4 i 4, < .4 ' .:. A1 ' 2 2 ' I ivy I t 4 r 'I , rrt l~~isce~ --- —-- -W?'~ '.._.,. A TWENTIETH CENTURY HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY MICHIGAN JUDGE ORVILLE W. COOLIDGE AUTHOR AND EDITOR I LLUSTRATED 1906 THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO NEW YORK ;1 ii.$ 1 i a;i 3 i I 1 B M,i; iB f iKi 1;;I F P:li i i 1 i%;,i t I i g W t E1 i -i PREFACE HE author of the historical sketch, which forms the introductory part of this volume, commenced his task in August, 1905. The historical + + sketch has been prepared under some difficulties, as the author has been necessarily engaged most of the time in judicial labors. E The sources of information have been various. In 1871 a partial history and directory of the county was published by E. B. Cowles. In some respects the work was a very valuable one. The narratives of the earliest settlements of Niles and St. Joseph were in the main evidently full and reliable. In 1881 a combined history of Berrien and Van Buren counties was issued, edited by A. Ellis. This work contained a valuable sketch of the earliest settlements of each township, the material of which was largely derived from interviews with early pioneers. This work has been largely consulted in the preparation of certain portions of the present sketch. The work, however, contained many errors, some of which arose from the fact that the editor had never resided in Berrien county. The author is also indebted for information to the following works: The historical and biographical collections of the State Pioneer Association, consisting of 31 volumes, Journal of Charlevoix, The Jesuit Relations, Histories of Michigan by Lanman and Cooley, Sketch of St. Joseph by D. A. Winslow, History of Trinity Church, Niles. by Rev. Dr. McMurdy, History of St. Mary's, files of Niles newspapers from 1835, reports of the Secretary of the Berrien County Old Settlers' Association, and biographies of Berrien and Cass County personages, published in 1894. For the first time a complete list of the supervisors of each city and township is presented. To secure this considerable time and labor were necessary, as large portions of the records of many townships had been lost or destroyed. The author is under obligation to the supervisors of the respective townships, to S. B. Miners, our county clerk, to C. J. Schultz, our county treasurer, and to the clerks of the cities for valuable assistance in the preparation of these lists. An attempt has been made to portray the growth and development of the county in its industrial features. A brief sketch of its principal manufactories and statistical 'tables of agricultural and horticultural production are given. The author is especially indebted to Hon. Henry Chamberlain, of Three Oaks, for interesting memoranda and information relating to the early settlement of the southwestern portion of the county. The author is also indebted for information to the following pioneers, who became iv PREFACE residents of this vicinity before 1835: Isaac Lybrook of Berrien, Wilson Sparks of Benton Harbor, Capt. Amos Bartlett of Dayton, Alexander J. Collins of St. Joseph, Mrs. Thos. Huston of Niles, Jas. Kirk of Pipestone, Ezekiel Denniston and John Hatfield of Niles, Nathaniel Hamilton of Buchanan, A. J. Cleland and Mrs. Robert Gephart of Niles, Mrs. Thos. Stevens of Oronoko, Samuel Marrs of Lincoln, Andrew Marrs of Berrien Springs, and Jas. Claypool of Berrien. In the chapter on "Aborigines and the French Occupation," the author has not relied on previous histories of the county, but resorted to more original and reliable sources of information. More space has naturally been given to the early history of Niles and St. Joseph than to other portions of the county, for the reason that the commercial and business interests of the county for many years after its first settlement were centered at these two points. ORVILLE W. COOLIDGE. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. N ature and T opography............................................................................ CHAPTER II. Aborigines and Early French Occupation.......................................... 6 CHAPTER TII. Early Settlement of Berrien County.............................................................. 19 CHAPTER IV. Organization-General Interests and Institutions...................................................... 24 CHAPTER V. Fruit Culture.......................................... 55 CHAPTER VI. Berrien County in the Civil War........................62........................ 62 CHAPTER VII. N iles C ity................................................................................. 141 CHAPTER VIII. Niles Township..................................................................... 166 CHAPTER IX. St. Joseph Township and City of St. Joseph............................................................ 171 CHAPTER X. Berrien Township.......................................................................... 192 CHAPTER XI. O ronoko Tow nship................................................................................ 198 CHAPTER XII. Bertrand...2.................................................................................... 206 CHAPTER XIII. Buchanan Township....................................................................... 213 CHAPTER XIV. New Buffalo Township............................................................. 221 CHAPTER XV. W atervliet Township.................................................................... 228 CHAPTER XVI. Benton and Benton Harbor.......................................................................... 232 CHAPTER XVII. Bainbridge............................................................ 244 CHAPTER XVIII. Pipestone.2......................................................................................... 249 CHAPTER XIX. W eesaw........................................................................................ 252 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER XX. Lake Township.................................................................................. 255 CHAPTER XXI. The Early History of Royalton and Lincoln................................ 259 CHAPTER XXII. Sodus............................, 264 CHAPTER XXIII. Three Oaks Township.............................................................................. 26 CHAPTER XXIV. Chikaming Township......................................... 2..........................7.4I.......... 274 CHAPTER XXV. Galien Township.280 CHAPTER XXVI. Hagar............,................ 284 INDEX Adams, Horace J., 58I Adams, William T., 815 Ager, Charles, 640 Alden, Hial, 545 Alexander, Mitchel, 288 Allen, J. Sherlock, 317 Allen, Israel M., 967 Allen, R. Clarke, 608 Allmendinger, John M., 614 Archer, Davis, 976 Arford, Albert R., 384 Arnt, Daniel C., 904 Atkinson, Robert C., 723 Aumack, Jacob, 982 Austin, Eugene W., 894 Austin, Stephen M., 418 Babcock, W. Irving, 655 Backus, Edwin I., 649 Bacon, Nathaniel H., 653 Badger, Chester, 846 Bainton, William F., 759 Baitenger, George M., 730 Bakeman, Frederick, 979 Baker, J. J., 693 Baldwin, Omar A. D., 995 Baldwin, Warner M., 326 Ball, James M., 847 Ballard, Otis W., 356 Bardelmeier, Philip J., 853 Barkhouse. William P., 913 Barmore, Salma, 642 Barnes, John E., 957 Bartram, Burr, 690 Batten, Levi, 872 Beall, James M., 587 Beaver, Theodore G., 647 Becht, William, 295 Beckwith, J. T., 752 Bedford John W., 9I0 Bedinger, M. S., 864 Beeson, Dix H., 457 Behel, Wilbur F., 465 Beistle, John W., 426 Belknap, Fred R., 365 Belknap, Simeon, 711 Bell, George M., 302 Bell, John, 297 Benson Brothers, 314 Berry, Fanny, 628 Beyrer, Lucas, 291 Birdsey, Abijah, 306 Birkholm. Clarence D., 534 Birkholz, August W., 491 Bishop', John L., 927 Bither, Anson F., 549 Black, George H., 341 Blake, William, 574 Bliesmer, August F., 441 Bliss, Milton J., 567 Boardman, D. L., 509 Bonine, Isaac A., 700 Bort, Harry, 472 Bostick, John C., 371 Boughter, Samuel, 372 Bowe, Prosper 0., 50I Bowman, Henry J., 976 Boyer, Dwight, 892 Bracelin, Frank, 635 Brammall, Edward, 388 Brant, Barney H., 676 Brant, Edward, 323 Brant, Ezra, 662 Brant, Nathaniel M., 67I Brant, Porter E., 691 Bremer, William D., 824 Brenner, Jacob, Ioo6 Brewer, Frank, 774 Bridgeford, George, 363 Briggs, Fred G., 463 Brodrick, Edward, 667 Brooks, John J., 495 Brower, Jacob, 797 Bruce, William L., 418 Bullard, William F., 319 Bullard, William H., 741 Burdick, Stephen V., 398 Burg, John, 827 Burke, John, 736 Burkhart, John, 558 Burton, Edwin, 956 Burton, Henry, 621 Bury, Clellen B., 624 Bury, John D., 438 Butts, Elmer, 572 Butzbach, Benjamin F., 361 Butzbach, Jacob, 888 Butzbach, Philip H., 889 Cady, Alvah P., 381 Caldwell, Elliott H., 863 Camfield, William, 663 Campbell, Harvey J.. 455 Carey, Milton T., 366 Cart, John A., 355 Case, William H., 401 Cassiday, William H., 944 Chamberlain, Henry, 523 Chamberlain, William, 644 Chapin, Claudis B., 377 Chauncey, Albert E., 878 Childs, Theron D., 751 Church, William B., 603 Clark, Aaron, 345 Clark, Charles A., 778 Clark, John, 579 Clark, Roy, 947 Clarke, Ernest P., 718 Clawson, S. M., 890 Claypool, John J., 922 Close, Charles, 505 Collins, Eben D., 650 Collins, Fred B., 239 Collins, M. 0., 955 Collins, William, 978 Collis, John H., 662 Commercial National Bank, 847 Conger, Frank D., 397 Cook, Fred W., 604 Cook, William, 871 Cook, William H., 970 Coolidge, Orville W., 286 Copeland, Abial C., 738 Corell, George E., 656 Crall, David, 925 Crall, Jacob B., 931 Crandall, Burton A., 984 Cranson, George P., 321 Crawford, Andrew, 336 Cribbs, Jacob, 749 Cryan, Edward B., 383 Cupp, Frank P., 972 Curtis, Orville, 346 Cutler, Solon, 760 Daigneau, Samuel E., 395 Dalenberg, Cornelius, 837 Damon, Oscar, 419 Dana, Charles E., 937 Dana, Eugene C., 680 Daniels, Francis A., 296 Deidrich Fred, 887 DeMott, John E., 287 Dempsey, John T., 762 Dester, William, 311 Deuel, Abram, 444 Deuel, Joseph J., 458 Dick, John C., 428 Dickerman, Nicholas, 568 Dix, Orrin E., 66I Dix, Rosco D., 719 Dixon, James W., 351 Doane, Hannah R., 952 Doane, William H. H., 951 Dockter, William C., 705 Dodd, E. S., 339 Dodge, Balaam, 914 Donner, Garey, 883 Dukescherer, Fred, 813 Dukesherer, August, 908 Dukesherer, Peter D., 597 Dunbar, Julius E., 394 Duncan, John F., 733 Dye, Frank Z., 412 viii INDEX - -- -, -- ~ Eaman, Benjamin J., 697 Eaman, James M., 698 Earl, Benjamin F., 702 East, William W., 424 Edgcumbe, George J., 368 Edinborough, Olive A., 622 Edinger, Jacob L., 746 Edwards, Hiram A., 467 Eidson, Edward D., 841 Eidson, Gilbert A., 862 Ells, Joshua, 592 Ellsworth, Frank H., 70I Ellsworth, Selin B., 389 Emerson, Aden M., 649 Emerson, Moses, 743 Emery, Alexander, 350 Emlong, Henry, 296 Enders, Adam, 876 Enders, Jacob E., 575 Enders, William F., 873 Ericsson, B. 0., 496 Esper, Michael G., 621 Farmer, Charles K., 393 Farnum, C. H., 406 Fay, John W., 800 Feather, Daniel T., 794 Feather, Henry A., 808 Feather, Joshua, 848 Feather, Milton H., 8Io Feather, William A., Sr., 881 Feather, William J., 984 Felton, Fred, 972 Ferry, Emery F., 791 File, William E., 569 Flewelling, David B., 916 Flood, James, 667 Flood, James H., 460 Flood, Thomas P., 462 Flower, George E., 641 Foeltzer, Helmath A., 380 Forler, George A., 720 Foster, George, 577 Foster, John J., 584 Franklin, Marshall D., 83I Franz, Frederick C., 290 Franz, George L., 946 Freestone, Wilbert D., 688 Freestone, William, 687 French, Alfred 0., 471 French, Charles H., 758 French, James E., 487 French, Joseph W., 636 Fulkerson, Frank L., 507 Gard, John F., 597 Gardner, James H., 950 Garland, Edgar F., 342 Garland, Horace W., 705 Garland, J. A., 357 Garr, Abel, 823 Garwood, John, 347 Gaugler, Daniel G. W., 312 Geisler, Fred, 474 Gersonde, H. L., 518 Geyer, Benjamin C., 566 Gibson, 'John S., 493 Giddings. Burton D., 535 Gillam, George E., 843 Gillette, Raymond B., 436 Glavin, Maurice, 764 Glavin, Thomas F., 765 Gleeson, John, 553 Glidden, Emory J., 489 Goodenough, Alonzo, 773 Goodwin, Richard M., 480 Gordon, Peter, 494 Gowdy, Frank M., 990 Gowdy, Franklin, 934 Graffort, Phay A., 425 Graham, Edmon A., 658 Graham, George, 7I4 Graham, Harry K., 866 Graham, William H., 320 Granger, Thomas, 685 Green, Daniel, 375 Green, George S., 334 Green, William W., 408 Green & Company, 375 Greenfield, John, 427 Griffin, Edwin C., 713 Griffin, George, 689 Griffith, Joseph, 565 Groat, Cyrus B., 912 Guy, Juan M., 756 Hall, Alfred R., 486 Hall, Byron L., 382 Halliday, Alexander, 459 Hamann, Henry H., 416 Hamilton, Edward L., 313 Hamilton, Louis S., 634 Handy, Gerald, 924 Hanley, George, 289 Hansen, Joseph B., 852 Hansen, Peter, 851 Hansler, Arthur, 335 Harder, James E., 639 Harger, M. E., 570 Harner, Abraham A., 787 Harner, Eldon C., 396 Harner, Michael F., 783 Harris, Lewis D., 675 Harris, Uriah, 328 Hastings, John J., 361 Hatch, Edward N., 939 Hatch, Henry C., 84I Hauser, Joseph W., 859 Hawks, Andrew M., 704 Heckman, Erasmus S., 886 Heise, Louis, 563 Helkie, William L., 504 Helmick, Burns, 940 Helmick, Hiram S., 8I6 Hemenway, Joseph R., 679 Henkel, George, 722 Herring, J. H., 903 Herring, Nathaniel A., 377 Hess, Homer E., 974 Hess, Juan, 993 Hess, William A., 915 Hewitt, William C., 770 Higbee, James F., 447 Higman, John, 598 Hill John D., 694 Hill, William H., 699 Hinchman, Burwell, 988 Hoadley, Rodney P., 788 Hoadley, W. E., 349 Hoag, Isaac J., 631 Hobbs, Frederick A., 665 Hodges, Cyrus C., 986 Hogue, Emerson, 968 Hogue, John F., 96r Holden, Jonas H., 294 Holland, William L., 747 Hollett, Retta, 607 Hollinrake, Thomas, 632 Hoopeniganer, John C., 309 Hoppin, George S., 338 Horn, George, 402 House, Amos C., 755 Houseworth, David, 786 Houswerth, Thomas F., 360 Hoven, Cornelius, 765 Howard, Franklin, 411 Howe, Alonzo F., 431 Howe, Charles F., 483 Howe, Frederick W., 780 Hunt, Daniel, 379 Hutchinson, Gilbert, 590 Ingles, Henry D., 770 Ingles, John S., 769 Ingraham, Elisha, 385 Isbell, James W., 652 Ives, Timothy H., 842 Jakway, James, 611 Jennings, Milo A., 946 Jerue, John B., 551 Jewett, Edson B., 515 Johnson, Frank A., 979 Johnson, Jether L., 606 Johnson, John, 767 Jones, Thomas W., 933 Kaiser, Barney, 761 Keith, William A., 836 Kelley, Sam H., 414 Kelly, L., 550 Kephart, Henry, 3Io Kimball, Sylvester B., 416 Kimbel, William C., 432 King, Charles M., 781 King, Henry L., 591 King, Louis A., 544 King, William P., 821 Kingsley, Edward H., 715 Kless, Fritz L., 450 Kluth, Charles, 828 Knapp, William W., 891 Kniebes, Frank, 856 Kniebes, Jacob, 905 Knight, David, 837 Knisely, Abraham J., 599 Knox, E. Clifford, 844 Kompass, Rudolph F., 655 Kramer, Andrew, 615 Kramer, John, 486 Krieger, Eugene L., 374 Krieger, Frederick, 906 Krieger, Jacob C., 799 Krieger, J. D., 898 Lamore, George S., 975 Lardner, Henry, 659 INDEX ix Lavanway, Clark, 955 Lavanway, William, 949 Lawrence, John C., 517 Lee, Ray E., 855 Lemon, Charles L., 938 Light, Isaac, 967 Littleson, Theodore, 631 Lockinaw, Henry, 782 Lovell, Nathan V., 8o6 Lucas, James W., 38I Lusso, Christian, 884 Lybrook, Isaac, 761 Lyon, Thomas, 488 Lyon, William R., 60I Madison, Hans, 745 Mangold, George, 88I Mars, B. Frank, 784 Mars, Guy C., 309 Mars, Thomas, 725 Martin, Thomas H., 453 Martindale, John, 686 Matrau, Morgan W., 681 McCartney, J. H., 969 McCollum, Edward C., 576 McCombs, Hezekiah, 925 McDonald, James, 553 McGowan, Charles, 971 McGuigan, Samuel, 86o McKee, Fred, 677 McKie, James L., 802 McKindley, Frank A., 921 McLin, Luther I., 735 McOmber, Fred, 1000 Mell, William, 852 Mess, Peter F., 443 Metras, M. G., 369 Metzger, Richard B., 763 Metzger, Theodore, 357 Meyer, Christian, 477 Milbourne, Louis W., 384 Miller, Charles, 8oi Miller, Christian, 463 Miller, James J., 378 Miller, William H., 771 Mills, George A., 634 Mitchell, Charles H., 58. Montague, Charles M., 643 Montross. Richard W., 768 Moore, Frank B., 373 Morgan, John, 684 Morley, Alvin, 775 Morley, Ebenezer P., 435 Morley, Francis H., 56I Morley, William S., 422 Morlock, George, 812 Morris, Richard H., 784 Morrow, Munroe H., 375 Morton, Henry C., 291 Morton, J. Stanley, 293 Moser, Charles, 911 Moulton, L. G., 551 Moyer. Henry J., 786 Mulcahy, Dennis O., 609 Mulholland, Joseph, 454 Mulliken, G. F., 630 Murphy, Erastus, 926 Murphy, Harvey R., 928 Murphy, John J., 920 Murphy, J. M., 924 Murphy, M. T., 936 Musil, Karel, 99I Mutchler, Charles F., 805 Mutchler, W. E., 507 Myers, Calvin, 879 Nichols, Charles D., 943 Nixon, John B., 303 Newman, Wingate W., 731 Newton, Albert, 327 Noble, George W., 359 Nold, Henry K., 880 Nothdurft, John J., 825 Nott, Carrie, 811 Nowlen, Albert R., 707 Olmstead, Melbourne H., 1004 Olsen, George, 594 Ormsbee, Charles W., 602 Otwell, George N., 315 Palmer, W. A., 430 Parker, Bascom, 854 Parker, Reuben D., 652 Parren, George A., 556 Parrish, William M., 432 Parsons, George, 929 Patterson, Charles L., 871 Paul, Jacob M., 916 Pearl, Irving R., 776 Pearl, Warren S., 410 Pears, Charles F., 352 Peck, L. E., 571 Pennell, Byron, 845 Pennell, Edgar S., 820 Pennell, R. Smith, 971 Peo, John, 817 Perry, Theodore N., 670 Peters, Henry, 707 Phelps, Chester P., 585 Phillips, John V., 440 Platt, Edwin F., 405 Platt. Frank H., 364 Platt James D., 785 Platt, Leslie W., 646 Platt, Lester G., 646 Plummer, Zachariah, 573 Pratt, Wilmer M., 677 Preston, Milton, 980 Preston, Wallace A., 948 Price, Moses A., 736 Price, Thomas W., 813 Pullen, Frank, 533 Pullen, George P., 780 Pullen, Robert, 532 Quade, Samuel J., 536 Quimby, Charles S., 728 Randall. Allen M., 668 Ranft, Ernest L., 340 Ransom. Theron T., 717 Rau. John P., 498 Reams, S. C., 973 Rector, Charles H., 958 Rector, D. Sidney, Jr., 960 Rector, Samuel J.. 885 Redden, Samuel W., 490 Reese, Chauncey B., 870 Reese, Reubeh W., 857 Rhoades, Frank, 320 Richards, J. L., 564 Richards, Joseph, 537 Richter, Frederick W., 989 Rickert, Louis, 869 Ricketts, Albert S., Ioo6 Ridenour Eli, 932 Rinkenberger, A. C., 942 Rist, Mathias, 793 Robinson, O. A., 954 Rodgers, John H., 838 Roe, Ellis S., 508 Rohde, John H., 446 Rose, W. A. D., 464 Rouch, John M., 349 Rough, George W., 482 Rouse, Elmer E., 362 Rush, Henry J., 478 Rynearson, Isaiah, 484 Ryno, Wakeman, 421 Ryther, Hale E., 839 Sabin, Charles E., 477 Sattler, George P., 867 Sattler, Lewis, 867 Savage, Daniel S., 844 Sawin, Judson, 559 Schairer, John, 387 Schaus, Charles G., 899 Schaus, Jacob L., 907 Schell, Albert, 959 Scherer, David, 347 Schiller, John D., 414 Schmitt, Joseph, 992 Schopbach, Henry, 832 Schultz, Carl J.. 897 Schultz, Clans H., 514 Schwenk, Jacob M., 500 Schwenk, John C., 451 Scofield, A. J., 627 Scott, Alexander H., Jr., 476 Scott, Stephen, 796 Seegmiller, Abbie, 964 Seitz, Willial H., 613 Sells, Bernard T., 629 Shafer, John, 303 Shafer, William. 506 Sharai, Alfred J., 963 Sharai, Edwin, 962 Sharai, John W., 964 Sharp, George, 983 Shearer, William, 583 Shedd, Sylvester, 882 Sheffield, William E., 716 Sherwood, Alva, 996 Sherwood, Alonzo, 939 Sherwood. Robert H., 895 Shippy, Charles D., 826 Sisson, Edward C., 556 Skalla, John, 737 Skalla, Joseph, 737 Skinner, James F., 337 Smith, Carmi R., 742 Smith, Chauncev, 793 Smith, George E., 673 Smith, Isaac M., 753 Smith, James, 754 x INDEX I Smith, Warren A., 307 Smith, Washington A., 510 Smith, Washington B., 944 Snavely, Solomon L., 918 Snuff, Edgar L., 584 Snyder, Oscar D., 544 Snyder, Sherwood, 605 Sonner, George F., 6Io Sorrell, E., 956 Sovereign, Frederick F., 503 Sowers, Charles N., 367 Spading, Theodore, 446 Sparks, John H., 314 Sparks, Spencer F., 569 Sparks, William D., 577 Spaulding, Elmore C., 798 Spencer, Benajah H., 434 Spencer, Charles A., 542 Spink, Andrew M., 400 Stafford, Theo N., 779 Starkweather, Frank, 316 Starr, John V., 616 Stemm, Ira R., 804 Stevens, George L., 499 Stevens, J. E., 520 Stewart, George F., 789 Stewart, Murray, 86I Stoll, Matthew, 696 Storms, Edmund B., 745 Stouffer, John B., 547 Stover, John H., 470 Strickland, Edward F., 710 Strong, George, 329 Stryker, Frank A., 479 Stuart, Charles D., 409 Stuck, John, 452 Sumrill, John J., 352 Sutherland, Darwin B., 325 Sutherland, John R., 977 Sutherland, Lewis, 618 Sutherland, Lott F., 529 Sutherland, Sterling L., 530 Taber, Roland B., 865 Taber, Roland F., 619 Tabor, Carleton E., 966 Tabor, Ernest, 961 Taube, Charles H., 322 Taylor, Thomas, 874 Teetzel, Charles W., 953 Tennant, Joseph, 461 Thayer, Robert C., 56I Thomas, Victor H., 766 Thompson, Frank, 771 Thomson, James B., 344 Thurston, Henry E., 334 Tibbs, Jacob, 981 Tichenor, Fred A., 775 Timm, Christian, 445 Trowbridge, Udorus E., 884 Tutton, Henry V., 442 Ullrey, Arthur 0., 748 Ullrey, David H., 987 Umphrey, Lewis, 902 Vail, Helen, 305 Valentine, George M., 721 Valentine, Lewis, 682 Vanderveer, Ernest, 539 Vanderveer, John T., 803 Vanderveer, William N., 540 Van Horn, Spencer B., 389 Van Namee, William P., 538 Van Vranken, Urias, 901 Versaw, James P., 965 Vetterly, August, 731 Vetterley, Edward, 588 Vincent, Alonzo, 834 Vinton. Charles A., 773 Vite, Jacob E., 759 Vollmann, Charles, 887 Walker, Joseph, 819 Wallace, Dudley B., 332 Wallace, John R., 330 Walton, Richard, -877 Walton, Robert A., 582 Walton, William, 877 Waltz, Samuel Z., 917 Wangerin, William F., 840 Ward, Lyman M., 511 Ward, W. A., 849 Warren, Dwight, 402 Warren, Edward K., 1ooI Warren, Frank J., 724 Warren, George L., 724 Warren & Company, 724 Watson, Alec, 833 Watson, Berton G., 386 Watson, William H., 834 Weber, William H., 740 Wees, William, 703 Weir, James J., 552 Wellington, Oliver F., 872 Wells, Abel W., 318 West, Thomas J., 709 Wetzer, Rudolph, 868 Wells, William H., 595 Whalen, Henry E., 850 Whalen, James, 58o Whetstone, Carl F., 727 Whipple, Frank H., 86I Whitcomb, Charles H., 602 White, Charles E., 729 Whitehead, W. K., 456 Whitney, Harris S., 555 Whitten, Charles E., 497 Wilkinson, Thomas L., 557 Willard, Levi, 832 Willming, Joseph, 902 Wilson, Hiram, 468 Wilson, John F., 712 Wilson, William L., 734 Winchester, Amandus 0., Iooo Winn, John J., Jr., 333 Wise, Horace M., 912 Wissing, William M., 750 Witbeck, F. M., 626 Witt, Edward J., 617 Wolf, David, 354 Womer, Peter, 829 Womer, William A., 830 Wood. Bradford H., 919 Woodworth, O. P., 522 Worthington, Albert A., 429 Wright, Elmer H., 308 Wright, George, 512 Wyant, John F., 918 Wyant, Oscar, I005 Wyant, William, 819 Wynn, Thomas B., 932 Yates, Abram, 893 Yerington, George W., 358 Yerington, Polly, 358 Yetter, George T., 951 Young, A. D., 343 Young, Edwin W., 391 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY CHAPTER 1-I N\TURE A NDl TOPO()R AP IY. "Like orchards of forgotten times, Like pleasure parks of Ea.-te-rn cli:nl s, The 'openings' of the \Nest aplpear, The paradise of fa!llow deer." Berrien counllt is the extreme southwest county of tlhe State, beilng bounded on the northl 1)\ \ -ai Butren county, on the east 1b Van Buren alnd Cass c(unties, on the south bi\v tlie Staite oi Indiana and on the west b\ LakIe IlicIigia;l. Tl:e area of the cotolnt- iS aipp: oxiplately 600(o s(qtarlel miles o-:o't ' -.ooo acres. The surface is diver.siiecd. h'e ilar;cr portionl oft the soil \was 0,rigiiinll- cv-\-red w ith forests of valuable o-rt wi tili, colnsisti ng' liainll of wlhite a-td redl it. hickotry, white wood, maple, becchl. llacik xvllit, elot, astl. a 1863; discharged by order, September 27, I865. James E. Vandemark, discharged for disability, July 19, I862. Benjamin Van Patten, discharged for disability, August 25, I862. Granville M. Willis, died of disease. Nicholas W. Webber, discharged at end of service, January 7, I865. Isaac Wilson, mustered out February I5, I866. George Williams, mustered out February I5, I866. TWENTY-FOURTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY. "When lo! the dread brigade called Iron, flashed In armour bright as on the foe they dashed; And when they met, a bloody slaughter spread, The verdant plain, like autumn leaves with dead.' This regiment was raised almost wholly in the county of Wayne with its rendezvous. at Detroit, by the late General Henry A. Morrow, who was selected as Colonel. There were no members of this regiment from Berrien county till the summer of I864, when about seventy recruits were here obtained, mainly through the efforts of Edgar A. Kimmel, who was made first lieutenant of Company K. The regiment attained a brilliant fame soon after it entered service. It became a part of the famous "Iron brigade" composed of Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana troops, and did heroic service on the great battle field of Gettysburg. It arrived near Gettysburg on July I, and immediately went into 98 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY action under Colonel Morrow. On the first day of the battle the loss of the Twentyfourth regiment was 316 in killed, wounded and missing. At this battle Colonel Morrow was wounded and taken prisoner, but shortly afterward exchanged. General Meredith, who commanded the Iron brigade in this action, in a dispatch to. Colonel Morrow shortly after the battle said: "No troops ever fought with more bravery than did those of the Twenty-fourth Michigan, on that occasion." The regiment continued in service in the army of the Potomac till near the close of the war. Before returning home it was placed on garrison duty at Springfield, Illinois, where it had the honor of being selected as escort at the funeral of President Lincoln. It was mustered out of service at Detroit, June 30, I865. This regiment was in the following engagements. 1862 Fredericksburg. I863 Port Royal, Fitzhugh Crossing, Chancellorsville, Westmorland, all in Va.; Gettysburg, Pa.; Mine Run. I864 Raccoon Ford, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North Anna, Tolopotomy, Cold Harbor, Bethseda Church, Petersburg, Weldon R. R., Hicksford, Hatcher's Run. 1865 Dabney's Mills, Siege of Petersburg. It is appropriate to make some mention of the brilliant officer who was the first colonel of this famous regiment. General Morrow, as he was called, from his appointment as brigadier general and afterwards major general during the war, was living at Detroit at the time the regiment was organized by him, but after the close of the war made his home at Niles, although as Colonel in the regular army he was unable to be at Niles but little of the time. He died in the service of the government and was buried at Niles. Before the war he had married Miss Belle Graves, daughter of Major William Graves, a prominent pioneer of Berrien county, of whom mention will be made hereafter. Mrs. Morrow is now living at San Francisco with one of her children. General Morrow was an able officer, a genial and courteous gentleman, admired by all who knew him and a brilliant conversatoinalist. The following brief record from the rolls of the adjutant general's office tells its own story. Henry A. Morrow, commissioned August I5, 1863; wounded in action at Gettysburg, July I, I863; wounded at the battle in the Wilderness, May 5, I864; brevetted brigadier general United States volunteers, August I, I864, for gallant and distinguished services during the campaign before Richmond; wounded in action at Petersburg, Virginia, February 6, I865. Brevetted major general United States volunteers for distinguished and conspicuous galantry and for good conduct before Petersburg. Lieutenant colonel, Thirty-sixth United States infantry, July 28, I866. ~ Brevetted colonel, March 2, I867, for gallant service at battle of Hatcher's Run. Colonel Twenty-first United States infantry, April 27, I879. TWENTY-FOURTH INFANTRY. Non-Commissioned Staff. Hospital Steward Owen Churchill, Niles; enlisted August 24, I864; mustered out June 30, I865. Company A. Richard Burr, mustered out June 30, I865. Selah House, mustered out June 30, 1865. Alex. P. Manamy, mustered out June 30, 1865. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 99 George F. Niles, mustered out June 30, I865. Company B. Calvin W. Aiken, mustered out June 30, i865. Charles Brunke, mustered out June 30, i865. William H. Emmons, mustered out June 30, I865. Burkhardt Freund, mustered out June 30, 1865. Luther Hemingway, mustered out June 30, I865. William Sullivan, mustered out June 30, x865. Lorenzo Smith, mustered out June 30, I865. Company C. James Bourdon, mustered out June 30, I865. James Breen, mustered out June 30, 1865. William Burlingame, mustered out June 30, I865. Arra Cook, mustered out June 30, I865. Patrick English, mustered out June 30, I865. John R. Field, mustered out June 30, I865. Thomas Genderson, mustered out June 30, I865. Jerome Head, mustered out June 30, 1865. John Hutchinson, mustered out June 30, 1865. John J. Hart, mustered out June 30, I865. Davis L. Hurlburt, mustered out June 30, 1865. Alexander Lamond, mustered out June 30, I865. Walter S. Mizner, mustered out June 30, I865. Andrew E. Mitchell, died of disease in Illinois, April 22, I865. James M. Noel, mustered out June 30, I865. James St. John, mustered out June 30, 1865. Oscar St. John, mustered out June 30, I865. James L. Sharp, mustered out June 30, i865. Theodore Swain, mustered out June 30, I865. James S. Stafford, mustered out June 30, I865. Gideon B. Stiles, died of disease at Niles, November 5, I864. Amos A. Thompson, mustered out June 30, I865. Frank Verbaum, mustered out June 30, I865. Company D. Charles A. Champion, mustered out June 30. I865. Henry Varsop, mustered out June 30, I865. Company E. Henry Aldridge, died of wounds at Baltimore, February 22, 1865. Henry Bradley, mustered out June 30, I865. Frederick H. Eisenhardt, mustered out June 30, 1865. Dayton Fuller, mustered out June 30, I865. James S. Gender, mustered out June 30, I865. John H. Hawkins, mustered out June 30, 865. Ephriam P. Stratton, mustered out June 30, 1865. John Talbot, mustered out June 30, I865. I00 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Company F. Thomas W. Rutledge, Galien; mustered out June 30, I865. Company G. Second Lieutenant Andrew J. Bucklin, Niles, commissioned September 27, I864; resigned May 3, I865. William B. Flanigan, mustered out June 30, I865. Harvey B. Hall, rustered out June 30, i865. Company H. Frank Higbee, mustered out June 30, I865. Frederick W. Holmes, mustered out June 30, I865. Company I. Thomas Evans, mustered out June 30, I865. James H. Nostrand, mustered out June 30, 1865. John O'Conner, mustered out June 30, I865. Jackson Robertson, mustered out June 30, 1865. Company K. First Lieutenant Edgar A. Kimmel, Niles; commissoned September 27, 1864; mustered out June 30, 1865. William H. Ames, mustered out June 30, I865. William Breen, mustered out June 30, I865. David Boyd, mustered out June 30, I865. William L. Condit, mustered out June 30, I865. Franklin Calbretzer, died of disease in Illinois, April 23, I865. Henry Griffith, mustered out June 30, I865. Henry L. Morse, mustered out June 30, I865. Anson Miller, mustered out June 30, I865. Charles Pike, mustered out June 30, I865. Henry Smith, mustered out June 30, I865. William W. Serviss, mustered out June 30, I865. Silas J. Tomlinson, died of disease at Alexandria, December 5, 1864. SEVENTEENTH INFANTRY. This regiment had its rendezvous at Detroit. About twenty-seven members of this regiment were from Berrien county. The regiment became famous for its fighting qualities and was known as the "Stonewall regiment" throughout the war. It received its name from the gallant charge it made at the battle of "South Mountain" on the stone walls, behind which the enemy with its batteries was strongly posted. The battle of South Mountain was fought on September I4, I862, only about twenty days after the regiment had left its rendezvous. Three days after it was engaged in the great battle of Antietam. It fully preserved throughout the war, the reputation which it gained at Southl mountain. Company B. First Lieutenant John Cunningham,Niles; commissioned June 2, I862. Sergeant William H. Marston, Niles; enlisted June 2, I862; lost a leg at Petersburg, Virginia, June I8, I864; discharged for wounds, May 5, I865. Corporal Samuel H. Case, Buchanan; mustered out June 3, I865. Corporal Allen B. Myers, Sodus; en HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY IOI listed August 6, 1862; killed in battle at Spottsylvania, Virginia, May 12, 1864. Alonzo G. Bigelow, discharged for disability, September 13, I862. Albert Bixby, mustered out June 3, I865. John Beauwain, mustered out June 3, I865. George W. Chase, discharged for disability, February 9, 1863. Jonathan Day, transferred to Veteran Reserve corps, February 15, 1864. Rock Edwards, mustered out June 3, i865. Jesse Foster, discharged for disability, March 3, I863. Daniel A. Gates, discharged for disability, February 26, 1863. John Hazlett, discharged for wounds, September 14, 1862. Henry Hinman, died of disease in Tennessee, January 21, I863. Nutter M. Halsted, mustered out June.3, I865. John R. Haynes, mustered out June 3, I865. George Isham, died in action at Campbell's station, Tennessee, November I6, 1863. Lewis Jones, accidentally killed at Antietani, Maryland, September 17, I862. Henry Jackson, died in action at Campbell's station, November I6, I863. Sylvanus McManus, discharged for disability, December 3, I862. Ferdinand Metzger, discharged for disability, October 3, I864. Stephen Mead, mustered out June 3, I865. Benjamin Norris, mustered out June.3, I865. Columbus Paddock, discharged for disability, February 6, I863. Edward F. Rice, mustered out June 3, 1865. Chester J. Walser, mustered out June 3, i865. Lorenzo D. White, discharged for disability, September 17, I863. It was in the following important engagements: 1862 South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg. 1863 Siege of Vicksburg, Jackson, Loudon, Siege of Knoxville. 1864 Wilderness (Va.), Spottsylvania, North Ana, Petersburg, Hatcher's Run. I865 Fort Steadman, Capture of Petersburg. Its loss in killed, wounded and death from disease were 283. NINETEENTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY. This regiment was raised in the summer of I862 in southwestern Michigan, and the rendezvous for recruiting and organization was at Dowagiac, Michigan. Company "I" of this regiment was organized at St. Joseph and was first known as the Morrison guards after its promoter, Honorable A. H. Morrison, of St. Joseph. About twenty-five from this county belonged to other companies. The regiment left their rendezvous for service in Kentucky in September, 1862. It was shortly afterwards transferred to the Army of the Cumberland as a part of the reserve corps, in January, I863. From this time onward it was often in many severe engagements. Within a month it lost two of its commanding officers. In the battle of Resaca, Georgia, May I5, 1864, Colonel Henry C. Gilbert was mortally wounded, while the regiment was making a successful charge against a rebel battery. On June I5, I864, Colonel Eli A. Griffin, commanding the regiment while defending his position against an assault of the enemy at Golgotha, Georgia, was mortally wounded, dying the next day. On the 15th of November, the regiment having joined the army of 102 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Sherman, at Atlanta, set forth with its brigade on the great march to the sea. It participated in the siege of Savannah until the first of January, I86o, when it moved northward through South Carolina to North Carolina, meeting the enemy at Averysboro, where a severe engagement ensued in which the brigade to which the regiment belonged, made an assault upon' the works of the enemy capturing them with many prisoners. The regiment was complimented by its commanding officer for its gallantry in this action. Proceeding northward, it arrived at Alexandria on May I8, and the 24th day of May participated in the grand review of General Sherman's army in Washington. The losses of the regiment were 237 in killed, wounded and death from disease. NINETEENTH INFANTRY. Field and Staff. Lieutenant-Colonel David Bacon, Niles; commissioned August 8, 1862; wounded in action at Baton Rouge; resigned April 3, I863. Lieutenant-Colonel Eli A. Griffin, Niles; commissioned April 20, I864; major, October 22, I863; captain, Sixth infantry, August I9, I86I; died in action at Golgotha, Georgia, June 15, 1864. Adjutant Henry M. Brown, St. Joseph; commissioned May I, I863; commissioned first lieutenant, Company I; resigned October 4, 1864. Quartermaster Warren Chapman, St. Joseph; commissioned August 2, I862; resigned November I7, 1862. Non-Commissioned Staff. Quartermaster-Sergeant Lysander J. Brown, St. Joseph; enlisted August 12, 1862; died May 20, i863. Principal Musician Charles E. Bort, Royalton; transferred to Company I. Company A. First Lieutenant Herbert M. Reynolds, Niles; enlisted May 25, I864; promoted to second lieutenant, July 27, 1863; commissioned sergeant; discharged for disability, July 20, I864; second lieutenant. Lyman Carney, died in action at Thompson's Station, Tennessee, March 5, I863. Lee Chapman, discharged for disability, August 27, I863. Edward C. Dix, mustered out June Io,. 1865. M. D. L. Peters, mustered out June Io, I865. Milford Tice, died in action at Thompson's Station, March 4, I863. Company B. George M. Kirk died in action at Frederick, Maryland. Company C. Albert Newton, transferred to Tenth infantry; mustered out July 19, I865. Emanuel Rinehard, transferred to Tenth infantry; mustered out July I9, I865. Company D. Jeremiah Van Horn, mustered out September 8, I865. Company G. William L. Black, transferred to Tenth infantry; mustered out July I9, I865. Francis Cooper, mustered out June Io, 1865. William H. Cook, mustered out June Io, 1865. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I03 Orange Hutchins, mustered out June Io, I865. William Moore, mustered out June Io, I865. Arron Messenger, died March 5, 1863, in Columbia, Tennessee, of wounds. Isaac A. Williams, died in rebel prison at Salisbury, North Carolina, January 27, 1865. Winfield Wilson, mustered out June 4, I865. Franklin E. Wilson, mustered out June 4, I865. Albert H. Wheeler, mustered out June 4, I865. Eli Wittfery, mustered out June 4, I865. Company I. Captain Richard Lysaght, St. Joseph; commissioned July 25, I862; resigned June 6, I863. Captain Charles H. Calmer, St. Joseph; commissioned May I, 1863; promoted to second lieutenant, July 26, 1862; died in action at Resaca, Georgia, May 15, I864. First Lieutenant Henry M. Brown, St. Joseph; commissioned August I, I862; appointed adjutant, May I, I863. Sergeant Aaron F. Brewer, St. Joseph; enlisted August 1, I862; promoted to secont lieutenant. Sergeant Marvin Beaman, Royalton; enlisted August ii, I862; mustered out July Io, 1865. Sergeant George W. Livingston, St. Joseph; enlisted August 2I, 1862; died July I, I864, of wounds received at Golgotha, Georgia, June 15, I864. Sergeant Charles A. Cronkhite, St. Joseph; enlisted August I, I862; discharged for disability, March I, I865. Sergeant George Brown, St. Joseph; enlisted August 12, I862; discharged for disability, April 23, I863. Corporal D. H. Stevenson, St. Joseph; enlisted August 1, 1862; rdischarged March 6, I863. Corporal George W. Riley, St. Joseph; enlisted August I, 1862; mustered out June 8, I865. Corporal Asher Lane, St. Joseph; enlisted August i, I862; discharged for disability, June 17, 1863. Corporal Frederick Clay, Royalton; enlisted August 13, 1862; died in action at Golgotha, Georgia, June 15, 1864. Corporal Thomas Riley, St. Joseph; enlisted August II, I862; mustered out June I1, I865. Corporal George F. Stewart, St. Joseph; enlisted August 22, I862; promoted to sergeant; first lieutenant, Company F, March 29, I865. Musician Charles E. Bort, Royalton; enlisted August 12, I862; mustered out June IO, I865. Wagoner John Wilson, St. Joseph; enlisted August 12, I862; mustered out June 15, I865. Silas W. Allen, died of disease at Nashville, Tennessee, April 11, I863. William Bundy, died of disease at Danville, Kentucky, January 13, 1863. James M. Boswell, discharged for disability, April 21, I863. Henry L. Beaman, mustered out June IO, 1865. John Bradley, mustered out June Io, I865. Charles Chanbeck, died of disease at Danville, Kentucky, January 8, 1863. Edward Cronan, discharged for disability, June i, I865. Daniel Calmer, mustered out June Io, I865. Joseph Clamfoot, mustered out May 30, I865. Daniel T. Dopp, mustered out June 1o, I865. Peter T. Dopp, mustered out June 0o, I865. Oscar Dee, mustered out June o1, 1865. William A. Depue, mustered out June Io, I865. 104 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY William G. Ensley, mustered out July 13, I865. John H. Fikes, mustered out June Io, 1865. Benjamin Fikes, mustered out June Io, 1865. Benjamin Green, discharged for disability, May 13, I863. Milo Hyde, mustered out May 26, I865. Alexander Hunter, died of disease at Annapolis, Maryland, June 2, 1863. George Koof, died of disease in Indiana, February 14, I865. William Kelsey, died in action at Thompson's Station, March 5, I863. Charles McCain, died in rebel prison, Richmond, Virginia, March 22, I863. William Morelock, died of wounds at Big Shanty, Georgia, June 24, 1864. Theodore Morelock, transferred to Tenth Infantry, mustered out July 19, I865. Peter Mooth, transferred to Tenth Infantry; mustered out July 19, I865. Horace M. Pitcher, died while a prisoner, March 20, 1863. Joseph Penland, died while at work on fortifications, August I, I864. Charles J. Peterson, died of disease at Murfreesboro, September 17, 1863. Jerry Robicho, discharged for disability, June I, I863. Martin V. Sherman, discharged for disability, June 17, I863. Timothy H. Spelman, died of disease at Annapolis, Maryland, April II, 1863. James Snyder, died at Knoxville, Tennessee, April 20, I864. George Thompson, discharged for disability, April 23, 1863. William Wiese, discharged for disability, April i, I863. Thomas Waterman, discharged for disability, July I8, I863. William W. Webster, died of disease at Murfreesboro, September 17, 1863. The regiment was in the following engagements. I863 Thompson's Station, Nashville and Chattanooga R. R. in Tennessee. I864 Resaca, Cassville, New Hope Church, Golgotha, Culp's Farm, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, Savannah. I865 Averysboro, N. C., Bentonville, N. C. TWENTY-FIFTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY. This regiment was organized in the summer of I862 and rendezvoused at Kalamazoo. On September 29th, I862, it left for the scene of war. Three of its companies came fromn Berrien county, viz.: Company C from Berrien Springs and vicinity, Company F from Niles and vicinity and Company K from Buchanan and vicinity. The regiment achiex e! considerable fame early in the war by repelling a spirited assault made by the famous cavalry commander, General Morgan. This engagement took place at Tibbs Bend, July 4th, 86,3. Prior to his assault, the colonel of the regiment, Colonel Moore, received the following communication from General Morgan: "To the Commander of the U. S. Forces at Tibbs Bend. I, John H. Morgan, Major General in the Army of the Confederate States, hereby demand the immediate and unconditional surrender of the troops and post under your orders. John H. Morgan, Maj. Gen., C. S. A." Colonel Moore, upon receiving the communication told the bearer of the dispatch to present his best compliments to General Morgan and say to him that it was the Fourth of July; that on any other day he might possibly demand some consideration, but as it was the Fourth of July, he would please tell General Morgan, with his compliments, that he would see him damned first. General Morgan at once made his attack, HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I05 and was severely repulsed with a loss of about two hundred and fifty men in killed and wounded. Companies E and K were in this engagement. Morgan was evidently impressed with the skill and heroism of the regiments employed against superior numbers and wittily sent to Colonel Moore a dispatch brevetting him a brigadier general in the United States Army. This battle was known as the Green River engagement and after the battle the regiment was generally known as the "Green River" boys. The legislature of Kentucky passed a resolution thanking Colonel Moore and his regiment for their heroic defense. Of this engagement the Louisville Journal said, "Moore's repulse of a force equal to twenty or twentyfive times his own was one of the most chivalrous affairs on record. Although it is unquestioned history, it reads like the wildest romance." This regiment also acquired fame in the great battle at Franklin, November 30, I864, and at Nashville, aided General Thomas in winning the most decisive victory achieved by either side during the whole war, when the immense army of General Flood was practically annihilated by defeat and prompt pursuit. This battle was executed and carried out exactly as planned on the eve of the engagemenlt, lby General Thomas, whose design was not simply to win a battle, "but to make it a Waterloo, which would wipe the defeated army out of existence." The story of this battle reands like that of one of Alexandlers victories, complete, decisive and easy to be understood. The.regiment remained in active service in Georgia and Tennessee, until the latter part of the war when it was transported to North Carolina. It was mustered out at Salisbury, North Carolina, June 24th, 1865. It was in the following engagements: In I865 Munfordville, Ky., Tibbs Bend, Ky., Kingston, Tenn., Mossy Creek, Tenn. In I864 Tunnell Hill, Rocky Face, Resaca, Cassville, Etowah River, Kingston, Atoona, Pine Mountain, Lost Mountain, Culp's Farm, Kenesaw, Nickajack Creek, Chattahoocha River, Decator, Atlanta, East Point, Jonesboro, Rome, all in Georgia. In 1865 Cedar Bluffs, Ala., Pine Creek, Tenn., Franklin, Tenn., Nashville, Tenn. Its total loss in killed, wounded and death by disease was one hundred sixty-six. TWENTY-FIFTH INFANTRY. Field and Staff. Adjutant Charles Woodruff, Niles; commissioned April 7, I864; sergeant major, January I4, I864; second lieutenant, Company K; mustered out June 24, I865. Company C. Captain Charles E. McCollister, Oronoko; commissioned August IO, 1862; resigned May II, I863. Captain Jacob Ewalt, Oronoco; commissioned March 13, I863; first lieutenant, August IO, 1862; discharged for disability, October Io, 1864. Captain Clarence H. Howe, Oronoko; commissioned November I, I864; second lieutenant, March 13, 1864; sergeant, August 12, I862; mustered out June 24, I865. First Lieutenant Edwin F. Kimmel, Oronoko; commissioned March I3, 1863; second lieutenant, August I, 1862; resigned September 23, 1864. Sergeant Ezra E. Dunn, Buchanan; enlisted August 9, I862; died of disease at Bowling Green, Kentucky, March 20, I863. Sergeant Marion W. Jennings, Pipestone; enlisted August 13, 1862; mustered out June 24, I865. Sergeant Benjamin F. F;eather, Oronoko; io6 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY enlisted August I, I862; transferred to Invalid corps, July, I863; mustered out July 8, I865. Sergeant Reuben H. Richardson, Oronoko; corporal, August I, 1862; mustered out June 24, 1865. Corporal James W. Granger, Oronoko; enlisted' August 1, I862; mustered out June 24, 1865. Corporal Sylvester P. Mason, Buchanan; enlisted August I5, 1862; discharged for disability, February 24, I863. Corporal Francis M. Dougherty, Oronoko; enlisted August I, 1862; discharged for disability, September 21, 1863. Corporal Abram Long, Oronoko; enlisted August 13, 1862; transferred to Invalid corps, December 15, 1863. Corporal Alfred 0. French, Royalton; enlisted August 9, I862; discharged by order, May 29, I865. Corporal Eli Helmick, Oronoko; enlisted August 15, I862; mustered out June 25, I865. Musician William H. Dennison, Oronoko; enlisted August 14, 1862; died of disease at Bowling Green, January I6, I863. Wagoner Elliot Chamberlain, Oronoko; enlisted August I8, I862; died of disease at Louisville, July 27, 1863. James B. Alden, mustered out June 24, I865. Orange L. Blake, mustered out June 24, I865. John A. Burke, mustered out June 24, I865. Samuel C. Burke, mustered out June 24, I865. Lavinius Bratt, mustered out June 24, i865. Josephus Brownell, mustered out June 24, 1865. Porter H. Buckley, mustered out June 24, I865. Peter Bovee, discharged by order, July I8, 1865. Reuben Culbretzer, mustered out June 24, 1865. Eli N. Crabbe, mustered out June 24, I865. Milton Cowley, mustered out July 4,. I865. Dorman Curtis, mustered out June 24, I865. Ralph Denn, mustered out June 24, i865. Alanson Dickerson, mustered out June 24, I865. Ambrose Dickerson, mustered out June 24, I865. Thomas Daker, mustered out June 24, 1865. William Desler, transferred to Veteran Reserve corps. Jesse Fisher, mustered out June 24, I865 -R. P. Ferris, mustered out June 24, i865. Bethuel H. Friley, mustered out June 24, 1865. Stephen E. Gilbert, died of accidental wounds, March 31, 1863. Abel Goddard, discharged for disability, June I6, 1863. Edwin W. Hadlock, mustered out June 24, 1865. William B. Hartman, mustered out June 24, 1865. William Hunter, mustered out June 24, I865. Peter Humphrey, died of disease at Bowling Green, Kentucky, March 9, I863 -Frank Jern, mustered out June 24, I865. William H. Jones, transferred to twentyeighth; mustered out June 5, i866. George H. Kimmnel mustered out May 3I, i865. Samuel Kimmel, mustered out June 29, 1865. John A. Kebler, mustered ouc Tluly 1, i865, from Veteran Reserve corps. Albert Kugles, mustered out June 24, 1865. Ludovic Leeds, mustered out June 24, I865. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I07 Isaac Long, mustered out June 24, I865. Stephen Lappan, mustered out June 24, 1865. Richard Lawrence, discharged for disability, January 9, 1863. Nott. Lockman, discharged for disability, June 16, I863. Jonathan Mosier, discharged for disability, May 9, 1863. George D. Nather, died in action at Resaca, Georgia, May 14, 1864. George W. Myers, mustered out June 24, i865. Simeon McOmber, mustered out June 24, i865. Henry P. Movier, mustered out June 24, 1865. Isaac Maddox, mustered out June 24, I865. Charles S. Mead, mustered out June 5, I866. George Mallison, mustered out June 5, i866. Henry Near, died of disease at Louisville, Kentucky, February 6, 1865. Merritt Nichols, mustered out from Veteran Reserve Corps, June 12, I865. Patrick E. O'Brien, mustered out from Veteran Reserve corps, July 7, I865. William F. Olds, mustered out July 2, i865. Joel Pangburn, mustered out June 24, i865. Benjamin F. Potter, mustered out June 24, I865. Aaron Puntivers, mustered out June 24, 1865. William R. Place, transferred to twentyeighth infantry; mustered out June 5, i866. William E. Patterson, discharged for disability, May 8, 1863. Delos Reed, discharged by order, July I8, I863. John P. Rooney, died of disease at Bowling Green, Kentucky, February i6, I863. Galen R. Rogers, died of disease at Bowling Green, Kentucky, February 17, 1863. Jonathan Ressler, mustered out June 24, I865. Myron H. Roberts, mustered out June 24, 1865. Reuben H. Richardson, mustered out June 24, I865. Frederick Simons, mustered out June 24, 1865. Samuel Stuller, mustered out June 24, I865. Nathan Smith, mustered out October 28, i865. William H. Shankwiler, mustered out June 24, 1865. J. Shankwiler, died of disease at Knoxville, Tennessee, April 21, 1864. Stephen Simons, died of disease at Bowling Green, Kentucky, March 29, I863. Noah St. John, discharged for disability, June I6, 1863. John A. Sperinar, discharged for disability, June I6, 1863. Andrew J. Tebbs, transferred to Veteran Reserve corps, January 15, 1864. James M. Taylor, mustered out June 24, 1865. Charles E. Terriere, mustered out June 25, 1865. Peter Van Husan, mustered out June 25, I865. Michael Van Husan, discharged for disability, March Io, I863. Solomon Wirrick, discharged for disability, December 21, I863. Benjamin Wirrick, discharged for disability, May 22, 1865. John Williams, discharged by order, July, 1863. David H. Whipple, transferred to twenty-eighth infantry; mustered out June 5, I866. Company F. I Captain Spencer L. Lansing, Niles; commissioned August IO, 1862; discharged for disability, October 28, I864. 10o8 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Captain Irving Paddock, Three Oaks; commissioned May 8, I865; first lieutenant, November I, I864; sergeant, August 14, I862; mustered out June 24, I865. First Lieutenant Gideon Frisbie, Avery; commissioned August IO, 1862; discharged for disability September 24, 1864. First Lieutenant Henry Bond, Niles; commissioned May 8, I865; second lieutenant, November 2, 1864; sergeant, August II, I862; mustered out June 24, 1865. Second Lieutenant Arthur Twombly, Niles; commissioned August Io, 1862; resigned September I8, 1864. Sergeant Charles Woodruff, Niles; enlisted August 14, I862; promoted to sergeant-major, January I4, I862. Sergeant Henry B. Adams, Niles; enlisted August 7, 1862; died of disease at Knoxville, Tennessee, February 20, I864. Sergeant Julius C. Webb, Niles; corporal, August I4, I862; mustered out June 24, 1865. Corporal Don A. Clark, Niles; enlisted August 13, 1862; died December 25, I864, of wounds received August 6, I864. Corporal Peter G. Cuddeback, Berrien; enlisted August 13, 1862; died July 4, I863, of wounds received at Tibbs' Bend. Corporal Henry T. Kimmel, Niles; enlisted August 14, 1862; discharged by order, February 27, 1863. Corporal Joel F. Warner, New Buffalo; enlisted August 14, I862; mustered out June 24, I865. Corporal Byron W. Earl, Niles; enlisted August 7, I862; transferred to Invalid Corps, February I5, 1864. Corporal Thomas Quigley, Niles; enlisted August 13, 1862; discharged for disability January 26, 1865. Musican Isaac McDaniel, Niles; enlisted August 9, 1862; died of disease at Murfreesboro, January 16, 1863. David C. Bachelor, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, May I, I864. Henry Bowman, mustered out June 24, 1865. Thomas D. Bines, mustered out June 24, I865. John Bourke, mustered out June 24, I865. Charles H. Burbank, mustered out June 24, I865. Kellison Collins, discharged for disability, February 24, 1865. Frederick W. Doane, discharged for disability, April 23, I863. Jerry Doolan, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, April IO, 1864. John Davis, mustered out June 24, I865. James Edgin, from Veteran Reserve Corps; mustered out July 5, 1865. James Fallon, discharged for disability, February I8, I863. Morris Frisbee, mustered out June 24, I865. William Gray, mustered out June 24, I865. John J. Garrison, mustered out June 24, I865. Francis W. Gano, mustered out June Io, 1865. Nathan Gilbert, mustered out June 24, I865. Thomas J. Gilbert, mustered out June 24, I865. Justus H. Hastings, mustered out June 24, i865. Levi Hoover, discharged for disability, April 4, I863. George C. Inman, transferred to Veteran Reserve corps, February I5, 1864. Edwin G. Loucks, mustered out June 24, I865. Leroy Lamunion, mustered out June 24, I865. William Lahey, mustered out June 24, I865. John W. McKee, mustered out June 24, I865. John McClarey, discharged by order, July 20, I863. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I09 James McGurk, discharged for disability, August 28, I863. Arbuth M. Nott, discharged for disability, September 4, 1863. Philo Norton, mustered out June 24, I865. Thomas O'Callaghan, mustered out June 24, 1865. Willian M. Otwell, mustered out June 24, I865. Emory Otwell, discharged by order, July 20, 863. Andrew J. Painter, mustered out June 24, I865. Horatio H. Richardson, mustered out June 24, I865. Lewis Quick, died of disease at Louisville, February 8, I863. Jesse Sheridan, died of disease at Bowling Green, February 18, I863. William Slater, died of disease at Bowling Green, March I6, 1863. Rowland Soper, died at Chattanooga, June 29, I864. Isaac Smith, transferred to Veteran Reserve corps, February 15, I863. Thomas E. Sheridan, discharged for disability, November 21, I863. Charles T. Serviss, mustered out June 24, I865. Thomas P. Starr, mustered out June 24, I865. John P. Titsworth, mustered out June 24, 1865. Frederick L. Thaldorf, mustered out June 24, I865. Marcus Tuttle, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, January 15, 1864. Thomas Wood, transferred to Veteran Reserve corps, December 15, I863. Michael Wood, discharged for insanity, October 28, 1863. Nathan Williams, discharged by order, March 20, I863. Ephraim Wellwood, discharged by order, July 20, I863. John Wright, died at Resaca, Georgia, May 14, I864. Orson S. Warner, mustered out June 24, I865. John Wing, mustered out June 24, I865. Company K. Captain M. V. McKinney, Buchanan; commissioned July 23, 1862; resigned July 26, 1863. Captain John Tennant, Buchanan; commissioned July 26, I863; first lieutenant, August 4, 1862; discharged for disability, June 14, 1864. First Lieutenant Frank D. Weaver, Buchanan; commissioned July 26, 1863; second lieutenant, August I5, I862; died of disease, April I2, I864. Second Lieutenant Charles Woodruff, Niles; commissioned, April 2, 1864; promoted to first lieutenant, and adjutant, April 7, 1864. Second Lieutenant Norris H. Merrill, Buchanan; commissioned June I, 1864; sergeant, July 22, 1862; discharged for wounds, November 4, I864. Sergeant Rodney Knight, Buchanan; enlisted August 13, I862; died of disease at Knoxville, January 4, I865. Sergeant Abram Welles, Weesaw; enlisted August i, 1862; discharged for disability, September I, 1863. Sergeant Joseph C. Harris, Buchanan; enlisted August 15, I862; discharged for disability, January 3, I863. Sergeant John A. Sperry, Royalton; enlisted July 12, 1862; discharged for disability, January 15, I863. Corporal James L. Slater, Weesaw; enlisted August 12, 1862; died in action at Tibbs' Bend, Kentucky, July 4, 1863. Corporal Emmet S. Totlen, Buchanan; enlisted August 15, I862; mustered out May 3I, 1865. Corporal Solomon Ulery, Buchanan; enlisted August 12, 1862; absent, sick. IIO HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Simon P. Aldrich, mustered out June 24, I865. John Boyce, mustered out July 7, I865. Henry Beacham, discharged for disability, March 3, I863. Charles Cochran, discharged for disability, September Io, 1862. Oliver J. Chin, died of disease at Bowling Green, March 3I, 1863. Charles Carr, missing in action in Tennessee, January 22, I864. George W. Colvin, mustered out June I5, I865. James A. Cook, mustered out June 24, 1865. William Conradt, mustered out June 24, 1865. William W. Compton, mustered out June 24, 1865. Nathan Dodds, mustered out June 24, 1865. Ambrose Dickerson, discharged for disability, January 6, I863. Hiram Dunham, transferred to Veteran Reserve corps, April 20, 1864. A. Ewarts, discharged for disability, July 21, 1863. Joseph Fuller, discharged for disability, Franklin B. Fancher, discharged for disability, January 15, I863. Emory F. Ferry, discharged for disability, February, 1864. Lewis B. Force, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps; mustered out June 30, I865. Charles W. Fancher, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, July 26, 1863. George Furay, mustered out May 7, I865. William R. Gonder, mustered out June 24, I865. J. L. Gorham, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, April o1, I864. Jacob Garlinger, transferred to Veteran Reserve corps, January 15, I864. Andrew Graham, discharged by order, July 21, 1863. J. S. Gordon, discharged by order, July 21, I863. F. G. M. Holmes, discharged for disability, September Io, I862. William J. Henderson, discharged for disability, September I, I863. William H. Hanover, discharged for disability, March 3, I863. Warren J. Harris, mustered out June 24, i865. Martin V. Hulmes, mustered out June 24, 1865. Henry Homer, mustered out June 24, I865. David Hill, mustered out June 24, I865. Marvin H. Haskins, mustered out June 24, I865. William Inglewright, Sr., discharged by order. William Inglewright, Jr., transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, February 15, 1864. Harvey C. Judson, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, February 15, I864. Andrew Judy, died of disease at Louisville, Kentucky, October 8, 1862. James S. Lee, discharged for disability, January 15, I863. James Meeker, mustered out June 24, I865. Robert Norris, mustered out June 24, I865. James Penwell, died of disease at Bowling Green, Kentucky, March i, I863. George Pierce, died of disease at Knoxville, Tennessee, May 25, 1864. Nathan Pratt, discharged by order, July 29, I863. A. Randall, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, February 15, I864. Henry Rundell, mustered out June 24, I865. Benjamin N. Redding, mustered out June 24, I865. James M. Rose, mustered out May 30, 1865. John Z. Swanger, mustered out June 24, 1865. i HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I I I Charles W. Strong, mustered out June 24, i865. James H. Snodgrass. John C. Spinetta, died of disease at Louisville, Kentucky, October 7, I862. Jacob Shruler, discharged for disability, September IO, I862. Zenith Strong, discharged for disability, September IO, I862. John Taylor, mustered out June 24, 1865. Volney O. Van Denburgh, died of disease at Bowling Green, Kentucky, February I, I863. Frank Watson, died of disease at Knoxville, Tennessee, May II, I864. John Weaver, died of wounds at Resaca, Georgia, May I4, 1864. Evert Wirt, died in action at Rocky Face, Georgia, May 9, 1864. Alvertus Wray, died in Indiana, March o1, I865. Philip Walworth, discharged for disability, September 10, i862. H. Wells, discharged for disability, September I, I863. Oscar Woodworth, discharged for disability, January I5, 1863. Emery Wray, discharged by order to Veteran Reserve Corps, July 21, I863. Samuel Washburn, discharged by order to Veteran Reserve Corps, July 21, 1863. Hiram Walcott, discharged for disability, February o1, I863. W. P. Wood, discharged for disability, February 6, I863. J. J. Wade, mustered out June 24, i865. David Washburn, mustered out June 24, i865. John Washburn, mustered out June 24, i865. William H. Walworth, mustered out June 24, 1865. Noah Weaver, mustered out June 23, a865. Noah M. Wilter, mustered out May I8, I865. George H. Watson, mustered out May 26, I865. TWENTY-SIXTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY. There were about sixty members of this regiment from Berrien county, being in Company G, with Asa G. Dailey of Dayton, captain. This regiment was raised in the fall of 1862 and rendezvoused at Jackson. Its service was principally in the Army of the Potomac. It took a leading part in the successful attack made by the Second Corps at Spottsylvania, May 12, 1863, on the enemy's works, which were carried after a fierce hand to hand fight with the bayonet. The Twenty-sixth was the first regiment to plant its colors on the rebel works. Its loss in this action was severe, amounting to one hundred and thirty-four killed and wounded. For gallant services at the battle of Deep Bottom, July 27, and July 28, 1864, the regiment was especially complimented by General Hancock, in his general orders. It was in the advance in the final pursuit of Lee's retreating army in April, 1865, and through its lines, General Grant operated with his flag of truce, in arranging the terms of surrender at Appomattox Court House. Its losses in the war were two hundred and fifty-nine out of a membership of about one thousand. It was in numerous engagements; only the most important can be mentioned. I864 Wilderness, Po River, Spottsylvania, North Anna, Petersburg, Deep Bottom. I865 Peebles Farm, Hatcher's Run, Amelia Springs, Sailor's Creek, Appomattox Court House. It was engaged in the siege of Petersburg, from June I7, I864, to April 3rd, I865. 112 HISTORY OF BERR1EN COUNTY TWENTY-SIXTH INFANTRY. Company C. Second Lieutenant Sylvester R. Wilson, Galien; commissioned January 2, I865; promoted to first lieutenant; mustered out as second lieutenant, June 4, I865. Company G. Captain Asa G. Dailey, Dayton; commissioned August 4, 1862; resigned April 27, I865. First Lieutenant William M. Cady, Dayton; commissioned August I, I864; resigned April 9, 1864. Sergeant James M. Price, Weesaw; enlisted August 15, 1862; discharged for disability, August 28, 1863. Sergeant Sylvester R. Wilson, Galien; enlisted August 7, I862; promoted to second lieutenant, Company C. Sergeant William Hulmes, Dayton; enlisted August 6, 1862; died in rebel prison, Salisbury, North Carolina, January 12, 1865. Sergeant John Landor, Dayton; enlisted Atgust 6, I862; mustered out June 3, I865. Sergeant Albert O. Ewen, New Buffalo; enlisted August 8, I862; mustered out June 3, I865. Corporal Henry Howland, Dayton, enlisted August 6, I862; mustered out June 3, I865. Corporal David Bryant, Niles; enlisted August 6, 1862; mustered out June 19, 1865. Corporal Winfield Wilson, Galien; enlisted August 12, I862; mustered out June 4, I865. Corporal William De Armand, Bertrand; enlisted August 15, 1862; died of wounds received at Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864. Corporal George Day, St. Joseph, enlisted August 12, 1862; died of disease at Alexandria, Virginia, February i5, I863. Corporal Reuben H. Rice, Galien; enlisted August 15, I862; mustered out June 0o, I865. Corporal Alvah H. Spalding, Galien; enlisted August 22, 1862; mustered out June 4, I865. Corporal Albert H. Wheeler, Dayton; enlisted August 6, I862; mustered out June 4, I865. Chauncey E. Ashcroft, mustered out June 29, i865. Charles E. Bradley, mustered out June 29, i865. Selah Baxter, mustered out June 29, 1865. F. A. Burras, mustered out June 29, 1865. Milford L. Brightford, discharged for disability, April 20, I865. William L. Bennett, died in Andersonville prison, November 26, I864. Uri M. Barber, died in Andersonville prison, September 23, 1864. John Bowen, missing in battle, May 12, 1864. John A. Davidson, mustered out June 4, I865. John F. Espy, died of disease at Weesaw, Michigan, May 8, 1864. T. J. Green, died of disease, December 21, 1863. Joseph F. Grooms, mustered out June 4, I865. Joseph V. Grooms, discharged for disability, February I7, 1865. John Haggerty, discharged for disability. Joseph Happe, died in battle at Spottsylvania, Virginia, May 12, I864. Daniel Harris, died in Salisbury prison, January 12, I865. Samuel Hills, mustered out June 4, 865. Gilbert F. Kinney, discharged for disability, May 2, 1863. Nelson Kinney, discharged for disability, November 17, 1863. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY IIs Robert Landon, mustered out June 4, I865. James Lavelle, mustered out June 4, I865. Obed Look, died of disease, November 7, i862. Elkanah A. Parish, died of disease at Dayton, Michigan, February 20, 1864. Edgar Potter, died of disease at Alexandria, April 9, I863. Aaron Perks, died in battle at Spottsylvania, Virginia, May 12, I864. James R. Ross, died of disease at Dayton, Michigan, February 20, 1864. Joseph Rouse, mustered out June 4, I865. David Stoner, mustered out June 4, I865. Alvin C. Spalding, mustered out June 4, i865. Abner P. Paulding, mustered out June 4, I865. George W. Spengelburch, died in rebel prison at Salisbury, December 9, I865. George W. Stoner, discharged for disability, June 1-7, I863. Nicholas Shoop, died of disease at Alexandria, Virginia, January 2I, 1864. Hiram A. Sackett, died in battle at Spottsylvania, Virginia, May I2, I864. William Seward, died in battle at Spottsylvania, Virginia, May 12, 1864. Benjamin F. Yaw, discharged for disability, December I6, I863. Jonathan Yaw, discharged for disability, December I6, I863. TWENTY-EIGHTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY. There were about go men from Berrien county distributed in different companies. It was raised in the summer of I864, rendezvoused at Kalamazoo and left for the seat of war October 26, I864, Colonel William W. Wheeler, of St. Joseph, became colonel on December 9, 1864. Although a raw regiment, it partici8 pated in the great battle of Nashville in December, 1864, where it fully established a reputation as a gallant fighting regiment. It was afterward assigned to General Cox's army in North Carolina, which was intended to co-operate with General Sherman's army in its approach to the coast. Here it was engaged in duty, guarding the lines of the Atlanta & North Carolina railroad. It remained on duty in North Carolina till it was mustered out at Newbern, North Carolina, June 5, I866. Its loss was 128 in killed, wounded and death by disease. It was in the following engagements: Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 12 to I6, I864. Wise's Fork, N. C., March 8 to IO, I865. Field and Staff. Colonel William W. Wheeler, Niles; commissioned August I5, 1864; lieutenantcolonel and major Twenty-third infantry; mustered out July 12, I866. Company B. S. F. West, died of disease at Nashville, January 9, I865. Company C. Andrew Baer, mustered out June 12, I865. Wilson J. Norton, mustered out June 12, I866. Willis S. Norton, discharged by order, July 26, 1865. Charles E. Perry, discharged by order, May 26, I865. Paul Pasch, mustered out June 5, I866. Abram Packard, died of disease at Alexandria, Virginia, February 13, I865. James E. Sprang, mustered out June 5, i866. AI4 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY James A. Shelden, mustered out SeptemIer 12, I865. Company E. John Brott, mustered out June 5, I866. Charles L. Cummings, mustered out June 5, I866. Lawson T. Humphrey, mustered out June 5, i866. George Hamilton, mustered out October 6, 1865. William W. Jordan, mustered out June 5, I866. Zephaniah Linsey, discharged by order, August 26, I865. Frank Matron, mustered out August -23, 1865. Michael Rohrer, mustered out June 5, r866. Archibald Schoonover, discharged by order, September 5, I865. Luman Wireman, mustered out June:14, I865. Company G. -William Allen, mustered out June 5, i866. John A. Hunt, mustered out May 22, a865. Henry D. Kirtland, discharged for disability. Ira Olds died of disease at Detroit, 'March 4, I865. Daniel Quinn, mustered out June 5, a866. Charles H. Stevens, mustered out September 13, I865. James P. Tilton, mustered out June 5,!' 866. William S. Williams, mustered out June 5, I866. Cornelius Williams, mustered out January 3, I866. William Wittier, mustered out May 25, 1865. Company H. Sergeant Orrin W. Crossman, Benton; enlisted September 3, I864; died of disease at Alexandria, Virginia, February I6, 1865. Sergeant Orange C. Burbank, Benton; enlisted October I, I864; died of disease in North Carolina, August I6, 1865. Corporal Anthony Jerrue, Benton; enlisted September I6, I864; discharged by order, September 6, I865. Corporal Delmont J. Coboneau, Ber, rien; enlisted September IO, I864; sergeant mustered out June 5, i866. Corporal Francis H. Taylor, St. Joseph; enlisted September 13, 1864; discharged for disability, September 23, I865. Corporal James Hanna, St. Joseph; enlisted September I, 1864; mustered out June 5, 1865. Corporal Uriah Gress, Benton; enlisted September I9, 1864; discharged by order, May I9, I865. Perry J. Ashley, died at Kalamazoo, (shot), December 6, I864. David Abbey, discharged by order, May 17, I866. William Annable, mustered out June 5, i866. W. S. Aikens, discharged at end of service, March 3, i866. Frederick Barney, discharged by order, May 26, 1865. Richard W. Brown, mustered out July 7, I865. Smith B. Barker, mustered out June 5, i866. William W. Fenno, mustered out June 5, I866. George G. Gouchy, mustered out July I, I865. Lewis Herbert, mustered out September I3, I865. William E. Jakeway, mustered out December 4, 1865. Richard S. Lawrence, died of disease at Louisville, November 21, I864. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I T5 Charles E. Mowry, mustered out June 12, 1865. George W. Odell, died of disease in Indiana, November 23, I864. Gain O. Robinson, died of disease at Alexandria, Virginia, February Io, I865. Humphrey Starks, mustered out May 29, I865. Harvey Smith, mustered out June 5, 866. Pardon D. Taylor, died of disease at Nashville, January Io, I865. Edmund Tappen, mustered out June 5, i866. Hiram Tubbs, mustered out September 13, I865. Merrick Voncent, died of disease in North Carolina, June 5, I865. Henry Weber, discharged by order, May 19, I865. Calvin S. Warren, discharged for disability, October 19, I865. Arthur Worden, mustered out June 5, i866. John B. Woodward, died of disease at New York City, June 30, 1865. Company K. Corporal Warren Beckwith, Watervliet; enlisted October I, 1864; died of disease in North Carolina, June 8, I865. Daniel Aspinwall, mustered out May I I, 865. Perry Converse, mustered out May I6, 1865. Silas J. Chapman, died of disease at Alexandria, Virginia, February I6, i865. Alexander Fisher, mustered out June 5, 1865. David W. Felson, mustered out June 5, I866. Albert E. Heaton, mustered out May I5, I865. Richard A. Lawrence, mustered out May 20, I865. Edward Measure, mustered out May 26, I865. John H. Measure, mustered out June 5, I865. William H. Morey, mustered out June 5, i866. James P. Versau, mustered out June 5, i866. Samuel Versau, mustered out June 5, I866. ONE HUNDRED AND SECOND U. S. COLORED TROOPS. This regiment was raised in the winter of I863-64 and rendezvoused at Detroit, leaving for the seat of war March 28th, I864. It was raised wholly in Michigan and was first know as the First Regiment Michigan Colored Infantry. Fifty-one members of this regiment were from Berrien county. Four of them, viz.: William Powers, Harrison Johnson, Edward Finley and Eli Smith, became sergeants in their companies. The regiment was sent to South Caro Company I. Washington S. Blowers, died of disease at Nashville, Tennessee, January Io, 1865. Fred N. Bachman, mustered out June 5, i866. John Buchanan, mustered out June 5, I866. John J. Baxter, mustered out June 5, i866. George A. Cook, mustered out June 5, i866. Frederick M. Cook, mustered out July 14, I865. William C. Conklin, discharged by order, May 27, 1865. Amos L. Herrick, discharged for disability, December 21, I865. Daniel D. Havens, mustered out June 5, i866. Stephen R. Thayer, mustered out September I3, I865. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY lina in April, I864. It was engaged with the enemy in December at Honey Hill and two other engagements and in the three conflicts lost 65 in killed and wounded out of 300 engaged. In February, i865, it was engaged in the operations against Charleston. It fought with great gallantry in a skirmish with the enemy at Singleton, South Carolina, on April 2Ist, 1865, virtually the last engagement of the war. This regiment appears to have conducted itself manfully and when engaged, showed the highest degree of bravery. It was mustered out September 3oth, I865, at Charleston. Its loss was I40. It was engaged in the following engagements:,) 1864 Honey Hill, Tullifirny, D. Vaux Neck, S. C. I865 Cuckwold's Creek, Sampterville, Spring Hill, Swift Creek, Boykins, Singleton, S. C. ONE HUNDRED AND SECOND U. S. COLORED TROOPS. Company A. Stephen Busbee, mustered out September 30, i865. Joshua Emmons, died of disease in South Carolina, July 4, 1864. Anthony Nash, mustered out September 30, 1865. Robert Ogden, died of disease in South Carolina, February 5, 1865. Company B. John Battles, mustered out September 30, I865. James T. Battles, mustered out September 30, I865. George Brown, mustered out September 30, I865. Ezekiel Harris, mustered out September 30, i865. William Linsey, discharged for disability, August I, 1864. Levi, Mitchell, discharged by order, May 24, 1864. Company C. William Adams, discharged for disability, June i6, i865. Company D. Henry Harris, mustered out September 30, i865. Abner A. Mitchell, mustered out September 30, 1865. Company E. Sergeant Eli Smith, Niles; enlisted November 30, I863; absent, sick, at muster out. Nathan Hall, mustered out September 30, 1865. William P. Minnis, mustered out September 30, 1865. Company F. George Vincent, mustered out September 30, I865. Company G. Sergeant William Powers, Niles, enlisted October 28, 1863; mustered out September 30, I865. Sergeant Harrison Johnson, Niles, enlisted December 26, I863; mustered out September 30, I865. Corporal John Lett, Sodus, enlisted January 2, I864; died of disease in Southern Carolina, June 24, 1865. Corporal Benjamin F. Coleman, Sodus, enlisted January 24, 1864; died of disease in New York, January 6, I865. Corporal Miner Rivers, Niles, enlisted HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY II7 January 24, 1864; mustered out September 30, 1865. William Buchanan, mustered out September 30, I865. Benjamin J. Cozzens, mustered out September 30, 1865. Joseph Dickinson, mustered out SeptemMay 26, I865. Andrew Farmer, discharged for wounds May, 26, 1865. Lewis Gibney, mustered out September 30, 1865. Washington Gibney, mustered out September 30, I865. Ashberry Hackley, mustered out September 30, I865. Marcellus Hackley, mustered out September 30, I865. Edward Hicks, mustered out September 30, I865. Needham Miller, mustered out September 30, I865. Samuel McLean, mustered out September 30, 1865. George W. Patterson, mustered out September 30, I865. John Stephens, mustered out September 30. I865. Company H. Corporal George Jackson, Chikaming; enlisted December 31, 1863; mustered out September 30, I865. Thomas Buck, mustered out September 30, i865. Stephen A. Douglass; mustered out September 30, I865. George H. Hicks, mustered out September 30, I865. Willis Littleton, mustered out September 30, I865. Jacob Steele, mustered out September 30, i865. Benjamin A. Woodruff, mustered out September 30, I865. Company I. Sergeant Edward Finley, Niles; enlisted January 21, I864; mustered out Septembet 30, 1865. Corporal John Wright, Niles, enlisted January 13, 1864; mustered out September 30, 1865. Edwin Crowder, mustered out September 30, 1865. Abram Love, died of disease at Detroit, February 13, I864. William Norman, died of disease in South Carolina, February 4, I865. Company K. William Bailey, absent, sick at muster out. Isaac Horden, mustered out September 30, I865. John Metchum, mustered out September 30, I865. FIRST SHARP SHOOTERS. This regiment was organized in July, 1863. Two of the companies were raised in Berrien county. Company "G," Thomas H. Gaffrey, of Niles, captain, and Company "I," George H. Murdock, of Berrien Springs, captain. For some time it was on duty guarding a camp of rebel prisoners at Camp Douglass. In February, I864, it went into active service in the field with the Army of the Potomac. On May sixth or seventh it was engaged in the great battle of the Wilderness, and on May ninth and tenth and twelfth at Spottsylvania in which its losses were killed and wounded one hundred and fifty-one. "For gallant services at this battle as well as during the campaign before Richmond," Captain George H. Murdock, of Berrien Springs, was brevetted Major United States volunteers. At the terrible engagement before Petersburg on June seventeenth and eighteenth, 1864, the regiment especially distinguished itself in charging Ii8 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY and taking the enemy's work, repelling the army in two successive charges and taking eighty-six prisoners. The loss of the regiment in these two days were seventyseven killed and wounded and eighty-four missing. Captain Gaffney, of Niles, was killed. Ira L. Evans, of Niles, first lieutenant of Company E, was brevetted Major of United States volunteers for "gallant and meritorious services" in this assault. Upon the final capture of Petersburg on April 3, I865, the First Michigan Sharp Shooters were in the advance and the first regiment to enter the city, under the command of Major Ira L. Evans, of Niles, originally first lieutenant of Company E. This regiment was one of the best in the service. Its losses in killed and wounded and death by disease were two hundred and sixty-three. It was in numerous engagements of which the following were the most important: 1864 Wilderness, Po River, Spottsylvania, Ox Ford, North Anna, Siege of Petersburg, Hatcher's Run. I865 Fort Stedman, Fort McGilvery, Capture of Petersburg. FIRST SHARP SHGOTERS. Company A. Captain Ira L. Evans, Niles; commissioned June I9, I864; brevetted major United States Volunteers, December 2, 1864, "for gallant and meritorious services in the assault before Petersburg." First Lieutenant Daniel C. Gore, Niles; commissioned December 9, 1864; mustered out July 28, I865. Company E. First Lieutenant Ira L. Evans, Niles; commissioned April I6, I863; promoted to captain Company A. Corporal Jacob Barnhardt, Berrien; enlisted January 3, 1863; discharged for disability, October, 14, I864. Corporal Daniel C. Gore, Berrien; enlisted January 30, I863; promoted to first lieutenant Company A. Musician John Jones, Berrien; enlisted December 29, 863; promoted to principal musician December I, I864. Wagoner Edward Terwilliger, Berrien; enlisted January 12, I863; mustered out July 28, I865. Luke D. Hatch, mustered out of Veteran Reserve corps, August I, I865. Joseph Nichols, died of wounds at Portsmouth, September 8, 1864. Isaac Odell, mustered out July 28, I865. Wilson Ryan, died in Andersonville prison-pen, September I, I864. Oscar E. Thompson, discharged for disability, March 22, 1864. Charles M. Wheeler, transferred to Ninth Indiana Volunteers, January, I864. Company G. Captain Thomas H. Gaffney, Niles, commissioned August 8, I863; died of wounds received at Petersburg, June I7, 1864. Sergeant Robert Farrell, Berrien Springs; enlisted June 20, 1863; promoted to first lieutenant, Company H, December 27, 1864. Sergeant Juhn Unrah, Galien; enlisted July 2, 1863; mustered out May 25, I865. Corporal Horace B. Seeley, Niles; enlisted June 27, I863; mustered out May 25, I865. Corporal Stephen Teeter, Galien; enlisted July 15, I863; died of disease, September IO, 1864. Corporal James Jones; Niles; enlisted June 6, I863; died in battle at Wilderness, May 6, I864. Corporal George J. Davis, Weesaw; enlisted August I, I863; mustered out Veteran's Reserve Corps, November 20, 1865. Musician P. B. Bostwick, Niles; enlisted June I, 1863; mustered out July 28, 1865. Wagoner Charles A. Knoll, Weesaw, HISTORY OF BI enlisted June 25, 1863; mustered out July 28, I865. Sylvester Berry, discharged for disability, September 27, I864. Nelson E. Brayman, mustered out July 28, 1865. Dennis Broderick, mustered out July 28, I865. John H. Countryman, mustered out of Veteran's Reserve Corps, July 28, 1865. Edward Corey, mustered out July 28, I865. Noah Cain, died of disease August I7, I864. Simon E. Davis, died of disease August 17, 1864. Jairus Davidson, mustered out July 28, I865. Israel R. Dalrymple, discharged March 9, 1865. John Harvey, died of disease at Chicago, December 3, I863. John Hanover, discharged for disability December IO, 1864. Charles Huntstable, mustered out July 28, i865. John Knoll, mustered out July 28, 1865. Samuel McArthur, died of disease at Chicago, November 26, I863. John McCann, mustered out July 28, I865. Lewis Mathews, mustered out Veteran's Reserve Corps, March 18, I865. George W. Morris, mustered out August 18, i865. Abram Norris, discharged April 7, 1864. Munford A. Potter, mustered out July 28, I865. Jerome Paddock, died of disease, July 6, I864. Robert B. Ready, discharged for disability, December 29, 1865. William A. Roby, mustered out July 28, 1865. M. F. Reed, mustered out July 28, I865. Rossiter Sanford, mustered out July 28, I865. ~RRIEN COUNTY I 9 Albert Shedd, died in battle at Spottssylvania May 12, I864. Alvah Thayer, mustered out July 28, I865. John Wallace, discharged May 12, I865. William Wiseman, died of disease, Aprit I0, I864. Joseph Wilson, died in action near Petersburg, June 17, I864. Company I. Captain George H. Murdock, Berrierr Springs; commissioned October I, 1863; wounded in action before Petersburg, JuneI7, I864; promoted to brevet major United States Volunteers, December 2,. I864, for gallant services in the battle of Spottsylvania and during the campaign before Richmond; resigned December 6, I864 -William B. Andrews, mustered out July 28, i865. Louis P. Boulford, mustered out July 28, I865. William Cassell, mustered out July 23, I865. Andrew J. Davis, mustered out July 28, 1865. Myron Fox, mustered out July 28, I865-. Austin Harmon, died of disease at Chicago, December 22, 1863. Benjamin Long, mustered out July 28, I865. Henry Miller, discharged for promotion in United States C. T., June I2, 1865. James M. Walton, mustered out July 28, I865. FIRST MICHIGAN CAVALRY. "With foam and with dust the black charger was, gray; By the flash of his eye, and his nostril's play,_ He seemed to the whole great army to say, I have brought you Sheridan all the way, From Winchester down, to save the day." -T. B. REAR. About forty men from Berrien county belonged to this regiment, which was raised ? I20 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY in the summer of I86I, and rendezvoused 'at Detroit. It left for the seat of war September 29, I86I, under the command of Colonel T. F. Broadhead. It was soon engaged in active service in Virginia and was engaged in the second battle of Bull Run, August 30th, when Colonel Broadhead was mortally wounded. In the latter part of June, 1864, it became a part of the famous Iron Brigade composed of Michigan regiments under the command of General Custer. A short account of the services of this brigade is contained in the chapter on the Seventh Michigan Cavalry. At the battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863, this regiment met and charged Wade Hampton's legion, defeating it, with a heavy loss however of ninety-one men killed and wounded out of three hundred who went into action. In March, I864, the brigade became a part of General Sheridan's Cavalry Corps and was engaged in the great battle of the Wilderness, which lasted two days, and in the battle of Winchester, where Sheridan arriving on the scene of battle, as the troops were retreating, re-formed the battalions and won a memorable victory. The gallantry of the regiment in this action was conspicuous. The subsequent history of the regiment is that of the Iron Brigade. It was mustered out March io, I866, in Utah, where it did garrison duty against the Indians, after the close of the war. It was in the following important engagements, besides many lesser ones. 1862 Winchester, Middletown, Strasburg, Cedar Mountain, Bull Run. 1863 Gettysburg. x864 Yellow Tavern, near Richmond, Winchester, Trevilian Station, Cedar Creek. x865 Five Forks, Sailor's Creek. FIRST MICHIGAN CAVALRY. Company B. Isaac R. Johnson, mustered out December 5, I865. Company C. John Carrier, mustered out December 5, I865. Albert H. Waters, mustered out March IO, I866. Company D. Anthony Trombly, mustered out March Io, I866. Company E. Samuel Nolan, mustered out December 5, 1865. Theodore Parmelee, mustered out August 8, I865. P. K. Sampson, mustered out March Io, I866. Company F. 25, Mark A. Aiken, mustered out March I866. John Abbott, mustered out July I5, I865. Charles Hagerman, mustered out May I I, 865. Charles Pennell, mustered out March 25, I866. Company H. Shadrach Cole, mustered out December 5, i865. Company K. Robert Diamond, died of disease. John W. Hatfield, mustered out November 30, I865. James H. Leland, discharged by order, June 5, I865. Charles Wilson, discharged by order, June 7, I865. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 121 Company M. Second Lieutenant Richard H. Van Atta, Watervliet; commissioned November 12, 1862; sergeant; corporal, August 20, I86I; resigned March 24, I865. Alonzo Bullock, died of disease at Strasburg, Virginia, April 2, I862. Harrison Branch, discharged for disability, February 2, I862. Theodore A. Barnum, discharged at end of service, August 22, 1864. Francis Barclay, discharged at end of service, August 22, I864. Solomon Brummer, discharged by order, May I7, I865. Peter Baldwin, veteran, enlisted December 21, 1863; mustered out August 7, 1865. Henry Beachman, mustered out December 5, I865. Harrison H. Cole, discharged at end of service. August 22, 1864. Alfred Cook, discharged at end of service, September 24, I864. John C. Cleland, missing in action at Buck's AMills, October I9, I863. Oscar W. Elliott. veteran, enlisted December 2I. I863; mustered out November 24, I865. Joseph HI. Fisher, mustered out November 24, T865. Micalh W. Grimes, died of wounds, September 2, I864. W. R. Hopkins, mustered out July Io, 1865. Wilbur Moore, mustered out December 5, I865. George W. Miles, discharged by order, May I5, I865. Edward O'Donnell, mustered out December 5, I865. Simon Shrickengast, mustered out December 5, I865. George W. Walcott, discharged at end of service, September 6, I864. SECOND MICHIGAN CAVALRY. This famous regiment was organized in the fall of I86I, with its rendezvous at Grand Rapids. Company L was raised at Niles. Its first colonel was Gordon Granger, afterward a distinguished major general in the Union services. It left its rendezvous at Kalamazoo, November 14, I86I, for me seat of war. The history of this second regiment is especially interesting from the fact that the command of this regiment was the starting point in the brilliant career of the greatest cavalry officer of the war, General Philip Sheridan, who was never defeated in all the numerous battles in which he was in command of the Union forces. On May 25, I862, he was appointed colonel of the regiment. Until this time, although in the service of the government in various capacities, he had not been in the field. It was then determined that his true place was in active engagement on the field of battle. He assumed command at once, and in a few days he was with his regiment and at once went into active engagements with the enemy. The regiment was organized, as General Sheridan's regiments generally were, so as to fight as cavalry or infantrv, as might be needed. It was armed with sabres, Colts' revolving rifles and pistols, and was practically a regiment of cavalry and sharp shooters. On July I, 1862, the rebel general, Chalmers, with a force of seven thousand mounted men, was signally defeated by the Second Michigan Cavalry and the Second Iowa under the command of Colonel Sheridan. This was one of the brightest minor victories of the war and Colonel Sheridan was promoted at once to the rank of brigadier general. The regiment, however, continued in his brigade till General Sheridan was promoted to a division commander in October, I862 122 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY In resigning his command to accept the appointment as general, Sheridan highly complimented the regiment. The regiment for a long time, belonged to the First Brigade, First Cavalry Division, Army of the Cumberland. It took part in the great battles of Chickamauga, Franklin and Nashville. In an official communication to Colonel Campbell, in April, I864, W. L. Elliott, chief of the cavalry forces in the Army of the Cumberland, in giving some directions as to further equipment, adds"Having known the regiment since its organization and having had it under my command, I can testify to its gallantry and endurance. The state may well be proud of the regiment." It was almost constantly in active service and some engagement during the year I864 and 1865, operating mainly in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. It was mustered out at Macon, Georgia, August 17, I865. Its losses in killed, wounded and death by disease was three hundred and thirty-eight. This regiment was in about seventy different engagements with the enemy. It is impracticable to name only the most important. In I862, New Madrid, Island No. Io, Missouri, Siege of Corinth, Boonville, Mississippi, Perryville, Kentucky, Milton, Columbia Pike, Duck River, Shelbyville, Chickamaugua, Dandridge, Mossy Creek, Pigeon River, Franklin, Nashville, Richland Creek, Rorinth, Capture of Tuscaloosa. SECOND CAVALRY. Company L. Captain Bazaleel P. Wells, Niles;. commissioned August 24, I86I; mustered out October 22, 1864. Captain Richard F. Williams, Niles; commissioned October 22, I864; Second Lieutenant, March I, 1864; sergeant; mustered out August I7, I865. First Lieutenant Andrew J. Foster, Niles; commissioned August 24, I86I; resigned August 31, 1862. First Lieutenant John Hutton, Niles; commissioned September 9, I862; Secoid Lieutenant, September 2, 86 I; resigned April 9, I864. Second Lieutenant Joseph N. Stevens, Niles; commissioned April I5, 863; First Sergeant; August 24, I86I; mustered out October 22, I864. Sergeant Robert S. Longreel, Niles; enlisted September 7, I86I; promoted to Second Lieutenant; mustered out August 17, I865. Sergeant William H. Wynne, Niles; enlisted September 14, 86 I; veteran, January 5, I864; promoted to Second Lieutenant; mustered out August 17, I865. Mark A. P. Chipman, Niles; enlisted September 7, I86I; discharged April 12, 1863. William H. Barnhouse, Niles; enlisted September 14, 1861; discharged at end of service, October 22, 1864. John Lamoure, Niles; enlisted September 7, I86I; veteran, January 4, I864; mustered out August 17, I865. Corporal Frank H. Cross, Niles; enlisted September I3, I86I; discharged at end of service, October 22, 1864. Orville D. Carlisle, Niles; enlisted September 17, I86I; discharged for disability, November 4, I862. Ira Hagerty, Niles; enlisted September 6, 186I; discharged at end of service, October 22, I864. James Schram, Niles; enlisted September 14, I86I; sergeant; discharged at end of service, October 22, 1864. Farrier Freeman Hitchcock, Niles; enlisted September I I, I86; discharged at end of service, October 22, I864. John Armsburgh, mustered out August 17, I865. John Bee, died July I, 1862, of wounds received at Farmington, Mississippi. HISTORY OF BE Harrison L. Baxter, mustered out February i6, I866. Henry D. Benson, discharged at end of service, October 28, I864. Ransom Birdsall, discharged at end of service, October 28, I864. Ashley Carlisle, discharged at end of service, October 28, I864. David E. Cook, mustered out December 5, 1865. Nelson WV. Corwin, died of disease at Farmington, Mississippi, July 22, 1862. Getson Clark, died of disease at Rienzi, Mississippi, August 6, 1862. John B. Cisney, discharged for disability, October 3, I862. Nelson WV. Crippen, discharged for disability, December 22, I862. Herman Chapman, mustered out May 24, I865. Augustus Conrad, mustered out August I7, 1865. James Dewitt, discharged for disability, July 14, 1862. James Dunn, discharged at end of service, October 28, 1864. William H. Dodge, discharged for disability, December 4, I863. Delos Ellis, discharged at end of service, October 28, I864. Charles W. Granger, discharged for disability, July i6, 1862. Hamilton McKean, mustered out December 5, 1865. Orrin Wray, died in battle at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1863. Edward Holister, discharged for disability, November 27, I862. Jacob Hand, veteran, enlisted January 8, I864; drowned in Sopsie river, Alabama, April i6, I865. Albert W. Hayward, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, February I5, I865. Charles Hudson, veteran, enlisted January 8, I864; mustered out August 17, I865. Charles Kennicott, discharged for disability, September 15, 1862. RRIEN COUNTY 123 William Kelley, discharged at end of service, October 28, I864. Joseph M. Lester, discharged at end of service, October 28, 1864. Civilian S. Lee, mustered out August 17, I865. Frank Maxwell, mustered out June 19, I865. Chester Niles, discharged for disability, July 15, I862. Benjamin F. Rugg, discharged for disability, July I6, I862. Franklin B. Rice, veteran, enlisted January 5, 864; discharged by order, July 4, i865. Loren A. Rice, mustered out August 17, I865. Edgar Sanford, discharged for disability, October 20, 1862. Marvin E. Scott, discharged for disability, May 14, I862. John W. Stone, discharged for disability, May I4, 1862. Franklin Stevens, discharged at end of service, October 28, 1864. George S. Schram, discharged at end of service, October 28, 1864. Frank J. Stevens, died of wounds at Thompson's Station, March 4, 1863. Colonel I. Stephens, died of disease at Nashville, December 29, I864. George Smith, veteran, enlisted January 5, I864; mustered out August 17, I865. George Shear, veteran, enlisted January 5, 1864; mustered out August 17, I865. Aylmer Taggart, discharged for disability, October io, 1862. Anthony Turner, discharged at end of service, October 28, I865. Charles Valleau, veteran, enlisted January 5, I864; mustered out August 17, I865. Cornelius Young, discharged for disability, August 9, 1862. THIRD MICHIGAN CAVALRY. Company L of this regiment was raised by Captain Thomas H. Botham, in the sum 124 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY mer of I861, at St. Joseph. Captain Kellogg was the first colonel of the regiment. It rendezvoused at Grand Rapids, and left for the field November 28, I86I, joining the army of General Pope, near New Madrid, Missouri. It participated in the captuure of that place, and of Island No. io. It then took an active part in the advance of the General Halleck's army on Corinth. It shortly after entered upon the campaign of General Grant in Mississippi and served under General Rosecrans. For heroic services at Iuka, Mississippi, the regiment received the special thanks of General Rosecrans. In his report of the battle, in referring to this regiment, he says: "For courage, efficiency and successful combats, I do not believe they have any superiors. In our advance on Iuka, and during the action, they ably performed their duty." For gallant services at Clifton, Mississippi, the regiment received the special thanks of the chief of cavalry. At Wyatt's Ford, the second brigade of cavalry in a severe engagement defeated General Forrest with a force of three thousand. In March, I863, the regiment was reorganized, and was sent to points west of the Mississippi when General Sherman assumed command of the military division of the southwest. It joined the expedition to Texas, marching from Baton Rouge, Louisianna, to San Antonio, Texas. It was mustered out of service February 15, I866, at San Antonio. The regiment during its service captured over two thousand prisoners and marched ten thousand eight hundred miles. Its loss in killed, wounded and death by disease was four hundred and fourteen. It was in many engagements, only the most important of which can be named. { In 1862 New Madrid, Island No. io, Farmington, Siege of Corinth, Iuka, Hatchie, Hudsonville, Holly Springs, Oxford, Coffeeville. In 1863 Brownsville, Jackson, Wyatt's Ford, Byhalia. Grenada, THIRD CAVALRY. Non-Commissioned Staff. Sergeant Major William B. Philips, Niles; promoted to second lieutenant; died of disease in Missouri, March 25, I862. Quartermaster Sergeant Aaron Rowe, St. Joseph; enlisted September 20, i86I; discharged for disability, April 27, 1862. Company L. Captain Thomas H. Botham, St. Joseph; commissioned September i8, i86i; resigned June I8, I862. First Lieutenant Monroe G. Carlton, St. Joseph; commissioned September I8, i86I; promoted to captain; resigned June i8, 1862. Second Lieutenant Harvey L. Drew, Niles; commissioned August 13, I862; promoted to first lieutenant, Company M, December 20, I862; resigned November I4, I864. Second Lieutenant Samuel W. Boyle, St. Joseph; commissioned November 4, I864; transferred to Company D, promoted to first lieutenant, October 17, I865; mustered out February 12, I866. Sergeant Cornelius Williams, St. Joseph; enlisted September 21, i86i; discharged for disability, December I6, I862. Sergeant Theoph. Hardenbrook, Oronoko; enlisted September 21, i86i; veteran, January I9, I864; discharged by order, September 12, I865. Sergeant William I. Barber, Berrien; enlisted September 20, i86i; veteran, January 19, I864; discharged for disability, January 19, 1865. Sergeant Thomas Mackay, Hagar; enlisted September 22, 1861; discharged by order, January 15, 1863. Corporal Mike Galvin, Niles; enlisted September 20, i86i; discharged at end of service, October 24, 1864. HISTORY OF BE] Corporal Patrick Daly, St. Joseph; enlisted September 23, 1861; discharged for disability, April I9, 1864. Corporal Nelson Patterson, Sodus; enlisted September 20, I86I; veteran, January I9, 1864; mustered out February 12, 1866. Corporal Lewis Seymoir, St. Joseph; enlisted September I8, i86i; discharged for disability, April 7, 1863. Corporal Edward R. Foster, St. Joseph; enlisted September 22, 1861; died of disease at Macon, Georgia, August 14, I862. Corporal Jesse Jones, St. Joseph; enlisted September 22, 1861; discharged for disability, January 14, 1863. Musician Andrew J. Acker, Buchanan; enlisted September 39', i86I; discharged at end of service, October 24, 1864. Musician Leander McDougal, Sodus; enlisted September 20, I86i; discharged for disability, June 15, 1862. Farrier Robert Badgely, St. Joseph; enlisted September 18, I86I; died of disease in Missouri, March 26, 1862. Alonzo Avery, died of disease at Cincinnati, Ohio, June I8, 1862. Joseph Boudin, died of disease in Tennessee, May 31, I862. Stephen Bailey, veteran, enlisted February 2, 1864; died of disease in Aarkansas, November 4, 1864. Orrin F. Boyle, discharged for disability, October, 1862. Lacey Brant, discharged for disability, September 25, I863. Andrew Bassford,.veteran, enlisted January I9, 1864; mustered out February I2, i866. George M. Brant, veteran, enlisted January I9, 1864; mustered out February 12, I866. S. W. Bayless, veteran, enlisted January I9, I864; mustered out February 12, I866. Andrew D. Barnum, veteran, enlisted February 2, I864; mustered out February 12, i866. RRIEN COUNTY 125 William Blakesley, mustered out February I2, i866. Nicholas Bartling, mustered out February 12, i866. Charles D. Case, veteran, enlisted January 19, 1864; mustered out November 4, I865. Ezra Dowell, discharged for disability, October 15, 1862. George J. Davis, discharged for disability, October I7, 1862. James Drake, discharged for disability, April 8, 1863. Louis Eckhardt, mustered out February 12, I866. William Freund, mustered out February 12, i866. Philetus Farr, veteran, enlisted January 19, I864; mustered out February 12, i866. Antoine Geraw, mustered out September I, I865. Orlando S. Gans, discharged for disability, April 12, 1862. Louis Grabfetter, discharged for disability, November 2I, I865. John Graw, died of disease at Sodus, Michigan, August i6, 1864. Jesse Hodges, died of disease at St. Louis, Mo., March 26, 1862. Francis M. Hardenbrook, discharged for disability, August I, 1862. John Heath, discharged for disability, January 30, 1863. Henry Hanmer, veteran, enlisted February 2, 1864; mustered out February 12, i866. Henry Hoffman, veteran, enlisted February 2, 1864; mustered out February 12, I866. Henry Hedrick, veteran, enlisted February 2, 1864; mustered out February 12, I866. Asahel I. Howard, mustered out February 12, I865. F. B. Hardenbrook, veteran, enlisted February 2, 1864; mustered out February 12, i866. I26 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Lewis W. Jones, veteran, enlisted January I9, I864; mustered out February 12, i866. Lewis Lamb, veteran, enlisted February 2, I864; mustered out February 12, i866. George W. McCormick, veteran, enlisted January I9, 1864; mustered out February 12, I866. John McLellan, veteran, enlisted January I9, 1864; mustered out February 12, i866. John E. Madison, mustered out February 12, I866. Henry Mellen, died of disease at New Madrid, Missouri, April 9, I862. Charles W. Morse, died of disease at St. Joseph, Michigan, June I6, I862. Patrick Mahan, died of disease at Cincinnati, Ohio, June 13, I862. Albert Nichols, mustered out February 12, I866. John Proper, veteran, enlisted January 19, 1864; mustered out February 12, I866. Joseph Prickett, veteran, enlisted January I9, 1864; mustered out February 12, I866. Henry C. Plumb, mustered out February 12, I866. Michael Pollock, mustered out February I2, I866. Franklin Ryther, died of wounds in Alabama, July 21, I862. Maurice T. Root, discharged for disability, October 24, I862. Charles D. Roome, discharged for disability, January 15, I863. Abram Rosey, veteran, enlisted January I9, I864; mustered out April 26, i866. Joseph Rosey, veteran, enlisted January 19, 1864; mustered out February 12, i866. Jacob Rehl, veteran, enlisted February 2, I864; mustered out February 12, i866. David O. Ramsey, veteran; enlisted January I9, 1864; mustered out February 12, I866. Lewis B. Ruble, veteran, enlisted Janu ary 20, I864; mustered out February 12, i866. Perry W. Roome, veteran, enlisted January I9, 1864; mustered out February 12, I866. William Ritchie, veteran, enlisted February 2, I864; mustered out February 12, I866. Elmer L. Ritchie, mustered out February 12, i866. Orrin Roath, discharged at end of service, October 24, 1864. Charles D. Stoddard, discharged for disability, February I6, 1862. William B. Smith, discharged at end of service, October 24, I864. Josiah Simons, died of disease at Duvall's Bluff, August 21, 1864. Jacob Spielman, died of disease in Texas, August Ii, I865. John Stouffer, veteran, enlisted January 20, 1864; mustered out February I2, I866. Gottfried Siefert, veteran, enlisted February 2, 1864; mustered out February 12, i866. Solomon Safford, veteran, enlisted January 19, 1864; mustered out February 12, I866. Adoniram Strickland, veteran, enlisted January 20, 1864; mustered out February 12, I866. Winson Simson, mustered out February 12, i866. John Stearns, mustered out February 12, I866. John G. Stingee, mustered out February 12, I866. Francis Versaw, veteran, enlisted January I9, I864; mustered out November 4, 1865. Delos Vinton, veteran, enlisted January I9, I864; mustered out February 12, i866. James Vanderbeck, mustered out February 12, I866. Philander E. Webbs, mustered out February 12, I866. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I27 John P. Wood, mustered out February 12, i866. Christopher Williams, mustered out February 12, I866. Alfred D. Williams, missing in action at Duvall's Bluff, Arkansas, June 22, I864. FOURTH MICHIGAN CAVALRY. "A new Thermopylae we found, On Chickamauga's bloody ground; And in that rugged mountain pass, He stood our true Leonidas, The Rock of Chickamauga." This regiment became famous for the capture of Jefferson Davis, together with several confederate officers at Irwinsville, Georgia, May o1, I865, by a detachment under Lieutenant Colonel Pritchard. It was organized in July, 1862, at Detroit. About fifty men were from Berrien county, mainly in Company M, Robert Minty, of Detroit, was colonel. Emory M. Plimpton was first captain of Company M. The regiment was first engaged in service in Kentucky and Tennessee, and was soon assigned to the Army of the Cumberland. It took a prominent part in the great battle of Chickamauga, especially distinguishing itself at that famous battle in support of General Thomas, "the Rock of Chickamauga." At the battle of Stone River, Minty's brigade alone captured one hundred and ninty-two prisoners. It also took a prominent part in the great battle of Chattanooga. The Fourth Regiment composed a part of General Kilpatrick's force while on his celebrated raid around the rebel army then defending Atlanta. At Shelbyville, Minty's brigade which was composed of the Fourth United States, Seventh Pennsylvania, and Fourth Michigan Cavalry captured six hundred prisoners. On May 20, I865, the second division to which Minty's brigade belonged captured the force of General' Howell Cobb, consisting of about two thousand four hundred men and officers. Early in May, I865, Colonel Pritchard left Macon with four hundred and fifty men of his regiment to capture Jefferson Davis for which a reward of one hundred thousand dollars was offered. Davis was discovered about daybreak while attempting to escape from a tent, disguised in a woman's waterproof with a shawl on his head and a pail in one hand. The first persons to detect this movement and arrest the party were James F. Bullard, of Paw Paw, and General Munger, although they did not know who the person was at the time. The regiment was mustered out at Nashville, July I, I865. The total loss was three hundred and seventy-five. A full and complete history of this regiment is contained in "Michigan in the War." This regiment was in over one hundred engagements. Only a few of the more important ones can be mentioned: I862 1863 1864 Franklin, Lavergne, Stone River. Middleton, Shelbyville, Chickamauga. Kingston, Lattimer's Mill, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Stone Mountain, Jonesboro.,FOURTH MICHIGAN CAVALRY Non-Commissioned Staff. Sergeant Major Virgil M. Jones, Niles; commissioned February 23, 1863; promoted to second lieutenant, Company E, March 3I, IS63; discharged for disability, August 27, 1864. Company A. George W. Call, mustered out August 15, I865. Albert Killing, mustered out August 15, 1865. John Peterbaugh, died of disease at Nashville, Tennessee, April 8, I864. Otis Shaw, mustered out August 15, I865. 128 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Company B. Enoch Woodbridge, mustered out August I5, I865. Company C. Daniel V. Brown, discharged by order, May 4, I865. Company I. Second Lieutenant Aaron Rowe, Niles; commissioned August 13, I862; resigned September 20, I864. First Sergeant Virgil M. Jones, Niles; enlisted August 4, I862; promoted to sergeant major. Sergeant Andrey S. Pennell, Niles; enlisted August 6, 1862; discharged for disability, January I, I863. Sergeant George W. Collins, Benton; enlisted August 6, 1862; mustered out July I, 1865. Sergeant John H. Phinney, Benton, enlisted August 9, 1862; discharged by order, May 26, I865. Sergeant Daniel C. Bickford, Niles, enlisted August 4, 1862; discharged for disability, March 26, 1863. Sergeant Edwin McOmber, Niles, enlisted August 5, 1862; discharged for disability, January 17, I863. Edward B. Griffith, Niles, enlisted August 6, 1862; mustered out July I, 1865. Sergeant Reuben A. Ray, Niles, enlisted August 6, I862; discharged for disability, July I, 1865. Homer E. Atkins, died of disease at Nashville, February 24, I865. Charles C. Branch, died of disease at Murfreesboro, May II, I863. Seymour Boyer, discharged for disability, May 5, I863. Albert Brooks, mustered out July I, I865. Barton J. Curtis, discharged for disability, January 14, I863. Isaac Curry, discharged for disability, April 22, I863. Charles E. Durham, discharged for disability, April 22, 1863. Thomas Douglas, died of disease at Coloma, Michigan, April, I864. James Edmonds, discharged for disability, June 24, I863. J. M. Edwards, discharged for disability July 28, 1864. B. V. Fasha, discharged for disability, September 21, I864. Jared N. Gray, discharged by order, May IO, I865. Watson Gray, mustered out July I, I865. William B. Greene, died of wounds, December 17, I862, at Nashville, Tennessee. Henry E. Gibney, transferred to Veteran's Reserve Corps, April 30, 1864. Nelson J. Gobney, transferred to Veteran's Reserve Corps, January 15, 1864. Jaffrey Godfrey, mustered out July I, I865. Bartlett Huntover, mustered out July I, I865. Samuel Harris, mustered out July I, I865. Henry Hammond, transferred to Veteran's Reserve Corps, April 30, 1864. S. C. Irwin, discharged for disability, January I5, 1863. Charles S. Lincoln, discharged for disability, December, 6, I862. Peter S. Ludwig, transferred to Veteran's Reserve Corps, April 15, 1864. Orville McKean, died of disease at Nashville, Tennessee, December 8, I862. C. McComber, discharged for disability, February 22, I863. W. W. Mattice, discharged for disability, May II, 1863. George N. Marshall, missing in action in Georgia, August I9, I864. Elisha Martindale, mustered out July i, I865. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I29 Andrew B. Norris, died of disease at Nashville, May, 1864. Roland Osgood, mustered out July I, I865. Austin L. Smith, mustered out July I, I865. Walker Smith, mustered out July I, I865. John Silver, died of disease at Chattanooga, December I8, 1862. SEVENTH MICHIGAN CAVALRY. About ninety members of this regiment came from Berrien county, mainly in Companies A and B. Two battalions, including these two companies left Grand Rapids, the rendezvous, for the seat of war, in Virginia, on February 20, 1863. The Third Battalion joined them in May. The regiment was at once assigned to the famous Michigan cavalry brigade commanded first by General Kilpatrick and subsequently by General Custer, who became its commander June 30, 1863. The great military reputation which General Custer subsequently attained, was acquired mainly while he was in command of the Michigan cavalry brigade. This brigade was composed of the following Michigan cavalry regiments; First, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh. The history of the brigade is practically the history of the Seventh regiment. All of these regiments took an active part.in the battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863. On the nineteenth of September, 1864, when Sheridan made his famous ride from Winchester, "twenty miles away," and retrieved the fortunes of the day, all these regiments joined in the final charge, and this brigade alone captured over seven hundred prisoners and seven battle flags. General Custer in his official report, says: "Among those in advance, my personal attention was attracted to Colonel Stagg commanding First Michigan, Colonel Brewer, commanding Seventh Michigan, 9 also Captain Warner of the same regiment, (Captain Linus F. Warner was from Royalton in this county and was promoted to a major in October following. He was after the war, sheriff of this county for two terms). Colonel Kidd, commanding Sixth Michigan and Colonel Hastings commanding Fifth Michigan. Each of these officers led his regiment with most commendable valor." The loss of the seventh regiment in this battle was eighty-one. In the latter part of I864 it became a part of General Sheridan's force on his celebrated march to the James river. From this time it was actively engaged with the enemy, till the surrender of Lee at Appomattox, having participated in the capture of General Ewell's corps with six thousand prisoners at Sailor's Creek, April 6. After the close of the war, the regiment was ordered to cross the plains and operate against the hostile Indians. Most of the regiment was mustered out at Fort Leavenworth, November I, I866. Being engaged with Custer as commander, first of the regiment and then of the brigade, and in General Sheridan's army in its triumphal march toward the close of the war, it was necessarily engaged in numerous engagements, and received the repeated compliments of commanding officers. It is only necessary to name a few of the most important engagements: 1863 Hanover, Va., Gettysburg, Pa., Brandy Station, James City. 1864 Near Richmond, Winchester, Opequan, Winchester 2d. 1865 Five Forks, Sailor's Creek, Va., Willow Creek, Dakotah. SEVENTH MICHIGAN CAVALRY. Field and Staff. Major Alexander Walker, Niles; commanding captain, October 15, 1862; pro 130 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY moted to major, February 24, I864; discharged for disability, November 28, I864. Major Linus F. Warner, Royalton; commissioned captain, October 15, 1862; promoted to major, October I2, 1864; mustered out, first cavalry, March 27, I866; Adjutant Charles 0. Pratt, Niles; commissioned March 28, I864; promoted to captain, December 12, I865; mustered out as adjutant, December 15, I865. Non-Commissioned Staff. Quartermaster Sergeant Charles 0. Pratt, Niles; enlisted September 8, 1862; promoted to first lieutenant and adjutant. Quartermaster Sergeant William W. Brown, Saint Joseph, enlisted November I, 1864; mustered out December I, 1865. Company A. Sergeant Edwin D. Cook, Pipestone, enlisted September 15, 1862; promoted to second lieutenant, May 24, I865; mustered out as sergeant, December 15, I865. Sergeant Edward R. Havens, Buchanan, enlisted September 12, 1862; promoted to second lieutenant, May 24, 1865; mustered out as second lieutenant, December I5, I865. Sergeant William H. O'Brien, Berrien; enlisted September 5, I862; died in Andersonville prison, September I3, I864. Sergeant Edward S. Lang, Niles; enlisted September 22, I862; died in rebel prison, Richmond, Virginia, February i, I864. Corporal Harvey S. Reynolds, Berrien, enlisted September 8, I862; taken prisoner; discharged by order, July 5, I865. Corporal William S. Graham, Niles; enlisted September 8, I862; mustered out Deember i5, I865. John Alexander, transferred to first cavalry; mustered out March 27, i866. Eli J. Briney, lmustered out December 15, I865. Edward J. Brickell died of disease at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, August Io, 1863. George Bridleman, died of disease at Grand Rapids, Michigan, October 19, 1862. Madison Cox, mustered out of veteran's reserve corps, October I3, I865. Calvin Chester, mustered out December I5, I865. David Fulton, died of disease at Saint Louis, June 15, 1865. C. Hollis, discharged for disability, October I7, I863. Alexander Lowrey, died of disease in Ohio, February 14, I863. E. S. Lenney, died of disease at Annapolis, Maryland, June, I864. Oliver Marcott, died of disease. N. Matchitt, died in action at Trevillian, Virginia, May I, 1864. George B. Matchitt, mustered out December 15, I865. Charles Malcolm, mustered out June 7, 1865. Allen C. Parks, missing in action at Cedar Creek, Virginia, August 2, I863. A. L. Reims, discharged for disability, October I7, I863. Michael Shrowder, died of disease at Alexandria, Virginia, August 2, I863. John H. Stead, mustered out December 15, I865. Spencer N. Sparks, from Veteran's Reserve Corps, mustered out October 13, I865, Cornelius Sparks, transferred to first cavalry; mustered out March Io, I866. James Trumbull, died of disease at convalescent camp. George W. Vosburg, mustered out December I5, 1865. Company B. Captain Linus F. Warner, Royalton; commissioned October I5, I862; promoted to major, October I2, I864. Second Lieutenant James C. Boughton, St. Joseph; commissioned October 15, 1862; resigned June 26, I865. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 13t First Sergeant Riley A. Gregg, Royalton; enlisted August 30, 1862; promoted to second lieutenant, Company M, October 23, 864. Sergeant Ira Enos, Benton; enlisted August 29, I862; discharged by order, August I8, 1863. Sergeant Kellogg B. Martindale, St. Joseph; enlisted September 29, I862; mustered out December 15, I865. James Barney, from Veteran's Reserve Corps, mustered out June 29, I865. James Burnett, mustered out December 15, I865. John J. Burrows, mustered out June 20, I865. John Boughton, mustered out June 3, 1865. Norman H. Badger, mustered out December I5, I865. George Birdsay, missing in action at Trevillian, Virginia, June I, I864. Jacob Chant, missing in action and gained no other record. James Conley, mustered out December 15, 1865. John Drake, discharged for disability. William H. Erick, transferred to first cavalry; mustered out March io, I866. John S. Hagan, died of disease, December 8, I862. George Hartsell, died in Andersonville prison pen, April 2, 1864. James Haskins, died of wounds in field hospital, April 7, I865. Isaac Hess, mustered out May 23, I865. William Hawthorne, mustered out December 15, I865. Caleb L. Hatch, transferred to First Cavalry; mustered out March IO, I866. Hamilton Hicks, missing in action at Richmond, Virginia, March I, I864. Ebenezer Jakeway, died in Andersonville prison, July I8, 1864. Henry H. Keller, died in hospital of wounds, June 25, I864. Joseph H. Miller, mustered out June 27, I865. Lewis P. McBride, mustered out December I5, I865. Arthur N. Napier, mustered out August 22, I865. Edwin J. Philips, missing in action near Richmond, Virginia, March I, I864. Josiah Safford, died of disease at Grand Rapids, Michigan, February I5, I863. Mickle Smith, transferred to veteran's reserve corps, April Io, I864. Charles Stevenson, mustered out December 15, I865. William H. Stevens, transferred to first cavalry; mustered out March io, I866. Frederick Scott, transferred to First Cavalry; mustered out March IO, I866. Francis H. VanPelt, died of disease in Virginia, April 24, I863. Joseph F. Whitaker, died in Andersonville prison pen, April 2, 1864. Samuel Whitmore, mustered out December I5, I865. Company C. George B. Griffith, mustered out December i5, I865. Henry Parmenter, mustered out December r5, i865. Adam Sinn, mustered out December 15, 1865. Company D. Charles Grisler, died of disease at Washington, D. C. Wesley Griffith, mustered out December 15, I865. Company E. Joseph C. Cassidy, mustered out December, 15, I865. Company H. William Covert, mustered out July I7, I865. ( I32 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Company I. Second Lieutenant Edward R. Havens, Buchanan; commissioned June 25, I865; mustered out December I5, I865. Thomas McIntyre, mustered out Jutne 7, I865. Company L. George W. Riley, mustered out December 8, I865. Jasper Abbe, mustered out Decemb-rl 8, 1865. ELEVENTH MICHIGAN CAVALRY. There were about sixty members of this regiment from Berrien county. This regiment left for the seat of war in December, I863. In the summer of I864, it came in collision with General Morgan's forces twice and defeated them each time. In January, I865, it marched with General Stoneman on his famous raid in Virginia. In March, I865, it joined the army of General Stoneman on his expedition to North Carolina. This force at Salisbury, North Carolina, captured eighteen hundred prisoners and twenty-two pieces of artillery. It was mustered out at Nashville, September 22, i865. The regiment received the highest praise of General Stoneman for their heroic services at various points, especially at Sandy Mountain, October 3 and 4, I864, and at Marion, Virginia, December I8, 1864. The regiment on its various expeditions, destroyed immense amounts of Confederate property and captured thousands of prisoners. Its losses amounted to one hundred and forty-two. It was in many engagements, the principal of which were: 1864 Hazel Green, Lexington, Cynthiana, Mt. Sterling, Point Burnside, Big Sandy Mountain, Marion, Arlington, Saltville. I865 Salisbury, Ashville. ELEVENTH MICHIGAN CAVALRY. Field and Staff. Adjutant Manley S. Rowley, Niles; enlisted September I, 1863; mustered out August Io, 1865. Company A. Edward Frazer, mustered out June I6, I865. Charles H. Fanow, mustered out September 22, 1865. Company I. Sergeant Joel Turner, Watervliet, discharged for disability, April 13, I863. Joseph O'Keefe, mustered out July I7, I865. Company K. Captain George M. Wells, Niles; commissioned August I, 1863; transferred to Eighth Cavalry; mustered out September 22, I865. Second Lieutenant Charles H. Palmer,. Niles; commissioned June I, 1864; sergeant October 20, 1863; transferred to Eighth Cavalry; mustered out September 22, 1865. Quartermaster Sergeant F. M. Cottrell, Buchanan; enlisted September 25, I863; discharged for disability, January 26, 1865. Commissary Sergeant James E. Goodman, Niles; enlisted October 15, I863; transferred to Eighth Cavalry; promoted to second lieutenant; mustered out first sergeant, September 22, 1865. Sergeant James H. Delano, Niles; enlisted September 21, 1863; transferred to Eighth Cavalry; mustered out September 22, I865. Sergeant Burwell Hickman. Three Oaks; enlisted September 2, 1863; mustered out May 29, I865. Sergeant Benjamin F. Ralph, Niles; en T TT C" '1 - - T > 1- T o 'T ' T? " T) " T f T - T r'X7' Hl-l lU KY Ur 5. listed October 23, I863; transferred to Eighth Cavalry; promoted to captain in United States C. T. Corporal William Martin, North Buffalo; enlisted September 28, 1863; sergeant; transferred to Eighth Cavalry; mustered out September 22, I865. Corporal C. D. H. Trowbridge, Pipestone; enlisted September IO, 1863; transferred to Eighth Cavalry; mustered out September 22, 1865. Corporal William H. Drew, Niles; enlisted November 2, I863; transferred to Invalid Corps; mustered out May I8, 1865. Corporal Thomas S. Stewart, Pipestone, enlisted September 24, I863; sergeant; transferred to Eighth Cavalry; mustered out September 22, 1865. Corporal James McOmber, Niles; enlisted September I7, I863; mustered out June I6, I865. Corporal Henry C. Redding, Niles; enlisted September 8, 1863; sergeant; transferred to Eighth Cavalry; mustered out September 22, I865. Musican William C. Winch, Buchanan; enlisted October I5, 1863; died in action at Saltville, Virginia, October 2, 1864. Farrier Henry L. Beecroft, Niles; enlisted October 23, 1863; transferred to Eighth Cavalry; promoted into United States C. T. John G. Allen, discharged by order July 31, I865. Charles Boyce, transferred to Eighth Cavalry; mustered out June I6, I865. Moses Binniman, transferred to Eighth,Cavalry; mustered out September 22, 1865. James H. Bayes, mustered out June I6, I865. Charles E. Cronkite, transferred to Eighth Cavalry; mustered out September 22, 1865. John B. Culstraw, transferred to Eighth Cavalry; mustered out September 22, 1865. Sullivan Clawson, transferred to Eighth Kl(LN UU UIN Y 133 Cavalry; mustered out September 22, 1865. Charles Dunlap, transferred to Eighth Cavalry; mustered out September 22, I865. Quincy S. Drew, transferred to Eighth Cavalry; mustered out September 22, I865. James A. Donnelly, discharged May 20, I865. H. B. Emerson, discharged by order, July 25, 1865. Gilbert Green, mustered out July 17, 1865. William Henry, transferred to Eighth Cavalry; mustered out. Albert Knappen, missing in action at Saltville, Virginia, October 2, 1864. George Munjoy, mustered out June I6, I865. John McLogan, transferred to Eighth Cavalry; mustered out September 22, 1865. F. Parmeter, transferred to veteran's reserve corps. Frank J. Pennell, transferred to Eighth Cavalry; mustered out September 22, 1865. Oliver T. Philips, transferred to Eighth Cavalry; mustered out September 22, 1865. William H. Summers, transferred to Eighth Cavalry; mustered out September 22, 1865. Harvey Stratton, transferred to Eighth Cavalry, mustered out September 22, 1865. Z. E. Strong, mustered out July 17, I865. Isaac Timmons, transferred to Eighth Cavalry; mustered out September 22, I865. Aloysius Tucker, transferred to Eighth Cavalry; mustered out September 22, 1865. Charles Taggart, died of disease at Detroit, Michigan, March 9, 1864. Aylmer Taggart, transferred to Eighth Cavalry; mustered out September 22, 1865. William C. Webb, transferred to Eighth Cavalry; mustered out October Io, I865. James W. Webber, transferred to Eighth Cavalry; mustered out September 22, I865. Berrien county was represented in other 134 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Michigan regiments, although in smaller numbers. A list of these soldiers is given below. FIRST INFANTRY. Assistant Surgeon Andrew Hobart, Jr., Niles; commissioned August 17, 1861; promoted to surgeon, December IO, I862; mustered out at end of service, October 7, I864. Henry Merikee, Company D; discharged February 7, I862. James P. Clary, Company E; died of wounds, September 12, I862. William H. Cash, Company E; died in action at Jackson, Mississippi, July I I, I863. Otho Cann, Company E; mustered out April 27, I865. Frank Morehouse, Company E; discharged for disability. Ferdinand Marchefke, Company E; veteran, December 31, I863; mustered out July 25, I865. THIRD INFANTRY. Sergeant James W. Rich, Company E; enlisted September 24, 1864; absent, sick, at time of muster out. Randon Keyes, Company E; discharged at end of service, March 2, I866. Melvin A. Wells, Company E; mustered out September 2, I865. SEVENTH INFANTRY. First Lieutenant Stephen Patterson, Company I; commissioned April 20, 1864; died March 29, I865, of wounds received at Spottsylvania, May I4, 1864. EIGHTH INFANTRY. Colonel Frank Graves, Niles; commissioned May I, I863; lieutenant-colonel August I9, I86I; killed in battle at Wilderness, Virginia, May II, I864. George Brown, Company G; discharged by order, June Io, I865. George W. Brown, Company I; discharged by order, September 14, 865. William T. Davis, Company K; mustered out July 30, 1865. TENTH INFANTRY. Charles Quigley, Company G; discharged for disability, December 6, I862. THIRTEENTH INFANTRY. Company B. Lawrence Hand, mustered out July 25, I865. Peter Higgins, mustered out July 25, I865. Company C. Thomas W. Brown, discharged for disability, May 26, I862. Edward A. Johnson, discharged for disability, May 26, I862. Company E. Second Lieutenant Levi Brown, Pokagon; commissioned March I9, I864; veteran, January 18, I864; sergeant; corporal; resigned January, I865. William Morris, mustered out June 8, I865. Leander Tallman, mustered out June 8, 1865. William S. Tallman, mustered out July 25, I865. Company K. William W. Dean, mustered out July 25, I865. FOURTEENTH INFANTRY. Assistant Surgeon Alfred Wyker, Niles; commissioned November, 1862; resigned June I, I863. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I35 SIXTEENTH INFANTRY. Edward Barnard, First Independent Company; mustered out by order, January 18, 1865. Horace Garrison, Company H; mustered out July 8, I865. John W. Redding, Company H; discharged by order, May 12, I865. Joseph White, Company H; mustered out July 8, I865. M. E. Laughlin, Company I; discharged for disability. Alfred I. Conklin, Company K; mustered out July 8, I865. William H. Doane, Company K; mustered out July 8, 1865. Dygert's Sharpshooters (Attached to I6th Inf.) Hoel C. Wright, discharged for disability, October 9, I862. TWENTY-SEVENTH INFANTRY. William W. Chaddore, Company D; mustered out July 26, 1865. Cephas Earl, Company D; died of disease at Annapolis, Maryland, April 7, I865. David Ostrander, Company D; transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, January 15, I864. Elias H. Tood, Company D; died in action before Petersburg, Virginia, July 30, 1864. TWENTY-NINTH INFANTRY. Jesse Olmstead, Company H; mustered out September 6, I865. Charles Smith, Company I; mustered out September 6, I865. THIRTIETH INFANTRY. First Lieutenant and Adjutant Stephen H. Babcock, Niles; commissioned April 17, 1865; second lieutenant, Company A, March i6, I865; sergeant major, November 23, 1864; mustered out June 16, I865. Captain Henry T. Kiimmel, Niles; commissioned November 28, 1864; first lieutenant, Company H, Twelfth Infantry; mustered out June 30, I865. John Campbell, Company B; mustered out June 30, 1865. Matthias Hunner, Company B; died of disease at Detroit, January 4, I865. John H. Wilson, Company B; mustered out June 30, I865. Company H. George O. Bates, Christopher Deltman, Bernard V. Foirshee, Theodore Metzger, Roland Tripp, Isaac Welsh, Louis C. Wolfe, mustered out June 30, 1865. FIFTH CAVALRY. Corporal Allen P. Huggins, Niles; enlisted August I4, I862; discharged for promotion, December I5, 1862. SIXTH CAVALRY. George Cornelia, Company A; transferred to First Cavalry; mustered out March 10, I866. Theophile Gebeau, Company A; mustered out December 8, I865. Scofield Ferrier, Company B; transferred to First Cavalry; mustered out March Io, I866. James Mott, Company G; mustered out June I7, I865. George W. Collins, Company H; transferred to First Cavalry; mustered out March I, I866. Albert H. Waters, Company L; transferred to First Cavalry; mustered out March Io, I866. EIGHTH CAVALRY. Sergeant Major Horace E. WVoodbridge, Buchanan; enlisted July 20, I865; promoted to second lieutenant; mustered out as sergeant, Company M, June o1, I865. 136 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Commissary Sergeant Allen P. Huggins, Niles; promoted to first lieutenant, Company C, May I5, I864; transferred as first lieutenant to Company D, July 20, I865; mustered out September 22, 1865. Second Lieutenant Joseph T. Goodwin, Niles; commissioned July 20, 1865; mustered out September 22, 1865. John C. Horn, Company F; mustered out September 22, 1865. John Philips, Company F; mustered out September 22, I865. Richard Powers, Company H; mustered out September 22, 1865. Joseph Pulaski, Company H; mustered out September 22, 1865. Gottlieb Schroeder, Company H; mustered out September 22, 1865. James Price, Company I; mustered out September 22, I865. Joseph C. Garrison, Company K; died of disease in Tennessee, June 29, I865. Albert Weaver, mustered out July 28, I865. Battery C. Abram Evans, discharged for disability, February 26, I863. Battery D. Andrew E. Ruttan, mustered out August 3, 1865. Battery E. Albert S. Bliss, mustered out August 30, i865. L. W. Dragon, mustered out August 30, I865. John Shook, mustered out August 30, I865. Samuel Simpson, mustered out August 30, I865. Battery L. TENTH CAVALRY. Theodore F. Brown, Company B; mustered out November 9, 1865. Alonzo Burnett, Company B; mustered out November 9, I865. Charles C. Burnett, Company B; mustered out November 9, I865. John Kelly, Company B; mustered out November 9, I865. Lawience Larkins, Company B; mustered out November 9, I865. David McKain, Company B; mustered out August 28, 1865. Daniel Redmond, Company B; mustered out August 28, I865. Addison E. Storrs, Company B; mus. tered out November 20, 1865. FIRST MICHIGAN LIGHT ARTILLERY. Battery A. Burton Prettyman, mustered out July 28, 1865. Archelaus Goddard, mustered out August 30, 1865. David Lyon, died of disease at Knoxville, December 20, I863. Henry Rinker, mustered out August 30, I865. Abram Voorhees, mustered out August 30. 1865. Battery M. Orson O. Bronson, mustered out August I, 1865. Edwin D. Batchelor, mustered out May 6, I865. William F. Hurlburt, mustered out May 6, I865. FOURTEENTH MICHIGAN BATTERY. First Lieutenant James B. Finley, Niles; commissioned July I, I864; mustered out July I, I865. Sergeant David S. Lyon, Buchanan; enlisted March 20, I863; died of disease at Knoxville, December 30, 1863. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I37 Nathan Morlan, died of disease at Washington, April 28, I864. Henry F. Summers, died of disease at Washington, March 3I, 1864. FIRST ENGINEERS AND MECHANICS. Company D. George Scott, discharged by order, June 6, I865. Company F. Addison M. Gustin, mustered out September 22, 1865. Reuben F. Gustin, mustered out September 22, 1865. Berrien county was quite largely represented in the regiments of other states. A list of such soldiers is given below, so far as can be obtained from records accessible. FORTY-SECOND ILLINOIS INFANTRY. Company E. Captain William R. Townsend, Niles; commissioned September 2, 1863; first lieutenant, July 22, 1861; mustered out January 23, 1865. First Lieutenant Edward Hurson, Berrien Springs; commissioned September 2, 1863; second lieutenant May 2, I862; sergeant, July 2, I86i; died May 17, 1864. First Lieutenant Charles Munger, B'errien Springs; commissioned April II, 1865; corporal July 26, I86I; mustered out December I6, I865. Second Lieutenant Byron J. Dart, Berrien Springs; commissioned December I6, 1865; veteran January I, 1864; sergeant; mustered out December 16, 1865. Corporal Christopher Harmon, Berrien Springs; enlisted July 26, I86I; veteran, January I, 864; sergeant; mustered out December I6, 1865. Alanson Dickerson, Berrien Springs; enlisted July 26, I86I; discharged for disability. Comfort P. Estes, Berrien Springs; enlisted July 26, 186I; died in action at Kenesaw mountain, June I8, 1864. Uriah Elliott, Berrien Springs; enlisted September I9, I86I; mustered out December I6, I865. Florimond Evans, Berrien Springs; enlisted September I9, I86I; discharged for wounds, July 28, 1864. John Leaf, St. Joseph; enlisted August 7, I86I; died in Mississippi, July 15, I862. Robert Morony, Berrien Springs; enlisted July 26, I86I; mustered out September 16, I864. Company F. Sergeant Charles Stone, New Buffalo; enlisted July 26, 1861; died at Iuka, Mississippi, September 9, I862. Sergeant Ogden H. Paton, New Buffalo; enlisted July 26, 1861; discharged for disability, July 9, I862. Sergeant David Ledyard, New Buffalo; enlisted July 26, I86I; veteran, January I, I864; mustered out December I6, I865. Corporal Samuel H. Davis, New Buffalo; enlisted July 29, 1861; discharged for disability, December I8, I862. Corporal Charles Duel, New Buffalo; enlisted July 29, 186I; discharged for disability, May 28, I862. Corporal Henry A. Merriman, New Buffalo; enlisted July 26, I86I; discharged for disability, September 22, I862. Corporal John Harmon, New Buffalo; enlisted July 26, I861; veteran, January I, 1864; mustered out December 16, i865. Corporal William H. Bowen, New Buffalo; enlisted August 4, I86I; veteran, January I, I864; mustered out December I6, I865. Reuben Birdsall, New Buffalo; enlisted August 4, I86i; discharged for disability, August 9, I862. 138 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Marion Birdsall, New Buffalo; enlisted August 4, I86I; died at Big Springs, Mississippi, July I5, 1862. George Courser, New Buffalo; enlisted July 26, I86I; veteran, January I, I864; absent, sick, at muster out. Jacob Dingman, New Buffalo; enlisted July 30, 1861; died in battle at Chickamauga, September 20, I863. Charles Lohman, New Buffalo; enlisted July 26, 1861; veteran, January I, 1864; mustered out December I6, 1865. John Lieman, New Buffalo. enlisted July 26, I86I; discharged for disability, February II, I862. Charles Ledyard, New Buffalo; enlisted September 3, I861; mustered out September I6, 1864. Joseph Newman, Buchanan; enlisted August Io, I86I; discharged to enlist in Fourth United States Cavalry, December 3, 1862. Owen Pritchard, New Buffalo; enlisted July 26, I86I; died at Chicago, Illinois, September 14, I862. Stephen E. Randall, New Buffalo; enlisted July 26, i86I; died at Tipton, Missouri, December I8, I86I. William D. Russell, New Buffalo; enlisted July 29, I86I; mustered out September 19, I865. James Scroufe, New Buffalo; enlisted July 30, I86I; died at Camp Baker, Missouri, November 2, I86I. Volney Satterlee, New Buffalo; enlisted July 26, i86i; died at St. Louis, Missouri, February 17, I862. William A. J. Topping, New Buffalo; enlisted July 26, I86I; died at Nashville, Tennessee, January 31, I863. Caleb Topping, New Buffalo; enlisted July 26, I86I; discharged for disability, February 3, I862. Company G. listed July 29, i86i; wounded; mustered out September 16, 1864. Peter Narrow, St. Joseph; enlisted July 29, I86I; veteran, January I, I864; mustered out December I6, I865. Carlton L. Bunker, St. Joseph; enlisted July 29, I86I; mustered out September I6, I864. N. B. Collins, Pipestone; enlisted July 29, i86I; mustered out September I6, 1864. Hiram A. Chapman, Pipestone; enlisted August 4, I86I; discharged for disability, February 7, 1863. Daniel A. Warrell, Watervliet; enlisted August 28, i86i; mustered out September I6, 1864. SIXTH WISCONSIN INFANTRY. Smith Young, enlisted June, I86I; killed at Antietam, September, 1862. Ascher Lane, enlisted June, I86I; promoted sergeant; discharged for disability, December, I86I. John Lane, St. Joseph, enlisted June, I86I; promoted corporal, wounded in action at Antietam; discharged for disability, January, 1863. Burton Miller, veteran, enlisted June, I86I; mustered out June, I865. H. S. Purfield, enlisted June, I86I; died of disease, Cairo, December, 1862. Hiram Whittaker, Berrien county, enlisted June, I86I; killed at Antietam, September, I862. EIGHTY-EIGHTH ILLINOIS. J. C. Anderson, New Buffalo, enlisted August, 1862; mustered out June, I865. James Boyle, New Buffalo, enlisted August, I862; mustered out June, I865. Abram Kelder, New Buffalo, enlisted August, 1862; mustered out June, i865. Seymore Palter, New Buffalo, enlisted August, 1862. Charles E. Rowe, St. Joseph, enlisted August, I862. Sergeant Edward Aiker, Pipestone; en HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I39 THIRTEENTI INDIANA BATTERY (Artillery.) Charles A. Galloway, New Buffalo, enlisted October, I864; mustered out July, 1865. SEVENTY-SECOND ILLINOIS INFANTRY. Jacob Heck, New Buffalo, enlisted August, I862; died at Vicksburg, Mississippi, October I, I864. George Morris, New Buffalo, enlisted August, 1862; mustered out August, I865. SEVENTY-SEVENTH ILLINOIS INFANTRY. Eben Knight, New Buffalo, enlisted August, I862; died July, 1863. THIRTY-NINTH ILLINOIS INFANTRY. W. W. Spencer, Bainbridge, enlisted August, I86; promoted sergeant; died of wound at Philadelphia, July, I864. BAND SECOND BRIGADE, THIRD DIVISION, NINTH ARMY CORPS. Henry Badger, Berrien county, enlisted May I, I863; mustered out December 28, I870. Alfred Bowles, enlisted May, 1863; discharged July, I865. Byron Chapman, enlisted May, 1863; discharged May, 1865. George Claar, Niles, enlisted May, I863; discharged May, 1865. George Fairfield, Niles, enlisted May, 863; discharged May, 1865. J. W. Griffith, Niles, enlisted May, 8I63. Thomas M. Hill, Niles, enlisted May, I863. Charles Richardson, Niles, enlisted May, I863; died of disease, Nicholsville, Kentucky. August, I863. Charles Williams, Niles, enlisted May, I863; discharged May, I865. TWENTY-FIRST INDIANA BATTERY. (Artillery.) C. R. Benton, Niles, enlisted January, S864; mustered out June, I865. AV. H. Benton, Niles, enlisted January, I864; mustered out June, I865. F. M. Lushbaugh, Bertrand, enlisted September, 1861; discharged May, 1863. Philander Pope, Bertrand, enlisted September, I862; died at Nashville, Tennessee, February, I863. FIFTY-SEVENTII ILLINOIS. Ed. J. Brickell, Niles, enlisted January, 1862. SEVENTY-THIRD INDIANA INFANTRY. Stanton Wright, New Buffalo, enlisted August, 1862. Orin Bentley, New Buffalo, enlisted August, I862; mustered out June, 1865. Elihu Bishop, New Buffalo, enlisted August, 1862; mustered out July I, I865. Henry Harrington, New Buffalo, enlisted August, I862; mustered out July I, I865. William McGowan, Buchanan, enlisted August, 1862; discharged for disability, March, I863. John O'Connor, New Buffalo; enlisted August, I862; discharged for disability August, 1864. T. L. Paddock, New Buffalo, enlisted August, I862; discharged April, I863. Jerome Tuttle, New Buffalo, enlisted August, 1862; died at Nashville, November, I862. Allen Vader, New Buffalo, enlisted August, I862; mustered out July, I865. Daniel Vader, New Buffalo, enlisted August, I862; mustered out July, 1865. Stanton Wright, New Buffalo, enlisted August, I862. EIGHTEENTH ILLINOIS INFANTRY. Samuel Trumbly, St. Joseph, enlisted 140 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY February, 1865; mustered out December, I865. TWENTY-THIRD ILLINOIS INFANTRY. Isaiah Copper, Buchanan, enlisted April, 1862; mustered out May, 1865. Isaiah Copper, Buchanan, enlisted, veteran, April, 1862. * Joseph Drawbridge, Buchanan, enlisted April, I862; discharged for disability. J. W. Drawbridge, Buchanan, veteran, enlisted April, I862. J. C. Fletcher, Niles; enlisted April, 1862; promoted second lieutenant February, I863; promoted captain September, I864; resigned February, 1865. J. E. Fletcher, Niles, second lieutenant; captain, September, 1864; resigned February, I865. Joseph Fox, Niles, enlisted April, I862; discharged to join First United States Cavalry. Gideon Rouse, Buchanan, enlisted April, I862. ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SECOND ILLINOIS INFANTRY. David Brown, St. Joseph, enlisted May, I864; mustered out October, I864. Pierre Druedale, St. Joseph, enlisted May, 1864; mustered out October, 1864. Ed. A. McClure, St. Joseph, enlisted May, 1864; mustered out October, 1864. FOURTH ILLINOIS CAVALRY. Simeon Buys, St.. Joseph, enlisted September, 1861; mustered out November, 1864. ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-SEVENTH ILLINOIS INFANTRY. James C. Cartwright, Niles, enlisted February, 1865; mustered out January, 1865. John Highland, Niles, enlisted February, I865; mustered out January, I865. ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHTH INDIANA INFANTRY. John Egan, New Buffalo, enlisted January, I864; mustered out April, I866. Charles Myers, New Buffalo, enlisted December, 1863; mustered out July, I865. John Perkins, New Buffalo, enlisted December, 1863; mustered out June, 1865. ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINTH INDIANA. Charles Fessenhauer, Bertrand, enlisted January, 1864; mustered out August, I865. FORTY-FOURTH ILLINOIS INFANTRY. George G. Patterson, Company B, enlisted September 3, I86I; discharged for disability, March 31, 1863. FORTY-SEVENTH OHIO INFANTRY. Captain William R. Townsend, Niles, commissioned September 2, 1861; mustered out August II, I865. FIFTH UNITED STATES COLORED CAVALRY. Second Lieutenant Henry L. Beecraft, Niles, commissioned August 9, 1864. THIRTEENTH UNITED STATES ARTILLERY, (COLORED TROOPS.) Calvin Hackley, Pipestone, enlisted March 18, 1865. George M. Works, Pipestone, enlisted March I8, I865. TWELFTH UNITED STATES INFANTRY (COLORED TROOPS.) Quartermaster Sergeant Theodore C. Sachse, Niles. ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH UNITED STATES (COLORED TROOPS.) Lieutenant Colonel George H. Laird, St. Joseph, commissioned July 15, 1864. CHAPTER VII NILES CITY. Although the pioneers already mentioned first settled within the present limits of the city of Niles, the plat of the village was not laid out till I829. The village was located most charmingly on the banks of the St. Joseph river which now divides the city into two portions, the larger portion lying on the east side and the smaller portion on the west side of the river. It would be difficult to select a site more picturesque than that here established eighty years ago by the pioneers of Niles. In I828, Ephraim Lacey, Elijah Lacey, Samuel Walling, Isaac Gray, William Justus and A. Thornberry came from Richmond, Indiana, on a tour of inspection through St. Joseph valley, and decided to locate at Niles. In October of that year, Obed P. Lacey, a son of Ephraim, Walling, and Justus brought their families and made a permanent location, bringing with them a stock of goods. A mercantile firm was established under the firm name of Walling & Lacey. The customers whose names appear on their books during the year 1828 are Isaac Shuerts, Samuel Shuerts, Garrett Shuerts, Thomas Thomas, William Justus, Elias Holloway, Lawrence Cavenaugh, William Emmons, William Kirk, Joseph Cruissman, Abram Tietsort, William Huff, John Lybrook, Jacob R. Clawson, Francis Barker, William Wright and Joseph Sim merwell, the last named being in charge of the Carey mission. The books are headed, "St. Joseph." This was the first store established in the St. Joseph valley. Obed P. Lacey acted as postmaster until the regular appointment of Isaac Gray in I830. Isaac Gray came from Richmond, Indiana, in I828, and built a double house, two stories high, of hewn logs, where he kept a store. In I830 he died. His widow, however, conducted the store after his death with great success. The son, William B. Gray, who came with his parents in 1828, afterwards served in the Mexican war as second lieutenant in the First Michigan Infantry. He was the first recorder of the city of Niles, supervisor for several terms, and a justice of the peace for many years before his death, which occurred in I880. His widow, a daughter of David Gephart, who came to Niles in 1836, is now living in Niles with her daughter Kate. Ephraim Lacey and his sons Elijah and David and a daughter Asenath, arrived in Niles on April 29th, I829. They built a log house a short distance north of the mouth of Dowagiac Creek. Mr. Walling in I829 purchased one hundred and ninety acres of land, which included a considerable tract now inside the city limits of Niles. At the same time he purchased for Mr. Justus the land 142 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY upon which the business portion of the city now stands. Justus conveyed all his lands lying south of Main street to Elijah Lacey. The village was laid out by Justus, Walling and the Laceys in I829 and the plat was recorded the same year. The village was designated by Obed Lacey as Niles after the name of the editor of the Niles Register, a Whig newspaper published at Baltimore, which was a favorite journal of Mr. Lacey. The Laceys soon after their arrival began the erection of a saw mill which commenced operation in January, I830. A flour mill was built the same year. Ephraim Lacey was a native of Virgina and his wife a Quakeress. They lived but a few years after their settlement in Niles. Obed P. Lacey became prominent in the early settlement of the county. He was the first register of deeds of the county, in 1831, supervisor of the township and town clerk, and in I843 a member of the Legislature. He became the owner of large tracts of land, now within the corporate limits of the city, but was subjected to severe losses as a result of the failure of the wild cat banks and losing ventures in the purchase and sale of flour. He was a man of strong intellect, a great reader and public spirited. He died in 1844 in his thirty-fourth year. The Niles Republican, in announcing his death, said: "By his spirit and enterprise in a great measure, Niles has been built up into a flourishing village." His wife survived him and subsequently married Hon. Thomas Fitzgerald. She was a French lady whose maiden name was Lucy Pelletier, and a descendant of an old French family who settled in Detroit about the year 1700. Two children of Obed Lacey and wife now live in Niles. Harriet who married Captain Thomas G. Wickham, and Miss Fanny Lacey. Mrs. Wickham was born in Niles in 1834, and is now the oldest native born resident of the place. Elijah Lacey became a prominent figure in the history of the county. He was a delegate to the first constitutional convention in I835, a member of the State Senate in the years I840, 1841 and I86i, president of the village of Niles from I856 to I858 and the first mayor of the city in I859. He was universally respected and honored for his sterling qualities. He died in I862, leaving a widow and four children, Solon and Granville, who were engaged for many years in the coopering business, a daughter Hannah and William K. The three first named children are dead. William K. is now living in the state of Washington, where he removed from Niles about four years ago. He was for many years in the flouring mill business at Niles. Granville and his uncle, David Lacey, were both members of the common council for some time. Solon for many years was chairman of the Republican city committee. Morgan Wilson came in the summer of I829 and erected a tannery. Hiram Chilson came in December and the next year erected a house on the present site of the hardware store of William Platt. This house afterwards became the "council house." In 1829 the Laceys erected a sawmill and during the next year a grist mill. The building of this mill was an important event in western Michigan, as it was a large structure for those days and men came to assist in raising from all the settlements within thirty miles distant. Amanson Huston came to this county in 1828 as an Indian trader and peddler. In May, 1829, he erected the first hotel building in Niles, originally a log house, but shortly afterwards enlarged by a frame addition where the first term of the old county court was held in July, I832, David Olds presiding. Mr. Huston became a colonel in the Black Hawk war and shortly after removed to the southern states. For a time he had charge of a stage line running to Detroit. In I830, his father, Thomas Huston, HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I43 then 62 years old, came from the state of New York with his wife and fourteen children. His son Thomas, while still in his teens, and often on foot, carried the mail between Niles and St. Joseph before any passable road was built. Thomas for some time had charge of the ferry at Niles. He lived in Niles till his death in 1896. His widow is now living at Niles in her eightyseventh year, remarkably well preserved both physically and mentally, still active and acute, her memory and hearing practically unimpaired. She came with her father, Ira R. Perkins to Niles from the state of New York in 1834 and was married to Thomas Huston sixty-five years ago. The sister of Thomas Huston, Melvina, taught school in Niles in 1832. She married David Wilson and with her husband removed to St. Joseph shortly after. Another sister, Clarissa, married Jeremiah Ballard, a prominent citizen and supervisor or Niles township, who died some years ago, at the advanced age of ninety-six years. The only members of the Huston family besides Mrs. Thomas Huston, now living in the county, are Mrs. Ralph Ballard of Niles, and Mrs. Harter of Berrien Centre, grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Huston. In 1830 the following named persons settled in Niles: Eb.r Griswold and Rowland Clark from New York, David and Daniel Wilson from Ohio, Thomas Denniston from Prelble county, Ohio, and Titus B. Willard and Captain Thomas K. Green from New Hampshire. The first bakery was started by Mr. Griswold. The Wilsons established a tannery a short distance off the river. Daniel W\ilson so1on moved to St. Joseph and be-,came captain of the "Matilda Barney," the first steamboat to navigate the river as far as Niles. Captain Green in I830 erected a large house on the site now occupied by the "Michigan Inn." It was shortly afterwards converted into a tavern which became famous and was known as the "Old Diggins." This was the second hotel in the village, the first hotel erected being the "Council House," established by Colonel Olds. Captain Green also built a store the same year. Captain Green's son, Gogswell K. Green, was a lawyer, a prominent man in the early history of the county and a member of the State Legislature in 1836, but returned in a few years to New Hampshire, his native state. Thomas Denniston bought a lot and built a house on the southeast corner of the intersection of Front and Sycamore streets, where he resided from 1830 to the time of his death. He was a cabinet maker by trade and immediately established his business in a log shop on Front street. One of his children, Ezekiel, is now living in Niles. Ezekiel was born in 1827 and was engaged in the planing business for many years, but retired from active business some years since. A daughter, Mrs. Clara Brown, died last October in her seventy-seventh year at Niles. Mr. Ezekiel Denniston is now the oldest resident of the city of Niles, having lived here seventy-six years. In I831 and I832 the following prominent pioneers came to Niles: Jacob Beeson, William B. Beeson, Dr. E. Winslow, George WV. Hoffman, John B. Reddick, Jacob K. Brown and Tolman Wheeler. Jacob Beeson was a native of Pennsylvanit and emigrated in 1829 to St. Joseph where he was engaged in mercantile business. In 1832 he moved to Niles and started a store in a portion of Colonel Huston's tavern. He afterwards formed a partnership in the mercantile business with his brother William and was also engaged in an extensive forwarding and commission business. In 1857 he was appointed custom house collector at Detroit by President Buchanan and removed to that city. In I865 he purchased one hundred and thirteen acres south of the dam at Niles and built a fine residence. In 1867 he sold this farm to the 144 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Water Power Company, and again removed to Detroit. In 1884 he returned to Niles where he died in the following year. He was a man of native strength and ability, and a prominent leader of the Democratic party. William B. Beeson, a brother of Jacob, same to Niles in 183I, and went into partnership with Dr. E. Winslow in the practice of medicine. He shortly afterward formed a partnership with his brother Jacob in the mercantile business, which continued till I849 when William went to California. He returned in 1853 and purchased the stock of Bacon Wheeler and continued in mercantile business till his death in 1872. During this latter period he constructed a fine building at the northeast corner of Front and Main streets, where he conducted an extensive business. He was a member of the State House of Representatives in I859 and president of the village in 1841. He was a man of sterling qualities and highly esteemed by the community. His store for years was the favorite resort of old settlers. Lewis H. Beeson, late mayor of the city of Niles, is a son of William B. Beeson. The widow of William, whose maiden name was Sarah Hess, is living at Grand Rapids. John B. Reddick came from Germany 1 direct to Niles in. 1831, where he engaged in 1 the clothing business. In 1833 he was mar- ] ried to Miss Nancy Emmons, who came from Kentucky in 1832. Mr. Reddick died ] in I868 at Lawrence, Kansas, and his wifei in I886. They had three children, Louise, John L. and William A., who are all now a living. Louise, in I858, married Mahlon A. v Smith, of Coldwater, where she has since p lived. She was born at Niles in 1834 and I is the mother of Carmi R. Smith, the present postmaster of Niles, and former mem- c ber of the legislature. M John L. Reddick was born in I836 and b was engaged for many years in the sale of o lumber, wood, lime, etc., at Niles, doing an a' extensive and profitable business. C William A. Reddick was born in I843 and has been extensively engaged in the manufacture of hardware specialties. Joshua Comley came in 1832 and was employed as a miller. He subsequently purchased a large tract of land in the northeast part of the city upon a portion of which the Garden City Fan Company factory is located. Portions have been sold from time to time, but a considerable tract still remains unsold and is owned by Guy M. La Pierre, a jeweler of Niles, whose father was a grandson of Joshua Comley. Titus B. Willard was the first school teacher in Niles, a justice of the peace and member of the Constitutional convention in 1836. He taught school in 1830. Job Brookfield with a brother Mahlon, came in 1830 from Canada, although natives of New York. Job was a surveyor and was interested in the ferry and at one time owned the "Pavilion," a very imposing structure used as a hotel. This building was situated on the southeast corner of Front and Main streets and was not completed until 1834, although commenced in 1831. In 1832, although only partly constructed, it was used as a barracks by the troops at their rendezvous in Niles during the "Black Hawk" war. The first person to run the hotel was Colonel Daniel Olds. For many years it did an immense business. [n 1864 it was torn down by the owner, Benjamin Frankenburg, and stores were built on the site. Three brothers of Job Brookfield came i few years after his settlement, viz: Edvard, Noah and James. Noah became a prominent surveyor and was postmaster in 849. Benjamin, Moses and Charles Finch ame from the east in I830. A saw mill vas built at the mouth of the Bertrand creek y Mo'ses the same year. The ferry was perated by Benjamin and Moses in 183I nd the "Pavilion" was commenced by ]harles. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I45 In 1831, George W. Hoffmlan brought a stock of goods from New York to St. Joseph. He remained there till July, I832, whenl he and Jacob Beeson came to Niles on foot. He soon removed his stock of goods from St. Joseph to Niles where he located a store. His brother Henry B. HIoffman, then engaged in mercantile business in AMackinac, during the same year removed to Niles and went into partnership with George. Henry B. removed to Davenport, Iowa, in 1853, and George to Detroit in I857, where he died a few years since. The Hoffman family was a military one connected with the regular army. The father, Major William Hoffman made his home at Niles after I839. He was a major in the United States army during the Florida war. He died at Corpus Christi during service in the Mexican war. His son Satterlee was also in the Mexican war, and was killed at the battle of Cherubusco. In 1832 Harry Hall and wife came to Niles with a nephew, John Hatfield, then a child of six years. Mr. Hall was a mason by trade, but removed away a few years after his settlement here. Hatfield remained, adopting the trade of his uncle and has lived in Niles from I832 to the present time. He, is now eighty years of age and has been able to work at his trade at times during the past year. Jacob K. Brown came to Niles in 1832 and was a contractor and builder. Many of the best buildings in Niles at an early day were built by him. He was one of the trustees of the village chosen at the first village election in I838. He died in 1891. Four children are now living in Niles, viz.: William A., Mrs. Thomas Dougan, Mrs. C. E. Fletcher, Mrs. Emma Mahoney. Strother M. Beeson, a brother of Jacob and William Beeson, was a lawyer. He came to Niles in I832 but for some years practiced his profession at South Bend, and was not admitted to the bar in Berrien county till I85o. After his removal to Niles, he 10 1 engaged in other pursuits and accumulated a considerable fortune, consisting mainly of real estate in Iowa and the city of Chicago. He died in I878. He left no children surviving, but a granddaughter, Mrs. Ann Purdy, the only child of his son, William, is now living in the east. Richard P. Barker came about the same time, engaging first in mercantile business and afterward locating about a mile south of the city of Niles, where he built a fine and commodious residence on the bank of the river. He was a member of the legislature in I847. HIe was for years a leader in the Democratic party. William Dougan, a builder and contractor, came to Niles in I832. He subsequently married Ann Gray, the daughter of Isaac Gray, a merchant, who came in I830. Mr. Dougan and J. K. Brown constructed most of the best buildings erected in Niles at an early day. Mr. Dougan died in 1849 and his widow in I898. A son, Dr. William T. Dougan, a prominent physician and a former mayor of Niles, is now living in Niles. Dr. Tolman Wheeler came to Niles about 1832, but removed to St. Joseph in 1835, and is referred to in the chapter on that town. Dr. Erasmus Winslow engaged in the mercantile business at first but subsequently practiced his profession. He was the first president of the village and a member of the state constitutional convention of I835. He moved to Peru, Illinois, in I843. Among those who came about the same time were Jasper Mason, Harrison W. Griswold, Ezekiel Redding, J. F. Porter and Henry Heath. Mason, a native of New York, was a merchant and president of the village in 1846. He died in I848. Griswold was a native of Vermont, and was engaged in the grocery and bakery business. He removed to Iowa. Redding was a native of Virginia and was engaged in the furniture business. 14-6 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Porter moved to St. Joseph shortly after his settlement at Niles, and was a partner of Tolman Wheeler in a forwarding and commission business. A brother of Tolman Wheeler, Bacon Wheeler, was one of the earliest settlers of Niles, coming in 183I. He became one of the most prominent merchants in the place and was a man of fine address and native strength of character. He removed to Chicago in 1853. He was one of the organizers of the Presbyterian church in Niles. In I833, Nathaniel Bacon, a graduate of Union College, came to Niles from Rochester, New York. He purchased four hundred acres of land lying a mile east of the present city of Niles, intending to turn his attention to agricultural pursuits. In I834 he concluded to open a law office and soon secured an extensive practice. He was an able and learned lawyer, although he lived on his farm till his death in I869. He was probate judge in I837. In I855 he was elected circuit judge of the second judicial circuit of the state, then comprising four counties. In I857 he was again elected and served for six years. In I866 he was again elected and served till his death. He was a model judge of great natural dignity. He was the father of Joseph Bacon, an attorney and real estate agent of Niles, who died in I882, and of Colonel Edward Bacon, elsewhere referred to. The following children of Judge Bacon are now living: Fred N. Bacon, an attorney of St. Louis, Missouri, and the author of a leading work on the "Law of Benefit Societies"; Mrs. Hannah Field, of San Francisco, California; Mrs. Lizzie Dobbin, of Faribault, Minnesota; Nathaniel Bacon, Jr., of Chicago, and Emily Hoppin, of Yolo, California. Nathaniel H. Bacon, who is practicing law at Niles, is the son of Joseph Bacon. Judge Bacon was in politics a Republican and religiously an active member and elder of the Presbyterian church. In 1834 and 1835 the following named persons who became prominent business men came to Niles. J. C. Larimore, Dr. J. K. Finley, R. W. Landon, Alfred Johnson, Martin Cleland, Benjamin G. Collins, Alexander Collins, Moses Davis, Dr. James Lewis, James L. Glenn, Vincent L. Bradford, John G. Bond, Major William Graves, Joseph Mansfield, Captain Henry Coolidge and Harmon D. Gallup. Mr. Larimore came to Niles from Steubenville, Ohio, in I834. He was engaged in the dry goods business till I838, when he opened up a drug store at the southwest corner of the intersection of Main and Second streets. He was a man of great strength of character, of liberal education and took a lead in all the activities of the place, business, religious and political. For many years he was president of the Citizens' National Bank and an officer in nearly all the leading corporate industries of Niles. He was postmaster under the administration of President Harrison from 1841 to I845. Mr. Larimore had several children, one of whom, Emma, married Francis M. Gray, former mayor of Niles, and is living at Niles. In politics, Mr. Larimore was first a Whig and then a Republican. He was elder of the Presbyterian church almost from its formation. Dr. J. K. Finley, in I835, came from Chilicothe, Ohio, where he had practiced his profession. He was a professor of chemistry and natural history in Dickinson College, Pennsylvania, for five years. He was a man of learning and scientific attainments, and soon obtained an extensive practice. He was president of the village in I855. He removed to Pittsburg in I855, but returned to Niles in I864, where he lived till his death in I885. He was universally esteemed for his sterling qualities. He left surviving him three children, Samuel M., Margaret and Theodore. The two former are dead. Theodore is editing a paper in HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I47 Greenville, Texas. In politics, Dr. Finley was a Republican, in religion an active member of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Landon came from Connecticut, and was first employed as a clerk in the warehouse of Wheeler & Porter. H-e became one of the most prominent men in the county. He was postmaster in I838. In 1842 he was elected county treasurer and held the office ten years. He was a member of the state senate in 1863, and mayor of the city four terms. He was an extensive dealer in real estate, and at one time the largest land owner in Berrien county, being the owner of several thousands of acres of land in Lake township alone. His first wife was Margaret Gray, the daughter of Isaac Gray. After her death, he married for his second wife, Miss Linda Vought, who survived her husband and has been for several years the librarian of the State Agricultural College at Lansing. A son, Lucius H. Landon, who for several years was extensively engaged in tle manufacture of tin plate, but who has retired from business, is now living in Niles. Another son, Worth, was recorder of the city for several years. He made a model recorder in every respect. It was his custom to keep a blackboard hung up in the council rooms, with a detailed statement written out, for every session of the council, showing exactly what amount of money was on hand in every fund, what had been appropriated and what expended. The aldermen, in this way, had no excuse for ignorance of the financial condition of the city, and of the amount which they could legally appropriate for any given purpose. In I834 Martin Cleland, a native of New York, came to Niles, where he resided two years. He then removed to a farm in Bertrand township where he lived till I858 when he returned to Niles. He then engaged with his sons in the manufacture of fanning mills and safes. His son, Andrew J. Cleland, who came with his father to Niles in I834, is now residing in Niles in his eighty-fourth year, well preserved in mind and body. In I862, Andrew purchased the fanning mill business and for many years conducted an extensive mnanufactory of fanning mills, safes and other agricultural implements. He was for several years a memlber of the common council and prominently connected with the political and business life of the city. He is one of the oldest settlers of the county now living. Harmon D. Gallup, in 1834, came to Niles with his mother, Eunice Gallup, from Ohio. They remained here but a short 'time and located on a farm in Howard township, Cass county. In 1863, Mr. Gallup moved to Niles and went into the grocery business. lie was a prominent member of the Baptist church. He died several years ago. Edgar H. Gallup, the proprietor of the music store in Niles, is a son. George Dougan, a native of Ireland and a carpenter by trade, came to Niles in I835. The late George W. Dougan, a prominent merchant and at one time mayor of the city, was a son. Another son, Thomas, a con'tractor and builder, is now living in Niles. James W. Griffin came from New York in I834 and settled in Niles, but shortly after moved west. Two nephews, Samuel and Robert, located in Cass county at an early date and subsequently moved to Niles, Robert locating upon a farm about one mile southwest of Niles, and Samuel going into the dry goods business in the city. Colonel T. Griffin, who was a gallant officer in the Nineteenth regiment during the Civil war and killed at the battle of Golgotha, was a son of Samuel and the father of E. C. Griffin, a prominent druggist in Niles. \ dlaughter of Samuel, Mrs. Lucy Finley, and a daughter of Robert, Mrs. Laura Wilbur, now reside in Niles. Vincent L. Bradford, a lative of Philadelphia and a graduate of Princeton, came to Niles in 1835. He was a very able lawyer and an accomplished gentleman. He was a member of the state senate in 1838-39, 148 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY where he won distinction. In I843 he returned to Philadelphia and for a long time stood at the head of the bar in that city. He died several years since at an advanced age. The Collins brothers, Benjamin, John, William and Alexander J., came with their mother from Delaware in I834. Of this family, Alexander J. is now living at St. Joseph, in his eighty-seventh year, with his son, Eden D. Collins, a boot and shoe merchant. Until the past year he has been quite well and active, having served on juries in the circuit court within the past two years. He resided at Niles till 1843, then removed to St. Joseph. He went to California in I849, returned to Niles in 1852 and in 1867 went again to St. Joseph, where he has since lived. He is a man of intelligence and his memory is still acute. Most of his active life was spent in the boot and shoe business, which he learned at Lynn, Massachusetts, where he was an apprentice for twov years. He is now one of the very few pioneers residing in the county who came here at so early a date. An older brother, Benjamin, shortly after his arrival at Niles, opened a boot and shoe store, employing at one time twelve shoe-makers. In 1851, he commenced the manufacture of brick. He died several years since, leaving a son, William B., who is now living at Grand Rapids, Michigan. Another brother, John, purchased a farm near Niles and made farming his occupation. He died some years ago. A sister, Mrs. George N. Bond, is now living in her eighty-ninth year, with a daughter in Chicago. During this year, William Graves was placed in charge of the western half of the "Western Stage Company," and removed to Niles from Detroit, to assume his new duties. Major Graves was a native of New Hampshire. He was elected secretary of the state of Michigan in I852, was mayor of the city of Niles for two terms and treasurer for four terms. His son Frank, was a colonel of the Eighth Michigan Regiment during the Civil war, and was killed in the battle of the Wilderness, in I864, while leading a charge against the enemy. Major Graves himself died in I88o. He was a man of great natural dignity and commanding presence. Major Graves' daughter Belle was married to Henry A. Morrow, a distinguished Union general during the war, to whom reference has been made in the chapter on "Berrien County in the Civil War." Mrs. Morrow is living with one of her children at San Francisco, California. Moses Davis came from Lafayette, Indiana, on foot and alone in I834. He engaged in the business of manufacturing pumps which he continued for about forty years. He laid out an addition in west Niles in I865. He died about twenty years ago. In 1834, Alfred Johnson, a native of Vermont and a contractor and builder came to Niles on foot from his native state. In 1836, he built a house in which he lived till his death, fifty-five years later. This house is still standing and is probably the oldest building in Niles. At the first village election, he was chosen one of the trustees. In 1837 he married Desire Howe, daughter of Frederic Howe. Of their eight children the following are now living: John F., Richard M., Frank M., Estelle, Mrs. Kimmel, Helen I., who married Captain John A. Montague; Mrs. Orson McKay and Charles A. Alfred Johnson died in I889 and his widow in I894. Mrs. Montague and Mrs. Kimmel are now residing in Niles. Dr. James Lewis came from New York in 1835 and purchased of Hiram Chilson a lot on the northwest corner of the intersection of Main and Second streets for eight hundred dollars. In I839 the Arcade building was erected of brick. This building is now owned and occupied by the Southern Michigan Railway Company (interurban), and is one of the oldest brick struc r' HENRY CHAPIN. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I49 tures in Niles. Dr. Lewis, by his will, devised this property to the American Missionary Association, which conveyed it to the Interurban Company. Dr. Lewis during his active life was mostly engaged in the drug business. He died many years ago. Colonel James L. Glenn came from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Niles in I835. He removed to Beardsley Prairie, Cass county, shortly after, where he resided twelve years. He was sheriff of Cass county and member of the legislature. He was a civil engineer by profession and in 1847 surveyed and laid out the capital city at Lansing, and was assistant superintendent of the Sault Ste. Marie canal. He died in I875 at Niles. He was a man of ability and old fashioned courtesy. In I834, John G. Bond came from Lockport, New York. He was a native of New Hampshire, but removed to western New York in 18I5 and became one of the founders of Lockport. He was one of the county judges of Niagara county, New York, and was always known in Niles as "Judge Bond." He was a genial and polite gentleman of the old school, and an entertaining conversationalist. The distinguished Swedish novelist, Frederica Bremer, in her volume on travels in this country, in 1844, speaks of meeting Judge Bond and makes reference to his polite manners and conversational powers. His two sons, George N. Bond and Henry Bond, who came with him, bought property in Niles and laid out the addition known as Bond's Addition. George N. Bond was for several years a supervisor. A daughter of Henry Bond, Caroline, lives in Niles and for some years has been a teacher in the public schools. The two brothers, George N. and Henry, died many years ago. Joseph Mansfield came from Ticonderoga, New York, in April, I835. He was a dentist, skilled and learned in his trade, and established a large practice. In I866 he re moved to a farm in Benton township where he died in I88o. His son Henry, who is a teacher by profession, and a daughter, Mrs. Asa Hamilton, both reside in Niles. Captain Henry Coolidge, a native of Massachusetts, came to Niles in I835. For many years he was a sailor. Shortly after his arrival at Niles he purchased the Carey mission farm from the government, and tore down twenty-seven buildings, consisting mainly of log cabins, which had once been occupied by the teachers and employes of the mission. Captain Coolidge in the thirties purchased the steamboat "Matilda Barney" of the owners, William Beeson and Erasmus Winslow, and ran it for some time on the river. At one time he owned all the flouring mills in the county. He died many years ago. A daughter, Sally, who married Robert Gephart, is now living at Niles, and is still active and vigorous in her seventy-ninth year. Her recollection of the early life of Niles is still vivid. Robert Gephart was a son of Daniel Gephart, who came to Niles in 1836, and for a time kept a hotel. Robert was engaged for many years in mercantile business. Another son, Henry Gephart, was a captain in the Twelfth Regiment during the Civil war, and prominent in local affairs. For many years before his death he lived on a farm about a mile northeast of Niles. The following named persons came to Niles in 1836: Benjamin F. Fish, William G. Ferson, Henry A. Chapin, George S. Babcock, Royal T. Twombly, Jacob Geltmacher and Rodney C. Paine, Dr. Stillman Richardson, Charles Jewett and William Hurd. Rodney C. Paine was born in Connecticut in I806. In I837 he removed to St. Joseph where he had charge of a branch of the Farmers' & Mechanics' Bank. In 1842, he returned to Niles where he soon established a private bank which did an immense business, and which he conducted until his I5o HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY death in 1873. He was elected county treasurer in I836, was state senator in I855, president of the village from 1848 to I854 and mayor of the city in 1873, the year of his death. He was prominently connected with educational work and was director of the Union school district continuously for nearly twenty years. He was a man of culture and intellectual ability, and of sterling integrity. Although somewhat aristocratic in his bearing, he was kind and accommodating to poor as well as rich and was universally esteemed by the people of Niles. He may be regarded as the principal factor in placing the schools of Niles in the front rank. He was a prominent and consistent member of the Episcopal church. He was originally a Whig but upon the dissolution of that party, became a Democrat. He was never, however, a bitter partisan and was somewhat independent in his choice of candidates for local office. He had ten children, only one of whom is now living, Frederic William, engaged in the banking business at Duluth, Minnesota. Dr. Stillman Richardson, a native of New York, came to Niles in I836. Here he practiced his profession till his death in I875. He was a skillful physician and had an immense practice. He had a rough exterior and extremely brusque manners, but was kind hearted. He made no attempt to collect from his patients and the result was that he (died poor. His friends, after his death, erected a monument to his memory in Silver Brook cemetery. His wife was a leading spirit in church, temipe rance and charitable work. William G. Ferson, a native of Massachusetts, located in Niles in I836, and at first purchased goods in New York City which he sold to merchants in Niles. In 1838 he went into partnership in the mercantile business with Bacon Wheeler. He shortly after carried on a store at Berrien Springs for a few years. Returning to Niles, he opened up a dry goods store which he carried on for many years. He died several years ago at an advanced age. He was a man of iron constitution, although small of stature, and was actively engaged in business till a short time b-efore his death. His widow Caroline (Coan) is now living in Niles. Three children of Mr. Ferson are now living, Margaret, who married Theodore Finley, now of Greenville, Texas; Jennie, who married Professor S. E. Miller, of Michigan City, Indiana, and Nettie Beiger, of Mishawaka, Indiana. Mr. Ferson was an active member and elder of the Presbyterian church and prominent in the social and business interests of the place for sixty years. Charles Jewett, a native of Vermontt, a lawyer and a graduate of Middlebury College, became a resident of Niles in 1836. He was appointed district attorney the same year and served till 1845. He was county judge from 1848 to 1852 and probate judge from I86o to I864. Two children survive, Irwin of Kansas City, Missouri, a prominent railroad official, and Ada, who married William E. Jones, of St. Louis, also a prominent railroad official. Royal T. Twombly, a native of Maine, who had been a sailor on the ocean, came to Niles the same year (1836) and becamne a piominent dry goods mnerchant. He was state senator in 1853, and mayor of the city in I877. He was a jovial man and fond of practical jokes. In 1878 he moved to Texas, where he (lied some years since. Henry A. Chapin and his wife Ruby, came from Ohio to Niles in I836, but removed almost immediately to Edwardsburg', Cass county, where Mr. Chapin engaged in the mercantile business. He returned to Niles in 1846 and carried on a heavy dry goods business for about twenty years. He afterwards went into the insurance business with his son Charles.. About the year 1878, mineral lands in the upper peninsula, which he had owned many years, were found to contain large HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I 5 I veins of valuable: iron ore, and these were leased to a company, which at once began to mine and ship the ore. The mine proved to be a very valuable one. Mr. Chapin and his son became the owners of manufacturing industries and other valuable properties, referred to elsewhere in connection with local history. In politics, he was a Republican. In early life he was a Methodist but nearly forty years before his death became a Presbyterian and an elder in tllat church during' most of that time. He was one of the original trustees of the board of education and held the position for several years. He was a man of fine presence, although of simple habits, and of much natural strength of character. He died in I898 in the eighty-seventh year of his age. Mrs. Chapin died in I902. His son, Clarles A. Chapin, in I898 moved to Chicago, where he now resides. Jacob Geltmacher was a native of Virginia. Shortly after he came to Niles, he wenlt into the flouring mill business which lie conducted till the tinme of his death. He was proprietor of the Dacotal mills for many years, and for a time was associated with one of the Laceys in the business. He was mayor of the city in I867. He died many years since. Benjamin F. Fish came to Niles in 1836. He went to Chicago at a very early day and became a member of the Old Settlers' Association of Cook county, Illinois. He resided also in St. Joseph for some years, and was township clerk of St. Joseph in I842. 1-Ie moved subsequently to Niles and was judge of probate from 1856 to I86o. He was engaged in the real estate and insurance business for many years before his death, which occurred in I906. He was in his eighty-seventh year when he died. His widow is now living at Niles. George S. Babcock came from Genesee county, New York, in 1837. He was recorder of the village in I847. In I858 lie renloved to a fine farni in the northeast part of the city, where he died a few years since, at the advanced age of linety-one. He was a typical representative of the pioneer element, strong physically and mnentally. Four children are now living. Miss Pliebe V. Babcock, Mrs. Mary B. Fisher, James M., of Niles, and Stephen H., of Denver, Colorado. James?