democrats  on  most  of  their  candi- 
dates and  went  into  the  campaign  of  1878  under  tlie  name  of  Nationals.  Ttie 
Republican  ticket  was  again  successful  with  the  following  exceptions:  Will- 
iam H.  Donaldson,  National,  defeated  Zelotes  G.  Osborn,  Republican,  and 
Arthur  Crippen,  Democrat,  by  a  plurality  of  153;  for  representative,  C.  J. 
Thorpe,  National,  was  elected  over  James  R.  Wilson,  Republican,  and  John 
Taggart.  Democrat,  by  a  plurality  of  224.  The  balance  of  the  Republican 
county  ticket  was  elected  by  majorities  ranging  from  68  to  606.  At  this 
election  John  B.  Shipman,  who  was  on  botli  Democratic  and  National  tidcets, 
was  elected  circuit  judge  over  David  B.  Tliompson,  Republican,  and  Riley, 


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212  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Democrat,  by  a  plurality  of  875.  Branch  county  gave  him  a  majority  of 
only  16  votes,  the  remainder  coming-  from  St.  Joseph,  county.  Jonas  H.  Mc- 
Gowan,  of  Coldwater,  was  elected  to  congress  from  this  district.  Branch 
county  giving  him  a  miajority  of  383  over  Upton,  Democrat,  and  Dawson, 
National. 

In  November,  1880,  the  Republicans  were  entirely  successful,  electing 
everything  by  majorities  ranging  from  929  to  1722.  Charles  Upson  was 
elected  to  congress.  Branch  giving  him  a  majority  of  1188. 

In  November,  1882,  the  Greenback  party  was  popular  throughout  the 
state,  electing  Begole  by  about  800  majority,  but  Branch  stood  almost  solidly 
for  the  Republican  ticket,  electing  everything  excepting  sheriff  and  repre- 
sentative in  the  second  district.  Oliver  C.  Campbell,  Greenback,  was  elected 
sheriff  over  Geo.  W.  Van  Aken,  Republican,  by  46  votes,  and  Emanuel  Hime- 
baugh,  a  Greenback,  was  elected  representative  over  Richard  Coward,  Re- 
publican, by  17  votes.  With  these  two  exceptions  the  Republican  majorities 
ranged  from  143  to  1223. 

The  campaign  of  1884  was  closely  contested,  but  the  Republicans  were 
again  successful  in  the  main,  losing  only  sheriff  and  prosecuting  attorney. 
Campbell  was  re-elected  sheriff  by  a  majority  of  495,  and  John  R.  Champion, 
Greenback,  defeated  Marc  A.  Merrifield,  Republican,  for  prosecuting  attor- 
ney by  a  majority  of  27  votes.  In  this  campaign  the  votes  on  the  presiden- 
tial ticket  were  as  follows:  James  G.  Blaine,  Republican,  3671;  Grover 
Cleveland,  Democrat,  1315;  Benjamin  F,  Butler,  Greenback,  1644;  John  St. 
John,  Prohibition,  419. 

The  official  canvass  of  the  votes  cast  November  2,  1886,  shows  a  clean 
sweep  for  the  Republicans.  Cyrus  G.  Luce  for  governor  headed  the  Rqjurj- 
lican  ticket  and  received  in  Branch  coimty  a  plurality  of  758  votes  over  Geo. 
L.  Yaple,  Democrat,  and  Samuel  Dickie,  Prohibitionist. 

In  September,  1888,  President  Cleveland  appointed  Gen.  John  G.  Park- 
hurst  minister  to  Belgium. 

In  November  the  county  gave  a  solid  Republican  majority,  honoring 
Gov.  Luce  by  a  plurality  of  1284  over  Wellington  Burt,  Democrat.  Alfred 
Milnes,  of  Coldwater,  was  elected  to  the  .state  senate  by  a  plurality  of  1380 
over  I^ne,  Democrat. 

The  Democrats  were  successful  in  the  state  in  the  fall  of  1890,  electing 
E.  B.  Winans  governor,  but  Branch  county  stood  firmly  by  its  long-time  Re- 
publican majority,  giving  J.  M.  Turner,  Republican,  a  plurality  of  962  over 
Winans.  and  elected  their  entire  county  ticket  with  the  exception  of  prosecut- 
ing attorney,  in  which  WilHam  H.  Compton,  Republican,  was  defeated  by 
Elmer  E.  Palmer.  Democrat,  who  won  by  a  majority  of  672.  For  state 
senator  Oliver  C.  Campbell,  Democrat,  was  elected  by  a  plurality  of '73.  The 
opposing  candidate  was  Alfred  Milnes,  Republican,  who  received  2716,  and 
Edward  E.  Bostwick,  PrcAibitionist.  The  Republican  majorities  on  the 
balance  of  the  ticket  varied  from  84  to  1401. 

The  presidential  election  of  1892  found  Branch  solid  for  the  Republican 
ticket,   giving  every  candidate  a  plurality,   which  on  the  presidential  ticket 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY    '  213 

was  1 124.  The  election  of  two  years  later,  in  1894,  was  a  repetition  of 
1892,  the  Republicans  electing-  everything'  by  increased  pluralities. 

In  the  spring'  of  iSg$  Alfred  Mihies  was  elected  to  the  national  house 
of  representatives  to  succeed  J.  C.  Burrows,  who  went  to  the  senate.  In 
this  contest  Mr.  Milnes  defeated  Calvin  J.  TlioqDe.  who  was  the  candidate 
of  the  Democratic,  Silver  and  Prohibition  parties,  his  majority  being  about 
1400. 

The  famous  silver  campaign  of  1896  proved  a  disaster  for  the  Repubh- 
cans.  After  many  years  of  almost  unbroken  control  of  tlie  political  affairs 
of  the  county,  they  were  totally  roiitexl  by  Bryan  and  his  followers.  The 
entire  silver  ticket  was  elected  by  pluralities  of  from  161  to  368.  the  latter 
being  A.  M.  Todd's  plurality  over  Alfred  Mihies  for  congressman.  Bryan 
carried  the  county  by  a  plurality  of  377.  Two  years  later  the  Republicans 
reg:ained  some  of  their  lost  prestige  by  electing  about  half  of  their  county 
ticket,  and  giving  a  majority  of  105  for  their  candidate  for  governoi-,  Hazen 
S.  Pingree. 

Jn  1900  the  silver  party,  again  headed  by  William  Jennings  Bryan  for 
president,  were  overwhelmingly  defeated  by  the  Republicans,  who  carried  the 
county  for  every  candidate  on  their  ticket.  McKinley  polled  880  more  votes 
than  Bryan  and  the  Republican  candidates  on  the  same  ticket  averaged  about 
the  same  number. 

In  1902  the  party  opposed  to  the  Republicans  again  assumed  its  old 
name  and  the  campaign  vi'as  once  more  between  the  Republicans  and  the 
Democrats,  in  which  the  latter  were  more  overwhelmingly  defeated  than 
was  the  silver  party  in  1900.  The  county  ticket  electefl  was  entirely  Repub- 
ilcan  by  a  majority  of  over  1000. 

TT^ie  election  on  November  8,  1904.  was  the  most  decisive  defeat  the 
Democrats  ever  suffered  in  Blanch  county.  The  Republican  ticket,  headed  by 
Roosevelt  for  president,  carried  the  county  by  largely  increased  major- 
ities. Roosevelt  received  2837  more  votes  than  did  Parker,  the  Dem- 
ocratic candidate,  and  the  Republican  county  ticket  was  elected  by  majori- 
ties varying  from  1799  to  2159. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 
COURTS  AND  LAWYERS. 

Until  Michig:an  became  a  state  the  judicial  circuit  embracing  Branch 
county  covered  the  entire  Michigan  Territory,  that  is,  there  was  only  one 
judicial  circuit,  and  the  circuit  judge  held  sessions  in  all  the  organized  coun- 
ties. "  At  a  session  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  Territory  of  Michigan, 
holder)  in  and  for  the  county  of  Branch,"  is  the  record  for  the  first  circuit 
court  held  in  this  county  after  it  was  separately  organized  from  St.  Joseph 
county. 

In  1S36  Michigan  was  divided  into  judicial  circuits  each  presided  o\'er 
by  a  circuit  judge.  By  the  act  approved  July  26,  1836,  the  third  judi- 
cial circuit  was  organized.  The  original  counties  embraced  in  this  circuit 
were  Branch,  St.  Joseph,  Cass,  Berrien,  Kalamazoo,  Allegan,  Calhoun,  Kent, 
and  all  the  country  attached  to  any  one  of  these  for  judicial  purposes. 

Branch  county  continued  a  part  of  the  third  circuit  until  1851.  An  act 
approved  April  8th,  of  that  year,  created  the  second  circuit  of  Branch,  St. 
Joseph,  Cass  and  Berrien  counties. 

On  March  6,  1869,  the  second  circuit  was  divided,  Berrien  and  Cass 
being  constituted  one  circuit  and  retaining  the  nan^e  of  second  circuit,  while 
Branch  and  St.  Joseph  were  organized  as  the  fifteenth  judicial  circuit,  and  as 
sucli  it  has  remained  to  the  present  time.  The  late  Judge  Charles  Upson  was 
the  first  judge  of  this  circuit,  serving  from  1870  to  1876. 

The  first  constitution  of  Michigan  provided  for  a  county  court,  inter- 
mediate between  the  justice  courts  and  the  circuit  court.  The  first  session 
of  the  Branch  county  court  was  held  in  Coklwater.  March  i.  1847,  Jacob 
Shook  being  present  as  setond  judge,  with  C.  P.  Benton,  clerk.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  abolition  of  this  branch  of  judiciary  by  the  second  constitution, 
the  county  court  adjourned  sine  die  December  31,  1851,  Justin  Lawyer  being 
the  last  judge. 

For  several  years  after  the  organization  of  a  county  government  the 
legal  business  of  the  county  was  transacted  by  lawyers  whose  homes  were  in 
other  counties  of  the  state.  The  profession  of  law  during  the  early  days  was 
an  itinerant  one.  The  court  moved  about  from  county  seat  to  county  seat 
over  an  immense  area  comprising  the  judicial  cinruit,  an<l  with  the  coiirt  trav 
eled  the  attorneys.  They  traveled  by  stage  coach  or  horsebad^  according  to 
choice  or  convenience,  and  the  arrival  of  the  court  and  its  attorneys  was  an 
event  to  be  looked  forsvard  to  by  the  villagers  of  the  county  seat. 

Thus,  in  October,  1833,  no  httle  stir  and  excitement  was  caused  in  the 
little  village  of  Branch  when  the  first  session  of  the  circuit  court  was  begun. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  215 

The  court,  which  opened  on  the  21st  day  of  the  niDiith,  was  presided  over 
by  William  A.  Fletcher,  who  was  president  judge  of  the  jiuiicial  circuit  of  the 
territory  of  Michigan.  Associate  judges  were  Silas  A.  Holbrook,  for  many 
years  a  well  known  business  man  of  Coklwater,  and  William  A.  Kent. 

In  the  minutes  of  this  session  is  tlilis  sentence,  "  Ordered  that  Nea!  Mc- 
Gaffey  be  prosecuting  attorney  die  present  term."  Mr.  McGaffey  may  be 
considered  one  of  the  first,  if  not  tlie  first,  lawyer  who  practiced  before  a 
court  of  record  in  Branch  county.  But  he  was  not  a  resident  of  this  county. 
His  home  was  at  White  Pigeon,  where  he  lived  and  died.  St.  Joseph  county, 
as  already  mentioned,  was  for  several  years  the  civil  and  judicial  center  for 
a  large  region  which  has  since  been  divided  into  separate  counties,  including 
Branch  county.  Therefore  it  was  natural  that  the  first  lawyers  who  located 
in  this  part  of  the  state  would  settle  in  St.  Joseph  county  where  their  profes- 
sional interests  were  centered. 

But  the  oldest  attorney  of  this  part  of  the  state,  was  CoKimbia  Lancaster, 
whose  name  is  mentioned  among  die  attorneys  of  the  April  term  of  1835  as 
having  business  in  the  Branch  county  session  of  the  circuit  court.  Colum- 
bia Lancaster  was  born  in  Connecticut  in  1803,  came  to  White  Pigeon  in 
1830,  and  on  the  location  of  the  county  seat  at  Centen'ille  became  the  first 
resident  of  that  place.  He  is  said  to  have  taught  the  second  school  in  Branch 
county,  and  in  addition  to  being  a  lawyer  and  scliool  teacher  was  a  mighty 
hunter.     He  later  moved  to  Washington  Territory. 

The  aftomeys  mentioned  alongside  the  name  of  C.  Lancaster  were 
Marcus  Lane  and  George  W.  Jewett  (or  Jewit,  as  it  was  spelled  in  the 
records).  Marcus  Lane  came  from  his  home  at  Yi>silanti  to  practice  in 
Branch  county.  On  coming  to  Michigan  he  had  located  for  practice  at  Ann 
Arbor,  in  1826.  George  W.  Jewett  lived  at  Ann  Arbor,  but  afterward  moved 
to  Niies,  where  he  dietl. 

At  the  October  term  -ji  circuit  court  in  1835  Henry  I.  Backus  sought 
a  license  to  practice  law  in  the  territory  of  Michigan.  Thereupon  the  judge 
appointed  the  attorneys  Jewett,  Lancaster  and  Lane  a  committee  to  ex- 
amine the  qualifications  of  Mr.  Backus,  who  had  previously  practiced  in  the 
state  of  Connecticut,  and  on  examination  the  committee  found  the  applicant 
duly  qualified,  whereupon  he  was  admitted  to  practice.  Mr.  Backus  was  the 
first  attorney  admitted  to  practice  in  Branch  county.  Although  admitted 
here,  there  is  no  proof  that  he  was  ai  resident  lawyer  in  the  county. 

In  1837  there  came  to  Coldwater  EzlxMi  G.  Fuller  who,  according  to  all 
accepted  reports  and  proofs,  was  die  first  resident  lawyer  of  Branch  county, 
although  not  the  first  attorney  to  represent  clients  m  court  here.  Dymg 
January  14,  1892.  at  Marysville,  California,  where  he  had  resided  smce  1878, 
Judge  E.  G.  Fuller  was  at  the  time  of  his  death  nearly  eighty-two  years  old, 
forty  years  of  which  had  been  passed  as  a  member  of  the  bar  of  Branch 
county.  He  was  appointed  prosecuting  attorney  soon  after  his  admission 
to  practice,  and  later  held  the  office  of  judge  o.f  probate.  His  practice  fell  of? 
in  later  years,  nor  did  he  make  much  effort  to  keep  up  with  the  profession. 


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216  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

but  gave  imich  af  his  time  to  his  farm  and  the  abstract  business,  until  he 
moved  to  CaJifornia. 

In  the  first  number'  of  the  Coldzvater  Sentinel,  dated  April,  1841,  are  the 
professional  cards  of  E.  A.  Warner,  E.  G.  Fuller  and  George  A.  Coe.  These 
constituted  the  Branch  county  bar  at  that  date.  The  first  named  had  located 
in  Coldwater  about  1838.     He  died  about  1845,  while  still  young.     George 

A.  Coe  had  begun  his  professional  career  in  Coldwater,  and  during  the  thirty 
years  before  his  death  m  1869  he  attained  unusuai  prominence.  Besides  hold- 
ing various  local  offices  he  was  a  member  of  both  branches  of  the  legislature, 
and  in  1854  and  1856  was  lieutenant  governor  of  the  state. 

The  calendar  of  the  Branch  county  court  in  1847  contains  the  follow- 
ing attorneys  who  appeared  in  cases  tried  in  that  year:  H,  C.  Gilbert,  W. 
Brown,  Louis  T.  N.  Wilson,  E.  G.  Fuller,  George  A.  Coe,  Justin  Lawyer, 
Justus  Goodwin,  E.  G.  Parsons,  D.  Darwin  Hughes,  A.  Piatt,  E.  J.  Hard, 
John  Root,  C.  B.  Dresser,  A.  French  and  J.  W.  Gilbert. 

Of  these,  L.  T,  N.  Wilson  studied  his  law  in  the  office  of  Mr.  Coe  at 
Coldwater.  He  was  identified  with  Coldwater  until  his  death,  April  26, 
1887. 

The  name  of  Justin  Lawyer,  above  mentioned  with  the  attorneys  Oif 
1847,  will  long  be  honored  in  Coldwater  not  so  much  for  his  connection  with 
the  law  as  for  his  relation  with  business  and  public  affairs.  He  did  not  prac- 
tice long,  but  turned  his  attention  to  banking  and  other  interests.  "  The 
public  had  confidence  in  his  ability  to  do  things  thoroughly  and  well,"  is 
the  most  impressive  tribute  to  his  Hfe  and  character.  He  was  connected  with 
sevei"al  public  enterprises,  among  them  the  city  water  works,  of  which  he 
was  superintendent  at  the  time  of  his  death,  March  13,  1894. 

Passing  over  almost  a  generation  of  time,  to  the  year  1875,  we  find 
many  changes  in  the  personnel  of  the  county  bar.  The  roll  of  Branch  county 
attorneys  in  1875,  as  given  in  a  court  calendar  of  that  year,  is  as  follows: 
(Tlie  names  are  mentioned  in  order  of  seniority)  Ezbon  G.  Fuller.  Charles 
tlpson,  David  B.  Dennis,  Caleb  D.  Randall,  David  Thompson,  John  W. 
Turner,  John  R.  Champion,  W.  J.  Bowen,  Franklin  E.  Morgan,  J.  H.  Mc- 
Gowan,  J,  B.  Shipman,  Nosh  P.  Loveridge,  Justin  Lawyer,  J.  G.  Parkhurst. 
F.  L  Skeels,  C.  N.  Legg,  C.  E.  Thornton,  H.  H.  Barlow,  C.  D.  Wright,  S. 

B,  Kitchel,  all  of  Coldwater.  Ezra  Berry  was  from  Quincy.  while  Union 
City  was  represented  by  Jerome  Bowen,  M.  A.  Merrifield  and  George  Styles. 

Judge  Charles  Upson  (see  sketch),  who  died  September  5,  1885,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-four,  was  once  referred  to  in  the  early  sixties  as  "  the  leading 
attorne>-  of  southwestern  Michigan."  He  was  well  versed  in  the  common 
and  statute  law,  was  energetic  in  all  that  he  did,  and  had  the  respect  of  the 
entire  bar  of  Branch  county. 

Caleb  D.  Randall,  who  died  September  i,  1903,  was  for  many  years 
influential  in  business  and  the  law.  He  was  bom  in  Cayuga  county,  New- 
York,  in  1831,  a  son  of  Dr.  Alvah  Randall,  the  pioneer  physician  of  Bronson, 
who  has  been  mentioned  elsewhere.  Studying  law,  he  began  practice  about 
1855,  but  did  very  little  active  legal  work  after  the  war.     He  was  successful 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  217 

as  a  pension  claim  agent,  and  in  1870  was  elected  to  the  state  senate.  He 
took  part  in  the  organization  of  the  Southern  Michi^n  National  Bank,  and 
for  some  years  before  as  we!!  as  subsequent  to  that  time  lie  gave  little  atten- 
tion to  legal  practice.  Altlrough  noted  for  his  business  conservatism.  Ire 
suffered  severe  reverses  and  had  to  relinquish  most  of  his  interests.  His 
work  in  education  and  the  charities,  and  his  zeal  in  all  matters  affecting  the 
public  interest  are  attested  in  various  places  in  this  history. 

David  Thompson  was  another  pioneer  lawyer  who  prepareti  for  his 
profession  in  Coldwater.  He  was  associated  with  Charles  Upson  during  the 
early  sixties,  and  in  1864  was  elected  judge  of  probate,  and  later  served  as 
circuit  judge  to  fill  a  vacancy.  Judge  Thompson  has  been  characterized  as 
a  most  kindly  man,  of  easy  approach,  with  little  shrewdness  and  no  closeness 
in  financial  matters.  His  easy  going  methods  prevented  him'  from  accunii- 
ulating"  money,  but  he  was  always  a  respectetl  iigiire  in  the  commimity.  He 
became  a  clerk  under  the  government  at  Washington,  and  died  at  Coldwater, 
February  19,  1896. 

AH  the  old  settlers  as  well  as  the  members  of  the  bar  knew  and  liked 
John  W.  Turner,  whose  most  prominent  characteristics  were  a  jovial,  genial 
nature,  a  natural  eloquence,  and  a  poetic  temperament  that  sometimes  man- 
ifested itself  in  verse.  Quick  at  repartee  and  relying  more  on  the  inspiration 
of  the  occasion  than  attention  to  details,  he  was  noted,  during  his  early 
career,  as  a  strong  advocate  before  a  jury.  He  died  at  the  age  of  seventy 
years,  August  ti.  1888. 

Willard  J.  Bowen,  who  is  also  deceased,  was  a  graduate  in  law  from  the 
University  of  Michigan,  a  member  of  the  same  class  with  Franklin  E.  Mor- 
gan. His  praictice  was  limited,  for  he  soon  directed  his  attention  to  other 
matters,  for  awhile  doing  a  business  in  prosecuting  war  claims,  and  later 
became  a  member  of  the  hanking  firm  of  Rose,  Bowen  &  Rose.  Eventually 
he  went  to  Texas,  where  he  had  a  career  in  business  and  politics,  and  where 
he  died. 

Jerome  Bowen,  who,  as  elsewhere  related,  was  at  one  time  connected 
with  the  Coldwater  Republican,  was  practicing  law  during  the  seventies  in 
Union  City,  and  from  there  went  to  Manistee. 

J.  H.McGowan,  who  died  in  Washington,  where  he  lived  after  serving 
as  a  representative  from  his  Michigan  district,  was  a  self-made,  college-bred 
lawyer.  A  poor,  hard-working  college  boy,  he  yet  had  the  popular  qualities 
and  the  ability  to  mingle  with  his  fellows  to  such  a  degree  that  be  was  re- 
ceived into  the  societies  of  wealth  of  the  university.  In  jiractice  he  was  noted 
for  his  abihty  in  cross  examination,  and  could  direct  a  (ire  of  questions  with 
such  rapidity  as  has  seldom  been  equaled.  He  was  successful  in  his  profes- 
sion, and  stood  high  in  the  communitj'  because  of  his  clean,  pure  record. 

The  death  of  Noah  P.  Loveridge  on  June  26,  1900,  took  away  another 
of  the  lawyers  who  had  come  to  Coldwater  during  the  sixties.  He  had  a  suc- 
cessful practice  from  the  start,  and  was  associated  for  a  number  of  years 
with  Judge  J.  B.  Shipman.  He  stoofi  high  in  public  affairs,  and,  like  his 
associate,  held  the  office  of  judge  of  the  fifteenth  judicial  circuit. 


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218  HISTORY  O'F  BRANCH  COUNTY 

One  by  one  the  county  bar  of  1875  'i^s  been  diminished  by  death.  Ezra 
Berry,  the  Qiiincy  attorney  at  that  time,  and  since  deceased,  was  a  member 
of  the  well  known  pioneer  family  of  that  village.  He  had  been  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1846,  and  a  large  part  of  his  business  career  was  spent  in  other 
affairs, 

C.  D,  Wright  was  a  CoMwater  boy.  who  was  admitted  to  the  bar  there, 
and  later  went  west  to  Los  Angeles,  where  he  acquired  a  competence  mainly 
by  successful  investment,  and  died  in  tliat  city.  F.  L.  Skeels,  who  \^■as  an 
active  member  of  the  profession  for  some  years,  and  is  now  deceased,  was  a 
Yale  graduate,  .which  was  an  uncommon  distinction  for  the  lawyer  of  that 
time.     He  served  four  years  as  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  county. 

Only  recently,  and  while  this  work  has  been  in  process  of  compilation, 
two  others  whose  names  appear  in  th'e  above  roll  have  passed  away,  namely, 
S.  B.  Kitchel  and  Gen.  J.  G.  Parkhurst,  whose  careers  are  sketched  elsewhere. 

Two  other  early  lawyers  might  be  mentioned.  One  was  M.  S.  Bowen, 
who  came  during  the  sixties,  and  remained  only  a  few  years.  His  best  re- 
membered characteristic  was  his  fondness  for  the  legal  quibble,  and  he  oiften 
clouded  the  judgment  of  both  judge  and  jury  with  a  shower  of  technicali- 
ties and  whimsical  objections.  The  other  character  was  E.  S.  Jennings,  the 
"  tramp  lawyer,"  who  wj(s  possessed  of  a  facile  and  persuasive  eloquence.  It 
is  said  that  this  enabled  him  fO'  borrow  a  large  sum  of  money  from  a  dozen 
nr  more  persons  about  the  same  time.  He  then  went  to  Nebraska,  where  he 
invested  in  land,  became  prosperous,  and,  to  his  credit  let  it  be  said,  met  all 
his  obligations  in  full. 

In  the  roll  of  1875  ™3y  be  found  the  oldest  members  of  the  present  bar. 
Since  the  death  of  Gen.  Parkhurst,  John  R.  Champion  is  the  oldest  lawyer 
in  the  county.  He  has  been  here  since  before  the  war.  At  one  time  he  was 
considered  one  of  the  able  criminal  lawyers  of  the  county,  but  in  later  years 
had  a  general  practice. 

Time  has  also  dealt  kindly  with  Franklin  E.  Morgan,  who  was  one  of 
the  early  graduates  from  the  University  of  Michigan  law  department,  and 
who  came  here  in  1863.  Although  a  member  of  die  bar  for  forty  years,  until 
his  retirement  in  January,  J904,  he  was  never  in  active  court  practice.  He 
had  an  office  business,  largely  in  real  estate  and  loans,  and  represented  outside 
capital  and  some  estates  in  Coldwater.  When  local  capital  became  sufficient 
to  meet  all  the  demands,  his  business  in  that  direction,  which  had  been  quite 
remunerative,  declined,  and  thereafter  until  his  retirement  he  carried  on  an 
office  law  practice. 

Judge  John  B.  Shipman,  whose  career  is  sketched  on  another  page,  is 
still  a  leader  of  the  Branch  county  bar,  with  over  forty  years  of  active  prac- 
tice behind  him,  part  of  which  time  he  was  circuit  judge. 

Others  whose  names  are  mentioned  elsewhere  are  the  well  known  at- 
torneys Charles  N.  Legg,  H.  H.  Barlow,  both  of  Coldwater,  and  M.  A,  Mer- 
rifieki  and  George  Styles  of  Union  City. 

A  study  of  the  careers  of  Branch  county's  legal  profession  would  seem 
to  indicate  that  business  and  the  law  have  generally  gone  band  in  hand,  or 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  219 

that  a  ready  transfer  of  activity  has  been  [Mssible  from  one  to  tlie  otlier.  It 
was  one  of  the  observations  of  the  Hon.  James  Bryce,  author  of  the  "Amer- 
ican Commmi'd^eaith,"  on  the  occasion  of  his  recent  visit  to  this  countn,-.  tiiat 
the  lawyers  in  this  country  were  turning  more  and  more  of  their  attention  to 
general  forms  of  business  and  devoting  themselves  less  exclusively  to  their 
jjrofession.  In  a  county  the  size  of  Branch  the  special  dei^artments  of  the  law 
have  of  course  never  furnished  enough  business  for  one  man,  and  the  prac- 
tice has  been  what  is  termed  "  general."  A  few  have  develoijed  aptitude  as 
pleaders,  or  in  criminal  prosecution,  or  in  caisultation  practice. 

As  one  comes  down  the  consecutive  decafles  since  the  pioneer  courts 
were  held  in  Branch  county  he  finds  an  increasing  per  cent,  of  college 
trained  lawyers.  And  the  recjuirements  for  graduation  at  the  ordinary  law 
school  of  forty  years  ago  have  been  raised  fron>  time  to  time,  so  that  the 
preparation  for  the  legal  profession  has  been  broadened  and  diversified  to 
keep  pace  with  the  enlarged  arena  which  is  now  occupied  by  the  law,  Tlie 
home-schoole<:l  aspirant  of  sixty  years  ago  would  read  a  few  volimtes  in  the 
office  of  one  whom  he  chose  to  call  his  "  preceptor,"  and  would  then  go  be- 
fore a  committee  of  local  attorneys  appointed  by  the  circuit  court,  as  was  the 
case  with  tlie  first  lawyer  admitted  to  practice  in  Branch  county.  The  mem- 
l)ers  of  this  committee,  though  practical  lawyers,  not  often  possessed  aWlity 
as  examiners,  and  the  questions  asked  of  the  applicant  seldom  touched  the 
depths  of  law  and  were  often  irrele\'ant. 

But  at  Ann  Arbor,  even  fifty  years  ago.  the  law  student  after  complet- 
ing his  courses  was  put  through  a  six  days'  test  of  oral  examination,  con- 
ducted by  such  eminent  men  as  Judge  Campbell.  Judge  Cooley,  Judge  I.  C. 
Walker,  Judge  E.  C.  Walker  of  Detroit,  and  Judge  Stacey  of  Tecumseh. 
After  successfully  passing  this  battery  of  questioners  it  was  likely  that  the 
applicant  would  ever  after^vard  have  a  high  respect  for  the  dignity  of  his 
profession  and  be  well  qualified  for  its  duties. 

Passing  along  two  decades  from  the  roll  of  1875.  it  will  be  interesting 
to  notice  a  similar  list  of  Branch  coimty  attorneys  for  the  year  1895.  They 
are — 

At  Coldwater:  D.  B.  Dennis,  C.  D.  Randall.  J.  R.  Qiampion,  F.  E. 
Morgan,  T-  B,  Shipman,  N.  P.  Loveridge.  J.  G.  Parkhurst,  H.  C,  Clark.  H. 
H.  Barlow.  S.  B.  Kitchel,  N.  A.  Reynolds,  C.  N.  Legg,  William  H.  Comp- 
ton.  M.  D.  Campbell,  F,  D.  Newterry.  D.  M.  Wells,  J.  S.  Evans.  H.  C. 
Loveridge,  Melvin  E.  Peters,  L.  F.  Humphrey,  E.  E.  Palmer.  C.  C.  John- 
son, C.  U.  Champion,  A.  L.  Locke.  C.  F.  Howe,  E.  H.  I-overidge,  E,  E.  Kil- 
linger,  B.  C.  Thorpe,  Lerov  Palmer. 

From  Ouincy  the  following:  W,  H.  Lockerby,  A.  L.  Kinney,  E.  D. 
I^ckerbv. 

And  from  Union  City:     M.  A.  Merrifield,  George  Styles. 

The  changes  in  the  personnel  during  twenty  years  had  been  many,  but 
the  roll  for  1895  almost  represents  the  present  membership  of  the  bar.  as  will 
be  seen  by  reference  to  the  roll  of  attorneys  for  igo6,  herewith  given : 

J.  G.   Parkhurst   (deceased);  John   R.   Champion.  Coklwater,   Franklin 


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220  HISTORY  OF  BRA\'CH  COUNTY 

E.  Morgan,  Coldwater;  John  B.  Shipman,  Coldwater;  Henry  C.  Ciark,  Cold- 
water;  H.  H.  Barlow,  Coldwater;  Norman  A.  Reynolds,  Coldwater;  Charles 
N.  Legg,  Coldwater;  Miio  D.  Campbell,  Coldwater;  Frank  D.  Newberry, 
Coldwater;  John  S.  Evans,  Coldwater;  Henry  C.  Loveridge,  Coldwater; 
Leonard  F.  Humphrey,  Coldwater ;  Elmer  E.  Palmer,  Coldwater ;  Clayton 
C.  Johnson,  Coldwater;  Charles  U.  Champion,  Coldwater;  Charles  F.  Howe, 
Coldwater;  Emest  H.  Loveridge,  Coldwater;  Leroy  Palmer,  Coldwater; 
Frank  B.  Reynolds,  Coldwater;  Mark  S.  Andrews,  Coldwater;  William  H. 
Lockerby,  Quincy;  M.  A.  Merrifield,  Union  City;  George  Styles,  Union 
City ;  Milo  Thompson,  Bronson ;  A.  L.  Locke,  Bronson ;  H.  J.  Barton,  Union 
City;  W.  Glenn  Cowell,  Quincry;  A.  Riley  Crittendon,  Coldwater;  Perry  J. 
Ashdown,  Union  City;  Bert.  E.  Barlow,  Coldwater;  O.  M.  Bowen,  Bronson; 
W.  Edwin  Hodgman,  Coldwater. 

According  toi  the  records,  the  members  of  the  bar  of  Branch  County  met 
at  the  home  of  Hon.  C.  D.  Randall,  Febmary  2,  1903,  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
organizing the  Bar  Association  for  Branch  County.  Pres.  C.  D;  Randall  of 
the  old  association  was  in  the  chair,  and  in  the  absence  of  Secretairy  Cham- 
pion, F.  B,  Reynolds  was  secretary  pro  tem.  A  committee  on  articles  of 
association  reported  as  follows:  "Whereas,  the  records  containing  the  con- 
stitution and  proceedings  of  the  original  association  have  been  lost,  said  as- 
sociation having  been  in  existence  nearly  half  a  century  and  many  of  the 
members  thereof  having  been  among  the  most  eminent  lawyers,  of  the  state; 
therefore,  for  the  purpose  of  continuing  and  perpetuating  said  Bar  Associa- 
tion, we  report  for  your  consideration  the  following  form  of  constitution,  etc." 

This  gives  the  past  history  of  the  association,  although  it  seems  that  the 
committee  was  in  error  as  to  the  time  the  old  association  had  existed,  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century  being  nearer  the  correct  time  than  half  a  century.  Only  two 
elections  have  been  held  up  to  the  time  of  this  writing,  and  the  same  officers 
were  chosen  at  both  meetings,  namely:  Gen.  J.  G.  Parkhurst,  president; 
H.  H.  Barlow,  vice  president;  Wallace  E.  Wright,  secretary,  the  coimty 
clerk  being  by  provision  of  the  constitution  secretary  of  the  association,  and 
the  present  secretary  therefore  being  Henry  E.  Straight;  F.  B.  Reynolds, 
treasurer;  E.  E.  Palmer,  C.  U.  Champion  and  Mark  S.  Andrews,  executive 
committee. 

'The  association  has  been  called  together  several  times  to  pass  resolutions 
on  the  death  of  prominent  members.  October  5th  following  the  organiza- 
tion, they  met  on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  Caleb  D.  Randall ;  in  January 
1905.  on  the  death  of  William'  H.  Compton;  in  August,  1905,  after  the  death 
of  Simon  B.  Kitchel,  and  in  May,  1906,  when  the  president,  Gen.  Parkhurst, 

1  away. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  XXVH. 

THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION. 

A  chapter  on  t1ie  medical  profession  of  Branch  county  must  of  course 
be  largely  biographical.  It  is  in  the  men  who  have  practiced  medicine  in  the 
county  that  the  chief  interest  centers.  Therefore  this  chapter  may  be  confined 
to  an  orderly  mention  of  the  members  of  the  profession  past  and  present  and 
a  brief  description  of  some  of  the  contrasted  conditions  that  distinguish  med- 
ical practices  of  pioneer  times  from  that  of  the  present. 

The  pioneer  doctor  had  a  wide  and  varied  sphere  of  activity.  The  set- 
tlers were  comparatively  few  and  were  scatteretl  here  and  there  over  a  lar^e 
area;.  The  practice  coming*  from  half  the  county  no  more  than  justified  one 
physician  in  devoting  all  his  time  to  professional  duties.  Thus  Dr.  Alvah 
Randall,  the  pioneer  physician  of  Bronson,  who  settled  in  that  township  in 
1835.  was  the  only  doctor  in  a  country  covered  by  a  radius  of  ten  miles  from 
his  home.  When  the  pioneers  of  Gilead  needed  a  physician  they  sent  for  Dr. 
Randall,  who  came  over  the  new-made  and  rough  roads  that  led  through  the 
woods  rmd  across  the  marshes  to  the  cabins  of  Gilead.  And  the  same  was 
true  in  the  other  surrounding  townships. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  county,  in  Quincy,  Dr.  Enos  G.  Berry  filled  a 
similar  and  amtemporary  position.  He  bad  come  to  the  township  in  1835, 
at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  A  former  biography  says  of  him,  "  He  visited  the 
poor  and  destitute  without  charge,  and  took  no  mortgages  or  other  securities 
of  those  unable  to  pay,  but  gave  them  such  time  as  their  circumstances  re- 
quired; and,  with  other  duties,  continued  the  practice  of  medicine  for  about 
thirty  years,"  This  character  of  generosity  and  sympathy  is  the  crowning' 
tribute  to  the  pioneer  doctors.  Compared  with  present  day  standards,  their 
skill  and  knowledge  was  small.  But  of  largeness  of  heart  and  of  the  old  qual- 
ity of  loving-kindness  they  had  an  abundance  that  rendered  tlieir  ministra- 
tions in  sickness  and  trouble  effectua!  where  greater  skill  would  not  have 
availed. 

In  the  north  part  of  the  county,  at  Union  City,  the  i>ioneer  work  in  med- 
icine was  done  bv  the  Hurd  brothers,  of  whom  there  were,  during  the  thir- 
ties and  forties,  three  whose  practice  covered  a  larg'e  territory  in  Branch  and 
Calhoun  counties.  Theodore  C.  and  William  P,  Hurd,  the  latter  locating 
at  Union  City  in  1840  and  the  former  some  time  previous,  were  men  of  high 
professional  standards  and  with  natural  inclination  for  their  work.  Shortly 
after  the  death  of  Theodore  C.  Hurd  in  1845  another  brother,  Henry  S., 
located  in  Union  City. 

All  these  physicians  lived  in  the  "saddle-bag"  period.     They  traveled 


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232  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

about  on  horseback,  with  their  saddle-bags  filled  with  medicine — principally 
quinine  and  calomel — and  a  few  surgical  appliances  then  in  use.  There  were 
no  telephones  to  use  in  caJHng  the  doctor,  and  a  horseback  rider  galloping  to 
town  became  the  accepted  signal  to  all  the  neighbors  along  the  route  that 
some  one  was  i!l  at  the  rider's  home  and  the  latter  wa.s  "  going  for  the  doc- 
tor." Tn  reaching  his  patient  the  physician  often  had  a  long  ride,  in.  the  very 
early  days  o^'er  a  way  marked  by  blazed  trees,  with  toilsome  detours  around 
swainps  or  in  order  to  cross  a  stream  swollen  by  recent  rains.  Add  the  many 
hardships  imposed  by  darkness  and  storm  and  bitter  cold,  and  it  is  easy  to 
point  the  contrast  between  conditions  of  practice  sixty  years  ago  and  now. 

Another  point  alluded  to  by  a  well  known  niember  of  the  proifession  in 
Branch  county  is  that  there  was  very  !ittle  "ofifice  practice"  among  the  early 
doctors.  The  numerous  "  chronic  "  afflictions  that  are  familiar  by  name  if 
not  by  personal  experience  to  people  of  this  age  were  hardly  apprehended  at 
that  time.  Chills  and  fex'ers  brought  on  by  the  miasmas  of  the  swamps  or 
new-plowed  soil  were  r^^iiarJy  expected  each  year  in  the  "  sickly  season." 
The  remedies  were  quinine  and  calomel,  given  in  such  quantities  as  would 
appall  our  physicians  in  modern  practice.  Not  one  grain  of  these  drugs  is 
given  now  where  forty  were  prescril^  less  than  lialf  a  century  ago.  Tliough' 
their  duties  of  diagnosis  and  prescription  were  thus  comparatively  light,  the 
doctors  generally  visited  the  patieits  in  their  homes,  and  few  made  any 
effort  to  maintain  a  regularly  appointed  office  and  definite  office  hours. 

Turning  now  to  the  center  of  the  county,  at  Coldwater  we  find  the  field 
of  medical  practice  covered  at  an  early  date,  the  representatives  of  the  pro- 
fession being  continuous  from  1830.  Dr.  William  Henry  is  said  to  have 
been  the  first,  while  contemporaneous  with  part  of  his  career  in  CoMwater 
was  Dr.  Enoch  Chase,  a  man  of  considerable  prominence,  though  he  re- 
mained in  this  county  only  until  1834- 

One  of  the  familiar  streets  in  Coldwater  that  intersects  Chicago  street 
is  Hanchelt  street,  so  named  in  honor  of  t!ie  pioneer  doctor.  William  Han^ 
chett,  who  came  to  Coldwater  in  1832.  For  nearly  twenty  years  he  remained 
at  the  head  of  the  profession  in  the  county.  In  1846  he  associated  w^th  him- 
self in  practice  his  nq>hew,  Dr.  S.  .S.  Cutter,  another  well  known  physician, 
who  died  about  1882.  These  men  were  not  alone  active  in  their  profession, 
but  a  penisal  of  these  pages  and  of  former  historical  works  cm  Branch  coun- 
ty will  show  their  names  mentioned  in  connection  with  numerous  undertak- 
ings of  importance.  They  erected  the  first  high-grade  hotel  structure  in 
Coldwater,  the  old  Franklin  Hoiise,  which  was  aftenvard  burned  and  which 
stood  where  the  Arlington  is  now  located,  at  the  corner  of  Chicago  and  Han- 
chett  streets.  Dr.  Hanchett  practiced  here  until  the  middle  of  the  century, 
when  he  moved  out  west  and  died  in  Oregon. 

The  careers  of  all  these  early  physicians  have  been  sketched  in  the  His- 
tory of  1879,  and  it  is  only  necessary  to  recall  the  names  of  some  of  them. 
These  were :  Dr.  Darwin  I.ittlefield,  whose  name  will  be  mentioned  later  in 
connection  with  the  first  organized  movement  for  the  advancement  oi  the 
medical  profession  in  Branch  county,  as  also  the  name  of  Dr.  H.  B.  Stillman, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  223 

\vhose  signature  as  county  clerk  is  to  be  found  on  many  records  in  the  court 
house.     In  the  same  connection  will  he  found  the  name  of  Dr,  Mathew  Gill. 

The  shuttle  of  time  is  continually  removing  the  old  and  replacing  with 
the  new,  and  so  we  find  that  the  greater  number  of  the  physicians  who  were 
in  active  practice  at  the  time  of  the  publication  of  the  former  history  of  the 
county  are  now  dead  or  retired,  and  a  new  generation  has  succeeded  them. 
Dr.  S.  S,  Cutter  was  one  of  the  first  to  pass  away  after  the  appearance  of 
the  former  history.  His  career  was  intimately  identifie<l  with  Coldwater. 
He  was  the  first  mayor  after  its  incoriroration  as  a  dty ;  he  was  a  member 
of  the  special  commission  appointed  to  investigate  the  state  charitable  insti- 
tution, and  one  of  the  results  of  the  recommendations  of  that  commission  was 
the  establishment  of  the  State  Public  School  in  Coidwater;  lie  took  a  prom- 
inent part  in  local  education,  and  his  activity  belongetl  to  the  general  history 
of  the  city  rather  than  to  any  one  particular  chapter. 

Another  physician  who  has  passed  away  was  Chester  S.  Tucker,  who  left 
liis  extensive  property  interests,  acquired  in  practice  and  business,  to  the 
Home  Missionary  Society  of  the  Presbyterian  Churcli.  Dr.  D.  C.  Powers, 
who  died  November  4,  1887,  was  also  versatile  in  his  interests.  He  came  to 
Coldwater  before  the  war,  sen-ed  in  the  army  as  a  surgeon,  was  at  one  time 
mayor  of  the  city,  was  a  director  of  the  Southern  Micliigan  Nationail  Bank, 
and  ga\-e  considerable  time  to  matters  of  puhhc  welfare.  On  February  24, 
iqo3,  death  claimed  Dr.  James  M.  Long,  who  had  been  in  Coldwater  since 
1861,  and  was  ranked  along  with  the  others  just  mentioned.  Of  the  same 
group  was  Dr.  George  K.  Smith,  who  liad  begun  his  practice  in  Coldwater  in 
1852,  and  after  an  absence  of  some  years  and  activity  in  other  lines,  he  re- 
sumed practice  in  1869. 

When  in  his  prime  the  late  Isaac  P.  Alger  was  one  of  the  leading  physi- 
cians of  Branch,  county.  Dying  at  his  home  in  Coldwater,  April  18,  1904,  he 
was  then  in  his  eighty-fourth  year,  and  was  ai  Branch  county  pioneer  by  vir- 
tue of  over  sixty  years'  residence  within  the  coimty.  He  studied  medicine 
with  Drs.  Hanchett  and  Stiilman  at  Coldwater,  beginning  his  practice  in  the 
forties.  He  was  one  of  the  first  students  of  Rush  Medical  College  of  Chica- 
go. Dr.  Alger  was  noted  for  his  public  spirit,  and  his  interest  in  pioneer  af- 
fairs and  the  history  of  his  county  continued  till  his  death. 

Along  with  the  names  of  Dr.  S.  S.  Cutter  and  Dr.  Alger  as  physicians 
of  the  pioneer  period  stands  that  of  John  H.  Beach,  who  began  practice  in 
Coldwater  in  1849  and  continued  until  his  death  in  1878.  As  already  indi- 
cated, the  practice  of  the  early  physicians  was  of  a  general  nature,  and  there 
were  no  specialists  in  the  county  until  very  recently.  But  Dr.  Beach,  while 
having  a  general  practice,  excelled  as  a  surgeon,  and  that  at  a  time  when  the 
science  of  surgery  had  hardlv  begun  to  develop.  He  served  as  a  regimental 
surgeon  during  the  war.  and' after  his  return  to  Coldwater  his  skill  as  a  sur- 
geon was  in  constant  demand  both  at  home  and  in  various  parts,  of  the  state. 

The  decade  of  the  eighties  saw  the  passing  of  the  pioneer  doctor  of 
Union  City,  William  P.  Hnrd,  who  died  October  to,  1881.  Others  were 
Dr.  Thomas  Cody,  of  Batavia.  who  died  April  12,  1882;  Dr.  M.  E.  Cha^n- 


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224  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

cey,  who  was  the  first  physician  of  Girard,  beginning  practice  there  in  1843, 
and  died  May  7,  1884:  Israel  Wheeier,  of  Gilead,  who  died  October  4,  1887, 
aged  se\'enty-four. 

During  the  nineties'  there  passed  away  Charles  Reading,  of  Quincy. 
July  2,  1S91,  at  the  age  of  eighty-six;  Jesse  L.  Cady,  at  Coldwater,  June  21, 
r8()2;  Edward  Twiss,  at  Union  City,  May  12,  1895,  aged  seventy;  Thomas 
W.  Watkins,  at  Quincy,  June  28,  l8g6;  Dennis  W.  Rogers,  at  Union  City, 
January  24,  1898;  Timothy  Baker,  at  Union  City,  February  20.  1898,  aged 
eighty-one  years;  Dorr  Fitzgerald,  who  had  been  in  Union  City  since  the 
seventies,  cm  August  27,  1898,  aged  seventy-eight;  and  Jay  Wright,  at  Union 
City,  May  3,  1899. 

Ocidjer  24,  1897,  ended  the  remarkable  career  of  William  B.  Spragne, 
after  living  one  hundred  years,  seven  months  and  twenty-six  days.  Gradu- 
ating from  the  medical  college  at  Fairfield,  New  York,  in  1826,  in  the  spring 
of  1835  he  came  to  Coldwater  in  comjiany  with  Bradley  Crippen,  Pliilo  H, 
Crippen,  L.  D.  Crip]jen,  James  Fiske  and  Rev.  Francis  Smith.  He  was  in 
active  practice  only  a  few  years,  but  he  early  became  connected  with  public 
affairs,  being  an  associate  judge  of  the  circuit  court  in  1836,  was  also  judge 
of  probate  and  a  member  of  the  legislature.  He  was  in  all  respects  a  pioneer, 
and  as  authbr  of  articles  on  pioneer  life,  among  others  "  The  Origin  of  the 
City  of  Coldwater,"  he  contributed  much  to  the  permanent  historical  knowl- 
edge of  the  county. 

Lansing  C.  Marsh,  who  began  practice  in  Coldwater  in  1853,  died  in 
Coldwater  October  14,  1900,  at  the  mature  age  of  seventy-nine.  Dr.  Cor- 
nelius H.  Woodcox,  who  first  practiced  in  Gilead  and  later  resided  in  Cold- 
water,  died  April  21,  1903.  and  on  January  4,  1904,  Coldwater  lost  Dr. 
Datiiel  S.  CunningharD.  November  12,  1904,  Quincy  lost  Francis  E.  Mar^, 
who  had  practiced  there  for  over  twenty-five  years,  and  was  seventy  years 
old  at  the  time  of  his  death.  Less  than  a  year  later,  on  March  28,  1905,  oc- 
curred the  death  of  Hawkins  A.  King  at  Quincy,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six. 
He  had  also  been  connected  with  the  medical  profession  of  tha,>t  village  a 
ntimber  of  years.  The  most  recent  loss  by  death  to  tlie  medical  profession 
of  the  county  was  Dr.  Eva  J.  Outwater,  who  died  at  Bronson  January  9, 
1906. 

The  older  physicians  have  nearly  all  gone,  and  there  are  only  a  few 
whose  careers  in  the  county  go  back  twenty-five  years.  In  Coldwater  the 
group  of  older  physicians  would  include  Stephen  H.  Oizbe,  who  has  been 
practicing  in  the  county  since  1870  and  in  Coldwater  for  twenty-seven  years; 
L.  A.  Warsabo,  who  hasi  been  in  the  city  about  the  same  length  of  time,  and 
William  Wilson  and  Newton  Baldwin.  In  Quincy  Dr.  Edson  Blackman  has 
been  in  practice  about  thirty  years.  Dr.  Henry  P.  Mowry  has  been  regis- 
tered at  Bronson  since  1883. 

In  January,  1900,  the  new  law  went  into  effect  requiring  the  registra- 
tion of  all  physicians  practiciing  in  the  county  to  be  made  with  the  county 
clerk.  In  the  book  kept  for  that  purpose  will  be  found  the  names  of  the 
practitioners  residing  in  the  county  at  that  time  as  well  as  subsequent  regis- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  225 

trations.  From  tiiis  record  the  names  of  those  registered  for  practice  in  the 
different  localities  of  the  county  have  been  compil«i. 

In  the  city  of  Coldwater  the  physicians  in  order  of  registry  are  as  fol- 
lows : 

Newton  R.  Baldwin,  L.  A.  Warsabo,  E.  T.  Gamble,  Othello  Waters, 
Thomas  J.  Turner,  David  H.  Wood,  Daniel  D.  Cunining:ham,  James  M. 
Long,  George  Ferguson,  George  D.  Slocum.  William  Wilson,  A.  G.  Hol- 
brook,  Frank  G.  Legge,  Samuel  Schultz,  Dana  G.  Cook,  Isaac  P.  Alger, 
Cornelius  H.  Woodcox,  Lansing  C.  Marsh  (who  died  in  1900),  Howard  A. 
Grube,  F.  W.  Stewart,  Dresser  B.  Vincent.  Geoi^e  V.  Voorhees,  Stqahen  H, 
Clizbe  (who  moved  to  Coldwater  in  1902),  James  B.  Re«ce,  John  D.  Bus- 
kirk  (since  removed),  Dwight  C.  Crawford,  E.  E.  Schwartz  (osteopath), 
William  W.  Swett,  James  M.  Cushman:  recent  certificates  filed  are  those  of 
L.  E.  Hawes  (osteopath),  Endora  V.  Hallam,  Edward  R.  Williams,  Sadie 
L.  Olmsted,  E.  S.  Samm,  James  C.  Valentine, 

Those  registering  from  Union  City  were : 

Arthur  S.  Cornell  (since  removed),  William  C,  Henderson,  Silas  B. 
Frankha\iser  (since  removed),  Edward  H.  Hurd  (a  nephew  of  the  pioneer 
doctor,  W.  P.  Hurd),  Cora  B.  Comeil  (since  removed),  A.  Dorothea  Payne 
(removed),  J.  P.  Janes  and  Estelle  Jones,  who  registered  in   1904. 

At  Kinderhook  those  registered  were  Wilbur  A.  Griffith  (now  in  Cold- 
water),  Lafayette  Scheidler,  Fred  H,  Harris, 

At  Girard  were  G.  S.  Giilet  (who  removed  to  Union  City),  Frank  B. 
Marshall  (removed),  Edwin  M.  Chavincey,  Ernest  E.  Hancock. 

Matteson  was  represented  by  Morgan  Shafer,  \\'ho  died  December  30, 
1901. 

Batavia  furnishes  the  name  of  George  A.  McMasters  to  the  record. 

At  Bethel  were  William  H.  Baldwin  (since  removed  to  Quincy),  and 
John  W.  Martin. 

From  the  villag;e  of  Sherwood  were  regi5terei:l  Robert  Eraser,  Charles 
E.  Nelthrope,  and,  in  1904,  Clyde  A.  Leonard,  and,  in  1905,  F.  W.  Clements. 

South  Butler  is  the  registered  address  of  J,  D.  Bennett, 

The  names  from  Eronson  are  Seymour  M.  Cornell,  Levi  Sanders,  PyrI 
Gunsaullus,  John  E.  Outwater.  Henry  P.  Mowry,  Eva  J,  Cutwater,  and,  in 
1904.  Samuel  Turner,  and,  in  1906,  W.  P.  Mowry. 

At  Ouincy,  Edson  Blackman.  J.  M.  Elackman,  Henry  W.  Whitmore, 
Charles  S'  Sears,  James  J.  Williams,  Francis  E.  Marsh,  and,  in  1905,  Carl  S. 
Sears. 

East  Gilead  was  represented  by  Francis  Rupright. 

California  town  furnishes  the  name  of  Ezra  J.  Avers. 

Though  the  present  centurj'  has  been  termed  the  ag-e  of  conventions 
and  associations,  in  which  almost  every  pursuit  or  profession  has  become  a 
nucleus  of  affihation  of  those  having  that  common  interest,  yet  organization 
for  professional  advancement  and  social  benefits  was  tried  in  Branch  county 
by  members  of  the  medical  profession  as  long  as  sixt)'-five  years  ago. 

One  of  the  few  items  of  local  interest  in  the  first  issue  of  the  Cold- 


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'226  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

water  Sentinel,  dated  April  i6,  1841,  records  a  meeting  of  the  physicians 
and  surg^eons  of  Branch  county  held  at  the  court  house  in  the  village  of 
Branch  to  organize  the  "  Branch  County  Medical  Society."  Those  who 
took  part  in  this  organization  were:  Darwin  Littlefield,  Mathew  Gill,  Henry 
B.  Stillman.  Lofus  Hyatt  and  William  P.  Hurd.  Dr.  Littlefield  was  eiected 
president,  Dr.  Hyatt  vice  president.  Dr.  Gill  secretary.  Dr.  Stillman  treas- 
urer, leaving  Dr.  Hurd  as  the  only  unofficial  member.  The  annual  meeting 
of  thig  society  was  set  for  May,  and  so  far  as  known  the  meetings  were  held 
for  a  few  years.  But  eventually  the  society  became  moribund,  and  for  many 
years  its  activitj'  was  intermittent  if  there  was  any  at  all. 

Some  four  or  five  years  a|go  a  complete  reorganization  of  medical  socie- 
ties took  place.  Each  county  in  the  state  of  Michigan  now  has  an  official 
county  medical  society,  membership  in  which  is  open  to  all  physicians  of  the 
county  upon  payment  of  the  membership  fee  of  two  dollars  a  year.  By  virtue 
of  his  membership  in  the  county  society  each  physician  is  a  member  of  the 
Michigan  State  Medical ,  Society.  By  the  system  of  representajtion  each 
county  society  is  entitled  to  send  two  delegates  to  the  annual  session  of  the 
state  society.  Tlie  election  of  these  delegates  to  the  state  body  is  at  present 
the  only  official  activity  of  the  Branch  County  Medical  Society,  and  the  or- 
ganization may  be  called  active  only  so  far  as  to  comply  with  the  regula- 
tions affecting  a  subordinate  body  of  the  state  society,  lliere  is  an  annual 
election  of  officers,  and  those  sen'ing  at  the  present  writing.  May,  1906.  are 
Dr.  S.  H.  Clizbe,  president,  and  Dr.  S.  Schultz,  secretary'  and  treasurer.  The 
highest  representative  organization  in  American  medicine  is  the  Americaki 
Medical  Association.  Its  membership  is  made  up  of  members  of  the  various 
state  societies  and,  therefore,  of  the  county  societies.  So  it  is  seen  that  mem- 
bership in  the  county  society  is  the  first  degree  thait  must  l>e  taken  before  any 
higher  organization  may  be  reached. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  XXVin. 
FRATERNITIES  A\D  CLUBS. 

Tyre  Lodge  No.  i8.  F.  &  A.  M..  tlie  oldest  fraternal  organization  in 
Coldwater,  was  organized  April  i,  1847,  with  the  following  as  charter 
members :  John  T.  Haynes,  Amos  Bacon,  Henry  Bnell,  Samuel  P.  Noyes, 
Icbabod  Davis.  James  Shoecraft,  Myall  P.  Comstock,  Elisha  Warren,  Brad- 
ley Crippen,  William  Keyes,  Samuel  Etheridge,  Ira;  Bronson,  Levi  Daggett. 
The  lodge  now  has  a  membership  of  three  hundred  and  thirty-five,  and  the 
present  officers  are:  W.  M,,  George  H.  Phinney;  S.  W.,  G,  C.  Kleindinst; 
J.  W.,  H.  A.  Close;  Treasurer,  W.  E.  Hodgeman;  Secretary.  C.  D.  Sutton; 
S.  D.,  C.  J.  Moore;  J.  D.,  M.  J.  Van  Aken;  Stewards,  F.  C.  Faulkerson. 
John  Ball. 

Jacobs  Commandery  No.  10,  K.  T.,  Coldwater,  was  organized  March  3, 
i860,  in  response  to  a  petition  signed  by  Sir  Knights  F.  T.  Eddy,  Wailes 
Adamis,  N.  L.  Southworth,  A.  G.  Rose,  J.  A.  Rose,  C.  H.  Putnam.  R.  H. 
Drake,  Artemas  Allen,  S  L.  Dart,  Lyman  Sleeper,  who  were  the  charter 
mem1)ers.  Its  present  officers  are:  C.  E.  Wise,  E.  C;  A.  E.  Pearce,  Gen.; 
F.  T-  Dnrt,  C.  G. ;  H.  B.  George.  Pre!. ;  E.  A.  Brown,  S.  W. ;  F.  D.  Atwater, 
J.  W.;  H.  A.  Close,  Treas. :  B.  F.  Rolph,  Rec. ;  G.  E.  Kleindinst.  Sfd  B, ; 
L.  E.  Lockwood,  Sw.  B. ;  Charles  G.  Moore,  War. ;  A.  R.  Grove,  Sent.  The 
commandery  now  has  a  membership  of  one  hundred  and  forty-six.  The 
membership  in  i860  was  21,  in  1870  was  70.  in  1880  wajs  74,  in  1890  was 
96.  in  1900  was  no. 

Temple  Chapter  No,  2T.  R.  A.  M.,  Coldwater.  was  chartered  Novem- 
ber TO,  1858,  with  the  following  members :  J.  H.  Beech.  Artemas  Alien,  S. 
L.'Dart,  R.  H.  Drake.  J.  B.  Stevenson,  E.  Mather,  A.  McCrea,  E,  Perry.  Levi 
Dvgatt.  L,  N.  Soutliworth,  Wales  Adams,  Daniel  Burns.  The  present  officers 
are :  C.  D.  Sutton.  K.  P, :  H.  A.  Close.  K. ;  C.  E.  Wise,  S. ;  B.  L.  Van  Aken. 
Treas.;  B.  M.  Fellows,  Secy.;  W.  H.  Simons,  C.  H.;  B.  F.  Rolpb,  P.  S. ; 
E.  A.  Brown,  R.  A.  C ;  O.  Waters,  M.  3  V. ;  L.  E.  Lockwood,  M.  2  V. ;  F.  R. 
Fiske,  M.  I  V. ;  A.  R.  Groves,  Sent. 

Mount  Moriah  Council  No.  31,  Royal  and  Select  Masons,  was  formed 
in  November.  T859,  under  a  dispensation  granted  by  the  T.  I.  P.  G,  of  the 
state  of  Michigan,  its  first  officers  being  as  follows :  T.  L  G.  M..  S.  L.  Dart; 
D.  I.  G.  M.,  M.  Mansfield;  P.  C.  of  W.,  R.  H.  Drake;  C.  of  G.,  J.  B.  Steven- 

"The  data  concerning  lodges  and  societies  was  sought  by  letters  and  in  some  cases 
personal  requests.  The  precise  information  could  not  he  obtained  in  every  instance,  and 
a  number  of  excellent  organijations  are  not  noticed  because  no  replies  were  made  to  the 
requests. 


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2iJ8  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

son;  G.  S.,  D.  Bovee;  Recorder,  F.  T.  Eddy;  Treasurer,  A.  Allen. 

Coldvvater  has  the  honor  of  having'  the  oldest  Eastern  Star  Chapter  in 
the  state,  it  being'  Number  i. 

Sherwood'  Lodge  No.  428,  F.  &  A.  M.,  was  organized  August  16,  1897, 
with  these  charter  members:  W.  B.  Chiesman,  W.  E.  Hanna,  H.  J.  Fonner, 
G.  H.  Seymour,  C.  B.  Wilcox,  Henry  Rmiyan,  C.  E.  Swain,  A.  R.  Klose, 
H.  J.  Klose,  Daniel  McCarty,  L.  P.  Wilcox,  Frank  Thorns,  E.  W.  Watkins. 
J.  F.  Mclntyre,  Robert  Eraser.  The  present  officers  are:  W.  M.,  R.  Eraser; 
S.  W.,  F.  W.  Clement;  J.  W.,  E.  H.  Warner;  Treas.,  Fred  Hass;  Secretary, 
H,  Runyaii;  S.  D.,  Daniel  McCarty:  j,  D.,  F.  Tillotson;  Stewards,  Irving 
Evert,  Wm.  Wrigglesworth ;  Tyler,  L.  P.  Lovejoy. 

Centennial  Rebekah  Lodg«  No.  22,  at  Coklwater,  was  instituted  March 
30,  1S76  (hence  the  name),  with  the  following  charter  members:  W,  H. 
and  Mary  Allen.  Alfred  and  Eucina  Milnes  (Mr..  Milnes  being  the  first  noble 
grand),  R.  D.  and  Eliza  J.  Jefferds,  William  and  Sa|rah  Sawyer,  L.  M.  and 
M.  J.  Grey,  L.  B.  and  Laura  A.  Gibbs,  Charles  and  Etta  Johnson,  Fred  and 
Mrs.  Chaffer,  J.  P.  and  R.  A.  Elynn,  Robert  and  Louisa  Willis,  Leroy  and 
Laura  Butler,  William'  and  Hajtie  M.  Hurst,  R.  C.  Sawdey,  Mary  J.  Barnes, 
Josie  Henderson.  The  present  officers  are:  Sarah  Withington,  N.  G. ; 
Charlotte  Clement,  V.  G. ;  Ida  Mix,  Rec.  Sec. ;  Hattie  Sherwood,  Fin.  Sec. ; 
Lizzie  Smith.  Treas.  Starting  with  a  membership  of  27,  the  lodge  now  has 
165  members  in  good  standing. 

The  Odd  Fellows  are  one  of  the  oldest  fraternities  in  Coldvvater,  the 
other  three  branches,  from  which  no  data  were  furnished,  being  Coldwater 
Ijiidge  No.  31.  I.  O.  O.  F.,  Canton  Milnes  No.  2,  P.  M.  of  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and 
Encampment  No.  86. 

Lodge  No.  62,  A.  O.  U.  W.,  oif  Coldwater,  was  instituted  March  3, 
1879,  with  the  following  charter  members:  J.  Clark  Pierce,  David  B.  Pnr- 
inton,  William  B.  Keller,  Henry  A.  Wolcott,  James  R.  Dickey,  George  B. 
Tompkins.  Howard  Broadhead,  Lewis  A.  Peddiam,  Samuel  R.  Luxmore, 
Warren  A.  Blye.  Frank  A.  Fisk,  L.  H.  Edgerton,  A.  D.  Snyder,  A.  \\^  Buck- 
ley. Albert  Johnson,  Lainsing  M.  Gray,  Cyrus  H.  Burghardt,  Charles  W. 
Fairbanks,  George  W.  Lee,  Alonzo  J.  Munyon,  Isaac  E.  Ives,  John  J.  Lewis, 
Allen  Vanderhoof,  George  H.  Turner,  Mortimer  L  Knowles,  David  B, 
Hurst,  Wilham  H.  Stevens,  Isaac  Vanderhoof,  Oscar  W.  Lee,  Robert  Watson. 
Henry  Gage.  Frederick  W.  Flandermeyer,  Jerome  S.  Wolcott,  JelT'erson  S. 
Conover,  Earnest  D.  Lenders.  Levi  M.  Reynolds. 

Excelsior  Tent  No.  104,  K.  O.  T.  M.,  Coldwater.  was  organized  Novem- 
ber 23.  1903,  with  the  following  as  cliarter  members:  William  H.  Allen, 
George  Clegg,  F.  J.  Dart,  Henry  W.  Driskell.  Perry  W.  Ellinger,  Frank 
Finch,  .\rthur  Fonda,  George  Faust.  Dr.  E.  R.  Ferguson,  Fred  W.  Fish,  Wil- 
ber  French,  Lewis  H.  Fellers.  Dr.  E.  F.  Gamble,  George  M.  Howe,  Seymour 
Kleindinst.  Gerry  Kleindinst,  Clarence  E.  King,  F.  E.  Lyon,  G.  A.  Jewell, 
C.  E.  Jewell,  John  T.  Pickhaver,  A.  A,  Steller,  James"  R,  Stewart.  Peter 
Sandt,  C.  L.  Sawyer,  Fred  S.  Sisco,  John  Soderquist,  Samue!  Stone,  Dr. 
Samuel   Schultz,   E.   H.   Williams.      The  present   officers   are:      Past   Com- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  229 

mander.  G,  E.  Kleiiiciinst;  Commander,  William  T.  Staiisell:  Lieutenant 
Commander,  S.  H.  Kleindinst;  Record  Keeper,  L.  H.  Feliers:  Finance 
Keeper.  George  Clegg;  Chaplain,  Charles  Knapp;  Master-at-Arms.  H.  W. 
Driskell:  First  Master  of  Gnards,  Peter  Parshall:  Second  Master  of  Guards. 
L-  W.  Burch:  Sentinel.  George  M.  Howe;  Picket.  George  Faust.  The  tent 
has  a  membership  of  31. 

CoMwater  Hive  No.  13S.  L.  O.  T.  M..  was  organized  Februa;i-y  13.  1892, 
with  the  following  as  charter  members:  Myra  Barron,  Locelia  Bingham, 
Cora  E.  Brown.  Mary  E.  Bracket,  Mary  L.  Broughton,  Ida  J.  Close,  Mary  S. 
Chapman.  Rose  B.  Carpenter.  Mary  E.  Crippen.  Minnie  J.  Cook.  Anna  L. 
Gowdy,  Tenriie  E.  Green.  Vnrbia  M.  Kleindinst.  May  Kleindinst.  Mary  A. 
Maynard.  Caroline  McCarty.  Luella  J.  Robinson.  Mary  E.  Smith.  Ceha 
Swaffieid.  Belle  Schmedlen,  Katie  C.  Turrill.  Lutie  M.  Twist.  Kittle  F.  War- 
sabo,  Hattie  A.  Wells.  Ella  A.  Yapp.  The  present  officers  are:  Past  Com- 
mander, Sophronia  Huestetl:  Commander,  Marj^  E.  Crip]jen:  Lieutenant 
Commander,  Lutie  M.  Twist;  Record  Keeper.  Cora  E.  Brown:  Finance 
Keeper,  Mary  A.  Maynard;  Chaplain,  Dora  Kinsman;  Sergeant,  Minnie 
Grimdy:  Mistress-at-Arms,  Katie  Jackson:  Sentinel.  Josephine  Jepson; 
Picket,  Nettie  Ouackenbush. 

L'nion  City  Chapter  No.  53,  R.  A.  M..  was  formal  under  dispensation 
in  1867,  and  the  first  meeting  was  held  on  July  25.  with  the  folloiwing  mem^ 
bers,  also  their  title  of  office:  Edwin  Perr\'.  H.  P.;  Rodney  Simons.  K. ; 
W.  H.  Kerr,  S.;  Albert  Ferris,  C.  of  H. ;  A.  B.  Aiken.  P.  S.;  S.  Rogei's, 
R.  A.  C;  Ira  Hitchcock,  M.  of  3  V.;  O.  A.  Cogswell,  M.  of  2  V.:  J.  D. 
Spoor,  M.  of  I  v.;  and  Edwin  Johnson,  making  ten  meniliers  in  all.  A.  B. 
Aiken  was  also  acting  secretary.  Of  this  list  of  members  one  is  still  living, 
Rodney  Simons,  who  resides  at  Athens,  and  when  Athens  chapter  was  in- 
stitiitetl  he  withdrew  from  Union  City  cha]iter  to  join  in  forming  the  new 
chapter  at  that  place,  and  is  at  the  present  time  holding  the  office  of  King 
in  Athens  chapter.  At  the  first  meeting  U.  D,  eleven  petitions  were  pre- 
sented. Two  of  the  petitioners  at  that  time  are  living.  Burr  Osborn  and  C. 
D.  Leach.  This  chapter  was  granted  a  charter  at  the  following  session  of 
Grand  Qiapter  on  January  8.  1868.  Up  to  this  time  twelve  members  had 
been  added,  making  a  member5hii>  at  the  time  the  charter  was  granted  of 
t«'enty-two. 

As  the  present  time  the  chapter  has  a  nice  room  well  furnished,  and 
the  chapter  is  in  a  flourishing  condition,  sixty-five  members,  with  the  follow- 
ing officers :  Charles  E.  Dav.  H.  P. :  J.  S.  Nesbitt,  K. ;  C.  H.  Lowell, 
S.;  J.  W.  Martin,  C.  of  H, ;  W.  M.  Hatch.  P.  S. ;  B.  W.  Bray.  R.  A. 
C. ;  L.  D.  Wilcox,  M.  of  3  V. ;  H.  W.  Rowe,  M.  of  2  V. ;  W.  H.  Bar- 
rett. M.  of  I  v.;  M.  F.  Buell,  Treas.;  H.  J,  Fonner,  Sec;  G.  W.  Blackwell, 
Sent. 

Union  City  Council  No.  37.  K-  &  S.  M.,  was  organized  February  g, 
1871.  It  now  has  a  membership  of  seventy-eight,  and  its  present  officers  are: 
Leon  A.  lohnson,  T.  I.  M.:  J.  W.  Martin,  D.  M.:  J.  H.  Anderson.  P,  C. 
W.:  L,  D.  Wilcox.  Treas.;  F.  H.  Whiting.  Rec. :  H.  J.  Tanner.  C.  of  G. ; 


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230  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

J.  S,  Nesbitt  C.  of  C. ;  C.  E.  Doy,  Stew. ;  George  Bkckwdl,  Sent. 

St.  Joseph  Tent  No.  93,  K.  O.  T.  M.,  Union  City,  was  organize«:l  in 
April,  1883,  with  the  followingf  as  charter  members:  George  E.  Smith, 
Martin  F.  Buell,  William  H.  Bond,  A.  M.  Lester,  H.  H.  Rowe.  D.  J.  Easton, 
E.  H.  Hiird,  J.  J.  Banford,  Charles.  Johnson.  Marcelhis  Morrell.  M.  P. 
Maxon,  Caleb  Padgham,  E.  S.  Bronson,  G.  W.  Miller,  E.  D.  Mcl^flin, 
H.  G.  Fisk,  A.  L.  Samiders,  C.  H.  Spring,  P.  R.  Shuler,  M.  D.  Slocum, 
C.  A.  Zimmerman.  The  present  officers  are :  Past  Commander,  P.  J.  Ash- 
down;  Commander,  A.  C.  Krieble:  Record  Keeper,  W.  H.  Rowe:  Finance 
Keeper,  W.  E.  Rnpright.  The  present  membership  is  one  hundred  and 
eighty-nine. 

Corbin  Post  No.  25,  W.  R.  C,  Union  City,  was  organized  November  7. 
1884,  with  the  following  charter  members:  Emily  Youngs,  Josephine  Bnell, 
Hattie  Harsh,  Elsie  Perry,  Alice  Rowe,  Lorane  Burnett,  Lucy  Simmons, 
Carrie  Seymour,  Belle  Merrill,  Margaret  Shuler,  Sa,rah  White,  Fidelia 
Wilderk,  Bell  Van  Dxiser.  Mary  Burnett,  Ida  Hopkins,  Sarahi  Cosier,  Addie 
Wells,  Adalaid  Crandall,  Sarah  Davis,  Lillie  Corhin,  Sofia  Banford,  Jane 
Palmer,  Martha  Mains,  Emma  Zimmerman.  Jennie  Palmer,  Ellen  Ryder.  The 
present  officers  are:  President,  Sarah  C.  Kindig;  Junior  Vice  President, 
Jane  Dennison;  Secretary,  Josephine  Buell;  Treasurer,  Kate  E.  Parker; 
Chaplain,  Althea  Stewart ;  Conductor,  Sarah  Eberhard ;  Assistant  Con- 
ductor, Roda  O'Rork;  Guard.  Jane  Palmer;  Assistant  Guard,  Ellen  Gifford; 
Pat.  Inst.,  Lucy  Simmons;  Press  Cor.,  Ada  Crandall.  The  present  mem- 
bership is  twenty-eight. 

Union  Lodge  No.  28,  F.  &  A.  M..  Union  City,  was  organized  Sep- 
tember 14,  1848,  and  worked  under  a  dispensation  until  January  10,  1849, 
when  a  charter  was  granted.  There  are  at  present  one  hundred  and  forty-six 
members  of  the  lodge.  The  present  officers  are:  Perrv  J.  Buell,  W.  M. : 
James  W.  Martin,  S.  W. ;  Fred  R.  Whitney,  J.  W.;  Charles  H.  I^well. 
Treasurer:  John  D.  Flewelling,  Secretary;  Frank  W.  Ackerman,  S.  D. ; 
Charles  O.  Johnson,  J.  D.;  George  W.  Blackwell.  Tyler;  John  D.  Parks, 
Stephen  E.  Lee,  Stewards. 

Quincy  Lodge  No.  276,  Mystic  Workers  of  the  World,  was  organized 
April  12,  1900.  with  the  following  as  charter  members:  Egbert  Palmateer, 
Edwin  Mudge,  George  E.  Walters,  Willis  Hall,  George  S.  Thompson, 
Charles  Harpham,  Carl  Stahl,  Emest  H.  Page,  C.  Henry  McCarty,  Myroo 
B.  Hoxie.  The  present  officers  are:  Edwin  Mudge,  Prefect;  Frank  Sellers, 
Monitor;  Edmimd  Lane,  Secretary:  Willis  Hall.  Banker;  Rilla  Muagc, 
Marshal;  Lucy  Sellers,  Warder:  David  Gary,  Sentinel;  Enos  Spencer. 
Chaplain.     The  lodge  now  has  fifty-nine  members. 

Hewitt  Lodge  No.  95,  D.  of  H-  A.  O.  U.  W.,  Union  City,  was  organ- 
ized March  2f,  1902,  with  tlie  following  as  charter  members:  Belle  Stitt, 
Delia  Bradner,  Edna  Griffin.  Alice  M.  Eddy,  John  R.  Eddy,  Chloe  L.  Wat- 
kins,  E.  W.  Watkins,  William  Henderson,  John  D.  newelling.  Nina  E. 
Bam^,  Iva  Brininstool,  Nettie  Krieble.  E.  Caroline  Hard,  E.  H.  Hurd, 
Emma  Hatch,  Henry  A.  Hatch.     The  present  officers  are:     Past  Chief  of 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  231 

Honor,  Mrs.  Chloe  L.  \^^atkins ;  Chief  of  Honor.  Mrs.  Etlna'  E.  Griffin ;  Lady 
of  Honor,  Mrs.  Frederidfa  Bruening;  Chief  of  Ceremonies,  Mrs.  Ahce  M. 
Eddy;  Recorder,  Mrs.  Sadie  Morris;  Financier,  Miss  Hilda  M.  Bruening; 
Receiver,  Mrs.  Mary  Kinyon;  Usher.  Mrs.  Iva  Brininstool ;  Inner  Watch, 
Mrs.  Majy  Ward;  Outer  Watch,  Mrs.  Sophia  Tyler;  Medical  Examiner, 
Mrs.  Estelle  Jones;  Organist.  Mrs.  Sadie  Morris.  The  present  membership 
is  thirty-six. 

Bound  to  Win  Hive  No.  481,  L.  O.  T.  M.,  Union  City.  waf>  organized 
April  25,  1894,  with  the  following  as  charter  members:  L.  Addie  Buell, 
Sarah  E.  Rheubottom,  Melissa  J.  Harris,  Emma  C.  Robinson,  Inez  Kent, 
Alice  Rex,  Eliza  L.  Jacobs,  Ellen  GifFord,  Rdiecca  Mann,  Gertrude  New- 
man, Nan  E.  Rheubottom.,  Alice  Miller,  Jennie  Hubbard,  Amelia  Carpenter, 
Flora  Wilder,  Rae  Turner  Snyder,  Adaline  Corwin,  Loia  Corwin,  Mary 
Rupright,  Ahce  Rowe,  Eva  J.  Dufur,  Caroline  Hurd.  Ttie  hive  has  a 
l^resent  membership  af  ninety-eight,  and  the  following  are  its  officers:  Past 
Commander,  Mrs.  Alice  Rowe ;  Commander,  Mrs,  Kate  Ricliards ;  Lieuten- 
ant Commander,  Mrs.  Jennie  Odren;  Record  Keeper,  Mrs.  Nellie  Merritt; 
Finance  Keeper,  Mrs.  Dollie  Rupright;  Chaplain,  Mrs,  Nora  Billings;  Phy- 
sician, M,  Estelle  Jones;  Sergeant,  Mrs.  Flora  Wilder;  Mi  stress-ait- Arms, 
Mrs.  I^ena  Tinney;  Sentinel,  Mrs.  Cora  Hackett;  Pickett,  Mrs.  Edith  Bas- 
sett;  Pianist,  Mrs.  Florence  Boynton. 

Union  Chapter  No.  193,  O.  E.  S.,  Union  City,  was  organized  September 
21,  1896,  with  twenty-nine  members,  Tlie  chapter  at  present  has  a  mem- 
bership of  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven,  and  those  now  filling  official  posi- 
tions are:  Mrs.  Minerva  Andereon,  W.  M.;  Leon  A.  Johnson,  W.  P.;  Mrs. 
Byrd  Buell,  A.  M. ;  Mrs.  Katherine  Richards,  Sec.;  Mrs.  Zae  Martin,  Treas. ; 
Mrs.  Ij>la  Corwin,  Cond. ;  Mrs.  Hattie  Day,  A.  Cond, ;  Mrs.  Emma  Weniple, 
Chap.;  Mrs.  Bertha  Wilcox,  Marl.;  Mrs.  Annetta  Barrett.  Organist:  Mrs. 
Ada  Merrifield,  Adah;  Mrs.  Francis  Hawley,  Ruth:  Mrs.  Altha  Whitney, 
Esther:  Mrs.  Mary  Hayner,  Martha;  Mrs.  Francis  Morrill,  Electa;  Mrs. 
Rosena  Hughes,  Warder-;  Mr.  G.  W.  Blackwell,  Sentinel. 

Select  Council  No.  1719,  Royal  Arcanum,  Union  City,  was  organized 
November  14,  1900.  with  charter  members:  F.  A.  Allen,  H.  W.  Bradner, 
L.  D.  Blair,  J.  D.  Barnard,  Wm.  Cain,  A.  Cuyler,  C.  E.  Day,  E,  E.  Den- 
nison,  Chas.  Defoe,  Enos  Cox,  G,  S.  Easton,  W.  C  Henderson,  J.  F.  Hart- 
ford, L,  L.  Johnson,  C.  H.  Lowell.  J-  D.  Mills,  A,  C.  McLouth,  G.  W.  Page, 
W.  L.  Robinffin,  O.  E,  Roe,  B.  Rathbum,  Harry  Rowe,  T.  P.  Riley,  E.  D. 
Smith,  W.  D.  Sawdey,  F,  J.  Sullivan,  A.  E.  Ward,  W.  Wheeler,  C.  H. 
WoodrufiE.  A,  H.  Fox,  C.  B.  Spore,  O.  Bumstein,  L.  D.  Wilcox,  F.  E. 
JohnsOT,  C.  C.  Boyer.  The  present  officers:  Regent,  J.  G.  Wetmore;  Sec., 
E.  J.  Worden,  Palst  Regent,  W.  L.  Robinson;  Vice  Regent,  M.  Jones; 
Chaplain,  L.  D.  Wilcox;  Guide,  Harry  Bingham-;  Collector,  Chas.  Lake; 
Trustees,  M.  D.  Krieble,  Chas.  Smith.  D,  C.  Collar. 

Union  City  Court  No.  4515,  Independent  Order  of  Foresters,  was  or- 
ganized July  28.  1904,  with  charter  members:  Harlow  Van  Patten,  E.  D. 
Smith,  Ed.  Ladd,  Qifford  Leilous,  C.  S.  Worden,  T.  Hoyt,  H.  Miller.  Dell 


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^32  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Bell,  Bert  Miller;  Dell  Jacokes,  Jos.  Smitb,  Jno.  Evans,  Deo  Bigford,  Henry 
Chambers,  Jos.  Uhlman-  The  present  officers  are:  Chief  Ranger,  Charles 
Oliver;  Physician,  Dr.  J,  H.  Anderson ;.  Cor.  Sec.  J.  H.  O'Dell:  Fin,  Sec, 
Charles  Oliver. 

Union  Camp  No.  8589,  Modem  Woodmen  of  America,  Union  City, 
was  organized  August  2y.  1900,  with  charter  members:  G.  S.  Easton,  Geo. 
Merritt.  W.  H.  Barrett,  M.  J.  Rowley,  Geo.  H.  Bovee,  CTias.  Wright,  W.  J. 
Cox,  Stephen  Cnmmings,  C.  M.  Tal'bot,  M.  H.  Hands.  J.  F.  Hartford,  A. 
E.  Manwarren,  Geo.  Rayment,  Wm.  Short,  H.  J.  Barton,  Fred  Yanger.  Tlie 
present  officers:  Venerable  Coimsel,  W.  H.  Barrett;  Clerk,  Chas.  Stone; 
Directors,  H,  G.  Sweet,  M.  Dnimm,  Clark  McDonald,  Will  Wilder. 

Quincy  Lodge  No.  201,  Knights  of  Pythias,  was  organized  October 
28,  1897,  the  charter  members  being:  G.  D.  Babcock,  J.  C.  White.  C.  H, 
Young,  Clinton  Joseph,  G.  J.  Fillmore,  W.  C.  Haight,  E.  D.  Lodcerby,  C. 
H.  Halleck,  S.  S.  Clark,  Giarles  Leiving,  Qiarles  Morey,  G.  W.  Barker, 
Orrin  Vills,  F.  E.  Powers,  C.  W.  Owen.  Burlev  Shoemaker,  Charles  Step- 
per, S.  D.  Caldwell,  E.  M.  Hephner,  J.  C.  Joiner,  L.  L.  King,  H.  W.  Far- 
well,  A.  T.  Mallory,  C.  C.  Jones,  G.  F.  Trott,  C.  F.  Crouch,  A.  M.  Griffin. 
The  lodge  membership  is  now  one  hundred  and  twenty,  and  only  two  deaths 
have  occurred  since  organization.  In  1904  Castle  Hall  was  conipleted  on 
North  Main  street,  at  a  cost  of  four  tliousand  dollars,  a  two-storj-'  building, 
with  the  upper  floor  devoted  to  lodge  and  club  rooms.  The  present  officers 
are :  A.  L.  Massey,  Chancellor  Commander ;  Clifford  Bisliop,  Vice  Chan- 
cellor; S.  W.  Ford.  Prelate;  J.  N.  Salisbury,  Keeper  of  Records  and  Seals; 
Bert  Kinyon,  Master  of  Finance;  Ralph  Andrus,  Master  of  Exchequer; 
John  Burns,  Master-at-Arms ;  D.  W.  App  Master  of  Work;  John  Drake, 
Inner  Guard;  Will  Houghtaling,  Outer  Guard. 

Quincy  Lodge  Na  186,  Daughters  of  Rebekah,  was  organized  January 
6,  1892,  with  the  following  as  charter  members:  CretJa  Livingston,  Mary 
Belle  Dove,  Mrs.  H.  E.  Rathlxtne,  John  Livingston,  Elmer  Dove,  Frank 
White,  Thomas  Lennon,  T.  Rathbone.  Thqse  now  filling  official  positions 
are  Clara  Parkinson,  N.  G. ;  Henrietta  Herendeen,  V.  G. ;  Emiiy  Nichols. 
Secy. ;  Joseph  Stevens,  F.  Secy. ;  Anna  Bennett,  Treas. 

Rathbun  Lodge  No.  167,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  at  Quincy,  was  organized  August 
15,  1871.  The  secretary  was  unable  to  obtain  tiie  nariies  of  the  charter  mem- 
bers. The  present  officers  are :  Charles  H.  Chase,  N.  G. ;  Jay  Kinnebrook, 
V.  G. ;  J.  Stevens,  Secretary. 

Conrad  Hive  No.  428,  L.  O.  T,  M.,  of  Quincy.  was  organized  Novem- 
ber 13,  1893,  with  the  following  charter  members:  Martha  Lisk.  Mary 
Fay,  Malinda  Blackman,  Ida  Harmon.  May  Fay.  Carrie  Wright,  Caroline 
SilHck,  Kittie  Harmon,  Azalia  Hunt,  Laura  Drake,  Cornelia  Pope,  Rachel 
Milieus,  Martha  De  Woif,  Henrietta  Herendeen,  Sarah  Canel,  Luella  Rhodes, 
Hettie  Clizbe,  Gertie  Powers,  NelHe  Allen,  Mira  Houghtaling,  Rose  Pease, 
Flora  Foster,  IdaVan  Levvan,  Laura  Babcock,  Mary  Porter.  Malinda  Chase. 
At  the  present  time  the  membership  numbers  over  eighty,  and  the  following 
is  the  list  of  the  officers  for  the  present  term:     Commander,  Belle  Qumer; 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  233 

Past  Commander,  Lovonia  Boweman:  Lieutenant  Commander.  Nettie  Tliomp- 
son;  Record  Keeper,  Kate  Wiser;  Finance  Keq>er,  Mary  Campbell;  Chap- 
lain, Martha  De  Wold;  Mistress-at-Arms,  Irene  Ford;  Sergeant,  Minnie 
Roth;  Sentinel,  Nettie  Baker;  Picket,  Ella  White;  Pianist,  Amanda  Van 
Orthwick ;  Captain,  Emma  Knapp. 

Garland  Tent  No.  618,  K.  O.  T.  M.,  Sherwood,  was  organized  Feb- 
ruary 26.  1891.  Charter  members:  W.  B.  Chiesman,  A.  R.  Culver.  W.  S. 
Beman,  C.  E.  Swain.  J.  F.  Mclntyre,  W.  H.  Fonner,  C.  E.  Nelthorpe,  F.  B. 
M^iey.  C.  Beard,  S.  Bennett,  G.  O.  Hnntley.  W.  M.  Wrig^lesworth,  E.  A. 
Lewis,  A.  E.  Travis.  H.  Smith,  E.  B.  Hoiward.  Present  officersi:  Henry 
Runyan,  P.  C;  F.  Tillotson,  C;  C.  Beard.  L.  C:  L.  L.  Eddy,  R.  K.;  W.  B. 
Chiesman,  R.  K. ;  Henry  Runyan,  Qiaplain:  C.  E.  Nelthorpe,  Physician;  D. 
E,  Beard,  Sergeant;  Wm.  Carroll,  M.  of  A.;  Wm,  Mnllinger.  First  M.  of 
G. ;  A.  Gehring,  Second  M.  of  G. ;  Fred  Batherick,  Sentinel ;  Henry  Kidney, 
Picket.     Present  membership,  fifty-eight. 

Sherv\-ood  Forest  Chapter  No.  233,  Order  of  Eastern  Star,  Sherwood, 
organized  September  2,  1898.  Charter  members:  Alice  R.  Klose,  Anna 
Fonner,  Harriet  Swain,  Hester  Runyan.  Serro  Jones.  Mar}'  Swain,  Jennie 
Runyan,  Marian  Watkins,  Harriet  Jones.  Maggie  Leckner.  Grace  Wal- 
king. Belle  Chiesman.  L.  Maud  Wilcox,  Sarah  A.  Thorns,  Henry  Runyan, 
C.  B.  Wilcox,  Walter  Chiesman,  Edward  Watkins,  Reuben  Jones.  Chas.  E. 
Swain.  Present  officers:  Sena  Evert,  W.  M, ;  Chas,  Nelthorpe,  W.  P.; 
Maude  Wilcox,  A.  M. ;  Waive  Wright,  Sec. :  Alice  Klose,  Treas. :  I>ou 
French,  Conductress ;  Gertrude  Jones,  Asst.  Cond. ;  Carrie  Klose,  Adah ; 
Laura  Lamimian.  Ruth ;  Margretta  French,  Estber ;  Louisa  Nelthorpe, 
Martha;  La  Vase  Laird,  Electa:  Amy  Lovejoy.  Chaplain;  Abbie  Vander- 
lioof.  Warder;  Lucious  Lovejoy,  Sentinel;  Elizabeth  Swain,  Marshal;  1-Ois 
Kilboum,  Organist. 

Lown  Hive  No.  262,  L.  O.  T.  M.,  Sherwood,  was  organized  December 
10.  1891.  Tlie  charter  members  are:  Ellen  Disbro,  Sophia  Lewis,  I^na 
Fonner,  Abbie  Henry.  Hester  Runyan,  Phenie  Johnson,  Estella  Jones,  Edith 
Turner,  Lela  Pearson,  Rose  Beman,  Dora  Harrison.  Libbie  Nelson,  Lulu 
Wilcox,  Cora  Dufur,  Elda  Huntley,  Ella  Tillotson,  Rebecca  Bennett,  Mag- 
gie Crocker.  Helen  Travers,  Julia  Spencer.  Matie  Beach.  Ada  M.  Fish, 
Lavina  Nelthorpe,  Josie  Culver.  Addie  Beard.  Present  officers  are:  Com., 
Cora  Dufur;  P.  Com..  Addie  Beard:  F.  K.,  Josephine  Thornton:  R.  K,, 
Eliza  Swain;  Chap.,  Amy  Lovejoy:  Seargt.,  Elizabeth  Swain;  M.  at  A., 
Mary  Smith;  Sent.,  Addie  DuBois:  Picket,  Jennie  Ostorn, 

The  C.  O.  Loomis  Post  No.  2,  G.  A.  R..  was  the  second  Grand  Army 
post  to  be  estabhshed  in  Michigan,  Moreover,  it  is  now  the  oldest  in  con- 
tinuous existence,  owing  to  the  lapse  of  Post  No.  i,  which  was  the  first  Cold- 
water  post.  Loomis  Post  was  organized  January  22,  1876.  with  the  follow- 
ing charter  members:  Dan  W.  Sawyer,  B.  F.  Clark,  D.  C,  Myers,  W.  H. 
Thurber,  Thomas  Lennon,  C.  D.  Skinner,  E.  A.  Turner,  George  W.  Rath- 
bun.  F,  M.  Rustine,  J.  C.  Nichols.  William  Wilson,  A.  M.  Turner,  H.  H. 
Hunt  and   Hiram   Rnstine.     Present  membership:     Isaac   Bargarow.   Finly 


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234  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

D.  Burling-haiTii,  Jeramire  Becker,  Joseph  Barker,  E.  C.  Chace,  J.  S.  Cleve- 
land, O.  D.  Curtis,  Wm.  M.  Corey,  Wm.  Craps,  G.  W.  Dye,  M.  M.  Dicheii- 
son,  Ambrose  Davids,  Alford  Dodge,  Olny  Draper.  K.  B.  Edthrig^,  Dexter 
Edthrige,  Wm.  H.  Emons,  Wm.  H.  EMrid,  Ely  T.  Hoyt,  James  Haines, 
Leroy  Holkom,  Lewis  C.  Failor,  Levy  Fish,  John  C.  llles,  Andy  Janon 
(colored  gentleman),  Thomas  Lennon,  Charles  W,  Lake,  Edward  McNitt, 
Silvester  McNJtt,  John  McGinnes,  Henry  Nichols,  C.  V.  R.  Pond,  Thos. 
Ryan,  Frank  M.  Rustine,  George  N.  Runyon,  L.  D.  Reynolds,  Steven 
Rodgers,  George  Steward,  William  H,  Thurber,  Andrew  Turner,  A.  Tur- 
pening,  Harry  J.  Wood,  David  Wood,  Wm.  Wimer,  Sanford  Wood, 
J.  Q.  Mickle,  G.  Q.  Rice,  Chas.  Pbtter,  Albert  Wariner,  Wm.  G.  Whitney, 
John  Waggoner.  Tim  TaJlent,  C.  W.  Owen,  Sisney  Smith,  Alonzo  Fox, 
Wm.  Herrick,  Hiram  Wiser. 

Butterworth  Post  No.  109,  G.  A.  R.,  which  was  organized  at  Cold- 
water  March  9,  1883,  after  the  first  post  had  lapsed,  has  the  surviving 
membership  named  as  follows :  Geo.  S.  Allen,  R.  B.  Amsden,  J.  C.  An- 
drews, John  W.  Arnold,  Thos.  M.  Alexander,  Philander  Alden,  Daniel 
Bradley,  Aaron  Bagley,  Jeff  M.  Bums,  C.  H.  Brown,  D,  A.  Bolster,  Joseph 
Brandle,  A.  E.  Buck,  E.  J.  Brown,  Rensalaer  Brown,  H.  H.  Benson, 
Darius  Belknapp,  Charles  W.  Bennett,  Samuel  Bates,  W.  A.  Blye,  David 
Bender,  John  Button,  A.  B.  Cleveland,  Wm.  N.  Conover,  Geo.  W^.  Clement, 
Chas.  D.  OufF,  Edwin  Collar,  Patrick  Cavanaugh,  James  C.  Clark,  John 
M.  Crocker,  Feleg  O.  Carmen,  Otis  M.  Clement,  Edward  Casebeer,  L.  A. 
Dillingham,  Geo.  Dingman,  James  Doris,  Daniel  E.  Declute,  Alden  F. 
Drake,  L.  S,  Daniels,  John  C.  Dubendorf,  Leonard  Dean,  Geo.  H.  Eggles- 
ton,  Frank  Eaton,  Henry  Firth,  Henry  E.  Frederick,  J.  A.  Fetterly,  Steuben 
Filkins,  John  Fitzpatrici:,  David  Fox,  Thomas  W.  Fegles,  Harvey  Freeman, 
Wm.  W.  Fenno,  Solomon  Good,  Wm.  H.  Harris,  Lewis  L.  Hawley,  P.  W. 
Hilliar,  Andrew  J.  Haws,  Julius  Herriff,  David  S.  Harris,  Henry  kle,  Vi'm. 
S.  Joies,  Frank  Jones,  Jas.  E.  Jones,  Geo.  W.  Knapp,  Chas.  Keyes,  E.  E. 
Lewis,  Willet  F.  Lumbard,  Jas.  M.  Lind,  H.  A.  Lane,  David  R.  P.  Larow, 
Chas.  A.  Lee,  S.  M.  Lutes,  Geo.  F.  Lipps,  Jas.  McQueen,  Frank  D.  Newberry, 
O.  G.  Noyes,  Michael  NagJe,  Wm.  Newman,  L.  M.  Nye,  Jacob  Nodeli,  Geo. 
F.  Nivison,  Alfred  Milnes,  Samuel  Misenar,  Clark  Mosier,  I.  D.  Miner, 
Edgar  P.  Moses,  Allen  Morse,  L.  H.  Mowers,  Henry  Miller,  Pliilip  Pitcher, 
Richmond  F.  Parker,  David  Pitcher,  Andrew  Pender,  Byron  D.  Paddock, 
Lewis  E.  Pierce,  A.  J.  Potter,  John  N.  Parker.  Daniel  G.  Parker,  Geo. 
Phelps,  A.  J.  Parsons,  H.  O.  Purdy,  Thos.  S.  Osborn,  John  O'Mara,  Clark 
Sherman,  Ezra  Stahl,  Henry  Stahl,  Wm.  H.  Sanford,  Andrew  Sitter,  H.  C. 
Simons,  Hezekiah  Sweet,  T.  G.  Sheldon,  Wm.  Steward,  Edward  Stone, 
Wm.  J.  Smalley,  John  G.  Stepper,  Edgar  Sears,  Chas.  A.  Smith,  N.  A. 
Reynolds,  B.  K.  Robbins,  Thomas  W.  Rhodes,  Benj.  F.  Rolfe,  James  A. 
Rickard,  Harmon  Timerson,  Wm.  M.  Tyler,  Samviel  L  Treat,  Chas.  A. 
Tompkins,  Wm.  C.  Taylor,  Geo.  H.  Turner,  S.  M.  Teachout,  James  E. 
Tndtey,  C.  R.  Thompson,  David  H.  Thompson,  W.  Vangilder,  L.  M.  Wing, 
W.   B.  Warford,  Jed  Wilcox,  L.   C.   Waldren,   Thos.   C.   Whitelock,   Chas. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  235 

\ViIson,  Geo.  W.  Whitehead,  David  W.  Weldy.  Samuel  M.  Williams,  Milan 
Wheeler,  Henry  G.  Wadsworth,  Gratton  H.  Wagoner. 

Kilhoum  Post  No.  361.  G.  A.  R.,  Sher\vood.  was  organized  August 
31.  1S86.  Charter  members:  Emoiy  Blossom.  S.  L.  Kiiboum,  Jno.  Stvid- 
le\',  H.  Runyan.  J.  W.  Ott,  T.  H.  Watkins,  Jno.  Banker.  J.  Henry.  Ed.  Nash, 
W.  T.  Davis,  Edw.  Tenney,  Chas.  Hall,  S.  Cathorn,  Chas.  Shelhart,  J.  M. 
Ijxke,  W.  C.  Thornton,  A.  J.  Snyder,  C.  Canfield.  Robt.  Kimber,  Henry 
Jones.  Nathaniel  Jones,  Bert  Hmve.  The  present  officers:  Commander, 
J.  M.  Locke;  S.  V.  Com.,  Julius  Henry;  J.  V.  Com.,  A.  J.  Snj'der,  Surgeon. 
Peter  Vanderhoof;  Chap.,  Chas.  Shelhart:  O.  D..  H.  Runyan;  Adj.,  H.  Run- 
yan; Q.  M..  L.  Zimmerman;  O.  G..  L.  P.  Lovejov;  S:  M.,  J.  H.  Watkins; 
Guard,  E.  W.  Watkins. 

Corbin  Post  No.  88.  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  Union  City,  was  or- 
ganized October  16,  1882.  Its  charter  members  were:  A.  E.  Ripley,  C. 
M.  Hall,  M.  F.  Buell.  D.  E.  Youngs,  D.  L.  Merrill.  D.  J.  Easton,  M.  A. 
Merrifield,  S.  D.  Bueli,  A.  J.  Ackley,  R.  M.  Simmons.  A.  H.  Wilder,  E. 
Briimfield,  B.  F.  Haymaker,  J.  C.  Bushong,  N.  P.  Olmsted,  D.  F^  Austin, 
L.  L.  Harsh,  G.  W.  Palmer.  J.  J.  Banford.  John  Van  Blarcom,  J.  H.  Hanima, 
E.  McDonald,  C.  A.  Zimmerman,  Geo.  Haymaker.  Tlie  present  officers  are: 
Commander.  Ira  B.  Buell:  S.  V.  Com.,  Henry  Seymour,  J.  V.  Com.,  Geo, 
Thayer;  Officer  Day,  J.  D.  Parks;  Quartermaster,  M.  F.  Buell;  Chaplain, 
A.  J.  Ackley;  Officer  Guard,  Jonathan  Olney;  Adjutant,  M.  E.  Blair;  Q.  M. 
S.,  R.  M.  Simmons. 

The  New  Century  Club  of  Quincy.  This  club  was  organized  in  1898, 
and  in  1900  was  federated  with  the  State  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs. 
The  constitution  limits  the  membership  toi  thirty  active  and  se\'en  associate 
members.  The  original  members  of  the  club  were  as  follows :  Mrs.  W,  J, 
Barnes,  Mrs.  I.  L.  Bishop,  Miss  Jennie  Bums,  Mrs.  C.  D.  Burwell,  Mrs. 
W.  D.  Campbell,  Mrs.  E,  J.  Clizbe,  Mrs.  W.  H.  Lockerby,  Mrs.  I.^iira 
Sweeney,  lliss  Maria  Warner— all  of  whom  are  still  active  members  of  the 
club.  The  other  charter  members  were;  Jessica  Hopkins,  Belle  Pratt, 
Mary  Y.  Marsh,  Eva  Felton,  P.  L.  Twadell,  Elsie  Mellen,  Belie  Dove.  M. 
L.  Woods,  Maude  Ackerson,  Lenna  Sweeney,  Lena  Anderson,  Hattie  Wil- 
liams, Mrs.  Mitterling,  Sarah  Dickerson,  F.  C.  Brickley.  Tlie  presait  active 
membership,  besides  the  charter  members  just  mentioned,  are  Mrs.  J.  M. 
Blackman,  Mrs.  Maud  Bames.  Miss  Barber.  Miss  Fox,  Miss  Frances  W. 
Hill,  Mrs.  C.  C.  Jones,  Miss  Mabel  Jones.  Miss  Ruby  Kinyon,  Mrs.  T.  S. 
Lampman. '  Mrs.  B.  C.  Mellen.  Mrs.  F.  McKinstry,  Mrs.  R.  D.  Rawson, 
Mrs.  M.  S.  Segur,  Mrs.  J.  R.  Smith.  Mrs.  S.  M.  Turner.  Miss  Todd,  Mrs.  G. 
\\'.  Woodworth,  Miss  Pierce,  Mrs.  F.  E.  Knapp,  Mrs.  Goldsbury,  Mrs.  Burr. 
The  officers  for  the  year  1905-06  were;  Mrs.  W.  H.  Lockerby,  President; 
Mrs,  Laura  Sweeney,  Vice  President;  Mrs.  J.  M.  Blackman,  Secretary; 
Mrs.  R.  D.  Rawson,  Treasurer.  The  ex-presidents  of  the  club  are  Miss  Jes- 
sica Hopkins,  Mrs.  M.  S.  Segur,  Mrs.  t.  L.  Bishop  and  Mrs.  E.  J.  Clizbe. 
The  fielegnte  to  the  state  federation  for  1906  is  Miss  Mabel  Jones,  with 
Mrs.  J.  M,  Blackman  as  alternate. 


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230  HISTORY  OF  BRyVNCH  COUNTY 

The  Cokimbian  Club  of  Qiiincy.  Tliis  literary  club  was  organized  in 
1902.  Its  active  membership  is  limited  to  twenty-five,  with  five  associate?. 
Tlie  active  members  at  this  writing  are:  Mrs.  Henry  Williams,  Mrs.  C,  C. 
Jones.  Mrs.  Henry  Nichols,  Mrs.  G.  J.  Fillmore,  Mrs,  Floyd  Newberry, 
Mrs.  Herbert  Joseph.  Mrs.  Yost,  Mrs.  George  Dnnphy,  Mrs.  A.  C.  I-eiving. 
Mrs.  Arza  Hoffman,  Miss  Lea  Benge.  Mrs.  J.  D.  Van  Ortlnwick,  Mrsi.  Frank 
McKinstry,  Mrs.  Greening,  Mrs.  J.  C.  Beimett,  Mrs.  W.  H.  Martin,  Mrs. 
Mary  Spaulding.  Mrs.  Will  Knapp,  Mrs.  S.  W.  Boynton,  Miss  Mazie  Field, 
Miss  Elva  Gage.  Mrs.  Harry  Paddock,  Miss  Millie  Barnes,  Miss  Buell,  Mrs.  - 
Fred  Finch.  The  associate  members  are  Mrs.  A.  A.  Squier,  Mrs.  F.  E. 
Knapp,  Mrs,  A.  L.  Bovven,  Mrs.  John  Babcock,  Mrs.  D.  W.  App.  The 
officers  for  IQ06-07  are:  Mrs.  Mary  Spanlding,  President:  Miss  Lea  Benge, 
Vice  President;  Miss  Buell,  Secretary;  Miss  Elva  Gage,  Assistant  Secretary. 

The  Nika  Club,  for  literary  and  social  purposes,  was  organized  in 
Quincy,  Febmary  22,  1898,  with  the  following'  charter  members:  Mrs. 
Joe  Condra,  Mrs.  Gertie  Powers,  Mrs.  Rilla  Greening,  Mrs.  Ruby  Ryan, 
Mrs.  Jessie  Hanna,  deceased  March  ig,  189&.  Mrs.  Lula  Ramsdeil,  Mrs. 
Lillian  Runyan,  Miss  Julia  Dayton.  Mrs.  Hattie  Williams.  Mrs.  Wer- 
ner, Mrs.  Liiuise  Haight,  Mrs.  Winnie  White,  Mrs.  Blanch  Turner,  Mrs. 
Nora  Burch,  Mrs.  Iva  Hemorth,  Mrs.  Rose  Wagner,  Mrs,  Benge,  Mrs. 
I..^na  Jones.  The  present  officers  of  the  Nika  Oub  are:  President,  Mrs. 
Kate  Wiser:  Vice  President,  Mrs.  M.  D.  Greening;  Secretary  and  Treas- 
urer, Mrs.  Felger;  Assistant  Secy,  and  Treas..  Mrs.  Nellie  Comstock.  T!ie 
members  axe:  Mrs.  Arza  Hoffman,  Mrs,  J.  C.  White,  Mrs.  W.  lies,  Mrs. 
C.  H.  Felger,  Mrs.  F.  E.  Powers,  Mrs.  C.  C.  Jones,  Mrs.  E.  A.  Runyan. 
Mrs.  L.  H.  Ryan,  Mrs.  J.  M.  Blackman,  Mrs.  Geo.  Burdick.  Mrs,  A.  W. 
Lawton,  Mrs.  F.  M.  McKinstry,  Mrs.  Bert  Joseph,  Mrs.  C.  F.  Crouch,  Mrs. 
F.  C.  Herworth,  Mrs.  H.  J.  Williams,  Mrs.  R.  D.  Wiser,  Mrs.  M.  D.  Green- 
ing. Mrs.  Geo.  Comstock,  Mrs.  Chas.  Burger,  Mrs.  E.  E.  Lytle,  Mrs.  H.  C. 
Rsmsdeli,  Mrs.  L.  O.  Burch,  Mrs.  B.  F.  Kinyon,  Mrs.  C.  D.  Burwell.  Mrs. 
Ward  Ailen,  Mrs.  E.  E.  Widner,  Mrs.  R.  D.  Rawson.  Mrs.  Max  Glazer, 
Mrs.  W.  C  Haight. 

In  1891-94  there  was  a  Chautauqua  circle  in  Bronson.  Mr.  Waldo  M. 
Morrison  was  president  of  the  circle,  and  Mrs.  Lou  R.  Whitaker  secretary. 
There  were  eight  members:  Mrs.  Delia  Teller.  Mrs.  Nellie  Rudd,  Mrs,  Gus- 
sie  Davis,  Miss  Sadie  Sanderson,  Miss  Mae  Moos,  Miss  Grace  Rose.  Miss 
Louise  Stevens.  Mrs.  Waldo  M.  Morrison,  Mrs.  Ij3u  Draper,  Miss  Nellie 
Fulkerson. 

The  Woman's  Club  of  Bronson  was  organized  in  1903.  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  was  federated  with  the  state  association.  The  officers  for 
1905-06  were:  Ex-President,  Ellen  C.  Card:  President.  M"elissa.  Rudd  Fisk; 
Vice  President.  Cora  B.  Scribner;  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  Lou  Bennett 
Whitaker:  Corresponding  Secretary.  Augusta  Van  Fleet  Davis.  Tlie  mem- 
bers: Maria  Taggart  Bushnell,  Ellen  C.  Card,  Melissa  Rudd  Fisk,  Nellie 
Brown  Powers,  .^daiine  Phillips  Selby,  Lucinda  Bowen,  Augusta  Van  Feet 
Davis,  Essie  R.  Hiirford,  Clara  Norton  Perrin,  Cora  B.  Scribner,  Lou  Ben- 


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HISTORY  OF   l^RANCH  COUNTY  237 

nett   Whitaker,    Gertrude   Baxter.    Alice   Park    Mowry,    Flora   Burr   Sliaff- 
master.     Jlonorary  member,  Grace  Van  Alstine  Taylor. 

TTie  Tuesday  Club  of  Union  City,  a  literary  and  social  organization 
among  the  ladies  of  tiie  village,  was  organized  in  1898.  with  the  following 
charter  members:  Mrs.  Chas.  H.  Lowell,  Mrs.  Arthur  Fenno,  Mrs.  Leon 
A.  Johnson,  Miss  Nannette  H.  Jeffrey,  Mrs.  E.  H.  Page.  Mrs.  Edgar  Dotv, 
Mrs.  H.  T.  Carpenter,  Mrs.  N.  E.  Tower.  Mrs.  Wm.  E.  Bell,  Mrs.  G.  K. 
Whiting,  Miss  N.  Sophia  Page.  Mrs.  Arthur  S.  Cornell.  Mrs.  Frank  C. 
Boise,  Dr.  Cora  B.  Cornel!,  Mrs.  Mildred  S.  Stanton.  Miss  Ellen  Crissv, 
Miss  Edna  J.  Peck,  Mrs.  E.  H.  Hurd,  Mrs.  J.  E.  Saxton,  Dr.  A.  Dorothy 
Payne.  The  present  officers:  President,  Mrs.  F.  C.  Boise;  Vice  President, 
Miss  Harriet  Young;  Secretary,  Miss  Carrie  Hurd;  Treasurer,  Mrs.  Claude 
Graham. 

COLDWATER    Y.    M.    C.    A. 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  .Association  of  Coldwatcr  lias  had  a  con- 
tinuous and  increasingly  prosperous  existence  of  more  than  twenty  years. 
The  articles  of  association  are  date<i  June  9,  1885,  and  were  signed  by  C.  J. 
Vanderhoof,  C.  H.  Macumber.  F.  I.  Sprague,  W.  C-  Bailey,  G.  W.  Collins, 
T.  A.  Hilton,  C.  S.  Vincent.  H.  P.  Woodward.  W.  S.  Mansell.  R.  E.  Clarke. 
The  first  officers  were  L.  D.  Fiske,  president;  C.  J.  Vanderhoof.  Vice  Presi- 
dent; C.  F.  Ruggles,  Secretary:  R.  E.  Clarke.  Treasurer;  W.  E.  Flynn, 
General  Secretary. 

Mr.  R.  E.  Clarke  and  Mr.  H.  P.  Woodward,  whose  names  appear 
among  the  organizers,  continued  as  active  uiembers  of  the  board  of  directors 
from  the  date  of  organization  until  the  summer  of  1906,  a  period  of  twenty- 
one  years. 

The  first  quarters  of  the  association  were  in  the  Old  Bank  building, 
Monroe  and  Chicago  streets.  In  April,  1892,  the  second  floor  of  the  White 
block  was  rented.  Tlie  Lewis  Art  collection  having  been  moved  from'  Cold- 
water  to  Ann  Arbor,  the  vacant  gallery  building  was  donated  by  Mrs.  Alma 
Lewis  Dennis,  widow  of  the  late  H.  C  Lewis,  for  the  use  of  the  associa- 
tion. Several  thousand  dollars  were  expended  in  converting  the  building 
to  its  new  purposes,  and  in  December,  1896.  the  association  moved  to  its 
iiemianent  quarters  at  the  comer  of  Hudson  and  Chicago  streets,  where 
the  building,  groimds  and  genera!  equipment  give  the  association  a  home 
that  compares  favorably  with  that  of  any  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  southern  Michigan. 

Tlie  present  membership  is  about  two  hundred,  and  the  officers  last 
elected  are:  Frank  I.  Post,  President;  F.  B.  Reynolds,  Vice  President;  L. 
A.  Hutchins,  Recording  Secretary;  C.  M.  Perry,  Treasurer;  S.  Raymond 
Gould,  General  Secretary. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 
THE  PIONEER  SOCIETY. 

"The  object  of  this  society  shall  be  the  collecting  and  preserving  of 
historical,  biographical  or  other  information  in  relation  to  Branch  County." 
This  is  the  purpose,  as  stated  in  Article  3  of  the  Constitution,  of  the  Pioneer 
Society  of  Branch  County,  which  was  founded  August  16,  1878.  Founded 
with  this  high  purpose,  and  with  the  possibilities  of  a  broad  and  beneficent 
activity  resulting  from  long  associations  and  the  common  experiences  of  pio- 
neer life,  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  this  society  has  not  had  a  continuous  and 
prosperous  career.  The  last  meeting  of  the  society  was  held  in  1901.  That 
there  is  a  Jiving  interest  in  all  matters  comprehended  in  the  language  of  the 
above  article,  and  that  this  interest  is  general  throughout  the  county,  not 
alone  among  the  oldest  citizens  but  also  among  the  present  generation,  the 
existence  of  this  history  is  ample  proof.  For  without  that  "  reverence  for  the 
past  and  a  desire  to  maintain  every  sort  of  connection  with  it,"  which  an 
English  observer  has  declared  to  be  a  great  and  growing  force  among  the 
educated  people  of  America,  the  publication  of  a  historical  work  of  these 
dimensions  could  not  have  been  undertaken.  But  as  yet  this  general  inter- 
est has  not  been  focused  and  converted  into  a  permanent  and  effective  force 
wielded  by  a  single  organization. 

With  these  observations  on  the  present  condition  of  the  pioneer  move- 
ment, the  history  of  the  Pioneer  Society  may  be  sketched  in  some  detail. 
The  meeting  for  organization  on  the  date  above  mentioned  was  hekl  in  the 
house  of  Harvey  Warner,  with  another  well  known  pioneer,  E.  G.  Fuller,  as 
chairman,  and  T.  C,  Etheridge  as  secretary.  The  first  set  of  officers  elected 
for  the  ensuing  year  were  as  follows : 

Harvey  Warner,  president;  Harvey  Haynes,  recording  secretary;  T.  C, 
Etheridge,  corresponding  secretary;  S.  M.  Treat,  treasurer;  Henry  Lock- 
wood,  Albert  Chandler  and  Mrs.  H.  Warner,  executive  committee. 

Vice  Presidents— A Igansee,  F.  D.  Ransom;  Batavia,  Martin  P.  Olds; 
Bethel.  Nelson  Card;  Bronson,  Wales  Adams;  Butler,  Milo  White;  Califor- 
nia, James  H.  Lawrence;  Coldwater  township,  Origen  F.  Bingham;  Cold- 
water  City,  J.  D.  W.  Fisk.  I.  P.  Alger,  Allen  Tibbits,  John  H.  Bennett; 
Gilead,  Samue!  Booth;  Girard,  James  B.  Tompkins;  Kinderhook,  George 
Tripp;  Matteson,  William  McCarty;  Noble,  Walter  W.  Smith;  Ovid,  Stew- 
art Davts ;  Quincy,  W.  P.  Arnold ;  Sherwood,  Isaac  D.  Beall ;  Union,  Hiram 
Doubleday. 

Besides  these  already  mentioned  there  were  Roland  Root  and  wife,  L. 


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dt  Cooi^lc 


Entrance  to  Ne^v  Cfimetery,   Coldwater 


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Hos:6db,>^50ogie 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  2!i0 

D.  Halsted  and  wife,  C.  H.  Williams  and  wife,  and  James  R.  Wilcox  and 
wife,  whose  names  appear  as  constitutional  members. 

It  is  worthy  of  note,  as  showing  how  the  advance  guard  of  life's  proces- 
sion is  being  constantly  cut  down  by  time,  that  only  two  or  three  of  these 
original  members  are  now  hving.  Perhaps  the  last  one  to  be  gathered  in  the 
fullness  of  time  was  L.  D.  Halsted,  who  passed  away  April  5,  1906. 

For  the  first  twelve  years  after  its  formation  the  society  was  flourishing, 
and  its  mid-winter  meetings  were  well  attended.  In  1884  a  new  constitution 
and  by-laws  were  adopted.  The  definition  of  what  constitutes  a  pioneer  un- 
derwent several  changes  during  the  history  of  the  society.  At  one  time  any- 
one who  had  resided  in  Michigan  and  Branch  county  for  thirty  years  was 
eligible  to  membership,  while  with  this  constitution  the  requirement  was  re- 
duced to  twenty-five  years  residence  in  the  state  and  residence  in  the  county 
at  time  of  being  received  into  the  society. 

Between  January  13,  1892,  and  the  month  of  December,  1896,  no  meet- 
ing is  recorded.  At  the  same  time  the  death  roll  was  increasing,  and  thence- 
forward hardly  a  month  passed  without  the  death  of  one  who  had  come  to 
the  county  as  a  pioneer.  Another  lapse  in  regular  meetings  occurred  be- 
tween March  17,  1897,  and  February  19,  1901.  and  in  May  of  the  same  year 
the  assembling  of  the  pioneers  at  the  home  of  Judge  David  N.  Green,  then 
president  of  the  society,  was  the  last  meeting  of  the  Pioneer  Society  of  Branch 
county. 

The  officers  elected  at  the  meeting  of  February  19,  1901,  and,  because 
their  successors  have  not  been  elected,  still  the  de  facto  officers  of  the  society, 
were:  President,  David  N.  Green  (since  deceased);  vice-president,  George 
W.  Van  Aken;  secretary,  Calvin  J.  Thorpe;  executive  committee,  Albert  A, 
Dorrance,  Anthony  R.  Brown  and  D.  W.  Benton. 


Pioneer  Record. 

[These  brief  biographical  records  of  pioneers  have  been  compiled  from  vari- 
ous available  sources  and  will  serve  to  supplement  the  preceding  his- 
torical chapters  and  the  biographical  sketches  that  follow,] 
Allen,  John  B.— Born  in  England,   March    13,   1S34;   came  to  Bethel, 

Branch  countv,  in  1842. 

Allen,  Gabriel— Born  June  28,   1839,  died  Feb.  26,   1904.     Brother  of 

foregoing.     Came  with  parents  to  Bethel  township. 

"Allen,  George  Henry— Born  in  Bethel  township,  April  7,   1844;  hvmg 

in  Coldwater. 

Aldrich,    William— Born   Wayne  county,   N.    Y.,    July   26,    181 1,   and 

died  in  Coldwater  Nov.   26,   1877,     Came  to  Girard  township  m   1832. 

Aldrich.  Abram   J-— Born  in  Girard  township,  Feb.  3,  1843;  living  in 

Coldwater.     At  one  time  proprietor  of  Coldwater  Republican. 

Alger,  Isaac  P.— Born  in  Lisbon.  N.  Y.,  Aug.  28,    1S20,  and  died  at 

Coldwater  April  18,  1904.     Came  to  Quincy  township  in  1833. 


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2i0  HISTORY  O'F  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Alger,  William — Born  in  Richland  township,  Vermont,  July,  1816,  died 
in  1893  in  Matteson  township.  Early  settler  in  Butler  township.  Brother 
of  Dr,  Isaac  P.  Alger. 

Amold,  William  P. — Born  Clarendon,  Vermont,  August  23,  1806,  and 
died   Came  to  Branch  county  in  1833. 

Allen,  John — Born  in  Sudbury.  Rutland  county,  Vt,  April  29,  1801 ; 
died  in  Coldwater  township,  Sept.  29,  1891.  Came  to  Coldwater  township 
in  1843- 

Alden,  Isaac — Born  in  Oswego  county,  N.  Y.,  January  8.  1813;  died 
in  Coldwater,  Feb.  7,  1892.     Came  to  Coldwater  township  in  1850. 

Alden,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  (wife  of  Isaac  Alden) — Born  in  Groton,  N.  Y., 

Nov.    n,   1819;  died    Daughter  of  David  and  Abigail 

Hopkins;  married  Mr.  Alden  March   18.   1845,  in  Jonesville,  Mich. 

Adams,  Wales — Born  Medway,  Mass,,  March  2,   1804;  died   

. ., Came  to  Branch  county,  in  September,   1830. 

Allen,  Alonzo  B.— Bom  in  Pittsford,  Vt.,  July  it,  1829;  living  in 
Coldwater  township.     Came  to  Branch  county  in  1843. 

Arnold,  Samuel^Born  in  Middletown,  Conn.,  Feb.  20,  1800;  died  in 
Gilead  township  September  30,  1878;  came  to  Kinderhook  township  in 
1836,  and  to  Giiead  in  1837. 

Arnold,  Mrs,  Catherine  S. — Born  March  20,  1805;  married  Samuel 
Arnold  in  1831. 

Ackerman,  John  D.-^Born  Cortland  county,  N.  Y.,  June,  i82t;  died 
at  Union  Citj',   

Andeison,  John — Born  in  Aberdeenshire.  Scotland:  died  Feb.  12,  1S52, 
in  Gilead  township.     Came  to  Gilead  township  in  1S37. 

Anderson.  James — Born  March   18,   1817.   in  At3erdeenshire,   Scotland: 

died    Came  to   Noble  township  in   1842,  to   Coldwater 

in  184S. 

Austin,  Charles  H. — Born  Perrysburg.  Ohio,  May  10,  1838;  living  in 
Batavia.     Came  to  Batavia  in   1847. 

Arnold,  John  W.— Born  in  Gilead  township  December  13,  1840:  living 
in  Chicago. 

Ashton,  James— Born  in  Yorkshire,  England,  September  2,  1821. 
Came  to  Quincy  township  in   1842. 

Ayres,  Ezra  J. — Bom  Oct.  17,  1S39,  in  Jay  township.  Essex  county, 
N.  Y.,  came  to  California  tow'nship  in  1871.     Physician. 

Abbott,  William  H. — Born  at  Dearborn,  Mich.,  July  8,  1826;  died  at 
Coldwater,   Nov.   16,   1894.     Came  to  Coldwater  in   1838. 

Bronson,  Jabe— Born  in  Connecticut,  and  died  in  Batavia  township. 
First  settler  in  Branch  county,  in  1828. 

Bahcock.  Christopher  G.— Born  in  Portage  county,  Ohio,  in  1S37;  living 
in  Bronson,    Came  to  Gilead  township  in  1861, 

Beech,  John  H, — Born  in  Orleans  county,  N.  Y.,  Sept.  24,  1819;  died 
October  17,  1878.    Came  to  Coldwater  in  1850;  a  physician. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  241 

Babcock,  George  P. — Born  in  Camden,  Oneida  county,  N.  Y.,  January 
i8,  1815;  died  in  1874  in  Quincy.     Came  to  Quincy  township  in  1835. 

Elackman,  Dr.  Edson — Born  in  Morenci,  Michigan,  Nov.  22,  1S39;  liv- 
ing in  Quincy,  where  he  located  in  1876. 

Bailey,  Henry  C. — Born  in  Barre,  Orleans  county,  N.  Y.,  January  22, 
1833:  living  in  Coklwater.    Came  to  Branch  county  in  1852. 

Brown,  Alvarado — Bom  in  Herkimer  county,  N.  Y.,  January  15,  1809, 
Came  to  Branch  county  in  1840. 

Baldrige,  Niks— Born  in  Meadville.  Erie  county,  Penn.,  Nov.  6,  1839; 
died  July  25,  1879,  in  Ovid  township.     Came  to  Ovid  township  in  1847. 

Booth,  Samuel — Born  in  Onondaga  county,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  22,  1S18;  died 
in  Coklwater,  Feb.  13,  1892.     Came  to  Gilead  township  in  1832. 

Bartholomew,  Jehial — Born  in  Dryden,  N.  Y. ;  died  in  1875  in  Algan- 
see  township.     Came  to  Algansee  township  in  1844. 

Bingham,  Origen  S.- — ^Born  January  25,  1824,  at  Shelbume  Falls, 
Mass, :  died  in  1892.    Came  to  Branch  county  in  Oct.,  1831. 

Bingham,  Mrs.  Pliebe  (Worden) — Bom  June  4,  1S29,  at  Delhi,  N.  Y. 
Came  to  Batavia  in  November,  1S35. 

Bassett,  John — Born  March  20,  1793,  Martha's  Vineyard,  Mass.;  died 
April  27,  1874,  in  Batavia  township.     Came  to  Batavia  in  1835. 

Bassett,  Adam — Son  of  John.  Bom  in  Andes,  Delaware  Co.,  N.  Y., 
March  i,  1823;  died  March  30,  18S7,  in  Batavia  township.  Came  to  Batavia 
with  his  father. 

Blodget,  Uri — Bom  in  Ontario  county,  N.  Y.,  March  2,  182 1 ;  died  at 
Coklwater  in  1906.     Came  to  Coldwater  in  1849. 

Beal,  I.  D. — Born  in  Rutland  county,  Vt.,  May  21,  1812;  deceased. 
Came  to  Sherwood  township  in  1837. 

Buell,  Thomas  B. — Born  in  New  York  state  in  1815.  Came  to  Union 
City  in  1836. 

Bates,  Alfred  S.— Bom  in  township  of  Starkey,  Yates  county,  N.  Y., 
August  30,  1819;  died  in  Kinderhook,  Dec.  26,  1893.  Came  to  Kinderhook 
in  1848. 

Burton,  Parley  G.— Bom  July  26,  1S15,  in  Monroe  county,  N.  Y. 
Came  to  Girard  in  1847. 

Bidelman,  Horatio  N.— Born  in  Orleans  county,  N.  Y,,  July  4,  1836; 
living  in  Coldwater.     Came  to  Quincy  in  1855. 

Bagley,  Aaron — Born  in  Orange  county,  Vermont,  December  29,  1791. 
Settled  at  village  of  Branch  in  May,  1836. 

Bagley,  Mrs.  Elizabeth — Born  in  Lancaster  county,  Penn.,  March  22, 
1814,     Came  to  Batavia  township  in  June,  1834. 

Bennett,  Hon.  John  H.,  M.  D. — Born  at  Chenango,  Broome  county,  N. 
v..  December  6,  1826;  died  in  Batavia,  July  31,  1891.  Came  to  Qiiincy 
township  in  1839     Came  to  Coldwater  May  10,  1864. 

Burdick,  James  M. — Bom  in  Livingston  county,  N.  Y.  Came  to  Branch 
county  and  settled  in  Quincy  township  in  1836. 


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242  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Barnhart,  Martin — Born  in  Wayne  county,  N.  Y.  Came  to  Girard 
township  in  January,  1831. 

Bennett.  Nathaniel— Born  near  Adrain,  Mich.,  in  1832;  died  in  1S86. 
Came  to  Bethe!  township  in  1847. 

Brinton,  Albert  N. — Bom  Salisbury,  Conn.,  Nov.  it,  1827;  living  in 
Coldwater.     Came  to  Qiiincy  in  May,  i860. 

Baggerly,  Reuben  A.— Born  in  Ontario  county,  N.  Y.,  June  17,  1819. 
Came  to  Quincy,  April  20,  1854. 

Bickford,  Daniel — Came  to  Algansee  township  in  1837. 

Bickford.  Jonathan  K. — Born  in  Canada;  died  in  Algansee  township, 
May,  1882.    Came  to  Algansee  about  1836. 

Bickford,  Stephen  T. — Born  at  Bellevue,  Ohio,  Dec.  16,  1823 ;  died  in 
Aigansee  May  31.   1906.     Came  to  Algansee  in  1834. 

Bickford,  Ira  P.— Born  in  Algansee  township  March  12,  1844. 

Brown,  Anthony  R. — Bom  in  New  York  state  in  1827.  Came  to  Branch 
coimty  in  1838. 

Benton,  Edward  W. — Bom  in  New  York  state  in  1824.  Came  to  Branch 
county  in  1846. 

Belote,  John  S. — Born  in  Albany,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  24,  1813;  died  in  Onincy 
August  6,   1888.     Came  to  Quincy  township  in  1835. 

Bostwick.  Ezra—Bom  in  Onondaga  county,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  27.  1826, 
Came  to  Union  township  in  1835. 

Brainard,  S,  E. — Born  in  Madison  county,  N.  Y.  Came  to  Algansee 
township  in  1836. 

Berry,  Enos  G. — Born  in  New  Hampshire,  Sept,  5,  1814;  died  in  Jan- 
uary, 1877.     Came  to  Quincy  in  1835.     (See  index.) 

Brown.  Asahe! — Born  in  Stafford,  Monmouth  county,  N.  J.,  April  a, 
1803;  died  in  Algansee  township,  June  8,  1874.     Came  to  Algansee  in  1836. 

Burbank,  Dwight  L,— Bom  in  Suffield,  Conn.,  March  8,  1829.  Came 
to  Butler  township  in  1850, 

Eushnell,  Samuel  S. — Bom  July  21,  1799,  in  Vennont;  died  Julv  21 
1873.     Came  to  Noble  township  in  1S36. 

Bushnell,  Ephraim  B. — Bom  in  Monroe  county,  N.  Y.,  October  12 
1825,     Came  to  Noble  township  with  father  in  1838. 

Bowers,  Charles  E.— Bora  March  28,  1826 :  settled  in  Butler  town- 
ship in  1847. 

Bennett,  James  K. — Bom  in  Vermont  in  1809,  Came  to  Matteson  town- 
ship September  ig,   1838. 

Bennett,  Christopher  Columbus — Born  in  Hopewell,  Ontario  county 
N.  Y.,  Sept.  3,  1830;  living  in  Matteson  township.  Came  with  parents  to 
Matteson  in  1838. 

Ball,  Thaddeus — Born  in  Oneida  county,  N.  Y.,  Oct.  29,  1813;  died  in 
Quincy  township  Oct.  14,  1897.     Came  to  Quincy  in  1840. 

Bennett,  Hiram  H. — Born  in  Chemung  county,  N.  Y.,  Aug,  10  181  e  ■ 
died  in  Butler  township  in  1897.     Came  to  Butler  in  1845,' 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  243 

Bingham,   Seymour  L.— Born  in    1810;   died   in   California  state,  June 

25,  1894.     Came  to  Coldwater  in  1831. 

Ballon,  John  and  Jemima,  his  wife— Came  into  Matteson  township 
about  1&40;  neither  now  hving. 

Bowers,  John — Ninety  years  of  age  in  igo6;  lives  in  Batavia  township 
with  his  son. 

Bachelder.   Nathaniel — Came  into  Branch  county  in   1846. 

Bachelder,  Mrs.  Julia  Etta  {Ferguson}— Bom  in  Chatham,  N.  Y.,  Oct. 

26.  1819;  died  in  Orange,  Cal.,  July  5,   1906.     Came  with  her  husband  to 
Branch  county  in  1846. 

Earnhart,  Mahlon  Budd— Came  into  Union  township  in  1834. 

Crippen,  Phllo  H.— Born  in  Penfield,  Monroe  county,  N.  Y.,  March  15, 
1809.     Came  to  Coldwater  in  1835. 

Culp,  Nicholas — Born  near  Gettysburg,  Penn. ;  died  in  September,  1873, 
in  Coldwater.     Came  to  Coldwater  township  in  1844, 

Culp,  John  W. — Bom  in  Newfane,  Niagara  county,  N.  Y.,  May  8.  1S32  ; 
living  in  Coldwater.     Came  to  Branch  county  in  1S39. 

Culver,  Eli — Born  in  Hector,  Tompkins  county,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  4,  1816. 
Came  to  Algansee  township  in  1839. 

Crater,  Andrew — Born  in  Hunterdon  county,  N.  J.,  June  28,  1813. 
Came  to  Algansee  township  in  spring  of  1837. 

Card,  Silas  N. — Born  in  Binghampton  county,  Vt.,  June  25.  1812;  died 
June  19,  1897.     Came  to  Branch  county  in  1836. 

Clizbe,  James— Born  in  Steuben  county,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  8,  1813;  died  in 
Quincy  March  24,  1895.  Came  to  Quincy  township  in  1835.  Planted  many 
of  the  shade  trees  on  streets  of  Quincy  village, 

Coddington,  Chester  S,,  Reuben  and  Luther — ^AU  came  from  Ithaca, 
N.  Y.,  to  Sherwood  township. 

Comwell.  Charles  Titus — Came  to  Coldwater  in  1849, 

Crawford,  Moses— Born  in  Governeur,  St.  Lawrence  county,  N.  Y., 
Oct.  25,   1828;  stili  living;  came  to  Bronson  April  20,   1848. 

Clark,  Jabez— Came  to  Bronson  in  Dec.  1836. 

Clark,  Leonard  D. — Son  of  Jabez  Clark,  born  in  Norwalk,  O. ;  came 
with  parents  to  Bronson  in  1S36;  died  in  May,  1905. 

Clark,  Milo — Second  son  of  Jabez;  bom  Nov.  14,  18^1;  died  Jan.  6, 
1885;  came  with  parents  to  Bronson  in  1836. 

Crawford,  Amira  Jane  (Clark) — Born  in  Norwalk,  O.,  June  15,  1835; 
came  with  parents,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jabez  Clark,  to  Bronson  in  Dec,  1836; 
died  April  i,  1904. 

Canfield,  Numan — Born  in  New  York  April  11,  1800.  Came  to  Bethel 
township  in  1844. 

Canfield,  Chester  Numan — Born  in  New  York;  living  in  Bethel.  Came 
to  Bethel  with  father  in  1844. 

Chandler,  Robert  G.— Bom  in  Detroit,  Dec.  21,  1838;  living  in  Cold- 
water.     Came  to  Coldwater  in  1845. 


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244  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Cheney,  Alfred — Born  in  Nasby,  Northamptonshire,  England,  July  5, 
1S39;  living  in  Kinderhook.     Came  to  Branch  county  in  1851. 

Clark,  Israel  W.— Bom  in  Connecticut  Farms,  New  Jersey,  Sept.  29, 
1803.     Came  to  Union  City  in  1838. 

Clark,  Timothy — Born  in  Broadalbin,  N.  Y.,  March  30,  1819.  Came 
to  Coldwater  in  1848,  and  ah  early  settler  of  Kinderhook. 

CJarke,  Edwin  R. — Bom  in  Byron,  N.  Y,,  March  22,  1828.  Came  to 
Coldwater  in  1850.     Donor  of  Clarke  Library  building  in  Coldwater. 

Cofifman,  Christopher— Born  in  Lancaster  county,  Penn.,  October,  1805; 
deceased.     Came  to  Branch  county  in  1852. 

Ccffman,  Lancaster — Bom  March  17,  1831,  in  Mahoning  county,  Ohio. 
Came  to  Ovid  township  in  1853. 

Compton,  William  H. — Eom  in  Gasport,  Niagara  county,  N.  Y.,  in 
1841 ;  died  in  1904.     Came  to  Bronson  with  parents  in  1845. 

Cornell,  Daniel  S, — Born  in  Niagara  county,  N.  Y.,  May  20,  1815; 
died  in  Girard  Oct.  15,  1889.     Came  to  Girard  in  1836. 

Cornell,  Job  K. — Born  in  New  York;  died  Aug.  3,  1876,  in  Union  town- 
ship.    Came  to  Union  township  in  spring  of  1835. 

Cornell,  Chauncey  J. — Born  in  Milan,  Ohio,  August  21,  1833;  living  in 
Coldwater.     Came  with  parents  to  Union  township  in  1S35. 

Corson,  John — Born  in  Oneida  county,  N,  Y. ;  died  in  1855  in  Matte- 
son  township.     Came  to  Matteson  in  1836. 

Corson,  Lafferd  W. — Born  in  Hopewell  township,  Ontario  county,  N. 
Y,,  April  23,  1822.     Came  with  parents  to  Matteson  in  1836. 

Cory,  Israel — Bom  in  Morris  coimty,  N.  J.,  May  6,  1814;  living  in 
Coldwater.     Came  to  Branch  county  in  1865. 

Crippen,  Bradley — Born  in  Herkimer  county,  N.  Y.,  Sept.  25,  1783; 
died  in  1855  in  Coldwater.     Came  to  Coldwater  township  in  1835. 

Chandler,  Albert — Bom  in  Sempronius,  N.  Y,,  Sept.  23,  18 14;  died  in 
1905  in  Coldwater.     Came  to  Coldwater  in  1841. 

Crippen,  L.  D. — Born  in  Fairfield,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  29,  1806;  died  April 
20,  1864.     Came  to  Coldwater  in  June,  1835. 

Crippen,  Mrs.  Ruth  (Haynes) — Born  in  Ulster  county,  N.  Y.,  July 
31,  1809;  died  in  Coldwater,  May  15,  1890.  Came  to  Coldwater  in  June 
1835- 

Culver,  A.  C. — Bom  in  Wayne  county,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  29,  1823.  Came  to 
Quincy  in  Nov.,  1847. 

Clizbe,  Dr.  Stephen  H. — Born  in  Girard  township,  January  24,  i84i;- 
living  in  Coldwater.     (See  index.) 

Chauncey,  Dr.  Moses  E. — Born  in  Saratoga  county,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  ic 
1809;  died  May  7,  1884.     Came  to  Girard  village  in  1843. 

Croy,  John— Came  to  Gilead  early  in  spring  of  183 1;  moved  in  1838 
to  Steuben  county,  Ind.;  died  in  Iowa  in  1875.  Firs,t  settler  of  Gilead 
township, 

Craig,  Samuel— Born  in  County  Armagh,  Ireland,  February  22  1  ync  • 
died  March  2,   1847.     Came  to  Girard  March  28,  1831.  '       ^' 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  245 

Craig,  Eliza — Born  in  Ireland  Mav  25,  1795;  died  in  Girard  on  Dec. 
22,  1878. 

Craig,  Samuel— Born  Sept,  4,  1831 ;  died  January  2,  1856.  First  white 
child  born  in  Girard  township. 

Chase,  William— Born  in  Otsego  county,  N.  Y.,  Nov,  12,  1815.  Came 
to  Kinderhook  in  1841. 

Case,  Almeron  W. — Born  in  Livingston  county.  N.  Y,,  Feb.  6,  1808; 
died  in  Kinderhook  township  in  November,  1877.  Came  to  Kinderhook  in 
1837- 

Chase.  Chauncey — Born  in  Monroe  county,  N.  Y.,  September  19,  1828. 
Came  to  Noble  township  in  1846. 

Calkins,  Moses  V. — Born  in  Danby,  Vt,  May  31,  1814.  Came  to  But- 
ler township  in  1852 ;  moved  to  Coldwater  in  1874, 

Calkin,  Barzilha  H. — Born  in  Newburg,  Ohio,  March  20,  1840:  died  in 
CoJdwater,  in  1906,     Came  with  father  to  Butler  township  in  1848. 

Cline,  Ephraim — Born  in  Binghamton,  N,  Y.,  Nov.  12,  1812;  died  in 
Matteson  township  in  1874.     Came  to  Matteson  townsliip  about  1835. 

Denison,  Samuel  M. — Born  in  Livonia.  N.  Y,,  March  20,  1S14;  died 
in  Coidwater  Nov.  20,  1894.     Came  to  Coldwater  in  1838. 

Doubleday,  Hiram — Bom  in  Washington  county,  N,  Y.,  Feb.  20,  1802; 
deceased.     Came  to  Sherwood  township  in  1836. 

Dougherty,  Thomas — Born  in  Washington  county,  N.  Y.,  February, 
1800;  deceased  January  15,  1888.     Came  to  Coldwater  Sept.  10,  1835. 

Davis,  David  H.— Born  in  Chautauqua  county,  N.  Y.,  July  27,  1817; 
died  March  26,  1902.  Came  to  Coldwater  in  1856  to  take  charge  of  public 
schools, 

Davis,  Ichabod — ^Came  to  Ovid  township  in  1836;  died  there  in  Septem- 
ber, 1849. 

Davis,  Stuart — Born  Feb,  14,  1808, 'in  Steuben,  Oneida  coimty,  N.  Y. ; 
deceased  September  4,  1881.     Came  to  Ovid  township  in  1836. 

Davis,  Emery — Born  in  Dover,  Dutchess  county,  N,  Y.,  June  6,  1817. 
Came  to  Ovid  township  in  1854. 

Dunks,  Daniel  S. — Born  January  21,  1810,  in  Fast  Bloomfield,  Ontario 
coimty,  N.  Y. :  died  in  Sherwood  township,  April  21,  1877.  Came  to  Union 
township  in  1838. 

Dickerson,  Mrs.  Emma  F, — Born  in  Ruggles,  Ashland  county,  Ohio, 
Sq}t.  16,  1847;  died  May  22,  iyo6.  Came  with  parents  to  Quincy  town- 
ship in  1 85 1. 

Doerr,  Jacob — Born  in  Gennany,  May  17.  1824;  died  June  6,  igo6. 
Came  to  Gilead  township  in  1849. 

Davis,  Oris — Born  in  Oneida  county,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  27,  1812;  died  in 
Coldwater  township  April  10,  1894.     Came  to  Branch  county  in  1836, 

Dennis,  Mrs.  David  E.  (Aiden) — Born  in  New  York,  June  5,  1826; 
died  in  Coldwater  May  8.  1895,  Came  to  Coldwater  with  father,  Hiram 
Alden,  in  September.  1834. 


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2^6  HISTORY  O'F  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Dunks,  Mrs.  Efmira — Nearly  ninety  years  old,  1906;  has  lived  on  a 
farm  near  Union  City  seventy  years. 

Davis,  Ezekiei— Born  in  Holland,  N.  Y.,  July  12.  1827.  Came  to  Bron- 
son  in  1843  3nd  txjught  a  farm  in  Nolile  township:  returned  to  New  York 
in  1845  '■  came  back  to  Branson  in  1865,  where  he  is  still  living;. 

Ewers.  Dr.  H.  F, — Born  in  Onondaga  county,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  24,  1830: 
deceased.     Came  to  Union  City  in  1854. 

Ent,  Silas — Born  in  Essex  county,  N.  J.,  Nov.  20.  1820.  Came  to 
Kinderhook  in  1842. 

Easton,  David  J. — Born  in  Castile,  Wyoming  county,  N.  Y.,  June  5, 
1842.     Came  with  parents  to  Algansee  township  in  1846. 

Edwards,  Thomas — Bom  in  Schoharie  county,  N.  Y.,  January  22,  1813. 
Came  to  Butler  township  in  1840. 

Ellis,  Willard  T.— Born  in  Geneseo,  Livingston  county,  N.  Y.,  August 
16,   1830.     Came  to  California  township  in  1844. 

Ensley,  Jacob— Bom  in  Lenawee  county,  Mich.,  May  22,  1835.  Came 
to  Batavia  township  in  1835. 

Fisk,  Abram  C, — Born  in  Monroe  county,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  19,  1815;  de- 
ceased at  Coldwater  Sept.  27,  1897.     Came  to  Coldwater  Sept.  7.  1835, 

Fetterby,  Nathan — Born  June,  1827,  in  Herkimer  county,  N.  Y.  Came 
to  Coldwater  in  1843. 

Faust,  Daniel — Born  in  Columbia  county,  Penn.,  June  27,  1819.  Came 
to  Noble  township  in  1836. 

Fisk,  James — Born  in  New  Hampshire  in  1787;  died  in  Coldwater  town- 
ship August  12,  187a     Came  to  Coldwater  township  in  1835. 

Fisk,  Joseph  D.  W.— Born  in  Penfield,  Monroe  county,  N.  Y.,  Sept.  24, 
1829;  deceased  at  Coldwater  Nov.  30,  1893.  Came  to  Branch  county  with 
parents  in  1835. 

Ford.  Daniel  R. — Born  in  Rutland  county,  Vermont,  Dec.  16,  1814. 
Came  to  Butler  township  in  183(1. 

Fonda,  Charles  Ira — Born  in  Rushville  township,  Yates  county,  N.  Y., 
Feb.  12,  1831 ;  living  in  Coldwater.  Came  to  Batavia  township  with  parents, 
June  13,  183.7. 

Ferguson,  Benjamin  Roberts — Born  July  12,  1818,  at  Ryders  Mills, 
Chatham,  Columbia  Co.,  N.  Y.  Came  to  Ovid  township  in  1846;  stiii  living 
in  Coldwater. 

Ferguson,  Juliaett  ( Bachelder )  —Sister  of  foregoing ;  born  Oct.  26, 
1819,  at  same  place  as  her  brother;  came  with  her  husband,  Nathaniel  Bach- 
ekier,  to  Ovid  township  in  1846;  died  in  Orange,  California,  July  5,  1906. 

Ferguson,  Dr.  George^Brother  of  preceding,  bora  at  same  place,  Feb. 
I,  1827;  carne  to  Ovid  township  in  1854. 

Ferguson,  Stephen— Brother  of  preceding.  Iwrn  at  same  place,  July  22, 
1832:  came  to  Ovid  township  in  1854  where  he  is  still  living. 

Fonda,  David— Came  from  Rushville,  Yates  Co.,  N.  Y,,  with  his  fam- 
ily to  Batavia  township,  June  13,  1837. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  247 

Fisk,  James  Edwin— Came  into  Matteson  township  about  1S35. 

Gilbert,  William  S.— Born  in  Warren,  Vt.,  Nov.  23,  1809;  deceased  in 
Coldwater  Sept.  i,  1890.    Came  to  Coklwater  Sept.  11,  1836. 

Gallup.  F.  T. — JJorn  in  Canada,  March  ii,  1823;  came  to  Aigansee 
township  in  1853. 

Green,  David — Born  in  Qiieenstown,  N.  Y..  Jan.  5.  1802;  died  in  June, 
1884.     Came  to  Gilead  township  in  1841. 

Green.  R  C.  S.— Born  in  Tyre,  Seneca  connty,  N.Y.,  Sept.  16.  1825; 
died  in  Gilead  Aug.  10,  1897.  Came  to  Gilead  township  with  parents  in 
1841. 

Green.  David  Nathaniel — Born  in  Tyre  township.  Seneca  county.  N.  Y., 
Sept.  9,  1823;  died  Sept.  15,  1902;  came  with  his  father  to  Gilead  in  1841. 

Gardner,  Hiram — Born  in  Burlington,  Otsego  county,  N.  Y.,  Dec.  12, 
1805.     Came  to  Matteson  township  in  1836. 

Gardner,  Amos — Eom  in  Otsego  county,  N.  Y.,  March  18,  1833;  liv- 
ing in  Matteson  township.     Came  to  Matteson  in  1836. 

Gardner,  Elisha  T.— Born  in  Washington  county,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  7,  1814; 
died  June  7.  187S.     Came  to  Noble  township  in  1S54, 

Gwin,  Jabin  R.— Born  in  Richland  county,  Ohio,  Jan.  17,  1816.  Came 
to  Sherwood  township  in  1851. 

George,  Heni7— Born  in  township  of  Remsen.  Oneida  county,  N.  Y., 
Oct.  26,  1809;  died  April  14,  i860,  in  Ovid  township.  Came  to  Ovid  in 
1838. 

George,  Henry  B.— Born  in  Lenawee  county,  Mich.,  Oct.  9,  1838;  liv- 
ing in  Coldwater.     Came  to  Ovid  with  parents  in  1838. 

Gibbs.  Luman — Born  in  Scotland  in  1791:  died  in  1848.  Came  to  Kin- 
derhook  township  in  1842, 

Gibbs,  Luman  B. — Bom  in  Pulaski,  Jackson  county,  Mich,,  April  g, 
1840.     Came  to  Kinderhook  in  1842. 

Gordinier,  William  H. — Born  in  New  York  state  in  1810;  died  in 
Aigansee  township  February  13,  1892.     Came  to  California  township  in  1837. 

Gray,  Darwin  L. — Born  in  Franklin  county,  Mass. :  died  in  Aigansee 
May  I,  1897.     Came  to  Branch  county  in  1836. 

Giltner,  John  F.— Born  in  Leliigh  county,  Penn.,  Aug.  13,  1834.  Came 
to  Sherwood  township  in  1836. 

Gilbert,  John  T. — Bom  in  Mansfield,  Conn.,  March  19,  1806;  died  at 
Coldwater,  March  20,  1891.     Came  to  Coldwater  in  i860. 

Golden,  William — Born  in  township  of  Wiiton,  Saratoga  county,  N.  Y.. 
in  1S04;  died  June,   18S3,  in  Quincy  township.     Came  to  Quincy  in  1849. 

Golden,  Samuel  M. — Born  in  Huron  county,  Ohio,  Jan.  18,  1841. 
Came  to  Quincy  with  father  in  1849. 

Gorbai,  James — Bom  in  Suffolk,  England,  Jan.  3,  1815.  Came  to  Girard 
township  in  1836. 

Goodwin,  Seth— Bom  in  New  York  state,  in  1796;  died  in  Matteson 
township  Oct,  12,  1859.     Came  lo  Matteson  about  1836, 


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248  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Go<xlwin,  Charles  H.—Born  in  Matteson  township  April  ii,  1854. 

Graliam,  L.  L. — Bom  in  St.  Joseph,  Mich.,  in  1838,  Came  to  Gilead 
township  in  1843. 

Green,  Alexander  R.^ — -Born  in  Ellicott,  N,  Y.,  in  1835 ;  living-  in  Gilead 
township.     Came  to  Giiead  with  parents  in  1841. 

Green,  James  H. — Born  in  Mercer  county,  Penn.,  Feb.  14,  1813;  died 
Feb.  6,  1884,  in  Bronson  township.     Came  to  Bronson  in  1843. 

Greenwood,  Richard — ^Bom  near  Rochdale  at  Plnmpton,  Lancashire, 
England,  Dec.  18.  1809;  died  in  Coldwater,  April  i,  1S77.  Came  to  Cold- 
water  about  1S42. 

Grove,  Archibald  R. — Born  in  Batavia  township,  March  17,  1S39. 

Goodman,  Cleophas  T. — Born  in  New  York  state  Aug.  21,  1815;  died 
in  Aigansee,  Jan.  29.,  1895.     Came  to  Branch  county  in  1837, 

Gordinier.  Jacob — Came  from  Herkimer  county,  N.  Y.,  in  No\'einber. 
1841,  to  Giiead  township.     He  is  still  living  in  Bronson. 

Green,  Silas  Seelev — Born  Jan.  21,  1804;  came  into  Bethel  township  in 
1835- 

Haynes,  Harvey — Born  in  Ulster  county,  N.  Y..  Jan.  24,  1817.  Came 
in  1836  to  Cokiwater  township  with  father,  James  Haynes. 

Holmes,  Jonathan— Born  in  Peterborough,  N,  H.,  June  8,  1807.  Came 
to  Bronson  fownship  in  1836. 

Hawks,  Joseph  S. — Born  in  Otsego  county,  N.  Y..  April  19,  1814:  died 
in  Kinderhook,  Oct.  5,  1874.     Came  to  Kinderhook  about  1837. 

Hadley,  Hiram  H. — Born  in  Addison,  Vt.,  June  14,  1810.  Came  to 
Batavia  township  Nov.  20,  1837. 

Harmon,  William  P. — Bom  in  Ontario  county,  N.  Y.,  Sept.  i,  i8'24; 
died  Feb.  4,  1892,  in.Quincy  township.     Came  to  Quincy  in  1855. 

Hail,  Thomas — Born  in  Washington  county,  N.  Y,,  Jan,  12,  1814. 
Came  to  California  township  in  1844. 

Haviland.  John  B.— Born  in  Danville,  Vt.,  Oct.  28,  1S16.  Came  to 
Sherwood  township  in  1836. 

Hiesrodt,  Edwin — Born  in  Orleans  county,  N.  Y.,  Oct.  30,  1821.  Came 
to  Ovid  township  in  1844. 

Holmes,  Cicero  J. — Born  in  Bronson  township,  Nov.  13,  1844. 

Hubbard,  Horatio  N, — Bom  in  Chenango  county,  N.  Y. ;  died  in  Ba- 
tavia township,  June  i,  1882.     Came  to  Batavia  in  July,  1838. 

Huyck,  Henry  E. — Born  in  Saratoga  county,  N.  Y.,  March  18,  1818. 
Came  to  Kinderhook  township  in  1844. 

Heiiry,  Warren— Born  July  6,  1819;  came  into  Sherwood  township  in 
1851,  where  he  is  still  living. 

Halsted,  Lorenzo  Dow — Born  in  Tompkins  county,  N.  Y.,  July  20, 
1820;  died  in  Coldwater,  April  5,  1906.    Came  to  Coldwater  Sept.  10,  1836. 

Jones,  John  H,— Born  in  Hopewell,  N.  Y..  April  27,  1828:  died  in 
Quincy.  March  19.  1895.     Came  to  Quincy  township  about  1835. 


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HISTORY  OF'  BRANCH  COUNTY  249 

Joseph,  Lawrence — Born  in  Tompkins  county,  N.  Y.,  April  27,  1825 ; 
came  to  Quincy  township  in  1S51. 

Joseph,  Lncas — Born  in  Northampton  county,  Penn.,  Oct.  14,  1817. 
Came  to  Quincy  township  in  March,  1839. 

Joseph,  William — Born  in  Tompkins  county,  N.  Y.,  June  26,  1828;  died 
at  Quincy,  April  30,  1880.     Came  to  Quincy  ahout  1850. 

Jacobs,  Lysander — Bom  in  Chautauqua  township,  Chautauqua  county. 
N.  Y.,  J^n.  28,  1825;  married  Miss  Amelia  Hull  in  1853,  and  came  to  Union, 
township  in  that  year;  died  Jime  27,  T906. 

Jones,  Loring  Grant — Born  in  Lester,  Livingston  county,  N.  Y.,  Sept. 
7,  1828;  came  to  Bronson  in  1836;  still  living  there. 

Jones.  Josq)h  Thompson — Born  Sept.  7,  1822,  in  Monroe  county,  N.  Y. : 
married  Miss  Sally  Briggs  April  2,  1845 ;  came  to  Quincy  township,  where 
he  is  stiil  living,  May  2,  1S46. 

Keagle,  Thomas  H. — Bom  near  Plymouth,  F.ngland,  Feb.  3,  1836. 
Came  with  parents  to  Quincy  tow^nship  in  1843. 

Kellsy,  Ira — Born  in  Wyoming  county,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  7,  1823.  Came  to 
Ovid  township  in  1848. 

Kerns,  Levi— Bom  in  Mahoning  county,  O,,  Feb,  17,  1824:  died  in 
Ovid  township  Feb.   15,  1888.     Came  to  Branch  county  in  1852. 

Kelly,  James — Came  from  Marion  Co.,  O.,  in  1833  into  Gilead  town- 
ship where  he  lived  three  years;  died  in  Steuben  Co.,  Ind.,  about  1870. 

Kennedy,  Charles  Decatur — Bom  in  Cumberland  Co.,  Penn.,  Feb.  19, 
1834;  still  living  in  Butler  township.  Came  into  Butler  with  his  father, 
George  Kennedy,  in  1849. 

Kerns,  Levi — Bom  Mationing  Co.,  O.,  Feb.  17,  1824:  died  Feb.  15, 
1888,  in  Ovid  township;  came  to  Branch  county  in  1852. 

Kellsy,  Ira — Born  in  Wyoming  Co.,  N.  Y,.  Nov.  7,  1823.  Came  to 
Branch  county  in  1848. 

Knowlton,  Ephraim  A. — Bom  in  Essex  county,  Mass.,  Dec.  25,  1813; 
died  in  Coldwater  March  14,  1893.  Came  to  Coldwater  in  1856  and  estab- 
lished planing  mill  and  sash  factory, 

Keeslar,  Joseph — Bom  in  Madison  county,  N.  Y,  April  6,  1825.  Came 
to  Gilead  township  in  1S38,  with  father,  Peter  Keeslar. 

Lampman,  Henry  S.^Born  in  Greene  county,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  22,  i8to. 
Came  to  Butler  township  as  pioneer  in  1836. 

Lockwood.  Henry — Born  in  Ulster  county,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  i.  1812.  died 
May  29,  1891,  in  0\'id  township,  where  he  was  the  oldest  pioneer. 

Lawrence,  James  H. — Bom  in  Livingston  county,  N.  Y.,  in  1815;  died 
April  10,  1897.     Came  to  California  township  in  1835,  one  of  the  first  settlers. 

Leonard.  Joseph  C— Bom  in  Chenango  county,  N.  Y..  August  11, 
1817:  died  at  Union  Citv  December  28,  1893.     Came  to  Union  City  in  1842. 

Lee,  Stephen  B. — Born  in  Ontario  county,  N.  Y.,  Dec.  22,  1819.  Came 
to  Union  township  in  1851. 


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250  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Lewis,  Henry  C.~Born  in  Orleans  county,  N.  Y.,  May  5,  1S20;  died 
in  Coklwater,  in  August,  1884.     Came  to  Coldwater  in  the  forties. 

Lincoln,  George  W. — Born  near  Penn  Yan,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  17,  1S19.  Came 
to  Branch  county  in  1838  and  resided  in  Union  township.  His  father,  Caleb 
Lincoln,  was  an  early  settler  of  Union  City,  where  he  died  in  1884. 

Lockwood,  Ennis  J.- — Born  in  Ulster  county,  N.  Y.,  May  14,  1834,  came 
to  Ovid  township  with  father,  Uriah  Lockwood,  in  1836. 

McCarty,  James  A.— Bom  in  Detroit,  Dec.  11,  1814;  died  in  Coldwater, 
Sept.  16,  1893.  Canie  to  Girard  township  with  parents  in  183 1  and  to  Cold- 
water  in  1833. 

Mann,  Peter  J. — Born  in  Schoharie,  N.  Y..  Feb.  17,  1815;  died  at  Gi- 
rard, Jan.  8,  1897.     Came  to  Branch  county  in  1836. 

Martin,  Ira— Born  in  Jefferson  county,  N.  Y.,  in  1S27;  died  in  Batavia 
township  May  i,  1897.     Came  to  Batavia  in  1843. 

Marsh,  Emerson — -Born  in  New  York;  died  at  Coldwater,  January  26, 
1892.  Came  to  Branch  county  in  1838.  Marsh's  Corners,  between  Gilead 
and  Bethel  townships,  named  after  him. 

Moore,  Henry  N.— Born  in  Peniield,  N.  Y.,  Sept.  27,  1816;  died  at 
Coldwater,  June  13,  1891.  Came  to  Coldwater  township  in  1837  and  set- 
tled permanently  in  1H44. 

Murphey,  James— Born  in  Cayuga  county,  N.  Y..  March  4,  1819;  died 
in  Coldwater  township  May  2,  1892.  Came  to  Batavia  township  in  early 
forties. 

Mallow,  Peter— Born  in  Alsace,  Nov.  10,  1815.  Settled  in  Noble  town- 
ship about  1840. 

Mason.  Wilham  B. — Bom  in  Monroe  county,  N.  Y..  January  ig, 
1820.     Came  to  Branch  county  with  his  father,  Octavius  Mason,  in  1840. 

McCrary,  Alexander  C. — Born  in  Tompkins  county,  N.  Y.,  March  g, 
1815.     Came  to  Sherwood  township  in  1848,  and  later  to  Union  township. 

Mills,  Adolphus— Was  born  in  Matteson  township  Feb.  20,  1848. 

Monroe,  Jesse— Bora  in  Cayuga  county,  N.  Y.,  March,  182 1.  Came 
to  Matteson  township  in  1843. 

Monroe,  Seth — Born  in  Cayuga  county,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  4,  1827.  Came 
to  Bronson  township  in  1852. 

Moore,  Sharod — Born  in  New  York  in  1808.  Settled  in  Bethel  town- 
ship in  1844. 

Morrill,  Ichabod  P, — Born  in  Sandusky  county,  O.,  March  18.  1836. 
Came  to  Gilead  township  in  1852  and  was  later  resident  of  Noble. 

Mosley,  Thomas— Born  in  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  Aug.  17,  1794:  died  at 
Union  City,  Oct.  18,  1865.     Came  to  Union  City  in  1841. 

MerecUth,  Jesse — Bom  in  Summit  county,  Penn.,  April  5,  1S12.  Came 
to  Matteson  township  in  1850. 

Mowry,  William  P. — Died  Sept.  24,  igo5;  came  into  Ovid  township 
in  1845- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  351 

McMechan,  William — Bom  Jan.  5,  1805,  in  Bann  Bridge,  County  Down, 
Ireland;  died  Nov.  19,  1S87;  came  to  Union  City  in  the  spring  of  1846. 

Mosely,  William  Augustus — Born  in  Westfieid,  Mass.,  Jan.  4,  1815; 
died  in  Minneapolis,  Minn!,  in  1898. 

Mitchell,  Mrs.  Sophronia  (Hawley) — Born  in  Clifton  Springs,  N.  Y., 
Oct.  27,  1811;  died  in  Union  City,  April  23,  1906;  came  with  her  husband, 
Archibald  Mitchell,  to  Union  City  in  1836. 

Morrison,  Jonathan — Came  from  Penfiekl,  N,  Y.,  about  1846.  and  set- 
tled on  the  farm  in  Girard  on  the  east  side  of  Morrison  Lake. 

Morrell,  Jeremiah-^Born  in  Vermont  anil  came  into  Union  township 
in  the  spring  of  1837. 

Newberry,  Peter  M. — Born  in  Saratoga  coimty,  X.  Y.,  Dec.  14,  1810; 
died  in  Qiiincy,  April  23,  1895.     Came  to  Quincy  township  in  1837. 

Nivison,  Nathan— Born  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  in  iSio;  died  in  Algansee 
township,  Dec.   19,   1886.     Came  to  Algansee  in  1853. 

Noyes,  Austin — Bom  in  Chenango  county,  N.  Y.,  Jan.  11.  i8r6.  Came 
to  Batavia  township  in  1844. 

Nicholls,  Ansel — Born  in  Essex  county,  N.  Y.,  May  14,  1804.  Came 
to  Quincy  township  in   1836. 

Noyes,  Gates  Peter — Born  Feb.  25,  1818;  died  May  7,  1906;  came 
Sept,  t8,  1843,  with  his  wife,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Southworth)  Noyes,  to  the 
farm  in  Batavia  township,  where  he  died. 

Olmsted,  Nirum  P. — Born  in  Calhoun  county,  Mich.,  July  18.  1839. 
Came  in  1840  to  Union  township  with  father,  G.  P.  Olmstead. 

Parker,  Samuel  D. — Bom  in  Erie  county,  O..  Nov.  i,  1817;  died  Feb. 
18,  1895.     Came  to  Branch  county  in  1833. 

Pen-y,  Edwin  R. — Born  in  Franklin  county,  N.  Y.,  July  9,  1810;  died 
in  Union  City,  Feb.  22,  1894.     Came  to  Union  City  in  1851. 

Phillips,  Daniel  C— Born  in  Onondaga  county,  N.  Y..  May  26,  1820; 
died  in  Algansee  township  Dec.  31,  1893,  Came  to  Gilead  with  parents  in 
1838. 

Porter,  Pliilo— Bora  in  Genesee  county,  N.  Y.,  April  26,  1813;  died  at 
Coldwater  Dec.  20,  1890.     Came  to  Batavia  township  in  1S36. 

Pafidock,  Alfred— Bora  in  Columbia  county,  N.  Y.,  Dec.  16.  !823. 
Came  to  Girard  township  in  1853. 

Paddock,  Ephraim  J.^Born  in  Wayne  county,  N.  Y.,  March  3,  1822. 
Came  to  Branch  county  with  his  father,  Ira  Paddock,  in  1836. 

Palmateer,  Franklin — Born  in  New  York  in  1838.  Came  to  Branch 
county  with  father,  John  Palmateer,  in  1846. 

Parrish,  Asa — Born  at  Honeoye  Falls,  N.  Y.,  March  4,  1811 ;  died  at 
Coldwater  Nov.  18,  1885.  Came  to  Coldwater  in  1836,  and  was  connected 
with  early  milling  and  built  the  first  furnace  for  manufacture  of  iron  work. 
Andrew  S.  Parrish,  of  Coldwater,  was  a  son. 

Parsons.  Solomon — Born  in  Chenango  county,  N.  Y.,  Oct.  15,  1810. 
Came  to  the  vicinity  of  Union  City  late  in  1836. 


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252  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Paul;  David— Born  in  New  York,  April  i6,  1819.  Came  to  California 
township  in  1S44. 

Pierce,  Henry — Born  in  St.  Johnsbiiry,  Vt.,  Dec.  5,  180S.  Settled  in 
Girard  township  in  1839. 

Polhamus,  Albert — Born  in  New  York,  Jan.  8,  1823.  Settled  Jn  Quincy 
township  in  1850. 

Pratt,  Jacob  Franklin — Born  in  Cortland  county,  N.  Y.,  May  8,  1829; 
still  living  in  Coldvvater.     Came  to  Coldwater  in  1S52. 

Purinton,  David  B. — Bom  in  Cortland  county,  N.  Y.,  May  8,  1829. 
Came  to  Coldwater  in  1848. 

Pixley,  Augustus — Born  in  East  Bloomfield,  N.  Y.,  Oct.  18,  1822;  died 
in  Bronson,  Nov,  27,  1905.     Came  to  Bronson  Feb.  9,  1843, 

Ruggles,  James—Born  in  Toronto,  Can.,  April  22,  1803;  died  in  Bron- 
son, March  16,   189.1.     Came  to  Branch  village  in   1835  and  to  Bronson  in 

1837- 

Rose,  Lorenzo  A.^Born  in  Niagara  county,  N.  Y.,  Oct.  25.  1823;  died 
at  Bronson  March  13,  1893.     Came  with  parents  to  Bronson  in  1835. 

Rowell,  A.  S.— Bom  in  Penfield,  N.  Y.,  Sept.  25,  1812;  died  at  Cold- 
water,  May  9,  1893.     Came  to  Coldwater  about  1843. 

Rogers,  Dr.  Dennis  W.— Born  in  Jerusalem,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  25.  1826; 
died  at  Union  City,  Jan.  24,  1898.     Came  to  Branch  county  in  1859. 

Reynolds,  Francis — Born  in  Jefferson  county,  N.  Y.,  April  to,  1822. 
Came  to  Matteson  township  in  1844. 

Richardson,  Elias — Born  in  Bronson  township  in  1830.  son  of  John 
G.  Richardson. 

Roberts,  John — Born  in  Niagara  county,  N.  Y.,  March  14,  1818.  Came 
to  Coldwater  township  with  father,  Francis  Roberts,  in  1836. 

Root,   Roland — (See  sketch  of  K   R.  Root). 

Root,  John — Born  in  Onondaga  county,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  18,  1823;  died  at 
Coldwater,  March  23,  1866.     Came  to  Coldwater  in  1844. 

Rowell,  Jared  M. — Bom  in  New  York;  died  in  Union  City,  Jan.  13, 
1874.     Came  to  Sherwood  township  in  1844. 

Rumsey,  John — Born  in  Marion  county,  C,  March  8,  1822.  Came  to 
Matteson  township  in  1846. 

Russell,  George— Born  in  Claremont,  N.  H.,  Oct.  9,  1805.  Came  to 
Branch  county  in  1844  and  settled  in  Girard  township  in  1846. 

Russell,  JonatJian  T. — Born  in  Sherwood  township  Sept.  15,  1836,  son 
of  Joseph  Russell,  who  came  to  the  county  in  1834. 

Ransom,  Francis  D. — Bom  in  Onondaga  county,  N.  Y.,  Jan.  5,  1816. 
Came  to  Algansee  township  in  1837. 

Reid,  William- — Came  from  Batavia,  N.  Y.,  to  Bethel  township  in  Octo- 
ber, 1837, 

Shoecraft,  Barnabas  B. — Born  in  Monroe  county.  N.  Y.,  May  19,  1818; 
died  in  Coldwater  township,  Jan.  5,  1895.     Came  to  the  county  in  1854. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  253 

Southworth,  J,  B,— A  pioneer  of  the  county,  died  in  Coldwater  town- 
ship May  l6,  1892. 

Sag-er,  George — ^Born  ui  Wayne  county,  N.  Y.,  May  2,  1S24.  Came  to 
Bronson  township  about  1840. 

Sebring,  John — Bom  in  Wayne  county,  N,  Y.,  April  10,  1824.  Came 
to  Quincy  in  1854  and  was  connected  with  the  first  saw  mill  of  the  village. 

Shaw,  William  E. — Born  in  Ovid  township,  Nov.  2-^,   1846. 

Sheneman,  John — Born  in  Wayne  county,  Pena,  in  1800;  died  in  Bata- 
via  township  July  29,  1875.     Came  to  Batavia  townsliip  in  1843. 

Shumway,  Alfred — Born  in  Wayne  county,  is'.  Y.,  July  12,  1818;  died 
April  26,  1874.     Came  to  this,  county  in  1849. 

Sisco,  Henry — Born  at  Troy,  Vt,,  Sept.  28,  1810.  Came  to  section  22, 
Union  township,  in  1836. 

Smith,  Benjamin  H.^Born  in  New  Jersey,  April  14,  1898;  died  in 
Girard  township  Sept.  22,  1879.  Came  to  Branch  county  in  1833  and  was 
associated  with  Abram  Aidrich  in  the  first  mill  at  Hodunk. 

Smith,  Abram  L. — Son  of  preceding,  born  in  this  county  Oct.  21,  183& 

Sorter,  William  C— -Born  in  Steuben  county,  N.  Y.,  Jan.  3,  1837. 
Came  to  Ovid  township  with  father  Jacob  S.  in  1838. 

Stanton,  Edward  D. — Bom  Cayuga  county,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  10,  1833, 
Came  with  father,  John  Stanton,  to  Sherwood  township  in  June,  1S36. 

Strong,  Myron  W. — Born  in  Allegany  county,  N.  Y.,  Sept.  30,  1829. 
Came  to  Kinderhook  township  with  his  father  Calvin  Strong  in   1838. 

Stockwell,  Parley — Bom  in  Mass.,  Dec,  1803;  died  at  Coldwater  Janu- 
ary 8,  i8go. 

Smith,  Walter  W. — Born  in  Vermont.  Settled  permanently  in  Noble 
township  in  1842, 

Sanders,  Abishai — Came  into  Gilead  in  1831. 

Swan,  Levi — Came  from  New  London  township,  Huron  county,  O., 
to  Quincy  township  in  April,  1849'. 

Sheneman,  John  Harrison — Came  with  his  parents,  John  and  Cath- 
arine Kenter  Sheneman,  Oct.  14,  1844,  to  the  place  now  occupied  by  him 
in  Batavia  township  near  the  station. 

Streeter,  Cornelius — Born  Oct.  12,  1823,  in  Sterling,  Cayuga  county, 
N.  Y.;  died  in  Algansee  township  May  10,  1906;  came  into  Quincy  town- 
ship in  1850. 

Taggart,  David — Born  July  9,  1809;  died  July  22,  J900;  he  came  to 
Bronson  township  with  his  wife,  Mrs.  Sarali  (Perry)  Taggart,  in  the  fall 
of  1836.     Their  children  as  follows  were  all  bom  before  1850: 

Taggart,  John — Bom  Jan.  20,  1840,  in  Broftson  township  on  what 
is  known  as  the  Secor  farm;  he  has  lived  longer  in  the  township  than 
any  other  man  in  it  at  present  (1906),  having  lived  in  it  continuously  since 
his  birth  except  two  years  in  the  anny. 

Taggart,  Frederick  William— Born  Feb.,  1842;  died  in  July,  1862,  in 
Camp  Douglas  in  Chicago. 


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254  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Taggart,  Benjamin  Perry— Born  Aug.,  1844:  still  living  in  Bronson 
township. 

Taggart,  George  David — Lives  in  Linneus,  Linn  Co.,   Mo. 

Taggart,  Henry  C. — Born  May  14,  1848;  lives  111  same  place  as  pre- 
ceding. 

Taggart,  Sarah  Maria — Bom  May  17.  1850;  now  Mrs.  William  Bush- 
nell  and  living  in  Bronson. 

Taylor.  Leonard— Born  in  Monroe  county,  N.  Y.,  April  1,1,  1829, 
Came  with  father.  Leonard  Taylor,  to  Batavia  township  in  1835,  his  father 
being  proprietor  of  the  Taylor  Tavern  on  the  Chicago  road. 

Tift,  David — Born  in  Aliegany  county,  N.  Y. ;  died  in  Algansee  town- 
ship in  February,  1859.  Came  to  Branch  county  in  1837.  settling  in  Algan- 
see in  the  following  year.  Was  father  of  Roswell  D.,  Albert  J.  and 
Jerome  B. 

Tilton,  George  W. — -Born  in  Herkimer  county,  N.  Y.,  March  2,  1812. 
Settled  on  section  15,   Matteson  township,  in  i8di. 

Tripp,  George — Born  in  Otsego  county,  N.  Y.,  April  10,  18O9;  was  at 
the  time  of  his  death.  Sept.  11,  1889,  the  oldest  settler  of  Kinderhook. 
Came  to  Kinderhook  in   1836. 

Tucker,  John  B.^Born  in  Connecticut  September  28,  1811 :  died  at 
Union  City,  July  i.   1895.     Located  in  Union  City  during  the  forties. 

Treat,  Samuel — Born  in  Oneida  county,  N.  Y.,  March  13.  1876.  Came 
to  Ovid  township  in  1837. 

Turner,  Ashley — Bom  in  Ontario  county,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  5,  1813.  Came 
to  Matteson  township  with  father,  Nathaniel,  in  1835. 

Van  Orthwick,  A.  A. — Bom  Seneca  county,  N.  Y.,  Dec,  19,  1829. 
Came  to  Branch  county  in  1852. 

Whitehead,  Reuben — Came  into  Coldwater  township  from  Penfield,  N. 
Y.,  in    1836. 

Williams,   Ryan — Came  into  the  township  of  Sherwood  in   1833. 

Warren,  John  G. — Came  to  Coldwater  in  1S35  ^"'th  his  wife,  Lois  P. 
(Howland)  Warren;  died  in  1869.  They  were  both  charter  members  of 
the  Methodist  church  o£  Coldwater,  and  later  withdrew  to  form  the  Wesleyan 
church. 

Wing,  Jason  Ward — Came  to  Bronson  township  in  1844. 

Wheat,  Benjamin  F. — Born  Ontario  county,  N.  Y.,  August  i8,  1S17; 
died  in  Quincy  Oct.  27,  1894.     Came  to  Quincy  in  1852. 

Williams,  George  Q. — Bom  in  Essex  county,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  27,  1828; 
died  at  Coldwater,  Jan.  15,  1894.  Came  to  Quincy  with  his  father  Alpheus 
Williams  in  1836.     Edward  was  another  son  of  Alpheus. 

Williams,  Clark  H.— Bom  in  New  Paltz,  N.  Y.,  April  23,  1813;  died 
in  Coldwater  township  April  17,  1897.     Came  to  Coldwater  in  March,  1836, 

Woodard,   Benietty — Died   in   Ovid   township  October  22,    1897,   aged 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  255 

one  hundred  and  two  years.  Her  death  occurred  within  a  few  hours  of  that 
of  Dr.  W,  B.  Sprague.  the  other  noted  centenarian  of  Brancli  county. 

Wilson,  Daniel  L.— Bom  in  Penfield,  N.  Y.,  Jan,  9.  1813;  died  in 
CoMwater  township,  Dec.  4,   1889.     Came  to  Coldwater  township  in  1837. 

Waggott,  Robert— 'Born  in  Somersetshire,  England,  Sept.  i,  1828. 
Came  to  Coldwater  township  in  1841. 

Weatherwax,  Joseph  A. — Born  in  Orleans  county,  N.  Y.,  July  5,  1822. 
Settled  in  Butler  township  in  1850. 

Wilcox,  Newconib — Bom  in  Ontario  county,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  3,  1803. 
Came  to  Branch  county  in  1837,  becoming  a  well  known  pioneer  of  Slier- 
wood  township. 

Wilson,  James  R, — Born  in  Yates  county,  N.  Y.,  Jan.  12,  1836.  Came 
to  Ovid  township  in  1836,  with  father,  Reuben  Wilson. 

Woods,  Dr.  Richard — Bom  in  Bradford  county,  Penn.,  April  24,  1835  • 
died  in  Quincy  township  Dec.  4,   1880. 

Wright,  Charles  S.— Bom  in  Connecticut,  April  7,  1832.  Came  to 
Ovid  township  in  1847. 

Waterman,  Alonzo — Born  near  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  April  10,  i8io.  Came 
to  Bronson  in  1S32. 

Warner.  Harvey — ^Born  in  Warren  county.  N.  Y,,  April  5.  1809,  Came 
to  Coldwater  township  in  1831. 

Whitcomh.  Luke  H.— Boni  at  Brandon,  Vt..  Feb.  6.  1808.  Came  to 
Coldwater  in  July,  1836. 

Young,  Seth  C. — Born  in  Cayuga  county,  N.  Y.,  June  3,  1808.  Came 
to  Bethel  township  in  the  thirties,  later  locating  in  Bronson  township. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  XXX. 
THE  COUNTY  IN  THE  COUNTRY'S  WARS. 

The  military  record  of  Branch  county  during'  the  Civil  war  was  remark- 
able. If  any  county  of  the  Union  offered  the  flower  of  its  manhood  to  the 
cause  with  greater  unanimity  of  numbers  and  devotion  of  patriotism,  it  would 
be  difficult  to  name  it.  For  four  years  the  interests  and  resources  of  Branch 
county  were  directed  to  the  preservation  of  the  Union.  It  will  always  be  a 
matter  of  lasting  pride  and  a  part  of  the  permanent  historical  record  of  the 
county  that  the  patriotism  of  the  citizens  was  manifested  in  such  splendid 
manner.  The  names  of  those  who  enlisted  from  tliis  coimty  to  fight  on  the 
battlefields  of  the  south  deserve  space  in  every  history  that  shall  ever  be  writ- 
ten of  the  county,  and  for  this  reason  the  individual  records  of  Branch  county 
soldiers  in  the  Civil  war  are  aiipended  in  full  to  this  chapter. 

While  this  record  describes  in  detail  the  performance  of  the  companies 
and  regiments  and  individuals  from  Branch  county,  it  should  not  be  for- 
gotten that  those  who  staid  at  home  had  am  equally  impfhrtant  work  to  per- 
form. There  were  the  indigent  families  of  absent  soldiers  to  be  cared  for. 
Thousands  of  dollars,  not  to  mention  the  more  valuaible  personal  attention 
and  assistance,  were  turned  toward  this  work.  Here  as  everywhere  over  the 
country  the  women  organized  to  carry  on  their  work  of  practical  helpful- 
ness. Their  committees  visited  and  carried  the  necessities  and  comforts  of 
life  to  the  sick  and  poor  at  home;  sent  their  generoits  contributions  of  food 
and  home-made  delicacies  to  the  soldiers'  hospitals  in  the  field;  made  cloth- 
ing for  tliose  fighting  at  the  front;  and  in  the  hundreds  of  ways  that  cannot 
be  described  here  gave  evidence  of  patriotism  as  necessary  to  the  winning 
of  the  war  as  that  displayed  by  the  soldiers  on  the  field. 

In  the  period  of  time  with  which  the  history  of  Branch  county  deals,  the 
Civil  war  is,  of  course,  the  pre-eminent  military  event.  The  Revolution  was 
fifty  years  old  at  the  time  the  county  began  to  be  settled.  Some  of  the  sur- 
vivors of  the  war  of  1S12  settled  in  the  coimty,  bvit  aside  from  this  the  coun- 
ty had  no  connection  with  the  second  war  with  the  mother  country.  The 
war  with  Mexico  in  1846  made  comparatively  small  demand  on  the  volunteer 
forces  of  the  country,  and  no  organization  and  probably  no  individuals  from 
Branch  county  participated  in  that  war. 

Branch  county's  connection  with  the  Spanish-American  war  and  its 
sequence  in  the  Philippines  is  a  matter  of  individual  mention  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  part  taken  by  the  "  Coldwater  Light  Guard."  This  organi- 
zation, which  was  formed  in  August,  1871.  of  forty-one  members  and  was 
mustered  into  the  state  militia  in  that  year,  is  the  best  known  military  com- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


257 


pany  in  Branch  county  outside  of  those  that  orijjioated  in  Civil  war  times. 
The  first  commissioned  officers  were:  George  H.  Turner,  captain;  A.  E. 
StoweU,  first  lieutenant;  C.  H.  DeClute,  second  Heutenant.  In  November, 
1877,  this  became  the  basis  of  the  civil  organization  known  as  the  Coldwater 
Light  Guard  Association,  whose  first  officers  were  F.  D.  Newberry,  C.  N. 
Legg  and  Alonzo  Thompson,  "  Armory  Hall  "  on  Hanchett  street  was 
constructed  by  this  association.  The  association  is  one  of  the  most  popular 
and  strongest  societies  in  the  county,  the  military  purpose  which  is  the  ba- 
sis and  essential  purpose  of  the  organization  being  supplemented  by  the  so- 
cial comradeship  which  is  characteristic  of  the  fraternal  societies. 

When  war  against  Spain  was  declared  in  April,  189S,  the  Light  Guard 
tendered  their  services  to  the  United  States  and  were  organized  as  Company 
A  of  the  Thirty-second  Michigan  Infantry.  They  were  sent  sovith,  but  like 
the  majority  of  Michigan  regiments  in  that  war.  did  not  reach  the  field  of 
actual  hostilities.     Their  period  of  service  away  from  home  was  six  months. 

The  old  Coldwater  Light  Guard  is  now  Company  A  of  the  Second  Reg- 
iment of  the  Michigan  National  Guard.  Besides  the  legal  corporation  rep- 
resenting the  company,  and  the  Reunion  Association  of  the  Spanish  War 
soldiers,  there  is  also  "  The  Coldwater  Light  Guard  Veterans'  Association," 
which  was  organized  April  8,  1905,  with  the  following  officers:  Edwin  R. 
Root,  president;  T.  A.  Hilton,  vice  president;  Mark  S.  Andrews,  secretary 
and  treasurer.  All  who  have  been  at  any  time  members  of  the  Light  Guard 
Company  or  Company  A,  are  eligible  to  membership. 

At  its  last  reunion,  in  May,  1906,  Company  A  voted  all  Spanish-Amer- 
ican veterans  in  this  section  members  of  its  association.  The  officers  of  the 
association  elected  at  this  reunion  were:  Jay  Van  Aken,  president;  Frank 
L.  Farley,  vice  president;  James  B.  Smullen,  secretary  and  treasurer;  Mark 
S.  Andrews,  historian. 

Company  A,  Thirty-second  Michigan  Infantry,  U.  S.  V.,  mustered  into 
United  States  service  at  Island  Lake,  Michigan,  May  12,  i8g8,  for  the 
Spanish- American  war  of  1898: 


Company  Officers. 
Capt,,  Frank   D.   Newberry, 
I.St  Lieut.,  Ed.   D.   Legg, 
2nd  Lieut.,  Fred  E.  Ferguson. 

Sergeants, 
isl,   Charles   Culp, 
Q.  M„  James  B.  Smullen, 
Frank   B.   Reynolds,  color   sergt., 
Robert  Rattray,  Jr.. 
Frank  L.   Earley, 
Fred  G-  Barber. 

Corporals. 
Origin  L.  Bingham, 
Norman   C.  Kimbal, 
Ambrose  M.  Talmage, 
Guy  A.  Thurston, 
Charles  S.  Stuart, 
Guy  T.  Keene, 
Mark  S.  Andrews, 


George  S.  Craw, 
Oscar  C.  Dubendorf, 
Hai  S,  Ugg, 
Bert  Her  rick, 
William  H.  King. 

Musicians. 
Ralph  J,  Andrews, 
Clarence  H.   Barrett. 

ArtiUcer. 
William  H.  Stockweli. 

Wagoner. 
Jiidson  S.  Lockwood. 

Privates. 
Akenhead.  Leo  F. ;  Ambrose,  J,  C.  P.; 
Burr,  Charles;  Barlow,  Burt  E. ;  Barlow, 
Nathan  (transferred  to  Division  Hospital)  ; 
Betts,  William  W. ;  Bidwell,  Fred;  Bolton, 
James;   Bowen,  Orrin  M. ;   Bowersox,   Her- 


yGoogle 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


bert  S.;  Brooks.  Frank;  Bender,  Jay  H.; 
Burns.  Edward  A.:  Champion,  A.  Sidney; 
Cole.  Bert  W. ;  Cosper,  Lee ;  Cox,  Grant  S. ; 
Davenport,  Don  P.;  Drake,  Ned  C. ;  Dunn, 
George  A.;  Eligh,  Loren  R.;  Fisk,  Caleb  B.; 
Fisk,  Hervey  C. ;  Foote,  J.  B.  (transferred  to 
Division  Hospital)  ;  Fuller,  Ernest  E. ;  Gard- 
ner, Elton  G.;  Gobie.  Arthur  G.;  Grundy, 
Samuel  J.;  Hadley,  Cornelius  M. ;  Hilliar, 
Lynn  L. ;  Holland,  Austin;  Hoyt,  William 
T. ;  Jerome,  Horace;  Kelley,  Frank  A.;  Ken- 
nedy, James  F. ;  Lindsey,  Frank  E. ;  Langdon, 
Ruben  H. ;  Magle,  George;  Martin,  Albert 
R. ;  Marvin,  William  W, ;  Mason,  William 
B. ;  Miner,  Wesley  A. ;  Mason,  Laverne  E. ; 
Nachbauer,  Andrew  A, ;  Nichols,  Frank  A. ; 
Nichols,  Frederick  S. ;  Niveson,  George  E, ; 
Olmstead,    Ensign;    Otis.    Stephen    A.;    Pal- 


mer, Wilber  C. ;  Peppiatt.  Frederick  J. ; 
Preston,  Frederick  S. ;  Rolph,  Benjamin  E, ; 
Saunders.  Fred  B. ;  Saxton,  L.  Glenn ;  Shoe- 
craft,  James  R. ;  Short,  Charles  W. ;  Shank, 
John  B. ;  Shank,  Herman  L. ;  Silverthom, 
lleyi  A. ;  Simmons,  Charles  F. ;  Skinner, 
William  N.;  Smith,  Timothy  E.;  Smith,  H. 
Eugene ;  Smith,  James  T. ;  Snyder,  Harry 
A. ;  Stahowiak,  Martin  C. ;  Stettler,  Vemey 
R. ;  Stoddard,  Ralph  R. ;  Stygles,  Coaly  L. ; 
Teachout,  George  I. ;  Teller,  Lynn  R. ;  Teller, 
Ray  E. ;  Thompson,  Dell ;  Tompkins,  George ; 
Treat,  Burkella  J. ;  Turner,  William  H. ;  Un- 
derwood, Paul  G. ;  Van  Aken,  Jay  H. ;  Viel- 
haber,  William  D, ;  Voorhees,  Fred ;  Wallace, 
Edward  C. ;  Wattles,  Rich  D. ;  Wilcox,  Fred 
A, ;  Williams,  Elto  L, ;  Wing,  Slgmund, 


Bkanch  County's  Soldiers  in  ■ 


;  Civil  War. 


The  Ttiree  Months'  Regiment  of  First  Michigan  Infantry  organi?ed 
immediately  after  the  fall  of  Fort  Sumpter,  mustered  in  at  Fort  Wayne.  De- 
troit, was  the  first  regiment  to  reach  Washington  from  west  of  the  AIIct 
ghenies.  Its  only  engagement  was  at  Bull  Run,  July  21,  i86i.  The  regi- 
ment was  mustered  out  August  7,  1861. 


MEMBERS    OF    THE    FIRST    INFAN- 
TRY (THREE  MONTHS)  FROM 
BRANCH  COUNTY. 
Company  C. 
Ebene7.er    Butterworth,    capt. ;    enl.    May    i, 

1861 ;  captured  at  battle  of  Bull  Run.  Va., 

July   21,    1861;   died   in   rebel   hospital,   of 

wounds.  Aug.  17,  1861. 
Charles  E.  Eggleston, 

1861;  must,  out  Aug.  7,  1861. 
George  H.  Eggleston,  2d  lieut. ; 

1861;  must,  out  Aug.  7,  1861. 
Charles   B.   Lincoln,   1st   sergt. ; 

i86r ;  must,  out  Aug.  7,  1861. 
Samuel   N.   Andrews,  3d  sergt.;   enl.  May  i, 

1S61:  must,  out  Aug.  7,  1861. 
George  Rhodes,  3d  sergt. ;  enl.  May  r,  1861 ; 

captured  at  battle  of  Bull  Run,  Va.,  July 

21,   1861 ;   confined  in  Libby  prison;   must. 

out  May  20,  1862. 
Charles  P.  Whitcomb,  4th  sergt.;  enl.  May  I, 

1861 ;  captured  at  battle  of  Bull  Run,  Va., 

July   21,    1861 ;    confitied   in   Libby   prison ; 

must,  out  May  i 
Joseph  H.  Crup,  ist  corp. ; 

must,  out  Aug.  7,  i86t. 
Curtis  S.  Mills,  2d  corp.; 

must,  out  Aug.  7,  1861. 
Albert  R.  Potter,  3d  corp. ; 

must,  out  Aug.  7.  1861. 
Sylvester  B.  Wright,  4th  corp. ;  enl.  May 

186! ;  must,  out  Aug.  7,  1861. 
Nelson  Abbott,  musician;  enl.  May  i,  1861 

must,  out  Aug,  7,  1861. 


;  enl.  May  i 
;  enl.  May  I 
;   enl.    May   1 


;  enl.  May  i 
;  enl.  May  r 
;  enl.  May  i 


1861; 


;nl.  May  1 


Henry   C.   Adams,   enl.   May   1 

out  Aug.  7,  1861. 
Benjamin  F.  Archer,  enl.  May 

out  Aug.  7,  1861. 
George  W-  Abbott,  enl.  May 

out  Aug.  7,  i86l. 
Albert    C.    Allen,    enl.    May    I 

out  Aug.  7.  i85i- 
Henry  Abbott,   enl.   May  i,   18 

Aug.  7,  1861. 
Lorenzo  F.  Brown,  enl.  May 

out  Aug.  7.  1861. 
William  L,  Burritt,  enl.  May 

out  Aug.  7,  1861. 
Henry  Butler,   enl.   May   1,  18 

Aug.  7.   1861. 
Peter  Budawa,  enl.   May 


861; 


Aug.  7, 
Martin  Burleson,  enl.  May  i,  1861 ;  must,  c 

Aug,  7,  1S61. 
Charles    Bickford,   enl.   May    i,    186 1 ;   mii 

out  Aug.  7,  1861. 
Aaron  Bagley,   enl.   May   1,   1861;   must,  t 

Aug.  7,   1861. 
James  Bennett,  enl.  May   i,   1861 ;  must,  t 

Aug.   7,   1861. 
William  H.  Bryon,  enl.  May  i,   1861;   mi 

out  Aug.  7.  1861. 
Jonas  ,P.   Brown,   enl.    May    1,    1861;    rau 

out  Aug.  7,  1861. 


I,  Google 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


Chas.  Brinkerhoof,  etil.  May  r.  1861;  wound- 
ed at  Bull  Run.  Va.,  July  21.  1861. 
Chauiicey  S.  Blivin,  enl.  May  1,  i86r;  must. 

out  Aug.  7,   1861. 
Thomas  Blivin,  enl.  May  1,  1861 ;  must,  out 

Aug.   7,   1861. 
Daniel  B.  Campbell,  enl.  May  i,  1861 ;  must. 

out  Aug.  7,   1861. 
Hamilton  Collier,  enl.  May  i,  1861 ;  must,  out 

Aug.   7.  1861. 
Edward  Catlin,  enl.  May  I,  1861;  mu.st.  out 

Aug.  7,  1861. 
Edward   Ctafl,  enl.  May  l.   1861 ;   muil    out 

Aug.  7,  1861. 
Lester  B.  Callahan,  enl.  May  i,  1861;   must. 

out  Aug,  7,  1861. 
George  Conger,  enl.  May  i,  1861 ;  must,  out 

Aug.  7,  1861. 
Geo.    D.    Drury,    enl.    May    i.    1861  ;    taken 

prisoner  at  battle   of   Bull  Run,   Va.,   and 

confined  in   Libby  prison ;   must,   out   May 

a^  1862. 
Martin  Damm.  enl.  May  i,   1861 ;  must,  out 

Aug.  7,  1861. 
Gilbert  Declute,  en!.  May  1,  l86t ;  must,  out 

Aug.  7.  1861. 
Lafayette  Finch,  enl.  May  i,  1861 ;  must,  out 

Aug,  7,  1861. 
Smith  W.  Fisk,  enl.  May  i,  1861 ;  must,  out 

Aug.  7,   1861. 
David  Fox,  enl.  May  1,  1861 ; 


7,  1861. 
Isaiah  Fox,  eiil.  May  i 


i86i; 


t  Aug. 
t  Aug. 


7,  1861. 
Irving   S.  Graham,  enl.  May   1,   1861 ;   must. 

out  Aug.  7,   1861. 
Edward  Gavitt,  enl.  May  i,  1861  ;   must,  out 

Aug.  7,   1861. 
Charles  Holmes,  enl.  May  i,  i86r ;  must,  out 

Aug.  7.  j86i. 
Daniel  M.  Holmes,  enl.  May  1,  1861 :  must. 

out  Aug.  7.  i86t. 
William  Heuse,  enl.  May  1,  1861;  must,  out 

Aug.  7,  1861. 
Leander  C.  Handy,  etil.  May  i,   1861 :  must, 

out  Aug.  7-  1861. 
Solomon  Holben,  enl.  May  I,  1861 ;  must,  out 

Aug,  7,  1861. 
Charles  C.  Harvey,  enl.  May  i,  1861 ;  taken 

prisoner  at  battle  of  Bull  Run,  Va,,  July 

21,  1861 ;   confined  in  Libby  prison ;  must. 

out  May  20,  1862. 
James  D.  C.  Harvey,  enl.  May  i,  1861 ;  must. 

out  Aug,  7,  1861. 


Smith  H.  Hastings,  ent.  May  i,  1861 ;  must. 

out  Aug.  7,  1861. 
Edward  Hewitt,  eul.  May  i,  1861;  must,  out 

Aug.  7,  1861, 
Benj,   J,   Knappen,  eni.   May    i,   1861 ;   tnust. 

out  Aug,  7,  1861. 
Edward   Knappen,   enl.   May   i,    1861 ;   must. 

out  Aug,  7,   r86i. 
Edward   B,   Kirby,   enl.   May   i,   1861;   must, 

out  Aug.  7,   1861. 
Edward  Lewis,  enl.  May  i,  1861;   must,  out 

Aug.  7,  1861, 
Franklin    Minzey,   enl.    May    i,    1861;    must. 

out  Aug,  7,  1861, 
John   S,   Mossman,  enl.   May   i,  1861;   must. 

out  Aug.  7,  1861, 
Squire  W.  Mellendy,  enl.  May  i,  1861 ;  must. 

out  Aug.  7,  1861, 
Wilson   Meddaueh.  enl.   May   1,   1861 ;   must, 

o«t  Aug.  7,  1861, 
Joseph  McKinne,  enl.  May  i,  1861  ;  must,  out 

Aug.  7,  186 1, 
John  Olmstead,  enl.  May  i,   i86r ;  must,  out 

Aug.  7,  1861, 
Philo  P.  Peekham,  enl.  May  i,  1861 ;  must. 

out  Aug,  7,  1861, 
Horace  L,  Perkins,  enl.  May   i,  1861 ;  must, 

out  Aug,  7.  1861. 
Franklin   Roberts,   enl.    May   i,   1861;   must. 

out  Aug.  7.  1861. 
Calvin  D.  Strong,  enl.  May  I,  1861;  must. 

out  Aug.  7,  1861. 
Jonn    D.    Smails,   enl.    May    i,    1861;    taken 

prisoner   at   battle   of   Bull   Run,   July   21, 

i86r ;  confined  in  Libby  prison;   must,  oui 

Mav  20,   1E62. 
John   Sullivan,   eul.  May   I,   1861;   must,   out 

Aug.  7,  1861, 
Cady    Smith,    enl.    May    1,    1861  ;    must,    out 

Aug,  7,   1861. 
Squire   S,    Skeels,   enl.   May   I,    1861 ;   must, 

out  Aug,  7,  1861, 
Baxter  Strong,  enl.  May  1,  1861 ;  must,  out 

Aug,  7,  1861, 
Ross  A,  Warner,  enl.  May  i,  1861 ;  must,  out 

Aug,  7,  i86i. 
Robert  Williams,  enl.  May  r,  i86r ;  must,  out 

Aug,  7,  1861. 
George  Wright,  enl.  May  r,  1861 ;  must,  out 

Aug.  7,  1861. 
Ralston    Walker,    enl.    May    i,    1861 ;    taken 

prisoner  at  battle  of  Bull  Run,   Va„  July 

21,  1861;  confined  in  Libby  prison;  must. 

out  May  20,  1862, 


After  the  muster-out  of  the  Three  Months'  men,  the  First  regiment  was 
reorganized  as  a  three  years'  regiment.  The  regiment  proceeded  to  Wash- 
"ngton  in  September,  1S61;  was  on  guard  duty  during  the  fall  and  winter; 
n  the  Peninsular  campaign  against  Richmond  in  1862,  fighting  at  Mechan- 
icsville,  Gaines  Mill,  and  Malvern  Hill;  later  at  Gainesville  and  second  Bull 
Run;  at  Antietam,  in  September,  1862,  and  at  Fredericksburg  in  Decem- 
ber.    In  1863  engaged  at  Chancellorsville  and  at  Gettysburg.     In  1864,  at 


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290 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


Alsop's  Farm,  Spottsylvania,  North  Anna,  Jericho  Mills,  Cold  Harbor;  and 
in  the  engagements  centering  about  and  including  Petersburg  and  the  con- 
clusion of  the  Virgin!:!  campaign  at  Appomattox  Court  House.  Was  dis- 
charged at  Jackson,  Michigan,  Ju!y  I2,   1865. 


MEMBERS    OF    THE    FIRST    INFAN- 
TRY (THREE  YEARS)   FROM 
BRANCH   COUNTY. 

Abram  S.  Kirkland,  ad  lieul. ;  enl.  May  30, 
1863;  ist  lieut.  (as  sergt.),  July  'S.  1863; 
must,  out  with  regiment,  July  9,   :86s. 

George  H.  Eggleston,  1st  lieut. ;  enl.  Aug. 
17,   1861 ;  res.  March  28,  1863. 

Alexander  Black,  Co.  E;  disch.  at  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  Jan.  23,  1863. 

William  H.  Barnham,  Co.  E;  accidentally 
killed,  Oct.  18,  i86z. 

Henry  C,   Babcock,   Co.  E. 

William  F.  Braddock,  Co.  E;  must,  out  July 
9,  1865. 

Robert  W.  Baker.  Co.  C;  disch. 

John  N.  Bunker,  Co.  E;  died  of  disease, 
Washington,  D.  C,  July  13,  1863. 

Joseph  D.  Bennett,  Co.  E;  disch.  to  re-enl. 
as  veteran,  Feb.  17,  1864. 

James  Corey,  Co.  E;  died  of  disease  at  An- 
napolis, Md.,  March  7,  1862. 

Edward    Curtis,    Co.    E;    must 


t   July 


Daniel  Cook,  Co.  E;  discli, 

Jan.  23,  1863, 
John  Clarke,  Co.  E ;  disch.  at 

service,  Oct.  10,  1864. 
Ira   S.   Chappell,  Co.  E;   disch. 

veteran,  Dec.  25,   1863 ;   musi 

186^. 
Jar 


July  9, 
Fort  Schuyler, 


out  July  9, 


Depue,   Co.   E;   died   in  action   at 
Bull  Run,  Va.,  Aug.  30,  1862. 
Theodore  Davis,  Co.  E ;  disch.  at  expiration 

of  service,  Sept.  g,  1864. 
Crayton  D.   Eldred,  Co.  E;  disch. 
Jared    Evans,    Co.    E ;    died    of    disease    in 

Washington,  D.  C,  May  3,  1864. 
Beech  N.  Fisk,  Co.  E ;  disch.  at  expiration  of 

service,  Sept.  16,  1864. 

David   Fox,   Co.   E;   disch.   at  expiration   of 

.    service,   Oct.   30,    18S4;    was   in   battles   of 

Bull    Run,    Fredericksburg,    and    Chancel- 

lorsville. 

George   Hillman,    Co.   E;    died   in   action   at 

Bull  Run,  Aug.  30,  1862. 
Francis  E.  Hadley,  Co.   E;  disch,  by  order, 

Dec.  15,  1862. 
Amos    Hunt,    Co.    C ;    disch.    for    disability, 

April   10,   1863. 
Abram  S,  Kirkland,  Co.  E ;  disch.  to  re-enl. 
as  veteran,  Feb.   17,   1864;  must,  out  July 
9,  1865. 
James  Lauver,  Co.  E;  disch.  May  i,  1862. 
Simeon   P.   Miles,   Co.   C;   died  in   action  at 

Bull  Run,  Va.,  Aug.  30,  1862. 
James  M.  Vane,  Co.  E;   died  of  disease  in 
Richmond,  Jan.  15,  1864. 


William   J.   JWoody,   Co.   I 

9.  1865, 
Martin  J.  Miney,  Co.  E ;  disch.  to  re-enl.  as 

veteran,  Feb.  17,  1864. 
Oscar    Nash,    Co.    A;    disch.   to    re-enl.    as 

veteran,  Feb.  17,  1864. 
Ludovic  Nye,  Co.  E;  disch.  Sept.  8,  i86z. 
George  F.   Niverson,  Co.  E;  disch.  at  Po- 
tomac Creek,  Jan.  3,  1863. 
Theodore  E.  Oliver,   Co.  C ;  disch.   Nov.  17, 

1862. 
Henry  C.  Odeil,  Co.  D;   disch.  to  re-enl.  as 

veteran,  Dec.  25,  1863. 
Byron    Potter,    Co.    E;    killed    in    action    at 

Bull  Run,  Aug.  30, 1862. 
Ansel    J.    Potter,    Co.    E;    died    of    disease, 

V/ashington,  D.  C,  Aug.  20,  1863. 
James  E.  Perry,  Co.  E;  disch. 
David  C.  Reynolds,  Co.  E;  disch.  at  1 

tion  of  service,  Sept.  9,  1864. 
Hazelton   Saunders,   Co.    E ;   disch.   Ji 

1862. 
Hiram  Sweet,  Co.  E;  died  in  action  i 

tysburg.  Pa.,  July  2,  1863. 
James  C.  Smith,  Co.  E;  disch.  for  disability, 

Feb.  9,  1863. 
George    H.    Skinner,    Co,    E;    disch,   Jan, 

1863.^ 
Nehemiah  Spencer,  Co.   E;   disch.   to  re-i 

as  veteran,  Dec.  25,  1863. 
C.  A.  Tompkins,  Co.  E ;  disch.  at  expiration 

of  service,  Oct,  30,  1864. 
George  F.  Trumbull,  Co.  E;  disch,  Nov.  17, 

1862. 
Burnet  A.  Tucker,  Co.  E;  died  of  wounds  in 

Washington,  D.  C,  Sept.  10,  1862. 
Horace  M.  Withington,  Co.  E;  died  in  action 

at  Bull  Run,  Aug.  30,  1862. 
Emmet  R,  Wood,  Co.  E;   died  in  action  at 

Bull  Run,  Aug.  30,  1862. 
Eugene  Wilson,  Co.   E;  disch,  at  expiration 

of  service,  Sept.  9,  1864, 
Jefferson  Woods,  Co.  E;  disch.  to  re-enl.  as 

veteran,   Dec,  25,   1863;   must,  out  July  9, 

1865. 
Willard  Whitney,  Co.  E;  disch.  I 

veteran,   Feb,    17,   1864;   must, 

1865. 
William  Whalen,  Co,  E;  disch,  to  re- 
veteran,  Feb,  17,  1864. 
Levi  Webb,  Co,   B;  died  of  disease  a 

Oak,  Mich.,  Feb,  17,  1865. 
Henry  E.  Whitney,  Co,  E;  died  of  disease 

at  Washington,  D.  C,  Jan,  2,  1863, 
Leonard  Whitmoyer,   Co,   B;  must,  out  July 


t  July  9, 


t  Burr 


9.  } 


.,  Co,  C;   discharged  for  dis 


,    i 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


261 


The  Seventh  Michigan  Infantry,  organized  in  summer  of  i86r.  and 
sent  to  Virginia,  participated  at  Ball's  Bluff,  and  in  1862  was  in  the  siege 
of  Yorktown,  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks,  and  in  the  "  Seven  Days'  Fight,"  cul- 
minating at  Malvern  Hili;  in  second  Bull  Run,  South  Mountain  and  An- 
tietam,  and  foremost  in  the  action  at  Fredericksburg;  was  at  Chancellors- 
ville  and  in  the  Gettysburg  campaign;  in  1864  was  in  the  Wilderness,  at 
Spottsylvania  Court  House,  at  Cold  Harbor,  and  other  actions  about  Rich- 
mond; and  was  in  the  siege  of  Petersburg  and  constantly  fighting  almost  to 
the  day  of  Lee's  surrender.  The  regiment  was  disbanded  at  Jackson,  Mich- 
igan. July  7,  1865. 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  SEVENTH  INFAN^ 

TRY  FROM  BRANCH  COUNTY. 
Jeremiah   Buys,    Co.   K;    died   of  disease  at 

Alexandria,  Va.,  Dec,  15,  1863, 
Hezekiah  Brooks,  Co.  K;  must,  out  July  5, 

186s. 
William  H.  Burns,  Co.  K;  died  of  wounds  at 

Antietam,  Md.,  Sept.  17,  1862. 
David  Blancliard,  Co.  K;  disch.  for  disability, 

June  10,  1865. 
Albert  A.  Blaiiehard,  Co.  K;  must,  out  July 

5,  1865. 
Horace  Callioun,   Co.  I ;   died  of  wounds  at 

White  Oak  Swamp,  June  30,  1862. 
Chauncey  G.  Cole,  Co.  I ;  must,  out  July  5- 

1865. 
Nelson   W.   C!ark,   Co,   K ;   disch.  by  order, 

July  21.  1865. 
Daniel    Clouse,    Co,    K;    must,    out   July    5, 


1  Converse,  Co.  K; 


July  5. 
lut  July 


Madison  J.  Eggle.ston,  Co,  K;  1 

5.   1865, 
l_ewis   Fry,    Co,    K;    disch,   by   order,   June 

Samuel  Fry,  Co.  I;  disch.  by  order,  July  31, 

1865. 
Tohii  B.  Ford,  Co.  K ;  missing  in  action,  Aug. 

2%  1864. 
Fred  H.  Gould,  Co.  1;  died  of  disease  near 

Yorktown,  Va..  May  13,  1862. 
Alonzo    Glass,    Co.    I:    died    of    wounds   at 

South  Anna  River,  Va.,  June  i,  1864. 
John  Green.  Co.  K;  must,  out  July  5,  1865. 
Charles  R.  Green,  Co.  K;  disch.  to  re-enl.  as 

vet.,  Dec.  18,  1863. 
Oliver    Green.    Co.    K ;    missing    in    action, 

June  2,  1864. 
Lorenzo  Gates,  Co.  K;  died  of  wounds  Sept. 

25,  1862. 
Lorenzo  C,  Hurd,  Co.  K;  disch.  for  disabil- 

itv,  Nov.  24,   1862. 
Edwin   E.   Howard,   Co,   C;   disch.   for  dis- 
ability, Nov.  I,  1861. 
Onias    Hopkins,    Jr.,    Co.    K;    disch.    May, 


Nathaniel  Hopkins,  Co.  K;  transferred  to 
Vet.  Res.  Corps,  April  10,  1864. 

Daniel  Holbrook,  Co,  K;  missing  at  Hatch- 
er's Run,  Va„  Oct,  28,   1864, 

William  J.  Leary,  Co.  I;  died  of  wounds  at 
Fair  Oaks,  Va.,  May  31,   1862. 

William  Latta,  Co,  K;  died  of  disease  at 
Washington,  Nov.  8,  1862. 

David  S.  Meddaugh,  Co.  K;  disch.  Dec.  25, 
1861. 

John  Monroe,  Co.  K;  died  at  Andersonville, 
Ga.,    Sept.    5,    1864. 

Mahlon  Meyer,  Co.  I ;  died  of  disease  in  sum- 
mer, 1862- 

Thomas  Miller,  Co.  K;  missing  at  Hatcher's 
Run,  Oct.  28,  1864. 

E>arius  Monroe,  Co.  K;  disch.  by  order,  May 
31.  1865. 

Truman  E.  Mason,  Co.  K;  disch.  to  enl.  m 
U,  S.  Cav.,  Oct,  21,  1862. 

Walter  Nichols,  Co.  K;  disch.  to  re-enl.  as 
vet.,  Dec.  18,  1863. 

James  Pepper,  Jr.,  Co,  K;  must,  out  July  S, 
1865. 

George  Pcdier,  Co.  K;  must,  out  July  S. 
1865. 

Jo.'iCph  Pidlman,  Co.  K;  disch.  by  order,  Jan. 
13,  1865. 

William   Queer,    Co.    K;    must,    out   July   S. 


Hin 


Refner,    Co. 


t   July    5, 


Henry  Rogers,  Co.  K;  died  of  disease  at 
Windmill  Point.  Va..  Jan.  7,  1863. 

Clark  Reynolds,  Co.  C;  died  in  action  at 
Antietam,  Md.,  Sept.  17,  1862. 

Justin  Shaply,  Co.  K;  died  Jan.  29,  1862. 

Andrew  J,  Silhway,  Co.  I :  died  of  disease 
at  Washington,  D.  C.  July  i,  1864. 

Edbert  Schemerhorn,  Co,  K;  disch.  May  25, 


James   Sheffield,  Co.  K; 

1865, 
Thomas  Silliway,  Co.   K; 


.   out   July   5, 
t.  out  July  5, 


i.  Co.  I 


Levi  R.  TuHle,  Co.  K;  disch.  at  expiration  of 
missing  at  Cold  Har-       John    Taggott,    Co.    K;    must,    out    July    5, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


;,'  1864. 

ut  July  s.  5865. 


William    B.    Valade,    Co. 

Hatcher's  Run.  Va„  Oct.  ; 
Zacliary  Wells,  Co.  I ;  must. 

The  Ninth  Infantry,  raised  in  l86i.  was  sent  to  Kentucky  in  October; 
was  stationed  at  Fort  Donelson.  Nashville,  Murfreesboro,  a  portion  of  the 
regiment  being  captured  at  Murfreesboro;  participated  at  Stone  River  and 
Cliickamauga.  In  December,  1863,  the  regiment  re-enhsted  as  a  veteran  or- 
ganization. In  1864  was  in  all  the  operations  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumber- 
land in  Georgia  and  Tennessee,  returning  from  Atlanta  to  Chattanooga, 
and  then  to  Nashville,  where  it  was  mustered  out  September  15,  1865. 

Marion  A.  Howard,  Co.  H  :  must,  out  Sept. 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  NINTH  INFANTRY 
FROM  BRANCH  COUNTY. 

John  G.  Parkhurst,  Coldwater,  lieut.-col. ; 
en).  Sept.  10,  1861 ;  captured  at  Murfrees- 
horo',  Tenn.,  July  13,  1863;  released  Dec. 
3.  1862;  col.,  Feb.  6,  1863;  brevt.  hrig.-gen., 
May  22,  1865 ;  must,  out  Nov.  10,  1865. 

Mortimer  Mansfield,  Coldwater,  rst  lieut ; 
enl.  Oct.  12,  1861;  capt.,  Jan.  7,  1862;  cap- 
tured at  Murfreesboro',  Tenn.,  July  13, 
1862 ;  released  Aug.  8,  1862 ;  must,  out 
Sept.   15,   1865. 

William  A.  Hull,  Coldwater,  2d  lieut.;  enl. 
Oct.  12,  1861 ;  1st  lieut.,  Feb.  8,  1862 ;  cap- 
lured  at  Murfreesboro',  July  13,  1862 ;  re- 
leased Dec.  .■},  1862;  capt.,  April  g,  1863; 
resigned  Aug.  22,  1864,  to  enter  gunboat 

Charles   W.   Bennett,  Quincy,   2d  lieut.;  enl. 

Jan.  17,  1863 ;  capt.  in  U,  S,  colored  troops, 

Oct,   36,    1863;    brevet   major,    Oct.,    1865; 

must,  out  June  14,  1866. 
Rev,   Joseph   Wood,   chaplain ;   enl.   Feb.   19, 

1864;  not  mustered, 
Robert    Eberhard,    Co.    G;    disch,    by   order. 

Sept.   28,   1865. 
Thomas  A,  Eberhard,  Co.  G ; 

IS.    1865. 
Charles    E,    Gregg,    Co.    E;   1 


George   Gregg,    Co.    E;    must.   1 

186s. 
Isaac    Gould,    Co.    F;    must.    0 

■S6S. 
Dennis  Blacken,  Co.   G;  must. 

186s. 
Joseph  F.  Hill,  Co.  B;  must.  . 

1865. 
William  Hassett,  Co.  D ;  must. 

186s. 
Henry   Nessey,   Co.   D ;    must.   ■ 

1865. 
Parker  Howes,  Co.  D;   must.  ■ 
■       i86s, 

Henry  Hungerford,   Co,    D;   mi 

21,  1865, 
John  S,  Haines,  Co.   D ;  must, 

1865. 
Puches  Hilliar,  Co,  G;  disch,  ti 


t.  out  Sept, 

t  Sept,  15, 
Sept,  15, 
;t  Sept,  IS, 
t  Sept.  IS, 
It  Sept.  IS, 
t  June  20. 
t  June  20, 
,  out  Jan, 
It  June  20, 


Charles  Jordon,  Co.   G ;  died  of  disea.se  : 
West  Point,  Ky.,  Dec.  i,  1861. 

John  W.   Klotz,  Co.   D;  must,  out 
186s. 

Henry   C,   Kenyon,   Co,   G ;   must.   ■ 


Sept,  IS, 

)ut   Sept, 

Sept,  i;. 

Sept.   15, 

Sept,    15, 

Sept,    IS, 
I8b5, 
Fred,  Lipstaff,  Co,  G;   disch,  by  order,  June 
20.  186=;, 

Sept.  15. 


William  Krapohl,  Co,  G;  must.  1 

1865, 
John   P.  Kidney,  Co.  G ;  must,  c 

i86s ;  came  from  4th  Inf. 
F"rank    Lester,    Co,    C ;    must.    01 

1865, 
Fred,    Lautz,    Co.    G ;    must,    on 


Charles  P.  Lake,  Co.  K ; 

1865. 
Henry  Lake,   Co,   K;    disch,  by  order.   Sept. 

28,  1865. 
Fred.  Miller,  Co.  H  ;  died  of  disease  at  Cold- 
water.  Mich.,  Feb.  14,  1864. 
George  Mathews,  Co.  B;  must,  out  Sept,  15. 

1865, 
Francis  McGurk,  Co,  G;  must,  out  Sept,   15, 

1865, 
Alex   Mclntyre,  Co,  G;  disch,  by  order,  June 

20.  I86s. 
Daniel  R.  McKay,  Co,  G;  disch,  by  order, 

June  20.   i86s. 
Henry  Melvin,  Co.  G ;  di.sch,  by  order,  June 

20,  1865, 
Alvin  Marks,  Co,  I ;  must,  out  Sept.  15,  1865, 
George  H,  Newel),  N,  C.  S, ; 

15.  i86s. 

■     "    Nathans,   Co,   B;   1 


15, 
Thomas   L,   Nixon,  Co.   H :   1 

IS,   1865, 
Andrew   Nupher,   Co,    G;   di: 

veteran,  Dec.  7,  1863 
Dewitt  Pierce,  Co.  C;  must 

186s, 
Addison  J,  Peckham,  Co,  G; 

IS,  1865, 
Daniel  G,  Parker,  Co,  G ;  mui 

1865. 


:.  out  Sept. 
,  out  Sept, 
,  out  Sept, 
to  enl.  as 
t  Sept.  IS, 
t,  out  Sept, 
ut  Sept,  15. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


Joseph  E.  Penner.  Co.  H  ;  died  of  disease 
White  Pigeon,  Mich.,  Dec.  7,  1861. 

Riley  Pierce,  Co.  H;  must,  out  Sept. 
1865. 


Henry  Robinson,  Co.  K; 

must,  ou 

t  Sept.  15, 

1865. 

Jeremiah  Rhodes,  Co.  G 

186s- 
John  Ross,  Co.  G ;  must. 

;  mitsf,  ou 

t  Sept.  IS, 

out  Sept. 

IS,  186s. 

Charles  E.  Rhodes,  Co. 

15,  1865. 
David   Rodgers.  Co.   F; 

F;   must. 

oit.   Sept. 

must,  out 

.  Sept,  15. 

.S6S. 

Simon  Ream,   Co.   B;   1 

Sept.    15, 

1865. 

George   Rogers,  Co.   B; 

:   Sept.   IS. 

186s. 

Adams    Reed,    Co.    B;    ! 

must,    out 

Sept.    15. 

Barnard  L.  Rider.  Co.  K;  died  of  disease  ai 
Nashville,  Tenn,  May  24,   1865. 

James  Reynolds,  Co.  G:  died  of  disease  al 
Murfreesboro',  Tenn.,  July  13,  1862. 

Wilham  J.  Sternbaugh,  Go.  G;  died  of  dis- 
ease at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  June  13,  i86S. 

Barlow  Smith,  Co.  G;  disch.  to  enlist  as 
veteran.  Dec.  7,  1863. 

Charles  F.  Smith,  Co.  A;  must,  out  Sept. 


s  Springsteen,  Co.  E;  n 


5. 
Sept. 
Sept. 


Rudolph    Stickler,    Co.    F;    mi 

15,  186s. 
Bernard    Schlieting,   Co.   G;    disch.   Jan.   16, 

1865,   for  pro.  in  45th  Wis.  Vols. 
James  F,  Schemerhom,  Co.  G ;  disch,  to  en- 
list as  veteran,  Dec.  7,  i863- 
Levi    Sprague,    Co.   G;   must,   out   Sept,   is, 

1865. 
Benj.    F.    Safford,    Co.    I;    disch.    by    order, 

June  20,   1865. 
Calvin  D.  Smith,  Co.  I;  disch.  by  order,  June 

20,  1865. 
Alex.  Tracy,  Co.  I ;  must,  out  Sept.  15,  1865. 
Thaddeus    Vining,    Co.    I;    disch.   by   order, 

Sept.  28,  1865. 
Michael   Unrah,   Co.   B ;   died   of  disease   at 

Galien,  Mich.,  Sept..  i863. 
B.  E.  Williams,  Co.  G ;  died  of  disease,  June 

I,  1864. 
Henry    Wiser,    Co.    G ;    died    of    disease    at 

Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  June  3,   1864. 
John    Winsey,    Co,    G ;    died    of    disease   at 

Louisville.  Ky.,  Dec.  12.  1864. 
Henry  C.  Westfail,  Co.  B;  must,  out  Sept. 

rs.  186s- 
Ira   M.  Ware.  Co.   F;   mtist.  out   Sept.  13, 

186s. 
Wm.  H.  Withington,  Co.  G;  must,  out  Sept. 

It  Sept,    13. 

.   out   Sept. 


Steward    Wilcox,   Co.    K;    disch.    by   order, 

June  20,  1865. 
Dyer   Wood,   Co.   K;    disch.  by   order.   May 

13,   1865. 
Lan.son   C.  Wilder,   Co,   K;   disch.  by  order, 

June  20.  186s. 
Charles  H.  Yates.  Co.  G;  must,  out  Sept  13, 

1865. 
James    Allen,    Co.    F;    mttst.    out    Sept.    15, 

1865. 
Samuel   E.  Acker,  Co.   G;   disch.   March   14. 

i86S-  for  promotion  in  U.   S.  C.  T. 
Henry   Bennett,   Co.   B;   must,  out   Sept.   1.3, 

1865. 
Peter  Bohn,  Co.  G;  must,  out  Sept.  15,  1865. 
Dwight  G.  Bolster,  Co.   G;  must,  out   Sept. 

15,  186S. 
Henry  Bordenas,  Co.  G ;  must,  out  Sept.  15, 

1865. 
Charles  W.  Bennett.  Co,  G ;  m  battles  Stone 

River,   Chickamauga.   Nashville,  etc.;   pro- 
moted.    (See  officers.) 
Jackson  Brown,  Co,  G;  disch,  by  order,  Sept. 

28,  1863. 
Howard  Bradley.  Co,  G;  disch.  for  disabilitv, 

Sept.  24,  1862. 
William  E.  Bennett.  Co.  K;  must,  out  Sept, 

IS.  1863- 
Eli  Bowen,  Co.  K;  must,  out  Sept.  15,  1865, 
Oren   Bowen,  Co.   K ;   disch.  by  order.  Sept, 

23.  I86s, 
James   Barnes,   Co.   G;   disch.   for  disability, 

Sept.  20,   1862, 
Winton   B,  Brooks.   Co,   K;   must,   out  Sept, 

15.  1863. 
Charles  W,  Babbitt.  Co,  K;  must,  out  Sept. 

IS.  1865. 
Reuben   S,   Babbitt,   Co.  K;   disch.  by  order, 

May  12,  1863, 
James  Callaghan,  Co,  B;  must,  out  Sept.  15, 

i8fis. 
Nelson  O.  Carovl,  Co,  B ;  must,  out  Sept,  15, 

186s, 
Lebannah  E.  Corder,  Co,  B ;  must,  out.  Sept, 


Isaac  Widemer,  Co,  G;  r 

1865, 
Carlos   Whitmore,    Co,    G 


William  Cannady,  Co.  1 


t  Sept,  13. 


rs,  1865. 


Lester  O,  Chapman.  Co.  G ;  must,  out  Sept. 

IS,  1865. 
Charles   Conrad,   Co.   G;   died   of  disease   at 

Coldwater,  Mich.,  Aug,   15,  1862. 
Stillman  Crandall.  Co,  I;  must,  out  Sept,  15. 

1865. 
Wm,  A,  Clark,  Co.  D;  died  of  disease  at 

Nashville,  Tenn,,  Dec.  29.  1862, 
Henry  Crippen,  Co.  I;  must,  out  Sept,   15, 

1865, 
Herbert   B,    Davis,    Co,   G;    died   of   disease 

April  i,  1864,  at  Chattanooga,  Tenn, 
Isaac   Doughty,   Co.   B;   must,   out   Sept.   15, 

1863, 
Wniiam    J,    Dyer,    Co,    D;    disch,    by   order, 

Sept,  29,  1865, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


C;    discli,   by   order, 
:.  out  Sept.  15, 
Andren    Demarest    Co    G:   must,   out   Sept. 


Melviii  Diukinsnii 

Sept  9   186s 
Francis  Duning    Co    F; 


disch 


.  eulisl 
est,  Co.  G: 


,   Dec- 
t  Sept. 


Henry   J,    Dufres,    Co.    G;    d 

Feb.   10,   1865. 
Lafayette  Davis,  Co.  H;  mus 

1865. 
James   D.  Edwards,   Co,   C;   1 

IS,  ise^;, 

William   Ebcrhard,   Co.   G;   n 
15,  1865. 


.  by  order, 
lit  Sept.  IS, 
:,  out  Sept. 
,   out   Sept, 


The  Eleventh  Michigan  Infantry,  to  wliJch  Branch  county  contributed 
Companies  B  and  H,  and  most  of  Company  T>,  was  organized  in  1861  and 
sent  to  Kentucky  in  December  of  that  year.  The  first  severe  engagement 
was  Stone  River;  in  1863  at  Chickaniauga :  was  foremost  in  the  charge  up 
Missionary  Ridge;  soon  after  with  General  Sherman  in  the  Atlanta  cam- 
paign and  battles  up  to  the  capture  of  that  city.  Was  mustered  out  at  Stur- 
gis,  Sept.  13,  1864,  but  reorganized  March  18,  1865,  and  was  in  Tennessee 
mainly  on  guard  duty  until  middle  of  September.  The  regiment  was  dis- 
banded at  Jackson,  Mich.,  Sept.  23,  1865. 

MEMBERS  OF  ELEVENTH  INFANTRY  H;  enl.  Aug.  3,'i863;  must,  out  at  end  of 

service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

Henry  C.  Adams,  Coldwater,  2d  lieut. ;  enl. 
March  I,  i86s ;  must,  out  Sept.  16,  1865. 

Irving  S.  Graham,  Quincy,  2d  lieut. ;  eld. 
June  1,  186s;  must,  out  Sept.  16,  1865. 

Frank  H.  Lane,  Bronson,  eapt. ;  enl.  Jan. 
7,  1863;  dismissed  July  13,  1864- 

Herman  C.  Adams,  Co.  B ;  disch.  by  order 
to  Vet.  Res.  Corps,  Aug.  i,  1863- 

Jesse  Belcher,  Co.  B;  trans,  to  16th  Mich. 
Inf.,  Sept.  20,  1861. 

Augustus  Barjerow,  Co.  B;  disch.  fo  enlist 
in  regular  service,   Nov.  25,   1862, 

Henry  C.  Bennett,  Co.  B ;  disch.  for  disabil- 
ity,  June  4,   1862. 

Levi  Busley,  Co.  B;  disch.  tor  disability,  July 
I,   1863. 

Ohver  Busley,  Co.  B;  died  in  action  at 
Stone  River,  Dec.  31,  1862. 

Nathaniel  E.  Burch,  Co.  B;  died  of  disease  at 
Bardstown,  Ky.,  Feb.  !i,  1862. 

Marcius  J,  Bissell,  Co.  B;  died  of  disease  at 
Bardstown,  Ky.,  March  16,  1862. 

Jerry  M.  Burleson,  Co.  B;  disch.  at  expira- 
tion of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

Joseph  A.  Bowen,  Co.  B;  discharged  by  or- 
der. May  31,  1865. 

Ozro  A.  Bowen,  Co.  B;  disch.  at  expiration 
of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

Andrew  Clark,  Co.  B;  died  of  disease  at 
Belmont  Furnace,  Ky.,  April  18,  1862. 

Thomas  Clark,  Co.  B;  disch.  for  disabihlj-, 
Sept.  IS,  1862. 

Christopher  Conly,  Co.  B;  disch.  for  dis- 
ability, Ciit.   18,  1862. 

Wni.  H.  Cummings;  died  of  wounds  at  Chat- 
tanooga. Tenn.,  Nov,  25,  1863. 

William  Clemens,  Co.  B ;  trans,  to  V^t.  Res. 
Corps,  Nov.  I,  1863. 


(OLD  ORGANIZATION)   FROM 

BRANCH   COUNTY. 

Melvin    Mudge,    Quincy.   capt,,    Co.    B ;   enl. 

Aug.    24,    1861 ;    lieut. -col.,    Jan.    7,    1863 ; 

must,  out  at  end  of  service,  Sept.  30.  1864, 
Charles   Moase,   Bronson,   capt.,   Co.   G ;   enl. 

Aug,  24,  1861;  res.  Feb.  14,  1862;  reappoint- 
ed Feb.   14.  1862;  res.  Nov.   14,  1862. 
John  L.  Hackstaff,  Coldwater,  capt.,  Co.  H; 

enl.  Aug.  24,  i86i;  res.  March  11,  1862. 
Jerome  Bowen,  Quincy,  1st  lieut.,  Co.  B;  enl, 

Aug.  24.  1861 ;  res.  Nov.  26,  1862. 
Samuel  C.  Mills.  Coldwater,  ist  lieut.,  Co. 

H ;  enl.  Aug.  24,  1861 ;  res.  June  24.  1862. 
Miles  Warren,  Quincy,  2d  lieut.,  Co.  H ;  enl. 

Aug.   24,   1861 ;   res,   Feb.  8,   1862, 
Theo.  P.  Kessler,  Bronson.  2d  lieut.,  Co.  H  , 

enl.  Aug.  24,  t86i  ;  res.  Feb.  12,  1862. 
Leonidas   E.   Mills,  Coldwater,  2d  lieut.,  Co. 

H ;  enl.  Aug.  24,  1861 ;  res.  June  23,   1862. 
Francis  M.  Bissell,  Quincy,  2d  lieut.,  Co.  B; 

enl.  Feb.  19,  1862;  1st  lieut.,  Nov.  26,  1862; 

capt.,   Jan.   7,    1863;   disch.   for  disability, 

June  4,  1864- 
Linus  T.  Squire,  Quincy,  2d  lieut.,  June  24, 

1862:   1st  lieut.,  Jan.  i,   1863;  adjt.,  Aug. 

3,  1863 ;  must,  out  at  end  of  service,  Sept. 

30,  1864. 
Edward  W.  Catlin,  Algansee,  2d  lieut.;   enl. 

March  12,  1862;  ist  lieut.,  Dec.  10,  1862; 

capt.,  Jan.  13,  1864;  died  of  wounds  re- 
ceived Aug.  7.  1864.  near  Atlanta,  Ga. 
Benj.  F.  Hart,  Bronson,  ist  lieut.,  Co.  D;  enl. 

Jan.  9,  '864;  must,  out  Sept,  30,  1864. 
Chauncey  E,  Koon,  Allen,  2d  lieut.,  Co.  B ; 

enl.  Nov.  26,  1862;  ist  lieut.,  Jan.  7,  1863; 

capt,  Jan,   17,   1864;   must,  out  at  end  of 

service.  Sept.  30,  1864. 
James  C   Cushman,  Bronson,   ist  lieut.,   Co. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


265 


George  W.  Catlin,  Co.  B;  trans,  to  i6th  Mich, 

Inf.,  Sept.  20,  1861. 
John  F.  Cole,  Co.  B ;  disch.  at  expiration  of 

service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 
Lyrnan  L.  Cole,  Co.  B ;  disch.  at  expiration 

of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 
James  B.  Daggett,  Co.  B;  trans,  to  i6th  Mich. 

Inf..  Sept.  20,  1861. 
EiiRene  Debois.  Co.  B ;  disch.  for  disability, 

Henry  S.  Danks,  Co.  B ;  disch.  at  expiration 
of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

Melvin  T.  Edmonds,  Co.  B;  disch.  at  expira- 
tion of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

William  H.  Emens,  Co,  B;  disch.  for  disabil- 
ity. April  19,  1863- 

Wilbur  S.  Harding,   Co.  B;   disch.  for  disa- 
bility, May  14,  1863. 

Samnel   Hedge,    Co.   B ;    died   of   disease   at 
Niishville,  Teiin.,  Jan.  28,  1863. 

Edwin  J.  Hull,  Co.  B;  disch.  for  minority, 
Sept.   10,   1S62, 

Andrew  J.  Hawse,  Co,  B ;  disch.  for  minority, 
Sept.  10,  1862. 

Daniel  Haynes.  Co.  B ;  died  Jan.  2,  1863,  of 
wounds  received  at  Stone  River.  * 

William  W.  Johnson,  Co.   B;   died  Dec.   31, 
1862. 

Francis  Jerome,  Co.  B  ;  disch.  for  disability, 
Feb-  II,  1863. 

William  Kerr;  died  of  disease,  at  Miirfrees- 
boro,  Tenn.,  Feb.  13.  1863. 

Adeibert  E.  Lockwood,  Co.  B ;  disch.  for  dis- 
ability June  4,  1862. 

John  McGinnis,  Co.  B;  disch.  for  disability. 

Levi  McGinnis,  Co.  B ;  died  at  Murfreesboro', 
Ftb.  4,  1863,  of  wounds. 

Edward  C.  McDonald,  Co.  B ;  disch.  for  dis- 
ability, Oct.  4-  1862. 

Halsey  Miller,  Co.  B ;  disch.  at  expiration  of 
service,  Sept.  30,  1864 

Fred.  Maltman,  Co.   B;  disch.   at   expiration 
of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

Orriu  P.   Nichols.   Co.   B;   died   in  action   at 
Stone  River,  Dec.  31,  1862. 

Derry  Nichols,  Co.  B ;  disch.  at  expiration  of 
service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

Milo  D.  Niles,  Co.  B ;  disch.  at  expiration  of 
service,  Sept.  30,  18154. 

Joseph  W.  Perkins,  Co.  B  ;  died  of  disease  at 
Bardstown,  Ky.,  Feb.  8,  1862, 

Charles  V.  Patterson,  Co.  B ;  died  at  Kings- 
ton, Ga.,  of  wounds.  Aug.  24.  1864. 

James  Pierce,  Co.  B ;  died  of  disease  at  Nash- 
ville, Tenn.,  Dec.  21,  1862. 

Halsey  E.  Philips,  Co. 

Ogden  B.  Philips.  Co. 
of  service,  Sept.  30,  IB04. 

Memo   Phdips,   Co.   B;   disch.   at   expiration 
of  service,  Dec.  9.  1864. 

Thomas   C.  Poynes.  Co.  B  ;  disch.   for  disa- 
bility, Dec.  2,   1862. 
Edward  Poynes,  Co.  B;  disch,  for  disability 
March  9,  1863. 


Edwin  Poynes,  Co.  B;  disch.  at  expiration  of 
service;  Sept.  30,  1864. 

Aaron  J.  Parsons,  Co.  B ;  disch.  at  expiration 
of  service,  Sept.  3C^  1864. 

Charles  A.  Reed,  Co.  B:  disch.  at  expiration 
of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

George  N.  R.  Runyoo,  Co.  B ;  disch.  at  ex- 
piration of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

William  I.  Rogers,  Co.  B;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res. 

Ansel,  Rich,  Co.  B ;  taken  prisoner  at  Chicka- 
mauga  ;   died  at  Andersonvilie,  Ga. 

Roseo  Somes.  Co.  B ;  disch.  for  disabihty. 
June  4,  1862. 

David  Sidley.  Co.  B;  disch.  for  disability, 
July  I,  1862. 

George  Slayton,  Co.  B ;  disch.  to  enlist  in 
regular  service,  Nov,  25,  1862. 

Peter  L,  Schwartz,  Co.  B ;  disch,  to  enlist  in 
regular  service,  Nov.  25,  1862.     ■ 

George  Schwartz,  Co.  B ;  disch.  at  expiration 
of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864- 

Martin  Schwartz,  Co.  B;  died  at  Litchfield, 
Mich..  Feb.  5,  1864. 

James  Sweezey,  Co,  B ;  disch,  at  expiration 
of  service.  Sept,  30,  1864. 

Melvin  Shear,  Co.  B;  disch,  at  expiration  of 
service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

John  G.  Scripture,  Co.  B;  disch.  at  expira- 
tion of  service.  Sept.  30.  1864- 

Joseph  T.  Tindall,  Co.  B;  disch.  for  disa- 
bility, Oct.  28,  1862. 

Wiiham  H.  Tindall,  Co.  B ;  died  at  Murfrees- 
boro', of  wounds. 

George  W,  Taylor,  Co.  B ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res. 

Jonathan    S.   Tindall,   Co.   B ;    disch.   at   ex- 
piration of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 
George  Turpin,  Co.   B ;   disch.  at  expiration 

of  serv'ice,  Sept.  30,  1864. 
George   Upton,    Co,    B;    died    of   disease   at 

Nashville,  Tenn.,  May  23,  1862. 
Geo.   W.    Van   Valkenberg,    Co.   B;    died   at 

Annapolis,  Md„  Feb.  S.  1863. 
James  M.  Van  Camp,  Co.  B ;  disch.  by  order, 

Jan.  31,  1863. 
Tracy   Vaughn;    trans,    to    i6th   Mich.    Inf.. 

Sept.  20,  i86(. 
Jasher  Williams,  Co,  B;   died  of  disease  at 

Bardstown,  Ky.,  March  22,  1862. 
John  C.  Weiler,  Co.  B ;  disch.  for  disability, 

Aug,   10,   1862. 
John    Welch,    Co.    B;    disch.    for    disability, 

April  17,  1863, 
Washington  Whitney,  Co.  B  ;  disch.  by  order. 

May  20.  1865. 
William   A.   Wheeler,   Co.   B;   was   in   battle 

of  Stone  River;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps; 

disch.   in    1864. 
Andrew   Bair,   Co.   C ;    disch.    for   disability, 

Dec.  9,   1861, 
Hnbbard  F.   Ruffiwn,   Co,  D ;   disch,   for  dis- 

aliility.  June  38,  1862. 


,y  Google 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


Henry  Burleson,  Co.  D. 

David  G,  Burleson,  Co.  D;  disch.  at  expira- 
tion  of  service,   Sept.   30,   1864. 

Samuel   A.    Clark,   Co.   D;   died   ot   disease, 
April   I,   1862, 

Jesse  J.  Christy,  Co.  D;  disch.  at  expiration 
of  service,   Sept.  30,   1864. 

John  W.  Coe,  Co.  D;  disch,  at  expiration 
of  service,  Sept.  30,   1864. 

George  Chandler,  Co.  C;  disch.  for  disability, 
Feb.   13,   1862. 

Henry   C.    Cady,   Co.   C;    trans,    to   Medical 
Department,  April   I,  1862. 

Jehiel   Driggs,   Co.   D;   disch.    for   disability. 
May  19,   i86z. 

A.  M.  Dusenberry,  Co.  D;  died  ot  disease, 
Feb.  16,  1863. 

OUver   Evarts,    Co.    D ;    died    of    disease   at 
Nashville,   Tenn,,   March   28,    1863. 

Lyman   Evans,   Co.   D;   disch.   at   expiration 
of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

Charles  W.  Eggleston,  Co.  D;   disch.  at  ex- 
piration of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

James   Ensign,  Co,  A;missing  in  action  at 
Chickamauga,  Sept.   11,   1863. 

William  H.  Edwards,  Co.  D;  disch,  for  dis- 
ability, Aug.  14,  1862. 

George  W.  Griffin,  Co.  D ;  disch.  for  disabil- 
ity, March  6,   1863. 

Anson   T.  Gilbert,   Co.   D;  disch.   at  expira- 
tion of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

John   George,    Co.    D;    disch.    at   expiration 
of  service.  Sept,  30,  1864, 

John   A.   Gary,   Co.    C;   died   ot   wounds   at 
Atlanta,  Ga.,  Aug.  7,  1864, 

John  Henigan,  Co.  D ;  died  of  disease,  March 
28,    1862. 

Richard  M,   Hines,   Co.  D;   died  of  disease, 
Jan.  25,  1S62. 

John  Henderson,  Co.  D;  disch.  for  disability, 
June  10,  1862. 

Daniel  W.   Holbrook,  Co.  A;  disch.   for  dis- 
ability, Oct.  28,  1863. 

Harry  N.  Hamilton,  Co.  D;  disch,  for  disabil- 
ity, Dec.  4,  1863. 

Charles    Hamilton,    Co.    D;    trans,    to    Vet, 
Res.  Corps,  Feb.  i,  1864- 

William   L.    Hoxie,    Co.    D;   died    in   action 
at  Davis'  Cross-Roads,  Ga.,  Sept.  11,  1863. 

Charles  D.  Hamner,  Co.  D;  disch.  at  expira- 
tion of  service.  Sept.  30,  .1864. 

Wellington  Henderson,  Co.  D ;  disch.  at  ex- 
piration of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864- 

Henry  E.  Hallrewer,  Co.  D;  disch.  at  expira- 
tion of  service,  Sept.  30.  1864. 

Jacob  E.  Kenbarger,  Co,  D ;  disch.  by  order, 
May  29,  1865. 

Wm.  H.  T.  Kellnm,  Co.  D ;  disch.  at  expira- 
tion of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

Melvin  J.  Lyon,  Ct).  D;  disch.  at  expiration 

ot  service.   Sept,  30,   1864. 
Samuel  W,  Loring,  Co.  D ;  disch,  at  expira- 
tion of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

Charles  W.  Leigh,  Co,  A ;  disch,  by  order. 


Gordon   Lynch,   Co.   C;   disch.   for  minority, 

Nov.  6,  1861. 
Thomas  McLaughlin,  Co,  D;   disch,  for  dis- 
ability, Oct,  30,   1862, 
Jerome  Milliman,  Co.  D;  disch.  for  disability. 

William   H.   Melville,  Co.   C;  trans,   to  Vet, 
Res.  Corps,  March  15,  1864, 

Harmon  Otto,  Co,  D;  disch,  at  expiration  of 
service,  Sept.  3a  1864 

Henry  Patten.  Co.  C ;  disch,  at  expiration  of 
service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

John  W.  Purdy,  Co.  D;  disch.  at  expiration 
of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

Charles  E,  Purdy,  Co.  D;  disch.  at  expiration 
of  service.  Sept,  30,  1864. 

Jacob    Peeler,    Co,    D;    trans,    to    Vet.    Res. 
Corps,  Dec.  10,   1863. 

John  W.  Quayle,  Co,  D ;  disch.  at  expiration 
of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864, 

Clarkson  Robinson,  Co,  D;  disch,  for  disabil- 
ity, Oct.  30,  1862, 

George  L.  Smith,  Co.  D ;  disch.  for  disability, 
Feb.  20,  1862. 

Stephen  Shippy,  Co.  D;  died  of  disease,  Feb, 
8,  1863. 

Daniel  A.  Shippy,  Co,  D ;  disch,  at  expiration 
of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

David  R.  Smith,  Co.  D ;  disch,  at  expiration 
of  service,   Sept.  30,  1864, 

Homer  C,  Smith,  Co,  D;  disch.  at  expiration 
of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864- 

Jo.seph  Tubbs,   Co,   D;   discharged   for  disa- 
bility, June  20,  1862, 

WiUiam  Tice,   Co.   D;   disch,    for   disability, 
Feb,  28.   1863. 

Charles  A,  Wilber,  Co.  D ;  disch.  at  expira- 
tion of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864, 

Wallace  Wilber,  Co,  D;  disch.  at  expiration 
of  service,  Sept,  30,  1864, 

Ephraim  Warden,  Co,  D;  disch.  at  expiration 
of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

John  H,  Alsdorf,  Co,  H;  disch,  at  expiration 
of  service,  Sept,  30,  1864. 

Mathew  Adams,  Co.  H  ;  disch,  at  expiration 
of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864, 

Solomon  B,  Alsdorf,  Co.  H ;  disch,  at  expira- 
tion of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864, 

William  Black,  Co.  H ;  died  of  disease,  Feb, 
19,  1862, 

Franklin  Bennett,  Co.  H;  died  of  disease  at 
Nashville,  Tenn.,  Dec.  25,  1862. 

George   Blair,   Co,   H ;   disch,    for   disability. 
May  14,  1862. 

Eugene  Barton,  Co.  H ;  disch,  by  civil  author- 
ity, Sept.  27,  1861. 

William  Burroughs,  Co,  H ;  disch,   for  disa- 
bility, July,  1863. 

William  Brown,  Co,  H ;   disch,  at  expiration 
of  service,  Sept,  30,  1864- 

Alfred   G.  Brown,   Co,   H;   disch,   at  expira- 
tion of  service,  Sept.  30,  18&4, 

John  Bennett,  Co,  H  ;  disch.  at  expiration  of 
service.  Sept,  30,  1864, 


lyGoogle 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


26T 


Stephen  Burleson.   Co.  H ;   disch.  at  expira- 
tion of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864, 

Cheater  Bates,  Co.  H ;  disch.  at  expiration  of 
service,  Sept.  ,10,  1864. 

Alphonzo  Bush,  Co.  H ;  disch.  at  expiration 
of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

William  Chamberlain,  Co.  H ;  died  in  action 
at  Stone  River,  Tenn.,  Dec.  31,  i86r. 

George  W.  Carleton,  Co.  H ;  died  of  disease, 
May  12,  1862. 

Henry  Crull,  Co.  H ;  died  of  disease,  Feb.  9, 
1862. 

Hiram  Cusic,  Co.  H;  died  of  disease  at  Nash- 
ville, Tenn.,  Aug,  10,  1863. 

Aretus  Corwin,  Co.  H  ;  disch.   for  disability, 
June  26,  1862. 

Horace   Crull,   Co.   H;    disch.   for   disability, 
April  9,   1862. 

Richard  Chamberlain,  Co.  H;  disch,  for  dis- 
ability, April  29,  i86z. 

Abel   Coon,   Co.   H;   disch.   at  expiration  of 
service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

William  J.   Dates,   Co.   H ;   died   of   disease, 
March  22,  1862. 
-   Orlando  Derry,  Co.  H  ;  disch.  at  expiration 
of  service.  Sept.  30,  1864. 

Seth  L.  Dusenberry.  Co.  H  ;  disch.  at  expira- 
tion of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

Benj.   Eastman,   Co.   H;   died   near   Atlanta, 
Ga.,  of  wounds,  Aug.  7,  1864- 

John  Franklin,  Co.  H ;  disch.  to  enl,  in  reg- 
ular service.  Dec.  8,  1862. 

William  W.  Fell,  Co.  H;  disch.  for  disability, 
Jan.  26,   1864. 

Edwin  S.  Franklin,  Co.  H ;  disch.  at  expira- 
tion of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

George  Franklin,   Co.   H ;   disch.  by  order, 
.Sept.  I,  1863. 

Waiter  M.  Graves,  Co.  H  ;  died  near  at  At- 
lanta,  Ga.,  of  wounds,   Aug.   7,   1864. 

William   H.  Gould,   Co,  H;   died  of  disease. 


Jar 


s  H.  GrifBn.  Co.  H ;  died  of  disi 


Channcey  B,  Green,  Co.  H;  died  in  action  at 

Stone  River,  Dec.  31,  1863. 
George  W.  Geyer,  Co.  H ;  d  ed        at         t 

Stone  River,  Dec.  31,  1863 
Edwin  A.  Green,  Co.  H  :  disci     at  ex.p  rat  on 

of  service.  Sept.  30,  1864. 
George  S.  Griffin,  Co.  H ;  disch   at  enp  rat  on 

of  service,  Sept.  30.  1864, 
John    Green,    Co.    H ;    disci      f  r    d  sab  1  tv 

Sept.  r6,  1861. 
Stillman  Hedge.   Co.   H;   dici     f  d    ea  e     t 

Annapolis,  Md. 
Edwin  Higgins.  Co.  H;  disch    fo    d   abit 
bolomon  Haynes,  Co.  H  ;  d      h    for  d    ab  I 

ity,  Nov.  9,  1863. 
Albert  Hewes,  Co.  H;  disch,     t  e\p  ra  f 

service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 
James   M.   Harris,   Co,   H ;   d  s  1     at  exj    a 

tion  of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864 


Albert  E,  Knappen,  Co  H ;  died  of  disease  at 
Louisville,  Ky.,  May  16,  1862. 

Edward  S.  Knappen,  Co.  H ;  disch.  at  expira- 
tion of  service.  Sept.  30,  1864- 

John  Kesier,  Co.  H ;  disch.  to  enl.  in  regular 
service,  Dec.  8,  1862. 

Anthony  Leversoe,  Co.  H ;  died  of  disease  at 
Bardstown,  Ky.,  Feb.  10,  1862. 

Marvin  Malleson,  Co.  H ;  died  of  disease  at 
Nashville,  Tenn..  Sept.  24,  1862. 

Fay  Mead.  Co.  H ;  died  at  Chattanooga, 
Tenn.,  of  wounds.  Jan.  27,  1864. 

Robert  Machin,  Co.  H ;  died  at  Chattanooga, 
Tenn,.  of  wounds. 

Wni.  Harrison  Mudge,  Co.  H ;  disch,  for  dis- 
ability, Aug.  24,  1862. 

James  Martin.  Co,  H;  disch,  at  expiration  of 
service.  Sept,  30,  1864. 

Newton  Mitchell,  Co,  H;  disch.  at  expira- 
tion of  service.  Sept.  30.  1864. 

George  S.  McKnight,  Co.  H  ;  disch.  at  expira- 
tion of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

Dennis  Myswick,  Co.  H ;  diach.  at  expira- 
tion of  service,  Sept.  30.  1864. 

John  E.  Nichols,  Co.  H  ;  disch.  for  disability, 
Aug.  9,  1862, 

Warren  H.  Newburg,  Co.  H ;  died  of  disease 
at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  June  30,  1863. 

William  Portors,  Co.  H ;  disch.  at  expiration 
of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

Samuel  Phelps.  Co,  H ;  disch.  for  disability, 
June  23,  1862. 

William  P.  Reynolds,  Co.  H :  di.sch.  at  expira- 
tion of  service.  May  3.  1865. 

Lorenzo  D.  Reynolds.  Co.  H  ;  disch.  for  disa- 
bility, March  14,   1863. 

Irving  A.  Sheldon,  Co.  H;  died  of  disease  at 
Murfreesboro',  Tenn.,  Jan,   18,  1863. 

Franklin  Steams,  Co,  H ;  died  of  disease, 
March  10,  1863, 

Edivin  H.  Seabury,  Co.  H;  disch.  for  disa- 
bility, July  7,  1864. 

Anthony  Stevenson,  Co.  H;  died  of  disease 
at  Bardstown,  Ky,,  Feb,  10,  1862, 

Abram  Stowell.  Co.  H ;  trans,  to  Andrews' 
Battery, 

Abram  E,  Stowell.  Co.  H;  trans,  to  Battery 
F,  1st  Lt.  Art.,  Oct.  20,  1861. 

Grove  M.  Tyler,  Co.  H ;  died  of  disease. 
March  10,  1862. 

Charles  O.  Twist,  Co.  H;  disch.  for  disability, 
June  28,  1861. 

Alson  A.  Tifft,  Co.  H ;  di.sch.  for  disability, 
Nov.  21,  1863. 

Andrew  M.  Turner.  Co.  H;  disch.  at  expira- 
tion of  service.  Sept,  3t>,  1864. 

Edward  A.  Turner,  Co.  H ;  disch.  at  expira- 
tion of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

Zibina  G.  Trim.  Co.  H;  disch.  at  expiration 
of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

Joseph  Turner,  Co.  H ;  died  of  disease  at 
White  Pigeon,  Dec,  7,  1861. 

'Harvey  Vanderhoff,  Co.  H ;  died  at  Mur- 
freeslxjro',  Tenn.,  Feb,  4,  1863,  of  wounds. 


yGoogle 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


Harvey  E.  Warren,  Co.  H ;  died  of  disease 
at  Bardstown,  Ky.,  Feb.  2,  1862. 

Warren  Wilcox,  Co.  H;  died  of  disease  at 
Bardstown,  Ky.,  Jan.  15,  1861. 

Wm.  L.  Wheeler,  Co.  H ;  died  of  disease  at 
White  Pigeon,  Mich.,  Nov.  9,  1861. 

Aaron  O.  Wood,  Co.  H;  disch.  for  disability, 
May  25,  iSfe. 

Charles  Whitehead,  Co.  H;  disch,  for  disa- 
bility, June  26,  i863. 

Samuel  E.  Warren,  Co.  H;  disch.  for  disa- 
bility, June  29,  1862. 

Johnson  Wiilson,  Co.  H ;  disch.  for  disability, 
Oct.  21,  1862. 

Charles  Webb,  Co.  H ;  disch.  at  expiration 
of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

Charles  Wilson,  Co.  H;  disch.  at  expiration 
of  service,  Sept.  30,  1864. 

Stephen  V.  Warren,  Co.  H;  trans,  to  Vet, 
Res.  Corps,  Sept.  i,  1863. 

MEMBERS    OF   THE    ELEVENTH    IN- 
FANTRY   (NEW   ORGANIZATION) 
FROM  BRANCH  COUNTY. 
Samuel  A.  Arnold,  Co.  A ;  died  of  di.sease  at 

Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  March  24,  1865. 
Adam  E.  Akenhead,  Co.  B;  must,  out  Sept. 

16,  1865. 
Giles  A.  Bixler,  Co.  A;  must,  out  Sept.  16, 

186s. 
Laurenberg  B.  Brown,  Co,  B ;  must,  out  Sept. 

16,  1865. 
David   H.  Brennan,  Co.  B;   must,  out   Sept. 

16,   1865. 
John  Babb,  Co.  B ;  must,  out  Sept.  r6.  1865. 
Joseph  A.  Bowen,  Co.  B ;  must,  out  May  26, 

186s. 
George  W.  Burdick,  Co.  B;   must,  out  Sept. 

30,  1865. 
Lafayette  Barton,  Co.  B;  must,  out  Sept.  30, 

1865. 
Obadiah    Blass,    Co.    F;    died   of   disease   at 

Nashville.  Tenn.,  April  i,  1865, 
Henry  E.  Burnside,  Co.   F;  must,  out  Sept. 

14.  1865. 
Joseph  B.  Badger,  Co.  F;  must,  out  May  16, 

186S. 
Alvah  J.  Belote,  Co.  I;  must,  out  Sept.  14, 

186s. 
Israel  L.  Bullock,  Co.  I;  must,  out  Sept.  16, 


Herman  Crawford,  Co.  B;  died  of  disease  at 

Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  April  1?,  1865. 
Fred  B.  Cutler,  Co.  B;  died  of  disease  at 

Jackson,  Mich.,  May  24,  1865. 
Augustus  F.  Clark,  Co.  B ;  must,  out  Sept.  16, 

186s. 
Charles  N.  Carpenter,  Co.  A;  must,  out  Sept. 

16.   186s. 

lat   Sept.    16; 


i  C.  Cheney,  Co.  F; 

>5. 

am  L.  Craft,  Co.  I; 


1865. 


*  A.  Corey,  Co,  I ;  must.  1 


t  Sept.   i6, 
t  Sept.  16, 


Obadiah  Davis,  Co,  F;  died  of  disease  at  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio,  July  8,  1865. 
Manly  Dunham,  Co.  B;   must,  out   Sept.   16, 

1865. 
Harvey  Dubois,  Co.   B ;   must,  out  Sept.   16, 

1865. 
Michael   Dunn,   Co.   D;   must,   out   Sept.    16, 

1865. 
Henry  C.   David,  Co.  I ;  must,  out  Sept.  16, 

1865. 
Charles  Davis,   Co.  F;  must,  out  Aug.  29, 

1865- 
Charles  W.  Eggleston,  Co.  F ;  must,  out  Sept, 

16,  1865. 
William  H.  Francis,  Co.  F;  must,  out  May 

18,  iSfis. 
Joseph    Failing,    Co.    B;   died   of   disease    at 

Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  April  24,  1865. 
Francis  Graham,  Co.  A;  must,  out  Sept,  16, 


Charles   Greenman,   Co,   F;   died   of   disease 

at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  April  12,  1865. 
Thomas   Gunthrop,   Co.   F;   must,   out    Sept, 

14,  1S65, 
John   A,   Gregg,   Co,   F;   must,  out   Sept,   16, 

1865, 
Augustus  Gorham,  Co,  I;  must,  out  Sept.  16, 

1865.  . 
Sherebriab  Hayward,  Co,  B ;  died  of  disease 

at  Jackson,  Mich.,  May  24.  1865, 
Norman  F.  Henry,  Co,  B :  died  of  disease  at 

Chattanooga,  May  1,  1865. 
Anthony  K,  Hower,  Co.  B;  must,  out  Sept, 

16,  1865, 
Elmer   E,   Hibbard,   Co,   B;   must,   out   Sept, 

16,  1865. 
John  S,  Houston,  Co,  F;  died  of  disease  at 

Nashville,  Tenn.,  April  4,  1865. 
Edward   A.  Houghtaling,   Co,   F;   must,   out 

Sept,  16,  1865. 
Francis  M,   Hadley,   Co,  F;  must,  out   Sept, 

16,  1865. 
James   Harrington,   Co,    E;   must,   out   Sept. 

16,  1865, 
Alonzo  Howe,  Co.  I ;  must,  out  Sept,  r6,  1865, 
George  D,   Harding,  Co.  I;  must,  out  Sept, 

lb,  1865. 
James  W,  Harris,  Co,  K;  must,  out  Sept.  16, 

1865. 
Harlow  M,  Holcomb,  Co.  K;  must,  out  July 

26,  1865, 
Joseph   Jenkins,   Co,    F;    died   of   disease   at 

Nashville,  Tenn.,  June  6,  1865. 
Jacob  E.  Kenbarger,  Co.  D ;  disch,  by  order, 

June  20,  1865. 
Daniel   Keeler,  Co,  B;  must,  out  Sept.  16, 


lyGoogle 


Norris   Kellaii,    Co.   F;    must 

1865. 
Benj-   P.  Ljons,  Co.   B;  must 

1865. 
Joel  Loomis,  Co.  B;  must,  01 1 
Eber  Loomis,  Co.  B;  must,  oil 
Charles  Lewis,  Co.  B ;  must 

186s. 
Charles  H.  Liiidsley,  Co.  I ;  r 

16.  1865, 
John  E.  Mills,  Co.   B;  must 

1865. 
Lester   Miller,    Co.   B;   must 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

.    Sorter    Co.   B ; 


Se(t  j6  i86i; 
Sep  16  1865 
o   t   '^pt      6 

St    o  t  Sept 

ut    Sept      6 
t        t  Sept 
out  bept    16 
Na'ih 


269 


Joseph  L.  Milligan.  Co.  B;  t 

16,  1865. 
Walter  Marshall,  Co.  B;  must    out 

1865. 
Zenas  Niks,  Co.  B ;  died  of  d  sea-ie 

ville,  Teim.,  Aprils,  1865. 
Gilbert  S.  Norton,  Co.  I ;  must   o  t  Sept      ■; 

1865. 

Wm.  H.  Needham,  Co.  I ;  m     t        t  0  t    14 

1865. 
Byron  Riistine,  Co.  I ;  nnist.  out  Sept.  16, 
-      Ms. 
Hiram   Rustiiie,   Co.   I ;   must,   out   Sept.   30, 

1865. 
Horace  J.  Robinson,  Co.  I ;  died  of  disease  at 

Chattanooga.  Tenn,,  May  11,  1865. 
Emmons  Russell,   Co.   C ;  died  of  disease  at 

Nashville,  Tenn.,  May  30,  1865. 
Albert  Richmond,  Co.  C ;  must.  1 


1S65. 
Jerome   Ralph,    Co.   B;   must. 

1865. 
Charles  H.  Robinson,  Co.  B ;  1 

16,  1865, 
Solomon   W.   Robinson,    Co. 

Sept.   16,  1865. 
Lucien  E.  Rowe,  Co.  B;  musl 

1865. 
Orlando  H,  Richardson,  Co.  I 

ease  at  Chattanooga,  May 
William    A,    Sweetland,    Co. 

Sept.  16.  1865. 
John  H,   Stockwell,   Co.  B;   ti 

iS,   1865. 
David  A.   Steel,  Co.  B;  must 

1865. 
George  W.   Sexton,   Co.   B ;  ii 

16,  1865. 
James  N.  Sorier,  Co,  B  ;  musi 


Sept.  1(5, 

out  Sept.  16, 

;  died  of  dis- 

1865. 
i;    must,    out 

1st,   out   Sept. 

out   Sept.   16, 

ist,   out  Sept, 

out  Sept,  16, 


Pa   1  Sh  filer  Co,  B ;  must,  out  Sept.  i5,  186; 
Charles   Stuart    Co.   C;    must,   out   July   li 

186=; 
Wllam   St  dley    Co.  C;  must,  out  Sept,   if 

1865 
^nlre      S  tfers    Co,   C;  must,  out   Sept,   16, 


Josei  1    H   SI   ppy,  Co.  C ;  n 


Tohn  S     tl    Co  E; 
George  E    SI  ermar 

16    1865 
John  G   S 


I,  Co.  I; 
-,  Co.  I;  mu 
Co,  I;  musl 
Co,   I;   mus 


/cbedee   S  la 

CeorKe  T  rp 

1865 
Martn  \a    lerhoff,   Co,   B;   mus 

16    186s 
Kll   n    Voorlees,  Co,  B;  must,  t 

1865, 
Jacob  A.  Vanorys,   Co.  H  ;   mvis 

16,  1865. 
Abraham  Vancuran,  Co,  H  ;  mut 

16,  1865, 


t  Sept.  30, 
t  16, 

Sept,  28, 

out  Sepf, 
t  Sept,  16, 
out  Sept. 
out  Sept. 


Daniel  Wolf,  Co.  B ;  died  of  disease 

land,  Ohio.  May  29,  1865. 
Almon  L.  Wright,  Co.  B;  died  of  disease 

Nashville,  Tenn.,  June  27,   1865. 
W.  Whitney.  Co,  B;  must,  olit  June  16,  181 
Henry  W.  Waterbury,  Co.  B;  must,  out  Se 


i,  Co.  I 


16, 
Henry  C.  Willia 

1865, 
Wilson  Wyland.   Co,   C;  mu 

1865. 
J,  W,  Walls,  Co,  E;  must,  o 
Andrew   E,  Wilbur,  Co.   F; 

16.   1865. 
Calvin  C.  Weaver,  Co,  F;  mi 

1865. 
Amos  Whitman,  Co.  I ;  mui 

1865. 
Storrs   Wilbur,   Co,   I;   mus 

1865. 
Tohn  Weaver,  Co.  I ;  must,  o 
William   H.  Weller,   Co,   I; 

16,  1865. 
Martin  H,  Williams,  Co.  I; 

16,  1865. 


list,  out  Aug, 
t.  out  Sept.  16, 
t  May  IS,  i86e 

St,  out  Aug,  12 

.  out  Sept,  16 

out   Sept,    16 

It  Aug,  7, 
lust.  out   Sept, 

nust,  out  Sept, 


The  Fifteenth  Michigan  Infantry,  raised  at  Monroe  and  containing  54 
men  from  Branch  county,  left  camp  in  March,  1S62,  for  the  western  cam- 
paigns, participated  at  Pittsburg  Landing  in  April  1862 ;  at  Corinth ;  in  the 
siege  of  Vicksburg;  was  in  Sherman's  Atlanta  campaign,  and  also  in  the 
march  to  the  sea  and  through  the  Carolinas;  was  discharged  at  Detroit. 
Sept.  I,  1865. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


MEMBERS  OF  THE   FIFTEENTH   IN- 
.     FANTRY  FROM  BRANCH  COUNTY. 
Rufus  Kibbee,  surgeon;  enl.  April  9,  1862; 

res.  Oct.  3,  1862. 
Benjamin  Archer,  Co.   A;   died   in  action   at 

Shiloh,  Tenn.,  April  6,  1862. 
Chauncey  Araes,  Co,  F;  must,  out  Aug,   13, 

186s. 
John  Brower,  Co,  A;  disch.  Sept.  8,  1862. 
Lewis  F.  Bassett,  Co,  A;  died  near  Atlanta, 

Ga.,  June  17,  iSSS- 
Abner  R.  Beebe,  Co,  A ;  disch.  by  order,  July 

10,  1865. 
Henry  Ballard,  Co,  B;  must,  out  Aug.  13. 
Oscar   BIo?s,   Co.   E;   disch.  by   order,   Sept, 

u,  1865. 
Daniel  S.  Burdick,  Co.  H ;  must,  out  Aug.  13, 

i86s, 
Jacob  Beam,  Co.  K ;  must,  out  Aug.  13.  1865. 
George  Babcock,  Co.  K;   must,  out  Aug.  13, 

1865. 
George   W.   Clark,   Co.   A;   disch.   by   order, 

Aug.  5,  1865. 
Martin  Cass.  Co,  G;  must,  out  Aug.  13.  1865. 
Horace   E.   Dalton,   Co.   A;   disch,  by  order, 

Nov,  18,  1865. 
George  W.  Fenton,  Co,  A ;  disch,  for  disabil- 
ity, June  14,  1862. 
Samuel    Fry,   Co.   A ;    disch.   by   order,   Oct. 

18,  1863, 
Edwin  J.  Fields,  Co.  A;  must,  out  Aug.  13. 

1865. 
David  Fox,  Co.  K;  must  out.  Aug,  13,  1865. 
Samuel   A.    Grice,   Co.   H ;   disch.   by  order, 

May  31,  1865. 
Miner   S,   Hoyt,   Co,  A;   died   of   disease  at 

Corinth.  Miss,,  May  25,  1862. 
Lewis  W.  Hilton,  Co.  H ; 


Simon   Mathews,  Co,  H;  mus 

1865, 
Edgar  Osburn,   Co,   K;   must 

t,  out  Aug.  13, 

.  out  Aug.  13, 

James  Holliday,   Co.   K ;  must. 

1865. 
Henry   Hudson,   Co.   C;   must.   1 

1865. 
Watslip  Kahoiit,  Co.  H ;  must.  . 

1865. 
Wm.  H.  Laniberton,  Co.  H ;  mt 

13.  1865. 
Wesley  Morse,  Co.  A ;  disch.  for  disability, 

Nov.  26,  1862. 
Charles  McClure,  Co.  A;  disch.  to  re-eni,  in 

Vet.  Res.  Corps,  Feb.  18,  1864. 
Wilson  McClure,  Co.  A ;  must,  out  Aug.  13, 


ut  Aug.  13, 
It  Aug.  13, 
t  Aug.  13, 
it  Aug,  i,i, 
:.  out  Aug. 


David  Rich,  Co.  K ;  must,  out  Aug.  13,  1865, 

Nelson  Richardson,  Co,  A ;  disch,  for  disa- 
bility, Feb.  28,  1863. 

Elijah  Ransome,  Co.  H;  must,  out  Aug,  13. 
1865. 

David  Shook,  Co.  A;  disch.  for  disability, 
March  4,  1863. 

Edwin  J.  Start,  Co.  A;  died  of  disease  at 
Shiloh,  Tenn.,  June  13,  1862. 

Edward  Sawdey,  Co.  C;  died  of  disease  at 
Camp  Denison,  Ohio,  March  8 


Charles  Sheldon,  Co.  G;  n 

1865. 
Amos  Stokes,  Co,  H ;  must,  ou 
Sylvester  E,  Spencer,  Co,  H ; 

13.  '865. 
Henry  J.  Smith,  Co,  K;  mus 

1865. 
John  W.  Stafford,  Co.  K;  mu' 

1865. 


t  Aug.   13, 


t  Aug,   13, 
It  Aug,  13, 


Shalon,  Co.  K';  disch,  for  disability, 

Jime  25,  18-. 
James  Ihornton,  Co.  H;  must,  out  Aug.  13, 

1S6S. 
Jacob  H.    i  erry,   Co.   K;  must,  out  Aug.   13, 


Charles  Thompson,   Co.  K ;   must. 


t  Aug. 


John  Watson,  Co.  A;  died  of  disease  near 
Camp  Stevenson,  Ala.,  Dec,  15,  1863. 

Isaac  Walburn,  Co.  A;  must,  out  Aug.  13, 
1865. 

Thomas  C.  Winters.  Co.  A ;  disch.  for  disa- 
bility, Nov.  7.   1862. 

Joseph  Woods,  Co.  B;  must,  out  Aug.  11, 
1865. 

Niics  Whipple.  Co.  K;  must,  out  Aug.  13, 
1865, 

John  Warfield,  Co.  K;  disch.  by  order,  May 
30,  1865. 

Charles  Wilkinson.  Co.  K;  disch.  for  disa- 
Wlity,  June  5.  1865, 

George  S.  Warner,  Co.  K;  must,  out  Aug. 
13.  1865, 


The  Sixteenth  Michigan  Infantry,  which  contained  a  small  number  of 
men  from  Branch,  was  in  the  Virginia  campaigns,  its  most  important  en- 
gagements being  Malvern  Hill,  second  Bull  Run,  Antietam,  Fredericksburg, 
the  Wilderness  and  siege  of  Petersburg.  Was  disbanded  at  Jackson  Mich,, 
July  25,  1865. 


,y  Google 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


MEMBERS  OF-  THE  SIXTEENTH  IN- 
FANTRY FROM  BRANCH  COUNTY. 

Earl  M.  Aikiii,  Co.  E;  died  of  disease  in  the 
field  in  Vii^inia,  June  u,  i865- 

Levi  Beecher,  Co.  E;  must,  out  July  8.  1863. 

George  W.  Catlin,  Co,  C;  died  of  disease 
near  Sharpsburg.  Va.,  Oct.  26,  1862. 

John  W.  Croft.  Co.  I :  disch.  by  order  June 


Willia 


186s. 


Dillor 


St.   out   July   8. 

Jut  July  8,  1865. 
July  8.  i86s. 
Lit  July  8,  1865. 
Dut  July  8,  1865. 
ust.  out  July  8. 


Adam  Hower,  Co.  G;  must,  out  July  8.  186.S- 
Robert  Herot,  Co.  G ;  must,  out  July  8,  1865. 
Abram  Mosler,  Co.  C. 
Aionzo   Meyers.   Co.   C;   died   of   disease   at 

Davis  hosp..  N.  Y.,  May  8i,  1865. 
Jesse  Maim,  Co.  H ;  must,  out  July  8,  1865. 
James  H.  Nye,  Co.  G;  mtiat,  out  July  8,  186.^. 
Lawrence  M.  Nye,  Co.  H;  must,  out  July  8. 

1865. 
Joseph  Rounge,  Co.  G;  disch.  by  order,  June 

13-  1865. 
Joseph  Webb,  Co.  C ;  must,  out  July  8,  1865. 
John  H,  Warren,  Co.  F;  must,  out  July  8. 


Leonard  Dean,  Co,  E;  must, 
Levi  Dicey,  Co.  E ;  must,  oi 
Evelin  Earl,  Co,  E;  must.  1 
John  C.  Geedy,  Co.  E ;  must. 
Beni.  F.  Hanford,  Co.  C;  r 
i86s. 

The  Seventeenth  Michigan  Infantry,  which  was  the  first  regiment  to 
leave  the  state  in  response  to  the  president's  call  for  "  three  hundred  thou- 
sand more  "  in  Jul\',  1862,  left  Detroit  in  August,  1862,  for  Washington. 
Participated  at  South  Mountain  and  Antietam;  in  March,  i86'3.  was  sent 
.  west  to  Kentucky;  was  on  duty  in  the  Mississippi  valley  until  March,  1864. 
when  it  joined  Grant's  army  in  Virginia,  and  engaged  in  the  Wilderness 
battles,  at  Spottsylvania.  and  the  siege  and  final  assault  on  Petersburg. 
Took  pnrt  in  the  grand  review  and  was  mustered  out  at  Washington  June  3, 
1865. 


MEMBERS    OF    THE    SEVENTEENTH 

INFANTRY  FROM  BRANCH 

COUNTY. 

Henry  B.  Androus,  Coldwater,  capt.,  Co.  C ; 
enl,  June  i?,  1862;  captured  at  Spottsylva- 
nia, Va.,  May  12,  1864;  escaped,  Jan.  6, 
1865 ;  must,  out  with  re^.,  June  3.  1865. 

Charles  A.  Edmonds.  Quincy;  pro.  to  capt., 
Co.  H,  June  17,  1862,  from  ist  lieut..  Bat. 
A.,  1st  Lt.  Art,,  May  28,  1861 ;  wounded  in 
action  at  South  Mountain,  Sept.  14,  1862; 
honorably  disch.  for  wounds,  Jan.  16.  1863, 

Benjamin  F.  Clark,  Quincy;  2d  iieut.,  Co.  I: 
enl.  June  17,  1862;  wounded  in  battle  of 
Soiith  Mountain,  Sept.  14,  1862 ;  honorably 
disch.  for  wounds,  Jan,  16,  18O3. 

Daniel  Holway,  Coldwater;  ad  lieut..  Co.  C; 
enl.  Feb.  24,  1863;  pro.  to  1st  lieut,  Sept. 
ig,  1863;  pro.  to  capt,,  Jan.  6,  1865;  bvt.- 
maj.;  April  2,  1865;  must,  out  with  reg., 
June  3,  186s. 

Josiah  Billingsby,  Coldwater ;  2d  lieut. ;  enl, 
July  4,  1863;  pro.  to  1st  lieut.,  Oct.  ig, 
1863;  killed  in  a  skirmish  near  Knoxville, 
Tenn.,  Nov.  20,  1863, 

Joseph  Bailey,  Co.  C;  died  in  action  at  Spott- 
sylvania. Va-,  May  is.  1864. 

Charles   Barber,   Co.   H;    must,   out  June   3, 


John  Cory,  Co.  H  ;  must. 
Charles  R,  Cory,   Co.  H; 


,1865. 


Lyman  L,  Colby,  Co.  H ;  must,  out  June  3, 
186s. 

Jesse  D.  Critchfield,  Co,  H ;  disch,  for  disa- 
bility, Feb.  4-  1863. 

Riciiard  C.  Chamberlain,  Co.  C ;  disch.  for 
disability,  Jan.  5,  1863. 

Burr  Clark,  Co.  C;  must,  out  by  order,  June 
17,  1865. 

George  M.  Dalley,  Co.  H  ;  died  in  action  at 
Spottsylvania,  Va.,  May  12,  1864. 

John  F.  Evans,  Co.  G;  died  of  disease  at 
Washington,  D.  C,  Feb,  22,  1863. 

Milo  Greenfield,  Co.  C;  must,  out  June  3, 
1865. 

Frisbie  Hutchinson,  Co.  C;  disch.  by  order, 
June  10,  1865. 

James  Heller,  Co.  H ;  died  in  action  at  South 
Mountain,  Md.,  Sept.  14.  1862. 

Andrew  J.  Hawse,  Co.  H;  disch.  for  disa- 
bility, Dec.  29,  1862. 

Samuel  Harmon,  Co.  H ;  disch.  tor  disability, 
Feb.  6,  1863. 

Danie!    Heller,    Co.    H;    must,    out   June    3, 

ms. 

Moses  E.  LaiTghlin,  Co,  H  ;  taken  prisoner  in 

action  at  Knoxville.  Term. ;  died  at  Ander- 

sonville,  Aug.  17,  1864. 
William  Hillman,   Co.  H  ;   missinc  in  action 

at  Knoxville,  Tenn,.  Nov.  29,  1863. 
Leonard    E.    Minor,    Co.    C ;    died    Dec.    26, 

1862,  of  wounds,  at  Antietam. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


Alfred   Milnes,   Co.   C;   disch,   for  disability, 

June  3,  i86s.  ,     ,  .„ 

Henry  McNall,   Co.  A;  disdi.   for  disability, 

March  4  1865. 
James  K.  P.  Meddaugh,  Co.  H ;  disch.  by  or- 
der, June  5,  186s. 
John  Nepass,  Co,  H :  must,  out  Juiie  3.  1865- 
George    Otis,    Co.    H ;    disch.    for   disability, 

Feb.  4,  1^53. 
John  Fetch,  Co.  C ;  died  in  action  at  SpottsyJ- 

vania.  May  12,  1864. 
David  S.  Piatt,  Co.  C ;   died  of  disease  at 

Frederic kville,  Md.,  Dec.   12,  1862. 
Charles  F.  Potter,  Co.  H;  must,  out  June  3. 

1865. 
David  Rapp,  Co.  C ;  must,  out  June  3,   1865. 
Charles  Rapp,  Co.  C;  dishonorably  disch.  by 

order,  July  rs,  1865. 
Andrew  P.  Smith,  Co.  E ;  died  at  Anderson- 

viile.  Ga. 
Wiiiiam  Sprague,  Co,  G;  trans,  to  2d  Mich. 

Inf. 
Henry   E,   Sisson,  Co.  H;  must-  out  June  3, 

1865. 


Alfred  J.  Teachoul,  Co.  C;  disch.  for  disabil- 
ity, Jan.  I,  1863. 

Julius  M.  Tompkins,  Co.  C ;  died  in  action  at 
Spottsylvania,  Va.,  May  12,  1864. 

Anson  M.  Vicory,  Co.  C ;  disch.  by  order, 
Feb.  S3.  1863. 

Wallace  Wdler,  Co.  C;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res. 
Corps,  Feb.  15,  1864. 

Charles  Weller,  Co.  C;  must,  out  June  3, 
1865. 

Paris  C.  Whiting,  Co,  C;  must,  out  June  3, 
1865. 

William  S.  Wood,  Co.  C;  must,  out  June  3, 
1865. 

George  Whitten,  Co.  C;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res. 
Corps,  May  15,  1864. 

Garrett  C.  Whitesides,  Co.  H ;  trans,  to  Vet. 
Res.  Corps,  Feb.  15,  1864. 

Aaron  V.  Waterbuty,  Co.  H;  killed  by  ex- 
plosion of  steamer  "Sultana,"  on  Missis- 
sippi River,  April  28,  1865. 

Elli^i  W.  Yates,  Co.  B ;  died  of  disease  at 
Camp  Nelson,  Ky.,  March  30,  1864. 


The  Nineteenth  Regiment  of  Infantry,  raised  in  summer  nf  1862,  is  of 
special  interest  to  Branch  county.  Companies  C  and  H  were  entirely  from 
Branch  county,  besides  fifty  or  sixty  men  scattered  through  the  other  com- 
panies. The  commanding  officer  was  Colonel  Henry  C.  Gilbert,  of  Cold- 
water,  who  died  from  wounds  received  in  action.  The  regiment  left  for  the  _ 
front  in  September,  1862.  was  assigned  to  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland;  was 
captured  in  the  desperate  battle  at  Franklin,  in  March,  1863;  regiment  was 
reorganized  at  Camp  Chase,  Ohio,  and  was  again  in  the  field  by  June,  1863; 
in  1S64  started  on  the  Georgia  campaign  with  Sherman,  took  part  in  the  siege 
and  capture  of  Atlanta,  and  thence  inarched  to  the  sea ;  it  engaged  in  the 
Carolina  campaign  until  the  surrender  of  Johnston,  and  was  nuistered  out 
at  Washington  June  10,  1865. 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  IN- 
FANTRY FROM  BRANCH  COUNTY. 

Henry  C.  Gilbert,  Coldwater;  col,;  enl.  Aug. 
8,  1862;  died  at  Chattanooga,' May  24,  1864, 
of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Resaca, 
Ga.,  May  15,  1864- 

Isaac  Coggeshall,  Coldwater;  chaplain;  enl. 
Aug.  5,  1862;  res.  Sept.  6,  1863. 

Hamlet  B.  Adams,  Coldwater;  ist  lieut.  and 
adjt.;  enl.  Aug.  14,  1862;  pro.  to  capt.. 
May  I,  1863 ;  roust,  out  July  5,  1865. 

Charles  P.  Lincoln,  Coldwater;  capt,,  Co.  C; 
enl.  July  28,   l86z;  res.  April  26,  1864. 

George  H.  White,  Coldwater;  capt,,  Co.  H; 
enl,  July  28.  1862, 

Smith  W,  Fisk,  Coldwater;  ist  lieut.;  enl. 
July  28,  1862;  res.  Jan.  31,  1863. 

Lucius  M,  Wing,  Coldwater ;  2d  lieut. ;  enl. 
July  28,  1862;  pro.  to  ist  lieut.,  May  I, 
1863;  q.-m„  May  25,  1864;  must,  out  June 
10,  186s,  with  regt. 


Timothy  G,  Turner,  Coldwater ;  rst  lieut.  and 

q.-m.;  enl.  Nov.  18,  1862;  res.  May  25,  1864. 
James    A.    Shoecraft,    Coldwater;   2d    lieut.; 

enl.  July  28,  1862;  ist  lieut..  May  i,  1863; 

wounded    at    Thompson's    Station,    Tenn., 

March  5,  1863;  res.  Jan.  11.  1864. 
Lucius  Phetteplace,  Coldwater;  2d  heut. ;  enl. 

May  I,  1863;  capt..  Oct.  28,  1863;  must,  out 

June  10.  1865,  with  regt. 
William    M.    Norris,    Coldwater;    2d    lieut.; 

enl.  Dec,  i.  1863;  capt.,  Oct.  28,  1864;  res. 

Nov.  4,  1864. 
Lucien   B.   Barnhart,   Union;   2d   lieut.;   enl. 

Jan.  23,  1864;  ist  lieut.,  Oct,  28,  1864;  capt, 

regt. 
William   L.   Tyler,   Batavia;    ist   lieut.;   enl. 

Oct.  28,  1864;  capt.,  Jan.  15,  1865;  must,  out 

June  10,  1865,  with  regt. 
George  A.  Russell,  Girard;  ist  lieut,,  Co.  C; 

enl.  Oct.  28,  1864;  capt..  May  8,  1865;  must. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


ont  June  lo,  with  regt, ;  in  all  the  battles 
in  nlnch  the  regiment  took  part,  Thomp- 
son's Station,  Atlanta,  Savannah,  Benton- 
ulk   etc 

Joseph  M  Alexander,  CoMwater;  2d  lieut. ; 
enl  May  25,  1864,  ist  lieut.  and  adjt.,  June, 
1865 ;  must,  out  June  10,  1865,  with  regt. 

John  J.  Morsman ;  2d  lieut. ;  must,  out  June 
10.  1865,  with  regt. 

Hamilton  S.  Miles;  2d  lieut,;  must,  out  June 
10,  1865,  with  regt. 

Henry  Butler;  2d  lieut.;  must,  out  June  lo, 
1865,  with  regt. 

Company  C. 

Asa  Alexander,  dJseh.  for  disability,  July  30, 
1863. 

Henry  Austin,  died  of  disease  at  Danville, 
Ky..  Jan.  5.  1863. 

Alonzo  Berry,  died  of  diseaw  at  Nicholas- 
ville,  Ky-,  Dec.  27,  1862. 

Chauncey  L.  Brown,  died  of  disease  at  Lex- 
ington, Ky„  Feb.  9,  1863. 

Franklin  M.  Barnes,  must,  out  June  10,  1865. 

Samuel  Bates,  must,  out  June  10,  1865. 

'George  W.  Brown,  must,  out  June  10,   1865. 

Henrv  Buller.  must  out  June  10,  1865. 

Alfred  Beddell,  must,  out  June  10,  1865. 

Harris  A.  Burke,  must,  out  July  5,  1865, 

J.  C.  L.  Baughman,  diseh.  for  disability,  May 
13,  1865. 

William  H.  Bryan,  disch.  for  disability.  May 
9,  1865. 

Jacob  Doff  Bary,  disch.  for  disability,  May  7, 
1S63. 

Aaron   Bnffum,   disch.  for   wounds,  July  27, 


Samuel  Colsin,  must,  out  May  20,  1865. 
Don  A.  Cole,  must,  out  June  10,  1865. 
Thomas  Colan,  must,  out  June  10,  1865. 
Charles   H.    Demoresl,   must,   out   June    10, 

1865. 
John    Demo  rest,    died    of    disease    at    Camp 

Chase,  Ohio,  May  9,  1863. 
Charles   S.   Davis,   disch.   for  disability,  Jan. 

5.  1863. 
Benj.  V.  Draper,  disch.  for  disability,  April 

.10,  1863. 
Joseph  R,    Dickinson,   disch.    for    disability. 

May  22,  1863, 
Thomas  J.  Evans,  must,  out  June  10,  1865. 
William  Finch,  must,  out  June  10,  1865, 
E,  R.   French,  disch.   for  disability,   Oct.  24, 

1863, 
William  H.  Fonda,  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps, 

April   10;  disch.  July  15,  1865. 
Giles  G.  Gordon,  disch,  for  disability,  July  8, 

1864. 


Erastus  R.  Green,  died  in  action  at  Thomp- 
son's Station,  Tenn..  March  5,  1863. 

Orson  Gage.  must,  out  June  10,  1865. 
Stephen  Gilbert,  must,  out  June  10,  1865. 

Stephen  L.  Hawley,  must,  out  June  10,  1865. 
Henry  Halleck,  must,  out  June  10,  1865. 

Julius  Herriff,  must,  out  May  27,  1865. 

Freeman  Havens,  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps, 
April  26,  1864. 

Amos  L.  Hervey,  died  at  Columbia,  Tenn,, 
March  8,   1863,  of  wounds. 

Edward   Hewitt,   must,   out   June  8,    1865. 

Geo,   W,   Hewitt,   disch.    for   disability.   May 
II,  1863. 

George  W,  Jackson,  must,  out  June  ro,  1865. 

David  Johns,   disch,    for   disability,   Dec.    10, 
1862. 

Hiram    G,   June,    died    at    Nashville.    Tenn,, 
March  10,  1863,  of  wounds. 

Charles  Kirk,  died  of  disease  at  Chattanooga, 
Tenn,,  Jan,  30,  1865, 

Augustus  Lord,  must,  out  June  10,  1865, 

Charles   Lindsey,    disch,    for    disability,   Oct, 
13,  1863, 

Thomas   Munyon.  died  of  disease  at  Gravel 
Point,  Ohio,  Oct.  5,  1862. 

George  Miller,  must,  out  June  10,  1865. 

Hamilton  S.  Miles,  must,  out  June  10,  1865, 

George  J.  F.  Miller,  must,  out  June  10,  1865, 

Daniel  J.  Massey,  must,  out  June  10,  1865, 

Erasmus  R.  Moore,  disch,  for  disability,  Aug, 
6.  1864. 

Noble  N.  Marks,  trans,   to  Vet.  Res,   Corps, 
Nov.  I,  1863, 

John   Phineas,  died  of   disease   at   Nashville, 
Tenn.,  March   12,  1863, 

Joseph   Polite,   disch.   for   wounds,   Aug,    ig, 
1863, 

Erastus  W,   Page,  died  o£  wounds,  July  20, 
1864, 

William  L.  Parker,  died  of  woimds  at  Resaca, 
Ga„  May  25,  1864, 

Charles  J.   Pope,  trans,   to  Vet,   Res,   Corps, 
March  15,  1864;  disch.  July  5,  1865, 

Eleazur  Pbst,  must,  out  June  10,  1865, 

John  Post,  disch.  Nov.,  1863, 

Andrew  Pender,  must,  out  June  10,  1865, 

Philip  Pitcher,  must,  out  June  10,  1865, 

Leander  Steveris,  must,  out  June  10,   186=;. 

Ora   B.   Stevens,  must,   out  June   10,   1865. 

George  D.  Sinclair,  died  of  di.sease  at  Atlanta, 
Ga,,  July  18,  1864, 

Calvin  D,   Strong,  died   of  disease   at   Cold- 
water,  Mich.,  Sept.  s,  1864. 

Mark  H.  Smith,  died  of  disease  at  Danville, 
Ky,.  Jan,  10,  1863, 

Ery  W.  Taylor,  diach,  for  wounds. 

George  Tottingham,  died  at  Thompson's  Sta- 
tion. Teim,,  March  5,  1863,  of  wounds, 

Newell  W.  Thomas,  must,  out  June  10,  1865, 

Edward  H,  Tullman.  must,  out  June  10,  1865, 

Cyrus  J.  Titus,  must,  out  June  10,  1865. 

Daniel    S,    Vanblarcom,   must,   out   June    10, 


lyGoogIc 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


Martin  Vinbhrcom   mtist   out  June  lO   iS&i? 
George   W     Wh  tehead    must    out  June   30 

i86s 
Edward  C    Wilcox    must    rut  June  10   i8fi, 
Jedediah  Wilcox  m  st  out  J  me  10   1865 
Charlei  H    West    died  at  Re^aca    Ga     May 

16,  1864   of  wounds 
George  W    Worden    died  July  20   1864- 
Beiijamm  WiIlox    disch    for  dLsability    Feb 

1.  i%l 
Robert  \\  illiams    trans    to  loth  MlcIi    Inf 
Sergt.  Whalej    died  of  disease  at  Nicholas 

ville    Ky     Jan    10    i86i 
John  Zwener  mu*;!  out  J  uie  10   1865 
John    B    \an    Orm  in    di  ch     for    disability 

Maj  6   1863 
William  R   \  an  Orman   disch    for  disal  ihtv 

June  17   1863 

Company  H 
Walter   J     fallen     died   of   di-^ease   at   Cimp 

Chase   Ohio   March   1863 
Heman  Batterson    died  in  action  it  Thomp 

son's  Station   Tenn    Man.h  S   1863 
Elisha  J   Brown   must   out  June  10   1865 
Delos  Bates    mu'^t    out  June  10    iSe^; 
James  H    Baker   disch   for  disability    March 

1863 
Francis   F    Carle    disch    for   disability    Feb 
1863 


D,  V.  B    Cushman   must   out  Tune  10   1863 
Calvin  C  mmings   must   out  June  10   i86i; 
Edward  B   Cook   must  out  June  10   1865 
Alfred  Chenej    must   out  June  10    1865 
Henrj     R     Canfield     disch     for    promotion 

No\     T    1864 
Charles  S   Davis   disch    for  disabihtv   Jan  S 

1863 
William  Deoue   died  in  action  at  Thorn p -ion  s 

Station   Tenn     March  5   1863 
Alonzo  Dickerson  trans   to  Vet   Re     Corps 
Amos  Darwin  must  out  June  10  1865 
William  Effis   must   out  June  10   ift6=; 
Jonathan   Edwards     died  of   disease  at   An 

iiapolis    Md     April  12    1863 
Jefferson    J     Eistman     must     out    June    10 

1865 
Martin   Elliott    d  sch    for  disability  May  16 

1863 
Francis  Fuller    disch  for  disab  lity    July   13 

1863 
Benjamin  Fuller    died  of  d  sease  at  Chatta 

nooRa    Tenn    July  2    1864 
Jesse  W    Fetterl\     died  of  disease  at  Jeffer 

soniille   Oct   8   1864 
John  ^   Fetterly   must   out  June  10   186=; 
Joseph  A   Fetterlj    must    out  June   10    186'^ 
George  W   Fetterly   must   out  June  10   1865 
Terrence  T    Goodwin    disch    for  promotion 

Dec   2    1863 
William  F    Gillett    must    o  it  Tune  10    1865 
James  E   Gibbs   must   out  Jme  10   i86j 


\  et     Res 


Philo    P.    Henderson 

Corps,  Dec   15    1863 
Barnard  Haw  ley    mu  t    out  June  10    186; 
Charles  F,  Housman  must  out  June  3   1865 
Henry  Harmen   must   out  June  15    1865 
L.  O,  Halsted    died  in  action  at  Thompson  s 

Station,  of  wounds    March  %    i86i 
Charles  Jordan  must  out  June  10  i%s 
William  A.  Jordan    must    out  June  10    186 
Charles  Kirk   died  of  disease  at  Chaltanoogj 

Tenn.,  Jan   30   1865 
Harrison  H   Kendig  must   out  June  10   1865 
Robert  Kelso   must   out  June  10    186'; 
Reuben  Lyter   must   out  June  10    1865 
Wilson  S.  Lyily  must  out  June  10   1865 
Harlan    P.    Law  rence     disch     for    disability 

January,   1863. 
Marion  R.  Morritt,  disch,  for  disability,  July 

7.  1863. 
Edward  V.  Monroe,  must,  out  June  so,  1865. 
Horatio  A.  Moody,  must,  out  June  10,  1865- 
John  J.  Horseman,  must,  out  June  10,  1865. 
Thomas  Mathews,  died  of  disease  at  Dan- 
ville, Ky„  Nov.  24,  1862. 
Joseph   Moritan,   trans,   to   Vet.   Res.    Corps, 

No\    I    1863 
E  N  Nulendy  died  of  disease  at  \nnapolis 

Md    March    i86i 
Enoch    Olney    disch     for   disability    Oct    4 

1864 
Thomas  E    Pierce    must   out  Tune  26    1865 
Nelson  C   Peckh-lm   must   out  June  10   l86i; 
John  Paul   must   out  June  to    1865 
Mnnnoah  Roshon    must   out  June  10   186 
Harrison   Rockafellow     must     out   June    10 

1865 
McKenzie  Sumner  disch   forprimotian   Dec 

2    1863 
Henrj  SiufDrd  Sr    must  out  June  10  i86s 
Henry  Sanford   Jr    must   out  June  10    1865 
Francis  Sanford    must    out  June   10    186'; 
Thomas  G    Sumner   must   out  J  me  10   i86s 
Sam  tel  S    Sm  th    d  sch    for  disabihtv    No* 

1862 
Luke  '^tellings    disch    for  d  sibilitj    Oct   26 

1S65 
Robert  Stewart   must   out  June  10    1865. 
Melville    W     Simmons    must    out   June   10, 

186s, 
George  W.  Shiy   must    out  Tune  ro    1865. 
Stephen  Tailor    died   of  disease  at  Atlanta, 

Ga.,  Sept  30  i86d 
Q.  H.  Thompson   disch   for  disability   July  7, 

1863. 
Marcus  L.  Thornton,  must,  out  June  10,  1865. 
Peter  Thornton,  must,  out  June  10,  1865. 
Alvah  Vanderhoof.  must,  out  June  10,  1865. 
David  Vanderhoof,  must,  out  June  10,  1865. 
Daniel  S,  Warren,  died  of  disease  at  Knox- 

ville,  Tenn.,  Aug.  25,  1863. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


William  Wilson,  died  of  di; 

Teini,,  March,  1863. 
David  G.  Williams,  disch.  for  disability.  May 

IS,  1863. 
W    N.   Willard,    disch.   for   disability,   June 

3.  1863. 
Martello  W.  Wells,  died  of  disease  af  Camp 

Denison,  Ohio,  Nov.  25,   1862. 
George  M.  White,  must,  out  June  10,   1863. 
John   R.   Winsley,   must,   out  June   10,   1865. 
Lewis  C.  Waldron,  must,  out  June  10,  1865. 
William  Broukey,  Co.  I;  must,  out  June  10, 

1865. 
Herman  Boughton,  Co.  G ;  died  of  disease  at 

Annapolis,   Md.,  April  13,   1863. 
Chauncey  L.  Brown,  Co.  G;  died  of  disease 

at  Lexington,  Ky.,  Feb.  %  1863- 
George  Benedict,  N.  C.  S.,  died  of  disease  at 

Nashville,  Tenn,,  March  5,  1863, 
Jeremiah   Brink,  Co.  G;   must,  out  June   10, 


Nashville,       Daniel  A.  Miller,  Co.  1;  disch.  for  disability, 
Nov.  2,  1864. 
Robert    Miller.    Co,    I;    must,    out    June    10, 


Augiisl 

1865. 

Charle- 


Moriock,  Co.  I ; 
McCane,  Co,  I ; 


Jabe?-  Carlisle,   Co.   E;   t 
Inf. 


to   loth   Mich, 
of  disease  at 


Joseph  Coalcliff.  Co.  G;  died 

Annapolis.  Md..  April  12.  1863. 
Homer   Carter.   Co.   G ;   disch.   for   disability, 

July  7,   1863. 
Jacob  Ecthleman,  Co.  E ;  trans,  to  loth  Mich. 

Inf. 
Carlton  Gates,  Co.  G;  disch.  Jan.  5,  1863. 
John  Himter,  Co.  I ;  must,  out  May  23,  1865. 
Jacob   Kreiger,  Co.   I;   must,  out  June   15, 

1865. 
Henry  Kratz.  Co.  I ;  must,  out  May  10,  1865, 
Aupust   Kreiger,   Co.  I ;   must,   out   Jime   10, 

1865. 
William   P.   Kidney.   Co.   I;   must,   out  June 

10.  1865. 
Michael  Le  Graff,  Co.  I ;  must,  out  June  10, 

1865. 
William  Lindley.  Co.   G ;   died  of  disease  at 

Lexington,  Ky.,  Feb.  19,  1863. 
Fletcher  E.  Marsh,  N.  C.  S,,  disch.  tor  pro- 

Addison   P.   Moore,   Co.   G;   must,   out  June 

10,   1865. 
Elijah  Miers,  Co.  I;  must,  out  June  10,  1865. 


Nicholas   Nester,  Co.   I ;   must,   out  July   13. 
.      1S65. 
George  W.   Olds,  Co.  D;   died  of  disease  in 

Nashville,  Tenn. 
Henry  A.   Potter,  Co.  G;   disch.   for  disabil- 

William  L.  Parker,  Co.  G. 

Richmond  F.  Parker,  mus. ;  was  in  battles  ot 

Resaca,    Cassville,    Dallas,    Atlanta,    Keiie- 

,saiv,   Avervsboro',   and   Bentonville ;   disch. 

June  10,  1865. 
Hiram   F.    Penland,    Co.   I ;    disch.   June   30, 

1865. 
Charles  E.  Reynolds,  Co.  I :  must,  out  June 

10,  1865., 
Charles   Ripley,   Co.    I ;    must,   out   June    10, 

1865. 
Edward  P.  Shaw,  Co.  G;  died  of  disease  at 

Cincinnati,  O..  Oct.  S,  1862. 
Abner   Sherwin,   Co.   G;   died   of   disease   at 

Lexington,  Ky.,  Feb.   19.  1863, 
Benjamin  K.   Secor,  Co.  G;  died  of  disease, 

April,  1863. 
William   W.    Swain.    Co.    E;    trans,    to    loth 

Mich.  Inf. 
Albert   Stimson,   Co.   I ;   must,   out   Jime   10, 


t  Jut 


t  Jur 


Ansel  Stone.  Co.  I ;  must,  out  July  2,  1865, 

Michael  Welch,  Co.  I:  must,  out  June  ro, 
1865. 

William  Watson,  Co,  G;  disch.  for  disability. 
Jan.  ig,  1863. 

Albert  A.  Webster,  Co.  I;  dwisch.  for  dis- 
ability, Jan.  19,  1863. 

The  Twenty-eighth  Infantry  was  organized  in  1864,  reached  Kentucky 
in  October  of  that  year,  participated  in  the  defense  of  Nashville  against 
Hood;  early  in  1865  was  ordered  east,  and  finally  was  sent  into  the  Caro- 
linas,  where  it  co-operated  in  the  campaign  against  Johnston  until  his  sur- 
render. It  continued  on  duty  in  the  Carolinas  until  June  5,  1866,  when  it 
was  mustered  out.     The  officers  and  privates  from  Branch  county  were : 


David  B.  Purinton,  Coldwater,  capt. ;  ei 
Aug.  15,  1864;  bvt.-maj.,  March  13,  186 
i^"?t.  out  June  S,   1866,  with   regiment. 

George  W.  Bowker,  Coldwater,  ist  Heul 
enl.  Aug.  IS,  1864;  capt.  April  ir,  186, 
must,  out  June  5,  1866,  with  regiment. 


Frank    Plogert,    Coldwater,    ist    lieut.;    enl. 

Aug.  IS,  1864;  capt.,  Sept.  12,  1865;  mast. 

out  June  5,   1866.  with  regiment. 
Chauncey  H.  De  Clute,  Coldwater,  2d  lieut. ; 

enl,   Aug.    15,   1864;    1st   lieut.,   March   28, 

1865;  must,  out  June  5,  1866,  with  regiment. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


Had  w    E     M>.L^re>     Lold>vater    -d   lieut,; 

en!    A.ug   15    1S64     1st  Jieut    Mav  X   1865; 

must   out  June  S    I'sOS    w  th  regrment 

Compani   L 

ReiilleM   Amidon   mu  t   uitb)   crder   May 

Monroe  C    Beadle   m  'it    out  Sept    7    1865. 
Dewitt  C    Beadle    mwi    out  bv     rder    May 

26   1865 
Henry  Be^ns  must   out  Sept   n    1865 
John  Beari^.    must    out  June  5    1866 
Jame»i  A    Bellinger    must   out  June  5    1866. 
Wellington  Bennett    must   out  June  =;    1866.. 
Chirks  E    Bogart   mu=t   out  June  q    1866 
(jeorge   Brightman    must    out  June   7    1865. 
Jame'  A    Barns   must    out  Jine  5    1S66 
Andrew  Bair  must  out  June  12   iSe^; 
David   C     Loffman    died   of   disea'^e   at  Jef- 

fersonville    Ind     Feb    2    1865 
Eugene  Canw  right    must    out  Ma\    18    1865. 
Cortlandt  Chapman    must    out  June  s    1866. 
Geirge   Chapmm    must    out  June  5    1866. 
James  Chapman   musl   out  June  =;    1806 
Robert  Ch  vtrs    must    out  June  ■;    1866 
Wilson    B     Chrot  ester     must     lut    Ju  e    i, 


Samuel  H.  Lossing,  must,  out  ; 
Alonzo  McLaughlin,  must,  out 
Charles  W.  Morse,  must,  out  Ji 
John  C,  Meegan,  died  of  disea 

N.  C„  June  23.  1865. 
Alfred  A.  Norton,  must,  out  Ju 
Wilson  Norton, 'must. 
Wilhs  S   Norton 
Daniel    Pratt    mu 


Frink  Curn  must  out 
Horace  A  Crall  must 
Reuben  Cole  must  oul 
Orlando  Cornell 


out  May  2    i^^, 
May  i«  (861; 
Jur  "" 


Perty  C    Clermont   disch   for  disability   Aug. 

31    1865 
Charles  D   Cluff   mu  t   out  June  8   iSfi; 
Mortimer  F   Dms  must   oU  M^  17   1865, 
Oscar  I    Dans    disch    for  disability    June  4, 

ibD6. 
Peter  G.  Dehn    must    out  June  5    i8b6 
George  H.  De\  ens   must   out  June  7    1865. 
Philip  Fimde,  must   out  June  O   1866 
Henry  Firth,   must    out  June   •;    1866 
Oscar  W.  Frazer   must   out  June  9   1866 
John  Gamby,  disch   at  end  of  sen  ice   Feb.  6, 

1866. 
Judson  B.  Gibbs  must  out  May  3  1866 
William    Goodenougb     must     out   by   order. 

May  10.  1866 
Reuben  L  Grove   must   out  June  S   ifa66 
C.  W.  Kimmelmenn,  must   out  Feb  26    1866.. 
Wm.  Hungerford   must    out  by  order   April 


Erastus  Jemiings,  must  out  June 
Jacob  Keller,  must  out  May  18 
Stephen  Ladon    died  of  disease  a 

Jan.  20,  1865 
Alex.  Lamond,  must  out  June  ■; 
Charles  Lattin    must    out  June  =; 
John  Libhart,  must    out  July  26 


26    1865. 
865 
Nashville, 


:   Shelby, 
=  5,  1866. 


July  76,  1865. 
1st   out  July  26    iSa^! 
out  by  order    May    17 


Charles  E    Perrj 

26    18O5 
John  H    Ramon    ni 

1866 
Daniel  S    Robinsoi 
James  M    Raw  son 
Hezekiah    Sweet    < 


fut  bv   order    May 

out  by  order   May  3 

1st    out  June  8    186!; 

1    out  June  27    l'<6S 

for   disability     luly 

14.  i»05 
Jamei  E    Sprung   must   out  June  ?    1866 
Peter  Sheeler,  must,  out  June  5,  1866. 
James  A.  Shelden,  must,  out  Sept,  12,  1865. 
William  I.  Smalley,  must  out.  June  5.  1866. 
Charles   A.   Woodward,   must,    out   May   12, 

1865. 
Henry  B.  Winslow,  must,  out  June  2,  1865. 
George  W.  Wiley,  must,  out  May  27,  1865. 
Rosea  Bushnell,   Co.   K;;  must,   out  July  i, 

1865. 
Wm.  G,  Chamberlain,  Co.  I ;  must,  oul  July 

I.   1865. 
George   Dustine,   Co.    I;    died    of   disease  at 

Louisville,  Ky.,  Nov.  10,  1864, 
Dustin  Dockham,  Co.  K;  must,  out  July  I, 

1865. 
James    Eggleston,    Co.    K;    must,    out   May, 

i86^ 

1  W,   Fenno,  Co.  H;  must,   out  Juns 


Willi...  . 

5.  1866. 
Russell  Humiston,  Co.  I;  died  of  disease 

Nashville,  Tenn..  June  g.  1865. 
John  W.  Hudson,   Co.  I;   must,  oul  June 


Franklin   Hamlin,   Co.   I;  m 

1865. 
Israel  Hammond,  Co,  I ;  ml 

1865. 
John    S.  Lovejoy,  Co.   K; 


m  June  8, 
ut  May  26, 
.   out   May, 


Marshall  M.  Smith.  Co.  I;  disch.  for  dis- 
aWlity,  Dec.  21,  1865. 

William  W,  Stratton,  Co.  I ;  disch.  for  dis- 
ability, March  7,  1866. 

Marcellns  K  Whelsfl,  Co,  1 ;  disch.  for  dis- 
ability, June  5,  1865. 


The  First  Mirhigan  Sharpshooters  was  not  completely  organized  until 
AugTjst,  1863,  the  regiment  v-a-;  on  guard  duty  at  Chicago  till  March.  1864, 
then  joined  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  participating  in  the  Wilderness  battles, 
Spottsyivania,  and  in  the  series  of  operations  about  Petersburg,  this  regi- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


nient  being  the  first  to  enter  that  city  when  evacuated ;  the  regiment 
disbanded  at  Jackson,  Mich.,  August  7,  1865. 


MEMBERS    OF    THE    FIRST    SHARP- 
SHOOTERS FROM  BRANCH 
COUNTY. 

Henry  S.  Fisli,  Coldwater,  ist  lieut.,  Hall's 
S,  S. ;  enl.  Aug,  rg,  1864;  trans,  to  ist 
Mich,  S.  S,;  must,  out  July  28,   1865. 

Robert  F.  Bradley,  Co.  H;  discli.  for  dis- 
ability, Sept.  5,  1864. 

James  L.  Burns,  Co.  H;  must,  out  July  28, 
186s. 

Jeremiah  Butcher,  Co,  H ;  died  of  disease  iu 
1st  Division  hospital,  June  13,  1865. 

Alvin  H.  Barber,  Co.  H ;  died  of  disease  in 
Chicago,  111,,  Oct,  15,  1863. 

Daniel   H.   Conkliii,   Co.   H;   ir 


,  1865. 
Joseph   H.   Conklin,   Co.  H ;   ii 

22,  1865. 
Stephen  H.  Conklin,  Co,  H;  1 

28,  1865. 
Reuben   Cornell,  Co.  H;  must 

1865. 
Henry    Crag,    Co.    H ;    must. 

i86s. 
William   H.   Dupuy.  Co.   H;   r 

23,  1865. 
Charles   Durfey,   Co.   H ;   died 

ville  prison.  Sept,  3,  1864. 
William   H.  Durfey,  Co.   H ;   missing  in   a 

tion  near  Petersburg,  Va.,  June  17,  1864. 
Andrew  J.  Ellis,  Co.  H ;  must,  out  May   ' 

1865. 


,  out  July 
out  June 
.  out  July 
t  July  28, 
July  28, 
.  out  July 
Anderson- 


Derrick  Hauken,  Co   H;   mu.st.  out  July  28, 

1865. 
Joshua   C,    Hedgfcn,    Co.  B;  must,  out  Aug. 

17.  1865. 
George  Haullerbrand,  Co.  H;  died  of  disease 

in  Chicago,  III,,  June  3,   1864. 
John  Kelley,  Co.   H;  missing  in  action  near 

Petersburg,  Va.,  June  17,   1864. 
Hugh  Kennedy,  Co.  H ;   must,  out  June   10, 

1865. 
Thomas  McLaughlin,  Co.  — ;  disch.  for  dis- 
ability, June,  1864. 
Lewis  Priest,  Co.  H ;  must,  out  July  17,  1865. 
William  Ross,  Co.  H ;  missing  in  action  near 

Petersburg.  Va.,  June  17.  iP^^. 
John   RainlJow,   Co.    H ;   r 


George  W.  Sackett,  Co.  H ; 

186  ■;- 
Jacob   Sackett,   Co.   H;    mi 

1865- 
Benjamin  F,  Smith,  Co.  H 

1865. 

while 
William 

I.  186. 
George  Tanner,   Co. 

1865. 
Andrew   West,   Co. 


July  28, 
,ut  July  I, 

July  28, 
out  July. 
i    suicide 

July   28, 
July   28. 


The  Fourth  Michifjac  Cavah'y  Regiment  was  mustered  in  at  Detroit. 
August  29,  i8f)2;  was  sent  to  Kentucky,  where  it  fought  Morgan;  partici- 
pated at  Murfreesboro  and  other  severe  service  in  Tennessee;  was  with 
xSherman  in  his  Georgia  campaign,  but  after  the  capture  of  Atlanta  returned 
to  Tennessee  in  pursuit  of  Hood:  was  engaged  in  Tennessee  and  Alabama, 
taking  pait  in  die  capture  of  Selma.  and  was  at  Macon,  Georgia,  when  news 
of  the  surrender  came:  it  was  this  cavalry  regiment  that  had  the  honor  of 
capturing  Jefterson  Davis. 

MEMBERS    OF    THE    FOURTH    CAV- 
ALRY FROM  BRANCH  COUNTY. 
Barber  N,  Sheldon,  Quincy,  capt. ;  enl,  Aug. 

13.  1862;  maj,,  Aug,  23,  1863;  wounded  in 

action  at  Kingston,  Ga.,  May  18,  1864 ;  bvt. 

heut.-ccl.,  March  13,  1865 ;   must,  out  July 

2,  1865. 
Daniel  Duesler,  Quincy,  1st  lieut. ;  enl,  Aug. 

13,  1862;  capt,,  Feb.  1,  1863;  hon.  disch,  for 

disability,  June  27,   1863, 
Julius  M.   Carter,  Ovid,  2d  lieut.;   enl.  Aug. 

13.  1862;  ist  lieut.,  Dec.  24,  18621  wounded 

■"   -"-■ 1  Kingston.  Ga.,  May  18,  1864; 


capt,,     July    9, 


;    bvt.     maj.,     March 


13.  1865;  hon.  disch,  for  disability.  May  17, 

1865. 
Henry    D,    Fields,    Bronson,    2d    lieut, ;    enl, 

Aug.   13,   1862;  res.   March  i,  1863. 
Jeremiah  Duesler,  Coldwater,  2d  lieut. ;  enl. 

Feb.  rS,  1863 ;  res.  April  21,  1864. 
Henry  A.   Potter,  Ovid,  2d.  lieut. ;  enl.  Feb. 

r6,  1863;   1st  lieut,  March  31,  1863;  capt. 

Aug.  I,  1864;  must,  out  July  1,  1865,  with 

regiment. 
Alfred    Purinton,   Coldwater,   2d   lieut;   enl. 

Aug.    1,    1864;    ist    lieut,,    May    10.    1865; 

must,  out  July  1,  1865,  with  regiment. 
Lorenzo   J,   Southwell,   Ovid,   2d   lieut.;   en!. 


lyGoogle 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


Dec.  10,  1864;  must,  out  July  1,  1865,  with 

regiment. 

Company  G. 
Benj.  F.  Archer,  must,  out  July  i,  1865. 
Wm.  G.  Beebe,  disch.  for  disability. 
Phineas  Burkholder,  disch.   for  disabiUty. 
Wm.    Burdick,    trans,    to  Vet.   Res.    Corps, 

Sept.  30,  1863. 
Matthew    N.    Burdick,    trans,    to    Vet.    Res. 

Corps,  May  IS.  1864. 
Lewis  R.  Bridge,  disch.  by  order,   July  6, 

1865- 
Mathew   Brayton,  died  of  disease  at  Mur- 

freesboro,  Tenn.,  June  24,  1863. 
Milton  Beesmer,  died  of  disease  at  Nashville, 

Tenn.,  March  i,  1863. 
Wm.  H.  Bradford,  must,  out  July  1,  1863, 
Wm.  H,  Burt,  must,  out  July  i,  1863. 
Wm.  E.  Bradley,  disch.  for  disability,  Dec. 


Martin   Cass,   disch.  for  disability,  March  i 
1863. 

Charles  Carter,  died  of  disease  at  Murfrees- 
boro,  Tenn..  Feb.  8,  1863. 

Ira  L.  Canfield,  died  of  disease  at  Nashville, 
Tenn.,  Dec.  25,  1862. 

Henry  Cusick,  died  of  disease  at  Louisville, 
Ky„  Feb.  7,  1864- 

Wm.   Casselman,   trans,  to  Vet.   Res.   Corps 
April  30,  1864- 

Aaron  M.  Chase,  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps, 
March  IS,  1864. 

Martin  Cloonan,  must,  out  July  i,  1865. 

Jeremiah  Craig,  must,  out  July  i,  1865. 

Winfield    Day,    died    of    disease    at    Quincy, 
Mich.,  May  20,  1863. 

Wm.  Dobson,  died  of  disease  at  Bridgeport, 
Ala.,  Nov.  17,  1863. 

Gamalia     Dickinson,     disch.     for     disability, 
Sept.  16,  1863- 

John  Daggett,  disch.  for  disability,  April 
1863. 

Howard  Gaffney,  died  of  disease  at  Sprmg- 
field,  Ky.,  Nov.  5,  1865. 

Edwin    E.    Hungerford,    died    of    disease    at 
Murfreesboro,  Tenn,,  Feb.  17,  1863. 

George   W.   Jones,   died   of  disease   at  Mur- 
freesboro, Tenn.,  June  8,  1863. 

Warren  Leland,  disch.  for  disability,  Jan.  12, 
1865- 

Whitfield  Lampman,  must,  out  July  I,  1865. 

Charles  M.  Mi«den,  died  of  disease  at  Nash- 
ville, Tenn.,  Jan  18,1863. 

William  H.  Mayden,  died  ot  disease  at  Nash- 
ville, Tenn.,  Jan.  21,  1864. 

Francis  Maguire.  must,  out  July  r,  1865. 

George  Myres,  must,  out  July  i,  1865. 
John  C.  Nichols,  must,  out  July  i,  1865. 
Henry    Norton,    disch.    for   disability.    Nov,, 
J862. 

Joseph  Odren,  disch.  by  order. 


Jame'!  G    OBrien    mu=t    ™t  July   i    iSOl 
Joseph  Perrin    must   out  July  i    1865 
Lewis  Pernne    disch    for  disabihtj    Mav  4 

186s 
Elia^  H    Prout   d  ed  of  disease  at  Murfrees 

horo   Tenn     Feb    27    1^63 
Wilham  H    Prout    died  of  disease  it  Nash 

ville    Tenn     Mirch   10    1863 
William    H     Palmeter     must     out    July    i, 

Samuel  Ruff  mu=t  out  July  i    ilb6s 
Cary  Reed   must   out  Julv  i    1865 
Frankhn  Roundj    must  out  Julv  i    1865 
James   Swarthout    died   of  disea'je   at   Mur 

freesboro    Tenn     Jan    23    1863 
Robert   T     Smith    died   of  disease   at   Mur 

freesboro    Tenn     July  10    1863 
John  Skinner    disch    for  di'ibiht}     Irb    ( 

1863 
John  A    Skinner   must   out  July  i    1865 
William  Snarthout   mun   out  Jul j   i    18&S 
John  Sullivan  niu»:t   out  July  i    1861; 
Philetus  Siggins   must  out  July  i    t86i 
Albert    Stickney    disch     for    disability     Feb 

16    1*163 
Elns  H    Scales    disch    for  disibdity    March 

3    i86i 
\^illnm  H    Thompson    di-.ch    f^r  disabilifv 

April  18    1863 
William    Trask     disch     for    d   db  lity     Det, 

28   1862 
George  H  1  risk  must  out  T  Iv  1    1865 
Jacob  N.  Trask,  must,  out  July  i,  1865. 
George   W.   Van   Sickle,    must,   out   July    i, 

186s. 
George  Whs.ley,  died  of  disease  at  Danville, 

Ky.,  Oct.  25,  i8fe. 
William  Wood,  disch.  for  disability.  May  S, 

1863. 
Elisha  C.  Williams,  disch.  for  disability  Feb. 

3,  1863. 
Oliver  M.   Wentworth,  disch.   for  disability, 

March  27,  1863. 
W.  R.  Wentworth,  must,  out  July  i,  1865. 
Henry  Woodmaster,  must,  out  July   r,   1865. 
Daniel  H.  Bush,  Co.  A;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res. 

Corps,  April  30,  1863. 
Benona   Burch,   Co.   I;   died   at  Dallas,   Ga., 

May  27,  1864,  of  wounds. 
Ambrose  Burleson,  Co,  I;  died  at  Noonday 

Creek,  Ga.,  June  20,  1864,  of  wounds. 
John  Bailey,  Co.   M ;   died   in   Andersonville 

prison,  July  3,  1864. 
Henry   Cosier,   Co.    I ;    disch.    for   disability, 

June  8,  1863. 
Zenas  B.  Cheney,  N.  C.  S. ;  disch.  by  order, 

Nov.  16,  1863, 
Aaron  B.   Powell.  Co.   I;   disch.   for  disabil- 
ity, Jan.  12,  1864. 
Solomon  Fosmtth,  Co.  I;   must,  out  July   i, 


William  Filkins,  Co,  K;  n 


t  Aug.  IS. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


T    V.  T.  Gauthouse,  Co.  1;  missing  in  action 

at  Selma,  Ala,,  April  2.  1865. 
Heniy  S.  Hewitt,  Co.  I;  died  of  disease  at 

Nashville,  Tenn.,  Dec.  ig,  1862. 
Charles  W.  Hartwell,  Co.  I ;  disch.  by  order, 

July  21,  i86s. 
Jerome   B.   Heth,   Co.   1;   must,  out   Jnly   i. 


Mar 


1  Hecathorn,  Co.  I ;  r 


t  July  I 


Thomas  Reeves,   Co.   K;   died  of   disease  at 

Nashville,  April  23.  1864. 
William   Simpson,  Co.  !;   must,   out  July   1, 

1865. 
Ira  C   Stockwell,  Co.  C;  must,   out  Jnly  i, 

1865. 
Elbert    Terril,    Co.    I;    trans,    to    Vet.    Res. 

Corps,  May  1,  1864. 
O.   F.  Underhill,   Co.   I;   trans,  to   Vet.   Res. 

Corps,  July  1,  1863. 
Pembroke    Vandemark,    Co.    D ;    imtst,    ont 

Aug.  IS,  1865. 
John  H.  Williams.  Co.  I;  disch.   for  disabil- 
ity, Feb.  IS,  1865. 
Edward    H.    Wood,    Co.    A;    Irans,    to    Vet. 

Res,  Corps,  Nov.  i,  1863. 


Orlando   Hawley,   Co.   I;   died   at  Lavergne, 

Tenn.,  Dec,  29,  1862,  of  wounds. 
James   Ogden,    Co.   A ;    trans,    to    Vet.    Res. 

Corps.  April  22,  1864. 
James    Pope,    Co.    I;    disch.    for    disability, 

Sept.  IS,  1862. 

The  Fifth  Michigan  Cavalry  Regiment,  mustered  in  August  30,  1862. 
proceeded  to  Washington  in  December,  and  from  that  time  to  the  close  of 
hostilities  was  constantly  in  the  most  wearing  service  in  the  Virginias,  during 
the  latter  part  of  the  war  being  part  of  Sheridan's  famous  forces.  The  regi- 
ment was  mustered  out  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  June  22,  1865. 

Charles  C.  Craft,  killed  by  guerrillas  in  skir- 
mish at  Berryville,  Va„  Aug,  19,  1864, 
Peleg  Caiiner,  disch.  for   disability.  May  23, 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  FIFTH  MICHIGAN 

CAVALRY  FROM  BRANCH 

COUNTY, 

Andrew  D.  Hall,  Quincy,  2d  lieut. ;  en!.  Aug. 
14,  1862 ;  res.  June  5,  1863. 

Smith  H.  Hastings,  Coldwater,  1st  lieut, ;  enl. 
Aug.  14,  1862;  capt.,  Jan.  10,  1863;  wound- 
ed at  Treviliian  Station,  Va.,  June  12,  1864; 
major,  Aug.  9,  1864;  lieut. -co!,,  Nov.  10, 
1864;  col.,  Dec.  17,  1864;  must,  out  June 
22,  i86s. 

Madison  N.  Bibbins,  Coldwater,  2d  lieut.; 
enl.  March  4,  1S64;  ist  lieut,,  Aug,  10, 
1864 ;  capt.,  Feb.  I,  1865 ;  must,  out  June  22, 
1865,  with  regiment. 

Amos  Bingham,  Quincy,  2d  lieut.;  enl,  Oct. 
27,  1864;  1st  iieut..  Feb.  I,  1865;  must,  out 
June  22,  1865,  with  regiment. 

William   H.   Hunt,   Coldwater,   2d   lieul.    (a 


ergt.)  ;  must,  o 


e  22,  i86s,  with  reg- 


Company  M. 
William  Andrews,  must,  out  Jut 


1865. 


John  Adams,  disch.  by  order,  July  7, 
Wilham  H    Black,  died  of  disease  at  Wd'ih- 

mgton,  D   C ,  Aug    13.  1864. 
Levi  Busley,  missing  in  action  at  Richmond, 

Va ,  March  2,  1864 
Amos  Bingham,  disch    for  promotion 
Thomas  Bingham,  disch   by  order 
Henry  Barnes    must    out  June  19,  1865 
Matthew     E     Burger,    disch     for    disability, 

March  3,  1865 
Nathan   C    Canfield    died   nf  disease  at   De- 

tniii,  Dec    3,  1862 


L   D.   Curtis,   disch.   by   order,   Jur 


1865. 
Sylvester  T.  Chase,  must,  out  Jm 


t  June  19,  1865. 

!.  to  7th  Mich.  Cav. 

ut  June  19,  1865. 


Parmenio  Casey,  1 

Peter  M.  Dtibendorf,  t 

Charles  A.  Ford,  mus 

Henry  M.  Fox,  must. 

James  A.  Furgeson,  n 

Isaiah  Fox,  killed   in  _ 

at  Berryville,  Va.,  Aug.  19.  1864. 
John    H.    Gripraan,    died    in    Anderson vil I e 

prison,  April  8,  1864. 
Charles  H.  Goodrich,  trans,  to  7th  Mich.  Cav. 
Arnold   Goodman,  disch.  for  disability,  May 

15.   1865. 
David  Gibbins,  must,  out  Jime  ip,  1805. 
Charles  M.  Hobbs,  must,  out  June  19,  i86S- 
William  H.  Himt.  must,  out  June  19.  1865- 
Seymour  H.  Hogle,  disch.  for  disability,  Feb. 

28.  1863. 
William  H.  Harkness,  died  of  disease  at  An- 
napolis, Md.,  Aug.  2,  1863. 
Fernando  A.  Jones,  must,  out  June  ig,  1863. 
Stephen    Keyser,    disch.    bv    order,    Sept.    r, 

1863. 
Fluette  King,  trans,  to  7tli  Mich.  Cav. 
Charles  Little,  died  in  prison  at  Richmond, 

Va.,  April  28,   1864. 
Spencer  Leigh,  trans,  to  7th  Mich.  Cav. 
Zelotes  Mather,  died  of  disease  at  Frederick, 

Md.,  Aug.  19,  1863, 
Calvin   McCreery,   died  in  action  at  Hawes' 

Shop,  Va..  May  28.  1864. 
William  Milliman.  trans,  to  7tK  Mich.   Cav. 
William  Marshall,  trans,  to  7th  Mich.  Cav. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


Jonas    H.    McGowan,    disch.    for    disability, 

Dec.  4,  1862. 
James  Mills,  must  out  June  ig,  1865. 
John  R.  Morey,  captured  in  Dahlgrcn's  raid 

around  Richmond,  Va. ;  must,  out  Jur" 


William  Nivisou, 
March  31,  1864- 
Robert  B.  Nivisoi 
Nesbit  J.  Nevel,  n 
Edward    S^    " 


I  Vet.  Res.  Corps, 
.  must,  out  June  19,  1865. 


t  Jm 


}9,  I 


.      _       ,  died 

dersonville,  Ga.,  Sept.  27,  1864. 

Isaac  C.  Ctebum,  killed  in  skirmish  by  guer 
rillas  at  BerryviUe,  Va.,  Aug.  19,  1864. 

Samuel  I.  Osbum,  disch.  by  order.  May  27, 
1865. 

Ephraim  Oviatt,  must,  out  June  19,   1865. 

John  H.  Pratt,  must,  out  June  ig,  1865. 

Ezra  Post,  must,  out  June  19,  1865. 

P.  M.  Reyndds,  must,  out  June  19,  1865. 

John  A.  Snyder,  died  in  prison  at  Anderson- 
ville,  Ga.,  Sept.  27,  1864. 

Squire  E.  Skeds,  killed  in  skirmish  by  guer- 
rillas at  Berryville,  Va.,  Aug.  19,  1864. 

Howard  Simons,  must,  out  July  24,  1865. 

Wm.  F.  Teachout,  disch.  by  order,  Aug.  11, 

Horace  M.  Tifft,  missmg  m  action  at  Rich- 
mond, Va. 

Albert  I,  Tifft.  must,  out  June  ig,  1865. 

Dexter  B.  Taylor,  must,  out  June  19,  1865. 

Charles  Thompson,  must,  out  June  19,  1865. 

Orim   Van  Gilder,  trans,  to  7th  Mich.   Cav. 

M.  L.  Vicory,  kill-ed  in  action  at  Smithfield, 
Va.,  Aug,  29,  1864. 

Hiram  Vaukying,  disch,  for  disability,  Jan. 
15,  1864, 

Wm,  S,  Van  Gieson,  disch.  by  order,  July 
5,  1865, 

Samuel    K,    Vandcrker,    must,    cut   July    13, 


Francis  M,  Wright,  died  of  disease  at  Bal- 
timore, Md.,  Sept,  10,  1864, 

Jar  vis  Watkin.s,  died  in  action  at  Toledo 
Tavern,  Va.,  May  6,  1864, 

William  H,  Walking,  must,  out  June  19, 
1865, 

Vincent  Watkins,  must,  out  June  19,  1865. 

George  White,  killed  in  skirmish  by  guer- 
rillas at  Berryville,  Va.,  Aug,  19,  1864. 

H,  C.  Worthington,  killed  in  skirmish  by 
Berryville,  Va.,  / 


Milo  Beard,  Co.  I ; 
James  Cobb,  Co,  I ;  trans 
Edward  Carr,  Co,  C;  tran 
John  Dennis,  Co,  G ;  tran 
EH.'iha  Demorest,  Co,  1 ; 

Jasper    Eld  red,   Co,    I ;    t 


t  Mich,  Cav. 
o  7th  Mich,  Cav, 
to  7th  Mich.  Cav, 
to  1st  Mich.  Cav. 
ans.  to  7th  Mich. 

ns,    to   7th   Mich. 


Moses  Kanouse,  Co.  C ;  trans,   t 

Cav, 
Isaac  Lake,  Co,  B ;  disch.  by  ord 

1865, 
Charles   H,  Osterhout,  Co,  K;   t 

Mich.  Cav. 
Charles  Prentiss.  Co,  G;  trans,  I 

James  J,  Pendill,  Co.  G;  trans.  I 

Cav. 
Lucius  Stray.  Co.  G;  trans,  to  is 
Minard  O.  Van  Gilder,  Co.  L;  1 

Mich,  Cav. 
Colbert   Van   Gieson,    Co,    L;    ti 

Mich,  Cav, 
George  O-  Van  Gieson,  Co,  L;  t 

Mich.  Cav, 


■>  7Ch  Mich, 
er,  June  26, 
:a,ls,  to  7th 

o  1st  Mich, 
:  Mich  Cav. 


D7th 
,  7th 


The  Eighth  Michigan  Cavaliy,  which  took  the  field  in  May,  1863.  was 
for  some  months  principally  opposed  to  the  Confederate  leaders,  Morgan 
and  Wheeler,  and  in  1864  joined  Sherman's  Atlanta  campaign;  thence  it 
returned  to  Tennessee  in  pursuit  of  Hood,  participating  at  Franklin  and 
Nashville;  it  was  mustered  out  at  Nashville,  Septemher  22,  1865. 


OFFICERS   AND   SOLDIERS    OF    THE 

EIGHTH  CAVALRY  FROM  "BRANCH 

COUNTY. 

Henry  L.  Seilick,  Quincy,  2d  lieut,;  enl,  Nov, 

I,  1862;  capt,  Aug.  31,  1863;  res,  Oct,  37, 

1864, 
Elijah  J,  Devens,  Coldwater,  capt.;  enl.  Nov, 

1,  1861;  res,  April  8,  1864, 
Smedley   Wilkinson,   Quincy,   ist   lieul, ;   enl, 

Nov,  I.  1862;  res-  Jan.  10,  1864, 
David  Noteman,  Coldwater,  ist  lieut. ;  enl. 

Nov,  I.  1862:  res.  June  21,  1864, 
Walter    BuVritt,    Coldwater,    2d    lieut.;    enl. 

Nov.  I,  iSfc;  res.  Jan.  4.  1864. 


Charies  O.  Twist,  Coldwater,  sd  lieuf. ;  enl. 

Aug.  31,  1863;  res.  Sept.   14,   1864, 
Henry   M.  Burton,   2d   lieut. ;    enl.   May   2, 

18&I;   res.   May   17,   1865. 
Horace    Woodbridge,    Coldwater,    2d    lieut.; 

enl.  Jan.  8,  1865 ;  hon.  disch.  July  20,  1865. 

on  consolidation  with  nth  Cav. 
Norman  L,  Otis,  Union  City;  chaplain;  hon. 

disch.  Sept,  22,  1865,  with  regiment; 
Benjamin  C,  Barnes,   Co,  I;  must,  out  Sept. 

22.  1865. 
George   Bates,   Co.    C;    must,    out   S«pt.   22, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


William  Ball,   Co.  B;   disch.  by  order,  June 

i8,  i86s. 
Jacob  Baker,  Co.  H;  must  out  Oct.  9,  1865. 
Francis   Beedle,   Co.   M ;   died   of  disease  at 

Annapolis,  _Md.,  May  3,  1864. 
Cassius  Burritt,  Co.   M ;  must,  out  Sept.   19, 

1865. 
Hiram  Blackmer,  Co.  B;  trans,  to  Vet  Res. 

Corps,  May  i,  1S64, 
William  Beecher,  Co.  B ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res. 

Corps,  Jan.  15,  1864. 
William  Buffington,  Co.  I;  must,  out  Sept. 

22,  1865. 
Walter    Besemer,    Co.    B ;    disch,    by    order, 

July  20,  1865. 
David  W.  Burring,  Co,   M;  must,  out  Sept. 

29,  1865. 
Arelus  Corwin,  Co.  M ;  disdi.  for  disability. 

March  20,  1865. 
Jeremiah  Cokman,  Co.  B ;  died  of  disease  at 

Knoxville,  Tenn.,  Nov.  27,  1863. 
John  H.  Chivois,  Co.  E ;  must,  out  Sept.  22, 

.1865. 
James  C.  Church,  Co,  B ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res. 

Corps,  Jan,   15,  1864. 
■  Benj,   F,   Qark,   Co.   B;   miisf,   out   June   10, 

1865- 
Stephen  Combs,  Co.  B;  disch.  June  12,  1865. 
Alexander  Fisk,  Co.  B ;  died  of  disease,  1864. 
George  Franklin,  Co.  M ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res. 

Corps.  Nov.  I,  1863. 
William   Filson,   Co.   B ;   died  of   disease   at 

Camp  Nelson,  Ky.,  Dec.  16,  1863. 
Lewis  R.  Foot,  Co.  B;  killed  by  explosion  of 

steamer    on    Mississippi    River,    April    15. 

186s. 
William  J.  Foster,  Co.  C ;  must,  out  Sept.  22, 


George  Garboll,  Co.  C ;  1 


,  out  Sept, 


Francis  Hadley,  Co,  M ;  discli.  for  disability, 

April  28.  1864. 
Enos  B.  Hadley,  Co.  M;  must,  out  May  22, 


Julius  Houghtaling,  Co,   L ;  r 


Horace  W.  Hunt,  Co,  B;  must,  out  May  15, 
1865. 

Peter  W.  Hughes,  Co.  M;  disch,  for  disa- 
bility. 

Vernon  C.  Howe,  Co.  M;  disch.  for  disabil- 
ity, Nov,  24,  1864. 

Julius  Henry,  Co.  C:  must,  out  Sept.  22, 
186s, 

Edwin  J,  Hall,  Co.  B ;  disch.  by  order,  Sept. 
?,  1865. 

Francis  Jerome,  Co,  B;  missing  in  raid  on 
Macon,  Ga,.   Aug,  3,   1864, 

James  Kubeck,  Co.  C;  must,  out  Sept,  22, 
1865. 

Jonathan  LossinR.  Co.  B;  died  in  Anderson- 
ville  prison,  March  39,   1864. 

Thomas  J.  Lossing,   Co.  R:   must,  out  June 


Erastus  J,  Lewis,  Co,  C:  must,  out  Sent   ; 

1865. 
John  M.  Landon,  Co.  C;  must,  out  Oct  ; 


William   McKinney,   Co.  C;   must,  out   Sept. 

22,   1865, 
Edward  C,  McDamels,  Co.  B;  disch.  Tune  6, 

1865, 
David  Musselman,  Co.  H  ;  must,  out  Sept  23. 

1865. 
Reuben  T.  Mathews,  Co.  M. 
Anson  W.  Merritt,  Co.  E:  must,  out  Sept,  22, 

1865. 
Htnry  C.  Norton,  Co.  B ;  killed  by  explosion 

of  steamer,  April  15,  1865. 
Mortimer  J.   Nash,   Co.   C;   must,  out   Sept. 


t  Sept. 


Willia; 


I.  Co.  C;  r 


t  Sept.  i 


Edgar  T,  Ormsby,  Co.  M;  disch.  for  disa- 
bility,  Oct.   13,   i86i, 

John  B,  Parkinson,  Co.  B;  disch.  for  disa- 
bility, Oct.  19,  1863, 

Henry  N.  Perrine,  Co.  B. 

William  Powers,  Co.  C;  must,  out  Sept. 
22,   1865. 

Eliphalet  Page,  Co.  B ;  disch.  by  order  Sept. 
7,  1865. 

J.  A.  Rusline,  Co.  B;  died  of  disease  at 
Knoxville,  Tenn..  March  21,   1864. 

John  W.  Rogers,  Co,  B ;  must,  out  June  10, 


John  Smith.  Co.  B;   died  of  disease  at  Lex- 
ington, Ky,  April  10,  1864, 
George   Smith.   Co.   B;   missing  in  action   at 

Henryville,  Tenn.,  Nov,  23,  1863, 
Samuel   Spencer,   Co.   B  ;   died   of  disease  at 

Camp  Nelson.  Ky.,  Dec.  r6,  1863. 
Charles  Sutherland,  Co.  C;  must,  out  Sept. 

22,  1865, 
Erwin  Splitstone,  Co.  A;  died  of  disease  at 

Pulaski,  Tenn.,  Nov.  18.  1864. 
Charles  G.  Seabury,  Co.  B ;  must,  out  June 

15.  1865. 
Cyrus   H.   Spafford,   Co.   I;   must,  out   Sept. 

22,   1865- 
Calvin  E.   Seamons.  Co,   D;  must,  out   Sept. 

22.  1865. 
David  A.  Vamuni,  Co.  B ;  must,  out  Sept,  22, 

1865, 
Ammon  O.  Wood,  Co.  M;  died  at  Ander- 

sonville  prison,  Sept.  8,  1864. 
Oliver  M.  Wentworth,  Co.  C ;  trans,  to  Vet. 

Res.  Corps,  Aug.,  1864. 
John    Weller,    Co.    B;    trans,    to    Vet.    Res. 

Corps,  May  i,  1864. 
Charles  Wright,  Co,   B;   trans,  to  Vet.  Res. 

Corps,  Jan,  15,   1864. 
Sanford  E.  Wood,  Co,   B;   discharged. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


Manly   C   White,    Co.    E;    disch.    by   order,  Jonathan    Wilson,    Co.    M;    disch.    for   disa- 

june  15,  1865.  bility,  April  2,   1865. 

Lewis  C.  Wheeler,  Co,  C;  must,  out  Sept.  22,  WilHam  J.   Young,   Co.   C;   must,   out   Sept. 

1865,  22,  i86s. 

O.  H.  Woodworth,  Co.  M ;  disch.  for  promo-  Charles   A.   Zimmerman,    Co.    G;   must,   out 

tion,  Sept.   13,  1864.  Oct.  10,  1865. 
Seth   Whitten,   Co.   M;   disch.  for   disability, 

Feb.  18,  1865. 

The  Ninth  Michigan  Cavalry  was  organized  with  rendezvous  at  Cold- 
water  and  left  there  for  Kentucky  in  May,  1863 ;  it  was  in  service  in  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee  and  north  of  the  Ohio  against  Morgan  and  co-operat- 
ing with  the  main  movements  of  the  Union  forces,  and  in  July,  1864,  joined 
Sherman's  army  in  the  operations  about  Atlanta ;  after  the  fall  of  the  city  it 
marched  to  the  sea,  and  was  in  numerous  battles,  and  skirmishes  in  the  Car- 
olinas  until  the  conclusion  of  the  war.     It  was  mustered  out  July  21,  1865. 


George  W.  Bartra 


Jonas   H,   McGowan,    Coldwater,   capt. ;   enl, 

Nov.  3,  1862;  res.  Jan,  27,  1864. 
Otis  H.  Gillam,  Coldwater,  capt.;  enl.  Nov.  3, 

1862;  res.  March  h,  1864. 
Smith   W.   Fisk,   Coldwater,    ist   lieut.;    enl. 

Nov.  3,  1862;  wounded  in  a  skirmish  with 

Morgan's  raiders  at  Salineville,  O,,  July  26, 

1863;  disch.  for  disability  Nov.  s,  £863. 
John   D.   Smails,    California.   2d   lieut. ;   enl. 

Dec.  29,  1863;   1st  lieut.,  March   15,   1864; 

must,  out  July  21,   1865,  with  regiment. 
Charles    H.    Smith,    Girard,    2d    lieut.;    ent. 