\M. is the present supervisor of the first ward of Niles city and has held the position for seventeen terms, nine of which have been continuously. George W. Platt was a native of Massachusetts and in 1837 settled in Niles, where he conducted a tin shop. He subsequently went into the hardware and agricultural implenient business, in which his sons, Henry and William E., subsequently became interested. He was a member of the common council for several years and mayor of the city. He was public spirited and connected with many of the manufacturing interests of the city, and a director of tle Citizens' National Bank. He died in 1887. Four children are now10 living, William E., and Alonzo of Niles, Mollie HIall of Chicago, and George, of Benton Harbor. The oldest business carried on at the same site is that of the drug business established by Joseph C. Larimore in 1838, on the corner at the southwest intersection of Main and Second streets. In I848 Henry M. Dean fronm New Jersey, became a clerk in this store andi in I86o a partner with Mr. Larimore. Mr. Dean subsequently became the sole owner of the business and about twenty years ago his son, Fred C., becaime a partner with his father. Henry M. Dean died in I902. He was a man of liberal education and culture, of wide acquaintance and influence and a leader in all the religious, political and business activities of the city. His judgment was sound and his counsel widely sought after. He was mayor of the city in I864 and a mnenber of the board of education for many years. He was an active and consistent member of the Presbyterian church. -152 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY His widow, whose maiden name was Sarah Coan, is now living in Niles. Two sons, Fred C. and Henry M., carry on the drug store, established sixty-eight years ago by Mr. Larimore. The grocery business at the northwest corner of the intersection of Main and Fourth streets has been carried on for nearly sixty years. In I849, Otto Moore came from St. Joseph, and established a grocery at this point. In 1852 he sold out his interest in the business and removed to Chicago, where he carried on an extensive wholesale grocery for twenty years. His stock of goods and residence were burned in the great fire of I873 and the next year he returned to Michigan and purchased a farm about two miles south of the city where he resided till the time of his death. He was a man of genial temperament and of sterling character. His widow and a daughter, Belle, now reside in the city. Mr. Moore was a native of Vermont and came in 1843 to St. Joseph, where he engaged in a mercantile business. Mrs. Moore was a daughter of N. S. Compton, a merchant, who was one of the earliest settlers of Cass county and who removed to St. Joseph about I843. In 1853, John and Edgar Woodruff, natives of New York, established a grocery business at this site. This business was conducted by them in partnership until the death of Edgar and after his death by Johnl till 1897, when the grocery stock was purchased by George B. Winter. In I868, the Woodruffs erected a fine three-story building which is still owned by the heirs of John Woodruff. John was a member of the common council for many years and a man universally esteemed for his sterling qualities. He died in I906, leaving two children surviving, Mrs. Louise Jerome and Miss Helen, who both reside in Niles. William Hurd was a native of New York, who came to Niles in 1836. Soon after his arrival he purchased a large tract of heavily timbered land in section sixteen of Niles township where he built a saw mill and was engaged in the lumbering business for many years. In I857 he moved to these lands, where he lived till his death in I876. He was a man of superior intellect and thoroughly independent, forming and expressing his opinions with little regard to the opinions of others. He was prominently connected with early educational work in Niles and was one of the first trustees of the Union school. He pertinaciously insisted on the purchase of large school grounds, and although he was opposed at first by the majority of the board, finally converted them to his opinion. To his perseverence we owe the selection of ample and beautiful grounds, containing the only natural park which exists in the city. A dalughter, Clara, is now living at Luray, Virginia. The two residents of Niles who have been actively engaged in business the longest are Joseph S. Tuttle and Elijah Murray. Mr. Tuttle, a native of Pennsylvania, came to Niles in I848 and worked at his trade as a currier till I850, when he engaged in the leather and hide business for himself. He has been engaged in this business ever since, but has added to it the fur business. He is in his eighty-first year, but is still active and vigorous and able to carry on an important business, requiring a number of hands. He was for many years a member of theW school board and also a member of the common council. Elijah Murray came to Niles in I85o and in I852 engaged in the business of wagon making. At one time he employed forty-five men, and turned out over one hundred thousand dollars worth of work annually. He had the reputation of doing excellent work and his vehicles were never cheaply or poorly constructed. Lately he has been engaged in the business of repairing wagons and carriages. He is over eighty HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I53 years old, but still actively engaged at his occupation. He was a member of the common council for two terms. The oldest in years of those who have been merchants in Niles and who are still living, is Stephen Moore, who is in his ninety-first year. He emigrated from New York to Kalamazoo in I834, and came to Niles where he engaged in the mercantile business. For many years he carried a heavy stock of dry goods and did a large business. In I866, he retired from mercantile business and laid out an addition in the eastern part of the city, upon a portion of which he now resides with his wife. The oldest physician in the city is Dr. John H. Richardson, although he has not practiced his profession for many years. He was a Virginian by birth and came in I856 to the city of Niles, where he has ever since resided. He has held various offices. He was a member of the common council for several years, recorder for six terms, and also a justice of the peace. His intelligence and courtesy of manners, combined to make him a model official. He is now in his eightieth year. He has been during his residence in Niles an active member of the Episcopal church, often reading the church service. Some reference to the prominent deceased attorneys and physicians not already mentioned is fitting. Joseph N. Chipman, a native of Vermont and a graduate of Middlebury College, came to Niles in I836 and resided in Niles till his death in I870. He was a member of the state senate in I844, prosecuting attorney in 1846 and I848, and a circuit court conmmissioner and a justice of the peace for many years, both of which offices he held at the time of his death. He had a thorough knowledge of the fundamental principles of the common law and made an able justice. He died in I870. A daughter, Laura, is residing at Niles and has been a teacher in the public schools for several years. Franklin Muzzy was a native of Maine and a brilliant lawyer. He was a graduate of Bowdoin College, studied law in the office of Hannibal Hamlin and in 1843 came to Niles, where he took a front rank as an attorney. He was extremely eccentric, and remained a bachelor until hisl death. He was state senator in I858 and mayor of the city for four years. He received the latter position as a reward by the people for an aggressive fight against the Michigan Central Railroad Company. He had remarkable legal acumen and sagacity, was a powerful cross-examiner and had for many years an immense practice. His powers of sarcasm and ridicule were unlimited and these he employed relentlessly and unmercifully. With all these rich endowments which might have brought him high honors in the state and nation, he was too aggressive and vindictive, making bitter enemies in his own party and preventing him from securing those positions which would have gratified his ambition and fulfilled the bright promise of his earlier days. From some cause originating perhaps in early life, he was inclined to be misanthropic. He was originally a Whig, but became a Democrat after the organization of the Republican party. He died in 1878. Mr. Muzzy had many excellent traits of character. He had no love of money, was kind hearted toward the poor, and public-spirited. Edward Bacon was a son of Judge Nathaniel Bacon, and was born in Rochester in I830. He graduated at Michigan University in 1850 and studied law in his father's office. He enlisted in the Sixth Michigan Regiment during the Civil war and became a lieutenant colonel in the service. His mental make-up was eccentric and unique and in some of its phases was indicative of original genius of a high order. His intellect was not logical and he was not a graceful speaker, but any defects in these respects were made up by intuitive perception, great learning, remarkable memory and tireless I54 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY industry. He was especially skilled in real estate law and practice and was largely employed in important cases. His brain was fertile and suggested all the points that could arise in a case, both material and immaterial. He was an accomplished linguist, being able to converse fluently in French, German and Spanish. Outside of his profession, he was fond of philosophic speculation, and his monologues upon this branch of his studies were interesting. He was remarkably amiable in temperament and disposition and universally loved and esteemed by the last generation of lawyers who employed him largely as counsel. He died in I9OI. Originally he was a Democrat, but after the war belonged to no party, with Republican proclivities, however, most of the time. Religiously, he was a Presbyterian. He was city attorney for many years under both Republican and Democratic administrations. His widow, Mrs. Mary Bacon, is now living in Niles. Hiram F. Mather was a native of New York, where he had been a member of the State Senate before coming to Niles. He resided in Niles from 1844 to 1853, when he removed to Chicago. He was an able lawyer, a graceful speaker, a courteous gentleman and highly esteemed. Levi B. Taft came to Niles in 1849 and was elected prosecuting attorney the same year. H-e was a partner of Mr. Mather and a lawyer of ability. He removed from Niles in 1853 and afterwards became a circuit judge in Oakland county. Cyrus Dana was born in Owego, New York, and came to Niles in 1838. te was a man of learning and ability and acquired an extensive practice. He was highly esteemed for his sterling qualities and courteous manners. In politics he was a Whig, in religion a Presbyterian. He died at Niles in 1847. His son, Eugene Dana, is living at Niles. James Brown was a native of New York and a graduate of Union College. He settled in Niles in I838, was judge of probate from 1844 to 1852 and prosecuting attorney from 1845 to I85-. In his prime he was an entertaining speaker, having a fine voice, a good delivery and an excellent conmmand of language. These qualities enabled him to attain quite a practice as a jury lawyer for a time. At the time of his death he had been a justice of the peace for several years. James Sullivan, a native of New Hampshire, in 1838 came to Niles, where he remained three years and then removed to Cass county. He possessed a legal and logical mind of high order and for a time, he ranked as one of the ablest attorneys of southwestern Michigan. His arguments before the court were models of clear cut logic expressed in the choicest legal diction. In later life he was troubled with deafness which seriously interfered with his success as a trial-lawyer. Henry H. Coolidge was a native of Massachusetts and educated by the avails of his own labor, at Amherst College. IHe spent three years at Montreal teaching music and came to Niles in 1836, where he clerked in the dry goods store of George W. Hoffman. He removed in 1837 to Edwardsburg, Cass county, where he studied law with James Sullivan, after having been engaged in teaching and mercantile life. He was prosecuting attorney of Cass county in 1852. He removed to Niles in 1859. In I867 he was elected a member of the state colnstitutional convention, in 1862 prosecutiong attorney and in 1872 circuit judge of the second judicial circuit, a position wvNhich hie held six years. Hie had an immense practice before his election to the 1belch, and was a man of great natural sagacity and force of character. He excelled in the careful l)reparation of his cases before trial and in the examination of witnesses. I-le and his wife both died in 1884, he being seventy-nine years of age and having been actively engage(d in practice till two months before his death. Politically, he was a Republican. Religiously, he was an active member of the HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I55 Presbyterian church, always attending and frequently addressing its devotional meetings lwhen at ho-me. H1e was a teacher in the Sunday school over forty years and a constant student of the Bible. He was fond of all kinds' of sports and innocent amusements. He was a natural mnusician and for many years taught singing schools in the winter evenings. In his earlier days he conversed fluently in the French language, which he learned while teaching among French families at Montreal and he imbibed some of their manners and gestures which he preserved throughout life. Two children are now living, the writer of this sketch and Emily, the wife of Charles A. Chapin of Chicago. A daughter, Helen, died in 1903. George H. Jerome, a native of New York, and a graduate of Hamilton College, came to Niles in 1847, where he practiced his profession till I85I, when he moved to Chicago. In I856, he removed to Iowa City, where he became the proprietor and editor of the Iozc'a City Repiblicans, the leading Republican journal of the state. He was peculiarly adapted for this position and wrote powerful and sparkling editorials. After a few years, he returned to Niles and in 1873 was appointed commissioner of state fisleries. This position he held for many years. He was a brilliant writer and speaker and bubbled over with sparkling wit and repartee, always arousing enthusiasm at his frequent addresses before large gatherings. His first report as fish commissioner attracted general attention, not only for its literary finish and originality, but for its valuable and timely suggestions. He died many years since. David Bacon graduated at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in I852, came to Niles the same year and was admitted to the bar in 1854. In I856, he was elected prosecuting attorney. He was a captain in the Sixth Michigan Regiment during the Civil war, was seriously wounded at the battle: of Baton Rouge and promoted to lieutenantcolonel for meritorious services. On his return from the war he engaged in real estate business and was a justice of the peace for eleven years before his death. He was a man of rare intelligence, excellent judgment and a gentleman of culture and fine address. William J. Gilbert, a native of Vermont and a graduate of Middlebury College, was admitted to the bar in Berrien county in I870 and lived at Niles from that date till his death in I90o. He was recorder two terms, mayor in I898 and I899 and circuit court commissioner for many years. For several years he was a partner of Mr. Muzzy. He was a lawyer of ability, although inclined to pursue the more quiet departments of the profession. He had an extensive office business, due to his sagacity, good judgment and fidelity as a counsellor. A daughter, Julia, now resides in Niles. Theodore G. Beaver was a native of Pennsylvania, who came to Niles in I858 and was admitted to the bar in I868. For some years he was a partner with Mr. Muzzy. He was city recorder in 1864, and twice mayor of the city. He died in September last in his seventy-second year. He was a justice of the peace for several years before his death. He was bright and active and for some years had a considerable practice. He excelled in the careful preparation of pleadings which he studied while in the office of Mr. Muzzy. He was also noted for his attention to dress, always wearing a silk hat and always being neatly and tastily attired. Worth Landon has already been alluded to as a model recorder. He was a son of R. W. Landon, and a graduate of Racine College. He had a fine intellect, and an excellent knowledge of legal principles, but was modest and diffident, and preferred the more quiet departments of the profession. He was recorder for many years and also a justice of the peace. He discharged the duties of i56 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY these offices with great ability, fidelity and conscientiousness. Among the prominent physicians who have practiced in Niles and are now deceased were E. Winslow, Andrew J. Murray, Samuel Niles, E. J. Bonine, Jabez Barron, J. W. Egbert, A. J. Mead, O. P. Horn, Dr. E. M. Reading. Dr. Winslow was the first physician in Niles, settling there in 183I. He formed a partnership the next year with Dr. William P. Beeson, but the latter shortly afterwards abandoned the profession and went into mercantile life. Dr. Winslow removed to Peoria in I840. Dr. A. J. Murray is referred to in connection with Berrien Springs. Dr. Samuel Niles was an eclectic who came from Laporte, Indiana, in I846. He was prominently engaged in educational affairs and in securing the adoption of the common school system in Michigan. He died in I861. Dr. Joel Loomis was also an eclectic and came in 1848. He died in I876. Dr. Jabez Barron, an Englishman, came to Niles in I839, where he practiced about twenty years. A brother, Clement Barron, was a justice of the peace for almost thirty years continuously and was a skillful hunter and taxidermist and for some time maintained a very valuable museum of stuffed birds and animals. A sister, Miriam, is living at Niles. John W. Egbert, the son of one of the oldest settlers of northwestern Indiana, practiced medicine for many years at Niles and had a considerable practice. He died in I892. He devoted himself strictly to his profession. Doctor A. J. Mead first practiced in Chicago and came to Niles in 1862. He had a large practice and was a faithful and devoted physician, beloved by his patients. He was retiring in his manners and devoted himself strictly to his profession. He died in 1883. Dr. O. P. Horn was a Virginian who served in the Confederate army during the Civil war and who came to Niles shortly after the close of the war. Here he engaged in the practice of his profession and married a daughter of Jacob Geltmacher. He was an associate editor of a Democratic journal in Niles for awhile and city treasurer and city physician for a number of years. He died in I894. Dr. Evan J. Bonine was an early settler of Cass county, moving to Cassopolis in 1844, where he secured a large practice. His parents were Quakers. In 1849, he went to California. Returning in 185I, he settled at Vandalia, Cass county. Here he was postmaster and also a member of the legislature. In 1858 he removed to Niles, where he became a prominent figure in political leadership. In 1862 he became surgeon of the Second Michigan Infantry, and for a time he was division surgeon of the Third Division of the Ninth Army Corps. Returning home from the war, he resumed his practice, which became extensive. He was a member of the lower house of the legislature from 1865 to 1869 and in 1875 again a member of the lower house. He was mayor of the city for three terms and postmaster from 1873 to 1885. He was a natural surgeon, a kind and attentive physician, charitable to the poor and extremely popular with all classes. He died in I892. His son, Fred N., is a prominent physician and surgeon now practicing at Niles. For many years Dr. E. J. Bonine was in partnership with Dr. Simeon Belknap, a prominent physician still living at Niles. Dr. E. M. Reading first settled in Edwardsburg, Cass county, and removed to Chicago in I856. Four years later he removed to Niles, where he continued in practice till 1872, when he returned to Chicago. He was a natural physician, remarkably intuitive and skillful in diagnosis and in the detection of symptoms and had a large prac HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I57 tice. In 1869, he built the Reading House, the largest and most imposing business building in the city, at an expense of nearly one hundred thousand dollars. The hotel part is now called the Michigan Inn. He died in I893, leaving two sons, Edgar and Arthur, who are practicing physicians in Chicago. In I848 the Michigan Central Railroad was completed to Niles and was the occasion of grand banquets at each of the principal hotels, at one of which Judge Whipple presided and at the other Judge Bond. A large delegation of the most prominent citizens of Detroit came on to attend the occasion, and Rev. Dr. Duffield, Superintendent Brooks, Judges Whipple and Bond and others made speeches. Niles was the terminus of the railroad for about a year. The period from 1865 to 1872 was one of unexampled prosperity. The population nearly doubled in seven years. The year I868 especially was one of great activity. The building of the dam was begun, the gas works established, the iron bridge constructed, the Reading House, a structure which cost nearly one hundred thousand dollars, erected, a new opera house commenced and several factories started, and a score of three story brick stores were erected of large dimensions. G. A. Colby, a banker, built the imposing residence on the west side, known as "Castle Rest," now owned and occupied by Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Dresden. J. S. Tuttle and G. W. Platt also built handsome edifices. A system of water works was finished in 1879. It was built by a private company and the water was brought from Barren lake, by mains, a distance of about five miles. The ownership of these works was subsequently acquired by Benjamin Schneewind and Benjamin Frankenburg, who still own them, under the management of Captain Daniel Sheehan. The city established a public system of water works in I894. The water is furnished by artesian wells. In I89I, electric lighting was introduced into the city and over sixty arc lights were established for lighting the streets. The lights were furnished by a private company for a few years. In I894 the city purchased the electric plant and has since owned and operated it in connection with the water plant. Both the electric and water systems are under the control of the board of public works. The history of these plants does not probably throw much light on the question of municipal ownership. The present board have instituted some needed reforms and curtailed expenses. The history of Niles from I873 to I900 was one of stationary life or decline. Within the past few years, however, it has assumed new life, the population has increased, new and important factories have been established, trade has been augmented, and every one has found the opportunity of steady employment. This improvement is mainly owing to the efforts of the Business Men's Association, organized in I9OI. A fine feature of the place is the elegant station ground of the Michigan Central Railroad. It consists of several acres of ground, containing a handsome park, a conservatory and extensive flower gardens. These were commenced in I891 and the grounds are now the finest of any railroad station grounds in the state. CHURCHES. The first church edifice in the village was erected by the Presbyterians in 1835 on the site of the present church building. It was a small frame building with a seating capacity of two hundred and fifty persons. The church had been organized in March, I834, Rev. Luther Humphrey from Edwardsburg, officiating. The first pastor was Rev. Alexander P. Brown of Pittsburg, a minister of ability and ripe scholarship. The present church edifice was built in I850. In 1871, it was thoroughly repaired and some HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY additions made at an expense of eight thousand dollars. Rev. C. E. Marvin is the present pastor. A Methodist mission station was established in Niles as early as I829. Rev. Erastus Felton first had charge of this mission and preached once in four weeks at the house of William Justus. In 1832, a class was formed at the house of Joshua Comley. This class subsequently had its meetings in the school house till the erection of a church building in 1839. The first regular pastor appears to have been Rev. W. H. Sampson. In I863 the church house and lot which were situated at the corner of Sycamore and Fourth streets, were sold to Thomas G. Wickham, and in I864 the present edifice was erected at a cost of twelve thousand dollars. The present pastor is Rev. R. H. Bready. The residence of the presiding elder of the district, Dr. D. F. Barnes, is at Niles. Until I847, the Catholics of Niles attended church at Bertrand, where a log church had been built in 183I, supplanted by a brick edifice in I837. In I847, a mission church was established at Niles, and a frame church built by Father Quointel near the site of the present church edifice. This mission was under the charge of several priests for short periods until Rev. John Cappon, a priest from Belgium, assumed charge in I859. Father Cappon was pastor of the church till his death in 1892. The corner stone of the present building was laid in I866 and the building finished in 1870. The church is generally known by the name of St. Marys. The present pastor is Rev. Eugene M. Cullinane. The Episcopal church was organized in 1834 by Rev. James Selking. A frame building was erected in I836 on the site of the present edifice. The latter was built in I858 during the rectorate of Rev. Joseph F. Phillips and was enlarged in 1873. Mr. Selking was the first pastor. The Rev. C. J. DeCoux is the present pastor. The Baptist church was organized in 184. A church building was erected in I843. The first pastor was Rev. Charles G. Hatch. The present building was erected in I879, at a cost of about eight thousand dollars and has a seating capacity of six hundred. The present pastor is Rev. Charles Braithwaite. The Socond Baptist church (African) was organized in I85I. Rev. J. W. Hackley was the first pastor. The German United Evangelical church was organized in I86o. The first regular -pastor was Rev. Philip Werheim. A church edifice was erected on the corner of Sixth and Sycamore in I862. In I899 the present brick building was erected at a cost of thirteen thousand dollars. The present pastor is Rev. Frederic W. Rahn. The Evangelical Association church was formed two years ago. It has just completed a church building on the west side at the corner of Lincoln avenue and Grant street. The pastor is Rev. J. Wales. The Second Methodist church (African) was organized in I888. The present pastor is Rev. S. Byrd. The pastors of the various churches generally remained but a few years and then removed to other points. Amono the very few 1who made permanent homes and died here, may be mentioned Rev. Joseph F. Phillips, Rev. John Cappon and Rev. Alfred D. Eddy. Father Cappon was born in Belgium of French extraction, and came to Niles in 1857 as an assistant at the Catholic mission, as it was then called. In I859 he assum:ed sole charge of the mission which embraced other stations than Niles. He became the pastor of the church and so remained till his death in I893, having been actively engaged in his work at Niles for thirty-six years. He was recognized as a devout and kind-hearted priest, faithful and attentive to the sick and was beloved by his people. Having inherited some property from rela HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I 59 tives in Belgiumln, le devoted it all to the construction of new buildings intended for school purposes and for otl-lr church work. In I872, Rev. Alfred Eddy, then pastor of the Ninth Presbyterian church of Chicago, accepted a call from the Presbyterian church of Niles. He was a graduate of Brockton College, New York. HIe was a preacher of fine oratorical powers, of dramatic ability and of commnanding presence. He was a man of great native strength and original force of character, happy in anecdote and repartee and impressive in the pulpit. He thoroughly identified himself with the community, intending when he came to make Niles his home while he lived, a wish which his parishioners were ready to gratify. He died in 1883. A daughter, Cora, is the wife of our Congressman, E. L Hamilton. Mr. Phillips became pastor of Trinity Episcopal church in I858. He was a native of Maine and a graduate of Brown University. He was a fine scholar and a man of great native strength. His sermons were carefully prepared and impressive in thought and delivery. He paid special attention to educational matters and visited the schools frequently. He was thoroughly patriotic during the war and exercised a strong influence in the colmmunity by his vigorous sulport of the cause of the Union. At one time, by a few pertinent questions, he confounlded a rash speaker, who in a large out-door assemblage. was proposing an armistice with the Confederates. The speaker attempted to evade for a time, but found it advisable at length to materially modify his ill-timed expressions, and practically collapsed. Mr. Phillips died in i866. His daughter, Lena B., who married Henry Lardner of Niles. is an author and has published a small volume of poems entitled "This Spray of Western Pine" and also a volume of tales and poetry entitled "Sparks from the Yule Log." These productions are of true poetic spirit and artistic merit and selections have been made for this work, which are charmingly appropriate. A son of Mr. Phillips, William, enlisted in the Union army during the Civil war and died in the service. SCHOOLS. The first school in Niles was taught by Titus B. Willard in I830. He was a man of ability and a member of the first constitutional convention in 1835. He taught in a log house on Main street, about the site of E. C. Griffin's drug store. In I836, an academy was opened in which various higher branches were taught. Dr. J. K. Finley, who had been a professor of chemistry and natural sciences in Dickinson College, Philadelphia, was one of the teachers or lecturers. The institution was short lived. Two popular schools for young ladies were subsequently carried on, one by Miss Britain, sister of Calvin Britain, and another by Miss Kennedy, who afterwards married Elijah Lacey. Both were very competent and successful teachers. In 1838, the state established branches of the university at the following places: AIonroe, Tecumseh, Niles, White Pigeon, Iontiac, Romeo and Detroit, under the support of the state. The one at Niles opened in September, I838, and Professor Joseph Whiting, an accomplished scholar and subsequently a professor in the State University, was the principal. In 1846, the branch system of university schools was abandoned. The Union school district under the free school system, was established in I854. The Union school building was completed and opened in September, I856. The first principal was E. W\. Spaulding. Subsequently ward school houses were built. The original trustees chosen in 1854 were strong, representative men consisting of R. C. Paine, H. A. Chapin, G. W. Hoffman, Williami Hurd, Samuel Niles and N.. Bacon. Mr. Paine was chosen director and continued in this I6o HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY position for nearly twenty years. The presend superintendent of schools in the city, J. D. Schiller, entered upon his duties in September, I887, nineteen years ago. During the past year the total enrollment of pupils was one thousand and forty-two and the enrollment in the high school was one hundred and forty-two. The schools under the management of Professor Schiller have attained a high degree of efficiency and the number of scholars who have been admitted into the State University from our high school has been large. The present trustees are Dr. William I. Tyler, Dr. William T. Dougan, W. W. Newman, J. E. French and Dr. J. D. Greenamyer. Dr. Tyler is president; Dr. Greenamyer director and secretary, and Dr. Dougan treasurer. NILES PUBLIC LIBRARY. This library was organized in I903, mainly through the efforts of ladies of Niles. Mr. Andrew Carnegie appropriated fifteen thousand dollars for the building and citizens made donations to the amount of about thirty-five hundred dollars for a site. The common council has made an appropriation of fifteen hundred a year for the support of the library. The library was opened for public use in November, I904. The Ladies Library Association which had been organized some twenty-five years before, donated a large collection of books to the public library and a large portion of the previous public school library was also contributed. Liberal donations of books were made by citizens. The present library board consists of Prof. J. D. Schiller, president; Fred M. Dean, vice-president; Mrs. Louise Jerome, treasurer; Mrs. W. I. Tyler, secretary; Rev. E. M. Cullinane, Eugene C. Dana, Miss Alice Quimby, Judge J. J. Van Riper and Dr. Z. L. Baldwin. Miss Orrill P. Coolidge is librarian and has occupied the position since the organiza tion of the library. The number of volumes is fifty-two hundred and three. The number of separate individuals who have taken books is nineteen hundred and sixteen. The total circulation for the year ending May I, 9o06, was twenty thousand, four hundred and eighty-three volumes. Thirtyeight magazines are taken and several newspapers. A very valuable addition to the library was made by the presentation of files of Niles newspapers, most of them bound, running almost unbroken from I835 to the present time. Messrs. Fred Cook of the Star and George E. Gillam of the Sutt made the most extensive donations in this department. The number of patrons for so small a town is unusually large and shows the popular interest taken in the library by the masses. BANKS. The first bank was the "Bank of Niles" and was organized in 1836. Jacob Beeson was president, and George W. Hoffman, cashier. The Berrien County Bank was organized afterwards but the same year. Both of these banks belonged to the "Wild Cat" order and failed in about three years. A reference to the Wild Cat Banks is made elsewhere. In I84I Rodney C. Paine established at Niles an agency of the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank. This he carried on till 1848, when he established a private bank of his own, which he conducted till his death in I873. The Citizens' National Bank was established in 1861. J. C. Larimore was chosen president and 0. S. Abbott, cashier. Beside these two gentlemen, the directors were G. W. Platt, J. S. Tuttle, F. M. Gray, M. D. Matteson and E. P. H-ill. The capital was fifty thousand dollars. The bank failed in I899 and went into the hands of a receiver. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY i6i iNone of the original officers were then connected with the bank. The First National Bank was organized in I870 with the following directors: T. L. Stevens, David Rough, R. C. Paine, R. WV. Landon and George Kimmel. Mr. Landon w-as chosen president and Mr. Stevens cashier. The capital was $Ioo.ooo. In March, 90o1, the bank failed and went into the hands of a receiver. At the time of the failure, none of the original officers were connected with the bank. Upon the failure of the latter bank the city was without any bank for a few days. On March 23, I901, a new bank was established on the site of the Citizens' Bank by Snell & Company. This is a private bank owned by Richard Snell and W. W. Newman. Mr. Newman is president, Mr. Snell vice-president, and Charles Wood, cashier. Another bank was established on the site of the First National Bank, March, I90I. This is a state bank and the officers are: Charles F. Pears, president; George L. Faurote, vice-president, and Dickson S. Scoffern, cashier. MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. The first saw mill was erected in 1829 by Ephraim and Elijah Lacey. The first grist mill was erected by them in 1830. In 1847 Samuel B. Finley built the Volant Flour Mill. In I850 the Depot and Dacotah flour mills were built by Elijah and David Lacey. In 1855 Jacob Geltmacher became proprietor of the Dacotah flour mill. In i868 Gilbert A. Colby built the brick flour mill about one mile north of the center of the city. This mill was called the "Linden Mill." In I88I, the various mills were consolidated under the name of the Niles Milling Company. E. S. Badger was president, W. K. Lacey, vice-president, and C. A. Barnard, secretary and treasurer. This milling com11 pany has been owned and operated for several years by E. S. Badger. In 1842 a dam was partially built across the St. Joseph river at the foot of Main street by a company called the Niles Hydraulic Company and Niles NManufacturing Company. A lock was placed at the west end to allow the passage of boats. In I843 before the final completion of the dam it was partially carried away by a flood and the work was abandoned. A dam was built about I857 across the Dowagiac creek, a short distance above its outlet into the St. Joseph river. A race one hundred rods long conducted the water from the pond to furnish power for the flour mills of the Laceys and Geltmacher. Another race north was built to furnish water for the Linden mills. In 1867 a company called the Niles Manufacturing Company was organized and commenced building the dam at its present site. The dam was finished in I871. In I872 the company sold their interest in, the water power on the west side of the river to J. W. French and J. B. Millard. In 1872 the Niles Paper Mills purchased a considerable portion of the interest of the Manufacturing Company in the water power on the east side. The interests of the Niles Manufacturing Company were purchased in 1877 by the Niles Water Power Company, which assumed the debts of the former concern. Messrs. French and Millard in I872 organized the Michigan Wood Pulp Company on the west side of the river, wihich has been in operation ever since. *Mr. Millard sold out his interest many years since to Mr. French and sons. Later the company was incorporated under the name of the French Paper Company, the largest factory in the city. It employs two hundred men,and twenty-five women, has a business amounting to about seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars per year and a pay roll of one hundred and ten thousand dollars per year. The company manufactures ground wood I62 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY pulp, pulp box boards, pulp pie plates and book and lithograph paper. The officers are J. W. French, President; \V. J. Willits, vicepresident; J. E. French, secretary and F. F. French, treasurer. In I872, thll Niles Paper Mill was organized and started business on the east side. A. A. Jacks was president and B. F. Fish, treasurer. A controlling interest was subsequently acquired by iEenry A\. Chapin and his son, Charles A. Chapin. The Ohio Paper Company was organized by B. C. Faurote and others of Lima, Ohio, about 1881. The Niles Paper Mill Company and the Ohio Paper Company subsequently became merged under one management, and in I899 a new company in place of the two former was incorporated,, called the Niles Board & Paper Company. This company and the French Paper Company own the entire water power. The Niles Board and Paper Company employ about ninety men with a pay roll of thirty-six thousand dollars per year. The company has been engaged in the manufacture of combination wood pulp and straw boards. It has also one mill for the manufacture of roofing felt. The officers are: Charles A. Chapin, president; H. C. Chapin, secretary, and A. F. Bither, manager. The Garden City Fan Company was established in Chicago in 1879 and removed its manufacturing plant to Niles about four years ago. It manufactures fans, blowers, heating and ventilating apparatus by fan system and lower dry kiln apparatus and accessories. It elploys about one hundred employees. 'The president is W. W. Green and the secretary and treasurer, E. D. Green. In I863 a furniture business was started by Joseph Skalla, Sr., a skillful cabinet maker. In 1876 the present Joseph Skalla Furniture Company was organized by Joseph Skalla, Sr. and his sons Joseph, Jr., John, Albert and Frank. Since the death of Joseph Skalla, Sr., and John, the business has been carried on by the survivors. The business in late years has been extensive and the product is sold in many adjoining states. The Kompass & Stoll Furniture Comnpany was incorporated in 1897 and employs forty-five mien. They manufacture exclusively kitchen furniture. The officers are, R. F. Kompass, president, and Mlatthew Stoll, secretary and treasurer. Messrs. Kompass and Stoll first established the furniture business at Buchanan, but moved to Niles in I895. Their business is now large and steadily increasing. The Earl-Storms Company was incorporated in 1891 by a number of Niles citizens, the. principal shareholders being B. F. Earl and E. B. Storms. In 1893 Mr. Earl became the sole owner. The company manufactures sewing tables, card tables, commodes and other furniture specialties. The goods are almost all marketed in New York city, being shipped direct in car loads. The company employs from fifteen to twentyfive mnen. The Reddick Hardware Specialties is owned by W. A. Reddick. The business was established in I88o. The goods principally manufactured are wire potato scoops, flesh forks and wire (loll beds. The number of hands employed is thirty-five, wages range from five to twelve dollars per week. A considerable export trade is done with England and Australia. The National Printing & Engraving Company was organized in Chicago in I876. In I90o the manufacturing plant was removed to Niles and large buildings were erected. This company makes a specialty of theatrical printing, including lithoghaphing, wood work and type work. It is the only concern in the United States which does all the work necessary to fit out a theatrical company complete in this line. The company employs from one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five hands, some of whom are artists and receive handsome wages. The officers are, E. II. Macoy, president; HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I63 J. D. Barton, vice president; E. H. Macoy, Jr., secretary and treasurer; Frank R. Sleyer, superintendent. The home of the latter is in Niles. The Niles Steel Tank Company, a successor of the Freeland Manufacturing Company, was organized in 1906. The company manufactures steel tanks and is now increasing its business. The officers are, L. E. Wood, president; E. E. Wood, vice-president, and J. W. Wood, secretary and manager. The National Rawhide and Belting Company was organized several years ago and manufacturers surface tan belts, oak tan belts and various other articles. Recently it passed into the hands of Chicago parties, who propose to materially increase the business. The officers are, T. J. Shant, president; L. C. Ehler, secretary and treasurer. A foundry was established at an early day by W. J. Welling, with whom was subsequently associated his son, Allison. They were engaged for a short time in the manufacture of plows. Since the death of W. J. Welling, his son, Allison, has carried on the business on Front street and has recently erected a large brick building. Another important industry lately introduced is the National Wire Cloth Company, whiclh manufactures wire; cloth. BUILDING AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS. One of the most important industrial features in the life of the city has been the organization and development of Building and Loan Associations. The first company, the Niles Building and Loan Association, was organized in I891. Since then six additional companies have been organized and all of them so far have been remarkably successful and managed with great economy and ability. Four of these companies have matured, realizing an interest income of from nine to ten per cent. As a result of the organization of these companies about three hundred and fifty buildings, mostly residences, have been put up within the last fifteen years. The average duration of these companies has been eleven years. The losses incurred have been trifling and no other city in the state has been more successful in the management and development of this class of companies. The presidents and clerks of the village of Niles were as follows: Presidents. Erasmus Winslow.......... Jacob Beeson............... Win. B. Beeson............. Geo. Goodman............. John K. Finley............. C. K. Green................ Wm. Graves................ Jasper Mason.............. A. J. Clark................. R. C. Paine............... J. K. Finley................ Elijah Lacey............... 1839 1840 I84I 1842 1843 I844 I845 1846 I847 I848-1854 I855 I856-I858 Mayors of the City. Elijah Lacey............... R. W. Landon.............. H. IM. Dean................ A. S. Howard.............. R. W. Landon.............. E. J. Bonine................ J. Geltmacher............... E. J. Bonine................ F. L. M uzzy............... R. C. Paine................. S. G. Krick................ Wim. Graves............... R. T. Twombly........... G. W. Platt................. S. G. Krick................. F. M. Gray............... Benj. Frankenberg.......... Cholwell Knox.............. T. G. Beaver................ W. I. Babcock.............. G. W. Dougan.............. E. J. Bonine................ 1859 I86o-1862 1863 I864 I865 1866 I867 I868 1869-I872 I873 I874 1875-I876 I877 I878 1879 I88o-I881 1882 1883 1884 I885-I886 1887 I888 I64 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY T. G. Beaver................ 889 0. W. Coolidge............. 1890-I89I W. T. Dougan.............. I892 J. E. French................ 893 E. C. Woodcock............. 1894-I895 F. W. Richter.............. 1896-1897 W. J. Gilbert............. I898-1899 F. N. Boninle............... 1900 Z. L. Baldwin............. I9OI-I902 C. R. Smith................ 1903 (Resigned before expiration of term). L. E. Wood............... I903 (Acting Mayor). L. H. Beeson............... I904 M att. Stoll................. I905-1906 Clerks. The following is a list of the supervisors of the city of Niles, since it was incorporated: G. W. Hoffman............. Jas. Brown................ Theo. Fowler.............. David Aitken.............. G. S. Babcock.............. G. W. Hoffman............. L. B. Taft.................. W. H. Jones................ Thos. Fitzgerald............ Theo. Fowler............... T. T. Glenn................ R. W. Landon............. 1839-1842 I843-1844 I845 I846 1847 1848 1849 I850 I852-I853 1854 1855 I856-I858 R. W. Landon............... C. I. Kellogg................ M. V. B. Charles............ W. B. Gray................. Joel Loomis................ D. O. Woodruff............. Geo. N. Bond............... W. J. Edwards.............. R. K. Charles............... S. H. Griffin................ R. K. Charles............... J. P. Howlett.............. W. A. Reddick.............. J. A. Lambert............... M. A. Davison............... W. A. Reddick.............. Frank Brownell............. J. C. Brown................ M. A. Davison.............. J. P. Howlett............... C. L. Barron................ G. A. Lambert.............. W in. Stone................. J. M. Babcock.............. J. A. Peck.................. S. S. Beall................. H. S. Forler............... J. E. Harder................ J. M. Babcock............... W. S. Smith................ Dan'l. Sheehan............. J. A. Peck.................. 1859 I860 I86I-I864 I865 I866 I867-I869 I867-I869 1870-I874 I870-I87I 1872 I873 I874-I876 I875-I876 1877 1877 1878 I878 I879-1882 1879 1880 1881 1882-I886 1883 I884-1890 I887-I899 I89I-I906 I897 I897 I898-I906 I899-I906 I900-I902 I903-1906 Recorders. W. B. Gray................ W. C. Fish................. Theo. Fowler............... T. G. Beaver................ J. B. Fitzgerald............. J. H. Fairchild.............. J. H. Richardson........... E. G. Houghland............ W. J. Gilbert............... J. H. Richardson............ Worth Landon............. Geo. Lambert............... Worth Landon............. Z. L. Cooper................ 1859 I860-I862 I863 1864 I865-I868 I869-I870 187I-I772 I873-1874 I875-I876 I877-I880 I88i-I886 I887-I888 I889-I892 I893-1897 The following named persons have served as postmasters, commencing at the dates mentioned: Obed P. Lacey, acting postmaster.. Isaac Gray, commissioned.......... Obed P. Lacey................... Titus B. Willard................. Cogswell K. Green............... Zebulon P. Mason................ Edwin N. Bridges............... Rufus W. Landon................ Jos. C. Larimore................. 1828 I830 1833 1835 1836 1837 1838 1841 Clerks. L. j. Morgan............... 897-I905 Carl Whetstone............. I905-I906 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I65 S. W. B. Chester................. Noah Brookfield................. Geo. Goodman.................. W. H. McOmber................ Francis Quinn................... Harvey Palmer.................. Wm. J. Edwards................. 1845 1849 I85I I853 I86I I863 I867 Edwin S. Jewett................. Evan J. Bonine................. Wm. J. Edwards................. Lawson A. Duncan................ Jas. M. Babcock................. Edwin S. Williams (died in office).. Carmi R. Smith, present incumbent.. I869 I873 1885 I889 I893 I897 I903 CHAPTER VIII NILES TOWNSHIP. In the meantime, while Niles was beginning to merge into a small hamlet, the lands in the vicinity were being cleared. The soil of the township is mostly fertile, productive and well adapted for cereals. A large portion was originally covered with heavy timbered lands, black-walnut grew in abundance upon some lands in the northwestern part and some farmers, who. kept their blackwalnut trees till prices became high, realized handsome sums from the sale of them. The St. Joseph river, which runs in a meandering course through the township for a distance of nearly fifteen miles, is hemmed in for considerable of the way by high and picturesque bluffs, still covered with trees. The first entries of land in Berrien county were made in 1829, as the survey of the county was not made till that year, and no land sold prior to that time by the United States government. The first entries in Niles township were made by the following named persons. William Justus, Elijah Lacey, Ephraim Lacey, Stephen and Samuel Salee, Joseph Stephens, John Ritter, Alexander Rogers, Jacob Miller, Joseph Bertrand, Jr., and Leon Bourasas. Some of these entries were made for village purposes. It is also to be observed that the entries often do not show the date of actual occupancy. Lands were sometimes occupied long before the entry was made, and often not till some time afterwards. Among the earliest of the settlers was Stephen Salee, who located in I828 on the banks of the St. Joseph river about a mile northwest of Niles. Mr. Salee was a Polander who fought against Napoleon during his disastrous Russian campaign of 1812, and came to this country shortly after. He came to Niles from Preble county, Ohio, where he had been engaged in mercantile business. His journey was made with a wife and two children in a covered wagon,. loaded with three barrels of whiskey, a sack of coffee and other necessaries of those days. He built a large log cabin, in which he resided and also carried on a store. The first wedding in the township occurred here, one William Barlow being the bridegroom and Pitt Brown, a justice of the peace of Berrien township, the officiating magistrate. Eli Ford, who had emigrated from Indiana to Pokagon Prairie in I826 or 1827, constructed a flour mill on Dowagiac creek, in 1828, on the site of what was afterwards known as the "Yellow Mill." It was the first grist mill run by water power, which was built in Berrien county. The first bolter consisted of a bridal muslin dress which Mrs. Ford furnished. This grist mill for sometime had a large patronage of farmers from Pokagon, Beardsley's and other prairies in HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I67 Cass county. A saw mill was soon after built by Mr. Ford, at about the same site. In the same year Cornelius Sparks and his wife, whose maiden name was Susanna Stevens, located in section 15 in the bend of the river, near Salee. Mr. Sparks was a native of North Carolina, but emigrated to Indiana in 1814, where he lived till he moved to Berrien county. Mr. Sparks died in I862. Mr. and Mrs. Sparks were the parents of eleven children, three of whom were born in Michigan. Some mention of this remarkable family should be made. The ages of seven of these children have ranged from seventy-five to ninety-one and the descendants of Cornelius Sparks and wife now number several hundreds. Wilson Sparks, a son, enjoys the distinction of being the second oldest native born resident of Berrien county now living. He was born in Niles township April I9, 1830, is now living at Benton Harbor, and is still well preserved for a, man of his age. He has resided in Benton Harbor for twenty years. He has a vivid recollection of the Indians who came to his parents' house to trade berries for something to eat. Their papooses were tied to a flat stick. He states that the lot now occupied by the Dean drug store was once offered to his father for fifteen dollars. Among other children of Cornelius Sparks and wife, may be mentioned: Joseph, who was born in North Carolina in 1814 and (lied at Buchanan the past year in his ninety-first year. He was a prominent citizen and held various local offices. Mary (Parks) who died in 1904 in her eighty-fifth year. Ira, who died in I905 aged seventy-eight years, at Buchanan. His widow whose maiden name was Elisabeth M. Ford, is still living. Ira Sparks was, like his brother Joseph, a prominent citizen and held various local offices. Levi, who was for many years a prominent citizen of the county and senator in the state legislature in 1873, died in I900 in his seventy-seventh year. He was a leader in the Republican party for many years, but drifted into the Greenback party and finally became a Democrat. He was a forcible speaker and a strong man in a political convention. Elizabeth, who married Burton Jarvis and died in I896 in her seventy-fifth year. Cynthia, born in I834 and died in 1900. Spencer, David and Anna all died many years ago. John Kinzie, from Ohio, came to Niles in 1828 and in 1829 built a dam and saw mill on Kinzie creek, about four miles northeast of the present city of Niles. This was shortly after sold to Henry Lardner. In 1829 Joseph Stevens, a native of North Carolina, located one hundred and sixty acres in section seven. This was the first purchase from the government, in the township. Mr. Stevens subsequently purchased two hundred and forty acres. In 1:831, John Hunter located in section twenty-four. He died many years since. A daughter, Mrs. Samuel Weaver, is living at Buchanan. In 1831 and 1832 Benjamin Churchill, John Stone and William T. Noel settled in the township. The latter was from Virginia and a daughter of his married Jacob Geltmacher, of Niles. In 1832, Hezekiah Bradbury and his wife, Lucy, natives of Ohio, located in section two, south of Niles, with a family of seven children. The farm passed to Simeon, the son of Hezekiah. Simeon lived on the farm wTith a maiden sister, Sarah, until his death in I882. Sarah is now living at Springfield, Ohio, in her ninety-fifth year. Another brother, Diodorus, who came with his father, died in 19go. Two children are now living in this vicinity, Mrs. Amos Foote and Mrs. P. S. Kemper. In 1830, Isaac Griffin moved from New York and located one mile east of Niles. With him came Henry Starkweather, then a boy thirteen years of age. Mr. Stark 168 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY,weather subsequently became a prominent farmer and large land owner in Niles township. His death occurred in 1892. His widow, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Long, came to Niles in I832 and is still living here. A son, Frank Starkweather, has been a prominent auctioneer, a member of the common council of Niles, and was the Republican nominee for sheriff for the present year. In 1832, Thomas R. Martin settled on section five in the northern part and lived there till he died. He was supervisor from I867 to I871. In 1835, Jacob Lambert, with his wife and children, came from Virginia and located on a farm belonging to William T. Noel, north of Niles. Mr. Lambert died in 1856. His son, James A. Lambert, is now living in the city of Niles and is in his eightyseventh year, still active and able to work upon his farm on the outskirts of that town. James moved into the village in I850 and for a time was in the cooper and lumbering business. In 1871 in partnership with John Rice and A. J. Griffith, he went into the manufacture of wagons, putting up a large brick building on Front street which cost twenty-five thousand dollars. The business proved a failure in a few years. He has been a member of the common council and active in local affairs. Mr. Lambert is a spiritualist in religious belief. His son, George A. Lambert, is a prominent attorney of Niles. In I832 Hardy Langston, a native of North Carolina, located on section twentyfour, purchasing eighty acres of the government and eighty acres of a private party. He was one of the very earliest settlers of the St. Joseph valley, having settled on La Grange prairie, on the banks of the Dowagiac creek, in 1828. Here he built the first sawmill erected in Cass county. He died many years since. Five children are now living in and near Niles, Hiram, Frank, Mary E. Bell, Melvina Bell and Mrs. Duffy. The Langston children still own the land purchased by their father seventy-four years ago. In 1838, Henry Lardner, a native of Pennsylvania, and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, came to Niles and purchased of Colonel James Glenn the lands and water power at the intersection of Dowagiac and Kinzie creeks in the northeastern part of the township. Here in company with two cousins, William and Lynford, he erected a woolen mill which they carried on for some years. In addition to this business they operated a saw mill which had been previously established at this site. Henry Lardner was a man of great natural force and strength of character. He was a supervisor of his township several terms. He died in 1852. He was an active member and founder of the Episcopal church at Niles. His son, Henry Lardner, now living in the city of Niles, was born in I839 and was for some years director of the Union school district of Niles and has been identified at different times with manufacturing interests. In I86I he married Lena B. Phillips, an author, who has been referred to elsewhere. In 1830, Joseph Bertrand, son of the old Indian trader, built a flour mill on Bertrand creek, now known as the "Brandywine." This was afterwards converted into a distillery by William McOmber. This was burned down and a new one was re-built and the business carried on for several years by David Gitchell. In 1836, John J. Hamilton, with his wife and infant son, Edward L., came from the state of New York and located on section fifteen. He died some years since and his son Edward in I876. Our distinguished congressman, E. L. Hamilton, now serving his fifth term in congress, and re-nominated for the sixth term, was a son of Edward. One son of John J. Hamilton, John, is now living near Berrien Springs. Another son, Asa, died some years ago. Uriah Stebbins came to Niles in I839. Many years since he purchased a farm known HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY i69 as the Knox farm about a mile east of the city. This he still owns, although living now with his children. He was for many years the foreman in the brick mill of Lacey & Badger. He is still active and vigorous although in his seventy-seventh year. George S. Hoppin, one of the oldest settlers now living in the township, has lived in this township for 62 years with the exception of a few years spent in South Dakota where he has a large farm. His father, Thaddeus Hoppin, a native of Massachusetts, emigrated to Michigan in 1844 and during the next year located upon the farm upon which George S. now lives, adjoining the present limits of the city of Niles on the south. Five of the children of Thaddeus -went to California over fifty years ago, viz.: Nathan, Thaddeus, Clarissa Evarts, John and Charles. Mrs. Evarts is still living in 'California. George S. Hoppin was supervisor of the township in 1859 andI872. In 1846 he cultivated a piece of land about a half mile west of his home upon which an old fort and mission had been located. The earthworks of the fort had not then been ploughed up and old apple trees, still bearing, were growing on the land. The trunk of one of these apple trees, which he measured, was three feet in diameter, evidencing that the tree had been planted long before the first white settlers came here. Lewis Storms, a native of New York, came to Niles in I844 and shortly after located on a farm of two hundred and fifteen acres in Niles township where he lived till his death. His son, Edmund, was supervisor of Niles township for several years, county treasurer from I887 to I889, and is now assistant postmaster in the city of Niles. In 1844, Samuel Thompson, who had been a grocer in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, emigrated from his native land and settled in section thirty-three, where he lived till his death in I882 in his eighty-fifth year. He was a typical Scotchman of great native good sense and sagacity. He was one of the founders of the Farmers' Fire Insurance Company of Berrien and Cass counties, and the president of it for many years. He held various local offices in the township. His wife, who survived him, lived to be ninety-five years old. A son, Samuel C., also a native of Glasgow, has been a supervisor of Howard, Cass county, for many years. Another son, James B., has been supervisor of Niles township for ten different terms, and was a representative to the state legislature in I893. All of the Thompsons have been Democrats in politics and Presbyterians in religion. Among the early settlers of Niles township should be mentioned Abner Kelsey, a native of Kentucky, and his wife, Margaret. Although they did not move into Niles till I846, they had settled in Cass county at an early day and were pioneers of that county. They settled two and a half miles north of Niles on their removal to Berrien county. The first election for township officers after the organization of the county was held April 2, 1832. The township then embraced the whole county. Jacob Beeson was elected supervisor, Cogswell K. Green, clerk, Thomas K. Green and Alamanson Huston justices of the peace, and Eben Griswold constable. A few days later, Griswold resigning, Joseph Bertrand, a half-breed and son of the old Indian trader at "Parc aux Vaches" was elected constable and collector. Bertrand appears to have been somewhat prominent in the early history of the township, but removed west to join the Pottawatomies in 1858. The following named persons have been supervisors of the township of Niles: Jacob Beeson............... 1832-1833 Elijah Lacey........... 1834 Jasper Mason........... 1835 Wm. F. Noel............... 836-I838 J. N. Brown................ 1839 O. P. Lacey................. I840 170 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Geo. Goodman.............. O. P. Lacey................. Henry Lardner............. H. B. Hoffman.............. G. N. Bond................. Jas. Aldrich................ J. W. Butterfield............ Win. Graves................ R. C. Paine................. D. O. Woodruff.............. Thos. Comins.............. R. W. Landon.............. G. S. Hoppin............... B. C. Sanford............... Jeremiah Ballard............ G. E. Tichenor.............. I841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846-I848 I849-I850 I85I I852-1854 I855 I856 I857-I858 1859 I860 I86I-I865 I866 T. R. Martin............... G. S. Hoppin............... W. B. Davis................ A. J. Star................... W. B. Davis................ Purnell Johnson............. Wm. B. Davis............... H. A. Edwards............. E. B. Storms................ E. P. Ely.................. J. B. Thomson.............. F. A. Tichenor.............. Milton Hatfield.............. F. A. Tichenor.............. J. B. Thomson............... F. C. Franz................. I867-I87I 1872 I873-I875 I876-I877 I878 I879 I880 I88I-I883 I884-I886 I887 1888-1892 I893-1894 I895 I896-I898 1899-1904 I905-I906 CHAPTER 1X ST. JOSEPH TOWNSHIP AND CITY OF ST. JOSEPH. The township of St. Joseph is triangular in shape and is bounded on the east by Benton township, on the south by Royalton and Lincoln townships and on the west by Lake Michigan. It is the smallest township in the county, containing but a trifle over seven sections. The city of St. Joseph is delightfully located on the shore of Lake Michigan, while the river surrounds it on the north and east. The main portion of the city is situated on an elevated plateau, rising to a considerable altitude above the lake and river. The breezes from the west wafted over the lake in summer time materially modify the temperature of the atmosphere and render the place almost always comfortable in warm weather. The great lake, stretching far beyond the horizon of vision, under the shifting play of light and shade, sun and cloud, with its gorgeous sunsets, furnishes a panorama of enchanting views to the lover of natural beauty. The settlement was first called Saranac. In 1831 it was changed to Newburyport and in 1833 received its designation "St. Joseph," after the name of the river. The river was called the river of the Miamis by LaSalle, but the French missionaries shortly afterwards named it St. Joseph, after the patron saint of the Catholics of Canada. It was not named as many have supposed, after any person of that name, as no priest or person so named ever lived on the St. Joseph river. The present site of St. Joseph is where the feet of white men first trod the soil of Berrien county. The landing of LaSalle and his company in I679 has already been described. As has already been related a fort was built in I690 by La Salle, called Fort Miami. How long this fort existed it is impossible to tell from any authentic records. The fort known as "Fort St. Joseph," during the French occupation, was located near the present site of the city of Niles. A mission was established at the mouth of the river among the Miamis, shortly after La Salle's arrival and continued to exist among the Pottawatomies after the removal of the Miamis, a few years later. The mission was an important one. When La Salle left the mouth of the river for the Mississippi he appears to have left a garrison. A colony of Canadian French settled here at an early day and were here during the early part of Burnett's settlement. Why and when they removed away does not appear. When the American settlers arrived they had disappeared. They consisted mainly of French hunters and trappers and assistants of the mission. A trading post appears to have existed 172 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY at St. Joseph as early as 1763 and probably much earlier, conducted by Frenchmen. This, however, was abandoned and not resumed till the advent of William Burnett, a native of New Jersey about the year I780. Reference has been made to Burnett's settlement in a previous chapter. William Burnett died about i8II, leaving seven children by his wife Kawkema, the sister of Topinabee, the hereditary chieftain of all the Pottawatomies. These children were all educated at a Catholic institution at Detroit. By the Chicago treaty six sections of land lying in the towns of Benton St. Joseph and Sodus were reserved to these children. One of them, John, continued as an Indian trader after his fathers' death, and carried on a large business. He died about the year 1823 heavily in debt. Another son, James, acquired title to what is called the "Burnett Orchards." This was purchased in I865 by Captain Langley and now belongs to the Langley heirs. A portion of the Burnett reserve was sold to Judge Benjamin F. Fish by children of Nancy Burnett, these children having inherited their mothers' share. A daughter of Rebecca Burnett, Martha, married Francis Palms, lawyer in Detroit. Palms acquired a large fortune which upon his death passed to the son of this marriage, Frederic F. Palms, a millionaire bank president and president of the National Loan and Investment Company, located at Detroit. When the American settlers arrived, the Burnetts had disappeared. The Burnett settlement was in no way permanent and left no considerable marks of civilization. A permanent American settlement did not commence till 1829. In 1828 the Carey Mission treaty was made by which the Pottawatomies ceded to the United States government all their lands except about fifty sections west of the St. Joseph river and situated within the present limits of Bertrand Niles and Buchanan townships. Calvin Britain, a son of Gen. Calvin Britain, of Jef ferson county, New York, who had emigrated from New York to Carey (Niles) in 1827, was at this time engaged in teaching at the Carey Mission. Foreseeing the future importance of the point at the mouth of the St. Joseph river, he hastened to pre-empt land at this point. In this he was joined by Augustus Newell and in I829 the two pre-empted lands upon which the business portion of St. Joseph is now built. Ne!well at once built a log house on the bank of the river, into which he and his family moved. Britain was a single man and made his home with Newell. This.house was also used for a time as a tavern. In I831 Newell built a pioneer hotel building, near the present site of the Whitcomb House. This was the first hotel erected in St. Joseph and was called the "Mansion House." Newell died in I832. In 1831 Britain laid out a village on the south side of the river and called it Newburyport. In 1834 the name was changed to that of St. Joseph, the name given to the early mission and to the river by the French priests. In the records of this mission it is designated as far back as I712 as "the mission of St. Joseph of Lake Michigan." This name was given by the French priests in honor of the memory of St. Joseph, the patron saint of the Catholics of Canada. Major Britain, shortly after he settled an Newburyport, built a warehouse and also engaged in the purchase and sale of real estate. The village lots were sold rapidly and a flourishing settlement soon grew up. Major Britain resided at St. Joseph till his death in 1862, and held many important official positions in the state and county. He was a member of the legislative council of Michigan territory in I835, lieutenant governor of the state in 1852, the first senator to the State Legislature from this county in 1835, a member of the lower house in 185I and county treasurer for one term. He never married. In 1837, his father, General Calvin Britain, from New York, came to St. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I73 Joseph, and resided there till his death. Major Britain's sister was a prominent teacher at an early day, and for several years had charge of a select school for young ladies at Niles, which was largely attended by pupils, and was deservedly popular. In May, 1829, Daniel T. Wilson, who' had been engaged in the tannery business at Niles, came to St. Joseph and engaged in boating on the river. He was for several years captain of the "Matilda Barney," a steamboat which was built in 1833 and plied between St. Joseph and Niles and occasionally went as far as South Bend. The father of Mr. Wilson also came the same year with his family, which included a young lady by' the name of Pamelia Ives. In I829 this lady was married to Calvin Bartlett, who had also moved to St. Joseph in 1829. This was the first marriage in St. Joseph and was performed by Major Timothy S. Smith, a justice of the peace at the Mansion House. On the 2Ist day of January, I830, a son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett named Amos Carroll. Captain Amos Carroll is now living near Dayton and enjoys the distinction of being the first white child born in Berrien county who is now living. Amos ran away from home in I840 and became a sailor on the lakes. He continued boating till I882, when he removed to a farm one mile from Dayton in this county, where he new resides. In I853 he became captain of the "Magic,". a sailing vessel owned by the Ferrys of Grand Haven. Subbsequently he became the captain of steamboats running on Lake Michigan. Captain Bartlett has been a freeholder of the county since I852. Major Timothy S. Smith was prominently connected with the early development of St. Joseph. He came from Ohio to Carey (Niles) about I825 and became a teacher in the Carey Mission. In 1827 he moved to Royalton township, built a home and moved into it with his family. William Huff also settled near Major Smith in 1828. and these two men were the earliest pioneers in the northern part of Berrien county. They both removed subsequently to the village of St. Joseph. Major Smith removed to New Buffalo in a few years and was light house keeper there in I839. In I849 he removed to California. Mr. Huff engaged in mercantile business at St. Joseph, built the Perkins house in I840 and was the first supervisor of the township, a position which he held several terms. He died in I853 at St. Joseph and his family shortly after removed to California. A son, Lucius, is now living in California. He was born at or near St. Joseph in I830 or 1831, and is one of the very oldest persons now living who were born in this county. In I829, Fowler Preston, a contractor and builder from Massachusetts settled in St. Joseph. He was sheriff of the county in 1835, supervisor in I840-4I and 42 and marshall of the village of St. Joseph for several terms. He resided at St. Joseph till his death in 1843. His son, Wallace A. Preston, was born at St. Joseph in 1842, and is still living there. He was president of the village in I85o and mayor of the city in I893. He has been engaged for many years in the lumber and planing business. Mr. Wallace Preston has preserved two ancient documents transmitted by his father, which are worthy of mention. One is a commission signed by Lewis Cass, governor of the Territory of Michigan, dated the 23rd day of June, I83I, appointing Fowler Preston captain in the militia of said territory. The official oath taken by Captain Preston appears on the back of the commission, signed by him and administered by T. S. Smith, justice of the peace. The other document is the original muster roll of Captain Preston's company, which is transcribed in full. Fowler Preston, Captain; Benj. C. Hoyt, Lieut.; Edward Smith, Ensign; Na I74 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY thaniel B. Starkweather, ist Sergeant; Horace Godfrey, 2nd Sergeant; John McCall, 3rd Sergeant; Jehiel Enos, 4th Sergeant; Calvin Bartlett, ist Corporal; Jacob Shoemaker, 2nd Corporal; M. P. Bennett, 3rd Corporal; Joseph Feather, 4th Corporal. Privates enrolled or enlisted-Asaph S. Preston, Jeremiah Wilson, Amos; Farley, Samuel Farley, Joseph Smith, Marcellus Finch, Sylvenus Loukers, John Charles, John Smith, Dan'l Dingley, Jas. Galasby, Martin Huffmann, Martin West, Sam'l Sales, Wim. Arrison, Jacob Miller, John Lowden, John La Valley, Clark Jackson, Jos. Brittain, WVm. Wilson. I hereby certify this list to be correct and the men not discharged by me. Niles, M. T., June 20, 1832. Capt. F. Preston. It is worthy of note that besides the captain, several of this company became prominent subsequently in the history of the county. Among them were Jehiel Enos, Benjamin C. Hoyt, Edward Smith, Horace Godfrey, Calvin Bartlett, Joseph Feather and Amos Farley. It appears from an account published in a California paper some twelve years ago, that the first settler in St. Joseph township was Captain Edward Smith, and that ie located on the "Burnett Orchard" now owned by the heirs of Captain S. G. Langley. Captain Smith, according to this account, came from Ohio to Carey (Niles) in I825 and worked for a time for William Kirk. In I826 he went to the fur trading station of the Lorillard's at South Bend and had charge of the business for two years when he went down the river and located "or squatted" on the Burnett Orchard. He was an ensign in Captain Fowler Preston's company of militia and served in the Black Hawk war. He was a captain of some of the river steamboats, among which was the "Algoma." He went to California in 1853 and died there in I894 in his ninetieth year. If the above account of Captain Smith's settlement be true, he was the pioneer settler in St. Joseph township instead of Major Britain. It is very probable however, that he came after Britain, but possibly the same year. Benjamin C. Hoyt came from New Hampshire to St. Joseph in 1829 and engaged first as an Indian trader in a log house and subsequently in the mercantile business. He afterwards established a bank, which was the leading bank in the northern part of the county for many years. He was an active and energetic man, engaged in nearly all of the important enterprises of the place in its early history. He was president of the village during six terms and supervisor of the township in I843 and S844. He removed to Mississippi in 1872 where he remained several years. He returned in 1892 to St. Joseph where he died in I903 at the advanced age of ninety-six. At one time he was quite wealthy and was one of the leading citizens of the place for many years. His daughter, Sophrona, who married F. A. Potter, the present supervisor of the second ward of St. Joseph, and for many years a prominent merchant, was born at St. Joseph in 1836 and is now living with her husband at that place. In S830, L. L. Johnson settled on the lake shore a mile north of the village. He subsequently removed to Wisconsin. About the same time came John Wittenmyer, who became a prominent merchant of St. Joseph. He enlisted in the American army during the Mexican war and became a colonel. He died shortly after his return from the war. Dr. Amos S. Amsden, a native of New York, appears to have been the first physician in the village. He located here in I832 and died in 1849. He was the first justice of the peace in the village. The first attorney in St. Joseph was Thomas Fitzgerald. He was a native of Herkimer county, New York, served in the war of 1812 and was wounded at the battle of Lundy's Lane. He was appointed light HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 175 house keeper at St. Joseph in 1832, when he removed to St. Joseph. He resided at St. Joseph till about 1847 whn-1 he removed to Niles where he died in 1855. Hte occupied many prominent official positions in the state and county. lHe was a member of the legislature in 1838, a bank commissioner about the same time, first president of the village in 1834, subsequently supervisor of the township, judge of probate of the county, and in I851 was appointed United States senator to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of General Cass. He was a man of great native strength of character, and of sterling qualities of mind and heart. His son, Jerome B. Fitzgerald, was a prominent attorney and died at Niles in I878. He was a senator in the legislature in I847 while living at St. Joseph, prosecuting attorney in 1849 and recorder of the city of Niles for several terms. He was an able lawyer but preferred the more quiet departments of the profession. In 1832, Edward P. Deacon from Pennsylvania and Willianm McKaleb from Maryland, came to St. Joseph and together built a saw mill that year. In 1833 these men built a steamboat called the "Matilda Barney." This was the first steamboat which successfully plied the river between St. Joseph and Niles. The engine was built by Philip P. Andrews, Leverett Plumb acted as engineer and Daniel T. Wilson was captain. The boat ran on the river for about ten years, and did an immense business. A boat called the Newburyport had been built in 1832, but ran aground on her first trip at Berrien Springs and was badly damaged. Deacon shortly after removed to Boston, Massachusetts, and became a millionaire. McKaleb in a few years returned to his native state. Mr. Andrews afterwards located in Chikaming township. Curtis Boughton came from Ohio in 1832 and settled about a mile south of the village of St. Joseph on the Niles road. For several years he was the owner and captain of vessels which ran on the lake between Chicago and St. Joseph. The first boat which he ran was the "Drift" in I833. This was followed by the "Bancroft" and "Henry W. King." He was half owner in the Hiccocampus which sunk in mid-lake in September, I868. He was a pioneer in the business of peach growing, being second to Mr. Parmelee as has already been stated. In 1849 Captain Boughton set out one hundred and thirty trees of choice budded fruit. In 1852 he set out sevevacres, purchasing his trees at Cleveland. In I855 he commenced the business of shipping peaches and for several years, carried on a successful business in this line. In 1835, he received as high as eight dollars per basket containing about three pecks. Captain Boughton died in 1896. He was supervisor in I870. His soln, James C., the only surviving child, is the present janitor of the Berrien county court house. In 1832, the Kingsley brothers, George W., Edward and Benjamin, who were masons by trade, came from Utica and settled in St. Joseph. George died in I876. His widow is still living with her daughter in Benton Harbor. Three children are now living, Edward H. and Charles E. of St. Joseph and Mrs. L. T. Burridge of Benton Harbor. Edward H. was a supervisor of the city of St. Joseph for some years and is engaged in the furniture business. A daughter of Benjamin married James A. Canavan. Edward was a bachelor. Thomas Conger who settled in St. Joseph in 1834 was the second attorney who came there. He is said to have been a lawyer of ability. He was probate judge from 1834 to i836, district attorney in 1836-57 and register of deeds in I842. He married a daughter of Eleazer Morton and in I849 removed to Sacramento, California, where he became a judge. Joseph W. Brewer came to St. Joseph in I834 and engaged in boating. He was the I76 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY first pilot of the steamboat "Davy Crockett" and afterward captain. He was also captain of the steamboats Niles, Indiana and Porter, was regarded as a very safe and skillful boatman, and often ran up the river as far as Three Rivers in high water. For a time he lived on a farm but in I840 settled in St. Joseph. He was a justice of the peace continuously from 1853 till his death in I889 or a period of thirty-six years. He did an immense business and was recognized as able and impartial in the administration of his office. A daughter is now living at St. Joseph and is the wife of Captain J. J. Drake, a prominent citizen of that place, who has been referred to elsewhere. Hiram Brown came from Rochester, New York, in 1834, as a representative of the firm of Griffith & Company, merchants at Rochester who built a warehouse at St. Joseph about this time and also the steamboat known as the "Davy Crockett" heretofore referred to, which was constructed at Erie in I834. Mr. Brown engaged in the forwarding business and in I834 made the first shipment of wheat ever made to Chicago from St. Joseph. He continued in the business till 1848 when he removed to Chicago, where he lived till 1862 when he returned to St. Joseph. He was clerk of the village for several years and collector of the port for about twenty years. He died in 1883. Four children are now living, viz: Mrs. Thomas Northcote of Luray, Virginia; William Brown of Chicago; Mrs. M. B. Rice of St. Joseph, and H. L. Brown of St. Joseph. Mr. Brown was a man of liberal education and culture and frequently contributed articles to the newspapers on various subjects. He wrote out a manuscript of considerable length entitled "Incidents of theLife of Hiram A. Brown" which contains a description of St. Joseph as he found it when he first arrived there in 1834. His son, H. L. Brown, has kindly allowed me the use of this manuscript and I herewith quote from it. He says, "I arrived in St. Joseph on the fourth day of July, 1834, and found the place quite as new as I expected. There was a small population, and less comfort. There were twenty or twenty-five families in all, besides a number of young men without families. The buildings consisted of two warehouses on the bank of the river, one of which I accepted, and another occupied by Britain and Hatch, about twenty buildings occupied as residences, none of which I think were finished, one public house on the bluff kept by a man by the name of Gould, another log building under the bluff kept by Jeremiah Wilson; four small stores and one steam saw-mill. There were two small steamboats running on the St. Joseph river, the Matilda Barney and David Crockett, and the old steamer Pioneer had just been brought round to run between St. Joseph and Chicago, but it was wrecked and went to pieces about ten days after I reached the place. "The road leading out of the place was next thing to impassable by teams and the principal means of ingress and egress was by water, if by land on foot or on horseback. "There were also some three or four keel boats capable of carrying about twenty-five or thirty tons each, that were pushed up the river with poles, manned by six to twelve men each. These boats used to ascend as far as South Bend and occasionally farther up to Mishawaka, Elkhart, Mottville and Constantine, although not often. "The bar at the mouth of the river did not permit vessels to come into the harbor except a few of very light draft. They came to anchor off the mouth of the river and rereived and discharged cargoes with lighters. Between St. Joseph and Berrien there were only five or six families, viz: T. S. Smith at Royalton, John Pike, Jehiel Enos, William Williams and a man by the name HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 177 of Purdy. Pitt Brown kept a public house at Berrien and I think Edward Ballinger had a small store there. The elder Kimmel occupied a farm now occupied by the Shakers. "During the years 1842 to I847 inclusive, a large amount of flour was shipped down the river and a better class of steamboats than formerly were engaged in the traffic, and additional keel boats or barges constructed. A large quantity of flour was also floated down the river on arks. These were cheap and rudely constructed crafts, built solely to float their cargoes down the river, when they were broken up and sold for refuse timber. They were usually built of white oak planks from one and one half to two inches thick, sixteen feet wide and forty feet long, with sides that allowed them to draw about twenty inches or two feet of water and capable of carrying about two hundred and fifty barrels of flour each. Two of these were coupled together, one behind the other, and with long sweeps at each end were guided down the current of the river and generally reached their distination safely. "In 1836 the work of putting down piers of oak filled in with stone commenced at the mouth of the river and during that season the entrance to the river became not only safe, but easy, admitting the larger class of vessels then navigating on the lakes." After depicting the depression which followed the financial panic of 1837 and the collapse of the "Wild Cat" banks, Mr. Brown says: "The entire river commerce which had been the chief element of prosperity was completely destroyed, and for a period of more than ten years was totally abandoned. Nearly the entire population left, and that portion of the county near the town ceased to attract any attention." In this manuscript Mr. Brown recites an incident which illustrates the religious condition of the people of St. Joseph during the early settlement. In 1838 or 1839 Rev. Hi12 ram Kellogg was appointed president of Knox college at Galesburg, Illinois, and while: on his way to assume his duties, stopped at: St. Joseph over Sunday, arriving by stage at the Mansion House kept by Judge Daniel Olds. He ascertained that there was no church in the place, and moreover found the people pitching quoits and engaged in other pastimes which indicated a total disregard of the Sabbath day. He then inquired of the landlord if there was any person in the place who feared the Lord. The landlord replied in his bluff, off-hand way, "Well, I guess not," but after a moment's hesitation said, "I don't know, but I think Hiram Brown fears him a little." Judge Olds then directed Mr. Kellogg to Mr. Brown's residence where2 Mr. Kellogg narrated the above incident, Mr. Kellogg made his home with Mr. Browni during the remainder of his stay in St, Joseph, and Sunday afternoon preached in the white school house to an audience most of whom had not heard a sermon for years. In 1834, Hiram Barnes came to St. Joseph with his wife and son, afterward Captain M. C. Barnes. For some years M. C. Barnes was engaged in steamboating. He retired from this business in 1883, and became engaged first in the drug business with E. S. Currari and subsequently in the jewelry business. In 1887 he and Warren Ballinger built the St. Joseph and Benton Harbor Street Railway. Captain Barnes was president and general manager until the railway was sold to a Chicago party. Captain Barnes died during the past year at the age of seventy-five years. In 1835 Dr. Tolman Wheeler, who had settled in Niles in 183I, came to St. Joseph. About the same time John K. Porter also settled in St. Joseph. These two gentlemen went into partnership in the forwarding and commission business and in lake and river transportation. They owned a line of boats and for several years did an immense business. Dr. Wheeler was president of the village three terms and a supervisor. He S78 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY -removed to Chicago about I850 and died at that city some years ago at an advanced age. Mr. Porter was a native of New York. As an illustration of the extent of business -done by Porter & Wheeler, it may be stated that on April 29, I84I, this firm had twenty-five thousand barrels of flour and pork at the mouth of the St. Joseph river. About I850 Mr. Porter went to California iwhere he remained three years and then returned to his native state where he died in I866. He was postmaster of St. Joseph in:1838, president of the village from I837 to 184I, commissioner of internal improvement in 1846 and a regent of the university. He was a man of great executive and business ability. He was known as the "'Boatman's friend," and was a man who was universally esteemed for his honesty, generosity, and public spirit. Among the early settlers were Edwin Richardson, J. F. Lord, Robert Hollywood, Daniel Murphy, R. B. Duncan, S. R. Rus-.-sell, Asaph Preston, Sol. Smith, A. M. Brownell, William Axtell, Isaac Pangborn,;and also the Olds, Martin, Stewart, and Johnson families, and Captain S. G. Langley.!Mr. Richardson was one of the earliest:school teachers of the place, and in I834 taught in the first school house erected there. This was a log house. Mr. Richardson was;subsequently county register of deeds. Captain S. G. Langley was a native of -Massachusetts and a sailor on the ocean till 1832 when he came to St. Joseph. The first -vessel which he sailed after his arrival was the brig "Napoleon." He shortly after sailed the first propellor on the lakes, called -he "C. B. Bachus." He afterwards built and partly owned several steam brigs which sailed on the lake. He purchased of some of the Burnett heirs the lands upon which John Burnett settled in I780 and which is -now owned by the Langley heirs. Captain Langley died suddenly on board of one of his vessels, "The Favorite," in I870. He was a brave and efficient seaman and received at different times medals as a token of appreciation of heroic service in saving and rescuing the crews and passengers of other boats which had been disabled by storm or fire. His widow died during the last year. Daniel Olds, a militia colonel, came from Ohio to Niles in 1829 and commenced keeping tavern at the "Council House" in 1830. He was the first chief justice of the county court, a short lived court of the pioneer days, and held the first session of that court at Niles in July, 1832. He settled in St. Joseph about this time and kept the Mansion House. After October, 1832, the county court was held at Newburyport (St. Joseph). The list of grand jurors for the December term, 1832, shows the names of the following prominent old settlers of the county: A. S. Amsden, N. B. Starkweather, John Wittenmyer, William Huff, T. C. Abbe, B. Webb, Calvin Bartlett, Jehiel Enos, Timothy S. Smith, Benjamin C. Hoyt, Amos Farley, O. P. Lacey, S. Ford, L. Cavenaugh, Henry Lemon, Garrett Sherrat, Pitt Brown, Martin Hoffman. Nearly all of these men were leading, representative men of the day. This county court was abolished in I833, re-established in 1847 and finally abolished in I853. In this connection some reference may be made to the circuit court. The first term of this court was held at St. Joseph in October, I833. Courts were first held in the log school house. Subsequently they were held in what was generally known as the "Old White School House," still standing. The first judges were William A. Fletcher, president judge; Talman Wheeler and Amos S. Amsden, associate judges. These associate judges were generally known as side judges, and this system lasted but a few years. Judge Fletcher resided in Detroit and was a very able jurist. He was succeeded in I837 by Epaphroditus Ransom, of Kalamazoo, who held his first term in St. Joseph in April of that year. He was sub HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 179 sequently chief justice of the supreme court of the state, and in 1848 became governor. He was a Democrat, but strongly anti-slavery in his convictions, which he did not disguise. A son, Major Ransom, now resides in St. Joseph and has been a member of the common council. No court house was built at St. Joseph, but a jail was built in 1834 by the sheriff of the county, Fowler Preston. This was built of hewed logs, and was eighteen by twenty feet in size. The actual cost was $I91.56. R. B. Duncan and John Martin became prominent merchants in the village. The following is a list of voters of the village in 1835: Amsden, Axtell, Brown (Hiram), Brownell, Bartlett, Britain, Boughton, Conger, Chauncey, Duncan, Deacon, Emerson, Fitzgerald (Thomas), Harris, Hoyt, Hough, Hollywood, Johnson (Benjamin), Howe, Kingsley (George), Lord, Captain Martin, R. B. Martin, Fowler Preston, A. S. Preston, Pike, Rogers, Richardson, Russell, Wheeler, Wittenmyer, Wilson (Daniel), Pangborn, Weaver, Wells, Solomon Smith. Among the principal merchants who came a few years later, may be mentioned James E. Stevens, J. E. and J. B. Sutherland, B. F. King, F. A. Potter, C. C. Sweet, W. B. O. Sweet, George and Ed. F. Platt, Charles Stewart, J. Jacobson, James Forber, T. T. Ransom, Z. Rice and son, George E. Smith, H. M. Zekind, E. C. Palmer, E. D. Crane, M. and A. Shephard. John Forbes is the present mayor of the city. For many years ferry boats ran between St. Joseph and Benton Harbor. Then followed a horse railroad. A few years afterward the railway passed into the control of Colonel Worth Bean, a native of Kentucky, who had been previously connected with the management of street railroads. In 1892, Colonel Bean introduced electricity as the propelling power, and also furn ished light and power to both cities. The new corporation was called the St. Joseph and Benton Harbor Electric Railway and Light Company. The railway system was gradually extended in the cities of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph until it now embraces about ten miles of track. The company still furnishes light to the citizens of Benton Harbor. For some years the enterprise met with considerable difficulties and at one time an application was made for a receiver by some of the stock holders on the ground of its insolvency, but the creditors opposed the application and the application was denied. The company survived its troubles and has been successful, the business having been immense, especially in the summer time. Colonel Bean recently disposed of his interest in the concern to Chicago parties. Henry Mason, however, superintendent under Colonel Bean, retained the management under the new proprietors. Captain Nelson W. Napier came to St. Joseph about I836 while quite young. He was a sailor during all his active life and at the age of twenty-one was captain of a steamboat on the; great lakes. On October 15, I880, the steamer "Alpena," which plied between St. Joseph and Chicago and which he commanded, went down near Holland with a crew of about thirty persons and about thirty passengers in a terrific gale. Not a single person was saved. The following verses taken from a poem written by Captain Whiting upon the occasion of the loss of the Alpena commemorate the virtues of Captain Napier: "A braver seaman never trod Supreme upon the 'peopled deck;' True to his wife, his friends and God, He perished in the Alpena's wreck." "Of stalwart frame and giant mold, Yet still of aspect calm and mild, Confronting danger he was bold, Yet gentle as a loving child." i8o HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY The following children of Captain Nelson W. Napier are now living: Nelson W. Napier of St. Joseph, Edward Napier of San Francisco, Frank and Arthur of St. Joseph. A daughter, who died some years ago, was the former wife of Dr. McLin, a prominent physician of St. Joseph. The family is a sea faring one, nearly all of whom have been captains or important officials of steamboats on the great lakes. Frank has been deputy sheriff and clerk of St. Joseph. In 1837 Daniel Murphy, a native of Ireland, settled in St. Joseph township and engaged in farming. His son John is now living on a farm on the lake shore drive, a short distance south of the city, and has been engaged for many years in fruit culture. He is now one of the oldest residents of the township, having come with his father there sixty-nine years ago. A little later came Warren and Daniel Chapman, natives of New Hampshire. Warren Chapman was engaged for some years in the forwarding and commission business. He became a prominent figure in the political history of the county and was a senator to the state legislature from I865 to 1867, two terms. He was also supervisor of the township for several years and president of the village. He was a man of ability and sterling qualities. Daniel Chapman was supervisor of the township for seven years and judge of probate for two terms. He was a man of strict integrity and natural sagacity. The commercial importance of St. Joseph began about I836. The harbor was improved by the government that year. Numerous boats of different kinds began to ply on the river. The speculative spirit began to develop and in I836 a firm of eastern capitalists, G. S. Hubbard & Company, purchased a large tract of land lying between the Paw Paw river and the lake, which they platted into lots and called North St. Joseph. A large amount of money was expended in levelling down the sand hills, building docks and making other improvements. A town of large proportions was contemplated and places for an academy, a court house and other public buildings were designated. A warehouse and other buildings were built, but the location was bad, hard times soon came on and the project became a failure. On the south side of the river, lots at this time were held at fabulous prices and the growth of the village was seriously retarded by a narrow policy of high prices which drove away prospective buyers to other points. The era of wild cat banks began at this period and their collapse stopped the growth of the town as well as that of others. The "Commercial Bank," one of these wild cat banks, was established in 1837, of which Talman Wheeler was president. The bank went to pieces in a short time and its bills. were never redeemed. While the growth of the town was retarded, the commerce on the lake and river seems to have increased year by year till the completion of the Michigan Central railroad to Niles in I848. In 1846 shipments from St. Joseph were as follows: Barrels flour................ Bushels wheat............... Casks whiskey............... Lumber (feet).............. I 29,333 263, II6 2,72I I,500,00o Until 1843 more wheat and flour were shipped from St. Joseph than from Chicago, The original western terminus of the Michigan Central railroad as designated by the state legislature was St. Joseph. But in I846 the state sold the railroad to a firm of Boston capitalists, who in I847, changed the route and located it through Niles and New Buffalo, to Chicago. The people of St. Joseph were seriously disappointed and a still further decline took place. In 1854 the population was only 703. About I865, however, a radical change occurred. Set HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY i8i tiers began to come into the village and surrounding country in large numbers. The population from I860 to I870 increased from 1358 to 2994. In the meantime the fruit industry had developed and became profitable. In I869 the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad Company was organized. Seven directors were elected, Hon. A. H. Morrison, Warren Chapman, B. C. Hoyt, Curtis Boughton, George Bridgman, David Ballentine and Robert A. Conolly. Mr. Morrison was made president and was the leading genius in the enterprise, having secured the aid of James F. Joy, of Detroit, a prominent railroad magnate. A large amount was donated by St. Joseph and other townships and in January, I870, the road was completed from St. Joseph to New Buffalo. In the next year it was extended north and soon became a part of the Chicago & West Michigan Railroad. Mr. Morrison had charge of the railroad for six years. He was for many years prominent in political and industrial life and was a man of great energy. In I856 he was a member of the State Senate and a member of the House in I860. He was also collector and assessor of internal revenue for the second district of Michigan. His later business projects proved unprofitable and he removed to Chicago some years before his death. For several years he was a prominent leader of the Republican party in the county. A brief reference to prominent professional men, who are deceased, is fitting. Damon A. Winslow came to St. Joseph in 1844. HI-e devoted himself mainly to chancery practice and also to editorial pursuits. In I869 he published a pamphlet containing a short sketch of St. Joseph history and advertising the fruit interests. He subsequently removed to Allegan county where he died. Charles W. Ormsby, a native of New York, came to St. Joseph in 1861. He did a heavy collection and foreclosure business. He died at Salt Lake City in 1872. George S. Clapp was a native of Ohio, a graduate of Berea College and came to St. Joseph in 1862, where he soon acquired an extensive practice in his profession. He was a strong lawyer and became noted as a successful trial advocate. He was an all around lawyer, intimately acquainted with all branches of the law, and by tireless industry and ability rose to the front rank of his profession. He was prosecuting attorney of the county from I875 to I88I and was twice a candidate for circuit judge for which position he was eminently qualified. Through the freaks of politics, however, which sometimes are inscrutable, he was defeated. In I882, he removed to Niles where he lived till his death in I895. He was at times city attorney of St. Joseph and of Niles. Politically he was a Republican. He was originally a Methodist but several years before his death united with the Presbyterian church at Niles. He was fond of music and was for many years chorister of church choirs in Methodist and Presbyterian churches. Calvin B. Potter, a native of New York, came to St. Joseph, after serving in the Civil war, in I866. He was a man of original force and genius, and especially excelled in his command of legal diction, being clear, terse and happy in the use of choice AngloSaxon words. He was an- able attorney, although sometimes prone to be too theoretical. He was a representative in the state legislature in 1874 and city attorney of St. Joseph for a time. His powers of sarcasm were strong and he occasionally used them with telling effect. He died about three years ago in Salt Lake City. Politically he was a Democrat, but decidedly independent and courageous, sometimes openly supporting Republican condidates for important positions. Theodore J. De Puy, a native of Pennsylvania, came to St. Joseph in i869. 182 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY He was a fluent speaker and quite entertaining and amusing in his speeches before a jury. He removed to Los Angeles, California, where he died several years ago. The first physician who appears to have located at St. Joseph was Dr. B. Y. Boyd of Kentucky, who came in 1834, but remained but a few years. Dr. Talman lWheeler and Dr. Amos G. Amsden were physicians by education but did not practice their profession after locating in St. Joseph. Both of these men engaged in other pursuits and were prominently connected with the early history of St. Joseph. Dr. L. S. Lillibridge came in 1836. He was a skillful physician and a supervisor of the township in 1845. He removed to California in 1849. Dr. David B. Crane came to St. Joseph in 1852. He was a fine scholar, an accomplished linguist and was called a "Walking Encyclopedia." Dr. Corydon Parker from New York came in I849, but died after two years practice. His brother Dr. Reuben D. Parker came in I857, but retired from active practice in 187I. He accumulated considerable property in real estate. He died about two years ago,. Dr. Lyman Collins, a native of New York, came in I86o. He practiced about ten years and then devoted himself mainly to fruit culture. The oldest physician in continuous practice now residing in the city is Dr. A. H. Scott. In 1867 he commenced the practice of his profession at St. Joseph, where he soon acquired a large practice and reputation as one of the most skillful physicians and surgeons in southwestern Michigan. He was president of the village for three terms. The oldest practicing attorney is N. A. Hamilton, who commenced practice in St. Joseph in I870. He has served four terms as prosecuting attorney and two terms in the legislature. L. C. Fyfe was admitted four years later. He was a member of the legislature for two terms, and has held various local offices. Both of these gentlemen have deservedly stood at the front of their profession in the county. EARLY COMMERCE AT ST. JOSEPH AND ON TIHE RIVER. Most of the main facts here presented with regard to early navigation centering at St. Joseph and on the St. Joseph river, are gleaned from an article written by A. Ellis, in 188o. Before the building of the Michigan Central Railroad through the southern part of the county, the St. Joseph river was the medium of transportation for merchandise and agricultural products between the east and southwestern Michigan and northern Indiana. In the early history of the white settlements, merchandise came from New York City by the Hudson river to Albany, thence by the Erie Canal to Buffalo, and from Buffalo by sailing vessels to St. Joseph, where the merchandise was loaded into keel boats, flat boats, arks and other craft, propelled by oars and poles, which ascended the river for nearly one hundred and fifty miles. In turn flour, wheat and other products were conveyed east by the same route. The arks were especially used for the transportation of grain and flour. It appears that sailing vessels came to the mouith of the river as far back as Burnett's settlement as Mr. Burnett, in his account books, speaks of a number of vessels from which he received merchandise and to, which he delivered cargoes of furs, hides and maple sugar. It appears also that the Carey mission received its supplies from sailing vessels at the mouth of the river. The amount of business done by these early boats was immense. By I840 as many as sixty keel boats were traversing the river. The forwarding business conducted at St. Joseph during these days was the most important and profitable business carried on at that HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY point. Merchandise was received for inland points as far distant as Kalamazoo. The harbor at St. Joseph was originally difficult of access. The St. Joseph river entered into the lake considerably south of its present mouth and near the light house on the bluff. A sand bar, making out into the lake from the mouth of the river, often prevented loaded vessels from getting into harbor and lighters were frequently used to unload the cargoes and convey to land or to tle river boats. The harbor piers were not commencedl till 836. Steam navigation conlmenced about the year 1832. The first steamboat was the "Pioneer" which arrived by lake at the mouth of the river in 1831. In I834 she grounded on the bar at the nouth of the river and being caught in a sudden gale, while in this condition broke to pieces. The same year Captain Curtis Boughton employed the material from the wreck of the "Pioneer" and built the schooner "Drift" which he ran between Chicago and St. Joseph for several years. Captain Boughton was afterwards the owNner and commander of several lake vessels among which were the "Bancroft" and "Henry W. King." A side-wheel steamer called the "Chicago" was built in 1835, and made regular trip)s between Chicago and St. Joseph for several years. Then followed the steamers "G. WV. Dale," the "Huron" and the "Champion." The latter boat was commanded by Captain Edward B. Ward, who made a fortune in the lake transportation business, owning a large number of boats. Passengers came from the east by stage and took the boat for Chicago and western points at St. Joseph. Frequently a dozen stages would come into St. Joseph in one day loaded with passengers. Upon the completion of the Michigan Central Railroad to Chicago in 1849, the business of these lake boats seriously declined and the commerce of St. Joseph for several years was comparatively trivial. The development of the fruit industry subsequently created a demand for lake transportation again both for freight and passengers. Tle business has increased enormously during the past twenty years. A reference to this business is made in connection with the chapter on Benton Harbor. During the prosperous period of lake navigation, various boats beside those named, plied the lake between St. Joseph and Chicago, and prominent among the captains whocommandedll the boats were Captain Nelsorn \V. Napier, Captain S. G. Langley, and1 Captain Amos Bartlett. Many disasters occurred in the days of early lake navigation. In Septembler, I868, the "Hiccocampus," colmmanded by Captain Henry Brown, w-ent dlown in mid-lake. It was overloaded with a heavy cargo of peaches, against which the captain is said to have strenuously, but fruitlessly, proteste(t to the owners. Some thirty passengers were drownled and boat and cargo destroyed. In October, I88o, the steamer "A\lpena"' wNent down near Holland, as has already been related, in a terrific gale. Not a single person was saved. In January, I896, the steamboat "Chicora," a fine boat belonging to the Graham. and Morton Transportation Company, went down in a terrific gale near the eastern shore as is supposed. It was commanded by Captain H. M. Napier. There were only four passengers, among whom were James Clark, former United States marshal of the western district of Michigan, sheriff and under sheriff for many years and also J. F. Pearl, a prominent druggist of St. JosephNothing further was heard of the boat, passengers or crew. It appears that ship-building was cornmenced at St. Joseph in 1832 by Deacon & M\cKaleb and subsequently by Griffitlh & Company. Dr. L. A. Barnard in I83z built a fifteen-ton sloop at LaGrange, Cass county, hauled it by oxen to Niles and there launched it and went down the river. It -184 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY "was called the "Dart" and ran between St. Joseph and Chicago. The navigation of the river by steamboats continued about twenty-five years. The first steamboat to navigate the river was the "Newburyport," which ran up as far as Berrien Springs. This was her only trip. The next boat was the "Matilda Barney" a stern-wheeler built by Deacon & McKaleb at St. Joseph in I833. This boat ran for several years and did a prosperous business. Captain Daniel T. Wilson commanded and Ebenezer Farley was pilot. The "Davy Crockett" commenced running on the river in 1834 and was owned by Griffith & Company. Pitt Brown was captain and Joseph Smith pilot. In 1835, after doing a prosperous business, she ran upon a rock near Berrien Springs, broke in two and sunk. The "Pocahontas" a larger boat than the preceding, was built by Wheeler & Porter, forwarding merchants at St. Joseph. Ebenezer Farley commanded. The "Indiana," built by Captain John McMillan in I843, was the largest and swiftest boat which had yet run on the river. Under Captain Brewer she often made the run from St. Joseph to Niles and back again to St. Joseph, a distance of one hundred miles, between sunrise and sunset. The "Algona" was built by Wheeler & Porter and made her first trip on the river in I845 under Captain Edward Smith. She was more costly than any preceding boat, but inferior in power and speed to the "Indiana." The "Algona" and the "Indiana" generally towed the keel boats up the river to their loading places, from whence upon receiving their cargoes, they floated back to St. Joseph. The "Mishawaka" was built soon after the "Algona" and was commanded by Captain Hamilton Smith. She had on each side two wheels about five feet in diameter, and placed about sixteen feet apart and over these ran an endless chain on which were fastened the buckets or paddles. The boat was an unusually fast one, but the propelling apparatus was continually getting out of order and broken and it was found necessary on account of this fact, to discard the endless chain system and substitute the ordinary paddle wheel. About the same time the "Niles," a side wheeler, was built by William B. Beeson, of Niles, under command at first of Captain Darius Jennings. Captain Jennings was an admirable captain and a man of unusual intelligence and information. This boat ran several years and was one of the most successful on the river. Captain J. NV. Brewer, another intelligent and popular captain, succeeded Captain Jennings. The "Michigan" was built shortly after the "Niles" and she plied mainly between Mottville and St. Joseph. For some time she was under the command of Linus F. Warner, subsequently a major in the Civil war and sheriff of Berrien county. In I849 the "Niles" was purchased by the Michigan Central Railroad Company, and this boat together with the keel boats for two or three years brought freight from Constantine and lower points to Niles, where the freight was elevated by steam power into the company's warehouse, a structure one hundred feet high, which had been built on the river bank at the Niles bridge. From this building the freight was transferred to the railroad. A new boat was built about I849 for the upper river trade and named the "John F. Porter," after the forwarding merchant at St. Joseph, who was called by the river men "The Boatman's Friend." This steamer was one hundred and eight feet keel, sixteen feet beam, four feet hold and eighteen inches draft of water, with two engines of forty horse power. Under command of Captain Brewer, this boat plied between Con HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY stantine and Niles till 1851, when the Michigan Southern Railway was completed to South Bend and the upper river commerce was practically at an end. The boats then engaged in the transportation business on the river were mostly sold and transferred to other rivers. The "Schuyler Colfax," commanded by Captain Ezekiel Reynolds, ran between South Bend and Niles some time after. Beside these boats, the steamers "St. Joseph," commanded by Captain Charles F. Howe and the "Pilot," commanded by Capt. John McMillan, ran for some time on the river. It is to be noted that during the period of river navigation, referred to, the water in the river was much higher than at present. Owing to the draining of the marshes and the cutting down of the forests, sources of supply of water have been cut off and any surplus water has been carried off rapidly instead of gradually. The harbor and pier at St. Joseph have recently been greatly improved and extended as a result of liberal appropriations by Congress obtained by the energy of a live congressman, E. L. Hamilton. The south pier is now two thousand six hundred feet long and the north pier two thousand nine hundred feet long. The last extensions finished within the past year, were one thousand feet on the north and one thousand eight hundred on the south pier. The site of the Lighthouse Depot was established in 1899. This structure was built in 19go and 1902. Captain Lloyd Clark, a brother of the famous commander of the "Oregon." Rear Admiral C. E. Clark, had charge of the work of construction and on its completion was appointed custodian, a position which he still holds. The harbor is three hundred and fifteen feet wide at the entrance and two hundred and sixty feet at the inner end of the piers. The Chicago and West Michigan Railroad, through some bad management, was allowed to cross the river almost at its mouth. The draw bridges are each about one hundred feet long. The river at its mouth spreads into a basin over eight hundred feet wide. The light house was established on the bluff near the former mouth of the river in I83I. The present edifice was erected in I859. Captain Daniel R. Platt has been the keeper of this light house for several years. The United States life saving station was established about 1875 as a volunteer station. It was made a full station by the government in I879. Captain W. L. Stevens has been in charge of the station since November, I879. At present there are seven surfmen in the crew, who are engaged at service in drill and patrol every day in the week, except Sunday. One man is stationed in the lookout on the government pier night and day. The buildings consist of one large boat house, one dwelling house, one mess room for the crew, one summer kitchen and one small boat house. The station is equipped with one thirty-four foot life boat, one twenty-eight foot surf boat, two breach apparatus complete. All of the signals, international code and the Morse wigwag signaler are had by all the crew. CHURCHES. The first church at St. Joseph was Methodist Episcopal and was organized in about 1836 by Father McCool, a prominent Methdist Divine: who lived in Cass county. A church edifice was not erected till I859. The present brick building was built in I869 at a cost of twenty-three thousand dollars. The present pastor is Rev. D. N. Stafford. The Catholic Church was organized in 1849. Services were first held in the school house on Ship street now used as a marble shop. The present brick edifice was built in 187I. The first resident priest was Rev. Joseph Waterschoot, who commenced his pastorate in I869. The present pastor is Rev. Fr. M. G. Esper. I86 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY The Congregational Church was established in I854. The first regular pastor of the church was Rev. Mr. Osbirne, who became pastor in 1858. The present structure was built in I870. The present pastor is Rev. H. S. Roblee. The German Baptist Church was organized in I86o with Rev. William Gisman as pastor. A frame edifice was built the same year. The present pastor is Rev. C. L. Marquardt. The Evangelical Association Church was organized in I860. In I868 a brick edifice which had been built by a Baptist society was purchased. The present pastor is Rev. E. G. Frye. The Lutheran Church was organized in 867 with Rev. John Freitag as pastor. It was called Trinity Evangelical Lutheran. Rev. C. Zlomke is pastor. An Universalist Church was formed about I865. The trustees were Warren Chapman, James E. Stevens, Samuel G. Langley and Simeon Wilson. The church in a few years declined and was finally abandoned. The Episcopal Church was organized about 1871, with Rev. V. Spaulding as rector. There is no rector at present. An African Methodist Church was organized in I87I. A Swedish Lutheran Church was organized some years ago. Rev. J. L. Kling is pastor. COURT HOUSE. We have seen that Niles was the first county seat. In 1832, however, it was transferred to St. Joseph and St. Joseph remained the county seat till 1837, when it was removed to Berrien Springs. About 1891 the prominent citizens of St. Joseph began to agitate the question of again removing it to St. Joseph. An able committee of prominent citizens and leading St. Joseph politicians, was appointed to agitate the matter. The movement was conducted with most consummate generalship. Serious difficulties confronted the committee. The people of Benton Harbor were at first considerably adverse to the movement, and without their aid the project was hopeless. Difficulty was found among the supervisors. It required a vote of two-thirds of the supervisors to submit the question of removal to the vote of the electors. The constituencies of more than one-half of the supervisors were strongly opposed to removal or to any consideration of the question. The supervisors at first were strongly opposed to the submission. But providential changes and sudden conversions occurred. It so happened that at this juncture some supervisors resigned their positions, and most fortunately for the St. Joseph people, were replaced by the appointment of men who were favorable to submission. In other cases, supervisors chose to vote according to their individual convictions without consulting their constituents. The result was that the board of supervisors voted to submit the question of removal to the electors at the April election of I893. A heated and bitter campaign ensued and the vote was very close. A majority of the townships voted against removal, but it was carried by a small majority of the popular vote. The vote for removal was five thousand six hundred and ten and against five thousand three hundred and sixty-eight. Proceedings were instituted in court to prevent the removal and the circuit court held it illegal and invalid, but the supreme court reversed the action of the circuit court. In December, I894, the county seat was removed to St. Joseph and the court room and county offices were located in Martin's Academy of Music while the court house and jail were being constructed. These were finished and ready for occupancy in February, I896. The cost of the court house, jail and fixtures was about seventy thousand dollars. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I87 LIBRARY. The Carnegie Public Library of St. Joseph was first opened November I, I894. The building including the furniture, furnished by Mr. Carnegie, cost thirteen thousand five hundred dollars and the annual appropriation of the common council for the support of the library is thirteen hundred and fifty dollars. The library has about three thousand three hundred volumes and the circulation for the year ending June, I906, was eighteen thousand three hundred and forty-four volumes. The present officers and directors are Lawrence C. Fyfe, president, Benjamin F. McConnell, secretary, Mrs. George E. Smith, Mrs. Charles Moulton, Miss Ellen Conant, Frank Pixley, E. P. Clarke, James Stone and Orville Jordan. Librarian, Miss Isabella Fyfe. Miss Fyfe has been librarian from the organization of the library. Although the interior is somewhat small, it is admirably arranged for the purposes of a small library, with the best and latest equipments for such service, and the furniture is substantial and made to stand long and hard service. AIICHIGAN CHILDREN'S HOME SOCIETY. One of the most important charitable institutions of the state is located at St. Joseph. This is the Michigan Children's I-ome Society which was incorporated in I893. The first officers were Willis Cooper, president, and Dr. Amos Barlow, superintendent, who has had the charge and managenment of the institution since its organization. It has been maintained solely by private donations. A few years since, a hospital and new office building were erected. Among the large donations which have been made may be mentioned those by Mrs. Henry A. Chapin of Niles, who donated two thousand five hundred dollars for the building of the hospital; by Burton Jarvis of Buchanan, who donated two thousand dollars by will and by Julge Benjamin F. Fish of Niles, who donated one thousand dollars by will. The institution has done an immense amount of good, having received over seven hundred children, mainly orphans and children of unfortunate mothers or destitute parents, and placed them after a time in comfortable homes. Nearly all of the children so provided have turned out well, illustrating the fact, although against old tradition, that environment is a much more powerful factor in the development and moulding of character in infancy, than heredity. HOTELS. Augustus B. Newell erected a log tavern in 1829 at the foot of the hill. In 183I he erected the Mansion House. This was followed by the Michigan House and the Perkins House. In I867, B. C. Hoyt erected a large brick hotel called the Hoyt House. Subsequently it was purchased by Captain Thomas A. Walker and his son William and the name of the hotel changed to that of Lake View. Captain Walker and his son have conducted the hotel for many years. Captain Walker has served as supervisor of the first ward for ten successive terms and is the present incumbent. He was chairman of the board of supervisors for several terms. He has been a prominent leader in the Democratic party and was an officer in ithe twelfth Michigan regiment during the Civil war. In I868 Charles Krueger erected a four story brick hotel called the St. Charles. For a number of years before I896, a syndicate owned the property and for a considerable time it was closed to business. In I896, Alonzo Vincent, who had been the manager of the Benton House at Benton Harbor, leased the property and subsequently be i88 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY came the owner. It is conducted by himself and son-in-law, C. E. Blake, and known as the Whitcomb Hotel. During the past year an elegant mineral bath house has been annexed to the hotel, with all modern appliances and has already been largely patronized. Mr. Vincent was for some years warden of the State Penitentiary at Jackson and has been a prominent leader in the Republican party in the county and a member of State Republican Committee for many years. BANKS. In 1833, a branch of the Farmers and Mechanics Bank, a leading bank located at Detroit, was established under the management of Thomas Fitzgerald. R. C. Paine succeeded Mr. Fitzgerald in 1837, and in 1841 removed the agency to Niles. In I836, the Commercial Bank was organized with Tolman Wheeler as president. This was a "wild cat" bank of Michigan, lasted only two or three years and failed with scarcely any available assets and with its bills worthless. In 1856, B. C. Hoyt established a bank in which his son, Edward C., soon became associated with him. This bank did an immense business for nearly twenty years, but the Hoyts failed as a result of the financial panic of I873. The First National Bank was incorporated in I87I. W. F. Higman was the first president and Francis Jordan, cashier. This was followed by the organization of a new bank called the Union Banking Company, in 1882, with Francis Jordan, president, and Orville, his son, cashier. Mr. Jordan continued as president for eleven years. The bank is still doing business with A. W. Wells as president, James Forbes, vice president, Orville O. Jordan, cashier, C. B. Winslow, assistant cashier. Orville Jordan has been the cashier of the bank since its organization. The Commercial National Bank was or ganized in I893. Its present officers are: James M. Ball, president; M. W. Stock, vice-president; A. N. Reece, cashier, and F. S. Clarke, assistant cashier. MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. The first sawmill, as has been stated, was built in 1832 by Deacon & McKaleb. Several manufacturing establishments sprung up at different times, which were subsequently abandoned or proved unremunerative. Among them was an extensive plant called Wooden Ware Works established by A. N. Morrison in 1878, for the manufacture of tubs, pails, broom handles and other wooden ware. It did a large business for a few years, but in the end proved unprofitable and was abandoned. The largest knitting mill in the state is the Cooper-Wells factory at St. Joseph. It was established in I878 by S. F. Cooper & Sons. The Coopers sold out their interest many years ago. The concern was incorporated in I889 and Abel W. Wells is president. The company employs four hundred and forty-seven people and has an annual pay roll of $I90,000. The largest factory for building small boats and launches in the state is the Truscott Boat Company located at St. Joseph. It was incorporated in I892. The boats are sent to all parts of the world. During the year 1905 six hundred boats were manufactured at an estimated value of $500,000. The average number of employees is about two hundred. The officers are: E. E. Truscott, president, H. D. Truscott, vice president, and James M. Truscott, treasurer and general manager. The Wells-Higman Company mnanufactures fruit baskets, packages and boxes. It was established in I869 mainly by A. W. Wells. In 1889 it was incorporated under the name of the Wells-Higman Company. A. W. Wells is the president, and John Higman, secretary and treasurer. COOPER, WELLS & CO. (1906) I I HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I89 The Compound Door Factory was incorporated in I899. The present officers are: John McConnell, president, Frank Kelble, vice president, Anthony Canavan, secretary, and B. F. McConnell, treasurer. The company manufactures high grade veneered doors and also interior finish for large buildings of the higher grades. It has just finished an eighteen story office building at Chicago and employs in its factory at St. Joseph one hundred and twenty-five hands. With the exception of the president all its officers live at St. Joseph. The A. B. Morse Company was incorporated in I894, with Arthur B. Morse president, and M. J. Beckett, secretary and treasurer. It does a large business in the printing of blank books, pamphlets, books and periodicals. The Mullen Brothers Paper Company was incorporated in 1895 for the purpose of manufacturing paper. It now employs forty-one people. The principal lines of products are wax lined paper butter dishes and wax lined paper fruit packages, and red rosin sized sheathing. John W. Mullen is president and W. Mullen, secretary. PUBLIC UTILITIES. In Igoo, a lighting plant was established by the city. Previous to this time for a number of years, the city lighting had been furnished by the Benton Harbor and St. Joseph Electric Railway and Lighting Company. The motive power of the city lighting is furnished by a gas producing plant. The cost of the plant, including the building was $I9,000. The number of city lights now running with all night service is one hundred and twenty-five. It appears that the system gives general satisfaction and that the annual cost per lamp with all night service is about $36.oo, or a total of $4,500.00.. A water plant was established by the city some years ago, furnishing water from Lake Michigan. It seems to have been in the main successful, although considerable losses were incurred for a time through a faulty system of bookkeeping. CITY OFFICIALS. The presidents of the village of St. Joseph have been as follows: Thos. Fitzgerald............ 1834 Calvin Britain............. 1835 Thos. Conger............... 836 J. F. Porter.............. 837-I841 Thos. Fitzgerald............ 842 Calvin Britain.............. 1843-I844 Talman Wheeler............ 1845 Thos. Fitzgerald..... I846-847 Talman Wheeler............ 848-1849 W. M. Liston............... I85o B. C. Hoyt............... 85I-853 J. W. Brewer............ I854-I855 B. C. Hoyt............. 1856-1857 F. I. Parks............... 1858 B. C. Hoyt............. 1859 Oliver Stevens............. 860-I86I B. M. Springstein............ I862 Oliver Stevens............. 1863 Warren Chapman........... 1864-1865 Ed. Kingsley............... 1866 O. W. Oviatt.............. 1867 R. B. Duncan............ 868 J. H. Donaldson............. 869 0. W. Oviatt.............. 870 J. J. Pearl................. 1871 A. E. Perkins............ 1872 Ed. Pulver................. 1873 A. E. Perkins............. 1874 A. H. Morrison............. 1875 A. E. Perkins............. 1876 A. K. Webster............. 1877 Geo. E. Smith............... 1878 A. K. Webster............. I879 W. A. Preston............. I880 H. A. Truax............... I88I A. H. Scott................ I882 J. A. Canavan.............. I883-I884 A. H. Scott............. 1885 L. I. McLin................. 886 H. M. Zekind............... 1887 L. I. McLin................ I888-I890 A. H. Scott............... 1891 190 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Mayors of the City. L. I. McLin................. W. A. Preston............. H. B. Rosenberg............. John V. Starr.............. A. L. Church............... N. C. Rice................. J. V. Starr................. N. C. Rice.................. F. L. Pixley................ Jas. Forbes................ (Present Incumbent)..I892-I893 I893-1895 I895-I897 I896-I899 I899-I900 I900-I903 I903-I904 I904-I905 I905-I906 I906 G. F. Comings.............. Chas. Miller................ J. F. Gard.................. G. F. Comings.............. J. F. Gard................. W. H. Brunke............... J. M. Miller................ 1884-1887 I888-I891 I892 I893 I894-1898 I899 I900-I906 ST. JOSEPH CITY. The supervisors of the city of St. Joseph have been as follows: The supervisors of St. Joseph township have been as follows: W m. Huff................. J. F. Porter................ J. F. Lord.................. Fowler Preston............. B. C. Hoyt................ L. S. Lillibridge............. Andrew Murray............ Thos. Fitzgerald............ A. M. Church............... Talman Wheeler............ W. M. Lister............... A. M. Church............... A. H. Morrison.............. L. F. Warner............... A. H. Morrison............. D. A. Urmiston.............. Jos. Gard.................. F. J. Parks................. Theo. Pew................. F. J. Parks................. A. D. Brown............... Warren Chapman........... Dan'l Chapman............. Warren Chapman........... Curtis Boughton............ Warren Chapman........... A. H. Morrison............. E. M. Edwards.............. A. E. Perkins............... E. M. Edwards............. Jos. J. Pearl................ E. M. Edwards.............. Dan'l Chapman.............. A. W. Wells............... 1834-1836 I838 I839 I840-1842 1843-1844 I845 1846 I847 1848 I849 1850 185I 1852 1853 I854 I855 1856 I857 I858 I859-I860 I86I I862 1863-1868 I869 I870 I87I-I874 1875 1876 1877 I878-I879 i880 1881 I882 I883 Geo. F. Comings............ Max W. Stock.............. J. A. Freitag................ E. H. Kingsley.............. J. A. Powells................ T. A. Walker............... F. E. Minnes................ Alf. Baldry................ F. A. Potter.............. J. J. Drake................. E. S. Kelley................ Wmin. Kissinger.............. Robt. Jones................. Geo. Happ................. I893-I894 I893-1894 I895 I895-I899 I896 I897-I906 I900-1903 I900 I90I-1906 I90I-1903 I904-1905 1904 I905-I906 I906 POSTMASTERS. The office which is now St. Joseph, was established March Io, 1829, under the name of Saranac. The name was changed to St. Joseph, July 24, 1833. The list of postmasters for Saranac and St. Joseph from March IO, I829, to date, with dates of appointment, is as follows: Calvin Britain (Saranac)... Calvin Britain (St. Joseph) Thos. Fitzgerald.......... John F. Porter........... Thomas Fitzgerald........ Calvin Britain............ Reuben Scott............. Thos. Fitzgerald......... Geo. K. Smith............ Chas. C. Sutton............ Benj. C. Hoyt............ Horace W. Guernsey....... I829 I833 1834 I838 I840 1840 1841 I843 1845 I846 I849 I853 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I9I Jas. N. Witherell.......... 86I Fitz H. Stephens.......... I866 Henry W. Gustin.......... 867 Jay J. Drake............. 869 Thos. L. Reynolds......... I87I Chas. Stewart.........:.. 872 Benj. F. King........... I876 Leonard J. Merchant....... 880 Jas. A. Canavan.......... I887 Jas. Brooks.............. I890 Jas. A. Canavan........... 893 Fred A. Woodruff........ I897 to date. CHAPTER X BERRIEN TOWNSHIP. The first township in the county of Berrien to be settled by farmers and cleared to any considerable extent was -that of Berrien. It is naturally one of the richest and most productive portions of the county. The greater portion of the land was originally covered by thick timber, the remaining portion mostly consisting of "oak openings." The township is dotted over with numerous small lakes, the largest of which is Smith's lake. These features seem to have been attractive to the earliest settlers, and to have led the early and rapid development of the township as an agricultural center. It was surveyed by Noah Brookfield in I826. The township is irregular in shape, being bounded on the west by the St. Joseph river, which runs in a tortuous and meandering course along the line of this boundary for nearly twelve miles. The river is dotted with islands and hemmed in by high and picturesque bluffs, covered with trees for a considerable distance. The first settlement, as we have already seen, in Berrien township was made by John Johnson in section twenty-nine. He came to Niles in I824 and was first engaged in clearing land near Niles for John Lybrook, whose sister Johnson married. Johnson was a shoemaker by trade and for a time worked at his trade at the Carey mission. He built a log house upon his land in 1827, and he and his wife moved into it the same year. He lived upon this farm till his death in 1884. The son of John Johnson, John Johnson, Jr., is now living upon the farm which his father occupied. John Johnson, Jr., was sheriff of the county in I891-92 and has been supervisor of his township. His sister Sarah Dunbar, of Sodus, was born in March, 183I. The other children of John Johnson, Sr., now living, are Mrs. Lydia Shearer, of Niles township, Mrs. Eva Miller of Berrien township, and Mrs. Mary Murphy of Berrien township, the wife of Erastus Murphy. Late in the fall of 1827 George H. Claypool, who had been living in Niles, having gone there in 1827, and who had married a sister of Johnson, located eighty acres in section twenty-seven, adjoining lands of Johnson, and moved onto it with his wife. It appears that for nearly two years the Johnson and Claypool families were the only white dwellers in the township. Mr. Claypool died in I873. Three children of George H. Claypool are now living: John J., who resides about a mile south of Berrien Springs, Samuel J., of Berrien township, and Mrs. Margaret Dean of Pipestone. In I830, John Smith and his brother, Isaac Smith, whose parents were pioneer settlers in Kentucky, came from Preble county, Ohio, and settled in Berrien township. John located ninety-six acres in sec MRS. ANNA JOHNSON JOHN JOHNSON THE FIRST SETTLER OF BERRIEN TOWNSHIP AND THE SECOND PERMANENT SETTLER OF THE COUNTY II K A HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I93 tion thirteen, and Isaac two hundred and forty acres in section twenty-four. Both of these brothers lived upon their farms till their death at an extreme old age. The son of John, Isaac Smith, is now living upon the land located by his father. A large body of very valuable timber remained growing intact upon this land till a few years since, a relic of the forest grandeur of olden days now seldom seen. The only son of Isaac Smith, James Smith, died in I899, at the old homestead of his father, leaving a widow, Mrs. Malvina Smith, a sister of Hon. W. I. Babcock of Niles, and three children. Martha, Dr. Ethan H. and Charles R. The widow is still living on the old homestead with her son Charles and daughter Martha. Dr. Ethan H. Smith is a physician of San Francisco, California. Isaac Lybrook is the oldest settler in the St. Joseph valley now living in Berrien county. His mother, a widow, emigrated with her father, John Burke, and her children, from Preble county, Ohio, in 1828 and located in Pokagon township, Cass county, adjoining the Berrien county line. In 1840 his mother settled upon section thirty, Berrien township. Mr. Lybrook is still living upon this land and has added one hundred and twenty acres to the original homestead. He is now eighty-two years of age, with his mental faculties still vigorous, and in good health physically for a man of his age. His recollection of the Indian villages and chiefs is vivid. The Pottawatomies were in the habit of seeking shelter at night with their white friends and often came to his mother's residence, and staid over night, sleeping on the floor with their feet next to the fire place. They were remarkably peaceable, however, and were not feared by the settlers. Mr. Lybrook knew the Chief Pokagon well and speaks in terms of praise of his character and integrity. In I829 Hugh Marrs of Virginia, with his family, started for Pokagon Prairie. 13 After spending the winter in Ohio he arrived at Pokagon Prairie in April, I830, with only $IO in his pocket. He located shortly after eighty acres on the flat on the St. Joseph river, opposite the Shaker farm. He was driven from his house in 1832 by a flood and forced to remove to the bluff. After having owned various tracts of land in the township he finally purchased in 1856 -the old Ford farm, near Berrien Springs, where he died in I874. Several of his children are now living and are among the very oldest settlers of Berrien county. Andrew M. and Thomas came with their parents to Michigan in I830. Andrew M. Marrs, the oldest, now in his seventy-eighth year, is living at Berrien Springs, and is still vigorous and well preserved. He was postmaster of Berrien Springs from 1897 to I904, county superintendent of the poor for three years and justice of the peace for some time. By trade he is a cabinet maker. Although a native of Virginia, he has been an active Republican since the organization of the party. Thomas Marrs, a prominent man in both state and county affairs, was born in Virginia in 1829. In 1857 he removed from Michigan to -Missouri, engaging in the sawr mill business, but after remaining four years was compelled to leave the district in which he was living on account of his anti-slavery opinions and returned to Berrien county. He was a member of the State Senate from i88I to I883, county agent of charities for nine years and deputy oil inspector for four years. He was prominent in organizing the State Grange, was a member of the executive committee of that organization for twenty-seven years, and master of the State Grange from I895 to 190o, in which capacity he lectured in every part of the state. His home for many years has been upon a fine farm, adjoining the village of Berrien Center. He was one of the most influential and effective workers in building up the Republican party in Berrien county, and HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY has discharged the various duties of official and public life imposed upon him, with signal ability and honesty. Samuel Marrs was born in Berrien township in I831, and is the third oldest person now living in the county who, was born here. In his school boy days he attended a writing school taught by Mr. Cowles, an Indian, who was an expert penman. In early life, Mr. Marrs was by trade a carpenter, but many years ago purchased a farm in section two, Lake township, and has devoted himself largely to fruit raising. He has reared a large family and now has thirty-seven grandchildren living. He has held various offices in his township. The other children of Hugh Marrs now living in this county are: Mrs. Melinda Snow, Elizabeth Magill and B. Franklin MAarrs. William Marrs, born in 1832, is living in California. In 1831, Michael Hand and his nephew, Thomas Hand, came from Ohio, and each located a tract near the St. Joseph river on section thirty. Thomas Hand died in I844. Michael Hand was a member of the state legislature in I853. He lived upon his farm till his death in I877. A son of Mr. Hand, Joseph, now lives upon a portion of the farm entered by his father in 1831, in section thirty. The portion in which Michael Hand settled in I83I was a dense wilderness of thick timber. He used to relate that shortly after he settled upon the place, he went out into the woods a few rods away to shoot a squirrel and shot a deer. While endeavoring to drag the deer home, in a blinding snow storm, he became completely bewildered, and moved about hopelessly in a circle for about an hour. The shouts of his wife, at length reached his ears, and he then was enabled to reach his home. In the fall of I830 Adam Michael came -with Isaac Murphy, then a youth of nineteen years of age, to Pokagon Prairie, Cass county, They removed to Berrien township in I83I and established a blacksmith shop. Michael died in I838. One of his daughters married Silas Ireland. Another daughter married Daniel Lyle, a banker of Dowagiac and is living at that place. Religious service's were often held at Michael's house by the Rev. Thomas P. McCoole, a prominent Methodist minister of Cass county. In 1834 Murphy married Eliza Jenkins, the daughter of Baldwin Jenkins, already mentioned in the chapter on the early settlement of the county. Murphy was a Virginian by birth. He and his wife both died in January 1893. They were the parents of thirteen children, of whom four are now living; John J., Erastus and Isaac, Jr., all of Berrien Center, Mrs. Rufus Williams and Mrs. Jacob Becker of Pokagon, Cass county. Erastus is the secretary of the Berrien County Pioneers' Association and has been supervisor of his township for several terms. Andrew L. Burke settled in Berrien township in 1832. His father, John Burke, of Virginia, had moved with his family to Pokagon township, Cass county, in 1828, and Andrew resided with his father till his removal to Berrien township. He first settled on the east bank of the St. Joseph river about five miles southwest of Berrien Springs, and acquired nearly nine hundred acres practically in one tract. He was a member of the state legislature in I849, and supervisor for several terms. He died many years since. The following children of Mr. Burke are now living: Eliza Burke, Rebecca, wife of Thomas DeMott, Martha, wife of Robert Foster, Lilias, wife of Thomas Gillespie, John Burke who now resides in the city of Niles, Alexander, of Niles township, Andrew L. and Dr. Samuel T. Burke, who both reside in Chicago. In 1826 Eli Ford came from Pennsylvania to Pokagon Prairie. In I828 he put HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 195 up a grist mill in Niles township on the Dowagiac river. This was the first grist mill run by water power erected in Berrien *county. In 1832 he moved into Berrien township ald constructed a saw mill a mile northeast of Berrien Springs. In I833 he built a grain warehouse near the east end of the present bridge at Berrien Springs. He was engaged quite extensively in lumbering. He died in I839. A son, Christopher Ford, is now living at Berrien Springs. He was born in I831. Shadrach Ford, from Ohio, located on Pokagon Prairie in I827 and was first engaged in trading with the Indians. He settled in Berrien township in 1832 and died in 1874. William Lemon, a Virginia, settled in the township in 1831 with a family of eleven children. Shortly after he removed to Oronoko township. He erected the first saw-mill in Berrien township in 1832. He was supervisor of the township for several terms. Luke Webster, a Virginian, located on section thirty-two in I833. He died in I84I. James Jenkins, a Virginian, settled in the township in 1832, where he lived till his death in I875. Julius Brown came from Ohio to Niles in I830 and in 1832 removed to the township. He was afterwards supervisor. James Gillespie moved from Ohio to Niles about I829, when he was engaged in work at the Carey mission. In 1832 he located a farm in Berrien township, and spent two years in boating on the St. Joseph river. In 1834 he went to Ohio and assisted his father and family in moving to Michigan. James died in I85i. John, a brother, in 1834 located on section thirty-one, where he lived till his death in 1884. He owned three hundred and seventy-three acres in one tract of valuable land. The following namled children are now living in Berrien county: Robert, Thomas and James. In 1836, John Gillespie went to Ohio and assisted his brother-in-law, Nathan Fitch and family, in moving to Berrien township. Mr. Fitch located two hundred and forty acres in section thirty-one. This he owned till his death in I893 and it is now owned by his daughter and grandchildren. During the latter part of his life he lived at Niles. He was sheriff of the county from I855 to I859, and a member of the legislature in I863. Two children are now living, Evan L., and Sarah, who married John Burke, of Niles. In 1835, Francis R. Pinnell, a native of Virginia, came to Berrien township in September, with a wife and eight children. His brother, Jesse Pinnell, and wife had set out for Michigan in company with Francis, but Jesse died on the way, leaving a family of nine children. Seventeen children were thus left on Francis' hands. The family was first divided up, some staying with Hugh Marrs and some with Mr. Riggin, until a log house was built in October following. Mr. Pinnell was a graduate of Stauton College, Virginia, and for many years was engaged in teaching. He was a man of iron constitution and was able to carry on his farm and do manual labor till he was over ninety years old. He died in I88i in his ninety-sixth year, in Berrien township. He was originally a Methodist, licensed to exhort, but for the last twenty-five years of his life a United Brethren preacher. A son, Thomas C., enlisted in the Ninety-ninth Indiana Infantry and died in the service in I863. A son of his, Joseph F., is now living in Lincoln township near St. Joseph. A daughter of Francis R. Pinnell, Mrs. Lucinda Groat, is one of the oldest residents of Berrien county now living. She came with her father Francis Pinnell to Berrien township in I835. In 1841 she was married to James Groat, a native of Canada, who came to Pokagon, Cass county, in 1838, and settled in Berrien township a few years later. Mr. Groat died in 19oI in his eighty-fifth year. Mrs. Groat still resides in Berrien i96 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY township in her eighty-eighth year retaining her memory remarkably well and relating many of the hardships of pioneer life. A son of Mr. and Mrs. Groat, Cyrus B. Groat, was for several years the head of the county executive board of school examiners, corresponding to the present office of county commissioner of schools, and was supervisor of his township for ten terms, seven of which were in succession. He is now the owner of a fine farm in the southeast corner of the township, called the "Shady Nook Farm." Nathan McCoy a famous deer hunter, migrated from Virginia in 1833, and the next year located a farm in Berrien township. By the year I836, the township had been largely settled up, being the most populous, next to Niles and Bertrand, the latter township then including Bertrand village, which was at that time a flourishing settlement. Among early settlers not already mentioned, some of whom came earlier than 1836, and some shortly after, were T. K. Clybourne, Hiram Hinchman, Daniel Layman, Joel Layman, Richard McOmber, Henry Rush, Thomas Easton, E. B. Walker, Silas Inland, James Jenkins, Andrew Tate, Julius Brown, Luke Webster, B. D. Rownsend, John Powers, Ralph Dunn. Mr. Ireland was a prominent figure in Berrien county for fifty years. He came to Berrien township in I839 from Ohio with only seven dollars in his pocket. By profession he was a surveyor. He, however, went into farming and became the owner of about seven hundred acres of valuable land. He was supervisor for five years, a member of the legislature in I877, county superintendent of the poor for twelve years and held various other offices. He married Matilda Michael, daughter of Adam Michael, one of the oldest settlers of the township, and twelve children were born to them. Julius Brown settled in the township in I832. He was one of the early supervisors and died in I86o. Ralph Dunn came in 1836 and was also a supervisor, but removed west in a few years. Andrew Tate came with his family in I834. His son John, who came with his father, was county treasurer from I875 to I879 and supervisor of his township eight years. He died in I879. Until 1832 the territory of the present town of Berrien was part of the township of Niles. In that year the township of Berrien was organized, embracing the territory now covered by Berrien, Oronoko and Lake townships. In I837, the territory now embraced in Oronoko and Lake was detached and organized into the separate township of Oronoko. The first election in Berrien township was held in April, 1833, at the tavern of Pitt Brown in what is now known as Berrien Springs. Pitt Brown was elected supervisor and Francis B. Murdock clerk. The first birth in the township was that of Isaac Johnson, son of John Johnson, born in 1828. Considerable business was transacted at an early date on the east side of the St. Joseph river opposite Berrien Springs. Thomas L. Stevens kept a store for a time and John DeField a tavern, and a warehouse was built by Eli Ford in I833. Mercantile operations, however, were soon transferred to Berrien Springs. The first roads laid out in the township were those leading from Berrien Springs to Niles and to Pokagon. Both were laid out in I832. The first school was taught by A. M. Wells in a log school house located on land now owned by Mrs. John Burke and children. The first church in the township was a Methodist Episcopal organized in I843. In 1846 a church edifice was erected called Morris Chapel. In I856 a Union Church was established and a church edifice erected on the Niles road near Long Lake for the use of all re HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 197 ligious denominations alike. Michael Hand, George H. Claypool and Andrew L. Burke were appointed trustees. The denominations which made most use of the church building were the Lutherans, United Brethren and Baptists. The Farmers' Grange has been especially strong in this township, and in I876 a large Grange Hall was erected at Berrien Center costing fifteen hundred dollars. The only incorporated village in the township is that of Eau Claire which lies partly in Berrien and partly in Pipestone townships. The village of Berrien Center is located nearly in the center of the township. Eau Claire had a population of three hundred and twenty-four in I904, and Berrien Center about one-hundred. The County Poor Farm was located in this township in 1847 on section seventeen, about one mile west of Berrien Center. A building was erected the same year. The farm consists of one hundred and sixty acres. The first building erected was destroyed by fire in 1867, and a large and commodious brick building was built in I869. It will be seen from the brief account of the earliest settlers of Berrien township that a large proportion of them were either na-tives of Virginia or of Virginian descent. It is worthy of note that most of these settlers were strongly anti-slavery in their convictions, notwithstanding their Southern origin. This is partially attributable to the fact that public sentiment in Virginia in its palmiest days was largely anti-slavery. Nearly all of its long line of illustrious statesmen were strongly and openly opposed to the institution, including Washington, Jefferson and Madison. It was largely through the efforts of Thomas Jefferson, aided by the entire Virginia delegation in the Confederate Congress, that the clause forever prohibiting slavery in the Northwest Terri tory was inserted in the famous ordinance of I787. Although Jefferson was not then a member of Congress, he had been the instigator of the anti-slavery provisions. It is probable also that a desire to emigrate to a land where free labor would not be obliged to compete with slave labor had its effect on the early emigrants from Virginia to Michigan. The following is a list of the supervisors of the township of Berrien. Pitt Brown................ I833-I840 Alonzo Bennett............. I84I Julius Brown............... 1842-I843 A. L. Burke............ I844 Geo. Murphy............... 1845 A. L. Burke............ 1846-1848 Geo. Murphy............... 1849 Silas Ireland............... I850-I852 J. F. Haskins.............. 1853 Silas Ireland............... 1854 Ralph Denn............ 1855 Silas Ireland................ I856 P. G. Cuddeback........... 1857 W. S. Maynard........... i858 E. A. Brown................ 1859 P. G. Cuddeback............ I860-1862 John Tate................. 1863-1865 H. R. Murphy.............. I866 John Tate................ 867-1869 J. F. Peck.............I.870 Joel Layman...............I87I John Tate...................872 J. M. Savage.............. 1873 John Tate................. I874 I. P. Hutton................ 1875-1876 D. H. Ullery............ 1877-1880 John Johnson............... I88I C. B. Groat................ I882-1888 H. S. Robinson............. I889 C. B. Groat................ I890-I892 A. J. Easton............... I893 J. L. Bishop................ I894-I899 Erastus Murphy............ I900 John Johnson............... I90o Erastus Murphy............ 1902-I905 Henry Whalen.............. I906 CHAPTER XI ORONOKO TOWNSHIP. This township is bounded on the north by Royalton and Sodus, being separated from Sodus by the St. Joseph river, on the east by the St. Joseph river separating it from Berrien township, on the south by Buchanan, and on the west by Lake. The river is meandering on the eastern boundary and is crowned for much of the way by high bluffs. The surface of the country is generally rolling. There is very little waste land, nearly all being capable of cultivation. The soil is generally very fertile and productive. The township was originally covered with extensive forests of valuable timber. The township remained a part of Berrien township till 1837, when it was set off as a separate township, embracing the township of Lake till I846. The first township meeting was held at the house of William St. John, April 3, I837. At this meeting Edward Ballingee was elected supervisor, William F. St. John clerk and Alexander Turner treasurer. The present village of Berrien Springs is the site of the earliest settlements made in the township. It was known among the first settlers as Wolf's Prairie, after the name of the Prairie upon which the village is situate. This prairie consists of about one thousand acres of choice land, and is delightfully situated near the bank of the St. Joseph river. It is the only prairie in the county outside of the township of Bertrand. John Pike was the first settler. He was a native of North Carolina and came to the Carey mission at Niles in I829 with a wife. and eight children. Here he sojourned (t few weeks, when he conveyed his family and household goods to Wolfe's Prairie. In I832 Pike removed to Royalton township where he died. A few months after the settlement made by Pike in 1829, George Kimmel from Pennsylvania visited Wolfe's Prairie and entered about three hundred acres in the civinity. He returned to Pennsylvania, however, and did not locate upon the land till I831. In 1830 George Kimmel gave to his sonin-law, Francis B. Murdock, of Bedford, Pennsylvania, one hundred and twenty acres of his land situated on Wolfe's Prairie, and during that year Murdock with his wife and one child located upon this land and built a log house. Mr. Murdock was a lawyer, and the first regular practicing lawyer of Berrien county. He appears as the first attorney upon the journal of the circuit court of this county. In I833 he was appointed judge of probate. In 1835 he removed to the south, and finally to San Jose, California, where he died in I882. His son, Major George H. Murdock, was born in Pennsylvania in 1829. He was a captain in the First Regiment of Michigan Sharpshooters and was HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 199 promoted to brevet major, United States Volunteers for gallant services at the battle of Spottsylvania and in the Richmond Campaign. He was county clerk for three terms, and for a time editor of the Berrien County Jo::rJnal. A daughter of Francis Murdock, Mrs. Clifton Gardner, is now living at Berrien Springs. George Kimmel, already referred to, returned to Wolfe's Prairie in 1831, with two sons Wellington and John, and commenced clearing the farm now known as the Shaker farm. In 1833 he brought the remainder of his family. In 1832 he built the first sawmill in Oronoko township on Lemon creek. He acquired about two thousand acres upon and around Wolfe's Prairie and was the most extensive land owner of Berrien county during its early settlement. He gave to each of his daughters, Mrs. Susan Kephart, Mrs. Julia A. Dougherty, Mrs. Hester Stevens and Mary Graham, a valuable farm. Of these daughters, only one is now living, Mrs. Stevens, who now resides upon the farm given to her by her father, with her daughter, Mrs. Gertrude Lewis. Mr. Kimmel died in I849. His son George Kilmmel, moved to Niles, subsequently became a prominent citizen of that place and was major of the Twelfth Michigan Regiment during the Civil war. He was a skillful hunter, but was killed by the accidental discharge of a gun while he was unloading it from a wagon. Lawrence Cavanaugh settled on Wolfe's Prairie in 1830, but soon removed to Berrien township. Pitt Brown came from Ohio to Wolfe's Prairie, in 1831, with a nephew, Horace Godfrey. Brown opened up a tavern and established a ferry on the river at this point. He was in command for awhile of the "Davy Crockett" a steamboat which commenced running between St. Joseph and Niles in I834. He was the first postmaster in the settlement, supervisor of the township of Berrien for eight years, ran a distillery, and was also interested in mercantile business with Robert E. Ward. He died in 1842. Godfrey went to farming, but subsequently removed to Lake township where he died. Lyman A. Barnard emigrated from Ohio to Cass county in I828 and for three or four years was located on La Grange Prairie. In 1832 he moved to Berrien and built a fifteen-ton sloop called the "Dart" and sailed with it between St. Joseph and Chicago for about a year. He soon quit the lake and studied medicine and established a large practice. He was a man of rare intelligence and was a supervisor of the township. He died in I882. In 1831 the village of Berrien was platted by the proprietors Pitt Brown, Horace Godfrey and Francis B. Murdock. In 1837 the county seat was removed from St. Joseph to Berrien where it remained till I894 when it was again removed to St. Joseph. In 1831 Thomas Love and Edward Ballingee came from Virginia and opened up the mercantile business in a log house, whiclh was located near the site of the old Defieldi house. They subsequently built a large frame store building on the river bank at the foot of Main street. Both of these gentlemen became prominent citizens of the county. Mr. Ballingee was the first supervisor of Oronoko township. In 1843 he removed to Buchanan and in 1844 was supervisor. In 1845 he removed to Lake township, where he lived till I850 when he removed to New Buffalo. Hemoved to Buchanan again in 1865 after living awhile in California. For many years before his death he was a justice of the peace at Buchanan. Mr. Love lived in Berrien Springs till 1854. He was engaged in lumbering for awhile. He was county treasurer from 1841 to 1843, county clerk from 1843 to 1847, and county surveyor for many years. In 1854 he moved to Avery's Station in Three "200 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 'Oaks township, where he built a mill. He ibecame a supervisor of the township of 'Three Oaks and was for many years a justice of the peace. He was a man of rare intelligence and excellent judgment. He died many years ago. Dr. Philip Kephart was one of the most prominent citizens of the town and county. He was a native of Maryland and a physician. While practicing in the state of Pennsylvania, he married Susan Kimmel, daughter of George Kimmel already referred to. Dr. Kephart and his wife came to Berrien Springs in I84I. Dr. Kephart died in I880 and his wife during the past year. Dr. Kephart was the first president of the village in a863, and occupied that position for eight terms. He was recognized as a skillful physician, a public spirited citizen and an upright man. He went into the mercantile business in 1843 and continued in it till his death. The following children are now living, Henry, George and Mrs. R. D. Dix of Berrrien Springs and Walter of Petoskey, Michigan. Thomas L. Stevens was one of the early settlers of Van Buren county, having settled in Paw Paw in I836. In I839 he moved to Berrien Springs, and went into the mercantile business. In 1848 he and R. W. Landon carried on a general store in partnership. In 1852 he returned to Paw Paw where he engaged in the milling business and subsequently in the mercantile business and banking. In I868 he moved to Niles where lie became connected with the First National Bank and was its president for many years prior to his death. Under his administration the bank became prosperous and successful. He was an able and upright man, courteous and kindly in his manners and universally esteemed. In early life he married Hester Stevens, who survived her husband and is now living at Berrien Springs. The following children are now living. Fred L. of Minneapolis, Mrs. Gertrude Lewis of Berrien Springs, William Wirt of Waterville, Washington, and Edith S. Fitzgerald of Chicago. Charles F. Howe resided at Berrien Springs for nearly fifty years before his death. He was a native of Massachusetts and came to St. Joseph in I835, where he engaged in sailing on the lakes for some years. In I847 he was elected county register and served for three terms. He was a very genial and courteous gentleman of the old school, and highly esteemed. He died in I895 at the age of eighty-five. His son Charles E. was county clerk from I869 to I873. In the Civil war he was captain of Company A, Twelfth Michigan Regiment, was breveted major United States Volunteers March, 1865, "for gallant and meritorious services during the war," and appointed acting adjutant general United States Volunteers, April, I865. He is now living in Chicago. Charles D. Nichols settled in Berrien Springs in I843, and lived there till last May, when he removed to Petoskey in this state, where he is now living with one of his children. He came from the state of New York with his parents in 1829 to Rolling Prairie, Indiana. Here he lived till his twenty-first year when he removed to Berrien Springs. He was county treasurer from I855 to 1859 and sheriff from I863 to I865. He is now in his eighty-fourth year still vigorous in mind and body and enjoying good health. He relates that on the journey of his people and himself to the west in I829, they passed through Niles and that there were then only three houses in the place. Among the oldest residents of the township is George Graham now in his eightyfirst year. He came to Berrien Springs in I840 and lived for a time with his grandfather George Kimmel. In I847 he bought a farm adjoining the village and added to it until in a few years he had five hundred acres of choice land, where he carried on for HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 201 many years one of the most successful farming and stock-raising ranches in the county. He married a daughter of George Kimmel, Sr., Mary, who died a few years since. A brother of George, James Graham, came to Berrien Springs in 1846. He became a prominent merchant and Republican politician. He was sheriff of the county for two terms, under-sheriff for many years, a member of the legislature and president of the village. He was a natural political leader, had an immense acquaintance, personal influence and great natural sagacity, and was probably the shrewdest manager on the floor of political county conventions, which the county has ever had. He died in 1876. Another brother, Captain John Graham, who came to Berrien Springs in 1846, has been a resident of Buchanan for about forty years, and was for many years a prominent merchant of the place. He has been postmaster of Buchanan, and assistant revenue collector for the fourth congressional district of Michigan. He is now one of the jury commissioners for Berrien county, appointed by the governor. Thomas Lee Wilkinson came to Berrien Springs in I840. Mr. Wilkinson was a Quaker, but upon coming west, united with the United Brethren Church, of which he was a leading member. He was a cabinetmaker by trade and carried on a furniture shop and factory till his death in 1862. His widow, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Ann Hagadorn, is still living in Berrien Springs at the age of eighty-four. The son, Thomas Lee Wilkinson, in connection with Roscoe D. Dix, established an abstract of title and real estate business in I876 at Berrien Springs, which has been continued ever since. In I894, Mr. Wilkinson removing to St. Joseph, the abstract office was removed to the latter place. Mr. Wilkinson's knowledge of some branches of real estate law is superior to that of most lawyers. In I890, Messrs. Dix & Wilkinson also established the Berrien Exchange Bank at Berrien Springs, of which Mr. Dix has charge. Roscoe D. Dix, the partner of Mr. Wilkinson, has been a prominent citizen of the place for forty years and has held important state offices. He came with his father, Dexter 0. Dix, from New York to Bainbridge in I852. Roscoe was a soldier in the famous Second Michigan Regiment and was severely wounded at the siege of Knoxville in I863. In 1864, he was elected county register of deeds, and served three terms. In 1874, he was again elected to the same position and served two terms. In I886, he was elected commissioner of the state land office and served two terms. In I897 he was elected auditor general of the state and served two terms. He has also been president of the village of Berrien Springs. He has been an active and influential leader of the Republican party in the county. Mr. Dix was admitted to the bar about thirty years ago and for most of that time has been the only attorney in the place. George H. Murdock, Jr., a son of the late George H. Murdock, practiced law at Berrien Springs for several years, and was the author of an annual Insurance Digest, but recently removed to St. Louis. MERCANTILE BUSINESS. The first store in the village was carried on by Thomas Love and Edward Ballingee in 1831 in a log house. They subsequently built a frame store at the west end of the bridge. In I836 or 1837, this firm sold out to Andrew J. Murray and John Wittenmyer. Murray was a physician who came from Pennsylvania in 1836 and practiced his profession first at Berrien Springs and next at St. Joseph. He moved to Niles in 1848. He was a man of liberal education, of great native ability and had a large practice. He was a member of the legislature in I849. 202 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Murray and Wittenmyer were followed by William G. Ferson, subsequently a prominent merchant of Niles. He sold out to Benjamin D. Townsend, who after a few months sold the business to his clerk, James M. Platt. Mr. Platt carried on a general store for over thirty years and did a heavy business. He died in I878. Dr. Kephart carried on a general store and drug store for many years. William Dougherty brought a stock of goods to Berrien Springs from the city of Washington, in 1838, and opened up a general store. This he carried on with some interruption till 1865 when he retired from mercantile life to a farm near the village. EARLY HOTELS. The first hotel was built by Pitt Brown, in 1830 or I83I, on the river bank below the hill. He was a popular landlord and his hotel became famous. The first tavern on the hill was built by John DeField. After Mr. DeField's death, his widow and son, John DeField, carried on the hotel for many years. This hotel became the favorite resort of attorneys for over forty years. John DeField retired from the hotel business many years ago and is now living on a farm in Benton township. The first saw mill was erected by George Kimmel on Lemon creek in I831. The ferry across the river was built by Pitt Brown in 183I. The bridge across the river was not built till I844. The most important work of internal improvement in the county is now under way at Berrien Springs, where the preliminary steps for constructing a dam and power house capable of developing an immense power, have already been taken. The Berrien Springs Power & Electric Company has been organized to build a dam at Berrien Springs, Michigan, near the head of Pardee Island. The officers of this company are Charles A. Chapin, president, Fred A. Bryan, vice-president and general manager, A. B. Ayers, treasurer, and George Kephart, secretary. They propose to build a dam and power house at Berrien Springs approximately twenty-one feet high which will develop continually from two thousand to eight thousand horse power. This will be operated in conjunction with the dams at Buchanan, Michigan, Twin Branch, Indiana, and Elkhart, Indiana, and a large steam plant at South Bend. This means that with a proper steam relay to take care of low water periods in the river, Berrien county will have about eight thousand electrical horse power developed at Buchanan and Berrien Springs. To develop a similar amount of energy in one year by coal would require approximately one hundred and seventy-five thousand tons. In addition to the value of these danms from a commercial standpoint, a lake half a mile wide and several miles long will be formed above Berrien Springs, which will have many advantages for Berrien Springs from the resort standpoint. The above figures relative to the equivalent amount of coal which this water power is equal to, are perhaps a little above the average, but they represent the value of the river under a good stage of water. The value of the two dams could be expressed in more practical terms by stating that the power derived from them is equivalent to about fifteen cars of coal per day for each working lday in the year. The interior of the township of Oronoko began to be settled two or three years later than "Wolfe's Prairie." In 1831 Hezekiah Hall settled on the bank of the river north of the present village of Berrien Springs. In 1832 Henry Freed and his family, Samuel Summers and Joseph Feather emigrated from Pennsylvania. Freed and a son, Abram, settled in sections twenty-three and twenty-four. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 203 Joseph Feather, who was a carpenter, first emigrated from Pennsylvania to St. Joseph where he worked for Fowler Preston at cabinet making. He removed to Berrien in 1833, and located upon a farm south of the village. William Lemon was one of the early settlers of Berrien township, and moved into Oronoko in 1835, and purchased the saw mill of George Kimmel. He died in I85I. He was one of the most prominent of the old settlers and was supervisor of the township for several terms. One of his daughters married John Tate, another Comfort Pennell and another George Ewalt. Joshua Feather, of Pennsylvania, was the pioneer of what is called the Feather settlement in the northwest part of the township, where many of his descendants still reside. He settled on section seven in 1837. Three of his children are now living, two sons, David T. and Joshua,. and a daughter, Mary Ann. Two of his children, John H. and Lafayette, died some years ago. The: names of the children of John H. are Rufus A., Franklin P., Henry A., Wm. J., Mary C., Anna L. French, Adlina A. French, Julia M. Bliss and Harriet. The Feathers, together with other settlers, organized an Evangelical Luttheran Church in I860, under the charge of Rev. John Boon, and in I873 built a church edifice in the Feather neighborhood. The Feathers belonged to that class of interesting people known as "Pennsylvania Dutch," more particularly described in the chapter on Betrand township. The family name in Pennsylvania was "Vedder," but upon the removal to Michigan the name was corrupted and changed to Feather. Some of the Feathers, on their arrival in Berrien county, could not speak intelligible English. Other families of "Pennsylvania Dutch," besides the Feathers, settled in Oronoko township shortly after. These settlers were generally thrifty farmers and excellent citizens, and their descendants are now numer ous. The region which these people settled and cleared up was a dense forest of growing timber consisting of white wood, black walnut, ash and other valuable timbers. The white woods grew to an immense size. W. A. Feather informed the writer that some years since, he measured a white wood tree in this locality which was fifteen feet in circumference. As the tree grows to a great height with little diminution in diameter, it can be readily conceived that the lumber that could be produced from such a tree would at this time be worth several hundred dollars. In I834 Abel Garr came from Indiana and located in section twenty-one, nearly in the center of the township. Mr. Garr was supervisor in I843. He died several years ago. His widow and daughter, Martha, now occupy the place, consisting of three hundred and twenty acres, and called the "Excelsior Grain and Fruit Farm." There is still growing on this place a noble forest of valuable timber, perhaps the most valuable of any in the county. The growing timber alone upon this place is estimated to be worth at least fourteen thousand dollars. Jesse Helmick, known among the early settlers as "Judge Helmick," came from Ohio on horseback in 1835 and located in the southeast part of the township. He was a blacksmith by trade and for some time carried on his calling as well as his farm. He was an associate judge of the county court for some time, and supervisor of the township in I847 and 1848. In 1836 Oliver Spaulding came from New Hampshire and settled on section twenty-six. He came by way of the Erie canal to Buffalo, thence by steamboat to Detroit, thence by stage to the St. Joseph river. In I86o he removed to Royalton. During the same year, John and Lewis Storick came from Pennsylvania, traveling overland. In 1835, Samuel Winslow, his wife, a 204 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY son Ezra and two daughters came from New Hampshire to Oronoko township. Henry Tudor, who had married one of the daughters, accompanied them, with seven children. Wilson located in the southeastern part of the township. Samuel Tudor, a son of Henry, located shortly after in section twenty-four. The father died in 1836. Jonathan Knight came from Ohio in 1836. He was a chair maker by trade, but after working a few years at his trade, located upon section eleven. Amos Gray came into Michigan as far back as I829 and was engaged as a millwright in northern Indiana and southern Michigan. In 1837 he settled at Berrien Springs, where he was employed as a carpenter till I844, when he removed to a farm, where he lived until he died. He was county surveyor in I854. Bethuel and Ebenezer Farly came to Oronoko in 1833 with their father. Bethuel and his father settled on a farm, while Ebenezer became a boatman and subsequently captain of the "Mishawaka" and other boats which ran on the river. In 1835 a party of several emigrated together from Bedford county, Pennsylvania. It included Jacob Statler and family, Josiah and Tobias Whetstone, Abram Small, J. G. Schultz, Eliza Whetstone and George Schell. A son of Abram Small, Adam, was supervisor in 1847, and settled in section sixteen. Schultz located in section twenty-eight and became the owner of five hundred and fifty acres of valuable lands. His descendants still live on the lands purchased by Mr. Schultz. Josiah Whetstone was supervisor for four terms. Joseph S. Barnard, the father of Lyman A. Barnard, emigrated from Ohio to La Grange Prairie in 1828 and was one of the oldest settlers of that county. In 1833, he came to Oronoko and settled on a farm several miles west of Berrien Springs. In 1832, he was chosen associate judge of the circuit court. He was supervisor of the township from 1840 to 1842. He was a man of rare intelligence and public spirited. He died in 1852. Among the other old settlers who came in the early thirties were George Brong, a blacksmith, Stephen Wood, a carpenter, Bun Benton, Jacob Akerman, John Armstrong, James M. Watson, who was a skillful engineer and for many years a justice of the peace. In I836 George Ewalt and George Essick came to the village from Pennsylvania. Ewalt was a carpenter and worked at his trade for a few years when he moved upon a farm west of the village. Mr. Essick kept a hotel for a time and afterwards became a tinner. CHURCHES. The first church organized in the township was Methodist Episcopal and was organized in 1835, under the pastorate of Rev. Richard Meek. Worship was carried on in a school house untill I845 when a church edifice was built in the village. A church of the United Brethern was organized in 1844. Thomas L. Wilkinson was the class leader. It was a strong church at the outset and embraced many prominent settlers. As the Pennsylvania German element was large in the township no less than three Evangelical Lutheran churches were in existence at one time, one at Berrien Springs, one in the Feather settlement, and one in the southwest part of the township. The Evangelical Association established a church in 1854 in the northwest part of the township. This was also composed largely of persons of German descent. The doctrines and discipline of the church are similar to those of the Methodist Episcopal denomination and the origin of this sect was due to a revolt from Lutheranism in Pennsylvania in 1749 under the lead of HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 205 Jacob Albright. The church is now strong in certain parts of the county. SUPERVISORS OF ORONOKO TOWNSHIP. The following named persons have served as supervisors at the dates designated: Edward Ballingee..........~. I837 Wnm. Lemon............... I838-I839 Jos. S. Barnard............. I840-I842 Abel Gard................. 1843 William Lemon.............. 844-1845 G. B. Avery................ 1846 Jesse Helmick.............. I847-I848 Wm. Lemon............ 1849 John Garrow............... 1850 Josiah Whetstone.......... I85I-I854 L. A. Barnard............... I855 Jonathan Knight............ R. L. Dudley............... C. F. Howe............... C. D. Nichols............... Jos. W. Howe.............. Adam Small............... J. P. Vedder............... J. W. Howe................ A. Van Patton.............. J. W. Howe................ C. F. Howe.............. Z. Fisher.................. Harry Stemm.............. Z. Fisher.................. Alfred Bowles.............. W. H. Sylvester............ M. S. Bedinger............. Ira R. Stemm............... (Present Incumbent). I856 I857-I858 I859-I860 i86i I862-I866 I867 I868-I869 1870 I87I I872 1873-I874 I875-1878 I879-I880 I88I-I883 1885 I886-I890 I891-1892 I893-I906 CHAPTER XII BERTRAND. THE "DESERTED VILLAGE." This village which now has a population of less than fifty was once a prosperous frontier town with a population of nearly one thousand. It is now situated in the township of Niles, but from the time of the organization of Bertrand township to 1850 it belonged to the latter, and its early history is properly connected with Bertrand township. Its location was on the bank of the St. Joseph river four miles south of the present city of Niles. Prior to the organization of the village it was known by the French name of "Parc aux vaches" or "cow pasture." In 1833, David G. Garnsey, who laid out a portion of the Chicago and Detroit road, conceived the idea of establishing a village at this point. It was on the line of the old Indian trail running between Chicago and Detroit, which was early used by the mail and military service of the government, and subsequently as the main line of the old Chicago road. In 1833 a joint stock association called the Bertrand village association was formed, of which the following named persons were stockholders: John M. Barbour, David G. Garnsey, Dr. Ingalls and Ira Converse of the state of New York; Joseph H. Williams of Vincennes, Indiana, and Joseph Bertrand, the Indian trader, located at this point. In 1833, Alonzo Bennett, a surveyor and prominent old settler, made the survey and laid out the village on a grand scale for those days. The plat embraced nearly a mile square, containing about one hundred and forty blocks and one thousand and two hundred lots. Mrs. Madeline Bertrand, the Indian wife of Joseph Bertrand, held the Indian title, and her conset, as well as that of President Jackson, was obtained for the establishment of the village. The western boundary of the town terminated on the bank of the St. Joseph river. The streets running north and south were named after presidents of the United States and prominent national characters. A rush of settlers into the new village commenced and in 1836 it contained seven dry goods stores, three hotels, three groceries and a.warehouse. The buildings, however, were nearly all cheap and poorly constructed. The most imposing structure was a large four story hotel, known as the "Steamboat Hotel," erected by Joshua Howell, the grandfather of Marshall Howell, a leading attorney of southwestern Michigan, now residing at Cassopolis. In a few years afterward, this building was taken down and floated on a raft to Berrien Springs, where it was reerected into a building which was occupied for a long time by Dr. Philip Kephart as a HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 207 drug store and subsequently as a hotel -called the Oronoko. This structure was burned down a few months since. The village lots were offered for sale in 1836, but instead of selling them to the highest bidder, the association bid them in.and held them at exhorbitant prices. This policy on the part of the founders, proved to be the beginning of the downfall of the place. Settlers were drawn to Niles by the more liberal spirit of her people, and the ruin was complete when the Michigan Central Railroad was projected through Niles. John M. Barbour was a man of unusual ability, and the head of the organization. He removed to New York in a few years and became a prominent judge in that state. While here, however, he established an unenviable reputation as a grasping speculator. After the close of navigation one year, he purchased all the salt along the river and held it until he raised the price to $12 a barrel. The place was named after the old Indian trader, Joseph Bertrand, a Frenchman from Canada, who located at this point about the year 178o, and to whom reference has been made in a previous chapter. The oldest continuous resident of the village was probably Darwin C. Higbee, known as "Squire Higbee." He settled in the village of Bertrand in 1833 and lived there till his death in his ninetieth year, in I902. He was postmaster of that village for over fifty years, and for many years a justice of the peace. His widow now lives.at Bertrand. The first church edifice erected in Berrien county, after the Indian missions had practically disappeared, was built in 183I, in Bertrand township. It was built of logs near the village of the Indian Chief Pokagon. The pastor in charge at this time was Father Badin, a French Catholic priest. In 1837 this church was supplanted by a new brick church edifice erected in the village of Bertrand by the Catholics. This building is still standing, although the building has not been used for many years. A Catholic cemetery was established on the same grounds with the church and was used by the Catholics of the vicinity till about fifteen years. ago, when new cemetery grounds were laid out in Niles. This ancient church and burial grounds are located in a handsome grove of magnificent oak trees, upon a bluff commanding a most charming view of the St. Joseph river. The cemetery and interior of the church are both in a dilapidated condition, the walls, however, of the latter being intact. The oldest inscription in the cemetery which is intelligible is that upon the grave stone of Madeline Bertrand, who died in 1845, and who was the wife of Joseph Bertrand. In I884, Father Sorin, who had founded the college of Notre Dame in 1843, near South Bend, established a convent at Bertrand for Sisters of the Holy Cross. Their first home was a small frame building, rented of Mr, Bertrand. Their first work included the teaching of a few children of the neighborhood, the care of several orphans, and the laundry work of the students of Notre Dame. In 1845 a new building was constructed and in a few years the community developed into a school known as St. Mary's Academy. Mrs. Stineman, now living at Niles, attended this school about I853. At that time it was flourishing and attended by a large number of pupils from the surrounding country. This academy continued till I855, when the buildings occupied by the sisters were removed from St. Mary's at Bertrand, to the new St. Mary's, near the college of Notre Dame, and the sisters, twenty-five in number, were transferred to the latter institution. Thus it will be seen that St. Mary's, now famous as a great educational center of female instruction among the Catholics, had its beginning in the humble St. Mary's Academy of Bertrand. It was at Bertrand that Mother Angela, who was the Mother Superior of the present St. 208 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Mary's for over thirty years, began her successful career in educational work. After a liberal education both in this country and in France, she took charge of St. Mary's Academy at Bertrand early in 1854. Marie Eliza Gillespie, for such was the baptismal name of Mother Angela, was born of Scotch-Irish lineage, in Pennsylvania in 1824, and was an own cousin of James Gillespie Blaine, with whom in early life she had been a school mate. She was a woman of charming personality, of brilliant attainments, and is said to have strongly resembled her gifted cousin in certain magnetic and mental traits of character. Bertrand village was for many years the "Gretna Green" of Berrien county. It is situated only about a mile from the state line, and parties living in Indiana, desiring to be married without a license which was required in Indiana, hastened in large numbers to a justice of the peace at Bertrand to tie the nuptial knot. One justice of the peace, "Squire Rice," derived no inconsiderable income from this class of business for several years. A license law in Michigan put an end at length to this profitable industry at Bertrand. The township is bounded on the north by the townships of Buchanan and Niles, on the east by the St. Joseph river, on the south by the state of Indiana, and on the west by Galien. The township originally extended to the Cass county line on the east, but in I850 that portion which lies east of the St. Joseph river was set off to the township of Niles. A considerable portion of the land consists of prairie and burr oak openings. The prairie is known as Portage prairie. A narrow belt of timber cuts into one portion of the prairie and the smaller portion has sometimes been called "Little Portage." The prairie lands embrace about three thousand acres. Both the prairie a/nd burr oak lands are very rich and productive. The land lying on the St. Joseph river, for a short distance is rough and hilly, but the surface of nearly all the township is level or but slightly rolling. The amount of poor land is very small. For many years Bertrand was the banner township, in the state in the production of wheat. In 1878, the production was one hundred and twenty-five thousand bushels. The township is about ten miles long from east to west, and three and threefifth miles wide north and south. It embraces two ranges. It was organized in March, 1836, by act of the legislature, and then embraced Galien township. The first township election was held at Union Hall in the village of Bertrand in April, I836. At this election, Frederic Howe was elected supervisor, James H. Montgomery, town clerk, Joshua Howell, John De Armond and Alanson Hamilton, justices of the peace. By the Carey mission treaty of I828, already alluded to, all but about five sections of land in Bertrand township were assigned to the Pottawatomies, embracing some of the choicest lands in Michigan. The reservation also embraced all of the present township of Niles, lying south and west of the St. Joseph river, and eight or ten sections in Buchanan, in all containing about forty-nine sections. Upon this valuable tract of land were collected all the villages of the Pottawatomies of the St. Joseph valley, when the early settlers arrived, except a few who came prior to 1828. These villages were quite numerous in Bertrand, and some of these have already been described. These lands were not open for sale to settlers till after the treaty of Chicago in I833. The first settlement in the township appears to have been made by Nathan Hatfield. Mr. Hatfield came from Wayne county, Indiana, to the Carey mission in I828 and located upon Portage prairie in section twenty, range seventeen, on the state line. The larger part of his farm was in Indiana but he built his house on the Michigan side, and in 1829 went back to his old home and HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 209 brought back his family to his new residence. The Indian village of Pokagon was located near his farm. He died many years ago. Milton Hatfield, a former supervisor and prominent farmer of Niles township, who is now residing in the city of Niles, is a son of Nathan Hatfield. The next settlement made in the township was made in I83I by Benjamin M. Redding, a native of Virginia, who, however, at an early day had settled in Ohio. He located in section seven on the site of the present village of Dayton, outside of the Indian Reservation, and built a log residence and saw mill. He moved into his residence with his family in I832. The saw mill was located on the edge of the "Galien Woods" and for some years did a large business. Other settlers located afterwards at this point, and the place was known as "Redding's Mill" till 1848 when the name was changed to Dayton. In 1837, Mr. Redding moved to Niles and resided there most of the time till his death in I877. He was eighty-six years old at the time of his death. The first Protestant Church in the township was organized at his house in I833. It was a Methodist society of which he was chosen leader. He had a family of twelve children, only one of whom survived him, James H. Redding, who died several years since. The widow of James, Mrs. Jane Redding, died recently at her farm near Dayton, at an advanced age. David Vlanderhof and Charles Wells, natives of New York, moved together into the township in I834. Mr. Vanderhof settled on section seven, and for two or three years kept a store on his farm. He died in 1875, aged over ninety years, leaving two children living in this county, Thomas, a resident of Bertrand, and Mrs. J. W. Post, of Buchanan. Thomas died many years ago. Mrs. Post died recently at an advanced age. I4 Charles Wells and his family, consisting of a wife and seven children, settled on section seven, range seventeen, and subsequently on section thirteen. The sons of Charles Wells, Francis and Joseph, became prominent land owners in the township. Both of them died several years ago. The widow of Francis is still living. Isaac Wells, another son of Charles Wells, has resided for many years at Dowagiac. One settler was permitted to locate inside the "reservation" before the Indians ceded it to the government. This was Samuel Street, who was permitted to select a home in section nine, range seventeen, by Pokagon, as compensation for labor performed for the Indians. He was a member of the state house of representatives in 1851 and a supervisor of the township. He died in I86I. John De Armond, from Ohio, settled near Dayton in I834. He kept a small store and carried on an extensive trade with the Indians until their removal. His goods were brought from Cincinnati. Ten days were occupied in making the trip and ten days in returning. He died many years since. One child, Mrs. Elizabeth Haines of Walkerton, Indiana, is now living. Mr. De Armond was supervisor in I84I. Frederic Howe, a native of Massachusetts, but a resident of New York, in 1834, started on a tour with a horse and buggy, intending to locate in the state of Illinois. In passing into Bertrand township he became so much pleased with the country that he shortly after located on a farm in section eleven, range eighteen. He brought his family, consisting of a wife and eleven children, and settled on the place in 1835. A rude cabin had been put up by a previous squatter. The fire place of.this cabin was made of split logs, the chimney of split stakes plastered on the inside with clay, the roof of split shingles, or "shakes" four feet in length and the floor of split basswood logs fastened down by wooden pins. 210 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Mr. Howe was the first supervisor of the township. He acquired about two hundred and forty acres of land, but in his later years moved into the village of Buchanan, where he died in 1864. His wife died in I869. One child is now living, Charles F. Howe, who was supervisor of the township for six terms, and who now resides at Buchanan. In March, I835, Alanson Hamilton, from New York, located in section seventeen, range eighteen. Later he lived on section six. He was elected a justice of the peace at the first township election and held the office for fourteen years. He died in I874. His only child living is Nathaniel A. Hamilton, who moved into Buchanan in early life, and is now the oldest continuous resident of that village. He is in his eighty-sixth year, and is still quite active and vigorous. He is referred to in connection with the sketch of Buchanan. Samuel Redden settled in Bertrand village in 1835, and moved to the west part of Bertrand township in I838. Two sons are now living in the county, Samuel W., who has been a prominent merchant at Buchanan where he resides, and John, a heavy land owner in the western part of Bertrand township. Benjamin Franklin, a native of New York, settled in the township in I835. A son Freeman has been a supervisor, and is still living in the township. William Batson came to the township in 1836. In 1836, Enos Holmes came from New York and purchased one hundred and thirtyfive acres, part of which lay in Bertrand township and part in Buchanan, but the larger part lay in section four, Bertrand township. He shortly after returned to New York, but in 1846 again moved to Michigan and located on the farm which he purchased. He died in I869. A son, Enos Holmes, is living in Bertrand township and is a large land owner. Another son, John G. Holmes, was editor of the Berrien County Record for many years, but removed west a few years since. In 1838 Isaac Faurote located at Dayton and established a blacksmith shop, but shortly afterwards removed to Hamilton, Indiana. A son, George L. Faurote, is vice-president of the Niles City Bank and actively connected with its business at its office. Isaac Faurote is now living at Niles with his son. Among the exciting events of the early history of the township was the detection of a gang of counterfeiters, who made their headquarters for business in the township, although their homes were generally elsewhere. The favorite resort of this gang was a lonely wooded island in Topinabee lake, afterward called by the old settlers "Bogus Island." An extensive system of counterfeiting had been carried on at this point for some time before detection. The leader of the gang, Dr. Harrison, a prominent physician of Buchanan,was finally arrested, tried and convicted for counterfeiting in the federal courts, with others, and the business was then broken up. About the year I844 the emigration into Bertrand of a peculiar and distinct class of settlers commenced. It was that of the so-called "Pennsylvania Dutch," who subsequently made up a considerable portion of the population of the township. Many of this class of settlers when they came to Bertrand were unable to talk intelligible English although their ancestors had settled in Pennsylvania at least a century before. The history of this class of people is peculiarly interesting. It consisted of various sects of Protestant Germans who emigrated to this country from their native land in the latter part of the seventeenth and the first half of the eighteenth century, and mainly poured into the Quaker province. The first emigration consisted of Mennonites, who resembled the Quakers strongly in their re HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 211 ligious belief and customs, and who were known as German Quakers. Then followed the Dunkers, known here as Dunkards or German Baptists. Subsequently a large stream of immigration poured in from the Palatinate, consisting of Lutherans. At the close of the Revolution one-third of the population of Pennsylvania was German or of German descent. These people mostly went into the valley of the Susquehanna and made settlements of their own, mingled and intermarried with the English race but little, and developed a peculiar dialect which was High German with an odd admixture of English. This peculiar language was not only spoken, but printed and taught in the schools. The "Pennsylvania Dutch" adhered to their language and habits with such tenacity that the state was not able to substitute English schools or overthrow the force of old habits till about sixty years ago. They were generally honest and thrifty farmers and good citizens. Among this,class of settlers in Bertrand the Roughs were the most numerous. John R. Rough came first. He was a native of Juniata county, Pennsylvania, and emigrated in 1844 to Bertrand township where he purchased a farm upon which he lived till his death. At the time of his death he was ninety-five years old. David Rough, a native also of Juniata county, Pennsylvania, emigrated to Bertrand township in 1849 and located in sections twelve and thirteen. He became quite wealthy and at the time of his death in 1876, owned nearly twelve hundred acres. Three children are now living, William R. and Solomon of Buchanan, and Eliza, wife of Amos C. House. William and Solomon were for many years engaged extensively in the manufacture of wagons at Buchanan. William was at one time president of the village. Jacob Rough, a brother of David, also came from Pennsylvania, and settled in Bertrand township in 1849. His son, George W., was treasurer of the county for two terms, from I879 to I883, and has also been supervisor of his township. These families were followed by other members of the Rough families in Pennsylvania, by Amos House, Peter Womer, Isaac Long, Stephen Amy, Daniel Bressler, the Houseworths, the Cauffmanns, A. Leiter, and others. Three brothers, Charles, Cyrus E. and Mahlon Gillette, settled in the township at an early day, the two former locating in section four and the latter in section ten. They became prominent farmers of the community. A son of Charles, Joel, was supervisor of the township for three terms, county register from I893 to I897 and representative to the state legislature from I90o to I905. He resides at present in the city of Niles. In 1842, four brothers, Stephen, Lewis, Hiram and Charles Baker came to Bertrand and located at what is known as "Bakertown," a mile southwest of Buchanan. Here they built a saw mill and a carding mill which they operated for some time. All of them lived to advanced ages. Charles, the last survivor, died a few months since at South Bend. One of the oldest settlers of Bertrand township now living is Samuel Messenger. He was a native of Pennsylvania. In I844, he came with his widowed mother to Berrien county, where they located on Portage Prairie. Here Mr. Messenger acquired a valuable farm of about two hundred acres, and became a prosperous and influential farmer. He is now living in the city of Niles. James Badger, a prominent settler of Bertrand township, came from New York in 1844 and purchased a farm on Portage Prairie, although he did not locate on it till 212 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I845. He was subsequently president of the Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Association and the Berrien County Agricultural Society, and held various local offices. He died in i888. Two children now live in the county, Chester Badger, one of the present county superintendents of the poor, and Mrs. Fannie Knox. Among prominent and early settlers who located in the township may be mentioned David A. Best, Daniel Bressler, Patrick Cunan, Archibald Dunbar, John Dye, Oliver Dalrymple, Eli and Enoch Egbert, Michael Herkimer, John Keller, Isaac Long, Amos House, James L. Parent, C. G. Pope, George Potter, Isaiah Rhodes, Moses Shook, G. C. and J. B. Stryker, Michael Swobe, N. Wilson, Peter Womer and William Haslett. Michael Herkimer came with his father, George R. Herkimer, to Bertrand township from New York, at an early day. He was a prominent man in the community. His son, George R. Herkimer, is a prominent physician of Dowagiac and at present the Democratic candidate for congress in the fourth congressional district. William Haslett was supervisor of the township for fourteen terms, eleven of which were continuous. The following named persons have been supervisors of the township of Bertrand during the years designated: Fred A. Howe.............. 836-1839 John Barbour..............840 John De Armond............ 1841 Jos. G. Ames............... 842 Lewis Bryant.............. 1843 Samuel Street.............. 1844 Abram Ogden.............. 1845 F. A. Howe................ 1846-1847 Luther R. Palmer........... 1848-1849 Enos Holmes............... 1850-1851 Herman Baker.............. I852-I853 Daniel Terrierre........... 1854 William Haslett............. I855-1856 Daniel Terrierre........... 1857 William Haslett............ I858-i868 Jacob Young............... 1869 William Haslett........... 1870 Freeman Franklin.......... 1871-I873 C. F. Howe................ 1874 W. D. Badger.............. I875-I876 Peter Womer............ 877 J. H. Young............ 1878 C. F. Howe................ I879-I881 J. H. Gillette............... 1882 Freeman Franklin.......... 1883 C. F. Howe................ 1884-1885 Freeman Franklin........... i886 J. H. Gillette............... 887-I888 Peter Womer............... 1889-I89I C. H. Wells................ 1892 G. W. Rough............. 893-1894 Peter Womer............ 895-I896 A. F. Howe................ I897-I902 C. W. Matthews............ I903-I906 (present incumbent.) CHAPTER XIII BUCHANAN TOWNSHIP. This township is bounded on the north by Oronoko township, on the east by Niles, on the south by Bertrand and on the west by Weesaw. It contains thirty-six sections of land, of which about four lie east of the St. Joseph river. The surface is generally rolling and the township contains no large level tracts of land. The soil is generally rich and productive and is well watered by several small lakes and streams. The highest point is Moccasin Bluff, located on the St. Joseph river, about one mile north of the village of Buchanan. When the first settlers arrived, the village of one of the leading Pottawatomie chiefs, Moccasin, was located on the flat below the bluff. Another Indian village called Mishaquaka was located just south of the village. The first person to settle in the township is said to have been Charles Cowles, who came to Niles in 1832 from Vermont and located on the present site of Buchanan village in 1833, where he erected a cabin. He shortly afterwards built a shingle mill on McCoy's creek. In I834 John Hatfield located near Cowles and built a saw mill on the creek. In 1835 Cowles and Hatfield sold their claims to Dr. C. C. Wallin. Russell McCoy came from Virginia to Pokagon Prairie in I829 and in I830 to the Carey mission. After working at the Mission a short time he engaged in boating on the St. Joseph river. In 1833 he located a claim and cleared a small tract of land at the mouth of McCoy's creek, which empties into the St. Joseph river at the present site of the village of Buchanan. In 1834 he and Hiram Wray built a log cabin upon the land and in 1835 a saw mill at the mouth of the creek. He shortly after moved to Missouri but returned in I839. He engaged in farming for some years, then kept a store in Buchanan and also a hotel. About 1856 he with others, bought two hundred acres on the bank of Clear Lake, three miles west of Buchanan, and built a steam saw mill. He died in Buchanan in I873. Leonard Madden in 1835 located a claim in section twenty-five, and built a log cabin. In 1836 he sold his claim to Andrew C. Day. Mr. Day was a native of Connecticut and came to Buchanan in 1836. He worked on the saw mill at the mouth of the creek some time and in 1839 he and John Hamilton erected a grist mill with two run of stones on the creek. For a time he was engaged in mercantile business. In 1875, he, in connection with William R. Rough, and Solomon Rough, established a wagon factory, which for several years carried on a large business and employed a large number of workmen. He was a prominent citizen and for many years one of the village board of trustees. A daughter, Mrs. Mary Matthews, now lives in Denver, Colorado. John Hatfield and one Atkins came to 214 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Buchanan in I835 and put up a saw mill. In 1834 Seth S. Sherwood, fron New York, located one mile north of Moccasin Bluff, where he lived till his death in 1856. He was the first settler in his neighborhood and was the father of Hon. Alonzo Sherwood, who was a member of the State Legislature in I879 and who then lived in Weesaw township. Our late county treasurer, Alva M. Sherwood, who died during the past year while holding this position, was a son of Alonzo Sherwood. The latter is now living in the state of Nebraska. John Hamilton, a millwright by trade, came from Virginia, in 1837, to Niles and in 1839 moved to Buchanan and in partnership with Andrew C. Day built the grist mill, already referred to. Mr. Hamilton laid out the first village plat in I842. He also built the first grist mill in Bertrand township, southwest of Bertrand village. T. J. Hunter came with his father and family in 1831 and located in Niles township, but moved to the west side of the river in 1835, locating on section ten. Among other settlers who came about this time were William Wagner, who built a saw mill in section seven, Levi Sanford and A. Colvin. John Weaver came from Ohio in 1829 and located on the St. Joseph river in Niles township. In 1837 he located a claim of one hundred and sixty acres on section twenty-eight. His children, Samuel, Esther, married Russell McCoy, Fanny, who married Charles Clark, Polly, who married John Juday, and David Weaver, all located in or near Buchanan. David Weaver moved to Dayton, where he was engaged in the mercantile business for many years.. One of the oldest settlers of Berrien county and Buchanan township was Russell Babcock, a native of New York, who came to Berrien county in I828. His wife, whose maiden name was Margaret Bulkley, came from Ohio to this county in 1834, and was married to Mr. Babcock in I836 in Buchanan. This was the second marriage in Buchanan. They lived for several years after their marriage in section seven. Mr. Babcock was one of the first to pre-empt land in the township. Hle subsequently moved to the neighborhood of New Troy where he died three years ago in his ninetieth year. His wife is now living at New Troy in her eighty-ninth year. Two daughters, Mrs. Dr. J. H. Royce and Mrs. Lucinda Cox, are now living at New Troy. In 1836 Peter Critchet moved from La Porte county to Buchanan and resided there till 1849, when he removed to Galien. Jacob Dragoo, from Virginia, located in the township in I834, but lived but a few years after. His son, Uel Dragoo, came in I835 from Virginia. In 1844 he bought a tract of land on Moccasin Flat. John F. Dragoo in 1840 also located in the same neighborhood. A son of Uel Dragoo, Liberty, is living in Buchanan township. John Juday, a tanner by trade, settled upon sections seven and eighteen in I835 -He was supervisor in 1842, 1845 and from 1848 to 1851. Two children are now living, Mrs. Harvey Haskins and a son, Harvey. David Sanford settled in 1836 near the village of Buchanan. Godfrey Boyle in 1835, settled on section six. He soon moved to Lake township and is referred to in the chapter on that township. Joseph Coveney, a native of Ireland, in 1835, located in the northern part of the township where he subsequently acquired about six hundred acres of choice lands. He had thirteen children, of whom several are now living. In his religious belief he was a follower of Thomas Paine. During his lifetime he erected a handsome monument in the cemetery at Buchanan, costing about three thousand dollars, upon which were inscribed some of his atheistic sentiments in his own vigorous language. Some one defaced the monument and Mr. Coveney attributed the act to the son of a minister. He died in I894. Two of his sons, John Cov HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 215 eney and Joseph Coveney, now residing upon lands located by their father, have entered into the cultivation of fruit extensively and have the largest peach orchards in the township, each containing about forty acres. Darius Jennings emigrated from New York at an early day to St. Joseph, where he was engaged in boating on the river and was captain of the "Mishawaka." In 1835, he located near Moccasin Bluff. He was liberally educated and was supervisor in I838 -39-40-43 and I855 and held other prominent positions in the township. He removed subsequently to Illinois. Dr. C. C. Wallin, a physician, moved to Buchanan in 1835. He practiced his profession there till I843 when he removed to Berrien Springs. He went to Chicago in 1849. While he lived in Buchanan he was connected with various industries and established a grist mill at a very early date. He was the first supervisor of the township. Inl I836 Watson Roe came from Indiana and first settled in Bertrand township. Shortly after, he purchased one hundred and sixty acres in section twenty-seven in Buchanan township. A few years later other members of the Roe family from Indiana settled in Buchanan, among whom were Eli Roe, Dr. J. M. Roe, J. H. Roe, E. J. Roe and J. J. Roe. Eli was a brother of Watson Roe. The Roe family was prominent in the history of the village. Dr. J. M. Roe had an extensive medical practice. A. C. Roe, a prominent attorney of Buchanan and former prosecuting attorney of the county, is a son of Dr. Roe. Several of the Roe family have been ministers or exhorters in the Christian Church. The Roes were a musical family and many years since several of them formed a glee club called the "Roe Family," which for several years frequently gave concerts and often sung at popular entertainments and on public occasions, in Michigan and Indiana. This club was deservedly popular. In 1837, Hiram Weese from Indiana located one mile northeast of Buchanan on the east side of the river. In I840 he moved across the river and built the first blacksmith shop in this region. He also built a log house in which school was taught in 1841 and I842 by Angelina Bird, a popular school teacher in the early days. Weese was postmaster and justice for some time and died at an advanced age several years since. The oldest resident of the village of Buchanan now living there is Nathaniel A. Hamilton. He came with his father, Alanson Hamilton, from the state of New York and settled in Bertrand township in I835. About six years after N. A. Hamilton moved into the village of Buchanan where he has ever since lived. For many years he was a prominent and popular auctioneer conducting sales in all parts of the county. He has also held various local offices. He is now in his eighty-sixth year. In his boyhood days he often attended service at the old Catholic Church in Bertrand township and was well acquainted with the Indian chief, Pokagon. In I844, Garrett Morris, a native of Ohio, came to Buchanan and built the first hotel in the village, called the "American House." He had previously carried on a grocery at New Carlisle, Indiana, where he located in I837. He was also appointed postmaster at New Carlisle in I840 and Schuyler Colfax was deputy under him for three years. Mr. Morris conducted a store also for some time at Buchanan. His son, John Morris, resides at Buchanan and until recently has been engaged in the mercantile business. One of the oldest residents of Buchanan who settled in Berrien county at a very early date is Homer N. Hathaway. He came with his father, Nadah Hamilton, to Berrien county in I842, from the state of New York. His father settled in the southwest corner of Niles township (now Buchanan) and died in 1849. Homer Hathaway moved into Buchanan in I856 and was engaged for HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY many years in the threshing business. He was village marshal for many years and held various local offices. Mr. Hathaway's memory, although he is seventy-three years of age, is vivid and he has furnished the writer many items as to the early history of Buchanan. A brother, W. G. Hathaway, is also living at Buchanan. Another old resident is Myron S. Mead, who has lived in the village for over fifty years. He has been engaged in the saw mill business for many years and was a former president of the village. Charles S. Black was extensively engaged for many years in the manufacture of bedsteads and other furniture. He was president of the village from I873 to I876. He is now living at Buchanan. The first dry goods store in the village was opened in 1842 by the firm of Stanley, Staple and Twombly. Twombly was then a prominent merchant at Niles and did not remove to Buchanan. A distillery was established about I840 by Julius Russell, with whom Charles Clark was afterward associated. Mr. Clark became a prominent merchant and was for several years in partnership in the mercantile business with L. P. Alexander. Mr. Clark was president of the village and also a supervisor of the township. The first physician in the place was Dr. William C. Harrison. Dr. Harrison was a man of unusual ability, but was arrested by the federal authorities for counterfeiting money and tried and convicted for the offense. He was evidently at the head of a gang of counterfeiters who for some time carried on an extensive system of counterfeiting. The first attorney in the village was John Grove. He was an able lawyer and was a member of the state house of representatives in 1845 and 1846. His health failed while he was still young, and he died about forty-five years ago. His wife was a daugh ter of David Vanderhof and died recently at an advanced age. The village of Buchanan was platted by John Hamilton in 1842 and contained about forty acres. The original village has been greatly enlarged by subsequent additions. The village was incorporated in 1858 and at the first election James M. Matthews was chosen president. Among the prominent early settlers of the village were Edward Ballingee, L. P. Alexander, and John D. Ross. Mr. Ballingee came from Virginia and located at Berrien Springs in 1833, where he carried on a store with Thomas Love. In 1833 he moved to Buchanan and was elected supervisor and justice of the peace. Subsequently he lived in Lake township and at New Buffalo, and in I853 went to California where he resided till I866, when he returned to Buchanan where he lived most of the time till his death. He was a justice of the peace for many years. L. P. Alexander came from New York and settled in Buchanan in 1841, first working at his trade, that of carpenter and joiner. Subsequently he engaged in carrying on a general store in partnership with Charles Clark. He was supervisor of the township from I846 to 1852. He again served in that capacity from I86I to I866 and from 1871 to I878. In I86o he was a member of the house of representatives in the state legislature, in I867 a member of the state constitutional convention, and a member of the state senate in I870. He was also for several years postmaster. He was an active and influential leader of the Republican party. John D. Ross was one of the earliest settlers of the county. He came to Niles in 1834 where he engaged in blacksmithing. He remained there but a short time and went to Hamilton, St. Joseph county, Indiana, where he engaged in mercantile business till 1847 when he moved to Buchanan and be HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 217 came engaged in the same business with his son Frank, under the firm name of J. D. Ross & Son. In 1852, in partnership with T. M. Fulton, he started a private bank. Afterward, for a short time, it was merged into a National Bank. In 1873, the bank again became a private bank under the name of J. D. Ross & Son. Mr. Ross was a member of the legislature in I855. His son Frank carried on the bank for several years after his father's death, but removed west some years since. In 1847 James Reynolds and John, his brother, established a store in Buchanan which was managed by James. These brothers had emigrated with their father to La Porte county, Indiana, in I833. James Reynolds remained at Buchanan three years and then moved to Dayton, where he engaged in mercantile business for six years. In I86I, he purchased a large tract of land in St. Joseph county, Indiana, where he resided till his death which occurred during the past year. He acquired the ownership of several thousands of acres of land located in St. Joseph and La Porte counties, Indiana, in Berrien county, Michigan, and also had important landed interests in Chicago and South Bend. In 1853 he was married to Nancy Howe, a daughter of Frederic Howe, one of the earliest pioneers of Bertrand township. A daughter, Estelle, was married to Clyde Baker, a prominent merchant of Buchanan. Another daughter, Clara, who died some years since, was married to Dickson S. Scoffern, cashier of the Niles City Bank. Mr. Reynolds was for many years president of the First National Bank of Buchanan, andl was the first president of the Niles City Bank, in which his estate is a stockholder. Among the prominent men of Buchanan at an early day, may be also mentioned William S. Merrill, Charles Clark, George A. Demont, William Pears, Charles S. Black, Samuel W. Redden. Mr. Merrill was supervisor of the township in 1854, judge of probate from I864 to I868 and was a justice of the peace for many years before his death. He was a man of ability. Charles Clark settled in Buchanan in the early '40s and went into mercantile business. He was supervisor of the township and president of the village. For several years he was a partner of L. P. Alexander in the dry goods business. Sanford Smith has lived in Buchanan since 1847. His father was one of the oldest residents of the territory, having come into Michigan in I830. Mr. Smith is now in his ninetieth year of age. Samuel W. Redden has lived in the village of Buchanan since I859. He is one of the oldest residents of the county, having come with his father, in 1835, to Bertrand village. In 1838, his father moved to the western part of the township. Mr. Redden was for many years engaged in the grocery business and in the manufacture of furniture. He is now in his seventy-ninth year. Among other prominent business men who were identified with important industries in the village were William M. Bainton, George H. Richards, A. Willard, Charles Black and H. S. Black. Mr. Bainton at an early day built a flour mill known as "Bainton's Mills." The business is still carried on by his sons, W. F. and Charles. Mr. Richards came to Buchanan in I855, and shortly after established, with others, an important factory for the manufacture of zinc collar pads, the first of its kind in this country. After his death in I888, his son, Joseph L. Richards, carried on the business till his death during the past year. Joseph was president of the village for two terms and supervisor of the township for several terms. One of the prominent justices of the 2X8 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY peace of the village in the early days was David Terriere. This position he held for many years. He was also county clerk from I861 to 1863. In I86o A. Willard, Charles Black and H. S. Black started a factory for the manufacture of furniture. The business had been originally established in New Buffalo in 1855, but removed to Buchanan in the year stated. In I865 Willard sold his interest to Charles Black, but subsequently joined the firm again. Charles Black was president of the village from 1873 to 1876. He retired from business some years ago and is now living at Buchanan. William Pears, a native of England, in partnership with Solomon Rough and George H. Rough, about I868 established a grist mill which did an extensive business. Subsequently Mr. Pears acquired the exclusive ownership of the mill. He was president of the village and a man of native sagacity and ability. Charles F. Pears, the present president of the village and president of the City National Bank of Niles is a son of William Pears. Among prominent professional men who settled in Buchanan at an early day was Hon. J. J. Van Riper, who located in that village in 1872. He was a native of New York and came with his father to La Grange, Cass county, in 1856. He subsequently studied law and practiced at Dowagiac some years before locating at Buchanan. He soon established a reputation as an able lawyer and secured a large practice. He has held many important official positions in county and state, the duties of which he has discharged with ability and fidelity. He was a member of the state constitutional convention in 1867, prosecuting attorney from 1877 to I88I, attorney general of the state from I88I to I885, regent of the State University for six years and judge of probate from 1893 to I90o. His home has been at Niles for nineteen years and he has been the city attorney for several years. Among the prominent deceased attorneys of Buchanan may be mentioned John Groves, Emery M. Plimpton and David E. Hinman. Mr. Groves was the first attorney in the place and has already been referred to. Mr. Plimpton come from the state of Ohio, was admitted to the bar in 1853, and practiced in Buchanan for the greater part of his active life, although he was for a time at Niles and Benton Harbor. He was a fluent and entertaining speaker and was always in demand in political campaigns. He had considerable legal practice for several years. He was prosecuting attorney in I856 and a member of the state house of representatives in I868. In his younger years he was a teacher and also taught music. David E. Hinman was admitted to the: bar in I868, and had a large office business, due to the confidence of the people in his good judgment and integrity. He was county clerk from 1873 to I877 and judge of probate from 1885 to I893. CHURCHES. The first church organized in the village was the Methodist Episcopal, organized in 1842. In I853 a brick edifice was erected. The first pastor was Rev. Richard Meek. The Presbyterian Church was organized in I847. In I850 a church edifice' was erected. The first pastor was Rev. Porter B. Parry. The church of the Disciples of Christ was organized in I854. The first edifice was built in 1859. The first pastor was Rev. William M. Roe. This sect is commonly known as the "Christian" and sometimes called "Campellite" after the name of the founder. The church of the United Brethren was organized in 1846, and the first edifice erected in I849. The first pastor was Rev. Joseph Tenel. The Advent Christian Church was or HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 2I9 ganized in I851 by Rev. D. R. Mansfield and his wife. They became pastors of the church in 1856. This society becanim the largest of that denomination in the west, and a religous journal was started in I863, by T. V. Himes of Boston, a leader of the sect, called the "Voice of the West," which had a circulation of six thousand. In 1853 a division occurred, a number seceding and forming a new church called the "Church of God." Buchanan became the headquarters of the Adventists in Michigan for a time but in a few years Mr. Himes removed to Chicago. MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. A most important industrial feature of the place is the electrical power plant located on the St. Joseph river. In 1891 and I892 a dam across the river at Buchanan was built by English and Holmes, who were the promoters of the project. The dam is a timber one of the gravity type and has approximately ten feet head. The Beckwith estate purchased it in '94 or '95 and have used about one hundred horse power since then in the Lee & Porter Axle Works at Buchanan. In 900o it was purchased by Charles A. Chapin, who immediately had plans drawn with the idea of developing and using the power. Construction was started in I9OI and was completed in I903. The new power house makes possible the development of a maximum of about two thousand horse power, while the minimum amount of power available is considerably less than this in low water times. The electrical power is sold locally in the village of Buchanan and the surplus is transmitted to South Bend where it is sold to the South Bend Electric Company. It is also transmitted to St. Joseph, Michigan, where it is sold to the Benton Harbor-St. Joe Electric Railway & Light Company. The plant is now owned by Charles A. Chapin of Chicago. It is operated in conjunction with what is known as the Twin Branch dam, seven miles above Mishawaka and the Elkhart dam at Elkhart, Indiana, so that it is now possible for the cities of Berrien county to have power transmitted to them from the two dams above mentioned in Indiana in which Mr. Chapin is interested. The largest factory in the place is the Buchanan Cabinet Company. It was organized in 1892 by John E. Barnes, W. S. Wells and Alfred Richards. The company manufactures sideboards, desks, book cases, kitchen and sewing cabinets. It employs from seventy to eighty men. Late improvements and additions to the factory have been made very recently and the company expects to employ from one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five hands. The present officers are, John E. Barnes, president; John M. Rough, vice president, and Alfred Richards, secretary and treasurer. The Zinc Collar Pad Company was formed in 1870 by Dexter Curtis (the patentee), George H. Richards and Henry Gilman. In 1878 Mr. Richards became the sole owner. In I888 Mr. Richards died and his son Joseph L. Richards became the sole owner in I902. It is the only establishment of the kind in the west and sales are made throughout the country and abroad to the wholesale saddlery trade. Joseph L. Richards died in I906 and the business is carried on by his sons, George H. Richards and Joseph Richards. The George Rich Manufacturing Company, whose office is located at Chicago, has its factory at Buchanan and manufactures machine shop appliances, mainly chucks, drills and drill presses. It employs about forty men. M. L. Hanlin is the manager, residing at Buchanan. A large nursery, known as the Jaquay Nurseries, is located about three and a half miles north of Buchanan. It consists of two hundred and ninety-two acres which ex 220 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY tend to the St. Joseph river. It was established in 1895 and incorporated in March, 19o6, as the "Irving Jaquay Company." The stockholders are Irving Jaquay, Mrs. I. J. Stosser and Mrs. Margaret Jaquay. The orchards set out for bearing purposes contain about sixty acres, the balance being devoted to the nursery business. The company has been so far successful and is doing an extensive business. The Lee and Porter Manufacturing Company was organized by Fred E. Lee and Henry H. Porter of Dowagiac as co-partners in 1894. The company manufactures carriage and wagon steel axles and wire wheels for light vehicles, and employ on an average fifty-five men. The company has an extensive business in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. In 1895 a stock company was formed. The present officers are, Fred E. Lee, president and general manager; H. E. Porter, vice president, and J. S. Clary, secretary and treasurer. The following named persons have been supervisors of Buchanan township for the years designated: C. C. W allin............... 1837 Darius Jennings............ 1838-I840 Henry Vanderhof..........., 184I John Juday................ 1842 Darius Jennings........ 843 Edward Ballengee............I844 John Juday............ I845-1846 Geo. A. Demont......... 1847 John Juday................ 1848-185I Wm. S. Merrill...... 1852 L. P. Alexander.......... I853 W. S. Merrill............... 1854 Darius Jennings............ 1855 John Newton.......1.... 856 L. P. Alexander........... 857-I858 Chas. Clark............... 1859-186I John Niewton............... 1862 G. F. Hemmingway......... I863 A. H. Clark.......:........ 1864-I 872 L. P. Alexander............ 1873 N. B. Collins............... 1874 L. P. Alexander............1875-877 L. P. Fox............ I878 B. F. Fish............. I879 J. W. R. Lister............. 88 A. Richards................ I88I-I885 L. P. Alexander............ I886-I889 J. P. Beistle................ 890-I89 G. B. Richards................892-I895 Jos. Beistle............ I896-I897 B. D. Harper....I.... 898-I899 Jos. Richards............... 1900-I903 J. P. Beistle................ I904 A. F. Howe................ I905 J. E. French...9............ 06 PRESIDENTS OF THE VILLAGE OF BUCHANAN. The following named persons have been presidents of the village of Buchanan at the dates mentioned: Jas. M. Matthews............ i858 J. D. Ross................. I859 Daniel Terriere............. 860 J. D. Ross..................86I-I863 N. B. Collins............... I864-I865 J. D. Ross................. I866 Chas. Clark................ 1867-1871 Wm. Pears................. 872 C. S. Black................ 1873-1876 Wm. Pears........... 1877 F. H. Berrick............... 878 J. D. Ross................. 1879-1882 Wm. Osborn.............. 883 D. E. Hinman.............. 884 J. J. Van Riper............. J. E. Barnes................ Geo. Churchill.............. B. D. Harper............... W. R. Rough.............. J. L. Richards.............. John Rough................ D. E. Hinman.............. J. L. Richards.............. E. W. Sanders.............. W. H. Keller............... M. S. Mead................ G. H. Black................ B. R. Desenberg............ Chas. Pears.................1885 1886 1887 I888-1889 I890-I892.I893 1894 1895 I896 1897 I898-I899 1900 I90I-I903 I904 I905-I906 CHAPTER XIV NEW BUFFALO TOWNSHIP. This township is bounded on the north by Chikaming, on the east by Three Oaks, on the south by the state of Indiana and on the west by Lake Michigan. The soil on the shore line of Lake Michigan is sandy and shifting, frequently forming into dunes, varying in height, often reaching forty or fifty feet. The present village of New Buffalo lies on the lake at the mouth of Galien river. The first person to take note of its commercial advantages was Captain Wessel Whittaker, of Hamburg, New York, who for many years was a captain on the lakes. I here subjoin a sketch of the early settlement of New Buffalo, furnished by Hon. Henry Chamberlain of Three Oaks. This sketch was mostly published in the history of Berrien and Van Buren counties nearly thirty years ago. "In the fall of 1834, Wessel Whittaker was in command of the schooner "PostBoy" (partly owned by Barker and Willard, of Buffalo). During a heavy gale when the vessel was liable to be driven ashore, they ran for the mouth of a stream now known at State Creek. They were beached, however. The weather was intensely cold and the captain and crew left the vessel and walked to Michigan City, where they procured a conveyance, proceeded to St. Joseph, and notified the underwriters of the loss of the vessel. While passing the mouth of the Galien river, Captain Whittaker, after studying the surroundings, was impressed with its advantages for a harbor. After transacting his business at St. Joseph, he visited the land office and entered the land on which the village of New Buffalo now stands, and soon after proceeded to Buffalo, New York. He laid out the land into blocks and lots on paper, and called it New Buffalo. He then exhibited the plan to his friends, expatiated on its advantages, and persuaded Jacob A. Barker and Nelson Willard, who were partners in business, to engage with him in the new enterprise, and sold to them the undivided one-half interest in the property for fifteen thousand dollars, afterwards reducing it to thirteen thousand dollars. Captain Whittaker, Truman A. Clough, William Hammond and Henry Bishop started from Buffalo and Hamburg on the i8th day of March, I833, overland, and arrived at New Buffalo the first week in April, calling, on their way at Bertrand, on Alonzo Bennett, a surveyor and old acquaintance, and employing him to go with them and survey the village. Henry Bishop, afterwards of Kalamazoo, was a clerk in the employ of Barker and Willard, and was sent by them to manage their interests. A log cabin, fifteen feet by twenty-four feet, was first built, at the corner of Whittaker avenue and Merchant street, north of Seaman's square. Along one side of the cabin, pine brush was 222 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY laid for a bed, and a fireplace was built in one corner. A road was then cut through from the lake to Talbot's mill, a distance of about five miles from whence lumber was procured. Some lime was burned from marl found a short distance from this mill. Whittaker & Company erected a frame building for a store and warehouse, on lot number one, at the foot of Whittaker avenue. In this building was placed a stock of goods. Another building was erected adjoining, with an alley between. In this latter building Mr. Whittaker put a tenant, Mr. Cummings and wife, who opened their house for entertaining travelers. A sign was painted on a rough board by Mark Beaubien, since of Chicago, representing a man holding a horse, and also a decanter and glasses. Soon after this, Russel Goodrich, Truman A. Clough, Dr. Reuben Pierce, Myel Pierce, Simeon Pierce, Moses G. Pratt, and Festus A. Holbrook came by vessel from Buffalo, and soon bought lots. Building commenced rapidly. Russel Goodrich bought block twelve, and erected a hotel on lot two. Whittaker built a house for his family, on block twenty-four, lots seven and eight, near a spring of good water, by the west ravine that runs through the town plat north and south. Moses G. Pratt built on lot two, block eleven. Dr. Reuben Pierce built on the corner of Barker and Merchant streets, on block twenty-three and lots one and two; Simeon Pierce, on block twentythree, adjoining; Thatcher Abbott, a brother-in-law of Whittaker, adjoining, on the same block and on lot five; F. A. Holbrook and Alonzo Bennett, both on block thirteen. The family of Mr. Whittaker, consisting of his wife and four children, under the care of William Ratcliff came from Hamburg, by Lake Erie, to Detroit, where they procured a team, and proceeded thence overland, arriving at New Buffalo in June, I835. "Mr. Ratcliff carried the first mail to Michigan City, and Moses G. Pratt drove the first stage and mail wagon through to that place. At this time there were a number of others gathered in the new settlement, some unmarried. Their occupations were as follows: A. Bennett, surveyor; Henry Bishop, clerk; T. A. Clough, speculator; R. Goodrich, hotel keeper; Henderson, F. A. Holbrook, Mundle, Doty, Dunham, A. and E. McClure, Ezra Stoner and Washburn were carpenters; Haight, plasterer; R. Pierce, physician; S. Pierce and J. Hixson, sailors; Pratt, teamster; Whittaker & Willard, proprietors; Ira P. Warner, agent. The lots were valued and sold at from one hundred and fifty dollars to three hundred dollars each, one-third down. In the summer and fall of 1833 important accessions were made to the settlement in the persons of James Little and Jacob Gerrish, of Boscawen, New Hampshire; Richard L. Phillips of Erie county, New York, a native of England; and in the spring of 1836, of Francis and Joseph G. Ames and Alvin Emery, of Canterbury, New Hampshire; and Ezra Stoner of Frederick county, Maryland. A demand for the improvement of the harbor was soon started. Meetings were held and many speeches made, but the usual delay followed this action. "During the year 1835, Whittaker, McGivens & Company, built a mill on section one, on the south branch of the Galien river. At the time of their preparation for this mill, they were warned by Governor Mason to appear at Niles and assist in the retention of the ten-mile strip along the Ohio line. Mr. Whittaker informed the Governor that he should arm his men with handspikes on the day set, which he did. He was also interested in a mill at State Creek, owned by the State Creek Mill Company. "In March, I836, the township was organized, and the first election held at Goodrich's hotel. In this year also, Isaac O. Adams, a native of Newburyport, Massachusetts, but last from White Piegon, E. T. Clark, and Timothy Harris built a house on HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 223 lot ten, block five which was known as Bachelor's Hall, and which afterwards became famous as a convivial headquarters. The building remained until it was removed to make way for the railroad. "In the fall of 1837, the Virginia Land Company, composed mostly of natives of Virginia, but the majority of whom lived in LaPorte, Indiana, purchased six hundred and forty acres of land, and laid it out into lots, Joshua R. C. Brown coming there to reside as agent. The members of the company were David Robb, Dr. G. A. Rose, Courtlandt Strong, DeWitt Strong, Major John Lemons, Joshua R. C. Brown, Daniel Brown, James Whittam, and Jacob Haas. "The books of Mr. Whittaker for 1837, from which these facts are gleaned, give the prices at that time, which may be of intesest: Potatoes, 75 cents; oats, $I; corn, $1.50; butter, 37X2 cents; bacon i6 2-3 cents; board $3.50 per week; salt, $7 per barrel; beef, 6 cents per pound, by the quarter; whisky, 41 cents per gallon, by the barrel, and 75 cents at retail; team-work, $4 per day; coimmon labor, $I per day. Between the dates of May 22 and July 26, in 1837, 95 consecutive entries occur of stage-fare charged varying from $4 to $12. This entry also occurs; Schooner Oregon left New Buffalo with 2358 bushels of oats, 1246 bushels to be delivered in Milwaukee bay; also delivered 23 2 bushels of corn. Left New Buffalo in April, and delivered oats at Milwaukee from the ist to the ioth of May, 1837. H-iram and Solomon Gould were charged for use of lighter and labor in June, 1837. They owned a mill at New Troy, rafted their lumber down the river, and shipped to Chicago from the former place. "Not ftr from this time Lieutenant T. B. W. Stockton, of the regular army, was sent by the war department to examine as to the feasibility of constructing a harbor at New Buffalo, and the report of the navy department was received May I, I838. Lieutenant Berrien and Lieutenant Rose were sent soon after to make a survey, and reported favorably. A lighthouse was built in I839. "In June, I837, Elder Hascall preached in the dining room of Mr. Goodrich's hotel, and, as the bar-room was near, some of the party were often thirsty, and retired for a few moments. "The panic of 1837 had a depressing effect upon New Buffalo, as well as upon the whole country, but the company struggled along, firm in the faith that the plan was essential to the well being of the universe. Prices ruled high, no help came, and in the winter of 1842-43 but two families were residents of the place, Jacob Gerrish and Russell Goodrich. But the spring found a respectable number in the village, and from twenty to thirty votes were cast at the election. About 1840 the effect of speculation ceased, and money became very scarce. About the only thing that brought money into the country was non-resident taxes. Inhabitants took contracts for building roads at their own prices. The business of the country was carried on by barter and credit. About I844 the schooner 'Saranac' was built by Joseph Oates and -- Austin; in 1845 the sloop 'Buffalo,' by Amos Johnson; and in 1855, the schooner 'Ellen Pike,' by Alonzo Bennett. "About I844, George W. Allen, of LaPorte, Indiana, purchased the interest of Barker & Willard, and spent a large sum of money in improving a road from New Buffalo to Springville, Indiana. They built a grain warehouse, sixty by one hundred and twenty feet and four stories high, on the north fraction of section nine, near the foot of Willard street, hoping to make this an important shipping point for Indiana grain. During the same year Alonzo Bennett, Thomas Comins, and J. R. C. Brown bought several thousand cords of wood, at sixtytwo and a half cents per cord, which was lightered out and delivered to vessels for the Chicago market; but even at this low cost 224 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY the business did not prove successful. This wood was beech and maple and cut at places two or three miles away from the docks where it was delivered. Most of it was hauled on wagons by oxen. Such was the condition of the roads that a half cord made a good load for one yoke of oxen. Choppers received twenty-five cents a cord for cutting and teamsters thirty-seven and a half cents for hauling. By working long days the latter earned about one dollar a day. REAL ESTATE IN NEW BUFFALO IN I836 "Upon the purchase of the land on which New Buffalo is situated by Captain Wessel Whittaker, in 1843, he proceeded to plat it, and induced Jacob A. Barker and Nelson Willard, of Buffallo, New York, to invest with him as before mentioned. "On May 31, I836, a division and valuation of the lots was made. "The seventy-nine lots, located in different parts of the village, belonging to Mr. Willard were valued at twenty-nine thousand five hundred and twenty dollars. The prices of a few of the lots are given: "Lot 2, in block 3, $500; lot 5, in block 13, $275; lot I2 in block 16, $500; lot 7, in block 22, $600; lot 2, in block 28, $800; water-lot 33, $900; lot 8, in block B, $375; lot 7, in block C, $475; lot 7, in block K, $300. Water-lots Nos. 18, 22, 25, 26, 29 and 30, belonging to Mr. Barker, were valued at $I.ooo each. "In 1837, Russell Goodrich was offered in cash ten thousand dollars for block twelve. At this time there were on the premises a frame house of two stories about forty-five by twenty-five feet, and a small frame stable. "The lands purchased by the Virginia Land Company in 1837 were as follows:The west half of the northwest quarter of section II, northeast quarter of section Io, east half of southeast quarter of section Io, southwest quarter of section io, and southeast quarter of section 9. These lands were platted and divided into blocks and were held for many years. When Mr. Barker sold out, in 1844, the lands of the Virginia Company were mostly in the hands of the original proprietors; the only lands in the village that were sold in the early days by Mr. Willard, with a few exceptions, were the lands that were allotted in the division of 1836 to Mr. Whittaker. Of the eight hundred acres, originally laid out and platted, seven-eights in I844 were in the hands of the original proprietors. "About 1842-43 the prices were from $5 to $25 a lot, and upon the location of the railroad they advanced to from $Ioo to $500; but upon the extension of the railroad to Chicago, a depreciation followed. Upon the incoming of the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad, prices again advanced. Farming lands in New Buffalo township sold at from $2.50 to $5 per acre; in I85o, about $5 per acre; in I856, about $I5; from 1863-70, from $Io to $40." The township was organized in I836 and a township election held at Goodrich's tavern in the spring of that year. Alonzo Burnett was elected supervisor and Henry Bishop clerk. In I839, a light house was built but the harbor was not improved to any considerable extent till 1847 when the Michigan Central Railroad Company commenced expensive improvements. The appropriations of the government were small, most of the work in improving the harbor being done by the railroad company. In I849 the Michigan Central Railroad was completed to New Buffalo, which was the western terminus of the road for about a year and a half. During this period New Buffalo was a point of great activity. Steamers plied between Chicago and New Buffalo and conveyed passengers arriving from the east by the railroad, across the lake. Upon the completion of the railroad to Chicago, the HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 225 harbor was practically abandoned and has ceased to be of any utility for over fifty years. In I870, the Chicago & Western Michigan Railroad was completed from Pentwater to New Buffalo. This road afterwards passed into the hands of the Pere Marquette Company, which continued it to Chicago. The plat of the village was laid out on a grand scale by Nelson Willard, J. A. Barker, Wessel Whittaker and Russell Goodrich in 1835. The village was incorporated in 1836 and embraced about a section and a half of land, fronting on Pottawatomie lake on the north. The first president of the village was Alonzo Bennett. In I840 the village corporation lapsed, but was again incorporated in I869 when Sadler Butler was elected president. The men who were prominent in the early settlement of New Buffalo were men of energy and ability, who expected to see a second Buffalo arise upon the southeastern shore of Lake Michigan. Captain Wessel Whittaker was a man of generous nature and great perseverance. He died, however, within six or seven years after the settlement of the town. Alonzo Bennett was one of the most prominent men of the county in the pioneer days. He was a native of Vermont and moved to Niles in I833. He was a skillful surveyor and during the same year was employed by the Bertrand village association to lay out the village of Bertrand. In 1835, the proprietors of the New Buffalo tract of land employed him to survey the village of New Buffalo. Mr. Bennett then made that place his home and was the first supervisor of the township in 1836. In 1838 he was elected county clerk and served three terms. In 1842, he was elected to the legislature. For the greater portion of the latter part of his life he was in the express and drug business. He was also largely employed in I5 conveyancing. He was admitted to the bar in I840, but never devoted himself to active practice. He was a careful and methodical man and of natural sagacity. He died several years since at an advanced age. Jacob Gerrish was a native of New Hampshire. In 1835, he emigrated to New Buffalo and built a house and blacksmith shop. With several others, he purchased large tracts of land at high figures, upon which he suffered severe losses. He was president of the village in 1838 and held various local offices. He died in I858. Richard L. Phillips, an Englishman by birth, came to New Buffalo in I835. He became a prominent merchant in the place and a supervisor of the township. He died in I868. Joseph G. Ames, a native of New Hampshire, in company with his brother, Francis, settled in New Buffalo in 1836. Soon after in connection with Nelson Willard and Ezra Stoner, he purchased a mill at New Troy, which was located in the heart of the best thick timbered land and did an immense business. In I839 or I840 he retired from this business and located on a farm in Bertrand township where he lived till I850 when he returned to New Buffalo. In 1854 he moved to Three Oaks where he became a partner with Henry Chamberlain in the mercantile business. He was supervisor of Weesaw in 1838, of Bertrand in 1842, county commissioner in I844 and the first postmaster of Three Oaks. He died in I855. Among other prominent men who helped to found New Buffalo, were Russell Goodrich, Henry Bishop, Isaac O. Adams, E. B. Pressey, Simeon Pierce, Richard Peckham, Dwight Plympton. Goodrich, who had been a tavern keeper at Hamburg, New York, went into the same business at New Buffalo. His son, Albert E., became the manager and proprietor of the famous Goodrich line of steamers which plied on Lakes Michigan and Superior. Pierce was the owner of a small sloop 226 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY which sailed between Chicago and New Buffalo. Pressey was the first light house keeper and had a small chair factory. Peckham was a carpenter and also engaged in;making grain cradles. Adams was a native,of Massachusetts and an educated and genial gentleman who possessed a considerable 'library. He engaged in farming and set out a large orchard which proved a failure. In 1833, he moved to Chicago. Mr. Plympton was engaged in fishing and was one of the postmasters of the village. Among those who settled early in the township were Festus A. Holbrook, Hale E. Crosby, Thomas Maudlin, Doctor R. Pierce, Thomas Comins, and Joshua Brown. Mr. Holbrook settled on a farm in New Buffalo township. He lived to be nearly ninety-five years of age. Hale E. Crosby was a native of New Hampshire and came to INew Buffalo in I844. He brought with him:a stock of merchandise and went into part-nership with Jacob Gerrish and Mr. Crosby's -father-in-law, Moses Chamberlain. Mr. Chamberlain had located on a farm within the present limits of Three Oaks, in I843. After his arrival, Mr. Crosby had the management of the store. Subsequently he engaged in farming and became a prominent man in the township. He was elected supervisor in 1853 and served five consecutive terms. In 1857, he was a member of the legislature. In I886, he removed to Three Oaks, where he died several years ago. His wife was a sister of Hon. Henry Chamberlain of Three Oaks, whom Mr. Crosby had married in New Hampshire prior to his coming to Michigan. Dr. Reuben Pierce was the first physician of New Buffalo, but moved away to Indiana about I840. A son, R. W. Pierce, became a leading physician at Buchanan. Mr. Maudlin was a farmer and one of the first settlers of the township. He died some years since at a great age. Brown was a Virginian who came to New Buffalo in I837 and subsequently kept a hotel for many years, in the village. He died in I862. About the year I850, a large German immigra'tion to New Buffalo commenced. More than one-half of the residents of the township are Germans by birth or by descent. Among those who were prominent in the German settlement were George Weimer, Fred Gerdes, C. H. Schultz and J. C. Schwenck, all of whom were native Germans. Mr. Weimer was an insurance agent and conveyancer and was supervisor of the township for several years. He removed to Illinois about twenty years ago. Mr. Gerdes carried on a dry goods and grocery store for years and was also supervisor of the township. Mr. Schultz has been supervisor for five terms and has also been a justice of the peace and conveyancer for many years. His son, C. J. Schultz, is the present county treasurer and was also supervisor for several terms. CHURCHES. The first church organized in New Buffalo was called the Union Church of which Moses Chamberlain and Jacob Gerrish were the principal promoters. In I848 this was changed to a Congregational Church which shortly after removed its place of holding services to Three Oaks. The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1847 at the school house by Rev. R. Meek of Niles. The German Evangelical Church was organized in I858 by Rev. Charles Haas. The Baptist Church was organized in I876 by Rev. R. H. Spafford. The Catholic Church was organized in I858 and a church edifice built. This was a mission church for some years, under the charge of Father Cappon of Niles. SUPERVISORS OF NEW BUFFALO TOWNSHIP. The following named persons have been supervisors of this township: HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 227 Alonzo Bennett............. Reuben Pierce.............. Thos. Comins............... Echamal Ryther............ I. 0. Adams................ Levi Paddock.............. Henry Chamberlain.......... Valentine Burnett........... Henry Chamberlain......... R. L. Phillips............... I. O. Adams.............. Henry Chamberlain......... Alonzo Bennett............. H. E. Crosby............... J. M. Patten................ Alonzo Bennett............. J. M. Goodrich............. Philip Edinger.............. A. I. Phillips............... R. S. Phillips............... I837-I838 1839 1840 I84I-I842 I843 I844 I845 1846 I847-I848 I849. I850 I85I I852 I853-I857 I858 1859 i860 I86i 1862 1863 A. I. Phillips............... Geo. Weimer............... Alonzo Bennett............. Geo. Weimer............... Fred Gerdes................ J. M. Glavin................ Fred Gerdes................ C. H. Schultz.............. J. M. Glavin................ Franklin Gowdy............ J. C. Schwenck............. J. J. Deuell................ J. M. Glavin............... Franklin Gowdy............ J. M. Glavin............... J. C. Schwenck............. C. J. Schultz............... C. H. Schultz.............. J. C. Schwenck............. 1864 1873-I875 1876 1877-I878 I879 1880 188I I882-I883 1884-1887 1888 1889-I893 I894 1895-I896 I897 I898 I899 I900-1903 1904-I905 I906 CHAPTER XV WATERVLIET TOWNSHIP. Watervliet is the northeast township and contains thirty-six sections of land. It is bounded on the north by Van Buren county, on the east by Cass county, on the south by Bainbridge township and on the west by Hagar township. The surface of the country is generally level. It was originally covered largely with heavy timber. The population of this township has of late increased rapidly and it now ranks second in population, being exceeded only by Benton township. Nearly all the early settlers came from the state of New York: Paw Paw river runs through it, and the largest inland lake in the county, Paw Paw lake, is also located wholly within its limits. It has two flourishing villages, Watervliet and Coloma, which are the center of considerable trade. The fruit industry had developed into great magnitude, and large peach and apple orchards are common. Some of these will be described hereafter. The first settlement in the township was made at a place which came to be known among the pioneers as the "Shingle Diggings," located on the bank of the Paw Paw river about three-quarters of a mile above the site of the present village of Coloma. The spot was so named because it became the seat of an extensive industry in making shingles. In 1832 Job Davis of Cass county located one hundred and fifty acres on section twenty-one, near Coloma, for the pur pose of furnishing lumber and shingles for the St. Joseph market. He began the construction of a dam and saw mill, but for some reason before finishing, concluded to abandon his enterprise and sold out his claims to Griffith, Hoyt & Hatch, a lumber firm, managed by B. C. Hoyt, a St. Joseph merchant. This firm, however, in a short time failed, after having projected a scheme of building a new town at this point. In the meantime Levi Ballengee had built a large boarding house near the site of the projected town,expecting to board the men employed by Griffith, Hoyt & Hatch. Upon the failure of this firm, Ballengee concluded to go into the business of shingle making himself. In I834, one Gilson from Chautauqua county, New York, traveling through Michigan on his way to Chicago, learned that Ballengee wanted a shingle maker, visited Ballengee and entered into a partnership with him in the shingle making business. In 1835 Gilson brought his family from New York and went into business for himself, employing quite a force of men. In 1837 he purchased one million three hundred thousand shingles at one time and employed about twenty Indians in running the shingles down the river and landing on the dock. Others followed Ballengee and Gilson, among them Ramsey Christy, Hiram Ormsby, Isaac Youngs, Erastus Baunes, Henry H. Sutter. A flourishing settlement soon HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 229 grew up. In 1837 a school was established and taught by Mary Youngs, a daughter of one of the shingle makers. In 1838 the material for shingles had become exhausted, and the shingle makers left the settlement for other points. The "Shingle Diggings" was abandoned and became a thing of the past. In 1833 the firm of Sumner & Wheeler put up a saw mill on Mill creek. About this time the firm of Smith & Merrick of Jefferson county, New York, acquired large tracts of land in Watervliet, Bainbridge and Hagar townships and in 1836, Jesse Smith, a member of the firm, came to Watervliet to secure the clearing of these tracts, bringing with him several laborers. Smith built a saw mill and also bought that previously erected by Sumner & Wheeler. He soon returned to New York, leaving Israel Kellogg to take charge of the lands of the firm. In the same year, I836, the firm sent out Isaac Moffatt with thirty-two Frenchmen, to clear their lands. Moffatt at once erected a store, built a dam and grist mill. The mills were rented to one Crocker and the main work engaged in by Moffatt was the clearing of the lands. In 1848 Smith & Merrick sold out their entire mill property to Isaac N. Swain, a native of Jefferson county, New York. Mr. Swain also purchased about one thousand acres in the vicinity. Subsequently Mr. Swain sold the mills, but was obliged to take them back, the purchasers, having been seriously crippled by a serious flood in I858 which washed away the dam and damaged the mills, and rendered them unable to pay the purchase price. In I863 the firm of Swain, Olney & Fisher was formed. Fisher sold out his interest to George Parsons and William Baldwin and a new firm was formed under the name of Swain, Olney & Company. In I874 Parsons withdrew from the firm. The saw mill for many years did the most extensive lumber business of any in the county. In I870 it employed about forty men and was capable of sawing thirty thousand feet of lumber in a day. The first store established in Watervliet was opened in 1836 by Isaac Moffatt. This subsequently passed into the hands of Mr. Swain, who sold it in 1874 to Parsons & Baldwin. Among the persons who accompanied Isaac Moffatt to Watervliet in 1836, was Moses Osgood, who settled in Watervliet township near Coloma and engaged in farming. He died in I876. He appears to have been the first permanent pioneer farmer of the township. Stephen R. Gilson and Gilson Osgood erected a saw mill upon "Tannery Creek," in I849. Gilson Osgood, a native of Ohio, had emigrated to Watervliet in 1841 and located a farm near that of his brother, Moses Osgood. He was for some time an.agent for the firm of Smith & Merrick. His saw mill was on the site of the present village of Coloma, and he soon opened a store, and a settlement soon grew up. There was little money in circulation at that time and store goods were exchanged for farm products. The new settlement was appropriately called "Dickerville," and this remained the name of the place till I855, when it was changed to Coloma. In I858 Mr. Osgood opened up a hotel in Coloma known as the "Osgood House." He was the first supervisor of the township. Alonzo and Austin Beaman came from New York to Watervliet and settled on adjoining farms in the northern part of the county, in 1842. Alonzo was supervisor in I852. Austin died in I874 and Alonzo removed in a few years to Iowa. In 1844 and I845, James I. Redding, Simeon Hawks, Garrett Ingraham, Ives Wallingford, Ira Wilks, Abram Coleman, Crain Valentine, Harvey Kingsbury, William Duvall and John Merrifield, moved into the township. John Merrifield, a native of New York, settled in the township in I844. He died in I85I. His sons, William N. Merrifield 23o HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY and S. P. Merrifield, still reside in Watervliet and both have been supervisors of the township. S. P. Merrifield in early life was a teacher and afterwards an ordained minister of the Universalist Church. The first physician who practiced his profession in the township was Dr. J. H. Crawford, who lived upon a farm near Coloma. He remained but a short time, returning to his former home in Ohio. The first physician to engage in practice in Watervliet village was Dr. J. H. Wheeler, who located there in I845. He was supervisor in I847 and from I858 to I860. He had a large practice. Dr. H. M. Marvin of Coloma is the oldest practicing physician in the county. He came to Coloma in I855 and has practiced his profession there ever since. James H. Marvin was a resident of Coloma for most of the time for fifty years. For a short time he was station agent of the C. & W. M. Railroad Company at New Buffalo. He was supervisor of the township of Watervliet for eight terms, the first term commencing in 1862. He has held various other local offices and has been extensively engaged in business as a justice of the peace and notary public. Another physician, Dr. William A. Baker, came to Coloma in I868 and is now living there. He was supervisor of the township in I885 and a representative in the State Legislature in 1887 and I889. He was the main promoter and organizer of the railroad which was built from Coloma to Paw Paw Lake. The oldest resident of Watervliet now living is Elias T. Spencer, who is in his ninety-first year. A number of the early settlers of the village of Watervliet and Coloma, who have been active in promoting the industries of their towns, are still living. Among them may be mentioned George Parsons, William A. Baldwin, William H. Ball, Emelius J. Wolcott. Mr. Parsons and Mr. Baldwin both came to Watervliet in I865, purchasing one-half interest in the saw mill and grist mill previously owned by Swain, Olney & Company, and also a half interest in the mercantile business of that firm. After their purchase, they were the managers of the important business interests of the firm. In I876, the firm of Parsons & Baldwin acquired the ownership of these various industries. Since 1892 they have been engaged in the banking business. For some years the firm of Swain, Olney & Company conducted the largest lumbering businesses in Berrien county. Mr. Baldwin has been supervisor of the township for five terms. Mr. Parsons has been prominently connected with State Sunday school work. Edward Brant is now a resident of Benton Harbor, but made his home for over forty years in Watervliet, where he settled in the '6os. He was supervisor of the township for three terms. He acquired by his own industry and sagacity, several hundred acres of land in the township, and is now a heavy land owner. A few years since, he moved to Benton Harbor, where built the "Benton House," the largest and most heavily patronized hotel in the county. This he still owns, although managed by his sonin-law, Fred B. Collins, the late popular sheriff of Berrien county. Mr. Brant was mayor of Benton Harbor one term. W. W. Allen came to Bainbridge with his widowed mother in 1848. In I86I he removed to Watervliet where for several years he carried on a heavy mercantile business, subsequently known as the "Centennial Store." The bank in Coloma was established in 1896 by Sawyer Ball and William H. Ball, under the firm name of Ball & Son. Sawyer Ball, a native of Massachusetts, located in Niles in i86I, but shortly afterwards removed to Coloma. He was supervisor of Watervliet township in I873. After his death the business was carried on by his widow and son, William H. Ball. The HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 231 latter was supervisor of the township from I893 to I895 inclusive. In 1892, George E. Dudley and W. E. Syms of Mt. Holyoke, Massachusetts, established a paper factory for the manufacture of choice writing and book paper. It was one of the largest of its kind in the west. Extensive buildings were built and for a number of years the company employed a large force of employees. The mill has of late years been practically suspended. The Methodist Church in Watervliet village was organized in 1846. That in Coloma was organized about the year I844. The first pastor of both churches was Rev. A. C. Shaw. In 1869 a church edifice was erected at Watervliet and one at Coloma in I879. The first Congregational Church in Watervliet was organized in I853. Rev. W. H. Osborn was the first pastor. The Christian Church was organized at Coloma in 1857 and the first pastor was Elder B. I. Curtis. The largest apple orchard in Berrien county is situated in Watervliet township and is owned by Robert H. Sherwood. It is the second largest in the state. The apple orchard covers three hundred acres and contains over I4.000 trees. Peach, plum and pear trees are interspersed and were planted to fill the time before the apples should begin bearing. There are 17,000 peach trees, 7,200 plum trees and 5,000 pear trees. The apple trees are mostly eight years old. About 2,000 trees were planted in 1871 and 1876, and for the past fifteen years have produced upon an average, about one barrel per tree. The first orchards were set out by the father of Mr. Sherwood, Harvey C. Sherwood, who came to Watervliet township from Onondaga county, New York, in 1864, and pur chased four hundred acres on the shore of Paw Paw Lake. In 1885, he was a senator in the State Legislature and was the Democratic candidate for congress in this district at one time. He was a man of liberal education and ability. His son Robert, already referred to, was educated at Oberlin College. The farm owned by him is known as "Lake View." Harvey D. Sherwood died several years since. The following is a list of the supervisors of Watervliet township: Gilson Osgood.............. 1846 J. H. Wheeler...............1847-1849 Alonzo Beaman............. I85o E. L. Kellogg.............. I85I Alonzo Beaman............. 1852 Jas. Paul.................. 1853 C. H. Bostick.............. 1854 Alonzo Beaman............. I855 E. L. Kellogg.............. i856 N. J. Black................ 1857 J. H. Wheeler.............. I858-I860 W m. Brown............... i86I Jas. H. Marvin........... 1862- 863 E. L. Kellogg........... 1864 Jas. H. Marvin............. 865-I87c Wm. N. Merrifield.......... 1871 Jos. W. Weimer........... 1872 Sawyer Ball............ 873 S. P. Merrifield............. 1877-I878 Win. M. Baldwin........... 1879 S. P. Merrifield............. I88o Wm. M. Baldwin........... I88I-I882 S. D. Walden.............. 1883-I884 W. A. Baker............... 1885 Edward Brant.............. 886- 888 W. H. Ball................ 1893-1895 Wm. M. Baldwin........... I896-1897 W. A. Bakier............... 1898 C. B. Pratt.............. 1899-1900 A. J. Baker.................I9 -I90 6' CHAPTER XVI BENTON AND BENTON HARBOR. The township of Benton is bounded on the north by Hagar township, on the east by Bainbridge, on the south by Sodus and on the west by St. Joseph. The northwest section of the township touches Lake Michigan. It is now the richest and most populous township in the county. It has no incorporated villages, and but one small unincorporated hamlet, Millburg. It was originally mostly covered by heavy forests of hard timber, including some pine. It is well watered by Paw Paw river and Blue and Ox creeks. Some low and swampy lands adjoin these streams, but most of them have been drained and put under cultivation. The township is thickly populated, and largely divided into small holdings devoted to fruit culture. It is in the heart of the "peach belt" and a large portion of it is practically a fruit garden. The city of Benton Harbor, located mainly in the original township of Benton, was not laid out until I86o and the village was not incorporated till I869, but it has become the wealthiest and most populous city in the county. The settlement of the township was not made itill much later than that of many other townships. In 1845 the population was only two hundred and thirty-seven. Its most rapid increase of population was between I860 and I870, during which period its population trebled. The early settlers werz mainly from the state of New York. The first settlement in Benton township was made by Jehiel Enos in I834. He was a native of Chenango county, New York. In young manhood he was a teacher in his native state, and also became a practical surveyor. In 1825 he came to Ann Arbor, in this state, where he assisted Lucius Lyon, deputy United States surveyor. In I829 he was engaged with Mr. Lyon in surveying the southern portion of Berrien county. In I83I he came to St. Joseph, remained one year and then located a farm in Royalton township. In 1834 he removed to the village of Millburg. Here he remained two years and in 1836 began clearing and farming on section thirteen of Benton township, where he lived till the time of his death. In 1835 he and Amos Amsden of St. Joseph platted the village of Millburg, a portion of the plat being in Bainbridge township. He was supervisor of his township for several years and( county surveyor from 1841 till 1845. In I846 he was elected as a member of the State Legislature upon the Democratic ticket. In I856 he became a Republican upon the organization of the Republican party and in that year was again elected a member of the Legislature. A daughter, Mrs. Helen Woodruff, resides at Benton Harbor. Mr. Enos was a man of great native strength and in HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 233 fluence and a prominent leader in the Republican party. In 1836 James H. Enos and his brothers Ira, Roswell and Joseph, cousins of Jehiel Enos, came from New York and located first in Benton township. James H. settled soon in Bainbridge and became a supervisor of that township. Ira Enos remained in Benton township and is now the oldest living resident of that township. He is now in his eighty-seventh year. He was a carpenter by trade, and assisted his brother James in building and running the first saw mill at Millburg in 1836. In 1836, Eleazer Morton located on sections eighteen and twenty. Mr. Morton was born in Massachusetts, but in early life removed to Syracuse, New York, where he engaged in the manufacture of salt. In the fall of I835 he removed with his family, consisting of wife and ten children, to St. Joseph, where they passed the winter. While here he purchased one hundred and sixty acres in sections eighteen and twenty and in 1836 built a tavern on the territorial road on his farm on section eighteen, which he made his homestead. He set out an orchard in I840 and shipped peaches to Chicago in I845, for which he received one dollar per bushel. His shipment was the second made in the county. He wrote articles frequently upon social and economic questions which were published' in the press, and also published a volume entitled "Morton's.Guide to True Happiness." He died in I864. His son, Henry C. Morton, who came with his father to Michigan in 1835, was born in New York in IS17 and became one of the original founders of Benton Harbor. In 863 he was a member of the Legislar ture. HI-e was also a le.ading promoter in the enterprise of constructing the Benton Harbor canal, lwhich was the foundation of Benton Harbor's future commercial supremacy. He was a man of great energy and public spirit and universally esteemed for his sterl ing qualities. He was a Republican politically and one of the most prominent and influential leaders of the party in the county. A daughter of Eleazer Morton, Caroline, married a lumber merchant of Chicago, S. G. Howard, and is now living in that city in her eightieth year. The son of Mr. Morton, Stanley J. Morton, was one of the original members of the firm of Graham, Morton & Company, and subsequently treasurer and secretary of the Graham & Morton Transportation Company. This important position he still holds. He is also prominently connected with several of the leading industries of the city. In I835, James Dalton, John London and Joseph Caldwell settled in Benton township. The two former shortly after moved away. Mr. Caldwell located a site on Paw Paw river as early as 1834 and built upon it in I835. He subsequently purchased about five hundred acres more in Benton and Hagar townships. His son, Joseph, is the present supervisor of Hagar township. In I835, Benjamin Johnson, a blacksmith by trade, with his wife and family, came from Ohio to St. Joseph where they remained two years. In I837, Mr. Johnson and his family settled upon section fourteen in Benton township where Mr. Johnson lived till his death. Two daughters, Lucy, who married John Wilkinson of St. Joseph, and Drusilla, who married Captain Thomas A. Walker of the Lake View Hotel at St. Joseph, are now living at St. Joseph. In 1837, James Higbee, a native of New York, but then a resident of Ohio, located on section fourteen, where he died many years since. His son, James F. Higbee, came with his father. After farming for many years, James F. moved into the village of Benton Harbor. He constructed the Higbee hotel in 1877 and still owns it. He was one of the commissioners selected to superintend the construction of the Benton Harbor canal and was the first president of the 234 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Northern Berrien County Agricultural Society. He is living at Benton Harbor, and is still active in his eighty-ninth year. Phineas Pearl, a pioneer of Benton township, who lived to be ninety-five years old, was a native of Vermont, but moved to Jefferson county, New York, in early life. In 1840 he moved with his family to Benton township and settled on section twenty-five. He was supervisor of the township from 1842 to 1846. He was a man of iron constitution and preserved his physical and mental faculties intact until shortly before his death. His two sons, Warren H. and Lewis W., located farms near their father. Warren H. Pearl became a prominent farmer in the township, acquiring about three hundred acres, including lands in adjoining townships. His home farm was in section twentysix. He died several years ago. Irvin R. Pearl, under sheriff by appointment of Sheriff Tennant, and a very capable officer, who died recently while in office, was a son of Warren. Lewis W. Pearl was born in 1815 in the state of New York. In 1841 he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Benton township and in I843 was married to Juliette Enos, a daughter of James Enos, a pioneer. In I86I, he enlisted in Company B of the Twelfth Michigan Infantry, as a private. By rapid promotion through various grades he became major of the regiment and served until I866, when he returned to his farm. Mr. Pearl is still living upon the farm upon which he first located, at the advanced age of ninety-one years, but with his mental faculties well preserved, and is still physically active and able to do work on his farm. He is the oldest pioneer of the northern portion of the county now living. For nine years he was supervisor of his township and for a time chairman of the board. About the same period, Ebenezer Jakeway and his sons, Elmer and James H., located on sections twenty-four and twenty five. Ebenezer acquired nearly four hundredc acres and Elmer and James about two hundred acres each. The present supervisor of Benton township, James J. Jakeway, is a son of James H. Jakeway. Mrs. James H. Jakeway was a daughter of Phineas Pearl. Lot Sutherland of Broome county, New York, settled in section twenty-seven in 1840 and lived there till his death. A son, Lewis, who came with his father from New York, is now living at Benton Harbor in his seventy-sixth year. In I853, hie moved from Bainbridge into Benton township and became the owner of large tracts of valuable land. Lately he has resided in the city of Benton Harbor. His sons, Darwin, Lot and Sterling, are large land owners in Benton township and have devoted themselves extensively to fruit culture. John D. Bury also located at about the same time a large tract of land in section ten. He died several years since. His children, John and Elsie, are living upon thei land entered by their father. The following persons located shortly after: Teddy McCrone, Daniel Olds, Charles Chauncy, Thomas Closson, Elijah Jennings, Dennis and Patrick Murphy, A. B. Leeds, David O. Woodruff, Jacob Van Horn, George W. Hess, Selden Hull and Charles Hull. David O. Woodruff, a native of New York, located in section thirty upon a farm of two hundred and forty acres. In I849 he went to California. Returning to Michigan a few years after, he settled in Niles where he continued to live till his death. He was president of the Berrien County Agricultural Society for several years and a supervisor of both the township and city of Niles. He was a man of extensive information and of genial and courteous manners. His daughter, Jennie, married E. C. Griffin, a prominent druggist of Niles. A. B. Leeds settled upon sections twentyeight and twenty-nine. He was county reg HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 235 ister from I859 to I865 and judge of probate from 1877 to I885. He was very polite in his manners and was universally esteemed. As has already been said, the township is largely devoted to fruit. It is thickly settled by an enterprising and intelligent class of citizens and in the production of fruit it takes the lead. The largest peach orchard of bearing trees in the county is located in Benton township. It is owned by Roland Morrill and is situated in section sixteen. It consists of ninety acres of bearing peach trees. The following named persons have orchards containing from thirty-five to forty acres of bearing peach trees: Darwin Sutherland, Lot Sutherland, James Jakeway, Juan Hess and A. Culby. Others have orchards nearly as large. The first township election was held at Millburg in 1841 when Ephraim Mann was elected supervisor; James F. Higbee, treasurer; Jehiel Enos, clerk; Phineas Pearl and Jacob Van Horn, justices of the peace. The village of Bronson's Harbor was laid out in I86o by Henry C. Morton, Sterne Bronson, M. G. Lamport, B. C. Lewis, Martin Green and Charles Hull. The rapid growth and development of this place illustrates what can be accomplished by a few resolute, unselfish and public-spirited men, who are willing to incur personal risk and sacrifice in energetic work for the public good. The first lot was sold for sixty dollars on six years' time. The second lot was sold for fifty dollars on five years' time. The village was first called Bronson's Harbor after Sterne Bronson, who with a few others first conceived the plan of building a town on the east side of the river, and of connecting it with Lake Michigan by a canal. He removed from Elkhart, Indiana, to Benton Harbor in 1857 and purchased two hundred acres upon which the city of Benton Harbor is now located. His sons, Rufus Bronson and Allen Bronson, also located lands here. In I86o at a public meeting of the citizens of Bronson's Harbor, Sterne Bronson, Henry C. Morton and Charles Hull were appointed as an executive committee to raise subscriptions for the dredging of a canal from the lake to the village. These persons each donated large tracts of land for the purpose. They encountered serious obstacles, but took charge of the enterprise and were finally successful. The canal was constructed by Martin Green and finished in I862. It was originally twenty-five feet wide and eight feet deep, but it was enlarged in I868. The offices of the Lake Transportation Companies were soon transferred from St. Joseph to the Harbor and the Harbor became the head and center of steamboat navigation on the lake. The first business building in the Harbor was not erected till I86o. This was occupied as a grocery by Fred Shallinger. In 1865 the name of the village was changed to Benton Harbor. In I866 the village was organized under the general law and at the election that year Samuel McGriegan was elected president. In I869 the village was incorporated unred a special act of the Legislature, introduced by A. B. Riford, then a member of the Legislature and resident attorney of Benton Harbor. By this act, about one-half of the corporate limits of the village was in the town of Benton and the other one-half in the town of St. Joseph. In I871 the village was made a port of entry and Mr. Riford was appointed collector of customs. The first steamboat navigation company organized in the village was that of Green, Allen & Company. This company was succeeded by that of Graham, Morton & Company. The firm of H. W. Williams & Company, also engaged in the business about the same time. The first attorney in the place was A. B. Riford, a native of Indiana, who settled in Benton Harbor in I865. He was a representative to the State Legislature from 1871 236 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY to I875 and postmaster from I877 to I884. He was an active and influential citizen and was instrumental with Messrs. Thresher, Morton and others in blocking the attempt of President Morrison to run the Chicago & West Michigan Railroad a mile away from the center of the town. He died while holding the position of postmaster. His widow, Mrs. Hattie B. Riford, now living in Benton Harbor, succeeded her husband in the office and held it for five years. Ira W. Riford, a prominent attorney of Benton Harbor and lately prosecuting attorney of the county, is a son of A. B. Riford. The first physician to locate in the place was Dr. John Bell, the "beloved physician" of Benton Harbor. Shortly after graduating in the medical department of the University of New York he came to Benton Harbor and began the practice of his profession in 1862. He was eminently skillful both as a physician and surgeon and soon secured an immense practice. He was naturally kind hearted and charitable, thoroughly honest, public-spirited and generous, and won a deep hold in the affections of the people. In I889 the Benton Harbor Improvement Association, a company organized to develop the business interests of the place and to secure factories, was established and he was elected president, a position which he held till about the time of his death. This organization as a factor in securing the rapid development of the town, ranks next to the building of the canal. In promoting the objects of the association, Dr. Bell was subjected to considerable personal sacrifice and loss of property. He was mayor of the city in I896-97. His widow, Mrs. Annetta (Hopkins) Bell is still living in Benton Harbor. His brother, George M., now a prominent physician of Benton Harbor, was for many years a partner with Dr. John Bell, both in professional practice and in the drug store business. Sterne Bronson, already alluded to as one of the founders of the village of Bronson's Harbor, was a man of public spirit and indomitable energy and perseverance, His sons, Allen and Rufus, became leading and influential men in the community. Sterne Bronson died in 1876. Allen died a few years since. Rufus moved to South Haven a few years ago and is now residing there. Among those who were also prominent in the early industries of the town were Salmon F. Heath and William E. Higman, who established the first bank in the place. A son of Mr. Heath, Edward W., for several years carried on quite an extensive business of ship and boat building at Benton Harbor and was regarded as an expert craftsman in that line. The development of Benton Harbor did not commence till a very late day as compared with other cities and villages of Berrien county, and several who were prominent pioneers in the early life and industries of the place are still living. Among these may be mentioned Captain John Robinson, president of the Farmers' and Merchants' Bank. Joseph P. Thresher elsewhere referred to. Albert R. Nowlen, a prominent fruit grower and owner of real estate in the city. R. M. Jones, formerly a prominent dry goods merchant. Captain James McDonald, a lumber merchant. J. Stanley Morton, elsewhere referred to. W. P. Robbins, a lumber merchant. S. G. Antisdale, United States custon collector. Seeley McCord, an extensive fruit grower. Dr. George M. Bell, the oldest physician in the place, now living. Alonzo W. Plummer, an attorney and extensive real estate agent. I. W. Conkey, formerly a banker. Myron Hinckley, a manufacturer of fruit packages. George F. Sonner, formerly a prominent dry goods merchant. James F. Higbee and Lewis Sutherland, both of whom have elsewhere been referred to. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY COMMERCE. Benton Harbor for many years has beer the principal center of lake commerce on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. In I87I, it was made a port of entr) and A. B. Riford appointed collector of cus toms. In I875, the Graham and Mortor Transportation Company, a partnership firn composed of John H. Graham, J. Stanley Morton, Andrew Crawford and James Paxton, was organized. In I88I, this business was merged into a stock corporation knowr as the Graham and Morton Transportatior Company. The first president chosen was Mr. Graham and Mr. Morton was made secretary and treasurer. These gentlemer still retain these positions. During the present year the company has run the following passenger boats between Benton Harbor and Chicago: Str City of Benton Harbor, Str.City of Chicago The "City of Benton Harbor" has a length of two hundred and sixty-six feet and a tonage of twelve hundred and eighty-six. The "City of Chicago" has a length of two hundred and forty feet and a tonnage of fourteen hundred and forty. The company runs boats on two other divisions, known as the Holland and Lake Superior divisions. The amount of both freight and passenger traffic on these boats named has been immense during the past year. The Benton Transit Company was incorporated in I899 with Fred A. Hobbs of Benton Harbor as secretary and treasurer and R. C. Britain of Saugatuck as general manager. The boat running from Benton Harbor is called the "Frank VWoods." Its traffic consists mainly in the conveyance of freight. The shipments of fruit made by boats from Benton Harbor and St. Joseph have assumed gigantic proportions. In the year I905, these shipments were as follows: Crates of berries............. Baskets of peaches........... I Baskets of grapes............ e Half-bush.-baskets of fruit.... Bush.-crates muskmelons..... Bush.-baskets peaches........ Barrels of pears & other fruits.. 237 679,680 I,125,729 I,160,425 82,847 130, 42 381,469 48,249 Four railroads connect with Benton Harbor, viz; The Pere Marquette, the C. C. C. & St. L. (Big Four), Indiana, Illinois & Iowa Railroad and the Milwaukee, Benton Harbor & Columbus. The Pere Marquette was originally built as the Chicago and West Michigan and commenced running its trains into Benton Harbor in 1870. The other roads have been built within the last ten or twelve years. During the past two years, shipments of fruit by rail have increased enormously while the boats have had an immense traffic. The amount of fruit transported by rail is estimated to have been during the past two years much larger than that by boat. LIBRARY. The common council of the city of Benton Harbor, with a spirit of enterprise and sagacity characteristic of the town, established a public library in I899, some years before Andrew Carnegie commenced his system of donations for public libraries. An annual appropriation of one thousand dollars was made for the maintainance of the library and, until I903, rented rooms were used. In 1902 a donation from Mr. Carnegie of twenty thousand dollars was secured, conditioned upon an annual appropration of two thousand dollars from the common council which was promptly voted. The building was completed in I903 and cost about twenty-one thousand eight hundred dollars. The first librarian was Miss Louise Bailey, who resigned in April last, Mrs. Emma Cole is the present librarian. The library contains forty-four hundred and 238 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY eight books. The books in circulation during the last fiscal year numbered thirty-three thousand nine hundred and eighty-three. The number of patron's cards issued was thirty-five hundred. The present officers are: President, George F. Sonner; secretary, A. P. Cady; librarian, Emma Cole; directors, George F. Sonner, E. A. Hoffmann,W.J.Cady, J. N. Klock, I. W. Riford, A. P. Cady, H. V. Tutton, Fred S. Hopkins, W. E. Sheffield. The president and secretary have remained unchanged since the organization of the library. BENTON HARBOR HOSPITAL. A further instance of the liberality and enterprise of the people of this city is found in the establishment of the Benton Harbor hospital within the past year. It is now being built at a cost including the site of from fifteen thousand to twenty thousand dollars. The amount necessary to establish the hospital was obtained by private donations. George F. Sonner subscribed five thousand dollars, Albert M. Nolan one thousand dollars, sixty-one citizens one hundred each, twenty-two citizens fifty dollars each and the balance necessary was obtained by smaller subscriptions and entertainments. A private hospital called "Mercy Hospital" was established in 1897 by Dr. Henry V. Tutton, an eminent physician and surgeon of Benton Harbor. Dr. Tutton subsequently turned over the hospital to a board of trustees for the public benefit, retaining only his operating rooms which have been open to all surgeons. SUMMER RESORTS. The largest and most beautiful summer single resort in the county is Higman Park, located on Lake Michigan in Benton township, a mile west of Benton Harbor. It is owned by John Higman and his son Arthur. It was established several years since. The park consists of about two hundred acres. The Paw Paw river has been connected with the park by digging a channel from the river a distance of three thousand feet. Two large launches run to St. Joseph, either by the Paw Paw and St. Joseph rivers or by the lake in calm weather. Automobiles are also used for conveyances. The park is situated on high bluffs, handsomely wooded with large native trees. Located upon this park are twenty-six summer homes costing from fifteen hundred to twenty thousand dollars, a hotel, casino, a water and sewer system, electric lighting plant, and fine golf links. Extensive fruit orchards are connected with the park. Another popular summer resort established many years ago is the Eastman Springs, situated in Benton township, adjoining the city. It is located in a romantic natural park and contains a large number of native springs. It contains a hotel, several cottages and a bath house. It is operated by a company known as the Eastman Springs Company, and the lands connected with the enterprise, consists of about one hundred acres. CHURCHES. The earliest church which appears to have been organized in Benton township was a Methodist one at Millburg, which after a time became extinct. Shortly after the Church of Christ or Christians was established and in I868 a permanent organization was effected. The first pastor was the Rev. Mr. Hurd. A frame church was built in I870. The first Baptist Church in Benton Harbor was organized in I868, although the denomination had previously worshipped first in a building called Brown's Chapel at Heath's corners and then in a brick building afterwards sold to the Evangelical Association. A brick edifice was erected at Benton Harbor in I869, the building committee being S. F. Heath, E. St. John and J. P. FRED B. COLLINS HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 239 Thresher. The building cost sixteen thousand dollars. The first pastor was Rev. A. E. Simons. After the denomination located at Benton Harbor permanently, Rev. J. G. Portman became the first pastor. The present pastor is Rev. H. D. Osborne. The Congregational Church was organized in I866. A church edifice was built in I868 and this was the first meeting house in the township of Benton. The present pastor is Rev. William J. Cady. The Methodist Church was organized in I868. A handsome brick church edifice was erected in I870 at a cost of sixteen thousand five hundred dollars, but this building was struck by lightning in June, I875, and nearly destroyed. In I880 a smaller structure was erected and subsequently the present large edifice. Rev. J. I. Hill is now pastor. An Episcopal Church was organized many years ago. It has no regular pastor, but Rev. M. S. Woodruff officiates once a month. The Universalist Church was organized in I870. The present pastor is Rev. Louisa Haight. The Presbyterian Church was organized in I892. The present church edifice was completed in I894. The present pastor is Rev. Elisha Hoffmann. The Evangelical Association Church was established in. The present pastor is Rev. J. S. Deabler. The St. John's Catholic Church was established in I89o and its present edifice erected in I892. A beautiful piece of land called "Calvary" consisting of ten acres just outside of the city limits, and a parochial residence are connected with the church. The present pastor is Rev. Father D. Mulcahy. There are a large number of religious organizations at Benton Harbor which have been established in later years. The denominations are as follows: Christian Science, Benai Israel Synagogue, Church of God, Christian, Rescue Mission, Seventh Day Adventist, Zion Tabernacle, and Christian Catholic. BENTON HARBOR COLLEGE. This institution was first organized in I886 as the normal and collegiate institutute. In 1892 it was incorporated as Benton Harbor College. It has special departments in pedagogy, music, art and business and has been noted for the thorough preparation of students for the profession of teaching. Its annual enrollment of students in all departments has lately ranged from three hundred to four hundred. It has no endowment fund but has been successfully maintained for twenty years, and has prepared a large number of students for admission to the State University with which it enjoys affiliated relations. The executive board at present consists of the following officers: President, G. J. Edgcumbe; secretary, J. H. Niz; treasurer, F. A. Hobbs, and the following additional members: C. M. Edick, J. S. Caldwell, Dr. G. M. Bell. The faculty consists of sixteen professors including the president, Dr. Edgcumbe and Dr. W. B. Parker, vice-president. HOTELS. The first hotel in the place was the "American," built by Rufus Bronson in I86I and for some time operated by him. The Gartley House was built in I870 by Samuel McGuigan. The Colfax House was built a few years after. These hotels have been supplanted by the "Benton" and "Higby" House. The "Benton" is the largest hotel in the place and has been owned for many years by Edward Brant. His son-in-law, Fred Collins, the late popular sheriff of the county, is the present manager. 240 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY BANKS. The first bank established in the place was a private bank, started in 1875 by W. E. Higman, James Baley and S. F. Heath. A national bank was organized in I890 called the First National Bank. Several years since the bank failed and went into the hands of a receiver. None of the depositors however lost any money. The Farmers' and Merchants' Bank was organized in I888 with the following officers: John Robinson, president; R. M. Jones, vice-president, and Charles Foster, cashier. These gentlemen have continued in their offices till the present time, and were original organizers of the bank. The Benton Harbor State Bank was organized in I899. The present officers are H. D. Poole, president; G. M. Valentine, vice-president; William Rupp, cashier; B. F. Wells, assistant cashier. Each of the banks has a savings department. The total amount of deposits in the banks at Benton Harbor in September last was over one million five hundred thousand dollars. MICHIGAN STATE NAVAL BRIGADE. In I899 the fourth division of this brigade was organized at Benton Harbor. It consists of forty-four men. The officers are C. K. Farmer, lieutenant commanding; J. H. Pound, lieutenant, junior grade; C. D. Woodin, ensign; J. D. Stewart, ensign and assistant engineer. MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. The Spencer & Barnes Company was incorporated in I895 and manufactures bedroom furniture of both medium and fine grades, consisting of dressing cases, chiffoniers, toilet tables and bedsteads in sets of mahogany, birds-eye maple and quartered oak. They employ one hundred and twentyfive men and turn out two hundred thousand dollars worth of furniture annually. The officers are J. E. Barnes, president; B. H. Spencer, vice-president, and MN. L. Spencer, secretary and treasurer. J. E. Barnes and B. H. Spencer commenced their business at Buchanan thirty-one years ago, but removed to Benton Harbor about fourteen years ago. The Metal Sectional Furniture Company, another important manufacturing company, manufactures a high grade of steel filing cabinets. The plant has been recently established and intends to enlarge its working capacity, but already employs about one hundred men. The company has now fifteen acres of ground. During the past year a Law and Order League has been established at Benton Harbor. Owing to its efforts, the liquor laws with regard to the closing of saloons on the Sabbath and at late hours, have been strictly enforced, and any attempt to make the city an "open town" on Sundays has been effectually suppressed. The majority of the saloon keepers have been disposed to accept the situation in good faith. In view of the fact that Benton Harbor is the largest place in the county, it is entitled to great credit for the vigorous enforcement of these most important laws, and the fact of enforcement is an emphatic testimonial to the high character and sagacity of its citizens. Another fact worthy of mention is the spirit of obedience to the requirements of the law with regard to the finances of the city. A complete, lucid and accurate system of book-keeping has been conducted by the clerks for several years, and in this way the city has been protected from that waste and extravagance which has occurred in other cities and which has led to serious losses and confusion of funds which the authorities were unable to disentangle. A peculiar colony of people called the House of David under the lead of Benjamin HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 241 and Mary Purnell was established a few years since in Benton township a short distance east of the city of Benton Harbor. The corporate name of the association is as follows: "Benjamin and Mary Purnell, the Israelite House of David, the Church of the New Eve, the Body of Christ." Large tracts of land have been purchased and large and commodious buildings erected. The colony already numbers several hundred, and has been constantly increasing. The people of the colony share everything in common. It is claimed that it is a religious and communistic association based on the general principle of each member contributing all his possessions, labor and earnings to a common stock in which all members share alike. It is claimed that Benjamin and Mary jointly constitute the seventh angel or messenger recorded in Revelations as delivering the final message on earth; that the members of this association are the elect people and that they will finally number one hundred and forty-four thousand. These people now own about one thousand acres of land and they have devoted their attention largely to the culture of fruit as well as grain, having a dozen orchards upon their lands. They also have various trades represented in their establishments. They have already erected a cannery and drying house, a carpenter shop, a coach factory, a tailor shop, and a steam laundry. They have sent into the market in one day over one thousand bushels of peaches. They have three brass bands and two orchestras, and have already established a zoological garden containing a large number of birds and animals from Africa and South America. The buildings are lighted with electricity furnished by an electric plant owned and operated by the association. The people have the reputation of being thrifty farmers and keep their grounds attractive. The future of this association may be looked upon with some curiosity and in16 terest, as this is the first purely communistic organization established in Berrien county. The writer of this sketch regrets that at this time he is unable to furnish any statement of the religious tenets taught by this association. The supervisors of Benton Harbor have been as follows: Wm. Randall............... John Seel.................. I. W. Dow................. B. R. Stearns.............. 0. A. Hipp................ Luther Hemingway......... E. L. Rouse................ S. M. Austin............... C. Rooms.................. H. D. Poole............... Jas. Talmage............... W. Deaner................. H. B. Volheim............. M. V. Buchanan............ S. H. Kelly................ John Clark................. S. M. Austin............... C. A. Jerrue............... L. Hemingway............. W. H. Quilliams........... C. K. Farmer.............. S. M. Austin............... Louis Jerrue............... S. S. Daigneau............. H. D. Poole................ E. J. Stevens............... O. P. Hipp................. J. E. Barnes................ 1893 1893 1894 I894-I895 1895-I898 1896-1898 1897 1898 1899 1899-I90I 1899-1900 1900 190I 190-1-1902 1902 I902 1902 9o3 1903 1903-1904 I903-I904 1904 1904 1905 1905-I906 I906 1906 The following is a complete list of the names of the supervisors of Benton township. No township officers were elected till 184I. Ephraim P. Mann........... Phineas Pearl............. Jehiel Enos................ Lewis W. Pearl............. Jehiel Enos................ Lewis W. Pearl............ Alex. B. Leeds............. 1841 1842-I846 I847-I850 I85I-I853 1854 1855-1856 I857-I858 242 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Lewis W. Pearl............. Jehiel Enos................ Samuel McGuigan.......... J. H. Hoag................ Samuel Jackson............ W. L. George.............. S. L Van Camp............. W. L. George.............. Chas. A. Spencer............ John C. Lawrence........... Sanders L. Van Camp....... Henry A. Rackliffe.......... John C. Lawrence........... Wm. A. Rose.............. J. J. Jakway............... I859-I861 I862 1863-I864 I865-I868 1869-I870 I87I-I874 1875-1878 I879-I880 188I I882-I890 I89I-I896 I897-I899 1900-I9OI 1902 1903-I906 John Bell.................. Edward Brant.............. A. H. Rowe................ H. A. Foeltzer.............. I. W. Conkey............... R. B. Gillette............. Monroe Morrow............ Clerks. S. C. Sharpe............... J. A. Crawford............. Henry Rowe............... R. P. Chaddock............ W. J. Banyon.............. I896-I897 1898 1899 1900-I901 1902 1903-I905 I906 I89I 1892-I895 I896 1897-90 I 1902-I906 The presidents and clerks of the village of Benton Harbor have been as follows: Presidents. Samuel McGuigan......... Jos. Riford................ J. C. Ingham.............. I. C. Abbott............... Sterne Bronson............. John Thomas.............. J. C. Ingham............... J. W. Leslie................ H. L. Pitcher............... I866-I867 I868-1870 1871 1872 1873 1874-I875 1876-I877 1878 1879 POSTMASTERS. The following named persons have been postmasters: Henry C. Morton......... I866-I873 J. P. Thresher............. I873-I877 A. B. Riford.............. 1877-1884 Hattie B. Riford (wife of A. B.) 1884-I889 L. M. \Vard................889-I893 R. I. Jarvis................ 1893-I896 Edgar Nichols............. I896-1897 H. R. Huntington............ I897-I9I0 John T. Owen.............. I90o (to present time.) Clerks. aN. Babcock................ HI. S. Harris............... A. B. Riford............... H. H. Kidd................ Alonzo Plummer............ E. D. Cooke............... IH. L. Pitcher.............. CG. M. Valentine............. I866-I86, i868-i86( 1870 187I 1872 1873-I87; I876-I87r 1879 7 9 The names of the present physicians of Benton Harbor, are as follows: F. R. Belknap, W. C. Bastar, 5 J. C. Bostwick, S F. E. Brady, G. M. Bell, C. B. Chapin, s Lelia S. French, N. A. Herring, H. C. Hill, F. M. Kerry, C. M. Ryno, W. R. Ryno, C. N. Sowers, R. B. Tabor, E. R. Taylor, H. V. Tutton, B. G. Watson. The mayors and city clerks have been a' follows: Mayors. Fred A. Hobbs............. 189I B. R. Stearns.............. 1892 Alonzo Plummer............ 1893 Osgood Fifield.............. 1894-1895 The attorneys of Benton Harbor are: Geo. W. Bridgman, City Attorney, William H. Andrews, A. P. Cady, HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 243 F. H. Ellsworth, Probate Judge, V. M. Gore, President Board of Education, H. S. Gray, F. L. Hammond, W. P. Harvey, W. C. Hicks, N. G. Kennedy, S. H. Kelley, Alonzo Plummer Harry A. Plummer, I. W. Riford, M. A. Seitz, C. C. Commissioner, H. L. Southworth, J. J. Sterling, G. M. Valentine, A. Weldon, Justice of the Peace, H. S. Whitney, Justice of the Peace. CHAPTER XVII BAINBRIDGE. The township of Bainbridge is bounded on the north by Watervliet, on the east by Cass county, on the south by Pipestone and on the west by Benton. It is six miles square and contains thirty-six sections of land. Two streams of emigration mainly furnished the early settlement and development of this township. The first were settlers from New York and mainly from two counties, Jefferson and Livingston. The second was the German settlement commencing about 1840 and occupying mainly the northern portion of the township. These German settlers who are living, and their descendants, constitute nearly one-half of the present population. This was the earliest German settlement in the county and probably the earliest in this state. The first actual settlement, however, was made by Canadian Frenchmen. Bartholomew Sharrai with his wife, five sons, Peter, Luke, Tenos, Louis, and Bartholomew, Jr., and three daughters, Louisa, Catherine and Mary, came from Canada about 1833 and located in section eight. The men spent a portion of the time in cultivating their lands and a portion of it boating on the St. Joseph river. A log shanty was soon afterwards built near the Sharrai place by one Ruleau, another Canadian, who stocked it with whiskey and called it a tavern. A grandson of Bartholomew Sharrai, Sr., John W. Sharrai, is the present owner of the "Ox Bow farm" in Sodus township. J. H. Enos and his two brothers, Roswell and Joseph, came to Bainbridge in I836 and J. H. bought the Ruleau place and put up a saw mill at Millburg. His brothers worked awhile for him but shortly left the township, Joseph moving into Benton and Roswell into St. Joseph. In I835 the territorial road from Detroit to St. Joseph was constructed through Bainbridge. Enos kept a tavern on the territorial road, where daily stages between Detroit and St. Joseph halted. Mr. Enos was the first postmaster in the township and held important positions in the township for the next fourteen years. In 1850 he moved to Benton township. In 1835 Martin Tice, in company with a man named Griffin, came from the east by water to Detroit and by foot from Detroit to Berrien county. Tice located in section seventeen in Bainbridge on the line of the territorial road which he was engaged in constructing. About the same time John P. Davis built a tavern opposite Tice's house. The travel carried on by the daily stages at that time was large and furnished considerable business for these pioneer taverns. Davis lived but a short time and the tavern passed successively to Ezra C. King, C. C. Sutton, S. R. Gilson and A. R. Pinney. In 184I HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 245 this tavern was replaced by a large and convenient frame building. It is reported that frequently one hundred people took breakfast at this tavern in the height of the business season. Before 1835 the firm of Smith and Merrick of the state of New York, who were extensive land owners in New York and Michigan, had purchased large tracts of land in Bainbridge township. In 1836 a company of seventeen men who were engaged in clearing timber land in Niagara county, New York, for that firm, were induced to go to Bainbridge and assist in clearing the lands owned by Smith and Merrick. They walked from Detroit to Bainbridge, where Dr. N. B. Moffatt, who had been sent on in advance to look after the interests of the firm, took charge of them and established them in some log houses which he had already built for their accommodation. Among these men were Joseph Matrau and George Wilder. A large amount of clearing was done by them in the northen part of the township. About the same time Stillman Wood, Stephen R. Shephard and James Wilder also engaged in clearing for Smith & Merrick. Most of the men, when the clearing had been finished, left for other western points, but Wood, Wilder and Shephard located upon lands they had assisted in clearing. Matrau, after an absence of two or three years, returned in 1839 and settled in section twenty-eight. In I85o he removed to section fourteen. His son, Edward N., still owns the farm located by his father, although he has recently moved to Watervliet. The latter was supervisor of the township for six years. In I836, Samuel McKeyes from New York, came to Berrien county, and purchased sixteen tracts of land each containing eighty acres, or in all twelve hundred and eighty acres. Six of these tracts were in Bainbridge and upon one of these he located. Mr. McKeyes became the second supervisor of the township in 1838, was a justice of the peace for several years and was generally known as "Squire McKeyes." In 1838, Jabez Knapp from Jefferson county, New York, a ship carpenter by trade, located in the township. For a number of years, however, he followed his trade at St. Joseph, leaving his sons to manage the farm. In 1837 Levi Woodruff from Broome county, New York, located in section ten. Levi Woodruff was supervisor in I840, and died in 1862. A son of Levi, Newton Woodruff, located near his father at the same time. Newton Woodruff was supervisor of the township in I848-I85I-I872, and a member of the house of representatives in the State Legislature in I865. He lived upon his farm in Bainbridge till his death in I880. His son, A. N. Woodruff, was a member of the Legislature in I865, superintendent of the State Public School at Coldwater, and has been chairman of the Republican county committee for many years. He is now engaged in real estate and insurance business at Watervliet. Another son of Levi, Henry Woodruff, first located in Bainbridge but subsequently located in Watervliet and died in I895. His son, Fred A. Woodruff, was county clerk from I893 to 1897, and is now holding his third term as postmaster at St. Joseph. Rev. Simeon Woodruff, a brother of Levi, and a Presbyterian minister, moved to Bainbridge shortly after the settlement of his brother. He organized a Congregational Church, which was, however, shortly after merged with the Congregational Church of Coloma. The Congregational Church at Bainbridge was one of the earliest churches established in the northern part of Berrien county. Simeon shortly after returned to the east. Another son of Levi, Asaph, lived on Bainbridge till I888 when he removed to Benton. Wallace Tabor came from Jefferson 246 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY county, New York, in I831. He remained but a short time and went to Chicago, where he was engaged as a brick mason. In I833 he returned to Bainbridge where he located and lived till his death. He married a daughter of Samuel McKeyes. His son, Ernest Tabor, is the proprietor of a popular summer resort in Sodus township, on the banks of the St. Joseph river, which he established in I89I. It is the present terminus of the Interurban road leading south from Benton Harbor. Two other sons, Horace and Carleton, are prominent farmers in Sodus and Pipestone. Among prominent settlers who came somewhat later were Thomas J. West, Dexter 0. Dix, Kayus Haid, W. L. George. Mr. West was supervisor of the township in I869 and a representative to the State Legislature. He was a good speaker, and a man of culture and ability. Dexter O. Dix came from New York, was supervisor at different times and a justice of the peace for many years. Hon. Roscoe D. Dix of Berrien Springs is a son. W. L. George came with his parents to St. Joseph from New York, in 1841. When quite young he engaged in service on the lakes and was finally promoted to the position of captain of the Miami, which plied between Chicago, St. Joseph and Muskegon. He went to California in I849. Returning he settled in Bainbridge and was supervisor in 1852. In 1867 he removed to Benton township and subsequently to Benton Harbor where he engaged in the boot and shoe business. He was a supervisor of the township for six years, and deputy oil inspector of this district for several years. He was a man of ability and a leader in the Republican party of the county. The southwestern portion of Bainbridge is known as Penn Yann. In I836, Simeon Brant, a native of Massachusetts, came to Bainbridge with his wife and eleven children. His son, Nathan iel Brant, then twenty-one years of age, settled in Pipestone township in 1838. He also had eleven children. The descendants of Simeon Brant now living in Bainbridge and neighboring townships are very numerous Brant was followed by Francis Johnson,, Joseph Griffin, and Ethamar Adams. In I839 Daniel Sutherland settled on sections thirty-three and thirty-four. In I844 a large colony came from Jefferson county, New York, including Joseph and Albert Vincent, and their families, Henry Vincent, the Boyers, Spencers, Harrises, Bishops, and Spinks, and some others, making in all eighteen families, which settled in the southwestern portions of Bainbridge. Numerous descendants of these families. are now residing in Bainbridge and other parts of the county, several of whom are mentioned elsewhere in this work. Most of these pioneers had large families, and this colony added materially to the population. Asa Bishop and wife had a family of eleven children. A son, J. K. Bishop, who lived to be seventy-nine years old and was a prominent citizen of the township, died recently. Of the Vincents, Joseph and Albert came in 1844, and two other brothers, Horace and John, came shortly after. Alonzo Vincent, a proprietor of the Whitcomb Hotel at St. Joseph, and warden of the State Penitentiary for several years, is a son of Albert Vincent. It is to be remarked that when the first settlers arrived, a considerable portion of Bainbridge consisted of "oak openings;" the trees grew large, at considerable distance from each other. The settlers at once girdled the trees, ploughed and cultivated the land and raised a crop of grain the first season. The fruit industry has of late years materially increased. Most of the farmers HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 247 have peach orchards, ranging from five acres to twenty acres. Small fruits and berries are raised in abundance. In 1836, David Byers and wife and John Byers, al nephew, from Livingston county, New York, located in Bainbridge township. Mr. Byers purchased one hundred and sixty acres in the northeastern part of the township. David Byers is claimed to have introduced the peach industry into Berrien cunty. In I840, he went to New York and brought back with him one hundred peach trees, a portion of which he gave to John. In I843 the trees yielded their first fruit and the product, amounting to forty bushels, was sold at St. Joseph to the steward of Captain Ward's steamer for one hundred dollars. John Byers was subsequently supervisor of the township. In 184I, the German immigration into the township commenced. It was the earliest German settlement in the county and formed the nucleus of a large German colony. It is estimated that one half of the residents of Bainbridge are of German ancestry. Most of them at first settled in the northern part of the township. This German settlement was founded in 184I by eight Germans and their families who had emigrated from the Fatherland in 1840 and first settled in Cincinnati. Their names were Michael Humphrey, Peter Humnphrey, Jacob Krieger, Daniel Krieger, Peter Schmitberger, Christian Heffner, Jacob Kniebes and Peter, his son. They were attracted by the advertisement of Smith & Merrick, the great land owners. They traveled from Cincinnati by teams. The Humphreys located shortly after in Watervliet, but the remainder purchased lands of Smith & Merrick in Bainbriclge. In 1847, these settlers were joined by another colony which came direct from Germany. The names of these colonists were Adam Hofer, Andrew Kaunzman, William Dukesherer, Charles Knoff, Christopher Reichebach and Michael Humphrey. These persons and their families made the trip from Buffalo to St. Joseph in the steamer "Phoenix." Within a year, followed David Scherer, Jacob Herman, Adam Pole, Daniel and Lawrence Koob, David Friday, Michael Christ, Nicholas Kebler, Adam Schrumer and others. Shortly after came the Webers, Iaids, Aundts, Buhlingers, Denners and others. During a period of five or six years, the German emigration was large and it will be impracticable to give all the names of these settlers. Many of these Germans or their descendants, became prominent in the township. Kayus Haid was a large land owner and supervisor in 1867 and I868. Nearly all of the present residents of German ancestry were born in the township and are distinctively American, in language and habits. CHURCHIES. The first church organized in the township was the Methodist Episcopal, established in I846. Services were first held at the red school house at Spink's Corners. The Protestant Methodist Church was organized in 1865 and held services also at the red school. A Baptist Church was organized in i869. These three denominations joined in erecting a Union Church edifice at Spink's Corners in I869, each denomination holding services at different times. The Christians formed an organization at an early day but did not erect a building till 1869, when a large and commodious building was built in the western part of the township. The church became prosperous. Four churches were established by the Germans. The Lutherans built a church edifice in 1851, the Catholics in I86o, the Evangelical Ecclesiastical in I 856, and the German Baptist in I871, The first township election was held in -248 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY,April, 1837, when J. B. Ransom was elected supervisor and J. H. Enos, clerk. Supervisors of the township have been chosen as follows: J. B. Ransom............... 837 Samuel McKeyes........... I838-I839 Levi Woodruff.............. 840 Adam Proutz............... 84I Israel Kellogg.............. I842 Jas. H. Enos................ 1843 Israel F. Lyman........... 1844 W. L. George.............. 1845 I. F. Lyman................ 1846 W. L. George.............. 1847 Newton R. Woodruff........ 1848 A. F. Stiles................ I849 Samuel McKeyes........... 850 N. R. Woodruff............ 1851 W. L. George.............. 1852-I853 D. O. Dix................. 1854 W. L. George.............. 855-I856 Chas. Kent............. 857 W. L. George.............. 858-I859 Chas. C. Kent.............. 860 D. 0. Dix................. 86I W. L. George.............. I862 Chas. C. Kent........... 1863 N. B. Harrington.......... 864-I865 John Byers................. 866 Kayus Haid................ 1867-1868 Thos. J. West.......... 1869-I870-I87I N. R. Woodruff......... I872 Chas. C. Kent........... 1873 Juan M. Guy............... 874-I875 Chas. C. Kent..... I876-1877-1878-I879 J. M. Guy.................. 880-1882 A. N. Woodruff............1883-1884 G. F. Stewart.............. 885-1896 E. N. Matrau.............. I897-I902 H. E. Olds................. 1903-I906 CHAPTER XVIII PIPESTONE. This is a full township containing thirtysix sections and is perfectly square in form. It is bounded on the north by Bainbridge, on the east by Cass county, on the south by Berrien and on the west by Sodus. About one-tenth of the township was originally covered with swamps, the eastern portion containing a large one called the "Big Meadow," covering nearly one thousand acres. These swamps have been mostly drained and the land reclaimed and made productive. The township in its native state was mostly covered with heavy forests of thick timber, the soil being generally a clay loam very rich and productive. It seems to be equally adapted for the production of grain or fruit. The theory that the lake shore alone is adapted for the culture of fruit, seems to be disproved by the history of this township in recent years, as it has lately produced large yields of apples and peaches and is rapidly taking a front rank in the cultivation of these fruits. Large orchards have been set out within the past ten years with remarkable success. The first settler in the township was James Kirk. a native of Virginia. His brother William Kirk was the second settler in the county, having moved to Carey (Niles) from Virginia in I824. Actuated by the reports of his brother as to the prospects of the new country, James Kirk emigrated from Virginia to Niles with his family in I833. Here he settled and lived for four years. In April, I837, with his family he moved into Pipestone in a lumber wagon, drawn by oxen. He located in section twenty about one mile northeast of Hartman. The family at this time consisted of a wife and seven children. Their first habitation was a cloth tent, remote from any sign of civilization by many miles. The next structure was a pole shanty, followed subsequently by a comfortable log cabin. A daughter, Mary Ellen, born in 1837, was the first white child born in the township. She afterwards married William Penland of Royalton. A son of James A. Kirk, James A. Kirk, is now living in Pipestone township and was born at Niles il 1835. He has lived continuously in the township of Pipestone for seventy-one years. The next settler was Dr. Morgan Enos, who moved from Bainbridge township in the fall of 1837 and settled on sections eighteen and nineteen. This point was long known as "Shanghai Corners" and was so named as is claimed, because Dr. Enos was the first person to import Shanghai chickens into,the township in the "Shanghai fever" days. Dr. Enos was the only physician in the region of his settlement for many years and acquired an extensive practice. He died in I868. He was supervisor for two terms. 250 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY The third settler was Robert Ferry, a native of Ireland, who came to this country in 1835 and located at Niles in I836. In 1837 he settled in section twenty-seven, where he lived alone, being a bachelor till I839, when he married Joanna, a daughter of Jacob Ridenour, a pioneer of Cass county. Mr. Ferry accumulated a large property, owning at the time of his death in I876, ten hundred and forty acres, mostly of valuable lands. The following named children are now living in Pipestone: Robert, William and Thomas. Each of these sons own large and valuable farms in the township. Another son, Joseph, who married Fredericka, a daughter of Hon. N. V. Lovell, died three years since, owning a large farm in section twenty-seven. Another son, John, is living at Charlotte, Michigan. During the latter part of the same year (1837) the following named persons settled in the township: Nathaniel Brant, Crawford Hazard, Elijah Pratt, William Boughton, Stephen Smith, and Loren Marsh. The first wedding in the township was that of Brant who married Martha Hazard, a daughter of Crawford Hazard, in I840, the wedding ceremony being performed by David S. Rector, a justice of the peace of Sodus. The first death in the township was that of Loren Marsh, who died shortly after his settlement. In 1838, David Puterbaugh removed from Berrien township to Pipestone. During the summer for many years, he boated on the St. Joseph river, leaving his farm in charge of his brother Abram. In the same year Joab Enos, a brother of Dr. Enos, moved into the township. Shortly after his settlement, he and William Boughton laid out a village called Pipestone, subsequently known as "Shanghai." Only a few lots were sold, but a postoffice was established in I846, and later a store was opened by John Garrow. About the same time Dr. Enos put up a saNwmill at the village. One of the most prominent and well known early settlers of the township was James F. Haskins. He was a native of New York but removed to Peoria county, Illinois, in 1843. In 1844 he removed to Pipestone township and cleared a large tract of heavy timbered land. In 1877 he settled at Shanghai Corners, where he continued to live till his death in I894. He was a very positive, original and energetic character, was originally a Democrat, subsequently an active Republican and for some years before his death a Prohibitionist. He was supervisor of the township for eight terms and was chairman of the board of supervisors for several terms. He was a justice of the peace for over thirtyfive years, continuously. He was a popular administrator of estates and handled them with sagacity and scrupulous honesty. The following children are now living in Berrien county: Mrs. Eliza Chase of Benton Harbor, Mrs. C. D. Jennings of St. Joseph, C. W. Haskins of Pipestone, and A. W. Haskins of Oronoko. Both boys served in the Civil war, C. H. being wounded at Port Hudson. Another prominent character of the township and county was William Smyth Farmer, a native of New York. He was engaged in a general mercantile, grain and lumber business in his native state, before removing to Michigan. In 1848 he settled near the site of the present village of Eau Claire, which he helped to organize. He settled in the midst of a dense forest and acquired in a few years over sixteen hundred acres, of which one thousand acres he cleared and put into cultivation. In I864 he wvas a supervisor of his township and in I867 was elected a member of the State Constitutional Convention. HIe was originally a Whig, but became an active Republican on the organization of that party. He HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 251 was an active member of the Methodist Church and a leading man in establishing and improving the Crystal Springs camp grounds near Sumnerville. The first sawmill in the township appears to have been built by Joab and Morgan Enos on Pipestone creek, near Pipestone village. The first grist mill was erected in 1847 by B. A. Pemberton, on lands now occupied by the West Michigan nurseries. A better one was shortly after erected at Shanghai Corners by two Enos brothers and R. L. Webster. The first school in the township was taught by one George Lundy, a teacher who had come from New York. The children of James Kirk and Robert Ferry attended this school. The first church organized in the township was Methodist. It originated in religious services held at the home of James Kirk in I837, by Rev. T. P. McCoole. Services were held there once in about four weeks, for ten years. A class was not organized, however, till I847, vwhen religious services were held at the Shanghai school house. In I867 the society built an excellent structure near the village. A public hall, costing twelve hundred dollars, was built in the southern part of the township in I877, which has been used for religious services by various denominations. The village of Eau Claire was incorporated in 1891 and at the last census contained a population of three hundred and eighteen. It is situated in two townships, Berrien and Pipestone. The main business street running east and west is the boundary line between the two townships. The largest orchard in the county is located in this township. It consists of over five hundred acres set out for fruit bearing purposes to different kinds of fruit. The company owns nearly one thousand acres, a portion of whlich is used for nursery purposes. The orchard proper contains about thirty thousand peach trees, ten thousand plum trees, eight thousand pear trees, five thousand cherry trees and five thousand apple trees. This orchard is elsewhere referred to in the chapter on fruit culture, and is ownled by the \Vest Michigan Nurseries. The following named persons have been supervisors of the township of Pipestone at the dates designated. J. P. Larue................ Joab Enos................. Josiah Hawes.............. E. Farley.................. S. D. Trowbridge............. Morgan Enos.............. R. E. Hull................. D. Ely.................... Morgan Enos.............. C. E. Straight............. R. J. Tuttle................ J. Wialter.................. D. Gardner................. O. S. Boughton............. W. S. Farmer.............. G. Scrackengast............ O. S. Boughton............. J. F. Haskins.............. J. H. Conkling............. J. H. Miatthews............. Miles Davis................ Philip Dewitt............... J. H. Haskins.............. Miles Davis................ Anson Lewis.............. Milton Preston............. C. K. Farmer............... Wm. Krohm............... C. W. Haskins............. Roy Clark................. H. E. Hess................ (present incumbent.) I842-I848 1849-185I I852 1853 I854 I855 1856 I857 I858 1859 I860 I86I I862 I863 I864 I865 I867 1868-1873 I874-I875 1876-1877 I878-I879 i88o I88I-I882 I883-I884 I885-I888 I889-I890 189I 1892-I893 I894- 895 1896-I899 I900-1906 CHAPTER XIX WEESAW. The township of Weesaw is bounded on the north by Lake, on the east by Buchanan, on the south by Galien and on the west by Three Oaks and Chikaming. It was organized in I837. A large portion of the township was originally thickly timbered with heavy growth of beech, maple, ash, basswood, whitewood and black walnut. The whitewood was abundant and of fine quality. A large amount of black walnut also grew in some portions of the township. The soil is generally rich and productive. A portion of the township was originally low and marshy but most of this has been reclaimed by an extensive system of drainage, and put into cultivation. Some portions are of sandy loam, but the soil is well adapted for the production of grain or fruit. It is well watered by the Galien river and its various branches and tributaries, coursing through nearly every part of the township. Saw mills were established on these streams at an early date and before any considerable settlements were made. No permanent settlements were made till about 1836. The first settlers were Phineas Stratton, Joseph G. Ames, Timothy Atkins, Solomon, Hiram and William Gould, Ezra Stoner, Samuel Garwood, Charles McCracken, Sidney S. Ford and Alanson and John Pidge. Mr. Stratton appears to have been the first person who went to farming. He was a native of New York and located in section seven in 1836. Most of the earliest settlers did not live on farms at first, but worked at the mills located at New Troy and lived near them. About the year 1836, Solomon and Hiram Gould purchased a piece of land and built a saw mill on the present site of the village of New Troy. This was the first mill built in the township. This was known as the North mill. During the same year Nelson Willard, Joseph G. Ames and Ezra Stone purchased an undivided half of the land and water power owned by the Goulds and built on the other side of the river a mill which was called the "South Mill." Mr. Ames became a prominent man in the county. He had emigrated from New Hampshire to New Buffalo in 1836, from whence he moved to New Troy. He was elected a commissioner of roads in I837, and supervisor of Weesaw in I839. He retired from the mill business in I839 or I840. Further reference is made to him in connection with the history of New Buffalo. Ezra Stoner was the first township clerk in 1837, but remained in the township but a short time. The village of New Troy was platted in I837. The lots were divided between the Goulds, Willards, Stoner and Ames, the mill property being owned in common, although each party retained its own site. The HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 253 mill property was soon abandoned, the owners shortly after the erection of the mill removing to other parts. This property afterwards came into the possession of Luman Northrup and Francis Finnegan. A long series of litigation ensued over the title to the property, which continued till the final purchase by Ambrose and Thomas Morley, who erected a new mill in I853 on the site of the Gould mill. Lumann Northrup was a prominent and eccentric character of the early days. He came from Hamburg, New York, to New Buffalo in I836. He was a man of great natural shrewdness and mental ability and successfully practiced law before justices of the peace, although never admitted to the bar, and having little education. He died about 1868. Francis Finnegan was also a well known "pettifogger" a name given to persons who practiced before justices of the peace, and who were not admitted to the bar. At an early date he removed to the northern part of the county. Charles McCracken, already referred to, settled in New Troy about I836 and was town clerk in 1844. Some years afterward he disappeared from New Troy mysteriously and has never since been heard from. His wife is now living at Galien in this county in her eighty-eighth year. A son, Charles McCracken, now resides in the northern part of Buchanan township, and was born in New Troy. William W. McCracken, late county treasurer, and now deputy clerk of Berrien county, is a son of Charles McCracken. In I840, Pitt J. Pierce, a native of New York, settled in Weesaw township and commenced clearing a farm upon lands which are the present site of the village of New Troy. This farm appears to have been the first of importance in that portion of the township. Mr. Pierce acquired a valuable farm of 320 acres and also engaged in lumbering. He died a few years since at an advanced age. His son, George Pierce, was a supervisor for many years. Another son, Arnold, was for many years a prominent merchant and for a time in partnership with his brother George, in the mercantile business. A brother of Pitt Pierce, William, located in the township about the same time and became a prominent farmer and also conveyancer and advocate in justices' courts. Alpheus Hill, a native of Connecticut, located first in New Troy in 1840, removing in 1846 to Hill's Corners, a hamlet near the present site of Glendora. Mr. Hill made the first clearing at Hill's Corners. His son Edward carried on the first store at New Troy and soon after kept a tavern. A postoffice was started in 1854 at Hill's Corners with William S. Pierce as postmaster. This was abandoned many years ago. Among the pioneers who settled near Hill's Corners shortly after 1840 were William Strong, Henry Searles, Samuel Washburn, Hiram Wells, and George Brong. All of these were farmers except Brong, who carried on a blacksmith shop. In I840, Matthew M. Paddock of New York, located two hundred acres in section thirty-four and built a house upon it. Ephriam Murdock also settled in section thirty-four in 1842. Robert Eaton, subsequently a county surveyor, shortly after settled in section thirty-five. The lands in the township were mostly owned by nonresidents till about the year 1848. At about that date lands began to be sold largely to actual settlers, and the population began to increase rapidly. Among those who came about this time, were two brothers, Comfort and Union Pennell, who emigrated from New York and settled in Weesaw in I849, in the northwestern part of the township. B. F. Pennell was supervisor of the township from 1850 to 1858, with the exception of the year 1853, and treasurer of the county from I86o to I868. He subsequently pur 254 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY chased a large farm known as the "Shaker Farm" near Berrien Springs, where he died several years ago. Union Pennell was for many years treasurer of Weesaw township and also a justice of the peace. Ambrose Morley and Thomas Morley, natives of New York, came to New Troy in 1852. They established a new saw mill in 1853 on the site of the old Gould mill. Ambrose also erected other saw mills in the township and in I868 a grist mill at New Troy. In I891 the grist mill was remodelled by his son, F. H. Morley, and became a roller mill, which has had an extensive business. Somewhat later, Alonzo Sherwood purchased two hundred and forty acres in Weesaw and also two hundred and forty acres in Lake township. This farm was called the Oak Grove farm. On this farm he established a saw mill and from this mill a horse railroad was built to Brown's station on the line of the Chicago & West Michigan Railroad, and continued from thence to Brown's Pier on the lake. For several years a large lumbering business was carried on at this point. Mr. Sherwood was a son of Seth Sherwood, who settled in Niles township in 1834, and was one of the earliest pioneers of the county. Alonzo was supervisor of Weesaw township for two terms and a member of the legislature from I879 to I88I. Several years since, he moved to Nebraska where he is now living. EARLY CHURCHES. The first church organized in the township appears to have been the Baptist. This was organized in I845. A church edifice was built in 1854. The membership of the original church was made up of a large number of prominent families of the neigh borhood, and from townships adjoining. A Methodist Episcopal class was formed at an early day at New Troy and Rev. William Morley of Portage Prairie, preached occasionally at that point as early as I840. No regular organization was effected, however, till some years later and a church edifice was not built till 1863. The following persons have been supervisors of Weesaw township at the dates designated: Jos. G. Ames............... 839 Jas. Edson................. 1841 W. H. Gould........... 1842 Wm. Burns................ 1843 W. H. Gould........... I844-I848 B. M. Lyon............ I849 B. F. Pennell.............. I850-1852 S. MI. Washburn............ 1853 Benj. F. Pennell............ 854-1858 T. A. Haskins............ I859 Benj. F. Pennell............ I860 Jas. M. Price............... I86I C. L. A. Hawkins........... I862 Union Pennell............ I863 Jas. M. Price............... 1864 Levi Logan............ 1865-1866 E. P. Morley........... I867-I868 Alonzo Sherwood........... I869-I870 B. C. Sandford............ I87I-I872 Geo. Pierce............. 873 E. P. Morley........... I874-1875 Geo. Pierce................ I876-I878 J. F. Beckwith.............. 1879 A. J. Norris................ 1880-1884 C. J. Smith.............. 885 Clayton Smith.............. 886 Peter Smith............... I887 J. A. Babcock.............. 888 L. H. Kempton............. I889-1892 C. H. Norris............... 1893-1894 L. H. Kempton............. 1895 Clayton Smith.............. 1896-1897 J. A. Babcock.............. I898-I899 F. A. Norris............... 1900-1901 J. A. Penwell.............. I902-1906 (present incumbent.) CHAPTER XX LAKE TOWNSHIP. This township has the most area of any township in the county, with the exception,of Niles, which is of about the same size. It contains about forty-two sections of land. It is bounded on the north by Lincoln and a small portion of Royalton, on the east by Oronoko, on the south by Weesaw and;Chikaming and on the west by Lake Michigan. Its southern boundary is over eight miles long. The character of the soil is diversified. Along the lake are high sand dunes and east,of these is a plain of sandy lands, and adjoining this a belt of rich and fertile soil. Running through the township from the southwest to northeast was originally an immense swamp called the "Big Meadow," several miles wide in portions. This meadow practically divided the township into two sections. It has been mostly drained and many of the most productive farms were originally a part of the "Big Meadow." That portion of the township which adjoins Oronoko was always dry and the soil was naturally rich and productive. The township in a state of nature was covered with extensive forests of valuable timber, and for many years buying or selling logs and lumber was the principal business of most of the inhabitants. That portion which lies west of the "Big Meadow" was settled very late, nearly all the early settlements for many years hav ing been made in the eastern portion of the township. As late as I880 the township contained only five hundred and fifty people. About the year I890, however, emigration began to pour in. In ten years the population was doubled and the prices of land more than doubled. Portions of the township are densely populated, and being rapidly divided up into small fruit farms. The population is now nearly three thousand. The immigration lately has been largely German. Immense amounts of berries are produced, especially strawberries, in the culture of which Lake township leads all others. The township was a part of Oronoko till I846. The first township election was held at the house of Benjamin Lemon in April, 1846, when only eighteen votes were polled. Bradley M. Pennell was elected supervisor, Comfort Pennell, clerk, and Benjamin Lemon and Daniel Phillips, justices of the peace. The woods between the great meadow and the lake were formerly the favorite roaming grounds of numerous deer. David Smith, a famous hunter of the locality, is said to have killed over sixty deer in these woods during one winter. The township has two villages, neither of which is incorporated, Bridgman and Baroda. The former was laid out by 256 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY George W. Bridgman in 1871 and the latter upon the construction of the "Vandalia" railroad which runs through Baroda. The first permanent settler so far as we can ascertain was John Harner, who settled in section twenty-five near the Oronoko line about the year I834. His children now living are Michael, John, Levi and Mrs. Joshua Feather. That portion of the township which lies west of the great meadow was not settled till much later than the portion which lies east. The first settler west of the meadow appears to have been William Daker, but at what date is not known. In 1836 or 1837, Godfrey Boyle located in Lake township. Mr. Boyle was a German who had emigrated to this country in I83I. In 1835 he bought a piece of land one mile north of Niles which he occupied. He shortly after moved to Lake township, where he bought a piece of land from the government. Later he removed to Oronoko township where he acquired a farm of two hundred acres upon which he lived till his death in 1862. Mr. Boyle had served in early life in the German army in the campaigns against Napoleon. Thomas Phillips settled in the northeast part of the township in 1836 and lived upon this farm till his death in 1846. In 1837, Phillips sold the mill site on Hickory creek on his land to Peter Ruggles and Erastus Munger, who at once erected a saw mill. This was on section two. The mill afterwards passed to Ruggles and was known as the Ruggles' Mill. Peter Ruggles was supervisor in I843. Henry Lemon, who married a daughter of Ruggles, settled in section three in 1839 on which he lived till his death in I875. Benjamin Lemon settled in section twenty-four in 1842. Edward Ballingee was one of the earliest settlers of Lake township and also one of the earliest settlers of Berrien county. He moved into the southeastern part of Lake township in 1845 and lived there till I850 when he moved to New Buffalo and finally moved to Buchanan. Reference is made to him further in the chapter on Buchanan. Bradley M. Pennell settled on section twenty-four in I843. He was the first supervisor of the township elected in I846. He subsequently removed to Buchanan. Comfort Pennell settled on section twelve in I844, subsequently removing to Berrien. He was also a supervisor of Lake township. In I836, John B. Nixon, a native of South Carolina, came with his son, John H. Nixon, a young man seventeen years old, to Michigan and remained about six months, when he returned home. In 1842 he brought his family with him and his son, John H. Nixon, located in Berrien Springs in I852 where he resided till I855, when he moved to Lake township. He was supervisor in I882. John B. Nixon, a son of John H., is the present supervisor of the township and has held the position three terms. In 1841, Horace Godfrey, a native of Vermont, and one of the oldest settlers of Berrien county, settled in section twentyfive, near the Oronoko line, and lived there till his death. He had first settled in Niles township in 1829, coming on foot by an Indian trail from Detroit, and for two years ran the old log mill on Dowagiac creek, the site of the so-called "Yellow Mill," erected shortly afterwards. In 1831, he moved to Berrien Springs, where, in company with his uncle, Pitt Brown, and Frances Murdock, he laid out the original village of Berrien Springs. He died in I879. Two children are now living, Mrs. Jacob B. Ullery, now residing at Niles, and Japhet Godfrey, of Riverside, California. The latter, prior to his removal to California, had lived many years at Buchanan where he carried on the hardware business. A prominent man in the history of the township was George W. Bridgman, who HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 257 came from Massachusetts, in I855, and located at the present site of Bridgman in I856. In the fall of that year he formed a partnership with Warren Howe and Charles F. Howe, called the "Charlotteville Lumber Company," which constructed a large steam saw mill at a cost of twenty thousand dollars, a short distance west of the present village of Bridgman. This point was known as Charlotteville, and was distant from Lake Michigan about one mile. A railroad track was built from the mill to the lake, where it connected with a pier five hundred feet long. A railway was also constructed into the forest in different directions, making a track of about seven miles in length. The rolling stock consisted of an engine and thirty-three cars. The mill, improvements and rolling stock cost over sixty thousand dollars and the mill had a capacity of twenty-five thousand feet per day and seventy men were employed in the business connected with the mill. Schooners conveyed the lumber manufactured from the pier to Chicago. An enormous business was done for a few years. In 1863 the mill was destroyed by fire. Two mills were built upon the site but both were burned down, the last in I870. By I863 the lumbering business had declined on account of the cutting down of the best timber and mills subsequently built were of much less capacity. Saw mills were put up subsequently but the fire proved destructive, no less than four mills having been destroyed by fire between I870 and 1878. The village of Charlotteville was the seat of considerable business for several years and was named after Charlotte, wife of one of the proprietors. Mr. Bridgman was active in securing the building of the Chicago and West Michigan Railroad along the lake shore in I869 and 1870 and in the latter year platted out a new village called Bridgman's, located a half mile east of Charlotteville. Mr. Bridgman died in I895. George W. Bridgman, a prominent attorney of Benton 17 Harbor, is a son of George Bridgman. A daughter, Mrs. Sarah E. Ackerman,/ now lives on the old homestead at Bridgman. Norman E. Landon was also a prominent man in the township. He was a native of Connecticut and settled in Lake township in I858. His brother Rufus, of Niles, at that time owned most of the "Big Meadow." Norman was supervisor of his township for nineteen terms. His first term was in I859 and his last term in I892. Dr. John H. Royce was a prominent physician for many years and had an extensive practice. His widow is now living at New Troy. She was a teacher for many years. The village of Bridgman is the center of the strawberry business. The nurseries of A. L. Baldwin, Charles Whitten and F. L. Ackerman are devoted mainly to the production of strawberry plants, which are shipped to all parts of the country, often a car load of these plants are shipped from this point in a day. The township of Lake produces more strawberries than any other township, and the erea set out to this fruit has been rapidly increasing for several years. It is claimed by fruit men that the soil is especially adapted for raising choice strawberries. The first church in the township was Methodist and was organized in I846 at a school house in the southeast part of the township. A church was subsequently established at Bridgman's. In I850 a United Brethren Church was organized in the eastern part of the township. The following is a list of supervisors of Lake township from the date of its organization in I846. Bradley M. Pennell.......... Comfort Pennell............ Peter Ruggles.............. Comfort Pennell............ Abner Sanders............. E. P. Morley............... Marcus Hand.............. Bennett Heathman.......... 1846 1847-1848 I849 I850 I85I-I853 1854 I855-I856 I857 258 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Marcus Hand.............. 858 Norman E. Landon.......... I859-I860 E. P: Morley............... I86I-1862 B. M. Pennell.............. 863 E. P. Morley............... 864 N. E. Landon.............. I865-866 D. S. Evans................ 1867-1868 Franklin Weston.............I869 Isaac Hatheway............ I870-872 N. E. Landon............... 873-1874 Wm. Williams.......... I875-I876 N. E. Landon.............. I877 M. B. Hauser........... I878 N. E. Landon............. I879-I88I J. H. Nixon................ I882 N. E. Landon............ I883-1885 C. H. Whitcomb............ 886 N. E. Landon............ I887-I892 C. M. Smith............... I893-I894 0. P. Miller................ I895-I896 C. M. Smith................ 1896- 900 O. A. E. Baldwin........... 19O C. M. Smith............... I902 J. B. Nixon................. I903 B. S. Bedortha.............. I904 J. B. Nixon................ I905-I906 CHAPTER XXI THE EARLY HISTORY OF ROYALTON AND LINCOLN. The township of Royalton was organized in 1835. It then included territory now occupied by Royalton, Lincoln and Sodus. Sodus was annexed to Pipestone in 1842. Lincoln was not organized till I868, when a portion was detached from Royalton. Royalton, as now constituted, is irregular in shape and contains about nineteen sections. The St. Joseph river separates it from Sodus, running for the most part in a northwesterly direction. Royalton being on the left bank. It is bounded on the south by Oronoko and Lake, on the west by Lincoln and St. Joseph, on the north by St. Joseph and the river which separates it from Benton and Sodus. It practically borders on six different townships. Lincoln is bounded on the north by St. Joseph, on the east by Royalton, on the south by Lake and on the west by Lake Michigan. The soil is generally very rich and productive. The Interurban which enters the township at Arden near the southeast corner and runs through the township in a northwesterly course for about six miles, passes through fruit orchards and grape vineyards for nearly the whole distance on almost a level. The township is noted especially for its production of grapes, in which it stands next to St. Joseph and about equal to Benton. It also raises large quantities of strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. In proportion to its area, it probably raises as large a quantity of berries as any township. The first settler of Oronoko was the first settler of Royalton. This was John Pike, who was a native of North Carolina and who settled on Wolf's Prairie (Berrien Springs) in I829. In 1832 he removed to Royalton where he located with his wife and six children in the northwest corner of the present township. He subsequently acquired about two hundred and forty acres in the township, and subsequently removed to Iowa where he died in 1859 in his eighty-eighth year. His son William Pike, who came with his father, located when of age, in section seven, where he lived most of the time till his death. The next settler was Jehiel Enos, then a bachelor, who came to Michigan in 1829, and in 1832 located land adjoining that of John Pike. He removed to Benton township in I834, where he became the first settler, and one of the most prominent men in the early history of the county. He is referred to more specially in connection with the early settlement of Benton township. In 1835 Josephus Gard, a native of New York, who had removed to Ohio, however, in early life, located upon the Enos farm. Mr. Gard, on removing from Ohio, had first settled in Cass county in I830, and the Gard family became prominent in the history of 260 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY both Berrien and Cass counties. Josephus Gard died many years ago. One son of Josephus, Jonathan, remained in Cass county. Another son, Joseph, moved to Berrien county in 1834 where he located one hundred and sixty acres near St. Joseph. His first wife died shortly after his settlement and he subsequently married Laura Farley, the daughter of Amos Farley, one of the first settlers of St. Joseph, he having located there in 1829. Joseph Gard conducted a tannery for a time, but was mainly devoted to agricultural pursuits. He was a man of ability and died in I873. His wife died in I878. Their only surviving child, John F. Gard, was supervisor of the township of St. Joseph for several terms and was elected county treasurer in I900. He died in I902, while in office. He was an expert bookkeeper and a man of financial sagacity. In 1831, Theodore C. Abbe and his brother, A. G. Abbe, of Oswego, New York, settled in the township, coming with a widowed mother and one younger brother. They sailed from Oswego to Detroit, where they purchased an ox team and lumber wagon and drove to Niles. From this point A. G. drove the oxen to Royalton village, while the rest of the family sailed down the river in a pirogue or canoe. Theodore died about the year 1836. A. G. then became a boatman on the river and also worked at his trade as a carpenter till I847, when he located upon a farm in Royalton. He was supervisor of his township two terms and treasurer three terms. Samuel Danforth in 1837, left Genessee county, New York, for Michigan, with two children in a wagon, but found the roads so bad that after proceeding some distance, abandoned the wagon and in company with his children walked to Niles, a distance of about one hundred miles. In I836 he settled in Royalton and lived there till his death in 1858. In 1833 Clark Pennell built a log house on the St. Joseph and Niles road and carried on a tavern. It was afterwards supplanted by a frame building and was known as the "Buckhorn Tavern," a famous hostelry of the pioneer days and a favorite resting place for travelers. About I836 it passed into the hands of David M. Dunn, the first supervisor of the township, who was the proprietor for several years. The tavern was called the "Buckhorn" because the front was decorated with a pair of buck horns, placed there by W. H. Tryon, a famous deer hunter. In 1834, Rowland Tryon and his sons William H. and John, natives of Connecticut, located in section twenty-nine. The father died in 1875 at the advanced age of ninety-four years. William became a prominent fruit grower, for sometime carried on a general store, and held several township offices. He was noted as a skillful and successful hunter. He once engaged in a hunt for forty days in which he killed thirty-seven deer, sixteen coons, six wild turkeys and collected nine swarms of bees. In 1834, David Shearer, a native of North Carolina, emigrated from Ohio, where he had lived for some years, with his family consisting of a wife and thirteen children, and located one hundred and sixty acres in section nineteen. His son Eli and A. J. Briney, who had accompanied the family from Ohio, located lands adjoining. There were no settlers nearer than five miles distant. They journeyed from Ohio in four two-horse wagons. They went to mill to Prairie Ronde in Kalamazoo county, thirtyfive miles distant. The following children of Eli Shearer are now living. Mrs. A. J. Penland, Mrs. Margaret Arnold, Daniel, and Mrs. Elizabeth Stevens. Two children of Jacob Shearer are now living. William H. Shearer and Mrs. Sarah Peters. William H. is now living on the farm purchased by his father of the government in 1839. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 26I Five children of Andrew Shearer are living, William A., Alexander, Charles, Mrs. Sarah Bradford and Mrs. Mary Newel. In I834, David Ball settled in the township, but in I839 sold out and removed to a foreign state. In I835, A. J. Briney, William Miltenberger and William Baumgartner, all from Ohio, settled in the township. In I839, Robert Hollywood purchased the farm of David Ball in section thirteen. Hollywood was an Irishman by birth and a linen bleacher by trade, but emigrating to this country in I820, became a sailor. He first sailed on the lakes, and afterwards on the river St. Joseph, being captain for a time on the "Davy Crockett." After purchasing the Ball farm he lived on it till his death in I85I. His son, Robert T., now lives upon a portion of the farm purchased by his father in 1839. Among the prominent settlers who came later may be mentioned James Carleton, John Bort, and George H. Scott. All of them came to Michigan at an early date. Mr. Carleton was a native of Massachusetts and emigrated to Barry county, in this state, in I840. In I854 he located in Royalton township, where he lived till his death in I872. He was supervisor of the township from I86o to I864. A son, Albert H. Carleton, living at present in St. Joseph, was supervisor of Royalton township from I877 to I880. John Bort moved in I844 from Herkimer county, New York, to Niles township, where he located with his wife. He remained here but a short time and purchased a farm in Lincoln township. This he sold and purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty-four acres in Royalton upon which he lived till his death. He was engaged extensively in raising fruit and was the first person to engage largely in the culture of strawberries. His farm in Lincoln contained one hundred and forty-four acres. This he bought for twenty-two hundred dollars and sold in I865 for twenty-two thousand dollars. He died in I903 in his ninety-fourth year. He belonged to a long-lived family of thirteen children born to his parents, all but three of whom lived to be over ninety years old. Two of his children are now living in this county, Fayette M. and Harry G. both of Royalton. Harry G. is the present supervisor of Royalton township. George H. Scott, a native of Vermont, came to St. Joseph in I837, with a brother, Reuben. They engaged in various enterprises, conducting a hardware store, a grocery and a saw mill and at one time owned and operated two vessels on the lake. About the year I86o he purchased a farm in Royalton township where he lived for about twenty-five years. He died in I896. A son, George M., lives in Royalton township and a daughter Emma is the wife of N. A. Hamilton, a prominent attorney of St. Joseph. Mr. Scott was postmaster for some years at Royalton, and held various local offices. A considerable number of Germans settled in the township at a later date. Among the most prominent of them was Henry Ashoff. He received a good education in that country which takes the lead in educational requirements, Prussia, of which he was a native. He came to America in I853, to St. Joseph in I854 and married a daughter of Joseph Gard in I855. Mr. Gard gave him eighty acres in section twenty, to which Mr. Ashoff made additions. He was supervisor of his township for nine years and held various local offices. He was an active, honest and intelligent citizen and a prominent leader in the Evangelical Association Church. He died many years since. An association has been formed in this township for the benefit of fruit growers called the "Scottdale Fruit Association" of which the following are the officers: President and manager, Fred Geisler; salesman, W. H. Shearer; secretary and treasurer, Arthur Carleton. 262 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY The electors of Royalton in the spring election of I906, voted to appropriate thirty thousand dollars for the building of roads. Already several miles of macadamized road have been built. The township of Lincoln was a part of Royalton until the year 1867 and its early history is so mingled with that of Royalton that it is difficult to separate the early history of one from that of the other. Early settlers of Royalton had lands which were situate within the present limits of Lincoln, and often moved their residence from what is now Royalton to the latter. A brief statement, however, of some of the earliest settlements made within the present limits of Lincoln, will be made. The town of Lincoln is fractional, being about two and one-half miles wide on the south. It is bounded on the north by St. Joseph, on the east by Royalton, on the south by Lake and on the west by Lake Michigan. The eastern portion of the township lying on the borders of Royalton, is naturally rich and productive. Hickory creek runs across the township in a northerly direction, and the land west of this creek was naturally sterile and poor. Pine forests originally grew near the lake. This land, however,. has been made remunerative by fruit cultivation. A considerable portion lying along Hickory creek was swampy but nearly all of it has been drained, reclaiming quite an area of land. The township is densely populated, being largely divided up into small holdings, and presenting almost the appearance of a continuous village, with fruit gardens in the rear of the residences. Of late years there has been a large influx of Germans and other foreign races. The land has been largely devoted to fruit raising especially of all kinds of berries for which the soil appears especially adapted. Peaches are also raised in abundance. In the western part of the township is a series of ponds or lagoons about a mile and a half long, connected with Lake Michigan, called the "Grand Marias" or great marsh. A remarkably early settlement was made in the extreme northern part of the township in 1827 by Major Timothy Smith. Major Smith had been a teacher in the Carey mission and leaving there in 1827 he sought a home in an unbroken wilderness, years before the government had opened any lands for sale, and before any survey had been made. He became a justice of the peace, and was supervisor of the township of Royalton from 1837 to I843. He was very corpulent and a practical joker. He was appointed light houe keeper in I840 and lived in the county till 1853, when he removed to California, where he died many years ago. William Huff settled near Major Smith in 1828, but shortly after moved into the village of Newburyport (St. Joseph), where he engaged in mercantile business and built a hotel. He was the first supervisor of St. Joseph township and held the office for three or four terms. He died in I845. In 1835 or 1836, Major Smith, Hiram Brown and others laid out a village in the western part of the township, but the project was abandoned before any successful settlement was made. No settlements were made after those of Major Smith and Mr. Huff for some years, and this part of the township was settled very slowly. The village of Stevensville was platted and laid out by Thomas Stevens, a prominent banker of Niles, who owned a large tract of land in the vicinity. An addition was made by A. D. Brown. The village was incorporated in I893, and has a population of two hundred and fifty. The first store in the village was carried on by William M. Smith. The first physician was Dr. J. N. Percell. The first church was the Methodist, which was established in 1847 by Gould Parish and others. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY SUPERVISORS OF LINCOLN TOWNSHIP. The following named persons have been supervisors of the township at the dates designated. J. A. Parrish............... L. W. Archer.............. A. D. Brown............... A. 0. French............... J. S. Beers................. Alex. Haliday.............. W. J. Diemer.............. Alex. Haliday.............. Frank P. Cupp............. 1868 I869 I870-I879 I880 1886-I887 1888-I895 I896-1898 1899-I904 1905-1906 John Witherell.............. Samuel Fulton.............. Albert G. Abbe............. Samuel Fulton.............. P. W. Webb................ Richard Brown............. Samuel Davis.............. Wm. Stevens............... A. G. Abbe................ N. W. Thompson.......... Jas. Carleton............... D. N. Brown............... O. D. Parsons.............. Henry Ashoff.............. J. S. Beers................. Henry Ashoff.............. A. H. Carleton............. Henry Ashoff.............. J. H. Slover................ J. M. Miller................ E. L. Cromer............... S. B. Miners............... Harry Bort................ 263 1846-1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856-1859 I860-I864 I865 I866 1867-1872 1873 1874-1876 1877-1880 I88I-I883 1884-1888 I889 I890-I899 I900-I904 I905-I906 The following is a list of the supervisors of Royalton township. David M. Drum............ I835-I836 T. S. Smith................ 1837-I843 Samuel Fulton........... 1844-1845 CHAPTER XXII SODUS. The township of Sodus is irregular in form and contains only about twenty-one sections of land. It is bounded on the north by Benton, on the east by Pipestone and a small part of Berrien, on the south by the St. Joseph river, and on the west by the river and also for about a mile by Benton. The river separates it from Royalton and Oronoko. The land is generally rich and productive, and equally adapted for raising grains or fruit. The surface is generally level. Of late years fruit culture has been an important industry and the production of apples and peaches has been very large. For many years the township was a part of Pipestone and it was not till I859 that it was erected into a separate township. The first township election was held at the Rector school house in April, I86o, at which R. S. Carpenter was elected supervisor, R. E. Hull, clerk, and James Trowbridge, treasurer. The first actual and permanent settlers were the Rectors, although two men by the name of Scott and Palmer had made a small clearing, but after a brief sojourn they moved away. In 1836 James B. Larue of St. Joseph built a saw mill on Pipestone creek, but did not move into the township till 1841. In 1835 William H. and David Rector, who resided in the town of Sodus, New York, came to St. Joseph and engaged in the business of boating on the river. They disliked the business, however, and before the end of the year returned to their native state. In the next spring they again came to Michigan, bringing their brother Hiram. Arriving at Buffalo, on their trip to Michigan, in company with two other men, they took charge of a keel-boat called the "Niles" which was being towed to St. Joseph by a steamer. Shortly after leaving Buffalo a violent storm arose, during which the keelboat broke loose from the steamer towing her and drifted helplessly for about one hundred miles. When the storm subsided the the five men rowed the boat with their oars safely into port at Cleveland. Upon their arrival at St. Joseph, they went into boating again on the river. David, however, soon left this business and worked for Larue three years at the saw mill of the latter on Pipestone creek. In 1839 he located upon a tract of one hundred and twenty acres in section fourteen, which he had entered in I837. In 1836 the father, David Rector, came from Sodus, New York, with the rest of the family to St. Joseph. The next year he moved into the township and settled upon a tract adjoining that of his son, David. Here he lived till his death in I862. Hiram lived with his father a few years, when he settled in section twenty-two. David Rector, Jr., married Sarah Tabor HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 265 in I843. Mr. Rector was called upon to name the township at its organization and gave it the name of his native town in New York, Sodus. William H. Rector lived in St. Joseph till I842, when he settled upon a farm near that of his father. He lived upon this farm till his death in 1878. His first purchase was a forty-acre tract in section fifteen from Charles Palmer, who traded it to Rector for a gun and an old horse. Mr. Larue, who, as has been stated, built a sawmill on Pipestone creek as early as 1836, was then a lumber merchant in St. Joseph, to which place he had moved from New Jersey in I835. He was the first supervisor of Pipestone township (then including Sodus), and held the office from 1842 to I848. In I850 he emigrated to California, where he died many years ago. The growth of the township after its first settlement was slow, owing to the fact that the land was nearly all owned by speculators who held it for a number of years at figures so high as to keep away many purchasers. The population of both Pipestone and Sodus numbered only two hundred and seventy-seven in I845, and it was not till after I85o that any considerable number of settlers located in the township. In I840 Joseph W. Brewer, who lived at St. Joseph, and was a steamboat captain on the river, settled in section sixteen. He lived here but a few years when he returned to St. Joseph. At about the same time Ebenezer Farley settled in section sixteen, but spent most of his time boating on the river. He was a son of Amos Farley, who settled at St. Joseph in I830 and removed to Oronoko township in I833. He moved to California in I854. In 1841, James McDougall of New York and Francis Versaw, a French Canadian, together purchased a farm of one hundred and thirty acres on the St. Joseph river. McDougall subsequently moved to Nebraska. Versaw at an early date located at Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he was an agent of the American Fur Company. In 1835 he moved to St. Joseph and followed the business of boating till his settlement in Sodus. A son of Francis Versaw, James, is now living on the farm located by his father. A brother of Francis, Luke, settled in Sodus in 1845. Among the pioneers who settled the township, between 1840 and 1845, were Peter Shook, S. H. Salpaugh, I. W. Chadwick, Abner Buckman, James F. Haskins, Hiram Ryther, George Keigley, John B. Rush, Wallace Tabor. Among the prominent settlers who came somewhat later were Jesse Hemingway, Luther Hemingway, the Ganos, F. F. King, R. M. Hogue, Josephus Fisher. Luther Hemingway was supervisor of the township in 1871, but subsequently moved to Benton Harbor where he is now living. He was county surveyor for many years. F. F. King was supervisor for ten terms and Josephus Fisher for twelve years. Two popular summer resorts on the river have been located in Sodus, one called the Sebago and the other Tabors. The Sebago was established on a charming site in 1895 by J. J. Theiss. A commodious hotel was erected and subsequently a considerable number of cottages were built. About two miles above Sebago is Tabor's Resort, which is owned and conducted by Ernest Tabor. This point has been for some weeks the southern terminus of the interurban railroad running south from Benton Harbor. It is now being extended to Eau Claire. CHURCHES. The Christian Church was organized at the Mt. Pleasant church by Elder William Roe, of Buchanan, in 1867, and was a strong and vigorous church at the outset. The first elders were Josephus Fisher and C. T. Hogue. 266 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY The Sodus Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1858. Services were originally held at the Tabor school house. The United Brethren Church was organized at the Rector school house in I86I. A church edifice was erected in I869. Another Methodist church was organized in I877. In 1855 a church was organized in the northern part of the township called the Church of God. This appears to have been the earliest religious organization in the township. In 1871 it built an edifice, calling it the Union Church. The following named persons have been supervisors of Sodus township at the dates mentioned: S. B. Carpenter............. Josephus Fisher............. Fred F. King.............. Josephus Fisher............. Luther Hemingway........ F. F. King................ R. M. Hogue............... Orson Ingalsber.............. Josephus Fisher............. F. F. King................. Josephus Fisher............. F. F. King................. C. C. Bell.................. R. M. Hogue............... C. C. Bell................... F. F. King................. C. M. King................ Jos. Miller................. L. M. Hogue............... Gerald Handy.............. i86o I86I-I868 I869 1870 187I I872-I875 1876-1877 I878-I880 I88I-I882 1883 1884 1885-1886 I893 I892 I887-I89I I894-1895 1896-1900 I902 I903-I904 I905-I906 CHAPTER XXIII THREE OAKS TOWNSHIP. A portion of the items contained in the sketch of this township has been gleaned from memoranda kindly furnished by Hon. Henry Chamberlain of Three Oaks. Mr. Chamberlain has prepared a mass of interesting manuscript relating to the early settlement of the southwestern portion of Berrien county, only a small portion of which has ever been published. It is to be hoped that the matter prepared by him may yet be published. The township is bounded on the north by Chikaming, on the east by Weesaw and Galien, on the south by the state of Indiana, and on the west by New Buffalo. It was a part of the township of New, Buffalo till 1856, when it was set apart into a separate township by the board of supervisors. The name of the township was derived from that given to the postoffice by Henry Chamberlain in 1854. The name was suggested to Mr. Chamberlain by the fact that three white oak trees stood near the site of the postoffice, and so near together as to give the impression when in full leaf of being one tree. The territory was originally covered by dense forests of valuable timber, consisting of maple, beech, cherry, ash, sycamore, whitewood, oak, elm, hickory, basswood, black walnut and other varieties. There was but little marsh, mainly existing in the northeast part of the township. The soil was generally rich and fertile and well adapted for the production of corn and wheat. Deer wcre abundant during a portion of the period of early settlement. The severe winter of 1843 nearly exterminated them, but they again became plentiful in a few years. It is stated that during the years 1854 and 1855 three hundred deer were killed within a radius of about five miles, of which the present village of Three Oaks was the center. R. B. Goit, who lived just over the state line, killed twenty-seven in the fall and winter of I854-55. The number decreased, till they disappeared shortly after the close of the Civil war. During the period of the early settlement black bear were occasionally seen, and large gray wolves were numerous before 1843. Wolves were commonly caught in steel traps or wolf pens. Mink were numerous, otters and wild cats of a large size were occasionally found and muskrats and skunks were abundant; all of these animals were generally captured by traps. Raccoons were sometimes abundant and sometimes scarce. Foxes and porcupines were occasionally found. The trees which originally grew in the woods in the southwest portion of the county were generally large. Mr. Chamberlain has made some memoranda of those of the largest which he saw himself, or concerning which he derived accurate information. 268 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY All of these were perfect in form and adapted for lumber or timber. A white oak in New Buffalo township was fifteen feet in circumference and the first limb about seventy feet from the ground. The Martins cut from an oak growing in Three Oaks, seventy railroad ties, a part of which were switch ties twelve feet long and twelve feet face. A walnut tree in Three Oaks township was twenty-five feet in circumference. A white ash in the same township was about four feet in diameter. Large whitewood trees were common, often being three or four feet in diameter. One in Weesaw was over five feet in diameter and cut six twelve foot logs. S. D. Hammond cut five hundred cords of wood (bodies and limbs) on three and three-quarters acres in sections eleven, eight and twenty. Silas Sawyer from ten acres in sections Io, 7 and 20, cut off and sawed four hundred thousand feet of whitewood. The value of this lumber at this time would be about $24,000.. Four twelve-foot whitewood logs drawn to the mill by Zachariah Kinne of Galien township, and cut from one tree, made four thousand thirty-one feet board measure. From a whitewood tree about four feet at the butt, he cut six twelvefoot and one ten-foot logs. William H. Valentine of Three Oaks, had a hollow black walnut tree growing on his premises, which measured twenty-nine and one-half feet in circumference. He also reported that he had sawed another which was sound, and which was six feet in diameter at the butt, and that he obtained four twelve-foot logs. The sassafras tree as we generally see it is small and diminutive. Mr. Chamberlain speaks of having seen the stump of one which measured four feet across and from which three twelve-foot logs had been taken. A grove of these trees grew in Chikaming township in which they grew from eighteen to twenty-five inches in diameter. Black ash grew to a diameter of thirtysix inches; red oak, forty-two inches; hickory, four feet; maple, three and one-half feet; basswood (linden), three and one-half to four feet; sycamore, four feet. Hollow sycamores were occasionally found six to eight feet in diameter. I have given these interesting memoranda for the purpose of illustrating the character, enormous production and value of the timber products of the county. Similar products of the forest existed in most of the townships of the county at an early day. The value of the timber today, even if a tenth part could have been preserved, would amount to a sum which would appear fabulous. But the lands were denuded of the most valuable timber many years ago. It is a singular fact that of the numerous men who engaged in the lumber business in the southwestern part of the county, in the days when timber was plenty, few succeeded in making the business profitable, and most of them failed or became embarrassed. The lumber was sold at prices which seem to us absurdly cheap. Choice whitewood lumber which today brings $60 per thousand, was sold at from $8 to $Io per thousand. But "low prices" was not so much the cause of loss to the lumbering men, as attempts at speculation handling too much timber, financial panics and engaging in too many enterprises at once. The first settler in the township was Richard Love a native of Ohio. In 1835 he purchased land in section twenty-four and settled upon it. He died many years ago. Descendants still live upon the lands originally occupied by Mr. Love. In 1836 Sylvester Shedd, a native of Massachusetts, who resided for a few years, however, in New York, emigrated with his wife and children to Michigan and located in section twenty-three of Three Oaks township. Mr. Shedd had been a soldier in the war of 1812. He devoted himself to agricultural pursuits in his new home, HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 269 and died in I866. His wife died in I875. Two sons, Erasmus N. Shedd and Harry H. Shedd, who emigrated from New York with their parents, became prominent farmers in the township. Erasmus was for several years a justice of the peace. The following named persons settled in the township shortly after the settlement of Mr. Shedd. John Hatfield, a native of Virginia, P. G. Magness of North Carolina, Vincent Nash and Enoch Lewis, both of Virginia, Levi Paddock of New York, Joseph Love and Robert R. Larue of Tennessee, William Hammond, and John Love, a son of Joseph Love. Joseph Love was a man of considerable native ability, but deficient in education. He became involved in some petty litigation and was not satisfied with the decisions of the justices. Desirous of being elected to the office of justice of the peace, he broached the subject to one of his neighbors. His neighbor replied: "You may know law enough, Uncle Joe, but you cannot read or write." "No matter about that," replied Uncle Joe, "Jake (his son) can read and John can write and I can judge them all like the d-l." The people, however, did not relish the idea of Uncle Joe being justice, and he was defeated. Mosts Chamberlain, a native of New Hampshire, made a trip to southwestern Michigan, visited New Buffalo and purchased five quarter sections or about eight hundred acres of land located within the present limits of the townships of New Buffalo, Three Oaks and Chikaming. He did not, however, settle in the community at that time. In I843, he and his wife Rebecca (Abbott) and three children, Henry, William and Elizabeth, emigrated from New Hampshire to New Buffalo. Here he went into the mercantile business with Jacob Gerrish, a cousin of Mrs. Chamberlain. He continued, however, in the mercantile business but a short time. In 1844 Hale E. Crosby, a son-in-law of Mr. Chamberlain, came from New Hampshire with a stock of merchandise and took charge of the business. Mr. Chamberlain disposed of his interest in the store the same year and moved into section fifteen, Three Oaks township, where he erected the first frame house built in the township. He died in 1866. He was a man of great native strength of character, public spirited, philanthrophic, and of sterling qualities of mind and heart. He was strongly anti-slavery in his convictions and in I844 voted for James G. Birney, the abolition candidate for president. Upon the organization of the Republican party he identified himself with that party. He was a Congregationalist, and was prominent in the early organization of a Congregational Church at New Buffalo, subsequently transferred to Three Oaks. His son, Henry Chamberlain, well known throughout the county and state, is now living at Three Oaks. He was nineteen years of age when he came with his parents to New Buffalo in I843. He remained in New Buffalo till I850 and was elected supervisor in 1845, just as he had attained his majority. He was supervisor of that township for three terms. In I850, he had an offer to furnish two thousand cords of wood at seven shillings and six pence per cord to be delivered at the cars on the side track where the village of Three Oaks now stands. This offer he accepted. At this time, he owned lands at this point and while furnishing wood under the conract, was enabled to clear his land without additional expense. In I854 he and Joseph G. Ames, erected a store at this point and commenced selling goods. This was the starting point of the village of Three Oaks, and the place was first known as Chamberlain's station. The first plat of the village was made by Mr. Chamberlain in 1857. Mr. Chamberlain has continued to live in the village from I850 to the present time. He is now in his eighty-third year, vigorous in mind and body. For many years his 270 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY life was one of great activity. He was engaged in an extensive mercantile business for nearly twenty-five years and at the same time the owner of large improved farms in the vicinity, the cultivation of which he superintended. At one time he was the owner of about three thousand acres and is still the owner of a large and valuable tract of land southeast of the village. He supervised the clearing of over a thousand acres, doing a part of the work himself. Mr. Chamberlain is one of the most prominent and well known men of the state. In early life he became identified with the Democratic party, although nearly all of his near relatives were of an opposite political faith. He was supervisor of Three Oaks township for six terms, and in 1849, a member of the legislature. In I868 and I870 he was the Democratic candidate for Congress in the Fourth district. In 1874 he was candidate for governor of the state and was defeated at the election by only six thousand votes. He also received in the legislature, the vote of the Democratic members for United States Senator, three different times. He was eminently qualified to fill any of the positions named with credit and ability. He was for many years a member of the State Board of Agriculture. William Chamberlain, a younger brother of Henry, was nine years old when his parents came to Three Oaks. Upon arriving of age, he carried on farming at the old homestead till 1864, when he moved into the village of Three Oaks and went into the mercantile business with his brother, Henry. He was elected president of the village at its first election in I868, and was subsequently supervisor of the township. He was a member of the State House of Representatives in 1871 and 1873 and of the State Senate in 1879 and I88I. He was president pro tem of the last body in I879. In 1893, he was appointed to the important position of warden of the State Penitentiary at Jackson and held this office from I893 till his death. He was well fitted to discharge the duties of this office. For many years before his appointment he had been frequently a member of boards and of legislative committees which supervised or investigated our penal and charitable institutions and had become intimately conversant with their management and needs. While holding the office he became a prominent figure at the annual meetings of the wardens of the United States, as the reports of these meetings abundantly testify. He was a man whose private life was beyond reproach and was universally esteemed by the community in which he lived for his sterling qualities. While he held some important official positions from the time he became of age till his death, and was recognized as a leader in the Republican party, he belonged to no faction and obtained recognition purely by his merits. In I855, Samuel Hess started the first shoe shop in Three Oaks. He was a native of Switzerland and his father, John Hess, had settled on a piece of land in Three Oaks township in 1852. Samuel carried on a shoe store for many years and also was engaged in carrying on a farm near town. He was a man of great energy and industry and became a prominent man in the township and county. He was -supervisor for three terms and was a justice of the peace for nearly thirty years. In I868, he was elected county treasurer and filled the office for three terms. His nomination for that position by the Republican county convention in I868 was in a certain sense accidental, as he was not a candidate for the position till after the convention had actually assembled. A reference to this occurrence may not be out of place, as an illustration of the fact that nominations have been made at county conventions without any preparation whatever. As the writer of this sketch was entering the gate of the court house yard at Berrien Springs in the fall of I868, to attend the HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 27I afternoon session of the Republican county convention which had been formally organized in the forenoon, he was met by the delegates from Three Oaks who requested him to present the name of Samuel Hess as a candidate for nomination for the office of register of deeds. Mr. Coolidge informed them that this he could not do, as he had pledged himself to support Roscoe Dix for the position. The delegates replied that they did not expect to nominate Mr. Hess, but that they wished to have his name launched before the convention with reference to substantial recognition in the future. Mr. Coolidge then suggested that Mr. Hess have his name presented for nomination as county treasurer. Mr. Hess, upon consultation, accepted the suggestion. A ticket had been carefully arranged and slips prepared for a strong and popular candidate for treasurer, who appeared certain of nomination. Mr. Coolidge urged the nomination of Mr. Hess upon the ground that he was eminently competent to fill the position and that being competent, his nomination would be a timely recognition of the German element. He was followed by William K. Sawyer of Three Oaks and others, urging especially the latter point. This point caught the convention and Mr. Hess was triumphantly nominated to the surprise of himself and his friends. The nomination appeared to the leaders at the time to throw matters into confusion, as well-made plans and geographical considerations were somewhat upset. However no harm was done Mr. Hess being elected, made an admirable officer, and served three consecutive terms, giving universal satisfaction. James L. McKee was a native of Mississippi. In 1854 he came with his parents to Three Oaks, and commenced clerking for Henry Chamberlain, and subsequently became a partner of the latter in the mercantile business. He has continued in this business ever since, having first been a partner with Mr. Chamberlain, then with E. K. Warren and lastly with E. H. Vincent. Since the death of the latter in I893, he has carried on the business alone. Mr. McKee has been supervisor of the township for five terms, president of the village and was a member of the State House of Representatives from I885 to I889. Politically Mr. McKee is a Democrat, religiously, an active member of the Congregational Church. The recent growth and prosperity of Three Oaks is largely due to the establishment of the Warren Featherbone factory by E. K. Warren in I884. Mr. Warren discovered that the quill of a turkey was preferable to whalebone in the construction of a dress-stay and commenced that year to manufacture the article in the village. The business of this institution has developed into mammoth proportions. Branch factories have been established at different times at Chicago, Porter, Middleville and other places, and distributing offices established in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and San Francisco. The business is also operated in Europe. The official headquarters of the business, however, are at Three Oaks, where Mr. Warren resides. The home factory at that place employes from two hundred and fifty to three hundred and fifty hands. Recently a handsome three story office building has been constructed of brick, stone and marble, richly furnished and finished. It is the most elegant office building in the county. The extent of the business now carried on throughout the world is immense. Mr. Warren, the original inventor of the process used by the factory, in the manufacture of its product, is the son of a Congregational minister, Walter Warren of Vermont, who came to Michigan as a home missionary in 1858. Edward, on coming to Three Oaks, clerked for Henry Chamberlain and subsequently engaged himself in the mercantile business till his establishment of the Featherbone factory. He has been a prominent figure in the community. He has served as supervisor of the township and as president of the village. 272 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY While prominent in business and official affairs, he is perhaps best known by his connection with Sunday school work. He has been president of the county Sunday School Society, chairman of the State Executive Committee, chairman of the World's Executive Committee and president of the World's Sunday School Convention. In I905, he conceived the idea of holding a world's Sunday school convention at Jerusalem. His project was carried out under his supervision, and a convention was held at Jerusalem attended by fifteen hundred delegates. Since 1899, the village of Three Oaks has had no saloon. In that year Mr. Warren offered to pay into the village treasury annually, the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars, the amount of the saloon license money going to the village, so long as no license for saloons should be given. Since that time, saloons have been prohibited, and Mr. Warren has annually paid two hundred and fifty dollars into the village treasury. Among the early settlers of Three Oaks township, were Fred Ruhlow, John Abram, Sherwood Martin, Gilbert B. Avery, Thomas Love, William H. Valentine, Samuel P. Webb and Asa H. Jacobs. The three Martins were brothers and natives of New Jersey. They settled in Berrien county about 1847. Isaac W. Martin, son of Sherwood, was supervisor in I872 and I873. Gilbert Avery, a native of Connecticut, was for twenty years a master mechanic of the Michigan Central Railroad. In 1854, he and Thomas Love built a steam saw mill in the northeast part of the township on the line of the railroad. The station at this point was for many years called "Avery's Station" and an extensive lumbering business was done here for several years. Mr. Love was one of the foremost men of the county, and one of its earliest settlers. He was a native of Virginia and came in 1831 to Berrien Springs, where he engaged in mercantie business with Edward Bal lingee. He was county clerk from 1843 to I847, county treasurer from I84I to 1843, supervisor of Three Oaks in 1857 and i858 and county surveyor from 1875 to I877, and a justice of the peace for many years before his death. He was a man of native ability and extensive information. Henry H. Pike engaged in mercantile business with J. M. K. Hilton for some years. Mr. Pike subsequently moved to Niles where he built a hotel called the "Pike House," well known as a favorite resort of commercial travelers. This he carried on for several years, but subsequently established a hotel at Topinabee in the northern part of the state, where for many years he carried on a profitable business. Dr. Hiram B. Wilcox, a physician, who had practiced in Indiana for over twentyfive years, settled in the village of Three Oaks in I860 and had an extensive practice for many years. Levi Paddock settled within the limits of the township before I840. He was a man of great physical strength and was supervisor of New Buffalo township in 1844. He removed subsequently to Indiana, where he died some years since, in his ninetieth year. Among men who settled somewhat later than the foregoing, and who were prominent in the community, were Thomas C. Bradley, Samuel W. Chamberlain, Dr. J. D. Greenamyer, William H. Breece, Dr. O. Churchill, R. B. Goit, Samuel H. Martin and William K. Sawyer. Mr. Bradley was an extensive land owner and at one time a supervisor of the township, Samuel W. Chamberlain, who was a cousin of Henry Chamberlain, engaged idr mercantile business for some years, and was a man of ability. Dr. J. D. Greenamyer, commenced the practice of his profession in Three Oaks, but removed to Niles in I876, where he has had a large practice ever since. W. W. Breece was the first attorney in the place and practiced there several years. He was prosecuting attorney of the county in HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 273 I875-76. He removed to Michigan City, Indiana, many years since. Mr. Goit was a prominent grocer. 'Dr. Churchill settled in Three Oaks nearly forty years ago and has been a druggist nearly all that time, besides practicing his profession. W. K. Sawyer was a cabinet maker by trade, but was admitted to the bar many years ago. For a few years he lived at St. Joseph and was a justice of the peace for many years. Latterly he has lived at Three Oaks. S. N. Martin for many years kept a livery and was also engaged in other pursuits. He was supervisor in I872 and I873. Messrs. S. W. Chamberlain, Breece and Dr. Greenamyer were also supervisors. The township has a large population of Germans by birth or descent. They are mostly farmers. It is estimated that threefifths of the rural population are of German origin. The first German settlers were Jacob Houser, Joseph Streble, Max Wetzer, Jacob Ruhlow. These men settled at an early day. CItURCIES. A Union Church was organized in New Buffalo in I844 by Moses Chamberlain and others. In 1848, it was converted into a Congregational Church and was transferred subsequently to Three Oaks. In I870 a church edifice was erected. The church has always been a strong one with many active and intelligent members. A Methodist Church was organized at Spring creek school house about I850. In 1867 a church was organized at the village of Three Oaks and a brick edifice put up in 1878. A Baptist Church was organized in 1867 in Chikaming township, but was transferred to Three Oaks subsequently, and a church built at the latter place in I870. 18 A United German Evangelical Church was organized in I866 and a church edifice built in I877. A church of the Disciples was organized in I868. In the northern part of the township a considerable settlement of Hollanders was made some years since, and these people organized a Dutch Reformed Church. The following named persons have been supervisors of Three Oaks township for the years designated. Henry Chamberlain......... I856 Thos. Love............. I857-1858 Henry Chamberlain.......... 859 J. L. Hicks................ I86o T. C. Bradley.............. I86I Henry Chamberlain......... 1862 J. L. McKie............... 863-I864 S. W. Chamberlain.......... I865 Henry Chamberlain.......... 1866 Samuel Hess............... I867-I868 J. L. McKie................ I869 J. M. K. Hilton............. I870 E. K. Warren.............. 187I I. XV. Martin............... I872-1873 J. D. Greenamyer........... 1874 Peter Strehle............... I875-I876 W. -H. Breese............... 1877-1878 J. L. McKie................ 1879-I880 WVm. H. Chamberlain......... I881 C. W. Conner.............. 1882 Samuel Hess............... 1883 E. H. Vincent.............. I884 S. H. Martin............... I885-I886 E. H. Vincent............. I887-I893 W. C. Hall............... 894-I895 D. H. Beeson............... I896 E. S. Heckman............. 1897-I900 Isaiah Rynearson.............I90I E. S. Heckman............ 1902 G. L. Stevens............... 1903-I905 E. S. Heckman............. I906 CHAPTER XXIV CHIKAMING TOWNSHIP. Chikaming township is bounded on the north by Lake, on the east by Weesaw, on the south by Three Oaks and New Buffalo, and on the west by Lake Michigan. This township was a part of New Buffalo till 1856 when it was erected into a separate township. The name "Chikaming" is Indian, and means "lake." A large portion of the township especially the northern portion, was originally heavy timbered with whitewood, ash, beech, maple and other woods. In the southern part white and black oak grew largely. For several years the lands were owned pricipally by non-residents and mill owners in other townships. Among those who made original entries of government lands to any considerable extent in the township, were George Kimmel, Sherwood & Company, Moses Chamberlain, Calvin Britain and Vincent L. Bradford. The largest grapery in the state is located in this township. It is owned by the Lakeside Vineyard Company and is located in sections 21 and 28, upon the lands belonging to this company, five hundred and twenty-five acres having already been set out to grapes. This enterprise is elsewhere referred to in the chapter on fruit culture. Along the lake shore the soil is sandy, but a considerable portion has been devoted to the culture of fruit and made remunerative. The first person who actually settled in the township was Luman Northrup of Hamburg, New York, who had settled in New Buffalo in 1836 and was collector there in I839. In I840, he located in section twentythree and built a cabin and saw mill. This mill he operated for about twenty years when he sold it to Henry H. Pike. His residence most of the time, however, subsequently was at New Troy. He was a man of great natural strength and sagacity, and practiced law before justices of the peace. He died about the year I868. The next person to settle in the township was Richard Peckham, who had emigrated from New York and settled in New Buffalo in 1842. During the following year he located in section twenty, in Chikaming township. He was supervisor of the township in 1857 and I870. For four or five years he manufactured grain cradles and rakes, the factory being located at New Buffalo. In I836, Moses Chamberlain of New Hampshire, made a trip to southern Michigan and visited New Buffalo. While there he purchased five quarter sections of land located within the present limits of Chikaming and Three Oaks. Three of these were situate in Chikaming in sections fourteen and twenty. No settlement, however, was made on these lands till I840 when Henry Chamberlain, a son of Moses, now living at Three Oaks, located in section twenty and built a HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 275 cabin. Mr. Chamberlain lived there about one year. Further reference will be made to Moses Chamberlain and his family in connection with the chapter on Three Oaks, with whose early settlement and history they were most prominently connected. Henry Chamberlain has written a sketch of his first visit to these lands which he has kindly furnished me. As it gives a clear idea of the condition of the country at the time and of the timber which then grew in the forests of Chikaming, I here subjoin his sketch. "Father was the owner of the northeast quarter of section twenty; the southeast quarter of section fourteen; and the northwest quarter of section twenty-three, township seven, range twenty. "On the 24th day of September, 1844, my brother-in-law, Hale E. Crosby, David H. Cotrill, who that summer came from Vermont to New Buffalo, and myself, went land looking. We went with Richard Peckham, who had a small clearing on the northwest corner of section twenty, township seven, range twenty, near the lake shore. A flat bottomed boat, about twenty feet long and five feet beam, towed by a horse which was ridden by a boy, was the means of transportation. A tow line one hundred feet or more in length, was the connection between the horse and the boat, the boat being kept the proper distance out from shore by a long steering oar. This boat was owned by Mr. Jacob Gerrish and was used for transporting, when there was need and the lake was smooth, products to and merchandise from Michigan City and other points a short distance along the shore. We arrived at Peckham's before noon, helped unload the lumber, and took dinner with him in his log cabin. There was a small clearing on the place and an orchard which had been set three years before. Peckham was a bachelor, a native of New York State, about forty years of age. He did not live on the place, but was there a part of the cropping season. He had a shop at New Buffalo and his principal business was the manufacture of grain cradles. "After dinner we made a start, Mr. Crosby carrying the knapsack with the food, Mr. Cotrill the axe, and I my rifle for which I found no use. We followed the north line of section twenty to the northeast corner, and thence went down the east line for a half riile. Returning, we went east on the north line of sections twenty-one and twenty-two. This was a difficult line to follow as it had not been reblazed since the government survey in I826, and it required care to find the old blazes. When at the southeast corner of section fifteen, we found the line between sections fourteen and fifteen had been newly blazed by some land looker. We followed it north to the north line. On section fifteen, I think it was the southeast quarter, we for the first time saw a grove of poplar trees. Standing in one place we counted within sight, fifty-two large trees. They were from twenty-four to thirty-six inches in diameter, and would average three to four twelve-foot logs to the tree. Cotrill, who had had some experience as an estimator of timber, thought there was enough timber to make fifty thousand feet of boards on less than a half acre. We retraced our steps to the corner and then went south on the line between sections twenty-two and twenty-three, and took a view of the northwest quarter of section twenty-three. The land seemed fair. There was but little saw timber on this line north of the river. Once in a while we saw a good ash, oak, or poplar, and there were some black walnut trees on the river bottoms. When we came to the river, we divested outselves of our clothing and waded through the stream. When we reached the bluff on the south bank, it was nearly dark, and we were preparing to camp for the night. I had heard that there was a house on this section, but did not know its location. While we were discussing the matter I noticed an indistinct trail and suggested that we follow it as far as we could before dark. We did 276 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY so and soon saw the outlines of a clearing ahead of us. Reaching it with some difficulty, we discovered a log cabin, but no one answered our hail. The latch string was out and we opened the door and entered. We kindled a fire, dug some potatoes, got some pork from the barrel and cooked and ate our supper. There were two good beds and everything was neat and clean. We retired, and in the morning got our breakfast and left for our day's work. Before our departure, however, we left a shingle on which we wrote of our doings. This was the residence of Lumon Northrop, on the southwest corner of section twenty-three, and it was the only house in what is now the township of Chikaming, the Peckham shanty only excepted. "We then went east on the south line of sections twenty-three and twenty-four until we struck the New Buffalo and New Troy road. The land looked well, and while there were no groves of saw timber, there were many good trees scattered all along this line. "The Troy road, as we called it, commenced at the village of New Buffalo and followed along south of the river, crossing the south branch near the south end of section six, township eight, range twenty; thence northeasterly and northerly to New Troy; and thence to Berrien Springs, the county seat. It was brushed out all the way and the timber in the center was cut away. The streams were bridged with logs or puncheons, and nearly half the distance was corduroyed. No part of this road west of Troy is now in use with the exception of less than a mile from the center of section eighteen, township seven, range nineteen to New Troy. We then went north along the road to New Troy where we found a few houses, mostly unoccupied, and two saw mills which were out of repair. There were two or three houses on the road near Troy, the only one which I can recall, having been that of Phineas E. Stratton. "At Troy we ate our lunch. We had taken enough from home to last until our return and as we had had two meals at Northrop's we were well supplied. It had been our intention to have gone to the southeast quarter of section fourteen, township seven, range twenty, but as the river was in the way, we abandoned it. "The tracing of the old lines which had not been re-blazed, was slow work; often we made not more than a mile in an hour. Some one reading this account may not understand the method of marking section lines and corners. For their benefit, I will briefly describe it: "The lines were run by a compass and measured with a chain. At the section corners, a tree standing on each section was marked with a marking iron. If it was a smooth tree like the beach, it was done on the bark; if not, the bark was cut away to the wood. The marks were like the following: S. 27, T. 7, S. R. 20 W.; S. 28, T. 7, S. R. 20, W.; S. 34, T. 7, S. R. 20 W.; Sec. 35, T. 7, S. R. 20 W. This indicated sections 27, 28, 34 and 35, township 7 south, range 20 west. A stake was placed at the true corner and witnessed by a cut at the roots of two trees. The stakes were generally decayed at this time. The section lines were known by the blazes on the trees; that is, on all trees near the line, a piece of bark was cut out on each side. It most cases these had grown over and scars only were left. If a tree was on the true line, it was called a sight tree and three small notches were cut on each side. The half mile post, indicating quarter sections was found by the mark on a tree near to it,-'4 S. "We started for New Buffalo, following the Troy road. The weather was very fine. It had been a dry fall up to this timne, and these favorable conditions continued until the I7th of the next January, with mild sunny days and no freezing nights. "Walking as fast as we could, in due time we reached the house of William Hammond on the southwest quarter of section HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 277 thirty-four, township seven, range twenty. He had a comfortable log house and barn and a clearing of forty acres well fenced, all of which had been plowed. Upon reaching this house we were very thirsty and Hammond sent his boy to a spring for water. It was clear, cold and sparkling. I drank a dipper full before stopping to taste and then spoiled eggs was what I thought of-it was sulphur water. "On our way home we passed only one house, which was on section one, township eight, range twenty-one, until we neared the village of New Buffalo. Although we were tired, it had been a long and a pleasant tramp. "The stream and the timber which we had seen impressed Cotrill, and the next year he purchased the north half of the southwest quarter of section twenty-three, township seven, range twenty. Soon after he built a saw mill which under different owners, continued in use until say about I865. It was once burned down and rebuilt. In later years it was generally known as the Northrop Mill." Alfred Ames, a native of Vermont, came to New Buffalo in 1843. In I844 he commenced clearing a piece of land in section thirty, where he built a cabin and commenced to live with his wife the next year. The farm which he cultivated was afterwards known as the "Clay Bank." Mr. Ames was a prominent man and held various local offices in the township of New Buffalo which then included Chikaming. He died in 1864. The wife of Mr. Ames, whose maiden name was Mary Fisher, was an authoress.of some note and for many years contributed articles both in poetry and prose for magazines and journals of the day. The first school in the township was taught by Mrs. Ames at the house of her husband in the year I847. In I845, William Miller, a native of *Ohio, settled on section thirty. His son, John C. Miller, became a prominent man in the community, was supervisor for five terms and elected a member of the State House of Representatives in 1862. He died a few years since. Other settlers who located in the township about the same time were Truman A. Clough, George Garland, Zalmon Desbro, Arnold Pratt, Richmond Horton and Tobias Ray. Mr. Ray built a saw mill on what was known as Ray's creek about I847. P. B. Andrews, a native of Pennsylvania, located in Chikaming about 1841. He had settled at St. Joseph at a very early day and was a machinist and engineer. In 1832 he built the engine for the steamboat "Newburyport," the first steamboat which ascended the St. Joseph river. About I85I, Mr. Andrews and J. C. Miller built a steam saw mill on section three. This mill was operated by them till about i86o. Between 1847 and I854 three brothers, John W., James and Joseph N. Wilkinson, all natives of Virginia, came to New Buffalo. James was a physician and practiced his profession at that village. Joseph and John settled in Chikaming and the Wilkinson brothers went into the lumbering business in I854 and built a steam saw mill in section nineteen with a pier six hundred feet long running into Lake Michigan. Subsequently, other piers were built known as Greenbush and Pike piers and also a horse railroad running into the woods. An immense business was carried on for several years at this point which was known as Wilkinson's station. The company made purchases of land until it had acquired twenty-five hundred acres of land and for several years employed from fifty to one hundred and fifty hands, most of whom were engaged in the woods. The place was afterwards known as "Lakeside." About the year 1854 Silas Sawyer, of Ohio, built a steam saw mill near the site of the station now known as Sawyer. He was a man of determined energy and for a few years he did an extensive and profitable business but became embarrassed during the 278 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY financial panic of 1857 and suffered heavy losses. In 1873 he moved to Dallas, Texas. He was the first supervisor of Chikaming township. Shortly after John F. Gowdy and Frank Gowdy, natives of New York, settled in the southwest corner of the township. While living in Chikaming, Franklin Gowdy was extensively engaged in getting out wood and lumber and shipping to the Chicago market. The Gowdys in connection with others, built a large pier near the New Buffalo line to facilitate the shipping and handling of wood and lumber, and a mill was built at the same time. This point was called Union Pier. In I86I Franklin Gowdy purchased a large tract of land in New Buffalo township a short distance south of Union Pier and made that his home. Mr. Gowdy became prominent in the history of New Buf'alo and was supervisor of the township for several terms, and has held various local offices. He is now residing upon his farm in the northwest part of New Buffalo township. Dr. F. M. Gowdy, a prominent physician of St. Joseph, is a son. In I862, Clement Goodwin and his nephew, Richard M. Goodwin, settled in Chikaming and erected a saw mill and brick store at Union Pier. In connection with the pier, a horse railroad was built into the woods. Clement Goodwin died about I871, and the business was subsequently carried on by Richard M. In addition to his other business, the latter carried on the manufacture of handles, at Union Pier. Richard Goodwin became one of the most prominent men of the township and was supervisor in 1893. In I86I Oliver R. Brown erected a steam sawmill in section two and for several years carried on an extensive business. This was near the present site of Sawyer. A horse railroad was built by Brown to the Fuller Pier on the lake at the edge of Lake township. About I856 two brothers, John M. and Edmund Glavin, natives of Ireland, pur chased farms and settled in the township. John had been liberally educated in the science of civil engineering and previous to his settlement in Chikaming, had been employed as a civil engineer by various railroad companies. He was supervisor of Chikaming for three terms. In 1865 he moved to the northern part of New Buffalo township where he lived till his death a few years since. He was a man of ability and energy and held various important official positions: He was supervisor of New Buffalo for eight terms, county surveyor for three terms and a representative to the state legislature from 1866 to I868. His brother Edmund acquired large: tracts of land, owning over eight hundred acres at the time of his death, which occurred about two years since. He was a justice of the peace and also town treasurer for many years. The eastern portion of the township was not settled till much later than the portion which lies near the lake. It remained a wilderness except as it was penetrated by lumbermen, till about I86o. During that year Albert Drew purchased four hundred and eighty acres in sections. twenty-five and twenty-six. Mr. Drew was born in Cass county of this state in 1834 and was a son of one of the earliest pioneers of that county. He studied law in his early years but was never admitted to the bar. He acquired, however, quite a reputation as a practitioner before justices' courts. He lived on his farm till his death a few years since. He was a man of native ability and held various official positions. He was supervisor of the township for eight terms. and county surveyor for four years. His brother-in-law, Charles C. Sherill, settled in the township in 1861. He was a prominent man for some years in the community but did not live in the township for many years. He was a treasurer of the township for seven years. A son, Marcus L., was supervisor in 1883. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 279 Captain W. A. Keith has been a prominent man in the community. He was first elected supervisor in I872 and has held the position for eleven different terms. He was elected a representative to the state legislature in 1882. He is still living upon his farm. In I864 Patrick Gleason, a native of Canada, located on section twenty-nine, where he lived till his death a few years since, at an advanced age. His son, John Gleason, became a prominent man in the community and has been supervisor for three terms. Among others who were prominent in the early history of the township were George Montague, Oliver P. Newkirk, D. Van Nordstrand, Truman Clough, B. J. Rogers, G. A. Orris, F. and J. Pulsifer, Horace Wilcox, H. P. Nourse. Some of these parties remained in the township but a short time. CHURCHES. The Union Pier Baptist Church was organized in 1869 and consisted of members of the Wilkinson and Gowdy families and some others. An Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized about the same time in the southeast corner of the township, and a church edifice built in I869. The church membership was composed of German families of the township of Chikaming, Three Oaks and Weesaw. This church is still in existence. The township was mostly a dense wilderness till about forty years ago. The most rapid increase of population was between I860 and 1870, during which period the population trebled. A considerable German element settled in the southeastern portion thirty or forty years ago. The southwest portion of the township is thickly settled and divided up into small holdings. Considerable attention has been given of late years to fruit culture. The following named persons have been supervisors of Chikaming township at the dates designated. Silas Sawyer............... I856 Richard Peckham........... 857 J. C. Miller................ I858 Geo. Montague.............. 1859-I860 J. C. Miller................ 86I-I862 J. M. Glavin............... I863-I865 J. A. Wilkinson............. I866 J. C. Miller................ I867-I868 O. P. Newkirk.............. 869 Richard Peckham........... I870 O. P. Newkirk............. 1871 W. A. Keith............... 1872 A. L. Drew............ 1873-1879 D. Van Nordstrand...........880 W. A. Keith................ 188I John Gleason............. 1882 M. L. Sherrill........... I883 A. L. Drew................ I884 W. A. Keith............... I885-I890 John Gleason............... 1891-1892 R. M. Goodwin............. 1893 R. P. Hoadley.............. 1894-1895 W. A. Keith............... I896-I898 E. J. Willard............. 1899-I902 M. D. Franklin............. 1903 Clarence Wilkinson...........I904 Daniel Zeiger.............. I905 CHAPTER XXV GALIEN TOWNSHIP. The township of Galien is bounded on the north by Weesaw township, on the east by Bertrand, on the south by the state of Indiana and on the west by Three Oaks. The township originally belonged to Bertrand township, but was detached and annexed to Weesaw in I837. In 1844 it was erected into a separate township, and at the township election that year, William Burns was chosen supervisor, Daniel Bellinger, clerk, and Samuel Garwood, treasurer. The township is well watered by the Galien river and various branches of that stream. The surface was originally covered by a magnificent forest of thick timber, consisting mainly of whitewood, black walnut, ash, beech and maple. The trees grew to a large size and the "Galien Woods" became famous in the early days for its timber resources. This dense forest of valuable timber spread into the adjoining townships of Weesaw, Three Oaks, Chikaming and New Buffalo, and constituted the most extensive forest of valuable timber in the county. The lands in the township were largely owned by mill proprietors in other townships before permanent settlement to any considerable extent was made, and the population developed slowly till after the year I850. The population in I845 was only I41. The township has one village, Galien, which lies at the intersection of the Michigan Central Railroad and what has been known as the Vandalia Railroad. The latter road has lately passed into the control of the Vanderbilt system and is practically a part of the Michigan Central. The village was incorporated in 1879 and has a population of over four hundred. The first actual settlers in the township appear to have been John P. Johnson, Samuel Garwood and Jas. H. Wilson. Johnson settled in sections 19 and 20 in I834 and was a prominent man in the early settlement of the township, but removed to Iowa at an early day. Garwood settled in section I sometime prior to I836. A small lake in the northeast part of that section was named after him "Garwood Lake." He was the first treasurer of the township. He also removed to Iowa at an early day. James H. Wilson, a native of Virginia, came to Galien and settled in section I in I836. In the following year he built a sawmill on his lands. This was the first sawmill built in the township and for many years this mill did an extensive business. Mr. Wilson died several years since at an advanced age. He was the treasurer of the township for seven terms. James Edson settled in section 13 in 1836. The first township election was held at his house in I844. William Burns located in section I shortly after and became the first supervisor of the township. Alvin Emery settled in section 22 at a HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 281 very early day and built a sawmill on Sopes creek. He was supervisor in I845. A brother, Moses Emery, settled in the township at about the same time. John Unrugh settled in the township about the same time. Peter Critchett, a native of Pennsylvania, settled in Buchanan township in 1836. In I840 he located in section 4, Galien township, where he lived till he removed to Galien village in I883. William Huston settled in the township in I840. He lived but a few years after his first settlement. A son Richard is now living. In I844, only forty-four votes were cast at the presidential election. About this time the township began to be more thickly settled. In I847, four brothers from Ohio, Asher, Noah, David and Alison Spicer, all settled in the township. A. G. Spicer was at one time the owner of 320 acres in section seven, which E. K. Warren, of Three Oaks, now owns. In 1849 or I850 William Valentine, with his family, came from New York and settled in Laporte county, Indiana, near the state line. In the next year he moved to section nineteen, in Galien township, where he built a sawmill. He lived here till his death in I875. He was supervisor in I856. His widow, Samantha Valentine, is now residing with a daughter, Mrs. Brown, at Coloma, and is ninety-five years of age. A son of William Valentine, William H., located in Three Oaks township a few years after his father's settlement and still resides here. Another son, George M., is a prominent attorney of Benton Harbor, and former prosecuting attorney. The other children of William Valentine living in the county are Andrew P., of Berrien Springs; Mrs. Nancy J. Brown, of Coloma, and Mrs. Julia Jeffries, of Three Oaks. In I849, George Partridge, a native of New Hampshire, settled in section II. He subsequently removed to the village of Galien and for many years carried on a general store. He was a prominent man in the community and supervisor of the township for several terms. Henry Smith, a native of Ohio, settled in the township in 1845, was supervisor in 1849, and shortly afterwards removed to Oregon. The following named persons settled at an early day: Perry Noggle, D. D. Hinman and W. K. White. Noggle located in section I I and was supervisor for several years. Dr. Hinman was a physician located in the village, and also a supervisor of the township. White was a farmer who located in section 9, and was also supervisor at one time. The village of Galien was laid out by George A. Blakeslee in I86I, and was incorporated in 1879. Mr. Blakeslee, who was the founder of the village, was a native of Pennsylvania, and came to the township of Galien in 1853. Here he operated a saw mill on the present site of the village in what was then a dense forest. Shortly afterwards he established a store of general merchandise. He purchased several thousand acres of land in the vicinity. This land was heavily timbered and furnished logs for Mr. Blakeslee's sawmill. For several years he was engaged in the manufacture of handles, manufacturing over one million five hundred thousand handles per year. He was the president of the village, for many years continuously from its organization, and a prominent leader of the Republican party in the county. He was a man of great native strength of character and energy. He died in I890. Edwin A. Blakeslee, senator in the State Legislature from I897 to I90o, and now a member of the State Board of Pardons, is a son of George A. Blakeslee. In I880 George A. Blakeslee established a banking business conducted by himself and son in connection with the store. This busi 282 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY ness has been carried on in recent years by Edwin A. Blakeslee and Charles A. Clark, who married a daughter of George A. Blakeslee. Mr. Clark is now serving his sixth term as supervisor, and has been chairman of the board of supervisors. Among some of the prominent men who settled early in the township were Capt. S. A. Denison, Andrew Shearer, Timothy Smith, Capt. B. R. Stearns, Albert Clark, Henry Renberger and Cyrus Thurston. Albert Clark was a native of Massachusetts and settled in Galien in 1863. He was a man of ability and supervisor in 1867. He died in I893. Charles A. Clark, previously referred to, is a son. Captain Denison was an officer in the Union army during the Civil war and located upon a farm in Galien township shortly after the close of the war. Here he lived till his death about two years ago. He was supervisor from 1871 to I875. B. R. Stearns was an officer in the Twelfth Michigan Regiment during the Civil war and shortly after its close settled in Galien, first locating on a farm. He subsequently kept a hotel in the village and engaged in other pursuits. He was supervisor from I877 to 1887, sheriff of the county from 1887 to 1891, and a' representative to the State Legislature in I879. Andrew Shearer settled in the village of Galien at an early date and engaged in the business of shoe making. He is still living in the village. He was supervisor from 1897 to 900o, and has held various local offices. Cyrus Thurston settled in the township in 1855, and was prominent in the organization of the church of the "Latter Day Saints." For many years he taught school, farming in the summer and teaching in the winter. In early life he had attended the State Normal School. He died a few years since at an advanced age. Henry Renberger settled in the township in 1851, living upon a farm till his death in I876. J. A. Renberger, a former supervisor of the township, is a son. Zachariah Kinne, a native of New York, located in the township in I865 and became a heavy land owner, acquiring about six hundred acres. He was an ordained minister of the Free Will Baptist Church, although he seldom preached. The first steam sawmill in the township was built by Clapp & Cheney in I85I. In I853, this passed into the hands of George A. Blakeslee. The Wolverine Handle Factory was first started by the firm of Smith & Montross in the mill of Mr. Blakeslee. In I868, Richard Montross, a member of that firm, built a factory for the manufacture of handles. For many years this establishment did a heavy business employing over forty hands. Mr. Montross is still living at Galien. CHURCHES. The church of the Latter Day Saints was established at Galien by George A. Blakeslee, shortly after his settlement. They believe in the teachings of Joseph Smith and original Mormanism, but repudiate the doctrines of Brigham Young and do not countenance polygamy. They have no affiliation with the so-called Mormons of Salt Lake City. Mr. Blakeslee for many years prior to his death had the entire charge of the finances of this denomination and occasionally preached. The Church of the Disciples was organized in 1859 by Rev. William Roe. The German Lutheran Church was organized in 1866. A class in the Methodist Church was organized in the village in 187I. The following persons have been supervisors of the township of Galien at the dates designated: Wm. Burns................ 1844 Alvan Emery............. I845 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 283 Wim. Burns................ Alvan Emery............... Henry Smith............... J. P. Johnson............... Perry Noggle............... D. D. Hinman.............. Perry Noggle.............. Geo. Partridge.............. Perry Noggle.............. Geo. Partridge............. W. K. White............... Geo. Partridge.............. Albert Clark................ 1846 I847 1849 I850-I852 I853-I855 I856-I858 I859-I860 I86i I862-I863 I864 I865 i866 I867 W. K. White............... Geo. Partridge............. S. A. Denison.............. Geo. Partridge.............. B. R. Sterns................ Melvin Smith.............. Hiram Russ................ Melvin Smith.............. J. A. Renberger............. Timothy Smith............. E. A. Blakeslee............. Andrew Shearer............ Chas. A. Clark............. I868 I869-I870 I87I-I875 I876 I877-I887 I888 1889 I890 I89I I892-I894 I895-I896 I897-I900 I90I-I906 CHAPTER XXVrI HAGAR. This township is situated in the northwest part of the county, and is small in area, containing only about twenty sections. It is bounded on the north by Van Buren county, on the east by Watervliet, on the south by Benton and on the west by Lake Michigan. The lake bends in 'to the eastward about four miles from its southwest to its northwest corner. It was originally a portion of St. Joseph township, but was set off as a separate township in I846. It was the latest township to be settled up and as late as 1854 contained but 269 inhabitants. Its history must necessarily be brief. Emigration began to pour in between I86o and I870, and between these two periods, its population was doubled. In late years, it has gone into fruit culture extensively, and one of the largest orchards in the county is situated in the northern part of the township owned by William Mueller. At the first township election in April, I846, Alfred Sensebaugh was elected supervisor; William C. Allen, clerk; William Scott, treasurer, and Rosswell Curtis, justice of the peace. The township is noted for having had but two supervisors for the last twentyseven years, with the exception of one year. E. L. Kingsland served from I879 to I893 continuously. J. S. Caldwell has served from 1893 to the present time, with the ex ception of the year I9OI. Mr. Kingsland had previously served four years, making in all nineteen terms. The first person who located in the township was Henry Hawley, a Canadian, who, in the spring of I839, entered one hundred and sixty acres in section twenty-three and lived on it with his family but a short time. He became dissatisfied and left the county before making any improvements except building a log cabin. The first permanent settler was Charles Lamb, of Vermont, who located on section twenty-three in the summer of I839. He died in 1846. In the winter of I839, Mathias Farnum, who had settled in St. Joseph in 1836, and worked at his trade as a carpenter and builder, located in section thirteen. He ran a sawmill for a few years in Van Buren county, where he had purchased three hundred and sixty acres of land. He lived for a few years in Benton Harbor, but returned to his farm some years before his death, which occurred in 1884. Mr. Farnum and Alex. Fitch built a steam sawmill in the forties. This was the first sawmill in the township and for many years the only one. James Bunday, from Ohio, was the third settler who located in section fourteen in 1831. A log school house was built upon his lands shortly after his settlement. This was afterwards supplanted by a good struct HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 285 ure known as the "Bunday School House." This school was the only one in the township for several years. Mr. Bunday lived on his farm till his death in 1872. The next settler was William McCrea who settled in I838 in St. Joseph. In 1841 he located in section fourteen, Hagar township. He lived here till I849 when he was killed by the fall of a tree. The daughter of Mr. McCrea, Mary Jane, who married Thomas Muldoon, was the first white child born in Hagar. She was born in May, I84I. Alfred Sensebaugh came shortly after. He was a minister and the first supervisor of the township. In I845, Isaac Finch moved to Hagar with his family among which were his sons, Isaac, Jr., and Alexis, who purchased lands. Isaac Finch died in I853. About this period, A. S. Bishop, Philip Farney, Benjamin Harris, Uriah Harris, Asabel Hayes, Sylvanus Cook, Stephen Cook, J. T. Wisner, Jeremiah Smith, Roswell Curtis, James Stewart, William Scott, and Robert Merriford settled in the township. Mr. Bishop was a native of New York, first settled in Bainbridge township, but removed to Hagar in 1848. He became a prominent man in the township and was supervisor for several terms. Stephen Cook acquired a large tract of land and became supervisor of the township. Scott and Hayes were supervisors. CHURCHES. The first church organized in the townshipi was the Methodist Episcopal which was established in I859. The Congregationalists combined with them for some time, a Methodist minister preaching part of the time and a Congregationalist minister at other times. A Free Will Baptist Church was organized in 1863, which after a few years seems to have been dissolved. A Christian Church was organized in 1877 by Rev. Reason Davis. The first school teacher in the township was Matilda Irwin, who taught in I844 in a log school house, subsequently supplanted by a good structure known as the Bunday school house. The largest fruit orchard in Hagar ana one of the largest in the county is located in the northwest part of the county and is owned by William Mueller. The whole farm consists of five hundred and sixty-five acres, of which one hundred and sixty are fruit bearing. There are one hundred and twenty acres of peach bearing trees, ten acres in grapes and the remainder in apples, pears, plums and cherry trees. Among the prominent men who came later, but resided in the township, should be mentioned E. L. Kingsland and Josiah Caldwell. E. L. Kingsland moved into Hagar in I865, but began work there by labor for Stephen Cook for $I4.00 a month. He subsequently purchased the farm of Cook and still owns it. Mr. Kingsland was supervisor of the township from 1867 to I870 and from I879 to I893, or nineteen terms altogether. For several years he was chairman of the Board of Supervisors. He was the county superintendent of schools from 187I to 1875, serving two terms. He was elected to the State House of Representatives in I892 and re-elected in I894. He was liberally educated and has been a prominent leader of the Republican party in the county. He is now residing in St. Joseph. Josiah Caldwell, the present supervisor, has also held that position for many terms, from 893 to I900 and froni I902 to the present time. His father, Joseph Caldwell, was one of the earliest pioneers of Berrien county, purchasing a piece of land on the Paw Paw river in Benton township in 1834 and locating on it in I835. He acquired some six hundred acres in Benton and Hagar town 286 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY ships. Josiah Caldwell many years ago moved upon a portion of his father's land in Hagar and has been a representative farmer and fruit grower. The following have been supervisors of Hagar township: A. Sinsebaugh.............. 847 W m. Scott................. 1848 I. K. Finch................. I849-I852 Geo. Johnson............... 1853-1855 Asabel Hays............. 856 G. S. Andriews............ 1857 Sprague Bishop............. 1858-I863 Stephen Cook.............. I864 Albert Swift............... i866 E. L. Kingsland.......... 1867-1870 H. N. Sheldon........... 1871 G. S. Andrews.............. I872 H. N. Sheldon........... 1873 A. S. Bishop............... 1874 H. N. Sheldon........... 1875 DeWitt Guy............... I876-I878 E. L. Kingsland............ I879-I893 J. S. Caldwell.............. I893-I900 F. M. Eaman............... I90I J. S. Caldwell.............. I902-I906 ORVILLE W. COOLIDGE, the author of the historical sketch in this volume, was born at Edwardsburg, Cass county, Michigan, October 9, I839. He graduated in the literary department of Michigan University in I863 and at the Cambridge Law School in I865. In the latter year he went into the practice of his profession with his father, Henry H. Coolidge. In I870 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Berrien county. In I890 and 1891 mayor of the city of Niles, and in 1893 judge of the second judicial circuit of Michigan. He was subsequently re-elected in I899 and I905 and is now serving his third term. In I867 he was married to Katie, daughter of Moses Plettengill, a prominent marble dealer in Niles. Three children were born to this union, all of whom are now living, viz.: Claudine, who has been a teacher; Clarence, who is an attorney in Chicago; and Orrill, who is the present librarian of the Carnegie library in Niles. The parents of Mr. Coolidge were early pioneers of western Michigan. Henry H. Coolidge, the father, was born in Leominster county, Massachusetts, and was educated at Amherst College. From 1833 to 1836 he taught music at Montreal. In the latter year he came to Niles and clerked for a time in the dry goods store of G. W. Hoffmann. During the next year he removed to Edwardsburg, Cass county, and was married to Sarah A. Mead, the daughter of Henry Mead, who had emigrated from Chautauqua county, New York, to Beardsley's Prairie in I837. Subsequently Mr. Coolidge studied law and became prosecuting attorney of Cass county in 1852. In I859 he removed to Niles. In I867 he was chosen a member of the State constitutional convention, and in 1872 circuit judge of the Second judicial circuit of Michigan. The latter position he held for six years, when he resigned and resumed his practice, which he continued till a few weeks before his death in 1884. His widow died a few months after. Three children survived: Orville W., Helen E., who died in I903, and Emily M., who married Charles A. Chapin, now of Chicago. Henry H. Coolidge was a man of great native strength and force of character. As a lawyer he excelled in the careful preparation of his cases for trial and was never taken by surprise. He had an immense practice before he occupied the bench. As a judge he acquired the respect and esteem of the attorneys by his ability and impartiality, and by his courtesy to the members of the bar. He was a Republican politically, and was a delegate to the convention under the oaks at Jackson in 1854 when the Republican party was first organized. He was an active member of the Presbyterian Church for forty-five years, always attending and frequently addressing its devotional meetings when at home. He was a teacher in the Sunday-school and for many years before his death had a large Bible class of adults. He was fond of music, having for many years taught music. In his earlier years he conversed fluently in the French language, which he learned while teaching among French families at Montreal. Q, Im 4 *^. \^I HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 287 JOHN E. DE MOTT. John E. De Mott is a prominent and well known early settler, who has been a witness of the county's developement from a pioneer epoch in its history to the present day of progress and prosperity, and as the years have gone by he has contributed to the sum total of business advancement through his connection with farming interests. He resides on section seven, Niles township, where he has a good farm property. His birth occurred in Orleans county, New York, August I, 1830. His father, Thomas De Mott, a native of Madison county, New York, was born March 4, I800, and was of French descent. A farmer by occupation, he devoted his entire life to the tilling of the soil and removed from his native county to Orleans county, New York, where he died on the 30th of December, I86I, when in his sixtysecond year. He married Miss Lucy Worth, a native of New York, born Mlarch 5, I798. She lived to be about forty-eight years of age, passing away on the Ioth of June, 1846. They were married March 12, 1828, and became the parents of five children, three of whom reached adult age. John E. De Mott is the only member of the family now living. He was reared in his native state, acquired his education in the district schools and in an academy, and thus having more than the ordinary school privilege, he afterward engaged in teaching school, entering upon the active work of the profession when about nineteen years of age. In 1849 he came west and taught school in Berrien county, being one of the early educators of this part of the state. He afterward returned to his native place and was married on the 6th of April, 1853, to Miss Catherine Herkimer, a daughter of Jacob and Mary (Swobe) Herkimer. Mrs. De Mott was born in Montgomery county, Nlew York, and was a distant relative of General Herkimer of Revolutionary fame and one of the distinguished citizens of the Empire state. Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. De Mott remained residents of Orleans county, New York, until 1855, when they removed to Berrien county, Michigan, lo cating first on Portage Prairie, where they remaining for a year. They afterward lived upon a rented farm in Niles township and about I86I Mr. De Mott bought the farm where he now lives. He engaged in teaching school in the winter months for about five years and was thus early associated with the educational development of this part of the state. The summer seasons were devoted to the work of the fields and throughout the intervening years he has continued his agricultural pursuits and is now the owner of two hundred and forty acres of well improved land, his being the banner farm of the township. He has added to his possessions from time to time as his financial resources have increased and he has carried on his farm work in keeping with modern ideas of progress and improvement in agricultural lines. Unto Mr. and Mrs. De Mott have been born eight children: Thomas E., a prominent farmer of Niles township; Luella J. and Lizzie C., both of whom are deceased; Anna B., the wife of Henry L. Sanford, of Oswego county, New York; Lucy Mary, deceased; Mary Alice, the wife of George M. Rowlee, a farmer of Niles township; Lottie, the wife of Charles E. Fisk, of Chicago; and Harry J., also of Niles city. All were born in Berrien county with the exception of Thomas, whose birth occurred in Orleans county, New York, before the parents removed to Michigan. Mr. De Mott has been closely identified with the work of making Berrien county what it is today and has resided within its borders for about a half century. He and his wife are well known as worthy pioneer citizens here and they have celebrated their fifty-third wedding anniversary. They are members of the Presbyterian Church at Buchanan, Michigan, in which Mr. De Mott has served as elder and trustee, and in the work of the church he has taken an interested and helpful part, doing all in his power to promote its growth and extend its influence. He votes with the Democracy and served as supervisor by appointment. He has also been school inspector and public affiairs are 288 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY to him a matter of deep interest and concern, he manifesting at all times a public-spirited citizenship that promoted active co-operation in measures for the general good. MITCHEL ALEXANDER, living on section six, Niles township, where he has a good farming property, was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, May o0, I83I. His father, A. M. Alexander, was also a native of that county, born in the year 1799, of Scotch parentage, his grandfather having been a native of Scotland. On leaving the Keystone state he removed to Vermilion county, Indiana, and afterward became a resident of Miami county, Ohio, where he lived until coming to Berrien county, Michigan, in I845. He located in Buchanan township and in the latter part of his life devoted his energies to farming but was a wagon-maker by trade and followed that pursuit in his earlier years. He married Sarah Ann Van Pelt, a native of Trenton, New Jersey, born in 1799, and a daughter of Joshua and Frances Van Pelt. The death of A. M. Alexander occurred in 1899 when he was in his ninetieth year, and his wife passed away in I88I, when in her eighty-second year. They were the parents of nine children, three sons and six daughters, of whom two died in infancy. Mitchel Alexander was a youth of about fourteen years when he came with his parents to Berrien county and his education was continued in the district schools of Niles township. He remained at home until after he had attained his majority and the occupation of farming became very familiar to him, as he assisted in the work of field and meadow. On the I5th of October, 1858, he made arrangements for having a home of his own by his marriage to Miss Rosina Snyder, who was born at what is now Buchanan township, September 4, I836. She is a daughter of John and Phebe (Maddren) Snyder, very early settlers of southwestern Michigan. Her father was born in Pennsylvania and her mother in North Carolina and their marriage was celebrated at White Water, Indiana. It was in the year 1828 that Mr. Snyder came to Berrien county and entered land on what is now section two, Buchanan townsllip. This county was then an almost unbroken wilderness, in which there were large tracts of timber land through which no roads had been cut, while the streams were unbridged and the work of civilization and development scarcely begun. Mr. Snyder soon removed his family to the farm, where he built a log house and in true pioneer style began life, sharing in the hardships, privations, experiences and pleasures incident to a settlement upon the frontier. He continued to give his attention to general agricultural pursuits for many years with the result that he developed a good farm property, upon which he remained up to the time of his death at the age of eighty-three years. His wife was seventy-eight years of age at the time of her demise. In their family were ten children, six daughters and four sons, all of whom reached adult age and were married. Mrs. Alexander was the fourth of the ten children. She has been a life-long resident of Berrien county and has been familiar with its history in the different phases of development and growth for many years. At the time of their marriage, the young couple located in a little log house just west of their present home in what is now Buchanan township. They remained there for seven years, at the end of which time lie traded his farm for the place which is now his home and the only move that he has ever made is when he took up his abode on this farm in I866. His time and labors have been devoted untiringly to the development and cultivation of his land and as a farmer he is energetic and enterprising, making a good property through his close application and untiring effort. Mr. and Mrs. Al.exander have no children of their own but have reared a niece. The present farm comprises seventy-seven acres of land, which is rich and productive, having been brought under a high state of cultivation. In politics he is a Democrat where national issues are involved, but at local elections casts an independent ballot. Fifty-five years have come and gone since he located in Berrien county and many changes have been wronghlt by time and HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 289 man. He has borne his full share in the work of agricultural progress and as the result of his untiring effort is now a substantial farmer with good property interests that yield him a comfortable living. GEORGE HANLEY is a prominent and successful farmer living on section 27, Buchanan township. He was born in Tompkins county, New York, December 25, I843. His father, Peter Hanley, was a native of Ireland, where he remained until about twenty-two years of age. He married then and came to America in I836, attracted by the broader business opportunities and advantages of the new world. Hoping to benefit his financial condition he bade adieu to friends and native country and sailed for New York. He located in Tompkins county of the Empire state, where he followed farming until he made his way westward in I848, at which time he located in Fulton county, Ohio, where he spent his remaining days, dying at the age of sixty-five years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Nancy Judge, was also a native of Tompkins county, New York, and her last days were passed in Ohio, she being sixty-four years of age at the time of her demise. By her marriage she has become the mother of ten children, one daughter and nine sons, but only five of the number reached years of maturity, while four are 'living at this writing, in the summer of I906. George Hanley, the fourth child and fourth son in the family, was seven years of age when his parents removed to Fulton county, Ohio, where he resided until seventeen years of age. In that time he acquired a good public school education. When a youth of seventeen he enlisted in behalf of his country in October, I86I, as a member of Company A, Sixty-seventh Ohio Volunteen Infantry, joining the army as a private. He served until the close of the war and was promoted to sergeant. His military experience brought his much arduous service. He took part in the battle of Winchester, Virginia, under Generals Shield and Jackson, and on the i3th of April, 1862, was in the engagement at Mount Jackson, Virginia, I9 and the 4th of July of the same year he met the enemy in battle at Harrison's Landing; was at Morrison's Island, South Carolina, July o0, I863; at Fort Wagner, South Carolina, July I8, 1863; at Chester Station, Virginia, May o0, 1864; Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, July 19 and 20, 1864; and in the charge in front of Petersburg in I865. The same year he took part in the engagement at Sailor's Creek and was in many lesser battles. After the surrender of Lee he was mustered out on the 9th of May, I865. He: never sustained a wound although he was in many hotly contested engagements and at the close of the war but seven of his company of one hundred and ten men returned. Mr. Hanley served for four years and two months and the only time that he was off active duty was two weeks spent at Craney Island, Virginia. With this exception he was on daily duty during the war and was never neglectful of any task assigned him. An intrepid soldier, brave and fearless, he made a splendid military record. He re-enlisted in October, I863, in the same company and regiment and at the close of the war he came to Berrien county, Michigan, in I865. He bought a farm in Niles township at the bend of the river, two miles from Buchanan, where he spent twenty years, devoting his time and energies to general agricultural pursuits. In I885 he sold out an(l bought another farm three miles northwest of Buchanan, on which he lived for about fourteen years. He then purchased his present farm, on which he located. He still owns the farm north of Buchanan, however, and thus has two valuable properties in this county. On the i th of August, 1868, Mr. Hanley was united in marriage to Miss Matilda Broceus, a daughter of Abram and Abigail (Smith) Broceus, and who was born in Buchanan township, Berrien county, July I2, I850. Her parents were among the pioneer settlers of Berrien county, coming from Ohio, but were natives of Pennsylvania. They had ten children, six daughters and four sons, all of whom reached manhood or womanhood. All lived to be married and the first death in the family occurred in 290 0HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY I903, when Mrs. Rough passed away at the age of fifty-five years. Mr. and Mrs. Hanley have two children: Gertrude, now the wife of F. E. Newberry, of St. Louis, Missouri; and Fred, who married Iola Magnus, of St. Joseph, Missouri. Mr. Hanley is a member of William Parrett Post, G. A. R., of Buchanan. His residence in Berrien county covers forty-two years and during this period he has largely followed agricultural pursuits, becoming recognized as one of the enterprising and progressive farmers of his community. He now was fifty-six acres where he lives and one hundred acres on his farm north of town and his property interests are proof of a life of thrift and enterprise, for he had little capital when he started out on his own account. In matters of citizenship he has ever displayed the loyalty that characterized his conduct when as a soldier on southern battlefields he followed the old flag. FREDERICK C. FRANZ, numbered among the prominent farmers of Niles township, where: he is also serving as supervisor, makes his home on section two, where he owns ninety acres of richly,cultivated land. This constitutes a valuable property but does not embrace all of his realty holdings, as he is the owner of one hundred and eighty acres in Mason county, Michigan. It was upon the farm where he now lives that his birth occurred, his natal day being January 8, I87I. His father, John G. Franz, was a native of Germany and came to America in the year I855, settling in Berrien county in I865, at which time he took up his abode in Pipestone township. There he cleared and cultivated a tract of land which he purchased from a Mr. Landon. After three years, however, he sold out and spent the succeeding year in Berrien township. On the expiration of that period he located in Niles township, settling on a farm 1which is now the home of his son, Frederick, and there he spent his remaining. days, his death occurring when he was about sixty-two years of age. In early manhood he wedded Miss Barbara Smith, also a native of Germany. She is still living and of the seven children, four sons and three daughters, born of this marriage, six are yet living. Frederick C. Franz, the sixth child and third son of the family, was reared upon the old farm homestead and acquired a commonschool education. He also studied German and for some time attended the select school in Berrien Center. When not busy with his text-books his attention was given to the labors of the fields and he became familiar with all the work of farming from the time of early spring planting until after crops were harvested in the late autumn. As a companion and helpmate for life's journey Mr. Franz chose Miss Bertha M. Dean, to whom he was married on the I7th of April, I895. Her parents were George and Julia (Ward) Dean. Mrs. Franz was also born in this county and pursued a public-school education. Five - children have been born of this marriage, Ruth, Lucile, Dean, Julia and Mildred, all of whom are yet under the parental roof. The family home stands upon a good tract of land of ninety acres situated on section two, Berrien township, which was once in possession of Mr. Franz's.father and in addition to this property he owns one hundred and eighty acres in Mason county, Michigan. In his farm work he is practical, accomplishing results with methods which neither seek nor require disguise. Mr. Franz is a Democrat in his political views and has taken an active and helpful interest in the work of the party, regarding it the duty as well as the privilege of every American citizen to uphold the principles in which he believes and which he deems of the greatest value to the government. He has been called to a number of township offices, being chosen clerk for three years, while in I905 he was elected township supervisor and re-elected in I9o6, so that he is now filling the position. He has ben connected with the Farmers' Institute, of which he served as president for two years and as secretary for two years. He has frequently been called to administrate estates, and thus the confidence and trust of the public is indicated. A lifelong resident of Niles township he is re QI CITY OF BENTON HARBOR a HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 291 garded as one of its leading citizens and is a man of genuine worth, valuing his own self-respect and the esteem of his fellowmen more than wealth, fame or position. LUCAS BEYRER was for a long period connected with agricultural interests in Niles township, and is one of the worthy citizens that Germany has furnished to the new world. He was born in Wurtemberg, on the 6th of January, I833. His father, Lucas Beyrer, Sr., was also a native of Germany, and in the year 1856 the family emigrated to America, becoming residents of Bertrand township, Berrien county, Michigan, where Lucas Beyrer carried on general farming. Lucas Beyrer spent the period of his minority in the fatherland, acquiring his education there, and in I85I, when about eighteen years of age, he crossed the Atlantic from Germany to the new world, for he had heard favorable reports concerning America and its prospects and resolved to try his fortune here. He first worked by the month for different farmers and from his wages he saved some money until he had a sum sufficient to enable him to purchase a farm in Bertrand township, Berrien county, Michigan. This he did and began farming on his own account. Having made arrangements for a home of his own, Mr. Beyrer was married in I86I to Miss Catherine Schultz, who was born in Bayern, Germany, August 20, I835, and is a daughter of Frederick and Sophia (Nieb) Schultz, who were also natives of that country and came to America in 1871, locating in Bertrand township, Berrien county. At the time of their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Beyrer located in Bertrand township, where he began farming and day after day he performed such duties and labors as devolved upon him, until he had transformed his land into a very productive tract, from which he annually harvested good crops. He was thus engaged in farming until about 1875, when he sold out and purchased the place where Mrs. Beyrer now resides. All his life was given to agricultural pursuits and he was practical as well as progressive in his methods, per forming labor that resulted in the acquirement of a good property. He died in February, I904, leaving his family in comfortable financial circumstances. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Beyrer were born six children: Mary, who is now in Kalamazoo; Katherine, the wife of Charles A. Rogers, a resident of Cass county, Michigan; Louisa, the wife of Henry Kehrer, whose home is in Van Buren county, Michigan; Minnie and Sarah, both at home; and William G., an electrician living in Wilmette, Illinois. All were born in Berrien county. The family has a farm of eighty acres of cultivable land and ten acres of timber in Berrien township. They are all members of the Congregational Church, at Niles, and are interested in the moral progress and development as well as in the material advancement of the community. Mr. Beyrer was well known in the county and was identified with its early history. He served for six months in the war of the Rebellion but throughout the remainder of his residence in America was identified with farming interests and became known as an active and substantial agriculturist whose labors resulted in success, so that his family was left in comfortable circumstances. HENRY C. MORTON, was closely connected with the movements, measures and plans resulting in progress in Benton Harbor and Berrien county and witnessed the development of the city from a tiny hamlet of primitive environments to one of the thriving metropolitan centers of the state, with all the conveniences of modern life. He was instrumental in projecting and building the Benton Harbor ship canal and likewise contributed of his time and means to the development and successful establishment of many other important enterprises. He thus came to be recognized as one of the valued and prominent residents of Benton Harbor and was so widely and favorably known that his death came as a personal bereavement to the large majority of his fellow townsmen in the city and county of his residence. Born in New York in I817, he was a 292 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY son of Eleazer Morton, who in I842 owned the only house on the east side of the river on the present site of Benton Harbor. This was a log tavern and its proprietor, then in the prime of life, was one of the most prominent men in the county-a man whose counsel was sought by all his neighbors-a man of commanding presence, strict integrity and strong will. He was also an author of some note and for years a correspondent of the Newr York Tribuize. He assisted all who came to him in distress, but woe to the man who abused his hospitality. All passenger traffic from as far east as Detroit passed his door-for Benton Harbor was the terminus of the Territorial road. It was in the year I834 that Eleazer Morton removed with his family from Ohio to Michigan, remaining for about a year in Kalamazoo. Henry C. Morton was then seventeen years of age. There was no wagon road at that time to Lake Michigan, but the following year congress appropriated twenty thousand dollars and opened the road from Detroit to St. Joseph. The family remained in St. Joseph that winter and in the spring of 1835 came to Benton Harbor, building a large log house in the woods. At that time there was not an inhabitant in Hagar, Sodus or Pipestone townships and only two families in Benton township. Upon reaching manhood Henry C. Morton became interested with his father in the development of Benton Harbor and from that time until his later years he was an important factor in its material growth and progress, generously donating large amounts of money for every improvement of importance and in several instances aiding St. Joseph financially in times of stringency. In I866 he was appointed postmaster of the village of Benton Harbor and Stanley Morton, then a boy, acted as mail carrier between Benton Harbor and St. Joseph. The following year Charles Hubbard was appointed postmaster but died before receiving his commission and H. C. Morton was reappointed. He continued in the office, with his son Stanley as deputy, until April, 1873, when he resigned. In the meantime he had removed the office to a business block which he had erected. Among the most notable improvements with which he was identified was the building of the ship canal. The idea was suggested at that time by Sterne Bronson, and Charles Hull was also concerned in the project. These three men worked harmoniously and indefatigably, receiving little or no encouragement from their fellow townsmen but by their heroic efforts they made Benton Harbor, one mile inland, a great shipping point. To Mr. Morton, more than to the others, is due the credit for this great work. In the accomplishment of his object he never wavered but spent his fortune and some of the best years of his life for the work and it is fitting that his son, J. Stanley Morton, of the Graham-Morton Transportation Company, should now be reaping the benefit of his father's labors in the utilization of the canal for shipping purposes. Henry C. Morton did not stop his work for the benefit of the city and county when the canal was completed but directed his energies into other lines. He did effective work in securing the extension of the West Michigan (Pere Marquette) Railway to Benton Harbor. He was also one of the largest factors in securing the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, making munificent donations thereto. He was also instrumental in building the first swing bridge across the St. Joseph river at its mouth. He was also a promoter of journalism here. Mr. Morton gave his early political allegiance to the Whig party and on its dissolution joined the ranks of the new Republican party of which he was an earnest advocate. He was elected to the state legislature in I862, but declined to again become a candidate. His ambition was not in the line of office holding and he filled no other positions save that of postmaster. He preferred to do his public service as a private citizen and no official has ever labored more effectively and beneficially for the welfare and substantial progress of the county. In early manhood Mr. Morton was united in marriage to Miss Josephine Stanley, and 'unto them were born four children, HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 293 but only one is now living, J. Stanley Morton, with whom the father spent his last years, the wife and mother having passed away in I859. The family home was built by Eleazer Morton more than a half century ago and is therefore one of the oldest landmarks of the city. Mr. Morton died in May, I895, at the age of seventy-eight years,, and many there were who mourned the loss of a trusted, loved and honored friend, while his death marked the passing of one of the county's most valued pioneer residents. He left the indelible impress of his individuality upon the public life and his efforts were followed by tangible results and his influence and his labors were farreaching and beneficial. J. STANLEY MORTON is the secretary and treasurer of the Graham-Morton Transportation Company-a name familiar to all residents of the middle west, being almost synonymous with steamboat traffic on the Great Lakes. He has, moreover, been connected with various enterprises of direct and permanent benefit to Benton Harbor and the name of Morton has been associated with the city's substantial development and progress from early days, his grandfather, Eleazer Morton, having been one of Benton Harbor's pioneers. J. Stanley Morton spent his boyhood days in Benton Harbor, and was a student in the public schools between the ages of six and fifteen years. He then entered business life, in which he was destined to achieve success, not because of any fortunate combination of circumstances or advantageous environments, but because of close application and the exercise of his native talents supplemented by a laudable amition. When a youth of fifteen he accepted a clerkship in a general store, where he remained for four years and at the age of nineteen he engaged in the drug business, opening a store which he conducted successfully until 1873, when he sold out. He soon became interested in the steamboat business, which is one of the important industries of Benton Harbor because of its proximity to the lake, affording excellent opportunities for marine traffic. He entered into partnership with John H. Graham under the firm name of Graham, Morton & Company. In I880 the name of the firm was changed to the Graham & Morton Transportation Company and as such carried on an extensive business both in passenger and freight traffic until I893. In that year Mr. Morton retired from the company, in which for several years prior to his withdrawal he had served as secretary and treasurer. Later with others he became interested in the Excelsior Gas Company, of which he was also secretary and treasurer. For several years he was vice-president of the First National Bank, of Benton Harbor, and has been identified with various enterprises of the city, which have contributed to general commercial prosperity as well as to individual success. He has keen insight into business opportunities and conditions and has used his advantages in the best possible way. He was vice-president of the Stevens & Morton Lumber Company, was treasurer of the Alden Canning Company, one of the organizers of the Benton Harbor Improvement Company and financially and officially interested with a number of other business concerns. He later returned to the steamboat business and is now the secretary and treasurer of the Graham-Morton Transportation Company, which has a number of passenger and freight boats upon the lakes and is doing a most extensive and profitable business. On the 2Ist of June, 1871, Mr. Morton was married to Miss Carrie Heath, of Benton Harbor, a daughter of Salmon F. and Julia Heath. In politics Mr. Morton is a Republican and fraternally is connected with Lake Shore Lodge, No. 298, A. F. & A. M. He is very enterprising and publicspirited, having the welfare of the city, county and state at heart and co-operating in every legitimate enterprise that tends to promote public progress. His money and influence are freely given in this direction and his business interests, too, have been of a nature that have contributed to the upbuilding and substantial development of his native city. He has a very wide and favor 294 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY able acquaintance in Benton Harbor and Berrien county, the circle of his friends being almost co-extensive with the circle of his acquaintance. Noting his descent from one of the earliest pioneer families, we find in the grandfather the frontiersman; in the father, the founder; in the son, the promoter. A typical representative of presentday progress, he is a figure containing, in potency at least, the stanch qualities of his two rugged forbears-that prompted the grandfather to leave the east for the frontier and cause the father to institute new methods and establish new projects. His own power to group and co-ordinate has made him a man of affairs and yet he has also found time to cultivate graces subtler than those of commercialism. JONAS H. HOLDEN, who, as a member of the firm of Beeson & Holden, is extensively engaged in the cultivation of peppermint, having about three hundred acres devoted to the raising of that herb, was born in Cornwall, Ontario, on the 6th of February, 1860. His father, George R. Holden, was a native of Rutland, Vermont, and remained in that locality until about twenty-five years of age. He was married at Fort Jackson in St. Lawrence county, New York, and afterward went to Canada, where he resided for a few months, during which time the birth of our subject occurred. He afterward returned to New York and thence went to Manteno, Illinois, in I863. He moved to Three Oaks, Berrien county, in 1865, where he resided until I870, going from there to Michigan City, Indiana, and afterward returning to Three Oaks. He owned a half interest in a featherbone factory in connection with E. K. Warren and was thus identified with the productive industries of this part of the county. A jeweler by trade, he followed that business from the time he first left Three Oaks until he returned, having learned the trade in this place under the direction of Mr. Fred Warren, a brother of E. K. Warren. He died at Toronto, Ontario, September 4, 1904, at the age of sixty-eight years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary E. Trask, was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, and now resides in Jacksonville, Florida, at the age of sixty-five years. Jonas H. Holden is the eldest of their four children, the others being De Etta, the wife of H. W. Cook, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Ninah May, the wife of A. G. Cummer, of Jacksonville, Florida, and John P., of Toronto, Canada. Jonas H. Holden was only about four weeks old when his parents removed from Cornwall, Ontario, to St. Lawrence county, New York, and three years later they arrived in Manteno, Illinois, reaching there in 1863. They spent two years in this city, and afterward went to Three Oaks, Michigan, where Mr. Holden continued to make his home for about seven years. He acquired a high school education and at the age of eighteen years took up the trade of a jeweler, which he followed until twenty-one years of age. He then came to Three Oaks, where he has made his home continuously since. His father became interested in a featherbone factory and Mr. Holden of this review accepted a position in the factory and became general superintendent, acting in that capacity continuously until about two years ago, when he severed his connection with manufacturing interests and turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, his specialty being the raising of peppermint, in connection with D. H. Beeson, under the firm style of Beeson & Holden. They have about three hundred acres in Galena and Weesaw townships devoted to the cultivation of that plant, which has become an important industry and is bringing to them a very gratifying financial return, for their product finds a ready sale on the market. In I885 Mr. Holden was married to Miss Matilda Caroline Haring, a native of Michigan City, Indiana, and a daughter of August Haring. This union has been blessed with four children: Leona H., who is now attending St. Mary's school at Notre Dame, Indiana; Mary E., a student in the same institution; Kenneth H. and Arthur J. H., who are students in the schools at Three Oaks. Mr. Holden has a fine home in the village, which he erected in 1876, and its hospitality HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 295 is greatly enjoyed by the many friends of the family, who occupy an enviable position in social circles here. Mr. Holden has given his support to the Republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He belongs to the Congregational Church, in the work of which he takes an active and helpful interest, and he is also a valued member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Masonic fraternity, belonging to the blue lodge in Three Oaks and the commandery at Niles. In his life he exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the craft, being in thorough sympathy with its teachings and tenets. He has always been a busy man, giving unfaltering attention to the duties of an active business career, and as the years have gone by he has prospered in his undertakings, becoming one of the substantial residents of the village, in which he has made his home from early manhood. WILLIAM BECHT, who is living in Watervliet township not far from the village of Coloma, was born at "The Hemlocks," his father's home in Van Buren county, Michigan, on the 28th day of December, I860. He is a son of Christian and Louise Amelia (Mitchell) Becht, who were natives of Germany and came to the United States fifty-two years ago. Making his way westward, the father worked in a sawmill and was thus early identified with the lumber interests of the state, which constituted the first important course of living to the settlers in Michigan. His first home "The Hemlocks" was given in payment of a doctor bill, for his wife was ill for twentysix years. He enlisted in the service of the Union army of the Civil war and remained with the army for three years. He was injured by a horse falling upon him while fording a river. After removing from Van Buren to Berrien county, he settled on a tract of land of thirty acres west of Coloma, building a little board cabin there. He is a shoemaker by trade and has since followed that business, yet making his home upon his farm near Coloma. His wife passed away March I8, I905, in the seventy-third year of her age, while Mr. Becht has at tained the advanced age of seventy-five years. His wife was an invalid for more than a quarter of a century and required constant attention, her daughter Lucy acting as her nurse. She also had charge of the house from the age of ten years and sacrificed her own pleasure and prospects in life for the care of her mother and the younger children of the family. There were nine children born unto Mr. and Mrs. Becht, all of whom are yet living. William Becht, whose name introduces this record, remained at home until fifteen years of age, after which he was employed by J. D. Emery two summers, and then began working for H. W. Williams. He was employed in the lumber woods, rafting logs down the river and also working in a sawmill for six years. His time was thus spent until his marriage which important event in his life occurred on the first of January, 1885, the lady of his choice being Miss Clara Brant, a daughter of Edward and Martha Brant, mention of whom is made elsewhere in this work. Mr. Becht was employed by Mr. Brant for three years, after which he rented the Brant farm until he purchased the property, comprising one hundred acres of land. He also operates another farm of two hundred acres from Mr. Brant, who lives in Benton Harbor, having charge of the interests of his father-in-law in this part of the county. In his agricultural pursuits he is enterprising, active and progressive and is devoting his attention to the raising of corn, cattle and hogs. He also has twenty acres planted to peaches, plums and apples, and in addition there is an old orchard upon the place. He keeps eleven cows, also has high grades of horses as well as cattle. In his business he is meeting with creditable success and his close application and enterprise constitute the basis of his prosperity. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Becht has been born a son, Lincoln Edward Becht, who is now twelve years of age. In his political affiliations Mr. Becht is a Democrat but without aspiration for office. He displays in his life many of the strong and commendable traits of character of his German ancestry and at 2'96 HISTORY 'OF BERRIEN COUNTY,the same time has a progressive spirit and;ready adaptability which have ever marked the American people. The success he has won is due entirely to his own labor and an analyzation of his history shows that he has placed his dependence upon the safe and sure qualities of determination and industry. He has never trusted to chance or any fortunate combination of circumstances and through earnest labor has won a creditable position as an agriculturist of Berrien county. HENRY EMLONG, living on section four, Lake township, has through the exercise of industry, perseverance and 'keen business judgment developed a well improved and profitable farm. He was born in Toledo, Ohio, May 3, I858, and when twelve years of age was brought to Lake township by his parents, Henry and Fannie (Mathews) Emlong, the father a native of Germany, born near Alsace, while the mother was a native of Switzerland. With their respective parents they came to America and were married in Toledo, Ohio, where they resided until about I870, when they came with their family to Berrien county, Michigan, where they spent their remaining days. Mr. Emlong passed away at the age of sixty-five years and his wife when seventy-two years of age. In their family were ten children, of whom four died in Toledo and six became residents of Berrien county, namely: Emma and Mary, now deceased;' Henry, of this review; Charles, who is living in Lincoln township; John, of Lake township; and Hartwell. Brought to this county when a lad of twelve years, Henry Emlong was reared on his father's farm and in his youth began working by the month as a farm hand, being thus employed for about ten years, making his home, however, with the family. He now owns a farm of eighty acres. Twentythree years ago he purchased forty acres and has since added another forty-acre tract just across the road, so that he now has eighty acres situated on sections four and five Lake township. Of this, sixty-five acres is under cultivation. He has given his attention to the raising of fruit and grain and has a well developed farm property. He has erected a good residence and substantial barn and has made many other excellent improvements which add to the value and attractive appearance of the place. In all of his farm work he is progressive and enterprising and his efforts have resulted in the acquirement of a gratifying measure of success. Mr. Emlong was married on the twentysecond of December, I886, to Miss Mary Myer, who was born in Lake township, August 24, I867, a daughter of George Henry and Margaret (Bachman) Myer, who were natives of Germany. They came to this country in early life and were married in Michigan. The father died at the age of fifty-nine years, but the mother is still living and now makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Emlong. Unto our subject and his wife has been born four children: Pearl Mae, Clyde Edward, Ralph Raymond and Viola Edythe. In his political views Mr. Emlong is an earnest Republican and for eighteen years has served as school treasurer. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church at Bridgman and to the Modern Woodmen camp, associations which indicate much of the character of the man and the principles which permeate his life and shape his conduct, making him a respected and valued resident of Lake township. FRANCIS A. DANIELS. When the tocsin of war sounded and men from all parts of the country and in all walks of life responded to the call of the Uuion, F'rancis A. Daniels was among the number who offered his services to the government and followed the stars and stripes on southern battlefields. His last days were spent on section six and seven, Wesaw township, where he owned a farm of one hundred and eight acres known as the Maple Grove farm. In his demise the county lost one of its most valued and respected citizens. He was born near Detroit, Michigan, August I4, 1839, and passed away at New Troy, May 3, I889. He was a son of James and Isabel Daniels and the sixth in order of birth in a family of seven children. Reared to farm life near v BELL OPERA HOUSE Zz 2 IZ d HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 297 Detroit, he lost his parents when still a young lad of about thirteen years. When fifteen years of age he went to Freeport, Illinois, and lived with a brother for several years. On the expiration of that period he removed to Forestor, Iowa. He had engaged in clerking in a store with his brother in Illinois and also assisted in the operation of a flour mill and he contiued in the latter business in Iowa until he enlisted for service in the Civil war, joining the Ninth Iowa Infantry as a member of Company A. He was at the front for about one year with the division under Gen. Curtis and participated in the battle of Pea Ridge and in other engagements. He sustained a bullet wound in the arm and contracted heart disease, by reason of which physical troubles he was discharged. He then returned to the north, making his home at Oak Park, Illinois, now a suburb of Chicago, and he was married at River Forest another suburb on the west side of the metropolis. Subsequently he was employed in his brothers sawmill at Ford River, Michigan, for a year and lived in Chicago for two years, where he conducted a store. Becoming ill he removed to New Troy, Michigan, where he continued the operation of a sawmill. Turning his attention to general agricultural pursuits, he purchased a farm of one hundred and eight acres on section six, Wesaw township and continued actively in its operation until his death, the Maple Grove farm becoming one of the valuable properties of this part of the county. Mr. Daniels was married in I863 to Miss Mary A. Steele, who was born in Chicago, her father at that time being sheriff of Cook county. Her natal day was September 8, I840, and she lived in Chicago and at River Forest until her marriage. Her parents were Ashbel and Harriett (Dawley) Steele, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of England. The father spent his boyhood days in the state of his nativity and afterward removed to Rochester, New York, where he was married. Subsequently he went to Chicago in 1833 and spent his remaining days in that city and in the suburban town of River Forest. His political allegiance in early life was given to the Whig party, and he was a recognized leader in its ranks and was serving as sheriff of Cook county at the time of the birth of his daughter, Mrs. Daniels. He also held other public offices, the duties of which were discharged with promptness and fidelity. He found conditions very primitive in Chicago at the time of his removal there. Hotel accommodations were very poor and there were few good buildings to rent. He erected a number of good homes there, which he afterward sold. He build twelve in one year, which was considered an extensive building business for those days. In his family were eight daughters and two sons, Mrs. Daniels being the seventh daughter and seventh child. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Daniels were born six children: Flora A., now the wife of L. A. Addison, of Chicago; Clara Louise, the wife of Solomon McKeen, of the same city; Eunice, the wife of Charles Peterson of Chicago; George, who operates the home farm; John H., who died at the age of seven years; and Emma J., the wife of Peter J. Pierce of California. Mr. Daniels was a resident of Berrien county from I868 until his demise. The Grand Army post of New Troy was named in his honor, showing the regard in which he was held by his comrades of the war. In politics he was a Republican but not active as an office seeker, although he was deeply interested in the success of the principles of the party. He was an earnest worker, however, in the Methodist church and acted as class leader for many years and was trustee at the time of his death. He was a man who stood high in public regard, for he was worthy the confidence of his fellow townsmen and lived a life characterized by all that is commendable in man's relations with his fellowmen. His widow still owns the Maple Grove farm and, like her husband, enjoys in New Troy and the surrounding community the warm friendship of many with whom she has become acquainted. JOHN BELL, M. D. When the name of Dr. John Bell was added to the roll of 298 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY honored dead Benton Harbor lost her "best beloved citizen" and Berrien county her most distinguished member of the medical fraternity. Known and honored for many years as a citizen of virtue, integrity and manly strength, such were his leading characteristics that his friends may well feel "This was a man; take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again." He entered life in Milton, Halton county, Ontario, September 25, I840. His father, Joseph Bell, was a native of England, whence he crossed the Atlantic to Canada in early life and there followed the occupation of farming, so that the son was reared to agricultural pursuits. His education was gained in the grammar school of his native city and, ambitious for further intellectual advancement and progress, he entered the Toronto University, wherein he completed a full course in medicine. Thinking to find better business opportunities across the border, Dr. Bell located for practice in St. Joseph, Michigan, in I86I, and from that time until his death, covering a period of forty-one years, he was an able member of the medical fraternity of Berrien county and moreover a man whose kindly spirit, generous impulses and broad humanitarian principles endeared him to all with whom he came in contact. After practicing medicince for two years in St. Joseph, ambitious to attain a still higher degree of proficiency, he matriculated in the medical department of the University of New York City, where for two years he continued his studies, the degrees of Doctor of Medicine and Bachelor of Medicine being conferred upon him by that institution. Returning to Michigan, Dr. Bell opened an office in Benton Harbor, where for thirtyeight years he continued in active practice. During his younger days his opportunities for obtaining a theoretical knowledge of medicine were the best obtainable and he availed himself to the utmost of every opportunity. His thorough education together with a comprehensive system of reading, which he kept up to the day when he was stricken with his last illness, made him a successful physician. Unlike many physi cians who cease their scientific reading after they reach middle age, he continued a close, earnest and discriminating student of his profession, constantly broadening his knowledge and promoting his efficiency, so that the demand for his professional service continually increased and he ranked as the foremost member of the medical fraternity in Berrien county. He held membership in the Berrien County Medical Society and the Michigan State Medical Society, before which body he often appeared in the discussion of questions of vital interest to the profession. He was also for a long period a prominent member of the American Medical Society. Moreover, Dr. Bell was a business man of enterprise and keen foresight and through his close and active identification with various business interests he contributed in substantial measure to the growth and material progress of the city. At the time of his death he was connected with two business enterprises of importance, being a member of the firm of George M. Bell & Company, druggists of Benton Harbor, and also the owner of a half interest in the Bell Opera House. At a time when it seemed that the need of the city for an opera house was greater than any other municipal need he undertook the task of meeting this want and associated with George A. Mills erected the Bell Opera House, which stands as a monument to his enterprise and his devotion to Benton Harbor. It is said that no citizen among those who followed the pioneers and founders of the town took as deep and helpful an interest in Benton Harbor's welfare as did Dr. Bell. He was continually suggesting methods for its improvement and he had the ability to combine and co-ordinate plans and forces with the result that successful accomplishment was achieved. For a time the city seemed at a standstill, or in fact suffered a period of retrogression. In the fall of I890 there were one hundred and twenty empty houses in Benton Harbor, and a public meeting was called for the purpose of instituting a plan that would secure new manufacturing plants for the city and thus HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 299 promote its growth. Twenty men organized what was known' as the Benton Harbor Improvement Association, each pledging one thousand dollars, which was paid in notes and the notes cashed at the bank. With this twenty thousand dollars factory bonuses were contracted to the amount of eighty thousand dollars. A special election was called and the citizens voted fifty thousand dollars to be used in paying these bonuses contracted, but the will of the people was thwarted by an injunction secured by Charles H. Godfrey on the ground that public enterprises could not be encouraged from the public purse. The improvement association was thus made bankrupt with a debt of sixty thousand dollars against it. A meeting of the stockholders was called to consider the situation. There was no law which bound the men as individuals to pay the debts of the corporation, but Dr. Bell, J. S. Morton, J. H. Lee, A. R. Nowlen and Peter English declared that the debt must be paid in full, as the credit of the city.was at stake. None of these men were at that time able to put up twelve thousand dollars without restraining their resources and their credit, but they kept faith with the manufacturers and paid the money. One who knew Dr. Bell well, in speaking of what he did in this connection, said: "The paying out of that twelve thousand dollars made Dr. Bell a poor man and he never recovered from the financial stress. He lived very economically and never took a vacation. I often have asked why he did not get away and rest but he would always reply, 'I am in debt and must work.'" George A. Mills, long a partner of Dr. Bell, said: "Dr. Bell is a man that few of us really appreciate. You couldn't get to know him well in four or five years. When you come to know him twenty years and have business relations with him, then you learn his true worth. Much has been said since his death concerning his character but the half has not yet been told. It would take a long time to tell of all the good that man has done. Few people know that it was Dr. Bell personally who secured the Milwaukee, Benton Harbor & Columbus Railway for Benton Harbor. No one besides Dr. Bell had much faith in the project. But he stuck by it in his characteristic manner and the road came here. That is only one thing he did in public life. It would take years to tell all the good that he did in his private life. Most of it we will probably never know." Dr. Bell was also closely associated with the political progress of the city. He was a stalwart Republican but never aggressive, and he never suffered from the bitter attacks of an opposing party, for such was his private life and his devotion to his honest belief. He was not an office seeker and whenever he filled a position of political preferment it was at the earnest request of a great majority of the citizens. In 1877 he was chosen by popular suffrage president of the village, and twenty years later was elected mayor by a handsome majority, filling the office so acceptably that he was reelected for the succeeding year, giving the city a practical and business-like administration with due regard to conservatism in public expenditures without neglect for public progress. At the time of his death he was president of the city board of health. He was a man of keen insight and realized the possibilities of the city, foreshadowing these in the address which he delivered to the council upon his retirement from the office of chief executive. He said: "While Benton Harbor is at present of no great magnitude, we have the nucleus of what is destined to be a city of fifty thousand people in a few years. Our position on the lake, our railroad facilities and other very important advantages lead me to this claim and it is not only my opinion but also the opinion of many others. I cannot but advise the incoming city council to bear this in mind and whatever they may be called upon to do, always hold in view the probabilities of the hereafter. * * * There is one paramount subject that should engross the attention of the incoming council. I refer to the water supply of our city. We are well aware of the insufficient amount of water, and something should be done very soon to remedy it, to make the supply sufficient for 300 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY our present needs and also to prepare for the future. It may require the expenditure of considerable money. It is not probable that a sinking fund could be maintained to liquidate the water bonds when matured and it is my opinion it is not advisable to attempt it. Let future generations pay off that indebtedness, but see to it that we have sufficient and good water for city requirements." He also expressed himself very strongly on the question of city lighting and also concerning the indebtedness of the city. During the campaign much had been said by the rival party concerning the debt which hung over the city. Dr. Bell stated that although the city was bonded to the extent of one hundred and forty thousand dollars at that time, the income from the improvements causing the bonds to be issued was meeting all expenses of the bonds, paying off a portion of them and would in due time pay the bonds and other expenses and return a revenue to the city. This has been the case in many instances. "The person who would make a statement derogatory to the city finances, through the public press, to go broadcast through the country, is no friend to the city," said he in righteous indignation over the attacks that had been made upon his beloved city, for the good of which he had labored the best part of his life. "When we commenced doing business two years ago there was a floating debt against the city of eight thousand dollars. During the two years you have paid this off together with bonds and other indebtedness coming due, amounting in all to, twenty-three thousand five hundred dollars, and this has been done without any increase in taxation. * * * From the day my lot was cast here up to the present moment when I lay down an authority given to me without my desire or solicitation and accepted at my own pecuniary loss and personal discomfort, I have done what I could for Benton Harbordays of earnest work and such financial assistance as I could afford have been at the service of this community. Together with the older citizens, many of whom have passed away, I labored to start our little town at the end of the ditch and have shared in the pride of our newer inhabitants of the development of that little town into a city. Of the burdens which our continual growth has forced upon us, I have borne my share without complaint." While progressive in citizenship and in business and while holding friendship inviolable, his best traits of character were reserved for his own fireside, and in December, 1867, when he was united in marriage to Miss Anetta, daughter of Thomas and Hannah (Dickinson) Hopkins, of Trumansburg. New York, he entered upon an ideal married relation. He was a man of most kindly and generous spirit. The poor and needy found in him a friend and he did not hesitate to give his professional service even when he knew that no remuneration would be received. He was valued in fraternal circles. He held membership with Lake Shore Lodge, A. F. & A. M., St. Joseph's Council, R. & S. M., Calvin Brittian Chapter, R. A. M., and Malta Commandery, K. T. He was also a member of the fenton Harbor lodge of Elks, one of the charter members of Bell Lodge, Knights of Honor, to which organization his name was given, and he became one of the highest ranking Knights of Pythias in the world. He joined that organization soon after its inception and labored untiringly for its advancement. In I898 he received from the major general of the supreme lodge, uniform rank of the order, the appointment as brigadier general and surgeon general of the supreme body. He was the highest ranking surgeon in the order in the entire world and a few other officers in the order preceded him in rank. He served several terms as master of the blue lodge and was one of the best informed Masons in Michigan. It is said that he did more in behalf of fraternity than any other man in Berrien county. The death of Dr. Bell came after a brief illness, on the 29th of December, I19I. During his illness the foremost specialists of the west were called in consultation but nothing could be done to prolong his life. He underwent severe suffering without a word of complaint and in his dying hours his thought was more for his family than HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 301 for himself. His remains lay in state hi the opera house, where hundreds of his fellow citizens passed by the casket to pay their last tribute of respect to one whom they had long known and honored, and the funeral cortege was one of the most imposing ever seen in Berrien county. The opera house was suitably decorated, the proscenium arch and boxes being draped in black, while the orchestra pit was covered with a solid bank of flowers. Perhaps no better indication of the character of Dr. Bell could be given than the words of the funeral eulogy as pronounced by the Rev. W. P. French, who said: "There have been many deaths in this city of prominent citizens in the past but never one that has been more deeply deplored than that of the man whose loss we mourn today, and if ever I desired talent of eulogy it is on this occasion, that I might be capable of properly placing before you and of paying a fitting tribute to the memory of Benton Harbor's most highly esteemed and best beloved citizen, Dr. John Bell. But I cannot do this. I can only hint at a few of the many commendable traits of his magnificent character. Now I have little sympathy with that sentimentality that defies either the living or the dead but there are characters which bear the closest scrutiny and the severest tests, which have been tried in the furnace and been proven true, which have been weighed in the balance and have not been found wanting, which have been declared sterling by general consent. These we love and prize, and such was the man whose loss we mourn today. There was a beauty, a charm about his character and life that won the hearts of all. This is why it is there is such a general expression of sorrow at his death. I say general, for it is confined to no class of our citizens, both old and young, rich and poor alike feel that they have sustained a personal loss. It is as if the sorrow of death had entered every home. Strong men wept when they learned of his death. Many tears have been shed by people who do not ordinarily weep over the death of any outside of their own home circle, but all through these two cities and the county where he was known, persons that perhaps the deceased never suspected cherished such kindly regard and esteem for him, have given expression to their feelings of deepest sorrow. Dr. Bell was indeed a remarkable man, possessing a character complete and symmetrical in all its parts. In the first place he was a truthful man. He had the highest regard for his word. Of him it can truly be said his word was as good as his bond. As one said to me before I became intimately acquainted with the deceased, what Dr. Bell tells you, you can believe, and I have found this statement true. He always spoke the truth in all his dealings with his fellowmen, and his example in this particular is worthy of imitation and is a stern rebuke to the falsehoods and shams practiced by too many. Dr. Bell never lost friends by being two-faced. There were no subterfuges, no double dealings in his conduct, but he gained the confidence of all by always speaking the truth. Again Dr. Bell was an honest man. There is abroad in this materialistic money-getting age a prevalent idea that success in accumulating property is the thing to be attained. Hence, when a man dies the question is asked, what was he worth? By this is meant, what was his financial standing, for how large an amount could he draw his check? The world has too little to do with questions as to the methods by which this success was reached. Dr. Bell did not believe in or act on this principle. He was a man of thorough honesty, a man in whom the business public and all had confidence. He jealously guarded his reputation in this particular by meeting promptly all his obligations, and on one occasion at least he even drew upon his own resources to such an extent as to seriously inconvenience himself financially, to protect the credit of his city. Again Dr. Bell had a kind, tender and loving heart. No one in need who called upon him was ever denied or turned empty handed away, and in the practice of his profession he responded any hour of the day or night to the calls of the poor as promptly as to those of the rich and I venture the assertion that on his books today are thousands of dollars TT~T T C I /,,T-'N7' e T-r T-1 — % n.- - I -,, - T 302 11 lIU KY UO- i he never attempted to collect because he knew the persons were unable to pay. He believed in and practiced the golden rule, which teaches brotherhood broader than all human dogma, deeper than all isms and lasting as eternity. Dr. Bell was also a man of genuine public spirit. He was always ready to do service in the public behalf without compensation other than the consciousness of duty performed. No man in the history of this city ever did more to build up or took a greater pride in Benton Harbor. Mother never loved her child with fonder affection than he cherished for his beautiful home city. It was a love, too, that did not evaporate in mere sentiment of good wishes for its prosperity while he selfishly hoarded and attended strictly to his own duties, but with time and money worked and gave to. beautify and improve it. Dr. Bell was also very largely what we term a self-made man, and in this his life has a lesson for our young men today. The days so often spent by thoughtless and indolent young men in idleness, trashy reading or other forms of dissipation, he with energy and application devoted to study, laying with painstaking earnestness, perseverance, the foundation of that sturdy indomitable character which in later life placed him in the front rank of his profession. And with all he was ever the perfect gentleman, genial and courteous in his conversation and intercourse with others, polished in his manner, intelligent, educated, refined and affable. No wonder then the community is in tears for the loss of one whose noble life and character endeared him to the hearts of all who knew him." GEORGE M. BELL, M. D., practicing along modern scientific lines in Benton Harbor, was born in Milton, Halton county, in the province of Ontario, Canada, September 9, 1848, his parents being Joseph and Mary (Teetzel) Bell. His childhood days were passed in Canada, where he acquired his elementary education. At the age of fifteen years he came to Berrien county, Michigan, and after completing his more specifically literary education he began read LKKIEN COUNTY ing medicine under the direction and in the office of his brother, Dr. John Bell, a practitioner of Benton Harbor. As a further preparation for his chosen calling he matriculated in the medical department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in I869 and there pursued his studies with perseverance and arder. He was graduated from that institution in the spring of 1870 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, and during the following year he pursued a course of lectures in the Chicago Medical College, from which he was also graduated. The winter of 1874-5 he attended Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York, from which institution he was graduated in I875. He has had every advantage which thorough training can give, and is a man of broad and thorough erudition in the line of his chosen calling. Dr. Bell entered upon the practice of his chosen profession in Benton Harbor, where he has since continued, and although he is a general practitioner he has given special attention to the diseases of children. He has been surgeon for the Big Four Railroad Company for fifteen years and has been a member of the board of pension examiners since I886. He is also surgeon to the Benton Harbor & St. Joseph Electric Railway system. Since the death of his brother, Dr. John Bell, he has conducted alone the drug store which they had carried on together for so many years. He has long been recognized as holding a foremost position among the physicians and surgeons of southwestern Michigan, where his eminent abilities and broad knowledge are universally recognized and admired. He is one of the most devoted disciples of the science of therapeutics and has not only won from his profession the laurels of success but has also been instrumental in affecting advancement along lines of scientific medical practice. His studies have been extensive and thorough and it has ever been his aim to keep abreast with every advancement made in the profession. In May, 1876, Dr. Bell was married to Miss Anna Nichols, a daughter of Edgar and Anna Nichols, formerly of New York. Mrs. Bell was born in San Antonio, Texas, GEORGE M. BELL I HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 303 and they now have one son, John Bell. Socially Dr. Bell is a Mason, belonging to Lake Shore Lodge, No. 298, A. F. & A. M.; Calvin Brittian Chapter, No. 56, R. A. M., at St. Joseph; the Knights of Honor, and the Maccabees. In politics he is independent. It is well that his profession has deep interest for him, as it leaves him little leisure time for public service or social enjoyments, yet he is a man of genial nati're whose friends are many. In his practice he has been very successful and his life record is another proof of the statement of Goethe that "merit and success go linked together." JOHN SHAFER was numbered among the worthy citizens that the fatherland furnished to Berrien county. His birth occurred in Wittenberg, Germany, January I, 1844. His parents were John and Jacobina (Boyle) Shafer, natives of Germany. They came to the United States with their two children about I845 and made their way direct to Lake township, Berrien county, Michigan, where they spent their remaining days. The father became one of the extensive property owners of the locality and was worth at one time sixty thousand dollars. He was a leading and influential resident of the community and belonged to that class of representative men who while promoting individual success also advance the general prosperity. In the family were nine children: Anna, deceased; John, of this review: Mrs. Katherine Kramer, of St. Joseph; William, who has passed away and whose life record is given elsewhere in this volume; Mrs. Eva Reck, of Lake township; Levi, who is living in Oronoko, township; Gottlieb, of Oronoko; Mrs. Mary Feather; and Mrs. Olive Myers, of Lake township. John Shafer was only three years of age when brought by his parents to America, the family home being established in Lake township, where he spent the remainder of his life. The occupation to which he was reaied he chose as a life work and was always connected with farming interests. He owned two farms, comprising one hundred acres in the home place on section twenty-four and eighty acres a half mile dis tant on section twenty-three, Lake township. He personally conducted both places for general farming purposes, carrying on the work with the aid of his sons. He was practical in all that he did and was a very industrious, hard-working man. He started with only fifty acres of wood land that his father gave him but his diligence and enterprise enabled him to add to his property and as the years went by he gained a place among the substantial residents of this part of the state. During the;ast nine years of his life, however, he was an invalid and his sons operated the farm. Mr. Shafer was united in marriage, July I I, 1872, to Miss Mary Rymer, and they became the parents of four children: Fred, who cultivates the old home place; Laura, the wife of Melvin Boyle, of Buchanan; Almeda, the wife of George Brady, of Oronoko; and John, of Lake township. After losing his first wife, Mr. Shafer was married in I889 to Miss Sarah J. Fleisher, a native of Center county, Pennsylvania. Mr. Shafer voted with the Democracy but did not take a very active part in public affairs, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business interests. As stated, he became the owner of two valuable farms and his success was largely attributable to his own labors. He was a kind-hearted man and his good qualities made him well liked by all. He died May 12, I906, and for many years to come his memory will be cherished by those who were associated with him and knew him well in the active affairs of this life. JOHN B. NIXON was born December 5, I856, in a log house on the farm on section twenty-seven, Lake township, on which he stilln makes his home. He is a grandson of John B. Nixon. His paternal great-grandfather. John Nixon, Sr., was a native of Scotland and when a young man came to the United States, after which he was married in South Carolina to Christina Gregory. He was a carpenter and millwright, following those pursuits throughout his business life and for many years he made his home in New Jersey, where his death 304 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY occurred. His son, John B. Nixon, was born in South Carolina, November 17, I789, and in his youth went with his parents to New Jersey, where he was married to Nancy Peck. Subsequently he removed to Connersville, Indiana, and in I836 came to this county, casting in his lot with its pioneer residents. He followed the trade of shoe-making during the greater part of his life and died at Berrien Springs, October 31, I847. His son, John H. Nixon, was born in Connersville, Indiana, August 24, I819, and in 1836, at the age of seventeen years, came to Berrien county with his father, walking the entire distance. He purchased what is known as the old home farm and spent his remaining days thereon, it being his place of residence from 1855 until his death, which occurred on the first of June, I905. He had here one hundred and sixty acres of land, constituting a well developed and a highly improved property. He was a mason by trade and followed that pursuit to some extent in early days. He assisted in erecting the first brick building in St. Josephthe Hoyt Bank-and in his later years his attention was confined to farming operations. He and his sons cleared the home farm and placed it under cultivation. In politics he was a stanch Democrat for many years but his early political support was given to the Whig party. He was always active in politics and held a number to township offices, serving as supervisor, treasurer, township clerk and in other positions of public trust. He wedded Mary O. Keef, who was born in Ireland near Dublin, December 13, I824, and died in this county, February 28, I903. She came to America at the age of nine years with her parents, settling first in Camden, New Jersey. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Nixon were born eight children: Mills H., who is living in Holland, Michigan; Mary L., who died unmarried; Lewis B., a resident of South Bend, Indiana; John B., of this review; Charles M., Henry, Frank and Dick, all of whom are now deceased, although all lived to years of maturity. John B. Nixon was reared amid pioneer environments, remaining with his parents on the home farm until 1882, when at the age of twenty-six years he left the parental roof and removed to Chikaming township, where he purchased forty acres of land, upon which he resided for about five years. He then went to New Troy, where he engaged in general merchandising for about five years and also acted as postmaster during that time under the administration of President Cleveland. On selling out his store he returned to his present farm, whereon he has since resided, having here seventy acres of the original homestead on the southeast quarter of section twenty-seven, Lake township. He has a fine brick residence which was erected in I880, and which was the first brick dwelling to be built in the township. His place is devoted to general farming purposes, and the raising of fruit and stock are made special features of his business. The orchards and fields are kept in excellent condition and everything about his place indicates his careful supervision and his excellent business methods. Mr. Nixon was married in I879 to Miss Mary English, a native of this county, and unto them was barn a daughter, Inez, now the wife of Harry Castleman, a resident of Benton Harbor. For his second wife Mr. Nixon chose Miss Sarah Collier, to whom he was married in I894. She is a native of this county and a daughter of R. D. Collier. Two children grace this union: Valeria and Grace May. Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise, Mr. Nixon has given his support to the Democracy. He was appointed supervisor four years ago and at the next regular election was defeated for that office, but has been elected twice since that time, so that he is now serving for the third term and he is giving to his constituents a most capable service. He has also been highway commissioner for one year, was drain commissioner five years and served for one year to fill out a vacancy in the office of justice of the peace. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Ordor of Odd Fellows and in the county where his entire life has been passed he is widely and favorably known. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 305 MRS. HELEN VAIL, who occupies a beautiful home in the southern part of St. Joseph and has a fifty acre farm in Berrien county devoted to the raising of pears, has spent her entire life in this portion of the state. She is a daughter of Samuel Russell, who became one of the pioneers of this section of Michigan and for many years was closely identified with the work of upbuilding and development. He was born in Oxford, Chenango county, New York, and was about thirty-two years of age when in I835 he came to Michigan, hoping to find in the west better business opportunities than he enjoyed in the east. He was a tailor by trade and located at St. Joseph, where he set up a shop. The town then lay all along the flats below the hill along the old channel of the river and was but a small village but was favorably situated and he believed that a good future lay before it. Mr. Russell continued to work at the tailor's trade until that line of business was superceded by ready made clothing establishments. In the early days he had an excellent trade drawn from the best class of citizens of this locality and his life was characterized by industry, perseverance and enterprise. Little was known concerning the ancestral history of the family. In 1839, Mr. Russell was married in this county to Miss Rebecca Jennings, a daughter of Elijah and Hester (Henderson) Jennings. From 1837 until I839 Mr. Russell was the operator of the old ferry which afforded the only means of travel across the St. Joseph river. Afterward he purchased a farm in Benton township, carrying on its cultivation and improvement until his death, which occurred when Mrs. Vail was only ten years of age. Mr. Russell had reached the age of seventy years when called to his final rest. His widow survived him several years, dying about 1873. Mr. Russell was closely connected with the early business interests of St. Joseph and is yet well remembered by many of the old settlers. He was one among those who laid the foundation for the present prosperity and progress of the county and he stood as the champion of all the progres20 sive movements which contribute to general development. In this family were four children. Mrs. Helen Vail, now the only member of the family living in Berrien county, was born in St. Joseph and attended the little old red schoolhouse between the ages of five and fifteen years, being instructed by Mr. Hawley, who was one of the old noted teachers of this city. The school contained but one room and was a private institution. It stood in the rear of the present Methodist Episcopal church and many of the children of an early day pursued their education there. In the same school Mrs. Doctor Parker taught for a number of years. Mrs. Vail began teaching at the age of twenty years in the country schools and for four years was one of the capable and successful educators of the county. At the same time Mrs. Sarah Springstein and Mrs. George Smith were also teachers. On the 29th of November, I866, Helen Virginia Russell gave her hand in marriage to Elijah S. B. Vail, who was born in New York city, September 30, I82I, and was a representative of an old English family. His mother bore the maiden name of Nancy Totten, and in I855 Mr. Vail removed to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, where he purchased land and was engaged in the real estate business for a number of years. In 1864 he came to St. Joseph to engage in fruit raising and the growing of trees, becoming agent for various nurseries of the east. He purchased land and devoted his attention to horticultural pursuits, having sixty acres on the lake shore, all of which he planted to fruit, making a specialty of peaches at a time when big prices were received for that crop. The yellows, however, took the orchard about 1871 or I872. He had planted about one half of his land to pears and after the peaches were destroyed set out the remainder to pears. His place became a noted pear farm and in fact he was one of the largest pear growers on the lake shore. His life was devoted to the raising of fruit. He made a close study of pears, continually improving upon the fruit raised and in ex 306 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY hibits he easily carried off the honors for variety and choice fruits. He set out ten thousand pear trees of various varieties. He never lacked faith in this section of the country and his own work demonstrated its possibilities in fruit production. He was very sanguine concerning this region as a horticultural center and gave his preference to pears. He also again planted peaches after it was demonstrated that they could be raised. His farm was very favorably located along the border of Lake Michigan and presented a splendid appearance because of the well kept condition of the orchards and the fine fruits produced. He always found a ready sale on the market for his crops, which were packed with greatest care and were therefore shipped in excellent condition. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Vail were born two sons and a daughter: Alfred T., who is living in St. Joseph; Grace, who is with her mother; and Paul R. also at St. Joseph. Mr. Vail was an enthusiastic Democrat in his political views. He was reared in the faith of the Whig party, but in early manhood joined the ranks of the Democracy and was an earnest and capable political worker. He stood as a high type of the successful horticulturist of Berrien county, proving the value of this section of the state as a fruit producing center and by capable management of his individual interests acquired a gratifying competence. He passed away March I8, I886, and thereby the community lost a progressive business man, his neighbors a faithful friend and his family a devoted husband and father. Mrs. Vail still retains fifty acres of the old home property extending along the lake shore and continues in the cultivation of pears. She has erected a beautiful home in the south part of St. Joseph and is here residing. She represents one of the old pioneers families of the county and her entire life has here been passd, so that she has a wide acquaintance, while her many good qualities of heart and mind have gained her a large circle of warm friends. ABIJAH BIRDSEY, a resident of St. Joseph township, is one of the vener — able citizens of Berrien county, having passed the eighty-seventh milestone on life's journey. He is moreover entitled to special mention in this volume because of an honorable and upright business career and by reason of the fact that he was one of the early fruit growers of this locality. He was born in Seneca county, New York, near Waterloo, on the 7th of May, I819, and is descended from Connecticut ancestry, the Birdsey family having removed from the Charter Oak state to New York. When twenty-one years of age Abijah Birdsey was married to Miss Jane Ann Curtis, and four children were born unto them in New York. Mrs. Birdsey lived for twenty-six years after her marriage and died in St. Joseph. It was in the year 1852 that Mr. Birdsey located upon his present farm. His wife's father, Daniel Curtis, had come to Michigan in I850, settling in Royalton, and his death occurred in I853, soon after the arrival of our subject and his family. Mr. Birdsey purchased eighty acres of land, for which he paid eighteen hundred dollars cash. This tract lay along the Niles road three and a half miles southeast of St. Joseph and near the St. Joseph river. It is now in St. Joseph township at Royalton Heights. As the years have passed Mr. Birdsey has added to his property until he now has one hundred and ninety acres in the home farm. He has purchased new land at low prices and has placed nearly all of it under cultivation. He has been extensively engaged in horticultural pursuits and he sold to one man off of an eight-acre tract of land peaches to the value of fourteen hundred dollars. Curtis Boughton of St. Joseph was about the first man to grow peaches successfully in Michigan and Doctor Collins was also one of the pioneer fruit growers. Their success led others to engage in the same enterprise and the various peach raisers found the business a profitable one until the yellows cleaned out the orchards. When Mr. Birdsey met with this reverse in his business career he turned his attention to the production of apples. Later he again set out peaches, but the prices have never been as good as they formerly were. He has sold eight hundred barrels of HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 307 apples in a single season. In later years he has grown hay and has also engaged in dairying and general farming. He has put up one hundred tons of hay per year and he keeps eighteen cows for dairy purposes. His son operates the farm at the present time. Mr. Birdsey has always confined his attention to his farm and be built his present home about twenty-eight years ago. This remains one of the handsome and desirable residences of the county and he has a splendidly developed farm property, everything about his place indicating his thrift and enterprise and his careful supervision. As before stated, Mr. Birdsey lost his first wife after they had been married twentysix years. She left three sons and three daughters: George W., who enlisted for service in the Civil war and died in Libby prison after having been confined there for several months, during which time he suffered all the privations and horrors of prison life in the south; Phoebe, the wife of Lucius Vesey, a carpenter and joiner residing in St. Joseph township; Lafayette, who was a livery man of Benton Harbor and died at the age of fifty years, leaving a widow and two children; Sarah, the wife of Charles Bort, a painter residing in St. Joseph; Lillie, the wife of William Howland, who is serving on the police force of St. Joseph; and Adelbert, who was born and reared on the home farm which he now operates. He married Miss Rose Martin and has three children by that marriage and one son by his first mar riage. Abijah Birdsey of this review chose for his second wife Miss Matilda Whittaker, who passed away about twelve years ago. He has since married Mrs. Sarah Sisson, of Chicago, whom he wedded ten years ago. In his political affiliations Mr. Birdsey is a Republican, giving unfaltering support to the party, but has never had aspiration for office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business pursuits. He has lived in the county for more than a half century and has therefore witnessed much of its growth and development as its forest lands have been converted into fine fields and orchards and as the work of industrial and commercial development has been carried forward in the towns and cities. He has ever been interested in what has been accomplished and at the same time he has carried forward his private business affairs in a manner to insure success, being for many years a prosperous fruit grower of the country. He is now living retired, leaving the active work of the farm to his son, while at a venerable age he is enjoying a well-merited rest. WARREN A. SMITH, M. D., engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery at Berrien Springs in accordance with modern, scientific ideas, is a native of Berrien township, where his life record began on the 28th of October, I876. His father, W. B. Smith, was born in Cass county, Michigan, and was a son of George Smith, who came to this state from Delaware at an early day. He was one of three brothers who settled in Milton township, becoming a pioneer resident of Cass county. After living there for a number of years, W. B. Smith removed to Berrien county, settling in Berrien township in I875. He married Miss Maria Walker, who was born in this county and is a representative of one of its old and prominent families, her parents being Joseph and Catherine Walker, who during an early epoch in the development of this portion of the state took up their abode in Berrien county. Her mother lived to the very advanced age of ninetyseven years. Her father, Joseph Walker, was born in England and crossed the Atlantic from that country to Canada, where he was married. He settled in Canada and afterward removed to Ohio, whence he later came to Michigan. His wife was born in Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Smith still survive and reside upon a farm in Berrien township, being worthy farming people of that community. In their family were two sons and a daughter. Dr. Smith, the eldest child, was reared to farm life and at the usual age began acquiring a knowledge of the common branches of English, learning as a student in the district schools. Later he entered the high school at Berrien Springs, from which he was graduated in I897, and, determining upon the practice of medicine as a life work, 3o8 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY in I899, he entered Hahnemann College, of Chicago, from which he was graduated in the class of 1903. The same year he located for practice at Berrien Springs. He had read medicine for a year under Dr. Ullrey, at Niles, before entering college, and his thorough preparation made him well fitted for the arduous and important duties which devolved upon the conscientious physician. He has been in practice here for three years and his patronage has steadly grown in volume and importance. Dr. Smith was married in I905 to Miss Maud Hoopenganer, a native of Indiana and a daughter of J. C. Hoopenganer, of Berrien Springs. The young couple occupy an enviable position in social circles and have a wide and favorable acquaintance in this locality. Dr. Smith is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows fraternities. In politics he is a Republican. His practice is making greater and greater demands upon his time and energies, for his professional service is regarded as of much value throughout the community. ELMER H. WRIGHT, whose farm on section thirty-five, Three Oaks township, has been his place of residence since 1867, was born in Volney, Oswego county, New York, March 24, 1834, and is a representative of old families. He descended from English ancestry in both the paternal and maternal lines. His grandfather, Smith Wright, was born in New Jersey, whence he removed to New York state, where he followed farming until his death. Elmer H. Wright's parents were Louis and Ann Maria (Hubbell) Wright, the former a native of New York, and the latter of Connecticut. The mother passed away in Oswego county, New York, at the age of fortyfive years, while his father's death occurred in Berrien, Michigan, when he was ninetythree years of age. In their family were six sons: Oscar, deceased; Elmer H.; Carlton, who is living in Colorado; Almond, of Three Oaks; Sylvester, of New York; and Chester, of Colorado. Elmer H. Wright remained a resident of his native county until he was about thirty-one years of age. His father was a cooper by trade and when he became large enough he also learned that pursuit and engaged in the manufacture of barrels of all kinds. He likewise followed farming and his early years were a period of industry and enterprise. When he was twenty-two years of age he was married and began farming on a tract of timber land. He cut and cleared away the trees and continued to engage in farming and coopering in the east until his removal to Michigan, where he arrived in i865. He left home on the 26th of December, and arrived at Three Oaks in January, 1866. He has resided in Three Oaks township continuously since. In 1867 he built a home in Three Oaks, which he exchanged for his farm of eighty acres on section thirty-five, Three Oaks township. He afterward sold twenty acres to his son, and now has a well improved farm of sixty acres. This was all covered with timber when it came into his possession, but he cleared away the trees, took out the stumps, plowed the land and in due course of time harvested good crops. He has also engaged in the raising of stock in addition to general farming. Whatever he undertakes he carries forward to successful completion and his farm is the visible evidence of his life of enterprise and thrift. On the 2d of September, I856, Mr. Wright was united in marriage to Miss Mary Eliza Barrett, who was born in Cortland county, New York, September 2, I835, a daughter of William and Eliza (Farr) Barrett, the former a native of Madison county, New York, and the latter of Cortland county, that state. They were farming people and spent their last days in Oswego county, New York. The children of Elmer H. Wright and wife are Orla, Nellie and Verner, all now living, and William, who died at the age of three months. Orla, who is now living in Oceana county, Michigan, was married at Three Oaks, Michigan, to Mary Ingersoll, now deceased, by whom he had two children, Bert and Hattie. He was again married, to Miss Tillie Jensen, by whom he has the following children, Fay, Nellie, and baby. Nellie, wife of Rodney P. Hoad HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 309 ly, of Chikaming, Berring county, Michigan, has three children, Rodney, Fred and Mabel. Verner lives on a farm adjoining his father's farm, comprising twenty acres of the old homestead. He was born upon the old home farm May 30, 1874, and was married at Three Oaks, Michigan, February 14, 1895, to Amelia Wangerin, by whom he has two children, Howard and Earl. Mr. Wright has been a believer in Republican principles since voting for John C. Fremont, and votes for the candidate of the party. He holds membership in the Congregational church at Three Oaks. His residence in Three Oaks township covers forty years and he has therefore a wide acquaintance, being held in warm regard by the friends who know him and who are acquainted with his excellent business methods and social qualities. JOHN C. HOOPENGANER is the genial and popular proprietor of Hotel Berrien and his business enterprise and ability are well known in Berrien Springs and to the traveling public. He was born in Steuben county, Indiana, amidst the beautiful lake region, on the 22d of February, I858. His father, J. J. Hooperganer, was a native of Tuscarawas county, Ohio, and became one of the early residents of Steuben county, Indiana. He still survives and now makes his home with his son John. His wife bore the maiden name of Ellen Brown. She, too, was a native of Ohio and she passed away at the age of seventy-six years. In their family were three sons, wiho still survive. John C. Hoopenganer of this review was the second son and was reared in Butler, Indiana, from the age of seven years. acquiring his education in the schools there. After putting aside his text-books he became connected with the drug business in Butler, continuing therein until I886, when he came to Berrien Springs and purchased the Hotel Berrien of which he has since been proprietor, covering a period of two decades. He has made this a hostelry worthy of the public patronage and it has found favor with the traveling public because of the earnest and effective efforts which he puts forth to please his patrons and administer to their comfort. In I888, Mr. Hoopenganer was married to Miss Mary Hastings, a daughter of James Hastings, and unto them have been born two sons, John and Charles. By a former marriage Mr. Hoopenganer had two daughters: Maud, now the wife of Dr. Warren A. Smith; and Millie, who is assistant postmistress at Berrien Springs. Politically Mr. Hoopenganer is a Democrat, active and influential in the local ranks of his party, and for some time served as one of the village trustees. He has been a member of the Odd Fellows society at Berrien Springs for four years and has taken an active part in its public affairs, relating to its material progress and advancement along those lines of life which lead to good citizenship or which promote the social interests of the community. GUY C. MARS, postmaster of Berrien Springs, was born in Berrien township, April 30, 1871, and is the youngest of six children, three sons and three daughters, born unto Andrew W. and Susan (Kimmel) Mars, who became residents of this county in I83. The son was reared in Berrien Springs and after attending the high school spent one year as a student in the law department of the Michigan University at Ann Arbor. He was with the Michigan Central Railroad Company as surveyor for three years, and at the outbreak of the Spanish-American war enlisted in the army as a member of Company I, Thirtythird Michigan Volunteer Infantry, of which he was made corporal. He was in the service for four months, half of which time was spent in active duty in Cuba. Following his return home Mr. Mars was assistant postmaster of Berrien Springs under his father for six years, and in March, I905, was appointed postmaster by President Roosevelt, being the incumbent of the office at the present time and giving a public-spirited and satisfactory administration. On the 23d of September, 19OI, Mr. Mars was married to Miss Edna Kessler, a 3io HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY daughter of Keleon and Flora (Fisher) Kessler, a pioneer family of Berrien county. Mrs. Mars was born in Berrien township, and they have one son, Guy Allan. In social circles Mr. and Mrs. Mars occupy an enviable position, having a wide and favorable acquaintance in the village and throughout the surrounding district. Mr. Mars has always been a stanch advocate of Republican principles. The first office he ever held was that of clerk of Oronoko township, while in I900 he was census enumerator. Fraternally he is conected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Berrien Springs and with the Modern Woodmen, and is popular with the brethren of those organizations. HENRY KEPHART. The name of Kephart has figured in conection with the commercial interests of Berrien Springs since I843, when the present drug business of which Henry Kephart is now proprietor was established and all through the passing years the name has been a synonym for commercial integrity as well as business activity and enterprise. Mr. Kephart, now the senior partner in the store, was born in Berrien Springs, May 26, 1847, and comes of Swiss ancestry. The family was founded in America, however, at an early period in the colonization of the new world, and the paternal grandfather, a resident of Maryland, there followed the miller's trade. His son, Dr. Philip Kephart, was born in Maryland, in which state he spent his boyhood and youth, coming thence to Berrien county, Michigan, in 1842. He studied and practiced medicine and on locating in Berrien Springs he also established a store for the sale of dry goods and drugs. Soon after his arrival here he gave up the actice practice of medicine to devote his attention to his commercial interests and continued active in the business up to the time of his death, which occurred when he was in his seventythird year. He was a prominent and influential factor in public life and was the first president of the village of Berrien Springs. He did much to establish the early policy of the state and to promote its substantial growth and improvement, and he may well be named and honored with the founders of the town. He married Miss Susan Kimmel, a native of Pennsylvania, and a daughter of George Kilnnmel, who was also born in the Keystone state and was of German descent, Mrs. Kimmel was reared in Pennsylvania, and in Michigan gave her hand in marriage to Dr. Kephart, whom she survived for a number of years, passing away March I, 9go6, in her eighty-fourth year. In the family were ten children, all of whom reached adult age. Henry Kephart, the fourth member of the family and the second son, was reared in Berrien Springs. He has been a life-long resident of this town, and in its public schools acquired his early education, which was supplemented by study in Kalamazoo and in a commercial college in Chicago. Being thus well trained for the duties of a mercantile career he joined his father in business and was admitted to a partnership in I874. This relation was continued until the death of his father, when his brother Walter became a partner and remained in the firm for about six years, when Henry Kephart bought him out and became sole proprietor. This was in I886 and Mr. Kephart continued alone in business until I903, when he admitted his son Phillip to a partnership under the present firm style of Henry Kephart & Son. This commercial establishment has ever maintained a foremost place in mercantile circles in Berrien Springs. It is the oldest established business of the town, having had a continuous existence from 1843, and Phillip Kephart is of the third generation in the ownership and control of the business. He is a graduate of the pharmacy department of the State University at Ann Arbor, and was also graduated in the Era course in pharmacy in New York city. In I876, Henry Kephart was married to Miss Ellen R. Northrope, a daughter of Henry and Caroline (Smith) Northrope, of Portage county, Ohio. She was born in Portage county, January I, I854, and when six years of age was brought to Berrien county, Michigan. Her education was acquired in a private school in Rochester, New HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 3II York, and she is a lady of superior culture and refinement. Two sons were born of this marriage: Philip, who is in partnership with his father; and Lewis E., now studying civil engineering at Purdue University in Indiana. In his political affiliation Mr. Kephart has been a life-long Republican and has served as president of the village council and also of the school board for many years. He is active and influential in public affairs and his influence is ever found on the side of progress, improvement and reform. He belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and in fraternal as well as in business and social circles occupies an enviable position. He is one of the best known men of Berrien Springs and his business integrity and honor, combined with his personal worth makes him one of its most popular and honored citizens. WILLIAM DESTER, proprietor of a livery stable at Berrien Springs, was born in Paris, Stark county, Ohio, August 6, 1833. His father, Jacob Dester, was native of Germany, and when a young man crossed the Atlantic to America, locating in Stark county, Ohio, where he followed the trade of shoemaking that he had learned prior to his emigration to the new world. He came to Michigan in I842, settling in Oronoko township, three miles north of Berrien Springs, upon a farm which was then but slightly improved but which he brought under a high state of cultivation. He carried on general agricultural pursuits for a long period, his labors attended with excellent results, and he died at the venerable: age of about eighty-two years.- In early manhood he wedded Elizabeth Kogel, a native of Germany, the: wedding being celebrated in Stark county, Ohio. She too, lived to a very advanced age, being in her eightysixth year at the time of her demise. There were two daughters in the family: Julia, the wife of Jacob Bechtal, of Berrien Springs; and Josephine, now deceased. William Dester, the youngest child and only son, was nine years of age at the time of his parents removal from Ohio to Berrien county. He was reared upon the home farm in Oronoko township and pursued his education in the public schools, his time being divided between the work of the schoolroom, the pleasures of the playground and the duties of the fields upon the home place. He assisted in the farm work until after the inauguration of the Civil war, when, the fires of patriotism burning brightly in his breast, he enlisted as a member of Company C, Twenty-fifth Michigan Volunteer Infantry in 1862. He served as a private until the close of the war in I865 and participated in a number of important engagements and military movements. He was detailed for special duty at Louisville, Kentucky, and while on the Georgia campaign he became ill and was taken to a hospital at Knoxville, Tennessee, where he remained until the war was brought to a successful termination. Mr. Dester then returned to his home at Berrien Springs in August, I865, and for a time was upon his father's farm. Later he established a grocery store in Berrien Springs, which he conducted for eighteen years and he was also in the lumber business for five years. In I90I he purchased the livery barn of J. C. Wycoff, and has since remained its owner, conducting a large business which by reason of its extent and importance is also very profitable. On the I th of December, I866, Mr. Dester was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Warner, a daughter of Major L. F. and Elizabeth Warner, and a native of St. Joseph, Michigan. Her father was an early settler of Sister Lakes, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Dester have three children: Linus W.; Arthur, who married Bertha Ocker, and reside in Laporte, Indiana; and Maud, who is at Saginaw. She is blind and is a graduate of the Lansing school for the blind. At the present time she is teaching in the sewing department of the institution for the blind at Saginaw. Mr. Dester is a Democrat and keeps well informed on the political issues and questions of the day. He was treasurer of his township for two terms and was postmaster under President Cleveland for four years. He has served as a member of the board of trus :3I2 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY tees and in other local offices in the village, and no trust reposed in him has ever been betrayed in the slightest degree. On the contrary he has proven a competent and faithful officer, never neglectful of any duty devolving upon him. He belongs to the Masonic lodge at Berrien Springs, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and to Kilpatrick Post, No. 39, G. A. R., and has filled all of the chairs in the first named. A residence of fifty-four years in Berrien county entitles him to rank with its early settlers, and his identification with many business interests and progressive public movements have made him a leading resident of Berrien Springs, while his genuine personal worth entitles him to the regard which is uniformly extended to him by his fellowmen. DANIEL G. W. GAUGLER. Each community has its enterprising citizensmen who are recognized as the leaders in commercial life and activity of the town, whose business capacity and enterprise constitute an important element in the growth and proseprity of the community which they represent. Such a man in Berrien Springs is Daniel G. W. Gaugler, who is conducting an undertaking and furniture business. He was born in Snyder county, Pennsylvania, August 17, 1836, and was the tenth in order of birth in a family of eleven children, seven sons and four daughters, all of whom reached adult age, while four sons and one daughter are yet living. The father, William Gaugler, was a native of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, and served as a private in the war of I812, while his father, George Gaugler, also a native of Montgomery county, and of Holland descent, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. William Gaugler was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Eyer, who was likewise a native of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. She was born July 4, I8oi, and was of Holland lineage. The death of William Gaugler occurred in Snyder county, Pennsylvania, in 1870, when he was seventy-seven years of age, and his wife died on the 9th of July, I890, at the advanced age of eighty-nine years. Daniel G. W. Gaugler was reared in his native state, where the public schools afforded him fair educational privileges. He lived in Pennsylvania until after his marriage, which occurred in I858, the lady of his choice being Miss Elizabeth Ott, a daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Ott. A week later the young couple left the east and came to Berrien Springs, Michigan, where they arrived on the 5th of August, I858. The father made the first brick for the county buildings at that place. In I860 he purchased a small tract of land of eighty acres, of which about six acres had been cleared and he then gave his attention to general farming until after the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted on the I2th of October, I86I, as a member of Company I, Twelfth Michigan Volunteer Infantry. He joined the army as a private and was promoted to the rank of corporal and sergeant, being discharged as first sergeant. He served for four years, one month and one day, or until the close of hostilities. Although he was never wounded he sustained a sunstroke, which caused blindness for five months, being unable to see at the time that he returned to his home. HIe was in the battle of Shiloh, the seige of Vicksburg, the battle of Little Rock and many other engagements, which proved the strength of the Union arms and contributed to the final successes which eventually attended the northern forces. He saw four years' service without a wound nor was he ever taken prisoner. He madel a most excellent military record for bravery and fidelity and when the war was over was honorably discharged at Detroit. Mr. Gaugler on being mustered out went to Pennsylvania and afterward to Elmira, New York, whence he made his way again to Berrien Springs. Here he was appointed postmaster by Andrew Johnson, the office coming to him unsolicited. In 1870 he established a furniture and undertaking business, in which he has since continued with excellent success. He carries a well selected line of furniture, and his undertaking de I I y/,A yzAXK2 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 3I3 partment is equally well equippei. His store is tasteful in its arrangement, and his progressive business methods, his keen discernment and enterprise, combined with his earnest efforts to please his custQmers, have secured him a constantly growing and gratifying trade. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gaugler have been born nine children: Frank O., at home; Herman E., who is located at Straw, Montana; Gordon, at home; Rena B., the wife of A. O. T. Anstenius, of Chicago; and Adessa, at home; the other children are deceased. Mr. Gaugler is'a member of the Masonic fraternity and Kilpatrick Post, No. 39, G. A. R., in which he has filled all of the chairs. He has been a member of the township board of trustees, was township clerk for four years and has held other local offices, taking an active and helpful interest in public affairs. He is one of the charter memnbers of the Evangelical church, and has labored earnestly for its growth and the extension of its influence, contributing also generously to its support. He assisted in organizing the Odd Fellows lodge and became one of the original nembers of the Grand Army of the Republic, thus figuring actively in fraternal circles. What lie has done for the county has been done from public-spirited measures and without desire for personal preferment or honor. His efforts have been effective and far-reaching and (luring a residence of forty-eight years in this section of the state he has always been recognized as a valued, prominent and representative citizen. HON. EDWARD L. HAMILTON was born in Niles township, Berrien county, Michigan, December 9, 1857. He was educated in the public schools, and read law in the office of Julge Henry H. Coolidge, being admitted to the bar i I1884. He' continued in the active practice of his profession until his election to the fifty-fifth congress in I896. Since that time he has been reelected to the fifty-sixth, fifty-seventh, fiftyeighth and fifty-ninth congresses. As a menmber of the insular committee Mr. Hamilton assisted in framing the act for government of tie Philippine Islands, also was actively connected with legislation relating to Porto Rico, and as a member of the committee on territories assisted in framing the organic actof theterritoryof Hawaii. Subsequently, as chairman of lthe committee on the territories, he introduceu and had charge of the bill to enable the people of Oklahoma and Indian Territory to become a state to be known as the state of Oklahoma, and the people of Arizona and New Mexico to become a state to be known as the state of Arizona, which bill became a law June 16, 1906. In addition to statehood legislation this comniittee also has general jurisdiction of legislation relating to the territories of Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Indian Territory, Hawaii and Alaska, and among other important bills reported, a bill to provide a delegate for Alaska which became a law during the first session of the fifty-ninth congress. During Mr. Hamilton's service in congress speeches delivered by him on the tariff, on trusts and on the money question have been printed by the Republican national committee for campaign purposes, one of them to the number of four million copies. So far as Mr. Hamilton's efforts on behalf of the fourth district of Michigan are concerned, he has obtained for its three harbors, St. Joseph and Bentonl Harbor, South Haven and Saugatuck, appropriations aggregating practically a million ldollars, being by several times, more than the total sum appropriated for them in their entire history prior to I896. Immediately following the inauguration of the rural free delivery of mail by the government, in 1897, Mr. Hamilton secured the establishment of experimental routes in the fourth district, which was one of the first in the state to secure such service. There is now complete service in the six counties of the district with two hundred and forty-three routes. It has been Mr. Hamilton's unvarying practice throughout his service to give prompt and thorough consideration to correspondence and to the detais of his work as 314 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY a representative, and he has entirely abandoned the practice of his profession to that end. He has given his best efforts to the needs of an intelligent and progressive constituency. JOHN H. SPARKS, a lumber merchant, of the firm of J. H. Sparks & Son, carrying oil business at Berrien Springs, was born in Buchanan township, on the 5th of May, I844. His father, Spencer Sparks, was a native of Indiana, born near Richmond, and was a youth of thirteen years when he came to Berrien county with his parents, Cornelius and Susan Sparks, in the year I828. They were pioneer settlers of this portion of the state. Berrien county had not yet been organized but was a part of Cass county. The timber was uncut, the land uncultivated, the streams unbridged and the work of development and progress scarcely begun. The Sparks family were identified with the early history of the county in reclaiming it for the purpose of civilization and in laying broad and deep the foundation for its later development and improvement. Spencer Sparks was largely reared in this county and was here married to Miss Sarah Hunter, who was born near Columbus, Ohio, and came to Berrien county in the year 1832. Following their marriage the young couple began their domestic life upon a farm in Buchanan township, which Mr. Sparks had entered from the government, going on horseback to Kalamazoo to secure his title. He and his bride settled upon this farm and with characteristic energy he began its development and improvement. After cultivating it for some years, however, he sold the property and bought another farm of one hundred and twenty acres, which he improved, making it his home throughout his remaining days, his death occurring when he had reached the age of fifty-six years. His wife long survived him and was about seventy-six years of age at the time of her demise. In their family were five children, three sons and two daughters, of whom one daughter died at the age of sixteen years, while only the sons are now living. One of these is Spencer Frank Sparks of this county, who is mentioned on another page of this work, as is William D. Sparks. John H. Sparks, the eldest son and third child of the family, was reared upon the old homestead and remained under the parental roof through his minority, acquiring his education in the district schools and in the public schools of Albion, Michigan. When a young man he bought a tract of land near Benton Harbor and was engaged there in the fruit business for a few years. He then sold out and bought land in Niles township at the bend of the river, making his home there for about six years. In I882 he came to Berrien Springs, where he has since resided, and in 1884 he established his lumber business which he has since conducted, being now one of the representative and enterprising business men of the village. He carries a large and well selected stock of lumber and building materials and has a liberal patronage, which makes the business which he annually transacts of considerable importance in bringing a desirable income. He also engaged in the coal business for some four or five years. In 1873 Mr. Sparks was married to Miss Lurinda Roberts, a native of Ohio and a daughter of Jacob and Hester Roberts. They now have two children: Claude R., who is in business with his father; and Nina, at home. Mr. Sparks votes with the Republican party and has held a number of local offices to which he has been called by the vote of his fellow townsmen. He has been a lifelong resident of Berrien county, having been identified with its interests for sixty-two years, while the name of Sparks has figured in connection with its development and progress for almost eight decades. BENSON BROTHERS, editors and proprietors of the Era published at Berrien Springs, are well known representatives of journalism in Berrien county. George R. Benson was born May 23, I868, in the village in which he still makes his home. The father, Joel Benson, HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 3I5 was a native of Broome county, New York, where he was reared to the age of twenty years, when he left the Empire state and became a resident of Ohio, removing thence to Michigan about I850. He located at Berrien Springs, where he carried on business as a cabinet-maker and later he removed to St. Joseph, Michigan, where he spent about fifteen years. There he owned and conducted a lumber mill, and on the expiration of that decade and a half he returned to Berring Springs and retired from active business, enjoying in well earned rest the fruits of his former toil. At the time of the Civil war patriotism and loyalty were manifest by his enlistment and active: service with the Twelfth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, with which he remained as a private for two years. His residence in this county covered more than a half century and he passed away September 4, I905. His wife, who 'in her maidenhood was Miss Catharine P. Miller, was a native of New York, where she spent her girlhood days. She died when about sixty-six years of age. In the family were four sons: Thomas C., of Berrien Springs; Joel I., who died in infancy; George R.; and Dewey M. George R. Benson was reared in Berrien Springs to the age of nineteen years, and entering the public schools at the usual age, passed through successive grades until he completed the high school course by graduation in the class of 1887. He afterward worked in the old Journal office until he obtained a better position at St. Joseph in the office of the St. Joseph Republican. He was also employed on the St. Joseph Press, acting as foreman in that office for five years. He ran the first paper through the printing press there and was a factor in the successful conduct of that then newly established journal. He also worked in Chicago a short time and was employed in various offices in five or six different states. Returning to Benton Harbor he became foreman on the Banner-Register for a year and a half,on the expiration of which period he became a dealer in bicycles in St. Joseph, doing a good business during the popularity of the wheel. Later, spending some time in Galatin, Ten nessee, he engaged in the real estate business and after the outbreak of the Spanish-American war he went to Nashville, Tennessee, where he enlisted as a member of Company M, First Tennessee Volunteer Infantry, with which he became a sergeant. He served in the Philippine Islands and was in the army for two years. On th expiration of that period he returned to Berrien Springs, and in April, I9OI, in connection with his brother Dewey, purchased the Era from Fred McOmber. They have since edited the paper, which has a liberal circulating and advertising patronage. On the 26th of February, I89I, George R. Benson was married to Miss Bertha A. Elliott, a native of Canada, and a daughter of Jacob and Mary Elliott. Unto them were born five children, G. Royal, Joel Harry, Hazen Miller, Cora Leota and Helen Kathryn. Mr. Benson is one of the enterprising men of the county, whose leadership in public affairs is indicated by the fact that his fellow townsmen have frequently selected him for positions of honor and trust. He has been constable for five years and marshal of the village for one year. He is a member of the Odd Fellows society at Berrien Springs and is now deputy grand master of the lodge. He also belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees at St. Joseph and he is well known in fraternal, business and political circles. His influence is given on the side of progress and improvement and in his editorial capacity and in private life he stands as the champion of much that is beneficial to the county. GEORGE N. OTWELL, superintendent of the Berrien Springs public schools and recognized in educational circles as a foremost representative of the system of public instruction in southwestern Michigan, was born on the 3d of August, 1875, on a farm about three and a half miles southwest of Three Oaks. His paternal grandfather, Emory Otwell, was a native of Ohio, and became one of the pioneer settlers of Laporte county, Indiana. He afterward removed to Stark county, In 316 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY diana, but subsequently again located in Laporte county. His son, James M. Otwell, father of George N. Otwell, was born in Indiana, where he remained to the age of thirteen years, when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Three Oaks township, Berrien county, Michigan. Here he was reared upon the farm on which his son George N. was born, and, having arrived at years of maturity, he was married in Berrien county to Miss Mary J. Monroe, a daughter of Robert and Electa (Crouch) Monroe. Mrs. Otwell was born in Yates county, New York, and there spent her girlhood days. By her marriage she became the mother of six children, of whom two died in infancy. while four still survive, namely: Fannie E., the wife of Edwin W. Mayes, of Three Oaks; Byron J., living in New Buffalo, Michigan; George N.; and Nellie G., the wife of William Kramer, of Three Oaks, Michigan. George N. Otwell, the third child and second son of the family, was reared upon the old homestead near Three Oaks and attended the district schools of that township. Subsequently he entered upon a course of study in the high school at Three Oaks and was there graduated with the class of I893. Subsequently he was graduated from the scientific department of the Northern Indiana Normal College, at Valparaiso, and later was a student in the literary department of the Michigan State University, at Ann Arbor. He was thus qualified by broad educational advantages for a professional career. He taught his first school in Harbert, Berrien county, where he remained for two years, and for three years he was a teacher in the village schools of Three Oaks. He then became principal of the schools at Stevensville, Michigan, where he remained for five years, and in the fall of I903 he accepted the superintendency of the schools at Berrien Springs. In 1904 he was elected a member of the county board of school examiners and is now acting in that capacity. He is recognized as an able educator, and by the professional public is accorded a prominent position in the profession to which he is devoting his time, energies and talents. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party. He is a valued representative of the Odd Fellows, Lake Lodge, No. 43, the Masonic lodge at Berrien Springs and the Royal Arch chapter at St. Joseph, Michigan. FRANK STARKWEATHER, whose home on section eight, Niles township, stands in the midst of a good farm, is now controlling four hundred and twenty-five acres of rich and productive land, and is also well known throughout the county as an auctioneer. He is one of Michiran's native sons, although his birth did not occur within the boundary lines of Berrien county. It was on the Ist of October, I858, in Mason township, Cass county, that he first opened his eyes to the light of day, his parents being Henry and Elizabeth (Long) Starkweather. His father was a native of Cayuga county, New York, and when quite young lost his parents. When he was about fourteen years of age he came to Niles, Michigan, with Isaac Griffin, with whom he lived until he attained his majority, the occupation of farming claiming his time and energies, and throughout his entire life his labors were given to the task of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. On the I3th of February, 1844, he married Miss Elizabeth Long, a native of Montgomery county, Ohio, born May 28, 1824, and a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Aiken) Long, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Kentucky. On coming to Michigan they located in Ontwa township, Cass county, in 1844, there remaining for about four years. Subsequently they took up their abode in Mason township upon a farm of their own. In I869 they removed to Niles township, Berrien county, where for a long period Mr. Starkweather carried on general agricultural pursuits. At length, however, he removed to Niles city, where he lived for one year prior to his death, which occurred when he was seventy-four years of age. In his religious faith he was connected with the Society of Friends. Mrs. Starkweather still survives her husband and is now residing with her son Frank. In the family were four children: HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 317 May, who died in childhood; Edwin, who died at an early age; Emma, who passed away when twenty-one years of age; and Frank, of this review. Mr. Starkweather, whose name introduces this record, is the only one of the children now living. He was reared in Berrien county from the age of ten years, and after acquiring his preliminary education in the country schools he attended the Northwestern University, at Evanston, Illinois. He was a resident of Niles city for eight years, or until 1905, when he removed to his present farm. While in Niles he was engaged in dealing in agricultural implements. He has also carried on auctioneering since 1898 and continues in business in addition to general farming. Everything about his place is well improved and he is now in control of four hundred and twenty-five acres of land, which he placed under a high state of cultivation. On the I7th of January, 1882, Mr. Starkweather was united in marriage to Miss Cora D. Warner, a daughter of Rev. Francis M. and Mary Ann (Cannon) Warner, and a native of New York. There her girlhood days were passed. By her marriage she has become the mother of four children, Roy L. and Grace Doris, living, and Clinton J. and Evan Warner, bo'th deceased when young. In his political views Mr. Starkweather has been a life-long Republican, and for fifteen years he has taken an active part in the political affairs of Berrien county, supporting its principles and fighting its battles. At the primary election of September 4, I906, he was nominated for the office of sheriff of Berrien county over five opponents for the nomination. For two terms he served as treasurer of Niles township and was also alderman of the Second ward. He has taken an active interest in public affairs, serving as highway commissioner and whether in office or out of it, he is always loyal to the best interests of the community. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias, the Knights of the Maccabees and the Modern Woodnmen of America, belonging to the local organizations of those orders in Niles. J. SHERLOCK ALLEN of Berrien Springs, was born in Winchester county, Virginia, June 12, 1873, his parents being Lumnan and Julia (Ellis) Allen, who were likewise natives of the Old Dominion. The father was a proininent lawyer for the Hamnilton & Dayton Railroad and other large corporations. He removed to Chicago and won a notable position at the bar of that city, having a large and distinctively representative clientele there. He died at the age of forty-six years. J. Sherlock Allen was educated at Renack, France, where he pursued a general course and was graduated in 1893. In that year he came into possession of a large property in Virginia and went to his native state, where he remained for two years. He then located in Chicago and had charge of the large estate of his father in that city. He also became a real estate dealer in association with his other business interests. In 1896 lie came to Berrien Springs, purchasing what was formerly the county seat property, which he remodeled, converting the old court house into an assembly hall. He also remodeled the old jail and residence and now has a fine property. He has since been engaged in contracting and is a prominent and representative business man of the community, with keen foresight and sound judgment. In community affairs he has figured prominently and is a recognized leader in the ranks of the Democratic party. He served as president of the village for two terms and has been deputy sheriff for three terms, also filling the office of justice of the peace. His political service has been most acceptable to the general public, his duties having been performed with promptness and fidelity. In I903 Mr. Allen was united in marriage to Miss Maud Fink, a daughter of Captain John Fink, of Wheeling, West Virginia. She was also born in the Old Dominion, and like her husband is well known in Berrien Springs, where the hospitality of the best homes is freely and cordially extended them. Mr. Allen has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scotish Rite in Masonry, and he is well known in this county. 318 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY ABEL W. WELLS. A residence of nearly forty years has identified Mr. Wells in a foremost manner with the manufacturing, business and civic life of St. Joseplt. He helped actively to lay the foundation of this city's advancement as a manufacturing center. Since 1879 he has been bending his energies to building up a great knitting industry, and in that year the firm of Cooper, Wells & Company began in a modest way a career of very unusual permanence and success. Cooper, Wells & Company's knit goods products are known to the retail trade throughout the country, and the prosperity of the firm is part of the prosperity of St. Joseph, creating employment for many persons and bringing in wealth from many sources. Mr. Wells, who has been president of the Cooper, Wells & Company since I895, was born in Prescott county, Ontario, September 6, I840. His parents, A. W. and Hannah (Cass) Wells, were both natives of the Dominion, but later came to the United States and died in the state of Minnesota. Spending the first twenty-six years of his life in his native country, where he studied in the Canadian schools, Mr. Wells took up his residence in the United States in I866 and two years later came to St. Joseph. Almost at once he commenced the manufacture of fruit packages. The demand for this class of goods has expanded enormously since Mr. Wells came here, registering the growth of the fruit business, and it is noteworthy that Mr. Wells has continued in this line of manufacture from the year of his arrival here. To the people of St. Joseph the Wells, Higman & Company's plant is a 'very familiar and valuable industry. The concern is almost national in extent and importance. It keeps about two hundred and fifty operatives on its pay rolls, and its annual business is estimated at two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Mr. Wells has been at the head of the company since I868. Besides the local plant at St. Joseph he is interested in extensive manufactories at Memphis and Greenfield, Tennessee, Vicksburg, Mississippi, Fort Valley and Macon, Georgia, Crystal Springs, Alabama, and Tyler, Texas. The establishment of the knitting and woolen mills at St. Joseph was very largely the result of the enterprise of the St. Joseph Improvement and Benefit Association, an organization of citizens for the advancement of the business and industrial affairs of the town, of which Mr. Wells was the first president at the formation of the association in I877. On the burning of the Woolen Mills and Knitting Plant at Niles in the following February those concerned in that business were induced to locate the plant at St. Joseph. Temporary quarters were installed in the King building and before the end of the summer the plant was in operation in a new building. S. T. Cooper and sons at first owned the business, but in the latter part of I879 Mr. Wells came into the concern, bringing both capital and business ability, and from that time the company has been under its present name. The company was incorporated in I889 by A. W. Wells, Willis W. Cooper, H. C. Ward and George D. Mayo, with capital stock of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, Mr. Wells being elected president and Mr. Cooper secretary and treasurer. In I894 Mr. Cooper sold his stock to Mr. Wells and Mr. Mayo, and since that change Mr. Wells has been president and general manager. February 25, I903, fire destroyed the main building and office, causing a loss of one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars with forty-two thousand dollars insurance. But the success of the business was so substantial that even before this calamity plans had been formed to enlarge with new buildings, and a new plant was begun with hardly a month's delay and was in operation by August Ioth following. The building is three stories, covering ground area two hundred and twenty-seven by sixty-seven feet, and is equipped with the best inventions for the manufacture of its lines of "Iron Clad" woolen, cotton and merino fabrics, together with lisle thread, lace and stripe effects. To be at the head of such an industry carries a responsibility and honor which are % 3 - c 6 I HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 319 well discharged and well merited by such a man as Mr. Wells, who has spent forty years of his life in the persistent and energetic pursuit of business success. The volume of business has grown wonderfully under his control. The plant gives employment to four hundred and seventy-five persons, also twenty-two traveling salesmen. The annual business is worth eight hundred thousand dollars. In 1883 the Union Banking Company of St. Joseph was organized and since I893 Mr. Wells has been president of this institution, one of the well known and strong financial concerns of the county. It seems that with the weighty cares of these business interests Mr. Wells would have little opportunity for anything else. And yet he has been one of the stanchest Republicans of Berrien county for a great many years, has served' his county on the board of supervisors, and has helped secure the welfare of education as a member of the city school board. January 28, I868, the same year of his coming to St. Joseph, Mr. Wells married Miss Melvina B. Gates, also a native of Canada. They have three children living. The two daughters are Cornelia E. and Clara. J. Ogden, the son, was a member of the Roosevelt Rough Riders during the Spanish war, enlisting while in Harvard College, from which he graduated in I9go. Since returning home he has been an invaluable assistant of his father and has thoroughly mastered the details of the business, being vice president and assistant manager of the Cooper, Wells & Company. In view of what Mr. Wells has accomplished in the world of business, it is of interest to add that he began life without any unusual advantages in the way of inheritance or family position. Shrewd but honest, capable and exceedingly industrious, he has followed in the path of successful men and gained a position that none could justly,envy. WILLIAM F. BULLARD, M. D., was born in Connersville, Fayette county, Indiana, May 30, 1848. His paternal grandfather, a native of Massachusetts, was of French descent. The father, Henry Bullard, also born in Massachusetts, removed to the middle west about I830, settling in Fayette county, Indiana, as one of its pioneer residents. He was the promoter of industrial life in that section of the state, where he engaged in the conduct of a woolen manufactory. He removed from Carthage, Ohio, to Connersville, Indiana, and about I868 became a resident of Quincy, Illinois, where he spent his remaining days, passing away at the age of fiftyfive years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Martha Wardwell, was a native of Ohio, born in Oxford. She lived to be seventy-six years of age and was the seventh child in a family of five sons and two daughters, of whom the Doctor was the third child and second son. Reared in his native county to the age of eighteen years Dr. Bullard acquired his early education in the district schools and afterward attended the high school at Connersville. When about twenty years of age he took up the study of medicine in his native place under the direction of Dr. George Chitwood, who assisted him in his reading for about three years.| He pursued his first course of lectures at the Cincinnati Medical College and practiced for one year in Carroll county, Indiana. He then continued his college course and was graduated in I88o from the Medical College of Indiana, at Indianapolis. He then returned to Cutler, Carroll county, where he resumed practice, remaining there for about two years. On the expiration of that period he went to Pyrmont in the same county, and in 1885 came to Berrien Springs, where he has since been located, enjoying a large and growing practice. In I878 Dr. Bullard was married to Miss Lucy A. Geer, a daughter of Harrison C. Geer, of Battle Creek, Michigan, where she was born and reared. There is one daughter of this marriage: Edna B., the wife of Edward Vander Hoof, of Eau Claire, Michigan. Dr. Bullard is now the oldest practicing physician in Berrien Springs, his connection with the profession here covering a period of twenty-one years. He is a member 320 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Patricians. He likewise belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church and is well known in the county. He has been a lifelong Republican and has served on the village board for several terms, also on the school board and as health officer for many years. He is well qualified in his profession for he keeps in touch with modern progress through reading and investigation and his experience has made him an able physician, successfully coping with the intricate problems which continually confront the medical practitioner. WILLIAM H. GRAHAM, a prominent farmer of Berrien Springs, was born in the house which is still his home his natal day being June 26, I853. He is the second son and eldest living child of George and Mary (Garrow) Graham, and was reared on the place where he now resides, the days of his boyhood and youth being unmarked by any event of special importance. Having mastered the branches taught in the common schools, he afterward attended Albion College and Notre Dame University, and was thus well equipped by liberal educational advantages for the important duties of an active business career. Returning to Berrien county he continued farming on the old homestead and has long been numbeTed among the representative and prominent agriculturists of this part of the state. In I88I, Mr. Graham was married to Miss Laura Platt, a daughter of J. M. and Aurelia Platt. She was born in Berrien Springs, her father having come to this county from Massachusetts at an early day. He was one of its pioneer residents and engaged in merchandising, conducting a large and important business at Berrien Springs, drawing his trade from many sections of the county. He was closely identified with the early development and progress of this portion of the state and was a leading and influential man, whose business activity and enterprise entitled him to rank with those citizens who were founders of the present prosperity and upbuilding of Berrien county. He died when about fifty years of age. Mrs. Graham is the second in a family of four children, three daughters and one son, and after acquiring her preliminary education in the commlon schools here, continued her studies in Massachusetts. There is one son by this marriage, George, who is now engaged in the grocery business in Berrien Springs. Mr. Graham has been a life-long resident of Berrien county and has always followed agricultural pursuits, in which he has found ample opportunity to exercise his native talents and his energy and give scope to his laudable ambition, which is one of his salient characteristics. He is a Republican and takes an active interest in affairs relating to the public good. FRANK RHOADES, a prominent farmer residing on section twenty-four, Bertrand township, employing methods in the cultivation of his place that result in large harvests, was born in White county, Indiana, October I, I866, and is the eldest child of Solomon and Elizabeth (Newton) Rhoades. The father, a native of Ohio, became one of the early settlers of Indiana and throughout his business career has followed farming but now resides in Kosciusko county, Indiana, where he is enjoying a well earned rest. His wife is a native of Indiana and is of English descent. In the family were ten children, all of whom reached adult age and with one exception all are yet living. Frank Rhoades was reared in Kosciusko county, Indiana, and at the usual age entered the district schools, where he mastered the common branches of English learning. Later he spent some time as a student in the graded schools of Mentone, Indiana, and for four years he engaged in teaching in that state, entering upon the active work of the profession when eighteen years of age and continuing to the age of twentytwo. He then came to Michigan, settling in Bertrand township, Berrien county, where he has since been engaged in farming and the same spirit of understanding and determination which characterized his work in the schoolroom has made him a successful agriculturist. On the 13th of February. i889, Mr. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 321 Rhoades secured a companion and helpmate for life's journey by his marriage to Miss Martha C. Cauffman, a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Leiter) Cauffman. She was born in Bertrand township, October 31, 1867, and has spent her entire life within its borders. By her marriage she has become the mother of one daughter, Roxy R. who was born July 6, I890, deceased, and one son, Jay A., who was born November 15, I89I, in Bertrand township. Mr. Rhoades exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Democracy, and as every true American citizen should do, takes an active interest in the welfare and growth of the party which he believes promotes the best interests of the nation. He was township clerk for two terms and served on the school board for some time. He has also been school inspector for the last six or eight years and the cause of education finds in him a stalwart champion. He and his wife belongs to the Union Brethren church. In a life of business activity he has been guided by a spirit of consideration for others in harmony with principles of conduct which neither seek nor require disguise. GEORGE P. CRANSON. The agricultural interests of Niles township find a worthy representative in George P. Cranson, an active and respected farmer living on section twelve. He is a native son of the Empire state, having been born in Allegany county, New York, May 25, I857. His father, Sylvester H. Cranson, was likewise a native of New York, and was there reared and educated. The occupation of farming was his life work, and, leaving the east, he came to Michigan at an early day, locating first in Jackson county. However, he afterward returned to the Empire state, where he remained for about six years, when he again came to Michigan. locating once more in Jackson county, in I858. There he lived for two years, and in 1870 became a resident of Milton township, Cass county, where he died in 1877. His wife bore the maiden name of Jennetta Peck, and was also a native of New York. She passed away prior to the 21 death of her husband, for she died in Milton township, Cass county, in I875. This worthy couple were the parents of four children, all of whom are yet living: Charles, who resides in Howard township, Cass county; Flora E., the wife of Elmer Butts, of Niles township, who is mentioned on another page of this work; Arthur V., who is a resident of South Bend, Indiana; and George P., of this review. The youngest of the family, George P. Cranson, was only nine months old when brought to Michigan and was a youth of fourteen when he removed with his parents from Jackson to Cass county, being reared in Milton township. He pursued his studies in the district schools of that township, where he mastered the branches of learning that well qualified him for lifes practical and responsible duties. He remained at home until twenty-one years of age, when he took charge of the farm in Milton township and since that time has been farming on his own account. As a companion and helpmate for life's journey Mr. Cranson chose Miss Mary A. Hicks, to whom he was married on the Ioth of December, I884, a daughter of Richard V. and Catherine (Ullery) Hicks. Mrs. Cranson was born in Milton township, Cass county, Michigan, March 29, I863, and.was educated in the common schools and Edwardsburg and Niles high schools. She is a member of the L. O. T. M. Hive, No. 39, located at Niles, Michigan. The young couple continued to reside in Milton township, Cass county, and Mr. Cranson devoted his time and energies to general farming there until 1894, when he removed to the farm whereon he now resides, situated on section twelve, Niles township, Berrien county. Here he has one hundred and fifteen acres of good land, which is devoted to general farming, and his place presents a neat and thrifty appearance, showing his careful supervision and practical methods. He raises the crops best adapted to soil and climate, has good fruit upon his place and everythling indicates that the owner is a man of enterprise and accomplishes what he undertakes. 322 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Unto Mr. and Mrs. Cranson have been born six children: Hattie, who is a milliner, residing in South Bend, Indiana; Jessie, Jeanette, Leonard, Marie and Ester, all of home. Mr. Cranson has been a resident of Niles township for about twelve years and has been almost a life-long resident of Michigan. He is well known in both Berrien and Cass counties and substantial qualities and admirable characteristics have won him the friendship and high regard of those with whom business or social relations have brought him in contact. Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise he has supported the Republican party and he is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees at Niles. He has always taken an active part in public affairs and recognizing opportunities for the promotion of the community's good he has withheld his support from no movement which is calculated to prove of general benefit. CHARLES H. TAUBE, successfully engaged in fruit growing in Benton township near Benton Harbor, was born in Prussia on the 2d of July, 1856, and came to the United States in 1882. He was reared in his native land, where his educational privileges were somewhat limited. The pupils were taught to read in the Bible, but the curriculum was very abbreviated. After putting aside his textbooks Mr. Taube wished to get into trade, but wages were so small that he soon recognized the fact that it would be almost impossible to get ahead financially. When twenty years of age he was examined for the army, but was not taken for active service for two years thereafter, when he was accepted, for two years. This did not fill his entire military term, however, and he was later called forth for six months' service at the formation of a new army. His life at this time was a strenuous one and he saw hard service, but won credits for his conduct and capability. In the fall he left the army, after which he worked in the pine timber, cutting wood. It was about this time that he began to hear considerable of America, its possibilities and prospects. He had an aunt living near Stevensville, Michigan, who wrote him to come to the United States. His father had even agreed that he might come to America before he went into the army, but he was refused a pass by the military officials, so that he afterward took the matter into his own hands and left the country without the military consent. He had saved barely enough to reach the United States and had but forty cents remaining when he joined his aunt in the new world. He was accompanied by his brother William, then sixteen years of age. At that time the latter had never been as far away from home as the next village. The year of their emigration was 1882. After a month spent with his uncle Mr. Taube secured work at clearing land, being thus employed for three months. That fall he went into the lumber camp in northern Michigan and worked again by the month with Professor Cummings on the lake shore drive. He was thus employed at various kinds of labor for four years or until the time of his marriage in the fall of I886, when he had saved over five hundred dollars. He then determined to establish a home of his own and enter upon an independent business career. It was at that time that Mr. Taube was united in marriage to Miss Matilda Krause, a daughter of Charlie Krause of Royalton, Michigan, who came from West Prussia to the new world in the spring of 1882. For a year after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Taube remained in Benton Harbor, being engaged at mason work in the employ of Will Newlon, who recognized his skill and ingenuity with tools and desired him to learn the mason's trade, but he found that he preferred farm work and has since given his attention to agricultural and horticultural pursuits. In the spring of I888, Mr. Taube purchased his present farm, first buying thirtyeight and three-fourth acres of land, for which he paid fifty-five dollars per acre. Only one acre had been cleared and a crop of beans could not be grown thereon. There was a small house on the place which became the home of the family and with characteristic energy Mr. Taube then began the improvement of the property. He paid six I F::::Ac:LLs~ _::: /es Ad: HOTEL BENTON EDWARD BRANT I HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 323 hundred dollars down in cash, but most of this was borrowed from his brother. He worked out for two or three years in order to gain necessary money that would enable him to provide for his weekly expenses and in the meantime cleared his own land as he found opportunity. His brother remained with him for five years and they were associated in their work. In the third year after purchasing his farm Mr. Taube made payment upon the place from the sale of strawberries, onions and other products. He cleared two hundred and thirty-four dollars from an acre and a quarter which was planted to strawberries and he felt that he had made a good start when in the third year he was thus enabled to discharge much of the indebtedness on his place. Inside of five years he had his farm all paid for by the sale of strawberries and other crops. Believing in the value of Michigan as a fruit producing state, he set out one thousand peach trees as soon as he had land cleared, Mr. Morley letting him have his nursery stock without immediate payment. This was paid for, however, the same year by his sale of strawberries. His neighbors termed him the "crazy Dutchman" for going deeper into debt to buy peach trees, but soon they saw that his trees brought him a good income, for they were in bearing condition and yielded good crops which found a ready sale on the market. Mr. Taube has worked earnestly and persitently in order to make a start. He often burned brush at twelve o'clock at night and he led a most strenuous life while clearing and developing his farm. His place is pleasantly situated about a mile and a half from Benton Harbor on the lake shore drive and he erected his present residence in I895. This is a modern home with steam heat and was all paid for when it was completed. He has since loaned some money and has also invested in Benton Harbor property in the business district, from which he derives a good income. He has been fortunate in his investments and in his business affairs has always conducted his interests along straightforward lines and has met with well deserved and gratifying prosperity. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Taube have been born six children: Henry, who was a student in Benton Harbor college; Emma, who also attended that school; Ella; Willie; Mabel; and Chester. The children all are making good progress in school, the eldest daughter having already graduated from Benton Harbor College, while his second daughter is a student there. They are pursuing the study of music and are doing well in that art. Mr. Taube is not the only member of his family that came to America, for his brother William, who accompanied him and who lived with him for five years, is now the owner of a fine farm in Lincoln township. Another brother, Bert Taube, also came to the new world and worked with our subject for six years but is now a farmer of Hagar township. In I9o4, Charles H. Taube returned to his native land to see his father and mother, making the trip in company with his elder brother and he visited many of the scenes of his boyhood and youth, but he has a very decided perference for America as a place of residence and is most loyal to its institutions and business opportunities. He was reared in the Lutheran faith and when a society of that denomination was started at Benton Harbor he and i is family joined it. He donated fifty dollars for a church lot and did much for the promotion of the cause, but trouble arose over the salary of the minister, who when he could not collect his salary brought suit again Mr. Taube, who, however, won the case. Since that time Mr. Taube has withdrawn from the church. He is well known in this county, where for many years he has been a prominent representative of horticultural pursuits. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to seek a home in the new world, for he has here found good business opportunities and through their utilization has become a prosperous citizen. EDWARD BRANT, to whom has been vouchsafed an honorable retirement from an active business career by reason of the fact that through his former activity and well directed labor he has achieved a handsome competence, has 324 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY contributed in a substantial measure to the commercial prosperity and business activity in Berrien county. Carrying forward to a successful completion whatever he undertakes, his wise counsel and executive force have proven a strong directing influence in various business interests. Mr. Brant is a native of Ohio, where his birth occurred in 1845. He was brought to Michigan by his parents, Mason and Almira (Tobias) Brant, who settled on a tract of government land in Ionia county. In I849, during the excitement attendant upon the discovery of gold in California, Mason Brant left his family upon the farm which he had partially cleared, and joined the rush of pioneers across the plains to the Pacific coast, where he died after three years of pioneer adventure in the gold fields. No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for Edward Brant in the days of his childhood and youth. He worked in the fields through the summer months and pursued his studies at the district school during the winter, varying the monotony of a steady pursuit of knowledge with intervals of wood-chopping and excursions into the surrounding forests after deer and other wild game. During this formative period of his young life he was living with his mother, who ably cared for her children after the dea'th of the father. After attaining to man's estate he turned his attention to the lumber business in Michigan and for thirty years was successfully engaged in this industry, which is one of the leading sources of the state's wealth. Mr. Brant thoroughly acquainted himself with every branch of the lumber trade, and his excellent judgment of the value of timber, as well as the ready adaptability which he manifested in controlling a business concern, led to his signal success. His operations in this field included a saw-mill at Covert, Michigan, and a tract of land in Watervliet township, Berrien county, from which tie cut the timber and cleared the brush until he now owns a farm containing three hundred acres of the finest land in the fruit belt. Later, settling in Benton Harbor, he has dealt to a considerable extent in real estate and is now the owner of valuable property here. His operations in real-estate have been characterized by safe and conservative investments and he receives a large income from the buildings which be owns in this city. In I890 he built the Hotel Benton, which at the time of its construction was the finest hostelry in southwestern Michigan. He leased it for a period of five years to Alonzo Vincent, who then removed to St. Joseph, Michigan, and took charge of the Hotel Whitcombe. The Hotel Benton has since remained under the management of Mr. Brant and his son-in-law, ex-sheriff Collins, who is elsewhere represented in this work. Into other fields of activity Mr. Brant has extended his efforts. He was one of the organizers of the Farmers & Merchants' Bank of Benton Harbor and has been one of its directors from the beginning. He yet holds stock in this institution and his well known ability as a conservative financier has been instrumental in making it a paying concern. He was one of the organizers of the Benton Harbor & St. Joseph Electric Railway Company, acted as a member of its directorate for several years and at one time was a heavy stockholder. In fact, there are few enterprises in this locality that have not felt the stimulus of Mr. Brant's personality, and although he is now practically living retired from the active control of business interests, he is yet financially connected with several of importance. He possesses untiring energy, is quick of perception, forms his plans readily and is determined in their execution. Making good use of his opportunities, he has prospered from year to year, conducting all matters of business carefully and successfully, displaying in all his acts an aptitude for successful management. Mr. Brant was married in Watervliet township to Miss Martha J. Carpenter, a native of Canada, and they have become the parents of four children: Mason; Carrie, who is the wife of William Becht and has one child, Lincoln; Ida M., the wife of Fred B. Collins, by whom she has one child, Hallie Bell; and Myrtle, deceased. Mr. Brant is a member of the Masonic fraternity HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 325 and is an exemplary, representative of the craft, being always true to its teachings and in sympathy with its principles. His political support is given to the Democratic party and whenever he has permitted his name to be used on the ballot representing his party's principles and his own convictions, the people, irrespective of political affiliation, have testified their confidence in his judgment and their esteem of his unique personality by giving the Democratic ticket their eager support. For several terms he was a supervisor of WVatervliet township. He has always been a helpful factor in political work in the city and for one term served as mayor of Benton Harbor. His administration was characterized by conservative expenditure of the city's funds and a liberal enforcement of laws which had produced unnecessary hardship for the business interests of the city, through strict enforcement by previous administrations. Any measure for the betterment of the city, either financially or otherwise, receives his endorsement and he opposes strongly any movement which is inimical to the best interests of the community. His position upon any question is never an equivocal one, for he is firm in support of his honest convictions. He has not permitted the accumulation of a competence to effect in any way his attitude toward those less successful than he and has always a cheerful word and a pleasant smnile for those with whom he comies in contact. DARWIN B. SUTHERLAND, who is engaged in fruit growing and truck farming in Benton township, was born in this township, May I6, I869. His birthplace being on the farm on which he now resides on section 36. He is a representative of one of the old pioneer families of the county. His paternal grandparents were Lot and Lydia (Bliss) Sutherland, the former a farmer by occupation. He spent his earlier life in New York and in I836 came to Michigan, settling in KaIamazoo, where he lived for four years, on the expiration of which period he removed to Bainbridge township, Berrien county, his home being near Millburg. There he followed the occupation of farming until his death, which occurred in I873. His wife, however, passed away shortly after their arrival in Michigan and the father reared the family of eight children, three of whom are yet living. He voted with the Democracy. It is to this family that Lewis Sutherland, father of our subject and a resident of Benton Harbor, belonged. He was born in Barker, Broome county, New York, February 28, I831, and he arrived in Michigan in I836 and in Berrien county in I842, thus casting in his lot with the pioneer settlers. He attended the first school in Bainbridge township, the building being erected of logs. He also aided in the difficult task of developing a new farm and throughout his active business career carried on general agricultural pursuits and fruit raising. He gave much attention to horticulture, finding this to be a profitable enterprise and for many years was known as one of the most successful farmers and fruit-growers in the community. He continued to reside upon his farm until I9OI, when he removed to Benton Harbor and purchased his present fine home on Superior street. He owned four hundred acres of valuable land in Benton township, which he has divided among his sons. He, too, votes with the Democracy, and he is a member of the Universalist church. He also belongs to the Masonic fraternity and to the Order of the Eastern Star and in I902 he built the Masonic Temple at Benton Harbor. He is also one of the directors of the State Bank at Benton Harbor and these interests bring him a good income. He was married in I86o to Miss Matilda A. Howard, a daughter of Joseph S. Howard, of Ohio, who came to Michigan at an early day and followed farming. Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland had a family of six children: Sterling, a successful fruitgrower of Benton township, who owns eighty acres of land; Darwin B., of this review; Lott F., a farmer and fruit grower of Benton township; Addie, the wife of Rodney C. Pearl; and two children who died in.early life. Darwin B. Sutherland was educated in 326 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY the district schools, in the Benton Harbor high school and in Benton Harbor College and was thus well qualified by liberal intellectual training for life's practical duties. He taught school three years in the home district but gave up the profession of teaching to follow the life of a farmer and fruit grower and is now successfully and actively engaged in agricultural pursuits and in raising vegetables for the city markets. He has made a specialty of melons and has about fifty acres set out to peaches, of which thirtyseven acres are in bearing. He also has seventeen acres planted to apples, of which eight acres are in the old orchard and nine acres in an orchard four years old. He purchases excellent nursery stock and annually harvests good crops, his products finding a ready sale on the market because of superiority in size, quality and flavor. Mr. Sutherland was married on the 22d day of December, I897, to Miss Lulu Lewis, who was born in Keeler township, Van Buren county, Michigan, and is a daughter of Lawrence and Mary Lewis. Mr. Sutherland holds liberal religious views and in politics has always been a Democrat, unfaltering in his advocacy of the party. He is now serving as township treasurer of Benton township and at all times he is loyal to the duties of citizenship, taking an active interest in whatever tends to promote the welfare and progress of his native county. WARNER M. BALDWIN, of the firm of Parsons & Baldwin at Watervliet, has for years figured most prominently in business circles in this county and his name is a synonym not only for extensive operations but also for business integrity and honor that call forth the admiration and respect of all with whom he has been associated. He was born in Monroe county, New York, near Rochester, in December, 1840, and acquired his education in a local academy. From the age of fifteen years he has been dependent upon his own resources and whatever success he has achieved is attributable entirely to his labors and perseverance. In 1855 he made his way from New York to Detroit, Michigan, and secured a clerkship in the wholesale grocery house of Parsons & Johnson, where he remained for seven years. His fidelity and ability won him recognition from the members of the firm and about I864 he came to Watervliet in company with his former employer, George Parsons, with whom he entered the lumber business. They purchased a half interest in an extensive business already established, and until 1874 Mr. Baldwin attended to the outside business for the firm, buying logs and supervising the manufacture of lumber. The: extent of the operations carried on by the firm made his service of great importance and he became one of' the well known representatives of the lumber interests in this section of Michigan. In 1874 the firm was dissolved and Mr. Parsons and Mr. Baldwin secured the outside property, comprising over one thousand acres of land. Mr. Baldwin then directed his attention to the improvement of this property and its development into good farms. The land lies in Van Buren and Berrien counties and he has a home farm close to the village of Watervliet, where stock growing and breeding are its principal features. He breeds thoroughbred stock, including horses, cattle, hogs and sheep, and makes frequent exhibits of his stock at state fairs, where he has won many premiums. The Hillside Farm, by which name the property has become prominent, is now breeding horses, making a specialty of heavy draft horses and roadsters. The firm of Parsons & Baldwin also became owners of a store when the lumber company was dissolved. This store had been conducted by the company and fell to the present firm as a part of their share of the business. They were associated with its management for thirty years, conducting it successfully until I893, when it was destroyed by fire, in which year the private banking institution of Parsons & Baldwin was established at Watervliet, Mr. Parsons having charge of the bank, while Mr. Baldwin gives his supervision to the farming and stock raising interests. He has also engaged in the sale of carriage horses and has continued to manage the farming and stock business since the establishment of the bank. In his business career he has wrought along modern lines, has broadened the field of his HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 327 activity as opportunity has offered, has care- A native of Lake county, Ohio, he was fully utilized the advantages that have come born on the 4th of October, I845. His perto him and through keen discernment, sound ents were Richard T. and Deborah (Manly) judgment and unfaltering diligence has Newton. The mother died when her son gained a position of prominence in the county Albert was only four or five years old and that makes him one of the representative the father afterward married Rebecca business men of this section of the state. Huntoon, a sister of Giles Bartlett Huntoon, Moreover Mr. Baldwin has been prom- late of Watervliet, who had come to Michiinent and influential in public affairs. He gan in company with Thomas Lamb and has held all of the township offices and has Richard Newton, driving from Ohio to been postmaster and supervisor, filling the Watervliet about I850. The same year latter position for two terms, and has at two Richard Newton secured land on section different times declined the nomination for seventeen, Watervliet township, a half mile state representative. His political allegiance west of Paw Paw lake and a mile north of is given to the Republican party and he has where Coloma now stands. The present frequently been a delegate to its conventions. Christian church is built on that eighty He is also an untiring worker in church and acre tract. At the time it came into his posSunday school. He has visited various sec- session there was a small clearing and he paid tions of the United States and Canada and eight hundred dollars for the farm. He then is a well informed man, not so abnormally began to clear the place, cut the timber from developed in any line as to become a genius about thirty acres and converted it into lumbut with the sound judgment, broad outlook ber. Here he made his home until his death, and enterprise of the well balanced business carrying on general agricultural pursuits unman, who is thoroughly in touch with the til August, 1864, when he passed away at spirit of the times, whose progress is in har- the age of forty-five years. His widow aftermony with the world's advancement and who ward became the wife of Thomas Brittle and in the midst of active, extensive and onerous died about six years ago when seventy-three business cares, has not been neglectful of years of age. Unto Richard Newton and his the higher, holier duties of life which bring second wife was born a daughter, who is consideration for one's fellowmen and de- now living. He had four children of his first velop character. marriage and all yet survive, namely: Sarah Ann, who is the widow of Charles ALBERT NEWTON. When the tocsin Lamb and lives in Watervliet; Edward 0. of war sounded and men from all walks of Newton, residing in Idaho; Fannie, the wife life, from the farms, the shops, the offices of Silas Kettell, of Coloma; and Albert, of and the counting rooms, flocked to the stand- this review. The father was many times ard of the nation, Albert Newton was among called to serve in public office by the vote of those who donned the blue uniform and his fellow townsmen, who recognized his aided in defense of the Federal government. worth and ability. His political allegiance To such men the country owes a debt of grat- was given to the Republican party. itude which can never be repaid. The soldier, Albert Newton in early life acquired a too, given equal advantages and conditions public school education and afterward with others may always be counted upon as learned the mason's trade, which he followed a most faithful citizen in times of peace, for for a few years. He was, however, only he has known what it is to defend his coun- eighteen years of age when on the 3Ist of try and the flower of patriotism has grown December, 1863, he responded to the counso strong within him that it cannot be sup- try's call for troops and joined the Union pressed. Mr. Newton was but a young man army as a member of Company C, Ninewhen he served his country upon southern teenth Michigan Infantry. His brother, battlefields and since that time has largely Edward 0. Newton, had enlisted at the orengaged in farming in Berrien county, now ganization of the regiment and served until making his home in Watervliet township. the close of the war. Albert Newton joined 328 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY the regiment at McMinnville, Tennessee,,and was with the Twentieth Army Corps. He continued with his command until the close of hostilities. After the last battle of General Sherman's forces they marched to, Washington and participated in the Grand Review. Mr. Newton was soon afterward transferred to the Tenth Michigan Veteran Volunteers and sent to Louisville, Kentucky, where he was mustered out in July, 1865, receiving an honorable discharge at Jackson, Michigan, on the 5th of August following. The first battle in which he participated was at Resaca and he had his canteen shot away. When the country no longer needed his services Mr. Newton returned to his home and in the meantime his father had died, in August, 1864. He began working in a sawmill, where he was employed until his marriage on the 3Ist of December, I865, the lady of his choice being Miss Rosella Sparling, who was born July 23, 1847, and is a daughter of Eli and Teresa (Cilly) Sparling, who came from Pennsylvania to the west. The father was of Welsh descent and on removing to Michigan settled on a farm at the west end of Paw Paw lake. Mr. and Mrs. Newton were schoolmates in their childhood days. Soon after their marriage he took charge of the Sparling farm and his father-in-law died three or four years later, while the mother passed away several years afterward. All of the children of that family are now deceased. Mrs. Newton fell heir to the place, which had been school land and Mr. Newton continued to make the payments on the property to the state. At the time of their marriage only eight or nine acres had been cleared and he now has forty-five acres under cultivation. This is a valuable and productive tract situated on Paw Paw lake and is devoted to general farming. For a number of years Mr. and Mrs. Newton kept summer boarders, but her death occurred from cancer March 5, I897, when she was in her fiftieth year, she being the last surviving member of the Sparling family. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Newton were born a son and daughter: Clarence Lafayette Newton, who resides near his father's home, conducts the farm and also keeps summer boarders. He is likewise superintendent of the Union Ice & Coal Company, which puts up large quantities of ice each season, cutting it from Paw Paw lake. The plant now has a storage capacity of more than seventeen thousand tons. He married Mattie S. Beard of Chicago and they have two children: Harold B. and Edna May. Caroline Millicent Newton is acting as her father's housekeeper, having had full charge of the home since twelve years of age. Mr. Newton is a member of Garfield Post, No. 30, G. A. R., and has attended the national encampments at Denver and Chicago. He is now a past commander of his post and is a member of the Christian church. In politics he is a Republican, but has refused all offices, preferring to concentrate his attention and energies upon his business affairs and as the years have gone by he has prospered in his undertakings until he is now the owner of a valuable farming property. URIAH HARRIS, deceased, who was one of the early settlers of Berrien county and made his home at Coloma, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and from early childhood was reared in Cayuga county, New York. When twenty-two years of age he was married to Polly Leonard and with his wife and one child removed to Ohio, settling in Morgan county. They traveled life's journey together for about twenty years, at the end of which time Mrs. Harris was called to her final rest. Mr. Harris was later married in Ohio to Miss Phebe Wilkes, who was born in New York and at the age of sixteen years was taken to Ohio by her parents, in which state she was married when twenty-six years of age. In I850 Mr. and Mrs. Harris came to Michigan, where they had relatives living, an uncle being Nathan Wilkes, who resided near Watervliet. Mr. Harris purchased one hundred and eighteen acres of land, a part of which is now included within the village limits of Coloma. It had been entered from the government by Israel Kellogg and was a new place with only a few acres cleared and developed. Deer were plentiful, being often seen in the forest. The farm which HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 329 Mr. Harris secured has been continuously in possession of the family and remained his place of residence until his death. He brought about eighty acres of the land under cultivation, clearing away the trees and placing the fields under the plow, after which he gathered good harvests. His old home stood about a half mile west of the present residence and in what is now the city limits of Coloma. There was no village here at the time, though a sawmill had been built. When the new town was started it was called Dickerville and the name of Coloma was suggested by S. R. Gilson after his return from California, where he had spent some time in a nice little place of the name of Coloma. Mr. Harris confined his attention largely to his farm work, although he could engaged in blacksmithing and at carpentering. He also made children's shoes and was very handy in many ways. In fact he could do almost any mechanical work and whatever he did was accomplished in a capable manner, for he believed that what was worth doing at all was worth doing well. It was this trait of character which largely led to his success in the business world. Mr. Harris was the father of eighteen children. Five sons were born of his first marriage and came to Michigan-Benjamin, Abraham, Uriah, Isaac, and Samuel, also two daughters, Sarah and Anna. In the second family there were six who reached mature years and four are now living. The youngest son of the first marriage, Samuel Harris, is also living, making his home in Hagar township. Of the second family Polly is the wife of John J. Brooks, of Watervliet township. Phebe is the widow of B. F. Osgood, of Coloma. Hannah is the wife of C. J. Mason and Levinia is the wife of A. H. Sutton, who is residing on the old Harris homestead. Squire Harris died in I866 at the age of twenty-six years. Harriet married Harrison Branch and died at the age of fifty-six years. The death of Uriah Harris occurred in September, I865, when he had reached the age of eighty-four years, his birth having occurred March o1, 1782. His widow survived him until I88I, passing away at the age of seventy-six years. Throughout his entire life in Michigan he resided upon the old homestead. He was a stanch Republican and was a member of the United Brethren church. All who knew him respected him for his sterling worth and he well deserves mention among the prominent pioneer settlers who aided in developing the county. Of his children Levinia was married September I, i868, to A. H. Sutton and they occupy part of the old home farm. Mr. Sutton was born in Lawrence, Van Buren county, Michigan, December 3, 1846, and came to Berrien county two years before their marriage. He was a harness maker and worked at that trade for eleven years but finally turned his attention to agricultural pursuits and was engaged in general farming,-fruit raising and dairying. He has twelve acres planted to fruit, mostly peaches. Mrs. Sutton conducted a good business as a carpet weaver for several years, weaving about one thousand yards of carpet annually and doing the entire business in this line for the community. Mr. Sutton was the second mayor of Coloma and for six years remained in that office, giving capable service as chief official of the town. In politics he is a Republican and for six years served continuously as constable. He is one of the valued and active workers in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has represented his local lodge in the grand lodge. He is also active in the Modern Woodmen camp and in the Patrician order. GEORGE STRONG, proprietor of Strong's Summer Home on Paw Paw lake, is conducting a resort well worthy of the liberal patronage which is accorded him. It is pleasantly located two and a half miles northeast of Coloma and is equipped with the modern conveniences and accessories which contribute to the comfort and pleasure of a sojourn in the country through the hot summer months, and in its management Mr. Strong displays excellent business ability. He was born in Hancock county, Illinois, near Laharpe, October 17, I843. His father was a native of Massachusetts and was a follower of Joseph Smith, the Mormon leader, whom he joined in Hancock county, Illinois. When 33o HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY the Mormons went west he remained in Illinois, settling in Knox county, that state, when his son George was eight years of age. He still retains connection with the Reorganized Church of the Latter Day Saints. He married Miss Laura Woodward, the wedding being celebrated in Vermont. In I875 they were brought to Michigan by their son George and both died of paralytic strokes within thirty minutes of each other. They were laid to rest side by side in the cemetery at Coloma. George Strong remained at home in Knox county, Illinois, until nineteen years of age, and in August, I863, came to Michigan, making his way to Coloma, where he had relatives living, Jesse Woodward being his uncle. Mr. Strong worked at hauling lumber and logs in the woods for two years, receiving seventeen dollars per month for the first year and twenty dollars per month for the second year. Later he worked on the Paw Paw river, rafting logs and lumber. He would secure logs at the village of Paw Paw, twenty miles to the east and probably eighty miles by way of the river. He worked by the day or by contract. The lumber would be rafted at Watervliet and taken to St. Joseph, where it would be pulled out of the river. Thirteen seasons were thus spent by Mr. Strong, who is a typical representative of the lumber men of the early day, whose labors were instrumental in clearing the land, leading to its ultimate cultivation and development. Industry and economy enabled Mr. Strong to secure the capital wherewith he purchased, on Paw Paw lake, in I868, eighty-five acres of land, for which he paid twelve hundred dollars. It was covered with whitewood and ash. He would cut this off at odd times, while otherwise engaged with business interests, and since I869 he has made his home upon this place with fhe exception of four years spent in California. He has now almost the entire amount under cultivation, and the place is well improved. About nine or ten years ago he began to accommodate summer boarders, and about one-half of his lake front is laid out out in cottage property, extending for a half mile along the water, and the place is known as Strong's Summer Home. The land is devoted to general farming and good crops of grain and fruit are raised. It was in I876 that hd went to California, returning in i880. On the 2d of July, I865, Mr. Strong was united in marriage to Miss- Pleuma Woodward, a daughter of Jesse Woodward, and they have a family of four children who have reached mature years. Of this number Cora is the wife of Blazy Silhenek, of Coloma; Adelia became the wife of Elmer Bean and died in I899, at the age of thirtythree years; Grace was the wife of Fred Welch and died at the age of twenty-five years, after having taught school for a few years prior to her marriage. Harvey is at home. Mrs. Adelia Bean left two children, the younger son, George, being an infant. He has since lived with his grandparents as does the older son, Willie, who is now sixteen years of age. In his political views Mr. Strong is a stalwart Republican, unswerving in support of the men and measures of the party. For forty years he has been a stanch and faithful advocate of the Masonic fraternity, true to its tenets and its teachings and he also belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees Tent and to the Christian church, finding in these connections the incentive and stimulus for the development of those traits which produce character worthy of respect and prompt actions that are honorable. JOHN R. WALLACE, none of the capable business men of southwestern Michigan whose energy and genius have left an impress upon the rapid growth and development of this part of the state are deserving of more honorable mention than is John R. Wallace, whose business advancement was based upon thorough understanding of the work which he undertook, upon close application and merit which deserved recognition and gained it. Keen and clear headed, always busy, always careful and conservative in financial matters, moving slowly but surely :::::::::i::::;::: i --- - ::I:: 'i —i * HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 33I in every transaction, he had few superiors in the steady progress which invariably reaches the objective point. Mr. Wallace was a native of Scotland, born in Dundee on the 7th of March, I835. His parents, John and Mary (Reid) Wallace, were also natives of that country, where they continued to reside until about I84I, when, thinking to enjoy better opportunities and advantages in the new world, they perfected arrangements to leave their native land and came to America. Accordingly they crossed the Atlantic and made their way into the interior of the country, settling in Wayne county, Michigan. Previously John Wallace had learned the engineer's trade and he continued to follow that pursuit in Michigan, living the life of an honest, industrious mechanic, who could be counted upon for straightforward dealing and for unremitting diligence. John R. Wallace was a youth of six years at the time of the arrival of the family in Michigan and he entered the common schools of Wayne county, where he received instruction in reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar and geography. His educational privileges, however, were very limited, yet in the school of experience he learned valuable lessons that made him as the years passed a well informed man of sound judgment and practical knowledge. He read broadly, thought deeply and had the ability to assimilate the knowledge that he acquired. At the age of sixteen years he entered upon an apprenticeship to the machinist's trade and after completing his term of indenture he followed that pursuit for several years. Each step in his business career was an onward one and was carefully and thoughtfully made. When he ceased to be a general machinist lhe secured a position as engineer on the lakes on a vessel that made periodical trips between St. Joseph, Michigan, and Chicago and also between Buffalo, Detroit and Chicago. Later he was an engineer on the propeller Montezuma. He also placed the machinery on the Lady Franklin, the Ottawa, the Favorite and other lake vessels and acted at different times as chief engineer on each of these. With increased responsi bility came also greater remuneration, and the careful husbanding of his financial resources made it possible for Mr. Wallace to join with Mr. Edwards in building the John T. Edwards, a tug, on which he acted as chief engineer. He likewise filled the position of engineer at the Lee & Wells gristmill for a time. Enlarging the field of his labors from time to time as he found opportunity, in I886 Mr. Wallace joined Captain M. C. Barnes in the conduct of a tug and towing business, which they operated very successfully, owning the tugs John T. Edwards, Daisy Lee and Miranda. The last named, however, was renamed the Louis D. Wallace in honor of 'his eldest son. Mr. Wallace was also interested in the schooner, Lizzie Doak, his partners in this being Captain Robert Jones and Captain Barnes. As lumber was and is one of the chief products of Michigan and the boats were necessarily connected with the transportation of this commodity Captain Wallace gradually gained a comprehensive knowledge of the lumber industry and subsequent to the formation of his partnership connection with Captain Barnes they more and more largely concentrated their energies upon this line of trade, becoming well known as lumber merchants of southwestern Michigan. They were associated in business until the 28th of January, 1882, when the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Wallace continuing in charge of the lumber business, while Captain Barnes took the tugs. The former started out upon an independent venture on a small scale, dealing in lumber, coal and wood, but he enlarged the field of his operations as he found it possible, and by perseverance, close application and careful management of all details he succeeded in building up a trade which was hardly second to any in his line in southwestern Michigan. He became widely known in this connection and his success made him one of the prosperous residents of the state. Mr. Wallace became a resident of St. Joseph, Michigan, in I863, and as a companion and helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Alice McMahon, to whom he was married in Chicago in March of I862. 332 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY She was born in Detroit, Michigan, and was a daughter of James McMahon, a native of Ireland. This marriage was blessed with thirteen children. In order of birth those living are: Louis D., William, Maud, James, Alexis J., Edith A., Roy F., Dudley B., John and Alice V. Three of the brothers, Dudley, William and Roy F., are partners in a successful mercantile enterprise of Benton Harbor and are mentioned on another page of this work. While developing extensive and important trade relations in the field of lumber operations Mr. Wallace also extended his efforts to other lines and became the owner of considerable real estate, making judicious investments in property, which won him a gratifying financial return. He was also one of the organizers of the Union Banking Company of St. Joseph, served as its vice president and was one of its directors for a number of years. He was likewise treasurer of the St. Josep'h Building and Loan Association for several years and various interests felt the stimulus of his enterprise and keen discernment. In public affairs he was not without influence and his aid often proved a valuable factor in advancing the welfare of his home community. He served as treasurer of St. Joseph township in 1875-6, was one of the trustees of the village of St. Joseph and at all times gave unfaltering support to the Republican party. His life, too, exemplified the teachings of the Masonic fraternity, his membership being in Occidental Lodge, No. 56, A. F. & A. M., in which he was an active worker. He always kept well informed upon matters of general interest and his opinions were frequently sought because of their value, owing to his keen insight into any situation and his fair judgment, which was particularly free from personal bias. His success may well be asscribed to close application and untiring industry, for all that he gained was the result of his own labors. His pleasant genial manner won him friends wherever he went, haughtiness and ostentation finding no part in his composition. His career forcibly illustrates what may be accomplished by determination and energy in a land where all avenues are open and exertion is untram melled. His death occurred on the I7th of February, I905. DUDLEY B. WALLACE, by the consensus of public opinion, is classed with the leading men and merchants of Benton Harbor. He is an extremely busy and successful merchant, who has made good use of his opportunities and has prospered from year to year, conducting all business matters carefully and successfully, and in all his acts displaying an aptitude for successful management. He is moreover a young man and one of Michigan's native sons. His years, however, have seemed no bar to his progress, and his position in the commercial world is such as many a man of twice his years might well envy. Spending his boyhood days in his parents' home in St. Joseph, Michigan, he began his education in the public schools there at the usual age. After his school life was ended he joined his brothers, William G. and Roy F. Wallace, in the organization of the firm of Wallace Brothers and opened a general store in Benton Harbor for the sale of notions, hardware, etc. Their advertisements state that they carry "almost everything," and one can well accept the statement when seeing their large double store on Pipestone street with its extensive stock of goods. It is well located in the center of the business district, and from t'he beginning the brothers have met with a large measure of success. They are progressive men, keeping in touch with the modern trend of progress in the commercial world, and in their work they prove that they fully understand and appreciate the two old and time tried maxims, "Honesty is the best policy" and "There is no excellence without labor." On the 8th of May, I904, in Benton Harbor, Dudley B. Wallace was united in marriage to Miss Irene Beddo, who was born in Austin, Illinois, but has spent the greater part of her life in Benton Harbor. William G. Wallace married Miss Bertha Scott, of St. Joseph, and has one child. They reside in that city, but Dudley B. and Roy F. Wallace are residents of Benton Harbor. The latter married Iola Hummiston, of St. Joseph, and has one child, Victoria. When age conferred the right of fran HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 333 chise upon Dudley B. Wallace he supported the men and pledged to uphold Republican principles, for he believes firmly in the platform and the policy of that party. He was a charter member of St. Joseph lodge, A. F. & A. M., of St. Joseph, but was demitted to Lake Shore lodge of Benton Harbor. While he has never sought to figure prominently in public affairs as an office holder, there is no man who takes a more genuine interest in the welfare of Benton Harbor and its upbuilding than does Mr. Wallace. Mentally he has grown to be very strong without becoming a great student of books. He is quick of apprehension, and intricate business affairs he comprehends in a moment. He is recognized as an able business man of southwestern Michigan, his indomitable energy and unbounded perseverance winning him prosperity among Benton Harbor's substantial citizens, and while he has advanced his individual interests he has also done much toward promoting the general welfare. JOHN J. WINN, JR., filling the position of township clerk, is an energetic and enterprising farmer living on section eight, Niles township. His entire life has been passed in this county, his birth having occurred in Berrien township, Febuary 17, 1870. His father, John Winn, is a native of Germany and came to America when sixteen years of age, while his residence in Michigan covers a period of about forty years. He now makes his home in Niles township, and is one of the well known citizens of his part of the county. He married Miss Fannie Foster, a native of Niles township, whose parents were early settlers of this county, casting in their lot with the pioneer residents when much of the land was still unimproved and the work of development had scarcely been begun. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Winn have been born two sons, the elder being George F. Winn. John J. Winn was reared under the parental roof and acquired his education in the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, where he pursued a business course and won a diploma. He was thus well qualified to undertake the practical and re sponsible duties which come to one in the course of an active and successful business career. He has been a life-long farmer and is the owner of eighty acres of land on section eight, Niles township, devoted to general agricultural pursuits. The fields are well tilled and everything about the place is kept in good condition and the owner is therefore meeting with good success in his undertakings. On the I8th of October, I899, Mr. Winn was united in marriage to Miss Mary Pauline Graham, a daughter of George and Elizabeth Graham, who removed from Canada to Indiana and thence to Niles, Michigan. Mrs. Winn was born in Toronto, Canada, September 6, I875, and she had three brothers and two sisters, all of whom were born in that country. She was fourteen years of age at the time of her parents' removal to the Hoosier state, and was nineteen years of age when she came to Niles. Her early education was acquired in the schools of Laporte, Indiana, and after pursuing a teacher's course in Benton Harbor she engaged in teaching school for seven years in Indiana and Michigan, spending four years as a teacher in the St. Joseph Valley school, in Niles township, one year in district No. I, Niles township, and two years in Laporte county, Indiana. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Winn has been blessed with one daughter, Frances Lucile. Mr. Winn has taken an active interest in political matters and by his ballot endorses the principles of Democracy. He was elected township clerk, serving for two terms and was afterward elected township treasurer, in which he also served for two terms. Again in 1905 he was chosen clerk and was re-elected in I906, so that for a number of years he has been in the office and at all times has proven a capable and trustworthy official. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity in Niles and is well known in the county because of the fact of his long residence here and by reason of his activity in business and his prominence in local political circles. Over the record of his official career and his private life there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil. 334 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY DR. GEORGE S. GREEN, engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Berrien Springs, was born in Burlington, Calhoun county, on the 2d of March, 1876. His father, Dr. George H. Green, formerly a resident of Marshall, Michigan, was born in New York, and was graduated from the State University at Ann Arbor. He was descended from General Green of Revolutionary fame and the family comes of English lineage. Throughout his active professional career he engaged in the practice of medicine and his life's labors were ended in death at the age of sixty-two. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Emma E. Spaulding, is still a resident of Marshall. In the family were three children, of whom Dr. Green of this review is the eldest. The others are: Grove, who is a druggist in Marshall, Michigan; and Wade, a practicing attorney of New York city. Dr. Green of this review supplemented his elementary education by study in Albion College, and later attended the Detroit College of Medicine, from which he was graduated in I897. Having carefully prepared for the profession he located for practice the same year in Niles, where he remained for two years, and in I899 he came to Berrien Springs, where he has since remained. Here a liberal practice has been accorded him, for he soon demonstrated his ability to successfully cope with the intricate problems which continually confront the physician in his efforts to restore health and prolong life. His practice both in extent and importance is scarcely surpassed by that of any physician of the county. He makes a specialty of gynecology and surgery and is particularly proficient in these lines. He holds membership in the Berrien County Medical Society, and fraternally is connected with the Knights of Pythias. HENRY E. THURSTON, the oldest freight conductor on the Pere Marquette Railroad, making his home in New Buffalo, is a native of St. Joseph county, Michigan, born on the 25th of February, 1859. His parents were Washington and Harriet (Plimpton) Thurston, the former a native of New York and the latter of Connecticut. They came to New Buffalo in early life and were married here, subsequent to which time they became residents of St. Joseph county, but both spent their last years in this county, the mother departing this life when only forty-one years of age, while Mr. Thurston reached the advanced age of eighty-six years. The Plimptons were of a pioneer family of this state and the Thurstons also came at an early day. The father of our subject was a carpenter by trade and in following that pursuit was closely connected with the building operations and material improvement of this section of Michigan. In his family were six children: Charles, now a resident of New Buffalo; Henry E., of this review; Mary, the wife of Alonzo Chubb, who is living in LaCrosse, Wisconsin: Clara, the wife of George Meadimber, of South Bend, Indiana; William, who died at the age of twenty-two years; and Clarence, who died in infancy. Henry E. Thurston spent the first eight years of his life on the old homestead farm and then accompanied his father on his removal to New Buffalo in 1867. Here he has resided continuously since. He was in school until thirteen years of age, when he started out to earn his own living, being first employed in a stave and furniture factory. He occupied a position there until he went upon the railroad when about twenty years of age, being first employed as engine wiper. Later he was given a position as a machinist and subsequently was made foreman of the round house. Owing to his health, however, he gave up the mechanical part of railroading and accepted a position as brakeman, in which capacity he served for a time and was then promoted to conductor. He is now the oldest freight conductor on the Pere Marquette Railroad and has also run some passenger trains. He has for twenty-six years been in the employ of this railroad and no higher testimonial could be given of able and faithful service than the fact that he has so long been retained in the employ of a corporation which permits of no inefficiency on the part of its representatives, demanding capable and prompt service from all. On the 23d of December, 1878, Mr. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 335 Thurston was united in marriage to Miss Anna M. Lexo, a native of New Buffalo, Michigan, in which place she has always resided. Her parents, Henry and Sophia (Gertz) Lexo, were of German birth and parentage and were married in the fatherland. Four children have been born unto Mr. and Mrs. Thurston: Harriett, who is at home; Frederick, who died in infancy; Minnie, at home; and Olive, who was burned to death when only six years of age. Mr. Thurston owns a good residence property on Barton street, where he and his family are comfortably located. He exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party and his fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth, have frequently called him to local office. He has served on the village council for six years and was a member of the board of education for nine years. He was also township clerk for one term and deputy sheriff for one term under Ben Sterns. In his fraternal relations he is a Mason, having become a member of the blue lodge at Three Oaks. He is also connected with the Maccabees Tent, No. 239, at New Buffalo, and with the Order of Railway Conductors. Mr. Thurston is well known in New Buffalo and along the line of the Pere Marquette road, over which he has made so many trips. He is indeed trustworthy, never faltering in the performance of the duties which devolve upon him in this connection and he has the entire confidence of the corporation which he represents and the good will of the general public, with which he has been brought in contact through his business relations. ARTHUR HANSLER, engaged in general farming on section 21, Niles township, owns and occupies a tract of land of sixty acres constituting a well improved property. He is one of the native sons of the county, his birth having occurred in Niles city, on the IIth of April, 1867. His father, John G. Hansler, was a native of Germany, and when about fourteen years of age came to, America. He located in Berrien county and when he had arrived at years of maturity he was married to Miss Dorothea Ranft, likewise a native of Germany, whence she came to the United States with her parents in her early girlhood days. John G. Hansler departed this life in 1883, when about forty-nine years of age, and the mother died in I896. There were eight children born of their marriage, of whom one died in infancy, while the others reached adult age. All were born in Niles, where the family home was maintained for a considerable period, Mr. Hansler being engaged in business as a hardware merchant in that city for several years. Arthur Hansler was the fifth child and fourth son in the family, and was reared in Niles, entering the public schools at the usual age and passing through successive grades until, at the age of sixteen years he put aside his text-books and entered his father's store. There he learned the tinner's trade and after his father's death he and his brother John carried on the business for about three years. In 1887 Arthur Hansler went to California, locating at Pomona, where he worked at his trade for about a year. He then engaged in the hardware, tinning and plumbing business on his own account in partnership with his two brothers, John and Frank H. and H. P. Wilkinson, the firm still being Hansler Brothers & Company. This relation was maintained for twelve years and a successful business was conducted. On the expiration of that period Arthur Hansler sold his interest in the business and returned to Niles. For a year he was not actively connected with business interests but in I899 he bought a farm on section 14, Niles township, on which he located. He erected a new house and for three and a half years devoted his energies to the improvement and cultivation of the land, carrying on general farming. He then sold out and returned to California, where he again engaged in the hardware business at Riverside in partnership with his brother John. This continued for a year, when he sold out to his brother and came again to Berrien county, locating in Niles, where he resided until I906, when he purchased the farm upon which he now resides. He has made five different trips to California and is thoroughly familiar 336 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY with the western country and its prospects. His farm comprises sixty acres of land which has been brought under a high state of cultivation and is well improved with good farm machinery, substantial buildings and modern equipments. In addition to this property he also owns a business block in Niles known as the Van Gorder Block. It was October 10, I897, that the marriage of Arthur Hansler and Miss Ida Pfeil was celebrated. She was born in Niles township October 6, I876, and is a daughter of William and Eva (Nieb) Pfeil, one of the old settlers of Berrien county. One son graces this marriage, Lester Arthur. The parents occupy an enviable position in social circles and the hospitality of the best homes of this part of the county is freely and graciously accorded them. In politics Mr. Hansler is a stalwart Democrat, although somewhat independent in his political views where local issues are involved, casting his ballot for candidates rather than party. He possesses the enterprising spirit which has been the dominant factor in the upbuilding of the middle west and through a life of well directed activity has become one of the substantial residents of his native county. ANDREW CRAWFORD, deceased, made a notable record as one who advanced from a humble financial position to rank among the millionaire residents of Chicago and Berrien county. Beginning at the very lowest round of the financial ladder he steadily climbed upward. Honored and respected be all, he occupied an enviable position in legal and business circles and the admiration which was uniformly accorded him came in recognition not only of his success but also of the straightforward business methods which he ever followed. Possessed of strong mentality, developing his latent powers through enterprise, perseverance and the utilization of opportunity, he at length gained a place among the foremost lawyers of the Chicago bar, and in later years when wealth had crowned his efforts he became connected with the interests of Berrien county through the establishment of a beautiful summer home on the lake shore drive near St. Joseph. His life record began on the ist of December, 183I, near Kilmarnock, Ayreshire, Scotland, and was ended on the 2Ist of November, I900, his death being occasioned by heart failure while he was sitting in his Chicago office. He was the third son of Andrew and Janet (Hay) Crawford. His father was for many years manager of the Duke-Portland coal mines, and his mother was a member of the well known Hay family. Andrew Crawford was reared under strict Scotch Presbyterian influences, and at fifteen years of age secured a position in the mines. He had begun the study of Latin and French prior to this time and he took up the study of civil engineering and surveying. His efficiency is indicated by the fact that at the end of the first year he won promotion. He afterward went to London, England, and in November, I852, he sailed for America. The vessel on which he took passage headed for the Azores, where it laid up for repairs, and boarding another steamer Mr. Crawford continued on his way to the American metropolis, where he arrived February 25, I853. He had not one cent in his pocket on landing and he sold his Scotch overcoat in order to have some ready cash. He afterward went to Philadelphia and New Jersey and was employed as assistant manager for a railroad construction gang at a salary of a dollar and a quarter per day. He eagerly availed himself of every opportunity for advancement and his business ability, enterprise and willingness soon won recognition and led to his promotion from time to time. He was for a period in New Orleans and he arrived in Chicago when it contained less than sixty-six thousand. Mr. Crawford was married in Geneseo, Illinois, in 1857, to Miss Sarah Louise Baxter of that place, whose father was an old Cape Cod sea captain. In Chicago Mr. Crawford entered upon the study of law and after preliminary reading was admitted to the bar at Geneseo in I86o. The same year he became a naturalized American citizen. In entering upon the active practice ~t I HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 337 of his profession in Geneseo he became recognized as an able member of the bar there and also became a leader in political circles. In I868 he was elected on the Republican ticket to represent Henry county in the state senate, where he served for four years. He was a student of the signs of the times, kept thoroughly informed concerning the great political issues and questions of the day and left the impress of his individuality upon the political history of Illinois. He was appointed by the government a trustee to investigate the state institutes and in 1872 was chosen a delegate to the Republican national convention which met at Philadelphia. He was well fitted for political leadership having excellent executive ability, keen foresight and that ready understanding of conditions which enabled him to capably direct working forces. In 1873 Mr. Crawford removed to Chicago, and in 1877 became one of the incorporators, and later the vice president of th( Western Indiana Railroad. At the bar he made rapid advancement, his clientage steadily increasing in volume and importance, and in I886 he became attorney for Charles T. Yerkes and the street railway interests, of which that gentleman had control. His legal services were confined to large corporations and lie was recognized as one of the prominent corporation lawyers of the city. About thirty-five years prior to his death he made real-estate investments in Michigan and became associated with Mr. Graham in vessel and dock ownership, the business being conducted under the name of the Graham & Morton Transportation Company, Mr. Crawford being the financial head of the concern. About seventeen years ago he decided to establish a summer home in Michigan and purchased at Royalton Heights a tract of land, on which he erected a palatial country residence, three and half miles from St. Joseph. From that time forward he spent the summers in his Michigan home, although he continued active in the practice of law in Chicago up to the time of his death, and as the result of his distinguished ability in his profession and his judicious investments he was at the time of his demise one 22 of the millionaire residents of the metropolis. After coming to America he made but one visit to his old home in Scotland, greatly preferring the United States as a place of residence. In his religious faith Mr. Crawford was a Unitarian. He passed away November 21, I900, and his remains were interred at Geneseo, Illinois, where he had continued his support of many movements for the general good. He was a liberal contributor to the support of the church there and retained his membership there. He was also very generous in his contributions to various schools and charitable institutions and was a man of liberal spirit, whose benefactions were many. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Crawford were born the following named: Richard C.; Jessie C., the wife of Burdette C. Barnes, of Chicago; Daisy C., the wife of T. G. Milsted, of New York city; Lucy C., the wife of Frank P. Graves, formerly of Benton Harbor, a practicing attorney with offices now in St. Joseph and Chicago; and Andrew H. Mr. Crawford was devoted to the welfare of his family and found his greatest delight in providing comforts and luxuries for his wife and children. He deserves classification with the men of marked business ability, who may well be termed captains of finance. In his entire business career there was not one esoteric phase, for his interests were managed with due regard to the rights of others and his brilliant success was achieved through the exercise of his native talents as manifest in the able practice of law and in the judicious placing of his investments. Mrs. Crawford now resides during the summers at her beautiful home on the lake shore drive two miles and a half south of St. Joseph. JAMES F. SKINNER, a retired farmer living in Berrien Springs, was in former years an active and successful representative of agricultural interests in this county. Hie was born in Elkhart county, Indiana, near Jimtown, December 14, 1848. His father, Aaron Skinner, was a native of Pennsylvania, where he remained through 338 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY the period of his boyhood and youth, while in early manhood he made his way to Indiana, locating in Elkhart county, where he was married. He wedded Miss Eliza Potter, who was born in Ohio, and there began their domestic life upon a farm, Mr. Skinner not only carrying on the work of the fields but also operating a sawmill in that locality. In I850 he removed near South Bend, in St. Joseph county, and in I862 took up his abode in the city, retiring from active business life. He was sixty-nine years of age at the time of his demise, while his wife passed away at the age of fifty-nine. They were the parents of five children, three daughters and two sons, all of whom reached adult age. These are Lucinda, Mattie, Elizabeth, James F. and William. James F. Skinner was reared in and near South Bend, having been but two years of age at the time of his parents' removal to St. Joseph county. He was educated in the village schools and at Notre Dame University. At the age of sixteen years, however, he put aside all personal considerations in -order to respond to his country's call and enlisted as a member of Company C, One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for six months, or until the close of the war. On the 2d of April, I867, Mr. Skinner was united in marriage to Miss Adah Slonecker, who was born in Indiana, and in her early girlhood was taken to Berrien Springs by her parents. Her education was acquired at St. Joseph, Michigan. The young couple began their domestic life near St. Joseph, but after a short period removed to South Bend, where they remained for two years. They then took up their abode upon a farm in Bainbridge township and afterward in Oronoko township, where Mr. Skinner carried on general agricultural pursuits until I894. He afterward engaged in the shoe business for about two years in Berrien Springs, and selling out he retired from active business life, since which time he has enjoyed a well earned rest. He is still the owner of eighty acres of good land two miles from Berrien Springs and this brings him a desirable income. Throughout his business career he has been active and energetic, manifesting keen discernment and enterprise in the control of his agricultural and commercial interests. These qualities are essential factors to success and have brought him a gratifying measure of prosperity. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Skinner have been born four daughters and three sons; Olus, a shoe man of Berrien Springs; Loy, who is living on the old homestead; Zella, the wife of Alvin Stover, a resident farmer of Oronoko township; Arda, the wife of Claude Sparks, a lumber dealer at Berrien Springs; Nola, the wife of Charles Collins, of Newcastle, Indiana; Nie, a carpenter by trade; and Orfa, who is assistant cashier in the bank at Berrien Springs. Mr. Skinner in his study of the political issues and questions of the day has been led to give a stalwart support to the principles of the Republican party, which he believes are most conducive to good government. He takes an active interest in the work of the party, doing all he can to promote its growth and insure its success. He has served as village trustee and as highway commissioner, and matters relating to the public welfare are always of interest to him and elicit his commendation and support. GEORGE S. HOPPIN, an old settler residing on section two, Niles township, was born in New York, June 24, 1825. The paternal grandfather, Samuel Hoppin, was a native of Massachusetts, and was of English descent. He married but died in early manhood. His son, Thaddeus Hoppin, also a native of Massachusetts, became a farmer by occupation and followed that pursuit throughout his entire life. He removed from New England to New York about I820, and in I844 came to Michigan, settling in Berrien county. Here the residue of his days were passed and he departed this life at the age of seventy years. His political allegiance was given to the Whig party and he held some local offices while residing in New York. His religious faith was indicated by his membership in the Presbyterian church, in the work of which he took an active and helpful part. He mar HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 339 ried Miss Tamer Daniels, a native of Hingham, Massachusetts, and a daughter of John Daniels, who was a native of B-ston. John Hancock and John Adams were among his patrons and their names appear on his books. The mother of Mr. Hoppin lived to be about ninety years of age, and in Berrien county Mr. and Mrs. Thaddeus Hoppin were highly esteemed people. In their family were nine children, six sons and three daughters, all of whom reached mature years but only two are now living, the sister being Mrs. Clarissa Everts, the widow of A. M. Everts, of Woodland, California. George S. Hoppin, the seventh child and fourth son, is the only representative of the family in Berrien county. He came with his parents to this county in I844, being at that time eighteen years of age. He took charge of the farm whereon he now resides, cleared away the timber and brush, placed the fields under the plow and has improved the farm, transforming it into an excellent property. As a companion and helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Dora King, whom he wedded in I875. She is a daughter of Dorcas King and was born in Lyons, New York. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hoppin have been born four children: Clair, now the wife of Charles E. White, of Niles; George S., who is employed in a bank at Detroit; John E., who is living in Ann Arbor; and Rose, at home. In I883 Mr. Hoppin went to South Dakota and purchased a farm in Brown county, which he improved, remaining thereon for eight years, during which period he placed under cultivation a section of land and added many buildings. He still owns this place and has made many trips to his Dakota property, probably covering the distance between his ranch in the northwest and his home in Michigan thirty times. In this county he owns one hundred and thirty acres of good land, a part of which was once comprised in the old farm homestead. He has erected all of the buildings here and the well improved appearance of his place is indicative of the care and labor bestowed upon it. In politics Mr. Hoppin has been a lifelong Republican, taking an active interest in the party, its growth and its success. He served as supervisor of Niles township for several terms and has also been school officer. He has belonged to the Presbyterian church for a half century or more and has filled a number of its offices, doing all in his power to promote its growth and extend its influence. He is one of the oldest settlers in the county now living, having for sixtytwo years made his home within its borders. Since his arrival he has been identified with the agricultural interests of Berrien county and has done much for its promotion along these lines. DR. E. S. DODD, a pioneer physician of Buchanan and now the oldest practitioner of the city in years of continuous connection therewith, claims Virginia as the state of his nativity, having been born in Franklin county, on the 4th of January, I8I9. His father, Isaac Dodd, also a native of the Old Dominion, was of English and Scotch descent. He was a farmer by occupation and also learned and followed the blacksmith's trade. Leaving the south in 1836, he removed to Laporte county, Indiana, locating in its northern district, where he became well known as one of the pioneer blacksmiths and agriculturists. In 1873 he removed to Kansas, where he died in his eighty-fourth year. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Agnes Clark, was born near Raleigh, North Carolina, and lived to be about sixty-six years of age. In their family were eight children, all of whom reached manhood and womanhood. Dr. Dodd, the second in order of birth, is the only one now living. He was about eighteen years of age when he accompanied his parents on their removal from Virginia to Laporte county, Indiana. It was in the fall of 1835 that he arrived in Goshen, driving a four horse team across the country for a distance of seven hundred miles. He had attended the public schools of his native place and afterward became a student in the schools of Michigan City. Putting aside his text-books he engaged in the 'cabinet-making business in Laporte county until about 1847, when he took up 340 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY the study of medicine and attended lectures in Laporte in I847-48. In the fall of the latter year he resumed his studies in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was graduated in I849 from the Eclectic Medical College. The same year he located for practice in Wabash, Indiana, where he was actively connected with his profession until the fall of I85o, when he removed to Terracoupee, St. Joseph county, Indiana, continuing in practice there until the spring of 1859. In February of that year he located in Buchanan, where he has remained continuously since, covering a period of forty-seven years. In I873 he embarked in the drug business in partnership with his son, I. L. H. Dodd, and the enterprise is still conducted under the firm style of Dodd & Son. As a practitioner of medicine and surgery Dr. Dodd has enjoyed a large measure of success and as the years have passed has kept in touch with the progress of the profession, readily adopting new and improved methods, while at the same time he has been slow to discard the old and time-tried processes whose value and worth have been proven through actual experience. In I850 Dr. Dodd was united in marriage to Miss Sophronia McKinney, who died in I875. They were the parents of four children: I. Leroy H., the present county register of deeds, of Berrien county and a member of the drug firm of Dodd & Son; Roselda J., who died at the age of eleven years; Clara A., of Kalamazoo; and Charles S. M., who died when thirty-two years of age. In I89I Dr. Dodd was married to Mrs. Jennie Champ. In the year 1840 Dr. Dodd cast his first presidential vote for William Henry Harrison and has voted at each presidential election since that time. He remained a Whig until the dissolution of the party, when he joined the ranks of the new Republican party, supporting each candidate at the head of its ticket to the present. He has been examiner for many insurance companies but has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking. For many years a faithful and devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, he is also a worthy exemplar of the Masonic fraternity, his membership being with the lodge at Buchanan. A resident of the city for forty-seven years and one of its pioneer physicians, he is well known in the town and surrounding country as a man of genuine personal worth in all life's relations. A man of unswerving integrity and honor, one who has a perfect appreciation of the higher ethics of life, he has gained and retained the confidence and respect of his fellowmen and is distinctively one of the leading citizens of the thriving town of Buchanan, with whose interests he has so long been identified. His memory compasses the most wonderful history of the world's development, for he has passed the eighty-seventh milestone on life's journey. He has witnessed the advent of the railroad, the telegraph and the telephone,. and in early days he made the long trip from Virginia with wagon across the country, traveling after the primitive manner of the times. He has watched with interest the advantages and improvements that time and men have wrought and has rejoiced in what has been accomplished. ERNEST L. RANFT, a native of Germany, who landed in New York with only a shilling in his pocket, and began life in Berrien county in a little log cabin, is now one of the substantial farmers of Niles township, living on section 22, where he owns a valuable and well improved farm. He may truly be called a self-made man, for all that he now possesses has been acquired through his own efforts, and his life history illustrates the fact that in this country, where effort is unhampered by caste or class, labor finds its sure and just reward. Ernest L. Ranft first opened his eyes to the light of day in Saxony, Germany, February 28, 1834, and was reared in his native country to the age of nineteen years. For eight years he was a pupil in the schools of that country, after which he was variously employed until he came to America. The favorable reports which he heard concerning business conditions and opportunities in the new world led him to seek a home in America and he came alone to the United HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 34I States in I854, stopping first in New York, where he remained for two years. He came to this county in 1856 and took up his abode in Niles, and with the passing of years he has made a creditable position for himself in business circles as a representative of the agricultural interests of the county. Before leaving New York Mr. Ranft was united in marriage to Miss Anna Margaret Miller, also a native of Saxony, Germany. She came to America on the same ship on which her future husband crossed the Atlantic. The year after their arrival in Michigan Mr. Ranft worked by the day or job and the following year he bought the land whereon he now resides. There were no improvements on the place at that time and he built a little log cabin, fourteen by twenty-four feet. He then began clearing the place and as the timber was cut down he plowed the fields which ultimately brought forth rich harvests. He has erected all the buildings upon the place, including a substantial residence, good barns and sheds, has built fences, has set out an orchard and has added all modern equipments. Everything about the place is indicative of a progressive as well as practical management and for fifty years Mr. Ranft has here made his home, the farm being proof of a life of thrift and enterprise. As tie years have gone by the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ranft has been blessed with six children: George A., Doretta, Matilda, Louise, Annie and Harry, all of whom were born upon the home farm. Mr. Ranft has been a life-long agriculturist and a successful one, and he now owns one hundred and fifty acres of rich land, forty of which lies within the corporation limits of the city of Niles, and upon this stands a good bank barn. He certainly deserves much credit for what he has accomplished as his success is due entirely to his own labors and the assistance of his estimable wife, who has indeed been a worthy helpmate to him. Almost penniless when he arrived in the new world, he has steadily progressed along the road of useful and persistent endeavor and his labors have been crowned with a most satisfactory reward. In politics a Democrat since he became a naturalized American citizen, he has figured in local political circles as a leader and worker and for eight years he served as constable of his township, while for two years he was drain commissioner and for twentyfour years justice of the peace. He filled the office of highway commissioner for three years and for many years has been almost continuously in office, discharging his duties with a promptness and fidelity which leaves no room for question concerning his publicspirited and loyal citizenship. He is now peach tree inspector for the city of Niles. He has taken a most active and helpful interest in public affairs and the county has profited by his labors on behalf of the general public. He belongs to the United Workmen Lodge at Niles and to the German church. He was instrumental in securing the services of the first minister for this church and his son was the first to be baptized into this church. He rejoices in civic development and is now accounted one of the honored and prominent residents of the county. GEORGE H. BLACK. This is an age of invention, and America is the exponent of the spirit of the age. No country has made such rapid progress as the United States in the line of utilitarian invention and the products of the sons of the new world have largely revolutionized business conditions and labor. George H. Black of Buchanan is well known as an inventor and manufacturer of various useful devices, which have brought him a wide acquaintance in business circles, not only in Michigan but in other parts of the country as well. His life record began in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, March 25, 1853. His father, Horace Black, was a native of Putney, Vermont, and was a furniture maker by occupation. In the year I859 he came westward to Berrien county, Michigan, settling in New Buffalo, where he engaged in the furniture busi — ness for some time, producing the first round cornered bedstead made in the state. These bedsteads were manufactured from black walnut. Mr. Black remained at New Buf 342 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY -. F i ~ c I --- a Ii~li _ falo for two years and then came to Buchanan, where he continued in the manufacture of furniture, being closely associated with the productive industries of the town. He died at the very venerable age of eightysix years, while his wife, who bore the maiden name of Harriet Petts, and was a native of Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, lived to be ninety-two years of age. In the family were eight children, five daughters and three sons, one of whom died in childhood, while the others are still living. George H. Black is the seventh child and third son, and was in his fourth year when he came with his parents to this state. When a youth of six years he became a resident of Buchanan and his youth was here passed, his education being acquired in the public schools. He became connected with the furniture manufacturing business when ten years of age as an assistant to his father, and learned the business from the foundation upward, becoming familiar with the trade in all its departments and gaining much proficiency as the years passed by until he was known as an expert workman. He was associated with his brother for some time, or until 1884, when he began the manufacture of the "Queen of the Garden" hand cultivator, which he is still manufacturing. He is the patentee and proprietor, as well as manufacturer of this useful device. In addition he is also manufacturing typewriter desks, stands, racks for magazines, newspapers and music, and tables of various kinds. He now employs eight men, and the factory has a capacity of from twentyfive to thirty men. As the output of the factory is now being shipped to various parts of the country the business is having a substantial and well merited growth. Mr. Black has resided continuously in Buchanan since I860, or for a period of forty-six years, and has taken an active and helpful interest in the place and its development. He is a stanch Republican and that he is a leading and influential citizen is indicated by the fact that he was elected and served for three years as mayor. He was also a member of the council for four years and has been zealous in his devotion to the public good and his faithful, effective and far-reaching effort to promote civic virtue and pride and to uphold the legal and moral status of the community. Socially he is connected with the Knights of the Maccabees and is well known throughout the county as a prominent, reliable and honorable business man, whose interests are of direct benefit to the city as well as a source of individual income. EDGAR F. GARLAND, president of the village board of Berrien Springs, and well fitted for leadership by reason of his devotion to the general good and his natural business capacity and enterprise, was born in Cedar county, Iowa, August 21, 1857. His father, Horace Garland, was a native of New Hampshire and became one of the early settlers of Cedar county, Iowa, where he took up his abode in I855. He removed from that state to Michigan in 1863, locating at Benton Harbor. There he engaged in general farming and fruit raising for a number of years but died in Kansas at the age of sixty-three years. He had in the meantime removed from Michigan to California, and later had taken up his abode in the Sunflower state. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Catharine Webster, was a native of New Hampshire and died about I860. There were two sons in the family, Horace being a resident of Bainbridge township, Berrien county. Edgar F. Garland, the younger son, was about six years of age when he came to Berrien county, Michigan, with his parents. He was reared near Bentor Harbor and attended the district schools, while later he became a student in the high school at Benton Harbor. He then started out in life on his own account and the success that he has achieved is attributable entirely to his own labors. For ten years he operated a farm for the Northwestern Life Insurance Company, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this land being located in Benton township. He afterward for five years operated a farm for William Hamilton near Benton Harbor, and about I890 he came to Berrien Springs, where he A ^ >^ I~ HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 343 purchased a part of what is know as the College farm. Selling this place he located on a farm where he now resides and for some time he has owned this property. He has a fine fruit farm of ten acres inside the corporate limits of Berrien Springs and eight and a quarter acres adjoining, but just outside the corporation. He has made most of the improvements upon the place and it is a valuable property, from which he annually gathers a large fruit crop. He secures only the best nursery stock and his orchards are now in excellent bearing condition. In I886 Mr. Garland was united in marriage to Miss Anna King, a daughter of John and Anna King, of Benton township. Mrs. Garland was born in Chicago, and by her marriage has become the mother of two children, Walter and Allen, both at home. In his political views Mr. Garland is an earnest Republican, stanchly advocating the principles of the party and keeping well informed on the questions of the day. He is recognized as a leader in its local ranks, and the confidence reposed in him by his fellow townsmen is indicated by the fact that he is now serving as president of the village board, to which office he was chosen by popular suffrage. He has been identified with the interests of Berrien county for forty-three years and is well known in the neighborhood as a man fully worthy the respect which is uniformly accorded him. A. D. YOUNG. The student of history cannot carry his investigations far into, the annals of Berrien county without learning that the Young family was established here at a very early epoch in the development of the county, seventy years having come and gone since Cornelius and Hannah (Hamilton) Young, grandparents of A. D. Young, came from the state of New York and cast in their lot with the pioneer settlers of Niles township, Berrien county. Cornelius Young purchased land which he converted into a good farm, and the family, in the early days shared in all the hardships and privations incident to the establishment of a home on the frontier, far removed from the comforts and advantages of the older civilization of the east. There for many years lived Mr. and Mrs. Young, as representative farming people of the community, and they aided in laying the foundation for later-day improvement and progress in this county. Their son, John H. Young, born in New York, came to Berrien county with his parents in 1836, long before the state was admitted to the Union, and was reared amid pioneer environment upon the home farm in Niles township. Educational facilities were limited but he had ample opportunity to become familiar with farm work and the arduous task of developing new land. He was married in Niles township to Miss Delia Snow, a native of Vermont, who was brought to this county when a maiden of eight summers by her parents, Orrin and Emily (Brigham) Snow, who also located in Niles township, where their daughter was reared. Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. John H. Young located on a farm in Niles township, where for many years he carried on general agricultural pursuits, becoming one of the prosperous farmers of the locality. Both he and his wife are now living in the city of Niles, the former at the age of seventy-nine years, the latter at the age of seventy-five. They were the parents of seven children, of whom two died in infancy, while five are still living in I906. A. D. Young, the second child and the eldest now living, was born on the old family homestead in Niles township, September 25, I854, and was there reared. At the usual age he began his education in the public schools of the neighborhood and continued his studies in the schools of Niles, while his practical training at farm labor was received under the direction of his father as he assisted in the work of the fields. He was married March 13, I879, to Miss Mattie Storms, a daughter of Lewis and Lydia (Baker) Storms. She is the youngest of three children and the only daughter. She was born in the house in which she now lives, August I9, 1857, and was reared upon this farm, her father having come from New :'344 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 'York, while her mother was reared in this 'county from the age of one year. Her birth occurred in Indiana. At the time of their marriage Mr. Young and his bride located on a farm in Niles township, a mile and a half north of the town and after a year and a half Ithey removed to their present place west of Niles. Here they have one hundred and eighty acres of land, constituting a valuable and well developed tract of land. Mr. Young carries on general farming and is also engaged in the dairy business, and both branches are proving profitable, showing him to be a man of diligence, enterprise and sound business judgment. Mr. and Mrs. Young have becomne the parents of five children: Arthur, John, Harry, Homer and Lyle, and all are still at home. In his political affiliations Mr. Young is a Republican, in thorough sympathy with the principles of the party, and in its work he has taken an active interest, contributing to the forward movement which results in political victories. He has served as deputy oil inspector for Berrien and Cass counties, under appointment of Governor Pingree, but has not sought office as a reward for party fealty. He is a charter member of Modern Woodmen Camp, No. 9oo, and a worthy representative of the order. Both he and his wife are descended from prominent old pioneer families of the county and in this part of the state where their entire lives have been passed they enjoy the warm regard of many friends. HON. JAMES B. THOMSON, who in public office has made an excellent record as a citizen of unquestioned loyalty to the general good and of progressive methods for the betterment of his town and county, resides on section 32, Niles township, and is numbered among the prominent old settlers of this part of the state, for he has lived in Niles township for more than a half century. He was born August I9, I853, on the farm where he now resides, and is of Scotch lineage. His father, Samuel Thomson, was a native of Glasgow, Scotland, and was born in I798. He remained in the land of hills and heather until after his marriage, Miss Lillian Atkins becoming his wife. She was also born in Glasgow. Mr. Thomson was a weaver by trade and became a land surveyor and merchant, conducting a store about five miles out of Glasgow. He also acted as magistrate and was thus connected with various interests in his native country. The favorable reports which he heard concerning America and its opportunities led him to the new world in I844. He located on the farm where his son James now resides. At that time there was a log cabin on the place and a small portion of the land had been brought under cultivation. With characteristic energy he began its further improvement and development and as the years went by he shared in the usual hardships and privations of pioneer life and later enjoyed the benefits of his own labor as manifest in a highly improved farm that returned him a good income. He continued to devote his time and energies to farming until his death, which occurred on Christmas day of I882. He was a life-long meimber of the Presbyterian church and his Christian faith permeated his entire career and made him straightforward and honorable in all of his relations of life. He voted with the Democracy and served as justice of the peace and in other local offices, the duties of which were promptly and faithfully performed. His wife survived him for a long period and died on the I3th of March, I9oo, at the very advanced age of ninety-eight years. There were eight children in the family, all of whom reached manhood or womanhood but only three of the number are now living, the brother of our subject being Samuel C. Thomson, wcho resides in Howard township, Cass county, where he follows farming. Agnes B. Thomson makes her home in Niles city. James B. Thomson was the youngest of the eight children. No event of special importance occurred to vary for him the routine of farm life in his boyhood days. He was reared upon the old homestead farm where he now resides and here he has spent his life, his attention being given to general agricultural pursuits. As the years HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 345 went by he more and more largely aided in the work of the fields from the time of early spring planting until the crops were harvested in the late autumn. He was educated in district school No. 6, in Niles township, and after attaining his majority he cared for his parents, thus repaying them by filial devotion for the care and love which they bestowed upon him in his youth. In December, I893, he was married to Miss Julia Herkimer, a daughter of Michael and Jane Herkimer. She was born in Bertrand township, Berrien county, her people being early settlers of this part of the state, casting in their lot with its pioneer residents. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Thomson has been born a son, Thomas H., whose birth occurred June 24, I895. The family home is a comfortable and attractive residence situated on section 32, Niles township, and here Mr. Thomson owns one hundred and eighty acres of land, which is devoted to general farming. His fields are well tilled and respond readily to the care and improvement which are bestowed upon them, thus making his property a valuable and productive farm. Mr. Thomson is, moreover, recognized as a leader in political circles, being a stanch advocate of Democratic principles. He does all in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of the party. The first public office that he ever filled was that of school inspector, and in 1887 he was elected supervisor, serving for five years. On the expiration of that period he was reelected and he has been chosen to the office for five years. He was elected the the State Legislature in I892, representing the second district of Berrien county. At that time he was filling the office of supervisor but he resigned. He was once more elected supervisor, in I898, and served until I904, making an incumbency in that office of eleven years in Niles township. No higher testimonial of capable service could be given than the fact that he has been again and again elected by popular suffrage, and when a member of the general assembly he made a creditable record as one who places the general good before personal aggrandizement and desires rather the welfare of the state at large than the advancement of interests which benefit but few. Fraternally he is connected with the Royal Arcanum and the Maccabees and his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Presbyterian church at Niles. He has a very wide acquaintance in Berrien county, having been a life-long resident here, and the circle of his friends is almost co-extensive with the circle of his acquaintance, for his career has been characterized by a loyal citizenship, by honesty in business and by fidelity to duty in every relation of life. AARON CLARK, a representative of a pioneer family of Berrien county and now engaged in farming on section 29, Niles township, was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, August 23, I855. His father, David Clark, was a native of Maryland and was there reared, after which he removed to Ohio, where he maintained his residence until he came to Michigan in I868. At that time he settled in Buchanan township, Berrien county, and was engaged in farming up to the time of his demise. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Wise, was also a native of Maryland and she, too, has passed away. There were thirteen children in the family, only seven of whom are now living. Aaron Clark was the twelfth in order of birth and is the youngest surviving member of the family. He was a youth of thirteen years when he came with his parents to Michigan and upon the homestead farm in Buchanan township he was reared, assisting in its early development and improvement. He also worked in a sawmill in Buchanan for about six years and was early trained to habits of industry, economy and perseverance-qualities which have been essential factors in his later success. In 1884 was celebrated the marriage of Aaron Clark and Miss Harriet Pears, a daughter of John W. Pears. She was born in London, England, where she remained to the age of fourteen years, when, with her parents, she came to the United States, the family home being established in Buchanan township, Berrien county, Michigan. Fol 346 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY lowing their marriage Mr. Clark and his bride took up their abode in Buchanan, where they remained for six years and then removed to the Judson farm in Niles township. There for a time Mr. Clark carried on general agricultural pursuits and later he rented the Pears farm for eight years. On the expiration of that period he purchased a farm in Niles township on section six, and when he sold that property he bought the place on which he now resides, known as the Blake farm and comprising fifty-one acres of land. In addition to this property he cultivates seventy acres, which he rents. He carries on general farming and his fields are well developed, while the utmost care and precision are manifest in the management of his property interests. He is practical in all that he does and as the years have gone by his persistency of purpose and indomitable energy have been the means of bringing him a gratifying competence. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Clark has been blessed with two sons: Elmer E., who was born in Buchanan township, July Io, I886; and Frederick, born July 12, I888. Both are still under the parental roof and assist their father in his farm labor. Mr. Clark has been a resident of Berrien county for thirty-six years and has always been the champion of progressive public movements. In politics he is a Democrat, taking an active interest in the growth of the party and its successes, and wherever known he is held in high esteem because of his loyalty, his honest convictions and his reliability in business transactions. ORVILLE CURTIS, M. D. who after careful and thorough preparation is engaged in the successful conduct of a large practice in medicine and surgery in Buchanan, was born in Ballston, Saratoga county, New York, April I8, I867. His father, Albert S.' Curtis, was a native of the same county and a farmer by occupation. He is now residing at Round Lake, New York, but his wife, who bore the maiden name of Anna M. Betts and was born in Saratoga county in 1833, passed away May 3, I906. In their family were four children, two daughters and two sons: Nettie, deceased; Dr. P. C. Curtis, living at Round Lake, New York; Harriet M., the wife of Dr. Baldwin, of Niles, Michigan; and Dr. Orville Curtis. The youngest of the four children, Dr. Curtis of this review, was reared in his native county and began his education in a private school at Burnt Hills, New York. He afterward attended the Troy Conference Academy at Poultney, Vermont, and the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor. His specific preparation for his profession was made in Albany Medical College, New York, from which he was graduated in the class of I893, and thereafter he practiced for sixteen months in Albany Hospital and for eight months in St. Mary's Hospital in New York, during which time he added broad practical training and experience to his theoretical knowledge. He likewise continued in private practice to some extent in the metropolis of the east, and in I896 came to Buchanan, where for the past decade he has been in active practice as one of the more successful representatives of the profession. His learning is wide, his judgment sound and his effort as a practitioner was attended with gratifying results when viewed from both a professional and financial standpoint. In I904 Dr. Curtis was married to Miss Susan Butler, a daughter of Charles A. and Anna (Dick) Butler, and a native of Buchanan, Michigan. Highly esteemed, they occupy an enviable position in social circles, enjoying the hospitality of many of the best homes of Berrien county and the surrounding country. Dr. Curtis is identified with many of the social organizations of Buchanan, including the Knights of Pythias lodge and the Masonic fraternity, having attained the Knight Templar degree as a member of the commandery at Niles. He is a Republican and a member of the school board at Buchanan, while for four years he served on the city council and took an active part in public affairs as a supporter of progressive measures of reform and development. In the line of his profession he is connected with the Berrien County Medical Society and the American Medical DAVID SCHERER AND FAMILY AND FRONT VIEW OF RESIDENCE HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 347 Association and he is examiner for most of the lodges at Buchanan. Laudable ambition, which is the spur of all endeavor, has been manifest throughout his professional career, and broad reading and continued research have promoted his efficiency until the consensus of public opinion is altogether favorable regarding his ability and accomplishments. JOHN GARWOOD, one of the farmers of Niles township, who is alert and enterprising in his business interests, resides on section I. He was born in the neighboring state of Indiana, the place of his nativity being St. Joseph county and the date of his birth April 23, I840. The great-grandfather of our subject was a native of England. The family was founded in America by three brothers who came to 'the United States, while one remained in England and never married. His paternal grandfather was Stacy Garwood, who was born in Ohio and was a farmer by occupation. He married and spent his entire life in Ohio, devoting his energies to the tilling of the soil. Abner Garwood, father of our subject, was born in the Buckeye state and became one of the: early settlers of St. Joseph county, Indiana. He had, however, in the meantime, taken up his abode in Pokagon township, Cass county, whence he removed to the Hoosier state. He was a pioneer in this section of the country and aided in the work of transforming the wilderness into a richly cultivated district supplied with all the evidences of a modern civilization. He carried on farming as a life work and died in the eightyfifth year of his age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Sarah Cruse, was a native of Delaware and was of Irish and Scotch lineage. They were married in Ohio and Mrs. Garwood lived to the age of seventy-three years. In the family were ten children, of whom John was the sixth in the order of birth and the third son. Reared in the county of his nativity, John Garwood spent the days of his boyhood and youth in the usual manner of farmer lads, his time occupied with such duties and pleasures as were consistent with his years. At the age of twenty-nine he went to Kansas, locating in Cloud county, where he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, improving the same by breaking prairie, cultivating the fields, planting hedge fences and adding other equipments. He remained there for eighteen years engaged in general farming, feeding his corn to hogs. During this time his land greatly appreciated in value and on his removal from the state he sold his farm of one hundred and sixty acres for forty-five hundred dollars, while the sale of that property netted him sixteen hundred dollars. Returning from the west he again located in St. Joseph county, Indiana, but soon afterward came to Niles township, Berrien county, and purchased the farm whereon.he now resides. He has one hundred and twenty acres but rents his land to his son-in-law, while he is practically living retired from active business cares. On the I3th of November, 1865, Mr. Garwood was united in marriage to Miss Lucinda Rupe, and they have one daughter, Sarah E., who is now the wife of Joseph Webber, and has three children, Jessie, Marie and Arthur. Mr. Garwood has now been a resident of Berrien county for twenty years, during which period he has gained a wide acquaintance and enjoys the favorable regard of many friends. In politics he is a Republican where national issues are involved but casts an independent local ballot, supporting the candidates whom he thinks best qualified for the discharge of the business of city and county. He holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal church at Niles, and has been one of its officers for nineteen years, acting as trustee and in other official positions. He has also been steward and his connection with church work covers a period of thirty years. He has been untiring in his labors to promote its growth and extend its influence and his life has been in constant harmony with his professions. DAVID SCHERER is one of the native sons of Berrien county whose life record proves the attractiveness of this 348 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY district as a place of residence, for he has always remained within its borders, enjoying its opportunities and profiting by the business conditions here afforded. He was born March 8, I849, on the farm where he now lives, his parents being David and Magdalena (Arent) Scherer, who were natives of Prussia. They came to America in I846, accompanied by Karl Scherer, grandfather of our subject, who died in 1849. Seven children had been born to them in the old country. One sister, Mrs. Mary Heffner, the wife of Christian Heffner, had been in this country for six years. Later a brother, David Scherer, came to the United States and went to Indiana. After reaching Berrien county David Scherer, Sr., purchased the present homestead farm, comprising one hundred and ten acres of land lying on the north township line and unimproved, being covered with a native growth of timber. In the midst of the forest Mr. Scherer built a log cabin, in which he lived and died, passing'away in I86o, at the age of sixty years. The widow and her younger children remained on the farm and carried on the work there. She erected a frame residence there in I863 and made it her home until called to her final rest on the 7th of September, 1873, when she had reached the age of sixty-seven years and three months. The members of her family were as follows: Peter, a farmer of Bainbridge township, who died at the age of sixty-six years; Jacob, iwho spent his life on the old homestead farm and died at the age of seventy-three years; Louisa, who became the wife of Charles Russell and passed away at the age of twenty-nine; Charley; Carrie, who married Stephen Boyle and died in Benton Harbor March 31, I906, in her seventieth year; Henrietta, the wife of Charles Krieger, of Chicago; Elizabeth, the widow of Joseph Hadlow, now residing at Benton Harbor; David, of this review; and John, a farmer of Watervliet township. David Scherer, whose name introduces this record, remained at home during his mother's life and was her main assistant on the farm after his father's death, which occurred when he was but eleven years of age. In early youth he became familiar with hard toil and his unremitting labor was a valuable element in the successful improvement of the fields. He was married February 20, 1873, to Miss Louisa Arent, a daughter of Frank Arent, of Lake township, Berrien county. Prior to his mother's death he had purchased the interest of the other heirs in the old home property and he has since added an adjoining tract of forty acres and a valuable piece of timber land. In 1878 he built a large bank barn, and in I888 erected the residence which was built at a cost of five thousand dollars. It is a large twelve-room brick house finished throughout in hard wood and is altogether one of the best and most attractive homes in Bainbridge township. It occupies a fine location, commanding an excellent view of the surrounding country. The farm is largely devoted to horticultural pursuits, there being sixteen hundred peach trees upon the place and three acres of apple trees. In addition to the care of his orchards Mr. Scherer is engaged in general farming and is also a breeder of Poland China hogs. He likewise holds property in Benton Harbor and in Watervliet and has thus made judicious investments until he is today one of the substantial citizens of the community. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Scherer have been born eight children: Frank D., who is married and is a merchant at Springport, Michigan; Rosa, the wife of Frank Heffner, of Watervliet; Minnie, who is engaged in clerking in Watervliet; Carrie, the wife of John Klipp, of Watervliet; George W., who is engaged in general merchandising at Francisco, Michigan; Arthur J., who is clerking in a drug store in Benton Harbor; Harry G. and Clyde C., both at home. In his political views Mr. Scherer is a Democrat with independent tendencies, voting for the man whom he regards as best qualified for office at local elections but casting a party ballot for national candidates. Fraternally he is connected with Coloma tent of the Knights of the Maccabees. From an early age he has been dependent upon his own resources, leading a busy, useful HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 349 and honorable life, and his diligence and perseverance have constituted him one of the prosperous farmers of Bainbridge township. W. E. HOADLEY is one of the native sons of Niles township, Berrien county, his birth occurring on section twenty-eight, January 29, I864. His father, Jared Hoadley, was a native of Vermont, and after residing for some time in Indiana removed from that state to Berrien county. His first visit to this county was made in I837, and he became one of its earliest settlers. He taught school for a short time and then went to Elkhart, Indiana, where he engaged in merchandising for about four years. He afterward returned to Berrien county and became the proprietor of a warehouse at Niles, which he conducted for some years before the railroad was built to the town. Later he purchased a farm on section twenty-eight, Niles township, and devoted his remaining days to general agricultural pursuits. He was born in 1817 and reached the advanced age of seventyeight years, passing away in I895. He was twice married, his first union being with a Miss Houghland, by whom he had three children, two daughters and a son: Rodney, who is living in the county; Anna, deceased; and Kate, the wife of Charles Brandess, of Wisconsin. After Mr. Hoadley lost his first wife lie married Miss Susan Ashcraft, a native of New York, who came to Michigan with her parents when about twelve years of age. By the second marriage there is a son and two daughters, the sisters of our subject being Mary, who is a teacher in the schools of Logansport, Indiana; and Louise, the wife of William Gillett, who is residing on the old homestead in Niles township. W. E. Hoadley is the eldest of the three children of the fathers' second marriage and was reared in his native township, obtainling his education in the public schools of Niles. In I896 he was married to Miss Effie Dickey, a daughter of B. F. and Ella (Stowe) Dickey. Mrs. Hoadley was born in Ohio and was brought to Berrien county by her parents when about seven years of age. Her preliminary education, acquired in the public schools of Niles, was supplemented by study in the Northern Indiana Normal School, at Valparaiso, Indiana, and later she engaged in teaching for a number of years in the public schools of Niles. In 1897 Mr. aiid Mrs. Hoadley removed to Echo, Oregon, where he was engaged in merchandising. He also served as postmaster of that town and conducted a warehouse. He remained on the Pacific coast for about three years and then returned to Berrien county, after which he took up his abode on the farm where he now makes his home. He has ninety-three acres of land, which is devoted to the production of the crops best adapted to the soil and climate. He again visited the Pacific coast in I905, spending six months in Los Angeles, California. Mr. Hoadley gives his political allegiance to the Democracy and served as township clerk of Niles, also as township treasurer for two years and in other local positions. Socially he is connected with the Knights of Pythias at Niles. JOHN M. ROUCH, engaged in the lumber business in Buchanan, was born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, July 15, I840, and has found in the business conditions of the west opportunities which he sought and which through their utilization have led to substantial results. He comes of an old family of the east. His ancestry can be traced back to Germany in I642, and from the fatherland at a very early period in the colonization of the new world representatives of the name came to America and took up their abode in Pennsylvania. It was in that state that Henry Rouch, father of our subject, was born and reared. He was married there to Miss Eliza Zering, also a native of Pennsylvania. Her father was of German descent, while her mother was of English lineage. Mr. and Mrs. Rouchl made their home in Pennsylvania and became the parents of five sons and two daughters, but the daughters died in early life and one son when about six years of age, while the other four reached manhood. 35o HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY John M. Rouch is the third child and third son. He was reared in Pennsylvania, his native place,and came to Berrien county in I866. He first worked at anything that he could get to do, being employed to some extent at the carpenter's trade but all the time watching for broader opportunities and better advantages and showing himself worthy of such by his continued industry and close application. In I869 he chose a companion and helpmate for life's journey, being married in that year to Miss Susan Bressler, a daughter of Daniel and Martha (Hock) Bressler, who was born in Perry county, Pennsylvania, and was reared in Michigan. She came with her parents to Berrien county, locating in Bertrand township, and at the time of the marriage of the young couple they settled upon a farm in Bertrand township, Mr. Rouch following general agricultural pursuits for a number of years. In 1883 he engaged in the timber and lumber business, and in I890 removed to Buchanan, where he has since made his home, his time being devoted to the same line of trade. He also has an interest in the Buchanan Cabinet Company, manufacturing cabinets and is its vice president. His lumber yard is large and well stocked and his thoroughly reliable business methods and earnest desire to please those who give him their trade have secured for him a liberal and constantly growing patronage. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Rouch have been born two daughters: Lulu, now the wife of John Fydell, of Buchanan; and Ada, at home. The family are well and favorably known in Buchanan and this part of the county. Mr. Rouch is a Republican, whose allegiance has been given to the party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. For two years he has served as treasurer of Bertrand township and has also been a member of the council of Buchanan. The fact that Bertrand township usually gives a Democratic majority and that Mr. Rouch was elected township treasurer by a majority of thirty-seven upon the Republican ticket, is strong evidence of his personal popularity as well as of the confidence reposed in him by his fellow townsmen. He has been a resident of Berrien county for forty years and is a successful and reliable business man and a progressive, faithful citizen who is well known in the township. ALEXANDER EMERY, an attorney at law, also engaged in horticultural pursuits, makes his home on section 24, Bertrand township. A native of Canada, he was born on the 9th of October, 1841, and came to the United States at the age of five years with his mother, the family home being established in Boone county, Illinois, where he first attended school. He there remained until eighteen years of age, when, in I86o, he took up his abode in Galien, Berrien county, Michigan, entering the employ of G. A. Blakesley as bookeeper and lumber inspector. He was first employed for about three years, after which he went to Ypsilanti, Michigan, where he spent two years as a student in the State Normal School. He had realized the value of education as a preparation for a successful business career and to this end he continued his studies in the Normal with the result that he returned to Galien well qualified for many responsible duties. He again entered the employ of G. A. Blakesley in the office and store, being connected with him for eleven years. On the expiration of that period he went to Flint, Michigan, where he was admitted to the bar and entered upon the practice of law, having previously prepared for the examination by a comprehensive course of reading. From I879 until I88i he was engaged in practice at Flint, and in 1884 removed to Buchanan, where he continued in active practice for nineteen years. He still retains his office there but in I903 located on the farm on which he now resides on section twenty-four, Bertrand township. He still gives considerable attention to his law practice and has a good clientage but is now devoting his time to his fine fruit farm, having a splendid place, with good buildings, including a commodious residence and substantial barns. The place is called Emerycroft and is improved with all modern equipments. As a horticulturist HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 35I Mr. Emery is demonstrating his business versatility, and one looking upon his fine place with its splendid orchards would imagine that his time and thought throughout his entire business career had been given to fruit raising. March 30, I864, occurred the marriage of Alexander Emery and Miss Eliza Blakesley, a daughter of G. A. and Lydia (Alcott) Blakesley and a native of Illinois, born in Kane county November Io, 1848. Four children have graced this marriage: Georgia, who is superintendent of the woman's department of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, with headquarters at Detroit, Michigan; Alda, the wife of W. A. Magoon, of Sandusky, Ohio; and Daisy, the wife of F. F. Rough, a prominent farmer of Bertrand township. The eldest child, Adelbert, died at the age of eleven years. Mr. Emery is unfaltering in his allegiance to the Republican party and has been a close and earnest student of the questions and issues of the day. His life has been crowned with success and is another illustration of the fact that energy and determination will bring to a successful solution difficult business problems. JAMES W. DIXON, to whom has been vouchsafed a rest from further labor in recognition of his activity and enterprise in former years, was at one time closely associated with agricultural interests and still lives upon his farm on section thirty-two, Niles township. He was born in Cayuga county, New York, September I, 1823. His father, Thomas Dixon, a native of Washington county, New York, was there reared and afterward removed to Cayuga county about I8Io, spending his remaining days there. He was of Irish descent and he passed away in his eightyeighth year. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Lydia Wheedon, was a native of Vermont and lived to be about seventy-five years of age. In the family of this worthy couple were eight children, who reached adult age, but only two are now living, the brother of our subject being David W. Dixon, who resides in Battle Creek, Michigan. James W. Dixon, the sixth member of the family was reared in his native county to the age of twenty-one years and attended the common schools, also spending three months as a student in Auburn Academy, New York. He came to Michigan in 1845, first locating in Cass county, where he resided for two years, during which period he engaged in teaching school. He then came to Berrien county and was engaged in teaching in Buchanan. Later, however, he returned to New York, where he remained for two and a half years, when he again came to Berrien county and once more was identified with the educational interests of this part of the state, being one of the capable early teachers of the county. In 1852 he went to California by way of New York city, landing at San Francisco. He spent two and a half years on the Pacific coast, largely engaged in mining and then returned by way of the Panama route and New York city to Niles township, Berrien county. He then purchased the farm whereon he now resides and has here made his home continuously since, covering a period of more than a half century. About the time he purchased this farm Mr. Dixon secured a companion and helpmate for life's journey by his marriage February 22, 1855, to Miss Louisa Young, a daughter of Cornelius Young, and a native of Cayuga county, New York. They traveled life's journey happily together for almost forty years, when Mrs. Dixon was called to her final rest in I894. She was the mother of five children: Clarence, who is now living in Berrien township; Wallace, who makes his home in Canada; Charles, who is in the employ of the United States government and is now located at Amherstburg, Canada; Dr. Oscar C. Dixon, who is a prominent physician at Kaysville, Utah; and Hattie, the wife of Charles E. Post, residing upon the old homestead farm. Mr. Dixon has been a resident of Berrien county for fifty-two years and has been closely identified with its development and 352 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY progress, standing for improvement along all lines which lead to local advancement. He has a farm of one hundred and twenty acres and at one time owned one hundred and sixty acres. For many years he was closely associated with the active work of the fields but has now retired from business cares, the income from his property being sufficient to enable him to enjoy the comforts of life in well earned rest. He has been a stalwart Republican since the organization of the party and has held local offices, including that of justice of the peace. He also belongs to the Presbyterian church at Niles and his life has been permeated by religious principles, which promote consideration for one's fellowmen and justice, truth and right in all life's relations. CHARLES F. PEARS. The business interests of Buchanan find an active and worthy representative in Charles F. Pears, the cashier of the First National Bank, and he is also president of the Niles City Bank, at Niles. He is thus closely associated with financial interests in Berrien county and his name figures prominently in moneyed circles, his course making him valued and respected by all. He was born November 5, I868, in the city where he still resides. His father, William Pears, was a native of England, where the days of his boyhood and youth were passed. He came to America when about thirty-five years of age, making his way to Buchanan, where he engaged in the general milling business for a number of years. He was one of the organizers of the old First National Bank at Buchanan and was its president for a number of years. He died in his sixty-seventh year and the community thereby lost one of its valued and representative citizens, his activity having contributed to the industrial and financial prposperity of the town. His opinions were also an influencing factor in public life and he served as president of the village. His wife, who in her maidenhood bore the name of Emma Whitehead, is still living. In the family were two children, Charles F. and Ida, the latter the wife of T. F. H. Spreng. Charles F. Pears was the younger of the children and the only son. The common schools afforded him his educational privileges and his boyhood and youth passed without event of special importance, his attention being given to the pleasures of the playground and the duties of the schoolroom. During the greater part of his life he has been interested in the banking business and has also been connected with the grain trade as a buyer and shipper. He is. now cashier of the First National Bank at Buchanan and president of the Niles City Bank. Thoroughly conversant with the banking business in all of its departments he is continually enlarging the scope of his activity in this direction and his name is an honored one upon commercial paper. Mr. Pears is also prominent and influential in public life and gives unfaltering support to the Republican party, being in thorough sympathy with the policy of this great political organization. He has served as a member of the village board for a number of years and is now president of the board. As an executive officer he is constantly studying out new methods for the improvement of the village and stands for reforms and progress in municipal affairs as well as for civic development. Mr. Pears married Miss Lura Roe, a daughter of E. J. and Susan (Witter) Roe. Three children have been born unto them, Donald, Richard and Gale. Mr. Pears is a member of the Elks lodge of Dowagiac, and he and his wife are prominent socially and a large circle of friends attests their personal worth and the regard in which they are uniformly held. Mr. Pears is a business man of marked energy and determination and discriminating judgment. He carries forward to completion whatever he undertakes and rarely if ever fails to attain a high measure of success. Moreover he is thoroughly reliable and trustworthy in his dealings and his life record proves that prosperity and an honored name may be gained simultaneously. f JOHN J. SUMRILL, extensively engaged in the cultivation of fruit in Bainbridge township and a nmember of one of the old pioneer families of the county, I I HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 353 the name of Sumrill having been closely associated with its history through a long period, was born in Kosciusko county, Indiana, August 26, I854. His parents John and Martha (Huffman )Sumrill, were both natives of Ohio, born in Stark county, where they were reared and married. Ililmediately afterward they removed to Indiana, where Mr. Sumrill had previously lived with his first wife. He was a hunter and went to that State on account of the opportunities for securing game amid its forests and upon its wild prairies. He largely lived among the Indians, who were then more numerous in Indiana than the white settlers and his name became associated with various early events which left an impress upon the history of that State. He assisted in building the Pittsburg & Fort Wayne Railroad and made his home about a mile from Etna Green and west of Warsaw, Indiana. In 1862 he came to Michigan, where lived his brother-in-law, Lewis Burg, father of John Burg, whose sketch is given elsewhere in this work. Mr. Sumrill paid two thousand dollars for a farm one mile east of Bainbridge Center and about 1864 or I865 he purchased the farm upon which his son, John J. Sumrill, now resides, comprising eighty acres of land. At that time only a few acres had been cleared. He drove from Indiana toI Michigan in a prairie schooner, crossing Dowagiac swamp. Some of the logs that covered the swamp constituting the corduroy road were found floating and men had to go in advance to see that the wagon could cover the route. Upon reaching Keeler, however, they struck the old territorial road, upon whiclh their own farm bordered. There lay in this district a very bad road between Mr. Sumrill's home and that of his brother-in-law, Mr. Burg. Mr. Sumrill devoted his entire life to his farm, although many difficulties and obstacles impeded his progress. During the second year after his arrival rheumatism disabled him and for over a year he was unable to do any manual work. His wife was ill for three years because of the exposure and hardships of pioneer life. Later Mr. Sumrill was obliged to walk on crutches and spent one year in bed with a broken leg. 23 All this necessitated the incurring of much indebtedness for doctor bills and there were many discouragements to confront the pioneer family. On account of the lather's invalid condition the wife and boys did most of the clearing but notwithstanding their earnest efforts made slow progress. In the course of time, however, the eighty acres of land was cleared and placed under cultivation. At a meeting in the old Byers schoolhouse both Mr. and Mrs. Sumrill were converted and joined the Free Methodist church, continuing in active connection therewith until called to their final rest. The father died July 3, I896, in his seventysixth year, while his wife passed away May 7, I896, at the age of sixty-six years. In their family were five children, two of whom died in Indiana. The others are: John J., of Bainbridge township; Alice, the wife of Herbert Decker, at Sister Lakes, Van Buren county, and William, who lives at Keeler. John J. Sumlrill, now the only living representative of the family in Berrien county, continued at home to the age of nineteen years and aided in the arduous task of clearing and developing new land. He was then married on the I4th of December, I873, to Miss Eliza Peters, daughter of John and Laura Peters, of Bainbridge township. Mrs. Sumrill was born in this township, where her mother still lives in her eightyninth year. The daughter was but eighteen years of age at the time of her marriage. In the succeeding autumn Mr. Sumrill worked for Martin Byers and thence at farm labor and took jobs from Balaam Dodge in cutting timber, rails, ties, etc. At the time of his marriage his possessions consisted of a gun, a violin and five dollars in money. The next spring he worked for Samuel Sykes at twenty dollars per month, boarding himself. He continued in that employ for six months, having his house rent, a cow and garden free. In the fall he bought sixteen acres of land in Keeler township for five hundred dollars. He had but twenty-five dollars to pay down and his father signed a note for the balance. It was a tract of timber in the midst of which stood a log cabin. He sold the wood at seventy-five cents per cord on the ground and 354 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY he worked out in order to gain the money to provide a living for himself and family. Clearing the land after much arduous labor, he set out the place to apples, pears and other fruit and grew berries among the trees. In those days in a season he would sell fruit and berries to the value of about four hundred dollars and honey at from twenty-five to one hundred dollars, keeping between fifty and one hundred colonies of bees. During the years which he conducted his apiary he placed on sale nine thousand seven hundred and twenty-two pounds of honey, selling nearly one thousand pounds in a single year. He also made and sold bee hives, axhandles and other things that enabled him to use his timber. In the early days he purchased a team and harness from Morgan Matrau. This was before he began to grow berries although he had already set out apple orchards. His first crate of strawberries sold on the Chicago market for five dollars. As the years passed by he cultivated his orchards and small fruit and thus made progress on the little tract of land of sixteen acres. He also built a house at the cost of eight hundred dollars, collecting his material at various places and building the stone wall for the cellar himself although he had never done work of this kind before. He also did his own plastering and practically built the house. The same year he sold berries off the little place to the amount of four hundred dollars. In about twenty years he found that he had made a good living and had become the possessor of a comfortable competence. From his apple orchards his sales in one season amounted to nine hundred and fifty dollars. He remained upon that farm until the fall of I9oo, when he purchased the interest of the other heirs in his father's old homestead in Bainbridge township. This he has largely planted to fruit, including apples, pears and peaches and about nine acres to small fruit. It produced over one thousand dollars worth of fruit in 1905. The land is well adapted to general fruit raising and the farm is proving a profitable one. Mr. Sumrill became connected with a class of fourteen in the Free Methodist meetings, which were held at the Byers schoolhouse but were merged later into the Keeler Society, four miles distant. He soon manifested deep interest and ability in preaching the gospel and for sixteen years he has occupied a place in the ministry. He refused a regular pastorate until about two years ago, when he took the Bainbridge and Pipestone circuit with two churches, one in Bainbridge and another with about a dozen families elsewhere. Mr. Sumrill is a Prohibitionist, active in the advancement of the party, and he stands for all that tends for the betterment of his fellowmen and promotes moral progress. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Sumrill have been born eight children: Anthony Floyd, who was a mechanic and architect at Kalamazoo, Michigan, died December 14, I905, at the age of thirty-one years, leaving a wife and two sons, Anthony Floyd and Donald Paul Sumrill. Nora Ann is the wife of Oliver Adams, of Keeler, Van Buren county, and they have two children, Wesley and Isabelle. Vesta Belle is the wife of Vivian F. Zeller, of Keeler township, and they have two children, Ivan V. and Gerald S. Floy Eliza is the wife of Bert Hiler, of Bainbridge township, and they have one child, Frances M. Nina Elmira, R. V., John Edward and Oliver Amos are all at home. Mr. and Mrs. Sumrill are most worthy people and in a review of his life record there is much to be found that is commendable. He is a man of honorable purpose, giving unfaltering allegiance to whatever he believes to be right and is at all times true to his honest convictions. DAVID WOLF, following farming on section I, Niles township, is also engaged in gardening, having fifteen acres devoted to the raising of vegetables for the market. A native of Germany, he was born on the 29th of July, I854, and spent the days of his boyhood and youth in that country, there remaining until twenty-seven years of age. He attended the public schools and in addition to the common branches of learning studied Latin and French. He was an apt scholar, readily mastering the tasks assigned him. During his minority he remained with his parents and in fact continued with them HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 355 until twenty-four years of age, when he learned the business of gardening in hot houses at Wurtemberg. Attracted by the broader opportunities of the new world he came to America in I88I and made his way direct to Niles. Here he was on a farm during the first year, and also worked as an employe in a paper mill for five years. In I888 he purchased the place where he now lives, known as the old HI-. Coan farm. At once he began its further development and improvement and is still engaged in gardening, which he has followed for about eighteen years with reasonable success. He has fifteen acres of land well cultivated and his products are early placed upon the markets. His vegetables are always first class and he therefore finds a ready sale for what he produces. In 1882 Mr. Wolf was united in marriage to Miss Sophia Mangold, a native of Germany, and they have become the parents of eight children: Marie, now the wife of John Shand, of North Adams, Massachusetts; Sophia, the wife of Fred Lobaugh, of South Bend; Clara, Elsa, Bertha, Ernest, Helen and Frank, all at home. Mr. Wolf votes with the Democracy and is active in the local ranks of his party, laboring untiringly for its success and the adoption of its principles. He has served as school director in the district in which he lives and he takes an active interest in public affairs. For twenty-five years he has been a resident of the county, where he is widely and favorably known. He will soon make the long trip to Wurtemberg, his native land, the first time he has visited the "Fatherland" since he came to America. JOHN A. CART, living on section I, Niles township, is classed with the representative agriculturists of his community, and a farm of one hundred and thirty-five acres has been brought under a high state of cultivation through his labors. His birth occurred in Elkhart county, Indiana, December I5, I859. His father, Christopher Cart, was a native of Virginia, and became one of the early settlers of Elkhart county. His name was closely associated with many of the events of early importance in that lo1 cality. He was the first man to bring a barrel of coal oil into the little town of New Paris. By occupation he was a farmer and his entire life was devoted to the tilling of the soil. He lived to the age of forty-seven years. The Cart family comes of English lineage. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Maggie McDowell, was a native of Greenbrier county, Virginia, and went to Elkhart county, Indiana, with her parents in her girlhood days. Her people were early settlers there and on the 22d of March, 1841, she gave her hand in marriage to Christopher Cart. Their only child, John A. Cart, was leared and educated in Elkhart county, and lived in New Paris, Indiana, until twentyone years of age. He started out in life on his own account when a youth of fifteen and began working on what is now the Big Four Railroad. On attaining his majority he went to Kansas, making his home in Marion county, where he worked on a stock farm, remaining there for five years. On the expiration of that period he returned to Elkhart county, Indiana, and was employed by the day and month for a time. As the years passed his diligence and persistency of purpose were manifest in that his financial resources were increased, gaining him a start in the business world. At the time of his marriage he located on the farm where he now resides, at first purchasing fifty acres of land, to which he has added until he now has one hundred and thirty-five acres of well improved land, on which are good buildings. He has displayed a laudable ambition to attain to the best in all that relates to, farm work and is regarded as a successful agriculturist who has made steady and substantial advancement since coming to Berrien county. In 1887, Mr. Cart was united in marriage to Miss Mattie Blanchard, of Howard township, Cass county. They have resided in Berrien county for eighteen years and Mr. Cart has been deeply interested in all that pertains to its upbuilding and progress. In politics he has been a life-long Republican. Wherever known he is held in high esteem because he is loyal to the principles which 356 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY govern upright manhood, which mark for success in the business world and which promote good citizenship. OTIS W. BALLARD, an old settler whose active participation in the work of general progress and in events which promote public improvement makes him well entitled to representation in this volume, now resides on section 34, Niles township. He is a native of the Empire state, his birth having occurred in Lebanon, Madison county, on the 2Ist of December, I833. His father, Jeremiah Ballard, was also a native of Madison county, New York, where he was reared. By occupation he was a farmer and in the year 1852 he came to Berrien county, Michigan, locating on a farm where his son Otis now resides. He died in his ninetieth year. The ancestry of the family can be traced back to William Ballard, who came from England to America in I65o. He was the father of Jeremiah Ballard and the grandfather of Jeremiah Ballard, Jr., who was born in Salem, Massachusetts. The last named was the father of Dane Ballard, who was born in Salem, Massachusetts and was a farmer by occupation. His son, Samuel Ballard, became the father of our subject and in early manhood he wedded Clarissa Huston, who was also a native of Madison county, New York, while her father, Thomas Huston, was born in England. Like her husband, Mrs. Ballard spent her remaining days in Berrien county, where she died in her seventy-fourth year. There were four children in her family, three sons and a daughter, all of whom reached adult age. Thomas S. Ballard, the eldest, was born in Madison county, New York, and after residing for a time in Berrien county went to Texas but subsequently returned to Berrien county. Later he was a resident of New Buffalo, Michigan, for some time, but eventually again took up his abode in Niles city, where his death occurred in I86I. Milton M. Ballard, the second son, was born in Madison county, New York, and came with the family to Michigan in 1852. He married Miss Ellen J. Chapman, a daughter of Arvin Chapman and located on the old homestead, where he carried on gen eral farming. He was associated with his brother Otis in his farming operations until his death, which occurred on the 2ist of December, I87I. His widow is still living and there were four children of the family, as follows: Edward M., who died in I890; Fred, a contractor and builder in Berwyn, Illinois; Harry, who wedded May Thomas,. of Decatur, Michigan, and resides upon a part of the old homestead property of Otis Ballard; and Ralph, who was born in Niles township, Berrien county, July 5, I870, and was married in I898 to Mary Huston, a daughter of Oliver Huston, of Andover, South Dakota. Otis W. Ballard, the youngest, spent the first nineteen years of his life in the state of his nativity and then accompanied his parents on their removal to Berrien county, Michigan, in 1852. He had acquired his education in the common and select schools and since coming to this state he: has resided continuously upon the same farm, devoting his time and energies to general agricultural pursuits and the dairy business. He is now quite successfully engaged in the dairy business in connection with his nephews and for this purpose they keep twentyfive cows. Mr. Ballard's farm comprises one hundred and fifty acres of land adjoining Niles city and it is a rich and fertile tract, the fields producing good crops, while excellent pasture is afforded for the stock. Mr. Ballard is well known in this part of the state, having been a resident of Niles township for fifty-four years, during which period he has been closely identified with its growth and development. Mr. Ballard and his nephews, Harry and Ralph, are operating in partnership the farm of one hundred and fifty acres and in addition are conducting a dairy business which is now a large and profitable industry. His life has been characterized by activity and usefulness and his careful control of business interests has made him one of the propserous residents of Niles township. Moreover he deserves mention in this volume as one who from pioneer times has been a witness of the growth and development of this part of the state, having for fifty-four years resided upon the farm which is yet his home. He HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 357 has seen the forests cut down and the land converted into rich fields whereon are annually gathered abundant harvests. He has seen roads opened up, bridges built, the telegraph and telephone introduced, while enterprises of all kinds have been established in the towns and cities and thus the work of progress and improvement has been carried steadily forward until the county today with its splendid advancement bears little resemblance to the locality in which Mr. Ballard arrived more than a half century ago. J. A. GARLAND, M. D., who in the successful practice of his profession has demonstrated his broad knowledge of medical principles and approved methods of the healing art, was born in Peoria, Illinois, June 15, 1871, and is the only child of Asa and Marietta (McClelland) Garland. The father, a native of Glasgow,. Scotland, spent his boyhood and youth in that country and came to America when about thirty years of age. He was married in Peoria, Illinois, in I869, to Miss Marietta McClelland, who was born in this country but was of Scotch lineage. His death occurred March I, 187I, and his widow, still surviving him, resides with Dr. Garland. In the public and high schools of Chicago Dr. Garland continued his studies and supplemented his preliminary education by professional training in the Northwestern University, being graduated from the medical department in 1895. He afterward pursued post graduate work in Chicago for a year and in June, I896, came to Buchanan, since xwhich time he has continued in active practice with a patronage that is constant growing in volume and importance. The public opinion concerning his ability is generally favorable and his skill has been demonstrated in his successful care of many intricate cases and his solution of many difficult medical problems. On the 27th of November, IgoI, Dr. Garland wedded Miss Gertrude Friesleven, who was born in Chicago, and is a daughter of Justus Friesleven, a native of Germany. Dr. Garland has been a Mason for ten years, belonging to the blue lodge, and is also con nected with the Knights of the Maccabees and the Modern Woodmen. His political allegiances is given to the Republican party and for many years he has served as township health officer. In the line of his profession his membership relations are with the Berrien County Medical Society, the Mississippi Valley Medical Association, the American Medical Association and the Red Cross Society, and he is neglectful of no professional duty but maintains a high standard of ethics as a representative of the medical fraternity. THEODORE METZGER carries on general farming on section 29, Niles township, where he owns and operates one hundred and three acres of good land. He dates his residence in this county since I858, at which time he took up his abode upon the farm which is now his home. He was born in St. Joseph county, Indiana, December I8, I847, and comes of German lineage, in both the paternal and maternal lines. His father, Ferdinand Metzger, was a native of Germany and came to America when about twentyfour years of age, locating in St. Joseph county, Indiana. After his arrival in the new world he followed the business of repairing clocks but later located on a farm in St. Joseph county, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits for some time. His last days, however, were passed in Bertrand township, Berrien county, Michigan, where he died when about forty-eight years of age. His wife, who in her maidenhood bore the name of Barbara Santley, was also born in Germany and lived to be about forty-five years of age. Their marriage was blessed with four children. Theodore Metzger, the youngest child, was only about one year old at the time of the father's death and was left an orphan at the early age of three years. He was then reared by his uncle, John Metzger, in St. Joseph county, Indiana, and is indebted to the public schools of that locality for the educational privileges he received. In 1863, at about seventeen years of age, when the country was in the throes of rebellion, he offered his services to the government, en 358 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY listing in Company H, Seventeenth Michigan Volunteers, and his regiment was assigned to the Army of the Potomac. He was in the old Seventeenth Regiment for about six months. He then enlisted in Company H, of the Thirtieth Michigan Regiment and was in service till the close of the war. He received his honorable discharge June 23, I865, and returned to his home. Mr. Metzger remained with his uncle until twenty-one years of age, when he began railroading as brakeman on the Michigan Central Railroad. He was afterward employed by the Lake Shore Railroad, acting as fireman for a time, while later he won promotion to the position of engineer. For three years he was thus connected with the Lake Shore and Northwestern Railroads and he spent altogether about eight years in the railroad service but was obliged to abandon that occupation on account of impaired eyesight. Accordingly he sought other business interests and turned his attention to farming in St. Joseph county, where he rented land for a time. In I888 he removed to the farm on section twenty-nine, Niles township, where he now resides and in the interim he has successfully carried on general agricultural pursuits. He has been engaged in threshing for about twenty-three years and has one of the best outfits for this purpose in the county or state. The farm comprises one hundred and three acres and is devoted to the production of general crops, such as are best adapted to soil and climate. In I884 Mr. Metzger was united in marriage to Miss Addie Metzger, and they have six living children, while they lost their eldest son, Clarence. The others are Genevieve, Florence, Theodore, Lawrence, Marie and Edith, all of whom are still under the parental roof. Mr. Metzger votes with the Democracy and is an ardent champion of party principles and policy. He has served as highway commissioner of Niles township but otherwise has held no public office, preferring to devote his undivided attention to his business affairs, which claim from him close application and energy and which in return yield him a gratifying annual income. MRS. POLLY YERINGTON resides in Bainbridge township, and is the widow of George W. Yerington, who was classed with the leading citizens of this part of the state for many years. He was born September 29, I842, and died September 24, I905, his loss being deeply regretted throughout the community where he was so widely and favorably known. His parents were John and Laura (Vester) Yerington, both natives of New York, whence they removed to Ohio. Their son George was born near Findlay, Ohio, whence he came to Michigan, but after three years here passed he removed to Iowa. In about 1858, however, the mother with her four children returned to Michigan, where her brother-in-law, Edwin Yerington, was living, making his home in Benton township, where his family still resides. Mrs. Laura Yerington having lost her husband, afterward became the wife of James Brewster, who lived in Bainbridge township. She survived to the age of sixty years. Her four children were George W.; Lydia Ann, who became the wife of Balaam Dodge; Emma, the wife of Ed. Disbrow, of Bangor, Michigan; and Angeline, the wife of Joseph Marion, of Battle Creek, this state. George Yerington, reared under the parental roof, went to Michigan and afterward to Iowa with his parents, and with his mother returned to Berrien county. At the outbreak of the Civil war, feeling that his first duty was to his country, he enlisted in Company D, of the Western Sharpshooters, and served throughout the period of hostilities, receiving an honorable discharge at the close of the war. He always kept in touch with his regiment by attending its various reunions. This was a noted military organization, of which Alonzo Vincent, later warden of the State penitentiary, and others were members. Fourteen of his old comrades of the company to which he belonged attended his funeral and acted as his pallbearers. When at the front he was a brave and loyal soldier, never faltering in the performance of any military duty assigned him, and he thus nobly aided in defense of the stars and stripes. Returning to the north, Mr. Yerington GEORGE W. YERINGTON AND FAMILY I HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 359 was married March 4, I866, to Miss Polly Wise, a sister of H. M. and Samuel Wise, and a half sister of Balaam Dodge. She was born in Bainbridge township anl was married just before reaching the age of twenty-one years. Her parents were George and Mary (Yund) Wise. The latter was a daughter of Solomon and Polly (Shafer) Yund, and was born in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, January 17, I818. When seven years of age she accompanied her parents on their removal to Livingston county, New York, and on Christmas day of I836 she gave her hand in marriage to George Wise. In 1843, with their four children, they took passage on a canal boat for Rochester and for Buffalo, New York, and while enroute their eldest daughter, Katie, then five years of age, was killed by a low bridge. They proceeded to Erie, Pennsylvania, where they were joined by Mr. Wise's parents, Leonard and Barbara Wise, and two sisters, Lucetta and Sallie, also John Lewis, a brother-in-law, and his family. They started for Detroit, going by way of Mackinac and Chicago and crossed the lake on the steamer Champion, Captain Eben B. WTard commanding, to St. Joseph, Michigan, and thence proceeded to Keeler township, Van Buren county, where they remained for a summer. In 1843 Mr. and Mrs. Wise took up their abode in Bainbridge township, Berrien county, where his death occurred October I, I895, while Mrs. Wise passed away July 3, I906, at the very advanced age of eighty-eight years, five months and sixteen days. Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Yerington lived for forty years upon the farm wvhere the widow now resides. When they took up their abode there it was all covered with timber save that a small clearing had been made and a little cabin had been built, in which they resided until the present residence was erected two or three years later. Mr. Yerington placed seventy acres of his land under cultivation, and in order to clear the fields he burned much valuable timber. He personally did the hard work incilent to preparing the fields for the plow and placing them under cultivation and always led a very active life. For thirty-five years he was the principal thresher in this vicinity, using at first an old horse power engine, later a portable engine and subsequently a traction engine. In this work he covered a wide area, doing much threshing in Silver Creek township, Van Buren county, as well as in various parts of Berrien county. He threshed for different farmers for nearly thirty years. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Yerington were born two sons and a daughter, George, now in Keeler, and Horace, in Bainbridge, while Ada Ann is the wife of C. J. Pitcher, of Sisters Lakes. Mr. Yerington belonged to the Odd Fellows Society of Keeler and his funeral services were conducted under the auspices of that order, Rev. Silkwood of Keeler officiating. His remains were interred in Bainbridge cemetery. He traveled life's journey for almost sixty-three years and was very active and enterprising, moreover lie was straightforward and reliable in all his dealings. His life entitled him to the respect which was uniformly given him and he left to his family an untarnished name. His widow yet remains upon the old homestead, renting her fields. Her residence is on the old territorial road ten miles east of Benton Harbor, situated in a picturesque district, well adapted to the raising of fruit and grain, so that the countryside presents a most attractive picture of fertility. GEORGE W. NOBLE is a man of action rather than of theory, and his spirit of enterprise and determination are constantly manifest in the conduct of his business interests in Buchanan, where he is well known as a merchant, carrying a stock of clothing, boots and shoes and men's furnishing goods. Born in Albion, New York, on the 9th of October, 1842, he is a son of William Noble, also a native of Albion and a grandson of James Noble. The paternal great-grandfather, was Joseph Noble, who came to this country with General John Burgoyne. William Noble was a farmer and mechanic and in the year I87I came to Michigan, settling in Ann Arbor, where he engaged in contracting and building, erecting some of the university buildings in that city. His death occurred there .