March  27,   1863;   ist  lieut.,   Jan.   17,   1864; 

capt.,   Aug.   19,   1865;    must,   out   July   21, 

1865.  with  regiment. 
Benton  T.  Russell,  Coldwater,  2d  lieut. ;  enl. 

as  sergt.,  Feb.  27,  1863 ;  must,  out  July  21, 

1865.  with  regiment, 
George  W.  Howard,  2d  lieut. ;  enl.  as  sergt, 

Oct.    26.    1864;    must,    out   July   21,    1865, 

with  regiment. 
Alfred  K  Miller,  Coldwater,  2d  lieut.;  enl. 

as  sergt.,  June  27,  1865;  must,  out  July  21, 

1865,   with   regiment. 
Milton  Allen,  Co.  C;  died  of  disease  at  Nash- 
ville, Tenn.,  Aug.  2,  1864. 
Samuel  Allnian,   Co.   B ;   must,  out  June  12, 


186s. 


Alexander  Black,  Co.  K. ;  killed  in  action  at 
Stone  Mountain,  Ga.,  Oct.  2,  1864. 

James  Ballard,  Co.  D;  died  of  disease  at 
Camp  Nelson,   Ky.,  April  23,   1864. 

Lyman  Bates,  Co.  K;  died  of  disease  al 
Knoxville,  Tenn.,  Jan.  ig,  1864. 

Ashael  L.  Baird,  Co.  G;  disch.  for  disability, 
Feb.  23,  1864. 

George  R.  Bennett,  Co.  K;  disch,  for  disa- 
bility, March  i5,  1864. 

Warren  E.  Bills,  Co.  B;  must,  out  July  21, 


,  Co.  K;  must,  out  June 
;  disch.  for  disability, 


Warren  A,  Blye,  Co.  ] 

June  I,  1865. 
Stanley  Bidwell,  Co.  I;  disch.   for  disability, 

June  r,  1865- 
George    Blair,    Co.    I ;    must,    out   June    ra, 


Zebulon   Birch,   Co,   I ; 


:  July  '. 


1  F.  Belder 


Co.  A;  r 


t  July 


Peter    B.    Case,    Co.    I ;    died   of   disease    at 

Camp  Nelson,  Ky.,  May  14,  1864. 
Rice  W.  Chapman,  Co.  I ;  must,  out  July  ZI, 


Charles  Degalier,  Co.  B;  died  of  disease  at 

Knoxville,   Tenn.,    March    13,    1864. 
Benjamin  Duck,   Co.  L ;  trans,  to  Vet,   Res. 

Corps,  Jan.  15. 
Wm.    R.    Dunn,    Co.    I ;    missing   in    action, 

March  12,  1865. 
Charles  Drake,   Co.   I;   disch.   for   disabihty, 

April,   1863. 
Jeremiah   Depue,   Co.   I;   must,   out  July  21, 

1865. 
Alphonzo    Dawson,   Co.    K;    must,   out   July 

21,   i86s, 
John   Dawson,   Co.    K;    must,    out   July   21, 

1865, 
William  Danton,  Co,  11;  must,  out  July  21, 

1865. 
Albert  E.  Evans,  Co.  K;   must,  out  June  7, 

1865- 
Daniel   Francis,   Zo.   H;   must,   out   July  21, 

1865. 
David  Franklin.  Co.  G. 
Philip   Fonda.    Co.    I ;    disch.    for    disability. 

Feb.  29,  1864, 
John  Fisher,  Co,  [;  disch,  for  disability.  Dec. 

17.  1863, 
James   Fitzgerald,  N.   C,  S, ;   must,  out  July 

21,   1865. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


Jackson   Gillam,   Co.    I ;    died   of   disease   ; 

Knoxville,   Tenn.,   Dec,   1863- 
Henry  G.  Goode,  Co.  B;  must,  out  July  2 

1865. 
Hiram    Hulse,    Co.    I ;    died    of    disease    ! 

Knoxville,  Tenn.,  Dec,  1863. 
William  A.  Harkiiis,  Co.  B ; 


21,   i86s- 
Eiigene   Hillard,  Co.   E;   must,  c 

186S. 
John  A.  Holmes,  Co.  E;  must.   1 

1865. 
George  F.   Hartzell,   Co.   L;   miv. 

21,   1865. 
William  S.  Hopkins,  Co.  K;  mu 

21,  1865. 
John   Hiverly,   Co.    K;    must,   o 

186.=;. 

^  M.  Jones,  Co.  B ;  must. 


Oli 


i86s. 

G.  Kinne.  Co.  I ;  must, 
iver    Lapier,   Co.    B ;    m 
865. 
incis  La  Boiite,  Co.  F; 


Robert  G.  Long,   Co. 
i86s. 


It  July  21. 
Jt  July  21. 
.  out  July 
:,  out  July 
t  July  21, 
Lit  July  21, 
y  21,  1865. 

Lit  July  21. 
It  July  21, 
.It  July  2T, 


Martin  Lock  wood,  Co.  I ; 

i86s. 

Fred   Miller,  Co.  D;  disch.   for  disability. 
John  T.  Merriss,  Co.  I ;  disch.  for  disability. 
E.  D.  McGowan,  Co.  I ;  disch.  by  order,  July 


Isaac  W.  Pierce,  Co.  E;  hiust.  1 

1865. 
William  H.  Rose,  Co,  I;  must. 

i86s, 
Joseph  Robinson,  Co.  E;  must.  ■ 

1865. 
Henry  Rynder,  Co.  F;  trans,   tc 

Batt..   May  8,  1863. 
William  Rowley,  Co.  F;  (rans.  t. 

Batt.,  May  8,   1863. 
W.  W.  Scott,  Co.  K;  died  of  disease 

ington.  Ky.,  July  26,  1864. 
James  Stubbs,  Co.   L;  died 

prison,  Jvdy  15,  1864. 
Thomas  Sudboro,  Co.  L ;  irans. 

Corps,  Jan.   15.  1864. 
Erastus  L.  Smith,  Co.  I;  trans. 

Corps,  Jan.  15.  1864. 
Samuel  S.  Smith.  Co,  K;  trans. 

Corps.  Jan.  15,  1864. 
Jacob   Shimei-ly.   Co.   I;   trans. 

Corps,  Jan.  15,  1864. 
John   A.   Smith,   Co.   A;   must. 

1865. 
George   Selleek,   Co.   E:   must. 

1865, 
Luther  W.  Smith,  Co.  K;  must 

186-;. 

.  Simpson,  Co.  K;  must. 


25. 


out  July  2 

Co,  L;  must,  out  July  2 


Alfred  K.  Milli 

1865. 
John   McPhail,   Co.    E;    must,   ou 

1865. 
William  H.  Moore,  Co.  E;  must 

12.  1865. 
Ehas    Michael,    Co.    I ;    must,    ou 

er,  Co,   I ;   must.  1 


David  F.  Mi 

1865. 
Nelson   R.   Nye,   Co.   E;   must, 

1865. 

David  Nelson,  Co.  T;  must,  out  July  2 
Henry  I.   Ogden,  Co,  I ;   must,  out  Ji 


May  29, 
out  June 
July    21, 

t  July  S, 
July  21, 


ith  Mich, 
ith  Mich. 

Andersonville 

I.  to  Vet.  Res. 

;.  to  Vet.  Res, 

;.  to  Vet.  Res. 

to  Vet,  Res. 

out   July  21, 

out   July  21. 

t.  out  July  21, 

It  July  21, 

It  July  21. 

31,  1865. 
July   21, 

George  W.   Thayer.   Co.   H  ;   died  of  disease 

at  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  July  6.  1864. 
George  W.  Thayer.  Co.  B;  must,  out  July  21, 

1865. 
John  Uhlm,   Co.  I ;  must,  out  July  21.   1865. 
F.   Vanderhoof,  Co.   G ;  died  of  disease  at 

Nashville,  Tenn,.  April,  1864. 
John  H.  Wells,  Co.  F;  disch.   for  disability, 

June  14,   1865. 
Benjamin   Wilkins,    Co.   K;   must,   out   July 

21.  186s. 

t  Jan.   23, 


Jephtha 
1865. 
James  D.  Studley,  Co.  I ; 


Benj.   F.  Wilder,   Co.   I; 


The  Eleventh  Regiment  of  Michigan  Cavalry  left  Kalamazoo,  its  ren- 
dezvous, in  December,  1863,  served  six  months'  scout  duty  in  Kentucky, 
and  in  September.  1864,  was  sent  into  Virginia,  and  saw  the  rest  of  its  serv- 
ice in  Virginia,  east  Tennessee  and  North  Carohna,  being  part  of  the  com- 
mand of  General  Stoneman.  This  regiment  v^as  consolidated  with  the 
Eighth  Michigan  Calvary  in  July,  1865,  and  was  mustered  out  as  members 
of  the  latter  in  the  following  September. 


,y  Google 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  ELEVENTH  CAV- 
ALRY FROM  BRANCH  COUNTY. 
Abram  E.  Stowell,  Coldwater,  ist  lieut.;  enl. 

Aug.  1,  1863;  res.  Nov.  14,  1865. 
Martin.  S.  Perkins,  Coldwater,  2d  lieut.;  enl. 

Aug.  1,  1863;  res.  June  18,  1865. 
Edwin  R.  Bovee,  Co,  M. 
William  E.  Burtless.  Co.  M. 
Edward  Bates,   Co.   M;   trans,   to  8th   Mich. 

David  Blass,  Co.  M ;  trans,  to  8th  Mich.  Cav. 
Charles  S.  Dunn,  Co.  A;   disch.  by  order, 

July  12,  1865. 
William  J.    Foster,    Co.    M;   trans,    to   8th 

Mich.  Cav. 
Thomas  B.  Fulcher,  Co.  M;  discli.  by  order, 

Aug.   10,  1865. 
Otto   Gould,    Co.    M;   disch.   by   order,   July 

12,  1865. 
George  Garboll,  Co.  M ;   trans,  to  8th  Mich. 

Cav. 
John  W.  HuJburt,  Co.  M;  trans,  to  8th  Mich. 

Thomas  Howe,  Co.  M;  disch.  by  order,  Aug. 

10,   1865. 
Julius   Henry,   Co.   M;   trans,   to   8th   Mich. 

James'  Kubeck,   Co.  M ;   trans,  to  8th   Mich. 


James  Loomis.   Co.   M;   must,   out   Sept.   11 

1865. 
Erastus  J.  Lewis,  Co.  M ;  trans,  to  8th  Midi. 

John  M.  Landon,  Co.  M ;  trans,  to  8th  Mich 

Cav. 
James  C.  Mosher,  Co.  L;  discb,  for  pronio- 


Cav. 


Mortimer   J.    Nash,    Co,    M;    ti 

rans,    to   8th 

Mich.  Cav. 

William  Newman,  Co.  M;  trans, 

Cav. 
William  Powers,  Co.  M ;  trans. 

Cav. 
Wesley  Preston,  Co.  M;  trans. 

to  8th  Mich. 

to  8th  Mich. 

to  8th  Mich. 

Cav. 

Charles    Sutherland,    Co.    M;    1 

rans,    to   8th 

Mich.  Cav. 

David    Sidler,   Co.    M;   trans,   t 

0   8tli    Mich, 

Cav. 

H.  C.  Thompson,  Co.  M;  must. 

out  Jime  12, 

1865. 

Lewis    C.    Wheeler,    Co.    M;    t 

rans.    to    8lh 

Mich.  Cav. 

Oliver  M.  Weiitworth,  Co.  M  ; 

trans,  to  8th 

Mich.  Cav. 

Wilham   J.    Young,    Co.    M;    ti 

-ans.    to   8th 

Mich,  Cav. 

Charles   Zimmerman,    Co.    A ;    t 

rans.    to   8th 

Mich,   Cav, 

Battery  A,  First  Light  Artillery,  famed  throughout  Branch  county  as 
the  "  Loomis  Battery,"  whose  annual  reunions  are  occasions  attracting  more 
than  casual  interest,  the  Loomis  Battery  Park  with  its  memorial  tablets  and 
cannon  being  a  conspicuous  feature  of  the  Coldwater  public  square,  was 
organized  soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  war  in  1861.  Its  nucleus  was 
an  artillery  company  that  had  existed  in  the  village  of  Coldwater  for  some 
time  before  the  war.  The  enlistment  at  first  was  for  three  months,  but  it 
was  soon  announced  that  the  battery  would  not  be  received  except  for  a 
period  of  three  years.  Some  returned  to  their  homes,  but  the  battery  was 
soon  recruited  to  full  strength,  Cyrus  O.  Loomis  was  elected  captain,  hence 
the  poijular  name  of  the  organization.  The  record  of  this  battery  is  given 
on  the  large  memorial  tablet  in  the  public  square  of  Coldwater.  Suffice  it 
here  to  state  that  the  battery  saw  its  first  action  in  West  Virginia  at  Rich 
Mountain;  was  then  transferred  to  the  campaigns  in  Kentucky  and  Ten- 
nessee, its  experience  culminating  in  the  fierce  struggle  at  Chickamauga. 
The  battery  remained  about  Chattanooga  until  the  close  of  the  war,  being 
mustered  out  July  28,  1865. 

MEMBERS  OF  BATTERY  A  FROM 

BRANCH  COUNTY. 
Cyrus  O.  Loomis,  Coldwater,  capt. ;  enl.  May 

28,  1861;  col.,  Oct.  8,  1862;  bvt.  brig.-gen., 

June  20,  1865 ;  must,  out  July  ag,  1865. 
Otis   H.   Gillam,   Coldwater,    ist   lieut  ■    enl 

May  28,  1861 ;  res.  March  8,  1862. 


Roland  Root,  Coldwater,  2d  lieut.;  enl.  May 

28,  1861;  isl  lieut.,  Oct.  6,  1861;  res.  Nov, 

17,   1862. 
Robert   G.    Chandler,    Coldwater,    2d    lieut.; 

enl.  May  28,  1861 ;   ist  lieut.  Oct.  6,  1861 ; 

res.  Nov,  24,  1862. 
George   W.   Van   Pelt,   Coldwater.  2d   lieut.: 


yGoosle 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


enl.  Oct.  6,  1861 ;  rst  lieiit.,  Nov.  24,  1862; 

killed    in    action    at    Chickamauga,   Tenn., 

Sept.  19.  1863. 
Almerick  W.  Wilbur,  Quincy,  2d  lieut, ;  enl. 

Nov.   24,   1862}    1st  lieut,,   Sept.  21,   1863; 

capt.,    Sept.    5,    1864;    must,   out   July   28, 

1865,  with  battery., 
John   M.  Tilton,  Coldwater,  2d  lieut. ;  enl. 

Sept.   21.    1863;   ist  lieut-,   Sept.  6,   1864; 

res.  March  6.   1865. 
John  W.  Streeter.  Union  City,  2d  lieut. ;  enl. 

Sept.   6,    1864;    rst   lieut.,   May   25,    1865; 

must,  out  July  28,  1865,  with  battery. 
William  R,  Peet,  Coldwater,  2d  lieut.;  must. 

out  Jnly  z8.  1865,  with  battery. 
Hezekiah    E.    Burchard,    disch.   to   enlist    as 

vet.,  Feb.  11.  1864. 
William   H.   Bush,  disch.   at  end  of  service. 

May  31.  1864. 
Robert  J,  Bradley,  disch.  for  disability,  March 

25.  1863. 
John  Boiemar,  disch.  at  end  of  service,  May 

31.  1864- 
Orrin  A.  Barber. 
.  Admiral   B,   Burch,  di.sch.  at  end  of  service, 

May  31,  1864. 
Edward  M.  Brown,  disch.  at  end  of  service, 

May  31.  1864. 
Lafayette  M.  Burleson,  disch.  at  end  of  ser- 
vice. May  31,  1864. 
Levi  Beard,  must,  out  July  28,  1865. 
Joseph   Billingsjy.   died   in   rebel   prison. 
Aaron  R,  Burroughs,  must,  out  July  28,  1865. 
James  B,   Burtless,  must,   out  July  28.  1865. 
Peter  Berdama,   died   of   disease   at   Chatta- 
nooga, Tenn    June  z6,  iS()4 
Tames  Barnes,  disch    at  end  of  service,  Sept. 

30.  1864 
Charles  Barnes,  must    out  July  28,   1864- 
Martm  Buell,  disch    at  end  of  service.  May 

II    1864 
Edgar  H    BargdufT    must  out  July  28,   1865. 
Thomas  Baird    must   out  July  28,  1865. 
Jeremiah  V    H    Cudner,   must    out  July  28, 

1865. 
William  R    Card    d  ■ich    \y     rder    May  22, 

186s. 
Edward  P.  CTark 

Augustus  A   Cudner  must   out  July  28,  1865. 
Jesse  Culver   must    out  July  28    1865. 
Harvey  Crawford   mu.t   out  July  28   i86g. 
Contarini  Crawford   must   out  Julv  28,  1865. 
Don  P.   Cushman    disch    at   end   of  service, 

Sept.  no,  1864. 
Wilbur  B.   Crawford    d  sch    bi   crder.   May 

30,  1865. 
Simon  L.  CuKer   must   out  July  28   1865. 
Asa  B.  Cornell   disch   at  end  of  service,  Sept. 

30,  1864. 
Cornelius    Claus     disch     at    end   of    service. 

May  3J.  1864. 
Ransom  Cory   must    cut  July  z8,  1865. 
Brndley    Cnppen     d  scl      at   end   of   service, 
Oct.  2g,  i%4. 


John   Golden,   disch.  at  end  of  s 
31,  1"' 


William  J.  Culp,  must,  out  July  28,  1865. 
Lester  Carson,  disch,  for  disability.   May  16, 

1863, 
Wm.    Dubendorf,   disch,    for   disability,   Oct. 

21,   1862, 
Sela  R.   Day,  disch.  at  end  of  service.  May 

31,  1864, 
John  Dillon,  died  at  Stone  River,  Tenn.,  Jan. 

6,  1863,  of  wounds, 
Daniel     De  ma  rest,     died     in     Anderson  ville 

prison,  June  17,  1864. 
Edward  F.  Davis,  must,  out  July  28,   1865. 
Wm.  H.  Eldred,  died  of  disease  at  Nashville, 

Tenn.,  Aug.  11,  1863. 
Edward  E,  Ellis,  must,  out  July  28,  1865. 
Martin  V.  Elliott,  must,  out  July  28,  1865. 
George  L.  Freemyer,  must,  out  July  28,  1865. 
Bradley  C.  Farman,  must,  out  July  28.  18155. 
Samuel  W.  Finney,  disch.  for  disability.  May 

ce,  May 

Marcus  A.  Gage,  died  at  Stone  River,  Tenn., 

Jan.  13,  1863,  of  wounds. 
Andrew  Grosse,  disch.  at  end  of  service,  May 

31.  J864. 
Warren  J.  Gould,  disch.  at  end  of  service. 

Sept.  30,  1864. 
Luman   B.    Gibbs,   disch.   at   end   of   service, 

May  31,  1864. 
Isaac   Groesbeck,   died   in   action   at    Chicka- 
mauga. Tenn.,  Sept.  19,  1863. 
Archibald   Grove,    disch.    at    end   of   service. 

June  13.   1864. 
John  Gackler. 
Andrew  J.  Hanna,  disch.  at   end  of  service, 

May  31,   1864- 
Thomas  J.  Harris,   must,  out  July  28,   1865. 
James  Haynes.  disch,  at  end  of  service,  May 

31,   1864. 
James  B.  Haggerty,  died  of  disease,  Jan.  13, 

1863. 
John  Heller,   died  at   Champlin  Hills.   Ohio, 

Oct.  8,  1862,  of  wounds. 
Sheldon   Havens,   disch.   at   end   of   service, 

Sept.  30,   1864. 
Charles  E.   Hastings,  disch.   March  31.   i86.l. 
Joseph  R.   Harris,   disch.  at   end  of  service, 

May  31.  1864. 
Clinton   A.   Hutchinson,   must,   out  July   28, 

1865. 
Wm,  H.  Haynes,  died  at  Chattanooga,  Tenn,, 

May  21.  1864, 
Alonzo  C.  Hayden,  disch.  at  end  of  service, 

Sept.  30.  1864. 
Bruce  G.   Hawley,   disch.  at  end   of  service, 

May  31-  i854- 
Charles   E.  Judd,  must,  out  July  28,   1865, 
Henry  H,  Kellogg,  disch.  at  end  of  service, 

May  31,    1864. 
nT.^tlr,  Kelly,  .must,  out  Jnly  28,  1865. 

■■    "  St.  out  July  28.   1865. 

out  July  28,  1865. 


John  W,  Kennedy,  1 
Charles  A.  Lee,  mus 


ifGoogle 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


Stillman    E     Lawrence     must     out   Jiiij    28 

1865 
Francis  J    Lewis    di'^cli    for  disability    April 

9.  1863 
William  Lynde    must   out  July  28    1865 
Abijah  P   Lyke   must   out  Julv  28    1865 
Clark  Miller    must    out  July  28    1865 
Jerome  Mather 
Leander  K  McCrea  disch  at  end  of  service 

May  31    1864 
John   A     Mosher    disch    at   end   of   service 

May  31    1864 
John  H    Munion,  disch    it  end  of  serMce, 

Sept  30  1864 
Peter  Monta\oti    must    out  Julv  28    1865 
James  P    McCarty    died  in  iction  at  Chick 

amauga    Tenn    Sept    ig    1863 
John  J    Martin    must   out  July  28    1863 
I>avid  C    Nichols   died  at  Stone  Ruer   Jan 

13,  1863  of  i\ound'i 
Jared  Nichols 
Bernard  O  Rourke  trans  to\et  Res  Corps 

May  15    1864 
Silas    Patten     disch     for   di=abilitj     Da,     13 

1865 
William  Peet   must   out  Julj  28   iSos 
Cornelius  J    Patten    disch    at  end  of  service 

Sept    30    1864 
William  J    Pattison    disch    for  promotion 
William    \    Post    mii=t    out  July  28    iSe^; 
Lewis  C  Richardson   must   out  July  28   1865 
Robert  Riulstone   roust    out  Julj  28    iSfis 


186=; 


A     Rol 


irj  M   Rap   ght    n  t  J  Ij 

Linus  H    Steven     m  st   nut  J   Ij     8 
George  W    Sm   h 
John  W   Streeter 
Watson    Spe  cer     d  sch    at   end    of 

May  II    1864 
Myron   H     Sm  th 

Sept   io,  1864 
Samue!  J    Sm  th 
Charles  F,  Sm  th 
Lharles  K  Ste 


t   out  July  28    i8( 

it   out  July  '•S    t8( 

July  -8    1 


d  sch    for  d    ab  I  ty    March 

J  ly  -8   1865 
.      J  ly     8    i86s 
at  end    f    er     e 


Svhai 

18    1863. 
Syh  ester  Taylor   m 
Luciu*  M.  To  sley 
Asa  G  Van  Blare 

Sept  30  1864 
Ira  C  Van  Aken  mu  t  o  t  July  i 
Henry  Vo  b  rg  mu  t  out  July  28 
Edward  M    \anderhoof   must    ou 

186s 
Henr*    Welh    d  sch    at  end  of    er 

31  1864. 
\ha  H  Wider  r 
George  W  Webb 
Wilham  H  \\  ebb 
James  A  Wes  r 
Webster  N  W  b 
Hcnrj  \\  heele  Is  h  h  order  Ji 
Lorenzo  W 


ut  J  ly  28   186s 
o  t  J   Iv  28    186s 
o  t  July    8     86s; 
t  J  ly  28    r86s 
t  JJy    8   186^ 


Battery  D,  or  the  Fourth  Michigan  Battery,  also  known  as  Church's 
Battery,  to  which  Branch  county  furnished  three-fourths  of  the  members, 
was  organized  during  the  first  months  of  the  war,  and  proceeded  to  the 
scene  of  hostilities  in  Kentucky  in  December,  1861 ;  it  took  part  in  the  battle 
of  Corinth,  Stone  River,  and  Cliickamauga,  and  the  campaigns  centering 
about  Nashville,  Murfreesboro  and  Chattanooga,  and  also  fought  at  Look- 
out Mountain  and  Missionary  Ridge.  It  remained  in  Tennessee  until  July, 
1865,  and  soon  after  was  sent  home  and  discharged. 


MEMBERS     OF    BATTERY    D    FROM 

BRANCH   COUNTY. 
Josiah    W.    Church,    Coldwater,    ist    lieut, ; 

enl.    Sept.    i,    1861;    capt.,   Aug.    2,    1862; 

major,    March    14,    1864;    res.    March    14, 

1864,  for  disability. 
James  M.  Beadle,  Union  City,  2d  lieut.;  enl. 

Sept.  2,  1861 ;  res.  June  20,  1862. 
Henry  B.  Corbin,  Union  City,  2d  lieut.;  enl. 

Sept.    10,    1861;    ist   lieut,  June   20,    1862; 

capt.,  March  23,  1864;  must,  out  at  end  of 

service,  Feb.  8,  1865. 
Edward  S.  Wheat,   Quincy,  1st  lieut, ;    enl. 

June  20,  T862;  must,  out  at  end  of  service, 

Feb.  8,  186s. 
Daniel   W.    Sawyer,    Quincy,   2d    lieut;   enl. 

Aug.  2,  1862;  1st  lieut.,  March  23,  1864; 

must,  out  at  end  of  service,'  Jan,  31,  1865. 
Jesse    B.   Fuller,   Coldwater,    2d   lieut, ;    enl. 


Sept,  24,  1862;  capt,,  Feb.  8,  1865;  must. 

out  Aug.  3,  1865,  with  battery, 
Solomon  E.  Lawrence,  Union  City,  2d  lieut. ; 

enl,  March  23,  1864;  ist  lieut.,  Feb.  8,  1865, 

res.  June  21,  1865. 
Samuel   A.   Blodgett,  ad   lieut. ;   enl.   Feb.  8, 

1865;    1st   lieut.,  June  21,   1865;   must,  out 

Aug.  3.  1865,  with  battery. 
George    W.    Annis,    2d   lieut.;    enl.    Feb.   8, 

1865;  must,  out  Aug.  3,  1865,  with  battery. 
Albert  J.   Baldwin,  ad  iieut,;  enl.  June  21, 

1865 ;  must,  out  Aug.  3,  1865,  with  battery. 
George   Seymour,    ist    lieut.;    enl,   Jan.    31. 

1865 ;  must,  out  Aug.  3,  1865,  with  battery. 
Edward  F.   Allen,   died   of  disease  at   Nash- 
ville, Tenn..  April  25,   1865. 
Leonard    Au.stin,    disch.    for    disability.    May 

27,  1862. 
Myron  Austin,  must,  out  Aug,  3,  1865, 


lyGoogle 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


2S7 


2^,  1B62. 

Benjamin  F    Barber   disch  at  end  of  semte 

Sept.   17,  18&4 
William  H    Beck    must    out  dt  end     f  ^er 

vice,  Sept    I?    1864 
Harvey  Barrv    diicli    for  d  aabilitj    Oa    ^ 

1S62. 
William  H    Buell    disch   at  end  of  serv  ce 

Sept.  17.  1864. 
Sidney  Buell   trans   to  Vet   Re';   Corps    \pnl 

30,  1864. 
Charles  Burnett    must   out  Aug   3    1865 
Erastus   Barber    died   of  disease   at  White 

Pigeon,  Mich     Dec    11    1861 
Henry    Barry     died    of    disease    at    Triune 

Tenn.,  April  is    1863 
Leander  Burnett    must    out  Aug    3    1863 
Jerry  Baker   must   tut  Aug   3    i86S 
Dewitt  C.  Beach    must    cut  Aug   3    1865 
Lafayette  Bartlett    died  of  disease  at    \Iur 

freesboro   Tenn     April  i    1865 
Martin    F.    Broker    died   of   disease   at    St 

Louis,  Mo     Dec    10    1861 
Frank  C.  Bei.k   must   out  Aug  3    1863 
Harvey  Bills    disch    for  disability    Aug    i 

iSfa. 
Albert  J.  Baldwin  must  out  Aug  3   1865 
Ira  B.  Buell  must  out  Aug  3   1865 
Manly  Bucknell    must    out   '\.ug    3    1865 
Cbauncey  H    Bailej    masX.   out  Aug   3    1865 
Arthur  E.  Bartlett    must    out  Aug    3    1865 
Henry  J.  Burton    must    out  \ug   3    1865 
Aaron  Baglev   Jr    must      ut  Aug   3    1865 
Austin  Burnett  must  out  ^ug  3   186s 
Henry  Beem   must   out  Aug  3    i86s 
Charles   W    Champney    tran>;    to   Vet    Res 

Corps,  April  30    1864. 
John    Chiiois     disch      for    disability     Apnl 

28,  1862 
John   H.   Chivois    disch    at   end   uf   senile 

Sept.  17    1864 
William   Colburn    di  di    4t   end    jf     eriice 

Nov.  2,  1864 
Jeremiah    A     Church     disch     for    disabiliU 

July  9,  1863 
Robert  Crtnford    mu  t    out   Aug    3    1865 
John   C.   Corbin    died  of  disease  at  Chatti 

nooga,  Tenn     Sept   25    1863 
Ira  Crandall    disch   by  order   June  30    rse^i 
John  A.  Calhoun    man    out  Aug    3    1865 
William  M    Corey   must    out  Aug   3    iRe-i 
Stephen    W     Chapman     must    out    Aug     3 

1865. 
John  Chard   must   out  Aug   3   1865 


George   B.   Davis,   died   of   disease   at    Mur- 

freesboro,  Tenn.,  March  27,  1865. 
Clinton  Dewey   ded  of  dsease  a\  Na  h    lie 

Tenn.    March  19    1864 
Marvin  M    Den  son    m  st      u    Aug   3      865 
William  J    Da    s    n      tot  Aug   3    i8()5 
Lyman   T    Da   e    n  o  t    \ug    3    1865 

Oscar  N    De      on    d  s  h    for  d    lb  )  tv   J  ly 

23,  186? 
Francis  try    must    out   -^ug    %    186 
Lewis  Gardiner,  died  of  disease  at  Gallatin, 


Gilbert   D.   Clute    .,,    _„.     .„;, 

George  W    Chiffee    diich    Feb 
Ausel  J.  Dans  disch  s 


■   Sept 


El^er  L.  Dodge  di=ch  for  disibihty  July  30 
t  end  of  service    Sept 


Tei 


I.,  Jar 


George  W.  Gates,  must,  out  Aug.  3,  1865. 
Hiram  T.  Grant,  must,  out  Aug.  3,  1865. 
Judson  Guernsey,  must,  out  Aug.  3,  1865. 
Benjamin    Hess,    discli,    at    end    of    service, 

Sept.  17,  1864. 
Norman  S.  Hawes,  disch.  at  end  of  service, 

Sept.  17,  1864. 
Horace  Hall,  disch.   for  disability,  April  25, 

1863. 
Ashael    Hill,    disch.    for    disability,    Dec.    4, 

1862. 
Abner  Hillman,  must,  out  Aug.  3,   1865, 
John  Henry,  must,  out  Aug.  3,  1865. 
Andrew  J.   Hawes,  must,   out  Aug.   3,   1865. 
Elias   Hively,   disch,   for   disability,   July   11, 

James  M.  Holiday,  disch.  at  end  of  service, 

Sept.  17,  1864, 
James  A.  Harding,  disch.  at  end  of  service, 

Sept.  17,  1864. 
Henry  Harmon,  must,  out  Aug.  3,  1865. 
Henry   Hecatharm,   must,   out   Aug.   3,   1865, 
Leonard  Hulbert,  must,  out  Aug.  3,  1865. 
George  Haymaker,  disch.  at  end  of  service, 

Sept.  17,   1864. 
Frank  Haymaker,  must,  out  Aug.  3,  1865. 
Levi   B.   Halsied,   disch.  for  disability,  April 


Wells  Harrison, 

■nust.  out  Aug.  3,  1865. 

Lewis  E.  Jacobs. 

Henry  J.  Jones, 

iiust.  out  Aug.  3,  iS6S- 

Nathaniel  Jones, 

must,   out   Aug.   3.   1865. 

Varney  B,  Jones 

must,   out  Aug.  3,   '865- 

Samuel  Killmena 

Ansel    Knowles, 

disch.    for   disability,    Aug. 

..  1862. 

Peter  J.  Kidney,  died  of  disease  at  Monterey, 
Tenn    Ma\   13    1862 

Alon/o  C   Kimball    disch   by  order   Jui 
1865 

Jisiali  Kimbali    must    out  Aug    3    186; 

Samuel    Kilbiim     di^ch     at    end    of    se 
Sept    17    i^ 

George  W    Kilburn    died  of  disease  at 
inth   Miss    June  23    1S6* 

William    H.    Kellogg,    trans,    to    Vet. 
Corps,  April  ro,  1864. 

Caleb  H.  Lincoln,  died  of  disease  at  Nash- 
ville, Tenn.,  Jan.  4,  1864. 

Wm.  H.  Lincoln,  must,  out  Aug.  3,   1865. 

Cornelius  D.  Leech,  must,  out  Aug.  3,  1865. 

Riley  Layhm.  must,   out  Aug.  3,  1865. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


Henry   ^\     Lock    m     t    o 

t   ^ug,  3,  1865. 

William  H.  Studley.  disch,  at  end  of  service 

William  Louclfi    mil  t    o 

It    \ug.   3,   1865. 

Sept.  17,  1864. 

Frank  Lilley   mi  =t   out   \ 

ig   3    1865. 

Charles  W,  Stafford,  must,  out  Aug.  3,  1865. 

James    M    LolIc    mu*t    c 

it    ^.ug.   3.   1865. 

Daniel  B.  Saunders,  must,  out  Aug.  3,  1865. 

David   W    ftkore    d  sell 

It   end   of  service, 

Andrevt  Shafcr,  disch.  for  disability,  Dec.  1, 

Sept    17    i'*64 

i86l. 

Horace  Maxon    di^ch    for  disability,  July  ii, 

Joseph  M.  Snyder,  must,  out  Aug.  3,  1865. 

1862 

George  W.   Swift,   died  of  disease  at  Camp 

Jesse  L   Maxon   disch   fcr 

disah  lity.  May  13, 

Gilbert,  Ky.,  Jan,  20,  1862. 

186. 

Carlisle  Smith,  must,  out  Aug.   3,   1865, 

Jesse  R   Mathews   must   out  ^ug.  3,  1865. 

George  H.   Shelt,  must,  out  Aug.  3,   1865. 

Byron  L  Mitchell  must  out  \ug.  3.  iB6s. 

David  R-  Spencer,  must,  ovit  Aug.  3,  1865. 

George  V   Meseroll   d  sch 

at  end  of  service, 

John  Stahlnecker,  must,  out  Aug.  3,   i86j. 

Sept    17    1864. 

George   Seymour,   must,  out   at   end   of  ser- 

Estes    McDonald     di=ch 

at   end    o£   service, 

vice,  Sept.  17,  1864. 

Sept   17   1864 

John   Studiey,   must,   out   at   end  of  service. 

William  A   Morlej    di  cl 

at  end  of  service. 

Sept.  17,  1864. 

Sept    17    1864 

Isaiah   Swift. 

John  T    Morford    must   r 

ut  Aug.  3,  1865, 

William  Sutton,  died  of  disease  at  Gallatin, 

William  H   Morford   mus 

t  out  Aug,  3,  1865. 

-  Tenn.,  Dec.  22,  1862. 

Comeiius  J  Myers  must 

cut  Aug.  3,  1865. 

Caleb   Simmons,   died   of  disease  at   Cincin- 

Mareellus Morrel!  must 

ut  Aug.  3,  i86s. 

nati,  Ohio.  July  15,  1862. 

John   W    Norton    disch 

at  end   of   service. 

Ethan  D.  Starks.  died  of  disease  at  Gallatin, 

Sept    17    1864 

Tenn.,  Dec.  24,  1862. 

Charles   Norton    mist    01 

t  Aug.   3.   1S65. 

Augustus  F.  Taylor,  disch.  at  end  of  service. 

Samuel  H    Nichols    must 

0  It  Aug.  3.  1865. 

Sept.  17,  1864. 

Michael   OTtourke    must 

out   \ug.  3,  i86s. 

Albert   D,   Tyler,   disch.    for   disability,   July 

Milton  Ormsby    d  a 

Harvev  L    Ormsby    died  of   disease   at   Pa- 

ducah    Ky     J   Iv  2    1862 
Edgar  T    Ormsby 
Albert   Olmste-id    died   of   d  sease    at   Camp 

Halleck   Tenn     Aprd  27   1S62- 
Porter   Olm-stead    d  SLh     at   end   of   service. 

Sept    17    1864 
Patrick  O  Rourke    d  sch    1  y  order,   May  24, 

1865 


George  Olmstead    m  is 

Lam  an  Olm  stead 

Jarvis   Fetch    must    o 

Albert   Pinkerton    m   ■ 
30,186s 

Henry  A    Peters    tnusi 

Joseph    Pohte    must    1 

William  Roblyer    d  sc 
Sept    17    1864 

Angusa  Rhode    must 

Mason   F    Rowe    musi 

Charles  M   Richards   n 

Henry  Runyan    must 

William  W   Swayne   n 

Martin   Swavtie    must  „    _ 

George   M    Sims    died  of  disease  at   Louis- 
ville   Kv 

Henry    Sevmour     di=ch     it    end   of 
Sept    17    1864 

Albert    Shelmire     diach     it   end    of 
Sept    17,  1864 


t  Aug.  3,  1865. 


out   -^ug,  3,  1865. 
ut    ^ug    3,   1865. 

DUt  Aug,  3,   1865. 

out    4.ug-  3,   1865. 
,ust  out  Aug,  3.  186 
31 1   \ie.  3,  1865. 
ust  out  Aug.  3.  186 
out  A  g.  3.  3 


Joseph  Taylor,  died  of  disease  at  Murfrees- 

boro,  Tenn.,  July  16,  1864. 
John  Taylor,  must,  out  Aug.  3,  1865, 
William  Taylor,  must,  out  Aug.  3,   1865. 
Charles  T.  Torrey,  must,  out  Aug.  3,  1865. 
Edwin  A.  Tenney,  must,  out  Aug.  3,  1865. 
Charles    Van    Vliet,    died    at    Chatlanoogai 

Tenn.,   Oct.  28.   1863,   of  wounds. 
John  P.  West,  disch.  for  disability,  Feb.  13, 
-       1863. 
George  E.  Wolcott,  disch,  at  end  of  service, 

Sept.  17,  1864, 
Loren  M,   Waldo,  diseh.   for  disability,   July 

28,  1862, 
Joseph  M.  Wisner, 

Herman    Wedemann,   disch,    at    end   of   ser- 
vice. Sept,  17,  1864, 
George   Warren,   disch,    for   disability,    Sept. 

9,  1863, 
Storrs  Wilbur,  disch,  at  end  of  service,  Sept, 

17.  1864, 
Martin  V,  Wright,  disch.  for  disability,  April 

28,  1862, 
Albert  D,  Wetherby,  must,  out  Aug.  3,  i86g. 
Hiram  C,  Wilber,  must,  out  Aug,  3,  1865. 
John  H,  Wilber,  must,   out  Aug.  3,    1865, 
Asa  H.   Wilber,  must,  out  Aug,  3,   1865, 
Thomas  C,  Winters,  must,  out  Aug.  3,  1865. 
David   Welherell,  must,  out   Aug,  3,   1865. 


Battery  F,  First  Michigan  Light  Artillery,  also  known  as  the  Sixth 
Michigan  Battery,  was  organized  at  Coldwater  in  October.  1861,  and  left 
for  Louisville.  Kentucky,  in  March,   1862;  was  in  Kentucky  till   the  latter 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


wart  of  1863,  when  it  was  sent  to  Knoxville,  Tennessee,  and  thence  to  join 
Sherman's  movement  toward  Atlanta;  after  the  capture  of  Atlanta,  the 
battery  followed  Hood  back  into  Tennessee,  and. in  December.  1S64,  partici- 
pated in  the  decisive  engagement  at  Nashville.  Early  in  1865  the  battery 
was  transferred  to  Washington,  and  saw  service  along  the  coast  and  in 
North  Carolina  until  the  war  closed.  It  was  mustered  out  at  Jackson, 
Michigan,  July  i,  1S65. 


MEMBERS     OF    BATTERY    F    FROM 

BRANCH   COUNTY. 
John    S.    Andrews,    Coidwater,    capt. ;    enl. 

Oct.  15,  1861 ;  res.  Dec.  s,  1863. 
Luther  F.  Hale,  Coidwater,  1st  Heut.;  enl. 

Oct.   IS,   1861;  capt.,  Dec.  5,  1862;  maj,, 

Sept.   I,   1863;   lieut.-col.,  March   14,  1864; 

res.  Nov.  17,  1864. 
George  B.  Tyler,  Coidwater,  ist  lieut. ;  enl. 

Oct.   IS,   1861;    killed   in   action,   June   29, 

1862,  at  Henderson,  Ky.,  by  guerrillas. 
Byron  D.  Paddock,  Coidwater,  2d  lieut. ;  enl. 

July  I,  1862;  ist  lieut.,  Dec.  5,  1862;  capt., 

Sept.  I,  1863 ;  must,  out  at  end  of  service, 

April  6,  1865. 
George  Holbrook,  Coidwater,  2d  lieut.;  enl. 

Sept.  1,  1862;  1st  lieut.,  Sept.  2,  1863;  must. 

out  at  end  of  service.  Jan.  10,  1865. 
William   H.    Brown,    Coidwater,    ad    lieut.; 

eni.  Dec.  S-  1862;  res.  March  15,  1864. 
Marshall   M.   Miller,    Coidwater,   ad   lieut.; 

enl.   March    15,    1864;    ist   lieut.,   Jan.    15, 

1865 ;  wounded  in  action  at  Marietta,  Ga., 

June  2?,  1864;  must,  out  July  i,  1865,  with 

battery. 
George    Hawley,    Coidwater,    ad    lieut. ;    enl. 

Sept.  2,  1S63;  1st  lieut.,  Jan,  10,  i86s;  capt., 

April  6,  1865,  must,  out  July  i,  1865,  with 

battery, 
John  Hughes,  Coidwater,  ad  lieut.;  enl.  as 

sergt,,  April  6.  1865;  must,  out  July  J,  1865, 

with  battery. 
John  B.  Allen,  must,  out  July  i,  1865. 

.   Avery,  disch.   for  disability.  May 


.  '5,  : 


12. 


Joseph  Badger,  disch.  for  disability,  Ji 

disch.     for     disability, 
ist,  out  July  1,  1865. 


iiandervitle     Bates, 
March  2,  1863. 

Charles  Bray  ton.  mii 

Daniel  Burleson. 

Joseph   Bedell,    died    of   disease    at    Quincy, 
Mich.,  March  15,  1865, 

Charles    Bridge,    died    of    disease    at    Glas- 
gow, Ky.,  Nov.  17,  1863. 

Gideon  S,  Baker, 

George  O.  Bush 

Martin  L.  Burleson   1 

Samuel  Butcher,  musi 

William  H.  Brown 
ivid  H,   Carter 


Dut  July  I,  1865. 

...  -  --   -"' -■.   out  July  I,  1865. 

•■Albert  Cummmgs    disch    for  disability.  Sept. 
27,  iSfe. 


Levi   Coup,  disch.  at  end  of  service,  Jan,  1 

1865. 
Francis  C.  Corneille.  must,  out  July  i,   186 
Charles  D,   Christian, 
Levi  Cory. 
George  W.  Clark,  disch.   for  disability,  Jur 

12,  1862. 
Watson   R.    Cole,    disch.   by   order,   June 

■2th  u.  : 


James  D.  Cole,  disch.  for  pro.  tc 

Col.  Heavy  Art, 
Harvey    Dart,    died    of   disease 

Green,  Ky.,  Jan.  29,  1863. 
Ambrose  David,  disch.  at  end  of 

28,  1865. 
Leman  Dibble,  disch.  at  end  of  si 

as.  186K. 


.    Bowling 
rvice,  Jan, 

irice,  April 
1865. 


Calvin  J,  Dart,  disch,  ; 

19,   !86s. 
Harvey  Darwin,  rnust,  out  July  i 
Isaac  C.  Estlow,  must,  out  July  i,  iSOS. 
John  G.  Gould,  must,  out  July  1,  1865. 
Webster  Goodrich,  disch.  for  disability,  Sept. 

Isaac  Grundy,  must,  out  July  r,  1865. 
John  Graham,   must,   out  at   end   of  service, 

Jan.  14,  186S. 
Henry  A.  Hutson. 
George  H.  Hawley,  disch,  to  re-enl,  as  vet,, 

Feb.  zo,  1864. 
William    E.    Holmes,    disch.    for    disabihty. 

June  12,  1862. 
Joseph   J.   Hartwell,  must,   out  July  i,   1865. 
John  Hughes,  must,  out  July  1,   1865, 
George  Holbrake. 

James  M.  Hulberf,  must,  out  July  1,  1865. 
William  H.  Howe,  disch.  for  disabihty,  Feb. 
,  20,  1863. 

Michael   Holweg,  must,  out  July  i,   1865. 
Marquis  L.  Hayner,  disch.  to  take  com'sn  in 

12th  U.   S.   Col.  H.  Art. 
Frederick  Keeler. 
Joseph  Lapointe. 

Leverett  Lee,  must,  out  July  1,  1865. 
Willard  Lease,  must,  out  July  i,  1865. 
Gideon  Lease,  disch.  at  end  of  service,  Jan. 

28,   1865, 
Marshall  M.  Miller,  disch.  to  re-enl.  as  vet., 


Joseph  McKinney,  must. 
David   C.  Myers,  must. 


It  July  I,  1865. 
It  by  order,  Jai 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


George  W  Mi^ner  di'ch  for  diwbJitj   Ji 

12    1862 
Nathan  Morse    disch    for  disabilitv    Way  1$, 

1862 
Peleg  S    Manchester   died  of  disease  at  Lou- 

isiille    K>     Jan    ig    iS6% 
Asher  M    Miller,  disch    for  disability,  Nov. 

26,  1862. 
Phiio   P.   Miller,  disch.   for  disability,   Feb. 

26,  1863. 
William  W.  Misner,  must,  out  July  I,  1865. 
James  H.  McCauIey,  disch.  at  end  of  ser 

Jan.  28.   1865. 
Sanford  H.  McCauley,  disch.  at  end  of 

vice,  Aug.  19,  1865, 
James    McCrea,    disch.    at    end    of    ser 


Isa 


McCrea,  disch.  at  end  of  service,  Ja 
186-;. 


John  W.  McGinnis,  disch, 

Jan.  28,  1865. 
Samuel   B.   McCourtee,  disch,   to  re-enl. 

vet,,   Feb.  20,   1864. 
Sylvester  W.  McNitt,  must,  out  July  t,  i8( 
Wm.  N.  Millard. 

James  Morrill,  must,  out  July  i,  1865. 
Wesley  J.  Nichols,  must,  out  July  r,  1863. 
William   H-   Pratt,   disch,   at   end  of  servi< 

Jan.  28,  186s. 
Gideon  Pease. 
Eben  Palmeter,  disch.  for  disability,  Jan.  i 

1864. 
Joseph   Palmeter,   disch.   by   order,    May   i 


Cyrus  W.  Parker,  must,  out  July  i,  1865. 
Sherman  B.  Ransom,  disch.  to  accept  com'sn 

in  13  U.  S.  Col.  H.  Art, 
James  M.  Ransom,  disch.  for  disability   Mav 

IS,  1862.  ' 

Andrew  J.   Shook,   disch.   at  end  of  service 

Jan.  28,  1865. 
Almiron  L.  Sharp,  died  of  disease  at  Nash- 
ville, Tenn.,  Dec.  28,  1864. 
Stephen   D.    Sherman,    disch.    for   disabilitv 

Nov,   18,   1862. 
Abram  E.  Stowell,  disch.  for  disability,  Oc: 

14,  r862. 
Truman  A.   Smith,  disch.  at  end  of  service 

Jan.  28,  1865. 
Samuel  L.  Stowell,  disch.  at  end  of  service 

Jan.  28,  1S65. 
William  Taft,  disch.  by  order,  July  i,   1865. 
Harrison   Taylor,   disch.   at   end   of   service, 

Jan.  28,  1865. 
David  S.  Thompson. 
Rowland   F,   Underbill,   disch,   for  disability 

March  n,  1863. 
Abner   T.   Van   Vorst,   disch.   for   disabilitv. 

Oct.  3,  1863. 
Nicholas  Van  Alstine,  must,  out  July  i,  1865. 
Amos   Vanderpoel,   must,    out   July    i,    1865 
Samuel  Wright,  must,   out  July  1.   1865. 
Isaac   H.    White,    disch.   at   end   of   service. 

Jan.  28,   1865, 
William  H.  White. 
Abram  L.  Wetb,  disch.  for  disability  April 

28.  i862. 
David  E.  Wedge,  disch.  for  disabxlily,  April 

28,  1862. 
Carlton  Wakefield,  must,  out  July  r,  1865. 


Battery  G,  Michigan  Artillery,  was  also  largely  made  up  of  Branch 
county  men,  and  was  mustered  into  service  at  Kalamazoo,  January  16,  1S62. 
Its  first  service  was  in  Kentucky  and  along  the  Ohio  river  into  West  Vir- 
ginia. It  was  then  a  part  of  Sherman's  forces  operating  in  northern  Missis- 
sippi, and  with  Grant  about  Vicksburg,  rendering  specially  valuable  service 
in  the  movement  against  Jackson.  It  later  was  sent  to  Louisiana  and  along 
the  Texas  coast,  and  finally  took  part  in  the  siege  and  capture  of  Mobile.  It 
was  mustered  out  of  service  at  Jackson,  Michigan,  August  6,  1865. 

George   L.    Stillmati,    Coldwater,    2d    lieut.; 

enl.  Feb.  15,  1863;  ist.  lieut.,  Sept.,  1863: 

must,  out  Aug.  6,   1865,   with  battery. 
Edwin   E.  Lewis,   Coldwater,   2d   lieut.;   enl. 

June  6,  1862;  1st.  lieut.,  April   19,   1864; 

capt.,  Jan.  7,  1865 ;  must,  out  Aug.  6,  1865, 

with  battery. 
Elliott  M,  Burdick,  Coldwater,  2  lieut. ;  enl. 

April   ig,    1864;   must,   out   Aug.   6,    1865; 

with  battery, 
Theodore    F.   Garvin,   Coldwater,   2d    lieut; 

enl.  as  sergt,,  April  6,  1865;  must,  out  Aug, 

6,  i86s,  Hith  battery. 


G    FROM 
^. 
Charles  H.  Lanphere,  Coldwater,  capt.;  enl. 

Oct.  3,  1861 ;  res,  Sept.  1,  1863- 
Albin   T,   Lanphere,    Coldwater,'  ist    lieut.; 

enl.  Oct.  3,  1861;  res,  June  5,   1862. 
James  H.  Burdick,  Coldwater,  2d  lieut. ;  enl, 

Oct.  3,  1861  ■,  capt.,  Sept,  1,  1863 ;  must,  out 

at  end  of  service,  Jan.   17,  1865. 
Robert  M.  Wilder,  Coldwater,  2d  lieut. ;  enl. 

Oct,    3.    1861;    1st.   lieut.,   Oct,   22,    1862; 

res.  May  3,  1863. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


George  H.  Abbott    disch    at  eni  of  service, 

March  4,  iS^'^ 
Robert  H.  Abbott   disch    for  di'iibil  ty,  June 

i6,  J863. 
Philander  L    Alden    mu'Jt    out  Aug   6,  1865. 
Elijah  C.  Branch    di'ch    for  d  sabihty,  Nov. 

4,  1862. 
Clinton    J.    Ball     died    of    disease    it    Fort 

Gaines,  Ala     Noi     25     iS'H. 
George    Busier     died    of    dibeaae     April    25, 

1862. 
Hiram  L.  Brace    trans    to  Vet    Res    Corps, 

April   10,  1864 
Aaron  Barnes    must    out  Aug   6    1865. 
Nathaniel  R   Barnes   must   out  Aug   6,  1865. 
George  N.  Brown   must    out  Aug   6   1865. 
Archibald  D   Cooper   must  out  Aug  6,  1865. 
George  W.  Clark   must   cut  Aug     6    1865. 
Daniel  J.  Cook    must    out  Aug    6    1865. 
Francis  L,  Cain   must   out  Aug   6    1865. 
Ezra  S.  Corey   di^^th   at  end  of  service,  Jan, 

28,   1865. 
Edgar   A.    Craft     disch     to   enl     m    regular 

service,   No\     2$    1862 
Stephen    B     Campbell     disch     for   disability, 

July  15,  1862 
Daniel'  B.    Campbell     disch     for    disability, 

April,  1862 
Reuben  Cornell    disch    for  disability,  April 

II,  1862, 
Daniel  Douglass    must    out  Aug    6    1865. 
William  Dillen   disch   at  end  of  service,  Jan. 

28,  1865, 
Benjamin  F    Dumont    disch    at  end  of  ser- 

Austin    Engle     disch     for    disability    March 

4,  1864. 
Jeremiah  Fei^uson  trins   to  \  et   Rei,  Corps, 

March  5,  1864. 
William  S.  Gibson,  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps, 

Sept.  25,  1864. 
Charles  M.  Gay,  must,  out  Aug.  6,  1865. 
Lyman  J.  Goodell,  must,  out  Aug.  6,  1865. 
Daniel  J.  Gibson,  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps, 

Sept.  25,  1S64. 
Moses  A.  Hewett,  trans,  to  Vet,  Res.  Corps, 

April  10,  1864. 
Daniel  Higgins.  disch.  for  disability,   March 

1,  1862. 
George    W.    Harris,    disch.    by    sentence    of 

G.  C  M„  Sept.  6,  1862. 
Tobias    Haynes,    died    of    disease    at    Pass 

Cavallo,  Texas,  June  7,   1864. 
Edwin  R.  Hause,   died  of  disease  at  New 

Orleans,  Ju]y  21,  1865. 
Francis    Harvey,    disch.    at    end   of   service, 

Jan.  28.  1865. 
James   D.    C.   Harvey,   died   of   disease  near 

Perkie's  Plantation,  La.,  May  31,  1863. 
William  Hurst,  must,  out  Aug-  6,  1865. 
Albert  Johnson,  must,  out  Aug,  6,  1865, 


Eiias  Johnson   must   oit  A  g   0    1865. 
Benjamin    Knickerbocker     disch     for    disa- 
bility  Aug    10    1863 
Frederick    Knickerbocker     d  sch     at    end   of 

service    Jan    28    lh6'^ 
Philander  Knapp   must   out  Aug   6,  1865. 
Sc  mers    Leland     disch     for    disability,    June 

16    ib6j 
Sidnei   Leland   disch    at  end  of  service,  Jan. 

-8    1863 
Hei  ry  Lindenb  irg    n  1st    out    \ug.  6,   1865. 
1  haddeus    E     Lawrence     ditd    at    Padiieah, 

Ky     Feb   9    1863    of  wounds 
James  A  Mason  must   out  Aug  6,  1865. 
Charles  R    Moore   mu'Jt   out  Aug   6,  1865, 
Cliarles  Huffman    must    out  Aug   6,   1865. 
Emanuel  G    Miller    must    out    'Vug,  6,  1865. 
John  W    McDonald    died  at  Paducali,  Ky,, 

Jan    18    1S63   of  wounds 
Morgan  Marquette    died  of  diseise  at  Cum- 
berland Gap   Tenn     Aug   3    1862, 
Benjanan   S    Osburn 
C  rtlandt  Olds   disch    for  di&ab  Iity,  Oct.  20, 

1SO4. 
John  Osterman    d  ed  of  disease  near  Vicks- 

burg    ienn    July  I    l86l 
Samuel  A    Peterson    must   out   'X.ug.  6,  1865. 
rdwin  Palmeter    disLh    for  d  sabihty, 
Henry  Patterson  disch  to  enter  U.  S.  Navy, 

Aug  2=;    i86s 
W  lliam   E.   Page    disch    dt  end   of   sei 

Feb   I-    i86g 
Johi  Rij    disth    at  end  of  service,  Jai 

1S65 

Jacob  Raupp    must   tut  Aug   6   1865. 
Fhjah  Smith   disch   fjr  d    ah  lity   Feb,,  1863. 
Peter  Snooks    disch   at  end  of  service.  Jar 

28    i86s 
W  illiam  Snooks 
tred    Schnoerstine    disch    to   enlist  in   reg 

ular  sen  ice   Noi    25    186' 
Frederick  Schmidt    disch    at  end  of  service 

Jan    28    1865 
Fayette  N    Swift    disch    at  end  of  service 

Jan   28   186s 
Seymour  Straight,  died  of  disease  at  Young  s 

Po  nt   La     March   i    1861 
Samuel  Sn  ith    d  sch    for  di'Jability,  Aug,  19, 

l852 

Chester  L   Stephen     must   out  Aug,  6,  1865. 
Smith  Taj  lor    disch    for  disability,  Aug.  27, 

1%. 
William    H     Thurber     disch     for    disability, 

Aig   28   1862 
Lyman   Thurber    disch    for  disability,   Nov, 

26   186' 
Join  J   \ickor}    disch    for  wounds,  April  17, 

1863 
-V^ron  Van  Antwerp   must   out  \\ig.  6,  if 
biU  ester  B    Wns-ht    d  sch    at  end  of  s 

lice   Jan   17   1805 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


Branch  county  furnished  a  small 

others   regiments  and   batteries   besides 

follows : 

SECOND  INFANTRY. 

John  Q.  Adams,  Co.  B;  died  at  Washington, 
D.  C.,  June  lo,  1864,  of  wounds. 

Feron  Anderson,  Co.  B ;  died  of  wounds, 
July  rS,  1864. 

Fletcher  Alford,  Co.  G;  disch.  at  expiration 
of  servica,  July  12,  1864. 

Wesley  BanBeld,  Co.  B ;  missing  in  action 
near   Petersburg,  Va,,   Sept.  30,   1864. 

Robert  A.  Belton,  Co.  B;  died  at  Ports- 
mouth Grove,  R.  L,  June  17,  1864,  of 
wounds. 

William  J.  Baldwin,  Co.  A ;   must,  out  July 


quota  of  soldiers  to  each  of  various 
those  already   given.      Their   record 


Mandeville  Bates,  Co.  D ; 


.  out  July  2 


Edward  E,  Gibson,  Co.  D ;  diseh.  for  dis- 
ability, Sept.  30,  1864. 

Andrew  Granger,  Co.  A ;  must,  out  Aug.  8, 
1865. 

Ludlow  A.  Hollenbeek,  Co.  A ;  disch.  for  dis- 
ability, Aug.  r6,  1864. 

Elijah  Hammond,  Co.  B;  must,  out  July  28, 
1865. 

Charles  J.  Moore,  Co.  H;  must,  out  July  28, 
1865. 

George  McKewn,  Co.  H ;  died  in  hospital, 
1st  Div.,  gth  A.  C,  July  25,  1864. 

Ralph  Truax,  Co.  D;  must,  out  May  12, 
1865. 

James  Upton,  Co.  B;  must,  out  Aug.  2,  1865. 
THIRD  INFANTRY. 

Anderson  Brown,  Co.  G ;  missing  in  action, 
Jan.  4,  1864. 

Sidney  J.  Burlington,  Co.  F;  trans,  to  5th 
Inf..  June   10,  1864, 

FOURTH  INFANTRY. 

David  H.  Wood,  Quincy,  2d  lieut. ;  enl.  July 
26,  1864;  ist  lieut.,  Oct.  24,  J865;  must, 
out  May  26,  1866,  with  regiment. 

Amos  Aldrieh,  Co.  E;  died  of  disease  at 
San  Antonio,  Texas,  Feb. 

Charles  Brownell,  Co.  E;  m 


Henry  E.  Beale,  Co.  C;  diseh. 

of  service,  Jan.  29,  1864. 
Samuel  B.  Corbus,  Co.  E;  m 

26,  1866. 
Canfield  A.  Fisk,  Co.  C ;  disch.  at  expiration 

of  service,  June  29,  1864. 
William  H.  Holcomb,  Co.  B ;  died  of  wounds 

at  Washington,  D.  C,  Feb.,  1863. 
John  A.  Homer,  Co.  C;  disch.  for  disability, 

April  28,  1863. 
Thomas   Jones,   Co.   E;   must,   out  May   26, 


John  P.  Kidney,  Co.  C;  diseh.  at  expiration 
of  service,  June  29,  1864. 

Joseph    Price,    Co.    C;    died   of   wounds   re- 
ceived in  action,  July  31,  1862. 

Jacob  Roupp,  Co.  C ;  disch.  at  expiration  of 
service,  Oct.  i,  1863. 

Cessna  Smith,  Co,  E;  must,  out  Aug.  21, 
1865. 

Andrew  J.  Tindall,  Co,  E;  died  of  disease  at 
Murfreesboro,  Tenn.,  Jan.  i,  1865. 

Oren  Vangilder,  Co.  I ;  disch.  to  enl.  in  reg- 
ular  service,  Dec.  24,   1862. 

Charles   Wademan,  Co.  C;   disch,  at  expira- 
tion of  service,  June  29,  1864. 

George  Williams,  Co,  C;  died  at  New  York 
City,  Aug,   la  1862. 

Jerome  B.   Yoimgs,   Co.  C ;   trans,   to  Vet. 
Res.  Corps,  Jan,  15,  1864. 

SIXTH  INFANTRY. 

George  W.   Barry,   Co.   K;   disch.  by  order, 
July  24,  1865, 

Charles  W,  Hewitt,  Co,  C;  disch.  to   re-enl. 
as  vet.,  Feb,  i,  1864. 

Joseph  W.  Ralph,  Co.  C ;  must,  out  Aug,  20, 
186s, 

Lorenzo  P.  Van  Slyke,  Co.  I;  must,  out  Aug. 
20,  1865. 

Benjamin  Wheaton,   Co.  I;   disch,  by  order, 
Sept,  2,  1865. 

Roman  S.  Whipple,  Co.  K;  disch,  by  order, 
July  24,  1865. 

TENTH  INFANTRY. 

Charles  W.  Bray,  Co.  K;  must,  out  July  19, 


JabcE    Carlisle,    Co,    A ;   r 

1865. 
Joseph  Echtinaw,  Co.  A; 


July  19, 
July  19. 
July   19, 


It  Aug.  21, 
expiration 
out  May 


John   Huffman,   Co.   G;   m 

1865. 

TWELFTH  INFANTRY. 
William  Buck,  Co.  C;  disch.  by  order,  Oct, 

12,  1865. 
Robert  Cosgrove,  Co.  B ;  disch,  by  G.  C.  M., 

Dec,  14,  1865, 
Albert  L.  Gibson,  Co.  H ;  must,  out  Feb.  15, 

1866, 
Lewis  Hause,  Co.  B ;  died  of  disease  at  Du- 

vall's  Bluff,  Ark.,  Aug,  1,  1864. 
Nathan  A.  Johnson,  Co.  B ;  died  of  disease 

at  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  July  is,  1864, 
Patrick  Keeley,   Co.   D;   must,   out   Feb,   IS. 

1866, 
Thomas    McEvoy,    Co,    E;   disch.   by   order, 

Oct,  13,  1865. 
William  H.  Savage,  Co.  A;  disch,  at  expira- 
tion of  service.  Sept,  9,  1865. 
Daniel  Tice,  Co,  B;  must,  out  Feb,  15,  1S66. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


THIRTEENTH   INFANTRY. 
Abel  E,  Barber,  Co.  E ;  disch.  by  order,  Jut 


Stephe 


I  Brooks,  Co.  I ;  disch.  by  order,  Jiu 
'  order,  June 


Sier  Baird,   Co.  I;   disch. 

1865. 
Betij.  Cleveland,  Co.  E;  died  of  disease  at 

Savannah,  Ga.,  Feb,  9,  1865. 
Josephus  Clark,  Co.  I;  disch.  by  order,  Aug. 

4,  1865. 
Hiram    Evans,    Co.    E;    died    of    disease   at 

Savannah,  Ga.,  Jan.  15,  1865. 
Calvin    B.    Ferris,    Co.    I ;   died    of   disease 

March  3,  1865. 
Levi  R,  Fuller,  Co.  I ;  disch.  by  order. 
Charles   W,   Hoxie,    Co.    I;   must,   out  Jutj- 

25,  1865. 
Horace  June,  Co.  I ;  died  of  disease  at  Troy, 

N.  Y.,  April  2,  1863. 
James  Ransom,  Co.  I;  disch.  by  order,  June 

8,  1865. 
Peter  B.  Tindall,  Co.  I ;  disch.  by  order,  June 

23,  1865. 
Milton  R,  Thompson,  Co.  E ;  disch.  by  order, 
-      June  26.  1865. 

FOURTEENTH  INFANTRY. 
John  W.  Arnold,  Co.  G;  must,  out  July   iS, 

1865. 
Archibald  Bates,  Co.  G;   must,  out  July  18, 

1865. 
John  L.  Bowers,  Co.  B;  must,  out  July   18, 

1865. 
Dwight  L.  Burbank,  Co.  B;  disch.  by  order. 


Jefferson  L.  Friend,  Co.  A; 


,   Co.   G; 


July  18, 
out  July 
July  18, 
July   18, 


William   Luke,   Co.    G;    m 
i86s, 

George  McKnight,  Co.  G;  disch.  for  disabil- 
ity, June  12,  1865. 

Robert   McMurray,   Co.    B;    must,   out   Jul.v 


Charles  Reynolds,  Co,  G ;  r 

1865. 
Christian  Perkins,  Co.  H ;  r 


t  July  iS, 
t  July  18, 

Jeremiah  Shane,  Co.  D;  disch.  for  disability, 

Nov.  II,  1S65. 
Ambrose  Stevens,  Co.  G ;  died  of  disease  ai 

Newbem,  N.  C,  May  27,  1865. 
John  J.    Smith,   Co.   G;   must,   out   July    18, 


.  Wai 


,    Co.    B;    must,   out   July    18, 


Franklin  Warren,  Co,  C;  disch.  for  wounds, 
June  18,  1865. 

TWENTY-FOURTH  INFANTRY. 
Austin  Birch,  Co.  — ;   must,  out  June  28, 


Jonathan   W.    Crawford,    Co,    E ;    must, 

June  30,  1865. 
Theodore  Dickinson,  Co.  - 


George   Frear,    Co.    E;    1 


Doyle,    Co,    G ;    disch,    bv    order, 
;.  186=;. 

It  July 
18,   18&5, 

Thomas  G.  King,  Co.  B ;  n 

1865. 
Sylvester  Kilbourn,  Co,  B 


t,  out  June 

:   June   30, 

le  30,  1B65. 
t   June   30, 

!B05, 

Peter  D.  Gibson,  Co.  —;  must,  out  June  30, 

1865, 
Carlton   Greenleaf,    Co.    B ;    must,   out   June 

30,  1865.  , 
Charles   Leigh,   Co.    E;    must,   out   June   30, 

1865, 
Melvin   G,   Lincoln,   Co.   E;   must,  out  June 

30,  1865, 
Ezra  Lewis,  Co,  I ;  piust.  out  June  30,  1865, 
William  A.  Peavey,  Co.  — ;  must,  out  June 

30.  1865. 
John    Sterling,    Co,    A;    died    of    disease    at 

Culpeper,  Va,,  April  14,  1864, 
George  Vandine,  Co,  E;  must,  out  June  30, 

1865. 
George  E.  Walcott,  Co.  E;  must,  out  June 

30,  1865, 
Julius  M.  Ward,  Co.  E;  must,  out  June  30, 

1865, 

TWENTY-FIFTH  INFANTRY. 
Oliver  H.  Blanchard,  Co.  E;  died  of  disease 

at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  Feb.  13,  1865. 
J,   S,   Manning,  Co,  D ;  died  of  disease  at 

Knoxviile,  Tenn,,  Apri!  i,  1864. 
Edward  P.  Whitmore,  Co.  D;  disch,  for  dis- 
ability March  25,  1863, 
Bruce  C,  Wilcox,  Co.  E;  must,  out  June  24, 

1865, 

TWENTY-SIXTH  INFANTRY, 
Nelson   Kenney,   Co,   G;   died   of  disease   at 

Alexandria  Va„  Dec.  20j   1863, 
TWENTY-SEVENTH  INFANTRY. 
Edwin  P.  Warren,  Co.  H;  must,  out  July  1, 

i86s. 

THIRTIETH   INFANTRY. 
Abram  R,  Colburn,  N,  C,  S. ;  must,  out  June 

30.  i86s. 
Oscar   Denning,   Co,   D;   must,  out  June  30, 

1865. 
Thaddeus  Eddington,  Co.  A ;  must,  out  June 

30,  1865. 
Thomas  B,  Farley,  Co,  A;  must,  out  June 

30,  1865, 
James  E.  Foster,  Co,  D;  must,  out  June  30, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


Charles   A.   Gilbert,   Co.   A ; 

30,  186s. 
James  A.  Kent,  Co.  D;  mu; 


Alex.  Lesprence,  Co.  D ;  miisf.  out  Jui 

1865. 
Floyd   Moiilton,   Co.  A;   must,  out  Jiii 

1865. 
John   Sullivan,    Co.   A;   must,   out   Jur 

186=;. 

Van    Etten,    Co.    A;     must. 


Ju. 


;  Woolcott,   Co.  H; 


ONE  HUNDRED  AND  SECOND  U.   S. 

COLORED  TROOPS. 
John   Delany,    Co.   B ;    must,    out   Sept.   30, 

1865. 
George  H.  Goins,  Co.  B ;  must,  out  Sept.  30, 

isss- 

George  C.  Smith,  Co.  B ;  must,  out  Sept.  30, 

1865. 
John  Saunders,  Co.  B;  must,  out  Sept.  30, 

i86s, 
John  H.  Thomas,  Co.  C^  must,  out  Sept.  30, 

J865. 
Charles  Johns,   Co,   I ;  must,  out  Sept.  30, 

1865. 
DUESLER'S  SHARPSHOOTERS. 
James   Curtis,    Benjamin    Carter,    Eltsha   R. 

Philo,  Wallace  W.  Root,  Byron  E.  WiU- 

FIFTH  NEW  YORK  INFANTRY  (DUR- 
YEA'S    ZOUAVES). 

F.  D.  Newberry,  enl.  in  April,  1861 ;  must, 
out  May  14,  1863 ;  with  regiment  in  the 
principal  battles  of  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 

ELEVENTH     CONNECTICUT     INFAN- 
TRY. 

C.  V.  R.  Pond,  acting  q.-m.,  Sept.  30,  1861 ; 
commissioned  q.-m.  In  12th  Conn.  Inf. ; 
took  part  in  the  nai'al  engagement  at  Fort 
Jackson  and  in  the  capture  of  New  Or- 
leans ;  diseh.  March  4,  1864. 

FIRST  CAVALRY. 

Samuel  L.  Brass,  Ovid,  2d  lieut.,  April  11, 
1865;  must,  out  March  ro,  1866,  with  reg- 

Barton   S.   Tibbits,   Coldwater,  2d   lieut.    (as 
sergt.),  July  10,  1865;  must,  out  March  10, 
1866,  with  regiment. 
William   Bronson,   Co.  B;   must,  out  March 

10,  1866. 
John  Dennis,  Co,  G ;  must,  out  Dec.  5,  1865. 
Elisha  Demarest,   Co.   M ;   most,   out   March 

25,  1866. 
Edwin  Fox,  Co,  G;  must,  out  Dec.  S,  1865, 
Charles    Prentis,   Co.   I;   must,   out   Dec.   5, 


out  June       .Tames  J.  Pendill,  Co,  K;  must,  out  May  11 
1866.  ' 

t  June  30,       Lucius    Stray,    Co,   E;    must,   out    March   2 
1865. 

SECOND  CAVALRY. 
William   H.   Tallman,    Coldwater,   2d.   lieut 
March  i,   1864;  capt.,  Oct.  7,   1864;  trans 
June  8,  1865,  to  136th  U.  S.  C.  T. 
Henry  W.  Walker,  Ovid,  1st  lieut.  and  quar- 
termaster, July  31,  1865 ;  not  must. 
must,     out       Washington  Bulson,   Co.  G;  must,  out  Auc 
17.  1864  ^ 

t  June  30,      John  M,  Colwell,  Co.  I;  died  of  disease  at 
Rienzi,  Miss.,  Aug.  13,  1862. 
George  W.  Hand,  Co.  M ;  must,  out  Aug   17 


Henry   G.   Johnson.   Co.   G:   must,   out    Ture 

3,  1865. 
Nelson   Norton,   Co.  H;  must,   out  Aug    30 

1865. 
Frank  Zahninger,  Co.  M;  must,  out  June  17, 

THIRD    CAVALRY. 
John   C.   Baker,   Co.   K;   died   of  disease   at 

St.  Louis,  Mo„  April  7,  1864. 
Charles    A.    Cook,    Co.    M;    must,   out    Feb 

12,  1866. 
Thomas    Davis,   Co.   F;    died   of   disease   at 

Rienzi,  Miss.,  July  25,  1862. 
Fred  Eberhard,  Co.  A;  died  of  disease  at 

Duvall's  Bluff,  Ark,,  July  23,  1864. 
George   Hawley,   Co.   G;   must,   out   Feb.   12, 


,   Lily,   Co.   A ;   must,   ■ 


t   Feb.   1 


Theodore  Oliver,  Co.  A;  died  of  disease  at 

Brownsville,  Ark.,  Aug.  25,  1864 
Mike   Reynolds,   Co.   G;  must,   out   Feb    12 

1866. 
John   Vorhees,    Co.    K;    died    of   disease   at 

Brownsville,  Ark.,  Aug.  25.  1864, 
Martin  Vanderhoof,  Co.  M;  must,  out  Feb. 

12,  1866. 
Jasper  L.  Wooden,  Co.  A;  must,  out  March 


SEVENTH  CAVALRY. 
Edward  Carr,  Co.  F;  trans,  to  ist  Mich.  Cav., 

Nov,  17,  1865. 
Elisha  Demorest,  Co.  H;  trans,  to  ist  Mich. 

Cav.,  Nov.  17,  1865. 
Peter  M,  Dubeudorf,  Co.  M ;  must,  out  Dec. 

8,  186s. 
James  Eldred,   Co.   C;  must,  out  March  27, 

1865. 
Charles  Goodrich,  Co.  M;  trans,  to  ist  Mich. 

Cav.,   Nov.   17,  1865. 
Michael  Kanouse,  Co.  F;  must,  out  Dec.  i^;, 

J865. 
Moses  Kanouse,  Co.   F;   mu=t    out   Dec    iq, 

1865. 
Spencer   Leigh,   Co.   H;   must,   out   Dec,    15, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


William  Marshall,  Co.  H ;  must,  out  Dec.  15, 

1865- 
William  Miliiman,  Co.  H;  must,  out  Dec.  15, 

1865. 
Charles  H.  Osterhout,  Co.  L;  must,  out  Dec. 

William  S.  Page,  Co.  A;  trans,  to  ist  Mich. 

Cav.,  Nov.  17,  1865. 
Minard  O.  Van  Gilder,  Co.  H;   must,  out 

Dec.  8,  1865. 
Colbert  Van  Gieson,  Co.  E;  must,  out  Dec. 

15,  1865. 
George   O.   Van   Gieson,   Co.   E;    must,   out 
Dec.  15,  1865. 

MERRILL  HORSE. 
Henry  H.  Larkin,  Co.  L;  must,  out  May  4, 

1865. 
BATTERY    C,    FIRST    LIGHT    ARTIL- 
LERY. 
Hany  Brown. 

John  F.  Button,  must,  out  June  24,  1865. 
Benjamin    Cole,    died    in    hospital   at    Camp 

Clear  Creek.  July  16,  1862. 
George  W.  Cole,  must,  out  June  22,  1865. 
Warren  R.  Corey,  must,  out  June  24,  1865. 
Merrill  Fuller,  must,  out  June  24,  1865. 
Hiram  Ferguson,  must,  out  June  24,  1865. 
Albridge    F.    Haldlay,    must,    out    June    24, 

1863, 
William  H.  Harris,  must,  out  June  24,  1865. 
William    A.    Hall,    died    in  hospital   at    St. 

Louis,   Mo.,  Jan.   18,    1862. 
George  W.  Houck,  must,  out  June  24,  1865. 
Seymour  H.  Hoyle,  must,  out  June  24,  1865. 
Amos    Hunt,   disch.    for   disability,   April    i, 

1863. 
Lorenzo  l.effingwell,  must,  out  June  24,  1865. 
Lorenzo   Mosher,   must,    out   June   24,    1865. 
Adelbert  Mudge,  must,  out  June  24,  1S65. 
John  C.  McLean,  must,  out  by  order, 
John  S.  Nichols,  must,  out  June  24,  1865. 
William  Sweeney,  disch.  to  re-enlist  as  vet- 
eran, Dec,  28,  1863. 
Thomas   J.    Stewart,    disch.   by   order,   June 

24.  1865. 
Joseph  Tubbs,  must,  out  June  24,  1865. 
Henry  H.  Wilber. 

Hiram  Wiser,  must,  out  June  24,  1865. 
ira  A.  Wright,   must,  out  by  order,  July  6, 

1865. 
George  Winter,  must,  out  June  22,  18G3, 

BATTERY  E. 
William  H.  Barry,  must,  out  Aug.  30,  1865. 
Ezra  C.  Chase,  disch.  by  order,  May  29,  1865. 
Porter  B.  Hewitt,  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps. 

Oct.  18,  1864. 
Alonzo  Randall,  must,  out  Aug.  30,  1865, 

BATTERY  I. 
Thomas  Brady. 

Theodore  Craig,  must,  out  July  14,  1865. 
W,  H.   Compton,   disch.   for  disability,   Dec. 


Fli^ha  H    Colwell    must   out  Jub-  14,  1865. 

Moses  Crawford   must   out  July  14,  1865. 

Wdliam  Davis  disch  for  disability,  April  27. 

Elijah  Forbes    must   out  July  14,  1865. 

John  M    C    Forbes    mu=t    out  July  14,  1865, 

Henry  Hoag   must   out  July  14   1865. 

John  Jordan    must    01 1  Jilv   14    1865. 

W  lliam  Kennedy    died  of  di^iease  at  Atlan- 
ta Ga    Oct  16  1864 

Jemme  Milliman    must   out  Juij   14  1865. 

Seth  MiUiman    must   out  July  14    1865. 

Leonard  Pursell   must   out  July  14,  1865. 

Alfred  Reynolds   must   out  July  14,  1865. 

George  Sutford   died  of  disease  it  Washing- 
ton D  C    March  2  1863 

Wilham  S   Smith  must  out  July  14,  1865. 

W  ilham  J   Scott  must  out  Julj  14,  1865. 

John  Sage   mu'^t    jut  July  14    1865. 

J  ihu  N   Warren   must   out  Julv  14,  1865 

Hiney  M   W  Uiams   mu  t  out  July  14,  1865. 

\    B    Zimmerman    disch    for  d  =ability,  Oct. 
24    i8b' 

BATTERY  K 

Marsden  Miller   mu't   out  Jtilv  22,  1865. 


BATTERY  L 
Isaac    Barjaron,'  disch.    for    disability,    Jar 

13.  1865. 
Stephen    M.    P.    Bates,    died   of    disease    a 

Knoxville,  Oct.  25,  1864, 
Roland    Collingsworth,    must,    out    Aug,    z; 


Albert  S.   Cooper, 

27,  1865. 
Benjamin  Douglas; 


out  by  order.  May 
t.  out  by  order,  July 


Calvin  Davwiii,  must,  out  Aug.  22,  1865. 

John  Finch,  must,  out  Aug.  22,  i86s. 

John  Granger,  disch.  for  disability,  April  i, 
1864. 

James  Gallup,  disch.  by  order,  Sept.  26,  1865. 

Henry  Goodrich,  disch.  by  order.  May  22, 
1865. 

Henry  Hopkins,  disch.  by  order,  Nov.  21, 
1864. 

Robert  M.  Hazard,  must,  out  Aug.  22,  1865. 

John  Huffman,  must,  out  Aug.  22,  1865. 

David  Hopkins,  died  of  disease  at  Camp  Nel- 
son. Ky,.  Sept.  18,  1863. 

Orrin  J.  Harding,  must,  out  Aug.  22,  1863, 

Daniel  C.  Larrabee,  must,  out  by  order,  May 
24,  1865- 

Marsden  Miller,  must.  out. 

Peter  Nagle. 

Gaines  Rudd,  died  of  disease  at  Ashland,  Ky., 
Sept.  I,  1863. 

Isaac  A.  Rapright,  must,  out  Aug.  22,  1865. 

Van  Rensselaer  Sherman,  must,  out  Aug,  22, 


lyGoogle 


296  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

BATTERY  M.  FIRST   REGIMENT   ENGINEERS   AND 

George    H."   Moultoii,    Coldwater,    id    lieut.;  MECHANICS. 

enl.  July  i6,  1863;  1st  lieut,  Oct.  26,  1863;       Hiram  A.  Blackmail,  Co.  K;   discli.  for  dis- 

must.  out  Aug.  I,  1865,  with  battery.  ability. 

George    Stewart,    disch.    by   order,    May   29,      Levi  H.  Curtis,  Co.  E ;  discli.  at  end  of  ser- 

1865.  vice,  Feb.  15,  1865. 

CLEVELAND  LIGHT  ARTILLERY. 

Levi  Fi.sh,  enl.  April  18,  1861 ;  disch,  July  28,    1861 ;  in  battle  of  Carrick's  Ford. 


,y  Google 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


LISTS 

of 

BRANCH  COUNTY  OFFICIALS,  CONTAINING  THE  COUNTY  OF- 
FICERS AND  THE  PRINCIPAL  TOWNSHIP  AND 
VILLAGE  OFFICERS. 


Prosecuting  Attorneys. 


I837-I842 

Fjibon  G.  Fuller. 

1873-1876 

Fratik  L.  Skeels. 

I843-I848 

H.  C.  Gilbert. 

1877-1880 

Simon  B.  Kitchel. 

I849-I850 

Elon  G.  Parsons. 

1881-1884 

Chas.  N.  Legg. 

I85I-I852 

James  W.  Gilbert. 

1885-1886 

John  R.  Champion. 

1853-1854 

John  G.  Parkhurst. 

1 887- 1 890 

William  E.  Ware. 

1855-1856 

John  W.  Turner. 

1891-1892 

Elmer  E.  Palmer. 

I857-I862 

Egbert  K.  Nichols. 

1893-1896 

William  H.  Compton. 

1863-1864 

L  T.  N.  Wilson. 

1897-189S 

Chas.  U.  Champion. 

1865-1866 

George  A.  Coe. 

1899-1900 

Frank  D.  Newberry. 

I867-I868 

Wallace  W.  Barrett. 

1901-1904 

Chas.  N.  Legg. 

1869-1872 

Jonas  H.  McGowan. 

1905- 

W.  Glenn  Cowell. 

Comity  Clerks. 

I833-I836 

Wales  Adams. 

1863-1868 

Henry  N.  Lawrence. 

1837-1840 

C.  P.  West. 

1869-1874 

Francis  M.  Bissell. 

1841-1844 

Henry  B.  StiUman. 

1875-1880 

Frank  D.  Newberry. 

1845-1848 

C.  P.  Benton. 

1881-1892 

James  R.  Dickey. 

1849-1850 

S.  C.  Rose. 

1893-1896 

E.  A  Greenamyer. 

1851-1854 

P.  P.  Wright. 

189.7-1900 

Burt  M.  Fellows. 

1855-1856 

Oben  0.  Leach. 

1901-1904 

Wallace  E.  Wright. 

1857-1862 

Benjamin  C.  Webb. 

1905- 

Henry  E.  Straight. 

Circnit  hidges. 

1870-1876 

Charles  Upson. 

1882-1887 

Russell  R.  Pealer. 

[S78-1879 

David  Tliompson. 

1888-1893 

Noah  P.  Loveridge. 

1879- 

John  B.  Shipman. 

1894- 

George  L.  Yaple. 

Probate  Judges. 

1833-1836 

Peter  Martin. 

1861-1864 

Nelson  D.  Skeels. 

1837-1840 

Martin  Olds. 

1865-1868 

David  Thompson. 

1841- 

Edward  A.  Warner. 

1869-1880 

David  N.  Green. 

1842-1844 

William  B.  Sprague. 

1881-1892 

Norman  A.  Reynolds 

1844-1848 

Esbon  G.  Fuller. 

1893-1896 

Chas.  N.  Legg 

1849-1856 

Harvey  Warner. 

1897-1900 

Elmer  E.  Palmer. 

I857-I860 

Jonathan  H.  Gray. 

1901- 

Frank  B.  Reynolds. 

lyGoogle 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


1833-1836 
1837-1838 
1839-1842 
1843-1846 
1847-1848 
1849-1850 
1851-1854 
1855-1856 
i857-i8«o 
1861-1864 
1865-1866 
1867-1870 


1833-1836 
1837-184Z 
1843-1846 
1847-1850 
1851-1854 
1855-1856 
1857-1858 
1859-1862 
1863-1866 
1867-1870 


1833-1834 
1841-1842 
1843-1850 
1S51-1852 
1853-1854 
1855-1858 
1S59-1862 
1863-1868 
1869-1872 


William  McCarty. 
James  B.  Stewart. 
John  H.  Stevens. 
Anselm  Arnold. 
Hiram  Shoulder. 
James  Pierson. 
Philo  Porter. 
Daniel  Wilson, 
David  N.  Green. 
John  Whitcomb. 
Charles  Powers. 
Lucius  M.  Wing. 


Sheriffs. 

1871-1874 
1875-1878 
1879-1882 
1883-1886 
1887-1890 
1891-1894 
1895-1898 
1899-1900 
1901-1902 
1903-1904 
1905- 


Register  of  Deeds. 


Seth  Dunham. 
Leonard  Ellsworth. 
Jared  Pond. 
Selfeck  Seymour. 
Albert  L.  Porter. 
Curtis  S.  Youngs. 
Francis  B.  Way. 
Frankhn  T.  Eddy. 
Phineas  P.  Nichols. 
Charles  A.  Edmonds. 


1875- 
1879- 
1881- 


1895- 
1897- 

I9OI- 


Comity  Treasurers. 


Seth  Dunham. 
J.  G.  Corbus. 
John  T,  Haynes. 
Hiram  R.  Alden. 
Wales  Adams. 
•Hiram  Shoulder. 
Cyms  G.  Luce. 
Moses  V.  Calkins. 
John  Whitcomb, 


I 873-1876 
1877-1880 
1881-1884 
1885-1888 
1889-1892 
1 893-1896 
1897-1898 
1899- 1902 
1903- 


Lewis  B.  Johnson. 
Jason  T.  Gulp. 
Loring  P.  Wilcox. 
Oliver  C.  Campbell. 
Alanson  T.  Kinney. 
Hezekiah  Sweet. 
Frank  Swain. 
William  W.  Herendeen. 
Hezekiah  Sweet. 
David  A.  Buck. 
John  Hardenbrook. 


Daniel  A.  Douglas. 
Franklin  T.  Eddy. 
William  H.  Donaldson. 
Zelotes  G.  Ostorn. 
George  H.  Turner. 
Mortimer  E.  Wakeman. 
Benjamin  B.  Gorman. 
A.  E.  Morrison. 
L.  J.  Gripman. 
Chas.  F.  Carpenter. 


Loring  P.  Wilcox. 
James  R.  Dickey. 
Edward  W.  Benton. 
Daniel  F.  Rich. 
Benjamin  B.  Gorman. 
James  D.  Mosher. 
Edgar  A.  Miner. 
Henry  Seymour. 
Hiram  Bennett, 


County  School  Co-mmissioners. 
1894-1895     Delmore  A.  Teller.  19001903     Milton  W.  Wimer. 

1896-1897     Milton  W.  Wimer.  1904-  James  Swain. 

1898-1899     Gertrude  Dobson. 

Circmt  Court  Commissioners. 
,  1851-1852     Esbon  G.  Fuller.  1859-1862     Wallace  W.  Barrett. 

1851-1852     John  G.  Parkhurst.  1863-1864     David  Thompson. 

1853-1856     Justin  Lawyer.  1865-1866     FrankHn  E.  Morgan. 

1857-1858     Joseph  B.  Clark.  1865-1870     Willard  J.  Bowen. 


,y  Google 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


I867-I868 

Jonas  H.  McGowan. 

1889^1890 

Wiiiiam  H.  Lockerby. 

1 869- 1 870 

Asa  M.  Tinker. 

1 889- 1892 

Morey  0.  Viets. 

I87I-I872 

Frank  S.  Skeels. 

1891-1892 

Andrew  L.  Kinney. 

I87I-I876 

Ezra   Berry. 

1893-1896 

Clayton  C.  Johnson. 

1873-1878 

Charles  D.  Wright. 

1 893- 1 896 

Melvin  E.  Peters. 

I877-I882 

Chas.  N.  Legg. 

1879- 1898 

Leonard  F.  Humphrey 

J879-I880 

Norman  A.  Reynolds. 

1897-1898 

A.  L.  Locke 

I88I-I882 

Andrew  J.  McGowan. 

1899-1900 

Frank  B.  Reynolds. 

1881-IS84 

Milo  D.  Campbell. 

1899- 1902 

Milo  Thompson. 

1883-1886 

Frank  D.  Newberry. 

1901-1904 

Charles  S.  Hill. 

1885-1888 

Dudley  M.  Wells. 

1903- 

Oiarles  F.  Howe. 

1887-1888 

Frank  A.  Lyon. 

1905- 

Orrin  M.  Bowen. 

County  Surveyors. 

1855-1856 

Philip  H.  Sprague. 

1881-1886 

Charles  Hamilton. 

1857-1860 

Murray  Knowles. 

1887- 1 888 

Murray  L.  Knowles. 

I861-I862 

Silas  H.  Nye. 

1889^1892 

John  H.  Bennett. 

1863-1866 

Amasa  R.  Day. 

1893- 1894 

A.  G.  Bushnell. 

I867-I870 

Norman  S.  Andrews. 

1895-1896 

Chas.  A.  Miner. 

1871-1872 

Titus  Babcock. 

189.7- 1S98 

lanthus  D.  Miner. 

I873-I876 

John  H.  Bennett. 

1899- 

Charles  Hamilton. 

1877-1880 

Murray  Knowles. 

Coroners. 

1855-1856 

Isaac  Middaugh. 

1873- 1876 

Chas.  H.  Lovewell. 

1855-1856 

Israel  R.  Hall. 

1875-1876 

Edward  Purdy. 

1857-1858 

A.  C.  Fisk. 

I 877-1 878 

Jerome  Wolcott. 

1857-1860 

Charles  D.  Brown. 

1877-1878 

Aaron  A.  Van  Orthwi 

1859-1860 

John  H.  Bennett. 

1879- I 880 

Roland  Root. 

1861-1S62 

George  W.  Johnson. 

1879-1884 

Delanson  J.  Sprague. 

1861-1864 

Elmer  Packer. 

1881-1886 

Arthur  R.  Burrows. 

1863-1864 

Warren  Byrnes. 

1885-1890 

Aaron  W.  Barber. 

1865-1866 

Daniel  Miller. 

1887-1896 

Joseph  H.  Montague. 

I865-I866 

John  C.  Hall. 

1891-1892 

George  D.  Gates. 

1867-186S 

Moses  E.  Chauncey. 

1893-1896 

William  S.  Card. 

1867-1868 

Barnabas  B.  Shoecraft 

1897- 1898 

Alfred  Cheney. 

1869.1870 

John  H.  Bennett. 

1897-1898 

Ezekial  Bamliart. 

I869-I870 

Geo.  W.  Johnson. 

1899- 1900 

Arthur  R.  Burrows. 

I871-I872 

Jerome  S.  Wolcott. 

1899- 

Joseph  H.  Montague. 

1S7I-I873 

Nathan  Fetterly. 

1901-1904 

Milan  M.  Brown. 

■873-1874 

Jacob  Kincaid. 

1905- 

George  A.  Russell. 

lyGoogle 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


TOWNSHIP  OFFICERS. 
Algansee  Township. 


Supervisor 
183S— Asahel  Brown 
1839 — Asahel  Brown 
1840 — Asahel  Brown 
1841 — Asahel  Brown 
1842 — Asahel  Brown 
1843 — Asahel  Brown 
1844— Asahel  Brown 
1845— Asahel  Brown 
1846 — Asahel  Brown 
1847 — Asahel  Brown 
1848 — Asahel  Brown 
1849 — Asahel  Brown 
1850— Asahel  Brown 
1851     Asahel  Brown 
1852 — Lyman  Witter 
1853 — Asahel  Brown 
1854 — James  Underbill 
1855— James  UnderhiU 
1856 — Asahel  Brown 
1857 — Asahel  Brown 
1858 — Erastus  Bradley 
1859 — Erastus  Bradley 
i860 — Erastus  Bradley 
1861 — Asahel  Brown 
1862 — Asahel  Brown 
I S63— Asahel  Brown 
1864    Asahel  Brown 
1865 — Jas.  A.  Williams 
1866— Jas.  A.  Williams 
1867 — ^Jas.  A.  Williams 
1868— Jas.  A.  Williams 
i86g— Erastus   Bradley 
1870 — Erastus   Bradley 
1871 — Erastus   Bradley 
1872— J.  A.  Williams 
1873 — Jas.  A.  Williams 
1874— J.  A.  Williams 
1875— J-  A.  Williams 
1876— J.  A.  Williams 
1877— J.  A.  Williams 
1878 — Sereno  Bradley 


Clerk 
Jasper  UnderhiU 
Jasper  Underbill 
Jasper  Underbill 
E.  S.  E.  Brainard 
E.  S,  E.  Brainard 
E.  S.  E,  Brainard 
E.  S.  E.  Brainard 
E.  S.  E.  Brainard 
James  Underbill 
James  Underbill 
Erastus  Bradley 
Robert  Mag-den 
Robert  Magden 
Benjamin  Hobbs 
Lemuel  Pratt 
Abijah  Mosber 
Isaac  F.  Camp 
Isaac  F.  Camp 
Isaac  F.  Camp 
Nathan  Nivison 
Nathan  Nivison 
Nathan  Nivison 
Henry  Wal  bridge 
Henry  Wal  bridge 
Henry  Walbridge 
Nathan  Nivison 
Nathan  Nivison 
Lorenzo  Reynolds 
Lorenzo  Reynolds 
Lorenzo  Reynolds 
Levi  P.  Fuller 
L.  P.   Fuller 
L.  P.  Fuller 
Olney  W.  Draper 
Olney  W.  Draper 
Olney  W.  Draper 
Olney  W.  Draper 
Olney  W.  Draper 
Olney  W.  Draper 
Olney  W.  Draper 
Roswell  D.  Tift 


Treasurer 
George  Monlux 
George  M  on  lux 
George  Monlux 
George  Monlux 
George  Monlux 
George  Monlux 
George  Monlux 
George  Monlux 


Highway  Commissioner 


Jas.  H.  Lawrence 
Saml.  B.  Hancbett 


E.  S.  E.  Brainard  J.  K.  Bickford 

E.  S.  E.  Brainard  J.  K.  Bickford 

E.  S.  E.  Brainard  Nathaniel  Fisher 

E.  S.  E.  Brainard  John   Whitney 

E.  S.  E.  Brainard  J.  K.  Bickford 
E.  S.  E.  Brainard 

E.  S.  E.  Brainard  Wm.  M.  Clark 

E.  S.  E.  Brainard  Carlton  Clerk 

E.  S.  E.  Brainard  Orton  Hoxie 

E,  S.  E.  Brainard  Joel  Campbell 

E.  S.  E.  Brainard  Calvin  V.  Qark 

E.  S.  E.  Brainard  J.  K.  Bickford 

James  Underbill  Orton  Hoxie 


E.  S.  E.  Brainard 
David  Rhodes 
Cornelius  Streeter 
Lvman  Witter 


James  Underbill 
Levi  P.  Fuller 
Levi  P.  Miller 
Levi  P.  Fuller 
E  S.  E.  Brainard   Willis  Potter 
Mahlon  Brainard    Orton  Hoxie 
M.  W.  Brainard     Saml.  H.  Keeler 
Chas.  J.  Underbill  Thos.  Nixon 
Robert  Crawford    Orton  Hoxie 
Robert  Crawford    J.  K.  Bickford 
Robert  Crawford     George  Briggs 
Robert  Crawford     Orton  Hoxie 
Robert  Crawford     Thomas  Nixon 
Jas.  R.  Crawford  Benj.  Culver 
Robert  Crawford    Orton  Hoxie 
M.  B.    Wakeman  Thomas  Nixon 
M.  B.  Wakeman     Thomas  Nixon 
M.  B.  Wakeman    Thomas  Nixon 
M.  B.  Wakeman    Thomas  Nixon 
Levi  A.  Shum  way  Stephen  Knecht 


lyGoogle 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


1879 — Oiney  W,  Draper 
1880 — Olney  W.  Draper 
1881 — Olney  W.  Draper 
1882 — Olney  W.  Draper 
1883 — Sereno  Bradley 
1884 — Sereno  Bradley 
1885 — M.  B.  Wakeman 
1886 — M.  B.  Wakeman 
1887 — M.  B.  Wakeman 
1888— M.  B.  Wakeman 
188?— M.  B.  Wakeman 
1890— M.  B.  Wakeman 
1891 — M.  B.  Wakeman 
1892 — M.  B.  Wakeman 
1893— W.  J.  Houck 
1894 — Wm.  J.  Houck 
1895 — Wm.  J.  Houck 
1896— Wm.  J.  Houck 
1897— Wm.  W.  Poats 
1898— Wm.  W.  Poats 
1899 — Olney  W.  Draper 
1900 — Wm.  W.  Poats 
1901 — Ebenezer  Keeler 
1902 — ^Ebenezer  Keeler 
1903— Ebenezer  Keeler 
1904— 

1905— Fred  Purdy 
1906 — S.  B,  Goodman 


James  N.  Martin     S.  Byron  GoodmanFranklin  Twiss 
J.  Nelson  Martin    S.  Byron  GoodmanA,  B.  Ransom 
James  B.  Martin     Fred'k  Hildebrand  Thomas  Nixon 
James  B,  Martin     Fred'k  Hildebrand  L.  D.  Reynolds 
H.  W.  Hungerfordjos.  H.  Barker       Orton  Hoxie 
H.  W.  Hungerfordjos.  H.  Barker       Franklin  Twiss 
Wm.  J.  Houck       David  M.  Draper    L.  D.  Reynolds 
Fred  C.  FulkersonL.  D.  Reynolds 
Fred  C.  FulkersonS.  B,  Goodman 
C.  N.  Goodman      Orton  Hoxie 
C.  N.  Goodman       Wm.  M.  Carey 
Wm,  Gottschalk      '"      " 
Wm.  Gottschalk 
Fred  Purdy 
Fred  Purdy 


Wm.  J.  Houck 

Wm.  J.  Houck 

Wm.  J.  Houck 

Wm.  J.  Houck 

Wm.  J.  Houck 

Wm.  J.  Houck 

K  A.  Waterbury 

E.  A.  Waterbury 

E.  A.  Waterbury    John  W.  Sage 

E.  A.  Waterbury     John  W.  Sage 

E.  A.  Waterbury 

F.  S.  Reynolds 
F.  S.  Reynolds 
Fred  E.  Wilbur 


Wm.  Carey 
Frank  O.  Heydon 
Frank  O.  Hevdon 
David  Wilbur 
David  Wilbur 
David  Wilbur 
Loren  H.  E)raper   David  Wilbur 
jQhn  F.  Seachrist  Frank  Knapp 
John  F.  Seachrist 
Albert  J.  Marshall  Daniel  B.  Crapo 
Fred  A.  Waterbury  Albert  J.  Marshall  Albert  Bennett 
E,  E.  Bennett         Geo.  Goodwin         Albert  Bennett 
E.  A,  Waterbury     Geo.  Goodwin         Henry  Emons 
E.  A.  Waterbury     S.  J.  Chestnut  Wm.  H.  Emons 


Siipervisor 
1836— Martin  Olds 
1837— Martin  Olds 
1838— Martin  Olds 
1839— Martin  Olds 
1840— Martin  Olds 
1841 — Martin  Olds 
1842— Martin  Olds 
1843— Philo  Porter 
1844— Philo  Porter 
1845— Philo  Porter 
1846— Philo  Porter 
1847— Philo  Porter 
1848— Smith  Dow 
1849— Philo  Porter 
1850— Nath'l  Woodard 
1851— Nath'l  Woodard 
1852 — Smith  Dow 
1S53 — James  Murphey 
1854 — ^James  Murphev 
1855— David  Fonda 


Loren  H.  Draper     C.  F.  Myers  Mart.  A,  Griswold 

Loren  H.  Draper     E.  A.  Waterbury     H.  C.  Waterbury 

Bat  A  VIA  Township. 

Higkivay  Commissioner 
Morgan  S.  Smead 
Samuel  Fairbanks 
Leonard  Taylor 
John  Bassett 
Albert  Dudley 
Hiram  Brink 
Morgan  L.  Tyler 


John  H.  Stevens 
John  H.  Stevens 
John  H.  Stevens 
Elijah  Thomas 
Samuel  H.  Gary 
Samuel  H.  Cary 
Lewis  Kingsbury 
Lewis  Kingsbury 
Lewis  Kingsbury 
M'artin  Olds 
Martin  Olds 
Smith  Dow 
James  Murphey 
James  Murphev 
D.  G.  Olds 
D.  G.  Olds 
Harrison  Cary 
Harrison  Cary 
Martin  P.  Olds 
H.  M.  Loomis 


Shirlock  Cook 

Shirlock  Cook 

Shirlock  Cook 

Samuel  H.  Cary 

Timothy  L.  Miller  Leonard  Taylor 

Timothy  L.  Miller  Wm.  L.  Parker 

Timothy  L.  Miller  Peter  Grove 

Timothy  L.  Miller  Jesse  C.  Martin 


Martin  Olds 
Martin  Olds 
George  Hoag 
George  Hoag 
George  Hoag 
George  Hoag 


Wm.  L.  Parker 
Nathan'l  Woodard 
Jesse  C.  Martin 
Wm.  L.  Parker 
Smith  Dow 
Jesse  C.  Martin 


Samuel  D.  Parker  Archibald  Hanks 
Samuel  D.  Parker  Smith  Dow- 
James  D.  Cole         Jacob  Reynolds 


lyGoogle 


302 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


Luther  C.  Stone 
Luther  C  Stone 
James  Campbell 
James  Campbell 
James  Campbell 
James  Campbell 
Ft]  Her  Atchinson 


1856— Philo  Porter  Martin  P.  Olds 

1857 — Morgan  L.  Tyler  Carlos  I>unham 

1858— Morgan  L.  Tyler  Martin  P.  Oids 

1859 — William  Skinner  Carlos  Dunham 

i860 — David  Fonda        Hiram  S;' 

1861 — Harrison  Cary 

1862 — Harrison  Cary 

1863 — David  Fonda 

1864 — David  Fonda 

1865— David  Fonda 

1866— Morgan  L,  Tyle 

1867 — James  Campbell 

1868 — James  Campbell    Fuller  Atchinson 

1869 — James  Campbell    Fiiller  Atchinson 

1870— James  Campbell    M,  D.  Bonney 

1871— C.  W.  Fairbanks  Benj.  F.  Rolph 

1872 — C.  W.  Fairbanks   George  Miller 

1873 — Hiram  Simmons  George  Miller 

1874— Wm.  M.  Tyler      George  Miller 

1875— Jas.  Campbell        Admiral  Burch 

1876— Wm.  M.  Tyler     Admiral  Burch 

1877— W.  M.  Tyler         Plinv  W.  Titus 

1878— M.  W.  Brown 

1879 — Charles  Austin 

1880— Wm.  L.  Tyler 

1881— W.  M.  Tvier 

1882— Geo.  Miller 

1883— Geo.  Miller 

1884— Geo.  Miller 

1885— Geo.  Miller 

i886~Geo.  Miller 

i887~Geo.  Miller 

1888— Geo.  Miller 

1889— Geo.  Milier 

1890 — Geo.  Miller 

1891— Wm.  M.  Tyler 

ig^a—Wm.  M.  Tyler 

1893— Wm.  M.  Tyler 

1894— Geo.  MiJIer 

1895 — Byron  L.  Mitchell  Harry  Hurley 

1896 — Geo.  Miller  Harry  Hurley 

i897_C.  L.  Olds  Allie  Hurlev 

1898—0.  L.  Olds  Allie  Hurley 

1899— C.  L.  Olds  AUie  Hurley 

1900 — C.  L.  Olds  Riley  Bennett 

1901 — Laselle  C.  Waite  Riley  Bennett 

1902 — Aaron  O.  Fox       Grove  Tyler 

1903— Aaron  O.  Fox      J,  F.  Wanar 

1904 — Aaron  O.  Fox       J.  F.  Wanar 

1905— Geo.  Cleveland      John  M.  Gray 

1906— Aaron  O.  Fox      Allie  Hurley 


L,  M,  Bow.ers 
G.  E.  Willis 
G.  E.  Wilhs 
Geo.   Miller 
Edwin  Harkness 
Edwin  Harkness 
Edwin  Harkness 
Edwin  Harkness 
F-dwin  Harkness 
Geo.  E.  Wilier 
O.  A.  Vanderbilt 
O.  A.  Vanderbilt 
Lee  O.  Burch 
Lee  O.  Burch 
Harry  Hurley 
Harry  Hurley 
Harry  Hurley 


Samuel  D.  Parker 
Jesse  C.  Martin 
Hiram  Brink 
Warren  Holcomb 
S,  Richardson 
Wm.  M.  Tyler 
Elijah  C.  Sterne 
Jacob  Daharsh 
William  Nivison 
David  C.  Gould 
Hiram  Simmons 
George  Miller 
M.  D.  Bonney 
George  Miller 
George  Miller 
Leroy  E,  Graves 
Leroy  E.  Graves 
Jedediah  Wilcox 
Admiral  Burch 
Arch.  R.  Grove 
H.  F.  Saunders 
Peter  Manguse 
Benj.  S.  Wilcox 
John  Bowers 
Jedediah  Wilcox 
Jedediah  Wilcox 
H.  F,  Saunders 
Francis  Moore 
Francis  Moore 
Geo.  W.  Cleveland 
Geo.  W.  Cleveland 
Elijah  Grove 
Elijah  Grove 
Wm.  Knowles 
Wm.  Knowles 
Wm.  H.  Miller 
L  A.  Martin 
I.  A.  Martin 
J.  O.  Imber 
J.  O.  Imber 
J.  F.  Wanar 
Alvera  Druram 
Alvera  Drumm 
Seward  Cleveland 
Frank  J.  Barrell 
Frank  J.  Barrell 
G.  W.  Qeveland 
G.  W.  Qeveland 
Wm.  E.  GifFord 
Wm.  E.  Gifford 
C.  Grove  Tyler 


Archibald  Hanks 
Isaac  Sprague 
Northrup  Sweet 
Hiram  Barrett 
Isaac  Sprague 
Hiram  Brink 

David  C.  Fonda 
Hiram  Brink 
Danie!  Miller 
John  C.  Thayer 
Wm.  R.  Card 
David  C.  Fonda 
John  C.  Thayer 
Wm.  R.  Card 
Elijah  Grove 
John  C.  Thayer 
H.  F.  Buffham 
Ransom  W.  Covey 
John  Martin 
N.  H,  Saunders 
Wm.  R.  Card 
Alonzo  Olmstead 
A.  R.  Grove 
Ira  Martin 
R.  W.  Covey 
R.  W.  Covey 
A.  P.  Johnson 
R.  W.  Covey 
R.  W.  Covey 

Wm.  H.  Fonda 

R.  W.  Covey 
R.  W.  Covey 
Chas.  Trumbull 
A.  Mills 
A.  Mills 
R.  W.  Covey 
Ward  C.  Gruner 
Ward  C.  Gruner 
Cortes  Pond 
Wm.  W.  Green 
Wm.  W.  Green 
Wm.  W.  Green 
H.  K.  Saunders 
Peter  Manguse 
Francis  Moore 
Chas.  A.  Moore 
Chas.  A.  Moore 
Chas.  A.  Moore 


,y  Google 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


Bethel  Township. 


Supervisor  Clerk 

1837— Elijah  Tliomas      David  M.  Clark 
1838 — Steph.  McMillan  Etevid  Larmont 
iS^g—Steph.  McMillan  John  Proudfit 
1840— Steph.  McMillan  John  Proudfit 
1841 — Steph.  McMillan  Jeremiah  Holly 
1842 — Jeremiah  Holly     John  Proudfit 
i843 — Jeremiah  Holly     John  Proudfit 
1844 — ^Jeremiah  Holly    John  Proudfit 
184s — ^Jeremiah  HoUy     Richard  Saulsbury 
1846— Jeremiah  Holly     Samuel  Keyes 
1847 — Jeremiah  Holly     Samue!  Keyes 
1848^ — James  Bennie        Wm.  Lamoreaux 
1849 — ^James  Bennie         Wm,  Lamoreaux 
1850 — Jeremiah  Holly     Ransom  Compton 
i85i^Wm.  Lamoreaux  C.  W.  Weatherhy 
1852 — ^Wm.  Lamoreaux  P.  A.  Cranson 
1853 — Wm.  Lamoreaux  P.  A.  Cranson 
1854 — Wm.  Lamoreaux  P.  A.  Cranson 
1855— C.  W.  Weatherhy  W.  T.  Ammerman 
1856 — Ros.  P.  Larabee  W.T.  Ammerman 
1S57 — ^-  1^-  Larabee       W.  T.  Ammerman 
1858— N.  G.  Ellis  M.  F.  Giddings 

1859 — W.T.Ammerman  M.  F.  Giddings 
i860— W.T  Ammerman  James  Gallap 
1 861  ^W.T.Ammerman  Jas.  H.  Rippey 
1862— R.  P.  Larabee      M.  F.  Giddings 
1863— Thos.  Goodrich     M.  F.  Giddings 
1864 — W.T.Ammerman  M.  F.  Giddings 
1865— Dav.  Stephenson  M.  F.  Giddings 
1866 — Chris.  G.  Babcock  James  Gallap 
1867 — ^W.TAmmerman  James  Gallap 
1868 — W.T.Ammerman  James  Gallap 
1869 — W.T.Ammerman  James  Gallap 
1870 — Nathaniel  Piatt     James  Gallap 
1871. — ^James  Gallap        Edwin  G.  Wheeler 
1872 — Nathaniel  Piatt     James  Gallap 
1873 — Nathaniel  Piatt    James  Gallap 
1874 — ^Luman  Lampman James  Gallap 
1875 — Liiman  Lampman  Wm.  G.  Thiirber 
1876 — Luman  Lampman W.  G.  Thurber 
1877— Rich'd  T.  Martin  James  Gallap 
1878 — Luman  Lampman  Wm.  G.  Thurber 
1879— Luman  LampmanW.  G.  Thurber 
1880 — Luman  LampmanW.  G.  Thurber 
1881— Monroe  Selby       C.  H.  Woodcox 
1882— Monroe  Selby      B.  B.  Gorman 
1883— Timothy  Hurley  W.  G.  Thurber 
1884— S.  M.  Parham       B.  B.  Gorman 


Treasurer         Highway  Commissioner 
Isaac  Freeman 
N.  P.  Filkins 
Otis  Etavis  N.  P.  Filkins 

Samuel  Fowler        C.  N.  Bates 
Samuel  Fowler        Moses  Olmsted 
Milton  Bessmer       Nathan'l  Woodard 
Milton  Bessmer       Matt.  H.  Bigham 
Nathan'l  Woodard  Stephen  McMillan 
Stephen  McMillan  Willard  Cranson 
George  Gallap         Willard  Cranson 
Timothy  Colby        Charles  Webb 
Timothy  Colby        Guy  E.  Bennett 
Timothy  Colby        Jas.  G.  Richardson 
Parm.  A.  Cranson  Lyman  M.  Hart 
Parra.  A.  Cranson  James  Bennie 
Ros.  P.  Larabee      John  Carter 
R.  P,  Larabee  James  Gallap 

R.  P.  Larabee  John  Freeman 

R.  P,  Larabee  J.  R.  Brown 

A.  W.  Plumley       James  Bennie 
James  Gallap  Henry  Bowker 

John  Carter  Arvin  Bates 

W.  Van  Orman      Cornelius  Freeman 
R.  P.  Larabee        George  Smith 
John  Freeman  Heman  Harris 

John  Webb  Asa  Cranson 

Julius  L.  Hart         Major  Tuttle 
Julius  L.  Hart         George  W.  Webb 
Jno.  H.  Thompson  P.  A,  Cranson 
Albert  Hart  Dav.  L.  Lockwood 

Luman  W.  Harris  W.  A.  Chamberlain 
J.  L.  Hart  Chas.  F.  Housman 

Geo.  W.  Joels,  Jr.  Geo.  M.  White 
G.  W.  Joels,  Jr  Perry  H.  Bower 
J.  L.  Hart  George  H.  Hart 

J.  L.  Hart  Josiah  Walker 

Charles  Allen  P.  A.  Cranson 

Charles  Allen  Edward  Odren 

Henry  Fowler         Oral  Cramton 
Edgar  A.  Miner     John  Freeman 
Edgar  A.  Miner     John  Freeman 
Edgar  A.  Miner     Benj,  Pond 
Brazil  Short  Benj.  Pond 

Brazil  Short  Judson  Sweeting 

Chas.  Bradway        H.  H.  Smith 
Chas.  Bradway        H.  H.  Smith 
Edgar  A.  Miner  ,  John  M.  Carter 
Edgar  A,  Miner     Wm,  Short 


,y  Google 


304 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


i.  B.  Gorman        Cortes  Pond 

I.  B.  Gorman  E,  A.  Miner 
1887— B.  B.  Gorman  G.  O.  Gallup 
1S88— B,  B.  Gorman  G.  O.  Gallup 
1889— Harry  Smith  G.  O.  Gallup 

1890 — Harry  Smith  G.  O.  Gallup 

1891 — Hiram  H.  Smith  R.  H.  Larabee 
i8y2 — Hiram  H,  Smith  R,  H,  Larabee 
1893 — A.  E.  AmmermanG.  E.  Lobdell 
1894 — Sam.  M.  Parham  E.  A,  Miner 
1895 — Sam.  M.  ParhamE,  A.  Miner 
1896 — Sam.  M.  ParhamE.  A.  Miner 
1897— Sam.  M.  ParhamC.  N.  Cure 
1898 — Chas.  C.  Fenner  C.  N.  Cure 
1899- 

1900 — Chas.  C.  Fenner  Geo.  H.  Williams    Ernest  Dart 
1901 — Chas.  C.  Fenner  Geo.  H.  Williams    Ernest  Dart 
igoa^Chas.  W.  Daniels  O.  B.  Wheeler        Henry  Kaiser 
1903— Chas.   C.   Fenner  Chas.  V.  Crull  Geo.  Kemp 

1904 — Chas.  C.  Fenner  Herbert  Freeman    Geo.  Kemp 
1905 — Chas.  C.  Fenner  Herbert  Freeman 
1906 — Chas.  C.  F'enner  Roy  G.  Moore 

Bronson  Township. 


Philo  D.  Smith       Henry  Bronson 
Philo  D.  Smith       John  Kanouse 
Wm.  B.  Wheeler    W.  J.  Bucklin 
Wm.  B.  Wheeler 
Frank  Sharp 


W.  J.  Bucklin 
James  Burke 
James  Burke 
Frank  H.  Hart 
Elmer  Webb 
Elmer  Webb 
Geo.  H.  Williams 
Geo.  H.  Williams 
Geo.  H.  Williams 
E.  H.  Walker 

Cortes  Pond 
Henry  L.  Goss 
Walt.  Brocklebank 
Walt.  Brocklebank 
Walt.  Brocklebank 
Wm.  C.  Kanouse  Walt.  Brocklebank 
Wm.  C.  Kanouse  Walt.  Brocklebank 


Frank  Sharp 
Oscar  S.  Martin 
Oscar  S.  Martin 
Henry  L.  Goss 
C.  C.  Fenner 
C.  C.  Fenner 
Eddie  Keyes 
Eddie  Keyes 
Wells  B.  Hillyer 


(Records  up  to  and  including  1867  were  destroyed  by  fire.) 


Super 

1868— Chris.  G.BabcockR.  Van  Ness 
1869— Chris.  G.BabcockB  .F.  Trigg 
1870— Chris.  G.  Babcock 


Treasurer  Highuiay  Comi 

Leonard  D.  Clark   J.  G.  Sheffield 
Leonard  D.  Oark   M.  Bloss 


1871— C.  G.  Babcock 
1872— C.  G.  Babcock 
1873— C.  G.  Babcock 
1874— C.  G.  Babcock 
1875— C.  G.  Babcock 
1876— C  G.  Babcock 
1877 — C.  G.  Babcock 
1878— C.  G.  Babcock 
1879— Geo.  W.  Elhs 
1880— Geo.  W.  Eiiis 
]88i— Geo.  W.  Ellis 
1882— Geo.  W.  Ellis 
1883— Geo.  W.  Ellis 
1884— Geo.  W.  Ellis 
18S5— Geo.  W.  Ellis 
1886— Geo.  W.  Ellis 
1887— Geo.  W.  Ellis 
1888— Geo.  W.  Ellis 
1S89— Geo.  W.  Ellis 
1890 — John  Taggart 
1891 — John  Taggart 
1892 — John  Taggart 


Lucien  D.  Driggs 
Wales  Adams 
W.  H.  Compton 
W.  H.  Compton 
W.  H.  Compton 
W.  H.  Compton 
W.  H.  Compton 
W.  H.  Compton 
Wm.  L  Beesmer 
Wm.  L  Beesmer 
Wm.  I.  Beesmer 
Wm.  L  Beesmer 
Wm.  L  Beesmer 
Wm.  L  Beesmer 
F.  A.  Keyes 
Alonzo  Ruggles 
Glenn  D.  Corey 
Alonzo  Ruggles 
Alonzo  Ruggles 
Franklin  Keyes 
Franklin  Keyes 
Franklin  Keyes 


Cyrus  J.  Keyes 
Cyrus  J.  Keyes 
Cyrus  J.  Keyes 
Cyrus  J.  Keyes 


Allen  Turner 
Michael  Bloss 
Geo.  Carpenter 
Allen  Turner 


Spencer  E.  Bennett  Albert  Russell 
Spencer  E.  Bennett  Amos  J.  Anderson 
Spencer  E.  Bennett  Amos  J.  Anderson 
Spencer  E.  Bennett  Henry  Brown. 
W.  W.  Earle  Henry  Brown 

W.  W.  Earle  Henry  Brown 

Spencer  Bennett     John  Taggart 
Spencer  Bennett     John  Taggart 


Lucius  M.  Leet 
Spencer  Bennett 
Geo.  W.  Hanks 
Lucius  M.  Leet 
C.  B.  Whittaker 
C.  B.  Whittaker 
Ray  Bennett 
Ray  Bennett 
C.  B.  Whittaker 
B.  M.  Fellows 


John  Akers 
John  Taggart 
James  P.  Monroe 
John  Taggart 
John  Taggart 

James  E.  Dorn 
James  E.  Dorn 
James  E.  Dorn 
James  E.  Dorn 


,y  Google 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  ZOt 

igt)3 — John  Taggart       Franklin  Keyes  B.  M.  Fellows  John  Akers 

i8c)4 — Wm.  B.  Bushnell  A.  B.  Clark  Roy  Bennett  Volney  Sweeting 

i8g5 — Wni.  B.  Bushnell  A.  B.  Qark  Eugene  R.  Clark  Volney  Sweeting 

1896 — John  Taggart        C.  B.  Whittaker  Eugene  R.  Clark  Volney  Sweeting 

1897 — ^John  Taggart        Chas.  K,  Bush  M.  E,  Dorn  James  H.  Shane 

1898 — John  Taggart        Chas.  K.  Bush  Michael  Doran  James  H.  Shane 

1899— Wm.  B.  Bushnell  A.  B.  Clark  Chas.  T.  Cockle  John  Reynolds 

jgoo — Wm.  B.  Bushnell  James  Swain  Chas.  T.  Cockle  Amasa  Ruple 

1901 — ^J.E.HoopingarnerJ.  M.  Corson  John  Finisy  J.  M.  Cavanaugh 

1902 — J.E.HoopirigarnerJ.   M.  Corson  John  Finisy  J.  M.  Cavanaugh 

1903 — J.E.HoopingarnerJ.  M.  Corson  F,  J.  Werner  J.  M,  Cavanaugh 

1904 — ^J.E.HoopingarnerJ.  M.  Corson  F.  J.  Werner  Jos.  Sager 

1905 — J.E.HoopingarnerF.  J.  Werner  Frank  Flanders  Jos.  Sager 

1906 — John  Taggart        Andrew  J.  Keyes  James  S.  Davis  John  Secor 


Butler  Township. 


Supervisor 
1839 — David  Lindsay 
1840 — Alan.  D.  Warren 
1 84 1— David  Decker 
1842 — ^Jacob  Shook 
1843 — ^Jesse  Bowen 
1844 — ^Jacob  Shook 
1S45 — Jacob  Shook 
1846 — Jacob  Shook 
1847 — Jesse  Bowen 
1848— Jacob  Shook 
1849 — Jacob  Shook 
1850 — Jacob  Shook 
1851— Moses  V.  Calkins 
i853~Moses  V.  Calkins 
1853 — Jesse  Bowen 
1854 — ^Jesse  Bowen 
185s— Moses  V.  Calkins 
1856— M.  V.  Calkins 
1857— M.  V.  Calkins 
1858— M.  V.  Calkins 
1859 — ^Jesse  Bowen 
!86o — Jesse  Bowen 
1861— M.  V.  Calkifts 
1863— Chas.  E.  Bowers 
1863 — Chas.  E.  Bowers 
1864 — Chas.  E.  Bowers 
1865— Barz.  H.  Calkins 
1866— B.  H.  Calkins 
1867— B.  H.  Calkins 
1868— B,  H.  Calkins 
1869— Moses  V.  Calkins 
1870— A.  Van  Orthwick 
1871— A.  VanOrthwick 
1872— A.  Van  Orthwick 


Ckyk 
Asa  E.  Wisner 
Asa  R.  Wisner 
T,  J,  Van  Giesen 
Asa  R.  Wisner 
T,  J.  Van  Giesen 
T,  J.  Van  Giesen 
T.J.  Van  Giesen 
T.  J.  Van  Giesen 
T.  J.  Van  Giesen 
T.  J.  Van  Giesen 
E.  Lampman 
T.  J.  Van  Giesen 
Chas.  E.  Bowers 
Chas.  E.  Bowers 
R.  U.  Floyd 
Jos.  M.  Alexander 
Chas.  E.  Bowers 
Chas.  E.  Bowers 
Chas.E.  Bowers 
Chas.  E.  Bowers 
R.  U.  Floyd 
M.  V.  Calkins 
Chas.  W.  Bennett 
R.  U.  Floyd 
Hiram  H.  Bennett 
Ira  S.  Lampman 
Ira  S.  Lampman 
Daniel  Qark 
Ira  S.  Lampman 
B.  O.  Moore 
B.  O.  Moore 
B.  O.  Moore 
John  W.  Henry 
Marcus  M.  Calkins 


llighzvay  Commisiioner 
H.  S.  Lampman 
Jacob  Shook 
Jacob  Shook 


Treasurer 
Thos.  J.  Raw. 
Daniel  Shook 
Daniel  Shook 
Daniel  Shook 
Lawrence  Decker    H.  S.  Lampman 
Lawrence  Decker    H.  S.  Lampman 
Lawrence  Decker    T,  J.  Rossman 
Lawrence  Decker    Duncan  Mcintosh 
Lawrence  Decker     Milo  White 
Lawrence  Decker    B.  A.  Rodgers 
Lawrence  Decker    Duncan  Mcintosh 
Lawrence  Decker    Daniel  Shook 
Lawrence  Decker    John  Hager 
H.  S.  Lampman 


H.  S.  Lampman 
H.  S.  Lampman 
D.  L.  Burbank 
D.  L.  Burbank 
D.  L.  Burbank 
O.  H.  Hadiock 
Jay  Taylor 
Jay  Ta}*lor 
Jay  Taylor 
Jay  Taylor 
Jay  Taylor 
Geo.  W.  Clark 


Milo  White 
John  Hager 

L.  D.  Ramsdell 
William  Rossman 
W.  R.  Kisson 
L.  D.  Ramsdell 
D.  L.  Burbank 
Chas.  E.  Bowers 
Lawrence  Decker 
D.  L.  Burbank 
Harlow  Williams 


J.  A.  Weatherwax  Thos.  I.  Edwards 


F.  M.  Bissell 
A.  B.  LaFleur 
A.  B.  LaFleur 
A.  B.  LaFleur 
A.  B,  LaFleur 
Jos.  A.  Bowen 
Jos.  A.  Bowen 


D.  L.  Burbank 

Thos.  P.  Evans 
D.  L.  Burbank 
Hiram  Burl i son 
Lawrence  Decker 
Edward  W.  Perrv 


,y  Google 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


1873— B.  H.  Calkins       Marcus  M.  Calkins 
1874 — A.  Van  Orthwick  Thomas  Sinclair 
1875 — Bradley  O.  MooreThomas  Sinclair 
1876 — John  M.  Davids   A.  W.  Eaton. 
1877— Bradley  O.  MooreD.  L.  Burbank 
1878— John  M.  Davids   Thomas  Sinclair 
1875— Brad.  O.  Moore    D.  L.  Burbank 
1880— Robt.  D.  Murray  D.  L.  Burbank 
1881 — A.  Van  OrthwickThos.  Sinclair 
1882— A.  Van  OrthwickW.  H.  Lockerby 
1883— A.  Van  Orthwick  Matthew  Doris 
1884— A.  Van  Orthwick  Matthew  Doris 
1885— A.  Van  Orthwick  Matthew  Doris 
1886— A,  Van  OrthwickW.  H.  Martin 
1887— Gilbert  C.  Clizbe  Matthew  Doris 
i888~A.  Van  OrthwickWni.  H.  Martin 
1889— Thos.  Sinclair       Wm. H.Martin 
1890 — Thos.  Sinclair      Jean  Burleson 
1891 — Gilbert  Clizbe       Jean  Burleson 
1892— Jean  D.  Burleson  C.  McDonald 
1893— Gilbert  CHzbe       C.  McDonald 
1894 — ^J.  Van  Orthwick  F.  C.  Burbank 
1895— J.  Van  OrthwickF.  C.  Burbank 
i8g6_j.  Van  OrthwickC.  W.  Hayes 
1897— Gilbert  Clizbe       C.  O.  McDonald 
i8g8— Gilbert  Clizbe       C.  O.  McDonald 
1899 — Gilbert  Qizbe       Fred  L.  Holmes 
1900 — Gilbert  Oizbe       Fred  L.  Holmes 
1901 — Gilbert  Oizbe       Marian  L.  Henry 
'    1902 — Fred  L.  Holmes   J.  D.  Burleson 
1903 — Fred  L.  Holmes   Fay  D.  White 
1904 — Fred  L-  Holmes   Fay  D.  White 
igos— Fred  L.  Holmes   Fay  D.  White 
1906 — Jean  D.  Burleson  Fay  D.  White 


Horace  B.  Powers 
Horace  B.  Powers 
J.  E.  Moore 
J.  E.  Moore 
J.  E.  Moore 
J.  E.  Moore 
J.  A.  Weatherwax 
Jared  E.  Moore 
Jared  E.  Moore 
J.  A.  Weatherwax 
Chas.  Chi  vers 
Chas.  Chive  rs 
Hiram  Burleson 
Eugene  Harris 
Chas.  Lindsey 
B.  O.  Moore 
Wm.  R.  Lott 
Wm.  R.  Lott 
Warren  Rose 
Warren  Rose 
Jean  Burleson 
Fred  Holmes 
Fred  Holmes 
Henrj'  Morrison 
J.  F.  Knapp 
J.  F.  Knapp 
Henry  Morrison 
Frank  Burbank 
Frank  Burbank 
W.  D.  Rose 
W.  D,  Rose 
Lora  M.  Curtis 
Nelson  J.  Curtis 
Nelson  J,  Curtis 


California  Township. 


Supervisor 
1846 — George  Monlux 
1847 — George  Monlux 
184S— David  Paul 
1849 — George  Monlux 
1850 — George  Monlux 
1 85 1 — George  Monlux 
1852— David  Paul 
1853— David  Paul 
1854 — George  Monlux 
1855— David    Paul 
1856— David  Paul 
1857— David  Paul 
1858— Henry  Kelso 
1859— David  Paul 


Clerk      ■ 
William  Beach 
Joseph  H.  Hall 
Joseph  H.  Hall 
Hiram  Eliis 
Hiram  Ellis 
Wm,  D.   Merwin 
Hiram  Ellis 
Joseph  H.  Hall 
W.  H.  Lathrop 
W.  H.  Lathrop 
Henry  Kelso 
H.  N.  Lawrence 
Henry  C.  Wells 
Henry  C,  Wells 


Treasurer 
Ira  Piirdy 
Ira  Purdy 
Ira  Purdy 
Jos.  H.  Hall 
Jos.  H.  Hall 
Jos.  H.  Hail 
Jos.  H.  Hall 
Ira  Purdy 
Ira  Purdy 
Ira  Purdv 
James  Paul 
James  Hiscock 
James  Paul 
James  Paul 


Edward  W.  Perry 
Lawrence  Decker 
Edward  W.  Perry 
John  Bignold 
A.A.VanOrthwick 
Daniel  Clark 
H.  H.  Bowers 
Lawrence  Decker 
Lawrence  Decker 
chas.  Chase 
Daniel  Clark 
Chas.  Cliase 
J.  E.  Hager 

Thos.  P.  Evens 

Thos,  P.  Evens 
Thos.  P.  Evens 
R.  McDonald 
R.  McDonald 
Silas  Craft 
Mandvil  Bissell 
Mandvil  Bissell 
Thos.  P.  Evens 
J.  E.  Hager 
J.  E.  Hager 
A.  D.  Van  Patten 
A.  D.  Van  Patten 
A.  D.  Van  Patten 
Cash  Taylor 
Thos.  P.  Evans 
Thos.  P.  Evans 
Thos.  P.  Evans 
Thos.  P.  Evans 


Highway  Comm 
Isaac  M.  Miner 
John  V.  Burt 
Lester  B  rough  ton 
Thos.  H.  Reynolds 
Nathan  Austin 
Stephen  Talmadge 
C  W.  Lawrence 
Wm.  G.  Thompson 
S.  M.  Talmadge 
Norman  Melendv 
Thos.  Hall 
C.  W,  Lawrence 
Thos.  H.  Reynolds 
Willard  T.  Ellis 


,y  Google 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


ig5o_Harley  H.  Ellis  H.  N.  Lawrence 

,85j— Harley  H.  Ellis  H.  N.  Lawrence 

,862— Harley  H.  Ellis  David  Pan! 

,863— Henry   Kelso  Willard  T.  Ellis 

1864— Willard  T.  Ellis  Calvin  L  Merwin 

j865_WiIlard  T.  Ellis  Jas.  N.  Averill 

j866— David  Paul  Jas.  N.  Averill 

1867 — ^John  Paul  Jas.  N.  Averill 

jg68_john  Paul  J.  N.  Averill 
ig6g — Dan.  A.  Doug-lassjas.  N.  Averill 
J870 — Dan.  A.  DouglassJ.  N.  Averill 

i87i_John  I*aul,  Jr.  M.  N.  Averill 

iSys^Henry  Kelso  J.  N.  Averill 

1873— Henry  Kelso  Edw.  P.  Wallace 

1874— Edw.  P.  Wallace  M.  D.  Colvin 
1875— James  N.  Averilljohn  Paul,  Jr. 

1876— J.  N.  Averill  John  Paul,  Jr. 
1877 — James  N.  Averilljohn  Paul,  Jr.  ■ 

1878— Henry  Kelso  Howard  W.  Miller 

1879 — Robt,  M.  Cairns  S.  W,  Dickinson 

1880 — Robt.  M.  Cairns  S.  W.  Dickinson 

,881— John  Paul  S.  W.  Dickinson 

1882— Henry  Kelso  Seth  Averill 

1883 — John  Paul  Andrew  Dailey 

1884— John  Flynn  Wilson  Paul 

1885— Tohn  Flynn  Seth  Averill 

1886— John  Flynn  Seth  Averill 

1887— John  Flynn  W.  A.  Depue 

1888— John  Flynn  W.  A.  Depue 

1889— John  Flynn  M.  L.  Clinesmith 

1890 — John  Flynn  M.  L.  Clinesmith 

i8qi — ^John  Flynn  M.  L.  Clinesmith 

1892 — John  Dunlap  S.  J,  Chestnut 

1893 — John  Dunlap  S.F.Wilkinson 

1894 — J.  Hardenbrook  John  Douglas 

1895 — ^J.  Hardenbrook  John  Douglas 


1896— W.  S.  Paul 
1897— W.  S.  Paul 
1898— W.  S.  Paul 
,899— W.  S.  Paul 
1900 — Geo.  W.  Paul 
1901— Geo.  W.  Paul 
1902— J.  E.  Lawrence 
1903 — J,  H,   Sackett 
1904— I.  H.  Sackett 
190S— W.  W.  Poats 


T.  C.  Smith 
S.  F.  Wilkinson 
A.  B.  Dailev 
A.  E.  Dailey 
A.  B.  Dailey 
R.  M.  Cairns 

John  Douglas 
Robt.  M.  Cairns 
Robt.  M.  Cairns 


1906 — J.  L.  McMurray  D.  T.  Bascom 


Ira  Purdy 
Ira  Purdy 
Ira  Purdy 
Wm.  Carithers 
Wm.  Carithers 
Wm.  Carithers 
Robt.  M,  Cairns 
Robt.  M.  Cairns 
Robt.  M.  Cairns 
R.  M.  Cairns 
Peter  D.  Gibson 
Peter  D.  Gibson 
Wm.  L.  Monlux 
Wm.  L.  Monlux 
A.  W.  Bates 
R.  M.  Cairns 
R.  M.  Cairns 
R,  M.  Cairns 
S.  S.  Lothridge 
S.  S.  Lothridge 
John  Paul 
S.  S.  Lothridge 
S.  S.  Lothridge 
Melvin  Colvir 
S.  S.  Lothridge 
David  Sharer 
S.  H.  Lothridge 
S.  H.  Lothridge 
W.  S.  Paul 
R  M,  Cairns 
John  Dunlap 
Virgil  Gallup 
A.  C.  Ayers 
A.  C.  Ayers 
S.  J.  Chestnut 
F.  C.  Goodwin 
Earl  Dufur 
Earl  Dufur 
A.  C.  Ayres 
A.  C.  Ayres 
Ear!  Dufur 
A.  C.  Ayres 

J.  W.  Smith 
J.  Hardenbrook 
Earl  Dufur 
Wm.  D.  Paul 


307 

G.    Withington 
Orrin  Whitten 
Jos.  W.  Lawrence 
T.  H.  Reynolds 
Gilbert  Gordinier 
Jos.  W.  Lawrence 
Orrin  Whitten 
Hugh  McMurray 
Jeremiah  Depue 
Orrin  Whitten 
Hugh  McMurray 
Jos.  W.  Lawrence 
Orrin  Whitten 
Archibald  Bates 
R.  E,  Comstock 
J.  H.  Lawrence 
Alexander  Vance 
E.  B.  Forbes 
R.  M.Cairns 
Jeremiah  Depue 
A.  W.  Bates 
L.  B.  Brown 
James  Flynn 

A.  W,  Bates 
H.  T.  Reynolds 
H.  T.  Reynolds 
H.  T.  Reynolds 

John  Dunlap 
Robt.  Kelso 
John  Dunlap 
John  Billman 
Abram  Reppert 
J.  G.  Billman 
D.  T.  Bascom 
Samuel  Waters 
Abram  Reppert 
I.  A.  Adams 
Theron  Thompson 
Theron  Thompson 
James  Paul 

Theron  Thompson 
Robt.  Kelso 
W.  D.  Paul 
D.  J.  Goodrich 


I,  Google 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


Supervisor 
1837 — ^Abishi  Sanders 
1838 — Abishi  Sanders 
1839 — Abishi  Sanders 
1840 — Abishi  Sanders 
1841 — Abishi  Sanders 
1842 — Abishi  Sanders 
1843— Jehiel  H.  Hard 
1844— Jehie]  H.  Hard 
1845— Jehiel  H.  Hard 
1846 — Daniel  Marsh 
i847~Daniel  Marsh 
1848— Elsley  W.  Fuller 
1849 — John  Marsh 
1850 — ^John  Marsh 
1851 — ^John  Marsh 
1852— Cyrus  G.  Luce 
1853— David  N.  Green 
1854— L.  J.  Whitcomb 
1855 — Daniel  Marsh 
1856— H.  B.  Wiiliams 
1857 — Cyrus  G.  Luce 
1858— Cyrus  G.  Luce 
i85Ch-Edward  Webb 
i86o~Job  A.  Smith 
1861— Job  A.  Smith 
1862— Job  A.  Smith 
1863 — Cyrus  G.  Luce 
'1864— Cyrus  G.  Luce 
1865 — Cyrus  G.  Luce 
1866— Lem.  A.  Graham 
1867— Albert  A.  Luce 
1868 — George  J.  Langs 
1869 — George  J.  Langs 
1870— George  J.  Langs 
1871 — George  J.  Langs 
1872— Jared  Fuller 
1873 — George  J.  Langs 
1874— Cyrus  G.  Luce 
1875 — Cyrus  G.  Luce 
1876 — Thomas  Lazenby 
1877 — Cyrus  G.  Luce 
1878 — Joseph  Keeslar 
1879 — Cyrus  G.  Luce 
1880— D.  A.  Thompson 
1881— D.  A.  Thompson 
1882— D.  A.  Thompson 
1883— J.  R.  Preston 
1884— C.  H.  Brooks 
1885— C.  H.  Brooks 


GiLEAD  Township, 

Clerk  Tree 

Albert  W.  Glass 
Albert  W.  Glass 
Levi  Sanders 
Elsley  W.  Fuller 
Emerson  Marsh 
Emerson  Marsh 


Abishi  Sanders 

Abishi  Sanders 

Abishi  Sanders 

William  Purdy 

William  McClurg    William  Purdy 

William  McClurg    William  Purdy 

William  McClurg    William  Purdy 

William  McClurg   William  Purdy 

EJsley  W.  Fuller     Joseph  Freeman 

Lorenzo  C.  Hurd     Edward  Webb 

Abishi  Sanders       John  Campbell 


Mitchell  E 
Mitchell  Birce 
Benj.  Sanders 


H.  B.  Williams 
H.  B.  Williams 
David  N.  Green 


Homer  A.  Loomis  John  Whitcomb 
Jared  Fuller  Lorenzo  C.  Hurd 

George  J.  Langs     Edward  Webb 
Elijah  Sanders        Joseph  Keeslar 
Eliab  S.  Hilton        Joseph  Baker 
Eliab  S.  Hilton        Jared  Fuller 
Dwight  C.  Marsh  Jared  Fuller 
Dwight  C.  Marsh  Benj.  S.  Wilkins 
Dwight  C.  Marsh  Benj.  S.  Wilkins 
Dwight  C.  Marsh  Virgil  Little 
R.  Purdy  Virgil  Little 

Edward  Purdy        Hugh  W.  Martin 


Robert  Purdy 
Robert  Purdy 
Robert  Purdy 
Robert  Purdy 
Robert  Purdy 
E,  Purdy 
E.  Purdy 
E.  Purdy 
E.  Purdy 
E.  Purdy 
E.  Purdy 
Giles  A.  Bixier 
Giles  A.  Bixier 
George  J.  Langs 
Giles  A.  Bixier 
Giles  A.  Bixier 
J.  B,  Vandewater 


Hugh  W.  Martin 
Hugh  W.  Martin 
Hugh  W.  Martin 
Hugh  W.  Martin 
Wm.  Keeslar 


Highivay  Commissioner 
Daniel  Marsh 
James  Mills 
Jos.  Freeman 
Chester  Adams 
Leander  Merrill 
David  Green 
Jos.  Freeman 
Daniel  Marsh 
James  McWethy 
Jesse  Barrett 
Benj.  S.  Wilkins 
Joseph  Keeslar 
Sirnon  Z.  Williams 
Isaac  Adams 
Johnston  Ferguson 
Edward  Webb 
Maj.  D.  Williams 
Isaac  Adams 
Benj.  S.  Wilkins 
A.  W.  Miller 
George  Mott 
Constant  Voinett 
John  Fuller 
J.  Ferguson 
Virgil  Little 
J.  A.  J.  Metzger 
Benj.  S.  Wilkins 
Squire  G.  Beers 
Daniel  Marsh 
Virgil  Little 
Squire  G.  Beers 
Job  A.  Smith 
Geo.  J.  Langs 


Edward  Webb,  Jr.  Squire  G.  Beers 
Edward  Webb,  Jr.  Job  A.  Smith 
Alex.  R.  Green       WilliamMeek 
Alex,  R.  Green       Squire  G.  Beers 
Alex.  R.  Green       D,  A.  Thompson 
D.  A.  Thompson    Miles  Wheeler 
D.  A.  Thompson    Hiram  Brown 


D.  A.  Thompson 
C.  H.  Brooks 
C.  H.  Brooks 
J.  B.  Hughes 
C.  H.  Brooks 


}.  B.  Vandewater  C.  H.  Brooks 

M.  R.  Hoyt  L.  S.  Foglesong ' 

C.  T.  Ward  L.  S.  Foglesong 

C.  T.  Ward  Albert  A.  Luce 


C.  H.  Brooks 
Edw.  M.  Williams 
Miles  Wheeler 
Miles  Wheeler 
Miles  Wheeler 
E.  G.  Luce 
M.  J.  Beck 
M.  J.  Beck 
M.  J.  Beck 


,y  Google 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCFI  COUNTY 


1886— C.  H.  Brooks 
jgg^ — Lester  Marsh 
iggg — Lester  Marsh 
iggg — Lester  Marsh 
1890— Lester  Marsh 
1891 — Lester  Marsh 
1892 — Lester  Marsh 
i8c)3_C.  G.  Babcock 
18^4 — C.  G.  Babcock 
1895— Harvey  Ryan 
1896— C.  G.  Babcock 
1897— D.  E.  WilHams 
1898— D.  E.  WilHams 
1899 — G.  Hoopingarner 
1900 — G,  Hoopingarner 
1 90 1 — G,  Hoopingarner 
1902 — L.  S.  Foglesong 
1903— L.  S.'Fc^lesong 
1904— L.  S.  Foglesong 
1905— Emery  G.  Luce 
■    1906— Emery  G.  Luce 


A.  R.  Bonney 
A.  R.  Bonney 
D.  E.  Williams 
L.  S.  Foglesong 
L.  S.  Foglesong 
L.  S.  Foglesong 
L.  S.  Foglesong 
A.  R.  Bonney 

A.  R.  Bonney 
Ethel  B.  Graham 
Albert  A.  Brown 
Albert  A,  Brown 
Albert  A.  Brown 

B.  A.  Wilkins 
Ethelbert  Graham 
Ethelbert  Graham 
M.  J.  Merriman 
Jay  StefFey 

Jay  StefFey 
Walter  E.  Garman 
Walter  E.  Garman 


Albert  A.  Luce 
John  Wilkins 
John  Wilkins 
E.  G.  Luce 
E.  G.  Luce 
Major  Mclntyre 
Major  Mclntyre 
D.  E.  Williams 
Major  Mclntyre 
Major  Mclntyre 
G.B.Hoopingarner 
G.B. Hoopingarner 
S.  B.  Duberdorf 
C.  J.  Keeslar 
Jesse  Sanders 
Chas.  Keeslar 
G.  N,  Lazenby 
G.  N.  Lazenby 
H.  B.  Taylor 
Edson  Foster 
Edson  Foster 


Alien  Weaver 
M.  J.  Beck 

C.  H.  Brooks 
C.  H.  Brooks 
C.  H.  Brooks 
C,  H.  Brooks 
Allen  Weaver 
Richard  Hillyer 
Geo.  O.  Bixler 
John  Beck 
Geo.  Hivelley 
Hugh  Junk 
Geo.  O.  Bixler 
Geo.  O.  Bixler 
Edward  Steffey 
Franklin  Zull 
M.  J.  Merriman 
Lycurgus  Langs 
Lycurgus  Langs 
Franklin  Zidl 


GiRARD  Township. 


Supervisor  Clerk 

1834 — Jas.  B,  Tompkins  Joseph  C,  Corbus 
".  Tompkins  Joseph  C.  Corbus 
.  B.  TompkinsJ.  C.  Corbus 
~..  TompkinsAura  Smith 
_    .,  B.  Tompkins  Joseph  C.  Corbus 
1839— Martin  Barnhart  J,  C,  Corbus 
1840— J.   B.   Tompkins   Peter  L  Mann 
'    B.   Tompkins  Aura  Smith 
B.  Tompkins  Daniel  T.  Olney 
.   B.   Tompkins  J.   C  Corbus 
,  B.  Tompkins  J.   C  Corbus 
".  Tompkins  J.   C.   Corbus 
1846— Robert   Barnhart  J.   C.   Corbus 
1847— Elias  Gage  Daniel  T.  Olney 

1848— J.  B.   Tompkins  Peter  L  Mann 
1849-^Sol.  L.  Lawrence  J.   C.  Corbus 


>S3S-Ji 
1836— Jas. 
1837— Jas. 
183&-J 


1843- 
1844- 

184S-J 


Highway  Cotnmisiioner 
Benj.  H.  Smith 
Nadian  Sargent 
Harris  Aid  rich 
A.  N.  Bradley 
Jos.  Van  Bl^rcom 
S.  L.  Lawrence 
J.  B.  Tompkins 
J.  B.  Tompkins 
John  H.  Clement 

John  H.  Clement 
Levi  Butler 


S.  L.  Lawrence 

Mason  Chase 

Mason  Qiase 

Aura  Smith 

Aura  Smitli 

Robert  Rowley 

Robert  Rowley 

Harv.  L.  Worden   Philander  Gould 

Moses  Tompkins    J.  C.  Corbus 


1S50— Aura   Smith 

1851 — J.  B.  Tompki 

1852— Aura  Smith 

1853— Aura  Smith 

1854— Aura  Smith 

1S55— Aura  Smith 

1856— J.  B.  Tompkins  S.  B.  Corbus 

1857— J.  B.  Tompkins  Charles  H.  Bm 


Aura  Smith  Abram  Tompkins 

Aura  Smith  Danl.  Cornell,  Jr. 

Moses  Tompkins  Rodney  O.  Smith 

Aura  Smith  Abram  Tompkins 

Joseph  Hudson  James  Spencer 
Stephen  D.  Rainier  Robert  Gorball 

Jeremiah  Harding  David  Chauncey  Edwin  Wheeler 

Jedediah  TompkinsGeo.  B.  Johnson  Ira  Markham 

"    "    '^    '  Asa  Perry  Wm.  Babcock 

Michael  Shannon  John  H.  Clement 


J.  C.  Corbus 
J.  C  Corbus 
J.   C  Corbus 

J.  C,  Corbus 


1858 — J.  B.  Tompkins  A.  R.  Day  Jed.  Tompkins        Rodney  O.  Smith 

1859— Ambrose  BaldwinPhilander  George  Michael  Shannon    Backus  Fox 
i860— Aura  Smith  Philander  Georfje  Michael  Shannon    Backus  Fox 


,y  Google 


3ia 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


1861 — Aura  Smith 

1862— Enos  T.  Todd 

1863— Enos  T.  Todd 

1864— Enos  T.  Todd 

1865— Enos  T.  Todd 

1866— J.  C.  Pierce 

1867— J.  D.  Pierce 

1868 — Ambrose  Baldwin  J.  B.  Williams 
1869— G.  W.  Van  Aken  J.  B.  Williams 
1870— G.  W.  Van  Aken  J.  B.  Williams 
1871— G.  W.  Van  Aken  J.  B.  Williams 
1872— G.  W.  Van  Aken  J.  B.  WilUams 
1873— G.  W.  Van  Aken  J.  B.  Williams 
1874— G.  W.  Van  Aken  Perry  E  Smith 
1875— G.  W.  Van  Aken  James  E.  Perry 
1876 — G.  W.  Van  Aken  James  E.  Perry 
1877— G  -W.  Van  Aken  J.  B.  Williams 
1878— G.  W.  Van  Aken  J.  E.  Perry 
1879— G.  W.  Van  Aken  James  E.  Perry 
1880— G.  W.  Van  AkenWm.  H.  Perry 
1881— G.  W.  Van  AkenWm.  H.  Perry 

"'    -G.  W.  Van  AkenJas.  E.  Perry 


Philander  George  Michael  Shannon  Ambrose  Baldwin 
Philander  George  Michael  Shannon  A.  C.  Shepardson 
Philander  George  Asa  Williams  S.  E.  Spencer 

A.  J.  Chauncey       Michael  Shannon    Ambrose  Baldwin 
A.  J.  Chauncey       Michael  Shannon    J.  D.  Smith 
J.  B.  Williams        C.  A.  Tompkins      A.  C.  Shepardson 
D.S.  Van  Blarcum  Sherman  Osborn     Ambrose  Baldwin 
Jas.  E.  Perrv  Sylv.  E.  Spencer 

J.  E.  Perry  A.  C.  Shepardson 

J.  E.  Perry  Ambrose  Baldwin 

A.  C.  Williams  William  Rose 
D.  S.  Van  Blarcum  Durfee  Barnhart 
Cassius  H.  Brown  Curtis  Prentiss 
S.  E.  Lawrence  P.  C.  Johnson 
W.  S.  Van  BlarcumP.  C.  Johnson 
W.  S.  Van  BlarcumP.  C.  Johnson 
J.  E.  Perry  P.  C.  Johnson 

W.  S.  Van  Blarcumlra  L.  Nye 
W.  S.  VanBlarcom  C.  Prentice 
J.  B.  Williams         J.  M.  Walker 


(3— J.  H.  Davis 
(4— J.  H.  Davis 
!5— J.  H.  Davis 
'.  H.  Davis 
-].  H.  Davis 
1888— J.  H.  Davis 
1889— J*  H.  Davis 
1890— J.  H.  Davis 
1891— J.  H.  Davis 
1892— J.  H.  Davis 
1893 — G.  H.  Wagoner 
1894— J.  H.  Davis 
I895-J-  H.  Davis 
1896— J.  B.  Williams 
1897 — Frank  L.  Cox 
1898— Frank  L.  Cox 
1899 — Frank  L.  Cox 
1900 — Frank  L.  Cox 
1901 — Frank  L.  Cox 
1902 — Frank  L.  Cox 
i903~Frank  L.  Cox 
1904 — Frank  L.  Cox 
1905 — H.  J.  Morrison 
1906 — H.  J.  Morrison 


J.  B.  Williams  j.  M,  Walkei 

Geo.  W.  Jones  J.  F.  Hardick 

Jas.  E.  Perry  Geo.  W.  Jones  J.  S.  Bowers 

Jas.  E.  Perry  J.  B.  Williams  J.  S.  Bowers 

Giles  Pintler  Jas.  E.  Perry  J.  S.  Bowers 

Giles  Pintler  Jas.  E.  Perry  J.  M.  Walker 

Giles  Pintler  F.  J.  Tompkins  J.  M.  Walker 

H.  A.  X^ke  F.  J.  Tompkins 

Hiram  Lake  Artemus  Taylor  J.  M.  Walker 

Hiram  Lake  Artemus  Taylor  E.  J.  Kingsley 

Hiram  Lake  Amon  Johnson  E.  J.  Kingsley 

Hiram  Lake  Amon  Johnson  J.  S.  Bowers 

Hiram  Lake  Jacob  Hardick  J.  S.  Bowers 

Jas.  E.  Perry  Jacob  Hardick  W.  M.  Walker 

Jas.  E.  Perry  A.  E.  Thompson  W.  M.  Walker 

Jas.  E.  Perry  A.  K  Thompson  W.  M.  Walker 

Giles  Pintler  Fred  Paddock '  John  Gresley 

Giles  Pintler  Fred  Paddock  John  Gresley 

Eugene  Hal!  Frank  Johnson  John  Gresley 

Eugene  Hall  Frank  Johnson  John  Gresley 

Myron  Bidwell  Stephen  Parkinson  Clark  Knauss 

Myron  Bidwell  Stephen  Parkinson  Clark  Knauss 

Eugene  Hall  Fred  Bidwell  Clark  Knauss 

George  Whitman  Glen  Williams  Clark  Knauss 

George  Whitman  Stephen  Brewster  W.  M.  Barnes 

George  Whitman  Stephen  Brewster  J.  B.  Tuckey 


I,  Google 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


KlNDERHOOK  TOWNSHIP. 


1842 — Oliver  D.  Colvin 
1843 — George  Tripp 
1844— -Oliver  D.  Colvin 
1845 — Oliver  D.  Colvin 
1846— Oliver  D.  Colvin 
1847 — David  Tripp 
1848— O.  Burdick,  Jr. 
i849^David  Tripp 
1850 — Oliver  Burdick 
185 1— O.  Burdick,  Jr. 
1852— Oliver  Burdick 
1853 — Oliver  Burdick 
1854 — David  Tripp 
1855 — Oliver  Burdick 
1856— 'David  Tripp 
1 85 7^ William  Chase 
1858— William  Chase 
1859— William  Chase 
i860— William   Chase 
1861— S.  Hungerford 
1862— George  Tripp 
1863— George  Tripp 
1864— William  Chase 
1865— WilHam  Chase 
1866— William  Chase 
1867— William  Chase 
1868— Amos  Flint 
1869 — Amos  Flint 
1870 — Amos  Flint 
1871 — Amos  Flint 
1872— Z.  G.  Osborn 
1873— Z.  G.  Osborn 
1874 — Enos  Michael 
1875 — (No  record) 
1876— Z.  G.  Osborn 
1877— Z.  G.  Osborn 
1878— Z.  G.  Osborn 
1879— Z.  G.  Osborn 
i88o~Z,  G.  Osborn 
1881 — James  Richey 
1882 — James  Richey 
1883 — James  Richey 
1884— James  Richey 
1885- — James  Richey 
1886— James  Richey 
1887— James  Richey 
-James  Richey 
-James  Richey 
—James  Richey 


Treasurer 
Almeron  W,  Case 
Aimer  on  W.  Case 
A.  W.  Case 
Liiman  Gibbs 
William  Case 
Luman  Gibbs 


Clerk 
George  Tripp 
William  Chase 
William  Chase 
William  Chase 
George  Tripp 
A.  W.  Case 

James  H.  Hugenen  Danie!  Ent 

George  Tripp  Henry  F.  Huyck 

George  Tripp  Henry  Huyck 
W.  Waterhouse,  Jr.Wm.  Chase 

Wiiliam  Chase  Joel  D.  Lindsay 

William  Chase  Almeron  W.  Case 

William  Chase  A.  W.  Case 

William  Chase  A.  W.  Case 

William  Chase  J.  Waterhouse,  Sr. 

David  Tripp  J.  Waterhouse,  Sr. 

Farmer  Gaff  J.  Waterhouse,  Sr. 

George  Tripp  Daniel  Hoyt 

George  Tripp  Daniel  Hoyt 

Z.  G.  Osborn  WilliamWalters 

Z.  G.  Osborn  WilHam  Walters 

William  Chase  Noah  H.  Jones 
Zelotes  G.  Osborn  Noah  H.  Jones 

Z.  G.  Osborn  Noah  H.  J( 


Amos  Flint 
Amos  Flint 
James  Richey 
James  Richey 
James  Richey 
William  Chase 
William  Chase 
William  Chase 
James  Richey 

James  Richey 
James  Richey 
James  Richey 
James  Richey 
James  Richey 
James  Conklin 
Adna  Chase 
Adna  Chase 
James  Conklin 
James  Conklin 
James  Conklin 
Jas.  D.  Mosher 
Jas.  D.  Mosher 
Jas.  D.  Mosher 
Jas.  D.  Mosher 


James  Richey 
[ames  Richey 
Z.  G.  Osborn 
Z.  G.  Osborn 
Z.  G.  Osborn 
Wallace  Clark 
Wallace  Clark- 
Wallace  Clark 
Wallace  Clark 

Wallace  Clark 
Wallace  Clark 
Samuel  Knauss 
Samuel  Knauss 
Rollin  Flint 
Rollin  Flint 
Wm.  H.  Mott 
Rollin  Flint 
Samuel  Knauss 
A.  C.  Bradley 
A.  C  Bradley 
Uriah  Gripman 
Uriah  Gripman 
Fred  Conklin 
Fred  Conklin 


Highway  Com 
Bent  ley  Reynolds 
George  Tripp 
Wm.  Withington 
A.  Bonner 

Luman  Gibbs 
Luman  Gibbs 
Daniel  Ent 
L.  J.  Gibbs 
Oliver  Burdick 
David  Tripp 
Daniel  Tripp 
David  Tripp 
David  Kipp 
Alfred  S.  Bates 
Peter  Grice 
Alfred  S.  Bates 
Alfred  S,  Bates 
John  W.  Stokes 
Hiram  Norton 
John  Campbell 
L.  B,  Brown 
L.  B.  Brown 
Noah  Jones 
Marvin  C.  Munger 
W.  Sweetland 
Chas.  Alexander 
Noah  H.  Jones 
Noah  H.  Jones 
A.  D.  Bonner 
Lindley  Gripman 
Hiram  Adams 
Charles  Richey 

Alva  Jones 
Noah  H.  Jones 
Abraham  Walter 
Abraham  Walter 
Samuel  Knauss 
Abraham  Walter 
Martin  Upp 
Noah  Jones 
Noah  Jones 
Elza  Branyan 
Alva  Jones 
Alva  Jones 

Jas.  Conklin 
Jas.  Conklin 


,y  Google 


312 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


891— James  Richey 
892— James  Richey 
893 — James  Richey 
894 — James  Richey 
'^ — Martin  L.  Upp 
896— Martin  L.  Upp 
'—Martin  L.  Upp 
898— James  S.  Ogden 
899 — James  S.  Ogden 
900 — James  S.  Ogden 
901 — Martin  L.  Upp 
902^ Martin  L.  Upp 
.903— Martin  L.  Upp 
904 — Martin  L.  Upp 
.905 — Lewis  J.  Corwin 
906 — Lewis  J.  Corwin 

Sitperinsor 
*i843 — Hiram  Gardner 
1844 — ^J.  H.  Culver 
1845 — Hiram  Gardner 
1S46— Hiram  Gardner 
1847— James  E.  Fisk 
1848— James  E.  Fisk 
1849— James  E.  Fisk 
1850 — Hiram  Gardner 
185 1— Allen  Turner 
1852 — James  E.  Fisk 
1853— J.  H.  Culver 
1854— J.  H.  Culver 
1S55— J-  E.  Fisk 
1856— J.  H.  Culver 
1857— David  Anderson 
1858— Etevid  Anderson 
1859 — David  Anderson 
i860— J.  H."  Culver 
1861— G.  S.  Burnett 
1862— J.  H.  Culver 
1863 — A.  J.  Richardson 
1864— G.  S.  Burnett 
1865 — Derrick  Corson 
1866 — Derrick  Corson 
1S67 — -Derrick  Corson 
186S— G.  S.  Burnett 
1869— J.  H.  Culver 
1870 — Sam'!  B.  Corson 
1871 — Amos  Gardner 
1872- — Amos  Gardner 
1873 — Amos  Gardner 
*  Early  records  missing. 


Jas.  D.  Mosher 
Jas.  D.  Mosher 
Edgar  Conklin 
Edgar  Conklin 
Edgar  Conklin 
Edgar  Conklin 
John  Sheets 
John  Sheets 
D.  E.  Flint 
Fenton  Flint 
James  H.  Hoyt 
James  H.  Hoyt 
James  H.  Hoyt 
James  H.  Hoyt 
Roll  H.  Hayden 
Roll  H.  Hayden 


Samuel  Knauss 
Samuel  Knauss 
James  Hoyt 
James  Hoyt 
Jesse  C.  Brown 
James  Ogden 
James  Ogden 
Henry  Knauss 
L.  K.  Harding 
L.  K.  Harding 
W.  S.  Hilton 
John  Breghm 
John  Breghm 
Chas.  Smith 
Chas.  Smith 
James  S.  Ogden 


Alva  Jones 
A.  C.  Bradley 
A.  C.  Bradley 
A.  C.  Bradley 
A.  G.  Barrick 
A.  G.  Barrick 
Sherman  Jones 
Arthur  Clearwater 
Wm.  Miller 
Benj.  Michael 
William  Miller 
William  Miller 
William  Miller 
William  Miller 
William  Miller 
William  Miller 


Matteson  Township. 

Clerk  Treasurer 

Jonathan  H.  CuiverC,  F.  Jackson 
Jas.  O.  Johnson      C.  F.  Jackson 


John  Gray 
James  E,  Fisk 
Sam'l  E.  Faxon 
Robert  Watson 
Rohert  Watson 
Robert  Watson 
S,  E.  Faxon 
Joel  H.  Legg 
James  E.  Fisk 
James  E.  Fisk 
Sam'l  H.  Beach 
R.  E.  Copeland 
Edwin  S.  Faxon 
Allen  Turner 
E.  S.  Faxon 
C.  M.  Benedict 
Morris  Howe 
Morris  Howe 
Morris  Howe 
Morris  Howe 
Orrin  F.  Oliver 
Morris,  Howe 
Morris  Howe 
Sam'l  B.  Corson 
Edwin  S.  Faxon 


Highway  Commissioner 
Benjamin  Fisk 
Jacob  Lindley 
James  E.  Fisk 
Jacob  Saibry 
Abraham  Lowry 
J.  F.  Dunbar 
Ervin  C.  Fisk^ 
Bent  ley  Benedict 


C.  F.  Jackson 

J.  H.  Culver 

Jesse  Monroe 

A.  G.  Thompson 

A.  G.  Thompson 

A.  G.  Thompson 

Chas.  F.  Jackson   Jacob  L.  Everhart 

Chas.  F.  Jackson    Jacob  Liter 

John  W.  Turner     J.  S.  Hunt 

John  W.  Turner     Francis  Reynolds 

Jacob  L.  Everhart  Nelson  Bradley 

C.  C.  Bennett  C.  Thompson 

A.  H.  Corson  A.  J.  Richardson 

Ashley  Turner        J.  L.  Everhart 

Bentley  Benedict     Lyman  K.  Lewis 


Israel  Wheeler        S.  E.  Corson 
John  P.  Fisk  J,  L.  Everhart 

Derrick  Corson       C  A.  Duloe 
Robt.  E.  Copeland  Saml.  B.  Corson 
Derrick  Corson        J.  L,  Everhart 
Robt.  E.  Copeland  John  P.  Fisk 
Robt.  E.  Copeland   Francis  Reynolds 
Robt,  E.  Copeland  J.  L.  Everhart 
Robt.  E.  Copeland  Jas,  O.  Johnson 
R.  E.  Copeland      Aiex.  Anderson 
Manton  E.  Swains  R.  E.  Copeland      J.  L.  Everhart 
Labert  E.  Fisk        Geo.  W.  Fulton      Jas.  O.  Johnson 
Albert  D.  Fisk         Geo.  W.  Fulton      Alex,  Anderson 
Albert  D.  Fisk         Fritz  Shaffmaster    George  Keyes 


,y  Google 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


1874 — Amos  Gardner 
1875 — Amos  Gardner 
1876 — Amos  Gardner 
1877— S.  W.  Sharrer 
1878— Amos  Gardner 
1879— Chris,  Bennett 
1880 — Amos  Gardner 
1881— D.  F.  Rich 
1882— D.  F.  Rich 
1883— O.  B.  Culver 
1884 — -Amos  Gardner 
1885— C.  C.  Van  Vorst 
1886— O.  B.  Culver 
1887— C.  C.  Bennett 
1888 — Henry  Eberhard 
1889 — Henry  Eberhard 
1890 — Henry  Eberhard 
1891 — Henry  Eberhard 
1892 — Henry  Eberhard 
1893 — Henry  Eberhard 
1894-— C.  M.  Thompson 
1895 — C.  M,  Thompson 
1896— C.  M.  Thompson 
1897 — Henry  Eberhard 
1898— A.  C.  Judd 
1899— A.  C.  Judd 
1900 — A,  C.  Judd 
ipoi — A,  C.  Judd 
1902— A.  C.  Judd 
1903— A,  C.  Judd 
1904— A.  C.  Judd 
1905 — A.  C.  Judd 
1906— A.  C.  Judd 


Supervisor 
1846 — Ambrose  Hale 
1847 — Ambrose  Hale 
1848— Ambrose  Hale 
1849—5.  S.  Bushnell 
1850— Darwin  Wilson 
185 1— Darwin  Wilson 
1852— Darwin  Wilson 
1S53— S.  S.  Bushnell 
1854— Darwin  Wilson 
1855— S.  S.  Bushnell 
1856 — William  Rippey 
1857 — William  Rippey 
1858 — Jeremiah  Shane 
1859 — Levi  Calhoun 
i860 — William  Rippey 


David  Shimmel 
A.  D.  Fisk 
Geo.  W.  Fuiton 
G.  W.  Fulton 
Oliver  B,  Culver 
Oliver  Culver 
Oliver  Culver 
Calvin  Beers 
Calvin    Beers 
Wm.  Anderson 
Calvin  Beers 
Calvin  Beers 
Calvin  Beers 
Calvin  Beers 
Calvin  Beers 
Chas.  Thompson 
Chas.  Thompson 
Oliver  Culver 
A.  C.  Judd 
A. C  Judd 
Jay  Corson 
Jay  Corson 
Jay  Corson 
A.  C.  Judd 
A.  G.  Copeland 
A.  G.  Copeland 
A.  G.  Copeland 
A.  G.  Copeland 
A,  G.  Copeland 
Milton  J.  Bennett 
Milton  J.  Bennett 
Milton  J.  Bennett 
Lee  Copeland 


Daniel  F.  Rich 
Daniel  F.  Rich 
Daniel  F.  Rich 
Daniel  F.  Rich 
A.  G,  Copeland 
John  V.  Allen 
Daniel  Rich 
Oscar  Whitmore 
James  N.  Fisk 
Alphonso  Judd 
James  N.  Fisk 
Wm.  Baxter 
Henry  Eberhard 
Henry  Eberhard 
Emery  Warner 
Emery  Warner 
Eugene  Corson 
Frank  Thomas 
Frank  Thomas 
Edgar  Snyder 
Edgar  Snyder 
A.  D.  Hogoboom 
A.  D.  Hogoboom 
Tom  Turner 
Tom  Turner 
J  as.  Cunningham 
Leslie  Bennett 
Chas.  Mas  tin 
Chas.  Mastin 
Tom  Turner 
Tom  Turner 
Chas.  Mastin 
John  Carter 


Noble  Township, 


Clerk 
William  Butts 
William  Butts 
William  Rippey 
William  Butts 
William  Butts 
R.  F.  Kortright 
Erastus  Crofoot 
D.  S.  Crofoot 
William  Rippey 
Jeremiah  Smith 
Marshall  Morrill 
Milton  Humphrey 
Wm.  S.  Wilier 
William  Rippey 
Horace  P.  Jeffrey 


Treasurer 
S.  S.  Bushnell 
David  Foster 
David  Foster 
David  Foster 
James  Sweeting 
S.  S.  Matthews 
S.  S.  Bushnell 
Levi  Calhoun 
Levi  Calhoun 
Levi  Calhoun 

Levi  Calhoun 
Wm.  Rippey 
Culbert  R.  Smith 
Chester  E.  Porter 


J.  O.  Johnson 
George  Keyes 
George  Keyes 
George  Keyes  ■ 
C.  C.  Bennett 
Alphonso  Judd 
William  Miller 
William  Miller 
Edwin  Nash 
Robt.  Copeland 
C.  C.  Van  Vorst 
Geo.  Keyes 
Geo.  Keyes 
Geo.  Keyes 

Geo.  Keyes 
Edwin  Bennett 
Edwin  Bennett 
Edwin  Bennett 
Edwin  Bennett 
Edwin  Bennett 
Elliott  Turner 
Elliott  Turner 
Edwin  Bennett 
Edwin  Bennett 
Edwin  Bennett 
Edwin  Bennett 
L.  J.  James 
L.  J.  James 
Chas.  Mastin 
J.  H.  Van  Nuys 
L.  J.  James 
Dorius  Gibbs 


HigliTuay  Conn 
W.  P.  Patterson 
Marvin  Babcock 
C.  Palmtter 
Joseph  Smith 
Egbert  Caines 
Peter  Mallow 
J.  H.  Smith 
John  Fuller 
Jacob  Trayer 
Geo.  C.  Worden 
John  F'uller 
John  Trayer 
Jeremiah  Smith 
C.  W.  Flanders 
David  Link 


lyGoogle 


314 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


1861— E.  T.  Gardner      Wm.  S.  Wilier 
1862— William  Rippey    Wm.  S.  Wilier 
1863— William  Kippey    Wm.  S.  Wilier 
1854— William  Rippey    w.  S.  Wilier 
1865— Eiisha  T.  GardnerWm.  S.  Wilier 
i860— Klisha  T.  GardnerW.  S.  Wilier 
1867— Eiisha  T.  Gardnerjohn  Kisler 
1868— S.  W.  Sharp         John  Snyder 
1869— Eiisha  T.  Gardnerjohn  Snyder 
1870— Ehsha  T.  GardMerCulbert  R.  Smith 
1871— Eiisha  T.  Gardnerjohn  Snyder 
1872 — (No  record) 
1873— G.  P.  Robinson    John  Swain 
1874— G.  P.  Robinson    John  Swain 
1875— Horace  P.  Jeffreyjohn  Swain 
1870— Horace  P.  Jeffreyjohn  Swain 
1877— Horace  P.  Jeffreyjohn  Swain 
1878— Horace  P.  Jeffreyprank  H.  Lane 
1879— H.  P.  Jeffrey        Frank  Lane 


1880— H.  P.  Jeffrey 
1881—H.  P.  Jeffrey 
1882— H.  J.  Jeffrey 
1883— Wm.  Binkley 
1884— Wm.  Binkley 
1885— Wm.  Binkley 
l88b— H.  P.  Jeffrey 
1887—1.  p.  Morrill 
1888— L  P.  Morrill 
1889 — C.  K.  Nofsinger 


Frank  Lane 
Frank  Lane 
John  Snyder 
John  Snyder 
John  Snyder 
J.  B.  Keeslar 
J.  B.  Keeslar 
C.  W.  Brooks 
C.  W.  Brooks 
C.  W.  Brooks 


1890— C.  K.  Nofsinger  Wm.  H.  Grove 
1891— C.  K.  Nofsinger  Wm.  H.  Grove 
1892— C.  K.  Nofsinger  Wm.  H.  Grove 
1893— C.  K.  Nofsinger  Wm.  H.  Grove 
J894— Edmund  Quick  Wm.  H.  Grove 
iSgg — Edmund  Quick  Wm.  H.  Grove 
J896— David  Binkley  Albert  Quick 
1897— David  Binkley  Albert  Quick 
1898— A.  Eushnell  Albert  Quick 

i8gg — A.  Bushnell  William  Mock 

1900 — Charles  Wilier  Albert  Quick 
1901— Charles  Wilier  Albert  Quick 
1902 — A.  Bushnell  Albert  Quick 

igo3 — Joseph  Steffey      Albert  Quick 
1904 — Joseph  Steffey      Albert  Quick 
igo5 — Elfred  Smith        Ambrose  Bushnell 
1906 — Elfred  Smith         Geo.  Stegmaier 


Wm.  Patten 
Wm.  Patten 
Cuibert  R.  Smith 
Culbert  R.  Smith 
Andrew  Boyier 
John  Swain 
John  Swain 
David  Blancbard 
John  Fuller 
John  Fuller 
John  Fuller 

Cory don  Sharp 
Thos.  J.  Link 
Thos.  J.  Link 
Thos.  J.  Link 
Thos.  J.  Link 
John  Snyder 
John  Snyder 
John  Fuller 
Wm.  Binkley 
Wm.  Binkley 
Augustus  We  Her 
A.  O'Willer 
C.  R.  Smith 
C.  R.  Smith 
T.  J.  Link 
T.  J.  Link 
John  Swain 
John  Swain 
Edmund  Quick 
Edmund  Quick 
Melvin  Lupoid 
Melvin  Lupoid 
John  Zinn 
John  Zinn 
Chas.  Wilier 
Chas.  Wilier 
Jos.  Steffey 
Jos.  Steffey 
George  Smith 
Ward  Lvke 
Ward  Lyke 
Peter  Imboff 
Peter  Imhoff 


Jacob  Trayer 
John  Lane 
David  Link 
Andrew  Boyier 
Uriah  Ruthroff 
Jacob  Irayer 
David  Blancbard 
John  Swain 
Edgar  A.  Ward 
David  Blancbard 
Cory  don  Sharp 

Edward  Cummins 
David  Link 
David  Link 
David  Link 
David  Link 
William  Mallow 
Wm.  Mallow 
Win.  Mallow 
Wm.  Weaver 
R.  L.  Whipple 
Wm.  Mallow 
Wm.  Mallow 
Wm.  Mallow 
Wm.  Mallow 
A.  Lilly 

Frank  Grove 

E.  N.  Grove 
Alfred  Lilly 

F.  N.  Grove 
Edmund  Quick 
Jos.  Steffey 
Jos.  Steffey - 
Jos,  Steffey 
Clint.  Himebaugh 
Clint.  Himebaugh 
George  Smith 
George  Smith 
John  Swain,  Sr. 
John  Swain,  Sr. 
David  Binkley 
David  Binkley 
Lewis  Burnside 


G.W.HoopingarnerLuther  Burnside 


Supervisor 
1837 — John  Waterhouse 
1838 — Joseph  Rudd,  Jr.  William  Bockes 


Ovid  Township. 

Clerk  Treasurer 


lyGoogle 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


Levi  Wilson 
G.  W.  Stevens 
-  A.  R.  Bingham 


A.  R.  Bingliam 


O.  L.  Davis 
O.  L.  Davis 
O.  L.  Davis 


1842 — J.  G.  Broolis 
1843 — ^J-  G.  Brooks 
1844 — E.  D.  Corwin 
1845 — E.  D.  Corwin 
1846 — Daniel  Wilson 
1847 — Daniel  Wilson 
1848 — Daniel  Wilson 
1849 — E.  D.  Corwin 
1850 — E,  E.  Corwin 
1851 — Levi  Wilson 
1852 — E.  D.  Corwin 
1853 — Daniel  Wilson 
1854— Daniel  Wilson 
1855— E.  D.  Corwin 
1856 — Levi  Wilson 
1857— Levi  Wilson 
1858— Daniel  Wilson 
1859— E.  D.  Corwin 
i86o — Jeremiah  Cox 
1861— E.  D.  Corwin 
"1862 — Daniel  Wilson 
1863 — Daniel  Wilson 
1864 — Levi   Wilson 
1865— -Levi  Wilson 
1866— Levi  Wilson 
1867— Daniel  Wilson 
1868 — Sylvanus  Wixon 

1869 — Levi  Wilson  George  Abbott        Avis  R.  Bingham     Wm.  F.  Bingham 

1870 — Henry  B.  GeorgeSteven  Ferguson  Thos.  H.  Heisrodt  Jas.  H.  Smith 
1871 — David  Wilson       Martin  Kinsley       J.  R,  Wilson  Sylvanus  Wixon 

1872 — C.  R.  Whitehead  Martin  Kinsley  Daniel  Wilson 

1873— C.  R.  Whitehead  Martin  Kinslev  Adeibert  M.  Fuller  W.  N.  Conover 
1874— C.  R.  Whitehead  Wallace  E.  Wright  A.  M.  Fuller  Wm.  P.  Morev 

1875— C.  R.  Whitehead  Wallace  E.  Wright  Chas.  S.  Wright  W.  P.  Morey 
1876— C  R.  Whitehead  Wallace  E.  Wright  Chas.  S.  Wright  W.  P.  Morey 
1877— C.  R.  Whitehead   Henry  B.  George    Geo.  H.  Allen  Lewis  C.  Waldron 

1878— James  R.  Wilson  Rufus  R.  Harris     Geo.  H.  Allen  Lewis  C.  Waldron 

1879— Chas.  Whitehead  Wallace  Wright  Thos.  Thompson  David  Harris 
1880 — Chas.  Whitehead  E.  A.  Greenamyer  Geo.  Alien  Levi  Waldron 

1881— Chas.  Wliitehead  Rufus  Harris  Geo.  Allen  David  Harris 

1882— Chas.  Wright  Rufus  Harris  "  Thos.  Thompson  David  Harris 
1883— Chas.  Wright       Wallace  Wright      Chas.  Russell  Lewis  Waldron 

1884— Chas.  Wright       Wallace  Wright      Chas.  Russell  Nelson  Russell 

1885— Jerome  Corwin     E.  A.  Greenamyer  L.  S.  Daniels  W.  F.  Bingham 

]886— E.  A.  GreenamverW.  F.  Bingham      L.  S.  Daniels  J.  H.  Wilson 

1S87— E.  A.  GreenamyerW.  F.  Bingham      M.  F.  Hiesrodt       Nelson  Russell 
188S— F,.  A.  GreenamyerW.  F.  Bingham      M.  F.  Hiesrodt 
1889— E.  A.  GreenamyerW.  F.  Bingham      Wm.  Armstrong      Milton  Strobec 
1890 — E.  A.  GreenamyerEdwin  R.  Bates      Wm.  Armstrong      Milton  Strohec 
1891 — E.  A.  GreenamyerEdwin  R.  Bates      Fred  Bidleman        Moses  Kerns 
1892— E.  A.  GreenamyerEdwin  R.  Bates      Fred  Bidleman        Milton  Strobec 


,y  Google 


316 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


1893 — Wm.  F.  BinghamEdwin  R.  Bates  Berton  Strong  Milton  Strobec 

1894 — Wallace  Wright  Edwin  R.  Bates  J.  A.  Greenamyer  Milton  Strobe(: 

1895— Wallace  Wright  Edwin  R.  Bates  J.  A.  Greenamyer  Milton  Strobec 

1896 — Wallace  Wright  Edwin  R.  Bates  Wm.  Sorter  Reuben  Coleman 

1897 — Wallace  Wright  Vernon  Wright  Allison  Rowland  Reuben  Coleman 

1898 — Wallace  Wright  Fred  Conkiin  Julius  Bates  Qias.  Russell 

1899 — Wallace  Wright  Fred  Conkiin  Julius  Bates  L,  S.  Daniels 

1900 — Lewis  Waldron    Fred  Conkiin  Harlow  Dubendorf  J.  Schumaker 

1901 — Edwin  R.  Bates  Albert  Russell  Harlow  Dubendorf  Walter  Kenyon 

1902 — Edwin  R.  Bates  Albert  Russell  Ivon  Snyder  Walter  Kenyon 

1903 — Edwin  R,  Bates  Albert  Russell  Ivon  Snyder  Walter  Kenyon 

1904 — Edwin  R.  Bates  Chas.  Waterbury  Walter  Kenyon  W.  H.  Kerns 

1905 — Fred  J.  Conkiin    Chas.  Waterbury  Walter  Kenyon  W.  H.  Kerns 

1906 — Fred  J.  Conkiin    Chas.  Waterbury  Judson  Brown  Theodore  Wood 


OuiNCY  Township, 


Supervisor 
1836— Enos  G.  Berry 
1837— Enos  G.  Berry 
1838— Enos  G.  Berry 
1839 — James  Adams 
1840— W.  P.  Arnold 
1841— W.  P.  Arnold 
1842— W.  P.  Arnold 
1843— W.  P.  Arnold 
1844— W.  P.  Arnold 
1845— W.  P.  Arnold 
1846— W.  P.  Arnold 
1847— W.  P.  Arnold 
1848— W.  P.  Arnold 
1849— W.  P.  Arnold 
1850— W.  P.  Arnold 
1851— W.  P.  Arnold 
1852— W.  P.  Arnold 
1853— Lyman  Cole 
1854 — Lyman  Cole 
1855 — P.  M.  Newberry 
1856— Ebenezer  Mudge 
1857— Wm.  Newberry 
1858— Wm.  Newberry 
1859— Orrin  M.  Bowen 
i860 — Orrin  M.  Bowen 
1861 — Orrin  M.  Bowen 
1862 — Orrin  M.  Bowen 
1863— John  H.  Jones 
1864 — John  H.  Jones 
i865--John  H.  Jones 
1866 — John  H.  Jones 
1867— W.  P.  Arnold 
1868— W.  P.  Arnold 
1869 — ^John  Sebring 


Clerk 
David  W.   Baker 
David  W.  Baker 
Ellis  Russell 
James  G.  Corbus 
James  G.  Corbus 
Alvarado  Brown 
Alva ra do  Brown 
Alvarado  Brown 
Alvarado  Brown 
Alvarado  Brown 
Alvarado  Brown 
Daniel  M.  Thomas 
Daniel  M.  Thomas 
D.  M.  Thomas 
John  H.  Edwards 
Nathan  B.  Hewitt 
Nathan  B.  Hewitt 
N.  B.  Hewitt 
N.  B.  Hewitt 
Moses  A,  Hewitt 
Benj.  F.  Clark 
Moses  A.  Hewitt 
Moses  A.  Hewitt 
Julius  J.  Gregory 
Julius  Gregory 
Milan  M.  Brown 
Milan  M.  Brown 
Milan  M.  Brown 
Milan  M.  Brown 
Moses  A.  Hewitt 
Jay  L.  Taylor 
Daniel  W.  Sawyer 
Daniel  Sawyer 
Daniel  W.  Sawyer 


John  Broughton 
Joseph  Berry 
Joseph  Berry 
Joseph  Berry 
Joseph  Berry 
Joseph  Berry 
Joseph  Berry 
Joseph  Berry 
Jos.  T.  Burnham 
Jos.  T.  Burnham 


High'ZMty  Commissioner 
Jos.  T.  Burnham 
Israel  R.  Hall 
James  Adams 
W.  O.  Campbell 
Ansel  Nichols 
George  Boon 
George  Boon 
Job  H.  Moore 
H.  F.  Babcock 
Lucas  Joseph 
Alfred  Wilmarth 
Lyman  Cole 


Jos.  T.  Burnham  H.  F.  Babcock 

Ira  Clizbe  R.  N.  T.  Decker 

Tim.  Lockwood  Jas.  E.  Gould 

Aaron  McGinness  Deleven  Tinkbam 

Aaron  McGinness  John  Broughton 

Jacob  C.  Boon  S.  S.  Lampman 


Daniel  Williams 
Hosea  J.  Corbus 
Otis  Gager 
Milan  M.  Brown 


Geo.  W.  Chase 

F.  P.  Williams 

Jos.  S.  Swan 

Jos.  T,  Jones 


H.  B.  Edraonston  F.  P.  Williams 
Jacob  Weaver         Walton  J.  Barnes 
H.  W.  Williams      Wm.  Newberry 
Wm.  P.  Arnold       J.  H.  Withington 
Thos.  N,  Barnes     Nathan  Swan 
Orlando  F.  Buell     Wm.  Newberry 
W.  P.  Arnold  Wm.  W.  Culver 

Lyman  Witter         Aaron  W.  Barber 
Dan'I  G.  Williams  J.  B.  Wheeler 
Lyman  Witter         Geo.  H.  Lafleur 
Zadoc  C.  Rose        Z.  G.  Swan 
Zadoc  C.  Rose        Rella  M.  Campbell 


,y  Google 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


1870 — H.B.Edmondstoii 
j87i_W.  p.  Arnold 
1872— Joli"  H.  Jones 
1873 — John  H.  Jones 
j874_W.  p.  Arnold 
,g75_W.  P.  Arnold 
1876— W.  P.  Arnold 
1877 — Jacob  Kiiicaid 
1878 — Edson  Blackman 
1879 — Milan  M.  Brown 
1880— Milan  M.  Brown 
1881 — Milan  M.  Brown 
1882 — Clark  Sears 
1883 — Clark  Sears 
1884 — Eliiston  Warner 
1885 — Elliston  Warner 
1886— Elliston  Warner 
1887 — Geo.  Nivison 
1888 — Edson  Blackman 
1889 — Edson  Blackman 
1890— John  H.  Jones 
1891 — John  H,  Jones 
1892— John  H.  Jones 
1893- — Edson  Blackman 
1894 — Melvin  S.  Segur 
1895 — Melvin  S.  Segur 
1896 — ^Melvin  S.  Segur 
1897 — ^Melvin  S.  Segur 
1898— G.  W.  Duniphy 
1899 — G,  W.  Dumphy 
1900 — Chisholm  McKay 
1901 — Chisholm  McKay 
1902 — Chisholm  McKay 
1903 — Chisholm  McKay 
1904 — Chisholm  McKay 
1905 — Chisholm  McKay 
1906 — Chisholm  McKay 


Milan  M.  Brown     Guy  E.  Bennett 
Alvarado  Brown     Guy  E.  Bennett 
Daniel  W.  Sawyer  J.  L.  Taylor 
Daniel  W,  Sawyer  Zadoc  C.  Rose 
D.  W.  Sawyer         Martin  Hawley 


D.  W.  Sawyer 
D.  W.  Sawyer 
D.  W.  Sawyer 
D.  W.  Sawyer 
Melvin  S.  Segur 
Melvin  S.  Segur 
Melvin  S.  Segur 
Melvin  S.  Segur 
Melvin  S.  Segur 
Melvin  S.  Segur 
Melvin  S.  Segur 


Zadoc  C.  Rose 
Zadoc  C.  Rose 


Wm.  Ha  r  man 
Jacob  Weaver 
R.  M.  Campbell 
R.  A.  Baggerly 
Levi  Swan 
P.  M.  Newberry 
R.  K.  Twaddle 


Almeron  J.  Wright  R.  K.  Twaddle 


Cyrus  Wilcox  John  R.  Morey 

Almon  Lytle  Jacob  Weaver 

B.  C.  Mellen  M.  M.  Bailey 

B.  C.  Mellen  M.  M.  Bailey 

M.  M.  Bailey  Joseph  Eldred 

M.  M.  Bailev  Alfred  Etheridge 

S.  S.  Leiand  Alfred  Etlieridge 

S.  S.  Leiand  Alfred  Etheridge 

Melvin  S.  Segur     Hiram  Bennett  Jacob  Weaver 

"  John  Mowry 


Melvin  S.  Segur 
Melvin  S.  Segur 
Henry  Barnes 
Henry  Barnes 
T.  E.  Marsh 
T.  E.  Marsh,  Jr. 


Henry  Graves 
Ed.  Troop 
Edward  Throop 
Wm.  Thurber 
AVm.  Thurber 
James  Haynes 


Martin  Greening    James  HayU' 


Wm.  Lennon 
Wm.  Lennon 
Wm.  Lennon 
Wm.  Lennon 
Lee  O.  Burch 
Lee  O.  Burch 
Clinton  Joseph 
Arthur  Massey 
Arthur  Massey 
Ruel  D.  Raw  son 
Ruel  D.  Rawson 
J.  P.  McConnell 
Chas.  W.  Owen 


Carlton  M'ilcox 
Carlton  Wilcox 
Thos,  Rathburn 
Dewit  C,  Luse 
Dewit  C.  Luse 
Fred  Powers 
Fred  Powers 
Fred  Wagne: 


S.  W.  Boyttton 
S.  W.  Boynton 
Alva  Belote 
Alva  Belote 
Chas.  Parkinson 
Albert  Warner 
Albert  Warner 
Albert  Warner 
J.  F.  Corev 
J.  F.  Corey 
Chas.  Parkinson 
Chas.  Parkinson 
Chas.  Parkinson 


D.  W.  Houghtaling Herbert  Bcnge 
D.  W.  HoughtalingJohn  Bums 
Geo.  Sanderson       Herbert  Benge 
Geo.  Sanderson       Jared  Swan 
D.  W.  Houghtaling  Jared  Swan 


Supervisor 
1855 — Lorenzo  Little 
1856— Isaac  D.  Beall 
1857— Isaac  D.  Beall 
1858— David  R.  Cooley 
1859 — James  Antisdale 
i860 — James  Antisdale 
i86i— R.  H.  Williard 
1862— J.  B.  Haviland 
1863— Daniel  D.  Riley 
1864— Isaac  D.  Beall 
*Ear]y  records   destroyed. 


Sherwood  Township. 

Clerk 
A.  E.  Tomlinson 
E.  F.  Hazen 
E.  F.  Hazen 
E.  F.  Hazen 
E.  F.  Ha; 


E.  F.  Hazen 
James  Antisdale 
Isaac  D.  Beall 


Tr. 
F.  C.  Watkins 
Chester  C.  Doty 
Chester  C.  Doty 
Jos.  Failing 
Jos.  Failing 
S.  W,  Blackman 
E.  F.  Hazen 
Dan'l  D.  Riley 


Loring  P.  Wilcox  Lucien  E.  Rowe 
Loring  P.  Wilcox  L.  E.  Rowe 


Highway  Commissioner 
Wilson  Mc Spencer 
P.  Clark 
Benj.  F.  Ferris 
lames  Gwin 
■Peletiah  Clark 
R.  P.  Coddington 
Benj.  Blossom 
Lyman  Studley 
M.  Zimmerman 
Peietiali  Clark 


,y  Google 


318 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


1865— Isaac  D.  Beall  L.  P.  Wilcox 
1866— Henry  L.  Bisbee  L.  P.  Wilcox 
J867 — Henry  L.  Bisbee  E.  F.  Hazen 
1868 — Loring  P.Wilcox  E.  F.  Hazen 
1869 — Loring  P.Wilcox  Qark  C.  Lake 
1870 — Loring  P.Wilcox  Clark  C.  Lake 
1871 — Loring  P.Wilcox  Qark  C.  Lake 
1872— James  Gwin  Isaac  D.  Beall 

1873— James  Gwin  Robert  Fraser 

1874 — ^James  Gwin  William  Lehr 

1875— Charles  E.  Swain  J.  J.  Studley 
1876— Charles  E.  Swain  Henry  Sayers 
i877-~Charles  E.  Swain  Henry  Sayers 
1878 — Charles  H,  Mann  Jerome  Studley 
1879— Chas.  H.  Mann  Jerome  Studley 
1880— Jesse  Gates  C.  E.  Swain 

1881 — Jesse  Gates   '        C.  E.  Swain 
1882— Chas.  Rathburn    Jerome  Studley 


}3— Jesse  Gates 

}>4 — Jesse  Gates 

!ji — Jesse  Gates 

;  Gates 

—Jesse  Gates 

1888— Jesse  Gates 

1889— Jesse  Gates 

1890— J.  T.  Russell 

1891— Jesse  Gates 

1892 — -Jesse  Gates 

1893— Jesse  Gates 


Fred  Greenlief 
L.  P.  Wilcox 
L.  P.  Wilcox 
L,  P.  Wilcox  _ 
Frank  Swain 
J.  F.  Williams 
S.  K.  Thurston 
O.  S.  Bathrick 
C.  E.  Swain 
C.  E.  Swain 
L.  P.  Wilcox 


j4 — -P.  J.  Rathburn  W.  B.  Chiesman 

189s— P.  J.  Rathburn  W.  B.  Chiesman 

1896— P.  J.  Rathburn  Hiram  Fonner 

1897— P.  J.  Rathburn  Frank  Hicks 

1898— P.  J.  Rathburn  Frank  Hicks 

1899— P.  J.  Rathburn  Frank  Hicks 

igoo — P.  J.  Rathburn  A.  W.  Morris 

1901— P.  J.  Rathburn  Qark  Wilcox 

1902 — -P.  J.  Rathburn  James  Swain 

1903— P.  J.  Rathburn  Earl  H.  Warner 

1904— P.  J.  Rathburn  Earl  H.  Warner 

1905 — P.  J.  Rathburn  Earl  H.  Warner 

1906 — P.  J.  Rathburn  Earl  H.  Warner 


Henry  Bullock 
Oark  C.  Lake 
Clark  C.  Lake 
Clark  C.  Lake 
Horace  O.  Lee 
Horace  O.  Lee 
Horace  O.  Lee 


John  M.  Lacey 
Edward  Stanton 
Burr  Osborn 
Jabin  Gwin 
Edward  Stanton 
Burr  Osborn 
Jabin  Gwin 


Franklin  H.  Fisher  L.  E.  Rowe 

Frank  Thoms  Clark  C.  Lake 

Frank  Thoms  Jesse  Gates 

Marion  C.  Hazen  Jabin  Gwin 

Marion  C.  Hazen  Jesse  Gates 

Marion  C.  Hazen  Jesse  Gates 

Horace  O.  Lee  John  StatTord 


John  Mclntyre 
Henry  Locke 
Henry  Locke 
David  Spencer 
Chas.  Sawin 
Horace  Barton 
P.  J.  Rathburn 
P.  J.  Rathburn 
C.  D.  Rathburn 

C.  D.  Rathburn 
G.  H.  Sevmour 

D.  L.  Billings 
George  Hass 
George  Hass 

S.  K.  Thurston 
S.  K.  Thurston 
Geo.  Seymour 
Geo.  Seymour 
Chas.  Rathburn 
Frank  Hodge 
Frank  Hodge 

E.  W,  Watkins 

E.  W.  Watkins 
O.  F.  Thornton 
O.  F.  Thornton 

F.  M.  Daniels 

F.  M.  Daniels 

G.  E.  Kilbourn 


John  Statlord 
Henry  Bisbee 
H.  B.  Hazen 
John  Mclntyre 
Jabin  Gwin 
John  Gwin 
Chas.  Swain 
Wesley  Leckner 
Orrin  Pierce 

P.  J.  Rathburn 
Wm.  Davis 
Orrin  Pierce 
Orrin  Pierce 
Chas.  Swain 
Edward  Watkins 
A.  R.  KJose 
Francis  Daniels 
Wilson  Gates 
Wilson  Gates 
Wilson  Gates 
George  Haas 
G.  E.  Kilbourne 
G,  E.  Kilbourne 
G.  E.  Kilbourne 
C.  W.  Kirby 
Asahel  Blackman 
Asahel  Blackman 


Union  Township. 


Supervisor  Clerk  Treasurer  Highway  Commission. 

1838— Curtis  S.Youngs  Chester  Hammond  H.  L.  Mitchell         David  Kilbourn 

1839 — Curtis  S.Youngs  Chester  Hammond  Carpenter  Chaffee  Marlin  Burnett 

1840 — Curtis  S. Votings  C.  P.  Benton  Carpenter  Chaffee  B.  Bartlett 

1841— Hiram  Marsh  C.  P.  Benton  Carpenter  Chaff  ee  H.  L.  Mitchell 

1842 — Hiram  Shoudler  C.  P.  Benton  Carpenter  Chatifee  M.  B.  Barnhart 

1843 — C.  P.  Benton  Jos.  C.  Leonard       Carpenter  Chaffee  J.  W.  Norton 


,y  Google 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


i844-~C.  P.  Benton        J.  C.  Leonard 
,845— Jos.  C.  Leonard    H.  N.  Blakeman 
1846— Hiram  Shoudler  C.  S.  Youngs 
jg47 — J.  C.  Leonard       C.  S.  Youngs 
1848 — M.  B.  Barnhart     Melvin  L.  Youngs 
i84p__J.  C.  Leonard       M.  L.  Youngs 
J850— J.  C.  Leonard       M.  L.  Youngs 
jggi — J.  C.  Leonard       M.  L.  Youngs 
1852— Lloyd  H.  Sims      M.  L.  Youngs 
1853 — Manna  Olmsted   Jason  L.  Lee 
1854 — Manna  Olmsted   John  S.  Youngs 
■1855 — Silas  H.  Nye         Henry  F.  Ewers 
1856— M.  B.  Barnhart    Geo.  T.  Moseley 
1857 — Manna  Olmsted   Geo.  W.  Shelmire 
1858 — Ezra  Bostwick     G.  W.  Sheimire 
1859 — Cyrus  H.  Nye      G.  W.  Shelmire 
i860— Truman  Olds        G.  W.  Shelmire 
1861 — Curtis  S.  YoungsJ.  G.  Parkhurst 
i862^LeRoy  Judd         G.  W,  Shelmire 
1863— LeRoy  Judd  J.  G.  Parkhurst 

"1864 — LeRoy  Judd  James  T.  Leonard 

1865 — LeRoy  Judd  James  T.  Leonard 

1866 — Ezra  Bostwick     C.  W.  Saunders 
1867— J.  D.  Ackerman  C.  W,  Saunders 
1868— J.  D.  Ackerman  C.  W.  Saunders 
1869 — J.  D.  Ackerman  C.  W.  Saunders 
1870— J.  D.  Ackerman  Estas  McDonald 
1871 — J.  D.  Ackerman  Estas  McDonald 
1872— B,  L.  Mitchell      Estas  McDonald 
1873— B.  L.  Mitchell      D.  J.  Easton 
1874— L.  Rheubottom     R.  F.  Watkins 
1875— Mort.  Vosburg     Hiram  H.  Chase 
1876— Mort.  Vosburg     H.  H.  Chase 
1877— Mort.  Vosburg     H.  H.  Chase 
1878— Jas.  D.  Studley     H.  H.  Chase 
1879— Martin  F.  Buell  -J.  Willis  Spencer 
1880 — Joseph  McCauseyJ.  Willis  Spencer 
1881 — Joseph  McCauseyJ.  Willis  Spencer 
1882 — Joseph  McCauseyMortimer  Vosburg 
1883— Mort.  Vosburg     Geo.  E.  Smith 
1884 — L.  Rheubottom     George  Styles 
1885 — Henry  Seymour   George  Styles 
1886 — Henry  Seymour   Mort.  Vosburgh 
1887— L  E.  Hitchcock     Mort.  Vosburgh 
1888— Henry  Seymour  John  Nesbitt 
1889 — Henry  Seymour  John  S.  Nesbitt 
1890 — E.  E,  Bostwick     Mort.  Vosburgh 
1891 — Henry  Seymour  Mort.  Vosburgh 
1892 — Henry  Seymour   Mort.  Vosburgh 
1893— Henry  Seymour   Mort.  Vosburgh 
1894 — Henry  Seymour    Mort.  Vosburgh 


Cassius  A.  Mills 
Dr.  W.  P.  Hurd 
Solomon  Parsons 
Solomon  Parsons 
Carpenter  Chaffee 
Manna  Olmsted 
M.  Burnett 
M.  Burnett 
M.  Burnett 
M.  Burnett 
M.  Barnhart 
L.  G.  Lincoln 
Bishop  Burnett 
C.  A.  Seymour 
C.  A.  Seymour 
C.  A.  Seymour 
C.  A.  Seymour 
William  Drumm 
William  Drumm 
William  Drumm 
William  Drumm 
Henry  C.  Morse 
H.  C.  Morse 
H.  C.  Morse 
L.  G.  Lincoln 
L,  G.  Lincoln 
L.  G.  Lincoln 
Wm.  C.  Smith 
W.  C.  Smith 
C.  W.  Saunders 
C.  W.  Saunders 
Samuel  Wilbur 
Samuel  Wilbur 
Samuel  Wilbur 
Samuel  Wilbur 
W.  Milton  Lee 
W.  Milton  Lee 
Henrj'  Seymour 
Henry  Seymour 
Marshall  Maxon 
Marshall  Maxon 
Henry  Corbin 
Geo.  Whiting 
Geo.  Whiting 
Chas.  Stafford 
Chas.  Stafford 
Geo.  Whiting 
Chas.  Stafford 
Chas.  Stafford 
Seneca  Perry 
Seneca  Perry 


319 

Carpenter  Chaffee 
H.  L.  Mitchell 
M.  B.  Barnhart 
M.  B,  Barnhart 
George  Strong 
Hiram  Richardson 
Chas.  A.  Lincoln 
Henry  A.  Keiso 
Peter  Grove 
Silas  H.  Nye 
Thos.  B.  Buell 
Curtis  Prentiss 
Martin  Knowles 
T.  B.  Buell 
Truman  Olds 
Darius  Buell 
Benj.  Nelson 
J.  R.  Vosburg 
Darius  Buell 
Benj.  Nelson 
J.  R.  Vosburg 
S.  H.  Nye 
Benj.  Nelson 


Chas.  A.  Lincoln 
S.  H.  Nye 
Darius  Buell 
Parker  Haner 
Sylvester  Feller 
S.  Feller 
S.  Feller 
S.  Feller 
S.  Feller 
Burr  Osborn 
Thos.  Buell 
James  Vosburg 
Hiram  Olmsted 
Hiram  Olmsted 
John  Johnson 
John  Johnson 
John  Johnson 
John  Johnson 

John  Johnson 
Chas.  Barnhart 
Chas.  Burnett 
Chas.  Burnett 
Erwin  Fellers 
Chas.  Burnett 


lyGoogle 


320 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


189s — Henry  Seymour 
1896 — Henry  Seymour 
1897 — Henry  Seymour 
1898 — Henry  Seymour 
1899— 

1900— Albert  Geer 
i90i^AIbert  Geer 
1903— Albert  Geer 
1903— Albert  Geer 
1904 — Albert  Geer 
1905 — Leon  A.  Johnson 
1906 — Leon  A.  Johnson 


Mort.  Vosburgh  Lean  A.  Johnson 

Mort.  Vosburgh  Lean  A.  Johnson 

Mort.  Vosburgh  Lyndz  Johnson 

Mort.  Vosburgh  Lyndz  Johnson 


Leo  L,  Johnson 
Mort.  Vosburgh 
Mort.  Vosburgh 
Mort.  Vosburgh 
Mort.  Vosburgh 
Mort.  Vosburgh 
Mort.  Vosburgh 


Geo.  Whiting 
Wm.  Rupright 
Wm.  Rupright 
Chas.  Lowell 
Chas.  Lowell 
John  S.  Nesbitt 
John  S.  Nosbitt 


COLDWATER  TOWNSHlr. 


Supervisor  Clerk  Treasure!' 

1833 — S.  A.  Holbrook    J.  C.  Corbus  Robt.  J.  Cross 

1834— Jas.  E.  Stewart    Wm.  H.  Cross         S.  L.  Bingham 
1835— Matthew  Brink    W.  H.  Cross  S.  L.  Bingham 

1836 — Allen  Tibbits  W.  B.  Sprague  Edward  Paxton 
1837 — William  H.  CrossHiram  Shoudler  PhiloH.  Crippen 
1S38—  E.  A.  Warner 

1839— R.  J,  Champion    Edw.  A.  Warner    S.  A.  Holbrook 
1840— Jared  Pond  E.  A.  Warner  Wm.  McCarty 

1841 — Elijah  Ferguson   Henry  Lockwood    James  Insk 
1842 — D.  C.  Ransom      Qark  Williams        Jos.  Shoecraft 
1843 — Henry  LockwoodGeo.  A.  Coe  Harvey  Dixon 

1844— Chris.  Dickinson  Albert  Chandler      D.  S.  Williams 
1845— L.  b.  Crippen      John  D.  Wood        Geo.  Kellogg 
1846— David  R.  Cooley  S.  S.  Cutter  D.  S.  Williams 

1847 — Henry  LockwoodElon  Parsons  Hiram  Alden 

1848 — Henry  LockwoodElon  Parsons  A.  Arnold 

1849 — Henry  LockwoodF.  V.  Smith  Anselm  Arnold 

1850 — Asa  Parrish  W.C.Morehouse    David  Thompson 

1S51 — John  Root  John  G.  Parkhurst  David  Thompson 

1852— -Harvev  Haynes    John  H.  I^elps       L.  B.  Brewer 
1853— John  Root  Edwin  R.  Qarke    L.  R.  Austin 

1854— C.   P.  Benton       Homer  M.  Wright  Sellick  Seymour 
185s— George  A.  Coe      Benj.  C.  Webb         Sellick  Sevmour 
1856— Harvey  Haynes    Benj.  C.  Webb        Roland  Root 
1857— John  Root  David  C.  Powers     James  Pierson 

1858 — Harvey  Haynes  David  C.  Powers  D.  B.  Purinton 
1859 — David  B.  Dennis  Rob.  F.  MockridgeD.  B.  Piirinton 
i860 — D.  B.  Purinton  Rob.  F.  MockridgeC.  Van  Ness 
1861 — Harvey  Haynes  A.  D.  Eldridge  Timothy  Phelps 
1862— Harvey  Haynes  George  H.  White  Timothy  White 
1863— Harvey  Haynes    Ira  W.  Pratt  William  Bennett 

1864 — Harvey  Haynes    W.  B.  Mason  Chas.  J.  Fonda 

1865— S.  S.  Scoville       C.  H.  Williams       Chas.  r.  Fonda 
1866— S.  S.  Scovilie       C.  H.  Williams       Elias  Gage 
1867— Henry  C.  Fenti    C.  H.  Williams       Elias  Gage 
1868— Lsaac  Mains  Chas.  N.  Legg        Wm.  B.  Mason 


Chas.  Burnett 
James  Cosier 
James  Cosier 
James  Cosier 

J.  M.  Cosier 
Chas.  Zimmerman 
Chas.  Zimmerman 
Chas.  Zimmerman 
Chas.  Zimmerman 
Chas.  Zimmerman 
Chas.  Zimmerman 


Highway  Commissionei 
Jas.  B.  Tompkins 
John  Wilson 
W.  P.  Arnold 
John  Wilson 
Edward  Paxton 

James  Shoecraft 
Elijah  Ferguson 
Jos.  H.  Moss 
Reuben  Whitehead 
Silas  A.  Holbrook 
George  Hayden 
Jos.  H.  Moss 
J.  Strickland 
Wilham  Keyes 
Isaac  Middaugh 
J.  Strickland 
Isaac  Middaugh 
William  Smith 
Alonzo  Duncan 
Abram  C.  Fisk 

Alonzo  Duncan 
Abram  C.  Fisk 
J.  B.  Soiithworth 
B.  E.  Shoecraft 
Wm.  B.  Mason 
J.  B.  Southworth 
Henry  C.  Fenn 
John  W.  Turner 
J.  B.  Southworth 
Horace  W.  Reed 
B.  B.  Shoecraft 
Mahlon  A.  Smith 
Isaac  Mains 
Wm.  H.  Webster 


,y  Google 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


,g6c) — Isaac  Mains 
jgyo — Isaac  Mains 
1871 — Isaac  Mains 
1S72 — Harvey  Haynes 
jSy^ — Harvey  Haynes 
J874 — Alonzo  B.  Allen 
i875_A.  B.  Allen 
1S76— A.  B.  Allen 
1877 — Henry  C.  Fenn 
1878— A.  B.  Allen 
1879— Harvey  Haynes 
1880— Geo.  W.  Dickey 
1881— Geo.  W.  Mckey 
1882— Geo.  W.  Dickey 
1883— J.  C  Andrews 
1884— Geo.  W.  Dickey 
(885— Geo.  W.  Dickey 
i886~Geo.W.  Dickey 
iSBy—J.  C.  Andrews 
t888 — Samuel  Fisk 
18S9— Samuel  Fisk 
1890— Samuel  Fisk 
1891 — Samuel  Fisk 
1892 — Samuel  Fisk 
1893 — Samuel  Fisk 
1894 — Samuel  Fisk 
1895 — Chas.  Gulp 
1896 — Chas.  Culp 
1897 — Chas.  Culp 
189S — Chas.  Culp 
1899— Chas.  Culp 
1900 — Chas.  D.  Wicker 
1901— Chas.  D.  Wicker 
i902-— Chas.  D.  Wicker 
1903 — Chas.  D.  Wicker 
1904— Chas.  D.  Wicker 
1905 — George  Martin 
1906 — George  Martin 


C.  H.  Williams 
C.  H.  Williams 
J.  H.  McGowan 
J.  H.  McGowan 
C.  H.  Williams 
C.  H.  Williams 
C.  H.  Williams 
Harvey  Gregory 
H.  D.  Gregory 
C.  H.  Williams 
Hervey  Gregory 
Hervey  Gregory 
Hervey  Gregory 
Hervey  Gregory 
Benj.  W.  Mains 
Benj.  W.  Mains 
Benj.  W.  Mains 
Floyd  Gage 
Geo.  H.  Turner 
Harvev  Painter 


W.  B.  Mason 
"W'm.  E.  Mason 
W.  B.  Mason 
Elias  Gage 
Elias  Gage 
Timothy  Plielps 
Timothy  Phelps 
Timothy  Phelps 
Charles  Shoecraft 
Geo.  W.  Fisk 
Geo.  W.  Dickey 
Samuel  Fisk 
Samuel  Fisk 
Albert  Brinton 
Albert  Brinton 
T.  J.  Williams 
T.  J.  Williams 
Ezra  Shoecraft 
Ezra  Shoecraft 
James  Burdick 


Harvey  E.  Painter  James  Burdick 

Henry  E.  Straight  Edward  D.  Legg 

Henry  E.  Straight  Edward  D.  Legg 


Chas.  Culp 
Chas.  Wicker 
Chas.  Wicker 
Chas.  Wicker 
Chas.  Wicker 
Chas.  Wicker 
Chas.  Wicker 
Chas.  Wicker 
G.  S.  Thomas 
G.  S.  Thomas 
G.  S.  Thomas 
G.  S.  Thomas 
G.  S.  Thomas 
Wm.  Hurst 
Wm.  Hurst 


Ezra  Shoecraft 
Chas.  Culp 
Chas.  Cuip 
Chas.  Brooks 
Chas.  Brooks 
Wm.  H.  Megley 
Wm.  H.  Megley 
Geo.  Martin 
Geo.  Martin 
Ted  C.  Cox 
Ted  C.  Cox 
Morgan  L.  Tyler 
Morgan  L.  Tyler 
John  Phelps 
John  Pheips 


321 

O.  S.  Bingham 
J-.B.  Southworth 
Lucius  Phettepiace 
Mahlon  A.  Smith 
J.  B.  Southworth 
Wm.  P.  Norton 
Jacob  C.  Andrews 
Wm.  P.  Norton 
Wm.  P..  Norton 
Russell  Rice 
Wm.  P.  Benton 
Marcus  Hunt 
Origin  Bingham 
Origin  Bingham 
Origin  Bingham 
Origin  Bingham 
R.  F.  Parker 

Origin  Bingham 
Origin  Bingham 
James  Bassett 
Israel  Painter 
James  Burdick 
James  Burdick 
Cyrus  Hand 
Cyrus  Hand 
E.  Blodgett 
H.  H.  Benson 
H.  H.  Benson 
H.  H.  Benson 
James  Storr 
James  Storr 
James  Storr 
James  Storr 
James  Storr 
Lewis  Do  Hi  more 
Seth  B.  Randall 
Seth  B.  Randall 


Village  or  Coldwater. 


President  Clerk 

1837— Hiram  Alden  E.  T.  Paxton 

1838— L.  D.  Crippen  E.  A.  Warner 

1839— Silas  A.  Holbrook  E.  A.  Warner 
184a— 


1842— David  Williams 

1843— William  Pierson 

]  844— Henry  Lockwood 

1845- 

1846— A.  L.  Porter 


George  A.  Coe 
G.  A.  Coe 
G.  A.  Coe 

Corydon  P.  Benton 


James  H.  Hanchett 


D.  S.  Williams 
William  H.  Kellogg 
David  Wood 

Cornelius  Wendell 


lyGoogle 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


1847 — Harvey  Warner 
184^ — Harvey  Warner 
1849 — Jared  Pond 
iSso— Jared  Pond 
185 1— Harvey  Warner 
1852 — Albert  Chandler 
1853 — -Hiram  Shoudler 
1854— Alvin  H.  BurdJck 
1855 — Hiram  Baker 
1856— Roland  Root 
1857 — Augustus  S.  Glessner 
1858— Alonzo  F.  Bidwell 
1859 — Charles  Upham 
i86(>^Stephen  Cutler 


Mayor 
186 1— Albert  Chandler 
1862 — Albert  Chandler 
1863 — David  B.  Dennis 
1864 — Justin  Lawyer 
1865- — Justin  Lawyer 
1866— John  H.  Beach 
1867— D.  C.  Powers 
1868— David  C.  Powers 
1869— Phineas  P-  Nichols 
1870— Justin  Lawyer 
1871 — David  B.  Biennis 
1872 — Henry  C,  Lewis 
1873— H.  C.  Lewis 
1874 — John  R.  Champion 
1875— J.  R.  Champion 
1876— Stephen  S.  Cutter 
1877 — Charles  Upson 
1878— A.  J.  Foster 
1879 — D.  C.  Powers 
1880 — ^John  R.  Champion 
1881— Barton  S.  Tibbits 
1882— L.  M.  Wing 
1883 — George  Starr 
1884 — George  Starr 
1885— Alfred  Milnes 
1886— Alfred  Milnes 
1887— B.  H.  Calkins 
1888— B.  H.  Calkins 
1889— C.  D.  Randall 
1890 — Edwin  R.  Qarke 
1891— Edwin  R.  Clarke 
1892 — Barzilla  Calkins 
1893— Simon  B.  Kitchel 
1894 — N.  A.  Reynolds 


C.  P.  Benton 

C.  P.  Benton 
Henry  C.  Gilbert 
L.  T.  N.  Wilson 
E.  G.  Fuller 
James  W.  Gilbert 
George  A.  Kellogg 
Elihu  B.  Pond 
Justin  Lawyer 
Franklin  T.  Eddy 
Franklin  T.  Eddy 
Wallace  W.  Barrett 

P.  P.  Nichols 

City  of  Coldwater. 

Clerk 
Robert  F.  Mockridge 
R.  F.  Mockridge 
Hiram  D,  Upham 
John  Murphey 
John  Murphey 
William  G.  Moore 

D.  J.  Easton 
John  Murphey 
John  Murphey 
William  H.  H.  Halsted 
W.  H.  H.  Halsted 
William  R.  Foster 
William  R.  Foster 
Charles  L.  Truesdell 
Charles  L.  Truesdell 
L.  P.  Palmer 

L.  P.  Palmer 
Albert  O.  Wood 
William  G.  Moore 
William  G.  Moore 
Lilburn  P.  Palmer 
George  B,  Tompkins 
George  B.  Tompkins 
Judson  P.  Etheridge 
J.  P.  Etheridge 
Allen  Cope 
Charles  F.  Ruggles 
Calvin  H.  Macumber 
Elmer  J.  Allen 
Elmer  J.  Allen 
Harry  R.  Saunders 
Charles  J.  Harris 
James  R.  Dickey 
H.  A.  Close 


George  A.  Kellogg 

Hiram  Alden 
Phineas  P.  Wright 

Robert  F,  Mockridge 
R.  F.  Mockridge 
R.  F.  Mockridge 
George  A.  Coe 
Nelson  D.  Skeels 
A.  F.  Bidwell 
Justin  Lawyer 
Justin  Lawyer 
John  S.  Youngs 


Treasurer 
John  S.  Youngs 
John  S.  Youngs 
Ives  G,  Miles 
George  Starr 
George  Starr 
George  Starr 
George  Starr 
John  P.  Youngs 
Lester  E.  Rose 
Lester  E.  Rose 
Willard  J.  Bowen 
Willard  J.  Bowen 
Willard  J,  Bowen 
Willard  J.  Bowen 
Willard  J.  Bowen 
Willard  J.  Bowen 
George  Starr 
Ransom  E.  Hall 
A,  S.  Upson 
A.  S.  Upson 
Charles  Starr 
Charles  L.  Truesdell 
A.  S.  Upson 
A.  S.  Upson 
L.  A.  Jackson 
Lennes  A.  Jackson 
A.  S.  Upson 
A.  S,  Upson 
L.  A,  Jackson 
L.  A.  Jackson 
Charles  T.  Gilbert 
Charles  T.  Gilbert 
L.  A.  Jackson 
L,  A.  Jackson 


lyGoogle 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


1805— T.  A.  Hilton 
1896— A.  A.  Sherman 
jgqy — A.  A.  Sherman 
1898— Clayton  C.  Johnson 
i8p^_Clayton  C.  Johnson 
j^oo— Clayton  C.  Johnson 
1901 — Elmer  E.  Palmer 
1902 — Milo  D.  Campbell 
J903— Milo  D.  Campbell 
1904 — Milo  D.  Campbell 
1005— Chas.  N.  Legg 
jyo6 — Gerald  E.  Kleindinst 

Pi-esident 
1858— Ebenezer  Miidge 
1859 — William  P.  Arnold 
i860— Alden  Gregory 
1 86 1 — Cornelius  Shear 
1862 — Joseph  Berry 
1863 — ^John  Sebring 
1864 — ^John  Sebring 
1865— Charles  N.  Wilcox 
1866 — Cornelius  Shear 
1867— David  C.  Myers 
1868— David  C.  Myers 
1869 — David  C.  Myers 
1870— David  C.  Myers 
1871 — Horace  Lownsberry 
1872— Horace  Lownsberry 
1873 — ^Jacob  Kincaid 
1874 — ^Jacob  Kincaid 
1875 — Jacob  Kincaid 
1876 — ^Jacob  Kincaid 
1877 — Walton  J,  Barnes 
1878— Walton  J.  Barnes 
1879 — Walton  J.  Barnes 


H.  A.  Close 
H.  A.  Close 
H.  A.  Close 
Patrick  H.  Sweeney 
Patrick  H.  Sweeney 
Patrick  H.  Sweeney 
Patrick  H.  Sweeney 
Patrick  H.  Sweeney 
William  H.  Moore 
William  H.,King 
William  H.  King 
William  H.  King 
Village  of  Quincy. 

Clerk 
Moses  A.  Hewitt 
Moses  A.  Hewitt 
Moses  A,  Hewitt 
Benj.  F.  Clark 
Benj.  F.  Clark 
Ebenezer  Mudge 
Ebenezer  Mudge 
Ebenezer  Mudge 
Ebenezer  Mudge 
Ebenezer  Mudge 
Ebenezer  Mudge 
Ebenezer  Mudge 
Ebenezer  Mudge 
Ebenezer  Mudge 
Ebenezer  Mudge 
Ebenezer  Mudge 
Ebenezer  Mudge 
Ebenezer  Mudge 
Ebenezer  Mudge 
Ebenezer  Mudge 
Ebenezer  Mudge 
Ebenezer  Mudge 


Si- — William  A.  Markel        Daniel  W.  Sawyer 


53— W.  A.  Markel 


D.  W.  Sawyer 


1885— John  H.  Jones 
1886 — John  H.  Jones 
1887— John  H.  Jones 
1888— C.  L.  Truesdell 
1889— Francis  E.  Marsh 
1890— F.  E.  Marsh 
1S91— Clinton  G.  Powers 
1893— C.  G.  Powers 

Note 
be  found 


D.  W.  Sawyer 
D.  W.  Sawyer 
D.  W.  Sawyer 
Francis  E.  Marsh,  Jr. 
F.  E.  Marsh,  Jr. 
Charles  H.  Young 
Elmer  J.  Qizbe 
F.  H.  White 
-A  book  of  records  containing  the  officers 
1  spite  of  diligent  inquiry ;  hence  the  break 


A.  S.  Upson 
W.  E.  Hodgman 
Harry  R.  Saunders 


A.  S.  Upson 
W.  E.  Hodgman 

A.  S.  Upson 
Milton  W.  Wimer 
H.  R.  Saunders 

Treasurer 

Alden  Gregory 

William  J.  Briggs 

William  J.  Briggs 

Barber  N.  Sheldon 

Benj.  F.  Wheat 

Gideon  O.  Bailey 

Thomas  Clark 

Thomas  Clark 

Thomas  Clark 

Thomas  Clark 

Thomas  Clark 

Thomas  Clark 

George  B.  Knight 

George  B.  Knight  , 

George  B.  Knight 

Almeron  J.  Wright 

Alraeron  J.  Wright 

Almon  L.  Lytle 

Alfred  A.  Bowen 

Stephen  H.  Loveland 

George  B.  Knight 

George  B.  Knight 

Jesse  B.  Sutton 

J.  B.  Sutton 

J.  B.  Sutton 

J.  B.  Sutton 

J.  B.  Sutton 

Charles  L.  Truesdell 

C.  L.  Truesdell 

C.  W.  Bennett 

Henry  A.  Graves 

Robert  J.  Stevens 

William  Lennon   ■ 

Charles  H.  Young 

James  Haynes 
from  1893  to  1902  could  not 
in  the  official  list. 


lyGoogle 


324 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


1902 — Charles  W.  Owen 
1903 — C.  W.  Owen 
1904 — Clarence  C,  Jones 
1905 — C.  C.  Jones 
1906 — Joseph  N.  Salisbury 


Ruel  I>.  Rawson 
R.  D,  Rawson 
R,  D,  Rawson 
R.  D.  Rawson 
Lee  O.  Burch 

ViLLAGK  OF    BrONSON. 


Edward  M.  Brown 
E.  M.  Brown 
Davis  H.  Houghtaling 
D.  H,  Houghtaling 
Arthur  M.  Griffin 


Clerk 
Andrew  S,  Parrish 


Presideni 
1866— Warren  Byrns 
1867 — Cyrus  J.  Keyes 
1868— Oscar  B.  Nichols 
1869 — ^Lorenzo  A,  Rose 
1870— Jason  Shepard 
1871— Milo  Clark 
1872 — Oscar  B.  Nichols 
1873— Oscar  B.  Nichols 
1874— Oscar  B.  Nichols 
1875— Anson  J-  Horton 
1876— Milo  Clark 
1877 — ^Jason  Shepard 
1878 — Christopher  G.  Babcock 
1875 — Ur.  W,  Byrns  W.  Ira  Beesmer 

1880 — Christopher  G,  BabcockWilliam  I.  Beesmer 
—Christopher  G.  BabcockWilliam  I.  Beesmer 


1882— Oscar  B.  Nichols 

1883— Milo  Clark 

1884— Milo  Clark 

1885— George  W.  Ellis 

1886— George  W.  Ellis 

1887— George  W.  Ellis 

1888— Henry  P.  Mowry 

1889— Burt  M.  Fellows 

1890 — Burt  M.  Fellows 

i^i — ^James  N.  Fisk 

1892 — James  N.  Fisk 

1893 — Albert  M.  Shepard 

1894— C.  M.  Van  Every,  Jr.    Albert  M.  Shepard 

1895— A.  B.  Leonard  Albert  M.  Shepard 

1896— Frank  M.  Rudd  Burt  M.  Fellows 

1897— C.  M.  Van  Every,  Jr.  Albert  M.  Shepard 

1898— Robert  M.  Sanderson  Albert  M.  Shepard 

1899 — Robert  M.  Sanderson  Albert  M.  Shepard 

1900 — C.  M.  Van  Every,  Jr.    Milo  Thompson 


William  I.  Beesmer 
William  I.  Beesmer 
William  I,  Beesmer 
Franklin  H.  Keyes 
Adelbert  E.  Clark 
Adelbert  B.  Clark 
Adelbert  B.  Clark 
Alonzo  Ruggles 
Perry  L.  Crawford 
Randall  D.  Powers 
Adelbert  B.  Clark 
Adelbert  B.  Clark 


1901— Harry  Ruple 
1902 — Albert  M,  Shepard 
1903 — Jacob  F.  Werner 
1904 — Jacob  F.  Werner 
1905 — Jacob  F.  Werner 
1906— -Richard  Coward 


Milo  Thompson 
William  H.  Davis 
William  H.  Davis 
William  H.  Davis 
William  H.  Davis 
William  H.  Davis 


Treasurer 
Joseph  E.  Earl 


Jason  Shepard 
Horace  B.  Williams 
Horace  B.  Williams 
Horace  B.  Williams 
Horace  B.  Williams 
Thomas  James 
George  W.  Hanks 
Lucius  M.  Leet 
Lucius  M.  Leet 
Perry  L.  Crawford 
Randall  D.  Powers 
Franklin  G.  Keyes 

Glenn  D.  Corey 
Glenn  D.  Corev 
Charles  K.  Bush 
Thomas  James 
Harry  Ruple 
George  E.  Robinson 
George  E.  Robinson 
William  H.  Davis 
William  H.  Davis 
George  E.  Robinson 
George  E.  Robinson 
Arthur  D.  Lindsey 
Charles  T.  Cockle 
Charles  T.  Cockle 
Glenn  L.  Keyes 


yGoogle 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


President 
1866— Silas  H.  Nye 
1867— Silas  H.  Nye 
i868--Henry  F.  Ewers 
,86cj_-Solomon  Parsons 
1870 — Ezra  Eostwick 
ig^i—Henry  F.  Ewers 
1872 — Marc  A.  Merrifield 
J873 — Ezra  Eostwick 
1874 — Ezra  Eostwick 
1875^ — ^Ezra  Eostwick 
1876— Silas  H.  Nye 
1877— S.  H.  Nye 
1878 — Charles  W.  Crockei 
1879— C.  W.  Crocker 
1880 — C.  W.  Crocker 
1881— John  I.  Copeland 
1882 — John  I.  Copeland 
1883— Martin  F.  Euell 
1884— Martin  F.  Euell 
1885— D.  J.  Easton 
1S86— D.  J.  Easton 
1887— D'.  J.  Easton 
1888— Ira  E.  Hitchcock 
i889_Martin  F.  Buell 
1890 — Martin  F.  Euell 
1891— Thomas  E.  Buell 
1S92— Martin  F.  Buell 
1893— George  K.  Whiting 
1894— John  S.  Nesbitt 
1S95— John  S.  N«sbitt 
1896— John  S.  Nesbitt 

1897— Frank  C.  Rheubottom  T.  F.  Robinson 
1898— Frank  C.  Rheubottom  T.  F.  Robinson 


Village  of  Union  City. 
Clerk 
C.  W,  Saunders 
C,  W.  Saunders 

C.  E.  Ewers 
J.  T,  Leonard 
James  T.  Leonard 
J.  T.  Leonard 

D.  J.  Easton 
D.  J.  Easton 
D.  J.  Easton 
D.  J.  Easton 
David  J.  Easton 
D.  J.  Easton 
Henry  F.  Ewers 
D,  J.  Easton 
D.  J.  Easton 
D.  J.  Easton 
D.  J.  Easton 
D.  J.  Easton 

D.  J.  Easton 

E.  H.  Brooks 
E.  H.  Brooks 
Grove  A.  Church 
D.  J.  Easton 
D.  J.  Easton 
D.  J.  Easton 
D.  J.  Easton 
D.  J.  Easton 
D.  J.  Easton 
D.  J.  Easton 
D.  J.  Easton 
D,  J.  Easton 


1899 — David  J.  Easton 
1900 — G.  K,  Whiting 
1901 — Leo  L.  Johnson 
1902— D.  D.  Buell 
1903 — A.  R.  Barrett 
1904 — W.  W.  Snider 
1905 — W.  W.  Snider 
1906 — W.  W.  Snider 


President 
iS87^Eobert  Eraser 
1888— Robert  Fraser 
1889— Robert  Eraser 
1890— L,  P.  Wilcox 
1S91 — G.  H.  Seymour 


Tom  F.  Robinson 
T.  F.  Robinson 
T.  E.  Robinson 
T.  F.  Robinson 
George  Styles 
George  Styles 
George  Styles 
George  Styles 

Village  of  Sherwood. 


Clerk 
Elgin  Barton 
Elgin  Barton 
C.  E.  Nelthorpe 
Elgin  Barton 
L.  I.  Watson 


Treasurer 
J.  T.  Leonard 
J.  T.  Leonard 
J.  T.  Leonard 

E.  L.  Lee 
Hiram  Crissy 
Hiram  Crissy 
Ira  W.  Nash 
Jerome  Boweii 
W.  P.  Kurd 

C.  E.  Ewers 
Charles  E.  Ewers 
Charles  E.  Ewers 

D.  J.  Easton 
Henry  T.  Carpenter 
H.  T.  Carpenter 

H.  T,  Carpenter 
H.  T.  Carpenter 
H.  T.  Carpenter 
H.  T,  Carpenter 
H.  T.  Carpenter 
H.  T,  Carpenter 
H.  T.  Carpenter 
H.  T.  Carpenter 
H.  T.  Carpenter 
H.  T.  Carpenter 
H.  T.  Carpenter 
H.  T.  Carpenter 
H.  T.  Carpenter 
TI.  T,  Carpenter 
H.  T.  Carpenter 
H.  T.  Carpenter 
J.  S.  Nesbitt 
G.  K.  Whiting 
G.  K.  Whiting 
C.  H.  Lowell 
C.  H.  Lowell     . 

F.  H.  Whiting 

F.  H.  W'hiting 

G.  K.  Whiting 
G.  K.  Whiting 
C.  H,  Lowell 


Treasure. 

D,  R.  Spencer 

E.  W.  Gordon 
E.  W.  Gordon 
G.  H.  Seymour 
E.  E.  Alliger 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


1892— G. 
1893-C. 
1894-J. 
1895— J- 
1896-J. 
1897-A. 
1898— J. 
1899— L. 
1900 — L, 
1901 — W, 
1902 — W, 
1903 — W, 
1904 — L, 
1905 — ^L. 
1906 — J. 


H.  Seymour 
B.  Harrison 
W.  French 
W.  French 
W.  French 
W.  Morris 
F.  Alger 
M.  Daniels 
M.  Daniels 
.  B,  Chi  es  man 
.  B.  Chiesman 
,  B.  Chiesman 
M.  Daniels 
M.  Daniels 
W.  French 


C.  E.  Swain 
C.  E.  Swain 
C.  E.  Swain 
H.  Hass 
F.  Hicks 
F.  Hicks 
F.  Hicks 
L.  E.  Lowry 
E.  S.  Easton 
E.  S.  Easton 
E.  S.  Easton 
E.  S.  Easton 
E.  S.  Easton 
E.  S.  Easton 
E.  S.  Easton 


W.  B.  Chi. 
W.  B.  Chiesman 
W.  B.  Chiesman 
W.  B.  Chiesman 
W.  B.  Chiesman 
James  Swain 
Frank  Thoms 
C.  E.  Nelthorpe 
H.  J.  Klose 
Earl  Warner 
Earl  Warner 
W,  F.  Lampman 
W.  F.  Lampman 
G.  H.  Seymour 
G.  H.  Seymour 


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Cyrua  G.  Lut 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


HON.  CYRUS  GRAY  LUCE. 
No  compendium  such  as  the  province  of  this  work  defines  in  its  essential 
Hmitations  will  serve  to  offer  fit  memorial  to  the  fife  and  accomplishments  of 
tlie  honored  subject  of  this  sketch — a  man  remarkable  in  the  breadth  of  his 
wisdom,  in  his  indomitable  perseverance,  his  strong  individuality,  and  yet 
one  whose  entire  life  has  not  one  esoteric  phase,  being  an  open  scroll,  inviting 
ihe  closest  scrutiny.  True,  his  have  been  "  massive  deeds  and  great  "  in  one 
sense,  and  yet  his  entire  life  accomplishment  but  represents  the  result  of  the 
fit  utilization  of  the  innate  talent  which  is  his,  and  the  directing  of  his  efforts 
in  those  lines  where  mature  judgment  and  rare  discrimination  lead  the  way. 
There  was  in  him  a  weight  of  character,  a  native  sagacity,  a  far-seeing  judg- 
ment and  a  fidelity  of  purpose  that  commanded  the  respect  of  all.  A  man  of 
indefatigable  enterprise  and  fertility  of  resource,  he  carved  his  name  deeply 
on  the  record  of  the  political,  commercial  and  professional  history  of  the 
state,  which  owes  much  of  its  advancement  to  his  efforts. 

Governor  Luce  was  born  in  Windsor.  Ashtabula  county,  Ohio,  July  2, 
1824,  and  died  at  Coldwater,  Michigan,  March  18,  1905.  His  parents  were 
Walter  and  Mary  M.  Luce,  his  paternal  ancestors  settling  at  Martha's  Vine- 
yard, Massachusetts,  at  a  very  early  day  in  the  colonization  of  the  new  world, 
and  about  172O'  his  paternal  grandfather  removed  to  Holland,  Connecticut, 
where  his  father  was  born.  The  latter  was  a  soldier  of  the  war  of  1812,  and 
about  181 5  settled  on  the  western  reserve  in  Ohio.  His  mother  was  a  Vir- 
ginian by  birth,  and  her  father  was  of  English  lineage,  but  becoming  an  aboli- 
tionist he  removed  from  the  slave  state  of  Virginia  to  Ohio,  establishing  the 
family  home  in  the  latter  state. 

Governor  Luce  was  reared  upon  a  farm  in  the  state  of  his  nativity  amid 
pioneer  conditions  and  environments  until  twelve  years  of  age,  wdien  he  ac- 
companied his  parents  on  their  removal  to  Steuben  county,  Indiana,  where 
they  cast  in  their  lot  with  its  first  settlers.  He  attended  one  of  the  pioneer 
country  schools  and  supplemented  his  early  education  by  a  course  in  an 
academy  located  at  Ontario,  Lagrange  county,  Indiana,  where  he  resided  for 
three  years.  Arriving  at  man's  estate  he  chose  the  occupation  of  farming  as 
a  life  work  and  located  on  a  tract  of  land  in  Gilead  township.  Branch  county, 
Michigan,  and  from  that  time  afterward  to  the  day  o£  his  death  he  was  always 
interested  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  in  agricultural  pursuits,  finding  therein 
a  good  source  of  livelihood,  his  labors  bringing  him  a  gratifying  financial 
return. 

In  early  life  Mr.  Luce  was  a  warm  admirer  of  Henry  Clay  and  he  cast 
his  first  presidential  ballot  for  Zachary  Taylor,  in  1848.  The  first  office  that 
he  ever  held  was  that  of  supervisor  of  his  township,  being  elected  thereto  in 
1852,  his  services  covering  a  period  of  ten  years  by  reason  of  his  re-election. 
He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Republican  party  in  his  county,  and  in 
1854  he  was  elected  upon  the  Republican  ticket  to  the  Michigan  legislature. 
In  1858  he  was  the  successful  Republican  candidate  for  the  office  of  county 
treasurer  and   in   i860  was  re-elected.     In   1864  he  was   called   by  popular 


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338  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

suffrage  to  the  offce  of  state  senator,  and  in  l866  was  again  chosen  forthat 
position,  while  in  1867  he  became  a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention 
and  assisted  in  framing  the  organic  law  of  the  commonwealth.  In  1879  he 
was  appointed  state  oil  inspector  by  Governor  Crosswell,  and  by  reappoint- 
ment of  Governor  Jerome  in  1881  he  continued  as  the  incumbent  for  four 
years.  Still  higher  honors  awaited  him,  for  in  1886  he  became  the  standard 
bearer  of  his  party  in  Michigan  and  was  elected  governor,  being  again  elected 
in  1888.  His  administration  is  a  matter  of  history  and  forms  a  record  that 
is  creditable  alike  tO'  the  state,  its  constituents  and  himself.  His  course  was 
characterized  by  an  unfaltering  devotion  to  the  public  good  and  by  honest 
purpose.  He  may  have  made  some  mistakes,  for  who  does  not,  but  his 
allegiance  to  high  ideals  no  one  questioned,  and  his  administration  was  in 
many  respects  beneficial. 

Mr.  Luce  was  at  various  times  connected  with  mercantile  establishments 
and  also  with  other  business  concerns,  industrial,  commercial  and  financial. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  the  vice-president  of  the  Southern  Michigan 
National  Bank,  and  his  energies  and  well  directed  labor  proved  a  potent  factor 
in  the  successful  conduct  of  many  important  business  interests. 

In  1849  Governor  Luce  was  married  to  Miss  Julia  A.  Dickinson,  a  native 
of  Massachusetts,  who  came  with  her  parents  to  Branch  county  in  1836.  They 
had  five  children:  Elmira;  Emery  Greeley,  a  farmer  of  Gilead  township; 
Dwight  D.,  deceased;  Florence  A.;  and  Homer  D.  The  mother  died  in  1882 
and  the  following  year  Governor  Luce  married  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Thompson.  He 
departed  this  life  at  the  venerable  age  of  almost  eighty-one  years.  Honored 
and  respected  in  every  class  of  society  he  was  for  a  long  period  a  leader  in 
thought  and  action  in  the  public  life  of  the  state  and  his  name  is  inscribed 
high  on  the  roll  of  fame,  his  honorable  and  brilliant  career  adding  lustre  to 
the  history  of  Branch  county  and  of  Michigan. 

CHARLES  F.  CARPENTER. 

Charles  F.  Ca]*penter,  register  of  deeds  of  Branch  county,  w^as  born 
in  Constantine,  St.  Joseph  county.  Michigan,  October  2,  1852,  his  parents 
being  Frederick  and  Eunice  (Smith)  Carpenter,  both  of  whom  were  natives 
of  New  York.  In  that  state  they  were  married  and  soon  afterward  came 
to  Michigan,  settling  in  St.  Joseph  county,  where  the  father  became  locally 
prominent  and  influential.  He  was  sheriff  of  the  county  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  and  in  the  discharge  of  all  public  duties  and  obligations  he  was  prompt, 
reliable  and  efficient.  His  widow  afterward  became  the  wife  of  G.  W. 
Collins,  a  farmer  of  St.  Joseph  county,  Michigan,  and  in  the  home  of  his 
stei>-father  and  on  the  farm  Charles  F.  Carpenter  was  reared.  The  mother 
died  in  Coldwater,  in  1903. 

Charles  F.  Carpenter  was  but  two  years  of  age  when  his  father  died. 
In  his  boyhood  he  became  familiar  with  al!  the  duties  and  labors  that  fall 
to  the  lot  of  the  agriculturist.  He  attended  the  common  schools  of  the  neigh- 
borhood and  afterward  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  a  year's  study  in  Colon 
Seminary.     Entering  uix)n  his  business   career  he  followed  house  painting 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  329 

for  five  or  six  years  and  in  1871  he  came  to  Coldwater,  where  he  accepted  a 
clerksliip  in  the  dry  goods  store  of  W.  S.  Ahen.  A  few  years  later  he 
entered  the  employ  of  J.  B.  Branch  &  Company,  of  Coldwater,  remaining  in 
the  service  of  that  firm  for  twenty-five  years — a  fact  which  indicates  in  un- 
mistakable terms  his  fidelity  and  capability.  His  able  services  contributed 
in  substantial  measure  to  the  success  of  the  house  and  he  had  the  entire 
confidence  as  well  as  the  good  will  of  those  whom  he  represented.  He  re- 
signed his  position  in  order  to  enter  upon  the  duties  of  the  office  of  register 
of  deeds,  to  whicli  position  he  had  been  elected  in  the  fall  of  1904  upon 
the  Republican  ticket  by  two  thousand  majority.  On  the  ist  of  January. 
iQOg,  he  began  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  this  office  for  a  two  years' 
term  and  his  course  has  indicated  that  the  trust  reposed  in  him  was  well 
placed. 

In  1878  Mr.  Carpenter  was  married  to  Miss  Rose  B.  Sheldon,  an  es- 
timable lady,  who  died  February  ij,  1901,  amid  the  deep  regret  of  all  who 
knew  her.  She  was  widely  and  fa^'orably  known  and  in  addition  to  the 
social  qualities  which  rendered  her  a  favorite  she  was  also  a  factor  in  public 
office  in  the  county,  acting  for  twelve  years  as  probate  register  under  Judge 
Norman  A.  Reynolds,  after  which  she  filled  the  office  of  deputy  county  clerk 
for  four  years.  Aii  who  knew  her  recognized  her  as  a  woman  of  superior 
(jualifications,  excellent  executive  ability  and  strong  force  of  character.  She 
had,  too,  the  truly  wpmanly  qualities  of  kindliness,  generosity  and  consid- 
eration for  others  and  thus  endeared  herself  to  all  with  whom  she  came  in 
contact.  She  was  a  devoted  and  consistent  member  of  the  Episcopal  church, 
and  for  eighteen  years  was  a  member  of  the  church  choir.  At  the  time  of 
her  death  the  following  appeared  in  the  Courier  and  RepuhHcan: 

"  In  the  death  of  Mrs.  Rose  Carpenter  Coldwater  loses  one  of  its  most 
lovely  characters,  and  her  demise  will  be  mourned  by  all:  Of  an  amiable 
disposition,  she  had  none  but  kind  words  and  loving  thoughts  for  all.  Her 
home  was  her  throne,  and  how  kindly  she  ruled  her  realm.  In  the  family 
she  was  all  that  a  wife  should  be.  To  her  friends  she  was  true,  to  the  sick 
and  suffering  helpful;  for  the  sorrowing  she  always  had  a  word  of  comfort 
and  hope. 

"Passionately  fond  of  music,  she  was  at  all  times  ready  and  willing' 
to  lend  the  melody  of  her  glorious  voice  on  al!  occasions,  whether  in  the 
church,  in  the  social  circle,  or  at  the  last  obsequies  of  some  one  who  had  gone 
before.  For  a  number  of  years  she  sang  in  the  Methodist  choir,  but  for 
several  years  past  was  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  choir,  where  she  ably  as- 
sisted in  building  that  organization  up  to  the  very  front  of  the  choirs  in 
this  city. 

"  In  social  circles  she  was  a  general  favorite,  her  bright,  sunny  ways, 
her  genial  manner,  her  sweet,  loving  thoughts,  always  made  her  a  welcome 
guest.  She  never  had  other  than  a  kind  word  or  a  pleasant  recognition  for 
all.  whether  rich  or  poor,  high  or  low,  and  her  death  will  cause  sadness  in 
manv  a  household  where  her  virtues  were  known.  To  the  sorrowing  hus- 
band and  mother  the  heai-ty  sympathy  and  condolence  of  all  will  be  extended. 


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330  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

But  her  work  is  done,  her  tasks  all  finished,  and  she  has  gone  where  suffering 
is  unknown  and  the  weary  are  at  rest. 

"  She  had  been  in  public  life  quite  a  number  of  years.  A  Ijeautiful  writer, 
her  hooks  and  records  were  always  commented  upon  favorably,  and  her  ac- 
commodating, cheerful,  willing  ways  made  her  liked  by  ali  who  had  any 
business  to  transact  in  those  offices." 

"  Rose  Sheldon  was  bom  March  9,  1855,  in  Batavia  township,  and  had 
lived  in  this  city  since  1865.  July  18,  187&,  she  was  married  to  Charles  F. 
Carpenter,  who  surt'ives  her,  together  with  her  aged  mother.  Mrs.  Laura 
Sheldon.  She  died  at  10  o'clock  Sunday  night,  February  17,  1901.  On 
Sunday,  February  loth,  she  occupied  her  usual  place  in  the  Episcopal  choir 
and  sang  a  solo  very  sweetly.  At  12  o'clock  that  same  night  she  was  stricken 
and  a  week  later,  almost  to  the  hour,  had  entered  into  that  sleep  that  knows 
no  waking.  Sunday  forenoon  Dr.  Smith,  of  Toledo,  assisted  by  Drs.  War- 
sabo.  Wood  and  Baldwin  of  this  city,  performed  an  operation,  but  the  dis- 
ease— strangulation  of  the  bowels — had  advanced  too  far  for  the  operation 
to  be  ot  any  benefit.  A  few  hours  previous  to  her  death  she  sang  part  of  the 
solo  she  sang  the  previous  Sunday  evening  in  the  church.  She  was  pre- 
pared to  answer  the  final  summons  and  was  conscious  and  brave  to  Ihe  very 
last.'" 

Mr.  Carpenter  is  also  an  Episcopalian  and  is  a  Royal  Arch  Mason,  his 
life  being  in  conformity  with  his  profession  in  connection  with  these  two 
beneficent  organizations.  During  the  years  of  his  residence  in  Coldwater 
he  has  commanded  the  respect  of  all  with  whom  he  has  been  associated,  and 
having  closely  allied  his  interests  with  those  of  his  adopted  country  he  has 
proved  a  valued  citizen, 

FRED  W.  DOOLITTLE. 

The  well  improved  farm  of  Fred  W.  Doolittle,  situated  in  Girard  town- 
ship, Calhoun  county,  is  an  indication  of  his  life  of  thrift  and  enterprise, 
for  in  his  record  consecutive  and  honorable  effort  has  been  crowned  with 
gratifying  prosperity.  He  was  bom  in  Clarendon,  Calhoun  county,  Michi- 
gan, Tune  27.  1858,  and  is  a  son  of  James  A.  and  Nancv  (Wells)  Doolittle, 
■  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  the  Empire  state.  The  father  was  descended 
from  the  Doolittle  family  which  has  been  prominent  in  the  east  for  a  num- 
ber of  generation,'!,  while  its  representatives  are  now  scattered  all  over  the 
United  States.  The  original  ancestors  came  to  America  from  England. 
William  Doolittle.  the  grandfather,  died  in  Clarendon,  Michigan,  many  years 
ago.  It  was  in  that  city  that  the  parents  of  our  subject  were  married,  and 
there  they  remained  until  called  from  this  Hfe.  Thev  were  leading  and  influ- 
ential people  of  the  community,  held  membership  in  the  Baptist  church  at 
Tekonsha.  Michigan,  and  were  highly  esteemed  by  all  who  knew  them. 

Mr.  Doolittle  spent  his  early  life  on  the  home  farm  in  Clarendon,  where 
he  lived  until  twentv-four  years  of  age.  His  education  was  acquired  in  the 
public  schools  and  he  received  practical  training  in  the  farm  work,  so  that 
he  was  well  equipped  for  successful  agricultural  work  when  he  entered  busi- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  331 

uess  life  on  his  own  account.  At  the  age  of  twenty  years  he  was  married 
cm  the  2Sth  of  September,  1878,  to  Miss  Ida  A.  Pheips,  a  daughter  of  Je- 
rome B.  and  Lucinda  (Nichols)  Phelps.  Her  paternal  grandfather,  Henry 
PheJps,  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Tekonsha  and  Calhoun  county,  and 
he  had  lived  in  New  York  prior  to  that  time  and  his  ancestors  had  resided 
there  for  many  years.  It  was  in  the  30's  that  he  became  the  founder  of  the 
family  in  Michigan,  and  his  death  occurred  in  Calhoim  county  many  years 
a^o.  Jerome  B.  Phelps,  however,  is  still  living  on  the  old  home  farm  at  Te- 
konsha, but  his  wife  passed  away  about  ten  years  ago.  She  was  a  daughter 
of  Charles  Nichols,  who  came  from  Pennsylvania  and  settled  at  Tekonsha 
at  an  early  day-  Mr,  and  Mrs.  Doolittle  have  become  the  parents  of  four 
children:  Edith,  who  died  in  infancy  twenty-two  years  ago;  Clifford,  living 
on  one  of  his  father's  farms  in  Girard  township,  and  who  married  Murel 
Peli,  by  whom  he  has  a  daughter  Ethel;  and  Earl  and  Pearl,  who  are  on  the 
old  liomestead  with  their  father. 

Fred  W.  Doolittle  is  one  of  the  leading  farmers  of  Girard  township, 
and  owns  two  hundred  and  eight  acres  of  valuable  land  on  sections  three,  ten 
and  two.  He  has  lived  in  this  township  for  twenty-two  years  and  his 
first  purchase  of  land  comprised  eighty  acres,  to  which  he  has  since  'added 
until  he  now  has  valuable  holdings.  He  has  made  a,  specialty  of  stock  feed- 
ing and  cattle  dealing,  and  in  the  management  of  his  business  interests  has 
met  with  very  gratifying  success.  His  farm  is  now  a  valuable  property  im- 
proved with  excellent  buildings  and  everything  about  the  place  indicates 
that  he  is  in  touch  with  the  most  progressive  ideas  of  farming.  In  com- 
immity  affairs  he  is  interested  and  has  served  as  school  director,  while  fra- 
ternally he  is  connected  with  the  Masons  and  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen,  belonging  to  the  respective  lodges  at  Tekonsha.  He  possesses  a 
strength  of  purpose  and  persistency  in  business  aiTairs  that  have  made  him  a 
representative  agriculturist  of  this  community  and  his  life  record  reflects 
credit  upon  the  state  of  his  nativity. 

EDWIN  R.  BATES. 
Edwin  R.  Bates,  a  farmer  and  representative  citizen  of  Ovid  township, 
living  on  section  eighteen,  was  born  at  the  place  where  he  still  resides,  his 
natal  day  being  October  26.  1849.  His  father.  Joshua  M,  Bates,  also  de- 
voted his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits  and  was  one  of  the  early  settlers 
of  Branch  county.  His  birth  occurred  in  Otsego  county,  New  York,  Decem- 
ber 31,  1805,  and  he  removed  with  his  parents  when  a  lad  of  three  years  to 
Newstead,  Erie  county.  New  York,  where  he  grew  to  manhood.  On  the 
31st  of  December.  1828,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Lydia  Card,  and 
to  this  union  five  children  were  born,  two  dying  in  infancy.  In  April,  1836, 
he  concluded  to  go  west  and  try  the  realities  of  a  pioneer  life  in  a  new  coun- 
try. He  started  on  foot  for  Michigan,  walking  the  entire  distance,  arriving 
at  Coldwater  on  the  i6th  of  the  month.  After  locating  eighty  acres  of  land 
on  section  eighteen  in  Ovid  township  he  returned  to  his  home  for  his  family. 
After  disposing  of  his  place,  which  constituted  a  quarter  of  an  acre  of  land. 


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332  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

he  came  with  his  family  to  Michigan,  arriving  April  30,  1837.  The  fol- 
lowing April  his  wife  died,  leaving  him  witli  three  small  children  alone  in  a 
new  country,  the  eldest  child  being  but  nine  years  old.  On  the  6th  of  April, 
1S40,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Olive  A,  Bates,  of  Farmington,  Oakland 
county,  Michigan.  To  this  union  eight  children  were  born,  four  dying  in 
infancy.  Being  an  early  settler,  Mr.  Bates  passed  through  al!  the  privations 
and  hardships  of  pioneer  life  in  a  new  country,  going  barefooted  in  the  sum- 
mer and  wearing  cowhide  shoes  in  the  winter.  With  his  strong  arms  he 
wielded  the  ax  and  felled  the  giant  oaks  until  he  brought  his  farm  under  a 
good  state  of  cultivation,  adding  forty  acres  in  1863.  Although  his  trials 
and  hardships  included  sickness  artd  death  in  the  family  he  managed  to  keep 
his  farm  free  from  debt,  and  through  his  whole  life  he  never  had  a  lawsuit. 
On  the  i8th  of  July,  i86g,  Joshua  Bates  liecame  ill  with  diphtheria  and  died 
on  the  30th  of  the  month,  leaving  a  wife  and  six  children  to  mourn  his  loss. 
The  funeral  services  were  conducted  by  Rev.  Hilam  Scofield  and  the  remains 
were  laid  to  rest  in  West  Ovid  cemetery. 

Olive  A.  Bates,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Josiah  and  Betsey  Bates,  was 
bom  in  Pownal,  Bennington  county,  Vermont,  May  2,  1815.  She  resided 
with  her  parents,  assisting  in  the  general  household  work  and  attending 
school  until  she  acquired  a  good  editcation.  After  the  death  of  her  father 
she  came  with  her  half-brother,  Benjamin  Stevens,  to  Michigan  and  settled 
on  a  farm  in  Oakland  county  in  1832.  She  taught  several  terms  of  school  in 
Farmington  and  Levona  townships,  boarding  with  the  patrons.  Ofttimes 
she  would  have  to  walk  two  or  three  miles  to  her  boarding  place  through 
snow  and  rain,  receiving  as  a  compensation  for  her  work  only  two  dollars 
per  week  in  the  summer  and  three  dollars  per  week  in  the  winter.  She  was 
a  great  reader  and  well  informed  on  almost  any  subject.  She  read  the  Bible 
three  times  through  consecutively.  She  announced  her  allegiance  to  the 
cause  of  Christian  religion  when  young  and  was  a  Presbyterian  in  faith,  but 
coming  here  in  an  early  day  was  unable  to  unite  with  the  chiu'ch  of  her 
choice.  In  1840  she  gave  her  hand  in  marriage  to  Joshua  M.  Bates  and 
came  with  him  to  Ovid,  Branch  county,  here  residing  until  her  death,  which 
occurred  at  the  home  of  her  son,  Edwin  R.,  December  5,  1884.  She  was 
the  mother  of  eight  children,  four  dying  in  infancy.  She  was  a  faithful  wife, 
kind  and  indulgent  mother  and  a  good  neightor,  ever  ready  to  lend  a  helping 
hand  in  time  of  sickness  and  sorrow  and-  always  ready  to  give  alms  to  the 
needy.  When  the  time  came  for  her  to  depart  this  life  it  could  be  truth- 
fully said,  "  Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant ;  thou  hast  been 
faitlifu]  over  a  few  things.  I  will  make  thee  ruler  over  many  things.  Enter 
thou  into  the  joys  of  thy  Lord."  The  funeral  service  was  conducted  by  the 
pastor  in  charge  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  interment  made  in 
West  Ovid  cemetery  by  the  side  of  her  husband  who  had  preceded  her  to  the 
final  home. 

Edwin  R.  Bates  spent  the  days  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  upon  the  old 
homestead  farm  in  Ovid  township,  and  has  continued  to  reside  here  through 
the  period  of  his  manhood,  carrying  on  the  active  work  of  the  fields.  At 
the  time  of  his  father's  demise  he  came  into  possession  of  forty  acres  of  land. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  333 

He  has  made  all  of  the  improvements  upon  this  place  and  has  since  extended 
the  boimdaries  of  his  property  by  the  additional  purchase  of  seventy-four 
acres.  Year  after  year  the  work  of  plowing,  planting;  and  harvesting  is  car- 
rie<l  forward  hy  him,  and  he  annually  harvests  rich  crops  as  the  reward  of 
the  laljor  which  he  bestows  on  the  fields. 

On  the  2ist  of  October,  tg/i,  Mr.  Bates  was  married  to  Miss  Mary 
Cole,  a  daughter  of  George  M.  and  Eliza  Cole,  of  Ovid  township,  who  were 
farming  people,  settling  in  Branch  county  at  an  early  day.  Tliey  made  their 
wav  westward  from  New  York  and  cast  in  their  lot  with  the  pioneer  residents 
of  this  part  of  Michigan.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bates  was  born  one  son.  Royal 
E.,  whose  birth  occurred  November  26,  1875.  The  wife  and  mother  died 
March  4,  1883,  and  Mr.  Bates  was  again  married  on  the  31st  of  December, 
1887,  his  second  union  being  with  Mildred  Cornell,  who  vfas  bom  in  Lenawee 
county,  Michigan,  on  the  24th  of  March,  1862,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Albert 
and  Martha  Cornell,  both  of  whom  are  natives  of  Lenawee  county.  Her 
father  devoted  his  entire  time  and  energies  to  agricultural  pursuits  sa^'e  for 
the  period  of  the  Civil  war,  when  he  joined  the  Eighteenth  Michigan  Infantry 
for  active  sen'ice  in  the  field.  He  was  on  the  Sultana  at  the  time  it  blew  up. 
By  the  second  marriage  of  Mr.  Bates  there  is  one  son,  Harold  W.,  born  July 
21,   1889. 

Mr.  Bates  is  known  as  an  earnest  and  stalwart  advocate  of  Republican 
principles,  being  actively  associated  with  the  party  in  Branch  county.  He 
served  as  township  clerk  for  seven  years,  was  supervisor  for  four  years,  and 
has  held  several  other  township  offices.  He  has  taken  an  active  part  in  public 
affairs  in  the  various  lines  contributing  to  advancement,  and  his  co-operation 
may  always  be  counted  upon  for  movements  for  the  general  good.  He  is 
a  prominent  Mason,  holding  membership  in  Tyre  Lodge,  No.  18,  at  Cold- 
water,  and  belongs  to  Temple  Chapter  No.  21  and  Jacobs  Commandery 
No.  10.  In  his  life  be  shows  forth  the  spirit  of  the  craft,  which  is  based 
upon  mutual  helpfulness  and  brotherly  kindness.  The  fact  that  many  of 
his  warmest  friends  are  numbered  among  those  who  have  known  him  from 
his  boyhood  days  down  to  the  present  is  an  indication  of  an  honorable  career. 

JOHN  JOHNSON. 
Among  the  early  settlers  of  Branch  county  is  numbered  John  Johnson, 
now  living  on  section  fourteen,  Union  township.  He  was  born  in  Erie  county, 
Ohio,  on  the  8th  of  April,  1836.  His  father,  J.  D.  Johnson,  was  a  native 
of  New  York,  born  on  the  loth  of  April,  1799,  the  year  General  Washington 
died.  He  was  married  in  that  state  to  Miss  Ida  Squires,  whose  birth  also 
occurred  there,  her  natal  year  being  about  1805.  They  removed  from  New 
York  to  Erie  county,  Ohio,  about  1828.  and  lived  on  different  farms  in 
that  locality.  Mrs.  Johnson  died  there  in  1848  and  in  1850  Mr.  Johnson 
came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  settling  on  section  fourteen,  Union  town- 
ship, where  he  spent  his  remaining  days.  He  passed  away  in  1885,  having 
reached  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-six  years.  His  political  supjmrt  was 
given  to  the  Democratic  party  in  his  early  life,  and  on  the  organization  of 


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334  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

the  Republican  party  he  joined  its  ranks,  continuing  one  of  its  advocates  until 
his  demise.  Unto  him  and  his  wife  were  bom  eight  children,  all  of  whom 
reached  adult  age. 

John  Johnson,  the  sixth  memlier  of  the  family,  was  a  youth  of  four- 
teen years  when  he  came  with  his  father  to  Branch  county,  settling  in  Union 
township.  He  had  begun  his  education  in  his  native  state  and  he  continued 
his  studies  in  a  log  school  house  in  Union  township.  There  were  many  evi- 
dences of  pioneer  life  to  be  seen  here  and  hardships  and  privations  yet  had 
to  be  borne  because  of  the  remoteness  of  this  district  from  the  more  thickly 
settled  portions  of  the  east.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  started  out 
in  hfe  for  himself  and  worked  as  a  farm  hand  for  about  two  years.  On  the 
ist  of  January,  1863,  he  won  a  companion  and  helpmate  for  hfe's  journey 
by  his  marriage  to  Miss  Harriet  A.  Burnett,  the  daughter  of  Orris  and 
Diantha  (Millerman)  Burnett.  Her  father  was  born  in  New  York  and 
became  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Branch  county,  arriving  here  in  1835, 
at  which  time  he  took  up  his  abode  in  Union  township.  He  entered  land 
from  the  government,  his  deed  being  signed  by  Martin  Van  Buren,  then  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burnett  were  married  in  New 
York,  but  with  the  exception  of  the  eldest  child  their  children  were  all 
born  in  Union  township.  There  were  eight  in  the  family,  of  whom  Mrs, 
Johnson  was  the  third,  and  her  birth  occurred  on  section  fourteen.  Union 
township,  on  the  25th  of  October,  1S39,  She  has  spent  her  entire  life  in  this 
township  and  in  her  early  girlhood  days  was  a  student  in  a  log  school  house, 
conning  her  lessons  as  she  sat  on  a  slab  bench.  There  was  a  big  fire  place 
in  one  end  of  the  room  and  the  entire  furnishings  were  primitive,  while  the 
methods  of  instruction  were  very  unlike  those  of  the  present  day. 

At  the  time  of  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johnson  located  on  the  farm 
where  they  now  reside  and  where  they  have  lived  for  forty-two  years.  Thc}- 
have  become  the  parents  of  three  sons:  I-eon  A.,  who  is  represented  on  an- 
other page  of  this  work;  C.  Herbert,  who  is  a  professor  of  music;  and  Glenn 
P.,  who  is  assisting  in  the  operation  of  the  home  farm. 

Mr.  Johnson  owns  eighty  acres  of  land  rich  and  arable.  He  cut  the 
first  tree  in  the  locality  for  a  log  house  which  was  the  first  dwelling  of  the 
locality,  and  he  is  very  familiar  with  the  history  of  pioneer  life  here,  not 
because  he  has  been  told  of  conditions  that  existed,  but  because  he  has  been 
a  witness  of  what  has  occurred  and  has  also  co-operated  in  many  events  which 
now  find  record  on  the  annals  of  Branch  county. 

In  politics  he  has  been  a  Republican  since  the  organization  of  the  party 
and  is  now  serving  as  justice  of  the  peace,  while  for  five  years  he  was  high- 
way commissioner.  The  Burnett  family  is  also  prominent  because  of  pioneer 
connection  with  this  part  of  the  state.  Mrs.  Johnson's  father  and  brother 
Franklin  were  the  only  settlers  in  the  neighborhood  when  they  took  up  their 
abode  in  Union  township.  There  was  one  family  about  a  mile  distant,  but 
they  did  not  know  it  at  the  time.  The  nearest  mill  was  at  Biranch,  about 
thirteen  miles  away,  and  Mr.  Burnett  assisted  in  building  the  first  mill  in 
Union  township,  it  being  erected  at  Hodunk. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


JULIUS  S.  BARBER. 


Hon.  Julius  S.  Barber,  whose  business  interests  alone  would  entitle  him 
to  distinction  as  one  of  the  representative  citizens  of  Coldwater,  is  also  de- 
serving of  mention  because  of  the  active  part  he  has  taken  in  promoting  the 
public  welfare,  and  by  reason  of  his  capable  service  as  a  state  legislator  and  in 
other  offices.  His  life  record  began  in  the  little  village  of  Benson,  in  Rutland 
county,  Vermont,  alwut  three  miles  from  I-ake  Champlain,  on  the  6th  of 
April,  1824.  His  parents  were  Daniel  and  Cynthia  (Dyer)  Barber,  both 
natives  of  the  Green  Mountain  state  and  members  of  old  New  England  fami- 
lies. When  their  son  Julius  was  a  youth  of  fourteen  years  they  joined  a 
colony  composed  of  other  Vermont  families  and  came  to  the  west,  settling 
ill  Eaton  county,  Michigan,  in  tlie  fall  of  183S.  The  father  had  followed 
merchandising  in  his  native  state,  hut  near  the  little  village  of  Vermontville 
(founded  by  this  colony)  he  carried  on  farming  throughout  his  remaining 
days,  passing  away  at  the  very  advanced  age  of  ninety-seven  years.  The 
mother  of  Julius  Barber  passed  away  in  1832,  at  the  age  of  thirty-two  years, 
"  and  the  father  afterward  marred  Laura  Dickinson.  There  were  three  chil- 
dren by  the  first  marriage,  but  Julius  Barber  is  the  only  survivor,  and  of  the 
second  marriage  two  daughters  are  living.  The  father  was  a  Whig  until  the 
dissolution  of  the  party,  when  he  joined  the  ranks  of  the  new  Republican 
l?arty.    In  religious  faith  he  was  a  Congregationalist. 

Julius  Barber  was  fourteen  years  of  age  when  the  family  came  to  Mich- 
igan, where  he  has  since  largely  made  his  home,  although  he  engaged  in 
clerking  in  Whitehall,  New  York,  for  two  years  in  early  manhood,  and  later 
spent  some  time  in  California.  On  the  27th  of  January,  1849,  attracted  by 
the  discovery  of  gold,  he  sailed  for  the  Pacific  coast,  makii^  the  voyage 
around  "  the  Horn  ''  and  landing  at  San  Erancisco,  whence  he  i>roceeded  to 
Sacramento.  He  returned  home  in  1854  by  way  of  the  Panama  route,  and 
in  1857  went  the  same  way  to  California,  again  returning  in  1859.  During* 
his  first  sojourn  in  the  far  west  he  first  engaged  in  merchandising  in  Sacra- 
mento and  afterward  conducted  a  market  garden  near  the  city.  On  the 
second  trip  he  acted  as  a  clerk  in  a  wholesale  grocery  and  commission  house, 
gaining  experience,  but  little  else,  by  bis  stay  on  the  coast. 

Mr.  Barber  took  up  bis  abode  permanently  in  Michigan,  in  1859.  He 
had  become  a  resident  of  Coldwater  in  1854  and  had  conducted  a  store  here 
until  1857.  Two  years  later  he  entered  a  law  office,  where  he  studied  for 
a  year  and  a  half,  w^hen  he  again  entered  commercial  life.  In  1861  he  joined 
H.  J.  Woodward  in  forming  a  pa,rtnership  under  the  finn  name  of  Wood- 
ward, Barber  &  Company  for  the  conduct  of  a  general  store,  in  which  at 
one  time  his  uncle  also  owned  an  interest.  In  1877  Mr.  Woodward  and  the 
uncle  withdrew  and  the  style  of  the  business  firm  became  J.  B.  Branch 
&  Company.  This  is  to-day  the  leading  firm  in  the  city,  conducting  a  large 
department  store  which  occupies  three  floors  and  basement  of  a  large  double 
^tore,  and  carries  dry  goods,  carpets,  millinery  and  other  lines  of  merchan- 
dise,    Tlie  business  has  steadily  grown  and  the  house  has  ever  maintained 


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336  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

a  policy  in  strict  conformity  with  a  high  standard  of  coinmercial'i  ethics.  Mr. 
Barber  is  also  a  stockholder  and  director  of  the  Michigan  Southern  National 
Bank,  with  which  he  has  thus  been  identified  since  its  organization  thirty 
years  ago. 

Mr.  Barber  was  married,  in  1S54,  to  Mrs.  Emeline  Baker,  nee  Chalmers, 
who  died  in  Chicago,  Illinois,  May  21,  1904.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Epis- 
copal church,  in  which  he  is  vestryman,  warden  and  lay  reader,  and  in  politics 
he  is  a  prominent  Republican,  who  has  been  called  to  public  office  by  his 
fellow-townsmen,  who  recognize  his  ability  and  his  devotion  to  the  public 
good.  He  has  served  as  city  alderman  and  in  1874  was  appointed  postmaster 
of  Coldwater,  in  which  capacity  he  served  for  two  terms.  In  1867  he  was 
chosen  to  represent  his  district  in  the  lower  house  of  the  state  legislature,  and 
in  the  same  year  was  elected  a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention.  Foi- 
four  years  he  was  assessor  of  internal  revenue.  Thus  active  in  commercial 
and  political  circles,  he  is  one  of  the  public  men  oi  the  tity,  who  has  done 
much  to  mold  public  thought  and  opinion  and  promote  public  progress.  A 
review  of  his  career  is  another  proof  of  the  fact  that  not  in  environment  or 
conditions  but  in  the  man  lies  the  possibility  for  accomplishment,  and  since 
coming  to  Michigan,  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years,  Mr.  Barker,  through  his 
force  of  character  and  strong  determination,  has  not  only  provided  for  his 
needs,  but  has  also  labored  along  lines  that  have  been  of  nnich  benefit  to  hJs 
city  and  state. 

WILJ.-IAM  MALLOW. 

William  Mallow  is  the  owner  of  a  fine  farm  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
acres  on  section  eight.  Noble  township,  where  he  has  lived  since  1878,  and 
upon  this  place  he  has  a  nice  residence  that  is  surrounded  by  well  tilled  fields. 
He  was  born  in  this  township  May  13,  1844,  his  parents  being  Peter  and 
Margaret  (Peters)  Mallow,  the  latter  a  daughter  of  one  of  the  early  .settlers 
of  Noble  township,  who  arrived  here  in  1840.  Peter  Mallow,  the  father  of  our 
subject,  was  born  in  France  and  came  to  America  in  early  life.  He  settled 
on  section  five.  Noble  township.  Branch  county,  where  he  purchased  eighty 
acres  of  land,  and  he  added  to  this  farm  from  time  to  time  until  he  was  one 
of  the  most  extensive  land  owners  of  the  county,  his  possessions  aggregat- 
ing twelve  hundred  acres,  which  he  divided  among  his  children  as  they 
married.  About  four  hundred  acres  of  land  lay  near  Athens,  Michigan,  while 
the  remainder  was  in  Noble  and  Bronson  townships.  Mr.  Mallow  carried  on 
general  farming,  and  also  dealt  extensively  in  stock,  both  buying  and  feed- 
ing. He  was  a  most  energetic,  enterprising  and  sagacious  business  man,  bis 
judgment  seldom,  if  ever,  at  fault  in  a  business  transaction,  and  as  the 
years  passed  he  became  very  prosperous.  Beside  the  twelve  hundred  acres 
of  land  which  he  divided  among  his  children  he  left  an  estate  valued  at  forty- 
eight  thousand  dollars.  During  the  last  few  years  of  his  life  he  lived  retired 
in  the  enjoyment  of  a  well-earned  ease,  and  he  passed  away  in  1889,  having 
for  about  five  years  sur\'ived  his  wife,  who  died  in  June,  1884.  They  were 
the  parents  of  eight  children:  Peter,  who  settled  near  Athens;  William,  of 
this  review;  Henry,  who  made  his  home  near  Union   City;  Christina,   the 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  337 

wife  of  R.  Snyder,  of  Athens;  Sarah  N.,  the  deceased  wife  of  John  Green- 
wald;  George,  who  is  hving  in  Eronson  township;  Mary,  the  wife  of  David 
Kline,  of  Bronson  township;  and  John,  who  makes  his  home  near  Sherwood. 

Wilham  Mallow  was  a  student  in  the  district  schools  in  his  boyhood 
days,  and  when  not  busy  with  his  text-books  he  assisted  in  the  work  of  the 
home  farm,  whereon  he  remained  up  to  the  time  of  his  marriage.  In  1875 
he  was  joined  in  wedlock  to  Miss  Ella  Boyer,  of  Noble  township,  a  daughter 
of  Andrew  Eoyer,  and  the  young  couple  began  their  domestic  life  on  their 
present  farm,  comprising  one  hundred  and  fifteen  acres  in  section  eight, 
.Voble  township.  Mr.  Mallow  has  erected  all  of  the  Ixiildings  here  and  has 
a  nice  residence  containing  eight  rooms.  In  1876  he  built  a  barn  thirty-two 
liv  forty-four  feet,  and  he  has  erected  other  substantial  outbuildings  for  the 
shelter  of  grain  and  stock.  In  1878  he  bought  one  hundred  and  sixty-five 
acres  of  the  old  homestead  on  'section  five,  so  that  he  now  has  two  hundred 
and  eighty  acres  of  rich  and  productive  land.  He  carries  on  general  farm- 
ing, raising  the  various  cereals  best  adapted  to  the  soil  and  climate,  and  he 
also  buys  and  feeds  stock,  his  operations  in  that  line  l)eing  quite  extensive. 
His  long  experience  in  the  business  which  he  makes  his  life  work  and  his 
"enterjirise  and  energy  make  him  one  of  the  prosperous  farmers  of  the  com- 
munity. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mallow  have  been  born  four  children:  Mary  L., 
the  wife  of  D.  Benton,  of  LaGrange  coimty,  Indiana;  Maggie,  who  wedded 
Carl  Chesley,  and  they  reside  in  Noble  township;  Clinton  and  Hattie,  both 
at  home.  Although  reared  in  the  faith  of  the  Democratic  party,  his  father 
havhig  become  a  Democrat  after  being  made  a  naturalized  American  citizen, 
William  Mallow  gives  unfaltering  support  to  the  Republican  party  and  its 
principles.  He  has  served  on  the  school  board  for  one  term,  was  highway 
commissioner,  and  lias  been  constable  for  several  years,  and  is  a  worthy  and 
respected  cHizen  of  the  community,  active  and  influential  in  support  of  all 
measures  which  he  deems  of  general  good.  He  is  one  of  the  stockholders 
of  the  Burr  Oak  State  Bank,  one  of  the  solid  bankii^  institutions,  whose 
stock  is  quoted  at  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  per  share,  and  the  bank  has 
deposits  of  over  one  hundred  and  six  thousand  dollars. 

ELIJAH  GROVE. 

Elijah  Grove,  farming  on  section  nine,  Batavia  township,  owns  and 
operates  one  hundred  acres  of  land  which  has  been  pteced  under  a  high  state 
of  cultivation  and  improved  with  modem  equipments  so  that  it  is  an  attractive 
farm  property  and  yields  good  harvests,  making  bis  investment  a  judicious 
and  profitable  one.  His  life  record  began  in  Royalton  township,  Niagara 
county.  New  York,  his  natal  day  being  April  19,  1838.  His  father,  Elijah 
Grove,  was  bom  in  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1853  came  to  Branch  county,  settling 
in  Batavia  township,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days,  his  last 
years  being  passed  in  Coldwater  as  a  retired  farmer.  He  was  almost  ninety 
years  of  age  when  he  departed  this  life.  In  early  manhood  he  had  married 
Betsy  Schoby,  a  native  of  New  York,  and  she  lived  to  be  about  forty-two 


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388  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

years  of  age.  There  were  nine  children  in  the  family,  all  of  whom  grew 
to  manhood  or  womanhood.  The  father  was  married  the  second  time  to 
Charlotte  Reynolds,  who  is  also  deceased,  and  by  the  second  marriage  there 
were  eight  children,  five  of  whom  are  living,  but  none  are  residents  of  Branch 
county. 

Elijah  Grove,  the  eighth  in  order  of  birth  of  his  parents'  nine  children, 
was  a  youth  of  fifteen  when  he  came  to  Branch  county.  He  acquired  a  dis- 
trict school  education  and  in  his  youth  gave  his  father  the  benefit  of  his 
services,  working  in  field  and  meadow  as  his  aid  was  needed  in  caring  for 
the  crops  and  the  stock.  He  was  married  in  i860  to  Eliza  J.  Loomis.  the 
widow  of  Orson  Burham.  She  was  born  near  Rochester,  New  York,  and 
by  this  marriage  there  have  been  two  sons:    Owen  Glenn  and  Elijah  Burdet. 

For  many  years  Mr.  Grove  engaged  in  the  milling  business  and  in  1864 
]ie  located  on  the  farm  where  he  now  resides,  having  here  one  hundred  acres 
of  land,  which  has  responded  readily  to  the  care  and  cultivation  bestowed 
upon  it,  for  the  soil  is  naturally  rich  and  productive.  He  has  carried  on  gen- 
eral agriculturaJ  pursuits  and  he  has  made  all  of  the  improvements  on  this 
property,  building  the  house  and  bams  and  adding  other  equipments.  In 
1905  he  suffered  the  loss  of  his  barn  by  fire.  He  has  been  persevering  in  all 
of  his  work,  allowing  no  difficulties  or  obstacles  to  deter  him  in  the  path 
that  he  has  marked  out  and  as  the  result  of  his  well  directed  labor  he  is 
now  in  possession  of  a  comfortable  competence.  He  has  been  a  life-long 
Republican,  interested  in  the  work  of  the  party  and  keeping  well  informed 
on  the  great  questions  which  awaken  national  interest.  He  served  as  town- 
ship treasurer  and  also  as  highway  commissioner,  but  has  never  l^een  active 
as  a  politician  in  the  sense  of  office  seeking,  preferring  to  leave  that  duty  to 
others.  He  belongs  to  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  at  Coldwater 
and  has  a  wide  acquaintance  outside  of  fraternal  circles,  for  he  has  long  been 
identified  with  Branch  county  and  its  development. 

CAPTAIN  JOHN  G.  STEPPER. 

Captain  John  G.  Stepper,  no  longer  active  or  engaged  with  busine.'^s  in- 
terests but  well  entitled  to  the  rest  which  he  is  enjoying  Ijecause  he  earned 
it  through  unremitting  industry  and  perseverance  in  former  years,  is  en- 
titled to  representation  in  this  volume  because  of  an  honorable  career  and 
by  reason  of  his  fidelity  to  duty  when  upon  the  battlefields  of  the  south  he 
defended  the  Union  "tause.  He  was  born  in  Wellenhirg,  Germany,  Septem- 
ber 24.  1834,  and  remained  in  the  fatherland  until  1848,  when  at  the  age 
of  fourteen  years  he  came  to  America  with  his  parents,  John  G.  and  Catherine 
(Sindlinger)  Stepper.  The  family  home  was  first  established  in  Thompson 
township,  Seneca  county,  Ohio,  and  there  they  remained  for  about  four  years. 
after  which  they  removed  to  St.  Joseph  county,  Michigan,  where  the  father 
purchased  a  farm.  The  mother  died  there  and  the  father  afterward  came 
to  Branch  county,  where  h^  spent  his  last  days. 

Captain  Stepper  remained  under  the  parental  roof  throughout  the  period 
of  his  minority  and  assisted  in  the  operation  of  the  home  farm.     At  the  call 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  339 

of  his  adopted  country  for^aid  lie  put  aside  business  and  personal  considera- 
tions, his  patriotic  spirit  being  aroused  by  the  unwarranted  attack  of  the 
south  uixin  the  government  at  Washington.  He  enlisted  in  Company  G. 
First  Michigan  Infantry,  for  three  months'  service,  and  on  the  expiration  of 
that  term  he  re-enlisted  as  a  member  of  Company  B  of  the  sgme  regiment. 
He  was  first  made  orderly,  afterward  commissioned  second  lieutenant,  later 
first  lieutenant  and  subsequently  became  captain  of  Company  B,  serving  with 
that  command  until  September  26,  1864,  when  he  received  an  honorable  dis- 
charge, having  for  three  years  and  three  months  been  an  active  soldier  on  the 
Ijattlefields  of  the  south.  He  participated  in  the  engagement  at  Antietam, 
and  was  taken  prisoner  in  August,  1862,  at  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run. 
He  was  then  incarcerated  in  Libby  prison  and  after  a  week  was  parolled 
and  sent  to  Annapolis,  Maiyland,  In  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run  he  was 
wounded,  being  shot  through  t!ie  right  leg.  and  at  Fredericksburg  on  the 
13th  of  December,  1863,  he  wiis  shot  through  the  upper  part  of  the  leg.  He 
was  then  transferred  to  Washington  and  taken  to  the  Hanvood  hospital, 
where  he  remained  for  thirty  days,  after  which  he  was  granted  a  thirty  days' 
-  furlough,  and  because  he  was  still  in  ill  health  at  the  end  of  that  time  he 
was  granted  sixty  days  more,  so  that  three  months  had  passed  when  he  re- 
joined his  regiment  at  Sharpsburg,  Virginia. 

After  being  mustered  out  Captain  Stepper  returned  to  the  north  and 
was  married  in  January,  1865,  to  Miss  Rachel  Miller.  He  then  located  on 
a  farm  in  Burr  Oak  township,  St.  Joseph  county,  Michigan,  purchasing  a 
tract  of  land  on  which  he  made  his  home  until  the  death  of  his  wife  in  1873. 
He  then  remained  single  for  about  a  year,  after  which  he  married  Almira 
Fallace,  but  he  has  now  been  a  widower  for  twenty-four  years.  He  has  one 
son,  Charles  William,  -who  resides  in  Quincy,  Michigan,  and  a  daughter, 
Catharine,  the  wife  of  Smith  Clizbe.    , 

Captain  Stepper  is  a  member  of  Butterworth  Post  No.  109,  G.  A.  R., 
at  Coldwater.  He  has  always  been  an  advocate  of  Republican  princi- 
ples, but  would  never  accept  office  of  any  kind.  He  belongs  to  the  German 
Benevolent  Society,  and  in  every  relation  of  life  in  which  he  has  been  found 
he  has  made  warm  friends  and  discharged  every  duty  with  promptness  and' 
fidelity.  In  1883  he  purchased  a  farm  in  Coldwater  township,  continuing  its 
cultivation  and  improvement  until  1887,  when  he  sold  that  property  and  re- 
tired from  active  business  life,  establishing  his  home  in  Coldwater,  where  he 
new  lives.  Progress  and  patriotism  might  be  termed  the  keynote  of  his 
character,  having  been  the  motive  force  in  all  of  his  connections  with  public 
and  business  life. 

GENERAL  JOHN  G.  PARKHURST. 
General  John  G.  Parkburst,  a  distinguished  citizen  of  Michigan  whose 
talent,  ability  and  patriotism  won  him  leadership  in  affairs  of  state  and  nation, 
died  suddenly  at  his  home  in  Coldwater  May  6,  1906.  He  was  widely 
recognized  as  a  man  of  unswerving  fidelity  to  duty,  and  no  hope  of  per- 
sonal gain  or  preferment  could  ever  turn  him  from  the  path  which  he  be- 
lieved to  be  right.     Although  a  native  of  New  York  he  had  resided  in 


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340  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Michigan  since  1S49,  i"  which  year  he  came  to  CoMwater  to  practice  law. 

At  Oneida  Castle,  New  York,  General  Parkhurst  was  bom  on  the  17th 
of  April,  1824,  and  was  therefore  at  the  time  of  his  death  eighty-two  years 
of  age.  His  ancestors  were  early  settlers  of  Massachusetts  and  were 
of  English  and  Scotch  lineage,.  The  name  Parkhurst  is  of  Norman  and 
French  derivation,  being  formed  of  the  word  pare,  the  French  for  park,  and 
hurst,  the  Anglo-Saxon  for  wood.  His  family  name  can  be  traced  back  to  the 
time  when  William  the  Conqueror  invaded  England.  Representatives  of 
the  family  emigrated  from  the  Isle  of  Wight  in  the  early  part  of  the  fifteenth 
century  and  built  the  Parkhurst  Manor  in  Surrey  county,  England.  The 
earhest  progenitor  of  the  family  known  was  George  Parkhurst  of  Guilford, 
England,  and  one  of  his  descendants,  also  bearing  the  name  of  George  Park- 
hurst, came  to  America  in  1635.  He  settled  in  Watertown,  Massachusetts, 
and  became  the  progenitor  of  the  family  in  the  new  world,  the  line  of  descent 
being  traced  down  through  Joseph  ist,  Joseph  2d,  John  ist,  John  2d  and 
Stephen  Parkhurst  to  General  John  G.  Parkhurst  of  this  review.  In  tlie 
Revolutionary  war  eleven  members  of  the  family  fought  for  the  independ- 
ence of  the  colonies,  and  true  to  tlie  spirit  of  patriotism  which  characterized 
his  ancestors  General  Parkhurst  has  won  honors  on  the  battlefield  in  defense 
of  his  country.  His  parents  were  Stephen  and  Sally  (Gibson)  Parkhurst, 
the  former  a  native  of  New  Hampshire  and  the  latter  of  Massachusetts.  Mrs, 
Parkhurst  was  a  granddaughter  of  a  Scotch  sea  captain,  who  died  on  one  of 
the  West  India  islands,  and  she  died  when  her  son  John  G.  was  but  seven 
years  of  age,  leaving  eight  children. 

General  Parkhurst  was  thus  left  to  the  care  of  his  sisters,  to  whom  he 
is  indebted  for  his  early  moral  and  religious  training.  He  was  reared  in 
Oneida  Castle,  New  York,  to  which  place  his  parents  had  removed  soon  after 
their  marriage.  He  attended  the  Oneida  Academy,  acquiring  a  thorough 
literary  education,  and  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years  entered  the  law  office  of 
N.  F.  Graves,  under  whose  preceptorship  he  studied  four  years,  being  admitted 
to  the  bar  of  New  York  in  1847.  After  two  years  of  successful  practice  in 
his  native  place  he  came  to  Michigan,  locating  at  Coldwater  in  1849.  Here 
he  practiced  law  uninterruptedly  until  1861,  and  during  a  part  of  that  time 
was  a  partner  of  George  A.  Coe,  who_afterward  became  lieutenant  governor 
of  Michigan. 

A  sterling  Democrat,  influential  in  his  party,  in  i860  General  Park- 
hurst was  chosen  a  national  delegate  and  was  made  secretary  of  the  Charles- 
ton National  Democratic  Convention,  which,  after  ten  days'  session  and  fifty- 
seven  ballots,  failed  to  make  a  nomination,  later  reconvening  at  Baltimore, 
where,  on  the  sixth  day's  session,  Stephen  A.  Douglas  was  finally  nominated. 
F-Qllowing  his  return  home  Mr.  Parkhurst  prepared  and  published  the  pro- 
ceedings of  this  historic  convention.  While  thus  engaged  he  astonished 
friends  by  declaring  that  the  south  intended  to  have  a  government  of  its 
own,  that  the  result  would  be  war,  and  that  his  assistance  would  be  required 
in  behalf  of  the  Union.  The  foresight  of  his  prediction  was  soon  proved, 
and  after  Fort  Sumter  was  fired  upon  and  the  call  for  volunteers  was  made, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  34i 

General  Parkhurst,  at  the  first  war  meeting  held  in  Branch  county,  called 
upon  all  loyal  citizens  to  prepare  immediately  to  defend  the  Union,  As  soon 
as  he  could  arrange  his  business  affairs  he  gave  his  services,  to  the  govern- 
ment and  was  appointed  by  Governor  Blair  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel 
of  the  Ninth  Michigan  Infantry,  being  mustered  into  service  September  lO, 
1861.  In  October  of  that  year  he  reported  with  his  regiment  to  General 
Sherman  in  Kentucky.  After  building  a  fort  on  Muldrough's  hill  at  the 
mouth  of  Salt  river,  he  was  ordered  to  engage  in  the  advance  on  Nashville. 
In  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro  in  July,  i86i,  after  holding  his  position  eight 
hours  against  a  force  seven  times  as  large,  and  losing  one-third  of  his  com- 
mand in  killed  and  wounded,  Colonel  Parkhurst  was  taken  prisoner  and  was 
detained  by  the  rebel  forces  for  four  mondis.  He  was  then  exchanged  in 
time  to  report  to  General  Thomas  before  the  battle  of  Stone  River,  and 
owing  to  the  reputation  the  Ninth  Michigan  had  achieved  by  its  gallant  6ght 
at  Murfreesboro  General  Thomas  selected  this  command  as  his  provost  guard 
and  appointed  General  Parkhurst  provost  marshal  for  the  Fourteenth  Army 
Corps.  From  December,  T863,  until  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  on  the 
staff  of  General  Tliomas  as  provost  marshal  general,  having,  a  part  of  the 
time,  the  Ninth  Michigan,  two  other  regiments  and  a  battery,  as  provost 
guard  under  his  command.  In  that  capacity  he  engaged  in  all  the  battles  of 
the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  and  at  the  same  time  had  supervision  of  the 
conductors  on  the  military  railroads  of  the  Department  of  the  Cumberland, 
all  the  prisoners  of  war  and  all  the  provost  marshals  and  their  officers.  For 
heroism  and  bravery  displayed  in  the  battles  of  Stone  River  and  Chickamauga 
he  was  recommended  by  General  Thomas  for  the  rank  of  brigadier  general 
of  volunteers,  and  was  brevetted  as  such  in  January,  1865.  There  were 
incidents  in  his  military  career  that  would  enlist  much  interest,  but  limited 
space  in  this  connection  forbids  further  delineaton  here.  An  indication  of 
the  government's  appreciation  of  his  efficient  service,  however,  in  that  san- 
guine conflict  is  the  fact  that  in  the  national  park  at  Chickamauga  there  has 
been  erected  and  dedicated,  in  1895,  a  statue  of  General  Parkhurst.  'ITiis  was 
an  unusual  honor,  for  seldom  is  a  statue  erected  by  the  government  in  honor 
of  a  living  man,  and  it  indicated  in  unmistakable  terms  a  high  appreciation 
of  his  gallantry  and  bravery  on  that  field  of  battle. 

Following  the  close  of  his  military  service,  in  November,  1865,  General 
Parkhurst  opened  a  law  office  in  Nashville,  Tennessee,  but  being  unwilling 
to  identify  himself  with  either  the  radicals,  the  Republicans  or  the  southerners, 
he  abandoned  the  idea  of  remaining  and  returned  to  Coldwater  in  August, 
1866.  He  was  then  appointed  by  President  Johnson  as  United  States  marshal 
for  the  District  of  Michigan,  a  position  which  be  held  about  six  months. 
When  his  name  came  before  the  United  States  senate  for  a  confirmation  of 
this  appointment,  it  was  opiwsed  by  those  who  had  signed  his  recommendation 
because  of  his  chance  presence  at  the  Philadelphia  Soldiers'  Convention,  so 
adroitly  captured  by  President  Johnson.  In  1S68  he  was  nominated  by  the 
Soldiers'  state  convention  for  lieutenant-govemor  of  Michigan,  in  opposition 
to  the   Republican   candidate,   but   was   defeated   at   the   election.      In    1872 


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342  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

General  Parkhurst  was  unsuccessful  on  the  Liberal  ticket  for  Congress  from 
the  third  district,  but  he  led  all  the  other  candidates  on  that  ticket  at  the 
election  that  year,  a  fact  indicating  his  popularity  and  strong  following.  In 
1875  he  was  again  defeated  for  office  when  he  was  the  Democratic  candidate 
for  state  treasurer.  In  politics  General  Parkhurst  was  an  uncompromising 
Democrat,  and  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  his  party  is  in  minority  in  Mich- 
igan he  would  have  at  various  times  been  honored  by  election  in  high  political 
station.  He  was  prosecuting  attorney  from  1852  to  1855,  and  was  special 
agent  for  the  United  States  treasury  department  from  1867  until  1869.  In 
September,  1886,  President  Cleveland  ajppointed  him  minister  to  Belgium, 
which  position  he  held  until  after  the  installation  of  President  Harrison's 
administration.  In  1893  President  Cleveland  again  appointed  him  to  public 
office  by  commissioning  him  postmaster  o£  Coldwater,  and  he  served  as  such 
until  1897,  since  which  time  he  had  lived  retired  from  active  participation  in 
political  affairs. 

As  a  lawyer  General  Parkhurst  won  distinction  because  of  the  decided 
ability  and  close  attention  to  the  litigated  interests  entrusted  to  him.  He  was 
a  deep  thinker  and  close  and  logical  reasoner,  discreet  in  fonning  an  opinion 
and  modest  in  advancing  his  ideas,  yet  iirm  in  their  maintenance.  Logical, 
discriminating  and  comprehensive,  he  was  a  formidable  adversary  at  the  bar. 
As  early  as  1849  he  engaged  in  the  insurance  business  in  Coldwater,  and 
throughout  the  enitre  period  of  his  residence  in  this  city  he  continued  in 
that  business,  so  that  at  his  death  he  was  the  oldest  insurance  agent  in  Cold- 
water,  if  not  in  Michigan. 

He  also  devoted  much  time  to  agricultural  pursuits  and  made  judicious 
investments  in  farm  lands.  Beginning  in  1S70,  he  was  largely  engaged 
for  two  years  in  assisting  the  construction  of  a  north  and  south  rail- 
road through  Coldwater,  and  the  roadbed  had  been  completed,  the  bridges 
built  and  ties  on  the  ground  from  Mansfield,  Ohio,  to  Allegan,  Michigan, 
when  the  financial  panic  of  1873  came  on  and  defeated  the  enterprise.  Gen- 
eral Parkhurst  was  also  very  active  in  the  efforts  which  secured  the  erection 
of  the  State  Public  School  at  Coldwater.  He  organized  and  helped  build 
the  gas  works  and  was  the  last  original  stockholder  of  the  company.  In 
manifold  ways  he  contributed  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  city  and  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  interests  of  the  community  intellectually  as  well  as  morally. 

General  Parkhurst  was  a  charter  member  of  Butterworth  Post  No.  109, 
G.  A.  R.,  had  been  vice-president  of  the  National  Union  Veterans'  Associa- 
tion, commander  of  the  Michigan  Commandery  of  the  Military  Order  of  the 
Loyal  Legion  of  the  United  States,  and  was  a  member  of  the  congress  of  the 
Loyal  Legion  held  in  Chicago  in  1S85.  He  was  a  member  of  the  executive 
committee  of  the  Society  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland.  He  was  president 
of  the  Branch  County  Bar  Association,  was  a  member  of  the  American  Bar 
Association,  and  of  the  American  Historical  Society.  Since  1S81  he  had  been 
an  active  member  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Free  Public  Library  of 
Coldwater,  and  since  1884  had  been  president  of  the  board,  having  been 
unanimously  elected  each  year  for  twenty-two  years.     From  boyhood  he  had 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  343 

been  a  member  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  and  on  the  i8th  day  of 
April,  1852,  with  his  prospective  bride,  received  the  rite  of  confirmation  in 
St.  Mark's  church  at  Coldwater.  His  ideas  of  the  duties  and  responsibilities 
of  life  were  derived  from  no  uncertain  standard,  and  the  principles  of  conduct 
adhered  to  in  early  life  became  absolute  mentors  of  action  and  sentiment 
with  him. 

General  Parkhurst  was  married  three  times.  In  1852  he  wedded  Miss 
Amelia  Noyes,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  P.  Noyes,  She  departed  this  life 
Tuly  26,  1861,  leaving  two  daughters.  Kate  Amelia,  afterward  Mrs.  Frank 
C.  Goodyear,  is  now  deceased,  and  the  younger  daughter,  Margaret  P.,  is 
the  wife  of  Prof.  William  Carey  Morey,  of  the  Rochester  (New  York)  Uni- 
versity, In  1863  General  Parkhurst  manned  Miss  Josie  B,  Reeves,  of  Mur- 
freesboro,  Tennessee,  who  died  in  1871.  In  1874  he  married  Mrs.  Frances 
f.  Fiske,  nee  Roberts,  who  died  in  1900. 

Faultless  in  honor,  fearless  in  conduct  and  stainless  in  reputation,  the 
public  life  of  few  men  extended  over  so  long  a  period  as  that  of  General 
Parkhurst,  and  none  had  been  characterized  by  a  more  unfaltering  loyalty  to 
duty  or  by  a  stricter  allegiance  to  the  principles  which  he  believed  would  best 
further  the  welfare  of  county,  state  and  nation. 

MRS.  SARAH  A.   SMITH. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Annie  Smith,  who  owns  and  successfully  conducts  a  gen- 
eral mercantile  store  in  South  Eutler,  where  she  is  also  filling  the  position  of 
postmistress,  was  born  in  Tecumseh,  Michigan,  November  30.  1843.  ^^'^ 
parents  were  Alexander  and  Emily  A.  (Southworth)  Dubois.  Her  father, 
who  was  born  in  Ireland  March  22,  1807,  came  to  America  with  his  parents 
when  eleven  years  of  age  and  settled  in  St.  Lawrence  county.  New  York. 
He  was  one  of  a  family  of  five  sons  and  two  daughters :  John.  Alexander, 
Charles,  Robert,  James,  Maria  and  Jane,  all  of  whom  are  now  deceased. 
After  coming  to  the  United  States  the  parents  spent  their  remaining  days 
in  New  York, 

Alexander  Dubois  came  to  Michigan  at  an  early  day  and  was  married 
in  Washtenaw  county,  June  t,  1835,  to  Miss  Emily  A.  Sbuthworth,  who 
was  born  in  Canton,  St.  Lawrence  county.  New  York,- and  was  left  an  orphan 
when  only  two  years  old.  Wlien  eighteen  years  of  age  she  became  a  resi- 
dent of  Michigan,  where  she  met  and  married  Alexander  Dubois.  They 
had  seven  children,  as  follows:  Robert,  died  in  infancy.  Mary  E,  became 
the  wife  of  Charles  Ferine,  by  whom  she  had  three  children,  and  after  the 
death  of  her  first  husband  she  married  Daniel  Hutchins,  by  whom  she  had 
three  cluldren;  she  was  born  November  13,  1840,  and  her  death  occurred 
June  I.  1892.  Jane  Dubois,  born  September  17,  1846,  married  Charles 
White,  by  whom  she  had  one  son.  Fay  White,  and  her  death  occurred  Oc- 
tober 7,  1888.  Charles  Dubois  lived  in  Pulaski,  Michigan.  Two  other  chil- 
dren of  the  family  died  in  infancy.  In  1848  Alexander  Dubois  removed  with 
his  family  from  Washtenaw  to  Jackson  county,  Michigan,  becoming  identi- 
fied with  the  pioneer  development  and  progress  of  that  part  of  the  state. 


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344  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Sarah  Annie  Dubois  spent  her  girlhood  days  in  Pulaski,  this  state,  and 
there  she  was  married  on  the  22nd  of  April,  i860,  to  David  Smith,  who  was 
bom  there  March  10,  1840,  and  has  been  a  resident  of  Butler  township  since 
1856.  His  entire  life  has  been  devoted  to  agricultural  pursuits.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Smith  have  one  son,  Will  A.  Smith,  who  is  a  cigar-maker  of  Cold- 
water.  He  was  born  in  Butler  township,  March  17,  1863,  and  married  Mrs. 
Lavina  Eurbank,  of  tlie  same  township,  who  by  a  former  marriage  had  two 
children. 

For  six  years  Mrs.  Smith  has  occupied  the  position  of  postmistress  in 
South  Butler  and  is  also  conducting  a  general  merchandise  store,  transacting 
all  the  business  and  largely  waiting  on  the  customers  herself.  In  the  con- 
duct of  the  store  she  became  the  successor  of  Clarence  W.  Hayes,  a  young 
man  who  lived  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smitli  after  nineteen  years  of  age  till 
his  death.  He  was  born  in  Van  Buren  county,  Michigan,  April  i,  1864, 
and  in  1886  established  his  store.  About  the  same  time  he  was  appointed 
postmaster,  holding  the  office  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred 
March  11.  1899.  He  had  begun  business  on  a  small  scale,  but  gradually 
increased  his  stock  to  meet  the  growing  demands  of  the  trade,  and  secured 
a  liberal  patronage,  which  indicated  his  business  ability  and  also  the  public 
regard  for  his  business  integrity  and  his  earnest  efforts  to  please  his  patrons. 
He  was  a  young  man  of  genuine  personal  worth,  and  his  death  was  deeply 
deplored  by  many  friends,  for  he  had  the  esteem  and  good  will  of  all  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact.  Mrs.  Smith  succeeded  to  the  business,  giving 
her  entire  time  to  the  store.  She  is  a  most  industrious  lady  and  without 
previous  business  training  she  has  taken  up  the  management  of  the  business 
and  has  carefully  and  successfully  carried  it  on. 

ALFRED  PARSONS. 

There  are  living  in  Branch  county  but  few  citizens  who  can  boast  a 
continuous  residence  here  of  nearly  seventy  years,  and  of  these  few  we  find 
none  aside  from  the  gentleman  whose  name  introduces  this  record  who  are 
performing  their  accustomed  duties  in  the  full  possess-ion  of  their  physical 
and  mental  powers.  Mr.  Parsons  has  been  a  resident  of  Coldwater  township 
since  1836,  so  that  he  has  passed  more  than  sixty-nine  years  in  this  immedi- 
ate vicinity.  The  days  of  chivalry  and  knighthood  in  Europe  cannot  fur- 
nish more  interesting  nor  romantic  tales  than  our  own  western  history. 
Into  the  unexplored  regions  went  brave  men  whose  courage  and  endurance 
were  often  called  forth  to  meet  existing  conditions.  The  land  was  rich  in 
isatural  resources — in  agricultural  and  commercial  ix)ssibilities — and  awaited 
the  demands  of  man  to  yield  up  its  treasures,  but  its  forests  were  difficult 
to  penetrate,  and  the  Indians  resented  the  encroachment  of  the  "  pale  faces  " 
upon  their  "  hunting  grounds  ".  The  establishment  of  homes  in  this  beau- 
tiful region  therefore  meant  sacrifices,  hardships  and  also  danger  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  but  there  were  men  and  women  brave  enough  to  undertake  the 
task  of  reclaiming  the  district  for  the  purposes  of  civilization.  From  that 
stage  in  the  history  of  Branch  county  with  none  of  the  comforts  of  civiliza- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  345 

lion,  through  the  different  stages  of  evolution  to  its  present_  state  of  agri- 
cultural perfection,  Mr.  Parsons  has  witnessed  its  growth  until  it  now  com- 
prises thousands  of  fine  farms  and  has  become  peopled  with  a  happy,  pros- 
jjerous  and  contented  population. 

Mr.  Parsons  is  a  native  of  Somersetshire,  England,  where  he  was  horn 
October  t8,  1828.  His  ancestors  had  been  residents  of  that  country  through 
many  generations,  his  father  being  Daniel  Parsons,  also  a  native  of  Somer- 
setshire, while  his  mother  was  Mary  Holmes  Parsons,  also  born  in  that 
county.  They  were  married  there  and  had  a  family  of  three  children  when 
they  decided  to  try  their  fortunes  in  America.  They  made  the  voyage  en  a 
sailing  vessel,  in  the  slow  and  primitive  manner  of  the  times,  and  took  up 
their  alwde  in  the  state  of  New  York,  Alfred  Parsons  being  then  five  years 
of  age.  Another  child  was  then  added  to  the  family,  which  now  numbered : 
George  W.  Parsons,  who  died  in  later  years,  in  Pavilion,  Kalaniazoo  county. 
Michigan;  Alfred;  Mrs.  Lavinia  Ball,  who  died  in  Kalamazoo  county;  and 
Richard,  who  died  in  infancy,  in  New  York.  Tlie  mother  also  died  in  that 
state  in  1S34,  and  later  Daniel  Parsons  married  Amelia  Harrison.  In  1835. 
thinking  to  have  better  business  opportunities  in  Michigan  than  in  New 
York.  Daniel  Parsons  came  to  Branch  county,  and  the  following  year  he 
was  joined  by  his  family  in  Coldwater.  Seven  children  were  born  of  his 
second  marriage,  as  follows;  John,  who  died  in  Coldwater;  Mrs,  Mary 
Sweezy,  who  is  living  in  Kalamazoo,  Michigan;  Mrs.  Nancy  Dunks,  who  is 
a  resident  of  Coldwater;  Mrs.  Emily  Adams,  living  in  Oceana  county,  Mich- 
igan; D.  W.,  who  died  in  Kalamazoo  county;  Lewis,  who  died  in  Shelby. 
Michigan;  Mrs.  EHzabeth  Goldsmith,  who  resides  in  Vicksburg,  Michigan. 

It  was  in  early  pioneer  times  that  Daniel  Parsons  came  to  Branch  county, 
where  he  met  the  usual  exjwriences,  hardships  and  difficulties  of  pioneer 
life.  Bands  of  Indians  were  seen  frequently,  wild  animals  had  their  haunts 
in  the  forests,  and  there  was  mvich  wild  game  to  be  had,  furnishing  many  a 
meai  for  the  early  settlers.  It  was  subsequent  to  his  arrival  here  that  Mr. 
Parsons  married  a  second  time.  His  wife  was  also  a  member  of  one  of 
the  first  fjimilies  of  the  county  and  before  her  marriage  she  was  the  first 
school  teacher  in  the  township  of  Girard.  In  the  development  and  improve- 
ment of  his  farm  property  Mr.  Parsons  spent  his  remaining  days,  passing 
away  March  4,  1S51.  while  his  wife,  long  surviving  him,  died  in  1895. 

Reared  amid  tlie  wild  scenes  of  frontier  life  Alfred  Parsons  had  few 
advantages  in  his  vouth  in  the  way  of  education  or  otherwise,  but  he  early 
developed  those  sterling  traits  of  industry,  self-reliance  and  integrity  which 
were  to  bring  him  success  in  after  life.  He  early  took  his  place  in  the 
fields,  and  has  since  been  identified  with  agricultural  interests  in  Branch 
county,  achieving,  through  his  own  efforts,  all  the  prosperity  and  success 
he  has  enjoyed. 

On  the  25th  of  December,  1866,  Mr.  Parsons  was  married  to  Miss 
Frances  J.  Eaton,  a  native  of  Dundaff,  Pennsylvania,  born  August  22.  1846, 
and  a  daughter  of  Ward  and  Elizabeth  (Ayer)  Eaton,  the  former  a  native 
of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  and  the  latter  of  Ireland.     In   1851,   some  years 


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346  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

before  his  marriage,  Mr.  Parsons  had  purchased  his  present  farm  of  eighty 
acres  on  secHon  thirty-five,  Coldwater  township,  and  here  he  has  lived  con- 
tinuously since,  with  the  exception  of  six  years  in  the  early  6o's  when  he 
raade  his  home  in  the  city  of  Coldwater.  At  the  time  of  his  purchase  his 
land  was  a  densely  wooded  tract,  and  Mr.  Parsons  personally  took  up  the 
work  of  clearing;  away  the  timber  and  preparing  the  fields  for  the  plow.  He 
has  transformed  it  from  a  wilderness  to  one  of  the  best  improved  fanns  in 
Ibis  portion  of  tlie  county,  its  fertile  and  productive  fields  surrounding  ex- 
cellent buildings,  while  all  the  machinery  and  farm  implements  necessary 
for  the  successful  operation  of  the  fields  and  the  care  of  the  crops  is  here 
found.  His  labors  annually  bring  to  him  a  good  financial  return,  so  that 
his  home  is  now  supplied  with  the  comforts  and  some  of  the  luxuries  of 
life. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Parsons  have  been  born  three  children,  but  only 
one  is  now  living.  Hattie,  bom  November  9,  1867,  died  December  24,  1889, 
at  the  age  of  twenty-two  years;  Lewis,  born  March  iS,  1878,  died  on  the 
5th  of  August,  of  the  same  year.  Harry,  born  November  28,  1872,  was 
married  January  19,  1898,  to  Miss  Pearl  Gallup,  and  they  reside  on  the  okl 
homestead,  the  son  assisting  in  the  operation  of  the  farm.  The  eldest  child, 
Hattie,  died  of  consumption  December  24,  1889.  She  was  not  long  con- 
fined to  the  house,  and  sat  up  a  little  every  day  till  witliin  a  day  or  two  of 
her  death.  She  was  a  warm-hearted,  noble.  Christian  young  lady,  and  was 
widely  beloved,  as  was  well  attested  by  the  throng  of  callers  continually  at 
the  house  during  her  illness.  The  funeral  occurred  at  the  Scoville  school 
house.  Revs.  Collin  and  Martin  officiating. 

Mr.  Parsons,  although  not  of  sturdy  physique,  has  always  been  a  hard- 
working man,  and  even  today,  in  spite  of  his  age,  is  as  active  and  alert  as 
many  men  of  younger  years.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  although 
never  a  politician  in  the  commonly  accepted  sense  of  office  seeking,  he  has 
been  prevailed  upon  several  times  to  act  as  school  officer,  officiating  as  schoo! 
director  and  assessor  of  his  school  district.  Although  of  necessitv  a  busy 
man.  he  has  yet  found  time  to  broaden  his  mind  and  store  it  with  useful 
knowledge,  and  he  is  progressive  in  his  ideas  and  earnest  in  support  of  every 
forward  movement  for  the  benefit  of  the  county  where  he  has  now  lived  for 
three  score  years  and  ten. 

ROLXIN  A.  JOHNSON. 

Rollin  A.  Johnson,  who  carries  on  general  farming,  is  a  native  of 
Matteson  township.  Branch  county,  having  been  born  on  the  8th  of  May, 
1850,  on  the  farm  on  section  twelve  which  is  now  his  home.  The  name 
of  Johnson  has  figured  in  agricultural  life  and  public  affairs  in  this  sec- 
tion of  the  state  for  a  long  period  and  has  ever  been  a  synonym  for  good 
citizenship  and  business  integrity.  James  O.  Johnson,  the  father,  was  bom 
in  Vermont  and  was  a  son  of  James  Johnson,  Sr,,  who  was  also  a  native 
of  the  Green  Mountain  state  and  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  On  leav- 
ing- New  England  he  removed  to  Ohio  and  subsequently  came  to  Michigan, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  347 

taking  up  liis  abode  on  section  twelve,  Matteson  township,  Brancli  county, 
where  he  purchased  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  that  was  entirely 
wild  and  unimproved.  He  then  undertook  the  arduous  task  of  developing 
the  property,  which  he  cleared  and  cultivated.  He  remained  upon  the  farm 
until  he  retired,  being  for  long  years  an  energetic,  enterprising  and  pros- 
perous agriculturist  of  the  community.  When  his  labors  had  brought  to 
him  a  comfortable  competence  that  relieved  him  of  the  necessity  of  further 
work  he  put  aside  business  cares  and  .removed  to  Union  City,  where  he 
lived  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  well  earned  rest  up  to  the  time  of  his  death. 

His  son,  James  O.  Johnson,  Jr.,  was  about  twenty  years  of  age  when 
he  accompanied  his  parents  to  Michigan,  and  he  assisted  in  the  arduous 
task  of  clearing  the  old  homestead,  working  with  his  father  throughout 
the  period  of  his  boyhood  and  youth.  He  enjoyed  such  educational  advan- 
tages as  the  district  schools  afforded,  and  after  he  had  attained  his  majority 
be  went  to  Ohio,  where  he  was  married  to  Miss  Sarah  Lindley,  a  daughter 
of  Ephraim  Lindley,  who  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  In  the  year  1851 
James  O.  Johnson  went  to  California  by  way  of  New  York  and  the  isthmus 
route  and  remained  in  that  state  for  three  years,  when  he  returned  to  Mich- 
■  igan  to  find  that  his  wife  had  in  the  meantime  departed  this  life.  Unto 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johnson  had  been  born  four  children,  three  sons  and  a  daugh- 
ter, of  whom  RoJlin  A.  was  the  youngest.  Following  the  mother's  death 
the  father  returned  to  Ohio,  and  there  he  was  married  to  the  eldest  sister 
of  his  first  wife,  after  which  he  returned  to  the  old  home  farm  in  Matteson 
township,  Branch  county,  and  while  living  there  four  children,  a  son  and 
three  daughters,  were  born  of  the  second  marriage,  making  eight  children 
in  all,  who  were  born  and  reared  in  Matteson  township.  Mr.  Johnson 
afterward  traded  a  part  of  the  old  home  farm  for  a  place  on  Mill  creek, 
where  he  remained  for  about  forty  years.  With  the  exception  of  the  period 
spent  in  California  his  entire  life  was  devoted  to  agricultural  pursuits  and 
he  was  found  reliable  in  his  business  methods  and  enterprising  in  all  of  his 
undertakings.  His  political  allegiance  was  given  to  the  Republican  party 
and  he  held  several  townsJiip  offices.  He  had  a  wide  and  favorable  accjuaint- 
ance  throughout  the  county  and  was  a  member  in  high  standing  of  the 
Masonic  lodge  at  Bronson.  He  died  in  his  eighty-fifth  year,  honored  and 
respected  by  all  who  knew  him.  Viewed  in  a  personal  light  he  was  a 
strong  man,  strong  in  his  honor  and  his  good  name,  in  his  business  accom- 
plishments and  in  his  loyaJ  citizenship.  He  was  classed  for  many  years 
with  the  leading  agriculturists  of  his  community  and  in  addition  to  the 
tilling  of  the  fields  he  also  dealt  extensively  in  horses,  fine  cattle  and  sheep. 
Rollin  A,  Johnson  acquired  his  education  in  the  district  schools  of 
Matteson  township  and  through  the  period  of  his  youth  remained  at  home, 
assisting  his  father  on  the  farm  and  clearing  considerable  land.  He  lived 
mostly  on  the  place  by  the  creek,  which  was  on  section  thirteen,  Matteson 
township,  and  he  was  early  trained  to  habits  of  industry,  economy  and  integ- 
rity, which  have  proved  of  the  utmost  value  to  him.  in  later  life  as  he  has 
conducted  his  own  business  interests. 

On  the  24th  of   February,    187C,   Rollin  A.   Johnson   was   married   to 


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348  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Miss  Josephine  FJsk,  a  native  of  Matteson  township  and  a  daughter  of 
Edwin  Fisk,  who  was  a  farmer  of  that  locality.  Mrs.  Johnson  was  reared 
and  educated  in  this  township  and  by  this  marriage  there  have  been  born  five 
children,  four  sons  and  a  daughter,  but  Daisy,  the  second  child,  is  now  ile- 
ceased.  The  others  are;  Carl,  Lou,  Max  and  Rex,  all  of  whom  were 
bom  upon  the  fann  which  is  now  their  home. 

The  second  year  after  his  marriage  Mr.  Johnson  removed  to  the  orig- 
inal homestead  property  and  here  he  has  since  lived.  He  now  has  one 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land,  constituting  a  valuable  farm,  which  has 
been  greatly  improved  by  the  care  and  labor  he  has  bestowed  upon  it.  He 
has  erected  all  of  the  present  buildings  and  modern  equipments  and  he  uses 
the  latest  improved  machinery  in  caring  for  the  fields.  He  also  raises 
stock,  and  both  branches  of  his  business  are  proving  profitable.  In  igot  he 
was  called  upon  to  mourn  the  loss  of  his  wife,  who  died  on  the  2nd  of 
March  of  that  year,  and  the  daughter  died  three  days  later.  He  has  an  in- 
teresting family  of  four  sons,  who  are  with  him  on  the  old  homestead.  In 
politics  a  Republican,  he  has  taken  some  part  in  the  work  of  the  organiza- 
tion and  rejoices  in  Republican  successes.  He  holds  membership  with  the 
Maccabees  Tent  at  Sherwood  and  is  well  known  in  the  county,  his  genuine 
worth  having  gained  for  him  warm  persona!  regard  and  friendship. 

HON.    CHARLES    UPSON. 

In  an  enumeration  of  the  men  who  have  conferred  honor  and  dignity  upon 
Branch  county  and  whose  life  record  was  a  credit  to  the  state  which  honored 
him,  Hon.  Charles  Upson  deserves  mention.  As  lawyer  and  legislator  he  won 
distinction  and  as  a  member  of  congress  he  proved  himself  a  peer  of  many  of 
the  ablest  representatives  of  the  nation.  He  was  born  in  Southington,  Con- 
necticut, April  19,  1821,  and  died  at  Coldwater,  Michigan,  September  5,  1S85. 

A  son  of  Ashael  and  Lydia  (Webster)  Upson,  he  was  descended  from  an 
old  New  England  family.  His  father,  also  a  native  of  Connecticut,  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation  and  was  a  man  of  scrupulous  honor,  exact  in  all  his 
dealings  and  faithful  to  every  obligation  in  lifS.  He  and  his  estimable  wife 
held  membership  in  the  Presbyterian  church  and  Mrs.  Upson  was  a  talented 
woman,  of  strong  and  sterling  characteristics, 

Charles  Upscn  spent  the  first  thirteen  years  of  his  life  at  the  parental 
homestead  and  at  the  usual  age  began  his  education  in  the  district  schools. 
When  a  youth  of  thirteen  he  entered  a  select  school,  in  which  he  studied 
diligently  with  a  view  of  eventually  pursuing  a  college  course.  In  order  to 
replenish  his  funds  he  engaged  in  teaching  school  when  sixteen  years  of  age, 
receiving  for  his  services  twelve  and  a  half  dollars  per  month,  and  in  accord- 
ance with  the  custom  of  the  times  he  '"  boarded  round  "  among  the  scholars. 
For  five  or  six  years  he  continued  teaching  at  intervals  and  in  1842  there  came 
to  him  the  consummation  of  his  hope  of  securing  a  higher  education.  In  that 
year  he  entered  the  academy  at  Meriden,  where  he  pursued  a  classical  course, 
but  finally  on  account  of  limited  means  he  abandoned  the  idea  of  entering 
college  and  resumed  teaching.     It  was  about  this  time  that  he  borrowed  a 


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Charles    Upson 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  349 

copy  of  Elackstone,  which  he  read  ckiring  his  leisure  hours,  working  on  his 
fatlier's  farm  during  the  summer  months.  Determining  to  make  the  practice 
of  law  his  hfe  work,  in  1844  he  was  enrolled  as  a  student  in  the  law  school 
at  New  Haven.  Connecticut.  At  the  end  of  that  year  he  came  to  Michigan, 
spending  the  winter  in  Constantine  in  teaching  and  reading  law,  and  he  was 
thus  engaged  in  the  dual  pursuit  until  1847,  when  he  was  appointed  deputy 
county  clerk  of  St.  Joseph  county,  and  in  the  spring  of  the  same  year  was 
admitted  to  the  bar.  In  addition  to  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties  he 
engaged  in  practice,  attending  such  law  cases  as  were  accorded  to  him  by  the 
public.  He  soon  demonstrated  his  ability,  however,  and  his  clientage  increased. 
After  two  years  he  was  elected  county  clerk,  and  in  1850  he  was  the  unsuc- 
cessful candidate  for  prosecuting  attorney,  but  in  1852,  having  been  again 
nominated  for  the  office,  he  was  elected  and  entered  upon  a  two  years'  term 
in  that  position.  Still  higher  political  honors  awaited  him,  for  in  1854  he 
^vas  elected  state  senator  by  the  Whig  party,  serving  in  the  upper  house  of 
the  general  assembly  with  distinction.  He  was  active  in  molding  con- 
structive legislation  and  left  the  impress  of  his  individuality  upon  the  laws 
that  were  enacted  during  that  session. 

In  1856  Mr.  Upson  removed  to  Coldwater,  where  he  formed  a  law  part- 
nership with  Lieutenant  Governor  George  A.  Coe.  He  maintained  his  deep  . 
interest  and  activity  in  political  matters  and  in  i860  he  was  nominated  by  the 
Republican  party  for  the  office  of  Attorney  General  of  Michigan.  At  the  gen- 
eral election  he  was  given  the  position  by  popular  vote,  and  in  1862  he  re- 
ceived the  unanimous  nomination  of  his  party  for  congress.  He  was  elected 
that  year,  re-elected  in  1864  and  again  in  1866,  and  for  six  years  represented 
his  district  in  the  national  legislature.  He  became  an  active  working  mem- 
ber of  the  house,  with  conscientious  purpose  and  representative  patriotism  sup- 
porting every  measure  which  he  believed  would  prove  of  benefit  to  the  country 
and  opposing  just  as  earnestly  every  interest  which  he  deemed  would  be 
inimical  to  the  general  welfare.  In  1869  official  honors  came  to  him  in  the 
more  direct  line  of  his  profession,  he  being  elected  circuit  judge  of  the  fifteenth 
judicial  district,  but  three  years  later  he  resigned  on  account  of  insufficiency 
of  the  salary.  In  every  position  of  public  trust  he  was  called  upon  to  fill  he 
maintained  his  reputation  as  an  able  and  incorruptible  office  holder.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention  of  1873,  when  he  assisted  materially  ■ 
in  forming  the  organic  laws  of  the  state.  When  Zachariah  Chandler  was  sec- 
retary of  the  interior  he  tendered  Judge  Upson  the  position  of  Indian  com- 
missioner, but  the  honor  was  declined.  In  1880  he  was  again  elected  state 
senator,  and  in  1883  he  was  a  prominent  but  unsuccessful  candidate  for  the 
nomination  for  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  Michigan. 

In  local  affairs  Judge  Upson  was  also  an  influential  factor,  and  twice 
served  as  mayor  of  Coldwater,  giving  to  the  city  a  business-like  and  pro- 
gressive administration,  characterized  by  reform  and  practical  improvement. 
In  1865  he  assisted  in  organizing  the  Coldwater  National  Bank,  and  was 
thereafter  until  his  death  one  of  its  directors. 

On  the  4th  of  August.  1852.  Judge  Upson  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Sophia  Upham  and  they  became  the  parents  of  two  sons  and  two  daugh- 


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350  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

ters:  Alonzo  Sydney;  Mary,  deceased;  Margaret,  the  wife  of  Morris  G. 
Ciark;  and  Charles  Hiram,  who  died  in  infancy.  Judge  Upson  figured  for 
many  years  as  one  of  the  distinguished  and  honored  citizens  of  Branch  county 
and  of  Michigan.  Faultless  in  honor,  fearless  in  conduct,  stainless  in  repu- 
tation, such  was  his  life  record.  His  scholarly  attainments,  his  statesman- 
ship, his  reliable  judgment  and  his  charming  powers  of  conversation  would 
have  enabled  him  to  ably  fill  and  grace  any  position,  however  exalted,  and  he 
was  no  less  honored  in  public  than  loved  in  private  life. 

ALONZO  SYDNEY  UPSON. 

Alonzo  Sydney  Upson,  son  of  Hon.  Charles  Upson,  deceased,  was  born 
in  Constantine,  Michigan,  May  25,  1855,  and  was  only  a  year  old  at  the  time 
of  his  parents'  removal  to  Coldwater.  Here  he  was  reared  and  educated  and 
has  spent  his  life.  When  the  Michigan  Southern  Bank  was  organized  in  1872 
he  became  a  bookkeeper  in  that  institution,  later  was  promoted  to  the  position 
of  teller  and  subsequently  became  cashier,  thus  receiving  ready  recognition  of 
his  ability.  He  is  now  cashier  of  the  hank,  a  popular  officer,  whose  unfailing 
courtesy  and  accommodation  to  the  patrons  have  secured  him  many  friends, 
while  his  devotion  and  allegiance  to  the  institution  have  contributed  to  its 
'success, 

Mr.  Upson  is  without  political  aspiration  but  gives  unfaltering  support 
to  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party.  He  has,  however,  served  for  several 
terms  as  treasurer  of  Coldwater,  called  to  that  office  by  the  vote  of  the  peoj^le 
who  recognize  his  .capability  for  the  duties  that  devolve  upon  him  in  this 
connection.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Bon  Ami  Qub  and  holds  high  social 
relations, 

STEPHEN  W.  KEMPSTER. 

Stephen  W.  Kempster  is  now  practically  living  retired  in  a  comfort- 
able home  just  south  of  the  city  limits  of  Coldwater,  but  is  still  owner  of  a 
fine  and  valuable  farm  which  he  improved  and  which  returns  to  him  a  good 
annual  income.  He  stands  as  an  excellent  example  of  the  men  of  foreign 
birth  who  in  early  manhood  come  to  America  without  capital  but  possessing 
laudable  ambition  and  determined  energy  and  through  those  means  steadily 
•  advance  to  the  goal  of  success. 

Mr.  Kempster  was  born  in  Buckinghamshire,  England,  on  the  25th  of 
November,  1847,  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Sarah  (Wells)  Kempster,  both  of 
whom  were  natives  of  England,  where  they  spent  their  entire  hves,  the 
father  dying  there  in  1851,  while  the  mother  passed  away  in  1857.  They 
had  three  children:  Stephen;  Mrs.  Emily  Marks,  now  living  in  England; 
and  Mrs.  Eliza  Peppiatt,  a  resident  of  Ovid,  Michigan, 

In  1867  Stephen  W.  Kempster  came  to  America  with  his  sister  Eliza, 
locating  in  Ovid,  and  although  he  had  no  means  at  the  time,  he  was  ener- 
getic and  resolute  and  his  willingness  to  work  secured  him  good  positions, 
so  that  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  as  the  result  of  his  earnings,  he  was 
enabled  to  purchase  property,  buying  land  in  1871  in  Ovid  township.  He 
at  once  began  its  development  and  continued  to  improve  it  until  1889,  when 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  351 

he  purchased  his  present  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  Coldwater. 
In  all  of  his  work  he  has  been  practical,  methodical  and  progressive,  and 
his  labor  has  been  the  resultant  factor  in  his  success. 

On  the  i6th  of  December,  1873,  Mr.  Kempster  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Eliza  Peppiatt.  who  was  born  in  Buckinghamshire,  England,  May 
12,  1842.  and  came  to  the  United  States  with  her  brothers  and  sisters  in 
sSfyj,  settling  in  Wayne  county,  Michigan.  Her  father  was  Shadrach  Pep- 
piatt, while  her  mother  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Fannie  Bavin,  and  both 
were  natives  of  England.  They  came  to  Michigan  in  1866,  settling  in 
Washtenaw  county,  where  the  father  died  in  1901,  while  the  mother  passed 
away  in  1891.  They  were  the  parents  of  nine  children,  of  whom  two  died 
in  infancy,  the  others  being  Eliza,  now  Mrs.  Kempster;  Mrs.  Ann  Collyei', 
who  died  in  Michigan ;  Mrs.  Jane  Beyers,  a  resident  of  Wayne  county,  Mich- 
igan: James,  of  Colorado;  Mrs.  Maria  Day,  Charles  and  Lizzie,  all  living 
in  Washtenaw  county,  this  state. 

Mr.  and  Mrs,  Kempster  have  a  family  of  a  daughter  and  three  sons: 
Carrie,  born  March  26,  1875,  attended  the  State  Normal  School  at  Ypsi- 
.  lanti,  Michigan,  and  is  now  engaged  in  teaching  school  in  the  city  of  Cold- 
water;  Joseph,  born  January  22,  1877,  was  graduated  in  chemistrj'  at  the 
University  of  Michigan,  at  Ann  Arbor,  and  holds  a  responsible  position  in 
the  laboratory  of  the  Wolverine  Cement  Company,  at  Coldwater;  Walter, 
born  August  3,  1880,  attended  the  Michigan  Agricultural  College  at  Lan- 
sing, was  married  August  15,  1905,  to  Gertie  Baldridge,  and  now  Jives  upon 
the  Kempster  farm  in  Coldwater  township;  and  Harry,  born  October  9, 
1883,  attended  the  Agricultural  College  at  Lansing,  after  having  gradu- 
ated from  the  high  school  at  Coldwater  in  class  of  1904. 

In  the  spring  of  1905  Mr.  Kempster  turned  the  management  of  his  farm 
over  to  his  son  and  purchased  a  comfortable  home  just  south  of  the  corpora- 
tion hmits  of  Coldwater,  where  he  and  his  wife  now  reside.  They  have 
traveled  life's  journey  together  for  a  third  of  a  century,  their  mutual  love 
and  confidence  increasing  as  the  years  have  gone  by.  Mr.  Kempster  belongs 
to  Coldwater  Grange.  He  has  served  as  school  assessor,  but  is  independent 
in  politics.  In  1904  he  made  a  visit  to  his  old  home  in  England,  where  many 
of  his  relatives  yet  reside.  In  manner  he  is  unassuming  and  entirely  free 
from  ostentation,  but  he  deserves  that  praise  and  credit  which  are  given  in 
recognition  of  gemiine  worth  of  character  and  successful  accomplishment. 
Coming  to  America  without  capital,  he  has  acquired  a  good  competence,  has 
carefully  reared  his  family  and  given  them  good  advantages,  and  now  is 
enabled  to  enjoy  a  well-earned  rest,  the  fruits  of  his  fonner  toil  providing 
him  with  life's  necessities  and  comforts, 

MRS.  MARY  A.  STOKES. 

Mrs.  Mary  A.  Stokes,  now  living  in  California  township,  was  torn  in 
Oswego  county.  New  York,  April  4,  1827,  and  has  therefore  passed  the 
seventy-ninth  mile-stone  on  life's  journey.  Her  father,  Gilman  Withington, 
was  born  in  Cheshire  county,  New  Hampshire,  March  13,  1805,  and  was  a 


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352  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

son  of  William  Wilhington,  who  came  to  Michigan  in  1833,  and  in  1836 
took  up  his  abode  in  Branch  county,  settling  in  Kinderhook  township.  Gil- 
man  Withington  removed  from  the  Old  Granite  state  to  New  York,  and 
after  living  for  a  few  years  in  Pennsylvania,  came  to  Michigan  in  the  early 
4o"s,  spending  his  remaining  days  in  Branch  county.  He  was  a  carpenter 
and  joiner,  following  these  trades  in  the  east,  and  after  coming  to  the  west 
he  devoted  much  of  his  time  to  farming.  He  married  Miss  Philinda  Gowdy, 
who  was  l3orn  in  Rome,  New  York,  November  3,  1803.  Their  marriage 
was  celebrated  on  the  2nd  of  March,  1826,  in  the  Empire  state,  and  they 
became  the  parents  of  three  children,  one  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  while 
Celia  E.  died  in  Branch  county  January  i,  1845,  3*  ^^he  age  of  thirteen 
years,  leaving  Mrs.  Stokes  as  the  only  surviving  member  of  the  family. 
Both  of  the  parents  were  Presbyterians  and  then  Methodists  in  religious  faith 
in  early  life,  but  in  later  years  joined  the  United  Brethren  church.  Mr, 
Withington  was  a  Republican  in  his  political  views.,  and  was  the  first  school 
district  officer  in  Algansee  township,  which  position  he  filled  for  many  years. 
His  death  occurred  August  12,  1881,  while  his  wife  passed  away  June  7, 
1885.  Mary  Ann  Withington  was  a  young  lady  of  sixteen  years  when  she 
■  accompanied  her  parents  on  their  removal  to  tJiis  state,  and  she  now  lives 
upon  a  farm  adjoining  the  one  which  her  father  purchased  and  improved 
on  coming  to  the  west.  The  land  at  that  early  day  was  all  uncleared,  and 
although  the  highways  had  been  surveyed  they  were  still  untraveled  and 
the  roads 'were  therefore  in  very  poor  condition.  Amid  pioneer  surround- 
ings, therefore.  Mary  A.  Withington  was  reared.  On  the  4th  of  September, 
1S44,  in  Algansee  township,  she  gave  her  hand  in  marriage  to  Amos  C. 
Stokes,  who  was  born  in  Tompkins  county,  New  York,  September  4.  1823. 
His  father  was  John  Stokes,  also  a  native  of  the  Empire  state,  where  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Polly  Lamphere,  who  was  also  born  in  New  York.  Four 
of  their  children  reached  manhood  or  womanhood,  namely:  Mrs.  Lucy  A. 
Burdick,  Mrs.  PoUy  Yates,  J.  Woodbury  and  Amos  Stokes.  After  coming 
west  the  father  and  his  family  lived  for  seA'eral  years  in  Indiana  and  then 
came  to  Michigan  in  1842. 

Amos  Stokes  was  a  farmer  by  occupation  and  cleared  the  land  on  sec- 
tion eighteen  constituting  the  present  home  farm  of  his  widow.  Unto  them 
was  born  a  daughter,  Araminta,  whose  birth  occurred  July  27,  1846,  and 
who  became  the  wife  of  Ferris  B.  Hanford,  July  27,  1862.  After  his  death 
she  was  married,  on  the  19th  of  February,  1873,  to  Thomas  Copeland,  and 
her  own  demise  occurred  on  the  4th  of  March,  1894. 

Mr.  Stokes  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  school  officer  for  many  years, 
and  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  public  progress  and  advancement  were  beneficial 
and  far-reaching.  He  belonged  to  the  United  Brethren  church  and  he  gave 
his  political  support  to  the  Republican  party  for  a  long  period,  although  in 
his  later  years  he  became  a  staunch  Prohibitionist  and  a  most  earnest  advo- 
cate of  the  cause  of  temperance.  For  three  months  he  was  a  soldier  of  the 
Civil  war.  Mrs.  Stokes  also  belongs  to  the  United  Brethren  irhurch.  Since 
sixteen  years  of  age  she  has  lived  in  this  immediate  vicinity  and  has  there- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  353 

fore  witnessed  many  changes  here  as  the  work  of  cultivation  and  civiliza- 
tion iias  been  carried  forward.  She  is  a  great  reader  and  close  observer  of 
events  and  keeps  "ivell  posted  on  the  questions  of  the  day  and  upon  all  matters 
of  general  interest,  being  an  especially  well  informed  woman  and  one  well 
preserved  for  her  years. 

SAMUEL  W.  RICE. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  citizen  of  Branch  connty  who  has  done  nrore  for 
die  material  improvement  and  progress  of  the  county  than  has  Samuel  W. 
Rice,  who  has  personally  cleared  three  eighty-acre  tracts  of  land,  reclaiming 
it  for  the  purposes  of  civilization  and  the  uses  of  the  white  race.  He  is  now 
the  owrer  of  a  valuable  and  well-improved  farm  of  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
three  acres  located  on  section  four,  Coldwater  township,  and  section  three, 
Girard  township.  He  was  born  in  Wayne  county,  New  York,  on  the  r2th 
of  January,  1823,  his  parents  being  Sylvester  and  Harriet  (Warner)  Rice, 
both  of  whom  were  natives  of  New  York,  where  they  were  reared  to  adult 
age  and  were  married.  In  their  family  were  nine  children :  Philetus.  who 
-  died  in  Coldwater  township.  Branch  county :  David,  who  died  in  Toledo,  Ohio ; 
Mrs.  Lucinda  Smith,  whose  death  occurred  in  the  township  of  Girard;  Eber. 
who  also  died  in  Girard  township;  Samuel  W.,  of  this  review;  Mrs.  Anranda 
Atwater,  who  died  in  Coldwater;  Emma  Jane,  who  is.  a  resident  of  Cold- 
water;  Russell,  who  died  in  Coldwater;  and  Sylvester,  who  passed  away 
in  Girard  township.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  of  the  nine  children  of  the 
father's  family  only  two  are  yet  living.  It  was  in  the  year  1844  that  the 
iKirents,  Sylvester  and  Harriet  (Warner)  Rice,  came  with,  their  sons  and 
(laughters  to  Michigan.  The  tide  of  emigration  had  been  steadily  flowing 
westward  from  New  York  to  this  state  for  several  years  and.  hoping  to 
lienefit  their  financial  condition  in  the  new  but  rapidly  growing  district,  they 
made  their  way  to  Homer,  Calhoun  county,  where  they  resided  for  two  years. 
On  the  expiration  of  that  period  they  came  to  Branch  county,  setUing  in 
Coldwater  township,  thus  becoming  identified  with  its  agricultural  interests. 
The  mother  passed  away  in  Coldwater  township  January  11,  1863,  while 
the  death  of  Mr.  Rice  occurred  in  Homer,  Michigan,  in  September,  1875. 
The  children  of  the  family  grew  to  manhood  and  womanhood  here,  and  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  40's  four  of  the  brothers  purchased  farms  in  this  part, 
of  the  county,  and  here  they  made  for  themselves  and  their  families  com- 
fortable homes. 

Samuel  W.  Rice,  reared  to  the  occupation  of  fanning,  early  became 
familiar  with  the  duties  and  lalwrs  that  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  agriculturist,  and  in 
1846  purchased  land  which  was  entirely  wild  and  unimproved.  It  had  been  en- 
tered from  the  gDveniment  by  Mr.  Dibble,  and  Mr.  Rice  at  once  began  to 
ciear  and  cultivate  the  tract.  At  that  time  this  portion  of  Coldwater  town- 
ship was  an  almost  unbroken  wilderness  and  the  work  of  transforming  it 
mto  a  habitable  district  was  a  laborious  and  difficult  one.  Personally  Mr. 
Rice  has  cleared  no  less  than  three  eighty-acre  tracts,  a  work  which  few 
would  care  to  undertake  in  this  state. 

On  the  6th  of  November,  1873,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Samuel  W. 


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35i  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Rice  and  Miss  Lavonia  Kilborn,  a  native  of  Sherwood,  Michigan,  born  May 
17,  1842,  her  parents  being  David  and  Clarinda  (Hawley)  Kilbom,  both 
of  whom  were  natives  of  the  Empire  state,  where  they  were  married.  The 
Kilborns,  like  the  Rices,  were  pioneers  of  Branch  county,-  and  the  first  settle- 
ment was  made  in  the  vicinity  of  Sherwood,  where  representatives  of  the 
name  have  since  been  worthy  residents.  There  the  father,  David  Kilborn, 
who  was  born  in  1797,  died  in  1870,  while  the  mother,  who  was  bom  in 
1801,  passed  away  in  1881.  In  their  family  were  eleven  children,  as  follows; 
Holton,  who  died  in  Sherwood;  Mrs.  Harriet  K.  Coddington,  who  is  living 
in  Palo  Alto,  California;  Mrs.  Eliza  K.  Coddington,  who  died  in  Union 
City,  Michigan;  Wallace,  a  resident  of  Coldwater  township;  Mrs.  Mary 
K.  Van  Dievender,  of  California,  now  deceased ;  George,  who  died  while 
serving  as  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war;  Samuel,  a  resident  of  Union  City, 
Michigan ;  Alden,  who'  passed  away  in  California :  and  Mrs.  Rice.  Unto 
the  marriage  of  our  subject  and  his  wife  has  been  born  two  children. 
Hattie  Rice,  bom  March  3,  1875,  was  married  November  21,  1900,  to 
Charles  Culp.  They  reside  in  Coldwater  township  and  have  two  children, 
Frances  Josephine  and  Walton.  William  Rice,  born  January  26,  1879, 
was  married  November  21,  1901,  to  Effa  Irene  Bennett,  born  October  6, 
1875,  a  daughter  of  George  and  Sarah  (Warren)  Bennett,  both  of  whom 
have  been  residents  of  Branch  county  for  many  years.  Mr.  Bennett  is 
still  living  and  is  a  resident  of  Michigan,  but  his  wife  passed  away  August 
12,   1898. 

Mr.  Rice  has  spent  nearly  his  entire  life  in  the  locality  where  he  yet 
resides,  and  has  always  commanded  the  high  regard  and  esteem  of  his 
fellow-townsmen  here.  He  has  followed  the  occupation  of  farming  and 
has  done  much  for  the  development  and  improvement  of  this  section.  His 
present  farm  is  a  fine  one,  consisting  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-three  acres 
of  fertile  land  located  on  section  4,  Coldwater  township,  and  section  33, 
Girard  -township.  It  is  equipped  with  good  buildings  and  all  necessary 
machinery  and  accessories  for  its  successful  operation.  It  is  now  conducted 
by  his  son,  William.  Rice,  who  is  considered  one  of  the  reliable  and  influ- 
ential young  farmers  of  this  part  of  the  county.  Although  a  Republican 
politically,  Samuel  Rice  has  never  been  an  office  seeker,  preferring  to  give 
-his  time  and  energies  to  his  business  affairs.  His  parents  were  members  of 
the  Baptist  church,  and  in  that  faith  he  was  reared,  but  for  some  years  he 
has  been  a  professor  of  the  spiritualist  belief.  His  has  been  a  long,  useful 
and  active  life  and  he  is  spending  the  evening  of  his  days  in  the  conscious- 
ness of  duties  well  performed,  occupying  a  comfortable  home  on  the  farm 
which  he  has  developed  from  its  primitive  state  to  its  present  condition  of 
agricultural  fertility.  His  residence  in  the  county  covers  more  than  six 
decades,  and  he  is  justly  classed  with  the  honored  pioneer  residents  here. 

JOHN  S.   NESBITT. 

Each  community  has  its  leaders — men  who  are  molding  the  business 
development  and  contributing  to  the  prosperity  of  their  respective  localities — 
and  within  this  age  of  the  world,  when  there  is  great  competition  and  when 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  355. 


new  conditions  are  continually  arising,  the  men  who  are  successful  are  alert 
and  energetic,  quickly  recognizing  and  improving  opportunities.  Such  a 
one  is  John  S.  Nesbitt,  cashier  of  the  Union  City  National  Bank.  He  was 
born  in  Northumberland  county,  Pennsylvania,  December  23,  1862.  His 
father,  William  G.  Nesbitt,  was  of  Scotch  descent  and  was  also  bom  in 
Northumberland  county,  where  he  was  reared  and  acquired  his  education. 
He  chose  farming  as  a  life  work,  and  upon  his  removal  to  Branch  county, 
Michigan,  settled  upon  a  tract  of  land  in  Coldwater  township,  where  he 
was  engaged  in  general  agricultural  pursuits  until  his  removal  to  Batavia 
township.  Subsequently  he  sought  a  home  in  the  far  west  and  died  in 
Vancouver,  Washington,  in  the  sixty-seventh  year  of  his  age.  A  zealous 
and  earnest  Christian  man,  he  held  membership  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  and  was  active  and  helpful  in  its  work.  He  married  Statira  Scar- 
lett, a  native  of  Canada.  Her  father  was  of  Irish  lineage,  while  her  mother 
was  of  Scotch  descent.  Mrs.  Nesbitt  still  survives  her  husband  and  is  now 
in  the  sixty-seventh  year  of  her  age.  They  were  the  parents  of  two  sons 
and  three  daughters,  all  of  whom  are  living,  namely:  John  S.,  of  this 
review;  Lydia,  the  wife  of  Rev.  Lida  J.  Wornom,  of  Camas,  Washington; 
'Clara,  the  widow  of  Luke  Sizer,  and  a  resident  of  Beiieriver,  Minnesota; 
Cora,  a  twin  sister  of  Clara,  and  the  wife  of  Edward  Boyce,  of  Ballard. 
Washington;  and  R.  William,  who  is  living  at  Palms,  Los  Angeles  county, 
California. 

John  S.  Nesbitt  is  the  only  member  of.  the  family  now  living  in  Branch 
county.  He  was  less  than  a  year  old  when  brought  by  his  parents  from 
the  east  to  this  county,  and  here  he  acquired  his  early  education  in  the  dis- 
trict schools,  supplementing  it  by  an  advanced  course  in  the  high  school  at 
Union  City.  He  afterward  engaged  in  clerking  in  a  dry  goods  store  for 
three  years  in  Union  City,  and  in  1888  he  entered  the  Union  City  National 
Bank  as  teller,  which  position  he  held  until  January  8,  1896.  He  was  then 
elected  cashier  and  has  since  acted  in  the  latter  capacity.  In  the  intervening 
years  he  has  made  a  close  and  thorough  study  of  the  banking  business, 
with  which  he  is  now  familiar  both  in  principle  and  detail,  and  his  accuracy, 
system  and  close  application  have  rendered  his  services  of  value  to  the  bank, 
while  his  genial  manner  and  obliging  disposition  have  made  him  popular 
with  its  many  patrons. 

Mr.  Nesbitt  was  married  in  1887  to  Miss  Lucy  Lincoln,  a  daughter 
of  Oscar  L.  Lincoln.  He  belongs  to  the  Masonic  fraternity,  in  which  he 
has  attained  the  Knight  Templar  degree,  belonging  to  the  commandery  at 
Coldwater.  He  is  also  a  Knight  of  the  Maccabees  and  has  been  a  life-long 
Republican.  He  is  now  active  in  the  local  work  of  the  party,  serving  as 
chairman  of  the  township  central  committee,  and  has  held  other  offices.  He 
was  township  clerk  for  two  terms,  in  1889  and  1890,  was  president  of  the 
village  for  three  years  and  is  now  treasurer.  Almost  his  entire  life  has 
been  passed  in  Union  City  and  this  vicinity,  and  his  history  is  therefore 
well  known  to  his  fellow  townsmen.  The  fact  that  his  friends  are  many 
and  that  he  is  popular  is  an  indication  that  he  has  displayed  many  sterling 
characteristics  such  as  command  respect  in  every  land  and  clime. 


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356  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

HARVEY  MATTISON  DOUBLEDAY. 

Harvey  Mattison  Doubleday,  a  resident  of  Branch  county  from  pioneer 
times,  now  living  on  section  nine,  Sherwood  township,  was  born  in  Yates 
county,  New  York,  Jnly  7,  1828.  His  grandfather,  Eiisha  Doubleday,  who 
was  of  English  descent,  was  born  in  the  Empire  state  and  throughout  his 
business  career  carried  on  agricultural  pursuits.  His  death  also  occurred 
in  the  state  of  New  York.  His  father,  Hiram  Doubleday,  was  a  native  of 
Onondaga  county.  New  York,  and  in  1831  he  made  a  trip  to  Michigan,  cov- 
ering the  entire  distance  to  and  from  this  state  on  foot.  It  was  then  that  he 
entered  a  farm  of  eighty  acres  in  Calhoun  county,  and  in  the  spring  oi  the 
following  year  he  brought  his  family  to  the  new  home,  settling  on  his  fant; 
in  Athens  township,  where  he  built  a  log  cabin,  living  in  a  covered  wagon 
until  the  pioneer  home  was  completed.  He  split  the  boards  for  the  floor 
out  of  white  ash  logs.  The  little  home,  small  in  its  dimensions,  was  sparsely 
furnished  and  the  family  endured  the  usual  hardships,  privations  and  dangers 
incident  to  frontier  life.  'ITie  Indians  frequently  visited  this  section  of  the 
country  and  various  kinds  of  wild  animals  and  game  could  be  had  in  the 
forests.  He  remained  in  Calhoun  county  until  the  spring  of  1837,  when  he 
removed  to  Sherwood  township,  purchasing  land  on  section  four.  Here  he 
again  built  a  log  house  and  began  the  cultivation  and  improvement  of  a  farm. 
He  continued  his  work  there  for  a  number  of  years,  but  his  last  days  were 
spent  in  Union  City  and  in  the  home  of  his  son,  H.  M.  Doubleday,  his  death 
occurring  when  he  had  reached  his  eighty-ninth  year.  Viewed  from  a  busi- 
ness standpoint  his  life  was  successful,  for  he  started  out  empty-handed  and 
reared  a  family  of  six  children,  while  accumulating  a  comfortable  competency. 
His  success  resulted  from  his  close  application  and  unfaltering  diligence, 
which  enabled  him  to  overcome  all  difficulties  and  obstacles  in  his  path.  His 
business  affairs,  too,  were  conducted  with  the  strictest  honesty,  and  he  was 
never  known  to  take  advantage  of  the  necessities  of  his  fellow-men  in  any 
transaction.  He  always  gave  his  political  allegiance  to  the  Democracy  and 
he  held  many  local  offices,  including  those  of  justice  of  the  peace  and  town- 
ship trustee.  He  married  Betsy  Wallace,  a  native  of  New  York,  who  hved 
to  be  about  fifty  years  of  age.  Of  their  family  of  seven  children  a  daughter 
died  in  infancy. 

H.  M.  Doubleday.  the  eldest  son  and  second  child,  was  but  three  years 
old  when  brought  to  Michigan  by  his  parents  and  was  a  youth  of  eight  years 
when  the  family  home  was  established  in  Branch  county.  When  a  youth 
he  made  his  ^tay  to  the  primitive  log  school  house,  common  at  an  early  day, 
and  therein  studied  the  elementary  branches  of  English  learning.  He  had 
opportunity  to  attend  school  for  only  about  three  months  in  the  winter  sea- 
sons, for  throughout  the  remainder  of  the  year  his  services  were  needed  on 
the  home  farm  and  he  continued  to  assist  his  father  until  twenty-one  years 
of  age.  He  then  started  out  upon  an  active  business  career,  being  first  em- 
ployed as  a  farm  hand  for  the  sum  of  ten  dollars  per  month.  He  worked  in 
this  way  on  different  farms  until  1851,  when,  attracted  by  the  discoverv  of 
gold  in  California,  he  made  his  way  to  the  Pacific  coast  by  the  water  route 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  357 

and  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  landing  at  San  Francisco.  He  spent  three  years 
in  that  state  engaged  in  mining.  He  worked  by  the  month  for  one  hundred  , 
dollars,  and  after  a  residence  of  three  years  in  the  far  west  he  returned  in 
1854,  by  way  of  Graytown,  New  Orleans  and  Cincinnati,  to  Sherwood  town- 
ship, Branch  county.  While  in  California  he  had  purchased  one  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  of  land  in  Sherwood  township,  thus  investing  his  earnings  in 
the  mines.  Tliis  property  he  still  owns,  and  he  has  also  about  forty  acres 
across  the  road  on  section  ten.  At  other  times  he  has  made  additional  pur- 
chases until  he  now  has  three  hundred  acres  of  land  in  one  body,  con^sting 
of  his  home  farm  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  in  Athens  township, 
Calhoun  county,  another  tract  of  eighty  acres  in  Athens  township  and  one 
hundred  and  thirty  acres  on  section  twenty-one,  Sherwood  township,  making 
in  all  about  six  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land.  He  also  has  an  excellent 
farm  of  one  hundred  acres  in  Kalamazoo  county,  and  is  the  owner  of  two 
houses  and  lots  in  Battle  Creek.  The  greater  part  of  this  has  been  acquired 
through  his  own  labor,  his  suceess  being  the  merited  reward  of  his  efforts. 
He  is  indeed  a  man  of  excellent  business  capacity  and  his  labors  have  been 
so  discerningly  directed  along  well  defined  lines  that  he  seems  to  have  realized 
at  any  one  point  the  utmost  possibility  for  accomplishment  at  that  point.  He 
has  been  interested  in  three  different  banks,  one  in  Athens,  one  in  Union 
City,  and  the  Exchange  Bank  at  Sherwood,  but  he  has  now  severed  his  con- 
nection with  these  different  institutions. 

In  1857  Mr.  Doubleday  was  married  to  Miss  Nancy  L.  Blackman.  a 
daughter  of  Simeon  and  Emma  (Spencer)  Blackman,  and  a  native  of  Con- 
cord, Jackson  county,  Michigan,  bom  May  16,  1842.  She  has  spent  most  of 
her  life  in  Sherwood  township,  Branch  county,  and  has  become  the  mother  of 
five  children,  but  only  two  are  living,  Hiram  S.,  and  Ovid  M.,  who  married 
Flora  Hagenbaugh,  and  lives  in  Athens  township,  Calhoun  county, 

Mr.  and  Mrs,  Doubleday  have  one  of  the  most  beautiful  country  seats 
in  North  Branch  county,  and  the  home  is  adorned  by  works  of  art,  in  pic- 
tures and  bric-a-brac.  This  country  seat  is  known  far  and  near  by  the  name 
"  Idlewild." 

They  have  traveled  in  the  far  west  a  great  deal,  and  in  their  wander- 
ings they  have  selected  a  large  coUection  of  beautiful  shells  from  the  Pacific 
■^oast.  specimens  of  which  are  rare,  besides  different  growths  of  cactus.  He 
has  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  deer's  head,  shot  by  his  son  Ovid,  wliich 
adorns  the  walls  of  the  parlor.  He  has  a  section  of  a  pine  tree  in  which  a 
minie  ball  is  embedded.  This  was  cut  from  a  pine  tree  on  the  battlefield  of 
Chattanooga,  a  relic  of  the  Civil  war. 

Among  his  rare  specimens  is  a  seven-legged  pig,  preserved  in  alcohol. 
The  deer  antlers  which  deck  the  hall  are  proofs  of  the  chase.  There  is  also  ■ 
to  be  seen  a  genuine  Mexican  sombrero,  as  well  as  a  lariat  made  of  horse  hair, 
Tliese  and  many  other  rare  specimens  of  curiosity  grace  the  spacious  rooms 
of  this  country  seat.  In  the  sitting  room,  upon  the  wall,  hangs  a  large  en- 
graving of  Mr.  Doubleday  driving  a  yoke  of  oxen,  in  the  true  pioneer  style. 
These  oxen  were  twins  and  were  reared  and  broken  by  Mr.  Doubleday  and 
his  son  Hiram  on  his  farm.     This  team  of  oxen  won  the  blue  ribbon,  and 


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358  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

when  they  were  marketed  for  the  eastern  markets  they  weighed  four  thou- 
sand one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  and  were  said  by  competent  judges  to  be 
the  finest  pair  of  steers  ever  shipped  from  Michigan. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Doubleday  have  made  two  visits  to  California,  spending 
the  winter  there,  and  Mr.  Doubleday  also  went  once  with  his  brother  and 
again  alone,  so  that  he  has  four  times  visited  the  Pacific  coast.  His  political 
views  are  in  accord  with  Democratic  principles.  He  has  practically  made  his 
home  in  this  county  since  1837,  covering  a  period  of  sixty-eight  consecutive 
years.  People  of  the  present  period  can  scarcely  realize  the  struggles  and 
dangers  which  attended  the  early  settlers,  the  heroism  and  self-sacrifice  of 
lives  passed  upon  the  borders  of  civilization,  the  hardships  endured  and  the 
difficulties  overcome.  The  tales  of  the  early  days  will  be  almost  like  a  ro- 
mance to  those  who  have  known  only  the  modern  prosperity  and  convenience. 
To  the  pioneer  of  the  early  days  far  removed  from  the  privileges  and  con- 
veniences of  city  or  town,  the  struggle  for  existence  was  a  stem  and  hard 
one  and  these  men  and  women  must  have  possessed  indomitable  energy  and 
sterling  worth  of  character,  as  well  as  marked  physical  courage,  when  they 
first  voluntarily  selected  such  a  life  and  successfully  fought  its  battles  under 
such  circumstances  as  prevailed  in  the  northwest.  To  this  class  Mr.  Double- 
day  belonged,  but  unlike  many  others  he  has  been  permitted  to  see  and  enjoy 
the  present  prosperity  and  progress  of  his  adopted  county,  in  which  he  is  now 
a  most  honored  citizen. 

CHAUNCEY  M.  VAN  EVERY. 

Among  the  leading  and  highly  respected  citizens  of  Bronson,  Mich- 
igan, is  found  Chauncey  M.  Van  Every,  whose  identity  with  the  business 
activity  of  the  town  covers  several  decades. 

Mr.  Van  Every  was  born  in  Galway,  Saratoga  county,  New  York, 
May  22,  1833,  son  of  Matthias  and  Rebecca  (Crapo)  Van  Every,  the  for- 
mer a  descendant  of  Holland  ancestry  and  the  latter  of  French.  His  mother 
died  when  Chauncey  M.  was  four  years  old.  Matthias  Van  Every  was  a 
native  of  Greenbush,  New  York,  born  August  3,  1809,  and  was  engaged 
in  farming  in  that  state  until  1846,  when  he  came  to  Michigan  and  settled 
at  Coidwater,  where  for  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  foundry  business, 
and  where  he  died  at  a  ripe  old  age  in  1889.  Of  his  children  we  record 
that  a  son  Joseph,  who  served  under  General  Grant  in  the  Civil  war,  was 
killed  in  battle  at  Fort  Gibson;  a  daughter,  Rebecca  M.,  died  in  Coidwater, 
Michigan;  and  anotlier  daughter,  a  half  sister  of  Chauncey  M.,  is  a  resi- 
dent of  Saratoga  county.  New  York. 

Chauncey  M.  Van  Every  spent  the  most  of  his  boyhood  working  in 
his  father's  foundry  at  Coidwater.  His  advantages  for  obtaining  an  edu- 
cation were  limited  to  a  few  months'  schooling  during  the  year,  but  he 
made  the  best  of  his  opportunities  both  in  the  school  room  and  in  the  work- 
shop. At  the  age  of  twenty-one  we  find  him  foreman  of  a  foundry  at 
La  Fayette,  Indiana.  After  spending  several  years  in  the  foundry  business 
at  La  Fayette  and  Coidwater,  he  came  to  Bronson  and  started  a  business 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  359 

of  his  own,  which  he  conducted  twelve  years,  during  that  time  having 
several  partners.  Returning  to  Coldwater,  he  established  himself  in  a 
foundry  business  under  the  firm  name  of  C.  M.  Van  Every  and  Company. 
At  the  end  of  three  years  he  purchased  his  partner's  interest,  and  the  next 
four  years  the  business  was  conducted  under  the  name  of  C.  M.  Van  Every 
&  Sons.  In  1881  he  sold  out  and  came  back  to  Bronson,  where,  the  follow- 
ing year,  he  opened  up  a  foundry  and  machine  shop.  This  business  he  sold 
in  18S9,  and  since  that  date  has  been  engaged  in  the  real  estate  and  insur- 
ance business.     He  was  elected  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  April,  X904. 

June  ig,  1854,  in  La  Fayette,  Indiana,  Mr,  Van  Every  married  Miss 
Jennie  A.  Coffin,  a  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Pollie  (Woodworth)  Coffin. 
Of  the  six  children  born  to  them,  three,  Charles,  Fred  and  Florence,  are 
deceased;  Walter  is  a  resident  of  Bay  City,  Michigan;  Chauncey  M.,  J(., 
was  until  recently  superintendent  of  a  cement  plant  in  Bronson;  and  Clif- 
ford J.  lives  in  .Sioux  City,  Iowa. 

Mr.  Van  Every  maintains  fraternal  relations  with  the  Ancient  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons  and  for  years  has  been  one  of  the  active  workers  in 
and  stanch  supporters  of  the  Baptist  church. 

WILLIAM  M.  TYLER. 

William  M.  Tyler  is  one  of  the  prominent  old  settlers  of  Branch  county, 
having  for  many  years  been  a  witness  of  the  changes  that  have  occurred 
as  the  work  of  development  and  improvement  has  been  carried  forward. 
He  came  to  the  county  when  it  was  a  wild  district,  few  settlements  having 
been  made  within  its  borders,  but  time  and  man  have  wrought  great  changes 
and  Mr.  Tyler  is  numbered  among  those  who  has  ably  assisted  in  the  work 
of  general  improvement.  He  now  resides  on  section  14,  Batavia  township,  , 
where  he  owns  a  good  farm. 

A  native  of  New  York,  his  birth  occurred  in  Oswego  county  on  the 
gth  of  March,  1833,  and  he  represents  one  of  the  old  New  England  families. 
His  paternal  grandfather  was  Asa  Tyier,  who  was  born  in  Vermont  and 
at  an  early  day  removed  to  New  York,  where  he  followed  the  occupation 
of  farming.  His  son,  Morgan  L.  Tyler,  father  of  our  subject,  was  bom 
in  Oswego  county,  pursued  his  education  there  and  was  married  in  that 
county  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Grove,  a  native  of  New  York.  They  came  to 
Michigan  in  1837,  casting  in  their  lot  with  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Branch 
county.  Mr.  Tyler  took  up  land  from  the  government  in  Batavia  town- 
ship and  shared  in  the  hardships  of  frontier  life,  while  developing  and  im- 
proving his  farm.  He  continued  to  own  and  cultivate  that  property  up  to 
the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  when  he  was  eighty-two  years  of 
age.  He  was  a  public-spirited  man,  and  in  politics  was  an  old-line  Whig 
until  the  dissolution  of  that  party,  when  he  joined  the  ranks  of  the  new 
Republican  party.  He  served  as  supervisor  of  his  township  both  before 
and  after  the  Civil  war,  and  he  was  a  stanch  advocate  of  the  Union  and 
believed  in  the  policy  of  the  administration  during  the  period  of  hostilities. 
He  had  a  very  wide  and  favorable  acquaintance  in  the  county  and  is  num- 
bered among  the  real   founders  and  promoters  of  this  section  of  the  state 


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360  FlISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

because  of  the  helpful  part  which  he  took  in  reclaiming  the  district  for  the 
uses  of  civilization.  His  wife  died  in  Branch  county,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
eight  years.  She  was  a  daughter  of  John  Grove,  who  was  of  "  low  Dutch  " 
descent. 

In  the  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tyler  were  eight  children,  of  whom 
William  M.  Tyler  was  the  second  child  and  second  son.  He  was  four 
years  of  age  when  the  parents  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  and  in 
the  common  schools  of  Batavia  township  he  acquired  his  education. 
Through  much  of  the  year,  however,  he  assisted  his  father  in  the  work 
of  the  home  farm  and  aided  in  the  development  of  the  land  and  the  care 
of  the  crops  until  1S62,  when  he  could  content  himself  no  longer  at  home 
while  his  country's  safety  was  in  danger.  He,  therefore,  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany C^Nineteenth  Michigan  Infantry,  and  eventually  was  promoted  from 
private  to  the  rank  of  corporal  and  afterward  was  made  first  heutenant  of 
Company  E,  subsequent  fo  which  time  he  received  a  captain's  commission. 
He  participated  in  many  battles,  and  at  Spring  Hill  was  captured  and  taken 
to  Libby  prison,  but  was  afterward  paroled  and  taken  to  the  rebel  hospital, 
where  he  remained  for  thirty-six  days.  After  a  few  months  he  joined  his 
company  at  Murfreesboro,  Tennessee,  and  the  next  battle  in  which  he  par- 
ticipated was  at  Resaca,  Georgia,  where  he  sustained  a  flesh  wound  through 
the  thigh,  being  then  sent  to  the  hospital  at  Louisville.  He  rejoined  his 
regiment  on  the  day  that  Atlanta  surrendered,  and  he  afterward  took  part 
in  the  battle  of  Averysboro  and  Bentonville,  North  Carolina.  He  was  at 
Washington  and  participated  in  the  grand  review,  where  the  victorious  army 
marched  through  the  streets  of  the  city  and  passed  the  stand  on  which  the 
president  watched  the  return  of  the  country's  loyal  soldiers.  He  was  acting 
as  quartermaster  at  that  time,  and  he  received  his  honorable  discharge  at 
Detroit,  Michigan,  in  July,  1865,  after  which  he  returned  to  his  home  in 
Branch  county  and  eng-aged  in  farming. 

Mr.  Tyler  was  married  in  1865  to  Miss  Parley  J.  Holcomb,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Warren  Holcomb  and  a  native  of  New  York,  whence  she  came  with 
her  parents  to  Branch  county  about  1847.  Her  death  occurred  in  1894. 
By  this  marriage  there  were  five  children:  Morgan  L.,  of  Coldwater 
township;  Warren  H.,  who  is  living  in  Batavia  township;  Qiarles  G.,  also 
of  that  township;  Harry,  who  died  in  infancy;  and  Carl,  who  is  at  home 
with  his  father. 

Mr.  Tyler  located  on  section  sixteen,  Batavia  tonship,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  general  farming  until  1891.  He  then  sold  out  and  located,  in 
1904,  where  he  now  resides  on  section  thirteen,  Batavia  township.  He  has 
been  a  life-long  Republican  and  has  always  been  active  in  support  of  the 
party.  His  first  presidential  vote  was  cast  for  General  John  C.  Fremont, 
and  he  has  voted  for  each  presidential  candidate  since  that  time,  nor  has 
he  missed  a  public  caucus  or  election  since  the  war.  He  is  recognized  as 
one  of  the  strong  and  stalwart  supporters  of  the  party  in  his  locality,  and 
he  served  for  eleven  years  as  supervisor  of  Batavia  township,  being  the 
only  one  to  fill  the  office  for  so  long  a  term  save  one  other.  He  was  like- 
wise township  treasurer,  and  his  i>olitical  duties  have  been  discharged  in  a 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  361 

most  capable,  prompt  and  efficient  manner.  He  is  a  charter  member  of 
Biitterworth  Post  No.  109,  G.  A.  R.,  and  maintains  pleasant  relationships 
with  his  old  array  comrades,  greatly  enjoying  the  campfires.  For  sixty- 
nine  years  he  has  been  a  resident  of  Batavia  township  and  now  he  has 
retired  from  active  work,  enjoying  a  well  earned  rest  from  labor.  He  has 
passed  the  Psalmist's  span  of  three  score  years  and  ten,  having  attained 
the  age  of  seventy-two  years,  and  his  life  has  been  an  honorable  and  upright 
one,  while  in  matters  of  citizenship  he  has  ever  displayed  the  same  loyalty 
that  marked  his  career  as  a  soldier  when  on  southern  battle-fields  he  aided 
in  defense  of  the  Union. 

SAMUEL  GARDNER. 

Samuel  Gardner  is  numbered  among  the  early  settlers  of  Matteson 
township  and  is  now  following  farming  within  its  borders,  his  home  being 
on  section  eleven.  He  was  bom  in  the  state  of  New  York,  September  2, 
1835,  and  is  a  son  of  Hiram  Gardner,  who  is  represented  elsewhere  in  this 
work.  When  about  two  years  of  age  Samuel  Gardner  was  brought  by  his 
parents  to  Michigan,  the  family  home  being  established  Jn  Branch  county 
oil  the  farm  where  he  yet  resides.  Here  he  was  reared  and  his  education 
was  acquired  in  one  of  the  oM-time  log  school  houses  with  its  crude  desks 
and  benches  and  its  primitive  methods  of  instruction.  He  remained  at  home 
until  twenty-one  years  of  age,  when  he  left  the  farm  and  went  to  Illinois. 
He  thence  made  his  way  to  Kansas  and  was  absent  from  Michigan  for 
about  a  year,  after  which  he  returned  to  the  old  farm,  where  he  has  remained 
continuously  since.  He  aided  in  clearing  the  land  and  the  task  was  an 
arduous  one,  but  his  persistency  of  purpose  has  been  one  of  his  strong 
characteristics  and  in  all  of  his  farm  work  he  has  displayed  a  capability 
and  determination  that  have  been  commendable  and  have  also  been  resultant 
factors  in  his  success.  He  now  owns  one  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land, 
which  is  highly  cultivated  and  improved,  and  he  has  good  buildings  upon 
his  place  and  all  modern  equipments,  so  that  his  farm  is  in  keeping  w'ith 
a  model  property  of  the  twentieth  century. 

On  the  i6th  of  January,  1871,  Mr.  Gardner  was  united  in  marriage  to 
-Miss  Emogene  Juraph,  a  daughter  of  Erastus  Jumph,  a  fanner  of  Branch 
county.     Three  daughters  were  born  unto  them. 

On  the  37th  of  January,  1895,  Mr.  Gardner  wedded  Mrs.  Elcena 
(Green)  Smith,  the  widow  of  Seth  Smith,  a  farmer  of  Matteson  township, 
and  a  daughter  of  Benjamin  Green,  who  was  a  native  of  Jefferson  county. 
New  York.  Mrs.  Gardner  was  born  in  Brownville,  Jefferson  county,  and 
was  reared  and  married  there,  coming  to  Branch  county  in  1865.  She 
taught  school  in  Matteson  township  for  about  eight  terms  and  was  recog- 
nized as  a  capable  educator.  The  three  daughters  of  the  family  are :  Mabel, 
now  the  wife  of  C.  L.  Wood :  Grace  and  Eva.  All  were  born  and  reared 
upon  the  old  family  homestead.  Mr.  Gardner  has  always  been  a  Democrat 
and  upon  the  party  ticket  was  elected  to  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace. 
He  has  a  very  wide  acquaintance,  being  known  to  nearly  everybody  in  the 


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363  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

county,  and  those  with  whom  he  has  come  in  contact  recognize  his  genuine 
worth  and  many  good  qualities,  which  have  awakened  their  confidence,  ad- 
miration and  regard. 

JOHN  PRIDGEON,  JR. 

Upon  a  fine  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  on  section  two,  Cah- 
fornia  township,  resides  John  Pridgeon,  Jr.,  and  his  father,  John  Pridgeon, 
Sr.  The  latter  was  born  in  Detroit,  Michigan,  August  3,  1833,  and  was 
brought  to  Branch  cxjunty,  Michigan,  by  his  parents  in  1836.  His  father  was 
Joshua  Pridgeon,  a  native  of  Lincolnshire,  England,  in  which  county  the 
birth  of  Mrs.  Susan  Belle  Pridgeon,  wife  of  Joshua  Pridgeon,  also  occurred. 
They  were  married  in  England  and  soon  afterward  crossed  the  Atlantic  to 
America,  hoping  to  improve  their  financial  condition  in  the  new  world  with 
its  broader  business  opportunities.  They  settled  in  Pennsylvania,  where  they 
lived  for  a  few  years  and  then  came  to  Michigan,  arriving  in  Detroit  about 
1825.  There  they  spent  eight  years,  and  during  that  time  Joshua  Pridgeon 
came  to  Branch  county  and  entered  a  claim  from  the  government  of  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres.  In  1836  he  brought  his  family  here,  took  up  his  alxjde 
upon  his  claim  and  began  clearing  the  land.  In  connection  with  general 
farming  he  became  widely  known  as  a  stock-raiser  and  dealer.  He  was  a 
breeder  of  Devonshire  cattle  and  also  of  blooded  sheep  and  good  horses.  He 
and  his  wife  spent  their  remaining  days  upon  the  farm,  his  death  occurring 
in  1875,  while  she  passed  away  in  1884.  Tliey  were  typical  pioneer  residents, 
sharing  in  the  usual  experiences  of  life  on  the  frontier  and  extending  cordial 
hospitality  to  friend  and  stranger.  In  the  active  work  of  subduing  a  wild 
district  Mr.  Pridgeon  took  a  helpful  part  and  is  classed  with  the  pioneer 
settlers  whose  labors  have  made  possible  the  present  advanced  condition  of  the 
county.  Unto  him  and  his  wife  were  born  seven  children,  all  of  whom  reached 
years  of  maturity,  namely :  George,  who  died  in  this  county ;  Joshua,  who 
died  in  Hillsdale  county,  Michigan ;  John,  father  of  our  subject ;  Samuel, 
who  lives  in  Isabella  county,  this  state;  Abram,  a  resident  of  California  town- 
ship. Branch  county;  Isaac,  deceased;  and  Jacob,  who  is  living  in  Algansee 
township. 

John  Pridgeon,  Sr.,  was  a  little  lad  of  but  three  years  when  brought  by 
his  parents  to  Branch  county,  and  here  his  youth  was  passed  amid  pioneer  sur- 
roundings. He  lived  here  at  the  period  when  most  of  the  homes  were  log 
cabins,  when  much  of  the  land  was  covered  with  dense  timber,  and  when  the 
work  of  farming  was  carried  on  in  but  a  slight  degree.  He  was  married 
in  1858  to  Miss  Eunice  Lease,  a  native  of  California  township,  whose  father 
was  Julius  Lease,  who  came  to  the  county  in  1839,  and  whose  mother  was 
a  Diamond.  There  were  three  children  born  of  this  marriage:  Benjamin, 
who  is  now  residing  in  Seattle,  Washington;  Henry,  a  resident  of  Kalama- 
zoo, Michigan;  and  Mrs.  Emma  Lazenby,  of  Hillsdale  county.  After  the 
death  of  his  first  wife  Mr.  Pridgeon  was  again  married,  his  second  union 
being  with  Mary  Shannon.  Their  only  child  is  the  subject  of  this  review. 
The  mother  died  in  1875. 

John  Pridgeon.  Sr.,  started  out  in  life  on  his  own  account  when  twenty- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  363 

fine  years  of  age.  and  soon  afterward  purchased  his  present  farm  of  eighty 
acres.  While  paying  for  it  he  lived  at  home.  He  has  always  carried  on 
gpijeral  agricultnral  pursuits,  making  his  home  continuously  in  California 
township,  and  his  labors  have  been  rewarded  with  a  gratifying  competence. 
He  has  cleared  many  acres  of  new  land  and  has  undergone  all  the  difficulties 
incident  to  the  establishment  of  a  home  on  the  frontier.  He  saw  the  first 
school  house  built  in  the  township  and  he  lived  here  when  there  were  no  roads 
aside  from  the  old  Indian  trails.  He  went  forty  miles  to  rail!  and  also  a 
long  distance  to  market,  but  the  early  settlers  depended  largely  upon  what 
they  could  raise  upon  their  farms,  having  few  of  the  conveniences  and  com- 
forts which  are  now  regarded  as  essential  at  this  present  period  of  our  modern 
civilization.  In  community  affairs  he  has  been  deeply  and  helpfully  interested 
and  has  served  as  highway  commissioner.  His  memory  forms  a  connecting 
link  between  the  primitive  past  and  the  progressive  present  and  he  relates 
many  interesting  incidents  of  the  early  days  when  the  mode  of  life  was  very 
dissimilar  to  that  of  the  present  time.  In  his  farm  work  he  used  crude  ma- 
chinery, much  of  the  labor  of  tilling  the  fields  and  caring  for  the  crops  being 
done  by  hand, 

John  Pridgeon,  Jr.,  was  born  June  26,  1872,  upon  the  farm  where  he  yet 
resides,  and  it  has  been  his  home  continuously  since.  Under  his  father's 
direction  he  worked  in  the  fields  and  his  education  was  acquired  in  the  district 
schools.  On  the  ,31st  of  January,  1891,  he  wedded  Miss  Mollie  Kimmell, 
who  was  born  in  rMiance  county,  Ohio,  on  the  2d  of  January,  1873.  Her 
father,  Columbus  Kimmeil,  was  bom  in  Richland  county,  Ohio,  in  April, 
1832,  and  was  of  German  descent.  He' wedded  Mary  Dean,  who  was  born 
in  Richland  county  in  November,  1841.  He  had  lived  in  Ohio  until  about 
1886,  and  then  removed  to  Hillsdale  county,  Michigan,  where  hoth  he  and 
his  wife  now  reside.  They  became  the  parents  of  eight  children,  four  of 
whom  are  now  living:  Joseph.  I.  W.  and  Maude,  all  residents  of  Hillsdale 
county;  and  Mrs.  Pridgeon.  John  and  Mollie  (Kimmell)  Pridgeon  have 
four  children:  Glenn  D..  Lester  A.,  William  Harold  and  Mary  W.,  con- 
stituting a  bright  and  interesting  family.  Mr.  Pridgeon  belongs  to  the  Cali- 
fornia Tent  of  Maccabees,  while  his  wife  affiliates  with  the  Ladies  of  the 
Maccabees.  He  is- a  representative  of  one  of  the  oldest  families  of  the  town- 
ship, and  the  work  which  was  begun  by  his  grandfather  and  continued  by  his 
father  is  still  being  carried  on  by  him.  The  name  of  Pridgeon  has  long 
stood  for  agricultural  progress  and  loyal  citizenship  and  the  subject  of  this 
re\'iew  is  a  worthy  representative  of  the  family. 

IRA  D.  JOHNSON- 

Ira  D.  Johnson,  one  of  the  well  known  and  highly  esteemed  business 
men  of  Coldwater  and  Branch  county,  has  spent  the  greater  part  of  his 
life  here  and  is  known  as  an  upright,  reliable  and  capable  man.  possessing 
the  regard  and  confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens.  He  gives  his  time  and 
attention  to  the  operation  of  a  flour  mill  at  Branch,  a  few  miles  west  of  the 
city  of  Coldwater,  and  has  made  it  a  profitable  industry. 


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364  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Mr.  Johnson  is  a  native  of  Huron  county,  Ohio,  where  he  was  born 
October  17,  1847,  and  both  his  paternal  and  matemal  ancestors  were  resi- 
dents of  the  Empire  state.  His  father,  Dr.  Lewis  Johnson,  was  a  native 
of  Greene  county,  New  York,  born  December  .11,  1820,  while  the  mother, 
who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Emily  Bainbridge,  was  born  in  the  state  of 
New  York,  February  15,  1825.  They  were  married  in  Huron  county,  Ohio, 
May  28,  1840,  and  there  resided  until  the  spring  of  1866,  when  they  came 
to  Michigan,  where  their  remaining  days  were  passed.  They  were  the 
parents  of  four  children,  all  of  whom  grew  to  manhood  and  womanhood, 
namely:  Mrs.  Adeline  Purdy,  who  was  born  March  26,  1841.  and  died 
in  Tarrytown,  New  York,  in  June,  1886;  Ira  D.,  of  this  review;  Mrs.  Jennie 
Kennedy,  who  was  bom  March  3,  1S61.  and  is  a  resident  of  the  city  of 
Coldwater;  and  Loren  H.,  who  was  born  March  23,  1851,  and  is  now  living 
in  Idaho.  The  father.  Dr.  Lewis  Johnson,  engaged  in  the  practice  of  med- 
icine in  Ohio  for  a  number  of  years,  and  after  coming  to  Michigan  entered 
the  ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  for  some  years  devoted 
his  time  to  preaching  the  gospel.  He  also  carried  on  farming  during  that 
period,  living  at  different  times  in  Butler,  Quincy  and  Coldwater  townships, 
Branch  county.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  intellectual  endowments  and  lib- 
eral education  and  his  influence  was  a  potent  element  for  good  in  the  various 
communities  in  which  he  made  his  home.  Throughout  Branch  county  and 
wherever  he  was  known  he  was  held  in  the  highest  esteem,  and  his  death, 
which  occurred  June  16,  1904,  was  deeply  deplored  by  many  who  knew 
hira,  and  who  still  cherish  his  memory.  His  wife  passed  away  May  26, 
1899. 

Ira  D.  Johnson  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  youth  in  the  county  of 
his  nativity,  and  when  about  nineteen  years  of  age  came  with  his  parents 
to  Micliigan.  He  was  reared  upon  the  home  farm  and  has  followed  agri- 
cultural pursuits  for  many  years,  although  at  the  same  time  he  has  engaged 
in  various  other  business  interests.  In  his  early  manhood  he  learned  the 
cabinetmaker's  trade,  to  which  he  has  since  devoted  considerable  attention. 
In  1871  he  went  to  the  west,  remaining  in  Iowa  and  Nebraska  until  1890. 
Not  long  after  he  took  up  his  abode  in  the  west  he  met  and  married  Miss 
Mary  Irene  Card,  the  wedding-  being  celebrated  on  the  loth  of  September, 
1873.  She  was  born  in  Broome  county.  New  York,  April  9,  1S54,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Ezra  and  Lucy  (Stoughton)  Card,  both  of  whom-  were  natives  of 
Broome  county.  They  were  married  there  and  became  the  parents  of  four 
children:  Mrs.  Ellen  M.  Bartholomew,  a  resident  of  Missouri;  Mason  L. 
Card,  who  is  living  in  Tacoma,  Washington ;  Clayton  Card,  who  makes  his 
home  in  Grinnell,  Iowa;  and  Mrs.  Johnson,  of  this  review.  The  Card 
family  removed  from  the  state  of  New  York  to  Wisconsin  in  1850,  and 
afterward  remained  in  the  middle  west,  Mrs.  Card  dying  in  Iowa,  in  April, 
1873,  while  Mr.  Card  passed  away  there  in  1880. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ira  Johnson  have  been  born  five  children:  Loren 
L,  Johnson,  born  May  5,  1875,  and  now  residing  in  Coldwater,  was  mar- 
ried in  Quincy,  Michigan,  April  10,  1901,  to  Miss  Zae  Parkinson.  They 
have  one  son,  Darrell,  who  was  born  June  20,   1905.     Harry  E.  Johnson, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  365 

the  second  son,  born  February  8,  1878.  was  married  November  15,  1899, 
to  Miss  Ethel  Chase,  and  their  home  is  in  Bafavia,  this  county.  They  have 
two  children,  Chase,  born  December  27,  1900,  and  Ira  Dean,  born  April 
i:;,  1903.  Jennie  M.  Johnson,' born  December  27,  1879,  is  at  home.  Irene 
E.  Tohnson,  born  November  5,  1886,  died  September  8,  1887.  Lloyd  C, 
who  completes  the  family,  was  born  October  16,  i8gg,  and  is  with  his  par- 
ents. 

Since  1S99  Mr.  Johnson  has  owned  and  opei-ated  the  flouring  mill  at 
Branch,  a  few  miles  west  of  Coldwater.  This  property  has  been  placed  in 
excellent  shape  and  Mr.  Johnson  has  built  up  a  fine  trade,  owing  to  the 
satisfactory  product  of  the  mill  and  his  straightforward  business  dealings. 
The  mill  is  equipped  with  modem  machinery  and  is  provided  with  both 
water  and  steam  power,  the  latter  being  required  only  occasionally.  TTie 
Branch  mill  has  been  long  in  operation,  but  it  has  never  been  more  popular 
with  the  general  public  than  under  the  present  management,  and  the  busi- 
ness is  now  proving  profitable,  returning  to  Mr.  Johnson  and  his  family  a 
comfortable  living.     They  occupy  a  pleasant  home  near  the  mill. 

Mr.  Johnson  has  frequently  been  called  upon  to  fill  positions  of  public 
tnist  and  responsibility.  He  has  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  for  several 
terms,  both  in  Michigan  and  Nebraska,  and  has  been  a  sch'ool  officer  for 
many  years.  He  likewise  belongs  to  the  Grange,  and  both  he  and  his  wife 
are  consistent  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  has  a  wide 
acquaintance  in  Branch  county  and  stands  high  in  the  esteem  of  his  fellow- 
men,  because  of  his  well  known  fidelity  to  every  cause  he  espouses  and  his 
allegiance  to  honorable,  manly  principles. 

WILLIAM  ADDISON  STANTON. 

William  Addison  Stanton,  following  farming  on  section  three,  Sher- 
wood township,  was  born  on  section  nine  of  this  township  on  the  12th  of 
September,  1836,  and  is  undoubtedly  the  oldest  native  son  of  Branch  county 
now  living  within  its  borders.  His  memory  forms  a  connecting  link  be- 
tween the  primitive  past  and  the  progressive  present.  He  is  famihar  with 
all  the  history  of  developmicnt  and  progress  here,  and  what  to  many  are 
matters  of  record  are  to  him  occurrences  of  which  he  has  been  a  witness 
or  a  participant.  His  father,  John  Stanton,  was  a  native  of  New  York,  and 
with  his  family  arrived  in  Branch  county  in  the  spring  of  1836,  locating 
on  section  nine,  Sherwood  township,  where  he  secured  a  tract  of  raw  land. 
Not  a  furrow  had  been  tiirned  or  an  improvement  made  on  the  place,  but 
he  at  once  began  to  clear  the  fields  for  cultivation  and  in  due  time  har- 
vested rich  crops.  He  was  among  the  first  settlers  of  the  county  and  he 
aided  materially  in  the  pioneer  development  and  later  improvement  of  this 
section  of  the  state.  He  married  Susan  Waldron,  also  a  native  of  New 
York,  and  his  death  occurred  in  his  fifty-third  year,  while  his  wife  lived 
to  be  sixty-six  years  of  age.  They  were  the  parents  of  twelve  children,  ot 
whom  William  A,  is  the  youngest,  and  only  three  are  now  living,  the  sisters 
being  Clarissa  and  Lydia,  the  former  the  wife  of  Oscar  Lincoln  of  Union 
township. 


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366  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

William  A.  Stanton  was  reared  in  Sherwood  township  and  attended 
school  held  in  a  little  log  building  furnished  after  the  primitive  manner  of 
the  times.  The  curriculum,  too,  was  very  limited,  the  pupils  gaining  scarcely 
more  than  a  knowledge  of  reading,  writing  and  arithmetic,  although  gram- 
mar and  geography  were  also  taught.  Experience  and  observ-ation,  how- 
ever, have  greatly  broadened  the  mind  of  Mr.  Stanton  and  his  reading  has 
kept  him  in  touch  with  the  progress  of  the  world.  In  early  manhood  he 
and  his  brother  Edward,  now  deceased,  began  operating  the  old  homestead 
farm  together,  and  continued  its  develc^ment  until  1868,  when  they  divided 
the  land.  In  the  meantime  they  had  added  four  hundred  and  twenty  acres. 
They  purchased  the  farm  now  valued  at  sixteen  thousand  dollars  for  one 
thousand  dollars  and  borrowed  the  money  with  which  to  make  the  pur- 
chase. The  tract,  comprising  three  hundred  and  fifty-six  acres,  was  all 
paid  for  within  six  years'  timC;  and  when  the  brothers  divided  this  property 
William  A.  Stanton  retained  possession  of  the  three  hundred  and  fifty-six 
acres,  while  his  brother  to<:4:  the  four  hundred  and  twenty  acre  tract.  The 
subject  of  this  review  continued  genera!  farming  upon  his  place  until  1884. 
when  he  located  on  a  farm  in  Union  township,  his  son  continuing  upon  the 
old  homestead.  He  then  remained  a  resident  of  Union  township  until  1904, 
when  he  returned  to  the  other  farm.  He  is  now  the  owner  of  five  hundred 
and  ninety-six  acres  of  valuable  land,  all  of  which  lies  in  Branch  county 
with  the  exception  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  in  Calhoun  county.  He 
sold  one  farm  m  Calhoun  county  in  1902  for  twelve  thousand  dollars  cash. 
He  has  been  a  stock  buyer,  shipping  horses  to  Boston,  New  York,  Buffalo, 
Chicago,  and  other  large  cities,  and  has  been  very  successful  in  this  line  of 
business. 

In  i860  William  A.  Stanton  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Susan 
Robinson,  a  daughter  of  Elijah  and  Fannie  (Blodgett)  Robinson.  She 
was  born  in  New  York  and  was  brought  by  her  parents  to  Branch  county 
when  a  little  maiden  of  five  summers.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stanton  have  become 
the  parents  of  six  children :  Grove,  now  deceased ;  Guy,  a  speculator  of 
Union  township;  Gay,  who  is  engaged  in  dealing  in  horses  in  Union  town- 
ship; Gar,  of  Jackson,  Michigan;  Effie,  the  wife  of  C.  H.  Johnson,  a  music 
teacher;  and  Gib  W.,  at  home. 

Mr.  Stanton  has  been  a  life-long  Republican,  voting  for  every  presi- 
dential nominee  of  the  party.  He  has  held  some  local  offices,  but  has  never 
aspired  to  political  preferment,  desiring  rather  to  concentrate  his  energies 
upon  his  business  affairs,  in  which  he  has  met  with  signal  success.  He  has 
watched  Branch  county  develop  from  a  wild  county  with  only  a  few  white 
inhabitants,  to  a  rich  agricultural  district  containing  thousands  of  good 
homes  and  many  enterprising  towns  inhabited  by  industrious,  prosperous, 
enlightened  and  progressive  people.  He  has  participated  in  and  assisted 
the  slow,  persistent  work  of  developmait  which  was  necessary  to  produce 
the  wonderful  change  that  has  been  wrought,  and  at  all  times  his  aid  has 
been  counted  upon  in  matters  of  progressive  citizenship.  That  he  has  pros- 
pered is  indicated  by  his  valuable  landed  possessions  at  the  present  time, 
and  his  success  is  the  merited  tribute  of  his  own  labor. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


THOMAS  P.  EVENS. 

Thomas  P.  Evens,  who  is  probably  the  oldest  living  resident  of  Butler 
township  in  years  of  continued  connection  therewith,  was  born  in  Newstead, 
Erie  county,  New  York,  on  the  24th  of  December,  1834,  his  parents  being 
Charles  and  Hannah  (Edmonds)  Evens,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of 
New  York,  in  which  state  they  were  married.  They  were  the  parents  of 
three  children  when  they  came  to  Michigan  in  July,  1837.  The  mother 
had  been  married  twice  previous  to  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Evens,  her  first 
husband  being  a  Mr.  Holmes,  who  died  in  the  Empire  state,  and  by  whom 
she  had  four  daughters :  Mrs.  Lucinda  Mills,  Mrs.  Amanda  White,  Mrs. 
Caroline  Bennett  and  Mrs.  Louise  Lampman,  all  of  whom  became  residents 
of  Branch  county.  Her  second  husband  was  a  Mr.  Wright,  and  after  his 
death  she  married  Ciiarles  Evens.  They  were  among  the  first  New  York 
state  people  to  locate  in  Branch  county,  and  after  a  residence  of  four  years 
here  Mr.  Evens  returned  to  the  Empire  state,  where  he  soon  afterward 
died.  Their  children  were:  Hiram,  who  was  a  soldier  of  the  Civil  war 
-and  died  in  Savannah,  Georgia,  in  1864;  and  Thomas  P.,  of  this  review. 
Mrs.  Evens  passed  away  in  Quincy,  Michigan,  in  1868. 

Thomas  P.  Evens  was  reared  to  manhood  among  pioneer  surround- 
ings in  Butler  township  and  has  here  since  lived,  having  been  only  three 
years  of  age  when  brought  to  Branch  county  by  his  parents.  He  acquired 
his  education  in  the  public  schools  and  early  became  familiar  with  the  labors 
of  the  farm.  After  attaining  his  majority  he  was  married,  March  31,  i860, 
at  Hillsdale,  Michigan,  to  Miss  Frances  J.  Turner,  who  was  born  in  the 
state  of  New  York,  September  22,  1843,  a  daughter  of  Royal  Turner,  a 
native  of  Connecticut,  who  served  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  whose  wife  bore  . 
the  maiden  name  of  Julia  A.  Hubbard.  Mr.  Turner,  whose  birth  occurred 
in  1788,  passed  away  in  Butler  on  the  i8th  of  October,  1864,  and  his  wife 
died  in  October,  1901,  the  county  thus  losing  two  of  its  honored  pioneer 
settlers.  The  Turners  became  residents  of  Jackson  county,  Michigan,  at 
an  early  day,  but  afterward  returned  to  New  York,  and  in  May,  1854, 
became  permanent  residents  of  Branch  county,  Michigan,  where  Mr.  Turner 
purchased  land  on  section  twenty-nine,  Butler  township.  He  afterward 
devoted  his  remaining  days  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  was  regarded  as 
one  of  the  prominent  and  valued  citizens  of  the  community.  In  his  family 
were  the  following  named  sons  and  daughters:  Josephine,  who  died  in 
Jackson  county,  Michigan,  in  infancy;  Jerome,  who  was  a  member  of  the 
United  States  navy  during  the  Civil  war,  and  died  in  the  '60s;  William, 
who  is  living  in  Girard;  Mrs.  Julia  Gee,  who  died  in  Butler  township  in 
i860;  Mrs.  Frances  Evens;  and  George  W.  Turner,  who  is  living  in  Butler. 

The  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evens  has  been  blessed  with  one  son,  M. 
L.  Evens,  who  was  horn  in  Butler,  February  24,  1865.  He  was  reared 
to  manhood  on  the  home  farm  and  acquired  a  hterary  education,  including 
a  course  of  study  in  Hillsdale  College  at  Hillsdale,  Michigan.  On  the 
31st  of  December.  1890,  he  wedded  Miss  Kittie  Willard,  of  Butler.  He  is 
now  general  agent  in  western  Michigan  for  the  Lamb  Fence  Company,  of 


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368  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Adrian,  Michigan,  and  travels  most  of  the  time,  although  he  still  operates 
the  home  farm  in  Butler.  He  is  considered  one  of  the  expert  fence  men 
of  the  state,  having  a  splendid  record  for  large  sales.  He  makes  his  home 
in  Coldwater. 

Thomas  P.  Evens  has  probably  resided  longer  in  Butler  township  than 
any  other  resident,  practically  his  entire  life  being  passed  here.  His  identi- 
fication therewith  covers  sixty-eight  years,  and  he  has  therefore  been  a 
witness  of  almost  the  entire  growth  and  development  of  the  county,  his 
mind  forming  a  connecting  link  between  the  primitive  past  and  the  pro- 
gressive present.  He  is  a  man  whom  it  is  a  pleasure  to  know,  being  intelli- 
gent and  progressive,  and  though  his  educational  privileges  in  youth  were 
limited  his  native  intelligence  and  attainments  have  made  him  one  of  the 
well  informed  men  of  his  community.  He  is  a  forceful  speaker  and  has  the 
courage  of  his  convictions  and  his  loyalty  to  bis  friends  and  the  principles 
he  espouses  is  one  of  his  strong  and  salient  characteristics.  In  politics  he 
has  been  an  ardent  Republican  since  the  organization  of  the  party,  and  is 
regarded  as  an  authority  on  political  questions  in  this  part  of  the  county. 
He  attended  the  first  election  in  Butler  township  and  has  missed  but  one 
since  then.  He  always  attends  the  primaries  and  never  misses  a  Repub- 
lican county  convention,  almost  invariably  going  as  a  delegate.  His  first 
presidential  vote  was  cast  for  Fremont  in  1856.  He  was  chosen  highway 
commissioner  of  Butler  township  in  1858,  and  has  since  held  the  office  much 
of  the  time.  He  has  been  constable  for  numerous  terms,  as  well  as  deputy 
sheriff  of  the  county,  and  in  all  life's  relations  is  found  true  to  the  trust 
reposed  in  him. 

GEORGE  GREENWOOD. 

George  Greenwood,  of  Coldwater.  was  born  on  the  12th  of  August, 
1833.  near  Manchester,  England,  and  pursued  his  education  at  a  place 
called  Rochdale.  He  enjoyed  the  advantages  afforded  by  the  district  schools, 
and  when  he  had  put  aside  his  text-books  he  learned  the  weaver's  trade. 
Following  that  pursuit  he  also  filled  the  position  of  timekeeper,  and  to 
those  lines  of  business  he  owed  his  living  in  early  life. 

Before  leaving  his  native  country  Mr.  Greenwood  was  married,  on  the 
7th  of  September,  1857,  to  Miss  Harriet  Taylor,  who  died  in  this  country 
about  six  months  after  their  emigration  to  America,  passing  away  in  1863. 
She  left  one  daughter,  Amanda,  who  died  March  12,  1904.  On  the  28th 
of  April,  1864,  Mr.  Greenwood  was  again  married,  his  second  union  being 
with  Deborah  Mountford,  who  was  born  in  New  Castle,  Stratfordshire, 
England,  on  the  7th  of  October,  1836.  She  was  reared  in  the  land  of  her 
nativity  until  tw^enty-five  years  of  age  and  came  to  America  with  an  uncle. 
She  has  been  a  resident  of  Coldwater  for  forty-three  years  and  is  one  of 
the  well  known  citizens  here.  In  1875  her  uncle  died  and  left  her  a  con- 
siderable legacy.  This  she  gladly  put  into  her  husband's  hands,  to  be  used 
by  him  in  his  business,  and  Mr.  Greenwood  gratefully  acknowledges  how 
much  he  owes  for  his  success  to  his  wife's  generous  and  wise  co-operation. 

Mr.  Greenwood  arrived  in  America  in  1862  and  took  up  his  abode  of 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  369 

Xorth  Monroe  street  when  he  came  to  this  city.  Here  he  worked  at  any 
employment  that  would  yield  him  an  honest  living  and  later,  when  his 
industry  and  fnigahty  had  brought  to  him  some  capital,  he  engaged  in  the 
bakery  business,  which  he  followed  until  1879.  Since  that  time  he  has 
been  connected  with  various  business  enterprises,  and  he  now  owns  several 
valuable  tracts  of  land  in  Branch  coimty  and  also  property  in  the  city, 
including  three  store  buildings  and  three  dwellings.  He  has  thus  placed 
his  money  in  the  safest  of  all  investments — real  estate — and  the  rental  from 
his  property  now  brings  him  a  good  income. 

Mr.  Greenwood  has  served  as  a  member  of  the  city  council  for  two 
years,  and  has  always  given  his  political  support  to  the  Republican  party. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church  of  Coldwater  and  has  belonged  to 
the  choir  since  1863.  He  is  deeply  interested  in  everything  pertaining  to 
the  gi'owtli  of  the  church  and  the  extension  of  its  influence,  and  has  mani- 
fested a  helpful  part  in  promoting  improvement  and  upbuilding  along  various 
lines  here.  Since  coming  to  this  country  he  has  won  the  proud  American 
title  of  a  self-made  man,  for  he  had'uo  capital  when  he  reached  Coldwater, 
-He  possessed,  however,  strong  determination,  laudable  ambition  and  unfal- 
tering energy,  and  he  has  steadily  worked  his  way  upward.  His  business 
career  has  ever  been  straightforward,  and  though  he  has  met  many  reverses 
and  obstacles  he  has  overcome  these  by  determined  effort.  His  industry 
has  been  the  key  which  has  unlocked  the  portals  of  success  and  now,  in 
the  evening  of  life,  he  is  in  possession  of  valuable  property  interests  which 
cl;!ss  him  with  the  substantial  residents  of  his  adopted  country. 

CHARLES  A.  TOMPKINS. 

The  name  of  Tompkins  is  inseparably  associated  with  the  history  of 
Girard  township,  as  members  of  this  family  were  among  the  very  first  set- 
ders  of  this  section  to  come  from  New  York  state  and  participate  in  the 
subduing  of  the  wilderness.  Although  the  elder  generation  of  these  pio- 
neers has  with  but  one  exception,  Mrs.  Mary  Marsh  Tompkins,  passed 
a\Aay,  nevertheless  many  of  their  descendants  still  reside  here  and  are  enjoy- 
ing the  privileges  and  benefits  so  bravely  struggled  for  by  their  parents 
and  grandparents. 

Three  brothers  of  the  Tompkins  family,  which  had  lived  in  New  York 
^iate  for  many  generations  previously,  came  to  Michigan  in  the  thirties, 
their  names  being  James.  Abram  and  Moses  Tompkins.  James  was  the 
first  of  the  Tompkins  family  to  be  attracted  by  the  middle  west,  and  he 
arrived  here  several  years  before  his  brothers.  Elsewhere  in  this  volume 
■\  complete  account  is  given  of  his  participation  in  the  early  development 
and  history  of  this  region.  Abram  was  also  a  pioneer  here,  although  he 
\\^ent  to  Iowa  in  an  early  day.  In  that  state  he  grew  to  prominence,  repre- 
senting his  county  in  the  state  legislature  and  filling  many  other  important 
of[lce.=.  He  passed  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  Iowa,  where  many  of  his 
direct  descendants  still  live. 

The  other  brother,    Moses   Tompkins,    was   bom    in    Schoharie,    Scho- 


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870  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

harie  county,  New  York,  April  8,  1814,  and  he  passed  his  early  life  there, 
where  he  also  grew  to  manhood.  He  was  married  there  to  Mary  Marsh, 
a  native  of  Schenectady  connty,  where  she  was  born  June  20,  1818,  her 
parents  being  Charles  Marsh  and  Mary  Eddy,  Her  fatlier  was  a  native 
of  that  county,  while  her  mother  was  bom  in  Chenango  county,  that  state. 
They  passed  their  entire  lives  in  the  Empire  state,  although  many  o£  their 
children  went  into  the  west. 

The  marriage  of  Moses  Tompkins  and  Mary  Marsh  was  consummated 
in  Schenectady  county,  June  2,  1838,  and  very  soon  thereafter  they  joined 
the  stream  of  emigration  to  Michigan,  coming  here  the  same  year.  For 
two  years  they  lived  at  Girard  Center,  and  then  they  removed  to  section 
fifteen,  Girard  township,  where  Mr.  Tompkins  purchased  forty  acres  of 
land  which  was  almost  wholly  uncleared.  Here  the  young  couple  made 
for  themselves  a  comfortable  home,  here  they  reared  a  family  and  here  it 
was  that  Mr.  Tompkins  died  January  29,  1879,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five 
years.  While  a  resident  of  New  York  state  he  learned  and  followed  the 
trade  of  painter,  a  vocation  which  he  also  followed  some  after  coming  to 
Michigan,  although  here  he  was  also  always  a  farmer.  During  his  resi- 
dence here  he  was  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Girard,  standing  high  in 
the  regard  of  his  fellow  townsmen.  He  held  a  number  of  minor  offices  and 
was  also,  in  1847  ^"d  in  1850,  treasurer  of  the  township  of  Girard.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Tompkins  were  for  many  years  members  and  active  workers  in 
the  Free  Will  Baptist  society. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Moses  Tompkins  had  four  children,  two  sons  and  two 
daughters,  all  of  whom  grew  to  manhood  and  womanhood.  One  son,  Julius 
M.  Tompkins,  was  born  January  24,  1S42.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil 
war  he  enlisted  in  Company  C,  of  the  Seventeenth  Michigan  Infantry,  and 
was  killed  at  Spottsylvania  Courthouse,  in  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness,  May 

12,  1864.  Marcia  and  Delphine  Tompkins,  the  two  daughters,  were  horn 
in  Girard  and  now  live  with  their  mother  and  brother  upon  the  old  home- 
stead.    Charles  A.  Tompkins,  the  other  son,  was  born  in  Girard,  October 

13,  1840,  and  his  entire  life  has  ben  passed  here,  with  the  exception  of  the 
period  of  his  service  in  the  Civil  war.  He  enlisted  September  16,  1861,  in 
Company  E,  First  Michigan  Infantry,  and  served  during  the  full  term  of 
his  enlistment— three  years.  He  was  wounded  three  times  and  received 
his  honorable  discharge  October  30,  :864.  Since  the  war  he  has  followed 
farming  as  a  vocation  and  is  now  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and  twelve 
acres  of  fine  farming  land  on  sections  fourteen  and  fifteen,  Girard  township. 
He  was  township  treasurer  in  1866,  and  he  is  considered  as  one  of  the 
solid  and  substantial  citizens  of  the  town  and  courity.  Fraternally  he  is 
affiliated  with  Butterworth  Post  No.   109,  of  Coldwater. 

Mr.  Tompkins,  his  aged  mother  and  his  two  sisters  occupy  the  old 
homestead  on  section  fifteen,  where  they  have  a  comfortable  home.  Mrs. 
Mary  Tompkins,  although  past  eighty-seven  years  of  age,  is  physically  as 
active  and  as  alert  mentally  as  most  people  of  one-half  her  age.  She  still 
insists  upon  performing  her  share  of  the  ordinary  household  duties,  and 
she  possesses  an  entertaining  fund  of  remmiscence,  her  memory  serving  her 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  3T1 

well,  as  relating  to  the  many  stirring  incidents  of  the  pioneer  days.  She 
is  one  of  the  very  few  pioneers  of  this  section  remaining  with  us  to-day, 
and  she  is  passing  her  remaining  days  in  the  company  of  her  children, 
happy  in  the  consciousness  of  an  industrious  and  useful  life,  well  spent. 
The  old  homestead  on  section  fifteen  is  held  jointly  by  members  of  the 
family,  and  nearly  their  entire  lives  have  been  passed  thereon. 

JOSEPH  W.  McCAUSEY. 

Joseph  W,  McCausey,  president  of  the  Union  City  National  Bank,  whose 
intense  and  well  directed  activity  has  made  him  a  prominent  factor  in  business 
circles  in  Branch  county,  was  born  in  Ira  township,  Cayuga  county.  New 
York,  his  natal  day  being  July  i6.  1854.  His  father,  Thomas  C.  McCausey, 
was  bom  in  Washington  county.  New  York,  and  was  a  farmer  by  occupation. 
Thinking  to  better  his  financial  condition  in  the  west  he  came  to  Branch 
county  in  1863,  settling  in  Union  township,  where  he  carried  on  farming 
until  he  put  aside  active  business  cares.  He  was  a  consistent  and  faithful 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  in  his  life  he  displayed  many 
of  the  sterling  characteristics  of  his  Scotch  ancestry.  He  married  Elsie  A. 
Hardenburgh,  who  was  born  near  Port  Byron,  New  York.  His  death 
occurred  on  September  27,  1904,  when  he  was  eighty-one  years  of  age,  and 
his  widow  is  now  living  at  the  age  of  eighty-one.  They  were  the  parents  of 
three  children,  two  sons  and  a  daughter. 

Joseph  W.  McCausey,  the  youngest  of  the  family,  was  but  nine  years 
of  age  when  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Branch  county.  He  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  here  and  in  the  State  Nornial  School,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  with  the  class  of  1873.  He  afterward  engaged  in  teaching 
for  three  terms  in  the  district  schools  of  Branch  county  and  later  gave  his 
attention  to  farming  in  Union  township,  but  thinking  that  he  would  find 
other  pursuits  more  congenial  in  1880  he  secured  a  position  as  bookkeeper 
in  the  Union  City  National  Bank,  serving  in  that  capacity  for  a  year  and  a 
half.  In  December,  1882,  he  went  to  Quincy  as  cashier  of  the  First  National 
B;ink,  there  remaining  until  1883,  when  he  returned  to  Union  City  to  become 
cashier  of  the  Union  City  National  Bank.  He  thus  served  until  the  death 
of  Ezra  Bostwick  in  1895  and  in  January,  1896,  he  was  elected  to  the  presi- 
dency and  has  since  remained  at  the  head  of  the  institution.  A  safe, 
conservative  policy  was  inaugurated  and  has  always  been  followed.  Mr. 
McCausey,  because  of  his  long  connection  with  the  banking  business,  is 
thoroughly  familiar  with  it  in  every  department  and  much  of  its  success  is 
directly  attributable  to  his  efforts.  He  has  always  been  interested  in  the 
lumber  business,  being  connected  with  the  Union  City  Lumber  Company 
as  treasurer,  the  principal  office  being  at  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan.  He  is 
likewise  connected  with  A.  J.  Beyor  in  the  lumber  business  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  state  and  is  treasurer  of  the  Northwestern  Lumber  Company 
operating  in  Wisconsin.  He  is  thus  associated  with  commercial  and  indus- 
trial interests  of  importance  and  is  widely  recognized  as  a  man  of  superior 
business  discernment,  executive  force  and  unfaltering  enterprise. 

In    1883  occurred  the  marriage  of  Joseph  W.   McCausey  and  Miss 


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372  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Rebecca  A.  Sager,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Sager,  of  Kalamazoo  county,  Michi- 
gan. They  now  liave  three  children:  Elsie  T.,  ITiomas  W.  and  Maty  Louise. 
Mrs.  McCausey  is  a  native  of  Michigan,  bom  in  CHniax,  Kalamazoo  county. 
May.  29,  1855,  ^  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Mary  (Foote)  Sager.  Her  parents 
are  both  deceased.  Mrs.  McCausey  is  a  lady  of  more  than  ordinary  educa- 
tion and  culture.  She  is  a  graduate  of  the  Kalamazoo  High  School  in  the 
class  of  1876,  and  was  one  of  the  successful  and  meritorious  educators  in  her 
native  state,  having  been  in  the  profession  for  nine  years.  She  had 
taught  school' prior  to  her  graduation.  For  five  years  she  was  one  of  the 
teachers  of  the  Union  City  Public  Schools,  and  also  taught  in  Manistee, 
Michigan.  Mr.  and  Mrs,  McCausey  have  taken  due  pride  in  the  education 
of  their  children.  Elsie  T.  is  a  graduate  of  the  Union  City  public  schools, 
and  is  now  a  junior  in  Weliesley  College.  Thomas  J.  W.  is  a  graduate  of 
the  class  of  1904  in  the  Union  City  schools,  and  is  now  a  student  at  the 
well  known  Ferris  Institute,  in  Big  Rapids.  Michigan.  Mary  Louise  also 
graduated  in  the  class  of  1904  at  Union  City  public  schools  and  is  now  a 
freshman  m  'Wellesley  College.  Mrs.  McCausey  is  a  devoted  member  of  the 
First  Congr^;ational  church  at  Union  City,  Michigan,  and  is  superintendent 
of  the  Sunday  School,  having  officiated  as  such  for  years.  Mr.  McCausey 
has  been  a  b'fe-long  Republican  and  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  work 
of  the  party,  his  labors  proving  an  important  factor  in  molding  the  policy 
of  the  party  and  in  securing  its  success  in  Branch  county.  He  was  supervisor 
of  his  township  in  1880,  i88j  and  1882,  and  resigned  at  the  time  of  his 
removal  to  Quincy.  He  was  also  school  commissioner  for  several  years  and 
is  now  serving  on  the  town  council  and  on  the  school  board  of  Union  City, 
being  an  incumbent  in  the  latter  office  sinte  taking  up  his  abode  here.  A 
prominent  Mason,  he  has  attained  the  Knight  Templar  degree  and  he  is 
also  a  member  of  the  Mystic  Shrine  and  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Work- 
men. He  belongs  to  the  First  Congregational  church,  has  served  as  one 
of  its  trustees  for  many  years,  is  now  its  treasurer  and  is  one  of  its  most 
active  and  helpful  workers.  For  forty  years  he  has  resided  in  Branch  county, 
a  period  which  has  witnessed  rapid  growth  and  substantial  development  here. 
This  result  has  been  produced  by  the  united  efforts  of  many  able  men  but 
probably  no  single  individual  has  done  more  for  the  development  of  Union 
City  than  Mr.  McCausey,  yet  in  a  quiet,  unostentatious  way.  In  manner 
he  is  courteous  and  pleasant,  winning  friends  by  his  genial  disposition  and 
honorable  character  which  command  the  respect  of  all.  In  every  relation 
of  life  he  has  been  faithful  and  true,  and  in  his  work  of  public  and  private 
nature,  eventful  and  varied  as  it  has  been,  no  shadow  of  wrong  or  suspicion 
of  evil  darkens  his  honored  pathway. 

KIRKLAND  B.  ETHERIDGE. 

Kirklaud  B.  Etheridge,  who  is  conducting  a  feed  and  exchange  mill 
in  Quincy,  was  bom  here  on  the  i6th  of  January,  1846.  His  father,  Samuel 
Etheridge,  was  one  of  the  pioneer  residents  of  this  part  of  the  state,  arriving 
here  in  1836,  at  which  time  he  located  in  Coldwater.  A  millwright  by  trade, 
he  erected  the  first   flouring  mil!   in   Branch  comity.      He   was   a   man   of 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  373 

marked  influence  and  public  spirit  and  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  general 
g-ood  were  far-reaching  and  beneficial.  He  represented  his  district  in  the 
state  legislature  in  1839  and  1840,  at  which  time  the  general  assembly  con- 
vened at  Detroit.  He  was  also  justice  of  the  peace  for  a  number  of  years, 
and  every  trust  rq^osed  in  him  was  faithfully  performed.  In  1845  he 
removed  from  Coldwater  to  Quincy  and  carried  on  general  agricuhural 
pursuits  just  west  of  the  town.  In  early  life  he  was  a  member  of  the  Bap- 
tist church,  but  subsequently  became  a  communicant  of  the  Episcopal  church, 
and  his  fraternal  affiliation  was  with  the  Masons.  He  married  Cynthia 
Maria  Ingham,  who  was  born  in  Herkimer  county.  New  York,  in  1806, 
and  like  her  husband  was  a  representative  of  an  old  New  England  family. 
Samuel  Etheridge  died  in  1864  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years,  while  his 
wife  survived  until  1886.  Further  mention  of  Mr.  Etheridge  is  made  in 
connection  with  the  sketch  of  A.  Munson  Etheridge  on  another  page  of 
this  work. 

Kirkland  B.  Etheridge  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  Quincy  and  was 
reared  to  farm  life,  remaining  upon  the  home  farm  until  eighteen  years  of 
age.  The  Civil  war  being  (hen  inaugurated,  he  responded  to  the  country's 
need  and  enlisted  as  a  member  of  Company  E,  Fourth  Michigan  Volunteer 
Infantry,  under  command  of  Captain  John  W.  Spear.  He  served  with  that 
company  for  two  years  and  was  in  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  in  Rose- 
crans'  Brigade,  Third  Division,  Fourth  Army  Coq>s.  He  went  to  the  fronft 
as  a  musician  and  was  mustered  out  as  corporal  at  Houston,  Texas,  June  13, 
1866,  receiving  an  honorable  discharge  at  Detroit.  This  was  one  of  the 
last  regiments  discharged  from  the  service. 

When  the  war  was  over  Mr.  Etheridge  returned  to  Branch  county, 
where  he  worked  at  the  cooper's  trade,  and  afterward  at  carpentering,  but 
eventually  he  returned  to  the  farm  and  has  since  carried  on  general  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  although  at  the  present  time  he  is  not  active  in  farming 
operations,  having  rented  his  land  in  Quincy  township,  comprising  a  tract 
of  one  hundred  and  five  acres.  In  the  fall  of  1903  he  bought  the  knitting 
factory  and  transformed  it  into  a  mill,  fitting  it  up  with  machinery  for  the 
grinding  of  all  kinds  of  feed,  so  that  he  now  conducts  a  feed  and  exchange 
mill. 

In  1875  Kirkland  B,  Etheridge  was  married  to  Miss  Emma  Newberry, 
a  daughter  of  Peter  and  Hannah  Newberrj'.  Mrs.  Etheridge  was  born  in 
Quincy  in  1849.  Tliere  is  one  son  by  this  marriage,  Moreau  Newberry 
Etheridge,  who  was  born  in  Quincy,  August  12,  1884,  and  is  a  graduate 
of  the  high  school  here  of  the  class  of  1904.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year 
he  entered  into  partnership  with  his  father,  under  the  firm  style  of  Eth- 
eridge &  Son. 

Mr.  Etheridge,  his  wife  and  son  are  members  of  the  Baptist  church, 
in  which  they  take  a  very  active  interest.  He  has  served  as  trustee  of  the 
church  for  thirty  years.  His  parents  were  charter  members  of  the  Quincy 
Baptist  church,  and  the  father  was  its  first  clerk  and  for  many  years  served 
as  one  of  its  deacons.  Mr.  Etheridge  is  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Repubhc  and  has  been  commander  of  C.  O.  Loomis  Post  No.  2,  the 


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374  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

oldest  post  in  the  state  of  Michigan,  because  of  the  fact  that  Coklwater 
Post  No.  I  lost  its  charter.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  while  in 
the  army,  although  only  eighteen  years  of  age,  cast  his  first  vote  for  Abraham 
Lincoln,  obtaining  his  right  of  franchise  from  the  fact  that  he  was  doing 
duty  as  a  soldier.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Quincy  school  board,  and  the 
cause  of  education  finds  in  him  a  warm  friend.  His  entire  life  has  been 
passed  in  the  village  or  surrotmding  district,  and  he  is  therefore  well  known 
and  is  best  liked  wherever  best  known.  His  attention  has  been  largely  con- 
centrated upon  his  business  affairs,  with  the  result  that  he  is  now  controlling 
a  profitable  enterprise,  while  his  farm  also  yields  to  him  a  good  financial 
return. 

ALONZO  E.  ALLEN. 

The  farming  interests  of  Branch  county  are  well  represented  by  Alonzo 
B.  Allen,  one  of  the  enterprising  and  prosperous  agriculturists  of  Coldwater 
township,  whose  property  interests  comprise  two  hiindred  and  forty  acres 
of  rich  land,  the  greater  part  of  which  is  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation. 
Mr.  Allen  has  now  passed  the  seventy-sixth  milestone  on  Hfe's  journey,  but 
in  spirit  and  interests  seems  yet  in  his  prime.  He  was  bom  in  Pittsford, 
Vermont,  on  the  nth  of  July,  1829,  and  is  a  representative  of  an  old  New 
England  family.  His  father,  John  Allen,  for  many  years  a  leading  agricult- 
urist of  Branch  county,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Sudbury,  Rutland  county, 
Vermont,  April  29,  1801,  and  was  descended  from  Revolutionary  ancestry, 
prominent  among  whom  was  Ethan  Allen,  the  daring  commander  of  the 
"  Green  Mountain  boys  "  at  the  time  of  the  capture  of  Fort  Ticonderoga. 
William  Alien,  great-grandfather  of  our  subject,  was  a  native  of  Connecti- 
cut and  soon  after  the  close  of  the  war  for  independence  removed  from  that 
state  to  Vermont,  becoming  a  resident  of  the  town  of  Orwell  in  Rutland 
county.  He  made  his  home  there  with  his  eldest  son  William  and  died  at 
an  advanced  age.  In  early  life  he  learned  the  shoemaker's  trade,  which  he 
followed  as  a  source  of  livelihood  for  many  years.  He  took  an  active  part 
in  the  Revolution,  serving  under  his  illustrious  cousin.  Colonel  Ethan  Allen, 
with  the  Vermont  troops. 

Reuben  Allen,  grandfather  of  our  subject,  was  bom  in  the  town  of 
Union,  Tolland  count)',  Connecticut,  in  October,  1763,  and  was  but  sixteen 
years  of  age  when  he  enlisted  for  service  with  the  American  army  in  the 
Revolutionary  war.  He  rendered  valuable  aid  in  the  struggle  for  inde- 
pendence and  when  the  republic  was  an  achieved  fact  he  went  from  Connecti- 
cut to  Vermont,  becoming  a  resident  of  Pittsford,  Rutland  county.  There 
he  was  married  in  1790  to  Miss  Rebecca  Rhodes,  a  native  of  Rhode  Island, 
and  he  established  his  home  upon  a  farm  in  the  town  of  Sudbury, 
the  young  couple  taking  up  their  abode  in  a  log  cabin  which  Mr.  Allen 
built,  but  which  he  replaced  in  a  few  years  by  a  more  commodious  frame 
residence.  His  time  and  energies  were  devoted  to  general  agricultural  pur- 
suits and  he  cleared  and  cultivated  forty-four  acres  of  his  land,  after  which 
he  sold  this  place  and  went  to  Salisbury,  Addison  countv,  Vermont,  where 
he   resided   until    1832.     That   year  witnessed   his   removal   to  the  state   of 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  375 

New  York,  and  his  last  years  were  spent  in  the  home  of  his  son,  John  Allen, 
his  death  occurring  m  1836.  His  wife  survived  him  several  years  and  passed 
away  at  the  home  of  her  daughter.  They  were  people  of  genuine  worth  and 
respectability,  whose  many  excellent  traits  of  character  won  them  the  confi- 
dence and  esteem  of  those  with  whom  they  were  associated.  Tlieir  family 
numbered  three  daughters  and  three  sons,  namely:  Clara,  Sarah,  Reuben, 
John,  S.iloma  ant!  Elisha. 

John  Allen,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Sndbury,  Vermont,  April  29,  1801, 
was  there  reared  and  educated.  He  early  became  familiar  with  farm  labor 
and  remained  on  the  old  homestead  until  twenty-two  years  of  age.  when  he 
began  farming  on  his  cmn  account,  purchasing  fifty  acres-  of  land  in  Salis- 
bury, Addison  county.  The  tract  was  covered  with  a  dense  growth  of  tim- 
ber and  there  were  no  improvements  upon  the  place,  so  that  his  first  work 
was  the  erection  of  a  small  frame  house.  He  then  commenced  to  clear  and 
improve  the  farm,  which  he  afterward  sold,  taking  up  his  abode  in  Pitts- 
ford,  Rutland  county,  where  he  remained  imtil  1832,  when  he  became  a 
resident  of  Orleans  county.  New  York.  He  made  the  journey  between  the 
-  two  towns  with  a  team  as  far  ts  Whitehall  and  thence  by  way  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain  and  the  Erie  canal  to  his  destination.  Taking  up  his  alxxie  in  the  town 
of  Murray,  he  resided  there  until  1843,  when,  attracted  by  the  advantages 
that  Michigan  offered  to  settlers,  he  decided  to  make  his  way  to  this  state. 
Accordingly  arrangements  for  the  journey  were  made,  and  in  company  with 
his  wife  and  ten  childrenTie  traveled  westward  in  a  wagon  drawn  by  horses. 
On  reaching  his  destination  he  purchased  one  hundred  acres  of  land  now  in- 
cluded within  the  city  Hmits  of  Coldwater,  a  part  of  it  being  occupied  by  the 
railway  station.  The  tract,  however,  was  raw  and  unimproved  at  that  time, 
and  again  his  first  work  was  the  building  of  a  house.  When  this  was  done 
he  began  to  clear  and  cultivate  his  fields,  and  year  after  year  saw  a  larger 
tract  plowed  and  planted,  while  in  the  autumns  good  crops  were  harvested. 
Upon  that  place  he  resided  until  1856.  when  he  sold  his  property  and  pur- 
chased the  farm  upon  which  he  continued  to  reside  until  his  death.  His 
second  farm  he  also  greatly  improved  through  his  careful  management,  un- 
tiring diligence  and  capable  effort,  and  he  erected  thereon  good  farm  build- 
ings, including  a  commodious  and  substantial  dwelling.  In  all  of  his  farm 
work  he  was  practical  and  progressive,  and  as  the  years  passed,  success 
crowned  his  efforts.  Mr,  Allen  was  married  three  times.  He  first  wedded 
Miranda  Kelsey,  who  was  born  in  Salisbury,  Vermont,  in  October,  1800, 
and  died  in  June,  1826.  leaving  two  children,  John  Edward  and  Clarissa 
Miranda.  For  his  second  wife  he  chose  Esther  Blackmer,  and  they  became 
the  parents  of  eight  children,  three  of  whom  are  yet  living,  as  follows : 
Alonzo,  Franklin  and  Martha.  The  third  marriage  of  Mr.  Allen  was  to 
Mrs.  Eritana  (Jackson)  Phetteplace,  a  native  of  Oswego  county,  New  York, 
Mr.  Allen  lived  to  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-three  years,  passing  away 
on  the  29th  of  September,  1891,  while  his  third  wife  died  a  few  years  pre- 
vious. He  lived  to  see  many  changes  in  his  adopted  coimty  and  in  the  coun- 
try as  well,  for  he  was  a  pioneer  settler  here.     His  life  record  covered  the 


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376  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

period  of  wonderful  invention  in  the  United  States,  including  the  introduction 
of  the  telegraph  and  telephone,  of  the  railroad  and  the  wonderful  uses  of 
electricity  in  many  departments  of  labor.  In  the  early  days  he  performed 
his  farm  work  with  the  machinery  and  implements  such  as  were  common  at 
the  time,  but  he  also  lived  to  see  much  change  in  these  as  well  as  invention 
brought  new  and  improved  machinery.  In  politics  he  was  always  a  Demo- 
crat, never  faltering  in  his  allegiance  to  the  party.  All  who  knew  him  re- 
spected him  for  his  genuine  worth  and  his  fidelity  to  principle.  As  a.  pioneer 
he  aided  materially  in  the  growth  and  progress  of  this  section  of  the  state  and 
was  among  those  who  assisted  in  laying  broad  and  deep  the  foundation  for 
the  present  developm.ent  of  Branch  county. 

Alonzo  B.  Allen,  whose  name  introduces  this  review,  was  only  three 
years  old  when  his  parents  remoA'ed  from  Vermont  to  New  York,  and  there 
he  began  his  education  in  the  public  schools,  which  he  attended  through  the 
winter  months,  while  in  the  summer  seasons  he  worked  upon  the  home 
farm.  His  time  was  thus  occupied  until  he  attained  the  age  of  fourteen 
years,  when  the  family  removed  to  Michigan,  their  home  being  established 
in  Branch  county.  Mr.  Allen  continued  his  education  as  a  public  school 
student  in  Coldwater  and  afterward  in  Hillsdale  College  at  Hillsdale,  Michi- 
gan, thus  acquiring  a  good  education,  which  enabled  him  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
two  years  to  become  a  teacher.  He  followed  the  profession  for  several 
terms,  spending  the  winter  months  in  the  school  room,  while  in  the  summer 
seasons  he  worked  in  the  fields.  Throughout  his  entire  life  he  has  been 
identified  with  agricultural  pursuits,  and  he  made  his  first  purchase  of  land 
in  1852,  becoming  owner  of  a  tract  lying  on  sections  35  and  26,  Coldwater 
township,  and  still  included  within  his  present  farm.  Only  fifteen  acres  of 
the  original  tract  had  been  improved  and  upon  this  a  small  log  cabin  and  a 
log  bam  had  been  built.  At  the  time  of  his  marriage  Mr.  Allen  took  up  his 
abode  on  this  place,  building  a  wagon  house,  in  which  he  lived  until  he  could 
erect  a  frame  dwelling. 

It  was  on  the  13th  of  December,  i860,  that  Mr.  Allen  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Hannah  Mary  Barnes,  who  was  born  on  the  28th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1836,  in  Saratoga  Springs,  New  York,  a  daughter  of  Smith  Bames,  also 
a  native  of  the  Empire  state.  Being  left  an  orphan  when  a  young  lad,  her 
father  went  to  reside  with  an  uncle  in  Saratoga  county.  New  York,  where  he 
made  his  home  until  185 1,  when  he  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  set- 
tling in  Coldwater  township.  Here  he  purchased  eighty  acres  of  land  on  sec- 
tion twenty-seven  and  resided  there  until  called  to  his  final  rest.  He  had 
married  Miss  Deborah  Loantha  Morehouse,  a  native  of  New  York  and  a 
daughter  of  Aaron  and  Delora  (Reynolds)  Morehouse.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Allen 
have  become  the  parents  of  four  children,  but  only  two  are  now  living :  Smith 
Allen,  born  September  28,  1861,  married  Katie  Brown  and  they  reside  near 
his  father.  Nellie  Allen,  born  August  26,  1872,  was  married  October  11. 
1893,  to  Thaddeus  R.  Follett,  and  she  and  her  son,  Allen  T.  Follett,  born 
April  fx  1895,  reside  on  the  old  homestead  with  her  father,  for  whom  she 
acts  as  housekeeper,  for  Mrs.  Allen,  the  wife  and  mother,  passed  away  Sep- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  377 

tember  i8,  1904.  Esther  M.,  who  was  born  March  8,  1S64,  died  September 
27,  186S,  and  Mary  Allen,  who  was  born  September  27,  1868,  died  on  the 
3rd  of  August,  :887. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Allen  was  an  earnest  Democrat  from  the  time 
he  cast  his  first  presidential  vote  for  Stephen  A.  Douglas  until  1876,  when  his 
political  opinions  underwent  a  change  and  he  became  an  advocate  of  the 
Greenback  party.  He  still  keeps  in  touch  with  the  questions  and  issues  of 
the  day  and  holds  decided  opinions  upon  the  matters  which  affect  the  wel- 
fare of  the  country.  He  has  at  various  times  been  an  officer  in  his  school 
district  and  has  represented  his  town  three  terms  on  the  board  of  supervisors. 
All  matters  that  tend  fo  advance  the  interests  of  the  county  and  promote  its 
progress  and  upbuilding  receive  his  endorsement  and  many  times  his  active 
co-operation.  He  is  today  one  of  the  honored  pioneer  settlers  of  the  county, 
having  for  more  than  six  decades  resided  within  its  borders,  during  which 
time  the  greater  part  of  its  growth  and  improvement  has  been  accomplished 
until  the  countj^  today  hears  little  resemblance  to  the  unimproved  district  into 
which  the  Allen  family  made  their  way  so  long  ago.  Mr.  Allen  relates  many 
.  interesting  incidents  of  early  pioneer  times,  his  mind  being  stored  with 
reminiscences  of  the  early  days,  yet  no  man  rejoices  more  largely  in  what 
has  been  accomplished  by  the  county  as  it  has  taken  on  all  the  evidences  of 
an  advanced  civilization.  In  farm  work  he  has  always  been  active,  energetic 
and  successful  and  is  today  the  owner  of  valuable  property  interests. 

CHRISTOPHER  SCHAFFMASTER. 

Qiristopher  Schaffmaster,  whose  life  of  industry  and  enterprise  has 
been  crowned  with  success  and  who  is  now  the  owner  of  a  good  farm  in 
Bronson  township,  was  born  in  Germany  in  1S28,  his  parents  being  John 
Henp'and  Margaret  Christina  (Rosenbroke)  Schaffmaster.  The  father  was 
a  brick  manufacturer.  When  Christopher  Schaffmaster  removed  to  Michi- 
gan in  1853  his  father  came  to  America  with  his  family  and  lived  with  his 
two  sons,  Christopher  and  Fritz,  for  two  years,  but  about  1855  removed  to 
Mattescn  township,  where  he  rented  forty  acres  of  land  that  he  afterward 
purchased.  Subsequently  he  added  another  forty-acre  tract.  He  had  3  fam- 
ily of  eight  children,  namely:  Anna;  Christofdier;  Fritz;  Henry;  Margaret, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  two  )'ears;  Barney,  who  died  in  1864;  Margaret,  who 
was  the  second  of  that  name;  and  George.  The  father  continued  to  reside 
upon  his  farm  until  a  few  years  prior  to  his  death,  which  occurred  in  Jan- 
uary, 1885,  when  he  was  eighty-two  j'ears  of  age,  his  birth  having  occurred 
on  the  1st  of  January,  1803.  His  wife  survived  him  for  a  number  of  years, 
passing  away  in  1899. 

Christopher  Schaffmaster  acquired  a  good  education,  attending  school 
until  litteen  years  of  age,  when  he  went  to  work  in  his  father's  brickyard 
and  mastered  the  trade,  becoming  familiar  with  it  both  in  principle  and  de- 
tail. In  1847,  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years,  he  came  to  America,  hoping  that 
he  might  find  better  business  opportunities  in  the  new  world  where  competi- 
tion was  greater,  but  where  advancement  was  also  more  quickly  secured  and 


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378  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

where  labor  gained  its  just  reward,  unhampered  by  caste  or  class.  Landing 
on  the  Atlantic  coast  he  made  his  way  to  western  New  York,  settling  in 
Orleans  county,  wiiere  lived  his  uncle,  who  was  a  contractor  in  stone  and  was 
also  a  manufacturer  of  lime.  Mr.  Schaffmaster  of  this  review  was  em- 
ployed there  from  October,  1847,  until  January,  i848y  but  in  the  meantime 
he  determined  to  become  a  farmer  and  resolved  to  work  away  from  German 
associations  so  that  he  might  learn  the  American  language,  knowing  that  if 
he  remained  among  German  friends  he  would  continue  to  use  the  speech  of 
the  fatherland.  He  therefore  entered  the  employ  of  an  American  farmer, 
with  whom  he  worked  for  three  years.  Later  he  spent  two  more  years  in 
the  service  of  other  farmers  of  that  locality,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  and 
his  brother  Fritz,  who  also  came  to  America,  started  for  Branch  county, 
Michigan.  This  was  in  1853.  Mr.  Schaffmaster  saved  seven  hundred  dol- 
lars and  his  brother  Fritz  saved  five  hundred  dollars,  which  they  invested  in 
ninety-five  acres  of  land  on  section  four,  Bronson  township.  They  cleared 
this  land,  cultivating  it  together  for  six  years  and  building  thereon  a  resi- 
dence at  a  cost  of  one  thousand  dollars.  Both  were  energetic,  industrious 
men,  and  their  labor  soon  wrought  a  marked  change  in  the  farm  which  they 
owned. 

In  i860  Mr.  Schaffmaster  was  married,  and  they  began  their  domestic 
life  upon  this  farm.  The  following  year  Mr.  Schaffmaster  purchased  his 
brother's  interest,  and  with  a  new  impetus  for  energetic  and  unremitting 
labor  he  so  directed  his  efforts  that  in  1864  he  was  enabled  to  extend  the 
boundaries  of  his  farm  by  additional  purchase,  adding  a  tract  of  sixty-four 
acres.  He  continued  to  make  his  home  upon  his  farm  until  1899,  when  he 
removed  to  Bronson.  In  all  of  his  farming  operations  he  was  practical,  per- 
severing and  progressive  and  he  developed  a  splendid  property.  He  had 
purchased  forty  acres  of  land  on  section  three,  Bronson  township,  and  about 
1S87  had  purchased  fifty-three  and  a  half  acres  adjoining  the  town  of  Bron- 
son, known  as  the  Milo  Clark  farm.  About  1898  he  bought  forty  acres  on 
section  eleven  of  the  same  township,  known  as  the  Frances  Ruggles  farm, 
thus  becoming  the  owner  of  two  hundred  and  ninety-three  and  a  half  acres, 
iDesides  their  handsome  town  property  in  Bronson.  He  yet  retains  possession 
of  all  of  this  and  is  therefore  one  of  the  extensive  land  owners  of  his  local- 
ity. He  has  followed  general  farming  with  excellent  success  and  he  feeds 
a!l  of  his  grain  to  his  stock.  Mr.  Schaffmaster  gives  his  personal  super- 
vision to  his  property,  which  he  works  on  the  shares,  though  he  is  now  well 
advanced  in  years  and  leaves  the  active  work  of  the  farm  to  others. 

On  November  14,  i860.  Christopher  Schaffmaster  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Mahala  La  Due,  who  was  born  in  Fishkill-on-the-HudMon.  and 
was  but  a  little  child  when  her  parents  removed  to  Monroe  county.  New  York, 
near  Rochester.  She  was  born  May  21.  1840  and  she  is  the  third  in  a  fam- 
ily of  five  children,  two  sons  and  three  daughters,  born  to  Cornelius  and 
Margaret  M.  (Ostrander)  La  Due.  All  are  living,  namely:  Mary  L.,  wife 
of  Charles  Caveney,  a  resident  of  Bronson,  Michigan,  and  an  agriculturist 
by  occupation,  and  both  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church; 
Henry  A.,  a  resident  of  Byron,  New  York,  and  was  married  three  times,  the 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  379 

present  wife  liaving  been  Mrs.  Buchanan;  Mrs.  Schaffmaster  is  next  in  or- 
der of  birth;  Arcelia,  wife  of  John  Auten,  a  farmer  of  Matteson  township; 
Willie  Jasper,  a  resident  of  Monroe  county.  New  York,  also  follows  agri- 
cultural pursuits  and  15  married.  Father  La  Due  was  bom  in  New  York 
and  was  of  French  lineage.  Mother  La  Due  was  also  a  native  of  New  York, 
born  in  the  same  locality  as  her  husband,  and  in  an  early  day  removed  to 
western  New  York.  The  following  memorial  appeared  at  the  death  of  Mr. 
La  Due:  "ComeHus  S.  La  Due,  of  the  town  of  Sweden,  Monroe  county, 
New  York,  exchanged  worlds  June  i8,  1884,  in  the  seventy-fourth  year  of 
his  age.  His  father  was  a  Methodist  local  preacher.  He  was  converted  in 
early  life  and  continued  to  live  a  consistent  Giristian  until  the  summons 
came,  'come  up  higher.'  He  esteemed  very  highly  the  public,  means  of 
grace,  remarking,  as  life  was  drawing  to  a  close,  that  he  shovild  go  to  the 
house  of  God  as  long  as  he  was  able  to  go  anywhere,  hence  he  has  often  been 
at  church  during  the  past  year,  while  so  feeble  as  hardly  to  be  able  to  speak 
for  want  of  breath ;  expressing  in  class  by  joyful  countenance  and  a  few 
words  his  pleasure  to  testify  to  the  goodness  of  God.  When  the  church  of 
his  early  choice  departed  in  practice  from  the  teachings  of  the  early  Meth- 
odist fathers  he  saw  fit  to  come  out  and  identify  himself  wi'th  those  who 
still  believe  the  world  will  never  find  a  better  creed  to  lead  a  man  to  the  skies, 
if  believed,  experienced  and  practiced,  than  that  taught  by  John  Wesley. 
The  companion  of  his  youth  sur\'ives  him.  May  the  blessing  of  God  rest 
upon  her  and  upon  the  five  children,  all  grown  to  mature  years,  and  may 
they  follow  in  their  father's  ways  as  he  followed  Christ.''  Mrs.  Schaffmaster 
has  always  been  an  able  helpmeet  and  associate  to  her  husband  in  the  years 
past  and  gone,  and  she  has  always  stood  by  his  side  in  counsel  and  advice.  She 
raised  her  children  to  lives  of  usefulness,  and  they  today  fill  honored  posi- 
tions in  the  social  circle  of  their  native  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schaffmaster 
began  their  lives  with  small  Ciipital,  but  by  energy  and  filial  living  they  have 
accumulated  a  g'oodly  competency.  LTnto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schaffmaster  have 
been  born  three  children,  hut  Cornelius  La  Due  died  at  the  age  of  twenty 
months.  John,  who  is  living  on  the  home  farm,  married  Miss  Jennie  Fowler, 
and  has  three  children:  George  F. :  Homer  C,  and  Esther.  Dom  is  the  wife 
of  George  Carter,  a  resident  farmer  of  Bethel  township. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schaffmaster  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  of  Branson,  in  which  she  is  steward  and  he  is  trustee,  and  both  have 
been  teachers.  As  soon  as  possible  after  coming  to  America  he  took  out  his 
naturalization  papers,  and  when  the  right  of  franchise  was  conferred  upon 
him  he  became  a  staunch  Republican,  and  has  never  faltered  in  his  allegiance 
to  the  party.  He  was  loyal  to  his  adopted  country  in  her  time  o'f  need,  and 
took  a  man  to  Kalamazoo  and  paid  eight  hundred  and  ten  dollars  for  a  sub- 
stitute, although  not  drafted.  He  has  been  a  man  of  principle,  and  with 
the  aid  of  his  good  wife  has  accomplished  great  success.  He  has  been  a 
member  of  the  school  board  for  several  years  and  was  highway  commissioner 
for  one  year.  Whatever  the  duty  that  has  devolved  upon  him,  it  has  been 
faithfully  performed,  and  he  has  always  stood  for  progressiveness  in  citi- 
zenship as  well  as  in  private  life.     In  his  farming  operations  he  has  done 


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380  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

much  to  advance  a  high  standard  among  agriculturists.  He  resoived  to  be 
a  leader  rather  than  a  follower,  and  he  has  been  the  first  to  introduce  much 
improved  farm  machinery  in  this  part  of  the  county.  He  had  the  iirst  binder 
and  had  a  windmill  upon  his  place  twelve  years  before  any  other  was  found 
in  the  locality.  He  also  had  in  his  home  the  first  organ  in  the  township. 
Whatever  has  tended  to  promote  his  work  and  to  facilitate  farming  interests 
has  received  his  endorsement  and  attention,  and  he  has  been  quick  to  adopt 
any  new  methods  which  promise  of  practical  value.  Having  now  passerl 
the  seventy-fifth  milestone  on  life's  journey  he  is  largely  enjoying  rest  from 
further  labor  and  is  surrounded  by  all  of  the  comforts  and  many  luxuries 
which  go  to  make  life  worth  the  living  and  which  have  been  secured  througb 
his  own  well  directed  efforts.  He  wisely  determined  in  early  manhood  to 
come  to  the  "  land  of  the  free,"  and  here,  where  labor  iinds  its  just  reward, 
he  has  worked  persistently  and  energetically  until  he  is  today  one  of  the 
prosperous  farmers  of  Bronson-  township. 

SIMON   B.   KITCHEL. 

Simon  B.  Kitchei  was  born  at  Auburn,  Cayuga  county.  New  York,  in 
the  year  1839,  and  died  at  Coldwater,  Michigan,  July  31,  1905.  About  the 
year  1870  he  was  married  to  Tlieresa  M,  Jordan,  and  to  them  was  bom  one 
son,  Hiram  Kitchei,  who  survived  his  father,  an  only  child.  In  the  year 
1S92  his  wife,  Mrs.  Theresa  M.  Kitchei,  died,  and  in  the  following  year  he 
married  Miss  Carrie  Krebs,  who  survived  him  as  his  widow.  Much  de- 
served credit  was  always  accorded  these  faithful  companions  by  Mr.  Kitchei 
for  the  great  assistance  they  rendered  in  the  successes  that  came  to  him. 

Simon  B.  Kitchei,  considered  from  his  boyhood  to  the  day  of  his  death, 
was  a  typical  American  citizen  of  the  Nineteenth  Century.  As  a  boy  his 
pathway  was  beset  with  all  the  hardships  and  privations  of  poverty.  His 
parents  were  poor.  He  had  no  influential  friends  except  such  as  he  must 
attract  by  his  own  efforts  and  worth.  Through  work  and  self  denial  he  sup- 
ported himself  and  not  only  obtained  a  good  primary  education  but  attended 
for  a  few  terms  a  neighboring  academy. 

August  21,  1862,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  Eighth  Independent 
Company  of  New  York  State  Sharp  Shooters,  and  for  his  great  gallantry  and 
coolness  while  with  this  organization  was  specially  mentioned  and  compli- 
mented in  the  history  of  the  regiment.  When  the  Forty-third  Regiment  of 
United  States  ShaqD  Shooters  (colored  troops)  was  organized,  the  prejudice 
of  the  Confederate  army  was  so  great  against  the  use  of  colored  troops  by  the 
North  that  it  was  not  easy  to  obtain  efficient  officers  who  cared  to  face  the 
dangers  of  capture.  Young  Kitchei,  however,  was  ready  to  enlist  and  by 
reason  of  his  proficiency  and  capacity  he  was  promoted  from  time  to  time, 
until  on  the  lOth  day  of  April,  1864,  he  was  made  first  lieutenant  of  Com- 
pany I  in  the  above  regiment.  He  was  in  numerous  engagements,  twenty- 
five  or  more,  during  the  service,  including  the  capture  of  Richmond  April  3, 
1865. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  Lieutenant  Kitchei   found  his  way  first  to 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  381 

Ohio,  where  he  taught  school  for  a  year  or  two,  and  then  came  on  to  Cold- 
water,  settling  in  this  city  in  the  year  1868.  He  had  overcome  all  obstacles 
in  the  boyhood  pathway,  he  had.  served  well  and  honorably  his  country  in 
war,  and  now  without  capital  or  influence  he  found  himself  in  a  new  home 
where  he  must  carve  hJs  own  future  and  make  his  own  fortune.  By  hard 
struggles  and  through  many  privations  he  completed  his  law  studies  and 
be^an  the  practice  of  his  chosen  work.  At  odd  spells  while  in  the  army 
and  after  its  close  he  had  taken  up  and  pursued  the  study  of  stenography, 
until  he  had  become  a  proficient  artist  in  that  branch,  and  which  served  him 
to  great  rtdvantage  in  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  was  also  an  artist 
in  fine  penmanship.  So  popular  had  Mr.  Kitchel  become  as  a  young'  lawyer 
and  citizen  that  in  1876  he  was  nominated  and  elected  prosecuting  attorney 
of  the  county  and  was  re-elected  to  the  same  office  in  1878.  He  was  after- 
ward honored  by  his  neighbors  and  by  the  city  in  being  made  a  member  of 
the  board  of  education,  mayor  of  his  city,  etc. 

He  was  always  an  ardent  member  of  the  Republican  party  and  believed 
in  an  honest  square  deal  in  caucus  or  election.  He  hated  rings  and  bosses 
and  always  fought  trickery.  His  position  was  always  known  and  he  never 
wore  two  faces.  The  last  political  effort  of  his  life  was  for  a  law  providing 
for  the  reform  of  the  primary  election  system.  He  abhorred  the  abuses 
attendant  upon  the  modern  caucus  and  con-cention  and  earnestly  advocated 
radical  changes  in  the  law.  Both  personally  and  through  his  paper  he  lie- 
came  a  prominent  state  factor  in  this  fight. 

His  mind  and  genius  were  never  idle,  and  his  plans  seldom  miscarried. 
He  was  not  an  impractical  dreamer.  He  studied  men  and  their  wants.  It 
was  through  his  keen  observation  and  genius  that  he  compounded  the  lini- 
ment that  afterward  became  world  famous.  Through  his  pluck  and  per- 
severance, without  capital  and  single  handed,  he  organized  the  manufacture, 
sale  and  business ;  he  pushed  the  enterprise,  until  at  his  death  Kitchel's  Lini- 
ment had  become  a  familiar  name  the  country  over. 

He  loved  good  horses  and  for  twenty  years  or  more  owned  the  best 
he  could  buy.  At  his  death  he  had  twenty-five  or  more  of  the  finest  bred 
colts  in  the  whole  country.  He  often  drove  his  own  horses  in  speed  con- 
tests, but  never  bet  or  invested  a  dollar  in  pools  or  wagers.  In  his  habits 
be  was  strictly  temperate,  and  never  touched  intoxicating  liquor  as  a 
beverage  or  used  tobacco  in  any  form. 

*  He  was  exceedingly  fond  of  shooting  and  during  the  season  for  bird 
hunting  would  spend  many  days  with  his  dogs  tramping  through  the  woods, 
and  he  generally  returned  with  well  filled  bags.  For  some  years  prior  to 
liis  death  he  went  South,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  for  a  few  months  each 
winter,  taking  his  guns  and  dogs  for  recreation. 

At  different  times  he  owned  some  fine  launches,  first  upon  the  lakes 
about  Coldwater  and  afterward  some  very  elaborate  and  beautiful  ones. 
In  one  of  them  he  spent  several  weeks  with  his  wife  in  a  cruise  down  the 
inland  route  along  the  Atlantic  coast  and  up  some  of  the  rivers  emptying  into 
the  Atlantic.  Later  he  had  an  elnl)nrate  and  finely  appointed  launch  con- 
structed for  him  in  Providence.   Rhode  Island,  and  with  his  wife  and  son, 


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882  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Horace,  cruised  the  Long  Island  Sound,  up  the  Hudson,  through  the  Erie 
Canal,  across  Lake  Erie  to  Detroit.  Tliese  trips  were  to  him  the  height  of 
enjoyment. 

When  the  automobile  came  Mr,  Kitchel  watched  and  studied  its  advent 
and  improvements,  and  during  the  last  two  years  of  his  life  enjoyed  greatly 
the  best  machines  he  could  buy,  bringing  to  Coldwater  the  first  touring 
cars  owned  in  the  city. 

Perhaps  no  undertaking,  however,  redounded  to  his  home  credit  with 
greater  appreciation  than  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  the  Cold- 
water  Daily  and  Semi-weekly  Reporter.  The  success  of  this  enterprise  was 
due  solely  and  alone  to  his  daring  and  push.  No  expense  was  denied  or 
refused  to  make  the  paper  the  best.  The  circulation  so  rapidly  increased  that 
it  became  equal  to  if  not  greater  than  that  of  any  paper  in  the  state  published 
in  towns  of  no  greater  size.  Two  linotype  machines,  with  corresponding 
presses  and  equipment,  were  added,  until  it  was  at  the  time  of  his  death  one 
of  the  best  appointed  offices  in  the  state. 

Socially  he  loved  his  home  and  his  friends  and  cared  little  for  the  so- 
ciety of  strangers.  It  mattered  little  to  him  whether  his  friends  were  rich 
or  poor,  their  real  worth  was  all  that  appealed  to  him. 

While  he  always  had  the  best  of  everything  himself,  he  was  not  given 
to  display,  nor  to  any  extravagance  for  mere  show.  The  vein  of  humor  in 
him  was  seemingly  inexhaustible  and  original.  His  memory  seldom  lost 
anything  and  whether  hours,  days  or  years  elapsed  he  could  recall  with  de- 
tailed accuracy  conversations  and  incidents  with  such  precision  that  he  af- 
forded his  friends  and  companions,  wherever  he  was,  both  pleasure  and 
entertainment. 

No  man  ever  questioned  his  integrity,  word  or  honesty.  In  charities  he 
was  hberal  and  generous  and  his  hand  was  always  extended  to  a  worthy 
cause.  His  giving  was  not  published  by  heralds,  but  was  exercised  witli 
observation.  He  was  true  to  a  friend.  He  was  cordial,  generous  and  open 
when  he  was  with  him  and  he  would  guard  and  defend  his  good  name  when 
he  was  absent.  What  better  test  of  friendship?  He  died  having  left  a 
deep  impress  for  good.  His  struggles  in  youth  for  svip^rort  and  education 
are  worthy  of  emulation.  The  services  he  rendered  to  his  country  in  war 
call  for  the  gratitude  of  every  citizen.  While  his  honesty  and  character, 
his  clean  and  temperate  life,  his  genius  and  energy,  tlie  useful  enterprises 
he  organized  and  left,  unite  with  common  voice  in  deserved  praise  of  the 
life  and  accomplishments  of  Simon  B.  Kitchel. 

MILO  D.  CAMPBELL. 

JAMES  R.  DICKEY. 
James  R.  Dickey  may  without  invidious  distinction  be  classed  as  a.  fore- 
most citizen  of  Coldwater,  being  influential  in  public  affairs,  in  which  his 
ability  and  devotion  to  the  general  good  well  qualify  him  for  leadership.  As 
county  treasurer  and  county  clerk  he  has  made  a  most  creditable  record,  and 
at  the  present  time  he  is  representing  the  First  ward  of  the  city  on  the  board 
of  supervisors. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  383 

Mr.  Dick-cy  was  bom  in  Niagara  county,  New  York,  February  14,  1847. 
liis  parents  being  James  and  May  T.  f  Appleby)  Dickey.  The  father  was  a 
native  of  Washington  county,  New  York,  and  was  a  blacksmith  by  occupa- 
tion. He  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  in  March,  1852,  settling  in  Cold- 
water,  where  he  worked  for  about  six  months,  when  he  began  farming  in 
Quincy  township,  there  carrying  on  general  agricultural  pursuits  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  the  'yas.  His  political  views  accorded  with  Re- 
publican principles,  and  although  he  was  never  an  aspirant  for  office,  he  was 
always  loyal  to  the  party  to  which  he  gave  his  support.  His  wife  was  a 
native  of  Allegheny  county.  New  York,  and  died  when  about  sixty  years  of 
age.  Tliey  were  the  parents  of  four  children,  of  whom  one  died  in  child- 
hood. 

James  R.  Dickey,  the  third  child  and  third  son  of  the  family,  was  about 
five  years  old  when  brought  by  his  parents  to  Branch  county.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  district  schools  and  in  Coldwater,  where  he  attended  the  high 
school  and  in  the  summer  months  he  followed  farming,  looking  after  the 
interests  of  his  father's  place.  He  early  learned  the  value  of  industry  and 
"integrity  as  forceful  factors  in  a  business  career,  and  these  have  ever  charac- 
terized his  life.  As  a  companion  and  helpmate  for  life's  journey  he  chose 
Miss  Emily  P.  Smith,  to  whom  he  was  married  July  3,  1873.  She  was  a 
daughter  of  Daniel  Smith.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dickey  began  their  domestic  life 
upon  the  farm  and  he  continued  its  cultivation  until  1876,  when  called  to 
public  office  by  popular  ballot.  He  removed  to  Coldwater  to  enter  upon  the 
duties  of  county  treasurer,  to  which  position  he  had  been  elected  on  the  Re- 
publican ticket,  receiving  the  largest  majority  given  any  man  in  the  county. 
He  was  re-elected  in  1878,  and  in  1881  he  was  chosen  county  clerk,  which 
position  he  filled  for  twelve  consecutive  years,  a  longer  period  than  any  other 
incumbent  in  that  office  during  the  history  of  Branch  county.  In  i8q2  he 
was  defeated  for  nomination  in  one  of  the  most  hotly  contested  political 
fights  ever  known  in  the  history  of  the  county.  In  1893  he  filled  the  position 
of  city  clerk  and  the  following  year  he  entered  upon  the  work  of  making 
the  annotations  attached  to  the  law  hooks  of  the  different  states.  His  patent 
is  now  handled  all  over  the  country,  and  in  the  interest  of  the  business  Mr. 
Dickey  himself  traveled  through  many  states  of  the  Union.  His  work  has 
received  the  commendation  of  manv  of  the  most  prominent  lawvers  of  the 
country  and  also  of  the  senate  of  Wisconsin,  who  in  session  advocated  the 
use  of  his  patent.  In  1904  he  was  elected  supervisor  from  the  First  ward 
and  is  now  occupyinEf  that  position. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dickey  have  one  daughter,  Dora  Duella.  Fraternallv  he 
is  connected  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen.  His  residence  in  the  county  covers  more  than 
a  half  century  and  he  is  prominent  locally,  having  the  warm  friendship  and 
high  regard  of  the  majority  of  the  citizens  of  this  part  of  the  state.  Over  the 
record  of  his  official  career  there  falls  no  shadow  of  wrong  or  suspicion  of 
evil,  and  he  has  rendered  valuable  sei-vice  to  the  county  in  the  faithful  dis- 
charge of  the  duties  that  have  devolved  upon  him. 


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384  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

ISAAC  TOWER. 

Isaac  Toiver  is  one  of  the  venerable  residents  of  Union  City,  having 
passed  the  eighfy-third  milestone  on  life's  journey.  He  is  honored  by  all 
because  his  life  has  been  upright  and  has  also  been  crowned  with  successful 
accomplishment  in  the  business  world.  In  more  intimate  commercial  circles 
he  has  gained  warm  friendships  and  today  he  is  esteemed  by  young  and  old, 
rich  and  poor  throughout  Branch  county.  His  birth  occurred  in  Windsor 
county,  Vermont,  June  13.  1822.  His  father,  Abram  Tower,  is  supposed 
to  have  been  a  native  of  the  Green  Mountain  state  and  was  bom  March  9, 
1781,  while  his  death  occurred  January  15,  1857.  He  married  Bethia  Field, 
also  a  native  of  Vermont,  born  December  4,  1786.  She  passed  away  Sep- 
tember II,  1839. 

Isaac  Tower,  the  eighth  in  order  of  birth  in  their  family  of  ten  chil- 
dren, was  reared  in  the  county  of  his  nativity  and  with  the  exception  of  four 
years  spent  in  New  Hampshire  remained  a  resident  of  Vermont  until  twenty- 
eight  years  of  age.  He  attended  the  common  schools  there  and  after  arriv- 
ing at  years  of  maturity  he  sought  a  companion  and  helpmate  for  life's  jour- 
ney, being  married  in  Charleston,  New  Hampshire.  April  2,  1849.  to  Miss 
Mary  Cbrbin,  who  was  there  born  October  16,  1829,  her  parents  being  Ezbond 
and  Lucretia  (Howe)  Corbin.  In  their  family  were  ten  children,  all  of 
whom  became  residents  of  Branch  county,  but  only  five  are  now  living, 
Mrs.  Tower  has  a  twin  sister,  Martha,  who  is  the  widow  of  Hiram  Crissy, 
and  Mrs.  D.  C.  Mosley  is  also  their  sister.  Their  brother.  Captain  Henry 
Corbin,  resides  in  Union  City  and  they  have  another  brother  in  Sherwood, 
Mr.  Tower  also  has  a  sister  living,  Mrs.  Henry  L.  Bisbee,  whose  home  is  in 
Athens,  Calhoun  county,  Michigan. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tower  removed  from  the  east  to  Branch  county  in  the 
year  of  their  marriage,  locating  in  Union  City,  where  he  established  a  boot 
and  shoe  store,  carrying  on  business  with  gratifying  success  until  1865.  He 
then  sold  out  and  took  up  his  abode  on  a  farm  in  Burlington,  Calhoun  county, 
where  he  lived  for  four  years,  after  which  he  retumed  to  Union  City,  estab- 
lishing his  home  in  the  house  which  has  since  sheltered  him.  The  first 
township  election  was  held  in  this  house.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tower  were 
bom  two  sons:  Willis,  who  was  born  November  15.  1856,  and  is  now  en- 
gaged in  the  boot  and  .shoe  business  in  Union  City,  and  Newlon  E.,  who  was 
iDorn  November  26,  1857,  and  is  now  postmaster  of  this  place.  He  is  mar- 
ried and  has  two  children:     Harold  N.  E.  and  Marjorie  E. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tower  celebrated  their  fiftieth  wedding  anniversary  in 
1899,  having  for  a  half  century  traveled  life's  joumey  together,  sharing  with 
each  other  its  joys  and  sorrows,  its  adversity  and  prosperity,  their  mutual 
love  and  con6dence  increasing  as  the  years  have  gone  by.  They  have  now 
been  man  and  wife  for  fifty-six  years,  and  all  of  their  married  life  has  been 
spent  in  Branch  coimty.  Since  the  organization  of  the  Republican  party  Mr. 
Tower  has  been  one  of  its  stalwart  advocates  and  has  held  a  number  of  local 
offices  in  the  town,  never  faltering  in  the  performance  of  any  dutv  that  has 
devolved  upon  him  in  this  connection.     He  is  one  of  the  honored  pioneer  set- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  385 

tiers  here  and  his  labors  have  contributed  in  substantial  measure  to  the  up- 
iniilding  and  progress  of  this  section  of  the  state.  His  success  in  business 
was  the  result  of  honest,  persistent  effort  in  the  line  of  honorable  and  manly 
dealing.  His  aim  has  always  been  to  attain  to  the  best  and  he  has  carried 
fonvard  to  successful  completion  whatever  he  has  undertaken.  His  life  has 
marked  a  steady  growth  and  now  he  is  in  possession  of  an  ample  competence, 
niid.  more  than  all.  has  that  contentment  which  comes  from  a  consciousness 
rif  having;  lived  for  a  worthy  purpose. 

WILLIS  H.  TOWER. 


Wilhs  H.  Tower,  a  representative  of  commercial  interests  in  Union 
City,  where  he  has  engaged  in  business  as  a  dealer  in  boots  and  shoes,  was 
iiere  born  November  :5,  1856,  being  the  elder  son  of  Isaac  and  Mary  Tower, 
ivho  are  yet  residents  of  Union  City.  He  began  his  education  in  tlie  common 
schools,  passed  through  successive  grades  until  he  had  become  a  high  school 
student  and  later  entered  Olivet  College  at  Olivet,  Michigan.  He  began  his 
Jiusiiiess  career  as  a  salesman  in  the  shoe  store  of  Samuel  Corbin,  with  whom 
he  remained  for  two  or  three  years,  and  on  the  expiration  of  that  period  he 
niid  his  brother,  Newton  E.,  established  a  shoe  store  in  this  city  under  the 
firm  name  of  Tower  Brothers.  They  were  thus  associated  for  twenty-five 
years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  Willis  Tower  purchased  bis  brother's  interest 
and  has  since  conducted  business  independently.  From  the  beginning  he  has 
enjoyed  a  large  patronage,  and  his  enterprising  methods,  the  large  line  of 
goods  which  he  carries  and  his  honorable  methods  constitute  the  basis  of 
iiis  prosperity. 

In  1880  Mr.  Tower  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Ida  E.  Canniff,  a 
ihnghter  of  Enos  and  Lucy  Canniff.  She  was  Ixirn  in  Hudson,  Michigan 
.iik!  pursued  her  education  in  the  schools  there.  By  this  marriage  there  is 
"nc  child.  Dr.  Lee  H.  Tower,  who  is  now  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine in  Centerville  and  is  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Michigan  of  the 
class  of  1904. 

In  connection  with  his  otlier  business  interests  Willis  Tower  is  a  di- 
rector in  the  Union  City  National  Bank.  While  his  mercantile  affairs  make 
iieavy  claims  upon  his  time  and  attention,  he  has  yet  found  opportunity  to 
jierform  capable  service  in  behalf  of  his  fellow  townsmen,  and  his  aid  is 
;th\ays  counted  upon  to  further  any  movement  for  the  public  good.  In 
pohtics  he  has  been  a  life-long  Reptiblican  and  has  served  as  a  member  of 
the  school  board.  In  the  Masonic  fraternity  he  is  connected  with  the  lodge  and 
the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  and  his  wife  is  a  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church.  He  has  lived  his  life  of  fifty  years  in  this  county  and  is  well 
known.  A  man  of  wide  experiences  and  broad  mind,  of  marked  enterprise 
and  good  discernment,  he  has  many  friends  throughout  this  part  of  the  state 
and  is  classed  with  the  representative  merchants  and  valued  citizens  of  Union 
City. 


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S86  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

WARD  C.  GRUNER. 

In  the  history  of  the  agricultural  development  of  Branch  county  men- 
tion should  he  made  of  Ward  C.  Gruner,  who  resides  on  section  two,  Bata- 
via  township,  and  he  has  spent  his  entire  life  in  Branch  county,  giving  his 
attention  to  agricultural  pursuits  since  he  attained  his  majority.  He  was 
lx)rn  in  Coldwater  township  on  the  ist  of  January,  1866.  His  father,  Weii- 
zel  Gruner,  was  a  native  of  Wittenberg,  Germany,  and  on  crossing  the  At- 
lantic to  America  spent  five  years  in  the  state  of  New  York,  after  which  he 
came  to  Michigan,  settling  in  Coldwater  township  at  an  early  period  in  its 
development.  There  he  secured  a  tract  of  land  and  became  one  of  the  pros- 
perous farmers  of  the  county,  devoting  his  time  and  energies  to  general 
agricultural  pursuits  up  to  the  time  of  his  demise,  which  occurred  when  he 
was  fifty-five  years  of  age.  He  married  Rtiss  Emily  Randall,  who  is  repre- 
sented elsewhere  in  this  work. 

Ward  C.  Gruner  is  the  fourth  of  their  children  and  was  reared  in  Cold- 
water  township  upon  the  old  home  farm.  At  the  usuai  age  he  entered  the 
district  schools,  and  acquired  a  fair  English  education.  Through  the  period 
of  his  youth  he  assisted  in  the  labors  of  the  old  homestead  and  when  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  started  out  in  life  on  his  own  account.  In  1889  he  purchased 
the  farm  whereon  he  now  resides,  took  up  his  abode  there  and  has  made  ex- 
cellent improvements  since,  including  the  erection  of  substantial  bams  and  a 
good  residence.  These  are  surrounded  by  well  tilled  fields,  and  he  annually 
gathers  golden  harvests  for  the  reward  which  he  bestows  upon  his  land. 

On  the  20th  of  November,  1889.  Mr.  Gruner  was  married  to  Miss  Delia 
Graf,  a  daughter  of  Willard  and  Martha  Graf,  and  unto  them  have  been  born 
three  children.  Car!  W.,  Ruth  M.  and  Mina  Laura,  all  of  whom  are  attending 
school.  Mr.  Gruner  has  eighty  acres  of  land,  devoted  to  general  farming 
and  stock  raising.  He  has  been  a  life-long  resident  of  Michigan  and  his 
life  exemplifies  the  progressive  spirit  which  has  been  the  dominant  factor  in 
the  substantial  and  rapid  development  of  this  part  of  the  country.  In  politics 
he  is  an  earnest  Republican,  has  served  as  highway  commissioner  and,  is  now 
a  member  of  the  school  board.  He  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  public 
affairs  and  is  a  member  of  the  Grange,  No.  95. 

HON.  MILO  DEWITT  CAMPBELL. 

Hon.  Miio  Dewitt  Campbell,  prominent  in  Republican  circles  in  Mich- 
igan and  wielding  a  wide  influence  in  public  thought  and  action,  was  born 
on  his  father's  farm  in  Quincy  township,  Brancli  county,  October  25,  1851. 
his  parents  being  Rollin  Madison  and  Susan  Ann  Campbell  In  the  paternal 
line  he  comes  of  Scotch,  lineage,  while  the  maternal  ancestry  is  traced  back 
to  England.  His  parents  were  born  in  western  New  York,  and  in  1848  came 
to  Michigan,  settling  in  Branch  county,  where  the  father  followed  the  occu- 
pation of  farming. 

Milo  Dewitt  Campbell  was  reared  in  the  usual  manner  of  farm  lads  and 
attended  the  country  schools  until  fourteen  years  of  age,  after  which  he  be- 


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Residence  of  Milo  D.  Camptell 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  387 

came  a  student  in  the  city  schools  of  Coldwatei",  and  there  he  was  graduated 
on  the  completion  of  a  high  school  course  with  the  class  of  1871.  He  after- 
ward matriciiJated  in  the  State  Normal  School  at  Ypsilanti,  and  the  year 
of  his  graduation  there  was  1875.  His  father  being  a  farmer  of  limited 
financial  resources  was  not  able  to  aid  his  son  in  securing  an  education,  but 
allowed  him  the  privilege  of  working  as  a  farm  hand  in  the  summer  months, 
and  with  the  wages  thus  earned  Mr.  Campbell  met  the  expense  of  his  high 
school  and  normal  courses.  When  seventeen  years  of  age  he  began  teaching, 
and  alternately  devoted  his  attention  to  attending  school  and  to  the  work  of 
instruction  in  the  schoolroom  until  he  had  completed  his  own  education.  Pre- 
dilection led  him  to  the  study  of  law,  and  in  1877  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 
For  ten  years  thereafter  he  practiced  in  the  town  of  Quincy,  Michigan,  and 
soon  rose  to  prominence  in  his  profession,  gaining  a  lucrative  practice.  In 
1886  he  removed  to  Coldwater,  where  he  has  since  resided,  and  here  he 
entered  into  a  partnership  with  Clayton  C.  Johnson,  who  had  been  a  law  student 
in  his  office.  This  relation  has  continued  uninterruptedly  and  the  firm  enjoys 
a  large  patronage.  The  favorable  opinion  which  the  world  passed  upon  Mr. 
Campbell  at  the  outset  of  his  career  has  in  no  degree  been  set  aside  or  modi- 
fied, but  on  the  contrary  has  been  strengthened  as  the  years  have  passed  and 
he  has  demonstrated  his  ability  to  handle  intricate  legal  problems.  In  addi- 
tion to  his.  law  practice  he  has  business  interests  in  the  Coldwater  National 
Bank  and  the  Southern  Michigan  National  Bank. 

Mr.  Campbell  is  equally  prominent  in  political  circles  and  perhaps  is 
even  more  widely  known  as  a  Republican  leader  than  as  a  lawyer.  He  has 
held  several  positions  of  honor  ard  trust,  the  first  office  to  which  he  was 
called  having  been  that  of  county  school  commissioner.  He  was  elected 
to  that  office  when  only  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  stibsequently  he  was 
chosen  by  popular  vote  to  the  office  of  circuit  court  commissioner  of  Branch 
county.  In  1885  he  was  elected  to  represent  his  district  in  the  state  legisla- 
ture and  in  January,  1887,  when  Governor  Luce  was  inaugurated  as  chief 
executive  of  the  commonwealth,  Mr.  Campbell  became  his  private  secretary 
and  was  the  incumbent  in  that  office  for  four  years.  In  1891  he  was  ap- 
pointed by  Governor  Winans  as  the  Republican  member  of  the  state  board 
of  inspectors,  having  charge  of  all  the  penal  and  reformatory  institutions  of 
the  state,  together  with  the  pardon  board.  He  was  made  president  of  this 
board  and  served  for  two  years,  or  until  the  law  creating  this  board  was 
changed.  He  was  appointed  hy  Governor  John  T.  Rich  a  member  of  the 
railroad  and  street  crossing  board  of  inspectors  in  1893,  and  served  for  one 
term  and  in  1897  he  received  appointment  as  commissioner  of  insurance  by 
Governor  Pingree,  holding  that  office  for  two  years,  when  at  the  solicitation 
of  the  governor  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  board  of  state  tax  com- 
missioners. He  then  became  its  president  and  served  as  such  until  the  close 
of  Governor  PJngree's  term  of  office.  He  has  been  elected  three  times 
mayor  of  the  city  of  Coldwater,  in  1902,  1903  and  1904,  and  as  a  delegate 
has  attended  many  district,  state  and  national  conventions  of  the  Republican 
party  as  well  as  international  and  national  conferences  of  the  board  of  cor- 
rection and  charities.'      He  was  a   delegate  to  the  national   conference  at 


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388  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

New  York  to  prepare  extradition  agreements  between  the  states.  He  has 
made  a  close  study  of  questions  that  have  arisen  in  connection  with  the  dis- 
charge of  the  many  duties  that  have  devolved  upon  him  in  an  official  capacity 
and  has  labored  for  the  benefit  of  the  state  along  practical  lines  for  improve- 
ment in  connection  with  the  work  for  the  benefit  of  the  classes  who  do  not 
hold  themselves  amenable  to  the  law  and  must  therefore  be  placed  under 
restriction. 

Fraternally  Mr.  Campbell  is  a  member  of  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry 
and  is  also  a  Knight  Templar  and  an  Elk,  He  holds  membership  with  the 
Presbyterian  church  of  Coldwater  and  his  career  has  been  marked  by  con- 
duct consistent  with  his  professions.  He  is  a  man  of  broad  humanitarian 
principles  and  has  never  faltered  in  the  performance  of  any  duty  in  connec- 
tion with  his  public  service. 

Mr.  Campbell  was  married  in  Quincy,  Michigan,  October  i8,  1876,  to 
Miss  Marion  Florence  Sears.  They  have  an  adopted  daughter,  Jessie  May, 
who  became  a  member  of  their  bousehoid  when  three  years  of  age.  The 
family  enjoy  pleasing,  social  relations  and  are  numbered  among  the  promi- 
nent representatives  of  the  social  life  of  Coldwater.  They  own  and  occupy 
a  large  and  attractive  m-odern  residence  on  East  Chicago  street. 

HENRY  A.  GRAVES. 

Henry  A.  Gra\es,  formerly  identified  with  the  mercantile  interests  as  a 
grocer  and  now  agent  for  the  United  States  Express  Company  at  Quincy, 
was  born  at  Clear  Lake,  Steulaen  county,  Indiana,  November  25,  1856.  His 
father,  Orval  Ciraves.  was  born  in  Granville,  Licking  county,  Ohio,  Septem- 
ber 2^,  jSij.  The  grandfather  and  great-grandfather  both  bore  tlie  name 
of  Enoch  Graves,  and  the  former,  born  in  Granville,  Massachusetts,  in  1705. 
went  to  Ohio  with  his  father,  Enoch  Graves,  Sr.,  who  traveled  westward  with 
a  colony  and  founded  the  town  of  Granville,  giving  to  it  the  name  of  their 
old  home  in  New  England.  The  Graves  family  is  of  Anglo-Saxon  lineage, 
and  the  name  was  originally  DeGreaves.  The  first  representative  of  the 
family  in  America  arrived  in  1632,  settling  in  Massachusetts,  and  later  gen- 
erations went  to  Connecticut. 

Orval  Graves  removed  from  Ohio  to  Steuben  county,  Indiana,  in  1854- 
He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation  and  he  purchased  four  eighty  acres  of  land 
of  the  original  purchaser,  who  had  obtained  it  from  the  government,  and 
Mr.  Graves  of  this  review  has  in  his  possession  the  original  patent  deeds  for 
each  eighty.  On  the  7th  of  April,  1S65,  Orval  Graves  became  a  resident  of 
Quincy  and  remained  in  the  village  for  four  years,  after  which  he  took  up 
his  abode  on  a  farm  two  miles  west  of  Quincy,  which  he  had  previously  pur- 
chased and  on  whicJi  he  remained  until  his  death  on  the  9th  of  Februar}-, 
1889.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  convictions,  honorable  and  upright  in  his 
daily  walk  in  life,  and  was  a  consistent  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
in  which  he  long  held  office.  He  gave  his  political  support  to  the  Republican 
party,  but  had  no  aspirations  for  preferment  in  that  direction.  He  stood 
high  in  the  regard  of  friends  and  neighbors,  all  who  knew  him  entertaining 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  389 

for  him  warm  regard.  He  married  Elvira  Saxtoii.  who  was  born  in  Malone, 
Franklin  county,  New  York,  October  8,  1823.  and  >s  now  living  in  Quincy. 
She  was  a  daughter  of  Ebenezer  and  Lois  (Brigham)  Saxton,  in  whose  fam- 
ily were  eight  children,  while  her  husband  was  one  of  a  family  of  four  chil- 
dren, of  whom  one  is  now  living,  Alva  Graves,  who  is  a  music  teacher  resid- 
ing at  Battle  Creek,  Michigan.  Mrs.  Graves  was  of  English  lineage.  Unto 
this  marriage  there  were  born  five  children:  Elmer  E.,  LiUie,  Ella  and  Bur- 
ton O.,  all  now  deceased. 

Henry  A.  Graves,  who  was  the  fourth  in  order  of  birth,  began  his  edu- 
cation in  the  schools  of  Quincy  and  continued  his  studies  in  Valparaiso,  In- 
diana. He  taught  for  five  years  in  the  district  schools  of  Quincy  township, 
and  was  superintendent  of  schools  in  the  state  reformatory  of  Connecticut  at 
Meriden  for  a  time.  In  the  spring  of  1883  he  embarked  in  the  grocery  busi- 
ness in  Quincy,  successfully  conducting  a  store  until  1895.  He  also  had  the 
agency  of  the  United  States  Ejcpress  Company.  In  the  fall  of  1895  he  sold 
the  business  and  in  the  spring  of  1896  went  to  Fostoria,  Ohio,  where  he 
took  charge  of  the  United  States  express  office.  After  remaining  at  that 
-place  for  two  years  he  returned  to  Quincy  and  again  engaged  in  the  grocery 
and  express  business.  He  had  a  well  appointed  store,  which  he  conducted 
until  January.  1905,  when  he  sold  out  to  his  son-in-law,  George  P.  Comstock, 
and  John  R.  Norcutt.  but  retained  the  agency  of  the  express  company,  and 
is  now  conducting  the  office  at  this  point.  Mr.  Norcutt  is  now  out  of  busi- 
ness in  Quincy,  and  Mr.  Graves  has  charge  of  the  United  States  Express 
Company,  and  the  firm  is  now  Comstock  and  Company,  Mr.  Graves  being  the 
company. 

On  the  loth  of  August,  1S81,  Mr.  Graves  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Jennie  Boon,  a  daughter  of  Rodney  and  Hannah  (Carr)  Boon  of  Rose- 
ville,  Illinois.  She  died  June  16,  1892,  in  the  thirty-fourth  year  of  her  age, 
leaving  a  daughter.  Nellie  E..  who  is  now  the  wife  of  George  P.  Coinstock. 
On  the  27th  of  September,  1S93.  Mr.  Graves  was  married  to  Miss  Lulu  D. 
Smith,  a  daughter  of  J.  C.  and  Viola  Smith  of  Cleveland.  Tennessee,  Mr=. 
Graves  was  born  in  Quincy,  Michigan,  July  10,  1870,  and  there  were  two 
children  by  this  marriage:  Howard  A.,  born  March  14,  1895;  and  Mar- 
guerite Viola,  who  was  bom  November  14,  1897,  and  died  January  11,  1900. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Graves  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  in  which 
he  is  serving  as  one  of  the  trustees,  anr!  for  a  number  of  years  he  was  sujier- 
intendent  of  the  Sunday  school.  In  the  work  of  the  church  he  has  taken  a 
deep  and  lielpful  interest.  He  belongs  to  the  Masonic  fraternity.  Mt.  Ver- 
non Lodge  No.  166,  in  which  he  has  taken  the  York  Rife  degrees;  Quincy 
Chapter  No.  115.  Royal  Arch  Masons:  Mt.  Moriah  Council  No.  6.  at  Cold- 
water,  and  Jacob's  Commandery  No.  10,  Coldwater;  and  Saladin  Temple, 
A.  A.  O.  N.  M.  S.,  Grand  Rapids,  and  Ijelongs  also  to  the  Knights  of  Pj-thias 
fraternity,  Quincy  Lodge  No.  201;  the  Woodmen  Camp  No.  J  066,  and  the 
Eastern  Star  No.  13,  and  has  filled  all  of  the  chairs  in  subordinate  lodges. 
Iti  politics  he  is  a  Republican  and  has  been  a  member  of  the  council,  also 
village  treasurer  and  township  treasurer  and  townshi]?  superintendent  of 
schools.     He  is  now  serving  as  township  chairman  of  the  Repubhcan  com- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


niittee,  and  has  received  his  commission  as  postmaster  of  Qiuncy.  He  is 
recognized  as  one  of  the  local  RepnbHcan  leaders,  and  has  also  been  \'er\' 
active  and  helpfnl  in  church  work.  He  is  popular  with  many  friends  and 
esteemed  by  ail  who  know  him,  and  is  justly  regarded  as  one  of  the  repre- 
sentative citizens  of  Qi.iincy. 

CHARLES  W.  BENNETT. 

Charles  W.  Bennett,  at  one  time  prominently  connected  with  business 
interests  in  Coldwater  and  now  living  retired,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Rollin, 
Lenawee  county,  Michigan,  August  14,  183S,  his  parents  being  Hiram  Har- 
rison and  Caroline  A.  (Holmes)  Bennett.  The  father  and  mother  were  hoth 
natives  of  the  state  of  New  York,  the  former  born  near  Schenectady  and  the 
latter  near  Batavia.  They  were  married  in  Michigan  and  settled  in  Lenawee 
county,  there  living  for  about  eight  years,  after  which  they  removed  to  the 
township  of  Butler,  Branch  county,  where  they  arrived  in  June,  1845.  Sub- 
sequently they  took  up  their  abode  in  Quincy,  where  the  mother  died  in  1890 
at  the  age  of  seventy-six  yearE,  while  the  father  passed  away  in  Coldwater 
in  1897,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three  years.  The  remains  of  both  were  interred 
in  the  cemetery  at  Quincy.  TTirough  much  of  his  life  the  father  followed 
farming  and  he  also  worked  at  carpentering  and  at  the  builder's  trade,  pos- 
sessing much  natural  mechanical  ability.  His  political  supjxjrt  was  given 
to  the  Whig  party  in  his  early  life  and  afterward  he  became  a  staunch  Re- 
publican. He  was  one  of  die  most  prominent  members  of  the  Baptist  church 
of  his  locality  and  was  one  of  three  men  who  established  the  first  church 
of  that  denomination  in  Butler  township.  He  led  an  active  and  consistent 
Christian  life  and  the  honorable  principles  which  permeated  his  career  made 
him  a  man  respected  and  esteemed  by  all  who  knew  him.  His  wife  was  also 
a  member  of  the  Baptist  church  and  a  most  estimable  lady.  This  worthy 
couple  had  but  two  children,  Charles  W.  and  Minerva  Adaline,  the  latter  the 
wife  of  Joel  Rowley  of  Coldwater. 

Charles  W.  Bennett  was  reared  upon  his  father's  farm  and  obtained  his 
education  in  a  little  log  schoolhouse  such  as  was  common  in  pioneer  districts. 
When  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  began  teaching  school,  but  followed  that 
profession  for  only  two  years,  when,  after  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war,  he 
responded  to  the  country's  need,  enlisting  on  the  !5th  of  August.  1861,  as  a 
private  of  Company  G,  Ninth  Michigan  Infantry.  He  was  made  a  serge:mt 
before  the  company  left  the  state  and  afterward  received  several  promo- 
tions, being  commissioned  captain  on  the  26th  of  October,  :863,  of  Company 
F,  Thirteenth  United  States  Colored  Infantry,  while  on  the  2nd  of  Decem- 
ber, iSt'^,  he  was  brevetted  major  "  for  faithful  and  meritorious  service  dur- 
ing the  war."'  He  participated  in  a  number  of  the  most  sanguinary  engage- 
ments, including  the  battles  of  Murfreesboro,  Stone  River,  Chickamanga, 
Nashville  and  others  of  less  importance,  and  was  honorably  discharged  with 
his  regiment  on  January  10,  1S66.  having  been  connected  with  the  military 
service  of  his  country  for  nearly  four  and  one-half  years.     He  is  now  a  mcm- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  ^'■•■1 

I)er  of  Butterwortli  Post,  No.  109,  G.  A.  R..  of  which  he  has  served  as  com- 
mander. 

FoHowing  his  return  troni  the  war  Mr.  Bennett  took  np  his  abode  in 
Otiincy,  where  in  1866  he  engaged  in  the  grocery  and  drug  business.  He 
followed  merchandising  there  until  1893,  but  during  the  last  ten  years  con- 
fined his  attention  to  the  drug  and  book  trade,  having  disposed  of  his  grocery 
stock.  That  he  enjoyed  a  liberal  patronage  and  a  successful  business  is  indi- 
cated by  the  fact  that  he  continued  actively  in  commercial  circles  for  twenty- 
seven  years.  Selling  out  in  Quincy  in  1893  he  removed  to  Coldwater,  where 
lie  now  mukes  his  home.  In  1870  he  had  established  at  Quincy,  Michigan, 
the  Bennett  Newspaper  &  Magazine  Agency,  which  was  the  pioneer  enter- 
prise of  this  line  in  the  world.  He  conducted  the  business  to  a  recent  date, 
but  in  1904  sold  out. 

Mr.  Bennett  was  married  in  Quincy,  Michigan,  in  1868,  to  Miss  Minnie 
j.  Sheldon,  a  native  of  Ohio  and  a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Barbour  N.  and 
Maria  Jane  Sheldon,  a  history  of  whom  is  given  elsewhere  in  this  work. 
Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bennett  are  prominent  and  zealous  members  of  the 
.  Presbyterian  church,  and  the  captain  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  active  in 
support  of  the  party  from  early  manhood.  Pie  has  held  a  number  of  minor 
offices  and  was  postmaster  of  Quincy  under  the  administration  of  President 
Harrison.  Well  known  in  Branch  county  as  a  progressive,  energetic  and 
enterprising  lousiness  man,  he  has  also  gained  a  wide  acquaintance  as  a 
musician,  and  was  the  organizer  of  the  Quincy  band.  He  is  likewise  the  com- 
poser of  thirty-eight  vocal  selections,  and  in  musical  circles  his  reputation  ex- 
tends far  beyond  the  limits  of  this  county. 

DELIVAN  SORTER. 

Delivan  Sorter,  who  is  engaged  in  general  farming  in  Ovid  township, 
was  iKirn  in  this  part  of  Branch  county  on  the  8th  of  May,  1846,  his  parents 
!)eing  Jacob  and  Hannah  (Clark)  Sorter,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of 
Steuljen  county.  New  York.  The  paternal  grandparents  removed  to  New 
Jersey  from  the  IiJiipire  state,  and  there  Jacob  Sorter  was  reared  arid  edu- 
cated. He  chose  as  a  companion  and  helpmate  for  life's  journey  Miss  Han- 
nah Clark,  who  also  spent  her  childhood  in  that  locality,  In  pioneer  times 
they  came  westward  to  Branch  county,  arriving  in  Michigan  in  1838,  at 
which  time  they  settled  in  Ovid  township  upon  a  farm  of  forty  acres.  All 
around  was  the  forest  and  it  was  only  here  and  there  that  a  settler  had  made 
a  little  clearing  and  begun  the  de\'elopnient  of  a  farm.  Mr.  Sorter  cut  aw^ay 
the  trees,  plowed  tlie  land  and  tilled  the  fields,  and  in  due  course  of  time  haa 
his  entire  farm  under  cultivation.  He  lived  upon  that  place  for  three  years 
and  a  half  and  tlien  purchased  what  has  since  lieen  known  as  the  Sorter 
farm,  entering  eighty  acres  of  land  from  the  government  and  buying  the  re- 
mainder from  other  parties.  The  place  comprises  two  hundred,  and  sixty 
acres  of  land,  the  greater  part  of  which  is  under  cultivation.  Mr,  Sorter 
bought  .-md  sold  various  farms  in  the  county  and  capably  conducted  his.  busi- 
ness interests  with  the  result  that  as  the  years  passed  he  acquired  a  handsome 
competence.     In  politics  he  was  always  earnest  and  active  in  support  of  the 


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892  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

principles  of  Democracy  and  he  did  everything  in  his  power  to  promote  the 
growth  and  insure  the  success  of  his  party.  His  death  occurred  in  1882, 
when  he  was  eighty  years  of  age,  and  thus  passed  away  one  of  the  honored, 
pioneer  residents  of  this  section  of  Michigan,  In  the  family  were  eight  chil- 
dren, three  of  whom  were  born  in  New  York,  while  five  were  born  in  Branch 
county.  All  were  sons,  and  the  eldest  died  in  infancy.  The  others  were 
George,   William,   Henry,   A.ndrew,  James,   Delivan   and  David. 

Delivan  Sorter  spent  the  days  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  in  Ovid  town- 
ship and  assisted  his  father  in  clearing  and  cultivating  the  old  homestead. 
He  had  the  opportunity  of  attending  the  district  schools  and  thus  qualified  for 
life's  practical  and  responsible  duties.  f-Iis  active  labor  in  the  fields  alsi.) 
prepared  him  for  carrying  on  the  farm  work  when  he  took  charge  of  his  own 
property  in  later  years.  He  now  lias  fifty  acres  where  he  resides,  and  twenty 
acres  additional  in  the  township,  and  his  farm  labors  are  characterized  by  a 
tlTorough  understanding  of  agricuitural  methods  and  by  unremitting  dili- 
gence in  the  promotion  of  his  work. 

Jn  1875  Mr.  Sorter  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Esther  A.  Merrill, 
a  daughter  of  Joseph  S.  and  Mary  A.  Merrill.  Mrs.  Sorter  was  born  in  Ovid 
township,  near  the  Quinby  schoolhonse,  on  the  28th  of  September,  1854. 
representing  one  of  the  pioneer  families  of  this  part  of  the  state.  Her  father 
was  a  native  of  Maine  and  when  fifteen  years  of  age  left  New  England  and 
went  to  Ohio,  where  he  remained  until  1S4S.  He  then  came  to  Branch  county, 
which  was  largely  a  wild  and  unimproved  district  at  diat  time.  He  settled 
upon  a  farm  of  forty  acres,  then  covered  with  timber,  and  cleared  most  of 
that  place.  In  1851.  however,  he  went  to  Cahfomia,  attracted  by  the  discov- 
ery of  gold  in  that  state,  and  there  he  remained  for  about  two  veal's  search- 
ing for  the  precious  metal.  Returning  to  Branch  county  he  bought  another 
farm  in  Ovid  township,  becoming  owner  of  two  hundred  acres  of  timber 
land,  which  lie  cleared  through  hard  work.  No  one  who  has  not  performed 
a  similar  service  can  understand  the  arduous  toil  involved  in  such  a  task. 
One  by  one  the  trees  have  to  be  felled,  the  stumps  grubbed  out  and  the  bmsh 
cleared  away  or  burned.  Then  follows  the  work  of  plowing,  harrowing  anil 
planting,  and  thus  the  task  of  cultivating  the  fields  is  carried  forward  until 
rich  harvests  are  garnered  as  a  reward  for  the  former  toil.  Unto  Mr.  and 
Mrs,  Joseph  S.  Merrill  were  horn  three  children,  two  sons  and  a  daughter. 
The  mother,  however,  died  when  Mrs.  Sorter  was  only  about  a  year  old, 
and  the  father  afterward  married  again,  his  second  union  being  with  Mrs. 
Sallie  Hanfnrd  Summers,  the  widow  of  Thomas  Summers,  who  by  her 
former  marriage  had  one  daughter,  Teresa.  By  the  second  marriage  there 
was  one  son,  Levi.  Mrs.  Sorter's  father  was  married  a  third  time  when  Mrs. 
Louisa  J.  (Hibner)  Grover  became  his  wife.  She  was  the  mother  of  two 
children,  a  daughter  and  son,  Laura  and  Frank,  who  were  bom  of  her  former 
marriage,  while  by  Mr.  Merrill  she  had  two  sons,  J.  S.  and  Allen  Ozias,  the 
latter  now  deceased.  Mr.  Merrill  was  an  earnest  Republican  in  his  political 
views  and  was  a  well-known  man,  who  had  a  wide  and  favorable  acquaint- 
ance throughout  the  county.  He  died  October  17.  1879,  when  well  advanced 
in  years,  leaving  behind  him  an  honorable  name. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  393 

At  the  time  of  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sorter  settled  upon  the 
Wiliiam  Sorter  farm,  where  they  hved  for  a  year  and  then  .spent  the  succeed- 
ini;  tliree  years  uixm  their  present  place.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period 
lliuy  returned  to  the  old  homestead  and  Mr.  Sorter  devoted  two  years  to  the 
care  of  his  aged,  father  and  the  management  of  the  property.  The  father 
(lied  in  his  eightieth  year,  and  thus  passed  away  an  honored  and  pioneer 
resident  of  Branch  county.  He  had  given  his  political  allegiance  to  the 
Democracy,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  the  ow-ner  of  fifty  acres  of 
l;iiid  in  Ovid  township  in  one  tract  and  twenty  acres  in  another  tract.  Mr. 
Sorter  of  this  review  has  devoted  his  entire  life  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and 
ill  his  work  is  practical,  energetic  and  persistent — qualities  which  always  in- 
sure success.  In  politics  he  is  largely  independent,  voting  for  men  and  meas- 
ures rather  than  party, 

JOHN  F.  PHILLIPS. 

Many  of  the  successful  men  of  this  country  have  achieved  success  while 
conducting  agriculture  along  with  other  hues  of  business,  giving  a  portion  of 
their  time  to  each  avocation  and  becoming  adept  in  each.  One  of  these  is 
the  gentleman  named  above,  Mr.  John  F.  Phillips,  who  occupies  a  comfortable 
farm  home  on  section  sixteen,  Kinderhook  township. 

Mr.  Phillips  is  of  English  birth,  he  having  been  born  in  Cornwall,  Eng- 
land, May  6,  1844.  The  Phillips  had  been  residents  of  Cornwall  for  many 
^generations  and  the  first  of  the  family  to  leave  the  mother  country  and  come 
to  j^merica  was  the  i>atemal  grandfather  of  our  subject,  who  settled  in  Hast- 
ings county,  Canada,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life.  Our  subject's 
father,  John  Phillips,  was  also  born  in  Cornwall,  England,  where  he  grew  to 
manhood  and  married  Elizabeth  Roberts,  a  native  o£  the  same  place.  They 
■■\ere  the  parents  of  three  children,  when,  a  few  years  after  the  departure  of 
the  senior  Phillips,  they  decided  to  also  try  their  fortunes  in  the  new  country. 
They  made  the  voyage  in  1S50  and  likewise  located  In  Ontario  upon  a  new 
farm.  The  father  died  two  years  after  their  arrival  and  the  son,  J&hn  F., 
was  brought  up  by  strangers,  he  being  only  eight  years  old  when  his  father 
died.  John  Phillips  and  Mary  Roberts  Phillips  were  the  parents  of  five 
children,  as  follows:  Peter  died  in  Hastings,  Canada;  John  F.  is  the  subject 
n£  this  review;  Mary  Honey,  Susan  Holmes  and  Josiah  Phillips  always  made 
their  home  in  Ontario,  and  of  the  family  only  John  F.  and  Mary  Honey  are 
living.    The  mother  also  died  in  Ontario  in  1880. 

John  F.  Phillips  lived  in  Canada  until  1865  and  then  went  to  Lockport, 
New  York.  He  had  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter  and  joiner  in  Canada 
;ind  after  going  to  Lockport  he  worked  at  his  trade  in  shops  there  for  several 
years.  This  was  followed  by  two  years'  work  upon  a  farm  not  far  from 
Lockport.  after  which  he  worked  at  his  trade  at  Charlottesville,  New  York, 
until  1871,  w^hen  he  came  to  Michigan,  locating  first  at  Kinderhook  Corners, 
where  he  remained  for  two  years.  His  first  purchase  of  land  was  fifty  acres, 
which  comprises  a  portion  of  his  present  farm,  and  in  later  years  he  increased 
this  to  one  hundred  and  eighteen  acres.  The  place  was  but  little  improved 
and  he  cleared  the  land  himself,  working  also  at  his  trade  when  opportunity 


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394  HISTORY  OF  BRA^XH  COUNTY 

offered.  It  is  an  acknowledged  fact  that  no  carpenter  or  contractor  in  tliis 
portion  of  the  county  has  so  many  good  buildings  to  his  credit  as  has  Mr. 
Phillips.  He  has  been  engaged  in  construction  in  all  the  southern  townships 
of  Branch  county,  as  well  as  in  the  northern  townships  of  Steuben  count;', 
Indiana,  and  his  buildings  have  stood  the  test  of  years. 

Mr.  Phillips  was  married,  March  30,  1871,  to  Emma  Ketchum,  who 
was  horn  in  Niagara  county,  New  York,  February  8,  1846,  and  who  died 
here  January  10,  1887.  Two  children  were  born  unto  them:  Mertie  is  the 
wife  of  Frank  Whaley  and  their  home  is  in  Kinderhook;  they  have  one 
daughter,  Mildred.  The  other  daughter,  Nettie  L.,  is  the  wife  of  Francis 
FJandemeyer  and  they  live  in  Coldwater,  Michigan.  Mrs.  Phillips'  parents 
were  George  Ketchum  and  Mary  Jane  West,  natives  of  western  New  York 
state,  where  Mrs.  Ketchum  died,  her  husband  afterward  coming  to  Michigan 
and  dying  at  Flint  December  11.  1905.  Three  of  the  Ketchum  children  are 
still  living:  Mrs.  L.  J.  Skinner,  of  Flint,  Michigan;  William  I.  Ketchum, 
of  New  Fane,  New  York;  and  Charles  Ketchum,  of  Lockport,  New  York. 

The  second  marriage  of  Mr.  Phillips  occurred  Noveinber  1 1,  1888,  when 
he  was  united  with  Miss  Alice  A.  Hess,  a  native  of  Alabama,  New  York, 
where  she  was  born  May  5,  1859,  her  father  being  Phillip  Hess,  bom  in  Ger- 
many, and  her  mother  being  Mary  Lawrence,  a  native  of  I&yalton,  New 
York.  Mr.  Hess  was  bom  March  31,  1821,  and  Mary  Lawrence  was  born 
December  6,  1823.  They  were  married  at  Buffalo,  New  York,  and  were 
the  parents  of  nine  children,  all  of  whom  grew  to  maturity,  asi  follows : 
Charles  H.  lives  in  South  Dakota;  Frances  Ross  died  in  South  Frankfort, 
Michigan;  Homer  died  in  Orleans  county,  New  York;  Mary  Martin  lives  in 
Kinderhook ;  Nellie  died  in  New  York  state ;  George  P.  dietl  in  Genesee 
county.  New  York ;  lona  J.  Thompson  lives  in  Genesee  county.  New  York ; 
Martin  K.  lives  in  Kinderhook:  Alice  Phillips  is  the  wife  of  our  subject.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Hess  were  esteemed  people  and  both  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  Mr.  Hess  died  April  19,  1902,  while  Mrs.  Hess  passed  away  Novem- 
ber 20,*  1897.  Tracing  their  genealogy  still  further  we  learn  tliat  the  father 
of  Mr.  Hess  was  George  Hess,  while  the  father  of  Mrs.  Hess  was  Alvin 
Lawrence,  whose  wife  was  Abigail  Parker,  both  being  of  English  descent. 
The  marriage  of  John  F.  Phillips  and  Alice  Hess  has  been  a  particularly 
happy  one.  and  it  has  been  blessed  with  one  son,  Clare  J.,  whose  birth  occurred 
September  28,  1895.  He  Hves  at  home  with  his  parents  and  is  attending 
school. 

In  addition  to  his  business  as  a  builder,  Mr.  Phillips  also  finds  a  great 
deal  of  his  time  occupied  with  other  outside  matters,  he  having  been  admin- 
istrator of  many  estates  and  dealing  considerably  in  real  estate  of  various 
kinds.  At  the  same  time  he  manages  his  farm  after  the  best  and  most  ap- 
proved methods  and  we  find  it  a  model  in  condition  and  general  appearance, 
being  supplied  with  excellent  buildings  and  all  needful  machinery  for  opera- 
tion. The  whole  premises  possess  a  remarkable  neatness  of  appearance,  the 
owner  being  methodical  and  having  an  eye  for  beauty  as  well  as  utility. 

Although  of  necessity  a  very  busy  man,  nevertheless  Mr.  Phillips  finds 
time  for  fraternal  and  social  duties  and  he  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  395 

Greenleaf  Lodge  No.  349,  and  the  A.  O.  U.  W.  in  Kinderhook.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Phillips  are  also  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  Kin- 
derhook. 

THOMAS  W.  MACK. 

Thomas  W.  Mack,  who  for  more  than  half  a  centnry  has  resided  in 
Branch  connty,  was  barn  in  Conneanght,  Erie  county,  Pennsylvania,  July 
20.  1833,  his  parents  being  Joel  and  Marcia  (Ward)  Mack,  the  latter  an 
adopted  daughter  of  Thomas  Ward.  The  father,  Joel  Mack,  was  a  nati\'e 
of  the  Empire  state  and  after  residing  in  Pennsylvania  for  some  time  re- 
moved to  Ohio  in  1835,  setthng  in  Florence,  Erie  county,  where  the  family 
remained  for  twenty  years,  but  the  fatlier  passed  away  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
three  years.  The  mother  and  her  children  came  to  Michigan  in  March,  1854, 
and  Mrs.  Mack  afterward  riiarried  again,  becoming  Mrs.  Johnson.  She  died 
in  Girard  Center  in  1883  at  the  age  of  seventy  years.  Tliey  were  the  parents 
of  fi\e  children:  Cordelia,  who  died  in  infancy;  Joseph,  who  died  at  the 
age  of  seven  years;  Truman,  a  farmer  of  Girard  township;  Joel,  an  agri- 
culturist living  in  Union  township:  and  Thomas  W.,  of  this  review. 

Thomas  W.  Mack  spent  the  days  of  liis  youth  largely  in  Florence,  Erie 
county,  Ohio,  and  ear'y  learned  the  value  of  industry  and  perseverance  as 
effective  factors  in  a  business  career.  Before  leaving  Ohio  he  was  married  on 
the  l6th  of  November,  1853,  to  Miss  Eleanor  Packard,  a  daughter  of  Jere- 
miah and  Patience  (Orvis)  Packard,  the  former  a  native  of  Pennsylvania 
and  the  latter  of  Connecticut.  Mrs.  Packard  passed  away  May  10,  1S35,  in 
Pennsylvania,  while  the  death  of  Mr.  Packard  occurred  in  Huron  county, 
Ohio,  October  25.  1865.  They  had  two  children:  Mrs.  Mack;  and  Caro- 
line, who  became  Mrs.  Daniels  and  always  made  her  home  in  Ohio,  but  died 
in  New  York  city.  May  6,  1865,  having  gone  there  oji  a  visit.  Mr.  Packard 
after  the  death  of  his  first  wnfe  was  married  March  28,  1836.  to  Minerva 
Hyde,  and  they  had  three  children:  Melissa  Lance.  Schuyler  Packard  and 
Riley  Packard,  all  of  whom  are  deceased.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mack  have  be- 
come the  parents  of  three  daughters:  Patience  Minerva,  who  was  born  in 
Union  township.  August  7,  1857,  died  there  June  21.  1862.  Patience  Philena, 
lx;m  in  Girard  township,  February  20,  1866.  died  in  Lhiion  township.  April 
15,  1876.  Elsie,  born  in  Union  township.  September  30,  1854,  was  married 
September  5,  1B70,  to  Charles  Edwin  Perry,  a  native  of  Fredonia,  Calhoun 
county,  where  he  was  born  January  18,  1848.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupa- 
tion and  spent  nearly  his  entire  life  in  Girard  township.  During  the  period 
of  the  Civil  war  he  enlisted  on  the  2ik1  of  September,  1864,  in  Company  C, 
Twenty-eighth  Michigan  Infantrj-,  and  was  discharged  May  26,  1865,  at  the 
close  of  hostilities.  At  the  battle  of  Nashville  he  contracted  a  lung  disease 
and  never  fully  recovered,  dying  from  the  effects  April  6,  18S9.  at  his  home 
in  Girard  township.  He  left  a  widow  and  two  daughters:  Clara  M.,  who 
was  born  May  24,  1872,  and  is  the  wife  of  Boyce  Wagoner,  of  Girard  town- 
ship, by  w'hom  she  ha.^  one  son,  Roland;  and  Orpha  J.  Perry,  wdio  was  born 
June  2.  1875,  and  is  the  wife  of  Frank  Johnson,  of  Albion.  Michigan.  They 
have   three   children:     Harold   Edward,    Gladys   Elinor   and   Leila    Bernice. 


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396  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Mrs.  Perrj'  now  lives  at  Girard  Center  and  occupies  an  enviable  social  posi- 
tion there.  Slie  belongs  to  Biitterworth  Corps,  W.  R.  C,  at  Coldwater. 
Avondale  Hive,  L.  O.  T.  M.,  at  Tekonsha,  and  is  also  a  member  and  active 
worker  in  the  Girard  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mack  have  been  continuous  residents  of  Branch  county 
for  fifty-one  years,  living  in  Union  township  until  October,  igo2.  when  they 
carae  to  Girard  to  spend  their  remaining  days.  Following  their  arrival  in 
this  count}'  Mr.  Mack  purchased  forty  acres  of  new  land  in  Union  township, 
which  he  cleared  and  cuhivated.  He  also  purchased  and  aided  in  clearinj; 
two  other  farms  there,  and  he  still  owns  eighty  acres  of  valuable  and  pro- 
ductive land  on  section  thirteen.  Union  township.  He  has  followed  black- 
smithing  for  many  years  in  connection  with  agricultural  pursuits  and  has  long 
lived  a  life  of  untiring  activity  and  enterprise.  He  found  here  a  new  and  un- 
developed region  and  assisted  in  its  reclamation.  His  efforts  have  aided  in 
transforming  the  wild  land  into  productive  fields  and  at  all  times  he  ha,s 
furthered  progressive  public  measures  which  have  been  the  source  of  sub- 
stantial upbuilding  and  progress  in  the  county.  An  upright  man,  he  has  en- 
joyed the  confidence  and  esteem  of  all  with  whom  he  has  come  in  contact, 
and  his  life  record  is  an  indication  that  honorable  effort  wins  not  only  suc- 
cess, but  also  the  high  reg'ard  of  one's  fellow  men. 

ADISON  P.  JOHNSON. 

Fi^Dm  an  early  period  in  the  development  and  upbuilding  of  Branch 
county  Adison  P.  Johnson  has  resided  within  its  borders  and  his  home  is 
on  section  two,  Batavia  township.  He  was  horn  in  Huron  countyj  Ohio, 
on  the  31st  of  October,  1833.  ^is  father,  Hezekiah  Johnson,  was  a  native 
of  Green  county.  New  York,  was  there  reared  and  became  a  carpenter  and 
farmer.  His  father  was  born  in  Yonkers,  Connecticut,  and  removed  to  the 
Empire  state  at  an  early  day.  Hezekiah  Johnson,  after  his  marriage,  left 
New  York  and  vvent  to  Huron  county,  Ohio,  about  1830,  there  residing 
for  a  long  period,  after  which  he  came  to  Michigan  about  1864,  settling  in 
Quincy  township,  Branch  county,  upon  a  farm  which  remained  his  place 
of  residence  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  He  passed  away  at  the  age  of 
eighty-four  years,  leaving  to  his  family  the  priceless  heritage  of  a  good 
name  and  also  a  comfortable  competence.  His  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden 
name  of  Cornelia  Frayer,  was  bom  in  New  York  and  reached  the  very 
venerable  age  of  ninety-five  years.  In  their  family  were  eleven  children, 
nine  of  whom  grew  to  manhood  or  ivomanhood,  Adison  P.  Johnson  being 
the  seventh  child  and  sixth  son. 

In  the  place  of  his  nativity  Mr.  Johnson,  of  this  review,  spent  his 
boyhood  and  youth  and  was  a  district  school  student.  He  remained  with 
his  father  until  he  was  of  age,  assisting  him  on  the  farm.  He  also  worked 
by  the  day  for  one  summer  and  he  gained  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  best 
methods  of  carrying  on  agricultural  pursuits.  Before  he  4eft  Ohio  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Sylva  Van  Dusen,  who  died,  leaving  four  children:  Ella 
May,  the  wife  of  Jerome  Hawley,  of  Traverse  Citv,  Michigan;  Delia,  t!ie 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  Zdl 

wife  of  Adelbert  Martin,  a  resident  of  Batavia  township;  Kenneth,  de- 
ceased; and  Melvin  A.,  who  is  living  in  Batavia  township. 

In  the  year  1866  Mr.  Johnson  removed  to  Hillsdale  county,  Michigan, 
and  in  1871  came  to  Batavia  township,  Branch  county,  locating  where  he 
now  resides.  Since  that  time  he  has  carried  on  general  farming,  having 
eighty  acres  of  land  which  he  now  rents.  It  was  upon  this  farm  that  his 
wife  died  on  January  10,  1898,  and  on  the  4th  of  April.  1901,  Mr.  Johnson 
was  married  to  Mrs.  Lottie  Hofifman,  the  widow  of  Dr.  D.  Hoffman,  of 
McConnelsville,  Ohio,  and  a  daughter  of  Enoch  and  Juliet  A.  (Hall)  Dye. 
She  was  born  in  Smithfield,  Jefferson  county,  Ohio,  and  has  been  three 
times  married,  her  first  union  being  with  James  T.  Hood,  by  whom  she  had 
one  son,  William  Hood,  Mrs.  Johnson  is  a  direct  descendant  of  the  great 
Dye  family  of  Ohio,  who  has  a  claim  on  a  large  estate  in  Scotland  and 
England. 

Mr.  Johnson  votes  with  the  Democracy  where  national  issues  are  in- 
volved, but  at  local  elections  casts  an  independent  ballot.  He  has  served 
as  highway  commissioner  in  Batavia  township,  but  the  honors  and  emolu- 
ments of  office  have  had  little  attraction  for  him.  He  belongs  to  the  Masonic 
fraternity,  with  which  he  has  been  identified  since  twenty-one  years  of  age, 
his  membership  being  now  in  Tyre  Lodge  of  Colchvater. 

FRANK  N.  WILLIAMS. 

Frank  N.  Williams,  one  of  the  ablest  insurance  men  of  the  county, 
was  born  June  10,  1867,  in  the  city  of  Coldwater,  where  he  yet  makes  his 
home,  having  spent  his  entire  life  here.  His  father,  W.  Job  Williams,  was 
born  in  Dewitt,  Onondaga  county.  New  York,  on  the  14th  of  February, 
1840.  His  paternal  grandfather,  Simon  Zelotes  Williams,  came  to  Mich- 
igan in  1835,  locating  in  Gilead,  Branch  county,  but  subsequently  returned 
to  the  Empire  state  in  1838.  Once  more,  however,  he  took  up  his  abode  in 
Gilead  in  1842,  and  afterward  removed  to  Coldwater,  passing  his  remain- 
ing days  there.  The  Williams  family  came  originally  from  Wales,  and  the 
branch  to  which  our  subject  belongs  is  descended  from  Roger  Williams, 
who  landed  with  the  Pilgrims  and  was  prominent  in  the  settlement  of  New 
England,  where  he  was  known  as  the  "apostle  of  peace."  He  settled  in 
Massachusetts,  but  because  of  his  religious  faith  was  driven  to  Rhode  Island 
with  others  who  held  similar  views.  He  became  the  founder  of  the  colony 
of  Rhode  Island  and  also  of  the  city  of  Providence.  Major  Williams,  an 
ancestor  of  our  subject,  was  an  aide  to  General  Washington.  Job  Williams, 
the  great-grandfather,  settled  in  Dewitt,  Onondaga  county.  New  York,  and 
Ihence  representatives  of  the  name  came  to  Michigan,  founding  the  family 
in  this  state. 

W,  Job  Williams,  father  of  our  subject,  arrived  in  Branch  county  in 
1842  with  his  parents  and  lived  in  Gilead  for  twenty  years.  He  afterward 
spent  five  years  as  an  agriculturist  in  Ovid  township  and  then  came  to  Cold- 
water,  having  resided  in  this  city  since  twenty-six  years  of  age.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  lodge  and  is  well  known  here  as  a  representative 
citizen  and  a  man  of  many  good  qualities  and  characteristics.     For  two  years 


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898  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

he  lias  served  as  city  marshal.  He  married  Miss  Harriet  Stowell,  who  was 
born  in  Ovid  township,  this  county,  on  the  4th  of  August,  1845.  The 
Stowells  originally  lived  in  Connecticut  and  New  Hampshire,  and  at  a 
later  day  the  family  was  founded  in  New  York,  whence  representatives  of 
the  name  came  to  Michigan,  settling  in  Branch  county.  The  marriage  of 
W,  Job  Williams  and  Harriet  Stoweli  was  celebrated  in  Bethel  township, 
March  23,  1862,  and  for  thirty-eight  years  they  traveled  life's  journey 
together,  but  were  separated  by  the  death  of  the  wife  on  the  20th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1900.  They  were  the  parents  of  three  children:  Samuel  Zelotes,  Frank 
N.  and  Mabel  M.  Williams,  all  of  this  county. 

Frank  N,  Williams  acquired  a  common  school  education  and  first  en- 
gaged in  business  for  himself  in  1889.  He  continued  merchandising  for 
thirteen  years,  selling  harness,  carriages  and  bicycles.  He  then  owned  and 
conducted  livery  stables  for  three  years,  but  disposed  of  his  business  in  that 
line  in  1903,  and  has  since  devoted  his  energies  to  the  insurance  business, 
representing  both  accident  and  life  companies.  He  is  to-day  agent  for  the 
Mutual  Benefit  Life  of  Newark,  New  Jersey,  and  the  Aetna  Accident  In- 
surance Company  of  Hartford,  Connecticut.  He  has  been  eminently  suc- 
cessful in  every  line  of  business  in  which  he  has  directed  his  energies,  and 
is  to-day  considered  one  of  the  ablest  insurance  men  of  the  county. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1898,  Mr.  Williams  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Estelle  Rawson,  who  was  born  in  Coldwater,  April  28,  1869,  and  is 
a  daughter  of  James  M.  Rawson,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Weedsport,  New 
York,  February  13,  1836.  The  Rawsons  are  of  English  descent,  tracing 
their  ancestry  back  through  Edward  Rawson,  who  in  1636  was  a  resident 
of  Newberry,  Massachusetts,  and  served  as  secretary  of  the  Massachusetts 
colony.  James  M.  Rawson  came  from  New  York  to  Michigan  in  1847. 
locating  in  Bethel,  Branch  county.  Through  much  of  his  life  he  was  en- 
gaged in  business  as  a  traveling  salesman.  He  served  as  a  soldier  of  the 
Civil  war,  enlisting  in  1864  in  Company  C,  Twenty-eighth  Michigan  In- 
fantry, with  which  he  continued  until  after  the  close  of  iiostilities.  He  was 
married  in  Centerville,  this  state,  to  Miss  Charlotte  E.  Nichols,  who  was 
born  in  Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  January  24,  1845,  ^nd  is  still  living  in 
the  city  of  Coldwater.  Mr,  Rawson,  however,  died  in  this  city,  September 
29,  1903.  He  Hved  an  upright,  honorable  life  and  won  the  merited  esteem 
of  his  fellowmen,  Mrs,  Rawson  has  membership  relations  with  the  Cold- 
water  Assembly,  a  religious  organization.  Unto  this  worthy  couple  were 
born  five  children,  all  of  whom  are  residents  of  Coldwater,  namely :  Mrs. 
Lottie  M,  Hawes;  Mrs.  Estelle  Williams;  Mrs,  Bernice  Brant;  Mrs,  Bessie 
Denser;  and  Paul  J.  Rawson. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Williams  is  a  stalwart  Republican,  but  has 
never  been  an  office  holder  nor  desired  official  preferment  as  a  reward  for 
party  fealty.  Fraternally  he  is  connected  with  the  Modern  Woodmen  of 
America  and  socially  with  the  Arion  Club  of  Coldwater. ,  He  is  exceedingly 
popular,  having  many  warm  friends  in  the  city  in  which  his  entire  life  has 
been  passed.    Here  he  owns  a  comfortable  home,  which  he  built,  and  he  has 


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HIS'l'ORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  309 

been  very  successful  in  his  business  career,  despite  obstacles  that  would 
have  utterly  discouraged  many  a  man  of  less  resolute  and  determined  nature 
and  laudable  ambition. 

CHARLES  HOMER  SAGER. 

Charles  Homer  Sager,  interested  in  general  agricultural  pursuits,  his 
home  farm  being;  in  Bronson  township,  was  bom  in  1842  in  Bronson  town- 
ship, his  parents  being  George  and  Emily  Jane  (Blanchard)  Sager.  The 
father  was  born  in  the  state  of  New  York,  May  2,  1S24,  and  they  were  mar- 
ried at  Burroak,  Michigan.  George  Sager  had  come  to  this  state  with  his 
father,  John  Sager,  in  1835,  and  the  grandfather  had  purchased  a  tract  of 
latid  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  on  the  Chicago  road,  now  known  as 
Johnson's  place.  There,  as  a  pioneer  settler,  he  began  the  cultivation  and 
improvement  of  his  farm,  which  he  continued  to  make  his  home  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death.  In  his  family  were  seven  children:  George,  Zid,  Isaac, 
John,  Mary  Ann,  Katherine  and  Eliza. 

George  Sager,  the  eldest  son  in  this  family,  lived  upon  the  old  farm 
jiomestead  until  eighteen  years  of  age,  when  he  started  out  in  life  on  his 
own  account.  Through  two  and  a  half  years  he  was  employed  by  Mr.  Lock- 
erby  in  Burroak,  after  which  he  married  Miss  Blanchard  of  that  place.  He 
then  took  up  his  abode  on  the  old  Frye  farm  in  what  is  now  known  aB  the 
Dutch  settlement.  This  place  comprised  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  and 
he  continued  its  cuhivation  until  about  1852,  when  he  sold  that  place  and 
bought  three  hundred  acres  on  section  twenty-eight.  To  this  he  afterward 
added  one  himdred  acres  adjoining,  and  there  he  carried  on  general  farming 
and  sl:ock-raising,  making  a  specialty  of  dealing  in  sheep.  He  was  industrious 
and  persevering,  and  the  large  farm  which  he  acquired  showed  that  he  was 
very  successful.  In  all  of  his  business  dealings  he  was  straightforward  and 
honorable,  as  well  as  energetic,  and  he  won  for  himself  a  creditable  name. 
He  died  in  January,  rSg^,  while  his  wife  passed  away  about  i88g.  They 
wore  the  parents  of  eleven  children :  Mary  Jane,  Homer,  Margaret,  George 
H.,  louisa  N.,  Rosellie,  Isaac,  Albert,  Lucy,  Carrie  and  Joseph. 

Charles  Homer  Sager  began  his  education  in  the  district  schools  and 
remained  upon  his  father's  farm  until  1861,  during  which  time  he  assisted 
in  clearing  the  land,  plowing  the  fialds  and  harvesting  the  crops.  He  was 
a  young  man  of  nineteen  years  when,  in  response  to  his  country's  call  for 
aid,  he  offered  his  services  to  the  government  and  was  assigned  to  duty 
with  Company  B,  First  Michigan  Regiment.  This  command  was  attached 
to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  he  participated  in  all  of  its  battles,  includ- 
the  engagements  at  Fredericksburg,  Bull  Run  and  Fair  Oaks.  He  was 
wounded  at  Moline  Hill,  where  he  had  his  forefinger  shot  away,  and  he 
also  had  a  leg  broken  at  Fredericksburg.  He  likewise  was  struck  by  a  ball 
at  Antietam  and,  because  of  his  wounds,  received  an  honorable  discharge. 

Mr.  Sager  was  married  in  1863  to  Miss  Martha  J.  WoodhuU,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Stephen  WoodhuU,  after  which  he  rented  a  tract  of  land  and  was 
thus  engaged  in  farming  for  several  years.     In  1865  he  removed  to  Kansas, 


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400  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

settling  in  Ottawa  county,  wTiei'e  he  spent  two  years  and  then  returned  to 
Michigan,  living  for  five  years  in  this  state  at  that  time.  About  1872  he 
again  went  to  Kansas,  where  he  continued  until  1878.  when  he  went  to 
the  Indian  Territory,  and  there  leased  one  thousand  acres  of  Indian  land. 
He  farmed  there  successfully  and  continuously  for  twenty-one  years,  or 
until  1899,  when,  on  account  of  his  father's  death,  he  returned  to  Michigan. 
While  in  Kansas  and  in  Indian  Territory  he  had  operated  a  threshing  ma- 
chine and  was  extensively  engaged  in  the  raising  of  wheat.  Following  his 
father's  death  he  received  as  his  inheritance  one  hundred  and  ten  acres  of 
the  oM  homestead,  and  he  is  now  operating  this  farm,  being  recognized  as 
one  of  the  substantial  and  progressive  agricuHurists  of  his  community.  His 
land  is  productive,  and  owing  to  the  care  and  labor  which  he  bestows  upon 
the  place  he  now  harvests  large  crops,  which  bring  him  a  good  financial 
return. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sager  have  been  born  eight  children:  Luther  U, 
who  married  I.ilhe  Bonner,  of  Kansas,  by  whom  he  had  seven  children,  has 
always  been  associated  with  his  father  in  business;.  John  is  living  in  Branch 
county;  Abraham  was  killed  in  Tacoraa,  Washington,  in  1901 ;  Cora  is  the 
wife  of  Clarence  Monroe,  a  resident  of  Matteson  township;  the  younger 
members  of  the  family  are  William  McKinley,  Maggie,  Charlie  and  Frank, 
are  deceased,  but  William  McKinley. 

Mr.  Sager  is  a  Republican  in  his  poHtical  views,  but  has  never  sought 
or  desired  office,  giving  his  attention  to  business  affairs  that  have  made  him 
an  experieiKed  and  prosperous  farmer. 

JAMES  RICHEY. 

Among  the  many  good  men  who  have  spent  their  entire  lives  in  Branch 
county,  none  left  a  better  life  record  or  were  held  in  higher  esteem  than 
the  gentleman  named  above,,  the  late  James  Richey.  Mr.  Richey  was  born 
in  Ulysses  county.  New  York,  June  29.  1832,  and  he  was  only  five  years  of 
age  when  he  accompanied  his  parents  from  the  state  of  New  York  to  San- 
dusky county,  Ohio,  this  taking  place  in  :837.  The  Richeys  came  from  Penn- 
sylvania and  were  of  Dutch  descent,  our  subject's  father  being  Isaac  Richev. 
while  his  mother  was  Aseneth  Carpenter,  whose  people  came  from  the  eastern 
states.  Isaac  Richey  and  Aseneth  Carpenter  were  married  in  New  York 
state  and  they  were  the  parents  of  eight  children,  only  three  of  whom  are 
now  living:  Harriet  Terry,  of  Nevada,  Indiana;  Charles  Richev,  of  Cali- 
fornia: and  Ellen  Munger,  also  of  the  state  of  California.  The  parents,  after 
a  residence  of  several  years  in  New  York  state,  remo\'ed  to  Sandusky  count\', 
Ohio,  where  they  lived  for  twenty  years,  and  then  afterward  came  to  Branc!i 
county,  Michigan,  where  they  passed  the  remainder  of  their  days  in  the  town- 
ship of  KJnderhook. 

Their  son,  James  Richey,  accompanied  his  parents  from  New  York  state 
to  Ohio,  and  from  there  to  Michigan,  and  he  hved  at  home  until  his  marriage, 
with  the  exception  of  the  period  of  his  enlistment  in  the  Civil  war.  He  ?rew 
to  manhood  in  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  and  there  it  was  that  he  resixiniled 
to  the  call  of  his  cormfry  at  the  outbreak  of  the  greatconflict.  enlisting  in  tlic 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  401 

latter  part  of  1861  in  the  Seventy-second  Ohio  Infantry,  and  serving  until 
April  of  the  following  year,  when  he  was  disabled  by  a  gunshot  wound  which 
incapacitated  him  from  a  soldier's  duties  and,  in  fact,  crippled  him  for  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  He  was  sergeant  of  his  company  at  the  time  of  enlist- 
ment and  served  as  such  until  his  discharge. 

A  few  years  after  the  close  of  the  war  Mr.  Richey  was  married,  December 
21,  1868,  to  Aivira  Depew,  but  their  union  was  of  brief  duration,  for  she 
died  July  25  of  the  following  year.  Mr.  Richey's  second  marriage  was  con- 
summated April  26,  1878,  when  he  was  united  with  Miss  Mary  E.  Flint,  who 
was  born  in  the  township  of  Eckford,  Calhoun  county,  Michigan,  July  26, 
1846.  She  came  from  one  of  the  sturdy  and  highly  respected  families  who 
came  from  the  east  in  the  early  thirties  and  made  for  themselves  comfortable 
homes  in  the  then  untrodden  middle  west.  Her  father,  Aseryl  Flint,  was 
born  in  Roxbury,  Vermont,  March  26,  1807,  and  her  mother  was  before 
marriage  Saloma  Sumner,  who  was  bom  in  Middlebury,  Vermont,  February 
12,  181 1.  They  were  married  in  Vermont  and  were  the  parents  of  the  follow- 
ing children,  all  of  whom  grew  to  maturity,  they  being  as  follows :  Jane  Jones 
is  a  resident  of  KJnderhook;  Samuel  A.  passed  almost  his  entire  life  in  Clar- 
endon. Michigan,  where  he  was  one  of  the  leading  men,  of  Calhoun  county, 
where  he  died  in  igoo;  Salome  and  Harriet  both  died  in  Ovid  township, 
this  county,  the  former  in  1897  and  the  latter  in  1892;  Albert  lives  in.  Ne- 
braska; Rollin  died  in  Kinderhook.  in  1904;  Juha  Ann  died  here  in  1902; 
Mary  E.  Richey  is  the  widow  of  our  subject;  Henry  P.  lives  in  Kinderhook; 
Olive  Dawes  lives  in  Jamestown,  Indiana;  Emma  Marshall  is  a  resident  of 
Ovid,  this  county. 

Aseryl  Flint  and  his  family  came  from  the  east  in  1835  and  first  located 
in  Michigan,  in  the  township  of  Eckford,  Calhoun  county,  where  they  bved 
until  1851,  then  removing  to  Branch  county  and  Kinderhook  township,  where 
the  parents  passed  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  Mr.  Flint's  first  purchase  of 
land  here  was  something  over  two  hundred  acres,  for  which  he  paid  one  thou- 
sand dollars.  This  land  was  almost  wholly  uncleared  and  unimproved,  and, 
in  fact,  this  entire  region  was  in  a  virgin  state,  with  dense  forests,  poor  high- 
ways and  neighbors  few  and  far  between.  The  members  of  the  Flint  family 
were,  however,  industrious  people  and  they  worked  with  a  will  in  making 
themselves  a  home  here.  The  parents  were  people  of  high  character  and  they 
proved  important  factors  in  the  early  history  and  development  of  this  part 
of  the  county  of  Branch.  Mr.  Flint  was  a  deeply  religious  man,  with  high 
ideals,  and  his  life  was  an  open  and  unsullied  book.  Of  good  physique  and 
industrious  habits,  it  is  related  of  him  that  frequently,  after  a  long  and  hard 
day's  work,  he  would  take  advantage  of  a  moonlight  night  to  continue  his 
labors,  such  was  his  ambition  to  provide  comforts  for  his  loved  ones  and  to 
attain  a  competence.  He  was  a  consistent  member  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church  and  a  man  who  possessed  the  respect  of  all  who  knew  him.  He 
did  not  live  long  after  coming  to  Branch  county,  however,  to  enjoy  the  fruits 
of  his  labors,  for  his  death  occurred  here  May  3,  1856.  Mrs.  Flint  was  thus 
left  a  widow  with  nine  children  under  the  age  of  eighteen  years  and  with  a 


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402  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

farm  to  manage.  With  rare  courage  she  attacked  the  problem,  keeping  her 
children  together  and  managing  her  affairs  with  unquestioning  faith  and 
remarkable  executive  ability.  Tliis  she  continued  to  do  during  the  remainder 
of  her  long  and  useful  life  and  before  her  death  she  had  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  all  of  her  children  married  and  with  families  and  comfortable  homes 
of  their  own.  She  was  truly  a  most  remarkable  woman,  onci  of  a  thousand, 
and  when  her  death  came,  September  17,  1899^  she  left  behind  her  hundreds 
of  sorrowing  relatives  and  friends.  She  was  an  intensely  religious  woman, 
joining  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  when  she  was  but  a  young  girl,  and 
leading  a  thoroughly  Christian  life  through  its  eighty-seven  years'  duration. 
Her  business  affairs  were  conducted  with  unerring  judgment  and  only  a 
few  days  before  her  death  she  was  engrossed  in  their  details. 

With  parents  of  such  sterling  worth  of  character  it  is  no  wonder  that 
the  Flint  children  grew  to  be  men  and  women  of  importance  here,  where  so 
many  of  the  family  still  reside.  Mr.  James  Richey  spent  the  greater  portion 
of  his  life  in  Kinderhook  township,  and  here  he  held  a  very  high  place  in 
the  regard  and  confidence  of  the  people.  He  purchased  his  farm  on  section 
eleven,  Kinderhook  township,  before  his  marriage,  and  although  the  place 
was  cleared  of  timber,  nevertheless  there  were  few  improvements  in  the  way 
of  buildings,  etc,  and  there  remained  plenty  of  work  to  do  in  making  a  home 
here.  Each  year  witnessed  improvement  in  the  farm  and,  before  long  it  was 
one  of  the  comfortable  and  attractive  homes  of  this  vicinity.  He  was  oft- 
times  selected  as  judge  in  the  Branch  County  Fair  Association  on  stock,  wool 
and  grain. 

That  Mr.  Richey  was  a  man  whom  the  people  looked  up  to  as  honorable, 
capable  and  trustworthy,  is  plainly  evidenced  by  the  many  times  he  was 
chosen  to  fill  positions  of  trust  and  responsibility.  In  fact,  his  fellow-towns- 
men liad  implicit  confidence  in  him,  and  they  knew  that  in  his  hands  their 
interests  would  be  well  and  carefully  guarded.  He  was  supervisor  of  Kin- 
derhook township  for  no  less  than  fifteen  years,  and  his  valuable  experience 
in  this  line  led  to  his  being  placed  upon  the  more  important  standing  and 
special  committees  of  the  Branch  County  Board  of  Supervisors.  He  ahvays 
looked  carefully  after  the  interests  of  his  own  township  and  also  showed 
unusual  capability  in  the  transaction  of  the  general  business  of  the  county. 
Mr.  Richey  was  also  township  clerk  for  several  terms  and  held  other  local 
offices,  always  performing  his  public  duties  faithfully  and  well.  He  was 
.also  director  of  the  Branch  County  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company  for  many 
years,  and  he  was  always  interested  in  any  movement  tending  toward  the  bet- 
terment of  the  people  and  the  improvement  of  his  town  and  county.  He 
was  a  stanch  Republican  and  his  advice  was  always  sought  in  the  councils 
of  his  party.  Fraternally  he  was  affiliated  with  Tyre  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of 
Coldwater,  and  was  one  of  the  honored  members  of  the  Butterworth  G.  A.  R. 
Post  at  Coldwater,  Michigan.  Mr.  Richey's  death  occurred  November  20, 
1903,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years.  He  is  survived  by  Mrs.  Richey,  who 
still  occupies  the  farm  home  in  Kinderhook  township. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  403 

JAMES  S.  OGDEN. 

Branch  county  has  numerous  beautiful  farm  homes,  but  none  of  them 
surpasses  in  neatness,  beauty  and  general  utility  that  of  the  gentleman  named 
above,  which  is  located  on  section  two  in  the  township  of  Kindcrhook.  The 
whole  place,  in  fact,  reflects  the  character  of  the  owner  and  his  family,  who 
are  among  the  well-to-do  and  highly  respected  residents  of  this  part  of  the 
coLtnty. 

The  Ogdens  are  of  English  descent,  the  paternal  grandfather  of  our 
subject  being  John  R.  Ogden,  who  came  from  England  in  the  beginning  of 
the  nineteenth  century  and  settled  in  the  state  of  New  York.  His  wife  was 
Harriet  Parker,  who  died  in  New  York  state,  her  husband  dying  later  at 
Davenport,  Iowa.  One  of  their  children,  Wyman  Ogden,  was  the  father  of 
James  .S.  Ogden,  and  from  him  is  the  present  branch  of  the  Ogden  family 
descended.  Wyman  Ogden  was  born  in  Horiiellsville,  Steuben  county.  New 
York,  April  21,  1819,  and  he  was  married  in  Bingham,  Potter  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, July  18,  1841,  to  Amanda  M.  Gifford,  who  was  born  at  Cio,  Alle- 
gheny cotinty.  New  York,  December  28,  1826.  Her  parents  removed  from 
New  York  to  Pennsylvania,  and  there  it  was  that  she  met  Wyman  Ogden. 
who  was  then  in  his  young  inanhood  employed  in  rafting  timber  down  the 
Allegheny  river.  Soon  after  marriage  they  located  in  Steuben  county,  New 
York,  and  in  1855  they  came  to  Michigan  and  Branch  county,  locating  in 
Algansee  township,  where  Mrs.  Ogden  died  November  21,  1861.  They 
were  the  parents  of  eleven  children,  four  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  the  others 
bemg  as  follows:  Edward  S.  died  in  Andersonville  prison  during  the  Civil 
war;  Henry  J.  is  an  inmate  of  the  Soldiers'  home  at  Grand  Rapids,  Michi- 
gan; Pardon  G.  lives  in  Kinderhook;  Levi  F.  lives  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie. 
Michigan;  James  S.  is  our  subject;  Wyman  P.  lives  at  Belvidere,  Illinois; 
Qiaries  S.  is  a  resident  of  Wexford  county,  Michigan.  After  the  death  of  his 
first  wife,  the  father,  Wyman  Ogden,  removed  to  Angola,  Indiana,  where  he 
married  Mary  A.  Sowte,  by  whom  he  had  two  children:  Allen  E.,  who  lives 
at  Angola,  Indiana,  and  Cora  D.,  who  is  a  resident  of  Allegheny,  Pennsylva- 
nia. Mary  Sowle  Ogden  died  in  Pennsylvania  in  1901,  while  Wyman  Ogden 
passed  away  here  at  the  home  of  his  son,  July  22,  1904,  where  he  had  been  liv- 
ing for  several  years.  William  Ogden  was  a  stonemason  by  trade,  although  he 
also  owned  and  operated  farms  during  the  greater  part  of  his  life.  In  addition 
to  his  farm  in  Algansee  township  he  purchased  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
of  new  land  in  Wexford  county,  Michigan,  which  he  cleared,  living  there  a 
number  of  years.  In  Wexford  county  he  was  township  clerk,  treasurer  and 
highway  commissioner  for  repeated  terms  and  was  a  man  of  influence  and 
high  standing.  Fratemaliy  he  was  a  Blue  Lodge  Mason  and  in  early  life  he 
belonged  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  chwrch.  although  later  lielonging  to  the 
Liberal  United  Brethren  church.  Our  subject's  mother  was  a  member  of  the 
,  Methodist  Episcopal  society  and  the  Eastern  Star. 

James  S.  Ogden  was  only  two  years  of  age  when  he  accompanied  his 
parents  from  New  York  to  Michigan,  and  he  lived  in  California  and  Algan- 
see townships  until  twenty  years  of  age,  also  being  in  Wexford  coimty  for 


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404  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

three  years,  assisting  his  father  in  clearing  the  new  land  there.  He  learned 
the  trade  of  stonemason,  at  which  he  has  worked  nearly  all  his  life,  ahhoiigh 
at  the  same  time  operating  his  farm.  His  first  ownership  of  land  was  in 
Algansee  township  in  1879,  and  he  purchased  his  present  farm  on  section 
two,  Kinderhook  township,  in  Fehruary,  1881,  since  which  time  this  place 
has  been  his  home.  His  first  purchase  here  was  sixty  acres  and  later  pur- 
chases have  increased  it  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres.  Although  this  place 
was  not  cleared  by  Mr.  Ogden,  nevertheless  he  has  made  great  improvements 
thereon  in  the  way  of  buildings,  fences,  hedges,  etc.,  it  being  now  most  at- 
tractive. 

Mr.  Ogden  was  married  December  25.  1879,  to  Mary  A.  Bnrdick,  who 
was  born  on  this  farm  March  2,  1855.  Her  father  was  Beriah  L.  Burdick, 
who  was  bom  in  Brattleboro,  Vermont,  March  17,  1802.  and  his  parents  in 
turn  were  Pardon  Burdick  and  Polly  Lewis,  both  residents  of  Vermont. 
Mrs.  Ogden's  mother  was  Lucy  Ann  Stokes,  who  was  born  October  24,  .1S19. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burdick  were  married  April  26,  1846,  in  Steuben  county, 
Indiana,  and  lived  there  some  years  after  marriage.  They  came  to  Kinder- 
hook  in  1852  and  passed  the  remainder  of  their  lives  on  this  farm.  Mrs.  Bnr- 
dick dying  October  30,  1863,  and  Mr.  Burdick,  December  31,  1875.  Both 
were  respected  people,  and  Mrs.  Burdick  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  The  Burdicks  had  six  children,  as  follows :  Oscar  died 
in  early  childhood;  Albert  lives  in  Gilead,  this  county;  Frank  P.  lives  at 
Fremont,  Indiana ;  Clark  died  in  San  Francisco,  California ;  Mary  A.  Ogden 
is  the  wife  of  our  subject,  and  J.  B.  resides  in  Chicago,  and  was  shipping 
clerk  of  an  express  company  a  number  of  years,  eight  in  total,  and  is  now 
employed  with  a  large  finn  on  the  south  side. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  S.  Ogden  has  be?n  blessed  with 
the  birth  of  three  children;  Ernest  C,  Elsie  D.  and  Ray  E.  The  two  sons 
live  at  home  with  their  parents,  while  Elsie,  the  daughter,  is  the  wife  of 
William  Hoyt.  They  live  in  this  township  and  have  one  daughter,  Margaret. 
Ernest  C.  Ogden,  the  eldest  of  the  children,  although  past  his  majority, 
still  resides  at  home  and  he  is  interested  with  his  father  in  the  management 
and  operation  of  the  farm.  He  was  born  October  2,  1883,  and  has  secured 
a  good  practical  education.  He  is  an  energetic  young  man,  thoroughly  posted 
on  agricultural  matters  and  much  of  the  responsibility  of  conducting  the 
fami  falls  upon  his  shoulders.  He  is  a  member  of  Greenleaf  Lodge  No.  349, 
F.  &  A.  M.,  and  that  he  stands  high  in  the  regard  of  its  members  is  plainly 
shown  by  the  fact  that  the  first  year  of  his  membership  he  was  chosen  as 
secretary  of  the  lodge,  a  position  which  he  still  retains,  and  is  now  justice 
of  the  peace  of  the  township. 

Aithoug-h  following  a  line  of  general  farming,  nevertheless  Mr.  Ogden 
and  his  son  have  specialized  somewhat  in  Hereford  cattle  in  an  effort  to  im- 
prove the  stock  of  this  vicinity,  in  which  they  have  been  very  successful. 

James  S.  Ogden  has  the  thorough  confidence  of  his  fellow  townsmen 
and  he  has  been  frequently  called  to  serve  them,  being  supervisor  of  his  town- 
ship in  1898-99  and  1900;  township  treasurer  from  1885-87  and  elected 
again  in  1906,  and  assessor  of  his  school  district  ever  since  1884.    Politically 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  405 

he  is  a  Democrat.  Mr.  Ogden  was  also  a  charter  member  of  Greenleaf 
Lodge  No.  349,  F.  &  A.  M,,  and  besides  being  W.  M.  of  the  lodge  for  five 
years,  has  filled  ail  the  other  chairs,  including  the  office  of  secretary  for  four 
years.  He  is  also  affiliated  with  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  and  the  K.  O.  T.'M.,  while 
Mrs.  Ogden  is  a  member  of  the  L.  O.  T.  M. 

SOUTHERLAND  MOORE  SEELY. 

Southerland  Moore  Seely,  now  deceased,  was  born  August  15,  1826, 
near  Middletown,  Orange  county,  New  York.  He  was  the  ninth  in  a  fam- 
ily of  ten  children  born  unto  Holly  and  Elizabeth  (Moore)  Seely.  The 
father  was  a  native  of  Goshen,  Orange  county.  New  York,  born  August  7, 
1787,  and  was  of  English  and  Scotch  lineage,  although  the  family  was  es- 
tablished in  New  England  during  an  early  period  in  the  coJonization  of  this 
county.  The  mother  of  our  subject  was  of  Quaker  parent:ige  and  was  born 
at  Cornwall,  New  York,  September  16,  1790.  In  the  year  1829  Holly 
Seely,  having  sustained  heavy  losses  through  fire,  removed  his  family  to 
Newburg,  New  York,  and  afterward  to  Sussex  county,  New  Jersey,  and 
there  conducted  a  tannery.  It  was  during  their  residence  in  Sussex  county 
that  the  wife  and  mother  died  in  1835.  After  her  death  Mr.  Seely  never  at- 
tended school,  and  all  his  schooling  came  between  his  fifth  and  eighth  years. 
The  father  afterward  married  again  and  later  removed  to  Tunkhannock, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  also  conducted  a  tannery.  About  1832  the  family 
came  to  Michigan,  settling  near  Ypsilanti,  and  not  more  than  a  year  later 
Southerland  M.  Seely  started  out  in  life  for  himself. 

He  left  a  home  where  he  had  no  advantages  or  hope  for  an  education 
and  when  thirteen  years  of  age  began  the  battle  of  life  for  himself  as  a 
poor  boy.  The  facts  of  his  career  disclose  wonderful  success  as  he  steadily 
made  his  way  upward  imdeterred  by  obstacles  and  difficulties  in  his  path. 
He  became  both  wealthy  and  well  informed.  Going  to  Erie,  Pennsylvania, 
he  accepted  a  position  as  errand  hoy  and  general  helper  in  a  hotel  and 
after  three  or  four  months  he  went  to  Georgetown,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
remained  for  a  short  period  and  was  again  employed  in  a  hotel.  At  Moga- 
dore,  Ohio,  he  was  employed  for  two  years  in  a  tannery,  after  which  he 
was  foreman  there,  remaining  until  1844.  In  the  following  year  he  went 
to  Mendham,  New  Jersey,  where  for  a  short  period  he  worked  in  a  tannery 
and  afterward  he  was  engaged  in  the  boot  and  shoe  business  with  Lewis 
A.  Thompson,  who  subsequently  became  his  father-in-law.  This  busi- 
ness relation  was  maintained  until  1852.  when  on  account  of  ill  health  he 
withdrew  and  turned  his  attention  to  the  business  of  purchasing  western  horses 
and  shipping  them  to  the  eastern  market.  Soon  afterward,  however,  he  pur- 
chased a  stage  coach  line  running  from  Coldwater  to  Marshall,  Micliigan, 
and  used  his  horses  on  tliat  line.  He  then  planned  a  mail  route  from  Mar- 
shall to  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana,  and  in  this  manner  extended  the  stage  route, 
devoting  his  energies  to  the  business  until  1859,  when  he  sold  out  and  en- 
gaged in  purchasing  and  selHng  horses  again.  To  this  he  gave  his  time 
until  after  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war.     His  next  enterprise  was  a  tan- 


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406  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

neiy  at  Coldwater,  and  in  the  winter  of  1863-4  he  removed  to  New  York 
City,  where  he  engaged  in  dealing  in  bonds,  stocks  and  mortgages.  Tliat 
business  claimed  his  energies  for  several  years  and  he  was  so  successful  that 
he  amassed  a  large  sum  of  money.  He  was  perhaps  the  most  noted  capitalist 
that  has  lived  in  Branch  county.  In  1871  he  returned  to  Coldwater  on  ac- 
count of  declining  health  and  continued  his  residence  here  until  his  death. 
October  16,  1899. 

Mr.  Seely  traveled  extensively  both  in  America  and  abroad  and  gained 
that  culture,  knowledge  and  experience  which  only  travel  can  bring.  His 
conversation  was  enriched  with  many  interesting  reminiscences  and  anec- 
dotes of  his  journeys,  and  he  was  a  most  congenial  companion.  Though 
he  was  never  a  church  member  he  attended  the  services  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  and  was  a  very  charitable  man,  giving  freely  of  his  means  to  those 
who  needed  assistance  and  to  worthy  benevolent  objects. 

It  was  on  the  7th  of  April,  1853,  that  Mr.  Seely  was  imited  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Sarah  J.  Thompson,  a  daughter  of  Lewis  A.  Thompson  o£  Mend- 
ham,  New  Jersey,  who  was  born  there  in  1833  and  now  resides  in  Detroit. 
She  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seely  have 
two  daughters:  Annie,  who  is  living  in  Coldwater;  and  Mrs.  W.  N.  Wor- 
cester, of  Detroit. 

The  life  history  of  Mr.  Seely  is  notable  in  the  fact  that  he  rose  from 
a  very  humble  financial  position  to  one  of  affluence.  His  business  discern- 
ment and  judgment  were  rarely  at  fault.  He  seemed  to  understand  intri- 
cate business  problems  almost  at  a  glance  and  he  knew  how  best  to  utilize 
his  opportunities  so  as  to  produce  the  greatest  results.  Nor  was  his  path 
strewn  with  the  wreck  of  other  men's  fortunes.  He  was  just  and  upright 
in  all  his  dealings  am!  the  secret  of  his  prosperity  lay  in  his  close  applica- 
tion, his  indefatigable  energy  and  his  keen  sagacity.  In  his  life  he  displayed 
the  sterling  traits  of  character  of  friend,  father  and  husband,  being  alwavs 
loyal  to  those  with  whom  he  enjoyed  social  relations,  while  to  bis  fami'lv 
he  was  most  devoted. 

CHARLES  C.  FENNER. 

There  is  no  better  criterion  of  the  worth  of  a  locality  as  a  place  of 
residence  and  an  indication  of  the  advantages  it  offers  its  citizens  than  the 
fact  that  many  of  its  native  residents  remain  within  its  borders.  Mr.  Feti- 
ner  is  one  of  Branch  county's  native  sons  and  is  today  a  representative  agri- 
culturist here.  He  was  born  in  Bethel  township,  August  18,  1858.  His 
father,  Collins  Fenner,  was  a  native  of  Chautauqua  county,  New  York,  born 
February  28,  1821.  In  his  youth  he  leamed  the  shoemaker's  trade  and 
followed  that  pursuit  while  living  in  the  east.  He  married  Lucinda  Myers, 
and  on  coming  to  Michigan  he  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits. 
He  reached  Branch  county  in  pioneer  times,  when  the  settlers  were  few.  It 
was  only  here  and  there  that  a  log  cabin  was  seen  in  the  midst  of  the  forests, 
indicating  that  the  seeds  of  civilization  had  been  planted  that  were  in  due 
time  to  bring  forth  rich  fruit  in  splendid  farms  with  all  modern  equipments. 
Mr.   Fenner  entered   from  the  government  eighty  acres  of  land  on  section 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  407 

■fourteen,  Bethel  township,  and  with  characteristic  energy  he  began  clearing 
this  place.  He  built  a  log  cabin  and  in  true  pioneer  style  began  life  here. 
As  .he  cleared  his  land  he  turned  the  first  furrows  in  the  fields  and  in  due 
course  of  time  rich  harvests  were  gathered.  He  kept  adding  to  this  land 
until  he  had  one  hundred  and  ninety  acres  in  Bethel  township,  constituting 
a  valuable  farm,  the  greater  part  of  which  was  under  a  high  state  of  culti- 
vation. He  raised  cattle  and  draft  horses  in  connection  with  the  improve- 
ment of  the  fields  and  was  numbered  among  the  progressive  and  practical 
agriculturists,  his  labors  being  of  material  benefit  in  the  development  of 
this  part  of  the  state.  He  died  April  ig,  1905,  at  the  venerable  age  of 
eighty-four  years,  and  thus  passed  away  an  honored  pioneer  settler  who  in 
his  locality  was  respected  by  all  who  knew  him.  His  widow  still  survives 
him  and  yet  makes  her  home  with  her  children.  Mr.  Fenner  was  a  well  read 
man,  keeping  informed  upon  the  questions  and  issues  of  the  day  politically 
and  otheiwise.  He  voted  with  the  Democracy,  but  had  no  political  aspira- 
tion for  himself,  preferring  to  give  his  undivided  attention  to  his  business 
affairs,  whereby  he  provided  a  comfortable  home  and  living  for  his  family. 
He  had  six  children:  Marby,  who  married  A.  R.  Groves  and  is  living  in 
Coldwater;  Corydon,  a  resident  of  Ovid  township;  Phebe,  who  became  the 
wife  of  P.  A.  Buck,  of  Bronson,  Branch  county,  and  died  September  5, 
1892,  at  the  age  of  forty-one  years,  eleven  months  and  twenty-three  days, 
leaving  two  children,  Percy  C.  and  Otis  Buck;  Calista,  the  wife  of  Charles 
Russel,  of  Ovid  township;  Charles  C.  whose  name  introduces  this  review; 
and  Mary,  the  wife  of  George  Fowler,  a  resident  farmer  of  Coldwater  town- 
ship. 

Charles  C.  Fenner  is  indebted  to  the  district  school  system  of  Branch 
county  for  the  educational  privileges  he  enjoyed  in  youth,  his  time  being 
divided  between  the  duties  of  the  school  room,  the  pleasures  of  the  play 
ground  and  the  work  of  the  farm.  Under  the  direction  of  his  father  he 
was  well  trained  in  all  of  the  duties  and  labor,';  that  fall  to  the  lot  of  the 
agriculturist  and  assisted  him  in  the  operation  of  the  old  homestead  up  to 
the  time  of  his  marriage.  In  1889  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Emma 
Norton,  a  daughter  of  Ansei  Norton.  He  then  lived  on  the  Norton  farm 
for  twelve  years  and  came  into  possession  of  the  home  farm  about  1886. 
He  had  operated  this  land  in  the  meantime  and  he  received  as  an  inheritance 
one  hundred  and  ten  acres  of  land,  to  which  he  afterward  added  by  pur- 
chase a  tract  of  forty-tw-o  and  a  half  acres  on  section  thirteen,  so  that  he 
has  at  the  present  time  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven  and  a  half  acres  of 
rich  and  arable  land.  Here  he  carries  on  general  farming  but  all  of  the 
grain  that  he  raises  he  feeds  to  his  stock,  having  sheep,  hogs  and  horses  upon 
his  place,  all  of  good  grades.  He  sells  annually  considerable  stock,  receiv- 
ing therefrom  a  good  income.  He  is  likewise  a  stockholder  of  the  Creamery 
Company  at  Batavia  and  was  the  first  man  to  sign  the  paper  promoting  this 
enterprise.  From  the  beginning  he  has  been  one  of  its  clirectors.  In  1901 
he  built  a  fine  residence  on  his  farm,  comprising  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven 
and  one-half  acres  and  the  place  is  richly  furnished,  making  a  most  attractive 


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408  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

home,  its  hospitality  being  greatly  enjoyed  by  the  many  friends  of  the  fam- 
ily. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fenner  have  been  born  five  children:  Lnlu  Maud, 
who  is  now  living  in  Coldwater;  Clarence,  Glema,  Gladys  and  Eunice,  all 
at  home.  The  members  of  the  household  occupy  an  enviable  position  in 
the  social  circles  in  which  they  move.  In  politics  Mr.  Fenner  is  a  Demo- 
crat, interested  in  the  growth  and  success  of  his  party.  He  was  elected 
supervisor  in  1898  and  has  since  held  that  office  with  the  exception  of  the 
year  1902,  He  was  on  the  school  board  for  a  number  of  years  and  as  a 
public  official  is  always  true  to  .his  duty,  which  he  discharges  with  prompt- 
ness and  iidelity.  His  business  record  is  alike  creditable,  for  he  is  straight- 
forward in  all  of  his  dealings,  never  taking  advantage  of  tlie  necessities  of 
his  fellowmen  and  he  has  found  that  diligence  and  enterprise  constitute  a 
safe  and  sure  basis  for  the  acquirement  of  a  competence. 

EDMUND  W.  QUICK. 

E,  W.  Quick,  whose  landed  possessions  comprise  one  hundred  and  two 
acres  in  Noble  township,  is  a  native  of  England,  his  birth  having  occurred  in 
Devonshire  in  April,  1835.  His  parents  were  James  and  Jane  (Waller) 
Qujck.  The  father  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  always  following  that  pur- 
smt  in  order  to  provide  for  his  family,  which  numbered  seven  children.  His 
death  occurred  in  England  and  E.  W.  Quick  is  the  only  representative  of  the 
family  that  has  sought  a  home  in  America.  He  acquired  a  good  education 
in  the  schools  of  his  native  country  and  was  reared  to  farm  life,  lessons  of 
industry,  perseverance  and  integrity  being  early  impressed  upon  his  mind,  so 
that  in  later  years  they  have  borne  rich  fruit.  He  continued  on  the  old  home- 
stead until  he  had  reached  the  age  of  twenty-two  years,  when,  desiring  to 
profit  by  the  better  business  opportunities  of  the  new  world,  he  bade  adieu 
to  friends  and  native  country  and  sailed  for  the  United  States.  He  did  not 
tarry  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  however,  but  came  at  once  to  Michigan  and  since 
1858  has  been  a  resident  of  this  state.  He  married  Miss  Mary  Martin,  a 
daughter  of  Phillip  Martin,  who  was  born  in  Devonshire,  in  1839,  came  from 
England  in  1858,  and  they  settled  in  Gilead  township.  There  they  lived  for 
three  years,  and  in  i86i-Mr.  Quick  rented  a  farm,  which  he  cultivated  until 
1863,  when  he  invested  his  savings  in  a  tract  of  forty  acres  on  section  twelve, 
Noble  township.  He  then  took  up  his  abode  on  this  place,  and  soon  there- 
after buih  a  house  and  barn.  As  the  years  have  passed  he  has  added  other 
equipments  and  now  has  a  well  improved  property.  In  1870  he  bought  fifty 
acres  of  land  and  subsequently  added  twelve  acres,  so  that  one  hundred  and 
two  acres  are  now  comprised  within  the  boundaries  of  his  place.  He  raises 
both  grain  and  stock,  feeding  the  former,  and  he  has  a  good  place,  thoroughly 
in  keeping  whh  modem  ideas  of  progressive  agriculture. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Quick  have  been  bom  seven  children :  Frank,  who 
is  now  living  in  Daisy,  North  Dakota :  Jessie,  who  became  the  wife  of  Luke 
Peachey  and  died  in  1891;  William,  who  is  living  in  Daisy,  North  Dakota; 
Agnes,  who  married  John  Woodard  and  is  a  resident  of  Page,  North  Dakota; 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  409 

Phillip,  a  physician  practicing  in  OHvet,  Michigan;  Albert,  who  is  in  the 
mail  service  running  out  of  Branson;  and  Sidney  S.,  who  is  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  medicine  and  surgery  in  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana.  He  was  educated 
in  Perdue  University,  and  graduated  in  the  class  of  1906.  He  married  Miss 
Grace  Kelfett,  and  they  have  one  little  son,  Garrette  Wayne.  Mrs.  Quick 
was  born  in  La  Grange  county,  Indiana,  November  22,  1878,  and  is  a  daugh- 
ter of  Robert  and  Jane  (Kelso)  Keliett.  All  of  his  sons  are  prospering  in 
life  and  the  family  is  one  of  which  the  parents  have  every  reason  to  be  proud. 
In  his  political  views  Mr,  Quick  is  a  stalwart  Republican  and  cast  his 
first  presidential  vote  for  Abraham  Lincoln  in  1864,  having  in  the  meantime 
taken  out  his  naturalization  papers.  He  has  been  called  to  several  public 
offices,  serving  for  two  terms  as  supervisor,  also  for  two  terms  as  treasurer 
of  the  township  and  as  a  member  of  the  school  board  for  twenty-six  years, 
and  there  is  no  man  in  the  community  who  is  more  thoroughly  interested  in 
the  welfare  and  upbuilding  of  the  county  than  Mr.  Quick.  He  is  loyal  to 
American  institutions,  having  a  deep  attachment  for  the  land  of  his  adoption. 
He  has  never  regretted  his  determination  to  seek  a  home  in  the  new  world, 
for  here  he  has  found  good  business  opportunities,  and  as  the  years  have 
passed  he  has  prospered  in  his  undertakings.  He  has  justly  earned  the  proud 
American  title  of  a  self-made  man,  the  only  title  which  our  liberty-loving 
people  acknowledge,  and  as  the  architect  of  his  own  fortunes  has  builded 
wisely  and  well. 

SAMUEL    WATERS. 

Some  of  the  leading  and  most  influential  citizens  of  the  prosperous 
county  of  Branch  are  its  farmers,  who,  although  still  in  their  prime  have 
made  for  themselves  and  families  comfortable  homes  here  and  who  are  re- 
garded as  men  of  prominence  in  their  town  and  county.  One  of  these  is 
the  gentleman  named  above,  Mr.  Samuel  Waters,  who  has  already  achieved 
a  large  measure  of  success  in  life. 

Mr.  Waters  was  born  at  Buffalo,  New  York,  October  30,  1852,  he 
being  of  English  descent,  and  the  only  member  of  his  family  bom  in  Amer- 
ica. His  father  was  James  Waters  and  his  mother  was  Elizabeth  Cooper, 
both  natives  of  Lincolnshire,  England,  where  they  spent  their  early  mar- 
ried life.  James  Waters  was  always  a  farmer,  and  in  England  had  charge 
of  large  farms,  an  avocation  which  he  followed  after  coming  to  this  coun- 
try. He  and  his  wife  were  the  parents  of  nine  children  when  in  185 1  they 
decided  to  try  their  fortunes  in  America,  and  they  located  first  at  Buffalo, 
New  York.  Their  means  were  very  limited  upon  their  arrival,  but  the  Eng- 
lish pluck  and  persistence  won  a  way  for  them  and  they  continued  to  grow 
in  prosperity  year  after  year.  They  lived  at  Buffalo  for  three  years  and 
then  removed  to  White  Pigeon,  Michigan,  where  they  remained  for  five 
years,  going  from'  there  to  Ohio  and  finally  to  Fremont,  Indiana,  where 
the  parents  died,  the  father  in  1879  and  the  mother  in  1881.  Both  were 
esteemed  people  and  members  of  the  Reformed  church.  Of  their  ten  chil- 
dren, all  but  two,  Thomas  and  Jane,  are  living,  as  follows:  Mary  Spade, 
of  Kinderhook;  Eliza  Kellogg,  of  Missouri;  WiUiam,  of  Ohio;  James,  Mor- 


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410  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

ris,  George  and  Phillip,  of  Indiana;  and  Samuel,  of  Kinderhook,  Michigan. 
All  have  made  homes  for  themselves  and  are  well-to-do  as  regards  this 
world's  goods,  and  all  have  families  of  their  own. 

Samuel  Waters  was  reared  upon  the  farm  and  as  the  youngest  child 
he  lived  at  home  during  tlie  hfe  of  his  parents.  He  was  married  October 
30,  1877,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Grimm,  a  native  of  Steuben  county,  Indiana, 
where  she  was  bom  January  24,  1855.  Her  father,  William  Grimm,  was 
born  in  Stark  county,  Ohio,  in  June,  1832,  and  her  mother,  Mary  A.  Keller, 
was  born  in  Randolph  county,  Ohio,  in  1835.  They  removed  to  Steuben 
county,  Indiana,  in  an  early  day  and  spent  fifty  years  of  their  lives  there, 
where  the  mother  died  December  12,  1903,  and  where  the  father  still  resides, 
at  Fremont.  They  were  the  parents  of  four  children,  all  of  whom  are 
hving:  Elizabeth  Waters,  wife  of  our  subject,  and  Henry,  Ellvrood  and 
George,  all  residents  of  Steuben  county,  Indiana. 

The  early  married  life  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Samuel  Waters  was  spent  in 
Fremont  township,  Steuben  county,  Indiana,  but  in.  1888  Mr.  Waters  pur- 
chased his  present  farm  in  California  township,  Branch  county,  Michigan, 
which  has  since  been  their  home.  The  farm  at  first  contained  one  hundred 
and  eighty-three  acres,  forty  acres  of  which  has  since  been  sold,  and  it  has 
been  transformed  into  one  of  the  comfortable  farm  homes  of  this  section, 
Mr.  Waters  has  cleared  nearly  thirty  acres  of  the  farm  and  has  made  many 
notable  improvements  in  the  way  of  building,  etc.,  including  one  of  the 
finest  barns  in  the  township,  which  is  to  be  speedily  followed  by  a  residence 
of  modern  construction. 

A  son  and  a  daughter  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Waters.  Bert, 
the  eldest,  married  OHve  Powelson,  and  they  have  two  daughters,  Violet 
and  Marian,  their  home  adjoining  that  of  their  parents.  Tlie  daughter, 
Linnie,  resides  at  home. 

Mr.  Waters  has  been  an  industrious  and  intelligent  farmer  and  success 
has  crowned  his  efforts.  He  is  a  Prohibitionist  in  politics,  although  never 
a  seeker  after  office.  His  interest  in  educational  matters  has  led,  however, 
to  his  selection  as  moderator  of  his  school  district  for  six  years  in  succes- 
sion, a  position  which  he  still  holds..  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Waters  are  members 
of  the  Liberal  United  Brethren  church  and  they  stand  high  in  the  regard 
of  the  residents  of  this  section. 

EDWIN  BOSWORTH  CHURCH. 

Representing  a  family  of  prominent  connection  with  American  life  and 
affairs  from  the  early  colonial  period  to  the  present,  Mr.  Edwin  B.  Church, 
of  Quincy,  Michigan,  has  himself  lived  up  to  the  best  traditions  of  the 
Church  ancestry  and  is  one  of  the  best  known  and  most  influential  citizens 
of  Brancli  county.  Born  in  Bristol,  Rhode  Island,  in  1844,  he  comes  of 
truest  New  England  stock,  and  on  both  his  father  and  mother's  sides  is  re- 
lated to  men  of  more  than  ordinary  prominence  in  every-day  life  as  well  as 
public  activity. 

William  Henry  Church,  his  father,  also  born  in  Bristol,  was  a  descend- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  411 

ant  of  Benjamin  F.  Church,  whose  participation  in  the  Revolutionary  war 
is  <i  treasured  part  of  the  family  annals.  An  earlier  Church  had  been  com- 
missioned lieutenant  nf  militia  at  Bristol  by  none  less  than  His  Majesty 
George  the  Thind.  The  connection  of  the  Church  family  with  America 
began  early  in  the  seventeenth  century,  when  they  came  from  England  and 
made  settlement  in  the  town  of  Bristol  near  Mt.  Hope,  Rhode  Island.  The 
prevailing  occupation  of  the  family  in  its  various  generations  has  been  farm- 
ing and  stock-raising,  William  Henry  being  also  a  farmer.  He  received 
his  education  in  private  schools  at  Bristol  and  Providence,  and  became  one 
of  the  largest  landholders  in  the  state  of  Rhode  Island.  He  died  at  Bristol 
in  1898,  aged  eighty-three  years.  He  had  come  west  and  been  in  Grand 
Rapids  in  the  fifties,  and  visited  his  son  at  Quincy  in  1870.  He  was  a 
member  and  active  worker  in  the  Congregational  church,  in  politics  was  a 
Republican  of  strong  convictions  but  without  aspirations  for  office,  and 
being  a  man  of  quite  remarkable  executive  ability  and  force  of  character  he 
held  a  nosition  of  distinction  in  his  community. 

WiHiam  H.  Church  married  Susan  M,  Lincoln,  who  was  born  in  Bristol 
ill  1817,  and  died  in  1876,  in  her  fifty-ninth  year.  Her  father  was  a  faraier 
and  a  native  of  Connecticut.  W.  H.  Church  and  wife  had  eleven  children, 
namely.  Sarah  Ann  is  the  wife  of  George  Burt,  a  farmer  at  Raynham, 
Massachusetts;  Susan  Maria  is  the  widow  of  James  Herrendeen,  in  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. ;  William  Albert  resides  on  the  old  Rhode  Island  liomestead 
where  he  was  born.  The  fourth  member  of  the  family  is  Edwin  B.  Church. 
Henry  Francis  is  a  retired  stock  dealer  in  Providence,  Rhode  Island.  Charles, 
the  sixth,  died  in  infancy.  Emily  Lincoln  lives  in  Bristol.  Clara  Medora 
is  the  wife  nf  Dr.  William  J.  McCaw,  of  Providence.  Alice  Southworth, 
residing  in  Bristol,  is  the  widow  of  George  Easterbrook.  Carrie  Percis  is 
a  resident  of  Washington,  D.  C.  Benjamin  Bradford  died  at  the  age  of 
fifteen. 

Mr.  Edwin  B.  Church  spent  his  early  life  in  the  town  of  Bristol,  was 
reared  on  a  farm,  learned  its  duties  and  before  coming  west  farmed  for  his 
father.  His  education  was  received  in  the  schools  at  Warren  and  Bristol. 
From  farming  he  directed  his  attention  to  the  trade  of  machinist,  which  he 
followed  at  Taunton,  Massachusetts,  and  Providence.  In  the  meantime,  in 
1862,  he  had  responded  to  his  country's  call  for  soldiers,  and,  enlisting  at 
Bristol  in  the  Twelfth  Rhode  Island  Infantry,  Company  E,  he  served  nine 
months.  He  participated  at  Fredericksburg  under  Burnsides,  and  thence 
the  regiment  was  ordered  to  Kentucky  in  pursuit  of  John  Morgan,  the  Rebel 
leader.  At  the  close  of  his  term  he  was  returned  to  Providence  and  mus- 
tered out. 

Mr.  Church  has  been  a  resident  at  Quincy  and  identified  with  its  wel- 
fare since  1867,  in  the  fall  of  which  year  he  came  from  the  east  to  perma- 
nently make  his  home  in  the  Wolverine  state.  Opening  a  meat  market  in 
Ouincy,  he  also  houglit  and  shipped  stock  with  this  village  as  his  head- 
quarters, and  continued  in  that  general  line  of  business,  especially  in  buying 
and  shipping  stock,  for  thirty  odd  years.  His  interests  have  been  constantly 
expanding  ever  since  his  location  here.     About  1871  he  bought  a  little  farm 


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il3  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

of  ten  acres  in  section  sixteen  of  Quincy  township,  conducting  this  in  con- 
nection with  his  other  business,  and  since  then  he  has  added  to  his  farm 
until  it  now  contains  almost  two  hundred  acres.  In  1880  he  was  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Quincy,  being  at  the  present  time 
the  second  of  the  original  organizers  living.  He  stilJ  retains  his  interest  in 
the  institution,  being  a  director  and  also  for  the  past  ten  years  vice-presi- 
dent. In  politics  a  Republican,  he  has  often  sen.-ed  on  the  village  board,  and 
is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church  of  his  town. 

In  1870  Mr.  Church  married  Adaline  (Bronghton)  Burdick,  widow 
of  George  W.  Burdick.  Mrs.  Church  was  born  in  Quincy  township,  this 
county,  three  miles  west  of  the  town  of  Quincy,  in  1836,  and  is  one  of  the 
oldest  living  native-born  residents.  Her  father,  John  Broughton,  was  a 
maker  of  history  in  this  county,  esteemed  and  highly  honored  both  as  a 
citizen  and  in  private  life.  He  was  born  in  Rutland,  Vermont,  and  died 
at  the  age  of  eighty-five  years,  in  1879.  His  ancestry  was  traced  to  three 
Broughton  brothers  who  came  from  England  in  an  early  day  and  made 
settlement  in  Vermont.  John  Broughton  was  a  farmer,  having  come  to 
Michigan  and  settled  at  Quincy  in  1835.  For  about  a  year  he  kept  a  tavern 
midway  between  Quincy  and  Coldwater,  and  thereafter  was  a  resident  of 
Quincy.  He  traded  extensively  in  lands,  investing  heavily  in  g-ovemment 
lands,  and  retained  large  amounts  of  it  until  his  death.  Quincy  is  partly 
built  on  two  farms  owned  by  him  on  the  west  side  of  the  town,  and  he  also 
had  a  faiTn  on  the  east  side,  part  of  which  has  also  become  absorbed  into  the 
vtiiage.  Although  a  farmer  by  stated  occupation,  he  gave  much  of  his  time 
to  real  estate  dealings.  As  a  pioneer  of  the  county  he  was  identified  with 
the  formation  of  the  village  of  Quincy,  and  was  always  ready  to  su^jport. 
if  he  did  not  take  the  lead  in  any  enterprise  that  meant  the  progress  and 
substantial  welfare  of  the  town.  The  Quincy  Metliodist  church  honors  him 
as  one  of  its  first  and  most  actively  influential  members.  When  there  was 
no  church  in  town  his  house  was  the  meeting  place  for  the  worshipers  in 
that  faith,  and  in  fact  the  society  was  organized  in  his  home.  The  site  of  the 
present  church  edifice  was  donated  by  him,  and  his  interest  and  activity  were 
constant  factors  in  the  reHgious  and  moral  advancement  of  the  town  in  his 
lifetime.  In  politics  he  was  a  stanch  Republican  from  the  organization  of 
that  party  until  his  death.  He  married  Elizabeth  Wingert,  a  native  of 
Permsylvania  and  a  daughter  of  Jacob  Wingert,  a  tailor,  who  afterward  lived 
in  New  York  state.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Broughton  were  the  parents  of 
seven  children,  namely:  Eleanor  Eliza,  now  deceased,  was  the  wife  of 
William  Chappell,  an  army  ofticer;  Adaline,  the  present  wife  of  Mr.  Church, 
and  who  by  her  first  marriage  had  three  children,  George  and  John,  both 
deceased,  and  Fannie  Church  Parsons,  about  whom  there  is  further  mention 
elsewhere;  Sarah,  John  George,  and  William,  an  artist,  all  of  whom  are 
deceased;  and  Martha  A.  is  the  wife  of  Silas  S.  Daish,  a  retired  grain  dealer 
in  Washington,  D.  C,  and  they  have  two  children — John  B.,  a  prominent 
lawyer  in  Washington,  national  representative,  and  May  E.,  who  married 
Thornton  Lockerson,  an  insurance  man  in  Philadelphia.     Mrs.  Church  is  a 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  413 

member  of  the  Methodist  church  at  Quincy.  Mrs.  Broughton  died  in  1893, 
aged  ninety  years. 

Wilham  A.  Church,  a  brother  of  Edwin  B.  Church,  was  also  a  member 
of  Company  E,  Twelfth  Rhode  Island  Infantry,  and  the  brothers  served 
thronghout  their  term  together,  both  being  in  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg. 

Mrs.  Fannie  Church  Parsons,  the  daughter  and  only  living  child  of 
Mrs.  E.  B,  Church,  has  achieved  a  national  reputation  through  her  original 
metliods  of  kindergarten  musical  instruction.  She  is  the  author  of  the 
Illustrated  Music  Study  system  and  is  at  the  head  of  the  musical  department 
in  the  National  Normal  School  of  Illustrated  Music  Study,  the  central  studio 
of  which  institution  is  in  the  Fine  Arts  Building  at  Chicago.  She  has  held 
this  position  the  past  four  years,  and  is  under  contract  for  two  years  more. 
Her  works  were  copyrighted  in  1897,  and  her  .system  is  now  in  use  in  many 
Chicago  schools  as  well  as  in  many  other  cities  and  towns  and  in  every  state 
in  the  Union, 

Mrs.  Parsons'  musical  training  was  begun  at  tlie  age  of  six  years,  and 
was  continued  under  the  best  masters  obtainable.  Several  years  were  spent 
under  William  Waldecker  at  Washington,  followed  by  study  at  the  New 
Fngland  Conservatory  at  Boston,  where  she  had  such  eminent  instructors  as 
George  Howard,  Frank  E.  Morse,  George  Chadwick  and  W.  F.  Apthorp. 
Her  work  of  teaching  children,  already  begun,  was  continued  in  Michigan, 
ajid  in  those  early  years  of  her  work  she  perfected  the  system  by  which  her 
name  has  become  so  well  known  and  by  which  she  has  contributed  so  much  of 
value  to  musical  education.  In  1890  she  married  Rev.  W.  H.  Parsons,  for 
twenty-five  years  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church  in  the  Michigan  con- 
ference, and  now  located  at  New  Buffalo,  that  state.  The  three  children 
bom  of  their  marriage  are  Anita  Church  Parsons,  Adjinae  and  Edwina. 
When  her  oldest  daughter  was  five  years  old  Mrs.  Parsons,  who.  in  the 
meantime  had  discontinued  active  educational  work,  formed  a  class  of  chil- 
dren in  order  that  Anita  might  have  the  advantage  of  the  class  lessons  which 
had  proved  so  beneficial  to  former  pupils.  From  this  beginning  has  grown 
the  movement  which  has  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  many  normal  cen- 
ters where  her  system  of  instruction  may  be  acquired.  She  has  written  sev- 
eral text  books,  manuals,  charts  and  other  aids  for  the  practical  teaching  of 
her  methods,  and,  as  already  stated,  her  system  is  being  introduced  in  num- 
erous new  centers  every  year  and  Js  constantly  growing  in  favor  among 
educators.  Mrs.  Parsons  was  reared  by  Mr.  Church  from  seven  years 
of  age,  and  she  thinks  as  much  of  him  as  her  own  father. 

MARCEIXUS  HARRIS  PARKER. 
Marcelhis  Harris  Parker,  who.  as  an  architect  and  builder  was  closely 
associated  with  the  improvement  of  Coldwater  through  many  years  so  that 
now  various  substantial  and  prominent  buildings  stand  as  monuments  to  his 
skill  and  enterprise,  was  born  in  Sutton,  New  Hampshire,  November  18, 
1821,  while  his  death  occurred  in  Coldwater,  November  2,  1902.  He  left 
the  parental  home  when  eighteen  years  of  age.  removing  to  Rochester,  New 
York,  where  he  served  an  apprenticeship  as  an  architect  and  builder.     He 


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414  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

afterward  went  to  Buffalo,  New  York,  where  he  remained  for  a  brief  period 
and  then  became  a  resident  of  Vermilion,  Ohio. 

On  the  i8th  of  March,  1847,  while  in  the  Buckeye  state,  Mr.  Parker 
was  married  to  Miss  Harriet  M.  Sage,  who  was  born  in  Middletown,  Con- 
necticut, Febriiarj^  to,  1827,  her  parents  being  George  and  Lucy  (Davis) 
Sage.  They  were  also  natives  of  Connecticut,  whence  they  removed  to  Vir- 
ginia and  afterward  to  Ohio,  where  their  la^t  days  were  passed.  Subse- 
quent to  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Parker  removed  to  Toledo,  Ohio,  and 
there  resided  for  eighteen  months,  on  the  expiration  of  which  period  they 
took  up  their  abode  in  Batavia,  Michigan.  Tn  1851  they  became  residents 
of  Coldwater,  where  Mr,  Parker  resided  until  his  life's  labors  were  ended. 
Here  as  an  architect  and  builder  he  contributed  largely  to  the  improvement 
and  welfare  of  his  adopted  city.  Many  prominent  buildings  here  were 
planned  and  constructed  by  him.  including  the  public  library  and  the  court 
house.  He  always  lived  faithfully  up  to  the  terms  of  a  contract  and  was 
thoroughly  prompt  and  reliable  in  the  execution  of  any  work  entrusted  to 
him  and  because  of  his  capability  and  honorable  metliods  he  enjoyed  a  lib- 
eral patronage.  In  his  later  years  be  retired  with  a  comfortable  competence 
to  enjoy  a  well  earned  rest. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Parker  became  the  parents  of  three  children,  but  two  died 
in  childhood,  the  surviving  daughter  being  Celia,  now  the  wife  of  Dr.  J.  H. 
Woolley,  a  dentist  of  Chicago.  Tiiere  were  no  exciting  chapters  in  the  life 
history  of  Mr.  Parker  but  he  displayed  a  persistency  of  purpose  and  fidelity 
to  honorable  principles  and  a  commendable  and  helpful  interest  in  his  fel- 
lowmen  that  made  him  one  of  the  respected  and  representative  residents  of 
Coldwater,  and  when  he  passed  away  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-one 
years  his  death  was  deeply  regretted  by  many  who  knew  and  honored  him. 
His  widow  still  survives  him  and  yet  occupies  the  old  home  in  Coldwater. 

CHARLES  TITUS  CORNWELL. 

Charles  Titus  Cornwell,  who  is  now  living  retired  in  Coldwater,  was 
1x>m  in  Fulton  county,  New  York.  September  24,  1821,  and  has  therefore 
passed  the  eighty-third  milestone  on  life's  journey.  He  is  descended  from 
Revolutionary  stock.  His  paternal  grandfather,  Ashwell  Cornwell,  was  one 
of  three  brothers  who  came  from  England  to  America  and  at  tlic  time  of 
the  Revolutionary'  war  he  espoused  the  cause  of  the  colonists  and  aided  in 
the  struggle  for  independence,  holding  the  rank  of  captain.  His  son  and 
namesake  AshwelJ  Cornwell,  Jr.,  was  born  in  Fulton  county.  New  York, 
and  in  early  life  learned  the  trade  of  a  tanner  and  currier  and  also  that  of 
shoe-making.  He  was  one  of  four  brothers,  all  of  whom  followed  the  same 
business  pursuits.  Having  arrived  at  years  of  maturity  he  wedded  Ann  Warn, 
a  native  of  Saratoga  county,  New  York. 

Charles  T.  Cornwell,  the  only  representative  of  their  family  now  liv- 
ing, was  a  lad  of  but  eleven  years  when  he  left  home  and  started  out  in  the 
world  for  himself.  He  has  since  depended  entirely  upon  his  own  labors 
and  whatever  success  he  has  achieved  is  attributable  alone  to  bis  untiring 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  415 

efforts.  He  first  worked  for  his  board  on  a  farm  for  about  three  years 
and  the  first  wage  he  received  was  twenty-one  dollars  for  seven  months' 
labor.  He  continued  as  a  farm  hand  until  about  seventeen  years  of  age, 
when  he  entered  upon  an  apprenticeship  for  the  carriage-maker's  trade,  serv- 
ing for  three  years  in  Fulton  county,  New  York.  He  then  worked  for  a 
short  time  at  piece  work  and  about  1842  removed  to  Ralston,  Lycoming 
county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  began  building  cars  for  the  mines.  After 
remaining  at  that  place  for  a  year  he  returned  to  Fulton  county,  New  York, 
where  he  resumed  work  at  his  trade.  After  spending  seme  time  as  an 
employe  in  Galloway.  New  York,  he  went  to  Rexford  Flats,  New  York, 
where  he  engaged  in  wagon  making  on  his  own  3ccount  for  slxiut  a  year. 
While  there  he  was  married  to  Miss  Alma  Lefferts  and  went  to  Troy,  New 
York,  where  he  worked  at  the  cabinet-maker's  trade,  spending  about  a  year 
and  a  half  or  two  years  in  that  place.  He  next  settled  at  Schenectady,  New 
York,  where  he  engaged  in  buikJing  railroad  cars.  In  the  meantime  he  had 
learned  photography  and  while  in  Schenectady  he  established  a  studio  and 
carried  on  business  for  about  two  years.  In  1849  he  can^e  to  Coldwater 
and  in  1850  built  the  house  that  he  now  occupies.  Here  he  worked  at  cabi- 
net making  and  also  followed  the  profession  of  photography.  He  tra\"e1ed 
all  over  the  county  in  an  early  day  and  was  in  St.  Louis  during  the  Civii  war. 
His  attention,  however,  has  been  principally  given  to  photogi'aphy  and  he 
has  carried  on  business  in  Coldwater  as  a  representative  of  this  art  for 
about  thirty  years,  being  the  pioneer  photographer  in  this  part  of  the  st^te. 
He  is  an  expert  in  daguerreotype  work  and  has  a  fine  selection  of  pictures 
taken  over  a  half  century  ago. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Comweil  have  one  son,  Giarles  S.,  who  is  now  a  resident 
of  Chicago.  The  wife  and  mother  died  May  8,  1904,  and  Mr.  Cornwell  has 
since  lived  alone.  His  early  pohtical  support  was  given  to  the  WTiig  party 
and  since  its  dissolution  he  has  joined  the  ranks  of  the  Republican  party, 
which  he  has  now  supported  for  about  half  a  century.  He  voted  for  Henry 
Clay  in  the  early  days  and  has  since  cast  his  ballot  in  support  of  each  Repub- 
lican nominee.  Mr.  Comweil  is  a  gentleman  of  personal  worth,  of  kindly 
spirit,  deference  for  the  opinions  of  others,  unfailing  courtesy  and  innate 
affability.  In  the  long  years  of  his  residence  in  Michigan  he  has  ever  en- 
joyed the  regard  and  trust  of  his  fellowmen  and  is  today  one  of  the  venerable 
citizens  of  Coldwater.  honored  by  all  who  know  him. 

MARSHALL  F.  SMITH. 
Marshall  F.  Smith  is  a  representative  of  one  of  the  pioneer  families  of 
Branch  county  and  has  for  more  than  a  half  century  lived  within  its  borders, 
so  that  he  is  familiar  with  its  history,  having  watched  its  development  through 
five  decades.  He  was  born  in  Noble  township  September  26,  1853.  His 
father,  Walter  W.  Smith,  was  a  native  of  Vermont,  born  February  21,  1810. 
while  the  mother,  who  Ixtre  the  maiden  name  of  Sarah  Warren,  was  bom  De- 
cember 26,  1813.  In  the  year  1840  Waiter  W.  Smith  came  to  the  west, 
settling  at  Niles,  Michigan,  where  he  worked  at  the  carpenter's  trade  for  two 


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416  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

years,  having  learned  that  business  while  in  New  England.  Land  was  cheap 
and  conld  be  had  almost  for  the  asking",  as  there  were  many  tracts  still  in 
possession  of  the  government.  He  therefore  secured  a  claim  in  1842,  enter- 
ing one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  on  section  ten,  Noble  township.  Not  a 
furrow  had  been  turned  or  an  improvement  made  on  the  place,  the  tract  pre- 
senting the  appearance  only  of  nature's  handiwork.  Mr.  Smith  did  not  at 
once  commence  farming,  but  for  four  or  five  years  thereafter  continued  car- 
pentering. He  then  took  up  his  abode  upon  his  land,  which  is  now  known 
as  the  David  Ward  farm.  He  afterward  bought  forty  acres  on  the  same 
section,  so  that  his  place  comprised  two  hundred  acres.  This  he  partially 
improved,  hiring  a  man  to  break  the  land,  after  which  he  would  plant  and 
cultivate  his  crops.  He  carried  on  general  farming  for  a  number  of  years, 
meeting  with  creditable  success  in  his  work.  Here  he  reared  his  family  of 
four  children,  namely:  George  W.,  who  was  born  in  1841  and  was  killed 
at  Jefferson,  Texas,  on  the  4th  of  October,  18681;  Edward,  who  died  May 
18,  1S88;  Emily,  who  was  born  June  2,  1846,  and  died  April  5,  1870;  and 
Marshall  F.,  who  is  now  the  only  survivor  of  the  family. 

In  the  district  schools  Marshall  F.  Smith  acquired  his  education,  and 
upon  the  home  farm  he  was  reared,  early  beginning  labor  in  the  fields.  As 
soon  as  old  enough  to  reach  the  plow  handles  he  took  his  place  in  the  fields, 
and  when  not  busy  with  the  duties  of  the  school  room  he  assisted  in  culti- 
vating and  improving  his  father's  land.  In  1887  he  purchased  the  home  farm, 
his  father  having  died  on  the  4th  of  January  of  that  year.  A  few  months 
later,  however,  he  sold  this  property  to  his  brother  Edward  and  purchased 
the  Robinson  farm  of  three  hundred  and  thirty  acres  on  sections  fourteen  and 
fifteen,  Noble  township.  Later  he  sold  forty  acres  of  this,  so  that  he  retained 
possession  of  a  tract  of  two  hundred  and  ninetj'  acres.  He  then  removed 
to  that  farm  and  made  it  his  home  continuously  until  1899.  He  carried  on 
general  agricultural  pursuits  and  also  fed  cattle  and  sheep,  both  branches  of 
his  business  proving  profitable;  but  after  cultivating  his  place  for  a  number 
of  years  he  rented  his  farm  and  removed  to  the  town,  where  he  is  now  living 
retired. 

■  On  the  24th  of  December,  1871,  Mr.  Smith  was  married  to  Miss  Hattie 
Boyer,  a  daughter  of  Andrew  and  Margaret  Boyer  of  Noble  township.  Mrs. 
Smith  was  bom  in  the  state  of  New  York  Septemlier  17,  1852,  and  came 
with  her  family  to  Michigan  about  1855.  In  his  political  views  Mr.  Smith 
is  an  earnest  Republican,  keeping  well  informed  on  the  questions  and  issues 
of  the  day,  and  for  several  years  he  served  on  the  school  board.  He  has 
long  been  a  witness  of  the  events  that  have  occurred  in  Branch  county  that 
have  left  their  impress  upon  the  annals  of  this  part  of  the  state.  He  has  seen 
wild  lands  transformed  into  fine  farms  dotted  with  substantial  buildings, 
while  here  and  there  a  church  and  school  house  indicate  the  advance  of  civil- 
ization, while  towns  and  cities  have  become  imbued  with  commercial  and  indus- 
trial life  and  activity.  He  rejoices  in  what  has  been  accomplished  in  this 
part  of  the  state,  and  has  always  been  the  champion  of  movements  that  he 
deemed  of  benefit  to  his  community. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


CHARLES  HAMILTON. 
Charles  Hamilton,  carrying  on  general  farming  on  a  Cract  of  eighty- 
five  acres  on  section  fifteen,  Bronson  township,  was  born  in  Dublin,  New 
Hampshire,  December  lo,  1837,  his  parents  being  Charles  A.  and  Susan 
(Perry)  Hamilton.  The  family  was  established  in  Massachusetts  at  an 
early  day.  The  father  was  a  carpenter  and  shoemaker  by  trade  and  in 
connection  with  those  pursuits  he  followed  the  occupation  of  farming.  He 
lived  in  the  east  until  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  war,  when  he  came  to 
Michigan,  settling  in  Bronson  township,  Branch  county,  where  he  subse- 
quently purchased  forty  acres  of  land  on  section  fifteen,  lying  on  the  Chi- 
cago Pike  and  known  as  the  old  French  Tavern  place.  Here  he  carried  on 
farming  until  1867,  when  he  went  to  Missouri  and  purchased  a  tract  of 
land,  but  not  finding  this  all  he  desired  he  returned  to  Michigan.  Here  he 
worked  at  his  trade  and  also  nn  the  farm  but  later  he  returned  to  the  east, 
where  his  last  days  were  passed,  his  death  occurring  in  1887,  while  his  wife 
died  January  3,  1899.  In  their  family  were  four  children,  of  whom  Charies 
is  the  eldest.  His  living  brother  is  Horace,  while  Oliver  died  in  1865  at 
the  age  of  twelve  years.  Edwin  was  killed  in  Brookfield,  Missouri,  in  1871. 
Charies  Hamilton  was  a  student  in  the  schools  of  New  Hampshire  in 
his  early  boyhood  days  and  afterward  went  to  college  in  Westminster,  Ver- 
mont. He  completed  his  education,  however,  in  Townsend,  Vermont,  where 
he  pursued  a  course  in  civil  engineering,  leaving  school  at  the  age  of  twenty  ■ 
years.  In  1858  he  arrived  in  Branch  county,  Michigan,  and  engaged  in 
teaching  school  in  Bronson,  also  working  on  the  farm  for  a  year.  He  con- 
tinued as  a  teacher  until  1861,  after  which  he  responded  to  the  country's 
call  for  troops,  enlisting  in  Company  K,  Seventh  Michigan  Infantry,  for 
three  years.  He  was  with  the  army  of  the  Potomac  and  participated  in 
many  important  battles  that  led  to  the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  Union  armies. 
He  was  wotmded  in  the  head  at  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks  and  was  reported 
as  dead,  but  eventually  he  received  care  for  his  injuries  and  recovered. 
Having  served  for  three  years  he  re-eniisted  as  a  veteran  in  1864,  becoming 
a  memljer  of  the  Ninth  Vermont  Infantry,  with  which  he  remained  for  a 
year,  when  in  1865  he  received  an  honorable  discharge.  He  was  a  brave 
and  loyal  soldier,  who  made  a  creditable  record  on  the  battlefields  of  the 
south  and  with  the  triumphs  of  war  he  returned  to  his  home. 

Mr.  Hamilton  resumed  school  teaching  in  1865  and  for  a  time  was 
principal  of  the  schools  of  Burr  Oak,  Michigan.  Later  he  went  to  Mis- 
souri, where  he  followed  the  same  profession,  being  principal  of  a  school 
there  for  a  several  years.  As  an  educator  he  was  capable,  zealous  and  pro- 
gressive and  the  schools  under  his  guidance  made  substantial  progress.  In 
September.  1874,  he  returned  to  Michigan,  settling  upon  his  father's  farm 
Md  in  addition  to  school  teaching  he  followed  the  profession  of  surveying.  . 
In  1882  he  was  elected  county  surveyor,  which  position  he  held  for  a  num- 
ber of  terms  and  to  which  he  was  re-elected  in  1900.  His  long  service  in 
that  office  is  indicative  of  his  capability,  fidelity  and  promptness  and  also  of 
the  confidence  and  trust  reposed  in  him. 


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418  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

On  January  i6,  1862,  Mr.  Hamilton  was  married  to  Miss  Lucretia  R. 
I^ugg,  of  Londonderry,  Vermont,  and  unto  them  have  been  bom  four  chil- 
dren; Mabel  F.,  at  home;  Myrtle  E.,  who  became  the  wife  of  George  Cook 
of  Burr  Oak,  Michigan,  and  died  October  i,  1897;  Nellie  E.,  at  home;  and 
Lucretia  R.,  the  wife  of  C.  M.  Norton,  who  is  living  on  the  old  homestead 
and  superintends  the  farm  work,  and  they  have  a  little  son,  Wilbur  Hamil- 
ton. The  family  home  comprises  a  farm  of  eighty-five  acres  on  section 
fifteen,  Bronson  township,  and  this  returns  to  Mr.  Hamilton  a  good  income 
each  year.  He  has  a  comfortable  residence  and  good  outbuildings,  includ- 
ing two  barns,  one  thirty-six  by  fifty  feet  and  the  other  twenty-four  by 
twenty-six  feet.  Mr.  Hamilton  has  erected  nearly  all  of  these  buildings  and 
has  made  his  place  a  model  farm  of  the  twentieth  century,  equipping  it  with 
all  modem  conveniences  and  the  latest  improved  machinery.  This  was  once 
the  site  of  the  old  French  tavern  and  was  a  stage  station  on  the  route  be- 
tween Chicago  and  Detroit.  His  land  is  nearly  all  under  cultivation  and 
he  carries  on  general  farming,  feeding  aJl  of  his  grain  to  his  stock.  His 
political  allegiance  is  given  to  the  Republican  party  and  for  one  year,  1888, 
he  served  on  the  county  drainage  commission.  He  is  also  a  school  director 
and  has  ever  manifested  a  deep  and  helpful  interest  in  educational  affairs  in 
this  part  of  the  state,  while  his  own  labors  as  a  teacher  have  proved  effective 
in  raising  the  standard  of  schools  and  promoting  their  efficiency. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hamilton  have  one  of  the  old  spinning  wheels  which  was 
his  mother's,  which  is  close  to  a  century  old.  He  has  also  two  volumes 
of  Moore's  Universal  Geography  and  Astronomy,  one  of  the  first  editions 
published  in  1819,  also  an  old  fashioned  singing  book  which  is  much  over 
a  century  old,  using  the  long  "S,"  and  it  was  the  property  of  Early  Percy 
of  Old  England.  This  book  was  brought  across  the  Atlantic.  Mrs.  Hamil- 
ton has  a  double  coverlet  which  was  woven  by  her  grandmother.  Her 
great-grandfather,  Peter  Putnam,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war, 
which  entitles  the  members  of  her  family  to  become  members  of  the  Sons 
and  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution, 

EDWARD  C.  LOCKWOOD. 

Edward  C.  Lockwood,  whose  farm  on  section  six,  Ovid  township, 
indicates  in  its  attractive  and  well  kept  appearance  the  spirit  of  enterprise 
and  progress  which  dominates  the  owner,  has  here  one  hundred  and  seven- 
teen acres  of  land  that  is  arable  and  productive,  owing  to  the  careful  culti- 
vation which  he  has  placed  upon  it.  The  buildings,  too,  are  commodious 
and  substantial  and  everything  about  the  farm  shows  care  and  painstaking 
supervision.  It  was  upon  this  place  that  Edward  C.  Lockwood  first  opened 
his  eyes  to  the  light  of  day  on  tlie  I2th  of  December,  1857,  a  son  of  Henry 
and  Lydia  (Jordan)  I-ockwood. 

Edward  C.  Lockwood,  reared  to  the  occupation  of  the  farm,  was  edu- 
cated in  the  district  schools  and  in  the  high  school  of  Coldwater,  in  whicli 
he  spent  one  year  as  a  student.  After  putting  aside  his  text-boc4<s  his  undi- 
vided attention  was  given  to  agricultural  pursuits  and  he  soon  learned  the 
best  methods  of  tilling  the  fields,  planting  crops  and  caring  for  the  harvests. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  419 

Wishing  to  establish  a  home  of  his  own  he  secured  as  a  companion  and  help- 
mate on  life's  journey  Miss  Mary  E.  Lockwood,  to  whom  he  was  married 
on  the  31st  of  October,  1879,  She  ■\\'as  bom  in  Wyoming  county,  New 
York.  October  31,  1858,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Rufus  and  Sarah  (Mead) 
Lockwood,  of  Coidwater,  Michigan,  who  were  early  settlers  of  Branch 
county,  coming  to  the  west  when  their  daughter  was  a  little  maiden  of  seven 
summers.  The  family  home  was  established  first  in  Coidwater  township 
upon  a  farm  of  about  one  hundred  acres  of  land  and  there  Mrs.  Lockwood 
of  this  review  spent  her  girlhood  days,  while  in  the  Coidwater  high  school 
of  the  city  she  acquainted  herself  with  the  branches  of  learning  commonly 
taught  in  such  institutions  and  graduated  in  the  class  of  1887.  Unto  our 
subject  and  his  wife  have  been  born  three  children:  Laura,  who  was  bom 
January  ig,  i88r;  Bertha,  who  was  born  May  21,  1883,  and  is  the  wife 
of  Luther  E.  Russell,  a  farmer  of  Ovid  township ;  and  Florence,  whose  birtli 
occurred  June  7,  1896.  All  were  bom  on  what  is  known  as  the  old  Lock- 
wood  homestead,  where  the  parents  yet  reside  with  their  eldest  and  young- 
est daughters.  Mr.  Lockwood  here  owns  and  operates  one  hundred  and 
seventeen  acres  of  land,  having  a  well  equipped  property,  the  value  of  which 
has  beetl  enhanced  through  the  excellent  improvement  that  he  has  placed 
upon  it  and  by  the  careful  cultivation  of  his  fields.  He  annually  harvests  good 
crops  and  on  the  market  finds  a  ready  sale  for  his  products,  so  that  each 
year  adds  to  his  income. 

When  age  gave  to  Mr.  Lockwood  the  right  of  franchise  he  cast  his 
first  ballot  for  the  men  and  measures  of  the  Republican  party  and  since  that 
time  he  has  never  \va\'ered  in  his  allegiance  to  its  principles,  believing  that 
it  contains  the  best  elements  of  good  government.  He  is  recognized  as  an 
active,  capable  and  effective  worker  in  the  local  ranks  of  his  party,  and  that 
he  has  the  entire  trust  and  good  will  of  his  fellow  townsmen  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  he  has  been  retained  in  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  for 
eighteen  years — a  fact  which  also  stands  in  uncontrovertible  evidence  of  a 
capable  service  unmarked  by  fear  or  favor  in  his  judicial  opinions,  which, 
on  the  contrary,  are  ever  characterized  by  fairness  and  impartiality. 

HECTOR  McLEAN. 

Hector  McLean  is  numbered  anMng  the  pioneer  residents  of  Branch 
county  and  in  his  farming  operations  in  Matteson  township  is  meeting  with 
a  creditable  measure  of  success.  Numbered  among  the  native  sons  of  New 
York,  he  was  bom  in  Broome  county  on  the  i6th  of  August,  1831.  His 
father,  Charles  McLean,  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  He,  too,  was  a  native 
of  New  York,  bom  in  Schenectady,  and  there  he  was  reared  and  married, 
the  lady  of  his  choice  being  Miss  Racliel  Buys,  who  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. In  their  family  were  nine  children,  of  whom  Hector  McLean  is  the 
fourth  in  order  of  bJrth.  In  the  year  1S45  the  father  came  with  his  family 
to  Michig-an,  settHng  in  Matteson  township,  Branch  county,  on  the  farm 
which  is  now  the  home  of  our  subject.  Here  he  purchased  eighty  acres  of 
land,  the  greater  part  of  which  ivas  raw  and  unimproved,  but  he  was  not 
long  permitted  to  enjoy  his  new  home,  for  his  death  occurred  soon  after 
his  arrival. 


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420  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Hector  McLean  and  his  brother,  who  were  living  here  at  the  time,  took 
up  the  arduous  task  of  clearing  the  farm  and  our  subject  was  finally  left 
the  sole  possessor  of  the  property,  which  he  continued  to  clear  and  cultivate. 
The  splendid  appearance  of  the  place  is  due  to  his  energies,  keen  business 
discrimination  and  practical  methods.  He  now  has  eighty  acres  of  land, 
the  greater  part  of  which  has  been  transformed  into  productive  fields  and 
yields  to  him  good  harvests  annually.  The  place  is  attractive  in  its.  appear- 
ance, owing  to  the  care  and  labor  he  has  bestowed  upon  it,  and  he  is  justly 
accounted  one  of  the  progressive  agriculturists  of  the  community. 

In  1871  occurred  the  marriage  of  Hector  McLean  and  Miss  Maiy  E. 
Anderson,  a  native  of  Steuben  county,  Indiana,  bom  on  April  12,  1842.  She 
is  a  daughter  of  William  and  Elizabeth  Anderson  and  her  father  was  a 
native  of  Lo  Maine,  and  the  mother  of  the  city  of  Aberdeen,  Scotland.  Mrs. 
McLean  was  brought  to  Branch  county  when  only  four  years  of  age  and 
her  education  was  acquired  in  the  district  schools  of  Bronson.  Unto  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  McLean  was  born  one  son,  who  died  in  infancy.  Tliey  are  peo- 
ple of  genuine  worth,  occupying  an  enviable  position  in  public  regard,  and 
the  cordial  and  generous  hospitality  of  their  pleasant  home  is  greatly  enjoyed 
by  their  many  friends. 

AVhen  age  ga\'e  to  Mr.  McLean  the  right  of  franchise  he  became  a 
supporter  of  Republican  candidates  and  principles,  but  now  he  is  known  as 
a  Prohibitionist,  although  he  is  somewhat  independent  in  his  political  affiliii- 
lion,  supporting  the  man  rather  than  the  party.  Matters  of  local  progress 
are  always  of  interest  to  him  and  his  co-operation  can  be  counted  upon  to 
further  measures  for  the  general  good.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Grange  at 
Colon,  Michigan,  and  is  well  known  in  the  county  where  much  of  his  life 
has  been  passed,  for  he  was  but  fourteen  years  of  age  when  he  arrived  in 
Michigan.  He  has  therefore  lived  in  this  county  for  six  decades  and  has 
witnessed  almost  its  entire  development  and  progress.  As  the  years  have 
gone  by  changes  have  occurred  that  have  transformed  an  unbroken  timber 
region  or  wild  prairie  land  into  productive  fields  in  the  midst  of  which  are 
found  substantial  homes,  while  here  and  there  churches  have  been  built  and 
towns  have  sprung  up  containing  all  of  the  industrial  and  commercial  inter- 
ests known  to  the  older  east.  His  work  has  been  entirely  along  agricultural 
lines  and  a  life  of  enterprise  and  carefully  directed  labor  has  resulted  in  mak- 
ing him  a  prosperous  citizen. 

WILLIAM  C.  SORTER. 

William  C.  Sorter  is  numbered  among  the  pioneer  residents  of  Branch 
county,  where  he  is  devoting  his  energies  to  agricultural  pursuits  with  good 
results,  making  his  home  on  section  twenty-eight,  Ovid  township,  where  he 
has  a  valuable  farm.  His  birth  occurred  in  Steuben  county.  New  York,  on 
the  3d  of  January,  1837,  his  parents  being  Jacob  and  Hannah  (Clark)  Sorter, 
both  of  whom  were  natives  of  the  same  county.  The  paternal  gran,dparents 
removed  to  New  Jersey  from  the  Empire  state  and  there  Jacob  Sorter  was 
reared  and  educated.  He  chose  as  a  companion  and  helpmate  for  life's  jour- 
ney Miss  Hannah  Clark,  who  also  .spent  her  childhood  in  that  locality.     In 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  421 

pioneer  times  they  came  westward  to  Branch  county,  arriving  in  Michigan  in 
1838,  at  which  time  they  settled  in  Ovid  township  upon  a  farm  of  forty  acres. 
All  around  was  the  forest  and  it  was  only  here  and  there  that  a  settler  had 
made  a  little  clearing  and  begun  the  de\'elopment  of  a  farm.  Mr.  Sorter  cut 
away  the  trees,  plowed  the  land  and  tilled  the  fields  and  in  due  course  of  time 
had  his  entire  farm  under  cuUivation.  He  lived  upon  that  place  for  three 
)'ears  and  a  half  and  then  purchased  what  has  since  been  known  as  the  Sorter 
farm.  He  purchased  forty  acres  and  then  entered  eighty  acres  of  land  from 
the  government,  buying  the  remainder  from  other  parties.  The  place  com- 
prises two  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land,  the  greater  part  of  which  is  under 
cultivation.  Mr.  Sorter  bought  and  sold  various  farms  in  the  county  and 
capably  conducted  his  business  interests  with  the  result  that  as  the  years 
passed  he  acquired  a  handsome  competence.  In  politics  he  was  always  earnest 
and  active  in  support  of  the  principles  of  Democracy,  and  he  did  everything 
in  his  power  to  promote  the  growth  and  insure  the  success  of  his  party.  His 
death  occurred  in  1882,  when  he  was  eighty  years  of  age,  and  thus  passed 
away  one  of  the  honored  pioneer  residents  of  this  section  of  Michigan.  In 
the  family  were  eight  children,  three  of  whom  were  born  in  New  York, 
while  five  were  bom  in  Branch  county.  All  were  sons,  and  the  eldest  died 
in  infancy.  The  others  were  George,  William,  Henry,  Andrew,  James,  Deie- 
van  and  David. 

William  Sorter  of  this  review  was  only  about  a  year  and  half  old  when 
brought  by  his  parents  to  Branch  county,  50  that  he  was  reared  amid  the  wild 
scenes  of  frontier  life.  At  the  usual  age  he  entered  the  district  school  near 
his  father's  home.  The  school  house  was  built  of  logs  and  was  furnished  in 
primitive  manner,  and  the  curriculum  embraced  but  a  few  branches  of  study. 
He  made  good  use  of  his  opportunities,  however,  and  in  the  school  of  ex- 
perience has  learned  many  valuable  lessons  as  the  years  have  gone  by.  In 
1864  Mr.  Sorter  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Harriet  Strong,  a  daughter 
of  Calvin  Strong,  a  pioneer  of  Branch  county  and  a  farmer  by  occupation. 
He  also  followed  mechanical  pursuits,  possessing  considerable  ingenuity  in 
that  direction.  Mrs.  Sorter  is  a  native  daughter  of  Coldwater  township  and 
there  her  girlhood  days  were  passed.  She  has  been  to  her  husband  a  faithful 
companion  and  helpmate  on  hfe's  journey.  Their  beautiful  country  residence 
and  outbuildings  are  most  attractive  to  the  passer-by.  It  is  beautifully  located 
and  one  of  the  most  attractive  residences  in  the  township.  Mr.  and  Mrs, 
Sorter  have  two  of  the  old  parchment  deeds,  one  bearing  the  signature  of 
President  Martin  Van  Buren  and  dated  October  10,  1840,  and  the  other 
signed  by  President  James  K.  Polk  and  bears  the  date  June  i,  1848.  These 
are  valuable  souvenirs  in  the  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sorter. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Sorter  is  a  Republican  and  has  ever  kept  well 
informed  on  the  questions  and  issues  of  the  day.  He  regards  it  the  duty 
as  well  as  the  privilege  of  every  American  to  cast  his  ballot  in  supiport  of 
principles  in  which  he  believes  and  which  he  deems  will  prove  of  greatest 
good  to  county,  state  or  nation.  He  served  as  township  treasurer  for  one 
year  and  he  has  been  chosen  as  administrator  of  many  estates — which  fact 
indicates  that  his  feliow-townsmen  have  had  trust  in  him.     Fraternally  he  is 


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422  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

connected  with  the  Masonic  lodge  at  Coldwater  and  he  and  wife  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  church  at  Kinderhook.  He  looks  at  life  from  a  prac- 
tical standpoint,  for  there  is  nothing;  narrow  or  contracted  in  his  nature,  and 
throughout  the  county  he  is  widely  known  and  highly  respected,  justly  merit- 
ing the  esteem  which  is  given  him  and  which  is  ever  a  public  recognition  of 
genuine  personal  worth. 

FRED  OLDS. 

Fred  Olds  follows  the  occupation  of  farming  on  section  twenty-three, 
Union  township,  and  is  numbered  among  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Branch 
county.  His  memory  embraces  the  period  of  early  development  here  when 
the  land  was  wild  and  the  work  of  improvement  seemed  scarcely  begun. 
He  was  horn  in  Batavia  township,  Genesee  county.  New  York,  June  8,  1831. 
His  father,  William  Olds,  was  a  native  of  Vermont  and  a  brother  of  Joseph 
Olds,  who  after  residing  for  some  time  in  New  York  continued  his  west- 
ward way  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  where  he  arrived  in  1S36.  Few, 
indeed,  were  tlie  settlers  living  in  this  part  of  the  state  and  he  was  the  third 
man  to  locate  on  Battle  Creek  road,  extending  from  Hodunk  to  Union  City. 
He  was  of  English  descent  and  traced  his  ancestry  back  to  one  of  tliree 
brothers  who  came  from  England  to  America  at  an  early  period  in  the  col- 
onization of  the  new  world. 

William  Olds,  father  of  our  subject,  on  leaving  Vermont  became  a  resi- 
dent of  Genesee  county,  New  York.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation  and 
always  followed  that  pursuit  in  order  to  provide  for  his  family.  He  came 
to  Branch  county  in  1S39,  settling  in  Union  township,  where  he  secured  a 
tract  of  land  and  opened  up  an  excellent  farm.  The  implements  in  use  at 
that  time  were  very  crude  as  compared  to  the  modern  farm  machinery  and 
necessitated  much  manual  iabor  which  does  not  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  farmer 
at  the  present  day  but  he  persisted  in  his  work  of  improving  his  property, 
which  in  due  course  of  time  became  valuable  owing  to  the  cultivation  he  had 
bestowed  upon  it.  He  lived  to  the  very  advanced  age  of  seventy-nine  years 
but  his  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Sarah  Palmer  and  was  a  native 
of  Genesee  county.  New  York,  lived  to  be  only  fifty  years  of  age.  They  were 
the  parents  of  seven  children,  two  sons  and  five  daughters,  all  of  whom 
reached  adult  age. 

Fred  Olds,  the  eldest  son  and  third  member  of  the  family,  was  a  youth 
of  eight  years  when  he  came  to  Branch  county,  the  family  home  being  estab- 
lished in  Union  township.  In  the  winter  months  when  the  weather  was  not 
too  severe  he  made  his  way  to  the  little  log  school  house  and  in  fact  he 
assisted  in  its  construction.  He  there  conned  his  lessons,  sitting  on  a  rude 
slab  bench.  In  the  summer  months,  howe\'er,  he  had  no  opportunity  of 
attending  school  but  remained  at  home,  assisting  in  clearing  the  farm  and 
preparing  the  fields  for  cultivation.  He  aided  in  the  operation  of  his  fath- 
er's land  until  twenty-three  years  of  age,  when  he  was  married  in  1857  to 
Miss  Harriet  Wilson,  a  daughter  of  Peter  Wilson.  The  young  coupk  took 
up  their  abode  in  a  little  log  shanty  standing  on  a  half  acre  of  land.  Mr. 
Olds  has  since  lived  in  this  place,  although  the  pioneer  cabin  has  long  since 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  433 

been  replaced  by  n  more  commodious  and  modem  residence  and  his  farm 
has  been  extended  until  it  now  comprises  two  hundred  acres  of  rich  and 
productive  land.  He  lias  traveled  considerably,  visiting  Sati  Francisco  ir; 
1874,  also  going  to  the  Atlantic  coast,  when  he  visited  Virginia.  He  has 
gone  to  other  places  and  has  thus  gained  considerable  knowledge  of  his 
native  country.  His  travel  has  been  made  possible  through  his  earnest 
labor  and  he  has  become  a  prosperous  agriculturist. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Olds  were  born  three  children :  William,  Libbie, 
the  wife  of  Lewis  Adolph;  and  Maud,  at  home.  Mr.  Olds  is  a  stalwart 
Republican  and  has  assisted  in  electing  each  Repubhcan  president  since  the 
organization  of  the  party.  He  belongs  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
and  his  Christian  faith  has  been  a  permeating  influence  in  his  honorable 
life.  He  has  lived  in  Branch  county  for  two-thirds  of  a  century  and  few 
of  its  settlers  today  were  here  at  the  time  of  his  arrival  He  has  been  an 
interested  witness  of  the  changes  which  have  occurred,  assisting  as  he  could 
in  its  development  and  today  he  is  numbered  among  its  respected  pioneers, 
having  planned  and  accomphshed  a  successful  business  career,  while  at  the 
same  time  faithfully  performing  his  duties  of  citizenship. 

SAMUEL  I.  TREAT. 

Long,  active  and  honorable  connection  with  business  interests  of  Cold- 
water  well  entitles  Samuel  I.  Treat  to  mention  with  the  representative  citi- 
zens of  Branch  county.  He  was  born  in  Ovid  township,  this  county,  Au- 
gust 19.  1840.  His  father,  Samuel  M.  Treat,  was  a  native  of  New  York  and 
came  to  Branch  county  about  1838,  settling  in  Ch'id  township,  where  he  took 
up  land  from  the  government.  It  was  wild  and  unimproved  but  he  at  once 
began  its  cultivation  and  in  the  course  of  time  developed  a  productive  farm, 
which  he  continued  to  make  his  home  until  his  death  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
four  years.  He  married  Fannie  Ives,  a  native  of  New  York,  who  died  when 
their  son  Samuel  was  only  three  weeks  old.  The  babe  was  then  taken  to 
the  home  of  his  grandparents,  with  whom  he  remained  until  seven  years  of 
age,  when  his  father  married  again  and  he  returned  to  the  old  homestead 
farm.  He  acquired  his  education  in  the  common  schools,  attending  for  about 
three  months  in  the  winter  seasons,  while  in  the  summer  he  aided  in  the  work 
of  the  farm,,  assisting  in  plowing,  planting  and  cultivating.  He  continued  to 
aid  his  father  until  twenty-one  years  of  age,  when  he  started  out  in  life  on 
his  own  account,  working  by  the  month  as  a  farm  hand. 

Samuel  I.  Treat  was  thus  engaged  until  1862,  when,  feeling  that  his 
first  duty  was  to  his  country,  he  enlisted  in  the  One  Hundredth  Illinois  In- 
fantry as  a  private,  serving  for  more  than  nine  months,  after  which  he 
received  an  honorable  discharge  and  returned  to  Adrian,  Michigan.  He 
remained  a  resident  of  that  place  for  about  two  years,  after  which  he  came 
to  Coldwater  and  he  has  since  followed  farming  and  also  dealt  in  hides, 
pelts,  tallow,  furs,  junk,  salt  and  fertilizers,  carrying  on  this  business  for  about 
thirty-five  vears.  He  also  renders  fallow  and  grease,  having  a  large  slaugh- 
tering and  rendering  plant  upon  his  farm,  which  is  situated  just  outside  the 
city  limits  of  Coldwater  and  comprises  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres. 


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42i  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Mr.  Treat  was  married  to  Miss  Helen  Armstrong,  and  unto  them  were 
.  born  two  sons  and  a  daughter,  but  the  latter  died  in.  infancy.  The  sons, 
Frank  and  Vernon,  are  both  associated  with  their  father  in  business.  Mr. 
Treat  has  always  been  a  Republican  since  casting  his  first  presidential  ballot 
for  Abraham  Lincoln  in  i860.  He  keeps  well  informed  on  the  questions 
that  divide  the  two  great  parties  and  is  thus  able  to  support  his  position  by 
inteihgent  argument.  He  now  belongs  to  Butterworth  Post,  No.  109,  G. 
A.  R.,  of  Coldwater,  and  is  interested  in  his  comrades  of  the  Civil  war,  spend- 
ing-  many  pleasant  hours  in  recalling  the  scenes  that  occurred  on  the  battle- 
fields of  the  south.  He  is  equally  ioyal  to  his  country  in  days  of  peace  and 
during  the  sixty-five  years  of  his  residence  in  this  county  he  has  been  the 
champion  of  all  movements  tending  toward  the  material,  intellectual,  social 
and  moral  development  of  his  locality.  He  has  lived  sixty-five  years  with- 
out the  use  of  liquor  or  tobacco. 

Frank  W.  Treat,  the  elder  son  of  Samuel  I.  Treat,  was  born  in  Ovid 
township,  July  31,  1869,  and  is  indebted  to  the  public  school  system  of  Cold- 
water  for  the  educational  privileges  he  has  enjoyed.  In  1888  he  went  to 
New  York  City,  where  he  entered  the  employ  of  J.  P.  Felt,  where  he  spent 
two  years  as  a  clerk,  and  then  for  three  years  was  in  the  employ  of  George  F. 
Cram,  the  well  known  publisher.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  re- 
turned to  Coldwater,  in  1893,  and  entered  into  partnership  with  his  fatlier. 
They  have  since  conducted  a  prosperous  business,  making  large  sales  annually, 
so  that  a  good  financial  return  is  secured  upon  their  investment  and  as  the 
result  of  their  labors  and  business  force.  In  1902  Frank  Treat  was  married 
to  Miss  Dora  Gripman,  a  daughter  of  Lindley  H.  and  Jane  (Ferguson) 
Gripman.  ITiey  have  three  children,  a  son  and  two  daughters:  F.  Lesley, 
Helen  Jane,  and  Jessie  L.  Frank  Treat  is  now  serving  as  alderman  of  the 
first  ward  of  Coldwater  and  is  a  staunch  Republican.  He  belongs  to  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  in  social,  business  and  iwlitical  rela- 
tions occupies  a  prominent  position  in  his  city,  while  his  personal  worth 
entitles  him  to  the  regard  in  which  he  is  uniformly  held. 

Vernon  I.  Treat,  the  younger  son  of  Samuel  I.  Treat,  was  born  in 
Coldwater.  January  3,  1875,  and  after  acquiring  his  education  in  the  public 
schools  responded  to  his  country's  call  for  troops,  enlisting  as  a  private  of 
th'e  First  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry  in  the  Spanish-American  war.  He 
went  with  that  regiment  to  Cuba,  participated  in  the  battle  of  Santiago, 
returned  with  his  command  to  Montauk  Point,  Long  Island,  and  thence  to 
Chicago,  where  he  received  an  honorable  discharge.  In  1900,  however,  he 
re-enlisted  as  a  member  of  Company  L,  Tliirtieth  United  States  Regulars, 
and  was  promoted  to  corporal.  He  was  also  made  quartermaster  sergeant 
of  his  company,  with  which  he  went  to  the  Philippines,  remaining  there  for 
nineteen  months  in  active  service.  He  was  with  the  army  altogether  for 
twenty-two  months  and  was  discharged  with  the  rank  of  quartermaster 
sergeant  at  San  Francisco,  California,  returning  to  his  home  on  the  3rd  of 
April,  1901.  He  made  a  creditable  military  record  and  is  now  numbered 
with  the  veterans  of  recent  years  who  have  shown  that  in  her  military 
prowess  the  United  States  deser^■es  to  rank  with  the  great  powers  of  the 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  425 

world.  Following  his  return  Vernon  Treat  l)egan  traveling  for  a  Chicago 
house,  huying  hides  in  Wisconsin,  Minnesota  and  the  northwest  until  April, 
1904.  He  then  returned  to  his  home  and  has  been  active  in  the  management 
of  the  business  here,  associated  with  his  father  and  brother.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1904  to  Miss  Catherine  Stowe,  a  daughter  of  Granvilie  Stowe.  He 
belongs  to  the  Spanish-American  War  Association  and  to  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows  at  Coldwater.  The  family  has  long  been  prominent 
socially  in  this  city,  and  father  and  sons  are  known  as  reliable,  enterprising 
business  men. 

FRED  P.  FRY. 

Fred  P.  Fry,  a  prominent  farmer  of  Batavia  township,  living  on  sec- 
tion two,  is  one  of  Michigan's  native  sons,  and  the  spirit  of  enterprise  which 
has  dominated  this  state  in  its  upbuilding  and  development  has  been  mani- 
fest in  this  native  son  of  Michigan.  His  birth  occurred  in  Burr  Oak,  Janu- 
ary 3,  185S,  his  parents  being  Charles  U.  and  Catherine  (Wagner)  Fry, 
both  natives  of  Pennsylvania.  The  father  was  born  in  Union  county,  that 
state,  and  when  a  young  man  came  to  Michigan,  being  married  in  St.  Joseph 
county  to  Miss  Wagner,  who  was  born  in  1837  and  came  to  the  west  at  an 
early  age.  Mr.  Fry  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade  and  he  also  followed  farm- 
ing. On  leaving  his  native  state  he  settled  first  in  Millgrove  township,  Steu- 
ben county,  Indiana,  and  afterward  came  to  Branch  county,  living  on  sec- 
tion one,  Batavia  township,  where  his  death  occurred  when  he  was  about 
fifty-eight  years  of  age.  His  wife  passed  away  in  1903.  In  their  family 
were  eight  children,  three  daughters  and  five  sons,  all  of  whom  reached 
mature  years  but  one.  Fred  P.  Fry  was  about  three  years  old  when  he 
went  to  Indiana,  where  he  remained  until  sixteen  years  of  age,  there  at- 
tending the  district  schools.  He  then  came  to  Branch  county  and  with  his 
father  settled  on  section  one,  Batavia  township,  aiding  in  the  arduous  task 
of  developing  and  improving  a  farm.  On  the  3rd  of  January,  1883,  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Anna  M.  Graf,  a  daughter  of  Gustave  and  Magdalena 
(Piltz)  Graf,  both  of  whom  were  born  in  Germany.  On  coming  to  America 
the  father  settled  in  Aubi.'rn,  New  York,  and  the  mother  came  to  Coldwater, 
Michigan,  when  a  young  woman.  They  were  married  in  that  city  and  then 
returned  to  Auburn,  New  York,  but  afterward  came  to  Branch  county  in 
the  spring  of  1862.  Mrs.  Fry  was  born  in  Auburn,  New  York,  August  4, 
1861.  and  was  but  an  infant  when  brought  by  her  parents  to  Michigan. 

The  young  couple  began  their  domestic  life  upon  a  rented  farm  in  Ba- 
tavia township,  where  they  remained  for  a  year,  and  one  year  was  also  spent 
at  Eaton  Rapids,  Michigan,  in  the  hotel  business.  In  1885  Mr.  Fry  pur- 
chased bis  .pre,sent  farm  and  took  up  his  abode  in  a  little  log  house,  but  this 
has  since  been  replaced  by  a  modern  frame  residence.  The  farm  comprises 
eighty  acres  and  is  well  tilled,  owing  to  the  care  and  labor  which  Mr.  Fry 
has  bestowed  upon  the  place  and  the  diligence  and  energj'  which  he  mani- 
fests in  all  of  his  farm  work.  Unto  him  and  his  wife  has  been  born  a  daugh- 
ter, Florence,  who  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  is  attending  school  in  the 
eighth   grade,   and   is  also  taking  music.      Matters  of  local  progress  and 


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426  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

national  advancement  are  causes  dear  to  his  heart  and  he  has  co-operated  in 
many  movements  for  the  general  good.  In  his  political  views  he  is  a  Re- 
publican, and  he  belongs  to  the  Grange  and  to  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees. 
His  wife  and  daughter  are  also  members  of  the  Grange.  Mr.  Fry  is  a 
lover  of  fine  stock,  of  the  Red  Duroc  breed. 

OLIVER  MORRILL. 

Oliver  Morrill,  whose  name  appears  on  the  roll  of  old  settlers  in  Branch 
county  where  he  is  now  following  farming,  his  home  being  on  section  twenty- 
two,  Union  township,  is  a  native  son  of  Vermont.  He  was  born  there  De- 
cember I,  1826.  His  father,  Jeremiah  Morrill,  was  also  bom  in  the  Green 
Mountain  state,  and  he  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  in  1835.  One 
can  imagine  the  state  at  that  time  an  almost  unbroken  wilderness,  the  forests 
stretching  away  for  miles  to  the  north.  The  harbors  had  not  been  improved 
and  there  was  little  evidence  of  a  growing  civilization.  The  wild  woods 
furnished  excellent  opportunity  for  the  trapper,  and  it  was  thus  that  Jeremiah 
Morrill  largely  earned  his  livelihood  and  provided  for  his  family.  He  mar- 
ried Rosamond  Bryant,  also  a  native  of  Vermont,  and  both  died  when  about 
seventy-five  years  of  age. 

Oliver  Morrill,  the  eldest  of  their  three  sons,  was  a  Jad  of  about  nine 
years  when  brought  by  his  parents  to  the  pioneer  west.  Tiiey  lived  for  a 
time  at  Adrian,  Michigan,  spending  about  two  years  there,  after  which  they 
took  up  their  abode  in  Union  township.  Branch  county,  where  Mr.  Morrill 
obtained  his  education  in  the  district  schools.  He  was  about  twenty-one 
years  of  age  when  he  began  learning  the  moulder's  trade  at  Union  City,  and 
he  followed  that  pursuit  for  fifteen  years.  Later  he  returned  to  the  farm  and 
has  since  devoted  his  energies  to  agricultural  pursuits. 

It  was  in  the  same  year  that  he  was  married,  having  been  joined  in  wed- 
lock in  1861  to  Miss  Emily  Lake.  They  have  one  daughter,  Eva,  now  the 
wife  of  Wilbur  Warren.    They  also  lost  three  children. 

Mr.  Morrill's  farm  comprises  eighty  acres  of  land,  which  is  well  im- 
proved with  modern  equipments.  He  has  led  a  busy  and  useful  life,  carry- 
ing on  general  agricnhura!  pursuits  for  forty-four  years.  He  has  also  been 
■dentified  with  the  development  of  the  county,  aiding  in  many  practical  ways 
in  its  growth  and  improvement.  He  has  always  favored  good  roads,  good 
schools  and  the  general  progressive  development,  and  in  local  offices  has 
proved  his  loyalty  to  the  community.  His  vote  has  long  been  cast  for  the 
men  and  measures  of  the  Republican  party,  and  he  is  a  man  always  true  to 
his  honest  convictions.  He  needs  no  special  introduction  to  the  readers  of 
this  volume,  having  so  long  resided  here,  but  no  history  of  the  community 
would  be  complete  without  mention  of  this  pioneer  settler. 

ALBERT  A.  DORRANCE. 

Albert  A.  Dorrance,  who  is  now  living  a  retired  life  in  Coldwater,  has 
been  connected  with  various  business  and  public  interests  which  have  had 
direct  bearing  upon  shaping  the  policy  and  molding  the  history  of  Branch 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  i2T 

county.  He  is  descended  from  French  ancestry  and  the  name  was  originally 
spelled  D'Orrance.  ITie  ancestors  of  a  less  remote  period,  however,  came 
from  Scotland.  The  great-grandfather,  Rev.  Samue!  Dorrance,  was  a  native 
of  that  country  and  a  graduate  of  Dumbarton  Coliege.  He  became  a  minister 
of  the  Gospel  and  for  fifty  years  was  pastor  of  a  church  in  Windham  county, 
Connecticut.  His  son,  Samuel  Dorrance,  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolutionary 
war  and  acted  as  clerk  of  his  company.  He  was  born  in  Connecticut  and 
was  closely  identified  with  the  colonial  history  of  his  locality  and  with  the 
eariy  events  of  the  republic.  His  son,  George  Dorrance,  was  bom  in  Massa- 
chusetts, whence  he  removed  to  Providence,  Rhode  Island.  He  became  a 
captain  in  the  war  of  1812,  his  commission  being  issued  by  Governor  Elbridge 
Gerry,  of  Massachusetts,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence. George  Dorrance  was  married  to  Miss  Ann  Olney  Warner,  who  was 
probably  a  native  of  Rhode  Island.  She  died  when  her  son  Albert  was  about 
six  years  of  age,  and  the  father  passed  away  about  six  years  later. 

Albert  A.  Dorrance  is  a  native  of  Albion,  Orleans  county.  New  York, 
his  birth  having  occurred  at  the  family  home  on  the  Erie  canal,  September  8, 
1827.  He  was  the  ninth  in  a  family  of  eleven  children,  and  on  being  left 
an  orphan  at  the  age  of  twelve  years  he  started  out  to  make  his  own  way  in 
the  world,  working  at  any  employment  which  he  could  secure.  He  attended 
school  as  opportunity  offered  and  at  different  times  was  employed  in  a  print- 
ing ofiice,  in  a  jewelry  store  and  in  a  drug  store  at  Albion  and  Rochester. 
Realizing  the  value  and  need  of  an  education  he  became  a  student  in  Erock- 
port  Collegiate  Institute.  His  thoughtful  consideration  of  life,  its  needs  and 
its  possibilities  were  early  manifest  and  indicated  the  development  of  a  strong 
character. 

Thinking  that  he  might  have  better  business  opportunities  in  the  west 
Mr.  Dorrance  came  to  Michigan  in  1848,  locating  first  in  Detroit,  where  for 
a  brief  period  he  was  employed  in  a  newspaper  office.  He  was  also  western 
correspondent  for  the  New  York  Tribune,  at  that  time  published  by  Horace 
Greeley,  with  whom  he  was  personally  acquainted,  having  been  in  his  employ 
in  the  east.  From  Detroit  he  went  to  Jackson,  Michigan,  where  he  estab- 
lished the  Jackson  Citizen,  a  newsjraper  which  is  yet  published,  being  at  the 
present  time  the  property  of  Hon.  James  O'Donnell.  Mr.  Dorrance  continued 
the  publication  of  the  Citizen  for  about  a  year,  after  which  he  went  to  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  to  accept  an  appointment  under  President  Fillmore.  He  did 
not  tarry  long  in  the  capital,  however,  but  returned  to  the  New  England 
states  and  also  went  to  Albion,  New  York,  the  place  of  his  nativity.  There 
in  the  year  185 1  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Juliet  S.  Gregory  and  the 
following  year  returned  with  his  wife  to  Jackson,  Michigan. 

On  again  taking  up  his  abode  in  that  city  Mr.  Dorrance  established  a 
drug  store,  but  after  a  year  accepted  a  position  at  the  state  prison,  serving  in 
that  capacity  for  ten  years.  He  came  to  Coldwater  in  the  spring  of  1S68  and 
again  engaged  in  the  drug  business,  establishing  the  store  which  is  now  conduct- 
ed by  his  son.  He  has  also  filled  various  public  offices  during  his  residence  here. 
He  was  for  four  years  postmaster  under  President  Harrison,  and  during  that 
period  established  the  free  delivery  system.     A  member  of  the  board  of  edu- 


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4^8  HrSTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

cation  for  fifteen  years,  he  acted  for  some  time  as  its  president  and  did  effective 
service  in  behalf  of  the  public  school  system  of  the  city.  He  was  also  presi- 
dent of  the  board  of  electric  lights  and  water  works;  also  the  first  president 
of  the  board  of  public  works.  He  retired  from  active  business  about  1902  or 
1903  and  has  since  enjoyed  a  well  merited  rest.  Although  now  well  ad- 
vanced Jn  years,  having  passed  the  seventy-eighth  milestone  on  life's  journey, 
in  spirit  and  interests  he  seems  yet  in  his  prime  and  keeps  well  informed  on 
the  questions  and  issues  of  the  day.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Re- 
publican party  at  Jackson,  Michigan,  in  the  year  1854  and  since  that  time  has 
been  active  in  its  ranks.  His  first  presidential  vote  was  cast  for  Zachary 
Taylor,  and  he  also  supported  Fillmore.  He  then  cast  a  ballot  for  John  C. 
Fremont  in  1856  and  has  never  wavered  in  his  allegiance  to  the  Republican 
party  from  that  time  to  the  present.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  national  con- 
vention which  nominated  President  William  McKinley  at  St.  Louis,  and 
also  to  the  one  which  nominated  Theodore  Roosevelt  for  the  vice-presidency 
at  Philadelphia.  In  the  winter  of  1S48-9  he  was  foreman  of  the  state  printing 
at  Lansing,  Michigan.  He  was  one  of  the  promoters  of  the  Battle  Creek  and 
Coldwater  electric  line,  assisting  in  securing  the  right-of-way,  and  his  efforts 
have  been  of  material  benefit  in  promoting  public  progress  and  improvement 
in  the  state  along  many  lines.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  for  about  forty  years  and  has  held  membership  relations  with  the 
Masonic  fraternity  for  a  half  century,  joining  the  order  in  Jackson,  Michigan. 
He  attained  the  Knight  Templar  degree,  is  a  past  eminent  commander  of  the 
Commander}'  and  also  a  member  of  the  Grand  Commandery  of  the  State  of 
Michigan. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dorrance  became  the  parents  of  a  daughter  and  two  sons: 
Mary  J.,  the  wife  of  W.  S.  Hawley;  Ralph  G.,  who  is  engaged  in  the  drug 
business  in  Chicago;  and  Albert  J.,  who  is  a  druggist  of  Coldwater.  In  the 
evening  of  life  Mr.  Dorrance  is  now  living  retired  and  well  merits  the  rest 
that  is  vouchsafed  to  him,  for  his  has  been  an  active,  useful  and  honorable 
career.  His  name  is  closely  associated  with  many  events  of  importance,  es- 
pedaliy  during  the  earlier  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  commonwealth,  and  at 
all  times  his  course  has  been  actuated  by  honorable  principles  and  untiring 
devotion  to  the  general  good. 

CLARENCE  C.  JONES. 

Clarence  C.  Jones,  since  1S99  connected  with  the  Wolverine  Portland 
Cement  Company  at  Quincy,  is  a  native  son  of  this  city,  born  in  1870.  His 
father,  John  H.  Jones,  was  born  Jn  the  state  of  New  York  and  in  early 
jnanhood  followed  the  occupation  of  farming,  but  afterward  turned  his  at- 
tention to  merchandising.  He  came  to  Michigan  in  1854,  settling  on  a 
farm  in  Branch  county  in  Quincy  township.  He  then  carried  on  general 
agricultural  pursuits  with  good  success  until  1884,  when  he  took  up  his 
abode  in  Quincy,  where  he  engaged  in  buying  and  selling  live  stock  and 
wool,  continuing  in  that  department  of  business  activity  up  to  the  time  of 
his  death.     He  was  industrious  and  skillful  as  a  farmer  and  in  commercial 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  429 

pursuits  was  enterprising  and  sagacious,  accumuJating  as.  the  years  went 
by  considerable  valuable  property.  He  became  a  stockholder,  director  and 
the  vice  president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Quincy  and  his  own  name 
was  an  honored  one  on  commercial  paper.  Fraternally  he  was  a  Mason, 
interested  in  the  craft  and  in  sympathy  with  its  teachings.  In  politics  he 
was  a  Republican,  and  several  times  represented  his  township  on  the  board 
of  supervisors.  He  was  also  chosen  to  represent  his  district  in  the  lower 
branch  of  the  state  legislature  for  two  terms  and  in  the  senate  for  two 
terms.  He  gave  careful  consideration  to  the  questions  whch  came  up  for 
settlement  and  was  instrumental  in  securing  much  wise  legislation  which 
has  proven  of  direct  benefit  to  the  commonwealth.  He  was  also  connected 
with  constructive  legislation  and  his  official  career  was  characterized  by  an 
unfaltering  devotion  to  the  general  good.  Following  his  retirement  from 
the  office  of  state  senator  he  was  made  president  of  the  village  board  of 
Quincy  and  again  was  returned  to  the  board  of  supervisors,  whereupon  he 
served  for  several  additional  terms.  He  married  Miss  Susan  C.  Warfield, 
who  was  born  in  New  York  and  was  a  daughter  of  William  H.  Warfield,  a 
native  of  Maryland,  who  removed  from  that  state  to  the  Empire  state, 
where  he  engaged  in  tilling  the  soil.  Mrs.  Jones  was  one  of  two  children, 
the  brother  being  William  H.  Warfield,  who  is  a  retired  fanner  now  living 
in  Canandaigua,  New  York.  Mrs.  Jones  was  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian church  and  died  in  that  faith  in  1886  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven  years, 
being  sun.-ived  for  ten  years  by  her  husband,  who  passed  away  in  1895  at 
the  age  of  sixty-six  years.  In  their  family  were  five  children,  but  the  first 
named  is  deceased.  The  others  are:  Clinton  W.,  who  is  in  the  railway 
mail  service  and  lives  in  Quincy;  Addie  E.,  the  wife  of  Arthur  Pessell,  an  em- 
ploye of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  living  in  Los  Angeles, 
California;  Herbert  M.,  a  farmer  residing  in  Reading  township;  and  Clar- 
ence C. 

In  the  district  schools  Clarence  C.  Jones  began  his  education,  which  he 
continued  in  Quincy  and  in  a  business  college  at  Valparaiso,  Indiana.  Fol- 
lowing the  completion  of  his  education  he  devoted  his  attention  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  to  clerking  in  clothing  stores  in  Quincy  and  Jonesville.  He 
afterward  took  charge  of  a  set  of  books  in  the  mill  at  Jonesville,  and  later 
he  returned  to  Quincy,  where  in  1897  he  embarked  in  the  grocery  business, 
cotiducting  his  store  for  a  year.  In  1899  he  entered  the  office  of  the  Wolverine 
Portland  Cement  Company,  at  Quincy,  where  he  has  remained  to  the  present 
time,  covering  a  period  of  six  years,  and  he  is  now  one  of  the  stockholders 
and  directors  of  the  company. 

In  1892  was  celebrated  the  marriage  of  Clarence  C.  Jones  and  Miss 
Lena  M.  Berry,  who  was  bom  in  Quincy  in  1872,  and  is  a  daughter  of  L.  D. 
and  Mary  (Redding)  Berry,  both  of  whom  were  residents  of  Quincy.  Mrs. 
Jones  has  a  half-sister,  Nellie.  She  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church, 
while  Mr.  Jones  belongs  to  the  Masonic  Lodge  and  to  the  Knights  of  Pythias 
fraternity.  He  is  a  stalwart  Republican,  active  in  the  work  of  his  party  in 
this  locality,  and  in  1894  was  chosen  village  treasurer,  while  in  1896  he  was 
elected  justice  of  the  peace,  and  at  this  writing  is  serving  his  second  term  as 


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480  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

president  of  the  village.  Interested  in  its  welfare  and  progress,  his  adminis- 
tration of  office  is  practical  and  at  the  same  time  lacks  not  that  progressive 
spirit  which  works  for  improvement  along  substantial  lines. 

A.  J.  DORRANCE. 

A.  J.  Dorrance,  proprietor  of  one  of  the  oldest  established  drug  stores  of 
Coldwater,  was  born  in  Jackson,  Michigan,  December  22,  1856,  his  parents 
being  A.  A.  and  Juliet  S.  (Gregory)  Dorrance.  He  is  the  youngest  of  three 
children,  and  attended  the  Jackson  city  schools  until  about  twelve  years  of 
age,  when  he  came  to  Coldwater  and  continued  his  education  liere.  He  began 
in  the  drug  business  with  his  father  in  1873  ™  *^^  capacity  of  clerk,  and  so 
continued  until  he  became  proprietor.  He  carries  on  business  along  both 
wholesale  and  retail  lines  and  the  house  sustains  an  unassailable  reputation 
for  its  progressive  and  honorable  business  methods.  In  1890  A.  J.  Dor- 
rance was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Anna  J.  Williams,  who  was  left  an 
orphan  in  early  girlhood  and  was  reared  by  her  grandmother,  Mrs.  S.  C. 
Williams,  of  Buffalo,  New  York.  Her  girlhood  days  were  passed  in  South 
Carolina,  and  her  education  acquired  in  that  state  was  completed  by  gradu- 
ation from  Aiken  Academy.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs,  Dorrance  have  been  born 
seven  children :     Francis,  Mary,  Albert,  Catherine,  Elsie,  Julia  and  Ralph. 

Mr.  Dorrance  is  a  Republican,  firm!  in  his  advocacy  of  the  party  and  its 
principles,  and  yet  without  political  aspirations  for  himself.  He  has  resided 
in  Coldwater  from  the  age  of  twelve  years,  and  has  a  wide  acquaintance 
both  in  business  and  social  circles.  The  fact  that  many  of  his  warmest 
friends  are  numbered  among  those  who  have  known  him  from  boyhood  is 
an  indication  of  an  honorable  life  and  the  proof  of  his  activity  and  capability 
in  business  is  found  in  the  excellent  success  which  attends  his  efforts.  He 
has  wrought  along  modern  business  Hues,  and  energy  and  keen  discrimina- 
tion are  accounted  his  dominant  qualities. 

F.  J.  DUNKS. 

F.  J,  Dunks,  who  is  now  engaged  in  the  real  estate  and  loan  business 
in  Coldwater,  is  numbered  among  the  citizens  who  have  long  resided  in 
Branch  county  and  have  witnessed  its  development  from  the  early  days.  His 
mind  forms  a  connecting  link  between  the  primitive  past  and  the  progressive 
present  and  his  influence  and  labors  have  been  no  unimportant  element  in  pro- 
moting public  prepress, 

Mr.  Dunks  was  bom  in  Monroe  county.  New  York,  September  13,  1835. 
Hi?  father,  Edwin  H.  Dunks,  was  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  born  in  1805, 
and  from  the  Old  Granite  state  he  removed  to  Batavia,  New  York.  He 
was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  in  August,  1853,  he  came  to  Coldwater, 
Michigan,  where  he  was  engaged  in  loaning  money.  He  died  in  the  eighty- 
first  year  of  his  age,  one  of  the  respected  and  honored  pioneer  residents 
of  this  part  of  the  state.  His  political  view-s  accorded  with  Republican  prin- 
ciples, and  his  religious  faith  was  that  of  the  Baptist  church.  His  wife,  who 
bore  the  maiden  name  of  Jane  Wright,  was  born  in  Genesee  county, 'New 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  431 

York,  in  1809,  and  died  in  CoWwater,  Michigan,  in  1882  at  the  age  of 
seventy-three  years.  They  were  the  parents  of  two  daughters,  now  deceased, 
and  two  sons,  the  brother  of  our  subject  being  Edward  J.  Dunks  of  Muskegon, 
Michigan. 

F.  J.  Dunks,  the  eldest  of  this  family,  and  the  only  one  now  hving  in 
Branch  county,  spent  his  boyhood  days  in  Monroe  and  Orleans  counties,  New 
York,  and  pursued  his  education  in  the  schools  of  Albion,  that  state.  He  was 
eighteen  years  of  age  when  he  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  and  a  short 
time  before  he  attained  his  majority  he  returned  to  New  York,  purchasing 
a  farm  in  Orleans  county,  whereon  he  made  his  home  for  a  year.  He  then 
sold  that  property  and  again  came  to  Branch  county,  purchasing  a  tract  of 
land  near  Coldwater,  which  he  stil!  owns.  He  was  married  in  October,  1862, 
to  Miss  Nancy  Parsons,  a  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Amelia  (Harrison)  Parsons, 
the  former  a  native  of  England,  and  the  latter  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsyl- 
vania. The  mother  came  to  Coldwater  in  1829  with  her  aunt,  and  they  cast 
in  their  lot  with  the  pioneer  settlers  of  this  part  of  the  state.  There  were 
only  three  white  families  living  in  what  is  now  Coldwater,  but  the  Indians 
were  numerous,  and  their  wigwams  could  be  seen  here  and  there  in  the 
forests.  Much  wild  game,  including  deer,  turkeys  and  prairie  chickens,  could 
be  had,  and  wild  animals  were  very  numerous.  The  homes  of  the  few  settlers 
were  mostly  log  cabins  and  the  work  of  improvement  and  progress  seemed 
scarcely  begun.  Mr.  Parsons  came  to  this  county  in  1836,  and  was  married 
here  in  Coldwater.  There  were  six  children  bom  of  that  union,  of  whom 
Mrs.  Dunks  is  the  second  in  order  of  birth,  her  natal  day  being  July  21,  1841. 
She  has  spent  her  entire  life  in  this  county  and  has  a  very  wide  acquaintance 
here.  At  the  time  of  his  marriage  Mr.  Dunks  located  on  his  farm,  four  miles 
northeast  of  Coldwater  in  Coldwater  township.  The  place  was  all  covered 
with  timber,  and  their  home  was  a  little  log  cabin  eighteen  by  twenty-four 
feet.  With  characteristic  energy  he  began  clearing  and  developing  the  land. 
As  soon  as  the  trees  were  cut  down  and  the  brush  cleared  away  he  plowed 
his  fields  and  planted  his  crops,  and  in  the  course  of  time  had  improved  an 
excellent  farm  property  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  on  which  he  erected 
good  buildings,  also  built  fences  and  added  other  modern  accessories  and 
equipments.  He  lived  upon  that  farm  for  twenty  years  and  still  retains 
possession  of  the  old  homestead.  In  1882.  however,  he  removed  to  his  pres- 
ent home  at  No.  336  Grand  Avenue,  and  he  owns  forty-six  acres  of  land 
within  the  city  limits  of  Coldwater.  For  twenty-three  years  he  has  been 
engaged  in  the  loan  and  real  estate  business  here,  and  while  upon  the  farm 
he  devoted  much  of  his  attention  to  shipping  live  stock,  being  one  of  the 
leading  representatives  of  that  line  of  business  in  the  county.  He  made  a 
specialty  of  fancy  cattle  and  was  very  successful.  He  has  also  prospered 
since  coming  to  Coldwater,  and  has  negotiated  many  important  realty  trans- 
fers and  advantageously  placed  many  loans.  At  the  time  of  his  marriage  he 
started  in  life  in  debt,  but  soon  discharged  each  financial  obligation  which 
devolved  upon  him,  and  through  unfaltering  perseverance,  capable  manage- 
ment and  unremitting  diligence  he  has  steadily  advanced  to  a  position  promi- 
nent in  business  circles  in  Branch  county. 


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432  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

The  home  of  Mr,  and  Mrs.  Dimks  has  been  blessed  with  a  son  and  two 
daughters :  E.  Wilford,  who  married  Lottie  Philips,  of  Chicago ;  Nellie  L., 
the  wife  of  Captain  E.  D.  Legg,  a  lumber  merchant  of  Coldwater;  and  Anna 
L.,  the  wife  of  Frank  Purdy,  of  this  city.  They  have  three  grandchildren: 
Hazel  Legg,  Louis  Legg  and  Ferris  Purdy. 

Mr.  Dunks  cast  his  first  presidential  vote  for  John  C.  Fremont,  and  has 
since  given  his  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party.  He  is  numbered  among 
the  pioneer  settlers  of  Branch  county  and  his  wife  has  for  even  a  longer 
period  resided  here.  Great  changes  have  occurred  as  pioneer  conditions  have 
been  replaced  by  evidences  of  an  advanced  civilization.  Practical  in  his 
methods,  and  public-spirited  in  his  relation  to  the  county,  he  has  given  valued 
support  and  co-operation  to  many  measures  for  the  general  good.  For  years 
he  has  been  an  important  factor  in  the  development  of  the  natural  resources 
of  the  state,  and  in  the  control  of  his  private  business  affairs  he  has  also  con- 
tributed to  the  genera!  prosperity.  He  is  a  man  of  distinct  and  forceful  indi- 
viduality, and  in  business  and  social  relations  in  private  life  he  has  commanded 
and  enjoys  the  trust  and  good  will  of  his  fellow-men. 

HON.  ASAHEL  BROWN. 

Hon.  Asabel  Brown,  long  a  leader  in  public  thought  and  action  in  Branch 
county,  is  now  numbered  among  her  honored  dead,  but  he  left  the  impress  of 
his  individuality  upon  the  laws  of  the  state  during  active  connection  with 
its  legislative  department.  As  the  champion  of  many  progressive  public 
measures  he  so  advanced  the  general  welfare  that  the  people,  appreciative  of 
his  worth,  felt  the  deepest  regret  when  he  was  called  from  the  labors  of  life. 

Mr.  Brown  was  born  in  Stafford,  Monmouth  county,  New  Jersey,  April 
9,  1803,  and  died  in  Coldwater,  June  8,  1874.  His  parents  were  Abner  and 
Hannah  (Birdsall)  Brown.  The  father  was  also  a  native  of  Stafford,  New  Jer- 
sey, and  was  born  March  14,  1772,  while  the  mother's  birth  occurred  in  the 
same  place,  September  22,  1781,  A  few  years  after  their  marriage,  about 
1 806,  they  removed  to  Monroe  county,  New  York,  where  they  spent  their 
remaining  days,  Mr.  Brown  following  the  occupation  of  farming.  Both  were 
sturdy  people  of  strong  intellectuality  and  high  moral  character.  They  reared 
a  family  of  seven  children,  of  whom  Asahel  was  the  eldest,  and  all  lived  to 
mature  years,  namely :  Asahel,  Harriet,  Rebecca,  Abner,  Jacob,  Desiali  and 
Mary. 

Asahel  Brown  enjoyed  only  limited  educational  advantage  in  his  youth, 
for  his  services  were  needed  upon  the  home  farm,  and  he  assisted  in  the  operr- 
tion  of  his  father's  land  until  his  thirtieth  year,  but  though  he  had  little  op- 
portunity of  attending  school  he  was  throughout  his  entire  life  a  student,  and 
through  the  avenue  of  books,  papers  and  a  wide  and  varied  experience  he  bf 
came  a  well-informed  man.  In  his  later  years  he  made  a  close  study  of  the 
questions  bearing  upon  the  welfare  of  his  country,  its  social,  economic  and 
political  conditions,  and  displayed  in  his  conversation  and  public  addresses  a 
breadth  of  knowledge  superior  to  that  of  many  college-bred  men. 

In  1826  Mr.  Brown  was  married  to  Miss  Deborah  Comstock,  a  daughte' 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  433 

of  Jesse  and  Rachel  Comstock,  prominent  pioneers  of  Monroe  county,  New  . 
York.     Their  daughter  was  born  in  Farmington,  Ontario  county,  New  York, 
July  15,  1808,  and  her  death  occurred  in  Algansee  township.  Branch  county, 
Michigan.  December  30,  3881.    The  children  of  this  marriage  were:    J.  Wes- 
ley, Emily,  Rachel  C.  and  Hannah  C,  twins,  Othelia,  Omar  B.,  Combe  A. 
and  Omar  C.     The  four  eldest  were  born  at  Perrinton,  New  York,  and  in 
1833  Asahel  Brown  started  with  his  wife  and  children  for  Michigan,  making 
the  journey  westward  by  wagon.     He  settled  on  a  tract  of  land  in  Palmyra 
township,  Lenawee  county,  but  in  the  year  1836  removed  to  Algansee  town- 
ship.  Branch   county,   where   he  took  up   his  abode  upon   a   tract   of   land, 
which  he  developed  into  a  productive  farm.     In  all  of  his  labors  he  was  prac- 
tical and  enterprising  and  sought  out  better  methods  and  improved  conditions. 
It  was  in  political  life,  however,  that  Asahel  Brown  became  best  known 
and  did  most  effective  work  for  his  state.     His  early  allegiance  was  given 
to  the  V\Tiig  party  and  he  afterward  became  a   Republican,     His  practical 
-^dealing  with  public  questions  and  his  undoubted  honesty  made  him  influential 
with  the  people,  who  naturally  chose  him  for  their  leader.     By  popular  ballot 
he  was  elected  to  most  of  the  important  offices  within  the  gift  of  his  fellow- 
townsmen.     For  twenty-one  consecutive  years  he  served  as  supervisor  and 
for  many  years  was  justice  of  the  peace,  in  which  position  he  rendered  deci- 
sions that  were  strictly  fair  and  impartial.     In  1849  he  was  nominated  on  its 
ticket  as  a  candidate  for  the  state  legislature  but  was  defeated,  the  county 
being  largely  Democratic.     In  1850  he  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  constitu- 
tional convention  and  assisted  in  framing  the  organic  law  of  the  state.     In 
the  same  year  he  was  chosen  state  senator,  to  which  office  he  was  re-elected 
in  1858,  and  to  each  question  which  came  up  for  settlement  he  gave  earnest 
consideration,  becoming  a  stanch  champion  of  every  bill  which  he  believed 
would  prove  beneficial  to  the  interests  of  the  commonwealth.     Again  in  1867 
he  was  eSecled  a  delegate  to  the  constitutional  convention.     He  was  greatly 
opposed  to  slavery,  was  a  man  of  6rm  convictions  and  decided  in  his  opinions 
and  to  these  he  gave  forceful  and  earnest  expression.     He  could  always  present 
his  views  with  fairness,  and  by  his  undoubted  sincerity  he  gained  the  respect 
of  all  who  met  him  and  many  times  won  the  support  of  their  opinions.     He 
was  an  effective  worker  on  committees  and  while  in  the  senate  and  in  the 
constitutional  convention  did  able  work  in  constructing  legislation.     Notwith- 
standing all  this  he  was  rather  retired  in  disposition  nor  did  much  to  seek 
political  preferment.     In  early  life  in  religious  faith  he  was  a  Universalist 
and  his  wife  held  membership  with  the  Methodist  church.     In  later  years, 
however,  both  attended  the  Congregational  church.     They  were  among  the 
honored  pioneers  of  Branch  county  and  bore  all  the  hardships  and  trials  inci- 
dent to  a  life  on  the  frontier.     They  left  the  impress  of  their  individuality  for 
good,  however,  upon  the  community  and  are  yet  remembered  by  many  of  the 
older  residents  of  the  county  as  among  the  pioneers  to  whom  much  credit  is 
due  for  the  impetus  which  they  gave  to  development  and  substantial  upbuild- 
ing here. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


J.  WESLEY  BROWrN. 

J.  Wesley  Brown,  the  eldest  of  the  eight  children  born  unto  Asahel  and 
Deborah  (Comstock)  Brown,  is  now  living  a  retired  life  in  Coldwater.  He 
was  born  in  Perrinton,  Monroe  county,  New  York,  August  27,  1827,  and 
with  his  parents  came  to  Michigan  in  18,33,  remaining  in  Lenawee  county 
until  their  removal  to  Branch  county  in  1836.  He  was  reared  upon  the  home 
farm  amid  pioneer  scenes  and  environments  and  was  educated  in  one  of  the 
primitive  log  schoolhouses  such  as  were  common  in  the  districts  at  that  time. 
He  remained  at  the  parental  home  and  aided  in  the  arduous  task  of  developing 
a  nev/  farm  until  he  was  twenty-four  years  of  age,  when  he  started  out  in  life 
on  his  own  account  on  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  California 
township  given  him  by  bis  father.  This  land  was  entirely  in  its  primitive 
condition,  not  a  furrow  having  been  turned  or  an  improvement  made,  but 
Mr.  Brown  and  his  young  wife,  whom  he  had  married  October  8,  1S51,  and 
whose  maiden  name  was  Helen  E.  Tripp,  settled  upon  this  farm  and  engagetl 
earnestly  in  its  development  and  cultivation,  remaining  thereon  until  the 
fall  of  1858.  At  that  time  tbey  took  up  their  residence  in  the  city  of  Cold- 
water,  where  they  have  since  lived.  Mr.  Brown  subsequently  sold  his  farm 
and  having  already  a  large  experience  in  commercial  lines,  having  been  a 
mercantile  clerk  for  three  years,  he  turned  his  attention  to  merchandising  in 
1861  as  a  partner  of  H.  J.  Woodward,  under  the  firm  name  of  Woodward, 
Brown  &  Company,  but  in  less  than  a  year  he  sold  his  interest  in  that  busi- 
ness. For  a  few  months  thereafter  he  was  associated  with  Uri  Blodgett  in 
the  furniture  business.  His  next  venture  was  in  the  hardware  trade,  which 
he  entered  in  1866  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Mockeridge.  Green  &  Comiiany. 
This  relation  was  maintained  for  three  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  Mr. 
Brown  disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  business  and  retired  from  active  life. 
He  has  never  sought  political  favors  but  has  always  given  his  support  to  the 
Republican  party.  He  and  his  wife  attend  the  services  of  the  Episcopal 
church,  although  they  are  not  communicants  therein. 

Mrs.  Brown  was  bom  in  Worcester,  Otsego  county.  New  York,  De- 
cember 21,  1833,  and  is  the  youngest  of  two  children,  whose  parents  were 
David  and  Sally  (Flint)  Tripp.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brown  have  one  son,  J.  Bird- 
sail,  who  makes  his  home  with  his  parents  and  is  engaged  for  the  greater  part 
of  the  time  in  looking  after  the  interests  of  his  father's  farm  lands  and  other 
real  estate.  Mr.  Brown  is  honored  as  one  whose  business  career  will  bear 
the  closest  investigation  and  scrutiny  and  who  in  all  life's  relations  has  been 
found  true  to  the  varied  duties  that  have  devolved  upon  him  in,  connection 
with  public  and  private  interests. 

DAVID  TRIPP. 

David  Tripp,  a  pioneer  resident  of  Branch  county,  was  born  in  Decatur, 
New  York.  July  i,  1807.  In  tracing  the  ancestry  we  learn  that  David  Tripp. 
Sr.,  was  bom  February  21,  1768,  and  died  on  the  28th  of  November,  1828. 
He  married  Miss  Mary  Dickinson,  whose  natal  day  was  June  i,   1772,  and 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  435 

who  departed  this  hfe  on  the  loth  of  June,  1847.  Their  children  are  as 
follows :  Lovina,  Patience,  PoUy,  Nancy,  Nathan,  Ehzabeth,  Robert,  Han- 
nah, Emily,  David,  George,  Stephen,  Marcia  M.,  Reumah  and  Celestia. 

Of  this  family  of  fifteen  sons  and  daughters  David  Tripp,  whose  name 
introduces  this  record,  was  the  tenth  in  order  of  birth.  Having  arrived  at 
years  of  maturity  he  married  Sally  Flint,  a  daughter  of  S.  Phineas  and  Par- 
melia  (Houghton)  Flint.  She  was  born  in  Otsego,  New  York,  November  26, 
1808,  and  died  October  9,  1879.  The  marriage  was  celebrated  in  1829, 
and  in  the  year  1836  they  left  New  York  for  the  west.  After  landing  at  To- 
ledo, Ohio,  they  proceeded  thence  with  ox-teams  to  their  destination  in  Branch 
county,  Michigan,  arriving  here  in  the  month  of  July.  They  settled  in  Kinder- 
hook  township,  where  Mr.  Tripp  took  charge  of  an  unimproved  tract  of  land 
from  which  he  developed  a  fine  farm,  making  his  home  thereon  for  many 
years.  He  became  a  prominent  and  wealthy  agriculturist,  and  died  October 
2,  1875,  respected  by  all  who  knew  him.  His  political  support  was  given  to 
the  Democratic  party  and  he  served  as  supervisor  and  justice  of  the  peace. 
A  pioneer  of  the  county,  he  was  classed  among  the  industrious  and  worthy 
citizens  who  laid  the  foundation  of  civilization  in  this  part  of  the  state.  He 
came  here  when  the  re<l  men  were  still  numerous  in  the  county  and  undertook 
the  task  of  reclaiming  the  district  for  the  purposes  of  civilization.  His  labors 
were  practical  and  have  borne  fruit  in  the  improved  conditions  which  are 
here  seen  today.  He  and  his  devoted  wife  were  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  and  were  earnest  and  zealous  supporters  of  the  cause  of 
Christianity  in  the  early  years  of  their  residence  here. 

VIRGIL  U.  HUNGERFORD. 

Virgil  U.  Hungerford,  a  prosperous  and  representative  farmer,  living 
on  section  twenty,  Algansee  township,  is  one  of  the  native  sons  of  the  county, 
for  his  birth  occurred  in  the  village  of  Algansee,  in  1869.  His  father,  Henry 
W.  Hungerford,  was  born  in  Oakland  county,  Michigan,  in  1834,  and  was 
of  English  lineage.  His  father  was  Matthew  H.  Hungerford,  a  native  of 
New  York,  and  a  son  of  Eliphalet  Hungerford,  who  came  from  England  to 
this  country  and  settled  in  New  England.  Henry  W.  Hungerford  was  a 
student  in  Hillsdale  College,  and  engaged  in  teaching  school  in  this  state 
until  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war.  He  had  become  a  resident  of  Branch 
county  about  1856,  and  purchased  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land  on 
section  twenty,  Algansee  township.  After  se\'ering  his  connection  with  the 
teacher's  profession  he  devoted  his  energies  to  agricultural  pursuits,  but 
during  the  dark  days  of  the  country's  peril,  when  the  disloyalty  of  the  south 
threatened  disruption  of  the  Union,  he  defended  the  stars  and  stripes.  Twice 
he  volunteered  and  was  rejected  on  account  of  physical  disability,  but  at 
length  was  accepted  as  a  member  of  Company  G,  Ninth  Michigan  Infantry, 
and  sen.'ed  for  about  four  months,  or  until  the  close  of  the  war.  A  man  of 
genuine  worth,  of  upright  principles  and  moral  life,  he  was  for  many  years 
a  faithful  member  of  the  Congregational  church,  in  which  he  served  as 
deacon.     In  his  political  views  he  was  an  earnest  Republican  and  filled  the 


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436  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

office  of  school  inspector,  while  for  several  years  he  was  township  clerk. 
He  married  Sophia  M.  Mabbs,  who  was  born  in  New  York  city,  and  is 
living  at  the  age  of  seventy  years,  her  birth  having  occurred  April  14,  1S35. 
Her  father,  William  Mabbs,  came  from  England  in  1834,  and  established 
his  house  in  New  York  City,  whence  he  afterward  came  to  Michigan,  settling 
in  Hillsdale  county,  in  1840.  He  was  a  representative  of  the  English  middle 
class  and  came  to  the  United  States  well  supplied  with  funds,  having  been 
a  prosperous  soap  manufacturer  of  his  native  land.  He  deposited  a  large 
sum  of  money  in  a  bank  in  New  York  city,  but  the  institution  failed  and 
he  therefore  came  to  Michigan  a  poor  man.  Here  he  turned  his  attention  to 
farming  and  the  manufacture  of  brick.  He  married  Hannah  Hill  Stace,  a 
native  of  London,  England,  who  for  seventeen  years  prior  to  her  death  was 
blind.  Mr.  Mabbs  passed  away  in  1870,  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years, 
while  his  wife  died  in  1880,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-seven  years.  They 
were  members  of  the  Congregational  church  and  in  their  family  were  eight 
children :  John,  who  was  an  engineer  in  the  new  Board  of  Trade  building 
in  Chicago,  died  in  1904;  William  arid  Vennette  are  both  deceased;  William 
Bagley  is  a  statistician  of  Lansing;  Austin  is  the  owner  and  operator  of 
gold  mines  in  the  west  and  makes  his  home  at  Deadwood,  South  Dakota ; 
Robert  is  a  retired  farmer,  living  in  Allegan,  Michigan;  Hannah  is  the  de- 
ceased v^iie  of  Henry  Sadler,  a  resident  farmer  of  Allegan  county;  Henry, 
who  studied  for  the  ministry,  became  a  soldier  of  the  Civil  war  and  died  in 
a  hospital  at  New  Orleans,  Louisiana;  and  Sophia  was  the  youngest  and 
became  Mrs.  Hungerford.  She  is  stiil  living  at  the  age  of  seventy  years, 
having  been  born  on  the  14th  of  April,  1835,  but  Mr.  Himgerford  departed 
this  life  January  31,  1901,  In  their  family  were  two  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters: Virgil  U. ;  Bertha  E.,  wife  of  E.  D.  Conkling,  a  farmer  of  Kinder- 
hook,  Michigan;  Mary  G..  the  wife  of  L.  H.  Draper,  of  Algansee;  VoJney 
R.,  superintendent  of  schools  at  Decatur,  Michigan;  and  Emily  E.,  who  is  a 
graduate  of  the  high  school  of  Coldwater  of  the  class  of  1896,  and  of  Olivet 
College,  of  the  class  of  1904.  Volney  is  also  a  graduate  of  those  institu- 
tions. 

Virgil  U.  Hungerford  spent  his  boyhood  days  in  the  usual  manner  of 
farm  lads  of  the  locality  and  his  early  educational  privileges  were  supple- 
mented by  study  in  the  schools  of  Quincy  and  of  Ypsiianti,  Michigan.  He 
taught  a  graded  school  in  Califomia,  Michigan,  and  in  other  places,  being 
identified  with  the  profession  for  ten  years,  but  his  energies  are  now  devoted 
to  general  agricultural  pursuits  and  stock-raising,  and  in  his  chosen  vocation 
he  has  become  very  prosperous,  being  now  one  of  the  substantial  farmers  of 
the  community.  He  is  now  also  associated  in  the  firm  of  Perry  &  Hunger- 
ford, real  estate  dealers. 

Mr.  Hungerford  was  married,  March  29,  1891,  to  Miss  Lillie  May 
Bovee,  a  daughter  of  Clark  Bovee,  and  she  died  July  30,  1891,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years.  Five  years  later  he  wedded  Clara  M.  Marshall,  whose 
birth  occurred  in  Ovid  township,  in  1875.  ■f^^''  father.  Albert  Marshall,  was 
a  native  of  Canada,  and  came  to  the  United  States  in  his  boyhood  days  with 
his  mother.     Here  he  wedded  Emma  Flint,  of  Kinderhook.     Mr.  and  Mrs. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  437 

Hungerford  have  become  the  parents   of  three  children:     Gladys  L.,  born 
in  1898;  Ruth,  in  1899;  and  Helen,  in  1901, 

Mr.  Hungerford  is  a  member  of  the  Odd  Fellows  Society  and  of  the 
Modern  Woodmen  Camp,  while  his  wife  belongs  to  the  Cong'regational 
church.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  is  servings  as  school  inspector 
and  deputy  sheriff  of  the  county. 

GEORGE  HERMAN  COLE. 

Branch  county  offers  excelient  opportunities  to  the  farmer,  for  the  land 
is  rich  and  productive,  responding'  readily  to  cultivation,  and  thus  in  the 
care  of  his  property  Mr.  Cole  is  meeting  with  good  success.  He  has  a  farm 
on  sections  nineteen  and  thirty,  Ovid  township,  comprising  one  hundred 
acres.  He  is  one  of  the  citizens  that  the  Empire  state  has  furnished  to  Mich- 
igan, his  birth  having  there  occurred  on  the  27th  of  May,  1851.  His  father, 
George  W.  Cole,  who  came  to  Branch  county  in  pioneer  times  and  followed 
the  carpenters  trade  here,  was  born  in  New  York  in  1812,  and  was  married 
there  to  Miss  Louisa  Ransier,  likewise  a  native  of  that  state.  As  the  years 
passed  their  marriage  was  blessed  with  ten  children,  four  sons  and  six  daugh- 
ters, namely :  Jonathan  and  Alphonso,  both  deceased ;  Watson ;  Helen,  who 
has  also  passed  away ;  Francis ;  Delia  and  Mary,  deceased ;  George  Herman ; 
Adelaide,  deceased;  and  Adeline,  twin  sister  of  Adelaide. 

George  Herman  Cole  spent  the  first  three  and  a  half  years  of  his  life 
in  his  native  state  and  then  came  with  his  father's  family  to  Michigan,  their 
home  being  established  in  Bethel  township.  Branch  county.  They  settled 
upon  a  tract  of  land  of  forty  acres,  which  the  father  cleared  and  cultivated. 
Later  he  sold  that  property,  in  i860,  and  removed  to  Ovid  township,  where 
he  bought  eighty  acres  of  timber  land,  which  he  also  partially  cleared.  The 
members  of  the  household  early  became  inured  to  the  arduous  task  of  clear- 
ing and  cultivating  new  land  and  shared  in  the  hardships  and  privations  inci- 
dent to  pioneer  life  before  this  district  was  connected  with  the  older  east 
by  a  network  of  railroads  that  bring  to  the  county  all  of  the  comforts  and 
conveniences  known  to  the  older  civilization.  The  father  was  a  Democrat 
in  his  political  views  and  his  death  occurred  January  14,  1891. 

George  Herman  Cole  had  been  reared  to  farm  life,  while  in  the  district 
schools  he  obtained  his  education,  pursuing  his  studies  in  the  winter  months, 
while  in  the  summer  seasons  he  aided  in  the  labors  of  the  farm.  At  the 
time  of  his  father's  death  he  obtained  possession  of  the  old  home  place  by 
purchasing  the  mortgages.  He  was  married  in  Ovid  township  in  April,  1873, 
to  Miss  Louisa  Treat,  whose  birth  occurred  in  this  township,  August  19, 
1854.  Her  father,  Henry  Treat,  was  a  well  known  farmer  and  early  settler 
of  the  community,  who  came  to  Branch  county  from  New  York  when  the 
work  of  improvement  and  progress  had  scarcely  been  begun  in  this  part 
of  the  state.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cole  now  have  a  family  of  two  children,  Marion 
and  Ivy,  and  they  also  lost  two,  Henry  and  Leo,  who  were  the  first  and  third 
in  order  of  birth,  respectively.     All  were  born  in  Branch  county. 

Politically  a  Democrat  where  national  issues  are  involved,  Mr.  Cole 
\'otes  independently  at  local  elections,  but  has  never  been  an  aspirant  for 


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438  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

piibHc  office,  preferring  to  give  his  undivided  attention  to  his  farm  work.  He 
had  no  inheritance  to  aid  him  as  he  started  out  for  himself,  nor  have  condi- 
tions been  peculiarly  fortunate  in  his  business  career.  He  has  won  success, 
however,  through  earnest  labor,  early  realizing  the  truth  of  the  admonition 
of  the  old  Greek  philosopher,  "  earn  thy  reward,  the  gods  give  naught  to 
sloth,"  he  has  labored  untiringly  year  after  year  until  he  has  gained  that 
prosperity  which  always  comes  as  the  reward  of  persistent,  energetic  effort. 

HORACE  DENHAM. 

Horace  Denham,  of  Quincy  township,  who  has  Hved  since  boyhood  in 
this  county,  was  born  in  Ontario  county.  New  York,  November  23,  1856. 
His  father,  Cornelius,  who  was  born  at  Conway,  Massachusetts,  and  who 
passed  away  in  this  county  in  the  winter  of  1905,  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven, 
was  the  fourth  of  five  children,  all  deceased;  namely,  Elijah,  William,  Luther, 
Cornelius  and  Lucinda,  wife  of  Callister  Mellen.  The  Denhams  are  of  the 
New  England  stock,  Cornelius  Denham  married  Sarah  Blodgett,  who,  a, 
native  of  Ontario  county,  New  York,  died  in  1900,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
two,  and  was  one  of  the  seven  children  of  William  and  Lydia  (Mapes) 
Blodgett,  the  former  a  native  of  New  York  and  the  latter  of  New  Jersey. 
Uri  Blodgett,  of  Coldwater,  is  a  brother  of  the  late  Mrs.  Denham.  Cor- 
nelius Denham  and  family  came  to  Branch  county  in  the  spring  of  1865, 
locating  in  the  southeast  corner  of  Butler  township,  where  he  lived  till  death. 
He  was  one  of  the  extensive  and  prosperous  farmers  of  the  county,  owning 
three  hundred  and  twenty-five  acres,  and  also  handled  a  large  amount  of  live 
stock.  Starting  in  life  with  a  common  school  education,  he  prospered  by 
industry  and  was  a  man  of  influence  and  worth  in  all  the  relations  of  life. 
He  was  a  Republican,  without  aspirations  for  office,  ajid  indeed  was  of  a 
retiring  and  modest  disposition  which  shunned  all  ostentation,  his  life  work 
being  successfully  accomplished  by  quiet  means. 

Though  reared  on  a  farm  Mr.  Denham  had  good  educational  advan- 
tages. His  attendance  at  district  school  was  supplemented  by  study  at  Hills- 
dale College,  but  when  school  days  were  over  he  returned  to  the  farm  and 
has  followed  the  vocation  of  agriculture  with  increasing  success  all  the 
remaining  years.  He  has  Hved  in  Quincy  township  since  1889,  where  he 
owns  a  first-class  farni  of  eighty  acres,  besides  eighty  acres  in  Butler  town- 
ship. His  home  is  on  section  two,  where  he  has  a  beautiful  and  comfortable 
country  residence. 

Mr.  Denham  married,  in  1889,  Miss  Cora  Van  Orthwick,  who  was  born 
in  Butler  township  in  1869.  Her  parents,  Aaron  and  Helen  (Nichols)  Van 
Orthwick,  are  well  known  citizens  of  Butler  township.  Her  father,  of  Hol- 
land ancestry,  came  to  Michigan  in  i860,  first  locating  in  Coldwater  town- 
ship, and  then  in  Butler.  H-e  was  born  in  New  York  state,  while  his  wife  is 
a  native  of  Quincy  township.  Mrs.  Denham  has  tvi^  brothers,  Charles,  in 
Butler  township,  and  Jay,  in  the  grocery  business  at  Quincy.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Denham  have  one  child,  Claude,  now  fourteen  years  old.  Mrs.  Denham  is 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  church,  and  his  politics  is  Republican.  Besides 
his  farming  interests  he  is  a  stock-raiser  of  considerable  importance. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


PROSPER  C.  JOHNSON. 

Prosper  C.  Johnson,  a  member  of  the  real  estate  firm  o£  Johnson  & 
Kanauss,  carrying  on  a  business  second  to  none  in  the  county,  was  born  in 
Erie  county,  Ohio,  on  the  ist  of  September,  1838,  his  parents  being  James  D. 
and  Ida  (Squares)  Johnson.  Both  parents  were  natives  of  the  state  of  New 
York  and  removed  thence  at  an  early  date,  settling  first  in  Loraine  county, 
Ohio,  and  afterward  in  Erie  county,  where  the  mother  died  in  1847.  "piey 
had  become  the  parents  of  eight  children,  six  sons  and  two  daughters,  all  of 
whom  reached  mature  years.  In  1850  the  father,  then  a  widower,  came  to 
Michigan  with  his  children  and  settled  in  Union  township.  Branch  county, 
where  he  resided  for  many  years-  He  died  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-five 
years,  after  having  led  a  busy,  useful  life  as  a  farmer.  He  was  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  the  county  and  in  the  early  days  endured  all  the  hardships  and 
privations  incident  to  settlement  on  the  frontier.  When  he  came  to  Branch 
county  he  purchased  under  contract  a  small  tract  of  land,  on  which  he  was 
able  to  make  a  payment  of  only  twenty-five  dollars,  and  had  not  the  contract 
been  renewed  by  the  former  owner  he  would  not  have  been  able  to  retain 
possession  of  this  place,  because  he  had  not  the  money  necessary  for  the 
succeeding  payments.  In  time,  however,  he  was  enabled  to  triumph  over 
the  difficulties  and  obstacles  which  surrounded  him  in  his  pioneer  days  and 
to  develop  a  good  home  for  his  family. 

Prosper  C.  Johnson  was  only  twelve  years  of  age  when  the  father 
brought  his  children  to  Branch  county,  and  with  the  others  he  was  reared  amid 
the  environments  and  scenes  of  pioneer  life,  early  becoming  familiar  with  the 
arduous  duties  and  labors  incident  to  the  development  of  a  new  farm.  He 
chopped  wood  many  long  days  for  fifty  cents  per  day  and  be  worked  for  his 
father  and  other  farmers  of  the  locality.  He  received  at  times  only  ten  dollars 
per  month  for  his  services,  but  this  was  considered  then  a  very  good  wage. 
He  had  limited  school  advantages,  his  opportunities  being  confined  to  short 
winter  terms  in  the  pioneer  country  schools  and  throughout  the  remainder  of 
the  year  he  had  to  work  diligently  in  order  to  contribute  to  the  support  of 
the  family. 

In  1863  Mr.  Johnson  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sarah  A.  Hulben, 
and  he  then  settled  down  in  life  as  a  fanner,  taking  up  his  abode  in  Girard 
township,  where  he  purchased  forty  acres  of  land.  He  had  to  incur  some 
indebtedness,  because  he  had  not  capital  sufficient  to  make  the  entire  payment. 
Earnestly  and  diligently  he  began  the  work  of  improving  his  property,  and 
by  good  management  and  frugality  was  soon  enabled  to  clear  his  farm  of  all 
financial  obligation.  He  continued  the  work  of  cultivation  and  improvement 
and  as  his  financial  resources  increased  he  extended  the  boundaries  of  his 
place  until  he  owned  in  one  body  two  hundred  and  fifty-five  acres,  compris- 
ing one  of  the  best  improved  and  most  valuable  farms  in  Branch  cotmty.  His 
wife  was  indeed  a  faithful  helpmate  to  him  in  all  his  troubles,  and  after 
sharing  his  joys  and  sorrows,  his  adversity  and  prosperity  for  thirty-one  years 
she  was  then  called  to  her  final  home  in  1894. 


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440  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Two  sons  and  a  daug-hter  were  bom  unto  their  marriage.  Tliey  were 
reared  on  the  farm  and  were  given  every  possible  educational  opportunity, 
for  Mr.  Johnson  reahzed  the  disadvantages  to  which  he  had  been  placed  m 
life  because  of  a  limited  education,  and  in  order  that  his  children  should  not 
suffer  from  the  same  lack  he  and  his  estimable  wife  made  many  sacrifices.  His 
sons  reside  in  Coldwater,  where  one  is  a  lawyer  and  the  other  a  business  man, 
and  the  daughter  and  her  husband  reside  on  the  old  homestead  farm.  In 
1895  Mr.  Johnson  was  again  married,  his  second  union  being  with  Mrs.  Ida 
Cole,  nee  Palmer. 

In  1901  Mr.  Johnsdn  decided  to  retire  from  the  arduous  duties  of  farm 
)ife.  He  had  resided  for  thirty-seven  years  on  the  same  place  and  from  early 
youth  had  labored  hard  in  the  fields  and  meadows.  His  efforts,  however,  had 
been  attended  with  pleasing  success,  and  he  had  provided  well  for  his  wife 
and  children,  who,  having  now  grown  to  years  of  maturity  and  needing  his 
help  no  longer,  Mr.  Johnson  decided  to  take  up  his  abode  in  Coldwater,  where 
he  located  in  igoi.  It  was  his  intention  to  retire  altogether  from  active  busi- 
ness cares  and  .enjoy  an  ease  and  rest  that  he  had  justly  earned,  but  having 
led  a  most  industrious  life  he  found  that  indolence  was  utterly  incompatible 
with  his  nature  and  he  needed  something  to  engage  his  time  and  attention. 
He  then  decided  to  enter  the  field  of  real  estate  operations  and  a  year  after 
removing  to  Coldwater  he  began  dealing  in  real  estate.  Later  he  entered 
into  partnership  with  Samuel  Kanauss,  and  today  the  real  estate  fij^m  of 
Johnson  &  Kanauss  conducts  a  business  second  to  none  in  the  county,  nego- 
tiating annually  many  important  realty  transfers.  In  politics  Mr.  Johnson 
has  always  been  independent.  He  is  a  self-made  man  and  no  citizen  of 
this  county  is  held  in  higher  respect  than  he.  His  worth  is  widely  recognized 
by  his  fellow  citizens,  and  his  example  is  well  worthy  of  emulation,  showing 
what  can  be  accomplished  by  strong  purpose,  indefatigable  energy  and  reso- 
lute will.  He  is  entirely  free  from  ostentation  and  display,  but  in  his  life 
has  shown  forth  many  sterling  traits  of  character  whereby  he  is  justly  en- 
titled to  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  his  fellow  men. 

CHARLES  E.  SWAIN. 
Charles  E.  Swain,  a  retired  farmer  of  Sherwood,  traces  his  descent  back 
to  ancestry  honorable  and  distinguished,  for  the  first  representatives  of  the 
family  in  America  were  of  English  birth  and  came  to  the  new  world  on 
the  Mayflower  with  the  little  historic  band  of  Pilgrims  who  sought  in  the 
freedom  of  the  new  world  opportunity  to  worship  according  to  the  dictates 
of  their  own  conscience.  Mr.  Swain  was  bom  in  Niagara  county.  New  York, 
December  19,  1838.  His  father,  Joseph  G.  Swain,  was  a  native  of  New  Bed- 
ford, Massachusetts,  where  he  pursued  his  education  and  was  reared.  When 
a  young  man  he  went  as  a  sailor  on  the  high  seas  and  followed  that  life  for 
about  thirty  years.  He  was  married  in  Geneseo  county,  New  York,  to  Miss 
Louisa  Dewey,  a  native  of  that  county.  Later  he  purchased  a  farm  in 
Niagara  county,  where  he  resided  until  1846,  when  he  came  to  Branch  county, 
Michigan,  settling  in  Union  township.     He  owned  at  different  times  a  num- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  441 

ber  of  farms  in  that  township  and  continued  to  engage  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits until  his  death,  which  occurred  when  he  was  about  sixty  years  of  age. 
In  the  family  were  four  sons,  all  of  whom  reached  manhood,  were  married, 
reared  families  of  their  own  and  are  yet  living,  namely ;  Charles  E. ;  William 
Warren,  who  resides  in  Carthage,  Missouri;  Martin,  of  Union  City,  Mich- 
igan; and  Albert,  of  Bear  Lake,  Manistee  county,  Michigan. 

Charles  E,  Swain  was  only  eight  years  of  age  when  he  came  with  his 
parents  to  Branch  county,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  forest  in  Union  township 
he  was  reared,  his  educational  privileges  being  such  as  were  afforded  by 
the  common  schools  at  an  early  day.  He  remained  at  home  until  nineteen 
years  of  age,  when  he  removed  to  Iowa,  settling  near  Davenport,  where  he 
.  lived  for  a  year.  He  next  went  to  Linn  county.  Missouri,  where  he  resided 
until  1858,  when  he  again  came  to  Branch  county.  It  was  in  that  year  that 
he  was  married  in  this  county  to  Miss  Mary  Helen  Studiey,  who  died,  leav- 
ing five  children :  Frank,  who  is  mentioned  elsewhere  in  this  volume ;  Fred 
A.,  a  resident  farmer  of  Union  township;  Edwin,  deceased;  Orville,  a  dealer 
in  cigars  in  St.  Paul,  Minnesota;  and  Joseph  W.,  who  is  a  painter  of  Iowa 
City,  Iowa. 

Mr.  Swain  was  married  on  the  19th  of  February,  1873,  to  Miss  Harriet 
Billings,  a  daughter  of  N.  A.  and  Elizabeth  (Rowe)  Billings.  Mrs.  Swain 
was  born  in  Sherwood  township,  her  parents  being  among  the  pioneer  set- 
tlers of  this  county,  where  they  arrived  in  1S36.  The  father  came  to  Mich- 
igan from  Saratoga  county.  New  York,  while  the  mother  was  a  native  of 
St.  Lawrence  county.  New  York.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Swain  have  liecome  the 
parents  of  a  daughter  and  son :  Mary,  who  is  now  the  wife  of  Arthur  Morris 
of  Constantine,  St.  Joseph  county,  Michigan ;  and  Aldredge,  who  married 
Hattie  Kline  and  is  living  in  Sherwood. 

Following  his  first  marriage  Charles  E.  Swain  returned,  in  1858,  to 
Missouri,  where  he  remained  until  1861,  when  he  again  came  to  Branch 
county,  settling  in  Union  township,  where  he  was  engaged  in  general  farm- 
ing until  1872.  In  that  year  he  took  up  his  abode  in  Sherwood,  where  he 
has  since  resided,  and  he  worked  at  the  carpenter's  trade  for  about  eighteen 
years,  doing  business  as  a  contractor  and  builder  and  erecting  many  houses 
in  Branch  county,  a  number  of  these  being  in  the  village  of  Sherwood.  He 
owns  a  farm  in  Sherwood  township,  and  is  now  living  retired  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  a  well  earned  rest.  His  life  in  former  years  was  one  of  intense 
activity  and  his  labors  were  discerningly  directed  along  well  defined  lines 
until  he  gained  a  competence  that  now  enables  him  to  put  aside  further 
business  cares. 

Mr.  Swain  has  been  a  life-long  Republican  and  served  as  supervisor  of 
Sherwood  tmvnship  in  1875  and  1876,  He  was  also  township  clerk  for  sev- 
eral terms  and  highway  commissioner  for  several  years.  He  likewise  held 
the  office  of  township  treasurer  for  a  year,  was  a  member  of  the  village 
council  and  acted  on  the  school  board  until  he  declined  longer  to  fill  the 
office.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  for  thirty-five  years, 
of  the  Grange  for  thirty  years,  and  he  and  his  wife  are  charter  members  of 
the  Eastern  Star.     With  little  assistance  at  the  outset  of  his  career  he  has 


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442  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

worked  his  way  steadily  upward,  placing  his  dependence  upon  the  substantial 
qualities  of  energy  and  determination,  together  with  unfaltering  diligence. 
He  has  a  wide  acquaintance  in  the  county  in  which  so  many  years  of  his  life 
have  been  spent,  and  his  friends  recognize  in  him  the  possession  of  those 
qualities  which  in  every  land  and  clime  command  respect  and  admiration. 

LEONARD  DANIEL  CLARK. 

Leonard  Daniel  Clark,  deceased,  was  for  many  years  a  highly  respected 
citizen  of  Branch  county.  He  was  born  in  Ohio,  November  25,  :825,  and 
spent  the  first  twelve  years  of  his  life  in  his  native  state,  receiving  his  early 
education  in  the  district  schools.  In  1837,  the  family  moved  to  Michigan 
and  settled  in  Branch  county.  Here  the  youth  was  three  miles  distant  from  ■ 
school,  the  way  led  through  the  woods,  and  so  wild  was  the  country  at  that 
time  that  it  was  not  an  unusual  occurrence  for  him  to  be  chased  by  wolves 
as  he  walked  to  and  from  school.  He  learned  the  trade  of  shoemaker  of 
his  father,  which  he  followed  for  some  years,  then  bought  a  farm  of  two 
hundred  acres  and,  until  1892,  was  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  That 
year  he  sold  his  farm  and  came  to  Bronson,  where  the  rest  of  his  life  was 
passed  in  retirement,  and  where  he  died  April  22,  1905,  at  the  ripe  age  of 
eighty  years.  He  built  and  owned  a  fine  brick  block  and  two  residences  in 
Bronson.  For  years  he  was  a  trustee  of  the  Farmers'  Insurance  Company, 
and  he  was  identified  with  Mystic  Lodge,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 

Mr,  Clark  was  married  in  1848.  Mrs.  Clark,  who  survives  him,  was 
Dorothy  M.  Brower,  a  daughter  of  Aaron  Brower,  a  New  Yorker  who  came 
as  a  pioneer  farmer  to  Branch  county,  Michigan.  The  fruits  of  their  mar- 
riage were  six  children,  namely:  Myron  Clark,  who  is  engaged  in  the  gro- 
cery business  in  Bronson;  Helen,  wife  of  Lucien  Driggs,  of  Lansing;  Mary, 
deceased;  Eugene,  a  dry  goods  merchant  of  Bronson;  and  Aaron  and  one 
unnamed  that  died  in  infancy. 

SAMUEL  AND  WILLIAM  SHERER. 

Among  the  prosperous  and  highly  regarded  residents  of  southern  Mich- 
igan we  find  a  number  of  German  descent  whose  ancestors  came  to  this 
country  in  the  last  century  or  the  century  previous  and  first  settled  in  Penn- 
sylvania, many  of  them  afterward  removing  from  there  to  Ohio  in  an  early 
day,  and  from  there  to  Michigan.  It  is  also  a  notable  fact  that  these  descend- 
ants of  the  sturdy  Germans  are  now  among  our  very  best  farmers,  nearly  all 
of  them  well-to-do,  with  large  farms  and  excellent  buildings,  while  they 
rank  as  our  very  best  citizens. 

Such  are  the  members  of  the  Sherer  family,  of  whom  we  find  a  number 
in  the  southern  part  of  Branch  county,  notably  in  Cahfomia  township.  This 
branch  of  the  Sherer  family  is  descended  from  one  William  Sherer,  who  was 
born  in  Germany  and  who,  upon  coming  to  this  country,  located  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  was  only  twelve  years  old  when  he  left  Germany  and  he  was 
attracted  to  America  by  the  fact  that  an  elder  brother  had  preceded  him 
here  several  years.     William  grew  to  maturity  in  Pennsylvania,  and  there 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  443 

early  learned  the  trade  of  shoemaking,  which  he  followed  more  or  less 
throughout  his  life,  although  he  was  a  farmer  hi  later  years.  In  Pennsyl- 
vania he  was  married  to  Catherine  Myers,  who  was  also  of  German  descent, 
and  they  had  four  children  when  they  decided  to  try  and  better  their  for- 
tunes in  the  then  new  state  of  Ohio.  They  lived  for  several  years  in  Seneca 
county,  and  later  removed  to  Sandusky  county,  where  the  parents  passed  the 
remainder  of  their  lives,  William  Sherer  dying  there  January  i8,  1842,  and 
his  wife  dying  at  the  age  of  eighty-three  years.  Both  were  members  of  the 
Lutheran  church  and  they  were  people  of  high  standing  in  the  communities 
wherein  they  had  lived.  Eleven  children  were  born  unto  them,  two  of  whom 
died  in  infancy,  the  others  being  as  follows:  George,  Henry  and  William 
died  in  Sandusky  county,  Ohio;  John  died  in  Quincy,  Michigan:  Samuel 
and  David,  both  still  living,  are  residents  of  California  township;  Benjamin 
lives  in  Ohio;  Jeremiah  died  in  the  west.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  of  this 
large  family  of  children  only  three  are  now  living. 

This  review  concerns  one  of  the  sons,  Samuel,  who  was  born  in  Fair- 
tield  county,  Ohio,  January  17, '1824,  just  previous  to  the  removal  of  his 
Ijarents  from  there  to  Seneca  county.  Samuel  grew  to  manhood  upon  the 
home  farm,  and  when  twenty  years  old  started  out  for  himself.  He  was 
married  April  11,  1852,  in  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  to  Catherine  Babione, 
who  was  born  in  Ohio,  September  26,  1824.  During  his  early  manhood  Mr, 
Sherer  was  engaged  in  various  enterprises  and  also  worked  in  mills  for  some 
years.  Soon  after  marriage  he  purchased  eighty  acres  of  new  land  in  Cali- 
fornia township,  this  county,  although  he  did  not  come  and  make  his  home 
here  until  about  three  years  thereafter.  This  land  he  improved,  and  he 
made  for  himself  and  his  family  a  most  comfortable  home  here.  In  addition 
to  this  he  also  owns  eighty  acres  of  land  in  sections  eleven  and  fourteen. 
Five  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Samuel  Sherer,  all  of  whom 
are  living,  as  follows :  Daniel  lives  in  Lester.  Michigan ;  William  is  one 
of  the  subjects  of  this  review;  John  is  in  Toledo;  Samuel  E.  lives  in  Cali- 
fornia township;  Mary  Haight  is  also  a  resident  of  this  township.  The 
mother,  Mrs.  Sherer,  died  September  6,  1888.  She  was  a  most  estimable 
woman  and  was  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church,  to  which  her  husband 
also  formerly  belonged.  At  her  death  the  following  obituary  notice  was 
written : 

"Catherine  Babione  was  born  in  Fremont,  Ohio,  September  26,  1S34, 
and  died  September  6,  1888,  at  her  home  in  California,  Michigan,  She 
was  married  to  Samuel  Sherer,  April  16,  1852,  and  came  to  this  place  in 
1853,  She  was  the  mother  of  five  children,  all  of  whom  were  present  at  the 
funeral.  She  united  with  the  Lutheran  church  in  Ohio  and  had  her  chil- 
dren all  baptized  there.  Her  death  was  caused  by  paralysis.  She  was  sick 
four  days,  being  unconscious  nearly  all  of  the  time,  but  the  day  before  she 
died  she  became  conscious,  knew  those  around  her,  and  on  being  asked  if 
she  was  prepared  to  die,  replied  'Yes.'  She  leaves  a  husband,  five  children, 
four  brothers  and  a  host  of  friends  to  mourn  her  loss.  The  funeral  was  held 
at  the  Presbyterian  church  and  was  conducted  by  Rev,  Mr.  Boyd." 

Politically,  Mr.  Sherer  has  always  been  a  Democrat,  although  never  a 


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444  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

seeker  after  office.  His  life  has  been  a  long  and  industrious  one;  he  has 
been  wise  in  the  rearing  of  his  children,  and  he  has  so  conducted  his  life 
as  to  win  the  approbation  and  regard  of  his  fellow-citizens.  He  is  passing 
his  declining  years  upon  the  old  home  farm,  where  also  reside  his  son  Will- 
iam and  family. 

William  Sherer,  the  second  child  in  order  of  birth  of  Samuel  and  Cath- 
erine Sherer,  was  born  in  the  township  of  California,  October  lo,  1856,  and 
his  entire  life  thus  far  has  been  passed  here.  Growing  to  maturity  as  he  did 
upon  the  farm,  he  learned  the  value  of  industry  and  gained  a  good  practical 
knowledge  of  agriculture.  He  was  united  in  marriage,  January  3,  1886, 
with  Miss  Addie  Back,  who  is  a  native  of  Kansas.  Her  father  is  Alvin 
Back,  and  h'sr  mother  is  Josephine  Morris  Back,  a  native  of  Stark  county, 
Ohio,  where  she  was  born  August  5,  1847.  M""-  Back  was  bom  in  Williams 
county,  Ohio,  January  29,  1842.  The  home  of  the  Backs  has  been  in  Will- 
iams county,  Ohio,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  years'  residence  in  Kansas, 
until  a  year  ago,  when  they  removed  to  Ray,  Indiana,  where  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Back  still  reside,  although  Mr.  Back  still  retains  his  farm  in  Williams  county. 
Mrs.  William  Sherer  is  their  only  child. 

One  son,  John  Wesley  Sherer,  has  been  bom  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William 
Sherer,  his  birthday  being  January  3,  1887.  He  is  attending  school  and 
lives  at  home  with  his  parents.  Among  the  leading  and  progressive  young 
farmers  of  this  portion  of  Branch  county  Mr,  William  Sherer  stands  prom- 
inently. He  may  well  feel  proud  of  his  life  as  a  dutiful  son,  as  he  worked 
his  father's  farm  for  twenty-nine  years  by  rent  and  shares,  and  never  skipped 
a  year.  Possibly,  there  is  not  another  son  in  southern  Michigan  with  such  a 
record  of  industry  and  filial  duty  to  his  parents.  His  possessions  now  include 
one  hundred  and  eighty-six  acres  of  fertile  land  on  sections  one,  two,  three 
and  eleven,  California  township,  a  goodly  share  of  which  he  has  cleared  and 
improved  himself.  Each  of  his  farms  has  good  buildings  and  is  equipped 
with  all  accessories  for  operation.  Although  still  a  young  man,  Mr.  Sherer 
has  already  accumulated  considerable  property,  and  in  the  community  where 
he  has  spent  all  his  life  he  is  known  as  a  man  of  integrity  and  an  influential 
citizen. 

JOHN  HARDENBROOK. 

Branch  county  figures  as  one  of  the  most  attractive,  progressive  and  pros- 
perous divisions  of  the  state  of  Michigan,  justly  claiming  a  high  order  of 
citizenship  and  a  spirit  of  enterprise  which  is  certain  to  conserve  consecutive 
development  and  marked  advancement  in  the  material  upbuilding  of  the  section. 
The  county  has  been  and  is  signally  favored  in  the  class  of  men  who  have 
controlled  its  affairs  in  official  capacity,  and  in  this  connection  the  subject  of 
this  review  demands  representation  as  one  who  has  served  the  county  faith- 
fully and  well  in  positions  of  distinct  trust  and  responsibility.  He  is  now 
sheriff  in  Branch  county,  where  he  has  lived  for  seventeen  years. 

Mr.  Hardenbrook  was  bom  on  a  farm  in  Williams  county,  Ohio,  April 
21,  1S56,  his  parents  being  Ferdinand  and  Jeanette  (Lindsley)  Hardenbrook, 
the  former  a  native  of  New  York  and  the  latter  of  Scotland.    Both  are  now 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  445 

deceased,  having;  departed  this  Ufe  in  Steuben  county,  Indiana,  to  which  place 
they  removed  when  John  Hardenbrook  was.  eighteen  years  of  age.  There  he 
resided  continuously  until  thirty-t'vo  years  of  age,  and  in  1888  he  came  to 
Branch  county,  where  he  has  since  made  his  home.  His  education  was  that 
offered  by  the  common  schools,  and  his  life  has  been  characterized  by  untir- 
ing energy  and  industry.  He  was  reared  upon  a  farm  and  continuously  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits  until  1894,  when  he  was  elected  to  the  office 
of  supervisor  of  California  township,  in  which  capacity  he  capably  served  for 
two  years.  He  was  then  engaged  in  the  drug  business  in  Ray,  Indiana,  for 
six  years  and  won  success  in  his  undertakings.  In  1901  he  was  appointed 
under  sheriff,  acting  in  that  capacity  for  nearly  three  years,  and  in  the  fall 
of  1904  he  was  elected  sheriff  by  a  majority  of  two  thousand  one  hundred 
and  twenty-one.  so  that  he  is  the  present  incumbent  of  that  office. 

In  1880  Mr.  Hardenbrook  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  Huf- 
nagle,  and  unto  them  have  been  born  three  children  who  are  yet  living,  while 
iwo  are  deceased.  Mr,  Hardenbrook  is  fraternally  connected  widi  the  Knights 
of  the  Maccabees  and  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  while  his 
political  allegiance  is  given  to  the  Republican  party.  He  has  been  enter- 
prising, persevering  and  reliable  in  all  business  transactions  and  the  same 
beneficial  quaHties  of  good  citizenship  have  been  manifest  in  his  official  service. 

L.  J.  CORWIN. 

L.  J.  Corwin,  a  farmer  and  worthy  citizen  of  Kinderhook  township. 
Branch  county,  was  born  in  Ovid  township,  on  the  12th  of  December,  1855. 
His  father,  Jerome  Corwin,  became  a  pioneer  resident  and  representative 
citizen  of  this  jrart  of  the  state,  living  in  Ovid  township  up  to  the  time  of 
bis  death.  He  was  born  in  New  York  in  1826  and  spent  the  first  nine  years 
of  his  life  in  the  Empire  state,  after  which  he  came  to  Michigan  and  con- 
tinued a  resident  of  Branch  county  until  called  to  the  home  beyond.  His 
father,  Jonathan  Corwin,  was  also  born  in  New  York  and  brought  his  family 
to  Michigan,  taking  up  his  abode  in  Coldwater,  where  he  remained  for  some 
time.  He  was  a  physician  by  profession  and  practiced  medicine  with  gocxl 
success  in  the  early  days  of  his  residence  here.  That  the  county  was  largely 
undeveloped  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  there  were  many  tracts  of  land 
still  jn  possession  of  the  government,  and  Jonathan  Corwin  secured  forty 
acres  as  a  government  claim.  His  death  occurred  when  he  had  been  a  resi- 
dent of  Branch  county  for  about  six  years.  Jerome  Corwin  was  reared  and 
educated  in  this  county.  Shortly  after  the  father's  death  the  family  removed 
to  Ovid  township  and  lived  on  several  different  farms  in  that  portion  of 
the  county,  finally  settling  upon  the  farm  now  owned  and  operated  by  Levi 
Tift.  While  living  in  Ovid  township  Jerome  Corwin  was  married  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  Towsley,  a  native  of  Canada,  and  unto  them  was  bom  one  son, 
Edwin.  The  wife  and  mother  died  about  two  years  after  her  marriage,  and 
later  Mr.  Corwin  was  married  again,  his  second  union  being  with  Salome 
Flint,  a  native  of  Vermont,  whose  father  was  one  of  the  old  and  prominent 
pioneer  residents  of  Branch  county,  who  on  coming  to  Michigan  first  settled 
in  Calhoun  county,  but  later  came  to  this  county,  where  he  devoted  his  ener- 


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446  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

gies  to  farming.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Corwin  were  born  five  children,  three 
sons  and  two  daughters,  of  whom  one  is  now  deceased.  L.  J.  Corwin  was 
the  eldest  of  this  family.  The  father  gave  earnest  endorsement  to  Repub- 
lican principles  and  never  failed  to  cast  his  ballot  for  the  men  and  measures 
of  the  party.  He  also  took  an  active  interest  in  its  work  and  did  what  he 
could  to  promote  its  growth  and  insure  its  success.  He  served  as  supervisor 
of  Ovid  township  for  one  term  and  was  we!!  known  in  the  county  as  a  public- 
spirited  citizen,  whose  life  displayed  many  sterling  traits  of  character  that 
commanded  uniform  confidence  and  respect.     He  died  in  February,  1887. 

L.  J.  Corwin  is  indebted  to  the  district  schools  of  Ovid  township  for 
the  educational  privileges  which  he  received.  He  remained  at  home  until 
he  attained  his  majority,  and  not  long  afterward,  on  the  6th  of  February, 
1877,  ™^^  married  to  Miss  Ida  Clark,  a  daughter  of  Wallace  and  Mary  Clark, 
and  a  native  of  LaGrange  county,  Indiana,  born  on  the  4th  of  July,  1856. 
There  the  first  twelve  years  of  her  Hfe  were  passed  and  she  then  came  with 
her  parents  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  after  which  she  continued  her  edu- 
cation in  the  schools  of  Kinderhook  township.  The  young  couple  began 
their  domestic  hfe  upon  a  farm  of  eighty  acres  in  Ovid  township,  and,  work- 
ing persistently  and  energetically  as  the  years  passed  by,  Mr.  Corwin  secured 
capital  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  extend  the  boundaries  of  his  place,  which 
now  comprises  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  and  is  a  valuable  property,  well 
equipped  with  modern  improvements.  Later  he  removed  to  Angola,  Indiana, 
where  he  remained  for  about  two  years,  and  in  1902  he  took  up  his  abode  in 
Kinderhook,  where  he  built  his  present  home.  He  lives  in  the  town  of  Kin- 
derhook, but  gives  his  attention  to  his  farming  interests. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Corwin  have  been  bom  two  sons  and  a  daughter, 
Clark  J,,  Seibert  and  Edna  Hazel,  all  of  whom  were  bom  on  the  homestead 
farm  in  Ovid  township.  The  family  are  members  of  the  Congregational 
church  at  Kinderhook,  in  the  work  of  which  Mr,  Corwin  takes  an  active 
and  influential  part.  He  served  as  trustee  of  the  church  since  the  erection  of 
the  present  house  of  worship,  and  he  contributed  generously  to  the  building 
fund.  He  generally  votes  for  men  and  measures  rather  than  for  party,  and 
in  1905  he  was  elected  supervisor  of  his  township,  which  position  he  is  now- 
filling.  His  father  was  a  recognized  leader  in  local  political  circles,  and 
for  about  two  terins  served  as  justice  of  the  peace,  while  for  a  nutnber  of 
years  he  was  road  commissioner.  Both  father  and  son  have  taken  an  active 
and  helpful  interest  in  everything  pertaining  to  general  progress,  and  the 
general  good,  and  their  labors  have  been  effective,  so  that  they  have  become 
valued  and  leading  citizens  of  this  part  of  the  state. 

ALPHONSO  TYLER. 
Alphonso  Tyler,  who  is  serving  as  under-sheriff  of  Branch  county,  and 
is  one  of  the  well  known  farmers  and  early  settlers,  his  home  being  now  on 
section  five,  Batavia  township,  was  born  upon  this  place  April  25,  1848. 
He  is  a  brother  of  William  M.  Tyler,  whose  history  is  given  upon  another 
page  of  this  work.  The  family  was  established  in  Branch  county  at  a  very 
early  period  in  its  development,  and  the  name  has  ever  stood  as  a  synonym 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  447 

of  g'ood  citizenship  and  of  activity  and  honor  in  business.  In  the  family  were 
five  sons  and  three  daughters,  of  whom  Alfonso  Tyler  is  the  seventh  child 
and  fifth  son. 

Mr.  Tyler  was  educated  in  his  native  township,  mastering  the  branches 
of  learning  usually  taught  in  the  common  schools,  and  he  remained  at  home 
until  he  had  attained  his  majority,  working  in  the  fields  through  the  summer 
months,  or  until  after  the  crops  were  harvested  in  the  late  autumn.  On  the 
1 6th  of  February,  1874,  he  wedded  Miss  Amanda  M.  Wright,  a  daughter 
of  John  and  Mary  (Johnson)  Wright.  She  was  born  in  Huron  county, 
Ohio,  and  came  to  this  county  in  early  maidenhood.  The  young  couple 
began  their  domestic  life  upon  his  farm,  and  they  have  become  the  parents 
of  one  son,  Hugh  A.  Mr.  Tyler  has  always  devoted  his  energies  and  atten- 
tion to  general  farming  and  has  also  carried  on  stock  buying  and  shipping, 
following  this  business  for  about  ten  years.  He  has  eighty  aCTes  of  land  and. 
the  farm  is  well  equipped  with  modern  improvements.  He  has  always  voted 
with  the  Republican  party  and  is  now  serving  as  under-sherilT  of  the  county. 
He  belongs  to  the  Masonic  fraternity  at  Union  City,  and  in  business,  fra- 
ternal and  political  circles  has  made  a  creditable  name,  having  always  been 
found  loyal  to  the  trust  reposed  in  him. 

ALBERT  N.  BRINTON. 

Among  the  men  of  advanced  years  who  lend  dignity  and  honor  to  the 
citizenship  of  Coldwater,  Albert  N.  Brinton  is  numbered.  He  has  passed 
the  allotted  span  of  three  score  years  and  ten,  his  birth  having  occurred  in 
Salisbury.  Connecticut,  November  13.  1827.  The  Brintons  came  to  America 
on  the  Mayflower,  two  brothers  of  the  name  sailing  from  England  on  that 
historic  vessel,  and  from  that  time  to  the  present  representatives  of  the  name 
have  been  respected  and  worthy  citizens  of  New  England.  The  grandfather 
was  born  in  Massachusetts,  which  was  also  the  native  state  of  Samut^  Brin- 
ton, father  of  our  subject.  By  occupation  Samuel  Brinton  was  a  furnace- 
man,  engaged  in  operating  blast  furnaces  until  he  came  to  Branch  county, 
and  then  a  farmer.  Seeking  a  home  in  the  west  he  came  to  Branch  county 
with  his  son,  Albert.  Here  he  spent  his  remaining  days,  his  death  occurring 
in  this  countj'  in  1867,  when  he  was  seventy-three  years  of  age,  and  his 
remains  were  interred  in  New  York.  His  wife  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Mary  Whitney  and  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  while  her  ancestors  came 
from  England.  She  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years  and  was  also  buried 
in  the  Empire  state.  Of  their  family  of  four  sons  and  one  daughter  all 
reached  adult  age.  hut  Albert  N.  Brinton,  the  yoimgest,  is  the  only  one  yet 
living. 

Albert  N.  Brinton  was  only  about  five  years  old  when  his  parents  re- 
moved from  Connecticut  to  Dutchess  county.  New  York,  where  the  succeed- 
ing eight  years  of  his  life  were  passed.  They  then  became  residents  of 
Chautauqua,  New  York,  where  he  grew  to  manhood  and  was  married,  Miss 
Elvira  H.  Bidgood  becoming  his  wife.  She  was  a  daughter  of  William  Bid- 
good,  who  came  to  Michigan  in  1866  and  died  in  Coldwater  township.  Branch 
county,  in  his  eighty-first  year.     Mrs.  Brinton  was  born  in  Warren  county. 


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44S  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Pennsylvania,  February  ii,  1834,  and  with  her  husband  came  to  Michigan 
in  1866,  the  family  home  being-  established  in  Coldwater  township,  where 
he  became  the  owner  of  a  tract  of  land.  There,  in  connection  with  farming, 
he  conducted  a  blacksmith  shop,  having  learned  the  trade  when  he  was  eight- 
een years  of  age.  He  followed  that  pursuit  for  about  thirty-five  years,  and 
later  gave  his  undivided  attention  to  agricultural  interests  until  his  retire- 
ment from  business  in  1S98,  at  which  time  he  took  up  his  abode  in  Cold- 
water.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brinton  have  traveled  life's  journey  together  for  fifty- 
two  years  and  have  moved  but  twice  in  all  that  time,  first  when  they  came 
to  Branch  county,  and  secondly  when  they  settled  in  Coldwater.  They  have 
two  sons :  Clarence  N.,  a  resident  of  Battle  Creek,  Michigan,  and  Samuel 
W.,  of  this  city. 

Mr.  Brinton  still  owns  his  farm,  comprising  forty  acres  of  land  in 
Coldwater  township,  and  this  brings  to  him  a  good  rental.  When  age  gave 
to  him  the  right  of  franchise  he  proudly  cast  the  first  presidential  vote  for 
the  candidate  of  the  Whig  party,  and  continued  his  atfiliation  with  that  polit- 
ical organization  until  the  formation  of  the  Republican  party,  when  he  joined 
its  ranks.  He  has  never  failed  to  vote  at  a  presidential  election  since  that 
time,  and  he  has  taken  an  active  part  in  local  public  affairs.  He  was  justice 
of  the  peace  for  twelve  years  in  Coldwater  township,  and  was  also  township 
drain  commissioner,  while  in  1896  he  was  elected  county  drain  commissioner, 
fining  that  position  for  t^vo  years.  While  justice  of  the  peace  he  married 
eighteen  couples.  In  the  trial  of  the  litigated  interests  which  came  before 
him  he  was  always  fair  and  just  in  his  ruHngs,  neither  fear  nor  favor  biasing 
him  in  giving  an  opinion.  He  served  as  school  director  for  about  eighteen 
years  and  the  cause  of  education  has  ever  found  in  him  a  warm  friend.  He 
has  done  everything  in  his  power  to  promote  the  cause  of  the  schools  and 
give  to  the  young  better  advantages  in  order  that  they  may  be  well  qualified 
for  the  practical  and  responsible  duties  of  life.  Mr.  Brinton  has  been  an 
honored  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  since  1849,  ^^^ 
filled  all  of  the  chairs  in  the  local  lodge,  has  been  representative  to  the  grand 
lodge  and  grand  encampment  and  is  now  treasurer  of  Coldwater  Lodge  No. 
31.  His  wife  belongs  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  with  which  she 
has  been  identified  for  forty  years.  Mr.  Brintoil  favors  every  progressive 
movement  that  has  been  instituted  in  Branch  county  for  its  material,  intel- 
lectual and  mora!  progress,  and  his  life  has  been  such  as  to  win  him  the 
respect  and  good  will  of  his  fellow  men.  Reliable  in  business,  trustworthy 
in  citizenship,  devoted  to  his  family  and  holding  friendship  inviolable,  he 
has  made  for  himself  an  untarnished  name  as  the  years  have  gone  bv. 

SAMUEL  L  KILBOURN. 

Samuel  L.  Kilboum,  proprietor  of  a  hardware  store  in  Union  City,  was 
bom  in  Niagara  county,  New  York,  August  S,  1834.  His  father,  David 
Kilbourn,  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  and  remained  in  the  Old  Bay  state 
until  twenty-one  years  of  age,  w-hen  he  removed  to  Niagara  county.  New 
York,  taking  up  his  abode  on  a  farm  there.  He  came  to  Branch  county  in 
1836,  locating  in  Union  township,  where  he  entered  land  from  the  govern- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  U9 

nient.  For  two  years  he  resided  upon  that  farm,  at  the  end  of  which  time 
he  located  in  Sherwood  township,  building  one  of  the  first  sawmills  there. 
He  then  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  lumber  for  about  twelve  years,  being 
one  of  the  early  representatives  of  industrial  life  in  his  community.  Later 
he  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits  near  the  village  of  Sherwood, 
there  spending  his  remaining  days,  his  death  occurring  when  he  was  about 
seventy-six  years  of  age.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Congregatiooal  church 
at  Union  City,  which  he  joined  on  its  organization,  and  for  many  years  his 
labors  were  a  potent  factor  in  its  growth  and  progress.  His  early  political 
support  was  given  to  the  Whig  party,  and  upon  its  dissolution  he  joined  the 
ranks  of  the  new  Republican  party,  being  called  to  the  office  of  highway 
commissioner  as  its  representative,  and  to  other  local  positions  of  public 
honor  and  trust.  He  was  one  of  the  worthy  pioneers  of  Branch  county, 
his  efforts  proving  a  tangible  element  in  the  upbuilding  and  development  of 
this  part  of  the  state.  His  worth, '  too,  was  widely  acknowledged  by  all  who 
knew  him,  and  his  loss  was  deeply  regretted  by  many  friends.  In  early 
manhood  he  married  Miss  Clarinda  Hawley,  a  daughter  of  Chapman  Haw- 
ley,  who  died  in  Branch  county.  Mrs.  Kilbourn  was  born  in  Niagara  county, 
New  York,  and  died  in  the  eighty-third  year  of  her  age  in  Sherwood  town- 
ship. In  their  family  were  nine  children,  five  sons  and  four  daughters,  all  of 
whom  reached  adult  age,  and  George  Kilbourn  died  in  1862,  while  defending 
his  country  as  a  soldier  in  the  Union  army. 

Samuel  L.  Kilbourn,  who  was  the  sixth  child  and  fourth  son  in  his 
father's  family,  was  only  two  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  the  parents'  removal 
to  this  county.  His  boyhood  was  passed  in  Sherwood  township,  and  in  the 
public  schools  he  acquired  his  education.  His  training  at  farm  labor  was 
not  meager,  for  as  soon  as  old  enough  to  handle  the  plow  he  began  work  in 
the  fields  and  continued  to  assist  in  the  operation  of  the  old  homestead  until 
after  the  inauguration  of  the  Civil  war  in  1861.  As  soon  as  it  was  seen  that 
the  contest  was  to  be  no  mere  holiday  affair,  but  a  bitter  struggle  for  su- 
premacy, he  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Union,  enlisting  as  a  member  of  Com- 
pany D,  First  Michigan  Light  Artillery,  with  which  he  served  for  three 
years.  He  participated  in  the  battle  of  Corinth  and  other  engagements  in 
eastern  Tennessee,  and  then  returned  to  Louisville,  Kentucky,  a  distance  of 
three  hundred  miles,  and  covering  twenty  miles  per  day.  He  took  part  in 
the  battle  of  Crab  Orchard,  and  afterward  returned  to  Nashville,  taking 
part  in  the  engagement  at  Stone  River  on  the  last  day  of  the  year  and  the 
first  two  days  of  the  new  year.  Mr.  Kilbourn  was  aiso  in  the  engagement 
at  Chattanooga  and  Chickamauga,  where  the  battery  lost  all  but  one  gun. 
The  men  then  remained  in  that  vicinity  until  December,  when  they  were 
ordered  baclt-to  Nashville,  where  they  secured  a  battery,  horses  and  equip- 
ments. They  got  a  command  to  turn  over  to  an  Indiana  company  their  full 
equipment  and  to  proceed  to  Murfreesboro,  where  Mr.  Kilbourn  remained 
tmtil  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service.  He  received  an  honorable  dis- 
charge at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  September  17,  1864,  having  served  exactly 
three  years. 

When  he  was  discharged  he  returned  to  Sherwood,  Branch  county,  with 


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450  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

an  honorable  military  record,  and  afterward  engaged  in  farming,  which  pur- 
suit he  followed  continuously  until  1889,  when  he  retired  on  account  of  ill 
health,  locating  at  Union  City.  He  had  been  married  in  September,  1861, 
to  Miss  Elvira  Gwin,  a  daughter  of  Jabin  and  Lorinda  (Pease)  Gwin.  Mrs. 
Kilbourn  was  born  in  Ohio,  and  in  early  girlhood  accompanied  her  parents 
to  Wisconsin,  whence  she  came  to  Michigan  about  1849.  Unto  this  mar- 
riage have  been  bom  a  son  and  daughter:  G.  E.,  a  resident  farmer  of  Sher- 
wood township;  and  Annetta.  the  wife  of  W.  H.  Barrett,  of  Union  City. 

Mr.  Kilbourn  is  a  member  of  Corbin  Post  No.  88,  G.  A.  R.,  in  which 
he  has  filled  nearly  all  of  the  offices.  He  also  belongs  to  the  Unitarian  So- 
ciety of  Sherwood,  and  in  poiitics  has  been  a  life-long  Republican.  He  has 
filled  the  position  of  justice  of  the  peace  and  drain  commissioner  and  has 
held  a  number  of  school  offices,  the  cause  of  education  finding  in  him  a 
warm  and  stalwart  friend,  supporting  every  measure  tended  to  promote  the 
standard  of  the  schools  and  advance  their  efficiency.  He  has  lived  in  Branch 
county  for  sixty-eight  years,  and  therefore  is  well  acquainted  with  its  history, 
having  witnessed  its  development  from  pioneer  times  to  the  present.  He 
has  seen  all  of  the  evidences  of  frontier  life  give  way  before  the  advancing 
civilization  and  measure  of  progress,  and  his  sympathies  and  interests  have 
always  been  with  the  line  of  life  that  is  wrought  for  permanent  good  and 
substantial  improvement. 

JOHN  HENRY  BEECH,  M.  D. 

Among  the  physicians  and  surgeons  who  have  figured  prominently  iji 
the  history  of  the  medical  profession  in  Branch  county  was  Dr.  John  Henry 
Beech,  who  died  in  Coldwater,  October  17,  1878,  when  fifty-nine  years  of 
age.  He  was  a  native  of  New  York,  and  a  son  of  John  and  Susan  Beech. 
His  father  died  when  comparatively  a  young  man,  but  the  mother  survived 
for  many  years.  She  married  for  her  second  husband  Elihu  Mather,  and 
when  Dr.  Beech  came  to  Branch  county  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mather  also  sought 
homes  in  this  part  of  the  state. 

Dr.  Beech,  having  acquired  his  preliminary  education  in  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  state,  afterward  entered  the  Allmny  (New  York)  Medical  Col- 
lege, from  which  he  was  graduated  on  the  completion  of  the  regular  course, 
and  on  his  removal  to  Coldwater  he  entered  upon  tlie  practice  of  medicine, 
in  which  he  continued  until  after  the  inauguration  of  the  Civil  war,  when  he 
enHsted  in  the  Union  army,  becoming  a  surgeon  of  the  Thirty-fourth  Michi- 
gan Infantry.  When  the  country  no  longer  needed  his  aid  he  returned  to 
his  home  and  practiced  in  Coldwater  and  became  very  prominent  in  his  pro- 
fession here.  It  was  in  answer  to  a  call  issued  by  him  that  the  physicians 
of  this  part  of  the  state  met  at  Coldwater  and  organized  the  Southern  Michi- 
gan Medical  Society.  He  always  took  great  interest  in  the  progress  made 
by  the  medical  fraternity  and  kept  in  touch  with  the  most  advanced  tliought 
and  methods.  His  labors  were  far-reaching  and  beneficial  and  he  was  the 
loved  family  physician  in  many  a  household.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat 
and  his  prominence  in  community  af¥airs  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  he  was 
honored  with  the  mayoralty  of  Coldwater  and  with  other  positions  of  public 


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Henry  C.  Lewis 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  45X 

trust  and  responsibility.  He  never  faltered  in  the  performance  of  any  duty 
that  devolved  upon  him  nor  was  dilatory  in  meeting  any  obligation  that  he 
had  incurred  either  in  private  life  or  in  citizenship  and  as  a  representative 
resident  of  Cnldwater  was  widely  known. 

Dr.  Beech  was  three  times  married  but  had  no  children.  His  last  mar- 
riage was  with  Mrs.  Sarah  E.  Skeels,  nee  Lewis,  and  now  Mrs.  Conant,  of 
whom  special  mention  is  made  in  connection  with  the  personal  history  of  the 
late  H.  C.  Lewis,  who  was  her  brother.  For  many  years  Dr.  Beech  remained 
a  resident  of  Coldwater,  practicing  here  successfully  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death.  He  was  a  thorough  student  and  was  recognized  as  a  learned  and  skill- 
ful physician.  He  was  also  esteemed  for  his  generosity  and  kindness  of 
heart,  and  he  yet  lives  in  the  memorj'  of  the  older  citizens  whose  good  for- 
tune it  was  to  know  him. 

HENRY  C.  LEWIS. 

The  career  of  the  gentleman  whose  name  introduces  this  review  was 
that  of  a  self-made  man,  reliant  and  determined,  who,  though  he  started  out 
in  life  in  limited  financia!  circumstances,  won  success  through  capable  and 
well-directed  effort.  He  was  bom  in  Clarendon,  Orleans  county.  New  York, 
May  5,  1820,  his  parents  being  Wilhara  and  Sarah  Lewis.  His  early  youth 
was  spent  in  his  native  state  and  when  a  lad  of  fourteen  years  he  made  his 
way  to  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  where  he  became  connected  with  a  grocery 
house,  in  which  he  remained  for  several  years.  On  the  expiration  of  that 
period  he  came  to  Coldwater  and  for  ten  years  was  engaged  in  the  dry  gpods 
business  in  this  city.  On  selling  out  he  became  associated  with  Clinton  B. 
Fibk  in  the  banking  business,  but  this  relation  was  maintained  for  only  a 
brief  period,  after  which  Mr.  Lewis  became  sole  proprietor.  Later,  however, 
he  admitted  Alonzo  F.  BidweSl  and  Ives  G.  Miles  to  a  partnership  and  suc- 
cessively the  firm  was  known  as  Lewis  &  Kellogg  and  Lewis  &  Starr.  Eventu- 
ally Mr.  Lewis  sold  his  interest,  after  which  he  engaged  in  buying  horses 
for  the  government.  Two  years  later,  in  connection  with  Mr.  Starr,  he  be- 
cattle  an  organizer  of  the  Coldwater  National  Bank,  of  which  he  was  made 
president,  occupying  that  position  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred 
Aug-ust  18,  1884.  He  thus  figured  prominently  in  financial  circles  in  Cold- 
uater,  and  in  the  bank  of  which  he  was  president  he  instituted  a  safe,  con- 
servative policy  that  insured  it  a  goo4.  patronage  and  made  the  investment  a 
profitable  one. 

In  1846  Mr.  Lewis  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Alma  A.  Alden,  a 
daughter  of  Dr.  Hiram  Alden.  She  survived  him  for  several  years  and  died 
in  1895.  Mr.  Lewis  imited  with  the  Baptist  church  in  1865  and  remained 
one  of  its  consistent  members  until  his  demise.  In  politics  he  was  first  a 
Democrat  and  afterwards  a  Republican.  Following  the  close  of  the  Civil 
vvar  he  went  abroad  .and  visited  England,  Ireland,  Russia,  Germany,  France 
and  Spain,  and  in  1873  he  was  appointed  a  commissioner  to  the  Vienna  Ex- 
position. _  Again  in  1878  he  crossed  the  Atlantic,  this  time  making  his  way 
to  Palestine.  While  on  his  various  visits  abroad,  being  a  great  lover  of  art, 
he  collected  many  valuable  pieces  of  statuary  and  fine  paintings,  and  near 


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462  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

his  beautiful  home  in  Coldwater  he  erected  a  suitable  building  and  thereon 
established  the  Lewis  Art  Gallery,  wherein  were  placed  his  many  fine  speci- 
mens of  the  works  of  old  masters  as  well  as  of  the  modern  artists  and  sculp- 
tors. Subsequent  to  his  death  by  his  bequest  this  collection  became  the  prop- 
erty of  the  state  and  now  enriches  the  art  collection  of  the  Michigan  Univer- 
sity, while  the  building  which  he  erected  is  now  the  home  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  of  Coldwater.  HJs  private  library  was  given  to 
the  Coldwater  Public  Library.  He  was  a  man  of  beneficent  spirit  and  benevo- 
lent purpose,  and  while  he  was  successful  in  his  business  and  prominent  as  a 
representative  of  commercial  and  financial  interests  here  he  never  allowed  ac- 
cumulation of  wealth  to  in  any  manner  affect  his  relations  with  those  less 
fortunate.  He  stood  in  his  old  age  just  where  he  did  in  his  younger  years — 
as  the  champion  of  all  that  is  right,  true  and  just  in  man's  relation  with  his 
fellowmen,  recognizing  not  wealth,  which  is  the  most  desirable  position  man 
can  attain. 

Mrs.  Sarah  E.  Conant,  a  sister  of  Mr.  Lewis,  was  bom  at  Clarendon, 
Orleans  county.  New  York,  December  31,  1825,  and  was  a  little  child  when 
her  father  died.  In  her  girlhood  days  she  came  with  her  widowed  mother 
and  the  other  children  of  the  family  to  Coldwater,  and  here  the  mother 
passed  away  at  the  age  of  sixty-two  years.  For  her  first  husband  she  mar- 
ried Nelson  D.  Skeels,  and  later  became  the  wife  of  Dr.  J.  H,  Beech,  of 
whom  mention  is  made  above.  Her  third  marriage  was  to  F.  H.  Conant. 
She  now  resides  in  Coldwater  and  is  held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  a  wide 
acquaintance.  She  has  long  been  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  of 
which  she  is  a  generous  and  liberal  supporter.  Her  life  has  been  that  of  a 
consistent  Christian  woman  and  her  influence  is  widely  felt  in  church  and 
.social  circles.  Interested  in  all  that  promotes  the  intellectual,  social,  aestlielic 
and  moral  nature  of  man,  she  has  exerted  her  influence  in  behalf  of  progress 
along  these  lines  and  her  efforts  have  not  been  without  good  results.  At  four 
score  years  she  is  one  of  the  well  preserved  women  of  her  time. 

TRUMAN  C.  MACK. 

Truman  C.  Mack,  who  has  been  a  continuoiis  resident  of  this  section 
since  1854,  was  born  in  Florence,  Erie  county,  Ohio,  July  23,  1839.  His 
father  was  Joel  Mack,  while  his  mother  was  Marcia,  the  adopted  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  Ward.  Joel  Mack  and  his  family  went  from  Pennsylvania 
to  Ohio  in  1835,  locating  in  Erie  county,  where  they  were  among  the  very 
earliest  settlers.  Joel  and  Marcia  Mack  were  the  parents  of  five  children, 
as  follows :  Cordelia,  a  daughter,  died  in  infancy.  Joseph  died  at  the  age 
of  seven  years.  Thomas  W.  Mack  is  a  resident  of  the  village  of  Girard. 
Joel  Mack  is  a  farmer  of  Girard  township,  Truman  C,  Mack  is  the  subject 
of  this  sketch.  The  husband  and  father,  Joel  Mack,  died  in  Erie  county. 
Ohio,  at  the  age  of  thirty-three  years,  and  after  a  residence  of  twenty  years 
in  Ohio  the  wife  and  mother,  Marcia  Mack,  came  to  Michigan  with  her 
children.      She  located  in  Branch  county,   and  having  previously  married 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  453 

Comfort  Johnson,  in  Ohio,  they  made  their  home  here.  Her  death  occurred 
in  Girard  in  i88'3,  when  she  was  seventy-three  years  of  age. 

Oiir  subject,  Mr.  Truman  C.  Mack,  was  a  lad  of  but  fifteen  years  of 
age  when  he  accompanied  his  mother  and  brothers  from  Ohio  to  Michigan. 
He  had  grown  up  on  the  farm  in  Ohio  and  he  followed  this  vocation  after 
coming  to  Michigan,  and  before  he  was  twenty-one  years  old  he  had  pur- 
chased forty-five  acres  of  land  in  Girard  township,  to  which  he  later  added 
another  forty-five  acres.  He  was  married,  February  2,  1862,  to  Miss  Mary 
J.  Swan,  who  has  proven  a  true  helpmeet  throughout  the  many  years  of 
their  wedded  life.  Mrs.  Mack  was  born  in  Erie  county,  Ohio,  June  25, 
1843,  her  parents  being  Constant  Merrick  Swan  and  Rachel  Johnson  Swan, 
two  of  Branch  county's  oldest  and  most  respected  pioneers,  who  still  live 
upon  their  fine  farm  in  the  township  of  Union.  Mr.  C.  M.  Swan  was  born 
in  Lebanon,  Madison  county,  New  York,  November  8,  1821,  while  Mrs. 
Swan  is  a  native  of  Elyria,  Loraine  county,  Ohio,  where  she  was  born 
November  9,  1826.  They  were  married  in  Berlin,  Erie  county,  Ohio,  May 
29,  1842,  and  came  to  Michigan  in  1850,  locating  in  Union  township  on  the 
farm  where  they  have  ever  since  lived.  Although  he  has  always  owned  and 
operated  farms,  having  cleared  up  several  during  his  Ijusy  life,  Mr.  Swan 
has  given  comparatively  httle  of  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits,  he 
having  always  been  engaged  in  other  enterprises  as  well.  When  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Swan  came  from  Ohio  to  Michigan  in  1850  they  brought  with  them  a 
maple  sapling  which  they  planted  in  their  front  door-yard,  and  here  the 
tree  still  stands,  a  sapling  no  longer,  but  a  beautiful  maple  tree  with  a  base 
measuring  over  six  feet  in  circumference.  This  alone  is  an  apt  illustration 
of  the  growth  and  development  of  this  section  ef  country  during  their  fifty- 
five  years'  residence  here.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  M.  Swan  were  the  parents  of 
two  daughters,  Mrs.  T.  C.  Mack,  the  wife  of  our  subject,  and  Lois  Swan 
Walsworth,  who  died  in  1867.  Twice  during  the  married  life  of  Mr.  find 
Mrs.  Swan  have  they  been  participants  in  family  reunions  where  were  five 
generations  of  the  family,  the  last  occasion  of  this  sort  being  in  June,  1905, 
the  five  generations  being  as  follows:  Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  M.  Swan;  their 
daughter,  Mrs.  T.  C.  Mack,  wife  of  our  subject;  a  granddaughter,  Mrs. 
Ella  Waite,  of  Bronson,  Michigan;  a  great-grandson,  Mr.  Roy  Waite,  of 
Chicago;  and  a  great-great-grandson,  Mr.  Waite's  baby  son,  Arthur  Waite. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  .Sv/an  ha\-e  led  useful  and  active  lives  and  they  are  highly 
esteemed  in  this  vicinity. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Truman  C.  Mack  are  the  parents  of  seven  children,  all 
of  whom  are  now  married  and  with  homes  and  families  of  their  own. 
They  are  as  follows:  Ella  Mack,  born  January  i,  1863,  was  married  Octo- 
ber 12,  1S79,  to  LaSalle  Waite.  They  live  in  Bronson  and  have  three  chil- 
dren: Roy,  Rachel  and  Ruel.  Nettie  Mack,  born  May  12,  1866,  was  mar- 
ried September  12,  1885.  to  Frank  Vosburgh.  Their  home  is  in  Union 
township  and  they  have  two  children:  Piatt  and  Ruby.  J.  C.  Mack,  born 
June  6,  1868.  was  married  June  18,  1S88,  to  Mary  Reynolds.  They  live  in 
Union  township  and  have  six  children:  Bernie,  Truman,  Claude,  Nina, 
Irene  and  Lloyd.     Lois  Mack,  born  May  20,  1873,  was  married  April  27, 


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454  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

1892,  to  Archie  Cherdavoine.  They  live  near  the  old  homestead  and  have 
two  children:  Lester  and  Marcia.  Maude  Mack,  born  December  11,  1877, 
was  married  October  12,  1892,  to  Jay  Cornell,  and  their  home  is  in  New 
Mexico.  Jesse  C.  Mack,  born  July  8,  1880,  was  married  January  17,  1900, 
to  Mabel  Reynolds.  They  live  in  the  township  of  Girard  and  have  two  chil- 
dren, Pauline  and  Marcia.  Herbert  Mack,  born  February  5,  1872,  was  mar- 
ried in  1902  to  Sarah  Cherdavoine  and  they  live  in  Battle  Creek. 

Mr.  Mack,  although  never  an  offiece  seeker,  has  been  director  in  his 
schoo!  district  for  several  years.  His  present  farm  is  a  fine  one,  comprising 
one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  fertile  land,  equipped  with  good  buildings 
and  all  of  the  needful  machinery  and  other  accessories  for  successful  opera- 
tion. Here  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mack  have  spent  many  years  of  their  lives  and 
here  they  have  won  the  regard  and  high  esteem  of  their  friends  and  neigh- 
bors. Tliey  have  reared  and  educated  their  large  family  of  children  and  have 
seen  them  grow  to  successful  manhood  and  womanhood  and  now  with  fami- 
lies of  their  own.  The  parents  have  witnessed  and  assisted  in  the  develop- 
ment of  this  section  from  a  comparatively  new  country  to  its  present  pros- 
perous condition,  and  they  have  surely  performed  their  whole  duty  as  resi- 
dents of  this  prosperous  state  and  county. 

FREDERICK  HILDEBRAND. 

Frederick  Hildebrand  was  born  in  Germany,  in  1839,  and  was  a  son  of 
Ernest  and  Mary  Hildebrand,  also  natives  of  that  country,  who  in  their 
later  years  came  to  America  and  lived  with  their  children.  Their  family 
numbered  five  sons  and  four  daughters,  namely :  William  and  John,  Ixith 
now  deceased;  Charles,  who  resides  in  Reading  township,  Hillsdale  coimty, 
Michigan;  Louie,  a  resident  of  Algansee  township;  Frederick;  Mrs.  William 
Kraus;  Mrs.  Gottschalk;  Mrs.  Rohloff,  now  deceased;  and  Mrs.  Joseph 
SchuJtz,  a  widow,  living  in  Algansee.  Their  son  Frederick  spent  the  days 
of  his  boyhood  and  youth  in  the  country  of  his  nativity,  and  in  1861,  when 
about  twenty-two  years  of  age,  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  the  new  world.  He 
did  not  tarry  in  the  east,  but  made  his  way  at  once  to  Michigan,  settling  in 
Algansee.  He  then  spent  two  years  working  as  a  farm  hand  by  the  month 
for  Philander  Walbridge  and  George  Briggs,  remaining  in  the  employ  of 
each  for  a  year.  He  afterward  secured  work  on  the  W.  J.  Barnes  farm  in 
Quincy  township,  where  he  lived  for  a  number  of  years,  and  during  that 
period,  through  his  industry  and  economy,  he  managed  to  save  a  sum  suf- 
ficient to  enable  him  to  purchase  the  Robbins  farm  on  section  fifteen,  Algan- 
see township,  comprising  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres.  Removing  to  his 
property  he  at  once  began  to  cultivate  the  soil  and  in  due  course  of  time 
harvested  rich  crops,  and  as  the  years  brought  further  prosperity  he  ex- 
tended the  boundaries  of  his  farm  by  the  additional  purchase  of  one  himdred 
acres. 

Frederick  Hildebrand  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Charlotte  Hager- 
man,  who  was  born  in  Germany  in  1844,  and  died  in  1901,  at  the  age  of 
fifty-seven  years.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Ernest  and  Mary  Hagerman,  and 
her  mother  passed  away  in  the  old  country,  after  which  the  father  came  to 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  455 

the  United  States,  where  his  death  occurred  in  1876.  In  his  family  were 
three  sons  and  four  daughters :  William,  deceased ;  Fred,  who  is  living  in 
Quincy  township ;  Charles,  deceased ;  Mrs.  Remus,  a  widow,  residing  in  De- 
troit; Mrs.  Rosenow,  deceased;  Mrs.  Sprunk,  who  has  also  passed  away; 
and  Mrs.  Hildehrand.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frederick  Hildebrand  were  born 
three  children,  of  whom  one  died  in  infancy.  The  daughter  Winnie  is  the 
wife  of  John  T.  Goodman,  a  retired  farmer,  living  in  Coldwater.  The  sc»n, 
Louie  F.,  resides  upon  the  old  home  farm.  The  parents  are  members  of 
the  Gei-man  Lutheran  churcli  and  Mr.  Hildebrand  is  a  stalwart  Republican 
in  his  political  views,  having  given  his  support  to  the  party  since  attaining 
his  majority.  He  has  held  minor  offices,  but  has  never  lien  ambitious  in 
the  sense  of  office-seeking.  Both  he  and  his  wife  attend  church  and  are 
worthy  people,  enjoying  in  full  measure  the  confidence  and  good  will  of 
those  with  whom  they  have  come  in  contact. 

Their  son.  Louie  F.  Hildebrand,  was  born  on  the  place  where  he  now 
resides,  in  1870,  spent  his  youth  upon  a  farm  and  acquired  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  of  the  township  and  in  the  German  school  at  Coldwater. 
He  always  devoted  his  energies  to  agricultural  pursuits  until  August,  1905, 
when  he  bought  property  in  Coldwater.  He  was  married  in  1900  to  Miss 
Mamie  Kennedy,  who  was  born  in  Algansee,  in  1876.  Her  father,  Michael 
Kennedy,  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  came  to  the  United  States  at 
an  early  day.  settling  first  in  Ohio,  whence  he  afterward  came  to  this  county, 
his  home  being  now  in  Algansee  township.  At  the  present  writing  he  is 
living  retired  in  Cold.water.  He  wedded  Mary  Robinson  and  they  liad  six 
children,  but  the  first  two  died  in  early  life.  The  others  are:  Lulu,  the  wife 
of  Lou  Wilson,  a  resident  farmer  of  Algansee;  Mrs.  Hildebrand;  Emma,  a 
saleslady  of  the  B.  Branch  Mercantile  Establishment  of  Coldwater;  and 
Maggie,  at  home.  In  his  political  views  Louie  Hildebrand  is  a  Republican 
and  he  has  a  wide  acquaintance  in  the  county  where  he  has  always  lived  and 
where  his  social  qualities,  his  business  worth  and  progressive  citizenship 
have  m.ade  him  a  popular  resident. 

JULIUS  M.   BATES. 

The  attractiveness  of  Branch  county  as  a  place  of  residence  is  indicated 
in  the  fact  that  many  of  her  native  sons  have  retained  their  homes  within  its 
borders  from  birth  to  the  present  time,  enjoying  its  privileges  and  oppor- 
tunities and  adding  to  its  advancement  by  co-operation  in  public  life  and 
activity  in  business  affairs.  Of  this  class  of  citizens  Julius  M.  Bates  is  a 
representative,  being  one  of  the  native  sons  of  the  county,  born  on  section 
eighteen,  Ovid  township,  where  he  still  resides.  His  natal  day  was  Sep- 
tember 29.  1S54,  and  he  is  a  son  of  Joshua  M.  Bates,  who  is  mentioned  else- 
where in  this  volume.  No  event  of  special  importance  occurred  to  vary  the 
routine  of  farm  life  for  our  subject  in  his  youth,  his  attention  being  divided 
between  the  duties  of  the  schoolroom,  the  pleasures  of  the  playground  and 
the  work  of  the  home  farm.  He  mastered  the  common  branches  of  English 
learning  and  also  became  proficient  in  the  labors  of  field  and  meadow  as  he 
aided  in  the  raising  of  grain  and  stock.     The  occupation  to  which  he  was 


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456  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

reared  he  has  made  his  Hfe  work,  and  he  still  lives  upon  the  old  farm  home- 
stead where  in  former  years  he  assisted  his  father  in  clearing  the  fields  am! 
preparing  the  land  for  the  plow.  Here  he  has  eighty  acres,  presenting  nn 
excellent  appearance,  for  the  fields  are  well  tilled  and  the  buildings  and 
fences  are  kept  in  good  repair. 

Mr,  Bates  has  been  married  twice.  In  January,  1873^  he  wedded  Miss 
Mary  E,  Bums,  a  daughter  of  Harvey  Burns,  a  farmer  of  Kalamazoo,  Michi- 
gan. Mrs.  Bates  was  reared  in  Ovid  township.  Branch  county,  and  bv  her 
marriage  became  the  mother  of  a  son  and  daughter,  Harvey  and  Ethel,  the 
latter  now  the  wife  of  Seth  Tompsett.  For  his  second  wife  Mr.  Bates  chose 
Miss  Zemiah  Cole,  a  daughter  of  Reuben  Cole,  a  well-known  farmer  of 
Ovid  township.  She  was  Ixim  in  that  township  in  1867,  spent  liei  girlhood 
days  there  and  was  indebted  to  Ihe  public  school  system  for  the  educational 
privileges  she  enjoyed.  In  1890  she  gave  her  hand  in  marriage  to  Mr.  Bates 
and  they  are  well  known  and  worthy  people  of  the  community,  having  a 
large  circle  of  warm  friends  who  esteem  them  highly  because  of  their  ex- 
cellent traits  of  heart  and  mind.  In  March,  1896,  they  adopted  a  son,  I^s- 
lie  H.  Bates.  Mr.  Bates  votes  with  the  Republican  party,  keeps  in  touch 
with  the  questions  and  issues  of  the  day  and  has  twice  served  as  town.ship 
treasurer.     His  fraternal  relations  are  with  the  Masons  of  Coldwatcr. 

CHARLES  PHILIP  CONKLIN. 

Charles  Philip  Conklin,  assistant  postmaster  of  Coldwater,  was  born 
in  Huron  county,  Ohio,  near  Norwalk,  June  6,  1852,  his  parents  being  George 
and  Mary  E.  (Norton)  Conklin,  the  former  a  native  of  New  York  and  the 
latter  of  Connecticut.  The  Conklins  are  of  Holland  lineage  and  the  pro- 
genitor of  the  family  in  America  was  John  Conklin,  who  came  from  the 
little  Dutch  kingdom  to  the  new  world  and  settled  in  Westchester  county. 
New  York.  He  had  two  daughters  and  one  son,  and  one  of  the  daughters 
became  the  wife  of  Hercules  Lent,  while  the  other  married  Isaac  Van  Wert, 
one  of  the  three  captors  of  Major  Andre,  the  British  spy  of  the  Revolutionar\^ 
war.  The  son,  John  Conklin,  married  Hanna,h  Storms,  also  a  native  of  Hol- 
land, and  a  daughter  of  Gorham  Storms  of  the  same  country.  Her  mother, 
however,  was  a  French  Huguenot  and  her  maiden  name  was  Sporama.  Unto 
John  Conklin  and  his  wife  were  born  ten  children,  including  Matthew  Conk- 
lin, whose  birth  occurred  in  New  York  in  March,  1746,  He  was  married 
to  Sarah  Valentine  and  they  had  seven  children. 

.-^mong  this  number  was  Philip  Conklin,  the  grandfather  of  Charles 
Philip  Conklin  of  this  review.  He  was  bom  November  15,  1784,  and  died 
June  2-j,  1877.  He  was  married  twice,  first  to  Abigail  Spofford  and  second 
to  Susan  Amanda  Jones.  Of  the  first  marriage  there  were  seven  children 
and  of  the  second  there  were  ten.  George  Conklin,  son  of  the  first  marriage, 
was  born  July  11,  1819,  and  departed  this  life  March  6.  1891,  He  was  the 
father  of  our  subject  and  was  married  to  Mary  E.  Norton,  whose  Mrth 
occurred  August  25,  1824. 

The  paternal  great-grandmother  of  Charles  Philip  Conklin  was  a  great- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  457 

granddaughter  of  Adam  Mott,  one  of  the  nine  partners  who  settled  Dutchess 
county,  New  York,  and  whose  real  father  was  Adam  Wallace.  He  was  only 
three  years  old  when  his  father,  the  Rev.  Adam  Wallace,  was  burned  at  the 
stake  in  Scotland  because  he  was  a  Protestant,  an  account  of  this  being  given 
in  the  book  of  martyrs,  the  event  occurring  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Mary 
about  the  year  1550.  After  his  martyrdom  his  widow  took  her  son  to  Eng- 
land, where  she  married  a  Mr.  Mott,  and  thu-s  the  lad  became  known  by  his 
stepfather's  name.  He  eventually  married  and  had  two  sons,  Richard  and 
Joseph.  The  latter  marred  and  his  children  were  Joseph,  Jane  and  Martha. 
The  last  named  became  the  wife  of  James  Valentine.  One  of  the  children  of 
this  marriage  was  Sarah  Valentine,  the  great-grandmother  of  Mrs.  Conklin. 

For  some  years  George  and  Mary  E.  Conklin  resided  in  Ohio,  making 
their  home  there  until  T870.  In  October  of  that  year,  however,  they  became 
residents  of  Coldwater,  accompanied  by  their  son  and  only  child,  Charles 
Philip  Conklin,  then  nineteen  years  of  age.  The  father  was  a  farmer  by 
occupation  and  throughout  his  entire  life  engaged  in  the  tilling  of  the  soil 
in  order  to  provide  for  his  family.  His  political  support  was  given  to  the 
Republican  party  and  he  was  a  faithful  and  consistent  member  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church,  in  which  he  held  the  office  of  elder.  His  wife,  also  a  loyal 
Christian,  belonging  to  the  Presbyterian  church,  .survives  him  and  makes  her 
home  with  her  son  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-one  years. 

Charles  Philip  Conklin  was  reared  upon  the  home  farm  and  acquired 
a  high  school  education  in  Norwalk.  Ohio,  and  in  Coldwater,  Michigan.  In 
May,  187,"^,  he  entered  the  Coldwater  postofEi'ce  in  the  capacity  of  a  clerk, 
and  from  one  position  to  another  was  promoted  until  in  1882  he  became 
assistant  postmaster,  a  position  which  he  has  occupied  continuously  since, 
covering  a  period  of  twenty-three  consecutive  years.  His  political  views 
accord  with  Republican  principles  and  in  matters  of  citizenship  he  is  ptogress- 
ive,  interested  in  all  that  pertains  to  the  welfare  and  upbuilding  of  his  com- 
munity. 

On  the  9th  of  November,  1876,  Mr.  Conklin  was  married  to  Miss  Kate 
Amanda  Shaw,  who  was  born  at  Fulton,  New  York,  January  26,  1856.  They 
had  two  children,  but  the  younger,  Leslie,  who  was  bom  July  4,  1882.  died 
February  25,  1884.  Their  surviving  son,  Ralph  Norton,  was  bom  June  17, 
1879.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Conklin  and  their  son  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  in  which  he  is  now  serving  as  a  trustee,  and  he  is  also  identified  with 
the  Knights  of  Pythias  fraternity.  Having  lived  in  this  city  since  the  age  of 
nineteen  years  he  has  a  wide  acquaintance  here  and  the  sterling  traits  of  his 
character  are  such  as  have  gained  for  him  warm  friendship  and  kindly  re- 
gard. 

E.  M.  JARDON. 

E.  M.  Jardon,  one  of  the  prominent  farmers  of  Batavia  township,  living 
on  section  twenty-two,  is  a  native  nf  Huron  county,  Ohio,  born  on  the  7th 
oi  March.  1837.  His  father,  Edward  Jardon,  was  bom  in  Orange  county. 
New  York,  and  in  ear!;'  manhood  removed  to  Ohio,  where  he  was  married 
to  Miss  Catharine  Tjifftan,  who  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania.    They  began 


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458  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

their  domestic  life  in  Tuscarawas  county,  subsequently  removing  to  Huron 
county,  and  in  1839  became  residents  of  Ashland  county,  Ohio,  where  they 
spent  their  remaining  days,  the  father  passing  away  at  the  advanced  age  of 
efghty-seven  years,  and  his  wife  when  sixty-five  years  of  age.  They  were 
the  parents  of  three  children,  two  daughters  and  a  son. 

E.  M.  Jardon  was  reared  in  Ashland  county  from  the  age  of  two  years, 
and  when  twenty-seven  years  of  age  he  was  married  in  1865  to  Miss  Eliza 
M.  Frey,  a  daughter  of  John  M.  and  Lena  C.  (Lenninger)  Frey,  who  were 
born  in  Germany  and  were  married  there,  Mrs.  Jardon  was  also  a  native  of 
the  fatherland,  born  May  20,  1840,  and  was  twelve  years  of  age  when  she 
came  to  America  with  her  parents,  who  located  first  in  Plymouth,  Huron 
county,  Ohio,  on  the  boundary  line  of  Richland  county. 

In  the  year  1865  Mr.  Jardon  of  this  review  removed  to  McHenry 
county,  Illinois,  where  he  remained  for  one  year  and  then  went  to  Steuben 
county,  Indiana,  where  he  resided  for  fourteen  years,  his  time  being  devoted 
to  general  farming  there.  He  afterward  lived  in  Crawford  county,  Ohio, 
where  he  spent  one  year,  and  in  1881  he  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan, 
settling  upon  his  present  farm.  Here  he  has  sixty  acres  of  land,  which  is 
devoted  to  the  raising  of  crops  best  adapted  to  soil  and  climate.  Everything 
about  his  place  is  neat  and  thrifty  in  appearance  and  he  is  an  enterprising 
agriculturist,  keeping  in  touch  with  modern  progress  in  regard  to  the  work 
of  the  farm. 

Unto  Mr,  and  Mrs.  Jardon  have  been  born  five  children:  Minnie,  now 
the  wife  of  Harry  Bater,  of  Union  township.  Branch  coiinty;  Lena,  the  wife 
of  Clayton  Roberts,  of  Montpelier,  Williams  county,  Ohio;  Cora,  the  wife 
of  John  M.  Gray,  of  Batavia  township;  and  Edna  and  Ethel,  twins.  Both 
received  diplomas  in  the  public  schools,  and  they  are  members  of  the  Ancient 
Order  of  Gleaners  at  Batavia  Center.  The  former  is  at  home,  and  the  latter 
is  engaged  in  teaching  school  in  Batavia  township. 

Mr.  Jardon  has  been  a  life-long  Democrat,  always  supporting  the  party 
where  national  issues  are  involved,  but  voting  independently  at  ioca!  elections. 
He  has  been  a  resident  of  Branch  county  for  about  twenty-four  years  and  is 
interested  in  public  affairs,  giving  active  co-operation  to  many  movements 
for  the  general  welfare.  In  his  farm  work  he  has  prospered  and  is  now  the 
possessor  of  a  good  property. 

STANLEY  W.  BOYNTON. 

Stanley  W.  Boynton,  well-known  and  successful  stock  farmer  of  Quincy 
tov/nship,  was  bom  in  Wayne  county,  New  York,  September  24,  1848.  Of 
ancestry  that  has  been  traced  to  England,  his  grandfather,  George,  was  a 
native  of  Vermont,  and  his  father,  Benjamin  F.  Boynton,  was  born  in  Wayne 
county,  New  York,,  and  died  in  this  county  in  1880,  aged  fifty-eight  years. 
The  father  came  to  Michigan  in  1863,  and  locating  on  section  twenty  in 
Quincy  town,ship,  where  Stanley  W.  now  lives,  was  there  engaged  in  farm- 
ing until  his  death.  The  old  homestead  consists  of  one  hundred  and  eighty 
acres,  and  by  father  and  son  has  been  kept  up  to  date  and  one  of  the  most 
productive  and  valuable  estates  in  the  township.     The  father  adhered  to  the 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  459 

Free  Will  Baptist  faith,  and  was  always  a  Republican.  The  wife  of  Ben- 
jamin F.  Boynton  was  Maria  Drake,  who  was  born  in  New  Jersey  and  died 
in  1885  at  the  age  of  sixty-three.  She  was  also  a  member  of  the  Free  Will 
Baptist  chnrch.  Of  their  nine  children  all  died  in  infancy  but  two,  Stanley 
W.  and  Efla,  tlie  latter  having  married  three  times  and  being  a  resident  of 
Oakland,  California. 

Reared  on  the  old  farm  in  Quincy  township  and  attending  the  school 
which  stood  on  an  adjoining  farm,  Mr.  Boynton  has  pursued  his  successful 
life  career  in  the  surroundings  that  have  been  familiar  to  him  from  youth  up, 
and  through  his  character  for  industry  and  business  integrity  a  well  deserved 
prosperity  has  rewarded  his  efforts.  He  has  a  beautiful  farm  residence  on 
the  homestead.  He  feeds  a  large  quantity  of  live  stock,  and  this  is  the  prin- 
cipal branch  of  his  business. 

Mr.  Boynton  married,  first,  in  1870,  Gertrude  Cummings.  She  was 
born  in  Orleans  county.  New  York,  a  daughter  of  Alexander  and  Louisa 
(Craigan)  Cunmiings,  her  parents  moving  to  Michigan  when  she  was  a  child 
and  locating  in  Calhoun  county,  where  her  father  was  a  farmer.  She  died 
in  1887.  at  the  age  of  thirty-five.  Mr.  Boynton  married  for  his  second  wife, 
in  189^.  Hermione  Ellsworth,  who  was  born  in  New  York  state  August  28, 
1S72,  a  daughter  of  Mortimer  and  Louise  Sisson  Ellsworth.  Her  parents 
came  to  Michigan  and  settled  first  at  Adrian,  and  the  father  is  stiSl  living; 
the  nx)ther  died  at  Lincoln,  Nebraska,  January  26,  1885,  Mrs.  Boynton  is 
the  second  of  five  children,  her  brothers  and  sisters  being:  William,  a  sta- 
tionary engineer  at  Three  Rivers,  Michigan;  Mary,  the  wife  of  Guy  Hur- 
ley, in  the  Wolverine  Cement  Works  at  Ouincy;  Norman,  an  engineer  at 
Three  Rivers;  and  Pearl,  wife  of  John  Goodrich,  a  dairyman  at  Lincoln, 
Nebraska.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boynton's  only  child,  C.  Bernice,  was  born  in  1895 
and  died  in  1902.  Mrs.  Boynton  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church,  and  he 
is  affiliated  with  the  Masonic  order,  Mt.  Vernon  Lodge  No.  166.  He  and 
his  wife  are  members  of  the  Eastern  Star,  No.  12,  and  she  is  past  worthy 
matron.  A  Republican  in  politics,  he  has  held  township  offices  and  stands 
high  in  his  community. 

E.  F.  GAMBLE.  M.  D. 

Dr.  E.  F.  Gamble,  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Coldwater.  is 
a  native  of  Tecumseh,  Michigan,  born  on  the  12th  of  May,  1866.  His 
parents  were  F.  W.  and  Maria  (Gray)  Gamble,  the  former  a  native  of 
Enniskillen,  Ireland,  while  the  latter  was  born  in  Tecumseh,  Michigan. 

Dr.  Gamble  was  reared  and  educated  in  the  place  of  his  nativity,  com- 
pleting his  literary  course  there  by  study  in  the  high  school.  Determining 
upon  the  practice  of  medicine  and  surgery  as  a  Hfe  work  he  then  entered  the 
homeopathic  medical  department  of  the  Michigan  State  University  at  Ann 
Arbor  and  was  graduated  with  the  class  of  5892.  He  supplemented  his 
collegiate  training  by  six  months'  experience  in  Grace  hospital  and  then 
located  for  practice  in  Wellsboro,  Indiana,  where  he  was  also  surgeon  for  the 
Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  Company  and  the  Chicago  &  Grand  Trunk 
Railroad  Company  for  about  two  and  a  half  years,  after  which  he  was  located 


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460  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

in  Winona,  Minnesota,  for  eighteen  months,  and  in  1897  came  to  Coldwater, 
where  he  has  since  engaged  in  practice.  A  liberal  patronage  has  been  ac- 
corded him  in  recognition  of  his  ability  in  the  line  of  his  profession,  and  in 
his  practice  he  displays  thorough  understanding  of  the  principles  of  medicine 
and.  a  ready  adaptability  of  his  knowledge  to  the  case  in  question.  He  is 
secretary  of  the  Branch  County  Pension  Examining  Board,  and  is  examiner 
for  various  life  insurance  companies  and  lodges. 

Dr.  Gamble  was  married  in  Tecumseh,  October  16,  1893,  to  Miss  Elida 
DeMere  James,  a  daughter  of  Alfred  and  Mary  (White)  James.  They  now 
have  two  sons :  Alfred  F.  and  Lytton  D.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Gamble  have  a  large 
chcle  of  friends  in  Coldwater,  their  intelligence  and  w^rth  gaining  them 
the  entry  into  the  best  homes  of  the  city.  His  political  support  is  ca.st  with 
the  Democratic  party  and  he  takes  an  active  interest  in  its  affairs,  but  has 
never  been  an  aspirant  for  office,  preferring  to  give  undivided  attention  to  his 
professional  duties. 

MRS.  E.  R.  G.  PARADINE. 

Mrs.  E.  R,  G.  Paradine,  well  known  in  Coldwater,  was  born  in  Hills- 
dale county,  Michigan,  March  14,  :84i.  Her  father  was  Orson  Randall, 
who  was  born  in  Yates  county,  New  York,  August  25,  1807,  and  came  to 
Branch  county,  Michigan,  in  1844,  locating  in  Coldwater  township,  where 
he  was  engaged  in  farming.  He  was  married  September  15,  1833,  to  Miss 
Laura  Gilbert,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  five 
children,  of  whom  Mrs.  Paradine  is  the  fourth  in  order  of.  birth.  Her 
father  continued  to  make  farming  his  life  work  and  for  many  years  was  a 
leading  agriculturist  of  Branch  county,  his  death  occurring  in  the  city  of 
Coldwater,  1890.  Mrs.  Paradine  was  only  about  three  years  old  when  she 
came  to  Branch  county,  where  she  was  reared  and  educated.  She  first  mar- 
ried Wenzel  Gruner  on  the  25th  of  August,  1858.  He  was  born  in  Reichen- 
burg,  Germany,  September  28,  1831,  and  in  1848  or  1849  came  to  America 
and  Hved  five  years  in  New  York  state  and  then  located  in  Michigan  and 
became  a  well-to-do  farmer.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gruner  were  born  the 
following  named:  Mina  L.,  deceased;  Mary  K.,  the  wife  of  Wiiliam  Mitch- 
ell of  Coldwater;  Edna  E.,  the  wife  of  S.  T.  Vesey  of  La  Grange,  Indiana; 
Ward  C,  a  resident  farmer  of  Branch  county;  Benjamin  S.,  who  is  a  tele- 
graph operator  in  Alabama;  Bartlett,  a  merchant  living  in  Mount  Pleasant, 
Michigan;  and  Starr  W,,  a  farmer  of  Coldwater  township.  All  were  born 
upon  the  old  family  homestead  in  Coldwater  township— the  farm'  upon  which 
the  father  located  when  he  first  came  to  Michigan.  Mr.  Gruner  died  April 
15,  1885,  and  February  3,  1897,  Mrs.  Gruner  was  united  in  marriage  to 
William  W.  Paradine,  who  was  born  in  England  in  1837,  and  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1856,  and  in  i860  to  Branch  county.  His  life  has  been 
that  of  a  farmer. 

GEORGE  A.  TUTTLE. 

George  A.  Tuttle,  who  for  fifty  years  has  been  a  resident  of  Branch 
county,  is  now  engaged  in  farming  on  section  eighteen,  Batavia  township. 
His  birth  occurred  in   Marshall   county,  Indiana,   on  the  26th  of  October, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  461 

1849,  his  parents  being  Major  and  Eliza  (Ramsay)  Tuttle.  The  father,  a 
native  of  Connecticut,  removed  from  New  England  to  New  York,  and  after- 
ward took  up  his  abode  in  Indiana,  locating  at  Michigan  City.  He  afterward 
settled  in  Marshall  connty,  living  there  when  the  Indians  were  numerous, 
his  attention  being  given  to  the  cultivation  and  development  of  a  farm.  In 
1856  he  came  to  Branch  county,  this  state,  settling  in  Batavia  township, 
where  he  purchased  what  was  known  as  the  Rogers  farm.  On  selling  that 
place  he  bought  the  Fowler  farm  and  he  gave  the  land  upon  which  the  church 
in  the  locality  now  stands.  At  a  later  date  he  sold  his  property  and  bought 
the  Jones  farm  in  Coldwater  township,  remaining  there  for  two  years,  when 
he  sold  out  and  became  the  possessor  of  the  farm  upon  which  his  son  George 
A.  now  resides.  There  he  spent  his  remaining  days,  reaching  the  very  ven- 
erable age  of  eighty-four  years.  He  was  the  oldest  Mason  of  Michigan  who 
was  initiated  in  the  order  in  this  state.  Mr.  Tuttle  was  four  times  married, 
his  first  union  being  with  Charlotte  Barber,  by  whom  he  had  four  children : 
Timothy  and  Orson,  both  deceased ;  Sarah  M. ;  and  Levi,  who  has  also  passed 
away.  For  his  second  wife  he  chose  Eliza  Ramsey,  and  George  A.  Tuttle 
is  the  only  child  of  this  marriage.  For  his  third  wife  he  won  Mrs.  Comings, 
and  Mrs.  Lncinda  Brown  became  his  fourth  wife.  There  was  one  daughter 
by  that  marriage,  Arabelle,  now  deceased.  George  A.  Tuttle  and  his  sister 
Sarah  are  the  only  surviving  ones  of  the  family. 

When  about  eight  years  of  age  George  A.  Tuttle  was  brought  to  Mich- 
igan and  in  the  public  schools  he  acquired  his  edtication.  He  remained  with 
his  parents  until  their  death,  was  reared  to  the  occupation  of  farming  and 
became  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  duties  and  labors  of  field  and  meadow 
at  an  eariy  age.  On  the  27th  of  October,  1892,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary 
SindHnger,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Caroline  (Dingier)  SJndJinger,  and  a 
native  of  Burr  Oak  township,  St.  Joe  county.  Two  sons  have  been  born  of  this 
marriage.  Glen  and  Mark,  both  of  whom  are  in  school. 

Mr.  Tuttle  is  the  owner  of  one  hundred  acres  of  well  improved  land, 
the  fields  being  richly  cultivated  and  yielding  good  harvests  for  the  care  and 
labor  bestowed  upon  them.  He  has  been  a  resident  of  Branch  county  for 
almost  fifty  years  and  has  been  identified  with  its  interests  in  a  helpful  degree, 
contributing  to,  the  success  of  those  movements  which  are  a  matter  of  public 
pride.  In  politics  he  has  always  been  an  earnest  Republican  and  has  served 
as  director  of  schools  and  at  the  same  time  is  moderator.  He  is  well  known 
in  the  county,  and  his  genuine  worth  has  won  him  friendly  recognition  from 
all  with  whom  he  has  come  in  contact.  He  belongs  to  the  First  Congrega- 
tional church  at  Matteson,  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  its  work,  serving  as 
its  treasurer  and  one  of  its  trustees  and  as  an  earnest  worker  in  the  Sunday- 
school.     Mrs.  Tuttle  is  a  member  of  the  German  Lutheran  church. 

ROBERT  I'RASER.  M.  D. 

Dr.  i?obert  Fraser,  whose  capability  in  his  profession  rmks  him  witli 
the  leading  members  of  the  medical  fraternity  in  Branch  county,  is  perhaps 
the  oldest  physician  in  years  of  continuous  practice  in  this  part  of  the  state. 


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462  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

having  for  thirty-five  years  followed  his  chosen  calhng  in  Sherwood,  tie 
is  also  well  known  as  a  leader  in  the  ranks  of  the  People's  party  in  this  local- 
ity. He  was  bcrn  in  Canada,  May  8,  1842,  and  is  a  son  of  William  Fraser, 
a  native  of  Scotland.  He  was  reared  and  educated  in  the  land  of  the  hills 
and  heather,  whence  he  came  to  America  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  years. 
He  established  his  home  in  Canada,  where  he  was  married  to  Miss  Christina 
Gunn,  a  native  of  that  country.  He  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-five  years,  while 
his  wife  passed  away  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years.  They  had  a  son  and 
daughter,  of  whom  Dr.  Fraser  is  the  eider. 

Having  mastered  the  common  branches  of  English  learning,  Dr.  Fraser 
continued  his  studies  in  the  Bradford  high  school,  of  Canada,  and  was  grad- 
uated from  the  medical  department  of  the  Victoria  University,  in  the  class 
of  1865.  The  same  year  he  came  to  the  United  States,  settling  first  in  New 
York,  where  he  remained  for  five  years.  In  March,  1870,  he  arrived  in 
Sherwood,  where  he  has  since  made  his  home.  Desirous  of  obtaining  still 
greater  proficiency  in  the  line  of  his  profession  he  entered  the  American 
Electrical  Medical  College  in  1875,  and  was  graduated  in  1876.  He  did  not 
cease  his  study  even  then,  but  has  always  been  an  interested  observer  of  the 
progress  of  the  medical  fraternity,  keeping  in  touch  with  its  advancement 
through  reading  and  investigation.  He  has  now  practiced  in  Sherwood  for 
thirty-five  years  and  is  a  beloved  family  physician  in  many  a  household,  a 
cheery  manner  and  ready  sympathy,  as  well  as  his  scientific  knowledge, 
making  him  cne  of  the  capable  practitioners  of  Branch  county. 

In  1871  Dr.  Fraser  was  married  to  Miss  Jennie  Coleman,  who  was 
born  and  reared  in  Canada.  They  had  two  children,  but  Everton  died  at 
the  age  of  eight  years.  The  surviving  son.  Dr.  Robert  Carson  Fraser,  is  a 
graduate  of  the  Detroit  Medical  College,  and  is  now  practicing  in  Detroit. 
Michigan. 

Dr.  Fraser  of  this  review  is  a  Democrat.  He  was  the  first  president  of 
the  village  of  Shenvood  after  its  incorporation,  and  filled  that  office  for 
several  terms.  He  was  also  a  candidate  for  congress  on  the  People's  ticket, 
and  has  taken  an  active  part  in  politics,  being  deeply  interested  in  the  great 
questions  which  affect  the  welfare  of  the  country,  as  well  as  in  the  local 
political  work.  He  never  fails  to  attend  the  county  conventions,  and  his 
opinions  carry  weight  in  the  local  coimcils  of  his  party. 

Dr.  Fraser  has  a  good  home  in  Sherwood  and  an  excellent  farm  of 
eighty  acres  in  Sherwood  township.  He  has  never  regretted  his  determina- 
tion to  seek  a  home  in  the  United  States,  with  its  livelier  competition  and 
advancement  more  quickly  secured,  and  in  a  profession  where  individual 
merit  is  all  that  counts,  he  has  won  for  himself  an  enviable  position,  his 
practice  being  as  large  as  that  of  any  physician  in  the  county. 

ST.  MARY'S  PARISH. 

A  few  Polish  families  settled  in  Bronson,  Michigan,  in  i86r,  and  at 
once  formed  themselves  into  a  little  band  of  worshipers,  holding  services  at 
the  home  of  James  Cunningham,  but  at  first  without  a  priest.  In  T8f>3 
St.  Mary's  Parish  was  organized  by  Rev.  F.  X.  Schulack,  a  Jesuit  Father. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  463 

and  in  1865,  through  his  efforts,  their  first  church  was  huilt  on  the  south 
side  of  the  railroad,  and  for  a  period  of  fifteen  years  he  was  in  charge.  Then 
for  four  years,  until  1S84,  the  church  was  attended  hy  Rev.  Father  Giarles 
Korst  of  Coldwater.  The  first  resident  priest  St.  Mary's  had  was  the  Rev. 
Father  Francis  Krol.  At  the  end  of  six  years  he  was  succeeded  by  Father 
Schulack,  who  remained  until  1892.  Tlien  came  Father  John  Lenike.  whose 
death  occurred  at  the  end  of  ten  months  of  ser\'ice  here.  Father  Casimer 
Rochowski  succeeded  him,  and  was  pastor  until  1899.  The  next  six  months 
Father  Bernard  Smijewski  presided  over  the  parish,  and  in  September,  1899, 
came  Rev.  Father  John  Bernard  Hewelt,  who  has  since  been  in  charge,  and 
to  whose  efforts  is  largely  due  the  success  of  the  parish. 

The  present  church  and  school  buildings  of  St.  Mary's  each  occupy  a 
ground  space  of  one  hundred  and  forty  hy  three  hundred  feet.  The  fine 
church  edifice,  erected  on  the  ashes  of  the  second  church  building,  is  one 
hundred  and  twenty  by  forty-eight  feet  in  dimensions  and  cost  twelve  thou- 
sand dollars,  with  an  additional  cost  of  eleven  thousand  dollars  for  furnish- 
ings. It  was  built  by  popular  subscription.  The  interior  decoration  of  this 
church  is  the  most  noted  of  its  kind  in  the  State  of  Michigan,  the  painting 
having  been  done  by  an  artist  from  Rome. 

St. Mary's  School,  erected  in  1900,  during  the  pastorate  of  Father 
Hewelt,  is  eighty-eight  by  seventy-eight  feet,  and  was  built  at  a  cost  of 
twenty-four  thousand  dollars.  From  six  to  ten  teachers  are  employed,  and 
regular  courses  of  study  up  to  the  twelfth  grade  are  offered ;  also  typewming, 
stenography,  music  and  art  needle  work  are  taught.  The  largest  contributor 
to  the  building  fund  of  the  school  was  Cicero  Holmes. 

Father  Hewelt  is  a  native  of  Prussia  and  was  horn  in  1863,  a  descend- 
ant of  an  old  noble  family.  His  education  was  begun  in  Gennany,  In 
1870  he  was  taken  to  Paris,  thence  to  England  and  Ireland,  and  in  18S0  he 
came  to  the  United  States,  where  his  studies  were  continued  with  the  priest- 
hood in  view.  He  was  ordained  in  1891  in  the  cathedral  at  Detroit.  His 
work  at  St.  Mary's  has  been  characterized  by  enthusiastic  and  untiring  energy 
and  has  been  fruitful  to  a  marked  degree. 

THADDFUS  FOLLETT. 

Thaddeus  Follett,  who,  carrying  on  agricultural  pursuits,  resided  in 
California  township,  was  born  in  Cayuga  county,  Ohio,  on  the  3rd  of  No- 
vember, 1861.  His  father,  Reuben  T.  Follett,  was  bom  in  Dover,  Ohio,  on 
the  15th  of  August,  1822,  and  there  resided  until  forty-one  years  of  age, 
when  he  came  to  Michigan,  settling  in  Butler  township,  Branch  county, 
where  for  two  years  he  owned  and  cultivated  a  farm.  He  then  removed  to 
California  township,  where  he  purchased  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  acres 
of  land  on  section  six,  and  as  he  prospered  in  his  work  he  increased  his 
acreage  until  his  farm,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  comprised  two  hundred  and 
forty-four  acres  of  rich  and  productive  land.  His  father,  Daniel  Follett, 
was  a  native  of  Connecticut  and  in  an  early  day  xvent  to  Ohio,  where  he  died 
in   :S48.     While  living  in  the  Buckeye  state,   Reuben  Follett  was  married 


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464  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

in  Cleveland  on  the  25th  of  November,  1852,  to  Miss  Julia  E.  Kelley,  who 
was  born  in  that  city  October  15,  1832,  and  was  a  daughter  of  William 
Kelley,  who  was  born  near  Rochester,  New  York,  and  afterward  resided  in 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  where  he  died  in  1839,  while  his  wife  passed  away  in  1840. 
In  their  family  were  eight  children,  Mrs.  Follett  being  the  only  one  now 
living.  Unto  Reuben  P'ollett  and  his  wife  were  born  eight  children,  and, 
with  one  exception,  all  yet  survive,  Eva  having  died  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
years.  The  living  members  of  the  family  are:  Mrs.  Emma  Thompson, 
who  resides  in  California  township;  Qiarles,  who  is  living  in  Algansee; 
Mrs.  Lucy  Corless,  of  Ovid;  Thaddeus,  of  this  review;  Mrs.  Nettie  Bovee, 
of  Chicago;  Mrs.  Alta  Mitchell,  living  in  Dover,  Ohio;  Mrs.  Birdie  Corless, 
a  resident  of  LaGrange,  Georgia.  The  father  followed  farming  both  in 
Ohio  and  in  Michigan,  and  he  cleared  much  of  his  land,  on  which  he  made 
good  improvements  and  erected  substantial  buildings,  thus  developing  one 
of  the  excellent  farms  of  his  neighborhood.  In  his  social  relations  he  was  a 
Bhie  Lodge  Mason,  and  in  his  political  views  was  a  Democrat.  He  and  his 
wife  were  attendants  on  the  services  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  was 
an  intelligent  farmer  and  esteemed  citizen,  and  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  public 
progress  were  of  direct  good. 

Thaddeus  Follett,  whose  name  introduces  this  review,  always  lived  upon 
the  home  farm,  and  throughout  his  entire  life  has  carried  on  general  agri- 
cultural pursuits.  He  acquired  a  common  school  education  and  in  the 
periods  of  vacation  worked  in  the  fields.  He  now  carries  on  general  farm- 
mg  and  also  raises  good  horses.  He  owns  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  aaes 
of  land  on  the  old  homestead,  where  he  is  now  living  with  his  mother.  He 
married  Nellie  M.  Allen,  of  Coldwater,  and  they  have  one  son,  Allen  T. 
Follett,  who  was  born  May  5,  1895. 

Mr.  Follett  belongs  to  several  fraternal  organizations,  including  the 
Odd  Fellows  society  in  California  township,  the  Masonic  lodge  in  Kinder- 
hook,  and  the  Modern  Woodmen  camp  in  California  township.  He  is  an 
independent  voter  and  has  been  a  member  of  the  township  board  of  review 
and  also  school  district  moderator.  He  is  recognized  as  a  prosperous  yoimg 
farmer  and  is  a  man  of  affairs,  who  has  ever  been  a  keen  observer,  is  well 
read  and  is  informed  upon  all  matters  of  general  interest. 

ISAAC  BENNETT. 

Isaac  Bennett,  a  pioneer  Michigan  Methodist  minister,  was  born  on 
Bacon  Ridge,  Ross  township,  Jefferson  county,  Ohio,  April  22,  1810.  He 
was  the  son  of  James  and  Lydia  Bennett.  His  grandfatiier,  Isaac  Bennett, 
was  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Militia,  and  his  grandfather,  Ludwig 
Hardenbrook,  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  Several  of  his  uncles 
were  soldiers  of  the  war  of  1812  to  1815.  His  grandfather  Hardenbrook 
and  his  own  parents  were  Presbyterians.  When  thirteen  years  of  age  his 
father  moved  west  to  Morrow  county,  Ohio.  When  twenty  years  of  age 
Isaac  Bennett  attended  a  Methodist  campmeeting  near  Mt.  Gilead.  Ohio,  and 
was  converted  and  united  with  the  Methodist  church.  In  1833  he  was 
licensed  to  preach,  Russell  Bigelow  signing  the  license  as  presiding  elder. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  465 

In  1832  he  was  married  to  Miss  Eleanor  Barrickman,  who  died  three  years 
later,  leaving  in  his  care  two  children. 

At  the  organization  of  the  Michigan  conference  held  at  Mansfield,  Ohio, 
in  1836,  he  was  admitted  on  trial  and  ordained  a  deacon  by  Bishop  Soule, 
and  in  1838  he  was  ordained  an  elder  by  Bishop  Waugh.  In  18381  he  was 
married  to  Mrs.  Nancy  McNaiight  Hill,  widow  of  George  Hill.  His  itin- 
erant life  began  in  1834,  when  he  was  employed  as  a  supply  on  Mt.  Gilead 
circuit.  In  1836  he  was  appointed  to  St.  Mary's  Mission,  Maumee  district, 
western  Ohio,  this  mission  including  all  of  Mercer,  Van  Wert  and  parts  of 
Allen  and  Putnam  counties  in  Ohio,  and  two  appointments  in  Allen  county, 
Indiana. 

In  1S37  Isaac  Bennett's  work  began  in  Michigan,  his  appointments 
being  in  succession,  Shiawassee  circuit,  Ingham  mission,  Eaton  mission, 
Albion  circuit,  Litchfield,  Coldwater,  Manchester,  Burlington,  Litchfield 
again.  South  Albion,  Parma  and  Eaton  Rapids,  Flat  River,  Ionia,  Grand 
Rapids  (Weslside,  afterwards  Second  Street),  Lamont,  Edwardsburg,  Paw 
Paw,  Cas.sopolis,  Allen,  Girard,  Ouincy,  Reading,  Butler  and  Kinderhook. 
At  the  Conference  held  at  Jackson,  in  1S72,  he  was  superannuated;  forty 
years  from  the  time  he  was  licensed  to  preach,  and  thirty-six  ye-?.vs  from  the 
time  he  became  a  member  of  the  Conference. 

Shiawassee  circuit  embraced  all  of  Shiawassee,  Clinton,  and  parts  of 
Eaton,  Genesee,  Livingston  and  Oakland  counties.  This  mission  extended 
west  and  east  as  they  traveled  seventy-five  miles,  and  forty  miles  north  and 
south ;  a  four  weeks'  circuit,  thirty-five  appointments,  he  and  his  colleague, 
Washington  Jackson,  each  preaching  eight  sermons  and  traveling  one  hun- 
dred miles  per  week  on  an  average  for  the  year,  making  over  five  thousand 
miles  travel.  The  larger  portion  of  the  settlement  of  this  region  began  in 
1836,  there  being  few  roads  of  any  kind.  They  traveled  on  horseback  and 
afoot  by  Indian  trails,  and  blazed  trees  for  guides  from  place  to  place,  fording 
the  streams. 

In  1838  he  moved  his  family  from  Ohio  to  Michigan,  a  distance  of  three 
hundred  miles,  through  a  sparsely  settled  country,  three  weeks  of  continuous 
travel.  When  they  arrived  at  their  destination  it  was  almost  impossible  to 
find  a  house.  At  last  they  heard  of  a  log  cabin  in  Vernon  township,  in  a 
small  clearing  surrounded  by  woods,  and  no  neighbors  near.  They  moved 
into  this,  and  as  they  had  brought  but  little  with  them,  and  had  no  money  to 
buy  with,  he  borrowed  tools  and  made  his  furniture  of  boxes  and  young 
saplings,  thus  beginning  his  home  life  in  Michigan.  His  work  called  him 
from  home,  and  necessarily  his  wife  and  little  ones  were  alone  most  of  the 
time.  Days  would  come  and  go,  then  perhaps  a  white  man  or  an  Indian 
would  pass  by.  The  settlement  was  new,  people  poor,  and  sometimes  food 
was  hard  to  get ;  preachers  and  other  pioneers  suffered  all  the  hardships  alike. 
With  the  exception  o£  the  day  and  mud  in  Ohio,  the  St.  Mary's  and  Shia- 
wassee mission  w^ere  practically  the  same:  Ingham  mission  work  was  the 
same,  but  conditions  were  better.  In  Albion  circuit,  second  year,  Allen  Sta- 
ples was  his  colleague.  This  year  at  their  meetings  several  hundred  were 
converted,  and  between  four  and  five  hundred  imited  with  the  Methodist 


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466  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

church,  many  joining  other  churches.  Litchfield  circuit  in  1844-5  included 
Jonesville,  Allen  and  Reading  in  Hillsdale  cormty,  and  Butler,  Quincy,  AU 
gansee  and  California  in  Branch  county.  Coldwater  included  Quincy,  Gilead 
and  Girard.  Burlington  circuit  embraced  Tekonsha  and  Lion  Lake  in  Cal- 
houn county,  Union  City  and  Bronson  in  Branch  county,  and  Colon  in  St. 
Joseph  county.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Isaac  Bennett's  work  as  minister 
extended  the  entire  length  and  breadth  of  Branch  county  fifty-five  and  sixty 
years  ago.  During  his  retirement  he  was  active  in  local  church  work  as 
preacher  and  class  leader. 

He  was  the  father  of  seven  children.  Two  died  in  childhood.  His 
oldest  son,  Simecn,  located  in  Kansas  and  was  known  as  a  free  soiler.  He 
died  in  1S59.  His  stepson,  William  Hill,  died  in  Chicago  in  1870,  and  was 
buried  in  Quincy,  Michigan.  George,  the  oldest  son  by  his  second  marriage, 
was  a  volunteer  soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  and  died  in  West  Virginia,  October 
25,  1873,  and  was  buried  in  Quincy. 

May  20,  1886,  Isaac  Bennett  lost  his  best  and  dearest  friend,  one  who 
had  been  his  comrade  and  counsellor,  one  who  had  shared  with  him  all  his 
hardships  and  trials  of  an  itinerant's  and  pioneer's  life,  who  had  stood  by 
his  side  in  sickness  and  death,  and  in  the  darkest  hours  had  been  the  one  that 
he  could  always  turn  to  for  comfort  and  sympathy— his  wife.  She  bade  him 
"  good-bye  "  and  promised  to  meet  with  him  across  the  river.  They  laid  her 
away  by  the  side  of  her  boys  in  Lake  View  Cemetery,  March  6,  1890,  his 
daughter,  Eleanor  Hen  dee,  died  in  Jackson  county,  Michigan,  and  was 
brought  home  and  buried  by  the  side  of  her  mother. 

Isaac  Bennett  cast  his  first  vote  for  General  Jackson  and  was  known 
as  a  Democrat  until  1854.  In  his  pocket  journal  he  wrote,  "  Thursday,  July 
6,  1854.  To-day  I  attended  a  political  meeting  at  Jackson  to  consolidate 
political  parties  against  the  encroachment  of  slavery.  Meeting  harmonious. 
Candidates  for  state  officers  were  nominated."  That  was  the  celebrated  con- 
vention held  "  Under  the  Oaks  "  at  Jackson,  Michigan,  when  they  organized 
and  gave  the  name  "  Republican  "  to  the  new  party.  Forever  afterwards  lie 
was  known  as  a  Repubhcan. 

In  January,  1S99,  he  complained  of  a  pain  in  his  breast  and  side.  This 
was  the  forerunner  of  his  final  sickness  and  death.  February  20,  a  spasm  of 
his  heart  told  him  of  his  condition,  he  realized  that  his  hour  had  come  and 
the  sands  of  life  were  running  low.  He  said  to  those  who  were  in  the  room. 
"  I  have  no  time  to  talk  with  each  one  of  you,  I  will  pray  for  you,"  thus  closing 
his  life's  work,  pleading  that  those  who  stood  by  his  side  might  be  permittee! 
to  meet  with  him  in  Heaven. 

The  oldest  member  of  the  Michigan  Conference  had  passed  away  and 
was  buried  by  the  side  of  his  wife  and  children,  leaving  surviving  him  two 
children,  Sarah  and  Hiram. 

J.  M.  GRAY. 

J.  M.  Gray,  energetic  and  enterprising,  has  displayed  in  his  business 
life  those  qualities  which  always  eventually  win  success,  and  that  his  fellow 
townsmen  regard  him  as  capable  of  controlling  public  affairs  is  shown  by  the 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  467 

fact  that  he  has  been  chosen  by  popular  suffrage  to  the  office  of  township 
clerk.  He  was  born  Aug;ust  19,  1875,  on  the  farm  on  section  twenty-three, 
Batavia  township,  where  he  now  resides,  and  he  represents  an  old  New 
England  family.  His  father.  John  M.  Gray,  was  a  native  of  New  York, 
iiaving  been  born  in  Westfield  township.  Schenectady  county,  on  the  29th  of 
September,  1827.  He  came  to  Branch  county  in  the  '60s  and  he  took  up  his 
abode  in  Batavia  township  on  the  farm  w^hich  is  now  owned  and  occupied  by 
J,  M.  Gray.  For  twenty-one  years  he  was  a  sailor  on  the  Great  Lakes,  hav- 
ing followed  that  pursuit  prior  to  the  establishment  of  a  home  in  Branch 
county.  Here  he  turned  his  attention  to  general  agricultural  pursuits,  which 
claimed  his  time  and  energies  throughout  his  remaining  days.  In  his  politi- 
cal views  he  was  a  Democrat  in  early  life,  but  after  taking  up  his  abode  in 
Batavia  township  he  became  a  Republican  and  was  elected  and  served  for 
some  years  as  justice  of  the  peace,  his  decisions  being  characterized  by  an 
impartiality  that  won  him  high  encomiums  from  the  general  public.  He  was 
also  director  of  tlie  Farmers  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company  and  was  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity.  He  married  Mrs.  Julia  A.  (Phelps) 
Flint,  who  was  born  in  Wyoming  county,  New  York,  on  the  iSth  of  March, 
1837,  and  was  reared  in  tlie  place  of  her  nativity.  She  is  still  living  and  re- 
sides with  her  son,  J.  M.  Gray,  but  the  husband  and  father  passed  away  on 
the  22d  of  March,  1898,  being  then  in  his  seventy-iirst  year.  In  the  family 
were  seven  children,  namely:  James  R.,  Nellie,  Charles,  Elizabeth,  Frank, 
Lydia  and  John  M. 

In  taking  up  the  personal  history  of  John  M.  Gray  we  present  to  our 
readers  the  life  record  of  one  who  is  wiclely  and  favorably  known  in  this 
part  of  the  state.  His  youth  was  uneventful,  being  passed  in  the  usual  man- 
ner of  farm  lads  of  the  period  upon  the  place  where  he  yet  resides.  He 
worked  in  the  fields  through  the  summer  months  and  acquired  his  elementary 
education  in  the  district  schools,  while  later  he  attended  the  Metropolitan 
Business  College  at  Chicago  for  six  months.  Upon  his  return  home  he  took 
charge  of  the  farm  which  he  now  owns  and  has  since  given  unfaltering  at- 
tention to  its  cultivation  and  improvement. 

On  the  28th  of  July,  1897,  Mr.  Gray  was  married  to  Miss  Cora  Jardon, 
a  daughter  of  E,  M.  and  Elsie  (Frey)  Jardon,  the  father  a  native  of  Ohio. 
She  was  only  five  years  of  age  when  she  came  to  Michigan  with  her  parents, 
who  settled  in  Branch  county.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gray  have  been  born 
four  sons:  Clare.  Lester.  Forest  and  Starr  (deceased).  Mr.  Gray  is  a 
Republican,  who  has  always  kept  well  informed  on  the  questions  and  issues 
of  the  day,  and  greatly  desires  the  success  of  his  party.  He  was  elected 
township  clerk  in  April,  1905.  and  is  discharging  the  duties  of  that  office 
in  addition  to  the  supervision  of  his  business  interests.  He  was  president 
of  the  Batavia  Creamery,  and  is  now  treasurer,  and  his  farm  comprises 
eighty  acres  of  land,  which  is  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  various  cereals. 
Having  lived  all  of  his  life  in  Batavia  township  he  has  a  wide  acquaintance, 
and  the  active  part  which  he  has  taken  in  public  affairs  has  extended  his 
circle  of  acquaintance  and  gained  for  him  the  merited  regard  of  his  fellow 
townsmen. 


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468  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

DE  WITT  C.  SPROUT. 

DeWitt  C.  Sprout,  owner  of  Maple  Villa,  on  section  twenty-four, 
Quincy  township,  where  he  has  two  hundred  and  twelve  acres  of  valuable 
.  farming:  land,  was  horn  in  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,  in  i860.  His  father,  John 
Sprout,  was  a  native  of  Knox  county,  Ohio,  and  was  of  German-Scotch  an- 
cestry. The  paternal  grandfather,  Samuel  Sprout,  removed  from  his  native 
state  of  Pennsylvania  to  Ohio,  and  there  John  Sprout  was  reared  to  the  occu- 
pation of  farming,  which  he  made  his  life  work,  raising  both  grain  and 
stock.  He  was  a  Republican  in  his  political  views  and  in  religious  faith  was 
connected  with  the  United  Brethren  church.  He  married  Catherine  Shilling, 
who  was  bom  in  Seneca  county.  Ohio,  and  was  of  German  lineage,  her 
parents,  Andrew  and  Mary  Shilling,  being  natives  of  the  fatherland.  Mrs. 
Sprout  was  also  a  member  of  the  United  Brethren  church,  and  her  death 
occurred  in  1896,  when  she  was  sixty-one  years  of  age,  while  Mr.  Sprout 
departed  this  life  on  the  27th  of  February,  1905,  when  in  his  seventy-firs!. 
year.  They  were  the  parents  of  two  sons,  the  other  being  Ulysses  S.  Sprout, 
now  residing  in  Seneca  county,  Ohio. 

DeWitt  C.  Sprout,  reared  upon  the  home  farm,  pursued  his  early  edu- 
cation in  the  district  schools  and  afterward  continued  his  studies  in  Heidel- 
berg College,  at  Tiffin,  Ohio,  and  in  the  academy  at  Fostoria,  Ohio.  He 
engaged  in  teaching  in  the  country  schools  for  ten  terms  and  through  the 
summer  months  devoted  his  energies  to  farming  pursuits.  He  has  always 
carried  on  the  work  of  tilling  the  .soil,  and  in  March,  1905,  he  removed  to 
Michigan,  purchasing  the  Brainard  and  Babcock  farm,  known  as  Maple 
Villa,  on  section  twenty-four,  Quincj'  township.  He  has  two  hundred  and 
twelve  aa-es  of  land  and  is  extensively  engaged  in  breeding  and  feeding 
stock.  His  is  one  of  the  best  improved  properties  of  the  locality,  the  build- 
ings upon  his  place  having  been  erected  at  a  cost  of  five  thousand  dollars. 

In  1885  Mr.  Sprout  was  married  to  Miss  Lillie  V.  Byers,  who  was  born 
in  Seneca  county,  Ohio,  in  1864,  her  parents  being  Jeremiah  and  Sarali 
(Kimes)  Byers.  Her  father  was  a  pioneer  settler  of  Seneca  county,  Ohio, 
and  followed  the  occupation  of  farming,  and  Mrs.  Sprout  was  the  eldest  cf 
their  three  children,  the  others  being:  William,  who  is  living  in  Girard 
township;  and  Dora,  the  deceased  wife  of  Frank  Groves.  Unto  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Sprout  have  been  born  four  children:  Emerson  J.,  bom  in  1886;  Cora, 
in  1893;  Clarence,  in  1890;  and  Bruce,  in  1896.  The  parents  hold  mem- 
bership in  the  United  Brethren  church,  and  Mr.  Sprout  gives  his  politic;il 
allegiance  to  the  Republican  party.  He  has  conducted  business  interests  of 
considerable  extent  and  importance,'  and  although  '  his  residence  in  Branch 
county  has  been  of  brief  duration  he  has  become  well  known  as  one  of  the 
leading  representatives  of  its  stock-raising  interests. 

HARLOW  W.  WILLIAMS. 

From  the  age  of  ten  years  Harlow  W.  Williams  has  been  a  resident  of 
Coldwater.  Almost  seventy  years  have  come  and  gone  since  tliat  time  and 
great  changes  have  occurred  within  this  period  as  the  county  has  emerged 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  469 

from  pioneer  conditions  to  take  its  place  as  the  center  of  an  advanced  civil- 
ization. Log'  cabins  have  given  place  to  commodious  and  attractive  homes, 
churches  and  schools  have  been  built,  business  enterprises  introduced  and  the 
land  has  been  converted  from  a  wild  tract  into  richly  productive  iields.  Mr. 
Williams  has  not  only  witnessed  alt  this  change,  but  has  taken  an  active  part 
in  the  development  of  the  county,  and  his  labors  have  resulted  beneficiaUy 
for  the  cctfnmunity. 

A  native  of  the  Empire  state,  Mr.  Williams  was  born  in  Royalton  town- 
ship, Niagara  coimty,  New  York,  April  i6,  1826.  His  father,  Elisha  Wil- 
liams, was  a  native  of  Massachusetts  and  was  there  reared.  In  early  life  he 
learned  the  trade  of  a  hatter,  cooper  and  carpenter  and  joiner  and  shoe- 
maker and  he  was  naturally  a  mechanic,  so  that  he  was  well  qualified  to  do 
various  kinds  of  labor.  He  was  married  in  Massachusetts  to  Siba  Parma- 
lee,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  they  located  in  Victor,  Ontario  county, 
New  York,  whence  they  afterward  removed  to  Royalton,  Niagara  county, 
and  later  to  Erie  county.  The  year  1836  witnessed  their  removal  to  Cold- 
water.  They  reached  their  destination  on  the  nth  of  October,  and  Mr. 
Williams  assisted  largely  in  building  up  the  town.  Being  a  carpenter  and 
joiner,  he  erected  some  of  the  first  houses  in  this  place  and  contributed  in 
substantial  measure  to  the  growth  and  development  of  the  city.  He  lived  to 
be  eighty-three  years  of  age.  while  his  wife  passed  away  when  alwut  fifty-five 
years  of  age.  They  were  the  parents  of  eight  children,  four  sons  and  four 
daughters,  all  of  whom  reached  adult  age,  married  and  reared  families  of 
their  own. 

Harlow  W.  Williams,  the  youngest  of  the  family  and  the  only  one  now 
living,  was  but  ten  years  of  age  when  he  came  to  Branch  county,  locating 
with  his  parents  in  Coldwater.  Here  he  was  reared,  acquiring  his  education 
in  the  pioneer  schools  of  the  village.  His  mother  died  when  he  was  but  fif- 
teen years  of  a^e.  and  he  then  started  out  in  life  on  his  own  account,  working 
at  anything  which  he  could  get  to  do.  He  followed  both  carpentering  and 
coopering,  also  did  painting  and  other  work,  for  he  seemed  to  have  inherited 
his  father's  natural  mechanical  ingenuity,  and  was  also  instructed  by  him  in 
various  branches  of  labor.  He  began  contracting  when  a  yoimg  man,  and 
his  life  of  intense  activity  continued  through  many  years,  but  now  he  is 
enjoying  a  well  earned  rest. 

On  the  nth  of  August.  1846,  Mr.  Williams  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Louisa  Carter,  a  daughter  of  Benoni  and  Hannah  (Mansfield)  Carter, 
and  a  native  of  Monroe  county,  New  York.  Her  birth  occurred  in  Penfield, 
October  28,  1830.  In  the  year  in  which  their  marriage  occurred,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Williams  located  in  Quincy,  where  he  engaged  in  carpentering  as  a 
contractor  and  builder.  He  lived  in  that  city  for  about  fifteen  years,  and  in 
Butler  for  ten  years,  making  his  home  on  the  farm  and  at  the  same  time 
continuing  his  building  operations.  In  1872  he  Ijecame  overseer  of  the 
county  farm,  which  position  he  filled  until  1877,  when  he  was  appointed 
superintendent  of  the  poor  by  the  hoard  of  supervisors,  and  acted  in  that 
capacity  for  three  years.  He  was  chairman  of  the  board,  and  in  the  dis- 
charge of  his  official  duties  he  was  ever  prompt,   faithful  and  reliable.     In 


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470  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

1877  he  took  up  his  abode  again  in  Coldwater,  where  he  now  resides,  living 
retired  at  the  present  time.  He  has  contributed  in  large  measure,  however, 
to  the  substantial  improvement  of  the  county,  which  he  has  seen  developed 
from  its  primitive  condition.  He  has  erected  many  school  houses  and  resi- 
dences and  has  built  many  bridges.  He  has  put  up  a  number  of  houses  in 
Coldwater  for  himself,  selling  them  on  the  installment  plan,  and  at  one  time 
he  was  also  engaged  in  the  livery  business  here.  He  has  likewise  had  other 
interests,  and  in  the  control  of  his  varied  business  affairs  he  has  shown  keen 
discrimination,  strong  executive  ability  and  unbounded  persevei'ance.  Now 
in  possession  of  a  handsome  competence,  acquired  through  his  well  directed 
labors,  he  is  enjoying  a  rest  which  is  richly  merited. 

In  his  political  views  Mr,  Williams  has  always  been  a  staunch  Repub- 
iicrin  since  the  organization  of  the  party,  and  has  held  a  number  of  loc?! 
offices.  He  was  supervisor  of  Butler  township  until  he  resigned,  and  was 
treasurer  of  Quincy  township  for  about  two  years.  He  has  always  been  in- 
terested in  public  affairs,  and  his  labors  have  been  resultant  factors  in  pro- 
moting the  welfare  and  growth  of  tbis  part  of  the  state,  where  he  has  new 
lived  for  a  period  of  sixty-nine  years.  His  acquaintance  is  wide  and  he  en- 
joys the  respect  of  young  and  old,  rich  and  poor. 

FRANK  E.  KNAPP. 

Frank  E.  Knapp,  superintendent  of  the  public  schools  at  Quincy,  was 
bom  in  Coldwater  township,  Branch  county,  Michigan,  in  1867,  and  is  of 
German  and  Irish  descent.  His  father,  Reuben  Knapp,  was  born  in  Green- 
ville, Ohio,  while  his  grandfather  was  also  a  native  of  tliat  state,  and  was 
of  German  lineage.  About  1861  Mr.  Knapp  came  to  Branch  county  and  he 
wedded  his  wife  in  Greenville,  Ohio.  He  also  resided  in  Texas  for  a  short 
time.  He  married  Cordelia  Houghn,  a  native  of  Greenville,  Ohio,  and  of 
Irish  lineage.  Mr.  Knapp  died  in  the  fall  of  1893,  at  the  age  of  seventy 
years,  while  his  wife  passed  away  in  1875,  at  the  age  of  thirty-five  years. 
In  their  family  were  three  children,  of  whom  Frank  E.  is  the  second.  Mar- 
tin L.,  the  eldest,  is  now  foreman  in  railroad  car  shops  in  Indian  Territory, 
and  Stephen  C.  is  associated  with  his  brother  Martin. 

Frank  E.  Knapp  acquired  his  education  in  the  district  schools  and  in  the 
Quincy  Union  school,  and  also  attended  the  Michigan  State  Normal  Col- 
lege, Benton  Harbor  CoHege  and  the  Michigan  State  University,  at  Ann 
Arbor.  In  order  to  educate  himself  and  provide  the  funds  necessary  for  his 
academic  and  college  work  he  taught  in  different  schools  in  Branch  county, 
his  first  important  appointment  in  that  direction  being  at  .Camden,  Michi- 
gan, where  he  remained  for  two  years.  He  afterward  acted  as  principal  of 
the  schools  at  Pittsford,  Michigan,  for  six  years,  and  subsequaitly  went 
to  White  Pigeon,  where  he  was  superintendent  of  schools  for  two  years.  In 
the  fall  of  1900  he  came  to  Quincy  and  has  since  been  at  the  head  of  the 
Educational  Society  of  this  place,  now  having  eight  teachers  under  his 
supervision.  The  schools  are  carefully  graded,  the  work  systematized  and 
the  standard  of  public  instruction  is  being  continually  raised,  owing  to  Pro- 
fessor Knapp's  intense  zeal  and  interest  in  the  work. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  471 

In  i88S  w^s  celebrated  the  marriage  of  Professor  Knapp  and  Miss  Cora 
H.  Allen,  a  daughter  of  Charles  M.  and  Mary  J.  Allen.  Her  fatJier  is  a 
resident  farmer  of  this  county,  and  Mrs.  Knapp  was  born  in  Reading  town- 
ship in  J873.  There  are  two  children  of  this  marriage:  lone  Ernestine  and 
Edward  Allen.  Professor  and  Mrs.  Knapp  are  prominent  and  valued  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbyterian  church,  in  which  he  is  serving  as  superintendent  of 
the  Sabbath  schoo!.  He  is  also  high  priest  of  Quincy  chapter.  No.  T15, 
R.  A.  M.,  and  belongs  to  the  Knights  of  Pythias  fraternity  and  the  Macca- 
bees lodge.  In  poHtics  he  is  a  Republican,  is  serving  as  a  member  of  the 
board  of  school  examiners  in  Branch  county  and  is  a  member  of  both  the 
County  and  State  Teachers'  Associations.  He  has  become  well  known  as 
a  capable  educator  and  ha.s  made  consecutive  advancement  in  his  profession, 
having  contributed  in  a  large  degree  to  the  improvement  of  the  pubHc  school 
system  in  territories  where  he  has  been  employed. 

SAMUEL  EATER. 

Samuel  Bater  is  numbered  among  the  early  settlers  of  Branch  county 
and  now  devotes  his  attention  to  general  agricultural  pursuits  on  section 
twenty-three,  Batavia  township,  where  he  owns  and  operates  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  acres,  constituting  a  finely  improved  farm.  He  may  truly 
be  called  a  self-made  man,  for  in  his  youth  he  was  empty-handed  and  had 
to  depend  entirely  upon  his  labor  and  capable  management  for  the  success 
that  he  is  now  enjojdng  as  the  years  have  gone  by.  His  farm  therefore  is 
the  visible  evidence  of  a  life  of  thrift  and  industi-y. 

Mr.  Bater  was  born  in  Devonshire,  England,  on  Christmas  day,  1837, 
his  parents  being  William  and  Mary  (Cochram)  Bater,  who  were  also  natives 
of  England,  where  they  spent  their  entire  lives,  the  father  devoting  his  ener- 
gies to  farming  in  order  to  provide  for  his  family.  He  died  at  the  age  of 
seventy  years,  while  his  wife  was  about  eighty  years  of  age  at  the  time  of 
her  demise.  In  their  family  were  four  sons  and  three  daughters,  all  of  whom 
reached  adult  age,  while  four  of  the  number  came  to  America.  Samuel  Eater 
is  the  fourth  in  order  of  birth,  and  he  remained  in  his  native  country  until 
sixteen  years  of  age.  His  educational  privileges  were  limited,  for  when  a 
youth  of  eight  years  he  left  school  and  also  left  home  in  order  to  provide 
for  his  own  support.  He  worked  in  England  for  six  cents  per  day.  Realiz- 
ing it  would  be  with  great  difficulty  he  could  make  a  living  and  gain  a  com- 
petence in  that  countiy  he  resolved  to  try  his  fortime  in  America  and  when 
sixteen  years  of  age  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  the  new  world  to  enjoy  its  greater 
privileges  and  opportunities.  He  landed  at  Quebec,  Canada,  and  thence  made 
his  way  to  Rochester,  New  York,  after  which  he  spent  about  two  years  in 
Batavia,  that  state.  On  the  second  day  of  his  residence  there  he  earned 
five  shillings  as  a  result  of  his  day's  labor.  The  first  year  he  was  in  America 
he  worked  for  ten  dollars  per  month,  which  seemed  a  princely  sum  in  com- 
parison with  the  wage  that  he  had  earned  in  his  native  land.  He  hired  out 
by  the  month  to  John  Moore,  ami  with  him  went  to  Jonesville,  Michigan, 
'"  i^SS-     In  1859  he  came  to  Coldwater,  where  he  worked  at  the  mason's 


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472  HISTO'RY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

trade  or  at  anything  that  he  could  get  to  do.  He  assisted  in  the  construction 
of  many  business  blocks  in  Coldwater  and  also  worked  on  the  building  of 
the  first  large  school  house  of  that  city. 

Mr.  Eater  had  been  a  resident  of  Coldwater  for  only  a  brief  period 
when  he  sought  a  companion  and  helpmate  for  life's  journey,  and  on  the  31st 
of  December,  i860,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Lucinda  Stafford,  a  daughter 
of  Hosea  B.  and  Lura  (Wilson)  Stafford,  the  former  born  Jn  Genesee  county, 
New  York,  while  the  latter  was  the  first  white  child  born  on  an  island  in  the 
St.  Lawrence  river  and  St,  Lawrence  county.  New  York.  The  parents 
came  to  Branch  county  in  a  wagon  from  Detroit,  Michigan.  Tliey  were 
pioneer  residents  of  Calhoun  county  and  were  married  there,  and  at  an  early 
epoch  in  the  development  ,of  Branch  county  took  up  their  residence  within 
its  borders  and  were  identified  with  its  early  improvement  and  development. 
Mrs.  Bater  was  the  second  in  a  family  of  six  daughters  and  two  sons,  and 
was  born  in  B\irlington  township,  Calhoun  county,  Michigan,  on  the  6th  of 
October,  1841.  She  was  but  a  child  when  she  came  to  Branch  county,  where 
she  has  lived  all  her  life.  Her  mother,  who  was  bom  in  i8-i8,  is  also  yet 
living,  having  reached  the  eighty-sixth  milestone  on  life's  journey. 

For  about  a  year  and  a  half  after  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Eater  resided 
in  Coldwater,  and  then  located  in  Batavia  township,  on  the  state  road  seven 
miles  west  of  the  county  seat.  Here  Mr.  Bater  purchased  forty  acres  of  land 
and  began  its  cultivation  and  improvement,  but  in  1862  he  put  aside  all  busi- 
ness and  personal  considerations,  feeling  that  his  first  duty  was  to  his  adopted 
country.  He  therefore  enlisted  as  a  private  of  Company  C,  Nineteenth  Mich- 
igan Volunteer  Infantry,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war,  returning 
home.  He  was  in  many  of  the  principal  engagements  of  that  long  and 
sanguinary  strife  and  was  with  Sherman  on  the  march  to  the  sea  and  also 
took  part  in  the  grand  review  in  Washington,  where  "wave  after  wave  of 
bayonet  crested  blue  "  flowed  by  the  review  stand  where  stood  the  nation's 
president,  watching  the  victorious  army.  For  almost  three  years  Mr.  Bater 
was  on  active  service,  save  for  the  twenty  days  which  he  spent  in  Libby 
prison,  and  his  regiment  was  in  the  front  of  Atlanta.  He  also  took  part  in  the 
battles  of  Resaca  and  Peach  Tree  Creek,  and  for  a  year  and  a  half  he  drove 
a  six  mule  team  for  the  regiment. 

Following  his  return  to  Branch  county  Mr.  Bater  resumed  farming  and 
purchased  sixty  acres  of  timber  land  in  Batavia  township.  He  then  cleared 
away  the  trees  and  built  a  little  plank  house,  remaining  there  for  two  years. 
On  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  sold  out  and  bought  a  part  of  his  present 
farm  on  section  twenty-three,  Batavia  township.  It  was  entirely  wild  and 
unimproved.  There  was  not  a  house  or  building  of  any  kind  on  the  place. 
He  first  built  a  little  shanty  in  which  there  was  neither  window  nor  door, 
but  in  course  of  time  this  was  replaced  by  a  substantial  frame  residence.  He 
now  has  a  fine  farm,  well  improved,  and  every  tree  and  every  building  upon 
the  place  have  been  put  there  by  him.  He  first  bought  forty  acres  and  at 
different  times  added  tracts  of  eight,  fifteen,  ten  and  twenty  acres,  paying 
ninety  dollars  per  acre  for  the  last  mentioned.  Thus  he  has  added  to  his 
property  from  time  to  time  until  he  now  owns  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANtH  COUNTY  4T3 

acres  of  valuable  land,  constituting  one  of  the  highly  improved  farms  of  the 
county. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bater  have  been  born  four  sons  and  two  daughters: 
Charles,  who  is  living  in  Union  township;  Mary,  the  wife  of  John  Yeatter, 
a  resident  farmer  of  Colon  township,  St.  Joseph  county,  Michigan;  Alexan- 
der, a  farmer  of  Batavia;  Harry,  a  farmer  living  near  Hodunk  in  Union 
township;  Rose,  the  wife  of  B.  E.  Grove,  of  Batavia;  and  Samuel  E.,  at 
home.  The  family  is  one  of  prominence  in  the  community  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Bater  may  well  feel  proud  of  the  fact  that  they  have  reared  sons  and  daugh- 
ters who  have  become  valued  and  respected  citizens  of  the  localities  in  which 
they  reside. 

Mr,  Bater  is  a  ftiember  of  Butterworth  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Coldwater. 
He  and  his  wife  are  numbered  among  the  pioneer  residents  of  Branch  county 
and  have  been  identified  with  the  work  that  has  led  to  its  present  develop- 
ment and  advanced  position.  He  has  made  a  specialty  of  raising  fine  Shrop- 
shire sheep  and  is  one  of  the  most  extensive  dealers  along  this  line.  He  is 
also  engaged  in  raising  Jersey  hogs  and  deals  in  horses.  In  fact,  he  has  some 
of  the  best  stock  in  the  county,  and  is  a  business  man  of  recognized  ability 
and  enterprise.  He  has  long  been  connected  with  stock-raising  interests, 
and  in  this  connection  has  traveled  extensively  over  the  county.  In  politics 
he  is  an  earnest  Republican,  active  in  the  local  work  of  the  party.  The  life 
record  of  Mr,  and  Mrs.  Eater  is  one  deserving  of  commendation  and  may 
well  serve  as  a  source  of  emulation  to  those  who  have  due  regard  for  the  value 
of  character  and  who  wish  to  attain  success  by  honorable  methods.  His  life^ 
exemplifies  the  term  "  dignity  of  labor."  and  during  the  long  years  of  his 
residence  in  this  county  he  has  never  had  occasion  to  regret  his  determination 
to  seek  a  home  in  America,  for  here  he  has  found  good  business  opportunities 
and  through  their  utilization  has  won  a  desirable  competence. 

EDMUND  AUSTIN. 

Edmund  Austin,  whose  home  is  on  section  two,  Quincy  township,  was 
born  in  Steuben  (now  Schuyler)  county,  New  York,  in  1844.  In  the  same 
county  and  state  was  born  his  father,  Reuben  Austin,  and  in  New  York  the 
early  English  ancestors  of  the  family  settled  many  years  ago.  Reuben  Aus- 
tin, who  was  a  farmer  all  his  active  career,  came  to  Michigan  in  1854,  and, 
first  as  a  renter  and  then  an  owner,  he  farmed  successfully  in  Quincy  town- 
ship for  many  years.  He  had  married  in  New  York  and  brought  his  wife 
and  two  children  with  him  to  this  county.  His  death  occurred  in  1864,  at 
the  age  of  fifty  years.  He  was  a  class  leader  in  the  Methodist  church,  and 
supported  the  Republican'  party.  He  married  a  native  of  Vermont,  Ruth 
Shattuck,  who  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years,  in  1898,  Her  parents 
were  Dr,  Benjamin  and  Mary  Shattuck,  of  English  lineage.  She  was  also 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  church,  Edmund  Austin  has  one  brother,  Wes- 
'^y  J-.  who  is  a  carpenter  and  painter  in  Quincy.  He  served  three  years  and 
three  months  in  the  Civil  war,  being  one  of  those  who  volunteered  at  Quincy 
in  1861,  and  was  a  member  of  Battery  F,  First  Michigan  Artillery, 


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474  HISTORY  S!f  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Mr.  Austin  was  reared  on  a  farm,  and  outside  of  his  attendance  at  dis- 
trict school  and  his  regular  vocation  of  farming,  he  has  followed  the  trade 
of  carpenter  to  some  extent  and  has  also  taught  school.  He  married,  in 
September.  1870,  Lydia  Ann  Lockwood.  She  was  bom  on  the  farm  where 
she  and  her  husband  now  make  their  home,  in  1843,  and  is  a  daughter  of 
Wesley  Lockwood,  whose  recent  death,  March  5,  1905,  took  away  one  of 
Branch  county's  oldest  and  most  esteemed  citizens.  Of  English  ancestry, 
he  was  born  in  the  state  of  New  York,  October  12,  iSoT',  and  came  to 
Michignn  in  1836.  A  farmer  by  occupation,  he  resided  on  his  eighty-acre 
faim,  on  section  two  of  Qnincy  township,  for  over  sixty  years.  He  was  a 
class  leader  in  the  Methodist  church  over  forty  years.  He  married,  in  New 
York,  Mary  Ann  Philo,  who  was  born  in  New  York,-and  her  parents  died 
in  that  state.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lockwood  had  six  children,  three  of  whom  were 
born  before  the  parents  moved  to  Michigan.  Charles,  Cynthia  and  William 
Henry  are  deceased,  the  last  named  having  served  about  three  years  and 
eight  months  in  the  Thirty-first  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry  during  the  Civil 
war.  Esther  E.  married  W.  J.  Austin,  a  brother  of  Edmund;  Lydia  Ann  is 
Mrs.  Austin;  and  Libbcous  is  a  farmer  and  resides  at  Jonesville.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Austin  have  two  children:  Henry  W.  is  a  farmer  at  Quincy,  and  Addie 
G.  married  J-  B.  Pessell,  manager  of  a  creamery  at  Butler,  Indiana. 

Mr.  Austin  is  a  steward  in  the  Methodist  church  in  the  township  of 
Quincy,  and  in  politics  is  a  Republican.  For  eight  years  Mr,  Austin  owned 
a  farm  and  resided  in  Wexford  county,  Michigan,  and  during  seven  years  of 
this  period  he  represented  his  township  on  the  beard  of  supervisors.  At 
the  present  time  he  is  serving  in  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace,  and  also 
as  school  inspector. 

FRANKLIN  EATON. 

Franklin  Eaton,  now  living  a  retired  life  in  Coldwater,  was  born  in 
York  township,  Washtenaw  county,  Michigan,  December  5,  1S40.  He  is 
descended  from  John  Eaton  of  Dedham,  England,  who  came  to  America  in 
the  Mayflower.  His  father,  Jeremiah  Eaton,  was  a  native  of  Pittsburgh 
Center,  New  York,  and  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  He  remained  a  resi- 
dent of  the  east  until  1849,  when,  attracted  by  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Cali- 
fornia, he  made  the  overland  trip  to  the  Pacific  coast,  traveling  across  long, 
hot  stretches  of  sand  and  through  the  mountain  passes.  At  length  he  reached 
his  destination  and  spent  two  years  in  California,  engaged  in  mining  ard 
sha'/ing  shingles.  Upon  his  return  to  the  east  he  located  in  Lake  county, 
Illinois,  where  he  remained  for  about  nine  years,  after  which  he  established 
his  home  in  Floyd  county,  Iowa.  Later  he  returned  to  Michigan,  but  after 
four  years  again  settled  in  Iowa,  and  was  there  drowned  in  the  Shell  Rock 
river  in  1857.  His  wife  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Huldah  Howard  and  was  a 
native  of  Owosco  township,  Cayuga  county.  New  York.  Her  father  was 
C>Tus  Howard,  who  was  of  Scotch  descent.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Eaton 
were  bom  five  sons  and  a  daughter. 

Franklin  Eaton,  the  third  child  and  the  third  son  of  this  family,  spent 
his  boyhood  days  In  Illinois,  Iowa  and  Michigan,  as  his  parents  removed 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  475 

from  one  place  to  another.  In  1857,  when  but  seventeen  years  of  age,  he 
entered  upon  an  apprenticeship  to  the  blacksmith's  trade,  and  when  he  had 
completed  his  terra  of  indenture  he  began  working  as  a  blacksmith  in  Ann 
Arbor,  He  removed  to  Coldwater  in  1861,  but  in  the  same  year  responded 
to  his  country's  call  for  troops,  enlisting  as  a  member  of  Company  H,  First 
Michigan  Infantry,  for  three  months'  service.  It  was  after  this  that  he 
came  to  Coldwater,  and  here  he  re-enlisted  in  Company  I,  Fourth  Michigan 
Cavalry,  with  which  he  ser^^ed  until  the  close  of  the  war.  At  the  time  of 
his  second  enlistment  he  became  a  sergeant  and  held  that  rank  until  hos- 
tilities had  ceased,  although  he  was  offered  a  commission,  which  he  did  not 
accept.  He  had  four  brothers,  who  were  also  soldiers,  and  three  of  them 
were  members  of  the  Fourth  Michigan  Cavalry.  All  lived  to  return  from 
the  war,  although  the  youngest  was  for  nine  months  in  Andersonville  prison. 
Tliere  are  but  two  of  the  number  now  Jiving,  William  L,  being  a  re-i^ident  of 
Hamiltcn  Island,  Michigan.  Franklin  Eaton  participated  in  the  first  battle 
of  Bull  Run.  and  while  at  the  front  he  dislocated  his  right  ankle,  which  has 
caused  him  a  great  deal  of  trouble  since.  He  was  a  brave  and  loyal  soldier, 
often  found  where  the  battle  raged  heaviest,  and  he  participated  in  the  en- 
gagements at  Perryviile,  Stone  River,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Chickamauga 
and  many  others,  receiving  an  honorable  discharge  at  Nashville,  Tennessee, 
and  being  mustered  out  at  Nashville,  Tennessee. 

When  the  country  no  longer  needed  his  aid,  Mr,  Eaton  returned  to 
Coldwater  and  resumed  work  at  his  trade.  In  1867  he  began  business  on  his 
own  account  and  continued  in  active  blacksmithing  until  1897,  when  he  sold 
out  and  retired  to  private  life.  He  is  now  enjoying  a  well  earned  rest,  hav- 
ing in  the  years  of  his  fomier  toil  acquired  a*  competence  that  now  enables 
him  to  live  retired. 

In  1862  Mr.  Eaton  was  married  to  Miss  Harriett  Burroughs,  who  died 
in  1897,  and  he  has  since  married  Mrs.  Margaret  Nelson,  the  widow  of 
George  Nelson,  who  was  also  a  soldier  of  the  Civil  war.  Mr.  Eaton  is  a 
charter  member  of  the  first  Grand  Army  post  that  was  organized  in  the 
state  of  Michigan,  has  been  continuously  connected  therewith  and  served  as 
commander  for  two  years.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows  for  more  than  twenty  years  and  also  belongs  to  other  orders. 
He  has  never  voted  any  ticket  save  that  of  the  Republican  party.  He  was 
chief  engineer  of  the  fire  department  for  two  years  and  assisted  in  organ- 
izing the  Light  Guards,  of  which  he  was  lieutenant  for  six  years.  He  has 
ever  been  fearless  in  conduct  and  faultless  in  honor,  and  in  the  public  wel- 
fare of  the  county  he  has  been  deeply  interested.  He  is  a  native  son  of 
Michigan,  and  in  his  Hfe  he  has  displayed  the  strcmg  and  sturdy  traits  of 
character  of  a  pioneer  ancestry  and  the  alert,  enterprising  spirit  of  the  pres- 
ent age. 

WILUAM  F.  YOUNG. 

William  F.  Young,  well  known  in  Branch  county,  where  he  has  been  a 
progressive  farmer  and  citizen  for  many  years,  was  horn  in  Wayne  county. 
New  York,  in  1835,  and  has  been  a  resident  of  Michigan  since  1847.     He 


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476  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

spent  the  remainder  o£  his  youth  and  early  manhood  near  Adrian  and  in 
Jackson  county,  and  in  1861  enlisted  for  service  in  the  Civil  war.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  First  Michigan  Engineers,  being  second  sergeant  all  through 
his  three  years'  service.  He  was  the  first  man  to  enlist  in  the  company  at 
Jackson.  One  permanent  result  ■of  his  performance  of  duty  to  his  country  is 
the  loss  of  his  hearing.  He  returned  home  in  1864,  and  on  January  3,  1865, 
was  married  to  Angeline  C.  Burch.  She  was  born  at  Grass  Lake,  Jackson 
county,  Michigan,  in  1843,  ^"d  died  in  Reading,  Michigan,  in  1887,  having 
been  the  mother  of  four  children,  namely :  Arthur  B. ;  Nona  A.,  deceased ; 
William  H.,  and  Florence  A..  William  and  Florence  being  residents  of  Chi- 
cago. 

Mr,  Young  married  for  his  present  wife,  in  1902,  Susan  (Farleman) 
Donnau.  She  was  bom  at  Tecumseh,  Michigan,  in  1843,  a  daughter  of 
John  and  Lydia  Farleman,  he  of  German  and  she  of  Canadian  French  line- 
age. By  her  previous  marriage  to  Peter  Donnau,  who  was  born  in  Ohio'  and 
who  died  in  1897,  she  had  three  children:  Katie,  the  wife  of  Henry  Wilcox, 
a  coal  dealer  at  Illiopolis,  Illinois;  Susie  L.,  the  wife  of  Henry  Rentchler, 
farmer  of  Illiopolis ;  and  Henry,  a  farmer  in  Logan  county,  Illinois. 

Mr.  Young  was  in  the  brick  manufacturing  business  at  Grass  Lake  sev- 
eral years,  and  in  the  same  business  at  Hillsdale.  At  the  latter  place  he 
owned  one  hundred  acres  of  land,  and  has  the  distinction  of  having  manufac- 
tured more  brick  at  that  place  than  any  other  person.  He  came  to  Quincy 
township,  this  county,  from  Reading,  in  1887,  and  has  since  been  success- 
fully engaged  in  farming  on  section  sixteen,  where  he  owns  forty  acres. 

Mr.  Young  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  Quincy. 
In  politics  a  staunch  Republican,  which  party  he  has  supported  since  the  days 
of  Lincoln  and  the  Civil  war,  he  has  always  taken  a  public-spirited  interest 
in  local  and  state  affairs,  and  while  a  resident  of  Hillsdale  was  town  treas- 
urer. 

CALVIN  BEERS. 

Honesty  and  stability  of  character  are  the  culminating  attributes  of  a 
man's  Jife.  These  are  the  cardinal  points  of  the  gentleman's  career  whose 
name  heads  this  review.  The  beautiful  country  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Calvin 
Beers  is  known  as  "  Sunny  Lawns,"  and  their  pretty  home  is  the  scene  of 
many  pleasant  gatherings.  He  is  an  agriculturist  of  a  high  order,  as  well 
as  a  poultry  fancier,  his  henneries  containing  some  of  the  prize  fowls  to  be 
found  in  the  county  of  Branch. 

Mr.  Beers  is  one  of  Michigan's  native  sons,  his  birth  having  occurred  in 
Hillsdale  county,  on  the  5th  of  September,  1847,  His  father,  Harrison 
Beers,  was  a  native  of  New  York  and  a  son  of  Fitch  Beers,  a  native  of  Con- 
necticut. Having  arrived  at  years  of  maturity  Harrison  Beers  was  married 
to  Miss  Fanny  Boyce,  a  native  of  New  York,  whence  they  came  to  Michigan 
in  1845,  locating  in  Allen  town.=ihip,  Hillsdale  coimty.  Tliey  settled  upon 
a  tract  of  wild  land  in  the  midst  of  the  forest  and  there  the  father  cleared 
up  and  improved  a  farih.  remaining  thereon  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
in  his  eighty-sixth  year.     Unto  him  and  his  wife  were  born  foiir  .sons  and 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  477 

two  daiighters,  and  the  father's  death  was  the  first  in  the  family.  Tlie  chil- 
dren are  all  yet  living,  namely :  Edna,  the  wife  of  Edwin  Nixon,  of  Grand 
I^dge.  Michigan;  Caivin.  of  this  review;  Adella,  the  wife  of  James  Howell, 
a  resident  of  California;  Angus,  of  Hillsdale,  Michigan;  Fred,  who  is  mar- 
ried and  is  a  farmer  of  Matteson  township;  and  Henry,  who  is  also  married 
and  is  living  upon  the  old  family  homestead  in  Hillsdale  county. 

Calvin  Beers  spent  the  days  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  in  the  county  of 
his  nativity  and  acquired  his  education  in  the  common  and  select  schools 
there.  He  was  early  trained  to  habits  of  industry,  economy  and  integrity  and 
he  remained  at  home  until  he  had  attained  his  majority,  when  he  engaged  in 
business  for  himself.  He  learned  the  trade  of  painting  and  decorating  when 
a  young  man  and  followed  that  pursuit  for  twelve  years  in  Hillsdale  county. 
In  March.  1877,  he  came  to  Branch  county,  locating  on  a  farm,  where  for 
sixteen  years  he  carried  on  general  agricultural  purs.uits.  He  then  bought  his 
present  farm,  known  as  the  Hammond  place,  comprising  eighty  acres  of  land, 
on  which  he  carries  on  the  work  of  general  farming,  bringing  the  fields  up  to 
a  high  state  of  cultivation,  so  that  he  annually  harvests  good  crops.  With  a 
nature  that  could  never  content  itself  with  mediocrity  he  has  steadily  made 
advancement  in  his  business  life  and  has  a  well  improved  farm  property.  To 
some  extent  he  has  given  his  attertion  to  dairy  farming  and  has  also  followed 
his  trade. 

On  the  24th  of  February,  1869.  Mr.  Beers  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Emogene  Westgate.  a  daughter  of  Charles  and  Harriet  (Brigham) 
Westgate.  Her  father  was  bcm  in  New  York  and  came  to  Branch  county  at 
an  early  day,  locating  in  Allen  township,  Hillsdale  county,  where  he  followed 
farm.ing.  There  his  death  occurred  when  about  seventy-eight  years  of  age. 
His  wife,  who  was  also  a  native  of  the  Empire  state,  died  in  Hillsdale  coimty. 
Michigan,  aged  .seventy-eight  years.  Mrs.  Beers  is  the  second  of  five  chil- 
dren, three  daughters  and  two  sons,  all  of  whom  grew  to  manhood  or  woman- 
hood, and  is  a  native  of  Branch  county,  Michigan,  bom  April  26,  1846.  She 
was  here  reared  and  educated  as  a  teacher,  and  by  her  marriage  has  become 
the  mother  of  one  son  and  two  daughters:  Ray  D.,  a  yard  conductor  on  the 
Vandalia  Railroad  at  South  Bend;  Beulah.  the  wife  of  Claude  Palmer,  a 
fireman  on  the  Michigan  Central  Railroad,  living  in  Jackson,  Michigan,  and 
they  have  a  Httle  daughter,  Dorothy;  and  Edna,  the  wife  of  Yedo  Evart.  a 
railroad  man  of  South  Bend  on  the  Vandalia  Railroad,  and  they  also  have 
one  little  daughter,  Eilene. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Beers  has  been  a  life-long  Republican,  taking 
an  active  interest  in  the  work  of  the  party,  and  for  twelve  years  he  was 
clerk  of  Mattison  township.  He  has  been  a  resident  of  Branch  county  for 
twentv-eight  years  and  in  local  progress  and  national  advancement  feels  a 
deep  pride,  manifesting  at  all  times  a  public  spirited  citizenship. 

Mrs."  Beers  is  one  of  the  estimable  ladies  of  the  township,  and  has  re- 
ceived more  than  an  ordinarj'  education,  having  been  one  of  the  successful 
teachers  of  Hillsdale  and  Branch  counties  a  number  of  years.  She  is  an  able 
assistant  to  her  husband  in  the  establishment  of  a  model  home  and  surround- 
ings. 


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478  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

They  have  in  their  home  some  very  antique  relics  of  "  Ye  olden  days," 
such  as  a  mahogany  stand  and  mirror  which  are  over  a  century  old.  Also, 
two  queerly  wrought  pitchers  brought  from  England  about  I7g6.  They  are 
family  heirlooms.  Mr.  Beers  takes  decided  ground  on  the  subject  of  tem- 
perance and  is  also  an  enthusiast  in  the  organization  known  as  "  The  Amer- 
ican Society  of  Equity,"  which  is  designed  to  aid  the  farmer. 

WILLIAM  MARQUART. 

William  Marquart,  who  since  1873  has  been  a  resident  of  Algansee 
township,  was  bom  in  Germany,  and  is  now  seventy  years  of  age.  The  years 
of  his  youth  and  early  manhood  were  spent  in  the  land  of  his  nativity,  and 
when  he  made  his  way  to  the  new  world  he  located  in  Reading,  Michigan, 
but  spent  three  months  only  in  that  place.  He  then  located  permanently  in 
Algansee  township  and  for  four  years  worked  by  the  day  at  farm  labor. 
On  the  expiration  of  that  period,  having,  through  his  industry  and  careful 
management,  saved  a  sum  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  purchase  land,  he  be- 
came the  owner  of  fifty  acres  on  section  nine,  where  he  is  now  living  a 
retired  life.  While  in  his  native  country  he  had  served  as  a  member  of  the 
German  army.  Here  he  devoted  his  energies  to  agricultural  pursuits  until 
he  had  acquired  a  comfortable  competence  that  is  sufficient  to  supply  him 
with  the  necessities  and  comforts  of  life.  His  political  allegiance  has  been 
given  to  the  Republican  party  since  he  became  a  naturalized  American  citizen, 
and  in  everything  relating  to  the  welfare  of  his  community  he  is  progressive 
and  interested.  His  religious  faith  is  that  of  the  Lutheran  church,  of  which 
he  has  long  been  a  faithful  member. 

William  Marquart  was  united  in  marriage  to  Christina  Hacker,  also  a 
native  of  Germany.  She  died  November  18,  1905,  and  her  remains  are  in- 
terred in  the  Fisher  cemetery,  a  beautiful  stone  marking  her  last  restittg 
place.  They  became  the  parents  of  five  children;  Rickey,  who  married 
Newton  Boyer,  a  Methodist  minister,  who  is  now  operating  her  fathers 
farm;  Fred;  William,  who  is  a  f.inner  of  Quincy  township;  John,  deceased; 
and  Minnie,  who  died  in  infancy. 

Fred  Marquart.  the  eldest  son,  was  reared  with  his  father  in  Germany, 
and  came  with  his  parents  to  the  United  States  in  the  fall  of  187,3.  ^^  ^t' 
tended  school  in  his  native  country  and  also  became  a  district  school  student 
in  Algansee  township,  and  throughout  his  entire  life  has  been  identified  with 
agricultural  interests.  He  was  trained  to  habits  of  industry  and  economv 
and  soon  came  to  realize  the  value  of  untiring  effort  and  persistency  of  pur- 
pose as  forceful  and  resultant  factors  in  winning  .success.  He  is  now  living 
on  section  ten,  Algansee  township,  where  he  has  one  hundred  and  forty  acres 
of  land,  and  on  section  fifteen  of  the  same  township  has  a  tract  of  fortv  acres 
of  his  wife's.  His  home  is  one  of  the  finest  and  most  convenient  country 
residences  in  Branch  county,  is  tastefully  furnished  and  gives  every  evi- 
dence of  the  refined  and  cultured  taste  of  the  inmates.  In  connection  witl) 
the  tilling  of  the  soil  Mr.  Marquart  is  extensively  engaged  in  the  raising  of 
graded  j'tock.  making  a  specialty  of  Durham  cattle  and  Delaine  sheep. 

In  1880  Mr.  Marquart  was  married  to  Miss  Amelia  RolofF,  whose  birtli 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  479 

occurred  in  Germany,  in  1862.  Her  father,  Fred  Roloff,  was  also  a  native 
of  that  country,  and  on  coming  to  the  United  States  in  1864  took  up  his 
ahode  in  Algansee.  He  was  a  practical  farmer,  who  prospered  in  his  under- 
takings. He  married  Carohne  Hildehrand,  also  a  native  of  the  same  country, 
and  a  sister  of  Frederick  Hildehrand,  mentioned  elsewhere  in  this  work. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Marquart  have  two  children:  Eugenia,  the  wife  of  Jay 
Meyers,  a  resident  farmer,  living  on  his  father's  land:  and  Edward,  who  at 
the  age  of  eighteen  years  is  a  strong  and  stalwart  boy  of  six  feet.  The 
parents  are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church  and  are  interested  in  its  work 
and  contribute  continuously  to  its  support.  Mr,  Marquart  is  an  inflexible 
adberent  of  the  Republican  party,  standing  firm  in  support  of  his  convic- 
tions and  keeping  well  informed  on  the  questions  and  issues  of  the  day,  so 
that  he  is  able  to  support  his  opinions  by  intelligent  argument.  Both  he  and 
nis  wife  are  well  known  m  thi.s  locality  and  have  many  warm  friends, 

CLARK  C.  SEARS. 

Among  the  men  of  New  England  birth  and  ancestry  whose  active  years 
have  lieen  mainly  spent  in  this  beautiful  and  prosperous  county  of  Branch, 
and  to  whose  ability  and  integrity  as  men  of  action  and  influence  the  county 
owes  its  best  elements  of  growth  and  progress,  is  to  be  mentioned  among 
the  first  Mr.  Clark  C.  Sears,  now  and  for  many  years  a  prominent  citizen  of 
Quincy.  Having  been  born  in  1827  (October  23),  he  is  now  well  within  the 
shadow  of  his  eightieth  year,  and  a  long  career  of  useful  activity  has  char- 
acterized this  extended  age. 

Mr.  Sears'  birthplace  is  Ridgebury,  Connecticut,  and  his  first  American 
ancestors,  dating  back  to  the  colonial  period,  settled  at  Cape  Cod,  so  that  the 
family  for  generations  has  been  identified  with  New  England  life  and  affairs. 
One  of  his  forefathers  was  a  captain  in  the  continental  army  during  the  Rev- 
olution. His  father,  James  Sears,  also  of  Connecticut  birth,  was  a  well-to- 
do  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  took  an  active  part  in  the  Presbyterian  church, 
being  an  eider,  and  in  politics  followed  the  fortune  of  the  Whigs  and  later 
the  Republicans.  He  died  in  New  York  state.  His  wife  was  Deborah  Cros- 
by, a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  also  of  New  England  stock,  and  a  member 
of  the  Presbyterian  church.  They  were  parents  of  five  children,  of  whom 
Qark  C.  is  the  only  one  now  living.  The  others  are:  George  Beldon,  who, 
was  superintendent  of  the  Newark,  New  Jersey,  public  schools  twenty-five 
years;  Gould  E.,  likewise  a  school  teacher,  and  a  farmer  in  Ontario  county. 
New  York;  Maria,  who  married  Francis  Northrup,  a  shoemaker  of  Newark, 
New  Jersey,  now  deceased:  Eliza  A.,  whose  husband,  John  Wright,  a  farmer, 
was  in  the'Civil  war  and  is  now  living  in  West  Bay  City,  Michigan. 

Clark  C.  Sears  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  attended  school  in  Orleans, 
Ontario  county.  New  York.  Farming  has  been  the  industry  to  which  he 
has  devoted  the  best  energies  of  his  life  and  by  which  he  has  gained  his 
material  success.  He  came  to  Michigan  in  i860,  and  after  living  awhile  in 
the  village  of  Quincy  he  bought  a  farm  on  section  nine  of  the  township  of 
the  same  name.'  He' farmed  this  place  four  years,  and  then  bought  the  place 
of  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  acres  on  section  eight  where  he  still  makes 


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480  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

his  home,  taking  hfe  easily  and  gracefully  in  his  declining  years. 

his  farming  interests  he  is  a  stockholder  and  director  in  the  First  National 

Bank  of  Quincy. 

On  April  lo,  1901,  Mr,  and  Mrs.  Sears  passed  the  fiftieth  or  golden 
anniversarj'  of  their  wedded  lives— one  of  those  rare  occasions,  so  rich  in 
memories  and  associations,  that  they  are  never  to  be  passed  over  withont 
mention.  Just  fifty  years  before  that  date  Mr.  Sears  had  married  Miss  Har- 
riet E.  Warner,  who  was  born  in  Ontario  county,  New  York,  September  13, 
1831.  Her  father,  John  Warner,  a  native  of  Massachusetts  and  of  an  Eng- 
lish family  that  settled  in  New  England  at  an  early  day  and  later  furnished 
patriotic  assistance  to  the  colonies  in  the  Revolution,  moved  to  New  York 
with  his  parents  when  he  was  a  boy,  he  being  one  of  a  large  family  of  chil- 
dren. He  was  a  shoe  merchant  at  one  time,  but  followed  farming  for  the 
most  part.  He  married  Susan  Post,  a  native  of  Long  Island  and  of  English 
lineage.  Mrs.  Sears  was  the  youngest  child  and  is  the  only  one  living,  the 
other  children  being,  Jesse,  Edwin,  Ulysses,  Orson,  Maria,  George,  John, 
Susan.  Jesse  and  Susan  came  to  Michigan  and  died  in  this  state,  while  the 
sons  George  and  John  died  in  California.  John  Warner  was  a  Universalist 
in  religious  faith,  while  his  wife  was  a  Presbyterian. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sears  were  parents  to  five  children,  namely:  Sumner,  a 
practicing  physician  in  Quincy;  Minnie,  who  married  Milo  D.  Campbell,  of 
Coldwater;  Nellie,  the  widow  of  Sereno  Mansell,  who  was  a  plumber  in 
Coldwater;  George,  on  the  home  farm;  and  Mabel,  deceased.  Mr.  Sears  is 
an  eider  in  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Quincy.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Grange,  and  in  politics  a  Republican.  His  public  service  shows  a  record  of 
thirty  years  as  justice  of  the  peace,  and  he  has  also  been  supervisor  of  Quincy 
township. 

WARREN  HENRY. 

Warren  Henry,  a  retired  farmer  of  Sherwood,  was  born  in  Sterling 
township,  Windom  county,  Connecticut,  July  6,  1819,  and  has  therefore 
passed  the  eighty-sixth  milestone  on  life's  journey.  His  father,  James  Henrj', 
was  bom  in  the  same  house  in  which  his  son's  birth  occurred,  The  grand- 
father, James  Henry,  Sr.,  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  and  when  a  young  man 
came  to  America,  being  married  after  his  arrival  in  this  country.  He  died 
in  1809.  James  Henry,  Jr.,  removed  from  New  England  to  Portage  county, 
Ohio,  in  1831,  locating  on  a  farm  in  Highland  township.  All  around  were 
the  green  woods — nature's  handiwork,  for  man  had  not  begun  his  work 
of  transformation  at  that  time.  He  built  a  log  cabin  in  the  midst  of  the 
forest  and  began  the  improvement  of  the  farm,  continuing  its  cultivation  up 
to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  when  he  was  seventy-four  years 
of  age.  His  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Henrietta  Jordan,  was 
about  sixty-nine  years  of  age  when  called  to  her  final  rest.  Mr.  Henry  had 
served  as  a  lieutenant  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  his  commission  is  now  in 
possession  of  Warren  Henry,  In  the  father's  family  were  seventeen  chil- 
dren, of  whom  thirteen  reached  manhood  and  womanhood. 

Warren   Henry,   the  youngest   son   and   the   sixteenth   member,    Is  also 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  481 

the  only  surviving  member  of  that  large  family.  His  eldest  brother  lived 
to  be  ninety-six  years  of  age  and  nearly  all  of  the  others  reached  advanced 
yeiirs. 

When  but  twelve  years  of  age  Warren  Henry  accompanied  his  par- 
ents on  their  removal  to  Portage  county,  Ohio,  where  he  spent  the  remainder 
of  his  youth,  pursuing  his.  education  in  the  log  schoolhouses  and  assisting 
in  the  arduous  task  of  developing  a  new  farm.  He  remained  with  his  par- 
ents until  they  were  called  from  this  life.  He  was  married  the  first  time 
in  1840.  Miss  Harriet  Eggleston  becoming  his  wife,  and  in  1851  he  re- 
moved to  Branch  county,  Michigan.  Four  children,  two  sons  and  two 
daughters,  were  horn  of  this  marriage :  Norman,  who  died  at  Cliaftanooga, 
Tennessee,  in  1865,  while  serving  his  country  as  a  Union  soldier;  Adelia, 
the  wife  of  William  Bailey,  of  Union  City,  Michigan;  Otis,  of  Louisiana; 
and  Hettie.  who  died  \vhen  about  three  years  of  age.  Tlie  mother  died  in 
Ohio  in  1849,  and  it  was  two  years  later  that  Mr.  Henrj'  came  with  his 
family  to  this  county,  settling  in  Sherwood.  In  1868  he  married  Hattie 
Ha!!,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  one  son,  Walter  G.,  who  is  now  em- 
ployed in  the  mail  department  of  the  Chicago  post  office.  Mrs.  Hattie 
Henry  passed  away  in  1877,  and  in  1879  Mr.  Henry  married  Mary  KUen 
Gerls.  of  Greenville.  Mount  Calm  county,  Michigan.  They  had  two  sons, 
Hubert,  of  Sherwood,  and  Harry  G..  who  died  when  only  a  year  old. 

When  Mr.  Henry  arrived  in  Sherwood  in  1851  it  was  a  new  town, 
and  the  work  of  improvement  and  progress  had  scarcely  been  begun  in 
the  surrounding  districts.  He  purchased  a  farm  a  mile  and  a  half  north  of 
the  village,  there  residing  for  about  eight  years,  when  he  bought  another 
faim,  on  which  he  lived  for  a  short  time.  In  1866  he  purchased  what  is 
called  the  .Studley  farm,  making  it  his  home  until  1880.  when  he  built  his 
present  residence  in  Sherwood,  since  living  in  the  village.  He  is,  how- 
ever, one  of  the  largest  land  owners  of  the  township,  having  now  about 
three  hundred  acres  within  its  borders,  and  this  valuable  property  returns  to 
him  a  good  income.  His  political  allegiance  has  always  been  given  the 
Democracy,  and  for  sixteen  years  he  served  as  justice  of  the  peace,  dis- 
charging his  duties  with  equity  and  impartiality.  He  was  also  school  di- 
rector for  several  years  and  the  cause  of  education  has  found  in  him  a 
warm  friend.  His  residence  in  the  county  covers  fifty-four  years  and  he 
has  been  very  successful  in  his  business  career,  making  all  that  he  now  pos- 
sesses through  his  earnest  and  unremitting  labor  and  close  attention  to 
his  business.  He  has  erected  seven  frame  houses,  five  of  which  were  built 
in  Sherwood  township,  and  he  has  had  the  misfortune  to  have  four  houses 
destroyed  by  fire.  He  is  familiar  with  the  pioneer  history  of  Ohio  as  well 
as  of  Michigan.  The  first  house  in  which  he  lived  in  the  latter  state  had  no 
Ijoard  floor.  His  wife  made  all  of  the  clothes  for  the  family,  spinning  and 
(veaving  and  producing  the  manufactured  articles  from  the  raw  wool.  The 
family  diet  was  mostly  bread  and  milk,  but  they  all  enjoyed  good  health.  In 
order  to  purchase  for  bis  wife  the  first  calico  dress  which  she  ever  owned 
Mr.  Henry  rode  a  distance  of  forty  miles  on  horseback.  When  the  family 
removed  from  Connecticut  to  Ohio  there  was  but  one  railroad  in  the  United 


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482  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

States,  and  this  line  is  well  remembered  by  Mr.  Henry,  who  had  arrived 
thereon,  the  cars  being  drawn  by  horses,  for  as  yet  steam  power  had  not 
been  utilized  as  a  means  of  transportation.  He  has  been  a  witness  of  much 
of  the  country's  growth  and  development,  has  seen  the  introduction  of  the 
telegraph  and  the  telephone  and  the  transformation  of  farming  methods 
through  the  introduction  of  improved  and  modern  machinery.  He  has  now- 
passed  the  eighty-sixth  milestone  on  life's  journey  and  his  career  is  one  in 
which  unimpeachable  honor  and  straightforward  dealing  command  the  re- 
spect of  ali.  In  his  life  he  has  embodied  the  belief  that  he  does  best  who 
does  most  to  help  his  fellow  men.  He  is  a  self-made  and  self-educated  man 
of  the  present  twentieth  century. 

JOHN  KNECHT. 

John  Knecht.  interested  in  general  agricultural  pursuits,  his  home  being 
on  section  eight,  Algansee  township,  was  bom  in  Mahoning  county,  Ohio, 
in  1S53.  His  father,  Charles  Knecht.  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
was  of  German  lineage.  In  early  life  he  learned  and  followed  the  cooper's 
trade,  while  subsequently  he  became  a  farmer  and  devoted  his  energies  to 
that  pursuit  for  a  number  of  years.  In  the  spring  of  1865  he  came  to  Michi- 
gan, settling  in  Coldwater,  after  which  he  was  employed  on  a  railroad  for 
a  time,  but  later  bought  and  operated  a  farm  in  Algansee  township.  He  held 
membership  in  the  Lutheran  church  in  early  manhood  and  in  later  life 
became  identified  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in  the  work  of  which 
he  took  an  active  and  helpful  part.  He  died  in  Bethel  in  1884,  at  the  age 
of  seventy-five  years.  His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Lydia  Stair,  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania,  April  24,  1810,  and  died  in  this  county  March  23, 
1886.  She,  too.  was  of  German  lineage,  and  her  parents  died  in  the  Key- 
stone state.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  Knecht  had  a  family  of  eleven  children: 
Harriet,  who  is  the  widow  of  Michael  Zellers  and  makes  her  home  in  Cold- 
water  ;  Stephen,  of  Kansas :  Charles,  who  is  living  in  Butler,  Michigan : 
Julia  Ann,  the  deceased  wife  of  David  Erb;  Sarah,  the  deceased  wife  of 
Jared  Shennefeild;  Maria,  who  married  William  Zellers,  and  after  his  death 
became  the  wife  of  Frank  Tompkins,  of  Ovid  township;  Rachel,  the  wife  of 
Joshua  Leaf,  of  Coldwater:  Rebecca,  who  died  at  the  age  of  four  years; 
Mary,  the  widow  of  William  Osman,  and  a  resident  of  Coldwater;  .Samuel, 
who  is  living  in  Algansee;  and  John. 

In  taking  up  the  persona!  history  of  John  Knecht  we  present  to  our 
readers  the  life  record  of  one  who  is  widely  known  in  his  adopted  town- 
ship and  county.  He  spent  his  early  youth  upon  the  home  farm  in  Ohio,  and 
with  his  parents  came  to  Michigan.  His  education  was  acquired  in  the 
country  schools,  and  he  has  always  followed  the  occupation  to  which  he 
was  reared,  now  making  his  home  on  section  eight,  Algansee  township, 
where  he  owns  one  hundred  and  forty-nine  acres  of  land,  constituting  a  val- 
uable and  well  improved  farm,  on  which  he  has  raised  high  grade  cattle  and 
sheep.  His  business  interests  are  carefully  conducted  and  result  in  bringing 
him  merited  and  gratifying  success.  On  the  20th  of  July,  1873,  Mr.  Knecht 
was  married  to  Miss  Sarah  Ann  Dixon,  who  was  bom  in  Illinois  in   1857, 


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<a  /•/:  Ma,'^^^::^^ 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  483 

and  is  a  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Angehne  Dixon.  Tlie  father  was  a  native 
of  Eng-land,  and  when  nine  years  of  age  came  to  the  Umted  States.  His 
last  days  were  spent  in  Branch  county,  Michigan,  where  both  he  and  his  wife 
passed  away.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Knecht  have  no  children  of  their  own,  but 
are  rearing  an  adopted  daughter.  Lnra  Marium,  now  fifteen  years  of  age, 
who  has  been  with  them  since  sixteen  monJ:hs  old.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Knecht 
are  members  of  the  Free  Methodist  church,  in  which  they  take  an  active 
interest,  and  he  has  served  as  class-leader,  steward  and  trustee,  while  for 
the  past  twenty  years  he  has  been  chorister  in  the  Sunday  School.  In  his 
[xjlitical  views  he  is  a  Prohibitionist,  for  that  party  embodies  his  ideas  con- 
cerning the  temperance  question. 

CHARLES  H.  NEWELL. 

Charles  H,  Newell,  who  is  the  editor  of  Coldwater's  widely  read  and 
popular  paper,  The  Courier,  was  bom  in  Cincinnati.  Ohio,  but  has  been  a 
resident  of  Coldwater  for  the  past  sixteen  years  and  is  well  known  not  only 
throughout  Branch  county,  but  the  state  as  well.  After  completing  a  course 
in  the  public  schools  of  Cincinnati  Mr.  Newell  went  to  Oberhn,  Ohio,  where 
he  continued  school  work  for  about  three  years,  and  while  doing  that  became 
interested  in  journalism,  resulting  in  accepting  a  position  with  the  Oberlin 
News,  on  which  paper  he  worked  for  about  three  years,  and  then  returned  to 
Cincinnati,  where  he  continued  in  the  printing  business  for  several  years. 

In  August  of  1885  Mr.  Newell  purchased  a.  third  interest  in  the  Plain 
Dealer,  of  Waliash,  Indiana,  and  became  the  editor  of  that  paper,  which  is 
one  of  the  strongest  and  best  known  Republican  papers  of  Indiana.  In  the 
fall  of  1889  he  purchased  The  Courier,  of  Coldwater,  in  connection  with 
C.  W.  Owen,  and  has  been  identified  with  that  paper  ever  since.  The  Courier 
is  the  recognized  leading  Republican  paper  of  Branch  county  and  has  done 
splendid  service  for  its  party.  It  was  established  in  1882  by  Nichols  &  Moore, 
who  conducted  it  until  1887,  when  John  N.  Foster  became  its  owner,  and  he 
in  turn,  about  two  years  later,  disposed  of  his  interest  to  Newell  &  Owen. 
In  1897  Mr.  Newell  purchased  the  Coldwater  Republican  and  merged  that 
paper  with  The  Courier,  since  which  time  The  Courier  has  advanced  from  a 
weekly  to  an  every-other-day  publication  and  is  looked  upon  as  a  thoroughly 
reliable  publication. 

Mr.  Newell  has  been  one  of  the  prominent  members  of  the  Michigan 
Press  Association,  one  of  the  strongest  newspaper  organizations  in  the  coun- 
try, serving  as  an  official  in  that  organization  almost  continuously  since  be- 
coming identified  with  it.  At  the  winter  meeting  held  in  Battle  Creek  in  1903 
Mr.  Newell  was  unanimously  elected  president  of  the  association,  the  office 
coming  to  him  wholly  unsought,  and  he  served  for  two  terms,  only  one  other 
member  ever  having' achieved  that  honor.  On  two  occasions  he  was  elected 
a  delegate  to  the  National  Editorial  Association. 

Ptoliticallv  Mr.  Newell  is  a  stanch  Republican,  but  not  an  office-seeker. 
He  has  never  been  a  candidate  for  political  honors,  but  naturally  takes  a 


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484  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

lively  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  party  of  his  choice.  He  is  also  an  active 
worker  in  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Coldwater  and  is  a  member  of  the  board 
of  trustees  and  an  active  member  of  the  choir. 

WESLEY  LECKNER. 

Wesley  J-^ckner,  engaged  <in  buying  woo]  at  Sherwood,  is  a  native  of 
Crawford  county,  Ohio,  born  November  23,  1837.  His  father,  Sampson 
Leckner,  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania  and  a  pioneer  of  Cass  county,  Michi- 
gan, where  he  located  about  1844,  He  was  of  German  lineage  and  dis- 
played jnany  of  tlje  strong  and  sterling  characteristics  of  his  Teutonic  an- 
cestry. He  followed  the  occupation  of  farming,  living  a  life  of  activity 
and  usefulness  and  reaching  the  venerable  age  of  eighty-four  years.  He 
noarried  Eliza  Fredricks,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  who  lived  to  the  age  of 
seventy-nine  years.  In  their  family  were  five  children,  all  of  whom  yet 
survive. 

Wesley  Leckner,  the  eldest  of  the  family,  was  a  lad  of  seven  summers 
when  he  arrived  in  Michigan  with  his  parents,  and  upon  the  home  farm 
in  Cass  county  he  was  reared.  In  retrospect  one  can  see  him  as  a  farm  boy 
trudging  each  morning  to  school  through  the  winter  months  over  a  distance 
of  two  miles  and  then  conning  his  lessons  in  a  little  log  school  house.  His 
father  was  well  educated,  and  assisted  the  son  in  his  books  in  his  younger 
days,  so  that  he  enjoyed  more  than  the  limited  advantages  afforded  by  the 
common  schools.  He  was  also  trained  to  habits  of  industry  and  integrity, 
and  these  elements  proved  a  baSic  force  in  his  character  in  later  years.  He 
remained  at  home  until  twenty-two  years  of  age  and  was  then  married  to 
Miss  Margaret  Early,  a  daughter  of  John  Early  of  Cass  county.  She  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania,  and  is  the  eldest  in  a  family  of  five  children.  She 
was  brought  to  Michigan  during  her  infancy,  her  parents  settling  in  Cass 
county,  and  there  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Leckner  began  their  domestic  life  upon  a 
farm  in  Porter  township.  About  1870  he  sold  his  property  there.  He  had 
become  a  recognized  factor  in  political  circles,  and  was  elected  to  various 
township  offices  and  also  appointed  to  some  county  offices.  He  served  as 
deputy  sheriff  of  Cass  county  and  he  resided  at  Constantine,  Michigan,  for 
a  time.  In  1880,  however,  he  removed  to  Sherwood,  where  he  engaged  in 
the  butchering  business,  establishing  the  first  meat  market  in  the  town.  Since 
that  time  he  has  also  devoted  his  attention  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  to  deal- 
ing in  live  stock.  During  the  winter  he  was  upon  the  road  for  Henry  New- 
land  &  Company  of  Detroit,  whom  he  represented  for  about  twelve  years, 
and  he  was  also  w^th  White  Brothers  of  Boston  for  about  six  years.  It  was 
subsequent  to  that  time  that  he  was  appointed  deputy  sheriff  of  Branch 
county,  and  for  four  years  he  filled  that  office.  He  has  also  been  highway 
commissioner,  and  for  many  years  has  been  a  member  of  the  city  council 
of  Sherwood,  He  has  .ever  exercised  his  official  prerogatives  in  support 
of  general  progress  and  improvement,  making  a  close  study  of  the  needs 
of  the  county,  and  doing  all  in  his  power  to  advance  the  general  welfare. 

Mr.  Leckner  is  a  staimch  Democrat,  having  always  advocated  the  prin- 
ciples promulgated  by  Jackson.     He  has.:  however,  not  considered  himseH 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  485 

strictly  bound  to  party  ties  and  he  voted  for  Abraham  Lincoln  and  has  been 
somewhat  independent  in  his  local  political  affiliation.  He  has  never  faltered 
in  support  of  his  honest  convictions,  but  has  fearlessly  defended  his  views 
no  matter  what  the  opposition.  He  was  one  of  the  men  who  incorporated 
the  village  of  Sherwood  and  was  instmmeotal  in  laying  out  the  streets  and 
making  many  other  substantial  and  permament  improvements.  He  was 
one  of  the  first  members  of  the  village  board,  and  he  has  ever  studied  the 
needs  of  the  town  and  labored  to  meet  these.  He  has  contributed  to  its 
materia!  improvement  through  the  erection  of  several  liouses,  and  he  has 
practical  experience  in  the  builder's  trade,  having  at  one  time  served  an  ap- 
prenticeship as  a  carpenter.  Mr.  I^ckner  is  likewise  prominent  in  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity,  being  a  charter  member  of  Sherwood  Lodge  No.  421. 

The  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Leckncr  has  been  blessed  with  four  daugh- 
ters :  Clara ;  Hattie,  the  wife  of  S.  T.  Downs,  of  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan ; 
Laura,  the  wife  of  R,  W.  Mead,  who  is  an  agriculturist  and  stockman;  and 
Ida,  the  wife  of  William  Zimmers,  of  Burr  Oak,  Michigan.  The  last  named 
was  a  successful  and  prominent  teacher  in  Sherwood  for  several  terms. 

Mr.  Leckner  is  well  known  in  Branch  county  and  has  "an  extensive  ac- 
quaintance in  this  part  of  the  state.  He  is  now  representing  the  Mutual 
Fire  Insurance  Company  of  Branch  and  St.  Joseph  counties,  and  in  this 
connection  has  become  well  known.  He  is  also  a  dealer  in  wool,  and  his 
business  interests  have  brought  him  into  contact  with  many  of  the  residents 
of  this  portion  of  the  state,  while  his  social  qualities  and  genuine  worth 
have  gained  him  warm  friendships  and  high  regard.  He  may  well  be  num- 
bered among  the  real  promoters  and  upbuilders  of  the  town  of  Sherwood,  and 
his  name  is  therefore  inseparably  associated  with  its  history.  He  is  broad 
gauged  and  liberal  in  all  of  his  views,  political,  religious  and  social.  He  is 
3  man  of  action  rather  than  theory  and  while  others  might  argue  and  debate 
he  has  gone  to  work  and  demonstrated  in  practical  effort  his  views  upon 
various  questions. 

E.  H.  WILLIAMS. 

E.  H.  Williams,  who  is  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  cigars  in  Cold- 
water,  was  IxDrn  in  Quincy,  Branch  county,  Miarch  31,  1855.  His  father, 
Daniel  G.  Williams,  was  a  native  of  New  York,  and  was  a  son  of  Ezarlah 
Williams,  who  was  also  bora  in  the  Empire  state.  The  grandparents  came 
with  their  family  to  Michigan  about  1837,  locating  in  Coldwater,  Branch 
county.  Tliis  was  then  a  pioneer  district  in  which  the  work  of  improvement 
and  prepress  had  scarcely  been  begun,  and  with  the  early  development  of 
the  county  the  familv  became  closely  associated,  Daniel  G.  Williams  was 
only  seven  years  of  age  when  he  accompanied  his  parents  on  their  emigra- 
tion westward.  They  lived  at  Coldwater  for  a  time  and  afterward  removed 
to  Port  Huron,  Michigan,  returning,  however,  to  Branch  county  at  a  later 
day.  The  father  now  resides  in  Los  Angeles,  California.  He  married  Miss 
Betsy  Hayden,  also  a  native  of  New  York,  who  died  when  about  sixty- 
eight  years  of  age.  Her  father.  Hiram  Hayden,  was  likewise  born  in  the 
Empire  state  and  came  to  Branch  county  about  1834.     He  built  the  sixth 


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486  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

house  in  Coldwater,  on  what  is  now  Hudson  street,  and  was  one  of  the 
pioneer  settlers  of  Branch  connty.  By  trade  he  was  a  cabinet  maker,  and 
was  one  of  the  early  representatives  of  industrial  life  in  this  city.  In  the 
Williams  family  were  but  two  children,  the  sister.  Flora,  being  now  a  resi- 
dent of  Los  Angeles,  California. 

E.  H.  Williams,  the  only  son,  was  reared  in  Quincy  until  about  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  and  alten<led  school  there.  He  afterward  went  to  Grand 
Ledge,  Michigan,  where  he  learned  engineering,  being  employed  in  the  fac- 
tory in  that  place.  For  about  nine  years  he  continued  at  Grand  Ledge,  after 
which  he  traveled  through  the  western  states  and  tlien  again  located  at 
Grand  Ledge,  where  he  spent  the  winter.  He  next  went  to  Colorado, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  mining  for  abjut  three  years,  spending  much  -of 
the  time  at  Leadville.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period  ha  returned  to 
Coldwater,  arriving  here  about  1884,  Since  that  time  he  has  engaged  in 
the  manufacttire  of  cigars  and  has  also  conducted  the  poultry  business  to 
some  extent.  In  his  cigar  factory  he  employs  five  men  and  two  women.  His 
special  brand  of  cigars  is  the  Zach  Chandler,  a  five  cent  cigar,  and  the  Lady 
Hudson  and  Our  Standard,  which  are  ten  cent  goods.  In  his  business  Mr. 
Williams  has  prospered  and  is  now  in  good  financial  circumstances. 

In  1886  occurred  the  marriage  of  R  H.  Williams  and  Miss  Ida  Young, 
the  wedding  ceremony  being  performed  by  the  Rev.  Henry  Collin.  Mrs, 
WilJiams  is  a  daughter  of  Hiram  and  Nancy  (Weller)  Young,  and  was  born 
in  New  York  near  Syracuse,  being  brought  to  Coldwater  by  her  parents 
when  about  fifteen  years  of  age.  There  is  one  daughter  by  this  marriage, 
Arlie,  now  the  wife  of  Roy  Van  Shoick. 

Mr.  William?  has  been  a  hfe-long  Republican,  and  is  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  fraternity  and  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees.  In  Coldwater 
and  Branch  counties  he  is  well  known,  having  spent  much  of  his  life  here, 
and  his  genial  manner  and  unfailing  courtesy  have  rendered  him  popular 
with  a  large  circle  of  friends. 

MARTIN  F.  BUELL 

Martin  F.  Buell,  who  is  now  living  retired  at  Union  City,  was  here  born 
on  the  6th  of  October,  184:,  and  is  a  son  of  Justus  and  Emeline  (Blakeman) 
Buell,  who  were  natives  of  the  state  of  New  York,  but  became  early  resi- 
dents of  Branch  county,  settling  in  Union  City  in  1836.  The  father  died  in 
June,  1869,  having  survived  his  wife  for  a  number  of  years.  They  were  the 
parents  of  eight  children,  of  whom  four  reached  adult  age,  namely:  Judson 
W.,  Martin  F.,  David  B.  and  Jasper  D.  The  last  named,  however,  passed 
away  in  California. 

Martin  F.  Buell  was  reared  and  educated  in  Union  City,  supplement- 
ing his  public  school  course  by  study  in  Eastman's  College  at  PoughkeepsJe, 
New  York,  where  he  completed  a  commercial  course  and  was  graduated  in 
the  class  of  1866.  He  then  returned  to  his  native  town  and  remained  with 
his  parents  until  the  death  of  his  father,  when  he  was  appointed  administra- 
tor of  the  estate.  About  that  time  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Michigan 
Central  Railroad  as  station  agent,  and  occupied  the  position  continuously  from 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  487 

January  i8,  1871,  to  August  16,  1899,  covering  twenty-six  consecutive  years. 
He  has  since  lived  retired  from  active  business  life,  having  from  his  earn- 
ings and  by  judicious  investment  secured  a  competence  that  now  enables  him 
to  enjoy  a  well  earned  rest. 

At  the  time  of  the  Civil  war  Mr.  Buel!  espoused  the  cause  of  his  coun- 
try. Hardly  had  the  smoke  from  Fort  Sumter's  guns  cleared  away  when  he 
offered  his  services  to  the  Union,  enlisting  on  the  i8th  of  April,  1861,  as  a 
member  of  Company  A,  Loomis'  First  Michigan  Battery  A.  He  served  for 
three  years  and  three  months.  His  regiment  was  assigned  to  the  Army  of 
the  Cumberland,  and  he  participated  in  many  hotly  contested  engagements, 
including  the  battles  of  Stone  River,  Chickamauga,  Perryville,  Middle  Fork 
Bridge,  Hoover's  Gap,  Green  River,  Missionary  Ridge  and  many  others.  He 
never  faltered  in  the  performance  of  any  duty  and  was  often  where  the  leaden 
hail  fell  thickest.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  received  an  honorable  discharge 
and  returned  to  his  home  in  Union  City  with  a  most  creditable  military  rec- 
ord. He  was  the  fir?t  one  of  the  boys  in  Union  township  enlisted  for  the  service 
and  the  last  tO'  get  a  pension.  He  was.  a  faithful  soldier  and  never  in  all 
his  service  was  he  off  duty,  nor  in  hospital,  but  always  ready  to  perform  his 
duty  as  a  conscientious  and  faithful  soldier. 

Mr.  Buell  was  married  January  6,  1869,  to  Miss  Mary  J.  Perry,  a 
daughter  of  Edwin  and  Eliza  (Spencer)  Perry,  of  Union  City.  Mrs.  Buell 
was  born  in  Burlington,  Calhoun  county,  Michigan,  April  7,  1846,  and  has 
become  the  mother  of  five  children,  but  Brownie  B.  died  at  the  age  of  three 
years.  Perry  J.  is  represented  on  another  page  of  this  work  and  the  other 
members  of  the  family  are  Daisy  E.,  Glynne  G.  and  Benjamin  H, 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Buell  is  a  staunch  Republican,  active  in  the 
work  of  the  party  and  has  been  honored  by  his  fellow  townsmen  with  a  num- 
ber of  local  offices.  He  has  served  as  supervisor,  has  been  chairman  of  the 
school  board  of  Union  City  for  a  number  of  years,  also  village  president  for 
many  years  and  a  member  of  the  council  twenty-four  years.  He  was  one 
of  the  building  committee  at  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the  new  school  house, 
and  he  is  a  director  of  the  Union  City  National  Bank.  In  Masonry  he  has 
attained  high  rank,  being  now  a  Knight  Templar.  His  hfe  has  been  one  of 
signal  usefulness  to  his  native  city,  for  in  various  public  offices  he  has  dis- 
charged his  duties  in  a  most  prompt  and  capable  manner  and  has  co-operated 
in  many  measures  for  the  general  good  tliat  have  had  direct  bearing  upon 
the  welfare  and  upbuiMing  here.  In  days  of  peace  he  is  as  loyal  to  his  coun- 
try as  when  he  followed  the  stars  and  stripes  upon  southern  battlefields,  and  at 
ali  times  he  is  an  honorable  man  worthy  of  the  regard  in  which  he  is  uni- 
formly held. 

WILLARD  S.  HAWLEY. 

Willard  S,  Hawley,  one  of  the  early  settlers  and  prominent  citizens  of 
Coldwater  now  living  a  retired  life,  was  born  in  Wayne  county.  New  York, 
October  7,  1844.  His  father,  William  B.  Hawley,  was  a  native  of  Ontario 
county.  New  York,  and  Ijecame  a  resident  of  Coldwater  in  1866.  Soon 
afterward  he  engaged  in  farming,   locating  in   Girard  township,   where  he 


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488  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

spent  his  remaining  days,  his  death  occurring  in  :872.  He  married  Lucy 
Doolittle,  also  a  native  of  New  York,  and  her  death  occurred  in  Coldwater. 
They  were  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church  and  his  political  allegiance 
was  unfalteringly  given  to  the  Republican  party.  He  was  a  man  of  hon- 
orable principles  and  upright  life  and  enjoyed  the  unqualified  confidence  and 
regard  of  tfrose  who  knew  him.  Unto  him  and  his  wife  were  born  a  son 
and  daughter,  the  latter  being  Augusta  D.  Hawley,  a  resident  of  Cold- 
water. 

Willard  S.  Hawley,  the  only  son,  was  reared  and  educated  in  his  native 
county  and  supplemented  his  early  school  privileges  by  a  course  of  study  in 
Canandai_gua  Academy.  He  has  been  a  resident  of  Branch  county  since 
1866,  at  which  time  he  began  farming  and  through  a  long  period  was  ac- 
tively engaged  with  agricultural  interests.  He  placed  his  land  under  a 
high  state  of  cultivation,  following  the  most  modem  methods  in  tilling  his 
fields  and  he  also  added  to  his  place  good  improvements. 

In  1876  Mr.  Hawley  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  J.  Dor- 
rance,  a  daughter  of  A.  A.  and  Juliet  (Gregory)  Dorrance.  Mrs.  Hawley 
was  born  in  Jackson,  Michigan,  and  pursued  her  education  in  the  schools 
of  that  city  and  Coldwater.  She  has  become  the  mother  of  two  children: 
Edith  A.,  the  wife  of  C.  C.  Schrontz  o£  Meeker,  Colorado;  and  WilHam 
D.,  who  is  a  druggist  of  Coldwater. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Hawley  is  a  Republican  and  in  religious  faith 
is  a  Presbyterian,  taking  an  active  part  in  the  work  of  the  church,  in  which 
he  has  served  as  deacon  and  trustee.  He  has  lived  in  the  county  for  almost 
forty  years  and  has  intimate  knowledge  concerning  its  growth  and  develop- 
ment because  of  active  participation  in  the  events  which  have  shaped  its 
history.  He  has  never  sought  to  figure  prominently  before  the  public,  yet 
has  ever  manifested  those  sterling  traits  of  character  which  are  the  basis  of 
an  honorable  manhood  and  awaken  admiration  and  respect. 

ROBERT  KELSO. 

Robert  Kelso  has  cleared  and  made  all  of  the  improvements  upon  his 
excellent  farm  on  section  fourteen,  California  township,  where  he  has  lived 
since  1878,  in  which  year  he  purchased  eighty  acres  of  land.  He  is  a  native 
of  Indiana,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Greenfield,  LaGrange  county,  on 
the  1st  of  March,  1843.  His  father,  John  Kelso,  was  a  native  of  Philadel- 
phia, Pennsylvania,  born  July  10,  1811.  His  grandfather,  Hugh  Kelso,  a 
native  of  Scotland,  came  to  America  about  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century  and  settled  first  in  Philadelphia,  whence  he  afterward  removed  to 
New  York.  Later  he  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  and  his  last  days 
were  passed  in  Union  township,  but  his  wife  departed  this  life  in  tlie  east. 
In  their  family  were  five  sons,  all  of  whom  came  to  this  part  of  Michigan. 
These  were :  John,  father  of  our  subject ;  David  and  Henry,  who  died  in 
Branch  county ;  William,  who  died  in  Steuben  county,  Indiana ;  and  Matthew, 
who  passed  away  in  LaGrange  county.  Indiana. 

In  the  year  1836  John  Kelso,  leaving  the  east,  made  his  way  to  La- 
Grange county,  Indiana,  where  he  resided  continuously  until  1852,  "when  lie 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  489 

removed  across  the  border  into  Branch  county,  Michigan.  He  owned  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  in  LaGrange  county  and  eighty  acres  across 
the  state  line  in  Michigan,  His  life  was  devoted  to  general  agricultural  pur- 
suits, which  he  carefully  and  successfully  conducted  for  many  years.  He 
was  married  in  the  state  of  New  York  to  Miss  Agnes  Stewart,  who  was  born 
in  Ireland,  May  i8,  1812.  Tiie  Stewarts  were  of  Scotch-Irish  descent  and 
the  brothers  and  sisters  of  Mrs.  Kelso  were :  Samuel,  Robert,  Thomas,  Gib- 
son, Margaret,  Sarah  and  Rebecca  Stewart.  Mrs.  Kelso  was  twelve  years 
of  age  when  brought  to  America  by  her  parents,  Thomas  and  Marjorie  (Mc- 
Bride)  Stewart,  who  were  likewise  natives  of  the  Emerald  Isle,  in  whicli 
country  all  of  their  eight  children  were  born.  Coming  to  America  they  hved 
in  the  Empire  state  for  a  brief  period,  and  in  1836  removed  to  Michigan, 
settling  in  Noble  township.  Branch  county,  where  they  spent  their  remaining 
days. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Keiso  were  for  a  number  of  years  prominent  and 
respected  residents  of  Noble  township,  Branch  county,  where  Mr.  Kelso 
actively  carried  on  general  agricultural  pursuits.  He  voted  with  the  Democ- 
racy and  his  wife  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  His  death 
occurred  in  Noble  township  in  1877  and  Mrs.  Kelso  survived  him  for  ten 
years,  passing  away  in  1887.  They,  too,  were  the  parents  of  eight  children, 
al!  of  whom  reached  years  of  maturity,  namely :  Mrs.  Isabelle  Depue,  who 
is  Jiving  in  California  township;  William  H..  who  died  in  Kinderhook,  Mich- 
igan, in  1904;  Mrs.  Marjorie  Link,  who  died  in  Jackson  county,  Indiana; 
Robert,  of  this  review;  Thomas  and  John,  who  are  living  in  Noble  town- 
ship; Mrs.  Mary  Dodd,  who  resides  in  South  Dakota;  and  Mrs.  Sarah 
Knight,  who  is  also  a  resident  of  Noble  township.  Branch  county. 

Robert  Kelso  spent  the  first  ten  years  of  his  life  in  Indiana  and  then 
came  w'ith  his  parents  to  Michigan,  the  family  home  being  established  in 
Noble  township,  Branch  county,  in  1852.  Tlie  work  of  the  farm  early  be- 
came familiar  to  him  and  he  acquired  his  education  in  the  district  schools.  He 
continued  at  home  until  after  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war,  when  on  the 
7th  of  August,  1862,  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years,  he  responded  to  his  coun- 
tiy's  call  and  enlisted  at  Coldwater  as  a  member  of  Company  H,  Nineteenth 
Michigan  Infantry.  This  regiment  was  assigned  to  the  Second  Brigade, 
Third  Division  of  the  Twentieth  Army  Corps,  and  he  participated  in  the 
battles  of  Thompson  Station,  Tennessee;  Bentwood,  Tennessee;  Resaca, 
Georgia ;  Carsville,  Dallas,  Golgotha,  Gulp's  Farm,  Kenesaw  Mountain  and 
Peach  Tree  Creek,  all  in  Georgia ;  the  siege  of  Atlanta ;  the  siege  of  Savan- 
nah; and  the  battles  of  Averysboro  and  Bentonville,  North  Carolina.  He 
was  with  Sherman  during  the  entire  Atlanta  campaign  and  was  in  every 
battle  in  which  his  regiment  participated.  He  was  never  wounded,  nor  was 
he  ever  in  the  hospital,  but  was  captured  with  the  entire  regiment  on  the 
5th  of  March,  1863,  six  regiments  falling  into  the  hands  oi-'the  rebels  at 
Thompson  Station,  Tennessee.  They  were  taken  to  Tullahoma.  Tennessee, 
and  afterward  to  Libby  prison  in  Richmond,  but  were  incarcerated  for  only 
twenty-one  days,  at  the  end  of  which  they  were  parolled  and  afterward  ex- 
changed.    Thus  Mr.  Kelso  continued  in  active  duty  up  to  the  time  of  the 


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490  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

clcse  of  the  war  and  was  honorably  discharged  on  the  lOth  of  June,  1865. 

After  being  mustered  out  Mr.  Kelso  returned  to  Michigan  and  started 
out  in  business  on  his  own  account.  He  was  identified  with  farm  labor  and 
in  1878  he  purchased  his  present  farm  of  eighty  acres  on  section  fourteen, 
California  township.  The  place  was  then  uncleared,  but  he  at  once  began 
to  take  away  the  timber  and  brush  and  turn  the  sod,  and  in  course  of  time 
on  well  plowed  fields  there  were  gathered  good  harvests,  and  year  by  year 
the  farm  has  continued  tc  be  a  productive  tract.  Mr,  Kelso  is  a  comrade  of 
Eli  Alvord  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Montgomery,  Michigan,  and  maintains  pleasant 
relations  with  the  boys  in  blue,  with  whom  he  fought  during  the  Civil  war. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat  and  has  been  called  to  the  offices  of  highway  com- 
missioner and  justice  of  the  peace.  He  has  also  been  a  director  and  assessor 
of  the  school  district,  filling  the  latter  position  at  the  present  time.  He  has 
made  an  excellent  record  both  as  a  soldier  and  farmer,  and  upon  the  battle- 
fields of  the  south  he  displayed  unfaltering  loyalty  to  his  country  and  the 
Union  cause. 

L.  A.  WARSABO,  M.  D. 

Dr.  L.  A.  Warsabo  has  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Cold- 
water  for  more  than  thirty  years  and  is  well  known  here.  He  was  born  in 
the  city  of  Mohilefif,  Russia,  February  22,  1848,  and  was  reared  in  his 
native  land,  obtaining  a  liberal  literary  education.  Determining  upon  the 
profession  of  medicine  as  a  life  work  he  began  preparation  for  that  calling 
and  afterward  entered  Moscow  University,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
with  the  degree  of  M.  D.,  in  i86g.  He  later  went  to  Vienna,  Austria,  where 
he  broadened  his  knowledge  by  wide  experience  in  hospitals,  coming  under 
the  instruction  of  some  of  the  eminent  physicians  and  surgeons  of  that  coun- 
try. He  afterward  studied  a  short  time  in  further  research  and  investiga- 
tion along  medical  lines  in  Paris  and  in  1871  he  came  to  the  United  States, 
arriving  in  Chicago  on  the  4th  of  August  of  that  year. 

Dr.  Warsabo  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Chicago, 
but  on  account  of  the  disastrous  fire  which  swept  over  that  city  in  Octo- 
ber, 1S71,  he  came  to  Michigan.  In  the  University  of  Michigan  at  Ann 
Arbor  he  spent  one  year.  In  1875  he  came  to  Coldwater,  where  he  has 
since  remained,  and  he  is  today  a  member  of  the  Tri-State  Medical  Asso- 
ciation. He  was  city  health  officer  for  thirteen  years,  discharging  the  duties 
of  that  position  in  addition  to  those  incumbent  upon  him  through  a  large 
private  practice. 

In  1876,  in  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan,  Dr.  Warsabo  was  married  to  Miss 
Kate  Garner  and  unto  them  have  been  born  three  children.  He  is  a  Repub- 
lican in  his  political  views  and  fraternally  is  connected  with  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  with  the  Masons,  having  attained  the  Knight 
Templar  degree  in  the  latter  organization.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  Dr.  Warsabo  is  a  man  of  broad  sympathies  as  is  often 
manifest  in  his  professional  service.  He  is  widely  and  favorably  known 
throughout  the  communitj-  which  he  has  chosen  as  his  place  of  residence. 
His  unfailing  courtesy  and  his  deference  for  the  opinions  of  others  have 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  491 

made  him  popular  and  without  ostentation  or  display  he  has  labored  most 
earnestly  for  the  welfare  of  the  city  as  well  as  for  success  in  his  profes- 
sional career. 

JOHN  R.  BLAKE. 

John  R.  Blake,  following-  agricultural  pursuits  on  section  five,  Union 
township,  is  a  native  of  Cayuga  county,  New  York,  born  on  the  8th  of 
December,  1831.  His  father,  John  Blake,  was  a  native  of  Maine,  and  was 
of  Eng^Hsh  descent.  The  possibilities  of  the  new  and  growing  west  at- 
tracted him.  He  realized  that  there  were  vast  regions  unclaimed  which 
might  be  made  cultivable  and  productive,  and  in  1833  he  turned  his  face 
toward  the  setting  sun,  continuing  his  journey  until  he  had  reached  Cal- 
houn county,  Michigan,  where  he  made  a  settlement,  living  there  for  two 
years  on  his  father's  farm.  He  afterward  removed  to  Clarendon  town- 
ship, of  the  same  county,  where  he  resided  until  old  age,  passing  away 
when  eighty-nine  years  of  age.  He  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Free 
Will  Baptist  church,  took  an  active  part  in  its  work  and  served  as  one  of 
its  deacons.  He  married  Lucinda  Howe,  who  was  born  in  New  York,  and 
was  of  M'^elsh  descent.  She  died  when  eighty-six  years  of  age.  They  were 
the  parents  of  six  children,  who  reached  mature  years. 

John  R.  Blake,  the  fifth  member  of  the  family,  was  only  two  years 
old  when  his  parents  came  to  Michigan,  the  family  home  being  estab- 
lished in  Calhoun  county.  He  was  reared  upon  the  farm  in  Clarendon 
township,  and  he  attended  the  district  schools  until  he  had  mastered  the 
elementary  branches  of  learning,  when  he  became  a  student  in  Olivet  College. 
Later  he  spent  a  half  year  in  Oberlin  College,  in  Oberlin,  Ohio,  and  he  has 
also  taken  a  four  years  course  of  the  Chautauqua  Literary  Scientific  Society 
Circle.  He  pursued  this  at  Clarendon  and  was  graduated  in  1S82.  The 
following  year  he  came  to  Union  City,  and  soon  afterward  completed  ar- 
rangements for  purchasing  the  farm  upon  which  he  now  resides.  While 
in  Calhoun  county  he  had  taught  for  several  years,  proving  a  capable  and 
successful  educator.  It  was  also  during  the  fall  of  1861,  at  Oberlin,  Ohio, 
that  he  offered  his  services  to  the  government  in  defense  of  the  Union.  He 
enlisted  in  the  army  and  went  to  the  south,  but  became  ill  after  a  short  time 
and  returned  home. 

In  1862  Mr.  Blake  was  married  to  Miss  Nancy  L.  Hungerford,  a 
daughter  of  Hiram  and  Lucinda  (Waters)  Hungerford,  She  was  born  and 
reared  in  Michigan,  and  by  her  marriage  has  become  the  mother  of  two 
daughters:  Hattie  Lucinda,  the  wife  of  Henry  E.  Eronson,  of  Union 
township,  by  whom  she  has  a  son,  John  H. ;  and  Sadie  M.,  at  home. 

Mr,  Blake  has  never  given  his  political  allegiance  to  other  than  the 
Republican  party.  He  cast  his  ballot  for  General  John  C.  Fremont  and  for 
each  nominee  at  the  head  of  the  ticket  since  that  time.  He  attended  the 
anniversary  services  of  the  organization  of  the  Republican  party  "under  the 
oaks,"  at  Jackson,  Michigan,  and  has  rejoiced  in  the  successes  which  have 
come  to  the  poHtical  organization  that  has  always  stood  for  progress,  re- 
form and  improvement.     He  is  a  member  of  the  First  Congregational  church 


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492  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

of  Union  City,  interested  in  its  development  and  the  extension  of  its  influ- 
ence and  active  in  the  Sunday  school  work.  He  has  been  particularly  help- 
ful in  the  latter  department  of  church  activity  and  has  organized  many  Sun- 
day schools  in  the  county,  realizing  the  value  of  eariy  moral  training  for 
the  youth,  for  the  Psalmist  said:  "Train  a  child  up  in  the  way  he  should 
go  and  when  lie  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it."  He  has  for  twenty  years 
attended  each  state  Sunday  school  convention,  also  all  of  the  Sunday  school 
conventions  of  the  county  and  three  of  the  international  Sunday  school  con- 
ventions and  is  now  a  teacher  in  the  Sunday  school  at  Union  City,  and  a 
deacon  in  the  church.  His  life  has  indeed  been  honorable  and  upright, 
prompted  by  principles  and  motives  that  neither  seek  nor  require  disguise. 

EARL  HAZEN. 

Earl  Hazen,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Branch  county  and  a  retired 
farmer  now  living  in  Sherwood,  is  numbered  among  the  worthy  citizens  that 
Ohio  has  furnished  to  Michigan,  for  his  birth  occurred  in  Richland  county, 
of  the  former  state,  May  28,  1828.  His  father,  Jabin  Hazen,  was  a  native 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  took  up  his  abode  in  Ohio  during  the  period  of  its 
pioneer  development.  He  came  to  Michigan  in  1837,  and  cast  in  his  lot 
with  the  frontier  settlers  of  Calhoun  county,  taking  up  his  abode  in  Eck- 
ford  township.  The  year  1840  witnessed  his  arrival  in  Branch  county  and 
he  located  in  what  is  now  Sherwood,  but  the  site  of  the  town  was  then  all 
covered  with  a  dense  forest,  there  being  only  about  four  houses  between 
Sherwood  and  Union  City  and  the  same  number  between  Sherwood  and 
Colon,  in  St.  Joseph  county.  He  purchased  land  which  was  all  raw  and 
unimproved,  not  a  stick  of  timber  having  been  cut  on  the  place  or  a  build- 
ing of  any  kind  erected.  He  first  built  a  log  cabin  and  in  pioneer  style 
began  life  there.  He  worked  energetically  in  clearing  the  farm  with  the 
assistance  of  his  sons  and  as  the  forest  was  cut  down,  acre  after  acre  was 
placed  under  the  plow  and  in  due  course  of  time  abundant  harvests  were 
gathered.  He  lived  to  be  eighty-three  years  of  age  and  was  one  of  the 
venerable  citizens  and  honored  pioneer  residents  of  the  county.  He  traced 
his  ancestry  back  to  one  of  three  brothers  who  came  from  Spain,  two  of 
them  settling  in  Pennsylvania.  They  became  separated  from  the  third  brother 
and  never  heard  of  him  again.  The  mother  of  our  subject  bore  the  maiden 
name  of  Parmeiia  Studley,  a  native  of  New  York,  who  lived  to  be  about 
eighty-two  years  of  age.  She  became  the  mother  of  five  sons  and  two 
daughters,  all  of  whom  reached  adult  years,  and  Earl  Hazen  is  the  eldest 
of  the  three  now  living.  His  brother,  Charles  Marion  Hazen,  resides  on  the 
old  farm  homestead  in  Sherwood  township,  and  their  sister  Jane,  the  widow 
of  Edward  Bartlett,  is  now  living  in  Minnesota. 

Earl  Hazen  was  about  eight  years  of  age  when  brought  to  Michigan  ljy 
his  parents,  and  was  a  youth  of  ten  summers  when  he  became  a  resident 
of  Branch  county.  During  the  greater  part  of  the  time  since  he  has  made 
his  home  in  Sherwood  township,  and  when  a  boy  he  attended  one  of  the 
old-time  log  school  houses,  mastering  the  branches  of  learning  therein  taught, 
altliough  the  curriculum  was  very  limited  in  that  day.   His  training  at  farm  la- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  493 

bor,  however,  was  not  meager,  for  he  assisted  his  father  in  clearing  the  land 
and  cultivating  the  first  crops,  remaining  on  the  old  homestead  until  he  at- 
tained his  majority.  He  then  started  ont  in  life  for  himself,  depending  en- 
tirely upon  the  labors  nf  his  hands  for  a  livelihood.  He  worked  by  the 
day  at  any  employment  which  he  could  secure  and  it  was  thus  that  he  gained 
his  start  in  the  business  world. 

In  185 1  Mr.  Hazen  sought  a  companion  and  helpmate  for  life's  journey, 
being  married  in  that  year  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Wehb.  He  then  purchased  a 
tract  of  land  in  Sherwood  township,  about  a  mile  south  of  the  village  of 
Sherwood,  where  he  cleared  away  the  timber,  chopping  wood  on  about 
twenty  acres.  He  then  traded  that  farm  for  propertj^  in  Colon,  Michigan, 
where  he  worked  at  the  cooper's  trade  for  a  number  of  years,  after 
which  he  purchased  a  small  place  in  Matteson  township,  wliere  he 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  brick,  carrying  on  business  along  that 
line  very  successfully  for  many  years.  He  also  added  sixty  acres  of 
land  adjoining  the  brickyard,  and  while  conducting  that  industria)  enter- 
prise he  manufactured  the  brick  used  in  the  construction  of  the  house  which 
is  now  his  home.  He  built  his  residence  in  1875,  and  it  has  since  been  his 
place  of  abode.  His  first  wife  died  in  1S64,  leaving  a  daughter,  Ella,  who 
is  also  now  deceased.  In  1865  Mr.  Hazen  married  Emma  Calver,  who 
died  March  33.  1903,  He  has  four  grandsons  and  two  granddaughters. 
A.  D.  Frye.  Carrie  Frye,  Clifford  Frye,  Charley  Frye,  and  Leo  and  Theo 
Frye,  twins. 

Mr.  Hazen  now  owns  forty  acres  of  land  in  Sherwood  township  across 
the  road  from  the  old  homestead.  He  and  his  wife  are  the  oldest  settlers 
in  this  township,  and  have  been  identified  with  the  upbuilding  of  Branch 
county  from  its  infancy,  for  when  they  arrived  here  the  entire  district  was 
almost  an  unbroken  wilderness.  Many  changes  have  occurred  and  Mr.  Hazen 
has  favored  every  prc^ressive  measure  tending  to  the  permanent  good  of 
the  county.  He  cast  his  first  presidential  vote  for  Fremont  and  has  since 
su[;p<jrted  each  nominee  at  the  head  of  the  Republican  ticket  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  year  i860,  when  he  voted  for  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  In  1864, 
however,  he  supported  Abraliam  Lincohi,  and  has  since  been  loyal  to  Repub- 
lican interests.  He  has  held  some  of  the  local  offices  and  he  is  a  member 
of  the  Free  Methodist  church,  with  -which  he  has  been  identified  for  several 
years.  During  a  long  residence  of  sixty-eight  years  in  Branch  county  he 
has  become  well  known,  and  as  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  is  certainly  de- 
serving of  representation  in  this  volume.  His  life  history  if  given  in  detail 
would  present  an  accurate  picture  of  pioneer  conditions  here,  for  in  the 
cabin  home  in  which  he  lived  all  of  the  hardships  of  frontier  Hfe  were  met,  . 
and  many  of  the  pleasures  incident  to  the  settlement  of  a  pioneer  district 
were  also  enjoyed. 

ALBERT  SHEPARD. 

Albert  Shepard,  station  agent  at  Bronson,  Michigan,  enjoys  the  distinc- 
tion of  being  the  oldest  employe  on  his  division  of  the  road.  He  was  born 
in  St.  Joseph  county,  Michigan,  January  4,  1847.     His  father,  Jason  Shep- 


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494  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

ard,  a  native  of  New  York,  came  to  Michigan  at  an  early  day,  and  in  1856 
settled  in  Branch  county,  where  he  lived  for  nearly  half  a  century,  and 
where  he  died  at  a  ripe  old  age,  January  2,  1902.  He  worked  at  his  trade, 
that  of  millwright,  in  Hillsdale  and  St.  Joseph  counties,  and  after  locating 
in  Branch  county  he  owned  and  ran  a  flour  mill  at  Bronson  many  yearn. 
The  latter  part  of  his  life  was  spent  in  retirement.  His  wife,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Marj-  Miller,  was  born  in  New  York  state  and  died  in  Bronson. 

At  the  time  the  Shepard  family  moved  to  Branch  county  Albert  was 
a  boy  of  nine  years.  After  finishing  his  .studies  in  the  public  schools  he 
learned  telegraphy  and  secured  a  situation  as  telegraph  operator  with  the 
Lake  Shore  Railroad,  a  position  he  filled  eight  years.  For  the  past  twenty- 
?even  years  he  has  been  station  agent  at  Bronson,  thus  having  been  in  the 
service  of  the  road  a  longer  time  than  any  other  employe.  Among  the  in- 
vestments Mr.  Shepard  has  made  is  a  valuable  oil  well  in  Marion  county, 
Indiana. 

Of  his  family  we  record  that  Mrs.  Shepard  was  formerly  Miss  Jennie 
A.  Miles,  of  Coklwater,  Michigan.  They  have  three  children,  namely: 
Charles  A.,  a  station  agent  at  Fremont,  Ohio:  Grace  M.,  wife  of  Charles 
Rockwell;  and  Bert,  a  telegraph  operator  on  the  Pacific  coast. 

The  mysteries  of  Masonry  Mr.  Shepard  has  penetrated  from  the  Blue 
Lodge  to  the  Mystic  Shrine.  He  has  membership  in  the  Lodge  and  Chapter 
at  Bronson,  the  Council  and  Commandery  at  Coldwater,  and  the  Mystic 
Shrine  at  Detroit.  Politically  he  is  a  Republican  and  religiously  he  harmon- 
izes with  the  Congregational  chinch,  of  which  he  is  a  consistent  member. 

JOSEPH  MILLER. 

After  a  long  life  of  industry  and  usefulness  the  subject  of  this  review. 
Mr.  Joseph  Miller,  is  spending  his  declining  days  in  well-earned  leisure,  hving 
in  a  comfortable  home  at  California  Center,  although  still  retaining  his  fine 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  forty  acres  on  section  twelve,  Kinderhook  town- 
ship. 

Mr.  Miller  is  a  native  of  Highland  county,  Ohio,  where  he  was  born 
May  I.  1830.  His  father,  Jacob  Miller,  and  "his' grandfather,  Daniel  Miller, 
were  both  natives  of  Pennsylvania,  and  it  is  supposed  that  the  Miller  family 
had  lived  in  that  state  for  a  number  of  previous  generations.  Our  subject's 
father,  Jacob  Miller,  grew  to  manhood  in  Pennsylvania,  and  there  he  was 
married  to  Elizabeth  Protius,  also  born  in  that  state.  Soon  after  1820  they 
sought  a  home  in  the  then  new  state  of  Ohio,  and  accordingly  made  the  trip 
there  in  the  customary  primitive  manner  of  the  times,  locating  first  in  High- 
'  land  county,  where  they  remained  until  1830,  then  again  traveling  westward 
into  Indiana.  They  crossed  over  the  border  into  Michigan  and  finding  a 
little  setdement  at  White  Pigeon,  they  decided,  as  it  was  then  early  winter, 
to  spend  the  remainder  of  the  cold  season  here.  Accordingly  they  appro- 
priated an  empty  log  cabin  here  and  stayed  for  a  few  months,  Mr.  Miller 
in  the  meantime  doing  a  little  prospecting  on  his  own  account.  Passing 
over  into  LaGrange  county,  Indiana,  he  found  here  a  suitable  tract  in  Green- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  495 

field  township  and  secured  a  deed  from  the  government.  Here  he  made  a 
home,  erecting  a  log  house  and  beginning  the  clearing  of  the  land.  But 
Jacob  Miller  did  not  live  long  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  labors,  for  he  died 
here  May  13,  1838,  at  the  age  of  fifty-three  years.  Mrs.  Miller  was  left  a 
widow  with  twelve  children  to  rear.  She  met  her  added  duties  bravely  and 
well,  however,  and  with  the  assistance  of  the  elder  children  managed  to 
complete  the  rearing  of  the  younger  children  and  to  help  them  get  started 
in  life.  She  lived  upon  the  old  homestead  until  her  death  here  August  16, 
1869,  and  it  was  most  gratifying  to  her  to  know  that  at  this  time  all  of  her 
twelve  children  had  grown  to  successful  manhood  and  womanhood  and  that 
all  of  them  were  married  and  with  homes  and  families  of  their  own.  Mr. 
Jacob  Miller  had  not  only  secured  the  first  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  from 
the  government,  but  he  also  before  his  death  had  purchased  over  five  hun- 
dred acres  additional,  seventy  acres  of  which  was  over  the  border  in  Branch 
county,  Michigan.  After  the  death  of  the  father  and  mother  this  property 
was  divided  among  the  twelve  children.  Of  these  twelve  children  only  three 
are  now  living:  Joseph,  our  subject;  Salome  Robbins,  of  Iowa;  and  Will- 
iam, of  Illinois.  The  other  nine  died  in  the  places  named :  John,  in  Iowa ; 
Christinia  Young,  in  Kansas;  David,  in  St.  Joseph  county,  Michigan; 
George,  in  Coldwater;  James,  in  Noble;  Adam,  in  St.  Joseph  county;  Cath- 
erine Robbins,  in  St.  Joseph  county;  Daniel,  in  Sturgis,  Michigan:  and 
Henry,  in  Iowa. 

Jo.seph  Miller,  our  subject,  was  but  an  infant  of  six  months  when  his 
parents  took  him  to  White  Pigeon,  and  after  their  removal  to  Greenfield 
township  he  grew  to  young  manhood  upon  the  home  farm  there.  He  was 
only  eight  years  old  when  his  father  died  and  he  lived  at  home  with  his 
mother  until  he  had  attained  the  age  of  fourteen,  when  he  began  to  work 
for  himself,  his  first  wages  being  ten  dollars  per  month.  The  first  fall  after 
he  was  twenty  years  old  he  purchased  forty  acres  of  new  land  in  Green- 
field township  and  earned  enough  money  in  one  summer  to  pay  for  it.  The 
following  year  he  was  married  to  Caroline  E.  Norton,  a  native  of  St  Joseph 
county,  Michigan,  and  the  daughter  of  Trumbull  and  Lois  Alger  Norton. 
Their  early  married  life  was  passed  in  LaGrange  county,  Indiana,  but  in 
1853  he  sold  out  his  possessions  here  and  decided  to  try  his  fortunes  in  the 
far  west.  They  started  for  Iowa  in  a  one-horse  wagon,  leaving  Indiana 
in  the  latter  part  of  August  and  arriving  in  Boone  county.  Iowa,  October  12 
of  the  same  year.  He  secured  a  tract  of  government  land  in  Perry  township, 
Boone  county,  and  began  its  improvement.  At  this  time  the  setders  were 
very  few  and  far  between  and  the  little  family  experienced  all  of  the  hard- 
ships of  life  in  a  new  country.  In  1857  it  was  decided  to  return  to'  Michigan, 
and  this  they  did,  locating  in  Kinderhook  township,  Branch  county,  where 
they  owned  two'  different  farms  before  finally  locating  on  the  one  hundred 
and  forty  acre  tract  on  section  twelve,  which  Mr.  Miller  still  owns.  Mr. 
Miller  has  expended  much  labor  and  money  in  the  improvetnent  of  this  fine 
farm  and  it  now  forms  one  of  the  most  excellent  farm  homes  in  Kinderhook 
township.  Mrs.  Miller  died  August  9,  1884,  leaving  behind  her  a  sorrowing 
husband  and  mourning  children,  as  well  as  a  large  circle  of  warm  friends. 


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496  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

She  had  borne  her  husband  eight  children,  a  complete  record  of  whom  is  as 
follows :  Clarence  married  Emma  McNall  and  they  have  two  sons,  Theron 
and  Earl,  their  home  being-  in  Angola,  Indiana.  Josephine  Bordt  died  De- 
cember 8,  1900.  She  had  two  children,  Claude  and  Ethel,  they  living  in 
Kinderhook.  Lois  Babb  lives  in  Kinderhook  and  she  has  three  children, 
Frank,  Ella  and  Ralph.  Amiinda  Ball  is  a  resident  of  Sanilac  county,  Michi- 
gan, where  she  has  five  children,  Delia,  Eliza,  Minnie,  Grace  and  Edna. 
Elsie  died  at  the  age  of  two  years.  Oscar  died  December  8,  igoi.  Frank 
married  Vesta  Gould  and  they  have  one  son,  Claude,  their  home  being  in 
Coldwater.  Bertha  Christina  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Miller  also  has  five 
gi'eat-grandchildren,  as  follows:  Mildred  and  Clarence  Miller,  children  of 
Theron  and  Florence  Myers  Miller;  Wilma  J.  Miller,  daughter  of  Earl  and 
Nellie  Carruthers  Miller;  Mildred  and  Howard  Delos  Yates,  children  of  Amos 
and  EUa  Babb  Yates. 

Mr.  Miller's  second  marriage  occurred  November  10,  1885,  when  Har- 
riet McNali  Norton  became  his  wife.  By  her  first  husband,  Alfred  Norton, 
Mrs.  Miller  had  five  children,  only  one  of  whom  is  living:  Willie,  Freddie 
and  Ray  died  in  infancy;  Edgar  B.  died  at  the  age  of  twelve  years;  Floyd  L. 
married  Alma  Hall  and  they  have  three  children,  Audrey  L.,  Jennie  May  and 
Oral  O'.,  the  home  of  the  family  being  in  Chicago.  Mrs.  Miller  was  the 
daughter  of  two  of  Branch  county's  honored  pioneers,  Hiram  and  Harriet 
Barnes  McNall,  appropriate  biographical  mention  of  this  family  being  made 
elsewhere  in  this  volume  under  the  article  concerning  Mrs.  Miller's  brother, 
Irving  McNall,  of  Kinderhook  township, 

Mr.  Joseph  Miller  was  for  many  years  a  leading  figure  in  the  affairs  of 
Kinderhook  township  and  he  was  called  to  a  number  of  local  offices.  He  wa.s 
a  justice  of  the  peace,  township  highway  commissioner  and  constable  for  a 
number  of  terms  and  also  served  his  school  district  as  director  for  many  years. 
Formerly  he  aifiliated  with  the  Knights  of  the  Tented  Maccabees  and  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Mrs.  Miller  belongs  to  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  and  is  also  a  member  of  Cahfornia  Hive  No.  674,  Ladies 
of  the  Tented  Maccabees,  and  of  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union, 
of  which  organization  she  was  record  keeper  for  nine  years.  No  residents 
of  this  portion  of  Branch  county  possess  in  a  higher  degree  the  confidence 
and  true  regard  of  the  people  in  this  vicinty  than  do  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Miller, 
Their  home  is  a  most  hospitable  one  and  their  many  warm  friends  wish  for 
them  continued  prosperity  and  liappiness  for  years  to  come.  Uncle  Joe 
Miller  is  one  of  the  honored  pioneers  of  old  Branch  county,  and  he  has  seen 
the  Indians  pass  by  by  the  hundreds  on  the  trails. 

GEORGE  W,  CLEVELAND, 

George  W,  Cleveland,  who  is  filling  the  office  of  supervisor  of  Batavi:i 
township  and  makes  his  home  on  section  thirteen,  was  bom  in  Lenawee  county, 
Michigan,  on  the  23rd  of  February,  184S.  His  father,  Charles  Cleveland, 
was  a  native  of  New  York,  and  when  a  young  man  came  to  Michigan.  Tlie 
paternal   grandfather,  William  Cleveland,   was  a  native  of  England  and  in 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  497 

early  manhood'  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  the  new  world.  He  established  his 
home  in  New  York  and  there  resided  until  his  removal  to  this  state  at  an 
early  period  in  its  development.  Following  his  arrival  in  Michigan  Charles 
Cleveland  was  married  in  Lenawee  county  and  there  took  up  his  abode,  his 
attention  being  devoted  to  general  agricultural  pursuits  up  to  the  time  of 
bis  death,  which  occurred  when  he  was  a  comparatively  young  man  of  thirty- 
six  years.  He  married  Miss  Emma  Purdy,  a  native  of  England,  who,  wKen 
thirteen  years  of  age.  came  to  the  United  States  with  her  parents,  the  family 
borne  being  established  in  Lenawee  county,  Michigan,  She  died  in  Cass 
county,  this  state,  when  thirty-eight  years  of  age. 

George  W.  Cleveland  was  the  fourth  in  a  family  of  five  children,  and 
when  seven  years  of  age  went  with  his  mother  to  Cass  county.  When  a 
youth  of  twelve  years  he  went  to  Hillsdale  county,  Michigan,  and  the  fol- 
lowing year  removed  to  Ingham  county,  where  at  the  age  of  fifteen  yeai^s 
he  responded  to  the  country's  call  for  aid,  enlisting  as  a  private  of  Company 
G,  Twenty-seventh  Michigan  Infantry.  This  was  in  1863,  and  on  the 
30th  of  July,  1864,  he  sustained  a  wound  in  the  right  arm  which  caused  the 
loss  of  his  hand.  He  was  in  the  hospital  for  tai  months  at  Washington  and 
Philadelphia,  and  was  honorably  discharged  at  the  Chester  hospital  in  the 
latter  city  on  the  30th  of  May,  1865. 

Mr.  Cleveland  then  returned  to  Michigan  and  located  in  Branch  county. 
For  thirteen  years  he  was  upon  the  road  as  a  travebng  salesman,  at  the  end 
of  which  time  he  settled  in  Batavia  township,  giving  his  attention  to  agri- 
cultural pursuits.  He  lived  upon  different  farms  for  some  years  and  then 
when  his  labors  had  brought  him  sufficient  capital  he  purchased  in  1896  a 
farm  in  Batavia  township,  where  he  resided  for  seven  years.  On  the  ex- 
piration of  that  period,  however,  he  sold  the  property  and  bought  the  place 
on  which  he  now  resides  on  section  thirteen.  This  is  a  good  property,  and 
under  his  care  and  cultivation  has  been  made  productive  and  profitable. 

On  the  i8th  of  January,  1874,  Mr.  Cleveland  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  EUzabeth  Higgins,  a  daughter  of  James  and  Jane  (Perkins)  Hig- 
gins,  and  the  widow  of  Arthur  E.  Filkins.  She  was  born  in  Durham,  Gray 
county,  Ontario,  September  18,  1853,  and  was  sixteen  years  of  age  when 
brought  to  Branch  county,  Michigan.  By  her  first  marriage  she  had  one 
daughter,  JuUa  Arlene,  who  is  now  a  teacher.  She  took  a  teacher's  course 
in  the  Ypsilanti  Nonna!  and  in  the  kindergarten  department  also,  and  she 
expects  to  make  teaching  her  life  work.  She  will  also  complete  the  Normal 
teacher's  course.  She  has  taught  twelve  years  and  is  now  in  the  city  schools 
of  Coldwater.  By  the  second  marriage  there  is  a  daughter,  Grace  A,,  now 
the  wife  of  K.  D.  Lewis,  of  Grand  Rapids.  She  received  her  diploma  at  the 
siime  time  as  her  sister  Arlene,  and  has  taught  four  years  in  Traverse  City, 
Michigan,  Mr,  Lewis  is  engaged  in  the  insurance  business,  and  they  have 
one  daughter,  Katharine.  Mrs.  Cleveland  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal 
church,  as  are  also  the  daughters,  the  former  is  a  member  of  the  Centennial 
Bay  View  Literary  Circle.  Mr.  Cleveland  has  been  a  hfe4ong  Republican, 
taking  an  active  interest  in  the  work  and  success  of  his  party,  and  for  four 
terms  he  served  as  treasurer  of  Batavia  tovvnship.     He  has  also  been  justice 


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4^8  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

of  the  peace  and  a  member  of  the  township  board,  and  in  1905  he  was  elected 
supervisor,  which  position  he  is  now  filling.  He  is  well  known  in  Branch 
county,  having:  taken  an  active  interest  in  political  affairs  and  public  life, 
and  his  co-operation  has  ever  been  on  the  side  of  progress,  improvement; 
reform  and  substantial  development.  Without  any  pecuniary  or  family  ad- 
vantages to  aid  him  at  the  outset  of  his  career  he  has  always  steadily  worked 
his  way  upward  in  business  life  and  his  excellent  farm  is  the  visible  evidence 
of  his  life  of  energy  and  thrift, 

CORYDON  M.  FENNER. 

Corydon  M.  Fenner,  who  for  fifty-five  years  has  been  a  resident  of 
Branch  county,  covering  nearly  the  entire  period  of  his  life,  is  now  engaged 
in  general  agricultural  pursuits  on  section  thirteen,  Ovid  township.  He 
regards  his  farm  work  as  abundantly  worthy  of  his  best  efforts,  and  his 
labors  have  resulted  in  bringing  his  place  up  to  a  high  state  of  cultivation. 
His  birth  occurred  in  Cattaraugus  county,  New  York,  on  the  13th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1847,  his  parents  being  Collins  and  Lucinda  (Meyers)  Fenner. 
The  father  was  born  in  the  Empire  state  in  1821,  and  there  spent  the  days 
of  his  youth  and  early  nlanhood.  Desiring  a  companion  and  helpmate  for 
life's  journey  he  chose  Miss  Lucinda  Meyers,  who  was  born  in  New  York 
in  1826.  In  1848  he  brought  his  family  to  Michigan,  settling  in  Branch 
county,  and  for  many  years  thereafter  was  closely  identified  with  agricult- 
ural pursuits,  the  family  home  being  established  and  maintained  in  Bethel 
township.  In  his  work  he  was  industrious  and  energetic  and  all  that  he  pos- 
sessed and  enjoyed  came  to  him  as  the  direct  reward  of  his  labor.  He  was 
always  earnest  in  his  advocacy  of  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party, 
which  he  supported  from  the  time  he  attained  his  majority  until  his  demise. 
He  became  affiliated  with  the  Masonic  lodge  at  Coldwater,  and  was  a  devoted 
member  of  the  Methodist  church  there.  He  also  organized  the  first  Sunday 
school  in  Branch  county,  and  he  did  everything  in  his  power  to  promote 
the  moral  development  of  his  community,  while  his  own  life  was  guided 
by  honorable  principles  and  characterized  by  manly  conduct.  He  died  in 
the  spring  of  1905,  in  his  eighty-fifth  year,  and  was  laid  to  rest  amid  the 
deep  regret  of  many  friends,  for  he  had  a  wide  acquaintance  in  Branch 
county,  and  wherever  known  he  was  respected  for  his  genuine  worth.  Unto 
him  and  his  wife  were  born  two  sons  and  four  daughters,  of  whom  Phebe 
is  now  decea.sed.  The  others  are:  Marbry,  Corydon,  Charles,  Calista  and 
Mary,  Two  of  the  children  were  born  in  the  Empire  state  and  the  others 
after  the  removal  of  the  family  to  Branch  county. 

Corydon  Fenner  was  only  about  six  months  old  when  brought  by  his 
parents  to  Michigan,  and  he  was  reared  upon  the  homestead  farm  in  Bethel 
township,  where  he  remained  imtil  he  had  attained  his  majority.  He  early 
took  his  place  in  the  fields,  where  he  worked  from  the  time  of  spring  plant- 
ing until  crops  were  harvested  in  the  late  autumn.  During  the  winter  months 
he  attended  the  public  schools  and  gained  a  fair  knowledge  of  the  common 
branches  of  learning.  On  attaining  his  majority  he  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Emma  Buck,  a  daughter  of  Loren  W.  and  Louisa  (Smith)  Buck, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  499 

a  farmer  and  carpenter  of  Branch  county,  and  one  of  the  oldest  settlers  of 
this  part  of  the  state.  Mrs,  Fenner  was  reared  and  educated  here.  The 
year  following  their  marriage  the  young  couple  removed  to  Ovid  township, 
settling  on  the  farm  which  had  been  purchased  by  his  father.  Mr.  Fenner 
of  this  review,  however,  has  cleared  most  of  the  place  and  has  made  all  of 
the  present  improvements,  which  are  modern  in  character  and  attractive 
in  appearance,  adding  largely  to  the  value  of  the  place.  Eveiything  about 
the  farm  is  neat  and  thrifty  in  appearance,  and  Mr,  Fenner  is  regarded  as 
one  of  the  wide-awake,  practical  and  progressive  agriculturists  of  his  com- 
munity. 

Unto  our  subject  a>nd  his  wife  have  been  bom  four  sons,  Ixjren,  Nel- 
son, Jasper  and  Roland.  Loren  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and 
also  the  Angola  College,  and  he  is  a  prosperous  farmer.  He  wedded  Miss 
Alma  Crystler.  Nelson  is  a  farmer  of  Bethel  township,  and  wedded  Miss 
Millie  Olmstead.  Jasper  is  now  a  student  in  the  University  at  Ann  Arbor, 
and  i-s  pursuing  a  course  in  pharmacy.  He  taught  school  two  years  in  Ovid 
township.  Roland  resides  -with  his  parents.  The  members  of  the  house- 
hold occupy  an  enviable  position  hi  social  circles  and  the  hospitality  of  the 
Fenner  home  is  greatly  enjoyed  by  many  friends.  Mr.  Fenner  votes  with 
the  Democracy  and  for  one  year  served  as  ditch  commissioner.  Mrs.  Fenner 
has  an  old  copy  of  a  newspaper  entitled  "  Brother  Jonathan."  printed  July  4. 
1845.  ^s  recognizes  the  needs  and  possibiHties  of  the  county  for  material 
improvement  and  permanent  development,  and  endorses  all  the  plans  tend- 
ing to  further  the  general  good. 

KIMBLE  PARRISH. 

Kimble  Parrish,  who  assisted  in  building  the  first  mill  in  Coldwater. 
and  who  since  that  time  has  been  a  valued  representative  of  the  city  because 
of  his  activity  in  business  affairs  and  his  sterling  personal  worth,  is  now 
living  retired,  having  passed  the  eighty-sixth  milestone  on  life's  journey. 
One  of  the  most  venerable  citizens  of  Branch  county,  no  history  of  this  sec- 
tion of  the  state  would  be  complete  without  his  life  record.  He  was  born 
in  Monroe  county.  New  York,  April  16,  1818.  His  father,  Abram  Parrish, 
was  a  native  of  Connecticut  and  spent  his  last  days  in  Monroe  county.  New 
York.  A  farmer  by  occupation  he  followed  that  pursuit  for  many  years 
in  order  to  provide  for  his  family.  He  married  Hannah  Shaw,  who  was 
also  a  native  of  the  Empire  state  and  died  there.  They  became  the  parents 
of  thirteen  children,  of  whom  twelve  reached  mature  years,  while  one  was 
killed  by  being  thrown  from  a  horse  in  childhood. 

Kimble  Parrish,  the  tenth  in  order  of  birth  of  the  family,  remained  at 
home  through  the  period  of  his  boyhood  and  youth,  assisting  his  father  in 
the  cultivation  of  the  home  farm  and  gaining  a  knowledge  of  the  best 
methods  of  conducting  the  business.  Lessons  of  industry  and  integrity  were 
instilled  into  his  mind  and  have  borne  rich  fruit  in  an  honorable  and  success- 
ful career  in  later  life.  In  1836  he  sought  a  home  in  the  west,  coming  to 
Branch  county,  Michigan,  and  on  taking  up  his  abode  in  Coldwater  he  began 
the  manufacture  of  kettles,  plo^^■s,  carving  machines  and  the  building  of  saw 


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500  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

mills.  He  assisted  in  the  construction  o£  tlie  first  mill  in  Coldwater  and 
was  one  of  the  early  representatives  of  the  industrial  life  here.  He  also 
carried  on  farming  to  some  extent,  hauling  his  grain  to  Hillsdale  with  a 
team.  The  unimproved  condition  of  the  county  can  be  imagined  from  the 
fact  that  many  Indians  still  lived  in  this  part  of  the  state  and  there  were 
many  wild  animals  in  the  forests,  while  various  kinds  of  wild  game  could 
easily  be  secured  by  the  hunter.  The  forests  were  uncut,  the  streams  were 
largely  unbridged  and  the  lands  uncultivated,  but  as  the  years  passed  great 
changes  were  wrought.  Mr.  P'arrish  bore  his  full  share  in  the  work  of 
improvement  and  in  addition  to  his  efforts  along  manufacturing  lines  was 
also  connected  with  agricultural  interests.  He  has  owned  several  farms  and 
has  traded  quite  extensively,  and  his  business  interests  have  been  so  care- 
fully directed  by  sound  judgment  that  as  the  years  have  passed  he  has  accu- 
mulated a  handsome  competence. 

On  the  i8th  of  May,  1843,  Mr.  Parrish  was  married  to  Miss  Mary 
Chapman,  who  was  born  in  Franklin  county,  New  York,  June  22,  1817,  her 
parents  being  Edmond  and  Polly  (Davis)  Chapman.  She  came  to  Branch 
county,  Michigan,  in  1836  witli  her  father,  who  was  one  of  the  pioneers 
of  the  county,  and  who  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  while  her  mother's 
birth  occurred  in  Vermont.  In  the  Chapman  family  were  two  sons  and  two 
daughters,  Mrs.  Parrish  being  the  second  child  and  elder  daughter.  By  her 
marriage  she  has  become  the  mother  of  two  children:  Lepha,  the  wife  of 
George  O'Keefe;  and  Rhoda,  the  wife  of  Samuel  Parsons,  of  Sioux  county, 
Iowa. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Parrish  have  lived  for  sixty-eight  years  in  Branch  county, 
most  of  the  time  in  Coldwater,  and  are  therefore  numbered  among  the  pioneer 
settlers.  They  have  celebrated  the  sixty-second  anniversary  of  their  mar- 
riage, and  through  the  long  years  have  lived  happily  together,  sharing  with 
each  other  the  joys  and  sorrows,  the  adversity  and  prosperity  of  life.  Com- 
manding the  respect  of  all  who  knew  them,  they  have  a  wide  circle  of  friends 
in  the  county.  Mr.  Parrish  was  the  first  Whig  constable  of  Branch  county, 
and  he  has  been  a  Republican  since  the  organization  of  the  party,  voting  for 
its  first  presidential  candidate,  John  C.  Fremont.  He  was  at  one  time  a 
member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  for  many  years  he 
and  his  wife  have  been  devoted  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
in  which  he  has  filled  various  offices  and  has  also  acted  as  a  teacher  in  the 
Sunday  school.  His  has  been  an  honored  and  an  upright  life.  He  has 
been  true  to  the  teachings  of  the  church,  has  been  straightforward  in  his 
business  dealings  and  reliable  at  all  times  in  his  transactions  with  his  fellow- 
men.  He  receives  the  veneration  and  respect  which  should  ever  be  accorded 
one  who  has  advanced  far  on  life's  journey,  and  all  speak  of  him  and  his 
wife  in  terms  of  high  regard. 

LOREN  R.  BROOKS. 

One  of  the  oldest  families  of  Branch  county  is  that  of  which  Loren  K. 
Brooks  is  a  representative.  In  investigating  the  history  of  pioneer  times  it 
will   be  found   that  his   grandfather,  Jesse   Brooks,   settled   here   at   a   very 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  501 

early  day  and  became  a  factor  in  the  work  of  early  development  and  im- 
provement, and  from  that  time  to  the  present  members  of  the  family  have 
borne  their  full  share  in  the  work  of  upbuilding  that  has  wrought  the  present 
condition  of  advancement  and  civilization  in  this  part  of  the  state.  Jesse 
Brooks  was  a  native  of  Glastonbury,  Hartford  county,  Connecticut,  bom 
March  31,  1791.  In  early  manhood  he  wedded  Miss  Marinda  Fox,  who  was 
born  in  Hartford  county,  Connecticut,  February  7,  1794.  The  wedding  was 
celebrated  on  the  ist  of  January,  1812,  and  the  succeeding  year  they  removed 
to  Cornwell,  Litchfield  county,  Connecticut,  where  they  remained  until  1818, 
when  they  went  to  Tioga  county.  New  York,  there  residing  for  about  seven- 
teen years,  when  in  1835  they  came  to  Michigan,  making  their  way  to  Cold- 
water,  Branch  county.  More  than  seventy  years  have  come  and  gone  since 
that  time  and  the  traveler  of  today,  looking  abroad  over  well  cultivated  farms 
and  fine  orchards,  or  visiting  the  enterprising  and  thriving  towns  and  cities, 
can  scarcely  realize  that  at  the  time  of  Jesse  Brooks'  arrival  here  almost 
the  entire  county  was  covered  with  a  dense  growth  of  timber.  The  little 
streams  were  deflected  from  their  course  at  times  by  fallen  logs  or  other 
signs  of  nature's  changes,  and  only  here  and  there  had  a  clearing  been  made 
in  the  midst  of  the  forest  to  show  that  the  white  man  had  become  somewhat 
conversant  with  the  district  and  its  possibilities.  Jesse  Brooks  took  up  land 
from  the  government  and  with  the  aid  of  his  son,  Russell  Brooks,  cleared  and 
developed  a  farm.  He  continued  a  resident  of  this  county  up  to  the  time  of 
his  death,  and  when  he  was  called  to  his  final  rest  on  the  3rd  of  September, 
1872,  at  the  age  of  eighty-one  years,  the  county  mourned  the  loss  of  one 
of  its  most  valued  and  honored  pioneer  settlers,  for  while  carrying  on  his 
private  business  interests  he  had  at  the  same  time  contributed  to  the  work  of 
general  progress  and  upbuilding.  He  had  long  survived  his  wife,  who  passed 
away  on  the  14th  of  April,  1846.  In  their  family  were  fourteen  children, 
but  only  two  of  the  number  are  now  living;  Loren,  who  resides  in  Minne- 
sota; and  Mrs.  Marinda  Weldon,  of  Reed  City,  Michigan.  After  losing  his 
first  wife  Jesse  Brooks  wedded  Betsy  M.  Hiillips  on  the  29th  of  April,  1847, 
and  by  that  union  there  was  a  son  and  daughter :  Francis  N.  Brooks,  who 
died  while  serving  in  the  Union  army  in  the  Civil  war;  and  Mary  L.,  also 
deceased, 

Russell  Brooks,  who  was  the  fourth  member  of  the  family  of  Jesse 
and  Marinda  Brooks,  was  bom  in  Chenango  county.  New  York,  May  15, 
1819.  He  was  a  youth  of  about  sixteen  years  at  the  time  of  his  parents' 
removal  to  Michigan,  and  he  soon  became  familiar  with  the  varied  ex- 
periences incident  to  pioneer  life  when  the  frontier  home  was  separated  by 
long  distances  from  mill  and  market  and  other  evidences  of  the  older  civiliza- 
tion of  the  east.  He  became  the  active  assistant  of  his  father  in  clearing 
and  developing  new  land.  In  early  manhood  he  wedded  Mary  Jane  Earner, 
who  was  born  in  Schoharie  county,  New  York,  September  2.  1834,  a  daughter 
of  Joshua  and  Sarah  Carolina  (Wentworth)  Earner.  Her  parents  became 
residents  of  Eatavia,  Branch  county,  Michigan,  and  the  father  devoted  his 
attention  to  general  agricultural  pursuits  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which 
occurred  July  14,  1880,  while  his  wife  passed  away  June  7,  1873.     They 


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603  HISTORY  O'F  BRANCH  COUNTY 

were  the  parents  of  nine  children,  of  whom  seven  are  now  living.  Unto  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Rnssell  Brooks  were  born  five  children,  but  Jesse  A.,  Charles  W. 
and  Orcelia  are  now  deceased.  Those  who  still  survive  are  Mrs.  Carolina 
Hawley,  who  is  living"  in  Union  township,  Branch  county,  and  Loren  R., 
of  this  review. 

In  taking  up  the  personal  history  of  Loren  R.  Brooks  we  present  to 
our  readers  the  life  record  of  one  who  has  a  wide  and  favorable  acquaintance 
in  Branch  county.  His  birth  occurred  on  the  old  family  homestead  on  sec- 
tion 7,  Coldwater  township  on  the  15th  of  May,  1862,  and  he  was  reared 
to  farm  life,  no  event  of  s^jecial  importance  occurring  to  vary  the  routine 
of  farming  interests  for  him  in  his  youth.  His  education  was  acquired  in 
the  district  schools  and  when  not  busy  with  his  text-books  he  worked  in  the 
fields.  In  18S3  he  went  to  Missouri,  where  he  engaged  in  farming  imtil 
1886,  when  he  returned^to  the  old  homestead  in  Branch  county,  upon  which 
he  remained  for  a  year.  From  1887  until  1900  he  was  a  resident  farmer 
of  Union  township  and  then  again  returned  to  the  old  home  place  on  section 
7,  Coldwater  township.  Here  he  owns  eighty  acres  of  land  and  he  also  has 
a  tract  of  forty  acres  in  Batavia  township.  His  farm  is  well  improved  and  in 
all  of  his  work  he  displays  a  spirit  of  progress  that  has  placed  him  in  the.  front 
ranks  among  the  leading  agriculturists  of  his  community. 

On  the  8th  of  December,  1885,  Mr.  Brooks  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Louisa  L.  Ellington,  who  was  born  in  Bath  county,  Kentucky,  January 
28,  1861,  and  was  the  youngest  in  a  family  of  nine  children,  whose  parents 
were  Alvin  M.  and  Lucy  Jane  (Wilson)  Ellington.  Her  father  was  born 
in  Bath  county,  Kentucky,  November  23,  1817,  and  her  mother  in  Virginia, 
November  11,  1817,  and  they  were  married  on  the  8th  of  December,  1842. 
All  of  their  nine  children  were  bom  in  the  Blue  Grass  state  and  are  yet  liv- 
ing but  one.  The  father,  however,  died  in  Noveinber,  1890,  while  the  mother's 
death  occurred  in  1864. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brooks  have  four  children:  Ina  M..  Earl  R.  and  Carl  A., 
all  of  whom  are  living  at  home;  and  Carrie,  who  died  December  3,  1894.  Tlie 
parents  and  children  are  identified  with  the  Methodist  church  and  take  an 
active  and  helpful  interest  in  its  work.  Mr.  Brooks  exercises  his  right  of 
franchise  in  support  of  the  men  and  measures  of  the  Republican  party  and 
is  now  filling  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  in  Coldwater  township,  discharg- 
ing his  duties  with  strict  fairness  and  impartiality.  While  living  in  Union 
township  he  served  as  a  school  officer.  He  is  a  worthy  representative  of  a 
prominent  pioneer  family  and  at  the  same  time  the  position  which  he  has 
made  for  himself  in  agricultural  circles  would  entitle  him  to  mention  in  this 
volume.  , 

The  lineage  of  both  Mr,  and  Mrs.  Brooks  is  English  and  Scotch.  Mr. 
Brooks'  grandfather  Brooks  was  the  first  Sunday  School  superintendent 
of  the  Brooks  Sunday  School,  now  known  as  the  "  Centennial."  He  was  a 
class  leader  in  the  Methodist  church  for  many  years  in  the  county  and  in 
the  city  of  Coldwater.  In  relics  Mrs.  Brooks  lias  a  specimen  of  needle  work 
on  linen.  The  cloth  was  wo\'en  in  linen  by  her  grandmother  Wilson,  and  the 
silk  was  gathered  from  tlie  silk  worm,  and  this  piece  of  handwork  was  exe- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  503 

cutei]  October  24,  1810,  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years.  Mr.  Brooks  has  an 
old  gourd,  used  in  the  household,  which  is  over  one  hundred  years  old,  and  they 
also  have  one  of  the  old  counterpane  and  double  coverlets,  which  is  fully  100 
years  old.  They  also  have  two  old  spinning'  wheels  and  reeds  passed  down 
from  their  parents   and  grandparents. 

ARTHUR  G.  COPELAND. 

Arthur  G.  Copeland,  actively  and  successfully  connected  with  agricul- 
tural interests,  his  home  being  on  section  twenty-one,  Matteson  township, 
was  born  in  this  township  on  the  3rd  of  November,  1849.  His  father,  Rob- 
ert E.  Copeland,  was  a  native  of  Ireland  and  came  with  his  parents  to  Amer- 
ica when  eighteen  months  old,  being  a  son  of  Isaac  Copelartd,  who  first  lo- 
cated at  St.  Catherine's,  Canada,  where  the  grandfather  was  afterward  killed. 
Robert  E.  Copeland,  having  lost  his  father,  was  reared  by  a  Mr.  Colt  in 
Niagara  county,  New  York,  not  far  from  one  of  the  world's  greatest  won- 
ders—the Niagara  Falls.  He  remained  with  Mr.  Colt  until  about  sixteen 
years  of  age,  when  he  started  out  upon  an  independent  business  career,  work- 
ing at  any  employment  that  would  yield  him  an  honest  living.  When  twenty 
years  of  age  he  went  to  Lewiston,  New  York.  There  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Maria  Lindley,  a  native  of  the  Empire  state,  and  in  March, 
1847,  he  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  settling  in  Matteson  township, 
where  he  purchased  a  farm  on  section  twenty-two.  This  he  improved, 
clearing  the  fields  and  cultivating  his  crops,  erecting  good  buildings  and 
otherwise  adding  modern  equipments  to  the  place,  which  was  all  raw  land 
when  it  came  into  his  possession.  He  first  built  a  little  log  house,  in  which 
eight  of  his  children  were  born,  but  when  his  financial  resources  permitted" 
he  erected  a  good  modern  frame  residence  and  the  last  two  children  were 
bom  on  thai  farm.  Upon  the  old  homestead  eight  of  the  ten  children  grew 
to  manhood  or  womanhood  and  seven  are  yet  Uving.  The  father  still  sur- 
vives and,  having  been  born  on  the  4th  of  March,  1822,  he  has  passed  the 
eighty-third  milestone  on  life's  journey.  His  wife,  however,  passed  away 
on  the  15th  of  June,  1896.  Coming  to  Branch  county  at  an  early  day,  the 
family  shared  in  the  hardships  and  trials  incident  to  pioneer  life  and  the 
members  of  the  household  have  taken  an  active  and  helpful  part  in  the  work 
of  public  improvement. 

Alma  M.  Watson  was  born  in  Colon,  March  16,  1S59.  Married  to 
Arthur  G.  Copeland,  December  28,  i&75-  To  this  union  were  born  three 
cliildrcn,  Lee,  Ellen  and  Star,  She  has  Hved  in  this  community  all  her  life, 
except  about  four  years  in  Kansas.  She  was  converted  and  baptized  in  early 
childhood  and  united  with  the  Colon  M.  E.  church,  March  15,  1891.  She 
has  always  been  an  earnest  Christian,  was  cheerful,  saw  and  loved  the  good 
and  Ijeautiful  in  nature  and  in  people.  She  loved  her  home  and  family.  It 
can  truthfully  be  said,  she  loved  the  Lord  supremely,  and  her  neighbor  as 
herself.  She' lived  the  golden  rule.  She  had  been  gradually  failing  in  health 
during  the  past  year  or  more  and  it  was  decided  a  few  weeks  ago  that  an 
operation  was  necessary.  Her  last  words  while  sinking  into  unconscious- 
ness were,  "Jesus  lover  of  my  soul."     After  the  operation  she  endured  her 


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504  •        HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

suffering  bravely  and  passed  into  the  unseen  at  8:15  o'clock  Tuesday  even- 
ing, May  22.  1906,  aged  47  years,  i  month  and  29  days.  Her  remains, 
accompanied  by  her  hnsband  and  brother,  were  brought  from  Ann  Arbor 
on  Wednesday.  Funeral  services  were  held  at  her  home  Friday  afternoon. 
Rev.  C.  L.  Beebe,  her  pastor,  officiating.  Burial  in  Lakeside  cemetery. 
While  no  adult  human  life  is  faultless,  her  life  was  well  balanced,  unselfish, 
and  beautiful.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  was  the  church  of  her  choice.  She 
believed  and  loved  its  teachings  but  was  tolerant  and  charitable  to  all  people 
of  whatever  belief.  Her  last  words  were  words  of  faith  and  trust  in  the 
Savior  whom  she  had  known  and  loved  all  her  life;  thus  closes  another  life 
work. 

No   stream   from   its   source 
Flows  seaward,  how  lonely  soever  its  course. 
But  what  some  land  is  gladdened.     No  star  ever  rose 
And  set,  without  influence  somewhere.     Who  knows 
What  earth  needs  from  earth's  lowest  creature?     No  life 
Can  be  pure  in  its  purpose  and  strong  in  its  strife 
And  all  life  not  be  purer  and  stronger  thereby. 

Arthur  G.  Copeland  is  the  eldest  son  and  second  child  of  the  family. 
He  was  born  in  the  little  log  cabin  in  Matteson  township,  spent  his  youth 
there  and  was  educated  in  district  school  No.  g.  He  worked  in  the  fields 
through  the  summer  months  and  in  the  winter  seasons  devoted  his  time  to 
mastering  the  branches  of  learning  taught  in  the  home  school.  He  was 
married  on  the  28tl-i  of  December,  1875,  ^o  Miss  Alma  Watson,  a  daughter 
of  Robert  and  .N.  A.  (Hunter)  Watson.  The  father  was  born  in  Crawford 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Matteson  town- 
ship, purchasing  the  first  land  that  was  sold  within  its  borders,  his  place 
being  located  on  section  18,  where  he  opened  and  developed  a  good  farm. 
He  was  a  millwright  by  trade  and  he  did  his  first  farming  after  his  removal 
to  Branch  county.  His  death  occurred  in  the  eighty-fifth  year  of  his  age. 
His  widow  was  born  in  Venango  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  is  yet  living  at 
this  writing,  in  her  eighty-third  year.  Mrs.  Copeland  is  the  eldest  of  five 
children  and  was  born,  reared  and  educated  in  Matteson  township.  At  the 
time  of  his  marriage  Mr.  Copeland  located  on  the  farm  where  he  now  re- 
sides, but  in  1878  sold  his  property  and  went  to  Kansas,  purchasing  a  farm 
in  Crawford  county,  where  he  remained  for  five  years.  On  the  expiration 
of  that  period  he  returned  to  this  county  and  again  purchased  the  old  home- 
stead, on  which  he  has  since  lived. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Copeland  have  been  born  two  sons  and  a  daughter : 
Lee,  who  began  teaching  when  nineteen  years  of  age  and  has  followed  the 
profession  for  nine  years,  was  born  February  23,  1878,  and  is  a  graduate 
of  the  Colon  high  school,  thus  having  been  well  equipped  for  the  profes- 
sion which  he  has  thus  far  made  a  life  work.  Ellen  is  the  wife  of  John 
Staley,  a  farmer  of  Matteson  township,  and  for  five  years  she  engaged  in 
teaching  school.     Starr  is  attending  school  in  Colon. 

Mr.  Copeland  gives  his  undivided  attention  to  general  agricultural  pur- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  505 

suits  and  is  the  owner  of  eighty  acres  of  land,  which  is  highly  cultivated. 
He  makes  a  specialty  of  raising  mint  oil,  and  he  has  also  engaged  quite 
extensively  in  raising  strawberries,  devoting  twelve  years  to  that  business. 
In  his  business  he  is  active  and  energetic,  and  starting  out  in  life  for  himself 
empty-handed,  the  success  that  he  has  achieved  is  attributable  entirely  to  his 
own  labors.  In  public  affairs  he  has  been  interested  and  he  cast  his  presi- 
dential vote  for  Peter  Cooper,  for  William  Jennings  Bryan,  and  is  an  advo- 
cate of  the  free  coinage  of  silver.  He  was  for  five  years  clerk  of  Matteson 
township,  for  four  years  treasurer  and  is  now  justice  of  the  peace.  Both 
he  and  his  wife  hold  membership  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  Colon 
and  are  well  known  and  highly  respected  people  of  their  community.  Mrs, 
Copeland's  mother,  Mrs.  Watson,  has  one  of  the  old  deeds  executed  by  Presi- 
dent Andrew  Jackson,  and  it  bears  the  date  July  i,  1836.  This  is  the 
eleventh  of  the  deeds  in  the  county  of  Branch. 

BYRON  W.  BRAY. 

Byron  W.  Bray,  residing  on  Section  twenty.  Union  township,  is  one 
of  Michigan's  native  sons,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Hillsdale  county, 
August  30,  1S56.  His  parents  are  Amos  CrandaU  and  Mary  Jane  (Bush) 
Bray,  both  natives  of  New  York.  The  father  was  born  in  Ontario  county 
and  in  1851  came  west  to  Michigan,  settling  on  a  farm  in  Hillsdale  county. 
His  place  was  on  Athens  Prairie  and  there  he  remained  for  about  six  years, 
after  which  he  returned  to  the  Empire  state.  When  two  years  had  passed 
he  took  up  his  abode  in  Quincy,  Branch  county,  where  he  engaged  in  gen- 
eral farming  until  1863,  when  he  removed  to  Algansee  township.  He 
was  a  Republican  up  to  within  five  years  of  his  death,  when  he  became  a 
champion  of  the  silver  movement,  believing  in  the  free  coinage  of  silver 
at  the  ratio  of  sixteen  to  one.  He  held  a  number  o£  offices  in  his  town- 
ship 5nd  was  always  active  in  support  of  what  he  deemed  would  prove  of 
public  benefit.  He  died  in  his  sixtieth  year,  while  his  wife,  who  was  born 
in  Canandaigua  county.  New  York,  is  now  living  in  Algansee  township  on 
the  old  family  homestead.  They  were  the  parents  of  four  sons  and  three 
daughters,  all  of  whom  are  yet  Uving  with  the  exception  of  one  daughter. 

Byron  W.  Bray,  the  eldest  member  of  the  family,  was  a  young  man 
when  he  came  to  Branch  county  and  here  the  days  of  his  childhood  and 
youth  were  passed.  He  remained  at  home  until  about  twenty-one  years  of 
age  save  for  a  period  of  two  years  when  he  was  employed  elsewhere.  He 
was  married  in  Union  township  in  1884  to  Miss  Helen  Buell,  a  daughter 
of  David  L.  and  Amelia  (Wood)  Buel!,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  New 
York,  and  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  Branch  county,  settling  here 
about  :86o.  Mrs.  Buel!  is  the  eldest  of  five  children  and  was  born  in  New 
York.  She  was  brought  to  Branch  county  when  about  three  years  old.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Bray  have  two  sons,  David  Star  and  Don  Carlos  Buell. 

The  home  farm  comprises  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  acres  and  Mr. 
Bray  also  operates  the  old  homestead  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-two 
acres,  also  another  farm  of  one  hundred  and  five  acres  in  same  township, 
being  thus  extensively  engaged  in  general  agricultural  pursuits.     He  is  also 


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506  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

one  of  the  large  stockholders  and  the  president  of  the  Union  Gty  Creamery 
Company  and  he  manages  his  business  interests  with  care  and  fidelity.  In 
politics  he  has  been  a  life-long  Republican,  taking  an  active  interest  in  the 
work  of  the  party,  and  he  has  held  various  local  offices,  including  that  of 
justice  of  the  peace.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  belonging 
to  the  lodge  and  chapter,  and  he  and  his  wife  are  prominent  and  active 
members  of  the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star.  In  his  life  Mr.  Bray  has  dis- 
played the  enterprising  spirit  so  characteristic  of  the  middle  west  and  he 
owes  his  business  advancement  entirely  to  his  own  labors,  being  both  the 
architect  and  builder  of  his  own  fortune. 

WILLIAM   PECK  NORTON., 

William  Peck  Norton,  now  living  a  retired  life  in  Coldwater,  after 
many  years  of  agricultural  interests,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Goshen,  Litch- 
field county,  Connecticut,  June  21,  182S,  his  parents  being  Jeremiah  and 
Mary.  Ann  (Peck)  Norton,  who  were  also  natives  of  the  same  county.  The 
father  was  a  French  Huguenot,  while  the  mother  was  of  English  descent. 
He  died  during  the  early  childhood  of  his  son  William,  and  the  widowed 
mother  with  her  two  _  sons  and  a  daughter  afterward  removed  to  Huron 
county,  Ohio,  where  she  located  in  1845.  There  she  settled  upon  a  farm, 
which  she  continued  to  make  her  home  until  her  own  demise. 

William  Peck  Norton  was  educated  in  the  district  schools,  and  when 
fifteen  years  of  age  he  began  to  learn  the  cabinet  maker's  trade,  while  later 
he  acquainted  himself  with  the  carpenter's  trade.  He  was  seventeen  years 
of  age  at  the  time  of  the  removal  to  Huron  county,  Ohio,  and  there  he  lived 
for  some  time.  Seeking  a  companion  and  helpmate  for  life's  journey  in 
early  manhood,  he  was  married  on  the  31st  of  December,  1851,  to  Miss 
Mary  Ann  Angel,  after  which  they  removed  to  Norwalk,  Ohio,  where  he 
followed  carpentering  until  the  4th  of  March,  1857.  In  that  year  he  and 
others  of  the  locality  left  for  the  territory  of  Kansas,  where  they  remained 
for  two  years.  It  was  a  very  troublous  time  in  the  history  of  the  state,  for 
it  was  the  precipitating  of  the  Civil  war,  when  Kansas  was  a  contested  terri- 
tory of  the  pro-  and  anti-slavery  people.  After  two  years  Mr.  Norton 
removed  to  Missouri,  where  he  remained  for  a  year,  and  then  returned  to 
Ohio.  Again  he  was  identified  with  the  building  operations  of  Norwalk, 
first  as  a  journeyman  carpenter  and  afterward  as  a  contractor,  continuing  in 
that  line  of  labor  until  1864,  when  he  went  to  Nevada  and  to  California. 
He  continued  working  at  his  trade  in  the  far  west  until  the  spring  of  1866, 
when  he  returned  to  his  old  home  in  Ohio  by  the  way  of  the  Isthmus  route. 

On  the  I  St  of  May  he  arrived  home  and  in  June  of  the  same  year  lie 
came  to  Coldwater.  He  has  since  resided  in  Branch  county,  first  settling 
upon  a  farm  in  Coldwater  township  about  two  miles  south  and  east  of  the 
city.  For  more  than  a  third  of  a  century  thereafter  he  carried  on  general 
agricultural  pursuits,  raising  the  cereals  best  adapted  to  soil  and  climate,  and 
also  keeping  on  hand  some  good  grades  of  stock.  He  farmed  until  October, 
1903,  when  he  retired  to  private  Hfe,  taking  up  his  abode  in  his  present  resi- 
dence in  Coldwater.     His  home  is  a  substantial  brick  structure  of  pleasing 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  507 

style  of  architecture  and  is  tastefully  furnished.  He  now  has  a  handsome 
competence  to  supply  him  with  necessities  and  comforts  and  many  of  the 
luxuries  of  life,  and  amid  pleasing  surroundings  he  is  now  spending  the 
evening  of  life  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  fruits  of  his  former  toil. 

Mr.  Norton  cast  his  first  presidential  vote  for  the  Whig  candidate  in 
1853.  He  afterward  allied  his  interests  with  the  Republican  party,  which 
he  supported  until  1880,  since  which  time  he  has  been  independent.  Al- 
though not  members  of  any  church  he  and  his  wife  attend  the  services  of 
the  Presbyterian  church  and  contribute  to  its  support.  His  life  has  been  a 
very  busy  and  useful  one,  and  his  success  is  the  direct  result  of  his  own 
labors.  Throughout  his  business  career  he  would  brook  no  obstacles  that 
could  be  overcome  by  persistent  and  honorable  effort,  and  his  untiring  labor 
has  been  the  basis  of  his  prosperity. 

LEONARD  TAYLOR. 

Leonard  Tajdor  is  the  oldest  setder  in  Batavia  township  in  years  of 
continuous  connection  with  this  part  of  the  county.  His  home  is  on  section 
twenty-nine,  where  he  is  comfortably  situated,  enjoying  all  of  the  necessi- 
ties and  many  of  the  luxuries  of  hfe.  He  has  now  attained  the  advanced 
age  of  seventy-six  years,  and  for  three  score  years  and  ten  he  has  lived  in 
Batavia  township.  His  birth  occurred  April  13.  1829,  about  twenty  miles 
east  of  Buffalo,  New  York,  his  parents  being  Leonard  and  Carolina  (Strana- 
han)  Taylor,  the  former  a  native  of  Massachusetts  and  the  latter  of  New 
York.  The  father  engaged  in  conducting  a  hotel  about  twenty  miles  east 
of  Buffalo,  but  thinking  to  have  better  business  opportunities  in  the  west  he 
made  his  way  to  Clinton,  Lenawee  county,  Michigan,  in  1834,  and  in  the 
following  year  he  came  to  Batavia  township.  Branch  county.  Michigan  was 
still  under  territorial  government,  and  the  work  of  improvement  and  devel- 
opment seemed  scarcely  begun.  Mr.  Taylor  entered  into  partnership  with 
John  H.  Stevens,  who  was  the  second  sheriff  of  Branch  county,  and  they 
conducted  a  hotel  at  what  is  known  as  the  old  Bodina  stand,  where  they 
remained  for  about  twelve  years.  From  the  government  Mr,  Taylor  entered 
a  tract  of  land,  which  was  entirely  wild  and  unimproved  when  it  came  into 
his  possession,  but  after  his  retirement  from  the  hotel  business  he  began 
the  cultivation  of  his  farm  and  gave  to  it  his  energies  and  attention  until  his 
demise,  which  occurred  in  his  seventy-seventh  year.  He  was  justice  of  the 
peace  for  many  years,  was  also  highway  commissioner^  and  was  one  of  the 
pioneers  who  was  closely  identified  with  the  early  history  of  the  county, 
formulating  many  plans  and  instituting  movements  for  the  general  good 
and  progress  of  this  part  of  the  state.  His  wife  passed  away  when  in  her 
seventy-seventh  vear.  They  were  the  parents  of  a  daughter  and  four  sons, 
of  whom  one  son,  Franklin,  died  in  1835,  3"'^'  was  buried  in  the  old  Morse 
graveyard.  George  died  when  about  twelve  years  of  age,  and  Caroline  is 
also  deceased.  The  others  are  James  and  Leonard,  the  former  a  resident  of 
Batavia  township. 

Leonard  Taylor  was  the  eldest  in  his  family  and  was  six  years  of  age 
when  he  came  to  Branch  county.     His  youth  was  passed  in  Batavia  town- 


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508  HISTORY  OF  BRANXH  COUNTY 

ship  and  he  began  his  education  in  one  of  the  old  log  schoolhouses  common 
in  pioneer  days,  his  father  furnishing  the  money  to  build  the  first  school 
building  of  the  township.  It  can  readily  be  imagined  that  the  methods  of 
instruction,  like  the  building,  were  somewhat  primitive  and  schools  held  for 
only  a  brief  period  during  the  winter  months,  but  in  the  summer  season 
Mr.  Taylor  was  not  idle  as  his  attention  was  given  to  farm  work  and  he 
early  became  familiar  with  the  task  of  clearing  and  cultivating  new  land. 
He  remained  at  home  up  to  the  time  of  his  first  marriage,  which  was  cele- 
brated in  1S52,  Miss  Roxanna  Sweet  becoming  his  wife.  They  had  one 
child,  Franklin,  who  died  at  the  age  of  about  sixteen  months.  Mrs.  Tay- 
lor died  January  4,  1854.  and  Mr.  Taylor  afterward  married  Laura  A. 
Card,  a  native  of  Berkshire  county,  Massachusetts,  born  on  the  14th  of 
March.  1827.  Her  parents  were  Weden  and  Julia  (Lamfer)  Card  and  she 
was  about  ten  years  of  a^e  when  the  family  came  to  Michigan,  settling  in 
Lenawee  county,  where  she  remained  until  her  marriage.  Unto  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Taylor  have  been  born  six  children :  Emma  J.,  now  the  wife  of  Charles 
Noyes,  of  Batavia  township;  Lauretta,  the  wife  of  Loren  Keys,  of  Batavia 
township;  Julia  Ann,  who  died  when  twenty-one  months  old;  Freddie,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years;  Charles,  a  farmer  of  Batavia  township; 
and  E,  Watson,  who  is  also  living  in  that  township.  Mr.  Taylor  has  pro- 
vided all  of  his  children  with  good  farms  and  he  still  owns  about  two  hun- 
dred acres  of  land,  which  is  a  valuable  property  because  of  the  fertility  of 
the  soil  and  the  excellent  improvements  which  have  been  placed  upon  the 
farm.  He  and  his  wife  have  travelled  life's  journey  together  for  more  than 
a  half  century,  sharing  with  each  other  the  joys  and  sorrows,  the  adversity 
and  prosperity  which  checker  the  careers  of  all.  He  has  been  a  Republican 
since  the  organization  of  the  party  and  has  been  deeply  interested  in  its 
work.  He  acted  as  justice  of  the  peace,  has  been  superintendent  of  the 
poor  farm  for  about  six  years  and  as  a  private  citizen  has  supported  many 
measures  that  have  been  of  direct  and  permanent  good  to  the  county. 
Seventy  years  have  passed  since  he  came  to  Branch  county  and  he  is  author- 
ity upon  matters  connected  with  its  history,  while  in  his  life  he  has  ad- 
vanced its  interests.  His  memory  goes  back  to  the  time  when  much  of 
the  county's  development  was  as  yet  unaccomplished,  the  forests  stood  in 
their  primeval  strength,  the  rivers  were  unbridged,  there  were  no  railroads, 
no  telegraph  and  telephone.  The  work  of  farming  had  scarcely  been  begun 
through  the  entire  county  and  the  Taylors  were  among  the  first  settlers  in 
this  part  of  the  state,  Leonard  Taylor  of  this  review  being  the  oldest  resi- 
dent of  Batavia  township.  He  certainly  deserves  mention  among  the  hon- 
ored early  settlers  and  with  pleasure  we  present  the  record  of  his  career  to 
our  readers. 

JAMES  B.  PAUL. 

It  is  not  our  intention  to  trace  within  the  confines  of  the  present  review 
the  origin  of  the  Paul  family  in  this  country,  for  elsewhere  in  this  volume 
may  be  found  interesting  and  extended  genealogical  matter  pertaining  to 
the  Pauls,  the  same  embracing  a  half  dozen  generations  of  the  family,  from 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  yUD 

those  who  first  settled  in  this  country  down  to  the  present  youngest  Hving 
generations.  David  Paul,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  review,  was  born 
in  Argyle,  Washington  county,  New  York,  April  i6,  1819,  and  he  was  a 
resident  of  the  Empire  state  until  1844,  then  joining  the  tide  of  western 
emigration  and  coming  to  Michigan  and  Branch  county,  settling  on  section 
sixteen,  California  township,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He 
was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  although  the  most  of  his  time  was  given  to  farm- 
ing, wherein  lie  was  notably  successful,  he  finally  owning  over  five  hundred 
acres  of  land  here.  In  the  early  history  of  this  part  of  the  county,  and 
particularly  that  of  the  township  of  California,  Mr.  Paul  was  a  prominent 
and  leading  figure  and  he  was  a  participant  in  all  movements  tending  toward 
the  improvement  of  the  country  and  the  betterment  of  the  conditions  sur- 
rounding the  residents  here.  Before  leaving  New  York  state  he  was  mar- 
ried, at  Argyle,  March  11,  1841,  to  Miss  Jane  E.  Hall,  a  native  of  that 
place,  where  she  was  born  August  31,  1822.  Their  union  was  blessed  with 
the  birth  of  twelve  children,  two  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  The  other  ten, 
all  of  whom  reached  maturity,  were  as  follows;  John  died  in  October,  1901 ; 
Elizabeth  Quimby  lives  in  Ovid,  Michigan;  James  E.  is  the  subject  of  this 
review;  David  H.,  Albert  and  Frank  Hve  near  Seattle,  Washington;  George 
W.  died  in  igo2;  Wilson  S.,  Allen  W.  and  Mrs.  Emma  Vance  live  in  this 
township.  After  long  lives  of  usefulness  the  parents  died  here,  Mr.  Paul's 
death  occurring  November  20,  1890,  and  that  of  Mrs.  Paul  December  13, 
1903.  Many  of  their  children  and  grandchildren  still  reside  in  this  part  of 
Branch  county,  where  they  are  known  as  leading  and  highly  respected  people, 
James  B.  Paul,  the  third  child  in  order  of  birth  of  David  and  Jane 
Paul,  was  born  on  the  old  homestead,  section  sixteen,  California  township, 
January  26,  1847,  ^'^^  '^'^  home  was  in  this  township  almost  continuously 
until  1887,  when  he  went  west,  locating  in  the  territory  of  Washington. 
There  he  pre-empted  forty  acres  of  land  and  remained  for  a  period  of  eight 
years,  being  engaged  in  farming  and  other  enterprises.  In  1895  he  returned 
to  Michigan  and  Branch  county,  which  has  since  been  his  home.  Mr.  Paul 
was  married,  April  2,  1883,  to  Miss  Emily  Colvin,  who  was  born  in  Kinder- 
hook,  Michigan,  March  20,  1846.  Her  father  was  Oliver  D.  Colvin,  bom  in 
Kingsbury  county.  New  York,  May  29,  1814,  and  her  mother  was  Miranda 
Mead,  also  a  native  of  the  same  county,  where  she  was  born  December  3, 
1816.  They  were  married  in  New  York  state  and  soon  thereafter  came  to 
Michigan,  locating  in  Kinderhook,  this  county.  They  were  among  the  very 
earliest  pioneers  of  Kinderhook  township,  coming  here  in  1S36,  and  secured 
from  the  government  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  Jand.  Here  they  made 
a  comfortable  home  and  here  they  passed  the  remainder  of  their  lives,  with 
the  exception  of  a  very  few  years'  residence  in  the  city  of  Coldwater.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Colvin  had  eight  children,  two  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  the  others 
being  as  follows :  Lydia  E.  Webster  died  in  Brooklyn,  Michigan ;  Hiram 
Colvin  died  in  California  township;  Mary  C.  Hill  is  Hving  in  Reading, 
Michigan;  Emily  Paul  is  the  wife  of  our  subject;  Ella  Colvin  died  in  Kinder- 
hook; Sarah  Paul  lives  in  Seattle,  Washington.  The  parents  both  died  in 
Kinderhook,  Mr.  Colvin  May  5,  1858,  and  Mrs.  Colvin  December  l,   1866. 


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610  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Both  were  members  of  the  Methodist  church  and  people  of  high  standing  in 
the  community  where  they  Hved  for  so  many  years.  Mr.  Colvin  was  a 
Democrat  and  held  many  local  offices  in  the  early  history  of  Kinderhook 
township,  while  in  1846-47  he  represented  his  county  in  the  State  Legislature. 
He  assisted  in  the  clearing  of  a  large  amount  of  land  in  Kinderhook  town- 
ship, owning  several  hundred  acres  during  his  lifetime,  and  was  not  only 
a  successful  agriculturist  but  also  a  man  of  affairs  in  other  lines,  being  a 
leader  in  all  movements  tending  toward  the  development  of  the  section  where 
he.  made  his  home  for  so  many  years. 

Mr.  James  E.  Paul  since  his  return  in  1895  from  the  west  has  made 
his  home  upon  his  farm  on  section  sixteen,  California  township,  the  same 
being  a  portion  of  the  old  Paul  homestead.  The  farm  is  an  excellent  one. 
under  good  cultivation  and  thoroughly  equipped,  and  in  its  operation  he  is 
ably  assisted  by  his  son,  Jay  O.  Paul,  the  only  child  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Paul, 
who  was  born  February  10,  1884.  Jay  O.  Paul  was  married,  April  26. 
1905,  to  Miss  Lulu  Braman,  who  was  bom  in  this  county,  she  being  the 
daughter  of  Charles  Braman,  a  native  of  northern  Michigan,  and  Lillie  Smith 
Braman,  who  was  born  in  Ohio.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Braman  have  been  residents 
of  Algansee  township,  this  county,  for  the  past  five  years. 

The  young  couple  make  their  home  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  B,  Paul.  Bodi 
J.  B.  Paul  and  his  son.  Jay  C,  are  members  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows  No.  283,  at  California,  while  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Paul  are  members 
of  the  Methodist  church.  Mr.  Paul  in  politics  is  now  an  independent  voter 
and  he  has  been  called  upon  several  times  to  serve  his  fellow  townsmen,  he 
having  been  highway  commissioner  several  terms  and  the  present  director 
of  his  school  district,  a  position  he  has  held  for  the  past  eight  years.  He 
is  a  man  of  influence  in  the  township  and  he  and  the  members  of  his  famih' 
possess  the  confidence  and  regard  of  a  very  large  circle  of  friends.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Paul  have  an  old  souvenir  in  the  shape  of  a  tailor's  goose,  which  is 
over  a  century  old. 

C.    ROSS    WILLIAMS. 

C  Ross  Williams  was  born  in  1868,  in  Algansee  township,  where  he 
still  resides.  His  father,  James  A.  Williams,  is  a  native  of  Sterling,  Cayuga 
county.  New  York,  born  in  1820,  and  is  of  English  and  Welsh  lineage. 
There  was  also  some  trace  of  Dutch  in  the  ancestry.  About  1853  he  came 
to  Michigan,  settling  in  Algansee.  He  had  been  a  student  in  the  public 
schools  of  New  York  and  had  afterward  attended  medical  lectures  in  Albany, 
and  for  almost  a  half  century  he  practiced  as  a  physician  and  surgeon  at 
Algansee.  but  is  now  living  retired  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  well  earned  rest, 
having  attained  the  ripe  old  age  of  eighty-five  years.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Republican  and  has  been  supervisor  of  Algansee  township.  He  was  also 
superintendent  of  public  instruction  of  Branch  county  and  his  activity  in 
public  life  and  his  fidelity  and  devotion  to  the  general  gxKid  made  him  a 
valued  factor  in  the  progress  and  upbuilding  of  this  portion  of  the  state. 
He  wedded  Miss  Mary  E.  Wilcox,  who  was  born  in  Stanford.  Delaware 
county,  New  York,  in  1832,  and  was  of  New  England  stock.     Her  father. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  511 

Harry  J.  Wilcox,  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  following'  the  occupation 
of  fanning,  spent  his  last  days  in  New  York.  He  married  a  Miss  Brown 
and  they  had  a  family  of  eleven  children,  including  Mrs.  WilHanis.  James 
A.  Williams  was  one  of  a  family  of  five  children,  having  four  sisters,  and  of 
this  number  Mrs.  Sarah  Howland  came  to  Michigan.  Unto  the  parents  of 
our  subject  were  born  three  children:  Herbert  J.  and  Lillian,  both  de- 
ceased; and  C.  Ross,  of  this  review.  The  first  named  became  a  physician 
of  note  and  a  skilful  surgeon  and  his  death  occurred  in  Tacoma,  Washing- 
ton, in  1893,  when  he  was  thirty-four  years  of  age.  He  married  Lulu 
Reese,  of  the  state  of  Washington,  arid  they  had  one  child,  Reese  R. 

C.  Ross  Williams  began  his  education  in  the  schools  of  Algansee  town- 
ship and  when  not  busy  with  his  text-books  worked  on  the  home  farm. 
His  entire  life  has  been  devoted  to  agricultural  pursuits  and  he  makes  his 
home  on  section  ten,  Algansee  township.  At  one  time  he  owned  forty- 
two  acres  on  section  three  of  this  township  but  has  sold  that  property. 
He  belongs  to  the  Presbyterian  church,  at  Quincy,  is  an  Odd  Fellow  in  his 
fraternal   relations  and  a  Republican   in  his  political   views, 

JOHN    W.    CULP. 

John  W.  Culp,  for  many  years  identified  with  agricultural  interests 
but  now  living  a  retired  life  in  Coldwater,  was  born  near  Lockport,  New 
York,  May  8,  1832.  His  father,  Nicholas  Cu1p,  was  among  the  pioneer 
settlers  of  Branch  county,  Michigan.  His  birth  occurred  in  Pennsylvania 
and  he  was  of  German  ancestry,  his  father  being  John  Culp,  but  back  of 
that  there  is  little  definite  knowledg:e  of  the  family  history.  Nicholas  Culp 
was  married  in  Newfane,  New  York,  to  Miss  Phoebe  Rockwood.  who  was 
born  in  Niagara  county,  that  state.  After  their  marriage  they  settled  upon 
a  (arm  in  New  York  not  far  from  Lockport  and  in  1837  they  removed  to 
the  west,  taking  up  their  abode  in  Girard  township,  Branch  county.  Mich- 
igan. The  journey  was  made  by  boat  from  Buffalo,  New  York,  to  Toledo, 
Ohio,  thence  by  rail  to  Adrian  and  by  wagon  to  Branch  county,  Michigan. 
Throughout  his  business  career  he  followed  farming  but  about  1864  he 
sold  his  land  and  retired  from  active  business  life,  Temoving  to  the  town 
of  Coldwater,  where  his  death  occurred  in  1873,  when  he  was  seventy-six 
years  of  age.  His  wife  died  in  1861,  when  about  sixty-two  years  of  age. 
They  were  the  parents  of  six  children,  namely:  Joshua,  who  died  in  Chi- 
cago in  1892;  John  W.,  of  this  review:  Phoebe,  the  wife  of  Rodney  Twa- 
dell,  a  resident  of  Quincy,  Michigan:  Jason  T.,  who  died  in  Coldwater  in 
1895:  Laura,  who  became  the  wife  of  Charles  Caldwell  and  died  in  1874; 
Harriet,  who  married  Alonzo  Bennett  and  died  in  1866.  The  father  was 
a  Whig  in  his  political  affiliation  until  the  dissolution  of  the  party,  when 
he  became  a  staunch  advocate  of  Republican  principles.  Both  he  and  his 
wife  were  devoted  and  loyal  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church  and  were 
held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  a  large  circle  of  friends. 

John  W.  Culp  was  only  five  years  of  age  when  brought  by  his  parents 
to  Branch  county,  where  he  has  spent  a  long  and  useful  life.  He  was  reared 
upon  the  old  homestead  farm  and  gained  a  common  school  education.  re- 


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513  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

ceiving  such  advantages  as  were  afforded  in  the  old  tog  schoolhouses  of 
the  early  days.  During  the  period  of  his  youth  the  Indians  were  still  quite 
numerous  in  the  county  and  there  were  many  hardships  and  trials  incident 
to  the  frontier  life  to  be  borne.  He  assisted  in  the  arduous  task  of  develop- 
ing and  cultivating  new  land  and  he  remained  upon  the  home  farm  until 
:850,  when  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  came  to  Coldwater,  thinking  that 
he  would  find  other  occupation  more  congenial  than  that  of  farming.  Here 
he  accepted  a  clerkship  in  the  general  store  of  H,  C.  Lewis  &  Company, 
with  whom  he  remained  until  1858.  In  that  year  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  Ives  G.  Miles  in  a  general  store  in  Coldwater,  but  later  they  confined 
their  attention  entirely  to  the  dry  goods  trade.  Mr.  Culp  continued  his 
connection  with  this  business  until  1869.  During  the  succeeding  five  years 
he  was  traveling  salesman  of  a  New  York  bouse,  carrying  a  line  of  hats, 
caps  and  furs.  His  health  then  failed  him  and  he  took  up  his  abode  on  a 
farm  in  Coldwater  township,  where  he  continued  to  engage  in  agricultural 
pursuits  until  1900,  when  he  again  became  a  resident  of  the  city.  He  still 
owns  the  old  home  farm,  however. 

On  the  loth  of  June,  1S5S,  Mr.  Gulp  was  married  to  Miss  Josephine 
Goodell,  a  daughter  of  Ahlsha  and  Barbara  (Johnson)  Goodell.  Her  mother 
died  during  the  childhood  of  Mrs.  Gulp  and  the  father  afterward  removed 
from  Monroe  county,  New  York,  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  in  1852,. 
settling  in  Coldwater,  where  he  died  in  1861.  Mrs,  Culp  is  a  native  of 
Fairport,  Monroe  county.  New  Y'ork,  and  by  her  marriage  has  become  the 
mother  of  two  children:  Minnie,  the  wife  of  Floyd  Gage,  a  farmer  of  Cold- 
water  township;  and  Charles,  who  married  Harriet  Rice,  and  resides  upon 
his  father's  farm. 

Mr.  Gulp  has  always  endorsed  Republican  principles,  but  has  never 
been  an  aspirant  for  office.  His  wife  is  a  Presbyterian  and  he  attends  and 
supports  that"  church,  while  his  membership  relations  are  with  the  Masonic 
fraternity,  with  which  he  has  attained  the  master  degree.  Many  years  ago 
he  also  belonged  to  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  Mr.  Gulp  io 
well  known  as  a  representative  of  a  worthy  pioneer  family  and  because  he 
has  ever  been  found  on  the  side  of  progress,  improvement  and  upbuilding  in 
public  affairs  as  well  as  in  private  and  business  matters  he  is  classed  with 
the  representative  men  o£  this  part  of  the  state. 

NELSON  H.  ANDRUS. 

Nelson  H.  Andrus,  who  has  lived  in  Branch  county  since  1867,  is  one 
of  the  ]}ri3Sperous  farmers  of  Quincy  township,  owning  the  old  h<imestead 
of  sixty  acres  in  section  fourteen.  Reared  on  a  farm  and  acquiring  his  educa- 
tion in  Quincy  and  Kalamazoo,  he  has  always  been  identified  with  farming 
as  his  active  pursuit.  He  breeds  and  raises  thoroughbred  Delaine  sheep, 
a  branch  of  live  stock  industry  in  which  he  takes  much  pleasiu'e  and  pride, 
and  which  has  been  very  profitable  under  his  able  management.  Mr.  Andrus 
is  aiso  vice-president  of  the  Quincy  State  Bank. 

Mr-  Andrus  was  born  in  Yates  county,  New  York.  October  27,  1853, 
and   has  ne\'er  married,   he  and  his  sister  Lucretia  making  their  home  to- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  513 

gether.  The  Andrus  family  came  from  England  many  years  ago.  settling 
in  Connecticut,  and  later  furnished  members  to  the  Revolutionary  army. 
Stephen  P.  Andrus,  father  of  Nelson  H.,  was  born  in  Montpelier,  Vermont, 
and  was  a  farmer  most  of  his  life,  although  a  ajoper  by  trade.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  church,  a  class  leader,  and  a  liceiise<l  exhorter, 
and  in  politics  was  a  Republican.  He  moved  to  Michigan  in  July,  1867, 
buying  the  farm  where  his  .son  Nelson  now  resides,  hut  in  the  October  fol- 
lowing he  passed  away  in  death,  having  arrived  at  the  age  of  fifty-six  years. 
His  wife,  maiden  name  Lucina  Rounds,  was  bom  in  Rensselaer  county.  New 
York,  in  1813,  and  died  in  1875,  aged  sixty-two.  Her  parents,  Samuel  and 
Lucy  Rounds,  came  to  Michigan  in  1837,  locating  in  Hillsdale  county,  where 
they  ."Jied.  Her  father  was  a  farmer,  and  both  parents  were  memlwrs  of  the 
Methodist  church.  Samuel  and  Lucy  Rounds  had  nine  children,  of  whom 
Lucina  was  the  first,  and  the  others  are  named  as  follows:  Hosea,  deceased; 
Samuel,  deceased;  F.lzer,  deceased:  George,  a  Kansas  farmer:  Varuum,  also 
farming  in  ICansas;  Gilmore,  a  merchant  in  Cambria.  Hillsdale  county.  Micli- 
igan;  Anna,  the  deceased  wife  of  Giester  Stoddard;  and  Abhie,  widon-  of 
James  Clizbe,  her  home  being  in  Quincy. 

Stephen  P.  Andrus  was  one  of  seven  children,  as  follows:  Emeline, 
AValter,  Laviiiia,  Eliza,  Stephen  P.,  Cornelia  and  William,  ail  of  whom  are 
deceased.  Stephen  P.  Andrus  and  wife  had  twelve  children,  who  are  ac- 
counted for  as  follows:  Wesley  P.,  who  died  in  1898,  had  for  years  been 
a  prominent  hardware  merchant  at  Grand  Rapids,  and  also  represented  Kent 
county  in  the  Michigan  senate.  During  the  Civil  war  he  enlisted  from 
Illinois  in  1861,  and,  entering  the  service  as  first  lieutenant,  was  promoted 
to  captain  of  his  company  in  the  Forty-second  Illinois  Infantry.  He  served 
throughout  the  war,  was  with  the  Array  of  the  Cumberland  in  all  its  im- 
portant engagements,  and  was  wounded  three  times,  the  last  time  at  Chat- 
tanooga. Lavinia,  the  second  child,  is  deceased;  and  Lucretia  has  already 
been  mentioned  as  making  her  home  with  her  brother  Nelson.  Samuel,  a 
retired  farmer  in  Cedar  Springs,  Michigan,  and  who  for  a  number  of  years 
was  in  partnership  with  his  brother.  Wesley  in  the  hardware  business,  had 
also  enlisted  with  his  brother  in  the  Forty-second  Illinois  and  served  through 
the  war,  being  sergeant  of  his  company.  The  daughter  Amelia  died  in 
1861.  Emeline  is  the  wife  of  Israel  Thickstun,  a  Pennsylvania  farmer. 
.Sarah  is  the  wife  of  Miles  Golden,  a  farmer  of  Quincy.  Lucy  died  in  1904, 
Emily  lives  in  Quincy  township,  Adelia  is  deceased,  and  Anna  married 
Israel  Kinyon,  a  farmer  at  Quincy.  Nelson  H.  is  the  youngest  of  the 
children,  and  as  the  subject  of  this  sketch  perpetuates  the  family  record 
for  the  benefit  of  future  generations.  Mr.  Andrus  is  a  staunch.  Republican, 
and  stands  foremost  among  the  citizens  of  the  county  for  public  spirit  and 
personal  merit. 

JAMES  SWAIN. 

James  Swain,  a  representative  of  the  educational  interests  of  Branch 
county,  was  born  upon  a  farm  in  Noble  township,  this  county,  October  25, 
1867,  his  parents  being  John  and  Rosanna   (Appless)   Swain.     The  father 


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514  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

was  bom  near  Reading-,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  of  English  lineage.  He 
spent  Ills  boyhood  days  in  the  Keystone  state,  and  when  a  young  man  went 
to  Ohio,  where  be  met  and  married  Miss  Appless.  She  was  bora  in  Ger- 
many, and  died  in  1900,  at  the  age  of  sixty-six  years.  By  her  marriage 
she  became  the  mother  of  seven  sons  and  one  daughter.  It  was  in  1865 
that  the  parents  of  our  subject  removed  to  Michigan,  settling  in  Bethel  town- 
ship, and  afterw'ard  in  Noble  township,  Branch  county.  The  father  is  a 
farmer,  who  has  followed  that  work  as  a  life  occupation,  and  he  stiil  resides 
in  Noble  township.  His  fellow  townsmen,  recognizing  his  worth  and  ability, 
have  frequently  cailed  him  to  pubhc  office,  and  he  has  served  as  supervisor, 
clerk  and  treasurer  of  his  township. 

James  Swain,  spending  his  boyhood  days  on  the  home  farm,  pursued 
his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  and  continued  his  studies  in  Burr 
Oak  and  in  the  Tri-State  Normal  College  at  Angola,  Indiana.  He  was 
graduated  from  that  institution  and  was  also  at  one  time  a  student  for  a 
time  in  the  Normal  College  at  Ypsilanti,  Michigan.  Thorough  preliminary 
training  well  quahfied  him  for  the  profession  which  he  has  made  a  life 
work.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three  years  he  began  teaching  and  has  since 
been  identified  with  the  development  of  the  educational  system  of  Branch 
county.  He  taught  in  the  district  schools  for  a  time,  spent  six  years  as  a 
teacher  in  Sherwood  and  two  years  at  Bronson.  In  1896  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  teachers'  examining  board.  In  1897  he  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  Branch  County  Teachers'  Association,  which  position  he  held 
for  five  years.  In  1903  he  was  elected  commissioner  of  schools  of  Branch 
cotmty,  in  which  capacity  he  is  now  serving. 

Mr.  Swain  was  married  in  1893  to  Miss  Louisa  L.  Russell,  and  they 
have  three  children,  Elwood  Thomas,  James  Russell  and  Beryl  Louisa.  Mr. 
Swain  is  a  Master  Mason,  also  holding  membership  relations  with  the  Odd 
Fellows  and  the  Maccabees.  His  study  of  the  political  questions  and  issues 
of  the  day  has  led  him  to  exercise  his  right  of  franchise  in  support  of  the 
Republican  party,  and  his  religious  faith  is  indicated  by  his  membership 
in  the  Christian  church.  He  stands  as  an  advocate  of  progress  and  im- 
provement along  all  lines  for  the  benefit  of  the  county  and  has  gained  for 
himself  a  creditable  position  in  educational  circles. 

MRS.  ADELINE  GRANGER. 

Mrs.  Adeline  Granger  is  the  only  surviving  daughter  of  James  B,  and 
Eliza  (Ames)  Tompkins,  who  were  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  Branch 
county,  and  the  name  is  inseparably  interwoven  with  the  history  of  this 
part  of  the  state  because  of  the  active  part  which  its  representatives  have 
taken  in  reclaiming  the  once  wild  region  for  the  purpose  of  civilization  and 
making  it  the  most  habitable  region  with  ali  the  advantages  and  conveniences 
known  to  the  older  east.  The  father  was  born  in  Schoharie  county.  New 
York,  June  28,  1804,  He  was  married  at  Tecumseh,  Michigan,  in  February, 
1832,  to  Eliza  Ames,  whose  birthplace  was  the  town  of  Colchester,  Chit- 
tenden county,  Vermont,  her  natal  day  being  March  3,  1813.  Believing 
that  he  might  more  rapidly  acquire  a  competence  and  provide  a  good  living 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  515 

for  his  family  in  the  west,  Mr.  Tompkins  came  to  Branch  county  and  was 
among  the  first  to  establish  a  home  in  the  hitherto  undeveloped  regions  of 
Girard  township,  where  he  soon  became  known  as  the  leading-  citizen — a 
position  of  prestige  which  was  accorded  hitii  throughout  his  entire  life.  He 
was  a  surveyor  and  made  the  first  survey  in  Girard  township  and  Branch 
county,  and  he  carried  on  general  agricultural  pursuits,  developing'  a  fine 
farm  in  the  midst  of  the  wilderness.  He  lived  an  honorable,  upright  life, 
following  principles  which  gained  him  the  unqualified  respect  and  confidence 
of  his  fellowmen,  and  on  the  ist  of  August,  1879,  was  called  to  his  final  rest, 
the  community  deploring  the  loss  of  one  of  its  most  valued  citizens.  His 
wife  passed  away  December  6,  1902,  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety  years. 
Further  mention  of  the  parents  is  made  in  the  sketch  of  J.  Theron  Tompkins 
on  another  page  of  this  work. 

Adeline  Tompkins  spent  her  girlhood  days  in  her  parents'  home,  where 
she  was  carefully  trained  in  the  duties  of  the  household,  and  in  early  woman- 
hood she  ga\'e  her  hand  in  marriage  to  Alexander  Fox,  who  passed  away 
April  i8th,  1865,  aged  forty-four  years  and  four  months,  also  a  member  of 
one  of  the  early  families  of  this  part  o£  the  state.  They  had  two  children: 
Mary,  born  in  Girard  on  April  23,  i860,  and  died  January  30,  i86r,  and 
Charles  G.,  bom  in  Girard  on  June  25,  1862,  and  died  of  smallpox  in  a 
Chicago  hospital  on  December  17,  1881,  when  nineteen  years  of  age. 

The  following  lines  were  written  in  his  memory  by  a  friend : 

Stricken  down  in  the  midst  of  the  riotous  city, 

Far  from  dear  home  and  a  fond  mother's  care; 
Poor  boy,  you  are  worthy  of  tenderest  pity. 

Poor  hero,  there  are  those  whom  your  liorror  can  share. 

Most  truly  a  hero,  though  never  in  battle. 

Though  death's  battle  lost  is  the  hardest  of  all; 

Though  far  from  dear  mother,  kind  faces  w^ere  gathered 
Around  thy  low  cot  in  the  hospital  hall. 

Pure  Sisters  of  Charity  hovered  around  you 

In  Sweet  ministrations  where  others  would  fly; 
They  closed  thy  sad  eyes  from  earth's  gaze  forever. 

They  heard  thy  last  murnmr.  Tell  mamma  goodbye. 

The  ring  and  the  watch  will  ever  be  treasured 

As  relics  sad  of  that  saddest  of  days; 
When  poor  Charlie  was  home  from  the  care  of  comrade, 

To  quell  the  dread  ravage  and  keep  it  at  bay. 

The  Infinite  marks  the  fall  of  the  sparrow, 
And  enfolds  you  His  child  with  His  wise  loving  arm; 

He  will  throw  the  wide  gates  and  free  you  from  sorrow. 
You  are  one  of  the  fold.  He  will  shield  you  from  harm. 


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516  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

O,  poor  saddened  mother  and  sweet  little  sister, 
Think  not  of  the  form  that  lies  under  the  sod; 

But  turn  your  eyes  up  through  the  shadows  existing, 
And  see  there  a  Heaven,  a  Father,  a  God. 

Mrs.  Granger  became  the  wife  of  Frances  Granger,  o£  Tekonsha,  Cal- 
houn county,  by  whom  she  had  one  daughter,  Hattie  Granger,  who  became 
the  wife  of  Dr.  J.  H.  Anderson,  and  had  two  sons.  Garnet  and  Granger 
Anderson,  who  are  living  with  their  father  at  Union  City,  Michigan.  The 
mother  died  in  Girard  township,  July  23,  1897.  Tlie  following  excerpt 
appeared  in  one  of  the  local  papers: 

"  Hattie,  wife  of  Dr.  Anderson,  died  Friday  afternoon,  July  23,  aged 
twenty-three  years.  Hattie  Granger  was  born  in  Tekonsha,  September  10, 
1874,  and  came  to  Girard  to  live  when  a  small  girl.  She  was  married  to 
Dr.  James  Anderson,  of  this  place,  July  1,  1892,  Two  little  boys,  one  a 
baby  two  weeks  old,  came  to  them  and  need  a  loving  mother's  care.  But 
our  Heavenly  Father  knew  best  and  has  transplanted  her  to  the  Heavenly 
home.  Mrs.  Anderson  was  a  general  favorite  and  was  a  lively  character, 
and  will  be  much  missed  by  her  many  friends  and  by  the  husband  and  chil- 
dren and  mother,  who  is  now  left  childless  by  her  death.  The  funeral  was 
held  Simday  afternoon  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  was  one  of 
the  largest  ever  held  here.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  Pinckard,  of 
Constantine.  The  casket  was  borne  by  six  young  married  men,  and  their 
wives  preceded  the  casket  bearing  the  floral  designs,  which  were  very  beauti- 
ful. Dr.  Gruhe  sang  that  beautiful  hymn  'One  sweetly  solemn  thought.' 
The  interment  was  made  in  the  Girard  cemetery." 

"  It  was  long  before  twilight 

On  Friday  that  day; 
The  news  had  been  scattered 

Far,  near  and  away, 
That  Hattie,  our  darling, 

Had  just  passed  away. 

"  She  was  willing  and  ready 

Her  task  to  perform, 
And  never  did  shrink 

Though  not  very  strong, 

"  She  was  jolly,  light  hearted, 

And  pleasant  each  day, 
And  always  was  willing 

Her  Master  to  obey. 

"  Her  children  and  home 

That  she  loved  so  well— - 
The  extent  of  her  love 

My  pen   cannot   tell 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  517 

"  Rev.  Pinckard  was  sent  for, 

Our  pastor  of  yore ; 
And  preached  just  as  beautiful 

As  ever  before. 

"  The  song  so  appropriate, 

By  Dr.  Grube  sung; 
Will  long  he  remembered 

By  everj'one. 

"  One  chair  is  left  vacant. 

One  home  is  made  sad ; 
There  are  hearts  torn  and  bleeding, 

And  hearts  that  feel  bad. 

"  Only  a  few  years 

Here  did  she  stay; 
When  the  Master  called, 

And  she  went  His  way, 

"  To  dwell  with  the  angels. 

In  mansions  above ; 
Prepared  by  our  Savior 

With  tenderest  love. 

"  She  was  only  a  Iamb 

From  the   Shepherd's  fold ; 
Now  with  the  flock 

Where  there  is  no  cold, 

"  No  sorrow  or  pain, 

No  trouble  or  care. 
And  to  live  in  a  home 

That  the  Lord  did  prepare. 

"  So,  husband  and  children 

And  parents  who  are  left; 
Let  your  hearts  be  content, 

For  the  Lord  knoweth  best." 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  years  spent  in  Tekonsha,  Mrs.  Granger  has 
always  resided  in  Girard  township  and  for  a  number  of  years  she  cared  for 
her  aged  mother,  who  passed  away  when  nearly  ninety  years  of  age.  Mrs. 
Granger  still  occupies  a  comfortable  home  in  Girard  Center  and  she  has 
many  warm  friends  in  this  part  of  the  country,  where  the  Tompkins  family 
has  long  been  prominently  known. 


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518  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

CLARENCE  B.  SPORE. 

Clarence  B.  Spore,  who,  from  the  age  of  thirteen  years,  has  been  a 
resident  of  Union  City,  where  he  is  now  weU  known  as  an  extensive  dealer 
in  coal,  was  born  in  Carroll  county,  Ohio,  January  17,  1856.  His  father, 
Ejios  Spore,  was  also  a  native  of  that  county,  and  in  1869  arrived  in  Union 
City,  Michigan,  where  he  began  the  operation  of  a  planing  mill.  He  was 
not  long  permitted  to  enjoy  his  new  home,  however,  his  death  occurring 
soon  after  his  removal  to  this  state.  He  had  married  Augusta  Gregory, 
also  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  her  death  occurred  several  years  ago.  They  were 
the  parents  of  eight  children,  of  whom  six  reached  adult  age. 

C.  B.  Spore,  the  eldest  of  the  children,  spent  the  first  thirteen  years 
of  his  life  in  the  Buckeye  state  and  then  accompanied  his  parents  on  their 
removal  to  Union  City,  where  he  has  since  lived,  completing  his  education 
in  the  public  schools  here.  He  entered  upon  his  business  career  as  a  clerk 
in  a  general  store  and  was  thus  employed  for  about  six  years,  when  he 
turned  his  attention  to  the  trade  of  a  barber,  carrying  on  a  shop  in  Union 
City  for  about  eleven  years.  He  had  a  good  patronage  during  that  time, 
and  his  financial  resources  continually  increased  so  that  in  1S89  he  was 
enabled  to  embark  in  another  business  enterprise.  He  became  a  wholesale 
dealer  in  wood  and  a  retail  dealer  in  coal,  and  at  one  time  he  shipped  thirty 
thousand  cords  of  wood  per  year,  making  shipment  to  Jackson.  He  has 
been  in  the  coal  business  for  about  five  years  and  now  sells  to  both  the 
wholesale  and  retail  trade,  having  an  extensive  patronage.  He  takes  con- 
tracts from  all  schools  and  churches  and  has  a  large  business,  selling  about 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  carloads  of  coal  per  year,  including  fifty  car- 
loads of  anthracite.  His  trade  is  constantly  growing  and  has  already  reached 
extensive  and  profitable  proportions.  In  addition  to  this  business  he  is  the 
owner  of  a  valuable  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  Calhoun  county, 
about  seven  miles  from  Union  City, 

Mr.  Spore  was  married  in  November,  1891,  to  Miss  Jennie  E.  Walker, 
a  daughter  of  Riley  W.  Walker,  and  they  are  well  known  in  social  circles 
in  Union  City,  while  the  hospitality  of  their  own  home  is  greatly  enjoyed 
by  their  many  friends.  Mr.  Spore  is  an  interested,  active  and  valued  mem- 
ber of  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees  and  the  Royal  Arcanum,  while  in  his 
pohtical  views  he  is  a  Republican.  Endowed  by  nature  with  sound  judg- 
ment, he  realized  that  work  is  the  basis  of  all  success  and  he  has  not  feared 
that  laborious  attention  to  business  so  necessary  to  achieve  prosperity,  and 
this  essential  quality  has  ever  been  guided  by  methods  that  would  tolerate 
the  employment  of  a  course  that  would  bear  the  most  rigid  examination 
and  by  a  fairness  of  intention  that  has  neither  sought  nor  required  disguise. 

FRANK  SWAIN. 

Frank  Swam,  who  has  perhaps  built  seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  houses 
in  Sherwood  and  is  still  extensively  engaged  in  business  as  a  contractor  and 
builder  at  this  place,  was  bom  in  Linn  county,  Missouri,  at  what  is  now 
called  St.  Catherine,  September  i,    1859.     His  father,  Charles  E.   Swain, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  5iy 

is  a  native  of  New  York  and  yet  resides  in  Branch  county.  The  son,  Frank, 
is  the  eldest  of  a  family  of  five  sons,  all  of  whom  have  reached  manhood. 
He  was  only  about  four  years  old,  however,  when  he  came  with  his  parents 
to  this  county,  the  family  home  being  established  in  Union  township,  where 
he  was  reared  upon  a  farm.  He  acquired  his  education  in  the  district  schools 
and  the  graded  school  of  Sherwood  and  in  the  summer  months  he  aided 
in  the  labors  of  the  field.  After  putting  aside  his  text-books  he  resided  at 
home  until  his  marriage,  which  was  celebrated  on  March  i,  1884,  Miss 
Ehzabeth  Shelts  becoming  his  wife.  Her  parents,  Jackson  and  Margaret 
(Hawn)  Shelts,  came  from  Ohio  to  Branch  county  about  1866.  The 
daughter  was  born  in  Huron  county,  Ohio,  and  was  quite  young  when 
brought  to  this  state.  At  the  time  of  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs,  Swain 
located  in  Sherwood  in  the  home  which  is  still  their  place  of  residence.  He 
began  contracting  and  building  when  a  young  man  of  only  nineteen  years, 
and  has  followed  his  chosen  vocation  extensively  in  Branch,  St.  Joseph  and 
other  counties.  He  has  built  a  number  of  fine  residences  in  the  city  and 
other  places,  and  has  erected  about  seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  buildings 
in  SherwTJod,  so  that  this  place  is  largely  a  monument  to  his  skill,  enter- 
prise and  business  ability.  He  has  been  very  successful,  and  back  of  his 
prosperity  is  a  thorough  understanding  of  the  builder's  art,  a  conscientious 
performance  of  every  duty  and  unqualified  faithfulness  to  the  terms  of  a  con- 
tract awarded  him. 

Mr.  Swain  has  always  taken  an  active  and  helpful  interest  in  local 
politics,  giving  his  support  to  the  Republican  party.  He  served  as  a  trustee 
of  the  village  of  Sherwood  in  former  years  and  is  now  occupying  the  same 
office.  He  has  held  other  minor  positions,  having  been  township  clerk  and 
a  member  of  the  school  board,  while  in  1895-6  he  was  sheriff  of  Branch 
county.  His  duties  in  the  last  named  position  were  discharged  without 
fear  or  favor  and  he  became  a  menace  to  ail  criminal  classes,  while  those 
who  hold  themselves  amenable  to  law  regarded  him  with  a  feeling  of 
safety.  He  has  worked  earnestly  for  Republican  successes,  believing  firmly 
in  the  principles  of  the  party,  and  he  keeps  well  informed  on  the  questions 
and  issues  of  the  day.  He  belongs  to  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  the  Knights 
of  the  Maccabees.  He  has  lived  in  Branch  county  for  nearly  forty  years, 
and  during  this  period  has  proven  his  loyalty  to  all  that  concerns  public 
progress  and  improvement.  He  possesses  a  decision  of  character  which 
never  degenerates  into  stubbornness  or  impulsive  haste,  but  has  made  him 
a  man  of  firm  purposes,  commanding  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all.  In 
social  circles  he  is  courteous  and  affable  and  at  all  times,  whether  in  public 
or  private  life,  he  is  regarded  as  a  man  of  his  word,  his  integrity  being 
above  question. 

HUGH  McMURRAY. 

One  of  the  oldest  residents  of  the  township  of  California  and  southern 
Branch  county,  where  he  is  known  as  a  prosperous  farmer  and  a  highly 
esteemed  citizen,  is  the  gentleman  named  above,  Mr.  Hugh  McMurray, 
who  has  lived  here  for  the  past  half  century.  Mr.  McMurray  was  born 
near  Belfast,  Ireland,  August  13,  1830,  and  like  most  of  the  residents  of 


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520  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

county  Down,  where  he  was  born,  he  was  o£  Scotch  ancestry.  His  father 
was  John  McMiirray  and  his  mother  was  Mary  Frim,  both  natives  o£  Ire- 
land, where  they  spent  their  entire  lives.  Here  John  McMiirray  was  a  farmer, 
and  he  and  his  wife  were  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church  and  people 
of  high  character.  They  were  the  parents  of  eight  children,  all  of  whom 
grew  to  maturity,  and  nearly  all  of  whom  came  to  America,  although  both 
of  their  parents  died  before  the  date  of  their  emigration.  The  record  of 
these  children  is  as  follows:  Moses  came  to  Michigan  and  Branch  county, 
and  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life  here,  dying  in  California  township  in 
1880;  Samuel  made  his  home  in  Canada;  John  died  in  Ireland;  William 
was  in  the  English  army;  Hugh  is  our  subject;  Margaret  and  Nancy  died 
in  California  township;  and  Elizabeth  died  in  Hillsdale  county. 

Hugh  McMurray  learned  the  weaver's  trade  in  Ireland,  at  which  he 
worked  considerably,  also  finding  employment  there  in  farming.  He  was 
only  eighteen  years  of  age  when  he  came  to  this  country,  and  his  first  home 
was  near  Rochester,  New  York,  where  he  remained  for  a  few  years,  then 
coming  to  Michigan  and  Branch  countj-  in  1853.  Here  he  and  his  elder 
brother,  Moses,  engaged  in  farming  and  were  partners  until  the  death  of 
the  latter.  Their  first  purchase  was  fifty  acres,  to  which  they  in  later  years 
added  several  other  tracts,  and  at  one  time  owned  two  hundred  and  thirty 
acres.  The  most  of  this  land  was  at  the  time  of  purchase  uncleared  and 
unimproved  and  they  labored  long  and  faithfully  in  bringing  it  under  culti- 
vation and  in  erecting  the  necessary  buildings. 

Our  subject  was  married  in  the  autumn  of  r86i  to  Jane  E,  Greer,  who 
was  born  in  Armagh,  Ireland,  October  6,  1844.  Her  father  was  John 
Greer  and  her  mother  was  Mary  Ann  Murphy,  both  natives  of  Ireland, 
although  John  Greer's  father  was  born  in  Scotland.  John  and  Mary  Ann 
Greer  were  the  parents  of  twelve  children,  five  of  whom  died  in  infancv 
and  early  childhood.  These  were  as  follows:  Joseph  died  in  Ireland  when 
twenty-one  years  old ;  George  died  in  New  York  state ;  Robert  died  in  Oak- 
land county.  Michigan;  John  and  James  died  in  Kinderhook  township: 
William  died  in  California  township;  Jane  E.  McMurray,  the  youngest  of 
the  family,  and  the  only  one  now  living,  is  the  wife  of  our  subject.  John 
Greer  and  family  came  to  America  from  Ireland  in  1853,  and  they  first 
located  in  New  York  state,  where  Mr.  Greer  died  in  1855,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-five  years.  A  few  years  thereafter  Mrs.  Greer,  her  son,  James,  and 
her  daughter,  Jane  E.,  came  to  Michigan  and  Branch  county,  where  Mrs. 
Greer  died  May  i,  1881,  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven  years.  In  Ireland  Mr. 
Greer  was  an  Episcopalian,  while  Mrs.  Greer  was  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian church. 

The  marriage  of  Hugh  and  Jane  McMurray  has  been  blessed  with  the 
birth  of  eleven  children,  eight  of  whom  are  living;  Everett  died  at  the 
age  of  seven  years,  Moses  at  thirteen  years  and  Agnes  at  nineteen  years. 
Eliza  married  Dennis  Bascom  and  their  home  is  in  this  township;  they 
have  three  children,  Agnes,  Floyd  and  Edna.  John  married  Lillian'  Wal- 
dron;  they  have  two  children,  Hugh  and  Lloyd,  and  they  live  here.  James 
married  Harriet  Terwilliger  and  their  home  is  in  Toledo.     Edgar  married 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  521 

Vine  Teeters  and  they  have  one  son,  Dean,  their  home  being  here.  Mary 
married  Warren  Southworth;  they  live  at  Edgerton,  Ohio,  and  have  one 
son,  Duane.  Charles  married  Viola  Hammond  and  they  live  in  this  town- 
ship, they  having  one  daughter,  Rosaline.  Alva  married  Anna  Goodwin; 
they  have  one  son,  Herbert,  and  an  infant  daughter,  and  their  home  is  in 
this  township.  Ella,  the  only  unmarried  child,  resides  at  home  with  her 
parents.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  this  worthy  couple  in  the  later  years  of 
their  lives  are  surrounded  by  their  children  and  grandchildren,  although 
they  still  occupy  their  own  comfortable  farm  home.  Once  a  year  all  of 
the  relatives  assemble  for  a  reunion  and  these  family  gatherings  are  most 
happy  affairs. 

Mr.  McMurray's  first  farm  home  in  this  township  was  on  section  six, 
but  he  has  lived  uiwn  his  present  farm  about  twenty-five  years.  The  place 
is  well  equipped  with  good  buildings  and  under  excellent  cultivation,  al- 
though of  late  years  Mr.  McMurray  has  not  performed  a  great  amount  of 
labor  himself.  His  has  been  an  industrious  life,  and  he  has  seen  this  sec- 
tion developed  from  new  country  to  its  present  fertile  condition.  In  his 
efforts  to  provide  a  comfortable  home  for  'his  loved  ones  he  has  found  a 
most  capable  helpmeet  in  Mrs.  McMurray,  who  has  shared  his  joys  and 
sorrows  for  so  many  years.  They  have  reared  their  large  family  carefully, 
giving  them  good  practical  educations,  and  now  they  see  them  with  homes 
and  families  of  their  own.  Mrs.  McMurray  is  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian church.  Mr.  McMurray  was  in  earlier  years  a  Whig,  but  has  been 
a  Republican  ever  since  the  formation  of  that  political  party.  His  first 
presidential  vote  was  cast  for  General  Scott.  He  has  been  called  upon  sev- 
eral times  to  serve  his  fellow  townsmen,  being  township  highway  commis- 
sioner for  three  years  and  township  drain  commissioner  for  several  terms, 
while  in  the  early  years  of  his  residence  here  he  was  school  director  for 
eight  years  and  scliool  assessor  for  one  year.  His  life  has  been  a  long  aind 
useful  one  and  his  relatives  and  friends  trust  that  he  has  many  happy  years 
still  before  him. 

PERRY  DARWIN  GRAY. 

Perry  Darwin  Gray,  who  since  1901  has  resided  on  his  present  farm 
on  sections  thirty-one  and  thirty-two,  Algansee  township,  where  he  has  one 
hundred  and  eighty-five  acres,  and  who  is  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  in  the 
Qiristian  church,  but  is  at  present  preaching  for  the  Congregational  church  in 
the  village  of  Aigansee,  was  born  on  Christmas  day,  i86g,  in  the  township 
where  he  now  makes  his  home.  His  father,  Darwin  L.  Gray,  was  born  in 
Ashfield,  Massachusetts,  April  30,  1824,  and  was  of  Scotch  lineage.  In 
1606  the  Grays  removed  from  Scotland  to  the  north  of  Ireland,  and  in  the- 
year  1718  John  Gray  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  the  new  world,  settling  in 
Pelham,  Massachusetts,  where  he  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  Robert 
Gray,  the  great-grandfather  of  Mr.  Gray  of  this  review,  was  a  soldier  of 
the  Continental  army  and  served  throughout  the  struggles  which  freed  the 
colonies  from  the  yoke  of  British  oppression.  His  son,  Eli  Gray,  the  grand- 
father of  our  subject,  became  the  founder  of  the  family  in  Michigan,  remov- 


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622  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

ing  from  Ashfield,  Massachusetts,  to  Algansee  township.  Branch  county,  in 
1836.  He  married  Betsey  Lyon,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  a  cousin  of 
Mary  E.  Lyon,  the  founder  of  Mount  Holyoke  Seminary,  at  Mount  Holyoke, 
Massachusetts,  and  a  daughter  of  David  Lyon,  who  was  a  native  of  Con- 
necticut and  was  of  English  lineage.  Eli  Gray  was  the  father  of  twelve 
children,  of  whom  four  were  bom  of  his  first  marriage,  namely :  Flavilla, 
the  wife  of  Luther  Ward,  of  Ashfield,  Massachusetts;  Eleanor,  William  and 
Robert.  By  his  second  wife,  Betsey  Lyon,  he  had  eight  children,  as  fol- 
lows :  Betsey,  now  deceased ;  Lydia,  the  widow  of  Hon.  Jonathan  Sherer,  of 
Plymouth,  Michigan;  Sarah,  the  wife  of  J.  E.  Potter,  of  Nebraska;  Mary, 
who  has  departed  this  life;  Darwin;  Jerome,  a  farmer  of  Ghdden,  Iowa; 
Ralph,  deceased;  and  Edwin,  who  served  with  Company  A,  Ninth  Michigan 
Volunteer  Regimait  in  the  Civil  war  and  participated  in  many  important 
engagements,  but  has  died  since  the  close  of  hostilities. 

Darwin  Gray  had  but  limited  educational  privileges.  He  was  always 
a  farmer  and  came  with  his  parents  to  Michigan  in  1836,  becoming  one 
of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Algansee  township.  Although  a  poor  boy,  by 
thrift  and  industry  he  became  a  prosperous,  successful  and '  prominent  man 
of  the  county,  whose  business  reputation  was  unassailable,  and  he  was  equally 
loyal  to  every  obligation  that  devolved  upon  him.  Identified  with  the  town- 
ship through  long  years  he  stood  very  high  in  the  esteem  of  his  neighbors 
and  friends  as  a  ma.n  of  sterling  integrity.  He  became  a  member  of  the 
Baptist  church  in  his  early  days  and  his  interest  in  political  questions  and 
issues  led  him  to  cast  his  ballot  for  the  men  and  measures  of  the  Republi- 
can party.  He  married  Julia  Ann  Archer,  who  was  born  in  Orleans  county, 
New  York,  September  25,  1834.  Her  father,  Benjamin  Archer,  was  a  native 
of  the  same  state  and  came  to  Michigan  in  pioneer  times,  establishing  his 
home  in  Algansee  county.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Fifteenth  Michigan 
Infantry  in  the  Civil  war,  enlisting  at  Coldwater  in  1861,  and  was  killed  at 
the  battle  of  Shiloh.  He  married  Miss  Sophronia  Schofield  and  they  became 
the  parents  of  seven  children;  Asher  F.  resides  in  Algansee;  Benjamin, 
a  merchant,  at  Hart,  Michigan,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Fourth  Michigan 
Cavalry;  Sophronia,  the  wife  of  Joseph  Mallison,  a  farmer,  hving  in  Ferry, 
Michigan;  and  Mrs.  Gray,  who  is  the  eldest  living  member  of  the  family 
and  is  now  seventy-one  years  of  age.  She  was  twice  married,  her  first 
husband  being  Porter  Fales,  who  was  a  native  of  New  York,  and  came  to 
Michigan  at  an  early  day.  He  enlisted  for  service  in  the  Union  army  with 
the  First  Michigan  Sharp  Shooters  in  1864,  and  sustained  a  gunshot  wound 
before  Petersburg,  He  was  taken  to  the  hospital  at  Washington,  where 
gangrene  set  in  and  he  died  shortly  afterward.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs,  Fales 
were  born  five  children :  Ella,  the  wife  of  Robert  Henderson,  a  farmer  of 
Goodland,  Indiana;  Noah  P.,  who  lives  with  his  brother  Perry;  Sabra,  the 
wife  of  Albert  Street,  a  farmer  of  Harrisburg,  Michigan;  Martha  May,  the 
wife  of  James  Vannuys  of  Fremont,  Indiana;  and  one  who  died  in  infancy. 
After  losing  her  first  husband  Mrs.  Fales  gave  her  hand  in  marriage  to  Mr. 
Gray  and  there  were  three  children  of  that  union:  Perry  D. ;  Cynthia  J., 
the  wife  of  Ebba  Corless,  an  engineer  in  the  Quincy  power  house;  and 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  523 

George  Milan,  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Gray  died  on  the  ist  of  May, 
1897,  and  is  still  survived  by  his  widow,  who  is  now  seventy-one  years  of 
age.     She  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

Mr.  Perry  D.  Gray  was  reared  upon  the  home  farm,  and  supplemented 
his  district  school  education  by  a  course  of  study  in  the  Tri-State  Normal 
College  at  Angola,  Indiana,  after  which  he  engaged  in  teaching  school  for 
three  winters.  He  has  engaged  in  preaching  since  eighteen  years  of  age, 
having  been  ordained  as  a  minister  of  the  Christian  church  at  Keokuk, 
Iowa,  in  1891,  by  Elder  J.  H.  Carr.  He  has  served  as  pastor  of  the  follow- 
ing churches:  Golden  Point,  lUinois;  New  London,  Iowa;  Kirksville, 
Iowa;  North  English  and  Keota,  Iowa;  Decatur,  Michigan,  and  is  now 
preaching  at  Algansee.  He  returned  from  Iowa  to  his  farm  in  1897,  set- 
tling on  his  present  place  of  residence  in  1901.  Here  he  has  one  hundred 
and  eighty-five  acres  of  rich  and  productive  land  on  sections  thirty-one  and 
thirty-two,  Algansee  township,  which  he  manages  and  at  the  same  time  car- 
ries on  his  work  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel. 

On  the  23d  of  October,  1890,  Mr.  Gray  was  married  to  Miss  Myrtie  P. 
Carr,  whose  birth  occurred  in  De  Kalb  county,  Indiana,  on  the  5th  of 
August,  1872.  Her  father,  James  P.  Carr,  of  Angola,  Indiana,  is  a  ma- 
chinist by  trade  and  became  foreman  of  a  large  shop.  He  married  May  M. 
Fetterhoff,  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  both  are  still  living.  Of  their  two  chil- 
dren one  has  passed  away.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gray  have  been  born  two 
daughters  and  a  son:  Julia  M.,  born  October  16,  1891 ;  Mildred  E.,  born 
March  9,  1896;  and  Darwin  C,  who  was  born  SeiDtember  2,  igoo,  and  died 
October  5,  1902,  Like  her  husband,  Mrs.  Gray  is  a  devoted  member  of 
the  Christian  church.  He  has  fraternal  relations  and  both  he  and  his  wife 
affiliate  with  the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star.  His  political  allegiance  is 
given  to  the  Republican  party  and  he  is  filling  the  office  of  justice  of  the 
peace,  discharging  his  duties  with  due  regard  to  the  equity  and  law  of  the 
case.  His  influence  is  ever  on  the  side  of  right  and  truth  and  his  labors  in 
the  ministry  have  been  a  potent  element  in  the  moral  development  of  the 
various  localities  where  he  has  served  as  pastor  of  the  Christian  cliurch. 

LEONARD  FRANKLIN  HUMPHREY. 

Leonard  Franklin  Humphrey,  member  of  the  law  firm  of  Newberry 
&  Humphrey,  of  Coldwater,  was  born  in  Auburn,  Indiana,  April  16,  1862, 
his  parents  he'mg  Lyman  and  Fanny  (Williams)  Humphrey,  who  were  na- 
tives of  New  York,  but  were  married  at  Albion,  Michigan.  They  hved 
for  about  five  years  at  Auburn,  Indiana,  and  then  came  to  Branch  county, 
Michigan,  in  1863,  settling  in  Butler  township,  where  they  resided  for  many 
years.  They  next  settled  in  Algansee  township,  where  the  succeeding  seven 
years  were  passed,  when  they  took  up  their  abode  in  the  village  of  Canan- 
daigua,  in  Lenawee  county.  There  the  father  died  in  May,  1903,  at  the 
very  venerable  age  of  ninety  years,  one  month  and  fifteen  days.  He  had 
followed  farming  through  his  active  business  life,  thus  providing  for  his 
family.  His  widow  still  survives  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years.  They 
were  the  parents  of  five  sons  and  two  daughters. 


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624  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Leonard  F.  Humphrey  was  reared  on  his  father's  farm  and  continued 
his  education  in  the  pubHc  schools  until  he  had  become  a  high  school  stu- 
dent. Not  desiring  to  engage-in  agricultural  pursuits  as  a  life  work,  he 
took  up  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  William  E.  Ware,  and  later  the 
firm  of  Barlow  &  Loveridge  were  his  preceptors.  He  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  April  i6,  1885,  and  located  for  practice  in  Coldwater,  where  he  has 
since  remained,  being  now  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Newberry  &  Hum- 
phrey, with  a  large  and  rapidly  increasing  clientage.  Nature  seems  to  have 
endowed  him  with  the  peculiar  qualifications  that  combine  to  make  a  suc- 
cessful iawyer,  for  he  is  patiently  persevering,  possesses  an  analytical  mind 
and  one  that  is  readily  receptive  and  retentive  of  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples and  intricacies  of  the  law.  He  is  fearless  in  the  advocacy  of  any 
cause  he  may  espouse,  is  quick  to  comprehend  subtle  problems  and  is  logical 
in  his  conclusions.  He  belongs  to  both  the  Branch  County  and  the  Mich- 
igan State  Bar  Associations. 

On  the  25th  of  March,  1885,  Mr.  Humphrey  was  married  to  Miss 
Cora  M.  Stiles,  of  Coldwater,  a  graduate  of  the  Fort  Wayne  (Indiana) 
Conservatory  of  Music.     They  have  an  interesting  son,  Victor  S. 

Mr.  Humphrey  votes  with  the  Democracy  and  holds  meinbership  rela- 
tions with  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen  and  the  Methodist  church,  and  his  identification  therewith  is  an 
indication  of  his  character  and  the  motives  which  control  his  relations  with 
his  fellow-men.  His  life  history  is  notable  from  the  fact  that  from  the  age 
of  thirteen  years  he  has  been  dependent  upon  his  own  resources,  but  early 
realizing  that  "  there  is  no  excellence  without  labor,"  he  applied  himself 
dihgently  to  the  mastery  of  his  law  studies  and  has  displayed  the  same  close 
application,  indefatigable  energy  and  laudable  ambition  and  determination 
in  the  conduct  of  his  legal  business  since  becoming  a  member  of  the  bar  of 
Coldwater. 

HON.  AMOS  MATTESON  GARDNER. 

Hon.  Amos  M.  Gardner,  numbered  with  the  prominent  farmers  of 
Branch  county,  is  living  on  section  eleven,  Matteson  township.  His  birth 
occurred  in  the  town  of  Burlington,  Otsego  county,  New  York,  March  18, 
1833.  The  family  is  of  Scotch  origin  and  was  founded  in  America  at  an 
eariy  day.  The  grandfather,  Samuel  Gardner,  died  in  New  York.  Tlie 
father,  Hiram  Gardner,  was  a  native  of  Vennont,  where  he  remained  until 
about  eighteen  years  of  age,  when  he  removed  to  Otsego  county.  New 
York.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  always  following  that  pursuit  in 
order  to  provide  for  his  family.  In  Otsego  county  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Permelia  Matteson,  a  native  of  Rhode  Island  and  a  daughter  of  Amos 
Matteson,  who  came  to  Michigan  about  1833,  locating  on  the  banks  of 
Matteson  lake.  The  township  of  Matteson  was  named  in  his  honor,  for 
he  was  one  of  its  first  settlers  and  a  most  progressive  citizen,  who  contrib- 
uted in  large  measure  to  the  work  of  public  improvement.  In  1836  Mr. 
Gardner  arrived  in  Branch  county  and  the  following  year  he  brought  his 
family,  settling  in  Matteson  township,  where  he  entered  from  the  govern- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  o-2ry 

ment  three  tracts  of  land  of  eig:hty  acres  each,  which  is  still  in  possession 
of  the  family.  He  became  closely  identified  with  the  events  which  consti- 
tuted the  early  annals  of  the  county,  and  did  all  in  his  power  to  improve 
upon  the  methods  which  were  calculated  to  advance  the  interests  of  this 
part  of  the  state.  He  served  as  supervisor  of  his  township  for  many  years 
and  was  one  of  the  commissioners  to  locate  the  county  seat.  Prominent 
and  influential  in  public  affairs  he  had  a  very  wide  acquaintance  and  did 
much  toward  molding  public  thought  and  opinion  in  Branch  county.  His 
political  allegiance  was  always  given  to  the  Democracy,  and  while  taking 
an  active  part  in  matters  relating  to  the  general  good  he  also  carefully 
promoted  his  business  interests  and  improved  an  excellent  farm.  He  died 
in  his  seventy-fifth  year,  respected  and  honored  by  all  who  knew  him. 

Unto  him  and  his  wife  were  born  eight  children,  three  sons  and  five 
daughters.  One  of  the  sons  was  shot  at  an  early  date,  while  waiting  for 
deer  in  the  night.  The  others  reached  adult  age  and  six  of  the  number 
are  now  hving,  A.  M.  Gardner  being  the  eldest.  The  others  are :  Samuel ; 
Eunice,  the  wife  of  John  Benedict,  of  Niies.  Michigan;  Delia,  the  wife  of 
George  Clark,  of  Constantine.  Michigan;  Celinda,  the  wife  of  M.  Daniels 
of  Sherwood,  this  state;  and  Parmelia,  the  wife  of  C.  H.  Goodwin,  of 
Colon,  Michigan. 

A.  M.  Gardner  was  only  four  years  old  when  he  was  brought  by  his 
parents  to  Branch  county,  the  family  home  being  established  in  Matteson 
township.  On  the  journey  hither  from  the  state  of  New  York  they 
came  as  far  as  Buffalo  on  the  old  -Erie  canal,  and  incidents  along  this  canal 
Mr.  Gardner  can  recall  as  if  but  yesterday.  From  Buffalo  to  Monroe,  Mich- 
igan, the  journey  was  continued  on  a  boat,  and  from  Monroe  to  Adrian, 
Michigan,  they  came  via  the  old  wooden  railroad  drawn  by  horses.  Thence 
from  Adrian  to  Matteson  the  Gardner  family  were  met  by  an  ox-team 
owned  by  Joseph  Rudd.  and  the  entire  trip  to  the  township  of  Matteson 
was  made  in  this  pioneer  style.  The  family  lived  with  Grandfather  Amos 
Matteson  till  October,  when  they  moved  into  a  primitive  log  cabin  which 
had  no  windows,  doors  nor  floor.  There  were  plenty  of  wolves  and  deer, 
and  once  in  a  while  a  bear  was  to  be  seen.  He  has  seen  many  of  the  re<l 
men  or  Indians,  and  there  was  a  trail  that  ran  across  the  Gardner  estate 
on  down  southeast  near  the  old  county  seat.  Branch.  Mr.  Gardner  has 
killed  deer  in  Matteson  township.  Among  his  relics  he  has  a  mirror  close 
to  one  hundred  years  old  and  given  him  by  his  mother.  When  they  came  to 
Branch  county  the  mail  came  once  each  month,  and  each  letter  cost  twenty- 
five  cents,  \vhile  now  the  mail  is  delivered  at  the  door  each  day.  He  has 
used  the  old  four-fingered  cradle,  having  thus  cut  hundreds  of  acres.  He 
has  lived,  as  tt  were,  in  the  Victorian  age,  when  all  of  the  great  inventions 
of  the  present  twentieth  century,  .such  as  the  great  railway  systems,  the 
telegraph,  the  teleplione,  the  rural  free  deli\'ery  and  other  great  improve- 
ments have  been  made  since  he  has  been  a  resident  of  Branch  county.  Mr. 
Gardner  was  reared  upon  his  father's  farm,  acquiring  his  education  in  a 
little  log  schoolhouse  of  the  early  days,  where  he  pursued  his  studies  for 
about  two  months  each  year.     During  the  remainder  of  the  year  he  worked 


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526  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

at  farm  labor  and  in  the  winter  that  he  was  twenty-four  years  of  age  he 
attended  the  Culver  school  in  Matteson  township.  Reading,  observation  and 
experience,  however,  have  largely  broadened  his  knowledge  and  made  him 
a  well  informed  man.  He  spent  two  summers  in  Kansas,  engaged  in  farm- 
ing, having  entered  from  the  goveniment  a  claim  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  in  Coffey  county.  Following  his  return  to  Branch  county,  in  part- 
nership with  his  brother  Samuel,  he  rented  his  father's  farm  for  three  years 
and  then  with  the  capital  he  had  acquired  through  his  own  labors  he  pur- 
chased one  hundred  acres  in  the  midst  of  the  green  forest,  incurring  an 
indebtedness  of  two  thousand  dollars  by  so  doing.  With  characteristic  en- 
ergy he  began  clearing  this  property  and  cultivating  the  fields  and  he  has 
added  to  his  landed  possessions  from  time  to  time  until  he  now  has  three 
hundred  and  twenty  acres,  constituting  a  well  improved  farm.  Upon  this 
is  a  modern  residence,  large  and  substantial  barns  and  other  outbuildings 
for  the  shelter  of  grain  and  stock.  In  fact,  there  is  no  equipment  of  a 
model  farm  lacking,  and  everything  about  the  place  is  indicative  of  the 
careful  supervision  of  a  progressive  owner. 

On  January  i,  1863,  Mr,  Gardner  was  married  to  Miss  Ellen  Wheeler, 
of  Franklin,  Lenawee  county,  Michigan,  who  died  June  9,  1886,  leaving 
four  children,  namely:  Ella,  now  the  wife  of  Eli  Keyes,  of  Decatur,  Mich- 
igan; Gertie,  the  wife  of  T,  D.  Turner,  a  resident  farmer  of  Matteson 
township;  Donna,  a  teacher  in  the  schools  of  Coldwater;  and  Bernice,  the 
wife  of  Arthur  Stoute,  of  Kalamazoo,  Michigan.  In  iSgo  Mr.  Gardner 
was  again  married,  his  second  union  being  with  Sarah  Johnson,  a  daughter 
of  J.  O.  and  Julia  Johnson.  Mrs.  Gardner  was  born  in  Matteson  township, 
where  she  has  spent  her  entire  life. 

At  one  time  Mr.  Gardner  was  actively  interested  in  politics  and  wa? 
a  stanch  and  unfaltering  advocate  of  the  Republican  party.  He  served  as 
supervisor  of  Matteson  township  for  ten  years,  and  in  1884  was  elected  to 
the  state  legislature,  representing  his  district  for  one  term.  He  has  been 
the  champion  of  all  plans  and  measures  instituted  for  the  good  of  the  com- 
munity and  with  the  history  of  Branch  county  and  its  development  he  has 
been  closely  identified.  He  has  seen  it  transformed  from  a  wilderness 
to  its  present  condition  of  high  cultivation  and  of  superior  industrial  and 
commercial  achievement.  He  is  now  the  oldest  living  resident  of  Matteson 
township,  having  made  his  home  within  its  borders  for  sixty-eight  years, 
and  his  mind  bears  the  impress  of  the  historic  annals  of  the  county  and 
state  and  forms  a  connecting  link  between  the  primitive  past  and  the  pro- 
gressive present.  His  life  has  been  actuated  by  principles  of  integrity  and 
worth  and  his  career  has  reflected  credit  and  honor  upon  his  fellow  towns- 
men who  have  honored  him. 

FRED  J.  CONKLIN. 

Fred  J.  Conklin,  following  the  occupation  of  farming  in  Ovid  town- 
ship, is  living  on  section  sixteen,  where  he  owns  and  operates  one  hundred 
and  fourteen  acres  of  land  devoted  to  general  agricultural  pursuits.  The 
property  is  well  improved,  indicating  in  its  excellent  appearance  the  careful 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  5'2T 

supervision  of  the  owner.  Mr,  Conklln  is  a  native  son  of  this  township, 
having  been  bom  on  the  I2th  of  August,  1864.  His  father,  James  D. 
Conklin,  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  and  representative  citizens  of  Branch 
county  and  was  a  native  of  Genesee  county,  New  York,  where  his  birth 
occurred  in  1827.  He  came  to  Branch  county  when  abotit  twenty-three 
years  of  age,  setthng  in  Ovid  township  upon  a  farm  on  section  thirty-six. 
He  purchased  one  liundred  arid  sixty  acres  of  land  and  at  once  began  to 
cultivate  and  improve  the  property,  transforming  the  tract  into  very  pro- 
ductive fields.  A  few  years  after  his  arrival  here  he  was  married  to  Miss 
May  Wolf,  a  native  of  Ohio',  in  which  state  she  was  also  reared.  She 
journeyed  to  Michigan  with  her  parents,  who  traveled  across  the  country 
and  through  the  "  dismal  swamp."  By  her  marriage  she  became  the  mother 
of  seven  children,  four  sons  and  tliree  daughters,  of  whom  Fred  J.  Conklin 
was  the  fourth  child  and  third  son.  Three  of  the  number  are  now  deceased. 
All  were  bom  and  reared  in  Branch  county.  The  parents  hold  membership 
in  the  Baptist  church  and  are  highly  esteemed  as  worthy  pioneer  people 
who  have  contributed  in  substantial  measure  to  the  development  and  up- 
building of  this  part  of  the  state.  In  his  political  views  Mr.  Conklin  has 
always  been  a  Republican  and  for  eight  years  served  as  justice  of  the  peace, 
while  for  several  terms  he  was  township  clerk.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
school  board,  and  everything  that  tends  to  advance  intellsctual,  material  or 
moral  progress  receives  his  endorsement  and  co*-operat!on. 

Fred  J.  Conklin  was  reared  in  Kinderhook  township,  and  was  a  dis- 
trict school  student  in  his  youth,  thereby  acquiring  a  fair  knowledge  of 
the  branches  of  English  learning.  In  the  summer  months  he  assisted  his 
father  in  the  operation  of  the  home  farm,  continuing  to  work  in  the  fields 
up  to  the  time  of  his  marriage,  which  occurred  in  Branch  county  on  the 
1st  of  December,  1885,  the  lady  of  his  choice  being  Miss  Laura  A.  Para- 
dine,  who  was  bom  in  Ovid  township  on  the  3d  of  April,  1867,  and  is  a 
daughter  of  William  W.  and  Sarah  (Higgins)  Paradine,  who  emigrated 
from  Ohio  to  Michigan  at  an  early  day.  The  father  was  born  in  England 
in  1836  and  left  that  country  for  the  United  States  in  1855.  He  first 
located  on  a  farm  near  Cleveland,  Ohio,  but  after  two  years  came  to  Branch 
county,  settling  in  Ovid  township,  where  he  reared  his  family.  He,  too, 
has  been  a  life-long  Republican  and  takes  an  active  interest  in  politics. 

Fred  J.  Conklin  took  up  his  abode  on  his  present  farm  in  1892,  having 
here  one  hundred  and  fourteen  acres  of  land  which  is  rich  and  arable  and 
responds  readily  to  the  care  and  cultivation  which  he  bestows  upon  it.  He 
uses  the  latest  improved  machinery  in  tilling  the  soil  and  harvesting  the 
crops  and  is  thoroughly  up-to-date  in  his  methods  of  farm  work,  securing 
through  his  unremitting  diligence  and  perseverance  a  very  desirable  com- 
petence. 

The  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Conklin  has  been  blessed  with  a  son  and 
two  daughters,  but  the  son,  James  W.,  who  was  born  June  17,  1894,  died 
on  the  26ih  of  September,'  1895.  The  daughters  are:  Gertrude  B.,  who 
was  born  October  20,  1886;  and  Leona  M.,  March  29,  1889.  Both  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Conklin  are  widely  known  in  this  part  of  the  state  and  enjoy  the 


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528  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

friendship  o£  many  with  whom  they  have  come  in  contact.  He  has  always 
been  deeply  interested  in  the  work  of  public  improvement  and  progress  and 
his  fellow  townsmen  have  frequently  called  him  to  office.  He  served  as 
treasurer  of  Kinderhook  township  for  two  terms  and  has  been  clerk  of 
Ovid  township  for  three  terms.  In  the  spring  of  1905  he  was  elected  super- 
visor on  the  Republican  ticket  and  is  now  filling  that  office,  exercising  his 
official  prerogatives  in  support  of  those  plans  and  measures  which  are  des- 
tined to  prove  of  benefit  to  the  community  at  large, 

ALVARADO  B.  RANSOM. 

Alvarado  B,  Ransom  was  born  on  the  farm  on  which  he  now  resides, 
on  section  two,  Algansee  township,  his  natal  day  being  December  11,  1846. 
His  father,  Francis  D.  Ransom,  was  a  native  of  Cayuga  county,  New  York, 
was  of  English  descent  and  died  in  the  year  1884.  His  son  spent  his  youth 
upon  the  okl  homestead  farm,  on  which  his  father  had  located  during  the 
pioneer  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  county.  He  worked  in  the  fields  during 
his  boyhood  days  and  has  always  devoted  his  energies  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits and  throughout  his  business  career  has  made  a  specialty  of  the  raising 
of  Durham  stock.  In  all  of  his  work  he  is  enterprising  and  manages  his 
afifairs  with  good  business  ability  and  keen  discernment,  his  labors  therefore 
bringing  him  a  justly  merited  return.  He  likewise  owns  an  interest  in 
the  Quincy  National  Bank  building,  at  Qtrincy,  Michigan. 

June  8,  1872,  Alvarado  B.  Ransom  was  married  to  Sarah  E.  Handy, 
who  was  born  in  Greece  township,  Monroe  county,  New  York,  August  9, 
1847.  Her  father,  Cyrus  Handy,  was  likewise  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and 
on  removing  to  the  middle  west  in  1846  settled  first  in  Indiana,  where  he  ■ 
remained  for  forty  years.  He  then  came  to  Michigan,  where  he  resided 
for  a  short  time,  after  which  he  returned  to  the  Hoosier  state.  He  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation  and  his  labors  brought  him  a  fair  measure  of  success. 
His  religious  views  were  indicated  by  his  membership  in  the  Baptist  church 
and  by  his  active  work  for  the  furtherance  of  all  of  its  different  departments 
of  labor.  In  politics  he  was  a  Republican  and  for  a  number  of  years  was 
justice  of  the  peace,  discharging  his  duties  with  due  regard  to  the  equity 
and  law  of  the  case.  He  married  Miss  Maria  Cole,  a  native  of  Ovid. 
Seneca  county.  New  York,  and  both  have  passed  away.  In  their  family 
were  the  following  named:  Stephen,  deceased;  Mrs.  Ransom;  Matilda, 
who  married  and  has  now  departed  this  life;  Homer,  a  farmer  and  car- 
penter, residing  in  Fremont,  Muskegon  county,  Michigan;  Hiram,  who  fol- 
lows farming  near  Clear  Lake.  Indiana;  and  Mattie,  deceased. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ransom  have  been  born  four  children,  but  they  lost 
their  first  born,  Alma.  Nettie  is  the  wife  of  George  Thompson,  of  Quincy, 
Michigan.  Maude  is  at  home.  Florence  is  the  wife  of  Earl  Shoemaker, 
who  is  living  on  her  father's  farm.  The  parents  are  members  of  the  Algan- 
see  Baptist  cliurch,  in  which  Mr.  Ransom  has  served  as  deacon  and  he  has 
ever  taken  an  active  and  helpful  part  in  church  and  Sunday-school  work, 
doing  everything  in  his  power  to  promote  the  growth  and  extend  the  in- 
fluence of  the  church.     He  likewise  belongs  to  the  Grange  and  is  a  Republi- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  529 

can  in  his  political  views.  Having  been  called  to  office  he  has  served  as 
justice  of  the  peace  and  highway  commissioner,  and  is  a  man  reliable  and 
trustworthy  in  all  life's  relations,  whether  in  public  office,  in  business  affairs 
or  in  social  circles. 

James  A.  Ransom,  bother  of  Alvarado  B.  Ransom,  was  born  in  Elbridge, 
Onondaga  county,  New  York,  in  1838,  and  he,  too,  was  reared  to  farm 
life  and  acquired  his  education  in  the  district  schools.  He  was  a  teacher  in 
a  writing  school  for  two  terms  but  otherwise  has  always  followed  the  occu- 
pation qf  farming.  He  became  a  resident  of  Michigan  in  ^842  and  settled 
on  a  farm  now  owned  by  his  brother  Alvarado.  At  the  present  writing  his 
home  is  on  section  two,  Algansee  township,  where  he  owns  and  operates 
one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land. 

In  1862  James  Ransom  wedded  Mary  A,  Finney,  who  was  bom  in 
Ovid  township,  this  county,  October  2,  1845,  and  died  December  13,  i866, 
Her  father,  Luther  Finney,  was  a  native  of  Canada  and  came  to  Branch 
county  at  a  very  early  day,  settling  in  Ovid  township,  where  he  followed  the 
occupation  of  farming.  Subsequently  he  removed  to  Algansee,  where  his 
death  occurred.     His  wife  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Miss  Butterfield. 

Unto  James  Ransom  by  his  first  marriage  were  born  two  children: 
Chloe,  who  became  the  wife  of  Edward  Fillmore  and  after  his  death  married 
Charles  Wheeler,  but  is  now  deceased;  and  Adella  J.,  who  married  Wesley 
Darling,  and  after  his  death  became  the  wife  of  Joseph  Moore,  a  painter, 
living  in  Oakland  county,  Michigan.  For  his  second  wife  James  Ransom 
chose  Arzena  A.  Hayes,  in  1868.  She  was  born  in  Onondaga  county,  July 
19,  1841,  and  passed  away  on  the  25th  of  February,  1875.  Her  parents, 
Hiram  and  Almeda  Hayes,  were  natives  of  New  York  and  came  to  Michigan 
about  1856,  settling  in  the  town  of  Quincy,  where  the  father  followed  the 
occupation  of  farming.  By  this  marriage  there  were  three  children:  Carrie, 
the  wife  of  Louis  Van  Geisen,  who  is  living  on  the  Upper  Peninsula;  George 
H.,  a  farmer,  residing  in  Quincy  township;  and  Harley  D.,  of  Reading 
township.  The  sons  are  also  married.  Mr.  Ransom's  third  wife,  whom 
he  married  in  1878,  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Ella  L.  Darling,  and  was  born 
in  Hillsdale  county,  Michigan,  in  185 1,  a  daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Lovisa 
Darling.  Her  parents  were  natives  of  the  state  of  New  York,  and  came  to 
Michigan  in  1837.  By  the  third  marriage  there  are  five  children:  Olive 
L.,  who  was  born  September  20,  1879,  and  is  the  wife  of  Varney  W.  Fer- 
guson, living  on  her  father's  farm;  .A.delbert  J.,  who  was  born  in  1881,  and 
is  at  home;  Almeda,  who  was  horn  August  31,  1883,  and  is  deceased;  Francis 
D.,  who  was  bom  September  8,  1885,  and  is  living  on  the  home  place;  and 
Helen  D.,  who  died  April  15,  1905,  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years.  Mrs. 
James  Ransom  died  November  6,  1905,  a  Christian  lady,  and  her  remains 
are  interred  in  "  Fisher  Cemetery,"  a  beautiful  stone  standing  reared  to 
her  memory. 

Mr.  James  Ransom  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church,  as  was  also 
his  wife,  in  which  he  is  serving  as  trustee,  and  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  the 
organization  have  proven  far-reaching  and  beneficial,  making  him  one  of  its 
valued  members.     He  belongs  to  the  Grange  and  in    early    life    gave    his 


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580  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

pblitfcal  allegiance  to  the  Whig  party,  since  which  time  he  has  been  a  Re- 
publican. For  a  number  of  yfeirs  he  has  been  a  iriember  of  the  Board  of 
Reviews.  From  pioneer  times  the  Kansoni  brothers  have  been  represent- 
ative citizens  of  this  part  of  the  state,  interested  in  all  that  pertains  to  pub- 
lic progress. 

LOUIS  SLOMAN. 

Louis  Sloman,  a  clothing  merchant  of  Coldwater  and  the  oldest  repre- 
sentative of  this'  line  of  business  in  the  city,  is  strictly  a  self-made  man, 
whose  life  history  might  well  serve  as  a  source  of  encouragement  and  in- 
spiration to  others,  for  it  indicates  the  force  and  value  of  industry,  integrity 
a.nd  consecutive  endeavor  in  the  active  affairs  of  life.  He  was  bom  in 
the  city  of  London,  England,  May  6,  1848,  and  was  only  three  years  of  age 
when  brought  to  the  United  States  by  his  patents,  so  that  his  interests 
have  ever  been  thoroughly  American,  and  there  is  no  native-born  son  of 
the  land  who  is  more  loyal  to  the  welfare  of  the  country:  His  parents. 
Mark  and  Sarah  Sloman,  located  first  in  Rochester,  New  York,  where  the 
father  became  a  clothing  merchant,  and  it  was  in  his  store  that  the  son 
gained  his  first  experience  in  the  department  of  activity  in  which  he  has 
been  engaged  throug'hout  all  his  business  career.  His  school  privileges 
were  somevvhat  limited,  for  when  only  eleven  years  of  age  he  was  thrown 
upon  his  own  resources  and  started  out  to  make  his  way  in  the  world  un- 
aided. Nevertheless,  he  has  been  a  close  reader  and  observer  and,  possess- 
ing an  observing  eye  and  retentive  memory,  he  has  become  a  well  informed 
man  on  general  subjects.  When  it  became  necessary  that  he  provide  for 
his  own  supix>rt  he  went  to  the  city  of  Buffalo,  New  York,  and  was  very 
successful  in  securing  employment  in  a  clothing  establishment  in  which  he 
remained  for  two  years.  He  afterward  came  to  the  middle  west,  and  for 
two  years  had  the  management  of  a  clothing  establishment  in  Alton,  Illi- 
nois. Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  was  but  a  youth  he  displayed  busi- 
ness ability  equal  to  that  of  many  a  man  of  riper  years.  In  all  his  business 
relations  he  is  regarded  as  a  mari  of  keen  discernment,  sagacious  and  fair- 
sighted,  energetic  and  reliable.  He  has  ever  dealt  fairly  and  justly  with 
all  and  has  thus  gained  the  confidence  of  his  customers  and  his  fellowmen. 
On  leaving  Alton  he  went  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  where  for  two  years  he 
was  a  clothing  clerk,  and  in  1866  he  came  to  Coldwater,  where  he  opened  a 
clothing  store  tor  himself.  The  Capital  necessary  for  this  enterprise  had 
been  secured  through  his  industry  and  frugality.  He  has  continued  in  the 
business  in  this  city,  covering  a  period  of  nearly  forty  years,  and  he  has 
all  the  while  eiijoyed  a  good  trade.  The  store  is  stocked  With  a  large  line 
of  clothing  and  men's  furnishing  goods  and  has  ever  been  well  patronized. 
Mr.  Sloman  has  also  been  in  former  years  and  is  now  prominently  con- 
nected with  other  business  interests  of  the  city,  having  been  identified  with 
the  (Toldw^ter  Road  Cart  Company,  which  was  once  a  flourishing  concern, 
but  has  rioVi'  ceased  to"  exist.  He  was  also  otie  of  the  organizers  of  the 
National  Burial  Device  Company,  wi'th  which  he  is  now  connected,  and 
he  is  also  a  director  in  the  Coldwater  National  Bank. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  .531 

In  1B76.  in  the  city  where  he  yet  makes  his  home,  Mr.  Sloman  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Rena  Wilsori,'  who  died  iri  1887,  Seaving  two 
children,  Herbert  L.  and  Rae.  In"  1889  Mr.  Sloman  was  again  married, 
his  second  union  being  with  Miss  Minnie  I.  Sheldon,  and  they  have  become 
the  parents  of  four  children,  Morley  S..  Arthur  L.,  Esther  and  Margaret. 

Politically,  Mr.  Sloman '  is  a  Republican,  but  has  never  sought  the 
honors  nor  emoluments  of  office,  preferring  tti  devote  his  entire  time  and 
attention  to  his  business,  and  through  close  application  and  straightforward 
dealing  he  has  won  very  desirable  and  well  merited  success.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Bon  Ami  Club,  and  he  holds  a  high  place  in  the  esteem  of  his 
fellow-citizens. 

STARR  W.  GRUNER. 

Starr  W,  Gruner  is  a  representative  of  one  of  the  prominent,  highly 
respected  and  valued  families  of  Branch  county  and  was  born  in  Coldwater 
township,  August  30,  1878,  Here  he  has  spent  his  entire  life,  with  the 
exception  of  a  brief  period  passed  in  Germany,  the  time  spent  in  school  in 
Coldwater  and  the  period  of  his  service  in  the  Spanish-American  war.  His 
father,  Wenzel  Gruner,  was  a  native  of  Reichenberg,  Bohemia,  where  he 
was  born  September  28,  1831.  He  came  to  America  in  184S,  when  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  and  joined  his  brother  Anton  Gruner,  who  had  preceded 
him  one  year.  He  took  up  his  abode  near  Rochester,  New  York,  where  he 
spent  five  years,  and  then  became  a  resident  of  Coldwater  township.  Branch 
county,  Michigan,  where  he  passed  his  remaining  days.  After  his  arrival 
here  his  parents,  Franz  and  Katrina  (Berginann)  Gruner,  also  came  to 
America  and  made  their  way  to  Branch  county,  where  the  grandfather  died 
in  the  year  1856,  while  his  wife  survived  until  1861.  In  their  family  were 
six  children,  hut  only  one  is  now  living,  ■  Karl,  who  resides  in  Germany, 
Wenzel  Gnmer  was  married  on  the  25th  of  Aiigust,  1858,  to  Miss  Emily 
Randall,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  seven  children,  all  of  whom  reached 
adult  age,  although  Mrs.  Mina  Lewis  died  in  the  year  1896.  The  others 
are :  Mrs.  Mary  Mitchell,  who  resides  in  Coldwater ;  Mrs.  Edna  Vesey, 
who  is  living  in  Logansport,  Indiana:  Ward  C,  who  resides  in  Batavia: 
Benjamin  S..  whose  home  is  in  Winfield,  Alabama:  Bartlett  R.,  who  is  living 
at  Mount  Pleasant,  Michigan:  and  Starr  W.,  whose  name  introduces  this 
review.  The  father  died  in  1885  and  the  mother  has  since  married  William 
Paradine  and  now  resides  in  the  city  of  Coldwater. 

Upon  the  home  farm  Starr  W.  Gruner  was  reared,  his  time  being 
passed  in  the  usual  manner  of  farm  lads  of  that  period.  He  attended  the 
schools  of  Coldwater  during  the  sessions  between  189X  and  i8g6  and  re- 
ceived a  diplortia  upon  his  completion  of  the  high  school  course.  He  after- 
ward spent  two  year's,  1896  and  1897,  in  Germany,  visiting  relatives  there, 
and  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Spanish-American  war,  in  1898,  he  enlisted  at 
Coldwater  as  a  mernber  of  the  Thhty-third  Micliigaii  Infantry',  with  which 
he  continued  until  the  close  of  hostilities.  '  He  participated  in  the  battle  of 
Aquado;res,  Cuba,  July  i,  1:898,  Gen.  Henry  M.  Duffield  being  their 'imme- 
diate commander,  arid  he  received  his  .honorable  discharge  at  Owosso,  Mich- 


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533  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

igiin.  He  then  returned  home  and  began  farming  upon  the  old  family  home- 
stead, where  he  still  resides.  His  present  farm  comprises  eighty  acres  of 
fertile  land  improved  with  fine  buildings.  This  place  was  cleared  by  his 
father,  and  Mr.  Gruner,  of  this  review,  has  further  continued  the  work  of 
development  and  improvement  until  the  entire  place  is  now  under  a  high 
state  of  cultivation. 

On  the  1st  of  June,  1899,  Mr.  Gruner  was  married  to  Miss  Lena  L. 
Teachout,  who  was  born  in  Ovid  township.  Branch  county,  July  2,  1878, 
a  daughter  of  Stephen  and  Caroline  (Thompson)  Teachout,  the  former  a 
native  of  the  state  of  New  York  and  the  latter  of  Ohio.  Both  her  paternal 
and  maternal  grandparents  were  pioneer  residents  of  Ovid  township,  and 
the  Thompsons  came  originally  from  Scotland.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Teachout 
were  the  parents  of  three  children,  of  whom  one  son  died  in  infancy,  while 
Mrs,  Bertha  DeCIute  resides  in  San  Francisco,  and  Mrs.  Gruner  completes 
the  family.     Her  parents  are  now  residents  of  Coldwater  City. 

LORENZO  ZIMMERMAN. 

Lorenzo  Zimmerman,  who,  having  retired  from  farming  and  building 
operations,  is  now  merely  superintending  his  investments,  being  one  of  the 
stockholders  and  directors  in  the  Farmers'  National  Bank  of  Union  City 
and  the  owner  of  good  land  in  this  county,  was  born  in  Erie  county,  New 
York,  April  9,  1840,  and  comes  of  both  German  and  Irish  ancestry.  His 
father,  Levi  Zimmerman,  was  a  native  of  Montgomery  county,  New  York, 
and  obtained  his  education  in  the  public  schools  there.  He  was  married 
in  that  county  to  Miss  EHzabeth  Gray  and  they  began  their  domestic  life 
in  the  same  locality.  It  was  Mr.  Zimmerman  who  came  of  German  an- 
cestry, while  his  wife  had  some  Irish  blood  in  her  veins.  He  died  at  the 
age  of  seventy  years  and  Mrs.  Zimmerman  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years. 
They  were  the  parents  of  twelve  children,  of  whom  three  died  in  youth,  but 
the  others  reached  adult  age. 

Lorenzo  Zimmerman,  the  fifth  child  and  second  son,  was  reared  and 
educated  in  his  native  county,  attending  the  common  schools  and  after- 
ward the  Williamsville  Academy.  He  learned  the  carpenter's  trade  in  his 
youth  and  at  the  age  of  twenty  years  left  home,  since  which  time  he  has 
been  dependent  entirely  upon  his  own  resources  for  all  the  success  he  has 
achieved.  He  came  first  to  Michigan,  but  afterward  went  to  Arkansas  and 
to  Ohio  and  in  the  latter  state,  in  company  with  four  others,  was  engaged 
in  prospecting  for  oil  and  developed  an  oil  well  near  Marietta,  Ohio.  When 
the  Civil  war  broke  out  his  patriotic  spirit  was  aroused  by  the  attempt  of 
the  south  to  overthrow  the  Union,  and  in  1861  he  enlisted  as  a  member  of 
Company  L,  First  Ohio  Volunteer  Cavalry,  with  which  he  served  for  about 
fifteen  months.  He  was  then  honorably  discharged  on  account  of  dis- 
ability and  returned  to  Erie  county,  New  York,  where  he  worked  at  the 
carpenter's  trade  until  1865,  when  he  again  made  his  way  westward  to 
Michigan.  In  that  year  he  purchased  a  farm  in  Kalamazoo  county,  hiring 
men  to  cultivate  and  improve  his  land,  while  he  continued  to  work  at  his 
trade,_both  at  contracting  and  jobbing.     He  remained  in  Kalamazoo  county 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  533 

until  1883,  when  he  came  to  SherwocKl  and  for  a  number  of  years  there- 
after was  quite  extensively  engaged  in  the  building  of  mills,  receiving  con- 
tracts at  different  times  in  Kentucky,  Arkansas,  Michigan  and  Wisconsin. 
■  He  is  now  largely  retired  from  active  business  life,  but  is  one  of  the  direct- 
ors of  the  Farmers'  National  Bank  of  Union  City. 

In  1864  Mr.  Zimmerman  was  married  to  Miss  Sarah  Zimmerman,  a 
native  of  Steuben  county.  New  York,  and  a  daughter  of  Richard  Zimmer- 
man. They  have  become  the  parents  of  two  daughters  and  a  son :  Anna 
L.,  the  wife  of  J.  B,  Peck,  a  farmer  of  Sherwood  township;  Lee,  who  is 
living  in  Athens,  Michigan:  and  Mary  E.,  the  wife  of  J,  H.  Grill,  also  of 
Athens. 

Mr.  Zimmerman  is  independent  in  political  matters,  voting  sometimes 
with  the  Republican  party  and  again  in  favor  of  the  Democratic  party.  He 
belongs  to  Sherwood  Lodge  No.  421,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  to  Kilbourn  Post 
No.  361,  G.  A.  R.,  of  which  he  is  now  quartermaster.  Both  he  and  his 
wife  are  members  of  the  Eastern  Star  and  they  have  many  friends  in  the 
locality  where  they  have  long  resided.  To  every  enterprise  calculated  to 
advance  the  prosperity  of  Sherwood  he  is  a  generous  contributor,  and  he 
is  likewise  a  popular  citizen,  possessing  those  traits  of  character  which  win 
and  retain  friendship. 

ELISHA  J.  BROWN. 

Descended  from  one  of  the  old  and  prominent  families  of  Connecticut, 
where  its  members  lived  for  several  generations,  some  of  them  in  later 
years  coming  into  the  then  new  middle  west  and  making  for  themselves 
homes  here,  Mr.  EHsha  J.  Brown,  the  subject  of  this  review,  can  point 
with  just  pride  to  the  accomplishments  of  his  ancestors  and  to  the  record 
of  his  own  life.  His  branch  of  the  Brown  family  is  descended  from  three 
brothers  of  this  name  who  came  from  England  early  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury and  settled  at  Norwich,  Connecticut,  which  was  the  headquarters  for 
many  years.  The  Browns  were  patriotic  people  and  several  of  them  were 
participants  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  Our  subject's  great-grandfather  was 
a  Captain  Brown  in  this  conflict,  and  the  former  still  has  in  his  possession 
a  sabre  carried  by  the  latter  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  also  an  old- 
fashioned  watch  carried  by  another  Captain  Brown,  also  an  ancestor,  through 
that  war.  These  rare  family  relics  have  been  handed  down  from  father  to 
eldest  son  ever  since  and  are  considered  among  the  most  valuable  and  highly 
prized  family  relics  in  this  portion  of  Michigan. 

Our  subject's  grandfather  was  Dyer  Brown  and  his  father  was  Charles 
D.  Brown,  both  being  natives  of  Connecticut,  where  the  latter  was  born  in 
Meriden,  March  8,  1815.  Dyer  Brown,  his  wife  and  his  six  children  came 
to  Michigan  in  the  early  thirties  and  first  located  in  the  township  of  Ovid, 
where  they  purchased  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land.  This  land  was 
in  a  virgin  state,  entirely  uncleared,  and  in  that  early  day  there  was  no 
road  running  south  toward  it  from  Coldwater,  the  settlers  being  compelled 
to  follow  Indian  trails.  The  Pottowatomie  tribe  was  very  numerous  in  this 
vicinity  at  that  date,  and  in  fact  for  some  years  after  the  arrival  of  the 


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534  HISTORY  OF  BRAiSTdH  COUNTY 

Brown  family.  This  one  huiidred  .and  sixty  acres  was  cleared  by  Dyer 
Brown  and  his  sons,  and  in  addition  tliey  cpntroUed  the  sale  of  one  thousand 
five  hundred  acres  additional,  which  was  disposed  of  to  other  early  settlers.. 
Our  subject's  father,  Charles  D.  Brown,  was  a  frartner  with  his  father  in 
all  his  undertakings  here,  until  the,  death  of  the  latter,  October  8,  1841.  Of 
the  family  of  twelve  children,,  only  one  is  sfill  alive,  tliis,  being;  Mrs.  Caroline 
Goodell,  who  lives  in  Oakland  county,  Michigan,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
eight-eight  years. 

Charles  D.  Brown  was  married  September  i,  1839,  to  Hannah  Hoyt, 
who  was  born  in  Cherry  Valley,  Chautauqua  county,  New  York,  September 
22,  1822.  The  Hoyts  were  originally  from  Germany,  Hannah  Hoyt's 
grandfather  coming  to  America  late  in  the  eighteenth  century.  Charles  D. 
Brown  and  his  wife  had  seven  children,  as  follows :  Caroline  Davis  died 
in  Eaton  county,  Michigan,  in  1899;  Elislia  ].  ts  the  subject  of  this  review; 
Anna  Roberts  lives  in  Eaton  county;  Williarh  H.  lives  in  Flint,  Michigan; 
Harriet  Mott  hves  in  Ovid,  this  county;  Mary  C.  Brehm  lives  in  Kinder- 
hook;  Laney  M.,  the  youngest,  died  in  infancy.  Charles  D.  Brown  was 
renowned  throughout  Branch  county  in  an  early  day  as  a  mighty  hunter 
and  trapper,  as  well  as  an  excellent  citizen  and  a  successful  farmer.  It 
is  reliably  stated  that  he  killed  not  less  than  one  thousand  deer  in  this  county 
alone,  and  another  interesting  family '  relic  now  in  possession  of  the  family 
is  the  much-used  hunting  knife  with  which  he  used  to  skin  the  deer  he  killed. 
Our  subject,  Elisha  J.,  lived  with  liis' parents' all  during  their  lives,  the  fam- 
ily owning  all  property  in  common  and  there  being  no  division  of  property 
until  after  the  death  of  the  parents.  In  the  horte  of  Mr.  Brown  now  hangs 
a  photo'graph  of  four  generations  of  theBfown  family,  aJ!  of  whom  lived 
on  the  same  farm  at  the  same  time,  and  owning  their  property  in  common, 
a  most  unusual  thing  in  this  day. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  D.  Brown  led  loftg  and  useful  lives,  the  former 
dying  September  2,1898,  and  the  latter  April  17,1896. 

At  the  outbi'eak  of  the  Civil  war  Elisha  J.  Brown  responded  to  the  call 
of  his  country  and  engaged  in  this  great  conflict,  his  enlistment  occurring 
August  7,  1862,  in  Cornpany  H,  Nineteenth  Michigan  Infantry,  serving  un- 
.til  the  close  of  the  war  and  being  discharged  June  10,  1S65.  He  was  in 
every  engagement  of  his  regiment,  excej>ting  a  few  minor  Skirmishes  when 
he  was  disabled  from  a  wound.  It  is' a  remarkable  fatt  concerning  Mr. 
Brown's  service  that  during  the  three  years  he  spent  but  fifteen' dollars  of 
his  .soldier's  pay,,  sending  home  eveiy  other  cent  of  it  to  his  father. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war, '  Septetnher  5,  1865,  Mr.  BroWn  was 
married,  his  bride  being  Miss  Annie  Cheney,  a  native  of  Northamptonshire, 
England, ,  where  she  was,  bom  December  14,  1844.  She  was  the  daughter 
of  EJi  Cheney'  and  Jane  Wallace,  both  natives  of  the  same  place  and  both 
born  in  1818,  the  f,ather  'March  8th  and'  the  mother  Juiie  21st.  They  were 
married  at  Naseby,' England, 'and  carne  to  the  United  States  in  1845,  locat- 
ing first  at  Avon,' Loraine  copnty,  Ohio,  "where  they  lived  two  years,  then 
removing  to  Cayuga,  county,  Ohio,  which  was  their  home  five  years  and  then 
to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  where  they  settled  in  Ovid  township.     Here 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  535 

Mr.  Cheney  secured  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  and  improved  it, 
and  where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life,  .his  death  occurring  here  No- 
vember 12,  i.8go.  Mrs.  Cheney  is  still  living  at  an  advanced  age,  and 
makes  her  home  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brown.  The  Cheney  family  consisted 
of  four  children:  Alfred  lives  in  Kinderhook;  John  died  in  1845;  Annie 
Brown  is  the  wife  of  our  subject;  Sarah  iLobdell,  died  in  Indiana. 

In  the  sixties  the  Browns  removed  from  Ovid  to  Kinderhook  town- 
ship, where  they  purchased  a  fine  farm  on  section  three.  This  was  their 
home  for  thirty-iive  years  and  they  made  of  it  a  comfortable  and  attractive 
place.  Here  nine  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Elisha  J.  Brown,  only 
four  of  whom  are  living:  Ethel  J.,  Harlie  E.  and  Charles  D.,  twins,  and 
a  baby  who  died  in  infancy,  while  Freddie  died  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years. 
The  living  children  are  Jesse  C,  Herman  E.,  Nora  and  Ruth.  Jesse  C. 
married  AlHe  Olmstead  and  their  liome  is  in  this  township;  they  have  two 
sons,  Carl  H.  and  Harold  H.  Herman  married  Edith  Harkness  and  their 
home  is  in  New  Castle,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  is  a  chemist  in  the  labora- 
tory of  a  large  cement  factory;  they  have  five  children,  Douglas,  Dorothy, 
Elizabeth,  Harriet  and  Eric.  Ruth  is  the  wife  of  Wesley  Garn ;  they  live 
in  Kinderhook  and  have  one  rlaughter,  Bernice.  Nora,  the  other  daughter 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brown,  lives  at  home  with  her  parents. 

Elisha  J.  Brown  has.  with  the  exception  of  the  period  of  his  enlist- 
ment in  the  Civil  war,  always  been  a  resident  of  Branch  county  and  here 
he  has  long  been  known  as  a  man  of  property  and  influence.  His  first  presi- 
dential vote  was  cast  at  Atlanta.  Georgia,  during  the  Civil  war,  for  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  and  be  has  ever  since  been  a  loyal  Republican,  taking  a  deep 
interest  in  the  progress  of  his  party.  .Mthough  always  active  politically,  he 
has  refused  office  on  many  occasions,  but  his  interest. in  educational  affairs 
has  led  to  his  selection  as  school  director  on  many  occasions.  He  has  repeat- 
edly been  a  delegate  to  county,  senatorial,  congressional  and  state  Republi- 
can conventions  and  he  thus  has  a  wide  political  acquaintance  throughout 
the  state. 

He  has  been  highly  successful  as  a  farmer,  although  now  retired  from 
active  duty  in  this  line,  he  having  disposed  of  his  farm  four  years  ago  and 
removed  to  Kinderhook  Center,  where  the  family  have  a  modern  and  com- 
fortable home.  Mr,  and  Mrs.  Brown  have  been  members  of  the  Baptist 
church  nearly  all  their  lives  and  their  children  also  belong  to  this  society. 
Mr.  Brown  is  also  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  while 
Mrs.  Brown  is  a  member  of  the  Kinderhook  W.  C.  T.  U.,  as  well  as  of 
numerous  auxiliary  church  societies. 

GEORGE  W.  ELACKVVELL. 

Among  the  retired  citizens  of .  Uniqn  City .  is  George  .  W.  Blackwell, 
whose  birth  ocdurred  in  Albion,  Orleans  cpunty,  New  Yprk,  on, the.  30th  of 
March,  1843,  his  parents  being  Titus  and  Betsy  (Stevens)  Blackwell.  The 
father  was  a  native  of  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  while  the  mother's  birth  oc- 
curred in  Cayuga  county.  New  York,    ,  He  died  in  his  eight-second  year. 


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586  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

while  she  passed  away  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine  years.  They  had  a  family 
of  six  children,  of  whom  four  reached  adult  age. 

George  W.  Blackwell,  the  youngest  of  the  family,  spent  his  youth  in 
the  place  of  his  nativity  and  was  educated  in  the  common  schools.  He  then 
began  learning  the  mason's  trade  with  his  father  and  followed  that  pursuit 
until  after  the  inauguration  of  the  Civil  war.  He  watched  with  interest, 
however,  the  progress  of  events  in  the  South  and  in  July,  1861,  with  a  fervid 
patriotism  he  responded  to  the  call  for  aid,  enlisting  as  a  member  of  Com- 
pany K,  Twenty-seventh  New  York  Infantry.  He  served  his  full  term  of 
two  years  with  valor  and  loyalty  and  then  returned  to  his  home.  In  the 
fall  of  1864,  however,  he  re-enlisted,  joining  the  Fourth  New  York  Heavy 
Artillery,  with  which  he  remained  until  October,  1S65,  when  the  war  having 
ended  he  received  an  honorable  discharge  October  i,  1865,  He  responded 
to  tlie  first  call  for  aid  and  was  present  at  the  surrender  of  General  Lee  to 
General  Grant  at  Appomattox,  April  9,  1S65.  He  was  in  the  army  alto- 
gether for  three  and  a  half  years  and  he  never  faltered  in  the  performance 
of  any  duty,  thus  his  efforts  contributed  to  the  sum  total  of  the  movements 
which  resulted  in  the  preservation  of  the  Union.  When  mustered  out  he 
held  the  rank  of  commissary  sergeant  of  his  company.  He  took  part  in  the 
first  battle  of  Bull  Run  and  was  under  General  McClellan  in  the  army  of  the 
Potomac.  He  was  in  the  hospital  during  a  part  of  his  first  term,  but  during 
the  greater  part  of  the  time  was  on  active  duty. 

On  March  3,  1S66,  Mr.  Blackwell  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Mianda  L.  Case,  a  daughter  of  Reuben  and  Emily  (Webster)  Case,  both 
of  whom  were  born  near  Rochester,  New  York.  The  father  died  when  forty- 
three  years  of  age,  and  the  mother  wheri  sixty  years  old.  They  were  the 
parents  of  seven  children,  six  of  whom  reached  adult  age,  and  one  who  was 
killed  in  the  army.  Mrs.  Blackwell  is  their  eldest  daughter  and  second  child, 
and  was  born  in  Orleans  county,  New  York,  December  8,  1844.  She  spent 
her  girlhood  days  there  and  is  indebted  to  the  public  school  system  of  that 
locality  for  the  educational  privileges  she  enjoyed. 

In  the  year  following  his  marriage  Mr.  Blackwell  came  to  Branch 
county,  locating  in  the  midst  of  the  forest  in  Shen,vood  township,  where  he 
secured  a  tract  of  land  and  improved  a  farm,  adding  to  it  good  buildings, 
cultivating  the  fields  and  retaining  his  residence  there  for  seventeen  years. 
He  then  traded  that  property  for  land  two  miles  from  Coldwater,  in  Cold- 
water  township,  and  upon  this  second  farm  made  his  home  for  eight  years. 
He  then  sold  out  and  bought  land  in  Batavia  township,  where  he  also  lived 
for  eight  years,  after  which  he  came  to  Union  City,  retiring  from  active  busi- 
ness life.  All  of  the  time  in  which  he  carried  on  general  agricultural  pur- 
suits he  also  worked  at  the  mason's  trade  and  he  plastered  about  fifty  houses 
in  Coldwater.  in  addition  to  considerable  operation  as  a  plasterer  in  the 
county.  He  worked  at  different  times  at  Batavia,  Sherwood  and  Union 
City,  and  in  fact  has  been  employed  at  the  mason's  trade  in  all  of  the  towns 
of  the  county.  He  yet  owns  a  valuable  farm  of  one  hundred  acres  of  well 
improved  land  and  this  brings  him  a  good  rental. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.   Blackwell  were  born  a    son    and    a    daughter: 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  53T 

George  W.,  who  married  Fannie  Burrett  and  resides  in  Batavia  township; 
and  Nettie,  the  wife  of  Asa  Moore,  a  farmer  of  Union  township.  They 
have  been  residents  of  the  county  for  thirty-eight  years  and  are  people  of 
genuine  worth,  enjoying  in  large  measure  the  good  will  and  trust  of  those 
with  whom  they  have  been  associated.  Mr.  Blackweh  has  been  a  Hfe-long 
Repubhcan  and  is  active  in  the  local  work  of  the  party,  while  his  opinions 
carry  weight  in  his  township.  He  was  drain  commissioner  while  in  Sher- 
wood and  also  school  director. 

He  is  a  prominent  member  of  Corbin  post  No.  88,  G.  A.  R.,  has  been  its 
commander  and  has  taken  a  very  active  part  in  its  work.  In  the  Masonic 
fraternity  he  has  attained  the  Knight  Templar  degree  and  the  York  Rite, 
in  the  commandery  at  Coldwater,  and  he  belongs  to  the  lodge,  chapter  and 
council  in  Union  City.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Order  of  Eastern  Star, 
to  which  his  wife  belongs,  and  she  is  likewise  connected  with  the  Woman's 
Relief  Corps  and  the  Department  of  Honor,  while  Mr.  Blackwell  holds 
membership  with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  at  Union  City. 
He  stands  today  in  his  mature  years  a  strong  man,  strong  in  the  conscious- 
ness of  a  well  spent  hfe,  strong  in  his  courage  and  good  name  and  a  worthy 
example  for  young  men  to  pattern  after  as  showing  what  intelligence  and 
probity  may  accomplish  in  the  way  of  success  in  life. 

GEORGE  C.  WATTLES. 

George  C.  Wattles,  living  on  section  nine,  Matteson  township,  is  a 
native  of  the  Empire  state,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Franklin,  Delaware 
county.  New  York,  on  the  15th  of  February,  1851.  His  father,  Ansel  F. 
Wattles,  was  a  native  of  New  York  and  removed  from  the  east  to  Loraine 
county,  Ohio,  about  1853,  locating  near  North  Amherst.  He  came  to  St. 
Joseph  county  about  1862,  settling  in  Colon,  and  was  there  engaged  in  the 
foundry  business  in  connection  with  0.  C.  Richards.  In  1865,  however,  he 
removed  to  the  farm  in  Matteson  township,  Branch  county,  and  gave  his 
attention  to  general  agricultural  pursuits  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  his  seventy-fifth  year.  He  was  a  life-long  Republican,  a  promi- 
nent Mason  and  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church.  His  wife,  who  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Susan  Remington,  was  a  native  of  New  York  and  died  in 
1853.     In  their  family  were  five  children,  two  daughters  and  three  sons. 

George  C.  Wattles,  the  youngest,  was  about  eight  years  of  age  when 
he  accompanied  his  parents  on  their  removal  to  Michigan  and  he  remained 
with  his  father  until  thirteen  years  of  age,  when  he  returned  to  Ohio,  spend- 
ing the  succeeding  two  years  in  school  in  company  with  his  brother,  M.  E. 
Wattles.  He  then  again  came  to  Michigan  and  lived  with  his  father  for 
a  short  time,  after  which  he  once  more  went  to  Ohio.  On  again  coming  to 
this  state  he  located  at  Manistee,  working  in  the  government  survey  service 
in  surveying  the  peninsular  lands.  He  also  spent  about  two  years  in  the 
lumber  woods  and  at  milling,  after  which  he  went  to  Ottawa  county,  Mich- 
igan, where  he  remained  for  seven  years.  There  lie  was  engaged  in  the 
lumber  business,  in  threshing  and  in  railroading. 

It  was  about  this  time,  in  1870,  that  Mr.  Wattles  was  united  in  mar- 


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538  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

riage  to  Miss  Mary  J.  Taylor,  a  daughter  of  Ainos  Taylor,  of  Coopersville, 
Ottawa  county,  Michigan,  in  which  place  she  was  born  and  reared.  In  1874 
Mr.  Wattles  removed  to  Sandusky,  Ohio,  where  he. continued  in  the  railroad 
employ  at  station  work,  having  change  of  the  freight  house  for  the  Lake 
Shore  &  Michigan  Southern  Railroad  .Company  for  about  three  .years.  He 
likewise  spent  one  year  with  the  Sandusky  Tool  Company  and  became  emi- 
gration agent  for  the  Kansas  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  now  the  Union  Pa- 
cific. He  was  also  with  the  tool  company  at  the  same  time,  but  afterward 
returned  to  the  employ  of  the  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern  Railroad 
Company  as  traveling  passenger  agent,  being  with  this  corporation  for  about 
nine  years,  during  which  time  he  lived  in  Toledo  for  about  three  years,  build- 
ing a  home  while  there.  In  1888  he  went  to  Kansas  and  was  agent  for 
the  :Rock  Island  Railroad  at  Harrington  from  October,  1887,  until  May, 
1888,  after  which  he  returned  to  Toledo.  Later  in  the  same  year,  how- 
ever, he  came  to  Branch  county  and  purchased  a  quarter  section  of  land  en 
section  nine,  Matteson  township,  in  what  was  called  the  old  Rumsey  marsh 
and  in  October,  1888,  removed  from  Toledo  to  this  farm  whereon  he  has 
since  resided.  He  is  now  the  owner  of  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  of 
land  which  he  has  brought  to  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  adding  to  it  all 
modern  equipments  and  improvements.  There  are  good  buildings  upon  the 
place,  the  fields  are  well  tilled  and  in  his  work  he  is  meeting  with  merited 
sr.cces?.  His  farm  is  largely  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  peppermint  and 
the  manutacture  of  oil  and  he  has  one  of  the  best  distilleries  for  this  pur- 
pose in  the  county.  He  has  excellent  machinery  and  all  the  modem  equip- 
ments needed. for  the  conduct  of  such  an  enterprise  and  his  product  for  the 
year  1905  was  fourteen  hundred  pounds  of  oil,  while  other  years  he  has 
produced  as  high  as  two  thousand  pounds  of  peppermint  oil.  He  also  con- 
ducts general  farming,  has  a  good  dairy  and  is  quite  extensively  engaged  in 
the  raising  of  stock,  including  hogs,  cattle  and  horses.  In  all  of  his  busi- 
ness he  is  practical  and  his  methods  are  straightforward  and  reliable,  winning 
for  him  the  confidence  and, trust  of  those  who  come  into  business  relations 
with.  him. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs,  Wattles  have  been  born  four  children:  Merritt  R., 
who  married  Katie  Wilck  and  resides  in  Madison  township;  Geoi^e  A.,  who 
married  Barbara  Stemler  and  resides  in  Colon,  Michigan;  Ford  A.,  who 
wedded  Lena  Qeveland  and  is  living  in  Matteson  township;  and  Alice  C, 
who  possesses . considerable  musical  talent  and  is  well  known,  in.  the  com- 
munity as  a  pianist.  Mr.  Wattles  is  well  known  in  the  covmty  and  was  one 
of  the  organizers' of  the  American  Society  of  Equity.  In  his  business  ca- 
reer he  has  made  steady  advancement  and  has  ever  been  interested  in  the 
improvements  which  are  matters  of  local  pride,  giving  his  aid  and  co-opera- 
tion to  many  movements  for  the  general  good. 

HON.  FRANK  D.  NEWBERRY. 

Hon.  Frank  D.  Newberry,  of  Coldwater,  prominent  in  legal  and  mili- 
tary circles  in  Michigan,  is  descended  from  English  ancestry,  the  family 
home  in  years  remote  having  been  at  Devonshire,  England.    The  founder  of 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  539 

the  family  in  America  came  to  the  new  world  dn  the  good  ship  Mary  and 
John  and  settled  in  Dorchester,  Massachusetts,  in  1630.  The  branch  of  the 
family  to  which  Captain  Newberry  of  this  review  belongs,  sent  its  repre- 
sentatives gradually  westward.  The  grandparents  tarried  for  a  time  near 
East  Windsor,  Connecticut,  where  his  father,  Romeo  Dy^r  Newberry,  was 
born  in  1794.  In  1818  he  married  Sarah  Beckwith,  of  Hartford,  Connecti- 
cut, and  soon  afterward  removed  to  Oneida  county.  New  York,  where  he 
engaged  in  farming.  In  1836,  w'ith  his  wife  and  five  children,  he  went  to 
Avon,  Oakland  county,  Michigan,  and  in  1848  to  Rochester,  in  the  same 
county. 

It  was  while  the  family  were  residents  of  Avon  townshi])  that  Frank 
D.  Newberry  was  born,  on  the  23rd  of  June.  1840.  Reared  upon  his  fath- 
er's farm,  he  acquired  his  preparatory  education  in  the  Rochester  Academy 
and  the  Dickinson  Institute  at  Romeo,  Michigan,  and  in  September,  1859, 
he  matriculated  in  Williams  College,  of  Massachusetts,  where  he  continued 
his  studies  until  after  the  inauguration  of  hostilities  between  the  north  and 
the  south.  He  then  enlisted  in  defense  of  the  Union  cause,  becoming  a 
member  of  the  Fifth  New  York  Volunteer  Infantry,  known  as  Duryees 
Zouaves,  May  9,  1861,  less  than  a  month  after  the  attack  on  Fort  Sumter. 
He  served  his  full  term  of  enlistment  and  was  in  all  the  battles  of  eastern 
Virginia , from  Big  Bethel  to  Chancellorsville,  doing  a  soldier's  full  duty  and 
returning  to  his  home  with  a  creditable  military  record. 

Following  his  military  experience  Captain  Newberry  prepared  for  the 
practice  of  medicine  and  surgery  in  the  medical  department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Michigan,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  March,  1865.  He  did 
not,  however,  engage  in  practice,  but  turned  his  attention  to  teaching  and 
for  some  years  was  known  as  a  capable  educator  in  his  native  state.  For 
two  years  he  was  principal  of  the  schools  of  Rochester,  Michigan,  and  then 
accepted  the  principalship  of  the  Union'  City  schools,  of  which  he  had  charge 
for  four  years,  removing  to  Branch  county  at  the  beginning  of  that  period. 

In  1874  Captain  Newberry  was  called  to  public  office,  being  elected 
county  clerk,  in  -which  capacity  he  served  for  six  years,  and  then  retired 
from  office  as  he  had  entered  it — with  the  confidence  and  good  will  of  all. 
In  the  meantime  he  had  entered  -upon  the  study  of  law  and  after  careful 
preparation  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  has  held  other  offices  in  the  line 
of' bis  profession,  having  been  city  attorney,  circuit  court  commissioner  and 
prosecuting  attorney,  and  these  have  brought  to  him  wide  experience  in 
connection  with  the  coni'ts.  while  at  the  same'  time  he  has  rendered  capable 
and  faithful  sfervice.  He  has  also  been  a  member  of  the  school  board  of 
Coldwater.  Still' further  political  honors  awaited  him  for  in  1903  he  was 
elected  on' the  Republican  ticket  to  the  state  legislature,  receiving  a  Vote  of 
three  thousand  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine,  against  that  of  nineteen  hun- 
dred and  ninety-seven  cast  for  his  oppOnefit. 

Captain  Newberry  has  never  ceased  to  feel  a  deep  interest  in  military 
affairs,  and  in  1876  he  joined  the  Michigan  National  Guard  as  a  private  of 
Company  A,  Second  Infantry.  He  was  captain  from  1878  until  1886,  in 
which  year  he  became  lieutenant  colonel  of  the  regiment,  serving  in  that 


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540  HISTORY  OF  BRANXH  COUNTY 

capacity  for  two  years,  while  fronr  1887  until  1891  he  was  inspector  gen- 
eral. In  i8g6  he  re-entered  the  state  service  and  in  1898  he  enlisted  with 
his  company  in  the  Thirty-second  Michigan  Volunteer  Infantry  for  the  war 
with  Spain,  being-  mustered  out  November  5,  1898.  Three  days  later  he  was 
elected  prosecuting  attorney,  but  he  resigned  that  office  July  27,  1899,  to 
accept  a  captain's  commission  in  the  Thirtieth  United  States  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, desiring  to  render  active  aid  to  his  country  in  a  military  capacity. 
He  served  at  this  time  for  twenty-one  months,  sixteen  of  which  were  passed 
in  the  Philippines,  and  he  was  mustered  out  April  3,  1901,  at  San  Fran- 
cisco, California. 

Returning  to  his  home  in  Coldwater,  Captain  Newberry  resumed  the 
practice  of  law  and  is  now  an  active  member  of  the  bar,  with  a  large  client- 
age that  connects  him  with  much  of  the  important  litigation  tried  in  the 
courts  of  this  district.  His  careful  preparation  of  cases  is  supplemented  by 
a  power  of  argument  and  a  forceful  presentation  of  his  points  in  the  court 
room  and  he  never  fails  to  impress  court  or  jury  and  seldom  fails  to  gain 
the  verdict  desired. 

In  1867  Captain  Newberry  married  Fannie  Ellsworth  Stone,  prominent 
in  literary  circles  of  the  state  and  of  wide  reputation  as  a  writer.  Their 
attractive  home  is  the  center  of  a  large  circle  of  friends. 

MRS.  FANNIE  E.  NEWBERRY. 

Mrs.  Fannie  Ellsworth  Newberry  was  born  in  Monroe,  Michigan,  May 
7,  1S48,  a  daughter  of  Hiram  and  Sophia  (Harmon)  Stone.  Her  father 
was  a  native  of  Onondaga  county,  New  York,  and  in  his  boyhood  he  accom- 
panied his  parents  on  their  removal  to  Monroe,  Michigan,  where  he  was 
reared  and  educated.  Following  his  preparation  for  the  bar  he  was  admitted 
to  practice  and  Ijecame  a  leading  member  of  the  legal  profession  in  his  part 
of  the  state.  He  also  gained  distinction  in  public  office,  serving  as  county 
judge  and  for  two  terms  as  a  member  of  the  state  legislature,  although  he 
was  only  thirty-two  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was.  a  man 
of  superior  intellect,  and  left  the  impress  of  his  individuality  upon  the  legis- 
lative and  judicial  history  of  the  state.  His  widow  was  born  in  New  York, 
about  eighteen  miles  west  of  the  city  of  Rochester,  is  now  more  than  eighty- 
two  years  of  age  and  makes  her  home  with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Newberr}-. 
Her  father  was  Ezekiel  Harmon,  a  native  of  Vermont  and  a  physician  by 
profession. 

Mrs.  Newberry,  in  her  girlhood  days,  made  her  home  at  different  times 
in  Monroe,  Michigan,  Chicago  and  Boston.  She  was  a  student  in  the  Mon- 
roe Female  Academy  and  received  instruction  from  her  mother  and  private 
tutors.  She  was  graduated  from  the  high  school  at  Brookline,  Massachu- 
setts, when  seventeen  years  of  age,  and  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  at  South 
Bend,  Indiana,  she  gave  her  hand  in  marriage  to  Captain  F.  D.  Newberry, 
_  whose  personal  sketch  appears  above.  She  is  of  studious  nature  and  schol- 
■  arly  tastes,  has  always  been  a  great  reader  and  has  traveled  quite  extensively 
in  this  country,  thus  continually  broadening  her  knowledge.  Her  first  liter- 
ary production  of  any  note  was  a  story  for  the  Saturday  Evening  Post,  writ- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  rAl 

ten  when  she  was  sixteen  years  of  age.  She  has  been  a  frequent  contribu- 
tor to  various  papers  and  periodicals,  but  her  chief  literary  productions  for 
adults  have  been  "  Strange  Conditions  "  and  "  Impress  of  a  Gentlewoman." 
She  has  also  written  largely  for  young  people,  a  list  of  her  works  including 
"Transplanted";  "Comrades";  "Brian's  Home";  "Sarah,  a  Princess"; 
"  House  of  Hollister  " ;  "A  Son's  Victory  " ;  "  Into  the  Light  " ;  "Bubbles  " ; 
"Not  for  Profit";  "Everyday  Honor";  "All  Aboard";  "Joyce's  Invest- 
ments " :  and  "  Tiie  Wrestler  of  Philippi,"  more  than  a  million  copies  of 
the  last  named  having  been  sold.  Mrs.  Newberry  is  an  honorary  member  of 
the  Michigan  State  Press  Association  and  also  of  many  other  literary  soci- 
eties. 

ARCHIE  W.  COLE. 

Archie  W.  Cole,  a  leading  slock  farmer  of  this  county  living  on  sec- 
tion twenty-five,  Batavia  township,  is  the  owner  of  the  largest  farm  in  this 
locality,  his  place  embracing  three  hundred  and  thirty-four  acres  all  in  one 
body.  While  he  tills  the  fields  he  more  largely  devotes  his  energies  to  buy- 
ing, feeding  and  selling  stock  and  has  found  this  a  profitable  source  of 
income. 

Mr.  Cole  is  one  of  Michigan's  native  sons,  his  birth  having  occurred 
in  Calhoun  county  on  the  2Sth  of  September.  iS6S.  His  father,  Newman 
E.  Cole,  was  a  native  of  Herkimer  county,  New  York,  and  was  about  ten 
years  of  age  when  he  came  to  Michigan  with  his  mother.  He  was  there- 
fore reared  in  this  state  and  in  his  youth  learned  the  tinner's  trade,  which 
he  followed  until  about  twenty  years  of  age.  He  carried  on  the  hardware 
business  in  Battle  Creek,  Michigan,  for  four  or  five  years,  and  then  bought 
a  farm  in  Calhoun  county,  east  of  Battle  Creek,  comprising  two  hundred 
and  eighty  acres.  For  a  long  period  thereafter  he  carried  on  general  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  but  in  1892  sold  that  property  and  bought  the  farm  where- 
on Archie  W.  Cole  now  resides.  The  father  was  a  resident  of  Coldwatec 
at  the  time  of  his  deatli,  which  occurred  in  his  seventy-eighth  year.  He  was 
a  successful  man  who  started  out  in  life  as  a  poor  boy  but  by  his  industry, 
economy  and  earnest  labor  worked  his  way  steadily  upward  to  a  position  of 
affiuence.  When  he  first  accepted  this  position  his  capital  consisted  of  but 
twenty-five  cents  and  at  his  death  he  was  the  possessor  of  a  very  desirable 
competence.  His  business  principles  and  methods,  too,  were  honorable  and 
straightforward  and  his  entire  life  was  in  harmony  with  his  professions  as 
a  member  of  the  Baptist  church.  He  took  an  active  and  helpful  part  in 
church  work  and  contributed  liberally  to  its  support.  In  politics  he  was 
a  life-long  Republican.  His  interest  in  matters  of  public  progress  was  deep 
and  sincere  and  was  manifest  in  many  tangible  ways  for  the  general  good. 
He  gave  a  house  and  lot  to  Kalamazoo  College,  valued  at  four  thousand 
dollars,  making  this  one  of  the  bequests  of  his  will.  He  had  a  very  wide 
and  favorable  acquaintance  in  the  county  and  his  Hfe  record  displayed  such 
sterling  traits  of  character  that  all  who  knew  him  honored  and  respected 
him.  His  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Jennie  Keith,  was  a  native  of- 
New  York,  and  a  daughter  of  Ozen  Keith,  who  removed  from  the  Empire 


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542  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

state  to  Michigan  at  an  early  Uay,  Mrs.  Cole  being  at  that  time  ten  years 
of  age..  She  was  bom  in  Herlji.imer  county,  New  York,  but  -was  largely 
reared,  in  Michigan,  the  family  hoine  b^ing  first  established  at  West  Hudson 
in  Hillsdale  county.  Mrs.  Cole  vyas  a  devoted  wife  and  mother  and  she 
passed  away  in  Coldwater  iii  1893.  when  in  her  seventy-second  year.  Iii  the 
family  were  seven  children,  three  sons  and  four  daughters:  Clarence,  who 
died  when  but  ten  weeks  old;  Nellie  C,  the  wife  of  E.  H.  Percy,  of  Glen 
Blair,  CaHfomia;  Fred,  who  died  at  the  age  of  six  months;  Carrie  E.,  the 
wife  of  W.  B.  Moore,  of  Girard  township,  Branch  county;  Emma  J.,  the 
wife  of  W,  J.,  Hammond,  of  Fargo,  North  Dakota;  and  Ella  M.,  the  wife 
of  L.  J.  Marshall,  of  Crookston,  Minnesota. 

Archie  W.  Cole  is  the  youngest  in  the  family  and  was  reared  in  Cal- 
houn cmmty,  Michigan,  while  his  education  was  acquired  in  the  schools  of 
Hillsdale.  When  he  had  completed  his  literary  course  he  returned  home 
and  there  remained  until  twenty-one  years  of  age,  when  he  went  to  Califor- 
nia, locating  in  Eureka,  that  slate.  There  he  was  engaged  in  bookkeeping 
for  a  lumber  company  for  one  year  and  subsequently  became  bookkeeper  for 
a  wholesale  and  retail  book  and  stationery  firm,  with  which  he  continued  for 
two  years.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  returned  home  and  joined 
his  father  in  business,  being  thus  associated  until  the  death  of  his  parent. 
He  had  disposed  of  the  milk  business  previous  to  his  father's  death,  and 
concentrated  his  energies  upon  general  farming  and  stock-raising,  making 
a  specialty,  however,  of  the  latter.  He  buys,  feeds  and  sells  stock  and  is 
an  excellent  judge  of  farm  animals,  so  that  he  is  seldom  at  error  in  ap- 
praising the  value  of  cattle,  horses  or  hogs.  His  farm  of  three  hundred  and 
thirty- four  acres  is  the  largest  in  Batavia  township  and  is  a  splendidly 
improved  property.  He  is  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Batavia  Creamery 
Association,  and  its  president  in   igo6. 

In  1897  Mr.  Cole  was  married  to  Miss  Alice  M.  Aldrich,  a  daughter  of 
Edgar  and  Ohve  (Bickford)  Aldrich,  and  a  native  of  Algansee  township, 
Branch  county.  They  now  have  one  son,  Newman  Ernest.  Mr.  Cole  is  an 
unfaltering  advocate  of  Republican  principles  and  he  belongs  to  Coldwater 
Tent,  No.  157,  K.  O.  T.  M.  His  entire  life  has  been  passed  in  Michigan 
and  the  spirit  of  enterprise  which  has  been  the  dominant  factor  in  the  up- 
buikling  of  this  state  has  been  manifest  in  his  business  career,  for  after 
all  it  is  the  aggregate  endeavor  of  individuals  that  promotes  public  progress 
and  improvement  and  the  history  of  a  community,  state  or  nation  is  best 
told  in  the  lives  of  its  people.  Mr.  Cole  is  indeed  a  representative  agricul- 
turist of  Branch  county,  well  deserving  of  mention  in  this  volume. 

EDWARD  M.  WATKINS. 

Many  of  the  respected  and  worthy  citizens  of  Union  City  are  those 
who  in  former  years  were  active  in  business  life  and  thereby  acquired  pros- 
perity that  now  enables  th«ai  to  live  retired,  enjoying  in  quiet  the  fruits  of 
their  former  toil.  Such  a  one  is  Edward  M.  Watkins,  who  was  bom  io 
Ontario  county,  New  York,  the  Empire  State,  June  21,  1830.  His  father, 
.Alanson  Watkins,  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  the  Old  Bay  State,  spent  his 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  543 

boyhocHl  days  in  that  commonwealth  and  became  a  farmer  and  drover.  He 
also  followed  merchandising  and  was  connected  with  other  business  enter- 
prises, and  whatever  he  undertook  he  carried  forward  to  successful  com- 
pletion. About  1870  he  came  to  Calhoun  county,  Michigan,  and  purchased 
a  farm,  upon  which  he  spent  his  remaining  days,  dying  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
eight  years.  He  had  wedded  Mary  Griswold,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  who 
hved  to  be  about  forty-two  j-ears  of  age.  Their  marriage  was  blessed  \vith 
eight  children.  Following  the  death  of  his  first  wife  the  father  afterward 
married  her  sistef,  Permelia  Griswold,  and  there  were  eight  children  by  that 
union.  As  will  be  noticed,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Watkins  descend  from  the  New 
England  ancestry. 

Edward  M.  Watkins  is  the  second  child  of  the  first  marriage  and  he 
was  reared  in  his  native  place  until  twenty-two  years  of  age.  He  came  to 
the  west  in  1852,  settling  in  Calhoun  county,  Michigan.  He  secured  em- 
ployment at  the  carpenter's  trade  in  Battle  Creek,  but  after  a  short  time 
removed  to  Athens  township  in  that  county,  where  he  continued  building 
operations.  Not  long  afterward  he  sought  a  companion  and  helpmate  for 
life's  journey  and  was  married  in  Burlington,  Michigan.  October  26,  1859, 
to  Miss  Chloe  Rogers,  a  daughter  of  Henry  and  Nancy  (Tucker)  Rogers, 
the  former  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  the  Keystone  State,  and  the  latter  of 
Maryland.  In  their  family  were  six  children,  of  whom  Mrs.  Watkins  is  the 
youngest.  Her  father  was  a  soldier  of  the  war  of  1812  and  she  had  one 
brother  who  was  a  soldier  of  the  rebellion,  defending  the  Union  cause.  Mr. 
Watkins  had  two  brothers  who  served  in  the  Civil  war,  Mrs.  Watkins  was 
but  seven  years  old  when  her  father  died  and  is  now  the  only  surviving 
member  of  the  family.  She  was  born  and  educated  in  Rushville,  New  York, 
and  was  engaged  in  teaching  school  "for  about  nine  years.  Her  eldest  sister 
also  engaged  in  t^ching  and  her  brother  followed  the  same  profession  She 
came  to  the  west  in  order  to  teach  with  her  brother,  and  here  she  formed 
the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Watkins. 

At  the  time  of  their  marriage  they  located  in  Burlington,  Calhoun 
coimty,  where  he  conducted  a  general  store,  and  there  they  remained  for 
about  six  years,  coming  to  Union  City  in  1870.  Here  Mr.  Watkins,  with 
Mr.  Charles  W.  Crocker,  now  of  Chicago,  Illinois,  established  a  store  and 
for  many  years  was  actively  engaged  with  commercial  interests.  In  1897 
he  turned  his  attention  to  the  grain  business,  which  he  carried  on  until  1900, 
and  he  was  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  at  the  time  he  decided  to  retire 
to  private  life.  He  is  a  man  of  resourceful  ability,  determined  and  ener- 
getic, and  his  life  history  most  properly  illustrates  what  can  be  attained  by 
faithful  and  continued  effort  in  carrying  out  an  honest  purpose. 

The  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  VVatkins  was  blessed  with  two  children: 
Will  D.,  who  is  a  traveling  salesman  residing  in  Kalamazoo,  Michigan;  and 
Belle,  who  is  a  teacher  in  Toledo,  Ohio.  The  son  was  born  July  22,  1863, 
and  pursued  his  education  in  Union  City  and  at  Lansing  College.  He  is  a 
prominent  Mason  and  has  held  the  highest  offices  in  the  Traveling  Men's 
Association.  For  sixteen  years  he  has  been  a  representative  on  the  road 
for  the  house  of  Spragtie,  Warner  &  Company.     The  daughter.  Belle,  ac- 


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54i  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUI-iTY 

quired  her  early  education  in  Union  City,  afterward  studied  in  Chicago,  took 
post-graduate  work  in  Toledo  College,  and  has  been  a  successful  teacher  in 
Toledo  for  three  years.  Mr.  Watkins  proudly  cast  his  first  presidential  vote 
for  John  C.  Fremont  and  has  since  been  a  stalwart  Republican,  assisting  in 
electing  each  president  who  has  been  the  standard  bearer  of  the  party.  He 
has  been  active  and  influential  in  local  political  circles  and  has  served  on 
the  town  board.  For  twenty-six  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen.  His  wife  is  a  member  of  the  Eastern  Star  and 
of  the  Degree  of  Honor,  and  has  taken  quite  an  active  interest  in  the 
work  of  those  organizations,  being  now  chief  of  the  latter.  She  has  also 
held  offices  in  the  Eastern  Star  and  she  is  an  earnest  and  devoted  worker 
in  behalf  of  the  temperance  cause,  serving  as  superintendent  of  the  Loyal 
Temperance  Legion  for  a  number  of  years.  She  was  district  superintendent 
of  the  work  and  during  that  time  organized  eighteen  lodges.  She  has  like- 
wise held  a  number  of  offices  in  the  local,  county  and  district  organizations 
of  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  and  her  influence  is  ever  on 
the  side  of  right,  progress,  development,  reform  and  truth.  Her  religious 
faith  is  indicated  by  her  membership  in  the  Congregational  church.  The 
family  home  has  been  maintained  in  Union  City  since  1870  and  both  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Watkins  are  widely  and  favorably  known.  Integrity,  activity  and 
energy  have  been  the  crowning  points  of  his  success  and  his  connection 
with  various  business  interests  and  industries  has  been  of  decided  advantage 
to  this  section  of  Michigan,  promoting  its  material  welfare  in  no  uncertain 

J.  H.  VanNUYS. 

J.  H.  VanNuys,  residing  on  section  twenty,  Matteson  township,  was 
born  in  Ovid  township,  Seneca  county,  New  York,  January  6,  1848,  and  is 
of  Holland  lineage,  his  paternal  grandfather  having  been  born  in  the  "  land 
of  the  dykes."  The  father,  Simon  VanNuys,  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey 
and  there  spent  his  boyhood  and  youth.  After  his  first  marriage  he  removed 
to  Seneca  county,  New  York,  locating  in  Ovid  township,  where  he  fol- 
lowed farming  until  1857,  when  he  came  to  Michigan,  settling  in  Frankhn 
township,  Lenawee  county.  There  he  devoted  his  attention  to  general  agri- 
cultural pursuits  until  1859,  when  he  came  to  Branch  county,  settling  in 
Ovid  township,  where  he  carried  on  farming.  Later,  however,  he  removed 
to  Bethel  township,  where  he  bought  a  small  tract  of  land  of  ten  acres  and 
upon  that  place  he  spent  his  remaining  days,  dying  when  about  seventy 
years  of  age.  He  married  Miss  Sarah  Wickoff  for  his  second  wife.  She 
was  a  native  of  Seneca  county.  New  York,  where  she  was  reared  and  mar- 
ried and  she  is  now  eighty-one  years  of  age,  making  her  home  at  Orland, 
Indiana.  By  the  father's  first  marriage  there  were  seven  children  and  by 
the  second  there  were  nine  children, 

J.  H.  VanNuys  is  the  eldest  of  the  nine  and  was  nine  years  of  age 
when  he  came  to  Michigan,  arriving  in  Branch  county  when  a  youth  of 
eleven  years.  Upon  the  home  farm  in  Ovid  township  he  was  reared,  at- 
tending the  district  schools  of  the  neighborhood  and  he  remained  at  home 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  S45 

until  1865,  when  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years  he  enhsted  for  service  in  the 
Union  army  as  a  private  of  Company  H,  Eleventh  Michigan  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, with  which  he  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  then  received 
an  honorable  discharge  on  the  i6th  of  September.  1865,  and  returned  to 
Ovid  township,  where  he  worked  for  his  father  until  he  had  attained  his. 
majority.  He  was  afterward  employed  by  the  month  as  a  farm  hand  and 
thus  he  made  his  start  in  the  business  world. 

On  the  5th  of  December,  1874,  Mr.  VanNuys  was  married  to  Miss 
Uiicinda  Evans,  a  daughter  of  John  W,  and  Elizabeth  (Harmon)  Evans. 
She  was  born  in  Floyd  county,  Indiana,  in  the  town  of  New  Albany,  Au- 
gust 29,  1846,  and  when  eleven  years  of  age  went  with  her  parents  to  Law- 
rence, Kansas,  where  she  remained  until  1863,  when  sbe  came  with  her 
parents  to  Michigan,  where  she  has  since  resided  save  for  a  period  of  two 
years  immediately  following  her  marriage,  this  time  being  passed  in  Indi- 
ana. In  1876,  however,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  VanNuys  came  to  Branch  county, 
settling  in  the  village  of  Branch,  where  they  remained  until  1881,  when  they 
located  on  the  farm  which  is  now  their  home.  There  were  but  few  improve- 
ments on  the  place  but  Mr.  VanNuys  has  erected  large  and  substantial  barns, 
also  built  a  fine  residence  and  has  carried  on  the  labor  of  the  fields  until  he 
has  a  splendidly  improved  property.  He  has  also  made  a  specialty  of  rais- 
ing Guernsey  cattle  and  now  has  good  stock  upon  his  place.  His  farm  em- 
braces eighty  acres  of  land  which  is  rich  and  arable. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  VanNuys  have  been  born  two  children.  Arthur 
J.,  who  was  bom  in  Branch,  June  12,  1877.  was  reared  and  edvicated  in 
Matteson  township,  and  Delia  G.,  born  on  the  farm  where  Mr.  VanNuys 
now  resides,  on  the  2nd  of  October,  1882,  is  the  wife  of  James  Neil  Coch- 
ran, a  resident  of  Coldwater,  and  they  have  a  little  son,  J.  T.  Cochran. 

Mr.  VanNuys  votes  with  the  Democracy  and  has  been  elected  and 
served  as  road  commissioner  and  as  a  school  director.  He  belongs  to  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Colon  and  is  active  in  its  work.  For  thirty 
years  he  has  been  a  resident  of  Branch  county  and  in  its  progress  and  im- 
provement has  been  deeply  interested,  withholding  his  co-operation  from 
no  movement  for  the  public  good. 

JEFFERSON  S.  CONOVER. 

Jefferson  S.  Conover,  long  known  as  one  of  the  distinguished  citizens 
of  Michigan,  active  in  business  circles  of  Coldwater  and  prdminent  in  the 
state  as  a  representative  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  was  born  in  the  village 
of  Cato,  Cayuga  county,  New  York,  April  20,  1S41.  He  was  a  son  of 
George  M.  Conover,  who  traced  his  ancestry  in  the  paternal  line  back  to  the 
Dutch  Koven  Hoven  family  that  settled  in  New  Jersey  about  1650.  In  the 
maternal  line  he  was  descended  from  a  son  of  lx)rd  Reader  of  Ireland,  who, 
having  been  disinherited  for  marrying  a  girl  in  the  lower  station  of  life, 
came  to  America,  where  such  class  condition  was  unknown.  George  M. 
Conover  wedded  Fannie  Carter,  whose  parents  removed  from  Vermont  to 
New  York  at  an  early  day,  establishing  their  home  near  Cato. 

Jefferson  S.  Conover  spent  his  boyhood  days  in  Cayuga  and  adjoining 


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546  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

counties  and  was  a  student  in  the  district  schools  until  about  fifteen  years 
of  age,  after  which  he  spent  two  terms  in  Perry  Academy,  at  Perry,  New 
York.  A  few  years  later  he  pursued  a  brief  business  course  and  this  termin- 
ated his  advantages  in  school,  but  through  experience  and  observation  his 
knowledge  was  greatly  broadened  and  he  became  a  man  of  wide,  general 
information  and  of  much  force  of  character.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  years 
he  beg^n  teaching  school  and  in  the  spring  of  i86o  he  accompanied  his  par- 
ents on  their  removal  tq  the  west,  settling  with  them  in  South  Bend,  Indi- 
ana. The  Civil  war  was  inaugurated  early  in  the  following  year  and  Jef- 
ferson S.  Conover  was  among  those  who  early  responded  to  the  country's 
call  for  aid,  but  his  constitution  proved  unequal  to  the  hardships  of  a  sol- 
dier's life  and  after  less  than  a  year  of  service,  three  months  of  which  had 
been  passed  within  the  walls  of  army  hospitals,  he  was  discharged  and  re- 
sumed the  profession  of  teaching.  In  July,  1866,  he  became  a  resident  of 
Coldwater,  Michigan,  where  he  continued  l-o  make  his  home  until  his  death. 
Through  the  succeeding  five  years  he  conducted  a  business  college  here  and 
then  devoted  a  year  or  two  to  journalism.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period 
he  established  the  business  of  fine  job  and  color  printing,  to  which  he  gave 
bis  attention  for  fifteen  years,  establishing  an  enterprise  which  has  devel- 
oped into  the  Conover  Engraving  &  Printing  Company.  Upon  its  organiza- 
tion he  was  chosen  president  and  continued  at  its  head  until  his  demise,  mak- 
ing this  one  of  the  large  and  profitable  productive  industries  of  the  city. 

Mr.  Conover  was  a  man  of  varied  activities,  resourceful  and  energetic, 
and  his  loyalty  to  the  Masonic  tenets  and  teachings  combined  with  natural 
ability  led  to  his  selection  for  high  honors  in  connection  with  the  fratern- 
ity. He  became  a  Mason  in  1880,  taking  the  three  initial  degrees  in  Cold- 
water  Lodge,  No.  260,  and  after  two  and  a  half  years  he  was  elected  mas- 
ter, serving  until  the  consolidation  of  tliat  lodge  with  Tyre  Lodge,  No.  18, 
about  1898.  He  became  a  Royal  Arch  Mason  in  Temple  Chapter,  No.  21, 
November  7,  1881.  He  received  degrees  of  royal  and  select  master  in 
Mount  Moriah  Council,  No.  6,  March  11,  1882;  dubbed  and  created  a  Knight 
Templar,  March  2,  1S82;  received  the  Scottish  Rite  grades  to  S.  P.  R.  S, ; 
thirty-second  degree  in  Michigan  Sovereign  Consistory,  June  17,  18,  19, 
1883,  and  was  crowned  an  honorary  member  of  the  supreme  council,  thirty- 
third  degree,  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  September  16,  1890.  On  the  i8th  of  June. 
1892,  he  joined  a  caravan  that  crossed  the  burning  sands  of  the  desert  at 
that  time,  and  became  entitled  to  wear  the  fez  and  sport  the  tiger-claws  of 
the  "  Shriner."  He  presided  over  all  the  Masonic  bodies  of  his  home  city, 
and  at  one  time  occupied  the  three  responsible  positions  of  worshipful  mas- 
ter, high  priest,  and  eminent  commander.  In  1892  he  was  elected  grand 
commander  K.  T.  of  Michigan,  and  served  for  one  year  with  zeal  and  earn- 
estness. When  William  P.  Innes  was  elected  grand  master,  in  January,  1892. 
Mr.  Conover  was  elected  to'  succeed  him  as  grand  secretary,  and  to  that 
responsible  position  he  was  annually  elected  for  eleven  years.  After  accept- 
ing this  office,  he  withdrew  from  all  active  participation  in  business  matters 
and  devoted  his   undivided   attention   to   his  official   duties  as   grand  secre- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  5i7 

tary.  Upon  the  death  of  William  P.  Innes,  in  August,  1893,  Mr.  Conover, 
who  was  then  grand  king  in  the  grand  chapter,  was  appointed  grand  secre- 
tary of  that  body,  and,  resigning  tlie  office  of  grand  king,  took  up  the  work 
of  grand  secretary  for  the  Royal  Craft  in  diis  state,  and  in  January,  1897, 
he  was  elected  grand  recorder  of  the  grand  council  Royal  and  Select  Masters. 
The  duties  of  these  three  offices  occupied  his  whole  time  and  to  them  he 
gave  the  best  energies  of  his  nature.  Mr.  Conover  was  also  an  active  member 
of  the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  was  elected  grand  patron  of  Michigan, 
October  9,  1884,  and  re-elected  in  1885.  The  following  year  he  was  elected 
most  worthy  grand  patron  of  the  general  grand  chapter  O,  E.  S.  of  the 
United  States. 

On  the  13th  of  May,  1863,  Mr.  Conover  was  married  to  Mary  I. 
Wharton  of  South  Bend.  Indiana,  and  they  resided  in  that  city  and  in  Lafay- 
ette and  Indianapolis  for  short  periods.  In  July.  1866,  however,  they  came 
to  Coidwater,  Michigan,  which  was  thereafter  his  place  of  residence.  His 
devoted  wife  preceded  him  to  the  home  beyond  only  a  few  months,  passing 
away  December  25,  1902.  Their  children  were  as  follows:  Charles  A.,  L. 
Lenore,  Kate  B.,  Mara  W.  and  George  W.,  but  the  last  named  died  in  in- 
fancy. Mr.  Conover  became  a  member  of  the  Christian  church  when  a 
young  man  and  for  thirty-six  years  was  an  active  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian church  of  Coidwater,  his  funeral  service  being  held  in  this  house  of 
worship.  He  departed  this  life  April  15,  1903,  and  the  burial  service  was 
conducted  by  the  officers  of  the  grand  lodge  of  his  beloved  fraternity, 

CHARLES  A.  CONOVER. 

Charles  A.  Conover,  son  of  the  late  Jefferson  S.  Conover,  was  born  in 
Lafayette,  Indiana,  May  11,  1865.  He  was  reared  in  Coidwater  and  at- 
tended its  public  schools,  while  later  he  completed  a  commercial  course  in 
the  Northern  Indiana  Normal  School  at  Valparaiso.  Since  that  time  he  has 
been  closely  identified  with  the  Conover  Engraving  &  Printing  Company  of 
Coidwater,  succeeding  his  father  in  the  ownership  of  the  business  in  1900. 
Alert,  enterprising  and  notably  prompt  and  energetic  he  has  made  this  a 
profitable  and  extensive  business  interest,  having  now  a  large  patronage 
which  indicates  that  the  class  of  work  executed  in  the  plant  is  of  superior 
character. 

In  ix)litic&  Mr.  Conover  is  a  RepuMican,  active  and  influential  in  com- 
munity affairs  and  has  served  as  alderman  of  his  city  and  as  a  member  of 
the  cemetery  board.  He  succeeded  his  father  as  grand  secretary  of  the  grand 
chapter,  R.  A.  M.,  of  Michigan  and  has  since  held  that  position.  He  is 
also  grand  recorder  of  the  grand  council,  R.  S.  M.,  of  this  state  and  is  a 
worthy  successor  of  an  honored  sire  in  his  relations  of  Masonry,  He  also 
belongs  to  the  Presbyterian  church. 

In  1887  Charles  Conover  was  married  to  Miss  Juno  Edmonds,  and 
their  union  has  been  blessed  with  three  children,  Charles  Junius,  Edmond 
W.  and  Fred  Eric,  the  last  named  being  deceased. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


LEANDER  S.  BURNETT. 

Leander  S.  Burnett,  deceased,  who  was  known  among  neighbors  and 
friends  as  a  representative  and  reliable  citizen  of  Union  township  and  one 
well  woithy  of  the  regard  in  which  he  was  uniformly  held,  was  bom  De- 
cember II,  1841,  on  the  farm  on  section  fourteen  on  which  he  always  re- 
sided. His  parents  were  Orris  and  Diantha  (Millerman)  Burnett,  pioneer 
settlers  of  Branch  county,  and  one  of  the  first  families  to  settle  in  Union 
township.  Under  the  parental  roof  Leander  S.  Burnett  spent  the  days  of 
his  childhood,  his  education  being  acquired  in  the  public  scliools,  while  the 
periods  of  vacation  were  devoted  to  the  labors  of  the  fields.  He  was  a  hfe- 
long  farmer  and  won  a  creditable  measure  of  success  in  the  tilling  of  the 
soil  and  in  the  care  of  his  crops.  He  followed  progressive  methods  of  farm- 
ing, placing  his  land  under  a  very  high  state  of  cultivation  and  using  the 
latest  improved  machinery  in  the  care  of  his  fields.  The  only  time  when  he 
]jut  aside  farm  work  was  when  in  1864  he  responded  to  his  country's  call 
for  aid,  enlisting  as  a  private  in  a  regiment  of  Michigan  Light  Artillery.  He 
went  to  the  front  and  was  with  the  army  for  about  a  year,  when  the  war 
ended  and  he  returned  to  his  home. 

On  November  29,  1866,  Mr.  Burnett  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Mary  Olney,  who  was  born  in  Girard  township,  October  2,  1S46.  Her 
father,  James  H.  Olney,  was  a  native  of  New  York  and  on  coming  to 
Branch  county  with  his  parents  when  but  twelve  years  of  age  settled  in 
Girard  township.  He  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  locality,  the  parents 
casting  in  their  lot  with  the  early  residents  who  had  come  to  reclaim  this 
frontier  district  from  the  domain  of  the  red  man  and  utilize  it  for  the  pur- 
poses of  civilization.  Here  Mr.  Olney  was  reared  and  educated,  and  he  be- 
came familiar  with  all  of  the  experiences  and  conditions  of  pioneer  life.  He 
married  Catherine  M.  Vincent,  a  native  of  New  York,  who  in  early  girlhood 
days  came  with  her  parents  to  Branch  county.  They  were  the  parents  of 
one  son  and  two  daughters,  of  whom  Mrs.  Burnett  is  the  second  in  order  of 
birth.  Her  father  was  married  the  second  time,  Emily  O.  Johnson  becoming 
his  wife,  and  by  that  union  there  were  five  children,  two  sons  and  three 
daughters  who  reached  adult  age.  Mrs.  Burnett's  own  brother,  Sylvester  L. 
Olney,  resides  in  Traverse  City,  Michigan.  Asenath  is  the  wife  of  James 
E.  Embly  of  Mendon,  Michigan.  Mrs.  Burnett's  half  brothers  and  sisters 
are  as  follows:  Nora  and  Cora,  now  deceased;  Mattie,  the  wife  of  Edward 
Ostrom,  who  is  living  in  Homer  township,  Calhoun  county,  Michigan; 
Clarence,  who  is  a  farmer  of  Union  township;  and  Clifford,  who  is  living  in 
Homer  township,  Calhoun  county. 

Mrs.  Burnett  was  reared  in  Girard  township,  and  in  1866  she  gave 
her  liand  in  marriage  to  Leander  S.  Burnett.  They  located  on  the  farm 
where  she  is  now  living,  their  original  home  being  a  log  cabin,  in  which  they 
resided  for  nine  years,  when  it  was  replaced  by  a  more  commodious  and 
modern  residence.  One  daughter  was  bom  unto  them,  Lulu  Bell,  the  wife 
of  Charles  G.  Van  Schoick,  a  leading  and  enterprising  farmer  of  Union  town- 
ship.    There  is  one  daughter  by  this  marriage,  Beulah  Van  Schoick. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  54SI 

Mr.  Burnett  was  a  lifelong  Republican,  interested  in  the  work  of  the 
party,  its  growth  and  success,  yet  never  seeking  or  desiring  office  for  him- 
self. He  and  his  wife  held  membership  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
at  Union  City,  was  active  in  its  work  and  contributed  generously  to  its  sup- 
port, while  for  some  time  he  held  the  office  of  trustee.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Grange  and  he  likewise  held  membership  in  Corbin  Post  No.  88,  G.  A.  R. 
fie  passed  away  May  7,  1904,  and  his  remains  were  interred  in  Riverside 
cemetery  at  Union  City.  He  had  many  friends  who  had  learned  to  know 
and  esteem  him  for  his  sterling  worth,  and  his  loss  was  therefore  deeply  re- 
gretted by  those  with  whom  he  had  come  in  contact.  Mrs.  Burnett  still  re- 
sides upon  the  old  homestead  farm,  having  here  eighty  acres  of  well  improved 
land.  She  has  spent  all  of  her  life  in  Branch  county,  the  Burnetts  and  the 
Olneys  both  being  pioneer  families  of  this  portion  of  the  state  identified  with 
its  entire  history. 

JOSEPH  NELSON  SAUSBURY. 

Joseph  Nelson  Salisbury,  manufacturer  and  lumber  dealer,  is  closely 
identified  with  the  business  and  civic  Hfe  of  Quincy,  both  by  reason  of  his 
own  energetic  and  public-spirited  activity  and  also  as  successor  to  his  father, 
whose  connection  with  Quincy  dates  from  the  early  days  of  its  history  as  a 
center  of  population,  and  who  has  always  been  regarded  among  the  strong- 
est characters  in  the  town. 

Joseph  B.  Salisbury,  the  father,  died  in  October,  1902,  being  at  the 
time  one  of  Quincy's  oldest  and  most  highly  esteemed  business  men.  His 
honorable  career  was  thus  sketched  by  one  who  had  known  him  from  boy- 
hood :  "  Joseph  Blackniar  Salisbury  first  saw  the  light  among  the  hills  on 
the  Hudson  river  at  Athens,  New  York,  June  2,  1831.  Left  fatherless  at 
an  early  age.  he  has  given  us  another  example  of  a  boy's  self-dependence, 
fighting  the  battle  of  Hfe  alone  with  a  success  crowned  with  an  honorable 
manhood.  While  in  his  teens  he  came  to  Newark,  New  York,  to  live  with . 
his  uncle  Horace  Blackmar,  who  was  a  prominent  merchant  and  business 
man  of  that  place,  whose  advice  to  the  boy  was,  '  the  only  way  to  do  busi- 
ness is  the  right  way,'  emphasizing  the  word  '  right,'  and  Joe  has  remem- 
bered it.  He  remained  with  his  uncle  until  the  high  tide  of  emigration  to 
California  swept  him  across  the  isthmus  and  Pacific  ocean  to  the  gold  fields. 
Joe's  story  of  the  three  years'  struggling  in  the  mines  and  of  his  trials  in 
getting  there  would  make  an  interesting  book.  In  the  fall  of  1854  he  came 
to  Michigan  and  joined  his  interests  with  W.  J.  Barnes  in  the  lumber  busi- 
ness, locating  on  section  twenty-six,  three  miles  southeast  of  Quincy,  where 
they  erected  a  sawmill.  In  the  fall  of  1863  he  moved  to  the  village  of 
Quincy  and  purchased  the  interest  of  J.  R.  Daggett  in  the  planing  mill  and 
lumber  yard,  which  he  continued  until  his  death.  Mr.  Salisbury  has  been 
in  business  in  Quincy  forty-eight  years.  He  made  his  business  a  success. 
He  has  earned  a  record  of  honorable  dealing  and  integrity  of  character  well 
worthy  of  emulation.  Joe  Salisbury  had  many  good  traits.  Being  mortal, 
he  must  have  had  some  faults,  and  he  had  some  good  quahties  the  world  will 
never  know  how  to  appreciate.  Well,  Joe  has  gone ;  he  can't  come  back.   We     t 


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650  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

may  say  what  we  will,  he  can't  fight  back,  but  that  noblest  trait  in  ns,  char- 
ity, constrains  us  to  remember  his  virtues  and  forget  his  faults.  A  mourn- 
ing community  went  with  him  to  the  grave,  where  the  beautiful  ceremony 
of  a  fraternal  brotherhood  left  him  with  God.  The  sweet  aroma  of  the 
hank  of  flowers,  wet  with  tears,  will  linger  there  while  friends,  with  the  love 
of  sweet  and  enduring  memories,  shall  pay  tribute  to  his  rest."  Joseph  E. 
Salisbury  married,  May  lO,  1851,  Margaret  Ann  Barnes,  whose  death  oc- 
curred February  21,  1895.  They  were  parents  of  five  children,  namely: 
Joseph  N.,  Carrie  LilHe,  Willard  Andrews,  Rolzamund  B.  and  Flora  Adell. 

Mr.  Joseph  N.  Salisbury,  the  only  living  son  of  this  late  Quincy  busi- 
ness man,  was  born  in  Newark.  Wayne  county,  New  York,  in  1853,  but 
was  reared  mainly  on  a  farm  in  this  county,  attending  school  in  the  countrj' 
and  in  Quincy.  He  early  became  associated  with  his  father  in  the  lumber 
yard  and  sash  and  planing  mill,  and  at  his  death  became  proprietor  of  the 
factory  and  business.  Interior  wood  finishing,  sash  and  general  planing 
work  constitute  the  output  of  the  mill,  and  his  large  retail  lumber  yard  is  the 
only  enterprise  of  the  kind  in  Quincy.  Like  his  father,  Mr.  Salisbury  is 
successful  in  business  affairs,  and  is  one  of  the  prominent  men  of  afifairs  of 
his  town.  Fraternally  he  is  affiliated  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Mas- 
ons and  Maccabees,  and,  a  Republican  in  politics,  has  served  two  terms  in 
the  village  council  and  is  always  ready  to  promote  by  personal  effort  the 
welfare  of  his  community. 

In  1877  Mr.  Salisbury  married  Margaret  Ann  Rose,  who  was  born  in 
Kingsville,  Canada,  in  1855.  Her  father,  Benjamin  Rose,  also  a  native  of 
Canada  and  of  Irish  stock,  was  a  farmer  and  came  to  Michigan  from  Can- 
ada in  1870.  locating  at  Jonesville,  whence,  after  a  successful  career  in 
farming,  he  retired  and  moved  to  Quincy  in  1886,  and  died  the  following 
year  in  his  sixty-fifth  year.  His  wife,  Hannah  Rose,  also  a  native  of  Can- 
ada, is  still  living,  in  her  eighty-ninth  year,  making  her  home  with  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Salisbury.  She  is  a  Methodist;  her  husband  was  a  Baptist.  Mrs.  Sal- 
isbury is  next  to  the  youngest  of  the  seven  of  her  parents'  nine  children  that 
reached  adult  age,  the  others  being  as  follows:  Benjamin,  a  wholesale  mer- 
chant in  South  Bend;  Mariam,  widow  of  Upham  Waldo,  of  Chicago;  Maria, 
twin  sister  of  Mariam,  and  married  Melvin  Ganyard  and  is  hving  in  Oak- 
land; Silence,  widow  of  Henry  O'Reilly,  lives  in  San  Francisco,  California; 
Myra  is  wife  of  Gabriel  Blum,  a  merchant  of  Martinez,  California.  Mrs. 
Salisbury's  mother  by  a  previous  marriage  has  two  living  children :  Chloe, 
the  wife  of  Frank  Post,  a  mine  operator  in  California,  and  Phoebe,  wife  of 
William  Doe,  a  molder  living  in  Detroit.  Mrs.  Salisbury  is  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Salisbury  have  one  child,  Rose,  who  is 
at  home. 

GEORGE  H.  SEYMOUR. 

George  H.  Seymour,  cashier  of  the  Farmers  and  Merchants  Bank,  and 
a  respected  and  trustworthy  representative  of  the  financial  interests  of  the 
coun^,  was  bom  in  Union  City,  June  26,  1867,  being  the  second  son  of 
Henry  and  Carolyn  (Tntheriy)   Seymour,  whose  history  is  given  on  another 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  551 

page  of  this  work.  At  the  usual  age  he  entered  the  pubHc  schools  and 
passed  through  successive  grades  until  he  became  a  high  school  student  in 
Union  City,  graduating  in  the  class  of  1884.  When  he  had  put  aside  his 
text-books  he  entered  upon  his  business  career  as  a  teller  in  the  Union  City 
National  Bank,  which  position  he  filled  with  ability  and  credit  from  Au- 
gust, 1884,  until  March,  1888.  In  the  latter  year  he  came  to  Sherwood, 
accepting  the  cashiership  in  the  Farmers  and  Merchants  Bank,  which  has 
been  his  business  association  from  that  date  to  the  present  time.  The  suc- 
cess of  the  bank  is  largely  attributable  to  his  efforts  for  he  is  a  popular  offi- 
cial, obliging  to  its  patrons  and  at  the  same  time  carefully  conducting  the 
affairs  of  the  institution,  which  is  capitalized  for  ten  thousand  dollars,  with 
Henry  Seymour  as  the  president.  George  H.  Seymour  is  also  engaged  in 
the  insurance  business,  representing  the  New  York  Underwriters  Agency, 
the  Hanover,  and  the  North  British  Companies. 

In  November,  1888,  Mr.  Seymour  was  united  in  marriage  to  .Miss 
Maude  L.  Hubbard,  a  daughter  of  Russell  D.  and  Juhetta  (Cooley)  Hub- 
bard.    They  now  have  one  son,  Leon  H. 

Mr.  Seymour  is  a  stalwart  and  unswerving  Republican,  having  taken  an 
active  interest  in  the  party  and  exerted  his  influence  in  its  behalf  since  at- 
taining his  majority.  He  is  now  filling  the  position  of  village  treasurer 
and  was  formerly  president  of  the  village.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the 
school  board  for  twelve  years  and  was  township  treasurer  for  four  years 
and  his  support  of  progressive  community  interests  has  been  of  marked 
value  in  this  part  of  the  county.  He  belongs  to  Sherwood  lodge.  No.  421, 
A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Unitarian  church  in  Sherwood. 
His  entire  life  has  been  passed  in  Branch  county  and  his  life  history  is  in 
contradistinction  to  the  old  adage  "  That  a  man  is  never  without  honor  save 
in  his  own  country,  and  that  among  his  own  kin,"  for  in  this  locality  where 
he  has  always  lived  Mr.  Seymour  has  so  directed  his  e0orts  as  to  win  suc- 
cess and  an  honored  name  simultaneously. 

WILLIAM  N.  CONOVER, 

William  N.  Conover,  a  retired  farmer  now  living  in  Coldwater,  was 
lx>rn  in  the  town  of  Sparta,  Livingston  county,  New  York,  August  29,  1837, 
his  parents  being  Garrett  and  Jane  (Hall)  Conover,  both  of  whom  were 
natives  of  Cayuga  county.  New  York.  His  grandfather,  John  Conover,  was 
also  a  native  of  the  Empire  state  and  was  of  Holland  descent,  and  from  the 
same  country  the  maternal  ancestry  is  traced.  Mrs.  Conover  died  when  her 
son  William  was  only  three  years  old,  leaving  two  children,  but  the  daugh- 
ter departed  this  life  several  years  ago.  For  his  second  wife  the  father 
married  Sarah  How^ell  and  they  became  the  parents  of  four  children,  after 
which  the  mother's  death  occurred.  In  :847  Mr.  Conover  had  removed 
to  Huron  county,  Ohio,  and  it  was  there  that  he  was  married  for  the  third 
time,  Miss  Mary  Wright  becoming  his  wife.  There  were  two  children  by 
that  union.  Mr.  Conover  always  devoted  his  time  and  energies  to  agri- 
cultural pursuits  and  his  death  occurred  in  Fairfield,  Huron  county,  Ohio. 
William  N.  Conover  was  reared  on  the  old  homestead  farm  and  left 


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553  HISTO'RY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

the  parental  roof  when  twenty-two  years  of  age.  He  was  married  in  i86l 
to  Miss  Sevilla  Trauger,  who  was  born  in  Richland  county,  Ohio,  and  was 
of  German  lineage.  The  young  couple  began  their  domestic  life  upon  a 
farm  in  Huron  county,  Ohio,  and  Mr.  Conover  continued  the  cultivation  of 
his  land  until  in  1862,  when  he  could  no  longer  content  himself  to  remain 
at  the  plow  while  the  Union  was  in  danger.  He  therefore  enlisted  on  the 
9th  of  August  ss  a  member  of  Comiany  D,  One  Hundred  and  First  Ohio 
Infantry,  joining  the  regiment  as  a  private.  In  February,  1863,  being  unable 
to  endure  the  hardships  of  war,  he  was  honorably  discharged  on  account  of 
disability  at  Bowling  Green,  Kentucky.  He  now  maintains  pleasant  rela- 
tions with  the  soldiers  of  the  war  through  his  membership  in  Butterworth 
Post,  G.  A.  R. 

Returning  to  his  home  in  Ohio  Mr.  Conover  remained  in  that  state 
until  1864,  when  he  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  and  settled  in  Algan- 
see  township.  Three  years  later  he  sold  his  property  there  and  removed 
to  Ovid  township,  where  he  successfully  carried  on  farming  until  1889. 
He  was  practical  in  his  work,  systematic  in  his  methods,  utilized  the  latest 
improved  machinery  to  facilitate  the  work  of  the  fields  and  altogether  was 
known  as  an  enterprising  agriculturist.  Success  attended  his  labors  and 
with  a  well  earned  competence  he  retired  to  Coldwater  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of 
his  former  toil. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Conover  became  the  parents  of  one  child,  Lottie,  who  was 
married  to  Adelbert  Leroy,  a  resident  of  Kalamazoo,  Michigan.  She  died 
in  1902,  leaving  one  son,  Lavern,  who  is  now  sixteen  years  of  age.  Mr, 
Conover  has  always  been  an  advocate  of  Republican  principles,  but  has  never 
had  any  political  ambition,  content  to  devote  his  attention  to  his  business 
affairs,  and  now  after  many  years  of  close  connection  with  agricultural  in- 
terests he  is  enabled  to  live  retired,  enjoying  the  comforts  and  many  of  the 
luxuries  of  life. 

JOHN  A.  GREENAMYER. 

John  A.  Greenamyer,  a  representative  farmer  of  Ovid  township  living 
on  section  twelve,  was  born  in  Columbiana  county,  Ohio,  on  the  28th  of 
January,  1858.  His  father,  David  Greenamyer,  was  also  a  native  of  that 
county,  born  in  1S20  and  was  reared  in  Ohio,  where  he  followed  the  ocai- 
pation  of  farming.  His  entire  life  was  devoted  to  general  agricultural  pur- 
suits and  thus  he  provided  for  his  family.  He  was  married  in  Ohio  to  Miss 
Margaret  Snook,  a  native  of  that  state,  born  in  1827.  She  was  reared  and 
educated  in  Salem,  Ohio,  and  came  of  a  family  of  Pennsylvania  Dutch  an- 
cestry. Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Greenamyer  were  bom  ten  children,  six  sons 
and  four  daughters,  of  whom  two  are  now  deceased. 

John  A.  Greenamyer,  the  fifth  child  and  third  son  in  his  father's  fam- 
ily, was  about  seven  years  of  age  when  his  parents  left  Ohio  and  removed 
to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  settHng  upon  the  farm  which  is  now  the  home 
of  our  subject.  It  comprised  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  and  the 
father  secured  eighty  acres  of  this.  He  erected  all  of  the  buildings  upon 
the  place  and  added  many  modem  improvements,  converting  the'  property    , 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  o53 


into  a  well  developed  farm  which  yielded  him  a  good  income  as  a  reward 
for  the  cares  and  labors  he  bestowed  upon  the  fields.  In  politics  he  was  a 
life-long  Republican,  interested  in  the  growth  and  success  of  his  party,  and 
he  was  widely  and  favorably  known  in  this  section  of  the  state.  He  car- 
ried on  the  active  work  of  the  farm  until  1901,  when  he  retired  from  busi- 
ness life  and  took  up  his  abode  in  Coldwater. 

John  A.  Greenamyer  was  reared  upon  the  old  farm  homestead  and 
pursued  his  education  in  the  district  schools  of  Ovid  township,  therein  mas- 
tering the  branches  of  learning  usually  taught  in  such  institutions.  He  al- 
ways remained  at  home  during  the  period  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  and 
assisted  his  father  in  the  farm  work  until  he  attained  his  majority.  He  then 
left  home  and  started  out  upon  an  active  business  career  as  a  farm  hand. 
He  worked  by  the  month  for  five  years  and  then  returned  to  the  old  home- 
stead, which  he  purchased  from  his  father.  He  now  has  eighty  acres  of 
land  all  under  cultivation  and  neatness  and  system  pervade  the  place  and 
indicate  the  owner  to  be  an  enterprising  agriculturist,  who  thoroughly  un- 
derstands his  business  and  directs  his  labors  so  as  to  meet  with  success.  In 
all  his  work  he  has  been  encouraged  and  assisted  by  his  estimable  wife,  who 
in  her  maidenhood  bore  the  name  of  Belle  Strobec.  They  were  married  on 
the  20th  of  April,  1887.  Mrs.  Greenamyer  was  born  in  Ovid  township  on 
the  25th  of  August,  1864,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Addison  and  Hannah  (Pen- 
der) Strobec,  early  settlers  of  Branch  county.  They  came  from  Lenawee 
county  during  the  epoch  of  pioneer  development  here  and  established  their 
home  in  Ovid  township,  where  they  reared  their  family.  Mrs.  Greenamyer 
spent  her  girlhood  days  under  the  parental  roof  and  acquired  her  education 
in  the  district  school  near  her  home.  By  her  marriage  she  has  become  the 
mother  of  six  children,  four  sons  and  two  daughters,  all  of  whom  were  born 
upon  the  farm  where  they  now  reside,  namely :  Ralph,  Starr,  Arlene  and 
Rex,  twins,  Clifford  and  Marie. 

In  his  political  allegiance  Mr.  Greenamyer  is  an  earnest  Republican  and 
has  capably  filled  local  offices,  acting  as  township  treasurer  for  two  years 
in  Ovid  township.  He  is  well  known  and  his  co-operation  can  be  counted 
upon  for  any  measure  for  the  benefit  of  the  community,  He  belongs  to  the 
Order  of  Mutual  Protection  at  Coldwater. 

LEROY  B.  TALBOTT. 
LeRoy  B.  Talbott,  a  prominent  farmer  residing  on  section  fourteen, 
Union  township,  was  born  in  Cazenovia  township,  Madison  county.  New 
York,  November  8,  1830.  His  father,  Lorenzo  D.  Talbott,  was  also  a  native 
of  the  Empire  state,  and  was  a  son  of  Samuel  Talbott,  whose  birth  occurred 
either  in  Nova  Scotia  or  England,  The  great-grandfather,  Edward  Tal- 
bott, was  a  native  of  England  and  was  a  military  officer,  becoming  com- 
mander of  the  warship  Prince  of  Wales.  He  was  connected  with  the  no- 
bility of  his  native  land.  In  the  maternal  line  Mr.  Talbott  is  descended  from 
one  of  the  old  families  of  New  York  of  Holland-Dutch  ancestry.  His  grand- 
father was  John  Nichols,  His  mother  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Catherine 
M.   Nichols  and  was  born  in  New  York,  giving  her  hand  in  marriage   in 


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554  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Madison  county,  that  state,  to  Lorenzo  D,  Talbott,  They  took  up  their  abode 
in  that  county,  but  their  last  days  were  spent  in  Michigan,  both  passing  away 
in  Union  City.  The  father  was  eighty-three  years  at  the  time  of  his  demise, 
while  his  wife  passed  away  at  the  age  of  about  seventy  years.  In  their 
family  were  two  sons  and  a  daughter.  The  brother,  E,  H,  Talbott,  was 
killed  in  California  by  being  thrown  from  a  horse,  white  Malissa  Ann,  the 
sister,  is  now  the  wife  of  Oved  Alvord  of  Creston,  Iowa. 

I^Roy  B.  Talbott,  the  eldest  of  the  family,  was  reared  in  the  county 
of  his  nativity  to  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  and  in  1845  came  with  his  parents 
to  the  middle  west,  the  family  home  being  first  established  in  Mentor,  Ohio. 
Mr.  Talbott  remained  there  until  1866,  and  was  married  in  that  place  to  Miss 
Julia  Griswold,  the  daughter  of  Harry  Griswold  and  Betsy  (Ackley)  Gris- 
wold.  Mrs.  Talbott  died  March  16,  1905,  her  death  being  greatly  deplored 
by  many  friends,  for  she  had  endeared  herself  to  a  large  circle  of  acquaint- 
ances with  whom  she  had  come  in  contact.  She  left  one  daughter,  Myrtie, 
now  the  wife  of  Frank  Baker,  of  Detroit,  and  they  have  a  daughter,  Lila. 
At  the  time  of  Mrs.  Talbott's  death  the  following  lines  were  written: 

"  Miss  Julia  E.  Griswold  was  born  in  Mentor,  Lake  county.  Ohio,  No- 
vember 15,  1841,  and  passed  to  higher  life,  March  :6,  1905,  aged  sixty-three 
years.  She  was  married  to  L.  B.  Talbott  August  11,  1861.  Two  children 
blessed  this  union.  The  white  messenger  came  and  plucked  one  from  the 
parent  stem  in  its  infancy  and  bore  it  away  to  the  great  beyond.  A  husband 
and  daughter,  Mrs.  Frank  Baker,  of  Detroit,  and  a  sister,  Mrs.  Gale  Lin- 
coln, are  left  to  mourn  the  loss  of  wife,  mother  and  sister. 

"For  some  years,  Mrs,  Talbott  has  been  faihng.  and  for  the  past  few 
months  she  has  been  treated  for  a  complication  of  diseases;  no  positive 
decision  could  be  reached.  She  spent  a  few  weeks  at  the  Sanitarium  at 
Battle- Creek,  she  returned  home,  and  has  been  gradually  going  down  ever 
since.  On  the  evening  of.  the  10th  she  was  stricken  with  paralysis  from 
which  she  never  rallied.  The  sleep  that  forebodes  so  much  took  possession, 
resisting  all  care  and  entreaties  of  loving  friends  that  she  might  be  spared  to 
them. 

"Mrs.  Talbott  was  highly  esteemed  in  the  neighborhood  where  she 
has  lived  thirty-eight  years:  endearing  herself  to  those  with  whom  she  came 
in  contact  and  to-day  they  mourn  with  those  who  mourn  the  loss  of  she  who 

Waited  in  the  gloaming. 

And  at  the  early  morn ; 
She  awaited  the  angels  coming. 

She  listened  for  their  songs. 

"Day  and  night  was  the  watch  kept,  lovingly  attending  to  the  little  that 
could  give  comfort  to  the  body  as  it  lay  so  helpless;  each  one  knowing  that 
they  were  helpless  to  stay  the  hand  of  the  dread  archer,  who,  sooner  or 
later,  would  snap  the  bow  and  send  the  arrow  that  would  sever  the  cord 
that  binds  to  earth. 

"Thus  she  lingered,  day  by  day,  growing  weaker  and  weaker,  until  the 
two  worlds  that  had  been  so  slowly  approaching  each  other,  rested  for  one 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  555 

brief  moment  on  the  threshold,  and  the  hfe  went  out  like  the  snuffing  of  a 
candl*.  The  veil  was  lifted  and  the  spirit  left  its  clay  casket  and  entered 
iier  eternal  home. 

"Home!     Yes,  home  of  the  sonl, 

In  Heaven's  land  not  built  with  hands; 

Beyond  the  stars  in  God's  own  land ; 
And  written  on  a  golden  scroll: 

'Home  of  the  Father,  home  of  the  soul.'  " 

In  the  year  1866  Mr.  Talbott  came  to  Branch  county,  purchasing  a 
farm  whereon  he  now  resides.  He  has  made  all  of  the  improvements  here 
including  the  erection  of  his  present  modern  residence  and  his  large  and 
substantial  barns.  The  place  is  divided  into  fields  of  convenient  size  by 
well  kept  fences  and  the  latest  improved  machinery  is  used  in  facilitating 
the  farm  work.  The  homestead  comprises  one  hundred  and  fifteen  acres 
of  land  and  is  one  of  the  good  farms  of  the  county  owing  to  the  care  and 
cultivation  which  Mr.  Talbott  has  bestowed  upon  it.  He  has  always  carried 
on  general  agricultural  pursuits  and  his  practical  knowledge  and  experience 
enable  him  to  so  conduct  his  business  interests  as  to  derive  therefrom  a 
gratifying  income.  Since  age  gave  to  him  the  right  of  franchise  he  has 
been  in  sympathy  with  Republican  principles  and  has  voted  for  the  party 
since  it  has  had  a  presidential  nominee  in  the  field.  He  is  well  known  in 
the  county,  his  residence  in  Union  township  covering  almost  forty  years  and 
it  is  known  that  his  aid  can  be  counted  upon  for  the  furtherance  of  every 
progressive  and  beneficial  movement.  His  worth  is  acknowledged  by  many 
friends  who  entertain  for  him  kindly  regard. 

EDWARD  P.  WILCOX. 

The  farming  interests  of  Matteson  township  find  a  worthy  representa- 
tive in  Edward  P.  Wilcox,  who  resides  on  section  eight,  where  he  owns 
eighty  acres  of  land,  while  elsewhere  he  has  a  tract  of  twenty-three  acres. 
The  Empire  state  has  furnished  a  large  number  of  valued  citizens  to  Branch 
county,  including  Mr.  Wilcox,  who  was  born  in  Onondaga  county.  New 
York,  December  10,  1840.  His  father,  Thomas  Wilcox,  was  a  native  of 
Vennont  and  in  his  boyhood  days  went  from  the  Green  Mountain  state  to 
New  York  with  his  parents.  His  father  was  Stutley  Wilcox,  of  Enghsh 
descent.  In  the  Empire  state  Thomas  Wilcox  was  reared  and  became  a 
farmer.  In  1S56  he  removed  to  Michigan,  settling  in  Jackson  county,  and 
his  last  days  were  spent  in  Muskegon  county,  where  he  passed  away  in  his 
eighty-sixth  year.  In  early  manhood  he  had  wedded  Eliza  Hall,  a  native  of 
New  York,  in  which  state  her  death  occurred  when  she  was  about  fifty 
years  of  age.  In  their  family  were  eight  children,  seven  of  whom  reached 
manhood  and  womanhood,  while  five  are  now  living. 

Edward  P.  Wilcox  was  the  sixth  child  and  third  son  and  was  about 
fifteen  years  of  age  when  he  came  to  Michigan,  the  remainder  of  his  minor- 
ity being  passed  upon  the  home  farm  in  Jackson  county,  where  he  gained 
a   good  practical  knowledge  of  the  best  methods  of  tilling  the  fields   and 


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550  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

caring  for  the  crops.  On  attaining  his  majority  he  started  out  in  life  on  his 
own  account,  wilHng  to  perform 'any  work  that  would  yield  him  an  honest 
living  and  gain  him  a  start  in  life.  He  came  to  Branch  county  in  1S78,  lo<;at- 
ing  on  a  farm  in  Matteson  township  which  he  purchased  from  Curtis  Mc- 
Carty.  There  he  carried  on  general  agricultural  pursuits  until  1904.  In 
1901,  however,  he  located  on  his  present  farm  on  section  eight,  Matteson 
township,  where  he  has  eighty  acres  of  land  that  he  has  placed  under  a  high 
state  of  cultivation,  while  in  another  tract  he  has  twenty-three  acres.  His 
farm  work  is  systematically  managed  and  his  untiring  activity  in  business 
life  guided  by  sound  judgment  has  brought  to  him  a  gratifying  measure  of 
prosperity. 

Mr.  Wikox  was  married  in  188 1  to  Miss  Ella  Johnson,  a  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Harriet  Johnson  and  a  native  of  Niagara  county,  New  York. 
They  have  two  children :  Clyde,  who  is  living  on  the  old  homestead ;  and 
Myrtie,  the  wife  of  Earl  Taylor,  a  farmer  of  Matteson  township,  Mr.  Wil- 
cox has  been  a  life-long  farmer  and  the  success  that  he  has  achieved  is  due 
entirely  to  his  persistency  of  purpose  and  indefatigable  energy.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Demijcrat  and  is  interested  in  public  affairs,  although  he  has  never 
sought  or  desired  public  office.  During  a  residence  of  twenty-eight  years  in 
Branch  county  he  has  won  the  esteem  and  regard  of  his  fellowmen  and  the 
circle  of  his  friends  has  constantly  been  extended. 

IRA  A.  MARTIN. 

Ira  A.  Martin,  who  devotes  his  time  and  energies  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits on  section  three,  Batavia  township,  was  born  on  the  old  family  hoine- 
Gtead  March  15,  1859.  His  fatiier,  Ira  Martin,  was  a  native  of  Jefferson 
county.  New  York,  and  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  in  1844.  He 
was  bom  in  1820  and  was  therefore  a  young  man  of  twenty-four  years  when 
he  determined  to  try  his  fortune  in  the  west,  hoping  that  better  opportunities 
might  be  enjoyed  and  that  advancement  might  be  more  quickly  secured  in 
a  district  where  rampetition  was  not  so  great  owing  to  the  less  thickly  settled 
condition  of  the  country.  He  spent  one  year  in  the  city  of  Coldwater  and 
then  removed  to  Batavia  township,  where  he  purchased  a  tract  of  land.  He 
was  a  cooper  by  trade,  but  after  buying  a  farm  gave  his  time  and  energies 
to  its  cultivation,  raising  the  various  crops  best  adapted  to  the  soil  and  climate. 
Matters  of  pubiic  interest  elicited  his  attention  and  to  many  movements  for 
the  general  good  he  gave  hearty  co-operation.  He  held  some  local  offices 
and  in  politics  was  a  stanch  Republican.  He  wedded  Miss  Mary  Loomis, 
a  native  of  Ohio  and  a  daughter  of  Eber  Loomis.  Her  mother  was  a  native 
of  Connecticut.  Mrs.  Martin  was  born  in  1822  and  both  parents  of  our  sub- 
ject have  now  passed  away,  the  father  having  died  in  1897  and  the  mother 
in  1903.  They  were  the  parents  of  six  children,  all  of  whom  are  yet  living, 
but  Ira  A.  and  Joseph  are  the  only  ones  who  reside  in  Branch  county. 

Ira  A.  Martin  was  the  fourth  son  and  fifth  child  in  the  family.  No 
event  of  special  importance  occurred  to  vary  the  routine  of  farm  life  for 
him  in  his  youth.  He  acquired  his  early  education  in  the  district  schools 
of  Batavia  township  and  afterward  continued  his  studies  in  the  schools  of 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  557- 

Coldwater.  When  not  engaged  with  his  text-books  his  time  was  largely 
■  given  to  farm  work  upon  the  old  family  homestead  and  he  remained  with 
his  parents  until  the  time  of  his  marriage,  when  he  took  up  his  abode  on 
the  farm  where  he  now  lives  on  section  three,  Batavia  township.  Here  he 
owns  one  hundred  and  thirty  acres  of  well  improved  land,  carries  on  gen- 
eral farming  and  has  a  model  country  home.  In  the  rear  are  good  barns  and 
outbuildings  and  these  in  turn  are  surrounded  by  well  tilled  fields,  the  entire 
farm  presenting  a  most  attractive  appearance  because  of  the  air  of  neatness 
and  thrift  which  pervades  every  part  of  it. 

In  1889  Mr.  Martin  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Delia  K  Johnson, 
a  daughter  of  A.  P.  and  Sylva  (VanDusen)  Johnson.  Mrs.  Martin  was  born 
in  Ohio  and  was  eight  years  of  age  when  she  came  to  Branch  county.  This 
union  has  been  blessed  with  one  daughter,  Vesta  L.,  now  at  home.  Mr. 
Martin  is  a  stalwart  advocate  of  Republican  principles,  has  served  as  town- 
ship treasurer  of  Batavia  township  and  is  now  filling  the  office  of  justice 
of  the  peace.  He  is  actively  and  helpfully  interesterl  in  public  affairs,  is  a 
member  of  the  Grange  and  has  a  wide  and  favorable  acquaintance  in  the 
county  where  his  entire  life  has  been  passed  and  where  he  has  so  directed 
his  efforts  as  to  gain  success  in  business  and  at  the  same  time  win  the  trust 
and  friendship  of  many  with  whom  he  has  been  associated. 

REV.  DAVID  L.  HOLBROOK. 

Rev.  David  L.  Holbrook,  pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  of  Un- 
ion City,  was  born  in  Yates  county.  New  York,  June  5,  1848,  his  parents 
being  Dr.  L.  H.  and  Susan  (Jones)  Holbrook.  His  paternal  grandfather, 
Luther  Holbrook,  was  a  native  of  Keene,  New  Hampshire,  and  was  a  cabi- 
net maker  by  occupation;  The  ancestry  of  the  family  can  be  traced  back 
to  an  early  epoch  in  the  settlement  of  the  new  world,  John  Holbrook  hav- 
ing come  from  England,  in  1840,  and  located  in  Weymouth,  Massachusetts. 

Dr.  Holbrook  was  born  in  Utica,  New  York,  and  completed  his  pro- 
fessional education  in  Hahnemann  Medical  College,  of  Chicago,  in  which 
city  he  practiced  for  several  years.  He  died  when  about  fifty-seven  years 
of  age.  His  wife  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  and  with  her  parents  located 
in  Yates  county,  New  York,  in  her  early  girlhood.  Her  father,  Joseph 
Jones,  was  a  surveyor  and  surveyed  much  of  the  land  in  the  western  part  of 
the  Empire  state.  He  was  of  Welsh  lineage.  Mrs.  Holbrook  died  when 
about  seveny-seven  years  of  age.  In  the  family  were  five  sons  and  a  daugh- 
ter, and  with  the  exception  of  one  son  all  are  yet  living,  namely :  Colonel 
Stanley  H.  Holbrook,  of  Park  Ridge,  Illinois,  who  is  connected  with  the 
J.  W.  Butler  Paper  Company,  of  Chicago ;  Joseph  S.,  who  is  with  the  Fuller 
&  Fuller  Drug  Company,  of  Chicago;  William  C,  who  is  a  musician  with 
De  Baugh's  Band;  and  Anna  M.,  who  is  a  teacher  in  the  kindergarten  at 
Park  Ridge,   Illinois. 

Rev.  David  L.  Holbrook,  the  eldest  of  the  family,  was  educated  at 
Amherst,  Massachusetts,  where  he  was  graduated  with  the  class  of  1872. 
He  afterward  was  connected  \vith  the  Chicago  high  school  and  he  com- 
pleted his  preparation   for   the  ministry  by   graduation   from     the    Chicago 


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558  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Theological  Seminary  with  the  class  of  1877.  His  first  pastoral  charge  was 
at  Lake  Geneva,  Wisconsin,  where  he  remained  from  1877  until  1892,  whai  ' 
he  went  to  Fond  du  Lac,  Wisconsin,  as  pastor  of  the  Congregational  church 
from  1893  until  1898.  In  1900  he  came  to  Union  City,  where  he  has  since 
remained,  and  under  his  guidance  the  work  of  the  church  has  been  well 
organized  and  great  good  is  accomplished  in  its  various  departments.  He 
has  in  his  labors  not  been  denied  the  full  harvest  nor  the  aftermath,  and 
his  influence  has  been  of  no  restricted  order. 

On  the  6th  of  September,  1876,  Rev.  Holbrook  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Sarah  H.  Helm,  a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  James  I.  Helm,  D.  D.,  for- 
merly rector  of  St.  Paul's  church,  at  Sing  Sing,  New  York,  now  deceased. 
Mrs.  Holbrook  is  a  native  of  New  Jersey.  The  marriage  of  Rev.  and  Mrs. 
Holbrook  has  been  blessed  with  seven  children:  James  L.,  who  died  at  the 
age  of  two  years;  David  H.,  who  is  now  in  Fond  du  Lac,  Wisconsin, 
where  he  is  teaching  in  the  high  school,  and  who  married  Gertrude  Brewer, 
by  whom  he  has  a  son,  David;  Charles  W.,  who  is  engaged  in  teaching  in 
Clinton,  Iowa ;  Frederick  S.,  who  died  in  infancy ;  Franklin  F.,  who  is  a 
graduate  of  the  Union  City  high  school;  Eliza  S.,  who  has  also  completed 
a  high  school  course;  and  Marjorie,  who  is  a  high  school  student.  The 
Rev.  Holbrook  is  a  man  of  scholarly  tastes,  continuing  his  studies  and  re- 
searches along  many  lines  and  thus  promoting  his  efficiency  in  his  work  by 
the  broadening  of  his  knowledge.  He  presents  his  thouglits  with  clearness 
and  force  and  his  long  continuance  with  the  different  churches  with  which 
he  has  been  connected  indicates  his  standing  with  his  parishioners  and  the 
general  public. 

MRS.  C.  E.  (HOBART)  HURD. 

Mrs.  C.  E.  (Hobart)  Hurd,  of  Union  City,  was  horn  in  Yatesviile, 
Yates  county.  New  York.  January  10,  1821,  and  became  a  resident  of 
Michigan  in  1841,  when  she  located  in  Union  City.  Here  she  has  resided 
continuously  since  she  was  married  in  1842  to  Dr.  W.  P.  Hurd,  who  died  in 
1881.  He  was  a  prominent  physician  for  many  years  in  Union  City,  but 
gave  up  the  practice  of  medicine  during  the  war  of  the  rebellion  and  was 
later  connected  with  banking  interests,  being  president  of  the  Union  City 
Bank  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

JOHN  A.  STANTON. 

John  A.  Stanton  is  one  of  the  representative  and  leading  farmers  of 
Sherwood  township,  living  on  the  old  family  homestead  on  section  nine. 
It  was  upon  this  farm  that  he  was  born  May  24,  i86g,  being  the  only  son 
and  eldest  child  of  Edward  D.  and  Susan  (Atwood)  Stanton,  who  are  men- 
tioned on  another  page  of  this  work.  His  boyhood  days  were  spent  in  the 
usual  manner  of  farm  lads  of  the  period  and  he  assist-ed  in  the  further  culti- 
vation and  improvement  of  the  old  home  place,  upon  which  his  grandfather, 
John  Stanton,  had  located  in  1836,  taking  up  the  land  from  the  government. 
He  was  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  the  county  and  aided  in  reclaiming  this 
portion  of  the  state  for  the  uses  of  the  white  race,  it  having  been  hitherto 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  55f» 

the  domain  of  the  red  man.  John  A.  Stanton  has  always  remained  upon  the 
farm  and  in  his  youth  his  time  and  attention  were  divided  between  the  work 
of  the  school  room  and  the  duties  of  the  fields,  his  education  being  largely 
acquired  in  tlie  schools  of  Union  City. 

As  a  companion  and  helpmate  for  life's  journey  he  chose  Miss  Matie 
Collins,  to  whom  he  was  married  on  the  28th  of  February,  1891,  her  parents 
being  Joseph  and  Sophronia  (Pierce)  Collins.  They  were  early  settlers  of 
Branch  county,  locating  in  Sherwood  township  when  few  homes  had  been 
established  within  its  borders.  It  was  here  that  Mrs.  Stanton  was  born. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stanton  have  become  the  parents  of  two  daughters  and  a 
son :     Alice,  Eslie  and  Edward. 

Mr.  Stanton,  is  the  owner  of  fovir  hundred  and  seventy  acres  of  valu- 
able land,  of  which  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  is  the  old  homestead 
farm,  while  ninety-five  acres  lies  in  section  eleven.  He  is  a  most  progres- 
sive agriculturist  and  his  farm  indicates  his  careful  supervision  in  its  neat 
and  attractive  appearance.  Indeed  it  is  one  of  the  most  desirable  properties 
of  the  county  and  it  returns  to  him  a  splendid  income  anmially  because  of 
the  care  and  labor  he  bestows  upon  the  fields.  He  has  followed  in  his  fath- 
er's political  footsteps  and  has  been  a  life-long  Republican.  He  has  a 
wide  acquaintance  in  Branch  county  and  is  best  liked  where  best  known,  a 
fact  which  is  indicative  of  an  honorable  career. 

J.   B.   BRANCH. 

J.  B.  Branch,  who  entered  upon  a  clerkship  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years, 
is  today  at  the  head  of  the  extensive  department  store  of  J.  B.  Branch  & 
Company,  the  largest  enter]Drise  of  this  character  in  this  portion  of  the 
state.  He  has  steadily  worked  his  way  upward,  each  step  in  his  career  being 
carefully  taken,  and  as  the  years  have  advanced  his  business  capacity  and 
enterprise  have  been  recognized  and  have  found  their  just  reward  in  the 
handsome  competence  which  is  today  his. 

Mr.  Branch  is  a  native  of  the  Empire  state,  his  birth  having  occurred 
in  Fort  Byron,  New  York,  April  3,  1853.  His  parents  were  Elijah  C.  and 
Annette  N.  (Woodward)  Branch,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  New 
Hampshire.  They  came  to  the  west  from  New  York  when  their  son  was  a 
small  boy  and  settled  at  Coldwater,  Michigan,  where  they  spent  the  greater 
part  of  their  remaining  days,  both  passing  away  in  Branch  county,  the 
mother's  death  occun-ing  in  1900,  while  the  father  survived  until  xgoa.  The 
remaining  children  of  the  family  are  J.  B.  Branch  and  one  sister. 

J.  B.  Branch  was  reared  and  educated  in  Coldwater,  but  had  no  par- 
ticular advantages  in  youth  to  assist  him  when  he  started  out  upon  his  busi- 
ness career.  He  was  only  fourteen  years  of  age  when  he  was  thrown  upon 
his  own  resources  and  since  that  time  all  that  he  has  enjoyed  or  achieved  has 
been  acquired  through  his  own  well  directed  labor,  guided  by  sound  busi- 
ness judgment  that  is  the  outcome  of  experience.  He  first  became  a  clerk 
in  the  store  of  Woodward,  Barber  &  Company  and  acted  in  that  capacity 
until  1875.  when  he  became  a  partner  in  the  firm  of  Woodward  &  Branch 
and  established  a  dry  goods  store.     After  two  years,  however,  he  sold  his 


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560  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

interest  to  the  partner  and  joined  Mr.  Barber  in  forming  the  present  firni 
of  J.  B.  Branch  &  Company,  successors  to  Woodward,  Barber  &  Company, 
The  present  partners  are  J.  B.  Branch  and  Julius  S.  Barber,  the  former, 
however,  being-  the  active  manager  of  the  business.  They  carry  a  large 
line  of  dry  goods,  carpets,  milHnery  and  in  fact  conduct  a  general  depart- 
ment store  which  is  not  surpassed  by  any  enterprise  of  this  character  in 
central  Michigan.  Their  building  is  three  stories  and  basement  and  there 
is  also  an  annex.  The  building  is  equipped  with  an  electric  elevator  and 
on  each  floor  they  have  a  double  room  which  is  divided  into  departments. 
The  business  is  conducted  along  strictly  retail  lines,  and  throughout  his  en- 
tire career  Mr.  Branch  has  carried  on  merchandising,  standing  today  as  the 
leading  representative  of  this  line  of  trade  in  Coldwater, 

Mr.  Branch  was  married  in  this  city  in  1876  to  Miss  Emma  Moulton, 
who  was  born  in  Coldwater  and  is  a  daughter  of  Storrs  H.  and  Julianna 
(Huiburt)  Moulton,  pioneer  residents  of  this  city.  The  father  conducted  a 
furniture  store  here  about  forty  or  forty-five  years  ago.  This  he  at  length 
sold  because  of  impaired  health  and  both  he  and  his  wife  died  several  years 
ago.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Branch  have  become  the  parents  of  two  sons  and  two 
daughters:  Helen  M.,  now  the  wife  of  William  Coombs  of  Coldwater; 
Leroy  J.,  who  is  also  married  and  is  associated  with  his  father  in  busi- 
ness; I-orene  M. ;  and  George  M.     The  first  two  are  twins. 

When  twenty-one  years  of  age  Mr.  Branch  became  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity  and  successive  degrees  have  since  been  conferred  upon 
him  until  he  is  now  a  Knight  Templar  Mason.  He  holds  membership  in  the 
Baptist  church  and  is  interested  in  public  progress  to  the  extent  of  active 
co-operatjon  in  many  measures  for  the  general  good.  His  life  as  a  man  of 
affairs  is  to  him  only  a  means  to  an  end  for  he  never  allows  the  duties  of 
his  calling  to  dwarf  his  finest  sensibilities  or  to  thwart  his  generous  ambi- 
tion. He  is  genial,  courteous  and  a  fast  friend  to  those  who  enjoy  his  con- 
fidence. In  all  his  business  enterprises  he  is  eminently  successful  and  is 
regarded  by  all  who  know  him  as  exceptionally  sore  and  reliable. 

ORLANDO  G.  NOYES. 

Among  the  respecied  and  worthy  citizens  of  Coldwater  now  living  re- 
tired is  numbered  Orlando  G.  Noyes,  whose  birth  occurred  on  Chestnut  street 
in  Rochester,  New  York,  August  i.  1839.  The  family  is  of  English  lineage, 
and  the  grandfather,  Samuel  P.  Noyes,  was  bom  and  lived  in  the  east.  His 
son,  Samuel  P.  Noyes,  Jr.,  was  born  in  the  southeastern  part  of  Vermont  in 
1803,  and  during  his  active  business  career  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
shoe  pegs  and  lasts,  conducting  a  factory  in  Rochester.  He  wedded  Mary 
Brezee,  who  was  a  native  of  Connecticut  and  was  of  French  and  English 
lineage.  They  became  the  parents  of  nine  children,  of  whom  one  son  and 
one  daughter  died  in  early  life,  while  the  others  reached  adult  age. 

Orlando  G.  Noyes,  the  eldest  of  the  seven  who  grew  to  manhood  and 
womanhood,  wSs  reared  in  Rochester  and  in  Penfield,  New  York,  and  pur- 
sued his  education  in  the  common  schools.  He  afterward  assisted  his  father 
in   business   until  the  latter's  death.     When  only  thirteen  years   of  age  he 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  561 

began  learning  ihe  printer's  trade,  and  to  that  pursuit  largely  gave  his  time 
and  attention  vinti!  after  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war,  when  in  1861  he 
enlisted  as  a  musician  of  the  Ninth  Michigan  Volunteer  Infantry,  serving 
for  eleven  months.  He  was  captured  at  Murfreesboro,  Tennessee,  being 
taken  prisoner  by  Generals  Foster  and  Wheeler,  He  was  paroled,  how- 
ever, about  ten  miles  southeast  of  McMinnville,  Tennessee,  and  returned  to 
Nashville,  whence  he  made  his  way  to  Columbus,  Ohio.  Following  his  dis- 
charge from  the  army  he  returned  to  Coldwater,  Michigan,  where  he  had 
located  in  1846,  his  parents  in  that  year  having  established  their  home  here, 
while  the  father  carried  on  business  as  a  boot  and  shoe  merchant. 

Mr.  Noyes  worked  in  the  printing  office  of  the  Coldwater  Sentinel,  oi 
which  Elihu  B.  Pond  was  the  editor  and  proprietor.  He  continued  with 
that  paper  for  two  or  three  years,  after  which  he  entered  the  office  of  the 
Branch  County  Republican,  remaining  in  that  employ  until  the  time  of  his 
enlistment  in  the  Civil  war.  Following  the  close  of  hostilities  and  his  re- 
turn to  Coldwater  Mr.  Noyes  was  engaged  in  the  liquor  business  in  con- 
nection with  his  father,  manufacturing  and  rectifying  whisky  for  about  two 
years.  He  a!so  conducted  a  billiard  hall  for  some  time  and  had  a  soda  water 
fountain.  Later  he  spent  about  six  months  in  Chicago,  and  subsequent  to 
his  return  to  Coldwater  he  was  elected  city  marslial,  which  position  he  held 
for  two  terms.  Later  he  and  Frank  Noyes  built  and  conducted  what!  is 
known  as  the  Farmers'  Feed  Stables,  beginning  the  business  in  January. 
1S92,  and  conducting  the  same  until  1904.  He  then  went  to  Denver,  Colo- 
rado, where  he  spent  three  months  in  visiting  his  brother,  Frank  Noyes, 
an  expert  violin  manufacturer,  whose  vioHns  are  known  throughout  the 
\^'orld,  and  have  been  tested  in  comparison  with  some  of  the  old  and  famous 
instruments,  including  the  Stradivarius,  which  are  worth  four  thousand  dol- 
lars. The  violins  manufactured  by  Mr.  Noyes  were  found  to  be  of  superior 
grade  and  workmanship.  Following  his  visit  in  the  west  Orlando  G.  Noyes 
returned  to  Coldwater,  where  he  is  now  living  practically  retired,  but  he 
and  his  brother  Frank  own  property  here,  including  the  west  half  of  the 
Noyes  block.  The  east  store  of  the  Noyes  block  is  now  owned  by  the  Eldridge 
heirs,  Mrs.  Amelia  Hobbie,  of  Kankakee,  III.,  Mrs.  Florence  Vankirk.  and 
Mrs.  Josephine  Smith,  of  Nonience,  111.  Tlie  three-story  brick  block  at  the 
corner  of  Chicago  and  Hanchett  streets  was  built  by  S.  P.  Noyes,  Jr.,  and 
iiis  son,  Orlando  G.  Noyes,  in  1866,  and  is  known  as  the  Noyes  block,  lo- 
cated on  the  northeast  corner  of  Chicago  and  Hanchett  streets,  Coldwater. 
He  resides  at  No.  34  Hanchett  street,  where  he  has  lived  for  fifty-three  years. 

Mr.  Noves  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  in  good  standing, 
and  exemplifies  in  his  life  the  beneficent  spirit  of  the  craft.  He  was  raised 
to  the  sublime  degree  of  a  Master  Mason  September  10.  1869,  and  has  since 
itfihated  with  the  organization.  He  is  likewise  a  charter  member  of  But- 
ierworth  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  and  of  the  Union  Veterans'  Union,  and  he  had  the 
honor  of  presenting  the  name  of  W.  W.  Barrett,  which  was  accepted. 

Mr.  Noyes  was  married  in  1884  to  Miss  Emma  Haines,  the  youngest 
'laughter  of  Robert  and  Julia  Haines,  of  Ch'id  township,  Branch  county, 
Michigan.     He  has  lived  in  Coldwater  for  fifty-nine  years  and  may  well  be 


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562  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

classed  with  the  pioneers  of  Branch  county.  In  early  life  he  gave  his  political 
support  to  the  Democratic  party,  and  in  1872  voted  for  Horace  Greeley, 
while  in  1904  he  cas,t  his  ballot  for  Theodore  Roosevelt.  In  1876  he  de- 
livered many  political  speeches  in  behalf  of  the  Greenback  party.  He  has 
been  a  close  student  of  political  economy  and  the  questions  of  the  day,  and 
iew  men  are  better  informed  concerning  the  issues  which  now  divide  the 
two  great  parties.  He  has  contributed  in  substantial  measure  to  the 
upbuilding  of  Coldwater  and  has  much  more  than  a  passing  interest 
in  its  welfare  and  progress.  On  many  occasions  he  has  given  active  sup- 
port to  measures  for  the  general  good  and  his  labors  along  this  line  have 
been  far-reaching  and  beneficial. 

,       JACOB  ENSLEY. 

Jacob  Ensley  was  for  many  years  one  of  the  prominent  farmers  and 
leading  citizens  of  Branch  county,  representing  its  agricultural  interests, 
and  when  he  was  called  to  his  final  rest  deep  regret  was  felt  upon  the  part 
of  many  friends.  He  was  a  native  of  Ohio,  born  on  the  22d  oi  May,  1835. 
his  parents  being  John  and  Lydia  (McClish)  Ensley,  who  were  also  natives 
of  Ohio.  Soon  after  coming  to  the  territory  of  Michigan  they  took  up  their 
abode  in  Batavia  township.  Tliey  had,  however,  spent  four  months  in  Len- 
awee county,  Michigan.  Jacob  Ensley  was  the  second  child  in  their  fam- 
ily, and  was  but  two  months  old  when  brought  by  his  parents  to  Branch 
county,  the  molher  carrying  him  from  Jonesville,  as  she  walked  that  dis- 
tance. Amid  the  scenes  and  environments  of  pioneer  life  Jacob  Ensley  was 
reared,  early  becoming  familiar  with  the  arduous  task  of  developing  new 
land  and  opening  up  a  farm.  Thus  his  youth  was  largely  a  period  of  unre- 
mitting toil,  and  he  gained  the  experience  which  enabled  him  to  success- 
fully carry  on  farm  work  when  he  aftei^ward  began  business  on  his  own.  ac- 
count. He  acquired  his  education  in  the  schools  of  Batavia  township,  and 
desiring  to  establish  a  home  of  his  own  he  secured  as  a  helpmate  for  life's 
journey  Miss  Dora  Robinson,  to  whom  he  was  married  on  the  31st  of  August 
1862.  Her  parents  were  Nahum  and  Betsy  (Golden)  Robinson.  The  father 
was  a  native  of  Vermont,  and  on  leaving  New  England  went  to  Pennsyl- 
vania when  a  young  man.  He  was  a  miller  by  trade  and  followed  that  pur- 
suit in  the  Keystone  slate  and  in  New  York.  He  was  married  in  Pennsyl- 
vania to  Miss  Golden,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Pennsylvania.  The  mother  died 
in  New  York  when  forty-five  years  of  age.  and  the  father  afterward  returned  to 
Crawfordsville,  Pennsylvania,  where  his  last  days  were  passed,  his  death  occur- 
ring when  he  was  sixty-three  years  of  age.  His  business  career  was  character- 
ized by  promptness,  energy  and  diligence,  and  these  qualities  brought  him  a 
gratifying  measure  of  success.  Mrs,  Robinson  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
church,  and  both  parents  of  our  subject  were  worthy  and  respected  people,  en- 
joying the  warm  regard  of  a  large  circle  of  friends.  Tlie  father  served  as  a  pri- 
vate in  the  war  of  1812,  and  was  always  loyal  and  patriotic  in  matters  of  citizen- 
ship. In  the  family  were  eleven  children,  four  sons  and  seven  daughters, 
five  of  whom  reached  adult  age. 

Mrs.  Ensley  was  bom  in  Chautauqua  county,  New  York,  on  the  30tii 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  563 

n£  August,  1843,  spent  her  girlhood  days  in  her  parents'  home,  and  was  a 
young  lady  of  nineteen  years  when  she  came  to  Michigan,  arriving  in  this 
state  in  1861.  For  thirty-five  years  she  has  made  her  home  upon  the  farm 
which  is  now  Iier  place  of  residence.  This  is  a  splendidly  improved  prop- 
erty, on  which  is  a  fine  brick  building,  good  barns  and  other  equipments. 
Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ensley  were  born  four  children,  but  Homer  is  the 
only  one  now  living.  He  is  carrying  on  the  home  farm  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  acres,  and  is  reco^ized  as  a  progressive  agriculturist  of  this 
part  of  the  state.  The  others  were:  Grant,  who  died  at  the  age  of  fifteen 
years;  Burt,  who  died  when  nfteen  months  old;  and  Bertha,  who  passed 
away  at  the  age  of  five  years. 

Mr.  Ensley  worked  persistently  and  energetically  as  the  years  went  by 
in  order  to  improve  his  property  and  place  his  land  under  a  high  state  of 
cultivation.  He  was  a  resident  of  Batavia  township  for  more  than  six 
decades,  having  been  brought  to  the  county  when  it  was  largely  an  unim- 
proved part  of  the  state.  Much  of  the  land  was  still  in  possession  of  the 
government,  and  only  here  and  there  was  seen  the  home  of  a  settler,  indicat- 
ing that  the  work  of  reclamation  had  been  begrm.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Grange,  and  was  actively  interested  in  all  that  pertained  to  the  agricultural 
development  of  the  county.  He  also  assisted  in  the  promotion  of  interest 
for  general  progress  and  improvement  along  material,  intellectual  and  social 
lines,  and  his  worth  as  a  man  and  citizen  was  widely  acknowledged.  He 
died  January  6,  1890,  and  thus  passed  away  one  of  the  honored  pio\ieer 
residents  of  the  county.  Mrs.  Ensley  still  svirvives  her  husband  and  makes 
her  liome  upon  the  old  farm  with  her  son. 

OREN  L.  PIERCE. 

Oren  L.  Pierce  is  one  of  the  old  settlers  of  Branch  county  now  living 
on  section  seventeen,  Sherwood  township.  He  was  born  in  this  township 
May  18.  1840,  his  parents  being  Jonathan  E.  and  Lucretia  D.  (Lee)  Pierce. 
The  father  was  a  native  of  Rhode  Island  but  was  reared  in  New  York,  in 
which  state  his  wife  was  born,  their  marriage  being  there  celebrated.  They 
came  to  Michigan  in  1836,  settling-  in  Sherwood  township  where  Mr.  Pierce 
purchased  a  small  tract  of  land.  They  were  pioneer  residents  of  Branch 
county,  being  among  the  first  to  locate  in  this  township  and  they  therefore 
experienced  the  difficulties  and  hardships  which  fall  to  the  lot  of  a  frontier 
settler.  Mr.  Pierce  gave  his  undivided  attention  to  the  development  and 
improvement  of  the  new  farm,  continuing  its  cultivation  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  July  5,  1S55,  when  he  was  about  forty-nine  years  of  age.  His 
widow  has  also  passed  away.  They  were  the  parents  of  six  children,  of 
whom  three  died  in  infancy,  the  others  being  Oren  L. ;  Mary,  the  wife  of 
Andrew  Dorsey:  and  Saphronia,  the  widow  of  Joseph  Collins. 

Oren  L.  Pierce  was  the  third  in  order  of  birth  in  his  father's  family. 
He  was  reared  in  Sherwood  township  and  in  his  early  boyhood  attended  a 
log  school  house.  He  lost  his  father  when  fifteen  years  of  age  and  since, 
that  time  he  has  been  dependent  entirely  upon  his  own  resources,  working 
by  the  day  and  month  in  his  youth  and  early  manhood.     He  has  cleared 


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564  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

considerable  land  in  the  county  including  the  farm  upon  which  he  now  re- 
sides. At  the  time  of  his  marriage  he  located  on  a  small  farm  in  Sherwood 
township  and  after  cultivating  it  for  a  period  sold  the  property  and  settled 
on  section  seventeen,  where  he  has  since  made  his  home,  covering  a  period 
of  thirty-eight  consecutive  years. 

In  1865  Mr.  Pierce  w^edded  Miss  Louisa  H.  Ensign,  a  native  of  New 
York  and  a  daughter  of  Rastus  and  Harriet  (Pierce)  Ensign.  They  have 
a  son  and  daughter,  Fred  L.,  a  resident  farmer  of  Sherwood  township,  and 
Ethel  E.,  at  home. 

Mr.  Pierce  now  owns  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  acres  on  section 
sixteen,  Sherwood  township.  He  is  the  oldest  man  living  in  Sherwood 
township  that  was  born  and  reared  in  the  township.  He  is  a  gentleman  who 
dearly  loves  the  chase,  and  has  spent  several  autumns  in  the  hunting  season 
on  the  Upper  Peninsula  of  Michigan  and  has  killed  nine  deer.  In  his 
beautiful  country  residence  he  has  a  fine  buck's  head  and  antlers  mounted 
and  adorning  the  walls  of  his  sitting  room.  He  has  always  devoted  his  life 
to  agricultural  interests,  but  is  likewise  a  capable  carpenter  and  has  erected 
all  of  the  buildings  upon  his  place,  including  his  residence  and  barns.  He 
possesses  good  business  ability  and  executive  force  and  deserves  great  credit 
for  what  he  has  accomplished.  His  political  allegiance  has  been  given  the  Re- 
publican party  since  casting  his  first  presidential  vote  for  Abraham  Lincoln 
in  1864.  He  was  highway  commissioner  for  three  terms  but  has  never 
been  active  in  seeking  poiiticai  office  or  honors,  content  to  do  his  duty  as  a 
private  citizen.  He  has  seen  this  county  developed  from  a  wild  country 
with  only  a  few  white  inhabitants  to  a  rich  agricultural  district  containing 
thousands  of  good  homes  and  acres  of  growing  towns  inhabited  by  an  in- 
dustrious, prosperous,  enlightened  and  progressive  people  and  he  has  par- 
ticipated in  the  slow,  persistent  work  of  development  which  was  necessary  to 
produce  this  change,  attaining  at  the  same  time  a  place  among  the  prosperous 
residents  of  the  county. 

WILLIAM  WALTER. 

William  Walter,  interested  in  general  farming  in  Kinderhook  town- 
ship, which  is  the  place  of  his  nativity,  was  born  January  16,  1855,  but  comes 
of  English  ancestry.  He  is  a  son  of  Abraham  Walter,  who  was  born  in 
England,  and  a  grandson  of  Abraham  Walter,  Sr.  The  latter  wedded  a 
Miss  Mears  and  on  emigrating  from  England  with  their  family  settled  in 
Steuben  county,  Indiana,  where  their  last  days  were  passed.  Having  arrived 
at  years  of  maturity  Abraham  Walter,  Jr.,  took  up  the  study  of  medicine 
and  practiced  for  many  years.  He  was  married  in  Kinderhook  township. 
Branch  county,  Micliigan,  on  the  5th  of  March,  1854,  to  Miss  Priscilla  Ent, 
who  was  bom  near  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  August  7,  1826.  Her  father  was 
Enoch  Ent  and  her  mother  was  Susan  Gordon  Ent,  both  natives  of  New 
Jersey.  In  an  early  day  the  Ent  family  were  residents  of  Monroe  and  of 
■  Lenawee  counties,  Michigan,  and  in  the  latter  county  Enoch  Ent  passed 
away.  His  wife  afterward  came  to  Branch  county  and  departed  this  life  in 
Kinderhook  township  at  the  advanced   age  of   ninety-eight  years.      In   the 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  565 

family  were  seven  children,  but  only  one  is  now  living,  Mrs.  Priscilla  (Ent) 
Walter,  who  makes  her  home  with  her  son  WilHam  in  Kinderhook.  Fol- 
lowing his  marriage  Dr.  Abraham  Walter  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine for  a  long  period  and  was  recognized  as  an  able  man  and  successful 
physician.  He  settled  upon  the  farm  which  for  a  long  period  was  called 
the  Walter  homestead,  clearing  and  developing  the  land  and  transforming  it 
into  productive  fields.  He  was  an  esteemed  citizen  and  upright,  honorable 
gentleman  and  his  death  was  deeply  regretted  by  many  who  knew  him  when 
on  the  I2th  of  August,  1902,  he  was  called  to  his  final  rest.  Unto  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Walter  were  born  seven  children,  four  of  whom  reached  years  of 
maturity,  namely:  William,  of  this  review;  Frank,  who  is  living  in  Kin- 
derhook township;  Fred,  who  makes  his  home  in  the  state  of  California; 
and  Dora  Michael,  who  is  living  in  Bethel  township. 

William  Walter  was  reared  upon  the  old  homestead  farm  in  the  usual 
manner  of  lads  of  the  period,  attending  the  public  schools  through  the  win- 
ter months,  while  in  the  summer  seasons  he  aided  in  the  work  of  the  fields. 
On  the  25th  of  February,  1880,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mattie 
Stowe,  who  was  born  in  Huron  county,  Ohio,  January  29,  1858.  Her  father 
was  James  Stowe,  a  native  of  the  state  of  New  York,  while  her  mother  bore 
the  maiden  name  of  Elizabeth  Sellover  and  was  born  in  Ohio.  There  were 
seven  children  in  the  Stowe  family,  of  whom  two  died  in  infancy,  the 
others  being:  Mrs.  Mattie  Walter,  the  wife  of  our  subject;  Fred,  a  resi- 
dent of  Nebraska;  Lutie  and  Delia,  of  Coldwater;  and  Mrs.  Alice  Hilde- 
brant,  of  Algansee.  Mr.  Stowe  died  in  1885  and  Mrs.  Stowe  is  still  living 
in  Coldwater.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Walter  has  been  bom  a  daughter,  Net- 
tie, now  the  wife  of  Harry  Strank,  of  Fremont,  Indiana. 

Throughout  his  entire  life  William  Walter  has  engaged  in  genera! 
farming  and  after  his  father's  death  succeeded  to  the  ownership  of  the  old 
liomestead,  comprising  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  acres  of  rich  and  pro- 
ductive land  in  Kinderhook  township,  which  he  retained  until  1906,  when 
he  sold  the  place.  In  all  of  his  work  he  has  been  practical  and  enterprising 
and  his  labors  have  been  attended  with  gratifying  results.  In  his  political 
views  he  is  an  earnest  Republican  and  has  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  and 
school  director.  His  fraternal  relations  are  with  Graham  Tent,  K.  O.  T. 
M.,  of  California  township.  He  has  for  a  half  century  made  his  home  in 
this  county,  where  he  has  a  wide  and  fararable  acquaintance. 

A.  LE  ROY  LOCKE. 

A.  Le  Roy  Locke,  a  member  of  the  Branch  county  bar  and  a  resident  of 
Bronson,  dates  his  birth  in  Townsend  township,  Huron  county,  Ohio,  De- 
cember 31,  1859.  and  traces  his  ancestry  back  to  New  England.  His  par- 
ents, Josiah  and  Malissa  (Tillotson)  Locke,  natives  of  Vermont,  came  west 
to  Ohio  in  early  life,  and  when  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  two  years  old 
moved  to  Michigan,  locating  in  Sherwood  township.  Branch  county.  Here 
they  passed  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  Mr.  Locke  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  Branch  county,  and  by  teaching  school  paved  his  way  to 
the  legal  profession.     He  was  a  student  in  the  office  of  H.  H.  Barlow,  an 


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566  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

attorney  of  Coldwater,  Michigan;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1888,  and 
began  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Mason  county,  this  state.  On  ac- 
count of  illness,  however,  he  did  not  remain  there  long,  but  went  south  in 
search  of  health  and  spent  some  time  in  North  Carolina.  On  his  return 
to  Michigan  he  came  first  to  Coldwater.  In  1892  he  was  appointed  post- 
master of  Sherwood,  a  position  he  filled  three  and  a  half  years,  when  he 
resigned,  at  that  time  being  elected  circuit  court  commissioner.  At  the 
close  of  his  two  years'  term  as  circuit  court  commissioner  he  removed  from 
Coldwater  to  Bronson,  where  he  is  now  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law. 

Mr.  Locke  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order  and  pohtically  is  a 
Democrat. 

H.  K  FREDERICK. 

Today  Branch  county  is  thickly  settled  and  all  of  its  land  has  been 
Iclaimed,  and  the  greater  part  of  it  cultivated,  its  productiveness  being 
proven  in  the  splendid  crops  which  are  annually  harvested  in  field  and  in 
orchard.  A  half  century  ago  little  work  in  this  direction  had  been  done 
and  the  most  rapid  strides  made  in  the  county  toward  its  present  develop- 
ment and  progress  have  been  witnessed  within  the  last  twenty-five  years. 
During  this  period  Mr.  Frederick  has  been  numbered  among  the  farmers 
of  the  county,  living  on  section  22,  Batavia  township,  where  he  owns  a 
valuable  tract  of  land  which  presents  a  pleasing  appearance  owing  to  the 
improvement  which  he  has  placed  upon  it  and  the  well  kept  condition  of 
the  fields.  A  native  of  Pennsylvania,  he  was  bom  in  Union  county  on 
the  6th  of  April,  1844,  his  parents  being  William  and  Catherine  (Kline) 
Frederick,  also  natives  of  Pennsylvania.  The  father  was  born  in  Union 
county,  but  the  mother's  birth  occurred  in  Juniata  county.  In  their  family 
were  eight  children,  all  sons,  and  with  one  exception  all  reached  manhood., 
The  father  died  in  Ohio  at  the  very  venerable  age  of  ninety-six  years,  hav- 
ing removed  to. that  state  in  1854,  and  his  wife  passed  away  when  about 
sixty-nine  years  of  age. 

H.  E.  Frederick,  the  sixth  son  in  his  father's  family,  was  a  youth  of 
nine  years  when  he  accompanied  his  parents  to  Erie  county,  Ohio.  After 
five  years  he  removed  to  Sandusky  county,  that  state,  but  was  married  in 
Erie  county  on  the  24th  of  December,  1872,  the  lady  of  his  choice  being 
Miss  Adaline  Goss,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Mifflin  county,  Pennsylvania, 
on  the  I2th  of  February,  1855,  her  parents  being  Isaac  and  Rebecca  (Man- 
beck)  Goss.  They  lived  for  two  years  in  Erie  county,  Ohio,  and  for  three 
years  in  Sandusky,  and  in  the  spring  of  1878  they  arrived  in  Branch 
county,  Michigan,  Mr.  Frederick  making  investment  in  the  farm  on  which 
he  now  resides.  Here  he  has  lived  continuously  for  twenty-eight  years, 
working  earnestly  and  persistently  to  develop  the  place,  so  that  it  will 
yield  the  best  possible  results  for  his  labor.  He  has  brought  the  land  to 
a  high  state  of  cultivation,  the  fields  being  now  very  prcxluctive,  and  stock- 
raising  has  also  been  a  profitable  source  of  income.  He  has  eighty  acres 
of  land,  five  miles  from  the  city  limits,  now  well  improved  and  is  classed 
with  the  substantial  agriculturists  of  this  community.     In  politics  he  was 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  567 

a  Republican,  having  supported  the  party  since  age  gave  him  the  right  of 
franchise,  and  he  has  held  sorne  local  offices,  but  has  largely  preferred  to 
leave  this  to  others,  while  he  gives  undivided  attention  to  his  agricultural 
interests.  He  belongs,  however,  to  Butterworth  post.  No.  109,  G.  A.  R., 
being  entitled  to  membership  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  in  1864,  when 
twenty  years  of  age,  he  responded  to  the  country's  call  for  troops,  enlisting 
in  Company  I,  One  Hundred  and  Sixty-ninth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry, 
with  which  he  served  as  a  private  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  never 
faltered  in  the  performance  of  any  military  duty,  taking  his  place  on  the 
lonely  picket  line  or  on  the  firing  line  as  duty  called.  His  activity  in  pub- 
lic affairs  has  made  him  well  known  in  the  county  and  his  friends  speak 
of  him  in  terms  of  warm  regard  and  praise,  for  he  possesses  a  genial  dis- 
position and  courtesy  as  well  as  business  ability  and  integrity. 

OLIVER  B.  CULVER. 

Oliver  B.  Culver,  living  on  section  eighteen,  Matteson  township,  was 
born  upon  this  farm  December  27,  1840,  a  son  of  Aliather  Culver  and  a 
half  brother  of  Jonathan  Culver.  The  latter  is  supposed  to  be  a  native  of 
Massachusetts  and  was  of  English  descent.  The  father  was  born  in  the 
Old  Bay  state,  whence  he  removed  to  Ontario  county.  New  York,  and  in 
1835  c^iTie  to  Branch  county,  settling  in  Matteson  township.  He  was  the 
second  man  tO'  take  up  land  from  the  government  in  this  township,  and 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Culver  have  five  of  the  old  parchment  deeds,  executed  as 
follows:  September  10,  1838;  May  i,  1839:  September  10,  1838;  May 
I,  1839,  and  May  i,  1838,  which  are  the  valuable  souvenirs  in  the  home  of 
Mr.  Culver,  This  makes  ten  deeds  of  the  kind  found  in  Branch  county  so  far, 
and  they  bear  the  date  and  were  executed  by  President  Martin  Van  Buren. 
Mr.  Culver  entered  altogether  one  thousand  acres.  He  hauled  his  wheat 
to  Toledo,  which  was  the  nearest  market,  and  he  built  upon  his  place  a 
log  cabin,  after  which  he  began  the  active  work  of  improving  and  develop- 
ing the  farm.  One  of  the  pioneer  settlers,  he  was  closely  identified  with 
the  earjy  history  of  Branch  county  and  aided  in  laying  broad  and  deep  the 
foundation  for  the  present  development  and  progress  of  the  county.  In 
politics  he  was  a  Democrat  and  the  first  town  meeting  was  held  in  his 
house.  There  were  at  that  time  not  to  exceed  six  voters  in  the  township. 
Mr.  Culver  was  chosen  one  of  the  officers  and  throughout  his  entire  life  he 
was  active  in  his  support  of  measures  for  the  general  good.  He  died  in 
his  eighty-second  year,  while  his  second  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name 
of  Lydia  Ann  Baker  and  was  a  native  of  Rhode  Island,  lived  to  be  seventy- 
two  years  of  age.  The  father  had  been  previously  married,  his  first  union 
being  with  Miss  Amarillis  Humphrey,  whom,  he  wedded  in  1815.  They 
had  two  children,"  Paulina  and  Jonathan  H.  By  the  second  marriage  there 
were  four  daughters  and  three  sons  and  with  one  exception  all  reached 
adult  age. 

Oliver  B.  Culver  is  the  youngest  of  the  family  and  the  only  one  now 
living,  and  he  was  reared  upon  the  farm  where  he  yet  resides.  After  mas- 
tering the  elementary  branches  of  learning  taught  in  the  common  schools 


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568  HISTORY  O'F  BRANCH  COUNTY 

he  attended  the  high  school  at  Colon,  and  he  remained  at  home  through  the 
period  of  his  boyhood  and  youth,  assisting  in  the  labors  of  the  home  farm. 
On  the  1st  of  January,  1866,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Sharer,  a 
daughter  of  William  and  Luanda  (Weed)  Sharer,  who  was  born  in  the  town- 
ship of  Galen,  Wayne  county,  New  York.  Mr.  Culver  brought  his  bride 
to  the  old  homestead  farm,  where  he  now  owns  two  hundred  and  eighty 
acres  of  productive  and  valuable  land.  He  has  about  forty-five  acres 
planted  to  fruit,  including  strawberries,  and  in  fact  berries  of  all  kinds. 
One  road  for  three-quarters  of  a  mile  is  bordered  with  fruit  trees.  He  has 
a  number  of  substantial  buildings  upon  the  place,  including  three  dwellings 
and  buildings  for  packing  and  shipment  of  fruit,  and  he  also  has  buildings 
at  Colon,  from  which  point  he  makes  his  shipments.  In  addition  to  the 
cultivation  of  grain  and  fruit  he  is  also  engaged  in  loaning  money  and 
holds  a  number  of  real  estate  mortgages.  He  has  been  very  successful  in 
his  business  life  and  his  labors  have  been  the  source  of  a  gratifying  income. 
Mr.  Culver  is  a  stanch  temperance  man  and  is  independent  in  his 
political  views,  voting  for  the  candidate  rather  than  the  party.  He  has 
taken  an  active  interest  in  public  aifairs,  however,  and  his  fellow  towns- 
men, recognizing  his  worth  and  ability,  have  frequently  called  him  to  office. 
He  was  clerk  for  five  terms,  was  supervisor  for  two  terms  and  is  always 
loyal  in  his  support  of  public  measures.  He  is  today  one  of  the  oldest 
settlers  of  the  coimty,  having  for  sixty-five  years  been  a  resident  of  Mat- 
teson  township,  and  his  memory  forms  a  connecting  link  between  the 
primitive  past  and  the  progressive  present.  His  house  was  the  second  built 
between  Colon  and  Cold  water,  and  therefore  one  of  the  old  landmarks 
of  the  community.  An  account  of  pioneer  life  presents  a  correct  picture 
of  the  experiences  of  Mr.  Culver  in  his  youth.  He  has  known  what  it  was 
to  make  his  way  through  the  primitive  forests  of  Branch  county  when  set- 
tlements were  very  widely  scattered  and  when  the  homes  were  mostly  log 
cabins.  The  cooking  was  done  over  the  fireplace,  the  little  home  was 
lighted  by  candles  and  the  farm  machinery  was  very  crude,  but  all  this  has 
been  changed  as  progress  has  wrought  a  transformation  and  brought  about 
a  business  condition  that  makes  Branch  county  on  a  par  with  the  older 
counties  of  the  east. 

JENNY  C.  DOUGLAS. 

The  life  history  of  Mrs.  Jenny  C.  Douglas  reveals  many  prominent  per- 
sonages, both  of  the  more  remote  past  and  in  the  present  generation,  who 
have  been  identified  in  divers  ways  with  the  life  and  times  of  their  re- 
spective communities,  and  also  Branch  county  has  since  its  pioneer  days 
felt  the  value  of  their  influence  and  useful  activity. 

Mrs.  Douglas,  who  was  bom  in  Syracuse,  New  York,"  January  16,  1838, 
is  a  daughter  of  the  late  and  well  known  Havens  Wilber,  also  a  native  of  that 
city,  born  in  1808  and  died  in  1888.  Originally  the  Wilbers  came  from 
England,  settling  in  Connecticut,  and  later  removed  to  New  York.  Havens 
Wilber  was  colonel  in  a  regiment  of  New  York  militia,  and  was  descended  from 
Revolutionary  stock.     He  came  west  to  Michigan  in  1850,  spent  one  year  in 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  569 

Ccldwater,  and  then  identified  himself  with  the  incipient  village  of  Quincy, 
■where  he  was  a  dry-g'oods  merchant  and  for  one  year  was  in  partnership 
with  Quincy's  first  merchant,  Benjamin  F.  Wheat.  He  continued  in  active 
business  connection  in  this  town  until  his  retirement  in  187S.  He  was  a 
prominent  Methodist,  was  class  leader,  and,  possessed  of  more  than  ordinary 
musical  talent  and  being-  considered  a  sweet  singer,  he  had,  while  in  New 
York,  charge  of  all  the  music  of  his  church,  and  retained  his  interest  in  the 
art  to  his  last  days.  A  Democrat  in  his  earlier  years,  he  left  that  party  in 
later  life  and  became  a  Republican  voter.  He  was  prosperous  from  a 
material  standpoint,  and  left  his  family  in  comfortahle  circumstances. 

Havens  Wilber  married,  November  26,  1833,  Lydia  L.  Filer.  Mrs. 
Douglas  has  in  her  treasured  possession  the  Bible  that  was  presented  on  the 
wedding  day  to  her  mother  by  the  latter's  father.  Lydia  L.  Filer  was 
born  in  Syracuse,  New  York,  in  1814.  and  died  in  1878,  being  a  daughter 
of  Asa  and  Mary  (Fay)  Filer.  The  Filers  are  an  ancient  American  family, 
having  come  from  Windsor,  England,  about  1620,  and  made  settlement  at 
Windsor,  Connecticut,  whence  have  come  all  the  generations  to  the  present. 
Of  more  than  ordinary  historic  interest  is  the  parchment  passport  which  the 
first  Filer  obtained  on  leaving  his  native  England,  and  this  document  is 
another  relic  of  antiquity  that  Mrs.  Douglas  has  been  careful  to  preserve. 
We  may  alsO'  mention  that  she  has  another  Bible  of  ancient  date  and  revered 
associations,  which  belonged  to  her  husband  and  descended  to  him  from  his 
grandfather,  although  the  exact  age  of  the  volume  is  not  known.  The 
Filer  family  contained  much  literary  talent  among  their  individual  members, 
although  their  success  in  material  affairs  was  equally  marked.  Asa  Filer, 
Mrs  Douglas'  grandfather,  was  a  contractor,  and  furnished  from  his  quarry 
in  New  York  a  large  amount  of  stone  used  in  the  construction  of  portions 
of  the  Erie  canal. 

Havens  Wilber  was  one  of  six  children,  namely,  Lydia,  Anna,  Amos, 
Havens,  Celesta  and  Julia.  Havens  and  Lydia  Wilber  had  four  children,  as 
follows:  Mary  L.,  now  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  Edward  L.  Cummings, 
a  Quincy  druggist;  Jennie  C;  Corre!  H.,  deceased;  and  Sadie,  the  deceased 
wife  of  Dr.  H.  W.  Gould,  at  one  time  a  resident  of  Quincy. 

Jenny  C.  Douglas  spent  three  happy,  but  earnest  years  of  study  at  Falley 
Seminary,  Fulton,  New  York,  and  graduated  with  honor  to  her  class  and 
to  herself  on  June  27,  1859. 

•In  1852  she  married  Lewis  Conkling,  whose  death  occurred  in  1862. 
A  native  of  Port  Jarvis,  New  York,  he  had  come  to  Tecumseh,  Michigan, 
when  a  boy,  and  from  there  moved  to  Coldwater,  where  for  a  number  of 
years  he  was  a  successful  hardware  merchant.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Conkling 
had  four  children:  William  and  Jennie  G.,  deceased:  Llewellyn,  with  the 
Packer  Automobile  Company  of  Detroit ;  and  Gilbert  Havens,  deceased.  Mr. 
Conkling  was  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church,  and  in  politics  a  Re- 
publican. 

Mrs.  Douglas  was  married  to  her  present  husband,  Charles  H.  Douglas, 
June  II,  1887.  Mr.  Douglas  is  one  of  the  highly  esteemed  men  of  this 
county.     He  was  bom  in  Nova  Scotia  December  9,  1835,  a  son  of  Nathan 


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570  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

and  Cynthia  (Payzant)  Douglas,  the  father  of  Scotch  origin,  and  the  mother 
of  French.  Nathan  Douglas,  who  was  a  sail-maker  by  trade,  in  boyhood  ac- 
companied his  father,  Russell  Douglas,  from  New  London,  Connecticut,  to 
Nova  Scotia.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolutionary  war  Russell  Douglas 
was  a  young  man  at  New  London,  and  was  one  of  the  defenders  of  that, 
his  native  town,  when  it  was  attacked  and  burned  by  the  British  forces 
under  the  traitorous  Arnold.  His  family,  like  many  of  his  neighbors,  lost 
all  their  possessions  by  this  event,  and  in  compensation  Congress  afterwards 
allotted  to  the  unfortunate  citizens  tracts  of  land  in  the  Western  Reserve  of 
Ohio.  It  was  to  take  possession  of  these  lands  that  brought  the  Douglas 
family  out  to  Ohio,  and  thence  further  west.  But  just  before  the  war  of 
1812  Russell  Douglas  had  moved  to  Liverpool,  Nova  Scotia,  and  during  the 
war  carried  on  his  trade  of  sail-maker  together  with  his  son  Nathan.  A 
Yankee  to  the  core,  and  of  that  vigorous  patriotism  which  upholds  its 
rights  at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances,  he  persisted,  while  in  Nova 
Scotia,  and  despite  ail  remonstrances,  in  flying  the  American  flag  from  his 
sail  loft,  and  there  he  kept  it  unfurled  throughout  the  period  of  hostilities. 
During  that  war  he  was  also  of  great  assistance  in  caring  for  his  fellow 
countrymen  who  had  been  made  prisoners  and  detained  in  that  part  of  Nova 
Scotia. 

Charles  H.  Douglas,  who  was  one  of  six  children,  has  had  a  varied 
business  career.  He  was  a  manufacturer  of  machinery  in  Berea,  Ohio, 
where  he  and  his  father  made  most  of  the  machinery  used  in  the  Berea 
sandstone  quarries.  He  also  carried  on  manufacturing  in  Chicago.  He  is 
the  inventor  of  the  well  known  Douglas  saws  and  saw  machinery.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican  of  the  Lincoln  type,  and  he  and  his  wife  are 
members  of  the  Episcopal  church. 

Tender  Memories  of  My  Dear  Parents,  Havens  and  Lydia  Lavinia 

WiLBER. 

Written  by  Mrs.  Jenny  C.  Doughs,  Qidncy,  Michigan. 
Few  things  are  as  potent  in  the  power  of  association  as  memory.  How 
sweet  and  comforting  are  the  hours  when  we  yield  ourselves  to  its  charai. 
Today  it  awakens  and  cheers  my  soul  like  a  fragrant  breath  of  lilac  or 
sweet  lavender,  and  stirs  wistful  memories  of  my  childhood  home  with  its 
tender,  loving  guardianship,  and  infinite  peace.  My  mother,  with  her  sweet 
home  ways,  and  always  about  her  the  roses  and  flowers  she  so  fondly  loved, 
and  father,  with  his  strong  protecting  love  and  care  over  us  all;  and  at 
evening,  as  he  brightened  our  home  circle  by  reading  aloud,  or  with  his 
sweet  voice,  rendering  some  favorite  hymn:  Ah!  their  gentle  and  loving 
words,  and  tenderly  fond  caresses  as  sleeping  time  came.     All  these 

And  the  dear  old  home  I  see  again. 

With  its  drooping  eaves,  where  the  twittering  wren 
Nested"  so  long  ago; 

And  I  breathe  once  more  the  south  winds'  balm 

As  I  sit  again  in  its  twilight  calm. 


With 


my  precious  memories. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  571 

The  home  life  of  my  childhood  at  Syracuse,  New  York,  was  ideal.  My 
good  parents  made  it  so.  The  years  went  by  and  wrought  changes.  Sor- 
rows came  and  changed  our  happiness  to  tears.  Death  claimed  one  by  one 
from  the  dear  home  circle.  Sister  Mary  was  first  to  leave  us;  then  Correl, 
my  only  brother.  And  one  October  day  in  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty- 
eight,  when  the  autumn  leaves  were  falling,  and  the  winds  sighing  among 
the  barren  trees,  my  Precious  Mother,  while 

A  look  of  yearning  tenderness 
Beneath  her  lashes  lies, 
And  hope  and  love  unutterable 
Were  shadowed  in  her  eyes, 
Whispered  her  Good  Bye. 

The  following  July,  dear  sister  Sadie  joined  our  family  majority;  thus 
leaving  my  precious  father  with  his  eighty  years  and  only  myself  to  com- 
fort him  in  the  twilight  hours  that  were  hovering  so  near.  In  my  childhood 
his  loving  heart  cradled  me  in  a  sunny  nest,  and  his  gentle  hand  guided  my 
footsteps  in  pleasant  paths.  Now,  it  was  my  privilege  to  love  and  comfort 
him  in  his  declining  years.  With  a  prayer  for  guidance  ever  in  my  heart, 
and  with  the  tender  love  and  solicitude  for  him,  I  endeavored  to  be  as 
loving  a  daughter  as  my  mother  had  been  a  faithful  wife.  Father  and  I 
lived  very  close,  each  to  the  inner  life  of  the  other.  Hia  life  had  been 
earnest  and  active,  e^^er  kind  and  loyal,  with  hand  and  money  always  ready 
to  help  the  suffering,  or  to  aid  in  the  progress  and  upbuilding  of  his  home 
town.  He  gave  liberally  to  building  churches  and  schools,  and  was  the  first 
to  use  his  influence  and  money  toward  the  erection  of  a  comfortable  station 
house  in  Quincy.  In  his  golden  years  he  was  a  tower  of  strength,  also  a 
tender  and  gentle  friend  to  all  who  were  in  need  of  any  kindness.  For  many 
years  he  was  a  leading  merchant  in  Quincy,  and  amassed  a  comfortable 
fortune.  Later  he  was  saddened  by  losses  and  injustice  done  him  by  those 
to  whom  he  had  been  most  kind  and  generous.  It  is  a  sad  truth  that  in 
his  grief  his  honest  and  trusting  soul  passed  through  a  pain  almost  like 
unto  a  garden  of  Gethsemane ;  and  the  friends  who  saw  him  daily,  could  not 
realize  the  intensity  of  his  sorrow  over  the  wrongs  done  him  by  those  he 
had  trusted  and  loved;  The  eyes  of  sympathy  are  oft-times  too  far  sighted, 
and  overlook  a  kindness  which  lies  nearest.  In  February,  1898,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-nine  years  and  six  months,  after  an  illness  of  only  a  few  hours'  dura- 
tion he  was  peacefully  relieved  of  all  his  heartaches  and  awoke  to  the  sun- 
light and  joy  of  Heaven.  With  a  sweet  smile  he  often  told  me  of  his 
pleasure  at  the  thought  of  meeting  mother  again :  that  he  knew  the  Father 
above  loved  him,  and  he  was  ready  to  go.  I  am  sure  he  is  now  happy  in  a 
new  and  limitless  city  of  love  and  rest.  His  conscience  was  clean  and  void 
of  offence  toward  God  or  man,  and  his  death  like  a  summer  sunset.  There 
is  an  old  age  that  reaches  upward  into  strength,  and  a  growing  old  that 
brings  to  the  inner  spirit  a  benediction  of  love  and  peace..  And  this  came 
to  him.  A  river  at  its  source  rushes  onward  and  battles  with  obstructions ; 
as  it  nears  the  ocean,  it  loses  its  haste  and  nestles  in  its  fulness  and  power 


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572  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

into  the  bosom  of  the  mighty  deep.  It  is  the  same  with  the  river  of  hfe. 
Time,  the  pilot,  guides  us  through  the  rapids  and  shoals,  down  the  broaden- 
ing gulf  of  experience  to  the  ocean  of  rest  which  awaits  us,  just  as  sunset 
follows  sunrise, 

I  am  pleased  to  quote  a  portion  of  a  letter  received  from  my  son,  Mr. 
L.  W.  Conkling,  who  was  in  Montreal,  Canada,  at  the  time  of  father's  death: 

"Dearest  Mother:  I  am  deeply  grieved  at  grandpa's  sudden  death,  and 
regret  I  cannot  be  with  you,  as  distance  prevents  me  entirely.  While  we  all 
love  and  revere  him  most  dearly  for  all  he  has  been  to  us,  I  know  how  sad 
this  must  be  to  you  who  had  always  lived  so  closely  in  his  heart,  and  who 
held  his  interests  in  such  close  regard.  He  has  left  behind  him  an  honest 
record,  and  the  love  and  veneration  of  his  family  and  friends.  I  am  sure 
each  of  us  who  survive  him  will,  in  years  to  come,  recall  many  noble, 
generous  and  kindly  deeds,  and  his  absolute  fidelity  to  truth,  and  his  friends. 
His  life  will  be  a  golden  memory  for  us  to  cherish,  and  have  its  influence  for 
good  with  all  who  were  so  fortunate  as  to  know  his  inner  heart  and  life. 
Dear,  noble,  old  gentleman;  one  of  Nature's  best,  truest  and  tenderest  of 
friends.  He  has  left  a  beautiful  record  behind  him  of  being  always  kind 
and  loving,  generous  and  true  in  all  his  dealings,  and  never  selfish  or  unjust." 

My  father  always  had  a  hopeful  word,  and  a  smile  for  the  sad  hearts 
that  are  ever  about  us.  It  is  the  fragrance  of  the  soul  of  justice  and  kind- 
ness to  endeavor  to  be  helpful  to  all,  and  to  realize  that  the  real  effort  of 
life  is  not  aione  for  food  and  clothing,  but  for  truth,  kindness  and  love  and 
to  remember  the  balances  of  God  are  always  justly  poised.  There  is  beauty 
in  a  violet  and  glory  in  a  solitary  star.  Together  they  lead  us,  not  to 
winged  fancy,  but  to  higher  truth,  and  the  Divine  understanding  of  the 
tender  influence  and  value  of  a  kindly  word,  and  a  hopeful  smile. 

FREDERICK  W.  STEWART,  M.  D. 

Dr.  Frederick  W.  Stewart,  who  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  has 
gained  a  patronage  such  as  is  accorded  only  in  recognition  of  skill  and 
ability,  was  born  in  Ontario,  Canada,  February  22,  1861,  his  parents  being 
Alexander  and  Mary  Jane  (Baldwin)  Stewart,  the  former  a  native  of 
Prince  Edward  Island,  Ontario,  and  the  latter  of  New  Brunswick,  Ontario. 
Both  are  still  living,  their  home  being  in  Ontario,  Canada. 

Dr.  Stewart  was  reared  and  educated  in  the  place  of  his  nativity,  at- 
tending the  public  schools  until  he  had  mastered  the  elementary  branches 
of  learning,  after  which  he  attended  Woodstock  (Ontario)  College.  He 
followed  his  more  speciflcally  literary  education  by  a  course  in  Cleveland 
Medical  College,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1891,  and  he  then 
located  for  practice  in  Chardon,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  for'  two  years. 
Dr.  Stewart  arrived  in  Coldwater  in  1893,  and  has  since  been  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  medical  fraternity  here.  He  is  thoroughly  informed  con- 
cerning modern  methods  of  medical  and  surgical  practice,  and  had  been  a 
citizen  of  Coldwater  for  only  a  brief  period  when  he  demonstrated  his 
ability  to  successfully  cope  with  the  intricate  problems  that  continually  con- 
front the  physician.     He  now  has  a  large  and  growing  practice,  his  pro- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  5T3 

fessional  duties  making  constant  demand  mion  his  time,  and  he  enjoys  the 
confidence  and   good  will   of  his   professional   brethren. 

In  1892  Dr.  Stewart  was  married  to  Miss  Minnie  H.  Lymburner,  a 
daughter  of  Aaron  and  Maria  Lymburner  of  Ontario.  They  have  two 
children:  Roscoe  E.  and  Beatrice  E.  The  parents  are  prominent  socially, 
enjoying  the  hospitality  of  many  of  the  best  homes  of  Coldwater,  Dr. 
Stewart  has  taken  an  active  part  in  political  matters  and  is  now  chairman 
of  the  Republican  county  committee  and  also  of  the  Republican  city  com- 
mittee. His  labors  have  been  effective  in  promoting  the  success  of  the 
party,,  for  he  is  well  qualified  for  leadership  and  has  so  directed  the  affairs 
of  the  party  as  to  get  out  its  greatest  strength.  His  fraternal  relations  are 
with  the  Masonic  lodge,  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees  and  the  Woodmen 
of  the  World,  and  he  belongs  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  is 
not  so  abnormally  developed  in  any  direction  as  to  be  a  genius,  but  has  so 
directed  his  efforts  as  to  develop  a  well  rounded  character  and  his  activity 
along  social,  political,  moral  and  professional  lines  makes  him  a  valued 
resident  of  his   adopted   city. 

REBUEN  J.  THATCHER. 

Reuben  J.  Thatcher,  the  owner  of  one  of  the  nicest  country  stores  of 
Branch  county,  conducting  business  at  Algansee.  was  born  in  Hillsdale 
county,  September  18,  1856.  His  father,  Samuel  Thatcher,  was  a  native 
of  the  state  of  New  York  and  was  of  English  ancestry.  He  followed  the 
occupation  of  fanning  and  was  married  in  the  Empire  state,  whence  he 
removed  to  Michigan,  prior  to  the  Civil  war.  He  established  his  home  in 
Hillsdale  county,  where  he  purchased  a  tract  of  land  and  opened  up  a  farm, 
becoming  one  of  the  respected  agriculturists  of  the  community.  His 
political  allegiance  was  given  to  the  Republican  party.  He  married  Orsa- 
rilla  Cheney,  who  was  born  in  the  state  of  New  York,  and  was  a  daughter 
of  Joseph  and  Rhoda  Cheney,  likewise  natives  of  that  state.  Mr.  Thatcher 
passed  away  in  1863  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of  forty-four  years  and 
was  long  survived  by  his  wife,  who  died  October  11,  1903,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-eight  years.  They  were  members  of  the  Baptist  church.  In  their 
family  were  six  children:  Esther,  who  was  born  in  1S47,  is  the  widow 
of  Emory  Forbes,  and  resides  in  Monroe,  Michigan;  Ai,  born  in  1849, 
died  in  1877;  Arminda,  born,  in  1851,  is  the  wife  of  James  Sherman,  a 
farmer  of  Algansee;  Esmeralda,  born  in  1854,  married  Jack  Eroughton  and 
died  in  1876:  Reuben  J.  is  the  next  of  the  family;  Ida,  born  in  1859,  is 
the  wife  of  Theodore  Jackson,  of  Kansas. 

Reuben  J.  Thatcher  was  reared  upon  the  home  farm  and  attended  the 
country  schools.  After  putting  aside  his  text-books  he  followed  agricult- 
ural pursuits  for  about  fifteen  years  and  then  in  1874  removed  to  this 
county,  subsequent  to  which  time  he  traveled  for  an  agricultural  implement 
firm  for  about  eight  years.  At  the  time  of  his  marriage,  in  1881,  he  took 
up  his  abcxie  on  a  farm  in  Algansee  township,  where  he  remained  for  nine 
years,  and  in  i8go  he  embarked  in  merchandising  in  the  village  of  Algan- 
see, where  he  still  carries  on  business,  having  one  of  the  best  country  stores 


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574  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

in  the  county.  He  has  a  large  and  carefully  selected  stock  and  his  earnest 
efforts  to  please  his  patrons,  together  with  reasonable  prices  and  straight- 
forward dealing  have  brought  him  a  very  desirable  and  profitable  business. 
In  1881  Mr.  Thatcher  was  married  to  Miss  Dessie  Bates,  whose  birth 
occurred  in  California  township,  this  county,  August  26,  1861.  Her  father, 
Archibald  Bates,  was  a  native  of  Huron  county,  Ohio,  and  at  an  early  day 
established  his  home  in  Branch  county,  settling  in  California  township, 
where  he  followed  general  agricultural  pursuits.  At  the  present  time,  how- 
ever, he  is  living  retired  in  Auburn  and  has  reached  the  age  of  sixty-nine 
years.  He  wedded  Sarah  Smith,  also  a_  native  of  the  Buckeye  state,  and 
now  sixty-nine  years  of  age.  In  their  family  were  five  children;  Charles, 
deceased;  Dessie,  now  Mrs.  Thatcher;  Daisy,  the  wife  of  Fred  Faulkner, 
who  is  engaged  in  the  jewelry  business  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Parish 
&  Company,  in  Coldwater;  Ida,  who  is  employed  in  a  dry  goods  store  in 
Auburn,  Indiana;  and  Fred,  also  living  in  Auburn,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thatcher 
have  a  daughter  and  son:  Pansy,  who  was  born  in  1887,  and  is  the  wife 
of  Nelson  Martin,  of  Algansee ;  and  Charles,  who  is  in  the  store  with  his 
father.  The  parents  are  members  of  the  Congregational  church,  in  which 
Mr.  Thatcher  is  serving  as  deacon,  and  he  is  also  enrolled  as  a  member  of 
the  Odd  Fellows  lodge,  the  Maccabees  tent  and  the  Independent  Order  of 
United  Workmen.  In  politics,  an  ardent  Republican,  Vie  served  as  deputy 
sheriff  for  about  thirteen  years  under  Sheriffs  Kinney,  Sweet  and  Swayne, 
and  he  puts  forth  every  effort  in  his  power  to  promote  the  growth  and  in- 
sure the  success  of  his  party,  for  he  is  in  hearty  sympathy  with  its  prin- 
ciples, believing  that  its  platform  contains  the  best  elements  of  good  gov- 
ernment. 

GEORGE  KINTER. 

Among  the  early  settlers  of  Branch  county  George  Kinter  is  num- 
bered, for  his  birth  occurred  in  a  log  house  still  standing  on  section  nine- 
teen, Batavia  township,  on  the  7th  of  March,  1849.  A  marked  transforma- 
tion has  been  wrought  in  the  county  and  its  condition  since  that  time,  for 
the  log  cabin  has  long  since  been  replaced  by  the  frame  residence  or  the 
stone  or  brick  dwelling,  and  where  was  once  the  unbroken  forest  are  now 
seen  highly  cultivated  fields  and  scattered  here  and  there  are  the  churches 
and  schools  that  indicate  the  intellectual  and  moral  development  of  the 
community. 

Mr.  Kinter  is  a  son  of  Richard  Kinter,  a  native  of  Pittsford,  Monroe 
county.  New  York,  whose  birth  occurred  about  1810.  He  came  to  Branch 
county  in  1840,  settling  on  what  has  since  become  the  old  family  homestead 
on  section  nineteen,  Batavia  township,  where  he  built  a  log  cabin  that  is 
still  standing  on  the  place  as  one  of  the  mute  reminders  of  the  pioneer 
days.  The  bam. was  built  in  1848  and  is  also  standing.  He  was  a  pioneer 
settler  who  cleared  away  the  trees  and  turned  the  first  furrows  in  the  fields, 
his  entire  life  being  given  to  general  farming.  He  was  always  a  Repub- 
lican in  his  political  views  and  he  took  an  active  interest  in  political  ques- 
tions and  issues  of  the  day,  and  in  all  the  affairs  relating  to  local  progress 
and  improvement.     He  wedded   Miss  Mary   Powell,   a  native  of   Pittsford, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  575 

Monroe  county,  New  York,  and  who  lived  to  be  sixty  years  of  age,  pass- 
ing" away  in  Batavia  township,  July  30,  1883,  while  Mr.  Kinter  died  at 
the  age  of  fifty-five  years.  They  were  well  known  and  respected  pioneer 
residents  of  the  county  and  in  their  family  were  three  sons  and  two 
daughters,  all  of  whom  reached  mature  years,  while  four  are  still  living. 
Mr,  Kinter  is  the  third  child  and  second  son.  His  youth  was  passed  in 
Batavia  township,  where  he  acquired  a  good  education,  attending  the  com-' 
mon  district  schools  and  after  putting  aside  his  text  books  he  entered  upon 
his  business  career,  being  employed  at  bridge  work  by  the  Fort  Wayne 
Railroad  Company  for  about  eighteen  months.  With  this  exception  he 
has  been  a  constant  resident  of  Batavia  township,  and  he  now  owns  and  con- 
ducts a  farm  of  eighty  acres,  the  land  being  well  tilled  and  devoted  to  gen- 
eral farming.  He  raises  here  the  crops  best  adapted  to  soil  and  climate 
and  he  annually  gathers  good  harvests,  for  which  he  finds  a  ready  sale  on 
the  market. 

Mr,  Kinter  was  married  in  1874  to  Miss  Libby  Ballou,  a  native  of 
Matteson  township  and  a  daughter  of  Jefferson  and  Jemima  (Pierce) 
Ballou.  Mrs.  Kinter  was  born  in  Matteson  township  and  acquired  her  edu- 
cation in  the  Lindley  school.  At  the  time  of  their  marriage  the  young 
couple  located  on  the  old  homestead  farm  where  Mr.  Kinter  was  born,  and 
they  have  two  children:  Rena  May,  now  the  wife  of  John  Burns,  of 
Matteson  township,  residing  upon  what  is  known  as  the  old  Jefferson  Bal- 
lou farm;  and  Leo,  who  aids  his  father  in  the  operation  of  the  home  place. 
The  wife  and  mother  died  on  the  24th  of  February,  1895,  ^n^i  her  many 
excellent  traits  of  heart  and  mind  had  endeared  her  to  a  large  circle  of 
friends,  so  that  her  loss  was  deeply  deplored  throughout  the  community,  as 
well  as  within  the  home  circle.  Mr.  Kinter  in  his  political  views  is  a  stal- 
wart Republican  where  national  issues  are  involved,  but  largely  votes  in- 
dependently at  local  elections.  He  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  for  two 
years  and  then  resigned  on  account  of  the  131  health  of  his  wife.  Having 
lived  in  this  county  for  fifty-five  years  he  has  a  wide  acquaintance,  being 
known  to  a  large  number  of  its  citizens,  and  sterling  traits  of  manhood  have 
gained  him  the  respect  and  good  will  of  all  with  whom  he  has  been  asso- 
ciated. 

FRANK  LE  "GRAND  COX. 

Prominent  among  the  agriculturists  of  Girard  and  Branch  county  is 
the  gentleman  named  above,  who  comes  of  good  old  eastern  stock  and  who 
was  born  in  Sherbourne,  Chenango  county,  New  York,  February  24,  1853. 
The  paternal  grandfather  of  our  subject  was  George  Cox,  who  lived  for  many 
years  in  New  York  city.  Frank  I-e  Grand  Cox  was  the  eldest  son  of  a 
family  of  ten  children.  His  father,  also  bearing  the  family  name  of  George 
Cox,  was  a  native  of  New  York  city,  where  he  was  born  January  26,  1824. 
The  father  lived  in  New  York  until  he  was  twenty-eight  years  of  age  and 
he  was  married  in  the  empire  state  in  1851  to  Mary  S.  Brooks.  They  came  to 
Michigan  in  October  of  1853,  when  their  eldest  son,  Frank,  was  only  nine 
months  old,  locating  in  Coldwater,  this  county,  where  they  lived  for  thirteen 


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576  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

years,  afterwards  removing'  to  Girard  township,  where  they  lived  upon  a 
farm  until  twenty-three  years  ago.  Thereafter  they  lived  in  Union  City, 
where  Mr.  Cox  died  in  1900,  and  where  Mrs.  Cox  still  resides. 

Frank  L.  G.  Cox  has  consequently  been  a  constant  resident  of  Girard 
township  for  the  past  thirty-nine  years  and  has  lived  upon  his  present  farm 
since  1886.  Of  the  ten  children  born  to  his  parents,  one  died  in  infancy  and 
one  son  died  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years.  The  eight  still  Jiving  are  as 
follows:  Frank  L.  G..  of  Girard;  Morris  Enos,  Will,  Ada  Mildred  Thomp- 
son, Alfreda  Belle  Bell  and  Lillian  Pliilo,  all  of  Union  City;  and  AHce  A. 
Olney,  of  Traverse  City,  Michigan.  The  three  brothers  hold  responsible 
{xjsitions  in  mechanical  lines,  while  the  four  sisters  have  comfortable  homes. 
All  are  constant  in  their  ministrations  of  tlieir  aged  mother  at  Union  City, 

Frank  L.  G.  Cox  was  married  November  27,  1872,  to  Amanda  L. 
Everitt,  who,  although  a  native  of  the  state  of  New  York,  has  been  a  resi- 
dent of  Girard  since  she  was  nine  years  old.  Her  parents  were  Daniel  and 
Mary  Jane  Palmiteer,  pioneers  of  Girard,  who  were  the  parents  of  four 
children:  Clark,  who  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-five  years;  Wolsie,  who  died 
in  1894;  Mrs.  Emily  Worden,  of  Girard;  and  Mrs.  Frank  L.  G.  Cox,  of 
Girard.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cox  have  one  daughter,  Mary,  who  was  married  in 
l8g8  to  Frank  Lyman,  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  old  and  respected  families 
of  Girard. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  Frank  L.  G.  Cox,  has  not  only  been  notably 
successful  as  a  farmer,  but  he  is  also  widely  known  throughout  Branch  county. 
He  has  beeri  called  upon  on  numerous  occasions  to  fill  positions  of  public 
trust  and  responsibility,  his  fellow  citizens  recognizing  in  him  those  sterling 
traits  of  trustworthiness  and  ability  which  they  constantly  seek  in  their  pub- 
lic officials.  Although  he  has  always  been  an  ardent  Democrat  of  the  Jeffer- 
sonian  school  of  politics,  a  political  party  greatly  in  the  minority  in  this 
section  of  the  country,  nevertheless  he  has  been  called  upon  on  numerous  oc- 
casions to  serve  his  constituents.  Beside  filling  minor  offices,  he  was  chosen 
as  supervisor  of  Girard  township  in  1896  and  re-elected  for  no  less  than 
seven  additional  terms  in  succession.  In  this  position  he  not  only  performed 
valiant  service  for  his  township,  but  was  also  looked  upon  as  one  of  the 
leading  members  of  the  Branch  County  Board  of  Supervisors,  serving  upon 
the  more  important  committees  of  that  official  body  and  making  his  influence 
constantly  felt  in  the  line  of  economical  and  efficient  administration  of  pub- 
He  affairs.  He  is  such  a  man  as  his  friends  and  neighbors  delight  to  honor, 
not  alone  from  personal  friendship,  but  because  they  feel  that  in  his  hands 
their  public  interests  will  be  carefully  and  judiciously  looked  after.  Mr. 
Cox  is  still  a  young  man,  but  his  life  thus  far  has  been  filled  with  a  use- 
fulness not  often  seen  excepting  in  men  of  more  advanced  years.  He  belongs 
to  a  number  of  fraternal  orders,  having  been  for  many  years  affiliated  with 
the  Masons,  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen,  the  Loyal  Mystic  Legion,  the  Grange  and  the  Patrons 
of  Industry.  He  has  a  fine  farm  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  acres  on  sec- 
tions twenty-three  and  twenty-four,  Girard  township,  the  same  being  under 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  577 

good  cultivation  and  equipped  with  good  buildings,  the  whole  property  show- 
ing that  care  which  proves  its  owner  a  careful  farmer  and  one  with  ideas 
of  beauty  and  neatness. 

FRANK  M.  DANIELS. 

Frank  M.  Daniels  was  born  in  Florence  township,  St.  Joseph 
county,  Michigan,  January  29,  1844,  and  is  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of 
Branch  county,  who  for  many  years  was  identified  with  its  best  interests. 
His  father,  Amassa  Daniels,  is  a  native  of  Tolland  county,  Connecticut,  and 
was  a  son  of  John  Daniels,  who  is  supposed  to  have  been  born  in  Scotland. 
At  all  events,  his  father,  John  Daniels,  Sr.,  was  a  Scotchman,  and  was  by 
trade  a  shoemaker,  John  Daniels,  the  grandfather  of  our  subject,  liecame 
a  millwright  and  followed  that  pursuit  in  New  England.  Amassa  Daniels 
remained  in  the  county  of  his  nativity  through  the  period  of  his  minority, 
acquiring  his  limited  education  there,  but  when  he  had  reached  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years  he  removed  from  Connecticut  to  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
engaged  in  business  as  a  lumberman.  About  1815  he  removed  to  Genesee, 
New  York,  and  in  1836  he  came  to  Michigan,  settling  in  St.  Joseph  county, 
in  the  fall  of  that  year.  He  purchased  land  and  improved  two  farms  in 
Florence  township,  clearing  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land.  He 
was  very  successful  as  a  farmer,  being  practical  and  enterprising  in  his 
methods  and  so  directing  his  labors  that  he  annually  received  a  good  finan- 
cial return  for  his  work.  He  died  in  his  eighty-eighth  year,  being  at  that 
time  one  of  the  most  venerable  citizens  of  his  county  and  a  man  who  was 
respected  and  honored  by  all  who  knew  him.  He  lived  an  upright  life, 
although  not  allied  with  any  church  and  his  motives  and  principles  were 
such  as  would  always  bear  close  investigation  and  scrutiny.  In  ante- 
bellum days  he  was  an  opponent  of  slavery,  endorsed  the  abolition  move- 
ment and  made  his  home  a  station  on  the  famous  underground  railroad  until 
the  Republican  party  was  formed  to  prevent  the  further  extension  of  slav- 
ery. Twice  married,  his  first  union  was  with  Olivia  Hammond,  a  sister 
of  his  second  wife,  and  by  that  union  there  were  nine  children,  five  sons  and 
four  daughters,  all  of  whom  reached  manhood  or  womanhood.  His  second 
union  was  with  Sophia  Hammond,  also  a  native  of  Tolland  county,  Con- 
necticut, and  a  daughter  of  Eli  Hammond,  a  descendant  of  Thomas  Ham- 
mond, of  English  lineage.  Mrs.  Daniels  departed  this  life  in  her  sixty- 
third  year.  She  had  become  the  mother  of  six  children,  all  of  whom 
reached   adult   age,   with   one  exception. 

F.  M.  Daniels  was  the  fourteenth  member  of  his  father's  family  and 
was  the  fifth  child  of  the  second  marriage.  He  was  reared  in  the  place 
of  his  nativity  until  twenty-one  j'ears  of  age,  and  acquired  his  education  in 
the  country  schools,  supplemented  by  two  terms'  attendance  at  Beloit  Col- 
lege, in  Beloit,  Wisconsin.  He  engaged  in  teaching  school  for  three 
winters  in  Greenwood,  McHenry  county,  Illinois,  but  the  greater  part  of 
his  life  has  been  devoted  to  agricultural  pursuits.  He  lived  for  one  year 
in  Batavia  township,  Branch  county,  Michigan,  and  in  that  year,  1868,  he 
took  a  very  active  part  in  politics,  it  being  the  year  of  the  Grant  campaign. 


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5T8  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

He  served  as  secretary  of  the  Grant  Club  in  Eatavia  township,  and  labored 
untiringly  tO'  promote  the  success  of  the  Republican  party.  On  leaving 
Wisconsin  he  went  to  Iowa,  and  afterward  to  Kansas  and  to  Texas.  He 
was  engaged  in  the  railroad  service  for  about  four  and  a  half  years  on  the 
Missouri,  Kansas  &  Texas  Railroad,  being  station  agent  at  Chetc^,  Kansas, 
for  three  years.  He  was  afterward  transferred  to  the  Houston  &  Texas 
Railroad,  with  which  he  held  a  responsible  position.  Later  he  became  in- 
terested in  the  Zimmerman  refrigerator  car  building,  at  Dayton,  Ohio,  and 
went  with  the  first  carload  of  fresh  meat  shipped  by  the  refrigerator 
process  tp  Boston.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  refrigerator  car  business 
of  Swift,  the  well  known  meat  packer,  for  Mr.  Daniels  sold  out  to  that 
company.  After  residing  in  Detroit  for  a  time  he  went  to  California  in 
1884,  there  remaining  for  five  years,  during  which  period  he  worked  at 
the  carpenter's  trade,  being  at  Pasadena  and  at  Redlands.  He  came  to' 
Sherwood  in  1892.  In  April  of  the  same  year  Mr.  Daniels  married  Mrs. 
Calinda  Sawin.  He  has  taken  a  very  active  interest  in  public  affairs  as  a 
life-long  supporter  of  the  Republican  party  and  is  now  serving  for  his  fourth 
term  as  trustee  of  the  village.  He  was  trustee  for  four  years,  has  been 
treasurer  for  two  years,  and  is  now  serving  his  second  term  as  president 
of  the  village  board  of  Sherwood,  and  was  highway  commissioner  one 
year.  While  acting  in  that  capacity  he  instituted  iron  bridges  which  have 
since  become  common  in  the  locality,  and  the  value  of  which  is  now  uni- 
formly acknowledged.  In  his  religious  views  he  is  a  Unitarian.  He  has 
had  a  somewhat  eventful  life,  visiting  many  portions  of  the  country,  so 
that  he  has  an  intimate  knowledge  of  his  native  land.  He  is  regarded  as 
one  of  the  representative  citizens  of  Sherwood,  active  and  influential  in 
community  interests,  and  in  the  various  offices  which  he  has  filled  he  has 
done  much  to  promote  the  general  welfare. 

ORION  L.  SMITH. 

Orion  L.  Smith,  who  was  born  in  Butler  township,  Branch  county,  in 
1865,  has  for  a  number  of  years  been  successfully  identified  with  the  agri- 
cultural interests  of  the  county  and  has  recently  transferred  his  attention 
to  the  coal,  wood  and  lime  business  in  Quincy,  being  an  esteemed  business 
man  of  that  place. 

His  father,  Abram  Smith,  who  was  born  near  Somerset,  this  state, 
and  died  in  1870  at  the  age  of  forty-five,  moved  to  Branch  county  about 
1847,  and  continued  to  make  his  home  in  Butler  township  and  part  of  the 
time  in  Quincy  until  his  death.  He  was  killed  in  a  railroad  accident.  As 
a  farmer  he  was  prosperous  beyond  the  average,  and  he  also  gave  his  at- 
tention to  dealing  in  stock,  and  at  his  death  he  left  a  competency,  and 
throughout  his  career  had  lived  in  the  highest  regard  of  his  fellow  citizens. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Free  Will  Baptist  church,  and  politically  was  a 
Democrat.  Mr.  O.  L.  Smith's  mother  was  Mary  Margaret  Weatherwax, 
bom  in  Shelby,  Orleans  county,  New  York,  and  is  living  in  Quincy  at 
the  age  of  seventy-five  years.     Her  lineage  is  German.     There  were  three 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  579 

children  in  the  family,  Armina,  Luella  and  Orion  L.,  but  the  last  named  is 
the  only  one  living. 

Attending-  school  in  Quincy  and  also  a  student  in  a  business  college  at 
Kalamazoo,  Mr.  Smith  by  rearing  and  training  was  well  fitted  for  an  active 
and  successful  career.  After  leaving  school  he  clerked  awhile,  and  then 
engaged  in  various  occupations.  For  a  number  of  years  he  was  a  farmer 
in  Butler  township,  and  still  owns  his  fine  homestead  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  in  Butler  township.  He  left  the  farm  to  operate  a  draying 
business  in  Quincy,  and  in  1903  he  opened  here  an  estabhsliment  for  the 
handling  of  coal,  wood,  lime,  cement  and  similar  commodities.  He  erected 
the  fine  brick  office  building  in  which  his  business  is  located. 

In  1886  Mr.  Smith  married  Miss  Hattie  Beatrice  Woodard,  who  was 
born  in  Minnesota  in  i86g.  Her  father,  John  Woodard;  a  millwright,  who 
afterward  moved  to  Iowa,  in  which  state  he  died,  and  her  mother,  Eila 
Irish,  a  native  of  Minnesota,  but  both  being  of  New  England  stock,  were 
parents  of  four  children,  namely;  Sarah  Bell,  the  wife  of  W.  A.  Van 
Winkle,  station  agent  at  Dayton,  Iowa;  Calafern,  wife  of  E.  M,  Lundeen, 
a  banker  of  Dayton,  Iowa;  Mrs.  Smith,  and  Oliver  J,,  a  farmer  at  Burnside, 
Iowa.  In  August,  1905,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  adopted  a  child,  Neta  Violet, 
who  is  three  years  old.  Fraternally  Mr.  Smith  is  an  Odd  Fellow  and 
Knight  of  Pythias,  and  his  jralitics  is  Democratic. 

HENRY  HOYT   BARLOW. 

Henry  Hoyt  Barlow,  who  has  given  his  undivided  attention  to  his  pro- 
fessional duties  since  entering  upon  the  practice  of  law,  is  now  ranked  with 
the  leading  members  of  the  Coldwater  bar,  and  the  large  clientage  ac- 
corded him  evinces  the  public  confidence  in  his  ability.  He  is  a  native 
sou  of  Michigan,  having  been  born  in  Hastings,  June  10,  1850,  and  is 
a  representative  of  a  distinguished  pioneer  family  of  the  state.  The  Bar- 
lows are  of  English  lineage  and  the  first  of  the  name  to  come  to  America 
settled  in  Connecticut.  Later  generations  went  to  New  York  and  after- 
ward came  to  reside  in  the  west.  Nathan  Barlow,  grandfather  of  Henry 
H.  Barlow,  was  a  pioneer  resident  of  Michigan,  settling  in  Barry  county. 
He  was  not  only  active  in  business  affairs  but  was  also'  an  influential  factor 
in  public  life,  representing  his  district  in  the  state  legislature,  as  did  his  son 
Nathan  Barlow,  Jr.  The  latter  was  a  native  of  New  York  and  became 
a  merchant  and  prominent  business  man  of  Hastings,  Michigan,  where  he 
resided  foi"  many  years.  He  married  Miss  Malissa  Tyler,  also  a  native  of 
the  Empire  state. 

Henry  Hoyt  Barlow  was  reared  in  Hastings  to  his  sixteenth  year, 
when  he  entered  the  University  of  Michigan,  which  institution  conferred 
upon  him  the  Bachelor  of  Arts  degree  at  the  time  of  his  graduation  with 
the  class  of  1870.  He  was  then  but  twenty  years  of  age.  He  returned 
home  and  spent  about  a  year  in  his  father's  store.  In  1871  he  was  ap- 
pointed superintendent  of  the  city  schools  of  Hastings,  and  after  acting  in 
that  capacity  for  a  year  he  took  up  the  study  of  law.  In  1872  he  came  to 
Coldwater  and  entered  the  law  office  of  the  late  Judge  N.  T.  Loveridge, 


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580  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

with  whom  he  fonned  a  partnership  in  November,  1873.  This  relationship 
was  continued  lor  fifteen  years,  and  for  two  or  three  years  Mr.  Barlow  was 
a  partner  of  H.  C.  Loveridge,  since  which  time  he  has  been  alone.  His 
legal  business  has  constantly  grown  in  volume  and  importance  and  men- 
tion of  the  bar  of  Branch  county  at  once  suggests  Mr.  Barlow  as  one  of  its 
leading  members. 

Mr.  Barlow  was  married,  in  1874,  at  Coldwater.  to  Miss  Emma 
Etheridge,  who  died  leaving  two  sons,  Nathan  and  Burt  E.  The  former 
is  a  graduate  of  the  Northwestern  University,  and  having  completed  liter- 
ary and  medical  courses  in  the  University  of  Michigan  Js  now  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession  in  Stronghurst,  Illinois.  Burt  E.  pur- 
sued a  literary  course  in  and  is  a  law  graduate  of  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan, and  is  now  practicing  with  his  father,  the  firm  of  Barlow  &  Barlow 
being  a  prominent  one  at  the  Coldw"ater  bar. 

JOHN  DUNLAP. 

Jolm  Dunlap,  an  intelligent,  enterprising  and  influential  farmer,  is  liv- 
ing in  California  township.  It  was  in  this  township  that  he  was  born  on 
the  5th  of  November,  1850.  His  father,  William  Dunlap,  was  a  native  of 
Ireland,  bom  in  county  Antrim,  and  in  that  county  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Jane  Adams,  a  native  of  the  same  county.  Soon  after  his  marriage  he 
came  to  the  United  States,  locating  first  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania, 
whence  he  afterward  made  his  way  into  the  interior  of  the  country,  settling 
first  in  Lenawee  county,  Michigan,  in  1830.  After  six  years  there  passed 
he  removed  to  Branch  county  in  1836,  becoming  a  pioneer  resident  of  this 
locality,  W'ho  aided  in  reclaming  a  wild  district  for  the  purposes  of  culti- 
vation. He  secured  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  from  the  govern- 
ment which  was  mostly  unimproved.  He  has  in  his  possession  two  of 
the  parchment  deeds  executed  by  President  Andrew  Jackson,  and 
which  are  valuable  souvenirs.  This  property  was  situated  on  sec- 
tions four  and  five,  California  township,  and  not  a  furrow  had  been  turned 
thereon,  but  he  at  once  began  the  work  of  development  and  in  the  course 
of  years  placed  the  entire  tract  under  the  plow  and  gathered  from  the  cul- 
tivation of  his  fields  bounteous  harvests.  He  made  his  home  ever  after- 
ward upon  this  farm,  both  he  and  his  wife  dying  here.  Theirs  were  the 
usual  experiences  of  pioneer  life,  a  home  remote  from  other  settlers,  land 
that  was  uncleared  and  uncultivated  demanding  arduous  labor  in  its  de- 
velopment ;  few  comforts  in  the  house,  either  in  the  way  of  furnishings  or 
in  supphes  for  the  larder,  and  yet  there  was  much  happiness  in  that  pioneer 
existence.  At  no  time  has  the  feeling  of  hospitality  been  surpassed  and 
the  early  settlers  were  always  willing  to  help  one  another  in  their  work. 
Mr.  Dunlap  was  for  several  years  the  owner  of  the  only  wagon  in  the  town- 
ship and  this  was  in  great  demand  by  the  other  pioneers.  In  his  family 
were  five  sons  and  one  daughter,  all  of  whom  reached  years  of  maturity, 
namely:  Thomas,  who  is  now  living  in  Algansee;  William,  who  was  a 
surveyor  and  died  in  the  state  of  California;  Matilda,  who'  died  in  this 
county;  Alexander  and  James,  who  died  in  California  township;  and  John, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  581 

of  this  review.  Tlie  death  of  the  father  occurred  in  June,  1884,  after  a 
residence  of  more  than  a  half  century  in  Michigan.  His  wife  survived  him 
until  December  24,  1887.  Both  were  devout  Presbyterians  in  religious 
faith  and  at  all  times  were  true  and  loyal  to  the  church,  giving  their  aid 
and  influence  for  the  moral  development  of  the  community.  Mr.  Dunlap 
was  a  Democrat  in  his  jKilitical  views,  but  without  aspiration  for  office. 
He  concentrated  his  attention  and  energies  upon  his  business  affairs  and 
he  assisted  all  of  his  sons  in  securing  farms,  buying  land  and  helping  them 
to  clear  their  fields. 

John  Dunlap,  the  youngest  of  his  father's  family,  was  reared  upon 
the  old  homestead  farm  and  remained  with  his  parents  up  to  the  time  of  his 
marriage,  which  was  celebrated  on  the  22nd  of  October,  1874,  Miss  Ellen 
Vance  becoming  his  wife.  She  was  born  in  Maryland,  September  22,  1856, 
and  when  eight  years  of  age  was  brought  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  by 
her  parents.  Her  father,  Alexander  Vance,  was  born  in  Ireland,  November 
28,  1833,  and  was  married  there  in  1853,  when  twenty  years  of  age,  to 
Mary  Barnhill.  Soon  afterward  he  came  to  America  with  his  wife,  and 
for  three  years  they  resided  in  Brooklyn,  where  he  was  employed  as  conductor 
on  a  street  car.  They  then  removed  to  Baltimore,  where  for  ten  years  he 
managed  a  six  hundred  acre  farm,  but  attracted  by  the  possibilities  and 
opportunities  of  the  middle  west,  he  came  to  Branch  county  in  1864  and 
purchased  eighty  acres,  to  which  he  afterward  added  fifty  acres.  The  oriji- 
inal  tract  was  cleared,  it  being  one  of  the  first  farms  that  was  settled  in  this 
township.  He  gave  his  further  attention  to  the  development  of  the  prop- 
erty and  became  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  agriculturists  of  the  com- 
munity. In  his  family  were  ten  children,  of  whom  six  are  now  living,  Mrs. 
Ellen  Dunlap  being  the  fifth  in  order  of  birth.  The  mother  departed  this 
life  in  1880  and  Mr.  Vance  is  now  living  among  his  children.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church,  to  which  his  wife  also  belonged. 

Mr.  Dunlap  first  became  the  owner  of  real  estate  in  1872.  His  orig- 
inal farm  comprised  eighty  acres,  to  which  he  afterward  added  until  within 
the  boundaries  of  his  place  are  now  comprised  one  hundred  and  tiventy 
acres.  He  is  an  intelligent  agricuHurist,  carefully  directing  his  labors  so 
that  the  farm  produces  excellent  crops.  In  ail  of  his  work  he  is  practical, 
and  a  glance  at  his  place  indicates  the  careful  supervision  of  a  painstaking 
owner  who  thoroughly  understands  .his  work. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dunlap  have  been  born  three  daughters  and  one 
son:  Jane,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twelve  years;  Ella,  the  wife  of  Clarence 
Goodwin,  a  resident  of  California  township;  Belle  and  James,  at  home, 
Mrs.  Dunlap  is  a  member  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Dunlap 
belongs  to  Greenleaf  Lodge,  No.  349,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  also  to  the  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen.  His  political  allegiance  was  originally  given  to 
the  Democracy,  but  at  the  time  of  the  McKinley  campaign  he  became  an  advo- 
cate of  Republican  principles  and  has  since  supported  the  party.  He  served 
as  supervisor  for  two  years,  has  been  township  treasurer  for  two  years, 
highway  commissioner  for  two  years  and  moderator  of  the  school  district 


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582  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

for  several  years.  He  is  a  prominent  man  of  the  township  and  uses  his  in- 
fluence for  the  betterment  of  the  county,  belonging  to  that  class  of  citizens 
who  always  uphold  the  legal  and  political  status  of  every  community. 

GEORGE  A.  BURTON. 

George  A.  Burton,  who  for  eighteen  years  has  efficiently  served  as 
superintendent  of  Oak  Grove  cemetery  in  Coldwater,  was  born  near  Batavia, 
New  York,  November  2,  1852,  a  son  of  George  and  Amanda  (Holbrook) 
Burton.  His  father  was  born  in  Massachusetts,  April  3,  1791,  eight  years 
before  George  M'^ashington  died,  and  was  married  twice,  having  five  children 
by  the  first  marriage,  although  only  two  came  to  Michigan:  Nathan  A., 
who  died  in  Kalamazoo'  in  1S92;  and  Mrs.  Potter,  who  died  in  Reading  in 
1899.  Mr,  Burton  of  this  review  was  the  only  child  of  the  second  mar- 
riage. The  father  died  May  24,  1863,  in  Oakfield,  New  York.  The  mother, 
who  was  born  in  Genesee  county.  New  York,  October  23,  1820,  came  to 
Michigan  with  her  son,  G.  A.  Burton,  after  the  death  of  her  husband  and 
spent  her  remaining  days  in  Branch  county,  passing  away  July  i,   1877. 

George  A.  Burton  was  a  lad  of  thirteen  years  when  he  accompanied 
his  mother  to  this  state  and  after  attaining  his  majority  he  began  farming 
on  his  own  account,  living  in  Butler  township  for  nine  years.  He  then 
left  this  county  and  spent  the  succeeding  year  in  Petoskey,  Michigan,  after 
which  he  took  up  his  abode  in  Coldwater  township,  where  he  devoted  his 
time  and  energies  to  general  agricultural  pursuits  until  he  assumed  his  present 
position  as  superintendent  of  the  Oak  Grove  cemetery.  This  is  one  of  the 
finest  cemeteries  in  southern  Michigan  and  its  beauty,  artistic  arrangement 
and  excellent  condition  are  largely  due  to  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Burton.  Al- 
though he  has  never  made  a  systematic  study  of  landscape  gardening,  he  has 
natural  ability  in  that  direction  and  has  greatly  adorned  the  cemetery  through 
his  care  of  flowers,  grass  and  trees,  until  its  beauty  is  noted  by  all. 

On  the  15th  of  December,  1874,  Mr.  Burton  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Mary  J.  Holmes,  who  was  bom  in  Kent  county,  Canada,  February 
iy,  1855,  and  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  Canada  and  Homer,  Michigan. 
Her  father,  Irwin  Holmes,  and  her  mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Elspeth  Grant,  were  both  natives  of  Canada,  and  the  latter  died  when  their 
daughter  was  only  four  years  of  age,  while  Dr.  Holmes  passed  away  in  the 
spring  of  1898.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burton  have  been  born  two  children: 
Luella  M.  Burton,  has  been  provided  with  liberal  educational  advantages  and 
for  the  past  twoi  years  has  acted  as  state  factory  inspector.  She  has  be- 
come known  throughout  the  United  States  for  her  beneficent  work  in  this 
regard,  doing  much  for  the  amelioration  of  the  hard  conditions  under  which 
the  factory  girls  have  labored.  Lyman  D.  Burton,  the  son,  was  reared  upon 
the  old  homestead  and  is  one  of  the  prosperous  young  farmers  of  the 
county.  He  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Hoffert,  and  with  their  adopted  child 
they  reside  upon  the  Burton  farm  in  Coldwater  township.  Mrs.  Mary 
Burton  has  a  brother,  Lawrence  Holmes,  of  Homer,  Michigan,  and  a  sister, 
Mrs.  Maggie  Irish,  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri.     The  husband  of  Mrs.  Irish  is 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  5S3 

superintendent  of  Shaw's  Botanical  Gardens  at  St.  Louis,  and  has  held  that 
position  a  number  O'f  years. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burton  reside  in  a  pleasant  home  in  the  cemetery  grounds. 
His  long  retention  in  his  present  position  is  evidence  of  his  worth.  He 
has  a  wide  and  favorable  acquaintance  throughout  the  county  to  which  he 
come  in  his  boyhood  days  and  where  he  has  now  made  his  home  for  about 
forty  years.  As  to  the  religious  faith  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burton,  they  are 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  Coldwater.  They  are  both 
devotees  of  the  principles  laid  down  in  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows' fraternity,  he  being  a  member  of  the  Subordinate  Lodge  No.  31,  the 
Encampment  No.  86,  and  Canton  Milnes  No.  21,  passing  all  the  chairs.  Mrs. 
Burton  and  her  daughter  are  members  of  the  Rebekahs.  they  having  also 
passed  all  the  chairs,  and  father,  mother  and  daughter  have  been  del- 
egates to  the  Grand  Lodge  at  various  times.  Mrs.  Burton  at  the  present 
writing  is  deputy  of  the  order.  Mr.  Burton  is  a  stanch  Republican  in  his 
political  views.  They  have  an  old  violin  which  is  over  a  century  old,  hav- 
ing been  passed  down  from  generation  to  generation,  while  also  in  their 
home  is  one  of  the  old  coverlets  as  a  souvenir,  which  was  woven  by  some 
of  their  early  progenitors. 

IRA  KELLSY. 

Ira  Kellsy,  whose  home  is  on  section  seven,  Ovid  township,  where  he 
owns  and  cultivates  a  farm,  belongs  to  that  class  of  valued  and  represent- 
ative citizens  that  the  Empire  state  has  furnished  to  Branch  county.  His 
birth  occurred  in  Castile,  Wyoming  county,  on  the  7th  of  November,  1823, 
and  he  has  therefore  passed  the  eighty-second  milestone  on  life's  journey. 
His  father,  Ransom  Kellsy,  was  a  farmer  by  occupation  and  became  one 
of  the  early  residents  of  Ovid  township.  His  birth  occurred  in  Washing- 
ton county.  New  York,  where  he  was  reared  and  married.  He  wedded 
Miss  Tina  De  Groaff.  who  also  spent  her  childhood  in  the  Empire  state. 
They  were  the  parents  of  ten  children,  five  sons  and  five  daughters,  Ira 
Kellsy  being  the  second  in  order  -of  birth.  The  father  continued  to  make 
his  home  in  New  Y'ork  until  called  to  his  final  rest,  and  he  cast  his  ballot 
for  the  men  and  measures  of  the  Democratic  party. 

Ira  Kellsy  was  reared  in  the  state  of  his  nativity  and  came  to  Branch 
county  in  1848,  when  a  young  man  of  twenty-five  years,  for  he  believed 
that  he  might  enjoy  better  business  opportunities  and  more  rapidly  acquire 
a  competence  in  this  new  but  growing  section  of  the  country.  He  bought 
forty  acres  of  land  in  Ovid  township  and  carried  on  farming  for  four  years, 
after  which  he  returned  to  New  York.  Later  he  went  to  Illinois,  whence 
he  afterward  came  to  Branch  county  and  located  upon  the  farm  which  is 
now  his  home  in  Ovid  township.  His  entire  life  has  been  devoted  to  gen- 
eral agricultural  pursuits  and  he  has  a  well  improved  property  that  an- 
nually returns  to  him  a  gratifying  income. 

In  February,  1866,  Mr.  Kellsy  was  married  to  Miss  Katherine  Lock- 
wood,  a  daughter  of  Uriah  Lockwood,  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Branch 
county,  who  came  from  New  York  to  Michigan  in   1836  and  altered  a 


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584  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

quarter  section  of  land  from  the  g-overnment.  He  and  his  sons  cleared  the 
farm  which  is  now  the  home  of  our  subject.  Unto  Uriah  and  Charity 
Lockwood  were  bom  ten  children,  five  sons  and  five  daughters,  most  of 
whom  were  reared  in  Branch  county.  In  his  later  years  Mr.  Lockwood 
divided  his  property  among  his  children.  He  was  a  Whig  in  his  political 
views  until  its  dissolution,  then  he  joined  the  ranks  of  the  Republican 
party.  He  was  well  known  and  highly  esteemed  throughout  the  commun- 
ity, and  his  death,  which  occurred  in  September,  1865,  was  deeply  regretted 
by  many  friends.  It  was  in  the  following  February  that  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Kellsy  were  married,  and  they  located  upon  what  had  been  her  father's 
farm,  Mr.  Kellsy  giving  his  time  and  labors  to  its  further  development 
and  improvement.  He  has  been  a  life-long  Republican,  unfaltering  in  his 
support  of  the  party,  yet  never  seeking  office  for  himself.  He  has  now 
passed  the  eighty-second  milestone  on  life's  journey  and  his  has  been  an 
honored  and  upright  career,  characterized  by  activity  in  business  and  re- 
liability in  all  trade  transactions,  so  that  he  receives  the  respect  and  con- 
fidence of  all  who  know  him. 

REVEREND  WILLIAM  T.  LOWRY. 

Reverend  William  T.  Lowry,  now  engaged  in  the  insurance  and  coal 
business  of  Coldwater,  has  been  identified  in  various  ways  with  the  ma- 
terial, intellectual  and  moral  progress  of  the  city,  and  his  labors  have  al- 
ways been  a  helpful  and  beneficial  factor.  His  birth  occurred  in  Monroe 
county.  New  York,  March  3,  1840.  His  father,  James  Lowry,  was  also 
a  native  of  the  same  county  and  there  spent  his  entire  life,  passing  away 
at  the  age  of  forty-eight  years.  He  was  of  English  lineage  and  always 
followed  the  occupation  of  farming  in  order  to  provide  for  his  family.  He 
married  Agnes  Richmond,  a  native  of  Scotland,  who  came  to  America 
when  a  young  lady.  William  T.  Lowry  is  their  only  son,  and  he  has  hut 
one  living  sister,  Margaret,  who  is  the  widow  of  C.  C.  Beardsley. 

Rev.  William  T.  I^owry  was  reared  in  Wyoming  county.  New  York, 
and  after  attending  the  common  schools  continued  his  education  in  Middle- 
bury  Academy.  He  was  at  one  time  a  fellow  student  of  Mr.  Folsom,  whose 
daughter,  Frances,  became  the  wife  of  Grover  Cleveland.  Later  Mr.  Lowry 
pursued  his  education  in  what  is  now  called  Colgate  University  of  New 
York,  and  was  graduated  from  that  institution.  He  entered  the  theological 
department  in  1866,  completing  his  course  in  1868,  after  which  he  entered 
upon  the  active  work  of  the  ministry,  locating  in  Minneapolis,  Minnesota. 
He  there  remained  for  three  years,  after  which  he  came  to  Coldwater, 
Michigan,  and  for  ten  years  was  a  representative  of  the  ministry  in  this 
city,  On  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  gro- 
cery business,  and  in  other  ways  he  has  been  closely  connected  with  the  ma- 
terial development  and  social,  intellectual  and  moral  progress  of  Cold- 
water.  For  two  years  he  was  superintendent  of  public  schools  and  through 
a  long  period  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  education,  during  which  time 
he  exercised  his  official  prerogatives  in  the  support  of  all  progressive  meas- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  585 

ures  for  the  cause  of  public  education.  He  is  now  engaged  in  the  insur- 
ance and  coal  business,  and  in  both  departments  of  activity  has  a  good 
patronage. 

Rev.  Lowry  has  been  a  life-long  RepubSican,  somewhat  active  in  the 
party,  which  he  has  supported  since  he  cast  his  first  presidential  ballot  for 
Abraham  Lincoln  in  i860.  He  was  supervisor  from  the  Third  ward  of 
CoMwater  for  about  six  years,  and  at  all  times  has  been  loyal  to  the  public 
trust  reposed  in  him,  enjoying  in  full  measure  the  confidence  and  regard 
of  those  with  whom  he  has  been  associated. 

EDWIN  KELLOW  PEARCE. 

Edwin  Kellow  Pearce,  a  leading  dry  goods  merchant  of  Quincy  whose 
prosperity  is  the  outcome  of  his  recognition  of  business  opportunities,  his 
unremitting  diligence  and  his  keen  sagacity,  is  a  native  of  Devonshire,  Eng- 
land, his  birth  having  there  occurred  June  i,  1861.  His  father,  Theoph- 
ilus  Pearce,  was  born  in  England,  was  a  farmer  by  occupation  and  de- 
parted this  life  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years.  He  married  Maria  Kel- 
low, also  a  native  of  England,  and  she  is  now  living  in  Devonshire  at  the 
advanced  age  of  eighty-four.  They  were  the  parents  of  fourteen  children, 
seven  sons  and  seven  daughters,  all  of  whom  have  married  and  reared 
families  of  their  own. 

Edwin  K,  Pearce  spent  the  days  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  in  England, 
acquiring  his  education  in  its  public  schools,  and  in  1885,  when  twenty- 
four  years  of  age,  came  to  the  United  States.  He  had  pre\'iously  served 
an  apprenticeship  to  the  dry  goods  trade  in  Plymouth,  England.  He  first 
located  in  Detroit,  where  he  entered  the  dry  goods  establishment  of  L.  A. 
Smith  &  Company  as  a  clerk,  continuing  with  that  house  for  seven  years, 
a  fact  which  indicates  his  faithful  service  and  his  efficiency.  On  the  ex- 
piration of  that  period  he  went  to  Plillsdale  and  secured  employment  in  the 
store  of  Boyle  &  Brown,  where  he  remained  for  six  years.  In  1898  he 
came  to  Quincy  and  in  connection  with  Mr.  Lyon,  of  Hillsdale,  purchased 
the  dry  goods  stock  of  J.  C.  Joiner,  the  firm  of  Pearce  &  Lyon  conducting 
the  business  for  three  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  Mr.  Pearce  purchased 
his  partner's  interest  and  has  since  been  alone.  He  carries  a  carefully 
selected  line  of  general  dry  goods,  cloaks  and  carpets  and  has  an  up  to  date 
establishment.  In  fact  his  store  would  be  a  credit  to  a  city  of  much  greater 
size  than  Quincy. 

Mr.  Pearce  was  married  to  Miss  Florence  Weaver,  a  daughter  of  J. 
C.  Weaver  of  Durand,  Illinois,  and  they  have  one  child,  Edwin  George, 
bom  in  1901.  Mrs.  Pearce  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  and 
Mr.  Pearce  of  the  Episcopal  church,  but  he  acts  as  leader  of  the  choir  in 
the  former.  His  political  views  uphold  Republican  principles,  as  he  has 
continuously  supported  that  party  since  age  gave  to  him  the  right  of  fran- 
chise. He  has  had  no  occasion  to  regret  his  determination  to  make 
America  his  home  and  enjoy  the  advantages  here  offered,  for  he  has  found 
good  opportimities  and  the  ready  reward  of  persistent  and  earnest  labor. 


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586  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

He  is  today  a  successful  man  by  reason  of  his  earnest  purpose,  honorable 
methods  and  close  apphcation,  and  is  now  a  representative  merchant  of 
Branch  county. 

GEORGE  EDGAR  BURDICK. 

Ahhough  this  is  essentially  the  age  of  "the  young  man,  when  we  see 
responsible  positions  well  and  capably  filled  by  men  who  are  still  in  their 
twenties  and  thirties,  nevertheless  it  is  seldom,  that  we  find  one  so  young  as 
our  subject  placed  in  so  important  a  position  as  he.  For  the  past  three 
years  he  has  been  superintendent  of  the  Branch  County  Infirmary  and  Hos- 
pital, and  that  he  performs  his  duties  in  a  highly  satisfactory  manner  is 
evidenced  by  his  retention  in  this  capacity. 

Mr,  George  Edgar  Burdick  was  born  in  Coldwater  township,  October  12, 
1870,  and  his  entire  life  has  been  passed  in  Branch  county  with  the  exception 
of  six  years,  when  he  was  engaged  in  the  drug  business  at  Marcellus,  Michi- 
gan. He  is  descended  from  two  of  the  highly  respected  and  oldest  families  of 
this  portion  of  Michigan,  the  Burdicks  and  the  Howes,  his  father  being  James 
Burdick.  who  was  born  in  Tioga  county.  New  York,  December  18,  1839, 
and  his  mother  being  Minnie  Howe,  who  was  born  in  Kirkland,  Ohio,  October 
24,  T843, 

James  Burdick's  father  was  also  named  James  Burdick,  and  his  mother 
was  Mary  Lewis.  They  were  both  natives  of  the  state  of  Rhode  Island  and 
they  were  married  in  New  York  state,  being  the  parents  of  twelve  children, 
only  two  of  whom  are  now  living — James,  the  father  of  our  subject,  and 
Mrs.  Betsy  Harrison,  of  Climax,  Michigan.  The  father  died  in  the  state 
of  New  York,  while  the  mother,  Mary  Lewis  Burdick,  died  in  Calhoun  county. 
Our  subject's  father.  James  Burdick,  was  but  five  years  of  age  when  he 
was  brought  to  Michigan  by  his  parents,  their  home  being  first  in  Calhoun 
county,  although  they  afterward  removed  to  Branch  county,  where  James 
Burdick  still  resides,  he  being  one  of  the  highly  esteemed  agriculturists  of 
California  township.  James  Burdick  has  been  a  life-long  Republican  and  has 
upon  many  occasions  been  called  upon  to  fill  positions  of  public  trust  and 
responsibihty,  being  township  treasurer  for  several  terms,  justice  of  the 
peace  for  an  extended  period,  highway  commissioner  for  several  years,  and 
holding  other  local  offices. 

James  Burdick  and  Minnie  Howe  Burdick  are  the  parents  of  six  chil- 
dren, all  of  whom  are  living,  as  follows:  Mrs.  Lena  Short  and  Carrie 
Parker,  of  Coldwater;  Hiram  Burdick,  of  Cafifornia  township;  George  E-, 
our  subject:  Arthur  Burdick,  of  Bloomington,  Illinois;  and  Addie  Burdick, 
of  Coldwater.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burdick  are  still  living  on  their  comfortable 
farm  home  in  California  township,  where  they  possess  the  high  regard  and 
esteem  of  a  large  circle  of  friends. 

Our  subject's  maternal  ancestors,  the  Howes,  were  also  early  pioneers  of 
Michigan.  His  maternal  grandfather  was  Hiram  Howe,  who  married 
Caroline  Harrison,  who  was  descended  from  the  same  branch  of  the  Har- 
ri,son  family  as  the  late  lamented  President  Harrison.    They  were  married  in 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  587 

Ohio  and  reared  a  family  of  twelve  children,  only  two  of  whom  are  now 
living' — Minnie  Howe  Burdick.  mother  of  our  subject,  and  Frances  Howe 
Gardner,  of  Coldwater.  The  Howes  and  Harrisons  were  both  onginaliy  from 
Connecticut,  and  they  located  in  Ohio  in  an  early  day.  afterward  coming  to 
Michigan  in  1854  and  locating  in  Athens,  Calhoun  county,  where  they  lived 
for  twelve  years,  then  removing  to  Coldwater  and  Branch  county,  where  the 
maternal  grandfather  and  grandmother  of  our  subject  passed  the  remainder 
of  their  lives. 

Our  subject,  George  E.  Burdick,  was  reared  upon  the  home  farm, 
securing  meanwhile  a  good  common  school  education,  which  was  supple- 
mented with  a  course  of  study  at  the  Indiana  State  Normal  School  at  Ang-ola, 
Indiana,  where  he  completed  the  commercial  course  in  1892.  Since  attain- 
ing manhood  he  has  been  known  as  a  successful  farmer  and  has  also  been 
engaged  in  mercantile  lines  and  various  other  enterprises.  That  he  has  a 
natural  aptitude  for  his  present  position  is  not  strange  when  we  consider  the 
fact  that  his,  ancestors,  the  Howes,  as  well  as  many  present  day  members  of 
this  family,  have  long  been  known  in  the  eastern  states  as  prominent  in- 
stitution people,  being  at  ihe  head  of  reformatories  and  other  establishments 
of  this  character  there.  During  the  incumbency  of  his  brother-in-law,  the 
late  A.  T.  Short,  as  superintendent  of  the  Branch  county  farm,  he  spent 
considerable  time  as  an  assistant  here,  and  this,  together  with  his  eminent 
fitness  for  the  position,  led  to  his  selection  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the 
death  of  Mr.  Short.  That  the  seiection  was  a  wise  one  has  been  clearly 
demonstrated  during  his  administration  of  over  two  years.  The  position  is 
a  pecuHar  one.  requiring  tact  and  executive  ability,  and  Mr.  Burdick  has 
capably  met  every  demand  therein.  The  farm  is  a  large  one  and  the  insti- 
tution has  constantly  as  inmates  from  thirty-five  to  forty-five  dependents 
and  assistants.  Mr.  Burdick  is  a  Republican,  poHtically,  although  never 
an  office  holder  until  the  present  time,  and  the  tax-payers  of  the  county,  as 
well  as  the  county  superintendent  of  the  poor,  consider  him  the  right  man 
for  the  place. 

Mr.  Burdick  was  married  May  24,  1905.  to  Miss  Cora  May  Blackman, 
of  Quincy,  Michigan,  who  is  the  daughter  of  Dr.  Edson  Blackman.  of  that 
place,  appropriate  biographical  mention  of  whom  and  family  may  be  found 
elsewhere  in  this  volume.  Mrs.  Burdick  was  reared  in  Quincy  and  she 
graduated  from  the  high  .school  of  that  place  in  the  class  of  1893,  afterward 
filling-  a  responsible  position  in  the  Quincy  postoffice  for  two  years  under 
Postmaster  McKay.  Mrs.  Burdick  has  since  her  marriage  been  matron  of 
the  Branch  county  poor  institution,  and  she  shares  with  her  husband  the 
duties  and  cares  of  the  same.  It  may  be  readily  seen  that  it  is  no  ordinary 
task  to  keep  things  running  smoothly  and  in  order  in  an  establishment  of 
this  character,  but  Mrs.  Burdick  has  filled  all  requirements  of  her  position  in 
the  most  admirable  manner  and  she  possesses  the  high  regard  of  all  the 
inmates,  besides  winning  the  approval  of  the  superintendents  who  have  an 
oversiglit  here. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


GEORGE  CARTER. 

Geoi-ge  Carter,  whose  property  interests  include  two  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  of  rich  farming  land  in  Bethel  township,  and  who  is  also  the  owner  of 
yne  of  the  beautiful  residences  of  Bronson,  was  bom  in  Bethel  township,  Sep- 
tember g,  1861.  His  father,  John  N.  Carter,  came  from  Schoharie  county, 
New  York,  to  Michigan  in  1S43.  He  was  born  in  May,  1817,  and  having 
arrived  at  years  of  maturity,  wedded  Mary  Maples  in  Lenawee  county,  a 
daughter  of  Christopher  Maples,  of  New  York.  lie  was  a  carpenter  by  trade 
and  followed  building  operations  in  the  Empire  state,  but  attracted  by  the 
possibilities  of  the  new  and  growing  west  he  came  to  Michigan  in  1843,  first 
settling  in  Lenawee  county,  near  Hudson,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade.  In 
1843  he  removed  to  Bethel  township,  Branch  county,  where  he  invested  in 
eighty  acres  of  land  on  section  sixteen.  SettHng  on  this  place,  he  cleared 
away  the  timber  and  built  a  log  house,  continuing  the  work  of  cultivating  and 
improving  his  farm  until  he  had  made  it  a  good  property.  Later  he  bought 
two  hundred  and  twenty  acres  on  section  fourteen.  This  he  also  cleared  and 
placed  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  making  it  his  home  until  1868,  when 
he  traded  that  farm  for  a  place  in  Hillsdale  county,  Michigan.  He  had  in 
1867  bought  eighty  acres  of  land  on  section  fifteen.  Bethel  township.  After 
trading  his  home  property  he  removed  to  Hillsdale  county,  but  remained  there 
for  only  one  month,  .when,  desiring  to  return  to  Branch  county,  he  traded  his 
farm  for  eighty  acres  on  section  seventeen,  Bethel  township.  Upon  the  latter 
farm  he  resided  until  1887,  in  which  year  he  removed  to  a  farm  on  section 
seven  of  the  same  township,  where  he  owned  one  hundred  acres  of  land,  and 
in  addition  to  this  he  had  eighty  acres  in  Batavia  township.  He  carried  on 
general  farming,  raising  good  crops  and  also  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs.  He 
built  several  homes  and  other  buildings  on  the  various  farms  which  he  owned 
and  was  an  energetic,  enterprising  and  wide-awake  business  man..  At  length 
he  distributed  his  land  among  his  children,  dividing  his  property  prior  to  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  February,  1891.  His  widow  survived  him  until 
1894,  when  she,  too,  passed  away.  They  were  the  parents  of  eight  children : 
Sarah,  who  died  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years;  Charles,  now  living  in  Hills- 
dale county;  Eliza,  the  wife  of  Gilford  Barnes,  ot  Bethel  township;  Hervey, 
who  made  his  home  in  Bethel  township,  where  he  died  in  August,  1904;  John, 
who  is  living  in  Batavia  township;  Adelia,  the  wife  of  L  Fox,  of  Bethel 
township.  Michigan;  Emma,  the  wife  of  Fred  Hoskins,  who  is  living  in 
Bethel  township ;  and  George,  who  completes  the  family. 

In  his  youth  George  Carter  attended  the  district  schools  and  acquired  a 
good  practical  education.  He  was  trained  to  farm  work  under  the  direction 
of  his  father,  whom  he  accompanied  on  his  various  removals,  so  that  he  ^\as 
well  qualified  to  undertalic  the  care  of  his  farm  when  his  father  gave  to  him  a 
tract  of  land  of  eighty  acres  on  section  seventeen,  Bethel  township.  He  re- 
ceived this  gift  in  1887,  in  which  year  he  was  married  to  Miss  Dora  Schaff- 
master,  the  only  daughter  of  Christopher  Schaffmaster,  of  this  county.  The 
young  couple  began  their  domestic  life  on  the  farm  which  Mr.  Carter  hat! 
received  from  his  father,  and  here  they  have  since  lived.     They  have  become 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  589 

ihe  parents  of  three  daughters :  May,  Grace  and  Anabel,  the  sunbeam  o£  the 
family  circJe.  May  is  now  a  student  in  the  Bronson  public  schools,  being  now 
in  the  eighth  grade,  and  she  has  taken  instrumental  music.  Grace  Rolene  is 
in  the  second  grade  of  the  Bronson  schools.  Mrs.  Carter  was  born  April  23, 
1864,  and  was  reared  and  educated  in  the  Bronson  public  schools. 

As  the  years  have  passed,  Mr,  Carter  has  added  to  his  property,  purchas- 
ing eighty  acres  of  land  on  section  eighteen' and  afterward  an  additional  tract 
of  forty  acres  on  the  same  section,  which,  in  addition  to  twenty  acres  on  sec- 
tion seven,  makes  his  realty  holdings  in  land  of  two  hundred  and  twenty 
acres.  He  has  a  fine  home  on  his  place,  and  his  outbuildings  are  commodious 
and  substantial,  furnishing  ample  shelter  for  grain  and  stock,  In  1902  he 
built  the  largest  bam  in  Bethel  township,  it  being  thirty-two  by  one  hundred 
feet,  with  a  ten-foot  basement.  His  farm  is  well  equipped  with  the  latest  im- 
proved machinery,  and  everything  on  the  place  indicates  the  supervision  of  a 
progressive  and  painstaking  owner,  who  keeps  thoroughly  in  touch  with 
progress  in  agricultural  lines.  In  1905  he  purchased  the  residence  of  Henry 
Powers  in  Bronson.  He  carries  on  general  fanning,  feeding  all  his  grain,  and 
annually  sells  a  large  amount  of  stock.  He  has  been  very  successful  in  his 
business  because  he  is  well  equipped  by  experience  and  energy  for  his  work, 
and  a  gratifying  measure  of  pros^jerity  is  attending  his  efforts.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Branch  County  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company.  In  his  political 
views  he  is  independent.  For  eleven  years  he  has  served  on  the  school  board, 
doing  effective  service  for  the  cause  of  education  through  the  employment  of 
competent  teachers,  and  his  support  of  progressive  measures  in  behalf  of  the 
educational  system.  In  all  of  his  business  dealings  he  is  found  reliable,  and 
his  life  record  proves  the  force  and  value  of  industry  and  perseverance  as 
factors  in  winning  success. 

L.  D.  HALSTED, 

[Since  this  sketch  was  compiled  and  corrected.  Mr.  Halsted  has  passed 
awav,  in  the  spring  of  1906.] 

The  name  of  L.  D.  Halsted  is  closely  interwoven  with  social  develop- 
ment in  Coldwater.  of  which  city  he  has  been  a  resident  for  sixty-nine  years, 
honored  and  respected  by  young  and  old,  rich  and  poor.  No  record  of  this 
city  would  be  complete  without  mention  of  his  life.  He  was  bom  in  Tomp- 
kins county.  New  York,  July  11,  1820,  and  was  a  son  of  Robert  H,  and 
Catharine  (Stout)  Halsted,  the  former  of  English  lineage  and  the  latter  of 
Holland  descent.  The  father  was  bom  in  the  Empire  state  and  by  occupa- 
tion was  a  tanner  and  furrier.  He  married  Miss  Stout,  3  native  of  Tompkms 
countv.  New  York,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  five  children.  About  1823 
the  father  moved  with  his  family  to  Waterloo,  New  York,  and  there  both 
parents  died. 

After  the  mother's  death,  which  occurred  when  he  was  ten  years  of  age, 
L.  D.  Halsted  went  to  Havana,  New  York,  where  he  remained  until  sixteen 
years  of  age,  during  which  period  he  learned  the  tailor's  trade.  He  then 
came  to  Coldwater,  Michigan,  in  1836,  finding  here  a  small  village  contain- 
ing only  se\'enteen  houses,  which  were  scattered  over  much  of  what  is  today 


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590  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Chicago  street.  On  reaching  Detroit  on  the  journey  west\vard  Mr.  Halsted 
arranged  with  a  merchant  of  Branch  county,  Michigan,  to  ride  with  him  to 
Coldwater,  and  made  the  trip  seated  upon  a  barrel  of  sah.  Because  of  the 
bad  roads  he  was  obliged  to  walk  much  of  the  way.  He  carried  with  him 
a  little  bundle,  which  contained  his  clothing,  a  thimble,  about  a  dozen  needles 
and  one  dollar  in  money  tied  up  in  a  bandanna  handkerchief,  but  on  the  way 
the  bundle  was  lost  from  the  wagon,  so  that  he  reached  his  destination  with- 
out capita]  or  clothing,  save  that  which  he  wore.  He  at  once  solicited  work, 
however,  and  in  due  course  of  time  developed  a  good  business.  After  about 
six  months  he  made  arrangements  to  purchase  a  lot,  for  which  he  agreed 
to  pay  one  hundred  dollars^  but  at  no  one  time  was  he  able  to  pay  more  than 
five  dollars.  The  unsettled  condition  of  the  city  may  be  indicated  by  the  fact 
that  he  was  offered  a  lot  by  James  Hanchett,  who  then  owned  a  bviilding  ad- 
joining the  lot  where  Kerr  Brothers'  hardware  store  now  stands,  but  Mr. 
Halsted  would  not  accept  the  offered  gift  because  he  deemed  the  lot  too  far 
from  the  business  district.  He  made  it  a  rule  of  his  early  manhood  to  save 
.something  each  year  from  his  earnings,  and  in  1844  he  was  enabled  to  add 
a  stock  of  ready-made  clothing  to  the  little  tailor  shop.  For  many  years 
thereafter  he  was  proprietor  of  a  clothing  store  and  eventually  he  purchased  a 
farm,  which  he  operated  for  a  year.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  however,  he  was 
satisfied  with  his  labors  as  an  agriculturist  and  returned  to  the  clothing  busi- 
ness, in  which  he  continued  until  he  sold  out  about  1893  and  retired  from 
active  business  life. 

Early  in  the  '60s  George  McNeil  came  to  Coldwater  from  Detroit.  He 
was  an  experienced  tobacco  manufacturer  and  formed  a  partnership  with  Mr. 
Halsted  in  that  business.  They  rented  a  three-story  building  and  began  the 
manufacture  of  fine  cut  and  smoking  tobacco  and  cigars,  this  being  the  pioneer 
enterprise  of  the  kind  in  Coldwater.  The  firm  enjoyed  a  large  retail  trade 
and  also  soon  secured  a  good  wholesale  patronage.  In  fact,  their  business 
grew  so  rapidly  that  they  were  obliged  to  employ  two  forces  of  men  and'  work 
night  and  day.  Mr.  Halsted  was  appointed  government  inspector  of  cigars 
and  stamp  agent.  All  cigars  made  in  Branch,  St.  Joseph,  Calhoun  and  Hills- 
dale counties  had  to  be  brought  here  and  inspected  by  him.  He  attached  gov- 
ernment stamps  and  appraised  their  value,  but  after  a  time  Mr.  Halsted  felt 
that  his  increased  business  duties  were  too  much  for  his  health  and  disposed 
of  his  interest  in  the  cigar  and  tobacco  factory.  This  occurred  about  the  time 
of  the  close  of  the  war,  and  it  was  then  that  he  removed  to  his  farm  in  Quincy 
township.  There  he  raised  from  one  hundred  to  three  hundred  bushels  of 
cranberries  each  year,  which  he  took  to  the  Chicago  and  Cincinnati  markets, 
receiving  seventy-five  cents  per  bushel.  Following  his  retirement  from  the 
clothing  store  Mr.  Halsted  devoted  some  attention  to  real  estate  operations 
and  was  soon  the  owner  of  more  houses  than  any  other  one  man  in  Coldwater. 
The  income  from  these  supplies  him  with  all  the  comforts  and  many  of  the 
luxuries  of  life. 

On  the  8th  of  March,  1843.  Mr.  Halsted  was  married  to  Miss  Laura  -A.. 
Lake,  who  died  September  24,  1857.  In  December,  1858,  Mr.  Halsted  wed- 
ded Elizabeth  Marsh,  the  widow  of  Homer  A.  Loomis  and  a  daughter  of 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  591 

Emerson  and  Maria  (Dickenson)  Marsh.  Mrs.  Halsted  was  born  in  Massa- 
cliusetts,  January  17,  1830,  and  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  when  eight 
years  o£  age.  She  has  since  Jived  in  this  county.  By  her  first  marriage  she 
had  two  children,  of  whom  one  is  Hving,  Ella,  now  the  widow  of  W.  R.  Rus- 
sell of  Washington,  D.  C.  By  the  second  marriage  there  is  also  a  daughter, 
Laura  M.,  now  the  wife  of  T.  W.  Dunn,  of  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Halsted  are  prominent  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  his 
life  has  been  in  entire  harmony  with  his  professions.  He  has  never  used  to- 
bacco or  liquor  in  any  form,  and  in  all  of  his  business  dealings  has  been  thor- 
oughly reliable  and  honorable.  His  political  allegiance  has  been  given  to  the 
Republican  party  since  its  organization  and  he  is  today  the  oldest  voter  of 
Coldwater.  He  has  never  sought  or  desired  ofhce ;  in  fact,  has  constantly  re- 
fused positions  of  political  preferment.  He  was,  however,  trustee  of  the 
church  for  twenty-five  years,  and  his  wife  was  a  member  of  the  church 
choir  for  thirty-four  years.  He  has  been  a  resident  of  Coldwater  for 
almost  the  psalmist's  allotted  span  of  life,  and  throughout  the  entire  ]>eriod 
he  has  commanded  the  unqualified  respect  and  regard  of  those  with  whom  he 
has  been  associated.  His  labors  have  Iwen  of  great  and  permanent  benefit  to 
Coldwater,  as  he  has  contributed  to  its  commercial  prosperity  and  has  been 
a  co-operant  factor  in  many  measures  instituted  for  the  general  good.  Old 
age  does  not  necessarily  indicate  helplessness  nor  want  of  occupation.  There 
is  an  old  age  which  grows  stronger  mentally  and  spiritually  as  the  years  pass 
by.  giving  out  of  its  ricli  stores  of  wisdom  and  experience.  Such  has  been 
the  career  of  Mr.  Halsted— an  inspiration  to  the  old  and  to  the  young^an 
example  well  worthy  of  emulation. 

BENJAMIN  BERNARD  GORMAN. 

Benjamin  Bernard  Gorman,  whose  active  business  life  has  brought  him 
into  close  connection  with  interests  bearing  upon  the  welfare  and  progress  of 
the  city  of  Coldwater,  is  now  serving  as  postmaster.  He  is  a  native  son  of 
Branch  county,  having  been  horn  in  Bethel  township,  April  27,  1854,  his 
parents  being  Peter  A.  and  Sarah  Jane  (Palmer)  Gorman,  the  former  a 
native  of  New  York  city  and  the  latter  of  Mercer  county,  Pennsylvania.  They 
were  married  in  the  Keystone  state  and  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  in 
1851,  spending  their  remaining  days  here.  Mr.  Gorman  was  the  first  in  his 
tow-nship  and  one  of  the  first  in  the  county  to  enlist  for  service  in  the  Civil 
war.  joining  the  army  in  response  to  the  first  call  for  three-months  troops. 
While  in  the  army  he  contracted  a  heavy  cold,  which  eventually  terminated 
his  life.  He  was  only  six  weeks  in  the  army  when  he  became  ill.  and  never 
recovered  his  health,  living  less  than  a  year  thereafter.  He  followed  tlie  occu- 
pation of  farming  and  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-two  years.  His  wife's  death 
occurred  when  she  was  about  sixty-seven  years  of  age,  and  of  their  two  sons. 
Edward  Winfield  Gorman  died  in  this  county  July  14,  1897.  Following  the 
death  of  her  first  husband  Mrs.  Gorman  became  the  wife  of  Eli  Baldwin,  and 
they  had  one  son.  Dr.  William  H.  Baldwin,  now  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
medicine  in  Quincy,  Michigan. 

Benjamin  B.  Gorman  was  reared  u^xin  a  farm  in  his  native  county,  and 


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502  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Iiaving  acquired  his  preliminary  education  in  die  district  schools  he  spent  two 
years  as  a  student  in  the  public  schools  of  Bronson,  and  one  in  Butler,  Indiana, 
and  he  taught  for  two  winters  in  the  district  schools  of  Bethel  township. 
Branch  county,  tlius  entering  the  field  of  active  business  life.  He  was  after- 
ward called  to  the  office  of  town  clerk,  in  which  capacity  he  served  for  two 
years,  wliile  for  five  years  he  was  supervisor.  In  the  fall  of  i88S  he  was 
elected  county  treasurer  and  discharged  the  duties  with  such  promptness  and 
fidelity  that  he  was  re-elected,  his  incumbency  covering  four  years.  His  official 
service  has  ever  given  satisfaction  to  his  constituents  and  the  general  pubhc, 
and  his  course  has  ever  justified  the  tmst  reposed  in  him.  He  still  owns  the 
farm  upon  which  he  was  born,  and  is  interested  in  general  agricultural  pur- 
suits. In  1892  be  was  again  called  to  public  office,  being  appointed  deputy 
register  of  deeds,  and  in  1893  he  succeeded  to  the  office  by  r-eason  of  the 
death  of  M.  B.  Wakenian,  who  died  while  filling  the  office.  In  1894  he  was 
elected  to  the  same  position,  serving  for  two  years,  but  in  1896,  when  the 
Democrats  carried  the  county,  he  was  defeated— the  only  time  when  a  cardi- 
date  that  he  has  not  won  the  election.  He  is  a  staunch  Republican,  unfalter- 
ing in  his  advocacy  of  the  principles  of  the  party,  and  with  the  entire  ticket  he 
was  defeated.  After  retiring  from  tbe  office  of  register  of  deeds  he  was  on 
the  5th  of  July,  1897,  made  clerk  of  the  state  public  school  at  Coldwater,  and 
in  September,  1897,  he  became  acting  superintendent  of  the  school,  the  super- 
intendent having  resigned,  discharging  the  duties  of  that  position  until  1898. 
During  the  two  succeeding  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  grocery  business, 
when  he  sold  his  store.  He  was  commissioned  postmaster  February  15,  1902. 
and  has  since  held  the  office.  During  his  administration  the  delivery  service 
has  been  increased  from  one  rural  route  to  nine,  and  an  additional  city  carrier 
-  has  been  employed,  making  five  in  all.  His  administration  of  the  duties  of  this 
office  has  been  practical  and  businesslike,  and  he  gives  to  the  public  a  prompt 
and  efficient  service.  He  has  twice  been  chairman  of  the  Republican  county 
committee,  and  under  his  management  the  entire  Repubhcan  county  ticket 
was  successful. 

In  1876  Mr.  Gorman  was  married  to  Miss  Susie  I.  Jones.  They  have  a 
daughter  living,  Elsie  L.,  and  liave  lost  one  daughter  and  one  son,  Carlton  L., 
the  latter  dying  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  shortly  after  his  return  from 
college,  while  the  daughter,  Winnie  Bernice,  died  when  she  was  but  three 
years  of  age.  The  family  have  a  pleasant  home  in  Coldwater,  and  its  hos- 
pitality is  enjoyed  by  a  large  circle  of  friends.  Mr.  Gorman,  genial,  courteous 
and  affable,  is  widely  known  and  popular  in  Coklwater  and  the  county,  anil 
his  public  service,  like  his  private  life,  commends  him  to  the  regard  and  ad- 
miration of  those  with  whom  he  comes  in  contact, 

STEPHEN  NEWMAN, 

Stephen  Newman,  who  is  the  owner  of  valuable  property  interests  in 
Branch  county,  his  home  being  in  .Coldwater  township,  where  for  many 
years  he  has  been  actively  engaged  in  farming,  was  bom  in  Staffordshire, 
England,  on  the  14th  of  December,  1836,  his  parents  being  William  and 
Mary   (Cope)  Newman,  who  always  lived  in  England.     He  bad  four  uncles 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  503 

and  two  aunts  on  the  paternal  side  and  three  of  the  uncks  came  to  Michigan 
while  the  fourth  took  up  his  abode  in  Rochester,  New  York.  It  was  Thomas, 
John  and  Joseph.  Newinan  who  settled  in  the  southern  part  of.  this  state, 
while  James  retained  his  residence  near  Rochester.  The  two  aunts  were 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Thorpe  and  Mrs.  Sarah  Allen,  of  England.  All  of  the 
representatives  of  the  family  in  this  generation  are  now  deceased.  John 
Newman  was  for  many  years  a  prominent  and  leading  farmer  of  Branch 
county.  He  came  from  England  to  the  new  world  in  1836  and  after  devot-^ 
ing  a  few  years  to  agricultural  pursuits  in  New  York  made  his  way  west- 
ward to  Branch  county,  where  he  successfully  carried  on  agricultural  pur- 
suits and  as  the  years  passed  by  accumulated  a  handsome  competence.  Three 
brothers  of  Stephen  Newman  are  ye(  living  in  England,  but  he  was  the  only 
representative  of  his  immediate  family  who  came  to  the  United  States. 

Stephen  Newman  spent  the  days  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  in  his  native 
country,  acquired  his  education  in  the  public  schools  there  and  in  early  life 
followed  different  business  pursuits.  He  was  married  on  the  28th  of  August, 
1864,  to  Miss  Ann  Maria  Bushell,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Birmingham, 
England,  on  the  17th  of  August,  1836.  Her  parents  were  James  and  Diana 
(Shaw)  Bushell. 

A  few  years  after  his  marriage  Stephen  Newman  came  to  the  United 
States  with  his  little  family,  attracted  to  the  new  world  by  the  opportunities 
which  were  described  by  his  uncle,  John  Newman,  who  was  then  a  resi- 
dent of  Coldwater  township.  Stephen  Newman  had  only  sixty  cents  when 
he  arrived  in  Branch  county,  but  he  at  once  became  assistant  to  his  uncle 
John,  who  was  already  a  land  owner  here.  When  he  had  acquired  suf- 
ficient capital  Mr.  Newman  of  this  review  made  his  first  purchase  of  land, 
becoming  owner  of  eighty  acres  in  Coldwater  township  in  connection  with 
his  uncle.  Through  untiring  labor  and  unremitting  industry  supplemented 
by  capable  management  he  has  accumulated  considerable  property  and  now 
owns  two  hundred  acres  of  valuable  land  in  the  home  farm  which  has  been 
placed  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation.  The  well  tilled  fields  surround  good 
buildings  for  the  shelter  of  grain  and  stock  and  there  is  also  a  fine  residence 
on  the  place.  His  uncle  never  married  and  made  his  home  with  Mr,  New- 
man of  this  review  until  his  death,  which  occurred  on  the  4th  of  May, 
1901.  He  was  one  of  his  uncle's  legatees  and  now  possesses  the  greater  part 
of  his  property  in  addition  to  that  which  he  has  acquired  through  his  own 
efforts. 

.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Newman  have  been  bom  four  children :  Albert 
Edward,  who  was  born  in  England,  March  23,  1866,  married  Emma  Tucker- 
man  and  resides  in  Assyria,  Barry  county,  Michigan,  where  he  is  following 
the  occupation  o£  farming.  Agnes,  bom  July  15,  1873,  died  September  12, 
1877,  at  the  age  of  four  years.  William  James,  who  was  born  April  28, 
1875,  3"^  lives  in  Coldwater,  married  Rose  Ryder  and  they  have  one  daugh- 
ter, Ada  Harriet.  Helen,  born  June  9,  1880,  is  the  wife  of  Arthur  E.  ■ 
Van  Aken  and  they  reside  in  Battle  Creek,  Michigan.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  New- 
man have  carefully  reared  their  children,  giving  them  good  educational  ad- 
vantages and  thus  fitting  them  for  life's  practical  and  responsible  duties. 


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694  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Their  son,  Albert  E.,  was  educated  at  the  Indiana  Normal  College  in  Val- 
paraiso, Indiana,  while  their  daughter  Helen  attended  the  Coldwater  High 
School,  also  pursued  a  commercial  course  in  Battle  Creek,  Michigan,  and 
filled  good  positions  in  that  city  up  to  the  time  of  her  marriage. 

While  living  in  his  native  country  Mr.  Newman  became  a  member  of 
the  Odd  Fellows  society  and  held  all  the  offices  of  the  local  lodge.  He  and 
his  wife  are  Episcopalians  in  religious  faith,  being  communicants  of  the 
church  in  Coldwater.  In  his  political  views  he  is  a  Republican  and  has 
served  as  school  director  of  his  district  but  otherwise  has  held  no  offices, 
preferring  to  give  his  time  and  energies  to  his  business  al¥airs,  in  which  he 
has  met  with  a  gratifying  measure  of  success.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are 
people  of  natural  culture  and  refinement,  who  occupy  an  enviable  position  in 
social  circles  here.  Their  home,  which  is  a  short  distance  east  of  Coldwater, 
is  a  most  comfortable  one,  but  Mr.  Newman  expects  soon  to  give  the  man- 
agement of  his  farming  interests  to  others  and  remove  to  the  city,  there  to 
enjoy  a  well  earned  rest  in  honorable  retirement  from  labor. 

AARON  O.  FOX. 

Aaron  O.  Fox,  who  is  engaged  in  general  farming  on  section  nine,  Ba- 
tavia  township,  was  bom  in  Summit  county,  Ohio,  February  i8,  1852,  and  is 
the  second  child  and  eldest  son  in  a  family  of  three  sons  and  two  daughters, 
whose  parents  were  Levi  and  Susan  (Steinmetz)  Fox,  both  of  whom  were 
natives  of  Pennsylvania.  The  maternal  grandfather,  Casper  Steinmetz,  was 
a  native  of  Germany.  The  paternal  grandfather  was  Peter  Fox,  who  was 
born  in  England  and  when  a  young  man  crossed  the  ocean  to  the  new  world, 
settling  in  Pennsylvania.  Levi  Fox  was  bom  in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  spent  the  tlays  of  his  boyhood  aiid  youtli  and  was  married. 
About  1S50  he  removed  to  Summit  county,  Ohio,  where  he  followed  the  occu- 
pation of  farming,  and  there  his  death  occurred  when  he  was  fifty  years  of 
age.  His  wife  long  survived  him  and  departed  this  life  at  the  advanced  age 
of  eighty-four  years. 

Aaron  O.  Fox,  who  spent  his  youth  in  the  place  of  his  nativity,  was  in- 
debted to  the  common-school  system  of  Summit  county  for  his  early  educa- 
tional privileges,  while  later  he  spent  two  years  as  a  student  in  Buchtel  College 
at  Akron,  Ohio.  Wlien  twenty  years  of  age  he  engaged  m  teaching  school, 
following  that  profession  for  some  time.  In  1881  he  came  to  Branch  countv. 
Michigan,  settling  in  Batavia  township,  where  he  engaged  in  teaching  school 
and  farming.  Pie  had  fifty  acres  of  land,  which  he  cultivated  until  1803,  in 
whidi  year  he  purchased  an  adjoining  tract  of  eighty  acres,  so  that  his  fami 
now  comprises  one  htmdred  and  thirty  acres.  In  that  year  he  gave  up  the 
work  of  teaching  and  has  since  devoted  his  attention  exclusively  to  general 
agricultural  pursuits. 

In  1876  Mr.  Fox  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Ellen  Kauffman,  a 
daughter  of  Abraham  and  Anna  Kauffman,  and  a  native  of  Ohio,  bom  near 
Canton,  Stark  county.  She  pursued  her  education  there  in  the  public  schools. 
Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fox  have  been  bom  three  children:  Jessie,  now  the  wife 
of  Eugene  Worden,  a  merchant  at  Union  City,  Michigan;  Ina,  the  wife  of 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  595 

Les  Bort,  a  well-known  farmer  of  Kinderhook  township,  Branch  county;  and 
Lola,  at  home. 

Mr.  Fox  is  a  believer  in  Republican  principles,  feeling  tliat  the  platform 
of  that  party  contains  the  best  elements  of  good  government.  He  has  held 
many  local  offices,  such  as  school  inspector  and  supervisor,  being  chosen  to  the 
latter  position  for  three  terms,  his  last  term  being  in  1904-5.  He  belongs  to 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  with  which  he  has  been  identified  for 
many  years,  and  he  is  one  of  the  active  and  enterprising  fanners  of  the  town- 
ship and-  county,  having  made  a  creditable  business  record,  characterized  by 
diligence  and  honesty. 

ALFONSO  C  JUDD. 

Alfonso  C.  Judd  owns  and  operates  a  farm  of  ninety  acres  on  section 
twenty -three,  Matteson  township,  and  the  place  is  productive,  annually  yield- 
ing him  good  harvests.  Mr.  Judd  is  a  native  of  Ohio,  his  birth  having  oc- 
curred in  Lake  county  on  the  19th  of  October,  1847.  His  father,  Jotham 
Judd,  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Farniington, 
where  he  was  reared  and  educated.  He  removed  with  his  parents,  Jotham 
and  Hila  (Bristol!)  Judd,  to  New  York,  settling  at  Canaan,  New  York, 
which  was  the  first  town  across  the  state  line.  Having  arrived  at  years  of 
maturity  Jotham  Judd  was  married  to  Miss  E-iiza  Bardeen,  and  unto  them- 
was  born  a  son,  Willard  B.  For  his  second  wife  the  father  chose  Henrietta 
Simons,  to  whom  he  was  wedded  in  1844.  She  was  bo^n  in  Massachusetts. 
October  24,  1823,  and  unto  this  marriage  were  bom  two  sons,  the  elder  being 
Orrin  S.  Judd,  a  resident  of  Anderson,  Indiana.  He  was  engaged  in  farming 
throughout  his  entire  business  career,  and  he  passed  away  in  1874,  when  sixty- 
four  years  of  age.  He  belonged  to  the  Baptist  church  and  took  an  active  and 
helpful  part  in  its  work.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat  and  he  served  as 
township  clerk  in  Ohio,  while  for  seventeen  years  he  was  postmaster  at  Perry. 
Lake  county,  Ohio.  He  also  acted  as  station  agent  at  that  place  for  eight 
years.  His  widow  stili  survives  and  now  makes  her  home  with  her  son 
Alfonso. 

Alfonso  Judd,  the  younger,  spent, the  first  seventeen  years  of  his  life  at 
the  place  of  his  nativity  and  supplemented  his  early  educational  privileges  by 
study  in  Madison  Seminary.  He  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  in  1865, 
when  seventeen  years  of  age,  settling  in  Matteson  township  upon  the  farm 
where  he  now  resides,  and  there  he  devoted  his  energies  to  general  agricultural 
pursuits. 

On  the  2d  of  July,  1871,  Alfonso  C.  Judd  was  married  to  Miss  Helen 
Fisk,  a  daughter  of  James  Edwin  and  Mary  J.  (Turner)  Fisk,  the  former  a 
native  of  Rhode  Island  and  the  latter  of  New  York.  They  came  to  Michigan 
at  an  early  day,  aisting  in  their  lot  with  the  pioneer  settlers'  of  this  state.  The 
maternal  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Judd  was  Nathaniel  Turner,  also  a  pioneer  set- 
tler of  Branch  county,  who  came  here  about  1832.  His  son  was  supposed  to 
have  cut  the  first  tree  in  Mattfson  township.  Mrs.  Judd  is  the  fourth  child 
and  eldest  daughter  in  a  family  of  eight  children,  and  was  horn  in  Matteson 
township  November  4,   1S50.     At  the  time  of  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs. 


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5SJ0  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Judd  locate'!  upon  the  old  homestead  fanii  where  he  now  resides,  and  with 
the  exception  of  a  period  of  three  years  he  has  always  lived  here,  his  educa- 
tion being  given  to  general  agricultUFaf  pursuits.  He  owns  and  operates 
ninety  acres  of  land,  which  is  well  iriiproved  with  modern  buildings  and  all 
the  accessories  found  upon  a  model  farm,  including  excellent  machinery  to 
facilitate  the  work  of  the  fields. 

Unto  Mr,  and  Mrs.  Judd  have  been  born  four  children  who  are  yet  liv- 
ing, and  they  lost  a  daughter,  Katie.  Those  who  still  survive  are:  Lura,  the 
wife  of  Fred  Lock,  of  Matteson  township;  Mabel,  the  wife  of  Louis  Conley, 
of  Green  Bay,  Wisconsin;  Grace,  the  wife  of  John  Leonard,  of  Jackson. 
Michigan ;  and  P-arl,  who  married  Lena  Wilcox,  and  lives  in  Matteson. 

Mr.  Judd  is  a  Democrat,  active  in  the  interest  of  the  party  and  his  fel- 
low townsmen,  recognizing  his  capability  and  public  spirit,  have  frequently 
called  him  to  office.  He  served  as  highway  commissioner  for  one  year,  was 
treasurer  for  one  year,  clerk  for  three  years  and  is  now  serving  for  the  eighth 
year  as  supervisor.  Ln  the  discharge  of  his  duties  he  has  been  capable  and 
prompt,  and  he  is  well  known  in  the  county  as  a  man  of  genuine  worth,  loyal 
to  his  duties  in  all  life's  relations.  He  belongs  to  the  Masonic  fraternity  at 
Bronson  and  is  held  in  high  esteem  by  all  who  know  him, 

SAMUEL  R.  TURNER,  M.  D. 

Among  the  recent  additions  to  the  professional  ranks  of  Bronson,  Michi- 
gan, is  found  Dr.  Samuel  R,  Turner,  who  came  here  from  the  neighlxtring 
state  of  Indiana  in  September,  1904, 

Dr.  Turner  is  a  native  of  Freeport,  Illinois,  and  was  born  May  13,  1858. 
a  son  of  Samuel  and  Jane  E.  (McGlashon)  Turner.  His  father,  a  native  of 
Ohio  and  a  farmer  by  occupation,  died  in  1864,  and  his  mother,  a  native  of 
^''ermont,  died  in  1884.  Samuel  R,  received  his  early  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  Lake  county,  Indiana,  and  subsequently,  on  choosing  the  medical 
profession,  went  to  Louisville,  Kentucky,  where  he  took  a  course  in  the  med- 
ical department  of  the  University  of  Kentucky,  and  graduated  with  the  class 
of  1888.  Returning  to  Lake  county  he  at  once  began  the  practice  of  medicine 
there,  and  practiced  in  that  county  until  coming  to  Bronson,  with  the  exce])- 
tion  of  four  yearp  in  i^nsing,  Illinois.  He  was  coroner  of  Lake  county  from 
1899  to  1904,  and  was  medical  examiner  for  the  New  York  Life  and  the 
Aetna  Life  Insurance  companies,  and  also  for  several  fraternal  insurance  or- 
ganizations. From  1901,  for  nearly  four  years,  he  was  in  hospital  service  at 
Hammond,  Indiana,  where  he  had  excellent  opportunities  for  study  and  further 
preparation  for  his  life  work. 

Dr.  Turner  has  been  twice  married.  In  1883  he  wedded  Miss  Henrietta 
Burgess,  by  whom  he  liad  four  children,  viz. :  Sue  E,,  Edna,  Harold  and 
Wilma,  His  present  wife,  nee  Kate  Weed,  he  married  in  1905.  Mrs,  Tur- 
ner is  a  daughter  of  Thurlow  A.  Weed,  of  Pullman,  Illinois, 

Politically  the  doctor  is  a  Republican,  and  fraternally  he  is  identified 
with  numerous  organizations,  among  them  beijig  the  Ancient,  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons,  Independent  Order  Odd  Fellows,  Maccabees,  Modern  Wood- 
men of  America  and  Court  of  Honor. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


JOHN  G.  MARTIN. 

Prominent  among-  the  solid  and  esteemed  agricultnrists  o£  Branch  county 
and  the  township  of  Coldwater  is  the  gentleman  named  above,  who,  although 
not  a  native  of  this  country,  has  spent  the  greater  portion  of  his  life  here, 
where  he  has  taken  advantage  of  the  resources  offered  by  no  other  nation  and 
where  he  has  by  industry  and  careful  management  attained  a  competence. 
Not  only  has  he  been  successful  in  a  substantial  way,  but  he  has  also  achieved 
success  in  the  way  of  maintaining  for  himself  a  good  name,  and  his  de- 
chning  days  are  being  passed  in  a  comfortable  home,  surrounded  by  the 
members  of  his  family  and  possessing  the  high  regard  and  esteem  of  his 
fellow  townsmen. 

Mr.  John  G.  Martin  is  a  native  of  West  Kent,  England,  where  he  was 
born  February  i6,  1836.  His  father  was  William  Martin  and  his  mother 
was  Mary  Delphwade,  both  also  natives  of  England,  where  their  ancestors 
had  lived  for  many  generations.  WiUiam  Martin  and  Mary  Delphwade 
were  married  in  England  and  they  were  the  parents  of  eight  children,  as 
follows :  Maria  died  at  the  age  of  two  years ;  Mary  Martin  Roswell  spent 
her  entire  life  in  England,  where  she  died  a  number  of  years  ago;  William 
Martin  is  still  living  and  now  a  resident  of  Cassopolis,  Michigan;  John  G. 
Martin  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Sarah  Martin  Vernes  died  in  England; 
Thomas  Martin  is  still  Hving  and  a  resident  of  London.  England;  Richard 
Martin  and  Henry  Martin  died  in  England  where  their  entire  lives  were 
passed.  The  mother,  Mary  Delphwade  Martin,  died  in  England  when  our 
subject  was  but  a  child,  while  the  husband  and  father,  William  Martin,  also 
passed  his  entire  life  in  England,  where  he  died. 

Impressed  with  the  superior  advantages  offered  in  America,  our  sub- 
ject, Mr.  John  G.  Martin,  and  his  brother,  William  Martin,  came  to  this 
country,  arriving  here  in  i860.  John  G.  located  first  in  Pittsford,  Monroe 
county.  New  York,  where  he  remained  until  1878,  then,  attracted  by  the  op- 
portunities offered  in  the  middle  west,  he  came  on  to  Michigan,  which  state 
has  ever  since  been  his  home.  In  Monroe  county.  New  York,  he  met  and 
was  married,  in  October,  1864,  to  Miss  Jennie  Harmor,  who  was  born  in 
Monroe  county.  New  York,  May  26,  1845.  Her  father  was  WiJham  Harmor 
and  her  mother  was  Lottie  Hodges,  both  natives  of  England.  Jane 
Harmor  was  the  youngest  of  eight  children,  her  parents  coming  from  England 
to  the  state  of  New  York  before  she  was  born.  The  other  children  of  the 
family  were  as  follows :  Eliza  Harmor  Strickland  lives  in  the  state  of  New 
York ;  William  Harmor  lives  in  Wisconsin ;  John  Harmor  is  living-  in  Branch 
county,  Michigan;  James  Harmor;  Fannie  Harmor  Hawley  is  Hving;  and 
Harriet  Harmor  Walhead  died  in  New  York  state;  and  Fred  Harmor  is  a 
resident  of  Dakota.    The  father  and  mother  died  in  New  York  state. 

The  union  of  John  G.  Martin  and  Jane  Harmor  Martin  has  been  a 
particularly  happy  one  and  has  been  blessed  with  the  birth  of  seven  children, 
as  follows,  their  births  having  all  taken  place  in  Monroe  county,  New  York : 
William  and  Frank  Martin  live  at  home;  George  Martin  is  one  of  the  suc- 
cessful young  farmers  of  Branch  county  and  is  the  present  supervisor  of  Cold- 


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598  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

water  township,  performing'  the  duties  of  his  office  with  credit  and  abihty; 
Albert  Martin,  who  was  a  soldier  in  the  Spanish-American  war,  now  resides 
in  the  city  of  Coldwater.  The  two  daughters  of  the  family,  Mary  Martin 
Swain  and  Emma  Martin  Tompkins,  are  both  residents  of  Coldwater  city ; 
Harry,  the  yonngest  son,  died  in  Coldwater  when  he  was  only  six  months 
of  age.     The  four  remaining  sons  are  all  unmarried. 

Our  subject,  Mr.  John  G.  Martin,  has  always  followed  fanning  as  a 
life  vocation  and  in  this  line  he  has  been  eminently  successful.  For  over 
twenty  years  he  conducted  a  dairying  business  near  the  city  of  Coldwater,  al- 
though for  the  past  ten  years  he  has  followed  regular  farming.  In  1865,  re- 
sponding to  the  call  of  the  country  of  his  adoption,  he  enlisted  in  a  New  York 
regiment  which  was  recruited  during  the  last  year  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion. 
His  present  farm  is  a  fine  one  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  on  sections  ten  and 
eleven,  Coldwater  township,  only  a  short  distance  from  the  beautiful  city  of 
Coldwater.  It  is  a  most  fertile  tract  of  land,  equipped  with  excellent  build- 
ings and  all  of  the  necessary  machinery  and  tools  for  successful  operation,  and 
it  makes  a  most  comfortable  home.  Mr.  Martin  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  al- 
though never  an  office  bolder.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Martin  have  spent  honorable 
and  useful  lives  and  they  have  reared  their  children  to  occupy  respected  posi- 
tions in  life. 

GEORGE  MARTIN. 

George  Martin,  who  is  serving  as  supervisor  of  Coldwater  township, 
was  bom  in  Rttsford,  Monroe  county,  New  York,  August  17,  1868.  His 
father,  John  Martin,  was  a  native  of  Kent  county,  England,  bom  January 
t6,  1836,  and  was  a  son  of  William  Martin,  who  always  resided  in  England. 
The  mother  of  our  subject  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Jennie  Harmor,  and 
her  birth  occurred  in  Monroe  county,  New  York,  on  the  26th  of  May,  1845. 
Her  father,  William  Harmor,  was  a  native  of  England,  and  married  a  Miss 
Hook,  who  was  also  born  in  that  country.  They  became  residents,  however, 
of  Monroe  county,  New  York,  and  Mrs.  Martin  is  the  youngest  of  their 
eight  children.  She  gave  her  hand  in  marriage  to  John  Martin  in  the  county 
of  her  nativity  and  they  became  the  parents  oi  seven  children :  William  and 
Frank,  who  are  residents  of  Coldwater  township;  Albert,  who  is  living  in 
the  city  of  Coldwater,  and  was  a  participant  in  the  Spanish-American  war; 
Mrs.  Mary  Swain  and  Mrs.  Emma  Tompkins,  who  are  likewise  residents  of 
the  county  seat;  George,  of  this  review;  and  Harry,  born  in  Branch  county, 
who  died  when  six  months  old.  The  parents  spent  their  early  married  life 
in  Monroe  county  of  the  Empire  state,  and  in  the  spring  of  1878  came  with 
their  family  to  Michigan,  settling  in  Branch  county.  The  father  had  followed 
farming  in  the  east  and  continued  in  this  line  of  labor  in  Coldwater  township, 
where  the  family  has  since  remained.  For  twenty-five  years  he  also  con- 
ducted a  dairy  business,  but  he  now  gives  his  undivided  attention  to  general 
agricultural  pursuits,  still  making  his  home  in  Coldwater  township.  He 
served  as  a  soldier  of  the  Civil  war  in  a  New  York  regiment,  and  his  life  has 
been  an  exemplification  of  many  sterling  traits  of  character  and  of  honor- 
able principles. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  599 

George  Martin  was  a  youth  of  ten  years  when  brought  by  his  parents 
from  the  Empire  state  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  and  here  he  has  since 
made  his  home.  He  was  reared  to  manhood  on  his  father's  farm  and  assisted 
hjm  in  the  dairy  business.  Soon  after  attaining  his  majority  he  began  busi- 
ness for  himself  as  a  farmer  and  has  owned  at  different  times  several  farms, 
all  in  Coldwater  township.  In  his  business  life  he  has  prospered,  capably 
conducting  his  interests  until  he  has  won  a  place  among  the  men  of  affluence 
in  his  community.  His  present  farm  comprises  sixty  acres  on  sections  thir- 
teen and  twenty-four.  Coldwater  township,  which  he  has  recently  acquired 
and  which  he  is  now  placing  under  a  good  state  of  cultivation.  He  has  done 
much  to  improve  farm  property  in  the  township  and  his  labors  have  been  of 
general  benefit  as  well  as  a  source  of  individual  profit. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Martin  is  a  stalwart  Republican  and  first  voted 
for  Harrison,  and  has  been  chosen  to  fill  several  verj'  important  offices.  He 
has  been  assessor  in  the  school  district  for  eight  years  and  he  served  for 
.several  terms  as  township  treasurer  of  Coldwater,  and  has  also  been  township 
school  inspector.  In  the  spring  of  1905  he  was  elected  to  the  highest  town- 
ship office,  that  of  supervisor,  and  is  considered  one  of  the  leading  members 
of  the  county  board.  He  is  not  a  politician  in  the  usual  sense  of  office  seek- 
ing, but  his  constituents  recognize  in  him  those  sterling  qualities  which  make 
a  competent  official,  and  he  has  thus  been  chosen  for  important  positions.  He 
is  modest  in  demeanor,  is  a  great  reader  and  keeps  in  touch  with  the 
genera!  trend  of  thought  and  events  of  the  world's  history.  He  is  tboroughly 
reliable  and  highly  esteemed,  and,  it  is  therefore  with  pleasure  that  we  present 
his  record  to  our  readers. 

BENEDICT  DALE. 

Benedict  Da!I,  proprietor  of  the  Coldwater  city  brewery,  was  born  in 
Bavaria,  Germany.  March  18,  1852,  and  spent  his  youth  in  the  fatherland. 
Educated  in  the  schools  of  that  country,  he  afterward  worked  in  a  brewery 
until  he  bad  mastered  the  business,  and  he  also  spent  three  years  as  a  soldier 
in  the  German  army.  He  came  to  America  in  1883,  then  a  young  man  of 
about  twenty-nine  years,  and  located  in  Toledo,  Ohio,  where  he.  secured  em- 
ployment in  a  brewery.  In  1883  he  also  came  to  Coldwater,  where  he  spent 
two  years,  and  then  went  to  Defiance.  Ohio;  where  the  succeeding  eight-years 
of  his  life  were  passed,  during  which  period  he  was  connected  with  the  Dill 
Brewery  Company.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  returned  to  Cold- 
water  m  1895,  and  established  the  brewery  which  he  now  owns  and  conducts, 
it  being  called  the  Old  Kappler  brewery.  He  has  rebuilt  and  remodeled  the 
plant  and  it  is  now  thoroughly  etfuipped  with  the  latest  improved  accessories 
known  to  the  business.  Its  output  finds  a  ready  sale  on  the  market  and  brings 
him  a  gratifying  return  annually. 

In  November,  1888,  Mr.  Dall  was  married  to  Miss  Emma  Anterman, 
and  they  became  the  parents  of  ten  children:  Bertha,  Eldward,  Raymond. 
Mary,  Louisa,  Gertrude.  Clara,  Charlie,  I-eo  and  William.  Of  this  number 
Clara  is  now  deceased.  Mr.  Dall  gives  his  political  allegiance  to  the  Repub- 
lican party  and  is  a  member  of  the  German  Benevolent  Society.     He  is  well 


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600  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

knoft-n  in  Brancli  county  and  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  its  public  affairs 
lo  the  extent  of  giving  helpful  co-operation  to  many  measures  instituted  to 
advance  the  material  development  of  this  part  of  the  state. 

CHARLES  W.  GRAY. 

The  name  of  Gray  is  widely  and  favorably  known  throughout  the  south- 
ern part  of  Branch  county,  where  members  of  the  family  have  been  resjiected 
residents  ever  since  the  earliest  days  of  settlement.  The  first  of  the  family  to 
locate  here  was  Abraham  Gray,  the  father  of  our  subject,  who  was  born  in 
New  Jersey.  February  20,  1816,  he  being  of  German-English  descent.  His 
father  dying  when  Abraham  was  but  a  young  lad,  he.  when  only  ten  years 
of  age,  accompanied  his  widowed  mother,  two  brothers,  Levi  and  Everett, 
and  two  sisters,  Delilah  and  Jemima,  when  they  left  New  Jersey  and  removed 
to  Orleans  county,  New  York.  Here  he  grew  to  manJiood,  and  at  the  age 
of  twenty  years,  in  1836,  came  to  Michigan,  locating  first  in  Batavia,  Branch 
county,  where  he  remained  for  a  few  years,  then  coming  to  Kinderhook  town- 
ship. His  first  purchase  was  twenty-eight  and  one-half  acres,  to  which  he 
added  year  by  year,  and  finally  he  became  the  possessor  of  one  hundred  and 
eighty-eight  acres,  including  a  forty-acre  tract  secured  bj^  patent  from  the 
government.  In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  note  tliat  this  forty  acres 
has  ever  since  remained  in  possession  of  the  Gray  family,  and  now  comprises 
a  portion  of  the  farm  owned  by  Mr.  Charles  Gray,  The  land  thus  purchased 
by  Mr.  Gray  in  the  early  forties  was  uncleared,  and  he  set  to  work  to  make  a 
home  here. 

Abraham  Gray  was  married  in  Steuben  county,  Indiana,  Jaunary  i,  183S, 
to  Harriet  Towsley,  who  was  born  near  Toronto,  Canada,  January  13.  1819. 
she  being  of  Welsh  descent,  and  theirs  were  the  usual  experiences  of  pioneers 
in  a  new  country.  Five  children  were  born  unto  them,  two  of  whom  died  in 
infancy,  the  three  who  grew  to  maturity  being:  Charles  W. ;  William,  who 
enlisted  in  the  Civil  war  in  Company  K,  Seventy-eighth  New  York  Infantry, 
and  died  in  the  army:  and  Helen,  who  died  in  1902.  Abraham  Gray  was  a 
man  of  prominence  in  the  early  history  of  this  jjortion  of  the  county,  and  be 
was  highway  commissioner  of  Kinderhook  township  for  se\'eral  terms,  as 
well  as  being  a  school  officer  for  many  years.  He  and  his  wife  were  people 
of  upright  character  and  moral  lives,  and  both  were  in  early  life  members  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  afterward  affiliating  with  the  Free  Will 
Baptist  Society.  Mrs.  Gray  died  December  31,  1872,  and  March  8,  1875. 
Mr.  Gray  was  married  to  Patience  (Davis)  Meeks,  a  native  of  Washington 
county,  Ohio,  who  is  still  living.  By  a  previous  marriage  she  was  the  mother 
of  two  sons  and  one  daughter.  After  a  long  and  useful  life  Abraham  Gray 
died  at  his  home  in  Kinderhook,  May  24,  1896. 

Charles  W.  Gray  was  the  youngest  son  of  Abraham  and  Harriet  (Tows- 
ley)  Gray,  and  he  was  bom  in  the  township  of  Batavia,  Brancli  county,  Michi- 
gan. May  15,  1845.  He  grew  to  manhood  upon  the  home  farm  in  Kinder- 
hook township,  and  here  he  secured  a  knowledge  of  agriculture,  which  was  to 
be  of  great  use  to  him  in  after  life,  at  the  same  time  obtaining  a  good  prac- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  601 

fical  education,  to  which  he  has  since  added  by  wide  reading  and  intelHgent 
observation.  He  was  married.  May  3,  1866,  to  Emeline  C.  Shutts.  who  was 
born  in  Sandnsky  county,  Ohio,  September  10,  1844.  Her  parents  were 
Jonathan  and  Catherine  (Story)  Shutts,  esteemed  and  early  residents  of  the 
state  of  Ohio.  Their  union  resuhed  in  the  birth  of  three  cliildren,  one  of 
whom  died  in  infancy,  the  others  being-  as  follows:  Frank  D.  married  Lillie 
Hurst,  and  their  home  is  in  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  where  he  is 
third  assistant  examiner  of  patents  in  the  United  States  patent  office.  They 
have  three  children:  Frances,  Lowell  and  Helen,  Minnie  F.  Gray,  daugh- 
ter of  our  subject,  married  Vern  D.  Gam,  and  they  live  in  Steuben  county, 
Indiana.  They  also  have  three  children:  Vera,  Anna  B.  and  Eva.  Mrs. 
Gray  died  here,  April  14,  1895,  and  Mr.  Gray's  second  marriage  was  con- 
summated February  20,  1896,  when  he  was  united  with  Mary  Belle  Reynolds, 
a  native  of  Steuben  county,  Indiana,  where  she  was  bom  July  18,  1863.  She 
is  the  eldest  daughter  of  Wesley  Reynolds  and  Catherine  Milner  Reynolds, 
who  were  residents  of  Steuben  county,  Indiana,  for  many  years,  although  in 
later  years  living  in  Kinderhook,  where  they  passed  the  remainder  of  their 
lives,  her  mother  dying  here  November  23,  1874,  and  her  father  May  4,  1878, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reynolds  had  three  children:  Mary  Belle  Gray;  Joanna  M. 
Harris,  who  died  in  Iowa ;  and  Margaret  J.  Blank,  who  lives  in  Nebraska. 

The  Reynolds  family  was  one  of  the  oldest  in  this  vicinity,  Mrs.  Gray's 
jxiternal  grandfather  being  Eentley  Reynolds,  w^ho  was  bom  in  Ulster  county. 
New  York,  and  who  was  in  the  war  of  1812.  He  came  to  this  county  with 
the  earliest  settlers  in  1836  and  secured  land  from  the  govermtient,  which  he 
cleared  and  improved.  He  died  here  in  1S50.  His  wife  was  Polly  C.  Can- 
right,  also  a  native  of  Ulster  coimty.  New  York,  whose  parents,  John  C.  and 
Nancy  Myers  Canright,  came  to  Branch  county  in  1835,  locating  in  Kinder- 
hook  township,  where  Mr.  Canright  died  in  1835  ^"d  Mrs.  Canright  in  1837. 
Bentley  Reynolds  and  Polly  (Canright)  Reynolds  had  a  family  of  eleven 
children,  only  two  of  whom  are  now  living :  Malvina  Towsley  and  Mary  J. 
Huyck,  both  residents  of  Branch  county. 

Mr.  Charles  W.  Gray  has  always  called  Kinderhook  township  his  home, 
for  he  has  always  retained  his  property  here,  although  he  lived  in  Steuben 
county,  Indiana,  from  1878  to  1888,  where  he  owned  a  farm,  which  he  sold 
in  the  early  nineties,  since  which  time  he  has  lived  in  Kinderhook.  Mr.  Gray 
also  spent  three  years  in  the  state  of  California.  His  farm  in  Kinderhook 
comprises  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  the  old  homestead,  which  his 
father  cleared,  and  upon  which  the  son  has  since  made  many  improvements. 
It  is  an  attractive  spot,  with  good  buildings  and  showing  the  care  of  a  prac- 
tical fanner,  as  well  as  of  a  man  who  has  an  eye  for  neatness  and  beauty  in 
his  surroundings.  Included  in  this  f?irm  is  the  forty  acres  which  his  father 
secured  from  the  government,  Mr.  Gray's  high  standing  with  his  fellow  citi- 
zens has  led  to  his  selection  for  public  positioi^.  He  was  justice  of  the  peace 
for  twelve  years  in  Indiana,  and  also  a  school  officer  for  many  years.  Politi- 
cally he  is  a  Republican,  attending  -w^^^  to  his  political  duties,  but  never  seek- 
ing office.  Mr.  and  Mrs,  Gray  are  members  of  the  Congregational  church. 
Their  pretty  home  stands  near  the  western  banks  of  Lake  George. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


WILLIAM    WILLIS. 

William  Willis  has  now  passed  the  eighty-second  milestone  on  life's  jour- 
ney, but  in  spirit  and  interests  seems  yet  in  his  prime,  for  he  gives  general 
supervision  to  his  farm  work  and  keeps  well  informed  on  the  questions  and 
issues  of  the  day.  He  lives  on  section  seventeen,  Batavia  township,  and  has 
placed  upon  this  property  excellent  improvements,  in  keeping  with  modern 
ideas  of  agricultural  progress.  He  was  bom  in  Portage  county,  Ohio,  his 
natal  day  being  September  i8,  1823,  and  wasi  one  of  a  family  of  nine  children 
l)om  unto  William  and  Betsy  (Alford)  Willis.  The  father  was  a  native  of 
Ireland,  and  when  a  young  man  came  to  America,  settling  in  Allegheny  county, 
Pennsylvania,  jvhence  he  afterward  removed  to  Portage  county.  There  he 
died  when  about  sixty  years  of  age,  after  having  devoted  his  life  to  farm 
work,  his  industry  and  perseverance  bringing  him  a  comfortable  compe- 
tence. His  wife  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  but  her  father  was  bom  in  ■ 
England,  and  when  a  young  man  came  to  America.  A  soldier,  serving  on  a 
British  man  of  war,  and  being  captured,  he  became  an  American  citizen,  and 
remained  a  loyal  supporter  of  the  republic  and  her  institutions  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  in  Portage  county,  Ohio,  Of  the  family 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Willis  only  two  are  now  living. 

The  subject  of  this  review  is  the  only  representative  of  the  family  in 
Branch  county,  and  as  he  is  widely  and  favorably  known  here,  the  history 
of  his  life  cannot  fail  to  prove  of  interest  to  many  of  our  readers.  He  was 
reared  in  Portage  county,  Ohio,  and  had  but  limited  educational  privileges, 
for  the  father  died  when  the  son  was  a  year  old,  and  it  became  necessary  for 
him  to  earn  his  living  at  an  early  age.  He  displayed  untiring  diligence  and 
energy  and  made  a  good  home  for  his  mother,  and  cared  for  her  until  she. 
too,  was  called  to  her  final  rest  when  about  seventy-five  years  of  age.  In  1859 
Mr.  Willis  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Amanda  Norton,  also  a  native 
of  Ohio,  and  a  daughter  of  I-ester  and  Susan  (Johnson)  Norton,  and  a  native 
of  Summit  county,  Ohio.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Willis  began  their  domestic  life  in 
the  town  of  Filkin,  Portage  county,  where  they  remained  until  1863,  when  he 
sold  his  property  there  and  brought  his  family  to  Branch  county,  Michigan, 
having  previously  purchased  the  farm  upon  which  he  now  resides.  There 
were  but  few  improvements  upon  the  place,  however,  and  he  has  practically 
erected  all  of  the  buildings,  investing  over  three  thousand  dollars  in  this  way. 
He  has  also  placed'the  land  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  and  throughout 
his  entire  life  has  followed  farming,  with  the  result  that  he  is  today  the  owner 
of  a  valuable  property,  comprising  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  acres  of  rich 
land  on  section  seventeen,  Batavia  township.  The  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Willis  was  blessed  with  one  daughter,  Gertrude,  who  is  now  the  wife  of 
Charles  Fields,  and  they  have  two  little  daughters,  Nora  and  Lois,  both  in 
school. 

Mr,  Wihis  has  long  exercised  his  right  of  franchise  in  support  of  the  men 
and  measures  of  the  Democracy  and  has  done  all  in  his  power   to  advance  the 
growth  and  insure  the  success  of  his  party.     He  has  lived  in  Batavia  tovmship    ' 
for  forty-two  years  and  he  has  always  kept  well  informed  on  questions  of 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  603 

general  interest.  He  has  been  an  intelligent  thinker,  possesses  an  excellent 
memory  and  in  conversation  one  would  not  judge  that  he  had  by  any  means 
attained  to  his  advanced  age,  for  in  spirit  and  interests  he  seems  yet  in  his 
piime. 

EDSON  BLACKMAN,  M.  D. 

Dr.  Edson  Blackman,  well  known  as  one  of  the  most  capable  medical 
practitioners  of  Quincy  and  Branch  county,  was  bom  in  Morenci,  Lenawee 
county,  Michigan,  in  1839.  His  father,  Eli  W.  Blackman,  was  a  native  of 
Connecticut,  and  was  of  English  lineage.  The  first  record  of  the  Blackman 
family  in  America  goes  back  to  1636,  and  concerns  Adam  Blackman,  a  min- 
ister of  the  gospel,  who  settled  in  Connecticut.  Since  his  death  there  has 
occurred  a  change  in  the  orthography. 

Eli  W.  Blackman  was  a  farmer  by  occupation  and  removed  to  Michigan 
in  1835,  settling  in  Morenci,  where  he  made  his  home  for  almost  two  decades. 
In  1853  he  took  up  his  abode  in  Allen,  Hillsdale  county,  where  he  spent  his 
remaining  days.  His  death  occurred  in  1866,  when  he  was  sixty-six  years  of 
age.  He  was  a  well  educated  man,  becoming  a  prosperous  farmer,  and  stood 
high  in  public  regard.  He  voted  with  the  Democratic  party,  but  was  never  an 
aspirant  for  office.  He  married  Jerusha  Shepard,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and 
of  French  lineage,  her  ancestors  having  settled  in  the  Charter  Oak  state  at  a 
very  early  period  in  the  colonization  of  the  new  world,  where  successive  gen- 
erations were  connected  with  mercantile  interests.  Mrs.  Blackman  survived 
her  husband  until  1880,  passing  away  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  eighty  years.  In 
tlieir  family  were  four  children :  Sarah  M.,  the  deceased  wife  of  George 
Marshal],  of  Allen,  Michigan;  John,  who  was  killed  at  the  age  of  twenty 
years;  Edson;  and  one  who  died  in  infancy. 

Dr.  Edson  Blackman  acquired  his  preliminary  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  Morenci  and  Alien,  Michigan,  and  for  four  terms  was  a  student  in 
Hillsdale  College.  He  thus  acquired  a  broad  literary  knowledge  to  serve  as  a 
foundation  upon  which  to  rear  the  superstructure  of  professional  learning, 
and  he  entered  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  in  1865, 
completing  the  course  there  in  April,  1866.  He  located  for  practice  at  White 
Pigeon,  Michigan,  where  he  remained  until  1876,  and  in  the  latter  year  he 
came  to  Quincy,  where  he  has  remained  in  active  practice  to  the.  present  time. 

In  j866  Dt.  Blackman  was  married  to  Maiinda  A.  Morehouse,  wlio  was 
born  in  Saratoga,  New  York,  in  1845,  and  is  a  daughter  of  James  and  Mary 
A.  Morehouse,  the  former  a  farmer  by  occupation.  The  mother  is  of  French 
and  English  lineage.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Blackman  have  become  the  parents  of 
three  sons  and  two  daughters:  Gertrude  M,,  the  wife  of  Fred  E.  Powers,  a 
clothing  merchant  of  Quincy;  Jesse  E.,  deceased;  J.  Morehouse,  a  physician, 
practicing  with  his  father;  Cora  M„  the  wife  of  George  E.  Burdick,  superin- 
tendent of  the  Branch  County  Infirmary ;  and  Arthur  W.,  who  is  a  salesman 
in  Quincy. 

Dr.  Blackman  is  fraternally  connected  with  the  Masons  and  the  Odd 
Fellows,  and  his  wife  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  In  his  political 
views  he  is  a  Democrat  and  served  as  township  supervisor  both  in  White 


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604  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Pigeor.  and  Ouincy.  For  twenty-<ine  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
school  board,  the  cause  o£  education  finding  in  him  a  warm  champion,  atid 
for  six  years  he  has  been  superintendent  of  the  poor  of  Branch  cotinty.  He 
belongs  to  both  the  State  and  National  Edectic  Medical  Associations,  and  in 
his  practice  has  gained  a  proficiency  that  makes  his  services  of  much  value  to 
his  fellowmen. 

THERON  GROVE. 

Theron  Grove,  who  is  interested  in  general  farming  on  section  twelve, 
Batavia  township,  was  bom  in  this  township  on  the  6th  of  April,  1852.  His 
father,  Archibald  Grove,  was  a  native  of  New  York,  and  came  to  Branch 
comity  at  an  early  day,  casting  his  lot  with  its  pioneer  settlers.  He  married 
Miss  Jane  Pitcher  and  died  September  i,  1852,  when  Theron  was  but  six 
months  old.  The  mother,  however,  survived  for  many  years  and  reached 
the  advanced  age  of  eighty-nine  years.  She  passed  away  at  the  home  of  her 
daughter,  Mrs.  Margaret  Sheneman,  November  16,  1903,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-nine  years,  eleven  months  and  nineteen  days.  She  was  one  of  the 
oldest  pioneer  ladies  of  Batavia  township,  where  she  made  her  home  for 
a  period  of  sixty-six  years.  At  her  death  a  local  paper  said :  "  Mrs.  Jane 
Grove,  one  of  the  oldest  pioneer  ladies  of  Batavia  township,  her  home  for  a 
period  of  sixty-six  years,  departed  this  life  at  the  residence  of  her  daughter, 
Mrs,  Margaret  Sheneman,  November  16,  1903,  aged  eighty-nine  years,  eleven 
months  and  nineteen  days.  Immediate  cause  of  death  was  a  cancerous  afflic- 
tion of  face  and  neck. 

"  Miss  Jane  Pitcher  was  born  in  Hartford,  Connecticut,  December  27, 
1813,  and  was  the  last  of  ten  children  directly  descended  from  a  notably 
ancient  family  of  American  independence  fame,  and  was  reared  and  educated 
in  the  pioneer  schools  of  bygone  days.  She  resided  with  her  parents  until 
the  age  of  nineteen,  when  she  was  united  in  marriage  to  Archibald  Grove, 
with  whom  she  commenced  housekeeping,  at  Palmyra,  New  York,  which  was 
their  home  for  five  years,  and  where  their  two  eldest  sons,  Jerome  and  Elisha, 
were  born, 

"  In  1837  the  worthy  couple,  wi'th  their  small  children,  came  to  Michigan, 
rinil  while  Branch  county  was  naught  but  a  wilderness,  journeyed  from  De- 
troit to  Batavia  by  way  of  an  ox-team  over  a  dense  forest  road,  marked  only 
by  blazed  trees,  through  which  one  must  ever  look  upward  to  catch  a  glimpse 
of  sunlight,  finally  locating  on  the  farm  now  known  as  the  Frank  Barnhart 
property,  where,  with  five  or  six  neighboring  families,  they  shared  the  joys, 
sorrows  and  vicissitudes  of  early  pioneer  life  in  Batavia. 

"  A  family  of  ten  children  wereborn  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Grove.  The  for- 
mer died  in  1852.  Thus,  at  the  age  of  thirty-five  years  Mrs.  Grove  was  a 
widow,  with  nine  small  children  to  rear  and  care  for,  the  youngest  of  which 
was  only  six  months  old.  Al!  the  hardships,  privations  and  struggles  of  a 
brave  pioneer  woman  were  hers.  Yet  she  clung  closely  to  the  religion  of  her 
youth,  a  stanch  Presbyterian. 

"  Years  sped  swiftly  by,  the  township  became  more  thickly  settled.     Her 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  605 

boys  and  girls  grew  to  vigorous  helpful  man  ,ind  woruauhood,  while  the 
mother's  burdens  grew  lighter. 

"  The  two  oldest  sons,  Jerome  and  EJisha,  in  their  young  iTiai>hood  mi- 
grated to  Minneapolis,  Minnesota,  where  by  industry  and  good  business 
abilities  they  acquired  comfortable  and  even  luxurious  competence,  while  each 
reared  a  family  of  four  children.  Jerome  joined  his  father  in  the  '  beyond  '  a 
goodly  number  of  years  ago.  Elisha  was  unable,  on  account  of  his  own  ill 
health,  to  visit  her  during  her  last  illness  or  to  be  present  at  the  burial  service. 

"  There  are  but  few  pioneers  of  Mrs.  Grove's  age  remaining  in  Branch 
county.  During  the  years  of  her  enforced  invahd  retirement,  Mrs.  Grove 
was  ever  fond  of  a  social  chat  with  neighboring  friends,  and  while  in  remi- 
niscent mood  would  relate  thrilling  experiences,  some  sad,  some  comical,  of 
pioneer  life. 

"  Aside  from  her  son  Elisha  of  Minnesota  she  is  survived  by  six  chil- 
dren: A.  R.  Grove,  of  Coldwater,  Jay  and  Theron,  Mesdames  L.  M.  Bowers, 
J.  A.  Murphey  and  Mrs.  Margaret  Sheneman,  all  of  Batavia;  fifteen  grand- 
children and  ten  gj^eat-grandchildren.  Of  the  latter  there  are  two  in  Batavia, 
Luceil  Murphey  and  Gerald  Grove. 

"  With  characteristic  forethought  of  a  long  life  of  planning  for  the 
future  Mrs.  Grove  also  arranged  details  for  her  departure  unto  the  unknown 
realm  of  death.  The  interment  occurred  in  the  Batavia  cemetery  beside  her 
husband,  who  preceded  lier  in  death  by  fifty  years." 

Dr.  Grove  of  this  review  remained  at  home  with  his  mother  through  the 
period  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  and  was  educated  in  the  district  schools  of  Ba- 
tavia township.  He  worked  at  farm  labor,  early  becoming  familiar  with  the 
duties  and  tasks  connected  with  the  tilling  of  the  soil  and  the  care  of  stock. 
As  a  companion  and  helpmate  for  life's  journey  he  chose  Miss  Ida  Wiicox, 
to  whom.he  was  married  on  the  2gth  of  November,  1876,  her  parents  being 
Monroe  and  Martha  M.  (Phillips)  Wilcox,  who  came  from  Otsego  county. 
New  York,  and  settled  in  Batavia,  Branch  county,  Michigan,  in  pioneer  days. 
Mrs.  Wilcox  passed  away  in  the  fifty-sixth  year  of  her  age.  She  had  been  a 
sufferer  for  more  than  a  year,  but  her  trouble  baifled  the  best  medical  skill. 
Notwithstanding  all  this  she  continued  brave,  cheerful  and  unrepining  to  the 
last.  Her  life  was  a  continual  benefaction  and  she  was  truly  the  light  of  her 
home.  When  such  a  one  passes  away  we  are  forcefully  reminded  of  the 
truth  of  the  following  lines : 

"  The  good  die  first 
But  those  whose  hearts  are  dry  as  summer  dust 
Bum  to  the  socket." 

She  left  a  husband,  three  married  daughters  and  a  son  to  mourn  her 
loss  and  revere  her  memory.  Mrs.  Grove  was  born  in  Otsego  county,  June 
II,  1851,  and  came  with  her  parents  to  Michigan. 

At  the  time  of  their  marriage  the  young  couple  located  on  a  farm  in 
Batavia  township  and  about  1882  removed  to  the  farm  whereon  they  now 
reside,  where  Mr.  Grove  has  made  all  of  the  improvements,  remodeled  the 
house  until  he  now  has  an  attractive  and  modern  frame  residence.     Within 


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606  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

the  boundaries  of  his  place  are  comprised  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of 
land  and  his  attention  is  devoted  to  general  farming'  and  stock  raising^.  He 
is  practical  in  his  methods,  progressive  in  his  work  and  successful  in  what 
he  accomplishes.  In  the  Grove  home  are  some  very  valuable  heirlooms  of 
"  ye  olden  times  "  handed  down  from  progenitors  of  the  Wilcox  family.  Qne 
is  a  large  sideboard  made  of  mahogany  and  clierry,  which  is  over  a  century 
old.  It  was  manufactured  in  Morris,  New  York,  and  brought  to  Michigan 
by  Mrs.  Grove's  father.  There  is  also  an  old  desk  with  numerous  drawers 
and  pigeonholes  dating  back  to  1793,  together  with  an  old  wooden  chest 
which  is  about  a  century  and  a  half  old.  There  is  likewise  a  folding  leaf 
table  which  belonged  to  Mrs.  Grove's  great-great-grandfather,  who  was  a 
soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  These  relics  are  in  an  excellent  state  of 
preservation  and  are  valuable  because  of  their  antiquity. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Grove  was  born  a  daughter.  Hazel,  who  died  April 
20,  1905,  when  fourteen  years  of  age,  her  loss  being  a  great  blow  to  her 
parents.  The  following  is  copied  from  one  of  the  local  papers:  "  The  Lord 
garnered  a  fair  Easter  blossom  last  Tliursday  morning  when  He  entered  the 
home  and  took  their  only  child  Hazel,  to  bloom,  for  Him  in  paradise.  No- 
vember ig,  1890,  Hazel  first  saw  the  light  of  day,  in  the  same  home  where 
last  Sunday  her  many  sorrowing  friends  came  to  take  a  last  farewell  of  her 
who  had  lived  a  happy,  joyous  life  among  them.  During  the  last  week  of 
January  she  suffered  a  severe  attack  of  la  grippe,  which  later  developed  into 
diabetes,  and  all  the  efforts  of  kind  physicians  and  loving  friends  were  unavail- 
ing to  check  the  disease.  As  the  snow  which  fades  away  before  a  bright 
March  sun,  so  her  life  seemed  to  fade  away, 

"  Reverend  Lowry,  an  old  friend,  the  one  who  had  always  officiated  on 
similar  occasions  for  the  family,  spoke  very  feelingly  of  Hazel's  life  and  of 
the  beautiful  letters  which  she  had  written  to  her  schoolmates  while  on  her 
sick  bed  at  Ann  Arbor.  A  world  of  sympathy  and  solace  were  manifested 
in  the  beautiful  hymns  sung  by  Miss  Elizabeth  Grove  and  little  Verald 
Kleindinst.  Her  schoolmates,  wearing  a  badge  of  mourning  and  accompanied 
by  their  teacher.  Miss  Florence  Cooley,  attended  the  funeral  in  a  body  and 
at  the  close  of  the  services  formed  two  lines  on  the  wide  porch  between  which 
the  bearers  passed  with  the  casket, 

"  The  storm  door  of  the  school  house  was  decorated  with  a  wreath  of 
immortelles  under  a  wreath  of  wild  flowers,  the  school  flag  being  draped 
above  these,  and  as  the  procession  made  a  brief  halt  the  school  bell  was  tolled 
fourteen  times  for  the  years  of  her  earthly  life.  One  girl  friend.  Miss  Ina 
Brooks,  carried  a  basket  of  bouquets  of  Hazel's  loved  wild  flowers  which 
she  distributed  to  the  honorary  bearers,  the  Misses  Pearl  Canrite,  Florence 
Fry,  Anna  Lewis,,  Priscilla  Haynes,  Vesta  Martin,  Bertha  Tyler,  who  placed 
them  on  the  casket  of  their  loved  friend  as  it  was  borne  between  them  to  the 
waiting  hearse,  and  also  at  the  grave. 

"  The  bearers.  Masters  John  Vogt,  Wilfred  Good,  John  Gamby,  Harold 
Johnson,  Morlcy  Sloman,  Philip  Swaffield,  were  also  provided  with  the  wild 
flower  bouquets  which  they  also  placed  on  the  casket  at  the  grave.  The  many 
beautiful  flowers  and  floral  designs  told  in  a  measure  of  the  heartfelt  sym- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  607 

pathy  which  goes  out  from  the  whole  community  tt)  the  father  and  mother 
and  aged  grandfather  in  their  sad  bereavement." 

Sunnyside,  the  attractive  country  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Grove,  is  one 
of  the  most  hospitable  places  in  Batavia  township.  There  is  in  this  township 
a  literary  club  known  as  the  Centennial  Bay  View  Club  which  has  had  a  con- 
tinuous existence  through  the  last  ten  years.  It  has  a  membership  of  about 
forty  of  the  leading  ladies  of  the  township  and  Mrs.  Grove  was  one  of  the 
charter  members.  Mr.  Grove  has  been  a  lifelong  resident  of  Batavia  town- 
ship and  is  well  known  in  the  county.  He  votes  with  the  Democracy  but  has 
never  been  active  in  politics  as  an  office  seeker,  as  he  has  preferred  to  give 
undivided  attention  to  his  business  affairs.  His  labors  have  been  attended 
with  a  fair  measure  of  success  and  the  business  policy  and  principles  he  has 
followed  have  commended  him  to  the  confidence  and  trust  of  those  with 
whom  he  has  been  associated. 

ROY  THOMPSON. 

Roy  Thompson,  a  farmer  and  highly  resi>ected  citizen  of  Matteson  town- 
ship, was  born  ^Iarch  28,  1874,  on  the  place  where  he  yet  resides,  his  [jarents 
being  Charles  M.  and  Mary  J.  (Shedd)  Thompson.  The  father  was  a  native 
of  New  York  and  became  a  pioneer  resident  of  Branch  county,  taking  up  his 
alxKle  within  its  borders  when  fourteen  years  of  age.  He  afterward  attended 
school  for  one  winter  and  was  also  a  student  in  Peoria,  Illinois.  When  the 
work  of  improvement  and  progress  was  still  in  its  primitive  condition  here 
he  purchased  the  farm  now  owned  and  occupied  by  his  son,  Roy,  becoming 
ov/ner  of  eighty  acres  of  land,  which  at  that  time  was  unimpro\'ed.  With 
characteristic  energy,  however,  he  began  to  till  the  fields  and  in  due  course 
of  time  was  gathering  good  harvests  where  before  was  seen  raw  land.  He 
was  married  in  this  county  to  Miss  Mary  J.  Shedd,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
I^uisa  (Havens)  Shedd,  and  a  native  of  New  York,  bom  December  9,  1846. 
She  was  reared  and  educated  in  tlie  Empire  state,  and  in  1866,  when  a  young 
lady  of  twenty  years,  came  to  Michigan  with  her  parents,  settling  first  in 
Washtenaw  county  and  then  coming  to  Branch  county.  In  their  family  were 
two  children.  The  mother  died  in  1848,  and  the  father  afterward  married 
again,  his  second  union  being  with  Polly  Turner.  By  tliat  marriage  tliere 
were  four  children.  Mrs.  Thompson  was  married  one  year  after  she  came  to 
Michigan.  Mr.  Thompson  was  living  at  that  time  upon  the  farm  which  is  now 
his  home,  and  he  broiight  his  bride  to  this  place.  His  entire  life  has  been  de- 
voted to  agricuhuraj  pursuits,  and  he  has  won  the  financial  reward  which 
always  comes  in  return  for  indefatigable  effort,  careful  management  and 
diligence. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tliompsou  were  born  five  children,  three  sons  and 
two  daughters,  of  whom  Roy  is  the  third  child  and  seojnd  son.  All  were 
bom  and  reared  on  the  old  family  homestead.  The  father  was  a  Republican 
in  his  political  views,  active  and  influential  in  party  ranks  in  liiis  county,  his 
labors  proving  effective  in  promoting  party  successes.  He  acted  as  supervisor 
of  tlie  township  and  was  also  township  clerk.  He  served  in  the  Civil  war  as 
a  faithful  and  loyal  defender  of  the  Union  cause,  and  was  thus  entitled  to 


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60S  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

membership  in  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  He  enjoyed  pleasant  asso- 
ciations with  his  old  array  comrades  through  his  membership  in  the  post,  and 
he  was  held  in  high  esteem  hy  his  brethren  of  that  order.  He  passed  away  in 
1902,  and  the  community  thus  lost  one  of  its  valued  and  representative  citi- 
zens, a  man  whom  to  know  was  to  respect  and  honor. 

Roy  Thompson  was  reared  to  farm  life,  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
and  has  always  carried  on  general  agricultural  pursuits.  He  is  a  young  man, 
of  strong  purpose,  of  excellent  principles  and  upright  life,  and  in  the  county 
where  he  has  always  lived  has  a  very  wide  and  favorable  acquaintance. 

HIRAM  YOUNG. 

Among  the  citizens  of  Coldwater  whose  active  labors  in  former  years 
now  enable  them  to  live  retired,  Hiram  Young  is  numbered.  He  was  torn 
in  Onondaga  county.  New  York,  October  t8,  1831,  a  son  of  Isaac  and  Mary 
Young,  the  former  a  native  of  tJie  Empire  state,  and  there  died,  while  the  lat- 
ter was  also  born  in  New  York.  They  became  the  parents  of  ten  children,  of 
whom  three  died  in  early  life,  and  seven  are  yet  living,  Hiram  being  the  sec- 
ond member  of  this  family. 

In  the  county  of  his  nativity  Hiram  Young  spent  the  days  of  his  boyhood 
and  youth,  and  in  the  common  schools  was  educated.  He  learned  the  coop- 
er's trade  under  the  direction  of  his  father  and  remained  a  resident  of  the 
Empire  state  until  his  removal  to  Wisconsin,  at  which  time  he  established  his 
licmie  in  Washington  county.  There  he  was  engaged  in  fanning,  and  for 
five  years  lived  in  that  locality.  He  then  sold  his  farm  in  the  Badger  state 
and  returned  to  Onondaga  county.  New  York,  where  he  purchased  a  tract  of 
land,  and  in  connection  with  its  cultivation  worked  at  his  trade.  At  length 
he  disposed  of  his  property  in  the  east  and  in  1880  came  to  Coldwater.  Here 
he  is  engaged  in  real  estate  operations,  and  in  addition  to  handling  property 
for  others  he  has  bought  and  sold  three  houses. 

Mr.  Young  was  married  March  18,  1856,  to  Miss  Nancy  C.  Weller,  a 
daughter  of  Robert  and  Mary  (Young)  Weller.  She  was  bom  in  Onondaga 
county.  New  York,  April  8,  1835,  and  by  her  marriage  has  become  the  mother 
of  two  .sons  and  two  daughters:  E^ri,  a  resident  of  Seattle,  Washington; 
Augusta,  the  wife  of  B.  F.  Rolph ;  Ida  A.,  the  wife  of  E.  H.  Williams,  a  cigar 
manufacturer;  and  Robert  S.,  who  is  also  living  in  Seattle,  Washington. 

Mr.  Young  is  a  Republican,  and  while  never  an  aspirant  for  office,  he 
keeps  well  informed  on  the  political  questions  and  issues  of  the  day  and  is 
always  ready  to  support  his  position  by  intelligent  argument  He  was  at  one 
time  superintendent  of  schools  in  Wisconsin  and  has  always  been  deeply  in- 
terested in  the  cause  of  education.  Tlie  list  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Cold- 
water  contains  his  name,  for  his  record  has  ever  been  such  as  would  bear  the 
closest  investigation  and  scrutiny,  and  in  this  way  he  has  won  public  regard 
and  wann  friendships.  Widely  known,  his  life  history  cannot  fail  to  prove 
of  interest  to  his  many  friends,  and  it  is  therefore  with  pleasure  that  we  pre- 
sent tliis  record  of  his  career  to  our  readers. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


.WILLARD  WHITNEY. 

Willard  Whitney,  an  honored  veteran  of  the  Civil  war,  who  is  en^ 
general  agricultural  pursuits  in  Girard  township,  was  born  in  Spring:water, 
Livingston  county.  New  York,  July  2,  1840.  His  father  was  Ezra  Whitney, 
a  native  of  Ontario  county,  New  York,  where  he  resided  until  his  removal  to 
Michigan.  He  married  Miss  Julia  Pelton,  also  a  native  of  the  Einpire  state, 
and  in  1849  they  made  their  way  to  the  middle  west,  locating  in  Jackson 
county,  Michigan,  where  Mr.  Whitney  passed  away  the  following  year.  His 
widow  removed  to  Kalamazoo  county,  where  her  death  occurred  in  1852. 
They  were  the  parents  of  ten  chiklren,  of  whom  four  died  in  childhood.  The 
Hving  are:  Mrs.  Martha  Scutt,  who  resides  in  northern  Midiigan;  Mrs. 
Julia  F.  Morey,  who  resides  in  Mecosta  county,  Michigan;  Mrs.  Leonard 
Whitney,  a  resident  of  Barry  county,  Michigan;  Mrs.  Nancy  Hogeland,  who 
is  living  in  Grand  Traverse  county,  this  state;  and  Willard.  One  son,  John 
Whitney,  died  a  number  of  years  ago  in  Iowa  at  the  age  of  thirty-two  years. 

In  taking  up  the  personal  history  of  Willard  Whitney  we  present  to  our 
readers  the  life  record  of  one  who  is  widely  and  favorably  known  in  Branch 
county  and  who  has  for  many  years  been  a  resident  of  this  state.  He  was  a 
youth  of  nine  summers  when  his  parents  removed  to  Michigan,  and  was  left 
an  orphan  when  a  lad  of  twelve  years.  At  the  time  of  the  Civil  war  he  re- 
sponded to  the  country's  call  for  aid,  enlisting  on  the  I4tb  of  September,  1861, 
as  a  member  of  Company  E,  First  Michigan  Infantry.  On  the  expiration  of 
his  first  term  of  service  he  veteranized  in  the  same  company  and  regiment. 
His  regiment  was  assigned  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  "  the  flower  of 
the  Federal  army,"  and  he  was  under  such  generals  as  Rosecrans,  George  B. 
McClellan  and  Mead.  He  participated  in  many  of  the  heaviest  engagements 
of  the  war,  including  the  battles  of  Gaines  Hill,  Malvern  Hiil,  Antietam,  the 
great  battle  of  Gettysburg,  Battle  of  the  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania,  Fred- 
ericksburg, Campaign  of  Petersburg,  and  he  was  present  at  the  scene  and  sur- 
render of  General  Lee  to  General  Grant  at  Appomattox,  April  9,  1865.  He 
was  in  line  at  the  grand  review  at  Washington,  District  of  Columbia.  He  was 
never'  in  hospital,  nor  never  was  taken  prisoner.  He  was  first  discharged  Feb- 
ruary 17,  1864,  and  was  finally  mustered  out  on  the  17th  of  July,  1865,  for 
Ih'e  war  had  ended  and  his  aid  was  no  longer  needed.  He  was  a  faithful 
soldier  and  has  ever  been  a  good  citizen,  as  loyal  to  his  country  and  its  inter- 
ests in  days  of  peace  as  in  days  of  war. 

In  Burlington,  Michigan,  on  the  2nd  of  February,  1870,  Mr.  Whitney 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Helen  Lee,  a  native  of  Madison  county,  New- 
York.  Her  father  was  Uri  Lee,  who  was  bom  in  Chenango,  New  York, 
January  4,  1808.  He  married  Miss  Paulina  Mason,  whose  birth  occurred  in 
Dutchess  county.  New  York,  March  24,  1814.  On  coming  to  Michigan  they 
located  near  White  Pigeon  and  afterward  removed  to  Burlington.  Still  later 
they  became  residents  of  Athens,  Calhoun  county,  where  the  remainder  of 
their  lives  was  passed,  Mr.  Lee  being  called  to  his  final  rest  April  17,  1875, 
while  his  wife  died  March  24,  1883.  They  were  the  parents  of  six  children. 
namely :    Harry  M.,  who  was  born  March  8,  1836,  and  died  February  2,  1859; 


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610  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Samuel  B.,  who  was  born  February  7,  1839,  and  died  November  5,  1858 ;  Joel, 
who  was  born  February  20,  1840,  and  is  residing  in  Athens,  this  state;  Cliarles 
N.,  who  was  born  September  20,  1843,  ^""^  "^i^l  i"  Athens,  May  6,  1877 ;  Mrs. 
Amy  Brown,  who  wns  born  June  3,  1852,  and  lives  in  Athens;  and  Mrs. 
Whitney,  the  wife  of  onr  subject. 

In  the  year  of  his  marriage  Willard  Whitney  brought  his  bride  to  a  farm 
of  eighty  acres  on  section  five.  Girard- township,  and  here  they  have  since  lived. 
The  farm  is  a  valuable  one,  improved  with  good  buildings,  and  its  well-tilled 
fields  yield  excellent  harvests.  In  all  of  his  work  Mr.  Whitney  is  practical  and 
enterprising,  keeping  in  touch  with  the  modem  ideas  of  agricultural  develop- 
ment and  using  the  latest  improved  machinery  in  connection  with  the  care  of 
his  fields.  In  all  that  he  does  he  is  eminently  practical.  In  early  life  he  was- 
a  successful  school  teacher,  and  is  a  man  of  broad  mind  and  comprehensive 
knowledge,  having  been  a  wide  and  intelligent  reader  throughout  his  entire 
life. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Whitney  have  been  born  five  children.  Claude  H., 
born  May  17,  1871,  is  a  graduate  of  the  high  school  of  Union  City,  Michigan, 
of  the  class  of  1890,  and  has  been  engaged  in,  various  enterprises.  He  was 
married  November  5,  1896,  to  Miss  Eliza  Fox  of  Union  City  and  they  have 
one  daughter.  Their  present  home  is  in  Denver,  Colorado.  Lee  D.  Whit- 
ney, who  was  born  May  5,  1873,  was  married  September  22,  1897,  to  Luella 
Gillett,  and  resides  in  Burlington,  Michigan.  Ella  M.,  who  was  born  May  30. 
1877,  is  a  graduate  of  the  State  Normal  School  at  Mount  Pleasant,  Michigan, 
and  of  the  Albion  Business  College  at  Albion,  Michigan,  and  is  now  a  suc- 
cessful school  teacher.  John  L,,  the  youngest  of  the  family,  was  born  Sep- 
tember 20,  1880,  and  is  yet  with  his  parents. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Whitney  has  always  been  an  earnest  Repub- 
lican, but  has  ne\'er  been  an  ofiice-seeket,  nor  does  he  desire  political  prefer- 
ment as  a  reward  for  party  fealty.  He  and  his  wife  are  among  tlie  most  highly 
esteemed  residents  of  this  locality.  He  has  given  to  his  children  good  educa- 
tional privileges,  and  several  of  them  have  successfully  followed  teaching. 
In  manner  Mr.  Whitney  is  modest  and  of  quiet  demeanor,  yet  he  entertains  de- 
cided opinions  as  to  right  and  wrong  and  is  unswerving  in  his  advocacy  of 
any  cause  which  lie  espouses. 

THOMAS  ALFRED  HILTON. 

Thomas  Alfred  Hilton,  one  of  the  most  proniinent  representatives  of 
commercial  circles  in  Coldwater  and  a  leader  in  public  thought  and  opinion 
here,  wielding  a  wide  and  beneficial  iijfluence  in  behalf  of  many  interests 
which  touched  the  general  welfare,  was  bom  in  Binningham,  England,  April 
12,  1855,  and  represents  an  old  family  of  that  country.  He  pursued  his  early 
education  in  the  public  schools  there  and  remained  a  resident  of  his  native  land 
tmtil  sixteen  years  of  age,  when  in  1871,  soon  after  the  death  of  his  father,  he 
sailed  for  America,  having  heard  favorable  reports  conceming  the  advantages 
offered  to  young  men  in  the  new  world.  Possessing  laudable  ambition,  iie 
desired  to  try  his  fortune  here  and  has  continuously  made  his  home  in  Cold- 
water  with  the  exception  of  a  brief  period  of  a  year  spent  as  station  agent 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  611 

at  Fremont,  Indiana.  Realizing  the  value  of  education  he  pursued  special 
courses  of  study  in  this  country  that  he  might  be  better  qualified  for  the  onerous 
and  arduous  duties  of  an  active  business  career.  Early  in  life  he  became  a 
clerk  in  a  grocery  store  in  Coldwater  and  later  for  five  years  acted  as  sales- 
man, bookkeeper  and  assistant  manager  for  L.  D.  Halsted,  tlie  pioneer  clothier 
of  this  city.  Wishing  to  engage  in  business  on  his  own  account,  he  carefully 
hoarded  his  earnings  and  when  industry  and  frugality  had  brought  him  suf- 
ficient capital  he  purchased  a  cne-thirc!  interest  in  the  grocery  and  supply  con- 
cern constituting  the  firm  of  Milnes  Brothers  and  Hilton,  with  which  he  con- 
tinued during  the  life  of  the  partnership  agreement,  and  then  for  five  and  a 
half  years  was  engaged  ir,  a  similar  business  for  himself  on  Monroe  street. 


Alfred  Hilton. 


At  length  an  iUness  forced  him  to  retire  from  t!ie  grocery  business,  but  after 
his  recovery  he  purchased  a  stock  of  clothing  and  in  the  conduct  of  his  store 
has  won  gratifying  success.  He  is  known  in  Cotdwater  as  "  the  best 
clothier,"  and  a  constantly  growing  patronage  has  brought  him  a  richly 
merited  measure  of  prosperity.  In  his  businesslife  he  has  made  a  record 
which  any  man  might  be  proud  to  ix>ssess,  for  it  indicates  the  force  of  his 
character,  his  adaptability  and  his  keen  sagacity.  He  has  molded  his  course 
along  the  line  ot  such  old  and  time  tried  maxims  as  "  Honesty  is  the  best 
policy  "  and  "  There  is  no  excellence  without  labor."  He  has  ever  been  just 
and  considerate  of  his  employes  and  few  men  are  more  uniformly  respected 
by  the  general  public  than  Thomas  A.  Hilton. 

Had  he  done  naught  but  achieve  success  along  mechanical  tines  we  would 
be  justified  in  presenting  his  history  to  our  readers  as  that  of  a  representative 
citizen  of  Coldwater,  but  he  is  also  entitled  to  mention  because  of  the  honors 


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613  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

he  has  won  in  public  life  and  by  reason  of  the  honor  he  has  conferred  upon 
his  fellow  townsmen  by  capable  and  progressive  service  in  their  behalf.  He 
has  given  tangible  proof  of  his  public  spirit  by  his  advocacy  of  aldermanic 
measures  that  have  their  basis  in  the  general  welfare.  He  served  for  several 
terms  at  different  times  as  alderman  of  Coldwater,  has  likewise  been  supervisor 
and  in  1895  was  elected  mayor,  giving  to  the  city  a  business-like,  practical  ad- 
ministration. For  two  years'  he  served  on  the  board  of  commissioners  of 
electric  light  and  water,  and  was  also  a  member  of  the  board  of  corrections 
and  charities  for  six  and  a  half  years,  and  that  he  made  a  splendid  record  is 
indicated  by  the  set  of  resolutions  adopted  by  those  with  whom  he  served 
upon  his  retirement  from  the  board.  His  political  position  is  never  a  matter 
of  question.  He  is  fearless  in  defense  of  what  he  believes  to  be  right  and  has 
ever  been  an  earnest  champion  of  Republican  principles.  He  has  organized 
and  acted  as  chairman  of  several  local  Republican  clubs  and  has  been  chair- 
man of  the  county  central  committee  of  his  party.  To  his  political  work  he 
brings  the  same  power  of  organization  and  the  same  keen  foresight  that  have 
been  salient  elements  in  his  business  success,  Mr,  Hilton  is  also  prominent 
in  masonry,  and  for  twenty  years  was  treasurer  of  the  Branch  county  fraternal 
benevolent  association,  A  number  of  important  interests  of  public  and  private 
nature  have  felt  the  stimulus  of  his  energy  and  executive  ability,  and  while  his 
efforts  have  formed  no  unimportant  element  in  promoting  commercial  activity 
here,  in  citizenship  he  has  also  furnished  an  example  that  is  well  worthy  of 
emulation.  He  was  one  of  the  original  members  of  the  Independent  Light 
Guards,  and  after  enlistment  into  the  Michigan  state  troops  served  for  seven 
consecutive  years,  when  he  was  honorably  discharged. 

HERBERT  B.  LOCKWOOD. 

Herbert  B.  Lockwood,  proprietor  of  a  farm  on  section  twenty-nine, 
Coldwater  township,  comprising  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  acres  of  well  im- 
proved land  with  all  modern  equipments,  has  displayed  in  his  business  life 
great  intelligence  and  unfaltering  energy  and  by  the  exercise  of  these  quali- 
ties has  gained  a  creditable  name  and  very  gratifying  competence.  He  was 
born  in  Ovid  township  on  the  27th  of  April,  1856,  and  when  eighteen  years 
of  age  removed  to  Coldwater  township,  where  he  has  since  lived.  His  pa- 
ternal grandfather  was  Uriah  Lockwood,  who  had  a  family  of  ten  children, 
nearly  all  of  whom  settled  in  this  part  of  the  state,  giving  rise  to  many 
branches  of  the  Lockwood  family  now  here.  His  son,  Jeremiah  Lockwood, 
father  of  our  subject,  was  born  in  Ulster  county,  New  York,  February  13, 
1817,  and  was  married  to  Miss  Sarah  E.  Woodward,  whose  birth  occurred 
in  Chenango  county,  New  York.  June  23,  1825.  She  was  a  daughter  of 
Archibald  and  Bemetta  (Seeley)  Woodward,  in  whose  family  were  three 
daughters,  Mrs.  Matilda  Sprague,  Mrs.  Amelia  Woodward  and  Mrs.  Lock- 
wood.  The  Lockwood  and  Woodward  families  were  important  factors  jn 
the  early  development  of  this  section  of  the  state  and  were  highly  reajected 
people.  The  Lockwoods  settled  in  Ovid  township  in  1836,  when  hardly 
an  improvement  had' been  made  within  its  borders,  and  the  Wioodwards 
w«re  pioneer  residents  of  Batavia  township,  afterward  removing  to  Cold- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  613 

water  township.  Mrs.  Bernetta  Woodward  reached  the  very  venerable  age 
of  one  hundred  and  two  years,  passing  away  on  the  22nd  of  October,  1897, 
in  Branch  county. 

Jeremiah  Lockwood  was  a  young  man  of  nineteen  years  when  he  came 
with  his  family  to  Michigan,  taking  up  his  abode  in  Ovid  township,  where 
he  performed  his  full  share  of  the  work  connected  with  the  development 
of  a  new  farm  and  the  reclamation  of  this  district  for  the  purposes  of 
civilization.  In  1874  the  family  removed  to  Coldwater  township.  Unto 
Jeremiah  and  Sarah  Lockwood  were  born  four  children :  Judson  and 
Odessa,  who  died  in  infancy;  LeRoy,  a  resident  of  Coldwater;  and  Her- 
bert B.,  of  this  review.  The  father's  death  occurred  in  Coldwater  township 
January  24,  1905,  while  his  wife  passed  away  there  on  the  19th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1895. 

Herbert  B.  Lockwood  was  reared  to  manhood  under  the  parental  roof, 
early  becoming  familiar  with  the  duties  and  labors  of  the  farm,  and  has 
always  followed  agricultural  pursuits.  He  is  practical  and  progressive  in 
his  methods  and  as  the  years  have  gone  by  has  prospered  in  his  undertak- 
ings. He  now  owns  the  former  Woodward  farm  on  section  29,  Cold- 
water  township,  which  his  father  owned  before  him  and  which  he  had 
assisted  in  clearing.  The  place  today  comprises  one  hundred  and  fifty-five 
acres  of  land  that  is  rich  and  productive,  responding  readily  to  the  culti- 
vation bestowed  upon  it.  There  are  excellent  modern'  buildings  upon  the 
place,  including  a  brick  residence  built  in  attractive  style  of  architecture 
and  supplied  with  every  convenience.  It  is  indeed  a  model  farm,  home 
and  everything  about  the  place  indicates  care  and  intelligent  methods.  Mr. 
Lockwood  was  associated  with  Messrs.  Van  Anken,  David  Priddy  and  C. 
S.  Wright  in  the  buying  and  shipping  of  live  stock  for  about  fifteen  years, 
and  the  five  previous  seasons  he  was  salesman  for  the  International  Har- 
■  vester  Company  through  Michigan. 

On  the  3d  of  October,  1876,  Mr.  Lockwood  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Lynn  Wilder,  who  was  born  in  Avon,  Lorain  county,  Ohio.  February 
24,  1856,  a  daughter  of  George  P.  and  Betsy  E.  (Reynolds)  Wilder.  Her 
father  was  bom  in  Canandaigua  county.  New  York,  while  her  mother's 
birth  occurred  in  Eliza bethtown,  Essex  county.  New  York,  March  23,  i8ig. 
They  became  early  residents  of  Ohio,  where  Mr.  Wilder  died.  Mrs.  Wilder 
afterward  married  I.  N.  Shaw,  and  since  the  death  of  her  second  husband 
she  now  makes  her  home  proper  with  Mrs.  I,  Treat.  In  the  Wilder  fam- 
ily were  eight  children,  all  of  whom  reached  adult  age,  while  six  are  yet 
hving,  namely:  Mrs.  Ann  Treat,  whose  home  is  in  Coldwater;  Mrs.  Mary 
Walker,  of  Ovid;  William  and  James,  who  are  hving  in  Bay  City,  Michi- 
gan; Raymond,  a  resident  of  Missouri:  and  Mrs.  Lynn  Lockwood.  Unto 
our  subject  and  his  wife  have  been  born  three  sons:  Judson,  born  August 
2,  1879,  married  Clara  Lader,  by  whom  he  has  a  son,  Howard,  and  they 
reside  in  Coldwater.  Carl,  born  May  4,  1884,  is  a  student  in  the  Cleary 
Business  College  of  Ypsilanti,  Michigan,  where  he  is  qualifying  for  a  busi- 
ness career.  Ralph,  born  August  19,  1892,  resides  at  home  with  his  par- 
ents. 


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614  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


Fraternally  Mr.  Lockwood  is  connected  with  the  Odd  Fellows  Lodge 
at  Coldwater,  and  his  political  allegiance  is  given  to  the  Republican  party. 
He  has  served  as  school  officer  for  many  terms  and  is  justly  accounted 
one  of  the  progressive  and  active  farmers  of  his  township.  He  and  hip 
wife  have  a  wide  circle  of  friends  and  their  own  hospitable  home  is  the 
center  of  a  cultured  society  circle,  being  a  favorite  resort  with  those  who 
know  them.  Mr.  Lockwood  is  a  worthy  representative  of  two  of  the  prom- 
inent pioneer  families  of  the  county,  and  his  lines  of  life  have  been  cast 
in  harmony  with  the  ancestral  history. 

P.  p.WILLBUR. 

P.  D.  Willbur,  for  forty-two  years  in  active  business  in  Union  City,, 
and  now  conducting  a  grocery,  crockery  and  glassware  store,  was  born  in 
Oneida  county.  New  York,  in  the  town  of  Florence,  February  i8,  1832. 
His  father,  Edwin  Willbur,  was  a  native  of  Madison  county,  New  York, 
and  was  married  in  Oneida  county  to  Miss  Eunice  S.  Bellos,  also  a  native  of 
Madison  county.  The  father  engaged  in  farming  in  Oneida  county  for  a 
number  of  years,  and  in  1844  removed  to  Michigan,  settling  in  Barry  county. 
He  afterward  took  up  his  abode  in  Calhoun  county,  where  his  last  days 
were  spent,  his  death  occurring  in  his  fifty-seventh  year.  His  wife  passed 
away  in  Barry  county  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years.  She  was  twice 
married,  first  becoming  the  wife  of  Mr.  Willbur,  by  whom  she  had  six 
sons  and  two  daughters. 

P.  D.  Willbur,  the  eldest  of  this  family,  was  a  youth  of  fifteen  years 
when  he  accompanied  his  parents  on  their  removal  to  Michigan.  He  spent 
the  remainder  of  his  youth  in  Barry  county  and  completed  his  education  in 
the  Battle  Creek  (Michigan)  high  school.  He  learned  the  cabinet  maker's 
trade  there  and  subsequently  took  up  his  abode  in  Union  City,  the  year  1858 
witnessing  his  arrival  here.  He  then  turned  his  attention  to  the  furniture 
and  undertaking  business,  which  he  conducted  for  about  twenty  years,  and  on 
selling  out  he  established  his  present  grocery,  crockery  and  glassware  store 
with  his  son,  W.  H.,  which  he  has  carried  on  successfully  for  twenty-two 
years,  so  Ihat  he  has  been  a  merchant  of  Union  City  for  more  than  forty- 
two  years.  Isaac  Tower  is  the  only  merchant  living  in  Union  City  who  was 
here  when  Mr.  Willbur  established  bis  first  store,  and  Mr,  Tower  is  now  re- 
tired, so  that  it  leaves  Mr.  Willbur  the  pioneer  merchant  here.  Throughout 
the  long  years  of  his  connection  with  commercial  interests  his  name  has  been 
a  synonym  for  integrity  and  straightforward  dealing,  and  his  business  methods 
have  always  been  such  as  would  bear  the  closest  investigation  and  scrutiny. 

On  the  5th  of  January,  1S55,  Mr.  Willbur  was  married  to  Miss  Mary 
A.  Palmer,  who  was  bom  in  Oswego  county.  New  York,  and  is  a  daughter  of 
William  and  Mary  A.  Palmer,  early  settlers  of  Battle  Creek,  Michigan.  Her 
father  was  bom  in  England,  and  was  one  of  Bonaparte's  guards  on  the  island 
of  St.  Helena.  He  served  for  sixteen  years  as  a  private  in  the  English  army. 
Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Willbur  was  bom,  a  son,  William  H.,  who  was  bom  in 
Union  City,  Michigan,  in  i86i.  aud  was  educated  in  the  Union  City  public 
schools.     He  wedded   Miss  Hattie  Smith,  and  they  have  five  children,  one 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  015 

son  and  four  daughters.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  tJie  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  in  which  he  is  a  trustee,  and  he  is  a  Prohibitionist  in  poli- 
tics. He  is  a  member  of  the  Blue  Lolge  and  Chapter  in  Union  CJty,  a  member 
of  the  Maccabees,  and  his  wife  is  a  member  of  the  Ladies,  of  the  Tented  Mac- 
cabees and  the  Eastern  Star.  He  is  now  a  partner  of  bis  father,  and  adds 
the  great  energy  and  enterprise  of  a  yoynger  man  to  the  broad  experience  and 
business  capacity  of  the  older,  so  that  the  partnership  is  a  very  strong  one 
and  the  success  which  is  attending  the  firm  is  very  creditable  and  gratifying. 

Mr.  Willbur  was  a  Republican  in  politics  for  many  years,  but  about  ten 
years  ago  announced  his  allegiance  to  the  Prohibition  party,  which  he  has 
since  supported.  His  first  presidential  ballot  was  cast  for  John  C.  Fremont, 
and  he  also  voted  for  James  A.  Garfield  and  other  Republican  presidential 
candidates.  He  has  twice  been  aldemian  of  the  village,  but  has  never  sought 
or  desired  office,  preferring  to  give  undivided  attention  to  his  business  affairs 
and  content  to  perform  his  duties  to  the  village  as  a  private  citizen.  However, 
he  has  never  been  remiss  in  the  duties  of  citizenship,  and  his  efforts  have  ma- 
terially promoted  the  welfare  and  progress  of  Union  City.  An  exemplary 
Mason,  he  belongs  to  the  Lodge,  Chapter  and  Council  at  Union  City,  and 
is  thoroughly  in  sympathy  with  the  teachings  of  the  craft,  which  has  its  basic 
principles  in  brotherly  kindness  and  mutual  helpfulness.  He  also  belong-s  to 
Coldwater  lodge,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  the  Independent 
Order  of  United  Workmen,  and  he  and  bis  wife  are  devoted  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  cliurch,  in  which  he  has  held  office  and  in  the  work  of 
which  he  has  taken  an  interested  part,  co-operating  in  many  of  the  church 
activities.  In  manner  he  is  courteoiis  and  pleasant,  winning  friends  by  his 
genial  disposition  and  honorable  character,  which  commands  the  respect  of 
all.  Todav  he  is  not  more  honored  on  account  of  the  enviable  position  which 
he  occupies  in  business  circles  than  on  account  of  the  many  kindly  deeds  of  his 
life,  which  have  been  quietly  and  unostentatiously  performed. 

C.  D.  WARNER.  M.  D, 

Dr.  C.  D.  Warner,  of  the  Warner  Medical  Company  of  Coldwater.  was 
bom  in  Calhoun  county,  Michigan,  December  17,  1840.  His  father,  Elihu 
Wamer,  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  and  when  about  six  years  old  went  to 
New  York  with  his  parents,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  David  Warner,  who  were  also 
natives  of  the  Charter  Oak  state.  After  arriving  at  years  of  maturity  Elihu 
Wamer  was  married  to  Lucina  Clarke,  a  daughter  of  Enoch  and  Anna 
(Hutchinson)  Clarke.  They  became  the  parents  of  nine  children,  four  sons 
and  five  daughters.  The  eldest  died  in  early  life  but  the  others  reached  ma- 
ture years. 

Dr.  Wamer,  the  youngest  of  the  family,  was  taken  by  his  parents  to 
Hillsdale  county,  Michigan,  when  but  eighteen  months  old,  and  there  his 
childhood  and  youth  were  passed.  Having  studied  in  the  district  scliools  he 
afterward  attended  Hillsdale  College  and  later  was  a  student  in  a  commer- 
cial school  of  Detroit,  Michigan.  He  put  aside  his  text  books,  however,  for 
the  purpose  of  enlisting  in  the  Union  army,  and  in  1861  he  became  a  mem- 
ber of  Company  G,  Second  Michigan   Cavalry,  with  which  he  served  as  a 


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616  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

private.  With  a  constitution  miable  to  withstand  the  hardships,  of  war', 
however,  he  was  honorably  discharged  after  a  year  on  account  of  physical 
disability,  after  which  he  returned  to  Reading,  Michigan.  He  also  resumed 
his  studies  in  the  comiTiercial  college  at  Detroit,  from  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated, and  then  went  into  the  copper  mines  in  the  northern  peninsula  of 
Michigan,  working  for  the  Pennsylvania  Mining  Company  for  about  six 
months  as  superintendent  of  surface  work.  Later  he  engaged  as  contractor 
in  the  building  of  houses  and  spent  about  two  years  in  that  part  of  the  state. 
He  then  located  in  the  village  of  Reading,  where  for  about  ten  years  he  was 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  White  Wine  of  Tar  and  of  blood  and  liver 
pills.  In  1889  he  came  to  Coldwater,  where  he  has  continued  in  the  manu- 
facture of  the  same  medicines  and  is  now  devoting  his  attention  largely 
to  the  White  Wine  of  Tar — a  remedy  which  has  become  known  all  over  the 
world.  He  also  owns  farms  at  Reading  which  are  operated  under  his  super- 
vision, and  has  mining  interests  in  Mexico,  being  a  stockholder  in  the  El 
Cobre  mines  of  Sonora,  Mexico.  Dr.  Warner  was  married  to  Miss  Julia 
St.  John,  and  they  had  a  daughter  and  son:  Donna,  now  the  wife  of  B.  L. 
Van  Aken,  of  Coldwater;  and  Hiram  E.,  who  owns  the  old  home  farm 
at  Reading,  and  is  engaged  in  the  sale  of  the  Warner  Company's  remedies, 
having  control  of  the  business  in  the  states  of  Indiana  and  Ohio.  The 
wife  and  motlier  died,  and  Dr.  Warner  has  since  married  Josephine  M. 
Brown. 

Dr.  Warner  votes  with  the  Republican  party,  which  he  has  supported 
since  casting  his  presidential  vote  for  Abraham  Lincoln.  His  business  ca- 
reer has  been  attended  with  success.  When  he  began  the  manufacture  of 
Warner's  White  Wine  of  Tar  he  walked  from  house  to  house,  selling  his 
medicines,  which  he  carried  in  a  grip  sack.  Later  he  was  enabled  to  pur- 
chase a  horse  and  buggy,  and  so  satisfactory  did  his  remedies  prove  that  the 
business  grew  rapidly  and  has  now  reached  extensive  proportions,  making 
Dr.  Warner  one  of  the  substantial  citizens  of  Coldwater.  In  manner  he  is 
genial  and  affable,  readily  making  friends,  and  retaining  the  high  regard  of 
all  by  reason  of  his  social  disposition  and  genuine  worth  of  character, 

ALEXANDER  McINTYRE. 

Alexander  Mclntyre  is  the  owner  of  a  valuable  farm  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty-six  acres  situated  on  section  fifteen,  Matteson  township.  A  native 
of  Canada,  he  was  born  near  St.  Thomas  on  the  ist  of  December,  1843.  His 
father,  William  Mclntyre,  was  a  native  of  Scotland  and  was-  there  reared. 
In  that  country  he  wedded  Miss  Agnes  McColm,  also  a  native  of  that  coun- 
try, and  soon  afterward  they  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  Canada,  locating  near 
St.  Thomas,  where  Wiiliani  Mclntyre  followed  the  occupation  of  farming 
up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  when  he  was  about  forty-five 
years  of  age.  His  widow  still  lives  in  Canada,  making  her  home  in  Wallace- 
town,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two  years.  In  their  family  were  five  children, 
two  sons  and  three  daughters,  Elil  of  whom  reached  adult  age. 

Alexander  Mclntyre,  the  eldest  of  the  family,  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated in  Canada,  and  when  seventeen  years  of  age  came  to  Branch  county. 


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(y/^'^Jw'    vOCi^f'^'-'-fi-i:^^!^ 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  61T 

settling  first  at  Eronson.  He  there  turned  his  attention  to  the  blacksmith's 
trade,  which  he  followed  for  two  years,  after  which  he  went  to  Coldwatei-, 
where  he  began  earning  his  living  by  bkcksmithing  and  carriage  manufactur- 
ing, continuing  in  that  business  for  about  five  years.  He  then  engaged  in 
business  for  himself  in  partnership  with  Mr.  Lockard,  renting  a  shop  for 
the  first  year,  and  then  building  a  shop  on  West  Chicago  street,  where  the 
Harley  agricultural  implement  business  is  now  located.  Mr.  Mclntyre  con- 
tinued in  business  in  Coldwater  for  about  thirteen  years.  The  partnership 
continued  for  three  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  purchased  his  part- 
ner's interest  He  was  then  alone  in  business  until  about  1875,  when  he 
traded  his  property  for  a  farm  in  Calhoun  county,  Michigan.  There  he 
lived  for  two  years,  when  he  sold  out  and  purchased  where  he  now  resides. 
He  has  made  his  home  in  Matteson  township  for  twenty-eight  years,  and 
his  farm  now  comprises  two  hundred  and  fifty-six  acres  of  land.  At  one 
time  his  holdings  were  three  hundred  and  sixteen  acres,  but  he  has  sold  a 
part  of  this  to  his  son  Frank.  As  an  agriculturist  he  has  been  very  energetic 
and  progressive,  and  has  annually  harvested  good  crops  because  of  the 
practical  care  and  labor  which  he  has  bestowed  upon  the  fields. 

In  February,  1865,  Mr.  Mclntyre  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Amanda  Bearss,  a  daughter  of  Henry  and  Harriet  (Darhng)  Bearss.  The 
father  was  born  in  Connecticut  and  the  mother  in  Albany,  New  York,  and  in 
their  family' were  eight  children,  six  daughters  and  two  sons,  Mrs.  Mclntyre 
being  the  fifth  in  order  of  birth.  She  was  born  in  Prattsville,  New  York, 
September  22,  1846,  and  was  brought  to  Michigan  when  about  twelve  years 
of  age,  since  which  time  Branch  county  has  been  her  home.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Mclntyre  have  but  one  son,  Frank,  who  was  born  in  Matteson  township, 
Jlarch  16,  1880,  was  married  to  Lottie  Sanderson,  and  is  now  an  enter- 
prising and  leading  agriculturist  of  Matteson  township.  Mr.  Mclntyre  has 
always  voted  with  the  Republican  party.  He  has  been  a  very  successful 
man,  and  starting  out  in  Hfe  on  his  own  account  empty  handed  has  steadily 
worked  his  way  upward,  proving  that  prosperity  and  an  honored  name  can 
be  won  simultaneously,  for  in  his  business  career  he  has  gained  success,  and 
has  also  made  an  excellent  reputation  as  a  straightforward,  reliable  busi- 
ness man. 

NORMAN  A.  REYNOLDS.  ■ 

Judge  Norman  A.  Reynolds,  who  for  many  years  has  wielded  a  wide 
influence  in  professional  and  political  circles  in  Branch  county,  and  is  now 
practically  living  a  retired  life  at  his  home  in  Coldwater,  was  bom  in  Cayuga 
county.  New  York,  May  28,  1843,  and  is  a  representative  of  one  of  the  old 
colonial  families  that  was  established  in  Connecticut  during  an  early  epoch 
in  the  history  of  the  new  world.  His  paternal  grandfather,  Joseph  Reynolds, 
belonged  to  the  Fifth  Regiment  of  the  militia  of  Dutchess  county.  New  York, 
and  served  in  tlie  Revolutionary  war  under  Colonel  Philip  Van  Cortland. 
He  was  taken  captive  and  for  some  time  was  held  as  a  prisoner  of  war  on  a 
British  vessel  in  New  York  harbor.  He  was  a  son  of  Caleb  Reynolds  and 
a  grandson  of  Joshua  Reynolds,  of  Fairfield  county,  Connecticut.     It  is  not 


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618  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

definitely  known  when  the  family  was  established  in  New  York,  but  Joseph 
Reynolds,  the  Revolutionary  hero,  resided  in  Dutchess  county,  and  Caleb 
Reynolds,  father  of  Judge  Reynolds,  was  bom  in  the  Empire  state.  The  last 
named  became  a  farmer  by  ■occupation  and  spent  his  entire  life  in  New  York. 
He  married  Lydia  Robinson,  also  a  native  of  the  same  state,  and  they  had  a 
family  of  eight  children,  whom  they  reared  upon  the  home  farm. 

Judge  Reynolds  early  became  familiar  with  the  experiences  and  labors 
that  usually  fall  to  the  lot  of  a  farmer's  son,  and  following  his  preliminary 
course  of  study  in  the  district  schools  he  attended  an  academy  for  a  time  and 
during  the  winter  of  1860-61  taught  school.  Prompted  by  a  spirit  of  loyalty 
and  patriotism,  he  laid  aside  his  text-books  and  offered  his  services  in  de- 
fense of  the  Union  which  his  grandfather  had  aided  in  establishing,  enlisting 
on  the  7th  of  September,  1861,  as  a  member  of  Company  A,  Tenth  New  York 
Cavalry,  for  a  term  of  three  years,  and  on  the  expiration  of  that  period  he 
re-enlisted  and  continued  with  the  boys  in  blue  until  the  cessation  of  hostilities, 
when  he  was  honorably  discharged  August  8,  1865.  He  served  with  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  and  his  regiment  was  one  of  the  most  active  of  that 
branch  of  tbe  service,  participating  in  many  important  and  hotly  contested 
engagements.  Judge  Reynolds  closely  followed  the  fortunes  of  his  regiment 
and  rose  from  the  ranks,  becoming  successively  corporal,  sergeant,  commissary 
sergeant  and  second  lieutenant.  He  has  always  maintained  a  deep  interest 
in  military  affairs  and  was  himself  a  brave  and  intrepid  soldier.  Of  Butter- 
worth  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  of  which  he  was  an  organizer,  he  served  for  three  years 
as  commander,  and  in  1883  he  was  a  lieutenant  of  the  Light  Guards,  while 
from  1887  until  1889,  inclusive,  he  was  captain  of  that  command. 

Following  his  service  in  the  Union  Army,  Judge  Reynolds  returned  to 
the  parental  home  in  New  York,  but  soon  afterward  went  west,  hoping  that 
he  might  enjoy  better  business  opportunities  in  the  region  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi. He  visited  Missouri  and  other  states,  but  not  finding  conditions 
favorable,  he  again  turned  his  face  to  the  east.  On  visiting  Branch  county, 
Michigan,  he  decided  that  conditions  here  were  more  to  his  liking,  and  since 
March  i,  1866,  he  has  been  a  resident  of  this  county,  and  from  1866  to  1877 
he  was  a  resident  of  Quincy  township.  He  had  previously  married  in  New 
York,  Miss  Emma  E.  Dofferty  having  become  his  wife,  and  the  young  couple 
located  on  a  farm  in  Quincy  township.  Four  years  later  he  was  called  unon 
to  mourn  the  death  of  his  wife.  In  1872  he  married  a  second  time,  wedding 
Miss  Emorette  A.  Harding. 

Judge  Reynolds  continued  his  farming  operations  until  1876,  when,  on 
account  of  failing  health,  he  sold  hJs  farm,  deciding  to  abandon  the  arduous 
labor  in  connection  with  an  agricultural  life.  He  came  to  Coldwater  in  Octo- 
ber, 1877,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1878.  Immediately  afterward  he 
located  for  practice  in  Coldwater,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  was  made 
circuit  court  commissioner.  In  1880  he  was  elected  probate  judge  of  Branch 
county,  and  thus  served  for  three  terms,  or  twelve  years,  at  the  close  of  which 
period  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law,  enjoying  a  large  clientage  until  1903, 
when,  at  the  age  of  sixty  years,  he  decided  to  retire  from  professional  and 
business  life.     His  business  relations  are  now  largely  financial,  his  attention 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  619 

being  given  to  the  supervision  of  his  investments.  He  is  also  a  director  of 
the  Branch  County  Savings  Bank,  of  which  be  was  one  of  the  organizers. 
He  was  appointed  by  Governor  Bhss,  in  1903,  a  member  of  the  board  of  con- 
trol of  the  State  Pubhc  School,  and  reappointed  by  Governor  Warner  in  1905 
for  a  term  of  six  years,  being  the  second  treasurer  of  the  board. 

In  fraternal,  religious,  social,  political  and  business  relations  he  has  al- 
ways been  active,  and  his  sound  judgment,  clear  discernment  and  indefatigable 
energy  have  made  his  influence  a  potent  and  beneficial  force  along  these  varied 
lines.  In  politics  he  has  been  a  stanch  Republican  since  the  organization  of 
the  party.  He  is  a  Master  Mason,  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  and  president  oi  the  Branch  County  Fraternal  Association.  His  in- 
terest in  his  adopted  county  and  her  welfare  is  deep  and  sincere  and  bis  co- 
operation in  progressive  public  movements  has  been  far-reaching  and  beneficial. 
Mrs.  Reynolds,  who  was  born  in  Hillsdale  county,  Michigan,  holds  a  prominent 
place  in  the  social  and  literary  circles  of  the  city  and  is  also  an  active  worker 
in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  For  seventeen  years  she  has  been  presi- 
dent of  the  Home  Missionary  Society  of  her  church,  of  which  she  was  an 
organizer.  She  has  also  been  president  of  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps,  and 
is  now  (1905)  leader  of  the  Purple  Circle  Columbia  Club,  an  association 
formed  of  eleven  different  literary  societies. 

FRANK  B.  REYNOLDS. 

Frank  B.  Reynolds,  only  son  of  Judge  and  Mrs.  Norman  A.  Reynolds, 
was  bom  on  his  father's  farm  in  Quincy  township.  Branch  county,  Michigan, 
on  the  2cth  of  January,  1874,  and  the  city  of  Coldwater  has  been  his  home 
since  he  was  three  years  of  age.  Here  he  grew  to  manhood  and  attended 
school,  being  graduated  from  the  high  school  with  the  class  of  1891.  He 
afterward  pursued  a  twc-years'  literary  course  in  the  University  of  Michigan 
and  then  entered  upon  the  study  of  law  in  the  same  instittition,  being  gradu- 
ated with  the  class  of  1895,  with  the  degree  of  LL.  B.  He  was  immediately 
admitted  to  the  bar,  and  in  association  with  his  father,  then  practicing  law  in 
Coldwater,  he  began  his  professional  career.  In  the  fail  of  1900,  he  was 
elected  probate  judge  on  the  Republican  ticket,  and  in  1904  was  re-elected, 
so  that  he  is  the  present  incumbent,  and  as  the  office  had  previously  been  filled 
by  his  father  for  three  terms,  the  name  of  Reynolds  has  been  associated  with 
the  probate  bench  for  twenty  years.  Frank  B.  Reynolds  bad  previously  served 
for  three  years  as  city  attorney  of  Coldwater  and  for  two  terms  as  circuit 
court  ctimmissioner.  He  volunteered  and  served  in  the  Spanish-American 
war,  joining  the  Thirty-second  Michigan  Volunteer  Infantry,  in  which  he 
was  a  color  sergeant. 

In  1896  Judge  Reynolds  married  Miss  Florence  M.  Hilliar,  and  they 
have  two  children :  Adeltha  A,  and  Frances  I.  He  is  a  Master  Mason  and  a 
leading  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  of  which  he  is  now  serv- 
ing as  trustee.  He  also  has  lieen  very  active  in  the  work  of  the  Sunday- 
school,  the  Epworth  League  and  the  Young  lien's  Christian  Association, 
being  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  and  vice-president  of  the  last  named 
for  a  number  of  years.    Like  his  father,  his  is  a  well  rounded  character  and 


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620  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

in  his  life  proportionate  attention  has  been  given  to  his  profession  and  his 
obligations  to  his  fellow  men,  his  home  locality  and  his  country.  The  name 
of  Reynolds  has  Jong  figured  prominently  in  Branch  county  and  has  ever  been 
an  honored  one. 

JOHN  P.  FOX. 

John  P.  Fox,  living  on  section  one,  Sherwood  township,  was  born  In 
Montour  county,  Pennsylvania,  then  a  part  of  Columbia  county,  on  the  23rd 
of  May,  1843.  His  paternal  grandfather,  John  Fox,  was  also  a  native  of 
the  keystone  state,  where  he  spent  his  entire  life.  He  was  descended  from 
German  and  English  ancestry  and  the  family  was  established  in  Pennsyl- 
vania at  a  very  eariy  day,  the  first  representatives  of  the  name  settling  near 
the  Etelaware  river.  The  deed  to  their  land  was  signed  by  William  Penn 
and  the  farm  which  was  thus  secured  is  yet  in  possession  of  the  Fox  fam- 
ily. It  lies  in  Bucks  county  and  through  successive  generations  the  family 
has  been  represented  there.  Daniel  M.  Fox,  father  of  John  P.  Fox,  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania  and  came  to  Michigan  in  1854,  locating  in  Calhoun 
county.  He  was  a  teacher  in  early  life  and  later  engaged  in  farming,  con- 
tinuing in  active  agricultural  pursuits  imtil  his  death,  which  occurred  when 
he  was  in  his  seventy-fifth  year.  He  resided  continuously  upon  his  farm  in 
Calhoun  county  upon  which  he  first  located.  He  married  Eliza  Lichten- 
walner,  who  was  born  in  Northampton  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  a 
daughter  of  Peter  Lichtenwalner,  also  a  native  of  that  state,  his  ancestors 
having  settled  in  Pennsylvania  in  1733.  Mrs.  Fox  was  sixty-eight  years  of 
age  at  the  time  of  her  demise.  She  had  become  the  mother  of  nine  chil- 
dren, four  sons  and  five  daughters,  of  whom  three  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters reached  adult  age. 

John  P.  Fox,  the  sixth  child  and  third  son,  was  a  youth  of  ten  years 
at  the  time  of  his  parents'  removal  to  Michigan  and  he  was  reared  in  Fre- 
donia  township,  Calhoun  county,  acquiring  his  education  in  the  district 
schools.  Throughout  the  period  of  his  boyhood  he  assisted  in  the  operation 
of  the  home  farm  and  thus  gained  practical  experience  which  proved  of 
value  to  him  when  he  began  farming  on  his  own  account.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1868  to  Miss  Catherine  F.  Green,  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Jacob  S.  Green, 
who  came  to  Michigan  in  1866  and  engaged  in  the  practfce  of  his  profes- 
sion in  this  portion  of  the  state.  Mrs.  Fox  was  born  in  Tompkins  county, 
New  York,  May  3,  1843,  ^nd  after  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fox  re- 
mained on  the  old  homestead  farm  in  Calhoun  county  until  1882,  w\\ea  they 
settled  in  Sherwood  township  and  have  since  resided  here.  They  became 
the  parents  of  three  children :  Charles,  who  is  engaged  in  the  clothing  busi- 
ness at  Athens,  Michigan;  Liza,  the  wife  of  Claud  H.  Whitney,  of  Denver, 
Colorado;  and  Lena,  the  wife  of  Clifford  Darling  of  Girard  township. 
Branch  county.  The  wife  and  mother  died  January  i,  1896,  and  in  October, 
1897,  Mr.  Fox  wedded  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Burton,  the  widow  of  Otis  Burton  and 
a  daughter  of  Lance  Simmons. 

Mr.  Fox  is  a  representative  agriculturist,  owning  and  operating  two 
hundred  and  fifty-six  acres  of  well  improved  land  on  section  one,  Sherwood 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  621 

township.  He  is  also  a  director  and  a  vice-president  of  the  Farmers'  Na- 
tional Bank  at  Union  City  and  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Union  City  Cream- 
ery Company.  In  his  business  affairs  he  is  enterprising,  managing  his  inter- 
ests on  strictly  business  principles  and  whatever  he  undertakes  to  do  he 
does  thoroughly  and  well.  He  is  strong  in  all  the  essentials  that  combine 
to  make  a  valuable  and  trustworthy  biisiness  man.  In  politics  he  has  always 
been  a  Republican  but  would  never  accept  office.  He  belongs  to  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church  at  Union  City  and  is  now  chairman  of  its  board  of 
trustees,  also  one  of  its  stewards  and  very  active  in  the  different  depart- 
ments of  the  church  work.  His  identification  therewith  has  continued  for 
thirty-five  years  and  for  about  twenty  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Ancient  Order  of.  United  Workmen. 

WILLIAM  ADAMS  COOMBS. 

William  A.  Coombs  was  born  in  South  Thompson,  Maine,  August  21, 
1840,  being  the  eldest  of  five  children  and  only  son  of  Archibald  and  Har- 
riett (Kalioch)  Coombs.  He  accompanied  his  parents  on  their  removal  to 
LapOTte  county,  Indiana,  where  his  youth  was  pas,=ied,  and  after  mastering 
the  branches  taught  in  the  public  schools  he  continued  his  studies  in  the 
Valparaiso  Normal  School  and  afterward  was  engaged  in  teaching  school 
for  a  time,  Mr,  Coombs  entered  mercantile  life  in  connection  with  a  gen- 
eral store  at  Rolling  Prairie,  Indiana,  where  he  remained  until  November, 
1868,  when  he  came  to  Coldwater  and  was  here  engaged  in  merchandising, 
for  a  short  time.  Later  he  became  a  dealer  in  fruit  trees  and  was  engaged 
in  selling  nursery  stock  for  several  years.  About  1877  he  purchased  the 
Crippen  flouring  mill,  which  he  conducted  until  his  death,  and  he  also  bought 
and  operated  other  mills.  He  likewise  purchased  the  plant  of  the  Coldwa- 
ter Gas  Company,  developed  the  business  and  retained  a  controlling  inter- 
est in  the  same.  He  was  instrumental  in  establishing  the  Tappen  shoe  fac- 
tory, of  which  he  became  one  of  the  stockholders,  and  thus  his  identification 
with  varied  business  interests  made  him  a  valued  factor  in  the  industrial 
and  commercial  development  of  the  city. 

In  March,  1866,  Mr.  Coombs  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Qara 
Adams  Webster,  a  daughter  of  Harrison  Webster,  a  native  of  New  York, 
who  settled  in  Branch  county,  Michigan,  in  1867,  and  here  followed  the 
occupation  of  farming.  His  wife  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Mary  E.  Dick- 
son, and  was  also  a  native  of  New  York.  Mrs.  Coombs  was  born  in  Ripley, 
New  York,  and  there  her  marriage  was  celebrated.  She  became  the  mother 
of  five  children:  Mrs.  Edith  Zwisler,  now  deceased;  Anna  M.,  the  wife 
of  Fred  W.  Moore  of  the  Coombs  Milling  Company  of  Coldwater;  Susie 
S.,  the  wife  of  Elmer  J.  Allen;  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  H.  R:  Saunders  of  the 
Coldwater  National  Bank;  and  William  Adams,  secretary  of  the  Coldwater 
Gas  Company. 

William  A.  Coombs  gave  his  political  support  to  the  Republican  party, 
and  was  always  interested  in  its  siiccess.     He  died  in  Coldwater  June  iq, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


A.  MUNSON  ETHERIDGE. 

A.  Munson  Etheridfje.  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Etheridg-e  &  Norton. 
dealers  in  agricultural  implements  in  Quincy,  was  born  in  Coldwater  Febru- 
ary 27,  1844.  His  father,  Samnel  Etheridge,  was  a  native  of  Adams,  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  came  to  Michigan  in  1836,  locating  in  Coldwater.  He  was 
a  millwright  by  trade  and  built  the  first  ilouring  mill  in  Branch  county. 
It  became  known  as  the  old  Crippen  Mill.  Mr.  Etheridge  was  a '  man  of 
considerable  prominence  and  influence  in  the  county  in  an  early  day.  He 
came  of  New  England  ancestry  and  had  been  liberally  educated.  His  polit- 
ical allegiance  was  given  to  the  Democracy  and  he  was  a  strong  party  man, 
doing  everything  in  his  power  to  promote  the  growth  and  insure  the  suc- 
cess of  the  principles  in  which  he  believed.  About  1850  he  took  part  in  a 
debate  tliat  was  held  in  Quincy  and  which  was  a  memorable  event  in  its 
early  history.  He  then  prophesied  that  a  railroad  would  be  built  throug^h 
Quincy  on  the  very  ground  on  which  the  schoolhouse  stood.  He  said  that 
the  day  would  come  when  the  continent  would  be  crossed  by  steel  rails  from 
ocean  to  ocean.  Although  the  prophecy  has  long  since  been  fulfilled  he 
showed  remarkable  foresight  in  his  prediction.  He  belonged  to  the  old 
school  of  gentlemen,  punctiliously  polite,  considerate  of  others  and  defer- 
ential in  manner.  When  the  senatorial  district  extended  to  Detroit  he  acted 
as  its  representative  in  1839-40  in  the  state  legislature,  which  then  held  its 
meetings  at  Detroit.  He  was  a  personal  friend  of  Governor  Steven  T.  Mason 
and  he  and  his  family  were  often  guests  at  the  governor's  home.  Mr.  Eth- 
eridge also  held  some  local  offices,  including  that  of  justice  of  the  peace,  in 
which  he  served  for  a  number  of  years.  In  1845  h«  removed  tO'  Quincy 
and  engaged  in  farming  just  west  of  the  town,  where  he  owned  a  tract  of 
land  that  was  eventually  divided  by  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad.  In  early  life 
he  held  membership  jn  the  Baptist  church  but  at  the  time  of  his  death  was 
a  communicant  of  the  Episcopalian  church.  In  his  fraternal  relations  he 
was  a  Mason.  He  died  in  1864  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  seventy-six  years,  and 
though  several  decades  have  since  come  and  gone  he  is  yet  remembered  by 
many  of  the  older  settlers  as  one  of  the  prominent  and  influential  citizens 
of  this  part  of  the  state.  He  married  Cynthia  Maria  Ingham,  who  was 
born  in  ^e  town  of  Schuyler,  Herkimer  county.  New  York,  in  1806,  and 
died  in  1886.  She  represented  one  of  the  old  New  England  families  of 
German  lineage  and, by  this  marriage  there  were  three  children:  Charles  I., 
a  farmer  living  in  Quincy  township;  Kirk  B.,  who  is  a  farmer  and  also  con- 
ducts a  feed  mill  at  Quincy ;  and  A.  Munson.  Samuel  Etheridge  was  twice 
married,  his  two  wives  being  sisters  and  by  the  first  union  he  had  six  chil- 
dren, but  only  one  is  now  living,  Mrs.  Cynthia  Brewer,  the  wife  of  Lorenzo 
D.  Brewer,  who  is  living  in  Coldwater  in  the  house  which  she  has  occu- 
pied for  sixty-seven  years.  She  has  reached  the  age  of  eighty-seven  years 
and  by  reason  of  a  broken  hip  is  now  an  invalid. 

A  Munson  Etheridge  was  a  student  in  the  public  schools  of  Quincy  and 
Coldwater  in  his  boyhood  days.  He  was  reared  upon  his  father's  farm  and 
has  followed  agricultural  pursuits  for  thirty-five  years,  owning  eighty  acres 


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J^S^A.^(^-J 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  623 

of  land  in  Quincy  township.  He  is  also  engaged  in  the  implement  business 
in  Quincy  at  the  present  time,  handles  buggies  and  wagons,  and  ako  deals 
quite  largely  in  real  estate,  his  business  interests  being  capably  conducted, 
Fo  that  he  has  a  gratifying  yearly  income.  He  began  dealing  in  implements 
in  Coldwater  in  i860  in  connection  with  Mr.  Bert  and  his  brother,  Theodore 
C.  Etheridge,  with  whom  he  was  identified  in  business  relations  for  eight 
years.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  took  up  his  abode  011  his  farm 
near  Quincy,  but  in  1895  again  entered  mercantile  life,  and  in  1S97  formed 
a  partnership  in  the  implement  business  with  A.  L.  Bowen,  which  continued 
until  the  fall  of  1902,  when  he  piirchased  his  i>artner's  interest  and  shortly 
afterward  admitted  H.  P.  Norton  to  a  partnership  under  the  present  firm 
style  of  Etheridge  &  Norton. 

In  1870  Mr.  Etheridge  was  married  to  Miss  Clara  J.  Newberry,  a 
daughter  of  Peter  M.  and  Hannah  (Seaberry)  Newberry.  She  was  bom  in 
Quincy  township  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Mr.  Etheridge,  her  natal  year 
being  1845.  H^''  father  had  come  to  Michigan  in  1836,  settling  first  in 
Jonesville,  where  he  remained  for  a  year.  He  then  came  to  Quincy  town- 
ship, where  the  family  home  was  maintained  through  a  long  period.  He  had 
but  two  daughters,  Mrs.  Etheridge's  sister  becoming  the  wife  of  his  brother, 
Kirk  Etheridge. 

Unto  our  subject  and  his  wife  have  been  born  the  following  named: 
Alice  C,  At  home:  Warren  S.,  who  is  his  father's  assistant  in  business: 
Mabel  L.,  who  is  attending  the  conservatory  of  music  of  the  state  normal; 
Theodore  Cleveland,  at  home;  Willie,  who  died  at  the  age  of  nine  years; 
and  Arthur,  who  died  at  the  age  of  four  years,  both  dying  of  diphtheria  in 
18S4.  The  parents  are  consistent  and  prominent  members  of  the  Baptist 
church,  and  Mr.  Etheridge  has  been  a  deacon  in  the  church  for  thirty-five 
years.  He  cast  his  first  presidential  ballot  for  Abraham  Lincoln  and  has 
since  given  an  unfaltering  support  to  the  Republican  party.  Mrs.  Etheridge 
crossed  the  continent  soon  after  the  building  of  the  first  railroad  in  company 
with  her  father,  and  later  Miss  Alice  Etheridge  made  the  same  trip  to  Cali- 
fornia with  her  grandfather  Newberry.  The  family  is  a  prominent  one 
in  the  locality,  occupying  an  enviable  position  in  the  social  circles  in  which 
they  move  and  Mr.  Etheridge  has  contributed  in  substantial  measure  to  the 
business  development  of  the  city. 

WILLIAM  WILSON.  M.  D. 
Dr.  William  Wilson,  whose  life  has  been  devoted  to  the  welfare  of  his 
fellowmen  as  a  practitioner  of  medicine  and  minister  of  the  gospel,  was  born 
in  the  city  of  Dumfries,  Scotland,  June  20.  1848-  When  he  was  twelve 
years  of  age  his  mother  with  her  two  sons,  William  and  James,  came  to  the 
United  States,  settling  at  Albany,  New  York,  where  Mrs.  Wilson  spent  her 
remaining  days,  her  death  there  occurring  in  1902,  when  she  was  about 
seventy-four  years  of  age.  It  was  in  that  state  that  Dr.  Wilson  was  reared, 
early  entering  business  life  there  as  an  apprentice  to  the  carpenter's  trade. 
His  school  privileges  were  very  limited,  but  he  was  fond  of  books  and  de- 
voted his  evening  hours  to  reading  and  study,  thus  gaining  a  fair  education 


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624  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

to  which  observation,  experience  and  investigation  have  added  as  the  years 
have  gone  by.  When  twenty-two  years  of  age  he  professed  his  faith  in 
Christ  and  joined  the  Plymouth  Brethren,  after  which  he  devoted  much  of 
his  time  for  ten  years  to  preaching  the  gospel.  In  the  meantime  he  also 
followed  carpentering  and  other  occupations  in  order  to  gain  a  livelihood, 
but  throughout  the  years  that  have  since  come  and  gone  he  never  ceased  to 
continue  his  labors  in  the  ministry  and  his  influence  has  ever  been  a  potent 
factor  on  the  side  of  right,  justice  and  truth.  In  1881  he  took  up  the 
study  of  medicine  under  the  direction  of  the  late  George  L.  Whitford,  M.  D., 
at  Coldwater,  having  removed  to  this  city  in  1878.  Later  he  became  a 
student  in  Bennett  Medical  College  of  Chicago,  from  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated in  18S4.  He  then  located  in  East  Saginaw,  Michigan,  where  he  re- 
mained for  a  year,  after  which  he  returned  to  Coldwater,  where  he  has  since 
followed  the  profession  of  medical  practice  and  has  also  engaged  in  teach- 
ing. He  has  been  successful  in  his  ministrations  for  the  physical  needs  of 
mankind  and  he  has  kept  in  touch  with  the  progress  of  his  profession  through 
membership  in  the  Branch  County  Medical  Society  and  the  Tri-State  Medical 
Society. 

Dr.  Wilson  was  married  in  1879  to  Miss  Julia  A.  Whitford,  a  daughter 
of  Dr.  George  L.  Whitford,  and  they  have  two  sons — Harry  G.  and  James 
G.,  both  traveling  salesmen.  The  life  work  of  Dr.  Wilson  has  been  ac- 
tuated by  a  broad,  humanitarian  spirit  and  deep  interest  in  his  fellowmen 
that  prompts  his  best  efforts  for  the  amelioration  of  all  the  conditions  which 
work  hardships  to  others.  Added  to  his  efforts  for  the  alleviation  of 
suffering  and  diseases  he  brings  the  consolation  of  the  gospel  faith  and 
in  his  life  shows  forth  the  true  spirit  of  Him  who  came  not  to  be  ministered 
unto  but  to  minister. 

HON.  WILLIAM  B.  BUSHNELL.       , 

William  B.  Bushnell,  a  furniture  dealer  of  Bronson,  Michigan,  was  born 
on  his  father's  farm  in  Noble  township,  six  miles  south  of  Bronson,  Febru- 
ary 21,  1849,  son  of  Ephraim  B.  Bushnell.  The  latter,  a  native  of  Ohio, 
moved  to  Michigan  in  1836,  accompanied  by  his  father,  Samuel  Bushnell, 
who  was  bom  in  Vermont  and  who  at  an  early  day  had  come  as  far  west 
as  Ohio.  Samuel  Bushnell  spent  the  rest  of  his  life  in  Michigan,  and  died 
at  the  home  of  his  son  in  Branch  county. 

Like  other  farmer  boys,  William  B.  Bushnell  worked  on  a  farm  in  sum- 
mer and  during  the  winter  months  attended  the  country  school  near  his 
home.  Also  for  a  short  time  he  was  a  student  at  Orland  Academy  in  Indi- 
ana. At  the  age  of  twenty,  ambitious  to  see  something  of  the  world,  he 
went  west,  visiting  Iowa, .  Nebraska,  Idaho,  Montana  and  California,  where 
he  spent  some  time  engaged  in  mining  and  various  other  occupations.  Re- 
turning to  Michigan  in  1876,  he  settled  down  to  farming  in  Branch  county 
and  gave  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits  here  until  January,  1902, 
when  he  became  associated  with  E.  M.  Turner  in  a  general  furniture  and 
undertaking  business  in  Bronson.  He  still  owns  a  farm  of  ninety  acres, 
located  two  and  a  half  miles  west  of  Bronson. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  625 

Mr.  Bushnell  married,  in  1880,  Miss  Maria  Taggart,  daughter  of  David 
Taggart,  of  Branch  county,  and  they  have  four  children,  namely:  Leland  D., 
a  graduate  of  Lansing  Agricidtural  College  with  the  class  of  June,  1905; 
Clyde  E.,  a  student  in  that  college;  Elwood  D'.,  a  graduate  of  the  Bronson 
high  school  in  1904,  is  now  teaching  school;  and  Clesson,  at  home. 

Mr.  Bushnell  has  always  been  a  staunch  Republican,  For  three  years 
he  served  Bronson  township  as  supervisor,  being  the  only  Republican  elected 
to  that  office  during  a  period  of  thirty  years.  In  1891  he  was  elected  a 
representative  to  the  Michigan  general  assembly  for  a  term  of  two  years, 
and  filled  the  position  with  credit  to  himself  and  his  constituents.  He  is 
a  member  of  Mystic  lodge,  A.  F.  &  A,  M.,  of  Bronson. 

L.  M.  BOWERS. 

From  an  early  period  in  the  development  of  Branch  county  L.  M. 
Bowers  has  resided  within  its  borders,  and  has  been  an  interested  witness  of 
its  development  and  of  changes  that  have  been  wrought  as  agricultural  and 
commercial  progress  have  elevated  the  county  to  a  par  with  the  older  dis- 
tricts of  the  east.  He  lives  on  section  fourteen,  Batavia'  township,  where  he 
has  a  good  farm  of  eighty-eight  acres,  upon  which  he  took  up  his  abode  thir- 
ty-two. years  ago.  his  birth  occurring  in  PenfieM,  Monroe  contity.  New  York, 
on  the  5th  of  December,  1840.  His  father,  John  Bowers,  was  a  native  r^f 
Essex  county.  New  Jersey,  born  in  the  town  of  Roxbury,  on  the  8th  of  July, 
1816,  and  is  now  living  in  his  ninetieth  year,  making  his  home  with  his  son, 
L.  M.  Bowers  of  this  review.  He  is  still  a  hale  and  hearty  old  man,  re- 
spected and  honored  by  young  and  old,  rich  and  poor.  He  came  to  Branch 
county  in  1853,  locating  in  Batavia  township  and  has  been  a  life-long  farmer. 
He  was  a  son  of  John  Bowers,  a  native  of  Vermont— a  fact  which  indicates 
that  the  family  was  established  in  the  new  world  at  an  early  day,  while  this 
country  still  belonged  to  Great  Britain.  Jolm  Bowers  was  unhed  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Esther  Ann  Moore,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Monroe  county, 
New  York,  and  who  passed  away  when  about  sixty-five  years  of  age.  In 
their  family  were  two  children,  but  the  daughter  died  in  childhood. 

L.  M.  Bowers,  the  only  son,  was  a  youth  of  twelve  years  when  he  came 
with  his  parents  to  Michigan,  and  his-  education,  which  was  begun  in  the 
east,  was  continued  in  the  district  schools  of  Branch  county  and  in  the  city 
of  Coldwater.  He  remained  at  home  through  the  period  of  his.  youth  and 
for  one  year  was  engaged  in  the  jewelry  business  in  Coldwater,  but  thirty- 
two  years  ago  located  on  his  present  farm.  For  a  year  and  a  half  he  con- 
ducted a  general  store  at  Klinger's  Lake  and  established  the  postoffice  there, 
acting  as  postmaster  during  the  period  of  his  residence  there.  He  also  es- 
tablished the  first  rural  route  that  went  out  of  Coldwater. 

On  the  13th  of  February.  1863,  Mr.  Bowers  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Lovina  Grove,  a  daughter  of  Archibald  and  Jane  (Pitdier)  Grove, 
who  came  to  Branch  county  in  1833.  On  the  occasion  of  the  mother's  death 
the  following  notice  appeared  in  a  local  paper : 

"  Mrs.  Jane  Grove,  or  better  known  as  Grandma  Grove,  whose  serious 
illness  has  from  time  to  time  been  mentioned  in  our  items,  departed  this 


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626  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

life  last  Monday  evening.  Mrs,  Grove  has  always,  lived  a  peaceful  quiet 
home  life.  Being  left  a  mdow  in  early  life  with  a  large  family  of  little 
children,  she  worked  hard  to  keep  her  family  together,  and  although  sorely 
tried  with  the  hardships  of  an  early  pioneer  life  she  still  pressed  nobly  on 
and  lived  to  see  her  children  all  grown  up  to  manhood  and  womanhocxl  with 
beautiful  homes  of  their  own.  As  she  had  always  lived  a  quiet  life  she 
wished  her  burial  to  be.  Her  own  daughters  cared  for  her  in  her  last  sick- 
ness and  in  death  her  sons  laid  her  body  away  to  rest.  Elder  Lowry,  of 
Coldwater,  talked  in  his  qniet  and  expressive  way  from  a  text  of  her  own 
selection  and  Miss  Elizabeth  Grove,  who  is  a  relative  of  the  family,  sang  in 
her  sweet  voice  two  solos.  It  can  be  truly  said  with  Mr.  Lowry  that  she 
had  lived  a  long  life  and  fought  a  good  fight." 

Mrs.  Bowers  was  bom  in  Batavia  township  May  15,  1843,  and  was  one 
of  a  family  of  ten  children,  being  the  fifth  in  order  of  birth.  Her  girlhood 
was  spent  in  Batavia  township  and  the  public  schools  of  the  neighborhood 
afforded  her  her  educational  privileges.  In  fact  she  has  lived  in  this  town- 
ship thronghont  her  entire. life  and  has  a  very  wide  acquaintance.  By  her 
marriage  she  has  become  the  mother  of  one  daughter,  Mary  E.,  now  the 
wife  of  Mortimer  Olds,  a  resident  of  Batavia  township. 

Mr.  Bowers  is  the  owner  of  a  farm  of  ninety  acres  and  has  always  car- 
ried on  general  agricultural  pursuits.  His  well  tilled  fields  indicate  his 
careful  supervision  of  his  place,  which  is  thoroughly  equipped  with  modern 
improvements  and  presents  an  attractive  appearance.  He  has  been  identified 
with  the  Democratic  and  Greenback  ]^)arties  and  favors  the  free  coinage  of 
silver  at  the  ratio  of  sixteen  to  one.  He  has  served  as  township  clerk  of 
Batavia  township  for  about  two  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Grange,  and 
at  one  time  w'as  connected  with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 
For  fifty-three  years  a  resident  of  Branch  county,  he  has  been  an  interested 
witness  of  almost  its  entire  development,  and  has  been  particularly  helpful 
along  the  hne  of  agricultural  progress,  co-operating  largely  in  the  Grange 
movement.  He  was  master  of  the  local  Grange  for  about  ten  years,  and 
has  been  a  member  of  the  county,  state  and  national  Grange,  recognized  as 
one  of  its  prominent  representatives.  He  has  also  been  president  and  di- 
rector of  the  Farmers'  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company  of  Branch  county.  An 
investigation  into  his  life  record  will  disclose  no  startling  chapters,  but  will 
show  that  in  the  faithful  performance  of  the  duties  of  this  work-a-day  world 
he  has  won  a  fair  measure  of  prosperity  and  at  the  same  time  has  lived  so 
as  to  gain  the  respect  and  trust  of  those  with  whom  he  has  been  associated. 

J.  MOREHOUSE  BLACKMAN,  M.  D. 

Dr.  J.  Morehouse  Blackman.  among  the  young  practitioners  of  medi- 
cine and  surgery  in  Branch  county,  with  a  well  equipped  office  in  QuJncy. 
where  he  has  gained  a  creditable  and  gratifying  patronage,  was  born  at 
White  Pigeon,  Michigan,  in  1873,  anrf  when  but  three  years  of  age  was 
brought  to  Quincy  by  his  parents,  in  1876.  He  is  a  son  of  Edson  Blackman. 
represented  on  another  page  of  this  work.  He  acquired  his  early  •education 
in  the  public  schools  of  Quincy,  and  subsequently  became  a  student  in  Hills- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  627 

dale  College,  which  he  attended  in  the  years  1895-6.  He  then  began  pre- 
paration for  his  profession  by  reading  medicine  under  the  direction  of  his 
father,  and  in  1896  was  enrolled  as  a  student  in  the  Edectic  Medical  College, 
at  Cincinnati,  where  he  remained  for  a  year.  His  views  concerning  prac- 
tical principles  then  changed  to  some  extent  and  he  became  a  student  in 
the  Grand  Rapids  Medical  College,  in  1897.  and  was  graduated  therefrom 
in  the  following  year.  The  succeeding  year  was  spent  in  practice  in  Quincy, 
after  which  he  pui'sued  a  year's  course  in  the  Detroit  Homa^athic  College, 
being  a  graduate  of  that  institution  of  the  class  of  1900.  He  has  thoroughly 
investigated  all  sides  of  medical  practice  and  in  his  work  he  makes  wise 
choice  of  what  he  believes  will  prove  the  most  helpful  in  checking  the  rav- 
ages of  disease  and  restoring  health.  In  1900  he  returned  to  Quincy,  where 
he  has  since  remained,  having  an  office  \vilh  .his  father.  He  has  been  suc- 
cessful from  the  start  and  new  has  a  tjusiness  which  many  an  older  prac- 
titioner might  well  envy. 

In  1901  Dt.  Blackman  was  married  to  Miss  Carrie  Lusk,  a  daughter  of 
Alfred  and  Emily  Lusk.  She  w?s  bom  in  Cokhvater,  in  1S77,  and  is  an 
only  child.  The  family  comes  of  German  lineage.  Dr.  Blackman  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  fraternity  and  also  has  membership  relations 
with  the  Odd  Fellows,  Maccaliees  and  Mystic  Workers,  and  is  medical 
examiner  for  these  organizations  and  for  the  Equitable  Life  Insurance 
Company. 

ROBERT  WATSON. 

Robert  Watson,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Cokhvater,  was  born  in  Lin- 
colnshire, England,  December  12,  1840,  and  with  his  parents  came  to  Amer- 
ica in  1850,  the  family  home  l>eing  established  in  Pontiac.  He  afterward 
went  to  Flint,  Michigan,  and  in  i860  arrived  in  Coldwater.  He  was  then 
a  young  man  of  twenty  years,  possessing  energy,  determination  and  lauda- 
ble ambition.  He  here  established  a  meat  market  and  for  forty-two  years 
has  continued  in  the  same  line  of  business  in  this  city,  being  one  of  its  most 
reliable  and  representative  business  men.  He  is  always  straightforward  and 
honorable  in  every  business  transaction  and  had  a  large  patronage,  many  of 
his  customers  having  been  with  him  for  years.  This  business  he  sold  in 
1903. 

In  1866  Mr.  Watson  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Olive  Smith,  a 
daughter  of  General  Davis  Smith,  who  won  his  title  through  ser\'ice  in  the 
Black  Hawk  war.  Mrs,  Watson  was  born  in  Tecumseh,  Michigan,  and 
came  to  Branch  county  in  1851.  On  the  ist  of  April,  1869,  Mr.  Watson 
took  up  his  abode  on  his  present  farm,  which  comprises  one  hundred  and 
five  acres  of  land  all  within  the  city  limits.  He  has  a  fine  residence  here, 
which  he  erected  and  he  is  now  a  well-to-do  citizen,  his  prosperity  having 
been  gained  entirely  through  his  own  efforts.  Three  children  came  to  bless 
the  home,  but  one  has  passed  away.  The  daughter,  Laura  S.,  is  yet  with 
her  parents.  The  son,  Robert  Howard,  married  Miss  Blanche  Dunham  of 
Coldwater  and  now  follows  farming  in  Girard  township,  this  county.  They 
have  one  son,  Robert,     The  younger  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Watson, 


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'62S  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Lizzie  Emaline,  became  the  wife  of  W.  S.  Everts  and  died,  leaving  a  daugh- 
ter, Helen  L. 

Mr.  Watson  has  been  a  very  busy  man  and  in  addition  to  conducting 
the  meat  market  in  Coldwater  lie  has  engaged  largely  in  buying,  shipping 
and  selling  stock.  He  has  persevered  and  his  salient  traits  of  character  have 
been  such  as  have  insured  him  business  success.  He  has  made  his  home  in 
Coldwater  for  forty-five  years  and  is  closely  identified  with  its  interests.  In 
politics  a  Democrat,  he  has  been  chosen  by  popular  vote  to  the  office  of  alder- 
man for  eight  years  and  has  taken  an  active  part  in  everything  relating  to 
the  general  welfare.  The  family  are  connected  with  the  Episcopal  church 
and  are  well  known  in  Branch  county.  For  more  than  a  half  century  Mr. 
Watson  has  lived  in  this  state  and  for  forty-five  years  in  the  county,  and 
his  entire  life  history  has  been  as  an  open  book  which  all  may  read. 

JOHN  SEBRING. 

John  Sebring,  interested  in  general  farming  on  section  twenty-seven, 
Quincy  township,  was  born  in  Wayne  county.  New  York,  April  lo,  1824, 
and  in  the  paternal  line  comes  of  Dutch  ancestry.  The  family  was  repre- 
sented in  the  Revolutionary  wax  and -John  Sebring,  Sr.,  the  father  of 
our  subject,  was  a  soldier  of  the  war  of  1812,  being  on  Lake  Champlain 
when  peace  was  declared.  He  followed  the  occupation  of  farming  in  New 
York  and  was  one  of  the  native  sons  of  the  state,  his  birth  having  occurred 
in  Argyle  about  thirty  miles  from  the  city  of  Troy.  He  continued  to  make 
his  home  in  the  Empire  state  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1855.  His 
early  political  allegiance  was  given  to  the  Wliig  party  and  upon  its  dis- 
solution he  joined  the  ranks  of  the  Republican  party.  His  religious  faith 
was  that  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church.  In  early  manhood  he  wedded 
Nancy  Durgee,  a  native  of  Vermont,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  seven 
children :  Moses,  Eunice  and  Jenette,  all  deceased ;  Sarah,  who  is  the  widow 
of  John  L.  Seccomb,  who  was  a  millwright  of  Auburn,  New  York;  John, 
of  this  review;  and  Permelia  and  Catherine,  who  have  also  passed  away. 
After  losing  his  first  wife  Mr,  Sebring  married  Miss  Reynolds,  who  was 
born  in  New  York  and  died  about  1865,  at  the  age  of  thirty  years.  She 
came  of  New  York  ancestry  and  was  the  mother  of  seven  children :  Nancy 
and  William  Henry,  both  deceased;  Harrison  G.,  a  stock  dealer  of  Teconsha, 
who  in  1861  enlisted  for  service  in  the  Union  army,  with  which  he  re- 
mained for  four  years ;  Sylvester,  Andrew  and  Jacob,  ai!  deceased ;  and 
Mary  M.,  the  wife  of  C.  L.  Emmons,  a  farmer  of  Muskegon  county,  Mich- 
igan, who  was  formerly  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  brick  and  tile. 

John  Sebring,  whose  name  introduces  this  review,  was  reared  upon  a 
farm  and  attended  school  in  Wayne  county.  New  York.  He  afterward  be- 
gan work  as  a  farm  hand  and  later  embarked  in  business  on  his  own  ac- 
count in  the  conduct  of  a  saw  mill  in  New  York,  He  came  to  Michigan  on 
the  19th  of  November,  1853,  locating  in  the  viUage  of  Quincy,  and  erected 
a  saw  mill  on  the  ground  now  occupied  by  the  power  house.  He  was  as- 
sociated in  this  enterprise  with  Martin  Hawley  and  for  five  years  conducted 
the  mill,  after  which  he  went  to  northern  Michigan,  where  he  engaged  in 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  C2& 

lumbering  in  the  pine  woods  for  five  years.  In  the  meantime  he  had  pur- 
chased a  farm  in  Quincy  township,  upon  which  he  now  resides,  having  here 
fifty-one  acres  of  good  land.  Leaving  the  pineries  he  returned  to  this  place 
and  has  since  made  it  his  home.  He  also  owns  another  eighty  acres  on  the 
same  section  and  forty  acres  on  section  twenty-two,  together  with  six  acres 
within  the  corporation  limits  of  Quincy  laid  out  in  town  lots.  He  like- 
wise holds  stock  in  the  Quincy  State  Bank. 

In  1852  Mr.  Sebring  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  A.  Petteys,  who  was 
born  in  Wayne  county.  New  York,  in  1825,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Ben- 
jamin atid  Deborah  (Barney)  Petteys,  the  former  a  farmer  by  occupation. 
Tlie  mother  died  in  the  Empire  state,  after  which  the  father  came  to  Mich- 
igan and  passed  away  at  the  home  of  Mr.  Sebring.  In  his  family  were 
four  children:  Mary;  John  and  Moses,  both  deceased;  and  William,  who  is 
engaged  in  gardening  in  the  state  of  Washington.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Sebring  have  been  born  six  children:  George  D.,  of  Quincy;  Phurnia,  who 
is  acting  as  housekeeper  for  her  father;  Eugene,  living  in  Quincy  town- 
ship ;  Deborah  J.,  the  widow  of  Enos  Allen,  who  was  a  farmer  of  Burroak, 
where  Mrs.  Allen  still  makes  her  home,  giving  her  persona!  supervision  to 
the  farm;  William,  who  died  when  four  years  of  age;  and  John,  who  died 
when  six  months  old.  Mrs.  Sebring  died  May  13,  1900,  and  as  she  was 
held  in  high  esteem  by  her  many  friends  her  loss  was  deeply  regretted.  The 
following  obituary  was  written  at  her  death : 

"  Quincy  loses  another  pioneer  by  the  death  of  Mrs.  John  Sebring, 
which  occurred  Sunday,  May  13,  at  her  home  south  of  town,  after  an  ill- 
ness of  a  few  days,  the  immediate  cause  being  Bright's  disease. 

"  Mrs.  Sebring,  whose  maiden  name  was  Mary  A.  Petteys,  was  born  at 
Galen,  New  York,  December  27,  1825.  July  8,  1852,  she  was  united  in 
marriage  to  John  Sebring,  coming  to  Quincy  the  following  year,  living  in 
the  village  for  a  number  of  years  and  aftenvards  moving  to  their  beautiful 
farm  south  of  town.  To  this  union  six  children  were  born,  four  of  whom 
are  living,  George  and  Pliurnia  of  this  place;  Airs.  Nettie  Allen  of  Burr  Oak, 
and  Eugene  of  Spencer,  Nebraska,  all  of  whom  were  present  at  the  funeral 
except  the  latter,  who,  with  the  aged  husband  and  Bert  Dolph,  a  motherless 
nephew,  whom  she  had  tenderly  cared  for  since  infancy,  are  left  to  mourn 
the  loss  of  a  devoted  wife,  an  afifectionate  mother,  and  a  true  friend. 
Funeral  services  were  held  at  the  home  conducted  by  Rev.  F.  M.  Taylor, 
Methodist  Episcopal  pastor,  and  interment  made  at  Lakeview  cemetery." 

Mr.  Sebring  gives  his  political  support  to  the  Republican  party  but  has 
had  no  aspiration  for  office  and  when  elected  supervisor  did  not  qualify. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Michigan  State  Detective  Association.  He 
has  led  a  very  active  life  and  his  excellent  business  abihty  and  capacity,  for 
earnest  and  -persistent  labor  have  enabled  him  to  accumulate  a  considerable 
competency.  He  has  now  passed  the  eighty-first  milestone  on  Hfe's  journey 
and  is  in  possession  of  property  which  makes  him  one  of  the  substantial 
residents  of  his  community  and  enables  him  to  enjoy  the  comforts  and  many 
of  the  luxuries  which  go  to  make  life  worth  living. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


FREDERICK  STALEY. 

The  gentleman  named  above  is  a  fine  representative  of  the  noble  men  of 
the  middle  west  who,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war,  responded  promptly 
to  their  country's  call  and  gave  up  years  of  their  young  manhood  to  the  de- 
fense of  their  nation,  and  then,  their  work  in  this  line  accomplished,  returned 
to  their  former  peaceful  avocations  and  assisted  in  the  development  and 
growth  of  a  new  country.  Here  in  the  years  since  the  war  they  have  reared 
their  families  and  provided  for  them  comfortable  homes,  at  the  same  time 
performing  their  duties  as  private  citizens  truly  and  well, 

Frederick  Staley  is  of  good  old  German  descent,  his  father  and  mother, 
Frederick  and  Mary  Staley,  being  natives  of  Germany,  where  they  grew 
to  maturity  and  were  married.  Soon  after  marriage  they  were  attracted 
-by  the  evident  advantages  of  America  for  home-making  and  they  turned 
their  faces  in  this  direction,  coming  to  the  United  States  in  the  early  thir- 
ties. Making  their  way  westward,  they  located  first  in  Stark  county,  Ohio, 
where  six  children  were  born  to  them,  three  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  The 
others,  who  grew  to  maturity,  were  as  follows,  all  of  them  now  being  alive: 
Barbara  Hanley  and  Elizabeth  Schilling  are  still  residents  of  Crawford 
county,  Ohio,  while  Frederick  Staley,  the  youngest,  is  the  subject  of  this 
review. 

Their  parents  did  not  live  long  to  enjoy  the  benefits  and  privileges  of 
the  land  of  their  adoption.  Removing  from  Stark  county  to  Crawford 
county,  Ohio,  the  father  died  in  1850,  while  the  mother  passed  away  in 
1854.  Both  were  industrious  and  esteemed  people  while  Mrs,  Staley  was 
also  a  member  of  the  German  Lutheran  church.  Incidents  in  the  life  of 
Frederick  Staley,  Sr.,  and  his  son,  show  the  primitive  conditions  existing  in 
Ohio  during  the  first  years  of  their  residence  there.  It  is  related  of  the 
father  that  he  was  the  first  man  to  bring  a  grain  cradle  into  Crawford  county 
and  to  use  it  there,  where  settlers  had  always  previously  used  a  sickle  in 
harvesting  grain;  and  that  in  one  instance  at  least  the  owner  of  a  wheat 
field  refused  to  Jet  the  cradle  be  used  therein  for  fear  of  spoiling  the  wheat. 
Our  subject  also  relates  that  in  his  boyhood  and  early  manhood  he  always 
used  a  sickle  in  harvesting  grain,  even  the  grain  cradle  being  then  unknown. 

Our  subject  was  only  fourteen  years  old  when  he  was  by  the  death 
of  his  parents  thrown  upon  his  own  resources,  but  he  met  the  new  condi- 
tions in  a  brave  and  sturdy  manner,  working  on  farms  for  others  and  after 
the  marriage  of  his  eldest  sister  calling  that  place  his  home.  This  was  his 
busy,  though  rather  uneventful  life  until  he  became  of  age,  soon  after  which 
the  war  of  the  rebellion  opened.  Without  waiting  to  be  drafted  he  em- 
braced the  very  first  opportunity  for  enlistment,  this  occurring  in  Crawford 
county,  Ohio,  September  i,  1863,  and  he  was  at  once  made  a  corporal  in 
Company  H  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-third  Ohio  Infantry.  His 
regiment  was  in  Virginia  all  through  the  war  and  its  members  had  a  check- 
ered career,  suffering  hardships  and  privations  and  seeing  much  active  serv- 
ice. At  Winchester,  June  15,  1863,  the  regiment  was  captured  and  Mr, 
Staley  was  a  prisoner  for  several  months  in  Libby  and  Belle  Island.     Being 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  631 

parolled,  he  made  his  way  back  home  for  a  brief  furlough  before  rejoining 
his  regiment  in  the  field.  In  September,  1864,  he  was  promoted  to  sergeant, 
holding  this  position  until  the  close  of  the  war.  Mr.  Staley  received  but  one 
slight  wound,  but  he  passed  through  many  harrowing  experiences,  being  in 
all  but  one  of  the  fifty-one  engagements  of  his  regiment  and  enduring  many 
long  marches  without  food  or  drink.  The  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-third 
Ohio  was  captured  again  only  a  few  days  previous  to  Lee's  surrender  and 
its  last  military  duty  was  guarding  the  remains  of  the  lamented  Lincoln  at 
the  state  house  at  Columbus,  Ohio. 

Receiving  his  discharge  in  June.  1865,  Mr.  Staley  returned  to  his  home 
county  of  Crawford,  Here  previous  to  the  war  he  had  won  the  affections 
of  Sarah  Jameson,  and  both  remaining  true  to  their  vows  all  through  the 
long  war  they  were  married  a  few  months  after  his  return,  this  event  oc- 
curring October  19,  1865.  Sarah  Jameson  was  born  in  Crawford  county, 
Ohio,  March  13,  1837.  Her  father  was  John  Jameson,  bom  in  Westmore- 
land county,  Pennsylvania,  June  10,  1813,  while  her  mother  was  Leah  Dick- 
son, a  native  of  Indiana  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  she  was  born  July  6, 
i8og.  Her  paternal  grandparents  were  William  Jameson,  a  Scotchman, 
and  Mary  Hutchison,  of  Holland  descent;  while  her  maternal  grandparents 
were  Andrew  Dickson  and  Sarah  Frazee,  they  being  of  English-Irish  de- 
scent. These  grandparents  on  both  sides  were  residents  of  Pennsylvania  and 
they  went  westward  into  Crawford  county,  Ohio,  in  a  very  early  day. 

Mrs.  Staley's  parents,  John  and  Leah  Jameson,  were  the  parents  of  ten 
children,  four  of  whom,  Mary,  Ellen,  Leah  and  John,  died  in  infancy,  the 
others  being  as  follows:  Flora  Hanley  died  in  California  township;  Sarah 
Staley  is  the  wife  of  our  subject;  William  died  in  Ohio;  Andrew  is  still  liv- 
ing ill  Ohio;  Phoebe  is  a  resident  here:  Martha  Stewart  lives  in  this  county. 
The  father  and  mother,  who  led  long  and  useful  lives,  came  to  Michigan  in 
later  years,  the  former  dying  here  in  1870  at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years, 
and  his  wife  passing  away  in  1893. 

Frederick  and  Sarah  Staley  came  to  Michigan  the  year  following  their 
marriage  and  in  December,  1866,  settled  in  California  township.  Branch 
countj-,  on  a  farm  which  had  been  previously  purchased  on  section  eleven, 
where  they  set  to  work  to  make  for  themselves  a  home.  The  place,  was  un- 
cleared and  unimproved,  but  each  year  witnessed  progress,  Mr.  Staley  clear- 
ing the  land  himself,  always  finding  in  his  life  companion  a  willing  help- 
meet. Seven  children  came  to  them,  three  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  the 
others  growing  up.  To  the  credit  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Staley  be  it  said  that 
their  children  were  given  every  possible  advantage  in  the  way  of  education, 
advantages  which  the  young  people  appreciated,  for  they  applied  themselves 
diligently  and  showed  great  facility  and  aptitude.  Not  content  with  com- 
mon school  educations,  they  pushed  farther  after  useful  knowledge,  and 
that  they  have  fully  met  the  hopes  and  expectations  of  their  parents  is  shown 
by  the  following:  John,  the  eldest  son,  graduated  at  De  Pauw  University 
and  was  a  teacher  for  a  number  of  years  at  Lexington  and  Liberty,  Mis- 
souri, and  is  now  living  at  Beloit,  Kansas,  where  he  is  a  successful  land 
agent.     Mary,  the  only  daughter,  attended  the  Normal  College  at  Angola, 


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632  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Indiana,  and  afterward  was  a  school  teacher  for  ten  years.  She  was  also 
an  instructor  and  missionary  at  the  Indian  Mission  in  Oklahoma  for  two 
years,  and  afterward  married  William  Hay.  They  live  in  Kansas  and  have 
two  daughters,  Sarah  and  Martha.  Wilbert,  another  son,  supplemented  his 
common  school  education  with  courses  of  study  at  Angola,  Indiana,  and 
New  Concord,  Ohio,  and  for  three  years  has  been  taking  a  course  at  the 
College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  Chicago,  where  he  will  graduate  in 
1907.  His  wife  was  Nettie  Adams  and  they  have  one  son,  Herman.  Alva, 
the  youngest  son,  graduated  at  Angola,  Indiana,  after  which  he  pursued  a 
post-graduate  course  at  Lincoln  University,  Lincoln,  Nebraska.  Since  then 
he  has  been  a  highly  successful  educator  in  the  west,  being  at  present  super- 
intendent of  schools  at  Friend,  Nebraska.  He  married  Helen  Browne  and 
they  live  at  Friend,  Nebraska. 

Tlius  it  will  be  seen  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frederick  Staley  have  done  their 
whole  duty  and  even  more  by  their  children.  Theirs  have  been  long  and 
useful  lives,  filled  with  good  works,  and  they  are  now  living  in  a  comfort- 
able home  at  Ray,  Indiana,  whither  they  removed  in  1902,  although  still 
retaining  ownership  of  their  farm  of  eighty  acres  in  Cahfomia  township. 
Here  they  are  passing  their  declining  years,  in  comfortable  circumstances, 
and  with  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  their  children  are  filling  posi- 
tions of  honor  and  usefulness.  Mr.  Staley  was  for  many  years  assessor  in 
his  school  district  and  both  he  and  Mrs.  Staley  are  earnest  Christians  and 
consistent  members  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  church.  Both  possess 
the  high  regard  and  esteem  of  very  many  friends  in  the  community  where 
so  many  years  of  their  lives  have  been  passed. 

JS.    MERRILL. 

The  farming  interests  of  Ovid  township  are  well  represented  by  Js. 
Merrill,  who  is  living  on  section  twenty-five.  This  farm  was  the  place  of  his 
birth,  which  occurred  on  the  3d  of  June.  1861,  his  parents  being  Josejih 
Staple  and  Louesia  Jane  Hibner  Merrill.  The  father  was  a  native  of  Maine, 
born  July  22,  1823,  and  was  reared  in  New  England  to  the  age  of  fourteen 
years,  when  he  left  the  Pine  Tree  state  and  went  with  his  parents  to  Fulton 
county,  Ohio,  where  they  settled  upon  a  farm.  In  that  locality  Mr.  Merrill 
was  largely  educated  and  there  he  began  teaching  school  when  eighteen 
years  of  age,  successfully  following  that  profession  until  he  attained  his  ma- 
jority. He  gave  his  earnings  to  the  family  up  to  that  time  and  when  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  with  a  small  bundle  of  clothing  he  started  out  in  hfe  on  his 
own  account.  He  remained  in  Ohio  for  about  three  years  and  during  tliat 
period  learned  the  trade  of  blacksmith  ing.  He  was  also  married  at  that 
time  and  on  leaving  Ohio  he  came  to  Branch  comity,  Michigan,  settling  in 
Ovid  township.  Here  he  abandoned  his  trade  and  gave  his  attention  to 
general  agricultural  pursuits,  locating  upon  what  is  now  known  as  the  Mer- 
rill homestead  in  1845.  ^^  bought  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  twenty- 
five,  Ch^d  township,  second-hand  from  the  government  when  it  was  all  raw 
land,  but  he  cleared  and  cultivated  the  place  until  1849,  when  attracted  by 
the  discovery  of  gold  in  California  he  made  his  way  to  the  Pacific  coast. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  633 

traveling  eastward  by  rail  to  New  York,  thence  sailing  to  Panama,  after 
which  he  crossed  the  isthmus  and  proceeded  up  the  Pacific  coast  to  San  Fran- 
cisco. He  remained  in  California  for  two  years,  meeting  with  a  fair  meas- 
ure of  success,  and  then  returned  to  Branch  county  with  something  over 
two  thousand  dollars  that  he  had  earned  in  California.  About  that  time  bis 
wife  became  ill  with  consumption  and  died  later,  and  the  expenses  attendant 
upon  her  illness  consumed  much  of  the  money  which  Mr.  Merrill  had  made 
on  his  trip  to  the  west.  Undaunted,  however,  he  started  again  on  his  busi- 
ness career,  living  on  the  farm  for  two  years.  Later  he  was  married  and 
three  years  afterward  his  second  wife  passed  away.  He  then  remained 
single  for  two  years,  when  he  was  again  married  and  the  last  union  was 
blessed  with  two  children,  of  whom  Js.  Merrill  was  the  elder.  The  other 
died  in  infancy.  In  his  early  years  the  father  was  a  Whig  and  he  cast  his 
ballot  for  the  first  candidate  of  the  Republican  party,  of  which  he  remained 
a  steadfast  champion  up  to  the  time  of  his  demise.  He  was  averse  to  hold- 
ing public  office,  however,  and  stoutly  refused  to  do  so  although  his  friends 
solicited  him  to  accept  jwlitical  preferment.  He,  however,  took  an  active 
part  in  electing  capable  men  and  his  co-operation  could  ever  be  counted  upon 
to  support  any  measure  or  plan  that  was  formulated  to  advance  the  general 
welfare.  He  died  October  17,  1879,  °"  ^'''^  '^''^  homestead  farm,  at  the  age 
of  fifty-six  years,  two  months  and  twenty-seven  days,  and  that  he  had  led 
a  -^ery  busy  and  useful  life  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  he  left  an  estate  valued 
at  more  than  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  which  was  divided  equally  among  his 
children  and  his  widow. 

Js.  Merrill  was  eighteen  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  father's  demise 
and  then  started  out  in  life  for  himself,  since  which  time  he  lias  marked  out 
his  own  course  and  has  won  success  that  he  is  enjoying.  His  early  educa- 
tion was  acquired  in  the  district  schools  of  Ovid  township  and  he  attended 
the  teachers'  institutes  with  the  intention  of  becoming  a  teacher,  and  also  had 
begun  the  study  of  law,  but  his  father's  death  caused  him  to  change  his  plans 
and  he  has  continued  at  the  work  of  farming,  with  which  he  has  l>een  familiar 
from  his  early  youth.  This  business  he  has  made  his  life  work  and  he  is 
now  the  owner  of  a  valuable  and  well  improved  property,  having  one  hundred 
acres  of  land  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation. 

Mr.  Merriil  was  married  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  years  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  Knapp,  of  Kalamazoo  county,  Michigan,  who  was  born  in  1868, 
a  daughter  of  Martin  Knapp,  also  a  farmer  of  that  county,  where  Mrs. 
Merrill  was  reared.  There  is  hut  one  child  of  this  union,  Jessie,  who  was 
boni  October  22,  1887,  and  has  been  reared  on  the  old  homestead  farm. 
Mr.  Merrill  votes  the  Republican  party  and  earnestly  desires  its  success,  be- 
lieving that  it  contains  the  best  elements  of  good  government.  He  belongs 
toGreenleaf  lodge  No.  349,  F.  &  A.  M,,  of  Kinderhook,  and  is  in  hearty 
sympathy  with  the  teachings  and  tenets  of  the  craft,  while  in  public  affairs 
he  manifests  a  strong  and  tangible  intei-est  in  progressive  measures  that 
makes  him  a  valued  and  representative  citizen  of  his  native  county.  The 
Merrill  family  has  kept  a  direct  h'neage  of  their  birth  line,  tracing  far  back 
from  the  colonial  davs  of  the  United  States  of  America,  when  there  were 


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634  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

only  three  brothers  at  that  time  residents  and  natives  of  England.  When  they 
came  over  to  this  country  one  of  them  settled  in  what  is  now  called  the  New 
England  states,  one  in  the  state  now  called  Georgia,  and  the  other  went  to 
what  is  now  California,  and  they  still  to  this  day  accept  the  claim  of  blood 
Hne  to  ail  that  spell  the  family  name  Merrill. 

FRANK  J.    WATSON. 

Frank  J,  Watson,  living  in  Coldwater  township,  Branch  county,  is  a  na- 
tive of  the  Empire  state,  his  birth  having-  occurred  in  Orleans  county,  on  the 
7th  of  October,  1864.  His  father  was  William  Watson,  a  native 
of  England,  bom  January  2,  1837,  at  Norfolk,  England,  and  came 
alone  to  America  when  a  young  man  of  nineteen  years.  He 
landed  at  New  York  a  perfect  stranger  with  only  twenty-five  cents  in 
his  pocket  but  he  possessed  brave  purpose  and  indefatigable  energy 
and  with  these  as  a  foundation  for  future  success  he  entered  upon 
life  in  the  new  world.  In  early  manhood  he  wedded  Miss  Mary  Amos,  born 
September  5,  1845,  ^l  Hasbro,  England,  who  came  witli  her  parents  to 
America  when  but  six  years  of  age,  the  family  home  being  established  near 
Medina,  New  York.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Watson  were  married  in  the  Empire 
state,  and  four  children  were  born  unto  them  there,  all  of  whom  are  now 
living,  namely:  William  R.,  a  resident  of  Burr  Oak,  Michigan;  Frank  J.,  of 
this  review;  Mrs.  Eva  E.  Tyler,  of  Nottavva,  this  state;  and  George  K,  who 
is  also  living  at  Burr  Oak.  The  father  followed  the  occupation  of  farming 
in  New  York  until  thirty-eight  years  ago.  when  he  came  to  Mlichigan  and 
has  since  lived  in  Burr  Oak  township,  St.  Joseph  county,  where  he  still  makes 
his  home,  owning  and  operating  there  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  forty 
acres.  His  father  was  all  his  life  an  overseer  of  a  large  landed  estate  in 
England. 

Frank  J.  Watson  was  a  young  lad  when  brought  by  his  parents  to  this 
state  and  on  his  father's  farm  he  was  reared,  being  trained  to  liabits  of  indus- 
try, economy  and  enterprise.  The  public  schools  afforded  him  his  educa- 
tional privileges  and  he  became  familiar  with  all  the  duties  and  labors  that 
constitute  the  life-work  of  an  agriculturist.  As  a  companion  and  helpmate 
for  life's  journey  he  chose  Miss  Mary  M.  Pyle,  to  whom  he  was  married  in 
Bronson,  Michigan,  on  the  8th  of  May,  1S84.  She  was  bom  in  Niagara 
county.  New  York,  March  9,  1862,  and  was  a  daughter  of  Hiram  A.  Pyle, 
who  was  born  in  P^kin,  New  York,  November  9,  1836,  audi  in  early  life  re- 
moved to  Lewiston,  New  York,  where  he  married  Martha  Bordner,  bom  in 
WilHamsville,  Erie  county.  New  York.  April  9.  1844.  Tliey  came  to  Mich- 
igan in  1875  and  located  at  Burr  Oak,  St.  Joseph  county,  where  they  still 
reside,  the  father  being  engaged  in  the  blacksmith  business  there.  They  had 
three  children,  all  of  whom  are  living:  Mrs.  Watson,  of  tliis  review;  Mrs, 
D.  P.  Plant,  of  Burr  Oak;  and  Mina  B.  P>de,  who  is  a  most  successful  music 
ieacher  of  Burr  Oak,  She  is  a  graduate  in  music  of  Albion  College,  Mich- 
igan, in  class  of  1894,  a  student  in  the  Sherwood  Piano  School  and  studied 
with  the  celebrated  William  H.  Sherwood. 

For  a  year  after  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Watson  resided  in  Burr 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  635 

Oak,  and  then  came  to  Branch  county,  spending  the  succeeding  fourteen  years 
on  different  farms  in  Bronson  township.  They  also  hved  for  a  year  and  a 
half  in  Qmncy  township,  and  then  came  to  CoMwater  township,  where  they 
liave  since  made  their  home.  Mr.  Watson  now  owns  a  farm  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  acres  just  north  of  the  city  of  Coldwater,  on  which  he  has 
resided  since  March,  1905.  He  likewise  owns  seventy  acres  east  of  the 
city.  He  has  a  comfortable  home  and  there  are  other  good  buildings  upon 
his  farm,  while  the  land  is  fertile  and  productive,  responding  readily  to  the 
cultivation  which  he  puts  upon  it.  His  entire  life  has  been  devoted  to  agri- 
cultural pursuits  and  his  broad  experience  and  enterprise  have  won  him  the 
success  which  he  now  enjoys.  He  is  considered  one  of  the  intelligent  and 
enterprising  young  farmers  of  this  section  and  he  makes  a  speciahy  of  sheep 
raising,  his  sheep  being  of  the  Rambouillet  breed.  He  is  the  owner  of  a 
very  fine  flock  and  he  is  a  member  of  the  American  Rambouillet  Sheep 
Breeders'  Association. 

Unto  Mr.  and  ^Trs.  Watson  have  been  bom  three  children :  Edna,  born 
October  13,  1894;  Ildafontz,  October  24,  1896;  and  Mina  Beatrice,  July  G, 
1904.  Edna  is  in  the  fifth  grade  in  the  Lincoln  school  in  Coldwater,  and 
is  a  lover  of  mathematics  and  music.  Ildafontz  is  in  the  same  school,  in  the 
third  grade.  Mina  Beatrice  is  the  youngest  and  the  joy  o£  the  home  circle. 
Mrs.  Watson  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  In  his  polit- 
ical views  Mr.  Watson  is  an  earnest  Republican  and  keeps  well  informed  on 
the  questions  and  issues  of  the  day  and  voted  first  for  Harrison.  Moreover 
he  gii'cs  helpful  support  to  many  measures  for  the  general  good  and  is 
classed  with  the  valued  as  well  as  prosperous  citizens  of  his  community. 

MARC  A.  MERRIFIELD. 

In  this  enlightened  age  when  men  of  industry  and  enterprise  are  con- 
stantly pushing  their  way  to  the  front  those  who  have  gained  success  may 
properly  claim,  irecognition  and  especially  in  professional  life  where  ad- 
vancement depends  upon  individual  merit.  Mr.  Merrifield,  prominent  as  an 
attorney  of  Union  City,  was  born  in  Teconsha  township,  Calhoun  comity, 
Michigan,  March  29,  1840.  His  father,  Lewis  Merrifield,  came  to  this  state 
in  1833  as  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  what  is  now  Hodunk,  Branch 
county.  He  accompanied  Abraham  Aldridge  and  was  at  that  time  eighteen 
years  of  age.  He  found  in  this  part  of  the  state  a  wild,  unsettled  dis- 
trict, the  forests  being  uncut  and  the  streams  unbridged,  while  much  of 
the  land  was  still  in  possession  of  the  government.  He  was  married  in 
Calhoun  county  and  was  there  engaged  in  the  milling  business  for  many 
years,  thus  becoming  an  active  factor  in  industrial  life  in  his  part  of  the 
state.  He  married  Charlotte  Hayden.  who  was  a  native  of  New  York,  and 
removed  to  Michigan,  in  1835.  in  company  with  her  parents.  Her  father, 
Alpheus  Hayden,  was  a  pioneer  settler  of  Calhoun  county  and  thus  in  the 
paternal  and  maternal  lines  Marc  A.  Merrifield  is  descended  from  ancestry 
actively  connected  with  the  substantial  improvement  of  his  native  state 
during  the  epoch  of  its  early  development.  His  father  died  in  his  eighty- 
seventh  year,  while  the  mother  was  eighty-five  years  of  age  at  the  time 


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636  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

of  her  death.      They   were  the   parents   of   four   children,   of   whom   three 
are  now  hving;. 

Marc  A.  Merrifield,  the  eldest  of  the  family,  was  reared  in  Calhoun 
county  and  pursued  his  early  education  in  a  select  school.  He  afterward 
attended  Hillsdale  College,  where  he  was  pursuing  his  studies  at  the  time  of 
the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war.  He  had  watched  with  interest  the  progress 
of  events  in  the  south  and  all  the  patriotism  of  his  nature  was  aroused 
by  the  firing  on  of  Fort  Sumter.  He  resolved  to  strike  a  blow  in  defense 
of  the  Union  and  on  the  3d  of  June,  1861,  joined  the  boys  in  blue  of  Com- 
pany E,  Fourth  Michigan  Infantrj',  as  a  private.  He  served  for  two  years 
and  was  then  honorably  discharged  on  account  of  disability. 

Following  his  return  home  Mr.  Merrifield  resumed  his  studies  and 
preparing  for  the  bar,  was  graduated  from  the  law  department  of  the  Mich- 
igan State  University,  at  Ann  Arbor,  with  the  class  of  1867.  He  then  came 
to  Union  City  in  the  employ  of  the  Michigan  Air  Line  Railroad  in  1868, 
remaining  with  the  company  as  its  attorney  until  the  transfer  of  the  road 
to  the  Michigan  Central  Railroad  Company.  He  continued  with  the  latter 
corporation  for  a  short  time.  He  has  been  a  resident  of  Union  City  for 
thirty-seven  years  and  has  continuously  practiced  at  the  bar  of  Branch  county, 
being  connected  with  much  important  litigation  in  his  district.  He  stands 
to-day  as  one  of  the  leading  criminal  lawyers  of  the  county,  strong  in 
argument,  logical  in  his  deductions,  clear  in  his  reasoning  and  presenting  his 
case  with  a  force  that  never  fails  to  impress  court  and  jury  and  seldom  fails 
to  gain  the  verdict  desired.  He  has  been  retained  as  the  defense  in  a 
number  of  noted  criminal  cases  and  his  power  as  an  attorney  is  widely  recog- 
nized by  the  profession  and  the  general  public. 

Not  alone  to  this  hue,  however,  has  Mr.  Merrifield  become  recognized 
as  a  citizen  of  value  in  Branch  county,  for  in  many  other  ways  his  labors 
have  been  far-reaching  and  effective  in  promoting  general  progress.  He  is 
a  stanch  RepubHcan  and  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  work  of  the 
party,  but  is  without  political  aspiration  for  himself.  He,  however,  con- 
sented to  accept  the  candidacy  for  the  mayoralty  and  was  elected  and  was 
also  city  attorney  for  thirty  years.  In  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  he 
has  a  wide  acquaintance  throughout  the  state  and  has  held  various  offices  in 
the  local  post  and  the  state  department.  He  is  likewise  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity  and  of  the  Independent  Order  of  United  Workmen  and 
in  his  life  exemplifies  the  beneficent  spirit  upon  which  those  organizations  are 
based.  On  the  30th  of  May,  18S4,  he  was  called  upon  to  deliver  the  memorial 
address  at  Hillsdale  in  behalf  of  the  college,  in  which  many  years  before  he 
had  been  a  student  and  at  that  time  the  honorary  degree  of  Master  of 
Science  was  conferred  upon  him. 

Mr,  Merrifield  has  been  married  twice.  In  1S72  he  was  joined  in  wed- 
lock to  Miss  Ceha  Oark  and  they  had  two  children:  Don  C,  who  is  now  a 
prominent  actor  of  the  city  of  New  York;  and  Fannie  C,  the  wife  of  John 
Cohen,  a  business  man  of  Chicago.  The  mother  died  in  1877,  ^nd  Mr,  Merri- 
field  has  since  married  Hattie  E,  Hayner,  by  whom  he  also  had  two  children,  of 
whom  one  died  at  the  age  of  a  year.     The  surviving  daughter,  Zella,  is  a 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  fiST 

graduate  of  the  Ypsilanti  Normal  School  and  is  now  engaged  in  teaching 
in  the  public  schools  of  Union  City.  S>ie  also  taught  for  one  year  in  Holland, 
Michigan,  and  has  become  widely  recognized  for  her  capability  in  this  direc- 
tion. Mr.  Merrifield  is  the  owner  of  considerable  valuable  realty  in  Union 
City  and  is  also  a  stockholder  in  some  of  its  institutions.  He  has  contributed 
in  substantial  measure  to  pubhc  progress  and  improvement  and  his  co-opera- 
tion can  always  be  counted  upon  to  further  every  movement  that  has  its 
base  in  the  growth  and  development  of  Union  City.  He  favored  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  various  factories  of  the  town  which  have  contributed  so 
largely  to  its  commercial  prosperity  and  he  has  even  sacrificed  his  own  in- 
terests for  the  general  improvement.  He  ranks  high  in  the  regard  of  his 
fellow  townsmen  and  professionally  and  socially  his  position  is  one  of  prom- 
inence. 

THERON  ELTING. 

The  Empire  state  has  furnished, a  large  percentage  of  citizens  to  Branch  , 
county — men  who  have  been  active  and  influential  in  the  work  of  public 
improvement  and  progress  here.  To  this  class  belongs  Theron  Elting,  who 
was  bom  in  Ulster  county,  New  York,  May  7,  1849,  ^nd  is  now  devoting 
his  energies  to  agricultural  pursuits  in  Girard  township.  His  father,  Jehu 
Elting,  was  a  native  of  Lloyd,  Ulster  county.  New  York,  born  July  19,  1819, 
and  his  early  life  was  passed  in  Ulster  and  neighboring  counties.  In  1839 
he  came  to  Michigan  but  after  suffering  for  a  year  with  ague  he  returned  to 
New  York.  There  he  was  married  in  Ulster  county  in  November,  1S45, 
to  Miss  Rachel  Palmitier,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Lloyd  in  i8t8.  Both  the 
Elting  and  Palmitier  families  have  been  residents  of  the  Empire  state  for 
several  generations.  When  changes  had  been  wrought  in  Branch  county 
so  that  residence  here  was  more  desirable  Jehu  Elting  returned  to  Michigan 
in  June,  1859.  He  located  first,  however,  in  Washtenaw  county,  where  he 
remained  one  summer  and  then  came  to  Girard  township,  Branch  county, 
where  he  afterward  made  his  home.  He  first  bought  eighty  acres  of  land 
on  section  five  and  as  his  financial  resources  increased  extended  the  boun- 
daries of  his  property  until  prior  to  his  death  he  owned  two  hundred  and 
ten  acres  of  valuable  and  productive  land.  His  political  allegiance  was  given 
to  the  Democracy  and  he  advocated  the  principles  promulgated  by  Jeffer- 
son. Father  Elting  was  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  Greenback  question  and 
an  admirer  of  Peter  Cooper,  and  our  subject  cast  his  first  presidential  vote 
for  Peter  Cooper,  the  great  exponent  of  Greenbackism.  He  had  been  prom- 
inent in  community  affairs  in  New  York  and  while  living  in  that  state  had 
served  as  justice  of  the  peace  there  for  seventeen  years.  His  death  occurred 
in  Girard  township,  February  5,  1897.  while  hjs  wife  passed  away  in  the 
same  locality  on  the  22nd  of  March,  1872.  They  had  six  children,  namely: 
Two  who  died  in  infancy  in  Ulster  county.  New  York;  Theron,  of  this  re- 
view; Frank,  who'  is  living  in  Tekonsha,  Michigan,  where  he  is  engaged 
in  the  posta!  service;  Rachel,  who  makes  her  home  with  her  brother  Ther- 
on; and  Hattie,  who  died  in  Girard  township  in  1889. 

Theron  Elting  was  a  youth  of  about  ten  years  when  his  father  re- 
turned to  Michigan  and  with  the  exception  of  the  brief  period  spent  in  Wash- 


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638  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

tenaw  county  has  since  been  a  resident  o£  Branch  county  and  has  long  been 
numbered  among  Girard  township's  successful  and  intelligent  farmers.  He 
is  indebted  to  the  public  school  system  for  the  educational  privileges  he  en- 
joyed, while  under  his  father's  direction  he  received  ample  training  in  the 
work  of  the  farm.  His  entire  life  has  been  given  to  agricultural  pursuits 
and  he  now  owns  -one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  where  he  resides,  this 
tract  including  the  old  family  homestead.  The  soil  is  rich  and  alluvial  and 
the  productive  fields  annually  yield  good  harvests,  so  that  he  is  continually 
adding  to  his  income  through  the  sale  of  his  crops.  Fraternally  he  is  a  Mas- 
ter Mason  and  he  also  belongs  to  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 
His  political  support  is  given  to  the  Democracy  but  he  has  always  been  with- 
out political  aspiration.  The  Eltings  have  for  many  years  been  among  the 
most  highly  esteemed  residents  of  Girard  township  and  Branch  county  and 
Theron  Elting  of  this  review  is  a  worthy  representative  of  the  family. 

BRADLEY  0-   MOORE. 

Prominent  among  the  solid  and  influential  residents  of  Branch  county 
and  Butler  is  the  gentleman  named  above,  who  in  times  of  both  peace  and 
war  has  proven  himself  a  faithful  and  loyal  citizen,  ready  in  time  of  war 
to  go  to  the  defense  of  his  country's  honor,  and  in  times  of  peace  proving 
himself  a  law-abiding  man  who  is  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  common- 
weaUh  and  the  betterment  of  his  fellow  beings. 

Bradley  O.  Moore  was  boni  in  Groveland,  Livingston  county.  New 
York.  February  i6,  1B39.  and  this  place  was  his  home  until  he  was  eighteen 
years  of  age.  His  father  was  Isaac  Moore  and  his  mother  was  Nancy  Ogden. 
both  being  natives  of  the  Empire  state,  where  the  greater  portions  of  their 
lives  were  passed.  They  were  the  parents  of  nine  children,  as  follows : 
George  W.  Mcore  is  still  living  and  a  resident  of  Mt.  Morris,  New  York. 
Homer  Moore  died  while  a  resident  of  Butler,  May  30,  1893.  Adeline 
Moore  Bartlett  died  in  Mount  Pleasant,  Iowa.  Chester  C.  Moore  was  a 
victim  of  the  Civil  war,  enlisting  in  the  First  New  York  Dragoons  and  be- 
ing captured  at  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run.  He  was  confined  in  the  noted 
prison  at  Andersonville,  where  he  died  from  the  result  of  wounds  and  pri- 
vations. James  Moore  lived  and  died  in  the  home  town  of  Groveland,  New 
York,  as  did  also  another  brother,  Jennings  Moore.  Mary  Ann  Moore  died 
in  the  state  of  New  York  in'infancy,  Edwin  Moore  was  a  resident  of  Mich- 
igan, Nebraska,  Missouri  and  other  places  in  the  west  and  died  in  1900  in 
Oregon,  where  he  had  lived  for  about  fifteen  years  previously.  Bradley  O, 
Moore  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  The  father -of  the  family,  Isaac  Moore, 
died  in  Detroit,  in  1845,  while  in  Michigan  on  business,  while  the  mother, 
Nancy  Ogden  Moore,  died  in  Groveland,  New  York,  in  1847. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  our  subject  was  but  a  mere  lad  when  he  suf- 
fered the  loss  of  both  hJs  parents  and  he  was  early  thrown  upon  hJs  own 
resources,  thus  developing  an  independence  and  a  sturdiness  of  character 
which  has  no  doubt  aided  greatly  in  his  success  throughout  life. 

Bradley  O.  Moore  found  occupation  in  his  home  town  until  he  ap- 
proached his  majority  and  then,  being  attracted  by  the  tide  of  emigration 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  639 

which  had  been  flowing  for  several  years  from  the  Ejnpire  state  to  Michigan, 
he  resolved  to  try  his  fortunes  in  the  then  almost  untrodden  middle  west. 
He  came  to  Michigan  alone  in  1856  and  was  a  resident  of  Saginaw  for  sev- 
eral months  when  that  place  was  but  a  mere  hamlet  as  compared  with  the 
present  flourishing  city  located  there.  From  there  he  went  to  Hillsdale 
county,  where  he  lived  at  Tonesville  for  several  years,  employing  himself 
<it  different  occupations,  although  principally  upon  the  farm.  Soon  after 
coming  to  Branch  county  he  purchased  in  1861  eighty  acres  of  land  on 
section  twenty-two,  Butler  township,  and  afterward  secured  forty  acres  addi- 
tional on  section  sixteen  and  decided  to  make  his  home  here. 

Then,  soon  after  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war,  he  responded  to  his 
country's  call  and  July  22,  7862,  enlisted  in  Company  G,  Eighteenth  Mich- 
igan Infantry.  He  was  with  the  Eighteenth  during  its  campaigns  in  Ken- 
tucky, Tennessee  and  Alabama  and  served  during*  the  remainder  of  the  war, 
a  goodly  portion  of  this  time  as  a  non-commissioned  officer,  his  discharge 
occurring  July  II,  1865,  at  the  close  of  the  conflict.  After  the  war  he  was 
so  disabled  as  to  incapacitate  him  for  hard  labor  for  a  period  of  about  a 
year,  which  time  he  spent  in  the  state  of  New  York.  Returning  to  Mich- 
igan, he  was  married,  June  23,  1868,  at  Oulncy,  Michigan,  to  Miss  Anna 
Bail,  a  native  of  Tekonsha,  Calhovm  county,  where  she  was  horn  June  9, 
1849.  her  father  being  Elisha  Ball,  who  died  in  Butler,  her  mother  being 
Sarah  Rogers,  who  afterward  married  Edward  McDonald,  she  dying  in 
Nebraska.  There  were  seven  children  in  the  family,  as  follows :  Eliza- 
beth Lord  died  in  Iowa.  EH  Ball  died  in  early  childhood.  Charles  Ball  is 
still  living  in  Nebraska.  Adeline  McDonald  died  in  Butler.  Abbie  McCone 
is  still  a  resident  of  Nebraska,  as  is  also  Adelia  Ball.  Anna  Ball  Bradley  is 
the  wife  of  our  subject. 

Four  children  have  1)een  born  to  Bradley  O.  and  Anna  Ball  Moore, 
as  follows:  Minnie  was  born  October  7,  1869,  and  is  married  to  Robert 
McArdle,  of  Clarendon,  Michigan.  Bertha  was  born  August  25,  1871,  and 
is  married  to  Lewis  Johnson,  of  Butler.  They  have  two  children.  Forest 
and  Rhea.  Chester  C.  Moore  was  born  April  r,  1877,  and  lives  at  home, 
where  he  is  a  most  capable  assistant  to  his  father  in  the  management  of  the 
farm.  He  has  a  great  natural  bent  for  mechanics  and  the  place  contains  a 
great  many  mechanical  contrivances  which  have  been  established  by  him. 
Luin  M.  Moore  was  born  April  24.  1885,  and  her  home  is  with  her  par- 
ents, although  she  has  been  absent  for  the  greater  portion  of  the  time  for 
several  years,  attending  school  at  Coldwater  and  also  at  the  Michigan  State 
Normal  College  at  Ypsilanti. 

Bradley  O.  Moore  has  often  been  called  upon  to  fill  positions  of  public 
trust  and  responsibility,  his  fellow  townsmen  delighting  to  thus  do  him 
honor,  not  alone  from  persona!  regard  and  friendship,  but  also  by  reason  of 
the  fact  that  in  his  hands  they  know  that  their  interests  will  be  well  and 
carefully  guarded.  Mr.  Moore  has  filled  several  terms  as  supervisor  of  his 
township  and  he  was  also  township  clerk,  township  treasurer  and  a  school 
officer  for  many  years.  During  the  greater  part  of  his  life  he  has  been  a 
stalwart  Republican,  although  of  late  years  he  has  often  joined  the  ranks  of 


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640  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

independent  voters.  By  perseverance  and  untiring  labor,  coupled  with  a 
keen  insight  and  good  business  ability,  he  has  prospered  financially,  his  fine 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  on  section  twenty-two,  Butler  town- 
ship, being  one  of  the  most  fertile  in  this  section.  Mr.  Moore  has  with  his 
own  hands  cleared  the  most  of  this  large  farm  and  he  has  erected  here  most 
commodious  structures  and  a  modern  residence.  The  whole  place  is  most 
thoroughly  equipped,  including  a  complete  system  of  water  works,  and  it  is 
a  model  farm  home.  Mr.  Moore  is  also  largely  interested  in  western  tim- 
ber lands,  his  property  of  this  character  in  the  state  of  Oregon  being  quite 
valuable. 

During  his  life  Mr.  Moore  has  witnessed  the  development  of  Branch 
county  and  the  township  of  Butler  from  an  almost  unbroken  wilderness  to 
its  present  state  of  agricultural  perfection,  and  in  this  section,  where  he  has 
passed  the  greater  portion  of  his  life,  he  possesses  the  regard  and  esteem 
of  the  entire  community. 

HORATIO    NELSON    EIDELMAN. 

Horatio  Nelson  Eidelman,  whose  life  has  been  devoted  to  agricultural 
pursuits  and  to  dealing  in  horses,  the  latter  branch  of  business  now  claiming 
his  attention,  has  manifested  in  his  business  career  an  activity  of  spirit  and 
persistency  of  purpose  that  have  proved  strong  elements  in  winning  success. 
He  was  born  in  the  town  of  Shelby,  Orleans  county.  New  York,  July  4, 
1836.  His  paternal  grandparents  were  Henry  and  Catherine  (Becker)  Bidel- 
man,  natives  of  Herkimer  county.  New  York,  and  of  German  lineage.  His 
father,  Abram  Bidelman,  was  born  in  Herkimer  county.  New  York,  March 
9,  1800,  and  died  in  Orleans  county  on  the  6tli  of  June,  1868.  His  wife, 
who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Lucinda  Michael,  was  also  a  native  of  Her- 
kimer county,  born  in  1802,  and  her  death  occurred  in  Orleans  county  in 
1870.  Tliey  were  members  of  the  Christian  church  and  Mr.  Bidelman  gave 
his  political  support  to  the  Democracy.  A  farmer  by  occupation,  he  always 
followed  that  pursuit  in  order  to  provide  for  his  family.  Unto  him  and  his 
wife  were  born  seven  children :  Samuel,  who  now  resides  in  Barry  county, 
Michigan,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years ;  Louisa,  who  became  the  wife  of  Arthur 
Johnson,  of  Niagara  county.  New  York,  and  died  there;  Julia  Ann,  who 
married  WaUace  Acer  and  died  in  Orleans  county.  New  York;  Jane,  who 
married  Roderick  McDonald  and  also  departed  this  life  in  Orleans  county: 
Horatio  N. ;  Clara,  who  is  the  wife  of  Henry  Wilhams  and  resides  in  Cold- 
water;  and  Lorenzo,  who  is  living  in  Orleans  county,  New  York. 

Horario  N.  Bidelman  spent  his  boyhood  days  upon  his  father's  farm 
and  was  educated  in  the  country  schools.  He  started  out  m  life  for  himself 
when  eighteen  years  of  age  and  attracted  by  the  business  opportunities  of  the 
west  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  ari'iving  here  with  only  ten  shillings 
in  his  pocket.  He  made  the  trip  in  company  with  his  eldest  brother  Samuel 
in  1855,  with  whom  he  lived  for  some  time.  He  has  remained  ccmtinuously 
a  resident  of  Branch  county  and  during  the  half  century  that  has  since  come 
and  gone  he  has  been  active  in  business  affairs  and  has  also  been  the  cham- 
pion of  progressive  public  measures. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  fiU 

As  a  companion  and  helpmate  for  life's  journey  Mr.  Bidelman  chose 
Miss  Ann  Eliza  Williams,  whom  he  wedded  on  the  14th  of  February,  1861. 
She  was  born  In  Quincy  township.  Branch  connty,  December  20,  1840,  her 
parents  being  Alpheus  and  Sylvia  (McLain)  Williams.  Her  father,  who  was 
lx>rn  in  Vermont,  August  28,  1801,  died  in  this  county  October  10,  1877. 
He  had  become  a  resident  of  Michigan  in  1836,  at  which  time  he  took  up 
his  abode  in  Quincy  township.  It  was  on  the  30th  ot'  September,  1827,  that 
he  married  Miss  Sylvia  McLain,  who  was  born  May  21,  1804,  and  she  died 
in  Branch  county  on  the  nth  of  February,  1883,  about  six  years  after  her 
husband's  death.  Mr.  Williams  followed  the  occupation  of  farming  and 
assisted  materially  in  the  pioneer  development  of  this  part  of  the  state.  His 
early  home  was  a  log  cabin  which  stood  in  the  midst  of  a  forest,  for  at  that 
time  much  of  the  land  was  cox'ered  with  the  native  growth  of  timber  and  the 
work  of  improvement  seemed  scarcely  begmi.  Desirous  of  making  a  home 
for  his  family  in  a  locality  which  would  offer  good  business  and  educational 
advantages  he  Ijecame  a  co-operant  factor  in  all  measures  for  general  prog- 
ress. Unto  him  and  his  wife  were  born  seven  children:  Daniel,  who  died 
in  Minnesota :  George  and  John,  who  died  in  Coldwater ;  Henry  and  Edward, 
whose  deaths  occurred  in  Quincy  township;  Monroe,  who  died  in  Iowa;  and 
Mrs.  Bidelman.  who  is  the  only  surviving  member  of  the  family. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Bidelman  and  his  bride  began  their  domestic 
life  on  a  farm  in  Quincy  township.  He  first  operated  land  on  the  shares 
and  when  he  had  saved  a  small  sum  of  money  he  purchased  a  little  tract  of 
land  upon  which  he  made  partial  payment.  Laboriously  and  earnestly  he 
sought  the  means  to  discharge  his  indebtedness  and  soon  had  his  farm  clear 
of  all  financial  obligation  and  as  his  resources  increased  as  the  years  went 
bv  he  added  to  his  possessions.  He  was  afterward  for  a  short  time  in  the 
livery  business  in  Quincy,  but  selling  out  there  he  returned  to  his  farm,  where 
he  began  dealing  in  live  stock  in  connection  with  carrying  on  general  agri- 
cultural pursuits.  He  has  handled  many  fine  horses  and  has  matched  and 
sold  some  splendid  teams  of  fine  driving  stock.  In  1879  as  a  partner  of 
Harlow  Williams  he  entered  the  livery  business  in  Coldwater  and  after  one 
and  a  half  years  he  purchased  his  partner's  business,  conducting  the  business 
alone  for  ten  years.  On  the  i8th  of  Decemlier,  1889,  his  bam  was  destroyed 
by  fire  and  he  sustained  a  heavy  loss,  but  the  strength  of  his  character  was 
here  manifest  in  the  courageous  manner  in  which  he  erected  a  new  and  better 
livery  barn.  This  was  conducted  for  several  years  by  his  son  Emmett  A. 
and  Mr.  Bidelman  still  owns  the  property.  He  has  continued  to  deal  in 
horses  and  finds  this  a  profitable  source  of  income  because  he  is  an  excellent 
judge  of  "itock. 

Mr.  and  Mrs,  Bidelman  have  but  one  child,  Emmett  A.,  who  is  now  a 
resident  of  San  Bernardino,  California.  He  was  born  on  the  old  home 
fami  in  Quincy  township,  Branch  county,  November  11,  1861.  He  mar- 
ried Miss  Ida  Weaver  and  to  them  have  been  born  three  children,  Irene  E., 
now  deceased,  Hallie  J.  and  Elizabeth  A.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bidelman  spent 
the  winter  of  1904-5  in  Califomia.  visiting  their  son  and  also  vie'ft'ed  many 
points  of  iiitel-est  in  the  state.    His  political  allegiance  is  given  to  the  Dem- 


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642  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

ocracy  and  he  is  fraternally  connected  with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen.  He  owns  and  occupies  a  nice  brick  residence  at  No.  48  North 
Monroe  street  and  as  one  of  Branch  county's  pioneer  settlers  is  deserving  of 
nrention  in  this  volume. 

RUSSELL  B.  HOLLENBECK. 

For  the  past  forty  years  the  name  of  Hollenbeck  has  been  associated 
with  the  history  of  the  township  of  Girard  and  this  portion  of  Branch 
county,  where  members  of  the  family  of  this  name  have  resided.  The  first 
Hollenbeck  to  locate  here  was  Caspar  Hollenbeck,  who  came  with  his  fam- 
ily from  New  York  state  in  the  spring  of  1866,  Caspar  Hollenbeck  was 
born  in  Columbia  county.  New  York,  February  21,  1806,  his  ancestors  hav- 
ing been  residents  of  the  Empire  state  for  several  generations.  He  grew  to 
manhood  in  his  home  county,  which  is  on  the  border  line  between  the  states 
of  New  York  and  Massachusetts,  and  he  was  united  in  marriag'e  at  Hills- 
dale, Massachusetts,  October  10.  1833,  with  Miss  Lucy  Jones,  a  native  of 
that  place,  where  she  was  born  March  19.  1813.  Her  parents  were  natives 
of  Massachusetts,  as  also  were  her  ancestors  for  several  generations  pre- 
viously, they  bearing  a  direct  and  unbroken  line  of  ancestry  back  to  the 
landing  of  the  Pilgrim  fathers.  Caspar  and  Lucy  (Jones)  Hollenbeck  passed 
their  early  married  life  in  Columbia  county.  New  York,  where  Mr.  Hollen- 
beck was  engaged  in  farming,  and  where  their  four  children,  two  sons  and 
two  daughters,  were  bom  and  where  they  grew  to  manhood  and  woman- 
hood. 

Impressed  with  the  attractions  offered  in  the  middle  west,  Mr.  Hollen- 
beck and  his  family  came  to  Michigair,  arriving  in  Girard  in  the  spring  of 
1866.  Here  he  became  the  owner  of  considerable  land  and  followed  his 
former  pursuit  of  farming.  He  was  a  man  who  stood  high  in  the  regard 
of  his  fellow  townsmen  and  his  death,  which  occurred  December  4,  1889, 
was  deeply  deplored,  as  was  also  the  demise  of  his  estimable  wife,  her  death 
occurring  here  November  26.  iSgo. 

Of  their  four  children,  only  the  two  sons  survive,  Russell  B.  Hollen- 
beck, the  subject  of  this  sketch,  and  his  brother,  Truman  Hollenbeck.  Tru- 
man Hollenbeck  was  bom  in  Columbia  county.  New  York,  September  15, 
1834,  and  he  was  also  for  many  years  a  resident  of  Girard,  although  now 
living  in  Coidwater.  Jane  Eliza  (Hollenbeck)  Arnold  was  bom  in  Colum- 
bia county,  New  York,  October  ir,  1S36,  and  died  in  Girard,  August  15, 
1872.  The  other  daughter.  Wealthy  Amelia  (Hollenbeck)  Tappenden,  was 
bom  in  the  same  county  June  5,  1840,  and  died  in  Girard,  August  7,  1874. 
Russell  B.  Hollenbeck  was  born  in  Columbia  county.  New  York,  Octo- 
ber 10,  1838,  and  he  was  twenty-eight  years  of  age  when  he  came  to  Mich- 
igan. He  was  married  in  Palmyra,  Wayne  county.  New  York,  to^  Miss 
Fannie  J.  Whitmore.  who  was  born  November  23,  1840,  and  their  mar- 
riage was  blessed  with  the  birth  of  three  children.  A  son,  Frank,  died  in 
Girard,  January  7,  1874,  at  the  age  of  nearly  three  years.  A  daughter, 
Mida,  is  married  to  E.  E.  Hall,  of  Girard.  They  have  tivo  sons,  Harold  and 
Russell.     Jessie,  the  other  daughter  of  Russell  B,  and  Fannie  Hollenbeck, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  643 

is  married  to  Truman  Taylor,  also  a  resident  of  Girard,  They  have  two 
daughters,  Luciie  and  Lois.  The  wife  and  mother,  Fannie  (Whitmore) 
Hollenbeck,  died  in  Girard,  March  26,  1893,  at  the  age  of  fifty-two  years. 

The  second  marriage  of  Russell  B.  Hollenbeck  was  consummated  No- 
vember 20,  1900,  when  he  was  united  with  Mrs.  Buella  Cook  Lamkin,  the 
adopted  daughter  of  Charles  S.  and  Priscilla  Cook.  She  was  born  in  Me- 
dina county,  Ohio,  March  11,  1863,  and  she  passed  the  early  portion  of  her 
life  in  Ohio.  She  has  three  children  by  a  former  marriage,  Florence  A. 
Lamkin,  of  Colon,  Michigan ;  and  Edgar  Lamkin  and  Celia  Lamkin  Garthe, 
of  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Mr.  and  Mrs,  Russell  B.  Hollenbeck  live  in  a  most  comfortable  home 
on  section  twenty-two,  Girard  township,  where  Mr.  Hollenbeck  owns  and 
operates  a  handsome  farm  of  one  hundred  acres  of  fertile  land.  He  has 
developed  this  farm  from  its  former  rough  and  uncultivated  condition  to  its 
]iresent  state  of  agricultural  |3erfection,  with  the  excellent  buildings  and  the 
beautiful  shade  trees,  while  with  his  own  hands  he  performed  a  goodly  share 
of  the  labor  required  in  the  building  of  the  home  which  he  has  occupied  for 
the  past  thirty-seven  years.  It  is  but  natural,  then,  that  he  should  love  the 
spot  above  all  other  places  on  earth,  and  that  here  he  hopes  to  spend  the 
remainder  of  his  days.  Although,  like  his  father  before  him,  an  old-time 
Democrat  of  the  Jeffersonian  school  of  politics,  Mr.  Hollenbeck,  believing 
that  both  of  the  great  political  parties  of  the  present  day  have  drifted  far 
from  their  original  beliefs  and  declarations,  has  during  the  past  decade 
been  a  Prohibitionist.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hollenbeck  are  both  members  and 
active  workers  in  the  Girard  Methodist  Episcopal  chinch,  while  fraternally 
Mrs.  Hollenbeck  is  affiliated  with  the  Daughters  of  Rebecca.  Both  are  earn- 
est Christians  and  a  power  for  good  in  the  community.  The  old  strain  of 
Pnritan  religious  belief  inherited  from  his  sainted  mother  shows  in  Mr. 
Hollenbeck.  With  him,  religion  is  not  merely  a  creed  for  Sundays,  but  is 
carried  into  his  everyday  life.  He  is  filled  with  love  for  his  fellow  men, 
while  the  benefits  of  his  belief  have  been  so  many  and  are  so  fully  appre- 
ciated that  he  desires  all  of  his  fellow  men  to  be  similarly  blessed,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Hollenbeck  are  refined  and  educated  [)eople  and  their  home  life  is 
a  particularly  happy  one. 

ALEXANDER  C.  McCRARY. 

Alexander  C.  McCrary,  whose  life  record  proved  that  success  and  an 
honorable  name  can  be  won  simultaneously,  leaving  his  family  at  his  death  a 
handsome  competence  and  an  untarnished  record,  was  a  native  of  the  Empire 
state,  his  birth  having  occurred  on  the  9th  of  March,  1815,  in  Hector, 
New  York,  which  was  then  in  Tompkins  county.  His  grandparents  were 
Alexander  and  Eunice  (Armstrong)  McCrary,  the  former  a  native  of  Cayuga 
county,  and  the  latter  of  Orange  county.  New  York.  Their  last  days  were  ■ 
spent  in  Hector  township,  Schuyler  county.  Their  third  child  was  Joseph 
McCrary,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Goshen,  Orange  county,  October  24,  1778. 
Having  arrived  at  years  of  maturity  he  married  Abigail  Culver,  who  was  the 
first  white  child  born  in  Bath  township,  Steuben  county.  New  York,  her  natal 


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644  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

day  being  January  13,  1795.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Phineas  and  Phebe 
(Breese)  Culver,  the  former  a  native  of  New  England,  while  the  latter  was 
born  in  the  Empire  state.  Her  father  died  in  Hector,  Schuyler  county,  and 
Mrs.  Culver  passed  away  in  Chicago. 

Following  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joseph  McCrary  began  their 
domestic  life  in  Hector  township,  Schuyler  county,  where  they  resided  until 
1836,  when  they  sought  a  home  in  Michigan,  locating  in  Henrietta,  Jackson 
county.  There  they  spent  their  remaining  days,  the  father  passing  away  on 
the  14th  of  February,  1856.  while  his  wife  died  on  the  loth  of  February, 
1863.  They  had  twelve  children,  Phineas  C,  Alexander  C,  John  B.,  Elias 
R.,  Polly  A.,  George  W.,  Phebe  A.,  Andrew  J.,  Lawrence  H.,  James  N., 
Harriet  and  Mary  J.,  while  one  son,  Joseph,  died  in  infancy,  all  the  others, 
however,  reaching  the  age  of  maturity. 

Alexander  C.  McCrary  spent  his  early  youth  in  the  state  of  his  nativity 
and  when  but  a  lad  began  earning  his  living,  owing  to  financial  reverses 
which  his  father  sustained.  He  worked  at  any  pursuit  that  would  yield  him  a 
sufficient  financial  return  to  provide  him  with  the  necessities  of  life  and  re- 
mained in  New  York  until  twenty  years  of  age,  when  he  came  to  the  west, 
removing  from  Penn  Yan,  New  York,  to  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan.  He  there  se- 
cured a  situation  in  a  hotel  conducted  by  Adelphos  Gulley,  in  whose  employ 
he  remained  for  eighteen  months,  after  which  he  removed  to  Tekonsha,  where 
he  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits.  As  soon  as  possible  he  pur- 
chased land  on  his  own  account,  becoming  owner  of  a  tract  of  eighty  acres, 
which  he  bought  with  money  saved  from  his  wages  in  former  years.  He 
worked  for  others  at  times  and  at  still  other  periods  he  gave  his  energies  to 
the  improvement  of  his  own  property,  and  thus  his  time  was  passed  until  his 
marriage,  when  he  had  a  new  incentive  for  developing  his  home  farm.  Be- 
fore his  settlement  at  Tekonsha  he  had  wedded  his  wife  and  then  went  to 
Lima  and  worked  there  about  two  years,  whence  returning  to  Tekonsha,  and 
began  on  the  new  farm  in  the  forest. 

On  the  5th  of  November,  1836,  Mr.  McCrary  wedded  Miss  Harriet 
Eliza  Dean,  theirs  being  the  first  marriage  celebrated  in  Tekonsha  after  the 
organization  of  the  township.  The  parents  of  Mrs.  McCrary  were  Perly  A. 
and  Phebe  (Brown)  Dean,  natives  of  Connecticut  and  Norwich,  Vermont, 
respectively.  They  first  settled  in  Benton,  Yates  county,  New  York,  where 
they  remained  until  October,  1835,  and  then  came  to  this  county  and  settled  in 
Tekonsha,  where  they  lived  until  their  decease,  that  of  the  mother  occurring 
May  30,  1878,  and  of  the  father  March  28,  1880.  Their  family  consisted 
of  five  children,  Harriet  E.,  Nelson  N.,  Leonard,  Chester  and  Jane.  Mrs. 
McCrary  is  the  eldest  of  the  parental  family,  and  was  born  in  Benton, 
Yates  county,  New  York,  September  g,  1818.  She  has  borne  to  her  husband 
a  family  of  eight  children,  who  are  recorded  as  follows:  Calvin,  enlisted  in 
■August,  1862,  in  Company  M,  Fifth  Michigan  Cavalry,  in  which  he  became 
a  non-commissioned  officer.  He  was  killed  May  28,  1864,  at  the  battle  of 
Cold  Harbor,  being  shot  through  the  head,  and  his  remains  were  buried  in 
the  churchyard  known  as  Salem's  Church,  close  by  the  battle-field;  Adelaide 
lives  at  home,  and  Adelphos  died  when  ten  years  of  age;  Marion  became 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  645 

the  wife  of  Edward  Wirt  Watkins.  of  Sherwood  township;  Leroy  married 
Miss  Ahce  B.  Moyer,  and  resides  in  Union  township;  Frank  is  a  resident  of 
Kansas  City,  Missouri';  Laura  A.  died  when  a  batw  of  fourteen  months;  and 
Clay  is  a  resident  of  Union  township. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  McCrary  began  their  domestic  life  in  Tekonsha  township 
and  were  residents  of  that  locality  until  1848.  with  the  exception  of  a  year 
and  a  half.  In  the  fall  of  1848  they  removed  to  Lima,  Washtenaw  county,- 
and  later  in  the  same  year  took  up  their  abode  in  Sherwood  township. 
In  the  meantime  the  family  circle  had  been  increased  by  the  birth 
of  five  children,  and  the  parents  and  children  became  residents  of  a 
farm  on  section  seven,  which  had  first  comprised  seventy-six  acres  of  land. 
As  the  years  passed  and  his  financial  resources  increased,  however,  Mr. 
McCrary  extended  the  boundaries  of  this  property  and  also  invested  in  other 
tracts  until  his  landed  possessions  at  one  time  aggregated  twelve  hundred 
acres.  He  afterward  disposed  of  much  of  that  but  in  his  later  years  retained 
possession  of  five  hundred  acres  of  very  valuable  land.  He  was  a  successful 
agriculturist,  raising  good  crops  and  at  the  same  time  having  fine  stock  upon 
his  place,  making  a  specialty  of  the  raising  of  horses  and  hogs.  He  con- 
tinued in  Sherwood  township.  Branch  county,  until  February,  1874,  when 
he  removed  to  Union  township  and  there  resided  up  to  the  time  of  his  death. 

While  living  in  Tekonsha  Mr.  McCrary  was  called  to  various  positions 
of  trust  and  responsibility  and  was  very  faithful,  loyal  and  efficient  in  the 
discharge  of  his  official  duties.  After  removing  to  Union  township  he  be- 
came one  of  the  directors  of  the  Union  City  National  Bank.  His  political 
allegiance  was  given  to  the  Republican  party  and  he  was  deeply  interested 
in  its  success.  He  passed  away  May  11,  1898,  and  his  loss  was  deeply  re- 
gretted by  many  friends.  He  had  become  widely  known  in  the  county  as. 
one  of  its  representative  agriculturists,  a  man  whom  to  know  was  to  respect 
and  honor.  Throughout  his  active  life  he  had  displayed  diligence  and  per- 
severance, supplemented  by  integrity  and  straightforward  dealing.  Many  of 
the  now  successful  men  of  the  day  are  those  wiiose  paths  are  strewn  with 
the  wrecks  of  other  men's  fortunes,  but  Mr.  McCrary  was  never  known  to 
take  advantage  of  the  necessities  of  his  fellowmen  in  any  business  dealing. 
He  was  just  to  all  and  his  life  record  largely  embodied  the  golden  rule.  He 
never  sought  public  notoriety,  but  was  content  to  do  his  duty  day  after, 
day  to  his  family,  his  friends  and  his  community.  His  life  is  in  many 
respects  worthy  of  emulation,  for  it  proves  the  value  and  sure  rewards  of 
character.  In  the  cemetery  at  Union  City  there  stands  a  magnificent  monu- 
ment to  the  memory  of  Mr.  McCrarj-,  with  a  perfect  statue  of  marble  of 
the  worthy  old  gentleman,  sacred  to  his  memory  and  erected  by  his  son  Roy. 

The  form  once  erect  in  its  manhood  and  pride, 

With  firm  tread  that  appeared  on  the  street, 
Whose  hardy  frame  time  and  tempest  defied. 

Now  lies  a  wreck  at  our  feet. 
But  death  was  the  victor;  we  bow  to  his  will— 
The  golden  bowl's  broken,  the  brave  heart  is  still. 


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646  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

He  fought  the  fierce  fight  in  the  battle  of  life 

With  courage  majestic  and  grand, 
And  many  that  fell  by  his  side  in  the  strife 

He  raised  with  a  generous  hand. 
True  love  for  mankind  in  his  actions  we  trace; 
Success  crowned  his  efforts  in  every  place. 

His  course  is  now  run,  and  we  lay  him  to  rest, 

With  hearts  full  of  tenderest  love ; 
A  Brother  and  Friend,  the  kindest  and  best, 

We  commend  to  the  Father  aboYe. 
We  trust  in  His  grace,  but  with  sorrow-dimmed  eye, 
Hoping  one  day  to  meet  him,  we  bid  him  good-bye. 

May  II,  1898.  His  Brother,  L.  H.  McCraey. 

MRS.  ALEXANDER  C.  McCRARY. 

It  is  meet  and  fitting  that  due  reverence  and  respect  be  paid  Mrs.  Alex- 
ander C.  McCrary,  one  of  the  pioneer  mothers  of  Branch  county,  whose  en- 
graving appears  opposhe  her  most  worthy  husband,  Alexander  C.  McCrary, 
these  beautiful  steel  engravings  being  placed  in  this  work  by  their  two  sons. 
Clay  and  Roy,  whose  worthiness,  business  acumen  and  high  social  and  busi- 
ness standing  is  so  well  known  in  northern  Branch  county,  as  well  as  the 
sister  county  of  Calhoun.  Mrs.  McCrary  was  in  every  respect  the  worthy 
helpmeet  of  her  husband  and  for  nearly  sixty-two  years  shared  his  toils  and 
privations,  his  joys  and  sorrows,  and  during  the  first  years  of  their  married 
life,  while  living  in  their  humble  log  cabin  home  in  the  wilderness,  she 
endured  hardships  and  privations  that  would  paralyze  the  young  wives  of  the 
present  generation.  With  her  family  of  little  children  she  often  remained,  for 
a  week  at  a  time,  alone,  and  attended  to  her  household  duties  as  well  as 
the  duties  upon  the  litde  primitive  farm,  the  husband  being  called  too  far 
to  return  to  his  home  from  his  distant  work  till  Saturday  nights.  It  was  no 
easy  task  to  keep  house  then  as  it  is  at  the  present  time.  Her  furniture  was 
all  home  made,  and  a  single  room  served  for  a  kitchen,  dining,  parlor  and 
sleeping  room.  Her  cooking  utensils  consisted  of  a  bake  kettle  and  an  iron 
skillet,  and  all  the  food  was  cooked  over  the  coals  in  the  rude  stone  fire- 
place. The  Indians  often  called  at  her  cabin  door  and  she  traded  them  bread 
and  flour  for  venison  and  other  wild  meat.  Fear  never  entered  the  breast 
of  this  hardy  and  sturdy  pioneer  mother.  At  one  time  when  a  severe  storm 
blew  the  roof  from  her  cabin  she  lived  several  days  .with  the  blue  sky  for 
shelter,  until  her  husband  returned  and  replaced  the  roof.  Many  travelers 
who  were  seeking  homes  in  the  western  country  stopped  at  their  rude,  but 
welcome,  cabin  for  something  to  eat  or  a  night's  lodging,  and  not  one  was 
ever  turned  away  empty  handed  from  her  door,  and  that  habit  of  doing  for 
others  followed  her  through  her  whole  life,  as  hundreds  who  have  partaken 
of  her  bounty  can  testify.  She  survived  her  husband  about  two  and  a  half 
years,  and  passed  peacefully  from  this  earth  March  5,  1901,  at  the  home 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  fi47 

of  her  son  Clay  in  Union  township,  and  the  writer  believes  that  in  that 
better  land  she  has  joined  the  partner  bv  whose  side  she  toiled  for  over  three 
score  years.  The  following  poem,  written  and  composed  by  Mr.  McCrary's 
brother,  Lawrence  Hubbard  McCrary,  is  a  just  tribute  to  a  devoted  wife  and 
loving  mother : 

Tribute  to  Mrs.  A.  C  McCrary. 

Once  more  o'er  our  faces  the  tear  drops  are  stealing, 

With  sorrowful  hearts  we  greet  the  fair  dawn; 
Each  hour  passing  by  our  loss  is  revealing-— 

A  fond,  loving  mother  and  sister  is  gone. 

As  we  look  in  the  past,  w'hen  cares  were  around  us, 

Her  cheerful  voice  ever  did  lighten  the  way; 
And  the  smile  that  she  gave  when  in  sadness  she  found  us. 

Drove  the  gloom  from  our  hearts  and  turned  darkness  to  day. 

Her  sympathy  reached  to  the  poor  and  the  needy. 

The  naked  were  clothed,  the  hungry  were  fed ; 
And  hundreds  to  whom  she  gave  bounty  so  freely 

Were  praying  for  blessings  to  rest  on  her  head. 

Alas !  She  has  left,  gone,  her  presence  endearing ; 

No  more  in  this  world  to  feel  gladness  or  pain; 
But  one  glorious  thought  our  hearts  is  now  cheering — 

In  that  bright  land  of  sunshine  we'll  meet  her  again. 

L.  H.  McCrary. 
B.  F.  GREEN. 

Seldom  do  we  find  a  man  of  eighty  years  of  age  with  a  sturdy  physique, 
mental  attributes,  unimpaired  and  inventive  genius,  apparently  as  good  as  in 
early  or  middle  age,  but  such  an  one  do  we  find  in  the  person  of  B.  F. 
Green,  of  Union  City,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Mr.  Green  was  bom 
in  Watertown,  Jefferson  county.  New  York,  in  1822,  and  there  he  grew  to 
manhood,  learning  in  the  meantime  the  machinist's  trade.  In  1849  he  moved 
to  Ogdensburg,  New  York,  and  was  engaged  in  the  distilling  business  there 
and  at  Prescott,  Canada,  for  nearly  thirty  years,  having  charge  of  extensive 
distilleries  in  these  two  places  the  greater  portion  of  the  time.  He  came  to 
Michigan  in  1869,  where,  with  the  exception  of  one  year  spent  in  California, 
he  Jived  until  coming  to  Union  City  in  1886.  Here  he  established  a 
machine  shop  on  a  small  scale,  but  he  has  added  to  the  equipment  from 
year  to  year  until  now  it  is  one  of  the  best  in  this  portion  of  the  state,  sui>- 
plied,  as  it  is,  with  the  latest  improved  machinery  for  the  rapid  turning 
out  of  work.  Mr.  Green  has  always  had  a  great  bent  for  mechanics,  and 
has  worked  at  this  trade  more  or  less  a1!  his  life.  As  a  practical  gunsmith, 
he  is  unequalled  and  this  branch  of  business  is  well  patronized.  His  love 
for  a  gun  led  to  his  frequent  practice  as  a  marksman  and  for  a  number  of 


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6i8  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

years  he  was  one  of  the  most  expert  shots  in  the  east.  In  1879  he  defeated 
the  crack  shots  of  the  eastern  states  in  several  contests,  and  even  to-day,  at 
his  advanced  age,  is  no  mean  opponent,  Mr,  Green,  ahhough  engaged  in 
the  distilHng  business  for  so  many  years,  has  never  indulged  in  intoxicating 
h'quors  and  has  never  touched  tobacco.  His  excellent  and  temperate  habits 
are  no  doubt  in  a  great  measure  responsible  for  his  sturdy  condition  today. 
Associated  with  Mr.  Green  in  the  machine  shop  is  Mr.  Lewis  Wilcox,  who 
has  had  a  valuable  exi>erience  in  this  line  under  the  direction  of  Mr,  Green, 
Mr,  Wilcox  has  lived  in  Union  City  sixteen  years,  and  has  worked  a  goodly 
share  of  the  time  in  the  shop.  He  is  a  thorough  mechanic,  Mr.  Wilcox  is 
a  member  of  three  local  Masonic  orders,  and  has  a  wide  acquaintance  in  this 
vicinity.  He  was  married  six  years  since  to  Miss  Bertha  Lilly,  and  they 
have  one  child. 

ROY  McCRARY. 

Roy  McCrary,  formerly  identified  with  agricultural  interests,  but  now 
for  many  years  living  retired,  enjoying  a  well  earned  rest,  makes  his  home  in 
Union  City,  He  is  a  native  of  Tekonsha,  Calhoun  county,  Michigan,  born 
on  the  12th  of  October,  1847,  He  is  the  fifth  child  and  third  son  of  Alex- 
ander Cole  and  Harriet  Ehza  (Dean)  McCrary,  who  are  mentioned  on 
another  page  of  this  volume.  He  accompanied  his  parents  on  their  removal 
to  Union  township  when  a  young  lad,  and  at  the  usual  age  entered  the  com- 
mon schools,  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the  branches  of  learning  which  qualify 
one  for  the  performance  of  the  practical  and  responsible  duties  of  a  business 
career.  He  continued  to  assist  in  the  cultivation  and  improvement  of  his 
home  farm  up  to  the  time  of  his  marriage. 

On  January  2:,  1872,  Mr.  McCrary  wedded  Miss  Alice  V.  Moyer,  and 
unto  them  were  born  three  children,  two  daughters  and  a  son:  Alta  May, 
who  was  one  of  the  youngest  to  ever  graduate  in  the  Union  City  school, 
graduating  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  is  now  the  wife  of  William  Waffle,  of 
Athens  township,  Calhoun  county,  Michigan;  Effie  E.,  the  wife  of  Claud 
Felker,  of  Lockport  township,  St.  Joseph  county,  Michigan;  and  Alexander 
C,  at  home  and  in  the  high  school.  On  the  22d  of  August,  1904,  Mr, 
McCrary  was  agtiin  married,  his  second  union  being  with  Elizabeth  Nelson, 
a  daughter  of  Lewis  and  May  Givin  Wilcox,  and  the  widow  of  Frank  B, 
Nelson,  of  Sherwood,  Michigan.  By  her  former  marriage  she  had  two 
daughters:  Iva  Blanch,  a  graduate  of  the  Sherwood  High  School  and 
formerly  a  teacher,-  is  the  wife  of  Otto  Bennett,  of  Sherwood  township,  and 
Reah.  who  Js  at  home  with  her  mother  and  in  high  school, 

Mr.  McCrary  has  devoted  his  entire  life  to  agricultural  pursuits  and  is 
now  the  owner  of  three  valuable  farms  to  which  he  yet  gives  personal  super- 
vision, although  he  leaves  the  active  work  to  others.  One  of  these  is  located 
in  Sherwood,  one  in  Madison,  and  a  third  in  Union  township,  and  he  has 
given  his  daughter  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  acres  not  far 
from  Fisher  Lake,  in  St.  Joseph  county.  He  is  one  of  the  stockholders  in 
the  National  Bank,  at  Union  City  and  one  of  the  directors  of  the  First 
National  Bank,  at  Three  Rivers.  Michigan.  His  success  is  the  crown  of 
well  directed  eiifort.     He  has  probably  passed  on  the  highway  of  life  othera 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  619 

who  started  out  with  more  advantageous  equipment  than  he,  but  he  possessed 
earnest  purpose  and  dihgence  and  as  the  years  have  gone  by  has  so  directed 
his  labors  that  he  is  now  the  owner  of  valuable  land  as  well  as  bank  stock. 
Indeed  he  is  one  of  the  substantial  citizens  of  the  community  and  his  success 
is  very  creditable.  In  politics  he  has  been  a  life-long  Republican,  He  has 
erected  one  of  the  most  costly  and  beautiful  monuments  for  his  father,  in 
the  Riverside  cemetery  at  Union  City,  Michigan. 

CLAY  McCRARY. 

Clay  McCrary,  the  proprietor  of  the  Sunnyside  farm  on  section  six, 
Union  township,  is  also  connected  with  other  business  enterprises  of  Branch 
county  that  show  him  to  be  a  man  of  marked  capability,  enterprise  and  keen 
discernment.  He  was  born  in  Sherwood  township,  June  22,  1855.  His  father, 
Alexander  C.  McCrary,  is  mentioned  on  another  page  of  this  work,  being 
one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  the  locality  who  aided  in  laying  broad  and 
deep  the  foundation  for  the  present  progress  and  prosperity  of  this  section 
of  the  state.  Clay  McCrary  was  reared  on  the  old  family  homestead  in  the 
usual  manner  of  farm  lads  until  eighteen  years  of  age,  working  in  the 
fields  through  the  summer  months,  while  in  the  winter  seasons  he  attended 
the  public  schools,  acquiring  a  good  practical  English  education.  At  the 
age  of  eighteen  he  came  to  Union  township  and  was  engaged  in  assisting  his 
father  on  the  farm. 

In  1893  occurred  the  marriage  of  Clay  McCrary  and  Miss  Carrie  M. 
Woods,  a  daughter  of  Jesse  A.  and  Angeline  (Webster)  Woods.  The  young 
couple  began  their  domestic  life  on  a  farm  in  Sherwood  township  where  Mr. 
McCrary  carried  on  general  agricultural  pursuits  until  1896,  when  he  located 
on  the  farm  where  he  now  lives  on  section  six.  Union  township.  He  has  a 
valuable  property  of  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  in  Sherwood  township, 
while  a  rich  tract  of  eighty  acres  constitutes  the  Sunnyside  farm.  He  rents 
much  of  his  land  and  gives  little  attention  to  the  raising  of  grain,  but  is 
one  of  the  prominent  horse  dealers  of  the  county,  buying  and  selling  a  large 
number  of  horses  each  year  and  as  he  is  an  excellent  judge  of  stock  he  is 
enabled  to  make  judicious  purchases  and  profitable  sales.  He  has  also  ex- 
tended his  efforts  to  other  lines  of  activity  and  his  opinions  are  regarded  as 
valuable  in  matters  of  business  judgment.  He  is  one  of  the  stockholders  of 
the  Union  City  National  Bank,  a  stockholder  in  the  Peerless  Yeast  Manu- 
facturing Company  of  Union  City  and  in  the  creamery  of  Union  City, 
Michigan. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McCrary  have  been  born  three  children,  but  Nora, 
the  eldest,  died  at  the  age  of  eight  years.  The  others,  Bertine  A.  and  Joseph 
C,  are  attending  school  in  Union  City.  Mr.  McCrary  is  a  staunch  Re- 
publican, interested  in  the  growth  of  the  party,  yet  without  political  aspira- 
tion for  himself.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows 
and  has  also  taken  the  Rebekah  degree  at  Leonidas.  With  the  exception  of 
three  years,  from  187S  until  18S1,  during  which  time  he  was  engaged  in 
merchandising  in  Burlingame,  Kansas,  be  has  always  lived  in  Branch  county, 
so  that  his  history  is  well  known  to  his  fellow  citizens  and  the  fact  that 


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050  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

many  of  his  staunchest  friends  are  those  who  have  known  him  from  his  youth 
to  the  present  time  is  an  indication  that  his  has  been  an  upright  and  honorable 
career.  He  has  apphed  himself  earnestly  to  the  conduct  of  his  business  in- 
terests and  his  perseverance,  unremitting  diligence  and  sagacity  have  been 
strong  elements  in  his  prosperity. 

MRS.    POLLY    A.    DUNN. 

The  ladies  of  America  have  played  a  most  conspicuous  part  in  the  history 
of  the  nation,  both  local  and  national.  The  old  Empire  state  of  New  York 
has  populated  the  middle  west  with  more  of  her  sons  and  daughters  than 
possibly  any  other  of  the  states  north  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line. 

The  worthy  lady  whose  name  heads  this  review  is  a  daughter  of  the 
state  of  New  York,  having  been  born  January  i,  1821,  in  the  township  of 
Junius,  central  New  York,  near  the  site  of  the  Cornell  University.  She,  when 
but  a  little  maiden,  removed  with  her  parents  to  the  township  of  Lodi, 
thence  to  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan,  in  the  autumn  of  1836.  She  wedded  Oscar 
Otis  in  October,  1841.  He  was  an  engineer  by  occupation,  3  man  of  kindly 
disposition  and  one  who  was  honored  and  respected  by  all  who  knew  him. 
He  died  March  28,  1858.  leaving  two  children:  Emma,  the  wife  of  Rev. 
Dr.  Wilkinson,  and  Frank,  who  became  a  sea  captain  and  for  several  years 
was  considered  one  of  the  best  navigators  of  the  sea.  He  died  at  Port 
Tampa,  Florida,  July  23,  1898. 

Ihiring  her  widowhood  Mrs.  Otis  plied  her  needle  to  support  herself 
and  children,  and  to  pay  for  the  home  which  sheltered  them.  On  February 
17,  1862,  she  married  Aretus  Dunn,  a  well  known  business  man  of  Ann 
Arbor,  who  had  made  a  snug  fortune  in  California  in  his  younger  days.  He 
died  June  4,  1895,  leaving  his  widow  with  plenty  of  this  world's  goods.  It 
is  not  out  of  place  to  say  here  that  Mr.  Dunn  was  one  of  these  big  hearted 
men  who  made  legions  of  friends  wherever  he  was  known,  and  in  the  latter 
years  of  his  life  his  old  friend,  Leland  Stanford,  offered  to  send  his  private 
car  for  him  if  he  would  visit  him.  in  his  California  home,  but  on  account 
of  his  failing  health,  Mr.  Dunn  was  obliged  to  decline  the  offer.  Mrs. 
Dnnn  lives  in  her  elegant  home  on  Washington  street,  Ann  Arbor,  with 
her  daughter  and  son-in-law.  and  although  four  score  years  and  five  have 
passed  over  her  head,  still  her  form  is  erect  and  her  mind  as  bright  as 
most  of  the  people  half  that  age.  She  has  been  favored  in  more  ways  than 
this,  having  never  been  obliged  to  consuh  a  dentist,  her  teeth  being  as  sound 
as  when  she  was  twenty  years  old,  and  her  curly  hair  is  the  envy  of  all  the 
girls  who  know  her.  But  now,  past  the  age  of  an  octogenarian,  her  sun 
is  fast  setting  beneath  the  western  horizon  of  hfe,  and  soon  her  days  will  be 
numbered,  but  the  good  life  she  has  led  and  the  kind  deeds  she  has  done  will 
be  as  monuments  to  this  good  woman's  life  and  memory. 

LEMANDER  JAMES. 

Lemander  James,  who  carries  on  general  farming  on  section  twenty-six, 
Matteson  township,  here  first  opened  his  eyes  to  the  light  of  day  on  ■  the 
28th  of  October,  1851,  his_  parents  bring  William  and  Nancy  Jane  (Gillen) 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  fi5L 

James,  both  o£  whom  were  natives  of  Ohio.  The  father  was  an  old  settler 
of  this  county  and  for  many  years  devoted  his  energies  to  farming  in  Matte- 
son  township.  He  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1822  and  was  reared  in  that  state, 
coming  to  Branch  county  in  1846.  He  settled  on  what  is  now  known  as  the 
James  farm,  purchasing  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  raw  land,  which  at 
that  time  was  covered  with  timlJer,  This  he  cleared  and  improved,  placing 
it  under  cultivation.  He  was  married  in  Branch  county  to  Miss  Nancy  Jane 
Gillen,  a  native  of  Ohio,  bom  in  1825,  and  in  that  state  her  girlhood  days 
were  passed.  She  came  from  Ohio  to  Branch  county  at  an  early  period  in 
the  development  of  this  part  of  the  state  and  the  only  child  of  her  marriage 
was  Leniander  James.  The  father  was  a  life-long  Republican,  and  had  a 
wide  and  favorable  acquaintance  in  Branch  county.  In  citizenship  he  was 
progressive  and  public-spirited  and  his  co-operation  was  a  resultant  factor  in 
general  progress.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  of  Bronson, 
and  his  life  was  in  harmony  with  the  teachings  of  the  craft.  He  died  upon 
the  old  homestead  farm  in  1S71,  while  his  wife  departed  this  life  in  1874. 

Lemander  James  was  reared  and  educated  in  his  native  township,  at- 
tending the  district  school,  his  early  studies  being  pursued  in  one  of  the 
old-time  Ic^  schoolhouses.  Later,  however,  better  school  buildings  were 
erected  and  the  methods  of  instruction  were  also  improved.  He  helped  to 
cultivate  the  home  place  and  after  his  father's  death  he  remained  upon  the 
farm,  assuming  its  management.  His  entire  life  has  been  devoted  to  gen- 
eral agricultural  pursuits  and  he  is  today  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  land  that  is  rich  and  productive,  the  greater  part  of  which  is 
under  a  high  state  of  cultivation.  There  are  good  improvements  on  the 
property  in  the  shape  of  substantial  buildings  and  modern  machinery  and 
the  place  is  divided  into  fields  of  convenient  size  by  well  kept  fences. 

In  1872  Mr.  James  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  Jane  Kinter, 
who  was  horn  in  Eatavia  township,  Branch  county,  in  1852,  and  is  a  daugh- 
ter of  Richard  Kinter,  a  pioneer  settler  of  Branch  county.  Mrs.  James  spent 
her  girlhood  days  upon  her  father's  farm  and  mastered  the  branches  of 
learning  taught  in  the  di.strict  schools  of  Batavia  township.  Two  children 
graced  this  union,  Willie  and  Mabel,  but  the  latter  is  now  deceased.  Mr. 
James  votes  with  the  Republican  party  where  national  issues  are  involved, 
but  at  local  elections  regards  only  the  capability  of  the  candidate.  He  has 
held  several  township  oftices  and  the  trust  reposed  in  him  has  been  well 
merited,  for  he  has  been  found  faithful,  prompt  and  efficient  in  the  discharge 
of  his  duties. 

SAMUEL  KNAUSS. 

Samuel  Knauss,  who  is  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business  in  Cold- 
water,  is  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Union  coun- 
ty, December  12,  1840.  His  parents  were  Solomon  and  Sarah  (Moore) 
Knauss,  both  natives  of  Lehigh  county.  Pennsylvania,  and  of  German  de- 
scent. They  removed  to  Erie  county,  Ohio,  when  their  son  Samuel  was  a 
lad  of  six  years,  and  there  they  spent  their  remaining  days,  both  having  now 
passed  away.  In  their  family  were  twelve  children,  nine  of  whom  reached 
years  of  maturity. 


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652  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Samuel  Knauss  was  reared  in  Erie  county,  Ohio,  spending  his  boy- 
hood days  on  the  home  farm  until  fourteen  years  of  age.  At  that  age  his 
father  and  sister  hired  him  out  to  J.  G,  Sumner,  a  merchant  in  Bellevue, 
to  work  in  his  dry  goods  store  for  a  consideration  of  fifty  dollars  for  six 
months'  service  and  board  himself,  which  cost  forty-eight  dollars.  From 
that  time  till  he  was  of  age  he  worked  for  different  parties  in  grocery  and 
dry  goods  stores.  Later  he  assisted  in  the  cultivation  of  the  home  farm 
until  twenty-two  years  of  age,  when  he  again  started  out  in  life  on  his  own 
account. 

In  1864  Mr,  Knauss  was  married  to  Miss  Jemima  Cleveland,  and  they 
have  become  the  parents  of  two  daughters:  Jennie  L.,  now  the  wife  of 
L.  J.  Byers,  and  Nettie  E.,  the  wife  of  Alfred  Pierce. 

Following  his  marriage  Mr.  Knauss  engaged  in  farming  and  after- 
ward followed  merchandising  as  a  dealer  in  agricultural  implements  at  Belle- 
vue. Ohio,  for  twelve  years.  In  1875  he  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan, 
settling  in  Kinderhook  township,  where  he  again  carried  on  agricultural 
pursuits  until  the  fall  of  1904,  when  he  located  in  Coldwater,  where  he  is 
now  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business.  He  has  thoroughly  informed  him- 
self concerning  really  values  and  is  well  qualified  to  place  investments  and 
make  sales.  He  has  served  as  under  sheriff  of  the  county  and  he  gives  his 
pohtical  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party.  Fraternally  he  is  a  Master  Ma- 
son, while  his  religious  connection  is  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

WILLIAM  WANAR. 

WiHiam  Wanar,  who  is  a  practical,  progressive  and  prominent  farmer 
of  Batavia  township  living  on  section  twenty-one,  was  born  in  Reichenberg, 
Germany,  on  the  15th  of  October,  1838.  His  parents  were  Frank  and  Anna 
Wanar.  The  mother  came  to  America  in  1857  and  the  father  crossed  the 
Atlantic  in  1882,  both  spending  their  last  days  in  Branch  county,  the  fu- 
neral services  of  this  worthy  couple  being  conducted  by  Rev.  Collin,  the 
editor  of  this  work.  The  subject  of  this  review  was  reared  in  the  place 
of  his  nativity  until  sixteen  years  of  age.  During  that  time  he  acquired  a 
fair  public  school  education  and  he  also  learned  the  butcher's  trade.  Hear- 
ing favorable  reports  concerning  America,  its  business  opportimities  and  the 
advantages  afforded  young  men  he  determined  to  try  his  fortune  in  this 
land  where  labor  is  unhampered  by  caste  or  class.  Accordingly  he  bade 
adieu  to  friends  and  native  country  and  in  1854  sailed  for  the  United  States, 
settling  first  in  Auburn,  New  York.  He  aften\ard  lived  at  Waterloo,  Sen- 
eca county.  New  York,  and  in  1857  made  his  way  westward  to  Michigan, 
coming  direct  to  Branch  county.  Having  no  capital  and  therefore  facing 
the  necessity  of  at  once  providing  for  his  support,  he  worked  out  by  the  day 
and  month  and  afterward  spent  some  time  on  the  road  as  a  lightning  rod 
agent.  He  followed  that  business  for  about  eight  years,  traveling  over  the 
country,  making  sales  in  Indiana,  Illinois  and  Ohio. 

On  the  19th  of  October,  1862,  Mr,  Wanar  was  joined  in  wedlock  to 
Miss  Mary  Matilda  Morsman,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Eunice  (Stanton) 
Morsman.    The  father  was  bom  in  Buffalo,  New  York,  in  1802  and  in  1839 


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HISTORY  OF-  BRANCH  COUNTY  053 

removed  to  Ohio,  settling  in  Trumbull  county.  In  1852  he  came  to  Mich- 
igan, locating  at  Coldwater,  Branch  county.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupa- 
tion and  his  last  days  were  spent  in  South  Haven,  Michigan,  where  he 
passed  away  in  1867.  His  wife  lived  to  the  advanced  age  of  seventy-eight 
years.  Mrs.  Wanar  was  the  fourth  in.  order  of  birth  in  their  family  of  eight 
children  and  iirst  opened  her  eyes  to  the  light  of  day  in  Herkimer  county, 
New  York,  on  the  6th  of  June,  1836.  She  was  in  her  sixteenth  year  when 
she  came  to  Branch  county  and  here  she  has  since  lived.  Mr.  Wanar  at 
the  time  of  his  marriage  located  in  Bethel  township,  where  he  remained  for 
about  two  years,  when  he  sold  his  property  there  and  bought  a  farm  on 
section  two.  Batavia  township.  Locating  thereon  he  at  once  began  the  fur- 
ther development  and  improvement  of  that  land  and  made  the  place  his 
home  for  eighteen  years,  when  he  traded  the  property  for  the  farm  upon 
which  he  now  resides  on  section  twenty-one,  Batavia  township.  Here  he 
has  lived  for  twenty-three  years,  giving  his  time  and  attention  to  the  work 
of  tilling  the  fields,  caring  for  the  crops  and  raising  stock.  He  is  truly  a 
self-made  man  and  deserves  much  credit  for-  what  he  has  accomplished. 
When  he  arrived  in  America  he  had  a  capital  of  four  dollars,  and  he  was  a 
stranger  in  a  strange  land,  unfamiliar  with  the  English  tongue  and  with 
the  customs  and  manners  of  the  people.  Indeed  he  could  not  speak  3  word 
of  the  language  here  used.  He  worked  for  four  dollars  per  month  for 
more  than  a  year  and  during  that  time  acquainted  himself  with  English, 
He  also  clerked  in  a  store  and  he  utilized  every  opportunity  to  gain  a  knowl  - 
edge  of  the  methods  of  business  life  as  practiced  in  the  new  world. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wanar  have, been  bom  two  sons:  Jay  F.,  who  is 
engaged  in  merchandising  in  the  town  of  Olds;  and  Charles  H.,  who  is  oper- 
ating his  father's  farm.  The  former  married  Christine  Klose,  a  daughter 
of  Frederick  Klose,  and  they  have  three  children :  Crystal,  Lissette  and 
William  Frederick.  Charles  Wanar  wedded  Miss  Mary  Jones,  a  daughter 
of  Charles  Tones,  and  they  also  have  three  children:  Norine,  who  is  in  the 
eighth  grade,  and  is  especially  fond  of  arithmetic  and  geography:  Lorain,  in 
about  the  same  grade,  and  is  an  artist  in  constructing  forms  and  is  natural 
in  her  tastes :  and  Mary,  who  is  classed  in  the  same  grade  as  her  sisters.  The 
homestead  farm  comprises  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  which  is 
well  improved,  largely  owing  to  the  efforts  of  William  Wanar,  who  has  al- 
ways been  a  diligent,  enterprising  man.  faithfully  performing  each  task  as 
it  has  come  to  him  and  discharging  every  duty  that  lias  devolved  upon  him. 
He  has  made  an  excellent  business  record  by  reason  of  his  fidelity  to  duty 
and  the  prompt  manner  in  which  he  has  met  every  obligation  devolving  upon 
him  and  he  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  reliable  citizens  of  Branch  county. 
After  studying  political  questions  and  issues  and  acqiiainting  himself  with 
the  attitude  of  the  two  parties  Mr,  Wanar  decided  to  give  his  suf^ort  to 
the  Republican  party  and  has  since  been  a  champion  of  its  interests.  Both 
he  and  his  wife  are  well  known  in  the  county  where  they  have  so  long  re- 
-sided  and  with  its  history  they  have  been  closely  identified.  His  success  has 
been  based  uix>n  the  qualities  of  strict  and  unswerving  integrity,  unabating 
industry  and  diligence  that  never  fails  arid  his  record  has  been  so  honorable 


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654  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

and  commendahle  that  his  methods  cannot  fail  to  prove  of  interest  to  those 
who  know  aught  of  his  career.  He  is-  a  splendid  type  of  the  German-Amer- 
ican citizen  and  his  history  is  an  excellent  example  of  what  may  be  accom- 
phshed  in  the  "land  of  the  free"  where  labor  finds  its  just  reward. 

SETH  B.  RANDALL. 

Seth  B.  Randall,  numbered  among  the  practical,  progressive  and  pros- 
perous farmers  of  Coldwater  township,  was  born  in  Yates  county,  New 
York,  May  21,  1845,  ^^d  is  a  representative  of  one  of  the  old  families  that 
through  several  generations  has  been  represented  in  the  Empire  state.  His 
father,  Orson  Randall;  was  born  in  Putnam  county,  New  York,  August  25, 
1807,  and  was  married  on  the  r5th  of  September,  1833,  in  Milo,  Yates 
county,  to  Miss  Laura  J.  Gilbert,  whose  birth  occurred  at  Sharon,  Litchfield 
county,  Connecticut,  on  the  27th  of  November,  1814.  Her  father,  Ephraim 
Gilbert,  died  September  30,  1827,  and  the  mother,  Mrs.  Jerusha  (Peck) 
Gilbert,  passed  away  two  days  before,  so  that  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years 
Mrs.  Randall  was  left  an  orphan.  As  stated,  she  was  married  in  1833,  and 
in  1840  Mr.  and  Mrs,  Randall  came  to  Michigan,  settling  first  at  Allen. 
Hillsdale  county,  where  the  father  conducted  a  hotel  for  several  years,  it 
being:  one  of  the  pioneer  hostelries  of  that  section  of  the  state.  About  1840 
he  came  to  Coldwater  township.  Branch  county,  and  purchased  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  of  land  bordering  Randall's  Lake.  It  lay  on  section  five, 
Coldwater  township,  and  was  purchased  from  the  government.  Upon  the 
farm  which  he  there  developed  he  spent  his  remaining  days,  giving  his  life 
to  its  further  cultivation  and  improvement.  His  wife  died  on  the  loth  of 
March,  1S80,  and  on  that  occasion  the  following  lines  appeared  in  the 
Coldwater  Republican : 

"  Mrs.  Orson  Randall  died  at  her  home  in  Coldwater  township  last 
Wednesday  morning  after  a  long  and  painful  illness  of  some  brain  trouble, 
which  for  nearly  two  years  past  has  made  her  entirely  blind  and  helpless. 
She  was  sixty-five  years  of  age  and  leaves  beside  her  husband  a  family  of 
five  children.  Thirty-five  years  ago  the'  family  came  to  the  township  from 
Penn  Yan,  New  York,  and  still  reside  on  the  farm  on  which  they  then 
located,  and  where  the  children  all  grew  to  man's  and  woman's  estate.  Hers 
is  the  first  death  that  has  occurred  in  the  family  during  their  thirty-five  years' 
residence  here.  She  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church  of  this  city,  and 
was  a  lady  who  was  held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  all  who  were  acquainted 
with  her.  Her  remains  were  laid  in  their  final  resting  place  in  Oak  Grove' 
cemetery  yesterday." 

Mr.  Randall  survived  until  September  21,  1889.  Since  reaching  the 
state  in  1840  he  bad  resided  continuously  here  save  for  a  brief  period  of 
a  few  years  which  he  passed  in  New  York.  He  was  a  Republican  in  his 
political  views  and  was  a  man  greatly  esteemed  as  an  important  factor  in 
the  early  history  of  his  town  and  county.  When  he  passed  away  the  fol- 
lowing was  written  in  his  memory  in  one  of  the  local  papers : 

"  Another  Pioneer  Gone. — Orson  Randall  was  bom  in  Putnam  county, 
New  York,  and  moved  to  Yates  county  of  the  same  state  when  a  youth. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  655 

He  grew  to  manhood  in  that  county  and  was  married  to  Miss  Laura  Gilbert, 
who  died  in  Coldwater  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven  years.  Tliey  packed  their 
goods  and  emigrated  to  Michigan  in  184c,  which  was  a  territory  at  the 
time,  if  my  memory  serves  me  right.  They  located  in  Allen  township 
the  same  year  and  they  built  them  a  shanty  and  had  a  quilt  hung  up  for  a 
door;  and  at  night  they  thought  the  %voIves  were  going  to  take  possession, 
coming  right  up  in  front  and  around  the  so-called  house.  They  afterwards 
built  a  house  and  for  the  accommodation  of  the  public  he  opened  it  as  a 
tavern.  One  man  told  the  writer  not  many  days  ago  that  he  had  put  up  at 
the  so  called  house  and  he  very  well  remembered  the  following  words  on 
the  sign:  'Live  and  Let  Live — O.  Randall.'  He  concluded  in  after  years 
that  keeping  a  public  house  was  not  his  calling  and  so  exchanged  for  a  farm 
on  the  west  side  of  Coldwater  lake  now  occupied  by  Seth  B.  Randall,  his 
youngest  son.  Five  children  survive  him.  He  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life 
on  this  farm.  He  united  with  the  Baptist  church  and  took  an  active  part  in  its 
construction.  At  the  close  of  his  declining  years  he  bought  a  house  in  the 
city  and  lived  there  until  his  death.  He  was  honored  and  respected  by  all 
whO'  knew  him." 

Both  he  and  his  wife  were  members  of  the  Baptist  church  and  were 
people  of  the  highest  respectabiUty.  enjoying  the  warm  regard  of  all  with 
whom  they  were  associated.  In  their  family  were  five  children,  all  of  whom 
reached  adult  age,  namely :  Alonzo,  who  was  born  in  Milo,  New  York,  July 
8,  1834,  and  is  now  living  in  Eaton  Rapids,  Michigan;  Eunice,  who  was  born 
in  Howard,  New  York,  March  9,  1836,  and  is  the  wife  of  C.  I.  Fonda; 
George  A.,  who  was  bom  in  Allen,  Michigan,  August  11,  1838,  and  died  at 
Ann  Arbor,  Michigan,  February  9,  1890;  Seth  B.,  of  this  review;  and  Emily 
R.,  who  was  born  in  Allen,  Michigan,  March  14,  1841,  and  is  the  wife  of 
Wenzell  Gruner.  a  resident  of  the  city  of  Coldwater. 

Seth  B.  Randall  was  born  in  the  Empire  state  during  the  period  in  which 
his  parents  lived  there  after  their  return  from  Michigan.  However,  when 
he  was  a  young  lad  he  was  brought  to  this  state  and  his  early  life  was  passed 
upon  the  home  farm  which  he  now  owns.  He  aided  in  the  work  of  field  and 
meadow,  and  in  the  winter  months  acquired  a  good  practical  education  in 
the  common  schools.  On  the  12th  of  March.  1871,  be  was  married  in  Cold- 
water  to  Miss  Sarah  E.  Giles,  who  was  born  in  Port  Credit,  Canada,  June  13, 
1848,  a  daughter  of  Joshua  and  Helen  (Ferguson)  Giles,  the  former  a  native 
of  London,  England,  and  the  latter  of  the  Hudson  Bay  territory.  Her 
father  was  a  bridge  builder  under  Lord  Suffolk  in  the  Hudson  Bay  territory. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Giles  had  a  family  of  six  children,  namely:  WiUiam  John  and 
Thomas  A.,  who  died  in  childhood;  Mrs.  Jane  Brandon,  who  lives  in  Toronto, 
Canada ;  Mrs.  Isabelle  Brownridge,  of  Isabella  county,  Michigan ;  Mrs.  Cath- 
erine Stevens,  of  Grand  Rapids,  this  state;  and  Mrs.  Randall.  Mrs.  Randall 
was  a  teacher  in  this  locality  when  she  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Ran- 
dall. Their  marriage  has  resulted  in  the  birth  of  two  sons:  George,  born 
December  17,  1876,  and  now  at  home  with  his  parents;  and  Ralph  S.,  who 
was  born  April  2,  1884,  and  is  a  bookkeeper  and  cashier  in  Clarke's  drug 
store  in  Coldwater. 


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656  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Mr.  Randal!  exercises  his  right  of  franchise  in  support  of  the  men  and 
measures  of  the  Republican  party  and  for  nine  years  has  served  as  justice  of 
the  peace,  while  at  this  writing  he  is  serving  his  second  term  as  commissioner 
of  CoJdwater  township.  He  has  hved  on  his  present  farm  from  the  age  of 
two  years,  and  it  is  a  splendid  property  improved  with  a  modern  residence 
and  all  the  equipments  and  accessories  found  upon  a  model  farm  of  the  twen- 
tieth century,  located  on  the  hanks  of  Lake  Randall.  He  displays  considerable 
mechanical  ingenuity  and  artistic  skill  and  his  home  contains  many  specimens 
of  his  handicraft  in  the  way  of  furniture  and  decorations.  He  belonged  to 
Coldwater  lodge,  A.  O.  U,  W.,  and  is  a  man  uniformly  esteemed  throughout 
the  community,  for  his  life  has  been  honorable  and  upright,  his  actions  manly 
and  sincere.  In  the  careful  conduct  of  his  business  interests  he  has  met  with 
creditable  prosperty,  finding  that  success  is  ambition's  answer.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Randall  have  an  old  Bible  in  their  home  which  was  published  in  1790,  which 
is  an  heirloom  and  one  of  the  oldest  books  found  in  the  county  of  Branch. 
They  also  have  one  of  the  old  "  Longfellow  Clocks,"  the  framework  of  which 
was  made  by  Mr.  Randall,  Tlieir  pretty  estate  or  country  seat  is  known  as 
"  The  Willowbank  Farm,"  and  lies  on  the  banks  of  Lake  Morrison. 

JOHN    HULSE. 

The  farming  interests  of  Branch  county  have  a  worthy  representative 
in  John  Hulse,  who  is  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  fertile 
land  in  California  tonwship.  He  was  born  in  Cayuga  county,  New  York,  on 
the  4th  of  January,  1842,  and  is  the  only  surviving  member  of  a  family  of 
six  children  Ixirn  unto  John  and  Charity  (Perkins)  Hulse.  The  family  was 
an  old  one  in  New  York.  The  paternal  grandfather,  Isaac  Hulse,  spent  the 
greater  part  of  his  life  in  the  Empire  state,  but  in  his  last  years  came  to 
Branch  county,  Michigan,  and  died  here.  John  Hulse,  father  of  our  subject, 
was  bom  in  Nester  county.  New  York,  November  17,  1802,  and  in  his  early 
life  learned  the  cooper's  trade,  which  he  followed  in  his  native  state.  Hoping 
to  more  rapidly  acquire  a  competence  in  the  new  and  growing  west  he  came 
to  Michigan  in  1855,  making  his  way  to  Branch  county,  where  lie  purchased 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  new  land,  upon  which  not  a  furrow  had  been 
turned  or  an  improvement  made.  The  arduous  task  of  clearing  and  cultivat- 
ing the  tract  was  at  once  begun  by  him  and  in  the  course  of  years  he  had 
placed  sixty  acres  under  the  plow  and  was  gathering  therefrom  rich  crops. 
Much  of  the  remainder  of  the  farm  has  been  cleared  by  John  Hulse  of  this 
review,  but  there  is  still  a  good  tract  of  timber  upon  the  place.  John  Hulse 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Charity  Perkins,  also  a  native  of  Nester 
county.  New  York,  bom  on  the  19th  of  July,  1802.  She  was  a  daughter 
of  Ebenezer  and  Lucy  (Cooper)  Perkins,  who  lived  and  died  in  the  Empire 
state.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hulse  continued  to  reside  upon  their  farm  in  Branch 
county,  the  father  carrying  on  the  active  work  of  the  fields  until  his  life's 
labors  were  ended  in  death  on  the  i8th  of  January,  1859.  His  wife  sur- 
vived him  until  September  20,  1876.  He  gave  his  political  allegiance  to  the 
Whig  party,  but  was  without  aspiration  for  office.  His  wife  was  a  member 
of  the  United  Brethren  church  and  was  a  most  estimable  lady.     In  their 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCPI  COUNTY  6o7 

family  were  six  children,  of  whom  one  died  in  infancy,  the  others  being 
Mrs.  Betsy  Yarns,  who  passed  away  in  New  York;  Martha  L.,  who  died  in 
childhood:  Mrs.  Hannah  Jane  Hall,  who  died  in  California  township,  Branch 
county;  Hiram,  who  w^as  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war.  sei^'ing'  in  Company  I, 
Ninth  Michigan  Infantry,  and  died  at  Knoxville,  Tennessee;  Mrs.  Delilah 
L.  Hazen,  who  died  in  Iowa;  and  John,  w^ho  completes  the  family. 

John  Hulse  spent  the  first  thirteen  years  of  his  life  in  the  state  of  his 
nativity  and  then  came  with  his  parents  to  Michigan.  His  education,  begun 
-.n  New  "York,  was  continued  in  the  public  schools  of  Branch  county.  He 
was  reared  to  manhood  upon  the  home  farm  and  as  his  age  and  strength  per- 
mitted assisted  more  and  more  largely  in  the  work  of  clearing  and  develop- 
ing the  land.  He  has  always  hved  upon  the  old  homestead  and  succeeded 
to  the  property  after  his  parents'  death.  He  operated  the  farm  after  the 
death  of  his  father,  starting  out  in  life  on  his  own  account  when  but  seven- 
teen years  of  age.  Ninety  acres  of  the  home  place  came  to  hirii  through,  in- 
heritance, together  with  personal  property,  on  condition  that  he  supported 
his  mother  during  the  remainder  of  her  life.  She  lived  for  eighteen  years 
thereafter  and  he  did  his  filial  duty,  putting  forth  every  effort  in  his  power 
for  her  welfare  and  happiness.  He  is  now  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  of  very  productive  land  and  seventy-five  acres  of  the  farm  is 
cleared,  while  fifty  acres  is  still  in  timber.  His  fields  are  well  tilled  and 
through  the  rotation  of  crops  as  well  as  through  the  timely  planting  of  Ms 
seed  and  his  care  of  the  growing  harvest  he  is  enabled  each  year  to  sell 
considerable  quantities  of  grain  ancl  thus  provide  a  comfortable  living  for 
himself  and  family. 

On  the  i8th  of  June,  1889,  Mr.  Hulse  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Lavina  E.  Albright,  who  was  born  in  Steuben  county,  Indiana,  on  the  23rd 
of  November,  1858,  a  daughter  of  Christopher  and  Catherine  (Michael) 
Albright,  the  former  a  native  of  Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania,  born 
Alay  18,  1823,  and  the  latter  born  in  Dauphin  county,  Pennsylvania,  Octo- 
ber 10,  1827.  They  were  married  in  the  Keystone  state  on  the  8th  of  Feb- 
n.iar\',  1849,  and  lived  for  fifty  years  in  Steuben  county,  Indiana,  but  their 
later  years  were  passed  in  Branch  county,  where  the  father  died  Marcli  9, 
1902,  and  in  his  honor  the  following  obituary  notice  was  written;  "Chris- 
topher Albright  was  born  in  Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania,  May  18, 
1823,  and  was  joined  in  marriage  with  Catherine  Michael,  February  8,  1849, 
and  the  following  May  they  came  to  Steuben  county.  To  this  union  were 
bom  seven  children,  four  of  whom,  with  his  aged  wife,  sur\-ive  him.  His 
death  occurred  March  9,  ig02.  aged  seventy-eight  years,  nine  months  and 
nineteen  days.  The  deceased  was  held  in  highest  esteem  by  his  friends  and 
neighbors  and  his  life  was  a  blessing  of  untold  value  to  the  community  in- 
which  he  lived  so  many  years.  The  funeral  services  were  conducted  by  Rev. 
J.  A.  Sprague,  at  Fremont,  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  of  which  he 
was  a  member."  The  mother  survived  until  January  20,  1905,  and  at  her 
death  the  following  notice  was  written :  "  Mrs.  Catherine  Albright  died  last 
Friday  evening  at  the  home  of  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Hidse.  She  had  been  in 
poor  health  for  some  time,  but  had  only  been  seriously  sick  for  a  few  days. 


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658  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

The  funeral  was  held  Sunday  afternoon  at  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
Rev.  F.  A.  Reichelderfer  officiating.  Catherine,  daughter  of  Hiilip  and  Su- 
sannah Michael,  was  bom  in'  Dauphin  county,  Pennsylvania,  October  lo, 
1827,  was  united  in  marriage  to  Christopher  Albright,  February  8,  1849, 
came  to  Steuben  county,  Indiana,  the  following  May.  To  them  were  born 
seven  children,  of  whom  three,  with  husband,  father,  mother,  two  brothers 
and  five  sisters,  have  preceded  her  to  the  spirit  land.  In  the  year  1852  she 
united  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  has  endeavored  to  live  a 
true  Christian  life.  The  God  whom  she  served  in  life  was  her  support  in 
death.  She  leaves  three  brothers,  three  sons,  one  daughter,  seven  grand- 
children, two  great-grandchildren,  with  a  host  of  other  friends  to  moarn 
the  loss.  She  departed  this  life  January  20,  1905,  aged  seventy-seven  years, 
three  months  and  ten  days."  They  had  traveled  life's  journey  together  for 
more  than  a  half  century.  Their  rriarriage  was  blessed  with  seven  children, 
of  whom  one  died  in  infancy,  while  the  others  were:  Phillip,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  seventeen  years;  Wesley  S.,  living  in  this  township;  Joshua  P., 
who  is  postmaster  at  Fremont,  Indiana;  Jacob  C,  who  is  a  preacher  of  the 
United  Brethren  church  at  Nappanee,  Indiana;  Susan  A.,  who  has  departed 
this  life ;  and  Lavina,  now  Mrs.  Hulse.  The  parents  in  early  life  were  mem- 
bers of  the  German  Methodist  church  and  in  later  years  joined  the  English 
Methodist  church  and  at  all  times  they  were  actuated  by  Christian  princi- 
ples and  won  the  respect  and  good  will  of  those  with  whom  they  were  asso- 
ciated. Mr.  Albright  gave  his  entire  life  to  genera!  agricultural  pursuits 
and  thus  provided  for  his  family. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hulse  have  been  born  a  daughter  and  son,  Delilah 
Catherine  and  Ralph  John,  both  of  whom  are  at  home.  The  parents  and 
children  are  members  of  the  United  Brethren  church  and  are  close  and  earn- 
est followers  of  the  teachings  of. that  denomination.  Mr.  Hulse  is  also  a 
staunch  advocate  of  the  cause  of  temi>erance  and  votes  with  the  Prohibition 
party.  While  leading  a  busy  life  upon  his  farm,  all  improvements  having 
been  made  there  since  he  took  up  his  abode  thereon  and  in  the  work  of 
which  he  was  an  active  assistant,  Mr.  Hulse  has  nevertheless  found  time 
to  devote  to  interests  of  a  public  nature.  He  has  served  as  superintendent 
of  the  Sunday  school  and  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  in  the  United 
Brethren  church  and  has  also  been  assessor  of  the  school  district  for  twelve 
years,  being  the  incumbent  in  that  office  at  the  present  time.  The  family 
have  a  good  farm  home  and  their  position  in  public  regard  is  that  which  is 
ever  accorded  in  recognition  of  genuine  personal  worth  and  of  principles 
which  neither  seek  nor  require  disguise. 

ARTHUR  E.  ROBINSON. 

Arthur  E.  Robinson,  president  and  general  manager  of  the  Regal  Gaso- 
line Engine  Company,  was  born  in  the  city  of  Coldwater  in  1859.  His 
father,  Hiram  B.  Robinson,  was  a  native  of  Springfield,  Massachusetts, 
where  in  early  manhood  he  became  foreman  of  a  cotton  mill,  but  about  1852 
or  1853,  on  account  of  failing  health,  he  came  to  the  west,  settling  in  Cold- 
water.    Here  he  married  Miss  Laura  A.  Dunks,  a  native  of  New  York,  who 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  659 

died  in  1877,  leaving  two  sons,  Arthur  E.  and  Herbert  D.,  the  latter  also 
associated  with  the  Regal  Gasoline  Engine  Company.  The  father  died  in 
this  city  in  1888,  when  sixty-hve  years  of  age.  He  had  engaged  quite  large- 
ly in  speculation  and  was  very  successful  in  his  business  relations.  Both  he 
and  his  wife  were  Baptists  in  religious  faith.  They  were  people  of  the  high- 
est respectability,  gaining  many  friends  in  the  city  of  their  residence. 

Arthur  E.  Robinson  was  reared  and  educated  in  Coldvvater  and  began 
his  business  career  as  a  traveling  salesman  of  a  hardware  house  of  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  which  he  represented  on  the  road  for  six  or  seven  years.  On 
leaving  that  service  he  entered  the  real  estate  and  loan  business  in  Cold- 
water  and  handled  considerable  valuable  property.  In  1900  the  Regal  Gaso- 
line Engine  Company  was  organized  as  a  stock  company,  Mr.  Robinson  being 
active  in  the  promotion  of  this  enterprise  and  since  that  time  he  has  been 
president  and  general  manager.  It  is  one  of  the  large  and  profitable  pro- 
ductive industries  of  the  city  and  he  belongs  to  that  class  of  representative 
American  men  who,  while  advancing  individual  success,  also  contribute  to 
the  general  prosperity. 

Mr.  Robinson  was  married  in  1884  to  Miss  Anna  L.  Nichols  and  both 
he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Baptist  church.  Socially  they  are  prom- 
inent in  Coldwater  and  their  own  home  is  attractive  by  reason  of  its  gracious 
and  cordial  hospitality. 

MICtlAEL  RONAN. 

Michael  Ronan,  the  owner  of  a  fine  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  on  sections  one  and  twelve,  Girard  township,  spends  the  summer 
months  upon  this  place  and  the  winter  seasons  in  the  city  of  Coldwater, 
where  he  also  owns  a  comfortable  home.  He  was  born  in  Jersey  City,  New 
Jersey,  May  18,  1851,  and  is  a  son  of  Martin  and  Mary  (Costello)  Ronan, 
both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Mullengar.  Ireland.  They  came  to  America 
in  1850  and  after  a  brief  residence  in  New  Jersey  removed  to  Clarendon, 
Calhoun  county,  Michigan,  in  1851.  The  father  was  there  drowned  in  June, 
1853,  in  Homer  Lake,  and  in  the  same  year  Mrs.  Ronan  removed  with  her 
family  to  Girard,  where  she  lived  until  her  death  on  the  23rd  of  Septem- 
ber, 1902.  She  had  three  children  by  her  first  marriage:  Michael;  Mary, 
who  became  the  wife  of  Dr.  J.  L.  Ramsdell  and  is  now  living  in  Albion, 
Michigan,  where  her  husband  is  successfully  and  extensively  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  medicine;  Martin,  who  died  in  Detroit  in  1899.  After  los- 
ing her  first  husband  Mrs.  Ronan  married  A.  J.  McConvry  of  Girard,  by 
whom  she  had  two  children :  James  McConvry,  who  lives  in  London,  On- 
tario; and  Nellie  McConvry,  who  died  in  Girard  in  18S3.  After  the  death 
of  her  second  husband  Mrs.  McConvry  became  the  wife  of  Edwin  Wheeler, 
also  of  Girard,  by  whom  she  had  two  children:  Edwin  and  Emma  Wheeler, 
both  o£  Girard. 

Michael  Ronan  spent  his  youth  in  his  mother's  home  and  after  master- 
ing the  branches  of  learning  pursued  a  commercial  course  in  Hillsdale  Col- 
lege at  Hillsdale,  Michigan,  from  which  he  was  graduated  with  the  class  of 
1883.     He  was  thus  well  equipped  for  life's  practical  and  responsible  duties 


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660  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

and  has  ever  been  recognized  as  a  man  of  keen  discernment  and  intelligence. 
He  was  married  on  the  21st  of  February,  1884,  to  Miss  Bertha  Canny  of 
Rochester,  New  York,  the  wedding  being  celebrated  in  Philadelphia.  They 
now  have  three  children :  Marie,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the  Ypsilanti  State 
Normal  and  now  a  successful  teacher  connected  with  the  schools  of  Tekon- 
sha;  Nellie,  who  is  a  fourth  year  student  in  the  high  school  at  Coldwater; 
and  Kenneth,  yet  at  home. 

For  a  few  years  after  his  marriage  Mr,  Ronan  lived  on  a  fine  farm 
in  Tekonsha  to^vnship,  but  later  sold  that  property  and  purchased  his  pres- 
ent farm,  the  old  homestead,  comprising  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of 
land  on  sections  one  and  twelve,  Girard  township.  Here  he  and  his  family 
spend  the  summer  months,  while  throughout  the  remainder  of  the  year  they 
reside  in  the  city  of  Coldwater,  where  they  have  a  comfortable  home.  In 
his  business  affairs  he  is  energetic  and  reliable  and  his  unremitting  diligence 
and  keen  discernment  are  the  resultant  factors  in  his  prosperity.  His  en- 
tire life  has  been  devoted  to  agricultural  pursuits  and  his  vi'orth  is  widely 
recognized  as  a  representative  of  the  farming  community.  Having  spent 
almost  his  entire  life  in  this  county,  he  has  a  wide  acquaintance  and  his 
strong  and  salient  characteristics  are  such  as  have  made  him  respected  and 
honored  by  all  who  know  him. 

HOWARD  A.  GRUBE,  M.  D. 

Dr.  Howard  A.  Grube,  for  four  years  connected  with  the  medical  de- 
nartment  of  the  United  States  volunteer  service  in  the  Philippines  and  now 
a  practitioner  of  Coldwater,  making  a  specialty  of  surgery,  is  numbered 
among  the  native  sons  of  Indiana,  his  birth  having  occurred  on  a  farm  in 
Marshall  county,  that  state,  April  18,  1867.  The  family  is  of  German  line- 
age and  the  progenitor  in  America  was  Casper  Grube,  great-grandfather  of 
Dr.  Grube,  who  was  born  in  Germany  and  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  the  new 
world,  becoming  a  resident  of  Pennsylvania,  in  which  state  his  son,  Casper 
Grube,  Jr.,  was  bom.  About  1810  the  latter  removed  to  Marshall  county, 
Indiana,  where  his  remaining  days  were  passed, 

Daniel  S.  Grube,  father  of  the  doctor,  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania 
and  is  now  living  in  Plymouth,  Indiana,  at  the  age  of  seventy  years.  He 
was  a  tegcher  in  the  schools  of  Marshall  county,  that  state,  for  twenty-three 
years,  and  of  his  eight  children  six  have  been  school  teachers,  while  the 
grandfather  and  great-grandfather  of  Dr.  Grube  also  followed  the  same  pro- 
fession. The  family  has  thus  contributed  in  appreciable  measure  to  the 
intellectual  development  of  the  communities  in  which  its  different  members 
have  resided,  and  loyalty  in  citizenship  has  also  been  a  marked  family  char- 
acteristic. Daniel  S.  Grube  married  Hannah  Shively,  who  was  born  near 
Canton,  Ohio,  and  died  in  Plymouth,  Indiana,  in  1900.  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
eight  years.  Her  father.  Rev.  John  Shively,  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania, 
was  a  minister  of  the  Dunkard  church  and  became  one  of  the  early  settlers 
of  St,  Joseph  county,  Indiana. 

Dr,  Howard  A.  Grube,  the  eldest  of  the  eight  children  in  his  father's 
family,  spent  the  first  fifteen  years  of  his  life  in  the  county  of  his  nativity. 


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HISTO^RY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  Ce>l 

and  at  that  age  came  to  Coldwater.  where  he  entered  the  employ  of  his 
maternal  uncle,  John  W.  Shively,  a  dry  goods  merchant  of  this  city,  with 
whom  he  remained  for  six  years.  His  amhJtion,  however,  tended  toward 
professional  lines.  He  had  acquired  his  preliminary  education  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  of  his  native  county,  and  while  clerking  he  devoted  his  evening 
hours  largely  to  study,  preparatory  to  entering  college  in  order  to  prepare 
for  the  practice  of  medicine.  At  length  he  matricuJated  in  the  medical 
department  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  from  which  institution  he  was 
graduated  in  iSgj.  He  then  returned  to  Coldwater,  where  he  opened  an 
office,  and  the  wide  and  favorable  acquaintance  which  he  had  previously 
made  now  proved  to  him  of  much  benefit  in  his  professional  career.  Many 
called  upon  him  for  medical  and  surgical  aid  and  he  soon  secured  a  good 


After  the  outbreak  of  the  Spanish-American  war,  however,  Dr.  Grube 
was  commissioned  captain  and  assistant  surgeon  of  the  Thirty-fifth  Mich- 
igan Volunteer  Infantry,  and  four  months  later  he  was  promoted  to  major- 
surgeon  of  his  regiment,  thus  serving  until  mustered  out  with  his  command 
in  April,  1899.  He  then  returned  to  CoMwater,  but  in  September  of  the 
same  year,  he  was  again  commissioned  assistant  surgeon  of  United  States 
volunteers,  with  the  rank  of  captain,  and  sent  to  the  Philippine  Islands.  In 
igoi  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major  and  in  1903  was  made  chief 
surgeon  of  northern  Luzon,  He  returned  to  the  United  States  early  in  the 
following  year  and  was  mustered  out.  He  brought  with  him  a  valuable 
collection  of  Philippine  relics,  together  with  specimens  of  their  embroidery, 
fabrics,  hats  and  other  wearing  apparel,  weapons,  etc.,  and  these  may  now 
be  seen  in  his  oftice  in  Coldwater,  where  he  immediately  resumed  practice 
on  his  return. 

In  the  summer  of  1903  Dr.  Grube  pursued  a  post-graduate  course  in 
the  University  of  Michigan,  and  reading  and  investigation  have  continually 
broadened  his  knowledge  and  promoted  his  efficiency.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Tri-State  Medical  Society  and  of  the  American  Medical  Association. 
Before  joining  the  army  he  was  surgeon  for  the  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan 
Central  Railroad,  and  for  one  year  was  attending  physician  to  the  Michigan 
state  public  school  at  Coldwater.  He  gives  especial  attention  in  his  practice 
to  surgery,  and  his  ability  in  that  line  is  of  superior  order,  ranking  him 
with  many  older  representatives  of  the  profession.  '  In  August,  1905,  he 
was  appointed  by  Governor  Warner  surgeon  of  the  Second  Infantry.  Mich- 
igan National  Guards. 

WILLIS  HALL. 

Willis  Hall,  whose  home  is  on  section  thirty-five,  Quincy  township,  is  a 
native  son  of  Hillsdale  county,  Michigan,  born  on  the  20th  of  September, 
i860.  His  father,  William  Hall,  was  a  native  of  Wales,  and  died  in  1861, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years.  In  eariy  life  he  left  the  little  rock  ribbed 
country  in  which  he  was  born  and  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  America,  locating 
in  the  east,  where  he  was  living  at  the  time  of  the  war  of  1812,  when  he 
espoused  the  cause  of  his  adopted  country  and  entered  military  service  during 


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662  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

the  period  of  hostilities.  He  was  a  shoemaker  by  trade,  but  devoted  the 
greater  part  of  his  life  to  the  occupation  of  farming-,  and  at  an  early  epoch 
in  the  development  of  Michigan  he  came  to  this  state,  settling  in  Hillsdale 
county,  where  he  died.  In  his  business  affairs  he  was  active  and  energetic 
and  had  become  quite  well-to-do.  He  was  twice  married,  and  by  the  first 
union  had  five  children.  His  second  wife  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Lucina 
Durham  and  was  born  in  Vermont.  Both  her  parents  died  in  Ohio,  and 
Mrs.  Hall  passed  away  in  this  state,  November  13,  1888,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
three  years.  By  her  marriage  she  had  become  the  mother  of  five  children: 
Reuben  W.,  a  watchman  living  in  Barry  county,  Michigan;  Angeline,  the 
wife  of  Alfred  Chambers,  a  miller  and  farmer  of  Emmet  county;  Lucy, 
deceased;  and  Willard  and  Willis,  twins,  but  the  former  is  also  deceased. 
The  mother  was  three  times  married,  first  to  Mr.  Jones,  by  whom  she  had  a 
son,  Oliver  Jones,  who  was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  and  was  killed  at  the 
battle  of  the  Wilderness;  second,  to  William  Hall,  the  father  of  the  subject 
of  this  review,  and  the  third  time  to  J.  I.  Bevens.  At  her  death  the  following 
lines  were  written : 

"In  Quincy  township,  November  13,  1887,  of  paralysis,  Mrs.  Lucina 
Bevens  died,  aged  sixty-three  years,  two  months  and  seventeen  days. 

"  Mrs.  Bevens  was  born  in  1824,  and  became  a  follower  of  Christ  at  the 
age  of  thirteen  years.  She  was  a  consistent  member  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church,  in  which  she  took  great  delight.  She  was  three  times  a  widow, 
and  the  mother  of  twelve  children,  seven  of  whom  survive  her.  For  the 
past  six  years  she  has  been  living  with  her  son,  Willis  Hall,  in  Quincy  town- 
ship. For  the  past  few  months  she  had  visited  among  her  children,  arriving 
home  just  five  weeks  previous  to  the  day  of  her  death." 

Willis  Hall  was  reared  upon  the  home  farm  in  Michigan  and  attended 
the  district  schools.  He  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  in  1878,  settling 
in  Quincy  township,  upon  the  farm  which  he  still  owns  on  section  thirty-five. 
He  has  here  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  rich  and  productive  land  and 
he  likewise  owns  twenty  acres  on  section  twenty-six  of  the  same  township. 
He  is  a  stock  buyer  and  feeder  and  makes  quite  extensive  shipments  annually. 
In  1886  Mr.  Hall  was  married  to  Miss  Hattie  Ann  Wiser,  who  was 
born  in  Quincy,  December  23,  1862.  Her  father  was  Harvey  Wiser,  a  native 
of  New  York,  who  came  to  Michigan  at  an  early  epoch  in  its  settlement  and 
took  up  his  abode  in  Quincy  township,  Branch  county,  where  he  followed 
the  occupation  of  farming.  He  married  Sylvia  Garrett,  who  was  born  in 
Reading  township,  Hillsdale  county,  this  state,  and  their  only  child  was  Mrs. 
Hall.  Unto  Willis  and  Hattie  Hall  have  been  bom  four  children:  Lena 
May,  born  September  3,  1889,  finished  the  public  schools  and  is  now  a  stu- 
dent in  the  Quincy  High  School,  this  being  her  second  year,  and  she  drives 
four  miles  each  day  to  the  school.  She  has  taken  lessons  in  elocution  and 
also  instrumental  music.  Nora  Leona,  born  July  18,  1891,  is  a  bright  little 
miss,  now  in  the  eighth  grade  in  the  public  schools,  She  has  also  taken 
music.  Thomas  Lester,  born  December  ig,  1896,  a  typical  boy,  hut  standing 
well  in  his  studies.  He  is  a  great  aid  to  his  father  on  the  estate.  He  drilled 
and  sowed  fourteen  acres  of  oats  and  twelve  acres  in  oats  and  peas,  all  by 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  fifi3 

himself,  and  has  done  all  the  mowing  and  raking-  for  four  seasons.  Daisy 
Dean,  born  June  7,  1898,  is  in  school  in  the  third  grade,  and  is  the  youngest 
of  the  family.  Mr.  Hall  is  a  member  of  the  Mystic  Workers  of  the  World, 
of  which  his  wife  is  also  a  member,  and  he  is  banker  of  the  order.  They  are 
both  worthy  members  of  the  "  Four  Town  Grange,"  located  in  Quincy  town- 
ship, and  Mrs.  Hall  holds  the  position  or  office  as  "  Pomona."  By  his  ballot 
he  supports  the  Republican  ticket.  He  is  regarded  to-day  as  one  of  the  pros- 
perous farmers  of  Quincy  township,  who  stands  for  enterprise  and  progress 
not  only  in  the  line  of  his  chosen  occupation,  but  in  all  that  pertains  to  the 
county's  welfare. 

JOHN  E.  OUTWATER,  M.  D. 

Dr.  John  E.  Outwater,  who  has  been  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine at  Bronson,  Michigan,  more  than  thirty  years,  and  who  is  ranked  with 
the  leading  citizens  of  the  county,  dates  his  birth  in  Newfane.  Niagara 
county.  New  York,  September  20.  1845.  His  parents.  Peter  and  Emily 
(Ketcham)  Outwater.  both  natives  of  the  Empire  state,  moved  west  with 
their  family  when  John  E.  was  a  boy  and  settled  in  Branch  county,  Mich- 
igan, where  they  passed  the  rest  of  their  lives  and  died.  They  have  two 
sons  and  two  daughters  now  living.  William  A.  being  a  resident  of  Colo- 
rado, and  the  daughters,  Julia  and  Harriet,  residing  in  Branch  county. 

After  the  removal  of  the  family  to  this  county  John  E.  continued  his 
studies  in  the  common  schools  and  subsequently  directed  his  attention  to 
the  medical  profession,  going  to  Cincinnati  and  pursuing  a  course  in  the 
Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  where  he  graduated  June  6,  1S82.  Returning 
to  Branch  county,  he  put  out  his  shingle  in  Bronson,  where  he  has  since 
remained,  conducting  a  successful  practice. 

Dr.  Outwater  has  been  twice  married  and  is  the  father  of  three  chil- 
dren, two  of  whom  are  deceased.  The  daughter,  Miss  Emma,  resides  with 
her  parents  in  their  pleasant  home  in  Bronson  on  Chicago  street,  between 
Madison  and  Walker  streets.  The  doctor's  present  wife  was  formerly  Miss 
Eva  J.  Bennett,  a  native  of  New  York,  and  she  has  a  diploma  from  the 
same  medical  college  in  Cincinnati  from  which  her  husband  was  graduated. 
Politically.  Dr.  Outwater  may  be  termed  an  independent  Republican.  For 
several  years  he  served  as  health  officer  in  his  township. 

ED  W.  WATKINS. 

Ed  W.  Watkins,  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war  and  one  of  the  old  settlers 
of  Sherwood,  was  born  in  Leonidas,  St.  Joseph  county,  Michigan.  Decem- 
ber 3.  1842,  a  son  of  William  M.  and  Barbara  E.  (Hill)  WatkJns.  His 
great-great-grandfather.  Nathan  Watkins.  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary 
war  under  General  Washington,  and  his  son,  Mark  Watkins,  was  only 
fourteen  years  of  age  when  he  went  as  a  drummer  boy  with  his  father.  He  , 
was  taken  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Bennington,  and  when  they  came  to 
exchange  prisoners,  General  Burgoyne  said,  "He  is  too  young:  we  will 
send  him  back  to  his  mother  as  a  present,"  which  was  a  beautiful  thought 
of  gallantry  on  the  old  British  general's  part.     William  Watkins  was  a  na- 


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664  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

five  of  New  York  and  settled  in  St.  Joseph  county,  Michigan,  in  February, 
1832,  becoming:  one  of  its  pioneer  residents.  He  took  up  land  from  the 
government  and  improved  two  farms,  thus  assisting  materially  in  the  rec- 
lamation of  a  wild  district  for  the  purposes  of  civilization.  He  was  a  life- 
long supporter  of  the  Republican  party  and  served  as  sheriff  of  St.  Joseph 
county  for  four  years,  while  for  thirty  years  he  was  justice  of  the  peace 
and  for  many  years  acted  as  supervisor.  There  was  no  man  in  the  entire 
county  better  known  or  more  worthy  the  regard  which  was  uniformly  given 
him.  He  was  prominent  in  Masonic  circles  and  he  wielded  a  wide  influ- 
ence, doing  much  to  mold  public  thought  and  opinion,  and  because  of  his 
adherence  to  every  movement  that  was  calculated  to  benefit  his  community 
he  was  regarded  as  a  most  valuable  citizen.  For  a  half  century  he  was  a 
member  -of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  active  and  zealous  in  its  work, 
and  there  were  no  esoteric  chapters  in  his  life  history,  for  his  public  and 
private  career  were  alike  above  reproach.  Both  he  and  his  wife  passed  away 
at  the  age  of  eighty-three  years.  In  their  family  were  eight  children,  six 
of  whom  reached  adult  age,  but  only  three  are  now  living. 

Ed  W.  Watkins,  the  eldest  of  the  family,  was  reared  in  the  place  of 
his  nativity  and  pursued  his  education  in  the  township  and  village  schools. 
He  remained  at  home  assisting  in  the  labors  of  the  farm  until  1863,  when 
he  enlisted  in  defense  of  the  Union  cause,  becoming  a  member  of  Company 
F,  Eleventh  Michigan  Infantry.  With  that  command  he  served  until  the 
close  of  the  war,  in  September.  1865.  and  he  rose  from  the  ranks  to  the 
position  of  sergeant.  He  was  in  the  campaign  from  Grayville  to  Warren- 
town  and  also  in  the  Atlantic  campaign  under  fire  for  fifty-six  days,  a 
vaUant  soldier,  facing  danger  fearlessly  because  of  his  allegiance  to  his 
country.  He  remained  at  the  front  until  honorably  discharged  at  Nashville 
on  the  i6th  of  September,  1865. 

Mr,  Watkins  then  returned  to  the  place  of  his  nativity,  residing  in  St, 
Joseph  county  until  1870.  He  was  married  March  26,  1867,  to  Miss  Marion 
McCrary,  a  daughter  of  Alexander  and  Harriett  E.  (Dean)  McCrary,  who 
are  mentioned  on  another  page  of  this  work,  Mrs.  Watkins  was  their 
fourth  child.  She  was  born  in  Tekonsha,  Michigan,  and  was  reared  in 
Sherwood,  Branch  county. 

On  leaving  his  native  county  Mr,  Watkins  settled  in  Athens,  Calhoun 
county,  where  he  remained  until  1888,  when  he  came  to  Sherwood  town- 
ship. There  he  resided  until  1900,  when  he  took  up  his  abode  in  the  village 
of  Sherwood,  and  retired  from  active  business,  having  for  many  years  been 
connected  with  agricultural  interests,  his  labors  winning  him  the  competence 
which  is  the  goa!  for  which  all  men  strive  in  a  business  career. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Watkins  were  born  two  sons  and  a  daughter : 
Lynn  A.,  who  wedded  Mary  Henry,  and  has  one  son,  Fred  H. ;  Grace  E., 
who  occupies  a  good  position  in  a  store  in  the  city  of  Oklahoma;  and  Alex- 
ander, who  married  Fannie  Shafer,  and  resides  on  a  farm  near  Sherwood. 

Mr.  Watkins  has  been  a  Hfe-Iong  Republican,  having  voted  for  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  in  1864,  and  he  has  since  supported  each  presidential  nominee 
at  the  head  of  the  ticket.     He  has  been  township  treasurer  of  Sherwood 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  665 

township  for  two  years  and  has  held  other  local  offices  and  is  always  loyal 
to  the  public  trust.  He  belongs  to  Kilbourn  Post  No.  361,  G.  A.  R.,  has 
served  as  its  commander  and  has  filled  all  of  the  other  offices.  He  is  like- 
wise a  member  of  Sherwood  Lodge  No.  421,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  both  he 
and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Eastern  Star.  He  has  held  all  of  its 
offices,  being  very  active  in  its  work.  She  was  a  charter  member  and  the 
first  worthy  matron.  She  likewise  belongs  to  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps 
No.  25,  Union  City,  and  was  a  delegate  to  the  national  convention  at  San 
Francisco,  California,  in  1903,  for  district  No.  4,  and  was  invited  to  Pitts- 
burg to  read  a  poem  of  her  own  composition  on  the  occasion  of  the  national 
encampment  of  the  Grand  Anny  of  the  Republic.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wat- 
kins  are  prominent  socially,  having  the  warm  regard  of  many  friends,  while 
the  hospitality  of  the  best  homes  of  this  section  of  the  county  is  freely 
accorded  them. 

CHARLES  SUMNER  SEARS. 

Charles  Sumner  Sears,  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  and  surgery 
in  Quincy,  is  a  native  of  Ontario  county.  New  York,  born  in  1853.  He  is 
descended  from  New  England  ancestry.  His  father,  Clark  C.  Sears,  was 
born  in  Connecticut  and  is  now  living  at  the  advanced  age  of  seventy-eight 
years.  In  early  life  he  removed  to  New  York,  and  in  1861  he  came  to 
Michigan,  settling  in  Quincy  township,  where  he  followed  the  occupation  of 
farming.  He  married  Miss  Harriet  E.  Warner,  who  was  also  a  native  of 
Ontario  county,  New  York,  and  this  worthy  couple  yet  reside  in  Quincy, 
Michigan. 

Mr.  Sears,  of  this  review,  began  his  education  in  the  district  schools 
and  continued  it  in  the  schools  of  Quincy.  He  also  pursued  a  course  in 
Ypsilanti  normal  school  and  attended  one  course  of  lectures  in  the  medical 
department  of  the  state  university  at  Ann  Arbor,  after  which  he  entered 
Hahnemann  Medical  College  of  Chicago,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in 
1879,  having  completed  a  thorough  course  in  medicine  and  surgery.  He 
then  entered  upon  practice  in  Auburn,  Indiana,  where  he  remained  for  three 
years,  since  which  time  he  has  practiced  with  success  in  Quincy.  He  is 
careful  in  the  diagnosis  of  a  case,  painstaking  in  all  his  professional  duties, 
and  with  thorough  understanding  of  the  principles  and  practice  of  medicine 
he  has  so  administered  professional  aid  that  excellent  results  attended  his 
efforts.  In  addition  to  his  practice  he  is  the  owner  of  a  farm  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  acres  in  Quincv  township,  two  miles  northwest  of  the 
village  of  Quincy,  and  thereon  carries  on  general  stock-raising  and  dairying. 

On  September  4,  1880.  Dr.  Sears  was  married  to  Miss  Nettie  Shaffer, 
who  was  born  in  Ashland  county,  Ohio,  in  1861,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Chris- 
topher C.  and  Martha  (Siphers)  Shaffer.  Her  father  was  a  merchant  and 
removed  to  the  west  in  an  early  day-  He  became  identified  with  business 
interests  in  Auburn.  Indiana,  being  the  pioneer  furniture  dealer  of  that 
place.  He  was  of  German  lineage  and  manifested  in  his  life  many  of  the 
sterling  characteristics  of  the  sons  of  the  fatherland.  In  his  family  were 
four  children.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sears  have  but  one  child,  Carl  C,  who  was 


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666  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

born  in  Auburn,  Indiana,  in  1882,  and  attended  school  in  Quincy,  being 
a  graduate  of  the  liigh  school  of  the  class  of  1900.  He  read  medicine  in 
his  father's  office  and  afterward  pursued  special  studies  in  the  Michigan 
Agricultural  College  at  Lansing  and  also  in  Ferris  Institute  at  Big  Rapids. 
He  next  entered  the  Detroit  Homeopathic  College  of  Medicine  in  1901 
and  was  graduated  in  the  spring  of  1905.  He  then  began  practice  with  his 
father  and  they  are  well  versed  concerning  all  departments  of  modern  prac- 
tice. Both  the  father  and  son  are  members  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  and 
Dr.  Sears  and  his  family  belong  to  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Quincy.  His 
political  views  accord  with  Republican  principles  and  he  has  served  on  the 
school  board  and  as  trustee  of  the  village.  He  has  conscientious  regard 
for  the  obligations  which  devolve  upon  him,  and  in  his  practice  his  efforts 
have  been  attended  with  success  that  shows  him  thoroughly  familiar  with 
modern  medical  and  surgical  principles. 

JAMES  B.  MINTLING. 

Although  a  resident  of  Michigan  and  Girard  but  a  few  years,  neverthe- 
less the  gentleman  named  above  is  deserving  of  mention  in  a  work  of  this 
character  by  reason  of  his  ownership  of  one  of  the  finest  farms  in  the  town- 
ship of  Girard  and  because  he  is  a  man  of  intelligence  and  already  deeply 
interested  in  the  welfare  and  progress  of  the  community  in  which  he  resides. 
Branch  county  is  always  ready  to  welcome  within  her  borders  men  of  the 
character  and  standing  of  Mr.  Mintling,  knowing  that  their  presence  adds 
to  the  betterment  of  the  place  in  many  ways. 

Mr.  Mintling  was  bom  in  Des  Moines  county,  Iowa,  January  30,  1S57, 
and  he  lived  there  until  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age.  His  father  was 
William  M.  Mintling,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  bom  March 
20,  1818.  He  was  married  at  Carleton,  Ohio,  to  Elizabeth  Welty,  who  was 
born  in  that  state  March  29,  1820.  Soon  after  their  marriage  they  joined 
the  early  pioneers  who  were  seeking  homes  in  the  then  unbroken  west,  and  in 
the  early  forties  they  took  their  course  down  the  Ohio  river  to  its  junction 
with  the  stream  of  the  Mississippi  and  then  coursed  their  way  up  the  latter 
stream  into  Iowa,  where  they  were  among  the  very  first  to  locate  land  and 
make  for  themselves  homes,  Iowa  was  then  a  virgin  state,  with  settlers  few 
and  far  between,  and  the  young  couple  braved  all  the  hardships  and  privations 
incident  to  pioneer  life  in  a  new  country. 

Here  they  reared  a  large  family  of  children  and  afterward  removed  to 
Nebraska,  when  that  country  was  also  new,  w'here  the  senior  Mr.  Mintling 
died  in  October  of  1887,  and  where  his  aged  widow  still  lives,  being  in  the 
full  possession  of  all  her  menial  and  physical  powers  even  at  the  advanced  age 
of  eighty-five  years.  They  were  the  parents  of  ten  children,  twO'  of  whom 
died  in  early  childhood  and  eight  of  whom  are  still  living,  as  follows :  Re- 
becca Mintling  Roe,  Emma  Mintling  Franklin,  Eliza  Mintling  Shotwell, 
William  J.  Mintling  and  Rufus  Mintling,  all  of  Nebraska ;  Mary  Ann  Mint- 
ling Cocayne  and  Sarah  Mintling  Cocayne,  both  of  Iowa;  and  Mr.  James  B. 
Mintling,  Girard,  Michigan. 

Mr.  James  B.  Mintling,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  married  December 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  667 

7.  18S3,  to  Miss  Josie  Gillett,  who  was  born  at  Angola,  Indiana.  Jnly  6,  1854. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  Charles  Gillett  and  Annis  Tillotson,  the  father  of 
New  York  and  the  mother  of  Ohio,  although  living-  for  many  years  in  the 
Hoosier  state,  and  afterward  removing  to  Nebraska,  where  Mr.  Gillett  died 
March  12,  1883.  Mrs.  Gillett  is  still  living  at  Lincoln,  Nebraska.  They 
were  the  parents  of  four  children,  all  of  whom  are  still  living,  they  being  Mrs. 
James  B.  Mintling-,  of  Girard,  Michigan;  Mrs.  Franc  GriswoM,  of  Nebraska; 
and  Wilkes  and  Charles  Gillett,  both  of  whom  are  in  the  far  west. 

The  union  of  James  E.  Mintling  and  Josie  Gillett  Mintling  has  been 
blessed  with  the  birth  of  three  children,  all  of  whom  are  living  at  home.  Will- 
iam Charles  finished  the  public  school  course  and  received  his  diploma  in 
1901,  in  Nebraska,  and  spent  one  year  in  the  Wesleyan  University,  University 
Place.  Nebraska.  He  is  a  prosperous  farmer.  Julia  I.  is  in  the  ninth  grade, 
high  school  course,  and  is  proficient  in  instrumental  music.  James  Harry  is 
now  in  the  seventh  grade,  and  is  bright  in  his  studies. 

Mr.  James  B.  Mintling  was  born  and  reared  upon  a  farm  and  early  in 
life  he  decided  upon  agriculture  as  a  life  vocation.  After  attaining  his  ma- 
jority he  went  from  Iowa  to  Nebraska  with  his  parents  and  lived  in  the 
vicinity  of  Lincoln,  that  state,  until  coming  to  Girard  in  March,  igoi.  Here 
he  purchased  the  George  A.  Russell  farm  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven 
acres  of  fertile  farming  land  on  section  thirteen.  Girard  township,  which  is 
equipped  with  fine  substantial  farm  buildings,  including  a  commodious  house 
of  modern  construction,  the  whole  forming  a  model  farm  residence,  seldom 
equalled,  even  in  this  land  of  prosperity  and  plenty.  Here  Mr.  Mintling  has 
also  made  his  influence  felt  in  the  community.  He  was  a  township  and  school 
officer  in  Nebraska,  and  he  is  also  at  present  the  director  of  the  school  district 
in  which  he  resides.  He  has  always  taken  a  deep  interest  in  educational 
affairs,  is  an  intelligent  reader  and  a  discriminating  observer  and  he  com- 
mands the  respect  and  esteem  of  his  friends  and  neighbors.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Mintling  are  members  and  active  workers  in  the  Girard  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  and  they  already  love  the  land  of  their  adoption. 

WILLIAM  H.  LOCKERBY. 

It  has  been  a  noticeable  fact  in  the  history  of  the  world  that  the  lawyer 
has  figured  more  prominently  in  public  life  than  the  representative  of  any 
other  profession  or  business.  The  reason  for  this  is  obvious  and  requires 
no  explanation,  for  the  qualities  which  fit  one  for  the  successful  practice  of 
law  also  prepare  him  for  the  understanding  of  the  intricate  questions  which 
involve  the  welfare  of  state  and  nation.  Practicing  at  the  bar  of  Quincy 
and  Branch  county  Mr.  Lockerby  has  won  a  notable  position  as  a  strong 
and  earnest  lawyer  and  his  fitness  for  leadership  has  led  to  his  selection  for 
public  offices,  including  that  of  state  senator,  from  which  he  retired  in  1905 
after  a  four  years'  term. 

Mr.  Lockerby  was  bom  in  West  Vienna,  Oneida  county.  New  York, 
February  24,  1859.  His  father.  John  Lockerby,  was  born  in  Scotland,  in 
July,  1837,  and  is  now  living  in  Quincy.  He  came  to  the  United  States 
when  three  years  of  age  with  his  parents,  David  and  Mary  Lockerby,  and 


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668  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

located  in  West  Vienna,  New  York.  His  educational  privileges  were  lim- 
ited. He  attended  school  at  West  Vienna  for  a  Ixief  period  and  afterward 
gained  some  familiarity  with  the  trade  of  boat  building,  but  his  principal 
occupation  was  that  of  farming.  He  came  to  Michigan  in  1869,  and  settlea 
in  Quincy  township,  purchasing  a  tract  of  timber  land  on  section  four.  He 
at  once  began  to  cut  away  the  trees  and  clear  away  the  brush,  thus  pre- 
paring the  fields  for  cultivation.  As  the  years  passed  he  advanced  from  an 
humble  financial  position  to  one  of  afiluence.  In  1890  his  health  failed  and 
he  purchased  a  home  in  Quincy  and  retired  to  private  life.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  affiHates  with  the  Masonic  fraternity 
and  gives  his  political  allegiance  tO'  the  Democracy.  His  life  has  been  in 
consistent  harmony  with  upright  principles  and  he  has  gained  and  retained 
the  respect  and  good  will  of  his  fellow-men.  He  married  Miss  Flavia  Hol- 
lenbeck,  who  was  born  in  Oneida  county.  New  York,  in  1840,  and  is  still 
living.  Her  father,  Cornelius  Hollenbeck,  was  of  Holland  extraction  and 
was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  Mrs.  Lockerby  was  a  member  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church.  They  had  two  children,  William  H,  and  Harriet, 
the  latter  dying  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years. 

W.  H.  Lockerby  pursued  his  education  in  the  district  schools  and  the 
public  schools  of  Quincy,  but  studied  largely  at  home.  He  afterward  en- 
gaged in  teaching  school  for  five  years,  and  he  began  reading  law  with  M. 
D.  Campbell,  of  Coldwater,  as  his  preceptor.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
there  December  14,  1884.  and  worked  in  the  office  of  his  preceptor  for  a 
year  afterward,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  opened  an  office  in  Bronson. 
After  a  brief  period,  however,  he  returned  to  Quincy  and  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  Milo  Campbell,  which  continued  for  a  year.  He  has  since  been 
alone  in  practice  and  has  a  large  clientage,  distinctively  representative  in 
character.  He  practices  in  all  of  the  courts  of  the  state,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  federal  courts  in  igo2. 

In  September,  1882,  Mr.  Lockerby  was  married  to  Miss  Cora  Gorball, 
a  daughter  of  Ezekiel  and  Catherine  Gorball,  of  Girard,  Michigan.  Her 
father,  a  farmer  by  occupation,  was  one  of  the  ]jioneer  settlers  of  Branch 
county,  coming  from  England  to  America  at  an  early  epoch  in  the  history 
of  this  part  of  Michigan.  His  daughter,  Mrs.  Lockerby,  was  born  in 
Girard,  March  6,  1865,  and  by  her  marriage  has  become  the  mother  of 
three  children:  Carroll  J.,  who  was  born  in  June,  1883,  and  died  in  June, 
1890;  Metha,  born  February  18,  1888;  and  Marjorie,  who  was  bom  Sep- 
tember 3,  1899,  and  died  in  September,  1901,  Mrs.  Lockerby  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Lockerby  has  taken  the  various  de- 
grees of  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  belongs  to  the  Grange.  He  is  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  prominent  representatives  of  the  county  and  has 
filled  various  local  offices,  having  been  school  inspector,  township  clerk  and 
a  member  of  the  Branch  county  board  of  school  examiners  for  five  years. 
He  was  also  circuit  court  commissioner  for  four  years  and  was  appointed 
by  Governor  Rich  a  member  of  the  railroad  and  street  crossing  board,  serv- 
ing for  four  years,  and  during  that  entire  time  acted  as  its  secretary.  Still 
higher  political  honors  awaited  him,  for  he  was  chosen  by  popular  suffrage 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  669 

to  the  office  of  state  senator  and  was  a  member  from  1901  until  1905.  While 
in  the  general  assembly  he  was  connected  with  important  legislation  and 
was  a  stalwart  champion  of  many  movements  and  measures  which  he  be- 
lie\'ed  would  promote  the  welfare  of  the  commonwealth.  He  is  public- 
spirited  and  progressive  to  an  eminent  degree  and  has  the  warm  friendship 
and  regard  of  many  of  the  leading  men  of  the  state,  while  in  his  home  town 
he  is  popular,  no  man  having  a  more  favorable  acquaintance  than  William 
H.  Lockerby. 

HORACE  J.  WOODWARD. 

Horace  J.  Woodward,  the  oldest  dry  goods  merchant  in  years  of  con- 
tinued business  in  Coldwater,  is  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  his  birth  hav- 
ing occurred  in  the  village  of  Swiftwater,  Grafton  county,  on  the  24th  of 
April,  1836.  His  parents  were  Myron  S.  and  Caroline  (Hutchins)  Wood- 
ward, representatives  of  old  and  prominent  New  England  families.  The 
father  was  a  merchant  in  Swiftwater  and  it  was  in  his  store  that  the  son 
gained  his  first  mercantile  experience.  In  the  schools  of  his  native  town 
and  iji  the  seminaries  of  Bath  village  and  Newberry  Mr.  Woodward  gained 
a  fair  literary  education  that  well  equipped  him  for  the  practical  and  re- 
sponsible duties  that  came  to  him  in  after  life. 

In  the  spring  of  1856  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Eliza  J.  Pierce, 
also  a  native  of  the  Green  Mountain  state,  and  in  December  of  the  same 
year  Mr.  Woodward  and  his  young  wife  came  to  Coldwater,  Michigan. 
On  reaching  this  place  he  learned  there  was  a  vacancy  in  what  is  now  known 
as  the  Central  school,  the  former  teacher  having  become  ill.  He  made  ap- 
plication for  the  position  and  his  eligibility  secured  him  appointment  to  fill 
the  vacancy.  He  then  taught  until  the  close  of  the  school  year  in  the  fol- 
lowing spring,  ending  his  labors  there  as  an  educator  on  Friday,  and  on 
the  succeeding  Monday  he  became  a  salesman  in  the  store  of  Gilbert  & 
Barber.  This  firm  was  soon  succeeded  by  George  C.  Stone  and  Mr.  Wood- 
ward remained  in  his  employ  until  the  spring  of  1861,  when  he  joined  J. 
Wesley  Brown,  a  fellow-clerk,  and  Mr.  Gilbert,  his  former  employer,  in 
the  formation  of  a  partnership  and  the  establishment  of  a  dry  goods  busi- 
ness under  the  firm  style  of  Woodward,  Brown  &  Company.  Mr.  Wood- 
ward went  to  New  York  city  and  purchased  a  stock  of  goods,  which  had 
not  yet  been  shipped  when  Fort  Sumter  was  fired  upon  and  the  country  was 
precipitated  in  the  Civil  war.  The  future  of  tlie  new  business  concern  in 
Coldwater  looked  dark  under  the  circumstances,  but  the  partners  persevered 
in  their  undertakings.  Eventually  the  goods  which  had  been  purchased 
were  received,  and  on  account  of  the  war  prices  went  up  and  the  firm  secured 
a  handsome  profit  on  their  investment.  Mr.  Woodward  said  that  purchase 
proved  the  best  he  has  ever  made  in  his  extended  career  as  a  merchant. 
The  firm  of  Woodward,  Brown  &  Company,  however,  had  a  brief  existence, 
for  on  account  of  failing  health  Mr.  Brown  sold  his  interest  and  withdrew 
and  not  long  afterward  Mr.  Gilbert  also  withdrew. 

Julius  S.  Barber  then  became  asfcciated  with  Mr.  Woodward  in  the 
ownership  and  conduct  of  the  store,   under  the   firm   style  of   Woodward, 


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670  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Barber  &  Company.  This  had  a  continuous  existence  of  nearly  seventeen 
years,  becoming  the  leading  dry  goods  store  of  Coldwater.  The  uncle,  Mr. 
Barber,  however,  disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  meantime,  and  in  1877  Mr. 
Woodward  and  Mr.  Barber  mutually  agreed  to  divide  the  stock  and  sever 
their  business  relations.  Mr.  Woodward  then  rented  the  store  which  he 
now  occupies,  but  he  has  since  purchased  the  property  and  has  here  con- 
tinued business  to  the  present  time,  covering  a  period  of  twenty-eight  years. 
Soon  after  the  time  he  went  to  himself  he  associated  his  son,  Harry  P. 
Woodward,  with  him  under  the  firm  style  of  H,  J.  Woodward  &  Son,  and 
they  have  for  years  enjoyed  a  large  and  satisfactory  trade,  their  house  being 
accounted  one  of  the  leading'  and  substantial  dry  goods  firms  of  southern 
Michigan,  while  Mr.  Woodward  ranks  as  the  oldest  dry  goods  merchant  of 
the  city  of  Coldwater  in  point  of  continued  business.  He  has  paid  close 
attention  to  his  mercantile  interests,  and  this  combined  with  his  splendid 
business  ability  and  the  able  assistance  of  his  son  has  made  the  enterprise 
a  very  profitable  one.  His  methods,  too,  have  ever  been  reliable  and  trust- 
worthy, conforming  to  a  high  standard  of  commercial  ethics. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Woodward  were  born  three  children,  to  each  of 
whom  they  have  given  splendid  educational  advantages;  Leila  C,  the  eldest 
daughter,  is  an  art  teacher  of  rare  ability,  and  is  now  in  charge  of  the  art 
department  at  Stanley  Hall,  in  Minneapolis,  Minnesota.  Belle  R.,  the  sec- 
ond daughter,  is  the  wife  of  John  T.  Starr,  of  Coldwater.  The  only  son, 
Harry  P.  Woodward,  is  associated  with  his  father  in  business  and  is  also 
prominent  in  commercial  circles  here,  Mrs.  Woodward  is  a  most  estimable 
lady  of  culture  and  refinment,  presiding  graciously  over  her  hospitable  home. 
Mr.  Woodward  has  never  sought  political  preferment,  nor  has  he  been 
connected  with  business  interests  outside  of  his  store.  He  has,  however, 
always  maniffested  a  spirit  of  public  enterprise  and  has  contributed  mate- 
rially to  the  upbuilding  of  the  beautiful  little  city  of  Coldwater.  His  home 
is  one  of  the  most  magnificent  residences  here  and  is  modern  and  attractive 
in  all  of  its  appointments.  In  church  relations  he  has  long  been  an  Episco- 
palian, and  both  he  and  his  wife  are  held  in  highest  esteem  by  a  wide  circle 
of  friends. 

GEORGE  E.  WILLIS. 

G.  E.  Willis,  well  known  as  a  representative  and  prosperous  agricult- 
urist of  Batavia  township,  his  home  being  on  section  twenty-one,  was  born 
in  Portage  county,  Ohio,  on  the  17th  of  November,  1858.  His  father, 
George  Willis,  was  also  lx)rn  in  Portage  county,  Ohio,  and  in  May,  1863, 
he  arrived  in  Branch  county,  Michigan,  settling  in  Batavia  township,  where 
he  gave  his  attention  to  milling  and  farming,  conducting  a  sawmill  for  about 
thirty-five  years.  His  life  was  characterized  by  business  integrilv  and  ac- 
tivity, so  that  at  his  death,  which  occurred  when  he  was  seventy-eight  years 
of  age,  he  left  to  his  family  an  untarnished  name.  In  politics  he  was  always 
a  Democrat.  He  married  Miss  Jane  Welch,  a  native  of  Ohio,  who  died  in 
Branch  county,  Michigan,  at  the  age  of  fifty-six  years.  They  had  a  daugh- 
ter and  son,  the  former  being  Alma,  now  the  wife  of  C.  L.  Olds,  who  is 
represented  on  another  page  of  this  work. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  671 

G.  E.  Willis,  the  younger  and  the  only  son  of  the  family,  was  about 
eight  years  of  age  when  he  came  to  Branch  county  with  his  parents,  and 
here  he  was  reared  and  educated,  ■  spending  his  boyhood  days  in  the  usual 
manner  of  farm  lads,  who  divide  their  time  between  the  work  of  the  fields, 
the  duties  of  the  schoolroom  and  the  pleasures  of  the  playground.  He  re- 
mained with  his  parents,  assisting  on  the  farm  and  in  the  mill,  until  his 
marriage,  which  was  celebrated  in  1877,  Miss  Carrie  Wilcox  becoming  his 
wife.  She  was  born  in  New  York  and  came  to  Branch  county  when  thir- 
teen years  of  age  with  her  parents,  Monroe  and  Melissa  Wilcox. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  G.  E.  Willis  took  up  their  abode  upon  the  old  farm 
homestead  on  section  fifteen,  Batavia  township,  and  there  he  engaged  in 
farming  and  milling  until  1905,  when  he  removed  to  his  present  home  on 
section  twenty-cne.  He  has  here  eighty  acres  of  land  which  he  rents.  The 
place  is  well  improved  and  the  rental  brings  him  a  good  annual  income. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Willis  was  born  a  daughter.  Fern,  who  is  now  the 
wife  of  Dr.  W.  P.  Mowry,  of  Batavia,  where  he  is  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  medicine  and  surgery.  Mr.  Willis  regards  it  the  duty  as  well  as  the 
privilege  of  every  citizen  to  support  the  political  principles  which  he  deems 
will  prove  of  greatest  benefit  to  the  country  and  he  therefore  gives  his 
allegiance  to  the  Democracy  and  takes  an  active  interest  in  the  local  work 
of  the  party.  He  has  served  as  township  clerk  for  about  four  terms  and  has 
ever  been  loyal  to  the  trust  reposed  in  him.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
lodge  at  Coldwater  and  the  Maccabees  tent.  He  has  been  a  resident  of 
Batavia  township  for  forty-two  years,  and  is  therefore  largely  familiar  with 
its  history.  The  years  have  brought  changes,  and  in  the  work  of  improve- 
ment Mr,  Willis  has  rejoiced,  giving  his  co-operation  to  many  measures 
for  the  general  good.  He  possesses  a  friendly  dis^Msition  and  courteous 
manner  and  his  good  qualities  have  gained  him  a  desirable  place  in  the 
esteem  for  his  fellow  townsmen. 

HENRY  P,  MOWRY.  M.  D. 

For  nearly  thirty  years  a  practicing  physician  of  Bronson,  Michigan, 
and  during  that  time  in  various  ways  identified  with  the  public  interests  of 
both  town  and  county.  Dr.  Henrj-  P".  Mowry  occupies  a  representative  place 
among  his  fellow-citizens. 

He  was  born  in  Ovid  township.  Branch  county,  Michigan,  February 
20,  1S54,  son  of  William  P.  and  Emily  C.  (Dalton)  Mowry,  the  former  a 
native  of  Massachusetts  who  moved  to  Michigan  at  an  early  date  and  who 
still  hves  in  Ovid  township,  and  the  latter,  a  native  of  Ohio,  is  deceased. 
He  is  one  of  a  family  of  four  sons,  all  residents  of  Michigan — William  S., 
Charles  C.  and  George  D.  His  early  education  Dr.  Mowry  received  in  the 
public  and  high  schools  of  Coldwater,  and  he  took  up  the  study  of  medicine 
in  the  office  of  Dr.  J.  M.  Long,  of  that  place,  after  which  he  entered  Hahne- 
mann Medical  College,  Chicago,  of  which  institution  he  is  a  graduate  with 
the  class  of  1877.  Immediately  following  his  graduation  he  began  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  at  Bronson.  Here  hehas  continued  up  to  the  present 
time,  with  the  exception  of  one  year  spent  in  St.  Louis,  where  he  delivered 


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672  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

a  coiirse  of  lectures  on  his  specialty,  the  eye  and  ear,  in  Henry  Medical  Col- 
lege. 

Although  giving  close  attention  to  his  professional  duties,  Dr.  Mowry 
has  always  manifested  a  deep  interest  in  public  afifsirs  and  has  filled  posi- 
tions of  prominence  and  trust.  He  was  superintendent  of  the  county  poor 
for  six  years,  tilled  the  office  of  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  Bron- 
son,  and  is  serving  as  a  member  of  the  state  board  of  correction  and  chari- 
ties, having  received  his  appointment  to  this  last  named  position  at  the 
hands  of  Governor  Bliss  in  1903.  For  two  years  he  was  surgeon  of  the 
pension  board.  As  the  result  of  his  years  of  labor,  a  fair  share  of  financial 
prosperity  has  come  to  the  doctor.  He  has  a  handsome  home  at  the  corner 
of  Walker  and  Chicago  streets;  owns  two  farms,  renting  one  and  himself 
superintending  the  operation  of  the  other;  and  is  interested  in  the  banking 
business,  being  president  of  the  Burr  Oak  State  Bank. 

He  married,  in  1877,  Miss  Alice  M.  Park,  daughter  of  James  R.  Park, 
of  Ovid  township,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  sons,  William  P.  and 
Lloyd.  The  older  son,  following  in  the  footsteps  of  his  father,  is  a  graduate 
of  Hahnemann  Medical  College,  Chicago,  and  is  now  engaged  in  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine  at  Sturgis,  Michigan.  Politically,  Dr.  Mowry  has  always 
affiliated  with  the  Republican  party.  Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  both 
the  Masons  and  the  Odd  Fellows,  being  a  member  of  the  Knight  Templars 
No.  lO,  of  Coldwater,  and  Bronson  Lodge  No.  227,  I.  O.  O.  F. 

MARK  H.  MANN. 

Mark  H.  Mann  is  one  of  the  native  sons  of  Girard  township,  having  been 
bom  on  the  28th  of  April,  1854,  upon  the  old  family  homestead  in  section 
twenty-two.  The  Manns  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  Girard  and  the 
family  comes  originally  from  German  ancestry.  The  great-grandfather  was 
the  founder  of  the  family  in  the  new  world  and  on  crossing  the  Atlantic  from 
Germany  took  up  his  abode  in  Schoharie  county  in  1711.  Jacob  W.  Mann, 
the  grandfather  of  our  subject,  was  bom  in  Schoharie,  New  York,  February 
13,  1789,  and  with  his  wife,  Mrs.  Polly  Mann,  came  to  Girard  township. 
Branch  county,  in  1836.  Here  he  entered  some  land  from  the  government 
and  also  made  purchase  of  an  additional  tract  and  developing  a  farm  he 
spent  his  remaining  days  thereon.  The  usual  hardships  and  experiences  of 
pioneer  life  were  to  be  met,  for  at  that  early  day  few  settlements  had  been 
made  in  the  county.  .  The  land  was  wild  and  unimproved  and  there  were  long 
distances  between  the  homes  of  those  who  had  made  their  way  to  the  frontier. 
With  characteristic  energy,  however,  Mr.  Mann  began  the  development  of 
his  farm  and  actively  continued  its  cultivation  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
on  the  19th  of  September,  1846.  His  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Polly  Shannon,  was  a  daughter  of  George  and  Mary  Shannon,  also  natives 
of  Schoharie  county,  New  York,  and  there  her  birth  occurred  on  the  ist 
of  March,  1798.  She  gave  her  hand  in  marriage  to  Jacob  W.  Mann  in  her 
native  county  and  they  became  the  parents  of  eight  children,  six  sons  and 
two  daughters.  Of  this  family  two  sons  and  a  daughter  also  remained  resi- 
dents of  Girard  township  until  called  from  this  life. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  fiT3 

Peter  I.  Mann,  son  of  Jacoli  W.  Mann,  was  bom  in  Schoharie  county. 
New  York,  February  27,  1815,  and  was  about  twenty-one  years  of  age  when 
the  family  home  was  estabhshed  in  Michigan,  He  attended  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  state  and  was  early  trained  to  the  labors  of  the  farm,  so  that 
he  had  intimate  knowledge  of  the  best  methods  of  tilling  the  fields  and  caring 
for  stock  when  he  began  life  on  his  own  account.  He  remained  upon  the 
old  homestead  in  this  county  until  twenty-six  years  of  age  and  amid  the  envi- 
ronments of  pioneer  life  aided  his  father  in  his  agricultural  work. 

On  the  13th  of  January,  1842,  Mr.  Mann  was  joined  in  wedlock  to  Miss 
Lavina  Grove,  a  daughter  of  Peter  and  Elizabeth  (Putnam)  Grove,  who 
were  also  pioneer  residents  of  Batavia  township.  They  became  the  parents  of 
eight  children,  of  whom  three  died  in  infancy,  while  Nina  died  in  1880  at 
the  age  of  sixteen  years.  Those  still  living  are:  Mrs.  Mary  Williams,  a 
resident  of  Girard  township:  Jacob  W.,  of  the  same  township;  Mrs,  Belinda 
Hurst,  of  Coldwater;  and  Mark  H.,  of  this  review.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peter  I. 
Mann  began  their  domestic  life  upon  a  farm  and  continued  to  reside  there 
for  many  long  years,  Mr.  Mann  being  closely  identified  with  the  agricultural 
development  of  the  county.  He  lived  here  when  it  was  largely  an  unsettled 
district.  Indians  still  visited  the  neighborhood  in  the  early  days  and  there 
were  wild  animals  in  the  forest,  while  considerable  wild  game  was  killed  and 
furnished  many  a  meal  to  the  early  settlers.  Mr.  Mann  aided  in  reclaiming 
the  district  for  the  purposes  of  civilization.  He  was  at  one  time  the  owner 
of  four  hundred  acres  of  very  valuable  land,  which  he  cleared,  cultivated  and 
improved,  and  he  long  ranked  with  the  most  enterprising  and  capable  farmers 
ni  his  locality.  His  political  allegiance  was  given  to  the  Republican  party 
and  he  was  a  prominent  Mason,  having  attained  the  Knight  Templar  degree 
in  CoJdwater  Commandery.  Both  he  and  his  wife  reached  an  advanced  age, 
Mr.  Mann  passing  away  on  the  8th  of  January,  1897,  while  his  wife  died  on 
the  7th  of  October,  1890. 

Mark  H.  Mann  spent  the  days  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  in  his  parents' 
home  and  early  became  familiar  with  the  work  of  field  and  meadow,  for  dur- 
ing the  summer  months  he  aided  in  turning  the  furrows,  planting  the  seed 
and  eventually  in  harvesting  the  crops.  In  the  winter  season  he  attended  the 
public  schools  and  thus  acquired  a  good  practical  education  that  has  enabled 
him.  to  successfully  cope  with  life's  duties.  He  was  married  March  5,  1886, 
and  has  one  son.  Rex  Mann,  who  was  born  in  1887  snd  is  at  home.  The  son 
graduated  in  the  public  schools  of  Girard  township  in  the  class  of  1904.  He 
has  entered  as  a  student  in  the  Coldwater  High  School,  and  is  progressing 
in  his  studies. 

Mr.  Mann  is  now  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  choice 
land  in  Girard  township,  on  which  stands  a  handsome  brick  residence  built  in 
modem  style  of  architecture.  There  are  also  other  large  and  substantial 
buildings  upon  the  place  and  his  farm  is  one  of  the  best  improved  properties 
in  the  neighborhood.  In  all  of  his  work  he  is  practical  and  progressive,  carry- 
ing forward  to  successful  completion  whatever  he  undertake?,  '  He,  too,  is 
prominent  in  Masonry,  belonging  to  the  various  organizations  of  the  craft 
in  Coldwater,  including  Jacob's  Commandery,  K.   T.,    Like  the  others  of 


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674  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

the  family  he  has  assisted  materially  in  the  development  and  progress  of  this 
part  of  the  state,  and  his  co-operation  can  always  he  counted  upon  to  further 
any  movement  for  the  public  good. 

ABRAM  JOSEPH  ALORICH. 

Abram  Joseph  Aldrich,  one  of  the  oldest  native  residents  of  Branch 
county,  was  born  in  Girard  township,  February  3,  1843,  '"^'^  ^^''^  ^^^  only 
child  of  William  and  Phoebe  Jane  (Ransom)  Aldrich.  Tlie  father  was 
born  in  Macedon,  Wayne  county,  New  York,  July  26,  1811,  and  was  a  son 
of  Abram  Aldrich,  a  native  of  Upton,  Worcester  county,  Massachusetts, 
born  December  3,  1775.  He  was  married  in  his  native  state,  whence  he 
removed  at  an  early  day  to  Macedon,  New  York.  In  1832  he  came  to  what 
was  then  the  territory  of  Michigan,  being  one  of  the  first  settlers  within 
the  present  borders  of  Union  township.  Branch  county.  He  entered  a  tract 
of  land  fi-om  the  government,  cleared  and  developed  a  farm  and  also  erected 
and  operated  a  saw  and  grist  mill  near  what  is  now  the  town  of  Hodunk. 
These  were  the  first  mills  in  this  section  of  the  county  and  people  came 
there  from  a  long  distance.  Mr.  Aldrich  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days 
here,  contributing  in  substantial  measure  to  the  pioneer  development  and 
aided  in  laying  the  foundation  for  the  present  progress  and  prosperity  of 
the  county.  He  was  reared  in  the  Society  of  Friends,  but  subsequently  be- 
came a  Methodist  and  died  in  that  religious  faith.  On  the  17th  of  February, 
1801,  he  married  Sophronia  Legg,  who  was  bom  in  Orange  county,  Massa- 
chusetts, August  7,  1777,  and  died  in  Girard  township,  Branch  county, 
December  30,  1837,  while  Mr.  Aldrich  survived  her  until  April  8,  1842. 
They  were  the  parents  of  nine  children,  of  whom  William  Aldrich  was  the 
sixth. 

William  Aldrich  came  to  Branch  county  in  1832,  settling  in  Girard 
township,  where  he  also  entered  land  from  the  government.  He  engaged 
in  farming  and  was  the  partner  of  his  father  in  the  ownership  of  the  Orange- 
ville  mills.  He  became  identified  with  the  Methodist  church  in  early  life, 
but  later  espoused  Presbyterian  doctrines.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat, 
and  was  one  of  the  first  justices  of  the  peace  in  Girard  township.  His  in- 
terest in  public  affairs  was  deep  and  sincere  and  he  became  a  co-operant 
factor  in  many  measures  which  had  direct  benefit  upon  the  improvement  and 
upbuilding  of  the  county.  He  was  first  married  in  1836  to  Miss  Betsy  Fisk, 
a  native  of  New  York,  but  she  survived  her  marriage  only  a  brief  period. 
In  1838  he  wedded  Miss  Phoebe  J.  Ransom,  who  was  born  in  Lloyd,  Ulster 
county,  New  York,  August  4,  1813,  and  departed  this  Hfe  in  the  city  of 
Coldwater,  November  26,  1877.  She  was  a  consistent  Christian,  holding 
membership  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  she  long  survived  her  husband, 
whose  death  occurred  August  26,  1850. 

Abram  J.  Aldrich,  when  seven  years  of  age,  was  brought  to  the  city 
of  Coldwater  by  his  widowed  mother  and  here  he  grew  to  manhood,  at- 
tended the  city  schools,  and  afterward  entered  the  literary  department  of 
the  University  of  Michigan,  at  Ann  Arbor,  where  he  was  graduated  with 
the  class  of     1865,  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  being  at  that  time  con- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  675 

ferred  upon  him.  while  three  years  later  his  alma  I'nater  honored  him  with 
the  Master  of  Arts  degree.  In  the  spring  of  1866.  accompanied  by  his 
mother,  he  returned  to  the  old  homestead  farm  in  Girard  township,  and 
for  seven  years  was  actively  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  In  1873,  in 
connection  with  his  father-in-law.  he  purchased  the  Coldwater  Republican, 
which  they  published  under  the  firm  name  of  A.  J.  Aldrich  &  Company, 
and  at  that  time  Mr.  Aldrich  again  took  up  his  abode  in  Coldwater.  He 
was  interested  in  the  Republican  and  ably  edited  the  paper  until  1893,  when 
he  sold  out.  He  was  a  clear  and  forceful  writer  and  won  more  than  local 
distinction  as  an  editor.  In  1886  he  prepared  and  read  before  the  State 
Press  Association  a  paper  entitled  "  Relation  of  the  Newspaper  to  Politics." 
It  attracted  much  attention  and  received  favorable  comment  from  the  press 
throughout  the  country.  In  the  same  year  Mr.  Aldrich  was  honored  by  an 
election  to  the  presidency  of  the  State  Press  Association. 

He  cast  his  first  presidential  vote  for  Abraham  Lincoln  in  1864,  and 
from  that  time  has  loyally  supported  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party. 
Although  he  has  never  sought  office  he  was  for  years  active  in  political  work 
and  while  editor  of  the  Republican  his  pen  materially  influenced  matters 
of  politics  and  other  questions  of  public  concern.  He  was  an  ardent  and 
abJe  supporter  of  the  civil  service  and  his  editorials  on  that  issue  attracted 
wide  attention.  When  twenty  years  of  age  he  became  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  has  been  an  active  worker  of  the  denomination 
through  many  years,  while  for  a  long  period  he  has  served  as  ruling  elder. 

Mr.  Aldrich  was  married  in  1870  to  Miss  Clarissa  Stearns,  a  daughter 
of  George  W.  Stearns,  deceased,  of  whom  mention  is  made  above.  She  was 
bom  in  Gorham,  Ontario  county.  New  York.  October  24,  1842.  and  like 
her  husband  holds  membership  with  the  Presbyterian  church.  They  have 
two  children,  namely:  Mabel  A.,  the  wife  of  Stanley  C.  Griffin,  state  agent 
of  the  state  public  schools;  and  William  Irving  Aldrich,  who  resides  at 
Chanute,  Kansas. 

GEORGE  W.   STEARNS. 

George  W.  Stearns,  now  deceased,  was  bom  in  the  town  of  Gorham, 
Ontario  county,  New  York,  May  1.4.  1821.  His  father.  Royal  Stearns,  was 
a  native  of  Upton.  Worcester  county,  Massachusetts,  and  was  a  son  of 
Ebenezer  Stearns,  who  it  is  thought  was  a  native  of  England.  He  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation  and  his  last  years  were  spent  in  Upton. 

Royal  Stearns  was  reared  to  manhood  in  his  native  town,  whence  he 
emigrated  to  New  York  state,  and  after  his  marriage  he  purchased  a  sec- 
tion of  timber  land  in  Ontario  county.  New  York,  building  thereon  a  log 
cabin,  in  which  the  birth  of  our  subject  occurred  and  in  which  the  father 
continued  to  make  his  home  until  his  death.  He  was  a  public-spirited  citi- 
zen, served  as  captain  of  the  State  Militia  and  was  noted  for  his  industry 
and  integrity  of  character.  The  maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Anna  Mapes, 
and  she  was  born  in  Coxsackie,  New  York,  her  father  being  Israel  Mapes, 
who  at  an  early  day  was  a  slave-holder  of  the  Empire  state,  having  his 
negro  bondsmen  until  slavery  was  abolished  in  New  York.     He  afterward 


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676  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

engaged  in  the  hotel  and  lumber  business  and  his  last  years  were  spent  in 
Mendon,  Monroe  county,  Nevv  York,  where  his  death  occurred.  For  her 
second  husband  the  mother  of  our  subject  married  Joshua  Hicks,  with  whom 
she  removed  to  Macedon,  Wayne  county.  New  York,  where  she  resided 
untii  the  death  of  Mr.  Hicks,  when  she  returned  to  the  old  homestead  in 
Gorham  and  died  there  October  i6,  1875.  Unto  her  first  marriage  there 
were  born  seven  children. 

George  W.  Stearns,  the  sixth  in  order  of  birth  in  this  family,  resided 
with  his  married  sister  in  Ontario  county,  Ne\v  York,  after  his  father's 
death,  and  when  his  mother  was  left  a  widow  the  second  time  he  returned 
to  the  old  liomestead,  carrying  on  farming  there  for  several  years.  He 
came  to  Cotdwater,  Branch  county,  Michigan,  in  1867,  and  continued  to 
reside  in  this  city  throughout  his  remaining  days,  passing  away  in  1892. 
In  1873,  in  connection  with  his  son-in-law,  A.  J,  Aldrich,  he  purchased  the 
Coldwater  Republican  and  was  interested  in  its  publication  until  his  demise. 
.  While  still  residing  in  his  native  county  Mr.  Steams  was  married,  Oc- 
tober 31,  1841,  to  Miss  Miranda  Tufts,  who  was  born  in  Gorham,  New 
York,  February  5,  1819,  a  daughter  of  Tliomas  and  Clarissa  (Hatfield) 
Tufts.  Her  death  occurred  in  Coidwater  when  she  was  eighty-one  years 
of  age.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stearns  were  bom  two  children:  Clarissa  Ar- 
minda,  the  wife  of  A.  J.  Aldrich;  and  Irving  Ariel,  a  resident  of  Wilkes- 
barre,  Pennsylvania. 

In  New  York  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stearns  held  membership  in  the  Congre- 
gational church,  but  in  Coldwwater,  where  there  was  no  organization  of 
that  denomination,  they  attended  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  cast  his  first 
presidential  vote  for  James  K.  Polk  and  was  one  of  seven  men  who  met  in 
Gorham  and  organized  a  section  of  the  Republican  party.  From  that  time 
he  was  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  men  and  measures  of  the  new  political 
organization. 

OLIVER  J.  CLARK. 

A  worthy  descendant  of  one  of  the  eldest  families  and  first  settlers 
in  this  part  of  Branch  county,  the  gentleman  named  above  still  resides  upon 
the  farm  in  Kinderhook  township  which  was  first  settled  upon  by  his  father 
over  sixty  years  ago,  and  which  has  ever  since  remained  in  possession  of 
the  family.  His  father  was  Timothy  Clark  and  his  mother  was  Sarah  Jane 
Mills,  both  worthy  examples  of  the  brave  pioneers  who  subdued  the  virgin 
forests  of  Branch  county  and  made  homes  here  for  themselves  and  their 
descendants.  Timothy  Clark  was  born  in  Broadalbin,  New  York,  March 
30,  1819,  and  when  only  thirteen  years  old  he  accompanied  his  father,  Sam- 
uel Clark,  to  Michigan,  coming  here  in  1837  when  the  country  was  wholly 
new.  They  first  located  in  Hillsdale  county,  where  Samuel  Clark  died  hi 
1841.  In  1842  Timothy  Clark  bought  a  farm  in  Kinderhook  township, 
and  a  few  years  thereafter  he  took  possession  of  the  same,  adding  to  his 
property  until  he  finally  became  the  owner  of  over  three  hundred  acres. 
He  was  married,  October  9,  1846,  to  Sarah  Jane  Mills,  who  was  born  in 
Berkshire,  Massachusetts,  May  24,  1818,  her  parents  being  Alson  Mills  and 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  677 

Sarah  Dupee,  natives  of  Connecticut,  where  they  passed  their  entire  lives. 
Sarah  Jane  Mills  passed  her  early  life  Jn  Massachusetts,  and  when  nineteen 
years  of  age  she  went  to  live  with  a  sister  in  the  state  of  New  York,  after- 
ward coming  to  Michigan,  where  she  met  and  married  Mr,  Clark.  The 
young  couple  finally  located  on  their  new  farm  in  Kinderhook  township  in 
the  late  forties,  and  here  they  found  plenty  of  hard  work  for  their  willing 
hands.  The  land  was  uncleared  and  without  buildings  when  they  came,  but 
they  set  resolutely  to  work,  and  before  many  years  the  results  of  their  labors 
showed  in  a  comfortable  home,  with  much  of  the  land  cleared,  buildings 
erected  and  a  family  of  children  growing  up.  The  children  were  five  in 
number,  as  follows :  Phoebe  died  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years ;  Harriet  mar- 
ried Elmer  Boyd  and  died  in  Gilead,  this  county;  Oliver  J,  is  the  subject  of 
this  review ;  Etta  Van  Etta  lives  in  Kinderhook ;  Ellen  M,,  the  youngest, 
is  the  wife  of  Sherman  Jones,  of  Coldwater  township.  The  father,  Timothy 
Clark,  died  January  8,  1894,  while  the  mother  passed  away  in  November, 
1899. 

Our  subject,  Oliver  J,  Clark,  was  born  in  Kinderhook,  March  15,  1855, 
and  he  has  always  lived  here.  He  grew  to  manhood  upsn  his  father  farm, 
which  he  helped  to  clear  of  timber,  he  also  assisting  in  all  of  the  other  many 
improvements.  July  12,  1873,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Eliza  Whit- 
comb,  who  was  bom  in  this  township  December  23,  1857.  Her  father  was 
Samuel  A.  Whitcomb,  who  was  born  March  4,  1815,  and  her  mother  was 
Anna  Mugg,  whose  birth  occurred  July  24,  1830.  They  were  married 
February  11,  1855,  and  were  the  i^arents  of  eleven  children,  only  three  of 
whom  are  now  living:  Eliza  Clark,  wife  of  our  subject;  Thomas  Whit- 
comb, who  also  lives  in  this  township;  and  Helen  Cornish,  who  is  a  resident 
of  Hillsdale  county,  Michigan,  Their  parents.  Samuel  A.  Whitcomb  and 
Anna  Mugg  Whitcomb,  were  among  the  earlier  residents  of  this  part  oi 
Branch  county,  where  they  were  known  as  people  of  high  standing,  Mr. 
Whitcomb  died  here  April  10,  1885,  while  Mrs,  Whitcomb's  death  occurred 
May  4,  1S72.  The  paternal  grandparents  of  Mrs,  Clark  were  also  early 
residents  of  Branch  county,  her  grandfather  being  Samuel  Whitcomb,  born 
June  7,  1778,  and  her  grandmother  being  Nancy  Jacob  Whitcomb.  who 
was  bom  December  11,  1790,  They  were  for  many  years  esteemed  resi- 
dents of  Coldwater, 

Eleven  children  have  been  bom  unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Oliver  J.  Clark, 
all  but  two  of  whom  have  grown  to  manhood  and  womanhood.  They  are 
as  follows:  Eddie  died  February  28,  1875.  Fred  T.  married  Eva  Tuthill 
and  they  live  in  Kinderhook.  Esteila  M.  married  Otis  Spade  and  their 
home  is  in  Coldwater;  they  have  two  children,  Clark  and  Bessie,  S.  U. 
Clark  married  Esther  Banker  and  their  home  is  at  Youngstown,  Ohio. 
Grace  A.  is  the  wife  of  Harlie  Strong  and  their  home  is  in  this  township; 
they  have  two  children.  Clyde  and  Edith  Eliza.  Gertrude  J.  is  the  wife 
of  Levi  Clearwater  and  they  live  in  Kinderhook.  Bessie  died  February  22, 
1892,  Samuel  W..  Merl,  Byron  J,  and  Rachel  Louise  live  at  home  with 
their  parents. 

Mr.   and    Mrs.    Clark   have   reared    their   children    carefully   and    have 


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678  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

given  them  excellent  advantages  in  the  way  of  education.  They  now  have 
the  satisfaction  of  seeing  five  of  them  well  established  in  life  and  with  homes 
and  families  of  their  own,  while  the  others  are  still  with  them  at  home. 
They  have  taken  np  the  work  laid  aside  by  their  parents  and  have  made 
continuous  improvements  upon  the  large  Clark  farm,  now  comprising  two 
hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  fertile  land.  The  place  is  supplied  with  excellent 
buildings  and  all  the  necessary  accessories  for  successful  agricultural  oper- 
ation, and  the  whole  makes  one  of  the  fine  farm  homes  of  this  part  of  Branch 
county.  He  is  making  a  specialty  of  the  O.  I.  C.  hogs,  and  has  been  suc- 
cessful in  this  line. 

Mr.  Clark  is  a  Democrat  politically  and  fraternally  he  is  affiliated  with 
the  Blue  Lodge  Masons,  in  which  he  has  held  the  leading  otfices,  he  having 
been  worshipful  rhasfer,  senior  warden  and  junior  warden.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Clark  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  Waterhouse  Cor- 
ners. 

OLNEY  W.  DRAPER. 

Gluey  W.  Draper,  an  honored  veteran  of  the  Civil  war,  who  represents 
farming  interests  of  Branch  county,  his  home  being  on  section  thirty-four, 
Algansee  township,  was  bom  in  North  Fairfield,  Ohio,  December  ii,  1838. 
His  father,  Reuben  Draper,  was  a  native  of  Vermont,  and  removed  to  the 
state  of  New  York  with  his  parents,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nathaniel  Draper,  when 
in  his  boyhood  days.  He  was  descended  from  New  England  ancestry,  which 
was  represented  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  a  brother,  Nathaniel  Draper, 
was  a  soldier  of  the  war  of  1812  and  died  on  the  day  when  his  term  of  service 
expired,  March  2,  1813. 

Reuben  Draper  was  reared  to  the  occupation  of  farming  in  the  Empire 
state,  and  after  his  marriage  he  came  to  Michigan  with  his  wife  and  family, 
arriving  in  Branch  county,  in  1853.  He  then  purchased  one  hundred  and 
twelve  acres  of  land  from  a  speculator  who  had  entered  this  from  the  govern- 
ment, the  farm  being  on  section  thirty-four,  Algansee  township,  where  his 
son  Olney  now  resides.  As  the  years  passed  by  he  became  a  well-to-do  and 
prosperous  farmer,  his  success  resulting  from  his  habits  of  industry,  economy 
and  well  directed  perseverance.  He  was  also  a  man  of  upright  principles, 
his  life  being  in  harmony  with  a  high  standard  of  ethics,  and  although  not 
connected  in  membership  relations  with  any  church  he  was  a  student  of  the 
Bible  and  closely  foUowed  its  precepts  in  his  relations  with  his  fellovvman. 
He  married  Rebecca  Olney,  who  was  born  in  Cayuga  county.  New  York,  in 
1804,  and  was  also  descended  from  New  England  ancestry.  Her  death 
occurred  in  1883,  while  Mr.  Draper  passed  away  in  1894.  They  were  the 
parents  of  four  children:  Jane,  living  in  Califoraia  township,  is  the  widow 
of  Orrin  Whitten,  who  was  a  mechanic ;  Ruhameh,  deceased ;  David,  who  died 
in  1890,  at  the  age  of  fifty-six  years,  was  a  farmer  by  occupation  and  at  the 
time  of  the  Civil  war  enhsted  in  1863  in  the  Fourth  Michigan  Infantry,  with 
which  he  served  until  the  close  of  hostilities.  He  lost  a  finger  by  a  gunshot 
wound  in  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness. 

Olney  W,  Draper,  the  youngest  member  of  the  family,  was  a  student 
in  the  district  schools  in  his  early  toyhood  and  afterward  continued  his  studies 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  679 

at  Reading,  Michigan.  He  engaged  in  teaching  school  for  six  years,  and 
throughout  his  business  career  has  devoted  his  energies  to  farming.  He  was 
twenty-six  years  of  age  when,  in  1864,  he  responded  to  his  country's  call  for 
troops,  enlisting  in  the  First  Michigan  Sharpshooters,  with  which  he  served 
until  the  close  of  the  war,  the  regiment  being  assigned  to  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  and  was  the  first  to  plant  a  flag  in  Petershurg  on  the  capitulation  of 
that  city.  The  command  also  participated  in  the  siege  of  Richmond  and 
other  important  movements  in  that  section  of  the  country,  and  when  the  war 
was  over  Mr.  Draper  was  mustered  out  at  Detroit  with  the  rank  of  or<leriy 
sergeant. 

Returning  to  his  home  he  resumed  the  occupation  of  farming,  to  which 
he  has  always  given  his  time  and  energies,  now  living  upon  the  old  home- 
stead farm,  of  which  his  father  became  owner  more  than  a  half  century  ago. 
He  was  married,  in  1873,  to  Miss  Lucy  Slater,  who  was  bom  in  Fremont, 
Ohio,  October  23,  1850,  and  was  left  an  orphan  in  early  girlhood.  There  is 
but  one  child  of  this  marriage,  Lorin  H.,  who  was  born  September  9,  1874, 
and  married  Mary  Hungerford,  a  daughter  of  Henry  and  Sophia  Hungerford, 
of  Algansee.  There  are  four  children  of  this  union,  Harold,  Kenneth,  Donald 
and  Dessie  Marie.  The  parents  are  members  of  the  Congregational  church, 
in  which  Mr.  Draper  has  long  served  as  deacon.  He  belongs  to  Quincy  post, 
G.  A.  R.,  and  has  been  an  earnest  Republican  since  casting  his  first  presidential 
vote  for  Abraham  Lincoln.  In  the  office  of  township  clerk  for  eight  years 
he  proved  his  loyalty  to  the  public  welfare,  and  for  seven  terms  he  has  served 
as  a  member  of  the  board  of  supervisors.  He  made  a  creditable  military 
record  and  Ills  record  in  days  of  peace  is  equally  commendable. 

JAMES  THERON  TOMPKINS. 

All  through  the  history  of  the  township  of  Girard  the  name  of  Tompkins 
stands  out  prominently  from  the  earliest  period  to  the  present,  and  the  de- 
scendants of  James  E.  and  Eliza  Ames  Tompkins,  who  were  among  the  very 
first  settlers  of  this  section,  are  still  counted  with  the  prominent  and  esteemed 
residents  of  the  township.  Among  these  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  James 
Theron  Tompkins,  who  occupies  one  of  the  handsomest  farm  homes  in  this 
vicinity,  the  same  being  located  upon  section  fifteen  of  Girard.  The  farm 
comprises  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres  of  fertile  farming  land,  while 
the  buildings  are  modern,  commodious  structures,  and  the  whole  forms  a 
rural  residence  and  property  of  an  extent  and  character  seldom  seen,  even 
in  this  section  of  prosperity  and  plentj'. 

J.  Theron  Tompkins  was  born  in  Girard,  December  27,  1845,  his  father 
being  James  B.  Tompkins  and  his  mother  Eliza  Ames.  The  father  was  born 
in  Schoharie  county.  New  York,  June  28,  1804,  where  his  early  life  was 
passed.  Seeking  the  opportunities  of  the  west,  he  came  to  Michigan  in  the 
fail  of  1830,  arriving  at  Tecumseh.  where  he  remained  until  July  of  the 
following  year,  spending  a  goodly  portion  of  this  time  in  surveying  the  then 
unbroken  wilderness.  He  then  made  his  way  to  Branch  county  and  located 
in  the  township  of  Girard,  which  was  to  be  his  home  for  the  remainder-  of 
his  life.     Here  he  purchased  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  on  sections 


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680  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

fifteen  and  twenty-two,  and  in  later  years  he  acquired  a  \avge  acreage  in 
various  parts  of  the  township.  Here  he  made  his  home,  and  here  he  early 
made  his  influence  feh  in  the  community  and  county.  Early  in  the  year  of 
1832  he  returned  to  Tecumseh  and  married  Eliza  Ames,  the  fifth  child  in 
a  family  of  twelve  children,  their  parents  being  William  Ames  and  Polly 
Brownell.  natives  of  Vermont,  where  Eliza  was  born  in  the  town  of  Col- 
chester, Chittenden  county,  March  3,  1813,  William  Ames  was  born  Atigiist 
18,  1777,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Ames  family  which  gave  many  prom- 
inent citizens  to  the  United  States.     He  died  April  4,   1840. 

James  and  Eliza  Ames  Tompkins  immediately  returned  to  GJrard  after 
their  marriage.  The  township  was  not  then  the  blooming  and  fertile  coun- 
try now  seen  here.  Instead  there  was  an  almost  imbroken  wilderness, 
while  bands  of  the  Pottowatomie  Indians  made  this  their  favorite  stopping 
place.  Tlie  young  couple  braved  the  many  privations  and  hardships  incident 
to  pioneer  life,  and  they  made  for  themselves  a  comfortable  home  and  raised 
a  large  family  of  children.  Three  of  these  children  died  in  infancy,  Martin 
died  at  the  age  of  twenty  years,  Emma  Tompkins  Vanderlip  is  also  de- 
ceased, and  William  A.  Tompkins  died  July  13,  1905.  Those  still  living 
are  J.  Theron  Tompkins,  Francis  J.  Tompkins  and  Mrs.  Adaline  Tompkins 
Granger,  all  of  Girard,  Mr.  Tompkins  was  a  competent  surveyor,  and  dur- 
ing the  earlier  years  of  his  residence  here  his  services  were  in  almost  con- 
stant demand.  He  was  the  first  supervisor  of  Girard  township  when  it 
was  organized  in  1834,  and  he  served  his  townsmen  in  that  capacity  for  six- 
teen years.  He  also  filled  nearly  every  other  township  office  repeatedly  and 
represented  his  county  in  the  state  legislature  in  1854.  His  life  was  filled  with 
good  works,  and  his  death,  which  occurred  August  i,  1879,  was  deeply  de- 
plored. His  wife,  who  was  beloved  by  scores  of  relatives  and  hundreds  of 
warm  personal  friends,  lived  to  a  good  old  age,  retaining  her  faculties  to 
the  last  and  passing  away  December  6,   1902,  when  nearly  ninety  years  old. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  J.  Theron  Tompkins,  has  passed  nearly  his 
entire  life  in  Girard  township,  where  he  is  known  as  a  man  of  property  and 
influence.  He  was  married  October  3,  1869,  to  Hattie  Olney.  daughter  of 
Jesse  Olney  and  Betsy  Fox,  these  names  also  being  intimately  as,sociated 
with  the  history  of  Girard  township  for  many  years.  Jesse  Olney  was  the 
son  of  Thomas  Olney,  while  Betsy  Fox  Olney  was  the  daughter  of  Lyman 
Fox.  both  of  whom  were  pioneers  of  this  section.  Jesse  Olney  died  in 
Girard  in  1874,  his  widow  passing  away  a  few  years  later. 

To  the  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tompkins  have  been  bom  four  chil- 
dren, three  sons  and  one  daughter,  but  one  is  deceased :  Harry  B.  com- 
pleted the  public  schools,  and  is  a  practical  farmer.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Tompkins  orchestra,  so  well  knmvn  in  Girard  and  surrounding  townships. 
His  favorite  instrument  is  B  flat  cornet.  J.  Roy  finished  the  tenth 
grade  and  received  his  diploma  from  the  public  schools  In  the  class  of  1901. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  orchestra  and  a  trombonist.  Hazel  R,  finished  tlie 
tenth  grade  in  the  public  schools  and  received  her  diploma  in  the  class  of 
1904.  She  was  a  student  in  the  Chicago  Musical  College  in  1904  and  1905, 
being  a  student  on  the  violin  and  piano,  having  also  taught  both  instruments. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


HON.    ALFRED    MILNES. 

Hon.  Alfred  Milnes,  ex-member  of  the  state  senate  and  of  congress, 
president  of  the  National  Burial  Device  Company  and  of  the  Ideal  Fixture 
Company,  has  been  and  is  distinctively  a  man  of  affairs  and  one  who  has 
wielded  a  wide  influence  in  business  circles  and  public  life  in  Branch  county. 
His  activity  has  touched  along  many  lines  and  has  ever  been  exerted  along 
modern  lines  of  progress,  becoming  a  resultant  factor  for  successful  ac- 
complishment in  the  field  of  commerce  and  of  politics. 

Mr.  Milnes  was  born  in  Bradford,  Yorkshire.  England,  May  28,  1844, 
a  son  of  Henry  and  Mary  (Amyss)  Milnes.  The  parents  emigrated  to 
America  with  their  family  of  four  sons  in  1854,  settling  in  Salt  Lake  City, 
Utah,  where  they  remained  for  five  years,  when  they  removed  to  Newton, 
Iowa.  The  year  1861  witnessed  their  arrival  in  Coldwater,  Michigan.  They 
reached  this  city  on  the  28th  of  May,  the  seventeenth  anniversary  of  the 
birth  of  Alfred  Milnes,  who  has  since  been  a  resident  of  Coldwater.  The 
following  year,  however,  he  left  home,  enlisting  on  the  30th  of  June,  1862. 
as  a  private  of  Company  C,  Seventeenth  Michigan  infantry,  for  a  term  of 
three  years  or  during  the  war.  He  took  part  in  all  the  engagements  of 
his  command  from  the  battle  of  Antietam  to  that  of  Appomattox,  and  was 
mustered  out  on  the  7th  of  June,  1865,  having  done  his  full  duty  as  a  sol- 
dier. He  was  then  but  twenty-one  years  of  age,  but  no  veteran  of  twice  his 
years  displayed  greater  loyalty  or  bravery  upon  the  field  of  battle.  Since 
-the  organization  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  he  has  been  interested 
and  active  in  its  work,  holding  membership  with  Butterworth  Post,  No.  109, 
in  which  he  is  a  past  commander.  He  is  in  hearty  sympathy  with  the  pur- 
poses and  plans  of  the  fraternity  and  delights  in  recounting  around  the  camp 
fires  the  scenes  which  occurred  on  the  tented  fields  of  the  south. 

Mr.  Milnes  had  acquired  a  fair  education  prior  to  the  war,  putting  aside 
his  text-books  in  order  to  enlist.  Following  his  return  home  he  became  a 
clerk  in  his  father's  store  and  was  thus  engaged  until  1871,  when  he  opened 
a  grocery  store  in  Coldwater,  which  he  conducted  successfully  until  1898. 
having  a  liberal  patronage  that  brought  to  him  gratifying  financial  returns. 

While  thus  an  active  factor  in  the  commercial  life  of  the  city  Mr.  Milnes 
also  took  an  active  part  in  political  work  as  an  advocate  of  Republican  prin- 
ciples. His  first  political  office  was  that  of  alderman,  and  he  has  twice  served 
as  mayor  of  the  city,  becoming  an  efl'ective  force  for  needed  reform  and  im- 
provement. In  1888  he  was  elected  to  the  state  senate  and  by  re-election 
served  for  two  terms,  or  four  consecutive  years.  In  1891  he  was  the  recog- 
nized leader  of  his  party,  then  in  its  minority,  and  he  instituted  into  political 
methods  the  principles  and  plans  which  had  made  him  a  successful  business 
man,  organizing  his  forces  so  as  to  produce  results,  and  win  victories.  In 
1894  he  was  elected  lieutenant  governor  of  Michigan,  but  in  June,  1895, 
resigned,  liaving  been  elected  to  congress^  in  the  special  election  held  that 
year  to  represent  the  third  district  of  Michigan.  He  received  the  unanimous 
nomination  of  his  party  for  the  same  office  in  1896,  but  was  defeated  at  the 
polls  in  the  great  Democratic  landslide  of  that  year.      On  the  4th  of  March, 


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682  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

1898,  he  was  commissioned  iTostmaster  of  Coklwater  and  served  for  four 
years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  dechiied  to  stand  again  for  appointment. 
He  is  now  one  of  the  board  of  managers  of  the  Soldiers'   Home  at  Grand 


Mr.  Milnes  has  business  relations  of  importance,  having  been  a  director 
of  the  Branch  County  Savings  Bank  since  its  organization,  and  is  also  presi- 
dent of  the  National  Burial  Device  Company,  and  of  the  Ideal  Fixture  Com- 
pany. He  is  a  valued  representative  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  in  which  he 
has  attained  the  Knight  Templar  degree,  and  he  is  equally  prominent  in  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  in  which  he  has  been  very  active  for 
fifteen  years,  serving  in  the  various  offices  of  the  local  and  grand  lodges,  while 
for  two  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  sovereign  grand  lodge  of  the  world. 
He  belongs  to  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  and  to  the  Foresters, 
while  his  religious  belief  is  indicated  by  his  membership  in  the  Episcopal 
church,  of  which  he  is  senior  warden. 

Mr.  Milnes  was  married,  in  186S,  to  Miss  Lucina  E.  Hill,  of  Quincy, 
Michigan,  and  they  have  had  three  children:  Alfred  C  who  died  in  1882; 
Maude  L.,  who  died  in  1894;  and  Mabel  F.,  now  the  wife  of  J.  R.  Watson, 
of  Jadison,  Georgia. 

Such  in  outline  is  the  history  of  Alfred  Milnes,  one  of  the  best  known 
men  of  Michigan,  whose  life  record  is  inseparably  interwoven  with  the  an- 
nals of  the  state.  He  looks  at  the  world  from  the  standpoint  of  a  practical 
business  man,  and  while  he  is  not  without  his  ideals,  toward  which  he  earn- 
estly strives,  he  has  a  clear  understanding  of  conditions,  possibilities  and 
opportunities  that  makes  him  a  man  of  action  rather  than  rfieory.  He  has 
not  only  advocated  views  bi.it  has  been  an  effective  force,  and  in  a  review  of 
the  political  records  of  the  state  one  can  say  that  this  thing  has  been  done 
by  Mr,  Milnes,  that  this  legislative  measure  owes  its  existence  to  his  work 
and  influence.  He  has  conserved  public  progress  and  the  consensus  of 
public  opinion  regarding  his  life  work  is  uniformly  favorable. 

REV.  EDWIN  W.  HUGHES. 

Rev.  Edwin  W.  Hughes,  pastor  of  the  Freewill  Baptist  church  at 
Kinderhook  and  interested  in  general  farming  in  Gilead  township,  where  he 
owns  and  operates  one  hundred  and  eighty  acres  of  land  on  sections  eleven 
and  twelve,  wa*s  born  in  Lenawee  county,  Michigan,  October  23,  1850,  his 
parents  being  Thomas  and  Catherine  (Bell)  Hughes,  both  of  whom  were 
natives  of  county  Down,  Ireland.  The  father  went  from  Ireland  to  Canada 
when  twenty  years  of  age,  and  was  married  in  that  country.  He  removed 
from  Canada  to  Lenawee  county,  Michigan,  prior  to  1850  and  early  in  the 
'50s  came  to  Branch  county,  where  he  purchased  eighty  acres  of  land  on 
sections  one  and  two,  Gilead  township.  Soon  after  his  return  to  Lenawee 
county  his  death  occurred,  subsequent  to  which  time  the  mother  and  chil- 
dren came  to  the  new  farm  which  he  had  purchased  and  located  thereon. 
Tliey  cleared  and  developed  the  land  and  upon  this  place  the  mother  reared 
her  children  unaided.  She  passed  away  May  21,  1895.  I"  the  family  were 
ten  children,  of  whom  Hannah  died  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years,  while  Henry, 


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HISTORY  O'F  BRANCH  COUNTY  683 

the  eldest,  died  at  the  age  o£  thirty-three.  Eight  of  the  number  are  yet  Hv- 
ing,  namely:  Alexander  R.,  a  resident  of  Bethel  townsliip;  Peter  W.,  who  is 
living  in  Los  Angeles.  California;  John,  whose  home  is  in  Kansas;  Jacob 
B.,  of  Kalamazoo;  Mrs.  Mary  Sherman,  of  Bethel;  Mrs.  Abigail  Bowen, 
of  Coldwater;  Mrs.  Jennie  Carpenter,  of  Gilead:  and  Edwin  W.,  of  this 
review. 

In  taking  up  the  personal  history  of  Rev.  Edwin  W.  Hughes  we  pre- 
sent to  our  readers  the  life  record  of  one  widely  known  in  Branch  county, 
where  his  labors  as  an  agriculturist  and  minister  of  the  gospel  have  made 
him  a  prominent  citizen  and  endeared  him  to  many  witli  whom  he  has  come 
in  contact.  He  started  out  in  life  on  his  own  account  when  twenty  years  of 
age,  and  when  a  young  man  of  twenty-two  purchased  eighty  acres  of  land  on 
section  se-\'en,  Bethel  township,  which  was  partially  improved.  Later  he 
disposed  of  that  property  and  bought  eighty  acres  on  sections  eleven  and 
twelve,  Bethel  township,  almost  totally  unimproved,  which  he  has  since  in- 
creased by  additional  purchase  to  one  hundred  and  eighty  acres,  his  present 
home  in  Gilead.  He  cleared  a  jjart  of  this  farm  and  has  made  all  of  the 
improvements  thereon.  There  are  good  and  substantial  buildings  and  well 
kept  fences,  together  with  the  latest  improved  machinery  and  all  the  acces- 
sories of  a  model  farm.  He  is  also  a  feeder  and  raiser  of  cattle,  and  at 
the  present  time  is  feeding  a  drove  of  the  Aberdeens.  which  is  one  of  the 
finest  in  the  county  of  Branch.  Mr,  Hughes  is  a  self-made  man  in  every 
respect.  He  had  only  a  common  school  education  which  he  supplemented 
by  home  study  and  reading,  and  is  now  in  possession  of  an.  excellent  library, 
with  the  contents  of  which  he  is  largely  familiar.  Although  he  has  always 
followed  farming  he  has  also  for  fourteen  years  been  a  minister  of  the 
Freewill  Baptist  church,  being  ordained  about  1890  by  the  faculty  of  Hills- 
dale College.  He  was  pastor  of  the  church  at  Center  Chapel,  Defiance 
county,  Ohio,  for  several  months,  and  for  four  years  has  been  the  pastor  at 
Kinderhook.  He  has  also  filled  other  local  appointments  and  is  an  able 
speaker,  admired  and  esteemed  by  his  parishioners.  His  family  have  been 
members  of  the  Freewill  Baptist  church  of  Kinkerhook. 

On  the  20th  of  February,  1870,  Rev.  Hughes  was  married  to  Elizabeth 
Upp,  who  was  bom  in  Huron  county,  Ohio,  November  19,  1S50.  Her 
father,  Jacob  Upp.  was  born  in  York,  Pennsyh'ania,  in  1S22,  and  was  taken 
by  his  parents  to  Huron  county,  Ohio,  in  1S30.  There  he  married  Susanna 
Croninger,  who  was  born  in  Seneca  county,  Ohio.  They  had  eight  children: 
Mrs.  Isabelle  Gripman,  Martin  L,,  Mrs,  Hannah  Hilton,  Mrs,  Elizabeth 
Hughes.  Phillip  J.,  Mrs.  Christie  A.  Hilton,  Mrs.  Alice  Chase  and  Mrs. 
Susan  Gager,  Tlie  year  1854  witnessed  the  removal  of  the  Upp  family 
from  Ohio  to  Branch  county.  They  located  in  Kinderhook  township,  where 
Mr.  Upp  owned  and  developed  three  hundred  acres  of  land.  He  was  not 
long  permitted  to  enjoy  his  new  home,  however,  for  his  death  occurred 
in  1858.  Mrs.  Upp  afterward  married  again,  her  second  husband  being 
Alonzo  Mosher. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hughes  have  been  born  five  children,  namely: 
Maude,  who  died  at  the  age  of  four  years;  Ida  May,  the  wife  of  E,  G.  Davis, 


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.684  HISTORY  OF  BRAXXH  COUNTY 

a  resident  of  Petoskey,  Michigan,  by  whom  she  has  five  children;  Ruth, 
Marie,  Fay,  Edna  and  Evelyn;  Carrie  E.,  who  married  Fenton  Flint,  of 
Ovid,  by  whom  she  has  a  daughter,  Blanche;  Lola  E.,  the  wife  of  Dr. 
Benjamin  Shepard  of  Plainwell,  Michigan,  by  whom  she  has  one  son,  Carlos; 
and  Hngh  L.,  who  married  Lula  B.  Keeslar  and  resides  in  Gilead  township. 
Rev.  Hughes  has  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  Ijfe  in  Branch  countj', 
and  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  public  progress  and  improvement  have  been  of 
direct  benefit,  while  his  labors  in  the  church  have  done  much  to  advance  the 
moral  development  of  the  community.  He  is  a  man  whom  to  know  is  to 
respect  and  honor,  for  by  example  as  well  as  by  precept  he  has  endeavored 
to  teach  the  truths  for  which  his  church  stands. 

NATHANIEL  PIATT. 

Nathaniel  Piatt,  one  of  the  self-made  men  of  Branch  county  whose 
success  has  resulted  entirely  from  his  own  able  efforts,  and  whose  example 
should  serve  as  a  course  of  inspiration  and  encouragement  to  others,  was 
bom  in  Warren  county.  New  Jersey,  May  27,  1826.  His  parents  were 
William  and  Hannah  (Tindall)' Piatt,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  New 
Jersey,  whence  they  removed  in  1830  to  Columbia  county,  Pennsylvania, 
and  in  1835  they  went  to  eastern  Ohio.  About  sixteen  years  were  there 
passed,  and  in  1852  they  arrived  in  Elkhart  county,  Indiana.  In  their  family 
were  eight  children  who  reached  years  of  maturity,  but  only  three  of  the 
number  ever  came  to  Michigan,  namely:  Nathaniel;  William,  who  died 
in  Cass  county;  and  James  A.,  who  died  in  Isabella  county.  Nathaniel 
Piatt  is  the  only  one  of  the  family  now  living.  The  father  passed  a\vay  in 
Elkhart  county,  Indiana,  and  the  mother's  death  occurred  in  LaGrange 
county,  that  state.  Both  were  esteemed  people  and  were  strong  Methodists 
in  religious  faith. 

Nathaniel  Piatt  started  out  in  life  on  his  own  account  in  1848.  He  had 
accompanied  his  parents  on  their  various  removals  up  to  that  time,  and  he 
preceded  them  in  their  removal  to  Elkhart  county,  Indiana,  by  a  year.  He 
first  owned  land  in  LaGrange  county,  Indiana,  and  in  1854  came  to  Michi- 
gan, where  he  purchased  forty  acres  of  land  in  Gilead  township,  Branch 
county.  Later,  however,  he  increased  his  holdings  to  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
nine  acres  in  Gilead  and  Bethel  townships.  The  place  was  only  partially 
cleared  when  it  came  into  his  possession,  and  he  made  all  of  the  im- 
provements thereon.  He  now  owns  sixty-eight  acres  on  sections  thirty-five 
and  thirty-six  in  Bethel  township.  He  started  out  in  life  unaided,  with  no 
capital  save  strong*  determination  and  willing  hands,  but  he  has  accumu- 
lated property  by  hard  work  and  is  now  in  comfortable  financial  circum- 
stances. He  was  a  director  of  the  Branch  County  Mutual  Fire  Insurance 
Company,  with  which  organization  he  has  been  connected  for  many  years, 
and  in  affairs  in  Gilead  and  Bethel  townships  he  has  been  ani  active  and  in- 
fluential factor,  his  labors  proving  of  direct  and  immediate  ser^'iceableness 
in  many  connections. 

Mr.  Piatt  was  married  in  Holmes  county,  Ohio,  January  25,  1848,  to 
Miss  Nancy  Ritter,  who  was  born  in  Mount  Eaton,  Wayne  county,  Ohio, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUXTY  6So 

Jamiary  28,  1827.  They  had  eight  children.  David  Piatt,  tlie  eldest,  who 
died  in  the  state  of  California  in  1S86,  married  Patience  Mabry  and  they 
had  a  son,  George,  who  was  born  August  28,  1876,  and  who  wedded  Mar- 
garet Wlialey,  whose  birth  occurred  August  2,  1882.  This  marriage  was 
blessed  with  a  daughter,  Erta  Marie,  who  was  bom  November  26.  1902. 
George  Piatt  and  his  family  now  live  with  his  grandfather,  Nathaniel  Piatt, 
upon  the  old  home  farm,  Mrs.  Melissa  Patch,  the  second  member  of  the 
family,  lives  in  Coklwater.  Mrs.  Lucretia  Balcom  died  in  Seattle,  Wash- 
ington, in  1905.  Franklin  is  living  in  the  west.  William  Albert,  a  resident 
of  South  Dakota,  married  Mrs.  E>elilah  Perrin  and  they  have  five  children, 
namely:  Charles,  Orva,  Rollin.  Clyde  and  Eva.  Mrs.  Lucinda  Benedict 
died  in  Chicago  in  1898.  Ella  died  in  infancy.  Mrs.  Mattie  Green  is  living 
in  Seattle,  The  mother  of  this  family  departed  this  life  September  29, 
1875,  and  on  the  2nd  of  September.  1876,  Mr.  Piatt  was  married  to  Mrs. 
A.  P.  Chapin,  in  Fond  du  Lac,  Wisconsin.  She  was  a  most  active  and 
interested  worker  in  the  church,  at  one  time  was  connected  with  the  Baptist 
denomination,  but  afterward  with  the  Liberal  United  Brethren.  She  was 
a  woman  possessed  of  many  sterling  traits  of  character,  and  her  death,  which 
occurred  in  Bethel  township.  May  22,  1904,  was  the  occasion  of  deep  regret 
on  the  part   of  her  many   friends. 

Mr.  Piatt  has  traveled  extensively  through  the  west.  He  made  the 
iirst  trip  in  1856  when  there  was  one  little  railroad  west  of  the  Mississippi 
river.  He  now  makes  annual  trips  through  to  the  coast  and  is  well  posted 
on  the  western  country,  its  prospects  and  possibilities.  In  community  affairs 
he  has  been  actively  and  helpfviUy  interested.  He  served  as  supervisor  for 
three  years,  was  drain  commissioner  one  year  and  school  officer  for  many 
years  in  Gilead  and  Bethel  townships.  Although  not  a  member  of  any  re- 
ligious society,  he  is  an  earnest  Christian  and  one  of  the  chief  supporters  of 
the  Liberal  United  Brethren  church,  being  chaimmn  of  the  building  com- 
mittee which  erected  Bethel  church  of  that  denomination.  He  has  for  many 
years  been  a  member  of  Tyre  lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  was  formerly  an  in- 
fluential member  of  the  Grange.  He  is  still  a  well  preserved  man  in  .spite 
of  his  years,  having  now  reached  the  eightieth  milestone  on  life's  journey. 
His  has  been  an  active,  useful  and  honorable  career  and  Brancli  county  has 
benefited  by  his  efforts  in  her  behalf. 

HON.  RODNEY  K.  TWADELL. 
Hon.  Rodney  K.  Twadell,  whose  activity  in  business  was  so  continuous, 
whose,  co-operation  in  events  of  a  beneficial  public  nature  was  so  generous 
and  whose  personal  worth  was  so  widely  recognized  as  to  make  his  death 
come  as  a  personal  loss  to  a  large  majority  of  the  citizens  of  Branch  county, 
passed  away  on  the  25th  of  January,  1900,  when  mare  than  seventy-two  years 
of  age.  His  life  was  exemplary  of  all  that  constitutes  the  good  and  thereby 
truly  great  citizen.  As  the  day  with  its  morning  of  hope  and  promise,  its 
noontide  of  activity,  its  evening'  of  successful  and  accomplished  effort  ending 
in  the  grateful  rest  and  quiet  of  the  night,  so  was  the  life  of  this  man,  and 
his  memory  is  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of  many  who  knew  him,  while  his  life 


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686  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

record  furnishes  a  splendid  example  for  emulation  and  inspiration.  Mr. 
Twadell  was  a  native  of  Wayne  county,  New  York,  his  birth  having  occurred 
in  the  town  of  Marion  on  the  7th  of  November,  1827.  Little  is  known  con- 
cerning the  ancestral  history  of  the  family  save  that  they  came  of  Scotch 
lineage,  the  first  representatives  of  the  name  having  probably  crossed  the  At- 
lantic while  this  country  was  still  numbered  among  the  colonial  possessions  of 
Great  Britain.  Daniel  Twadell,  father  of  Hon.  Rodney  K.  TwadelL,  was  born 
in  Connecticut  and  at  an  early  age  was  left  an  orphan.  By  self-sustaining 
effort  he  finally  became  a  man  not  only  of  affluence  but  of  influence  as  well 
in  his  community.  In  early  manhood  he  removed  from  New  England  to 
Wayne  county,  New  York,  and,  as  his  limited  financial  circumstances  brought 
about  the  necessity  for  immediate  employment,  he  secured  a  position  as  a 
farm  hand.  Gradually  he  worked  his  way  upward  until  he  was  able  to  save 
from  his  earnings  a  sum  sufficient  to  justify  his  purchase  of  land.  He  then 
began  farming  on  his  own  account  and  successfully  continued  in  that  pursuit 
until  1849,  when  his  life's  labors. were  ended  in  death.  He  was  at  that  time 
sixty-three  years  of  age.  In  early  manhood  he  was  married  in  Wayne  county. 
New  New,  to  Mrs.  Jerusha  (Kellogg)  Peckham,  who  was  of  New  England 
birth  and  parentage  and  who,  subsequent  to  the  death  of  Mr.  Twadell,  came 
to  Michigan,  spending  her  last  days  in  Branch  county,  where  she  died  in 
T870,  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven  years.  By  her  first  marriage  she  had  two 
children  and  by  the  second  six  children.  Of  the  latter  family  al!  reached 
years  of  maturity,  after  which  the  two  daughters,  Laura  W.  and  Mary  Jane, 
died  of  consumption.  Those  still  living  are :  Mrs.  Alma  P.  Howell,  a  resi- 
dent of  Wayne  county.  New  York;  Charles  J.  Twadell,  who  is  living  in 
Quincy,  Michigan;  and  Mrs.  Helen  E.  Culver,  of  Quincy. 

Rodney  K.  Twadell  spent  his  boyhood  and  youth  upon  a  farm  and  ac- 
quired a  common  school  education,  devoting  his  attention  to  the  work  of 
the  fields  when  not  occupied  with  the  duties  of  the  school  room,  so  that  while 
improving  his  mind  he  also  gained  a  good  knowledge  of  the  business  which 
he  made  his  life  work.  He  was  united  in  marriage  in  1849  to  Miss  Mary 
Culver,  a  native  of  Palmira,  New  York,  and  a  daughter  of  Paul  and  Martha 
Jane  (Reeves)  Culver,  who  removed  to  Michigan  in  1849,  3""^  two  years 
later  were  joined  here  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Twadell.  There  was  one  sister  in 
the  family,  now  Mrs.  R.  M.  Campbell,  of  Quincy. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Twadell  began  their  domestic  Hfe  in  the  Empire  state, 
but  after  two  years,  through  the  persuasion  of  her  parents,  came  to  Michigan. 
Being  well  pleased  with  the  country  and  its  future  prospects  Mr.  Twadell 
then  returned  to  New  York  to  settle  up  some  business  affairs,  after  which 
he  again  came  to  Branch  county  and  made  a  permanent  location  in  Quincy 
township.  He  purchased  one  hundred  acres  of  land  on  section  five,  north- 
west of  the  village  of  Quincy,  to  which  he  afterward  added  a  tract  of  twenty 
acres,  and  the  entire  amount  was  still  in  his  possession  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  although  from  1883  until  his  demise  he  made  his  home  in  the  village. 
In  his  farm  work  he  was  energetic  and  enterprising,  his  methods  being  prac- 
tical, while  his  systematic  labors  and  unremitting  diligence  constituted  the 
basis  of  his  success.     He  was  never  dilatory  nor  negligent  in  his  work,  and 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  C87 

he  annually  harvested  rich  crops  as  the  reward  for  the  care  and  labor  which 
he  bestowed  upon  his  fields.  He  always  exercised  good  judgment  in  the  man- 
agement of  his  farm  affairs  and  brought  his  land  under  a  high  state  of  culti- 
ration  with  correspondingly  satisfactory  financial  results.  His  place  was 
greatly  enhanced  by  good  buildings  and  pleasant  surroundings  and  thus  his 
became  one  of  the  model  country  homes  of  the  township  as  well  as  the  source 
of  a  handsome  yearly  income,  which  enabled  Mr.  Twadell  to  pass  his  declin- 
ing days  in  ease  and  comfort.  In  addition  to  his  farm  property  he  owned  a 
pleasant  residence  in  the  village  of  Quincy  and  the  store  building  occupied  by 
the  firm  of  Trott  &  Clark.  He  also  had  some  bank  stock  and  was  one  of  the 
stockholders  of  the  Quincy  Knitting  Company. 

In  1872  Mr.  Twadell  was  caSled  upon  to  mourn  the  loss  of  his  first  wife, 
who  died  upon  the  homestead  farm  on  the  12th  of  October  of  that  year.  Five 
children  had  been  born  unto  them,  of  whom  two  survived  the  mother,  namely: 
Frank  A.,  who  is  a  resident  of  Montana;  and  Eddy  Reeves  Twadell,  who  is 
living  in  Nebraska.  One  daughter,  Kittie  B.,  became  the  wife  of  George 
Parkinson,  of  Quincy,  and  died'  May  28.  1899,  at  the  birth  of  her  child,  Frances 
Mary,  who  survives  her.  In  1873,  Mr.  Twadell  was  again  married,  his  sec- 
ond union  being  with  Miss  Phoebe  I,.  Culp,  who  was  born  in  Niagara  county, 
New  York,  on  the  5th  of  April,  1833,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Nicholas  and 
Phoebe  (Rockwood)  Culp.  Her  father  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania  and 
her  mother  of  New  York,  and  they  became  pioneer  residents  of  Branch  county, 
taking  up  their  abode  in  Girard  township  in  1840,  and  tliere  spending  their 
remaining  days. 

In  the  public  life  and  interests  of  Quincy  township  Mr.  Twadell  was 
recognized  as  a  foremost  factor  of  action  and  influence.  In  matters  of  citi- 
zenship he  was  intelligent  and  was  a  stirring  and  energetic  man  in  any  imder- 
taking  he  assumed.  Frequently  called  to  public  office,  he  filled  various  local 
positions  and  was  then  called  to  the  higher  honors,  being  elected  to  the  Mich- 
igan legislature,  where  he  capably  served  for  two  terms,  being  first  chosen  to 
the  office  in  1876  and  again  in  1878,  He  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
agriculture  and  in  various  directions  acted  for  the  welfare  of  his  county  and 
state.  His  first  presidential  vote  was  cast  for  Martin  Van  Buren,  then  the 
candidate  of  the  Freesoil  party.  He  was  twenty-one  years  of  age  on  the  day 
on  which  he  voted.  Subsequently  he  affiliated  with  the  Whig  party  until  the 
organization  of  the  new  Republican  party,  of  which  he  became  a  stalwart 
champion,  so  continuing  until  1884,  when  he  took  a  forward  step  in  behalf 
of  the  temperance  cause  and  identified  himself  with  the  Prohibition  party. 
During  the  war  of  the  rebellion  he  was  in  hearty  sympathy  with  the  Union 
cause,  and  although  he  did  not  go  to  the  front  himself  he  voluntarily  hired 
a  substitute,  believing  that  he  personally  could  do  more  at  home.  He  ever 
stood  for  progress  in  citizenship  and  for  practical  and  successful  accomplish- 
ment in  all  matters  relating  to  the  public  welfare.  For  more  than  forty  years 
he  was  a  devoted  member  of  the  Methodist  church  and  was  always  regarded 
as  an  exemplary  Christian  man,  honest  and  conscientious  in  all  life's  relations, 
while  in  business  life  or  in  official  service  his  reputation  was  unassailable  and 
his  name  above  reproach.     Moreo\-er  be  possessed  a  kindly  spirit  and  broad 


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688  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

humanitarianism,  which  made  him  ever  wilHng  to  extend  a  helping  hand  to 
those  in  need.  His  death  occurred  after  an  illness  of  about  thirteen  months 
and  was  the  occasion  of  deep  and  widespread  regret.  His  funeral  services 
were  largely  attended,  showing  the  position  which  he  occupied  in  the  regard 
of  friends  and  neighbors.  To  know  Mr.  Twadell  was  to  respect  him,  and 
those  who  came  within  the  closer  circle  of  his  friendship  entertained  for  him 
the  warmest  regard  and  most  kindly  feeling.  He  held  friendship  inviolable 
and  he  ever  stood  as  a  defender  of  all  that  is  just  and  right  in  man's  relations 
with  his  feliow  men.  He  loved  honor  and  truth,  not  because  honesty  is  the 
best  policy,  but  because  his  life  was  guided  by  principles  which  his  conscience 
approved.  Quincy  and  Branch  county  benefited  by  his  efforts  and  by  his 
example,  and  many  years  will  have  passed  before  the  name  of  Rodney  K. 
Twadell  ceases  to  be  remembered  and  honored  in  Branch  county. 

HON.  E.  E.  BOSTWICK, 

Hon.  E.  E.  Bostwick  is  one  o£  the  distinguished  citizens  of  Brancli 
county  who  has  represented  his  district  in  the  state  senate,  and  is  now  one 
of  the  extensive  farmers,  holding  and  controlling  large  landed  interests, 
resides  on  section  seven.  Union  township.  He  was  bom  in  Onondaga  county, 
New  York,  May  27,  1840,  and  is  a  son  of  Nathaniel  Bostwick,  also  a  native 
of  that  county.  Tlie  mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Emily  Everett, 
was  likewise  bom  in  the  Empire  state.  E.  E.  Bostwick  was  there  reared, 
and  in  the  common  schools  of  his  home  township  gained  his  education, 
which  was  continued  in  Cazenovia  Seminary  and  Homer  Academy  of  the 
Empire  state,  but  before  the  completion  of  the  course  he  was  obliged  to  put 
aside  his  text-books  on  account  of  ill  health.  He  then  turned  his  attention 
to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  thinking  that  he  might  have  better  business 
opportunities  in  the  rapidly  growing  middle  west  he  came  to  Branch  county, 
Michigan,  in  November,  1864.  His  capital  was  very  limited,  so  that  he 
rented  a  tract  of  land,  but  in  due  course  of  time  he  purchased  it  and  it  con- 
stituted the  nucleus  of  his  present  extensive  landed  possessions,  now  covering 
six  hundred  and  thirty  acres.  Most  of  his  land  is  very  valuable  and  pro- 
ductive, and  he  carries  on  general  fanning,  raising  both  grain  and  stock. 
He  is  one  of  the  largest  grain  producers  of  Branch  county  and  his  farm 
presents  a  splendid  appearance  with  its  green  fields  that  give  promise  of 
golden  harvests.  The  stock  too  is  of  good  grade,  consisting  of  horses,  sheep 
and  the  finest  herd  of  Jerseys  in  Southern  Michigan,  and  everything  about 
the  place  indicates  the  practical  and  progressive  spirit  of  a  painstaking  owner. 
He  has  been  a  resident  of  the  county  for  about  forty  years  and  throughout 
this  period  has  done  his  full  share  in  the  work  of  public  advancement  and 
improvement.  In  one  year  he  raised  a  crop  of  nearly  seven  thousand  bushels 
of  wheat. 

In  1861  Mr.  Bostwick  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  AdaSine  S.  Tames 
a  daughter  of  Willis  James  of  Phelps,  Ontario  county.  New  York.  Eotfi 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bostwick  enjoy  the  warm  friendship  of  a  large  circle  of  ac- 
quaintances. Politically  he  was  for  many  years  a  Republican,  but  is  now  an 
advocate  of  the  Prohibition  party  and  also  a  believer  in  the  free  coinage  of 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  689 

silver.  He  served  as  supervisor  for  one  term,  and  in  1896-7  represented  his 
district,  comprising'  Branch,  Hillsdale  and  St.  Joseph  counties,  in  the  state 
senate.  He  was  the  first  opposition  candidate  elected  from  this  district  since 
the  organization  of  the  Republican  party,  a  fact  which  indicates  his  per- 
sonal popularity  and  the  confidence  reposed  in  him  by  his  fellow  men.  He 
proved  a  capable  officer,  studying  closely  the  questions  which  came  up  for 
consideration  and  giving  earnest  support  to  those  which  he  believed  would 
benefit  the  commonwealth.  He  has  long  been  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Congregational  church,  contributing  g^enerously  to  its  support,  taking  an 
active  part  in  its  work  and  sendng  for  twenty-five  years,  as  a  deacon.  By 
his  own  exertions  he  has  attained  an  honorable  position  and  marked  prestige 
among  the  representative  men  of  the  county  and  with  signal  consistency  it 
may  be  said  that  he  is  the  architect  of  his  own  fortunes. 

CXARENCE  L.  OLDS. 
Clarence  L.  Olds,  who  follows  the  occupation  of  farming  on  section 
twenty-two,  Batavia  township,  was  born  on  the  7th  of  October,  1853,  in  the 
township  which  is  still  his  home.  His  father,  Martin  P.  Olds.,  was  a  native 
of  Seneca  county,  Ohio,  bom  November  14,  1827,  while  the  grandfather, 
Martin  Olds,  was  a  native  of  Berkshire  county,  Massachusetts.  He  became 
a  resident  of  Branch  county  in  1834,  locating  in  Batavia  township.  He 
entered  land  from  the  government  on  sections  twenty-three  and  twenty-four, 
and  was  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  the  county,  few  having  taken  up  their 
abode  in  this  part  of  the  state  at  the  time  he  established  his  home  in  the  midst 
of  the  forest  here.  He  aided  in  reclaiming  a  wild  district  for  the  purposes 
of  civilization  and  was  one  of  the  valued  pioneer  settlers  who  assisted  in 
laying  strong  and  deep  the  foundation  for  the  present  development  and 
progress  of  the  county.  He  was  president  of  the  first  bank  of  Branch  county, 
which  was  a  state  bank  established  in  the  village  of  Branch,  then  the  county 
seat.  He  was  also  judge  of  probate  and  he  was  representative  for  Michigan 
territory  in  the  national  congress.  In  fact  his  fitness  for  leadership  made 
him  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  of  Michi,^n  in  early  days,  and  he  left 
the  impress  of  his  individuality  upon  the  public  life  and  did  much  toward 
molding  public  thought  and  action.  His  early  political  allegiance  was  given 
to  the  Democratic  party,  but  later  he  became  a  stanch  Jiepublican  and  con- 
tinued to  support  the'men  and  measures  upholding  the  principles  of  that 
organization  until  his  death.  He  belonged  to  the  Universalist  church  and 
passed  away  at  the  age  of  seventy-three  years.  He  had  carved  his  name 
deeply  upon  the  records  of  the  state  and  is  remembered  as  one  of  the  hon- 
ored pioneer  settlers  of  Branch  county. 

Martin  P.  Olds,  the  father  of  Clarence  L.  Olds,  was  about  seven  years 
of  age  when  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Michigan.  He  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools  of  Batavia  township  and  in  his  youth  assisted  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  home  farm,  while  the  experiences  and  conditions  of  pioneer  life 
became  very  familiar  to  him.  He  was  married  on  the  13th  of  November, 
1850,  to  Miss  Caroline  B.  Sprague,  a  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Sabrina  (Lyon) 
Sprague,  the  former  a  native  of  Rhode  IslaiKi  and  the  latter  of  Saratoga 


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690  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

county,  New  York,  where  they  were  married  in  February,  1826.  They  lived 
for  a  time  in  Troy,  New  York,  and  there  the  father  was  connected  with 
mechanical  pursuits.  Mrs.  Olds,  their  eldest  child,  was  born  in  Troy,  No- 
vember 27,  :827  and  went  with  her  parents  on  their  removal  to  Penfield, 
Monroe  county,  New  York,  whence  they  came  to  Branch  county  in  1836, 
settling  in  Coldwater.  Not  long  afterward  they  took  up  their  abode  on  a 
farm  in  Batavia  township  and  resided  there  for  some  time,  after  which  they 
returnetl  to  Coldwater,  where  tfaeir  remaining  days  were  passed.  The  father 
attained  the  age  of  eighty-two  years,  while  his  wife  departed  this  life  when 
seventy-seven  years  of  age.  There  were  nine  children,  seven  of  whom 
reached  years  of  maturity.  Mrs.  O'lds  is  the  only  representative  of  the 
family  now  living  in  Branch  county.  She  has  a  brother,  Levi  Sprague,  now 
a  resident  of  Chicago,  where  he  is  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law,  while 
another  brother,  D.  P.  Sprague,  makes  his  home  in  St.  Joseph  county,  Michi- 
gan. Her  sister,  Lucina,  is  the  wife  of  Henry  Huff,  living  in  the  town  of 
Mendon,  St.  Joseph  coimty,  Michigan. 

Clarence  L.  Olds  is  an  only  son  and  child.  He  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools  and  in  the  high  school  of  Coldwater  and  was  thus  equipped 
in  able  manner  for  life's  practical  and  responsible  duties.  Having  arrived 
at  years  of  maturity  he  was  married  on  the  22nd  of  June,  1871,  to  Miss 
Alma  Wilhs,  a  daughter  of  George  and  Mary  (Welch)  Willis,  who  was 
born  in  Portage  county,  Ohio.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Olds  has  been  bom  one 
son,  Mortimer  W.,  who  wedded  Miss  Mary  Bowers  and  resides  on  part  of 
the  old  homestead. 

At  the  time  of  his  marriage  Qarence  L.  Olds  located  upon  what  is  the 
old  home  property  of  the  family  in  Batavia  township,  and  here  he  has  since 
lived,  being  engaged  in  general  farming  and  stock  raising.  He  has  four 
hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land  which  he  carefully  cultivates,  and  the  fields 
have  been  placed  under  a  high  state  of  improvement,  and  return  golden 
harvests  for  the  care  and  labor  bestowed  upon  them.  He  has  never  been 
known  to  take  advantage  of  tlie  necessities  of  his  fellowmen  in  any  trade 
transaction,  but  by  close  application  and  unfaltering  diligence  has  won  a 
gratifying  measure  of  success.  He  has  also  been  a  potent  factor  in  public 
life,  giving  his  allegiance  to  the  Democratic  party,  and  upon  that  ticket  he 
was  elected  and  ser\'ed  for  three  terms  as  supervisor,  being  first  chosen  to 
the  ofiice  in  1896.  He  belongs  to  the  Masonic  lodge  of  Coldwater  and  to 
the  Maccabees  tent.  He  has  been  a  lifelong  resident  of  Branch  county,  and 
with  the  exception  of  three  years  has  lived  continuously  in  Batavia  town- 
ship. A  worthy  representative  of  art  honored  pioneer  family,  his  worth  is 
widely  acknowledged  by  all  who  know  him  and  his  life  has  been  in  keeping 
with  the  splendid  record  made  by  his  father  and  his  grandfather.  One  can- 
not carry  his  investigations  far  into  the  history  of  the  county  without  learn- 
ing of  the  close  and  honorable  connection  of  the  Olds  family  with  the  his- 
tory of  this  section  of  the  state,  and  Mr.  Olds  like  his  ancestors  has  stood 
as  the  defender  of  its  best  interests  and  as  the  promoter  of  various  measures 
for  the  genera!  good. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


DAVID  H.  WOOD,  M.  D. 

Dr,  DavicJ  H.  Wood,  proprietor  of  the  Emergency  Hospital  of  Cold- 
water,  and  a  skilled  physician  and  surgeon,  whose  abilities  rank  him  with 
the  leading  rqjresentatives  of  the  profession  in  this  part  of  the  state,  was 
born  in  Portage  county,  Ohio,  October  29,  1845.  His  parents,  Samuel  and 
Kerene  (Osborn)  Wood,  were  both  natives  of  Maryland,  and  their  mar- 
riage was  celebrated  in  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania,  whence  they  after- 
ward removed  to  Portage  county,  Ohio.  Later  they  became  residents  of 
Hardin  county,  Ohio,  where  their  last  days  were  passed  and  throughout  his 
life  the  father  devoted  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits.  In  the  family 
were  three  sons  and  two  daughters  who  reached  years  of  maturity. 

Dr.  Wood  was  reared  upon  the  home  farm  to  the  age  of  sixteen  years 
and  after  acquiring  his  preliminary  education  in  the  country  schools  he  con- 
tinued his  studies  in  the  high  school  of  Kenton.  Ohio.  In  1861  he  came 
to  Michigan  and  at  Quincy  secured  a  position  in  the  postoffice,  where  he  re- 
mained for  two  years.  On  the  9th  of  August,  1863,  in  response  to  his 
country's  call  for  aid,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  of  Company  B,  Fourth  Michi- 
gan Infantry,  although  less  than  eighteen  years,  of  age.  Before  going  to 
the  front  he  was  detailed  to  remain  in  charge  of  the  recruiting  office 
in  Detroit,  and  in  the  summer  of  1864  the  regiment  was  recruited 
and  he  was  commissioned  second  lieutenant  Company  E,  Fourth  Michigan 
Infantry,  on  the  26th  of  July.  On  the  2d  of  December,  1865,  he  was  pro- 
moted to  the  rank  of  first  lieutenant,  and  on  the  26th  of  May,  1866,  he  was 
mustered  out  at  Houston,  Texas.  He  participated  in  the  battles  of  Decatur, 
Alabama,  Murfreesboro,  Nashville  and  otlier  engagements,  and  he  is  today 
a  member  of  C.  O.  Loomis  post,  No.  2,  G.  A.  R.,  thus  maintaining  pleasant 
relations  with  his  old  army  comrades. 

For  a  short  time  after  the  war  Dr.  Wood  was  upon  tlie  road  as  a  com- 
mercial traveler,  and  then  took  up  the  study  of  medicine  under  a  preceptor. 
Later  he  entered  the  University  of  Michigan  as  a  student  in  the  medical 
department  and  afterward  continued  his  studies  in  the  Detroit  Medical 
College,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the  class  of  1S76.  He  began  prac- 
tice at  Macon,  Michigan,  where  he  remained  for  five  years.  later  spending 
thirteen  years  in  Quincy,  while  in  1893  he  came  to  Coldwater.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Northern  Tri-State  Medical  Society  and  the  Hillsdale  County 
Medical  Association,  and  he  has  ever  kept  thoroughly  informed  concemii^ 
the  prioress  that  is  continually  being  made  in  the  methods  of  medical  and 
surgical  practice.  In  April,  1903,  he  opened  the  Emergency  Hospital, 
wherein  he  has  since  performed  many  important  surgical  operations,  having 
well  appointed  operating  rooms  and  all  equipments  necessary  for  the  suc- 
cessful care  of  the  interests  entrusted  to  him. 

Dr.  Wood  has  been  married  twice.  In  1870  he  wedded  Miss  Mary 
Keegan;  who  died  in  1885,  leaving  a  son,  Charles  L.,  whose  death  occurred 
at  the  age  of  twenty-eight  years.  In  1887  Dr.  Wood  wedded  Mrs.  Mar- 
garet Knowlton,  nee  Welton.  They  hold  membership  in  the  Presbyterian 
church  and  Dr.  Wood  is  also  a  Knight  Templar  Mason.     His  political  sup- 


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692  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

port  is  given  to  the  Republican  party  and  he  is  a  member  of  the  board  of 
education  of  CoMwater,  while  for  twenty  years  he  has  been  a  member  of 
the  pension  board,  and  since  1890  has  been  local  surgeon  for  the  I^ke  Shore 
&  Michigan  Southern  Railway.  His  interests,  however,  center  in  his  pro- 
fession, and  his  close  and  discriminating  .study  and  his  devotion  to  the  duties 
which  devolve  upon  him  have  made  him  a  most  capable  practitioner — one 
whose  abilities  find  ready  recognition  in  the  liberal  patronage  accorded  him. 

CHARLES  H.  YOUNG. 

Charles  H.  Young,  owner  and  editor  of  the  Quincy  News,  was  born  in 
Mount  Jefferson,  Shelby  county,  Ohio,  in  1858.  He  is  of  German  lineage. 
His  paternal  grandfather,  William  Young,  was  a  native  of  Holland,  who 
came  to  this  country  about  1752  and  settled  in  New  Jersey.  His  father, 
Henry  D.  Young,  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  emigrated  from  that  state  to  Ohio 
in  1836,  establishing  his  home  near  Cincinnati.  In  early  life  he  learned  and 
followed  the  cabinet  maker's  trade  and  later  he  conducted  a  furniture  and 
undertaking  business  in  Cincinnati.  About  1S45  he  removed  to  Shelby 
county,  Ohio,  where  he  carried  on  the  same  line  of  business.  In  1867  he 
came  to  Michigan,  locating  in  Qtiincy,  where  for  more  than  twenty  years 
he  was  connected  with  mercantile  interests  here  as  a  furniture  dealer  and 
undertaker.  He  retired  from  business  in  1889  and  is  now  living  in  well 
earned  ease,  enjoying  the  fruits  of  his  former  labor.  He  is  a  Mason,  in- 
terested in  the  craft  and  its  teachings,  while  politically  he  is  a  Republican, 
and  upon  the  ticket  of  the  party  has  been  elected  village  treasurer  and  trustee. 
He  has  likewise  held  other  iocal  offices  and  has  been  found  as  reliable  and 
trustworthy  in  public  positions  as  in  his  business  career,  wherein  he  is 
known  as  the  soul  of  integrity  and  bfraior.  He  married  Eliza  A.  Blackwood, 
a  native  of  Shelby  county,  Ohio,  who  is  now  living  at  the  age  of  eighty-three 
years.  Her  parents  were  William  and  Anna  (Kendall)  Blackwood,  who 
removed  from  Pennsylvania  to  Ohio  about  1810,  the  father  there  follow- 
ing the  occupation  of  farming.  In  his  family  were  seven  children,  of  whom 
Mrs.  Young  is  the  sixth  in  order  of  birth.  She  is  a  devoted  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  By  her  marriage  she  became  the  mother  of  three  chil- 
dren: Margaret,  the  wife  of  James  Haynes,  who  is  living  retired  in  Quincy; 
Charles  H.;  and  Anna,  now  deceased. 

Charles  H.  Young  was  brought  to  Branch  county  in  his  early  child- 
hood and  was  a  student  in  the  public  schools  of  Quincy.  After  putting 
aside  his  text  books  he  became  associated  with  his  father  in  the  furniture 
business,  in  which  he  continued  for  a  number  of  years,  and  later  he  traveled 
for  a  furniture  house  for  seven  years.  In  1889  he  began  the  publication  of 
the  Quincy  News,  a  non-partisan  paper  issued  twice  each  week  in 
seven  column  folio  form.  It  has  a  splendid  subscription  list  and  a  gen- 
erous advertising  patronage,  so  that  the  business  has  proved  profitable.  Mr. 
Young  has  been  editor  and  proprietor  since  its  inception,  and  is  meeting  in 
fair  measure  the  success  that  is  due  his  efforts  and  enterprise. 

In  1881  Mr.  Young  was  married  to  Miss  Cornelia  Clark,  a  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Sarah  (Thomas)  Clark  and  a  native  of  Quincy,  born  in  186;. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCFI  COUNTY  6!>3 

Her  father  was  a  hotel  man,  who  built  aiid  conducted  the  Qiiincy  House. 
Both  he  and  his  wife  were  natives  of  New  York  and  he  died  in  1884,  but 
Mrs,  Clark  is  still  living.  They  were  the  parents  of  five  children,  but  only 
Mrs.  Young  now  survives.  She  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church  and 
by  her  marriage  has  become  the  motlier  of  three  children :  Lee  J.,  Flosana 
and  Harry  T. 

.  :  Mr.  Young  belongs  to  the  Knights  of  Pythias  fraternity,  being  a  charter 
member  of  Quincy  Lodge,  No.  201.  He  has  always  endorsed  Republican 
principles  and  has  served  as  village  clerk,  as  treasurer,  trustee  and  in  other 
local  offices.  His  interest  in  public  affairs  is  deep  and  sincere,  and  he  is 
known  as  a  champion  of  every  measure  which  tends  to  promote  the  general 
welfare.  He  has  followed  enterprising  methods  in  journalism  and  has 
made  the  Quincy  News  a  credit  to  the  city. 

ABRAM  L.  SMITH. 

Among  the  earliest  pioneers  of  Branch  county  there  were  some  noble 
men  and  women  who,  coming  from  the  eastern  states  to  the  then  unknown 
forests  of  the  middle  west,  braved  all  of  the  hardships  and  privations  of 
pioneer  life,  reared  large  families  of  children  and  made  for  themselves  com- 
fortable homes.  These  men  and  women  possessed  character  and  untiring 
perseverance  and  they  were  the  ones  who  in  a  large  measure  moulded  affairs 
in  general,  as  well  as  establishing  a  high  moral  tone  which  remains  to  this 
day. 

Such  were  Benjamin  H.  Smith  and  his  wife.  Content  Aldrich  Smith, 
parents  of  our  subject,  Mr.  Abram  L.  Smith,  who  came  to  Branch  county 
in  their  early  manhood  and  womanhood  and  passed  the  remainder  of  their 
lives  here,  achieving  success  in  all  walks  by  reason  of  their  many  sterling 
traits  of  mind  and  character. 

Benjamin  H.  Smith  was  the  son  of  Benjamin  L.  Smith,  who  was  born 
in  New  York  state,  September  24,  1729,  and  it  will  thus  be  seen  that  he  was 
a  man  of  middle  age  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  He  took 
an  active  part  in  this  conflict  and  had  the  honor  of  being  with  America's  first 
naval  commander,  Paul  Jones,  when  the  lattei"  first  raised  the  flag  of  the 
United  States  on  the  high  seas,  thus  marking  the  establishment  of  the  navy 
of  this  country.  Benjamin  L.  Smith  was  a  doughty  warrior  in  times  of 
peace  as  well  as  war,  for  during  a  goodly  share  of  his  life  he  was  noted  all 
through  the  colonies  for  his  skill  in  the  manly  art  of  self-defense.  It  is  related 
of  him  that  one  day  as  he  and  his  family  were  sitting  down  to  the  midday 
meal  a  slranger  appeared  and  announced  that  he  had  walked  a  distance  of  one 
hundred  miles  for  the  purpose  of  trying  conclusions  with  Mr.  Smith,  to  see 
which  was  the  better  man.  The  stranger  expressed  a  willingness  to  await 
the  conclusion  of  the  meal,  but  Mr.  Smith  thought  the  matter  might  better 
be  settled  without  delay,  so,  arising  from  the  table,  he  led  the  way  outdoors, 
and  in  the  ensuing  conflict  knocked  the  stranger  down  three  times  in  suc- 
cession, and  this,  too,  without  receiving  any  injuries  himself.  The  stranger 
expressed  his  satisfaction,  shook  hands  and  was  then  invited  in  to  dinner, 
of  which  he  partook  with  relish  before  resuming  his  return  trip  of  one  hundred 


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694  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

miles  home  agnin.  Benjamin  L.  Smith  came  to  Michigan  in  a  later  day 
and  lived  to  the  remarkable  age  of  one  hundred  and  thirteen  years  and  six 
months,  dying-  on  the  Smith  farm,  now  owned  by  our  subject,  March  24, 
1843,  ^n*^  being  buried  in  the  little  cemetery  of  West  Prairie  near  the  home 
farm. 

Our  subject's  father,  Benjamin  H.  Smith,  was  born  in  New  Jersey, 
April  14,  1798,  and  he  removed  to  Walworth,  Wayne  county,  New  York, 
with  his  parents  when  he  was  a  mere  boy.  Here  he  grew  to  manhood  and 
here  he  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter  and  joiner,  which  was  to  be  of  great 
i]se  to  him  in  the  new  country  to  which  he  afterward  removed.  In  Walworth 
he  was  married,  February  22,  1827,  to  Content  Aldrich,  who  proved  a  most 
capable  helpmeet  during-  their  long  wedded  life.  A  few  years  after  their 
marriage,  in  1830,  they  came  to  Michigan,  locating  first  at  Ypsilanti,  where 
Mr.  Smith  worked  at  his  trade  for  several  years,  and  afterward  he  spent 
several  months  at  Battle  Creek  and  Grand  Rapids.  He  purchased  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres  of  land  near  Battle  Creek,  but  being  unable  to  obtain 
additional  adjoining  acreage  so  as  to  make  him  a  suitable  homestead,  he 
sold  his  land  and  came  to  Branch  county  and  Girard,  When  at  Grand  Rapids 
that  place  was  a  mere  Indian  trading  post,  but  he  felt  that  it  might  some  day 
become  an  important  point,  and  he  endeavored  to  interest  his  partners  in  the 
purchase  of  land  upon  which  Grand  Rapids  city  now  stands,  but  was  unsuc- 
cessful. He  first  came  to  Branch  county  and  purchased  property  in  1S32, 
and  with  others  located  and  built  the  first  saw  and  grist  mill  at  Hodunk. 
He  also  erected  the  first  frame  house  in  Coldwater  and  was  interested  in 
various  enterprises,  including  the  purchase  of  about  one  thousand  acres  of 
land  in  various  parts  of  the  state,  in  the  most  cases  making  his  purchases 
direct  from  the  government.  One  of  these  purchases  was  a  tract  of  three 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  in  Girard  township,  which  he  reserved  as  a  home- 
stead for  his  family,  and  this  identical  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  issued 
by  grant  of  President  Andrew  Jackson,  still  remains  in  possession  of  the 
Smith  family,  it  now  being  the  home  of  our  subject.  In  later  years  he  was 
largely  interested  in  other  real  estate  deals  and  was  largely  instrumental  in 
the  upbuilding  and  development  of  this  county. 

Although  in  early  years  a  stanch  Democrat,  nevertheless,  in  i860,  he 
became  convinced  of  the  correctness  of  the  principles  advocated  by  the  Re- 
publican party,  and  cast  his  first  Republican  vote  for  Lincoln  for  president, 
remaining  loyal  to  that  party  until  his  death.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  were 
loyal  and  consiste^it  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  imme- 
diately after  the  formation  of  the  Girard  Methodist  Episcopal  society  Mr. 
Smith  placed  his  own  home  at  the  disposal  of  the  pastors  for  a  number  of 
years,  and  here  they  lived  and  were  made  comfortable.  After  a  long  and 
useful  life,  Benjamin  H.  Smith  died  in  Girard,  September  22,  1S79,  his  wife 
passing  away  here  April  9,  1882. 

Our  subject's  mother.  Content  Aldrich  Smith,  was  born  in  New  York 
state  in  1807.  Her  father  was  Abrara  Aldrich,  who  was  bom  in  Wayne 
county,  New  York,  December  3,  1777,  and  who  died  in  Girard  April  8,  1842, 
and  her  mother  was  Sophronia  Lake,  who  was  born  August  7,  1777,  and 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  Gdo 

who  died  in  Girard.  December  30,  1837.  They,  too,  were  among  the  earhest 
pioneers  of  this  section,  and  elsewhere  in  this  volume  may  be  found  appro- 
priate mention  of  their  hves  and  achievements. 

The  union  of  Benjamin  H.  Smith  and  Content  Aklrich  Smith  was  blessed 
with  the  birth  of  seven  children,  as  follows:  Laura  Ann  Smith  Jacoby,  born 
January  19,  1828,  died  in  1881.  Mahlon  A.  Smith,  born  June  24,  1830,  died 
July  :8.  1892.  Sophronia  Smith  Williams,  born  June  i8>  1833,  died  in 
February,  1905.  Benjamin  H.  Smith,  Jr..  born  October  30,  1835,  died  in 
1880.  Abram  L.  Smith  is  our  subject.  Irene  Smith  Clizbe,  born  May  30, 
1841,  died  in  June,  1905.  Mark  H.  Smith,  the  youngest  child,  born  June 
15,  1844.  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  young-  menof  the  period  in  this  sec- 
tion. He  left  school  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war.  when  a  mere  boy, 
and  enlisted  in  the  Nineteenth  Michigan  Infantry,  serving  with  distinction 
and  succumbing  to  the  hardships  of  camp  life,  his  death  taking  place  at  Dan- 
ville, Kentucky,  in  September,  1863,  when  he  was  only  eighteen  years  of 
age.    He  was  buried  here. 

Of  this  family  it  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  only  surviving  member  is 
our  subject.  Mr.  Abram  L.  Smith,  who  was  born  in  Girard  township,  October 
21,  1S38.  His  entire  life,  with  the  exception  of  the  years  passed  at  college, 
has  been  spent  in  Branch  county  and  Girard,  and  here  he  is  known  as  a  man 
of  property  and  influence.  His  boyhood  was  silent  upon  the  home  farm  and 
here  he  early  learned  those  habits  of  industry  and  carefulness  which  were 
to  bring  him  success  in  after  life.  Being  early  convinced  that  a  young  man 
should  secure  a  liberal  education,  he  finished  the  common  schools  and  studied 
for  three  years  at  Albion  College,  then  taking  a  commercial  course  at  a  col- 
lege in  Rochester,  New  York.  Mr.  Smith  has  supplemented  this  liberal 
training  with  a  wide  range  of  miscellaneous  reading,  it  being  his  belief  that 
a  broadly  developed  man  should  keep  thoroughly  posted  on  all  current  events 
as  well  as  the  advancement  constantly  being  made  along  scientific  and  other 
lines  of  thought  and  research.  During  the  life  of  his  parents  he  remained 
with  them,  and  previous  to  the  death  of  his  brother,  Benjamin  H.  Smith,  in 
1880,  the  homestead  and  other  property  was  held  in  common,  but  after  the 
date  named  there  was  a  division  of  the  property  and  the  fine  old  homestead 
came  into  the  possession  of  our  subject.  This,  as  previously  stated,  consists 
of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  although  Mr.  Smith  owns  ninety  acres 
in  addition,  and  it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  homestead  has  remained  in 
constant  possession  of  the  Smith  family  ever  since  purchased  from  the  gov- 
ernment. Smithland  Farm,  as  it  is  appropriately  called,  lies  two  miles  west 
of  Girard  Center,  consists  of  the  finest  prairie  land  and  is  classed  as  the  finest 
model  farm,  residence  property  in  Branch  county.  The  residence  itself  is  a 
handsome  brick  striicture,  built  in  1873-4.  thoroughly  modern  in  all  appoint- 
ments and  surrounded  by  beautiful  and  well-kept  grounds,  while  the  other 
buildings  upon  the  place  are  thoroughly  in  keeping,  being  commodious  and 
well  built,  the  whole  premises  showing  that  thrift  and  care  common  in  the 
city,  but  rarely  seen  in  the  rural  districts.  The  home  is  adorned  with  beautiful 
oil  paintings,  Mrs.  Smith's  own  handiwork.  Mr.  Smith  gives  his  personal 
attention  to  the  operation  of  his  four  hundred  and  ten  acres  of  land  and  the 


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696  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

place  is  equipped  with  all  necessary  modern  machinery  for  successful  oper- 
ation. 

During  the  past  thirty-five  years  Mr,  Smith  has  given  a  goodly  share  o£ 
his  attention  to  the  breeding  of  light  harness  horses,  and  in  this  direction 
he  has  done  a  great  deal  in  the  way  of  bettering  the  equine  stock  of  this  and 
neighixDring  counties.  Beginning  with  the  Morgan  breed  he  has  successively 
owned  and  bred  the  best  strains  of  Hambletonian,  Wilkes  and  Pilot  Mediums, 
among  his  present  stock  being  the  following :  Pilotina,  a  brood  mare  by  Pilot 
Medium,  is  the  dam  of  Sphinx  Medium,  2:12;  Sphinxie,  2:15^^;  Great 
Medium,  3:19^;  and  Online  (by  Online,  2:04.),  who  showed  an  eight  in 
sixteen  seconds  when  less  than  three  years  old.  Snip,  another  brood  mare 
by  Magna  Charta,  is  the  dam  of  Oliver  West,  2:1714;  Irony,  2:20^;  and 
Geraldine,  2:2oj4-  Mr.  Smith's  stallions  include  Great  Medium,  2:1914,  by 
Great  Heart ;  Online  Medium,  a  3-year-old,  by  Online,  2  :o4 ;  and  Nobby,  a 
two-year-oid,  by  Delacy,  by  Prodigal,  and  whose  dam  is  Pilotina. 

Mr.  Smith  is  a  loyal  Republican,  his  first  presidential  vote  being  cast 
for  Lincoln,  and  he  stands  high  in  the  councils  of  his  party.  Although  never 
a  seeker  after  office,  and  in  fact  avoiding  holding  office  except  when  a  matter 
of  duty,  nevertheless  he  has  been  prevailed  upon  several  times  to  serve  his 
fellow-townsmen.  He  has  been  justice  of  the  peace  for  the  past  twenty  years, 
and  is  at  present  filling  that  office.  He  has  also  been  director  of  his  school 
district  for  ten  years  and  has  been  chairman  of  the  Republican  township  com- 
mittee and  a  member  of  the  cuimty  Republican  committee  for  many  years. 
He  was  a  charter  member  of  Girard  Grange,  secretary  of  the  same  during 
the  first  seven  years,  and  has  been  master  of  the  society  a  goodly  portion  of 
the  time,  a  position  he  still  holds.  He  has  been  master  of  Branch  County 
Pomona  Grange  for  six  years  and  he  is  the  president  of  the  Branch  County 
Farmers'  Institute  Society,  holding  this  position  for  several  years.  From 
tlie  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that  Mr.  Smith  has  for  many  years  taken  a  deep 
interest  in  agricuhural  affairs  and  in  the  many  organizations  beneficial  to  the 
farmer. 

Our  subject  was  united  in  marriage  February  26,  1889,  to  Miss  Evelyn 
Paddock,  who  was  born  in  Girard,  December  19,  :85o.  She  is  the  daughter 
of  Ephraim  J.  Paddock  and  Almira  Fox  Paddock,  two  of  Girard  township's 
honored  pioneers,  and  mention  of  whom  is  made  in  this  work.  The  union  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  has  been  a  particularly  happy  one  and  has  been  blessed 
with  the  birth  of  one  daughter,  E.  Myra  Smith,  and  it  is  but  natural  that 
their  affections  and  hopes  should  be  centered  upon  their  only  child  who  is 
being  reared  carefully  and  judiciously  and  being  given  every  advantage  in 
the  way  of  education  and  accomplishments. 

Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  of  which  organization  Mr.  Smith,  like  his  father  before  him,  has  long 
been  an  officer.  He  has  also  been  greatly  interested  in  the  work  of  the 
Sunday-school  and  has  always  been  an  earnest  worker  in  all  movements  for 
the  welfare  and  happiness  of  the  rising  generation.  That  his  life  thus  far  has 
been  a  highly  successful  one  in  many  fields  is  evidenced  by  his  surroundings, 
by  the  high  standing  he  holds  in  the  community  and  county,  and  by  the  fact 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  6'J7 

tliat  he  is  sustaining  and  upholding  that  best  of  all  heritages,  a  good  name, 
which  his  worthy  ancestors  established  here  when  this  section  was  first  set- 
tled. 

WILSON  S.  PAUL. 

One  of  the  most  familiar  names  in  southern  Branch  county,  and  par- 
ticularly in  California  township,  is  that  of  Paul.  Members  of  the  Paul 
family  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  this  section,  where  they  had  an  im- 
portant influence  upon  the  early  history,  improvement  and  development  o£ 
the  township,  while  today  their  descendants  are  numerous  in  this  and  ad- 
joining townships,  where  they  are  people  of  property  and  influence. 

John  Paul,  the  paternal  grandfather  of  our  subject,  was  born  in  Bal- 
lybar,  county  Cavin,  Ireland,  in  1780,  and  when  seventeen  years  old  came 
to  America  with  two  sisters,  Margaret  and  Nan<^,  they  also  leaving  a 
brother,  Thomas,  and  sister,  Jane,  in  Ireland.  John  Paul  was  married  in 
1803  to  Jane  Allen,  also  a  native  of  Ireland,  born  in  x/So,  who  came  to 
America  when  a  child  with  her  parents,  John  Allen  and  Elizabeth  Riddle 
Allen,  they  locating  first  in  Philadelphia  and  afterward  removing  to  Argyle, 
Washington  county.  New  York.  Here  John  Paul  died,  leaving  his  wife  a 
widow  at  forty-nine  and  with  ten  children.  Seven  years  after  his  death 
she  removed  to  Pembroke,  New  York,  and  afterward  to  York.  That  Jane 
Allen  Paul  was  a  woman  of  undaunted  courage  is  evidenced  by  the  fact 
that  about  the  year  1840  she  made  the  trip  from  Pembroke,  New  York,  to 
Constantine,  Michigan,  going  on  foot  from  Detroit  to  Constantine  and  re- 
turn, following  Indian  trails  through  southern  MichigarL  The  object  of 
this  arduous  journey  was  to  secure  justice  and  money  belonging  to  herself 
and  children  which  was  in  danger  of  being  lost  through  confidence  in  others. 
She  was  married  again  in  1849  ^°  David  Armstrong,  and  spent  her  later 
years  in  California  township,  where  she  died  in  1859.  Mr.  Armstrong  died 
in  Illinois  in  1890. 

John  and  Jane  Paul  had  twelve  children,  of  which  family  our  subject's 
father,  David  Paul,  was  a  younger  member.  David  Paul  was  boni  in  Ar- 
gyle, New  York,  April  16,  1819,  and  he  grew  to  manhood  there.  He  was 
also  married  there,  March  11,  1841,  to  Jane  K  Hall,  a  native  of  Argj'le, 
New  York,  where  she  was  born  August  31,  1822,  she  being  the  daughter 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Hall.  David  Paul  was  a  resident  of  New  York  state 
until  1844,  when  he  came  to  Michigan,  locating  on  section  sixteen,  Cali- 
fornia township,  of  this  county,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life. 
He  had  in  early  life  learned  the  trade  of  carpentering,  although  the  most 
of  his  time  was  given  to  farming,  in  which  he  was  eminently  successful,  he 
being  at  the  time  of  his  death  the  largest  land  owner  in  the  township,  pos- 
sessing nearly  six  hundred  acres.  Mr.  Paul  was  a  leading  figure  in  the  early 
history  of  California  township  and  he  did  much  in  the  way  of  improvement 
here.  He  was  upon  many  occasions  called  to  public  office,  he  being  an  early 
township  supervisor  here  and  holding  other  offices. 

Unto  David  and  Jane  Paul  twelve  children  were  bom,  two  of  whom 
died  in  infancy,  the  others  being  as  follows:    John,  died  in  October,  1901; 


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698  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Elizabeth  Quimby,  lives  in  0\'id;  James  B.,  lives  in  this  towns.h)p;  David 
.  and  Albert  live  at  Seattle,  Washington;  George  W.  died  September  i6,  1902; 
Wilson  S.  is  the  subject  of  this  review;  Frank  H.  is  in  Seattle,  Washing- 
ton; Emma  J.  Vance  and  Allen  W.  Paul  live  in  this  township.  David  Paul 
and  his  wife  were  people  who  stood  very  high  in  the  regard  of  the  residentsi 
of  this  section,  where  the  greater  part  of- their  lives  were  passed.  They  reared 
a  large  family  of  children,  giving  them  every  advantage  possible.  The  par- 
ents led  Jong  and  useful  Hves,  Mr.  Paul  dying  here  November  20,  1891,  and 
Mrs.  Paul  passing  away  December  13,  1903. 

Wilson  S.  Paul,  born  February  22,  i860,  grew  to  manhood  upon  the 
home  farm,  securing  in  the  meantime  a  good  practical  education,  which  he 
has  supplemented  with  wide  reading  and  intelligent  observation.  He  lived 
at  home  until  he  had  reached  the  age  of  twenty-three  years,  although  he 
worked  for  himself  after  he  was  nineteen,  laboring  and  working  land  on 
shares.  He  also  taught  school  in  1881-82.  He  was  married,  April  10,  1883, 
to  Sarah  J.  Vance,  a  native  of  Maryland,  where  she  was  bom  August  21, 
1862.  The  Vance  family  came  originally  from  Ireland  and  a  brief  reviewi 
is  as  follows:  The  Vances  were  farmers  in  their  native  county  in  Ireland 
for  many  generations,  Mrs.  Paul's  paternal  great-grandfather  being  John 
Vance,  who  married  Mary  Allison.  One  of  their  sons,  Robert  Vance,  was 
Mrs.  Paul's  grandfather  and  his  wife  was  Mary  Ramsey.  They  had  twelve 
children,  one  of  wrhom  was  Mrs.  Paul's  father,  Alexander  Vance.  Alex- 
ander Vance  was  born  in  Ireland,  November  28,  1833,  and  he  was  married 
there  in  1852  to  Mary  Barnhill.  They  came  to  America  soon  after  mar- 
riage. Jiving  in  Brooklyn,  New  York,  for  three  years  and  then  removuig 
to  the  vicinity  of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  where  they  lived  for  ten  years  and 
where  Mrs.  Paul  was  born.  In  1864  the  family  came  to  Michigan,  locating 
in  California  township.  Branch  county,  which  place  hasi  since  heea  their 
home.  Ten  children  were  bom  unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Vance:  Robert,  Alex- 
ander, Martha  and  Hugh  dying  in  childhood.  The  others  still  living  are: 
Ellen  Dunlap,  Sarah  Paul,  Matthew  Vance  and  Andrew  B.  Vance,  of  this 
tovmship;  WilJiam  Vance,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio;  and  Anna  McLouth,  of 
Fremont,  Indiana.  Mrs.  Vance  died  in  September,  1888,  while  Mr.  Vance 
is  stil!  living  and  a  resident  of  thi&  township. 

The  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  S.  Paul  has  been  blessed  with  the  birth 
of  two  sons:  David  Earl  Paul,  born  February  9,  1884,  and  Ivan  A.  Paul, 
born  July  8,  1888.  Both  live  at  home  with  their  parents.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Paul  are  members  of  the  United  Presbyterian  churdi. 

The  esteem  in  which  Mr.  Paul  is  held  by  his  townsmen  is  shown  in  that 
he  has  so  many  times  been  called  to  public  ofHce.  He  was  supervisor  of 
California  township  four  years,  1896-97-98-99;  township  clerk  in  1884-85; 
township  treasurer  two  terms  and  school  inspector  for  several  terms.  In  ad- 
dition his  well  known  interest  in  educational  affairs  has  led  to  his  selection 
as  school  officer,  he  being  director  and  moderator  for  a  period  of  eight  years. 

In  agricultural  matters  he  has  also  been  highly  successful.  He  became 
an  owner  of  real  estate  after  the  deatli  of  his  father  and  now  has  a  fine  fami 
of  one  hundred  and  forty  acres  on  sections  nine  and  ten,  with  excellent  build- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  699 

ings  and  complete  equipment,  the  whole  forming  a  model  farm  home.  The 
Pauls  have  long  been  honored  residents  of  this  part  of  the  county,  and  the 
present  living  generations  are  upholding  the  unsullied  name  of  tlieir  worthy 
ancestors.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson  S.  Paul  have  in  their  possession  a  parch- 
ment deed  executed  by  President  James  K.  Polk,  dated  Fdiruary  i,  1849. 
This  is  the  twelfth  one  of  the  kind  found  in  old  Branch  county.  They  have 
four  old  almanacs  of  1812,  1813,  1811  and  1815,  which  are  souvenirs.'  Also 
they  have  one  of  the  old  f3ax  hackles  which  was  used  by  his  grandfather,  and 
it  is  over  a  hundred  years  old.  Mr.  Paul  can  also  distinctly  recall  his  mother 
spinning  the  yam  for  the  use  of  a  family  of  twelve,  while  his  first  straw  hats 
were  woven  or  braided  by  his  mother  and  oldest  sister.  He  has  often  heard 
his  father  tell  of  cultivating  corn  with  the  same  plow  he  used  in  first  plow- 
ing the  ground,  afterward  using  a  one,  or  single  shovel  plow,  but  never  used 
one  with  two  shovels^  though  his  sons  used  them  as  they  became  old  enough 
to  work  in  the  corn. 

Mr.  Paul  was  converted  at  twenty  years  of  age  and  became  a  member 
of  the  United  Presbyterian  church  immediately.  He  began  teaching  in  the 
Sabbath  school  when  twenty-one  years  old,  and  has  taught  most  of  the  time 
since,  having  also  been  superintendent  for  fifteen  years.  He  has  been  iden- 
tified with  the  First  District  Convention  work  for  eighteen  years,  being 
president  two  years,  and  taking  an  active  part  in  its  conventions.  He  was 
elected  to  an  eldership  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-four,  and  has  been  clerk 
of  session  all  the  time  since,  a  period  of  twenty-two  years. 

HENRY  RUNYAN. 

Henry  Runyan,  mail  carrier  on  a  rural  route  and  a  well  known  resident 
of  Sherwood,  \vas  born  in  Beonson  township,  Branch  county,  on  the  ist  of 
May.  1846.  His  father,  John  Runyan,  was  a  native  of  New  York,  and  came 
to  Branch  county  about  1837,  settling  in  Bronson  township,  where  he  took 
up  land  from  the  government.  The  fact  that  much  of  the  land  was  still  un- 
claimed is  an  indication  of  the  pioneer  conditions  which  then  existed.  Com- 
paratively few  settlements  had  been  made  within  the  borders  of  the  county 
and  the  work  of  development  lay  largely  in  the  future.  With  other  sturdy 
pioneers,  however,  he  attempted  the  arduous  task  of  reclaiming  the  wild  land 
for  the  uses  of  civilization  and  successfully  accomplished  what  he  undertook. 
He  was  of  Stotch  and  Dutch  lineage.  In  his  later  years  he  retired  from 
active  business  life  and  removed  to  Burr  Oak.  St.  Joseph  county.  He  mar- 
ried Christina  Dowe.  a  native  of  New  York,  who  lived  to  be  about  sixty- 
eight  years  of  age.  They  were  the  parents  of  five  children,  three  daugh- 
ters and  two  sons,  and  Henry  Runyan  is  the  third  child  and  second  son. 

The  subject  of  this  review  w'as  reared  and  educated  at  Burr  Oak,  ac- 
quiring a  good  education  in  the  city  schools.  In  his  youth  his  patriotic  spirit 
was  aroused  by  the  attempt  of  the  south  to  overthrow  the  Union,  and  in 
1864,  when  but  eighteen  years  of  age.  he  enlisted  as  a  member  of  Company 
D,  First  Michigan  Light  Artillery,  with  which  he  served  until  the  close  of 
the  war.  He  participated  in  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro  and  Hood's  Raid, 
and  was  on  active  duty  most  of  the  time  until  honorably  discharged  on  the  3rd 


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700  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

of  August,  1865.  When  the  country  no  longer  needed  his  services  Mr. 
Rnnyan  returned  to  Branch  county  and  later  he  spent  one  year  in  Iowa,  liv- 
ing in  Vinton,  Benton  county.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  re- 
turned to  this  county,  where  he  engaged  in  farming  until  he  took  up  his 
abode  in  Sherwood.  Here  he  turr^d  his  attention  to  painting  and  was  also 
engaged  in  the  grain  trade  for  about  fifteen  years.  He  led  a  busy,  active 
and  useful  life  and  in  all  of  his  trade  transactions  was.  known  as  a  reliable 
man.  He  was  postmaster  during  Harrison's  administration,  but  at  Oeve- 
land's  election  was  turned  out  of  office. 

On  the  22nd  of  February,  1872,  Mr.  Runyan  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Hester  Ann  Palmer,  a  daughter  of  Henry  and  Mary  (Piatt)  Palmer, 
who  came  to  Branch  county  in  1842,  locating  in  Matteson  township.  It 
was  there  that  Mrs.  Runyan  was  born  on  the  3rd  of  November,  1857.  She 
is  a  sister  of  E.  E.  Palmer  and  in  connection  with  his  sketch  on  another  page 
of  this  work  the  historj'  of  her  family  is  given.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Runyan  have 
become  the  parents  of  two  daug'hters:  Inez,  the  wife  of  Seymour  Jones,  a 
boss  carpenter  on  the  Michigan  Central  Railroad  living  in  Jackson,  this  state ; 
and  Jennie,  the  wife  of  William  F.  Lampman,  who  is  engaged  in  the  grocery 
business   in   Sherwood 

Mr.  Runyan  has  been  a  life-long  Republican  and  has  taken  an  active 
part  in  political  work  of  his  community.  He  has  served  on  the  village  board, 
but  has  not  been  specially  active  in  seeking  office  for  himself.  He  has  fra- 
ternal relations  with  the  Masonic  Lodge,  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees  and 
Kilbourn  Post,  No.  361,  G.  A.  R.,  in  which  he  has  filled  the  office  of  adju- 
tant since  the  organization  of  the  post  with  the  execptJon  of  a  period  of  two 
years.  He  was  also  its  commander  for  two  terms.  He  is  especially  inter- 
ested in  the  work  of  the  craft  and  has  filled  many  offices  in  the  Masonic  lodge, 
while  in  his  own  life  he  exemplifies  its  teachings  concerning  mutual  helpful- 
ness and  brotherly  kindness.  He  has  now  been  on  the  rural  delivery  since 
the  route  was  established  in  1901. 

H.  R.  SAUNDERS. 

H.  R.  Saunders,  cashier  of  the  Coldwater  National  Bank,  who  through- 
out his  entire  business  career  covering  twenty-two  years  has  been  connected 
with  this  institution,  was  born  in  the  city  which  is  still  his  home,  March  27, 
1861.  His  father.  Reuben  M.  Saunders,  is  now  living  retired  in  Coldwater. 
He  was  born  in  Niagara  county,  New  York,  February  13,  1835,  and  is  de- 
scended from  Scotch-Irish  ancestry.  Tlie  great-grandfather  of  H.  R.  Saun- 
ders was  Francis  Saunders,  a  native  of  Canada.  His  son.  Nelson  H.  Saun- 
ders, was  born  in  New  York  and  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  in  1856. 
Following  the  occupation  of  farming  he  thus  provided  for  his  family  and 
for  his  own  support,  becoming  a, prosperous  agriculturist  of  his  comniunitj'. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church  and  he  died  in  Batavia  township 
■n  his  eighty-first  year.  His  wife  .bore  the  maiden  name  of  Harriet  M. 
Reynolds,  and  was  also  a  native  of  New  York,  while  her  death  occurred  in 
Batavia  township  in  her  seventy-second  year.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Reuben 
Reynolds  and  by  her  marriage  she  became  the  mother  of  three  sons  and  four 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  701 

daugliters.  Reuben  M.  Saunders  being  the  fourth  child  and  youngest  son.  He 
was  reared  and  educated  in  the  county  of  his  nativity  and  pursued  his  edu- 
cation in  the  schools  at  Niagara  Falls.  His  vouth  ^vas  passed  on  what  was 
called  the  Whirlpool  farm,  about  two  and  a  half  miles  from  the  Falls.  In 
1^55  ^^  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  where  he  was  engaged  in  farm- 
ing. He  spent  twenty-five  years  upon,  the  road  as  a  traveling  salesman,  rep- 
resenting different  lines  of  business,  and  he  is  now  living  a  retired  life,  en- 
joying his  home  in  Coldwater. 

In  1856  Reuben  M.  Saunders  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sarah  M. 
Grove,  a  daughter  of  Elijah  Grove.  Sr.  She  was  bom  in  Niagara  county, 
New  York,  and  was  brought  to  Branch  county.  Michigan,  by  her  parents 
when  about  seventeen  years  of  age.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Saunders  established  their 
home  in  Coldwater  in  1859  and  here  they  have  since  lived,  while  for  a  half 
century  they  have  been  residents  of  this  county.  A  life-long  Republican  he 
has  never  faltered  in  his  allegiance  to  the  party,  and  yet  he  has  never  sought  or 
desired  office.  He  belongs  to  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  and  is 
well  known  in  the  county,  his  genial  manner,  deference  for  the  opinionSi  of 
others,  his  kindliness  and  consideration  having  gained  for  him  the  friend- 
ship of  many  with  whom  he  has  been  associated. 

Harris  R.  Saunders,  his  only  son.  spent  his  boyhood  days  in  the  city 
of  his  nativity,  acquired  his  education  in  its  public  schools  and  gained  his 
business  ad^'ancement  through  the  opportunities  here  afforded.  He  entered 
the  employ  of  the  Coldwater  National  Bank  in  1883,  and  has  been  connected 
with  that  institution  since  that  date  in  various  capacities,  his  capability  and 
close  application  winning  him  promotion  as  opportunity  offered,  until  in  1895 
he  was  elected  cashier. 

Mr.  Saunders  was  married  in  1904  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Coombs.  He 
exercises  his  right  of  franchrse  in  support  of  the  men  and  measures  of  the 
Republican  party  and  has  ser\'ed  as  both  city  clerk  and  treasurer. 

JOHN  H.  McLANE. 

Since  1S68  John  H.  McLane  has  been  a  resident  of  Coldwater.  When 
he  came  to  this  city  he  purchased  his  present  home  at  No.  ^6  North  Hudson 
street,  and  here  he  has  since  resided  for  more  than  thirty-seven  years,  but 
only  during  the  last  ten  or  twelve  years  has  he  been  closely  associated  with 
the  events  of  the  city,  for  previously  he  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  time 
away  from  here  engaged  in  railroad  construction.  Perhaps  there  is  no  other 
contractor  in  railroad  building  living  to-day  who  has  constructed  so  many 
miles  of  railroad  as  has  Mr.  McLane.  who  was  in  that  line  of  business  actively 
and  continuously  for  a  period  of  neariy  a  lialf  century.  He  was  bom  at  Mount 
Morris,  Livingston  county.  New  York,  September  5,  1826,  his  parents  being 
James  and  Nancy  McLane,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Scotland,  in  which 
country  they  were  reared  and  married.  They  came  of  Scotch  ancestry  and 
one  son  was  born  unto  them  in  the  land  of  their  nativity,  after  which  they 
sailed  for  America  in  the  year  1825.  Landing  ir.  New  York  city,  they  made 
their  way  to  Livingston  county.  New  York,  where  they  spent  their  remaining 


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702  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

days.  They  had  three  sons,  one  younger  and  one  older  than  John  H,  Mcl-ane, 
who  is  now  the  only  survivor  of  the  family. 

John  H.  McLane  acquired  but  a  limited  education.  He  left  the  parental 
home  when  eighteen  years  of  age  and  for  one  year  worked  as  a  farm  hand, 
after  which  he  attended  a  term  of  school. .  He  then  began  his  career  as  a  rail- 
road builder.  He  was  first  employed  as  a  grain  buyer  for  a  railroad  con- 
struction company  then  building  the  Erie  railroad  in  New  York,  and  at  that 
time  he  was  not  twenty  years  of  age.  He  remained  for  two  years  in  that 
employ  and  during  that  period  was  called  upon  to  perform  various  duties  for 
the  company,  thus  gaining  a  broad  experience  that  enabled  him  when  a  young 
man  of  scarcely  twenty-two  years  to  build,  as  a  contractor,  a  wall  three  miles 
long  protecting  the  Erie  Railroad  along  the  Canesteo  river.  That  was  his 
first  contract  work.  Subsequently  he  worked  for  others  and  for  himself  and 
soon  gained  a  reputation  that  made  possible  the  remarkable  success  with  which 
his  career  as  a  railroad  builder  was  attended.  In  many  states,  east,  west,  north 
and  vSouth,  he  has  built  miles  and  miles  of  railroad,  constructing  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  of  the  Nickle  Plate  road  from  Chicago  eastward,  which  was 
perhaps  his  largest  contract.  Having  achieved  financial  success  in  that  busi- 
ness and  accumulated  a  goodly  estate  he  decided  to  return  to  his  early  home 
in  Coldwater  and  retire  from  business.  His  success  is  certainly  notable  when 
we  take  into  consideration  that  he  started  out  in  life  for  himself  with  no 
other  capital  than  willing  hands  and  a  worthy  ambition.  He  acquainted  him- 
self thoroughly  with  the  great  principles  which  underlie  mechanical  and  civil 
engineering  and  his  ability  as  a  raih-oad  builder  brought  him  very  gratifying 
prosperity.  Born  and  reared  upon  a  farm,  he  has  always,  been  interested  in 
agricultural  life  and  since  his  retirement  from  the  field  of  railroad  construction 
he  has  become  the  owner  of  three  large  and  valuable  farms  in  Branch  county, 
giving  much  of  his  time  and  attention  to  their  management. 

Mr.  McLane  was  married  in  Mount  Morris,  New  York,  on  the  8th  of 
January,  1849,  to  Miss  Frances  E.  Scott.  She  was  born  in  Chemung  county. 
New  York,  August  24,  1827,  and  has  shared  his  sorrows  and  joys  as  a  faith- 
ful wife  for  more  than  forty-six  years.  She  is  possessed  of  sterling  qualities 
of  heart  and  mind  and  is  a  zealous  Christian,  holding  membership  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  until  her  health  failed  her  recently  she  was 
an  ardent  worker  in  various  departments  of  church  activity.  Because  of  the 
absence  of  her  husband  during  much  of  the  time  in  the  early  years  of  their 
married  life  the  duty  of  rearing  their  three  children  largely  devolved  upon 
her  and  to  her  they  acknowledge  much  gratitude  for  her  loving  care  and 
attention.     They  have  two  sons,  Winfield  and  Scott,  and  a  daughter,  Jennie. 

Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McLane  attend  the  Methodist  church,  and  many  years 
ago  he  was  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  in  New  York,  but  never  trans- 
ferred his  membership  to  the  local  lodge  of  Coldwater.  He  has  always  sup- 
ported the  men  and  measures  of  the  Democratic  party,  but  has  had  no  political 
aspiration  foi'  himself.  He  is  a  man  of  quick  discernment,  a  ready  thinker 
and  possessed  of  deep  convictions.  He  holds  friendship  inviolable,  and  be- 
cause of  his  loyalty  he  is  greatly  appreciated  by  those  who  come  within  the 
inner  circle  of  his  acquaintance. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  703 

CHARLES  J.  HARRIS. 

Charles  J.  Harris,  of  the  undertaking  firm  of  C.  J.  Harris  &  Company, 
has  been  engaged  in  business  in  Coldwater  for  twenty-one  years  and  is  well 
known  as  a  representative  citizen  here.  His  birth  occurred  in  Ann  Arbor, 
Michigan,  February  4.  1862,  bis  parents  being  John  and  Mary  (Lawler) 
Harris,  who  were  natives  of  New  York  and  were  married  in  that  state, 
whence  they  came  to  Michigan  in  the  early  '40s.  They  settled  in  Ann 
Arbor,  then  a  small  unimportant  to\vn,  continuing  their  residence  there  until 
1873.  when  they  took  up  their  abode  in  the  city  of  Detroit.  The  mother's 
death  occurred  in  Detroit,  in  1889,  when  she  was  sixty-three  years  of  age 
and  the  father  departed  this  life  in  igcx^,  when  sixty-four  years  of  age. 
He  was  a  carriage-maker  by  trade,  and  for  many  years  was  identified  with 
the  industrial  development  of  the  cities  in  which  he  made  his  home.  Unto 
him  and  his  wife  were  bom  seven  sons  and  six  daughters. 

Charles  J.  Harris  w^as  a  youth  of  eleven  years  when  his  parents  removed 
to  the  city  of  Detroit,  and  there  he  was  reared  to  manhood  and  attended 
school.  He  was  also  in  his  early  boyhood  days  a  student  in  the  public 
schools  of  Ann  Arbor,  and  when  his  education  was  completed  he  began 
learning  the  trade  of  upholstering,  serving  an  apprenticeship  of  three  and  a 
half  years.  In  1884  he  came  to  Coldwater  to  accept  employment  with  the 
furniture  firm  of  Blodgett  &  Son.  with  whom  he  remained  for  fifteen  years. 
In  the  meantime  be  took  up  the  study  of  vmdertaking  and  embalming,  and 
at  Lansing  he  attended  the  William  F.  Hoenschue  School  of  Embalming, 
from  which  he  obtained  a  certificate  in  1891.  He  is  one  of  the  original 
advocates  of  a  law  for  licensing  embalmers  in  Michigan,  and  was  the  first 
applicant  for  such  a  license,  following  the  pa,'5sage  of  such  a  law.  In  1901 
he  embarked  in  business  on  his  own  account  in  Coldwater  and  has  been  very 
successful  here. 

Mr.  Harris  was  married  in  1895  *°  ^'^^  Maud  I.  Stevens,  of  Cold- 
water,  and  they  have  one  child,  Alice  E.  The  parents  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  are  well  known  socially  in  the  city  where 
they  reside,  having  gained  the  friendship  and  esteem  of  many  with  whom 
they  have  been  brought  in  contact.  Fraternally  Mr.  Harris  is  connected 
with  the  Independent  Order  of  United  Workmen  and  has  also  attained  the 
Royal  Arch  degree  in  Masonry.  He  belongs  to  the  Michigan  State  Under- 
takers' Association,  and  in  his  political  views  is  a  Republican.  He  served 
for  one  year  as  city  clerk  of  Coldwater,  but  otherwise  has  never  sought  or 
desired  office,  concentrating  his  energies  upon  his  business  affairs  and  the 
faithful  performance  of  his  duties  in  public  and  private  life. 

PYRL  H.  GUNSAULLUS.  M.  D. 

Pyrl  H.  Gunsaullus,  M.  D.,  the  well,  known  surgeon  of  Branch  county, 
Michigan,  dates  his  birth  in  Salem  Center.  Steuben  county,  Indiana,  May 
16.  i860.  His  parents,  Elijah  D.  and  Elizabeth  (Conklin)  Gunsaullus.  na- 
tives of  Ohio,  moved  into  Indiana  in  1859  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Steuben 
county,  where  they  reared  their  family.    One  son,  William,  is  a  resident  of 


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704  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Salem  Center,  Indiana,  and  a  daughter,  Mrs.  Ella  Helwig,  lives  in  Helmer, 
that  state. 

At  the  early  age  of  fifteen  years  Dr.  Gunsaullus  began  life  for  himself, 
and  although  he  never  left  his  home  as  a  home  he  wasi  self  supporting  and. 
carried  his  own  purse  from  that  time  on.  He  received  his  early  education 
in  the  country  schools  of  his  native  county,  after  which  he  entered  the  Tri- 
State  Normal  College  at  Angola,  Indiana,  where  at  the  end  of  three  years 
he  received  the  degree  of  B.  S.  He  also  took  a  business  course  in  that  institu- 
tion, and  at  intervals  while  there  and  after  leaving  college  he  taught  school, 
beginning  that  occupation  when  about  twenty  years  of  age  and  spending  ten 
years  in  the  work,  in  the  country  districts  of  Steuben  and  La  Grange  coun- 
ties, Indiana,  and  later  in  the  city  schools  of  Edgerton,  Ohio.  In  the  mean- 
time he  began  the  study  of  medicine.  He  pursued  a  course  in  the  Detroit 
College  of  Medicine,  graduating  therefrom  with  the  class  of  1894,  and  while 
in  Detroit  he  secured  a  year's  practical  experience  in  Harper's  Hospital,  which 
gave  him  additional  equipment  for  his  work.  He  also  spent  one  year  in 
Angola,  Indiana,  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  coming  to  Bronson  in 
1895,  he  continued  in  practice  and  has  since  remained  here,  where  in  addi- 
tion to  his  regular  medical  practice  he  is  also  doing  a  large  amount  of  surgical 
work.  His  especially  successful  work  as  a  surgeon  has  gained  for  him  an 
enviable  recc^nition  in  this  line,  and  he  stands  to-day  as  one  of  the  leading 
surgeons  of  the  county.  He  is  a  behever  in  the  American  idea  of  self-made 
men,  of  which  he  is  a  good  example,  having  risen  by  his  own  efforts  from 
the  boy  of  all  work  on  the  farm  at  fifteen  to  the  successive  positions  of 
teacher,  scientific  graduate.  Doctor  of  Medicine,  and  at  the  present  time  an 
accomplished  physician  and  surgeon.  He  is  one  of  those  busy  men,  and  says 
he  was  never  "out  of  a  job,"  but  when  others  complained  of  no  work  he 
always  had  something  to  do  from  a  boy  up,  for  if  he  could  not  do  one  thing 
he  always  found  something  else  to  do. 

Dr.  Gunsaullus'  home  on  East  Chicago  street  in  Bronson  is  one  of  the 
good  and  handsome  residences  of  the  town.  He  married,  in  1898,  Miss 
Nellie  Calhoun,  a  daughter  of  Merrit  C.  Calhoun,  of  this  county,  and  they 
have  one  child,  Pearl.  Fraternally  the  Doctor  is  identified  with  the  Maccabees, 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America. 
He  casts  his  franchise  with  the  Republican  party  and  worships  with  the 
Christian  church,  of  which  he  is  a  consistent  member. 

LORING  P.  WILCOX. 

Loring  P.  Wilcox  needs  no  introduction  to  the  readers  of  this  volume 
because  he  has  long  been  well  known  in  Branch  county.  He  has  been  hon- 
ored by  his  fellow  townsmen  with  important  offices  here,  and  his  business 
interests,  too,  have  been  so  successfully  conducted  that  he  is  now  enabled 
to  live  a  retired  life.  He  was  born  in  Naples,  Ontario  county,  New  York, 
June  8,  1830.  His  father,  Newcomb  Wilcox,  was  also  a  native  of  the  same 
county  and  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  Seeking  a  home  in  the  west,  he 
came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  in  1837  and  cast  his  lot  with  the  pioneer 
settlers  of  Sherwood  toivnship,  securing  a  tract  of  raw   land   through  a 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  705 

trade.  The  place  was  entirely  wild  and  uncultivated,  but  he  soon  turned 
the  furrows  and  continued  the  work  of  improvement  until  he  had  devel- 
oped a  splendid  property,  making  his  home  upon  that  farm  for  about  sixty 
years.  His  wife  died  upon  that  farm  and  he  afterward  remo-\'ed  to  the 
village  of  Sherwood  to  live  with  his  daughter.  His  death  occurred  when 
he  had  reached  the  very  advanced  age  of  ninety-three  years.  He  aided  in 
molding  the  early  policy  of  the  ccfunty,  in  promoting  its  material  develop- 
ment and  in  upholding  its  legal  and  political  status,  and  he  held  a  number 
of  local  offices  in  pioneer  times.  His  wife  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Miranda 
Stearns  and  was  also  a  native  of  Ontario  county.  New  York.  She  was 
seventy-six  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  her  death.  They  were  the  parents 
of  nine  children,  of  whom  two  died  in  early  youth,  while  seven  reached 
manhood  and  womanhood. 

Loring  P.  Wilcox,  tbe  eldest  son,  was  six  years  of  age  when  he  came 
with  his  parents  to  Branch  county  and  in  his  boyhood  days  he  pursued  his 
education  in  a  log  school  house  at  Albion,  spending  two  years  there.  At 
a  later  date  he  engaged  in  teaching  in  Branch  and  St.  Joseph  counties,  and 
when  not  thus  engaged  his  attention  was  given  in  undivided  manner  to  the 
work  of  the  home  farm,  so  that  he  early  became  familiar  with  all  the  labors 
that  devolve  upon  the  agriculturist  as  he  tills  his  fields,  harvests  his  crops 
and  raises  and  markets  his  stock. 

On  the  2ist  of  March,  1852,  Mr.  Wilcox  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Belinda  S.  Lamport,  a  daughter  of  Hiram  and  Altha  Lamport.  Mrs. 
Wilcox  was  born  in  Erie  county,  Pennsylvania.  March  26,  1830,  and  was 
only  nine  days  old  when  her  mother  died.  She  was  reared  by  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Joseph  Gilbert  in  St.  Joseph  county,  Michigan,  and  to  her  husband  has  been 
a  faithful  companion  and  helpmate  on  life's  journey.  They  became  the  par- 
ents of  a  son  and  daughter,  now  living:  Clark  B.,  who  is  a  traveling  sales- 
man residing  in  Sherwood,  and  Altha  L.,  the  wife  of  Fred  Whitney,  agent 
for  the  Michigan  Central  Railroad  Company  at  Union  City, 

At  the  time  of  his  marriage  Loring  P.  Wilcox  settled  on  a  farm  in 
Sherwood  township,  and  through  the  summer  months  devoted  his  attention 
to  the  cultivation  of  the  fields  and  in  the  winter  season  engaged  in  teaching 
school.  He  also  conducted  a  factory  in  Colon  for  about  a  year.  His  busi- 
ness interests  have  ever  been  capably  managed,  and  as  the  years  passed  he 
accumulated  a  comfortable  competence  that  now  enables  him  to  live  retired. 
He  has  also  rendered  capable  service  in  public  office.  In  1871  he  was 
elected  county  treasurer  and  entered  upon  the  duties  of  the  position  on  the 
ist  of  January,  1872,  acting  In  that  capacity  for  two  terms,  or  four  years. 
He  was  also  under-sheriff  for  two  years  and  was  then  elected  sheriff  for  a 
two-years'  term,  on  the  expiration  of  which  period  he  was  re-elected  be- 
cause of  the  prompt  and  able  manner  in  which  he  had  discharged  his  duties. 
He  was  supervisor  of  Sherwood  township  for  four  years,  township  clerk 
for  many  years  and  also  justice  of  the  peace,  but  resigned  the  latter  posi- 
tion. In  politics  he  has  been  a  life-long  Republican,  and  bis  fellow  towns-- 
men,  recognizing  his  ability  and  fitness  for  leadership,  have  continued  him 
in  office  during  the  greater  part  of  his  active  life.     No  trust  reposed  in  him 


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706  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

has  ever  been  betrayed  in  the  slightest  degree,  and  over  his  official  record 
there  falls  no  shadow  of  wrong  or  suspicion  of  evil. 

Mr,  Wilcox,  fraternally,  is  a  Mason  and  has  taken  the  Royal  Arch 
degrees.  He  also  belongs  to  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen.  His 
residence  in  Branch  county  covers  sixty-eight  years  and  he  is  therefore  fa- 
miliar with  its  history  from  pioneer  times  to  the  present.  The  events  which 
to  many  have  become  familiar  merely  from  reading  the  annals  of  the  county 
are  to  him  matters  of  experience,  or  else  he  has  been  a  witness  of  the  occur- 
rences. He  has  always  furthered  public  progress  and,  rendering  active  aid 
in  movements  for  the  general  good,  his  efforts  have  proved  far-reaching  and 
beneficial. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilcox,  on  March  21,  1902,  celebrated  their  golden  an- 
niversary at  their  home  in  Sherwood  amidst  their  many  friends,  children 
and  grandchildren.  Fifty  golden  years  had  passed  over  the  heads  of  this 
worthy  and  venerable  couple,  which  have  been  replete  with  good  deeds  and 
right  living  before  God  and  man. 

WILLIAM  J.  CAMPBELL. 

Wilham  J.  Campbell,  whose  life  exemplifies  the  term  "  dignity  of  labor," 
and  whose  purposeful  efforts  and  unfaltering  diligence  have  been  the  basis 
of  a  success  which  is  as  creditable  as  it  is  desirable,  was  born  on  section 
thirteen,  Batavia  township,  December  23,  1S72,  and  the  old  homestead  is 
yet  his  place  of  residence,  being  the  only  child  of  James  and  Maria  (Spring) 
Campbell.  The  father  was  bom  in  Mendon,  Monroe  county,  New  York, 
May  15,  1S20,  and  was  there  reared  and  educated.  When  a  young  man 
h^  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  and  was  married  here  to  Miss  Maria 
Spring,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Massachusetts,  August  23,  1830.  They 
located  on  a  farm  on  section  thirteen.  Batavia  township,  and  Mr.  Campbell 
improved  some  of  the  place,  a  part  of  it  having  been  cultivated  ere  he  took 
up  his  abode  there.  His  life  was  devoted  to  general  agricultural  pursuits 
and  thus  he  provided  for  his  family.  In  1850,  however,  he  made  the  over- 
land trip  to  California,  attracted  by  the  discovery  of  gold  in  that  state  and 
the  business  possibilities  which  were  thereby  opened  up.  He  remained  for 
two  years  in  the  west,  engaged  in  packing  over  the  mountains,  carrying 
supplies  to  the  mines.  He  returned  to  the  Mississippi  valley  by  way  of  the 
Isthnms  of  Panama  and  New  York  City,  He  was  twice  married,  his  first 
wife  bearing  the  maiden  name  of  Cooley,  but  at  the  time  of  her  marriage 
she  was  Mrs.  Brooks,  a  widow.  In  his  political  views  Mr.  Campbell  was 
an  earnest  Republican  for  many  years  and  he  acted  as  township  clerk  and 
supervisor.  AH  matters  of  local  progress  as 'well  as  of  national  importance 
received  his  earnest  attention  and  active  co-operation  and  he  was  well  knowu 
in  the  county  as  a  citizen  whose  aid  might  be  counted  upon  to  further  any 
progressive  movement.  Pie  died  in  the  year  1898,  in  his  seventy-ninth  year, 
while  the  mother  of  our  subject  passed  away  in  1900,  in  her  sixty-ninth 
year. 

W,  J.  Campbell  S[}ent  the  days  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  in  Batavia 


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George  Stai 


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HISTO'RY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  ^  707 

township  and  acquired  his  education  in  the  district  schools  and  in  the  high 
school  of  CoJdwater,  thus  gaining  a  good  practical  knowledge  to  equip  him 
for  life's  responsible  duties.  In  his  early  manhood  he  engaged  in  clerking 
in  a  store  in  Coldwater,  but  later  he  returned  to  the  occupation  to  which  he 
had  been  reared,  taking  up  his  abode  upon  the  old  homestead  farm,  where 
he  now  carries  on  general  agricultural  pursuits  and  stock-raising.  He  makes 
a  specialty  of  thorough-bred  hogs,  largely  raising  the  Duroc  Jersey  breed, 
and  he  now  has  upon  his  place  ninety  head. 

On  the  19th  of  September,  1895,  Mr.  Campbell  was  married  to  Miss 
Elizabeth  Stevens,  a  daughter  of  Amos  and  Elizabeth  (Miller)  Stevens, 
both  of  whom  were  born  and  reared  in  England.  They  became  residents  of 
Branch  county,  Michigan,  about  1867,  and  in  their  family  were  four  chil- 
dren, three  daughters  and  a  son,  of  whom  Mrs.  Campbell  was  the  third  in 
order  of  birth.  She  was  born  in  Coldwater,  May  5,  1873,  ^nd  is  a  graduate 
of  the  high  school  there  of  the  class  of  1892.  A  "lady  of  culture  and  refine- 
ment, she  has  many  warm  friends  in  the  county.  Mr.  Campbell  exercises 
his  right  of  franchise  in  support  of  the  men  and  measures  of  the  Republican 
party,  and  upon  that  ticket  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Grange,  and  his  wife  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  Mr.  Campbell  is  a  tenor  singer  of  no  little  note  and  his  power  in 
this  direction  renders  him  a  favorite  in  mvisical  circles,  while  geniality,  kind- 
liness and  deference  for  the  opinion  of  others  have  made  both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Campbell  popular  in  the  county  of  their  nativity.  Their  home  is  justly  cele- 
brated for  its  gracious  and  warm  hearted  hospitality  and  the  circle  of  their 
friends  is  almost  co-extensive  with  the  circle  of  their  acquaintance. 

GEORGE  STARR. 

In  the  history  of  business  activity  and  advancement  in  Coldwater  the 
name  of  George  Starr  figured  prominently,  for  as  president  of  the  Coldwater 
National  Bank  he  occupied  a  prominent  position  in  financial  circles.  More- 
over his  business  record  was  such  as  any  man  might  be  proud  to  possess, 
for  it  was  characterized  by  consecutive  progress,  and  at  the  same  time  he 
never  incurred  an  obligation  that  he  did  not  fulfill,  nor  make  an  engagement 
that  he  did  not  meet.  He  was  prompt  and  reliable  and  enjoyed  the  uniform 
esteem  of  his  business  associates. 

A  native  of  Lenawee  county,  Michigan,  Mr.  Starr  was  born  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Chnton,  September  i,  1838,  and  died  in  Coldwater,  December  30, 
i88g.  He  was  the  eldest  of  the  three  sons  who  constituted  the  family,  of 
George  and  Catherine  (Ackerman)  Starr.  The  second  son,  Henry  Starr,  at 
the  time  of  the  Civil  war  enlisted  in  defense  of  the  Union  cause  and  was 
with  Sherman  on  the  memorable  march  to  the  sea.  After  the  war  he  became 
a  farmer  in  the  vicinity  of  Battle  Creek,  Michigan.  The  youngest  son, 
Charles,  was  a  merchant  of  Three  Rivers. 

In  tracing  the  history  of  the  father  of  our  subject  it  is  noted  that  he 
was  born  in  the  province  of  Bavaria,  Germany,  and  that  he  emigrated  to  the 
United  States  in  1S24.   He  became  an  early  settler  of  Clinton,  Lenawee  county. 


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708  ,  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Michigan,  where  he  followed  the  trade  of  wagon  making.  He  was  married 
in  Detroit,  about  1835,  to  Miss  Catherine  Ackerman,  who  was  also  bom  in 
Germany  and  came  to  the  United  States  about  1830  with  her  parents,  Conrad 
and  Catherine  Ackerman,  who  settled  in  Detroit.  Soon  after  their  marriage 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  Starr  took  up  their  abode  in  Clinton,  Lenawee  county, 
where  they  lived  for  many  years  and  then  passed  away,  the  father's  death 
occurring  in  1S78,  and  the  mother's  in  1884.  They  were  members  of  the 
Pres!>yterian  church  and  were  held  in  highest  esteem  by  all  who  knew  them. 

George  Starr,  whose  name  introduces  this  review,  was  reared  in  his 
native  town,  where  he  attended  school  until  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  then 
in  order  to  secure  funds  with  which  to  further  educate  himself  he  accepted 
a  clerkship  in  a  store  and  when  the  object  of  this  labor  had  been  attained  he 
resumed  his  studies  as  a  high  school  student  in  Ypsilanti,  Michigan,  while 
later  he  pursued  a  commercial  course  in  the  same  city.  In  March,  1856,  he 
accepted  a  position  as  bookkeeper  in  the  banking  house  of  Crippen  &  Fisk,  of 
Coldwater,  the  junior  partner  being  General  Clinton  B.  Fisk,  afterward  Pro- 
hibition candidate  for  the  presidency.  He  remained  with  that  firm  for  sev- 
eral years,  and  finally  joined  Henry  C.  Lewis  of  this  city  in  the  establishment 
of  a  banking  business  at  Coldwater. 

It  was  in  1865  that  the  Coldwater  National  Bank  was  organized,  Mr. 
Starr  becoming  a  director  and  the  cashier  of  the  new  institution.  He  acted 
continuously  in  the  latter  capacity  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Lewis  in  1S84,  when 
he  succeeded  him  as  president  of  the  bank  and  remained  at  its  head  until 
his  own  demise.  As  a  banker  and  financier  Mr.  Starr  displayed  remarkable 
ability  and  much  of  the  success  of  the  institution  was  due  to  his  sound  judg- 
noent  and  business  discernment.  A  safe,  conservative  business  policy  was 
instituted  and  has  always  been  followed,  and  the  bank  enjoyed  a  gratifying 
growth  and  constantly  increasing  patronage.  Mr.  Starr  was  a  Republican 
in  his  political  views  and  his  interest  in  the  welfare  and  upbuilding  of  Cold- 
water  led  to  his  active  co-operation  in  many  movements  for  the  general  good. 
He  was  a  man  of  action  rather  than  theory,  and  this  was  manifest  during  his 
two  terms  of  service  as  mayor  of  Coldwater,  when  he  gave  to  the  city  an 
administration  that  was  characterized  by  practical  effort  along  the  line  of 
reform,  improvement  and  substantia!  progress.  In  1886  he  was  prominently 
mentioned  as  a  candidate  for  state  treasurer,  and  had  it  not  been  that  a  citizen 
of  his  own  town,  the  Hon.  C.  G.  Luce,  was  nominated  for  governor  he  un- 
doubtedly would  have  secured  the  nomination  had  he  asked  for  it. 

On  the  6th  of  September,  i860,  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Starr  and  Miss 
Armilla  Haynes  was  celebrated  at  the  home  of  the  bride  in  Coldwater.  Mrs. 
Starr  was  the  third  child  of  Horace  and  Nancy  (Smith)  Dunning,  whose 
family  included  six  sons  and  four  daughters.  The  father  was  a  farmer  bv 
occupation  and  spent  the  early  years  of  his  life  at  Penfield,  New  York,  near 
the  city  of  Rochester,  whence  he  afterward  came  to  Michigan,  settling  in 
Allegan  county,  about  1836,  as  one  of  its  pioneer  residents.  About  thirty 
years  later  he  removed  to  Iowa,  in  which  state  his  death  occurred  in  1870. 
His  widow  and  her  children,  who  were  at  that  time  at  home,  afterward  re- 
fnoved  to  Polk  county,  Nebraska,  where  she  departed  this  life.     She  was  a 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  .  709 

native  of  Vermont  and  both  she  and  her  husband  jxjssessed  rare  quahties 
of  heart  and  mind  and  were  faithful  adherents  to  the  teachings  of  the  Baptist 
church.  Mrs.  Starr  was  born  in  Allegan  county,  Michigan,  December  29, 
1839,  and  her  death  occurred  in  Coklwater.  March  5,  1904.  Her  childhood 
days  were  largely  passed  in  this  city  with  her  aunt,  Armilla  Haynes  Marsh, 
at  whose  home  she  became  an  inmate  when  three  years  old,  and  there  she 
was  trained  in  a  manner  that  amply  fitted  her  for  her  future  duties 'in  later 
life.  After  attending  the  schools  of  Coldwater  she  continued  her  education 
in  Rochester,  New  York.  In  early  girlhood  she  became  a  member  of  the 
Baptist  church  and  throughout  her  long  and  useful  career  she  lived  the 
life  of  an  earnest,  active  and  consistent  Christian.  Greatly  interested  in 
benevolent  work  she  became  identified  with  the  Woman's  Chri.stiaii  Tem- 
perance Union,  of  which  she  served  both  as  secretary  and  vice-president  and 
also  officiated  as  superintendent  of  the  press  work  for  the  Union.  She  was 
likewise  a  member  of  the  Home  and  Foreign  Missionary  Societies,  the  Ladies 
Auxiliary  tO'  the  Men's  Christian  Association  and  the  Qiautauqua  Literary 
&  Scientific  Society.  A  lai^e  portion  of  her  time  was  devoted  to  doing  good 
and  her  efforts  were  far-reaching  and  beneficial.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Starr 
were  born  the  following  sons  and  daughters:  John  T.,  the  eldest,  bom  in 
Coklwater.  September  15.  1861.  married  Miss  Belle  Woodward,  a  daughter 
of  H.  J.  Woodward  and  they  now  reside  in  Coidwater.  Catherine  May,  bom 
May  7,  1866,  died  March  :3,  1871.  Georgiana  Louise,  bom  in  Coidwater, 
resides  in  the  city  of  her  nativity. 

In  a  review  of  the  history  of  Mr.  Starr  in  which  we  note  the  salient 
features  of  his  career  it  is  seen  that  he  was  a  successfu\  business  man,  fair 
and  just  in  all  his  dealings  and  that  he  was  uniformly  respected.  He  began 
life  with  limited  means  but  succeeded  in  acquiring  a  goodly  estate.  He 
provided  well  for  his  family  and  sought  to  give  them  good  educational  ad- 
vantages. He  owned  a  beautiful  and  modern  residence  on  West  Pearl  street, 
it  being  of  the  most  attractive  homes  of  Coldw^ater  and  stands  to-day  as  a 
monument  to  the  enterprise  and  good  taste  of  Mr.  Starr. 

SARAH  MUDGE  TURNER. 

Sarah  Mudge  Turner,  widow  of  the  late  well  known  citizen  of  Quincy, 
Ralph  D.  M.  Turner,  was  born  in  Chili,  Monroe  county.  New  York,  July 
17,  1829.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Ebenezer  and  Lucretia  (Heaton)  Mudge, 
her  father,  whose  career  is  given  more  extended  mention  elsewhere,  having 
been  a  prominent  man  of  affairs  in  Branch  county  for  more  than  half  a  cen- 

■"Xhe  marriage  of  Sarah  Mudge  and  Ralph  D.  M.  Turner  occurred  on 
October  19,  1852.  Her  husband,  who  was  bom  in  Vermont  m  1835,  was  a 
son  of  Ralph  Turner.  The  latter,  of  English  ancestry  and  everywhere  held 
in  high  respect  for  the  probitv  of  his  character  and  his  genurae  worth,  at  an 
early  day  moved  from  Vermont  to  Ohio,  and  died  at  LaGrange,  the  latter 
state,  having  pursued  a  prosperous  career  as  a  farmer.  He  was  a  Univer- 
salist  in  religion,  and  as  a  Whig  held  various  minor  offices.     He  married 


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710  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Lucy  Carpenter,  a  native  of  Vermont.  Of  their  ten  children  Ralph  D.  M. 
Turner  was  their  youngest.  In  1857  he  moved  to  Quincy,  Branch  county, 
where  he  farmed  three  years.  In  1861  began  a  two  years'  residence  in  New 
York  City,  and  after  a  year  spent  in  Nashville,  Tennessee,  where  he  had  a 
brother,  F.  G.  Turner,  formerly  of  Coldwater.  he  returned  to  farming  at 
Quincy,.  At  the  time  of  his  death  in  1877,  and  for  a  number  of  years  pre- 
viously, he  had  been  engaged  in  the  drug  business  at  Quincy.  Successful 
both  in  business  and  as  a  farmer,  he  left  considerable  property,  and  as  a 
rule  prospered  in  his  undertakings.  Fraternally  he  was  a  Mason,  was  a  Re- 
publican in  politics,  and  was  a  member  of  the  school  board.  Having  had  a 
broad  experience  in  life,  he  reinforced  his  decisive  convictions  by  equally 
energetic  action,  and  performed  his  duties  with  all  the  ability  of  a  strong 
character.  Toward  friends  and  those  needing  his  help  he  was  charitable  in 
opinion  and  generous  of  his  means,  and  throughout  life  held  many  to  him 
by  strong  ties  of  affection  and  friendship. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Turner  had  six  children:  Kate  is  the  wife  of  Lewis 
Eldridge,  who  has  been  a  bank  cashier  for  many  years  and  is  now  in  the 
freight  office  of  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad  at  Quincy :  Karl  is  deceased ;  Don 
is  also  deceased;  Jessie  married  Charles  R.  Hannon,  a  banker  of  Boston, 
Massachusetts;  Grant  is  a  banker  in  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa;  and  Ralph  D. 
M,  is  in  the  nursery  business  at  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa. 

Mrs,  Turner's  father,  Ebenezer  Mudge,  took  a  prominent  part  in  the 
early  history  of  this  county.  When  he  moved  to  his  farm  near  Quincy  in 
1843  there  was  no  school  district  in  that  vicinity,  and  it  was  through  his 
efforts  that  one  was  organized  and  a  short  term  of  school  held  there  the 
second  year  after  his  arrival.  His  ability  received  recognition  in  his  being 
appointed,  without  solicitation  on  his  part,  a  government  surveyor,  and  for 
several  months  he  was  employed  in  that  capacity  in  the  upper  peninsula  of 
Michigan.  He  was  editor  of  the  "  Quincy  Times  "  for  several  years.  He 
was  an  honorable  man  and  lived  fair  and  square  to  the  world.  He  was  a 
native  of  Herkimer  county.  New  York,  born  May  9,  1804,  and  died  in  1897. 
He  was  a  man  of  more  than  passing  importance  in  the  executiveness  as  a 
citizen,  being  a  local  officer  at  various  times,  and  the  formulator  of  the  char- 
ter of  Quincy,  Michigan.    He  was  a  born  teacher  and  a  leader  of  men. 

ELMER  E.  PALMER. 

Elmer  E.  Palmer,  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  in  Coldwater,  was 
born  on  a  farm  in  Madison  township.  Branch  county,  Michigan,  June  i, 
1861.  The  family  is  of  English  lineage  and  was  founded  in  America  in 
colonial  days.  The  grandfather,  Nathan  Palmer,  was  a  native  of  New 
York  and  from  Huron  county,  that  state,  he  removed  to  Norwalk,  Ohio. 
He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  always  following  that  pursuit  in  order  to 
provide  for  his  family  and  at  the  time  of  the  war  of  1812  he  served  his 
country  as,  a  loyal  soldier,  and  lived  to  the  advanced  age  of  eighty -two  years. 

Henry  T.  Palmer,  son  of  Nathan  Palmer,  was  bom  in  Huron  county. 
New  York,  and  was  a  young  man  when  he  accompanied  his  parents  on  their 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  711 

removal  to  Ohio,  the  family  home  being-  established  near  Norwalk.  Having 
arrived  at  years  of  maturity  he  wedded  Miss  Mary  Plotts,  who  was  born 
near  the  city  of  Buffalo.  New  York,  and  was  taken  to  Ohio  by  her  father  in 
her  girlhood  days,  where  she  afterward  gave  her  hand  in  marriage  to  Henry 
T.  Palmer.  They  began  their  domestic  life  upon  a  farm,  and  in  1854  re- 
moved to  Michigan,  settling  in  Madison  township,  Branch  county.  For 
many  years  the  father  was  closely  identified  with  agricultural  interests  in  this 
part  of  the  state.  He  died  in  Branch  county,  in  1900,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
six  years,  and  is  stil)  survived  by  his  wife,  who  at  the  age  of  seventy-six 
years  is  now  making  her  home  in  Coldwater.  They  were  the  parents  of  five 
children,  all  of  whom'  are  living. 

Like  the  other  members  of  the  family  Elmer  E.  Palmer  was  reared 
upon  the  old  homestead  farm  and  his  early  education,  acquired  in  the  com- 
mon schools,  was  supplemented  by  study  in  the  village  schools  of  Sherwood 
and  in  the  graded  schools  of  Union  City,  Michigan.  He  afterward  engaged 
in  teaching  in  the  country  schools  for  two  years. 

Mr.  Palmer  read  law  in  the  office  of  Barlow  &  Loveridge,  where  he 
continued  his  study  until  his  admission  to  the  bar  in  1887,  since  which  time 
he  has  been  engaged  in  practice  in  Coldwater. 

In  1S90  Mr.  Palmer  was  elected  to  the  office  of  prosecuting  attorney, 
in  which  position  he  served  for  one  term.  In  1896  he  was  chosen  by  popu- 
lar ballot  to  the  office  of  probate  judge,  and  in  1901  he  was  elected  mayor  of 
Coldwater.     In  official  life  he  was  found  reliable,  systematic  and  accurate. 

In  1887  Mr,  Palmer  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sarah  Hill,  who 
died  in  1895,  leaving  two  children:  Harold  and  Jacquelin.  He  was  mar- 
ried a  second  time,  in  1900,  to  Miss  Florence  Cornell, 

JAMES  E.  DICKEY. 

James  E.  Dickey,  successfully  and  energetically  carrying  on  the  occu- 
pation of  farming,  was  born  November  8.  1869.  in  Coldwater  township, 
upon  the  farm  on  which  he  yet  resides.  His  father,  George  W.  Dickey, 
was  a  native  of  Niagara  county.  New  York,  born  on  the  24th  of  January, 
1845.  an*^'  when  but  nine  years  of  age  was  brought  to  Michigan  by  his 
parents,  James  and  Mary  (Appleby)  Dickey,  Ijoth  of  whom  were  natives  of 
New  York,  in  which  state  they  were  reared  and  married,  removmg  from 
there  to  Michigan  at  an  early  period  in  the  development  of  Branch  county. 
They  cast  in  their  lot  with  the  pioneer  settlers,  and  the  Dickey  family  has 
since  been  one  of  the  most  respected  as  well  as  one  of  the  oldest  families  of 
this  part  of  the  state. 

George  Dickey,  from  the  age  of  nine  years  was  reared  in  Qmncy  and 
Coldwater  townships  and  with  the  family  shared  in  the  usual  experiences 
of  life  on  the  frontier,  far  removed  from  the  comforts  and  civilization  of 
the  older  east  until  these  were  secured  through  the  persistent  labor  and 
enterprise  of  the  eariy  settlers.  Throughout  his  entire  life  he  followed  the 
occupation  of  farming  in  order  to  provide  for  his  family  and  thereby  ac- 
quired a  comfortable  competence.     The  Dickeys  lived  in  Quincy  township 


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T12  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

until  1865,  when  they  came  to  the  present  family  homestead  on  section  thirty- 
six,  Coldwater  township,  securing  one  hundred  and  thirty  acres  of  land, 
which  was  cleared  and  placed  under  cultivation  by  George  Dickey  and  others 
of  the  family.  It  was  on  the  2nd  of  April,  1868,  that  George  Dickey  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Abigal  McConnell,  who  was  born  in  Coldwater 
township.  Branch  county,  Michigan,  July  17,  1848,  a  daughter  of  Henry 
and  Phoebe  (Whitehead)  McConneli,  who  were  prominent  pioneer  people 
of  the  county. 

In  public  affairs  relating  to  the  community  and  its  progress  George 
Dickey  was  deeply  and  helpfully  interested,  finding  time  in  the  midst  of 
arduous  business  duties  to  aid  in  the  work  of  general  improvement.  He 
served  as  supervisor  for  eight  terms,  for  township  treasurer  for  two  terms, 
school  director  and  assessor  for  two  terms,  and  in  all  these  offices  was  found 
prompt  and  reliable  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  His  political  support  was 
given  the  Repubhcan  party,  and  he  was  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen,  the  Select  Knights  and  the  Grange.  He  died  April  16. 
1887,  respected  by  all  who  knew  him,  and  leaving  behind  the  record  of  an 
honorable,  upright  life.  His  wife,  who  was  a  consistent  member  of  the 
Baptist  church  of  Coldwater,  passed  away  May  i,  1901, 

In  the  family  of  this  worthy  couple  were  eight  children:  Homer,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  three  months ;  James  E. ;  Lillian,  born  November  23,  1871 : 
Mrs,  Mary  Dubendorf,  who  was  born  September  10,  1873,  and  is  living  in 
Ovid;  George  R.,  a  resident  of  Coldwater,  who  was  born  December  13, 
1877.  and  married  Myrtle  Olmstead;  Lena  B.,  born  September  6,  1880;  Ray 
H,  and  Roy  L.,  twins,  born  March  18,  1886. 

Five  of  the  children,  including  James  E.  Dickey,  still  reside  upon  the 
old  homestead  and  since  the  death  of  the  parents  Mr.  Dickey  of  this  review 
has  been  the  head  of  the  family,  assisted  by  his  sisters.  Seldom  does  a 
family  remain  together  in  such  harmony,  but  they  are  all  working  for  a  com- 
mon interest  and  are  making  of  the  farm  a  splendidly  improved  property. 
In  his  political  views  James  E.  Dickey  has  always  been  an  earnest  Repub- 
lican and  is  now  serving  as  justice  of  the  peace  of  Coldwater  township  and 
also  as  school  assessor,  and  to  these  duties  he  brings  the  same  fidelity  and 
unselfish  spirit  which  characterizes  him  in  the  management  of  the  estate  and 
the  care  of  the  younger  members  of  the  family. 

HON.   GEORGE  W.   VAN  AKEN. 

Hon.  George  W.  Van  Aken.  living  in  Coldwater,  is  well  known  as 
a  farmer  and  buyer  of  stock  and  wool  and  in  his  business  career  has  dis- 
played the  close  application,  energy  and  persistency  of  purpose  which  are 
very  indispensable  elements  in  a  successful  career.  He  is  a  native  of  the 
Empire  state,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Monroe  county,  New  York,  Sep- 
tember 8,  1828.  His  father,  Cornelius  Van  Aken,  was  born  and  reared  in 
Pennsylvania  and  was  married  in  New  York  to  Miss  Harriett  Phelps,  whose 
birth  occurred  in  New  York.  They  located  in  Monroe  county,  where  they 
resided  until  1833,  when  they  became  residents  of  Lenawee  county,  Michigan. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  713 

In  1S37  they  removed  to  Branch  covmty,  settling  in  Girard  township,  where 
the  father  entered  a  half  section  of  land  from  the  gDvernment.  Tlie  tract 
was  wild  and  unimproved  but  he  at  once  began  its  development  and  con- 
tinued its  cultivation  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1853, 
during  w^hich  period  his  labors  wrought  a  wonderful  transformation  in  the 
appearance  of  his  farm.  He  was  a  life  long  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
active  in  its  work  and  growth  and  his  political  allegiance  was  given  to  the 
Democracy.  He  served  as  commissioner  of  highways  for  several  years  and 
whether  in  office  or  out  of  it  was  always  loyal  to  the  public  welfare  and  was 
a  to-operative  factor  in  many  measures  for  the  general  good.  His  wife  sur- 
vived him  for  about  ten  years,  passing  away  in  1863.  They  were  the  parents 
of  ten  children  of  whom  two  died  in  childhood,  while  eight  reached  mature 
years. 

Hon.  George  W.  Van  Aken,  the  sixth  child  and  fourth  son  in  this  family, 
was  only  eight  years  of  age  when  brought  by  his  parents  to  Branch  county 
and  upon  the  old  homestead  farm  in  Girard  township  he  was  reared.  He 
attended  school,  which  was  held  in  a  little  log  building  such  as  was  common 
in  the  early  days,  and  there  he  mastered  the  elementary  branches  of  learning. 
Later  he  continued  his  studies  in  Coldwater  and  was  subsequently  a  high 
school  student  in  Hillsdale,  Michigan,  thus  acquiring  a  good  education.  In 
1851,  attracted  by  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  he  went  by  way  of  Grey- 
town  to  San  Francisco  and  for  two  and  a  half  years  remained  on  tiie  Pacific 
slope  engaged  in  mining,  meeting  with  a  fair  measure  of  success  during  that 
period.  He  then  returned  by  way  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  and  New  York 
city  and  on  again  reaching  Branch  county  he  purchased  the  old  family  home- 
stead, on  which  he  carried  on  general  agricultural  pursuits  until  1891,  when 
he  removed  to  Coldwater  and  erected  his  present  residence  from  timber  which 
came  from  his  farm.  He  now  rents  his  farm  property,  which  comprises  one 
himdred  and  ten  acres  of  land  and  brings  to  him  a  good  financial  return. 
Not  content  to  live  a  life  of  idleness  he  here  began  buying  and  selling  stock 
and  wool,  making  large  shipments  each  year.  He  was  also  instrumental  in 
organizing  the  Farmer's  Mutual  Insurance  Company  of  Branch  county  and 
was  a  director  and  president  of  the  company  for  twenty-five  years. 

On  the  third  of  July,  1854,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Van  Aken 
and  Miss  Lucy  Qement,  a  daughter  of  Jonathan  H.  and  Catherine  Qement. 
They  became  the  parents  of  one  daughter.  Mattie,  who  married  William  Storr 
and  died  leaving  two  sons,  Van  J.  and  George  S.,  who  were  reared  by  their 
grandparents.  The  elder  is  now  operating  Mr.  Van  Aken's  farm,  while  the 
younger  brother  is  at  Battle  Creek.  Michigan.  Mrs.  Van  Aken  died  in  1885, 
and  in  iSSy  Mr.  Van  Aken  married  Mr?.  Celia  A.  Tilton,  who  died  in  1898. 
In  1901,  Mr.  Van  Aken  was  united  in  marriage  to  Mrs.  Marion  Foster,  who 
was  bom  in  Bronson,  Branch  countv,  Michigan.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Hiram 
Hadlev. 

Mr.  Van  Aken  voted  with  the  Democracy  until  the  organization  of  the 
new  Republican  party,  when  he  cast  his  ballot  for  John  C.  Fremont  and  has 
since  supported  each  presidential  nominee  of  the  Republican  party.  Called 
to  public  office  he  served  as  supervisor  of  Girard  township  for  fourteen 


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714  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

consecutive  years  and  was  a  member  of  the  state  legislature  from  1873 
until  1875.  His  political  service  like  his  private  life  has  been  characterized 
by  fidelity  to  duty  and  a  devotion  to  the  public  welfare.  He  was  identified 
with  the  Grange  of  Girard  township,  serving  as  its  master  for  fourteen 
years  and  was  also  master  of  the  county  Grange  for  eight  years.  He  has 
been  identified  with  the  Presbyterian  church  since  1848  and  his  life  has 
been  actuated  by  honorable  principles.  His  career  will  bear  the  closest  in- 
vestigation and  scrutiny  and  is  indeed  in  many  respects  well  worthy  of 
emulation.  As  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  county  he  deserves  representation 
in  this  volume,  having  for  more  than  two  thirds  of  a  century  resided  in 
Branch  county.  What  to  many  people  are  matters  of  record  are  to  him 
matters  of  experience,  for  he  shared  in  all  of  the  hardships  and  trials  of 
pioneer  life  and  in  later  years  has  been  an  active  participant  in  many  events 
which  have  shaped  the  policy  and  molded  the  history  of  this  part  of  the  state. 
He  has  passed  the  seventy-seventh  milestone  on  life's  journey  and  receives 
from  his  fellow  men  the  veneration  and  respect  which  should  ever  be  accorded 
those  of  advanced  years  whose  course  has  been  marked  by  all  that  con- 
stitutes the  good  and  thereby  really  great  citizen. 

WALTON  J.  BARNES. 

Walton  J.  Barnes,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  highly  esteemed  citizens 
of  Quincy,  was  born  at  Quaker  street,  in  the  town  of  Duanesburg,  Schenec- 
tady county.  New  York,  in  1825.  Of  English  ancestry,  his  forebears  were 
of  excellent  stock  and  in  their  time  and  generation  filled  worthy  places  in 
their  respective  spheres  of  activity  and  influence. 

Thomas  Barnes,  his  father,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  at  an  early  age 
learned  the  trade  of  carpenter,  then  became  a  merchant,  then  a  farmer,  and 
in  1831  superintended  the  laying  of  the  track  for  a  line  of  railroad  be- 
tween Albany  and  Schenectady,  one  of  the  early  lines  to  be  constructed  in 
the  Empire  state.  After  assisting  in  this  railroad  enterprise  he  made  a  trip 
west,  via  the  Erie  canal  to  Buffalo,  thence  by  boat  to  Detroit,  and  on  to 
Chicago  by  stage,  and  his  return  to  New  York  state  was  entirely  by  stage. 
His  household  goods,  placed  on  a  canal  boat  at  Albany,  were  a  week  in 
reaching  near  Rochester,  New  York.  He  finally  located  in  Wayne  county, 
New  York,  where  the  rest  of  his  honorable  career  was  spent.  A  man  of 
varied  activities  and  of  much  influence  in  community  and  society,  he  was 
elected  from  Newark  to  the  state  legislature,  for  a  number  of  years  was 
supervisor  of  his  township,  and  in  politics  was  first  a  Henry  Clay  Whig  and 
later  a  staunch  Republican,  having  been  sent  to  the  legislature  in  1856  on  the 
Fremont  ticket.  He  attained  a  competency.  His  religious  adherence  was 
given  to  the  Universafist  church.  His  wife,  Abigail  (Briggs)  Barnes,  who 
was  born  in  Duanesburg,  New  York,  of  English  descent,  and  a  member  of 
the  Episcopal  church,  moved  west  to  Quincy  after  the  death  of  her  hus- 
band, and  lived  there  with  her  daughter  until  her  death  in  1876.  Their  six 
children  are  named  as  follows:  James  W.,  who  is  a  retired  physician  living 
in  southern  Colorado;  Walton  J.;  Lucy  J.,  now  deceased,  was  the  wife  of 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  715 

Richard  Post,  a  farmer;  Carrie  E.,  a  resident  of  Chicago,  and  the  widow 
of  G.  W.  McCarn,  a  physician:  Thomas  N.,  deceased,  was  a  farmer;  Mar- 
garet A.,  deceased,  married  J.  B.  SaHsbury,  of  Quincy. 

Walton  J.  Barnes  was  reared  on  a  farm,  attending  school  in  his  home 
district  and  also  an  academy  in  Wayne  county.  Coming  to  Michigan  in 
1854,  as  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Ouincy  township,  this  county,  he  built 
a  sawmill,  located  on  section  twenty-six,  and  also  bought  a  farm.  During 
the  ten  years  of  his  residence  at  that  place  he  increased  his  land  holdings  un- 
til he  owned  five  hundred  acres.  Then  he  Iwught  the  old  Mudge  place  two 
miles  south  of  Quincy  and  remained  there  until  moving  to  Quincy  in  1873. 
Although  he  has  been  interested  more  or  less  in  the  insurance  business,  he 
has  for  some  years  been  practically  retired,  taking  life  easily  and  grace- 
fully. He  has  one  of  the  most  beautiful  homes  in  Quincy.  A  Republican 
in  politics,  he  served  as  county  drainage  commissioner  two  years,  but  has 
never  sought  office  or  identified  himself  with  practical  politics  to  any  extent. 
An  ardent  fisherman,  he  has  been  a  constant  visitor  with  rod  and  line  to 
Marble  Lake  for  the  past  fifty  years  and  in  1895  built  the  first  cottage  on 
that  charming  body  of  water. 

Mr.  Barnes  was  married  in  i860  to  Miss  Emily  A.  Mudge,  who  was 
born  in  Lenawee  county,  this  state,  in  1840.  Her  father,  Ebenezer  Mudge, 
was  an  honored  former  citizen  of  Branch  county.  A  native  of  New  York 
and  then  coming  west  and  settling  in  Madison,  Michigan,  he  moved  to 
Quincy  in  1842  and  located  on  a  farm  two  miles  south  of  town  that  had 
been  entered  by  his  father  Ebenezer.  He  was  a  brickmason  by  trade,  and 
besides  conducting  his  farm  carried  on  the  building  trade,  erected  the  first 
brick  building  in  Coldwater — ^the  old  Dr.  Sprague  building — and  also  the 
Ed  Clark  store  building.  Mr.  Mudge  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary 
means  and  influence  in  his  community.  In  politics  a  Whig  and  a  Repub- 
lican, he  served  for  many  years  as  justice  of  the  peace,  was  village  clerk 
and  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  village  of  Quincy,  drafting  the  first 
charter.  He  was  one  of  those  who,  in  the  early  seventies,  established  the 
Quincv  Times  and  as  its  editor  de\'oted  his  attention  thereto  for  a  number 
of  years.  When  he  died  in  1897.  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-three  years, 
he  carried  to  the  grave  the  respect  and  reverence  of  all  who  had  known  him 
or  who  had  come  in  contact  with  him  in  the  varied  relations  of  life.  He  was 
a  man  of  education,  was  generous  and  charitable,  was  enterprising  and  pub- 
lic-spirited to  a  marked  degree,  and  took  a  delight  in  promoting  through  per- 
sonal influence  and  effort  the  welfare  of  his  town  of  Quincy.  Mrs.  Barnes' 
mother  was  Lucretia  Heaton,  a  native  of  New  York  state  and  of  Scotch- 
Irish  stock.  There  were  twelve  children  in  the  family,  but  only  four 
reached  maturity,  namely:  Moreau,  deceased;  Sarah,  widow  of  Ralph  Turn- 
er, a  former  Quincy  druggist;  Melvin,  now  a  retired  ranchman  in  Cali- 
fornia, who,  enlisted  in  1861,  was  captain  of  Company  E,  Eleventh  Mich- 
igan Infantry,  as  part  of  the  Army  of  Cumberland,  was  wounded  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Chickamauga,  then  promoted  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant  colonel,  and 
at  the  battle  of  Missionary  Ridge,  after  Col.  Stoughton  had  received  a  mor- 
tal wound,  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the  regiment,  and  continued  in 


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716  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

that  rank  to  the  end  of  the  war;  Mrs.  Barnes  is  the  fourth  of  her  parents' 
children. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barnes  have  two  sons.  Mell  is  general  manager  of  a 
scale  manufacturing  business  at  Detroit  and  is  a  prosperous  business  man. 
Thomas  W.,  who  is  the  eighth  Thomas  in  the  Barnes  family,  is  associated 
with  his  brother  at  Detroit. 

JOHN  F.  McINTYRE. 

John  F.  Mclntyre,  the  president  and  general  manager  of  the  Sherwood 
Heading  Company  of  Sherwood,  has  in  an  active  business  career  manifested 
keen  s&gacity  and  diligence  vi-hich  are  always  essential  elements  in  a  success- 
ful enterprise.  He  is  a  native  of  Alabama  township,  Genesee  county.  New 
York,  bom  on  the  6th  of  April,  1S40.  His  father,  Daniel  Mclntyre,  was 
a  native  of  Lyme,  Connecticut,  while  the  grandparents  were  born  in  Scot- 
land. David  Mclntyre  was  married  to  Miss  Caroline  Hall,  a  native  of 
Lyme,  Connecticut,  and  of  English  descent.  They  became  the  parents  of  ten 
children,  five  of  whom  reached  adult  age. 

John  F.  Mclntyre,  the  ninth  member  of  the  family,  and  the  only  son 
now  living,  was  reared  in  Ashtabula  county,  Ohio,  whither  he  came  with 
his  parents  when  a  little  lad  of  three  years.  He  acquired  a  common  school 
education,  attending  only  through  the  winter  months,  while  in  the  summer 
seasons  he  worked  at  various  kinds  of  labor  in  order  to  provide  for  his  own 
support.  His  mother  was  left  a  widow  with  nine  children  and  as  soon  as 
old  enoigh  to  earn  his  living  John  F.  Mclntyre  started  out  in  the  world  on 
his  own  account.  Ambitious  for  an  education  he  made  the  most  of  his  op- 
portunities when  in  school  and  by  reading  and  study  in  his  leisure  hours 
largely  broadened  his  knowiedge,  so  that  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years  he 
had  qutdified  himself  for  teaching  and  entered  upon  the  active  work  o£  that 
profession  in  Ashtabula  county,  where  he  taught  for  three  or  four  years 
during  winter  terms.  In  the  meantime  he  learned  and  followed  the  car- 
penter's trade  in  the  summer  months.  Thinking  to  find  a  better  field  of 
labor  he  removed  to  Michigan,  in  1867.  settling  first  in  Owosso  and  after- 
ward in  St.  Johns.  Later  he  went  to  Chesaning,  Michigan,  where  he  fol- 
lowed his  trade  and  also  taught  school  for  two  winter  terms.  Later  he  fol- 
lov-ed  teaching  at  St.  Charles,  Michigan,  for  about  three  years,  after  which 
he  went  to  Lerawee-  county,  Michigan,  and  then  came  to  Sherwood,  where 
he  was  soon  actively  identified  with  building  operations.  He  also  taught 
school  hoe  for  many  years,  following  the  profession  through  the  winter 
months,  while  Jn  the  summer  seasons  he  was  connected  witli  building  pur- 
suits. As  an  educator  he  has  ever  been  practical  and  progressive,  impart- 
ing lendily  to  others  the  knowledge  that  he  had  acquired  so  that  his  services 
gave  general  satisfaction.  For  about  fifteen  years  he  likewise  engaged  in 
the  business  of  evaporating  apples,  and  in  1902,  in  connection  with  George 
Seymour,  he  purchased  the  business  of  the  C.  B.  Wilcox  Manufacturing 
Company.  In  1905  they  organized  a  company  now  known  as  the  Sher- 
wood Heading  Company,  with  Mr.  Mclntyre  as  president  and  general  man- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  T17 

ager,  George  F.  Seymour  vice-president  and  treasurer  and  Guy  E.  Mcln- 
tyre  superintendent  and  secretary.  They  manufacture  shack  barrels  and  keg 
headings  and  have  on  the  payroll  the  names  of  about  twenty  employes.  The 
business  has  now  grown  to  extensive  proportions  and  has  become  a  profit- 
able investment,  being  one  of  the  leading  productive  concerns  of  this  part 
of  the  county. 

Mr.  Mclntyre  has  been  married  twice.  In  iS6o  he  wedded  Abbie 
Woodworth,  and  they  had  three  children,  of  whom  two  are  living,  Ralph 
and  May.  The  mother  died  in  1874.  and  in  1877  Mr.  Mclntyre  wedded 
Harriet  Barton,  by  whom  he  has  two  daughters  and  a  son :  Annie,  now  the 
wife  of  Lynn  Lowry;  Guy  E.,  who  is  in  business  with  his  father;  and  Ada, 
at  home. 

Mr.  Mclntyre  has  been  a  resident  of  Sherwood  for  about  thirty-one 
years  and  has  been  closely  associated  with  its  public  interests,  its  improve- 
ment and  its  upbuiJding.  He  has  been  frequently  called  to  public  office, 
serving  as  township  treasurer  for  one  term,  as  highway  commissioner,  vil- 
lage assessor  and  village  trustee  and  his  public  service  has  been  performed 
with  the  same  fidelity  and  conscientious  purpose  that  has  characterized  the 
discharge  of  his  business  duties.  He  is  a  memlDcr  of  Sherwood  lodge,  No. 
421.  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  Union  City  chapter.  No.  28.  R.  A.  M.,  Three  Rivers 
commandery,  No.  29.  K.  T.,  and  is  in  hearty  sympathy  with  the  purposes 
of  the  craft,  exemplifying  in  his  life  its  beneficent  spirit.  A  long  residence 
in  the  county  combined  with  marked  enterprise  in  business  and  activity  in 
public  affairs  has  made  him  well  known.  He  is  a  man  of  much  force  of 
character,  strong  individuality  and  his  pleasant  social  manner  has  won  him 
a  host  of  warm  friends. 

;.  H.  MONTAGUE. 

J.  H.  Montague,  who  is  engaged  in  the  real  estate  and  insurance  busi- 
ness in  Coidwater,  belongs  to  that  class  of  representative  American  citizens 
who  owe  their  success  to  strong  enterprise,  close  application  and  indefatigable 
diligence.  He  was  bom  in  Oneida  county.  New  York,  November  30,  1833, 
his  parents  being  Stillman  and  Hannah  (Skinner)  Montague,  both  of  whom 
were  natives  of  Massachusetts  and  were  representatives  of  old  New  Eng- 
land families.  They  moved  to  Oneida  county,  New  York,  and  spent  the 
greater  part  of  their  lives  in  that  state,  passing  away  there.  The  father 
was  a  farmer,  and  always  followed  the  occupation  in  order  to  provide  a 
livelihood  for  his  family. 

J.  H.  Montague  was  reared  upon  the  home  farm  in  the  usual  manner 
of  farm  lads  of  that  period  and  locality,  and  in  the  district  schools  he  ac- 
quired his  education.  He  continued  to  assist  his  father  up  to  the  time  of 
his  marriage,  which  occurred  December  22,  1858,  Miss  Laura  Gaylord  be- 
coming his  wife.  He  then  took  up  his  abode  upon  a  farm  in  his  native 
county,  continuing  agricultural  interests  there  until  1869,  when  he  removed 
to  Michigan,  settling  in  the  city  of  Coidwater,  where  he  has  since  resided. 
Here  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  insurance  business  and  has  since  repre- 


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718  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

sented  a  number  of  the  old  reliable  companies  and  at  the  same  time  has  dealt 
quite  extensively  in  real  estate,  negotiating  many  important  realty  transfers. 
Mr.  Montague  has  been  active  in  community  affairs  and  for  fourteen 
years  he  served  as  constable,  while  in  1891  he  was  elected  justice  of  the 
peace,  in  which  position  he  still  serves.  His  decisions  have  been  strictly  fair 
and  impartial,  being  based  upon  the  equity  of  the  case  and  the  law  applicable 
thereto  and  he  has  "  won  golden  opinions  from  all  sorts  of  people."  His 
political  views  are  in  accord  with  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party,- 
which  he  has  supported  since  casting  a  ballot  for  its  presidential  candidate, 
John  C.  Fremont. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Montague  are  the  parents  of  but  two  children:  Harold 
.,  of  Chicago;  and  Myrtle  K.,  who  is  a  teacher  at  the  head  of  the  German 
lepartment  of  the  Detroit  University,  Detroit,  Michigan.  Mrs.  Montague 
s  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  and  with  her  Mr,  Montague  at- 
:ends  its  services.  Fraternally  he  is  connected  with  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen. 

MYRON  J.  WITHINGTON. 

Myron  J.  Withington,  formerly  a  factor  in  the  work  of  public  instruc- 
tion in  Michigan,  but  now  devoting  his  energies  to  agricultural  pursuits  in 
California  township,  Branch  cotmty,  is  a  native  son  of  this  county,  having 
been  born  in  Kinderhook  township  on  the  15th  of  May,  1856.  The  an- 
cestry of  the  family  can  be  traced  back  to  William  Withington,  great-great- 
grandfather of  our  subject,  who  was  born  in  1715  and  died  in  1793.  The 
fnmily  is  of  English  lineage  and  was  established  in  Massachusetts  at  a  very 
early  period  in  the  colonization  of  the  new  world.  William  Withington  ( i  j 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Sarah  Locke,  who  was  born  in  1718  and  died  in 
1797.  Both  she  and  her  husband  were  about  seventy-eight  years  of  age  at 
the  time  of  their  demise.  Their  son,  William  Withington  (2),  who  was 
born  in  1744,  married  Martha  Locke  and  died  in  1823.  William  Withing- 
ton (3),  grandfather  of  our  subject,  was  born  in  New  Hampshire  in  1777, 
representatives  of  the  name  having  removed  from  Massachusetts  to  New 
Hampshire  in  the  meantime.  He  wedded  Abigal  Stone  in  1799.  She  was 
bom  in  1779  and  from  New  Hampshire  they  removed  to  Oswego  county. 
New  York.  The  year  1833  witnessed  their  arrival  in  Michigan,  their  resi- 
dence being  established  in  Homer,  Calhoun  county,  where  they  remained  for 
five  years,  when  in  1838  they  came  to  Kinderhook  township.  Branch  county. 
They  were  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  this  part  of  the  state,  living  here 
when  it  required  considerable  personal  courage  to  meet  the  hardships,  dif- 
ficulties and  dangers  incident  to  life  on  the  frontier.  The  forest  sheltered 
many  wild  animals  and  the  Indians  were  not  infrequently  seen.  While  they 
caused  little  troubie  to  the  white  settlers  yet  they  were  a  source  of  constant 
menace,  owing  to  their  unreliable  dispositions.  The  Withington  family 
went  through  the  usual  pioneer  experiences  and  in  clearing  and  developing 
a  farm  for  himself  William  Withington  al.so  assisted  in  the  material  prog- 
ress of  the  county.     He  died  in  1845.  while  his  wife  passed  away  in  1839. 

Edwin  Withington,  father  of  Myron  J.   Withington,  was  born  in  Os- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  719 

wego  county,  New  York,  January  20,  1820,  and  was  the  youngest  in  a 
family  of  twelve  children.  When  his  parents  removed  from  the  Empire 
state  to  Michigan  they  left  several  married  children  in  New  York,  but  Ed- 
win Withington,  being  next  to  the  youngest  and  then  but  twelve  years  of 
age,  came  with  them  to  the  middle  west  and  was  reared  upon  the  home  farm 
in  Calhoun  and  in  Branch  counties,  sharing  in  the  usual  hardships  and 
trials  incident  to  frontier  life.  He  soon  became  familiar  with  the  arduous 
task  of  clearing  and  developing  new  land  and  was  always  a  farmer,  yet 
possessed  considerable  versatility  in  business  matters  and  his  mechanical  in- 
genuity enabled  him  to  follow  successfully  the  pursuits  of  shoemaking,  coop- 
ering and  carpentering.  His  early  years  were  spent  in  Kinderhook  town- 
ship and  in  i860  he  removed  to  California  township,  where  he  resided  until 
his  death.  He  was  a  leading  citizen  here  for  many  years  and  was  highly 
esteemed  as  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  ability,  of  honor  in  business  and 
of  loyalty  in  citizenship.  His  political  allegiance  was  given  to  the  Repub- 
lican party.'  He  took  a  deep  interest  in  educational  affairs  and  for  many 
years  served  as  a  school  officer,  doing  everything  in  his  power  to  promote 
the  cause  of  public  instruction  in  this  part  of  the  state.  Both  he  and  his 
wife  were  members  of  the  Methodist  church  and  died  in  that  faith,  the  father 
passing  away  February  28,  1897,  while  his  wife's  death  occurred  September 
29,  igoi.  He  had  been  married  on  the  26th  of  November,  1845,  *o  Miss 
Ann  Dorothy  Walter,  who  was  born  in  England,  November  26,  1822.  and 
came  to  America  with  her  parents,  Abraham  and  Dorothy  (Mears)  Walter, 
the  family  home  being  established  in  Fremont,  Indiana.  Edwin  and  Dor- 
othy Withington  had  six  children,  tliree  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  while 
those  still  living  are  Myron  J.  and  Homer  E.  Withington,  of  Coldwater. 
Another  son,  Levi,  died  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years. 

Myron  J;  Withington  was  but  four  }-ears  of  age  when  his  parents  removed 
from  Kinderhook  to  California  township  and  at  the  usual  age  he  began  his 
education  in  the  common  schools,  while  later  he  entered  the  Coldwater  high 
school,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the  class  of  1879.  He  afterward 
entered  the  State  Normal  College  at  Ypsilanti,  Michigan,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  1893  ^""^  '"  '"^  senior  year  he  was  editor  of  the  college 
paper.  The  Norma!  News,  an  honor  which  comesi  in  recognition  of  superior 
ability.  Following  his  graduation  at  the  normal  he  engaged  in  teaching 
school  both  in  the  district  schools  and  in  the  graded  schools  of  the  city.  In 
the  profession  he  made  rapid  advancement,  which  came  in  recognition  of 
his  merit,  and  at  different  times  he  served  as  principal  of  the  public  schools 
at  Almont,  Michigan,  and  of  the  high  school  atLudington,  Michigan.  In 
1896.  however,  he  returned  to  California  township,  where  he  has  since  fol- 
lowed farming.  Here  he  has  a  vahiable  tract  of  land  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres,  which  was  cleared  by  the  fatJier,  assisted  by  his  sons,  only  twenty 
acres  having  been  placed  under  cultivation  when  it  came  into  possession  of 
Edwin  Withington.  It  is  located  on  section  nineteen  and  is  now  a  valuable 
and  productive  tract  equipped  with  modern  improvements  and  giving  every 
evidence  of  the  careful  supervision  and  practical  methods  of  the  owner.  For  ■ 
several  years,  in  addition  to  genera!  fanning  Mr.   Withington  and  his  son 


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720  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

have  devoted  considerable  attention  to  the  raising  of  potatoes  and  their  pota- 
to crop  is  the  largest  produced  by  any  individiral  in  this  vicinity. 

Mr.  Withington  was  married  October  13.  1880,  to  Miss  Mattie  King, 
who  was  horn  in  Coldwater  township,  April  18,  1858,  and  is  a  daughter  of 
William  and  Kate  (O'Mara)  King.  The  father  was  a  native  of  England 
and  the  mother,  born  in  Canada,  was  of  Irish  descent.  In  their  family  were 
eight  children,  of  whom  two  died  in  infancy.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs  Withington 
have  been  bom  four  children:  Ernest  E.,  who  is  living  at  home  and  assists 
in  the  operation  of  his  father's  farm,  altliough  he  owns  eighty  acres  in  the 
northern  part  of  California  township ;  Mabel  L.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  nine 
years ;  Harry  Gerald,  who  died  in  infancy ;  and  Harold  Gerard,  at  home, 
these  latter  twins. 

Mr.  Withington  is  a  man  of  keen  intellect,  whose  reading  has  covered 
a  wide  range  and  who  keeps  in  touch  with  the  trend  of  modern  thought  along 
the  various  lines  of  interest  to  the  general  public.  Sociological,  economic  and 
political  questions  as  well  as  those  bearing  upon  his  chosen  hfe  work  are 
of  deep  interest  to  him  and  he  has  informed  himself  thoroughly  concerning 
many  of  these  points.  In  his  political  views  he  has  always  been  a  Republican 
and  has  held  numerous  offices.  For  several  years  he  was  school  inspector, 
was  appointed  to  fill  a  vacancy  in  the  office  of  supervisor  and  has  been  justice 
of  the  peace  for  several  years.  He  has  long  taken  an  active  part  in  church 
and  Sunday  school  work  and  contributes  liberally  to  the  support  of  religion. 
He  has  been  identified  with  the  county  and  district  Sunday  school  work  and 
has  been  president  and  secretary  of  the  district  Sunday  school  association  for 
several  terms.  He  was  also  at  one  time  a  member  of  the  Grange.  A  man 
of  strong  individuality  and  marked  force  of  character,  the  salient  elements 
of  his  life  work  with  its  underlying  motives  have  been  such  as  awaken  uniform 
esteem.  Everything  that  he  does  is  characterized  by  an  intelligent  under- 
standing of  the  position  and  he  is  fearless  in  defense  of  his  honest  views  and 
opinions. 

EZRA  JOHNSON. 

Ezra  Johnson,  who  from  pioneer  times  down  to  the  present  has  been 
a  resident  of  Branch  county,  his  memory  forming  a  connecting  iink  between 
the  past  with  its  privations  and  hardships  and  the  modern  era  with  its  pros- 
perity and  advanced  civilization,  is  now  living  on  section  twelve,  Union 
township.  He  is  a  native  of  Ohio,  the  old  Buckeye  state,  his  birth  having 
occurred  in  Florence  township,  Erie  county,  on  the  14th  of  October,  1830. 
His  father,  James  Johnson,  was  a  native  of  New  York,  but  became  an  early 
settler  of  the  Buckeye  state,  where  he  took  up  his  abode  in  1815.  There 
he  resided  for  many  years  and  in  1850  he  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan, 
where  he  spent  his  remaining  days.  In  early  manhood  he  had  \vedded  [da 
Squires,  who  died  in  Ohio.  She  was  a  native  of  the  Empire  state  and  by 
her  marriage  she  became  the  mother  of  eight  children,  six  sons  and  two 
daughters,  all  of  whom  reached  adult  age  and  were  married  with  one  ex- 
ception, 


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Hos:6db,>^500Qie 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  721 

Ezra  Johnson,  the  third  son  and  fourth  member  of  the  family,  was 
reared  in  the  county  ofhis  nativity  until  nineteen  years  of  age  and  when  a 
!ad  of  about  six  summers  entered  the  district  schools,  wherein  he  pursued 
the  elementary  branches  of  learning-.  In  the  summer  months  he  worked 
upon  the  farm  and  his  training  in  the  fields  made  him  wel!  qualified  to  carry 
on  farm  work  wben  he  started  out  in  life  on  his  own  account.  He  arrived 
in  Branch  county  when  a  young  man  of  nineteen  years  and  here  he  began 
working  in  the  woods,  cutting  down  the  trees,  clearing  away  the  brush  and 
thus  preparing  many  acres  for  the  plow.  In  company  with  a  companion 
he  prepared  two  hundred  and  fifty  cords  of  wood  in  one  winter.  He  had 
been  trained  to  the  value  of  industry  and  perseverance  in  the  active  affairs 
of  life  and  his  entire  career  has  been  marked  by  unfaltering  diligence.  He 
can  recall  many  incidents  of  pioneer  times,  and,  once  in  the  early  days  of 
Union  township  he  and  his  friend  were  about  one  and  one  half  miles  south 
of  Union  City,  and  a  deer  started  up  from  the  bushes.  Uncle  Ezra  had  a 
dog  which  pursued  the  deer  and  caught  it  by  one  of  the  hind  quarters,  and 
held  the  deer  rmtil  they  came  up  and  shot  it. 

Mr.  Johnson  was  married  in  Union  township  December  7,  1853,  to 
Miss  Loretta  Burnett,  with  whom  he  traveled  life's  journey  for  about  forty- 
six  years,  almost  a  half  a  century.  They  began  their  domestic  hfe  upon  a 
farm,  and  he  has  always  carried  on  agricultural  pursuits,  clearing  many  acres 
of  land  in  Branch  county  and  erecting  a  number  of  buildings  thereon.  He 
has  built  houses,  bams  and  sheds  and  his  efforts  have  been  a  factor  in  pro- 
ducing the  modern  development  and  progress  of  this  portion  of  the  state. 
He  has  now  been  a  resident  of  Union  township  for  fifty-six  years,  save  that 
he  spent  a  brief  period  of  ten  months  in  Kansas.  He  owns  eighty  acres 
of  good  land  where  his  son  resides  and  his  property  is  the  visible  evidence 
of  his  life  of  industry. 

On  December  21,  1899,  Mr.  Johnson  was  called  upon  to  mourn  the  , 
death  of  his  wife.  They  had  become  the  parents  of  six  children,  of  whom 
three  died  in  early  life,  while  three  are  still  living,  namely:  Gena.  the  wife 
of  Charles  Rice  of  Girard  township,  and  they  have  three  children,  Lena, 
Glenn  and  Alfred.  Charles,  who  married  Mary  Tandler  and  follows  farming 
in  Union  township;  and  Herman,  who  wedded  Annie  Schultz  and  is  living 
on  the  old  family  homestead,  and  they  have  two  children,  Loretta  and 
Prosper. 

Mr.  Johnson  has  at  different  times  voted  the  Democratic  and  the  Re- 
publican tickets.  He  is  practically  independent  in  his  political  affiliation, 
supporting  the  candidates  whom  he  regards  as  best  qualified  for  office.  His 
interest  in  public  affairs  is  that  of  a  patrioticand  public  spirited  citizen  and 
he  rejoices  in  what  has  been  accomplished  in  Branch  county.  Numbered 
among  its  pioneer  settlers,  he  can  remember  the  time  when  the  forests  were 
infested  with  wild  animals  and  when  considerable  wild  game  could  be  had 
by  the  hunter.  The  trees  stood  in  their  primeval  strength  and  only  here  and 
there  could  be  seen  a  cabin  to  indicate  the  advance  of  civilization.  In  the 
work  of  transformation  that  has  since  been  wrought  Mr.  Johnson  has  per- 
formed his  full  share  as  an  agriculturist  and  now  in  his  later  years — for 


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T22  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

he  has  passed  the  seventy-fifth  milestone  on  life's  journey — he  is  enabled 
to  enjoy  many  of  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  life  while  leaving  to  his  son 
the  active  work  of  the  farm. 

RICHMOND  F.  PARKER. 

Richmond  F.  Parker,  a  retired  farmer  living  at  Coldwatcr,  whose  care- 
fully conducted  business  interests  and  recognition  of  opportunities  have 
made  him  a  prosperous  citizen,  was  born  at  Hinckley,  Medina  county,  Ohio, 
April  15,  1836,  his  parents  being  John  and  Ohve  (Foster)  Parker.  The 
father  was  born  in  Ontario  county.  New  York.  March  18,  1793,  and  the  an- 
cestry is  traced  back  through  Stiies,  Elijah  and  Phineas  to  James  H.  Parker, 
who  was  one  of  the  several  children  whose  parents  were  the  founders  of  the 
name  in  America.  They  became  residents  of  the  colony  of  Massachusetts, 
where  they  were  murdered  by  the  Indians,  their  children  escaping  by  hiding 
in  the  tal!  grass.  The  ancestral  history  is  also  traceable  through  many  genera- 
tions in  England,  where  definite  information  is  obtainable  concerning  Lord 
Parker  of  Macclesfield,  a  direct  ancestor  of  the  branch  of  the  family  founded 
in  the  new  world. 

Stiles  Parker,  the  grandfather  of  Richmond  F.  Parker,  was  a  minister 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  married  Demmis  Caples  and  subse- 
quently removed  from  the  state  of  New  York  to  Summit  county,  Ohio,  accept- 
ing a  pastorate  in  the  town  of  Richfield,  where  he  remained  for  several  years. 
He  afterward  went  to  Delaware  county,  Ohio,  where  his.  last  days  were  spent. 
His  life  was  marked  by  unselfish  devotion  to  the  moral  elevation  of  his  fellow- 
men  and  his  influence  was  widely  felt,  remaining  as  a  blessed  benediction  to 
those  who  knew  him  long  after  he  had  passed  away.  The  marriage  of  John 
Parker  and  Olive  Foster  was  celebrated  in  1813,  in  the  state  of  New  York, 
where  Miss  Foster  was  bom  in  1796.  For  some  time  after  their  marriage 
they  lived  in  the  Empire  state  and  then  removed  to  Kentucky,  settling  near 
Eiizabethtown,  where  the  father  followed  the  trade  of  wagon-making,  which 
he  had  learned  in  early  life.  He  was.  thus  connected  with  industrial  interests 
in  the  Blue  Grass  state  for  ten  years  and  on  the  expiration  of  that  period 
became  a  resident  of  Summit  county,  Ohio,  where  he  engaged  in  building 
and  was  also  an  operator  of  water  power  mills.  Finally  disposing  of  his 
interests  at  that  place  he  came  to  Michigan  ini  1845  ^^d  for  four  years  there- 
after resided  in  Hillsdale  county,  where  he  followed  farming.  In  1849  lie 
became  a  resident  of  Branch  county  and  in  Union  township  he  built  and  again 
operated  a  sawmill,  but  after  a  brief  period  he  sold  that  plant  and  returned 
to  Ohio,  where  he  resided  until  i860.  ^  He  then  again  came  to  Michigan, 
spending  his  last  days  in  the  home  of  his  son  Richmond  F.  in  Girard  town- 
ship, where  he  died  in  March,  1865.  His  estimable  wife  also  spent  the 
evening  of  her  life  in  the  home  of  her  son  and  passed  away  in  1871.  They 
were  industrious,  energetic  people,  possessing  many  commendable  traits 
of  character  which  won  for  them  the  respect  and  esteem  of  all  who  knew 
them  in  the  various  localities  in  which  they  lived.  They  had  eleven  sons  and 
five  daughters,  namely:    Alpheus  B.,  Huldah  L.,  Matilda  H.,  Simon  Peter, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  723 

Paul  C,  Minerva  L,,  Ransom  R.,  Olive  Marilda,  William  Stiles,  John 
Wesley,  George  W.,  Oliver  H.,  Richmond  Foster,  Silas  L.  and  Cyrus  L,, 
twins,  and  Martha  Jane.  Of  this  family  Alpheus  and  Cyrus  died  in  in- 
fancy, while  the  others  reached  years  of  maturity  and  with  the  exception  of 
Silas  all  were  married.  Silas  served  his  country  in  the  Civil  war  as  a  member 
of  Company  B,  Forty-fourth  Illinois'  Infantry,  and  was  killed  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Stone  River.  He  had  been  mustered  in  as  sergeant  and  for  gallant 
conduct  was  promoted  through  successive  ranks  to  a  captaincy.  He  was 
leading  his  command  in  battle  when  he  was  killed.  Tlie  father  was  a 
soldier  in  the  war  of  1812. 

Richmond  F.  Parker  was  nine  years  of  age  when  with  his  parents  he 
went  to  Hillsdale  county.  Michigan.  He  acquired  a  district  school  educa- 
tion and  remained  under  the  parental  roof  until  he  was  eighteen  years  of 
age,  although  during  much  of  this  time  he  worked  as  a  farm  hand  in  the 
neighborhood.  In  1854  he  began  learning  the  millwright's  trade,  which 
he  followed  in  connection  with  carjjentering  until  i860,  and  then  with  the 
capital  he  had  saved  from  his  earnings  he  purchased  a  tract  of  land  of 
forty  acres  in  Girard  township.  Building  a  log  cabin  thereon,  he  then 
began  to  cultivate  and  improve  his  farm  and  was  engaged  in  general  agri- 
cultural pursuits  until  after  the  inauguration  of  the  Civil  war,  when  directed 
by  a  spirit  of  loyalty  and  patriotism  he  offered  his  services  in  defense  of 
the  Union.  On  the  7th  of  August,  1862,  he  became  a  member  of  Com- 
pany C,  Nineteenth  Michigan  Infantry,  with  which  he  served  until  the 
close  of  the  war,  being  chief  bugler  of  the  regiment  and  during  the  last 
fourteen  months  of  his  services  he  was  stationed  at  brigade  headquarters. 
He  was  present  at  the  battles  of  Resaca,  Cas.sville,  Dallas  Woods.  New 
Hope  Church,  Giigal  Church,  Gulp's  Farm,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Peach  Tree 
Creek,  Siege  of  Atlanta,  Savannah.  Aversboro  and  Bentonville.  He  was 
also  with  Sherman  on  the  famous  march  to  the  sea  and  took  part  in  the 
grand  review  at  Washington,  where  thousands  of  victorious  Union  soldiers 
marched  through  the  streets  of  ihe  capital  city,  carrying  aloft  the  banners 
of  victory  as  they  passed  by  the  stand  on  which  the  president  reviewed  the 
nation's  army.  He  was  mustered  out  with  his  regiment  on  the  loth  day 
of  June.  1865.  and  he  stili  has  in  his  possession  the  bugle  which  he  carried 
through  that  long  sanguinary  conflict.  He  is  now  an  honored  member  of 
Butterworth  post,  G.  A.  R. 

Mr.  Parker  following  his  return  from  the  war  resumed  the  occupa- 
tion of  farming  in  Girard  township  and  continued  his  labors  there  until 
18S3,  when  he  sold  his  property  and  purchased  the  farm  on  which  now 
stands  the  plant  of  the  Wolverine  Portland  Cement  Company,  to  which 
concern  he  sold  his  land  in  1S90.  Since  that  time  he  has  lived  retired,  en- 
joying a  well  earned  rest  to  which  his  long  years  of  active  labor  justly  en- 
titles him.  Mr.  Parker  was  married  January  I,  1857,  to  Miss  Caroline 
Fauble,  who  was  born  in  Bristol.  Wayne  county,  Ohio,  September  19,  1836. 
Her  father  was  also  a  native  of  the  Buckeye  state,  while  her  grandfather, 
Michael  Fauble,  was  born  in  Germany.  His  parents  brought  him  to  Amer- 
ica in  his  early  boyhood  and  by  their  death  soon  after  their  arrival  in  this 


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724  HIS'J  ORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

country  he  was  left  an  orphan.  He  was  then  apprenticed  to  learn  the  trade 
of  shoemaking  but  later  turned  his  attention  to  farming.  He  was  married 
in  Pennsylvania  to  Miss  Agnes  McMahan,  a  native  of  that  state,  and  soon 
afterward  the  young  couple  started  for  Ohio,  where  Mr.  Fauble  devoted  his 
attention  to  the  tilling  of  the  soil.  He  spent  his  last  years  in  Bristol,  Wayne 
county,  Ohio,  and  lived  to  be  ninety-seven  years  of  age.  Mrs.  Parker's 
father  was  a  life-long  resident  of  Ohio  and  was  an  enterprising,  progressive 
business  man,  owning  mills  and  farm  lands  and  giving  his  personal  super- 
vision to  the  operation  of  both.  He  died  suddenly  in  1850,  while  on  a 
business  trip  to  Galesburg,  Illinois.  His  wife,  who  was  born  in  Jefferson 
county,  Ohio,  lived  to  be  eighty-five  years  of  age.  She  bore  the  maiden 
name  of  Jane  Halliwill  and  was  a  daughter  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Cox) 
Halliwill,  natives  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  respectively  and  represent- 
atives of  old  and  well  known  families  of  the  east.  The  maternal  grand- 
mother of  Mrs.  Parker  at  one  time  had  the  honor  of  entertaining  General 
Washington  at  dinner  during  the  Revolutionary  war.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Parker 
have  a  large  circle  of  warm  friends  and  enjoy  the  hospitality  of  many  of 
the  best  homes  of  Coldwater  and  Branch  county.  He  has  always  been  a 
staunch  Repubhcan  but  has  never  sought  office,  although  in  matters  of  cit- 
izenship he  is  progressive  and  is  today  as  loyal  to  the  general  good  as  he 
was  when  he  followed  the  nation's  starry  banner  upon  southern  battlefields. 

CHARLES  W.  STAFFORD. 

Charles  W.  Stafford,  a  prominent  farmer  residing  on  section  fifteen. 
Union  township,  has  a  tract  of  land  of  one  hundred  and  eighty-nine  acres 
which  is  splendidly  improved  with  modern  equipments.  A  native  of  Cal- 
houn county,  Michigan,  Mr.  Stafford  was  bom  February  5,  1843.  H^'S 
father,  Hosea  Stafford,  was  a  native  of  St.  Lawrence  county.  New  York, 
and  on  removing  to  the  west  settled  in  Burlington  township,  Calhoun  county, 
Michigan,  about  1836.  He  became  one  of  the  pioneers  of  that  locality  and 
there  followed  the  occupation  of  farming,  assisting  in  the  early  development 
of  that  portion  of  the  state.  About  1848  he  removed  to  Branch  county,  tak- 
ing up  his  abode  in  Union  township,  where  he  spent  his  remaining  days, 
passing  away  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years.  In  his  political  views  he  was 
a  Whig  until  the  dissolution  of  the  party,  when  he  became  a  staunch  Re- 
publican, He  married  Philura  Wilson,  a  native  of  New  York,  in  which 
state  she  spent  the  first  sixteen  years  of  her  life  and  then  came  with  her 
parents  to  Michigan,  the  family  home  being  established  hi  Burlington  town- 
ship, Calhoun  county.  She  Js  still  living  at  the  very  advanced  age  of  eighty- 
seven  years.  To  her  husband  she  was  a  faithful  companion  and  helpmate 
all  through  the  pioneer  times  and  in  the  period  of  later  day  jwogress  and 
development  when  they  were  enabled  to  enjoy  many  more  of  the  comforts 
and  pleasures  of  life  than  they  bad  in  their  earlier  years.  In  their  family 
were  eight  children,  one  of  whom  died  in  early  life,  while  another  died  at 
the  age  of  eighteen  years.     Six  of  the  family  are  still  living. 

Charles  W.  Stafford,  the  third  in  order  of  birth  and  the  eldest  son,  was 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  725 

about  five  years  old  when  brought  by  his  parents  to  Branch  county.  He 
was  reared  in  Union  township,  acquiring  a  common  school  education  in 
one  of  the  old  time  log  schoolhouses.  He  remained  at  home  until  he  had 
attained  his  majority  and  during  that  period  assisted  largely  in  the  im- 
provement of  the  farm.  He  then  offered  his  services  to  his  country  and 
engaged  in  the  Civil  war,  Incoming  a  member  of  Company  D.  First  Mich- 
igan Light  Artillery  in  1861.  He  remained  with  that  command  for  three 
years  and  then  veteranized,  re-enlisting  in  the  same  company  and  regiment, 
with  which  he  continued  for  about  ten  months  longer.  He  was  quarter- 
master sergeant  at  the  time  of  his  discharge.  He  participated  in  a  number 
of  important  battles,  inchiding  the  engagements  of  Stone  River,  Chicka- 
mauga,  Missionary  Ridge  and  others.  He  was  in  the  hospital  at  Louisville, 
Kentucky,  for  about  three  months,  but  otherwise  was  continuously  with  his 
regiment  throughout  the  long  term  of  his  service,  covering  almost  four 
years.  He  was  a  faithful  soldier,  displaying  valor  on  the  field  of  battle  and 
loyalty  at  all  times  to  the  cause  which  he  espoused. 

After  receiving  an  honorable  discharge  Mr.  Stafford  returned  to  Union 
township  and  resumed  general  farming,  which  pursuit  he  lias  since  fol- 
lowed with  excellent  success.  He  is  now  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and 
eighty-nine  acres  of  rich  and  arable  land  which  is  well  improved  with  good 
buildings.  The  place  is  kept  up  according  to  modem  farming  methods  and 
yields  to  him  a  good  financial  return  each  year. 

On  April  28,  1R74.  Mr,  Stafford  was  married  to  Miss  Margaret  C, 
Harsh,  a  daughter  of  Adam  and  Susanna  (Mintling)  Harsh,  and  they  have 
two  sons,  Roy  and  Ralph,  who  are  assisting  their  father  in  the  improve- 
ment of  the  home  farm.  Mr.  Stafford  has  taken  an  active  and  helpful  in- 
terest in  public  matters,  his  co-operation  being  freely  given  for  the  support 
of  measures  and  movements  for  the  general  good.  In  pofitics  he  is  a  staunch 
Republican  and  in  1899  was  elected  supervisor,  while  for  iovr  years  he 
served  as  township  treasurer.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  lodge  and 
chapter  at  Union  City,  active  in  its  work  and  in  hearty  sympathy  with  the 
tenets  and  teachings  of  the  craft.  He  has  been  a  resident  of  Union  town- 
ship for  about  fifty-six  years  and  is  one  of  the  men  who  have  made  the 
county  what  it  is  today.  He  has  worked  persistently  and  energetically  year 
after  year  in  the  conduct  of  his  business  inter^ts,  and  has  thereby  contrib- 
uted to  the  sum  total  of  prosperity  in  this  part  of  the  state.  He  made  a 
creditable  military  record  and  his  life  history  is  equally  commendable  in  its 
business  and  social  relations. 

HENRY  D.  KNAUSS. 

Among  the  leading  and  reliable  families  of  German  descent  living  in 
Branch  county,  Tione  has  achievefl  more  notable  success  or  stands  higher  in 
the  public  regard  than  that  of  Knauss.  Its  members  have  achieved  suc- 
cess in  various  lines  of  endeavor  and  are  now  leading  people  here.  This 
family  is  descended  from  Dr.  Danid  Knat^s,  xvho  came  irom  Baden,  Ger- 
many, he  being  the  paternal  grandfather  of  our  subject.     He  was  a  soldier 


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726  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  Mr.  Knauss  now  has  a  snuff  box  which  he 
carried  while  serving  in  that  struggle.  He  also  has  a  ponderous  German 
Bible  which  was  published  in  1765;  also  a  Ready  Reckoner  Calculator,  pub- 
lished in  1794,  and  a  piece  of  the  old  Continental  scrip  money  to  the  value 
of  two-thirds  of  a  dollar.  This  was  printed  in  1776.  Mrs.  Knauss  has  one 
of  the  old-fashioned  spinning  wheels  and  reels  which  is  in  a  good  state  of 
preservation.  These  are  well  remembered  by  the  pioneer  mothers.  Dr. 
Knauss  was  married  in  Germany  to  a  Miss  Meyer,  and  soon  thereafter  they 
came  to  America,  locating  in  Pennsylvania,  where  seven  children  were  born 
to  them,  one  of  these,  Solomon  Knauss,  being  the  father  of  our  subject. 

Solomon  Knauss  was  bom  in  Northampton  county,  Pennsylvania,  De- 
cember 17,  1790,  and  he  was  married  to  Sarah  Moore,  also  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania.  The  Moore  family  came  originally  from  England.  Solo- 
mon Knauss  and  Sarah  Moore  removed  from  Pennsylvania  to  Erie  county, 
Ohio,  in  1848,  where  they  passed  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  They  had 
twelve  children,  three  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  the  others  being  as  follows : 
William  Knauss  of  Erie  county,  Ohio;  Julia  Smith  and  Elizabeth  Boyer 
live  in  Sandusky  county,  Ohio;  Charles  died  in  Illinois,  July  13,  1901 ;  Mary 
BiHsmeyer  lives  at  Cambridge,  Michigan;  Solomon  died  in  1865;  Henry  D. 
is  the  subject  of  this  review;  Samuel  is  a  resident  of  Coldwater,  Michigan; 
James  lives  in  Kinderhook.  Of  this  family  two  sons,  Charles  and  James, 
were  in  Ohio  regiments  in  the  Civil  war.  The  father  and  mother  both  died 
in  Ohio,  the  former  June  2,  1865,  and  the  latter  July  10,  1875.  Solomon 
Knauss  was  a  highly  prosperous  farmer  in  Ohio,  owning  three  hundred  and 
seventy  acres  of  fertile  land,  and  both  he  and  his  wife  were  members  of 
the  German  Lutheran  church. 

Henry  D.  Knauss  was  born  in  Union  county,  Pennsylvania,  October 
26,  1838,  and  he  was  reared  upon  the  home  farm,  assisting  his  father  in  the 
clearing  of  the  place  and  remaining  at  home  until  he  was  twenty-two  years 
old.  He  was  married  there  November  20,  i860,  to  Permelia  L.  Drake,  who 
was  born  in  Steuben  county,  New  York,  June  10,  1842.  Her  father  was 
Leonard  Drake,  who  was  born  in  Pompey,  Onondaga  county.  New  York, 
May  14,  1804,  and  her  mother  was  Elizabeth  Cleveland,  born  in  Argyle, 
Vermont,  September  16,  1807.  They  were  married  in  New  York  state  No- 
vember 16,  1825,  and  had  nine  children,  ah  of  whom  grew  to  maturity  as 
follows:  Elizabeth  White  lives  in  Ihinois;  Sarah  Smith  died  in  Iowa  in 
1902;  Alpheus  died-  in  the  west;  Dyar  lives  in  Iowa;  Hezekiah  hves  in 
Rochester,  Indiana;  Permelia  is  the  wife  of  our  subject;  Asa  and  Charles 
live  in  Nebraska;  Lovina  Board  hves  in  Kinderhook.  The  father,  Leonard 
Drake,  died  in  Kinderhook,  October  17,  1892,  his  wife  passing  away  pre- 
viously in  Ohio,  September  9,  1877.  She  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  while  her  husband  was  a  Universalist. 

Henry  D.  Knauss  early  learned  the  essential  principles  of  agriculture 
and  decided  upon  this  as  a  life  pursuit.  He  owned  a  farm  in  Ohio,  which 
he  improved  and  which  he  .sold  and  purchased  his  present  fine  place  of 
one  hundred  and  sixty-one  acres  on  section  two,  Kinderhorfi  township,  in 
1877,  coming  here  on  October  gth  of  that  year.     Here  he  has  lived  ever 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  727 

since,  with  the  exception  of  a  year's  residence  at  Fremont,  Indiana,  this 
being  in  1903.  He  has  cleared  a  portion  of  his  present  farm  and  made 
many  improvements  thereon  and  it  is  now  one  of  the  comfortable  and  at- 
tractive farm  homes  of  this  portion  of  the  county. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Knauss  has  been  blessed  with  the  birth 
of  five  children,  one  of  whom,  a  son,  died  in  infancy,  the  others  being  as 
follows:  Ida  L..  married  Frank  Dewey  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Neva, 
their  home  being  at  Fremont,  Indiana;  Delia,  another  daughter,  married 
George  Lazenby  and  they  live  in  Coldwater,  having  one  daughter,  Bernice; 
they  have  a  farm  in  Gilead.  but  moved  to  the  city  to  educate  their  daughter; 
Nellie  married  John  Morgan  and  their  home  i,s  in  Fremont,  Indiana,  they 
having  one  son.  Max  Henrj';  Harrj',  the  youngest  son,  was  a  student  in 
the  Fremont  high  school  and  took  a  year's  course  at  the  Indiana  Business 
College.  Now  he  is  finishing  at  the  Huntingdon  (Indiana)  Business  Uni- 
versity. He  shows  great  business  and  executive  ability  and  is  receiving  a 
most  thorough  education  and  training  for  a  business  and  commercial  career. 

Mr.  Knauss's  sterhng  worth  of  character  has  led  to  his  selection  upon 
numerous  occasions  to  fill  public  positions  of  trust  and  responsibility,  he 
possessing  the  entire  confidence  of  his  fellow  townsmen.  He  has  been  town- 
ship treasurer  and  drain  commissioner  for  several  terms  and  has  been  a 
school  district  officer  for  more  than  thirty  years  here  and  in  Ohio.  His 
very  sensible  political  motto  is :  "  Anything  for  the  best  interests  of  the 
people,"  and  he  abides  by  it.  He  has  been  very  successful  in  the  line 
of  general  farming,  specializing  in  good  live  stodi,  and  he  and  his  estimable 
wife  are  highly  regarded  in  the  community  where  they  have  lived  for  so 
many  years. 

GEORGE  MONROE. 

George  Monroe,  following  the  occupation  of  farming  on  section  thirty- 
six.  Matteson  township,  is  a  native  son  of  Branch,  county,  his  birth  having 
occurred  on  the  19th  of  July,  1854.  on  the  old  family  homestead  in  Mat- 
teson township,  where  his  father  had  located  at  an  early  day.  He  is  a 
son  of  Jesse  Monroe,  a  native  of  New  York,  who  was  reared  in  the  east 
but  before  his  marriage  came  west  to  Michigan,  settling  in  Branch  county. 
He  returned  to  New  York,  however,  and  was  there  married  to  Hannah  Mer- 
ritt,  the  widow  of  Isaac  Mills.  With  his  bride  he  returned  to  Branch  county, 
settling  in  Matteson  township  where  he  purchased  a  farm.  Later  he  bought 
the  farm  upon  which  his  son  George  now  resides  and  took  up  his 
abode  thereon.  At  the  present  time  he  is  living  retired  from  active  business 
cares,  now  making  his  home  in  Bron,son.  He  was  one  of  the  pioneer 
settlers  of  Branch  county  and  was  closely  identified  with  its  early 
development  and  improvement,  aiding  in  laying  the  foundation  upon 
which  the  present  prosperity  and  progress  of  the  county  has  been 
built.  He  was  born  March  20.  1821.  and  is  therefore  eighty-four  years 
of  age.  He  is  well  known  in  the  county  and  is  respected  and  esteemed 
bv  all  with  whom  he  has  come  in  contact.  In  his  business  affairs  he  pros- 
pered and  became  the  owner  of  one  thousand  acres  of  land.     In  the  family 


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728  HIS'IORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

were  three  children:  Wallace,  who  is.  a  hardware  merchant  living  in 
Bronson;  George,  of  this  review;  and  William,  who  is  engaged  as  a  banker 
in  Bronson.  The  mother  was  three  times  married,  her  first  union  being 
with  Mr.  Gorhani,  by  whom  she  had  one  child,  Mary,  now  the  wife  of 
Alexander  Anderson,  of  Michigan.  Her  second  marriage  was  to  Isaac 
Mills,  by  whom  she  had  two  sons :  Delbert  Mills,  who  is  living  in  Batavia 
township.  Branch  county;  and  Adolphus  Mills,  who  spent  his  entire  life  in 
Matteson  township  but  has  now  passed  away. 

George  Monroe,  the  second  son,  was  reared  in  his  native  township  and 
was  educated  in  the  schools  of  the  townships  of  Matteson  and  of  Bronson. 
He  remained  at  home  through  the  period  of  his  youth,  assisting  in  the 
labors  of  the  farm  and  gaining  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  best  metho^ls  of 
cultivating  tlie  fields,  so  that  he  was  well  qualified  to  imdertake  farm  work 
for  himself  after  he  attained  his  majority.  He  was  married  December  25, 
1877,  to  Miss  Lottie  Sanderson,  a  daughter  of  Joel  and  Mary  (Legg) 
Sanderson,  the  former  a  native  of  Vennont  and  the  latter  of  England. 
They  were  married  in  Ohio  and  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  about 
1845,  setthng  near  Fawn  River.  Mrs.  Monroe  was  bom  in  Greenfield, 
Indiana,  November  15,  1857.  Her  father  located  in  Ohio,  but  removed  from 
there  to  Fawn  River,  Michigan,  and  Mrs.  Monroe  was  educated  in  the  schools 
of  Lima  and  in  the  La  Grange  Collegiate  Institute  at  Ontario,  Indiana. 
Following  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Monroe  located  upon  the  farm 
which  is  now  their  home,  and  where  Mr.  Monroe  has  maintained  his  resi- 
dence for  twenty-eight  years.  Three  sons  came  to  bless  this  union :  Clar- 
ence, who  married  Cora  Sager,  lives  in  Matteson  township,  where  he  owns 
and  operates  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres.  Irving  married 
Florence  Parke,  by  whom  he  has  one  son,  Harold  Elwood,  and  they  reside 
on  section  thirty-six,  Matteson  township.  Carlton  J.  is  living  at  home  with 
his  parents. 

Mr.  Mbnroe  owns  a  farm  of  four  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  and  each 
of  his  sons  is  working  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres.  He  also  has  prop- 
erty in  Bronson  valued  at  twenty-five  hundred  dollars.  He  has  been  a  very 
successful  business  man,  engaged  in  the  raising  of  grain  and  stock,  and  his 
labors  have  been  attended  with  a  gratifying  measure  of  prosperity,  for  he 
is  energetic,  industrious  and  practical  in  all  that  he  does.  Mr.  Monroe  has 
been  a  life-long  resident  of  Branch  county,  always  making  his  home  within 
the  borders  of  Matteson  township,  and  his  labors  have  contributed  in  sub- 
stantial measure  to  the  public  good.  He  has  always  voted  with  the  Re- 
publican party  and  is  deeply  interested  in  its  growth  and  success.  His  wife 
is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church  at  Bronson  and  both  are  well  known 
people,  enjoying  the  friendly  regard  and  esteem  of  those  with  whom  they 
have  come  in  contact. 

AUGUSTUS  C.  MOSELEY. 
Augustus  C,  Moseley,  to  whom  has  been   voudisafed  an  honorable  re- 
tirement   from  business   cares    as   a    reward    for   his   close   application    and 
earnest  labor  in  former  years,  is  now  living  in  Burlington  township,  Calhoun 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  729 

counly,  Michigan.  He  was  born  in  Pittsfidd,  Massachusetts,  May  6,  1835. 
His  father,  Thomas  Moseley,  was  likewise  a  native  of  the  old  Bay  state 
and  in  his  business  career  followed  merchandising-  and  milling.  He  came 
to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  in  :840,  and  was  a  prominent  business  man 
here.  He  established  a  blast  furnace  at  Union  City,  which  he  conducted  for 
several  years  and  he  instituted  a  number  of  the  pioneer  enterprises  here. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Congregational  church,  taking  a  most  active  and 
helpful  part  in  its  work  and  contributing  most  generously  toward  the  build- 
ing of  the  house  of  worship.  His  name  headed  the  subscription  list  for  the 
sum  of  five  hundred  dollars  and  later  he  gave  an  added  sum  of  fifty  dollars 
toward  the  purchase  of  the  beli.  His  early  political  views  accorded  with 
Whig  principles  and  upon  the  organization  of  the  new  Repubiicatt  party  to 
prevent  the  further  extension  of  slavery  he  joined  its  ranks  and  followed 
its  banners  unti!  called  to  his  final  rest  in  his  seventy-third  year.  In  early 
nianhood  he  married  a  Miss  Tillotson  and  after  her  death  wedded  Maria 
Tillotson,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  who  died  in  Union  City  when  more  than 
eighty  years  of  age.  By  the  first  marriage  there  were  five  children  and  six 
children  were  bom  of  the  second  marriage,  A.  C.  Moseley  being  the  eldest 
of  the  younger  group. 

Although  a  native  of  New  England  Mr.  MoseJey  of  this  review  was 
largely  reared  in  Michigan  and  New  York.  He  was  a  lad  of  five  summers 
when  taken  to  Ann  Arbor  in  1840,  and  in  1844  ^^  went  to  Union  City,  being 
at  that  time  nine  years  of  age.  Later  he  was  brought  to  this  county  and 
was  reared  upon  the  place  where  he  now  lives.  His  education  was  acquired 
in  the  early  schools  of  the  period  and  he  remained  at  home  vmtil  he  attained 
his   majority. 

On  the  6th  of  November,  1S56,  Mr.  Moseley  was  united  in  innrriage 
to  Miss  Fannie  Bowen  Corbin,  a  daughter  of  Ezbond  and  Lucretia  (Howe) 
Corbin.  She  was  liorn  in  Charleston,  New  Hampshire,  September  20.  1837, 
of  old  Revolutionary  stock,  who  hailed  from  Connecticut.  The  early  pro- 
genitors of  the  Corbins  were  of  French  parentage,  their  history  dating  Ijack 
to  the  time  of  the  Norman  conquest,  when  William  the  Conqueror  defeated  the 
Britons  at  the  historical  battle  of  Hastings  in  1066.  There  are  grave-stones 
yet  standing  in  the  cemetery  of  Woodstock,  Connecticut,  bearing  the  follow- 
ing dates  of  the  deceased  Corbins:  1696,  1721  and  1727.  Mrs.  Moseley 
and  General  Corbin  of  the  Philippines  are  distant  relatives.  Mrs.  Moseley 
came  to  Michigan  in  1855.  Her  sisters,  Mrs.  Isaac  Tower  and  Mrs.  Martha 
Crissy,  were  then  living  in  Union  City,  and  Mrs.  Moseley  arrived  here  when 
eighteen  years  of  age.  At  the  time  of  their  marriage  the  young  couple  liegan 
their  domestic  life  on  a  farm  adjoining  Union  City  on  the  north,  the  land 
lying  in  Burlington  township,  Calhoun  coimty,  and  there  they  have  main- 
tained their  residence  for  nearly  a  half  century.  He  formerly  ovraed  six 
hundred  acres  of  valuable  land  in  this  farm,  but  has  since  disposed  of  much 
of  this,  retaining  possession,  howe\-er,  of  one  hundred  eighty-five  acres,  which 
he  ncrw  rents.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Moseley  were  born  two  children,  but 
both  are  now  deceased. 

Mr.    Moseley   voted    for   Fremont    when    casting   bis   first   presidential 


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730  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

ballot,  and  only  once  has  he  voted  for  other  than  the  candidates  at  the  head 
of  the  Republican  ticket.  He  and  bis  wife  are  members  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church  and  have  taken  an  active  and  helpful  interest  in  its  work.  Dur- 
ing a  long  residence  here  Mr.  Moseley  has  gained  a  wide  acquaintance,  and 
by  earnest  purpose  and  unfaltering  diligence  in  his  business  affairs  he  became 
one  of  the  extensive  land  owners  and  prosperous  farmers  of  his  community. 
He  and  his  wife  are  today  enjoying  a  well-earned  rest,  having  a  handsome 
competency,  which  supplies  them  with  all  of  the  comforts  and  many  of  tht 
luxuries  of  life. 

HENRY  HAMMAN. 

Henry  Hamman,  a  prosperous  and  respected  farmer  of  California 
township,  was  born  in  Smithfield  township,  DeKalb  county,  Indiana,  on  the 
2ist  of  February,  1855.  His  father,  Thomas  Hamman,  was  a  native  of 
Stark  county,  Ohio,  born  in  1823.  He  lost  his  father  when  but  fifteen  years 
of  age  and  then  started  out  in  life  on  his  own  account,  so  that  he  was  truly 
a  self-made  man,  owing  his  success  entirely  to  well-directed  and  earnest  ef- 
fort. In  the  year  1850  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Sheuler, 
who  was  born  in  York  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  went  to  DeKalb  county, 
Indiana,  in  an  early  day  with  her  stepfather,  Adam  Hood.  Both  Mr,  and 
Mrs.  Hamman  were  of  German  descent.  On  leaving  the  Buckeye  state, 
Thomas  Hamman  removed  to  DeKalb  county,  Indiana,  in  1847,  and  there 
purchased  a  tract  of  new  land  in  the  midst  of  the  forest,  his  home  being 
several  miles  from  the  nearest  neighbor.  His  dwelling,  erected  in  1849,  was 
the  first  frame  house  in  Smithfield  township.  He  was  always  a  leader  in  the 
work  of  agricultural  progress  and  his  earnest  and  effective  labors  were 
attended  with  a  gratifying  measure  of  success.  From  early  morning  until 
after  sunset  he  worked  untiringly  in  his  effort  to  clear  and  improve  his  farm 
and  in  the  first  six  years  he  cleared  and  cultivated  sixty  acres..  He  after- 
ward cleared  one  hundred  and  forty  acres  and  as  the  years  passed  by  he 
prospered  owing  to  his  capable  management,  his  frugality  and  his  unfalter- 
ing diligence,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  the  owner  of  three  hun- 
dred and  twelve  acres  of  valuable  land.  In  his  political  views  he  was  a 
Democrat  and  could  have  had  various  local  offices,  but  many  times  he  refused 
to  become  a  candidate,  not  wishing  to  serve  in  official  positions.  However, 
he  acted  as  school  officer  for  many  years  and  the  cause  of  education  found  in 
him,  a  warm  and  stalwart  friend.  He  died  on  the  8th  of  August,  1S97,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-four  years  and  his  wife  passed  away  about  1901,  They 
were  devoted  members  of  the  German  Reformed  church.  In  their  family 
were  nine  children,  of  whom  three  died  in  infancy;  Samuel,  who  died  in 
1883:  Caroline,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  years;  John,  who  is  liv- 
ing in  Indiana ;  Henry,  of  this  review ;  Tliomas  and  Simon,  who  are  resi- 
dents of  the  Hoosier  state. 

Henry  Hamman  remained  at  home  until  twenty-eight  years  of  age, 
acquiring  a  public  school  education  and  becoming  familiar  with  all  the 
duties  and  labors  that  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  agriculturist.  As  the  years  passed 
he  became  more  and  more  proficient  in  his  farm  labor  and  ultimately  took 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  731 

charge  of  his  father's  farm,  which  he  continued  to  cultivate  until  twenty- 
eight  years  of  age,  when  he  removed  from  Indiana  to  Michigan,  settling  on 
section  sixteen,  California  township,  where  he  now  has  a  fine  farm  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty-five  acres.  When  he  decided  to  remove  to  this  state  he 
was  the  owner  of  farm  land  in  Indiana  and  he  traded  it  for  property  here. 
He  first  had  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  which  had  been  cleared^,  but 
many  of  the  improvements  now  found  thereon  stand  as  monuments  to  his 
thrift  and  enterprise.  There  was  much  stone  upon  the  farm  and  he  spent 
many  years  in  clearing  it.  He  has  the  four  largest  stone  piles  in  southern 
Michigan,  one  measuring  eighty-five  by  eighty  feet  and  seven  feet  in  height, 
while  another  pile  is  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  feet  long  and  thirty  feet  wide 
and  eight  feet  high.  These  stone  piles  contain  three  thousand  sixty-eight 
loads  of  stone,  nearly  all  of  which  has  been  picked  up  by  Mr.  Hamman. 
The  farm  is  today  a  well-kept  one  with  good  buildings  and  the  latest  im- 
proved machinery  is  used  to  facilitate  the  work  of  the  fields.  An  air  of 
neatness,  thrift  and  industry  characterizes  the  place  and  altogether  the  prop- 
erty is  a  most  desirable  one. 

On  the  22nd  of  February,  1883,  Mr.  Hamman  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Mary  Rohm,  who  was  born  in  DeKalb  county,  Indiana,  September 
23,  1864.  Her  father,  Simon  Rohm,  was  a  native  of  Germany  and  the 
family  became  pioneer  settlers  of  Smithfield  township.  DeKalb  county,  In- 
diana. The  mother,  whO'  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Mary  Harsh,  was  born 
in  Ohio  and  was  of  German  descent.  There  were  thirteen  children  in  the 
Rohm  family,  of  whom  five  died  in  infancy,  the  others  being  Henry,  now 
a  resident  of  Oregon ;  Amos,  Simon.  John,  Ezra.  Mrs.  Lydia  Hamman  and 
Mrs.  Lucinda  Duesler,  all  residents  of  Indiana;  and  Mrs.  Mary  Hamman, 
wife  of  our  subject.  The  father  died  in  1880  and  the  mother,  yet  surviving 
him,  now  makes  her  home  in  Indiana.  Both  were  members  of  the  German 
Reformed  church. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hamman  have  been  bom  four  children:  Carlton 
H.,  who  died  in  infancy;  Viola  May.  the  wife  of  Charles  McMurray,  a  resi- 
dent of  this  township,  by  whom  she  has  one  daughter,  Roselene  Pearl :  Eliza 
Blanche,  the  wife  of  Arthur  Hall,  a  resident  farmer  of  California  township; 
and  Estell  Starr,  living  at  home.  The  family  belong  to  the  United  Brethren 
church.  Mr.  Hamman  gives  his  political  support  to  the  Democracy  and  has 
served  as  school  moderator  for  several  terms.  During  the  years  of  his  resi- 
dence in  this  county  he  has  so  directed  his  life  as  to  win  the  unqualified  con- 
fidence of  his  feliowmen.  Moreover  his  record  proves  the  value  of  industry 
and  determination  as  resultant  factors  in  the  winning  of  success.  With  lit- 
tle assistance  as  he  started  out  in  life  he  has  labored  persistently  and  is  today 
the  owner  of  a  well-kept  and  valuable  farm. 

HENRY  E.  STRAIGHT. 

The  roster  of  county  officials  bears  the  name  of  Henry  E.  Straight, 
who  is  now  serving  as  clerk  of  Branch  county.  He  is  one  of  its  native 
sons,   bom   in   Coldwater   township,   December   26,    1864,   his  parents  being 


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732  H3STCRY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Wtllard  P.  and  Mary  E.  (White)  Straight,  who  were  born,  reared  and 
married  in  New  York.  The  father  was  married  twice,  the  mother  of  our 
subject  being  his  second  wife.  He  removed  from  the  Empire  state  to 
Branch  county,  Michigan,  and  soon  afterward  his  first  wife  died  in  the  east. 
Following  his  second  marriage  he  again  came  to  this  county  and  spent  much 
of  his  life  upon  a  farm  here.  He  was  a  well  educated  man  of  strong 
native  intellectual  force  and  marked  ability  and  for  many  years  he  engaged 
in  teaching  in  the  public  schools.  His  wives  were  also  successful  teachers. 
Mr.  Straight  departed  this  life  in  the  fall  of  1899,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
seven  years,  and  is  survived  by  his  second  wife,  who  is  now  living  in  Cold- 
water.     There  are  three  children  of  that  marriage. 

Henry  E,  Straight  was  reared  upon  his  father's  farm  and  in  his  youth 
was  a  student  in  the  district  schools.  Subsequently  he  entered  the  North- 
em  Indiana  Normal  School  at  Valparaiso,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
when  about  twenty  years  of  age,  and  later  he  engaged  in  teaching  school 
for  four  or  five  years.  He  also  spent  three  years  in  the  Ypsilanti  school, 
after  which  he  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits.  In  the  fall 
of  1904  he  was  elected  county  clerk,  and  is  now  filling  that  position  in  a 
capable  and  efficient  manner. 

Mr.  Straight  was  married  in  1900  to  Miss  Sadie  B.  De  Pue  and  they 
have  three  children.  Mr.  Straight  Js  a  Republican,  interested  in  the  success 
and  growth  of  his  party  and  fraternally  he  is  connected  with  the  Inde- 
pendent, Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  Starting  out  in  life  with  no  financial  as- 
sistance he  became  imbued  with  a  laudable  ambition  to  attain  something  bet- 
ter than  he  had  already  known  and  he  has  steadily  advanced  in  those  walks 
demanding  intellectuality,  business  ability  and  fidelity,  so  that  he  to-day  com- 
mands the  respect  and  esteem  of  all  with  whom  he  has  been  brought  in 
contact.  In  the  record  of  his  public  career  or  in  private  life  there  falls  no 
shadow  of  wrong  for  he  has  ever  been  loyal  to  the  ties  of  friendship  and 
citizenship. 

GEORGE  W.  MALLOW. 

Branch  county  has  been  built  up  to  its  present  status  of  wealth  and 
material  prosperity,  to  a  highly  organized  civic  community  from  a  pioneer 
and  primitive  community  in  which  the  settlers  had  to  hew  out  places  of 
dwelling  and  cultivable  fields  from  the  wilderness  and  where  the  first  and 
foremost  object  was  to  obtain  means  of  subsistence.  Noble  township,  now 
one  of  the  richest  of  the  county  divisions,  both  in  material  wealth  and  in 
the  quality  of  its  citizens,  received  in  the  year  1841  a  substantial  addition 
to  its  citizenship  of  pioneers  in  the  persons  of  Peter  and  Margaret  (Peters) 
Mallow,  whose  son  is  George  W.  Mallow,  c^ie  of  the  representative  farm- 
ers of  Branch  county. 

The  famous  province  of  Alsace-Lorraine,  so  often  in  dispute  between 
the  rival  nations  of  France  and  Germany,  was  the  native  home  of  those  par- 
ents, so  that  they  were  of  the  sturdy  Teutonic  stock  which  has  entered  info 
American  life  as  one  of  its  most  energizing  factors.  On  arriving  in  Amer- 
ica the  parents  came  direct  to  Michigan  and  settled  on  the  farm  in  Noble 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  733 

township,  Branch  county-,  -where  they  removed  the  conditions  of  primitive 
wilderness  by  persistent  labor,  where  continuing  for  many  years  the  father 
engaged  in  farming,  and  where  the  family  of  children  were  reared  to  healthy 
and  worthy  manhood  and  womanhood.  At  the  time  of  the  father's  death 
the  following  memorial  was  written;  "Mr.  Peter  Mallow,  a  brief  notice 
of  whose  death  appeared  in  last  week's  Journal,  was  bom  in  the  province  of 
Alsace,  then  belonging  wholly  to  France,  on  the  lOth  day  of  November, 
1815,  a  little  less  than  five  months  after  the  battle  of  Waterloo  was  fought. 
He  died  June  17,  1S91,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years,  seven  months  and 
seven  days,  of  cancer  in  the  stomach.  On  the  first  day  of  March,  1838,  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Margaret  Peters,  who  was  also  born  and  reared  in 
Alsace,  one  of  the  old  battlefields  of  Europe.  In  December,  1839,  they  came 
to  America,  living  in  New  York  City  until  the  spring  of  1840,  when  they 
came  to  Michigan  and  settled  in  the  township  of  Noble,  where  he  lived  until 
the  death  of  his  wife,  which  occurred  on  the  17th  day  of  July,  1884,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-five  years,  five  months  and  eight  days.  Since  the  death  of  the 
companion  of  his  youth  Mr.  Mallow  has  lived  with  his  youngest  daughter, 
Mrs.  Mary  A.  Kline,  in  Bronson  township,  where  he  died,  and  where  his 
funeral  service  was  held.  He  was  the  father  of  nine  children,  one  of  whom, 
the  oldest,  died  at  the  age  of  ten  years.  The  others  are  all  settled  within 
convenient  distance  of  the  old  home,  and  were  all  permitted  to^  be  present  at 
the  funeral  service,  the  five  sons  and  oldest  grandson  acting  as  pallbearers. 
The  names  of  the  eight  surviving  children  are  Peter,  William,  Henry,  Cris- 
'tina,  Sarah  F.,  George  W.,  Mary  A.  and  John  J.,  all  of  whom  are  married 
and  comfortably  settled  in  life,  Mr.  Mallow  was  one  of  a  family  of  five 
brothers  and  sisters,  only  one  of  whom,  a  brother,  now  survives  him.  This 
brother.  John,  was  present  at  the  funeral,  Mr.  Mallow  was  one  of  our  pio- 
neers, having  settled  in  Noble  township  more  than  a  half  a  century  ago. 
With  others  he  endured  the  hardships  and  privations  incident  to  a  new 
country,  and  in  the  end  received  his  due  reward.  His  first  purchase  in  real 
estate,  after  coming  to  Branch  county,  was  an  eighty-acre  farm  in  the  midst 
of  the  dense  wilderness  that  then  covered  this  part  of  the  county.  To  this 
he  added,  from  time  to  time  as  his  means  increased,  until  he  became  owner 
of  one  thousand  two  hundred  acres  of  fine,improved  land,  divided  into  sev- 
eral farms  of  convenient  size,  now  occupied  by  his  children.  The  esteem  Jn 
which  he  was  held  was  well  attested  by  the  number  present  and  interest 
manifested,  at  his  funeral.  Though  the  day  was  dark  and  rainy,  the  house 
w^as  well  filled,  several  of  those  present  coming  from  long  distances.  The 
faces  of  quite  a  number  of  the  old  settlers  were  seen  in  the  audience,  who 
know,  by  an  actual  experience,  what  the  privations  of  pioneer  life  are,  and 
who  are  now  enjoying  the  peaceable  fruits  of  honest  toil.  The  remains 
\vere  laid  to  rest  in  the  beautiful  little  cemetery  in  the  '  Dutch  settlement,' 
where  a  family  lot  had  been  previously  prepared  and  a  nice  monument 
erected.  It  was  here  that  his  beloved  wife  had  heen  previously  buried,  and 
now  they  are  quietly  .sleeping,  side  by  side.  Of  them  it  may  be  said,  as  of 
an  aged  pair  in  olden  time.  '  There  was  Abraham  buried,  and  Sarah  his 
wife.'  " 


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784  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Born  on  the  farm  April  7,  1854,  spentling  his  boyhood  there  in  alterna- 
tion between  farm  work  and  farm  joys  and  attendance  at  the  district  school, 
George  W.  Maliow  was  a  farmer  "  to  the  manner  born  ''  by  the  time  he  had 
reached  majority  and  soon  took  charge  of  the  home  place  and  cultivated  its 
fields  on  the  shares.  Four  years  having  been  profitably  occupied  in  this 
manner,  he  moved  to  his  present  farm  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  a 
portion  of  which  is  fine  timber  land,  and  here  a  beautiful  home  with  at- 
tractive surroundings  of  well  cultivated  fields  and  improvements  stamp  the 
owner  and  his  family  as  people  of  culture  and  refinement  as  well  as  thrift. 

A  Democrat  in  politics  from  the  time  he  cast  his  first  presidential  vote 
for  Tilden,  he  has  regularly  snpijorted  that  party,  and  as  a  public-spirited 
citizen  he  has  been  chosen  to  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace,  serving  one 
term.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  Mystic  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  at  Bron- 
son. 

September  29,  1878,  Mr.  Mallow  married  Miss  Alice  J.  Lane,  who  was 
born  in  Akron,  Ohio.  February  25,  1853,  a  daughter  of  Cornelius  W.  and 
Margaret  E.  (Reyer)  Lane.  In  their  family  were  five  children,  four  sons 
and  one  daughter,  of  whom  three  are  living:  Mrs.  Mallow,  the  eldest,  who 
was  reared  in  Kent,  Ohio,  there  receiving  her  education  in  the  graded 
schools;  William  Lane,  a  resident  of  Eronson,  Michigan,  and  married;  and 
George,  a  resident  of  Bronson  township.  The  father,  Cornelius  Lane,  was 
bom  in  Sussex  county.  New  Jersey,  while  the  mother  was  born  in  Spring- 
field, Ohio,  in  April,  182S.  She  was  reared  in  Pennsylvania,  and  was  mar- 
ried there  in  Lewistown.  With  her  husband  she  came  to  Branch  county  in 
Marcli,  1876,  and  has  been  a  resident  of  this  county  since,  now  residing  in 
Bronson  township.  At  the  time  of  her  husband's  dsath  the  following'  obit- 
uary was  written:  Died^  in  Bronson,  August  ist,  Mr.  Cornelius  W.  Lane, 
aged  sixty-seven  years.  Mr.  Lane  was  born  December  10,  1823,  in  Sus- 
sex county.  New  Jersey.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  was  bereft  of  his 
mother,  and  of  his  father,  Mr.  G.  W.  Lane,  in  1S54.  In  early  manhood  he 
removed  to  Snyder  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  resided  some  years,  and 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Margaret  E.  Boyes,  July  22,  1849,  by  whom 
five  children  were  born.  The  two  eldest  died,  one  at  the  age  of  six  months, 
the  second  in  his  eighteenth  year.  Three  are  yet  living,  Alice,  William 
and  George.  For  several  months  he  suffered  intensely  and  that  in  full  con- 
sciousness, and  with  the  power  of  another  life  upon  him,  entered  into  that 
rest  for  which  he  had  longed  during  the  wearisome  days  of  pain.  He  was 
a  good  man,  of  warm  sympathies,  seeking  to  do  his  whole  duties  to  others 
as  he  could.  He  was  a  great  reader  of  papers,  of  books  and  of  the  Bible, 
and  believed  in  the  final  salvation  of  the  human  family.  He  was  also  a 
member  for  years  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  who,  in  large  numbers,  were 
present  at  his  funeral,  and  assisted  at  the  services,  and  thus  he  passed  away 
as  he  had  lived,  surrounded  by  friends,  in  trust  toward  God,  in  love  for 
humanity,  and  as  if  in  full  view  of  the  heavenly  hohie.  A  large  concourse 
of  friends  were  present  at  the  services,  which  were  conducted  by  Rev.  Henry 
Shepard  of  Burr  Oak.  No  words  are  needful  from  us  for  those  whose  char- 
acter is  better  than  any  monument.     Ai!  that  he  has  nourished  thus  will  last,, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  735 

but  our  heart  goes  out  for  those  who  will  miss  the  placid   face  we  saw  so 
composed  for  its  last  rest,  while  all  that  animated  it  lives  forever. 

One  child,  Lorana  E,,  has  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mallow,  who  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools  and  who  passed  her  teacher's  examination 
at  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  has  also  been  instructed  in  music,  and  is  a  grad- 
uate student,  keeping  well  informed  on  the  passing  current  events  of  the 
day.  In  this  family  is  also  a  niece,  Frances  R.,  who  has  made  her  home 
with  them  since  childhood  and  is  loved  by  them  as  a  daug'hter.  She  is  a 
daughter  of  the  late  Louisa  Eggleston  Mallow  and  Peter,  the  oldest  brother 
of  Mr.  Mallow,  and  was  educated  in.  the  rural  schools.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mal- 
low are  citizens  of  Bronson  township,  who  enjoy  the  high  respect  of  all  who 
know  them.  Their  comfortable  home  is  a  home  of  hospitality  and  good 
cheer,  and  we  are  pleased  to  present  this  full  text  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mallow 
to  be  preserved  in  the  genealogical  record  of  Branch  county's  twentieth  cen- 
tury history. 

EDWIN  R.  CLARKE. 

Edwin  R.  Clarke,  for  many  years  one  of  the  forceful  and  honored  fac- 
tors in  commercial  circles  in  Coldwater  and  one  whose  influence  was  not 
a  minor  element  among  the  financiers  of  this  part  of  the  state,  attained  to 
prominence  through  the  inherent  force  of  his  character,  the  exercise  of  his 
natix'e  talent  and  the  utilization  of  surrounding  opportunities.  He  became  a 
capitalist  whose  business  career  excited  the  admiration  and  won  the  respect 
of  his  contemporaries,  yet  it  was  not  this  alone  that  entitled  him  to  rank  as 
one  of  the  foremost  men  of  his  day  in  Coldwater.  His  connection  with  the 
public  interests  of  the  city  was  far-reaching  and  beneficial,  his  patriotic  citi- 
zenship and  his  interest  in  community  affairs  taking  tangible  form  in  his 
zealous  labors  for  various  improvements. 

Mr.  Clarke  was  born  in  Byron,  New  York,  March  22,  1828,  and  rep- 
resented an  old  New  England  family.  His  paternal  grandparents  were 
Stephen  C.  and  Thirza  Clarke,  natives  of  Connecticut.  Their  son,  Anson 
Clarke,  was  bom  in  Connecticut,  in  1803,  and  after  reaching  manhood  en- 
gaged both  in  farming  and  merchandising.  In  1834  he  decided  to  come  to 
the  west  and  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  pioneer  settlers  of  the  territory  of  Mich- 
igan. He  had  previously  married  Miss  Lucinda  Stevens,  a  .Vermont  lady, 
who  was  born  in  1803.  and  who  accompanied  her  husband  to  Michigan,  and 
surviving  him,  she  died  at  her  home  in  Adrian,  this  state,  in  1884.  She  was 
a  devout  Christian  and  discharged  all  her  duties  as  wife,  mother  and  friend 
in  such  manner  as  to  win  the  deeijest  affection  from  all  who  came  within  the 
influence  of  her  gentle  and  exemplary  life. 

Edwin  R.  Clarke  came  of  a  sturdy  and  vigorous  New  England  ances- 
try and  while  his  parents  bestowed  upon  him  little  of  this  world's  goods 
they  gave  him  a  strong  constitution  and  a  courageous  spirit  which  carried 
with  it  a  determination  and  an  industry  which  wrought  results.  There  is 
little  in  the  history  of  a  man  in  the  bare  statement  of  facts  that  is  of  interest, 
but  an  analyzation  of  his  history,  showing  forth  the  spirit,  the  motives, 
the  purposes  and  the  aims  that  have  given  inspiration,  direction  and  energy 


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736  FIISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

to  that  life,  is  of  value.  Looked  at  from  this  viewpoint,  Mr,  Clarke's  career 
furnishes  important  lessons  that  may  well  be  followed  by  young  and  old. 
He  started  out  upon  his  business  career  as  a  clerk  in  the  store  of  James 
Armitag-e,  in  Monroe,  Michigan,  at  a  salary  of  fifty  dollars  per  year,  and 
the  second  year  he  received  seventy-five  dollars.  He  had  as  the  foundation 
for  progress,  however,  the  substantial  qualities  of  prudence,  perseverance, 
industry  and  faithfulness.  Ambitious  for  success,  he  eagerly  availed  himself 
of  every  opportunity  for  honorable  accomplishment  and  in  1850  he  came  to 
Coldwater,  where  he  began  merchandising  on  his  own  account.  His  capi- 
tal, saved  from  his  earnings,  was  small,  but  he  formed  a  partnership  with  a 
Mr.  Sackelt  and  established  a  general  store.  Not  long  afterward  he  pur- 
chased his  partner's  interest  and  became  sole  proprietor,  conducting  the 
store  alone  for  several  years,  when  he  was  joined  by  his  father-in-law,  John 
T.  Gilbert.  Later  George  D.  Ford  became  a  jiartner,  both  of  whom  retired 
from  the  company,  and  in  1878  Morris  G.  was  admitted,  and  in  1881  Ralph 
E.  was  admitted  to  an  interest,  and  the  firm  style  of  E.  R.  Clarke  &  Com- 
pany has  since  been  maintained.  A  short  time  before  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred in  Septembei",  1900,  he  practically  retired  from  active  business  cares. 
He  was  very  successfid  in  his  undertakings  and  amas,sed  a  goodly  estate. 

Though  the  early  years  constituted  a  periotl  of  struggle,  he  was  dili- 
gent and  gave  close  attention  to  every  indication  pointing  to  prosperity. 
There  are  some  people  born  to  command  and  Mr.  Clarke  was  one  of  these. 
When  he  made  a  statement  of  what  he  wished  done  those  who  served  him 
knew  they  must  obey.  Yet  he  was  never  harsh  or  austere,  but  possessed  a 
spirit  of  firmness  that  gave  him  command  over  men  and  proved  a  strong 
element  in  his  success.  He  did  not  confine  his  attention  entirely  to  his  mer- 
cantile interests,  for  he  was  at  one  time  connected  with  the  Coldwater  Wool- 
en Mills,  the  Crippen  Flour  Mills  and  other  enterprises.  He  was  one  of 
the  organizers  of  the  Southern  Michigan  National  Bank,  of  which  he  served 
as  vice-president,  and  also  became  the  owner  of  several  valuable  farms,  and 
in  his  latter  days  gave  much  attention  to  the  management  of  his  agricultural 
interests  and  investments. 

While  devoted  to  his  business  and  the  acquirement  of  property,  he  was 
yet  a  most  generous  man,  giving  wisely  but  generously,  and  instead  of  al- 
lowing himself-to  become  sordid  and  selfish  as  the  years  passed  by,  he  devel- 
oped his  humanitarian  spirit  and  found  great  joy  in  giving  for  the  benefit 
of  others.  He  made  no  display  of  his  charity;  on  the  contrary  was*  free  from 
all  ostentation  in  his  benefactions,  hardily  letting  his  left  hand  know  what 
his  right  hand  did.  His  desire  to  assist  others,  however,  found  its  highest 
expression  in  his  gift  to  the  people  of  Coldwater  of  the  public  library  build- 
ing. In  this  he  showed  the  business  habits  of  the  man.  He  wished  to  do 
something  for  the  people  among  whom  his  life  had  been  passed  and  he  be- 
gan to  study  out  what  kind  of  a  building  might  prove  most  beneficial  to 
Coldwater.  After  discussing  the  subject  with  prominent  men  of  the  city, 
he  secured  plans,  specifications  and  estimates  of  the  cost  of  a  hbrary  build- 
ing, and  when  he  was  satisfied  that  his  income  justified  him  in  undertaking 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  737 

the  work  he  hiformed  the  lihrary  board  that  with  their  consent  he  would 
erect  a  suitable  building  on  the  ground  owned  by  the  city,  and  bound  him- 
self to  the  board  tO'  build  it  and  present  it  to  the  city  thoroughly  equipped 
for  the  purpose  intended.  This  offer  was  accepted  and  highly  appreciated. 
He  carried  out  his  pledge  and  it  was  thus  that  the  city  of  Coldwater  was 
supplied  with  a  library  building  that  is  an  ornament,  as  well  as  serving  a 
most  useful  purpose.  In  other  ways  he  has  promoted  the  public  welfare, 
being  the  champion  of  all  movements  that  he  deemed  would  prove  beneficial 
to  city  or  county. 

In  politics  Mr.  Clarke  was  a  Republican,  but  never  sought  or  desired 
political  preferment.  He  was  ever  a  staunch  friend  and  supporter  of  school 
and  church  interests  and  although  not  a  member,  regularly  attended  the  serv- 
ices of  the  Presbyterian  church.  His  interest,  however,  centered  in  his  home 
and  family  and  he  desired  above  all  else  to  be  a  worthy  example  to  his  chil- 
dren and  that  they  should  grow  up  to  be  a  credit  to  their  name  and  the  city 
in  which  they  lived.  They  have  come  to  cherish  his  memory  as  something 
most  dear  and  precious,  and  it  is  also  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of  many  friends, 
while  the  community  regarded  his  death  as  a  public  loss  and  one  to  be  deeply 
deplored. 

Upon  reaching  manhood  and  when  ready  to  establish  a  home  of  his 
own,  Mr.  Clarke  sought  in  marriage  the  hand  of  Miss  Sarah  E.  Gilbert,  of 
Monroe.  Michigan,  whom  he  wedded  in  1850.  She  was  born  in  Canastota, 
New  York,  in  1832,  and  still  survives  her  husband.  Her  parents  were 
Jonathan  T.  and  Elizabeth  (Morris)  Gilbert,  the  former  a  native  of  Con- 
necticut. He  came  tO'  Michigan  with  his  family  during  the  girlhood  of 
Mrs.  Clarke,  who  remained  under  the  parental  roof  until  the  time  of  her 
marriage.  She  had  long  been  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  and 
her  fidelity  to  her  church  and  friends  has  won  her  uniform  esteem.  As  a 
dutiful  wife  she  was  to  her  husband  a  source  of  much  help  and  comfort. 
Unto  the  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clarke  were  born  four  children :  Eva 
F.,  the  wife  of  A.  H.  Powell;  Morris  G.,  a  merchant  of  Coldwater;  Ralph 
E.,  who  is  with  his  brother  in  business;  and  Mabel,  the  wife  of  W.  N.  Wor- 
cester, and  died  in  1885,  leaving  a  daughter,  Sarah  C.  The  sons  became 
partners  of  their  father  in  the  mercantile  enterprise  and  at  his  death  suc- 
ceeded to  the  business,  which  they  have  continued  to  conduct  under  the  old 
style  of  E.  R.  Clarke  &  Company,  being  composed  of  Morris  G.,  Ralph  E. 
^nd  E.  R.  Clarke,  Jr.  They  are  numbered  among  the  prominent  and  worthy 
citizens. of  Coldwater  and  are  gentlemen  of  the  highest  integrity,  now  en- 
joying a  prosperous  business  career. 

Edwin  R.  Clarke  will  long  be  remembered  as  one  of  the  most  pnDmi- 
nent  and  respected  residents  of  Coldwater.  While  he  accomplished  much 
in  the  business  world  and  ratified  his  friendships  by  kindly  sympathy  and 
thoughtful  consideration  for  others,  his  greatest  depth  of  love  was  reserved 
for  his  family.  ■  ■    I  'i.  ''-'&iJ 


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T38  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  : 

WILLIAM  W.  SNIDER. 

William  W.  Snider,  president  of  the  village  of  Union  City,  and  active 
in  its  commercial  circles  as  a  dealer  in  dry  goods,  carpets  and  niillinery,  has 
in  the  course  of  a  successful  business  career  developed  and  strengthened  his 
latent  energies  and  so  conducted  his  affairs  that  he  has.  advanced  individual 
success  and  at  the  same  time  has  promoted  public  prosperity.  He  is  a  native 
son  of  the  middle  west  and  a  typical  citizen  of  Michigan,  energetic,  far- 
sighted  and  alert.  He  was  born  in  Albion,  June  29,  1857.  His  father, 
Peter  Snider,  was  a  native  of  the  state  of  New  York,  where  he  remained 
until  his  removal  to  Michigan  at  an  early  epoch  in  the  development  of  this 
state.  He  located  at  Albion,  where  he  engaged  in  merchandising.  He  mar- 
ried Harriet  A.  Ketchum,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Calhoun  county,  Michigan, 
and  who  now  resides  in  Homer,  survi'ving  her  husband,  who  passed  away  in 
Homer  at  the  age  of  eighty-two  years.  Tliey  were  the  parents  of  two  sons, 
the  younger  being  Fred,  who  died  in  Homer  when  about  forty-one  years  of 
age. 

William  W.  Snider  spent  the  days  of  his  childhood  and  youth  in  Albion, 
acquiring  his  early  education  there  and  afterward  spending  two  terms  as  a 
student  in  Hillsdale  academy.  He  entered  upon  his  business  career  iin 
Homer  as  proprietor  of  a  general  store  in  1888,  and  while  there  residing  he 
was  appointed  postmaster  under  President  Harrison  and  was  retained  through 
the  administration  of  President  Qeveland,  acting  iti  that  capacity  for  five 
years.  He  was  also  township,  clerk  for  nine  years,  and  was  president  of  the 
board  for  two  years.  He  likewise  served  as  a  member  of  the  council  for 
one  year,  but  resigned  when  appointed  to  the  position  of  postmaster.  He 
came  to  Union  City  in  September,  1895,  here  entering  into  partnership  with 
M.  J.  Rowley,  now  deceased,  in  igoo  he  pLTrchased  his  partner's  interest 
and  has  since  cortdiucted  business  alone.  He  has  also  been  express  agent  for 
the  American  Express  Company  for  eight  years  and  acts  in  this  capacity  in 
connection  with  the  management  of  his  store,  which  is  a  well  equipped  estab- 
lishment. He  carries  a  large  and  carefully  selected  stock  of  goods,  and  be- 
cause of  his  study  of  the  public  needs  and  desires,  his  straightforward  busi- 
ness methods  and  his  reasonable  prices,  he  has  secured  a  liberal  and  gratifying 
patronage. 

In  community  affairs,  active  and  influential,  Mr.  Snider  has  had  not  a 
little  to  do  with  molding  the  puWic  policy  of  Union  City  during  the  period  of 
his  residence  h«ce,  and  in  1904  was  elected  president  of  the  village  board,  to 
which  position  he  was  re-elected  in  the  spring  of  1905,  having  rendered  capa- 
ble and  satisfactory  service  during  his  first  term.  He  has  attained  the  Royal 
Arch  degree  in  Masonry  and  has  membership  relations  with  the  Knights  of 
the  Maccabees.  While  in  Homer  he  became  a  charter  member  of  that  oi'- 
ganization  and  served  as  finance  keeper  for  nine  years.  He  was  also  cashier 
of  the  Exchange  Bank  at  that  place. 

Mf.  Snider  was  first  married  in  Homer  to  Miss  Ella  C.  Sabin,  and  after 
her  deat^  he  wedded  Rae  Turner,  the  wedding  being  celebrated  in  June.  18S8, 
Progress  and  patriotism  might  well  be  termed  the  keynote  of  his  character, 


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???dlaJdct, 


Googk 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  739 

as  in  his  business  life  he  has  made  consecutive  advancement,  seeking  ont  new 
methods  ail  the  time  for  the  enlai'gemetit  of  bis  activity,  while  in  puHie  office 
he  has  been  actuated  at  all  times  by  a  genuine  interest  in  the  public  good 
and  a  sincere  desire  for  the  welfare  of  his  community. 

GEORGE  R.  SANFORD. 

The  gentleman  named  above  has  led  a  remarkably  active  and  useful 
life,  has  been  engaged  in  pursuits  of  a  widely  different  character,  and  he 
is  now  passing  his  declining  days  upon  his  farm  on  sectior\  ten,  Girard  town- 
ship. Here,  in  spite  of  his  eighty-one  years,  he  continues  his  habits  of  activ- 
ity, is  in  the  full  possession  of  his  physical  and  mental  faculties,  and  still 
carries  an  air  of  boyish  good  nature  and  jollity  seldom  seen  in  a  man  of 
his  years  and  experience. 

Mr.  George  R.  Sanford  is  a  native  of  the  Empire  state,  he  having  been 
born  in  Marion,  Wayne  county,  New  York,  March  3,  1824.  His  father 
was  Stephen  Sanford  and  his  mother  was  Emma  Russell,  both  natives  of 
New  York  state,  and  both  coming  from  tlie  best  old  eastern  stock  which  has 
done  so  much  in  the  settlement  of  the  middle  west.  His  father  was  a  vet- 
eran of  the  war  of  1812.  and  he  lived  to  the  good  old  age  of  eighty-seven 
years,  while  the  mother  was  eighty-two  years  old  at  the  time  of  her  death. 

George  R.  Sanford  was  their  youngest  son,  and  he  early  manifested 
those  traits  of  mind  and  character  which  were  to  make  him  a  leading  figure 
in  the  communities  in  which  he  was  to  make  his  home.  He  passed  his  early 
life  in  Wayne  county.  New  York,  and  here  he  attained  a  good  common 
school  education,  which  was  supplemented  with  a  course  of  study  at  Wal- 
worth Academy.  He  taught  school  in  that  vicinity  and  when  scarcely  past 
his  majority  he  purchased  a  farm  which  he  paid  for  from  his  earnings  as 
a  teacher  and  a  farmer. 

He  was  married  at  Walworth,  New  York,  November  8,  1854,  to  Miss 
Mary  Barmim,  daughfef  of  Eli  and  Ctarinda  (Thompson)  Barnum.  who 
was  born  in  Dutchess  county.  New  York,  January  13,  1825.  SoonI  after  their 
marriage  they  located  at  Fairport,  New  York,  where  Mr.  Sanford  became 
the  owner  of  large  tracts  of  land  which  he  platted  into  farms  and  town  lots. 
At  one  time  he  was  considered  one  of  the  most  extensive  and  enterprising 
real  estate  dealers  in  the  interior  of  the  state  of  New  York,  and  he  was 
at  this  time  known  as  one  of  the  leading  and  most  highly  esteemed  citizens 
of  Fairport,  where  he  was  called  upon  to  fill  positions  of  public  trust  and 
responsibility.  Ever  willing  to  aid  his  friends  in  business  ventures,  and 
possessing  thorough  confidence  in  his  business  associates,  he  was  led  to  en- 
dorse paper  and  to  back  financial  enterprises  to  such  an  extent  that  he  was 
brought  into  finartcial  difficulties,  and  the  greater  portion  of  his  property 
was  taken  in  assuming  the  liabilities  thus  incurred.  With  undaunted  energy, 
however,  he  decided  to  go  into  the  west  and  seek  to  recoup  his  fallen  for- 
tunes, and  in  the  spring  of  1880  he  came  to  Girard,  where  he  operated  sev- 
eral farms  for  a  period  of  three  years,  afterward  returning  to  Ne^v  York 
state,  where  he  remained  for  two  years.    He  then  returned  to  Michigan  and 


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740  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

located  in  Calhoun  county,  where  he  lived  upon  several  farms  which  he 
rented  and  owned  until  i8g8,  when  he  purchased  his  present  productive  farm 
of  eighty  acres  on  section  ten,  Girard.  Here  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sanford  have  a 
most  comfortable  home. 

The  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sanford  has  been  blessed  with  the  birth 
of  five  children,  one  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  The  three  still  living  are 
Eli  B.  Sanford,  who  is  on  a  ranch  in  Montana;  Emma,  the  wife  of  F.  B. 
Gleason,  a  young  business  man  of  Batavia,  New  York;  and  May  C,  the  wife 
of  C.  O,  Strong,  of  Burlington,  Michigan. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sanford  are  members  of  the  Tekonsha  Presbyterian 
church,  of  which  society  Mr.  Sanford  is  also  an  officer.  The  worthy  couple 
have  many  warm  persona!  friends  in  this  portion  of  the  state  who  hold 
them  in  the  highest  regard  and  esteem  on  account  of  their  many  sterling 
and  lovable  traits  of  character. 

CAPTAIN  LUCIUS  M.  WING. 

Captain  Lucius  M.  Wing  president  of  the  Coldwater  National  Bank 
and  active  in  promoting  and  conducting  varied  business  interests  which  have 
contributed  to  public  prosperity  as  well  as  to  individual  success,  was  born  on 
a  farm  in  Coldwater  township,  Branch  county,  Michigan,  February  27,  1839. 
His  parents  were  Barnabas  and  Lucetta  (Titus)  Wing,  the  former  a  native 
of  Vermont  and  the  latter  of  New  York.  The  father  was  reared  in  the  Green 
Mountain  state,  and  in  early  manhood  he  went  to  the  Empire  state,  where 
he  was  married.  About  1830  he  brought  his  wife  to  Branch  county,  settling 
in  Coldwater  township,  where  he  became  die  owner  of  a  farm  whidi  he 
conducted  in  connection  with  the  manufacture  of  brick,  having  about  three 
miles  east  of  Coldwater  the  first  brick  yard  of  the  county.  Both  Barnabas 
and  Lucetta  Wing  died  in  this  county,  the  former  passing,  away  in  1868. 
They  had  but  two  children,  Lewis  and  Lucius  M.  After  losing  his  first  wife 
the  father  married  again,  and  there  was  a  son  and  a  daughter  by  the  second 
union.  In  his  political  views  Barnabas  Wing  was  originally  a  Whig,  and 
upon  the  dissolution  of  that  party  he  gave  his  support  to  the  Republican 
party.  As  a  pioneer  he  took  an  active  and  helpful  interest  in  everything  per- 
taining to  the  development  and  improvement  of  the  county  and  his  labors 
along  agricultural  and  industrial  lines  contributed  to  the  material  growth  and 
progress  of  this  section  of  the  state. 

Lucius  M.  Wing  was  reared  upon  his  father's  farm  and  pursued  his 
education  in  the  district  schools  of  Coldwater.  When  about  twenty-one 
years  of  age  he  began  farming  on  his  own  account,  and  also  operated  the 
brick  yard  established  by  his  father,  but  in  1862  he  put  aside  all  Ixisiness 
and  personal  consideration  that  he  might  respond  to  the  country's  call  for 
aid,  the  Civil  war  having  been  inaugurated.  He  enlisted  as  a  private  of 
Company  C,  Nineteenth  Michigan  Infantry,  but  was  soon,  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  second  lieutenant,  later  commissioned  captain  of  his  company  and 
was  placed  on  staff  duty,  thus  serving  during  the  last  year  and  a  half  of  the 
war.     He  remained  with  his  command  until  the  close  of  hostilities,  and  was 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  741 

a  patriotic  soldier  and  faithful  officer,  making  for  himself  a  most  creditable 
military  record  during  the  three  years  of  his  connection  with  the  boys  in 
blue. 

Following  the  close  of  the  war  Captain  Wing  resumed  farming,  and 
a  year  later  was  elected  sheriff  of  Branch  county,  at  which  time  he  removed 
to  Coldwater.  He  became  a  factor  in  the  business  life  of  the  city  as  one 
of  the  stockholders  in  the  industry  conducted  under  the  name  of  the  Ameri- 
can Cigar  Company.  He  retained  his  connection  with  that  enterprise  for 
thirty  years  and  the  business  proved  very  successful,  so  that  he  secured  a 
good  profit  upon  his  investment.  He  was  also  interested  in  a  stock  farm 
in  the  county  and  he  became  president  and  general  manager  of  the  Wolver- 
ine Portland  Cement  Company.  Since  1892  he  has  lieen  a  factor  in  finan- 
cial circles,  having  in  that  year  become  connected  with  the  Coldwater  Na- 
tional Bank,  of  which  he  was  chosen  president  in  i8g6.  He  has  since  been 
at  the  head  of  the  institution  and  has  inaugurated  a  safe  conservative  policy 
that  makes  this  one  of  the  leading  and  reliable  concerns  of  the  state. 

In  1868  Captain  Wing  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Adeline  M.  Knapp 
and  they  have  two  sons — Philip  L.  and  Sigmund  L.  The  parents  affiliate 
with  the  Episcopal  church,  and  Captain  Wing  is  a  member  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic  and  the  Loyal  Legion,  thus  maintaining  social  rela- 
tionship with  those  with  whom  he  fought  upon  the  battlefields  of  the  south. 
He  has  always  given  his  political  support  to  the  Republican  party,  and  it 
was  upon  that  tidiet  that  he  was  chosen  sheriff  of  the  county,  to  which  posi- 
tion he  was  re-elected  at  the  close  of  his  first  term.  He  was  also  mayor  of 
Coldwater  for  one  year  and  he  exercised  his  official  prerogatives  in  behalf  of 
needed  reform  and  improvement,  giving  to  the  public  a  very  satisfactory 
administration.  His  public  service  as  an  official,  his  business  career  and  his 
private  life  are  characterized  by  unfaltering  devotion  to  duty  and  by  the  faith- 
ful discharge  of  every  obligation  that  devolves  upon  him. 

JACOB  W.  MANN. 

A  life-long  resident  of  Girard  and  Branch  county  is  the  gentleman  named 
above.  As  his  name  indicates,  Mr.  Mann  is  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  oldest 
families  of  this  section,  his  ancestors  having  done  much  in  the  development  and 
upbuilding  of  this  prosperous  region. 

His  father  was  Peter  I.  Mann,  who  was  born  in  Schoharie,  Schoharie 
county.  New  York,  February  27.  1815,  where  he  passed  his  early  years. 
Peter'  I.  Mann  was  the  son  of  Jacob  W.  Mann — this  name  having  been 
handed  down  to  the  grandson,  who  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch — and  Polly 
Shannon  Mann,  also  a  native  of  Schoharie  county.  New  York,  where  she 
was  born  March  i,  1798.  Jacob  and  .Polly  Shannon  Mann  were  married 
and  the  parents  of  four  children  when  they  came  to  Michigan  in  1836  and 
settled  in  the  township  of  Girard,  where  the  remainder  of  their  Hves  waS 
passed.  Mr.  Mann  died  September  19,  1846,  while  his  wife  lived  to  a  good 
old  age,  passing  away  October  5.  1886. 

Mr.  Peter  I.  Mann  grew  up  with  the  then  new  township  of  Girard,  and 


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743  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

became  one  of  its  wealthiest  and  most  influential  citizens.  He  was  married 
January  13,  J842.  to  Lavina,  daughter  of  Peter  and  Elizabeth  (Putnam) 
Grove.'and  eight  children  were  bom  to  them.  Three  o£  these  children  died 
in  infancy;  Nina  died  twenty-five  years  ago  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years; 
Mark  H.' Mann  is  a  prosperous  Girard  farmer;  Behnda  Mann  Hurst  is  a 
resident  of  the  city  of  Coldwater ;  Mary  Mann,  Williams  lives  at  Girard  Cen- 
ter; while  another  son,  Jacob  W.  Miinn.  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Peter  I.  Mann  lived  to  a  good  old  age,  and  their  deaths  were 
deeply  deplored,  Mr.  Mann  dying  January  8,  1897,  Mrs.  Mann's  death  pre- 
ceding this,  October  7,  1890. 

Mr,  Jacob  W.  Mann,  our  subject,  was  born  in  Girard,  January  8, 
1847,  and  his  entire  life  has  been  passed  here.  He  has  always  been  engaged 
in  farming,  and  is  counted  as  one  of  the  solid  and  substantial  citizens  of  this 
community.  He  was  married  at  Jackson,  Michigan,  March  25,  1870,  to 
Miss  Emma  Prentiss,  who  was  born  in  the  township  of  Coldwater,  June  8, 
1845.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Curtiss  Prentiss,  a  native  of  Penfield,  New 
York,  where  he  was  born  April  13,  JS13,  her  mother  being  Clarinda  Fox, 
also  a  native  of  New  York  state,  where  she  was  bom  about  1815.  The 
Prentiss  and  Fox  families  were  of  good  old  Empire  state  stock,  where  they 
were  among  the  leading  people.  Curtiss  Prentiss,  was  the  only  member  of 
his  family  to  come  to  Michigan,  and  when  he  arrived  here  in  1836  Girard 
and  Branch  county  were  not  the  blooming  and  fertile  sections  now  seen 
here.  Instead  there  were  unbroken  forests  and  no  means  of  transportation 
aside  from  wagon  roads  and  bridle  and  foot  paths.  For  many  years  he  was 
engaged  in  the  transportation  of  goods,  suupplies,  etc.,  through  this  por- 
tion of  the  state,  making  frequent  trips  as  far  as  Detroit  for  supplies  for  the 
little  colony  of  peopie  located  here. 

His  marriage  to  Clarinda  Fox  was  blessed  with  the  birth  of  five  chil- 
dren, two  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  the  three  who  grew  to  manhood  and 
womanhood  being:  Mrs.  Jacob  W.  Mann,  of  Girard;  Edson  D.  Prentiss, 
of  Mason  county,  Michigan;  and  Charles  E.  Prentiss,  who  died  in  Allegan 
county,  Michigan,  April  18,  1902.  The  mother  died  in  Union  township  Jan- 
uary 28,  1853.  Mr.  Prentiss  was  married  to  Emma  Andrews,  of  Branch 
county.  To  them  were  born  six  children,  three  of  whom  are  now  living, 
as  follows:  Mrs.  Charles  Hollenbeck,  of  Tekonsha,  Michigan:  George  D. 
Prentiss,  of  Burr  Oak,  Michigan;  and  Mrs.  Hattie  Sanford,  of  Girard.  One 
daughter,  Clara  Prentiss,  died  in  November  of  1901.  Curtiss  Prentiss  was 
a  resident  of  this  county  until  1884,  when  he  removed  to  Burr  Oak,  St. 
Joseph  county,  Michigan,  where  he  died  January  16,  1896,  and  where  Mrs. 
Prentiss  is  still  living. 

Mr.  and  Mrs,  Jacob  W.  Mann  are  the  parents  of  one  daughter,  Edna, 

who  was  married  October  12,   1892,  to  Artemas  A.  Perry.     They  have  one 

daughter,  Bernice,  who  was  bom  October  30.  1895,  and  one  son,  Carleton, 

who  was  born  July  10,  1898.    The  family  reside  in  a  most  comfortable  farm 

■  home  in  Girard. 

Soon  after  the  marriage  of  Jacob  W.  and  Emma  Prentiss  Mann  they 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  743 

made  their  home  on  a  farm  in.  tlie  northern  part  of  the  township  of  Girard, 
where  they  liyed  for  ten  years.  In  1882  they  removed  to  their  present  home 
on  section  sixteen,  Girard.  The  place  consists  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  of  fine  farming,  land  adjoining  the  village  of  Girard,  with  suitable 
buildings  and  a  modern  and  attractive  house  and  grounds.  Mr.  Mann  is 
affiliated  with  the  Masonic  fraternity,  being  a  member  of  Tyre  lodge.  Cold- 
water,  while  Mrs.  Mann  is  a  member  of  the  Girard  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  Both  stand  high  in  the  regard  and  esteem  of  the  residents  of  this 
section,  where  their  entire  lives  have  been  passed.  The  names  of  Mann, 
Prentiss  and  Fox  have  for  many  years  been  intimately  associated  with  the 
history  of  Girard  township,  and  their  worthy  descendants  feel  justly  proud 
of  the  ancestors  and  relatives  who  have  passed  to  their  well-earned  rewards. 

WILLIAM  A.  TOMPKINS. 

WiJham  A.  Tompkins,  deceased,  was  for  many  years  a  respected  and 
representative  farmer  of  Girard  township.  The  student  of  history  cannot 
carry  his  investigation  far  into  the  annals  of  Branch  county  without  learning 
of  the  close  and  beneficial  connection  of  the  Tompkins  family  with  this  part 
of  the  state,  four  generations  of  the  name  being  residents  of  Girard  town- 
ship, so  that  from  the  period  of  primitive  development  down  to  the  present 
they  have  contributed  to  the  substantial  progress  and  improvement  of  this 
locahty, 

William  A.  Tompkins  was  born  in  this  township  July  6,  1836,  and  was 
among  the  first  white  native  children  here.  His  father,  James  B.  Tompkins, 
long  considered  the  leading  citizen  of  Girard  township,  was  born  in  Schoharie 
county.  New  York,  June  28.  1804,  and  having  arrived  at  years  of  maturity 
was  married  to  Miss  Eliza  Ames,  who  was  born  in  the  town  of  Cokhester, 
Chittenden  county,  Vermont,  March  3,  1813.  They  were  among  the  first 
settlers  of  Girard  township.  Branch  county,  casting  in  their  lot  with  its 
pioneer  settlers  and  sharing  in  the  hardships  and  privations  which  constitute 
a  chapter  in  the  life  history  of  all  who  locate  on  the  frontier.  The  father  was 
a  surveyor  and  made  all  of  the  first  surveys  in  this  township  and  county,  thus 
assisting  materially  in  the  development  and  progress  of  the  community.  He 
also  furthered  many  interests  for  the  public  good,  and  was  a  man  whose  up- 
right life  and  honorable  character  won  him  the  respect  and  admiration  of  all 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  He  died  August  i,  1879.  and  his  wife,  long 
surviving  him,  passed  away  on  the  6th  of  December,  igo2,  at-  the  advanced 
age  of  ninety  years, 

William  A.  Tompkins  was  reared  on  the  old  family  homestead  amid 
the  scenes  and  environments  of  pioneer  life,  and  early  became  familiar  with 
the  labors  that '  constitute  the  life  of  the  agriculturist.  He  was  indebted  to 
the  public  school  system  for  the  educational  privileges  he  enjoyed,  and  he 
spent  nearly  his  entire  life  in  his  native  township,  although  he  lived  at  Elk- 
hart, Indiana,  for  a  few  years,  at  Clarendon,  Calhoun  county,  Michigan,  for 
two  }'ears  and  at  Coldwater  for  one  year.  The  greater  part  of  his  business 
career  was  devoted  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  he 


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T44  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

was  one  of  the  largest  landowners  in  Girard  township,  his  holdings  embracing 
nt:;irly  four  hundied  acres  of  fertile  land,  constituting  a  very  valuable  and 
attractive  farm.  It  was  splendidly  equipped  with  modem  improvements  and 
conveniences  and  a  commodious  home,  pleasantly  located,  indicated  great 
care  and  good  taste. 

Mr.  3"ompkins  was  married  twice.  On  the  ist  of  December,  1859,  he 
wedded  Sabra  Matthews,  by  whom  he  had  one  son,  Frank,  who  is  now  living 
in  Oberon,  North  Dakota.  XTe  is  engaged  in  farming  and  is  also  district 
veterinarian  for  the  state  of  three  counties.  On  the  27th  of  December,  1874, 
Mr.  Tompkins  was  again  married,  his  second  union  being  with  Miss  Irene 
C.  Millard,  who  survives  him  and  lives  upon  the  home  farm  on  section  11, 
Giiard  township. 

Throughout  his  business  career  Mr.  Tompkins  was  found  reliable  and 
honorable,  and  his  record  was  in  keeping  with  his  father's'  history,  for  he, 
too,  was  classed  with  the  prominent  and  representative  citizens  of  his  com- 
munity, and  in  matters  of  public  progress  was  deeply  interested  to  the  extent 
of  giving  hearty  support  to  all  measures  which  he  believed  would  prove  of 
generarl  good.  At  the  time  of  his  death  the  following  lines  appeared  in  one 
of  the  local  papers: 

"  William  A.  Tompkins  died  quite  suddenly  at  his  home  in  Girard. 
Thursday,  July  13,  1905.  He  i^-as  born  in  Girard  township,  July  6,  1835, 
and  was  the  second  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  Tompkins,  who  settled  in 
Girard  township  in  183 1,  and  of  a  family  of  nine  children  only  three  are 
now  living — Mrs.  Adeline  Granger,  Tlieron  and  Frank  Tompkins,  all  resi- 
dents of  Girard  township. 

"  With  the  exception  of  a  short  residence  in  Elkhart,  Coldwater  and 
Clarendon,  Mr.  Tompkins  has  always  been  a  resident  of  Girard  township 
and  was  classed  as  one  of  its  wealthy  farmers.  What  changes  he  has  seen 
come  to  pass  in  that  now  beautiful  township.  When  a  child  it  was  almost  a 
wilderness,  with  an  occasional  log  cabin  dotted  here  and  there,  with  a  larger 
population  of  Indians  than  white  people,  and  now  beautiful  fanns  are  seen 
everj-where, 

■'  Mr.  Tompkins  was  a  highly  respected,  substantial  citizen  and  will  be 
missed  much  in  the  community.  He  will  be  especially  missed  in  the  Baptist 
church,  as  he  was  a  friend  and  liberal  helper.  Rev.  F,  R.  Randall  preached 
the  funeral  sermon  at  the  Baptist  church  yesterday  at  three  p.  m.,  and  the 
remains  were  laid  at  rest  in  the  Girard  cemetery." 

WILLIAM  E.  SHAW. 

William  E.  Shaw,  residing  on  section  twenty-four,  Batavia  township, 
was  bom  in  Ovid  township,  Branch  county,  November  27,  1846,  and  is  the. 
youngest  of  a  family  of  ten  children,  seven  daughters  and  three  sons,  whose 
parents  were  Christopher  B.  and  Charlotte  (Bagley)  Shaw,  both  of  whom 
were  natives  of  England,  Having'  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  America,  the 
father  took  up  his  abode  in  Ohio,  and  from  that  state  came  to  Branch  county, 
Michigan,  in  1845.     He  died  November  26,   1849,  having  been  for  but  a 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  Ti5 

brief  period  a  resident  of  this  part  of  the  state.  His  widow,  however,  long 
survived  him,  and  her  death  occurred  in  Coldwater  in  1893,  when  she  was 
in  her  eighty-eighth  year.  Of  their  ten  children  two  died  in  Ohio,  while 
eight  reached  adult  age. 

WilHain  E.  Shaw  was  partly  reared  in  Coldwater,  where  his  parents 
located  when  he  was  but  a  year  old.  He  there  remained  until  nine  years  of 
age,  when  his  mother  took  up  her  abode  on  a  farm  in  Batavia  township. 
His  education  was  acquired  in  the  schools  of  Coldwater,  in  Litchfield,  and  in 
Jonesville,  Michigan,  spending  two  terms  at  the  last  named  place.  Having 
put  aside  his  text  books  he  began  learning  the  miller's  trade  at  the  age  of 
sixteen  years,  and  he  followed  that  pursuit  for  ten  years,  spending  five  years 
of  the  time  in  Litchfield.  He  was  also  at  Constantine,  at  Jackson  and  Hills- 
dale, Michigan,  and  for  four  years  operated  the  Hodunk  niill.  He  then 
began  farming  in  Coldwater  township  and  remained  there  for  eleven  years, 
carrying  on  general  agricultural  pursuits  on  the  corporate  line.  He  after- 
ward spent  one  year  in  Edgar,  Clay  count\',  Nebraska,  where  he  bought  a 
farm,  but  when  a  year  had  passed  he  sold  that  property  and  returned  to  Cold- 
water.  Not  long  afterward  he  purchased  a  farm  in  Matteson  township, 
where  he  lived  for  three  years.  He  had  charge  of  the  state  school  for  one 
year  and  he  was  foreman  of  the  Dewey  Stave  Company  at  Toledo,  Ohio, 
for  one  year,  working  under  L.  P.  Aldin,  who  was  superintendent  at  that 
time.  He  then  returned  to  Matteson  township  and  bought  another  farm, 
remaining  on  the  same  for  twelve  years.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period 
he  traded  that  property  for  a  farm  in  Bronson  township  and  then  traded  for 
a  farm  in  Hillsdale  county  and  took  up  his  abode  in  Litchfield  township. 
There  he  lived  for  eight  years,  when  in  1902  he  sold  the  property  and  re- 
turned to  Coldwater,  purchasing  a  tract  of  ten  acres  on  Grand  street.  A  year 
later  he  traded  this  for  what  was  known  as  the  James  Peterson  farm,  where 
he  now  resides,  having  two  hundred  and  thirty-seven  acres  of  land,  which  is 
very  productive,  responding  readily  to  his  cultivation.  There  is  also  a  mod- 
ern house  upon  the  place,  and  the  farm  is  well  improved  in  all  of  its  equip- 
ments, good  machinery  being  utilized  in  the  care  and  cultivation  of  the  fields. 
He  is  now  successfully  engaged  in  general  farming  and  stock  raising  and  is 
justly  regarded  as  an  enterprising,  progressive  citizen,  who  is  practical  in 
his  business  methods  and  owes  his  success  to  his  close  application,  untiring 
diligence  and  keen  business  discrimination.  He  today  owns  one  hundred 
and  fifty  head  of  sheep,  seventy-five  head  of  hogs,  ten  head  of  cattle  and  five 
head  of  horses,  and  he  has  a  well  equipped  farm  that  in  its  attractive  appear- 
ance shows  that  he  is  in  touch  with  the  most  advanced  methods  of  farming. 

In  1868  Mr.  Shaw  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Ada  E.  Carr,  a  daughr 
ter  of  A.  C.  and  Mary  (Vance)  Carr,  who  was  born  in  Bronson,  Branch 
county,  Michigan,  and  there  remained  until  seventeen  years  of  age.  Both 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shaw  have  a  wide  circle  of  warm  friends  in  this  part  of  the 
state,  and  the  cordial  and  generous  hospitality  of  their  own  home  is  greatly 
enjoyed  by  their  many  visitors.  Mr.  Shaw  keeps  well  informed  on  the 
questions  and  issues  of  the  day  and  is  a  stanch  advocate  of  Republican  prin- 
ciples.    While  living  in  Matteson  township  he  served  as  drain  commissioner 


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7i6  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

and  at  one  time  he  was  deputy  sheriff  of  the  county.  He  may  well  be  termed 
a  self-made  man  and  deserves  all  the  praise  that  that  term  applies.  He  de- 
pended upon  his  own  labors  for  his  education,  for  he  worked  for  his  board 
while  attending  school.  When  fourteen  years  of  age  he  started  out  upon  an 
independent  business  career  and  has  since  depended  entirely  upon  liis  own  re- 
sources. Nothing  was  given  him  and  all  that  he  has  made  has  come  as  the 
result  of  his  persistency  of  purpose.  Today  he  is  the  owner  of  the  best  resi- 
dence in  the  township,  and  his  farm  is  also  equal  to  any  found  in  this  part  of 
the  county.  His  life  should  inspire  and  encourage  others  who  are  forced  to 
start  out  as  he  did,  amid  unfavorable  circumstances,  for  his  record  proves 
that  prosperity  will  come  if  persistently,  earnestly  and  honestly  sought. 

W.  B.  CHIESMAN. 

W.  B.  Chiesman,  filling  the  position  of  postmaster  in  Sherwood,  where 
he  is  also  conducting  a  shoe  business,  was  bom  in  Madison,  Ohio,  January 
lo,  1858,  his  parents  being  Benjamin  F.  and  Phoebe  P.  (Smith),  Chiesman. 
The  father,  a  native  of  England,  came  to  America  when  a  young  man  about 
twenty-four  years  of  age.  He  was  a  jeweler  and  located  in  Madison,  Ohio, 
whence  he  afterward  removed  to  Chardon,  that  state,  but  he  lived  to  be  only 
thirty-three  years  of  age.  His  wife,  a  native  of  Ripon,  England,  died  in  her 
sixty-sixth  year, 

W.  B,  Chiesman  is  the  younger  of  their  two  sons.  He  was  reared  in 
Ashtabula  county,  Ohio,  pursued  his  education  in  the  district  schools  and 
in  the  Normal  Institute  at  Orwell.  Ohio.  About  1881  he  engaged  in  mer- 
chandising on  his  own  account  at  Newville,  DeKalb  county,  Indiana,  where 
he  carried  on  his  store  until  1890,  when  he  sold  out  there  and  came  to  Sher- 
wood. Here  he  established  a  drug  and  book  store,  which  he  conducted  for 
about  six  years,  when  he  disposed  of  that  enterprise  and  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  the  shoe  trade,  which  still  claims  his  time  and  energies,  having  a  lib- 
eral patronage  which  is  indicative  of  his  honorable  methods  and  the  con- 
fidence which  the  public  have  in  his  business  dealings. 

Mr.  Chiesman  has  also  figured  somewhat  prominently  in  local  affairs. 
He  was  trustee  of  his  township  in  DeKalb  county,  Indiana,  for  five  years 
and  was  chairman  of  the  Republican  county  central  committee  for  four  years. 
He  has  held  office  in  Sherwood,  having  been  president  of  the  village  for 
three  years,  treasurer  for  five  years  and  township  clerk  for  two  years,  while 
in  1897  he  was  appointed  by  President  McKinley  to  the  office  of  postmas- 
ter, which  position  he  yet  fills  by  reappointment  of  President  Roosevelt,  now 
serving  his  third  term.  No  public  trust  in  him  has  ever  been  betrayed  in 
the  slightest  degree  as  he  performs  his  public  service  with  the  same  care 
and  fidelity  which  he  manifests  in  the  supervision  of  his  private  business 
interests, 

Mr,  Chiesman  was  married  in  1880  to  Miss  Belle  A,  Leggett,  a  daugh- 
ter of  James  Leggett,  of  Montville,  Ohio.  They  have  one  son,  Guy,  who  is 
now  in  his  second  year  at  Olivet  College,  Mr.  Chiesman  is  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  fraternity,  belonging  to  Sherwood  Lodge,   No.   421.  and  he 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  747 

;ilso  has  membership  relations  with  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees  of  Sher- 
wood and  with  the  Unitarian  church.  His  life  in  both  its  public  and  private 
relations  has  been  marked  by  consecutive  advaneenient  and  his  efforts  have 
been  directed  along  well  defined  lines  of  labor,  a  definite  plan  of  action  re- 
sulting in  the  acquirement  of  a  competence.  His  official  service  marks  him 
as  a  public-spirited  and  patriotic  citizen  and  the  welfare  of  the  community 
as  well  as  national  progress  are  matters  dear  to  his  heart. 

DANIEL  LARZELERE. 

Daniel  Larzelere,  who  is  one  of  the  oldest  grain  dealers  in  the  state  of 
Michigan,  now  living  a  retired  life  in  Quincy,  has  passed  the  eighty-fourth 
milestone  on  life's  journey,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Seneca  Falls,  New 
York,  in  1821.  In  the  paternal  line  he  is  of  French  lineage  and  in  the  ma- 
ternal line  of  Dutch  descent.  His  father,  William  Larzelere,  was  a  native 
of  the  Empire  state  and  traced  his  ancestry  back  to  one  of  three  brothers 
who  came  to  America  in  an  early  day,  fleeing  from  their  own  country  and 
setthng  on  Staten  Island.  William  Larzelere  was  connected  with  the  boat 
business  and  was  also  active  in  speculation.  In  1836  he  came  to  Michigan, 
settling  one  mile  west  of  Kenton,  in  Lenawee  county.  He  was  in  good 
financial  circumstances,  prosperous  in  most. of  his  business  investments.  He 
became  prominent  in  community  affairs  and  was  called  tO'  various  public 
offices,  serving  as  collector  and  justice  of  the  peace,  filling  the  last  named 
position  for  a  number  of  years  in  New  York.  His  political  allegiance  was 
given  to  the  Whig  irarty  until  its  dissolution,  when  he  joined  the  ranks  of 
the  new  Republican  party.  In  his  religious  faith  he  was  a  Congregational- 
ist.  He  married  Mahala  Burrows,  a  native  of  Seneca  Falls,  New  York,  who 
died  in  1885,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two  years.  They  were  the  parents  of 
seven  sons  and  one  daughter, 

Daniel  Larzelere,  the  only  surviving  member  of  the  family,  was  but 
twelve  years  of  age  when  he  began  earning  his  own  living,  being  employed 
in  a  store.  When  a  young  man  of  twenty  years  he  embarked  in  business 
for  himself  as  a  woolen  manufacturer  in  Ypsilanti,  and  he  afterward  spent 
six  years  as  a  merchant  and  miller  at  Grass  Lake.  In  1846  he  began  buying 
grain,  having  built  a  mill,  and  he  has  the  reputation  of  being  the  oldest  grain 
dealer  in  the  state  of  Michigan.  Later  he  removed  to  Adrian  and  accepted 
the  position  of  chief  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  superintendent  of  the  Lake 
Shore  Railroad  Company,  being  at  that  point  for  four  years.  His  next 
home  was  at  Dowagiac,  Michigan,  where  he  carried  on  merchandising,  also 
dealt  in  grain  and  wool  and  built  a  business  block  which  he  afterward  sold 
for  ten  thousand  dollars.  He  remained  at  Dowagiac  for  seventeen  years, 
prospering  in  his  undertakings  there,  and  when  he  disposed  of  his  business 
interests  he  took  in  exchange  for  his  store  four  hundred  and  sixty-four 
acres  of  land  and  the  stock  upon  the  farm  at  Tekonsha,  where  he  carried  on 
general  agricultural  pursuits  for  six  years.  He  had  previously  owned  and 
operated  a  number  of  farms,  so  that  the  work  of  the  agriculturist  was  not 
unfamiliar  to  him.     On  leaving  the  farm  he  traded  his  property  there  for 


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748  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

realty  in  Quincy.  This  was  in  the  year  1877,  and  in  the  following'  year 
he  engaged  in  merchandising,  since  which  time  he  has  been  a  representative 
of  the  grain  trade  at  this  point  and  yet  makes  extensive  shipments.  He  has 
always  led  a  busy  life,  and  while  at  Dowagiac  his  business  interests  amounted 
to  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  annually.  While  in  business  in  that  city 
he  also  had  six  stations  where  he  bought  grain — Dowagiac,  Decatur,  Law- 
ton,  Buchanan,  Niles  and  Clayton.  He  was  a  man  amongst  the  farmers  who 
always  stood  by  his  word  and  was  ever  popular,  one  who  stood  four  square 
with  the  world  as  an  honest  business  man, 

Mr.  Larzelere  has  been  married  twice.  In  1845  ^^  wedded  Delia  Brewer, 
of  Ypsilanti,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  one  son,  Frank  A.,  who  is 
now  living  in  Quincy.  In  1857  Mr.  Larzelere  was  married  to  Clymena 
Larzelere,  of  Adrian,  Michigan,  and  they  have  become  the  parents  of  three 
daughters:  Leora  E.,  the  wife  of  Rev.  K.  N.  Conrad,  a  minister  of  the 
Baptist  church,  at  Newport,  New  York;  Ina  M.,  the  wife  of  William  Men- 
seil.  a  plumber  at  Los  Gatos,  California;  and  Clymena,  who  died  in  infancy. 
They  also  have  an  adopted  son,  Claude  S.,  who  is  now  professor  in  the  Cen- 
tral Normal  School  at  Mount  Pleasant,  Michigan. 

Mr,  and  Mrs,  Larzelere  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church  at 
Quincy,  in  which  he  is  serving  as  treasurer,  and  in  the  work  of  which  they 
take  an  active  and  helpful  interest.  He  assisted  in  organizing  the  Odd  Fel- 
lows lodge  at  Ypsilanti,  and  to  some  extent  has  attended  the  meetings  in 
Quincy.  Formerly  he  was  a  Republican,  but  Js  now  a  strong  Prohibitionist 
and  takes  high  ground  on  the  subject  of  temperance.  He  has  often  been 
solicited  to  accept  nomination  for  oitice,  but  has  invariably  declined,  pre- 
ferring to  concentrate  his  time,  energies  and  attention  upon  his  business 
affairs.  Few  men  of  his  years  are  yet  so  active  in  business  as  is  Mr.  Lar- 
zelere, and  such  a  life  record  should  put  to  shame  many  a  man  of  much 
younger  years,  who,  growing  weary  of  the  struggles  of  a  business  career, 
would  relegate  to  others  the  burdens  that  he  should  bear.  Old  age  does 
not  necessarily  suggest  idleness  nor  want  of  octupation.  There  is  an  old 
age  that  grows  stronger  and  better  as  the  years  pass,  both  mentally  and  spir- 
itually, and  gives  of  its  rich  "stores  an  experience.  Such  has  been  the  record 
of  Mr,  Larzelere,  who  is  to-day  one  of  the  most  honored  as  well  as  most 
venerable  citizens  of  Quincy. 

ARTHUR  BURROWS, 

Arthur  Burrows  has  for  forty-three  years  been  a  resident  of  Coldwater, 
and  while  he  has  never  sought  to  figure  in  public  life  and  thus  gain  wide 
prominence,  he  has  nevertheless  been  a  factor  in  community  interests,  sup- 
porting ail  measures  for  the  Iienefit  and  upbuilding  of  the  city  and  co-oper- 
ating in  many  movements  which  have  been  effective  in  advancing  the  wel- 
fare of  the  county. 

Mr.  Burrows  is  a  native  of  England,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Bury 
St.  Esmonds,  county  Suffolk,  December  29,  1827.  His  parents,  Wiiiiam 
and  Sarah   (Snare)   Burrows,  were  also  natives  of  the  same  locality,  and 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  749 


when  they  came  to  America  in  the  year  1837  they  settled  in  Rochester,  New 
York,  where  their  remaining  days  were  passed,  their  remains  being  interred 
in  Mount  Hope  cemetery.  They  were  the  parents  of  eight  children,  seven 
sons  and  a  daughter,  of  whom  one  died  in  infancy,  while  one  remained  in 
England,  the  other  five  sons  and  daughter  coming  to  America  with  their 
parents. 

Arthur  Burrows,  the  seventh  in  order  of  birth  in  the  family,  was  only 
nine  years  of  age  when  he  crossed  the  Atlantic,  and  in  Rochester,  New  York, 
he  was  reared  and  educated,  remaining  there  until  early  manhood,  when  he 
removed  to  Brockport,  New  York,  about  seventeen  miles  west  of  the  former 
city.  He  was  there  married  December  29,  1850,  to  Eliza  J.  Grenell,  who 
was  born  in  Greenfield,  Saratoga  coimty,  New  York,  October  19,  1827,  a 
daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Betsy  Grenell,  who  removed  to  Brockport,  where 
their  daughter  spent  her  girlhood  days  and  acquired  her  education.  The 
young  couple  began  their  domestic  life  in  that  place,  where  they  remained 
until  1863,  when  they  came  to  Coldwater,  Michigan,  and  since  that  time 
Mr.  Burrows,  as  a  public-spirited  and  progressive  citizen,  has  upheld  the 
moral  and  political  status  of  the  community  and  contributed  to  its  materia! 
progress  and  improvement.  He  entered  business  life  here  as  an  employe  of 
the  firm  of  Blodget  &  Company,  dealers  in  furniture  and  undertaker's  sup- 
plies, with  whom  he  remained  for  about  fifteen  years,  when,  his  economy 
and  industry  bringing  to  him  some  capital,  he  embarked  in  mercantile  life 
on  his  own  account.  It  was  in  1885  that  he  opened  his  furniture  and  under- 
taking estabhshment,  as  a  partner  of  A.  R.  Brown,  vinder  the  firm  name  of 
Brown  &  Burrows.  Later  the  senior  member  sold  his  interest  to  J.  M. 
Crocker,  with  whom  Mr.  Burrows  was  afterward  engaged  in  the  undertak- 
ing business  for  about  two  years.  In  the  winter  of  1899  the  business  rela- 
tions between  them  were  discontinued  and  Mr.  Burrows  opened  an  under- 
taking parlor  in  connection  with  Charles  H.  Harris,  with  whom  he  con- 
tinued until  April  4,  1902,  when  he  retired  from  active  business  life  to  enjoy 
the  competence  which  his  years  of  earnest  toil,  capable  management  and 
keen  discrimination  in  business  affairs  had  brought  to  him. 

Of  strongly  domestic  tastes  and  interested  in  the  home  life,  Mr.  Bur- 
rows has  ever  done  what  he  could  to  promote  the  welfare  and  happiness  of 
his  wife  and  children.  Only  two,  however,  of  the  eight  children  born  to 
him  and  his  wife  are  now  living:  Lelia,  the  wife  of  J.  N.  Smith,  a  rural 
mail  carrier;  and  Mattie  E.,  the  wife  of  William  Clark,  of .  Coldwater,  Mr. 
Burrows  also  has  three  grandchildren,  Fred  Burrows,  May  Sawin  and  Fred 
Smith.  The  members  of  the  family  who  have  passed  away  are  as  follows : 
Wilham  A,,  born  May  17,  1854,  in  Brockport,  New  York,  died  in  Iroquois. 
Illinois,  December  20,  1881 :  Carrie  Jane,  born  August  6,  1857,  in  Brock- 
port, New  York,  died  in  Coldwater,  May  8,  1897;  Ida  Elizabeth,  born  in 
Brockport,  February  17,  1S59.  died  May  17,  1884;  Harry  C,  born  March 
28.  1861,  in  Brockport,  died  in  Coldwater  May  7,  1S62;  Fred,  born  January 
2,  1864.  in  this  city,  died  January  7,  1864;  Kate  S.,  born  in  Brockport,  New 
York.  March  28.  1861,  died  August  24.  1885. 

Aside   from   the   fact  that  Mr.   Burrows  was  so  long  an   active  repre- 


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750  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

sentative  of  business  interests,  he  was  also  well  known  in  Coldwater  because 
of  his  participation  in  public  affairs.  His  position  in  regard  to  political 
questons  has  ever  been  an  nnequivocal  one,  as  he  has  given  a  stanch  and 
unswerving  support  to  Republican  principles.  He  has  labored  earnestly  to 
promote  the  growth  and  insure  the  success  of  his  party,  and  has  been  called 
to  render  various  public  services  of  a  responsible  character.  He  has  been  a 
member  of  the  United  States  grand  jury  and  the  Branch  cotinty  petit  jury. 
He  was  county  coroner  for  six  years,  supervisor  from  the  first  ward  for  six 
years  and  alderman  from  the  first  ward  for  two  years.  No  public  trust  has 
ever  been  betrayed  by  him  in  the  slightest  degree  and  his  public  duties  have 
been  performed  in  the  same  capable  and  straightforward  manner  that  ever 
characterized  his  business  dealings.  A  permeating  influence  and  motive 
power  in  his  life  has  been  his  relationship  with  the  Baptist  church,  of  which 
he  has  been  a  member  for  sixty  years.  He  has  filled  various  offices  in  the 
church,  and  for  a  number  of  years  was  superintendent  of  the  Sunday-scliool 
and  he  has  ever  given  generously  of  his  means  to  the  support  of  Christian 
and  charitable  work.  During  a  residence  of  forty-three  years  in  Coldwater 
he  has  so  lived  as  to  make  for  himself  an  enviable  reputation  in  commercial, 
political  and  church  circles.  With  a  just  Conception  of  the  duties  and  obli- 
gations that  devolve  upon  man,  and  his  possibilities  for  accomplishment  in 
character  btiilding  as  well  as  in  the  material  things  of  life,  he  has  wrought 
along  lines  of  great  good,  and  is  therefore  to-day  one  of  the  most  thoroughly 
respected  and  esteemed  citizens  of  Branch  county. 

DANA  P.  WHITE. 

Dana  P.  White,  who  is  engaged  in  the  milling  business  in  Union  City, 
is  a  native  of  the  Green  Mountain  state,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Orange 
county,  Vermont,  November  i,  1826.  His  father,  Josiah  White,  also  born  in 
that  state,  was  a  millwright  by  occupation  and  died  in  his  native  county  when 
ab.iut  sixty  years  of  age.  The  ancestry  of  the  family,  however,  can  be  traced 
somewhat  farther  back,  the  family  having  been  established  in  this  counlry  in 
colonial  days.     The  fallowing  is  a  quotation  from  Theodore  Tiltcn : 

"  There  was  a  Mrs.  White  on  board  the-  Mayflower,  the  mother  of  the 
first  born  child  born  to  the  New  England  pilgrims  on  this  continent.  It  was 
a  good  omen  that  this  historic  babe  was  brought  into  the  world  on  board  the 
Mayflower,  between'  the  time  of  casting  the  anchor  and  the  landing  of  the 
passengers.  A  kirnl  of  amphibious  prophecj'  that  the  new  born  nation  was  to 
have  a  birthright  inheritance  over  sea  and  land. 

"  Theodore  Tilton." 

"  New  York,  December  .22,  1865," 

The  grandfather,  Paul  White.  lived  to  the  extreme  old  age  of  ninety-six 
years,  while  his  wife  Polly  was  ninety-four  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  her 
death,  and  they  had  traveled  life's  journey  together  for  more  than  seventy 
years.  Josiah  White  w-as  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Zerviah  Townsend,  also 
a  native  of  \''ermont,  who  died  when  about  fifty  years  of  age,  while  her  father 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  751 

passed  away  at  the  age  of  sixty  years.  Unto  Mr,  and  Mrs.  White  were  born 
nine  children,  fi^-e  sons  and  fotir  daughters,  all  of  whom  reached  adult  age. 

Dana  P.  White,  the  seventh  member  of  this  family,  and  the  only  one  now 
living,  spent  his  boyhood  days  in  the  state  of  his  nativity  until  fourteen  years 
of  age  and  began  his  education  there  in  a  log  schoolhouse.  When  still  but  a 
lad  he  became  famJhar  with  the  milling  business,  and  in  his  fifteenth  year  he 
started  out  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world.  He  then  learned  the  tailor's 
trade  in  Windsor,  Vermont,  serving  a  regular  apprenticeship,  and  later  he 
accepted  a  clerkship  in  a  clothing  store  at  Cambridgeport,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  remained  for  a  year.  On  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  entered 
upon  an  active  business  career  as  a  clothing  merchant  of  Windsor,  Vermont, 
but  after  a  year  he  sold  his  store  there  and  went  to  Charleston,  New  Hamp- 
shire, where  he  conducted  a  similar  enterprise  for  two  years.  He  then  again 
disposed  of  his  stock  of  goods  and  removed  to  the  middle  west,  settling  in 
Davenport,  Iowa,  where  he  engaged  in  the  bag  and  paper  business,  manufac- 
turing paper  and  flour  sacks  for  about  six  years.  He  next  located  in  St. 
Louis,  Missouri,  where  he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  vinegar  in  partner- 
ship with  a  brother,  continuing  there  for  alxiut  a  year.  This  was  during  the 
period  of  the  Civil  war.  From  St.  Louis  he  went  to  Keokuk,  Iowa,  where 
he  again  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  flour  sacks  for  thirty-six  years,  con- 
ducting a  profitable  business.  When  the  three  decades  had  passed  he  sold  his 
interest  to  his  brother  and  removed  to  Brooklyn,  New  York,  where  he  lived 
retired  for  about  a  year  and  a  half.  Settling  in  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan,  he 
spent  three  years  in  that  city,  having  no  active  business  i*nterests,  but  enjoy- 
ing a  well  earned  rest. 

Mr.  White  first  came  to  Union  City  in  1852,  remaining  for  three  years 
at  that  time,  and  it  was  from  this  place  that  he  removed  to  Bridgeport,  Con- 
necticut. There  he  conducted  a  clothing  and  furnishing  goods  business,  after 
which  he  went  to  Davenport.  Iowa,  as  mentioned  above.  Again  he  came 
to  Union  City  on  leaving  Ann  Arbor  in  1890,  and  after  a  time  he  purchased 
a  book  store,  which  he  conducted  for  five  years.  He  also  had  charge  of  the 
express  and  telephone  business,  and  upon  selling  his  store  he  purchased  the 
Union  City  mill,  which  he  is  now  conducting,  manufacturing  an  excellent 
grade  of  flour,  which  finds  a  ready  sale  on  the  market. 

In  1849  Mr.  White  w-aa  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Gleason, 
and  imto  them  were  born  two  children,  Mary  Addie  and  Annie  Lizzie,  twins. 
The  latter  is  now  the  wife  of  Dr.  Solon  B.  Parsons,  of  Arkansas  City,  Arkan- 
sas, and  they  have  six  children,  three  sons  and  three  daugfifers,  Dana,  Helen, 
Mary,  Margaret,  John  and  Richard.  Mary  A.  is  the  wife  of  Professor  E.  R. 
Miller  of  Aitburn,  Alabama,  now  in  Cuba  in  the  employ  of  the  Cuf>an  govern- 
ment. The  mother  died  June  i,  1881,  and  on  the  17th  of  May,  1887,  Mr. 
White  wedded  Susie  Easton. 

Mr.  White  is  an  inflexible  advocate  of  the  Republican  party,  and  voted 
for  Fremont,  Lincoln  and  its  successive  presidential  candidates.  Prior  to  its 
organization  he  was  a  Democrat  and  cast  his  ballot  for  James  K.  Polk.  He 
has  been  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  between  forty  and  fifty  years, 
and  in  his  life  has  exemplified  the  beneficent  spirit  of  the  craft.     Long  a  de- 


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T52  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

voted  member  of  the  Congregational  church,  he  is  serving  as  one  of  its 
deacons  and  takes  an  active  and  helpful  part  in  its  work.  His  life  is  a  proof 
of  the  adage,  "  through  struggles  to  success,"  for  he  started  out  in  life  empty- 
handed  and  has  gradually  worked  his  way  upward,  making  all  that  he  has 
enjoyed  and  now  possesses  through  his  industry.  Although  he  has  passed 
the  seventy-eighth  milestone  of  life's  journey  he  is  still  an  active  factor  in 
business  life  and  such  a  career  should  put  to  shame  many  a  man  of  younger 
years  who.  growing  weary  of  the  close  application  and  struggles  of  a  busi- 
ness career,  would  put  upon  others  the  burdens  that  he  should  bear.  In  spirit 
and  interest  Mr.  White  seems  yet  in  his  prime  and  he  commands  the  respect 
of  young  and  old,  rich  and  poor. 

WILLIS  A.  MILLER. 

Willis  A.  Miller,  who  is  farming  on  section  one,  Batavia  township,  is 
numbered  among  Michigan's  native  sons,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Pon- 
tiac,  Oakland  county,  on  the  7th  of  December,  1853.  His  father,  George 
Miller,  was  a  native  of  Highland  county,  Ohio,  born  February  18,  1819, 
and  he  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  about  1831,  but  went  to  Iowa  in 
1853,  returning,  however,  to  Michigan  in  1859.  For  forty  years  thereafter 
he  remained  a  resident  of  this  part  of  the  state,  and  his  death  occurred  in 
Coldwater  in  1899,  when  he  had  attained  thfe  venerable  age  of  eighty  years. 
He  married  Miss  Ruth  Norton,  who  was  born  in  Jefferson  county,  New 
York,  October  16,  1824.  Her  last  days  were  spent  in  the  home  of  her  son, 
Willis  Miller,  where  she  passed  away  on  the  loth  of  November,  1901. 

Mr.  Miller  was  an  adopted  son  of  these  worthy  people,  becoming  a 
member  of  their  family  when  only  five  weeks  old,  and  he  was  never  made  to 
feel  that  they  were  not  his  real  parents,  but  received  from  them  the  loving 
care  and  attention  which  are  to  be  expected  from  an  own  father  and  mother. 
He  was  a  youth  of  seven  years  at  the  time  of  their  removal  to  Branch  county 
and  here  he  pursued  his  education  in  the  district  schools  of  Giiead  town- 
ship. He  remained  at  home  up  to  the  time  of  his  marriage,  March  28,  1888, 
when  Miss  Anna  Luh  became  his  wife.  She  was  born  in  Germany  and 
was  a  little  maiden  of  four  summers  when  brought  by  her  parents  to  Branch 
county,  Michigan,  receiving  her  education  in  the  common  schools.  She  is  a 
daughter  of  Carl  and  Catherine  (Gruner)  Luh  and  was  reared  in  Union 
township,  this  county.  At  the  time  of  their  marriage  the  young  couple 
located  on  the  farm  which  is  now  their  home,  and  he  has  since  given  his 
attention  to  the  tilling  of  the  soil  and  the  improvement  of  his  property,  hav- 
ing one  hundred  acres  of  land,  constituting  an  excellent  farm.  In  fact  he  is 
classed  with  the  successful  agriculturists  of  the  county,  having  made  most 
of  the  improvements  upon  his  place,  a  fact  which  indicates  his  progressive 
spirit  and  careful  supervision.  The  farm  is  neat  and  thrifty,  and  in  all  of 
his  work  he  is  practical,  his  labors  being  attended  with  the  success  which 
always  comes  as  the  reward  of  persistent  purpose  and  unfaltering  diligence. 
He  has  been  a  resident  of  Branch  county  for  forty-six  years  and  has  taken 
an  active  interest  in  all  public  affairs,  his  political  allegiance  being  given  to 


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HISTORY  OF  BRA\XH  COUNTY  753 

the  Republican  party,  for  he  beheves  that  it  contains  the  best  eleinents  of 
good  government.  Mrs.  Miller  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
and  also  a  member  of  Centennial  Bay  View  Reading'  Circle,  being  chairman 
of  the  division.  In  1904  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Miller  made  a  two  thousand  five 
hundred  mile  trip  through  the  states  of  Michigan,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Iowa, 
Minnesota,  Nebraska,  Indiana,  Missouri  and  Kansas  in  their  automobile, 
the  "  Olds  Runabout,"  four  and  a  half  H.  P.  Their  trip  consumed  three 
and  a  half  months  and  was  for  self-enjoyment.  Mrs.  Miller's  comfortable, 
cosy  home  is  an  indication  that  she  is  one  of  the  careful  housewives. 

JOSEPH  PHINEAS  FARRAND. 

Joseph  Phineas  Farrand,  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war  and  a  practical  and 
enterprising  farmer  of  Branch  county,  was  born  May  10,  1833,  in  Elmira, 
New  York.  His  parents  were  Charles  C.  and  Nancy  (Christian)  Farrand. 
The  father  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey  and  is  descended  from  ancestors 
who  came  to  America  while  this  country  was  still  numbered  among  the 
colonial  possessions  of  Great  Britain.  Charles  C.  Farrand  and  his  brother 
Han<-ey  removed  from  New  Jersey  to  New  York,  where  they  engaged  in 
the  operation  of  a  sawmill  for  seven  or  eight  years,  and  the  year  1836  wit- 
nessed his  arrival  in  Bronson  township.  Branch  county,  Michigan.  He 
found  here  a  pioneer  district  with  few  settlements  and  little  improvement; 
but  he  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  frontiersmen  who  were  subduing  the  wilder- 
ness, purchasing  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  on  section  thirty-two, 
Bronson  township.  A  log  house  had  been  begun  on  the  place  and  he  fin- 
ished that  pioneer  dwelling,  taking  up  his  abode  there  in  1837.  As  he  pros- 
pered in  his  farming  pursuits  he  added  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  on  sec- 
tion thirty-two,  a  tract  of  forty  acres  on  section  thirty-three,  forty  acres  on 
section  twenty-nine  and  eighty  acres  on  section  thirty-two,  giving  him  an 
aggregate  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres.  He  carried  on  general  farm- 
ing and  developed  his  property  into  a  productive  tract  of  land,  from  which 
he  annually  garnered  rich  crops.  In  the  early  days  he  served  as  road  com- 
missioner and  laid  out  many  of  the  roads  in  the  southwest  part  of  the  town- 
ship. He  was  prominent  and  helpful  in  public  affairs  and  his  worth  was 
widely  acknowledged,  so  that  deep  regret  was  felt  at  the  loss  of  this  honored 
pioneer  settler  when  he  was  called  to  his  final  rest.  In  his  family  were  five 
children:  Ebenezer,  who  died  in  1899.:  Joseph  P.,  of  this  review;  Marie, 
who  died  in  1900;  Willis,  who  is  living  in  Sherwood,  Branch  county;  and 
Catherine  Eliza,  who  died  in  Kansas  in  1893. 

Joseph  P.  Farrand,  reared  upon  the  old  home  farm  under  the  parental 
roof,  early  became  familiar  with  the  best  methods  of  tilling  the  soil  and 
caring  for  the  stock.  In  the  winter  months  he  attended  the  district  schools, 
wherein  he  mastered  the  common  branches  of  English  learning,  and  he  con- 
tinued to  aid  in  the  operation  of  the  home  farm  until  1859.  He  was  mar- 
ried October  11,  1857,  to  Miss  Olivia  C.  Smith,  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
Smith,  and  he  continued  to  carry  on  general  agricultural  pursuits  on  the 
old  farm  homestead  until  i86r,  when  in  response  to  his  country's  need  he 


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7S4  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

offered  his  services  to  the  Union  for  three  years  and  became  a  member  of 
Comj-Kiny  D,  Eleventh  Michigan  Infantry.  The  regiment  was  attached  to 
the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  and  he  went  south  to  join  the  command.  He 
was  then  sent  to  Detroit  to  draw  back-pay  and  was  ordered  to  join  his 
regiment,  which  was  then  with  Sherman  on  the  march  to  the  sea,  but  an 
officer  in  command,  recogriizing  his  clerical  ability,  prevented  him  from 
doing  active  work  in  the  fields  and  he  put  him  on  detached  duty.  While 
on  his'way  to  join  his  regiment,  they  got  as  far  as  the  High  Truss  Bridge 
on  Greene  river,  Kentucky,  on  the  Nashville  Railroad,  and  here  his  detach- 
ment was  held  to  guard  this  bridge  from  the  rebels.  They  were  attacked 
Sunday  morning  about  four  o'clock  and  the  action  continued  till  ten  o'clock, 
but  were  under  fire  three  days.  They  were  surrounded  by  General  Bragg's 
army  of  sixty  thousand  men,  but  Mr.  Farrand  was  paroled  on  the  field.  He 
was  discharged  in  1865,  but  continued  to  serve  two  and  a  half  years,  or  until 
the  records  were  sent  from  Detroit  to  Washington,  D.  C.  While  he  was 
on  detached  service  in  the  south  Mrs.  Farrand  acted  as  volunteer  nurse  in 
the  hospital  for  a  year.  Mr.  Farrand's  early  progenitors  were  soldiers  in 
the  Revolutionary  war. 

About  1868  Mr.  Farrand  engaged  in  the  conduct  of  a  meat  market  in 
Detroit,  and  on  selling  his  business  there  he  removed  to  Toledo,  Ohio,  be- 
coming fireman  on  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad,  his  run  being  between  Toledo 
and  Elkhart.  He  afterward  went  to  Kansas  and  for  six  months  was  em- 
ployed as  fireman  on  the  Missouri  Pacific  Railroad.  Later  he  was  made  an 
engineer  and  continued  in  the  employ  of  the  railroad  company  for  eight 
years.  On  the  expiration  of  ihat  period  he  came  to  Michigan  on  a  visit 
and  accepted  a  position  with  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad  as  engineer,  continu- 
ing in  that  service  for  four  years.  About  1880  he  became  proprietor  of  a 
hotel  at  dinger  Lake  and  was  also  engineer  on  the  boat,  remaining  at  that 
point  for  four  years.  In  18S4  he  went  to  Elkhart,  Indiana,  where  for  four 
years  he  conducted  a  restaurant,  and  in  1889  he  rented  the  Williams  farm, 
upon  which  he  lived  for  three  years.  He  next  rented  a  farm  at  Colon  for 
two  years,  and  in  1893  began  the  operation  of  the  farm  which  his  wife 
inherited,  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  on  section  thirty-three,  Bronson 
township. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Farrand  have  been  born  two  children :  Burt,  who 
died  in  infancy;  and  Willis  Smith.  The  latter,  bom  in  1869,  lives  at  Bron- 
son, Michigan,  where  he  is  foreman  of  the  American  Truss  and  Post  Com- 
pany. He  married  Miss  Bell  Poiser,  and  has  a  family  of  three  children : 
Burt  Elliott,  Harry  Elmer  and  Inez  May.  He  is  a  natural  machinist,  and 
he  was  only  fifteen  when  he  made  a  complete  engine. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Farrand  is  a  Republican,  having  always  sup- 
ported the  party  since  age  gave  him  the  right  of  franchise.  He  belongs  to 
the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers  and  holds  membership  in  Has- 
kett  Post  No.  85,  G.  A.  R.,  at  Elkhart.  In  all  matters  of  citizenship  he  is 
interested  and  supports  all  movements  for  the  general  welfare  with  the  same 
loyalty  that  he  displayed  when  on  southern  battlefields  when  he  espoused 
the  Union  cause. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


HENRY  C.  WHITLEY. 

Henry  C.  Whitley,  who  is  engaged  in  loaning  money  on  farming  lands 
and  makes  his  home  in  Coidwater,  was  born  in  Rochester,  New  York,  Janu- 
ary 7,  1839.  His  father,  John  H.  Whitley,  was  born  in  1814  and  died  in 
i860.  He  came  to  Roche,ster,  New  York,  in  1835,  when  a  young  man  of 
twenty-one  years,  where  he  engaged  in  the  boot  and  shoe  business.  There 
his  death  occurred  when  he  was  in  his  forty-seventh  year.  His  wife  bore 
the  maiden  name  of  Eliza  Gosnell  and  was  born  in  1812,  while  her  death 
occurred  April  18,  1881.  She  went  to  Rochester,  New  York,  when  about 
twenty-five  years  of  age.  In  their  family  were  eleven  children,  ten  sons  and 
a  daughter,  the  latter  being  the  youngest  of  the  family. 

Henry  C.  Whitley,  the  second  son.  was  reared  in  the  place  of  his  na- 
tivity to  the  age  of  twenty-three  years  and  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
of  Rochester.  He  entered  upon  his  business  career  as  a  bookkeeper,  which 
profession  he  followed  for  seven  years  in  the  east.  On  the  31st  of  Decem- 
ber, 1862,  he  arrived  in  CoMwater,  where  he  accepted  the  position  of  book- 
keeper and  salesman  for  the  fiiTn  of  Dickinson  and  Webb,  general  merchants. 
He  remained  with  this  house  as  an  employe  imtil  1869,  when  he  was  admit- 
ted to  a  partnership,  the  firm  name  being  then  changed  to  Dickinson,  Webb 
&  Company,  and  later  to  Dickinson  &  Whitley,  which  relation  was  main- 
tained until  the  death  of  the  senior  partner  in  1904,  at  which  time  the  busi- 
ness was  closed  out.  For  many  years  he  has  been  engaged  in  placing  loans 
on  realty,  his  business  proving  profitable  because  he  lias  endeavored  to  sat- 
isfy his  patrons. 

In  1861,  in  Rochester,  Mr.  Whitley  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Ellen  C.  Judson,  a  daughter  of  A.  B.  Judson,  of  that  city.  They  have  one 
daughter,  Laura  W.,  now  the  wife  of  Frank  B.  Moore,  a  manufacturer  of 
book-cases  in  Detroit,  Michigan,  as  a  member  of  a  stock  company. 

Mr.  Whitley  has  never  wavered  in  his  support  of  the  men  and  meas- 
ures of  the  Republican  party  since  age  gave  to  him  the  right  of  franchise. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  is  well  known  in 
Branch  county,  having  been  a  resident  of  Coidwater  for  forty-three  years. 
He  is  delighted  in  the  changes  which  have  occurred,  being  anxious  for  the 
best  development  of  the  county  along  material,  social,  intellectual  and  moral 
lines.  His  labor  and  persistency  of  purpose  have  been  the  resultant  factors 
in  his  own  successful  career,  and  as  the  years  have  gone  by  he  has  gained 
an  enviable  position  as  a  representative  business  man  and  valued  citizen  of 
this  place. 

L.  F.  SCHEIDLER,  M.  D. 

Dr.  L.  F.  Scheidler,  who  is  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  and 
also  superintends  his  farming  interests  on  section  twenty-one,  Ovid  town- 
ship, is  a  native  of  Ohio,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Seneca  county  on 
the  19th  of  February,  1855.  His  father,  Daniel  Scheidler,  was  bom  in 
Pennsylvania  in  1824,  and  when  quite  young  went  with  his  parents  to  Ohio, 
being  reared,  educated  and  married  in  Seneca  county.     He  devoted  his  at- 


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756  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

tention  to  agricultural  pursuits  as  a  life  work  and  became  a  representative 
citizen  of  the  community  in  which  he  lived.  He  wedded  Miss  Katherine 
Ann  Killinger,  who  became  a  resident  of  Stark  county,  Ohio,  in  her  early 
girlhood  and  there  spent  her  youth.  In  1862  Mr.  Scheidler  brought  his 
family  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  taking  up  his  abode  on  the  present 
farm  in  Ovid  township.  He  bought  one  hundred  and  forty-eight  acres  of 
land,  of  which  he  cleared  fifty-two  acres,  and  his  attention  was  given  to  the 
further  cultivation  and  development  of  the  property,  with  the  result  that 
he  was  known  as  an  enterprising  and  prosperous  agriculturist  of  the  com- 
munity. In  his  political  views  he  was  an  earnest  Republican,  actively  asso- 
ciated with  the  work  of  the  party.  He  possessed  many  excellent  traits  of 
character  and  was  well  known  in  Branch  county,  where  the  circle  of  his 
friends  was  almost  co-extensive  with  the  circle  of  his  acquaintance.  His 
death  occurred  May  12,  1880,  while  his  wife  died  in  1874.  They  were  the 
parents  of  eleven  children,  six  sons  and  five  daughters,  all  of  whom  were 
born  in  Seneca  county,  Ohio, 

Dr.  Scheidler,  the  youngest  son  and  ninth  child,  was  seven  years  of 
age  when  his  father  came  to  Branch  county,  and  for  three  years  he  was  a 
student  in  the  public  schools  of  Coldwater.  Having  completed  his  literary 
course  the  problem  confronted  him  as  to  a  choice  of  a  life  work,  and  after 
careful  consideration  of  the  matter  he  determined  to  engage  in  the  practice 
of  medicine.  In  1884  he  went  to  Chicago  and  matriculated  in  the  Bennett 
Medical  College,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the  class  of  1889.  He 
then  returned  to  Branch  county  and  entered  upon  the  active  work  of  the 
profession  at  Kinderhook,  where  he  remained  for  about  seven  years,  when 
he  returned  to  the  old  home  farm  in  Ovid  township.  He  is  stiil  practicing, 
receiving  a  large  patronage  from  the  residents  of  Ovid  township,  and  his 
knowledge  and  ability  well  qualify  him  to  care  for  those  who  come  under 
his  professional  charge.  At  the  same  time  he  is  managing  his  farming  in- 
terests, having  3  good  tract  of  land  on  section  twenty-one. 

On  the  i2th  of  August,  1883,  Dr.  Scheidler  was  married  to  Miss  Lulah 
Thompson,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Emma  (Butterfield)  Thompson,  who 
were  farming  people  of  Branch  county,  coming  to  this  state  from  Ohio. 
Mrs,  Scheidler  was  born  in  Seneca  county,  Ohio,  in  1862  and  was  brought 
by  her  parents  to  Michigan  in  her  early  girlhood  days,  so  that  she  was 
largely  reared  and  educated  here.  The  doctor  and  his  wife  now  have  one 
son,  Dwyte.  who  was  born  June  27,  1884.  Dr,  Scheidler  votes  an  inde- 
pendent ticket,  and  though  not  active  in  politics  he  is  interested  in  all  that 
pertains  to  his  county's  development.  In  his  business  life  he  displays  a 
marked  energy  and  enterprise  and  these  qualities  are  essential  to  success  in 
both  professional  and  agricultural  lines. 

THOMAS  C.  KNAPP.  M.  D. 

Dr,  ITiomas  C.  Knapp,  who  is  living  retired  in  Union  City,  was  liorn 
in  Vermilion  county,  Ohio,  March  27,  1840.  his  parents  being  William  and 
Clara    (Day)    Knapp,     The  father  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  became 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  757 

one  of  the  pioneer  residents  of  Ohio,  where  he  remained  until  his  removal 
to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  in  1840,  locating  here  when  this  was  a  fron- 
tier district.  He  settled  first  in  Union  township  about  a  mile  south  of 
Union  City,  and  a  part  of  his  land  is  now  within  the  incorporation  limits. 
He  bought  his  property  at  six  dollars  per  acre,  becoming  owner  of  a  tract 
of  one  hundred  and  ninety  acres,  which  he  greatly  improved.  He  added 
many  buildings  there,  fenced  his  land  and  continued  the  work  of  cultiva- 
tion along  most  modern  lines,  making  his  farm  a  very  productive  and  valu- 
able one.  He  continued  to  engage  in  general  agricultural  pursuits  through- 
out his  entire  life.  His  wife  was  boni  near  Rutland,  Vermont,  and  they 
became  the  parents  of  thirteen  children,  twelve  of  whom  reached  manhood 
or  womanhood.     There  were  five  daughters  and  eight  sons. 

Dr.  Knapp,  the  ninth  member  of  the  family,  was  not  yei  three  months 
old  when  brought  by  his  parents  to  Branch  county,  and  his  boyhood  days 
were  spend  on  the  old  homestead  farm  in  Union  township,  while  in  the 
common  schools  he'  obtained  his  early  education.  Through  the  sum- 
mer months  he  worked  in  the  fields  and  remained  with  his  father  until 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  when  he  started  out  in  life  on  his  own  account.  He 
then  purchased  a  piece  of  land,  but  afterward  sold  that  property,  and  at  the 
time  of  the  Civil  war  he  put  aside  all  business  and  persona!  considerations, 
eiilistmg  in  1862  as  a  member  of  Company  K,  Seventh  Michigan  Volunteer 
Infantry.  With  that  command  he  ser\'ed  until  hostilities  had  ceased,  the 
stars  and  stripes  having  been  rai'^ed  over  the  capitol  of  the  southern  Con- 
federacy. He  was  several  times  wounded,  the  first  time  at  Brush  Creek, 
Virginia.  He  took  part  in  many  important  engagements,  including  the 
battles  of  the  Wilderness,  Cold  Harbor,  Spottsylvania  and  the  siege  of 
Petersburg,  and  he  was  also  slightly  wounded  there.  He  was  with  Han- 
cock's corps  and  second  division,  and  he  received  an  honorable  discharge  at 
Elmira,  New  York,  in  July.  1865,  returning  to  his  home  with  a  creditable 
military   record. 

When  the  war  was  over  Dr.  Knapp  made  his  way  again  to  Union  City, 
and  in  this  locality  purchased  a  farm.  He  had  been  married  on  the  1st  of 
January,  1863,  to  Miss  Catherine  Tylor,  a  daughter  of  Lansing  and  Mary 
(Lenderman)  Tylor.  Three  children  graced  this  union:  William  C. :  Ada. 
the  wife  of  T.  F.  Robmson:  and  John  C,  Both  sons  are  farmers  of  Union 
township  and  Mr.   Robinson  follows  the  same  pursuit.. 

Dr.  Knapp  took  his  bride  to  his  farm  and  continued  to  engage  In 
general  agricultural  pursuits  until  1880,  when  he  traded  his  property  in 
Michigan  for  a  tract  of  wild  land  in  North  Dakota.  He  then  removed  to 
that  state  and  began  the  cultivation  of  his  place,  making  his  home  thereon 
until  1902,  when  he  retired  to  Union  City.  Here  he  again  bought  land  in 
Union  township,  but  one-half  of  his  farm  lies  across  the  boundary  line  in 
Calhoun  county.  He  has  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  acres,  which  he  rents 
anc!  makes  his  hon'ie  in  Union  City.  When  a  young  man  he  studied  veteri- 
nary surgery  and  has  practiced  the  profession  for  about  forty  years,  being 
quite  successful  in  that  dqjartment  of  work.  He  was  appointed  territorial 
veterinary    for   North   and   South   Dakota   when   all   were   embraced   within 


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768  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

one  boundary  uncier  the  territorial  government,  and  for  three  years  he  occu- 
pied that  position.  Mr.  Knapp  has  always  been  an  earnest  Republican,  and 
has  been  elected  supervisor  for  nine  different  terms  in.  North  Dakota.  He 
was  chairman  of  the  board  twice  during  that  period,  and  he  has  ever  been 
mterested  in  matters  pertaining  to  general  improvement  and  substantaaj 
development.  He  has  made  an  imtarnished  record  and  unspotted  reputa- 
tion as  a  business  man.  In  all  places  and  under  all  circumstances  he  is  loyal 
to  truth  and  right,  justly  valuing  his  own  respect  as  preferable  to  wealth  and 
position.  He  has,  however,  in  a. business  career  won  gratifying  success,  so 
that  he  is  enabled  to  live  retired  and  yet  enjoy  all  the  comforts  and  many 
of  the  luxuries  of  life. 

JOHN  H.  WILKINS. 

In  the  populous  and  prosperous  county  of  Branch  there  are  very  few 
people  who  can  boast  a  continuous  residence  here  of  sixty-eight  years,  but 
such  has  been  the  experience  of  the  gentleman  named  above,  Mr,  John  H. 
Wi]kins,  one  of  the  respected  and  well-to-do  agriculturists  of  this  portion 
of  the  state.  In  fact,  a  history  in  detail  of  his  life  and  experiences  would 
prove  to  be  at  the  same  time  a  fair  and  accurate  history  of  Gilead  township 
and  Branch  county,  for  all  of  its  development  and  improvement  have  been 
accomplished  during  his  lifetime. 

TTie  WiJkins  family  is  of  English  descent,  the  patemal  great-grand- 
father of  our  subject  being  named  John  Wilkins,  who  came  from  Great 
Britain  to  America  with  his  family  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, locating  in  New  Jersey.  John  Wilkins'  wife's  name  was  Hannah  and 
they  were  married  in  England,  while  one  of  their  sons,  Thomas,  who  was 
born  in  New  Jersey,  July  25,  1774,  became  the  grandfather  of  our  subject. 
Thomas  married  Elizat^th  M'iller,  whose  father,  Zepheniah  Miller,  was 
killed  by  the  Indians  on  the  Delaware  river  when  Elizabeth  was  but  a  child, 
she  and  her  mother  escaping  the  Indian  slaughter  by  hiding  in  a  cleft  of 
the  rocks  on  the  river  banks  until  after  the  slaughter.  Thomas  Wilkins  and 
Elizabeth  Miller  were  married  in  New  Jersey  and  they  soon  thereafter  re- 
moved to  Ross  county,  Ohio,  where  they  made  a  home  and  raised  their 
family.  Their  children  numbered  nine,  seven  of  whom  grew  to  maturity, 
as  follows:  Samuel,  Thomas,  Keturah,  Hannah,  John,  Zepheniah  and  Ben- 
jamin, the  last  named  being  our  subject's  father. 

Benjamin  Wilkins  was  reared  in  Ross  county,  Ohio,  on  the  home  farm, 
where  he  was  born  March  20,  1814,  and  in  the  late  twenties  he  accompanied 
his  parents  in  their  removal  to  Marion  county,  Ohio.  In  1831  Benjamin 
made  a  prospecting  trip  into  Branch  county,  Michigan,  and  returned  to 
Ohio,  where  he  was  married  in  the  year  1836  to  Malinda  Matson,  a  native 
of  Genesee  county,  New  York,  where  she  was  born  November  23,  1819. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  Job  Matson,  a  native  of  Vermont,  who  had  seven 
children,  Allen,  Esther,  Dinah,  Catherine,  Job,  Susan  and  Malinda. 

Soon  after  their  marriage  Benjamin  and  Malinda  Wilkins  came  to  this 
county  and  located  land  on  section  thirteen,  in  what  is  now  Gilead  town- 
ship, securing  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  from  the  government,  to  which 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  759 

he  later  added  one  hundred  and  forty-five  acres  additional.  He  cleared 
tlie  most  of  the  original  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  and  also  a  portion  of 
the  one  hundred  and  forty-five  acres,  and  was  a  hard-working  and  indus- 
trious man  in  spite  of  physical  infirmities.  Nine  children  were  bom  unto 
Benjamin  and  Malinda  Wilkins,  as  follows :  The  eldest,  John  H.,  is  the 
subject  of  this  review;  Keturah  Walter  lives  in  Gilead;  Charlotte  died  at 
the  age  of  twelve  years;  Thomas  A.,  Job,  Allen  and  Almon  died  in  infancy; 
Hannah  Outwater  died  in  1875;  Sussanah  Bixler  lives  in  Gilead.  The 
father  and  mother  of  this  family  were  most  highly  esteemed  people,  the 
forrner  being  in  earlier  years  a  member  of  the  Disciples  church  and  the  lat- 
ter a  Free  Will  Baptist,  although  both  later  were  Adventists.  Benjamin 
Wilkins  died   August   17,    1874,  while  his  wife  passed  away   February  28, 

1883. 

Our  subject,  John  H.  Wilkins,  was  born  in  Gilead  township  March 
20,  1838,  and  with  the  exception  of  two  years  in  infancy,  when  he  was  in 
Ohio,  his  entire  life  has  been  passed  here.  Growing  up  on  the  farm,  he 
assisted  in  the  clearing  and  improvement  of  the  same,  and  September  20, 
i860,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Elizabeth  Graves,  who  was 
born  in  Cayuga  county,  Ohio,  August  17,  1844.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
Almond  S.  Graves,  who  was  born  in  Oneida  county,  New  York,  in  1811, 
and  Almina  McClaflin  Graves,  who  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1823.  Almond 
S.  Graves  and  his  wife  came  to  Michigan  and  Branch  county  in  1857,  locat- 
ing on  section  fourteen,  Gilead  township,  where  Mr.  Graves  purchased  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  and  made  a  home.  Three  daughters  were 
born  to  them  as  follows:  Elizabeth  Wilkins  is  the  wife  of  our  subject; 
I^ucinda  Kinzie  and  Hattie  Sanders  live  in  Gilead  township. 

The  marriage  of  John  H.  Wilkins  and  Elizabeth  Graves  Wilkins  has 
been  blessed  with  the  birth  of  twelve  children,  three  of  whom.  E.  E.,  Almon 
B.  and  Homer,  died  in  infancy.  A  record  of  the  others,  all  of  whom  are 
living,  is  as  follows:  William  H.  married  Jennie  Conklin  and  their  home 
is  in  Kinderhook  township.  They  have  three  daughters  living,  Ethel,  Louise 
and  Mildred,  the  eldest  of  whom,  Ethel,  is  the  wife  of  Clyde  Brown,  of 
Kinderhook,  they  in  turn  having  one  daughter,  Catherine.  Benjamin  mar- 
ried Bertha  Aldridge  and  they  have  a  daughter,  Gertrude,  their  home  being 
in  Gilead.  Emory  married  Dessie  Doerr  and  they  have  three  children, 
Verald,  Clyde  and  LeMoyne.  Almina  M.  is  the  wife  of  Edson  Foster, 
their  one  son  being  Paul.  Charlotte  is  the  wife  of  Jay  Steffey,  their  sons 
being  Clifford  and  Maurice.  Fred  married  Effie  Flint,  they  having  two 
sons,  John  and  Ira.  John  Delos  married  Vera  Case.  They  have  two  chil- 
dren, George  and  Janet.  Burton  M.  married  Valma  Weaver,  their  one 
daughter  being  Geneva.  Harry  E.  married  Carma  Pifer  and  they  live  at 
the  Wilkins  home.  With  the  exception  of  the  eldest  son,  William  H.,  who 
resides  in  the  adjoining  township  of  Kinderhook,  all  of  the  children  hve  in 
Gilead  township,  near  their  parents. 

The  farm  of  Mr.  John  H.  Wilkins  now  embraces  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  fertile  land,  the  same  including  the  most  of  the  original  farm 
obtained  by  Benjamin  Wilkins  from  the  government   in   the  early  thirties. 


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■700  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

and  which  has  ever  since  been  in  possession  of  the  family.  Mr,  and  Mrs. 
Wilkins  have  the  original  deed  of  their  land,  executed  by  President  Martin 
Van  Buren  in  the  year  1839,  on  May  ist.  This  is  a  valuable  souvenir  in 
their  home.  They  also  have  an  old  wooden  clock  which  is  yet  keeping;  time, 
and  it  is  over  a  century  old.  Mr.  Wilkins  has  helped  his  mother  card  and 
pick  wool  for  making  their  clothes,  and  even  helped  her  put  in  the  loom. 
His  grandfather  Matson  brought  a  cow  from  Ohio  in  the  pioneer  days,  and 
to-day  Mr.  Wilkins  has  on  his  farm  a  descendant  of  that  cow.  In  relics 
he  has  fire  tongs  and  shovel  of  over  one  hundred  years  of  age.  Mr.  Wil- 
kins has  cleared  the  greater  part  of  this  place  and  he  has  also  made  all  of 
the  improvements,  including  the  buildings,  which  are  substantial  and  mod- 
ern. He  is  in  politics  a  Republican  and  he  has  filled  numerous  offices.  He 
was  township  treasurer  for  three  years,  an  office  also  filled  by  his  father 
in  the  early  days  of  the  township,  and  for  thirty  years  he  has  been  a  school 
officer,  having  been  director,  assessor  and  moderator.  His  first  presidential 
vote  was  cast  for  Abraham  Lincoln  and  he  has  always  been  loyal  to  his 
party.  In  former  years  he  was  an  Adventist  and  he  and  his  wife  have  al- 
ways been  church  attendants.  Mr.  Wilkins  has  aJso  always  been  deeply 
interested  in  Sunday-school  work  and  was  superintendent  thereof  for  many 
years. 

During  his  life-long  residence  in  Gilead  township  he  has  ever  been  iden- 
tified with  all  movements  tending  toward  the  uplifting  and  betterment  of 
mankind  and  in  the  development  and  improvement  of  this  part  of  the  county. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilkins  have  reared  their  large  family  of  children  well  and 
carefully  and  now  they  see  them  all  with  families  and  comfortable  homes  of 
their  own.  They  have  fifteen  grandchildren  and  one  great-grandchild,  and 
all  of  these  descendants  live  within  a  few  miles  of  the  old  homestead,  where 
they  often  gather  in  reunion.  Here  upon  the  farm  which  has  been  their 
home  for  so  many  years  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilkins  still  reside,  passing  their 
declining  years  in  comfort  and  with  the  consciousness  of  well-spent  and 
honorable  lives. 

BURNLEY  FOOTE. 

Time  and  man  have  wrought  many  changes  in  Branch  county.  The 
traveler  of  a  few  decades  ago  looking  upon  the  great  forests  could  scarcely 
realize  that  within  a  comparatively  short  time  the  timljer  lands  would  be 
cleared  and  that  to-day  Branch  county  would  be  considered  one  of  the  best 
farming  districts  of  this  great  state.  Mr,  Foote  is  a  worthy  representative 
of  agricultui^al  interests,  living  in  Matteson  township.  He  was  bom  in 
Martinsburg,  Knox  county,  Ohio,  on  the  17th  of  July,  1840.  His  father, 
Garwood  Foote,  was  a  tanner,  currier  and  shoemaker,  acquainting  himself 
with  those  trades  in  early  life.  He  was  born  in  Vermont  on  the  17th  of 
April,  1814,  and  was  reared  in  the  town  of  Sharon,  Rutland  county.  In 
early  manhood,  however,  he  left  New  England  and  emigrated  to  Ohio,  taking 
up  hi.';  abode  in  Knox  county  about  1835.  There  he  established  a  tan  yard 
and  embarked  in  business,  following  that  trade  for  some  time.  He  also 
engaged  in  shoe  making  in  Knox  county  and  was  a  worthy  representative 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  T61 

of  the  industrial  life  of  that  section  of  Ohio.  He  was  married  there  to 
Miss  Celestia  Eddy,  a  daughter  of  Peter  Eddy,  of  St.  Lawrence  county. 
New  York,  where  she  was  born  November  22,  1816.  Her  girlhood  was 
passed  in  the  Empire  state  and  she  accompanied  her  parents  on  their  re- 
moval to  Ohio,  where  they  settled  in  a  pioneer  district.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Foote 
became  the  parents  of  five  children,  three  sons  and  two  daughters,  of  whom 
BurnJey  is  the  eldest.  The  others  were :  Jerome,  Peter,  Angeline  and  Emily. 
The  mother  died  in  Knox  county,  Ohio,  in  1851,  and  the  father  afterward 
married  again,  in  1853,  ^'^  second  union  being  with  Lucinda  Dillan,  the 
widow  of  Simon  DiJlan,  by  whom  she  had  three  children,  two  sons  and  one 
daughter,  Josephine.  By  the  second  marriage  there  were  also  three  chil- 
dren, two  sons  and  a  daughter.  In  1863  Garwood  Foote  brought  his  family 
to  Illinois,  settling  near  Bloomington,  where  he  remained  until  1876.  He 
then  sold  his  farming  interests  and  closed  out  all  of  his  business  aflfairs  and 
retired  to  private  life,  making  his  home  with  his  children  up  to  the  time 
of  his  death,  which  occurred  October  16,  1891.  He  was  a  stanch  Democrat 
and  a  man  of  genuine  personal  worth,  respected  and  honored  by  all  whd 
knew  him. 

Burnley  Foote  was  reared  and  educated  in  the  county  of  his  nativity 
and  his  time  in  his  boyhood  was  divided  between  play  and  work  as  he  per- 
formed the  tasks  assigned  him  by  his  father.  \Vhen  the  country  became 
involved  in  the  Civil  war  he  was  a  young  man  of  twenty-one  years,  and  in 
the  first  year  of  that  long  and  fierce  struggle  he  offered  his  services  to  the  gov- 
ernment, enlisting  in  Company  B,  Fourth  Ohio  Infantry,  with  which  he  served 
for  two  years  and  five  months.  He  afterward  spent  one  year  and  eight 
months  as  a  member  of  the  Fifth  Illinois  Cavalry.  He  participated  in  the  sec- 
ond battle  of  Bull  Run  and  in  the  engagements  at  Grafton,  Clarksburg,  Bev- 
erly, Buchanan,  Philippi,  New  Creek  and  Oakland.  At  the  last  place  he  went 
into  winter  quarters  and  was  there  taken  ill  and  discharged  on  a  surgeon's 
certificate  of  disability.  Mr.  Foote  then  returned  home,  but  when  he  had 
regained  his  health  he  re-enlisted  on  the  22d  of  February,  1864,  in  the  Fifth 
Illinois  Cavalry,  with  which  he  served  throughout  the  remainder  of  the 
period  of  hostilities.  His  last  service  was  in  chasing  the  James  boys  and  ■ 
Quantrell's  gang.  When  the  war  was  ended  he  returned  to  Springfield,  Illi- 
nois, and  was  mustered  out  October  27,  1865.  He  had  been  a  brave  and 
loyal  soldier  and  returned  to  his  home  with  a  creditable  military  record. 

His  first  occupation  after  the  war  ended  was  dealing  in  stock  and  carry- 
ing on  farm  work  at  Bloomington,  Illinois,  where  he  remained  for  two 
years.  He  then  went  to  Chatsworth,  that  state,  and  afterward  to  Wood- 
ford county,  Illinois,  whence  he  subsequently  made  his  way  to  Nebraska, 
settling  in  Buffalo  county,  and  in  the  west  he  was  engaged  in  hunting  buffa- 
loes for  five  years.  Returning  to  the  district  east  of  the  Mississippi  he  took 
up  his  abode  in  Branch  county  in  1876,  locating  in  Matteson  township  upon 
a  farm  of  sixty  acres  of  raw  land.  With  characteristic  energy  he  began  the 
cultivation  and  improvement  of  this  place  and  he  has  since  added  twenty 
acres  to  the  original  tract  and  now  has  the  entire  farm  under  a  good  state 
of  cuhivation.     He  has  erected  all  of  the  present  buildings  and  his  farm  is 


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76a  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

attractive  because  of  the  improvements  he  has  placed  upon  it,  which  have 
also  added  greatly  to  its  value.  The  fields  annually  return  rich  harvests 
and  he  uses  the  latest  improved  machinery  in  planting  and  cultivating  his 
crops. 

Mr,  Foote  was  married  in  White  Oak  Grove,  Woodford  county,  Illi- 
nois, in  1867,  the  lady  of  his  choice  being  Miss  Lousetta  Stephens,  a  native 
of  Clinton  county,  Ohio,  born  March  19,  1848,  and  a  daughter  of  Jesse  and 
Elizabeth  Stephens.  Her  father  was  born  April  22,  1817,  and  died  on  the 
14th  of  August,  1903,  while  the  mother  was  born  May  10,  1816.  She  "was 
of  Quaker  lineage  and  departed  this  life  on  the  25th  of  August,  1887.  In 
the  family  of  this  worthy  couple  were  six  children,  Mrs.  Foote  being  the 
fourth  in  order  of  birth  and  the  third  of  the  four  daughters.  The  family 
record  is  as  follows:  Hannah  L,,  born  May  5,  1840;  Julia  A.,  September 
7,  1842;  James,  born  May  5,  1845;  Lousetta  Amanda,  November  22,  1854; 
and  Charles,  October  i,  1859.  The  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs,  Foote  has 
been  blessed  with  four  children  and  three  were  born  in  Illinois  and  one  in 
Nebraska.  They  also  lost  one  son,  William,  who  was  born  January  21, 
1869,  being  the  second  of  the  family.  The  others  were  Edward,  born  No- 
vember 13,  1867;  Jesse,  born  May  2,  1871 ;  and  Lillian  M.,  born  November 
19,  1874. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  Mr.  Foote  is  connected  with  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic  at  Bronson  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Grange  there.  He 
votes  with  the  Republican  party,  which  he  has  supported  since  attaining  his 
majority,  and  has  been  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  active  in  political  circles. 
He  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  for  two  years  and  as  drain  commissioner 
for  eight  years,  and  in  discharging  his  duties  manifested  the  same  fidelity 
and  loyalty  to  the  public  good  that  he  displayed  when  following  the  stars 
and  stripes  upon  southern  battlefields. 

HIRAM  BRONSON  HAWLEY. 

Hiram  Bronson  HawJey,  whose  name  is  on  the  roll  of  pioneer  citizens 
of  Branch  county,  now  lives  on  section  twenty-two.  Union  township.  He 
was  born  in  Lew-iston,  Niagara  county.  New  York,  May  17,  1825.  His 
paternal  grandfather.  Chapman  Hawley,  also  became  a  resident  of  Branch 
county  in  pioneer  times.  He  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  loyally 
aiding  the  colonists  in  their  struggle  for  independence.  His  son,  Lewis  Haw- 
ley, was  a  soldier  of  the  war  of  1S12.  The  latter  was  born  in  Lewiston. 
Niagara  county.  New  York,  and  came  west  to  Michigan  in  1836,  casting  in 
his  lot  with  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Union  township,  Branch  county.  Much 
of  the  land  was  still  unclaimed,  the  forests  were  uncut,  the  streams  unbridged 
and  the  fields  uncultivated.  There  were  hardships  and  privations  to  be  borne 
such  as  can  hardly  be  imagined  by  people  of  the  present  generation,  who  know 
only  modern  prosperity  and  progress,  and  to  the  worthy  pioneers  who  faced 
all  the  difTficulties  of  life  here  in  an  early  day,  a  debt  of  gratitude  is  due  that 
can  never  be  repaid.  The  place  in  which  the  father  lived  became  known  as 
the  Hawley  settlement.     He  continued   farming  operations   in  that  locality 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  763 

until  called  to  his  final  rest  at  the  age  of  seventy-three  years.  He  married 
Charlotte  Barnard,  a  native  of  Lewiston,  New  York,  who  reached  the  age  of 
sixty-five  years.  They  were  the  parents  of  twelve  children,  all  of  whom 
were  born  in  Lewiston. 

Hiram  B.  Hawley,  the  eighth  member  of  the  family,  was  only  eleven 
years  of  age  when  brought  by  his  parents  to  Branch  county,  and  he  was 
therefore  reared  to  manhood  in  Union  township.  In  retrospect  one  can  see 
him  as  he  trudged  each  day  to  the  little  log  school  house  in  the  midst  of  the 
forest  to  master  the  elementary  branches  of  learning  therein  taught.  His 
father's  home  was  a!so  a  log  cabin  constructed  without  nails.  He  aided  in 
the  arduous  task  of  developing  a  new  farm.  His  life  at  that  time  was  indeed 
a  strenuous  one,  for  it  was  customary  to  enter  the  fields  at  daybreak  and 
continue  the  work  of  cultivation  until  after  nightfall.  At  the  age  of  nine- 
teen years  he  began  learning  the  blacksmith's  trade,  serving  a  three  years' 
apprenticeship  under  John  D.  Zimmerman  at  Union  City.  When  he  liad 
mastered  the  business  he  established  a  shop  of  his  own  in  Union  City  and 
conducted  it  for  about  four  years,  during  which  time  his  economy  and  labor 
brought  him  a  goodly  capital,  which  he  wisely  invested  in  eighty  acres  of 
land  in  Union  township.  It  was  all  covered  with  a  dense  growth  of  tim- 
ber, but  in  the  midst  of  the  green  woods  he  resolutely  set  to  work  to  carve 
out  a  home  and  farm.  He  first  built  a  1(^  house,  in  which  he  lived  for  a 
time,  but  Jater  he  resumed  work  at  his  trade,  establishing  a  shop  at  Cold- 
water,  and  afterward  removed  to  Colon,  in  St.  Joseph  county,  Michigan. 
There  he  also  built  a  shop,  which  he  conducted  for  a  time,  when  he  sold  out 
and  again  took  up  his  abode  on  his  farm  in  Union  township.  He  cleared  the 
greater  portion  of  the  eighty  acres  and  engaged  in  the  raising  of  crops  for  a 
number  of  years,  but  subsequently  he  once  more  settled  in  Coldwater  and 
again  engaged  in  blacksmith ing.  In  seven  years  be  moved  fourteen  times. 
In  1850  he  located  on  a  farm  in  Batavia  township,  and  thirty-five  years 
passed  before  he  left  that  place.  In  1885,  however,  he  purchased  the  farm 
upon  which  he  now  resides  on  section  twenty-two.  Union  township,  paying 
seventy-five  dollars  per  acre  for  his  land.  He  has  since  improved  the  place 
in  many  ways.  He  had  the  misfortune  to  have  his  house  with  nearly  all  of 
its  contents  destroyed  by  fire,  but  he  at  once  replaced  it  with  a  good  modern 
residence  that  he  now  occupies. 

In  1847  M^-  Hawley  was  married  to  Miss  Rowena  Harris.  They  have 
two  sons,  Walter  and  Jerome.  They  have  traveled  life's  journey  happily  to- 
gether for  almost  six  decades,  sharing  with  each  other  its  joys  and  sorrows, 
its  adversity  and  prosperity.  In  early  days  Mr.  Hawley  gave  his  pohtical 
support  to  the  Whig  party,  with  which  he  was  connected  until  the  new  Re- 
publican party  was  formed,  when  he  joined  its  ranks.  He  was  a  staunch 
advocate  of  the  Union  cause,  and  he  had  four  brothers  who  were  soldiers  in 
the  Civil  war,  but  only  one  is  now  living.  Mr.  Hawley  has  been  a  resident 
of  Branch  county  for  nearly  seventy  years  and  js  truly  one  of  its  pioneer  set- 
tlers. In  early  days  he  hauled  flour  from  Union  City  to  Jackson  with  an 
ox  team,  getting  fifty  cents  per  barrel.  It  required  about  five  days  to  make 
the  trip.     Through  his  own  energy  and  perseverance,  and  the  assistance  of 


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764  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

his  estimable  wife,  who  has  indeed  been  a  helpmate  to  him,  he  has  had  a 
prosperous  career  and  is  now  the  owner  of  a  valuable  farm  property,  pos- 
sessing a  competence  that  supplies  them  with  all  of  the  comforts  and  many 
of  the  luxuries  of  life.  His  mind  forms  a  connecting  link  between  the  primi- 
tive past  and  the  progressive  present,  and  few  men  are  better  informed  con- 
cerning the  pioneer  liistory  of  this  section  of  the  state  than  H.  B.  Hawley. 

EBER  J.  DAVIS. 

Eber  J.  Davis,  superintendent  of  the  large  plant  of  the  Wolverine  Port- 
land Cement  Company  at  Quincy,  was  born  in  Ovid  township,  Branch  county, 
July  2,  1865,  and  his  business  career  has  been  mainly  connected  with  the 
county  of  his  birth.  He  is  a  son  of  the  late  George  Davis,  who,  a  native  of 
Cayuga  county,  New  York,  died  in  1901  in  his  seventy-ninth  year.  The 
grandfather,  Robert  Davis,  was  also  born  in  New  York  state,  being  of 
English  descent.  George  Davis  came  to  Michigan  in  185 1,  and  was  a  re- 
spected and  prosperous  farmer  of  Ovid  township  until  his  death.  Starting 
in  life  with  an  ordinary  education,  and  being  in  the  main  a  self-made  man, 
he  prospered  by  the  application  of  industry  and  good  judgment  in  his  affairs, 
and  was  able  to  leave  his  family  in  good  circumstances.  He  was  a  Demo- 
crat in  politics,  but  never  aspired  to  office. 

George  Davis  married  Marietta  Zeluff,  who,  now  living  at  the  age  of 
sixty-five,  is  one  of  the  oldest  natives  of  Ovid  township.  Her  father,  Joseph 
Zeluff,  a  native  of  New  York  and  of  English  descent,  came  to  Michigan  in 
183 1,  locating  on  a  farm  one  mile  south  of  Coldwater,  the  place  being  now 
owned  by  Mr.  Beidelman,  and  from  there  moved  to  Ovic^  township,  and  kept 
his  home  there  until  his  death  at  the  age  of  about  sixty  years,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
George  Davis  had  two  sons,  the  younger,  Nelson  G.,  being  an  employe  of 
the  Lake  Shore  Railroad  and  living  at  Batavia. 

Mr.  E.  J.  Davis  was  reared  on  a  farm,  attended  school  in  the  country, 
aiid  at  an  early  age  began  learning  the  trade  of  carpenter,  which  he  fol- 
lowed altogether  twenty-four  years,  most  of  the  time  as  a  contractor  and 
builder  in  Chicago.  In  1894  he  became  foreman  carpenter  for  the  Bronson  Port- 
land Cement  Company  at  Bronson,  continued  in  that  capacity  a  year  and  a  half, 
was  then  in  a  similar  position  with  the  Wolverine  Cement  Company  eight 
months,  and  for  three  years  following  was  again  with  the  Bronson  company 
as  superintendent  of  their  plant.  In  1902  he  transferred  his  home  and  busi- 
ness to  Quincy,  when  he  became  superintendent  of  the  Wolverine  Cement 
Company's  plant  at  this  place.  He  is  an  energetic  and  capable  manager  of 
affairs  and  men,  and  has  filled  his  position  in  Quincy  and  elsewhere  with  very 
creditable  success. 

In  1892  Mr.  Davis  married  Ardella  A.  Smith.  She  was  born  in 
Bethel  township  in  1864,  and  her  parents,  Hiram  H.  and  Mary  (Smead) 
Smith,  both  now  decea.s£d,  were  early  settlers  of  this  county,  her  father  hav- 
ing come  here  from  his  native  state  of  Ohio.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davis  have  no 
children  of  their  own,  but  their  home  has  been  blessed  with  the  presence  of 
a   daughter  by  Mrs.  Davis'  first  marriage,   Maud  L.   Fenner,   who  is   now 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  765 

capably  filling  the  position  of  stenographer  in  the  main  office  of  the  Wolver- 
ine Cement  Company  at  Coldwater.  Mr.  Davis  has  identified  himself  piib- 
lic-spiritedly  with  the  town  of  his  present  residence,  and  is  now  serving  as  a 
member  of  the  village  council.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  is  affiliated 
with  the  Masonic  fraternity-. 

J.  D.  MOSHER. 

J.  D.  Mosher.  secretary  of  the  Farmers'  Mutual  Insurance  Company  at 
Coldwater,  was  bom  in  Coldwater  township,  his  natal  day  being  February  8, 
i860.  His  father.  Edwin  Mosher,  was  born  in  Cayuga  county.  New  York, 
and  came  to  Michigan  with  his  father,  James  Mosher,  in  1835,  when  six 
years  of  age.  Here  he  was  reared  amid  the  environment  and  conditions  of 
pioneer  life,  acquiring  his  education  in  one  of  the  primitive  schools  of  the 
period.  He  was  married  in  Coldwater  township  to  Miss  Ellen  Whitney,  a 
native  of  Ontario  county,  New  York,  and  they  began  their  domestic  life 
upon  a  farm  in  Coldwater  township.  Later  they  removed  to  the  city,  but 
subsequently  lived  in  Kinderhook  township  for  a  long  period.  In  their  last 
years,  however,  they  were  residents  of  Coldwater,  and  both  died  at  the  age 
of  sixty-nine  years.  Mr.  Mosher  voted  with  the  Democracy  and  was  well 
known  in  the  county  as  a  man  of  good  business  capacity,  of  loyalty  in  citizen- 
ship and  of  devotion  and  fidelity  in  friendship.  Unto  him  and  his  wife  were 
born  two  children,  but  the  daughter,  Rita  L.,  died  at  the  age  of  forty-one 
years.    She  was  the  wife  of  S.  W.  Weage,  a  stock  buyer  of  Coldwater. 

Mr.  Mosher,  the  only  son  and  now  the  only  surviving  member  of  the 
family,  was  seven  years  of  age  when  his  parents  took  up  their  abode  upon 
the  home  farm  in  Kinderhook  township.  He  attended  the  common  schools 
near  by  and  afterward  continued  his  education  in  the  high  school  of  Fremont 
and  in  Hillsdale  College.  Later  he  taught  in  the  district  schools  of  Branch 
county,  proving  a  capable  educator  because  of  his  ability  to  impart  clearly 
and  readily  to  others  the  knowledge  that  he  had  acquired.  He  was  also 
called  to  public  office  by  his  fellow  townsmen  who  recognized  his  worth  and 
ability.  For  six  years  he  served  as  township  clerk  of  Kinderhook  township 
and  was  holding  that  office  when  elected  county  treasurer  in  1892.  He  then 
took  up  his  abode  in  Coldwater  in  order  to  discharge  the  duties  of  his  new 
position,  and  for  four  years  he  was  the  guardian  of  the  public  funds,  retir- 
ing from  office  as  he  had  entered  it,  with  the  confidence  and  good  will  of  all 
concerned.  In  1898  he  was  made  secretary  of  the  Farmers'  Mutual  Insur- 
ance Company,  previous  to  which  time  he  had  been  engaged  in  general  insur- 
ance business,  and  was  therefore  well  qualified  for  the  important  duties  that 
devolved  upon  him  in  connection  with  his  new  position.  He  had  also  been 
botJckeeper  in  a  hardware  store  for  some  time,  and  at  the  present  writing  he 
is  with  the  Farmers'  Mutual  Insurance  Company,  having  an  office  at  Cold- 
water,  from  which  point  he  superintends  the  work  that  devolves  upon  him. 
He  also  owns  a  well  improved  farm  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-six  acres  in 
Kinderhook  township. 

In  August,  iSgS,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Mosher  and  Miss  Mar- 


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766  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

thena  Hastings,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  (McKinney)  Hastings,  and  a 
native  of  Tecumseh,  Michigan.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mosher  have  one  son,  Edwin  H. 
Mr.  Mosher  votes  with  the  Republican  party  and  firmly  adheres  to  its 
principles.  He  lielongs  to  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  to  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  fraternity,  while  his  wife  is  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian church.  Although  he  is  still  a  comparatively  young  man,  he  has  lived 
for  forty-five  years  in  Branch  county,  and  may  therefore  be  classed  with  its 
early  settlers.  Since  attaining  his  majority  he  has  spent  much  of  his  time  in 
public  office,  and  over  the  record  of  his  career  there  falls  no  shadow  of  wrong 
or  suspicion  of  evil. 

CHARLES  L.  BURNETT.  _ 

George  Washington  said  that  "  farming  is  the  most  useful  as  well  as 
the  most  honorable  occupation  of  man,"  and  the  truth  stands  to-day  and 
has  stood  through  all  the  years  which  have  run  their  course  since  the  senti- 
ment was  uttered  by  the  father  of  his  country.  Mr.  Burnett,  a  representative 
of  agricultural  interests  in  Branch  county,  is  now  living  on  Section  14, 
Union  township,  upon  the  farm  where  occurred  his  birth  on  the  17th  of 
November,  1844.  His  father.  Orris  Burnett,  was  a  native  of  New  York 
and  came  to  Branch  county  in  1835,  casting  in  his  lot  with  its  pioneer  settlers. 
He  took  up  his  abode  in  Union  township,  where  he  purchased  land  for  ten 
shillings  per  acre,  and  he  built  thereon  a  shanty,  after  which  he  erected  a  log 
house.  Still  later  this  pioneer  home  was  replaced  by  a  frame  dwelling,  and 
when  some  years  had  passed  he  built  a  still  more  commodious  and  modern 
frame  house.  The  changes  in  his  residence  indicate  his  progressive  spirit, 
which  is  manifest  as  well  in  all  of  his  farm  work.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  a  man  whom  to  know  was  to  esteem  and 
honor.  He  married  Miss  Diantha  MiUerman,  and  they  became  the  parents 
of  eight  children,  all  of  whom  were  born  in  Union  township  with  one  excep- 
tion. 

Charles  L.  Burnett,  the  fifth  child  and  third  son  in  this  family, 
spent  his  boyhood  days  in  his  parents'  home,  obtaining  his  education  in  Union 
township.  He  remained  under  the  parental  roof  until  after  the  outbreak  of 
the  Civil  war.  He  was  not  quite  seventeen  years  of  age  when  he  responded 
to  his  country's  call  for  troops,  enlisting  on  the  17th  of  September,  1861. 
as  a  member  of  Company  D,  Fourth  Michigan  Light  Artillery.  He  served 
for  the  full  term  of  three  years  and  then  re-enlisted,  becoming  a  veteran  of 
the  same  company,  with  which  he  continiied  until  after  the  cessation  of  hos- 
tilities, making  his  entire  term  three  .years  and  ten  months.  He  was  with 
the  western  armj'  and  ijarticipated  in  many  of  the  hotly  contested  engage- 
ments, whose  result  led  to  the  splendid  success  which  ultimately  crowned 
the  Union  arms.  He  took  part  in  the  battles  of  Murfreesboro,  Chickamauga, 
Stone  River,  Hoover's  Gap  and  many  minor  engagements.  He  was  one  of 
the  youngest  members  of  his  regiment  and  was  in  active  continuous  service, 
no  soldier  of  twice  his  years  displaying  greater  valor  and  loyalty  than  did 
Mr.  Burnett.    He  may  well  be  proud  of  his  army  record. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  767 

Following  his  return  from  the  ^Ya^  Mr.  Biimelt  resumed  the  occupation 
ot  farming  m  Union  township,  and  in  Octoljer,  1866,  he  secured  a  companion 
and  helpmate  for  life's  journey  by  his  marriage  to  Miss  Lorana  Morey.  a 
daughter  of  Alfred  and  Annice  (Bickford)  Morey,  who  was  one  of  the  early 
settlers  of  Union  township,  and  at  his  death  the  following  lines  were  written  ■ 
On  Monday  afternoon.  Alfred  B.  Morev,  one  of  the  pioneer  residents 
of  Union  township,  died  at  his  home  aljout  two  miles  south  of  this  city,  on 
the  ColdwMer  road,  at  the  advanced  age  of  seventy-eight  years  and  six 
months.  The  cause  of  his  death  was  paralysis,  from  which  he  had  suffered 
for  several  years  past.  Mr.  Morey  was  born  at  HarpersviUe,  Ohio,  and  came 
to  M.ichigan  when  twerty-five  years  of  age.  He  had  lived  on  the  homestead 
where  he  died  for  hventy-eight  years.  He  vvas  twice  married,  the  first  wife 
being  Annice  Bickford.  To  them  was  bom  one  child  Mrs  C  L  Burnett 
who  IS  stdl  a  resident  of  this  township.  In  the  second  marriage  he  espoused 
Lucy  A.  Eddy,  who  with  two  sons,  Frank  E.  and  Allen  J.,  still  survive  him 
lUe  funeral  took  place  from  the  home  at  one  o'clock  Wednesday  afternoon. 
Rev.  H.  S.  Milks,  pastor  of  the  Congregational  church,  officiating  Inter- 
ment was  made  in  Riverside  cemetery  and  thus  was  laid  to  rest  one  who  had 
been  honored  and  esteemed  in  the  community  during  all  the  long  years  of  his 
residence  here."    Mrs.  Burnett's  mother  died  when  she  was  eight  years  old 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burnett  began  their  domestic  life  upon  .section  fourteen 
Union  township,  where  they  have  since  resided,  Mr.  Burnett  giving  his  time 
and  attention  to  general  agricultural  pursuits  and  also  to  some  extent  fol- 
lowing the  carpenter's  trade.  He  has  one  hundred  and  ten  acres  of  land  and 
IS  a  well-to-do  agriculturist,  having  gained  a  gratifving  measure  of  success 
in  the  conduct  of  his  business  interests. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burnett  have  been  bom  three  children ;  Ardell.  the 
wife  of  C.  E.  Brooks,  of  Union  township;  Carrie  B.,  the  wife  of  Ed  Sander- 
son, of  the  same  township ;  and  La  Verne,  who  died  at  the  age  of  nineteen 
years.  The  death  of  La  Verne  Burnett,  of  Union,  November  9th,  was  a 
remarkable  instance  of  typhoid  fever,  where  the  temperature  remained'  normal 
during  the  ten  weeks'  illness  of  the  patient.  In  this  case  tlie  thermometer  of 
the  physician  did  not  indicate  the  ordinary  symptoms  of  the  disease.  Dr 
Wood,  of  this  city,  was  called  in  the  case  and  diagnosed  the  disease  as' typhoid 
poisoning  without  the  fever.  Such  cases  are  verv  rare,  the  first  one  reported 
in  medical  journals  being  by  Dr.  Liebmister,  of  Berlin,  in  1869.  During  the 
Franco-Pmssian  war  a  number  of  similar  cases  were  reported,  but  they  occur 
so  seldom  that  many  physicians  who  practice  for  a  lifetime  never  have  the 
opportunity  to  prescribe  for  a  patient  with  this  disease.  The  post  mortem 
disclosed  the  typhoid  lesions  in  the  lower  intestines,  which  showed  that  the 
diagnosis  of  Dr.  Wood  was  correct. 

Politically  Mr.  Burnett  is  a  Republican,  having  given  his  allegiance  to 
the  party  since  age  conferred  upon  him  the  right  of  franchise.  He  has  served 
as  highway  commissioner  for  five  years  and  has  held  other  local  oBices  He 
belongs  to  Corbin  Post,  G.  A.  R..  No.  88.  and  Mrs.  Burnett  belongs  to  the 
Women  s  Relief  Corps  No.  25,  at  Union  City.     She  is  also  president  of  the 


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768  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

East  Union  Aid  Society,  whose  object  is  to  aid  the  poor  and  needy.  Mr. 
Burnett  is  well  known  in  the  county  where  the  circle  o£  his  friends  is  con- 
stantly increasing  as  the  circle  of  his  acquaintance  is  extended. 

MRS.  MOSES  T.  ABEL. 

Mrs.  Moses  T.  Abel  lives  upon  a  fertile  farm  of  one  hundred  and  ten 
acres  located  upon  section  four,  Girard  township,  which  place  has  been  her 
home  for  the  past  forty  years.  Her  maiden  name  was  Celestia  A.  Bradley 
and  she  was  born  in  Girard  township  July  31,  1837.  Her  father  was  Addini- 
ram  Bradley,  who  was  born  in  Sandersfield,  Berkshire  county,  Massachu- 
setts, October  29,  1799,  where  he  grew  to  manhood.  There  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Sally  Fegles,  who  was  born  in  Massachusetts,  March  21, 
1804.  They  lived  for  a  number  of  years  in  the  state  of  New  York  before 
coming  to  Michigan,  where  they  were  among  the  early  pioneers.  They  were 
the  parents  of  three  children,  one  son  and  two  daughters,  as  follows ;  Alvah 
G.,  who  was  bom  in  New  York  state  October  21,  1824,  and  who  died  in 
Genesee  county,  in  that  state,  October  7,  1833,  when  he  was  only  nine  years 
of  age.  Emma  Bradley,  the  elder  daughter,  was  born  in  Wyoming  county, 
New  York,  January  16,  1831,  while  Celestia  Bradley  Abel,  the  younger 
daughter,  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Addiniram  Bradley  and  his  wife 
were  among  the  most  highly  esteemed  residents  of  this  vicinity,  and  they 
always  exercised  a  power  for  good  in  the  community.  Mrs.  Bradley  died  in 
Tekonsha,  January  25,  1859,  and  her  husband  survived  her  for  many  years, 
passing  away  May  15,  1883.  Deacon  Bradley,  as  he  was  familiarly  known, 
was  an  active  and  zealous  member  of  the  Tekonsha  Baptist  church,  of  which 
he  was  an  officer  for  many  years,  and  his  memory  is  still  honored  and  re- 
vered by  many  relatives  and  friends. 

The  elder  daughter  of  the  Bradley  family,  Emma,  was  married  to 
Moses  T.  Abel  in  Girard,  April  18,  1847,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  three 
children,  one  of  whom  died  in  early  childhood.  The  two  still  living  are  as 
follows :  Lovina  is  married  to  Edwin  French,  of  Marshall,  Michigan,  and 
they  have  five  children :  Mabel  wedded  Bert  Mitchell,  and  has  one  little 
son,  John  Earl;  Merton,  Ernest,  Ida  and  Ray.  Delina  is  married  to  Nelson 
Shedd,  of  Tekonsha,  and  five  children  have  been  born  to  them :  Clvde, 
George,  Glenn,  Leon  and  Dome.  Emma  Bradley  Abel  died  in  Girard,  De- 
cember 16,  1859,  and  March  4,  i860,  Mr.  Abel  was  married  to  his  deceased 
wife's  sister,  Celestia  A.  Bradley.  To  them  six  children  were  born,  ail  of 
whom  are  living  with  the  exception  of  one  daughter,  Emma,  who  was  born 
July  4,  1870,  and  who  died  April  13,  1876,  at  the  age  of  six  years.  The  other 
children  are  as  follows:  Elmer  was  bora  May  25,  1861,  and  is  married  to 
Ida  Foster.  They  have  two  children:  Nettie  and  Elmer.  Eugene  was  born 
July  2,  1863,  and  is  married  to  Anna  Finney,  and  they  have  one  daughter, 
Eva  Belle.  Fred  was  born  March  24,  1865,  and  is  married  to  Laura  Annis! 
They  have  three  children:  George,  Ethel  and  Frank.  Willbur  C.  was  born 
April  28.  1868,  and  is  married  to  Stella  Hadlock.  They  have  four  children: 
Hazel,  Clayton,  Alfred  and  Marie.     Lena  Abel  was  bora  January  28,  1873, 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  769 

and  is  married  to  Alfred  Hadlock,  and  for  the  present  they  are  living  with 
Mrs.  Abel  upon  the  home  fann.  Edah  Abel  was  born  Jvily  i8,  1S77,  and 
is  married  to  Clark  McDonald,  of  Union  City,  Michigan,  and  they  have  one 
son,  Louis,  The  four  sons  are  all  residents  of  Tekonsha,  where  they  are  en- 
gaged in  business  on  their  own  account.  Here  they  have  comfortable  homes 
of  their  own  and  are  counted  as  prosperous  and  influential  citizens. 

Mr.  Moses  T.  Abel  was  a  native  of  Newport,  Herkimer  county.  New 
York,  where  he  was  bom  November  10,  1819,  and  he  came  to  Michigan  in 
an  early  day,  he  being  the  only  member  of  his  family  to  emigrate  westward. 
He  had  two  brothers  and  one  sister,  all  of  whom  are  now  dead.  He  located 
upon  the  land  now  owned  and  occupied  by  his  widow,  and  here  he  made  a 
home  for  himself  and  his  loved  ones.  When  he  secured  possession  of  the 
land  it  was  in  a  perfectly  wild  state,  not  an  acre  cleared,  and  all  covered  with 
the  virgin  forest.  He  cleared  the  land,  erected  suitable  buildings  and  brought 
the  farm  under  a  gpod  state  of  cultivation.  The  remainder  of  his  life  was 
passed  here,  and  before  his  death  he  had  created  a  most  comfortable  farm 
home.  Mr.  Abel  was  always  a  farmer,  and  although  he  was  not  a  member  of 
any  fraternal  or  religious  society,  nevertheless  he  was  known  as  a  temperate, 
industrious  and  mo.st  estimable  man,  possessing  in  a  marked  degree  the  con- 
fidence and  esteem  of  his  neighbors  and  fellow  townsmen.  He  died  October 
17,  1893,  leaving  behind  him  that  best  of  al!  heritages,  a  good  name. 

After  his  death  Mrs.  Abel,  although  previously  unversed  in  business 
affairs,  soon  adapted  herself  to  the  changed  conditions  and  carried  on  the 
management  of  the  farm,  which  she  personally  controls  at  the  present  time. 
She  has  cared  for  her  children  and  the  children  of  her  sister,  has  raised  and 
educated  them  and  now  sees  them  all  with  comfortable  homes  of  their  own. 
She  continues  to  make  her  home  upon  the  old  homestead,  although  she  spends 
many  happy  days  in  the  families  of  her  grown-up  sons  and  daughters.  Mrs. 
Abel  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church  of  Tekonsha  and  she  possesses  the 
confidence  and  regard  of  a  very  large  circle  of  friends. 

HARVY  D.  MILLER. 

Har\'y  D.  Miller  is  one  of  the  old  settlers  of  Branch  county,  living  on 
section  eleven,  Batavia  township,  where  he  de^'otes  his  energies  to  agricultural 
pursuits.  He  was  born  in  Wolcott.  Wayne  county,  New  York,  September 
28,  1822,  a  son  of  Daniel  and  Penina  (Terre!)  Miller,  the  former  a  native  of 
Scipio,  Cayuga  county.  New  York,  and  the  latter  a  native  of  Connecticut. 
The  mother  was  reared  in  the  Green  Mountain  state  and  was  a  daughter  of 
Job  Terrel,  who  was  likewise  born  in  Connecticut.  Daniel  Miller  spent  the 
days  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  in  the  Empire  sta.te  and  became  a  physician 
and  merchant,  following  the  two  business  pursuits  in  Steuben  and  Yates 
county.  He  came  to  Michigan  in  1840,  settling  in  Batavia  township,  where 
he  entered  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land.  There  his  death  occurred 
at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years.  He  had  been  active,  influential  and  promi- 
nent in  public  life  and  for  twenty-two  years  served  as  justice  of  the  peace, 
discharging  his  duties  with  promptness  and  fidelity  and  with  due  regard  to 


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770  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

iJie  law  in  the  case.  His  political  allegiance  was  given  to  the  Whig  party 
until  the  organization  of  the  new  Republican  party,  when  he  joined  its  ranks. 
Although  he  held  membership  with  no  church,  he  contributed  to  the  support 
of  church  work  and  was  ever  a  man  of  upright  and  honorable  principles, 
whose  life  commended  him  to  the  con6dence  and  regard  of  those  who  knew 
him.    His  wife  reached  the  age  of  seventy-seven  years. 

Harvy  D.  Miller  is  the  oldest  in  a  family  of  two  sons  and  two  daughters, 
but  three  of  the  number  died  in  infancy,  so  that  he  is  now  the  only  survivor. 
During  the  period  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  he  remained  a  resident  oi  New 
York,  and  when  twenty  years  of  age  he  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan. 
He  cast  his  first  presidential  vote  for  Harrison  in  Branch,  then  the  county 
seat  of  this  county.  He  had  been  educated  in  his  native  state  and  had  re- 
mained with  his  fatlier  on  the  home  farm,  where  he  was  trained  to  habits 
of  industry,  economy  and  integrity.  On  the  21st  of  July,  1844,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Hulda  Cooley,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  two  sons,  John 
Alvin  Turner  and  Daniel  Delevan,  both  of  whom  are  now  deceased.  The 
wife  and  mother  died  December  7,  1885,  and  on  the  20th  of  April,  18S7,  Mr. 
Miller  was  again  married,  his  second  union  being  with  Mrs.  Emma  Dunn 
Fish,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Alvira  (Smith)  Dunn.  She  first  became 
the  wife  of  Professor  H.  M.  Fish,  and  by  tliat  marriage  she  had  one  daugh- 
ter, Clara,  who  is  now  the  wife  of  George  W.  Parker,  living  at  Mr.  Miller's 
home  in  Batavia  township. 

At  the  time  of  his  marriage  Mr.  Miller  located  on  his  present  farm, 
where  he  remained  for  some  time  and  then  resided  in  Coldwater  for  forty- 
one  years,  hving  throughout  that  entire  period  in  the  same  house.  In  1901 
he  again  took  up  his  abode  on  the  old  homestead,  "Marsh  Mooreland,"'  where 
he  has  since  remained.  While  in  Coldwater  he  was  an  active  factor  in  busi- 
ness life,  conducting  an  auction  store  there  for  a  number  of  years,  and  was 
associated  with  Mr.  Green,  then  sheriff  of  Branch  county.  He  also  did 
business  as  a  public  auctioneer  for  many  years  and  was  revenue  collector  for 
four  years  during  the  period  of  the  Civil  war.  He  owns  a  farm  of  two  hun- 
dred and  forty  acres,  which  is  splendidly  improved,  while  the  land  is  very 
rich  and  productive.  His  buildings  are  commodious  and  substantial,  the  bam 
being  one  of  the  best  in  the  county.  It  is  a  basement  barn,  sixty  by  one 
hundred  feet,  and  aside  from  this  there  are  good  sheds  for  the  shelter  of 
stock  and  farm  machinery.  His  residence  is  a  modem  building  and,  in  fact, 
everything  about  the  place  is  in  keeping  with  the  progressive  spirit  of  the 
times — a  spirit  that  has  been  manifest  in  agricultural  as  well  as  in  commercial 
and  professional  circles. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Miller  has  been  a  Republican  since  the  or- 
ganization of  the  party.  He  cast  his  ballot  for  John  C.  Fremont  and  has 
voted  for  each  presidential  nominee  of  the  party  since  that  time.  He  was 
among  the  first  Odd  Fellows  of  Coldwater,  and  has  been  a  Mason  for  many 
years,  but  because  of  his  age  and  the  fact  that  he  is  now  residing  in  the  coun- 
try, he  has  demitted  from  those  orders.  For  sixty-five  years  he  has  lived  in 
Branch  county,  and  its  history  has  been  familiar  to  him.  In  fact,  he  has 
been  identified  with  the  making  of  the  county,  as  the  conditions  of  pioneer 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  771 

life  have  been  put  aside  and  the  improvements  of  an  advancing  civilization 
have  been  secured.  His  memory  goes  back  to  the  time  when  the  leading 
cities  of  the  county  were  but  small  villages,  while  some  of  the  towns  had  not 
yet  sprung  into  existence.  Much  of  the  land  was  covered  with  forest  trees 
and  little  farming  had  as  yet  been  done.  With  characteristic  energy,  how- 
ever, Mr,  Miller  began  the  work  of  improvement,  not  onJy  for  himself,  but 
also  in  behalf  of  the  county.  Few  men  have  been  more  widely  known  in 
this  part  of  the  state,  and  a  genial  manner  and  social  disposition  have  gained 
him  a  very  extensive  circle  of  friends. 

EZRA  E.  BEARDSLEY. 

The  history  of  Branch  county  shows  a  wonderful  diversification  of  in- 
dustries, occupations  and  resources,  gradually  developed  and  grown  from 
the  days  when  it  was  a  pioneer  region  with  its  first  hardy  settlers.  In  this 
highly  organized  community  the  historically  interesting  men  are  those  who 
have  been  so  successful  in  a  certain  line  of  work  as  to  mark  them  prominent 
among  their  fellows,  and  one  of  these  is  Mr.  E.  E.  Beardsley,  of  Bronson 
township,  who  fits  into  the  hfe  and  activities  of  his  county  as  one  of  the  prom- 
inent stock  farmers.  His  blooded  horses,  standard  bred  and  registered,  are 
a  specialty  of  his  in  which  he  takes  much  pride  and  to  which  he  gives  much 
of  his  time,  and  it  is  through  the  more  than  ordinary  success  that  he  has 
gained  in  this  direction  that  he  has  become  such  a  well  known  and  efficient 
factor  in  the  materia!  worth  and  prosperity  of  his  county. 

Thirty-five  years  in  Branch  county  entitles  him  to  a  place  among  the 
old  citizens,  though  little  more  than  half  his  lifetime  has  been  spent  here. 
Of  stanch  New  England  ancestry,  and  inheriting  its  traits  of  hardy  indus- 
try and  thrifty  honesty,  he  was  boni  in  Monroe,  Fairfield  county,  Connecti- 
cut, August  31,  1839,  a  son  of  Elisha  E.  and  Laura  A.  (Burroughs)  Beards- 
ley,  both  natives  of  the  Nutmeg  state,  where  their  Jives  were  spent  till  death, 
and  both  bearing  names  that  have  been  honored  in  different  spheres  of  the 
world's  life  for  many  generations. 

After  receiving  an  education  in  the  common  and  high  schools  of  his 
native  county,  Ezra  E.  began  his  career  of  serious  endeavor  by  learning  the 
trade  of  hat  manufacturer  in  Yonkers,  New  York,  and  for  a  number  of  years, 
while  he  remained  in  the  east,  he  was  employed  in  that  business.  He  engaged 
in  the  stock  business  when  he  came  to  Branch  county  in  1870,  and  this  de- 
partment of  farming  enterprise,  in  which  his  long  and  broad  experience  ex- 
tends up  to  the  present  time,  has  gained  for  him  recognition  among  the  lead- 
ing horse  breeders  and  raisers  in  this  section  of  the  state.  His  eight  hun- 
dred acres  of  land,  part  of  which  is  covered  with  timber,  and  his  beautiful 
country  residence,  well  built  and  furnished,  form  what  is  well  acknowledged 
to  be  one  of  the  best  country  estates  in  the  county. 

From  the  days  of  the  Great  Emancipator  Mr.  Beardsley  has  cast  his 
vote  and  influence  for  the  Republican  party  and  policies,  and  fraternally  he 
is  affiliated  with  Mystic  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  at  Bronson. 

He  married,  October  31,  1874,  Miss  Florence  A.  Holmes,  a  daughter  of 


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772'  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Jonathan  and  Mary  Holmes,  Branch  county  pioneers  who  are  mentioned  else- 
where. Two  children  have  been  bom  of  this  union,  Walton  and  Jessie  G., 
who  are  Ixith  at  home.  Walton  received  a  good  high,  school  education  in  the 
Bronson  High  School  and  took  a  business  course  in  the  Kalamazoo  Busi- 
ness College.  He  is  associated  with  his  father  in  the  stock  business.  Jessie 
G.  took  a  high  school  course  in  the  Bronson  High  School  and  then  was  a 
student  in  The  Helmuth  Ladies'  Seminary  at  London,  Canada.  At  present 
she  is  visiting  in  Washington.  D,  C,  and  the  eastern  states.  She  took  in- 
strumental music  and  is  an  adept  in  china  painting. 

Mrs.  Beardsley  was  bom  in  Bronson,  Branch  county,  December  15,  1853, 
and  reared  in  this  county.  She  was  educated  in  Bronson  and  Hillsdale  Col- 
lege. Her  parents  are  both  deceased.  Her  great-grandfather.  Holmes,  was 
a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  she  has  a  mahogany  stand  over  sev- 
enty-five years  old.  Their  beautiful  country  seat  is  known  as  "  The  Ever- 
greens." 

FRED  PURDY. 

Fred  Purdy,  following  the  occupation  of  famiing  on  section  thirty-three, 
Algansee  township,  is  a  native  son  of  this  county,  his  birth  having  ocairred 
in  Ovid  township,  September  27,  1862.  His  paternal  grandfather,  Horace 
Purdy,  was  a  native  of  St.  Andrews,  Canada,  and  removed  with  his  parents 
to  Seneca  county,  Ohio,  whence  he  came  to  Michigan  with  his  brothers  in 
1836.  His  brother  Ira  settled  in  the  town  of  Califomia  and  built  a  small  log 
cabin  in  1836,  but  the  brothers  resided  on  Allen  prairie.  Horace  was  one 
of  the  first  settlers  in  Algansee  township,  where  he  entered  land  from  the 
government.  The  brothers  both  contributed  in  substantial  measure  to  the 
early  pioneer  development  of  this  part  of  the  state,  and  Ira  Purdy,  living  in 
California  township,  was  depended  upon  to  do  the  milling  for  his  neighbors, 
and  made  long  journeys  with  his  splendid  team  of  horses,  going  as  far  as 
Mishawaka,  Indiana, 

Orange  Purdy,  father  of  our  subject,  was  born  in  Seneca  county,  Ohio, 
about  1830,  and  was  brought  by  his  parents,  to  this  state.  He  was  one  of  a 
family  of  nine  children,  namely ;  Phoebe,  the  widow  of  Jonathan  Bickford, 
and  now  living  in  Algansee  with  her  son  Ira ;  Erial,  a  resident  of  Algansee ; 
Laura,  the  deceased  wife  of  James  Nichols,  of  Algansee;  Alexander  and 
Isaac,  both  deceased;  Sally,  the  deceased  wife  of  S.  Van  Horn;  Harrison, 
who  is  living  in  Coldwater  township ;  Orange ;  and  George,  whose  home  is  in 
Algansee. 

Orange  Purdy  was  reared  to  farm  life  amid  pioneer  surroundings  in 
this  county  and  attended  the  district  schools.  The  occupation  to  which  he 
was  reared  he  made  his  Hfe  work,  becoming  one  of  the  enterprising  agri- 
culturists of  the  community.  At  the  time  of  the  Civil  war  he  enlisted  in  the 
First  Michigan  Sharpshooters,  becoming  a  member  of  the  command  in  Sep- 
tember, 1864.  He  was  in  the  hospital  during  the  greater  part  of  his  service 
and  he  continued  with  the  regiment  until  after  the  close  of  hostilities,  in 
1865.  His  political  allegiance  was  given  to  the  Republican  party,  which  was 
the  champion  of  the  Union  cause  during  the  hour  of  the  country's  peril. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  773 

which  has  ever  been  the  party  of  reform  and  progress.  Socially  he  affiliated 
with  the  Masonic  Lodge.  He  married  Miss  Martha  F.  Parker,  who  was 
born  in  Camden,  Hillsdale  county,  this  state,  and  was  a  daughter  of  Abel  ■ 
and  Climena  Parker,  who  came  to  Michigan  in  pioneer  times.  Mrs.  Furdy 
was  one  of  a  family  of  eight  children:  Elias,  a  retired  farmer  residing  in 
Montgomery,  Hillsdale  county,  Michigan;  L^ura,  who  married  William 
Dufur,  and  is  now  the  widow  of  Fred  Gallup;  Mary  Jane,  the  wife  of  Joseph 
Gandy,  a  farmer  of  De  Kalb  county,  Illinois;  Mrs.  Jameson,  Sarah  and 
Martha,  all  deceased ;  Silas,  a  speculator  living  in  Coldwater ;  and  Char- 
lotte, the  widow  of  John  Garbutt,  of  Sycamore.  Illinois.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Orange  Purdy  became  the  parents  of  three  children :  Mandana,  who  was 
bom  July  24,  1S60,  and  married  Augustus  Qeveland,  of  California  town- 
ship; Fred,  of  this  review;  and  Orange,  who  was  born  June  4,  1864,  and 
is  a  farmer  of  Montana.  The  father  departed  this  life  in  December,  1865, 
at  the  early  age  of  thirty-five  years,  while  his  widow  long  survived  and  passed 
away  in  1897,  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven  years. 

Fred  Purdy  spent  his  boyhood  days  in  the  usual  manner  of  farm  lads, 
was  a  district  sciiool  student  and  has  always  engaged  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits. He  has  lived  upon  the  farm  which  he  now  owns  since  two  years 
of  age,  and  has  a  splendid  property  of  eighty  acres  on  section  thirty-three, 
Algansee  township,  the  land  being  rich  and  productive  and  yielding  him 
good  harvests.  In  all  of  his  work  he  is  practical,  and  his  labors  have  teen 
crowned  with  a  gratifying  measure  of  success. 

On  the  29th  of  December,  1886,  Mr.  Purdy  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Agnes  A.  De  Pue,  who  was  born  in  California  township,  December  17, 
1866.  Her  father,  Jeremiah  De  Pue,  a  native  of  Marion  county,  Ohio,  came 
to  Michigan  with  his  parents,  Michale  and  Angeline  De  Pv\e.  In  his  early 
boyhood  days  they  had  removed  to  Jamestown,  and  finally  they  came  to 
Michigan,  settling  in  Kinderhook  township,  Branch  county.  Jeremiah  De 
Pue  afterward  became  a  resident  of  Cahfornia  township  in  the  '50s.  He  was 
a  farmer  by  occupation,  but  at  the  time  of  the  Civil  war  put  aside  business 
and  personal  considerations  in  order  to  aid  his  country  in  establishing  die 
supremacy  of  the  Union.  He  was  in  the  Civil  war  with  the  Ninth  Michigan 
Cavalry,  enlisting  for  three  years  and  serving  until  the  close  of  hostilities, 
during  which  time  he  participated  in  a  number  of  important  engagements, 
which  aided  in  turning  the  tide  of  victory  for  the  Union.  He  afterward  be- 
came a  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  he  gave  his  political 
allegiance  to  the  Republican  party.  His  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Isabelle  Kelso,  was  bom  in  Livingston  county.  New  York,  and  is  now  sixty- 
nine  years  of  age.  The  following  is  an  interesting  account  of  her  family  his- 
tory: In  the  days  when  the  Scotch  were  so  bitterly  persecuted  on  account 
of  their  religious  views,  a  Scottish  family  by  the  name  of  Kelso,  in  order  to 
preserve  their  lives,  fled  to  Ireland.  In  the  haste  they  became  separated  from 
their  only  son,  Hugh,  who  was  in  charge  of  his  nur&e.  When  they  reached 
a  place  of  safety  they  waited  for  tidings  of  the  missing  ones,  but  none  came, 
and  they  supposed  the  child  and  his  nurse  to  have  been  murdered  by  their 
persecutors.     In  a  short  time  another  son  was  born,  and  they,  mourning  for 


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774  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

the  first,  named  this  one  Hugh.  After  many  years  the  faithful  nurse,  -Who 
had  not  been  put  to  death  after  all,  discovered  the  whereabouts,  of  the  family 
and  came  to  them,  bringing  the  older  son  Hugh,  whom  she  had  hid  and  saved. 
Two  sons  of  the  same  name  being  unusual,  they  decided  to  call  the  older 
Scotch  Hugh  and  the  younger  Irish  Hugh,  from  the  place  of  their  birth.  In 
the  course  of  time  Irish  Hugh  with  his  wife  came  to  America  to  find  a  home 
in  the  new  country.  To  them  were  born  five  sons  and  one  daughter.  Mrs. 
Isabelle  Kelso  De  Pue,  wife  of  Jerry  De  Pue,  was  a  granddaughter  of  Irish 
Hugh,  the  daughter  of  his  son,  John  Kelso.  She  holds  membership  in  the 
Presbyterian  church.  She  belonged  to  a  family  of  eight  children,  of  whom 
she  was  the  eldest,  the  others  being:  Henry,  now  deceased;  Marjorie,  the 
deceased  wife  of  Jacob  Link;  Robert  K.,  living  in  California  township;  Mary, 
the  wife  of  Alfred  Dodd,  a  resident  of  Dakota;  John  K,,  a  resident  of  Noble 
township;  Thomas,  also  living  in  Noble;  and  Sarah,  the  wife  of  Byron 
Knight,  of  Noble;  and  Mrs.  De  Pue.  Mr.  De  Pue  had  been  one  of  six  chil- 
dren: Sarah  Jane,  the  wife  of  William  Case,  of  Kinderhook,  this  state; 
Susan,  the  deceased  wife  of  William  Hug;hes;  Catherine^  the  deceased  wife 
of  Andrew  Crater;  Levi,  deceased;  one  who  died  unnamed;  and  Joseph,  who 
is  living  in  Ovid  township.  The  parents  of  Mrs.  Purdy  had  four  children : 
Augustus,  who  was  born  in  1858,  and  is  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  cigar 
boxes  in  Lansing,  Michigan;  Agnes  A.;  Sarah,  the  wife  of  Henry  Straight, 
who  is  serving  as  county  clerk  of  Branch  county,  Michigan,  and  makes  his 
home  in  Coldwater;  and  Herbert,  who  died,  aged  fourteen  months. 

Mr.  Purdy  is  a  stanch  advocate  of  the  Republican  party  and  is  regarded 
as  one  of  the  active  workers  in  its  local  ranks,  his  labors  proving  effective 
and  beneficial.  He  served  as  township  treasurer  from  1S92  until  1894,  and 
in  the  spring  of  1905  was  elected  supervisor  of  Algansee  township.  His  wife 
is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  They  are  well-known  residents  of 
this  community,  enjoying  in  large  measure  the  good  will  and  friendship  of 
those  with  whom  they  come  in  contact.  In  his  farming  relations  he  is  prac- 
tical and  at  the  same  time  conducts  his  work  along  lines  of  modem  progress, 
so  that  he  has  a  well  developed  property. 

CHARLES  W.  OWEN. 

Charles  Wesley  Owen,  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Quincy  (Michigan) 
Herald,  was  bom  in  Monroe  county,  Michigan,  July  24,  1846.  His  father, 
Armenius  Owen,  was  a  native  of  Saratoga  county,  New  York,  born  in  1803, 
and  was  of  Welch  extraction.  He  married  Miss  Almyra  Lynch,  who  was  of 
Irish  lineage,  and  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts.  They  settled  on  a  new 
farm  in  Monroe  county,  Michigan,  in  1832,  and  were  among  the  hardy 
pioneers  of  that  county.  They  reared  a  large  family,  six  sons  and  five  daugh- 
ters being  born  to  them,  all  of  whom  grew  to  manhood  and  womanhood  and 
all  of  whom  are  still  living,  with  the  exception  of  two  sons,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  being  the  youngest  but  two  of  this  large  family.  In  1848  the  family 
moved  to  a  farm  one  mile  east  of  Manchester,  Washtenaw  county,  Michigan, 
where  Charles'  boyhood  days  were  spent,  attending  the  school  at  East  Man- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  775 

Chester  during  tlie  winter  months  and  the  balance  of  the  year  working  on  the 
farm,  being-  able  to  gain  the  mere  rudiments  of  an  education.  Charles' 
father  was  an  enthusiastic  Republican  from  the  first  organization  of  that 
party  under  the  oaks  at  Jackson,  voting  for  Fremont,  the  first  presidential 
candidate  of  that  party,  in  1856,  and  was  an  enthusiastic  supporter  of  Lin- 
coln four  years  later,  and  he,  with  his  older  sons,  carried  torches  in  that 
memorable  "  Wide-Awake  "  campaign. 

When  the  war  broke  out  in  1861  three  of  Charles'  older  brothers  were 
among  the  first  to  respond  to  their  country's  call  for  volunteer.s,  George 
W.  enlisting  in  the  Fourth  Michigan  Infantry,  James  and  Joseph  in  the 
Thirty-third  Illinois  Infantry,  and  later,  in  the  fall  of  1S62,  on  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Eighteenth  Michigan  Infantry,  William  joined  that  regiment, 
in  which  he  served  until  his  death,  from  chronic  diarrhoea,  in  the  fall  of 
1864.  May  8,  1862,  Charles'  mother  died  after  a  brief  illness,  and  his  father 
died  in  October,  1879,  at  the  age  of- seventy-six  years.  His  parents  and 
brother  William  are  sleeping  in  the  village  cemetery  at  Manchester. 

In  September.  :862,  Charles  commenced  to  learn  the  printers'  trade  in 
the  Commercial  oflice  at  Monroe,  Michigan,  under  the  late  M.  D,  Hamilton, 
during  the  progress  of  the  great  Civil  war.     Being  very  patriotic,  it  was  a 
matter  of  great  regret  to  him  that  he  was  not  old  enough  to  enter  the  service 
early  in  the  war, -in  which  he  took  a  lively  interest.     His  first  attempt  to  get 
into  the  service  was  in  October,  1863,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  Ninth  Michi- 
gan Cavalry,  but  being  under  age  and  small  in  stature  he  was  obliged  to  give 
this  up,  as  his  father  refused  to  give  his  consent.     February   14,   1864,  he 
made  another  unsviccessfu!  attempt  to  get  into  the  army  by  enlisting  in  the 
Eighteenth  Michigan  Infantry,   when  he  with  other  recruits  were  taken  to 
Detroit   (his  first  visit  to  that  city)    for  examination,  but  was  rejected  by 
the  examining  surgeon,  being  under  age  and  too  small.     Being  of  a  perse- 
vering nature  and  determined  to  get  into  the  service  in  some  capacity,  in  the 
latter  part  of  March,  1864,  he  again  went  to  Detroit  and  enlisted  as  drum- 
mer boy  in   the  First  Michigan  Infantry,  the  re-enlisted  men  of  that  regi- 
ment then   being  home  on  veteran  furlough,   with  headquarters  in  Detroit, 
and   Charles  made  application  to  the  commander  of  that  raiment,  Colonel 
William  A.  Tliroop,  and  finally  succeeded  in  getting  into  that  regiment,  after 
making  a  trip  home  to  get  his  father's  consent,  promising  to  give  him  all  his 
bounty  and  pay  if  he  would  give  his  consent,  which  he  did  with  reluctance. 
The  day  Charles  donned  the  union  blue  is  counted  by  him  as  one  of  the  hap- 
pie.st  of  his  life.     After  two  weeks  in  barracks  at  Jackson,  Charles  and  other 
recruits  were  sent  to  the  front,  receiving  their  equipment  at  Camp  Distribu- 
tion at  Alexandria,  and  reached  the  regimental  camp  at  Beverly  Ford,  Vir- 
gina,  about  the  middle  of  Aprif,  and  on  the  arrival  of  the  re-enlisted  men, 
a  day  or  two  later,  Charies  was  assigned  to  Company  G,  commanded  by 
Captain  C.   W.  Carrick,   in  which  he  had  the  honor  of  carrying  a  musket 
until  the  regiment  was  mustered  out  in  July,   1865.     May  ist  the  regiment 
hroke  camp  and  entered  on  the  most  severe  campaign  of  the  war.     The  First 
was  in  the  Third  brigade.  First  Division  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  commanded  respectively  by  Generals  Bartlet,  Griffin,  Warren  and 


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776  HIS1  ORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Mead,  with  General  Grant  as  commander-in-chief.  The  First  Michigan 
was  one  of  the  regiments  that  opened  the  fight  May  5th  in  the  Wilderness, 
where,  in  the  three  days'  fight,  the  regiment  lost  heavily  in  killed,  wounded 
and  prisoners.  The  night  of  May  7th  the  First  marched  all  night  to  Spottsyl- 
vania,  where  another  hard  fight  took  place  Sunday  morning,  May  8th,  three 
unsuccessful  charges  being  made  to  drive  the  enemy  from  an  elevated  posi- 
tion behind  breastworks,  the  regiment  sustaining  another  heavy  loss  in  killed, 
wounded  and  prisoners,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  being  among  the  latter. 
Monday,  May  9,  he  with  about  four  hundred  other  prisoners  were  marched 
all  day  under  rebel  guard  to  Beaver  Dam  Station,  on  the  Virginia  Central 
Railroad,  where  they  were  to  be  put  aboard  cars  and  sent  to  Richmond.  Just 
before  reaching  the  station  the  prisoners  were  overjoyed  by  the  sudden  ap- 
pearance of  Sheridan's  Cavalry  force,  who  had  just  started  out  on  the  famous 
Richmond  raid,  and  were  again  with  their  friends.  The  recaptured  men  re- 
mained with  the  Cavalry  force  on  the  raid,  which,  was  the  most  strenuous  and 
exciting  week  of  their  lives,  with  nothing  to  eat  except  what  they  could  beg 
from  the  Cavalrymen,  and  they  were  very  glad  when  they  again  entered  the 
union  lines  the  following  Saturday,  May  14th,  at  Malvern  Hi!!,  on  the  James 
river.  Sunday  morning,  the  15th,  the  liberated  prisoners  were  put  aboard 
a  boat  and  taken  to  Alexandria,  and  after  a  few  days'  rest  were  given  new 
equipment  and  sent  back  to  the  front,  going  by  boat  to  Bells  Plain  Landing, 
from  which  place  they  acted  as  guard  for  a  supply  train,  via  Fredericksburg, 
reaching  the  army  while  they  lay  at  North  Anna  river,  May  26th,  where 
Charles  rejoined  his  regiment.  The  following  night  the  army  started  on 
another  flanking  movement  toward  Richmond,  participating  in  several  hard 
fights  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Chickahominy  river,  and  on  June  :6th  crossed 
the  James  river  and  marched  to  Petersburg,  where  the  army  saw  hard  service, 
fighting  and  building  fortifications  during  the  long  siege  of  that  place,  which 
ended  in  the  spring  of  1865,  when  the  Fifth  Corps,  with  Sheridan's  Cavalry, 
started  on  the  flank  movement  which  ended  with  the  surrender  of  Lee's  army 
at  Appomattox  and  the  collapse  of  the  rebellion,  after  four  years  of  desperate 
fighting. 

The  First  Michigan  Infantry  was  one  of  the  regiments  detailed  to  re- 
ceive the  arms  and  battle  flags  of  General  Lee's  army  after  the  surrender  at 
Appomattox.  Charles'  brother  George  also  served  with  the  First  Michi- 
gan from  July,  1864,  until  the  close  of  the  war,  and  was  also  with  the  regi- 
ment at  Appomattox.  The  veterans  of  the  Fourth  Michigan,  in  which  George 
served  three  years,  were  consolidated  with  the  First  Michigan  when  the 
Fourth  was  disbanded  about  the  first  of  July,  1S64,  at  the  expiration  of  their' 
three  years'  service  (the  re-enlisted  men  only  being  transferred  to  the  First), 
while  the  regiment  lay  in  the  trenches  at  Petersburg.  George  is  also  a  prac- 
tical printer  and  for  a  number  of  years  past  has  conducted  a  large  job  print- 
ing office  at  Norfolk,  Virginia. 

After  Lee's  surrender  the  army  marched  back  through  Petersburg  and 
Richmond  and  then  to  Washington,  where  they  went  into  camp  until  after 
the  Grand  Review,  May  23,  when  the  disbandment  began.  The  First  Michi- 
gan was  detached  from  the  army  after  returning  to  Petersburg,  being  detailed 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  777 

to  guard  the  railroad  between  Burkville  Junction  and  City  Point,  with  head- 
quarters at  the  latter  place,  where  they  remained  until  the  i6th  of  May,  1865, 
when  they  went  to  Alexandria  by  transport  and  went  into  camp  on  Arling- 
ton Heights,  near  Washington,  participating  in  the  Grand  Review  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  May  23d.  June  i6th  the  regiment  was  put  aboard  of 
some  fiat  cars  (coal  cars)  and  went  to  Parkersburg  on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
railway,  and  thence  to  Louisville,  Kentucky,  by  boat  down  the  Ohio  river, 
reaching  that  city  the  morning  of  the  21st.  I^ter  in  the  day  the  regiment 
went  into  camp  across  the  river  at  Jeffersonville,  Indiana,  where  they  were 
mustered  out  July  9th,  and  started  for  home  the  loth,  reaching  Jackson, 
Michigan,  on  the  12th,  where  a  fine  banquet  awaited  them,  prepared  by  the 
good  people  of  that  city.  On  July  21st  the  regiment  was  paid  off  and  dis- 
banded. 

Charles  went  to  school  the  following  fall  and  winter,  and  in  the  spring 
of  1866  resumed  work  in  the  Commercial  office  at  Monroe,  where  he  re- 
mained one  year,  completing  his  apprenticeship,  and  then  started  out  as  a 
"  jour  "  printer,  working  on  daily  papers  at  Toledo,  Sandusky  and  Detroit 
until  the  spring  of  1874,  when  he  moved  to  Lansing,  Michigan,  where  he 
was  employed  for  nine  years  in  the  State  Printing  Office,  during  the  admin- 
istration of  the  late  W.  S.  George  as  state  printer.  In  the  spring  of  1883 
Mr.  Owen  purchased  the  Grass  Lake,  Michigan,  News  (his  first  newspaper 
venture),  which  he  published  until  July,  1885,  when  he  sold  that  paper  and 
bought  the  Bronson,  Michigan,  Journal.  In  October,  1889,  Vie  sold  the  Jour- 
nal and  bought  a  half  interest  in  the  Coldwater  Courier,  in  partnership  with 
Mr.  C.  H.  Newell,  which  relation  continued  until  October,  1894,  when  he 
sold  his  interest  in  the  Courier  to  Mr.  Newell  and  bought  the  Quincy  Herald 
of  the  late  J.  C.  Joiner,  which  Mr.  Owen  has  since  conductea  with  marked 
ability  and  success,  the  Herald  being  one  of  tlie  most  reliable  and  popular 
country  weeklies  in  Southern  Michigan, 

On  the  22d  of  July,  1869,  Mr.  Owen  was  united  in  marriage  at  the  home 
of  the  bride  in  Detroit,  to  Miss  Belle  J.  Allen,  who  was  born  at  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  October  30,  1847,  and  is  a  daughter  of  J.  J.  and  Harriet  (Thomp- 
son) Allen.  The  mother  died  in  Detroit  in  April,  18S3,  and  the  father  died 
at  the  home  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Owen,  at  Coldwater,  Michigan,  in  Octo- 
ber, 1893,  with  whom  he  spent  the  latter  years  of  his  life.  He  was  horn  in 
county  Longford,  Ireland,  in  1809,  and  when  a  young  man,  immediately  after 
being  married,  came  to  the  United  States,  first  settling  in  New  York  city. 
He  afterwards  moved  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  in  1868  moved  to  Detroit. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Owen  began  their  domestic  life  in  Toledo,  Ohio,  where  Mr. 
Owen  was  employed  on  the  Toledo  Daily  Blade  for  a  number  of  years.  Their 
married  life  has  been  very  happy,  and  they  have  been  blessed  with  four  chil- 
dren: Gertrude  May,  born  in  Toledo,  Ohio,  August  18,  1870;  Wilber  Allen, 
born  in  Detroit,  Michigan,  June  30,  1S73;  Charles  Wesley,  Jr.,  born  in 
Lansing,  Michigan,  June  29,  1877,  and  Isia  Belle,  born  at  Bronson,  Michi- 
gan, September  17,  1889.  Wilber  and  Charies  are  both  graduates  of  the 
Columbia  Law  School  of  Washington,  D.^  C,  where  they  took  the  night 
course  while  in  the  government  employ,  Wilber  in  the  Government  Printing 


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778  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Office,  and  Charles  in  the  War  Department  during  the  Spanish- American 
war,  Wilber  and  Charles  have  been  en^a^ed  in  the  practice  of  law  at  To- 
ledo, Ohio,  for  a  number  of  years,  in  which  they  have  met  with  marked  suc- 
cess, making  a  specialty  of  patent  law  practice,  under  the  firm  name  of  Owen 
&  Owen.  Both  are  married,  and  a  fine  baby  girl  came  to  the  home  of  Charles 
and  wife  July  20.  1905.  Gertrude  is  a  successful  milliner,  and  Isla  Belle  is 
still  at  home,  pursuing  her  studies  in  the  Quincy  High  School  at  the  time  of 
the  compilation  of  this  history,  January,  1906. 

Mr.  Owen  has  always  been  a  staunch  Republican,  Both  he  and  his  wife 
are  members  of  the  Quincy  Presbyterian  church,  and  Mr.  Owen  is  also  a 
member  of  Mt.  Vernon  Lodge  No.  166.  F.  &-  A.  M.,  Maccabee  Tent  No.  536, 
Capita!  Council  No.  80,  Royal  Arcanum,  and  C.  O.  Loomis  Post  No.  2, 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic 

PASCHAL  P.  MORRISON. 

Paschal  P.  Morrison,  devoting  his  time  and  energies  to  general  agri- 
cultural pursuits  in  Girard  township,  was  born  in  Penfield,  Monroe  county, 
New  York.  October  20,  1835.  His  father,  Jonathan  Morrison,  was  a  native 
of  Seneca  county.  New  York,  and  was  a  son  of  Samuel  MarrJson,  who  spent 
his  entire  life  in  the  Empire  state.  The  great-grandfather  of  our  subject  was 
a  soldier  of  the  Revohition,  who  valiantly  fought  for  independence  of  the 
colonies.  Reared  in  the  Empire  state,  Jonathan  Morrison,  after  attaining 
his  majority,  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Charlotte  Burlingame,  whose 
birth  occurred  in  Bloomfield,  Ontario  county.  New  York.  They  began  their 
domestic  life  in  the  Empire  state,  and  before  leaving  the  east  seven  chil- 
dren were  born  unto  them,  but  one  of  the  number  died  in  infancy.  With 
the  surviving  six  children  they  came  to  Michigan  in  1845  ^^'-^  ^^r  a  few 
months  resided  In  Washtenaw  county,  after  which  they  removed  to  Girard 
township.  Branch  county,  taking  up  their  abode  on  section  thirty-three.  The 
father  there  purchased  eighty  acres  of  land,  which  is  now  in  possession  of  his 
son  Paschal,  and  throughout  the  remainder  of  an  active  business  career  de- 
voted his  attention  to  farming.  He  became  one  of  the  representative  and 
prosperous  farmers  of  the  locality  and  died  on  the  old  homestead  Novem- 
ber 24,  1885,  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven  years,  while  his  wife  passed  away  in 
1893.  at  the  age  of  eighty  years.  The  six  children  who  came  with  them 
to  Michigan  were:  Nancy,  now  Mrs.  Hames,  who  is  living  in  Ho- 
dunk,  Michigan :  Mrs.  Victoria  Kingston,  who  resided  in  Union  town- 
ship, Branch  county;  Russell  Morrison,  who  died  in  Batavia.  Michigan,  in 
1887;  Mrs.  Marcia  Wilcox,  a  resident  of  Coldwater;  Mrs.  M'ary  Ann  Reed, 
also  living  in  Coldwater;  and  Paschal  P.,  of  this  review.  Following  the 
arrival  of  the  parents  in  Michigan  two  other  children  were  born,  but  both 
died  in  infancy. 

Paschal  P.  Morrison  came  to  Michigan  with  his  parents  when  a  lad  of 
ten  years  and  has  since  resided  in  Girard  township,  with  the  exception  of 
the  brief  period  spent  with  the  family  in  Washtenaw  county.  He  earlv  be- 
came familiar  with  the  labors  of  the  farm  and  assisted  in  the  development 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  779 

of  the  fields  and  the  care  of  the  stock.  After  hh  father's  death  he  cared  for 
his  mother,  and  not  until  she,  too,  was  called  from  this  life  did  he  feel  at 
liberty  to  marry.  He  then  wedded  Miss  Augusta  Adolph  in  October,  1895. 
She,  too,  lived  in  Girard  township,  and  she  is  a  native  of  Germany,  born 
August  28,  1849.  Her  father  was  Phillip  Adolph,  and  her  mother  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Anna  Greuner.  Both  were  natives  of  Germany,  where  they 
were  married  and  where  six  children  were  born  unto  them,  as  follows :  Phil- 
lip, who  is  now  a. resident  of  Girard;  Lena,  who  died  in  Germany  in  infancy; 
Anna,  who  became  Mrs.  Flandemfeyer,  and  died  in  Coldwater,  Michigan,  in 
1861 ;  Willard,  who  is  living  in  Union  township,  this  county;  Mrs.  Lena 
Morrison,  who  resides  in  Batavia;  and  Mrs,  Augusta  Morrison,  the  wife 
of  our  subject.  The  father's  death  occurred  in  Germany  in  1853,  and  a  few 
years  later  Mrs.  Adolph  came  with  her  children  to  America,  locating-  in 
Girard  township.  Branch  county,  Michigan,  where  her  parents,  Anthon  and 
Vancel  Greuner,  had  previously  taken  up  their  abode.  Here  Mrs.  Adolph 
made  for  herself  a  good  home  and  reared  her  family,  doing  a  mother's  full 
duty  toward  the  sons, and  daughters  who  were  left  to  her  care.  She  died 
here  March  17.  1891.  Mrs.  Morrison  had  cared  for  her  in  her  declining 
years,  and  she,  too,  resolved  not  to  marry  while  her  mother  lived,  but  in 
March,  1891,  she  gave  her  hand  in  marriage  to  Paschal  P.  Morrison,  and 
.  their  marriage  has  been  a  particularly  happy  one.  They  have  a  comfortable 
home  situated  in  the  midst  of  an  eighty-acre  farm  on  section  thirty-three, 
Girard  township,  and  bordering  the  banks  of  the  beautiful  Morrison  Lake, 
which  was  named  in  honor  .of  the  family.  This  lake  has  led  to  the  establish- 
ment of  a  favorite  summer  resort,  with  numerous  cottages,  which  are  occu- 
pied throughout  the  summer  months.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morrison  have 
Spent  the  greater  part  of  their  lives  in  this  locality  and  are  highly  esteemed. 
The  friendship  of  many  friends  is  freely  accorded  them,  and  it  is  with  pleas- 
ure that  we  present  this  record  to  our  readers. 

D.  P.  LEONARD. 

For  many  years  D.  P.  Leonard  has  traveled  life's  journey,  and  now,  in 
the  evening  of  a  long,  useful  and  honorable  career,  is  enjoying  a  well  earned 
rest,  relieved  of  the  burdens  and  responsibilities  of  business  life,  for  through 
many  decades  he  was  laying  by  the  competence  which  now  supplies  him  with 
all  the  necessities  and  many  of  the  luxuries  of  life.  Depending  upon  his  own 
resources,  he  has  risen  from  comparative  obscurity  to  a  pJace  of  prominence 
in  the  commercial. world. 

Mr.  Leonard  was  born  in  the  village  of  Smyrna,  Chenango  county.  New 
York,  February  9,  1822.  His  father.  Joseph  B.  Leonard,  was  a  native  of 
the  eastern  part  of  New  York,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Saratoga.  He 
was  of  W-elsh  lineage,  his  ancestors  having  come  from  Wales  at. an  early- 
day  and  settled  in  Tompkins,  Massachusetts,  where  they  established  the  first 
foundry  in  the  United  States.  Joseph  B.  Leonard  was  a  shoemaker  by  trade 
and  he  lived  to  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-five  years.  His  wife,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Aseneth  Buck,  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts  and  died  in  her  sJxty- 


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780  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

fourth  year.  They  were  the  parents  of  four  children,  of  whom  one  died  in 
infancy,  while  the  three  sons  grew  to  manhood.  Joseph  C.  and  James  were 
both  prominent  merchants  of  Union  City  at  one  time,  but  are  now  deceased. 

D.  P.  Leonard  is  the  youngest  of  the  brothers  and  the  only  one  now  Hving. 
He  was  reared  in  the  place  of  his  nativity  and  acquired  his  education  in  a 
select  school  there,  but  his  privileges  were  somewhat  Hmited,  for  at  the  age 
of  twelve  years  he  started  out  in  life  on  his  own  accoimt.  He  began  working 
as  a  farm  hand,  being  bound  out  for  four  years,  and  according  to  the  terms 
of  the  contract  he  was  to  be  given  his  board  and  clothing  and  allowed  the 
privilege  of  attending  school  for  three  months  in  the  winter.  When  sixteen 
years  of  age  he  began  teaching  in  the  district  schools,  following  that  profes- 
sion through  the  winter  seasons,  while  in-  the  summer  months  he  continued 
at  farni  labor.  He  afterward  spent  one  year  in  Pennsylvania  in  working  at 
the  carpenter's  trade,  and  theii  returned  to  Chenango  county,  New  York. 
There  he  entered  into  partnership  with  his  father  in  the  shoemaking  business, 
in  which  he  continued  for  two  years,  after  which  they  purchased  a  farm 
together  in  New  York.  Two  years  later  he  bought  .his  father's  interest  in 
the  place  and  rem.aJned  upon  the  home  farm  for  eleven  years,  placing  it  under 
a  high  state  of  cultivation  and  having  a  number  of  substantial  improvements 
made. 

On  the  13th  of  April,  1848,  Mr.  Leonard  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Mary  A.  Gates,  a  daughter  of  Warren  W.  and  Mary  (Wording)  Gates,  Mrs. 
Leonard  was  born  in  Rhode  Island  and  was  a  young  child  when  her  parents 
removed  to  the  Empire  state.  Following  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  I.eon- 
ard  resided  in  New  York  for  about  eight  years,  and  in  1856  came  to  Mich- 
igan, settling  upon  a  farm  in  Burlington  township,  Calhoun  county,  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  from  Union  City.  This  farm  he  still  owns.  It  was  largely 
improved  by  him  and  he  erected  substantial  buildings  there,  made  good  fences, 
carefully  tilled  his  fields  and  continued  the  farm  work  along  practical  lines 
until  his  labors  were  crowned  with  ^'ery  gratifying  success.  He  resided  upon 
that  place  until  1892,  but  in  1889  he  had  purchased  a  farm  east  of  Union 
City,  in  Union  township,  and  took  up  his  abode  in  the  village,  working  the 
farm  until  about  1900,  when  he  sold  that  property.  He  has  now  a  ginsing 
plant  on  his  lot  in  Union  City.  The  old  homestead  property  comprises  about 
three  hundred  acres  of  rich  land,  of  which  fifty  acres  is  timber,  while  the 
greater  part  of  the  remainder  is  cultivable  and  was  transformed  into  pro- 
ductive fields  by  Mr.  Leonard.  He  also  owns  real  estate  in  Union  City,  in- 
cluding two  brick  stores  on  Main  street. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Leonard  have  been  born  three  children :  Dr.  Mary 
A.  is  the  wife  of  Thomas  E.  Murphy,  editor  of  a  paper  at  Mercedes,  Cali- 
fornia. She  graduated  in  the  Kalamazoo  Female  Seminary  in  the  class  of 
1S73;  also  from  the  Medical  College,  in  Northwestern  University  of  Chi- 
cago in  the  class  of  1894.  and  she  took  up  her  practice  at  Portland,  Oregon, 
thence  removing  to  California.  Charles  J.  married  Delia  E.  Winans  and  is 
now  operating  the  old  farm  in  Calhoun  county.  He  was  a  student  at  the 
Agricultural  College  at  Lansing,  Michigan,  and  was  a  teacher  in  both  Cal- 
houn and  Branch  counties.     Hattie  C.  is  at  home.     Besides  attending  the 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  7S1 

High  School  at  Union  City  she  was  a  student  at  the  Ladies'  College  at  Paines- 
ville,  Ohio.  In  1888  Mr.  Leonard  was  called  upon  to  mourn  the  loss  of  his 
wife,  who  died  on  the  3oth  of  January  of  that  year. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Leonard  is  a  Democrat,  He  served  as  super- 
visor of  Burlington  township  for  one  term  and  has  always  been  interested  in 
the  welfare  and  growth  of  his  part)'.  As  a  pioneer  settler  he  has  contributet! 
in  substantial  measure  to  the  improvement  of  the  county  and  to  the  upbuild- 
ing of  Union  City.  He  gave  active  encouragement  to  the  cement  factory  here, 
being  largely  instrumental  in  securing  its  establishment..  .  He  has  also  done 
much  toward  promoting  other  interests  of  the  town  which  have  contributed 
in  large  measure  to  the  general  prosperity.  Mr.  Leonard  and  his  wife  and 
daughter,  Miss  Hattie,  all  traveled  quite  extensively,  making  three  trips  to 
California,  two  to  Florida,  and  also  visiting  other  sections  of  the  country. 
He  has  thus  enjoyed  the  competence  which  has  come  to  him  through  his  well 
directed  labors.  His  has  been  a  successful  career,  for  he  started  out  in  life 
when  only  twelve  years  of  age,  having  nothing  to  depend  on  but  his  own 
labors.  His  prosperity  has  come  as  the  result  of  hard  work  and  honorable 
dealing.  His  progress  has  not  been  continuous,  for  at  times  he  has  met  diffi- 
culties and  obstacles.  On  one  occasion  his  house  was  destroyed  by  fire,  andi 
another  time  his  barn  was  burned,  but  he  did  not  allow  those  losses  to  dis- 
courage him,  but  replaced  the  buildings  with  modern  structures,  and  now 
has  one  of  the  best  improved  farms  of  the  county.  There  is  no  larger  bam 
in  this  section  of  the  state,  for  the  structure  is  one  hundred  and  thirty  by  one 
hundred  and  twenty  feet.  His  life  has  been  honorable,  his  actions  manly  and 
sincere,  and  his  name  is  a  synonym  for  integrity  and  straightforward  dealing 
wherever  he  is  known. 

REV.  FREDERICK  M.  CODDINGTON. 

Rev.  Frederick  M.  Coddington,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in 
Quincy,  was  born  in  Sherwood  township,  Branch  county,  in  1853.  The  fam- 
ily is  of  English  lineage  and  was  founded  in  America  by  three  brothers  who 
came  from  England  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  settling  m 
that  section  of  the  country  which  was  called  in  honor  of  the  mother  country, 
New  England.  Al!  of  the  Coddingtons  in  the  United  States  are  perhaps 
descended  from  these  three  brothers,  and  the  number  bearing  the  name  is 
now  a  large  one. 

Chester  T.  Coddington,  father  of  our  subject,  was  born  in  Tompkms 
county.  New  York,  in  1818,  and  died  in  November,  1884.  He  was  a  farmer 
by  occupation,  as  was  his  father,  Robert  Coddington,  while  the  latter  was 
likewise  an  elder  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Chester  Coddington  left  the 
state  of  New  York  in  the  fall  of  1839  and  settled  in  Sherwood  township, 
where  he  took  possession  of  a  third  of  the  land  which  his  father  had  pre- 
viously entered  from  the  government.  There  he  lived  and  prospered,  and 
eventuaJly  died  upon  another  farm  that,  during  his  latter  years,  became  a 
part  of  the  site  of  Sherwood  village.  When  he  came  to  Michigan  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  cliurch,  but  as  there  was  no  congregation  of 


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782  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUN  j*!^" 

that  denomination  at  that  time,  he  united  with  the  Congregational  church  of 
Union  City  about  1846,  and  died  while  identified  therewith.  He  was  one  of 
a  family  of  ten  children,  eight  sons  and  two  daughters,  all  of  whom  reached 
mature  years,  namely:  John  M.,  who  studied  for  the  ministry;  Reuben  P., 
who  came  to  Michigan  two  years  after  Chester's  arrival,  and  was  a  prosper- 
ous farmer,  a  very  influential  man  in  the  county,  and  became  the  owner  of 
one-third  of  the  land  which  his  father  had  originally  possessed  in  Sherwood 
township;  Martin  Luther,  who  came  some  years  after  Reuben's  arrival,  and 
took  the  remaining  third  of  the  land,  prospering  as  a  farmer  up  to  the  time 
of  his  death,  which  occurred  when  he  was  fifty  years  of  age ;  James,  Stephen, 
Eliza,  Ophelia,  Theron  and  Theodore,  all  now  deceased. 

Chester  Coddington  was  a  life-long  supporter  of  the  Whig  party  until 
its  dissolution,  when  he  joined  the  ranks  of  the  Republican  party.  His 
brothers  who  came  to  Michigan  were  also  Republicans,  while  those  remain- 
ing in  the  east  gave  their  allegiance  to  the  Democratic  party.  Chester  Cod- 
dington served  as  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  was  influential  in  community 
affairs.  His  life  was  upright  and  honorable,  and  all  who  knew  him  esteemed 
him  for  his  genuine  worth.  He  married  Prudence  Hess,  who  was  born  in 
the  state  of  New  York  in  1815  and  died  in  t866.  She  was  a  daughter  of 
Frederick  and  Jerusha  Hess,  who  was  of  German  descent.  She  held  mem- 
bership in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  her  husband  gave  the  site 
from  off  his  farm  on  which  the  Methodist  church  of  the  locality  was  built. 
This  was  the  first  church  edifice  erected  in  the  township  of  Sherwood.  In 
the  family  of  this  worthy  couple  were  three  children:  James  D.,  who  died 
in  childhood;  Frederick  M.;  and  Hiram  D.,  a  farmer  of  Sherwood  town- 
ship. Chester  Coddington  had  been  previously  married,  his  first  wife  having 
been  Elizabeth  Lee,  a  member  of  a  pioneer  family  of  Branch  county.  She 
was  an  early  school  teacher  and  understood  the  Indian  language.  The  first 
wife  died  about  1848.  Unto  this  marriage  were  born  five  children,  of  whom 
one  died  in  infancy,  while  the  others  were :  Elisabeth  Ophelia,  who  at  the 
age  of  twelve  years  became  a  member  of  the  family  of  her  paternal  grand- 
mother, filling  the  part  of  a  daughter,  sister  and  home-keeper,  until  all  that 
family  have  passed  away — herself  still  remaining  as  the  sole  representative 
of  a  once  large  and  merry  family;  Charles  D.,  a  farmer  residing  io  Mason 
county,  who  is  a  pensioner  of  the  Civil  war  and  a  member  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic ;  Orpha  G. ;  and  Margaret  Ely.  The  second  wife  of 
Chester  Coddington  was  the  mother  of  our  subject.  His  third  wife  was 
Salena  Leatherberry,  a  daughter  of  Abel  Leatherberry,  and  a  native  of  Ohio. 
She  is  now  living  in  Sherwood  at  the  age  of  seventy-three  years. 

Mr.  Coddington  was  reared  upon  the  home  farm,  attended  the  district 
schools  and  was  a  student  in  JonesviUe  Union  School  and  Albion  College. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-six  years  he  began  teaching  and  was  superintendent  of 
the  schools  of  Sherwood  from  1879  until  1881.  In  the  school  year  of  1881-2 
he  was  principal  of  the  high  school  at  New  Troy,  and  was  superintendent 
of  schools  at  Three  Oaks  in  1883-4.  In  the  meantime  he  had  been  preparing 
for  the  ministry,  and  in  March,  1885,  was  ordained  a  minister  of  the  Con- 
gregational church  at  Athens  by  a  regularly  constituted  council  of  the  min- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  783 

istry  of  that  church.  He  was  then  acting  pastor  of  a  charge  at  Athens,  and 
later  he  became  pastor  of  the  church  at  Pinckney,  where  he  remaineti  for  two 
years.  He  afterward  spent  three  years  in  Leslie,  Michigan,  and  more  than 
five  years  in  Litchfield.  He  continued  his  labors  for  four  years  in  Laings- 
burg,  and  in  Otsego  for  nearly  three  years,  and  in  April,  1902,  he  came  to 
Quincy,  since  which  time  he  has  been  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
here. 

Rev.  Coddington  was  married  in  August,  1882,  to  Miss  Esther  L.  Evans, 
who  was  born  in  Quincy  township  in  1859,  and  was  a  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Theodosia  Evans.  Her  father  came  to  Michigan  in  1852,  settling  in  Quincy 
township.  Branch  county.  He  was  of  Scotch  and  French  lineage  and  was  a 
skilled  carriage  maker.  In  his  family  were  two  children,  the  son  being  Frank 
L.  Evans,  superintendent  of  the  public  schools  of  Frankfort,  Michigan,  and 
aiso  editor  of  the  Benzie  County  Patriot,  published  at  Frankfort.  Mrs.  Cod- 
dington was  a  teacher  in  the  schools  at  Sherwood  when  her  husband  became 
superintendent  there.  She  has  an  adopted  daughter,  Amy  J.  North,  who 
became  a  member  of  their  home  when  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  was  married 
in  February,  1896,  to  William  J.  Mcllwain,  a  farmer  of  Calhoun  county, 
Michigan. 

Mr.  Coddington  is  the  owner  of  a  farm  of  ninety  acres  in  Quincy  town- 
ship, and  this  brings  him  a  good  return,  which  makes  an  excellent  supplement 
to  his  salary  received  from  the  church.  Where  national  questions  are  in- 
volved, he  is  a  Republican,  but  at  local  elections  votes  for  candidates  of  the 
Prohibition  party.  He  has  served  as  school  examiner  and  is  always  inter- 
ested in  educational  advancement.  Fraternally  he  is  a  Mason.  For  twenty- 
one  years,  however,  he  has  given  his  almost  undivided  attention  to  the  work 
of  the  ministry,  and  his  labors  have  been  crowned  with  a  high  measure  of 
success.  He  is  a  speaker  of  force,  logical  in  argument  and  strong  in  his 
presentation  of  his  cause.  He  is  likewise  a  forcible  and  entertaining  writer 
and  has  produced  some  publications,  including  a  work  entitled  "  As  They 
Did  It,"  or  "  The  First  Church  of  Warden,"  published  by  Jennings  &  Pye 
of  Cincinnati;  while  the  same  pubHshers  are  soon  to  read  the  manuscript  of 
aiiother  instructive  and  entertaining  religious  novel  written  by  him,  entitled 
"  Tlie  Mortgage  on  the  Old  Farm,"  with  the  view  of  putting  it  in  book  form. 
(The  manuscript  of  this  book  has  not  yet  been  in  the  hands  of  any  publisher.) 
He  is  a  man  who  enjoys  the  highest  respect  of  all,  regardless  of  denomina- 
tional preference,  and  his  work  has  been  a  potent  power  for  good  wherever 
he  has  labored. 

MRS.  GEORGE  E.  LORING. 

Mrs.  George  E-  Loring,  well  known  in  Branch  county,  is  living  upon  a 
farm  on  section  thirteen,  Girard  township,  where  she  owns  eighty  acres  of 
valuable  land.  Her  residence  is  an  attractive  modem  frame  house  built  in 
pleasing  style  of  architecture  and  standing  in  the  midst  of  a  well-kept  lawn. 
Everything  about  the  place  is  neat  and  thrifty  in  appearance,  giving  indication 
of  the  careful  supervision  of  Mrs.  Loring.  ■  In  her  maidenhood  Mrs.  Loring 
bore  the  name  of  Mary  Calkins,  and  her  birth  occurred  in  Schenectady  county, 


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784:  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

New  York,  February  19,  1840.  Her  father,  Orville  Calkins,  was  a  native  of 
Glenville,  Vermont,  where  the  dp^ys  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  were  passed, 
but  soon  after  he  attained  his  majority  he  removed  to  the  Empire  state,  and 
was  there  married  in  Cambridge,  Saratoga  county,  to  Miss  Janet  Ferguson. 
They  reared  their  family  of  children  there,  and  Mrs.  Calkins  died  in  that 
locality.  Mr.  Calkins  subsequently  came  to  Michigan  in  1852  and  estab- 
lished his  home  in  the  township  of  Batavia,  Branch  county,  where  he  resided 
for  a  few  years,  after  which  he  removed  to  a  farm  in  Girard  township.  Later 
he  located  in  the  village  of  Tekonsha,  where  his  remaining  days  were  passed. 
Mr.  Calkins  was  a  stone  mason  by  trade  and  for  many  years  followed  that 
pursuit,  giving  his  attention  to  that  business  while  in  Tekonsha.  His  life 
was  upright  and  honorable,  and  in  all  of  his  btisiness  dealings  he  was  straight- 
forward and  reliable,  so  that  he  became  known  in  the  community  as  a  man  of 
genuine  worth,  worthy  the  high  regard  of  all.  He  died  in  Tekonsha  in  1893 
in   the   eighty-seventh   year   of   his   age. 

In  the  family  of  Orville  and  Janet  (Ferguson)  Calkins  were  a  son  and 
four  daughters,  who  reached  manhood  and  womanhood :  Harrison,  whose 
death  occurred  in  the  Empire  state;  Mrs.  Sarah  Brown,  who  died  in  Butler; 
Mrs.  Nancy  Eldred,  whose  death  occurred  in  Tekonsha  in  1895;  Mrs.  Cath- 
erine Sawyer,  who  is  living  in  Butler,  Branch  county,  Michigan;  and  Mrs. 
Loring. 

In  her  father's  home  Mary  Calkins  spent  her  girlhood  days  and  was 
trained  to  the  duties  of  the  household,  while  in  the  public  schools  she  ac- 
quired her  education.  On  the  8th  of  October,  1859,  she  gave  her  liand  in 
marriage  to  George  E.  Loring,  who  was  a  native  of  Medina  county,  Ohio, 
where  he  was  bom  February  12,  1834,  his  parents  being  John  and  Mary 
(Merritt)  Loring,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  the  state  of  New  York. 
After  living  in  Ohio  for  a  number  of  years  they  came  to  Michigan,  where 
they  reared  their  family,  casting  in  their  lot  with  the  pioneer  settlers  of 
Branch  county.  They  found  a  district  which  was  little  improved  and  with 
strong  purpose  and  laudable  determination  Mr.  Loring  began  the  work  of 
making  a  home  on  the  frontier.  He  met  the  difficulties  that  usually  con- 
front the  pioneer,  but  he  diligently  pursued  his  work,  and  in  the  course  of 
time  developed  an  excellent  farm  property  on  section  twelve,  Girard  town- 
ship, where  he  and  his  wife  spent  their  remaining  days. 

George  E.  Loring,  reared  to  the  occupation  of  farming,  followed  that 
pursuit  throughout  the  greater  part  of  his  life,  but  also  had  other  business 
interests.  As  he  prospered  in  his  undertakings  he  added  to  his  landed  pos- 
sessions until  he  had  acquired  several  hundred  acres  in  this  immediate  vi- 
cinity. He  was  one  of  the  first  residents  of  this  section  to  make  a  specialty 
of  fruit  raising,  in  which  he  was  very  successful,  particularly  in  the  line  of 
apple  growing,  his  orchards  at  one  time  being  considered  the  finest  and  most 
attractive  in  the  county.  In  all  of  his  work  he  was  progressive  and  kept  in 
touch  with  modern  ideas  concerning  agricultural  development. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Loring  became  the  parents  of  six  children :  Nettie,  born 
August  28,  1867,  died  in  infancy.  John  A.,  born  January  16,  1861,  died 
October  19.  1880,  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years.     Sanford,  who  was  born 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  785 

January  7,  1867,  and  is  a  machinist  residing  in  Cokhvater,  was  married 
August  15,  1888,  to  Flora  Rogers,  by  whom  he  has  one  son  and  three 
daughters.  Hattie,  born  November  26,  1864,  was  married  August  24,  1885, 
to  Edwin  Walker,  who  is  engaged  in  blacksmithing  at  Hodunk,  Michigan, 
and  they  have  three  sons  and  two  daughters.  Lettie,  born  January  7,  1872, 
is  the  wife  of  J.  Shedd,  who  holds  a  position  in  one  of  the  large  beet  sugar 
factories  at  Bay  City,  Michigan,  where  they  are  living  with  their  son  and 
daughter.  Marian,  born  December  7,  1877,  is  the  wife,  of  William  Ostrora, 
their  home  being  in  Branch  county,  Michigan. 

]n  his  political  views  Mr.  Loring  was  a  stalwart  Republican,  who  also 
kept  well  informed  on  the  questions  and  issues  of  the  day,  although  he 
never  sought  or  desired  office.  He  was  interested  in  all  that  goes  to  uplift 
and  benefit  mankind  and  the  cause  of  education  found  in  him  a  warm  and 
helpful  friend,  who  as  a  school  officer  upon  several  different  occasions  did 
effective  and  valuable  service  for  the  system  of  public  instruction  in  his 
home  locality.  He  passed  away  December  25,  1893,  and  thus  closed  a  use- 
ful, honorable  and  upright  life.  He  was  just  and  fair  in  all  his  dealings 
and  was  respected  by  his  neighbors  and  fellow-townsmen,  while  in  his  home 
he  was  greatly  beloved,  for  his  devotion  to  his  family  was  largely  ideal. 
Mrs.  Mary  Loring  still  survives  her  husband  and  resides  upon  the  old  home- 
stead, and  although  at  the  time  of  his  death  she  had  but  little  experience  in 
business  life  she  took  up  the  work  that  confronted  her  with  strong  and  reso- 
lute courage  and  not  only  carefully  reared  and  educated  her  children,  but 
also  conducts  the  affairs  of  her  farm,  where  she  spends  the  greater  part  of 
her  time,  paying,  however,  frequent  visits  to  her  children,  all  of  whom  are 
estabhshed  in  comfortable  homes.  She  belongs  to  the  Free  Will  Baptist 
church,  and  her  many  good  qualities  of  heart  and  mind  have  endeared  her 
to  a  large  circle  of  friends. 

ROBERT  CHERDAVOINE. 

Robert  Cherdavoine,  who  at  one  time  was  actively  engaged  in  farm- 
ing, but  is  now  practically  living  retired  on  his  farm  in  Girard  township,  was 
bom  in  Tompkins  county.  New  York,  December  20,  1827.  He  is  descended 
from  French  ancestry,  his  paternal  grandfather  having  come  from  France, 
while  his  father,  John  Cherdavoine,  was  born  in  New  Jersey.  He  was  one 
of  a  family  of  four  sons,  and  when  a  young  man  removed  from  New  Jersey 
to  the  state  of  New  York,  where  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Longcoy,  a 
native  of  the  Empire  state.  They  became  the  parents  of  two  children,  Robert 
and  Abram,  but  the  latter  was  killed  in  New  York  in  1854  when  twenty-six 
years  of  age.  The  mother  died  in  1829,  and  the  father  afterward  married 
Elizabeth  Whalen,  by  whom  he  had  three  children:  Enoch,  now  a  resident 
of  Union  township.  Branch  county;  Walter,  who  served  as  a  soldier  in  the 
Civil  war  and  died  soon  afterward;  and  Mrs.  Mary  Bickhom,  who  died  in 
New  York  in  1893.  The  death  of  the  father  occurred  at  the  home  of  his 
son  Robert  in  Girard  township  in  18S8  when  he  had  reached  the  advanced 
age  of  ninety-three  years. 


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786  HISTORY  OF  BRANXH  COUNTY 

Robert  Cherdavoine  was  a  little  lad  of  six  years  when  his  father  re- 
moved from  Tompkins  to  Chemung  count>'.  New  York,  and  there  he  re- 
mained until  coming  to  Michigan.  He  was  married  in  Chemung  county  to 
Miss  Maria  Brooks,  a  native  of  that  locality,  born  October  15,  1833.  Her 
father  was  Jesse  Brooks,  while  her  mother  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Marinda 
Fox.  Both  were  natives  of  the  Empire  state  and  were  among  the  pioneer 
settlers  of  Branch  county,  Michigan,  coming  to  Coldwater  when  their  daugh- 
ter Maria  was  less  than  two  years  of  age,  arriving  here  in  1835.  Further 
mention  is  made  of  the  Brooks  family  on  another  page  of  this  work.  For 
ten  years  after  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Qierdavoine  remained  in  New 
York,  and  then  came  to  Mkhigan,  settling  in  Branch  county.  This  was 
in  the  year  1864,  and  Mr.  Cherdavoine  purchased  fifty  acres  of  land  in  Cold- 
water  township,  where  he  carried  on  general  farming  for  seventeen  years.  In 
1881  he  removed  to  Girard  township  and  purchased  one  hundred  and  sixteen 
acres  of  land  on  sections  seventeen  and  eighteen,  which  he  still  owns.  He 
has  an  excellent  farm  here,  improved  with  good  buildings,  and  everything 
about  the  place  is  attractive  in  its  appearance,  showing  the  careful  super- 
vision of  the  owner.  Mr.  Cherdavoine,  however,  now  leaves  the  active  opera- 
tion of  the  farm  to  his  son  Archie,  with  whom  he  lives. 

Unto  Mr,  and  Mrs.  Cherdavoine  were  bom  five  children :  Arcliie,  who 
resides  upon  the  old  homestead  and  who  married  Lois  Mack,  by  whom  he 
has  two  children;  Mrs.  Sarah  Macli,  who  resides  in  Battle  Creek,  Michigan; 
a  daughter,  who  died  in  infancy ;  Johnnie,  who  died  at  the  age  of  three  years ; 
and  Matthew,  who  died  in  1890  at  the  age  of  twenty  years.  In  1895  Mr. 
Cherdavoine  was  called  upon  to  mourn  the  loss  of  his  wife,  who  died  on  the 
14th  day  of  July  of  that  year.  She  was  for  a  long  period  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  was  a  true  Christian  woman,  whose  many 
excellencies  of  character  endeared  her  to  those  with  whom  she  came  in  con- 
tact, so  that  her  loss  was  deeply  feJt  by  many  friends  as  well  as  her  im- 
mediate family. 

Mr.  Cherdavoine  has  been  a  life-long  Republican  and  has  ever  kept  well- 
informed  on  the  questions  and  issues  of  the  day.  -For  forty  years  he  has 
served  as  a  school  officer  and  the  cause  of  education  has  ever  found  in  him  a 
warm  and  stalwart  friend.  His  interest  in  public  affairs  is  deep  and  sincere 
and  has  resulted  in  active  and  helpful  eifort  for  the  general  good. 

HENRY  OLNEY. 

Prominent  among  the  early  settlers  of  the  township  of  Girard  were  the 
Olneys,  their  descendants  still  being  among  the  prosperous  and  esteemed 
residents  of  this  locality.  The  first  of  our  subject's  ancestors  to  locate  here 
was  Darius  Olney,  his  grandfather,  a  native  of  Saratoga  county,  New  York, 
where  he  was  born  in  1795.  He  lived  in  his  native  county  until  1835,  when 
he  came  to  Calhoun  county,  Michigan,  where  he  lived  for  two  years,  then 
coming  to  Branch  county  and  Girard,  which'  was  to  be  the  home  of  himself 
and  his  descendants  for  so  many  years.  In  New  York  state  he  married 
Abagail  Maxwell,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  eight  children,  four  of  whom 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  787 

grew  to  manhood  and  womanhood.  One  of  these  was  Wiitiam  Olney,  father 
of  our  subject,  who  was  born  in  Monroe  county.  New  York,  April  7,  1820. 
He  was  only  fifteen  years  of  age  when  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Mich- 
igan, and  he  remained  on  the  home  farm  until  after  he  attained  his  ma- 
jority. Then  for  a  period  of  ten  years  he  labored  for  others,  saving  his 
earnings.  He  was  married,  in  1853,  to  Miss  Hannah  Carter,  daughter  of 
Vernon  and  Anna  Carter,  both  natives  of  the  state  of  Connecticut,  who 
were  also  among  the  early  pioneers  of  this  part  of  Michigan,  Five  sons 
and  two  daughters  were  bom  to  William  Olney  and  Anna  Carter  Olney,  as 
follows:  Edgar  Olney  is  a  resident  of  Battle  Creek,  Michigan.  Abbie 
Olney  Potter  lives  in  Girard.  Henry  Olney  is  our  subject.  Bart  Olney 
lives  in  Tekonsha.  Byron  Olney  is  a  resident  of  Battle  Creek.  Will  Olney 
lives  in  Girard  township.  Rose  Olney  Howard  lives  in  the  township  of 
Tekonsha.  All  of  the  children  are  married  and  have  homes  and  families 
of  their  own.  Hannah  Carter  Olney,  after  a  life  filled  with  her  faithful 
duties  as  a  loving  wife  and  mother,  died  at  her  home  in  Girard,  March  7, 
1864.  In  1868  Mr.  Olney  was  married  to  Mary  J.  Brayton,  who  is  still 
living  and  a  resident  of  Girard.  Mr.  Olney  died  February  4,  1904.  Before 
his  death  he  became  the  owner  of  several  hundred  acres  of  fine  farming 
land  and  he  was  for  many  years  a  man  of  influence  and  importance  in  this 
part  of  Branch  county.  He  lived  to  a  good  old  age  and  always  possessed 
the  high  regard  and  esteem  of  a  very  large  circle  of  friends. 

Our  subject,  Henry  Olney,  was  born  in  Girard,  August  29,  1857,  and 
he  has  passed  his  entire  life  in  this  township.  He  ^rew  to  manhood  upon 
the  home  farm  and  early  decided  to  follow  agriculture  as  a  life  vocation. 
In  this  he  has  been  eminently  successful.  He  early  became  imbued  with 
the  idea  that  every  man  ought  to  have  a  home  of  his  own  and  accordingly 
eighteen  years  ago  he  purchased  a  portion  of  his  present  farm  on  section 
eight,  Girard  township,  not  far  from  the  old  Olney  homestead,  and  here 
he  now  owns  one  hundred  and  five  acres  of  land,  with  excellent  buildings 
and  equipment.  He  was  married,  October  22,  i8go,  to  Miss  Lena  May 
Bush,  a  native  of  Fredonia,  Calhoun  county,  where  she  was  born  February 
2,  1868.  Her  father  was  George  Bush  and  her  mother  was  Lucy  Upham, 
both  natives  of  the  Empire  state,  the  latter  being  of  the  same  branch  of 
the  Upham  family  which  gave  a  governor  to  the  state  of  Wisconsin  in  later 
years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bush  have  been  residents  of  Calhoun  county  for  many 
years,  where  they  are  well  and  favorably  known,  and  where  they  still  live 
in  Fredonia.  They  are  the  parents  of  four  daughters  and  two  sons,  one  of 
the  latter  dying  in  infancy.  The  remaining  children,  all  of  whom  are  living, 
are  as  follows:  Elmer  Bush  is  a  resident  of  Grand  Rapids.  Carrie  Bush 
Siraonson  lives  in  Concord,' Michigan.  Myrtie  Bush  Holmes  lives  in  Mar- 
shall, Michigan.  Ina  Bush  Burland  lives  in  Peoria,  Illinois.  Lena  May 
Ohiey  is  the  wife  of  our  subject. 

Our  subject,  Mr.  Henry  Olney,  is  a  young  man  who  commands  the 
respect  and  esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens  and  he  has  served  his  school  dis- 
trict as  an  officer.  He  is  known  as  one  of  the  thrifty  and  successful  young 
farmers  of  the  prosperous  township  of  Girard,,  and  he  has  already  become 


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788  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

possessed  of  considerable  property.  He  is  a  worthy  descendant  of  the  sterl- 
ing ancestors  who  have  done  so  mnch  in  the  development  and  growth  of 
this  section  of  the  state,  and  he  is  justly  prond  of  the  honored  name  he 
bears. 

GEORGE  J.  STRAY. 

George  J.  Stray,  whose  honorable  and  upright  life  contains  many  les- 
sons that  are  worthy  of  emulation,  was  born  in  Java,  Wyoming  county,  New 
York,  on  the  i6th  of  August,  1837.  His  father,  George  W.  Stray,  was  born 
in  the  Empire  state  on  the  19th  of  October.  1810,  and  was  united  in  mar- 
riage in  Wyoming  county  on  the  21st  of  February,  1833,  to  Miss  Chloe 
Allen,  who  was  born  in  Vermont,  March  18.  1808.  The  Strays  were  origi- 
nally from  France.  The  Allen  family  removed  from  the  Green  Mountain 
state  to  Wyoming  county.  New  York,  at  an  early  period  in  its  development, 
and  as  before  stated  the  parents  of  our  subject  were  there  married.  In  the 
spring  of  1843  ^he  father  came  to  Michigan,  and  after  spending  a  few 
months  in  Girard  he  sent  for  his  family  to  join  him  and  they  arrived  in 
Branch  county  the  same  year.  The  country  was  almost  wholly  new  and 
undeveloped  and  George  W.  Stray  cleared  the  farm  on  section  ten,  Girard 
township,  on  which  his  son,  George  J.  Stray,  now  resides.  He  was  persist- 
ent and  energetic  in  his  work  and  continued  as  one  of  the  enterprising  and 
valued  agriculturists  of  Girard  township  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which 
occurred  July  31,  1883.  His  widow  survived  him  for  several  years  and 
passed  away  on  the  21st  of  October,  1891.  In  their  family  were  six  chil- 
dren, namely:  James  Erastus,  who  died  in  1848  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
years;  Albert,  who  died  in  1850,  at  the  age  of  ten  years;  Chloe  M.,  who  is 
living  in  Girard;  George  J.,  of  this  review;  Mrs.  Phoebe  Fairbanks,  who  is 
living  in  Litchfield,  Michigan;  and  Lucius,  who  resides  in  Girard.  The 
family  have  always  been  ardent  and  earnest  Methodists,  taking  a  very  active 
and  helpful  part  in  religious  work,  and  George  W,  Stray  was  for  many 
years  known  throughout  the  community  as  Class  Leader  Stray  because  of 
the  position  which  he  held  in  his  church.  .  He  was  one  of  its  liberal  sup- 
porters and  his  efforts  in  its  behalf  were  far-reaching  and  effective. 

George  J.  Stray  was  reared  to  the  occupation  of  farming  and  in  the 
public  schools  acquired  his  education.  Having  arrived  at  years  of  maturity 
he  was  married  October  28,  1879,  to  Emaroy  L.  Coburn,  who  was  born  in 
Troy,  Ohio,  July  6,  1850.  She  lived  in  Ohio  until  eight  years  of  age,  after^ 
ward  spent  one  year  in  Illinois  and  then  came  to  Michigan,  Her  father 
was  Arson  H.  Coburn,  who  was  born  in  Homer,  New  York,  February  26, 
:8l6,  and  was  married  in  Plymouth,  Connecticut,  on  the  23d  of  May,  1838. 
to  Miss  Adeline  Warner,  whose  birth  occurred  at  Plymouth  on  the  22d  of 
February,  1819.  They  became  early  residents  of  Ohio  and  Mr.  Coburn 
died  at  Richland,  Michigan,  on  the  3d  of  September.  1888,  while  his  wife 
passed  away  in  Ashtabula  county,  Ohio,  on  the  31st  of  October.  1853.  In 
their  family  were  eight  children,  of  whom  two  sisters  died  in  infancy,  one 
having  been  bom  June  4,  1840,  and  the  other  October  28,  1841,  The  other 
members  of  the  family  were :    William  H.  Coburn,  a  brother,  who  was  born 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  789 

February  12,  1843,  and  died  at  the  age  of  twenty  years;  Mrs.  Sarah  Jane 
Kelley,  who  is  living  in  Clinton,  Wisconsin;  Albert  W.,  a  resident  of  Scotts, 
Michigan ;  an  infant  son,  who  died  in  infancy ;  and  Mrs.  Adehne  Hirtcher, 
who  was  born  October  10,  1853,  and  hves  in  Decatur,  Michigan.  Mrs, 
Stray  was  only  three  years  old  at  the  time  of  her  mother's  death,  and  was 
adopted  by  Rev.  F.  Gage,  a  minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
with  whom  she  lived  until  her  marriage.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stray  began  their 
domestic  life  on  the  old  home  farm  on  section  ten,  Girard  township,  and 
have  here  since  resided.  They  have  had  three  children,  but  the  first  born 
died  in  infancy;  Mary,  who  was  bom  April  21,  1882,  died  February  12, 
1900,  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years;  and  Phoebe  A.,  who  was  bom  Septem- 
ber 22,  1887,  and  is  at  home. 

Mr.  Stray  is  the  owner  of  a  farm  of  sixty  acres  and  his  time  and  atten- 
tion are  given  to  its  further  development  and  improvement.  He  is  also  an 
apiarist,  as  he  has  made  the  study  of  the  bee  one  of  his  pursuits,  and  he  has 
been  most  successful.  At  the  present  time,  1905,  he  has  about  ninety  stands 
of  bees,  and  about  1881  he  marketed  nine  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  honey. 
The  Italian  bee  is  the  one  that  he  cultivates,  and  he  has  paid  as  high  as 
twenty  dollars  for  two  queen  bees,  while  in  1903  he  had  another  queen  for 
which  he  paid  eight  dollars.  He  has  had  as  high  as  thirteen  swarms  of  bees 
at  one  time.  There  is  not  another  man  in  Branch  county  who  has  been  as 
successful  as  an  apiarist  as  Mr.  Stray.  He  has  served  as  district  school 
officer  and  the  cause  of  education  finds  in  him  a  warm  friend.  He  is  more- 
over deeply  interested  in  the  cause  of  religion  and  the  family  are  members 
of  the  Methodist  church,  in  which  he  has  long  served  as  steward  and  class 
leader.  The  Strays  have  always  been  a  God-fearing  people,  always  loyal  to 
the  interests  of  right,  truth  and  justice  and  they  have  ever  commanded  the 
high  regard  of  all. 

SYDNEY  E.  YEATTER. 

Upon  the  shoulders  of  the  young  men  and  women  falls  the  robe  of  re- 
sponsibility in  the  affairs  of  the  nation  in  an  agricultural,  mercantile  and  pro- 
fessional sense.  Mr.  "^'"eatter  of  this  review  is  one  of  the  young  and  represent- 
ative agriculturists  of  the  township  of  Matteson,  and  wlas  born  in  St.  Joseph 
county,  Michigan,  January  27,  1867.  He  is  the  eldest  of  three  children,  all 
yet  living,  a  son  and  two  daughters,  who  were  Irom  unto  Solomon  and  Martha 
(Benedict)  Yeatter.  Effie,  the  eldest,  is  the  wife  of  Albion  Russell,  who  re- 
sides in  Colon.  Michigan,  and  is  an  agriaiJturist.  They  have  two  children, 
Ernest  and  Ethel.  Mrs.  Russell  was  educated  in  Colon  schools,  was  at  one 
time  a  successful  teacher  and  is  a  member  of  the  Reform  church.  Ethel 
Yeatter  is  the  wife  of  H.  Schaffmaster,  a  resident  of  Colon,  Michigan,  who  is 
also  interested  in  agricultural  pursuits.  They  have  one  son,  Delmont.  Solo- 
mon Yeatter,  the  father,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  April  13,  1839,  and  is 
yet  living,  his  home  being  in  Colon  township.  He,  too,  is  an  agriculturist. 
He  came  to  Michigan  in  1854.  when  the  state  was  in  its  pristine  virginity. 
He  received  a  good,  practical  education  and  was  a  teacher  for  a  number  of 
years.     When  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  had  little  or  no  capital,  and 


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790  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

to-day  he  is  one  of  the  substantial  farmers  of  St.  Joseph  cotuity.  He  wedded 
Miss  Martha  Benedict  on  the  32d  of  February,  1866.  She  was  a  native  of 
Ohio  and  at  her  death  the  following  obituary  headed  the  sketch  of  the  bean- 
tiful  life  she  lived: 

"  Martha  A.  Benedict  was  born  in  Morrow  county,  Ohio,  February  23, 
1842,  died  May  14,  1903,  aged  sixty  years,  two  months  and  twenty-one  days. 
She  came  with  her  parents  when  but  a  young-  child  to  Michigan,  where  she 
spent  her  life.  She  was  united  in  marriage  to  Solomon  Yeatter,  February  22, 
1866.  This  union  was  blessed  with  three  children,  all  of  whom  are  living. 
Their  wedded  life  was  a  happy  one,  to  which  her  last  dying  words  bear  testi- 
mony. Her  last  words  spoken  to  her  husband  were:  '  Solomon,  I  am  going 
to  die,  When  we  lived  together  we  had  a  happy  life,  but  the  last  three  years 
it  was  nothing  but  sorrow  and  grief  for  both  of  us,  but  now  comes  the  crown 
of  joy  and  everlasting  life  in  dear  Jesus.'  Oh!  what  a  legacy  for  those  left 
behind.  How  beautiful  are  these  words,  words  that  will  never  die.  She 
leaves  to  mourn  her  departure  a  devoted  husband,  three  children,  five  grand- 
children, two  brothers  and  two  sisters  besides  many  dear  friends.  She  was 
a  life-long  member  of  the  Christian  church,  early  giving  her  heart  to  God, 
being  in  every  way  a  most  earnest  member  of  the  St.  Paul  Reformed  church 
of  South  Colon.  She  was  not  simply  a  member  by  name,  for  her  Christianity 
meant  far  more  than  that.  Her  Christian  life  and  spirit  were  manifested 
each  day  in  the  Savior  whom  she  loved.  No  better  example  could  be  given 
other  than  her  beautiful  life  and  character  as  it  was  acted  out  day  by  day. 
Her  amiable  disposition  and  her  wise  and  good  counsels,  will  never  die.  For 
the  past  three  years  she  has  been  greatly  missed,  not  only  in  her  home,  but 
from  the  church  and  community.  How  many  times  she  was  wished  back 
home.  God,  in  His  wise  providence,  saw  otherwise  and  finally  called  her 
home.  She  is  now  waiting  to  greet  you,  one  and  all,  on  the  other  shore. 
May  we  so  live,  so  emulate  her  life  and  character  in  Jesus,  that  by  and  by 
we  may  all  meet  to  part  no  more.  The  fimeral  services  were  conducted  bv 
her  pastor,  Rev.  H.  S.  Nicholson,  who  spoke  words  of  comfort  to  a  verv 
large  concourse  of  people  from  the  126  Ps.,  5 :  '  They  that  sow  in  tears  shall 
reap  in  joy.'  Her  body  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  cemetery  by  the  St.  Paul 
Reformed  church  to  await  the  glorious  resurrection.     Peace  to  her  ashes. 

"  I  do  not  ask,  O  Lord,  that  life  may  be 

A  pleasant  road; 
I  do  not  ask  that  Thou  would  take  from  me 

Aught  of  its  load. 
I  do  not  ask  that  flowers  should  ahvays  spring 

Beneath  my  feet; 
I  know  too  well  the  poison  and  the  sting 

Of  things  too  sweet. 

"For  one  thing  otily,  Lord.  I  plead; 
Lead  me  aright; 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  '  791 

Though  strength  should  faher  and  heart  bleed, 

Through  peace  to  light. 
I  do  not  ask,  O  Lord,  that  Thou  shouldsf  shed 

Full  radiance  here; 
Give  but  a  ray  of  peace,  that  I  may  tread 

Without  a  fear. 

"  I  do  not  seek  my  cross  to  understand, 

My  way  to  see. 
Better  in  darkness  just  to  feel  Thv  hand 

And  follow  Thee. 
Joy  is  Hke  restless  days,  but  peace  Divine 

Like  quiet  night. 
Lead  me,  O  Lord,  till  perfect  day  shall  shine 

Through  peace  to  light." 

Solomon  Yeatter  was  formerly  a  member  of  the  Greenback  party,  but 
is  now  a  Republican.  He  has  never  cared  for  office  holding,  preferring  to 
devote  his  life  to  his  individual  business  interests.  He  belongs  to  the  Dutch 
Reform  church,  of  which  his  wife  was  also  an  adherent.  He  has  lived  a 
most  honorable  life  and  has  stood  four-square  to  the  world.  His  life  has 
been  such  that  his  children  have  been  taught  thereby  lessons  of  honesty  and 
integrity.  His  wife  was  one  of  those  kind  and  affectionate  mothers  whose 
admonitions  will  ever  be  remembered  by  her  loving  children. 

Sydney  E.  Yeatter  was  reared  and  educated  in  St.  Joseph  county,  Mich- 
igan. He  acquired  a  good  common-school  education  and  also  attended  the 
Colon  high  school,  after  which  he  became  a  student  in  the  Northern  Indiana 
Normal  School  at  \''?.lpara!so,  Indiana.  He  won  a  teacher's  certificate  and 
taught  for  one  term  in  St.  Joseph  county. 

Mr.  Yeatter  wedded  Miss  Katie  J.  Dean,  December  24,  1889,  and  three 
children,  two  sons  and  a  daughter,  have  been  borp  unto  them,  while  two  are 
yet  living.  Ralph  E.,  the  elder,  is  in  the  third  grade  in  school.  Celia  K. 
is  the  sunbeam  of  the  home  circle.  Mrs.  Yeatter  was  born  in  St.  Joseph 
county,  Michigan,  December  16,  1871,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Hattie 
(Livermore)  Dean.  There  were  four  children  in  the  Dean  family,  three  sons 
and  a  daughter,  and  all  are  yet  living:  Harry,  who  was  educated  in  the 
Colon  schools  and  is  an  agriculturist  residing  in  Colon  township;  Mrs.  Yeat- 
ter, who  is  the  second  in  order  of  birth;  Clyde,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the 
Michigan  Agricultural  College  of  the  class  of  1901,  and  is  now  residing  in 
Minneapolis,  Minnesota,  where  he  is  engaged  in  business  as  a  civil  engineer; 
and  Olney  J.,  who  was  educated  in  the  Michigan  Agricultural  College,  com- 
pleting the  course  as  an  alumnus  of  1903,  his  home  being  now  in  Chicago, 
where  he  is  also  a  civil  engineer. 

Joseph  Dean,  father  of  this  family,  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  born 
August  23,  1840,  and  his  death  occurred  June  10,  1897.  He  followed  the 
ocatpation  of  farming,  was  a  .soldier  of  the  Civil  war,  participated  actively 
in  many  battles,   and  afterward  received  an  honorable  discbarge.     He  was 


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792  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

but  a  boy  when  his  parents  came  to  St.  Joseph  county,  and  almost  his  entire 
life  was  spent  in  Michigan.  In  politics  he  was  a  stalwart  Republican  and 
was  a  member  of  Henry  M.  Liddle  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  at  Colon,  Michigan.  He 
and  his  wife  were  members  of  the  Evangelical  church.  Mrs.  Dean  is  a  native 
of  Michigan  and  is  residing  in  St.  Joseph  county  at  the  age  of  sixty  years. 

Mrs.  Yeatter  was  reared  in  St.  Joseph  county  and  was  educated  in  the  . 
Colon  public  schools.  After  obtaining  her  teacher's  certificate  she  taught  one 
year  and  she  has  also  received  instruction  in  music.  She  is  a  lady  of  true 
grace  and  cordial  greeting  and  her  interest  centers  in  her  home  and  family. 

It  was  in  the  spring  of  1889  that  Mr.  Yeatter  purchased  sixty  acres  of 
good  land  in  Matteson  township,  and  lias  since  added  sixty  acres  more.  He 
and  his  wife  located  on  this  land  in  February,  1890,  and  his  attention  has 
since  been  given  to  general  agricultural  pursuits  and  stock-raising.  He  has 
made  a  specialty  of  Shropshire  sheep  and  Berkshire  swine,  and  his  breeding 
stock  is  all  registered.  He  built  a  large  barn,  thirty-twto  by  seventy-six  feet, 
in  1903,  and  in  1906  expects  to  build  a  large  sheep  bam,  thirty  by  forty-eight 
feet.  He  is  also  a  stockholder  in  the  Colon  Creamery,  an  enterprise  which 
pays  well  on  the  investment. 

Mr.  Yeatter  is  a  Republican,  casting  his  first  presidential  ballot  for  Ben- 
jamin Harrison,  He  is  a  friend  of  the  public  schools  and  was  school  inspector 
for  four  years.  He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  at  Colon,  and  they  have  always  contributed  their  share  toward  all 
worthy  benefactions.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Yeatter  are  yoimg  people,  belong- 
ing to  excellent  families,  who  stand  high  in  the  estimation  of  all,  and  we  are 
pleased  to  present  this  full  record  of  their  lives  to  the  readers  of  this  volume. 
Their  beautiful  home  is  known  as  The  Pines. 

MR.  AND  MRS.  SETH  KING. 

Widely  known  throughout  this  county,  as  well  as  through  a  goodly 
portion  of  southern  Michigan,  are  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seth  King,  the  latter  being 
more  generally  known  as  Mrs.  Emily  D.  King.  For  many  years  they  have 
been  residents  of  the  township  of  Butler,  where  they  still  retain  a  fine  farm, 
although  during  the  past  year  they  have  lived  upon  another  place  on  section 
twelve,  Girard  township,  in  order  that  they  might  be  near  their  children. 

Mr.  Seth  King  was  bom  in  Monroe  county,  New  York,  April  6,  1832, 
his  father  being  Henry  King,  a  native  of  Wheatland,  Monroe  county,  New 
York,  where  he  was  born  Febmary  14,  1804.  The  King  family  was  one 
of  importance  in  the  Empire  state,  its  members  being  prominent  in  posses- 
sion of  position  and  considerable  property.  The  paternal  grandfather  of 
our  subject  at  one  time  owned  thousands  of  acres  of  land  upon  which  the 
city  of  Rochester  was  afterward  built.  Henry  King's  first  wife  was  a 
Miss  Skinner,  by  whom  he  had  one  child,  Mary  King  Cooper,  who  died 
while  a  resident  of  Calhoun  county,  Michigan,  in  1898.  Mrs.  King  died 
in  New  York  state  and  Mr.  King  was  again  married,  his  second  choice  being 
Cynthia  Rose,  a  native  of  Cayuga  county.  New  York,  to  whom  he  was  united 
in  Monroe  county.     Nine  children  were  bom  to  them,  as   follows :     Sarah 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANXH  COUNTY  793 

King,  who  died  in  New  York  when  four  years  old :  Ehzabeth  King  Findley, 
now  hving  in  Clarendon,  Michigan;  Mehssa  King  FarweU,  of  Qiiincy, 
Michigan;  Seth  King,  of  Girard;  Helen  King  Lampman,  of  Quincy,  Mich- 
igan; Albert  King,  of  Butler;  Bertha  King  Farwell,  who  died  a  number  of 
years  ago  at  Hudson,  Michigan;  Sophronia  King  Harmon,  of  Clarendon, 
Michigan;  and  Gilbert  King,  of  Girard. 

Mr.  Henry  King  and  his  family  came  to  Michigan  in  1847  and  located 
first  in  Calhoun  county,  where  fhey  lived  for  several  years.  In  1854  they 
came  to  Branch  county,  where  Mr.  King  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days. 
Although  always  a  farmer,  nevertheless  he  engaged  in  various  other  enter- 
prises and  with  his  sons  conducted  a  blast  furnace  near  Quincy,  this  county, 
using  the  so-called  bog-ore  found  in  this  vicinity.  This  was  one  of  the  very 
first  blast  furnaces  in  the  interior  of  the  state  and  was  a  flourishing  indus- 
try in  those  days,  although  now  superseded  by  the  larger  concerns  in  north- 
ern Michigan.  After  a  long  life  of  usefulness,  Mr.  King  died  in  Butler  in 
1890,   his   estimable   wife  passing  away   a   number  of  years   previously,   in 

Mr.  Seth  King  was  about  sixteen  years  of  age  when  he  came  with  his 
parents  from  New  York  to  Michigan.  He  was  associated  in  business  with 
his  father  until  he  was  twenty-three  years  old,  and  May  14,  1S54,  he  was 
married  in  Homer,  Michigan,  to  Miss  Emily  D.  Card,  a  native  of  Lake 
county,  Indiana,  where  she  was  born  August  30,  1837.  Her  father  was 
Allen  Card,  a  native  of  New  York  state.  He  was  married  to  Eliza  John'- 
son,  who  was  born  near  Brockport,  New  York.  The  father  died  in  1840, 
leaving  his  widow  with  one  child,  Emily  D,  Soon  thereafter  the  family 
experienced  a  most  tragic  accident  whereby  Mrs.  Card  and  her  three-months- 
old  infant  son,  Silas,  born  after  the  death  of  his  father,  were  terribly  burned, 
the  infant  dying  from  the  effect,  while  the  mother  was  so  terribly  injured 
that  she  remained  a  helpless  invalid  for  the  remainder  of  her  life.  She  died 
September  29,  1885,  and  during  these  forty  odd  years  of  suffering  she  was 
tenderly  cared  for  by  her  daughter.  Emily,  subject  of  this  sketch.  During 
a  portion  of  this  time  the  mother  was  also  hopelessly  insane,  and  but  faintly 
can  it  be  comprehended  what  trials  the  faithful  daughter  passed  through. 

After  the  marriage  of  Seth  King  and  Emily  D.  Card  they  lived  in  Cal- 
houn county  and  various  portions  of  Branch  county,  while  for  thirteen  years 
thev  were  residents  of  Iowa.  Tliey  returned  to  Michigan  and  Branch  county 
in  '1880,  since  which  time  their  home  has  been  principally  in  Butler.  Mr. 
King  served  in  the  Civil  war,  enlisting  at  Marshall,  Michigan,  Ai^ust  16, 
J864,  in  Company  A,  Twenty-eighth  Michigan  Infantry,  and  was  with  Gen- 
eral Thomas  in  Tennessee,  and  also  sent  with  his  regiment  to  meet  Sher- 
man at  Goldsboro,  North  Carolina.  He  was  discharged  in  June  of  1865. 
Since  the  war  Mr.  King  has  followed  farming  as  a  pursuit.  Nme  children 
have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs,  King,  as  follows:  Adell  was  born  in  Al- 
bion, Michigan,  April  12,  1855,  and  died  at  the  age  of  four  months.  Edith 
King  Adams  was  born  in  Branch  county,  June  8.  1856,  and  now  lives  in 
Clarendon.  Edwin  F.  King  was  born  in  Butler  September  24.  1858,  and 
was  married  to  Minerva  Lindsley.     They  have  three  children,  Edna,  Lester 


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794  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

and  Ellery.  Edna  C.  King  was  born  jn  Pnlaski,  Michigan,  July  13,  i860, 
and  died  August  28th  of  the  following  year,  aged  thirteen  months.  Alma 
King  Shafer  was  born  in  Butler  August  2,  1862,  and  died  May  18,  1897,  at 
the  age  of  thirty-four  years.  She  left  two  children,  Harry  and  Iva  Shafer, 
who  are  cared  for  by  their  relatives  in  Girard.  Myron  L.  King  was  born 
in  Clarendon  April  8,  1864,  and  is  married  to  Luva  Lindsay.  They  have 
two  sons,  Ernest  and  Bertrand  King.  Mary  E.  King  was  born  in  Iowa, 
May  13,  1870.  Bertrand  A.  King  was  born  in  Iowa,  July  30,  1871,  and 
died  January  26,  1873.  Myrtle  King  Morrii!  was  bom  in  Iowa  May  15, 
1874,  and  now  lives  in  Onsted,  Michigan,  she  having  one  daughter,  Zenda. 
Early  in  the  fifties  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seth  King  began  an  investigation  of 
modern  spiritualism  and  after  a  thorough  search,  coupled  with  untiring  study 
and  careful  demonstrations,  they  became  fully  convinced  that  this  is  the  true 
faith,  and  they  are  today  most  able  exponents  of  this  belief.  Both  are  con- 
scientious to  a  marked  degree,  thoroughly  incapable  of  deceit,  and  they  pos- 
sess that  charity  and  broad-mindedness  which  makes  them  true  lovers  of 
their  fellow  beings.  Mrs.  King  possesses  undoubted  mediumistic  powers 
and  for  the  past  eighteen  years  she  has  been  a  speaker  by  inspiration.  She 
is  an  eloquent,  logical  and  convicing  speaker  and  her  services  are  in  great 
demand  throughout  southern  Michigan,  where  she  has  thousands  of  warm 
persona!  friends,  as  well  as  admirers.  She  has  been  the  means  of  the  up- 
building of  spiritualism  in  this  section  and  is  the  president-  and  pastor  of 
the  Spiritualists'  Society  of  Branch  county,  an  organization  chartered  under 
the  laws  of  the  state  of  Michigan,  and  with  a  constantly  growing  member- 
ship. With  her  innumerable  household  duties  and  the  many  cares  which 
have  filled  Mrs.  King's  life,  it  seems  incredible  that  she  could  have  found 
time  to  fit  herself  for  her  present  position  as  a  public  speaker,  especially  as 
the  circumstances  of  her  early  life  precluded  the  opportunity  for  even  a 
meager  education.  In  fact,  Mrs.  King  avers  that  she  has  made  no  such 
preparation,  and  that  she  attributes  her  powers  entirely  to  spiritualistic  con- 
trol. Indeed,  it  can  be  accounted  for  in  no  other  manner.  Mrs.  King  is  a 
lady  of  intelligence  and  rare  insight  and  she  seems  to  be  imbued  with  a 
desire  to  benefit  mankind.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  King  are  held  in  the  highest  regard 
in  the  section  where  the  greater  portion  of  their  lives  has  been  passed,  while 
they  have  many  warm  friends  in  various  portions  of  the  state  where  Mrs. 
King  has  so  often  been  called.  The  King  family  is  a  large  one  in  Branch 
county,  where  its  members  are  highly  respected,  and  their  annual  family 
reunions  call  together  hundreds  of  the  relatives  for  a  day  of  communion 
and  pleasure. 

MRS.  MARY  MANN  WILLIAMS. 

Mrs.  Mary  Mann  Williams  is  a  worthy  descendant  of  pioneer  families 
of  Girard  township  and  Branch  county  and  is  now  occupying  a  comfortable 
home  at  Girard  Center.  She  represents  a  family  long  prominent  in  the 
annals  of.  this  section  of  the  state  and  the  work  of  improvement  and  up- 
building has  been  greatly  conserved  by  her  ancestors.  Her  father,  Peter 
I.  Mann,  was  bom  in  Schoharie  coimty,  New  York,  February  27,  1815,  and 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  795 

was  a  son  of  Jacob  W.  Mann,  whose  birth  occurred  in  the  same  county  on 
the  13th  of  February,  1789.  The  latter  was  married  to  Miss  Polly  Shan- 
non, likewise  a  native  of  Schoharie  county,  bom  March  i,  1798.  Four  chil- 
dren had  been  bom  to  them  ere  their  removal  to  Michigan  in  1836.  Their 
remaining-  days  were  passed  in  Girard  township,  where  the  father  departed 
this  life  February  19,  1846,  while  his  wife  passed  away  October  5,  1886,  at 
a  very  advanced  age.  They  were  indeed  worthy  pioneer  settlers  of  the 
locality  and  during  the  period  of  his  residence  here  Jacob  W.  Mann  took 
an  active  and  helpful  part  in  reclaiming  this  district  for  the  uses  of  the 
white  man  and  introducing  here  all  the  methods  and  conveniences  of  the 
older  civilization  of  the  east. 

Peter  I,  Mann  was  reared  amid  the  environments  of  pioneer  life,  as- 
sisted in  the  development  of  the  new  home  farm  in  the  west  and  eventually 
bcame  one  of  the  wealthy  and  influential  residents  of  Girard  township.  He 
was  married  January  13,  1842.  to  Miss  Lavina  Grove,  whose  parents  were 
Peter  and  Elizabeth  (Putnam)  Grove.  Eight  children  graced  this  mar- 
riage, of  whom  three  died  in  infancy,  while  Nina  passed  away  at  the  age 
of  sixteen  years,  about  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago.  Tliose  who  still  sur- 
vive are:  Mark  H.  and  Jacob  W.  Mann,  both  well  known  agriculturists  of 
Girard  township;  Mrs.  Belinda  Hurst,  who  is  living  in  Coldwater;  and  Mrs. 
Williams  of  this  review.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peter  I,  Mann  remained  for  many 
years  valued  and  respected  residents  of  Girard  township  and  their  loss  was 
the  occasion  of  deep  and  widespread  regret  throughout  the  community.  The 
death  of  Mr.  Mann  occurred  January  8,  189.7,  while  his  wife  departed  this 
life  October  7,  1890. 

Their  daughter  Mary  was  bom  in  Girard  township,  October  21,  1844, 
and  has  spent  her  entire  life  here.  In  her  girlhood  days  she  attended  the 
public  schools  and  was  trained  to  the  duties  of  the  household,  and  on  the 
2nd  of  May,  1869,  she  gave  her  hand  in  marriage  to  John  B.  Williams,  a 
native  of  Livingston  cotinty.  New  York,  born  March  30,  1835.  At  an  early 
day  he  came  to  Michigan  and  for  many  years  was  one  o£  the  esteemed  citi- 
zens of  this  locahty.  During  a  large  part  of  his  residence  here  he  devoted 
his  time  and  energies  to  merchandising  in  Girard,  and  became  known  as 
one  of  the  representative  and  respected  citizens  of  his  community.  He  oc- 
cupied an  enviable  nosition  in  the  regard  of  his  fellow  townsmen,  who  fre- 
quentlv  called  him  to  positions  of  pvibUc  trust  and  responsibihty.  He  served 
as  supervisor,  as  township  clerk,  township  treasurer  and  as  justice  of  the 
peace  for  many  consecutive  years  and  his  duties  were  ever  discharged  "with 
promptness  and  fidelity.  He  was  a  leading  member  and  active  worker  in 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Girard  and  in  this  respect  as  well  as  in 
other  relations  of  life  found  in  his  wife  a  faithful  helpmate,  for  their  influ- 
ence was  ever  given  for  the  betterment  of  the  community.  Mr.  Williams 
died  June  24,  1905,  and  his  loss  was  deeply  deplored  by  many  who  had 
come  to  know,  respect  and  honor  him  for  his  genuine  personal  worth. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams  were  parents  of  two  children,  both  of  whom  are 
living.  Glenn  Alton  Williams,  born  March  3,  1874,  continued  his  educa- 
tion in  Albion  College  at  Albion,  Michigan,  and  in  the  Northern   Indiana 


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796  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Normal  School  at  Valparaiso.  With  this  exception  his  entire  life  has  been 
passed  in  Girard  and  he  is  now  accounted  one  of  the  prosperous  young 
farmers  of  the  township.  He  was  married  November  19,  1903,  to  Anna 
Wiggins,  who  was  born  in  Girard,  February  19,  :88i,  her  parents  being 
Frank  and  Annette  (Whitmore)  Wiggins.  Her  fathei;  died  in  October, 
1893,  but  her  mother  is  still  living  in  Girard  township.  Gienn  WilHams, 
prominent  in  community  affairs,  served  as  township  treasurer  in  1903-4, 
and  fraternally  he  is  affiliated  with  Coldwater  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  while  he 
and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Girard  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  They 
have  a  comfortable  home  on  section  fifteen,  Girard  township  and  are  very 
popular  in  the  community.  Ada  Williams,  daughter  of  Mrs.  Mary  Will- 
iams, is  at  present  local  manager  of  the  Girard  exchange  of  the  Wolverine 
Telephone  Company  and  makes  her  home  with  her  mother  at  their  com- 
fortable and  hospitable  residence  in  Girard  Center.  She  was  wedded  to  Mr. 
Thomas  J.  Hubbard,  of  La  MoilJe.  Illinois.  He  was  bom  and  reared  in 
Bureau  county,  Illinois,  and  was  one  of  the  firm  of  Hubbard  Brothers,  who 
were  engaged  for  a  number  of  years  in  a  wood  working  plant.  Hubbard 
Brothers,  formerly  of  La  MoiUe,  Illinois,  are  now  located  at  Abington,  Illinois. 
The  names  of  Mann  and  Williams  have  for  many  years  been  intimately  asso- 
ciated with  the  history  of  Girard  township  and  their  descendants  iiave  just 
reason  to  be  proud  of  what  has  been  accomplished  by  those  who  have  borne 
the  names. 

IRA  DUFUR. 

Ira  Dufur,  living  retired  on  section  nine,  Union  township,  is  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  Branch  county.  He  was  born  in  Lower  Canada,  in  the  town 
of  Sutton,  April  26,  1832.  His  father,  Noah  Dufur,  was  a  native  of  New 
Hampshire,  and  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  He  came  to  Branch  county  in 
1846.  settling  in  Algansee,  where  he  purchased  a  tract  of  land,  giving  his 
attention  to  its  cultivation  and  improvement  throughout  the  remainder  of 
his  active  business  career,  but  his  last  years  were  spent  in  honorable  retire- 
ment from  labor,  and  he  died  in  Coldwater  in  his  seventy-eighth  year.  In 
early  manhood  he  married  Miss  Polly  Bryant,  a  native  of  Lower  Canada, 
who  lived  to  be  forty-nine  years  of  age.  In  their  family  were  eight  children, 
five  daughters  and  three  sons,  all  of  whom  reached  adult  age. 

Ira  Dufur,  the  eldest  of  the  family,  was  a  youth  of  fourteen  years  when 
he  came  whh  his  parents  to  Branch  county.  He  was  but  two  and  a  half  years 
of  age  when  the  father  took  his  family  from  Canada  to  Ohio,  and  there  lie  at- 
tended the  district  schools  of  Loraine  county  until  he  came  to  Branch  county, 
where  he  continued  his  studies  in  the  public  schools  of  Algansee  township. 
When  not  busy  with  his  text  hooks  he  worked  in  the  fields  and  early  became 
familiar  with  the  best  methods  of  tilling  the  soil  and  caring  for  the  crops. 
As  an  incident  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Dufur  as  a  pioneer  in  Branch  county  it  may 
be  mentioned  that  he  ofttimes  was  sent  by  his  parents  after  the  cows,  which 
browsed  in  the  forests  or  bushes.  One  day  when  he  was  in  quest  of  them 
he  thought  he  saw  two  little  fawns  and  secreted  himself  in  the  brash,  and  as 
they  came  up  he  sprang  out  and  caught  them  by  the  hind  legs  and  took  them 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  T97 

home.  Tliey  became  domesticated  and  woukl  follow  him  about  the  premises 
like  a  dog.  This  incident  is  merely  given  as  showing  the  virginity  of  Branch 
county  as  he  first  knew  it.  He  remained  at  home  until  twenty-three  years 
of  age,  assisting  in  clearing  the  farm,  and  on  December  12,  1855,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sophia  Lawrence.  He  then  started  out  in  life 
on  his  own  account.  Mrs.  Dufiir  was  born  in  Cahfornia  township,  Branch 
county,  her  people  being  pioneer  settlers  of  this  portion  of  the  state.  After 
a  happy  married  life  of  several  years  she  passed  away,  leaving  three  chil- 
dren: Lyman  E.,  who  is  a  farmer  of  Sherwood  township;  Byron  H.,  wno  is 
living  in  Denver,  Colorado;  and  EJoise,  the  wife  of  Morris  Cox  of  Union 
City.  After  losing  his  first  wife  Mr.  Dufur  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Sarah  Hobbs.  and  they  have  two  children,  hut  one  died  in  early  childhood. 
The  other  is  Charles,  who  is  a  resident  of  Manistee,  Michigan,  and  an  elec- 
trician by  occupation.  Mrs.  Dufur  was  born  in  Quincy,  Branch  county,  Janu- 
ary 5,  1842,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Benjamin  P.  anB  Jane  (Shay)  Hobbs. 
There  were  five  children,  two  sons  and  three  daughters,  and  three  are  living : 
Mary,  wife  of  James  Lyons,  a  resident  of  Eaton  county,  a  farmer;  Mrs.  Du- 
fur; and  Charles  M.,  a  resident  of  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa,  who  is  engaged  in 
railroading,  and  married  Miss  Mattie  Williams.  Father  Hobbs  was  boni 
in  Pennsylvania  in'iSii,  and  died  in  1902.  He  was  reared  in  New  York, 
and  came  to  Michigan  at  an  early  day.  He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  but 
an  agriculturist  by  vocation.  He  was  formerly  a  Whig  and  afterwards  a 
Republican.  He  was  a  well  educated  gentleman,  having  a  college  education, 
and  was  a  strong  factor  in  the  settlement  of  a  new  country.  He  and  his  wife 
were  both  teachers  and  members  of  the  Methodist  church,  and  he  was  a 
strong  advocate  of  temperance,  having  held  the  first  supper  in  a  "  losing 
bee"  without  the  use  of  whisky,  then  so  common.  The  mother  was  born 
in  New  York  in  1814,  and  died  during  the  Civil  war.  She  was  reared  in 
New  York. 

After  his  first  marriage  Mr.  Dufur  located  in  Algansee  township,  where 
he  purchased  and  cultivated  a  farm  of  fifty  acres,  making  his  home  thereon 
for  ten  years,  when  he  sold  that  property  and  bought  a  farm  of  ninety  acres 
on  section  twenty-one,  Union  township.  He  then  made  that  place  his  home 
until  about  1S90,  when  he  bought  a  little  farm  of  ten  acres  on  section  nine 
near  the  corporation  limits  of  Union  City.  He  rents  his  land, .  while  he  lives 
retired,  enjoying  a  rest  to-  which  he  is  entitled  because  of  his  activity  and 
energy  in  former  years. 

Mr.  Dufur  has  supported  the  Democratic  party  at  many  elections,  but 
he  also  voted  for  Peter  Cooper,  and  his  last  presidential  vote  was  cast  for 
the  candidate  of  the  Prohibition  party.  He  has  long  been  interested  in  pol- 
itics, has  frequently  attended  the  county,  district  and  congressional  conven- 
tions, and  has  always  kept  well  informed  on  the  issues  and  questions  which 
divide  the  nation  into  great  political  organizations.  He  and  his  wife  belong 
to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Union  City,  and  his  life  has  been  in  har- 
mony with  his  principles.  He  has  ever  favored  educational  and  philanthropic 
measures  and  stood  as  the  champion  of  everything  that  is  right  and  just  be- 
tween man  and  his  fellowmaii.     His  residence  in  Branch  county  covers  fifty- 


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798  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

eight  years,  and  therefore  he  is  one  of  its  worthy  old  settlers  who  has  an  inti- 
mate knowledge  of  the  growth  of  the  county,  the  transformation  that  has 
been  wrought  here  and  of  pioneer  conditions,  as  well  as  of  later  day  progress. 
He  has  now  passed  the  seventy-third  milestone  on  life's  journey  and  he  re- 
ceives the  resp.ect  and  veneration  which  should  ever  be  accorded  one  of  ad- 
vanced years. 

DAVID  FOX. 

David  Fox,  a  well-known  representative  of  agricultural  interests  living 
in  Girard  township,  was  born  on  the  lOth  of  January,  1845,  in  the  village  of 
Girard.  His  father,  Backus  Fox,  was  a  native  of  PenfieM,  New  York,  and 
became  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Branch  county.  Here  he  was  married 
in  Girard  to  Miss  Julia  Williams,  also  a  native  of  Penfield,  whence  she  came 
in  pioneer  times  to  Michigan.  Mr.  Fox  was  a  farmer  by  occupation  and 
took  up  land  from  the  government,  transforming  the  hitherto  wild  and  unim- 
proved tract  into  a  well-cultivated  and  productive  farm.  He  continued  to 
reside  in  Girard  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  in  December. 
1885,  when  he  was  seventy-three  years  of  age.  His  wife  passed  away  in 
Girard  in  1890  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years.  In  their  family  were  eleven 
children,  six  sons  and  five  daughters,  all  of  whom  reached  manhood  or  woman- 
hood, namely :  Charles,  who  died  while  serving  in  the  Union  army ;  Myron, 
who  also  gave  his  life  in  defense  of  his  country  in  the  Civil  war;  Mrs.  Martha 
Van  Blarcon,  of  Girard,  deceased;  Edwin  P.,  who  is  a  resident  of  Cold^ 
water;  Lyman,  of  Girard;  Franklin,  of  Girard;  Mrs.  Philia  Amelia  Bake, 
of  Kalamazoo,  Michigan;  Mrs.  Clara  Driggs,  of  Chicago,  Illinois;  Mrs.  Mary 
Colson,  of  Kalkaska,  Michigan;  Mrs.  Marian  Wilder,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio; 
and  David,  of  this  review.  Four  of  the  brothers  were  soldiers  of  the  Civil 
war. 

David  Fox  was  reared  upon  the  old  family  homestead  in  Girard  town- 
ship, and  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war,  when  only  sixteen  years  of  age,  he 
enlisted  in  his  country's  service  in  Branch  county  in  response  to  the  call  for 
three  months'  troops,  becoming  a  member  of  Company  C,  First  Michigan 
Infantry,  He  was  discharged  August  27,  1861,  but  immediately  re-enlisted 
in  Company  E  of  the  same  regiment  for  three  years.  On  the  expiration  of 
that  term  he  was  discharged  October  i,  1864,  but  on  the  25th  of  March,  1865, 
once  more  joined  the  army  for  six  months'  service  as  a  member  of  Company 
K,  Fifteenth  Michigan  Infantry.  Thus  he  was  in  the  army  for  almost  four 
years,  and  he  made  a  most  creditable  military  record,  taking  part  in  many  im- 
portant engagements,  in  which  he  displayed  his  valor  and  loyalty. 

Following  the  close  of  hostilities  Mr.  Fox  went  to  California  in  the  spring 
of  1868  and  remained  upon  a  ranch  there  until  the  fall  of  1872,  when  he  re- 
turned to  Girard,  where  he  has  since  resided.  He  now  owns  and  operates  a 
valuable  farm  of  one  hundred  acres  on  section  eleven.  This  is  improved  with 
good  buildings  and  all  modern  equipments.  He  uses  the  best  machinery  to 
cultivate  the  fields  and  care  for  the  crops  and  hia  farm  in  every  department  is 
neat  and  thrifty,  indicating  his  careful  supervision  and  progressive  spirit. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  799 

He  has  a  comfortable  home,  tastefully  furnished  and  its  hospitality  is  one  of 
its  attractive  features. 

On  the  15th  of  March,  1868,  Mr.  Fox  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Adelaide  OJney.  a  daughter  of  Jesse  and  Betsy  (Fox)  Olney,  who  were 
also  pioneer  residents  of  Girard  township.  Unto  our  subject  and  his  wife 
have  been  born  a  son  and  daughter:  Jessie  C,  who  was  born  in  California, 
April  22,  1869,  wedded  Amos  Johnson,  and  they  have  two  sons,  Hugh  and 
Teen;  they  reside  in  Chicago;  and  Myron,  who  was  born  in  Girard,  Novem- 
ber 19,  1876,  and  married  Belle  Ostrom,  by  whom  he  has  one  daughter, 
Margorie  Belle.     He  lives  in  Girard. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fox  are  devoted  members  of  the  Girard  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church,  and  he  belongs  to  Butterworth  Post  No.  106,  G.  A.  R.  of 
Coldwater.  The  ranks  of  Civi!  war  soldiers  are  fast  being  decimated  as 
one  after  another  answers  the  last  roll  call.  Mr.  Fox  is  among  the  few  who 
remain  to  tell  the  story  of  the  long  struggle  for  t!ie  supremacy  of  the  Union, 
and  few  indeed  are  those  who  made  as  creditable  a  record,  for  during  almost 
four  years  he  was  on  active  duty,  never  faltering  in  his  defense  of  the  old 
flag.  At  all  times  he  has  been  equally  loyal  to  his  country  and  her  welfare 
and  the  community  in  which  he  now  lives  recognizes  him  as  a  representative 
and  valued  citizen. 

THOMAS  DEXTER. 

Nearly  all  of  the  sturdy  pioneers  who  came  from  New  York  and  other 
eastern  states  to  Michigan  in  the  early  thirties,  forties  and  fifties,  and  braved 
all  the  hardships  and  privations  incident  to  life  in  a  new  country,  have  passed 
away.  Theirs  were  lives  filled  with  arduous  labors  and  stirring  incidents,  and 
to  them  is  the  present  generation  greatly  indebted  for  many  of  the  privileges 
and  blessings  now  enjoyed.  Many  of  these  pioneers  came  here  when  they 
were  young  men,  and  they  grew  to  manhood  here,  rearing  families  of 
children  and  making  for  themseh'es  permanent  homes  here,  where  they  have 
passed  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  Living  as  they  did  all  through  the  vari- 
ous stages  of  development  of  this  section,  their  personal  history  is  almost 
identical  with  the  history  of  the  section  where  their  lives  have  been  passed. 
One  of  these  pioneers  is  the  gentleman  named  above,  who  has  been  a  con- 
tinuous resident  of  the  township  of  Butler  since  1852,  and  who  has  wit- 
nessed all  of  the  changes  and  improvements  which  have  taken  place  here 
during  that  period. 

Mr.  Thomas  Dexter  is  a  native  of  Norfolk,  England,  where  he  was  bom 
November  16,  1829.  Mr.  Dexter  was  only  seventeen  years  of  age  when  he 
decided  to  try  his  fortunes  in  America,  where  two  of  his  brothers  had  gone 
ten  years  previously.  He  accordingly  made  the  journey  in  the  primitive 
manner  of  the  times,  and  eventually  reached  Orleans  county,  New  York,  in 
1847,  where  his  brothers  had  located.  Thomas  Dexter's  father  was  Golden 
Dexter  and  his  mother  was  Sarah  Goose,  both  natives  of  England,  where  they 
were  married,  passed  their  entire  lives  and  where  they  died.  They  were 
the  parents  of  six  children,  as  follows:  Robert  died  in  Orleans  county. 
New  York,     John  died  in  Whitewater,  Wisconsin.     James  died  in  England. 


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800  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Phyllis  Dexter  Myhil!  is  still  living  and  a  resident  of  Orleans  county,  New 
York.  Mary  Dexter  Bargewell  still  lives  in  England.  All  of  the  members 
of  the  De^fter  family  have  lived  fo  be  over  seventy  years  of  age,  they  being 
noted  for  their  logevity.  and  all  have  been  industrious  people. 

Our  subject,  Thomas  Dexter,  began  labor  as  soon  as  he  was  located  in 
Orleans  county,  New  York,  principally  upon  the  farm.  His  first  summer's 
work  resulted  in  his  saving  forty  dollars,  and  the  second  summer  saw  sixty 
dollars  additional  saved.  With  this  capital  of  one-  hundred  dollars  the  young 
man,  to  quote  his  present  words,  thought  he  was  fully  the  equal  of  John 
Jacob  Astor  or  any  of  the  then  wealthy  men  of  the  country,  and  he  at  once 
placed  the  sum  where  it  would  be  safe,  and  where  it  would  bring  him  good 
interest.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  early  in  life  he  was  filled  with  frugal  and 
saving  ideas  and  that  it  was  his  intention  to  accumulate  property. 

After  a  few  years  spent  in  the  state  of  New  York,  where  he  labored 
assiduously  and  saved  his  earnings,  he  decided  to  join  the  tide  of  emigra- 
tion which  had  been  flowing  from  the  Empire  state  to  Michigan  for  nearly  a 
score  of  years,  and  he  accordingly  made  the  trip  here,  arriving  in  Detroit  in 
1852.  Three  years  previously  Mr.  Dexter  had  gone  as  far  west  as  White- 
water, Wisconsin,  where  he  stayed  only  a  short  time,  afterward  returning 
to  his  former  home  in  New  York.  Our  subject  found  his  way  to  Branch 
county  and  Butler  in  1852.  Here,  during  the  first  few  years  of  his  stay,  he 
worked  by  the  month  and  continued  his  practice  of  saving,  and  he  soon  had 
sufficient  funds  with  which  to  purchase  land  on  section  two,  which  he  has 
since  added  to,  owning  at  one  time  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  thereon. 
This  farm  was  almost  wholly  uncleared  when  purchased  by  Mr.  Dexter,  and 
with  his  own  hands  he  has  made  all  of  the  many  improvements  since.  The 
farm  is  a  fine  one,  with  good  buildings  and  equipped  with  all  of  the  machinery 
necessary  for  its  successful  operation. 

Mr.  Dexter  was  married  in  1863  to  Melissa  McCone,  a  native  of  Living- 
ston county.  New  York,  she  being  the  daughter  of  Isaac  McCone.  They  were 
married  in  Butler  and  five  children  were  born  to  them,  as  follows:  A  son 
Fay  died  in  1898  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  years.  Sarah  Dexter  married 
Fred  Easton.  They  have  four  children,  Neleta,  Pearl,  Thomas  and  Lula,  and 
their  home  is  in  Homer.  Golden  V.  Dexter  married  Eva  Moore  and  he  lives  in 
Butler.  Mary  Dexter  married  Claude  Hinkley  and  their  home  is  in  Girard. 
They  have  three  children:  Floyd,  Ruel  and  Mildred.  Clark  Dexter  married 
Alta  Curtis,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Le  Moyne.  Their  home  is  in  But- 
ler, adjoining  Mr.  Dexter's  farm.     Mrs,  Dexter  passed  away  in  June,  1898. 

Mr.  Dexter  possesses  an  interesting  fund  of  reminiscence  concerning  the 
early  history  of  this  portion  of  the  township  of  Butler,  and  the  many  changes 
which  have  taken  place  here.  When  he  first  came  to  this  place  the  houses 
and  settlers  were  few  and  far  between,  there  were  but  few  school  houses,  no 
church  buildings,  while  the  nearest  postoffice  was  at  Homer,  in  Calhoun 
county.  Of  the  men  who  were  living  here  then  only  two  remain,  Mr.  Dexter 
and  Phillip  Haight,  a  neghbor,  mention  of  whom  is  to  be  found  elsewhere  in 
■  this  volume.  Those  early  days  were  filled  with  hard  labor  and  few,  if  any 
luxuries,  but  nevertheless  a  great  deal  of  solid  enjoyment  was  extracted  from 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  801 

Hfe.  Mr.  Dexter  has  all  his  life  until  within  a  few  years  been  a  hard-working 
man,  and  he  has  prospered  financially,  his  farm  being  one  of  the  best  in  this 
section,  and  where  he  has  a  most  comfortable  hoine.  He  has  now  retired  from 
the  active  operation  of  his  place,  and  he  is  passing  his  declining  days  in  the 
section  which  has  been  the  scene  of  his  life's  labors.  Mr.  Dexter  has  been  a 
Democrat  all  his  life,  and  althotigh  not  an  office  seeker  has  "served  his  dis- 
trict upon  several  occasions  as  an  officer.  He  is  a  man  who  commands  the 
respect  and  esteem  of  his  fellow  townsmen,  all  of  whom  hope  he  has  many 
years  of  usefulness  before  him. 

FRANK  T.  TAPPAN. 

Frank  T.  Tappaii,  prominently  connected  with  the  leading  industrial 
interests  of  Coldwater,  was  the  founder  and  is  now  manager  of  the  Tappan 
Shoe  Manufacturing  Company.  His  life  history  stands  as  an  exemplifica- 
tion of  what  can  be  accomplished  through  determination  of  effort  guided  by 
resolute  will  and  directed  by  sound  judgment,  for  he  started  out  in  life  as  an 
humble  employe,  working  his  way  upward  by  his  close  application,  fidelity 
to  duty  and  improvement  of  the  opportunities  which  uniformly  surround  all 
citizens  of  this  great  republic. 

A  native  of  New  Hampshire,  Mr.  Tappan  was  born  in  the  town  of  Sand- 
wich, April  21,  :858,  and  is  descended  from  an  old  New  England  family  of 
Puritan  stock.  His  early  childhood  and  a  portion  of  his  youth  were  spent 
at  Haverhill  and  at  Lynn,  Massachusetts,  and  when  only  twelve  years  of  age 
he  was  thrown  upon  his  own  resources,  since  which  time  he  has  depended 
entirely  upon  his  labors  for  a  livelihood  and  all  that  he  has  enjoyed  in  life. 
He  began  to  learn  the  shoemaker's  trade  in  Haverhill  and  from  the  age  of 
sixteen  years  has  been  continually  identified  with  the  manufacture  of  shoes. 
In  his  boyhood  days  he  had  limited  educational  advantages,  and  after  going 
to  New  York  city  he  supplemented  his  early  opportunities  by  pursuing  a 
four  years'  course  in  the  night  school  in  Cooper  Union.  He  was  employed  in 
different  shoe  factories  of  New  York  city  for  several  years,  gradually  winning 
promotion  in  recognition  of  his  capability,  after  which  he  becanre  foreman 
of  a  large  manufacturing  plant  of  that  character.  He  was  afterward  super- 
intendent of  shoe  factories  at  various  times  and  places  in  the  middle  west 
and  was  thus  employed  until  1891,  in  which  year  he  established  at  Muncie, 
Indiana,  the  Tappan  Shoe  Manufacturing  Company,  which  was  removed  to 
Coldwater,  Michigan,  in  the  year  1897.  The  business  was  incorporated  under 
the  laws  of  this  state  and  has  become  one  of  the  leading  industrial  concerns 
of  Branch  county.  The  factory  has  a  capacity  of  three  thousand  pairs  of 
shoes  daily,  and  is  one  of  the  largest  houses  in  the  United  States,  dealing 
strictly  with  the  retail  trade,  making  ladies',  misses'  and  children's  shoes.  Un- 
der the  management  of  Mr.  Tappan,  a  gentleman  of  broad  experience,  the 
shoes  made  by  this  company  have  become  celebrated  for  high  qmlity,  a  fine 
grade  of  leather  being  used.  The  factory  is  equipped  with  the  most  modern 
machinery,  and  only  high  class  workmen  are  employed.  The  success,  of  the 
concern  is  due  to  Mr.  Tappan's  thorough  knowledge  of  the  trade,  his  sapient 


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80-2  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

business  qualities,  his  keen  discernment  and  his  thorough  understanding  of 
trade  conditions. 

When  twenty-one  years  of  age  Mr.  Tappan  became  a  Mason,  and  is  now 
a  Knight  Templar  and  a  member  of  the  Mystic  Shrine.  Of  a  pleasant,  genial 
disposition,  he  makes  friends  wherever  he  goes  and  is  held  in  high  esteem  in 
Coidwater,  where  he  has  now  resided  for  eight  years.  His  name  in.  business 
circles  has  become  a  synonym  for  integrity  and  straightforward  dealing.  His 
life  has  been  one  of  continuous  activity,  in  which  has  been  accorded  due  recog- 
nition of  labor,  and  today  he  is  numbered  among  the  substantial  citizens  of 
his  county.  His  interests  are  thoroughly  identified  with  those  of  the  west, 
and  at  all  times  he  i?  ready  to  lend  his  aid  and  co-operation  to  any  movement 
calculated  to  benefit  this  section  of  the  country  or  advance  its  wonderful  devel- 
opment. 

ZELOTES  G.  OSBORN. 

Zelotes  G,  Osborn  was  born  in  Otsego  county.  New  York,  March  5, 
1839.  His  parents,  Ozra  Burr  and  Matilda  (Flint)  Osborn,_  were  both 
natives  of  the  Empire  state.  The  family  is  of  English  lineage  but  has  been 
represented  in  America  through  many  generations.  Ozra  Burr  Osborn  was 
a  phy.sician,  who  devoted  his  life  to  the  practice  of  medicine,  his  death  oc- 
curring in  the  Empire  state  when  his  son  Zelotes  was  about  seventeen  years 
of  age.  In  the  family  were  two  sons,  the  brother  of  our  subject  being  Mar- 
cius  E.  Osborn  of  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin, 

Zelotes  G.  Osborn  was  reared  in  the  state  of  his  nativity,  where  he  ac- 
quired a  fair  Hterary  education,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  soon 
after  the  death  of  his  father,  he  started  out  in  life  on  his  own  account. 
About  that  time  he  came  to  the  west.  His  father  was  the  originator  of 
Osborn  Golden  Ointment  and  to  sell  this  and  other  preparations  Mr.  Osborn 
of  this  review  came  to  Michigan.  He  traveled  all  over  this  part  of  the 
state,  making  Coidwater,  however,  his  headquarters.  It  was  in  1858  that 
he  became  a  resident  of  Branch  county,  where  he  has  since  remained.  He 
was  on  the  road  seUing  medicine  until  1861,  when  he  took  up  his  abode  on 
a  farm  in  Kinderhook  township,  there  carrying  on  agricultural  pursuits  until 
1870.  Tn  that  year  he  opened  a  general  store  at  Kinderhook,  where  he  fol- 
lowed merchandising  until  1882,  when  he  sold  his  business.  In  1880  he  was 
elected  county  register  of  deeds,  was  re-elected  in  1882  and  again  in  1884, 
thus  serving  for  three  terms,  or  six  years.  He  removed  to  Coidwater  in  18S0 
in  order  to  enter  upon  the  duties  of  the  office  and  in  February,  1887,  he 
purchased  a  drug  and  grocery  store  here,  conducting  it  with  success  until 
1899,  when  he  sold  out  and  retired  from  active  business  life.  He  has  long 
been  identified,  however,  with  the  Coidwater  National  Bank  and  was  chosen 
its  vice  president  in  1902.  His  well  directed  labors  in  former  years  brought 
him  a  competency  which  now  makes  possible  his  retirement  and  his  life 
history  stands  in  exemplification  of  the  fact  that  success  is  not  a  matter  of 
genius  but  is  rather  the  outcome  of  clear  judgment,  experience  and  inde- 
fatigable industry. 

In  1859  Mr.  Osborn  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  L.  Stimson, 


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'  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNT^Y  803 

who  was  born  in  Genesee  county,  New  York,  a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  H.  K. 
Stimson,  a  Baptist  clergyman  and  a  well  known  citizen  of  his  section  of  the 
Empire  state.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Osborn  have  but  one  child,  Willis  H.,  who 
is  now  in  the  railway  postal  service.  The  parentis  hold  membership  in  the 
Baptist  church  and  are  very  active  and  helpful  in  its  work.  Mr.  Osborn 
has  been  a  member  of  the  library  board  of  Coldwater  since  1881  and  his 
labors  in  behalf  of  community  affairs  have  been  far-reaching  and  beneficial. 
While  living  in  Kinderhook  he  served  for  eighteen  years  as  postmaster  and 
he  also  held  various  township  offices.  In  politics  he  is  a  stanch  Republican 
and  has  been  more  or  less  active  in  pohtical  work,  while  his  comprehensive 
understanding  of  the  questions  and  iss-ues  of  the  day  enables  him  to  support 
his  position  by  intelligent  argument, 

SAMUEL  SCHULTZ,  M.  D. 

Dr.  Samuel  Schultz,  one  of  the  younger  members  of  the  medical  fra- 
ternity of  Coldwater,  was  born  in  Belleville,  Wayne  county,  Michigan,  July 
7,  1S69.  his  parents  being  Jacob  F,  and  Christina  (Schaffer)  Schuhz,  both 
of  whom  were  natives  of  Germany  but  were  brought  to  America  in  child- 
hood and  were  married  in  this  country.  The  father  lived  several  years 
at  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan,  whence  he  removed  to  Belleville,  where  he  has 
resided  continuously  since  1872.  He  is  interested  in  the  manufacture  of 
barrels  there  and  is  a  leading  representative  of  the  industrial  life  of  that 
city.  He  is  also  prominent  and  influential  in  community  affairs  and  served 
for  one  term  as  mayor  of  Lansing,  being  elected  on  the  Republican  ticket, 
in  a  Democratic  city,  a  fact  indicative  of  his  [jersonal  popularity  and  the 
confidence  reposed  in  him  by  his  fellow  townsmen.  In  his  family  were  nine 
children,  one  now  deceased. 

Dr.  Schultz  attended  the  public  schools  of  Lansing,  was  for  one  year 
a  student  in  the  Agricultural  College  of  Michigan  and  acquired  his  more 
specifically  literary  education  in  Albion  College,  from  which  he  was  grad- 
uated with  the  class  of  1893.  He  spent  two  years  in  the  medical  depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Michigan  and  afterward  two  years  in  the  med- 
ical department  of  Northwestern  University,  at  Chicago,  and  completed 
his  course  by  graduation  in  the  spring  of  1899-  In  the  fall  of  the  same 
year  he  located  for  practice  in  Coldwater.  Professionally  and  financially 
he  has  been  quite  successful  and  his  position  in  the  ranks  of  the  medical 
fraternity  is  a  very  creditable  one.  Dr.  Schultz  has  demonstrated  his  ability 
as  a  physician,  and  he  is  now  accorded  a  good  patronage.  He  belongs  to 
the  Branch  County  Medical  Society,  the  State  Medical  Society  and  the 
American  Medical  Association,  and  is  serving  as  health  officer  of  Cold- 
water. 

Dr.  Schultz  is  a  Master  Mason,  and  his  ideas  concerning  man's  relations 
to  his  fellow  men  are  further  indicated  by  his  membership  in  the  Methodist 
church.  He  was  elected  president  of  the  Bon  Ami  Club  in  1902,  and  re- 
elected in  1903  and  1904.  He  was  married  March  18,  1905,  to  Miss  L. 
Annie  Bacon,  of  Chelsea,  Michigan. 


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804  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

„.       BURT  M.  FELLOWS. 

Burt  M,  Fellows,  engaged  in  a  general  insurance  business  in  Coldwater, 
was  born  in  Tonawanda,. Niagara  county,  New  York,  January  i,  1867,  his 
parents  being  Theron  D.  and  Sarah  L.  (McConkey)  Fellows,  both  of  whom 
were  natives  of  New  York.  They  removed  to  Springport,  Michigan,  in 
1868,  and  in  1872  became  residents  of  Bronson,  since  which  time  their  son, 
Burt  M.  Fellows,  has  been  a  resident  of  Branch  county.  The  father  was  a 
veteran  of  the  Civi!  war,  ser\'ing  for  a  little  more  than  three  years  in  the 
Twenty-eighth  New  York  Infantry'.  Afterward  re-en!isting,  he  became  a 
member  of  the  New  York  Mounted  Eifles.  He  died  at  Bronson,  July  11, 
1900,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years  and  Mrs.  Fellows  has  since  married  C.  G. 
Babcock,  with  whom  she  now  resides  in  Bronson. 

Burt  M.  Fellows  was  reared  in  Bronson,  where  he  acquired  his  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools.  He  afterward  accepted  a  position  in  the  private 
bank  of  L.  Rudd  &  Son  of  that  place  and  was  connected  with  the  institu- 
tion, covering  a  period  of  nine  years.  In  1893  he  joined  his  father-in-law, 
G.  E.  Robinson,  in  the  conduct  of  a  grocery  store  at  Bronson  and  at  length 
closed  out  his  interest  therewith  in  order  to  resume  the  duties  of  county 
clerk,  to  which  position  he  had  been  elected  in  the  fall  of  1S96  on  the  Demo- 
cratic ticket.  At  this  election  he  overcame  a  norma!  Republican  majority  and 
in  i8g8  he  was  re-elected,  thus  serving  for  two  terms.  His  course  in  office  was 
characterized  by  promptness  and  fidelity  and  he  discharged  his  duties  with 
credit  to  himself  and  satisfaction  to  his  constituents.  Following  his  retire- 
ment from  office  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  general  insurance  business, 
in  which  he  yet  continues,  and  he  now  annually  writes  a  large  amount  of 
business,  being  one  of  the  well  known  representatives  of  this  department  of 
activity  in  Coldwater. 

In  1889  Mr.  Fellows  was  married  to  Miss  Luella  Robinson  and  they 
have  a  daughter  and  son,  Ruth,  twelve  years  of  age  and  Mac,  nine  years 
old.  Mr.  Fellows  is  a  valued  representative  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows  and  also  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  in  which  he  has  attained  the 
Royal  Arch  degree.  He  has  from  the  age  of  five  years  been  a  resident  of 
Branch  county  and  has  witnessed  much  of  its  growth  and  development, 
while  in  his  business,  social  and  political  relations  he  has  contributed  to  the 
material  progress  of  the  county  and  has  also  upheld  its  !ega)  and  moral 
status. 

HON.  CHARLES  N.  LEGG. 

Hon.  Charles  N.  Legg,  an  attorney,  who  is  now  serving  as  mayor  of 
Coldwater,  was  bom  in  Niagara  county.  New  York,  February  24,  1846. 
His  parents,  Arteman  H.  and  Sarah  Irene  ( SouthW'Orth )  Legg,  were  among 
the  oldest  residents  of  Branch  coimty.  The  father  was  born  in  Yates  county, 
New  York,  December  20,  1822,  and  was  a  son  of  Charles  and  Sylva  (Taft) 
Legg.  When  he  was  about  nine  or  ten  years  of  age  he  accompanied  his 
parents  on  their  removal  to  Niagara  county.  New  York,  where  he  was  reared 
to  manhood,  and  in  1845  ^^  was  married  there  to  Miss  Sarah  Irene  South- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  805 

worth,  who  was  born  in  Berkshire  county,  Massachusetts,  in  the  town  of 
Hancock,  June  27,  1824.  Her  parents  were  Norman  and  Honor  (Gardner) 
Legg,  who  removed  to  Niagara  county  when  she  was  only  two  years  old. 
During  the  first  eight  years  of  their  married  life  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arteman 
H.  Legg  resided  in  Niagara  county,  and  in  1853  they  catne  to  Branch  county, 
settling  on  a  farm  in  Coldwater  township,  where  they  made  their  home  until 
1903,  since_  which  time  they  have  resided  in  the  city  of  Coldwater.  Through- 
out his  active  business  career  Mr.  Legg  followed  the  occupation  of  farming 
and  is  now  enjoying  a  well  merited  rest  from  further  labor.  His  first  presi- 
dential vote  was  cast  for  James  K.  Polk  and  since  the  organization  of  the 
Republican  party  he  has  been  one  of  its  stanch  advocates,  while  both  he  and 
his  wife  are  consistent  members  of  the  Baptist  church.  In  their  family  are 
the  following  named:  Charles  N,,  Mary  E.,  Dr.  Frank  G.,  George  S.  and 
Edward. 

Charles  N.  Legg  was  in  his  eighth  year  when  he  accompanied  his' 
parents  to  Branch  county  and  here  he  was  reared  on  the  old  home  farm, 
working  in  the  fields  through  the  summer  months,  while  in  the  winter  sea- 
sons he  attended  the  district  schools.  Later  he  l^ecame  a  student  in  the 
city  schools  of  Coldwater  and  afterward  spent  one  year  in  the  University  of 
Michigan,  while  subsequently  he  was  for  three  years  a  student  in  the  col- 
lege at  Kalamazoo,  Michigan.  He  became  ill,  however,  during  his  last  year 
in  college  and  returned  to  his  home,  after  which  he  never  again  took  up 
his  collegiate  work.  He  had  previously  engaged  in  teaching  school  for  a 
few  terms  in  the  rural  districts  and  now  gave  his  attention  to  the  study  of 
law.  Being  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1873  he  at  once  opened  an  office  for  prac- 
tice in  Coldwater  and  his  efforts  in  the  various  courts  have  been  attended 
with  a  gratifying  degree  of  success.  He  has  acquired  a  large  and  distinct- 
ively representative  clientage  and  to-day  ranks  among  the  foremost  lawyers 
of  southern  Michigan,  He  is  a  student,  constantly  enlarging  his  knowledge 
concerning  the  principles  of  jurisprudence,  and  in  citing  an  authority  he  is 
seldom  at  fault.  Mr.  Legg  is  also  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Republican  party  in  Branch  county.  In  1880  he  was 
elected  prosecuting  attorney  and  served  for  four  years.  In  1892  he  was 
chosen  probate  judge,  which  position  he  filled  until  January  i,  1897.  In 
1900  he  was  again  elected  prosecuting  attorney  and  once  more  faithfully  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  that  position  for  four  years.  In  the  spring  of  1905 
he  was  the  successful  candidate  of  the  Republican  party  for  mayor  of  Cold- 
water  and  is  now  the  chief  executive  of  the  city,  giving  to  it  a  businesslike 
and  progressive  administration  that  is  characterized  by  a  careful  considera- 
tion of  every  question  which  comes  up  for  settlement  and  of  all  measures 
relating  to  the  public  welfare.  He  is  a  stanch  advocate  of  every  move- 
ment which  he  believes  will  contribute  to  the  general  good  and  is  equally 
strong  in  his  position  on  measures  which  he  deems  inimical  to  the  city's 
advancement.  Mr.  Legg  is  also  a  prominent  member  of  the  Masonic  fra- 
ternity and  has  taken  all  of  its  degrees  with  one  exception.  He  is  also  a 
Knight  of  Pythias  and  his  religious  faith  is  indicated  by  his  membership 
in  the  Baptist  church. 


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806  ■  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

In  1873  Mr.  Legg  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Alice  B.  Stillman, 
who  died  in  1898,  leaving  three  children:  Llewellyn,  now  deceased;  Harold 
S. ;  and  Mabel  Louise.  In  1900  Mr.  Legg  married  again,  Miss  Delia  H. 
Benton  becoming  his  wife.  Civility  and  an  unfailing  courtesy  have  gained 
him  the  prominence  in  social  life  that  close  application  and  capability  have 
won  for  him  in  his  professional  career.  He  has  now  gained  a  lucrative  prac- 
tice and  ranks  among  the  foremost  public-spirited  men,  manifesting  a  help- 
ful interest  in  all  progressive  measures  for  the  benefit  of  Coldwater.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Legg  Lumber  Company  of  this  city,  but  aside  from 
this  sustains  no  other  business  relations,  preferring  to  lead  a  professional 
life. 

REUBEN  M.  SIMMONS. 

Among  the  retired  citizens  of  Union  City  Reuben  M.  Simmons  is  num- 
bered. For  many  years  he  was  an  active  representative  of  business  pursuits. 
He  was  bom  in  Lake  county,  Ohio,  December  17,  1833.  His  grandfather, 
Peleg  Simmons,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  was  a  sailor  for 
twenty-two  years  on  the  high  seas,  having  made  twenty-two  trips  to  the  West 
Indies.  His  father,  Horace  Simmons,  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  born  near 
Springfield,  and  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  After  living  in  Ohio  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  he  removed  to  Michigan  in  1863,  settling  in  Salem  township, 
Washtenaw  county,  where  he  resided  until  about  1873,  when  he  came  to  Branch 
county.  His  last  days  were  spent  in  Union  City,  and  he  died  in  his  ninety- 
fifth  year.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  for  about 
seventy  years,  and  lived  a  most  honorable,  upright  life,  being  considerate  in 
his  treatment  of  his  fellowmen,  straightforward  in  all  his  business  dealings 
and  true  to  every  trust  reposed  in  him.  He  married  Miss  Philena  Ford,  a 
native  of  Massachusetts,  who  reached  the  age  of  seventy-six  years.  They 
were  the  parents  of  seven  children,  of  whom  two  died  in  infanCy.  The  fol- 
lowing lines  are  part  of  a  sketch  which  was  printed  in  one  of  the  local  papers 
at  the  time  of  the  father's  death  : 

"  In  the  death  of  Horace  Simmons  Union  City  and  this  township  loses 
its  oldest  citizen.  He  was  bom  on  the  17th  of  July,  1799,  and  died  on  the 
I2th  day  of  April,  1894,  making  him  but  little  less  than  ninety-five  years  of 
age.  What  a  wonderful  transformation  he  has  witnessed  in  this  country 
since  he  came  into  being.  He  was  only  five  years  younger  than  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  under  which  the  country  has  so  rapidly  and  won- 
derfully developed.  He  lived  before  the  age  of  railroads  and  steamboats, 
and  when  Fulton  was  steaming  his  strange  looking  craft  up  the  Hudson  he 
was  a  lad  of  eight  years.  He  was  bom  in  Middletown,  Connecticut,  and  at 
the  age  of  seventeen  removed  with  his  parents  to  Lake  county,  Ohio,  about 
twenty-two  miles  from  Cleveland.  In  that  new  county  he  prepared  and  laid 
the  foundation  for  a  competence  for  his  declining  years.  In  1824  he  was 
united  iri  niarriage  to  Miss  Philena  Ford,  and  together  they  wended  their 
way  along  the  pathway  of  life  until  1884,  when  she  sickened  and  died.  To 
them  seven  children  were  born,  four  of  whom  still  survive:  Mrs.  F.  Pratt, 
of  South  Lyons,  Michigan;  Mrs.  A.  P.  Hodge,  o£  Unionville,  Ohio;  Mrs. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  807 

N.  C.  Taylor,  of  Elmira,  Michigan;  and  R.  M.  Simmons,  of  this  place,  with 
whom  the  later  years  of  his  life  were  spent,  and  at  whose  home  he  died, 

"  He  lived  in  Lake  county,  Ohio,  fifty-eight  years,  and  then  sold  his  pos- 
sessions and  came  to  Union  City.  When  he  went  to  his  new  home  in  the 
west  Cleveland,  his  market  place,  was  an  insignificant  little  village,  entirely 
devoid  of  everj'thing  to  make  it  of  interest  to  everyone.  Its  harbor  had  been 
mapped  out.  and  its  streets  appeared  only  on  paper.  When  he  left  it  was  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  cities  on  the  western  continent.  In  his  religious  belief 
he  was  a  Methodist,  and  for  more  than  seventy  years  was  a  member  of  that 
church.  He  was  zealous  in  his  faith,  and  during  his  lifetime  did  much  to 
contribute  to  the  advancement  of  the  organization.  When  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  families  had  been  gathercti  in  the  wilderness  he  was  instrumental  in 
the  organization  of  a  Methodist  church,  and  for  a  half  century  or  more  was 
an  honored  class  leader  in  that  body.  His  political  affiliations  were  with  the 
Whig  party,  but  upon  the  organization  of  the  Republican  party  he  promptly 
gave  his  adherence  to  it.  All  through  the  dark  times  when  fears  were  ex- 
pressed that  if  certain  measures  were  adopted  looking  to  the  circumscribing 
of  slavery  within  the  bounds  where  it  then  existed  the  Union  would  be  dis- 
membered he  never  wavered.  He  believed  in  the  Union  and  had  implicit 
faith  that  He  who  presides  over  the  destinies-of  nations  would  bring  this  one 
out  from  under  the  dark  shadow  purifie<l  and  beautified  by  the  trials  through 
which  it  must  ultimately  pass.  He  lived  for  many  years  to  see  the  fruition 
of  his  hopes,  a  country  redeemed  and  its  people  both  north  and  south  acknowl- 
edging the  baneful  influences  that  slavery  brings. 

'.'  The  funeral  service.^  were  held  at  the  home  of  his  son,  where  he  died 
on  Friday,  being  conducted  by  Rev.  G.  C.  Draper,  pastor  of  the  Methodist 
church,  and  by  Rev.  H.  S.  Mills,  [jastor  of  the  Congregational  church,  both 
of  whom  paid' glowing  tributes  to  the  memory  of  the  deceased.  The  remains 
were  then  conveyed  to  their  last  resting  place  in  Riverside  cemetery.  A  good 
citizen,  a  faithful  husband,  a  loving  father,  a  true  friend  has  gone  to  the 
eternal  city,  where  the  good  and  the  true  only  will  bask  in  the  light  and  pres- 
ence of  the  Eternal  One." 

The  following  was  written  in  memory  of  the  loving  wife  and  mother: 
"Entered  into  rest  on  Wednesday,  May  21,  1884,  Mrs.  Horace  Simmons, 
aged  seventy-six  years,  nine  months  and  fifteen  days,  Philena  Ford  was  born 
in  Plainfield,  Massachusetts,  August  6,  1807.  While  a  child  her  parents 
removed  to  Ohio,  settling  in  Madison,  Lake  county.  Here  in  1825  she  was 
married  to  Horace  Simmons,  with  whom  she  lived  for  nearly  sixty  years, 
until  death  separated  them,  leaving  Father  Simmons  to  journey  alone  until 
the  glad  reunion.  About  two  years  after  their  marriage  both  were  converted 
and  united  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  of  which  they  have  been 
faithful  members  ever  since.  Their  house  has  been  an  '  Itinerant's  Lodge,' 
and  until  the  infirmities  of  age  shut  her  away  from  active  life  she  was  con- 
stantly in  the  prosperity  of  our  town.  Her  religious  hope  did  not  decline  as 
bodily  strength  failed.  To  her  pastor  she  often  spoke  cheerfully  of  the  pres- 
ent, and  yet  lovingly  of  that  future  toward  which  her  faith  looked.     Almost 


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808  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

her  last  words  on  earth  were  about  the  rest  into  which  she  has  entered.  'She 
rests  from  her  labors,  and  her  works  do  follow  her.'  " 

Reuben  M.  Simmons,  the  fifth  member  of  their  family  and  the  second 
son,  was  reared  in  the  Buckeye  state  and  was  a  resident  of  Willoughby,  Ohio, 
until  1862.  He  then  offered  his  services  to  the  government  and  joined  the 
boys  in  blue,  becoming  a  private  in  Company  F,  One  Hundred  and  Fifth 
Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  He  sert'cd  until  the  close  of  the  war  in  1865,  or 
for  two  years,  ten  months  and  two  daj's.  He  was  in  all  the  battles  with  his 
command,  except  the  engagement  at  Missionary  Ridge,  and  he  participated 
in  the  battle  of  Perryville,  October  8,  1862,  where  he  served  on  detached 
duty,  being  there  wounded  and  having  his  "horse  shot  under  him,  and  was 
again  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Stone  River.  At  Chickamauga  he  was  wounded 
tliree  times,  and  he  carries  one  of  the  bullets  to  this  day.  At  Marietta,  Georgia, 
he  was  also  shot,  and  thus  was  wounded  six  times  in  all,  but  no  matter  how 
desperate  were  the  chances  which  he  had  to  take,  or  how  great  the  danger, 
he  never  faltered  in  the  performance  of  any  duty  and  his  valor  and  bravery 
made  him  a  model  soldier.  He  remained  a  private  throughout  the  war.  but 
acted  as  commissary  sergeant  during  the  last  years  of  his  service.  He  went 
with  Sherman  on  the  celebrated  march  to  the  sea,  and  he  also  participated  in 
the  Grand  Review  in  Washington,  where  the  victorious  army  of  thousands 
marched  by  the  stand  on  which  stood  the  president,  cheering  the  loyal  de- 
fenders of  the  Union  cause.  He  received  his  honorable  discharge  at  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  June  8,  1865.  He  was  the  first  man  to  sign  a  petition  to  organize 
the  Corbin  G.  A.  R,  Post  in  Union  City,  which  is  now  a  flourishing  organiza- 
tion. 

When  the  country  no  longer  needed  his  aid  Mr.  Simmons  gladly  re- 
sumed the  practice  of  civil  life,  locating  in  Salem,  Washtenaw  county,  Mich- 
igan, where  he  engaged  in  farming  for  twelve  years.  He  came  tO'  Branch 
county  in  1877,  settling  in  Union  City,  where  he  has  since  made  his  home. 
He  learned  the  carpenter's  trade  when  a  boy,  and  in  early  life  followed  that 
pursuit,  but  is  now  living  a  retired  life. 

On  the  24th  of  December,  1854,  Mr.  Simmons  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Emma  J.  Childs,  who  died  in  1879,  and  on  the  19th  of  May,  1S80, 
he  married  Miss  Lucy  L.  Ward,  a  daughter  of  Harry  and  Elizabeth  (Kline) 
Ward.  Mrs.  Simmons  was  bom  in  Portage  county,  Ohio,  and  was  brought 
to  Michigan  in  1859,  during  her  early  girlhood  days,  the  family  home  being 
established  in  Branch  county.  They  now  have  one  son,  Harry  M.,  of  Chi- 
cago. He  graduated  in  the.  Union  City  public  school,  and  was  then  a  student 
at  the  State  University  at  Ann  Arbor.  He  is  now  salesman  in  the  W.  C. 
Ritchie  Company,  of  Chicago,  Illinois,  at  a  lucrative  salary.  He  wedded  Miss 
Lavina  Baert,  September  27,  1905,  a  refined,  educated  lady.  Mr.  Harry 
■Simmons  is  an  honor  to  his  parents.  When  Mr.  Ward  was  called  away  by 
death  one  of  the  local  papers  said  of  him :  "  Harry  Ward,  one  of  our  oldest 
and  most  respected  citizens,  died  at  his  home  just  north  of  this  city  on  Friday 
of  last  week,  May  3,  1901,  He  was  born  in  Poland,  Ohio,  November  25, 
:823,  and  in  1852  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Kline.  In  1859 
they  came  to  Michigan,  first  settling  in  Batavia,  in  this  county.    After  living 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  8013 

there  alx)Lit  a  year  they  came  to  Union  City,  since  which  time  this  has  been 
his  home.  His  wife  died  February  6,  1899,  since  which  time  he  has  lived 
with  his  son  Albert  and  daughter  Lillie.  Mr.  Ward  was  a  cabinet-maker  by 
trade  and  followed  that  avocation  in  his  younger  years.  At  one  time,  how- 
ever, he  engaged  in  the  grocery  and  bakery  business  here.  He  was  the  father 
of  five  children,  three  of  whom  survive,  Mrs.  R.  M.  Simmons,  Albert  and 
Lillie,  all  of  whom  live  here.  The  elder  daughter  was  in  Florida  when  her 
mother  died,  and  in  Cliicag-o  undergoing  surgical  treatment  when  her  father 
passed  out  from  the  realm  of  human  life,  and  to  her  was  denied  the  last  sad 
privilege  of  closing  her  parents'  eyes  in  their  eternal  slumber.  Mr.  Ward 
was  an  Episcopalian  and  very  devoted  to  his  church.  The  funeral  was  con- 
ducted under  the  direction  of  Rev.  Holbrook,  pastor  of  the  Congregational 
church,  who  employed  the  beautiful  burial  service  of  the  Episcopal  church. 
The  remains  were  laid  to  rest  in  the  family  lot  in  Riverside." 

On  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  Mrs.  Ward  the  following  was  written; 
"  Elizabeth  Khne  was  born  in  Darmstadt,  Germany,  and  came  to  this  country 
when  quite  young  with  her  parents.  She  was  married  to  Harry  Ward  in 
1853.  They  came  to  Michigan  in  1859,  living  for  one  year  in  Batavia,  and 
then  moved  to  Union  City,  which  has  since  been  their  home.  She  died  Feb- 
ruary 6,  1899.  She  was  the  mother  of  five  children,  three  of  whom  survive. 
Libbie,  a  bright  little  daughter,  died  in  early  youth.  .Henry,  the  eldest  son, 
died  fourteen  years  ago,  leaving  two  children,  Carrie  and  Harris,  who  have 
since  been  cared  for  in  the  home  of  their  grandparents.  The  surviving  chil- 
dren are:  Mrs,  R.  M.  Simmons,  who,  with  her  family,  are  spending  the 
winter  in  Florida,  and  was  unable  to  be  with  the  family  in  their  affliction. 
Albert  and  Ullie  still  reside  in  Ujiion  City.  Mrs.  Ward  early  learned  the 
serious  and  earnest  side  of  life,  having  been  left  when  a  young  girl  to  care 
for  a  fanjily  by  the  death  of  her  mother.  No  one  acquainted  with  Mrs.  Ward 
in  later  years  could  believe  that  she  was  anything  but  faithful  to  those  left 
in  her  care.  An  earnest  and  strictly  conscientious  woman,  she  was  ever  ready 
to  sacrifice  h.er  own  pleasure  and  convenience  for  the  welfare  of  others.  It 
seemed  her  greatest  pleasure  to  be  doing  good.  No  one  ever  lived  near  her 
long  enough  to  be  called  neighbor  who  will  not  through  h'fe  bear  a  feeh'ng  of 
gratitude  to  her  for  gentle  and  unselfish  acts  of  kindness.  Her  mission  was 
to  give  more  than  to  receive.  No  one  called  in  vain  upon  her  when  health 
permitted  her  to  respond.  With  the  sick  and  dying  she  was  very  often  found, 
and  many  old  friends  outside  the  now  broken  family  circle  will  mourn  for 
her  as  a  departed  friend  and  benefactor.  She  often  forgot  self  in  her  anxiety 
for  the  welfare  of  others. 

"  Two  years  age  she  suffered  a  distressing  illness  from  which  she  never 
quite  recovered,  and  this  made  her  a  more  easy  prey  to  the  dread  pneumonia 
which  closed  a  noble  and  unselfish  life." 

Since  the  organization  of  the  Republican  party  Mr.  Simmons  has  voted 
for  the  presidential  candidates,  never  failing  to  support  each  nominee  at  the 
head  of  the  ticket  since  Fremont  was  made  the  first  candidate  of  the  party. 
He  has  been  school  director,  also  township  clerk,  and  in  all  matters  of  citizen- 
ship is  progressive  and  faithful.     He  belongs  to    Corbin    Post,    No.  _88,    G. 


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810  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

A.  R.,.  in  which  he  has  filled  most  of  the  offices  and  is  a  past  commander.  He 
was  chaplain  at  the  time  of  the  organization  of  the  post.  He  also  belongs  to 
the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  and  the  Degree  of  Honor,  and  he  is 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in  which  he  has  been  steward, 
trustee  and  class  leader.  His  wife  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church.  In 
all  the  work  of  the  church  he  has  taken  an  active  part,  and  his  Christian  faith 
has  permeated  his  entire  life,  making  him  a  man  well  worthy  the  trust  and 
honor  which  is  accorded  him. 

WILLIAM  VAN  SLYCK. 

William  Van  Slyck,  who  is  now  living  a  retired  life  after  many  years  of 
active  connection  with  business  affairs  wherein  he  justly  won  the  proud  Amer- 
ican title  of  a  "  self-made  man  "  and  also  gained  an  honorable  competence,  is 
a  native  of  the  state  of  New  York,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Columbia 
county,  March  8,  1832.  His  father,  Isaac  Van  Slyck,  was  born  near  Albany, 
New  York,  whence  he  removed  to  Columbia  county,  where  he  followed  the 
occupation  of  farming.  He  was  a  son  of  Cornelius  Van  Slyck,  a  native  of 
Columbia  county.  New  York,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  a  de- 
scendant of  Holland  Dutch  ancestry.  Isaac  Van  Slyck  spent  his  last  years 
in  Wayne  county.  New  York,  where  he  died  in  his  eightieth  year.  He  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Van  Dusen,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Columbia  county,  New 
York,  in  the  township  of  Kinderhook,  her  father  being  Cornelius  Van  Dusen, 
likewise  born  in  the  same  county,  and  a  cousin  of  Martin  Van  Buren,  Mr. 
Van  Dusen  was  also  of  Holland  lineage,  and  Mrs.  Van  Slyck  lived  to  the  age 
of  seventy-five  years.  In  their  family  were  seven  cliildren,  four  sons  and  three 
daughters,  all  of  whom  reached  mature  years,  married  and  reared  famiiies.  of 
their  own.  The  only  surviving  ones  at  this  writing  are  William  and  Margaret, 
the  latter  the  widow  of  Wesley  Wilber.  She  lives  in  Palmyra,  Wayne  county, 
New  York,  in  her  eighty-fourth  year. 

William  Van  Slyck,  the  youngest  of  his  father's  family,  spent  his  boy- 
hood days  in  the  usual  manner  of  farm  lads,  working  in  the  fields  through  the 
summer  months  and  attending  school  in  the  winter  seasons.  The  duties  of 
the  school  room,  the  pleasures  of  the  play  ground  and  the  work  of  the  farm 
thus  occupied  his  attention  in  his  native  coimty  until  he  was  about  sixteen 
years  of  age,  when  he  removed  with  his  parents  to  Wayne  county.  New  York, 
and  in  1855  he  came  to  Coldwater,  Michigan,  where  he  engaged  in  the  truck 
business,  following  that  continuously  until  1892,  when  he  retired  from  active 
life.  He  realized  that  labor  is  the  basis  of  all  success  and  he  worked  dili- 
gently and  indefatigably  to  acquire  a  comfortable  competence,  which  now  en- 
ables him  in  his  declining  years  to  rest  from  further  labor. 

Mr.  Van  Slyck  was  married  October  23,  1S83,  to  Miss  Clara  B.  Bail, 
who  was  born  in  Devonshire,  England,  April  16,  1852,  her  parents  being 
William  K.  and  Martha  J.  (McGinnis)  Ball,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of 
England,  the  father  having  been  bom  in  Devonshire  and  the  motlier  in  South- 
ampton. Mrs.  Van  Slyck  was  reared  in  the  place  of  her  nativity  and  resided 
there  until  1871,  when  she  came  to  Coldwater  with  her  parents.     Her  father  . 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  811 

was  a  carpenter  and  builder  and  was  identified  with  building  operations  in 
this  city  until  his  death,  which  cxrcurred  in  1872  when  he  was  fifty-three  years 
of  age.  Mrs.  Van  Slyck  was  the  eMest  daughter  and  second  child  in  a  fam- 
ily of  five  children. 

William  Van  Slyck  continued  in  active  connection  with  business  inter- 
ests of  Coldwater  from  1855  to  3892  and  during  that  period  accumulated  con- 
siderable property,  the  supervision  of  which  now  claims  his  attention.  He  is 
somewhat  independent  in  his  political  views,  but  usually  supports  the  Demo- 
cratic party  where  national  issues  are  involved,  but  in  1904  voted  for  Roose- 
velt. His  wife  belongs  to  the  Baptist  church  and  he  has  taken  an  active  and 
helpful  interest  in  church  work,  contributing  liberally  to  its  sujqiort.  He  has 
also  assisted  in  other  lines  of  substantial  development  and  permanent  good 
here  and  his  worth  as  a  citizen  and  business  man  has  long  since  been  proven. 
Without  ostentation  and  display  in  his  active  career  he  has  nevertheless  made 
a  life  record  which  is  worthy  of  commendation  and  of  emulation,  for  it  shows 
what  can  be  accomplished  when  one  is  willing  to  work  and  when  his  labors 
are  guided  by  sound  judgment  and  honorable  purpose. 

CHARLES  W.  CHAPMAN. 

Charles  W.  Chapman,  connected  with  tiie  productive  industries  of  Cold- 
water  as  a  manufacturer  of  cigars,  was  born  in  this  city  September  27,  1851. 
His  father,  William  Chapman,  was  a  native  of  New  York  and  became  one 
of  the  pioneer  residents  of  Branch  county,  Michigan,  where  he  was  known 
as  Blind  Billy.  For  many  years  he  engaged  in  the  grocery  business,  winning 
the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  with  whom  he  was  associated,  and  his  death 
occurred  here  on  the  13th  of  May,  1863.  He  married  Anetta  A.  Bagley, 
who  was  bom  in  Cambridge,  New  York,  in  1820  and  became  a  resident  of 
Coldwater  in  1837.  She  passed  away  September  9,  1887,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-seven  years,  while  Mr.  Chapman  was  fifty-one  years  of  age  at  the  time 
of  his  death. 

Charles  W.  Chapman  is  now  the  only  surviving  member  of  the  fam- 
ily, his  only  brother,  George,  dying  when  but  a  year  old.  His  youth  was 
passed  in  his  native  city  and  to  its  public  school  system  he  is  indebted  for 
the  educational  privileges  he  enjoyed.  He  spent  about  seven  years  in  Indi- 
ana and  on  the  12th  of  May,  1900,  he  began  the  manufacture  of  cigars  in 
Coldwater.  his  special  brands  being  the  C.  W.  C.  and  Lord  Crosby.  He 
employs  about  sixteen  men  and  the  capacity  of  his  plant  is  continually  taxed 
in  order  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  trade.  The  business  has  from  the  be- 
ginning been  a  prosperous  one,  Mr,  Chapman  meeting  with  well  merited 
success  in  his  undertakings. 

In  September,  1900,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Charles  W.  Chapman  and 
Miss  Carrie  D.  Early,  a  daughter  of  Michael  Early  of  Coldwater,  both  of 
whom  were  natives  of  Germany.  Mr.  Chapman  belongs  to  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Knights  of  the  Mac- 
cabees and  his  wife  is  connected  with  the  Ladies'  Auxiliary  of  the  last  named. 
His  political  allegiance  is  given  to  the  Republican  party  and  he  has  firm  faith 


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813  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

in  its  principles.  He  holds  membership  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  white 
his  wife  is  a  member  of  the  Lntheran  church.  As  a  busness  man  he  is  con- 
spicuous for  his  success,  for  his  probity  and  honorable  methods.  In  every- 
thing he  has  been  eminently  practical  and  this  has  been ,  manifest  not  only 
in  his  business  undertakings  but  alsQ  in  social  and  private  life. 

ALBERT  A.  SHERMAN. 

Albert  A.  Sherman,  a  contractor  and  builder  of  Coldwater  and  a  member 
of  the  board  of  public  works,  was  bom  in  Wayne  county,  New  York,  July  2, 
1841.  His  father,  Gilbert  Sherman,  was  likewise  a  native  of  that  county  and 
was  of  Irish  lineage.  In  his  early  business  career  he  was  connected  with  woolen 
manufacturing  interest  and  later,  having  moved  to  Indiana,  he  turned  his  at- 
tention to  farming,  which  he  followed  until  about  sixty  years  of  age.  He 
lived  in  Missouri  for  about  three  years  and  in  Indiana  for  about  eighteen 
years,  and  in  187 1  he  came  to  Coldwater,  where  he  spent  his  remaining 
days,  his  death  occurring  when  he  was  in  his  ninetieth  year.  In  religious  be- 
lief he  was  a  spiritualist,  and  fraternally  was  one  of  the  oldest  Odd  Fellows 
of  the  county,  becoming  a  member  of  that  organization  when  a  young  man. 
He  wedded  Hannah  Rowley,  who  was  also  a  native  of  Wayne  county.  New 
York,  and  died  when  about  sixty-three  years  of  age.  She  came  of  Welsh  and 
Scotch  ancestry.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sherman  were  the  parents  of  three  sons,  all 
of  whom  are  yet  living:  Esquire,  who  resides  in  Allen  township,  Noble 
county,  Indiana ;  Albert  A. ;  and  Daniel  R.,  a  druggist  and  physician  of  Lan- 
sing, Michigan. 

Albert  A.  Sherman,  the  -second  son,  spent  the  first  eight  years  of  his 
life  in  the  county  of  his  nativity,  and  then  accompanied  his  parents  on  their 
removal  to  Noble  county,  Indiana,  where  he  lived  for  abouf  eighteen  years. 
To  some  extent  he  attended  the  public  schools,  but  his  education  has  been 
largely  acquired  through  practical  experience,  reading  and  oteervation.  When 
seventeen  years  of  age  he  was  apprenticed  by  his  father  to  learn  the  carpen- 
ter's trade,  and  during  the  greater  part  of  the  time  down  to  the  present  he 
has  continued  his  connection  with  building  pursuhs.  He  came  to  Coldwater 
about  1871  and  was  first  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  for  about  a  year 
and  a  half.  He  afterward  spent  eight  years  in  a  planing  mill,  after  which 
he  resumed  active  work  as  a  carpenter,  and  was  also  in  the  luriiber  business 
for  about  four  years.  In  the  meantime  he  began  contracting,  and  continued 
in  that  department  of  labor  in  connection  with  other  business  interests.  He 
has  perhaps  built  more  houses  than  any  two  men  in  the  city,  and  Coldwater 
therefore  is  largely  a  monument  to  his  enterprise  and  skill.  He  has  always 
been  faithful  to  the  terms  of  a  contract,  prompt  and  reliable  in  the  execution 
of  his  work  and  just  in  all  of  his  dealings,  and  the  liberal  patronage  accorded 
him  has  been  in  recognition  of  these  salient  and  commendable  qualities  in  his 
career. 

Mr.  Sherman  was  married  in  1862  to  "Miss  Julia  Hehnan,  and  after 
her  death  he  was  married  on  the  2nd  of  July,  1878,  to  Mary  Holland,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Anthony  Holland.     Mr.  Sherman  is  a  Deinocrat  and  for  four  terms 


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HISTORY  OF  BRAI\^CH  COUNTY  813 

held  tlie  office  of  alderman  of  Coldwater.  In  1896  he  was  elected  mayor,  dis- 
charging his  duties  so  capably  that  in  1897  he  was  re-elected,  and  at  the 
second  election  carried  all  of  the  wards  in  his  city — a  fact  which  indicates 
his  personal  popularity  and  the  confidence  which  was  reposed  in  him.  He 
gave  to  Coldwater  a  business-like,  practical  and  progressive  administration, 
which  won  him  high  encomiums,  never  allowing  partisan  bias  to  interfere 
with  the  faithful  performance  of  every  duty  which  devolved  upon  him. 
Whether  in  office  or  out  of  it  he  is  loyal'  to  the  general  welfare  and  his  public- 
spirited  devotion  to  the  general  good  has  found  tangible  proof  on  many  occa- 
sions. He  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  Masonic  Fraternity  and  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  has  filled  many  offices  in  those  organiza- 
tions. He  likewise  belongs  to  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  and 
to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  His  life  has  been  as  an  open  book  which 
all  may  read  and  his  history  discloses  many  sterling  traits  of  character,  com- 
mending him  to  the  confidence  and  trust  of  those  with  whom  he  has  been  asso- 
ciated. His  circle  of  friends  is  extensive  and  is  the  result  of  geniality,  unfail- 
ing courtesy  and  deference  for  the  opinions  of  others, 

JOHN  N.  NEAL. 

John  N.  Neal,  engaged  in  the  dairy  business  in  Coldwater,  was  born  in 
Lodi,  Seneca  county,  New  York,  August  30,  1851.  His  father,  George  Neal, 
was  a  native  of  the  Empire  state  and  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  He  mar- 
ried Fioretta  Van  Vleet,  also  a  native  of  the  Empire  state,  and  both  died  there. 
They  were  the  parents  of  three  sons  :  Isaac  H.,  now  deceased ;  John  N. ;  and 
Sarin  A.,  who  is  living  in  Lodi, 

John  N.  Neal  spent  the  days  of  his  boyhood  in  the  place  of  his  nativity, 
and  acquired  his  education  in  the  district  schools.  When  about  eighteen  years 
of  age  he  secured  a  situation  in  a  general  store  at  Lodi,  where  he  remained 
until  twenty-seven  years  of  age,  his  long  connection  with  one  firm  being  an 
unmistakable  indication  of  his  fidelity  to  duty.  On  the  expiration  of  that 
period  lie  embarked  in  business  on  his  own  account  at  Lodi  as  a  partner  in 
the  firm  of  Neal  &  Meeker,  proprietors  of  a  general  store.  They  conducted 
this  for  about  two  and  a  half  years,  when  they  closed  out  the  business,  after 
which  Mr,  Neal  engaged  in  the  sale  of  self-supporting  roofs  for  barns,  intro- 
ducing these  into  various  parts  of  the  country.  He  was  thus  engaged  for 
five  years,  traveling  through  dififerent  states  in  the  middle  west  and  the  east. 
He  afterward  engaged  in  the  sale  of  wire  fencing.  On  the  23rd  of  October, 
1884,  he  arrived  in  Coldwater,  where  he  introduced  his  self-supporting  rafter. 
Not  long  afterward  he  purchased  a  farm  adjoining  this  city  and  erected  there- 
on fine  farm  buildings,  turning  his  attention  to  the  dairy  business.  He  now 
keeps  from  fifty  to  sixty  cows  for  dairy  purposes  and  forty  head  of  cattle 
in  addition.  He  makes  his  home  at  No,  191  Pearl  street,  where  he  has  one  of 
the  fine  residences  of  the  city,  but  gives  his  attention  to  his  dairy  and  has  an 
extensive  and  profitable  business. 

In  1876  Mr.  Neal  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Helen  Howell,  a 
daughter  of  Elijah  and  Harnett  (Ault)  Howell,  and  a  native  of  Havana,  New 


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814  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

York.  Her  girlhood  days,  however,  were  passed  in  Lodi,  where  her  educa- 
tion was  acquired.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Neal  have  one  son,  Max  E.,  who  is  a  gradu- 
ate of  the  law  department  of  the  State  University  at  Ann  Arbor,  and  having 
been  admitted  to  the  bar  is  now  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profes- 
sion at  Manistee,  Michigan,  as  a  partner  in  the  law  firm  of  Grant  &  Neal. 
They  also  lost  one  son,  Mark  H.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years. 

Mr,  Neal  is  a  staunch  Republican.  He  became  a  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity  at  Lodi,  New  York,  and  the  chapter  at  Ovid,  and  has  been 
a  Royal  Arch  Mason  for  about  twenty-seven  years.  His  religious  views 
are  in  accord  with  the  teachings  of  the  Episcopal  church.  Throughout  his 
business  career  he  has  displayed  sterling  and  commendable  traits  of  charac- 
ter. A  number  of  business  enterprises  have  felt  the  stimulus  of  his  energy 
and  executive  ability,  and  in  Coldwater  he  is  now  conducting  a  prosperous 
business,  which  yet  leaves  him  time  to  faithfully  perform  all  the  duties  of 
citizenship.  Local  improvement,  as  well  as  national  progress,  is  a  cause  dear 
to  his  heart,  and  thus  he  has  become  a  co-operant  factor  in  measures  which 
have  proved  of  practical  and  far-reaching  benefit  to  his  adopted  city. 

HERMAN  H.  FLANDERMEYER. 

In  the  history  of  Coldwater,  its  development  and  progress,  it  is  impera- 
tive that  mention  should  be  made  of  Herman  H.  Flandermeyer,  the  pioneer 
shoe  dealer  of  the  city,  whose  activity  in  business  has  contributed  in  no  small 
degree  to  the  commercial  development  here.  He  was  born  in  the  little  town 
of  Bennien,  in  the  province  of  Hanover,  Germany,  May  2,  1S36,  and  was 
reared  in  the  fatherland,  acquiring  his  education  in  its  public  schools.  De- 
termining to  seek  his  home  and  fortune  in  the  new  world  he  then  bade  adieu 
to  friends  and  native  country  and  sailed  for  Baltimore,  Maryland,  where  he 
arrived  after  a  voyage  of  nine  weeks.  From  that  city  he  made  his  way  to 
Toledo,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  for  about  six  months,  and  on  the  7th  of 
April,  1855,  he  arrived  in  Coldwater,  being  at  that  time  nineteen  years  of 
age.  The  entire  period  of  his  manhood  has  been  here  passed,  and  as  the 
years  have  advanced  he  has  shown  tliat  he  is  well  worthy  the  regard  and 
confidence  which  have  uniformly  been  extended  to  him  in  an  active  business 
career.  On  the  6th  of  December,  1S56,  he  became  connected  with  the  shoe 
business  in  connection  with  his  brother,  Fred  W.,  who  had  been  a  resident 
of  Coldwater  for  one  year,  and  who  died  here  on  the  4th  of  March,  1900. 
They  continued  together  until  1872,  when,  they  dissolved  partnership  and 
each  started  in  business  separately.  There  is  no  business  man  of  Coldwater 
now  connected  with  industrial  or  commercial  pursuits  who  was  a  representa- 
tive of  his  line  at  the  time  that  Mr.  Flandermeyer  took  up  his  alxide  here. 
He  started  in  a  small  way,  having  about  two  hundred  dollars  which  he  had 
saved  from  his  wages  while  working  at  the  shoemaker's  trade.  As  the  years 
have  passed  he  has  prospered  and  has  long  enjoyed  a  very  liberal  patronage. 
He  carries  a  large  and  well  selected  line  of  goods  and  his  sales  annually  repre- 
sent a  gratifying  figure.  He  is  also  one  of  the  stockholders  of  the  Tappan 
Shoe  Factory. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  815 

In  i860  Mr.  Flandermeyer  was  married,  and  at  the  death  of  his  first 
wife  she  left  an  infant  daughter  eleven  days  old,  who  is  now  the  wife  ol 
Emil  Stroh,  of  Detroit,  Michigan.  After  five  years  Mr.  Flandermeyer  was 
again  married,  his  second  union  being  with  Henrietta  Best,  who  died  twelve 
years  later.  His  third  wife  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Augusta  Beukemann, 
and  was  a  native  of  Cleveland,  Ohio.  They  became  the  parents  of  five  chil- 
dren, but  one  is  now  deceased.  The  others  are:  Francis  H.,  a  resident  of 
Coldwater;  Louis  F.,  of  Milwaukee;  Perry  W.,  who  is  now  engaged  in  the 
boot  and  shoe  business  at  Niles,  Michigan;  and  Herman  E.,  also  of  Mil- 
waukee. 

Mr.  Flandermeyer  was  reared  in  the  faith  of  the  Lutheran  church.  In 
1859  a  meeting  was  held  by  the  Lutherans  of  this  place  in  the  court  house, 
there  being  nine  in  attendance.  The  little  body  of  Christian  people  erected 
a  church  on  a  lot  on  Jefferson  street,  and  Mr.  Flandermeyer  became  one  of 
its  trustees.  Since  that  time  he  has  striven  earnestly  to  advance  the  cause  of 
his  denomination,  and  his  life  has  been  in  entire  harmony  with:  his  profession. 
He  belongs  to  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  and  also  to  the  Ger- 
man Benevolent  Society.  In  politics  he  is  a  staunch  Republican,  and  in  1875 
and  1876  he  represented  the  Fourth  ward  in  the  city  council.  He  has  ever 
been  interested  in  whatever  tends  to  promote  the  material,  social,  political,  in- 
tellectual and  moral  progress  of  his  community  and  his  labors  have  been  ef- 
fective in  advancing  the  general  welfare.  His  life  is  in  many  respects  well 
worthy  of  emulation,  showing  what  can  be  accomplished  through  strong  and 
determined  purpose.  He  has  never  made  engagements  that  he  has  not  kept, 
nor  incurred  obligations  that  he  has  not  met,  and  his  business  record  is  such 
as  any  man  might  be  proud  to  possess.  Steadily  he  has  worked  his  way  up- 
ward from  an  humble  position  to  one  of  afFhience  and  is  now  numbered  among 
the  prosperous  merchants  of  Coldwater,  while  as  the  oldest  representati\'e  of 
trade  relations  here  he  is  certainly  deserving  of  mention  in  this  vokime. 

M.  J.  VAN  AKEN. 

M.  J.  Van  Aken,  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Van  Aken  Brothers,  Hverymen* 
and  florists  of  Coldwater,  was  born  in  Girard  township.  Branch  county,  Mich- 
igan, April  28,  1862.  He  is  a  son  of  James  Hassan  Van  Aken,  a  retired  early 
settler  of  this  city,  whose  birth  occurred  about  twenty  miles  south  of  Syra- 
cuse, New  York,  on  the  3rd  of  October,  1820.  He  was  the  eldest  son  of 
Cornelius  and  Harriett  (Phelps)  Van  Aken,  and  with  his  parents  came  to 
Michigan  in  1833,  the  family  home  being  established  at  Adrian.  There  they 
remained  for  three  years,  and  in  1836  James  H.  Van  Aken  became  a  resi- 
dent of  Coldwater.  He  was  at  that  time  a  youth  of  sixteen  years,  and  he 
remained  with  his  father  upon  the  home  farm,  assisting  in  the  arduous  task 
of  cleaning  and  cultivating  the  land  until  his  twenty-first  year.  He  then 
went  to  Canada,  where  he  worked  for  an  uncle  for  three  years,  after  which 
he  returned  to  Branch  county  and  purchased  sixty  acres  of  land  from  his 
father.  Not  a  furrow  had  been  turned  or  an  improvement  made  upon  the 
place,  but  he  at  once  began  to  cultivate  the  fields  and  added  buildings  and 


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816  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

accessories,  which  made  this  an  excellent  farm.  He  also  purchased  forty 
acres  of  government  land  in  Girard  township  and  an  adjoining  tract  of  forty 
acres.  Later  he  added  fifty-six  acres  and  then  after  clearing  seven  acres  of 
this  he  soM  his  land  in  Girard  township  and  came  to  Coldwater.  Here  he 
engaged  in  the  livery  business,  building  the  barn  which  is  now  occupied 
by  his  sons  in  1865.  For  twenty  years  he  conducted  the  business  and  then 
sold  out  to  his  sons.  In  the  meantime  he  had  purchased  another  farm  in  Cold- 
water  township  of  one  himdred  and  sixty  acres,  and  this  property  he  still 
owns  and  rents. 

James  H.  Van  Aken  was  married  the  tirst  time  when  about  twenty-four 
years  of  age  to  Miss  Maria  Clement,  and  they  had  three  sons:  Ira,  who  is 
living  in  Oceana  county,  Michigan;  George,  also  of  the  same  county:  and 
Myers,  deceased.  For  his  second  wife  Mr,  Van  Aken  diose  Susan  Barney, 
whom  he  married  in  Canada,  and  they  have  two  sons  and  a  daughter :  Mark 
J.,  Bemey  L.  and  Susan,  the  last  named  being  the  wife  of  Robert  McFarson. 
For  his  third  wife  Mr.  Van  Aken  chose  Eliza  Cronk,  a  sister  of  his  second 
wife,  and  they  have  a  daughter  and  son :  Alma,  at  home ;  and  J.  Hiram,  who 
is  living  in  Coldwater.  The  mother  died  March  9,  1904.  Mr.  Van  Aken  is 
one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Branch  county  and  has  been  identified  with  its 
growth  and  development  through  almost  seventy  years,  witnessing  its  trans- 
formation from  a  wild  and  unimproved  region  into  a  center  of  civilization. 
He  has  been  a  Republican  since  casting  his  vote  for  John  C.  Fremont,  and 
for  about  thirty-five  years  has  been  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in 
Coldwater.  His  success  has  come  to  him  through  well  directed  and  persist- 
ent effort  and  an  honored  name  has  been  gained  because  of  his  fidelity  to 
manly  principles,  his  consideration  for  others  and  his  justice  and  truth  in  all 
life's  relations. 

M.  J.  Van  Aken,  the  oldest  child  of  his  father's  second  marriage,  was 
reared  and  educated  in  Coldwater,  the  family  removing  from  the  farm  to  the 
city  during  his  early  boyhood.  After  putting  aside  his  text  books  he  and  his 
brother,  B.  L.  Van  Aken,  bought  out  the  father's  livery  business.  This  was 
in  1887,  and  they  have  since  conducted  the  barn,  which  is  now  the  oldest  estab- 
■lished  livery  in  the  county.  They  rank,  too,  among  the  foremost  representa- 
tives of  their  line  of  business  and  have  an  extensive  patronage,  owing  to  their 
earnest  desire  to  please  their  customers,  the  excellent  iine  of  vehicles,  which 
they  have,  and  their  straightforward  dealing.  M.  J.  Van  Aken  was  also  en- 
gaged in  farming  for  a  few  years  on  the  old  family  homestead^  when  a  young 
man.  In  association  with  his  brother  he  is  also  conducting  a  florist's  business, 
the  brother  being  active  manager  of  the  latter,  while  M.  J.  Van  Aken  has  im- 
mediate charge  of  the  livery  business. 

In  1883  occurred  the  marriage  of  M.  J.  Van  Aken  and  Miss  Gertrude 
Norton,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  three  children:  Nina  L.,  Edna  N., 
and  Hugh  H.,  but  the  last  named  is  the  only  one  living.  The  mother  also 
died  in  the  fall  of  1893.  The  eldest  daughter  died  the  following  fall,  and 
Edna  passed  away  two  years  later.  In  1895  Mr.  Van  Aken  was  married  to 
Miss  Anna  Kerr,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Susie  Louise. 

For  forty-three  years  Mr.  Van  Aken  has  been  a  resident  of  Branch 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  81T 

county,  spending  the  greater  part  of  the  time  in  the  city  of  Coldwater,  where 
he  now  has  a  very  wide  acquaintance.  He  has  taken  an  active  part  in  public 
affairs,  becoming  a  co-operant  factor  in  many  measures  for  the  general  good. 
He  was  alderman  of  his  ward  for  two  terms  or  four  years,  and  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  for  a  long  period.  He  is  also  connected 
with  the  Order  of  Foresters,  and  is  a  supporter  o£  the  Presbyterian  church, 
although  not  a  member  of  any  religious  organization. 

GEORGE  M.  WHITE. 

George  M.  White,  the  oldest  justice  of  the  peace  in  years  of  continued 
service  in  the  city  of  Coldwater,  and  also  engaged  in  the  insurance  business  in 
Coldwater.  was  horn  in  Batavia  towns.hip.  this  county,  on  the  6th  of  March, 
1843.  H'S  father,  Solomon  White,  was  a  native  of  Orleans  county.  New 
York,  and  in  1836  came  westward  to  Michigan,  purchasing  land  in  Branch 
county,  whereon  he  engaged  in  farming.  He  was  but  forty  years  of  age, 
however,  at  the  time  of  his  death.  An  earnest  and  consistent  Qiristian  man, 
he  was  prominent  in  the  membership  of  the  Methodist  church,  took  an  active 
part  in  its  work,  and  served  as  class  leader.  His  father  had  died  when  he 
was  a  small  child,  and  he  was  reared  by  his  elder  brother,  George  White. 
They  were  descendants  of  the  Whites  who  came  to  America  on  the  Mayflower 
in  the  year  1620,  and  later  generations  of  tlie  family  removed  frcwn  New 
England  to  New  York.  Solomon  White  was  united  in  marriage  to  Lydia 
Warner,  a  native  of  Orleans  county,  New  York,  who  died  in  Coldwater  at 
the  age  of  seventy-three  years.  Four  years  after  the  death  of  her  first  hus- 
band she  became  the  wife  of  J.  B.  Wells,  a  resident  of  Coldwater  township. 
She  was  the  mother  of  three  children,  two  daughters  and  a  son :  Martha  J., 
now  deceased;  Laura  M.,  the  wife  of  William  H.  Sibley,  of  Riverdale,  Michi- 
gan ;  and  George  M. 

Reared  in  his  native  township  George  M.  White  acquired  his  educa- 
tion in  the  common  schools,  and  when  seventeen  years  of  age  he  started  out 
in  life  on  his  own  accoimt,  working  on  a  farm  by  the  month.  He  was  mar- 
ried December  25,  i860,  when  in  his  eighteenth  year,  to  Miss  Viana  E. 
Bates,  the  daughter  of  P.  C.  and  Mercy  (Cole)  Bates.  They  located  in  Bethel 
township,  where  they  resided  until  August  9,  1862,  and  Mr.  White,  whose 
patriotic  spirit  was  aroused  by  the  attempt  of  the  south  to  overthrow  the 
Union,  then  enlisted  as  a  member  of  Company  H,  Nineteenth  Michigan  In- 
fantry. He  served  luitil  June  10,  1865,  nearly  three  years,  and  was  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  corporal  and  acted  as  clerk  of  his  con^ny.  In  the  ba.ttl«  of 
New  Hope  Church  in  the  Atlanta  campaign  be  was  wounded  and  was  then* 
taken  to  a  hospital  at  Nashville,  Tennessee.  After  becoming  tcaivalescent 
he  was  transferred  to  the  convalescent  camp  at  Murfreesboro,  Tennessee,  and 
acted  as  clerk  for  Colonel  Smith,  who  was  in  command  of  the  camp.  Later 
he  returned  to  his  company,  which  at  that  time  was  at  Atlanta,  and  went 
with  Sherman  on  the  celebrated  march  to  the  sea.  He  also  participated  in  the 
Carolina  campaign,  and  took  part  in  the  grand  review  in  Washington,  where 


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818  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

he  was  one  of  the  color  guard.     He  was  taken  prisoner  at  Thompson  Station, 
Tennessee,  March  5.  1863,  and  confined  for  a  time  in  Libby  prison. 

When  hostihties  had  ceased  and  the  country  no  longer  needed  his  aid  Mr. 
White  returned  home  with  a  creditable  military  record,  joining  his  wife  in 
Bethel,  Branch  county.  He  afterward  followed  the  carpenter's  trade  there 
imtil  1871,  when  he  removed  to  Coldwater  and  accepted  a  clerkship  in  the  dry 
goods  store  of  W.  S.  Allen,  with  whom  he  remained  for  a  year.  Subse- 
quently he  was  with  Rodman  Brothers  for  six  years  and  then  embarked  in 
merchandising  on  his  own  account  as  proprietor  of  a  grocery  store,  which 
he  conducted  for  ten  years  under  the  firm  name  of  G.  M.  White  &  Company. 
He  then  sold  out  and  since  that  time  has  given  his  attention  largely  to  his 
public  duties.  In  April,  1891,  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  and  has 
served  continuously  in  that  office  to  the  present  time,  being  now  the  oldest 
justice  in  years  of  consecutive  service  in  the  city.  He  has  also  been  notary 
public  since  February,  1890,  and  he  is  likewise  engaged  in  the  insurance  busi- 
ness. He  has  also  held  the  offite  of  supervisor  from  the  first  ward  for  two 
terms,  was  alderman  from  the  first  ward  for  one  term  and  was  school  in- 
spector of  Bethel  and  highway  commissioner  in  the  same  township  for  four 
years. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  White  have  one  daughter,  Nellie  E.,  who  is  now  the  wife 
of  W.  F.  Taylor,  of  Coldwater.  He  belongs  to  Butterworth  Post  No.  109, 
G.  A.  R.,  and  was  quartermaster  for  fifteen  years,  in  which  position  he  is 
still  serving.  He  is  likewise  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Work- 
men and  is  now  serving  for  the  seventh  term'  as  its  financier.  He  belongs  to 
the  National  Protective  Legion,  and  for  the  third  term  is  occupying  the  posi- 
tion of  president  of  the  local  society.  Identified  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  he  is  connected  with  various  lines  of  the  church  activity,  and  for  four 
years  has  held  the  office  of  financial  secretary,  and  for  several  years  has  been 
a  member  of  the  board  of  stewards.  His  political  allegiance  has  ever  been 
given  to  the  Republican  party.  For  sixty-two  years  he  has  lived  in  Branch 
county,  and  his  life  has  ever  been  worthy  of  public  regard,  his  warmest  friends 
being  numbered  among  those  who  have  known  him  from  his  youth  to  the 
present  time.  Great  changes  have  occurred  during  this  period,  and  his  mind 
forms  a  connecting  link  between  the  primitive  past  and  the  progressive 
present. 

NOAH   P.    LOVERIDGE. 

Hon.  Noah  P.  Loveridge,  deceased,  at  one  time  judge  of  the  fifteenth 
judicial  district  of  Michigan  and  a  prominent  member  of  the  bar,  was  born 
in  New  Milford,  Litchfield  county,  Connecticut,  June  18,  1826,  and  was  the 
seventh  in  the  family  of  fourteen  children  born  to  Erastus  and  Ruth  Ann 
(Gary)  Loveridge,  who  were  also  natives  of  Connecticut  and  representatives 
of  old  New  England  families.  The  father  was  the  owner  of  a  cotton  factory 
and  in  his  youth  Noah  had  to  assist  his  father  in  the  management  of  the 
business.  He  remained  in  his  native  town  until  twenty  years  of  age  and  while 
not  occupied  with  the  duties  of  the  schoolroom  worked  in  the  mill.     Am- 


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NoaK  P.  Loveridge 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  819 

bitious  for  an  education,  while  employed  in  the  mi31  he  studied  English  and 
Latin  grammar,  keeping  his  books  always  near  him,  and  at  the  same  time 
managing  the  labors  of  a  number  of  the  operatives  in  the  factory.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  completing  an  academic  education  under  the  instruction  of  the 
famous  tutor,  Frederick  Gunn,  whose  school  was  frequently  designated  as 
"The  Gunnery." 

Upon  leaving  home,  at  the  age  of  twenty  years,  Judge  Loveridge  began 
teaching  school  in  New  Jersey,  and  during  the  first  year  devoted  his  leisure 
hours  to  the  study  of  Latin  and  geometry.  He  then  took  up  Blackstone 
and  determining  to  become  a  member  of  the  legal  profession  he  entered  the 
National  Law  School  at  Ballston  Spa,  near  Saratoga,  New  York.  He  studied 
law  and  taught  alternately  until  1851,  when  going  to  New  York  city  he  com- 
pleted his  law  studies  in  the  office  and  under  the  direction  of  Judge  Curtis, 
being  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  in  the  spring  of  1852. 

Judge  Loveridge  then  opened  an  office  in  Cuba,  New  York,  where  he 
practiced  law  until  his  removal  to  the  west  in  1866,  in  which  year  he  took 
up  his  residence  in  Coldwater,  where  he  gave  his  undivided  attention  to  his 
law  practice  until  1882,  in  which  year,  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Teller,  secretary 
of  the  interior  under  President  Arthur,  he  went  to  Washington,  D.  C,  where 
for  two  years  he  was  engaged  in  writing  opinions  in  relation  to  railroad  grants 
for  Mr.  Teller.  President  Arthur  then  appointed  him  United  States  deputy 
commissioner  of  pensions,  which  position  he  filled  until  18S5,  when  he  re- 
turned to  Coldwater  and  resunied  the  practice  of  law.  In  the  early  autumn 
of  1886  he  visite<!  Europe  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  was  elected 
judge  of  the  fifteenth  judicial  district  of  the  circuit  court,  assuming  the  duties 
of  the  office  in  January,  1887.  His  decisions  were  strictly  fair  and  impartial, 
being  based  upon  the  equity  of  the  case  and  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the 
principles  of  jurisprudence.  His  record  as  a  judge  was  in  harmony  with  his 
record  as  a  man  and  lawyer, — distinguished  by  integrity  and  a  masterful 
grasp  of  every  question  which  was  presented  for  solution. 

His  early  political  support  was  given  to  the  Democracy,  but  on  account  of 
the  attitude  of  the  party  on  the  currency  questions  he  left  its  ranks  and  from 
1878  until  his  death  was  a  stalwart  Republican. 

Judge  Loveridge  was  married,  in  1S54,  at  Mendham,  New  Jersey,  to  Miss 
Marietta  King  Vance,  a  daughter  of  Elias  and  Abigail  (Homan)  Vance.  She 
was  born  in  New  Jersey,  December  25.  1829,  and  by  this  marriage  became 
the  mother  of  five  children:  Livingston  L.,  who  was  born  at  Cuba,  New 
York.  August  20,  1855,  and  died  in  1895;  H.  C,  who  resides  at  Coldwater; 
Walter,  who  died  in  infancy;  Ernest  H.,  who  also  resides  in  Coldwater;  and 
Frederick  H.,  who  resides  in  Chicago.  Mrs.  Noah  P.  Loveridge  still  survives 
her  husband  and  resides  in  Coldwater. 

Judge  Loveridge  died  June  26,  1900.  His  talents,  his  professional  ability, 
his  devotion  to  the  general  welfare,  and  above  all  his  personal  worth  had 
given  him  a  position  in  pubhc  regard  second  to  none.  He  was  a  distinguished 
lawyer,  whose  fame  was  known  far  beyond  the  limits  of  his  home  locality, 
and' his  name  is  now  on  the  roll  of  honored  dead  of  Branch  county. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


H.    C.    LOVERIDGE. 

Henry  C.  Loveriflge,  oldest  surviving  son  of  the  late  Judge  Noah  P. 
Loveridge,  was  born  August  13,  1856,  and  is  now  numbered  among  the  lead- 
ing lawyers  of  southern  Michigan.  He  is  a  graduate  of  the  Coldwater  high 
school.  He  was  graduated  in  1880  from  Trinity  College  at  Hartford,  Con- 
necticut, and  studied  law  in  the  office  of  Loveridge  and  Barlow  at  Cold- 
water,  being  admitted  to  practice  in  1S83.  He  has  since  practiced  in  Cold- 
water,  being  for  a  time  associated  with  H.  H,  Barlow,  and  with  his  father 
from  the  latter's  retirement  from  the  bench  until  his  death.  Mr.  Loveridge 
has  devoted  himself  to  his  professional  interests  with  high  success.  He  has 
been  connected  with  the  city  school  board  as  president  of  the  board,  and  also' 
has  served  as  city  attorney.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church  and  has 
been  a  member  of  the  vestry  for  a  number  of  years. 

Mr.  Loveridge  married,  in  Coldwater,  in  September,  1893,  Miss  Jessie 
Moore,  daughter  of  Colonei  O.  H.  Moore.  They  have  two  children,  Sallie  M. 
and  Homan  Livingston. 

SAMUEL  POLLOCK. 

Among  the  men  of  the  past  and  present  who  have  contributed  to  the 
substantial  improvement  of  Coldwater,  Samuel  Pollock,  now  deceased,  was 
numbered.  He  was  born  in  Ireland  and  spent  the  days  of  his  boyhood  and 
youth  in  that  land.  About  1848,  however,  he  bade  adieu  to  home,  friends 
and  the  green  Isle  of  Erin  and  sailed  for  the  new  world,  making  his  way  first 
to  Canada.  He  afterward  went  to  Nebraska  in  the  employ  of  the  United 
States  government,  and  while  in  the  west  was  engaged  in  the  construction  of 
Fort  Leavenworth  and  Fort  Kearney.  He  aJso  spent  some  time  in  Missouri, 
working  at  the  carpenter's  trade,  with  whidi  he  had  become  familiar  in  early 
life.  His  residence  in  Coldwater  dated  from  i86i,  and  here  he  again  se- 
cured carpenter  work,  being  identified  with  building  operations  in  this  city 
until  his  removal  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  in  the  '60s.  Tliere  he  resided  rmt'i! 
18S1,  when  he  returned  to  Coldwater,  and  here  he  embarked  in  the  lumber 
business,  which  he  purchased  from  Henry  T.  Smith.  He  then  conducted  his 
lumber  yard  until  his  death,  and  in  1895  ^^  admitted  his  son,  Charles  A.  Pol- 
lock, to  a  partnership  under  the  firm  style  of  Pollock  &  Son.  The  business 
is  still  carried  on  under  this  name  although  the  life  labors  of  the  father  were 
ended  in  death  March  29,  1900. 

SamueJ  PoIIorf:  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sarah  J.  Peet,  a  native 
of  England,  in  which  country  she  was  reared.  She  still  survives  her  hus- 
band and  they  became  the  parents  of  two  daughters  and  three  sons,  two  of 
whom  died  in  infancy,  the  daughters  being  Minnie,  the  wife  of  W.  M.  Brown, 
of  Coldwater,  and  Jessie,  at  home. 

Charles  A.  PoUock  was  bom  in  Qeveland,  Ohio,  June  18,  1872,  and 
was  nine  years  of  age  when  his  father  returned  to  Coldwater,  where  he  ac- 
quired the  greater  part  of  his  education  in  the  public  schools.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1895  to  Miss  Ellen  L.  Spaiding,  a  daughter  of  Charles  A.  Spalding,  of 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  821 

Coldwater,  and  they  now  have  two  children,  Rosamond  and  Winnifred, 
CharJes  A.  Pollock  has  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  H£e  in  this  city,  and  is 
not  only  well  known  in  commercial  circles,  but  is  also  a  valued  representative 
of  the  Order  of  Foresters  and  the  Masonic  fraternity,  having  attained  the 
Knight  Templar  degree  in  the  latter.  He  is  likewise  a  member  of  the  E^jis- 
copal  church  and  is  now  serving  as  vestryman.  His  interest  in  the  welfare 
of  Coldwater  is  deep  and  sincere  and  has  led  to  his  active  support  of  many 
measures  for  the  public  good.  In  his  biisiness  he  has  attained  a  creditable 
position  and  is  now  in  control  of  the  leading  lumber  tradp  of  the  city. 

Samuel  Pollock  was  a  Republican  in  his  political  views,  interested  in  the 
welfare  of  the  party  and  anxious  for  the  adoption  of  its  principles.  He  kept 
well  informed  on  all  tlie  questions  and  issues  of  the  day  and  was  especially 
helpful  in  matters  of  local  progress,  endorsing  all  progressive  movements 
which  owed  their  existence  to  a  desire  for  permanent  good  and  upbuilding 
of  the  county.  Although  an  adopted  son  no  native  born  citizen  of  America 
was  more  loyal  to  its  institutions  or  to  the  republican  form  of  government. 
He  never  had  occasion  to  regret  the  determination  to  make  a  home  in  the 
new  world,  for  he  found  here  the  business  opportunities  he  sought,  and  by 
the  utilization  of  the  advantages  which  surrounded  him  he  advanced  from 
an  humble  financial  position  to  one  of  affluence,  ccsnmanding  at  the  same  time 
the  unqualified  regard  of  his  fellow  men  because  of  his  fidelity  to  a  high 
standard  of  commercial  ethics. 

JOHN  R.  CHAMPION. 

John  R.  Champion,  three  times  mayor  of  Coldwater  and  a  leading 
and  prominent  member  of  the  Branch  county  bar,  was  born  near  Ithaca,  New 
York,  January  12,  1S36,  his  parents  being  Reuben  J.  and  Eliza  (Cross)  Cham- 
pion, both  of  whom  were  natives  of  New  York,  whence  they  came  to  Branch 
county,  Michigan,  in  1836,  settling  in  Coldwater,  where  tlie  father  engaged 
in  merchandising  for  a  few  years.  He  afterward  became  identified  with 
industrial  pursuits,  but  conducted  a  milling  business,  being  the  builder  and 
for  many  years  the  operator  of  what  was  known  as  the  Black  Hawk  mill. 
Eventually  he  sold  the  plant  and  removed  to  Indiana,  but  after  a  brief  resi- 
dence in  tliat  state  he  returned  to  Coldwater,  here  spending  his  remaining 
days,  his  death  occurring  during  the  period  of  the  Civil  war,  when  he  was 
about  seventy  years  of  age.  His  wife  had  preceded  him  to  the  home  lieyond 
by  several  years.  He  was  a  Dranocrat  in  his  political  allegiance,  but  after- 
ward became  a  staunch  advocate  of  Republican  principles.  By  his  first  wife 
he  had  seven  children,  and  by  his  second  marriage  to  Delia  Conger  he  had  one 
daughter. 

John  R.  Champion,  a  son  of  the  first  marriage,  was  reared  in  Coldwater 
and  attended  its  public  schools,  thus  acquiring  his  more  specificaUy  literary 
education.  His  law  studies  were  pursued  in  the  University  of  Michigan  at 
Ann  Arbor,  where  he  remained  a  student  until  after  the  inai^iirati(Mi  of  the 
Civil  war,  wlwn  he  became  an  aid  on  the  staff  of  the  inspector  general.  Fol- 
lowing the  close  of  hostilities  he  engaged  in  merchandising  for  a  short  time  in 


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822  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Nashville,  Tennessee,  but  soon  returned  to  his  old  home  in  Coldwater.  Prior 
to  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  between  the  north  and  the  south  he  had  been 
admitted  to  the  bar  and  finally  entered  upon  the  practice  of  law,  in  this  city, 
to  which  profession  he  has  since  devoted  his  time  and  energies.  An  excellent 
presence  and  earnest  effort,  marked  strength  of  character,  a  thorough  grasp 
of  the  law  and  the  ability  to  accurately  apply  its  principles  made  him  an  ef- 
fective and  successful  advocate  and  insured  him  equal  rank  with  other  dis- 
tinguished members  of  the  Branch  county  bar. 

Active  and  prominent  in  community  affairs  Mr.  Champion  has  served 
three  times  as  mayor  of  Coldwater,  elected  to  the  office  in  1874,  1875  and 
1880.  Herein  he  exercised  his  official  prerogatives  in  support  of  all  measures 
tending  to  promote  the  substantial  improvement  and  welfare  of  the  city  and 
his  efforts  were  resultant  factors  in  public  progress.  He  has  served  on  his 
city  board  of  education  and  on  the  library  board  and  was  also  prosecuting  at- 
torney. He  acted  as  a  member  of  the  central  board  of  control  for  two  and 
a  half  years,  and  has  been  active  in  political  circles  as  an  advocate  of  the 
Democracy  through  the  greater  period  of  his  residence  in  Coldwater. 

Mr.  Champion  has  been  married  twice  and  has  two  children,  Charles  U. 
and  A.  Sydney,  the  latter  with  the  Westinghouse  Company,  of  New.  York. 

Mr.  Champion  is  one  of  the  weii-known  residents  of  Coldwater,  and  his 
position  in  legal,  political  and  social  circles  is  an  enviable  one,  accorded  him  in 
recognition  of  his  capability  at  the  bar,  his  fitness  for  leadership  in  molding 
public  thought  and  action  and  his  sterling  personal  characteristics. 

CHARLES  U.  CHAMPION. 

Charles  U.  Champion,  practicing  law  in  Coldwater,  was  born  in  this 
city  October  13,  1864,  a  son  of  John  R.  Champion,  whose  hfe  record  is  given 
above.  At  the  usual  age  he  entered  the  public  schools,  passing  through  the 
consecutive  grades  until  he  was  graduated  from  the  high  school  with  the 
class  of  1885.  Determining  to  engage  in  the  practice  of  the  profession  which 
claims  his  father's  time  and  energies,  he  matriculated  in  the  law  department 
of  the  University  of  Michigan,  and  was  graduated  in  1888.  Since  that  time 
he  has  practiced  in  his  native  city  with  his  father  under  the  firm  style  of  Cham- 
pion &  Champion,  and  they  have  gained  a  large  and  distinctively  represent- 
ative clientage.  He  served  from  1896  until  1900  as  prosecuting  attorney,  and 
in  the  triai  of  cases  earnest  effort,  close  application  and  the  exercise  of  his 
native  talents  have  won  him  creditable  prestige.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  his 
political  views,  unfaltering  in  his  advocacy  of  the  party,  and  untiring  in  his 
efforts  to  promote  its  growth  and  insure  its  success. 

In  1892  Mr.  Champion  was  married  to  Miss  Maud  Wheeler,  and  they 
have  three  sons,  John  W.,  Paul  U.  and  Charles  S.  Mr.  Champion  is  a  Master 
Mason  and  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church,  and  for  fourteen  years  he  has 
served  on  the  library  board  of  Coldwater.  His  entire  life  having  been  passed 
in  this  city  he  is  well  known,  and  his  character  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that 
his  stanchest  friends  are  those  with  whom  he  has  been  acquainted  from  his 
boyhood  days. 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 


ARTHUR  G.  HOLBROOK. 

Artlnir  G.  Holbrook,  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  and  surgery 
in  Coldwater,  is  a  native  of  Tennessee,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Nash- 
ville, October  6,  1866.  He  is  a  son  of  George  and  Estelle  G.  (Gilbert)  Hol- 
brook, the  former  a  native  of  Coldwater  and  the  latter  of  Monroe  county, 
Michigan.  His  paternal  grandfather,  Silas  A.  Holbrook,  was  a  pioneer  mer- 
chant of  Coldwater,  to  which  place  he  came  about  1S32  from  New  York,  his 
native  state.  George  Holbrook  was  a  soldier  of  the  Qvil  war,  serving  as 
lieutenant  with  Battery  F  of  the  First  Michigan  Light  Artillery.  He  joined 
the  army  in  1861,  and  continued  with  that  command  for  three  years.  He 
afterward  located  in  Nashville,  Tennessee,  where  he  remained  until  about 
1871,  being  employed  in. a  bank  in  this  city.  In  the  year  mentioned  he  came 
north  to  Chicago,  where  he  died  on  the  27th  of  May,  1876.  He  was  also 
connected  with  the  banking  business  in  the  latter  city.  His  wife,  long  sur- 
viving him,  passed  away  in  Coldwater,  September  27,  1902,  having  returned 
soon  after  her  husband's  death. 

Dr.  Holbrook  as  a  lad  of  about  ten  years  came  to  Coldwater,  and  he  has 
since  remained  here.  He  continued  his  education  in  the  public  schools, 
passing  through  successive  grades  until  he  had  completed  the  high  school 
course  by  graduation  with  the  class  of  1887.  He  afterward  secured  a  posi- 
tion in  the  drug  department  of  the  store  owned  by  E.  R.  Qark  &  Coirtpany, 
with  whom  he  remained  for  several  years,  and  then  entered  the  University 
of  Michigan,  spending  three  years  as  a  student  in  the  medical  department. 
He  continued  his  studies  in  the  Jefferson  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia,  and 
was  graduated  in  1899,  since  which  time  he  has  practiced  in  Coldwater.  He 
belongs  to  the  Branch  County  Medical  Society,  the  Tri-State  Medical  So- 
ciety, and  the  Michigan  State  Medical  Association,  and  of  the  last  named  he 
is  now  treasurer. 

Dr.  Holbrook  was  married  in  1892  to  Miss  Luella  M.  Treat,  who  died 
in  1893,  leaving  one  son — George  Treat  In  1899  he  married  Mabel  F. 
White  of  Hartford,  Connecticut,  and  they  have  two  children — Phyllis  and 
Shirley  E.  Dr.  Holbrook  exercises  his  right  of  franchise  in  support  of  the 
men  and  measures  of  the  Republican  party,  b«t  is  without  political  aspira- 
tion for  himself.  He  holds  membership  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  is  in- 
terested in  its  work  and  the  extension  of  its  influence.  The  greater  part  of 
his  time  and  attention,  however,  are  demanded  by  his  professional  duties, 
which  are  constantly  growing  in  volume  and  importance  until  he  now  ranks 
with  the  foremost  representatives  of  the  medical  fraternity  in  Branch  county. 

EDWARD  D.  STANTON. 

The  history'of  those  who  have  been  and  are  prominently  connected  with 
farming  interests  in  Sherwood  township  would  be  incomplete  without  men- 
tion of  Edward  D.  Stanton,  deceased,  who  made  a  creditable  record  as  a  most 
successful  business  man,  there  being  many  characteristics  of  hia  business 
career  that  are  worthy  of  emulation,  and  which  awaken  as  well  respect  and 


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824  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

admiration.  He  was  a  native  of  Sennett,  Cayuga  county,  New  York,  born 
on  the  lOth  of  August,  1833.  His  father,  John  Stanton,  was  a  native  of 
Onondaga  county,  New  York,  bom  December  10,  1799.  Having  arrived  at 
years  of  maturity  he  wedded  Susan  Waldron,  who  was  born  in  Rockland 
county,  New  York,  in  1798.  Following  their  marriage  they  estaWished  their 
hcatie  in  Sennett,  Cayuga  county,  whence  they  removed  to  Michigan  in  June, 
1839,  their  destination  being  Branch  county!  Here  the  father  secured  a  tract 
of  land  and  began  the  devdopment  of  a  farm,  whereon  he  made  his  home 
until  his  life's  labors  were  ended  in  death,  November  20,  1851,  His  widow 
afterward  went  to  live  with  her  daughter  in  Sdpio  township,  Hillsdale  county, 
Michigan,  where  she  passed  away  January  6,  1868. 

Edward  Stanton  was  the  seventh  in  order  of  birth  in  a  family  of  ten 
children,  four  sons  and  six  daughters.  He  was  but  three  years  of  age  when 
broiigtit  to  Branch  county  Iw  his  parents,  and  upon  the  family  homestead  he 
was  reared,  while  in  the  district  schools  he  acquired  his  education.  His  father 
instructed  him  concerning  the  value  of  industry,  perseverance  and  integrity 
in  the  active  affairs  of  life,  and  the  lessons  which  were  thus  impressed  upon 
his  mind  in  youth  bore  rich  fruit  in  later  years.  His  educational  privileges 
were  limited,  for  that  was  the  era  of  the  log  school  house  with  its  primitive 
furnishings  and  methods  of  instruction  that  were  almost  equally  crude,  but 
Mr.  Stanton  gained  good  business  experience  and  a  natural  fund  of  common 
sense  made  him  a  citizen  of  worth,  while  reading  and  observation  kept  him 
in  touch  with  modem  thought.  In  fact  he  became  one  of  the  well- 
informed  men  of  his  locality,  and  in  his  business  career  met  with  a 
gratifying  measure  of  prosperity.  Throughout  his  active  business  career 
Mr.  Stanton  followed  general  agricultural  pursuits,  and  controlling  tlie  work 
of  the  fields  year  after  year  he  prospered,  making  investment  in  property  until 
he  was  the  owner  of  six  hundred  and  ninety  acres  of  valuable  land  in  Branch 
county,  of  which  four  hundred  acres  have  been  placed  under  a  high  state  of 
cultivation.  He  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  prominent  agriculturists  of 
his  community,  following  modern  methods  and  using  the  latest  improved  ma- 
chinery in  the  care  of  his  fidds.  He  also  raised  high  grades  of  stock,  and 
everything  about  his  place  was  kept  in  excellent  condition.  He  became  a 
stockholder  in  the  Farmers'  Narional  Bank,  and  about  two  years  after  its 
organization  was  chosen  one  of  its  directors,  in  which  capacity  he  was  re- 
tained until  his  death. 

On  the  5th  of  December,  1865,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Stanton 
and  Miss  Susan  Atwood.  the  wedding  being  celebrated  in  Coldwater.  The 
parents  are  Elisha  and  Elvira  (Demmon)  Atwood,  who  were  natives  of 
Connecticut  and  New  Hampshire,  and  following  their  marriage  removed  to 
Genesee  coimty.  New  York,  while  later  they  became  residents  of  Henry  county, 
Ohio.  The  year  1S48  witnessed  their  arrival  in  Michigan,  at  which  time 
they  took  up  their  abode  in  Sberwood  township.  Branch  county.  Later  they 
removed  to  Union  township.  Their  family  numbers  nine  children,  five  sons 
and  four  daughters,  oi  whom  Mrs.  Stanton  was  the  fourth  in  order  of  birth, 
her  natal  place  being  Genesee  county,  New  York,  her  natal  day,  September 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  825 

19,  1837.  She  attended  the  district  schools  in  her  girihood  and  was  trained 
in  home  duties  which  well  qnalified  her  to  preside  capably  over  her  own  home 
at  the  time  of  her  marriage.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stanton  were  born  three 
cliildren;  John  A.;  Elvira  E.,  now  the  wife  of  Fred  Calkins  of  Matteson 
township;  and  Mis,  the  wife  of  J-  Ara  Annis,  of  Sherwood  township.       ■ 

Mr,  Stanton  was  a  supporter  of  the  Republican  party  from  its  organiza- 
tion. In  fact  his  first  presidential  ballot  was  cast  for  its.  first  candidate  and 
he  labored  loyally  to  promote  the  success  of  the  party  and  to  secure  the  adop- 
tion of  its  principles.  He  held  the  office  of  highway,  commissioner  but  was 
never  a  politician  in  the  sense  of  oiifice  seeking,  preferring  to  devote  his  time 
and  energies  to  his  business  affairs,  wherein  he  met  with  creditable  success. 

EDWARD  B.  RANSFORD. 

April  15.  1905,  there  died  in  Quincy  township  a  citizen  who  had  been 
identified  with  this  county  for  over  half  a  century,  and  whose  career  pos- 
sesses not  only  the  interest  which  always  belongs  to  such  length  of  life,  but 
furthermore  the  regard  which  arises  from  a  wholesome  usefulness  and  in- 
tegrity of  character. 

Edward  B.  Ransford  was  born  in  the  state  of  New  York  in  1828,  so 
that  he  was  seventy-seven  years  old  at  the  date  of  his  death.  He  was  of  New 
England  stock,  a  son  of  Aruna  and  Lydia  (Cass)'  Ransford,  whom  he  accom- 
panied to  Michigan  in  1844  and  located  two  and  a  half  miles  south  of  Jones- 
ville,  Hillsdale  county,  where  both  parents  died.  Reared  on  a  farm  and 
attending  the  schools  of  the  county,  Edward  B.  Ransford  followed  agricult- 
ural pursuits  througtioiit  his  active  career,  and  was  almost  uniformly  suc- 
cessful in  his  endeavors.  Coming'  to  Branch  county  in  1853,  he  bought  eighty 
acres  in  section  four  of  Quincy  township,  and  on  that  homestead,  now  linked 
by  so  many  ties  of  association  with  his  life,  he  continued  to  make  his  residence 
until  death  took  him  in  the  fulness  of  years  and  maturity  of  work.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  was  affiliated  with  the  Masons, 
and  in  politics  was  a  Republican,  being  proud  of  his  stanch  advocacy  of  the 
principles  of  the  Grand  Old  Party,  which  he  had  upheld  so  many  years.  At 
the  organization  of  Quincy  Grange  No.  152  in  1873,  he  and  his  wife  became 
charter  members,  and  the  latter  is  now  the  only  active  living  charter  member 
of  the  organization.     Edward  B.  Ransford  was  one  of  eight  children. 

He  married  Frances  E  Churchill,  who  was  born  in  Columbia  county. 
New  York,  in  1828,  and,  surviving  her  iate  husband,  is  now  one  of  the 
esteemed  old  ladies  of  her  community.  Her  parents  were  William  Henry 
and  Fanny  (Gregory)  Churchill,  the  former  of  New  York  state  and  the 
latter  of  Connecticut,  and  Ixrth  members  of  the  Methodist  church.  The 
Churchill  family  moved  to  Michigan  in  1844,  locating  at  Jonesville,  and 
in  1851  came  to  Branch  county  and  located  in  Quincy  township,  w-here  the 
father  continued  his  vocation  of  farming,  but  for  some  time  before  his  death 
lived  retired  in  Quincy.  He  was  a  Democrat.  Mrs.  Ransford  is  the  oldest 
of  their  five  children,  the  others  being :  Charles,  deceased ;  George,  who  served 
in  the  commissaiy  department  during  the  Civil  war  and  is  now  a  resident 


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826  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

of  San  Antonio,  Texas;  Siisan,  wife  of  John  Nichols,  a  farmer  at  East 
Chattanooga,  Tennessee ;  and  Robert,  a  resident  of  Quincy,  who  was  a  soldier 
in  the  Civil  war,  going  from  New  York,  Mrs.  Ransford  is  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  church, 

.  Six  children  were  Ixirn  to  Mr,  and  Mrs.  Ransford:  Alfred,  now  deceased, 
was  a  graduate  of  Valparaiso  College  and  was  a  successful  school  teacher, 
being  principal  of  the  Quincy  schools,  and  also  of  the  schools  at  Kaneville 
and  St,  Charles,  Illinois;  Julia  is  tlie  wife  of  Nelson  Curtis,  a  farmer  of 
Butler  township ;  Charles  is  connected  with  a  carriage  factory  at  Flint,  Michi- 
gan; George  is  a  farmer  in  Butler  township;  Frank  lives  on  the  old  home- 
stead ;  and  Susan  married  A.  E.  Lampman,  a  farmer  of  Butler  township, 

HENRY  SEYMOUR, 

Henry  Seymour,  a  retired  grocery  merchant  who  in  public  office  demon- 
strated his  loyalty  to  the  general  welfare  of  Branch  county,  was  bom  in 
Oneida  county,  New  York,  August  15,  1837.  His  father,  Constantine  A, 
Seymour,  was  a  native  of  the  Empire  state  and  was  reared  in  Oneida  county. 
He  was  a  tailor  by  occupation  and  in  1844  he  came  westward  to  Michigan, 
settling  in  the  northern  part  of  Branch  county,  where  he  continued  to  carry 
on  tailoring.  His  political  allegiance  was  given  to  the  Repubhcan  party 
from  the  time  of  its  organization  and  he  was  elected  and  served  as  township 
treasurer.  He  married  Lucy  M.  Thayer,  also  a  native  of  New  York  and 
his  death  occurred  when  he  was  seventy-three  years  of  age,  while  his  wife 
died  when  about  sixty-eight  years  of  age.  Thev  were  the  parents  of  four 
children,  three  sons  and  a  daughter,  all  of  whom  reached  years  of  maturity. 
The  daughter  is  now  deceased,  but  the  sons'are  all  living. 

Henry  Seymour,  the  second  child  and  second  son,  was  seven  years  old 
when  brought  by  his  parents  to  Brancli  county  and  was  reared  and  educated 
in  Union  township.  In  early  life  he  learned  the  tinner's  trade  which  he 
followed  for  about  eighteen  years.  His  business  pursuits,  however,  were 
interrupted  when  in  1861  he  espoused  the  cause  of  the  union  and  joined 
the  boys  in  blue  of  Company  D,  First  Michigan  Light  Artillery,  with  which 
he  served  for  three  years.  He  was  often  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight  and  he 
participated  in  the  engagements  at  Stone  River,  Pittsburgh  Landing,  Chicka- 
mauga,  Missionary  Ridge  and  many  others,  receiving  an  honorable  discharge 
at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  at  the  close  of  his  term  of  enlistment  September  17, 
■  1864.  At  the  battle  of  Pittsburgh  Landing  he  was  knocked  down  by  the  force 
of  a  solid  shot  striking  the  ground  in  front  of  him,  a  close  call  for  his  life, 

Mr.  Seymour  then  returned  home  and  resumed  business  in  Branch  county. 
He  was  for  twenty-one  years  a  grocer  of  Union  City,  having  a  well  appointed 
store  and  receiving  a  liberal  patronage.  That  he  met  with  success  in  his 
undertakings  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  he  so  long  directed  his  energies 
to  one  line  of  trade.  He  also  gave  some  time  to  discharge  of  public  duties 
which  were  entrusted  to  him  by  the  vote  of  his  fellow  townsmen.  He  was 
elected  in  1899  to  the  office  of  county  treasurer  for  a  term  of  two  years 
and  in  1901  was  re-elected,  serving  until  1903,  when  he  retired  from  office 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  S27 

as  he  had  entered  it,  "MHth  the  confidence  and  good  will  of  all  concerned." 
He  was  also  supervisor  of  Union  township  for  thirteen  years  and  was  town 
treasurer  for  two  years.  He  has  been  a  hfe  long  Republican  and  has  taken 
an  active  and  helpful  interest  in  public  affairs,  his  labors  being  far  reaching 
and  beneficial  in  their  influence. 

In  1865  Mr.  Seymour  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Carrie  E.  Tuth- 
erly,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  two  sons  and  a  daughter:  John  C,  who 
is  now  a  dry  goods  merchant  at  Sherwood,  Branch  county;  George  H,,  who 
is  a  cashier  of  the  Merchants'  Bank  at  Sherwood;  and  Cora  E.,  who  is  a 
graduate  of  the  piano  department  of  the  Michigan  State  Normal,  and  is  now 
a  teacher  of  music  and  drawing. 

Mr.  Seymour  belongs  to  Corbin  Post,  No.  88,  G.  A.  R.,  and  attended 
the  Grand  Encampment  at  Columbus,  Ohio.  He  is  likewise  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  lodge  of  Union  City  and  the  Eastern 
Star.  While  now  practically  retired  from  active  business  life  he  is 
still  a  stockholder  and  director  in  the  Union  City  National  Bank.  He  has 
lived  for  sixty-one  years  in  Branfch  county  and  has  a  very  wide  and  favor- 
able acquaintance  here.  Endowed  by  nature  with  a  strong  character  he  was 
so  surrounded  in  his  childhood  that  his  latent  powers  were  developed  and 
strengthened  and  he  became  a  successful  business  man.  Today  he  is  not 
more  honored  on  account  of  the  enviable  position  which  he  has  occupied  in 
business  circles  and  the  success  he  has  gained  than  by  reason  of  his  fidelity 
to  duty  in  public  office,  his  loyalty  to  his  country  at  the  time  of  the  Civil  war 
and  on  account  of  the  many  deeds  of  his  life  which  have  ever  been  quietlv 
and  unostentatiously  performed. 

CHARLES  D.  RATHBURN. 

Charles  D.  Rathburn,  living  on  section  sixteen,  Sherwood  township, 
where  he  is  extensively  and  successfully  engaged  in  genera!  farming,  is  a 
native  of  Ashtabula  county,  Ohio,  born  April  9,  1842.  He  is  a  son  of  Joseph 
and  Sarah  O.  (Brown)  Rathburn,  the  former  a  native  of  Genesee  county, 
New  York,  and  the  latter  of  Kingsville,  Ashtabula  county,  Ohio.  The  mother 
died  in  Michigan  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  eighty-two  years.  In  their  family 
were  five  daughters  and  four  sons:  Olivia,  now  deceased;  Francis  M.,  who 
has  also  passed  avi-ay;  Charles  D. ;  Pearson  J,,  who  is  represented  elsewhere 
in  this  work ;  Electa,  the  wife  of  James  Johnson,  of  Isabella  county,  Michigan ; 
Deborah,  deceased;  Ellen  E.,  the  wife  of  Ed  Ward,  of  Alabama;  Edward 
R.,  who  is  a  twin  of  Ellen  and  lives  in  Shei^vood  township;  and  Marietta 
R.,  the  wife  of  Frank  H.  Lee,  of  Mount  Pleasant,  Michigan. 

Charles  D.  Rathburn,  the  eldest  son  and  third  child  of  the  family,  passed 
his  youth  in  Ashtabula  county  with  the  exception  of  a  period  of  two  years 
spent  in  Iowa.  He  was  provided  with  good  educational  privileges,  pursuing 
a  course  at  Kingsville  Academy  in  his  native  county  and  later  he  gave  his 
attention  to  farming,  which  he  followed  in  his  native  state  until  1877,  when 
he  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  settling  upon  a  farm  which  he  now 
owns  and  at  the  present  time  is  being  operated  by  his  sons.    During  his  resi- 


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828  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

dence  in  this  county  he  has  practiced  veterinary  surgery,  having  prepared  him- 
self for  the  profession  and  passed  an  examination  at  Lansing,  Michigan,  be- 
fore the  veterinary  board,  and  registered  in  Branch  county.  His  skill  in  this 
connection  has  rendered  him  a  prominent  repres«itative  of  the  calling,  and  he 
is  a  member  of  the  Wolverine  Veterinary  Association.  He  has  a  farm  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty-seven  acres  which  is  well  improved  and  supplied  with 
many  modem  equipments  and  accessories,  so  that  it  is  now  a  valuable  prop- 
erty, and  to  the  place  he  gives  his  supervision,  althc«igh  his  sons  perform 
the  active  work  of  the  fields. 

Mr.  Rathburn  was  married  in  Kingsville  township,  Ashtabula  county, 
Ohio,  June  15,  1865,  to  Miss  Alice  C.  Fox,  a  daughter  of  Alvin  and  Vesta  C. 
(Ward)  Fox,  who  was  bom  in  Kingsville,  Ashtabula  county,  Ohio,  May  22, 
1840.  They  have  two  children :  Marion  A.,  who  married  Hannah  Russell 
and  resides  upon  his  father's  farm;  and  Lillie,  the  wife  of  George  A,  Drumm, 
a  resident  of  Sherwood  town^ip. 

Mr.  Rathburn,  desirous  for  the  best  interests  of  his  county,  has  co-oper- 
ated in  public  affairs  to  the  best  of  his  ability — and  that  ability  is  of  no 
mean  order.  He  has  filled  die  office  of  township  treasurer  for  three  tenns, 
and  was  supervisor  for  one  term,  and  whether  in  office  or  out  of  it  he  is  al- 
ways a  champion  for  public  good.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  and  was 
elected  to  office  in  face  of  a  nonnal  Republican  majority,  so  that  the  elec- 
tion was  proof  of  his  personal  popularity  and  tiie  confidence  reposed  in  him 
by  his  fellow  townsmen.  For  twenty-five  years  he  has  been  treasurer  of  the 
Grange  and  is  very  active  in  its  movement.  He  was  also  school  director, 
and  has  been  assessor  the  greater  part  of  the  time  since  coming  to  BrancJi 
county.  He  belongs  to  the  Masonic  fraternity  at  Athens,  and  is  well  known, 
in  this  portion  of  Michigan,  where  his  activity  in  business  affairs,  his  co- 
operation in  public  measures  and  his  genuine  worth  of  character  have  made 
him  prominent.  He  is  an  excellent  representation  of  a  purely  self-made  man, 
for  all  that  he  has  lias  been  honestly  acquired  by  his  untiring  effort,  so  that 
his  example  should  well  serve  as  a  lesson  and  incentive  to  the  younger  gen- 
eration. 

WILLARD  ADOLPH. 

Willard  Adolph,  a  representative  farmer  of  Union  township,  living  in 
section  eleven,  was  bom  in  Richardbegii,  Bohemia,  on  the  7th  of  July,  1846, 
and  was  but  ten  years  of  age  when  brought  by  his  parents  to  America,  at 
which  time  the  family  home  was  established  about  three  miles  northwest  of 
the  citj'  of  Coldwater.  There  they  remained  for  a  year  and  then  removed 
to  Girard  township,  where  Mr.  Adolph  of  this  review  was  reared  to  man- 
hood. He  worketl  in  the  fields  on  the  home  plaoe,  gaining  a  practical  knowl- 
edge of  famiing  methods  that  wtU  fitted  him  to  carry  on  agricultural  pur- 
suits Ml  his  ovra  account  after  he  had  attained  man's  estate. 

On  the  2nd  of  November,  1869,  Mr.  Adolph  was  married  in  Girard 
township  to  Miss  Anna  Hoffman  and  took  up  his  abode  in  Batavia  township, 
where  he  remained  for  about  fifteen  years,  when  he  sold  that  property  and 
bought  eighty  acres  where  he  now  resides.     He  added  to  this  until  he  has 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  829 

a  vakiaWe  farm  property  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  acres  which  is  well 
improved.  Most  of  the  improvements  are  the  work  of  his  hands  and  his 
labors  have  made  him  one  of  the  substantial  citizens  of  the  community. 
Realizing  that  labor  is  the  basis  of  all  success,  he  has  carried  on  his  work 
persistently  and  energetically,  his  efforts  being  guided  by  soimd  judgment 
and  keen  business  discernment. 

The  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Adolph  has  been  blessed  with  three  children : 
Anna,  now  the  wife  of  Clarence  Olney,  a  farmer  of  Union  township;  Willie, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  years;  and  Edward,  who  also  carried  on 
agricultural  pursuits  in  Union  township.  Mr.  Adoiph  has  been  a  resident 
of  Branch  county  for  a  half  century  and  has  done  his  fttft  share  in  the  work 
of  improvement  and  progress.  Seeing  the  needs  of  his  community,  he  has 
co-operated  in  many  movements  for  the  general  good.  In  politics  he  has 
been  a  life-long  Republican,  but  has  preferred  to  do  his.  duty  to  township 
and  county  as  a  private  citizen  rather  than  an  officeholder.  He  is  one  of 
the  loyal  adopted  sons  of  America,  interested  in  her  institutions,  devoted 
to  her  principles  and  active  in  support  of  the  measures  which  he  deems  will 
promote  local  advancement  and  the  national  welfare. 

J.  H.  ANDERSON,  M.  D. 

Dr.  J.  H.  Anderson,  strccessfuHy  practicing  medicine  in  Union  City  and 
vicinity,  is  a  native  son  of  Michigan,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  St.  Joseph 
county,  Jamiary  3.  1867.  His  parents  were  George  and  Rebecca  (Gamett) 
Anderson,  the  ^former  a  native  0*  northern  Ireland  and  the  latter  of  Eng- 
land. Both  came  to  America  in  early  life  and  the  father,  establishing  his 
home  in  St.  Joseph  county,  engaged  in  business  as  a  hardware  merchant  at 
Constantine.  He  died  when  his  son,  Dr.  Anderson,  was  only  three  years 
old  and  the  mother  afterward  returned  to  her  native  country  accompanied 
by  her  family.  She  there  remained  unti!  188 1,  when  she  again  came  to  the 
new  world,  settling  at  Constantine,  Michigan,  and  there  Dr,  Anderson  con- 
tinued his  education,  completing  the  high  school  course  with  the  class  of 
1S84.  His  tastes  led  him  into  professional  life  and,  determining  upon  the 
practice  o£  medicine  and  surgery,  he  then  entered  the  Michigan  State  Uni- 
versity at  Ann  Arbor,  completing  the  medical  course  by  graduation  in  1888. 
He  located  for  practice  at  Girard,  where  he  remained  for  nine  years,  and  in 
1901  he  removed  to  Union  City,  where  he  has  since  followed  his  chosen 
calling.  In  this  profession  advancement  depends  entirely  upon  individual 
merit.  One  must  master  the  principles  of  medicine  and  surgery  and  mtist 
accurately  apply  his  knowledge  to  the  needs  of  his  patients.  Dr.  Anderson  is 
most  careful  in  the  diagnosis  of  a  case  and  his  jndgment  is  seldom  at  fault  in 
anticipating  tiie  outcome  of  a  disease. 

While  living  in  Gtrard  Dr.  Anderson  was  married  to  Miss  Harriet 
Granger,  a  daughter  of  Frank  Granger.  She  died  in  1897,  leaving  two 
sons,  with  whom  Dr.  Anderson  returned  to  his  old  home  in  Constantine, 
there  remaining  until  his  removal  to  Union  City  in  1901.  For  his  second 
wife  he  chose  Minerva  Eeardsley.     His  sons  are  F.  Garrett  and  Granger, 


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830  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

who  are  still  at  home.  Dr.  Anderson  is  prominent  fraternally,  beJonging  to 
the  Masonic  lodge  at  Union  City,  the  Chapter  at  Union  City,  the  Knights 
Templar  Commandery  at  Coldwater  and  to  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees  and 
the  Improved  Order  of  Foresters.  In  the  line  of  his  profession  he  is  con- 
nected with  the  state,  tri-state  and  county  medical  societies. 

J.  HARLAN  DAVIS. 

J.  Harlan  Davis,  who  is  engaged  in  general  agricultural  pursuits  on 
section  three,  Girard  township,  was  born  in  Cazenovia,  Madison  county. 
New  York,  April  24,  1844.  His  paternal  grandfather  was  Benjamin  Etevis, 
a  representative  of  a  family  that  was  established  in  Massachusetts  in  early 
colonial  days.  Joseph  Davis,  the  father  of  J.  Harlan  Davis,  was  bom  in 
Massachusetts,  November  18,  1800,  and  was  the  first  of  the  family  to  leave 
that  state,  where  his  ancestors  had  lived  for  so  many  years.  He  went  to 
Cazenovia,  New  York,  soon  after  his  marriage  to  Mary  Adams,  who  was  a 
member  of  the  celebrated  Adams  family  of  Massachusetts,  which  furnished 
two  Presidents  to  the  United  States,  several  Governors  and  many  other  dis- 
tinguished men  and  women.  Mary  Adams  was  bom  in  Shutesbury,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  became  the  wife  of  Joseph  Davis  in  that  state  in  1824.  Their 
married  life  was  spent  almost  entirely  in  Cazenovia,  New  York,  where  Mr. 
Davis  died  in  1856,  his  wife  passing  away  in  1846.  They  had  a  large  fam- 
ily of  children,  eleven  in  number,  nine  sons  and  two  daughters.  One  died  in 
infancy,  but  the  remainder  reached  adult  age,  and  six  of  the  sons  came  to 
Michigan.  Seymour  entered  the  army  in  1861  in  the  Sixth  Michigan  In- 
fantry and  died  at  Marshall,  Michigan,  in  the  service  in  1862.  William  H. 
was  also  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war,  and  is  still  living.  Two  brothers, 
Charles  antl  Frank,  are  both  deceased.    One  of  the  sisters  survives. 

J.  Harlan  Davis  spent  his  boyhood  and  youth  in  and  near  Cazenovia, 
New  York,  and  acquired  what  in  those  early  days  was  a  most  liberal  educa- 
tion. He  attended  the  common  schools  and  afterward  the  Oneida  Confer- 
ence Seminary,  subsequent  to  which  time  he  pursued  a  course  in  the  com- 
mercial school  at  Syracuse,  New  York,  where  he  was  graduated  with  the 
class  of  1862.  He  taught  school  in  the  Empire  State  through  the  following 
winter  and  in  the  spring  of  1863  went  to  Amherst,  Massachusetts,  where  he 
worked  for  two  years  in  a  machine  shop,  his  employers  being  extensive  man- 
ufacturers of  wheels.  Seeking  a  home  in  the  middle  West  he  made  his  way 
to  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  when  that  city  contained  a  population  of  but  four- 
teen thousand  and  Minneapolis  only  eight  thousand.  He  spent  the  summer 
prospecting  there  and  while  on  his  western  trip  he  visited  for  a  few  months 
with  relatives  in  Marshal!,  Michigan,  thus  becoming  impressed  with  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  Wolverine  state.  On  returning  to  Cazenovia,  New  York 
he  remained  there  until  1868,  and  then  came  again  to  Michigan,  where  he 
has  since  resided.  Here  he  first  engaged  in  farming  with  his  brother,  Will- 
iam H.  Davis,  in  Tekonsha  township,  Calhoun  county,  and  for  eleven  years 
he  spent  the  winter  seasons  in  teaching  school  in  different  portions  of  Branch 
and  Calhoun  counties,  being  regarded  as  a  most  capable  and  efficient  edu- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  fSl 

cator.  Thirty-five  years  ago  he  purchased  the  farm  of  ninety-five  acres  on 
section  three,  Girard  township,  just  over  the  border  line  in  Branch  county, 
and  here  he  has  since  resided.  He  has  improved  the  place  with  good  build- 
ings and  brought  the  land  up  to  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  so  that  he  now 
has  a  splendid  farm  that  annually  returns  to  him  gratifying  harvests  as  a  re- 
ward for  the  care  and  labor  he  has  bestowed  upon  it. 

Mr.  Davis  was  married  in  1874  to  Miss  Emma  Dean  of  Tekonsha  and 
their  married  life,  which  was  a  particularly  happy  one,  was  terminated  by 
the  death  of  Mrs.  Davis,  April  30,  1890,  Three  sons  and  three  daughters 
were  born  unto  them,  the  daughters  being:  Clara  E.,  Anna  M.  and  03ive, 
who  are  living  with  their  father  on  the  old  homestead.  Of  the  sons,  Russel! 
is  holding  a  responsible  position  with  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  Rail- 
road company ;  Ward  is  employed  in  the  electrical  line  in  Chicago :  and  Burt 
is  learning  the  builder's  trade  and  architect's  profession  in  Chicago. 

Mr.  Davis  is  an  ardent  Republican,  never  faltering  in  his  allegiance  to 
the  party,  which  he  believes  embodies  the  best  principles  of  good  govern- 
ment in  its  platform.  He  was  supervisor  of  Gtrard  township  for  thirteen 
consecutive  years,  beginning  in  1S83,  and  in  1896  was  chairman  of  the 
Board,  and  in  1879  served  as  superintendent  of  schools  in  the  township, 
while  for  several  years  he  was  school  inspector.  As  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Supervisor  he  acted  on  many  important  committees,  including  the  build- 
ing committee  during  the  erection  of  the  present  handsome  county  court- 
house at  Coidwater.  He  has  ever  been  the  champion  of  progress  and  im- 
provement along  practical  and  substantial  lines  and  his  co-operation  has 
been  a  factor  in  many  movements  that  have  resulted  beneficially  to  the 
county. 

LEON  A.  JOHNSON. 

Leon  A.  Johnson,  who  is  filling  the  office  of  township  supervisor  and 
makes  his  home  in  Union  City,  was  bom  in  Union  township,  Branch  county, 
April  16,  1867.  He  is  the  eldest  of  three  sons  born  unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John 
Johnson,  prominent  farming  people  of  Union  township.  He  was  reared 
upon  the  old  family  homestead,  began  his  education  in  the  district  schools 
and  afterward  entered  the  high  school  of  Union  City,  from  which  he  was 
graduated  in  1886.  He  also  spent  one  year  in  the  Northern  Indiana  Normal 
School  at  Valparaiso,  after  which  he  went  to  Nebraska,  establishing  his 
home  in  Cambridge,  Furnas  county.  There  he  engaged  in  teaching  school 
for  a  time  but  afterward  returned  to  Michigan  and  taught  in  the  schools  of 
Union  City.  He  was  elected  school  inspector  for  two  terms,  covering  four 
years,  and  he  has  aSso  held  the  office  of  township  treasurer  for  two  terms. 
Since  1898  he  has  been  a  clerk  in  a  store.  He  was  appointed  to  fill  a  vacancy 
in  the  office  of  township  supervisor  as  the  successor  of  Henry  Seymour 
when  the  latter  was  elected  county  treasurer.  He  filled  out  the  unexpired 
term  and  then  in  1905  was  elected  to  the  office  on  the  Republican  ticket.  He 
has  always  been  identified  with  the  party,  is  active  in  its  local  work  and  his 
opinions  carry  weight  in  its  councils. 

On  the  25th  of  November,  1891,  Mr.  Johnson  was  united  in  marriage 


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832  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

to  Miss  Bertha  C.  Sawin,  a  daughter  of  M.  E.  and  CeHnda  (Gardiner) 
Sawin.  Her  birth  occurred  in  Matteson  township.  Branch  county,  March 
28,  1868,  and  she  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  being  a  graduate  of 
the  high  school  of  Union  City.  She  too  foHowed  teaching  for  a  time,  both 
in  Missoiiri  and  Michigan  and  had  the  ability  to  impart  clearly  and  readily 
to  others  the  knowledge  that  she  bad  acquired.  Mr.  Johnson  is  a  member 
of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  belonging  to  the  lodge  and  the  chapter  at  Union 
City.  He  is  likewise  a  member  of  Union  City  council,  R.  and  S.  M.,  and  he 
and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star. 

CHARLES  H.   HALL. 

Charles  H.  Hall,  engaged  in  the  cultivation  and  improvement  of  a  good 
farm  on  section  twenty-eight,  Sherwood  township,  is  one  of  Michigan's  na- 
tive sons  and  possesses  the  enterprise  so  typical  of  the  middle  west.  He  was 
born  in  Lee  township.  Calhoun  county,  December  7,  1846.  His  father, 
Jesse  Hall,  was  a  native  of  England,  and  when  a  young  man  came  to  Amer- 
ica, locating  in  New  York,  w^here  he  was  married  to  Miss  Maria  Henion,  a 
native  of  that  state.  He  removed  to  Calhoun  county,  Michigan,  about  1842, 
becoming  a  pioneer  resident  of  that  locality.  Securing  land,  he  devoted  his 
energies  to  farming  there  until  1856,  when  he  took  up  his  abode  in  Branch 
county,  securing  a  farm  in  Sherwood  tow^nship,  about  two  and  a  half  miles 
north  of  the  place  upon  which  his  son  Charles  now  resides.  The  land  which 
lie  there  owned  he  placed  under  a  good  state  of  cuhivation  and  was  one  of 
the  leading  and  influential  agriculturists  of  his  community.  Crossing  the 
plains  to  California  at  an  early  day  he  spent  about  three  years  in  the  Golden 
State,  after  which  he  returned  to  his  farming  pursuits  in  Michigan,  and  was 
thus  engaged  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  in  his  forty-ninth 
year.  He  was  a  school  director,  interested  in  the  cause  of  education  and 
also  desiring  the  development  of  the  county  along  all  lines  of  material,  men- 
tal and  moral  progress.  His  wife  lived  to  be  about  sixty  years  of  age.  Of 
their  four  children  one  died  in  early  youth,  while  the  others  reached  adult 
age. 

Charles  H.  Hall,  now  the  only  living  representative  of  the  family,  was 
the  second  child  and  eldest  son  and  was  but  ten  years  old  when  his  parents 
came  to  Branch  county.  His  youth  was  therefore  largely  passed  in  Sher- 
wood tovwiship,  and  his  education  was  that  afforded  by  the  public  schools. 
He  assisted  his  father  in  the  improvement  of  the  home  farm  until  1864 
when  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  offered  his  services  to  the  government 
in  defense  of  the  Union  and  was  a.ssigned  to  Company  F,  Eleventh  Michi- 
gan Infantry,  with  which  he  served  until  the  close  of  hostilities  in  1865.  He 
then  returned  to  the  farm  in  Sherwood  township  and  has  been  the  owner  of 
the  old  homestead  since  seventeen  years  of  age.  He  resided  thereon  until 
1890,  when  he  embarked  in  the  livery  business  in  Union  City,  but  after  two 
years  he  sold  his  barn  and  again  took  up  his  abode  upon  his'  farm.  He  still 
owns  the  old  homestead  of  forty  acres,  but  has  added  to  it  by  purchase  until 
within  its  boundaries  are  now  comprised  one  hundred  and  ten  acres.     For- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  8;W 

nierly  his  landed  possessions  were  much  more  extensive,  for  he  had  four 
hundred  acres,  but  one-half  of  this  he  has  sold,  still  retaining  possession  of 
two  hundred  acres.  As  a  farmer  he  has  been  practical  in  all  of  his  work,  sys- 
tematic in  the  development  of  the  fields  and  by  the  rotation  of  crops  and  the 
careful  supervision  of  the  work  he  has  kept  his  farm  in  excellent  condition, 
the  fields  being  very  productive. 

Mr.  Hall  has  been  married  twice.  In  1877  he  wedded  Hattie  Bennett, 
who  died,  leaving  two  children,  Minnie  and  Charles  Ray.  He  wedded  his 
present  wife  in  1899.  She  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Emma  Filson,  and  was 
a  daughter  of  James  C.  and  Sarah  (Wagner)  Filson.  Her  birth  occurred  ia 
St.  Joseph  county,  Michigan,  September  23,  1876,  and  she  was  first  mar* 
ried  to  H.  E.  Corwin,  by  whom  she  had  a  daughter,  Lena  Belle.  Mr.  anJ 
Mrs.  Hall  had  three  children,  Jessie  Marie,  Mildred  Irene  and  Charles  Wal- 
ter, but  the  little  son  died  at  the  age  of  seven  months, 

Mr.  Hall  is  now  practically  living  retired,  having  rented  his  land.  He 
has  been  a  life-iong  Republican,  interested  in  political  work  in  his  locality 
and  for  three  years  has  served  as  constable.  He  belongs  to  Kilboum  Post, 
No.  2,  G.  A.  R.,  at  Sherwood,  and  he  is  well  known  in  the  county  where  ht 
has  lived  for  forty-nine  years,  so  that  his  mind  forms  a  connecting  link  be- 
tween the  primitive  past  and  the  progressive  present.  He  is  a  man  of  much 
force  of  character  and  business  acumen  and  through  a  long  and  active  life 
there  has  naught  been  said  against  his  integrity  nor  the  worthy  purposes 
which  have  prompted  his  actions. 

JEFFERSON  LOWRY. 

Jefferson  Lowry.  deceased,  who  was  at  one  time  a  leading  and  prosper- 
ous farmer  of  Branch  county,  was  born  in  Matteson  township  on  the  22d  of 
November,  1844.  His  boyhood  days  were  spent  in  his  home  locality  and 
the  public  school  system  of  the  county  afforded  him  his  educational  privi- 
leges. Throughout  his  entire  life  he  followed  farming  and  became  a  suc- 
cessful and  prominent  agriculturist.  His  business  affairs  were  conducted  in 
systematic,  enterprising  manner  and  through  his  well  directed  labor  he  won 
a  gratifying  measure  of  success. 

Mr.  Lowry  was  also  well  known  as  a  citizen  whose  aid  could  be  counted 
upon  to  further  progressive  public  measures.  He  always  voted  with  the  Re- 
publican party  and  he  held  various  township  ofifices,  discharging  his  duties  in 
a  most  prompt  and  capable  manner.  He  was  also  identified  with  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity  and  in  his  life  exemplified  the  beneficent  spirit  of  the  craft. 

On  the  2ist  of  November,  1S67,  Jefferson  Lowry  was  united  in  mar- - 
riage  to  Miss  Margaret  Jones,  who  was  born  in  Finley,  Hancock  county, 
Ohio,  December  13,  1844.  Her  father,  Ambrose  Jones,  was  a  native  of 
New  York  and  became  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Hancock  county,  Ohio, 
whence  he  afterward  removed  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  settling  in  Sher- 
wood township  about  1852.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  successful  in 
his  business  affairs,  and  he  lived  to  be  about  eighty  years  of  age.  His  wife, 
who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Mary  Musson,  was  a  native  of  New  York  and 


Ckm^oIc 


834  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

lived  to  be  about  fifty-nine  years  o£  age.  They  were  the  parents  of  eight 
children,  three  sons  and  five  daughters,  al!  of  whom  reached  adult  age  and 
are  now  living  with  the  exception  of  one  daughter.  Mrs.  Lov^ry  is  the  sixth 
member  of  this  family.  She  was  a  little  maiden  of  eight  summers  when  she 
came  to  Branch  county  with  her  parents,  her  girlhood  days  being  spent  in 
Sherwood  township,  where  she  has  always  lived.  On  the  21st  of  November, 
1867,  in  Colon,  St,  Joseph  county,  Michigan,  she  gave  her  hand  in  marriage 
to  Jefferson  Lowry  and  they  became  the  parents  of  three  sons,  but  the  eldest, 
Clyde,  died  at  the  age  of  eight  months.  Lloyd  J,  married  Flora  James  and 
is  a  traveling  salesman  residing  in  Chicago.  Lynn  E.  married  Anna  Mcln- 
tire  and  is  a  barber  residing  in  CenterviUe,  Michigan.  The  death  of  the 
husband  and  father  occurred  December  5,  1903,  and  was  the  occasion  of 
deep  regret  not  only  to  his  family  but  also  to  many  friends,  for  he  was  a  man 
of  genuine  worth  who  deserved  and  commanded  the  respect  of  those  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact.  Mrs.  Lowry  is  now  the  owner  of  the  farm  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty-three  acres  wtiich  she  carries  on  herself.  She  has  been  a 
resident  of  Sherwood  township  for  fifty-two  years  and  has  a  wide  acquaint- 
ance in  the  county.  Her  farm  property  is  a  ^'aluable  one,  in  the  midst  of 
which  stands  a  fine  brick  residence  and  in  the  rear,  are  good  barns  and  other 
substantial  outbuildings,  while  the  buildings  are  surrounded  by  green  fields 
giving  promi.'ie  of  rich  harvests.  Tlie  home  is  within  the  corporation  limits 
of  Sherwood  and  Mrs.  Lowry  has  many  friends  in  the  village  as  well  as 
through  the  outlying  districts. 

CLARK   M.  HALL. 

Clark  M.  Hatl  is  a  representative  of  industrial  interests  in  Union  City, 
where  he  is  carrying  on  a  coopering  business.  He  was  born  in  Sullivan 
county.  New  Hampshire,  November  10,  1846.  His  parents  were  Luther 
and  Elizabeth  (Russell)  Hall,  the  latter  a  sister  of  George  Russell  of  Gir- 
ard,  Michigan,  now  deceased.  Captain  George  Russell  of  Cokiwater  was  a 
son  of  George  Russell.  When  about  ten  years  of  age  Mr.  Hall  went  to  live 
with  an  uncle,  R.  M.  Russell,  in  Woodstock,  Windsor  county,  Vermont,  re- 
maining with  him  until  December,  1863.  When  he  could  no  longer  content 
himself  at  home  he  responded  to  the  country's  call  for  aid,  enlisting  in  the 
Union  army  as  a  private  of  the  Third  Vermont  Light  Battery.  He  con- 
tinued with  his  command  until  after  the  close  of  hostilities,  returning  to  his 
home  in  June,  1865.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  truest  sense  of  the  word.  He 
was  ever  ready  to  do  his  duty  in  defense  of  his  country's  honor,  and  he  was 
present  at  the  siege  and  battles  of  Petersburg,  Virginia,  Wilderness,  Spott- 
sylvania,  North  Anna  and  Cold  Harbor.  His  battery  was  opposite  the  line 
of  Petersburg,  Virginia,  when  the  great  mine  explosion  occurred, 
and  it  was  the  battery  which  gave  the  signal  for  advance.  He 
was  with  the  command  under  General  Grant  in  the  Army  of  the  Po- 
tomac. He  attended  the  Grand  Encampments  at  Boston,  Massachusetts, 
Chicago  and  Detroit,  also  at  Columbus,  Ohio. 

On  his  return  home  Mr.  Hall  again  took  up  his  abode  with  his  uncle  re- 


Coot^lc 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  B3o 

maining:  with  him  until  April,  1875,  when  he  came  to  Union  City  and  pur- 
chased his  present  cooper  shop.  He  has  carried  on  business  on  the  same  site 
for  thirty  years  here,  having  a  good  patronage,  which  keeps  him  constantly 
employed  and  brings  to  him  a  gratifying  financia!  return  for  his  labor.  Con- 
cerning this  shop,  the  following  is  quoted  from  one  of  the  local  papers: 

"The  little  red  school  house,  so  often  referred  to  by  those  of  pioneer 
days,  has  found  more  than  its  counterpart  in  the  Red  Cooper  Shop,  of  this 
city,  by  the  happy  associations  and  comradeships  which  center  around  its 
old,  familiar  hearthstone,  and  which  have  found  expression  through  the 
Red  Cooper  Shop  Camp  Fire  Association.  This  association  w3s  formed  a 
number  of  years  ago  and  at  first  membership  was  confined  to  old  war  veter- 
ans, but  of  late  }rears  many  honorary  members  have  been  added,  and  these 
enjoy  the  annual  reunions  fully  as  much  as  do  the  old  comrades.  The  an- 
nual reunion  will  be  held  at  the  customary  rendezvous,  C.  M.  Hall's  Red 
Cooper  Shop,  on  Thursday  evening,  at  which  time  a  banquet  will  be  served 
in  true  old  camp-fire  style,  consisting  of  chickens,  ducks,  spareribs  and  wild 
game,  roasted  before  the  mammoth  fireplace,  potatoes  baked  in  the  ashes, 
and  cider  and  home-made  wine  to  wash  them  down.  The  evening  will  be 
spent   in   song,   story,   reminiscence  and  heart-to-heart  confidences," 

January  25,  1877,  Mr.  Hall  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Fannie  Tuck- 
er, a  daughter  of  J.  B.  Tucker,  who  was  at  one  time  a  merchant  and  miller 
of  Union  City  and  was  also  vice  president  of  the  Union  City  National  Bank 
at  the  time  of  his  death.  His  varied  business  enterprises,  his  unremitting 
diligence  and  his  enterprise  constituted  him  a  valued  resident  here,  and  he 
was  honored  by  all  who  knew  him  because  of  his  fidelity  to  manly  principles 
in  private  life  and  his  close  conformity  to  a  high  standard  of  commercial 
ethics.  Mrs.  Hall  was  the  second  of  his  three  children  and  was  bom  in 
Union  City,  where  she  obtained  her  education.  She  afterward  engaged  in 
teaching  school  here  and  since  her  girlhood  days  has  been  recognized  as  a 
leader  in  social  circles,  where  true  worth  and  intelligence  are  recognized  as 
the  passports  into  good  society, 

Mr.  Hall  is  one  of  the  active  workers  in  Corbin  Post,  G,  A.  R,,  Nb. 
88,  in  which  he  has  served  as  commander.  He  was  really  the  founder  of 
the  Corbin  Post  in  Union  City,  and  he  has  done  all  possible  to  make  the  post 
a  permanent  and  live  organization.  He  is  a  sound  Republican  and  cast  his 
first  presidential  vote  for  the  soldier  president,  ■  Grant.  He  is  also 
treasurer  of  the  Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Association  of  southwestern  Mich- 
igan and  has  served  on  General  Kesey's  staff.  He  was  also  on  the  de- 
partment commandery  staff  in  Detroit  in  1891  and  his  labors  have  been  ef- 
fective in  advancing  the  cause  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  He  has 
frequently  done  equal  ser\ice  on  imjXDrtant  committees  and  as  officer  of 
the  day.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
having  joined  the  organization  in  1875,  his  membership  being  now  with  the 
lodge  at  Coldwater.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hall  are  stockholders  in  the 
Union  City  National  Bank  _  of  Union  City,  Michigan.  Mr.  Hall 
is  one  whose  business  career  will  bear  the  closest  investigation  and  scrutinv 
and  the  period  of  his  residence  in  Union  City,  covering  thirty  years,  consti- 


Googlc 


836  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

tutes  the  era  of  its  greatest  growth  and  development.  At  all  times  his  aid 
cS  he  coun°e',,„po^,  ,„  farther  pnblic  progress,  and  he  stands  today  a,  one 
of  the  representative  men  of  his  community. 

P.  J.  RATHBURN. 
P  T  Rathburn,  supervisor  of  Sherwood  township  and  a  leading  farmer 
living  on  section  twenty,  is  a  native  of  Ohio,  his  birth  ha'mg  occurred  in 
Monroe  township.  Ashtabula  county,  that  state,  on  the  26lh  of  feuruary 
1844.  Sis  father,  Joseph  Rathburn,  was  a  native  of  New  York  »"<!  "»»  > 
farmer  hy  occupation.  He  died  in  Delaware  county,  Iowa,  to  which  place 
he  removed  about  1857.  He  was  a  son  of  Joseph  Rathburn,  J,  ™t"'»  "' 
Rhode  Island  and  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  The  mother 
of  our  subject  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Sarah  O.  Brown  and  was  a  native  01 
Ohio.  Her  father  w-as  Captain  Charles  Brown,  a  sea  going  man  who  was 
master  of  a  vessel  for  some  years.  His  birth  occurred  in  England.  Mrs. 
Rathburn,  surviving  her  husband  tor  some  years,  died  at  the  home  ot  her 
son  P  J  Rathburn,  in  Sherwood  township  in  her  eighty-second  year.  She 
had  become  the  mother  of  nine  children,  of  whom  six  are  yet  hying; 

P  J  Rathburn,  the  fourth  member  and  third  son  of  this  family,  was  a 
youth  of  thirteen  years  when  he  accompanied  his  parents  to  Iowa,  but  after 
the  death  of  the  father  the  family  relumed  to  Ohio  and  thus  his  youth  was 
largely  passed  in  Ashtabula  county.  He  obtained  a  common  school  educa- 
tion and  started  out  in  business  Hfe  on  his  own  account  when  fifteen  years  of 
age  not  only  providing  for  his  own  needs  but  also  aiding  in  the  support  of 
the'familv  '  He  arrived  in  Michigan  in  1867,  at  which  time  he  located  in 
Wavne  county.  In  the  same  year  he  was  married  to  Miss  Margaret  Butts,  a 
daughter  of  George  and  Maria  (Zehers)  Butts,  formerly  of  Pennsylvania 
and°early  settlers  of  Ohio,  whence  they  came  to  Michigan.  Mrs.  Rathburn 
was  a  native  of  Erie,  Pennsylvania.  At  the  time  of  their  marriage  Mr.  and 
Mrs  Rathburn  located  in  Mecosta  county,  Michigan,  where  he  secured  a 
tract  of  government  land  and  with  characteristic  energy  began  the  develop- 
ment of  this  unimproved  place.  He  continued  its  cultivation  for  eight  years 
and  then  sold  out,  after  which  he  removed  to  Ionia  county,  Michigan.  The 
year  1878  witnessed  his  arrival  in  Branch  county,  where  he  purchased  a 
farm  in  Sherwood  township,  upon  which  he  is  now  iivmg.  While  in  the 
north  of  Michigan  he  was  engaged  in  lumbering  and  farming,  but  most  of 
his  life  has  been  devoted  to  general  agricultural  pursuits  and  he  now  has  a 
good  tract  of  land  of  one  hundred  and  ten  acres  which  is  well  improved. 
There  are  substantial  buildings  upon  the  place  which  are  surrounded  by  well 
tilled  fields  and  he  annually  harvests  good  crops  as  a  reward  of  his  care  and 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rathburn  have  been  born  five  children,  a  son  and 
four  daughters;  Nathan,  who  is  living  in  Mecosta  county,  is  married  and 
has  four  children,  two  sons  and  two  daughters,  Marjorie  O.,  Herbert  N., 
Harold  J.  and  Mildred ;  Cora,  the  wife  of  W.  E.  Harrison  of  Mecosta  coun- 
ty and  they  have  one  little  son,  Wayne  P. ;  Minnie,  the  wife  of  Habey  Hass 


C'.ooj^lc 


HISTORY  OF  BRANXH  COUNTY  S37 

of  Newcastle,  Pennsylvania;  Effie,  the  wife  of  O.  F.  Thornton  of  Sherwood 
township,  and  they  have  a  little  daughter,  Evelyn;  and  Ettie.  who  married 
Wilham  Baker  of  Sherwood  township,  and  they  have  two  children,  Alethea 
E.  and  Paul  L.  Mr.  Rathhurn  has  always  taken  a  great  interest  in  the  edu- 
cation of  his  children  and  three  of  his  daughters  have  been  successful  teach- 
ers in  Branch  county.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  interested  and  active  in 
the  work  of  the  party,  and  while  in  northern  Michigan  he  served  as  treasurer 
of  his  township  for  many  years  and  in  other  offices.  He  has  also  filled  local 
positions  in  Branch  county,  being  supervisor  for  twelve  years  o£  Sherwood 
township.  His  interest  in  public  affairs  has  always  been  of  a  helpful  charac- 
ter and  he  is  regarded  as  a  valued  citizen  in  the  community  in  wliich  he 
makes  his  home. 

EUGENE  ENGLE. 

Eugene  Engle,  a  practical  and  leading  farmer  living  on  section  one, 
Sherwood  township,  was  bom  in  Chenango  county.  New  York,  Septeml>er 
29.  i845,  his  parents  being  John  and  Julia  (Frear)  Engle,  who  were  like- 
wise natives  of  the  Empire  state,  whence  they  came  to  Michigan  in  1845, 
settling  in  Calhoun  county.  There  they  lived  in  the  midst  of  the  forest  un- 
til the  father  had  cleared  and  improved  a  farm.  It  was  upon  the  old  farm 
homestead  that  Eugene  Engle  spent  the  days  of  his  boyhood  and  youth,  be- 
ing the  youngest  in  a  family  of  eleven  children.  Like  the  others,  he  assisted 
in  the  arduoTis  task  of  developing  a  new  farm  and  in  the  public  schools  ob- 
tained his  education. 

Mr.  Engle  was  married  in  Tekonsha,  Michigan,  to  Miss  Sarah  Ensign,  a 
native  of  Ohio,  after  which  he  began  farming  on  his  own  account,  continu- 
ing to  care  for  his  parent.',  however,  until  they  were  called  to  their  final  rest. 
He  then  sold  his  fami  in  Tekonsha,  in  1880.  and  purchased  the  place  uj'l-in 
which  he  now  resides  on  section  one,  Sherwood  township,  owning  here  two 
hundred  and  thirty-three  acres  of  land,  which  constitutes  one  of  the  liest  and 
most  attractive  farms  of  the  county.  It  is  splendidly  equipped,  having  a  fine 
residence  and  commodious  and  substantial  barns.  '  Most  of  the  buildings 
have  been  erected  by  him  and  the  place  is  very  modem  in  its  equipments, 
while  the  productive  soil  makes  his  business  profitable,  large  harvests  being 
gathered  annually.  In  connection  with  the  tilling  of  the  soil, Mr.  Engle  has 
.  likewise  lieen  extensively  engaged  in  the  raising  of  sheep,  having  now  a 
flock  of  about  two  hundred  head  on  his  place.  He  also  raises  cattle  and  is  an 
excellent  judge  of  stock  so  that  he  is  enabled  to  make  profitable  sales. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Engle  have  been  horn  eleven  children  and  with  the 
exception  of  one  who  died  at  the  age  pf  five  years,  all  are  yet  living,  namely : 
George.  Rosa,  Sanford,  Nellie,  Clarence,  May,  Frances.  Edith.  Chester  and 
Howard.     The  daughter  Pearl  Js  deceased. 

Mr.  Engle  was  a  Republican  until  1896,  when  he  voted  for  William 
Jennings  Bryan.  He  has  frequently  been  solicited  to  become  a  candidate  for 
office,  but  would  never  accept  political  honors.  He  is  independent  in  his 
views,  connected  with  no  church  or  society,  although  at  one  time  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Farmers'  Organization.     In  1900  he  was  called  upon  to  mourn 


C.ooolc 


83S  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

the  loss  of  his  wife,  and  his  daughter  May  now  acts  as  his  housekeeper.  The 
history  of  mankind  is  replete  with  iilustration  of  the  fact  that  it  is  only 
under  adversity  and  the  stimulus  of  position  that  the  best  and  strongest  in 
men  are. brought  out  and  developed  and  the  hfe  record  of  Mr.  Engle  stands 
in  exemplification  of  this  truth,  proving  conclusively  that  any  individual 
with  a  reasonable  amount  of  mental  and  physical  power  can  attain  success  if 
he  but  has  the  ambition  to  put  forth  his  best  efforts  and  the  will  and  manli- 
ness to  persevere  therein,  for  Mr.  Engle  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  was 
without  a  dollar.  He  had  no  extraordinary  family  or  pecuniary  advantages  to 
aid  him,  but  has  battled  earnestly  and  energetically  and  by  indomitable  cour- 
age and  integrity  has  achieved  both  character  and  fortune, 

HIRAM  CRISSY. 

Hiram  Crissy,  deceased,  was  a  respected  citizen  of  Branch  county  for 
many  years  arid  his  name  is  now  upon  the  roll  of  its  honored  dead.  He  was 
born  in  Binghamton,  New  York,  October  3,  1819,  his  parents  being  Abram 
and  Polly  Crissy.  He  was  thirteen  years  of  age  when  he  accompanied  his 
father  and  mother  to  the  West,  the  family  home  being  established  in  Mar- 
shal! county,  Michigan,  where  he  was  reared  amid  the  wild  scenes  of  fron- 
tier life.  The  Indians  were  then  more  numerous  in  the  state  than  the  white 
.settlers  and  the  great  forests  were  uncut.  Wild  animals  of  various  kinds 
were  seen  and  wild  game  could  be  had  in  abundance.  Mr,  Crissy  shared  with 
the  others  in  the  hardships  and  privations  of  pioneer  life  but  always  made 
the  mo.'^t  of  his  opportimities.  He  came  to  Union  City  in  1852  and  here  en- 
gaged in  the  hardware  business.  He  likewise  followed  other  commercial 
enterprises  here  and  at  one  time  was  a  prominent  dry  goods  merchant  and 
was  also  proprietor  of  a  grocery  store,  enjoying  a  liberal  patronage  in  those 
various  lines  of  business. 

In  matters  of  citizenship  Mr.  Crissey  was  always  public  spirited  and 
progressive,  doing  everything  in  his  power  to  advance  the  material,  social, 
intellectual  and  moral  welfare  of  his  community.  He  always  gave  his  polit- 
ical support  to  the  Democratic  party  and  kept  well  informed  on  the  issues  of 
the  day,  but  did  not  care  for  ofjfice.  A  very  prominent  and  zealous  member 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  he  built  a  house  of  worship  for  that  de- 
nomination in  Union  City  and  was  its  chief  support  while  he  lived.  His  fra- 
ternal relations  were  with  the  Masonic  lodge. 

In  early  manhood  Mr.  Crissy  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Martha 
Corbin,  who  was  born  in  Charleston,  Sullivan  county,  New  Hampshire,  Oc- 
tober 16,  1829.  Her  father,  Ezbond  Corbin,  was  likewise  a  native  of 
Charleston  and  became  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Branch  county,  spending 
hia  last  days  in  Union  City.  His  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Lucre- 
tia  Howe,  was  bom  in  Springfield,  Vermont.  They  were  the  parents  of 
eleven  children,  of  whom  ten  reached  adult  age,  Mrs.  Crissy  is  the  twin  sis- 
ter of  Mrs.  Isaac  Tower,  whose  husband  is  represented  elsewhere  in  tMs 
work.  She  came  to  Union  City  in  1850  and  in  1852  gave  her  hand  in  mar- 
riage to  Mr.  Crissy.     For  fifty-five  years  she  has  resided  here  and  is  one  of 


,y  Google 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  SS'J 

the  best  known  of  the  early  residents  of  this  place.  Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Crissy  were  bom  three  children:  Ella,  who  is  living  with  her  mother;  Sarah, 
the  wife  of  Peter  J.  Pauley  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri;  and  Frank  St.  John,  who 
is  a  farmer  of  Calhoun  county,  Michigan,  living  about  a  mile  north  of  Union 
City.     There  is  one  grandson.  Herbert  St.  John. 

Like  her  husband,  Mrs,  Crissy  holds  membership  in  the  Episcopal  church, 
with  which  she  has  been  identified  since  its  organization,  and  her  many  good 
qualities  of  heart  and  mind  have  endeared  her  to  a  large  circle  of  friends.  Mr. 
Crissy  departed  this  life  November  25,  1891,  when  seventy-two  years  of  age, 
and  thus  the  county  was  called  uixm  to  mourn  the  loss  of  one  whom  they  had 
learned  to  respect  and  honor  and  had  come  to  look  upon  as  a  representative 
pioneer  and  reliable  business  man.  The  county  benefited  by  his  efforts  in  its 
behalf  and  he  was  well  liked  by  all  who  knew  him. 

FRANCIS  J.  TOMPKINS. 

Francis  J.  Tompkins  is  a  representative  of  one  of  the  honored  pioneer 
families  of  Girard  township  and  no  histon,'  of  the  county  would  be  complete 
without  mention  of  the  members  of  this  family.  He  was  born  on  the  ol<l 
homestead  on  the  17th  of  August,  1852,  his  father  being  James  B.  Tompkins 
and  his  mother  Eliza  Ames.  The  father  was  born  in  Schoharie  county,  New 
York,  June  28,  1804.  where  his  early  life  was  passed.  Seeking  the  opportuni- 
ties of  the  West  he  came  to  Michigan  in  the  fall  of  1830.  arriving  at  Teami- 
seh,  where  he  remained  until  July  of  the  following  year,  spending  a  goodly 
portion  of  this  time  in  surveying  the  then  unbroken  wilderness.  He  then,  made 
his  way  to  Branch  county  and  located  in  the  township  of  Girard,  which  was  to 
be  his  home  for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  Here  he  purchased  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  o£  land  on  sections  fifteen  and  twenty-two,  and  in  later  years 
he  acquired  a  large  acreage  in  various  parts  of  the  township.  Here  he  has 
made  his  home,  and  here  he  early  made  his  influence  felt  in  the  community  and 
county.  Early  in  the  year  of  1832  he  returned  to  Tecumseh  and  married 
Eliza  Ames,  the  fifth  child  in  a  family  of  twelve  children,  their  parents  being 
William  Ames  and  Polly  Brownell.  natives  of  Vermont,  where  Eliza  was  born 
in  the  town  of  Colchester,  Chittenden  county,  March  3,  1813.  William  Ames 
was  born  August  18,  1777.  and  was  a  member  of  the  Ames  family  which 
gave  many  prominent  citizens  to  the  United  States.     He  died  April  4,  1840. 

James  and  Eliza  (Ames)  Tompkins  immediately  returned  to  Girard  after 
their  marriage.  The  township  wtis  not  then  the  blooming  and  fertile  coutitry 
now  seen  here.  Instead  there  was  an  almost  unbroken  wilderness,  while 
bands  of  the  Pottowatomie  Indians  made  this  their  favorite  stopping  place. 
The  young  couple  braved  the  many  privations  and  hardships  incident  to  pio- 
neer life,  and  they  made  for  themsefvea  a  comfortable  home  and  raised  a  large 
family  of  children.  Three  of  these  children  died  in  infancy.  Martin  died  at 
the  age  of  twenty  years:  Emma  Tompkins  Vanderlip  died  in  1897  and  Will- 
iam A.  Tompkins  died  July  13,  1905-  Those  still  living  are  J.  Theron  Tomp- 
kins, Francis  J.  TomjJiins  and  Mrs.  Adaline  Tompkins  Granger,  all  of  Girard. 
Mr.  Tompkins  was  a  competent  surveyor  and  during  the  earlier  years  of  his 


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840  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

residence  here  his  services  were  in  ahnost  constant  demand.  Mr.  Tompkins 
was  the  first  supervisor  of  Girard  township  when  it  was  organized  in  1834. 
and  he  served  his  township  in  that  capacity  for  sixteen  years.  He  also  filled 
nearly  every  other  township  office  repeatedly  and  represented  his  county  in 
the  state  legislature  in  1854.  His  life  was  filled  with  good  works  and  his 
death,  which  occurred  August  I,  1879-,  was  deeply  deplored.  His  wife,  who 
was  loved  by  scores  of  relatives  and  hundreds  of  warm,  personal  friends,  lived 
to  a  good  old  age,  retaining  her  faculties  to  the  last  and  i>assing  away  Decera- 
her  6,  1902,  when  nearly  ninety  years  of  age. 

Francis  J.  Tompkins  spent  his  entire  life  in  the  county  of  his  nativity, 
working  in  the  fields  from  his  early  boyhood  days  and  thus  assisting  his  father 
in  the  care  and  labor  of  the  old  home  farm.  He  has  never  desired  to  seek  em- 
ployment in  other  departments  of  labor  but  has  become  a  substantial  fanner  as 
the  years  have  gone  by  and  now  resides  upon  the  old  Tompkins  homestead. 
which,  was  among  the  first  properties  improved  in  this  portion  o,f  the  state.  In 
his  farm  work  he  is  enterprising,  systematic  and  progressive  and  everything 
about  his  place  is  indicative  of  the  careful  sujiervision  of  a  painstaking  owner. 
On  the  27th  of  October,  1875,  Mr.  Tompkins  was  married  to  Miss  Lizzie 
M.  Tappenden,  who  was  born  in  Palmyra,  New  York,  March  27,  i860,  and  is 
a  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Amelia  (Hollenbeck)  Tappenden,  who  were  resi- 
dents of  New  York,  Illinois  and  Ohio  successively  before  coming  to  Michi- 
gan. In  the  vear  1862  they  settled  in  Girard  township.  Mrs.  Tompkins  can 
trace  her  lineage  to  the  landing  of  the  Mayflower  at  Plymouth.  Massachusetts. 
in  1620,  the  genealogy  being  as  follows :  John  Alden  married  Priscilla  Will- 
iams; John  Alden's  seventh  child,  Ruth  Alden,  married  John  Bass;  John  . 
Bass'  sixth  child,  Marv  Bass,  married  William  Copeland;  William  Copeland's 
ninth  child,  Mary  Coiieland,  married  Ephriaii  Jones;  Ephrian  Jones'  second 
child,  Moses  Jones,  married  Dorothy  Thayer;  Moses  Jones'  third  child,  John 
Jones,  married  Nancy  Mallory;  John  Jones'  eighth  child,  Lucy  Jones,  married 
Casper  Hollenbeck;  Casiier  HoUenbeck's  fourth  child,  Amelia  Hollenlwck, 
married  Thomas  Tapiienden;  Thomas  Tappenden's  first  child,  Lizzie  Tappen- 
den married  Francis  Tompkins.  Mr.  Thomas  Tappenden  was  born  in  the 
Empire  state.  January  19,  1839,  while  his  wife  was  born  at  Hillsdale,  New 
York,  on  the  5th  of  June,  1840,  and  died  in  Girard  township  August  7,  1874. 
Mr  Tappenden,  however,  is  still  living  and  yet  makes  his  home  in  Girard 
township.  While  in  his  native  state  he  followed  the  business  of  distilling  and 
since  coming  to  Michigan  has  devoted  his  energies  to  agricultural  pursuits.  In 
his  family  were  two  daughters  and  two  sons,  namely ;  Mrs.  F.  J.  Tompkins, 
who  is  Uving  in  Girard;  Mrs.  LucyGoff,  of  Tekonsha,  Michigan;  William 
Tappenden,  who  makes  his  home  in  Cleveland,  Ohio;  and^ George  Tapijenden, 
a  resident  of  Detroit. 

Thehome  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tompkins  has  been  blessed  with  four  did- 
dren,  namely:  Mrs.  Bessie  A.  Buys,  who  tmished  the  eighth  grade  in  school; 
Mrs.'  Clara  B.  Corey,  who  has  finished  scliool  and  received  her  diploma  in  the 
class  of  1899;  Lida  F.,  who  received  her  diploma  in  T904,  and  has  taken  in- 
strumental music  and  is  a  member  of  "Tlie  Tompkins  Orchestra,"  her  instru- 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  S41 

ment  being  the  piano;  and  Arlene,  who  is  in  the  third  grade,  the  last  two 
named  being  at  home. 

Mr.  Tompkins  exercises  his  right  of  franchise  in  support  of  the  men  and 
measures  of  the  Repubhcan  party,  and  has  frequently  been  called  to  public  of- 
fice, <ierving  for  two  terms  as  township  treasurer,  also  as  school  director  and 
in  other  local  iwsitions  of  trust  and  responsibility,  the  duties  of  which  he  has 
discharged  in  a  capable  manner.  The  work  of  development  and  improvement 
which  was  instituted  by  his  father  has  been  carried  forward  by  him.  Four 
generations  of  the  Tompkins  family  have  lived  in  this  county  and  they  have 
ever  been  people  of  the  greatest  worth  and  respectability,  loyal  in  citizenship 
and  Jionorable  in  private  life. 

FLOYD  E,  SOUTHWORTH. 

Floyd  E.  Southworth,  owning  and  operating  a  well  improved  farm  on 
section  two,  Coklwater  township,  was  born  upon  this  place  on  the  25th  of  Au- 
gust. 1S59.  His  paternal  grandparents  were  Norman  and  Honor  (Gardner) 
Southworth,  who  were  natives  of  Massachusetts,  whence  they  removed  to 
Ontario  county.  New  York,  ahout  1822.  In  the  '50s  they  came  to  Michigan 
and  spent  their  remaining  days  in  this  state.  Their  son,  James  B.  South- 
worth,  was  Ix5m  in  Hancock,  Massachusetts,  in  i8i6.3nd  was  a  lad  of  six 
summers  when  he  accompanied  his  parents  on  their  removal  to  Ontario  coun- 
ty. New  York.  There  he  resided  until  1849,  when  he  sought  a  home  in  Mich- 
igan. He  hatl  been  married  in  the  Empire  state  to  Miss  Alta  Whitney,  who 
was  born  in  Genesee  county.  New  York,  in  1824.  Her  parents,  who  died  in 
New  York,  had  come  from  Connecticut  ancestry  and  had  removed  from  that 
state  to  New  York.  On  reaching  Michigan  James  B.  Southworth  took  up  his 
abode  on  section  two,  Coldwater  township,  where  he  cleared  and  improved  a 
farm  of  eighty  acres,  living  an  active  and  useful  life.  In  his  political  affiha- 
tion  he  was  a  Whig  until  the  dissolution  of  that  party,  when  he  joined  the 
ranks  of  the  Republican  party.  He  held  various  township  offices,  including 
that  of  drain  commissioner,  highway  commissioner  and  justice  of  the  peace 
and  he  was  a  prominent  and  influential  citizen  of  Branch  county  in  the  middle 
portion  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Both  he  and  his  wife  held  membership  in 
the  Episcopal  church  and  were  held  in  the  highest  regard  by  all  who  knew 
them.  Mr.  Southworth  passed  away  on  the  i6th  of  June,  1892,  havirig  long 
survived  his  wife,  who  died  on  the  i8th  of  September,  1870.  In  their  familv 
were  four  children:  Sarah,  who  died  in  Coldwater  in  childhood:  Floyd,  of  this 
review ;  Mrs.  Alice  Root,  who  is  living  in  Coldwater,  and  Mark,  who  resides 
in  Quincy. 

Floyd  E.  Southworth  spent  the  days  of  his  childhood  and  youth  on  the 
old  family  homestead,  where  he  was  trained  to  the  practical  work  of  the  farm, 
and  as  the  \-ears  passed  by  he  more  and  more  largely  assumed  the  management 
■  of  the  place  and  has  ultimately  become  the  owner  of  the  property.  In  his  po- 
litical views  he  has  always  lieen  a  stalwart  Republican.  His  religious  faith  is 
indicated  by  his  membersliip  in  the  Episcopal  church.  The  Southworths  are 
.inicng  the  highly  esteemed  jieople  of  Branch  county,  where  the  family  home 


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842  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

has  been  maintained  for  over  half  a  century  and  Mr.  Sonthworth  of  this  re- 
view fiilJy  sustains  the  excellent  reputation  which  has  always  been  borne  hv 
those  of  his  name.  He  keeps  the  homestead  farm  in  an  excellent  state  of  culti- 
vation, and  it  is  well  improved  with  good  buildings  and  all  modern  accessories, 
whiJe  in  its  neat  and  thrifty  appearance  it  indicates  his  careful  supervision  and 
able  efforts. 

CAPTAIN  ED  E.  LEWIS. 

Captain  Ed  E.  Lewis,  a  prominent  farmer  residing  on  section  twelve.  Ba- 
tavia  township,  was  bora  in  Orleans  county.  New  York,  May  6,  1838.  His 
father,  William  Lewis,  was  a  native  of  the  Empire  state,  spent  his  youth  there 
and  in  1839  came  to  Michigan,  locating  near  Homer,  in  Calhoun  county.  He 
was  a  son  of  William  Lewis,  also  a  native  of  Massachusetts  and  of  Welch  de- 
scent, the  family,  however,  having  been  established  in  America  at  an  early 
period  in  its  colonization.  After  removing  to  Illinois  William  Lewis,  Jr., 
became  the  owner  of  a  carding  mill  and  sawmill,  and  Jn  addition  to  industrial 
pursuits  also  carried  on  farming,  ■  About  1848  he  removed  from  Calhoun 
county  to  Coldwater,  Branch  county,  where  he  engaged  in  the  Hvery  business 
for  about  fifteen  years,  or  until  1859,  when  he  took  up  his  abode  on  a  farm  in 
Kinderhook  township,  purchasing  a  tract  of  land  which  was  partially  im- 
proved. There  he  resided  until  1864,  when  he  located  on  a  farm  in  Coldwater 
township,  which  he  sold  in  1866,  removing  at  that  time  to  Elkhart,  Indiana, 
where  he  died  in  his  sixty-fifth  year.  His  early  political  support  was  given  to 
the  Democracy,  but  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war  he  became  a  supporter  of 
the  Republican  party,  which  was  the  defender  of  the  Union  during  the  dark 
days  of  severe  strife.  He  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  but  was  not 
active  in  his  search  for  political  preferment.  He  married  Miss  Mary  Scoville, 
a  native  of  New  York,  who  passed  away,  at  the  age  of  forty-two  years.  In 
their  family  were  four  daughters  and  three  sons  and  five  of  the  number 
reached  adult  age,  while  three  are  yet  living,  Francis  and  Helen  both  being 
residents  of  this  county. 

Ed  E.  Lewis  of  this  review  was  the  third  child  and  second  son  and  was 
only  a  year  old  when  taken  by  his  parents  from  New  York  to  Calhoun  county, 
Michigan.  He  remained  at  home  as  his  father's  assistant  during  the  period  of 
his  minority  and  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Coldwater  and  the  dis- 
trict schools  of  Kinderhook  township.  In  April,  1861,  when  twenty-two  years 
of  age,  he  offered  his  services  to  the  government,  enlisting  for  three  months  as 
a  member  of  Company  C,  First  Michigan  Infantry.  He  had  watched  with  in- 
terest the  progress  of  events  in  the  South,  had  noted  its  threatening  attitude 
and  resolved  that  if  a  blow  was  struck  at  the  Union  he  would  stand  firmly  in 
its  defense.  Accordingly  he  at  once  offered  his  aid  to  the  government.  He 
was  the  smallest  man  in  his  company,  but  his  size  was  no  criterion  of  his  loy- 
alty and  bravery.  After  serving  for  the  first  term  of  enlistment — three 
months — he  re-enlisted  in  Battery  G  of  the  First  Michigan  Light  Artillery  as 
a  sergeant,  afterward  became  second  lieutenant  and  later  was  made  first  lieu- 
tenant and  captain  of  his  company,  with  which  he  served  until  after  the  close 
of  hostilities  in  August,  1S65,  being  mustered  out  at  Jackson,  Michigan,  with 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  8i3 

the  rank  of  captain.  His  promotion  came  to  him  in  recognition  of  his  faithful 
and  meritorious  service  on  the  field  of  battle,  for  he  was  always  a  brave  sol- 
dier, inspiring  the  men  under  him  with  his  own  valor  and  courage.  He  par- 
ticipated in  a  number  of  sanguinary  engagements,  including  the  battles  of 
TazweU,  Caney  Bottom,  Chickasaw  Bayou,  Arkansas  Post,  the  siege  of  Vicks- 
buig,  the  liattJes  of  Grand  Gulf,  Point  Gibson,  Champion  Hill  and  Black  River 
Bridge.  Following  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  he  went  to  Jackson,  Mississippi, 
and  later  returned  to  Vicksbvirg,  after  which  he  went  over  to  Carlton,  Louisi- 
ana, and  on  to  Brazos  and  San  Antonio,  Texas,  remaining  in  the  Lone  Star 
state  until  May,  1864.  He  afterward  returned  to  Louisiana  and  in  April, 
1865,  the  Battery  embarked  for  Fort  Morgan  on  Mobile  Bay,  and  he  partici- 
pated in  the  siege  of  Mobile  until  the  19th  of  July,  being  present  at  the  great 
explosion.  The  war  having  ended  he  returned  to  Michigan,  where  he  was 
honorably  discharged.  He  was  not  absent  from  service  save  for  thirty  days 
during  his  four  years'  connection  with  the  army  and  was  never  in  the  hospital. 
During  the  three  months  of  his  term  of  enlistment  he  participated  in  the  battle 
of  Bull  Run  and  the  first  rebel  prisoners  were  taken  by  his  regimerit.  Gladly 
he  returned  to  his  home  when  peace  was  declared,  for  he  had  experienced  ail 
the  hardships  and  dangers  that  are  meted  out  to  a  soldier.  Captain  Lewis  was 
present  at  Alexandria,  Virginia,  when  Ellsworth,  the  brave  officer,  was  shot. 
A  few  moments  afterwards  he  was  in  the  hotel  where  the  tragedy  occurred. 

In  1866  Mr.  Lewis  went  to  Elkhart.  Indiana,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  sash,  doors  and  blinds,  there  remaining  in  business  until 
1870,  when  he  returned  to  Coldwater,  where  he  conducted  a  window  shade 
factory.  About  1875,  however,  he  sold  out  and  began  dealing  in  fruit  trees, 
so  continuing  until  1888.  when  he  bought  a  farm  in  Batavia  township,  where 
he  has  since  resided.  His  persistency  of  purpose  and  unfaltering  energy  have 
been  the  basis  of  his  success  and  in  his  agricultural  interests  he  has  shown  ex- 
cellent management  and  keen  discernment. 

December  21,  1865,  Mr.  Lewis  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Anna  M. 
Garvin,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Emily  (Goodnow)  Garvin.  Mrs.  Lewis  died 
October  2,  1887.  There  were  four  children  of  that  marriage:  Fred  S.,  now 
living  in  San  Francisco,  California;  Kate  E.,  the  wife  of  Arthur  Sanders,  o£ 
Batavia  township;  Helen  F.,  a  resident  of  Toledo,  Ohio;  and  William  J.,  who 
died  on  the  9th  of  August,  1877.  For  his  second  wife  Mr.  Lewis  chose  Miss 
Mina  L.  Gruner,  a  daughter  of  Wengei  Gruner.  There  was  one  child  by  this 
marriage.  Anna,  now  at  home.  The  wife  and  mother  died  January  7,  1896, 
and  on  that  occasion  the  following  lines  appeared  in  one  of  the  local  papers : 

"A  happy  home  was  made  desolate  by  death  last  Tuesday  night,  and  the 
lifeless  babe  that  would  have  been  pressed  against  the  warm  bosom  of  a  de- 
voted mother  was  placed  in  her  cold  arms  and  thus  mother  and  child  sleep  the 
dreamless  sleep  of  those  forever  at  rest  under  the  snow  in  Oak  Grove  Ceme- 
tery, with  the  baby  face  pressed  lovingly  against  hers.  Mrs.  Lewis  was  taken 
ill  Monday  by  severe  pains  in  the  head,  caused  by  uremic  poisoning,  and  died 
Tuesday  evening  at  10  o'clock. 

"The  deceased  was  born  near  the  spot  where  her  life  ended,  and  her  pleas- 
ant ways,  helpful  kindness,  amiable  disposition  and  loving  character  made  her 


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844  HJ  STORY  OF  BRANXH  COUNTY 

a  universal  favorite  amOng  the  friends  she  had  hved  with  from  childhood  to 
womanhood.  She  was  a  devoted  wife  and  fond  mother,  and  is  survived  by  her 
husband  and  a  daughter  five  years  old.  The  deceased  was  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  her  church  life  was  consistent  and  exemplary. 

"Miss  Mina  L.  Gruner  was  born  April  25.  i860,  and  was  united  m  mar- 
riage with  Mr.  Edwin  E.  Lewis  in  October,  1889,  and  their  home  has  always 
been  on  the  farm  in  Coldwafer  township.  The  funeral  was  held  at  the  house 
Friday  afternoon  at  i  o'clock,  and  the  bearers  were  her  three  brothers,  Ward, 
Bart  and  Starr  Gruner,  and  her  relatives,  S.  T.  Vesey,  William  Mitchell  and 
■  Frank  Gruner.  Rev.  H.  P.  Collin  ofliciated  at  the  funeral  and  the  choir  com- 
posed of  her  friends— Dr.  Andrews,  Prof.  Harriman,  Mrs.  Carpenter  and 
Mrs.  Ball — sang  the  soiemn  requiem  at  the  sepuicher." 

The  home  farm  of  Mr.  Lewis  comprised  at  one  time  one  hundred  and 
fortv-five  acres,  but  he  has  since  disposed  of  much  of  this  and  only  retains 
possession  of  a  small  tract  at  the  present  writing.  In  politics  he  has  been 
a  life-long  Republican,  unfaltering  in  his  advocacy  of  the  men  and  measures 
of  the  party.  He  belongs  to  Butterworth  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  and  in  1902  he  was 
appointed  "a  member  of  the  Vicksburg  Military  Commission  by  Governor 
Bliss,  and  is  still  acting  in  that  capacity.  The  object  of  this  commission  is 
to  locate  the  position  occupied  during  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  by  the  different 
Michigan  organizations.  Captain  Lewis  has  served  as  justice  of  the  peace 
and  school  inspector.  Fraternally  he  was  connected  with  the  Ancient  Order 
of  United  Workmen  at  Coldwater  and  he  has  a  wide  and  favorable  acquaint- 
ance in  business,  social  and  political  circles.  His  life  has  been  characterized 
by  many  sterling  traits  and  in  his  relations  with  his  fellowmen  he  has  Iseen 
just  and  honorable,  while  in  all  matters  of  citizenship  he  has  displayed  the 
same  loyal  spirit  which  characterized  his  performance  of  duty  upon  southern 
battle-fields  and  won  him  merited  promotion. 

OLIVER  C.  CAMPBELL 

Oliver  C.  Campbell,  to  whom  has  been  entrusted  public  service,  was 
sheriff  of  the  county  during  the  years  of  1884-85-86-87  and  from  1897  to 
1898,  inclusive,  and  the  consensus  of  opinion  regarding  his  incumbency  was 
extremely  favorable.  He  has  a  large  circle  of  friends  in  Union  City  and 
Branch  county  and  his  life  record  cannot  fail  to  prove  of  interest  therefore 
to  many  of  our  readers.  A  native  of  Pennsylvania,  he  was  born  in  Potts- 
vitle.  Schuylkill  coimty,  on  the  ist  of  October.  i845.  His  father,  O.  S. 
Campbell,  who  was  of  Scotch  descent,  was  also  a  native  of  Pennsylvania, 
learning  and  following  •  the  millwright's  trade,  and  in  connection  with  that 
pursuit  carried  on  farming.  He  married  Miss  Eliza  Deitz,  who  was  also  a 
native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  was  of  German  lineage. 

O.  C,  Campbell,  the  eldest  son  and  second  child  in  their  family  of  six 
children,  was  reared  in  the  place  of  his  nativity  until  eighteen  years  of  age, 
and  then  leaving  his  father's  home  he  entered  upon  an  apnrenticeship  to  the 
carpenter's  trade.  Hoping  that  still- better  advantages  might  be  enjoyed  in 
the  west,  he  came  to  Branch  county  in  1866,  locating  in  Union  City,  where 


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HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  845 

he  began  contracting  and  building,  following  this  calling  in  Sherwood,  Homer, 
Burlington,  Tekonsha,  Union  City  and  other  places.  He  has  erected  many 
schoolhouses,  business  blocks  and  private  dw^IHngs,  and  has  undoubtedly  done 
more  building  than  any  man  in  the  county.  He  early  displayed  a  thorough 
understanding  of  the  builder's  trade  and  accuracy  in  workmanship,  reliability 
in  trade  transactions  and  the  conscientious  iierformance  of  his  duties  secured 
him  a  constantly  growing  patronage,  and  to-day  in  various  parts  of  the  county 
there  are  fine  structures  which  stand  as  monuments  of  his  enterprise  and  skill. 

Active,  too.  in  public  life  Mr.  Campbell,  whose  ability  for  leadership  is 
recognized,  was  called  to  the  office  of  sheriff  in  the  fall  of  1883,  and  after 
serving  for  two  years  he  was  re-elected  for  a  second  term.  In  1890  he  carried 
the  county  for  state  senator  against  A,  Milnes^  of  Coldwater,  and  in  1896  he 
was  once  more  elected  sheriff,  serving  in  the  years  of  1897  and  1898.  In  the 
performance  of  duty  he  is  unbiased  by  either  fear  or  favor,  giving  his  whole 
time  to  the  suppression  of  lawlessness  and  crime  in  Branch  county  and  the 
favorable  opinion  which  was  expressed  concerning  his  service  at  the  outset  of 
his  admini-stration  was  in  no  degree  set  aside  or  modified  during  the  incum- 
bency in  the  office.  In  his  political  faith  he  is  a  Democrat.  In  1870  he  assisted 
in  the  organization  of  the  Greenback  party  in  Branch  county,  but  he  now  gives 
unfaltering  allegiance  to  the  Democracy.  The  county  has  a  normal  Republican 
majority  of  about  three  thousand,  and  Mr.  Campbell  is  the  only  Democrat  ever 
elected  to  the  office  of  sheriff  here.  His  first  election  gave  him  a  majority  of 
only  forty-seven  and  his  second  a  majority  of  over  seven  hundred.  Certainly 
no  higher  testimonial  of  capability  in  office  could  be  given  than  this  flattering 
vote.  He  made  a  record  of  putting  more  criminals  in  the  penitentiary  than 
any  other  sheriff  in  the  state  of  Michigan,  and  no  law-breaker  ever  escaped 
when  Mr.  Campbell  sought  to  place  him  behind  the  bars.  It  was  he  who 
arrested  the  notorious  Joe  Howard,  one  of  the  three  men  who  robbed  the  Cold- 
water  Bank  in  daylight,  Mr.  Campbell  capturing  him  on  Chestnut  street  in 
Philadelphia,  when  he  was  planning  and  arranging  with  others  to  rob  a  savings 
bank  of  that  city.  This  notorious  "Joe  Howard,"  known  well  in  the  criminal 
annals  of  different  parts  of  the  United  States,  is  at  the  present  time  (1905) 
a  prisoner  in  Vienna,  Austria,  and  Mr.  Campbell  has  compiled  a  review  of  this 
criminal's  meanderings  for  the  Consulate,  which  is  now  in  the  hands  of  that 
high  official.  He  sent  twenty-three  horse  thieves  to  prison  in  one  year  and  he 
became  a  menace  to  all  evil-doers,  while  those  who  hold  themselves  amenable 
to  law  look  upon  him  with  a  feeling  of  security. 

His  renown  reaches  almost  that  of  national  importance  as  a  sleuth  after 
criminals,  and  his  successful  capture  of  the  robber,  as  well  as  the  stolen  goods. 
Mrs.  Campbell,  his  little  wife,  is  as  well  known  for  her  bravery  and  fearless- 
ness as  her  husband.  Many  have  been  the  times  when  she  was  left  in  fuH 
charge  of  the  prison  in  the  absence  of  her  husband,  and  in  all  cases  and  cir- 
cumstances she  acquitted  herself  well  worthy  of  her  steel  and  courage.  Mr. 
Campbell's  narratives  of  his  dangerous  trips  or  pursuits  after  criminals  read 
like  the  stories  of  daring  Dick  Turpen  and  are  intensely  interesting,  since  they 
came  under  his  administrations  in  old  Branch  county.     Too  much  cannot  be 


Coot^lc 


846  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

said  of  the  daring  and  courage  of  Mr.  Campbell  as  sheriff  of  the  county  of 
Branch. 

On  the  2ist  of  October,  1868,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Campbell 
and  Miss  Ellen  M.  Roe,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Phila  (McDonald)  Roe, 
both  of  whom  were  natives  of  New  York,  whence  they  came  to  Brancli  county 
about  1838,  casting  in  their  lot  with  the  pioneer  settlers  here.  Mrs.  Campbell 
was  bom  in  Union  township  upon  the  old  farm  homestead,  about  a  mile  south- 
east of  Union  City,  July  25,  1847,  ^^i*!  's  the  youngest  of  four  children,  all 
of  whom  were  born  in  leap  year,  or  four  years  apart,  one  being  born  in  the 
spring,  a  second  in  the  fa!!,  a  third  in  the  winter,  while  Mrs.  Campbell's  birth 
occurred  in  the  summer.  The  eldest  and  youngest  were  daughters,  while  the 
others  were  sons.  The  sons  are  now  deceased,  but  both  daughters  are  living, 
the  sister  t)eing  Mrs.  Cordelia  Scott  Thatcher,  of  Coldwater.  In  the  paternal 
line  Mrs.  Campbell  comes  of  Scotch  lineage  and  in  the  maternal  line  of  Ger- 
man descent.  Mrs.  Campbell  has  in  her  possession  an  old  book  which  has  been 
handed  down  from  the  McDonald  family,  published  in  1798,  a  year  before 
General  Washington's  death.  This  is  an  old  heirloom  in  the  home  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Campbell.  One  son  has  been  born  unto  our  subject  and  his  wife,  who 
died  in  infancy,  but  they  have  an  adopted  daughter,  Viva  A.,  who  is  still  with 
them.  She  has  passed  most  of  the  high  school  work,  and  has  taken  tioth  vocal 
and  instrumental  music,  and  is  an  active  worker  in  both  church  and  Sabbath 
school.  Mr.  Campbell  belongs  to  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  has  taken  the 
degrees  of  Royal  Arch  and  Knight  Templar  Masonry.  He  likewise  is  identi- 
fied with  other  fraternal  organizations.  He  now  owns  two  good  fanns  and 
is  well-to-do,  liaving  four  good  houses  and  other  property  in  Union  City.  He 
started  out  in  life  empty-handed,  but  as  a  contractor  and  builder  won  a  hand- 
some competence.  In  all  life's  relations,  public  or  private,  in  business  circles, 
in  public  office,  or  amid  the  relationships  of  his  own  home,  he  has  so  lived  as 
to  gain  the  unqualified  regard  of  his  fellowmen. 

WILLIAM  HENRY  GATTSCHALK, 

William  Henry  Gattschalk.  the  well  known  chizen  of  Quincy.  where  he 
is  an  extensive  dealer  in  woo^  and  lumber,  was  born  in  Prussia  in  1850. 
Having  come  to  America  during  boyhood,  he  is  identified  by  many  years  of 
resi(ience  with  this  country  and  is  a  German-American  of  those  stanch  and 
enterprising  qualities  that  form  the  firmest  fibres  of  our  citizenship. 

His  father,  Karl  Frederick,  and  his  mother,  Sophia  (Hildebrand)  Gatts- 
chalk, came  from  their  native  fatherland  to  the  United  States  in  1865,  settling 
in  AJgansee  township.  Branch  county.  The  father  had  been  an  officer  in  the 
Prussian  army,  and  in  this  county  followed  the  occupation  of  farmer,  living 
on  his  homestead  in  Algansee  township  until  his  death  in  1876,  when  sixty 
years  old.  He  was  an  industrious  and  God-fearing  man,  a  member  of  the 
Lutheran  church,  as  was  also  his  wife,  and  during  the  years  of  his  American 
citizenship  he  voted  the  Republican  ticket  and  fulfilled  his  duties  to  familv 
and  society  in  a  manner  that  leaves  his  record  unblemished  in  the  memorv 
There  were  ten  children  born  to  him  and  his  wife,  and  those  living  at  tli'is 


Co  Ogle 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  Si? 

time  are:  Karl  H.,  who  lives  on  a  farm  in  Algansee  township;  Christina,  the 
wife  of  Mornac  Wilson,  a  confectioner  in  Chicago:  August,  a  locomotive 
engineer,  Hving  in  Chicago;  and  William  H. 

The  schools  of  the  Gennan  fatherland  furnished  Mr.  Gattschalk  his  educa- 
tion, and,  being  reared  on  a  farm,  he  thoroughly  understood  its  duties,  even 
before  coming  to  America.  He  was  fifteen  years  old  when  the  family  crossed 
the  Vifaters,  and  it  was  not  long  after  that  he  entered  upon  his  independent 
career.  Farming  has  been  his  Hfe  work,  and  his  success  has  been  the  result 
of  industry  and  shrewd  business  management,  the  latter  quality  being  as 
essential  in  agriculture  as  in  business  or  finance.  Although  he  retired  from 
the  farm  and  moved  to  Quincy  in  1894,  he  stil!  owns  a  beautiful  farm  of  one 
hundred  and  ten  acres  in  Algansee  township,  and  also  has  a  nice  home  in  town. 

Mr.  Gattschalk  was  married  in  1876  to  Minnie  Bartel.  She  is  also  a 
native  of  Germany,  bom  in  1856,  and  her  parents,  William  and  Christina 
(Leder)  Bartel,  came  to  the  United  States  in  1870,  settling  first  in  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  and  later  moving  to  Algansee  township.  Her  father  was  a  successful 
farmer,  and  died  suddenly  in  November,  :go5.  Mrs.  Gattschalk  is  one  of  six 
children,  namely :  Lena,  the  wife  of  Carl  Hacker,  a  farmer  in  Algansee  town- 
ship ;  Mary,  the  wife  of  Karl  Gattschalk.  a  farmer  of  Algansee  township,  who 
is  mentioned  above  as  the  brother  of  W.  H.  Gattschalk;  Fred,  a  farmer  in 
Litchfield  township,  Hillsdale  county;  William,  a  farmer  in  Algansee  town- 
ship ;  and  Bertha,  at  home  with  her  parents. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gattschalk  have  three  children.  Martha  is  the  wife  of 
Eugene  Widner.  a  lock  expert  for  the  Mossler-Bauman  Safe  Company; 
Wilhelmina  is  at  home;  and  Karl  is  a  student  in  the  University  of  Michigan, 
studying  electrical  engineering.  Mr.  Gattschalk  and  his  wife  are  members  of 
the  Lutheran  church,  in  which  he  is  an  official,  and  in  his  township  he  has 
served  as  treasurer.     His  politics  is  Republican. 

ANTON  GRUNER. 

Anton  Gruner,  deceased,  was  long  identified  with  the  interests  of  Branch 
county.  The  Gruners  come  of  an  old  German  family,  members  of  which 
arrived  in  Branch  county  in  the  '40s  and  '50s,  leaving  many  descendants  here 
who  are  numbered  among  the  best  people  of  this  part  of  the  state.  Anton 
Gruner  was  a  native  of  Austria  and  a  son  of  Franz  Gruner,  who  crossed  the 
Atlantic  to  New  York  from  Austria  in  1854.  His  wife  bore  the  maiden  name 
of  Katrina  Berkman  and  they  had  seven  children :  Franz ;  Anton ;  Mrs.  Anna 
Adolph.  who  died  in  Girard  township;  Mrs.  Katherine  Luh,  who  died  in 
Union  township;  Wenzel,  who  died  in  Coldwater;  Joseph,  who  died  in 
Aubum.  New  York;  and  Karl,  who  is  now  living  in  Germany.  The  parents 
settled  on  section  seven.  Coldwater  township,  on  coming  to  Branch  county, 
Michigan,  and  here  Franz  Gruner  passed  away  in  1856,  while  his  wife  died 
in  1861. 

Anton  Gruner  was  married  to  Miss  Caroline  Piltz,  also  a  native  of  Ger- 
many, whence  she  came  to  America  with  her  mother,  brothers  and  sisters,  the 
other  children  of  the  household  being:     Mrs.  Lena  Graft,  who  died  in  this 


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848  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

county;  Karl,  who  was  killed  while  serving  as  a  soldier  of  the  Union  army  in 
the  Civil  war;  William,  who  is  living  in  Batavia  township;  Franz,  who  died 
in  Germany ;  and  Mrs,  Mary  Hoffman,  who  died  in  Coklwater.  Unto  Anton 
and  Caroline  Gruner  were  born  four  children,  all  of  whom  are  yet  living, 
namely :  Frank,  more  extended  mention  of  whom  will  be  found  below ;  Mrs. 
Lena  Cooley,  of  Batavia  township;  Charles,  of  Girard  township;  and  Edwin, 
who  is  living  in  the  township  of  Coldwater.  Anton  Gruner  cleared  much 
land  in  this  county  and  at  one  time  was  the  owner  of  several  hundred  acres, 
constituting  a  valuable  property.  The  present  homestead  farm  now  com- 
prises two  hundred  acres  of  fertile  land,  which  is  improved  with  good  build- 
ings. He  died  on  the  7th  of  May,  1896,  while  his  wife  departed  this  life  on 
the  3Cth  of  May,  1905. 

Frank  Grimer  was  born  in  Coklwater  township,  August  2,  1858,  and  is 
a  rqjresentative  of  one  of  the  old  and  worthy  families  of  Branch  county.  He 
has  spent  his  entire  life  on  the  old  homestead  farm  in  Coldwater  township 
and  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  progressive  agriculturists  of  this  locality.  He 
has  never  married  and  he  lived  with  his  mother  until  her  death  at  a  recent 
date.  He  is  a  man  of  intelligence,  thoroughly  posted  upon  public  interests  of 
local  and  national  importance  and,  like  his  father,  is  a  stanch  Republican, 
giving  unfaltering  allegiance  to  the  party.  He  has  served  as  a  member  of  the 
township  board  of  review  and  as  moderator  of  the  school  district,  and  no  trust 
reposed  in  him  has  ever  been  betrayed  in  the  slightest  degree.  The  Gruners 
are  mvong  the  most  highly  esteemed  residents  of  Branch  county,  are  large 
property  owners,  people  of  good  business  ability  and  are  held  in  high  esteem. 

JONATHAN  JOHNSON. 

Jonathan  Johnson,  who  is  interested  in  farming  pursuits  in  Union  town- 
ship, was  born  in  Cayuga  county.  New  York.  November  14,  18^4.  His 
father,  Timothy  Johnson,  was. a  native  of  New  Jersey,  and  was  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  Cayuga  county,  where  he  followed  the  occupation  of  farming 
until  his  removal  to  Hillsdale  county,  Michigan,  about  1837.  He  located  there 
on  a  farm  and  throughout  his  remaining  days  carried  on  agricultural  pursuits 
in  that  locality,  his  last  days  being  passed  in  Wright  township,  where  he  died 
at  the  age  of  sixty-four  years.  He  was  in  the  War  of  1812,  participating  in 
the  battle  of  Fort  Erie,  and  having  been  taken  sick  in  army,  came  near  dying. 
In  her  maidenhood,  his  wife  bore  the  name  of  Jane  Kellogg  and  was  a  native 
of  New  York,  where  her  girlhood  days  were  passed.  She  lived  to  be  about 
sixty-four  years  of  age.  In  their  family  were  nine  children,  all  of  whom 
reached  adult  age,  but  only  three  are  now  living :  R.  N.,  of  Detroit ;  Jonathan ; 
and  Mrs.  Courser,  of  Lenawee  county,  Michigan. 

Jonathan  Johnson,  the  seventh  member  of  the  family,  was  only  two  years 
old  when  he  came  to  Michigan,  and  upon  the  home  farm  in  Wright  township 
he  was  reared.  He  obtained  his  education  in  pne  of  the  old-time  log  school- 
houses,  walking  a  mile  and  a  quarter  through  the  woods,  following  an  old 
trail,  for  there  were  no  roads  at  that  time.  When  school  was  not  in  session 
he  assisted  in  the  operation  of  the  home  farm  and  he  continued  tc  give  his 


,y  Google 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  849 

father  the  benefit  of  his  services  throughout  the  period  of  his  minority.  In 
i860  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  R  Glazer,  a  daughter  of  Jacob 
M.  Glazer,  who  was  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Union  township.  Branch 
county.  She  was  born  upon  the  farm  in  Union  township  that  is  now  owned 
by  Mr.  Johnson  and  which  is  still  known  as  the  J.  M.  Glazer  farm.  Her 
father  entered  the  land  from  the  government  in  1S35,  and  at  once  began  to 
clear  and  cultivate  the  place,  upon  which  not  a  furrow  had  been  turned  or  an 
improvement  made. 

Following  his  marriage,  Mr.  Johnson  lived  in  Hillsdale  county  for  about 
a  year  and  then  located  on  the  farm  which  has  since  been  his  home  in  Union 
township.  They  were  the  parents  of  two  sons,  but  one  died  in  infancy.  The 
other,  Leo  L.,  resides  upon  the  old  homestead,  where  he  was  born.  He  wedded 
Ida  Hoeltcel,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  two  daughters,  Beatrice  and 
Dorothea. 

Jonathan  Johnson  has  been  a  resident  of  Union  township  for  forty-four 
years  and  his  wife  has  spent  her  entire  life  here.  His  farm  comprises  two 
hundred  and  ten  acres  of  rich  land,  which  he  has  placed  under  a  high  state 
of  cultivation,  so  that  the  farm  annually  returns  him  a  gratifying  income.  He 
has  given  his  attention  during  the  greater  part  of  his  life  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits and  yet  has  conducted  other  business  interests.  He  was  proprietor  of 
the  Johnson  House  in  Union  City  for  eleven  years  and  carried  on  mer- 
chandising for  about  four  years.  He  also  built  the  first  planing  and  sawmill 
in  Union  City  and  operated  the  plant  for  about  two  years.  He  is  engaged  in 
the  stock  business,  buying  and  shipping  for  four  years,  and  his  varied  activities 
have  contributed  to  the  business  development  of  his  part  of  the  county.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Democrat  and  in  the  Masonic  fraternity  he  has  taken  the  degrees 
of  the  lodge,  council  and  chapter.  His  interest  in  public  affairs  is  that  of  a 
public-spirited  citizen,  who  co-operates  in  every  measure  that  he  deems  will 
prove  of  general  good.  He  belongs  to  that  class  of  representative  men  who. 
while  promoting  individual  success  also  advances  the  general  prosperity. 

MORTIMER  VOSBURGH. 

Mortimer  Vosburgh,  well  known  as  justice  of  the  peace  at  Union  City, 
was  born  in'  Yates  county.  New  York,  April  23,  1834.  His  father,  Martin 
Vosburgh,  was  a  native  of  Columbia  county,  New  York,  and  was  a  shoe- 
maker by  trade.  He  followed  that  occupation  m  connection  with  farming 
and  died  in  Orleans  county,  his  native  state,  March  20,  1840.  His  wife  bore 
the  maiden  name  of  Rachel  Robison,  and  was  born  in  Columbia  county.  New 
York,  while  her  death  occurred  when  she  had  reached  the  age  of  eighty-seven 
years. 

Squire  Mortimer  Vosburgh  is  the  last  surviving  member  of  a  family  of 
twelve  children.  In  his  boyhood  days  he  accompanied  his  parents  on  their 
removal  to  Orleans  county,  New  York,  and  aftenvard  to  Niagara  county, 
where  he  was  reared  and  made  his  home  until  September,  1854.  A 
young  man  of  twenty  years,  he  then  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan, 
where  he  also  turned  his  attention  to  farming,  which  he  followed  for  about 


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850  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

ten  years,  after  which  he  came  to  Union  City.  He  has  been  prominent  in 
pubhc  life  here,  acting  as  postmaster  by  appointment  of  President  Hayes  for 
five  years  and  giving  to  the  city  a  bnsiness-like  administration  of  the  affairs 
of  the  office.  In  18&2  he  was  apjiointed  railway  mail-clerk,  but  becoming  dis- 
abled in  the  service  he  resigned.  He  afterward  engaged  in  the  jewelry  busi- 
ness in  Union  City  for  about  five  years  and  in  the  meantime  he  was  called  to 
other  public  office,  serving  as  supervisor  of  Union  township  for  five  years. 
He  has  also  been  justice  of  the  peace  for  thirty  consecutive  years  and  few  in 
the  state  have  so  long  filled  a  similar  office.  He  is  township  clerk  at  the 
present  writing,  in  1905,  and  has  acted  in  this  capacity  for  twenty  years.  He 
has  also  been  assessor  for  eighteen  successive  years  and  at  one  time  he  served 
as  justice  of  the  peace,  township  clerk,  supervisor  and  assessor.  Every  trust 
reposed  in  him  is  faithfully  discharged  and  he  is  equally  prompt  and  reliable 
in  meeting  every  obligation  of  public  or  private  life. 

Mr.  Vosburgh  was  married  in  1857  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Burnett,  and  they 
had  two  daughters,  but  both  are  now  deceased.  For  his  second  wife  he 
chose  Marian  E.  Pixiey.  Mr.  Vosburgh  is  prominent  in  locaJ  Masonic  circles, 
having  taken  the  degrees  of  the  lodge,  chapter  and  council,  and  he  also  belongs 
to  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  in  which  he  has  filled  all  of  tlie 
chairs  with  the  local  organization  and  some  of  the  offices  in  the  grand  lodge. 
He  has  been  initiated  into  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees  and  therein  has  filled 
all  the  different  official  positions.  He  has  been  a  stalwart  Republican  since 
casting  his  vote  for  the  first  presidential  nominee  of  the  party,  John  C.  Fre- 
mont. He  attended  the  meeting  which  was  held  under  the  oaks  where  the 
party  was  organized  at  Jackson,  Michigan,  and  he  has  since  been  loyal  to  its 
welfare,  doing  all  in  his  power  to  promote  its  growth  and  insure  its  success. 
Few  men  are  more  widely  known  in  Union  City  and  in  the  county  than 
Mortimer  Vosburgh,  and  because  he  has  so  long  figured  in  public  life  his 
history  is  well  known  to  his  fellow  townsmen.  Over  the  record  of  his  career 
there  falls  no  shadow  of  wrong  or  suspicion  of  evil,  and  such  a  career  restores 
one's  faith  in  his  fellowmen  at  an  age  when  so  much  is  said — and  often  with 
truth — of  the  corruption  in  politics. 

PERRY  J.  BUELL. 

Perry  J.  Buell  is  the  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Buell  &  Boyer,  dealers 
in  lumber,  tile,  brick  and  genera]  building  materials.  He  is  one  of  the  younger 
members  of  trade  relations  in  Union  City,  and  is  a  native  son  of  this  place, 
his  birth  having  here  occurred  October  15,  1870.  His  parents  are  M.  F.  and 
Mary  J.  ( Perry)  Buell.  He  began  his  education  at  the  usual  age  in  the  com- 
mon schools  and  passed  through  consecutive  grades  until  he  had  become  wel! 
qualified  by  mental  discipline  for  the  labors  which  devolve  upon  one  as  he 
enters  the  business  world.  After  leaving  school  Mr.  Buell  was  associated 
with  his  father  in  the  employ  of  the  Michigan  Central  Railroad  Company  as 
assistant  and  weigh  clerk  at  the  station  here,  acting  in  that  capacity  for  eight 
years,  and  in  February.  1903,  he  formed  a  partnership  with  CHnton  C.  Boyer 
in  the  business  in  which  they  are  now  conducting.     They  have  a  well  equipped 


Coot^lc 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  851 

lumber  yard,  also  deal  quite  extensively  in  tile,  brick  and  general  building 
materials,  and  they  have  won  a  patronage  that  is  accorded  them  in  recognition 
of  their  honorable  business  methods  and  earnest  desire  to  please  their  cus- 
tomers. 

Mr.  Buell  was  married  June  19,  1900,  to  Miss  Byrdie  Gaw,  a  daughter 
of  George  H.  and  Harriet  (Wadsworth)  Gaw.  Mrs.  Buell  was  bom  April  i, 
1S72,  and  was  reared  in  Ohio,  and  by  her  marriage  has  become  the  mother 
of  one  son,  Martin  F.  Mr.  Buell  exercises  his  right  of  franchise  in  support 
of  the  Republican  party  and  its  principles  and  is  deeply  interested  in  its 
success.  He  was  for  two  years  a  member  of  the  council  of  Union  City,  but 
his  activity  in  ptibltc  aflfairs  is  that  of  a  man  who  desires  the  adoption  of 
principles  rather  than  seeks  his  own  personal  advancement.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Masonic  fraternity  an<l  is  now  master  of  Union  Lodge.  No,  28,  and 
has  entered  his  name  on  the  membership  roll  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen  and  he  is  active  in  that  organization.  He  had  little  assistance  at 
the  outset  of  his  business  career  in  the  way  of  financial  aid  and  his  historv 
therefore  is  an  illustration  of  what  ability,  energy  and  force  of  character  can 
accomplish. 

MRS.  LOUISA  SHEDD. 

Mrs.  Louisa  Shedd.  making  her  home  in  the  village  of  Tekonsha,  is  a 
representative  of  one  of  the  oldest  pioneer  families  of  Branch  county.  She 
was  bom  in  Richmond,  Ontario  county,  New  York,  on  the  nth  of  August, 
1850,  a  daughter  of  Robert  and  Amelia  (Peabody)  Eldred.  The  father  was 
bom  in  New  York,  June  10,  1804,  while  the  mother's  birth  occurred  in  the 
same  state,  April  21,  1808.  They  were  married  at  Candice,  New  York,  on 
the  loth  of  May,  1827,  and  in  1852  came  to  Michigan' w!ith  their  ten  children, 
namely;  Mrs.  Sally  M.  Walker,  who  is  still  living  in  Girard  township; 
Alvah  D.  Eldred,  who  died  in  Tekonsha,  Michigan,  January  30,  1903;  Mrs. 
Mary  Markham,  who  died  in  Girard  township,  April  23,  1S72;  Isaac,  who 
died  in  New  York,  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years;  Lewis  S.,  who  is  now  living 
in  Tekonsha;  Joseph  G.,  a  resident  of  Quincy,  this  state;  Mrs.  Almira  Bartlett, 
living  in  Girard  township;  R.  Elon,  who  makes  his  home  in  Tekonsha; 
Albert  M.,  living  in  Colon,  Michigan;  and  Mrs.  Louisa  Shedd. 

On  coming  to  Michigan  the  family  home  was  established  in  Tekonsha. 
on  the  border  line  of  Girard  township.  There  the  mother  died  April  27,  i860, 
and  on  the  29th  of  January,  1861,  Robert  Eldred  married  Laura  Peabody. 
a  sister  of  his  first  wife.  His  death  occurred  March  21,  18S6,  while  his  second 
wife  died  July  17,  1890. 

Louisa  Eldred  was  only  two  years  old  when  brought  by  her  parents  to 
Branch  county,  and  in  their  home  she  spent  her  girlhood  days,  while  in  the 
public  schools  she  acquired  her  education.  On  the  4th  of  October,  1871,  she 
gave  her  hand  in  marriage  to  Samuel  Shedd.  who  was  born  in  Tekonsha,  July 
24,  1844,  a  son  of  Ranodyne  Shedd,  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Caihoun 
county,  Michigan.  He  had  been  previously  married,  on  the  24th  of  February, 
1869,  to  Miss  Nellie  Blashfield,  of  Clarendon,  who  died  October  2,  1870, 
while  their  only  child  died  in  infancy.    Unto  Samuel  and  Louisa  Shedd  were 


CotH^lc 


«"3  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

born  six  children:  John,  born  July  22,  1885,  died  March  21,  1898,  at  the 
age  of  twelve  years;  Jay,  born  September  22,  1872,  and  now  hving  at  Bay 
City,  Michigan,  married  Lettie  Loring  and  has  two  children,  Loren  and 
Gladys;  Phoebe  A.  Shedd,  born  June  21,  1874,  is  the  wife  of  Harry  Williams, 
of  Tekonsha.  and  has  three  children,  Leila,  Alvin  and  Fern ;  Nellie  A.  Shedd, 
bom  November  i,  1876,  is  the  wife  of  Arab  Shumway,  of  Tekonsha,  and  has 
three  children,  Ned.  Carl  and  Marion;  Ward  R.  Shedd,  born  July  8,  1879,  is 
an  instructor  in  the  Michigan  Agricultural  College,  at  Lansing;  Bert,  bom 
August  7,  1881,  is  at  home  with  his  mother. 

Samuel  Shedd  was  one  of  tht  most  extensive  and  prosperous  farmers 
of  Girard  township,  being  connected  with  agricultural  interests  for  many 
years  and  owning  and  operating  three  hundred  acres  of  land  in  Girard  and 
Tekonsha  townships.  In  all  of  his  business  affairs  he  was  enterprising  and 
progressive  and  he  kept  in  touch  with  the  most  advanced  ideas  of  modern 
scientific  farming.  Moreover  he  found  time  to  further  many  interests  for  the 
public  good  and  for  a  !ong  period  did  effective  service  for  the  cause  of  educa- 
tion as  a  school  officer,  and  also  served  on  the  board  of  review.  Fratemally  he 
was  a  Mason  and  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  and 
he  also  belonged  to  the  Grange.  He  commanded  the  respect  of  his  fellow 
townsmen  in  an  imqualified  degree  and  won  their  admiration  by  reason  of 
his  well  conducted  and  successful  business  interests.  He  was  loyal  in  citizen- 
ship, faithful  in  friendship  and  reliable  in  business  transactions,  yet  the  best 
traits  of  his  character  were  reserved  for  his  own  family  and  fireside.  After  a 
very  brief  illness  he  passed  away  September  29,  1899, 

Mrs.  Shedd  directs  the  operations  of  her  several  famis.,  and  although 
she  had  no  previous  business  training  or  experience  she  has  displayed  much 
capability  in  the  management  of  her  interests  since  her  husband's  death.  For 
the  past  few  years  she  has  Hved  in  the  village  of  Tekonsha,  where  she  has  a 
comfortable  home.  By  birth  and  marriage  she  is  connected  with  two  of  the 
oidest  pioneer  families  of  this  part  of  the  state,  and  she  has  a  wide  and  favor- 
able acquaintance. 

J.  J.  BANFORD. 

J.  J.  Banford,  the  pioneer  harness  manufacturer  of  Union  City,  was  born 
in  Franklin  county,  Pennsylvania,  December  24,  1S44.  His  father,  John 
Banford,  was  a  native  of  Maryland,  in  which  state  he  was  reared  and  educated. 
He  became  a  drover  and  cattleman,  purchasing  cattle  in  various  localities, 
which  he  drove  to  Baltimore  and  then  soM  in  the  city  market.  On  one  of  his 
trips  he  was  murdered  before  bis  son,  J.  J.  Banford,  was  born.  His  wife  bore 
the  maiden  name  of  Catherine  Eckis,  and  following  the  death  of  her  first 
husband  she  married  James  Welch.    Her  death  occurred  in  1862, 

J,  J.  Banford-  spent  the  days  of  his  boyhood  and  youth  with  his  mother 
and  acquired  a  common  school  education.  In  January,  1864,  when  a  little 
more  than  nineteen  years  of  age,  he  responded  to  the  country's  call  for  aid, 
enlisting  with  the  boys  in  blue  gf  Battery  H,  First  Michigan  Light  Artillery.' 
with  which  he  served  until  the  close  of  the  war,  proving  a  brave  and  valiant 


Coot^lc 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  853 

soldier.  With  a  capital  military  record  he  returned  to  his  home,  and  in  1865 
he  became  connected  with  the  harness  business  at  Berrien  Springs,  Michigan, 
serving  a  regular  apprenticeship.  When  his  term  of  indenture  was  ended  he 
traveled  through  the  country,  working  as  a  journeyman,  and  in  1S70  he  settled 
in  Union  City,  where  he  entered  the  employ  of  E.  L.  Lee.  Subsequently  he 
went  to  Homer,  where  he  establishd  a  harness  business,  but  in  1878  he  returned 
to  Union  City,  where  he  has  since  conducted  business  on  his  own  account  in 
the  line  of  his  trade. 

In  1872  Mr.  Banford  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Celinda  Sage,  of 
Stryker,  Ohio.  The  only  child  of  this  marriage  died  in  infancy,  and  Mrs. 
Banford  passed  away  March  13,  1873.  On  June  7,  1874,  Mr.  Banford  mar- 
ried again,  his  second  union  being  with  Lydia  S.  Van  Denser.  They  have 
two  daughters,  Jessie  BeiJe  and  Flora. 

Mr.  Banford  has  always  taken  an  active  interest  in  political  matters  and 
gives  an  unfaltering  support  to  the  Republican  party.  He  has  been  a  member 
of  the  council  for  about  seven  years  and  has  exercised  his  official  prerogatives 
in  support  of  all  that  pertains  to  the  upbuilding  and  welfare  of  his  community. 
He  belongs  to  the  Masonic  fraternity,  in  which  he  has  attained  the  Knight 
Templar  degree  and  he  also  has  membership  relations  with  the  Knights  of 
the  Maccabees,  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  and  Corbin  post,  No. 
88,  G.  A.  R.,  in  all  of  which  he  has  filled  offices.  He  has  been  a  resident  of 
Union  City  for  thirty-five  years  and  there  is  to-day  no  harnessmaker  here 
whose  arrival  antedates  his.  He  has  long  been  accorded  a  liberal  patronage 
and  as  the  years  have  gone  by  he  has  gained  the  success  which  should  ever 
follow  close,  persistent  and  honorable  effort.  Undoubtedly  one  element  of 
his  advancement  is  the  .fact  that  he  has  persevered  in  the  course  in  which  as  a 
young  tradesman  he  embarked.  Gaining  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  busi- 
ness in  early  life,  he  was  well  qualified  for  the  task  which  he  undertook;  his 
excellent  workmanship  and  straightforward  dealing  have  made  him  one  of 
the  prosperous  manufacturers  of  Union  City. 

CICERO  J.  HOLMES. 

Cicero  J.  Holmes,  one  of  the  wealthy  farmers  and  influential  citizens  of 
Branch  county,  Michigan,  was  bom  in  Bronson,  this  county,  November  13, 
1844,  a  son  of  pioneer  residents.  His  parents,  Jonathan  and  Man,'  (Taggart) 
Holmes,  natives  respectively  of  Peterboro  and  Dublin,  New  Hampshire,  came 
from  New  England  to  Michigan  at  an  early  day  and  settled  in  Branch  county. 
Here  Jonathan  Holmes  followed  the  occupation  of  a  mill  man  for  a  number 
of  years,  and  acquired  farming  lands.     He  died  December  11,  1884. 

Cicero  J.  Holmes  attended  the  public  schools  and  spent  one  year  in  Hills- 
dale College.  When  he  started  out  in  life  on  his  own  responsibility  it  was  as 
a  fanner  on  a  piece  of  land  given  him  by  his  father.  He  is  now  the  owner  of 
over  a  thousand  acres  of  agricultural  and  timber  land,  and  is  regarded  as  the 
most  extensive  farmer  in  the  township.  He  is  also  interested  in  banking, 
being  a  stockholder  in  the  Coldwater  National  Bank  and  the  Burr  Oak  State 
Bank. 


GfK>Qlc 


8S4  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Mr.  Holmes  and  his  family  have  a  magnificent  country  home.  He  mar- 
ried, April  II,  1883,  Miss  Mary  Straehly,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  to 
them  have  been  born  five  children,  namely  :  Mary  Jane  Amelia,  Cicero  J.,  Jr., 
Warren  (deceased),  Ezra  and  Oliver  Wendell. 

PoHticaJly  Mr.  Holmes  affiliates  with  the  Democratic  party  and  fraternally 
he  is  a  Mason,  having  membership  in  the  Mystic  Lodge  at  Bronson  and  Cold- 
water  Commandery,  No.  10,  K.  T. 

JOHN  D.  PARKS. 

John  D.  Parks,  a.  dealer  in  agricultural  implements  in  Union  City,  who 
is  now  filling  the  office  of  deputy  sheriff,  was  bom  in  Erie  county,  Ohio, 
November  23,  1845.  His  father.  John  D.  Parks,  was  a  native  of  Saratoga 
county.  New  York,  and  about  1836  removed  to  Ohio,  making  a  settlement  in 
Erie  county.  He  was  an  iron  moulder  by  trade  and  throughout  his  entire 
life  engaged  in  business  along  that  line.  Thinking  tliat  he  might  have  still 
better  opportunities  in  another  locality,  he  came  to  Branch  county,  Michigan, 
in  1852,  locating  at  Union  City,  where  for  many  years  he  was  a  prominent 
representative  of  industrial  interests,  serving  ?s  superintendent  of  the  Nye 
Plow  Company,  through  two  decades.  He  died  in  New  York  city  at  the 
venerable  age  of  seventy-nine  years.  His  wife,  who  in  her  maidenhood  was 
Lucy  McConnell,  was  a  native  of  New  York  City,  spent  her  girlhood  days 
there  and  after  long  years  of  residence  in  the  middle  west  she  died  in  Union 
City  at  the  age  of  seventy-three  years.  In  their  family  were  three  sons: 
Charles  W.,  John  D.,  and  George  F.,  the  last  named  a  resident  of  Oregon. 

John  D.  Parks  was  a  lad  of  eight  summers  when  brought  by  his  parents 
to  Union  City.  He  entered  Hie  public  schools  here  and  mastered  the  branches 
of  learning  therein  taught.  He  learned  the  iron  moulder's  trade  and  followed 
that  pursuit  until  he  enlisted  in  June,  1861,  becomnig  a  member  of  Company  B. 
15th  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  with  which  he  served  for  three  years  and 
three  months.  He  was  with  the  army  under  McClellan  and  saw  much  active 
service  in  the  east.  His  first  enlistment  was  for  a  term  of  three  months  and 
on  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  re-enlisted  in  the  same  company  and  regi- 
ment. He  was  promoted  to  sergeant  major  of  engineers  and  held  that  position 
at  the  time  he  received  an  honorable  discharge.  He  took  part  in  many  im- 
portant engagements,  including  the  battles  of  Rich  Mountain,  Elkwater  and 
Greenbrier,  and  later  he  was  transferred  to  the  army  of  the  Ohio  in  the 
winter  of  1861.  This  led  him  to  participate  in  the  battles  of  Shiloh,  Corinth. 
Perryville,  Stone  River,  Chickamauga  and  Missionary  Ridge.  At  the  battle 
of  Stone  River  he  was  wounded  in  the  left  side  by  a  minie  ball  and  he  was 
in  the  hospital  in  Nashville,  Tennessee,  for  three  months.  Following  his 
wound  he  suffered  from  an  attack  of  fever,  which  also  kept  him  in  the  hospital 
for  three  months.  He  was  then  transferred  to  the  engineers'  headquarters  and 
was  made  sergeant  major  in  the  engineering  departipent,  acting  in  that 
capacity  until  the  close  of  the  war.  In  July,  1864,  he  returned  to  Nashville, 
being  connected  with  the  quartermaster's  department  of  the  army  of  the 
Cumberland. 


Coo*^k 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  «5a 

Mr.  Parks  remained  in  Chattanooga,  Tennessee,  until  1868,  acting  as  a 
clerk  in  the  commission  house.  He  then  returned  to  Union  City,  where  he 
resumed  work  at  the  moulder's  trade,  which  he  followed  untii  1895,  being 
employed  at  South  Bend,  Indiana;  Lansing  and  Jackson,  Michigan;  and 
other  places.  In  the  year  mentioned  he  again  came  to  Union  City  and  began 
farming,  locating  on  a  tract  of  land  in  Burlington  township,  Calhoun  county. 
There  he  lived  until  1898,  since  which  time  he  has  been  engaged  in  business 
as  a  dealer  in  agricultural  implements  in  Union  City.  He  has  been  activf  in 
politics  as  a  supporter  of  Republican  principles,  has  been  a  member  of  the 
town  council  and  is  now  serving  for  his  second  term.  He  was  appointed 
deputy  sheriff  in  Febraary.  1905,  and  also  acts  in  that  capacity.  His  fraternal 
relations  are  with  Corbin  Post,  No.  88,  G.  A.  R..  in  which  he  has  filled  at! 
of  the  chairs.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  having  taken 
the  Master's  degree. 

In  t868  Mr.  Parks  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Catherine  E.  Free- 
myer,  a  daughter  of  John  Freemyer,  and  they  now  have  a  son  and  daughter, 
VViJliam  !>.,  who  was  educated  in  the  Union  schools,  and  is  a  barber  of 
Union  City,  and  Mamie  A.,  at  home,  who  was  educated  in  the  public  schools. 

PIZARRO  MANSFIELD. 

Pizarro  Mansfield  and  his  wife,  Mrs.  Harriet  (Press)  Mansfield,  who 
are  respectively  eighty-nine  and  eighty-four  years  of  age,  are  the  oldest  resi- 
dents of  the  township  of  Butler  and  are  in  consequence  distinctively  entitied 
to  representation  in  this  volume.  They  are  also  pioneer  residents  of  the 
county,  having  for  more  than  six  decades  been  witnesses  of  the  labor  and  the 
changes  which  have  wrought  its  transformation  from  a  wild  district  to  one 
of  advanced  civilization. 

Mr.  Mansfield  was  Ixirn  west  of  Rochester,  New  York,  October  2,  1816, 
a  son  of  Isaac  and  Anna  (Holden)  Mansfield,  who  always  remained  resi- 
dents of  the  Empire  state.  He  was  reared  to  manhood  upon  the  old  home 
farm  in  New  York,  early  taking  his  place  in  the  fields,  to  assist  in  the  work  of 
plowing,  planting  and  harvesting  after  the  manner  of  the  times.  As  a  com- 
panion and  helpmate  for  life's  journey  he  chose  Miss  Harriet  Press,  to  whom 
he  was  married  at  Mumford,  New  York,  on  the  2d  of  October,  1843,  ^ 
daughter  of  Alpheus  and  Charlotte  (Kellogg)  Press,  who  always  remained 
residents  of  New  York.  Mrs.  Mansfield  was  born  at  York.  New  York, 
November  9,  1821.  and  spent  her  girlhood  in  her  parents'  home. 

Soon  after  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mansfield  sought  a  home  in  the 
west,  making  their  way  to  Branch  county,  Michigan,  and  locating  in  Butler 
township,  where  they  have  since  remained.  The>'  settled  first  on  section 
twenty-five,  where  they  lived  until  coming  to  their  present  home  on  section 
twenty*six,  in  1865.  Mr.  Mansfield  cleared  and  developed  the  farm  on  section 
twenty-five,  now  owned  and  occupied  by  J.  S.  Bignall,  and  he  also  cleared  a 
portion  of  his  present  farm.  In  the  early  years  of  their  residence  here  theirs 
was  the  usual  experience  of  the  pioneer  settler  who  makes  his  way  to  the 
frontier,  leaving  behind  the  comforts  and  conveniences  of  the  older  east,  but 


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856  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

by  his  work  and  efforts  plants  the  seeds  of  civihzation  that  have  brought 
forth  the  fruit  of  present  progress  and  prosperity  in  this  county.  There  was 
much  arduous  toil  required  to  bring  his  farm  under  cultivation  and  the  farm 
implements  were  very  crude  as  compared  to  those  of  the  present  day,  manual 
labor  being  then  demanded,  while  now  much  of  the  labor  is  performed  through 
the  splendidly  improved  farm  machinery.  The  household  furnishings  and 
equipments  vrere  also  very  few  as  compared  to  those  of  the  present,  so  that 
both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mansfield  did  a  large  share  of  earnest  labor,  the  former 
in  the  fields,  the  latter  in  the  home.  Although  now  far  advanced  in  years, 
they  still  reside  upon  their  farm,  each  performing  daily  tasks,  for  they  retain 
excellent  physical  as  well  as  mental  vigor. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mansfield  have  also  reared  a  family  of  four  children,  the 
family  circle  yet  remaining  unbroken.  These  are :  John  Mansfield,  who  now 
resides  in  Montana  and  has  three  children  living;  Charles,  a  resident  of 
Quincy,  Michigan,  and  the  father  of  one  son ;  Helen  M.  Annin,  of  Butler,  who 
has  two  children;  and  Mrs.  Mary  Mohn,  of  Butler,  who  has  one  child.  Mr. 
Mansfield's  children  and  some  of  tlieir  grandchildren  reside  near  them  and 
perform  various  services  for  them,  but  this  worthy  and  venerable  couple  prefer 
to  reside  upon  their  own  farm,  >vhich  is  a  fine  tract  of  land  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  acres,  on  which  are  good  buildings  and  equipments.  Mr.  Mansfield 
does  little  of  the  farm  work  himself,  but  gives  supervision  to  its  operation  and 
for  many  years  he  performed  the  active  labor  of  the  fields.  He  was  influential 
and  active  in  public  afEairs  in  the  early  history  of  Butler  township.  His  wife 
belongs  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  South  Butler  and  is  an  earnest 
Christian  woman.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mansfield  have  led  a  most  congenial,  happy 
married  life,  and  still  enjoy  life  together,  for  though  the  years  are  many  they 
are  young  in  spirit.  They  merit  and  receive  the  regard  and  friendship  of  all" 
who  know  them,  and  their  acquaintance  is  wide,  and  it  is  with  pleasure  that 
we  present  to  our  readers  this  history  of  their  lives. 

AMBROSE  LAMPMAN,  M.  D. 

Dr.  Ambrose  Lampman,  who  Was  formerly  actively  identified  with  the 
medical  profession  but  is  now  giving  his  attention  largely  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits in  Butler  township,  was  born  in  Greenvilie,  Green  county.  New  York, 
January  i,  1829.  His  father,  Abraham  P.  Lampman,  was  also  a  native  of 
that  county,  as  was  the  grandfather,  Peter  Lampman.  The  former  was  mar- 
ried in  Green  county  to  Miss  Mary  Brandow,  also  a  native  of  that  locality. 
Both  the  Lampmans  and  Brandows  had  for  several  generations  been  prominent 
there  and  both  families  were  of  old  Dutch  ancestry.  In  the  year  1848  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Abraham  Lampman  came  to  Michigan  with  their  family,  settling  in 
Butler  township.  Branch  county,  where  the  mother  died  on  the  l8th  of  April, 
i860,  while  the  father's  death  occurred  on  the  30th  of  August  of  the  same 
year.  They  held  membership  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  were  earnest  Christ- 
ian people  and  were  always  true  to  their  belief.  Mr.  Lampman  gave  his 
undivided  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits  for  many  years  and  was  also 
active  in  community  affairs,  serving  as  justice  of  the  peace  both  in  Michigan 


Coo*^k 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  857 

and  in  New  York.  In  their  family  were  the  following  named:  Epenetus, 
now  living  in  Qnincy,  Michigan;  Luman,  who  died  in  Bethel  township, 
Branch  county,  in  1890;  Mrs.  Elizaheth  Delamatter,  who  died  in  1897;  and 
Ambrose. 

Dr.  Lampman  received  a  liberal  education  and  after  completing  his 
literary  course  in  Olivette  College  he  pursued  a  medical  course  in  Cincinnati 
Eclectic  College.  He  then  located  for  finishing  or  preparing  himself  for  prac- 
tice in  Homer,  Michigan,  where  he  remained  for  six  months,  and  he  likewise 
engaged  in  practice  in  Butler  township  for  twenty  years  together  with  the 
occupation  of  farming.  In  recent  years,  however,  he  has  done  little  as  a 
practitioner  save  for  the  medical  aid  given  to  his  family.  He  first  owned 
sixty-three  acres  of  land  on  section  thirty-four,  Butler  township,  of  which 
he  became  owner  in  1855.  This  he  cleared  and  improved  and  as  the  years 
ha\'e  gone  by  he  has  added  to  the  property  and  placed  thereon  all  modern 
equipments. 

In  Calhoun  county,  Michigan,  on  the  7th  of  March,  1855,  Dr.  Lampman 
was  married  to  Miss  Helen  King,  who  was  born  in  Michigan,  September  27, 
1838,  and  whose  family  history  is  given  in  connection  with  the  sketch  of  Seth 
King  on  another  page  of  this  work.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Lampman  have  had  thir- 
teen children.  Charles,  born  October  14,  1855,  died  December  6,  1896.  He 
married  Julia  Dresser  and  they  have  two  children,  Lura  and  Claude.  Clara 
Amelia,  born  April  4,  1857,  died  on  the  22d  of  October  of  the  same  year. 
George  W.,  born  April  23,  1858,  married  Ella  Fox  and  they  live  in  Butler 
and  have  five  sons :  William,  Leon,  Elmer,  Clarence  and  Bryan.  Florence  A., 
bom  August  21,  1859,  is  the  wife  of  Charles  Parks  and  they  have  two  sons: 
LeRoy  and  Burton,  both  of  whom  are  married.  The  next  member  of  Dr. 
Lampman's  family  was  a  son,  who  died  in  1861  when  but  ten  days  old. 
Ambrose  E.penetus,  born  May  18,  1863,  and  now  living  in  Butler  township, 
married  Susie  Rassford  and  has  six  children :  Harry,  Eddie,  May,  Charles, 
Louis  and  Frances.  Jane  died  when  a  month  old  and  one  son  died  when  a 
week  old.  Andrew  E.  Lampman,  born  March  20,  1869,  is  living  in  northern 
Michigan  and  married  Amy  Talent,  by  whom  he  has  six  children:  Ethel, 
Vivian,  Marie,  Arthur,  Ellen  and  Helen.  Carrie  May,  bom  August  21,  1873, 
is  the  wife  of  William  Fultz.  Arthur  E.,  born  December  4,  1875,  died  April  4, 
1S77.  Leon  L.,  born  September  16,  1877,  died  November  26,  1879.  Eursey 
H.,  born  July  18,  1881,  is  the  wife  of  William  Randerson,  a  resident  of 
Quincy,  Michigan. 

Dr.  Lampman  has  for  many  years  been  a  member  of  the  Quincy  Detective 
Association.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  figuring  prominently  in  local  polit- 
ical circles.  He  is  a  gentleman  of  liberal  education  and  strong  intellectual 
force.  He  has  ever  been  a  great  reader  and  has  thus  continually  broadened 
his  mind,  storing  it  with  mucTi  valuable  information.  He  to-day  owns  a 
large  and  fine  farm  which  he  operates,  and  in  his  work  he  has  been  quick  to 
adopt  modem  methods  promising  to  prove  of  practical  utility.  His  work  has 
been  attended  by  a  gratifying  measure  of  success,  and  in  all  life's  relations  he 
is  honored,  for  the  motive  forces  of  his  life  have  been  such  as  to  command 
respect  and  confidence. 


858  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

JOSEPH  G.  ELDRED. 

In  tradition  tJie  descendants  of  the  Eldreds  came  from  King  Ethelreti  of 
England,  and  this  genealogy  is  handed  down  from  generation  to  generation. 

Joseph  G.  Eldred,  who  has  been  identified  with  building  and  farming 
operations  in  Branch  county  for  many  years  and  makes  his  home  in  Quincy 
township,  was  born  in  Ontario  county,  New  York,  on  the  2nd  of  January, 
1841,  coming  to  Michigan  with  his  parents  when  a  youth  of  eleven  years. 
His  father,  Robert  Eldred,  was  also  a  native  of  the  Empire  state,  born  June 
10,  1804.  He  was  reared  there  and  was  married  in  Candice,  New  York,  on 
the  loth  of  May,  1827,  to  Miss  Amelia  Peabody,  whose  birth  occiirred  in  that 
state,  April  21,  1808.  The  Eldreds  and  Peabodys  have  been  residents  of  Ne\v 
York  for  several  generations  and  were  people  of  importance  there,  the  Pea- 
bodys being  especially  prominent  and  cultured  residents  of  the  Empire  state. 
,  Robert  Eldred  and  his  wife  were  the  parents  of  ten  children  when  they 

came  to  Michigan  in  1852.  These  were:  Mrs.  Sally  Walker,  who  is  still 
living  in  Girard;  Alvah  D.  Eldred,  who  died  in  Tekonsha,  Michigan,  January 
30,  1903;  Mrs.  Mary  Markham,  who  died  Jn  Girard,  April  23,  1872;  Isaac, 
who  died  in  New. York  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years;  Lewis  S.  Eldred,  who 
is  living  in  Tekonsha;  Joseph  G.,  of  this  review;  Mrs.  Almira  A.  Bartlett.  a 
resident  of  Girard;  R.  Elon  Eldred,  of  Tekonsha;  Albert  M.  Eldred,  residing 
in  Colon,  Michigan:  and  Mrs.  Louise  Shedd,  who  also  makes  her  home  in 
Tekonsha.  The  mother,  Mrs.  Amelia  Peabody  Eldred,  died  April  27,  i860, 
and  on  the  29th  of  January,  1861,  Robert  Eldred  married  Laura  Peabody,  a 
half  sister  of  his  first  wife.  Mr.  Eldred  was  a  man  of  genuine  worth,  highly 
esteemed  in  business  and  social  circles  and  in  public  life  as  well.  He  died 
March  21,  1886,  and  his  second  wife  passed  away  July  17,  1890.  TTie  home 
farm  of  the  family  in  Michigan  was  in  Tekonsha  township  on  the  boundary 
line  of  Branch  county. 

Joseph  G.  Eldred  was  reared  to  manhood  on  the  old  homestead  farm, 
early  becoming  familiar  with  the  duties  and  labors  that  fall  to  the  lot  of  the 
agriculturist  and  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war,  when  twenty  years  of  age, 
he  enlisted  for  service  en  the  23rd  of  August,  1861,  as  a  member  of  Company 
E,  First  Michigan  Infantry.  On  the  17th  of  February,  1864,  he  was  honorably 
discharged,  but  on  the  same  day  re-enlisted  and  served  until  after  the  close  of 
the  war,  being  mustered  out  on  the  9th  of  July,  1865.  He  was  chief  bugler 
and  principal  musician  of  his  regiment  and  as  such  was  a  nonniommissioned 
staff  officer.  The  First  Michigan  Infantry  was  assigned  to  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  and  Mr.  Eldred  participated  in  forty  great  battles  of  the  Civil  war, 
in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  and  was  present  at  the  surrender  of  Appomattox 
by  General  Lee  to  Grant,  April  9,  1865.  He  was, wounded  at  the  Battle  of 
Fredricksburg,  December  13,  1862.    He  made  a  splendid  record  as  a  soldier. 

In  early  life  Mr.  Eldred  had  learned  the  carpenters  trade,  and  he  has 
constructed  many  buildings  in  this  part  of  the  slate,  both  in  and  outside  of 
Branch  county.  At  the  same  time  he  has  always  carried  on  farming,  and  at 
the  time  of  his  marriage  established  his  home  in  Girard  township.  It  was 
after  his  return  from  the  war  that  he  was  married  on  the  22nd  of  February, 


C"iOo*^k 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  859 

1866,  to  Miss  Thirza  L.  Millard,  who  was  bom  in  Webster,  Monroe  county, 
New  York.  December  24,  1843,  ^  daughter  of  Noah  M.  Millard,  who  was 
born  in  Rhode  Island  on  the  2isl  of  May,  1803,  and  died  in  Girard  township, 
May  23,  1880,  Her  mother  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Cynthia  A.  Almy  and 
was  born  in  western  New  York,  August  27,  1807,  while  her  death  occurred  in 
Girard  township,  Branch  county,  January  15,  1866.  They  were  married  on 
the  28th  of  October,  1827,  and  they  had  six  children,  all  of  whom  have  passed 
away,  witli  the  exception  of  Mrs.  Eldred.  Heir  maternal  grandfather,  Peter 
Almy,  was  a  native  of  Germany,  came  to  this  country  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century  and  served  as  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  Her  paternal 
ancestors  came  from  Wales  and  one  of  these.  General  Maxwell,  was  a  notable 
figure  in  the  Revolutionary  war. 

After  living  for  a  year  in  Girard  township  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Eldred  removed 
to  Tekonsha,  where  they  lived  for  three  years,  and  then  took  up  their  abode  on 
their  present  farm  on  section  three,  Quincy  township,  where  Mr.  Eldred  owns 
forty-five  acres  of  good  land,  improved  with  excellent  buildings.  Everything 
about  his  place  indicates  thrift  and  care.  From  his  father  he  inherited  a 
love  of  fruit  raising,  and  upon  his  place  are  many  choice  varieties  of  grapes, 
pears,  peaches  and  other  fruits. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs,  Eldred  have  been  born  seven  children,  of  whom  five 
are  living,  two  having  died  in  infancy.  Coralyn.  born  May  25,  1871,  died 
on  the  25th  of  September  of  the  same  year.  Leroy  M,,  born  April  24,  1867, 
was  married  March  10,  1894,  to  Laura  E.  Jordan,  and  they  reside  in  Butler, 
where  he  is  engaged  in  carpentering  and  farming.  Edith  M.,  born  April  22, 
1869,  is  a  graduate  of  the  state  normal  school  at  Ypsilanti  and  is  engaged  in 
teaching  in  Whitehall.  Michigan.  R.  Ray,  born  September  24,  1872,  who  is 
a  graduate  of  the  Kentucky  university  and  is  a  missionary  of  the  Church  of 
Christ  in  southwestern  Africa  on  the  Congo,  was  married  August  4,  1901,  to 
Lillian  Byers,  and  they  have  two  children,  who  are  with  them  in  Africa, 
William  Gay,  born  September  18,  1874,  was  married  July  25,  1904,  to  Marie 
Pickering,  and  is  engaged  in  preaching  for  the  Church  of  Christ  at  Fulton, 
Kentucky,  after  having  been  educated  in  the  Kentucky  University.  Laura  C, 
born  November  30,  1878,  was  graduated  at  the  state  normal  school  at  Ypsi- 
lanti, Michigan,  has  engaged  in  teaching  school  and  is  now  attending  a  train- 
ing school  for  missionaries  in  BrookljTi,  New  York,  with  the  intention  of 
going  to  Japan  as  a  missionary.  Blanche  L,,  born  August  21,  18S1,  died  on 
the  15th  of  October  following. 

In  politics  Mr.  Eldred  has  always  been  a  Republican  and  has  served  as 
highway  commissioner  for  one  year  and  as  school  officer  for  many  years.  He 
has  been  a  member  of  the  Church  of  Christ  and  has  been  overseer  of  the  Quincy 
Society  for  thirty  years.  He  is  an  able  speaker  and  exponent  of  that  faith,  and 
the  members  of  his  household  are  also  members  of  the  church,  taking  an  active 
and  helpful  part  in  its  work.  Industry  and-  perseverance  in  business  life, 
loyalty  in  his  military  experiences  and  devotion  to  his  church,  his  family  and 
his  friends  have  made  Mr.  Eldred  one  of  the  honored  and  respected  residents 
of  Branch  county. 


C(M^ok 


860  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH- COUNTY 

CHARLES  PIERCE. 

Charles  Pierce,  living  on  a  farm  on  section  ten,  Batavia  township,  owns 
here  two  hundred  and  twenty-seven  and  a  half  acres  of  land,  but  largely  rents 
the  farm,  thns  leaving  the  active  work  of  the  fields  to  others.  He  was  born  in 
the  southeastern  part  of  Batavia-  township  on  the  27fh  of  December,  1843. 
His  fatlier,  Zolva  Pierce,  was  a  native  of  New  York,  born  near  Buffalo, 
whence  he  came  to  Branch  county  as  one  of  its  pioneer  settlers.  That  the 
work  of  progress  and  improvement  had  scarcely  been  begun  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  much  of  the  land  was  still  in  possession  of  the  government  and  by 
entering  a  claim  Mr.  Pierce  secured  his  farm.  With  characteristic  energy  he 
began  the  cultivation  of  the  fields  and  continued  active  farm  work  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1853.  He  married  Miss  Catherine  01m- 
stead,  a  native  of  New  York,  who  is  still  living  in  her  eighty-second  year. 
They  were  the  parents  of  four  children,  of  whom  three  are  yet  living,  Charles 
being  the  eldest  of  the  family. 

Upon  the  old  family  homestead  in  Batavia  township  Mr.  Pierce  spent  the 
days  of  his  boyhood  and  youth,  starting  out  in  life  on  his  own  account  when 
only  twelve  years  of  age.  He  walked  to  Colon,  carrying  his  possessions, 
which  were  extremely  limited,  consisting  only  of  a  few  articles  of  clothing. 
He  worked  for  a  Mrs.  Gordon  for  two  years  for  six  dollars  per  month  driving 
oxen.  He  was  employed  by  the  day  or  by  the  job  and  later  he  engaged  in  rail- 
road work.  Subsequently  he  began  buying  wood  and  later  he  worked  on  the 
Erie  canal.  He  also  spent  two  summers  on  a  lightning  rod  wagon  and  later 
he  engaged  in  trading  in  horses.  This  was  his  first  real  start  upon  an  inde- 
pendent business  venture.  While  in  the  lightning  rod  business  he  was  in  the 
employ  of  Ives  G.  Miles,  of  Coldwater.  Later  he  turned  his  attention  to  deal- 
ing in  timber,  buying  land  from  which  he  would  sell  the  timber,  and  to  the 
present  time  he  continues  in  this  line  of  trade.  He  also  conducts  a  wood  yard 
in  Coldwater  and  he  is  today  the  owner  of  three  hundred  acres  of  timber  land 
in  Tennessee.  He  located  on  his  present  farm  about  1873  and  has  improved 
the  place  in  many  ways,  remodeling  the  house  and  building  one  of  the  large 
bams  of  the  county,  one  hundred  by  thirty-six  feet.  He  has  two  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  and  a  half  acres  of  land  which  he  rents  to  others.  His  life 
has  been  diaracterized  by  unremitting  diligence  and  his  perseverance  has  been 
the  means  of  bringing  to  him  a  creditable  and  gratifying  measure  of  success. 
Mr.  Pierce  has  been  married  twice.  On  the  14th  of  August,  1869,  he 
wedded  Miss  Mary  A.  Smith,  a  native  of  Batavia  township  and  a  daughter  o£ 
Levi  and  Maria  Smith.  She  died  September  7,  1891,  leaving  four  children. 
Glenn  Otis,  born  November  i,  1870,  is  a  traveling  man  of  Coldwater,  suc- 
cessfully representing  the  Standard  Wall  Paper  Company  of  New  York.  Or- 
ville,  born  May  20,  1873,  is  deceased.  Nellie,  born  April  20,  1876,  is  the  wife 
of  Ed  F.  Able  of  Elkhart.  Indiana.  Mabel,  bom  August  22,  18S4,  has  also 
passed  away.  On  the  14th  of  August,  1893.  Mr.  Pierce  was  again  married, 
his.  second  union  being  with  Miss  Lucinda  Early,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  and 
Margaret  (Gray)  Early.  They  have  one  son,  Harold  Early  Pierce,  who  was 
born  April  27,  1895,  and  is  now  attending  school. 


Cooolc 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  g61 

Mr.  Pierce  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political  views  and  is  well  known- in  the 
county  because  of  the  active  and  helpful  interest  which  he  has  taken  in  public 
affairs.  He  belongs  to  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  at  Coldwater. 
He  began  life  a  poor  boy  and  what  he  possesses  has  been  honestly  and  ear- 
nestly won.  He  has  given  close  attention  to  business  and  is  a  self-made  man 
in  every  sense  of  the  word,  deserving  all  of  the  praise  which  that  term  implies. 
His  life  record  proves  what  can  be  accomplished  by  earnest,  unfaltering  ef- 
fort and  may  well  serve  as  a  source  of  encouragement  and  inspiration  to  others 
who  have  to  begin  life  as  he  did  without  capital  or  the  aid  of  influential 
friends. 

DWIGHT  E.  YOUNGS. 

Dwight  E.  Youngs,  who,  when  the  tocsin  of  war  sounded,  was  found  as  a 
loya!  advocate  of  the  Union  cause,  manifesting  his  fidelity  upon  the  battle- 
fields of  the  south,  is  now  living  a  retired  life  in  Union  City.  He  was  born 
in  Sniyrna,  Chenango  county,  New  York.  October  2,  183 1.  It  is  believed 
that  his  great-grandfather  was  a  native  of  Scotland  and  the  founder  of  the 
family  in  America,  and  it  is  definitely  known  that  John  S.  Youngs,  the  grand- 
father, was  of  Scotch  lineage.  Curtis  S.  Youngs,  the  father,  was  born  in 
Lanesboro,  Berkshire  county,  Massachusetts,  and  became  a  carpenter  and 
joiner.  He  came  to  Branch  county  in  1836,  locating  in  Union  Citv,  and 
assisted  in  erecting  some  of  the  f^rst  frame  buildings  here.  The  following 
year  he  brought  his  family  to  his  new  home,  having  determined  to  make  it 
his  permanent  place  of  residence,  and  with  the  exception  of  two  vears  spent  in 
Coldwater,  when  he  filled  the  office  of  register  of  deeds,  he  res'ided  continu- 
ously in  Union  township.  Ralizing  the  needs  of  a  new  community  and  its 
possibilities  he  so  directed  his  labors  that  he  became  an  important  'factor  in 
the  early  improvement  and  development  of  this  part  of  the  state,  and  his  fellow 
townsmen  recognizing  his  ability  and  trustworthiness  called  him  to  public 
office.  He  was  the  first  supervisor  elected  in  Union  township  and  held  other 
local  positions.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Congregational  church,  active  in 
its  work,  living  in  constant  harmony  with  its  teachings,  and  in  the  faith  he 
died  in  his  eighty-fifth  year.  His  wife  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Lucy  Lincoln 
and  was  a  native  of  Bath,  Maine.  She  came  of  English  lineage  and  lived  to  be 
eighty-three  years  of  age,  while  her  mother  had  passed  the  eighty-fourth  mile- 
stone on  life's  journey  when  called  to  her  final  rest.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Curtis 
Youngs  were  the  parents  of  six  sons,  of  whom  one  died  in  infancy,  while 
another,  Fred  C,  died  in  1862,  aged  nineteen  years,  upon  the  battlefields  while 
serving  as  a  defender  of  the  Union  cause.  The  eldest  brother,  Melvin  L, 
Youngs,  was  born  April  8,  1826,  and  died  in  June,  1902.  He  was  a  prominent 
Mason,  having  joined  the  organization  in  Union  City.  In  1856  he  removed 
to  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  and  was  appointed  grand  lecturer  of  the  state, 
which  position  he  held  for  more  than  forty  years,  acting  in  that  capacity  up 
to  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  widely  known  in  Masonic  circles  throughout 
that  and  other  states  and  did  much  for  the  dissemination  of  the  basic  prin- 
ciples of  the  order  which  had  their  foundation  in  mutual  helpfulness  and 
brotherly  kindness.     John  S.  Youngs,  born  October  11,   1S28,  died  in  1898 


Coot^lc 


862  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

He  was  a  banker  of  Coldwater  for  a  number  of  years,  carrying  on  business 
as  a  partner  of  Justin  Lawyer.  He  was  also  a  leading  contractor  and  railroad 
builder  and  spent  much  of  his  life  in  Flint.. Michigan,  in  the  abstract  business. 
Sidney  M,  Youngs,  born  Jure  17,  1S40,  in  Union  City,  was  for  about  twenty 
years  a  resident  of  Aileghaiy,  Pennsylvania,  and  also  lived  at  Vancouver, 
British  Columbia.  Subsequently  he  returned  to  Michigan  and  now  makes 
his  home  in  Bellaire,  this  state. 

Dwight  E,  Youngs,  the  third  member  of  the  family,  was  in  his  sixth 
year  when  he  arrived  in  Union  City,  and  here  he  remained  until  fourteen  years 
of  age,  when  he  went  with  his  mother's  sister  to  Worcester  county,  Massa- 
chusetts, spending  eight  years  in' the  east,  during  which  time  he  attended 
school  for  three  months  in  the  year,  while  the  remaining ,  nine  months  were 
devoted  to  farm  labor.  On  the  expiration  of  that  time  he  returned  to  Union 
City  and  sofM  afterward  became  actively  engaged  in  farming  in  Union  town- 
ship. 

As  a  companion  and  helpmate  for  life's  journey,  Mr.  Youngs  chose  Miss 
Emily  Denny,  and  they  were  married  on  the  ist  of  May,  1854.  She  was 
reared  by  an  uncle  and  aunt.  Peter  and  Thankful  Davison,  her  parents  having 
died  during  her  early  girlhood.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Youngs  began  their  domestic 
life  upon  a  farm  and  he  continued  to  engage  in  agricultural  pursuits  until  the 
24th  of  August,  1861,  when  he  enlisted  in  resiK>nse  to  his  country's  call, 
becoming  a  member  of  Battery  D,  First  Michigan  Light  Artillery,  with  which 
he  served  until  July,  1863.  He  was  then  honorably  discharged  on  account  of 
disability. .  He  was  sergeant  in  the  battery  and  was  injured  in  the  service. 
Returning  to  his  home  he  resumed  farming  in  Branch  county,  where  he  con- 
tinued until  1866,  when  he  returned  to  Worcester  county,  Massachusetts,  and 
was  there  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  cheese.  Later  he  again  came  to 
Michigan,  settling  in  Hillsdale  county,  where  he  conducted  building  operations 
as  a  builder  and  joiner.  In  1877  he  returned  to  Union  City  to  care  for  his 
aged  parents  and  continued  with  them  until  they  were  called  to  the  home 
beyond.  He  is  now  living  a  retired  life  and  is  well  known  as  one  of  the 
valued  antj  representative  residents  of  this  place. 

Mr.  Youngs  has  taken  quite  an  active  and  helpful  part  in  public  affairs 
and  has  filled  the  following  offices:  Marshal  of  the  village,  constable  of  the 
township,  justice  of  the  peace  for  eight  years  and  notary  for  several  years. 
He  is  a  charter  member  of  Corbin  Post,  No,  88,  G.  A.  R.,  in  which  he  has 
served  as  commander  and  has  filled  all  of  the  other  chairs.  He  is  quite  well 
known  as  a  local  historian'  and  has  written  much  of  the  history  of  Union  City. 
He  was  also  appointed  historian  by  the  Grand  Army  Post  and  has  recorded  the 
names  and  the  war  history  of  all  of  its  diflferent  members. 

Unto  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Youngs  was  born  one  daughter,  Laura,  bom  February 
10,  1855,  at  Union  City,  Michigan,  and  died  February  4,  at  White  Cloud, 
Michigan,  and  one  son,  who  is  yet  living,  Charles  S.,  whose  birth  occurred 
September  24,  1878,  and  is  now  located  in  Belding,  Michigan,  where  he  fol- 
lows the  printer's  trade.  The  wife  and  mother  died  November  11,  1903.  In 
his  religious  faith  Mr.  Youngs  is  a  Spiritualist.  Although  he  has  not  resided 
continuously  in  Branch  county  he  has  been  a  witness  to  its  growth  and  devel- 


Coo*^k 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  gca 

opmmt  for  two-thirds  of  a  century,  nor  has  he  taken  an  unimportant  part  in 

public  policy  or  shaping  the  dtstiny  of  the  c"u„.y     '^  "*"  '"  '""'"'"^  "x' 
EDWARD  ROLAND  ROOT. 

tin^,S°"jl'  ""  """i'  "'"  ■""  ^"'^  °f  >"■■"  "  •''""■■y  honorable  and  dis- 
S  M  5  .'?''''. '^  ■"  ■'  '"'  """^  °*  'if=  have  been  cast  in  harmony  there- 
Tm  iv  ^  M  t  '"  ,  P""™"'  'i™  is  descended  from  an  honored  pioneer 
XSi  °\""^'"fP'".  ^nd  ■■!  the  maternal  line  traces  his  ancestry  back  to  John 
ton,  i'n^h  T"  ;°  ^";»"«  ""  'he  MayHower.  Edward  Roland  Root  was 
RoIanLnd  T  '  "'.M.^r'^""'  ^^'''^'S^"-  April  "7.  .85.,  the  second  son  of 
Roland  and  Irene  (Alden)  Root.  His  father  was  born  in  Skaneateles,  New 
York,  December  26  1813,  and  d,ed  at  his  home  in  Coldwater,  AuguM  i, 
IW5-  He  was  the  fourth  m  order  of  birth  in  a  family  of  eight  children  whose 
farm  ™r"  ""'T"  ="'.  ^""^  ('=°'')  I*"''  He  was  rea^lldu^on  the  home 
ZT,Z«  P",'.  11°°^  """"™  '*"'  "iucMi"".  remaining  with  his  par- 
ents unttl  he  attamcd  h,s  majority.  He  then  removed  to  Huron  county,  Ohio 
ami  was  engaged  ,„  teaching  school  at  Norwalk.  While  in  that  city  he  a  so 
lerked  in  a  dry  goods  store  and  was  married  there  to  Miss  Harriet  Chapin  a 
n  t™  o  Canandaigria,  New  York,  but  at  that  time  a  resident  of  Norwa  k. 
1  1835  he  came  to  Michigan  and  was  a  prominent  factor  in  the  early  history 
of  Branch  county.  At  the  time  of  his  arrival  he  was  but  twenty-two'vears  of 
age.  Coldwater  was  scarcely  more  than  a  village,  but  he  idctified  his  inter- 
ests with  the  new  town,  giving  his  attention  to  general  merchandising-  As 
the  years  passed  he  was  known  as  a  successful  merchant,  miller  and  firmer 
A  man  of  fine  intelligence  and  scholarly  tastes,  he  did  much  to  advance  the 
educational  progress  of  Coldwater,  and  it  was  ever  his  aim,  no  matter  how 
great  the  inconvenience  to  himself,  to  secure  for  his  children  the  best  educa- 
lon  possible.  He  took  a  deep  and  helpful  interest  in  all  public  measures  for 
the  general  good  and  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  Michigan  legislature  a  I 
magistrate  and  m  other  positions  of  honor  and  trust.  Following%he  outbreak 
of  the  C™1  war  Roland  Root  literally  "left  the  plow  in  the  furrow"  and  en 
hsted,  in  Aprih  1861^  in  defense  of  the  Union  cause,  becoming  a  member  of 
Company  A,  First  Regiment  of  Michigan  Artillery,  Loomis"  Battery  He 
was  promoted  from  successive  ranks  to  that  of  first  lieutenant  and  was  in 
active  service  in  West  Virginia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee  and  Alabama 

In  184.  was  consummated  the  second  marriage  of  Roland  Root',  at  which 
time  Miss  Ire-e  Alden  became  his  wife.  She  has  long  survived  Wm  and  is 
now  (190S)  eighty-three  years  of  age,  her  home  bein|  in  Coldwater.  Thev 
becaine  the  parents  of  the  following-named  r  Aurella  Melita:  Martha  MatiS 
Harriet  Chapm;  Edward,  who  died  in  infancy;  Edward  Roland-  Flora -tIL' 
Fisk:  Fred  Hamilton:  and  Ehzabeth  Jessie.  '  ™'>'m ,  * lora ,  Jean 

Mrs.  Roland  Root  was  bom  at  AshviUe,  New  York,  June  26,  1822.  and 


C.ooj^lc 


8C4  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

with  her  parents  removed  to  Coldwater,  Michigan,  in  1834.  She  traces  her 
ancestry  in  direct  hne  baclt  to  John  Alden,  the  progenitor  of  the  family  in 
AiTierica,  who  was  born  in  England  in  1599,  and  as  a  member  of  the  Ply- 
mouth colony  crossed  the  Atlantic  on  the  Mayflower  in  the  year  1620.  The 
romantic  epoch  of  his  history  has  been  immortalized  in  Longfellow's  poem  of 
the  "Courtship  of  Miles  Standish."  Tracing  the  line  down  through  to  his  sec- 
ond son,  Joseph  Alden ;  to  his  second  son.  Deacon  Joseph  Alden ;  his  second  son, 
Eleazer  Alden  of  Ridgewater,  we  come  to  David  Alden,  who  was  the  fourth 
son  of  Eleazer  Alden,  and  a  native  of  Ashfield,  Massachusetts.  He  was  the 
great-grandfather  of  Mrs.  Rooi  and  the  father  of  Isaac  Alden,  who  was  like- 
wise a  native  of  Ashfield.  Dr.  Hiram  Alden,  the  sixth  son  of  Isaac  Alden, 
was  bom  in  Ashfield,  Massachusetts,  October  28,  1792,  and  removed  from 
New  York  to  Coldwater,  Michigan,  in  1834.  He  was  a  well  educated  man, 
who  rose  to  prominence  and  for  three  years,  1835-6-7,  represented  his  district 
in  the  state  legislature,  acting  as  speaker  of  the  house  during  his  last  term. 
The  projected  interests  in  the  Michigan  Central  Railway  then  enlisted  his 
services  and  it  was  while  engaged  as  commissioner  for  that  organization  that 
he  contracted  the  fever  that  terminated  his  hfe  at  Deroit  on  the  26th  of  No- 
vember, 1838.  He  had  married  Melita  Huntley,  and  of  their  eleven  children 
Irene  (Alden)  Root  was  the  fourth.  She  was  about  twelve  years  of  age  when 
she  accompanied  her  parents  to  Coldwater  and  from  the  days  when  this  dis- 
trict was  an  almost  unbroken  wilderness  down  to  the  present  she  has  made 
Coldwater  her  home.  During  this  period  she  has  witnessed  its  transformation 
from  a  small  hamlet  with  less  than  one  hundred  inhabitants  to  a  beautiful  little 
city  of  nearly  seven  thousand  population.  She  has  long  been  a  member  of  the 
Baptist  church  and  a  consistent  Christian  in  word  and  deed  Although  be- 
loved and  revered  by  successive  generations  of  friends  and  neighbors  her 
rarest  qualities  are  best  known  to  the  inner  circle  of  her  own  home. 

Thus  we  observe  that  Edward  Roland  Root  comes  of  a  noble  and  worthy 
ancestry  and  of  a  parentage  that  gave  him  an  excellent  heritage.  He  was  ed- 
ucated in  the  public  schools  of  Coldwater  until  he  reached  the  age  of  fourteen 
years,  when  he  received  from  the  congressman  of  his  district  an  appointment 
to  the  United  States  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis.  He  successfully  passed 
the  various  examinations  and  was  mustered  into  the  United  States  navy  as  a 
midshipman  on  the  25th  of  September,  1865.  He  remained  at  the  academy 
for  two  years,  when  failing  health  caused  him  to  resign  an  appointment,  a 
much  desired  and  most  congenial  career.  He  returned  home  in  June,  1867, 
and  engaged  in  outdoor  pursuits  until  his  health  was  restored.  In  April, 
1868,  he  was  appointed  delivery  clerk  in  the  Coldwater  postoffice,  was  ad- 
vanced to  assistant  postmaster  in  July,  1870,  and  served  in  that  capacity  un- 
til Februarv,  1882,  when  he  was  commissioned  postmaster  by  President  Ar- 
thur, holding  the  office  for  four  years  or  until  April,  1886,  so  that  his  connec- 
tion'with  the  Coldwater  postoffice  covered  a  period  of  eighteen  consecutive 
years.  He  was  later  engaged  in  merchandising  in  this  city  for  a  short  period 
and  afterward  acted  as  secretary  of  the  Coldwater  Gas  Light  Company.  For 
ten  years,  beginning  in   18S9,  he  was  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  cigar 


Coo*^k 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  S65 

boxes  and  in  1900  he  accepted  the  position  of  secretary  of  the  Wolverine 
Portland  Cement  Company,  which  is  his  present  business  relation. 

Mr.  Root  has  always  taken  an  active  part  in  public  affairs  and  has  served 
on  the  Water  Works  and  Electric  Light  Board,  while  for  seven  years  he  was 
president  of  the  Board.  In  1871  he  was  largely  instrumental  in  organizing 
the  Coldwater  Light  Guard  Company,  and  was  a  member  thereafter  for  many 
years. 

On  the  24th  of  September,  1874,  Mr.  Root  was  married  to  Miss  Alice 
Southworth,  a  native  of  Coldwater  and  unto  them  have  been  born  three  chil- 
dren,'Edith  Irene,  Rolene  Altai,  and  Flora  Elizabeth.  The'  family  are 
communicants  of  the  Episcopal  church,  of  which  Mr.  Root  is  serving  as  ves- 
tryman and  as  treasurer  of  the  vestry.  He  has  always  been  a  Republican  in 
politics  and  has  exerted  a  wide  influence  in  pohtical  affairs.  His  position  of 
prominence  in  regard  to  the  public  interests  of  his  native  city  is  well  merited 
because  of  his  devotion  to  the  general  good  and  his  practical  and  untiring  ef- 
forts in  behalf  of  the  municipality  and  the  county. 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON  TURNER,  M.  D. 

Dr.  Thomas  Jefferson  Turner  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania, 
September  21.  1829,  and  died  at  Mackinac  Island,  August  20,  1901.  In  1889 
he  married  Flora,  the  fourth  daughter  of  Roland  and  Irene  (Alden)  Root. 
Dr.  Turner  was  a  man  of  profound  intelligence  and  rare  attainments,  a  schol- 
ar of  marked  erudition  and  a  physician  and  surgeon  of  distinction.  He  was 
a  recognized  authority  on  matters  pertaining  to  hygiene  and  sanitation.  He 
was  graduated  from  the  Philadelphia  high  schools  with  the  class  of  1848,  ami 
he  held  a  diploma  of  the  Philadelphia  Medical  College,  from  which  he  was 
graduated  with  the  degree  of  M.  D.  in  1851.  He  also  received  the  degrees  of 
philosophy  and  of  master  of  arts  from  the  same  institution  in  1853,  was  made 
a  fellow  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Science  at  Philadelphia  in  1854  and  a 
member  of  the  American  Public  Health  Association  and  a  companion  of  the 
Naval  Order  of  the  United  States  Naval  Commandery.  He  entered  the 
United  States  navy  as  an  assistant  surgeon  December  16,  1853,  and  was  there- 
after prominently  identified  therewith  as  surgeon  and  medical  director  until 
1891,  when  he  retired.  During  the  Civil  war  he  was  fleet  surgeon  with  Far- 
ragut  at  the  battle  of  Mobile  Bay.  As  surgeon  and  officer  of  the  navy  he  visited 
nearly  every  country  of  the  world.  Following  his  retirement  from  the  service 
he  made  Coldwater  his  home,  where  he  was,  for  some  six  years,  health  of- 
ficer of  the  city,  and  there  he  continued  an  energetic  worker  in  behalf  of  local 
and  state  health  measures,  rendering  his  fellowmen  valuable  service  in  this 
regard. 

GEORGE  A.  RUSSELL. 

George  A.  Russell,  taking  up  his  abode  in  Coldwater  in  1902,  removed 
from  the  farm  which  he  had  helped  to  clear  and  improve  in  pioneer  days  and 
which  had  been  his  home  for  fifty-five  years.  He  was  born  in  the  town  of 
York  in  Livingston  county.  New  York,  May  12,  1836,  his  parents  being 
George  and  Caroline  (Faxon)   Russell,  the  former  a  native  of  New  Hamp- 


Coot^k 


866  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

shire  and  the  latter  of  Massachusetts.  The  father  was  born  of  a  family  of 
nine  children  and  in  early  life  removed  to  New  York,  where  he  formed  the 
acquaintance  of  Miss  Faxon,  whom  he  later  married.  In  the  fall  of  1837 
they  came  to  Michigan,  settling  in  Lenawee  county,  where  they  lived  for  a  lit- 
tle more  than  six  years,  when  in  May,  1844,  they  came  to  Branch  oonnty. 
their  son,  George  A.,  being  at  that  time  about  eight  years  old,  taking  up  their 
abode  in  Girard  township  after  clearing  and  improving  the  farm.  He  was  a 
cooper  by  trade  but  devoted  much  of  his  life  to  agricultural  pursuits  and  spent 
his  remaining  days  in  Branch  county,  where  he  died  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
seven  years.  His  wife  survived  him  and  departed  this  life  at  the  age  of 
eighty-two  years.  They  were  the  parents  of  seven  children:  Miranda  E.,  de- 
ceased ;  George  A. ;  Adaline  S. ;  Benton  T.  and  Mary,  both  deceased ;  Lewis 
C,  a  resident  of  Oregon;  and  Carohne  J. 

George  A.'  Russell  grew  to  manhood  on  the  old  homestead  farm,  to 
which  he  came  with  his  parents  when  a  young  lad.  As  his  age  and  strength 
permitted  he  assisted  in  ihe  arduous  task  of  clearing  and  cultivating  the  fields 
and  he  lived  upon  this  farm  for  fifty-five  years.  In  the  early  days  he  shared 
in  the  hardships  and  privations  usual  in  a  pioneer  community,  his  education 
being  acquired  in  an  old  log  schoolhouse.  He  also  spent  one  winter  as  a  stu- 
dent in  the  schools  of  Coldwater  and  one  winter  in  the  schools  of  Girard.  His 
education  was  largely  acquired  through  the  work  of  field  and  meadow  and  he 
gained  a  practical  experience  of  what  in  later  years  enabled  him  to  carefully 
conduct  his  farm  and  make  it  a  valuable  property.  On  the  6th  of  August, 
1862,  however,  he  put  aside  all  personal  considerations  and  enlisted  as  a  pri- 
vate of  Company  C,  Nineteenth  Michigan  Infantry,  for  a  term  of  three  years 
or  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  carried  a  gun  and  knapsack  for  eighteen 
months  with  the  rank  of  corporal  and  then  became  sergeant  major.  He  acted 
in  the  latter  capacity  for  about  six  months,  when  he  was  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  first  lieutenant  and  was  in  active  command  of  Company  D,  Nine- 
teenth Michigan  Infantry,  from  the  time  the  troops  were  at  Atlanta  until  they 
had  marched  to  the  sea  under  command  of  Sherman.  He  was  also  with  that 
company  until  they  had  proceeded  about  fifty  miles  into  the  Carolinas,  after 
which  he  was  detached  to  act  as  adjutant.  On  the  8th  of  May,  1865,  he 
was  commissioned  captain  of  Company  F,  Nineteenth  Michigan  In- 
fantry, and  as  such  was  mustered  out  June  26,  1S65.  He  participated  in  many 
important  engagements  and  in  March,  1863,  when  near  Frankhn,  Tennessee, 
was  captured  and  taken  to  Libby  Prison,  where  he  remained  thirty  days,  when 
he  was  paroled.  He  then  returned  to  Camp  Chase,  Ohio,  and  was  soon  or- 
dered to  the  front,  making  his  way  to  Nashville.  He  participated  in  the  battle 
of  Resaca,  Georgia,  May  15,  1864,  was  at  Cassville.  Georgia,  May  19,  1864, 
and  took  part  in  the  battles  of  Dallas,  Golgotha,  Gulp  Farm,  Kenesaw  Moun- 
tain, Peach  Tree  Creek,  the  siege  of  Atlanta,  the  siege  of  Savannah  and  the 
battles  of  Averysboro  and  Bentonville.  North  Carolina.  He  is  now  a  mem- 
ber of  Butterworth  Post  No.  109,  G.  A.  R.,  and  has  been  active  in  military 
affairs  in  connection  with  this  organization.  His  regiment  never  marched  a 
mile  that  he  was  not  on  duty  nor  fought  in  a  battle  in  which  he  was  not  also 
engaged.  He  made  a  splendid  war  record,  notable  for  his  bravery  and  loyalty. 


Coot^lc 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  8t37 

and  his  meritorious  conduct  won  him  promotion  from  the  ranks  to  a  cap- 
taincy. 

P'ollowing  the  close  of  hostilities  Captain  Rnssell  resumed  farming  and 
was  actively  engaged  in  the  tilling  of  the  soil  and  the  care  of  crops  and  stock 
until  1902,  when,  feeling  that  he  had  merited  a  rest  from  further  labor,  he  re- 
tired with  a  valuable  competence  to  Coldwater,  selling  the  farm  which  he 
had  occupied  for  fifty-five  years. 

In  1872  Captain  Russell  was  married  to  Miss  Isadore  Brown,  who  died 
seven  years  later.  In  1883  he  wedded  Arminda  Day,  who  was  born  in  Butler 
township.  Branch  county,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Elisha  and  Roxie  (Wonsey) 
r>ay.  Her  grandfather,  Chatincey  Day,  was  a  soldier  of  the  war  of  1812  and 
he  and  his  son  Elisha  became  pioneer  settlers  of  Branch  county,  Michigan, 
lemoA'ing  from  New  York  to  this  state. 

Captain  Russell  voted  for  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  but  has  since  been  an  ad- 
vocate of  Republican  principles,  unfaltering  in  his  allegiance  to  the  party.  He 
has  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  for  thirty  years,  which  position  he  is  now 
filling,  and  his  decisions  have  ever  been  characterized  by  impartiality  and  fair- 
ness. Both  he  and  his  wife  are  Methodists  in  religious  faith,  although  they 
.are  not  identified  with  the  church  organization.  As  an  honored  veteran  of 
the  Civil  war  and  a  worthy  pioneer  settler  he  is  deserving  of  mention  in  the 
history  of  Branch  county. 

IRVING  McNALL. 

I>escended  from  good  old  Scotch  ancestry,  the  McNails  can  trace  their 
lineage  back  for  hundreds  of  years  in  Scotland  until  about  1760,  when  mem- 
bers of  the  family  came  to  America,  settling  in  the  New  England  colonies,- 
Several  of  the  family  were  participants  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  fighting  ori 
the  side  of  the  colonists,  and  the  paternal  great-grandfather  of  our  subject 
was  a  general  in  the  American  army  at  this"  time,  his  name  being  James  Mc- 
Nall.  One  of  his  sons,  Alexander  McNall,  paternal  grandfather  of  our  sub- 
■  ject.  was  bom  in  1788  in  Connecticut,  was  also  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  later 
came  to  the  then  new  state  of  Michigan,  in  1845,  stopping  first  at  Coldwater 
and  then  coming  into  Ovid  township,  this  county,  where  he  received  from  the 
government  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  in  recognition  of  his  war 
service.  He  cleared  this  farm  and  otherwise  improved  it  and  passed  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life  here. 

One  of  his  sons,  Hiram  McNall,  was  born  in  Avon,  Livingstone  county. 
New  York,  July  13,  1809,  grew  to  manhood  in  the  Empire  state,  where  he 
was  married  to  Harriet  Bames;  a  native  of  the  Mohawk  Valley,  New  York, 
where  she  was  born  December  13,  1821,  she  being  the  daughter  of  Samuel 
and  Miranda  Barnes.  After  their  marriage  Hiram  and  Harriet  McNall  lived 
for  a  short  time  at  Henrietta,  Monroe  county.  New  York,  and  then,  imbued 
with  the  idea  that  there  were  greater  possibilities  in  the  middle  west  they 
packed  their  personal  belongings  into  a  one-horse  wagon,  and  in  the  fall  of 
1842  arrived  in  Clinton  county,  Michigan,  where  Mr.  McNall  secured  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  new  land.     Living  here  until  the  following  spring. 


Google 


8'68  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

they  were  then  attracted  to  Branch  county,  and  came  to  the  township  of  Kin- 
derhook,  where  they  purchased  land  on  section  eleven  and  made  a  home  here. 
Here  they  passed  the  remainder  of  their  days,  Mr.  McNall  dying  October  28, 
1870,  and  Mrs.  McNall  passing  away  in  1851.  They  were  highly  esteemed 
people,  a  power  for  good  in  the  community  where  they  passed  so  many  years. 
Mr,  McNall  added  to  his  first  purchase  of  land  here,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  was  the  possessor  of  several  hundred  acres  of  tifle  farming  land.  Hiram 
and  Harriet  McNall  were  the  parents  of  three  children,  all  of  whom  are  living, 
they  being:  Celestia  Sweetland  of  Missouri;  Harriet  Miller  of  California 
township;  and  Irving  McNall,  the  subject  of  this  review. 

Irving  McNall  was  born  in  the  township  of  Kinderhook,  Michigan,  Sep- 
teml)er  10,  1850,  and  his  entire  life  has  been  passed  here.  He  grew  to  matu- 
rity upon  the  home  farm  and  early  secured  a  good  common  school  education. 
On  April  28,  l8.y2,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Mary  L.  Smith,  a 
native  of  Defiance  county,  Ohio,  where  she  was  born  November  14,  1854. 
Her  parents  were  Alexander  Smith  and  Harriet  Messimore,  both  natives  of 
Pennsylvania,  who  were  married  in  Stark  county,  Ohio.  Later  they  moved 
to  Defiance  county,  CMiio,  where  Mr.  Smith  died  May  i,  1874,  and  where 
Mrs.  Smith  still  resides.  They  were  the  parents  of  ten  children,  seven  of 
whom  are  still  living,  as  follows :  Alwilda  Scott  of  Elkhart  county,  Indiana ; 
Washington  Smith  of  Hicksville,  Ohio,  who  wedded  Ellen  Harmon ;  Mary 
Smith  McNall,  wife  of  our  subject;  Harriet  Miller  of  Chicago;  Russell 
Smith  of  Reading,  Michigan;  and  Viola  and  Marvin  Smith  of  Chicago.  The 
three  children  who  have  died  were  Angeline  Shaw,  Isabel  Smith  and  Celestia 
Smith.  The  following  family  history  of  Mrs.  McNall  is  taken  from  an  old 
family  Bible,  which  is  one  hundred  and  seven  years  old : 

Alexander  Smith,  born  in  Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  a  son  of 
Jacob  and  Catherine  (Zembower)  Smith,  whose  other  children  were  Elmer, 
Miiton,  Benton,  Susan,  Rebecca,  Sarah,  Ciarinda,  Mary  Jane  and  Eliza  Har- 
riet. Harriet  Messimore,  mother  of  Mrs.  McNall,  was  born  in  Columbiana 
county,  Ohio,  a  daughter  of  George  and  Margaret  (Thomas)  Messimore,  the 
former  born  in  Maryland,  near  old  Baltimore,  November  27,  1800,  and  his 
mother's  maiden  name  was  Catherine  Tiractor.  Margaret  Thomas  was  a 
daughter  of  Michael  and  Barbry  (Shedron)  Thomas,  the  latter  of  whom  died 
at  the  age  of  eighty-five  years.  Margaret  Thomas  was  born  in  Pennsylvania 
November  11,  1800,  and  died  March  26,  1880,  aged  seventy-nine  years,  four 
months  and  fifteen  days.  When  quite  young  she  emigrated  with  her  parents 
to  eastern  Ohio>  and  was  there  married  April  24,  1823,  to  George  Messimore. 
They  moved  to  Indiana  in  1861,  and  became  the  parents  of  six  children,  three 
sons  and  three  daughters,  Eliza,  EH,  Harriet,  Washington,  Henry  and  Mary 
Ann,  all  of  whom  are  living.  They  also  had  twenty-three  grandchildren,  three 
of  whom,  are  deceased,  and  thirty-one  great-grandchildren,  twenty-six  of 
whom  are  living,  thus  making  a  living  generation  of  fifty-two.  Mrs.  Mar- 
garet Messimore  was  a  member  of  the  German  Baptist  church  for  about  fifty- 
five  years. 

After  attaining  manhood  and  soon  after  marriage  Irving  McNall's  first 
thought  was  to  provide  a  home  for  his  family,  and  in  1872  he  came  into  pos- 


Coo*^k 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  869 

session  of  the  old  McNali  homestead  on  section  eleven,  Kinderhook  township, 
where  he  lived  for  thirteen  years,  when  in  1885  he  purchased  his  present  farm 
on  section  one  in  the  same  township,  where  he  continues  to  reside.  Here  he 
lias  devoted  considerable  time  and  labor  to  its  improvement,  clearing  part  of  it 
himself.  Although  always  engaged  in  farming,  Mr.  McNall  has  also  during 
the  greater  share  of  his  life  been  identified  with  other  enterprises,  having  been 
in  the  meat  and  poultry  business  for  over  twenty  years.  He  is  a  man  of  wide 
reading  and  keen  intelligence,  is  thoroughly  posted  on  current  topics  and  takes 
a  deep  interest  in  his  town  and  county.  Politically  he  was  formerly  a  Repub- 
lican, although  of  late  years  voting  the  Democratic  ticket.  He  has  served  his 
school  district  as  director  for  many  years. 

The  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Irving  McNal!  has  been  blessed  with  the 
birth  of  thirteen  children,  all  of  whom  are  living,  as  follows :  Marvin  L. 
married  Carrie  Mingus,  and  they  live  in  Chicago.  Florence  married  Albert 
Strong;  they  have  one  daughter.  Phyllis,  and  they  live  in  this  township. 
James  G.  married  Delcie  Wheeler ;  their  home  is  in  Steuben  county,  Indiana, 
and  they  have  one  son,  Harold.  Jessie  married  Pardon  Ogden,  and  they 
have  two  children,  Pearl  and  Edna,  and  they  live  in  Kinderhook,  Gertrude 
married  Daniel  Shiery,  their  home  being  in  Algansee  township.  Charles, 
whose  wife,  Floy  Greek,  is  dead,  married  again  to  Miss  Zulah  Williams  of 
Findlay,  Ohio,  and  is  now  preaching  in  Ohio,  Willie  married  Annie  M^'ood; 
they  have  one  son,  Marvin,  and  their  home  is  in  Denver,  Colorado.  The  re- 
maining six  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs,  McNall,  who  live  at  home  with  their 
parents,  are  Carl  J.,  Ralph  D.,  Fordest  H,,  Ora  A.,  Calvin  B,  and  Blanche  G. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  McNall  are  still  in  their  prime,  and  in  spite  of  the  rearing 
of  this  large  family  of  children  they  retain  their  youthful  spirits  and  enjoy 
life  to  the  utmost.  Both  are  members  of  the  Liberal  United  Brethren  church, 
and  they  stand  high  in  the  esteem  of  the  people  of  this  portion  of  the  countv. 
They  have  in  their  possession  a  little  book,  "The  History  of  the  Holy  Bible," 
which  was  published  in  1797.  two  years  before  General  Washington  died. 
This  is  a  valuable  souvenir  in  the  McNall  family, 

JOHN    S.    EVANS. 

John  S.  Evans,  editor  and  manager  of  the  Sun  and  the  Star  of  Coldwater, 
Michigan,' was  born  March  4,  1857,  upon  a  farm  in  Floyd  county,  Indiana. 
Soon  afterward  his  parents  removed  to  a  farm  near  Lawrence,  Kansas,  where 
they  lived  until  after  Quantrell  and  his  band  sacked  and  burned  the  town. 
The  family  then  made  an  overland  trip  in  a  prairie  schooner  to  Michigan, 
where  again  they  took  up  their  abode  upon  a  farm  and  John  S.  Evans  became 
an  actiA'e  factor  in  clearing  the  land  of  the  stumps  and  preparing  the  eighty 
acre  tract  for  the  plow.  There  he  continued  in  farm  work  until  nineteen 
years  of  age,  when  the  place  was  sold.  Ambitious  for  an  education,  he  began 
work  by  the  month  as  a  farm  hand  to  earn  the  funds  necessary  to  meet  the 
expenses  of  a  course  in  the  Coldwater  high  school.  By  working  during  vaca- 
tions, teaching  winters,  boarding  himself  in  town,  or  walking  three  miles  and 
doing  chores  for  his  board  he  succeeded  in  completing  the  high  school  course. 


C.ooijk" 


870  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

He  afterward  operated  a  rented  farm  for  a  year  and  thus  was  enabled  with 
the  money  thereby  earned  to  pursue  a  short  Uterary  course  in  the  state  uni- 
versity, followed  by  the  law  course,  which  he  completed  by  graduation,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  spring  of  1883. 

Mr.  Evans  entered  at  once  upon  the  practice  of  law  in  Coldwater,  and 
continued  until  1897.  He  was  ever  a  great  student  of  political  econ- 
omy and  public  problems,  early  taking  his  stand  on  the  reform  side 
of  the  money  question,  trusts,  transportation  and  temperance  ques- 
tions. In  1896  he  engineered  a  combination  of  four  minority  reform 
party  organizations  in  his  congressional  district — the  strongest  Repub- 
lican district  in  the  state — and  with  such  success  that  a  Prohibitionist  was 
elected  to  Congress.  Mr.  Evans  was  chosen  his  private  secretary  and  spent 
two  years  in  Washington  during  the  stirring  times  of  the  Dingley  bill  agita- 
tion and  of  the  Spanish-American  war.  Returning  to  Coldwater  in  1899  he 
resumed  his  law  practice.  In  July,  1892,  he  became  one  of  the  original  stock- 
holders and  legal  adviser  for  the  Star  Publishing  Company,  organized  in  Cold- 
water.  This  company  estabHshed  the  Star  as  a  temperance  newspaper  and  an 
editor  was  placed  in  command,  who  conducted  the  paper  until  July,  1899, 
when  Mr.  Evans  found  himself  in  such  a  situation  as  to  make  it  necessary 
that  he  take  an  assignment  of  the  stock  himself,  which  he  did  and  assumed  con- 
trol of  the  paper.  He  knew  absolutely  nothing  about  the  publishing  or  print- 
ing business,  but  had  had  some  experience  in  writing  free  editorials  and 
occasional  articles  for  the  newspapers  and  magazines.  The  determination  and 
natural  ability  which  he  brought  to  his  work  enabled  him  to  make  a  success 
of  the  hitherto  unfamiliar  venture.  In  June,  1903.  he  bought  the  plant  of 
the  Coldwater  Sun,  which  had  been  established  in  1881,  the  only  Democratic 
paper  in  the  county,  and  until  recently  continued  to  issue  the  two  weekly 
papers.  He  has  now  joined  the  two,  however,  publishing  semi-weekly,  issu- 
ing the  Star  on  Monday  and  the  Sttn  on  Thursday.  The  paper  as  a  business 
venture  has  proved  a  success  and  has  a  large  circulation  and  is  an  excellent 
advertising  medium.  He  has  thoroughly  equipped  the  offices  whh  modem 
accessories  of  the  printing  art  and  has  made  his  paper  a  popular  representative 
of  journalism  in  this  part  of  the  state.  An  excellent  job  printing  department  is 
conducted  and  in  his  work  Mr.  Evans  is  assisted  by  his  wife  and  four  chil- 
dren, who  are  all  stockholders  in  the  enterprise.  He  admits  to  the  columns 
of  his  papers  no  objectionable  advertising  at  any  price. 

Aside  from  his  jouraalistic  interests  Mr.  Evans  gives  supervision  to  a 
fine  farm  of  eighty  acres  and  he  owns  a  summer  cottage  on  the  lake.  A  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  church,  he  takes  an  active  part  in  its  work  and  in  the 
work  of  the  Sunday  school  as  well,  in  which  he  conducts  a  large  Bible  class. 

HENRY  V.   WHITEHEAD. 

Henry  V.  Whitehead,  of  Coldwater,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Bradford, 
Steuben  county,  New  York,  in  the  locality  known  as  Bradford's  Hollow.  His 
natal  day  was  October  2,  1844,  and  his  parents  were  Henry  and  Sallie  (Carr) 
Whitehead.     The  father  was  bom  in  Vermont  and  represented  an  old  New 


Coo*^k 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  87i  , 

England  family,  while  the  mother  was  a  native  of  the  Empire  state.  In  the 
family  were  four  children,  two  sons  and  two  daughters,  but  only  two  are  now 
living.  About  1846  Henry  Whitehead,  Sr.,  removed  with  his  family  to 
Hillsdale  county,  Michigan,  settling  in  Allen,  where  he  conducted  a  hotel  for 
a  few  years,  and  then  turned  his  attention  to  merchandising,  which  he  fol- 
lowed through  a  long  period.  In  1S65  he  removed  to  Quincy,  where  he 
conducted  a  dry-goods  store  until  his  death  in  i86g,  when  he  was  sixty-three 
years  of  age.  He  was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  dying  soon  after  their  ar- 
rival in  Michigan.  For  his  second  wife  he  chose  Miss  EJiza  Robinson  and  they 
hecame  the  parents  of  three  sons  and  two  daughters.  Mrs.  Eliza  Whitehead 
departed  this  life  in  1865. 

Henry  V.  Whitehead  was  reared  in  Allen,  Michigan,  and  acquired  his 
education  in  the  public  schools  there.  He  was  seventeen  years  of  age  when 
he  enlisted  in  the  Civil  war,  responding  to  President  Lincoln's  first  call  for 
troops  to  aid  in  the  defense  of  the  Union.  He  joined  the  boys  in  blue  of  Com- 
pany B,  nth  Michigan  Infantry,  being  mustered  in  as  a  private  on  the  24th 
of  August.  1 861.  He  served  with  loyalty  and  valor  for  three  years  and  was 
mustered  out  on  the  30th  of  September,  1864.  He  participated  in  the  battles 
of  Stone  River,  Murfreesboro,  Chickamauga  and  the  siege  of  Atlanta,  after 
which  he  was  taken  ill. 

Following  his  return  fo  the  north  Mr.  Whitehead  was  in  business  with 
his  father  for  a  time,  and  the  father  being  a  widower  took  the  younger 
brothers  and  sisters  and  removed  to  a  farm  in  Hillsdale  county,  settling  in  the 
town  of  Litchfield.  Following  his  father's  death  Mr.  Whitehead  went  to  the 
west  and  also  spent  some  time  in  lilinois,  after  which  he  returned  to  Allen  and 
was  in  the  employ  of  Henry  Shelp,  proprietor  of  a  hotel  there,  with  whom 
he  came  to  Coldwater  and  has  since  been  a  resident  of  this  city.  He  has  a 
wide  acquaintance  and  his  unfailing  courtesy,  geniality  and  deference  for  the 
opinions  of  others  have  made  him  popular.  His  political  support  is  given  the 
Republican  party. 

DAVID  PITCHER. 

Coldwater,  attractive  as  a  place  of  residence  because  of  its  business  enter- 
prise and  the  many  advantages  which  it  offers  to  its  citizens,  has  become  the 
home  of  many  men  who  formerly  connected  with  business  affairs  are  now  hv- 
ing  retired  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  fruits  of  their  earlier  toil.  Of  this  class  Mr. 
Pitcher  is  a  representative  and  in  former  years  he  was  engaged  in  carpentering 
and  farming.  His  birth  occurred  in  Albany  county.  New  York,  about  eighteen 
miles  west  of  the  city  of  Albany,  March  14,  1822.  His  father,  Jacob  Pitcher, 
came  to  Michigan  about  1845,  locating  in  Batavia  township.  Branch  county. 
He  was  a  shoemaker  and  also  a  mason  by  trade  and  he  died  in  the  west  when 
about  seventy-four  years  of  age.  He  had  been  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  this 
county,  contributing  to  its  pioneer  development  and  aiding  in  laying  broad  and 
deep  the'  foundation  for  its  later  prosperity  and  progress.  He  married  Mar- 
garet Howe,  who  died"  in  Branch  county  in  1861.  Of  their  family  of  four  sons 
and  five  daughters  all  reached  mature  years,  but  three  of  the  daughters  have 
now  passed  away.     The  sons,  however,  are  all  living. 


Cooj^lc 


872  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

David  Pitcher,  the  second  child  and  eldest  son,  was  reared  in  Cayuga 
county.  New  York,  and  there  attended  school  for  about  four  months  alto- 
gether. He  is  a  self-educated  as  well  as  self-made  man  and  through  reading, 
experience  and  observation  has  greatly  broadened  his  knowledge.  In  early  life 
he  learned  the  carpenter's  and  joiner's  trade,  serving  a  three  years'  apprentice- 
ship, and  for  a  number  of  years  thereafter  he  was  identified  with  building 
operations.' 

In  1847  occurred  the  marriage  of  David  Pitcher  and  Miss  Melissa  Ann 
Gilbert,  who  died  in  1896.  At  the  time  of  their  marriage  they  located 
in  the  village  of  Port  Burn,  New  York,  and  Mr.  Pitcher  erected  a  great  many 
houses  there.  He  had  a  wife  and  six  children  -when  in  1862  he  put  aside 
business  cares  and  responded  to  his  country's  call  for  aid,  enlisting  as  a  mem- 
ber of  Company  F,  Ninth  New  York  Heavy  Artillery.  He  served  for  three 
years  and  took  part  in  a  number  of  the  most  noted  engagements  of  the  war. 
He  was  slightly  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Cedar  Creek,  a  ball  striking  his  hip, 
but  finding  that  he  was  not  badly  hurt  he  returned  to  his  place  in  the  ranks 
and  again  began  fighting.  He  was  detailed  for  carpentering  and  repair  work 
because  of  his  previous  training  in  that  direction.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he 
received  an  honorable  discharge  in  Washington  and  returned  to  his  family 
in  the  east. 

In  1868  Mr.  Pitcher  managed  to  save  from  his  earnings  the  sum  of  five 
hundred  dollars  and  with  this  he  came  to  the  west  in  1869,  settling  in-Batavia 
township,  Branch  county.  He  invested  his  capital  in  eighty  acres  of  land 
and  at  once  began  the  further  developinent  and  improvement  of  his  farm, 
which  he  continued  to  cultivate  until  1881.  In  that  year  he  retired  from 
active  business,  taking  up  his  abode  in  Coldwater,  where  he  has  since  lived, 
enjoying  a  well  earned  rest. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pitcher  became  the  parents  of  seven  children.  Louis  W.. 
who  was  a  soldier  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  enlisting  when  only  fifteen 
years  of  age,  is  now  a  prominent  insurance  man  of  Chicago.  Frank,  who 
was  a  telegraph  operator,  is  deceased.  Emily  R.  is  the  wife  of  J.  Holmes  and 
they  reside  with  her  father.  Charles  is  living  in  Coldwater  and  Clara  and 
David  Augustus  are  also  of  this  city. 

In  ante-bellum  days  David  Pitcher  was  a  staunch  abolitionist,  greatly  op- 
posed to  the  institution  of  slavery  and  when  the  Republican  party  was  forfiied 
to  prevent  the  further  extension  of  slavery  he  joined  its  ranks  and  has  since 
been  one  of  its  stalwart  advocates,  but  has  never  sought  or  desired  office. 
He  has  lived  an  earnest  Christian  life  and  is  well  versed  in  the  Bible  and  at 
all  times  has  been  honorable  and  straightforward  in  his  relations  with  his 
feliowmen.  He  belongs  to  Butterworth  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  and  thus  maintains 
pleasant  relations  with  the  comrades  with  whom  he  served  upon  the  battle- 
fields of  the  south.  He  has  never  been  afraid  of  work  and  bis  unflagging 
industry  and  perseverance  were  the  strong  and  salient  elements  in  his  success. 
He  is  now  eighty-three  years  of  age— a  venerable  and  respected  citizen  of 
Coldwater.  He  can  look  back  over  the  past  without  regret,  for  his  life  his- 
tory contains  many  traits  of  character  worthy  of  admiration  and  of  emulation. 


,y  Google 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  873 

SAMUEL   FISK.  '■ 

Samuel  Fisk,  now  living  a  retired  life  in  Coldwater,  was  born  in  Newark, 
Wayne  county,  New  York,  October  13,  1834.  His  parents,  L.  and  Adelia 
(Wells)  Pisk,  were  also  natives  of  the  Empire  state,  in  which  they  spent 
their  lives,  the  father  following  the  occupation  of  farming  in  order  to  provide 
for  his  family,  of  wife  and  nine  children— six  sons  and  three  daughters. 

Samuel  Fisk  was  reared  to  the  occupation  of  fanning,  working  in  the 
fields  through  the  summer  months,  while  in  the  winter  seasons  he  attended 
the  district  schools,  acquiring  a  good  practical  education.  He  came  to  the 
west  in  1867,  following  his  brother,  George  W.  Fisk,  who  recently  died  in 
Branch  county,  Michigan.  Here  Samuel  Fisk  settled,  taking  up  his  abode 
south  of  Coldwater,  and  the  brothers  carried  on  agricultural  pursuits  together 
for  twenty  years,  meeting  with  very  desirable  success.  Samue!  Fisk  was 
afterward  alone  in  his  farming  operations  for  a  brief  period  and  in  1897  he 
removed  to  Coldwater,  where  he  retired  from  active  business  life. 

In  this  county,  in  1874,  was  celebrated  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Fisk  and 
Miss  Clara  S.  Conover,  who  was  born  in  Huron  county,  Ohio.  They  have 
two  children,  Albert  Jerome  and  Carlottie  B.,  the  former  a  farmer  of  Branch 
county.  In  his  political  views  Mr.  Fisk  is  a  Republican  and  for  eight  years 
he  served  as  supervisor  of  Coldwater  township,  proving  efficient  and  capable 
in  that  office.  He  was  influential  in  community  affairs  on  the  side  of  improve- 
ment and  progress  and  has  taken  a  just  pride  in  what  has  been  accomplished 
in  Branch  county  during  the  iong  years  of  his' residence  here.  Active  and 
honorable  in  all  business  transactions,  he  won  a  competence  that  now  enables 
him  to  live  retired  and  that  classes  him  with  the  substantial  residents  of  Cold- 
water. 

BENJAMIN   R.   FERGUSON,  D.D.S. 

Dr.  Benjamin  R,  Ferguson,  who,  in  the  practice  of  dentistry  in  Cold- 
water,  has  built  up  a  lucrative  business  that  is  indicative  of  his  excellent  work- 
manship and  professional  skill,  was  born  in  Ovid  township.  Branch  county, 
May  10,  1S54.  His  paternal  great-grandfather,  Israel  Ferguson,  was  a  native 
of  Putnam  county.  New  York,  and  was  of  Scotch  lineage.  His  son,  Abraham 
Fergiison,  removed  from  the  Empire  state  to  Michigan,  in  1835,  and  in  1867 
became  a  resident  of  Coldwater,  where  he  died  in  1874  at  the  advanced  age 
of  eighty-one  years.  He  was  a  good  man,  who  lived  an  upright  and  honor- 
able life  in  consistent  harmony  with  his  profession  as  a  member  of  the  Bap- 
tist church.  His  early  political  support  was  given  to  the  Whig  party  and  later 
he  became  a  Republican,  He  married  Sarah  Roberts,  whose  birth  occurred  in 
Columbia  county.  New  York,  and  she  was  of  Welsh  descent.  She  lived  to  be 
eighty  years  of  age  and  was.  a  life-long  and  consistent  member  of  the  Baptist 
church.  In  the  family  of  Israel  and  Sarah  (Roberts)  Ferguson  were  ten 
children,  of  Whom  two  died  in  infancy.  Of  the  others  five  sons  and  three 
daughters  are  yet  living,  the  eldest  being  eighty-seven  years  of  age,  while  the 
youngest  is  more  than  sixty-eight  vears  of  age  and  all  are  married  and  have 
reared  families. 


Coo*^lc 


8T4  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Dr.  Ferguson's  father  was  born  in  the  state  of  New  York  and  is  now  one 
of  the  oldest  citizens  of  Branch  county,  where  he  has  hved  for  many  years. 
He  came  here  with  his  parents  in  pioneer  times  and  has  since  been  an  inter- 
ested witness  of  the  development  and  growth  of  this  section  of  Michigan. 

Benjamin  R.  Ferguson  was  reared  and  educated  in  Branch  county,  spend- 
ing his  boyhood  days  upon  the  home  farm.  His  early  mental  training  was 
received  in  the  district  schools  and  when  eighteen  years  of  age  he  entered 
the  schools  of  C~o!dwater.  Later  he  took  up  the  study  of  dentistry  in  this 
city  and  subsequently  entered  upon  practice  in  Olivet,  Michigan,  but  since 
1881  has  conducted  an  office  in  Coidwater.  Success  has  attended  his  efforts, 
for  he  possesses  the  mechanical  skill,  theoretical  knowledge  and  business  abil- 
ity without  which  no  man  is  ever  successful  as  a  member  of  the  dental 
fraternity. 

In  1876  Dr.  Ferguson  was  married  to  Miss  EJla  Walker  and  they  now 
have  a  son  and  daughter,  Glenn  W.  and  Cora  M.  In  his  fraternal  relations 
he  is  connected  with  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees  and  the  National  Union 
and  religiously  with  the  Baptist  church.  Whatever  he  has  accomplished  and 
whatever  success  he  enjoys  is  attributed  entirely  to  his  own  efforts,  for  with 
no  outside  aid  or  influence  in  the  beginning  of  his  business  career  he  prepared 
for  his  chosen  calling  and  has  steadily  worked  his  way  upward,  depending 
entirely  upon  his  capability  for  the  building  up  of  a  practice. 

JOHN  SECOR. 

John  Secor  is  the  owner  of  two  hundred  and  thirty-eight  acres  of  valuable 
land  in  Michigan  and  since  1900  has  resided  upon  his  present  farm  on  Section 
21,  Bronson  township.  He  was  born  in  Bronson  township,  in  1856,  and  is  a 
son  of  Benjamin  K.  and  Louise  M.  (Young)  Secor.  The  father  was  born 
in  the  Empire  state  and  removed  to  Toledo,  where  he  lived  for  a  time.  About 
1852,  however,  he  came  to  Branch  county  and  settled  in  the  village  of  Bron- 
son, where  he  engaged  in  general  merchandising  with  David  F.  Gates  for 
several  years.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war,  however,  his  patriotic  spirit 
was  strongly  aroused  and  he  offered  his  services  to  the  government,  enlist- 
ing in  Company  G,  Nineteenth  Michigan  Infantry.  He  was  captured  and 
died  as  a  prisoner  of  war  in  Tennessee.  He  had  previously  purchased  a  small 
farm  in  Bronson  township,  southeast  of  the  village.  In  the  family  are  two 
sons,  John  and  James. 

John  Secor  was  but  a  young  lad  at  the-  time  of  his  father's  death.  He 
was  reared  upon  the  farm  and  pursued  his  education  in  the  district  schools  of 
the  neighborhood.  He  continued  upon  the  home  farm  until  1893,  coming 
into  possession  of  the  property  in  i8go.  He  also  extended  its  boundaries 
by  the  addition  of  thirtyrfour  acres  and  transformed  it  into  very  rich  and 
productive  fields,  adding  ail  modern  equipments  and  accessories.  In  1893  he 
rented  the  Wallace  Monroe  farm  north  of  town  for  seven  years,  living  thereon 
until  1900  and  during  the  same  time  he  continued  to  cultivate  his  own  farm 
of  seventy-eight  acres.  In  the  latter  year  he  purchased  one  hundred  and 
eighteen  acres  on  Section  3:,  Bronson  township,  known  as  the  Latta  farm. 


Cooolc 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  875 

to  which  he  removed  and  on  which  he  has  since  made  his  home.  In  1903  he 
sold  his  original  farm  property  and  later  purchased  one  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  of  land  in  St.  Joseph  county,  Michigan,  so  that  his  entire  holdings  com- 
prise two  hundred  and  thirty-eight  acres  at  the  present  time.  He  carries  on 
general  farming  and  raises  feed  for  his  stock.  Everything  about  his  place 
is  kept  in  good  condition  and  he  is  one  of  the  representative  agriculturists 
of  his  community,  his  enterprise  and  perseverance  proving  the  elements  that 
have  brought  him  success. 

In  1877  Mr.  Secor  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Alvira  A.  Johnson,  a 
daughter  of  Morgan  Johnson,  of  Bethel  township.  They  have  three  children: 
Joseph  Benjamin,  who  married  Anna  Gairn  and  lives  at  Three  Rivers,  St. 
Joseph  county;  Louisa  A.,  the  wife  of  Arthur  Lindsey,  of  Litchfield;  and 
John  Morris,  who  is  eight  years  of  age.  In  politics  Mr.  Secor  is  a  Repub- 
lican and  has  been  a  member  of  the  school  board  for  four  years,  the  cause  of 
education  finding  in  him  a  warm  friend  and  one  who  does  all  in  his  power  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  the  schools.  In  his  farming  operations  he  has  so 
directed  his  efforts  that  his  work  has  been  attended  with  a  gratifying  measure 
of  prosperity. 

AUGUSTUS    A.    CLEVEI^VND. 

Augustus  A.  Cleveland,  who  since  September,  1S89,  has  resided  upon  his 
present  farm  in  California  township,  was  born  in  the  neighboring  state  of 
Indiana,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  Elkhart  county  on  the  13th  of  October, 
1844.  His  father,  Joseph  Cleveland,  who  was  the  son  of  Harden  and  Betsy 
Mason  Cleveland,  was  born  in  Lake  county,  Ohio,  and  in  early  life  learned 
the  carpenter's  trade,  which  he  followed  in  connection  with  farming, -de- 
pending upon  those  two  pursuits  as  a  means  of  livelihood  throughout  the  entire 
period  of  his  mature  years.  He  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Harriet 
Seward,  who  was  also  a  native  of  Lake  county,  Ohio,  and  was  a  daughter  of 
Nathan  Seward.  Their  marriage  was  celebrated  in  the  Buckeye  state  and 
they  became  the  parents  of  twelve  children,  of  whom  three  died  in  infancy. 
Of  the  others  Tracy,  Mrs.  Portia  Brindle  and  Mrs.  Lillian  Noyes,  are  now 
deceased.  Mrs.  Laura  Tupper  is  living  in  Cass  county,  Michigan.  Mrs, 
Altliea  Sanborn  makes  her  home  in  Kirtland,  Ohio.  Mrs.  Frances  VanDusen 
is  Hving  in  Coldwater.  Seward  makes  his  home  in  Coldwater,  and  Mrs. 
Jennie  Taylor  is  a  resident  of  Batavia,  this  county.  Both  of  the  parents  died 
in  Batavia,  where  they  were  respected  citizens.  They  had  become  residents 
of  Branch  county  during  the  period  of  the  Civil  war  and  remained  here  until 
called  .to  their  final  rest. 

A.  A.  Cleveland  spent  his  boyhood  days  in  his  father's  home  in  Elkhart 
county,  Indiana,  where  he  lived  until  seventeen  years  of  age.  No  loqger  able 
to  content  himself  at  home  while  the  country  was  engaged  in  Civil  war  he 
enlisted  from  Elkhart  on  the  31st  of  December,  1861,  entering  the  service  the 
following  day  as  a  member  of  Company  C,  Ninth  Indiana  Infantry,  with 
which  he  served  fot  three  years  and  nine  months.  Although  but  a  young 
lad  no  veteran  of  twice  his  years  displayed  greater  loyalty  or  valor  ujXDn  the 
field  of  battle.     The  regiment  was  attached  to  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland 


Coot^lc 


876  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

and  he  participated  in  many  of  the  important  engagements  of  the  war  leading 
up  to  the  final  victorious  result.  He  was  in  the  batties  of  Pittsburg  Landing, 
Stone  River,  Chickamaiiga,  Lookout  Mountain,  Nashville  and  other  battles 
and  skirmishes  of  less  importance.  He  was  also  on  the  Atlanta  campaign 
under  General  Sherman  and  was  wounded  in  front  of  Atlanta.  During  the 
last  two  years  of  the  war  he  served  as  orderly  sergeant  and  was  honorably 
discharged  in  Septeml^er,  1865,  having  for  almost  four  years  worn  the  blue 
uniform  of  the  nation.  Every  duty  assigned  him  in  connection  with  his 
militarj'  service  was  faithfully  performed  and  he  returned  home  with  a  cred- 
itable record. 

When  hostilities  ceased  Mr.  Cleveland  came  to  Branch  county,  making 
his  way  to  Batavia,  where  his  parents  had  removed  during  his  absence  at  the 
front.  He  lived  there  for  ten  years,  working  his  father's  farm,  after  which 
he  removed  to  Bronson,  where  he  remained  for  a  short  time.  He  next  estab- 
lished his  home  in  Algansee  township  in  1878  and  there  resided  until  Septem- 
ber, 1889,  when  he  removed  to  his  present  farm  on  Section  4.  California 
township.  Here  he  owns  forty  acres  of  productive  land  on  which  are  good 
buildings.  The  place  is  neat  and  well  improved  and  he  carries  on  general 
farming,  his  labors  bringing  to  him  a  good  living.  He  has  always  devoted 
his  attention  to  genera!  agricidturai  pursuits  and  his  work  is  at  all  times 
characterized  by  unfaltering  diligence  and  by  practical  methods. 

On  the  24th  of  November,  1868,  Mr,  Cleveland  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Mrs.  Theresa  Welch  Sprague,  who  passed  away  in  October,  1S86.  His 
second  marriage  on  the  28th  of  June,  1S88.  was  to  Miss  Dana  Purdy,  who 
was  born  in  Ovid  township,  Branch  county,  July  24,  1861.  The  Purdys  are 
one  of  the  old  families  of  this  part  of  the  state  and  the  original  American 
ancestors  came  from  England  to  the  new  world.  Joseph  Purdy  was  born  in 
Rutland,  Vermont,  March  i,  1767,  and  his  wife,  Sally  Smith,  who  was  born 
November  11,  1769^  was  probably  a  native  of  the  same  state.  In  early  life 
they  removed  to  Canada,  settling  near  Montreal.  At  the  beginning  of  the  war 
of  1812,  feeling  that  he  would  be  pressed  into  English  service  against  his" 
native  land,  he  returned  to  Vermont.  During  the  second  year  of  the  war 
(being  driven  out  by  the  Indians),  with  his  family,  he  removed  to  Monroe, 
Ohio.  They  had  eleven  children,  several  of  whicli  came  to  Branch  county 
in  1836.  In  later  years  the  parents  also  established  their  home  here,  their 
last-  days  being  spent  in  Algansee  township. 

Horace  Purdy,  the  eldest  son  of  Josej^i  and  Sally  Purdy,  and  the  paternal 
grandfather  of  Mrs.  Cleveland,  was  born  March  14,  1791,  in  Vermont,  and 
was  married  to  Sally  Thompson,  of  the  same  state.  A  few  years  of  their 
married  life  were  spent  in  Canada,  where  their  eldest  child,  Phoebe,  was  born. 
After  their  return  to  the  United  States  the  first  authentic  record  we  have  of 
them  is  that  they  lived  in  Seneca  county,  Ohio,  as  early  as  181S.  From  there 
they  removed  to  Branch  county  in  1836.  It  was  in  Seneca  county,  Ohio,  that 
Orange  Purdy,  father  of  Mrs.  Cleveland,  was  born  on  the  7th  of  July,  1830. 
He  married  Miss  Martha  Parker,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Hillsdale  county, 
Michigan,  July  18,  1841.    She  was  the  daughter  of  Abel  and  CHmena  (Pease) 


Googk 


m4^ 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  87T 

Parker.  Her  mother  was  a  native  of  the  state  of  New  York  and  her  father 
of  Connecticut,  having  been  born  in  that  state  December  19,  1798.  Abel 
Parker  was  the  son  of  Silas  Parker,  who  was  born  near  Hartford,  Connecti- 
cut, and  removed  from  that  place  with  his  family,  making  his  way  to  Oneida 
county.  New  York.  He  settled  on  Onondaga  Pike,  where  he  kept  a  tavern 
for  many  years  and  in  the  days  when  the  spirit  of  anti-masonry  ran-  high, 
because  of  the  disappearance  of  Morgan,  the  Masons  used  to  meet  and  hold 
meetings  in  his  hotel.  He  was  also  a  colonel  in  the  war  of  1812.  The  wed- 
ding of  Orange  Purdy  and  Martha  Parker  was  celebrated  in  California  town- 
ship and  they  became  the  parents  of  three  children :  Fred  Purdy,  now  living 
in  Algansee;  Orange  J.  K,  Purdy,  a  resident  of  Montana;  and  Mrs.  Dana 
Cleveland.  The  father,  Orange  Purdy,  was  a  soldier  of  the  Civil  war,  en- 
listing as  a  member  of  Company  G,  First  Michigan  Sharpshooters,  known  as 
Hall's  Sharpshooters.  He  joined  this  command  September  23,  1864,  and 
was  discharged  on  the  13th  of  June,  1865,  for  General  Lee  had  surrendered 
and  the  war  had  been  brought  to  a  close.  He  at  once  returned  to  his  home 
in  Branch  county  but  died  soon  afterward,  passing  away  on  the  19th  of  De- 
cember, 1S65,  when  only  thirty-five  years  of  age.  He  had  followed  farm- 
ing in  Algansee  township  prior  to  the  war  and  was  a  respected  and  worthy 
citizen.  His  health  was  undermined  by  his  military  service  and  he  prac- 
tically gave  his  life  in  defense  of  his  country.  His  widow  long  survived  him 
and  passed  away  on  the  loth  of  July,  1897,  when  fifty-six  years  of  age. 

Mrs.  Cleveland  has  long  been  prominent  in  the  work  of  the  Women's 
Christian  Temperance  Union,  recognized  as  one  of  its  active  representatives 
for  fifteen  years.  She  has  been  secretary,  treasurer  and  president  of  the 
county  association  and  is  now  filling  the  position  of  county  treasurer.  She 
has  also  been  a  leader  in  the  work  of  the  district,  which  comprises  the  coun- 
ties of  Branch,  Calhoun,  Barry,  Eaton  and  Jackson,  acting  as  corresponding 
secretary  for  three  years  and  at  this  writing,  in  1906,  is  acting  as  district  pres- 
ident. Her  interest  in  l)ehalf  of  the  cause  of  temperance  has  been  far  reach- 
ing and  beneficial  and  her  labors  in  the  organization  have  well  demonstrated 
her  fitness  for  leadership.  She  likewise  belongs  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  and  has  s'trong  sympathy  with  every  movement  that  tends  to  uplift 
and  benefit  humanity.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs,  Cleveland  are  well  known  in  this 
county,  for  her  entire  life  has  been  passed  here  and  Mr,  Cleveland  has  been 
a  resident  of  the  county  since  his  return  from  the  war.  He  joined  the  army 
as  a  boy,  he  returned  a  man,  for  there  has  been  no  movement  in  all  the 
country's  history  that  has  so  rapidly  developed  the  manhood  and  strength  of 
the  young  people  of  the  nation  as  that  chapter  in  her  annals.  In  davs  of 
peace  he  has  been  equally  loyal  to  his  country  and  his  co-operation  can  afwavs 
be  counted  upon  for  the  furtherance  of  measures  that  have  for  their  basis  the 
upbuilding  and  improvement  of  the  county,  state  or  nation. 

LEVI    SANDERS,  .M.D. 
Dr,  Levi  Sanders,  specialist  on  ruptures  and  chronic  diseases,  has  head- 
quarters both  at  Bronspn  and  Petoskey,  Michigan,  and  conducts  a  practice  that 
extends  over  a  wide  territorv. 


878  HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY 

Dr.  Sanders  was  born  in  Gilead,  Branch  county,  Michigan,  December 
2T,.i8:|.o,  son  of  Josiah  and  Marr  (Miller)  Sanders,  natives  o£  Ohio  who 
moved  from  the  Buckeye  state  up  into  Michigan  in  the  year  1832  and  settled 
on  a  farm  in  Branch  county.  Both  are  deceased-  In  the  district  schools  of 
his  native  county  Dr.  Sanders  received  his  early  education,  attending  school 
during  the  winter  months  and  in  summer  working  on  the  farm.  He  con- 
tinued farming  for  some  years  and  then  turned  his  attention  to  the  study  of 
medicine,  matriculating  at  Bennett  College,  Chicago,  and  graduating  there 
with  the  class  of  1880.  He  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  James- 
town, Indiana,  where  he  remained  six  years,  from  there  returning  to  his 
native  county  and  locating  at  Bronson,  where  he  has  since  maintained  his 
home,  dividing  his  time,  however,  for  some  years  past  between  this  place 
and  Petoskey. 

He  married,  in  1868,  Miss  Lodema  Jameson,  a  daughter  of  James 
Jameson  of  Cayuga,  New  York,  and  tiiey  are  the  parents  of  six  children: 
John,  Lowell,  Emery,  Irving,  Milton  J.  and  Lola  A.,  wife  of  Charles  W. 
Clark  of  Sturgis,  Michigan. 

During,  his  residence  in  Bronson  Dr.  Sanders  has  shown  himself  to  be  a 
public-spirited  citizen  in  the  best  sense  of  that  term.  He  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  village  council  and  for  six  years  was  president  of  the  school  board. 
He  has  membership  in  Mystic  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  is  identified  with  the 
A.  O.  U.  W.,  and  politically  is  a  Republican. 


The  Publishers,  in  acknowledging  their  indebtedness  to  the  work  of  Rev. 
Collin,  whose  scholarly  efforts  and  unabating  interest  in  every  department 
of  the  undertaking  insure  to  the  public  the  faithfiilness  of  the  endeavor  and 
the  value  of  the  volume  as  a  history  of  the  county,  take  this  opportunity  in 
the  closing  pages  of  the  volume  to  give  a  brief  sketch  of  the  life  of  the  author 
and  editor. 

Like  many  of  his  fellow  citizens,  of  the  present  generation  as  well  as  of 
the  pioneer  past,  Rev.  Collin  is  a  native  of  New  York  state.  Born  in  Benton 
township.  Yates  county,  July  26,  1843,  he  was  tlie  first  child  of  Henry  Clark 
and  Maria  Louise  (Park)  Collin.  He  grew  up  on  his  father's  farm  and 
became  accustomed  to  its  duties,  so  that  he  is  not  without  personal  appre- 
ciation of  the  toils  through  which  the  early  agriculturists  of  Branch  county 
passed  in  transforming  it  into  the  beautiful  region  it  now  is.  From  the  dis- 
trict school  of  his  neighborhood  he  entered  Penn  Yan  Academy,  where  he 
prepared  for  entrance  at  Genesee  College,  at  Lima,  in  the  fall  of  1861.  In 
the  middle  of  his  college  career  he  transferred  to  Yale  College,  where  he  was 
graduated  a  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  July,  1865.  and  later  received  the  A.  M. 
degree.  That  the  traditions  and  inclinations  of  the  Collin  family  toward  higher 
education  were  up  to  the  highest  New  England  standards  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  for  twenty  years  Yale  College  had  one  or  more  of  the  Collin  boys 
withm  her  classic  walls  as  a  student. 

From  September,  1865,  to  July,  1866,  Mr.  Collin  taught  in  a  private 


Coo<ik 


HISTORY  OF  BRANCH  COUNTY  8T9 

school,  "ItTiTnaiuiel  Hall,"  in  Chicago,  belonging  to  his  uncle,  Rev.  Roswell 
Park.  D.D.,  founder  and  first  vice  president  of  Racine  College,  Wis.  The' 
three  following  years  he  pursued  the  theological  course  in  Union  Theological 
Seminary  of  New  York  City,  graduating  there  in  June,  1869.  His  clerical 
career  began  with  license  to  preach  by  the  fonrth  presbytery  of  New  York, 
April  12,  1869.  He  preached  in  the  Congregational  church  of  Seymour,  Con- 
necticut, from  July,  1869,  to  July,  1870,  being  ordained  by  a  Congregational  ■ 
council  in  that  place,  November  25,  1S69.  In  May,  1871,  he  went  abroad, 
studying  German  three  months  near  Hanover,  and  in  October,  1871,  entered 
the  University  of  Berlin,  where  he  studied  theology,  and  in  the  following  year 
in  the  University  of  Leipsic.  After  traveling  in  Ireland,  Scotland,  England, 
Germany,  Austria,  Italy  and  Switzerland,  he  returned  to  America  in  Septem- 
ber, 1872,  and  in  June  of  the  next  year  entered  on  his  duties,  as  pastor  of  the 
Congregational  church  af  Oxford,  Chenango  county,  New  York.  In  October, 
:878,  he  was  called  from  this  position  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  of  Coldwater,  where  his  active  service  continued  for  nearly  twenty- 
seven  years,  from  December,  1878,  to  March  31,  1905.  In  the  following  May 
he  entered  upon  his  duties  as  editor  of  this  volume.  His  enthusiasm  in  all 
hterary  matters  and  especially  in  the  local  history  of  his  county,  and  his 
ranking  scholarship,  were  the  qualities  that  caused  his  selection  to  this  posi- 
tion. His' interest  in  the  work  has  never  flagged,  and  is  perhaps  best  shown 
by  the  fact  that  he  intends  to  continue  the  collation  of  facts  and  the  preserva- 
tion of  matters  of  historical  value  in  Branch  county,  supplying  the  incentive 
and  inspiration  which  are  always  necessary  to  preserve  the  immediate  past 
from  total  oblivion. 


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