-360 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY when he was sixty-three years of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Polly D. Bragg, was born in Monroe county, New York, and was reared in Orleans county, that state. She is now eighty-five years of age and still makes her home at Ann Arbor. In the family were three children, two sons and a daughter, of whom the last named died at the age of three years. The brother, A. L. Noble, became a prominent business man of Ann Arbor and died in 1894. George W. Noble, who was the eldest of the family, was reared in the place of his nativity and acquired his preliminary education in the common schools, after which he attended the Genesee College. He came to Michigan in I863, locating first in Van Buren county, where he engaged in teaching school for three years, when, abandoning the profession, he directed his energies to the field of commercial pursuits, and in I865 purchased an interest in a shoe business in Paw Paw. Selling out there in I868 he removed to Buchanan and established his present store, which he has conducted successfully for the past thirty-eight years, being the oldest business man in the town. He now carries a large and well selected line of clothing, men's furnishing goods, boots and shoes, and is one of the leading representatives of business interests here, his enterprising spirit and determination combined with close application, enabling him to carry forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes. He also has a store in Niles. In November, 1864, Mr. Noble was united in marriage to Miss Ophelia A. Ross, a daughter of Samuel G. and Phebe Ross, who were natives of Orleans county, New York. They have two sons and two daughters: Walter A., who is conducting his father's branch store at Niles; Lillian E., the wife of H. E. Starrett, of Oak Park, Illinois; George W., who is engaged in the lumber business at Evanston, Illinois, and who married Clara, daughter of Albert G. Lane of that place; and Winifred M., the wife of Fred Setchell, of Chicago. Mr. Noble is accorded a position of prominence in the public life of Buchanan, and for eight years served as postmaster under appointment of Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt. During his connection with commercial interests here, covering a period of nearly forty years, he has gained and maintained a high reputation for business integrity. His views upon questions of public policy are pronounced and his influence may always be counted upon in behalf of good government and the advancement of the interests of the home people. THOMAS F. HOUSWERTH, who devotes his time and energies to general agricultural pursuits and makes his home on section eighteen, Bertrand township, is one of the worthy citizens that Indiana has furnished to her neighboring state of Michigan. He was born in Bristol, April 24, I872, and is one of the two sons of William and Sarah (Meiser) Houswerth, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. Removing to the middle west the father settled in Elkhart county, Indiana, about I866, and in 1875 came to Berrien county, Michigan. He is now, however, residing in Bristol, Indiana, but his wife passed away in I893. They had two sons, and Albert is now a resident of South Bend. Thomas F. Houswerth was but three years old when brought by his parents from Indiana to Berrien county, and upon the home farm in Bertrand township was reared. He attended the common schools of the neighborhood, and when not busy with his text-books, his time was largely occupied in farm labor, so that he early became familiar with the duties that devolve upon the agriculturist in his care of the fields and of the stock. He has made farming his life work and has a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, on which he cultivates various cereals and also makes a specialty of raising potatoes, the soil being especially adapted for the production of this tuber. On the 25th of February, I896, Mr. Houswerth was married to Miss Zelma Dempsey, a daughter of Wesley and Libbie (Dakin) Dempsey. She was born in Bertrand township, Berrien county, where her parents located at an early day. In the family are two children, Ernest and Fern. Both HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 36I Mr. and Mrs. Houswerth have many warm friends in the community and a wide acquaintance. They are members of the Evangelical church and his political allegiance is given to the Democracy. His life has not been marked by events of exciting interest but has been characterized by a devotion to duty in all relations which makes him worth the confidence and good will which are uniformly extended to him. JOHN J. HASTINGS, deceased, was one of the old settlers of Niles township, and the history of the early days demands that he be given representation, for he took an active part in the pioneer development and progress. A native of Ireland, he came to America when a young man and was about twenty years of age when he arrived in Berrien county. He was married to Mfiss Margaret McCue, and they began their domestic life upon a farm in Niles township, where they lived for many years, rearing a family of eight children. Throughout the period of his residence here Mr. Hastings carried on general agricultural pursuits and he aided in reclaiming the wild land for the purposes of civilization. He shared in all the hardships and privations incident to pioneer life and the progress in keeping with the spirit of advancement, which has wrought great changes in Michigan. He was about sixty-five years of age at the time of his death, while his wife passed away when about fifty years of age. Unto Mr. and Mrs. John J. Hastings were born the following named children: Nellie, Mary, Bessie, Thomas, Lawrence. Lloyd, Paul and Margaret. Thomas Hastings, the eldest son of the family, was born on the old homestead farm in Niles township, on the 29th of April, I885. He was reared and educated in his native place, obtaining his education in the country schools. About one hundred and twenty acres of land was inherited by him and the other members of the family, and Thom J. Hastings has charge of the farm, while his sisters engage in teaching. He carries on general agricultural pursuits, raising both grain and stock and the home is on section 24, Niles township, where all his brothers and sisters were born. The family are communicants of the Catholic church in Niles and are highly esteemed in the community where so many years have been spent by them. The family has figured in connection with the development and progress of this part of the state since pioneer times, and Thomas Hastings, as well as his father, bears an excellent reputation as an enterprising agriculturist. BENJAMIN F. BUTZBACH, of the Battlement Drug Company of Benton Harbor, was born in Bainbridge township, Berrien county in I87I. He is classed with the wide-awake and enterprising young business men of the city and has attained to a position of prestige in commercial circles through his own unaided efforts. As the name indicates, he is of German lineage. His father, Philip H. Butzbach, was born in Germany in 1828 and came to America when twenty years of age. He was a son of Henry Butzbach, who crossed the Atlantic after the emigration of his son Philip, and spent his last days in Bainbridge township, Berrien county, upon the old homestead farm, where he died when more than seventy years of age. Philip H. Butzbach settled in Bainbridge township, where he took up a tract of government land, comprising one hundred and eight acres, which was entirely wild and unimproved. This was during the pioneer epoch in the history of the county and like his neighbors he performed the arduous task of clearing and cultivating new land. He placed most of that property under the plow and he now has a fine fruit orchard of twenty acres, raising all kinds of fruit including apples and peaches, which he ships in large quantities. He planted the orchard himself and it is now in excellent bearing condition. His fields, too, are productive, yielding good crops and he is still accounted one of the successful farmers of this county, in lwhich he has made his home for almost six decades. Great changes have occurred during this period by reason of the building of the railroads, the introduction of the telegraph and telephone and also of improved machinery which facilitates the work in various departments of business 362 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY life. He married Miss Blondine Harmon, a native of Germany, who came from the fatherland and settled in Bainbridge township, Berrien county, in pioneer times. Mrs. Butzbach is still living and has for many years traveled life's journey with her husband. They have reared a family of thirteen children, of whom two have passed away. Those who yet survive are Jacob; Elizabeth, the wife of Jacob Friday; Henry; Louise, the wife of Charles Christian; George; Lydia, the wife of Peter Christian, and a brother of her sister's husband; Philip H.; Anna, the wife of E. L. Miller; Mary, the wife of George Morlock; Benjamin F.; and Albert. Benjamin F. Butzbach is the tenth in order of birth of the surviving members of the father's family. He was reared upon the old homestead and one can picture him as a farmer boy attending the district schools, interested in his lessons and equally interested in the games of the playground. In the summer months as he grew in strength and age his time was demanded for the service of the fields. His early educational privileges were supplemented by study in Benton Harbor College, of which he is a graduate of the class of I89I. His taste was for a commercial rather than an agricultural career and following the completion of his college course he accepted a clerkship in the drug store of George M. Bell & Company. No higher testimonial of his active service and faithfulness to duty could be given than the statement of the fact that he remained in the employ of that firm for eleven years, leaving it to engage in business on his own account, when, in I902 he purchased an interest in the Battlement Drug Company of Benton Harbor and became manager of the store, which he has since successfully conducted. He has made his place of business an attractive one to the general public by reason of the neat and tasteful appearance of the store, his straightforward business dealings, his earnest desire to please and his uniform courtesy to his patrons. In I902, in Benton Harbor, occurred the marriage of Mr. Butzbach and Miss Ada Whitely, of Muskegon, Michigan. They are well known in the social circles of the city and the number of their friends is constantly increasing as the number of thleir acquaintances grow. In his political views Mr. Butzbach is a Republican but vwithout aspiration for office. Matters of local progress, however, are of deep interest to him and he is never remiss in the faithful performance of the duties of citizenship. ELMER E. ROUSE. From humble clerkship have come some of the most prominent merchants of the country and it is not an unusual thing in an American commonwealth for a man to rise from a humble position to rank with the leaders in commercial pursuits, political circles or in those walks of life wherein are developed the intellectual forces of a community. Elmer E. Rouse belongs to that class of men who have planned their own advancement and have accomplished it in spite of discouragements and opposition. He is a native of Minnesota, his birth having occurred in Eden Prairie in 1862. He represents one of the old families of the state, his father Philander H. Rouse, having been born in Saline township, Washtenaw county, Michigan, where in early life he followed the occupation of farming, but afterward lived in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and subsequently carried on general agricultural pursuits in Benton township, Berrien county, He married Miss Flora Bell, a native of Albany, New York. His death occurred in Benton Harbor in I9oo, when he was sixty-nine years of age, but his widow still survives and now makes her home in Wisconsin. In their family were ten children, seven of whom are living: Belden, a resident of Kalamazoo, Michigan; Elmer E., of this review; Howard M.; Winthrop B., who resides in Benton Harbor, Michigan; Myrtle, the wife of F. J. Hendershot, of Marblehead, Missouri, who is principal of a school there, while his wife is the musical instructor in the same school; Charlotte, who married Herman Stopple and resides in Walworth, Wisconsin; and Roscoe R., also making his home in Walworth. Elmer E. Rouse was reared in Minnesota to the age of two years, and then in HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 363 Wisconsin till ten years of age, and then came to Michigan, completing his education in the schools of Washtenaw county. He clerked in a drug store in Saline township, Washtenaw county, spending six years in that way, after which he came to Benton Harbor in I888, being employed as a clerk in a drug store in this city for two years. In I891 he engaged in the drug business on his own account as a member of the firm of Lowe & Rouse, having a store at the corner of Main and Pipestone streets, where the Red Cross drug store is now located. He continued in this business for seven or eight years and in the summer of I898 he embarked in the manufacture of ice cream for the trade on a small scale. In this business he has since continued and has extended the field of his activity by including the manufacture of soft drinks. He likewise deals in all kinds of soda fountain supplies and from a small beginning has developed a well equipped plant for the successful conduct of a business that is now the largest of its kind in southwestern Michigan. He noted the demands of his trade and set to work to meet these and has carried forward his business undertakings along lines that have been entirely satisfactory to his patrons and have brought him gratifying prosperity. Mr. Rouse has been married twice. In I889, in Benton Harbor, he wedded Miss Florine Winans, a daughter of the late Dr. Richard Winans. She died on the 5th of December, 900o, at the age of forty years, leaving two children, Carrie Belle and Montello E., both of whom were born in Benton Harbor. In May, I902, in this city, Mr. Rouse was again married, his second union geing with Ida M. Brooks, a daughter of Dr. William E. Brooks, D. D., of Benton Harbor. Mr. Rouse belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity and to the Maccabees Tent. He is a Republican in politics and was supervisor for two years, while for one year he served as treasurer of Benton township. In his business life there have been no especially helpful conditions, and in fact he has had to formulate his own plans and carry them forward without any assistance. His life, however, proves what intelligence, diligence and probity may accomplish in the way of success in life. GEORGE BRIDGEFORD is a veteran of the Union Army who, when the tocsin of war was sounded, offered his services to the government and ably defended the stars and stripes, making a most creditable military record. He resides in Bainbridge township, where he is now engaged in general farming and fruitraising. His birth occurred in West Sparta, Livingston county, New York, September Io, 1839, and in the fall of 1857, when a youth of eighteen years he came with the family to Michigan, their destination being Bainbridge township, while the following year they located upon the farm which is still his home. His parents were George and Catherine (Wise) Bridgeford, the latter a sister of George Wise, a well known pioneer resident of Bainbridge township. The father purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 25, Bainbridge township, and began the development of a farm, which he continued to cultivate successfully until his later years. He died in I876, in his eighty-second year, and thus passed away one of the early settlers and respected citizens of his locality. His son, George Bridgeford, Jr., and his brother William, who had but one arm, bought the home place, which was all covered with timber when it came into their possession. They paid for this tract three dollars and a half per acre. Their mother had died when our subject was a young lad and there was another son in the family, Henry Bridgeford, who was reared by his grandparents after his mother's death. He, too, became a soldier of the Civil war, serving in the same company and regiment as Mr. Bridgeford of this review, and he died in the hospital at Rome, Georgia, when but twenty-four years of age. George Bridgeford and his brother resolutely undertook the task of clearing, developing and cultivating their land, and at the time of his enlistment for service in the Civil war they had thirty acres under cultivation. On the 23d of September, I86I, at 364 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY President Lincoln's first call for troops to serve for three years, he offered his serv — ices to the government, believing that his first duty was to his country. He therefore put aside all business and personal considerations and joined Company B, of the Sixty-sixth Illinois Sharpshooters, being constantly on duty with his company until the expiration of its term of service. On the 9th of May, I864, he was wounded on the skirmish line before the battle of Resaca, a musket ball piercing his right side. He was sent to the hospital and finally was transferred to the hospital at Jeffersonville, Indiana, where he remained for three months. As soon as he had sufficiently recovered his health he rejoined his regiment at Atlanta and was with that command on the march to the sea. He also participated in the Carolina campaign and went to Washington, where he took part in the grand review, the most celebrated military pageant ever seen on the western hemisphere. His first term of enlistment having expired he had veteranized with the same company and he remained a faithful, loyal and valorous advocate of the Union cause until the war was ended and the country no longer needed his service. Mr. Bridgeford then returned to the home farm and lived with his brothers and sisters upon this place. His brother William died December 20, I90o, in his seventyfifth year. There were ten children in the father's family, but only two ever married. Those who remained upon the home farm were William, George, Susan and Amanda, and the last named died upon the old homestead at the age of forty-five years. The sister Susan is now living with her brother George, acting as his housekeeper. The farm comprises one hundred and thirtyseven acres of land, all of which is now owned by George Bridgeford of this review, who has purchased the interest of the other heirs. He has about one hundred acres under cultivation and thirty-seven acres in a second growth of timber. The farm was all originally covered with heavy timber, which he sold to the amount of four thousand dollars, although he lost twelve hun dred dollars of this. He now rents his fields, while he devotes himself to building fences. He has rebuilt over three miles of fence since his brother's death. Before his brother's death all their business interests were in partnership, but Mr. Bridgeford of this review is now sole owner of the farm, which is a valuable and productive property. In his political views he is a pronounced Republican, keeping well informed on the questions and issues of the day. He has never been called on to serve on the jury, has never had a lawsuit, nor has he ever been sued nor sued any man. His life has been devoted to the farm and yet in all matters of citizenship he is as true and loyal to his country as when he followed the old flag upon the battlefields of the south. FRANK H. PLATT, one of the native sons of Berrien county, is a practical and successful business man, connected with insurance interests in Benton Harbor. His birth occurred in Niles, February 19, I86i. His father, George W. Platt, Jr., is also a native of Niles and now makes his home in Benton Harbor. The mother bore the maiden name of Jane E. Crandall and was born in New York. In the family were three children, of whom two are living, the sister of our subject being Mrs. Eva Huntington. For a number of years the father was engaged in the hardware business at St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, but is now living a retired life in Benton Harbor, where he and his wife occupy a pleasant home in the enjoyment of the fruit of his former labor. The paternal grandfather, George W. Platt, was one of the early settlers of Michigan. He was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and his ancestors for many generations were natives of the old Bay state. In the public schools of St. Joseph, Michigan, Frank H. Platt acquired his preliminary education, which was supplemented by study in Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College at Chicago, Illinois, from which institution he was graduated in 1878. He then engaged as city buyer with a wholesale carriage and hardware house in Chicago, which he thus represented for two years, HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 365 and upon his return to Benton Harbor he assisted his father in the hardware business from I882 until I889. He afterward engaged in other business pursuits for some time, and in I890 he became a member of the Benton Harbor Milling Company, of which he was afterward made secretary and treasurer. He was one of the incorporators of the company which was organized in I887 with George B. Tatman as president and Norman Sage as vice president. In 1896 Mr. Platt organized, with others, the Patricians, an insurance and fraternal order, which was incorporated with the following officers: W. C. Hicks, president; R. J. Jarvis, vice president; Frank H. Platt, secretary and A. N. Woodruff, treasurer. These gentlemen still occupy their respective positions and the business of the company has continually grown and has been securely established upon a safe and paying basis. Mr. Platt has been married twice. On the I7th of July, I885, in Benton Harbor, he wedded Miss Jennie Kingsly, who was born in St. Joseph, Michigan, and died July 17, 1887, leaving one son, George Fernleigh. Her father was George W. Kingsly, of St. Joseph. On the 25th of October, I890, Mr. Platt was married to Wilhelmina Meech, a daughter of George and Mary J. Meech and a native of New York. There were two children born of this union, but one has passed away, the living daughter being Helen Marie, whose birth occurred in Benton Harbor. In his political views Mr. Platt is a stalwart Republican and fraternally is prominent, being a valued member of the Masonic and Knights of Pythias lodges in Benton Harbor, the Court of Honor, the Royal Arcanum and the Maccabees. Early realizing that truth as set forth centuries ago by the old Greek philosopher, "Earn thy reward; the gods give naught to sloth," Mr. Platt has worked persistently and energetically and in his business career has made a creditable name as well as gained a desirable competence. Moreover he has developed a character which is worthy of the esteem and confidence of his fellow men, which are uniformly given him throughout Benton Harbor and wherever he is known. FRED R. BELKNAP, M. D., practicing along modern scientific lines, has gained more than local reputation by reason of his active and effective service in connection with investigation of sanitary conditions and the articles which he has written upon these subjects. He has been a member of the Michigan state board of health and in all his public work has been actuated by a spirit of definite and immediate serviceableness. Dr. Belknap was born in Rochester, Vermont, on the 27th of November, I862. His father, Dr. Simeon Belknap, was a native of the village of Barnard, Windsor county, Vermont, born October I6, I837. His ancestors on the paternal side emigrated from England to America at an early period in the colonization of the new world and made settlement in the Green Mountain state, where Seymour Belknap, grandfather of Dr. Belknap of this review, and Simeon Belknap, the great-grandfather, opened their eyes to the light of day. Thus for several generations the family was represented in Vermont. Seymour Belknap married Miss Lydia Campbell, a daughter of Sylvanus Campbell, who was a native of Vermont but came of Scotch lineage. Dr. Fred Rice Belknap, whose name introduces this review, spent the first ten years of his life in the state of his nativity, and in I873 accompanied his parents on their removal to Michigan, the family home being established in Niles. He was afforded liberal educational privileges, receiving his Bachelor of Science degree from the Norwich University at Northfield, Vermont,and his degree of Doctor of Medicine from the Bellevue Hospital Medical College of New York city. Following his graduation from that institution he spent one year abroad, taking special work in the line of his profession at the Hygenic Institute and University at Berlin, Germany, and at the London School of Gynecology. He also visited clinics and colleges in other European cities, where he had the advantage of study under the most eminent physicians and surgeons of the old world. At a meeting of the board of trustees at the Norwich University in July, I898, the degree of Master of Science 366 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY was conferred upon Dr. Belknap. In his profession he has won notable distinction not only by reason of his success in practice but also by reason of his research and investigation, the outcome of which has been given to the world in valuable scientific papers. He is practical in all that he does in the sickroom and moreover he possesses the tastes and habits of a scholar. The great questions of social, economic and political interest have awakened his deepest attention. He has been a member of the Michigan Political Science Association and of the Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine, is a member of the American Medical Association and has been president of several local, political and other organizations. He now holds a commission as first lieutenant issued by the governor of Vermont. Dr. Belknap was appointed by Governor Pingree, of Michigan, on the 28th of April, I897, serving as a member of the board of health for six years, since which time he has taken an active part in the board of educational work, especially along the line of sanitary conventions held in various parts of the state under the auspices of the board. He has written several papers upon the question of public health, the most recent of which is one entitled Healthy Homes, which was read at the sanitary convention of Tawas City, Michigan, in January, I898, in which he deals with the sanitary location, construction and care of the home. His time as a member on the state board of health expired on the ist of February, I903. In April of the preceding year Dr. Belknap removed from Niles to Benton Harbor, where he has practiced continuously since, becoming the successor of the late Dr. John Bell, who was one of the oldest among the leading physicians of the city. Dr. Belknap has been accorded a liberal practice, his reputation having preceded him, while his ability has been demonstrated in his methods of handling important cases entrusted to him. On the 26th of December, 1888, occurred the marriage of Dr. Belknap and Miss Mabel Brown, a native of Vermont and a daughter of Halsey Brown, who is a prominent citizen of the Green Mountain state. The wedding was celebrated in Northfield, Vermont, and has been blessed with one son, Robert B. Belknap, who was born in Niles. The doctor and his wife are accorded a prominent social position in Benton Harbor. Politically he is a Republican and fraternally is connected with the Masons, Knights of Pythias, Maccabees and Woodmen. Possessed of a studious nature and laudable ambition he has made constant progress in the line of his profession and his life has been one of eminent service crowned with professional honors and success. MILTON THOMPSON CAREY, M. D., engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Benton Harbor, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1867. His father, Dr. Milton Thompson Carey, Sr., was born in Shelby county, Ohio, and prepared for his profession as a student in the Medical College of Ohio, from which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1851. Throughout his entire professional career he remained in Ohio and his splendid qualifications and devotion to his chosen calling made him one of the most successful members of the medical fraternity in his part of his state. His patronage was extensive and he was thus enabled to leave his family a large estate when in I901, at the age of seventy years, he was called to his final rest. At the time of the Civil war he had espoused the cause of the Union and went to the front. At the battle of Shiloh at Pittsburg Landing, he was captured and was confined in prison for some time. He served as surgeon of the Forty-second Ohio Infantry with the rank of major and rendered valuable aid to the ill and wounded soldiers of that command. When the war was over he returned to his native state, locating at Cincinnati, Hamilton county, where he successfully practiced for many years. He was also active and influential in community affairs and served as coroner of the county both before and after the war. He married Miss Cornelia Burnet, who was born in Mount Pleasant, Ohio, and died at the age of sixty-four years. In the family were four children, one of whom has now passed away. Those still living are: Mrs. D. T. Williams, a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio; Mrs. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 367 Lydia K. Davis, who makes her home in Boston, Massachusetts; and Milton T., of this review. In his boyhood days Dr. Carey of Benton Harbor was a public school student in Cincinnati, Ohio, and prepared for a life of service in behalf of his fellow men by a thorough course of study in the Medical College of Ohio, of which he is an alumnus of I888. His father had graduated from the same school thirty-seven years before. Dr. Carey located for practice in his native city, where he remained until 1902, when on account of the health of his wife he removed to Michigan, settling in Benton Harbor. He has a well equipped office here for scientific practice and he is thoroughly in touch with modern thought concerning the principles and practices of medicine and surgery. His judgment is seldom, if ever, at fault in his diagnosis of a case or in foretelling the outcome of disease. With a conscientious sense of the obligation that devolves upon the physician he has performed his professional labors and his efforts when viewed from both a scientific and financial standpoint have been gratifying. Dr. Carey finds pleasure and recreation in the management of his excellent fruit farm, which he purchased in I896. It comprises thirty acres of land at what is called Twelve Corners in Hagar township, and here he has fine orchards which almost each year yield bountiful crops. He also has a fine poultry house, which is fitted up in modern style and he raises some of the best breeds of poultry. He is also a great lover of dogs and has at his home forty-five or more valuable thoroughbred dogs. He also breeds them and obtains high prices for them. His kennels contain greyhounds, Pomeranine, fox terriers, Chihuahua (a Mexican breed) and French and Russian poodles, all of fine pedigree. In September, I902, Dr. Carey was married at Fishkill Landing, New York, to Miss Dolly Watson, who, however, was a native of the west. They occupy a prominent social position and the social functions of their own home are greatly enjoyed by many friends. In politics Dr. Carey is a Republican and was recognized as a leader in party ranks in Cincinnati, where he held various offices of trust, but since his removal to Michigan has largely left political service to others, however, keeping well informed on all the questions and issues of the day. He was a member of the Knights f Pythias fraternity at Cincinnati and in the line of his profession he is connected with Ohio Medical Society, the Alumni Association of the Ohio Medical College, and is a member of the American Medical Association. His is a well rounded nature, not so abnormally developed in any direction as to become a genius and yet showing that strength of character and firm purpose which assures success in any undertaking and proves a valuable factor in public as well as private life. CHARLES NEWTON SOWERS, physician and surgeon of Benton Harbor, was born in Corsica, Pennsylvania, November 10, 1859, his parents being Franklin H. and Susan (McDonald) Sowers. The father, a native of Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, died in Oceana county, Michigan, in October, I90I, in his seventy-fifth year. He possessed natural mechanical ingenuity and became a carpenter and contractor. In I864 he removed from the Keystone state to Michigan, and on arriving in this state he purchased a farm in Van Buren county, after which he carried on general agricultural pursuits in connection with his business as a contractor. He resided upon that farm until 1882, when he retired, spending his remaining days upon a farm at Hart, Oceana county, Michigan. He was very active in township affairs, served as a member of the school board, was also supervisor, school inspector and township health officer. In his political views he was a stalwart Republican, and his activity in behalf of public progress was a tangible element in general development and improvement. His wife, who was born in Jefferson county, Pennsylvania, is still living, making her home with a daughter in Cass county, Michigan, and also spending a part of her time with her other children. In the family were five children, of whom four are yet living: Mrs. Alice Wheaton, who resides in Cass county, Michigan; Mrs. / 368 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Elizabeth Yund, whose home is at Three Rivers, Michigan; Charles Newton; and Samuel E., a farmer of Oceana county. Dr. Sowers of this review was only five years of age when he came to Michigan with his parents. He was reared to manhood in Hamilton, Van Buren county, where he attended the district schools, and was also a public school student in Decatur, Michigan. He afterward engaged in teaching in Van Buren county and followed the same profession in Oceana county, subsequent to the removal of the family to that district. He likewise served as county school commissioner for three succeeding terms, on the expiration of which period he resigned in order to become a student in the University of Michigan. He then entered the literary department, having pursued this course as a preparation for his more advanced professional training. Matriculating in the medical department, he pursued the regular course and was graduated in June, 1893, from the medical department of the University of Michigan. On leaving college Dr. Sowers was appointed assistant surgeon in the iron mines at Lamore, Virginia, where he remained for several months, after which he returned to Michigan and entered into partnership with Dr. G. O. Switzer. They located at Pentwater, Michigan, where they remained for a year, and in the spring of 1895, Dr. Sowers came to Benton Harbor, where he opened his office. He has met with much success in his practice, which has constantly grown in volume and importance, as he has become recognized as a most able member of the profession. He belongs to the Berrien County Medical Association, of which he formerly served as president, and he is likewise a member of the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. Dr. Sowers was married in 1897, in Pentwater, Michigan, to Miss Homaria A. Bouton. She was born in Pentwater. They are prominent socially here and Dr. Sowers is a Knight Templar Mason. He also has membership relations with the Woodmen of America and in politics he is a Republican. His entire life has been devoted to professional labor, wherein merit and ability obtain advancement, progress being gained through no other methods.. He has ever been a deep and earnest student of the principles and practices of medicines since determining upon this calling as a life work and his close adherence to a high standard of professional ethics has won him the unqualified regard of his brethren of the medical fraternity. GEORGE J. EDGCUMBE, A. M., Ph. D., principal of the Benton Harbor College and Normal and widely known as one of the capable educators of southwestern Michigan, was born near Plymouth, England, on the I7th of November, I844, a son of \William and Eliza (Jayne) Edgcumbe. His early youth was passed in the place of his nativity, where he enjoyed exceptional educational advantages, his studies being carried on with some of the most noted teachers of England as his preceptors. He was an apt, earnest and thorough student and availed himself to the utmost of his opportunities, thus acquiring through diligence and study in his youth a broad knowledge, not only of the text-books that were placed in his hands, but also of historical subjects and general topics of interest. He was graduated from Toronto University in 1875, and later from the Wesleyan University in Illinois, which conferred upon him the degree of Ph. D. At the age of six years he had been brought by his parents to America, the family home being established in Toronto, Canada. In 1876 Professor Edgcumbe came to Michigan, locating at Deerfield, Lenawee county, where he engaged in teaching school for five years. Later, in I883, he came to Benton Harbor and accepted the superintendency of the city schools, in which capacity he continued to serve for three years. While occupying that position he effected many improvements in the character of the branches taught, as well as in the methods of instruction, and succeeded in placing the schools upon a substantial and most gratifying basis. Realizing the need of instruc N HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 369 ftol along other lines than those taught in the public schools, that the young people might be trained through special preparation for the different walks of life in which they might gain a livelihood, he founded, in I886, the Benton Harbor Normal and Collegiate Institute, which he conducted with a constantly increasing attendance until I892, when the school was incorporated under the name of the Benton Harbor College and Normal. The incorporators were G. J. Edgcumbe, Seeley McCord, George M. Valentine, Rev. S. H. Edgcumbe, Rev. E. B. Patterson, S. A. Bailey and James Baley. These gentlemen also became the directors of the institution. Mr. McCord had been connected with Mr. Edgeumcbe in the conduct of the Benton Harbor Normal- and Collegiate Institute from I886 until the incorporation, and was active in the establishment and management of the latter institution. Mr. Edgcumbe was chosen president and Mr. McCord secretary and treasurer. At the present writing, in I906, the officers are: George J. Edgcumbe, president; J. H. Niz, secretary; and Fred A. Hobbs, treasurer. These gentlemen, together with J. C. Caldwell, C. M. Edick and Dr. George M. Bell, constitute the board of directors. The school is most thoroughly organized and has made rapid strides in the lines of advancement and improvement from the beginning. There are now normal, kindergarten, collegiate, business, elocution, music, fine arts, stenographic and preparatory departments, in all of which there are a large number of students enrolled. The character of the school may be understood at once from the fact that it is one of the regularly accredited preparatory schools to the state university in all courses. Its building is a fine, large structure, pleasantly located, and is well prepared to meet the demands for education along special lines, fitting the student for further collegiate work or for the, duties of a practical business career. From the beginning the school has been popular and has made consecutive progress, its enrollment being continually enlarged, its facilities extended and its methods of instruction improved. Its students 24 have been admitted without examination to all courses of the Michigan University, Wellesley College, Northwestern University and other famous institutions of learning. Beginning with the academic year of 1892-3 the institution has been conducted under its collegiate charter. The institution is dependent entirely upon its merits for existence and without endowment save that of energy and integrity its continued support depends upon nothing but skillful management and superior facilities. Its large enrollment therefore is ample evidence of its efficiency. There is an excellent corps of teachers employed, each thorough in his particular department and the work done is most satisfactorily. In I876 Professor Edgcumbe was married to Miss Victoria C. Bolster, a native of Canada, who has charge of the kindergarten department of the college, having previously prepared herself for this special line of work. She is a very capable woman, of good intellectual endowments and literary culture, and her great personal interest in the little ones who come under her instruction make her a most successful teacher. In his political views Professor Edgcumbe is a Republican. He and his wife are members of the Methodist church and are deeply interested in the moral development and aesthetic and social culture of the community as well as its intellectual development. They have seven times crossed the ocean and while visiting many points of historic, modern and scenic interest have also attended lectures and visited schools and colleges abroad, keeping in thorough touch with the various lines of intellectual work. Professor Edgcumbe has given to Benton Harbor an institution of learning of which the city has every reason to be proud, and his labor has been of direct benefit to many hundreds of students who have come under his instruction. M. G. METRAS is a well known resident of Bainbridge township. He has usually been known by the name of Merritt G. Metras but because of the confusion occasioned by the fact that his uncle 370 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY bears the same name he has again taken the name by which he was christened, MaGloire Mletras. He was born at St. Remi, near Montreal, Canada, September I, 1835. His father, Peter Metras, was born, lived and died in Canada and represented one of the early French families there. Three of his brothers, Joseph, Paul and Mitchell, settled in Berrien county. There were eight brothers altogether in the family and they were patriots, active in the Revolution of 1837-8, because of which some of the number emigrated from Canada to the United States. Joseph Metras came in I836, settling in Berrien county, where he spent his remaining days. Mitchell Metras arrived in 1838, locating in the same locality, and later Paul Metras came and settled as a neighbor to his brother Joseph. Subsequently he removed to Watervliet, where he passed away. The last survivor of the three brothers was Paul Metras, who died when about seventy-three years of age, Mitchell having passed away first, while Joseph died at the age of seventy-seven years. Of the eight brothers in the family the youngest at the time of death was sixty years of age, while the eldest reached the age of eightyfour years. M. G. Metras, whose name introduces this record, remained a resident of Canada to the age of nineteen years. He attended school at St. Edwards, where he pursued a classical course and studied Latin and English. He began teaching at the age of seventeen, having charge of a primary school in his parish. His last year in college was devoted to the mastery of the English language, whereby he prepared himself for American citizenship. He came to Michigan in I854, settling in Berrien county. His office, however, in the United States was as bookkeeper for a railroad company in Indiana. The college at Notre Dame offered to allow him to pursue a course of study in that institution if he would teach classes in French but he wished to become an active factor in business circles and he declined the offer. He acted as bookkeeper for a railroad contractor for two years, or until the contract was completed for the building of the line between Plymouth and Laporte, Indiana. He received forty dollars per month and his board for his services and was favored by the contractor, who was a French-Canadian, and he becoming disabled gave the supervision of the work there to Mr. Metras for a period of six months. He thus had fifty Irishmen under his charge when but twenty-one years of age. He saved his money, invested it in property in South Bend, Indiana, and lived there for two years. In 1858 he returned to Berrien county and purchased the land upon which he now resides. The contractor by whom he was employed wished him to, come to the west in connection with railroad building, but not desiring to do this he decided to locate upon his farm, comprising eighty acres of land on section 28, Bainbridge township, for which he had paid ten dollars per acre. Of this tract twenty acres had been cleared but no buildings had been erected. In March, 1858, he took up his abode thereon, built a plank house and has since lived upon the farm. His home was destroyed by fire in I859, together with all its contents, save the clothing which the family wore. With characteristic energy, however, he erected a new residence and resolutely undertook the task of developing and improving a good farm. In I857 his father visited him and induced him later to return to Canada, which he did in the fall of 1864, but returned to Michigan about May I, I865, and again took up his abode upon his farm. The home property in Canada amounted to about six thousand dollars, which he would have inherited had he remained, but even with that prospect he preferred to leave his native country and come again to his farm in Michigan. He soon began to raise fruit here, planting sixteen or seventeen acres to peaches, which had just begun to bear when the yellows destroyed the trees. He had also set out apples, however, so that he had an income from his fruit and subsequently he planted more peach orchards. As his financial resources increased he also began to buy more land, adding to his original purchase of one hundred and twenty acres, one hundred and HISTORY OF BE] thirty-five acres, in Pipestone, township, while the home farm comprises one hundred and twenty acres in Bainbridge township. He has improved all of his land, having placed one hundred and fifty acres altogether under cultivation. On his home place he has about fifty-five acres in fruit, including peaches, apples, pears and grapes. In 1905, when the apple crop was a partial failure, his sales amounted to seventeen hundred and seventy-six dollars and his entire sales of fruit were over forty-three hundred dollars. His farm lies nine miles east and south of Benton Harbor and is an excellent property. In his political affiliation Mr. Metras has been classed as a Democrat but is not strictly partisan. Imbued with a love of his adopted country he has great admiration for Lincoln, Garfield, Sumner and other prominent leaders in public life. He became a follower of Greeley in 1872 and he now gives his support to either Republican or Democratic candidates as he sees fit, being independent in politics as well as in religion. He has reared his family, however, within the church, being a liberal Catholic. Mr. Metras has served as justice of the peace for eight years, and for six years was township clerk, in both positions discharging his duties so as to win the commendation of all concerned. Mr. Metras was married at South Bend, Indiana, in 1856, to Miss Mary J. Lacase, a niece of the contractor with whom he worked on first coming to the United States. She was born at Rochester, New York, of Canadian parents, and by their marriage they have had a family of three sons and four daughters: Louise Josephine; Euphonsine; L. H., who has engaged in teaching for six years, being five years superintendent of the schools at Hartford, Michigan, while at the present writing he is following his profession in the State of Washington; Ellen, at home; Elmer, who is living on his father's farm in Pipestone township; and Alphonse and Emma, also at home. All were born upon the home farm in Bainbridge township. Mr. Metras is a worthy representative of that class of American citi RRIEN COUNTY 371 zens who, though born across the border, have been attracted by business opportunities to the United States with its livelier competition and advancement more quickly secured. Here he has found ample scope for his industry, ambition and energy, his dominant qualities, and as the years have gone by he has made an excellent record as a business man and citizen. JOHN C. BOSTICK, M. D., engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Benton Harbor, was born in Indiana in I858. His father, Dr. Charles H. Bostick, for many years a practicing physician, was born in Batavia, New York, in 1826, and died in Manton, Michigan, in I89I. He was a graduate of the Eclectic Medical Institute at Cincinnati, Ohio, of the class of I856, and located for practice in Indiana, where he remained for some time, when on account of ill health he came to Michigan, settling upon a farm near New Troy. The outdoor life proved beneficial, and when he had recuperated he resumed the practice of his profession at New Troy, where he continued his work until retiring from business life he removed to Manton, where his remaining days were passed. He married Miss Sarah A. Merrifield, who was born in New York and came with her parents to Michigan in I845, the family settling at what is now called Coloma, Berrien county. In the family of Dr. Charles H. and Sarah A. Bostick were ten children, but six of the number have been called from this life. Those who still survive are: Mrs. F. R. Atwood, a resident of Montrose, South Dakota; John C., of this review; Charles H., who is living in Manton, Michigan; and Lillian, the wife of H. G. Hutzler, of the same city. Dr. Bostick was reared to manhood at New Troy, Michigan, where he acquired his early education, passing through successive grades until he had biecome a high school student and graduated there. When it became necessary that he make choice of a life work he determined to engage in the practice of medicine and followed his preliminary reading by study in Bennett Medical College at Chicago, Illinois, from which he was 372 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY graduated with the class of I88I. He then opened an office in Manton, where he practiced with much success until I892, when seeking a still broader field of labor he came to Benton Harbor and opened an office. Those who know him-and he has a wide acquaintance-recognize his high standing in professional circles. He is well informed concerning the principles of the medical science and he engages in general practice, but makes a specialty of the use of electricity in his work. Dr. Bostick was married in I884, in Coldwater, Michigan, to Miss Clara L. Saunders, who was born in that city. They now have two sons: J. Glenn and Harold G., both of whom are natives of Manton. Dr. Bostick is a Republican but without political aspiration. He holds membership in Lake Shore Lodge, F. & A. M., and Malta Commandery, K. T., both of Benton Harbor, and also in the chapter of St. Joseph, Michigan. He likewise affiliates with the Knights of Pythias, the Maccabees and the Modern Woodmen. During the years of his practice he has closely studied, keeping in touch with the progress of the medical fraternity, whose rapid advancement has been unsurpassed in any line of professional activity and investigation. CAPTAIN SAMUEL BOUGHTER, who won his title by valiant service in the Civil war, is now a conductor for the Big Four Railroad Company and one of the trusted representatives of that corporation. His birth occurred in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1835, his parents being Samuel and Mary Jane (Byers) Boughter, both of whom were natives of the Keystone state and died there during the early youth of their son Samuel. In his boyhood days Captain Boughter pursued his education in one of the old-time log school houses at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and when eighteen years of age he went to Indiana, where he learned the carpenter's trade, following that pursuit until after the outbreak of the Civil war. He had watched with interest the progress of events in the south, had noted the threatening attitude of the slave holding states and his patriotic spirit was aroused by the attempt to overthrow the Union. Accordingly in I86I he joined Company F of the Twelfth Indiana Infantry as a private for one year's service. On the expiration of that period he re-enlisted in the same regiment, which was then re-organized, once more entering the ranks, but in May, 1862, he was promoted on the field to first lieutenant in recognition of meritorious service in battle. In June, 1862, he was appointed captain of his company and in May, 1865, he was brevetted major. His second term of enlistment was for three years, and he continued at the front until June, I865, when the war having ended he was mustered out at Indianapolis at the close of hostilities. He made a creditable record as a soldier, doing his full duty at all times and under all circumstances and his own bravery and loyalty often inspired the members of his company to deeds of valor and heroism. When the war was over Captain Boughter went to Warsaw, Indiana, and worked as a shoveler on the grade of the Cincinnati, Wabash & Michigan Railroad, now a part of the Big Four system, which was then being built. He continued in construction work for four years, when he received an appointment to the position of freight conductor, running between Anderson and Goshen, Indiana. He remained in that capacity until January, I880, when in an accident he was crippled. On the 23rd of August, I880, he was appointed passenger conductor, which position he still fills, having remained continuously with the company, and since 1884 he has made his home in Benton Harbor. He is one of the oldest employes in years of continued service for the Big Four Railroad Company and has the entire confidence and trust of those whom he represents. In his service he is ever courteous and obliging to the patrons of the road and has won many friends among those who regularly travel over his route. In I866 Captain Boughter was married, in Goshen, Indiana, to Miss Mary H. Ervin, a native of that state. They have two children: William E., who was born in Warsaw, Indiana, and married Mrs. Jessie HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 373 (Kelly) Ormich, of Benton Harbor; and Elizabeth C., who was also born in Warsaw. Captain Boughter has never seen reason to transfer his allegiance from the Republican party since he gave to it his first presidential vote when age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He is a member of the Masonic lodge, No. 73, at Warsaw, Indiana, also the Grand Army Post at that place and the Elks lodge, No. 544, of Benton Harbor. His record has been a creditable one and his military service is a chapter in his life history of which he has every reason to be proud. In business affairs, too, he has been notably prompt and reliable and is a man who has displayed many excellent traits of character, making him worthy of the esteem and confidence of all who have regard for sterling worth. FRANK B. MOORE, a dry goods merchant of Benton Harbor, whose business career has been one of continuous advancement, was born in Michigan in I867. His paternal grandfather was William Moore, a native of Scotland, who, on crossing the Atlantic took up his abode in Canada, His son, William J. Moore, was born in Scotland and was a young lad at the time of the emigration of the family to America. The voyage was made upon a sailing vessel and he was reared to manhood in Canada, where he remained until after the close of the Civil war, when he came to Michigan, settling in Huron county. A carpenter by trade, he afterward became a contractor and builder and followed that pursuit in the eastern part of Michigan. He married Miss Elsie Smith, who died when forty-seven years of age, and the death of Mr. Moore occurred when he was seventy years of age. In their family were six children, of whom five are living: Mrs. Elizabeth McKinney, who resides in Spokane, Washington; Mrs. Agnes Holsetin, a resident of Port Hope, Michigan; Mrs. Elsie Bisbee, who is also living in Port Hope; Frank B., of Benton Harbor; and Hira C., a resident of Columbiaville, Michigan. Frank B. Moore pursued his education in the schools of Port Hope and in Berrien University School, and when he had put aside his text-books to enter upon an active business career he accepted the position of bookkeeper in the employ of W. R. Stafford, of Port Hope. He also had charge of the. docks of that firm, with which he continued for five years. At the age of twentyone years he served as town clerk of his township and was recognized as one of the representative young men of his community. He afterward became buyer and manager of the William Peters large general store at Columbus, Michigan, where he continued for five years, after which he was with L. F. Burdick at Sturgis, Michigan, having charge of the dry goods department for three years. Later he went to Flint, Michigan, where he was with E. Trump and in I898 he came to Benton Harbor as buyer for Enders & Company. He had charge of the dry goods department of that house for three years, and in I9OI he became a partner in the firm of Moore & Rowe, which relation was maintained for a year, when the firm became Enders, Moore & Company. They also own a branch store in St. Joseph, Michigan, and carry on a general dry goods business, theirs being one of the most reliable houses in the twin ci'ties. Mr. Moore has had more than twenty years experience in the business life and displays keen discrimination and unfaltering enterprise. He readily recognizes the possibilities of a situation and carefully directs his efforts along lines which prove resultant factors in the control of important and successful business ventures. He has made an enviable reputation for upright dealing and occupies today a prominent place in social circles in the twin cities. In I892 in Flint, Michigan, Mr. Moore was united in marriage to Miss Ida Finley, a native of Flint, of this state. Unto them have been born two children: Estella A., whose birth occurred in Columbiaville, Michigan, in I893, and Beatrice A., born in Benton Harbor in 1903. The parents hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church and Mr. Moore is a member of the Masonic bodies and also has membership relations with the Maccabees and the Modern 374 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Woodmen. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party. He is a man of broad capabilities as his business history indicates. At all times he is approachable and patiently listens to whatever a caller may have to say, is ever courteous and is at- all times a gentleman in the truest and best sense of the term. He cares not for notoriety nor is there about him the least shadow of mock modesty. Of fine address and thorough culture he occupies an enviable position in social as well as commercial circles and he has the happy faculty of winning and retaining friends. EUGENE L. KRIEGER, D. V. S., who, well qualified for the practice of veterinary surgery, is meeting with success in his chosen field of endeavor, was born in Bainbridge township, Berrien county, in 1876. He comes of German lineage. His paternal grandfather, Jacob Krieger, was born on the Rhine in Germany and was there married to Katherine Heffner, a daughter of Christian Heffner, who died in Bainbridge, Michigan, at the very venerable age of ninety-four years. Subsequent to his marriage Jacob Krieger crossed the Atlantic and made his way to this state, settling in Bainbridge township, Berrien county, where he cast in his lot with the pioneers and cleared a tract of wild land, which he transformed into a very productive farm and which still remains in possession of the family. The year of his arrival in Michigan was 1843, and he continued his identification with agricultural interests here up to the time of his demise, which occurred in I880, when he was sixty-one years of age. His life was a serviceable one, for not only did he provide a profitable living for his family but also through the conduct of his private business interests he contributed to the general improvement of the locality in which he lived. Charles W. Krieger, father of Dr. Krieger, was born in Bainbridge township in I850 and is now living in Kalamazoo county. His entire life has been given to agricultural pursuits. He married Miss Henrietta Buhlinger, who was born in Bain bridge township and died there in I886 at the age of thirty-four years. She was a daughter of Simon and Kate (Wagner) Buhlinger and her mother was a daughter of Jacob Wagner, who was an old settler of the county. Simon Buhlinger came from Germany to Michigan when it was still largely a wild and unimproved district and took up land in the midst of the green forest. He then began to clear away the trees and brush and in course of years developed a good farm. His home was also in Bainbridge township, where, he continued to make his home up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1882, when he had reached the age of sixty-five years. It will thus be seen that Dr. Krieger is descended from two of the worthy pioneer families of the county. He was an only child and was reared in the place of his nativity, spending his boyhood days under the parental roof, where he was trained to habits of industry, while in the district schools he acquired his more specifically literary education. During the periods of vacation he worked in the fields and continued upon the farm until I893, when he came to Benton Harbor, thinking to find urban life more congenial. Here he entered the employ of Antis Brothers, grocers of this city, with whom he continued for some time. In 900oo, however, he became a student in the veterinary college at Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was graduated in the class of I902, after which he opened an office and began practice in Benton Harbor, where he has continued since with constantly increasing success. He is well qualified for his chosen profession, and his work has been satisfactory to his patrons as well as a good source of remuneration. In I898 in Benton Harbor, Dr. Krieger was married to Miss Susie D. Rogers, who was born in Sodus township and is a daughter of James H. Rogers. Her mother bore the maiden name of Jerusha Rector and was a daughter of Daniel Rector of Sodus township. Dr. and Mrs. Krieger have three children: Lois M., Genevieve May and Victor Eugene, all born in Benton Harbor. The Doctor gives his political support to the HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 375 Republican party and the men who are pledged to uphold its principles and in his fraternal relations he is connected with Benton Harbor Lodge, No. 32, I. O. O. F., being in hearty sympathy with its purposes and exemplifying in his life its underlying principles. DANIEL GREEN. The growth and development of any town or city depends upon the number, variety and importance of its business interests, and the men who are the real promoters and upbuilders of a town are those who are at the head of its commercial and industrial interests. This class includes Daniel Green, who is now carrying on the largest draying and transfer business of Benton Harbor. He is moreover owner of a fruit farm adjoining the city limits, and in the management of this property is also meeting with a satisfactory reward. His birth occurred in the western part of England in 1847, his parents being Daniel and Elizabeth (Hamley) Green, who spent their entire life in England. In their family were four children, but Daniel Green was the only one who came to Michigan. His youth was passed in his native country, where he acquired his education, and then on attaining his majority he came to the new world. Prior to his emigration, however, he went to sea, first as cook and afterward as seaman, sailing before the mast upon the high seas for seven years. He came to Michigan in I869, settling in Benton Harbor, where he secured employment in the sawmill of Martin Green & Company, while later he worked for J. H. Graham, working on the circular saw for thirteen years. At first he had only a one horse: dray and did express and transfer work of all kinds. It was difficult to make a start, but by perseverance and energy he gradually overcame all difficulties in his path and has worked his way steadily upward by his perseverance and determination, until he is now conducting the largest draying and transfer business in the city. Recently he has admitted his sons, Hart and Thomas, to a partnership under the firm name of Green & Company, and they now are practically managers of the business, relieving their father of much care and responsibility in this direction. In 1871 occurred the marriage of Mr. Green and Miss Berece Wood, who was born in Niles, Michigan. They now have four children, all born in Benton Harbor, namely: Hart; Thomas, who married Mildred 0. Stearns, of Berrien Springs, Michigan; Berece Jane; and Margaret. In his political views Mr. Green is an earnest Democrat, and upon the election of Mayor Gillette to the position of chief executive of Benton Harbor Mr. Green was appointed street commissioner, which office he has filled continuously since with satisfaction to all concerned. In all matters of public progress he is interested, and his cooperation has been given to various plans and measures for the general good. He has always led a busy and useful life, characterized by integrity as well as industry, and he is much esteemed for his reliability and admired for what he has accomplished. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Honor, and is also a third degree Mason. MUNROE H. MORROW, a member of the firm of Morrow & Stone, leading grocers of Benton Harbor, was born in Morristown, New Jersey, August 19, I855. His parents, William T. and Margaret (Carey) Morrow, were also natives of New Jersey and the former was of Irish descent, while the latter was of Scotch lineage. They continued their residence in the east until I86I, when they removed to Michigan, settling in Lincoln township, Berrien county, at a place which was then called Royalton. The father entered a claim in the midst of the dense forest and there began the improvement of a farm, which he cleared and cultivated until as the years passed by he had become the owner of a verv productive and valuable tract of land. To its further cultivation and improvement he directed his energies up to the time of his death, which occurred when he was seventy-four years of age, while his wife passed away at the age of sixty-nine years. They were the parents of fourteen children, of whom eight are yet 376 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY living: James W., who resides in St. Joseph, Michigan, married Miss Vina Archer, a daughter of L. W. Archer and they have five children: Florence Ollie, Arthur, Eleanor, Ray and Ethel. Matilda, the second member of the family, is the wife of Rev. W. J. H. Carlisle, who resides at Shelby, Michigan, and they have four children: Frank, Eleanor, Ethel and Normal. Hattie is the wife of Norman LaMunion, a resident of Lincoln township, Berrien county, and they have three children, Maude, Harbor and has two children, Gladys and Wesley. One son of the family, Wilbur F., now deceased, married Josephine Baird, and had four children: Kate, Carrie, Irvin and Fred. The other members of the Morrow family died in childhood. The eldest brother J. W. Morrow, served for four years as a soldier of the Civil war, enlisted as a private of Company B, Twelfth Michigan Volunteer Regiment, and left the army with the rank of sergeant. Munroe H. Morrow was a young lad of about six years when he came with his parents to Berrien county. He was reared in Lincoln township and as opportunity afforded attended the district schools of the home neighborhood. At the age of fourteen years he came to Benton Harbor, where he also attended school and he afterward pursued one years' course of study in a New Jersey business college, subsequent to which time he returned to Benton Harbor and in I874 became an active factor in its commercial circles by establishing the firm of Morrow & Rowe, restaurant and bakery proprietors, for three years, at the end of which time Mr. Morrow entered the dry goods business, in which he continued for seven years. He next formed a partnership with Charles E. Stone under the firm style of Morrow & Stone and they opened a first class retail grocery and bakery at Io6 Water street, where they are now conducting a fine business. Their store is well stocked, is neat and tasteful in its arrangements and a good line of goods is carried, while the prices are reasonable and the business methods are such as would bear close investigation and scrutiny. In I88I was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Morrow and Miss Nettie A. Stone, a daughter of Ansel Stone. They have two children: Georgie E. and Wade Hampton. The former is a graduate of the Benton Harbor college and also of the National Park Seminary in Washington, D. C., where she pursued a literary course. Mr. Morrow votes with the Democracy and is conversant with the questions and issues of the day, so that he is enabled to M. H. MORROW BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN Laura and Monroe. Jennie is the wife of Amos Rowe, a resident of Benton Harbor, and their children are: Fred, Frank, William and Carrie. Emeline is the wife of Gilbert Edson, who is living at Berrien Springs, Michigan, and they have three children: Walter, Gilberta and Arthur. William E. wedded Mary Archer, a daughter of L. W. Archer, of Lincoln township, now resides in Benton Harbor, and their four children are: Dwight, Clyde, Howard and Frank. Munroe H. is the next of the family. Frank married Fannie Stone, resides in Benton HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 377 support his position by intelligent argument. He was alderman from the third ward for two terms and exercised his official prerogatives in support of all measures for the good of the city. He has taken a very active and helpful part in city affairs and April 6, I906, was elected mayor of Benton Harbor by one hundred and six majority, while the city is normally Republican by seven hundred majority. He is giving to the city a consistent business administration. In the Mrsonic fraternity he has taken the degrees of Lake Shore Lodge, A. F. & A. M., Calvin Chapter, R. A. M., Malta Commandery, K. T. and of the Mystic Shrine. He also has membership relations with the Maccabees and the Elks. He is a thorough business man, alert and enterprising, and has kept in touch with the trend of modern commercial progress. NATHANIEL A. HERRING, M. D., to whom by public opinion is accorded a position of prominence in professional circles in Benton Harbor, was born in Indiana in I856. His father, Dr. Frederick Herring, is a physician, long honored as a practitioner and leading citizen of Goshen, Indiana. Even at the advanced age of ninety-three years he still maintains office hours and enjoys a lucrative office practice. Dr. Herring of this review acquired his early education in the city schools of Goshen and further continued his more specifically literary course in the Indiana State University at Bloomington. After two years spent in that institution he began preparation for the practice of medicine and surgery, and in I88o was graduated from the Bennett Medical College of Chicago. He is now a member of the alumni association of his alma mater of the State Eclectic Medical and Surgical Society and of the National Eclectic Medical Association. Dr. Herring practiced his profession for seventeen years -in Indiana, and in 1897 located in Benton Harbor, where he has spent all of his time except when pursuing post graduate work. He has taken that means to broaden his efficiency and promote his knowledge. In the summer of I905 he pursued a special course in eye, ear, nose and throat work in the Chicago Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat College and is now giving special attention to diseases along those lines. As a general practitioner he is also well qualified and his ability is recognized in the liberal patronage which the public accords him and also in the esteem of his fellow practitioners. Dr. Herring was married in I88I to Miss Lucy Wright, of Bremen, Indiana, who died in I902. One son was born unto them, Fred J., who is now a student at Purdue University. Dr. Herring was again married, in 1903, his second union being with Miss Ella M. Parrett, of Benton Harbor. He is a member of Lake Shore Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Calvin Brittain Chapter, R. A. M. and also of Malta Commandery, Knights Templar of Benton Harbor. CLAUDIS B. CHAPIN, M. D., who in the practice of his profession has given evidence of thorough understanding of the principles of the medical science, is now classed with the leading representatives of the medical fraternity at Benton Harbor. He is a native son of Pennsylvania, born in 1872. His paternal grandfather, Fletcher Chapin, was a native of Vermont and a representative of an old New England family that was established in America at an early period in the colonization of the new world. Dr. John F. Chapin, father of our subject, was likewise born in the Green Mountin state and prepared for the practice of medicine as a student in Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated in the class of I86I. He has for many years been an active representative of the profession in Schoolcraft, Kalamazoo county, Michigan, where he is still actively and successfully engaged in his chosen field of labor. He has resided there continuously since I879 and his position as both a physician and citizen is a prominent one. He wedded Miss Mary Bidleman, a native of Pennsylvania, and she is also yet living. Dr. Chapin of this review, their only child, acquired his early education in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and afterward attended 378 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY the State Agricultural College, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science. Still later he entered the University of Michigan and, matriculating in the medical department completed regular course of study there in I897, at which time the degree of M. D. was conferred upon him. He afterward spent three or four years at Pontiac Asylum and later pursued a post graduate course in New York city. In I9oo he located for practice in Benton Harbor, where he has met with much success and is now enjoying a liberal patronage, which is indicative of the trust and confidence reposed in his professional ability by the general public. In I9oo Dr. Chapin was married in Pontiac, Michigan, to Miss Lucile B. Brace, whose birth occurred in that city, her parents being Chauncy and Mary Brace. Dr. and Mrs. Chapin now have one daughter, Mary Helen, born in Benton Harbor 'in I9oI. Fraternally Dr. Chapin is connected with the Knights of Pythias and is also a Knight Templar Mason. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, but he has little leisure time for political work even had he ambitions in that direction. He is highly esteemed both in his profession and socially and his genial companionable nature has gained him many friends, while the value of his professional service is appreciated by many patrons. JAMES J. MILLER, whose intense and well-directed activity has been an important element in the public life and interests of Benton Harbor as well as in his private business affairs, is a native of Canada, born in I854. His early education was there acquired and he came to Michigan at the age of thirteen years. His parents were Angus and Flora (Black) Miller. Owing to the limited financial circumstances of the family James J. Miller found it necessary to provide for his own support when quite a young lad, and in Canada worked for two dollars per month and his board. From his earnings he at length saved enough to take him to Michigan, having determined to remove to the United States, for he believed that he might have better business opportunities across the border. Accordingly he made his way to Bay City and secured employment in a meat market at a salary of fifteen dollars per month. Gradually he was advanced and his wages increased as he displayed efficiency and trustworthiness, and when his earnings had brought to him sufficient capital he embarked in business on his own account, opening a meat market in Gladstone, Michigan, where he carried on business for a number of years. Moreover he was very active and influential in town affairs there and did much to mold public thought and opinion. His fellow citizens, recognizing his worth and ability, called him to various positions of trust and honor. He was chosen the first president of the village board upon its organization and following the incorporation of Gladstone as a city he was elected its first mayor, serving for two terms in that office. He gave to the new city a publicspirited, practical and beneficial administration. He had been active in securing the city organization and his efforts in behalf of the public welfare were far-reaching and beneficial. He had affiliated with the Democratic party, but he placed the general good before partisanship and the welfare of the community alove personal aggrandizement. In I891 Mr. Miller removed to Benton Harbor after disposing of his business in Gladstone and in this city established a meat market, which he continued for ten years. He then sold out and joined Seeley McCord in the establishment of a brick and tile factory conducted under the, firm name of McCord, Miller & Company. The Benton Harbor Brick and Tile Company was incorporated in March, I904, with Mr. Miller as president, treasurer and general manager. They manufacture brick and tile and have a capacity of about four or five million brick per year and two million tile. This is one of the important productive industries of the city, employment being furnished to from forty to sixty men, and the product is shipped to all parts of the state. It has become a profitable enterprise owing to the careful direction of its manager, who has been HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 379 watchful of every indication pointing to success and has displayed keen discernment in the control of the plant. In Benton Harbor Mr. Miller has also become recognized as a prominent and influential citizen, and for the past ten years has been and still is a member of the board of public works, acting thereon since its establishment. He has been president of the board and was trustee for nine years. He is also a member and director of the Benton Harbor Development Company. Any movement or plan for the benefit of the city receives his co-operation and endorsement. His insight is penetrative, his labors practical and his work has therefore proved an element in the best interests of Benton Harbor. Prominent in Masonic circles, he belongs to the lodge of this city, to the Chapter and Commandery in Benton Harbor, Michigan, and he is also connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Pleasantly situated in his home life, he was married in 1876 in Bay City, Michigan, to Miss Lydia R. Powell, a native of that place and they have four living children: James M., Charles A., Flora B. and Fred McK. In a review of the life record of Mr. Miller we find perhaps that his dominant quality has been his unremitting diligence and upon this he has builded the superstructure of his success. Making his own way in the world from early boyhood, he has developed all his latent powers and resources and his concentration of purpose and laudable ambition have enabled him to progress where men of less resolute purpose have faltered. DANIEL HUNT, who is engaged in the grocery business in Benton Harbor, is a native of Wales, born on the 4th of February, I846. He was the youngest in a family of ten children and the only one of the number who ever came to America. His parents were Daniel and Mary (Williams) Hunt, the former a native of Wales, England, and the latter of the country of Wales. The paternal grandparents were William and Mary Hunt, both of English parentage. William Hunt removed to the little rock ribbed country of Wales, where he and his son Daniel spent their remaining days. The latter died in I870 at the age of seventyseven years, while his wife survived until 1889, passing away at the very advanced age of eighty-two years. Daniel Hunt, the subject of this review, was reared in the land of his nativity, and when twenty-one years of age crossed the ocean to the new world, for he had heard favorable reports concerning business conditions and opportunities here and resolved to seek his fortune in the United States. Accordingly in I867 he emigrated to America, settling first in Brazil, Indiana, where he lived for twenty-five years. During the first ten years he was employed at the Brazil Furnace Coal Mines as stationary engineer, and then with the capital which he had saved from his earnings he embarked in business on his own account in 1877 as a grocer at Brazil, Indiana. He continued in the business there until he came to Benton Harbor in 1892.. Here he established a grocery store, which he has since conducted with a growing trade that has been very gratifying and satisfactory. In community affairs he has ever been deeply interested and while living in Brazil was instrumental in securing the establishment of the courthouse there. He was likewise influential in the movement for building the courthouse at St. Joseph, and while living in Brazil, Indiana, he served for six years as alderman. For four years he has occupied a similar position in Benton Harbor and is an active worker in the city council, serving on various important committees and doing much to promote public welfare and progress here. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and he is stalwart in advocacy of its principles, but he places the general good before partisan measures and the welfare of his community before personal aggrandizement. On the 5th of May, I870, in Brazil, Indiana, occurred the marriage of Daniel Hunt and Miss Anna Williams, who was born in Wales, England. They now have two children: Charles D.. who was born in Brazil, Indiana, February 5, I880; and Anna A., 380 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY born in Brazil in I889. Mr. and Mrs. Hunt are highly esteemed citizens of Benton Harbor and are active, earnest and helpful workers in the Baptist church. He has served as one of the deacons of the church of that denomination since coming to this city and he is also its treasurer. His life has been actuated by a spirit of direct and immediate serviceableness, and while he does not lack that laudable ambition which prompts earnest effort in business affairs resulting in success he does not regard the acquirement of wealth as the ultimate aim and object of his life. On the contrary he gives of his time in influence for the furtherance of movements for moral progress and belongs to that class who uphold the political and legal status of the community. HELMATH A. FOELTZER is well known in business and political circles in Benton Harbor, where he is now conducting a large tailoring establishment, while at the same time he finds opportunity to assist in measures of public progress, manifesting a deep interest in the welfare of the community and his life has manifested a spirit of direct and immediate serviceableness. In the composite fabrics of our national existence the German element has been an important one and it is of this element that Mr. Foeltzer is a representative. His birth occurred in the fatherland in I86I, and when four years of age he was brought to America by his parents. He is a son of Ludwig and Dora (Hackbusch) Foeltzer, both of whom were natives of Germany. About 1865 the father brought his family to the new world, settling in Wisconsin, where he followed his trade of tailoring, which he had learned in his native country. He died at the age of forty-eight years and is yet survived by his widow, who still makes her home in Wisconsin. In the family were six children, of whom Helmath A. is the first in order of birth. The others are: Albert, who now resides in Kansas; Mrs. S. E. Burnham, who is living in Wisconsin; Otto, also of Kansas; Mrs. O. Jurgeuson, whose home is in Wisconsin; and Louis, who resides in Ludington, Michigan. Devoting his early boyhood to the acquirement of an education in the schools of Wisconsin, Helmath A. Foeltzer afterward left home at the age of seventeen years to become a factor in business life. He had previously learned the tailor's trade and for several years he was engaged at his trade in various states, after which he came to Benton Harbor, Michigan, in February, I892, here he established his present tailoring business and has enjoyed a large and profitable trade, securing a liberal patronage from the best class of citizens-a fact which is evidence of his good work and reliable business methods. He has kept in touch with modern ideas concerning the business and goods purchased at his establishment are a guarantee of style and workmanship. In I884 in Belvidere, Illinois, Mr. Foeltzer was married to Miss Lillie Dale, who was born in New York, but was reared in the city, where the wedding was celebrated. They have one child, H. Arthur, whose birth occurred in Belvidere. Mr. Foeltzer is a stanch Republican, recognized as one of the leading representatives of the party in Berrien county and'his devotion to the general good is a matter of recognition by all. He served as alderman from the third ward in I899 and was mayor of the city in I890 and I89I, being endorsed by the Democrats at the last election and therefore having no opposition. It was a merited tribute to his public spirit and his active and practical service in behalf of the city's welfare. He gave an administration characterized by reform, improvement and progress and his private life, business interests and political service have been free from criticism. He is a member of Lake Shore Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Benton Harbor, and also of Malta Commandery of this city, while his relations with capitular Masonry connect him with Calvin Brittain Chapter, No. 44, R. A. M., of St. Joseph. He also belongs to the.Knights of Pythias fraternity and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. The favorable regard in which he is held by his brethren of these organizations also extends to other circles, for he is uniformly esteemed wherever known. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 38I JAMES W. LUCAS, who has been engaged in business in Benton Harbor as a coal dealer since I899, was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in I868, his parents being Isaac W. and Maria (Hallett) Lucas. The father, a native of Salem, Massachusetts, came from the old Bay state to Michigan with his parents, Israel and Emma Lucas, who settled in Berrien county before the Civil war. The father was a Congregational clergyman and became one of the early ministers of St. Joseph, Michigan, aiding to build the first church of that Unto this marriage were born five children, of whom four are living: Elton E.; James W.; Frank B., who is living in California; and Ray F., also living in California. James W. Lucas acquired his education in the public schools of Grand Rapids and in early manhood he engaged in business as an inspector of lumber for twelve years. In I887 he came to Benton Harbor, where he has since made his home and in I899 he embarked in the coal trade, in which he has been very successful. He has large coal pockets here and many teams for delivering the fuel, and his business is now extensive and profitable for it has ever been conducted along lines of the strictest and most unswerving honor. In I895 in Benton Harbor Mr. Lucas was united in marriage to Miss Clara Allison, who was born in this city and is a daughter of David and Ruth (Springer) Allison, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. Their social position is an enviable one, for the hospitality of the best homes in this city is cordially extended to them. Mr. Lucas is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of the Maccabees. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, but while he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day he has never sought or desired office. He is a genial, companionable gentleman and association with him means pleasure. ALVAH P. CADY, a strong and capable menber of the Berrien county bar, was born in Ottawa county, Michigan, in I865. His paternal grandfather, Calvin B. Cady, was a native of Vermont and married a Miss Judson. At an early day he left New England and removed to the state of New York, where he followed the occupation of farming. His son, James F. Cady, was born in Steuben county, New York, October 21, I819, and was there reared and educated, coming to Michigan when a young man. This was, however, prior to his marriage, which occurred in 1847, Miss Silence P. J. W. LUCAS BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN denomination there. It is still standing, a monument to his consecrated effort in behalf of the cause of Christianity. His son, Isaac W. Lucas, was reared in Michigan and in early manhood he accepted a position as bookkeeper in St. Joseph. Subsequently he went to Grand Rapids, where he was similarly employed for many years, but he now makes his home in California. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Maria Hallett, was born in England and came with her parents to Michigan at a very early age. 382 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Hard becoming his wife. She was born in New York, August 20, I829, and came to Michigan with her parents about I840. Mr. Cady was a merchant tailor, following that business throughout his entire life, and his energy and capability found fruition in a large and profitable business. He died in Ottawa county, Michigan, June 18, 1876, while his wife survived until August 9, I894, passing away in Benton Harbor. In their family were eight children, Alvah P. Cady being the sixth in order of birth. Those still living are as follows: P. Philip, who is living in Pipestone, Minnesota; Mrs. E. F. Tuxberry, a resident of Ottawa county, Michigan; Rev. William J. Cady, who is pastor of the Congregational Church in Benton Harbor; Alvah P., of this review; Rev. George L. Cady, who was formerly pastor of the Congregational Church in this city and is now preaching for that denomination in Dubuque, Iowa; and Mrs. Mayme Haydon, living in Tacoma, Washington. Alvah P. Cady acquired his early education in a preparatory school in Massachusetts and later attended Olivet College in Michigan, from which he won the B. S. degree in the class of I890. He afterward entered the law department of the University of Michigan and won the degree of L.L. B. upon his graduation in the class of I894. He then entered upon the practice of law in Benton Harbor, where he has remained continuously since, and his clientage has constantly increased. On the Ist of January, 1902, he formed a law partnership with William H. Andrews, under the firm name of Cady & Andrews, and this relation has since been maintained. He is careful in analysis, is constantly adding to his knowledge of the law and prepares his cases with provident care. His legal learning, his analytical mind and the readiness with which he grasps the points in an argument all combine to make him a strong and capable member of the bar. In 1892, in Chicago, Illinois, Mr. Cady was married to Mrs. Grace Whitney nee Warner. They have two children: Helen Grace and Evelyn Warner, both born in Benton Harbor. In community affairs Mr. Cady is deeply and helpfully interested, and is an active worker in the ranks of the Republican party, doing everything in his power in campaign seasons to secure the adoption of Republican principles. He was largely instrumental in securing the establishment of the Carnegie public library, was appointed a member of the board and has since served as its secretary. He is a trustee of the Congregational church of Benton Harbor, of which his brother George was formerly pastor, while his brother, Rev. William J. Cady, is now pastor. In his private life he is distinguished by all that marks the true gentleman. To the intellectual qualities with which he was endowed by nature he has added the discipline and embellishments of culture and is one of the esteemed and honored residents of Benton Harbor. BYRON L. HALL, conducting a steamfitting and hardware business in Benton Harbor, is a native of Saratoga Springs, New York, born in 1852. His education was acquired in Orleans county, New York, and after putting aside his text-books he began preparation for practical service in the work-a-day world by learning the steamfitter's trade in the Empire state. The year I885 witnessed his arrival in Michigan, at which time he settled in Benton Harbor, following his trade as a journeyman for some time. In I890 he established himself in business as a steam fitter and plumber and found that his capable service won him a growing patronage that extended his financial resources so that he was gradually enabled to add to his establishment a line of stoves and general hardware. In I897 he removed to his present location on Pipestone street, where he has an excellent and well equipped hardware store and steamfitting establishment, carrying a large and well selected stock of shelf and heavy hardware, together with all the appliances needed for the installment of steamfitting and plumbing plants or for repair work along those lines. He gives close attention to his business, regarding no detail as too unimportant for his supervision, and his application and earnest endeavor have been salient features HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 383 in his success. In 900o he purchased ten acres of land and set out a fruit orchard just outside the city limits, raising all kinds of fruit, including peaches, grapes and berries. He has built a residence upon his place since it came into his possession and has an attractive home which enables him to enjoy all of the comforts of country life as well as the convenience of city life. He has always been a hard-working, conscientious man, upright in his dealings and his business record proves that success and an honored name may be won simultaneously. In I874 at Clarendon, Orleans county, New York, occurred the marriage of Byron L. Hall and Miss Eva G. Wyman, who was born in that village. They have four children: Jessie S.; Morris J., who is in business with his father; Lena E.; and Ross B. Mr. Hall is a Republican, and his fellow townsmen recognizing his worth and ability have called him to the office of alderman, representing the third ward in the city council for two years. His fraternal relations connect him with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Patricians. EDWARD B. CRYAN is proprietor of a meat market in Benton Harbor and is regarded as a worthy accession to the business ranks of the city. He is yet a young man, but his fellow townsmen recognize in him the possession of those qualities of enterprise, laudable ambition and determination which work for success in business affairs and in public interests as well. He was born in Stratford, Canada, in I879. His father, John Cryan, a native of England, was brought to America when nine years of age by his parents, Patrick and Ella Cryan, who settled in Canada. He was reared to the occupation of farming, which he followed in the Dominion until I896, when he came to Michigan, settling in Benton township, Berrien county, where he purchased a farm. For several years he continued its cultivation and improvement, but is now living a retired life, making his home in Benton Harbor. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary Carroll and was born in Canada. They have become the parents of seven children, of whom Edward B. is the fourth in order of birth. The family record is as follows: Joseph, who is engaged in the conduct of a meat market on Water street in Benton Harbor; Charles, a resident of Stratford, Canada; Mrs. Annie Taggry, living in Canada; Edward B., of this review; Mrs. Winnie Hauser, whose home is in St. Joseph, Michigan; and Frank and Mary, who are residents of Benton Harbor. Edward B. Cryan began his education in the schools of Canada and continued his studies in Benton Harbor after coming to Michigan with his parents. He entered business life as a farm hand in the employ of Samuel Stewart of Benton township, and later went to New York city, where he was employed in a meat market, becoming thoroughly conversant with the business. After a year spent in the east he returned to Benton Harbor, where he secured employment in the meat market of W. F. Summerville until that gentleman sold out, when Mr. Cryan entered the employ of E. A. Blackler, proprietor of a meat market, with whom he continued until I902, when he purchased the store of his employer and embarked in business on his own account as a member of the firm of Cryan Brothers. He gave his brothers a start until they were able to engage in business for themselves. At the present time Mr. Cryan is sole owner of the market, which he is conducting successfully. It is well equipped with an excellent refrigerating plant and all facilities for the care and preservation of the meats and he carries a good stock, so that he is able to meet the wishes of his patrons, who are continually growing in number. He started out in business on a small scale, but today has a splendid trade and is carrying on a very remunerative business. Mr. Cryan exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party, to which he has given his support since attaining his majority. The greater part of his life has been passed 384 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY in Benton Harbor, where he is well known as a reliable business man and enterprising citizen. LOUIS W. MILBOURNE. On therecord of business enterprises of Benton Harbor mention should be made of the commercial interests of Louis W. Milbourne, who is engaged in dealing in harness, sleighs and carriages and who along modern business lines has so directed his efforts that he has found the path leading to successful acquirement. His birth occurred in Eaton county, Michigan, in I860. His father, Peter Milbourne, a native of Ohio, is yet living at Eaton Rapids, Michigan, where he follows the occupation of farming. He removed from ithe Buckeye state to Eaton county about thirty-five or forty years ago and purchased an improved tract of land, upon which he has since made his home, his attention being given to its further cultivation and development. He married Caroline Roth, who was born in Pennsylvania and they have become the parents of three children: Etta May, of Saginaw, Michigan; Louis W., of this review; and Elmer E., who resides in Eaton Rapids. Louis W. Milbourne was reared upon the home farm and early in life learned the harness making trade, entering upon an apprenticeship to the business in Eaton Rapids when eighteen years of age. There he continued in that line of activity until about eight years ago, when he came to Benton Harbor and entered the employ of W. C. Hovey, a harness maker, with whom he continued for about three years. In I900 he engaged in business on his own account on Pipestone street and two years ago he purchased Mr. Hovey's business and has since been located on east Main street, where he is now engaged in the manufacture and sale of harness. He carries all kinds of kindred goods besides a large variety of sleighs, carriages and wagons and he has built up a fine business. Public opinion is undivided concerning his methods and ability in business life, for the former are commendable and all acknowledge the latter. He is recognized as a man of keen discrimination and enterprise who has learned that the road to wealth is not a royal one, for the path is barred by obstacles which must be overcome by determined and earnest purpose if the goal of prosperity would be reached. In 1905 Mr. Milbourne was married in Benton Harbor to Miss Dora Babcock, a daughter of Charles Babcock, and their recently established home is noted for its pleasing and gracious hospitality, which is enjoyed by the many friends whom they have won during their period of residence here. Mr. Milbourne exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party and he holds fraternal relations with the Elks and the Modern Woodmen of America. In manner he is courteous and pleasant, winning friends by his genial disposition and honorable character which commands the respect of all. He is public-spirited in an eminent degree and during the years of his residence here has given his support to whatever is calculated to promote the general welfare. ALBERT ROSS ARFORD. A life of service has made Albert Ross Arford a representative and respected citizen of Benton Harbor. While he is not without that laudable ambition to achieve success and thereby enjoy the honors and amenities of life, he does not regard the acquirement of wealth as the chief end and aim of his existence, and has put forth effective and earnest effort for public interests and the moral development as well as for the growth of his individual business affairs. A young man, he is an active factor in the life of Benton Harbor and stands for all that is true, good, beautiful and elevating in life. He was born in Daviess county, Indiana, in 1872, and is a son of Frank B. Arford, whose birth occurred in Ohio and who died in Indiana in January, I901, at the age of forty-seven years. He was a farmer by occupation, always following that pursuit in order to provide for his family. He wedded Miss Jane Wilson, also a native of Ohio and her death occurred in Indiana in 1895 when she was forty-three years of age. In their family were six children: Albert Ross; Mrs. Mary Winklepleck, a resident of Indiana; Mrs. Carrie France, who is 1-I MR. AND MRS. ELISHA INGRAHAM HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 385 living in Indiana; Roland D., of the same; state; Mrs. Lillian Krieger, a resident of Bainbridge township; and Ralph R., who resides in Indiana. Albert R. Arford was reared in the town of Odon, Indiana, where he attended the public schools, supplementing his earlier educational advantages by a course in Westfield College in Illinois, from which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1896. At Hammond, Indiana, he was identified with the work of the Young Men's Christian Association for one year and in the early part of I890 he came to Benton Harbor, where he became general secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association, accupying the position until the latter part of I897, when he entered the employ of the Phoenix Accident Association. His time was thus passed for three years, during which period he acted as cashier and assistant auditor. When the office was removed to Detroit he with others organized the Workingmen's Mutual Protective Association, a health and accident organization with insurance principles, which was later incorporated with the following officers: Frank Wittrick, president; M. A. Price, vice president; M. F. Hinkly, treasurer; Albert R. Arford, secretary; and E. C. Bowlby as general manager of the agencies. This business was established in I90I and has been very successful, owing largely to the business capacity, organizing force and executive ability of Mr. Arford. In I901 occurred the marriage of Mr. Arford and Miss Mabel E. Geer, who was born in this state. The wedding was celebrated in Benton Harbor and there has been born upon them a daughter, Katherine F. The parents hold membership in the Congregational church and Mr. Arford, deeply interested in religious work and the moral development of his community, has taken a most helpful part in the various church activities, serving at the present time as superintendent of the Sunday school, which position he has held for the past five years and also as one of the officers of the Berrien County Sunday School Association. He is a Republican in politics and is public-spirited and progressive in an eminent degree. 25 ELISHA INGRAHAM, living in Bainbridge township, at Spink's Corners, is now living a retired life but for many years devoted his time and attention to general agricultural pursuits. Spink's Corners was settled by the three Spink brothers, Orson, John and Samuel Spink, who lived in the neighborhood for many years. Elisha Ingraham was born in Jefferson county, New York, September 15, I830, his parents being Jarrett and Polly (Pitman) Ingraham, who in 1844 came to Berrien county. Their daughter Susan, the wife of Joseph Vincent, had already become a resident of Bainbridge township. Her husband was a brother of Albert Vincent, father of Alonzo! Vincent, and Horace Vincent, another brother, likewise lived in this locality. Jarrett Ingraham was a cooper by trade and was very handy with tools. He secured land north of what is now Coloma and spent three years clearing a farm. He then traded that property for a new farm in Bainbridge township, east of Spink's Corners, where he spent his remaining days. His life there was devoted to making the farm a valuable and attractive property but his labors were not continued long, he passed away in July, I85I, being then seventy-four years of age. His widow survived him until the I8th of August, 1872, and died at the age of eightyeight years. In the family were eleven children, ten of whom reached years of maturity, and Elisha Ingraham is probably now the only one living. His brother, Minot Ingraham, died two or three years ago at Coloma, where he is remembered as a well known merchant and hotel man. He had two sons, Solon and Lyman. Mark Ingraham died at the old homestead when about thirty-four years of age. Lucy M. became Mrs. Davidson, and after living near St. Joseph for a few years removed to Kansas. Polly became the wife of Abner Woodward, of Watervliet township, and died when about fifty years of age. Her son, Oren Woodward, is proprietor of a summer resort on Paw Paw Lake. Susan, who became Mrs. Vincent, lived and died in Bainbridge township, passing away at the advanced age of more than eighty years. She 386 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY lost her two sons, Jarrett and Merrick, both of whom died while serving in the United States Army. Lydia was married in New York to a Mr. Shippey, who died, and she afterward became the wife of George Collis. They came to Bainbridge, bringing with them her children by her first marriage, and Charles Shippey still lives in Bainbridge township, while her grandson, Collis Roland is living in Benton Harbor. One of her daughters, Lydia, died in Benton Harbor at the age of sixty-five years. She was the widow of John Sutherland, of Pipestone township. Elisha Ingraham was at home until his father died. He was at that time twentytwo years of age, and he continued to live with his mother until her demise. Elisha was married! September I5, I859-the twentyninth anniversary of his birth-to Miss Helen Sedgwick, a daughter of Stephen and Mariamne (Easton) Sedgwick. She was born in Jefferson county, New York, and in her childhood days accompanied her parents on their removal to Wisconsin, while at the age of twenty-one years she came to Bainbridge township, Berrien county. She was twenty-four years of age at the time of her marriage. She had begun teaching school when only fourteen years of age in Wisconsin, and taught nearly every year until her marriage, being thus engaged for a time in Bainbridge and in Fairplain. Mr. Ingraham purchased the interest of the other heirs in the old home property, which in 1873 he exchanged for his present farm, which is pleasantly and conveniently located one-half mile west of Spink's Corners. It was settled by a Mr. Marshall, but Mr. Ingraham placed much of it under cultivation. It comprises one hundred acres and has been devoted to the raising of grain and hay, and to some extent to the cultivation of apples. He continued actively in the management and conduct of the farm until I906, when he rented it and is now living at the Corners, enjoying a well earned rest. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Ingraham have been born four daughters: Mary, at home; Emma, the wife of Myron C. Merrill, who is living near Spink's Corners; Ella, the wife of Curtis L. Anlrews, who has been engaged in merchandising at Spink's Corners for several years; and Grace, the wife of Forry Nichols, who is living on her father's farm. In his political views Mr. Ingraham is a stanch Prohibitionist, never faltering in his allegiance to the party, for he is a strong temperance man and he believes that the temperance question is the most important one to the country. His life has been one of activity, crowned with success. He has lived in this part of the state from the age of fourteen years, or for a period of six decades, and has watched with interest those events which have formed decades in the annals of this part of the state. He has also contributed to its material progress and as the years have gone by has achieved the success which now enables him to rest retired from further labor. DR. BERTON G. WATSON, engaged in the practice of medicine in Benton Harbor, where he is also recognized as a man of influence and prominence in the community affairs, was born in Lake City, Minnesota, in 1864. His father, Joseph H. Watson, was a native of Clarion county, Pennsylvania, born in 1830, and on leaving the Keystone state he made his way westward to Illinois, settling in Mercer county, whence he afterward removed to Minnesota. Several years later he came to Michigan, where he arrived in 1867. He was a carpenter by trade and for many years engaged in building operations. Subsequently he purchased a farm in Benton township, Berrien county, vhere he now lives, having an excellent fruit farm on Fair Plain near Benton Harbor. This is in the center of the famous fruit belt of Michigan and his products, being of excellent quality, find a ready sale on the market. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and he has held various offices of trust in Benton township, including the office of highway commissioner and supervisor. His aid can always be counted upon to further progressive public movements and his position as a citizen and HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 387 business man is a prominent one. He wedded Miss Mary Grow, a native of New York, who is now seventy-four years of age. In her early womanhood she engaged in teaching school in Albion, New York. By her marriage she became the mother of five children, but only two are now living: Lake J., who was the first white male child born in Lake City, Minnesota, and now resides upon the old home farm with his parents; and Berton G. Dr. Watson was brought from his native state to Michigan in early boyhood and pursued his education in the public schools of Berrien county and in the high schools at Benton Harbor, from which he was graduated in the class of I884. He then entered the Bennett Eclectic Medical College at Chicago, Illinois, to prepare for the practice of medicine and surgery, which he had determined to make his life work, and after thorough reading he completed his course by graduation in the class of I888. Dr. Watson entered upon active practice in Auburn, Indiana, where he remained for five years and then in I893, returend to Michigan, settling in Benton Harbor, where he has continued in practice with gratifying success. His efforts to alleviate human suffering, check the ravages of disease and restore health have been attended with gratifying results when viewed from both a professional and financial standpoint, and the medical fraternity, accords him confidence, respect and prominence because of his close adherence to a high standard of professional ethics. Dr. Watson votes with the Republican party, and in I900 was a candidate for mayor against I. W. Conley, who defeated him by a small majority. He has taken an active part in political work, doing effective service for his party in the campaigns and, keeping well informed on the questions and issues of the day, is ever able to support his position by intelligent argument. Dr. Watson was married in I889 in Cleveland, Ohio, to Miss Lillie Cleveland, who was born in the city where the marriage was celebrated. They now have four chil dren: Hazel M., who was born in Auburn, Indiana, and is fifteen years of age; Bernice G., who was born in Benton Harbor and is twelve years of age; Louise J., aged seven years, also a native of Benton Harbor; and Joseph C., who was born in this city two years ago. Dr. Watson belongs to the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained high rank and is now a Shriner. He is also connected with the Knights of Pythias, the Elks and the Odd Fellows, being a valued representative of these organizations, and in their membership he has many warm friends. A well informed man, he is possessed of broad general information and in his nature there is nothing narrow or contracted. He has a spirit that while devoted to his resident community is liberal enough to recognize and appreciate advancement and progress in any part of the world. JOHN SCHAIRER, of Benton Harbor is an example of the self-made American citizen and his history also illustrates the progress that an ambitious foreigner can make in this country of unbounded opportunities. His success is due to his own energy and the ideal which his ambition placed before him. He was born in Germany in I848 and is a son of Englebert and Olive (Winston) Schairer, both of whom were natives of Gemany and died in that country before the emigration of their son John to the new world. The father was a farmer by occupation and for sixteen years was a soldier in the German army. In the family were nine children, but only three are living: George, who is now living in Wisconsin; Terrance, a resident of New York; and he whose name introduces this review. John Schairer came to America with his brother and two sisters in I866, being at that time about eighteen years of age. He settled first in Rochester, New York, where he worked for the firm of Bausch & Lomb, the noted manufacturers of eye glasses and spectacles. After some time in their employ he came to Michigan, settling in Bainbridge township, Berrien county, where he worked on a farm for two years. 388 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY He next went to Wisconsin, where he worked on the river, pushing logs. He was also employed in sawmills, his time being thus passed from I868 until I877. In the latter year he came to Benton Harbor, where he was employed for a year, after which he engaged in the restaurant and bakery business for a short time. Subsequently he became a wholesale dealer in beer and is now carrying on the business, bottling beer and soft drinks. He has prospered in this undertaking, his trade having steadily grown until it has now reached large and profitable proportions. He has also a fine fruit farm in St. Joseph township of eight acres and raises all kinds of small and large fruit. His business plant and his farm and other property are the visible evidence of his life of thrift and industry. In 1874 Mr. Schairer was married in St. Joseph, Michigan, to Miss Olive Herman, who was born in Bainbridge, this county. They have become the parents of ten children, nine of whom are living. The two eldest were born in Wisconsin, while the others were all born in Benton Harbor. The family record is as follows: Lizzie, the wife of Thomas Gibbons; Olive, who died about eleven years ago when eighteen years of age; George; Dora, the wife of Fred Null, by whom she has two children, John and Raymond; John; Carrie, the wife of Nelson McLain; Annie; Genevieve and Joseph, twins; and James. Mr. Schairer is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and also of the Catholic Knights. He was alderman of Benton Harbor before it was incorporated as a city, holding the position for six years, was street commissioner for one term during the same period, and was a member of the board of directors of the Citizens State Bank of Benton Harbor during the time of its existence. He is one of the active men of Benton Harbor in his business affairs. In politics he is a Democrat, interested and active in the work of the party. Success in any walk of life is an indication of earnest endeavor and persevering effort and these characteristics Mr. Schairer possesses in an eminent degree. EDWARD BRAMMALL, proprietor of a large plumbing and heating establishment, which he is now carrying on with much success in Benton Harbor, is a native' of England, born on the I7th of October, I849. He spent the first five years of his life in his native land and in I859 came to America with his parents, John N. and Sarah (Evans) Brammall, who on crossing the Atlantic to the United States settled first in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Brammall returned to her native country after a year and there her death occurred. Mr. Brammall carried on a business as a contractor and builder in this country, and on leaving Philadelphia went to Jackson, Tennessee. Following the outbreak of the war between the north and the south he made his way to Chicago,. He was drafted for service in the rebel army, but not being in sympathy with the spirit of secession he escaped northward to Chicago, where he became identified with the building interests, carrying on business as a contractor up to the time of his demise, which occurred in I865, when he was fifty-four years of age. Edward Brammall of this review pursued his education in the various localities where his father resided, completing his course in Chicago, after which he learned the tinsmith's trade, following the business in that city until his removal to Benton Harbor, where he arrived in I869 when a young man of about twenty years. He here continued to work at his trade, entering the employ of the Colby-Hinkly Company, while subsequently he was with the firm of Brunson & Winans until they sold out, at which time Mr. Brammall purchased the Lamport hardware business in December, I874. He then engaged in business on his own account as a hardware merchant until I888. He has gradually retired from that line of trade, having converted his store into the plumbing and heating establishment which he now carries on, enjoying large and gratifying success. He has also added mill supplies and he is now one of the oldest merchants in his line in the city. He thoroughly understands the trades which he represents and is qualified to do satisfactory HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 389 work in installing plumbing and heating plants. His patronage has become extensive and his laudable ambition and strong determination have enabled him to build up a good business. In I874, in Benton Harbor, occurred the marriage of Mr. Brammall and Miss Elizabeth Sullivan of this city. They are members of the Baptist church and are people of the highest responsibility, to whom is accorded respect as well as social prominence. In politics Mr. Brammall is a Republican and his first vote was cast in this city. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity, the Masonic lodge and the Maccabees tent. He has also taken the degrees of the chapter and commandery of the York rite and attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish rite and likewise has crossed the sands of the desert with the nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is particularly active in the Maccabees tent, in which he has served as commander for three years. His life has been one of continuous activity, in which he has been accorded due recognition of labor, and today he is numbered among the substantial citizens of his county. His interests are thoroughly identified with those of his adopted city, and at all times he is ready to lend his aid and co-operation to any movement calculated to benefit this section of the county or advance its development. SELIM B. ELLSWORTH, D. D. S., whose well equipped office and superior ability makes him a leading representative of the dental profession in Benton Harbor, was born in Prince Edward county, Ontario, Canada, in I834, the place of his nativity being in Picton township. He is the eldest in a family of eight children, six sons and two daughters, but is the only one living in Berrien county. His parents were Arthur and Dinah (Spencer) Ellsworth. The former was born in Canada, where he spent his entire life, following the occupation of farming as a means of support for his family. He passed away at the age of seventy-five years, while his wife reached the age of seventythree years. Dr. Ellsworth was reared to manhood in the place of his nativity and took up the study of dentistry at Picton under the direction of Dr. Henry T. Wood, a practicing dentist of that place, who was vice president of the board of licenses, a board organized to pass upon the qualifications of those who desired to become memblers of the profession. Dr. Ellsworth remained with Dr. Wood for four years and then went to New York, where he practiced for a year. In I866 he came to Michigan, first settling at Schoolcraft, Kalamazoo county, where he opened an office and continued in practice for almost twenty years. In the latter part of I885 he removed to Benton Harbor, where he has practiced with success continuously since. His office is well equipped with the most modern scientific instruments and appliances for the successful conduct of dental work and he keeps in touch with the advancement made by the profession, so that in his practice he gives uniform satisfaction. On the Ist of January, I868, in Schoolcraft, Dr. Ellsworth was united in marriage to Miss Eliza S. Collins, who was born in Geneva, New York. They became the parents of three children, but all have passed away. Dr. Ellsworth became a member of the Masonic fraternity in Picton in I865 and was a charter member of the Knights Templar Commandery of Benton Harbor. He first became connected with Chivalric Masonry at Three Rivers, Michigan, and has been prominent and active in the work of the craft. He was master of the lodge at Schoolcraft, also high priest of the chapter there and is a member of the council at St. Joseph. He now affiliates with Lake Shore Lodge, A. F. & A. M., at Benton Harbor and is a member of the Eastern Star. Dr. Ellsworth has been a close and earnest student of sociological, economic and political questions, and he endorses the principles of socialism, prohibition and spiritualism. SPENCER B. VAN HORN, a dry goods merchant of Benton Harbor, was born in Benton township on the I5th of March, 1847, his parents being Jacob and Euphemia 390 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY (Kinsey) Van Horn, natives of New Jersey. The father was a farmer by occupation and in 1835 came to Berrien county, Michigan, casting in his lot with the early pioneer settlers who braved the dangers and difficulties of life on the frontier in order to establish homes for themselves and families. When he first came to Michigan he worked for a Mr. LaRue in a sawmill, being employed in that way for about two years and then turned his attention to the tilling of the soil. He located on a farm four and a half miles east of Benton Harbor, and there he carried on general agricultural pursuits, placing his fields under a high state of cultivation and at the same time raising stock. He was thus identified with farming for about thirty years, when in I865 he took up his abode in Benton Harbor, where for about three years he conducted a boot and shoe business, continuing in that line of trade up to the time of his death, which occurred in this city in I868, when he was fifty-eight years of age. In his family were four children, of whom the two oldest were born in New Jersey and the others in this county. Three of the number are now living, namely: Mrs. Sarah DeWitt Guy, of Benton township; Mrs. Maria Barnum, who is living in the same township; and Spencer B., of this review. The eldest son, Charles M. Van Horn, was a soldier of the Civil war, enlisting in response to the president's call for aid as a member of Company B, Twelfth Michigan Volunteer Infantry. He joined the army as second sergeant and at Pittsburg he contracted a severe cold and was taken to the hospital, where he died of pneumonia. The mother of these children died in Hagar township, this county, at the age of seventy-five years, having long survived her husband. Spencer B. Van Horn spent the first eighteen years of his life upon the old homestead farm and became familiar with the practical duties of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. He attended the district schools and afterward continued his studies in the St. Joseph high school for two years. His first venture in the business world was as a clerk in the employ of Alvin Burridge, of Benton Harbor, and subsequently he was employed by George Rice. Later he entered the service of the firm of Pitcher & Jones, remaining with the latter for two years, after which he was employed by H. M. Zekinal, of St. Joseph. He was economical and industrious, and his close attention to his employers' interests won him promotion to positions of responsibility, bringing with them good remuneration. By saving his earnings he was at length enabled to embark in business on his own account, and in I878 he established a dry goods store in Benton Harbor, which he has since continued, his connection with mercantile interests covering a period of almost three decades. In fact his is one of the best known and most popular mercantile establishments in Benton Harbor and he carries a large and well selected line of goods, making careful purchases in order to meet the varied tastes of his patrons. On the Ist of November, 1876, Mr. Van Horn was united in marriage to Miss Julia Ogden, of Benton Harbor, a daughter of Stansbery and Ruth A. Ogden, early residents of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Van Horn now have one daughter, Lucy 0., who was born in Benton Harbor and is the wife of Raymon D. Haynes. Mr. Van Horn belongs to Lake Shore Lodge, No. 298, A. F. & A. M., Calvin Brittain Chapter, No. 72, R. A. M., and Malta Commandery, K. T. He likewise affiliates with the Maccabees, while his political support is given to the Republican party. Upon that ticket he was elected alderman for the second ward and by re-election was continued in the position for several years, serving as a member of the first city council after the incorporation of Benton Harbor under city government. He has long figured prominently in business circles here and he finds an appropriate place in the history of those men of business and enterprise whose force of character, sterling integrity and good sense in the mangement of complicated affairs have contributed in an eminent degree to the development of the city. His career has not been promoted by accident or luck, by wealth or family or influ Is MRS. EDWIN W. YOUNG EDWIN W. YOUNG IC HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 39I ential friends. On the contrary he is a selfmade man in the broadest sense of the term, being both the architect and builder of his own fortunes. EDWIN WALLACE YOUNG, living in Bainbridge township, has vivid recollections of pioneer times and the conditions which existed here in early days when this section of Michigan was regarded as a frontier district. In his boyhood days he shot wild turkeys in the locality but he was never an enthusiastic sportsman of that character. His birth occurred in Ellicott, Chautauqua county, New York, July 8, I830, his parents being Isaac M. and Betsey (Gilson) Young. The father was the son of a Scotch-Irishman and served in the wa: of 1812. His home was in Chautauqua county, New York, whence his son, Isaac M. Young, removed to in early manhood. He was married in that county or in Pennsylvania, where his wife, who bore the maiden name of Betsey Gilson, spent her girlhood days. The year 1837 witnessed their removal from the Empire state to Berrien county, Michigan, one brother, Stephen R. Gilson, having already come to this county in 1836 and settled on Paw Paw river between Coloma and Watervliet at what was known as Shingle diggings, in company with Hiram Ormsby, Rumsey Christie and a Mr. Barnes. They all were engaged in splitting and shaving shingles. The Pottawattomie Indians were camped close by and the settlement was in the midst of a region entirely wild and unimproved. Isaac Young spent one year at Shingle Diggins, shaving shingles. He then removed to the Territorial road near Bainbridge Center, and at that time Watervliet, Bainbridge and Pipestone townships were all one. It required two, days to hold the election in order that the voters, forty in number, might get to the polling place, which was a log cabin kept by Mrs. Davis, and was two miles east of Millburg. In this locality Isaac Young spent one year as a farmer and in the spring of I839 he built a log house in the woods on an eighty-acre tract of land on section ten, Bainbridge township. There were no roads near his house and the work of improvement and development seemed scarcely begun. Oftentimes large droves of deer could be seen making their way to a salt lick and in fact those animals were more common then than rabbits at present. To the west of Isaac Young's home lived Levi Woodruff, while the nearest neighbor on the west was Samuel McKeyes. The first frame barn in this locality was on McKeyes' farm and was built about I840. Settlers throughout the community for ten miles around were invited, also men from St. Joseph, in order to get enough men to aid in putting up the frame. Mr. McKeyes and Mr. Woodruff had resided in this locality for two years at the time that Mr. Young took up his abode there. He built a log house and continued to make shingles, the sale of which provided him with funds necessary for his expenses and also enabled him to pay for his land, which was largely cleared by his sons. He continued to reside upon the old homestead farm, which he there developed, making it his place of residence up to the time of his death. He cleared altogether sixty acres of land, and in I858 he erected the house which is still standing, his son, E. W. Young, doing the carpenter work. After living for a few years upon this farm Isaac Young ceased to make shingles and devoted himself to the tilling of the soil. He died in his eightieth year, his wife having passed away at the age of sixty-two years. In those early days Bainbridge was the name given to all three of the townships before they were separated. In the family of Isaac Young there were seven children, who reached adult age, while two died in childhood. Stephen died at the age of twenty-three years. Mary became the wife of Henry Selter, they being the first couple married in Bainbridge township, and her death occurred when she was thirty-seven years of age. Lucy married Joseph Enos, who had a sawmill at Millburg, and she died on the old homestead when thirty-seven years of age. Her husband went to California in I850 and died there a year later. Samuel Young died at 392 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY the age of forty years. Gideon passed away at the age of twenty-four years. Edwin W. was the next of the family. Clarissa became the wife of Jack Pike and died at the age of fifty-five years. Eben and Morgan both died in childhood. Edwin W. Young, whose name introduces this review, was only nine years of age at the time of the father's removal to the old farm homestead, and when twelve years of age he began earning his own living by working out through the summer months. His boyhood days were mainly spent on the farm and at the age of thirteen years he drove seven yoke of oxen to break land, but his father put a stop to this, as it proved too hard for him. He became an expert teamster, however, and his services in this direction were always in demand. His educational advantages were quite meager, owing to the fact that there was only a short three months' session of school each year. Throughout the remainder of the year he was busy in the work of the farm, clearing or cultivating the fields, and he remained' with his father until after he had attained his majority. He then started to work for others and after a year and a half turned his attention to carpentering. Subsequently he engaged in business as a contractor and builder for ten years, spending one season in St. Joseph, but the greater part of the time in the country. He erected a number of buildings which are still standing. Even after he began farming he still continued contracting to some extent, but following his mother's death he returned to the old homestead, of which he had charge for some time. His father retired from active life but continued to live with his son Edwin. The latter bought out the interest of the other heirs in the old home property and has extended the boundaries of the farm by additional purchase until he owned one hundred and ninety-three acres of valuable land. He placed over one hundred acres under cultivation, developing it from the original timber tract. He still owns twenty acres covered with timber, although he sold the original forest growth for six hundred dollars. The second growth shows red oak trees two! feet in diameter. The road or street was called Deacon street in honor of Deacon Levi Woodruff, although originally known as Oak Openings from the fact that it was free from underbrush. In his farming operations Mr. Young has mainly produced general crops, although to some extent he has engaged in dairying and fruitraising and he has sold hundreds of barrels of apples from his place and also has gathered large peach crops. He was for several years known as a prominent horseman and bred some noted roadsters. For some years now he has rented his farm, but continues to live upon his place, having erected a new house, which he now occupies. Mr. Young was married on the 27th of September, 1857, at Coloma, by Elder Kellogg, a Methodist Episcopal minister, to Miss Elmira Sutherland, the youngest of eight children whose parents were Lott and Mercy (Bliss) Sutherland. She was born in Broome county, New York, March 7, I835, and was brought to Michigan when a year old. Further mention of the family is made in connection with the sketch of Lewis Sutherland. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Young have been born the following named: Ida, the wife of Robert Ernsberger, who is operating a farm adjoining the old homestead; Charles L., who is a member of the'Young & Peck Company, merchants of Benton Harbor; and William I. Young, a blacksmith at South Haven, Michigan. E. W. Young is a Republican in his political views. His father, Isaac, was originally a Whig but joined the Republican party on its organization. He is likewise a member of the Odd Fellows Society and his wife is a member of the Universalist church. Few men have more intimate or accurate knowledge of pioneer experience and conditions in Berrien county in the years when this section of the state was emerging from a wild and unsettled region into one of rich fertility and possibilities. He relates many interesting incidents of the early days and as an honored early settler and successful business man and a worthy representative of one of the early families who well deserves mention in this volume. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 393 CHARLES K. FARMER, ex-city treasurer of Benton Harbor, is accounted as one of the alert and enterprising business men, being a representative of real estate interests and a member of the firm of Merwin & Farmer. He has furthermore been connected with other business enterprises which have demonstated his ability and which have felt the beneficial stimulus of his cooperation and keen business insight. His birth occurred in Brooklyn, New York, on the 25th of November, i86I, his parents being Francis V. and Sarah (Van Ness) Farmer, both of whom were natives of New Jersey and are now deceased. In the city of his nativity Mr. Farmer acquired his education, and in I887, then a young man of twenty-five years, came to Michigan. While in New York he had occupied a business position with the Butterick Company, the noted pattern manufacturing house. He had also occupied a position with the Anchor Line Steamship Company and had subsequently gone upon the road as a traveling salesman, representing a railway supply house of New York. In this capacity he traveled all over the United States, representing that house for three years. On the expiration of that period he resigned his position to accept the position of purchasing agent for the Valley Railroad Company at Cleveland, Ohio. He afterward returned to New York and took charge of the New York office of the Leatheroid Manufacturing Company, manufacturers of mill, railroad and electric supplies. He occupied that position for some time, or until failing health caused him to resign. He then came to Michigan and for five years was engaged in a general store at Hartman, Berrien county, during which time he was called to public office, being elected clerk of Pipestone township. He filled the office for one term and also acted as supervisor of the township for one term. He afterward went to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he engaged in the fruit, produce and commission business with L. F. Adams & Company, subsequent to which time he engaged in newspaper work. He remained for two years in Indianapolis, and upon his return to Michigan settled in Benton Harbor. In I895 Mr. Farmer was appointed superintendent of the Seymour Transportation Company, running a steamboat line between Benton Harbor and Chicago, which position he held until the company went out of business two years later. He then engaged with the Graham & Morton Transportation Company as purser, occupying that position on various steamboats of its line until the Wolverine Sugar Factory was established in Benton Harbor, when he became one of its first employes. He had charge of the office of the company and remained with the house until the factory was removed to Canada three years later, when he resigned and accepted his old position as purser with the Graham & Morton Transportation Company, again serving in that capacity for two years. He then once more resigned to enter the drug business as a partner in the Red Cross Drug Company in Benton Harbor. The directors of the Linden Cereal Company, manufacturers of cereal coffee, wished him to accept a position as manager of that company, which he did, acting in that capacity until the I Sth of Septmnber, I903, xwhen he resigned and pllrchased a third interest in a real estate business, conducted under the firm style of Hubbard, Merwin & Farmer, but which has since been succeeded by Merwin & Farmer. They are the leading real estate brokers of the city and are conducting an extensive business. In I883, in Brooklyn, New York, Mr. Farmer was united in marriage to Miss Athenaise Mitchell, a native of North Carolina, and unto them were born three children, of whom two are living: Marie, whose birth occurred in Brooklyn, New York; and Louise, who was born in Benton Harbor. Mr. Farmer is a member of the various Masonic bodies of this city, also of the Royal Arcanum, the Knights of the Maccabees and the Patricians. In politics he has ever been a stalwart Republican and is now serving for the second term as treasurer of Benton Harbor, to which position he was first 394 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY elected in 1904. He has taken a very active interest in military affairs, joining the naval reserves of Benton Harbor in I899. This organization is known as the Fourth Division State Naval Brigade, which was organized through his efforts. He enlisted in the ranks and after holding all the non-commissioned offices of the division was elected Ensign. Later he resigned to accept the position of lieutenant, junior grade, and that position he also resigned to accept the command of the division, which is his present connection with the organization. Mr. Farmer is a typical citizen of the middle west, exemplifying in his life the spirit which has led to the rapid upbuilding of this section of the country. In his business he has made continuous advancemenlt, being constantly watchful of his opportunities and ever manifesting a recognition of the fact that success depends upon merit. In political circles he has been public spirited, placing the general good before partisan measures and the welfare of his community before self aggrandizement. He is popular in business, social, political and military circles and is greatly esteemed by all who know him. JULIUS E. DUNBAR, who is engaged in business in Benton Harbor as proprietor of a meat market, was born in New York in 1856. His father, Jonathan Arnold Dunbar, was a native of the same state and spent his last days in Benton Harbor, where he passed away in 1899. He came to Michigan in 1855, settling at Eau Claire, Berrien county. There he secured forty acres of land in Berrien township, one mile south of Pipestone township. He engaged in farming for fortyfour years, and last year his son, Julius E. Dunbar, shipped six thousand baskets of grapes from this place-the first from the vines. After living in Pipestone township for a brief period the father settled at Eau Claire, where he purchased land and made his home until he came to Benton Harbor. This was about 1889 and he spent his remaining days in quiet retirement from further labor up to the time of his death. In early manhood he had wedded Harriet Patton, who still survives her husband and now makes her home with her son, Julius E. Dunbar, who is the only surviving member of the family save the mother. She was born in Connecticut and by her marriage became the mother of two sons and a daughter, but the daughter died in infancy. The elder brother, William Steuben Dunbar, was born in New York and in his early manhood was a cattle buyer, representing a firm in St. Joseph, Michigan. He traveled all over this county, buying cattle for the meat markets owned by the firm by whom he was employed. Subsequently he engaged in business on his own account at St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, continuing in the conduct of his market for about seven years and carrying on both a wholesale and retail trade. Subsequently he became interested in the manufacture of fertilizers in St. Joseph and later was engaged in the produce business, dealing in all kinds of vegetables and fruits, which he sold to the wholesale trade and in car load lots. At the time of the Cuban war he went south and shipped supplies of all kinds to the soldiers at Savannah, Georgia. On account of ill health he spent two winters in Florida and two or three winters in Georgia and at this time purchased three hundred acres of land in Alabama, on which he set out ten thousand peach trees. This was in I9oo. In the winter of I903, while taking care of his peach trees, he became ill and never again fully recovered his health. He returned home, however, to St. Joseph, Michigan, where he died in I904. He was quite extensively engaged in the produce business, shipping peaches by car load lots and was in a fair way to become famous by reason of his extensive shipments of peaches and other fruit. His son, Edward F., now cares for the orchard left by the father. He had married Alice Frost, of Eau Claire, Michigan, who makes her home in St. Joseph. Three children were 'born unto them: Lulu, the wife of George Karrick; Edward F.; and Roxie. Julius E. Dunbar was reared to farm life, acquired his early education in the district schools and at the age of seventeen years joined his brother at St. Joseph, Michigan, HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 395 remaining in his employ for four years. At the end of that time Andrew Patterson purchased the business of the brother and Julius E. Dunbar remained with him through the succeeding year. He then came to Benton Harbor and began in the meat business on his own account on West Main street, where he soon secured a good trade, remaining at that situation for five years. Later he admitted Edward White to a partnership under the firm style of Dunbar & White. They opened a market on Pipestone street, where they remained for four years, enjoying a constantly increasing and profitable trade, at the end of which time Mr. Dunbar sold out to Mr. White and agreed not to go into business for a year. He then re-entered the employ of Andrew Patterson in St. Joseph, where he remained until the expiration of the year agreed upon, after which he purchased Rowe Brothers store on Pipestone street in Benton Harbor, where he is now located. This. transfer of property occurred in I890 and Mr. Dunbar has since been a prosperous business man of this city, now having the largest meat trade in Benton Harbor. His office is well equipped with a refrigerating plant and with every facility for the successful conduct of his business and he carries a good grade of meats, so that his trade is constantly increasing and when once patronage is given to him he can count upon the retention of the trade. Mr. Dunbar votes with the Republican party, and though neither seeking nor desiring office he is interested in the city's good and is an active worker in behalf of general progress and improvement, his labors being far-reaching and beneficial. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp and the Maccabees tent and although not a member of the church he contributes liberally to the support of the Congregational church, of which his wife is a member. He was married December Io, 1885, to Miss Anna G. Forbes, a native of Benton Harbor, and this union has been blessed with six children: Wallace A. and Harriet A., both born in Benton Harbor; Erma, born in St. Joseph; Lois, Josephine B. and Raymond J., all born in this city. Mr. Dunbar is a genial man of social disposition, always having a friendly word for those with whom he comes in contact, and 'the circle of his friends is almost co-extensive with the circle of his acquaintance. During the greater part of his life he has lived in Berrien county and has become recognized as a man of liberal and progressive views, who has made an untarnished record and unspotted reputation as a business man. SAMUEL E. DAIGNEAU, the manager and principal stockholder of the Daigneau Laundry at Benton Harbor, was born in Vermont in 1852 and when but two years of age was brought to Michigan by his parents, John M. and Vitlie M. (Dion) Daigneau, both of whom were of French ancestry. Upon coming to Michigan they settled at Battle Creek, where the father followed the mason's trade. Subsequently he removed to the province of Quebec, Canada, but afterward returned to Michigan, and in 1902 came to Benton Harbor, where he now resides. In his family were five children, Sanmel E., Charles L., Mrs. Dora Hindman, Mrs. Alma Armitage and Clifford E. Daigneau. Samuel E. Daigneau acquired his early education in the schools of Battle Creek and also at the French schools in the east. In early life he learned the trade of broommaking, which he followed until his arrival in Benton Harbor in I89I. Here he purchased the small plant of the Tibbetts Laundry and has by hard work, energy and thrift established a large and growing patronage. In fact he has the most extensive and best equipped laundry in southwestern Michigan, supplied with the latest improved machinery and all modern accessories for the successful conduct of a business of this character. He is a thorough going business man, wide-awake and progressive and at the same time thoroughly reliable in all his business transactions. In January, 1903, he incorporated his business under the name of the Daigneau Laundry, admitting his son and his father to a partnership. This is a close concern, no stock being held outside of the family, and Mr. Daigneau of this review is the principal stockholder and also the active 396 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY manager of the business. A liberal patronage has been secured and the efforts of the house to do satisfactory work have resulted in the establishment of a business that is now large and profitable. In addition to his other business interests he is one of the executive committee of the Benton Harbor Development Company. On the 3Ist of December, 1874, Mr. Daigneau was married in Hillsdale, Michigan, to Miss Carrie Stone of that place, a daughter of George Stone. They now have one son, Floyd E. Daigneau, who was born in Hillsdale, Michigan, married Minnie Belle Felts and is associated with his father in buisness. In community affairs Mr. Daigneau is interested to the extent of giving hearty and valuable co-operation to various movements for the general good. He was for some time a member of the board of public works, was alderman of the second ward of the city and is now one of the city supervisors. His political allegiance is given to, the Republican party, and he regards it the duty as well as the privilege of every American citizen to uphold the principles which he deems of greatest good in promoting the general welfare. He has also been willing to contribute of his time and means to undertakings that would increase the prosperity of the city and add to the comfort of its inhabitants, and he has gained the favorable regard of the large majority of his fellow townsmen during the period of his residence in Benton Harbor. ELDEN C. HARNER, who since I902 has been engaged in the real estate and insurance business in Benton Hiarbor with growing success that has already made him a leading representative of this line of activity, was born near Berrien Springs, Michigan, in I88I. He is a son of Augustus A. Harner and a grandson of Michael Harner, The latter was a native of Pennsylvania and came to Michigan in 1837, when this part of the state was a wild and unimproved district. He secured from the government a large tract of land of six hundred acres in Berrien township, which at that time was all covered with dense timber. No roads had been laid out and there were only Indian trails to guide the traveler or settler as he made his way through the forests or across the prairies. Mr. Harner cleared the greater part of his land and thus contributed in substantial measure to the subjugation of the wild district and its reclamation for the purposes of civilization. He was one of the earliest settlers of the county and has left the impress of his individuality for good upon the work of public improvement. Augustus A. Harner, father of our subject, was born upon the old family homestead which was developed by his father west of Berrien Springs. He assisted in the work of the fields there, performing much of the arduous labor incident to the improvement of a new farm. Having arrived at years of maturity he married Miss Charlotte Van Patten, whose birth occurred upon a farm west of Berrien Springs in Berrien township, her father being Aaron Van Patten, who was one of the first settlers of that locality. He came to the west from New York and cleared a large tract of land, so that he, too, was an important factor in general progress here. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Augustus A. Harner were born two children, the eldest being Edna, now the wife of Carl Pennell, of Berrien Springs, by whom she has one child, Letha. Elden C. Harner, the only son of the family, acquired a district-school education and afterward continued his studies in the Berrien Springs high school, from which he was graduated. He next became a student in the state normal school at Ypsilanti, where he completed his course by graduation in I900. He then taught in the Benton Harbor high school for a year, after which he engaged in the real estate and insurance business, opening an office in I902. Here he has built up a good clientage and has thoroughly informed himself concerning realty values, so that he is qualified to bring to his patrons a knowledge of property which they desire, or to effect sales where one wishes to dispose of realty. Mr. Harner was married in I902 to Miss Mary Comstock of Ypsilanti, a daughter of Charles Comstock of that city. They are HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 397 prominent socially and the hospitality of many of the best homes of Benton Harbor is freely accorded them. In politics Mr. Harner is a Democrat, and is now serving as a member of the county board of school examiners. He is a young man of strong intellectual force and of acquired ability, ambitious and energetic, and his laudable determination to win success has been one of the salient and commendable features in his business career. FRANK D. CONGER has been connected at various times with varied interests of Benton Harbor and is now a factor in the financial affairs and successful management of the Hopper Stationery Company. His life is a living illustration of what ability, energy and force of character can accomplish and his city and state have been enriched by his example, for it is to such men that the west owes its prosperity, its rapid progress and advancement. Benton Harbor has certainly profited by his efforts here, for he belongs to that class of representative American men who, while advancing individual interests also promote in large measure the public good. A native of the middle west, his birth occurred in Illinois in 1848, his parents being Lorentus and Mary (Hurd) Conger. He came from Illinois to Michigan thirtyseven years ago, and was married to Elia M. Riford the same year. He purchased here a fruit farm, part of which had belonged to his wife's father. He became owner of twelve acres, which was then situated in the country some distance from Benton Harbor, but with the growth of the city it has become the center of the town and upon this tract Mr. Conger has erected eight dwelling houses with all modern improvements. It is called Conger's addition and is one of the desirable residence portions of Benton Harbor. Mr. Conger also owns other real estate known as the Riford and Morton addition. At one time he sold his original farm, but later he purchased it again and made the improvements designed above. The Conger addition is located at the corner of Pipestone street and Vineyard avenue, and will always remain as a monument to the thrift and enterprise of the subject of this review. Mrs. Conger had charge of the building of these houses, drew the plans and superintended their construction. She is a lady of keen insight, excellent business ability and artistic taste. Along many other lines Mr. Conger has contributed to the general welfare and upbuilding of Berrien county, being a man of resourceful business ability, whose efforts have touched many lines of activity. He was proprietor of the first exclusive shoe store in Benton Harbor and was engaged in the manufacture of boots. Later he entered the banking business and subsequently became connected with the Graham & Morton transportation enterprise, being for twenty years the confidential clerk with that company, He is now interested in the business of the Hopper Stationery Company, having a large plant in Benton Harbor. In fact this is one of the leading industries of the county, its payroll being perhaps the largest in the city. The company has many plants throughout the United States, but Mr. Conger is interested in only the one in Benton Harbor. In 1869 occurred the marriage of Frank D. Conger and Miss Elia M. Riford, the wedding being celebrated in the first church ever built in the city, her father drawing the lumber for the construction of this house of worship. Her parents were Joseph and Mary (Burridge) Riford and the mother traces her ancestry back to royalty in Europe. Her father, Joseph Riford, was born near Montpelier, Vermont, in I8io, and died in I884 at the age of seventy-four years. He removed from the Green Mountain state to Indiana and while living there represented his district in the state legislature. Thirtynine years ago he came to Benton Harbor, being one of the early settlers of this place. He was instrumental with others in securing the building of the canal and was one of the principle promoters of the city's progress and improvement, being 'interested in all plans for its development and substantial upbuilding. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Conger 398 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY have been born three children, but only one is now living, Alta C., who has one child, Elia M. Conger. iMIr. Conger votes with the Republican party and at one time served-as city treasurer, but has never been a politican in the sense of office seeking. He is a brother of the Hon. Edwin H. Conger, who has a national reputation. He has, however, never sought to figure prominently in public affairs, preferring to concentrate his energies upon local business interests and finding ample opportunity for the exercise of his talents in the duties of the work-a-day world. He is a self-made man in the fullest sense of that term, his prosperity in life being due to industry and integrity. In everything pertaining to the upbuilding of Benton Harbor he takes an active part and is a liberal contributor to the enterprises which insure its progress. The business policy which he has maintained has brought him prosperity. He is methodical and systematic and the plans which he has pursued commend themselves to the judgment and respect of all. STEPHEN V. BURDICK has had an eventful career fraught with many interesting incidents because of his early operations in lumber pursuits and his trip to California in search of gold soon after the discovery of the precious metal on the Pacific coast. He is now occupying a pleasant home in Hagar township, Berrien county, and has passed the age of seventy-nine years. He was born at Sumherhill, Cayuga county, New York, on the I8th of July, I827. His father, Daniel Burdick, was -a descendant of one of the passengers on the Mayflower and the family had its origin in Wales. Representatives of the name settled in Cayuga county soon after the Revolutionary war, although Daniel Burdick was born in Vermont. He was reared, however, in the Empire state, and was married to Miss Charlotte Steward. Daniel Burdick followed the occupation of farming as a life work and upon the old homestead Stephen V. Burdick was reared to the age of eighteen years. He was a youth of ten summers when the parents re moved to Lake county, Ohio, where he attended the academy. When eighteen years of age he started out in life on his own account, working by the month. He made his way to the pine woods of Wisconsin, and acted as cook in a lumber camp in the pineries. When twenty-one years of age he returned home and in the meantime had saved from his earnings sufficient capital to enable him to make a start in business life. With this he went to Van Buren county, Michigan, in I848, and purchased a tract of wild land near Decatur. He took his parents with him and made a home for them on his place. There he carried on farming until I850, when, attracted by the gold excitement on the Pacific coast, he went to California, where he spent one summer, taking his outfit from home. On the trip, while at Fort Laramie, he had his team stolen and with only his trunk left he worked his passage as far as Salt Lake City. There he left his employer and secured work in that city for a short time, being employed in a blacksmith shop, where he cut bolts for Brigham Young's carriage. He had known Young at Kirkland, Ohio, and had attended school with some of his children and on reaching Salt Lake Cilty he renewed his acquaintance with the Mormon leader. While there he met Jim Blair, of Ohio, and helped him to drive his ox team to California, paying him one hundred and fifty dollars to carry him through to Placerville, California. While five men of the party were on guard about a mile and a half from camp taking care of the cattle, they were attacked by twenty-five Indians, who succeeded in securing thirteen head olf cattle. They were running them off to, the mountains when the five men started in pursuit and a fight occurred, and after the original five were reinforced by other officers from the camp they killed or drove off the Indians and recovered the stock. Mr. Burdick; however, was wounded with an arrow in the side, a wound that troubled him for two years. The company with which he traveled was made up. of thirteen Irish and twelve Americans. As soon as the Irish could get liquor a fight was started among them. Mr. r\ q S;h i IO HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 399 Blair, was in command of the party, and Mr. Burdick attempting to part two of the combatants one by one the others of the party were all drawn into the quarrel until the entire number became mixed up in it. The Americans, however, drew their revolvers and the Irish were thus scattered. As soon as the Irish gave up, peace was declared and the remainder of the trip was resumed without further incident of this character. Mr. Burdick remained for six years in California. For a time he conducted a bakery at Volcano, and during the remainder of the time was engaged in mining and prospecting. He met with success until the mountain fever disabled him but he returned with more than average results. On tlihe return trip he rode a mule across the plains. This was in the summer of I856, and he made his way to his farm in Van Buren county, Michigan. On the 8th of April, 1857, Mr. Burdick was married in that county to Miss Philena M. Tucker, who was born in Dryden, Lapeer county, Michigan, and when two years of age was taken by her parents to Van Buren county. Her father was a wood contractor on the Michigan Central Railroad, located at Decatur. Mr. Burdick remained for six years in his farm and then returned to California in I862, making the trip for the improvement of his health. He spent four years on the coast, his wife joining him there in I863. He was engaged in mining, as before, with fair success, and in I866 he again came to Michigan, locating once more upon his old farm in Van Buren county. There he continued to reside for four years, when he sold out. His mother had died in 1858, and his father passed away in 1872, dying near Coloma, in Berrien county. In 1870 Mr. Burdick of this review had removed to, his present farm in Hagar township. The timber had been cut off, but he had to clear the place of stumps and he began farming upon forty acres of new land. He has since devoted his attention to general agricultural pursuits and he now owns one hundred acres of rich and productive land, his home being on the original tract. His first house was a plank structure and the present dwelling was erected about twenty years ago. It stands in a fine location and his entire farm is now under cultivation. He carries on general agricultural pursuits and to some extent raises fruit. He has laid about two hundred rods of tiling all on forty acres, about half of the tract having been formerly considered of no value, but today it is the best land he has. He paid as high as fifty dollars per acre, owing to the fruit prospects. He has done some lumbering by the job but the greater part of his time and energies have been devoted to general' agricultural pursuits during his residence in Michigan, and he has here valuable property interests. In politics he is a Republican but has never sought or desired office, preferring to give his undivided attention to his business affairs. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Burdick have been born six children: May M., who is now the widow of J. Brown and lives in Aberdeen, Mississippi; Nettie, the wife of M. L. Brant, of Bainbridge township; Kate C., the wife of Gaylord E. Frisbie, of Pearl Grange; Edward S., who is living in Hagar township; Lillie Belle, who is a twin sister of Edward and is with her sister in Aberdeen, Mississippi, doing fine needlework; and Harry A., who is upon the home farm. In her early womanhood Mrs. Burdick taught school in Van Buren county, and also followed that profession while residing in California, teaching in all for about six years. The eldest daughter fitted herself for teaching and for seventeen years followed that profession, being for three years connected with the schools of Benton Harbor, one year being spent as a teacher in the high school. She is a graduate of the State Normal School at Ypsilanti and holds a first grade life certificate. The history of Mr. Burdick if written in detail would furnish many a thrilling chapter of unusual incidents and adventure, for he has experienced all the hardships of pioneer life and has moreover intimate knowledge of the experiences which came to the early seekers of gold in California as they made the long and arduous trips across 400 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY the plains and over the mountains to the Pacific coast, and delved for the precious metal in the placer mines of the Golden state. In more recent years his 'time has been devoted to farming and his labors have resulted in the acquirement of an excellent property from which he derives a good annual income. ANDREW M. SPINK is a representative of one of the pioneer families of Berrien county and for more than sixty years the name has figured in connection with material progress and substantial development in this part of the state. He was born on the old family homestead in Bainbridge township in I850. His father had located there a number of years before and the place was called in his honor Spink's Corner. He is a son of Oresmas Spink, who was born in Jefferson county, New York, whence he came westward to Michigan, arriving in Berrien county in I844. He was left an orphan when very young and in consequence nothing is known concerning the early ansectral history of the family. On removing to Michigan he was accompanied by his brothers, John and Samuel, who also took up their abode in Bainbridge township. These children were left in destitute circumstances upon the death of their parents and the hope of finding better business opportunities led them to seek a home in Michigan, where Oresmas Spink found the advantages which he sought. He settled in Bainbridge township and from that time to the present has been a respected citizen of the community. He began to clear his land and yet carries on general farming, having placed his fields under a high state of cultivation, so that they respond readily to the care and labor which he bestows upon them, yielding rich harvests annually. He married Harriet Bishop, who was born in Watertown, New York, a daughter of A. Bishop, also one of the early settlers of Bainbridge township. Mr. Spink attained the venerable age of seventy-five years and in his community was widely known. In the family were eight children, of whom Andrew M. Spink is the youngest. Four are now living, the others being: Hora tio A., who resides in Chicago; Mrs. Helen Dix, who is living on the old homestead; and Edwin S., who resides in Benton Harbor. One son of the family, Frank Spink, was a soldier of the Civil war. He enlisted as a private in the Nineteenth Michigan Volunteer Infantry and was assigned to duty with Company B, serving in that regiment until killed at the battle of Dalton, Georgia, on the I4th of May, I864. No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for Andrew M. Spink in his boyhood days. At the usual age he entered the district schools and when his attention was not occupied by his textbooks his services were needed upon the farm, so that he early became familiar with the work of the fields. He followed farming until about thirty-five years of age, when, thinking that he would find other pursuits more congenial and remunerative, he came to Benton Harbor in 1885 and engaged in business for himself, establishing a bakery and restaurant on East Main street. He continued in this trade for a year, after which he entered the employ of a Chicago house, for which he bought and sold fruit in car load lots. In that business he continued five years with good success, after which he turned his attention to the real estate and insurance business under the firm name of Kreiger & Spink. Later the firm became A. M. Spink & Brother and subsequently George S. Bassett was admitted to a partnership under the firm style of Bassett & Spink. These gentlemen have since conducted a general real estate and fire insurance business, also loan money on mortgages and have secured a good clientage. They are well versed on realty values and have negotiated some important property transfers. In 1872, in Bainbridge township, Mr. Spink was married to Miss Elvira Mary Lewis, a daughter of Samuel Lewis, who came from Williams county, Ohio, to Michigan and settled in Bainbridge township. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Spink have been born three children, all natives of Bainbridge township. Ada A., the eldest, is now the wife of Harry Dilley, of Berrien Springs, this county and they have three children, HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 401 Lillian, Raymond and Milford, aged respectively seven, five and two years. Lewis F. Spink married Pearl Adams and resides in Benton Harbor. Glennie H. still resides with his father and completes the family. Mr. Spink gives his political adherence to the Republican party, and is well informed on questions of the day, but is without aspiration for the honors and emoluments of office. A worthy native son of the county, he has ever stood for good citizenship and with public progress the name of Spink has long been associated. His good qualities have gained him strong friendships. WILLIAM HENRY CASE is one of the venerable citizens of New Buffalo and has passed the eighty-seventh milestone of life's journey, his birth having occurred in Cambridge, Washington county, New York, on the 3oth of March, I8I9. His paternal grandmother was a French Huguenot, who was banished from Canada and walked all the way from that country to Rhode Island when about sixteen years of age. The parents, William and Sophia (Blackman) Case, were natives of Rhode Island and New York respectively and both died in the Empire state, the former passing away at the age of eighty-six years and the latter at the very advanced age of ninety-three years. In their family were eight sons and three daughters, as follows: Isaac, Joe Russell, Charles and Werdin, all deceased; William Henry, of this review; Rhoda, of Iowa; Nancy, who is living in Kansas; Martha, whose home is in Cattaraugus county, New York; Martin, a twin brother of John, both now deceased; and Sidney, who died in Nebraska. William Henry Case, the second in order of birth, was about two years old when his parents removed to Onondaga county, New York, where he spent two years. The family afterward lived for two years in Allegany county and when he was eight years of age removed to Cattaraugus county, where he resided until 1841. He lived in the midst of the wilderness in the western part of the state and attended the old time schools which were held in log buildings. In I840 he was married in New York to Miss Sybil 26 Hulett Howe, whose birth occurred in Onondaga county, New York, in I82I, her parents being Parley and Deborah (Hulett) Howe, natives of Massachusetts. In 1841, with his wife and baby, Mr. Case started westward for Wisconsin, locating first in Walworth county. He drove a team of horses from Cattaraugus county, New York, and was about five weeks in making the trip. He pre-empted eighty acres of land from the government, having one year to pay for this. He engaged in splitting oak rails at one dollar per hundred in order to get money to pay for his land and meet his daily living expenses. He put the entire eighty acres under fence and the greater part of it under cultivation, but after living upon that property for six years he lost it and by way of the lakes returned to New York. He again took up his abode in Cattaraugus county, where he remained until the fall of I856, when he went to St. Clair county, Illinois, where he spent two years engaged in farming. He afterward resided for two years upon a farm in Warren county, Indiana, and in I863 came to Berrien county, Michigan, where he has since made his home. Settling on a farm in New Buffalo township, he devoted his energies to the cultivation of the fields and the improvement of the property until 1884, when he retired to private life. He is now enjoying well-earned rest, having for many years been an active and energetic agriculturist and through his labors he accumulated the competence that now enables him to spend his remaining days in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Case were born the following named: Henry Harlan, who enlisted in I86I as a member of Company E, Ninth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and died of typhoid fever at Redman, Kentucky. Marvin, a practicing physician at Attica, Indiana, who enlisted in I862 as a member of Company D, Eighty-sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of the war; Amanda Augusta, the wife of William H. Sigler, of Kansas; Nancy Jane, the widow of Melvin Lyon, of Salem, Michigan; Lina, the widow of Albert W. Tanner; and Americus William, who died in 1877 while 402 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY studying for the ministry. Mr. Case also has many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In his political views he was originally a Whig and for many years has given his support to the Republican party. His first presidential ballot was cast for William Henry Harrison and he voted for Fremont and for Lincoln, since which time he has never failed to cast his vote for the nominees at the head of the Republican ticket. He holds membership in the Baptist church and has served as one of its deacons. His life has been honorable and upright characterized by manly principles, by righteous living, by good deeds and by thorough reliability in business affairs. His worth and work have made him respected by all who know him and he certainly deserves mention in the history of New Buffalo and Berrien county, being one of its most venerable citizens. GEORGE HORN, now living retired in New Buffalo, was born near Hamburg, Germany, September 13, 1824, his parents being John and Hannah (Hennings) Horn, who spent their entire lives in that country. The father, who was born in 1783, died in 1868 after devoting his life to general agricultural pursuits. In the family were five children: Peter, who died in Germany; John, who came to America after the arrival of his brother George and died in Berrien county; Christian and Margaret, who passed away in Germany; and George of this review. When only six years of age George Horn lost his mother, but continued to spend his boyhood and youth within his father's home. He attended school until fifteen or sixteen years of age and then learned the trade of bricklayer, which he followed for some time or until twenty-four years of age, when thinking that he might have better business opportunities and advantages in the new world he came to the United States in 1848, sailed from Hamburg to New York. He was six weeks on the water and made the trip with a colony of German emigrants who located in Wisconsin, forming the settlement of New Holstein in the midst of the wilderness. After two weeks there passed, however, Mr. Horn made his way to Detroit, Michigan, and afterward to Kalamazoo, this state. He was employed on the construction of the Michigan Central Railroad for about two years. In the meantime he purchased a land warrant in Wisconsin and, going there, he disposed of his property in that state, after which he returned to Berrien county and worked on other railroads. In 1851 he was married and settled in New Buffalo, where he has since made his home. Mr. Horn was joined in wedlock to Mrs. Helen Miller Sefkein, a widow, who had two children. Three children were born of this marriage, but all died in infancy. Following his marriage Mr. Horn conducted a hotel in New Buffalo until 1859, after which he bought one hundred and sixty acres of school land near the town on section I6. All was woodland, which Mr. Horn cleared from the timber and placed under a high state of cultivation, giving his undivided attention to general agricultural pursuits and in the improvement of his property until the death of his wife in I892. He afterward sold his farm and took up his abode in New Buffalo. Right after his wife's death he made a trip to San Francisco but returned shortly and has since lived in Berrien county. He has built a half dozen houses here and sold them, realizing a good financial return from his investment. Mr. Horn votes with the Republican party. In I864 he was drafted for service in the Civil war but sent a substitute, to whom he paid one thousand dollars. He served as township treasurer for a number of terms and in matters of citizenship has been progressive and helpful, doing all in his power to advance the general good. He is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church. When he landed in America he was in debt but now lives upon the interest of his money. As the years have gone by he has won success because he has worked untiringly and persistently and in the evening of his life he receives the veneration and respect which should ever be accorded to those who have traveled far on life's journey. DWIGHT WARREN, a real estate dealer and loan agent at Three Oaks, is an honored veteran of the Civil war and one HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 403 whose citizenship at all times has been characterized by a loyalty that is above question, was born in Bath, Steuben county, New York, March 21, 1831. His father, Phineas Warren, was a native of Vermont and spent his life in the Green Mountain state and New York. He was a successful farmer and also became well known as a manufacturer. He commanded the Ninety-sixth Regiment of the New York State Militia, and came of a family that has a splendid military record. His father, Phineas Warren, was a major of the Twenty-fourth Regiment in the war of 1812, and his father, Jonathan Warren, was a captain of the Seventh Vermont Regiment in the war of the Revolution. Thus four successive generations of the family held commissons as officers in military service of the war. The ancestry of the family can be traced back to Io6o, when William the Conqueror went from Normandy and took possession of the English isle. One of the family was a captain in the English army and the family was founded in America in 1630. In the maternal line Mr. Warren is also descended from an old New England family. His mother bore the maiden name of Mary Ann F. Bean, and was a native of New Hampshire. Her father, Isaac Bean, was a prominent merchant of that state, but was ruined by the embargo act and removed from New Hampshire to New York. Unto Phineas and Mary A. Warren were born seven daughters and two sons, Dwight Warren being the third in order of birth. All were natives of Bath, New York. In taking up the personal history of Dwight Warren we present to our readers the life record of one who is widely and favorably known in this county. He remained a resident of his native city until the fall of 1865, and remained upon the home farm until he had attained his majority. He attended the common schools to the age of thirteen years, during the period when the teachers "boarded round" in the homes of their pupils. When a youth of fourteen Mr. Warren began rafting on the Susquehanna and Coshocton rivers, and also rafted at times on the canals. He was thus engaged in connection with farm work up to the time of his marriage. He left home on attain ing his majority with nothing but an ax, and his limited financial resources rendering immediate employment a necessity, he secured a job at chopping cord wood. In the following spring-the year I852-he began railroading, and making his way westward to Michigan he there saw the old plank roads, at which time the city of Grand Rapids was in its infancy. He made the trip in order to see the country and went to Madison, Wisconsin, where the railroad ended. He afterward traveled on foot from that point to where the town of Ironton now stands. Later he returned and made his way into Michigan, traveling on foot and by stage. He engaged in rafting to some extent and on various occasions came in contact with the Indians but always found them friendly because he treated them well. In 1857 he located in Lowell, Michigan, and began work on the construction of the Detroit & Milwaukee Railroad. After three days he was made foreman, buying and selling for the company and also letting contracts for the work. Subsequently he returned to his old home in New York, where he remained until after the outbreak of the Civil war. His patriotic spirit being aroused by the continued attempt of the south to overthrow the Union, Mr. Warren enlisted at Bath, New York, August, I862, as a private of Company F, One Hundred and Sixty-first New York Volunteer Infantry. On the 27th of October, following, he was appointed orderly sergeant and went to Camp Elmira, New York, where he remained until the Ist of November. Mr. Warren, together with several other members of the command was taken ill with typoid fever and for six weeks.uffered from that disease. He then rejoined his regiment, sailing from New York in January, I863. They encountered a severe storm at sea off Cape Hatteras and were eight days in making the trip from New York to Key West. Several passengers died on the journey and Mr. Warren narrowly escaped with his life. The troops landed at Fort Taylor, Key West, and after three days started for New Orleans by boat, encountering another severe storm during that voyage. They reached their destination 404 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY in safety, however, and the regiment was stationed at Baton Rouge and attached to the Ninteenth Army Corps, Third Brigade, First Division. On the I4th of March, 1863, they made a stand at Port Hudson and witnessed the blowing up of the ship Mississippi on board of which was Admiral Dewey of Manila fame. In May they made a general attack on Port Hudson. Mr. Warren was under fire during the entire seige at that place and was also in the second engagement at Bayou La Fourche. On the 3oth of July, 1863, owing to disability, he was honorably discharged and in August returned to his home. Mr. Warren remained at Bath, New York, until March, 1864, when he went to Jersey City, New Jersey, where he took charge of the stockyards for the firm of Beech & McPherson, continuing there until July. He then gave up his position, which was a fine one, and returned home in order to aid in organizing Company C of the One Hundred and Eighty-ninth New York Infantry, with which he went out as second lieutenant. The command was sent to Washington and he afterward participated in the engagements at Hatcher's Run, Weldon Railroad and the eight days' raid, which was almost a constant skirmish. In December the troops went into camp and on the 28th of March following broke camp in the last campaign against Lee. This embraced the engagements at Skunk's Hollow, Lewis' Farm, Gravelly Run and Five Forks. In January, I865, Mr. Warren was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant and in this capacity commanded his company as captain for some time. He participated in the engagement at Appomattox, and was at this time a member of the Second Brigade, First Division, Fifth Army Corps, the division that received the surrender of Lee's army, received the captured property and paroled the prisoners. He afterward participated in the Grand Review at Washington, D. C. It was a memorable occasion never to be forgotten by any who witnessed it, for thousands of victorious Union soldiers marched through the streets of the city, cheered by the watching crowds, and across Pennsylvania avenue hung a banner which read "there is one debt that we can never pay, that is the debt we owe the soldier." Lieutenant Warren was mustered out at Washington and with a most creditable military record returned to his home. In the fall of 1865 he again made his way to the middle west, his destination at that time being Princeton, Illinois. For two years he engaged in farming in that locality and subsequently removed to Galesburg, Michigan, where for two years he was engaged in the implement business. He also conducted a similar enterprise in La Porte, Indiana, for two years and in November, I870, came to Thiree Oaks, where he has since resided. For about ten years thereafter he devoted his attention to the sale of fruit trees and he also opened a lumber camp for E. K. Warren, whom he represented as foreman for two and a half years. In I890 he was appointed postmaster and served in that position for four and a half years, since which time he was engaged in real estate operations and in loaning money. He also hal a fruit farm which brought him a good return. His life has been one of industry and enterprise and his business interests have been capably conducted. On the I8th of November, 1852, in Bath, New York, Mr. Warren was united in marriage to Miss Angeline Grant, who was born in New York, June 14, 1830, and died December 30, I900. Her father, Steven Grant, was a soldier of the war of I812, and was a native of Maine. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Warren have been born two daughters: Mrs. Alice D. Perry, living in Three Oaks; and Mrs. Jennie L. Russell, whose home is in Fort Collins, Colorado. Mr. Warren is an earnest Republican, and for thirty-four years has served as justice of the peace, while his present term will continue for two years longer. His decisions have been strictly fair and impartial and his capability is indicated by the fact that he has so long been retained in office. He has also been notary public for a number of years. He is prominent in the county conventions of his party to which he is frequently a delegate and he has also been a delegate to the national convention. He is. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 405 a member of the Loyal Legion, Detroit Commandery, being the only man eligible for membership from Three Oaks township. He is a member of the American Protective Tariff League and was one of the five hundred present at the New York banquet when McKinley and Bliss addressed the gathering. At one time he was a member of the national finance committee of Washington. He belongs to the Grand Army post at Three Oaks,,of which he is the organizer and was the first commander, serving in that capacity for fourteen years. He is a member of the department staff, has also served on the National staff and is one of the distinguished representatives of the order in Michigan, having a very wide acquaintance among his old army comrades in this sta'te. He is especially proud of the fact that he commanded his company at the battle of Five Forks, April I, I865. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Congregational church, in which he has served as a deacon for eight years. He owns a fine lot on Main street and five dwellings in Three Oaks. He has built a number of houses here and has thus contributed in substantial measure to the improvement and upbuilding of the district. He likewise has a fine fruit orchard and garden and his property brings him a good return. As a real estate man he has handled considerable valuable property and negotiated many important transfers. In a review of his life there will be found many elements worthy of emulation and commendation and his entire public service has been actuated by a spirit of fidelity to duty and by a trustworthiness that none can question. He is indeed an honored veteran of the Civil war, yet he was no more loyal to his country in the days of strife than he has been in days of peace. EDWIN F. PLATT, who was a lifelong and honored resident of Berrien county, was born in Niles, September Io, I850, and died in St. Joseph on the 7th of June, I905. His parents, George W. and Mary Elizabeth Platt, came from Massachusetts to Niles about I834, and the father, engaging in the hardware trade, was one of the oldest merchants in that line in Berrien county. His business interests were developed in accordance with the growth and upbuilding of this section of the state and a liberal patronage was accorded him in recognition of his enterprise, diligence and earnest desire to please his patrons. Moreover, he figured prominently in community affairs, wielding a wide influence and aiding in molding public thought and action. He served as a member of the school board and the cause of education profited by his efforts in its behalf. He was one of the aldermen of the city and also mayor of Niles, and he exercised his official prerogatives for the advancement of his town along lines of substantial improvement. Coming to the west he traveled from Massachusetts across the country in the primitive manner of the times and was closely associated with the pioneer development of Berrien county. Edwin F. Platt attended the high school at Niles after passing through the consecutive course of the primary and intermediate departments. He pursued a general course, including Latin and German, and was grad — uated in the class of 1865 at the comparatively early age of fifteen years. He received business training in Bryant & Stratton Commercial College, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from which he was graduated in 1867 or I868, and he then entered mercantile circles as a dealer in hardware. Removing to St. Joseph in I869 he became a factor in business life and was one of the leading hardware merchants of Berrien county, continuing in that department of trade up to the time of his demise. He had a well appointed store and a large patronage, and his life record with its successes was another proof of the old adage that "honesty is the best policy." He was also interested in the St. Joseph Building Association and was for six years its secretary. He was also a stockholder and director in the Commercial National Bank, and a stockholder, director and vice president of the Lakeside Vineyard Company. He thus extended his efforts to various fields of business activity, in all of which his wise judgment proved a valued factor in resultant prosperity. In the midst of a useful, active and busy career in commercial and financial circles 406 ' HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Mr. Platt also found time for public work, and in 1878 and 1879 was treasurer of St. Joseph township, to which position he was elected on the Republican ticket. He served as a member of the board of trustees when this city was a mere village and for five years he was a member of the school board. At the time of his demise he was a member of the library board and he never failed to put forth effective and earnest effort in any of these official capacities for the substantial growth and the intellectual, esthetic, political and moral progress of his community. He was a stanch Republican, giving effective support to the party. On the 4th of September, I876, in Chicago, Mr. Platt was married to Miss Ada Napier, a daughter of Captain Joseph A. Napier. Her father was appointed harbor master of Chicago in 1851, and served in that capacity for two years. He is a grand old man, who for a long period was a lake captain and he has in his possession a gold watch which was given to him by the citizens of Chicago for saving the lives of people from the steamer Merchant in 1854. In I878 he was appointed life saving captain at St. Joseph and while in that position he rendered distinguished service on the Schooner Ithaca. For his rescuing work he was awarded a gold medal in recognition of 'his bravery, and on the Ioth of October, 1877, he was instrumental in saving the lives of the crew on the D. G. Williams. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Platt was born one daughter, Mrs. Sadie A. Platt Greening, whose birth occurred April I9, 1878. At the time of his demise a local paper in speaking of his fraternal relations said: "Mr. Platt was prominent in lodge circles. He belongs to eleven secret societies as follows: St. Joseph Lodge, under dispensation, F. & A. M., Calvin Brittain Chapter, No. 72, R. A. M., St. Joseph Council, No. 44, R. & S. M., all of St. Joseph; Malta Commandery, No. 44, K. T., of Benton Harbor; DeWitt Clinton Consistory, A. A. S. R. (32d degree), and Saladin Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Grand Rapids; America Chapter No. 234, 0. E. S., Golden Rule Shrine No. 13, 0. W. S. J., St. Joseph Lodge, No. 54I, B. P. 0. E., St. Joseph Valley Tent, No. 628, K. O. T. M., St. Joseph; Prudential Lodge, No. I7I, A. 0. U. W., Benton Harbor. He carries insurance in the two latter orders as well as insurance in some old line companies. At the time of his death Mr. Platt was holding the offices of High Priest in Calvin Brittain Chapter, Treasurer of St. Joseph Council, and Treasurer of Malta,Commandery. Mr. Platt served with much credit and shares in the honors with the rest of his brothers as a member of that committee that so handsomely furnished the beautiful new Masonic Temple lately dedicated in this city. Mr. Platt also gave time and voice in the efforts towards the consolidation of Occidental and Pomona lodges and it is the sincere regret of all Masons that he could not have lived to have seen at least the final act of the drama which was consummated on Tuesday evening, June 13, I905, when new officers were elected and Grand Master John Rawson of Grand Rapids, was present to install and officially set in motion St. Joseph Lodge, No. 437, F. & A. M. Mr. Platt's is the fifth death since the two lodges consolidated.": He left behind him an untarnished record. He was faultless in honor, fearless in conduct and stainless in reputation, and though he never sought wide spread notoriety in his home community he was a force for good and a valued factor in community interests. The funeral services took place Sunday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock, June II, I905, Dr. A. H. Scott, a life-long and intimate friend of Mr. Platt and past worshipful master of Old Occidental lodge conducting the services. Malta Commandery acted as escort. This was the largest Masonic funeral ever held in Berrien county, it being estimated that one thousand Masons attended, and it required more than an hour to pass through the house. C. H. FARNUM, late of Hagar township, was born in St. Joseph, Michigan, July 15, 1839, and died August 5, 9goI. His parents were Matthias and Dime (Finch) Farnum. The father located in St. Joseph in I836, and was a carpenter and builder, who was closely asso I HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 407 ciated with the substantial improvement of the city in early days. In I840 he located in Hagar township and worked at his trade as well as also operating the farm. In 1856 he bought three hundred and sixty acres of land in Van Buren county, upon which he erected a water mill, operating it for three years. In I866 he removed to Benton Harbor but finally returned to Hagar township, where he died in the year I884. He was thus closely associated with the industrial and commercial interests of the county and through his business activity and his cooperation in many movements for the general good he aided in laying broad and deep the foundation for the present progress and prosperity of the county. After coming to St. Joseph he was married in that city to Miss Dime Finch, whose parents were pioneer settlers of that part of the state. They became the parents of eleven children, who reached adult age. Those living in I906 are Evermont, of Benton Harbor, and Isaac, whose home is in Hagar township. C. H. Farnum, whose name introduces this review, was born in Benton township, where he continued to make his home until after the outbreak of the Civil war, when, in I86I, he enlisted for service in Company D, Twelfth Michigan Infantry, under cormand of General Logan. At the end of eleven months he was honorably discharged but ever afterward suffered from ill health in consequence of the exposure and hardships incident to his service. After his return home Mr. Farnulm was married in 1864 to Miss Eliza P. Dickinson, a daughter of Robert Dickinson. He provided for his family through agricultural and horticultural labor and became the owner of a forty-acre form in Hagar township, four miles north of Benton Harbor and within a mile of the lake shore. He hewed out this farm in the midst of the forest, clearing awav the trees and bringing the land into cultivable condition. Here he engaged in raising fruit and planted good orchards, giving his attention only to the cultivation of the best varieties of fruits. His efforts therefore were attended with success and he gained a very comfortable competence. Mr. and Mrs. Farnum never had any children of their own but reared an adopted daughter, Margaret Belle Opfel, who was an orphan when at the age of nine years she came to live with them, making her home with them until her marriage to M. F. Easterbrook, a farmer and stockman of Carroll county, Illinois. She has four children, Farnum, Monterville, Eugene, Margaret Mary, and a baby girl. Mrs. Easterbrook was provided with excellent educational advantages and is a graduate of Benton Harbor College. After completing her course there she taught music for two years, and is a lady of culture and refinement, owing to the excellent advantages which were given her by her foster parents. After the war Mr. Farnum, being inl poor health and wishing something else to do beside carrying on his farm, leased a boat and began running between Benton Harbor and Chicago. This was the second line plying between the two ports, and it was subsequently purchased from Mr. Farnum. However, the possibility for the second line of boats had been established and this was the forerunner of what is noxv known as the Benton Transit Company. Hisfarm work was conducted through the assistance of hired help. He did much for the development of the fruit industry of this locality. When he brought his bride to his farm they came into the woods and took up their abode upon property upon which not a stick of timber had been cut. Mr. Farnum cleared the land and placed almost the entire tract under cultivation, devoting it to fruit. His ambition and resolution was great but he was afflicted with rheumatism of the heart and so was restricted in his labors. The first house which he erected is still standing as a landmark of the early days. After he had carried on business successfully in this county for a number of years Mr. Farnum removed to California, where he spent a year and on his return he erected his present handsome residence. He did much of the work himself, having worked with his father at the carpenter's trade in early life and possessing much mechanical ability. In his social relations Mr. Farnum ?40o8 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY was an Odd Fellow and also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, while politically he was a Republican. He served for some years as master of the Grange. At length he passed away, August 5, I9OI, and his death was the occasion of deep regret to those who had been associated with him in business, or in citizenship, or in social relations, for he displayed many good qualities that endeared him to those who knew him. Mrs. Farnum was born in Berrien county May 2, 1838, and with the exception of the year passed in California, had spent her entire life in Berrien county. She was born on the old Dickinson homestead on Paw Paw river, where her brother, Arthur Dickinson, now resides, and she has a very wide circle of friends in the county. WILLIAM W. GREEN. This name at once suggests a power in manufacturing circles in Berrien county, for Mr. Green is at the head of the Garden City Fan Company, controlling the largest enterprise of this character in the country. The day of small undertakings seems to have passed, and in the control of large concerns are men of master minds, of limitless ability, of sound judgment and keen discrimination. Their progressiveness must not only reach the bounds that others have gained but must even pass beyond into new and broader untried fields of operation but an unerring foresight and sagacity must make no mistake by venturing on uncertain ground, thus continually guarding the business until it takes leadership in a certain line and the men who are at its head are deservedly eminent in the world of industrial enterprise. William W. Green, president of the Garden City Fan Company, was born in Massachusetts in I839, a son of William W. and Lucina (Lewellyn) Green. The paternal grandfather, Henry Green, was a native of Massachusetts and a Revolutionary soldier, who valiantly fought for independence of the nation when the yoke of British tyranny had become too heavy to be borne longer. He was descended from one of the passengers on the Mayflower, so that the family has figured in the history of New England from the days of its earliest settlement. William W. Green when only a year old was taken by his parents to Genesee county, New York, where he was reared upon a farm, early becoming familiar with the duties and labors incident to the work of the fields. He attended the district schools in the neighborhood and after acquiring his education in that manner began learning the carpenter's trade in Genesee county. He was subsequently employed as a journeyman in New York until he went to the oil regions of Pennsylvania, where he followed carpentering for a time when he removed to Janesville, Wisconsin. He there for five years engaged in contracting and building, erecting a number of houses and other structures. On the expiration of that period he removed to Chicago, just after the great fire swept over the city in I87I. There he continued successfully in contracting and building for eight years. The city rose Phoenix-like from the ashes and there was great demand for service along building lines. Throughout his entire life Mr. Green had displayed considerable inventive as well as mechanical ingenuity and in I879 he established in Chicago on a small scale a business conducted under the name of the Garden City Fan Company for the manufacture of exhausts, fans and blowers. These were of his own invention. He soon found that there was a good demand for the output and the business constantly grew. It was incorporated under the present name in i88i with W. W. Green as president and his son and only child, E. D. Green, as secretary and treasurer. Mr. Green is the inventor and patentee of all the devices manufactured by the firm. The business grew rapidly and in I902 the company looked around for a site for a manufacturing plant and eventually purchased five acres of land near the Michigan Central Railroad tracks in Niles. The same year they erected here an extensive plant, the largest of its kind in the west. It was planned by W. W. Green in all of its details and comprises five buildings joined together in wings, one of which is one hundred and forty by forty feet, a second one hundred and fifty by forty feet, HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 409 a third one hundred and ten by forty feet, with a shipping wing fifty by fifty feet and a boiler room and heating room thirty by forty feet. With the exception of the foundry the entire building is a two-story structure. The company owns the building and utilizes all except a very small portion of it. In addition to the space above mentioned there is a pattern room thirty by thirty feet. About one hundred workmen are employed, mostly skilled labor. The works and foundry are situated at Niles, while the main office is at No. 42 South Clinton street, Chicago, E. D. Green, having charge in that city, while W. W. Green attends personally to the manufacturing plant. After purchasing the ground at Niles they discovered they had good molding sand on the property which has proven to be very valuable and has made a large saving for them. The company has agencies in New York, San Francisco, Portland, Oregon, Minneapolis, St. Louis, London, England and Christiana, Norway. They maufacture ventilating fans, exhaust fans and blowers, hot blasts for heating and dry kilns and positive blowers and the output of the factory is extensive, shipments being made to all parts of the country and to foreign lands as well. Mr. Green exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party. He belongs to the Masonic lodge at Janesville, Wisconsin, and has many social acquaintances who entertain for him high regard. Mr. Green is at all times genial and approachable, never hedging himself about with a reserve such as many men do who work their way upward from an humble position to one of affluence. The spirit of self-help is the source of all genuine worth in the individual and this truth is abundantly verified in the life of Mr. Green, steadily pursuing his way, undeterred by obstacles and difficulties in his path he has achieved a prosperity of which he has every reason to be proud. Steady application, careful study of business methods and plans to be followed, close attention to details combined with an untiring energy directed by a discriminating judgment-these are the traits of character which have brought him success and made him a foremost representative in industrial interests in southwestern Michigan. CHARLES D. STUART, of Hagar township, Berrien county, is a native of Madison county, New York, having been born in De Ruyter, on the 30th of December, I849. In his childhood days his parents removed with their family to Chautauqua county, New York. The father, A. B. Stuart, was a chair maker by trade and on removing to the west settled in Gratiot county, Michigan. He afterward engaged in teaching in Wisconsin and other states. His wife died when her son Charles was but three years of age. In 1858 his father became foreman of the Industrial School, at Lansing, Michigan, and was thus engaged until the outbreak of the Civil war, at which time he offered his services to the government, becoming a captain of Company B, Berdan's United States Sharpshooters. He was with the army for fourteen months, when on account of disability he was honorably discharged. He then began the manufacturue of chairs in Lansing, Michigan, where he carried on his enterprise from I863 until I869, removing in the latter year to Otsego, Allegan county. Charles D. Stuart acquired a public school education and in his boyhood days spent much of his time in his father's shop, where he thoroughly acquainted himself with the business in principle and detail, and at twenty-one years of age he became a partner with his father in the conduct of the factory. At the end of two years time they sold out to Grand Rapids parties, in whose employ he was until 1873, when the firm of Stuart, Hale & Company was organized and began business at Otsego, Michigan. After five years Mr. Stuart and his father became proprietors of the business, which was conducted under the name of A. B. & C. D. Stuart for several years, or until the son purchased the father's interest, A. B. Stuart making his home in Otsego until his death, which occurred in I894, when he was seventy-two years of age. Mr. Stuart of this review was closely associated with the industrial interests of Ot 410o HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY sego until I89I. Although he suffered losses by fires, his business grew steadily and rapidly and was developed along modern business lines. At length having opportunity to dispose of his interests advantageously Mr. Stuart in I891 sold his business in Otsego, the power being purchased by the Bardeen Paper Company, which built its No. 2 and No. 3 mills on the site of Mr. Stuart's old chair factories on the Kalamazoo river. About that time Spencer & Barnes were planning to locate at Benton Harbor and Mr. Stuart became a partner with them and was associated with the firm for five years under the style of Spencer, Barnes & Stuart, they building the present furniture factory of The Spencer & Barnes Company. When five years had passed he sold out, but during that period he had purchased a tract of one hundred and sixty acres covered with timber, which he cleared off, converting it into lumber. In I896 he went to Grand Rapids, where he remained for four years. In the meantime he had transformed his land into a farm and since I9oI he has made this place his summer home. It coinprises a quarter section, one half mile from Lake Michigan, in Hagar township, and two miles north of Riverside. It is upland and he is making it largely a fruit farm. He has placed all of the improvements here since I89I, when the tract was covered solidly with timber. Now about one hundred acres are under cultivation, including about fifty acres of fruit, while about sixty acres of timber land remains. He has met with fair success in his agricultural and horticultural pursuits, owning now a valuable property, which will increase year by year in value: as his orchards come into bearing. In April, I876, Mr. Stuart was united in marriage, at Otsego, Michigan, to Miss Orpha A. Eaton, of Otsego. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio. In his political views Mr. Stuart holds himself independent of party ties. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and is a Knight Templar and also a Scottish Rite Mason. Mr. -Stuart finds favorite recreation in hunting and fishing. He has led a busy life, in which in former years there was little leisure but now he finds opportunity for pleasurable interests, having disposed of the productive industries which claimed so much of his time and energies in former years. WARREN S. PEARL, who is engaged in general farming and fruit-raising in Benton township, is a representative of one of the old and most prominent families of Berrien county, the name of Pearl being inseparably associated with its history. He was born in Essex county, New York, near Fort Ticonderoga, April I4, I85O, his parents being Simon and Marion (Wright) Pearl, who were likewise natives of Essex county. The father was a son of a brother of Phineas Pearl, noted as the pioneer settler of Berrien county. When Warren S. Pearl was but six years of age his parents removed to Dodge county, Wisconsin, and in the spring of I865 came to Berrien county. Phineas Pearl and his family had separated in New York. In Wisconsin Simon Pearl met a lady from Berrien county who told him of the family of Phineas Pearl here and he came to Michigan to determine whether or not these people were his relatives. Here he not only found the family relations which he sought but also was so well pleased with the country and its prospects that he decided to remove from Wisconsin to Michigan. In the spring of I865 therefore he came to this state and purchased the present home of Warren S. Pearl from his uncle, Phineas Pearl. It was then new land of eighty acres, of which only a small clearing had been made. It lies along the Bainbridge township line but is in Benton township on Britain avenue, about six miles east of Benton Harbor. Ten acres of the land had been cleared when it came into possession of Simon Pearl, who resolutely undertook the task of developing and cultivating the farm. Later he sold that property and purchased land from George Pearl, a son of Phineas Pearl. This was at Pearl Grange and there he spent his last years, living a neighbor to his uncle Phineas, who resided at the present residence of Arthur Pearl. Simon Pearl was for many years an enterprising agriculturist, who labored earnestly to till the soil and cultivate his crops and as the years passed his labors were HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 4II rewarded by the transformation of his land into a very valuable and productive farm. He died thereon at the age of seventy-eight years, while his wife passed away on the old homestead several years before. In their family were four sons and three daughters, four of whom are living: Curtis, who is sexton of the Crystal Springs cemetery at Benton Harbor; Frances, the wife of William Maynard, of Bainbridge township; Mary, the wife of Loren Snyder, who owns her father's old place at Pearl Grange; and Warren S., of this review. In his early life Simon Pearl had learned and followed the carpenter's trade and to some extent did work along that line for many years, but his life was chiefly given to agricultural pursuits. In politics he was a stalwart Republican and was ever a man of honest convictions, faithfully upholding the principles in which he believed so that he commanded the respect, confidence and good will of all with whom he came in contact. Warren S. Pearl was fifteen years of age on the day that President Lincoln was assassinated. He is indebted to the public school system of the county for the educational privileges that he enjoyed in his youth and he received ample training at farm labor upon his father's place, where he remained until twenty-five years of age, when he made preparations for having a home of his own by his marriage to Miss Flora Kent, a sister of C. C. Kent, of Spink's Corners. She was born in Bainbridge township and has always lived in this county. By this marriage there is one daughter, Effie, now the wife of Harvey Krieger, of Bainbridge, by whom she has three children. Mr. and Mrs. Warren S. Pearl started out in life together with only twenty acres of land, which he still continues to own and farm. H-e has, however, added to his possessions until now he owns ninety acres in Bainbridge township. He carries on general farming and fruit-raising, dividing his time about 'equally to the two branches of his business. The greater part of his life has been spent in this county, where the name of Pearl is synonymous with good citizenship, with business activity and reliability, and with all those qualities which go to make up an honorable manhood. FRANKLIN HOWARD, the owner of Fair View farm in Benton township, Berrien county, was born in Wabasha county, Minnesota, September II, I869, his parents being Laconius M. and Harriet (Converse) Howard. The father was a brother of Farley, Sterling, John and Harley Howard, all pioneer settlers of Benton township and Farley Howard was the father of Mrs. Franklin Howard. The subject of this review spent the days of his boyhood and youth in his native county, being reared and educated in Minnesota. He was married on the 6th of June, 1889, to Miss Addie Howard, who was a double cousin, her mother being Mrs. Diantha (Converse) Howard, a sister of Harriet Converse. In early childhood they were acquainted and later were separated, but Mr. Howard of this review came to Michigan the winter before their-marriage. Mrs. Howard was born on the present farm, spending her girlhood days here. Her father, Farley Howard, died August I, I886, and the mother afterward remained upon the farm. Two years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Howard returned to tie old homestead and purchased the property from the other heirs, thus coming into possession of the place in I89I. Six years ago Mr. Howard built his present residence and has a well improved farm, equipped with all modern accessories and conveniences for the raising of fruit. He has thirty-three out of forty acres planted to fruit and the orchard set out fifty years ago is still in bearing. He has now about one thousand apple trees and he also has pears, peaches and plums. The sales from fifty-six old apple trees amounted in one season to six hundred and fourteen dollars. He is strictly a commercial grower. He plants only fruit of the best varieties and his business is proving a profitable one, for he thoroughly understands the best methods of caring for the orchard and also for the crop as it ripens. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Howard has been born a daughter, Irma, who at the age of 4I2 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY sixten years is a student in Benton Harbor College. Mr. Howard is a Republican and he belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp. His time and attention, however, are largely demanded by his horticultural interests and the control of his farm, which is pleasantly and conveniently located about six and a fourth miles southeast of Benton Harbor. It will be interesting in this connection to note something more of the history of Farley Howard, father of Mrs. Franklin Howard. He was generally called Fulton Howard. His birth occurred June 6, I830, in Ellisburg, Jefferson county, New York, his parents being Joseph and Purley (Franklin) Howard. His boyhood and youth was passed in the state of his nativity and his education was acquired there in the public schools. Having arrived at years of maturity he was married in Maysville, New York, on the 3rd of November, I850, to Miss Diantha Converse, whose sister Harriet later married Laconius Howard, a brother of Farley.Howard. Another brother, Sterling Howard, had already come to Berrien county and John Howard, still another brother, came at the same time as Farley Howard and his wife. At one time there were five brothers and a sister of this family living in the county, namely: Sterling, Squire, John, Harley, Farley and Mrs. Susanne Snyder, the wife of Warren Snyder. After ten or fifteen years, however, all the family removed to other localities except the sister and John and Farley Howard. Sterling Howard went to Idaho, Harley to Kansas and Squire to California. Mrs. Warren Snyder, however, lived and died here, passing away at the age of fifty-six years. John Howard was the father of Mrs. Frank McKindley, of Benton township and died here in middle life. On coming to Michigan, Farley Howard, after looking over the country to some extent, made purchase of a tract of land for which he paid three dollars per acre. It was in the midst of the green woods and was covered with a dense growth of timber. His first house was a log structure, which he continued to occupy until the present residence was erected. He at once began to clear and cultivate his land and in the course of time plowed fields were returning good crops. His brother, Sterling, paid the expenses of his journey, so that he was in debt when he began life here and he bought his land on time. In early years he worked out for others, but as the months passed by he was enabled to discharge his financial obligations and give his attention to the improvement of his own farm, which in course of years became a valuable property. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Howard were born eight children, of whom one died at the age of twelve years. Four of the number are now living, namely: Foster, a resident of Benton township; J. D., of Benton Harbor; Nettie, the wife of W. F. Howard, a brother of Franklin Howard, living in Pipestone township and Mrs. Franklin Howard of Benton township. One daughter, Edith, died at the age of twelve years. Alice, the eldest of the family, became the wife of Charles Moore, of Pipestone and died at the age of forty-four years. Mary became the wife of John Anthony, of Benton township, and died at the age of forty-two years. Farley Howard and his wife were members of the United Brethren church. His death occurred on the Ist of August, I886. In later years Mrs. Howard has been an adherent of the faith as understood by the Christian or Disciples church. She is well read, especially in the Bible and she is a constant reader of one of the church papers, the Christian Standard. She has lived upon one farm for fifty-five years and is now seventy-four years of age, a most estimable lady, loved and esteemed by all who know her. FRANK Z. DYE, a retired farmer residing in Niles, was born at Seneca Falls, New York, in I850. The father, John G. Dye, was born in New York in 1813, and died in Niles in I895, when about eightytwo years of age. He removed from the Empire state to Michigan in 1856 with his wife and children, settling in Bertrand township, Berrien county, where he purchased a farm, but soon afterward sold that property and invested in a much better farm on the Chicago road in the same township. That property was located two miles south HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 413 west of Niles, and there Mr. Dye carried on general agricultural pursuits up to the time that his life's labors were ended in death. His work produced good results. He annually harvested rich crops and the sale of his farm products brought him gratifying success. He was married to Miss Sarah Ann Brooks, a native of New York, in which state the wedding was celebrated. She died upon the old farm homestead in Berrien county in 1872, at the age of fifty-five years. Of their five children all were born in New York and four are now living. Charles H., the eldest of the family, who died February 12, I903, at the age of sixty years, was a prominent and influential business man. At the time of the Civil war, responding to the country's call for aid, he enlisted in I86I as a private of Company F, Twelfth Michigan Volunteer Infantry and served throughout the period of hostilities, being mustered out with the rank of first lieutenant. He made a splendid record as a soldier, displaying valor and loyalty upon all occasions. Following the close of hostilities he went to Kansas, where he was engaged with his brother Otis M., in the hotel business as proprietor of the Eagle Hotel in Humboldt, Allen county. They successfully conducted this enterprise for some time, when they sold out and engaged in the wholesale and retail grocery trade, under' the name of Dye Brothers, having branch stores also at Wellington and Independence. In this line the brothers continued for some time, when they sold out and went to the Indian Territory, where they engaged in the cattle business as members of the firm of Dye Brothers. They continued in that enterprise for only a short time, however, when on account of the illness of the wife of Charles H. Dye he sold his interests in this place and returned to Buchanan, Michigan, where his wife died. Subsequently he went to Syracuse, Kansas, and was engaged alone in the hardware business there. His first wife bore the maiden name of Alice Terriere and was born in Buchanan, Michigan. They had three children, all born in Kansas, namely: Belle, now the wife of S. P. Sadler, of Texas, by whom she had two daughters, Irene and Gladys; Jennie T.; and Clarence E., who makes his home in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he is an express messenger for the Adams Express Company on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. While living in Syracuse, Kansas, Charles H. Dye was married to Miss Malvina Cooke, of Bowling Green, Kentucky. Later he disposed of his hardware business in Kansas and went to northwestern Texas, locating in the Panhandle district, where in connection with his brother Otis he was engaged in the grocery business for two years. He then sold out and removed to Gallatin, Tennessee, where his death occurred. His widow is still living there. There were no children by his second marriage. Otis M. Dye, the second member of the family of John G. Dye, came with his parents to Michigan in 1856 and during the period of the Civil war was in the quartermaster's department at Duvall's Bluff, Arkansas. After the war he went to Kansas with his brother Charles and as stated above they conducted the Eagle hotel at Humboldt, Allen county, which proved a successful venture for several years. Later they conducted a wholesale and retail grocery business and following their venture in the grocery business in Texas, Otis M. Dye became western manager for the Showwalter Mortgage Company of Boston, Massachusetts, with headquarters at Omaha, Nebraska. He represented that firm for ten years, after which he assisted in organizing the First National Bank at Arlington, Nebraska, and was its cashier for several years. Subsequently he went to Texas, where he engaged in the grocery business in connection with his brother Charles. Later he returned to Nebraska, where he is now living retired. He married Alida M. Mead, of Niles, Michigan. John C. Dye, the third member of the father's family, came with his parents to Michigan and is now living on a farm in Bertrand township, Berrien county. He wedded Ella Sinclair, of Niles, and of their three children two are livingLuther S. and Bessie G. Alma J. Dye, the youngest of the family, is the wife of A. F. Bither, who is represented elsewhere in this work. 414 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Frank Z. Dye, who was the fourth member of the family, was a little lad of only about six years when brought by his parents to Michigan. He was reared upon the home farm in Berrien county and attended school in Niles. He early became familiar wit'h the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist and throughout his entire life has carried on general farming pursuits. In connection with his brother, John C. Dye, he purchased a farm in Bertrand township, which they conducted together for several years, when Mr. Dye of this review sold out to his brother, who is still living upon the property. Frank Z. Dye then purchased the old homestead upon which he followed farming until I904, when he sold that property and bought ten acres of land in the city of Niles, bordering the St. Joseph river', This was a part of the old Bond homestead and is one of the earliest plats of land to be settled in Niles. He and all of his four brothers have been stanch Republicans and are public-spirited men. He has been quite successful in his business operations and is muc'h esteemed for his genuine, personal worth. He represents one of the old and prominent families of- the county and his interest in community affairs is that of a public-spirited citizen who gives active co-operation to many movements for the general good. PROFESSOR JOHN DOWLING SCHILLER, superintendent of schools in Niles, is one of the prominent educators of this section of Michigan and has done much to advance the cause of public instruction in -this state. He acquired his early education in the district schools of Alexander, New York, and later entered the Genesee and Wyoming Academy, where in the pursuance of an academic course he was -fitted for college. He remained in that institution for a year following the completion of the regular course in order to take the first year's work in Rochester University, where. he completed his collegiate course. In I869 he came to Michigan, settling at Albion, where he organized the Union school. In the following year the board of education of Jack-:son appointed him principal of one of the schools of that city, which position he filled continuously, capably and successfully for nineteen years, when, in 1887, he again resigned to accept the superintendency of the schools of Niles. Here he has since remained and under his guidance the system of public instruction has been greatly improved. In June, I887, Hillsdale College bestowed upon him the degree of Master of Arts. He is thoroughly interested in his work and has a faculty of inspiring pupils and teachers with much of his own zeal and interest. He is frequently called upon to lecture before teachers' institutes and associations. He has given much attention to the study of pedagogy, psychology and child study and fully realizes the fact that the work of an educator is not merely the instruction of classes in certain principles of knowledge but his adaptation to the needs of the individual pupil and the preparation of the student for life's practical and responsible duties. The schools of Niles under his direction give evidence of scientific management and marked progressiveness. Professor Schiller has one son, Guy B., who is a graduate of the University of Michigan of the class of I9oo, and is now in the employ of the government as superintendent of schools in the Philippine Islands. The father belongs to Niles Commandery, K. T., and also to the Knights of Pythias lodge, and has held high offices in both. He is a Baptist in his religious faith and is deeply interested in every line of work tending to a liberal education, broad knowledge and an adoption of high moral principles. HON. SAM H. KELLEY, a member of the bar of Benton Harbor and a representative of his district in the state legislature has left and is leaving the impress of his individuality upon the legal records, the business development and political history of the state. He was born in Marion, Grant county, Indiana, on the 27th of March, I86I, and in both the paternal and maternal lines he is descended from ancestry represented in prominent political positions. His father, Henry S. Kelley, of St. Joseph, Missouri, is a distinguished lawyer, who for sixteen years was judge of the twenty-ninth r I WITC'TORV CYP? v-vTo DT1?TT i-C)TT\T-P 1-1 JL.- ' J-J. 1 judicial circuit, composed of Andrew, Atchison, Holt and Nodaway counties, Missouri. He is moreover well known as the author of various works on law. In I884 he published a treatise on the law relating to the powers, duties, rights and liabilities of executors. In I892 he published a treatise on criminal law following a previous volume of the same subject issued in I88I. He married Miss Adelia Harlan, a daughter of Hon. Andrew J. and Delilah (Hendricks) Harlan, the former born in I815 and the latter in 1822. Both Mr. and Mrs. Harlan are still living in Savannah, Missouri, and he is the only survivor of the thirty-first congress. He has also served in the legislatures of three different states, acting as speaker in two of them. Sam H. Kelley was only five years of age when taken by his parents on their removal from Indiana to Savannah, Missouri, where he acquired his preliminary education in the public schools. He afterward entered the State University of Missouri at Columbia, which institution he attended from 1877 to I880. He then engaged in teaching in the district schools in 188I, and in 1882 he received an appointment to the position of adjudicator of claims in the United States treasury department at Washington, D. C., which place he continued to fill until November, I885, when he resigned to become chief clerk of the United States land office at Wakeeney, Kansas. While in Washington he took up the study of law and was graduated from Columbian University Law School in the class of 1884. In November, I886, he resigned his position in the land office and purchased the Scott County News of Kansas, a Republican paper, which he continued to publish until I889, when he removed to St. Joseph, Missouri, and entered upon the practice of law there, remaining an active member of the profession until I893, when he came to Benton Harbor. He has since been a representative of the bar of Berrien county and he soon won distinction and a notable place as one of its strongest and most capable members. He is remarkable among lawyers at this bar for the wide research and provident care with which he prepares his cases. His Jx xI rJ-iN k-,JUIN 1 Y 415 logical grasp of facts and of law applicable to them, as well as his untiring industry, have been potent elements in his success. In the argument of a case he exhibits a remarkable clearness of expression and adequate and precise diction which enables him to make others understand not only the salient points of his argument but also able to clearly understand the very fine analytical distinctions which differentiate one legal principle from another. Mr. Kelley is equally well known as a political leader in Michigan in the ranks of the Republican party. He has figured prominently in Republican circles since coming to the state and was for twelve years a member of the central county committee and for a long period was chairman of the Republican city committee of Benton Harbor. He acted as supervisor for the second ward for one term to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Benton R. Stearns. He was secretary of the Missouri Republican Association in Washington, D. C.,.in 1884, and his close study of the political issues and questions of the country and his understanding of political possibilities and methods have enabled himn to so direct his efforts as to contribute in substantial measure to Republican successes. At the present time he is a prominent and valued member of the county central committee and he won recognition of his party in his election to the state legislature to represent the first district of Berrien county in the session of i905-6. He received a vote of thirty-two hundred and twenty-nine against twentytwo hundred and sixty-nine for Alexander Haliday, the Democratic candidate. Taking his place as a member of the house he became at once an active worker and has been connected with much important constructive legislation. In I906 he was re-elected. as a member of the legislature. He gives to each question which comes up for settlement his earnest and thoughtful consideration and when once his course is decided upon nothing can swerve him from the path which he belives to be right. No one questions his devotion to the interests of his county and the commonwealth at large, for at all times he is actuated by a spirit of un 416 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY compromising loyalty to the welfare of his home community and his state. Mr. Kelley was married in 1887 to Miss Julia Graham, a daughter of George and Mary Graham, of Berrien Springs, Michigan, in which place her birth occurred. She died, however, at Benton Harbor on the 8th of October, I900, leaving three daughters: Adelia, Louise and Daisy. On the 24th of June, I903, Mr. Kelley was again married, his second union being with Effie Wallace, of Lawrence, Van Buren county, Michigan, a daughter of Seymour and Frances Wallace. Honored and respected in every class of society, Mr. Kelley has for some time been a leader in thought and action in the public life of Berrien county. He is widely and favorably known throughout the state, his abilities well fitting him for leadership in political, legal and social circles. The terms progress and patriotism might be considered the keynote of his character, for throughout his career he has labored for the improvement of every line of business or public interest with which he has been associated and at all times has been actuated by a fidelity to his country and her welfare. HENRY H. HAMANN, who owns a farm on section 1, New Buffalo township, was born in this township, February 27, I868, his parents being August and Mary (Garber) Hamann, who were natives of Mecklenburg and were there married. They came direct to New Buffalo on crossing the Atlantic to the new world and still reside upon the old home place, comprising eighty acres of good land in New Buffalo township. Their family numbers five children: Ernest, who is living at Three Oaks; Charles, who makes his home in Michigan City; Henry H., of this review; Augusta, the wife of Ernest Kruger; and William, who is with his parents. Henry H. Hamann was reared to farm life, early beginning work in the fields, while in the public schools he obtained his education. He continued under the parental roof until twenty-two years of age, living on a farm southeast of the village. He next went to Michigan City, where he was employed in car work for about two years and on the expiration of that period he came to New Buffalo, being employed on the Pere Marquette Railroad for two years in the yards, becoming foreman there. In April, 1903, he located upon his present farm, which he had purchased six years before. It comprises eighty acres on section II and Mr. Hamann has made many improvements here, keeping his building and fences in excellent repair. Fruit growing is the main feature of his farm, but he also carries on general farming, raising various kinds of grain. He annually harvests good crops of both grain and friut and for his products finds a ready sale on the market. On the 20th of May, I89I, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Hamann and Miss Anna Schult, who was born in Germany, June 17, I870, and came to the United States when twelve years of age with her parents, Fred and Lena (Helms) Schult, both of whom reside in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Hamann have three sons, Edwin, Harry and Carl. The political allegiance of Mr. Hamann was given to the Democracy for some years, but he now largely votes the Republican ticket, although he is somewhat independent in his political views. He holds membership in the German Lutheran church and is a man of upright principles and manly conduct, whose good qualities have gained for him warm and favorable regard. His life has been one of activity, in which he has made good use of his opportunities and the fact that he is now the owner of a valuable farm property indicates a life of industry and well-directed labor. SYLVESTER B. KIMBALL, whose actions have during his life been such as to distinctively entitle him to a place in this publication as a representative resident of Berrien county, is now practically living retired in Benton Harbor. His birth occurred in New York in I843. His father, Benoni Kimball, was born in Vermont in 1814 and was a brick maker by trade, following that pursuit throughout his active business career, first in the employ of others and then on his own account. He served as a soldier in the Mexican war and subsequent to this time re HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 4I7 moved from the Empire state to Michigan, taking up his abode in Jackson county in 1849. There he engaged in the manufacture of brick, conducting a brickyard near the state prison there. He afterward removed to Brooklyn, Jackson county, where he again established a brickyard and subsequently he took up his abode in Hillsdale county, where he also engaged in the manufacture of brick. At a subsequent date he purchased a farm in Jefferson township, Hillsdale county, and on leaving that place removed to Laporte county, Indiana, where he again engaged in the manufacture of brick. He next went to Carlisle Hill, where he conducted a similar enterprise and afterward farmed forty acres near Winamac, Indiana, where he continued to make his home up to the time of his death. Close application and earnest purpose constituted the salient features in his career and won him a gratifying measure of success. He was married in the east to Miss Ruth A. Fairfield, a native of New York, who died in 1846 at the age of twenty-eight years. There were two children of that marriage, Walter F. and Sylvester B., both residents of Benton Harbor. After losing his first wife Mr. Kimball wedded Nancy McIntyre, who is still living in Benton Harbor. They had five children, Charles, Lewis, Baird, Fred and Francis. The father's death occurred in Winamac, Indiana, in I888, at the age of seventy-four years. Sylvester S. Kimball accompanied his father on his various removals until he settled in Jefferson township, Hillsdale county. He and his brother Walter F. then enlisted for service in the Civil war. The brother became a member of the First Michigan Engineers and Mechanics, a volunteer regiment being attached to Company H, for three years. He was born in New York in 1840 and was therefore in the early twenties when he joined the army. After serving for about two years he was wounded at the battle of Perryville on the 8th of October, 1862, two minie-balls piercing his left chest. One entered his right breast and fourteen years afterward was taken out of his arm. The other entered his left breast and is now in his back. He was in the hospital 27 at Louisville, Kentucky, for about two months. After the close of the war he lived in Iowa for twenty years and since 1887 he has made his home in Benton township, where he now owns and cultivates a farm. Sylvester B. Kimball enlisted in I862 in the Eighteenth Michigan Regiment as a private of Company F for three years' service. He remained with the army for only eight months, however, when he was discharged at Lexington, Kentucky, on account of illness. On the 15th of March, I865, he reenlisted as a private of Company I, which participated in Sherman's march to the sea and the campaign under that intrepid leader until the close of the war. He was mustered out at Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1865, by general order of the war department. When his military service had ended Mr. Kimball went to Traverse county, Michigan, and was driver on the mail wagon from Traverse City to Benzona. He also took up a homestead in Traverse county. He drove the mail wagon for a year and then went to Lansing, Michigan, where he buried his wife. Subsequently he removed to Laporte, Indiana, where he worked with his father for a time in the brick manufacturing business. He next went to Goldfield, Iowa, where he continued for seven years and in I875 he came to Benton Harbor, where he accepted the position of foreman with the Watkins Brick Manufacturing Company, serving in that capacity for three years. He then purchased a brick yard, which he conducted under the name of Kimball's Brickyard and the business proved a profitable venture but on account of ill health he was obliged to abandon this enterprise and purchased the home which he now occupies on the Territorial road. He was commissioned notary public in I886 and has since continued to serve in that capacity. He was also justice of the peace for eight years and during that time not a case was ever reversed against his decision. Mr. Kimball was married to Miss Eliza Harris of Benton township and has one child, Sylvanus B., who was born in Benton Harbor. By a former marriage Mr. Kimball had one son, George E., who is engaged in the transfer business in Benton Harbor 418 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY under the name of Ki(iball's Transfer Line. In politics Mr. Kilmball is a stalwart Republican and while living in Iowa served as township clerk. In this state he has been notary public and justice of the peace as before mentioned, and his public service has given entire satisfaction. He is vice president of the Chicago Fraternal League and he is a member of Benton Harbor Lodge, No. I32, I. O. O. F., of which he was financial secretary for two years. He also belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic and is a member of George H. Thomas Post, No. I4, at Benton Harbor. He was a true and faithful soldier in the dark days of the Civil war and has been equally loyal in citizenship in times of peace. His career has not been filled with thrilling incidents and yet probably no biography published in this volume can serve as a better illustration to young men of the power of honesty, integrity and perseverence in insuring success. WILLIAM L. BRUCE. The growth of a city depends upon the aggregate endeavor of its business men and each individual who faithfully performs his daily duties and exercises his talents to the extent of his ability, thus accomplishing the maximum result possible, is a factor in the development and progress of the community which he; represents. William L. Bruce, engaged in the furniture trade, is recognized as one of the leading business men of Benton Harbor. His birth occurred in Shelbyville, Indiana, in I87I. His father, John T. Bruce, was a native of Kentucky, and spent the last five years of his life in Benton Harbor, after residing for a considerable period in Indiana. He married Miss Sally Ely, who was born in Ohio and who died about twelve years ago at the age of fifty-one years. Mr. Bruce, however, survived his wife until August i8, I905, when at the age of sixty-five years he was called to his final rest. They had one daughter, who is now Mrs. R. P. Adams, a resident of Chicago, Illinois. William L. Bruce, the only son, acquired his preliminary education in Indiana and completed his studies in Missouri. During his early business career he acted as clerk for three years in a hotel in Kansas City and subsequently he conducted the Pacific Hotel for four years in the same city. He then went to Chicago and was manager for the Ditner Catering Company for three years, following which he came to Benton Harbor in I9oo and conducted a restaurant at Eastman Springs in Benton township through the summer season. In the fall of the same year he entered into partnership with C. E. Stone under the firm name of Bruce & Stone and opened a furniture and crockery business at Benton Harbor. Mr. Bruce, however, is sole manager of the business and the store has become well known to the purchasing public as the "yellow front." He carries a large and carefully selected line of furniture of various grades and also crockery ware. He has the qualifications of a good salesman, which, combined with his enterprise and laudable ambition to achieve success, have enabled him to develop one of the good business enterprises of the city and secure a large patronage. In I893, in Kansas City, Missouri, Mr. Bruce was united in marriage to Miss Inez M. Cummings, who was born in Missouri and has one. child, John Lovell, whose birth occurred in Chicago and who is now six years of age. In his political views Mr. Bruce is a Democrat. He belongs to Lake Shore Lodge, A. F. & A. M., to Calvin Brittain Chapter, R. A. M., at St. Joseph, and also to the Malta Commandery, No. 44, K. T., at Benton Harbor. For the past two years he has been custodian of the building of the Masons at Benton Harbor and is one of the stewards of the lodge. He also belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Modern Woodmen camp. STEPHEN M. AUSTIN is proprietor of a restaurant and bakery in Benton Harbor and thorough understanding of modern business methods and utilization of opportunities has led to his present gratifying success. He was born in New York in I848, a son of Eber and Cordelia (Lovell) Austin, both of whom were natives of New York. The father came to Michigan in I855, settling in St. Joseph, where he worked in the sawmills. Later he removed to I 7/I 7XW/ZV 2Il4'V Ma3 ( HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 4I9 a farm in Hagar township, where he cleared forty acres of land from the dense forest and he is still engaged' in agricultural pursuits upon that tract. His wife passed away when sixty-four years of age. In their family were five children, of whom four are yet living, namely: Stephen M.; Elvira; Mrs. Emma Brace, who resides upon the old home farm in Hagar township; and Mrs. Julia Pratt, also living in that township. Stephen M. Austin attended school in St. Joseph, being a student in the old schoolhouse which is now used for a city hall. He was also a student in the district schools of Hagar township. Thinking to find commercial pursuits more congenial than agricultural life he embarked in business in I878 as a grocer, conducting his store for one year on Pipestone street in Benton Harbor. In 1879 he purchased a lot on East Main street, where he is now located and erected a good business block, which he still owns. Here he opened a stock of staple and fancy groceries and carried on business in that line until 1884, when he sold his stock and leased the store. Four years later, however, he re-entered the grocery trade but in I896 again sold out and in place of the grocery established a restaurant and bakery, which he has since conducted with much success, furnishing employment to a number of men in both branches of the business, his payroll amounting to sixty dollars per week outside of board for his help. He serves regular 1neals and caters to the best trade of the city, and has a well kept, clean and attractive restaurant, in which he serves good and wholesome food as well as all of the delicacies of the season. His bakery is well equipped with every modern appliance for carrying on the business and he has teams to deliver goods to all parts of the city. In 1879 in Benton Harbor Mr. Austin was married to Miss Katherine Saunders, a native of New York. They attend the Universalist Church and Mr. Austin is a Democrat in his political views, active in the local work of the party, his opinions carrying weight in its councils. He has served as alderman from the fourth ward, was a member of the board of public works for one term and has been supervisor for four terms. He is likewise a member of Benton Harbor Lodge, I. O. O. F., and is connected with the Elks; the Patricians, of which he has been chairman of the board of directors for the past four years; and the Maccabees. In the last named organization he has held various offices and was one of the first to attend the grand lodge as a delegate when the order was established in Benton Harbor. In all of his business career there has naught been said against his honesty of purpose and the success that he has achieved is due not to any financial combination of circumstances but to genuine merit and earnest purpose, resulting from untiring industry. OSCAR DAMON, living in Hagar township, is one of the honored pioneer settlers of the county and is familiar with the entire history of development of this part of the state. The people of the present, enjoying the advantages which civilization has brought, cannot realize the conditions that confronted the pioneer settler a half century or more ago. At the time Mr. Damon arrived he lived among the Indians, who still regarded this part of the state as their hunting ground. There were no railroads and few white settlers had penetrated into this region to plant the seeds of civilization here. The district was cut off from the older settlements of the east by dense forests that grew in their primeval strength and the rivers were unbridged and the only roads were the old Indian trails. Mr. Damon is a native of Fredonia, Pomfret township, Chautauqua county, New York, his birth having occurred on the 20th of March, I826. His father, Martin Damon, was a native of Vermont and died when the son was but nine years of age. The mother, whose maiden name was Eliza Norton, was born in Fredonia, and died when Oscar Damon was but a lad of seven years. He made his home with different families until fifteen years of age, when, having an aunt in Ohio, he walked to that state. He remained in Ohio and Pennsylvania until twenty years of age and worked at farm labor and other kindred employment until his marriage. He here broke steers, matched them and sold them at a profit and this gave him his start. 420 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY On the 2Ist of September, before he was twenty years of age, Mr. Damon was married to Miss Kate Stevens, a native of Pennsylvania. The wedding was celebrated in 1845 and during the next seven years they resided in Ohio and in the Keystone state, Mr. Damon being largely employed at farm labor by the day and month. Attracted by the opportunities of the west, however, he came to Michigan in I852, settling on section twenty-three, Hagar township, Berrien county, trading his Ohio property for the land which he secured in Michigan. There was not a stick cut upon the place. All was wild! and unimproved, but with characteristic energy he began the development of a farm. He purchased a team of young horses and built a hewed log house upon his place. He then began to clear his land and as this did not bring him in any ready money he began to trap, making wooden traps. He soon found that he could realize considerable money from the occupation and he hunted deer, fox, otter, mink and other animals whose skin could be utilized as a marketable commodity. He has made as much as one hundred dollars per month in trapping, and this made him a living, while in the summer months he devoted his attention to clearing his land. He has lived upon his farm for fifty-four years and owns eighty acres, which he has cleared and brought under a high state of cultivation. He burned up valuable timber, although he sold some at three dollars per thousand in the boom at St. Joseph. He has kept up his trapping to the present time, following it now more as a source of recreation than for profit. Even though now well advanced in years he makes his way annually into the forests and has been gone from home two weeks at a time, living in a tent. Mr. Damon is thoroughly familiar with the work of progress that has been carried on in his part of the state. He erected his own home about thirty-five or thirty-six years ago and it is therefore one o-f the old landmarks of the county. The first settlement in Hagar township was upon the farm which he now occupies and Mr. Holly located here sixty-seven years ago, at which time he built a cabin near a spring. He lived among the Indians for there were no white settlers in the locality at that time. At length he sold the prope'rty to James Proctor, who intended to dam the Paw Paw in order to establish a mill. It was of Mr. Proctor that Mr. Damon purchased the farm. In those early days he would find many bee trees, finding three swarms of bees in a single day. The first child born in Hagar township was Mary Jane McCray, who is now more than sixty years of age and is still living in this township. She married a Mr. Muldoon and is now a widow. Her father was killed by the falling of a tree. As the years went by Mr. Damon gave his time and energies to general agricultural pursuits and later began the cultivation of fruit. He has grown peaches for many years, making a start in this way by bringing peach pits with him from Pennsylvania. He has also grown berries and started his strawberry beds with a wild strawberry. He has continued in the work until he has grown acres of strawberries from a single plant to start with. He gave his berry the name of Queen and as the years passed gathered a large amount of fruit, each year finding a ready sale for it on the market. While cultivating his fields and orchards in the summer seasons he has spent the winter months in trapping. On the 23d of January, 1882, Mr. Damon was married to Miss Ida Schuster, a daughter of Andrew and Martha Jane (Austin) Schuster, and a native of Rochester, New York. During her infancy she was brought by her parents to Hagar township and has lived all her life within two miles of her present home. Her father cut out a farm there in the midst ofi the forest and is still residing in Hagar township on the lake shore. His wife died in February, 1905, at the age of seventy-nine years. The daughter Ida was but eighteen years of age at the time of her marriage. There have been three children born of this union: Eliza is the wife of John Maile, of Benton Harbor, who is head burner in Miller's brickyard, and they have one child, Ida. Julia is the wife of Will Perry, a farmer of Hagar township and they have one child, Pearl. Mrs. Perry had a daughter by a. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 42r former marriage, Ida Mardell Cowell, who is now living with her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Damon. Oscar D., twenty years ~of age, married Elva King, a daughter of De Golier King, of Benton township, and they live on the King farm. All of them married well into good families. Mr. Damon is an advocate of the Democracy but is not strictly partisan, occasionally voting for the men of the opposite party where local questions are involved. He has always been a strong temperance man and uses neither tobacco nor liquor. He is well known in this part of the state and is a notable figure as a representative of pioneer life and of trapping interests, which were in early days the chief source of living to the settlers. Not from hearsay but as a matter of actual experience can he relate many interesting tales of early life in Michigan, concerning the time when the pioneer blazed the way for the settlers who afterward came to gather the results but have followed the utilization of the natural resources of the state-the lumber and mineral interests and the agricultural possibilities. Mr. Damon has himself kept pace with the uniform progress in farming and fruit-raising circles and as the years have gone by has secured a good home in this way. WAKEMAN RYNO, M. D. has since I89I actively engaged in practice in Benton Harbor and is recognized as an able member of the profession. Moreover he has displayed a love of scientific research and is a gentleman of considerable literary talent, as is manifested in his writings. He was born in Ovid, New York, in I849, and came to Michigan with his parents when but seven years of age. His paternal grandfather, John Stites Ryno, was born in Westfield, New Jersey, and died in 1825 when his son, John Boice Ryno, was but four years of age. The latter was born in Ovid, Seneca county, New York, April 2, 1821, and in 185I, when thirty years of age, disposed of his property in the Empire state, trading it for a quarter section of wild land in Hagar township, Berrien county, Michigan, now known as Pottawatomie Park. He was married in 1847 in New York to Miss Sabra Garrett, a daughter of James H. Garrett, of Trumansburg, New York. The family took up their abode upon the newly acquired Michigan property in I856, and there resided until I859, when Mr. Ryno exchanged his wild land for an improved farm a half mile south of Coloma in Watervliet township. He was a blacksmith by trade, having learned the business when but seventeen years of age. He followed that calling until I86o, when an accident caused him the loss of one eye and he then abandoned his trade and concentrated his energies upon the work of general farming. His early political allegiance was given to the Democratic party, but at the time Lincoln was made the candidate of the newly organized Republican party he became one of his stanch supporters and ever afterward continued to affiliate with that great political organization. He never aspired to public office, but was interested in any plan or movement calculated to benefit his township, county or state. He was a wide reader and discriminating student and kept well informed on all questions of the day, political or otherwise. He regarded it as the duty as well as the privilege of every citizen to cast his ballot in support of measures which he believed would best promote good government and he never failed to make his way to the polls on election day. There were many sterling traits in his character, including his loyalty in citizenship, his reliability in business affairs and his fidelity in friendship. He died upon the home farm in Watervliet township on the I8th of April, I900, when seventy-nine years of age. He had survived his wife for several months, her death having occurred in I899. In their family were seven children, as follows: Wakeman; Belden S.; who is living in Coloma; Suydam B., also a resident of Coloma; Mrs. Henry Archer, who is living in Chicago; Mrs. John K. Brown, of Hagar township, Berrien county; Mrs. John Hames, of Chicago; and Smith, who is living in Coloma. In the district schools at Coloma, Wakeman Ryno acquired his early education and later continued his studies in New York. Subsequently, having determined upon the practice of medicine as a life work, he began 422 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY preparation for that calling by matriculating in the University of Michigan and was graduated from the medical department with the class of 1872. He then practiced for nineteen years in Coloma, after which he sought a broader field of labor, removing to Benton Harbor in I89I. Here he opened an office and has since practiced with much success. In 1874 he pursued post graduate work in Bellevue Hospital in New York city and he has kept in touch with the onward march of the profession through his persual of medical journals and the contributions to medical literature which appeared from time to time and are accepted as authority upon such subjects. He maintains a high standard of professional ethics and in his practice is actuated not only by a laudable desire for personal gain but also by a broad humanitarian spirit and deep interest in his profession. In January, 1875, Dr. Ryno was married in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to Miss Hannah Jane Rose, who was born in Hagar township and is a daughter of Wallace Rose, who was a veteran of the Civil war and was held as a prisoner at Libby, -where he died. Dr. and Mrs. Ryno have become the parents of one son, Corydon Mott, who was born in Coloma and has been liberally educated. He is a graduate of Rutgers College of New Jersey of the class of I898 and is numbered among the alumni of Yale College of I89I. He completed a course in the medical department there in that year, after which he spent one year in Europe upon his wedding journey, having been married on the I6th of July, 1902, to Miss Ida Eder, of Chicago, Illinois. They have an interesting daughter, Dorothea, now two years of age. Dr. C. M. Ryno is practicing with his father in Benton Harbor and the firm is an especially strong one. In his political views Dr. Ryno is an earnest and stalwart Republican. He was for twelve years a member of the board of health and for three years a member of the board of education of Benton Harbor and his co-operation can always be counted upon for the furtherance of progressive public movements in his adopted city. He has been very successful in his practice, accumulating a comfortable competence. Each year he makes a trip to Florida and he spent the winter of 1905-6 in that sunny climate, being enabled to leave the north by reason of the fact that his son assumes the management and relieves him of the care of their practice. Dr. Ryno is a man of scholarly attainments and strong native intellectuality. He has always devoted much of his leisure to reading and research on historical and scientific as well as professional lines and he is now preparing a historical and genealogical work upon the Paw Paw valley and likewise has in progress of compilation a genealogical record of the Ryno family. WILLIAM S. MORLEY. Only four residents of Berrien county have longer resided within its borders than William S. Morley and no history of this part of the state would be complete without the record of this worthy and honored pioneer settler, who has now passed the eighty-fourth milestone on life's journey. He was born in the township of Burns in Allegany county, New York, August I9, 1822. His father, William Morley, was born in Pennsylvania near Harrisburg in 1796 and when a young man went to New York, being married in Allegany county, that state. He was an Episcopalian minister and also followed the occupation of farming. His mother lived to the very advanced age of one hundred and five years, while his sister Betsy reached the age of one hundred and two years. His last days were spent in New Troy, Berrien county, where he departed this life at the age of seventy-six years. In early manhood he had wedded Miss Jane Carroll, who was born in New York and died in Berrien county at the age of seventy-eight years. In their family were five sons: John, who died in I87I; Thomas 0., who enlisted in the Union army in I862 and died while in the United States service; William S., of this review; Ambrose, who died at the age of seventy-five years; and Louis W., a practicing physician of Nebraska. William S. Morley spent the first eight years of his life in the state of his nativity and then accompanied his parents on their HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 423 removal to Marion county, Indiana, where they remained for two years. In I832 the family settled on Portage Prairie in Bertrand township, this county, at which time there were more Indians that white settlers. The family home was established in the woods on the Carey Mission reserve almost immediately after the government had completed its survey. The trip was made from New York down the Allegany river to Maysville, Kentucky, and thence by steamboat to Madison, Indiana, which at that time was the capital of the state. From that city they proceeded to a point twelve miles north of Indianapolis, journeying by wagon, and after two years passed in Marion county they continued on their way to the territory of Michigan. On reaching a beautiful country there they decided to locate and the father gave one hundred dollars for a claim of one hundred and sixty acres in Bertrand township which had been entered by Eli Grice. Upon this farm William S. Morley remained until twenty-two years of age. Starting out in life on his own account, he had as his capital good health, an axe and fifty dollars in money after he had paid the minister's fee, for he won a companion and helpmate for life's journey by his marriage on the I2th of May, I844, to Miss Elizabeth Loan, who was born in Licking county, Ohio, November 5, 1827, and came to Berrien county with her parents in I835. She was a daughter of William and Mary (Bashford) Loan, the former a native of Scotland and the latter of Ohio. The young couple began their domestic life upon a farm and Mr. Morley operated a breaking team through the summer of 1844. In that way he made enough money to pay for the team, after which he purchased forty acres of land in Lake township and took up his abode thereon. He assisting in organizing the township in 1846. Two years were devoted to farm labor, after which he was engaged on the construction work of the MIichigan Central Railroad until 1848 and assisted in running the first construction train through. After a time he sold his property in Lake township and in I849 went to Wisconsin, where he purchased a land warrant for one hundred and sixty acres of land. He lived there for nearly two years and prospered in his business there, returning with one thousand dollars in money. This he invested in Michigan property, purchasing one hundred and sixty acres of land one mile north of New Troy.. Here he lived for two years or until I854, when he sold out and removed to Iowa, where he purchased about a section of land. There he carried on general agricultural pursuits for ten years and on the expiration of that period he disposed of his property west of the Mississippi and in I865 returned to Michigan, purchasing a farm in Wesaw township, upon which he has resided continuously since. He has ninety acres of land here in the home place, which is operated by his son, who has a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in the same township, eighty acres being on section twenty and eighty acres on section twenty-eight. Mr. Morley has bought and sold many farms and his business deals have usually proved profitable, bringing to him a comfortable income. In all of his business transactions he has been thoroughly reliable and he bears an honorable name in business circles. In I902 Mr. Morley was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who passed away on the 3rd of October of that year. Eight children have been born of their marriage: Ambrose, who is living in Buchanan; Mary Jane, the wife of C. O. Rose, of North Dakota; Alzina L., the wife of William Coleman, of Bertrand township; Cordelia Ellen, the wife of James O. Cronmwell, of Oklahoma; James B., who is living upon the home farm with his father; Hannah Elizabeth, the widow of William Metcalf, of Vancouver, British Columbia; Harriet E., the wife of John Kelly, of Dumont, Iowa; and William H., who operates the home farm and also a good farm of his own, giving his attention to the supervision of two hundred and fifty acres of land altogether. He has taken swamp land and converted it into a fine farm and is one of the active, enterprising and prosperous agriculturists of the community. Mr. Morley also has thirtytwo grandchildren and thirty-six great .424 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY grandchildren and the Morleys hold annual reunions here, which are delightful occasions and keep up the family spirit. In his political views William S. Morley has been a life-long Democrat, casting his first presidential ballot for James K. Polk. He served as justice of the peace in Wesaw township for six years and was also justice of the peace in Iowa for ten years. He has likewise acted in other official positions and has held some school offices. Long a devoted and faithful member of the Methodist Protestant church, he has been active in its work for thirty-five years and has been ordained one of its elders. He has also been a stalwart champion of the temperance cause and he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Only four people in all Berrien county have longer resided within its borders. When he arrived here in I832 there were only three buildings in South Bend, Indiana, and the village of Buchanan and the city of Benton Harbor had not been founded. He did considerable hunting in his younger days and has killed all kinds of wild animals that haunted the forest here save panthers, which he frequently saw. Many days he hunted with the Indians and he went through all of the hardships, trials and experiences of pioneer life. He retains very vivid recollections of the early days and relates many interesting incidents of pioneer times when the work of civilization had scarcely been begun here. At long distances were seen log cabins and little clearings, but the greater part of the county was still covered with the native forest growth and gave little promise of future development. WILLIAM W. EAST. It is the enterprise and character of the citizens who enrich and develop a community, bringing into effective action the enterprising spirit which has wrought the wonderful development of this country. Among the men of energy, determination and capability who are classed foremost with the representative citizens of Buchanan is numbered William W. East, of the Pears-East Grain Company, and in the face of such opposition and competition as always meets one in the business world he has worked his way upward until lie is now in control of a profitable trade. Mr. East is one of Michigan's native sons, having been born in Vandalia, Cass county, on the 28th of October, I858. His father, J. S. East, a native of Muncie, Indiana, removed to Cass county, Michigan, with his parents, James and Anna East, in his boyhood days, and was there reared. He was married in Laporte, and in November, I869, removed to Niles, this county. By occupation he was a miller and for many years followed that pursuit as a source of livelihood for himself and family. He was respected as an active, energetic business man and one thoroughly reliable in his trade transactions. His widow is still living and makes her home in Buchanan. In their family were four children, of whom one, a daughter, died in infancy. Charles W. East, another member of the family, is now engaged in the milling business in Buchanan. and James F., a motorman, residing in South Bend, Indiana. William W. East, the youngest, was about nine years of age when he accompanied his parents on their removal from Cass county to Niles, where he was reared and educated, continuing his studies through successive grades until he was graduated from the high school of Niles in I878. He afterward engaged in teaching school in Berrien county for about two years and was bookkeeper in a store in Niles, an employe in the J. M. Wells grocery and crockery establishment, which is conducted on both a wholesale and retail plan. Mr. East continued in that service for about three years, when he became owner of a half interest in a grocery store in connection with M. L. Harter. This relation was maintained for three years, on the expiration of which period Mr. East sold out and in I886 came to Buchanan. Here he accepted a clerkship in a grocery store, in which he continued for three years, when he went to Elkhart, Indiana, and was employed by J. J. Hoffman for about a year. Subsequently in Chicago he had charge of the books of the Cairo Lumber Company for eighteen months, or until the failure of the house, after which he was with Peter Van Schaack HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 425 & Sons, wholesale druggists, having charge of the books until the financial panic of I893. He then secured a position with Lyon, Potter & Company, with whom he continued for about a year, and in I894 he returned to Buchanan, where with his father he purchased a half interest in a fruit farm, which he still retains. He has built a good home on the place and it is a productive farm, yielding fine fruits in season. In December, 1904, Mr. East took charge of the books of the Hatch-Cutter Manufacturing Company, which, however, failed a few months later, but he continued to serve as bookkeeper until the business was closed out by the receiver. He then entered the employ of the C. Bishop Grain Company, with which he was connected for three years, and on the expiration of that period, in 1899, he formed a partnership with C. F. Pears and bought out the Bishop Grain Company. The new firm of the Pears-East Grain Company is conducting a wholesale grain and seed business and has secured a liberal patronage, making extensive annual sales. In December, I884, Mr. East was united in marriage to Miss Julia B. Toll, a sister of D. H. Toll, of Niles, Michigan. They have one son, Walter J., who is assistant cashier of the branch house of Armour & Company, at Kalamazoo, Michigan. Mr. East is a stanch Republican and is now serving for the second year as a member of the city council of Buchanan, in which capacity he exercises his prerogative in support of many progressive movements that tend to promote reform and improvement in this city. He is chairman of the finance committee, and is a director and treasurer of the Buchanan Building & Loall Association. He also belongs to two fraternal societies. Without any special advantages at the outset of his career he has worked persistently and energetically and has achieved gratifying success, being held in high esteem by reason of what he has accomplished and the methods he has pursued. PHAY A. GRAFFORT, editor and proprietor of the Buchinanal Argus, was born in St. Joseph county, Indiana, April 8, I879. His father, Lawrence Graffort, also a native of that county, is a shoemaker and harnessmaker by trade, and is now engaged in business in Buchanan. He married Lavina Rittenhouse, also a native of Indiana, who died in the year I898. There were nine children in the family, of whom the subject of this review is the eldest. He was reared in St. Joseph county and pursued a commonschool education to the age of thirteen years, when he entered a printing office in the capacity of "devil." He thoroughly mastered the business in principle and detail, gaining a practical knowledge of the work in all of its departments. For a year and a half he worked for twenty-five cents per week. He began the trade in the office of the North Liberty Boon, at North Liberty, where he remained for about a year, after which he became connected with the News of the same place. He spent five years at Walkerton, Indiana, with the Independent, and afterward went to Jonesboro, Indiana, where he remained for some years. In I898 he came to Buchanan and entered the employ of the Buchanaun Record, with which he was connected for three years, when, in I90I, he purchased the Buchanan Argus, of which paper he is now proprietor and editor. It is an excellent country newspaper, devoted to the dissemination of general and local news, well edited and carefully arranged from the standpoint of the artisan. In connection with its publication he does all kinds of job printing, and a mail order business as well and his patronage is extensive and constantly increasing. In I899 Mr. Graffort was united in marriage to Miss Mattie Scott, a daughter of George and Sarah Scott, of Buchanan. The young couple are well known here, occupying an enviable position in social circles, while the hospitality of their own home is greatly enjoyed by their many friends. Mr. Graffort is a member of the Modern Woodmen camp, of which he is a worthy adviser. He publishes his paper as an independent sheet and personally entertains views in harmony with Republican principles and is active in support of the men and measures of the party. He is now serving for his second term as village clerk and is one of the enterprising young men of Buchanan. 426 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY JOHN W. BEISTLE. Judged from the standpoint of loyal citizenship in days of peace and days of war, John W. Beistle well deserves mention in a volume devoted to the representative men of Berrien county and, moreover, his record in business would alone entitle him to prominent mention, for through persistency of purpose and exercise of his native talent he has become one of the capitalists of Buchanan, where he is now well known as vice-president of the First National Bank and as a landholder whose acreage is extensive and valuable. A native of Pennsylvania, John W. Beistle was born in Snyder county, on the I7th of July, 1843, and is of German lineage, his paternal grandfather, Phillip Beistle, having been born in Germany, whence he came to America, founding the family in the Keystone state. His son, John P. Beistle, was also a native of Snyder county, Pennsylvania, and, becoming a resident of Berrien county, here spent his last days, his death occurring when he had reached the age of seventy-five years. His wife, who in her maidenhood was Miss Elizabeth Collins, was also a native of Pennsylvania. while her parents were born in Scotland. She died in Buchanan, Michigan, at the age of eighty-four years. John W. Beistle was the eldest son and third child in a family of six children born unto John P. and Elizabeth Beistle, all of whom reached adult age. In the place of his nativity John W. Beistle spent the days of his boyhood and youth and his education was obtained in the public schools. He was a young man of only nineteen years when in response to his country's call for troops he enlisted for service in the Civil war, becoming a private of Company F, One Hundred and Thirtyfirst Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry in I862. He served with that command for nine months and then re-enlisted in the Two Hundred and Eighth Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, with whom he continued until the close of the war. He participated in many sanguinary conflicts which contributed to the sum total of victories that crowned the Union arms and was always faithful, brave and loyal. He took part in the battle of Antietam, one of the most hotly contested of the early battles of the war, and in the engagement at Fredericksburg was wounded, being struck by a piece of shell, and was also wounded in the left leg by a minie ball at Chancellorsville, Virginia. He was in the hospital at WVindmill Point for some time. His time expiring in May following he then veteranized and continued with his regiment until the close of the war, taking part in many battles, including Petersburg, Fort Steadman, Hatches' Run and others, being also present at the time of General Lee's surrender at Appomattox. He also participated in the Grand Review in Washington,-the most celebrated military pageant ever seen on the western hemisphere, where, suspended across Pennsylvania avenue in the capital city was a banner bearing the inscription "The only debt which the country cannot pay is the debt of gratitude which she owes to her soldiers." Mr. Beistle received his honorable discharge at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1865, and then returned to his old home in Snyder county. He afterward worked in a sawmill at Selinsgrove, in Snyder county, and in I866 took up the study of dentistry, which he afterward practiced in that town until 187I, when he came to Michigan, locating at Berrien Springs. There he opened an office and continued in active practice until I878, when he removed to Buchanan and for a number of years was a successful and able representative of his profession in this town. He soon built up a large practice, which was accorded him until his retirement from active connection with the profession in I89g. In the meantime other business interests were making heavy demands upon his time and attention. He had purchased a farm of eighty acres in Wesaw township, Berrien county, to which he has since added until he now owns about six hundred acres of valuable land in that township. He also has one hundred acres in Bertrand township and about fifteen dwellings in the village of Buchanan, together with real estate in South Bend, Indiana, so that his property holdings are extensive and valuable. He has also been vice-president of the First National Bank of Buchanan for about seven years I I HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 42 7 and is thus closely associated with the financial interests of the county. His investments have been judiciously placed, arguing well for his keen business discernment, and his property interests now return him a splendid income. Mr. Beistle has been married twice. He first wedded Phoebe A. Long, a daughter of Isaac and Susanna (Rough) Long, who were natives of Pennsylvania and came to Berrien county during the pioneer epoch in its history. Mrs. Beistle was born in Bertrand township, this county, in 1852, and died in 1878, leaving three children: Elmer, a practicing dentist of South Bend, Indiana; Jennie, the wife of Ralph Jennings,- of Paw Paw, Michigan, who is engaged in farming and loaning money; and Clay, who is practicing dentistry in Schoolcraft, Michigan. The sons are graduates of the dental department of the Michigan State University, at Ann Arbor. After losing his first wife Mr. Beistle married Miss Amanda Burrus, who was born in Preble county, Ohio, a daughter of James and Jeannette (Holmes) Burrus, who came to this county in 1855, locating first on Terra Coupe prairie, St. Joseph county, Indiana. Mrs. Beistle was an infant at that time and her girlhood days were passed in the county in which she now makes her home. Mr. Beistle is a stalwart Democrat but cast his presidential ballot for Abraham Lincoln in I864. He has been treasurer and clerk of Buchanan township, and matters of local advancement and national progress are causes dear to his heart. He has embraced his opportunity for contributing to general development and stands for municipal development and civic virtue. Affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, he belongs to the lodge at Buchanan and the chapter and commandery at Niles. He also holds membership relations with William Perrott Post, No. 22, G. A. R., at Buchanan, of which he has several times served as commander, while in its work he takes an active and helpful part. He was reared in the Lutheran church and now attends the Methodist church. Reading between the lines of this review one may, by reasoning from effect back to cause, determine the motive power which has prompted his course in life. He has had high ideals of citizenship, has conformed his professional and financial interests to a high standard of business ethics, and has displayed toward others the justice and consideration which he desires for himself, and thus his life has commanded a measure of confidence and good will that places him with those citizens whose virtue and prosperity give rank to the community which he represents. JOHN GREENFIELD. Few man have achieved more enviable or more gratifying success in the development of farming interests than has John Greenfield of Benton township, who has also done much to improve city property in Benton Harbor. Seldom at error in matters of business judgment, he has worked diligently, realizing that persistency and industry constitute the basis of all desirable success. He was born in Brantford township, in Ontario, Canada, March 9, I846, a son of Edward and Margaret (Thompson) Greenfield, the former a native of Devonshire, England, and the latter of Scotland. They became residents of Canada in early life and were married in Ontario. The father cleared and developed a new farm in that country and there he died of smallpox when only forty-eight years of age. John Greenfield was at that time a lad of eleven years and was the third in order of birth in a family of six children. From that time afterward John Greenfield had charge of the farm and the support of the family and though the burden was a *heavy one for young shoulders he faithfully performed the duties that devolved upon him, owing to his father's death. He continued upon the old homestead until twentythree years of age, when, in I869, he left Canada and made his way to Kansas, settling on school land in Nemaha county, and he took out his naturalization papers in Seneca, that county, in October, 1872. He remained in that state for eight years, which covered the period of the grasshopper plague, and it has been said that he was the only Greenfield in that county that they did not eat. He, however, had a field of corn which the 428 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY grasshoppers devoured in two hours. This was in I874. In the spring of 1875 Mr. Greenfield engaged in breaking prairie, being superior to almost any other settler in Kansas in pioneer days: He drove eight oxen, four yoke abreast, and they were hitched like horses with lines. He broke sod with a thirty-six inch plow and was called upon to exhibit the plan of turning the sod to excursionists of St. Joseph, Missouri. He turned over sod like turning over a carpet. The following year, 1876, he sacrificed his interest in Kansas, exchanging his farm there for land comprising forty acres on Highland avenue, two miles east of Benton Harbor, and assumed a three hundred dollar mortgage, but later he found that the interest and principal amounted to nine hundred dollars. In those early days he worked at anything that would give him a start. He drove oxen in Canada and broke over a thousand acres of land in Kansas. After coming to Michigan he began the arduous task of developing his farm here and paid off the nine-hundred-dollar indebtedness inside of three years. He set out his land to fruit and in the course of a short time was deriving a good income from the place. He then added forty acres where he now lives, his home being on Territorial road. He paid for this property in three years by selling wood and the place still has considerable timber on it. His next purchase was a forty-acre tract not far distant, for which he paid twenty-four hundred dollars and which was already improved. It had been planted, to fruit and he has since set out more fruit until he has twenty-five acres of the tract devoted to tht cultivation of small fruit. He has also raised peaches on quite an extensive scale but with small fruits paid for the place. After the peaches began to come in he began to invest his surplus capital in Benton Harbor property, which he has been improving. He erected his present home six years ago, it being a good house on Territorial road, two miles east of Benton Harbor. Here he has a fine farm, splendidly improved with modern equipments and the orchards yield him large crops annually. He has built both business blocks and residences on Sixth and Territorial streets and has made a success in both his farming operations and his property investments. In Ontario, in 1872, Mr. Greenfield was married and his wife died in Kansas. About two years later he was married in that state to Miss Mattie Downey, who was an Illinois girl and went to Kansas with an uncle. They have had no children of their own, but frGm the age of two years have reared an adopted daughter, Carrie M. She was provided with excellent educational advantages, having attended the Benton Harbor College. She then taught two years, after which she pursued a business course in Ferris Institute at Big Rapids, Michigan. She married Christian Williams, who died two years later. She is now owner and manufacturer of the Spencer Patent Bluing Paddle, with headquarters in Chicago. Mrs. Greenfield is a member of the Methodist Church. In his political views Mr. Greenfield is a stanch Republican but not a politician. However, he served as drain commissioner for two years and a half and carried out the plans for public improvement in this line perfectly. He is a home man of strongly domestic tastes and finds his greatest enjoyment at his own fireside. He has made a study of the details of fruit culture and few men are better informed concerning the best methods of raising fruit in this section of the state than is Mr. Greenfield, whose labors have been attended with a very gratifying measure of prosperity. He started out in life empty-handed and his finances were extremely meager when he came to Michigan, but in the years which have since come and gone he has worked his way upward, and his life demonstrates what may be accomplished by strong and determined purpose. JOHN C. DICK. Many states of the Union have furnished their representatives to Michigan but no more worthy residents of Berrien county can be found than those who claim Virginia as the state of their nativity. Mr. Dick is a son of the Old Dominion, his birth having occurred in Winchester, Frederick county, on the 25th of June, I843. The family is of Scotch lineage and was HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 429 founded in America by the grandfather of our subject, who established his home in Virginia. His son, Lewis Dick, was also a native of Winchester and became a mechanic by occupation. After leaving Virginia he spent six years in Kentucky and subsequently resided in Indiana, whence he came to Michigan in 1857, locating in New Buffalo. He remained a resident of this county for more than a third of a century and died in Buchanan in I894 at the venerable age of eighty-one years. His wife, who in her maidenhood was Octavia Carter, was born in Virginia and was of English lineage. She died in Laporte, Indiana, in February, 1857. There were seven children, four daughters and three sons, all of whom are living at this writing: Mary E., the wife of Gustave Willard; John C., whose name introduces this review; Lewis E., who resides in Mishawaka, Indiana; William I., living in Marion, Indiana; Anna C., the widow of Charles E. Butler, of Buchanan, who was killed in July, I88I; Emma S., the wife of Squire Vinton, of West Point, Mississippi; and Ida F., the wife of E. M. Biggs, of Portland, Oregon. John C. Dick, the eldest son and second child in his father's family, accompanied his parents on their various removals, and in 1858 became a resident of New Buffalo, Michigan. He learned the printer's trade in Laporte, Indiana, and followed that pursuit for some time, or until about 1872. He was also engaged as bookkeeper for some time. During the last year of the Civil war he espoused the cause of the Union and aided in the military service of his country. He has lived continuously in Buchanan since 1872 and has been prominent and influential in public life and official service here. He has served as justice of the peace and notary public, and for a considerable period has been engaged in the fire insurance business. He writes a large amount of insurance each year and is a prominent representative of this department of business activity. His political allegiance is given to the Democracy, and in I880 he was a candidate for the position of county clerk. In 1892 he was a candidate for judge of the probate court and again in I904. He served for four years as postmaster under President Cleveland and in the various offices to which he has been elected he has proven most capable, discharging his duties with ability and fidelity that argue well for his public-spirited citizenship. He is a member of William Perrett Post, No. 22, G. A. R., and Buchanan Lodge, No. 75, I.. 0.. F. Anything which tends to promote civic development or those movements which are a matter of civic virtue and pride receives his endorsement, and he has long been accounted an influential factor in public life of the village in which he makes his home. ALBERT A. WORTHINGTON. Active in the movements which contribute to public progress and development in Buchanan and an influential factor in the advancement of many measures which are of direct benefit to the city, Albert A. Worthington is well known as a prominent attorney and as postmaster. He is one of Michigan's native sons and displays the spirit of enterprise which has been the dominant factor in the growth of the middle west. His birth occurred in Battle Creek on the ist of May, I857. His father, Henry Worthington, was a native of Agawam Corners, Massachusetts, but was reared in Ohio, and became a resident of Michigan about I840, when the state was still under territorial rule. He was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church and in pioneer days aided largely in the moral development and progress of various communities, contributing in substantial measure toward the work of planting the seeds of a Christian civilization upon the frontier. He remained a resident of Michigan until he was called to his reward, passing away July io, 1881, in the sixty-seventh year of his age. In early manhood he had wedded Jane Mills, who was probably a native of Calhoun county, Michigan, and their union was blessed with four children, three sons and a daughter, of whom Albert A. is the youngest. Reared amid the refining influences of a cultured home, Albert A. Worthington of this review continued his education until he had become a high school student, and determined upon the practice of law as a life 430 HISTORY OF B: work he began studying with that end in view in Buchanan in 1877, his preceptor being J. J. Van Riper. After thorough preliminary reading he was admitted to the bar June I6, I879, in Berrien Springs, and located for practice in Buchanan, where he entered into partnership with his former preceptor, Mr. Van Riper, who was then prosecuting attorney, and he afterward became attorney general of Michigan. In I887 Mr. Van Riper removed to Niles, Michigan, since which time Mr. Worthington has been alone in practice. He is a lawyer of considerable ability, being a close and discriminating student of the principles of jurisprudence, while in his application therein to the points in issue he is seldom at error. He presents his cause in clear, cogent and logical manner and his citation of authorities and his correct conclusions never fail to leave an impress on the minds of judge and jury. These qualities have gained him a large and gratifying clientage, making his legal business one of distinctively representative importance. Mr. Worthington was married in 1882 to Miss L. E. Van Riper, daughter of J. J. Van Riper, and a position of leadership in social circles is accorded them, while the hospitality of the best homes of Buchanan is freely extended to them. Mr. Worthington has been a life-long Republican, and at one time served as clerk of Buchanan township. In I894 he was nominated for prosecuting attorney but did not accept the nomination. On the 6th of March, I906, he was appointed postmaster of Buchanan, and while capably discharging the duties of the position he also faithfully performs the tasks which devolve upon him in connection with a large law practice. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has taken the third degree of the Blue Lodge and he is a charter member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, also holding membership with the Modern Woodmen of America. His residence in Buchanan covers a period of three decades, during which time he has been closely associated with its intellectual, social and moral progress. He is identified with the Methodist Episcopal church, is active in its work ERRIEN COUNTY and has served as president of its board of trustees. His name is synomous with business honor and with loyalty in citizenship. He is a man firm in support of his honest convictions and while according to others the privilege of forming an unbiased opinion he retains for himself the same right. W. A. PALMER, who is engaged in the real estate and insurance business in Buchanan, was born in Parish, Oswego county, New York, August 27, 1842, and is the youngest of a family of four children, whose parents were Squire and Fannie (Goit) Palmer. The father, a native of Oswego county, New York, was a brother of Professor A. B. Palmer, being of the faculty of the University of Michigan. Squire Palmer was reared in Otsego county, New York, and died in Parish, that state, April 22, 1853, when sixty-two years of age. The paternal grandfather, Benjamin Palmer, was likewise a native of New York, was of English descent and was a farmer by occupation. The mother of our subject was born in New York, and died in Parish in 1855, at the age of fifty-two years. There were four children in the family: Millie Ann, the widow of Marcus Rulison, who died in I867; Angeline, who was the wife of Daniel Savage, of Three Oaks, Michigan, and died in I902; and Austin, who died in 1846. W. A. Palmer, the youngest of the family, was only twelve years of age when he came to Berrien county. He remained a resident of Three Oaks township until I862, after which he spent two years in Hudson township, Laporte county, Indiana. In 1871 he came to Buchanan, his business connection being that of general agent for Bort Moody & Sons, of Lockport, New York. In the fall of 1879 he opened his present office and has since conducted a real estate and insurance business with excellent success, having a large clientele in both departments. He has negotiated many important realty transfers and is thoroughly informed concerning property values in this part of the country, so that he is enabled to aid his clients in making judicious investments and profitable sales. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 431 On the 12th of September, 1862, Mr. Palmer was united in marriage to Miss Hulda A. Hinman, a sister of the late Judge Hinman, of Buchanan.. She was born near Rochester, New York, and with her parents came to Michigan, the journey westward being made with ox teams in I844, when she was but an infant. Her father took up his abode upon a farm in Hudson township, Laporte county, Indiana, where Mrs. Palmer spent her girlhood days. She died April I6, 1873, leaving a daughter, Grace who is now a resident of Chicago. Mr. Palmer has been a life-long Republican, active in the interests of the party and doing all in his power to promote its growth and insure its success. He served as undersheriff through appointment of James R. Clark, from I88o until 1884, and for four years was deputy under sheriff Benton R. Sterns, and two years under Charles Whitcomb. At the same time he was acting as deputy United States marshal under James Monroe, and for four years filled the same office under James R. Clark. For fourteen years he acted as game and fish warden of the state and has been a member of the city council of Buchanan for six years. He has always taken an active interest in public affairs and has exercised his official prerogatives for law and order, for progress and improvement, for substantial development and for civic virtue. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, his membership being in the lodge.at Buchanan. His residence here covers thirty-four years and he is well known not only in the county but also in many parts of the state, especially in southwestern Michigan, where his capably conducted business interests and official service have gained for him the respect and confidence of his fellow men. ALONZO F. HOWE, secretary of the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Colnpany of Berrien, Van Buren and Cass counties, and a resident of Buchanan, was born in Bertrand township, Berrien county, November I0, I862. He represents one of the old pioneer families of this portion of the state, his paternal grandfather, Frederick Howe, having come from New England to Michi gan at an early epoch in the development of this locality. He settled in Bertrand township and secured land from the government. There he aided in planting the seeds of civilization which have ripened and borne fruit in later years in the present advancement and progress of the county. His son, Frederick A. Howe, a native of Massachusetts, was reared in Michigan upon the frontier, and was married in Bertrand township to Miss Sarah A. Smith, a daughter of John Smith, who came from Pennsylvania to the middle west and settled in South Bend, Indiana, in I843, later removing to Bertrand township, Berrien county. Mrs. Howe was born in the Keystone state in 1836, and was a little maiden of only seven summers when she became a resident of this county. She is still living and is one of the worthy pioneer women of this portion of Michigan, where she has lived for almost two-thirds of a century. By her marriage she became the mother of three sons, one of whom has passed away, while George E. Howe is now residing in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Alonzo F. Howe and his mother are the only ones living in Berrien county. He was reared upon the old homestead farm in Bertrand township, and various tasks connected with the development and cultivation of the land were assigned him from time to time as his years and strength increased. After attaining his majority he was engaged in farming and in the stock business until I903, when he came to Buchanan and retired from agricultural interests save for the supervision which he gave to his farm. He was president of the Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company from February, 1904, until December, I905, and at a later date was appointed secretary of the company to fill a vacancy. He acted in that capacity until February, I906, when he was elected to the office, which position he is now filling and in this connection he is giving capable service, bringing new business discernment and enterprise to bear upon the onerous and important duties which devolve upon him in this connection. He has a farm of one hundred acres in Bertrand township. Mr. Howe was married on the I 5th of 432 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY March, I903, to Mrs. Anna M. Glover, nee Simmons. He is a Democrat in his political proclivities and active in the local ranks of the party. He holds membership with Buchanan Lodge, No. 68, A. F. & A. M., and in the line of official service has made a creditable record. He filled the office off supervisor of Bertrand township from I897 until I902, and was elected supervisor of Buchanan in I905. He was also township clerk for two terms in Bertrand township and was chosen chairman of the county board of supervisors in I902. His interest in public affairs is that of a citizen of known devotion to the general good and his zeal in behalf of public progress has been a conspicuous and valuable factor in the work of development and improvement. He has been a life-long resident of Berrien county and has carried forward the work which was instituted by his grandfather and continued by his father from pioneer times down to the present time, so that the name of Howe is a respected one in Berrien county, standing always for good citizenship. WILLIAM C. KIMBEL, filling the position of postmaster at Glendora, is recognized as one of the enterprising young men of the town and in the discharge of his official duties is giving a public-spirited and satisfactory administration. He is a son of Martin W. and Harriet (Weller) Kimbel, both of whom were natives of Snyder county, Pennsylvania. They reside in Glendora and their son William makes his home with them. He was only about two years of age when they removed from the Keystone state to New Troy, Berrien county, and about six years ago they came to Glendora, where they have since remained. His education was acquired in the common schools and in Benton Harbor Commercial College. About ten years ago he began merchandising at New Troy and six years ago removed the business to Glendora. He continued successfully and actively in this line until June 14, I905, when he sold the store to his father and is now giving his entire attention to the duties of postmaster, to which office he was appointed on the Ioth of April, I90I. He has served continu ously since by re-appointment and is proving a most capable and efficient officer. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Gleaners at Glendora, and with the Knights of the Maccabees at New Troy. As is indicated by his official service, he is an advocate of the Republican party and is one of the leaders in its local ranks. WILLIAM M. PARRISH, who in former years was actively and successfully identified with commercial interests but is now practically living retired at his old home in Lincoln township, is one of Berrien county's native sons, his birth having occurred near Morris Chapel in the vicinity of Niles, December I6, 1842. His parents were Gould and Mary (Archer) Parrish, the former a native of Canada, and the latter of Vermont. They were married in New York in 1833, although the father was reared from boyhood near Sandusky, Ohio. In 1837 he became a resident of Niles, where he worked at the carpenter's trade and for some years he was closely associated with building operations in Berrien county. He aided in building the first bridge and the first court house at Berrien Springs, and finally, turning his attention to agricultural pursuits, in I844 he settled upon his farm in the southeastern part of Lincoln township. There his attention was given to the cultivation of the soil for about eight years, when, in 1852, attracted by the discovery of gold on the Pacific coast, he made an overland trip to California with a party of Berrien county men and spent three years in that state. He did not meet with the success he had anticipated, however, and returned to Michigan, his family having remainled in Berrien Springs during his absence in the far west. Again he took up farming and continued to devote his energies to general agricultural pursuits until his demise, which occurred on the 3rd of March, I895. His wife passed away on the I3th of June following, and like her husband, was in her eighty-fifth year. They had traveled life's journey together as man and wife for about sixty-two years, their mutual.love and confidence increasing as time passed by. The HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY:' 433, farm which Mr. Parrish owned comprised one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he cultivated and improved but at a more recent date he sold eighty acres, his son William having purchased the homestead about ten years prior to the demise of the father. A life-long, zealous and devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, Gould Parrish became a local preacher and was thus identified with the denomination for fifty years, taking the greatest interest in church work. The family numbered eleven children, as follows: James A., a carpenter, now living at Everett, Washington; Edith B., the wife of L. Hemingway, formerly county surveyor and civil engineer now living in Benton Harbor; William M., of this review; Arza G., who died at the age of forty-two years at Emerson, Iowa, where he was editing a paper, and who was also a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, having previously preached in Frankfort, Michigan; Theresa, the wife of Henry Williamson, of Grand Rapids; Ezra B., who was a minister and attorney-at-law in Iowa and had been principal of the school at Malvern, that state, his entire life being devoted to professional labors until he passed away at the age of forty years; Adelaide, the widow of William Applegate, and a resident of Benton Harbor; and four who died when young: William P., born in 1838, died when six weeks old; Mary, born in I839, died when two weeks old; Franklin G., born in I840, died in I848; and Martha A., born in I852, died in 1870. William M. Parrish, reared on the old homestead in Berrien county, largely devoted his time and energies to the duties of the school room and the work of the fields until he enlisted at the age of nineteen years as a soldier in defense of the Union cause. It was in November, I86I, that he joined Company K, of the Twelfth Michigan Infantry, serving for seventeen months. He was captured at Shiloh and was held as a prisoner for more than seven months at Montgomery, Alabama, and Macon, Georgia, after which he was paroled and exchanged at Camp Chase, subsequent to which time he was honorably discharged. 28 His brother, James A., had a similar experience and was discharged at the same time. Because of the parole neither were able to return to the regiment and Mr. Parrish again made his way to the old home farm. He had had a varied and eventful military experience and was not yet twenty-one years of age when he again reached home. On attaining his majority Mr. Parrislr married Miss Mary E. Whipple, who was. born in the vicinity of Elgin, Illinois,. and was a daughter of the Rev. Lorenzo, Whipple, of the Lake River conference: of Illinois, who died in Michigan in I895, at the age of eighty-six years. Mr. Parrish bought a farm in Lincoln township, which was new land and after improving it for five or six years he sold it. In I875 he went to St. Joseph, where he clerked for two and a half years in a grocery store, and in I877 he established a general store in Stevensville, where as a partner of J. E. Corrigan he erected a business block. They put in a branch store at Baroda, and continued in business successfully together until I895, when the partnership was dissolved, Mlr. Parrish retaining the Baroda store, while Mr. Corrigan took the Stevensville store. Mr. Parrish continued as a merchant in Baroda for five years longer, or until I900, when he sold out, after continuous connection with mercantile life covering more than a quarter of a century, save for a brief interval of two years. He found this a satisfactory source of income and devoted his time and energies assiduously to the business until failing health caused him to withdraw. He has since lived retired at Stevensville, where he has a neat residence. In I885 he purchased the old home farm in the southeastern part of Lincoln township which was once owned and occupied by his father. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Parrish has been blessed with two sons, Herbert L. and Alphonso G., both of whom were formerly in the store with their father. The elder son is now a traveling salesman living at Benton Harbor, while Alphonso is a traveling salesman for a Detroit house. Mr. Parrish is a stalwart Republican and has frequently been a delegate to the conven 434 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY tions of his party. He served as postmaster for seven years, beginning in I878 and retiring from the office at the time of President Cleveland's election. He was also township treasurer for some time and he has frequently been a delegate to the conventions of his party, where his opinions are often a decisive factor in shaping its policy. He belongs to A. W. Chapman Post, G. A. R., and fraternally is connected with the Masons and the Odd Fellows, while his wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Through a long and active business career he made a splendid record for reliability and enterprise and through his close application and persistency of purpose he advanced from a humble financial position to one of affluence. BENAJAH HIATT SPENCER, connected with one of the leading productive industries of Benton Harbor, is now extensively and successfully engaged in the manufacture of furniture and his business interests are of a character which contribute to the general development and prosperity as well as to individual success. The welfare of any community depends upon its commercial and industrial activity and the real upbuilders and promoters of a town are those who establish and successfully control important business interests. Mr. Spencer may therefore well be classed among the representative men of Benton Harbor and as such we present the record of his life to our readers. A native of Indiana, his birth occurred in Wayne county on the 2ISt of March, I845. His paternal grandfather, David Spencer, was born April I9, I79I, and removed from Ohio to Wayne county, Indiana, at an early epoch in the development and improvement of the latter district. He married Miss Leah Pickering, who was born in Ohio, July 4, I796, and they both passed away in the '5os, the grandfather's death occurring on the 25th of September, 1858, while his wife died August 30, I853. In their family were eight children, of whom Nathan Spencer, father of our subject, was the fourth in order of birth. He was born in Zanesville, Ohio, April 20, 1820, and on the 28th of March, 1844, was married in Indiana to Miss Louisa Hiatt, whose birth occurred in that State on the 29th of October, 1822. Mr. Spencer had become a resident of Indiana in his boyhood days, accompanying his parents on their removal westward. He was reared to the occupation of farming and throughout his entire life followed that pursuit, whereby he provided a good living for his family. He died January 25, 1892, when in the seventy-second year of his age, and his widow passed away on the I5th of November, I899. In their family were seven children, of 'whom six are yet living, as follows: Benajah H.; Joseph Henry, who was born in Milton, Indiana; Mrs. Viola Griffith; Jerome; Mrs. Alveretta Steed; and Charles. Benajah Hiatt Spencer was reared in Milton, Wayne county, Indiana, spending his youth upon a farm and acquiring his education in the district schools. He continued under the parental roof until I863 and on leaving home went to Illinois, where he worked as a farm hand for several months. He was ambitious, however, to secure a position in a factory and was offered one at New Troy, Berrien county, Michigan, where the manufacture of broom handles was carried on. He left the train at what was known as Avery Station and had to travel six miles north to New Troy. The roads were so impassable and the county so new that he had to walk this distance, leaving his trunk at Avery Station with the intention of sending for it the next day. He could get no team to make the trip, however, on account of the condition of the roads, so he made a sled and went for the trunk himself, traveling through the forest. It was on the i8th of December, 1863, that he made the trip back to New Troy. The roads had frozen in the mean — time and he was thus able to haul his sled. He remained at that place until the following June, when the factory was removed to Avery Station and he continued to work there until I865. On the Ist of March of that year, however, he went to Mishawaka, Indiana, where he secured employment in a furniture factory as wood turner, continuing to fill the position until October of the A BM-z ow I;::::::::::::::::::- -:::::::-::::::::::::-::::::::-:::: - -:i i: 4 6?^/ I HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 435 same year. He then secured employment in Buchanan, Michigan, working for C. S. and H. S. Black, with whom he continued for six years. On the expiration of that period he spent about two years in the service of the Buchanan Manufacturing Company, engaged in the manufacture of furniture, but was ambitious to enter business on his own account so that his labors might more directly benefit himself. Therefore on the 20th of July, 1872, he formed a partnership with Jacob Allen under the firm name of Spencer & Allen and opened a retail furniture store and also a shop for job work. In October of the same year Mr. Allen sold his interest in the business to Augustus Willard and the firm became Spencer & Willard, this relationship being maintained until December, 1874, when Mr. Willard was succeeded by J. E. Barnes and the firm style of Spencer & Barnes was assumed. They continued at Buchanan, Michigan, their business constantly increasing, and at length its proportions caused them to establish a plant elsewhere. They chose Benton Harbor as the scene of their new industry and in I89I erected their present plant in this city. The same year C. D. Stuart was admitted to a partnership and the firm name became Spencer, Barnes & Stuart. They enlarged the business from time to time, increasing their facilities to meet the growing demands of the trade, which reached large proportions. After Mr. Barnes became interested they gradually entered the field of wholesale trade and more and more largely directed their energies to the manufacture of furniture, theirs becoming an important commercial and industrial enterprise. In I896 Mr. Stuart withdrew from the firm, and the business was incorporated under the name of the Spencer & Barnes Company, with J. E. Barnes as president, B. H. Spencer vice president, and Mary L. Spencer, secretary and treasurer. The firm manufactures all kinds of bedroom furniture of high and medium grades and is conducting a very profitable enterprise, employment being now furnished to one hundred employes. The output finds a ready sale on the market because of the excellence of the product, the reasonable prices and the well known reliability of the house. The manufactured product includes fine mahogany, birds-eye maple and quarter-sawed oak bedroom furniture. On the 9th of July, I865, Mr. Spencer was united in marriage to Miss Betsy Ann Glidden, who was born May 17, I846, in Stephenson county, Illinois, and is a daughter of Greenleaf and Mary J. (Ames) Glidden. Mr. and Mrs. Spencer have become the parents of five children. Ada is now the wife of O. K. Monson, of Chicago, Illinois, and has two sons, Laurence and Robert. Mary L. is the second of the family. Alice E. is the wife of Frank Shaw, of Oneida, Illinois. Irven E. married Ruth Robbins, and Jean W. completes the family. Mr. Spencer votes with the Republican party and has endorsed its principles since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He is a self-made man and one of the enterprising citizens of the county. From an humble financial position he has worked his way steadily upward to one of affluence and has made a business record which any man night be proud to possess, for it has ever been characterized by strict and unswerving integrity and by fidelity to all the principles which govern honorable manhood and unflagging industry. The record of the selfmade man is the one which the American citizen holds in greatest honor, for it is indicative of force of character, of keen business discernment and of genuine personal merit. In community affairs Mr. Spencer is deeply interested and has ever manifested a public spirited devotion to the general good. He is esteemed in public and private life, in business and social relations, and his many ifriends find him a companionable, genial gentleman. EBENEZER P. MORLEY. The name Morley has been a prominent one in Berrien county for more than sixty years, and it is as a pioneer record that the biography of the above named is preserved in this work by Mrs. Maria A. Jones, of Galien, a daughter of Mr. Morley and herself one of the esteemed residents of that part of the county. Ebenezer P. Morley was born in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, in 1814, and 436 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY was reared and gained his schooling in Onondaga county, New York, where he met and married Alzina Lansing. She was born in Onondaga county July 24, 1822, and their marriage was celebrated August 8, I840. They lived for a time in Susquehanna county and again in Onondaga county, and in 1845 joined the great movement of settlers to the lands of southern Michigan. Crossing Lake Erie by sail boat and completing the journey along one of the great highways by wagon, they located in Lake township, Berrien county, and there entered eighty acres of land in section thirty-five. The first tree felled on that land was cut by Mr. Morley. Here he lived a number of years, until his first wife died in I862, and in 1864 he married Mrs. Isabel Russell, of Burlington, Iowa, and in I866 moved to New Troy, in Wesaw township, where he lived until his death October 27, I882. He was a farmer and surveyor, and in the latter capacity did much work in Berrien county. He served as supervisor from Lake and Wesaw townships, being in that office altogether for twelve years, and was a justice of the peace many years. He was a stanch Democrat and in religion a Spiritualist. By his first marriage Mr. Morley was the father of ten children, of whom Mrs. Maria A. Jones was the first. The others were: Harriet A. Williams, of Ohio; and Helen N. Adams, of Wesaw township, being twins and natives of Onondaga county, New York; Charles E., of Wesaw township; Alvin, of Wesaw; Henrietta Spaulding, of Kansas; Horace L., of Wesaw; Mary Henderson and Adelaide A., deceased; and Stephen Douglas, of Ohio. The two children of Mr. Morley's second marriage were Eliza J. Kelly, of W.esaw township, and Edgar Poe, of Nebraska. Maria A. Morley was born in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, March 26, 1843, spent a short part of her childhood in New York, and in 1845 came to Berrien county, which has been her home for sixty years. By her first mariage on November 6, 1864, she became the wife of Gottlieb Hagley, who was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, December I, I839, and came to Michigan with his parents when twelve years old. He died February i, I889, the father of six children, namely: Alice L., wife of John F. Painter, of Wesaw township; Nellie M., wife of Stephen A. Norris, of Michigan City, Indiana; Alma B., wife of Edwin A. Brodbeck, of Wesaw township; Warren A., on the Hagley farm in Wesaw township; Elda E., wife of Clarence Reubarger, of Niles; and Festus G., who died at the age of nine months. Mrs. Hagley married, March I6, I892, William J. Jones, who died near Berriel, Springs June 30, I896. He was born in Portage county, Ohio, March 12, 1839, and was a school teacher and farmer, having the unusual record of having taught forty-three terms of schools. His four sons by a previous marriage all live in Chicago. There was no issue by the second marriage. RAYMOND B. GILLETTE, mayor of Benton Harbor and one of the prominent representatives of business interests here, has made a record that is in many respects notable. A man of good natural ability, his success in business has been uniform. He has persevered in the pursuit of a persistent purpose and has gained the most satisfactory reward. A native of Little York, Cortland county, New York, his birth occurred on the 25th of May, I865, his parents being Sylvanus N. and Martha (Beebee) Gillette, who were also natives of the Empire state.. The father was an inventor, possessing a mechanical turn of mind and was greatly interested in machinery. He had but limited educational privileges, yet he became a well informed man, being throughout his entire life a great reader and student. His attention was entirely taken up with new ideas concerning inventions, many of which he patented, but he did not possess the practical business discernment and power for capable management which leads to the acquirements of capital. Because of his inventive genius and the concentration of his energies upon the working out of new ideas along mechanical lines it became necessary that Mrs. Gillette provide for her family, and when her son, Raymond B., was a small boy she went to Missouri, locating on a farm there. Mr. Gillette passed away at the age of eighty HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 437 one, but his widow is still living, at the advanced age of eighty-one, and now makes her home in Benton Harbor. In the family were eight children, of whom six are living. One son, VWillie, entered the Union army from New York at the age of seventeen years, and was captured and taken as a prisoner to Andersonville, where he died. Those living are as follows: Mrs. Helen J. Dayton is the wife of George W. Dayton, a Civil war veteran, and she is closely connected with the auxiliary work of the Grand Army of the Republic; Charles is living in Kansas City, Missouri; Herbert resides in Grand Rapids and is vice-president of the Gillette Roller Bearing Company; Walter and Wallace, twins, the former living in Los Angeles, California, and the latter in Albion, Michigan. Raymond B. Gillette accompanied his mother on her removal to Missouri, but later went to Auburn, New York, where he attended the public schools, subsequently continuing his studies in the normal school, and was for a time a student in Little York, his native city. He gave his attention to his studies through the winter months and in the summer season worked on a farm, thus providing for his own support. At the age of fifteen years, with two of his brothers and his mother, he came to Michigan, settling in Manistee, which was then the center of the great pine industry of the state, from there he entered the Valparaiso (Indiana) business college, and after completing a course in, bookkeeping entered the employ of R. G. Peters, who was one of the leading lumbermen of that time. His close application, earnest purpose and unremitting diligence won him quick recognition, and he was placed in the general offices, at first as paymaster, which was a position of importance since the company employed about fifteen hundred men. Subsequently he became confidential cashier and had charge of the sales department of the Peters Salt and Lumber Company. When the pine became scarce and the company began cutting other lumber they decided to establish a distributing yard at Benton Harbor, Michigan, and Mr. Gillette was placed in that city, where, on the 23rd of February, I897, he incorporated what is known as the Peters Lumber and Shingle Company, with R. G. Peters as president, H. W. Carey vice president, and R. B. Gillette, as secretary and manager. The business has since been carried on successfully at this point. From a most humble position in the employ of Mr. Peters, Mr. Gillette has gradually worked his way upward until he is today one of the most prominent moving factors in the control of an extensive business. His labor, keen discernment and business capacity have constituted a strong directing force and have been an essential element in the success which has attended the firm. Mr. Gillette is a man of resourceful business ability and has not confined his efforts to one line but on the contrary has extended his labors to other fields of activity. He is financially interested in and is secretary of the Gillette Roller Bearing Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and also vice president and treasurer of the Cheboygan Railroad Company, of which he was one of the promoters upon its organization about two years ago,. This company is now building a line in the northern part of Michigan, extending for sixty miles from Cheboygan to Petoskey. He is also interested in the Grand Rapids Accident and Health Insurance Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is secretary and treasurer of the Lakewood Lumber Company of Lakewood, Michigan. In business affairs he is energetic, prompt and notably reliable. Tireless energy, keen perception, honesty of purpose and a genius for devising and executing the right thing at the right time are perhaps his chief characteristics. In his political views Mr. Gillette is a stalwart Republican, and has been deeply interested in the success and growth of his party. He served as a member of the County Central Committee while living in Manistee and since coming to Benton Harbor has taken an active part in politics here. Shortly after his arrival here he was appointed to fill out an unexpired term occasioned by the death of an alderman from the first ward, and at the following regular election he was chosen to that position. On the expiration of his term in that office he received the 438 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY nomination for mayor of Benton Harbor, and was elected by the largest majority ever given any candidate for the office. He is now serving for the third term and was nominated by acclamation before the last election. He has always received very large majorities, indicative of his personal popularity and the unqualified confidence reposed in him by his fellow townsmen. He wished to retire from office on the expiration of his second term, but his friends protested so vigorously against it that he was obliged to again accept the nomination. His administration has stood the test of time. He is not given to making large promises which he cannot keep, but he is watchful of every opportunity for improving the city's welfare and his understanding of possibilities and needs is penetrative and practical. He has introduced measures for reform and progress and has brought to bear in the discharge of his public duties the same singleness of purpose and concentration of energy that mark his private business interests. Fraternally he is a prominent Mason, active in the order, in which he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He is also a charter member of the Elks lodge at Benton Harbor. Mr. Gillette has one daughter, Gladys J. by a former marriage, and in I898 was married to Janet J. Stows, of Indianapolis, Indiana, who has one son, Dwight George. Mr. and Mrs. Gillette occupy a prominent social position and the cordial and generous hospitality of their own home is greatly enjoyed by their many friends. Mr. Gillette is alwas courteous, kindly and affable and those who know him personally have for him warm regard. His business career has been marked by steady advancement. As has been truly remarked, after all that may be done for a man in the way of giving him early opportunities for obtaining the requirements which are sought in the schools and in books he must essentially formulate, determine and give shape to his own character, and this is what Mr. Gillette has done. Through his unfaltering diligence his careful study of business situation and his practical methods in shaping conditions to his own ends he has gained a gratifying measure of prosperity. Moreover his life is exemplary in all respects, and he has ever supported those interests which are calculated to uplift and benefit humanity, while his own high moral worth is deserving of the highest commendation. JOHN D. BURY. No history of Berrien county would be complete without mention of John D. Bury, for years a prominent and honored resident here. He came in pioneer times, one of the fearless strivers for the ever receding west, fascinating for its untried dangers as for its possibilities. He was one of the sturdy, brave men who fought and toiled and hoped and realized in varying measure, leading a life whose story has never nor will be adequately told because words cannot reproduce the experiences which were common to the lot of all pioneers who faced the hardships and dangers of the frontier. The Bury family is of English lineage. His father, John Colebrook Bury, was born in Cheapside, London, on the 6th of March, 1765, and was educated in Dublin, Ireland. In his native country he wedded Dorothea Sherwood, who died in England, and they became the parents of three children. John Colebrook Bury afterward came to the new world, settling in Canada, where for a time he engaged in the practice of medicine. Later, however, he turned his attention to the work of a stone mason, carpenter and millwright. In Pennsylvania he was again married, his second union being with Elizabeth Traver, and it was after this that he sent for the three children of his first marriage to come to the United States. It was while his parents were living in Pennsylvania that the subject of this review was born on the i8th! of August, I804, and was given the name of John Darling in honor of one of his father's old classmates. When he was a small boy his parents removed to Kent county, Canada, settling in Ontario, where John C. Bury built the Malcolm Mills, which became the scene of a local war in 1812. He was for many years a prominent representative of industrial life in his section of Canada, and there died at the venerable age of eighty-five years. Pe^ C ^ I HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 439 The educational privileges which John Darling Bury received were very limited. He attended school for only six months and possessed only a spelling book, yet he picked up a fair common school education through experience, observation and reading. He was always interested in questions relating to the welfare of his community and the country at large, and he increased in knowledge as well as in wealth as the years went by. He was the fifth in order of birth in a family of fourteen children, all born within twenty-three years. He remained a resident of Canada from his early boyhood days until I835, and he started out in life on his own account with a capital of but fifty cents and an axe helve. With the fifty cents he bought an axe blade, and thus equipped started out to hew his fortune. In early manhood he married Miss Martha Freeman Green, also a representative of an old English family. She was born on the 24th of August, i8io, and they were the parents of three children when they came to Michigan. The year of his arrival was 1835, at which time he took up work in St. Joseph, which was then a little village situated on the flats, the town having not yet been extended to the high bluff. During the first season Mr. Bury was employed at work on the government docks, earning a dollar and a quarter per day and his board, so that in the fall he was enabled to, secure a deed to, one hundred and twenty acres of government land, his patent being signed by Martin Van Buren, then president of the United States. That land became his homestead in 1837, and he held it under the original patent until his death. It is still in possession of the family. In I836 he was again in the government employ, and in 1837 he brought his family, consisting of his wife, a daughter and two sons to his new home in Berrien county, Michigan. Unto John and Martha (Green) Bury were born eleven children, but only three of the number reached years of maturity, and the wife and mother passed away on the 27th of A1uust, I858, at the age of forty-eight years. Mr. Bury's second marriage was with Miss Fanny Byers, and was celebrated in Bainbridge township, this county, on the I8th of August, I86o. She was born September 12, I825, in Livingston county, New York, and was a daughter of Jacob and rien county would be complete without mento Berrien county two years prior to her marriage to visit her father's brothers' Tobias and Henry Byers, both of Van Buren county, and David Byers of Berrien county. The old Bury homestead is situated three and a half miles east of Benton Harbor on Pear avenue. Mr. Bury added to his original purchase, extending the boundaries of his farm until it embraced two hundred and sixty-four acres of land, of which he placed one hundred and sixty acres under cultivation. He planted his first orchard in I840, and some of the old trees are still in bearing. He had good improvements upon his farm, including a substantial house and three barns. As his financial resources increased he invested largely in Berrien county property, becoming the owner of eleven hundred and twenty-one acres of land, most of which lay in Benton township. He bought this at an early period in the development of the county, the highest price which he paid for it being ten dollars per acre. He made the purchase between the years of 1837 and 1858, this being about the last tract of government land to be had in the county. The only land bought of the government by J. H. Bury was the homestead in I837. Four hundred acres of the fifteen hundred acres stated was Canadian land. In the work of early development and improvement he took an active and helpful part, aiding in subduing the wilderness and settling the frontier. He was a man of quiet tastes, had no expensive habits, and he was thus enabled to accumulate a handsome fortune as the years passed by. Moreover his labors were of direct and permanent good to the county. He helped erect some of the first buildings in St. Joseph. He was thoroughly reliable in his friendships and honorable in his business relations. He became thoroughly American in spirit and loyally devoted to American customs and institutions. He was prominent and influential in public life in various ways, serving as township treasurer 440 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY for three terms, as supervisor and in other local offices. In his political affiliations he was always a loyal Democrat, unfaltering in his advocacy of the party, but was not a politician in the usual sense of office seeking. He was reared a Presbyterian, and although he did not become a member of the church he lived an upright moral life, and his influence was a valuable factor for good and for progress along various lines leading to substantial improvement in the county. He exemplified in his life many of the sterling principles of Christianity, was considerate of his friends, reliable in business and straightforward at all times, and in his family circle was a devoted husband and father. The three children of the first marriage who reached mature years were Elizabeth, Freeman and George. The eldest became the second wife of Joseph Caldwell, who in early life came from England to America, and in pioneer times in this county purchased land north of Benton Harbor on the Paw Paw river. Mrs. Caldwell died at the age of thirty-three years. Freeman Bury, born in I832, makes his home in Benton township, where he has lived since I837. George, born in 1834, served throughout the Civil war and afterward removed to Minnesota, Where he remained for some time, while later report of his death was received. The children of the second marriage were: Clellen B., John D. and Elsie I. Clellen Byers Bury was reared in the usual manner of farm lads, and is now a representative farmer of Benton township, making a specialty of the cultivation of melons. The daughter, Elsie, owns a farm on the Territorial road, where she has erected a handsome modern residence. Mr. Bury continued in close connection with business and public interests in the county for about forty-seven years. He was not only one of the pioneer settlers but also belonged to that type of the builder and organizer who followed the trail blazed by the early pioneer. He passed away November I5, I882, when seventy-eight years of age. Mrs. Fannie Byers Bury, after the death of her husband, removed to Benton Harbor, where she made her home until her death on the 6th of April, I904. She was a loving and devoted wife and mother, whose many good deeds proved her life was nobly lived. JOHN V. PHILLIPS, the only attorney at New Buffalo, or in New Buffalo township, was born in Ontario county, New York, his birthplace being in the township of Bethel, while his natal date is February 17, 1824. He has therefore passed the eighty-second milestone on life's journey and his has been an active and honorable career, in which he has merited and enjoyed the good will and trust of his fellowmen. His father, Jerome Phillips, was born in Saratoga, New York, and spent his last years in the home of his son, John V. Phillips, at New Buffalo, where he passed away at the age of eighty-seven. He had followed farming as a life work and was an energetic, enterprising man. He had lost his mother when in his infancy and was left an orphan by the father's death when eight years of age. That he became a successful and prosperous man was due entirely to his own labors and as the years passed by he displayed unremitting diligence and perseverance. He married Anna Vanarsdall, who was born in New Jersey and died in Berrien county at the advanced age of seventy-eight years. In their family were eight children, of whom John V. is the second and the only one now living. The others are: Isaac M., who resided at Ridgeway, Niagara county, New York; Margaret, who died at the age of twenty-two years; Abram I., who spent his last days in Three Oaks, Michigan; Mrs. Mary J. Dean, who died leaving a family; Jerome, who died at the age of five years; William; and Lyman T. The last named served in the Civil war, enlisting at President Lincoln's first call for seventy-five thousand volunteers. He served with the One Hundred and Fiftyfirst New York Infantry and was killed at the Battle of the Wilderness. He had first enlisted at Laporte, Indiana, for three months' service and on the expiration of that period he went to his old home in New York and enlisted from there, continuing at the front until he gave his life as a sacrifice to his country. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 44I John V. Phillips was a little lad of only three summers when 'his parents removed to Monroe county, New York, settling three miles west of Rochester. After three years they went to Shelby, Orleans county, New York, where they resided until 1851, and Mr. Phillips was thus reared upon a farm, early becoming familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He completed his education in the Middleport Academy in Niagara county, New York, after which he successfully engaged in teaching school for fourteen years, devoting thirteen years to that profession in New York and one year in Michigan. In I856 he came to New Buffalo with his wife and one child and has resided here continuously since. He was married in I850 to Miss Louisa M. Salisbury, who was born October 27, 1827, in New York, and died October 28, 1905. She was a daughter of Gardner and Polly Salisbury, and the children born of this marriage are as follows: Mary E., who was a successful teacher for twelve or fourteen years and died in the fall of I905, leaving a husband and two children; Emma A., who was drowned in the river at New Buffalo when eighteen years of age; Edward J., who is a graduate of the University of Michigan and is a practicing attorney of Chicago; and Inez M., the wife of WValter C. Weed, of New Buffalo. All of the children were provided with excellent educational privileges. A few years after his marriage Mr. Phillips had the misfortune to lose one of his lower limbs and this necessitated his abandonment of farming. He then began the manufacture of furniture at New Buffalo, in which he continued until after the breaking out of the Civil war. Subsequently he took up the study and practice of law, which he continued by himself and also under the direction of a lawyer at Niles, Michigan. He has remained in practice here continuously since and is the only attorney of New Buffalo township. He has also bought and sold considerable real estate, and at one time was the owner of large and valuable property interests, but has disposed of much of his property to his children. In his political views he is an earnest Republican, having supported the party since casting his first presidential ballot for John C. Fremont, since which time he has supported each candidate at the head of the ticket. He was justice of the peace for eighteen consecutive years and he has attended all of the county and district conventions of his party, doing all in his power to promote the growth and secure the adoption of Republican principles. He was reared in the faith of the Quaker church or Society of Friends but is not a member. He belongs to the Odd Fellows lodge at New Buffalo and his wife was a member of the Episcopal church here. During a long residence in Berrien county Mr. Phillips has commanded the respect and confidence of his fellowmen by reason of an honorable business and professional career, and whatever success he has achieved is attributed entirely to his own labors, for he started out in life without financial assistance, placing his dependence in the safe and substantial qualities of energy, determination and honest effort. AUGUST F. BLIESMER. The Teutonic race has been an important element in the civilizing influence of the world. The sons of the fatherland have gone to every section of the globe, carrying with them the spirit of enterprise and determination which have ever been manifest in their native country and which have done much for progress and improvement elsewhere. Mr. Bliesmer is among the representatives of the German-American citizenship of the United States. His birth occurred in Holstein, Germany, November 13, I837, his parents being Peter and Wilhelmina (Westfall) Bliesmer, who were likewise natives of that country. The father served in the German army and died in early manhood. The mother came to the new world after the arrival of her son August, and died in Laporte, Indiana, about a year ago. In their family were four children: Markus H., who was engaged in the shoe business in Laporte, Indiana, but died about a year ago; Frederick, who also passed away in Laporte; August F., of this review; and Anna, the wife of Christ Brandt, of Laporte. 442 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY August F. Bliesmer spent the first twenty-two years of his life in his native country and was a student in school until fifteen years of age. He afterward learned the shoemaker's trade and in accordance with the laws of his native country he served for three years in the German army. In 1881, when a young man of twenty-four years, he crossed the Atlantic, making the voyage in the fall. He did not tarry on the Atlantic coast, however, but proceeded at once into the interior of the country, settling in Laporte, Indiana, where his grandfather resided. He worked on the railroad for a year and a half, after which he removed to New Buffalo, Berrien county, Michigan, and established a shoe store, manufacturing shoes for the local trade and also carrying ready made goods. He has continued as a shoe merchant of this place since with the exception of two years spent in Laporte, Indiana, where he was connected with his brother in the conduct of a shoe store. He now handles a well selected line of shoes, men's furnishing goods and jewelry. He has a large stock and the tasteful arrangement of his stock combined with reasonable prices and straightforward business dealings have secured to him a gratifying patronage and made him one of the prosperous merchants of the village. Mr. Bliesmer is independent in politics. He was, however, elected township treasurer and is now serving for the third term in that position. At the first election he was the nominee of the Republican party and at the last two elections has been nominated by the Democracy. Both parties recognize his ability for office and his promptness and efficiency in the discharge of his duties. He has held various village offices and has been a member of the board of education for the past nine years, the public schools finding in him a warm friend. In New Buffalo, on the 24th of April, 1884, Mr. Bliesmer was married to Miss Caroline Mess, a native of New Buffalo and a daughter of Peter Mess. Three children grace this union: Lawrence, Olga and August. The parents are members of the German Evangelical church and Mr. Bliesmer belongs to Lodge No. 84, I. 0. O. F., and to Lodge No. 23I, K. O. T. M. The hope that led him to seek a home in the new world has been more than realized, for in this country he found the advantages which he sought and by their utilization has steadily worked his way upward until he is now in control of a gratifying business and is ranked among the enterprising merchants and progressive citizens of the village in which he resides. DR. HENRY V. TUTTON, physician and surgeon, founder of Mercy Hospital and also figuring prominently in local political circles and in public affairs in Benton Harbor, has come to be recognized as one of the representative men of the city, his activity touching many lines of general interest and improvement. He was born in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, in 1858, a son of George S. and Sarah (Henry) Tutton. The father, who was born in England, became a prominent lawyer of Pennsylvania and a distinguished citizen of that state, representing his district in the general assembly and otherwise molding public thought and action. He possessed also more than ordinary musical talent. His death occurred in Pennsylvania in I866, when he was forty-eight years of age, while his wife, who was born in 1827, survived him until I895. In their family were four children: Mrs. Bertha Keller, who is living in Denver, Colorado; Charles H., a civil engineer, residing at Buffalo, New York; Arthur W., a contractor of Buffalo; and Henry V. In the state of his nativity Dr. Tutton spent a portion of his youth and then removed to Blairstown, New Jersey, where he supplemented his early education by a course in the collegiate institute of that city. He had previously been a student in the institute at Easton, Pennsylvania, pursuing his academic work as a preparation for a collegiate course, but in the financial panic that swept over the country culminating in what has since been known in history as Black Friday, his family met with financial reverses, and Dr. Tutton was thereby unable to pursue a college course as he had anticipated. In I877 he started westward, mak HENRY V. TUTTON HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 443 ing his way to Michigan and for a time was engaged in farming in Pipestone township. He possessed a studious nature, however, and was ambitious to acquire an education and to progress along lines of intellectual development. He therefore utilized all of his leisure hours for study and realing until he had prepared himself for collegiate work. Determining upon the practice of medicine as a profession, he entered the Chicago Medical College, which was founded by Dr. N. S. Davis at Chicago, Illinois, and from that institution was graduated in 1882. Dr. Tutton at once located for practice at South Bend, Indiana, where he remained for two years, and in I886 he came to Benton Harbor, where, he established himself in practice. He has met with much success and is now making a specialty of surgery, devoting much of his time to that branch of the profession. He is highly esteemed by his brethren of the medical fraternity as well as by the general public, the concensus of opinion being very favorable concerning his skill and capability. He is the author of all of the laws pertaining to health in the laws and rules of the board of health, having drawn and drafted most of the measures pertaining to that body. His patronage has steadily grown in volume and importance and in connection with his large practice he founded, in I899, the Mercy Hospital at Benton Harbor, which for five years he conducted successfully on his own account. He then turned it over to the board of trustees. This is one of the creditable institutions of the city. In his private practice he directs his efforts along modern scientific lines, keeping in touch with the most advanced thought of the profession, his experience and reading constantly broadening his knowledge and promoting his efficiency. Dr. Tutton is also regarded as a representative citizen of Benton Harbor because of his activity along lines relating directly to the city's management and its public interests. He acted as alderman for the Third ward for two years and was the first health officer of the city at the time when the position was instituted when the village was incorporated under city government. For three years he filled that position. He is also one of the directors of the city library. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and he is chairman of the Republican city committee at this time. He does everything in his power to insure the success and promote the growth of his party and at the same time is too broadminded to sacrifice general interests to partisan measures. He is affiliated with the Masonic bodies, also the Knights of Pythias, of which he is past chancellor, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Dr. Tutton is a man of strong native mentality and broad intellectual acquirements and in his consideration of public affairs is penetrative and practical. His labors, both professionally and of a public nature, have been crowned with success and Benton Harbor claims him as one of its representative and honored men. PETER FREDERICK MESS, to whom has been vouchsafed a well-earned retirement from active labor, is now living in New Buffalo in the enjoyment of rest from arduous business cares. For many years he led a very active life and his diligence and perseverance were crowned with a very desirable measure of prosperity. He was born in the city of Oldenburg in Holstein, Germany, September 9, 1838, and there resided for twenty-eight years. His parents were Jacob and Louisa (Vickerman) Mess, who spent their entire lives in Denmark, or in that section which at one time belonged to the Danish king but afterward became a part of Germany. They died when their son Peter was only- fourteen years of age. In their family were six children, four sons and two daughters, of whom Peter is the eldest. Two brothers, William and Dielloff, came to the United States and the latter died in New Buffalo but the former is now living in South Dakota. Peter F. Mess acquired his education in schools of his native country to the age of sixteen years. He afterward sailed the ocean for fifteen years on a merchantman and visited many ports on the eastern hemisphere and also sailed to various United States harbors. In 1864 he enlisted in Den 444 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY mark's marine service for war against Germany. It was in that war that Denmark lost the part of the country in which our subject was born. He was a man of thirty years when he determined to try his fortune in the United States, sailing for New York in I868. He at once made his way westward, bound for St. Louis, Missouri, but his funds gave out before reaching that destination and necessity compelled him to locate at Laporte, Indiana. He remained there for some time and was first employed at farm labor for three months. He afterward came to New Buffalo, Berrien county, and was employed on the harbor. He afterward aided in building the Chicago & Lake Shore and West Michigan Railroad, now the Pere Marquette Railroad, and when this task was completed secured a position as brakesman on the road. Not long afterward, however, he was married and took up his abode in New Buffalo, where he has resided continuously since. He continued in the railroad service as boiler maker and car repairer for twenty years, becoming the head man or foreman of the work. He was thus actively associated with industrial interests of the community for a long period and in this way gained a start in life. In I876 he purchased a saloon, but employed others to conduct the business, which he carried on for twenty-six years. For some time now he has been retired from active business cares and is enjoying a well-earned rest in a pleasant home in New Buffalo. As the years have gone by he has made judicious investments in real estate and now owns three good business blocks on Main street, which he erected and which stand as a monument to his enterprise and labor. Mr. Mess was married in I870 in New Buffalo to Mrs. Lizzie Timm, who was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, in I846, and' came to the United States with her parents in childhood. She was a widow at the time of her marriage to Mr. Mess and she died in New Buffalo in I896. Mr. Mess belongs to the German Lutheran church and gives his political support to the Republican party, having advocated its principles since becoming an American citizen. He has held many of the minor township and village offices and has always been found faithful to every trust reposed in him. He belongs to the Odd Fellows society in New Buffalo and is also a member of the German Working Society. He found in the new world good business opportunities and in this country where labor is unhampered by caste or class he has steadily worked his way upward and is now in possession of a comfortable competence and property interests which return to him a very gratifying income. ABRAM DEUEL, who is engaged in general farming on section 20, New Buffalo township, was born in Niagara county, New York, October 6, 1852, and is a representative of one of the old families of that state. His paternal grandfather, Abram Deuel, spent his entire life in New York and the father, Abner H. Deuel, was a native of Dutchess county, New York, born March 2, 18I I. He continued to reside in the Empire State until his removal to Michigan, when he took up his abode upon a farm in New Buffalo township, Berrien county, giving his attention to general agricultural pursuits here up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1884, when he was about eighty-three years of age. In his political faith he was a Republican and in religious belief was a Friend or Quaker. He died upon the old homestead in a community where he had long resided and where all who knew him respected him for his genuine worth. In early manhood he wedded Jane Duncan, a daughter of David Duncan. She was born in Canada, August 21, I816, and died April 30, I906. The marriage of the parents was celebrated in Canada and they became the parents of six children: Charles, who is living in northern Michigan; Joseph, of New Buffalo township; William Austin, who is living in Denver, Colorado; Hannah, the wife of Lyman Barnes, of Virginia; David Titus, whose home is in Shelby, Michigan; and Abram. In taking up the personal history of Abram Deuel we present to our readers the life record of one who is widely known in New Buffalo township and Berrien county, for he has resided here continuously since HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 445 the spring of I86o, having come with his parents from New York to Michigan when but eight years of age. He has through the passing years made his home on a farm of eighty acres on section 20, New Buffalo township, where he is now carrying on general agricultural pursuits, raising the cereals best adapted to soil and climate and keeping his farm in excellent condition by reason of the care and labor which he bestows upon the fields. In I905 Mr. Deuel was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Isham, who was born in Laporte county, Indiana, and is a daughter of James and Nervina (Benson) Isham, the former a native of Michigan and the latter of Indiana. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Deuel have been born two children, Ralph Howard and Marian. Mr. Deuel exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party, with which he has affiliated since age conferred upon him the voting privilege. He has served as a school officer for a number of years, and the cause of education finds in him a warm and stalwart friend, whose efforts in its behalf are practical and resultant. He belongs to New Buffalo lodge, No. 84, I. O. O. F., and is a faithful follower of the teachings of that organization. CHRISTIAN TIMM. The farming interests of Berrien county find a worthy representative in Christian Timm, whose home is on section 21, New Buffalo township, where he is devoting his time and energies to general agricultural pursuits, working persistently and energetically to provide a comfortable living for himself and family. He was born in the township where he still resides on the I2th of October, I86I, and has spent his entire life here. His father was Christian Timm, a native of Mecklenburg, Germany, who died in Berrien county on the I2th of August, I902, at the ripe old age of eighty-two years. In early manhood he wedded Miss Sophia Singnets, also a native of Mecklenburg, and in the year I85I he came to the United States with his wife and two children. They did not tarry on the Atlantic coast but came at once to Berrien county, settling in New Buffalo, where the father spent his remaining days. He had followed teaming in Germany, but in the new world turned his attention to general agricultural pursuits and continued to till the soil for many years or until his life's labors were ended in death. He had served in the German army for two years. In America he was a loyal citizen, interested in all that pertained to the welfare of his adopted country and local progress and improvement. His wife died on the I2th of April, I899, at the age of seventy-one years. In their family were three children, but Elizabeth and Charles are now deceased, leaving Christian Timm the only surviving member of the family. No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for Christian Timm in the days of his boyhood and youth. At the usual age he entered the public schools and continued his studies until about sixteen years of age, after which he worked at farm labor. He was also employed on the railroad for a year or two. He was engaged in farming continuously with the exception of the two years spent on the railroad and has seventy-seven acres on section I6 and 21, New Buffalo township, his home being on the latter section. He makes a specialty of the production of fruit and has fine orchards, from which he annually harvests good crops. He also carries on general farming and everything about his place is neat and thrifty in appearance, showing his careful supervision and enterprise. He is practical in his judgment of business conditions and his energy has been a strong factor in his success. On the 8th of December, I878, was celebrated the marriage of Christian Timm and Miss Carrie Batzell, who was born in New Buffalo, March 29, 1862, and is a daughter of Augustus and Carrie (Bliss) Batzell, the former a native of Hesse, Germany, and the latter of France. Mr. and Mrs. Timm have become the parents of a son and daughter: William, who married February 3, I906, Myrtle Howard and lives at Grand Rapids, a fireman on the Pere Marquette Railroad; and Lena, the wife of John B. Sterns, of Springville township, Laporte 446 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY county, Indiana. They have one child, William Sterns. Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. Timm has given his political allegiance to the Democracy, but has never been an aspirant for office. He belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees and to the Lutheran Church and his life is thus characterized by principles which everywhere command respect and admiration. He is well known in this community, where his entire life has been passed and where he so directed his efforts as to win the good will and confidence of his fellowmen and at the same time gain a gratifying measure of success in his business. JOHN H. ROHDE is the owner of a well improved and valuable farm on section 21, New Buffalo township. He is a native of Holstein, Germany, born on the I6th of August, I844, and his parents, Lex and Marie (Renn) Rohde, spent their entire lives in that country. Unto them were born seven children: Annie, who is now living in Chicago; Margaret, a resident of Chicago; Mary, whose home is in Seattle, Washington; Emma and Wilhelm, also of Chicago; and Heinrich, who is yet living at the old family home in Holstein. There were also several children in the family who died in early life. John H. Rohde, the eldest child and the immediate subject of this review, was reared to farm labor and at the usual age of six years entered the public schools, wherein he continued his studies until sixteen years of age. He came to the United States in I866, when a young man of twenty-two years, making the journey alone. From the Atlantic coast he made his way direct to Chicago, Illinois, and during the first two years of his residence in this country worked as a general laborer, principally being employed in the lumber yards. He then began teaming, which he followed for five years in the employ of others, after which he began teaming on his own account and found this a profitable business, having seven or eight teams. He is still engaged in the business, although his son now has charge of it. Ten years ago Mr. Rohde purchased his present farm, comprising one hundred and forty-seven acres of rich and productive land. He employed others to operate it until about five years ago, when he located thereon and has since carried on farming on his own account. He has a well improved place with good buildings, furnishing ample shelter for grain and stock. He has spent over two thousand dollars in improving the property and now has an excellent farm. His attention is given to the cultivation of the fields and he raises good crops, for which he finds a ready sale on the market. His whole time is now given to general agricultural pursuits. In 1877 occurred the marriage of Mr. Rohde and Miss Rosa Verch, a native of Prussia. They had two children, Henry of Chicago, and Josephine. For his second wife Mr. Rohde chose Anna Donath, a native of Prussia, who came to America with her parents in I873. Five children grace this marriage: John, of Chicago; Anna; Walter, at home; Emma; and Arthur. Since becoming a naturalized American citizen Mr. Rohde has given his political support to the Republican party, and is interested in local progress and national advancement, displaying the sterling traits of character which lead to business success and also gain the recognition of those who have regard for uprightness and integrity in business affairs. He has prospered as the years have gone by and is now in possession of a good property, from which he derives an excellent annual income. THEODORE SPADING. In New Buffalo township there is a large percentage of citizens of German birth or of German parentage and they have founded here a community of substantial, enterprising people, who, planting the seeds of civilization as developed by the Teutonic race, have made this one of the progressive sections of Berrien county and western Michigan. Mr. Spading of this review was born in Prussia, Germany, on the 6th of August, 1833, and was the sixth in order of birth in a family of seven children, whose parents were Charles and Caroline (Behling) Spading, who spent their entire lives in the father JAMES F. HIGBEE HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 447 land. Of the children of the family Fred is now deceased; Fredericka is the second in order of birth; Marie, Sophia and Caroline are all residents of Germany; Theodore is the next younger; and Carl is living in St. Joseph, Michigan. There were also four other children who died in early life. In the schools of his native country Mr. Spading of this review acquired his education, pursuing his studies until fifteen years of age, when he learned the miller's trade. He followed that pursuit for fifteen years, employed in different places as a millwright and flour maker. He traveled for seven or eight years, working as a journeyman and then, hoping to enjoy better business opportunities in the new world, made arrangements to leave the fatherland and came to America. In I86I he crossed the Atlantic to Canada, after which he removed to Wayne county, Michigan, settling near Dearborn. In the fall of the same year, however, he came to Berrien county and purchased his present farm in New Buffalo township, becoming the owner at that time of forty acres on section 15. Later he added forty acres and again another tract of eighty acres, so that he now has one hundred and sixty acres in New Buffalo township and in addition forty acres just across the boundary line in Indiana. It was woodland when he' made the purchase, but he has placed most of it under cultivation and he occupies a good brick residence which he built. He is giving his attention to general farming, placing his fields under a high state of cultivation and harvesting therefrom good crops. He is practical and progressive in his methods and his work is carried on in accordance with modern ideas of progressive farming. Mr. Spading was married in Canada in I86I to Miss Fredericka Zorn, a native of Prussia, Germany, and they became the parents of fourteen children, of whom six are now deceased, although nine reached years of maturity, Charles having died at the age of nineteen years. The other members of the family are Ida, the wife of Rudolph Timm, a resident of Michigan City; Robert, who is living in Iowa; Frank, of Minnesota; Rosa, the wife of Albert Barth, who makes his home near Chicago; Albert and Ernest, both of Iowa; Caroline, the wife of Dowerick Ludwig, of Michigan City; and Herman, who is engaged in railroading in the west. Mr. Spading votes with the Democracy where national issues are involved but at local elections casts an independent ballot, regarding only the capability of the candidate and his fitness for office. He belongs to the German Lutheran church and throughout an active business life has displayed sterling qualities, his integrity and trustworthiness proving important elements in his business success in addition to his untiring effort and perseverance. He has now resided in Berrien county for forty years, witnessing many changes here as the county has been reclaimed for the purpose of civilization and transformed from a comparatively wild and unimproved district into one of rich fertility, in which the work of agricultural and horticultural development is carried steadily forward, while the towns and cities are alive with all of the commercial and industrial interests which have been the factors in the upbuilding of the older east. JAMES F. HIGBEE. No state can boast of a more heroic band of pioneers than Michigan. In their intelligence, capability and genius they are far above the pioneers of the eastern states, and in their daring and heroism they were equal to the Missouri and Arkansas argonauts. Their perseverance, hardships and tearnest labors have resulted in establishing one of'the foremost of any of the republics in America, the possibilities of which are as great as those possessed by any of her sister states. The band of pioneers is fast passing away and yet here and there remains one who has been an active factor in the early development and progress of Michigan and who lives a revered patriarch of his community, his memory forming a connecting link between the primitive past and the progressive present. Such a man is James F. Higbee, a retired farmer, now residing in Benton Harbor. He came to southwestern Michigan 448 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY during the early epoch in its development and has since been a witness of the many changes that have occurred. A native of Benton township, Ontario county, New York, Mr. Higbee was born on the 7th of May, I818, and is descended from the English nobility, tracing his ancestry back in direct line to the Prince of Orange. His grandfather, James Higbee, was a native of New York, in which state James Higbee, Jr., father of our subject, was born and reared. Having arrived at years of maturity, he wedded Miss Mary Finton and on coming west to Michigan established his home in Berrien county, where he resided until called to the home beyond. James F. Higbee was a youth of eighteen years when he accompanied his parents on their removal to this state. He acquired a practical education in the conmon schools and for six months was a student in the high school at Niles. In the spring of I839 he went to Louisa county, Iowa, and there assisted in the early pioneer development, spending the summer months in breaking prairie land for three dollars per acre. During the winter seasons for two years he engaged in teaching school and was thus connected with the material advancement and intellectual progress of the community. In the fall of I84I, however, he returned to Michigan and secured an unimproved farm in this county, where he made his home continuously for about forty-four years or until March, 1885, when he took up his abode in Benton Harbor. He has since dealt in realestate here, and in 1887 he erected the Higbee Hotel. His name is closely interwoven with the annals of this section of the state, for he has not only witnessed its development but has been an active participant in many of the events which have molded its course and shaped its policy. He was one of the commissioners appointed to superintend the construction of the Benton Harbor canal and rendered efficient service in carrying forward to successful completion this plan. On the 30th of September, 1841, occurred the marriage of James F. Higbee and Miss Mary Lewin, who was born in Ohio, and at the age of eleven years went to Louisa county, Iowa, with her parents, John A. and Salome Lewin. They traveled life's journey together for more than a half century and were then separated by the death of the wife in 1895. Unto them have been born nine children, of whom six are living: Amanda M., the wife of William HIill; Mary A., who married W. H. Pike and is deceased; John Calvin; Nancy J., the wife of John D. Thompson; Emily H., the wife of James M. Cunningham; Ida J., who married Henry C. Lain; Eliza, deceased; Capitula L., and Perry, deceased. In November, I841, Mr. Higbee took his bride to his farm in the midst of the forest in Benton township and they began their domestic life in a little log cabin. He had not a single dollar and they had to go in debt in order to secure provisions enough to carry them through the coming year. Flour and pork were very high and all dry goods and other merchandise brought what now seems exorbitant prices. The young couple, however, possessed stout hearts and willing hands and although their capital was extremely limited they were determined to make a good home and Mr. Higbee began clearing the fields. It was an arduous task, so that his life was a strenuous one in those early days, but labor eventually finds its true reward, an'd such has been the case with Mr. Higbie. He found that the soil produced bountifully when carefully cultivated. His first crop constituted four hundred bushels of potatoes raised from a single acre and which he sold the next spring at one dollar per bushel. From four acres planted to corn he gathered about two hundred bushels, which he sold for seventy-five cents per bushel. He also raised about fifteen bushels of spring wheat. The first year by rigid economy Mr. Higbee was able to have a balance of two hundred and fifty dollars. Thus he struggled on, his capital increasing year by year until the hardships and privations of pioneer life have given way before the comforts of an advancing civilization. In those early days there were wild bears and wolves, which were very troublesome, committing many depreciations in the farmyards. On on0t occasion Mr. I-igbee succeeded in capturing in a trap the king HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 4 449 leader of the wolves and the others fled from the district. He found great pleasure in hunting and had ample opportunity to indulge his love of the sport. He frequently tells of his first experience in shooting a deer. H;e raised: his gun, fired and the deer fell. He then jumped on the prostrate animal with the intention of cutting its throat, but before he had done so the deer had brought up his hind feet and had caught them in the side of his clothing, tearing his garments to shreds. While the experience was a little painful, yet to him the suffering was of far less moment than the important question of how to reach home minus clothing. The difficulty, however, was solved by finding some thorns which he used for pins to fasten together the remaining shreds of his garments. That was not his last deer hunt, however, for in the early days it was no unusual thing to find a dish of venison upon the pioneer table. Indians were numerous in those sections of Michigan and were often very troublesome, committing thefts and constantly menacing the property and lives of the white men. The years went by and pioneer conditions passed away, as the country became thickly settled and this region was reclaimed for the uses of the white race. Mr. Higbee continued his labors at farming with untiring energy and persistence and as the years went by he added to his capital and possessions until he had a valuable and well improved tract of land, while at the present time his possessions are sufficient to enable him to enjoy a well earned rest in Benton Harbor. Politically a stalwart Republican he gives his influence to the party and is deeply interested in its success. He served as the first treasurer of his township, holding thle office for several terms. He was also justice of the peace for several terms and often was the incumbent in three or four offices at the same time, the duties of which he discharged with the same fidelity and loyalty that he manifested in the care of his private business interests. He was for many years notary public and whether in office or out of it he always gave hearty co-operation to every movement for the welfare of Berrien county. It was Mr. Higbee who purchased 29 the ground and erected the buildings wherei in was held the first agricultural fair of Berrien county, and for four successive terms he was president of its board of directors. The splendid success of the fair was due to his efforts more than to the labors of any other man. He has always stood as the champion of progress and improvement, and Berrien county acknowledges its indebtedness to him for his far-reaching labors ill its behalf. During the period of the Civil war he was commissioned captain of a company, which was formned in St. Ives, Michigan, in 1864, but on account of serious illness in his family he was unable to take the command and the war closed before lie found it possible to leave home, owing to the conditions that existed in his own household. For his second wife Mr. Higbee chose Sarah E. Glover, a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Dozier) Glover, to whom he was married September 15, I896. His second wife was born in St. Charles, Missouri. Her father was a farmer by occupation and spent much of his life in Wisconsin. He was born, however, in Maryland and at the age of twenty-eight years went to Missouri, where he had a large farm of two hundred acres. His wife was a native of Lexington, Kentucky, and her father was a prominent physician of that state. Mr. Glover served as a soldier in the war of 1812 under command of Commodore Perry. In his fraternal relations Mr. Higbee is a Mason, belonging to, Lake Shore Lodge, No. 298, A. F. & A. M. He holds membership in the Christian church as did his first wife, and is interested in the promotion of moral development in the county. He has now passed the eighty-sixth milestone on life's journey and is one of the most venerable and honorable citizens of Berrien county. Looking back over the past and noting the conditions which were to be met here in the early days, the county certainly owes a debt of gratitude to those who braved the hardships and privations of pioneer life and promoted the moral, intellectual and material advancement of this portion of the state. The work of the hardy pioneers is nearly complete. They have 450 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY helped to build an empire which is an excellent monument to their labors, but though they are one by one passing away their memory will forever remain green among the friends who have loved them and appreciated their efforts. In the life record of James F. Higbee we find a rare combination of man's best qualities. He possesses in a high degree practical business sagacity, charity for the shortcomings of others, generosity to those less favorled than himself and is withal the soul of honor and honesty. He has known but one method in business or politics-straightforwardness and open dealing and a genial, courteous manner has readily won and retained the confidence and friendship of those with whom he has been associated through the long years of his residence in Berrien county. FRITZ L. KLESS, devoting his time and energies to general agricultural pursuits on section I4, New Buffalo township, was born in the village of New Buffalo, Berrien county, on the 9th of April, 1857, and has spent his entire time in this township, his attention throughout the period of his business career being given to general farming. He is a son of Fritz Kless, Sr., who, as the name indicates, was of German birth, having first opened his eyes to the light of day in Mecklenburg on the i9th day of April, 1827. He spent his youth in his native country and in 1855 came to the new world, being then a young man of twenty-eight years. He did not tarry on the Atlantic coast but made his way at once into the interior of the country and took up his abode in Berrien county. He spent his remaining days here upon a farm and died in I897 when in the seventieth year of his age. He was drafted for service with the Union army near the close of the Civil war and was a member of Company G, Ninth Michigan Regiment. His political views were in accord with the principles of the Republican party and his religious faith was that of the Lutheran church. He was married in Germany to Miss Sophia Roder, also a native of Mecklenburg, born March 13, I820. She survived her husband for about eight years, passing away September 9, I905. Fritz L. Kless of this review is their only child. He has, however, a half sister, Mary Kruger, of New Buffalo, who was born of the mother's first marriage. The days of his boyhood and youth were quietly passed by Mr. Kless, who has always lived in New Buffalo township, spending the greater part of his life upon the farm which is now his home. It was taken as timber land and had to be cleared before it could be cultivated. Most of it, however, is now under cultivation. There is a good house upon the place and substantial outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock. Mr. Kless was associated with his father in business in the development of the fields and in stock raising and in his business interests has been attended with gratifying success. He now has one hundred and twenty acres of land situated on sections 13 and 14, his home being on the latter section. Everything about his place is neat and thrifty in appearance and substantial in character and he is a reliable and energetic business man, ambitious for success and thus working untiringly toward that end. On the 20th of December, I904, Mr. Kless married Miss Alma Guener, who was born in Germany and came to the United States with her parents a short time before her marriage. One child has been born of this union, Fritz, whose birth occurred on the 24th of February, I906. Mr. Kless votes with the Republican party, and, as every true American citizen should do, keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, so that he is able to cast an intelligent ballot and give a reason for the political faith that is in him. He belongs to the Lutheran church at New Buffalo and his name is on the membership rolls of New Buffalo Lodge, No. 84, I. O. O. F. Having always resided in the township which is now his home, he is well known here and has gained many friends who esteem him for the possession of those qualities which work for upright manhood and for good citizenship. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 451 JOHN C. SCHWENK, residing in New Buffalo township on section I9, where he owns a well improved and valuable farm property, his total acreage amounting to three hundred acres, is one of the native sons of New York, his birth having occurred in Erie county about six miles from the city of Buffalo, on the g9th of August, I849. The old home place, however, is now included within the corporate limits of that city. His parents, John and Elizabeth (Reuss) Schwenk, were natives of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, and were there reared and married, after which they sailed for the United States. They landed at New Orleans in 1848, at the time of a cholera epidemic there, and Mr. Schwenk became ill with the disease, but recovered. He afterward proceeded northward to Chicago by boat and found the site of the present metropolis nothing but a mud hole, which to him seemed so unattractive and distasteful that he would not remain there and went instead to Buffalo, New York. He had learned in early life the trades of a cooper and brewer and soon after reaching Buffalo he turned his attention to farming, remaining there for five years. On the expiration of that period he went to Grand Island, New York, and in I857 he came to Michigan, settling in Berrien county. He commenced life here in the timber with sixtyfour acres of land, and for some time conducted a boarding house and saloon. He also handled much timber and his varied business interests brought him a good living. He continued to make his home in Berrien county until his death, which occurred September 22, I869, when he was forty-nine years of age, his birth having occurred April I6, I820. In his family were ten children: John C., of this review; Philipena, the wife of Jacob L. Edinger, of New Buffalo township; Henry C., who controls extensive business interests and travels quite largely, being now on the Pacific coast, although his home is in Berrien county; Mary, who died in 1864; Elizabeth; Louisa; Robert; George; Jacob, who is conducting a saloon in New Buffalo; and Emma, who married and died, leaving three children, her eldest son now living with John C. Schwenk of this review. The mother of our subject, who was born June 28, 1828, still resides in this county. John C. Schwenk came to New Buffalo with his parents in 1857, the family reaching their destination on the 20th of June. He has resided continuously since in New Buffalo township, his parents settling on a farm four miles southeast of the town, their place being in the midst of the forest, not even a road having been laid at that time. Being the eldest of ten children it was necessary that he assist in the support of the family and in providing for his own wants, and when only ten years of age he began driving oxen. He aided in the arduous task of clearing his father's land and developing a new farm, upon which he remained until the fall of 1864, when his father took up his abode in the town, while Mr. Schwenk of this review continued to operate the farm. Four children of the family had died of scarlet fever on the farm and one died in New Buffalo, all passing away within a year. Following the removal of the family to New Buffalo, John C. Schwenk remained alone on the farm, keeping bachelor's hall until the winter, when he, too, took up'his abode in the town. He handled timber for his father, who was making shipments to Chicago. The father died in the year I869. His mother and uncle had just returned from a visit to Europe at the time of the father's death and John C. Schwenk then took his mother onto the farm, comprising one hundred and ten acres of land. He continued to cultivate and improve that property until his marriage. His mother still survives and is yet living in New Buffalo. Mr. Schwenk had eighty acres of timber land which his father had given him and which he cleared and improved. He bought an additional one hundred and ten acres, where he now resides on section I9, New Buffalo township. He also has one hundred and ten acres on section 24 of the old homestead and eighty acres in Indiana, where his eldest son now resides, so that his total holdings comprise three hundred 452 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY acres, all of which is under cultivation with the exception of a small tract of ten acres. Mr. Schwenk has cleared the entire amount and has a well improved and valuable place, giving his attention to general farming and the raising of stock. He also has three acres of apples upon his place and his orchard is a productive one, returning him good crops. Mr. Schwenk was married in 1872 to Miss Barbara Gropp, who was born in Sandusky, Ohio, June 5, 1848, a daughter of Frederick and Barbara Gropp, who were natives of Baden, Germany, and on coming to the United States settled in Ohio, whence they afterward removed to Indiana and later to Michigan, spending their last days in Berrien county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Schwenk were born two sons: Charles F., who is residing on his father's farm in Indiana; and John R., at home. In his political views Mr. Schwenk has been a lifelong Democrat and is now serving his ninth term as supervisor of the township. He had filled the office for five terms, after which he resigned and took a trip to Louisiana, where he spent the winter. Following his return he was again chosen to the office and is now at this time serving for the fourth consecutive term. He was township treasurer for three terms and commissioner for five years. For thirtyfive consecutive years he has been school director of district No. 4. He has served as delegate to the various county conventions and has done all in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of his party. He is a charter member of the Maccabees Tent, No. 23I, at New Buffalo, and he was reared in the Lutheran faith and helped to build the church in New Buffalo, but is not a member. He has been honorable and straightforward in all his business dealings and has labored diligently and energetically to win success that he might provide his family with a comfortable living. He has prospered in his undertakings and as the years have gone by he has also enjoyed to the full extent the respect and trust of his fellowmen, as has been manifest by the many times in which he has been elected to public office. JOHN STUCK. The attractiveness of Berrien county as a place of residence is indicated by the fact that many of her native sons have remained here and have become successful business men. Among this number is John Stuck, who was born February 27, 1859, on the farm on which he now resides on section I2, New Buffalo township. Here he has made his home throughout his entire life, giving his attention to general agricultural pursuits, and his carefully directed business labors are resulting in the acquirement of very desirable prosperity. He is the son of Hans Stuck, who was born in Holstein, Germany, in 1833, and came when a young man alone to, America, being at that time about twentyone years of age. He made his way direct to New Buffalo and spent his remaining days upon a farm in Berrien county, passing away here when sixty-eight years of age. He owned sixty acres of land, which he placed under a high state of cultivation, becoming one of the active and energetic agriculturists of the communtiy. His political allegiance was given to the Democracy, and he belonged to the Lutheran church. He was married in this county to Miss Lena Friece, who was born in Holstein in I843 and came to the United States in early womanhood, spending her remaining days here, her death occurring when she was forty years of age. In the family were eight children: Henry, now a resident of Peoria, Illinois; John, of this review; Anna and Charles, both deceased; Mary, the wife of Henry Forsome, of Chicago; Ellen, the wife of Frank Swartz, of South Bend, Indiana; Rosa, of Virden, Illinois; and Louisa, deceased. Mr. Stuck, whose name introduces this record, was reared in the usual manner of farm lads, giving his attention to the work of the fields through the summer months, while in the winter seasons he acquired his education in the public schools. After leaving school he gave his entire attention to the work of the home farm and eventually bought forty acres of the old homestead on section 12, New Buffalo township. In addition to this he owns eighty acres on section 7, and thirty acres on section I8 of the. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 453 same township, so that his landed possessions aggregate one hundred and fifty acres. He carries on general farming, raising various cereals, and he has upon his place good buildings and modern equipments, using the latest improved machinery in the care of the fields and the harvesting of the crops. He has altogether one hundred and twenty acres of land under cultivation and his farm is very productive. In I888 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Stuck and Miss Dora Schultz, who was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, and came to the United States with her parents when eighteen years of age. Her father is Frederick Schultz, of Indiana. Three children grace this marriage: Fred, Irving and Edna, all yet with their parents. Mr. Stuck has always supported the Democracy, but has not been a politician in the sense of office seeking. He served for four years as a school officer but otherwise has held no public or political positions, preferring to concentrate his energies upon business affairs, in which he has met 'with signal success. He belongs to New Buffalo Lodge, No. 84, I. O. O. F., and holds membership in the Lutheran church, and the tenets of the society and the teachings of the church are permeating influences in his life, making him a man of upright character and genuine worth. A THOMAS H. MARTIN, who for twenty-eight years was proprietor of the Martin House at Three Oaks, is now living retired, for his activity in former years secured to him a goodly bank account, so that his income is sufficient to enable him to enjoy a well-earned rest. He was born near Brantville, Ontario, Canada, on the Ioth of February, 1844, and was only four years of age at the time of his father's death. With his widowed mother he then removed to St. Lawrence county, New York, the family home being established near Ogdensburg. He was the fifth in order of birth in a family of six children, two sons and four daughters. His brother, James, became a soldier of the Civil war, enlisting in Company A, One Hundred and Thirteenth Illinois Infantry, and died at Memphis, Tennessee, while in the service of his country. Between the ages of four and ten years Thomas H. Martin resided with his widowed mother in St. Lawrence county, New York, near Ogdensburg, and then went to Batavia, Illinois, where he resided for seven years or until after the outbreak of the Civil war in I86I. He then removed to Furnaceville, Indiana, with his mother and was principally employed as a teamster until he enlisted in the Union army in August, I862, becoming a member of Company A, One Hundred and Thirteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, under command of Col. George B. Hoag. He participated in the siege of Vicksburg, in the engagement at Little Rock, Arkansas, and in a fight south of Memphis, Tennessee, beside many others of minor importance. He served altogether for two years and ten months and was taken prisoner at Eastport, Tennessee, after which he remained for six months in the rebel military prison at Cahaba, Alabama. He continued with his command until honorably discharged on the 6th of June, I865. when with a most creditable military record he returned to his home in Indiana. When the war was over and the country no longer needed his aid Mr. Martin engaged in farming in the Hoosier state, having purchased a tract of land while in the army. There he carried on general agricultural pursuits until 1872, when he came to Three Oaks. He afterward engaged in teaming for two years for the firm of Bennett Brothers in connection with the mill and when that period had passed he established a boarding house and conducted a boarding house and a hotel for twentyeight years, but about two years ago sold the Martin House, of which he had so long been proprietor and retired from active business life to enjoy a well-earned rest. He owns a good home on Main street and also has two buildings which he rents and which return to him a good income. On the 7th of September, 1867, was celebrated the marriage of Thomas H. Martin and Miss Rosa Siberts, who was born in Ohio, December 4, 1842. They have no children of their own, but have reared two. 454 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Mr. Martin votes with the Republican party, having given to it his allegiance since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He is a public spirited citizen, interested in local progress as well as national advancement, and his co-operation has been given to many measures that have had direct bearing upon the welfare and upbuilding of this locality. He has become very widely known in his business career and was a popular landlord, whose efforts to add to the comfort of his guests made his hostelry a favored one with the traveling public. In citizenship he has been as loyal to his country as when he followed the stars and stripes upon southern battlefields and in all life's relations he has gained warm friendships that have made him one of the respected residents of this part of the county. JOSEPH MULHOLLAND, who since I896 has resided on his present farm on section io, New Buffalo township, was born in county Tyrone, near Dublin, Ireland, December 24, 1842, his parents being John C. and Isabelle (Miller) Mulholland, who left their native country and crossed the Atlantic to Toronto, Canada, when their son Joseph was about a year old. Both died when he was five years of age, passing away within six weeks of each other. They had five children; Robert, now residing in Ohio; John C. and Rachel, both deceased; Joseph, of this review; and James, who was a soldier in the same regiment to which his brother Joseph belonged. He served for three years and was then discharged but the hardships and rigors of war had undermined his health and he died soon afterward. At their death the parents left five young children and two years later all went to live with an uncle, John Dunlap, of Kenton, Ohio. Mr. Mulholland of this review was therefore reared upon a farm in the Buckeye state, where he remained until after the outbreak of the Civil war, when his patriotic spirit being aroused he responded to the country's call for aid and joined the boys in blue of Company A, Eighty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under command of Colonel Robinson. He took part in thir ty-three important engagements during the four years of his service, including the battles of Gettysburg, Chattanooga, Chancellorsville, the second battle of Bull Run and in the march under General Sherman from Atlanta to the sea. He afterward proceeded northward through the Carolinas and Virginia and took part in the grand review at Washington, D. C., where thousands of Union soldiers with victory perched on their banners marched past the stand on which the president and other distinguished statesmen were standing to cheer the return of the army. At Gettysburg he was knocked down but was not seriously wounded, but he permanently injured his back in tearing up a railroad in South Carolina and has suffered therefrom continuously since. After serving for three years he veteranized with most of the company and regiment and participated in every engagement except one of the thirty-four in which the regiment took part and was prevented from doing so on that occasion by an attack of typhoid fever. He was always a brave and loyal soldier, never faltering in the performance of any duty that was assigned him whether it called him to the lonely picket line or stationed him in the midst of danger on the firing line. After the war Mr. Mulholland returned to his old home in Ohio and two years later was married. He went to Kansas in I871, settling in Mitchell county, where he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres before the county was organized. In fact he assisted in organizing the county and the township of Solomon Rapids where he resided. He was one of a committee of nine that acted as a vigilance committee that ran down the famous outlaw Bender. Mr. Mulholland continued to live in Kansas until after the grasshopper scourge of 1874, when all crops were completely destroyed and he then returned to Ohio. He engaged in farming in the latter state until I88I, when he removed to northern Michigan, settling in Osceola county. There he lived for seventeen years and in I896 came to Berrien county, taking up his abode upon the farm which has since been his place of residence. He has here eighty acres of section IO ad ~:::: i:iii:::::-r::: i::::::I --::-:-::, -:::-:: -ii: -ii:i iiiigiiiiii:-ii iiBiii::::::::-:::::: iiia:ii-"'::::-B HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 455 joining the corporation limits of New Buffalo. He has erected and improved the buildings upon the place, has cleared the land and transformed it into productive fields from which he annually harvests good crops. He now has a well improved and attractive property, which in its thrifty appearance indicates his careful supervision and enterprise. On the 28th of September, I867, Mr. Mulholland was united in marriage to Miss Mary J. Eastman, who was born in Lima, Ohio, March 7, 1847, a daughter of Jonathan 0., and Rachel Ann (Huston) Mulholland, both of whom were natives of Ohio. They were of American birth and their respective families had lived in the United States for five generations, the forefathers on both sides arriving in colonial days. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Mulholland have been born six children: Mrs. Anna Isabelle Warner, who is living in Niles; Carrie Amelia, of San Antonio, Texas; Rachel Ida, the wife of Rev. B. F.. Fowler, a preacher of the United Brethren church, now at Waterloo, Michigan; John C., a traveling man representing a Chicago house; Ada J., a school teacher of Berrien county; and Mary Frances, who is also engaged in teaching school. Mr. Mulholland votes with the Republican party and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day. He cast his first presidential ballot for Abraham Lincoln in I864 and has since supported each nominee at the head of the ticket. He served for one term as justice of the peace, was highway commissioner two terms in New Buffalo township and also held the same office while living in Northern Michigan, where he served for three terms. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church and is a member of the Odd Fellows society at New Buffalo, also the Rebekah lodge, and Post No. 315, G. A. R., thereby maintaining pleasant relations with his old army comrades. His life has been one of activity, directed by sound judgment and stimulated by a laudable ambition for success and as the years have gone by he has made a creditable place in business circles and is now in possession of a good farm. HARVEY J. CAMPBELL. The industrial life of Benton Harbor finds a worthy representative in Harvey J. Campbell, who is now connected with its manufacturing interests as a member of the Campbell & Naylor Garment Company, manufacturers of overalls and men's furnishing goods. He was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, in I854, a son of Charles W. and Sarah (Jones) Campbell. The father died at the age of seventy-five years, but the mother is still living. The former was a prominent wholesale dry goods merchant of St. Joseph, Missouri, for many years, carrying on an extensive business, but eventually he retired from trade some years prior to his death and spent his last days in Florida. In the family were seven children, of whom five are yet living. Harvey J. Campbell, the eldest son and the only one now living in Berrien county, pursued his education in the schools of his native city and on attaining his majority he entered business life as an employe in a wholesale dry goods establishment there. He had pursued 1,is education in the public schools, passing through successive grades until he had completed the high school course. Following his entrance into business life he became connected with John S. Lemon under the firm name of John S. Lemon & Company, which relation was maintained for some time, after which Mr. Lemon withdrew in order to engage in the banking business in St. Joseph. In I896 Mr. Campbell left that city and went to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he remained for two years, also engaged in the wholesale dry goods business. Removing to Chicago, he became indentified with the wholesale dry goods house of J. V. Farwell & Company, who were also large manufacturers of overalls. This company established a factory in Benton Harbor, of which Mr. Campbell was made manager and so continued until the spring of I904, when the business was closed out. At that time Mr. Campbell joined William D. Naylor, who 456 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY was formerly superintendent of the factory of J. V. Farwell & Company in Benton Harbor, in the establishment of the present Campbell & Naylor Garment Company, manufacturers of overalls and men's furnishings in Benton Harbor. They are conducting business in the old Farwell factory and that their trade has reached extensive proportions is indicated by the fact that they now furnish employment to from sixty to seventy operatives. Their trade is constantly growing and has already become an important industry of Benton Harbor. In I880, in Winchester, Virginia, Mr. Campbell was married to Miss Mary Denny, a native of the Old Dominion. They have resided in Benton Harbor since 900o and have won for themselves an enviable position in social circles. Mr. Campbell is a Democrat in his political views but has neither time nor inclination for office, preferring to devote his undivided attention to his business affairs. A man of strong individuality and indubitable probity, he has attained a due measure of success in the affairs of life and is today a leading representative of the productive industries of Berrien county. He possesses, moreover, a genial and social nature and is most appreciative of the amenities which go to make up the sum of human happiness. W. K. WHITEHEAD, a retired farmer living in Three Oaks, was born in Morris county, New Jersey, on the I2th of October, I829, and there made his home for about thirty years. His parents were David and Mary (King) Whitehead. The father, a native of Manchester, England, came to the United States when eighteen years of age with one brother. He spent the remainder of his life in New Jersey and was a gardener, dependent upon that business for the income wherewith he met his daily expenses. He died at the venerable age of eighty-six years, while his wife passed away in New Jersey at the age of forty years. She was born in that state and had always resided there. Her mother was a sister of General Grant's father, so that she and the general were own cousins. W. K. Whitehead was the eldest of a family of seven children, the other six being: Caroline, the deceased wife of William Jones; Elma, the widow of Charles Overton and a resident of Albany, New York; David, who is living in New Jersey; Mrs. Harriet Roberts, a resident of Norwalk, Connecticut; Margaret, who married George Raymond, of Norwalk, Connecticut; one who died in infancy. William K. Whitehead began his education at the usual age and continued his studies to the age of fifteen years, when he began providing for his own living as an employe in the Dover Iron Works, Dover, New Jersey. He acted in various capacities in connection with that industry and continued his residence in New Jersey until I850, when he went to California by way of the isthmus route. He spent about four years mining on the Pacific coast and then returned on a visit to New Jersey. He crossed the isthmus at the time the railroad was being built, it having been constructed a part of the way on the return trip. Again taking up his abode in New Jersey he was once more employed in the iron works until he came to Michigan in 1876. Settling in Three Oaks, he has since made his home here. He purchased a general store, which he conducted with a partner for a time but later he purchased his partner's interests and carried on business alone for about eighten years. He was one of the wide awake and enterprising merchants of the town, having a good establishment, in which he carried a well selected line of goods and thereby gained a liberal support. At length he sold out and bought seventy acres of land about one mile from town. Locating thereon, he gave his attention to general agricultural pursuits for some time, but in March, I906, sold his farm and returned to, the town, where he is now living a retired life, having justly earned the rest which he is now enjoying. In I86o Mr. Whitehead was married to Miss Mary Alice Searing, who was born in New Jersey February I, 1837, and is a daughter of Jacob and Phoebe (Martin) Searing, who were likewise natives of New Jersey. Unto them were born two children: Margaret Elma, the wife of Rev. I.T.Weldon HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 457 of Elsie, Michigan, who is a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, and they have two children, Alice M. and William W.; and William S., living in Boise City, Idaho, where he is engaged in the drug and fruit business, also dealing in live stock. He has two children, Donald S. and Alice R. Mr. Whitehead belongs to the Methodist church and is deeply interested in its work and progress. His political support is given to the Republican party. He has now passed the seventy-sixth milestone on life's journey and and well merits the rest which has been vouchsafed to him. In the management of his property interests and business affairs he has displayed excellent ability and enterprise and has gained thereby a comfortable competence, being now a substantial citizen of Three Oaks. He has lived here continuously for thirty years, which has given ample opportunity to the public to judge of his worth and qualifications and the consensus of opinion is very favorable. DIX H. BEESON, proprietor of a drug store at Three Oaks, was born one mile west of Cassopolis, in Cass county, Michigan, May i, 1863, his parents being Benjamin F. and Jennie E. (Banks) Beeson, the father a native of Richmond, Indiana, and the mother of Chenango county, New York. Benjamin F. Beeson was taken to Cass county in his infancy and for many years was a farmer there, devoting his time and energies to general agricultural pursuits until his demise, which occurred in I896, when he was sixty-four years of age. His widow still survives him and now makes her home in Goshen, Indiana, at the age of sixty-nine years. In their family were three children: Mrs. Grace Ashley, living in Goshen; Dix H., of this review; and Otis J., also living in Goshen, where he is engaged in the drug business. Dix H. Beeson was reared in the usual manner of farm lads, working in the fields through the summer months, while in the winter seasons he attended the public schools and thus acquired a good practical education. He was for a time a student in Hillsdale College, and when a young man of twenty-two years he removed from his native county to Berrien county, where he arrived in the fall of I885. Locating at Three Oaks, he was engaged in the creamery business for three years as an employe, and on the expiration of that period invested the capital which he had saved from his earnings in the drug store, which he is still conducting. He was first located three doors south of his present place of business but later purchased the building in which he is now conducting his store and to which he removed four years ago. It is a twostory frame structure, ninety by twenty-four feet. Until the last year Mr. Beeson has devoted considerable time to farming, and is the owner of five hundred acres of valuable land in connection with Jonas H. Holden. This is devoted to the cultivation of peppermint, and the experiment is proving a very profitable one. Mr. Beeson also owns a branch store at New Buffalo, and is meeting with success in his mercantile ventures, having a liberal patronage in both places. In I885 was celebrated the marriage of Dix H. Beeson, and Miss Ella J. James, a native of Elkhart, Indiana, and a daughter of Edward K. and Katharine (McFarren) James. They have three children, Paul, Lois and Helen. Mr. Beeson votes with the Republican party, and has served as supervisor of his township for one term. He has also been township treasurer for several terms and a member of the village council. He was also a member of the board of education, and the public schools have found in him a warm and stalwart friend, who has put forth effective effort in their behalf. He regards a public office as a public trust and has been most loyal to the confidence reposed in him through his official service. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and also to the Masonic lodge, and his brethren of these fraternities regard him as a man worthy their entire confidence and respect. In business life he has placed his dependence not upon speculation or upon any fortunate combination of circumstances, but has relied upon energy and close application to bring to him the success which he is now enjoying and 458 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY which has made him one of the substantial and representative residents of this part of the county. JOSEPH J. DEUEL. There are in Joseph J. Deuel many characteristics that render him a representative citizen of Berrien county and one well worthy of mention among the leading agriculturists of this part of the state. His life record began in Norwichville, Oxford county, Ontario, Canada, on the 25th of September, I839. His father. Abner H. Deuel, was a native of Dutchess county, New York, and was married to Jane Duncan, whose birth occurred in the same county. The wedding ceremony, however, was celebrated in Ontario, Canada, and about three years after their marriage they returned to the Empire state. In the spring of I86o they came to New Buffalo, where their remaining days were passed, both departing this life here. The father died in I893 at the advanced age of eighty-three years and the mother passed away in I906 at the extreme old age of ninety years. In their family were six children. Charles, who served in the Fortysecond Illinois Infantry in the Civil war, is now living in Elmira, Michigan. Joseph J. is the second in order of birth. William A., who was also a defender of the Union cause in the Civil war, is now living in Denver, Colorado, and is general superintendent of the Moffet Railroad System. He has been continuously with the railroad service since he left the army, beginning on the Union Pacific in 1867. He was first brakesman, afterward promoted to conductor and later became division superintendent of the same line. He was afterward general superintendent of the Rio Grande Railroad and later returned to the Union Pacific Railroad but is now connected with the Moffet System as general superintendent. The only interruption to his railroad service was four years spent in the position of sheriff of Hall county, Nebraska. Hannah M. is the wife of Lyman Barnes, of Virginia. David is a resident of Shelby, Michigan. Abraham Deuel is represented on another page of this work. Joseph J. Deuel, whose name introduces this review was only about a year old when his parents removed to Niagara county, New York, where he remained to the age of ten years, when he returned to the old home in Ontario, there living with an aunt until twenty years of age. On the 2ISt of April, I86o, his father came to New Buffalo and Mr. Deuel joined his parents here, residing in New Buffalo township on the old homestead, two miles from the village of New Buffalo. He carried the first mail bag from New Buffalo to St. Joseph, going on foot, this being about I862, and he carried on foot for a time, then on horseback and later by stage. He gave his attention to farm work until the outbreak of hostilities between the north and the south when his patriotic spirit was aroused and he enlisted in Berrien county on the 7th of March, I864, as a member of Company E, Twelfth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Bostic of Niles. The command was sent to Little Rock, Arkansas, and operated on the White and Red rivers. Mr. Deuel participated in the engagements at Clarendon and took part in long marches and many minor military movements. He became quartermaster's clerk and was honorably discharged at Camden, Arkansas, in March I866. He then hired out to the United States government at one hundred and fifty dollars per month as quartermaster, commissary clerk, and chief clerk, continuing in the government employ until the 4th of July, I866, when he returned to his old home in Michigan. Mr. Deuel had a little farm which he had purchased at the time of his marriage and he took up the work of improving and cultivating it. The place comprised fiftythree acres of rich land and in addition to its improvement Mr. Deuel also worked at carpentering and contracting, being thus identified with building operations during the greater part of his life. Selling his farm, he removed to New Buffalo and became connected with the New Buffalo Land Improvement Company. He has about six hundred acres of land on the lake shore, which is owned by Floyd R. Perkins, of Chicago. Mr. Deuel taking charge and operating it for Mr. Perkins. He HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 459 has laid out a park of four acres here, which is a fine place bordering Lake Beaver and the river. There are natural springs and in the park are a number of deer. Mr. Deuel has also started extensive fish ponds here and has about forty-five thousand fish, including trout and some gold fish. Mr. Deuel also looks after various real estate interests. The company has a sixty acre lease of land on which they are making the experiment of developing a paint factory, brickyard and pottery, fine brick being made from the soil. On the 2nd of February, 1862, Mr. Deuel was married to Miss Mary A. Hunt, who was born in New Buffalo township, August 19, 1844, and is a daughter of David M. and Hannah (Holbrook) Hunt. The father was born near Lafayette, Indiana, and the mother near Buffalo, New York, and both spent their last days in Boyne City, Charlevoix county, Michigan, Mrs. Hunt passing away when only twentysix years of age, while Mr. Hunt departed this life in I895 at the advanced age of seventy-seven years. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Deuel have been born four children: Agnes M., the wife of Jared K. Quantrell, of Grand Rapids, Michigan; David Abner, who died at the age of four and a half years; Marietta, who died at the age of two and a half years; and Jacob Morris, of Boyne Falls, Michigan. Mr. Deuel was a Republican, and cast his first presidential ballot for Abraham Lincoln, but during the past twelve years has given his political allegiance to the Democracy. He was supervisor of his township for one year, and treasurer for two years and for a number of terms has been justice of the peace, rendering fair and impartial decisions in the discharge of his duties. He has filled nearly all of the township offices and has been an able official. He was a member of Minor Pratt Post, G. A. R. until it was discontinued, and in times of peace he is as loyal in citizenship as when he followed the old flag upon southern battlefields. A man of good business ability and enterprise, he is now carefully directing the real estate interests in his care and is developing a most attractive resort in New Buffalo township. ALEXANDER HALLIDAY, residing in Lincoln township, is a native of Scotland, his birth having occurred in Berwickshire, near the English border, on the 24th of June, I842. His parents were Andrew and Helen (Redpath) Halliday, and his paternal grandfather was Alexander Halliday, Sr., who had two sons in the ministry of the Episcopal church, laboring in behalf of the cause of Christianity in England and Scotland. The year 1844 witnessed the arrival of Andrew Halliday and his father in Norfolk county, Ontario, where he secured large tracts of land. His attention was then given to agricultural pursuits up to the time of his death, which occurred when he was fifty-six years of age. His wife long survived him and died at the old homestead in Canada, at the advanced age of eighty-five years. Mr. Halliday has no brothers or sisters in the United States, but has three brothers and two sisters living in Canada. His brother Robert died in California five years ago. Alexander Halliday of this review spent his youth in his parents' home, was educated in the public schools of Canada and in early life learned the millwright's trade, which he followed for a few years. When twenty-two years of age he went to Kankakee, Illinois, where he worked as a millwright and carpenter. He began a contracting business there, in which he continued for eight years, or until I870, when he came to Berrien county with the intention of engaging in the production of peaches, which were bringing high prices at that time. He bought raw land near Lake Michigan about two miles from Stevensville, for which he paid one hundred and ten dollars per acre. It was destitute of improvements. Prices had become greatly inflated with the discovery of Michigan's fruit raising possibilities and improved land sold for five hundred dollars. Mr. Halliday invested his money in property, secured his land and set out peach orchards but when the trees were coming into bearing the yellows destroyed them and all of Berrien county and southern Michigan were left without peach orchards. He then began growing berries until it was possible to once more engage in 460 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY the cultivation of peaches, when for a second time he set out his orchard. He now has forty acres planted to fruit and his place is an indication that he is one of the leading horticulturists of the county. He has erected a handsome home, commanding a fine view of the lake for miles southward to the Indiana bluffs. In the rear a fine view of the country may be obtained, with its outlying farms and orchards, even across the St. Joseph river. In fact his home is splendidly located and constitutes one of the attractive farm properties of Berrien county. Mr. Halliday exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Democracy, and his fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability, have frequently called him to public office. He has served for two years as tax collector, also as township treasurer, and for fourteen years was township supervisor, during which time the county seat was removed from Berrien Springs to St. Joseph. He was also a member of the building committee at the time of the erection of the new court house. In all these relations he has proved a capable official and one whose devotion to the general good has resulted most beneficially to the county. Lincoln has always been a Republican township, and the fact that Mr. Halliday has so long been continued in office is incontrovertible proof of his ability in the discharge of his duties and the confidence and trust reposed in him by his fellow townsmen. He has frequently attended the state conventions of his party as a delegate and he stands firm in support of its principles, yet he has not been a politician in the sense of office seeking. The honors which he has had in this direction have come to him largely unsolicited and he was at one time named as the candidate of his party for the office of sheriff. In I869 Mr. Halliday was united in marriage to Miss Maggie Doyle, a native of Pennsylvania, who for some years engaged in teaching in the Keystone state and in Illinois, spending a part of that time in the College of St. Anne. Mr. and Mrs. Halliday have no children of their own but reared an adopted son, Charles, who became a member of their household at the age of five years and remained with them until his death, at the age of twenty-six years. Mr. Halliday is a very prominent Mason, who has taken the degrees of the York and Scottish rites and of the Mystic Shrine, and in his life he exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the craft. He has also displayed many of the sterling traits of his Scottish ancestry, possessing the determination and persistency of purpose which have made the Scotch a thrifty and prosperous race. Although he has met some reverses and obstacles in his business career in Berrien county he has through his persistency of purpose and laudable ambition gained a place among the substantial horticulturists and respected citizens of the township. JAMES H. FLOOD, of Hagar township, was born on the farm where he now lives in March, I854. His father was William Flood, a pioneer of this township, who was born in County Cavan, Ireland, where he spent the days of his boyhood and youth. In I847 he came to America, resolved to test the truth of the reports which he heard concerning the business opportunities and advantages of the new world. He hoped that he might more readily acquire a competence than in his native country and crossed the Atlantic with the intention of coming to Wisconsin, but meeting an old countryman in St. Joseph he decided to remain in Berrien county. This was in the year I847. The traveler of today cannot realize the conditions which he faced at that time, for much of the land was still covered with its native growth of timber and there were few cultivated tracts. The streams, too, were unbridged and the work of reclaiming the district for the uses of the white race had scarcely been begun. Mr. Flood secured one hundred and sixty acres of land in Hagar township, which was covered with fine timber, much of it being cut for the best timbers used in building the harbor of St. Joseph. He sold considerable timber and ties and carried on the work of improving and cultivating his property until he had placed about one hundred acres under cultivation. As he prospered in his undertakings he bought several other tracts ~. C,,rL~A HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 46i which he gave to his children while he still lived. Soon after the war he erected the present residence which still stands upon the old homestead. He was married at the age of twenty-two years to Miss Rose Lynch, also a native of Ireland. In his political views he was a Democrat, giving his support to the party from the time that.he became a naturalized American citizen. His death occurred in August, I876. His widow afterward acted as administratrix of his estate. She survived her husband until January 8, I9oo, when she, too, was called to her final rest. She had continued to operate the farm for some years after his death, giving personal supervision to the property and its development. Their son Patrick was a farmer, who carried on agricultural pursuits in this district and died at the age of sixty years. John, another son of the family, was a sailor for thirtyfive years. James and Thomas remained upon the old homestead farm for some time and Thomas now lives in Chicago, but his business interests are still in Berrien county. James H. Flood, whose name introduces this record, has passed his entire life on the shore of Lake Michigan, was reared to farm labor, spending the days of his boyhood and youth under the parental roof. The public schools afforded him his educational privileges and after he had entered upon his business life he and his brother Thomas operated a sawmill at Riverside for a time. They also improved land in different localities and after about twenty years he pur-, chased his brother's interest and has since. carried on general farming. He now continues to live upon the old homestead. He has one of the best farms in the county, comprising one hundred and sixty acres, which is very valuable and a richly productive tract. Upon it are good buildings aundall modern equipments, and in fact none of the accessories of a model farm are here lacking. In his political views Mr. Flood is a Democrat of the old type, believing in sound principles and honest dealing in politics as well as in business life. He is a man firm in the honest convictions, true to the light as he sees it under all circumstances and is one of the substantial citizens, his fellowmen recognizing his many genuine and admirable qualities in giving him therefore their high respect. JOSEPH TENNANT, sheriff of Berrien county, has been connected with this office for a number of years through his incumbency in his present position or as deputy, and is an officer in whom his fellow townsmen repose trust and confidence, recognizing that he will defend to the best of his ability the rights and liberties of all. 'He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, September 22, 1846, and was but five years of age when brought to America by his parents, William and Rachel (McFaddyen) Tennant, both of who are now deceased. The father died when his son Joseph was but sixteen years of age. He had settled in this county in what is now the village of Eau Claire, in Berrien township, when it had but a small population and much of the land was at that time unclaimed and uncultivated. His labor proved an important factor in the development of that part of the, county, where he made his home up to the time of his death. In the family were eleven children, but only six of the number came to America, and three of these are still living, namely: W. James, a resident of Oceana county, Michigan; Mrs. Mary Evans, who is living in the same county; and Joseph, of this review. Upon his father's farm in Berrien township Joseph Tennant spent his childhood days and pursued his education in what was known as Farmer's Schoolhouse in Berrien township,, masteriiig the branches of learning usually'taught in such institutions. He worked upon the farm from the time of early spring planting until crops were harvested in the late autumn and throughout the reminainder of the year pursued his studies. He continued in farm labor until the establishment of the village of Eau Claire, when, in the new town, he began buying grain for the Niles Milling Company, which he represented for six years. He had charge of the grain elevator for that firm and also bought wheat there. In the meantime he was called to public service by his fellow townsmen, 462 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY who recognized his worth and ability and his devotion to the public good. He was justice of the peace in Berrien county for twenty-four years, and no higher testimonial of his capability could be given than the fact that he was so long retained in office, his decisions being strictly fair and impartial so that he "won golden opinions from all sorts of people." At the same time he was agent for agricultural implements and conducted business as a grain buyer. Once more he was called to public office however, when appointed deputy sheriff, serving first under James Clark and afterward under Sheriff B. R. Stearns for four years. He was likewise deputy under Sheriff E. H. Ferguson for four years and for a similar period under Fred B. Collins, and then in I904 was elected to the office of sheriff, which position he is now filling, so that his connection with the position will cover on the expiration of his present term about twenty years. He has discharged his duties fearlessly and his'nature awakens a feeling of safety among law-abiding citizens and is a menace to all who do not hold themselves amenable to law and order. He is prominent in politics and his personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him by his fellow citizens are indicated by the fact that he was elected on the Democratic ticket by seven hundred and fifty majority, while the normal majority of the county is about sixteen hundred Republican. Mr. Tennant was married to Miss Eleanor Miller, a daughter of Humphrey Miller, of Ohio, and they have three children, Mollie, Hale and Nettie. The elder daughter, now Mrs. Winter, has one child, Eleanor. The younger daughter, Mrs. Nettie Fryetag, is now liivng in Napoleon, Ohio, and has two children, Catherine and Louisa. The son Hale is a graduate of Benton Harbor College, also of the University of Michigan in I905, as B. S., and is now truant officer of Berrien county. Mr. Ternant belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is also an exemplary representative of the Masonic fraternity, the Maccabees tent and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is much esteemed throughout the county as a man of good principles and exemplifies in his life the strong and sterling characteristics of' his Scottish ancestry, representing a race of people long noted for their integrity, fidelity to duty and their tenacity in pursuing a course which they believe to be right. THOMAS P. FLOOD, living in Hagar township, owns valuable property interests and has a beautiful summer home here, while his winter residence is at No. 173 North Paulina street, Chicago. He was born on the old farm homestead near Riverside, Berrien county, on the 26th of August, I858, and was connected with his brother James and his mother in the ownership and the conduct of valuable farming interests until about three years ago. He is a son of William Flood, who is mentioned on another page of this work in connection with the history of James H. Flood. No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for him in his boyhood and youth. He attended the public schools and aided in the conduct and management of the property left by the father. On the 29th of October, I903, he was married in Chicago, to Miss Margaret E. Weldon, of that city, who was born in New Jersey, but was reared and educated in Chicago. In her girlhood she pursued a business course in Bryant & Stratton's Business College of that city. By her marriage she has become the mother of two children, Rosemarv and Ellen. During the past three years Mr. Flood has made his home in Chicago in the winter months, while in the summer seasons he comes to Berrien county and spends the hot period of the year at a beautiful summer home on the lake shore. This is situated in Hagar township, where he owns fifteen acres, constituting one of the delightful summer homes of this part of the state. He owns three farms in Hagar township, together with residence property in Benton Harbor and his invested interests here return him an excellent income. In his political views he is a Democrat, advocating principles expounded by Grover Cleveland. He repre HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 463 sents one of the old and prominent families of the county and is widely known here, having an extensive circle of warm friends. CHRISTIAN MILLER. Among the worthy residents of Berrien county of foreign birth is numbered Christian Miller, a native of the province of Saxony, Germany, born September 12, 1836. Reared and educated in his native country he was married in I857, to Miss Anna Sophia Weber, who was likewise a native of Saxony, born February 9, 1839. It was in war times-in the year I86I-that Christopher Miller became a resident of Chicago. He had been a coal miner in Germany, and afterward worked for three months on a farm. Subsequently he learned the cooper's trade, which he followed in Chicago for three years during the period of the Civil war. He had been in this country for a year when he was joined by his wife. In I866 they removed to Michigan, and Mr. Miller purchased twenty acres of land in the midst of the forest. So dense was the timber that he had to cut a road to his new possession. He built a house of rough boards and it was necessary to clear a space on which to erect a little structure. For forty years Mr. Miller has remained upon his place, carrying forward the work of cultivation and improvement as the years have gone by and as he cleared away the timber and prepared the land for the plow he determined to give part of his attention to horticultural pursuits and planted peach orchards. For his first twenty acres of land he paid five hundred and twenty-five dollars, which he had saved from his earnings as a cooper in Chicago. He worked by the piece there and earned good wages. After coming to Michigan in I866 he returned to Chicago on one or two occasions in order to make money at his trade that he might thereby be enabled to continue his farm work. He cleared his first five acres in four weeks and paid for the plowing with a double barrelled gun. After returning from Chicago he cleared six acres of land for a home, taking out the grubs, his wife assisting him in this work. He paid one hundred dollars for a wagon and twenty-nine dollars interest thereon. Times were hard and money scarce in early days but he persevered in his undertakings and in the course of years his labors were crowned with success. In early days he raised very fine peaches, which brought a high price on the market. As his financial resources permitted he bought more land from time to time until he became the owner of eighty acres, which he still retains. He has cleared it all and has about forty acres planted to fruit, peaches being his principal crop although he has made considerable money from pears. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Miller have been born six children: Augusta A., the wife of William Dunn, a merchant at Derby, M/ichigan; Eba, the wife of Rev. Frederick Ewald, a minister of the Evangelical church, at Elkhart, Indiana; Minnie, the wife of Fred Schroeder, of Royalton; Martha, the wife of Charles Johnson, of Stevensville; Anna, the wife of William Schneider, a section boss at New Buffalo on the Michigan Central Railroad; and Frank, who is assisting in the operation of the home farm. Mr. MIiller is a Mason, belonging to the lodge and chapter and is also connected with the Grange. He and his wife hold membership in the Evangelical Association and are most prominent and worthy people of Lincoln township. A self-made man Mr. Miller owes his success entirely to his own efforts and the assistance of his estimable wife, who has indeed been a helpmate to him. She aided him in his cooper work, in the arduous task of clearing a farm and hauled ties to St. Joseph, Michigan, where they were sold. In former years theirs was a strenuous existence but now they have a good farm property which has been brought under a high state of cultivation and which yields to them a good financial return because of the well kept orchards and the fine variety of fruit raised. They have never had occasion to regret their determination to seek a home in America, for in this country where effort is unhampered by caste or class they have made steady advancement to a place among the substantial residents of Berrien county. FRED G. BRIGGS, living on section I9, Wesaw township, where he is devoting his time and energies to general agricultural 464 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY pursuits, is numbered among the worthy citizens that Ohio has furnished to Berrien county, his birth having occurred in York township, Medina county, January 5, I865. His father, Giles Briggs, was born in Schenectady county, New York, on the s5th of December, 1824, and was a son of Giles and Katharine (Putnam) Briggs, the former a native of New York and the latter of Pennsylvania. In their family were twelve children, including Giles Briggs, Jr., who when a small boy of about twelve years accompanied his parents on their removal from the Empire state to Ohio. He was a resident of Medina county for a long period and in the spring of 1865 came to Michigan, where he resided continuously until his death, which occurred on the I9th of December, I885. He prospered in his business undertakings and left a farm of seventy acres. His political allegiance was given to the Democracy and his religious faith was that of the Methodist church, in which he held membership. He wedded Miss Mary Louisa Broadbeck, who was born in Cleveland, Ohio, April 19, 1835, a'daughter of Frederick and Christina Magdalena (Annamas) Broadbeck, who were natives of Wurtemberg, Germany, and whose family numbered twelve children. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Giles Briggs were born four children: Orra Deen, the wife of Albert Hinchman, a resident farmer of Wesaw township; Mary Christina, who died at the age of twelve years; Fred G., of this review; and William Benjamin, who is also living in Wesaw township. Fred G. Briggs was only about three months old when brought by his parents to Michigan, the family homestead being establish in Wesaw township near the farm upon which the subject of this review now resides. Throughout his entire life he has been connected with general agricultural pursuits, having been reared to the occupation of farming, for in his youth he assisted in the labors of the fields when not occupied with the duties of the schoolroom. He is today the owner of one hundred and eighty acres of rich land in section I9, Wesaw township, where he has made his home for twelve years. He has erected all of the buildings upon the place and has a well improved property, which returns to him good harvests because of the care and labor he bestows upon the fields. Everything is done in a practical and progressive manner and the work is followed by excellent financial results. On the 2nd of December, I89I, Mr. Briggs was united in marriage to Miss Orpha Carpenter, who was born in Buchanan township, July 9, I865, a daughter of Marcus and Martha A. (Lape) Carpenter, natives of Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Briggs have become the parents of six children: Terry Arthur, Glenn A., Ruth Mary, Raymond C., Marie and Lee Kenneth. In his political affiliation Mr. Briggs is a Democrat but without aspiration for office. He holds membership in the Christian church at Three Oaks and is well known in the community where he resides as a man of genuine personal worth, while in his business career he has displayed those traits which are worthy of emulation, his industry and enterprise being the salient features of his prosperity. W. A. D. ROSE, living in Benton township, was born in Rosshire in the highlands of Scotland, August 14, 1843, and was reared in his native village to the age of nineteen years. In early boyhood he attended school and when about twelve and a half years of age he went into a lawyer's office, where he acted as clerk for about seven years. Two years more were devoted to the study of law and with another two years' study he would have been admitted to the bar in Edinburgh. Crossing the Atlantic to the new world in I862, he made his way to Oxford county, Ontario, Canada, where he spent five years. On the expiration of that period he went to California, where he remained for five years, mainly devoting his attention to the dairy business in that state. He then returned to Canada, and for two years was engaged in selling goods at Seaforth. Mr. Rose came to Michigan to engage in the lumber trade at Big Rapids and spent two years in the manufacture of shingles. He was then superintendent of a lumber business at Hungerford for twelve years and HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 465 for seven years at Deer Lake, having also charge of the lumber woods. He became thoroughly acquainted with the lumber trade in all of its departments and he had a contract for staking the mill, having from seventy-five to one hundred men in his employ with from two hundred and fifty to three hundred men over whom he had supervision. In this business he continued for seven years until the logging was completed, when he came to Benton Harbor to establish a lumber trade as a wholesale dealer. He began business on the site now occupied by the present Peters Lumber Company, and he was thus engaged until the financial panic of 1893 which swept over the country, when his business became involved, as did that of thousands of others. He then purchased his present farm of forty-eight acres on the lake shore road two and a half miles north of Benton H-arbor. This is an old landmark, being the Parmelee farm. The present house was lighted up for the first time on the iio-hlt after General Lee's surrender in April, 1865. It is one of the old fruit farms of the county, the entire place being devoted to fruit, includingll peaches pears and apples. He lias sold fruit to the value of four thousand dollars in one season and is a commercial grower. The business is proving very satisfactory and he annually harvests good crops from his orchards. His residence stands in plain view of Lake Michigan, less than a quarter of a mile from the shore upon a natural building site and thus commanding a broad outlook over the water and the surrounding country. Mr. Rose was married to Miss Isabella Monroe, who was born of Scotch parentage in Canada. They now have a family of two sons and( a dlaughter: James M., who is assistant caslhier in the Merchant's Bank of Benton Harbor; George W., a mechanical. mining and electrical engineer, who pursued a course in the Agricultural College at Lansing; and Daisy Gordon, at home. Mr. Rose is a Republican, stanch in his advocacy of the party, which he has supported since he became a naturalized American citizen. He has served as supervisor and has always been an advocate of good roads and has done much to improve the pub30 lic highways. He was reared in the faith" of the Presbyterian church but is not identified with any denomination. Fraternally,. however, he is a Mason and has attained the Knight Templar degree. He is now the owner of a good farm which is proving valuable owing to the care and labor which he bestows upon it, his horticultural pursuits. bringing to him a gratifying income. WILBUR FISK BEHEL is now occupying a beautiful home, "LaVinia Lodge' at Fair Plain, Berrien county, but for many years has been a well known contractor and builder, his business being largely in Chicago and other leading cities of the country. His operations have been extensive and moreover he has become widely known and gained the approval of many through his strong and stalwart opposition to the domination of the trades unions, believing that the American citizen has the right to employ the men whom lie desires and not be dictated to by those wlho are in his service. Mr. Behel was born in Mifflin, Penlsylvania, June I, 1842, and in 1857, when a youth of fifteen years, removed to Earlville, Illinois, in company with his father, Jacob Behel, vwho was a mechanic and was also well known as an inventor of agricultural implements. His knotter was placed in use by Manna and adopted by McCormick and other companies engaged in the manufacture of reapers and farm implements. This devise is still in use today. As early as I846 he invented a patent windmill which he sold through Ohio, Pennsylvania and as far west as St. Joseph, Missouri. tHe kept an account of his travels, the little volume being still in possession of his son, Wilbur F-. Belhel of this review Although the trip did not prove a financial success Mr. Behel continually visited church services and prayer meetings and thus gave his support to the moral progress of the communnities in which he tarried. As early as I86o he worked out a machine whereby electricity was used for power. Many of his inventions contain splendid ideas, some of which have been used in later years, but he did not make a fortune out of his inventions. In Illinois he became a contractor 466 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY and architect. At an early day he built bridges and later gave his attention to the work of a patent solicitor, devoting the last fifteen years of his life to such work and being recognized in Washington as an expert in this line. He died at the age of seventy-two years. Wilbur Fisk Behel pursued his education in the common schools and on the IIth of June, I86I, the nineteenth anniversary of his birth, he enlisted for service as a member of Company D, Twenty-third Illinois Infantry. This company was formed at Earlville and formed a part Colonel Mulligan's Irish brigade, the entire regiment being Irish with the exception of Company D. Mr. Behel enlisted without his parents' consent and with his command went to Jefferson City, Missouri, whence he started on the march across the country to Lexington. There the regiment was captured after a nine days' siege by General Price. This was one of the memorable sieges of the war and with the exception of the engagement at Wilson's Creek was the fiercest battle of the war up to that time. The Union troops were paroled the next morning, whence they marched on foot to Hannibal, Missouri, and were thence sent to Chicago, where they were exchanged. After a month spent in the latter city Mr. Behel reenlisted in the same regiment and was sent to Wheeling, West Virginia. He took part in the West Virginian campaign and remained in that state during much of the period of the war. He received promotion, becoming first sergeant major. On the expiration of his second term of enlistment he was mustered out and returned to Chicago, where he assisted in raising a regiment to aid Canada, but the purpose was abandoned and Mr. Behel turned his attention to carpentering. In 1865 he was connected with the sash, door and blind manufactory on the west side as superintendent and remained with that company and its successor, the Goss & Phillips Manufacturing Company, for sixteen years, being manager for the latter until I886, when he purchased the business. He continued thus a factor in productive industries of Chicago for ten years, or until I896, employing one hundred and fifty men and doing a business of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars per year. They made a specialty of interior finishing work and took contracts for interior finishings in many homes, including some of the palatial residences of Chicago, among the number being that of Potter Palmer. In 1896 Mr. Behel closed out the factory but continued as a contractor and builder and as a general builder and still represents this line of business activity. For thirty years he has been interested in the great questions concerning the unions and trade relations and has been actively concerned in various strikes that have been inaugurated by the carpenters. In the great building strike of 19oo he was chairman of the executive committee and vice president of the building contractors' council, which was organized to oppose the attempted domination of the building trades council. When the Grand Army Encampment was held in Chicago in Igoo he was the lowest bidder on a certain piece of work for the erection of seats from which to view the parade. The contract was awarded to him, but the managers of the encampment refused to sign the contract as he refused to agree to use only union labor. The city council set aside ten thousand dollars to build seats for the spectators. When he refused to employ only union labor other parties refused to sign the contract, whereon he demanded that the contract be signed by twelve o'clock, else he would secure an injunction restraining them from using the money. This brought them to terms and the contracts were signed by five o'clock. Mr. Behel had five days to build seats on Michigan avenue for twenty thousand people. He built these in four days with nonunion workmen, using twenty-five car loads of lumber or two hundred and fifty thousand feet. Even then the labor was hampered by union crowds, who did everything possible to impede the progress of the work. After the Encampment he secured the contract for the wreckage of seats which stood in the street and hindered the parade of the labor unions. They offered inducements, even to removing the seats without cost if he would allow the removal in time for the parade, i j iI i I ~(U/C"3c( %, I,4 i i I i E, I 9 a HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 645 of Harvard University. His son, John Rogers II, also engaged in preaching the gospel at Ipswich, Massachusetts, and was the father of Samuel Rogers, who was likewise a public officer and a man of affairs. It was his daughter Mary who became the wife of Rev. Abiel Foster, mentioned above. 'Thomas Dudley, another ancestor, was either governor or deputy governor of the colony of Massachusetts Bay from I630 until I65I. He was connected with Revolutionary fame. The marriage of Moses Chamberlain and Rebecca Abbot was celebrated June I8, 1817, at which time Mr. Chamberlain was a "trader" at Pembroke, New Hampshire, where he had lived for a year or more. The old family residence there which was built by the father in I820 is still standing in an excellent state of preservation. The children born unto Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlain were: Mary Foster, born November 3, I8I8, married Hale E. Crosby at Concord, New Hampshire, November I, I838. Mellen was born June 4, 1821. He was a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard, Law School; commenced the practice of law in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1848; was chief justice of the municipal court of that city for some years; was librarian of the Boston city library from I876 to 1890, when 'he resigned; member of the Massachusetts house and senate; gave to the Boston city library a large and valuable collection of autographs and manuscripts; wrote many valuable historical works. Henry was born March 17, 1824. Elizabeth, born October i8, 1826, was married October I8, I849. William of this review was the next member of the family. Extended mention of his brother, Henry Chamberlain, the founder of Three Oaks, is made on another page of this work. William Chamberlain was only about nine years of age when he accompanied his parents on their removal from New England to New Buffalo, Michigan. He acquired a common-school education, spending about three months each year in the mastery of the common branches of English learning until seventeen years of age. He afterward worked upon the home farm until twenty seven years of age, but in the meantime engaged to some extent in buying and selling stock. In I864 he removed to Three Oaks and became a factor in its mercantile life as a dealer in hardware and general merchandise. He also handled wool, grain and produce. The business was conducted successively by the firms of Chamberlain, McKie & Company, Chamberlain & Company, Chamberlain & Churchill, Chamberlain & Hatfield, Chamberlain, Warren & Hatfield, and from I864 until I890 Mr. Chamberlain thus continued active in business. He also made banking a feature of his enterprise and was president of the bank. Moreover he promoted various other business interests which have had direct and important bearing upon the development and substantial progress of Three Oaks. He was connected with the Warren Featherbone Whip Company and the Warren Featherbone Corset Company. He was the first to buy and ship cattle and hogs from this place. Mr. Chamberlain was married in March, I857, in Canterbury, New Hampshire, to Miss Caroline S. Chamberlain, a cousin. She was born in Canterbury, October 29, I834, her parents being John and Mary (Clough) Chamberlain, natives of the old Granite State, in which they spent their entire lives. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlain of this review were born three sons and four daughters: Alice, the wife of James H. Hatfield, president of the Kalamazoo Corset Company; Grace A., the wife of Daniel Tellier, a mechanic of Kalamazoo, Michigan; Moses Abbott, who at the age of thirteen years was a page in the Michigan senate and died at the age of fifteen years; Lucy Florence, the wife of Fred Parsons, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he is engaged in real estate and other business operations; Carrie E., the wife of Dr. E. L. McCann, a practicing physician of Chicago; William Oliver, a traveling salesman; and Benjamin, at home. Mr. Chamberlain was regarded for many years as one of the most prominent and influential residents of the county. He held all of the township offices save that of justice of the peace and treasurer. He was county superintendent of the poor from 1861 - 1. I- I I 646 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY until I88o and postmaster of Three Oaks from 1870 until 1872. In the latter year he was elected to represent his district in the lower house of the state legislature and by re-election held the office for three successive terms and upon his retirment from that position was elected in 1878 to the state senate, serving as president pro ten in I879. In I88I he was appointed a member of the committee to prepare a revision of the tax laws and was a member of the board of control of the state prison from 1885 until 1891. On the 6th of April, 1893, he was appointed warden of the prison and was known throughout the United States as a model officer of a penal institution. He became a member of the national prison congress and the national congress of correction and charities and was also a member and president of the state association of superintendents of the poor. For twelve years he was a member of the executive committee of the State Agricultural Society and for two years acted as its president. His public service was most commendable, characterized by an unfaltering devotion to duty and close study of the methods that would best promote the work entrusted to him. He cast his first vote for Governor Brigham in I854 and from that time forward was a stanch advocate of the Republican party and a member of the Michigan Club. When only nine years of age he carried the mail on horseback from New Buffalo to Michigan City, riding along the beach, as there was no road. He was a great reader, keeping abreast with the signs of the times and with the progress of modern thought, and for some time he kept the township library in his home. He did everything in his power to advance the intellectual progress of the community and also stood for moral development and upbuilding. He helped organize the Congregational Church at Three Oaks, worked untiringly for its development and upbuilding and was superintendent of the Sundayschool in the village. In fact he founded the first Sunday-school and was the first deacon of the Congregational Church. He led a life of great activity and he was the second layman that was ever made a mod erator of the state association of his church. He owned the original farm of three hundred and twenty acres which had formerly belonged to his father and retained it in his possession up to the time of his death. His life was honorable, his actions manly and sincere. He was fearless in conduct, stainless in reputation and his political service and his business career were alike creditable, honorable and beneficial to Berrien county. Mrs. Chamberlain was called upon to mourn the loss of her husband on the 7th of November, I9oI, and the feeling of regret was uniform throughout the entire community, for his life had been one of such worth as to render him a citizen whose usefulness was universally acknowledged. Mrs. Chamberlain shared with him in all of his church work and was the president of the first missionary society in Three Oaks. She, too, was deeply interested in political questions and her influence was undoubtedly a factor in her husband's successes. She is an exceptionally bright and entertaining woman, keeping in touch with the trend of modern thought and her influence has been most effective and far reaching in promoting the intellectual and moral progress of this portion of the state. She occupies a fine home on South Main street and is esteemed by all who know her. LESTER G. AND LESLIE W. PLATT constitute the firm of Drs. L. G. and L. W. Platt, dental practitioners of Niles. They are native sons of this city born in I877. As twins they were closely associated in all of their pleasures and interests in boyhood in their school life and during the greater part of the time in their professional career. Their father, William E. Platt, was born in Niles, Michigan, in 1843, a fact which indicates that the family was established in this city in pioneer days. The paternal grandfather, George W. Platt, was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and removed from New England to Michigan at an early period in the settlement of this part of the state. He was a tinsmith by trade and on coming to Niles established a hardware business, which he conducted very successfully until a short time prior to his death, when HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 647 he turned the business over to his three sons. Henry C., William E. and Alonzo W. Platt. They continued in the conduct of the enterprise under the firm style of Platt Brothers until the death of Henry C. Platt in I892, when William E. Platt became sole proprietor and has since managed the store successfully, his labors resulting in the acquirement of a handsome competence. William E. Platt was educated in the schools of this city and received his business training under his father's direction, early entering the store, with which he has since been continuously connected. The name of Platt is therefore an old and honored one in trade circles in Niles. William E. Platt was married to E. J. Deniston, who was also born in this city and was a daughter of Alfred Deniston, a native of Niles, whose parents came to Berrien county in I830 and took up their abode in this place. Unto Mr. and Mrs. William E. Platt have been born four children, of wlhom three are yet living. The eldest, Ralph D., was born in Niles in I870, is a commercial traveler, now making his home in Pueblo, Colorado. He married Anna C. Henkle, of Goshen, Indiana, and has three sons, Raymond, Charles and William. Platt. At the usual age Leslie W. and Lester G. Platt became students in the public schools of Niles, wherein they continued their studies through successive grades until they were graduated from the Niles high school in the class of I895. They became students in the University of Ann Arbor, matriculating in the dental department, from which they were graduated with the class of I898. Thus qualified for their chosen profession Leslie W. Platt went to Marion, Indiana, where he practiced until I905, when he came to Niles and formed a partnership with his brother Lester G. The latter also practiced in Marion and Sunmmitville, Indiana, but returned to his native city in. 1902 and practiced alone until his brother joined him in I905. They have since built up a very extensive business. Both young men are progressive and thoroughly understand their profession. They are thoroughly familiar with modern meth ods and keep in touch with the advance of the profession. Lester G. Platt now makes a specialty of operative dentistry, while Leslie W. Platt makes a specialty of crown, bridge and plate work, and thus the labors of one ably supplement the labors of the other. Dr. L. G. Platt was married December 27, I905, in Niles to Miss Gayl King, a native of Chicago. Dr. L. W. Platt was married November 30, I905, at Piqua, Ohio, to Miss Edith Gould, a native of St. Louis, Missouri. They are both members of the Knights of Pythias fraternity and Lester G. Platt also belongs to the Masonic fraternity. In the city of their birth they are popular both socially and professionally and have a very extensive circle of warm' friends. THEODORE GILBERT BEAVER,. who as a lawyer and leader in Democratic circles has enjoyed more than local reputation, is now practically living retired in Niles, although filling the office of justice of the peace. In years gone by he was connected with much important litigation in the middle west and gained a position of distinctive preferment at the bar. A native of Pennsylvania, Mr. Beaver was born in Union county, in I834, a son of Jesse and Mary Ann (Swartz) Beaver. The father, who was born in Pennsylvania, March 8, 18II, was a merchant and shipper on the bays and canals, having boats on both in the days when the greater part of the transportation was made over the waterways of the country. Later he became connected with the iron and coal industry in Danville, Pennsylvania, thus aiding in the development of the natural resources of the state, and some years prior to his death he retired from active business cares and spent his remaining days in the enjoyment of a rest which was truly earned and richly deserved, continuing to live in Danville until called to, his final rest. He wedded Mary Ann Swartz, who was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, July 2, 1813, and was a daughter of Dr. Andrew Swartz, who was a prominent physician of Mifflin county, e648 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY lPennsylvania, and died there in I847. The,death of Jesse Beaver occurred in Danville, Pennsylvania, December 2, I892, when he he was eighty-one years of age, and his wife passed away January I, I903, at Danville, when in her eightieth year. Mr. and Mrs. Beaver were the parents of ten children, five sons and five daughters, all of whom are living at this writing in I906, namely: Theodore G., of this review; Margaret E., the wife of John K. Kramer, of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania; Thomas W.; Jane WV., the widow of Wilson Gerhardt, of Pennsylvania; Charles; Marion, the widow of John Gaskin, of Danville, Pennsylvania; Jesse; Clara; Emma, the wife of John R. Rote, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and J. Andrew. Theodore G. Beaver was educated in Pennsylvania under private tutors and in private schools and academies. He was always an earnest student and his scholarly tastes and habits have characterized his entire life. His literary education completed, he went to Chicago and while looking around in order to secure a good place to study law in a lawyer's office, he came to Niles on a visit and here met the late Franklin Muzzy, who at that time was one of the prominent lawyers practicing at the bar of southern Michigan. On the Ist of January, I859, he entered Mr. Muzzy's office as a student and under his direction read law until I862, when he was admitted to the bar of Berrien county. He practiced in Niles until the Ist of January, I869, when he removed to Chicago, where he gained a large and distinctively representative clientage. He was often in different federal courts of the United States in all parts of' the middle west, acting as advocate for the defense or prosecution in many important criminal suits and also in many large bankrupt cases, etc. He won a wide reputation for skill and ability in the presentation of his cause, and his strong argument and logical deductions indicated thorough preparation and familiarity with the principles of the law. He remained in Chicago for about three years or until after the great fire of October 9, I87I, when his office and prop erty were destroyed by fire. Because of this loss and also by reason of his wife's ill health, he returned to Niles, where he resumed the practice of law, in which he continued actively until I898, having a large clientage that connected him with the most important litigation tried in the courts of his district. In I899 he was elected justice of the peace, which position he is now filling, and his comprehensive knowledge of the law makes him an able judge of this court. This is not the only office that Mr. Beaver has filled, for he has twice been mayor of Niles, elected first in I884 and again in I889, his administrations being characterized by all that marks the faithful official who regards a public office as a public trust and places the general good before the aggrandizement of self. He was also recorder of the city in I863. He is a stanch Democrat, active in support of the principles of the party. In the last election he made the race for congress as the Democratic candicate, and polled a large vote but could not overcome the normal Republican majority. Judge Beaver was married in Niles, in I863, to Miss Frances Mary Twombly, who was born in 1843, and is a daughter of the Hon. Royal T. Twombly, of Maine. Mrs. Beaver died in Niles in I876, at the age of thirty-three years. Two children were born of this union: Theodora B., who was born in Chicago and is the wife of William E. Vanderlyn, of Wisconsin, by whom she has one son, Charles Theodore; and Frank Twombly, who was born in Chicago, Illinois, and is editor of a newspaper at Joliet, Illinois. He married Maud Schultz in Chicago. Mr. Beaver is a prominent Mason, having attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He is also a member of the Royal Arcanum and has taken a very prominent part in the work of the Maccabees order, being now a past grand commander. He has also held various offices in Masonry. Mr. Beaver is an orator of more than usual power and ability, and this gift was one of the elements of his success as a trial HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 049 lawyer. It has also made him a popular campaign speaker and he took the stump when Thomas A. Hendricks was candidate for governor of Indiana. He also has addressed many other public meetings, especially in the order of Maccabees, and is an earnest, fluent speaker, his public utterances showing'a readiness of thought and mastery of the subject under discussion. ADEN M. EMERSON, city treasurer of St. Joseph, is one of the representative young men of Berrien county and has for several years past been. an active worker and leader in local political circles. He was born in Coloma, in Watervliet township, Berrien county, on the 25th of August, I878 and is the elder of the two sons born unto Clark and Margaret (McCray) Emerson, who are yet residents of Coloma. The younger son is Ralph W. Emerson. Aden M. Emerson was reared in Minnesota to the age of twenty-one years and also acquired much of his education there, but later attended the Benton Harbor College, where he pursued a commercial course and was thus fitted for the arduous duties of business life. He was graduated in the class of I900 and immediately afterward became a factor in business circles, entering the employ of the Truscott Manufacturing Company of St. Joseph. In I9oI he became bookkeeper for the Union Ice & Coal Company, of which Brown Brothers are proprietors, and has remained with them to the present time. In I905 he was elected city treasurer of St. Joseph, which office he is now filling in connection with the duties of his business position. He is a progressive young man, of positive character, indomitable energy and strong in his views. Mr. Emerson votes with the Democratic party, and upon that ticket was chosen to his present position. He belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is vicegrand in the latter organization at the present time. He was happily married in I904 in St. Joseph to Miss Nora Matz, who was born in this city and they now have one child, Edwin Matz, whose birth occurred here in I905. They attend the Evangelical church and are well known in this city. EDWIN IRVIN BACKUS, D. D. S., successfully engaged in the practice of dental surgery in St. Joseph, is a native son of Michigan, his birth having occurred in Milton township, Cass county, in I870. He is a representative of one of the pioneer families of this state. His paternal grandfather, Abijah P. Backus, was born in the state of New York, whence he emigrated westward, taking up his abode in Cass county at an early period in the development of the latter district. He found a forest region, in the midst of which he cleared and improved a farm, and the development of his success of such is indicated by the fact that the town hall of Milton is now located on part of the land which he cleared and cultivated. Upon the old family homestead there his son, Dr. Harvey R. Backus, was born and reared, spending his boyhood days amid pioneer surroundings and watching with interest the county as it emerged from frontier conditions and took on all of the advantages and evidences known to eastern civilization. In his youth he assisted in the farm labor, but thinking to find other pursuits more congenial he studied, medicine when a young man and for a time engaged in the practice of his profession. He watched with interest the progress of events preceding the inauguration of the Civil war and his patriotic spirit being aroused he offered his professional aid to his country and became hospital steward, being attached to the Twelfth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, which was organized at Niles. He continued at the front through the period of hostilities and afterward followed farming, being a factor in the agricultural development of his native county for a long period. He died on the 29th of August, I904, at the age of sixty-five years, leaving his family an honored name. His widow, who in her maidenhood was Miss Mollie Brown, is still living. Dr. Edwin Irvin Backus was reared upon the old homestead farm, which had been cleared by his grandfather, to the age I r. — 911- ---. I I 650 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY of twelve years and then went to Iowa, where he worked on a farm owned by an uncle, his father's brother. He was thus employed for seven years, when, prompted by the call of the west to young men of enterprise and ambition, he went to Oregon, where for a short time he was employed as a clerk in a hotel. However, feeling better pleased with the advantages and business conditions of the middle section of our country he returned to the Mississippi valley and made his way to South Bend, Indiana, where he entered upon the study of dentistry. After preliminary work in that direction he attended the Ann Arbor Dental College in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and was graduated with the class of I894. He then located for practice in St. Joseph, where he has since remained and his success is well known to his fellow townsmen, who accord him position of prominence in the ranks of the dental fraternity in Berrien county. In I893, in South Bend, Indiana, Dr. Backus was married to Miss Nellie F. Morgan, who was born in South Bend and they now have one child, Edna Mae, whose birth occurred in St. Joseph. The doctor and his family attend the Methodist church and he is interested in whatever is calculated to promote the moral, intellectual and social as well as material progress of his community. His political views are given to the Republican party, and he is a member of the Masonic lodge, the Maccabees tent and the Elks lodge. He has added to his natural ability for his profession a sincere love of his work without which the greatest success cannot be achieved. He is also well poised, is a man of keen discrimination, prompt in action and his excellent preparation makes him thoroughly reliable in all professional work. EBEN D. COLLINS, who is engaged in business as a shoe merchant in St. Joseph, was born in Niles, Michigan, in 1852, and is descended from one of the old families of Delaware. His paternal grandfather, Thomas Collins, was born in Milford, Kent county, Delaware, about I785, passing away in I824 when only thirty-nine years of age, and was a brick mason and plasturer by trade. He married Miss Sophia Kennedy, whose birth occurred near Dover, Delaware. His widow long survived him, dying in Niles, Michigan, in 1852, aged seventy-two years. Their son, James Alexander Collins, father of our subject, was born in Milford, Delaware, on the Ioth of January, 1820, and is now living in St. Joseph, Michigan, having passed the eighty-sixth milestone on life's journey. He was reared in the place of his nativity until twelve years of age and then came with his mother to Michigan, his father having died when the son was a little lad of four years. He attended school in Niles and afterward learned the trade of shoemaking from his brother, who was a practical shoemaker. He later worked at the bench for several years and in 1840 went to Massachusetts with a view of learning the business of manufacturing fine shoes. He remained for a year and a half in New England and then returned to Niles, Michigan, in the fall of 1842. In the spring of the following year he came to St. Joseph and entered business life in this place as a shoemaker, being the first really expert shoemaker of the city. He located on water street below the bluff and conducted his shop there until the spring of I848, when ill health forced him to retire from the business of shoemaking. He afterward engaged in general trade on the same street which was then the principal business thoroughfare of St. Joseph. He handled dry goods and other commodities on the present site of the St. Joseph Iron Works, where he continued until I849, when, attracted by the discovery of gold in California, he joined a party en route for the Pacific coast, making the overland trip,. which a long and tedious one, the party traveling slowly over the long stretches of hot sand and through the mountain passes. Eventually, however, their eyes were gladdened by the sight of the green valleys of California and Mr. Collins made his way to the mining regions, where he spent two years in search of the precious metal or in following other business pursuits. On the expiration of that period he returned to, Michigan and again settled in Niles. In 1852 he purchased a farm about three miles northeast of that place, known as the --- -— ~ ---- --- - -- - - ------- HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Kirk farm, comprising one hundred and twenty acres, a portion of which had been cleared. It was one of the first farms that was settled in the neighborhood and he remained there for two years, after which he returned to Niles and resumed work at the shoemaker's trade, which he followed until I857. In the great financial panic which swept over the country in that year, he like many thousands of others was forced to suspend business. In I859 he removed to a farm at the northeast corner of Berrien Lake in Howard township, Cass county, Michigan, about four miles from Niles, a place which is now quite famous as a summer resort. There he remained until I866, when he came to St. Joseph and engaged in the manufacture of brick, his yard being located about two miles south of the city, There he continued in business for three years, after which he removed to a fruit farm about five miles south of St. Joseph and for twenty-five years he was a resident of that neighborhood. He had a fruit orchard of fifty acres, raising and shipping all kinds of fruit and the assiduous care and attention which he gave to the business enabled him to raise fruit of fine size and quality and secure for it a ready sale on the market. His life has been one of earnest and unremitting industry until within recent years. In I890 he took up his abode in St. Joseph and in I89I his wife died at the age of sixty-seven years, since which time he has lived retired. His early political allegiance was given to the Democracy but he afterward joined the ranks of the Republican party and is now one of its stanch advocates. In early manhood James A. Collins was married to Miss Susan Greenleaf, a native of St. Joseph, Michigan, and a daughter of John G. and Sarah (Tillotson) Greenleaf, the former born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and the latter in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Collins were married in 1843 and they became the parents of three children, of whom two sons are now living, the elder being James G., who was born in St. Joseph in 1844 and has been three times married, his present wife having borne the maiden name of Anna McManus. Eben D. Collins acquired his education in the schools of Niles, Michigan, and in early manhood went upon the road as traveling salesman, representing the house of J. H. Lee & Company of Boston, Massachusetts. He was at that time nineteen years of age and he continued to travel for the firm for about twenty years or until I90I. He was one of the most trusted representatives of the house, building up a large! trade for the firm which he represented and winning many friends for himself among his patrons by reason of his genial disposition, his unfailing courtesy and his straightforward business methods. While still upon the road he established in I89I a shoe store in St. Joseph, Michigan, and in I901 he retired altogether from the road and has since given his undivided attention to the control of his store in this city. He has been very successful and enjoys a large patronage, so that his annual sales have reached a gratifying figure. The business is conducted under the firm name of E. D. Collins & Company but the subject of this review is the sole proprietor. Mr. Collins was married in I885 to Miss Ida E. Fitzsimmons, of Coloma, Berrien county, and they now have one son, Andrew D. Collins, who was born in Lincoln township, this county, and is now a student in Oberlin College at Oberlin, Ohio. Mr. Collins is a valued representative of the Masonic, Woodmen and the Knights of Pythias fraternities. In politics he is independent but is never remiss in the cuties of citizenship and his aid and cooperation can be counted upon to further any measure for the general good. He is public-spirited in an eminent degree and interested in the growth and progress of his city and yet is broad minded enough to recognize and appreciate what is being accomplished in other sections of the country. Through travel he has gained broad culure and experience and wide general information and he is justly classed with the prominent and popular residents of St. Joseph. 652 U52 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY REUBEN D. PARKER, M. D., deceased, who through many years of an active professional career was engaged in the practice of medicine, but in I88o retired from that calling, his supervision being thereafter given to his invested interests, maintained his residence in St. Joseph from an early day. He passed the seventy-eighth milestone on life's journey, having been born in Lima township, Livingston county, New York, on the 3Ist of August, I821, and was descended from English ancestry, his paternal grandfather being Joseph Parker. He served as a soldier of the Revolutionary war, as did the maternal grandfather of Dr. Parker. His parents were Elisha B. and Alice (Davis) Parker, the former a native of Vermont, and the latter of New York. In his youth the father learned the trade of a carpenter and joiner and for some years was identified with building operations. In 1829 he came with his wife and family to Michigan, settling in Washtenaw county, about twelve miles from Ann Arbor, where as a pioneer he aided in the early development and improvement of that portion of the state. He was widely recognized as an influential citizen there and one whose labors proved a factor in shaping the history of the county during its formative period. His death occurred in I839, after which his widow removed to Niles. In a family of five children, three sons and two daughters, Dr. Parker was the second in order of birth. He was reared to farm life and attended a district and afterward a select school. His literary course completed he took up the study of medicine under the direction of Dr. Markham, and subsequently continued his reading with Dr. Olds as his preceptor. Having gained comprehensive knowledge of the principles of medical science at that day, he then opened an office for practice in Washtenaw. His collegiate course was pursued in the Western Medical University at Cleveland, Ohio, from which he was graduated in I845. On forming a partnership with Dr. Mathews he conducted a general practice in the village of Redford, Michigan, from I846 until 1852. From Redford, Wayne county, Mich igan, he removed to St. Joseph in January, 1852, and as a physician and surgeon became well known here, being accorded a liberal practice, which increased year by year as he demonstrated his worth in his profession. He always kept abreast with the advancement made in the science of medicine and was an able and learned practitioner until I88o, when he retired from active connection with the profession and afterward devoted his time to, the supervision of his extensive invested interests. As the years passed he judiciously placed his surplus capital in real-estate and business enterprises and he became the owner of considerable valuable property, which returned him an income that supplied him with all life's comforts and many of its luxuries. Dr. Parker was married on the 23d of December, I869, to Miss Clarinda Searles, who was born in Wales, Erie county, New York, August Io, 1833, a daughter of Stephen and Mary (Cobb) Searles, and they have an adopted daughter, Effie May. In his political affiliation Dr. Parker was long a stalwart advocate of Republican principles. He served for two years as trustee of St. Joseph and was chosen to fill important official positions, and whether in office or out of it he stood for all that was progressive in citizenship. He belonged to that class of men who wield a power which is all the more potent from the fact that it is moral rather than political and is exerted for the public weal rather than for personal ends. A resident of Michigan throughout almost his entire life, or for a period of seventy-seven years, few men within its borders were more familiar with its history and the events which shaped its course and find record upon its annals. At the time of his death he was one of the most venerable and honored residents of Berrien county and its history would be incomplete without record of his life. He passed away at his home in St. Joseph, April I3, I900. JAMES W. ISBELL, proprietor of the Twin City Boiler Works at St. Joseph, was ~"ti-~ d'~ Qamz6 J X30 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 653 born in White Pigeon, St. Joseph county, Michigan, in I857. His father, James M. Isbell, is a native of Pennsylvania and now resides in Muskegon, Michigan. He is a carpenter, who, having mastered his trade, has become a contractor and builder and is thus identified with business interests in the city where he makes his home. He married Miss Caroline Weaver, a native of Germany, who, -when twelve years of age, came to America, settling first in Pennsylvania. She is also living, and of the seven children born unto Mr. and Mrs. Isbell, three now survive, namely: James W., Edmund and Ella. James W. Isbell was reared in Muskegon, to which place his parents removed when he was a little lad of six years. When he had mastered the branches of learning taught in the public schools he began learning the more difficult lessons of experience, being apprenticed to a boiler maker and after mastering the business he followed it as a journeyman until I896, when he came to St. Joseph. The following year he established the Twin City Boiler Works, of which he is sole proprietor. This is one of the important industrial concerns of the city and he manufactures all kinds of boilers, smoke stacks and other iron devices. From the beginning of his residence here his success has been uniform and rapid. He has ever been a hard-working and frugal man and has earned what he possesses through his own labors and capable management, showing that prosperity is not a matter of genius but is the outcome of clear judgment, experience and indefatigable labor. As the years have gone by he has found opportunity possible to place a part of his capital elsewhere than in his business and has erected a nice two-story brick residence on State street. He built this two years ago and it is now his home. In I878 in Muskegon, Michigan, Mr. Isbell was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Essenburg, a native of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and unto them have been born three children, Nellie, Carrie and Helen, all natives of Muskegon. Mr. Isbell and his family attend the Baptist church and his political faith is indicated by the ballot which at every election he deposits in support of the men and measures of the Republican party. He is a Mason and Elk and he also holds membership relations with the Knights of the Maccabees. He early realized the fact that this is a work-a-day world and that there is no royal road to wealth, that success if it be honorably attained must come out of close, earnest and self-denying effort, therefore he has worked persistently and energetically and his position in industrial circles is now a creditable one. NATHANIEL H. BACON is a representative in the third generation of the Bacon family in law practice at Niles and the name has ever been an honored one in the profession. His paternal grandfather, Judge Nathaniel Bacon, was a native of Ballston Springs, New York, born in July, I802. He was a graduate of Union College of the class of 1824 and subsequently was admitted to the New York bar in his native state. He practiced law in Rochester, New York, for several years and then came to Michigan, settling near Niles in the fall of I833. Berrien county was then a pioneer district, which was just being opened up for agricultural interests with as yet little commercial, industrial or professional importance. It was the intention of Judge Bacon to devote his time and energies to agricultural pursuits and for that reason he purchased land a short distance east of the city of Niles. Locating upon that property he continued to own it and make it his home untl his demise, which occurred in September, I869. However, the continual calls which were made upon him for his professional services induced him to open an office in Niles in the fall of 1834, and he continued in the active practice of law in Berrien county up to the time of his death, with the exception of the period which he spent upon the bench. In 1837 he became probate judge of the county and in 1855 he was elected circuit judge of Berrien county, which at that time covered a large district. He served upon the circuit bench for eighteen years and was ex-officio judge of the su 654 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY preme court. He was re-elected in 1857 and in I866 was elected to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Judge Smith. Again in the spring of I869 he was elected for the full term but he died in the following September. By the governor of Michigan he was appointed to the position of judge of the supreme bench to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Judge Whipple. His positions indicate strong mentality and careful analysis, a thorough knowledge of law and an unbiased judgment. The legal profession demands a high order of ability together with a rare combination of talent, learning, tact, patience and industry. The successful lawyer and the competent judge must be a man of well balanced intellect, thoroughly familiar with the law and practice, possessing keen analytical power and a self control that will enable him to discharge the duties of his office w'th impartiality and equity. That Judge Bacon was such a man is a generally acknowledged fact. Prior to his elevation to the bench he had practiced successfully in Berrien county for a number of years. He had a clear and comprehensive mind, displayed great influence with the court as an advocate and was remarkably successful before a jury. When he appeared before a jury his manner seemed to say, "Gentlemen of the jury I expect by a calm and dispassionate statement of facts and the law to convince you that I am right in what I may say to you," and his calm and cool manner before the jury always told in his favor in the case. In addressing a jury he seemed to be unconscious that any other person was in the room. He gained a high place in his profession by hard work and by evincing his ability to fill the position with which he was entrusted. Joseph S. Bacon, son of Judge Bacon, and father of our subject, was born at Ballston Springs, New York, near Rochester, and was brought to Michigan when about two years old by his parents. Determining to follow in the professional footsteps of his father he took up the study of law and practiced in Niles for twenty years or more, making a lasting impression upon the bar by his legal ability and by the individuality of a personal character. He died in I882 at the age of fifty years and is still survived by his widow, who bore the maiden name of Harriet Holley. She was born in Vermont and is now living in Niles at the age of seventy. In their family were five children, of whom four are yet living: Gertrude E., now the wife of George H. Sheldon, a resident of Rock Island, Illinois; Angeline, the wife of Frederick Crosby, of Niles; Nathaniel H., of this review; and Florence, the wife of Adolph Panhurst, of Niles. Nathaniel H. Bacon, th third in order of birth, was born in Niles, December I2, 1867, pursued his education in the schools of Niles and for three years attended the Shattuck Military School in Minnesota. He afterward entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and was graduated from the law department with the class of I89I. He was admitted to the bar the same year and has since practiced successfully in Niles. Whether inherited tendency or environment or natural predilection had most to do with his chosen profession cannot be definitely determined. Probably each element entered in but at all events it is a fact easily discernible that his choice of a life work was a wise one, for in a profession where advancement depends entirely upon individual merit he has made for himself a creditable name. He has manifested the same diligence and enterprise which are demanded in every department of business life. His devotion to the interests entrusted to him is proverbial and he now has a large and distinctively representative clientele. He has held the positions of circuit court commissioner and justice of the peace. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and he is a strong and able advocate of its principles. Mr. Bacon was married in 1904 in Niles to Miss Kate Gerberich, a daughter of David Gerberich of this city. They attend the Presbyterian church and are prominent socially, having an extensive circle of friends here. ----- ---- ------- ---- -- -- ---------------- ----- -- - HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 655 W. IRVING BABCOCK has wielded wide influence on public thought and action in Berrien county. He makes his home in Niles, where he is now serving as justice of the peace. For a long period, however, he has been a prominent factor in political circles and his opinions have carried weight in the councils of the Republican party. Born in New York, in the year 1833, he acquired his early education in Troy, that state, and later attended the Schoharie Collegiate Institute. When he had completed his own literary education he taught school in the state of New York for several years and followed various other pursuits. He was thus engaged until after his marriage, which event was celebrated in the Empire state in I858, Miss Ruth W. Hitchcock of Havana, New York, becoming his wife. In the year of their marriage the young couple came to Michigan, settling first in Van Buren county, where Mr. Babcock engaged in farming and also in the purchase and sale of farm lands. He likewise established a lumber business and conducted a retail lumberyard in Niles for twenty-five years, his own connection therewith indicating his success and the creditable position which he occupied in trade circles. He also prospered in his farming operations and in his real estate dealing. On retiring from the lumber trade he gave his attention to the fire insurance business in Niles, which lie conducted for some time but eventually sold out. In I902 Mr. Babcock was elected to the office of justice of the peace, which position he is now filling. He has always been a stalwart Republican since the organization of the party and has been recognized as an able and earnest worker in its behalf. He has been alderman from the third ward in the city council of Niles for two terms and was also mayor of the city for two terms, giving a public-spirited, business-like administration, characterized by reform and improvement. In 1887 he was chosen to represent his district in the state senate and was reelected in I889. While a member of that law-making body he was recognized as an active worker on the floor of the upper house and was associated with considerable important constructive legislation. Mr. Babcock has always been active in the Masonic fraternity, having been initiated into the order in Niles lodge a number of years ago. He has served as master of St. Joseph Lodge, No. 4, A. F. & A. M., has been high priest of St. Joseph Chapter, R. A. M., and eminent commander of Niles Commandery, No. 12, K. T. In fact he has filled various offices in different branches of the order and the highest Masonic orders awarded by the sta'te were given to him, when, in I890, he was chosen grand master of the grand lodge of Michigan. He has been identified with the school board of Niles and has been very active in its behalf and of affairs of the city, relating to its improvement, advancement and substantial upbuilding. In political thought and action he has always been independent, carrying out his honest views without fear or favor and yet doing much effective work for his party and for the commonwealth at large. RUDOLPH F. KOMPASS, well known in connection with manufacturing interests in Niles, is the senior partner in the Kompass & Stoll Company, furniture manufacturers. His life record began in I86o, the place of his nativity being the city of London, Ontario, Canada. He comes, however, of German lineage, his father, Frederick W. Kompass, having been born in Germany, but in 1854 crossed the Atlantic to America, settling first in Cleveland, Ohio. He afterward went to Ontario, Canada, where he was engaged in the manufacture of furniture. He continued a resident of Ontario to the time of his demise, which occurred when he was fifty-four years of age. It was following his removal to Canada that he was married to Miss Johanna Schultz, also a native of Germany. She survived him for a number of years and died at the age of sixty-seven. Rudolph F. Kompass is the eldest of a family of eight children and the only one living in the United States. He was educated in the place of his nativity and in early manhood learned the cabinet-maker's 656 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY trade, which he followed in Canada until I885. In that year he crossed the border into the United States, hoping to enjoy its better trade conditions, resulting from its greater competition and advancement more quickly secured. He went to Grand Rapids and there worked in the furniture factory in which Mathew Stoll was also employed. They became acquainted and have since remained fast friends, while in more recent years they have been business associates. Mr. Kompass spent two years in Grand Rapids and then went to Buchanan at the same time Mr. Stoll did. They secured employment in the same factory there and together they went to Rochester, New York, where they were employed in a furniture factory for two years. They had also previously spent two! years in Buchanan. On returning from the Empire state to Michigan they again located in Buchanan and entered into partnership relations together with George Stone under the firm style of Kompass, Stone & Stoll. They opened a furniture manufacturing establishment which they conducted successfully for two years, at the end of which time Mr. Kompass and Mr. Stoll purchased Mr. Stone's interest and the firm of Kompass & Stoll was then organized and has since had a continuous existence. They engaged in the manufacture of furniture in Buchanan until 1895, when they purchased land in Niles and erected their present factory. They have a splendidly equipped plant supplied with all modern machinery and appliances for the conduct of their business. They continued to manufacture furniture until I9OO, since which they have concentrated their energies upon the manufacture and sale of kitchen cabinets made from their own designs. They have eighteen different styles of cabinets and sell only to the trade. These are made of select white maple finished in the natural color of the wood and for convenience of arrangement and equality of workmanship are unsurpassed. This has become an important industrial concern of Niles, furnishing employment to over forty skilled workmen, while the house is also represented upon the road by a number of traveling salesmen. The relation between employers and elmploye has always been harmonious because of their just and generous treatment of those in their service, to whom they pay a good wage. They are also quick to recognize capability and fidelity and to advance their men as opportunity offers. Mr. Kompass was married in I895 in Buchanan to Miss Lillie A. Burber and they have one son, Fred B., who was born in Niles, Michigan. In his political views Mr. Kompass is a stalwart Democrat, active in the work of the party, being recognized as one of the leaders in the local ranks. In I904 he was appointed a member of the board of public works of Nile's. He belongs to Buchanan lodge of Odd Fellows, to the Knights of Pythias lodge at Niles and has a genial, social nature which renders him popular with the brethren of these organizations. He is always willing to accord to any one the courtesy of an interview and at the same time he is never neglectful of business interests, being a thorough-going business man, alert and enterprising, who has thoroughly mastered his trade and is capably conducting an enterprise of which he is one of the founders. He is a man of pleasing address, of courteous manner and unquestioned integrity and yet has withal that practical common sense which never runs to extremes. His life has been well spent and his honorable and useful career is worthy of emulation. GEORGE E. CORELL, conducting a general insurance and real estate business in Niles, was born in Bertrand township, Berrien county, Michigan, in I874. The ancestral history of the family is traced back many generations. The paternal great-grandfather, Abraham Corell, Sr., was born in New Jersey, whence he removed to Albany county, New York. There in 1875 he was married to Miss Mary Miller, who was of Knickerbocker descent. In the year I8I9 they removed to Livingston county. New York, where they remained until I837, when they went to Erie county, Pennsylvania. In 1853 Abraham --— ~ — -- - ----- - --- --- ------ --- -------- HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 657 Corell became a resident of Iowa, where he died in 1857, when eighty-six and a half years of age. Abraham Corell, Jr., grandfather of our subject, was born in Albany county, New York, August Io, I815, and accompanied his parents on their removal to Livingston county. In 1837, when twenty-two years of age, he went to Erie county, Pennsylvania, and there at the age of twenty-four he was married on the Ioth of February, I839, to Miss Ann Elizabeth Brownell, whose birth occurred in Washington county, New York, November I, I818. When seven years of age, however, she removed with her parents to Chautauqua county, New York, and afterward to Erie county, Pennsylvania. Her parents were from Rhode Island and her father, Benjamin Brownell, was a descendant of Ethan Allen, the noted patriot leader in the Revolutionary war, who was commander of a regiment of "Green Mountain Boys" and won the famous battle of Ticonderoga. In March, I850, Abraham Corell, Jr., came with his family to Berrien county, Michigan, and here died December 23, I883, at the age of sixty-eight years, three months and thirteen days. His widow survived him for some time. He displayed many sterling characteristics and was widely known as a kind friend and upright citizen. In his family were eleven children, five sons and six daughters, seven of whom reached adult age. George A. Corell, father of our subject, was born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, near Girard, March 2, 1846, and was the fourth child and eldest son in the father's family. He was but four years of age at the time of his parents' arrival in Berrien county and he acquired his education in the schools of Niles, remaining under the parental roof until twenty-two years of age. He then started out in life on his own account. On the 23d of December, I873, he chose as a companion and helpmate for life's journey Miss Morna Alice Gragg, a daughter of Mortimer David and Hester Ann (Cronkite) Gragg. The father was born in Jefferson county, New York, and his wife, also a native of the Empire state, was of German 42 descent. Mr. and Mrs. Gragg had a family of seven children, Mrs. Corell being the third child and third daughter. She was born in Niles, September 13, I85I, and was educated in the public schools of Berrien county, where she still makes her home. By her marriage she became the mother of five children, two sons and three daughters, namely, George E., Horace B., F. Genevieve, Delia L. and Mary Alice. The father of George E. Corell was a carpenter by trade, beginning that business when twenty-three yaers of age and continuing therein for seven years. He later turned his attention to farming and in addition to engaging in the raising of cereals he also met prosperity as a stock-raiser. He had a fine farm of eighty acres, in addition to which he operated his mother's home property of ninety-six acres. He was also interested in national and local politics and co-operated in many movements for the welfare of his community. He voted with the Republican party and in 1893 served as highway commissioner. He was a liberal and broadminded man and public-spirited citizen, who won many friends who esteemed him for his genuine personal worth and devotion to the public good. He died in the year I905, after a residence of a half century in the county, and thus passed away one of the worthy, pioneer citizens. George E. Corell, whose name introduces this review was reared upon the home farm and attended school in Niles. He later worked on a dairy farm for a short time and subsequently went to Benton Harbor, where he entered the grocery establishment of Morrow & Stone, being thus employed in 1897 and I898. In the latter year he enlisted for service in the Spanish-American war, becoming a private of Company I, Thirty-third Michigan Volunteer Infantry, for three years, or during the period of hostilities. With his regiment he went to Cuba, where he remained for two months and at the battle of Santiago his regiment was on the left wing of General Shafter's army. Returning home at the close of hostilities he was ill for a year caused by exposure and disease contracted at the front. Later 658 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY he became connected with the fire and life insurance and real estate business and formed a partnership with C. A. Simonds under the firm name of Simonds & Corell, which relation was maintained until I902, when Mr. Corell purchased his partner's interest. He also purchased the insurance business of W. I. Babcock, and has since continued successfully alone representing both fire and life insurance companies, as well as real estate interests. In October, I9OI, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Corell and Miss Florence Beebe, a native of Vicksburg, Michigan, the ceremony being performed in Douglas, this state. Politically Mr. Corell is a Republican and for one term served as a member of the city council as alderman from the third ward. He has attained high rank in Masonry, belonging to the lodge, chapter, council and commandery at Niles. He is also a member of the Royal Arcanum and the Knights of Pythias lodge ard in Masonic bodies has held various offices. He is a young man who has displayed.good business ability in the management of his office and its kindred interests and he made a creditable military record by his service in the Spanish-American war. EDMON ALFRED GRAHAM. The name of Graham figures prominently in connection with steamboat navigation on the Great Lakes, and with the development and successful conduct of this business the name of Edmon Alfred Graham was associated. A man of marked business enterprise and keen discernment he carefully directed his labors and won success and a position of prominence that made him one of the foremost representative citizens of Berrien county. A native of Laporte county, Indiana, he was born November 14, I84I. His parents, John and Lucinda (Nichols) Graham, were natives of the state of New York, and were of English descent. The father with his family crossed the country in a large covered wagon from New York to Indiana, and for the first time heard a car whistle in the Maumee valley. They met many Indians while making the long journey and they established their home in a pioneer district, aiding in reclaiming that region for the purposes of civilization. The death of the father occurred March 26, I875. Edmon A. Graham's boyhood days were passed without event of special importance to vary the routine of life for him. He attended school at Elkhart, Indiana, and pursued a general course at Benton City, Iowa. In 1864 he engaged in the lumber business, which he conducted along practical, enterprising lines. His father had owned and operated a sawmill, the first plant of its kind in possession of the family being in Lincoln township and known as Graham Mill. The father had also become owner of timber land, which was purchased by the son, who thus came into possession of five hundred acres, from which he cut the timber, sawing it in his mill and converting it into a marketable product for the lumberyards of the cities. Subsequently he sold a portion of his land to German emigrants who became residents of this part of the state. For a considerable period Mr. Graham continued the operation of his sawmill and the manufacture of lumber. He was a lover of good horses and he also kept good stock. In the meantime he became connected with the steamboat business, his first boat being the Union, of which he became owner in I870. In I879 he built the steamer May Graham, which is still used on the St. Joseph river. In I882 he removed to St. Joseph and purchased dock property of A. H. Morrison. His property holdings make him the heaviest taxpayer in Berrien county. In addition to his dock property, of which he is sole owner, he also had many residences and business blocks and other real-estate in St. Joseph and elsewhere. He owned the Postoffice Block, the Evening Press Block, called the Preston and Stock Block, an eighty-acre timber tract near Berrien and what is known as the Ox Bow Bend on the river. He was also a stockholder and director in the Union Bank. His business career was marked by consecutive advancement and steady progress. In early manhood, entering actively into connection with the lumber interests, a leading industry of Michigan, he was ever 64 - c2. - 11 11 - - Ginni e. I HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 659 watchful of opportunities for enlarging the scope of his business and extended his efforts into various departments of industrial and commercial activity, wherein his sound judgment and keen business discrimination were continually demonstrated in the success which he has achieved. He was seldom if ever at error in matters of business judgment, readily solved complex problems and with determined purpose carried forward to successful completion whatever he undertook. He early displayed conspicuously the traits of character which made his life brilliantly successful, and. from the beginning of his business career until its close a splendid prosperity was steadily his. Neglectful of none of the duties relative to good citizenship, Mr. Graham labored effectively and earnestly for the welfare and upbuilding of his adopted city, and in I884 was elected to serve as alderman of St. Joseph. He was a devoted adherent of the Republican Club and a warm admirer of the party leaders. He presented to the Commercial Club a magnificent picture of President McKinley. He held membership in this club and with Burnett Lodge, No. 19, I. O. O. F. On the 20th of June, I869, Mr. Graham was married to Edwin'a C. Bunker, of Hagar township, a daughter of Nathaniel and Mary Bunker. Her father was a soldier of the Civil war, and was supposed to have been taken to Libby prison, and perhaps died there, for he was never heard from again. Mrs. Graham was born September 17, 1848, in a house at Royalton Heights which has since fallen into the St. Joseph river. Her mother died when she was only seven years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Graham have but one child, May Belle, who was born August 5, I873, and was married November 7, I894, to William H. Hull. Without extraordinary pecuniary or family advantages to aid him at the outset of his career E. A. Graham gained for himself a place among the prominent business men of Michigan. It is true, that like other business men, he may not have found all the days equally bright. Indeed in his commercial experience he saw the gathering clouds that threatened disastrous storms, but his rich inheritance of energy and pluck enabled him to turn defeat into victory and promised failures into brilliant successes. His strict integrity, business conservatism and judgment were always so universally recognized that he enjoyed public confidence to an enviable degree and naturally this brought to him a success that made a steady increase in his business. His investments were so judiciously placed that his property holdings easily placed him among the heaviest in Berrien county. While it is true that his chief life work was that of a remarkably successful business man, the range of his activities and the scope of his influence reached far beyond this special field. He belonged to that class who wield a power which is all the more potent from the fact that it is moral rather than political and is exercised for the public weal rather than for personal ends. He passed away at his home in St. Joseph, June 2, I904. HENRY LARDNER, who is actively associated with farming interests in Berrien county and makes his home in Niles, represents one of the early families of this part of the state, the name being closely associated with its material progress and also with its development along all lines pertaining to good citizenship and public advancement. His birth occurred in Niles occurred in Niles township in I839 and he comes of English ancestry. He is a son of Henry Lardner and a grandson of Captain John Lardner. The latter was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, representing one of the old families that was established in the Keystone state during the colonial epoch in its history. He was a man of considerable wealth for those days and the military spirit was strong within him, for when the country became involved in war with England he joined the First Philadelphia Troop and served as captain of the company in the Revolutionary war. The troops with which he was associated acted as body-guard to General Washington, and nine of his descendants have been members of that troop. Later he served as a soldier in the war of 660 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 1812 and thus rendered valuable aid to his country in two of the most important wars in which the country was engaged. Henry Lardner, Sr., father of our subject, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in I804, and was there reared. He studied medicine in the Pennsylvania University, from which institution he was graduated, intending to become a practicing physician, but removing to Cincinnati, Ohio, he changed his plans and there engaged in the wholesale grocery business. He came to Michigan in 1836, settling four miles north of Niles on the Dowagiac road, his home being on the east half of section 12, Niles township. He purchased land there which was covered with timber. He at once began to clear and improve this and not only devoted his attention to farming pursuits but also established and operated a carding mill and sawmill, carrying on business along those lines until his death, which occurred in 1852. He was a very active factor in the early affairs of the county, contributing in substantial measure to the work of reclamation whereby Berrien county was transformed from a wild region into a tract of rich fertility with here and there thriving towns and villages containing various industrial, commercial and manufacturing interests. Mr. Lardner was also active in public life and held various township offices, including that of supervisor. He was held in highest esteem by all who knew him, and he had many warm friends who regarded him as a man of genuine worth and of unfaltering integrity-a reputation which he justly merited. In early manhood he wedded Mary Ann Keys, the marriage being celebrated in Cincinnati, Ohio, which was her native city. She died upon the farm in Niles township at the age of nineteen years, Henry Lardner being their only child. Other branches of the family were represented in Berrien county during the pioneer epoch in ilts history. Lynford Lardner, a nephew of Captain John Lardner, came from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Michigan with his brother William, and settled in Berrien county in 1836. The work of improvement and progress had scarcely been begun here, only here and there had the hardy frontiersmen penetrated into the forest to make a clearing and establish a home. The two cousins settled on farms adjoining the property of Henry Lardner, Sr., and also cleared the land and developed the fields. Both William and Lynford Lardner were also interested in the saw and carding mills with their cousin, Henry, and were thus factors in the early development of this part of the state. Subsequently Lynford removed to Iowa and afterward went to California, where his death occurred. His brother, William Lardner removed to the city of Niles and there died. He has two sons who are now living in Wisconsin, and one in Chicago. There was also a brother of Henry Lardner, Sr.-Lawrence S. Lardner by name-who came from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Michigan in I848 and took up land adjoining the property of his relatives. He was thus interested in the early agricultural progress of the county until about I868, when he went to Wisconsin with his family. Four of his children are now living, one son being in California, one son and one daughter in Brooklyn, New York, and one son at Big Rapids, Michigan. Henry Lardner, whose name introduces this record, was educated in the district schools of Niles and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, thus acquiring a good knowledge of those branches of learning which qualify one for the responsible duties of life. He was reared amid pioneer surroundings and environments and his memory goes back to the time when much of this part of the state was in a primitive condition just as it came from the hand of nature. There were in his boyhood days many log cabins scattered here and there throughout the county and there were still great stretches of unbroken forests. After completing his education he (Lardner) became a clerk for the Ohio Life Insurance & Trust Company at Cincinnati, Ohio, remaining with that corporation until 1857, when the financial panic which swept over the country in that year caused its failure. Mr. Lardner then returned to the old homestead in Niles township, Berrien county, Michigan, whereon he continued to follow — --- —-- --- ----- I -- HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 66r farming, having become familiar with that pursuit in his early boyhood days. He was married in Niles in i86i to Miss Lena B. Phillips, the wedding ceremony being performed by her father the Rev. Joseph S. Phillips, who was rector of Trinity Episcopal Church at Niles from 1858 until I866. In the latter year his death occurred. The potency of his influence as a factor in moral development was widely acknowledged and his memory yet remains as a blessed benediction to many who knew him. His wife who bore the maiden name of Eliza Ann Thompson, was a native of Massachusetts. Mr. Lardner took his bride to the old homestead farm, whereon he continued to reside until I866, when he returned to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he engaged in the banking and stock brokerage business for five years. He gave up that business, however, in 1871 and returned to Niles, where he has since made his home. In i872 he engaged in the manufacture of wood-stave baskets made by machinery, continuing in the business until 1876. Later by reason of his previous experience in the life insurance business he was employed by the Equitable Trust Company as its assistant overseer of agencies, having supervision throughout the western states and also looking after the different property interests of that corporation. He covered the territory from Indiana to Kansas from Kentucky to northern Michigan and continued in the business for six years but as this work demanded that he spend much of his time upon the road in travel he resigned and returned to Niles, where he has since given his attention to general agricultural pursuits. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Lardner have been born nine children, of whom six are yet living: William P., who married Ruhamah Finley and resides in Duluth, Minnesota; Henry, who is of the third generation of that name in line of direct descent, who married Katherine Muntz of Niles, by whom he has four children-Ellen W., Frederick W., George E. and Katherine; Lena, Reginald, Anna and Ringgold W., all of whom are at 'home. The parents are devoted and earnest members of the Trinity Episcopal Church of Niles, in which Mr. Lardner has served as vestryman for many years. He contributes generously to the support of the church and both he and his wife do all in their power to extend its influence and promote its growth. In politics he is a Republican and has served as a member of the city council for two or three terms, acting as alderman of the third ward. Few men are more familiar with the history of Berrien county than Henry Lardner, whose birth occurred on the old farm homestead here more than two-thirds of a century ago. During much of this time he has lived in the county, his mind forming a connecting link between the modern era of prosperity and the days when the settlers bore many hardships and privations incident to pioneer life. The name of Lardner has ever been a synonym for good citizenship and for genuine, moral worth in this county and in these respects Henry Lardner is a worthy scion of his race. ORRIN E. DIX, living at Spink's Corners, where his time and energies are devoted to general farming, was born July 7, 1848, in Chili, Monroe county, New York, and in 1852 was brought to Michigan by his parents, who located in the spring of 1853 upon the farm upon which he yet resides. He was educated in the public schools, remained upon the home farm until his marriage and operated it for some time prior to that event. At the age of thirty-three years Mr. Dix was united in marriage to Mrs. Julia Stiles, nee Crossman. She died six years later, leaving two children, Olive and Isabel, both of whom were educated at Spring Arbor in Jackson county. They also attended the Ferris Institute at Big Rapids and are now engaged in teaching. Both are living at home with their father. Having lost his first wife, Mr. Dix was again married on the I6th of June, I890, his second union being with Lazetta Collis, the widow of John H. Collis, and a daughter of Charles F. Barnes, who died while in the United States service. She was born in Bainbridge township, representing one of the old families of 662 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY that county. Her parents were pioneer settlers here, locating in this section of the state in the '40s. They came to the west from Broome county, New York. Mr. Barnes died in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, from a wound sustained in the battle of Shiloh. Mrs. Barnes was thus left a widow with five daughters, whom she carefully reared and lived to see settled in life. Her maiden name was Amanda Sutherland, and she was a sister of William, Bushrod and John Sutherland. Her daughter, Mrs. Charles Shippey, is now living on the old homestead. Mrs. Dix was first married at the age of eighteen years and went to her husband's home in Bainbridge township, where she lived until his death. By that marriage she has one living child, Rolan B. Collis, who resides at Benton Harbor. Mr. and Mrs. Dix now occupy the house which was formerly the home of his parents and they are well known people here, representing early pioneer families. JOHN H. COLLIS, deceased, was at one time well known in Benton Harbor and Berrien county. He was a native of the state of New York and came to this county in his boyhood days with his parents, George and Lydia (Ingerham) Collis, the former a native of England and the latter a sister of Elisha Ingerham. Mr. and Mrs. George Collis took up their residence near Spink's Corners and the mother died later in Benton Harbor. The father afterward removed to California, where he died when more than eighty years of age. He left four children, John H. Collis, whose son, Rolan Collis, of Benton Harbor, is now the only representative of the family in Berrien county. John H. Collis was for many years identified with agricultural interests. He was reared here to the occupation of farming and always carried on general agricultural pursuits. He was a respected citizen of his community and his death was the occasion of deep regret to his many friends as well as to his immediate family. EZRA BRANT, representing one of the prominent and well known pioneer families of Berrien county, was born November 17, I873, in the house which he yet occupies, and was the second of the four children of Daniel and Nancy Jane (Kennedy) Brant. The father was a native of Rochester, New York, and in early manhood he married Marietta Hazzard, who was born in Ellisburg, New York, but they were married in Benton township, Berrien county, about I840. Daniel Brant when eighteen years of age had driven a yoke of oxen from Rochester to Pokagon township, Cass county, where his father, Simeon Brant, had already settled. Edward Brant's father, who died enroute from California, was a cousin of Daniel Brant, and further mention of the family is made on another page of this work. The family is in fact a prominent one of Berrien county, having numerous representatives who have been active and influential in business circles and in public affairs. Daniel Brant remained a resident of Pokagon township until all of the members of the family removed to Bainbridge township, cutting the road through the forests for miles. Simeon Brant secured a claim constituting the southeast quarter of section 31, while Daniel's place was the southwest quarter of section 32, and Artaxerses Brant took the east half of the southeast quarter of section 31. Nathaniel Brant obtained the northwest quarter of section 32, and thus altogether they secured the four corners. Nearly all of this land is still in possession of members of the Brant family, although Nathaniel Brant is the only one of the original owners now living. Simeon Brant, the father, died at the old homestead at a very advanced age, while Artaxerses Brant died at the age of seventy-five years, and Daniel passed away at the old home when sixty-six years of age. Artaxerses Brant had one son in Mason county and three grandchildren. The children of Jerome Brant are still on the old homestead. Nathaniel Brant resides upon his old home place, which has now been in his possession for many years. Daniel Brant, father of our subject, placed about one hundred and twenty acres of his homestead under cultivation. He like HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 663 wise secured and improved two other tracts of land of eighty and eighty-five acres respectively, and he also had two houses in Benton Harbor at the time of his death. He likewise owned one hundred and twenty acres of land in Pipestone township, which he improved, and he gave a farm to each of his children, amounting to over one hundred and sixty acres of land. He placed more than two hundred acres of land under cultivation and thus contributed in large measure to the substantial development and reclamation of this part of the state. His wife was a fine business woman and he largely attributed to her influence and assistance the success which he has achieved. She died about fifteen years prior to the death of her husband, being about fifty years of age when she passed away. They had traveled life's journey together, however, for many years, for she was but seventeen years of age at the time of their marriage. Her life was devoted to her family and although never very strong or robust she was ambitious and energetic and her capable management of the household affairs and the assistance and encouragement which she rendered her husband were valued factors in their prosperity. They became the parents of seven children, as follows: Lafayette died on Ship Island, New Mexico, while in the United States service, having left high school in St. Joseph in order to enlist. He was a member of the Sixth Michigan Infantry and passed away when twenty-two years of age. Francis is living in Pipestone township. Marion resides in Bainbridge township on land given him by his father. Henry is a resident of Fountain, Mason county, Michigan. Lucretia married John Harmon, and lives in Seattle, Washington. Rosella married William Burnett, of Bainbridge, and resides at Spokane, Washington. Having lost his first wife Daniel Brant was married to Miss Nancy Kennedy, who survives him and is yet living in Benton Harbor. Their children are: Sherman; Ezra, the subject of this review; Lillie, the wife of William Denneke, of Benton Harbor; and Roy. Ezra Brant, after spending his entire life upon the home farm with the exception of one year, now owns the old homestead property which was for many years in possession of his father, Daniel Brant and which was settled in 1836. It comprises one hundred and sixty acres and is a very valuable tract. He has about sixty-seven acres in fruit, forty acres in peaches, six acres in grapes and nine acres in apples, of which five acres have been in bearing for fifty-six years. He also has three acres in raspberries and an acre and a half in strawberries, and five acres in pears. All of his fruit is profitable, for he gathers annually good crops. In I905 he raised eighteen hundred bushels of peaches and forty-eight barrels of apples. His business is continually growing and in connection with fruit-raising he has engaged in general farming. He purchased his place with five separate purchases and has now an extensive and valuable tract of land under a high state of cultivation and well adapted for the purposes for which it is used. On the 22d of July, I896, Mr. Brant was married to Miss Floy G. Moore, a daughter of William Moore of Sodus township, and now living in Benzie county, Michigan. Mrs. Brant was born in Sodus township, and by her marriage has become the mother of two sons and a daughter, Ellis Ezra and Russel Jaleb and Violet Orene. Mr. Brant is recognized as one of the most enterprising young business men of the township, alert and energetic, brooking no obstacles that can be overcome by determined, persistent and honorable labor. WILLIAM CAMFIELD was the pioneer in the spraying of fruit trees in Berrien county. He began this work twenty years ago and demonstrated that it was followed by such excellent results that the custom soon came into general use. He has long been known as one of the prominent and successful fruit-growers of this portion of the state and now lives in Hagar township, where he has valuable property. He was born in County Norfolk, Ontario, Canada, October 9, 1832, and was reared to manhood in that country, He remained at home until his marriage, which, however, was celebrated before he was twenty years '664 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY of age. The lady of his choice was Miss Sarah M. Ferguson, and they removed from Norfolk county to Walsingham, on Long Point Bay, an arm of Lake Erie, where Mr. Camfield improved two farms. He there resided until the spring of I866, when he came to Berrien county, Michigan. He had a brother, Leavitt Camfield, who had been a resident of St. Joseph for two years at that time and was engaged in blacksmithing. William Camfield had a contract to put in wood which he was piling on the bank of Lake Erie, when a freshet swept it into the lake and he thus lost three thousand cords. This left him without financial resources and in this condition he came to Michigan. Here he cleared a part of a farm for his brother, the tract lying just north of Benton Harbor, and upon that place Leavitt Camfield made his home until his death, which was occasioned by the kick of a horse. He erected the octagonal brick house a mile and a quarter north of Benton Harbor, which is one of the landmarks in this section of the county. In 1867 William Camfield located on his present farm, first purchasing seven acres where he lives on the border of Hagar and Benton townships, three and a half miles north of the city of Benton Harbor. He erected here a log house and for thirtyeight years has resided continuously upon this place. As his financial resources have increased he has added to his farm until it now comprises twenty-nine and a half acres. He started in debt for the seven acres, for which he paid seven hundred dollars, and in addition he owed two hundred dollars. His seven acres was all covered with timber and he had to cut a road to get to it, making the road along the town line. Two years later he paid one thousand dollars for five acres adjoining. This was planted to berries. He worked energetically, persistently and capably in the development and care of his property and the year 1873 found him free from debt. He then arranged to purchase sixty acres of land for nine thousand dollars in company with his son-in-law. This he had also purchased on time. It was planted to peaches but the yellows took his trees and in two years he let the property revert to the original owner, losing two thousand dollars on the deal. He then engaged in lumbering, in which he continued for seven years. He got out the lumber and timber for The Lora, the first steamboat that was built in this locality, selecting the timber in the woods. It was cut and hewed by him, after which it was sawed. He would take contracts for lumbering and at times kept several teams, having as high as seventy one winter. He employed a number of choppers and sometimes boarded his men. One winter he cleared one hundred and fourteen acres of heavy timber at Sister Lakes fifteen miles from Benton Harbor. Half of this was sent to Benton Harbor and the remaining half to Dowagiac. In his lumbering operations he prospered and in the meantime he operated his little farm of twelve acres, and also turned his attention to dealing in fruit. He would purchase fruit on the trees and in one season paid four thousand dollars for peaches on the trees. He bought fruit in this way from fifteen to twenty years and generally met with success in this undertaking. He added more land from time to time, buying in small tracts and for one tract of five acres paid seven hundred and fifty dollars. It is eighteen years since he bought a ten-acre tract in Benton township opposite his present farm for eight hundred dollars, and eighteen years ago he married his present wife. He deeded to his son by his first wife fifteen acres of land, but three years later he paid him twenty-three hundred dollars for this same tract. This gives him now twenty-nine and a half acres near Lake Michigan. It is all high-grade fruit land, unsurpassed by any in the county and devoted to the raising of fruit, including apples, pears, peaches, cherries and grapes. He has sold his apple crop for fifteen hundred dollars in a single season. In I905 he had over thirteen hundred dollars clear income above all expenses of operation. In I903 he took in three thousand dollars, in 1904 fourteen hundred dollars and in I905 two thousand dollars, clearing one thousand dollars above all expenses. He makes a IJ 4e, ---"O, HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 665 specialty of Dutchess apples, the trees being worth one hundred dollars apiece and if his entire farm were covered with trees as good as his one hundred trees of this variety, it would pay an interest on a basis of one hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Camfield has great faith in a brilliant future for this section of the country as a fruit belt and has often expressed himself that "this country is the best place for a live man but the poorest for a dead one to be in." He is growing for commercial purposes and his orchards are in excellent condition, being cared for along modern progressive methods. Formerly Mr. Camfield engaged quite extensively in raising berries, having seven hundred dollars worth of berries picked in a single day in 1874, and for a time he was known as the berry king of the county. He was the pioneer in the process of spraying trees, beginning this twenty years ago in order to exterminate the codling moth on apple trees. The result surprised all and the second year he sprayed for several other fruit-growers of the community. Leading men said after the crop was harvested that he had added six hundred dollars to their profits. One man said an hour's work of this kind in his orchard paid him one hundred dollars. One man refused to pay for spraying, saying that it had hurt several trees. Mr. Camfield therefore bought the man's crop for five hundred dollars less the spraying bill and a few weeks after the spraying was done he sold the orchard for fifteen hundred dollars, thus clearing one thousand dollars. His efforts in this direction being so successful he was then sought to write articles for papers as to the benefit of spraying and is considered an authority upon the subject. In July, 1887, Mr. Camfield lost his first wife after they had lived together for thirtyfour years. On the 3 st of December, I888, he married Miss Exilea C. Gordon, who was reared in Brooklyn, New York, but was visiting her sister in Berrien county. Her family are of French lineage. Her father owned an island in Lake Champlain, on which she was born and by reason of that fact she was named Exilea. She was reared, however, in Brooklyn. Her father was part owner of a vessel on Lake Champlain. Coming to the west to visit she met Mr. Camfield while in Berrien county and gave him her hand in marriage. Two children have been born unto them: John Nellis, nine years of age; and Victor Newton, three years of age. By his first marriage Mr. Camfield had seven children. Two sons, Charles E. and Fred Lorenzo, are fruit-growers of this vicinity. George Allen is a farmer of Mason county. Alexa is the wife of John McKenzie, of Hagar township. The others are deceased. Mr. Camfield gives his entire time and attention to the supervision of his fruitraising interests and in operating the place employs two or three men. In his political views he is a Republican and rather independent. His efforts have been a practical demonstration of the value of this district as a fruit producing center and his success has been the direct result of his untiring labors. FREDERICK A. HOBBS. There is particular satisfaction in reverting to the life history of the honored and leading citizen whose name initiates this review, for he has attained to a position of distinctive prominence in the thriving city in which he makes his home. He is not a witness of the trend of events, but is making history through the establishment and control of business interests on which rest the progress and upbuilding of any community. His birth occurred in Terre Haute, Indiana, November 26, I859. His paternal grandgrandfather was Robinson Hobbs, of English descent. The father, Thomas F. Hobbs, was a native of Maine and a farmer by occupation. In connection with the tilling of the soil, however, he carried on business as a contractor and builder, in which he continued up to the time of his demise in I9OI, when he was seventy years of age. Having removed from the east he became a resident of Indiana, and at a later date took up his abode in Benton Harbor. His wife bore the maiden name of Hulda Creal and was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, while at the present writing she makes her home in Chicago, Illinois. By her marriage she became the mother of four children: Mrs. Rob 666 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY ert A. Smythe; Mrs. F. R. Gilson; Mrs. Willard S. Bracken, who is living in Chicago and is a vocalist of well known ability; and Frederick A. The maternal grandfather, Anthony Creal, was a native of the Empire State, but became one of the pioneer residents of Indiana, where he settled in 1820. Frederick A. Hobbs, although a native of Indiana, was reared in Dewitt, Clinton county, Iowa, and his early education, acquired in the public schools there, was supplemented by further study in Davenport, Iowa. Returning to his home in Dewitt he was engaged in clerking in the postoffice of that city and in a general merchandise store for several years, and in I885 he came to Benton Harbor, where he has since made his home. Closely associated with interests and interprises, he has had direct and permanent effect upon the development and prosperity of the community. Soon after his arrival here he purchased a half interest in the Palladium, a newspaper, in the ownership of which he was connected with the late F. R. Gilson for three and a half years, at the expiration of which period he sold out to his partner. The paper had been originally published only as a weekly, but the firm of Hobbs & Gilson established also a daily issue, which proved a successful venture and is still published by an incorporated company which purchased the paper following the recent death of Mr. Gilson. After his retirement from the newspaper field Mr. Hobbs engaged in the retail coal business and later continued in the same trade save on a wholesale scale. He first became the successor of the firm of Stearns & Mott, coal merchants, and conducted the business alone for four or five years, after which it was incorporated under the name of the Benton Harbor Fuel Company in I893, with Mr. Hobbs as president and treasurer, Thomas T. Hobbs as vice-president, and Clarence Warner as secretary. William H. Poundstone has succeeded Mr. Warner as secretary, but the vice-presidency has remained vacant since the death of its first incumbent in I90o. The business has grown to six or seven times its original proportions and is one of the paying commercial enterprises of the city. Mr. Hobbs, however, has not concentrated his energies entirely upon this one line. In fact he has been a close observer of business indications and possibilities and to various fields has extended his efforts with good results. In I891 he became interested in the Michigan Salt Association, which handles salt in car load lots. This company owns salt warehouses in St. Joseph and Benton Harbor and has spurs on the Big Four and Michigan Central Railroads, thus furnishing excellent transportation facilities. They ship one hundred thousand barrels of salt per year. In I895 Mr. Hobbs embarked in the wholseale flour business, in which he is still interested in addition to the above mentioned concerns. Besides owning considerable stock in the salt company he is its active agent. In I889 he organized the Benton Transit Company, connected therein with Captain R. C. Britton. The business was incorporated the same year with William G. Newland as president, Captain R. C. Britton vice-president and general manager, and Frederick A. Hobbs as secretary and treasurer. Captain Britton died in October, I904, and Mir. Newland withdrew from the firm, leaving Mr. Hobbs as active manager of the comnpany, which makes a specialty of carrying fruit in season to Chicago. The enterprise has proved a remunerative one, the business having reached extensive and profitable proportions. In connection with others Mr. Hobbs organized the Michigan Lake Sand Company, which was incorporated in I905, with Frederick A. Hobbs as president, John J. Eager, of St. Joseph, Michigan, as secretary, and William H. Poundstone as treasurer. On the 7th of June, I906, he was elected president of the Michigan and Indiana Retail Coal Association, which now has eleven hundred members. On the 24th of May, I882, occurred the marriage of Mr. Hobbs and Miss Nettie Stephenson, of Dewitt, Iowa, where the wedding was celebrated. She was born in Virginia, is a daughter of George Stephenson and is of English descent. Three chil HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 667 dren grace this union: Laura and Edith, who were born in Iowa; and Fred S., whose birth occured in Benton Harbor. In his political views Mr. Hobbs is a Republican and for six years served as chairman of the Republican city central committee. When the city was incorporated he became its first mayor, in 1891, serving for one term. He had been town clerk under the village administration and he is now treasurer of the Republican county central committee. His labors in behalf of the party are recognized as of value because he brings to this work the same keen discernment and spirit of enterprise which characterize his private business affairs. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, in both of which he has been honored with office, representing both in the grand lodge and serving as the first presiding officer in the Elks lodge. He is one of the trustees in the Universalist Church and is active in its work. In manner he is never ostentatious, but he possesses that true worth which cannot be hid and which is always recognized by people of superiority. He indeed deserves mention among the most prominent of Benton Harbor's business men and representative citizens and should find a place in the history of the leading residents of Berrien county, whose force of character, sterling integrity, control of circumstances and whose marked success in establishing important industries have contributed in such an eminent degree to the solidity and progress of the city in which he makes his home. His life has been manly, his actions sincere and he has left the impress of his individuality upon the annals of Berrien county. JAMES FLOOD, deceased, was one of the enterprising agriculturists of Berrien county, who long devoted his energies to the tilling of the soil in this part of the state and resided in Hagar township, having come to America in 1848. He made his way to this county with his brother William, and being unmarried remained with his brother until 1852, when he bought land on section 34 of the same township, becoming the owner of sixty-five acres, which was entirely wild and unimproved. It lay along the Paw Paw river and he began the arduous task of clearing and cultivating it. Two years later his sister Mary also came to the United States from Ireland, her native land, and made her way to Michigan, where she acted as housekeeper for her brother James until her death, which occurred in I872. James Flood never married, and his housekeeper for many years was his niece, Jane Frances Flood, a daughter of William and Rose Flood. When only three years of age she went to live with her uncle and aunt, James and Mary Flood. Later she returned to her mother's home but after two years again took up her abode with her aunt and uncle, and continued to live with Mr. Flood until his demise. She was eighteen years of age at the time of her aunt's death, and she then took charge of the house and gave her attention to her uncle's interests and the management of his home. James Flood cleared about twenty-five acres of the original sixty-five acres and also another tract of forty acres and he added to his first purchase until at the time of his death he owned about two hundred acres of good land. He willed the homestead to his niece, Jane, while the remainder of his property went to other relatives. He was energetic and enterprising and carried forward to successful completion whatever he undertook. In his political views he was a Democrat. He was called to various local positions of honor and trust, serving as justice of the peace and highway commissioner. In the latter office he laid out many of the township roads and he continued in public life for many years, doing effective and helpful service for the general welfare. He was an active member of the Catholic church at St. Joseph, and died in that faith February 8, I887, at the age of seventy-two years. He had lived a life of uprightness and honor and had enjoyed to the full extent the respect and good will of his fellowmen. EDWARD BRODRICK, one of the progressive and energetic farmers of Hagar 668 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY township, was born in Wayne county, New York, on the I6th of February, 1851, and when six years of age was taken by his parents to Keeler township, Van Buren county, Michigan. In the fall of I860 the family removed to Bainbridge township, Berrien county, where his parents, James and Bridget (Costello) Brodrick, spent their remaining days. They were both natives of County Galway, Ireland, and after coming to Berrien county the father owned a good farm and made his home thereon for many years, carefully cultivating and improving the property up to the time of the death of his wife. His last years were spent at the home of his son, Edward Brodrick, and he departed this life on the 8th of September, I880, when more than seventy-five years of age, having survived his wife for six years, as her death occurred on the st of December, 1874. Edward Brodrick was reared under the parental roof, spending much of his boyhood and youth in Michigan amid the surroundings and environments of pioneer life. On attaining his majority he was married on the 28th of February, I876, to Miss Jane Frances Flood, a daughter of William and Rose Flood. She was only three years of age when she went to live with her uncle and aunt, James and Mary Flood, but though she afterward returned to her mother for two years, she again took up her abode upon her uncle's farm and after her aunt's death she took charge of the household, being then a young lady of eighteen years. Following their marriage Edward Brodrick and his wife went to his father's farm in Bainbridge township, where they lived for two years, leaving her sister Ellen as housekeeper for her uncle, James Flood, but at the end of that time they returned to Mr. Flood's farm, Mr. Brodrick working with him until the death of Mr. Flood. In the meantime, however, in I880, he had purchased forty acres of land from Mrs. E. Hoag, and he now has one hundred and five acres in the home place and eighty acres a half mile distant. The latter tract had been the homestead of Patrick Flood, and Mr. Brodrick purchased the interest of the other heirs in the property, his wife having inherited a part of it. The present home of the Brodricks was erected in war times by Mr. Flood but it has been rebuilt and modernized by Mr. Brodrick, and is now one of the desirable and attractive residences of Hagar township. He has about forty acres in the home place and thirty-five acres in his other farm planted to fruit, making seventy-five acres in all thus utilized. Of this twenty-five acres is set out to peaches and the sale of his fruit has in some years amounted to five thousand dollars. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Brodrick have been born nine children, seven of whom are yet living: Mary Jane, a 'twin (the other died in infancy), the wife of James F. Hickey, of Hagar township; William H., at home; Rose Belle, the wife of D. J. Laviolette, of Hagar township; Peter, deceased; Edward Charles, Frances Agnes and James Leo, all at home; and Helen Julia, who completes the family. Both Mr. and Mrs. Brodrick were reared in St. John's Catholic Church, in Benton Harbor. He gives his political allegiance to the Democracy and is an active, energetic business man, carefully conducting important farming and fruit-raising interests with the result that excellent success is attending his labors. ALLEN M. RANDALL. The production of peaches, apples and berries claims the time and attention of Allen M. Randall, one of the successful horticulturists of Bainbridge township. He was born May I, 1842, in Wallaceburg, Ontario, Canada, and was only six years of age when he came to the United States with his uncle, James I. Randall, who brought him to St. Joseph. His uncle was a ship carpenter at St. Joseph. When eight years of age, in the spring of 1850, Allen M. Randall went to live with H. C. Morton, with whom he remained for three years. He then entered the employ of William B. Sutherland, while his brother, William Randall, lived with Warren Pearl. For five years Mr. Randall continued in the employ of Mr. Sutherland and found a good home there. He had also found a good home with Mr. Morton. Mrs. Sutherland HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 669 was a most competent woman and her careful guidance and assistance proved of the utmost value to him as well as the business training which he received under the direction of Mr. Sutherland. When sixteen years of age he began working by the month as a farm hand, and devoted the winter seasons to the acquirement of an education in the public schools, which he attended until nineteen years of age. During this period he regarded the Sutherland home as his. After the country became involved in the Civil war Mr. Randall enlisted in 1862, in response to President Lincoln's call, becoming, a recruit of Company D, Sixty-sixth Illinois Western Sharpshooters. He reached the regiment at Corinth, Mississippi, and participated in the battles of Iuka and of Corinth. He continued with that command until I863, when he was detailed to the quartermaster's department and was given charge of a train of the Fourth Division of the Fifteenth Army Corps under General John A. Logan. He had about two hundred teamsters, twenty wagonmasters, six blacksmiths and others under his command, the entire force numbering about three hundred. He was often in the closest quarters but by quick action went through without the loss of arms or the loss of men. He was retained in that position from the beginning of the Atlanta campaign until after the army reached Washington and participated in the grand review in the capital city. Mr. Randall arrived in Michigan in July, I865. Mr. Randall and, his brother William sold goods in Millburg for a period of fifteen years, beginning in I865. They also operated a sawmill and grist mill and other industries a part of the time. All of his children were born during their residence in Millburg. In I89I, Mr. Randall returned to the Sutherland farm and was afterward for three years engaged in the conduct of a dairy near Benton Harbor. He later again turned to the Sutherland farm, where he is now living, the place comprising one hundred and forty-five acres of rich and productive land. He also has eighty acres in Benton township, and he has given eighty acres to his children. Upon the home place he has forty acres devoted to the raising of peaches and apples and twenty acres to berries. He is continually setting out other fruit. He is now well known as a leading horticulturist of the county and his fruit sales have amounted to three thousand dollars in a single season. He also has upon his place from five to ten acres of melons. Much of his fruit is young and all of it has been set out within twelve years. In his business affairs Mr. Randall is very practical and at the same time progressive and has met with excellent success, working his way steadily upward. He well deserves that oft misused term "a self-made man," for his prosperity has resulted entirely from his own earnest and honorable labors. On the I3th of January, I870, Mr. Randall was united in marriage to Miss Adelaide M. Sutherland, a daughter of William Sutherland. She was born on the farm where she now lives on the 29th of November, 1846, and with the exception of a feW years has always resided upon this place. She represents one of the old prominent and honored families of Berrien -county. The representatives of the name in this section of the state were Lott and David Sutherland, and a third brother, Justus Sutherland, who resided in Allegan county. David Sutherland came with his sons from New York and spent three years near Kalamazoo. He located the sons upon property in this portion of the state and died soon afterward. His sons were William, Bushrod, John and George, of whom Bushrod resided in this vicinity, while John made his home in Pipestone township, and George settled near Kalamazoo. All are now deceased. William Sutherland, the other member of the family, married Jerusha Barnard. She was born in New York, belonged to one of the old families of New Hampshire, and died on the farm in Bainbridge township. William Sutherland spent the greater part of his life upon the farm which is now the home of his daughter, Mrs. Randall, and was a well known and enterprising agriculturist of the community. He had added to the old place from time to time and had invested in other land as opportunity offered until he owned about five hundred acres and 670 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY had placed nearly the entire amount under cultivation. He carried on general farming and his life was devoted to his private business affairs. He was a very hospitable man, always ready to extend the courtesies of his home to those who visited him, and he was helpful and generous to the needy. Although he did not belong to any church he displayed the sterling characteristics of Christianity in an upright and honorable life. The farm road near the house is lined with sugar maple trees which have stood there for fiftyfour years. When he was preparing to build those trees were set out and are now among the finest in the township. The farm borders Pipestone township and is pleasantly located eleven miles southeast of Benton Harbor and seven miles north of Eau Claire. Mr. Sutherland was a man of much natural mechanical ingenuity and skill, being very handy with the use of tools, so that he was able to do almost all of the work of that nature on his farm. He made ox yokes and ax handles and his efficiency in this direction proved an important element in the successful management of his property. Both Mr. and Mrs. William Sutherland have passed away and their remains were interred in Pen Yan cemetery. He died in April, I883, at the age of sixty-four years, having for four years survived his wife, who passed away at the age of fifty-nine. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Randall have been born eight children: Allen W., who is on the homestead; Myra F., who died in childhood; Dan T., also on a part of the old homestead; Ella E., who married Ernest Cribbs, who is a veterinary surgeon and liveryman at Watervliet; Ida B., the wife of Willard Cribbs, who is living on the old Cribbs homestead; James I., at home; Jessie V., a teacher in the high school at Watervliet; and Albert M., at home. Mr. Randall gives his political support to the Republican party and was a candidate for the nomination for county sheriff in 900o and I902, but was defeated. His life has been well spent and his activity and enterprise have been crowned with a measure of success that makes him a leading citizen of Berrien county. The special pride of Mr. and Mrs. Randall is the one that neither of their sons nor two sons-in-law use strong drink nor tobacco in any form. THEODORE N. PERRY, living on section 14, Hagar township, has kept pace with the uniform progress made by horticulturists of this great fruit belt of Michigan and is today the owner of a valuable and productive fruit farm, his specialty being peaches and pears. He is one of the worthy citizens that the Empire state has furnished to Michigan, his birth having occurred in Athens, Green county, New York, June 11, I844. He is a son of Peter Perry and a representative of one of the old families of New York. His ancestors received a land grant, thus becoming owners of several thousand acres and they were among the early Knickerbockers who resided in the eastern section of the Empire state. The family in its successive generations has stood for progress and development along business lines and in citizenship and its record for loyalty is also commendable. The paternal greatgrandfather was killed in the Revolutionary war and the grandfather, Nicholas Perry, served as a soldier in the war of I812. Having arrived at years of maturity Peter Perry married Hannah Brandow, also of Athens, New York, and a representative of one of the old families. His death occurred in Athens from cholera in I849. He left a widow with six children dependent upon her for support. She reared her family near Athens and Catskill and to the best of her ability provided for her children. After he was ten years of age Theodore N. Perry lived with various families and did many tasks which were assigned to him in order to thus pay for his board and clothing. He was a young man of but seventeen years when he responded to the country's call for troops. His patriotic spirit was aroused and true to the military spirit of his ancestors he offered his services to the government, joining Company I, Fortyfourth New York Volunteer Infantry on the I4th of September, I86I. He served under Colonel, afterward General, J. C. Rice, who was subsequently killed HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 67I in an engagement. The regiment was attached to the Army of the Potomac and the first engagement in which Mr. Perry participated was the siege of Yorktown. His first battle was at Hanover Court House and he participated altogether in seventeen battles. He continued with the Army of the Potomac and on the expiration of his term of service veteranized in the same command. I-e was several times hit with spent balls and was wounded at Spottsylvania Courthouse on the I3th of May, 1864, by a musket ball, which incapacitated him for further duty for a time, so that he was in the hospital and at home for six weeks. On a certain charge his command was driven back and captured but in three hours was re-captured by General Stoneman's guard. During the latter part of the war he guarded rebel prisoners at City Point and in the vicinity of Washington until honorably discharged on the 4th of September, I865, after about four years' active service. He had become sergeant and much of the time acted as first sergeant. He was a faithful soldier, never faltering in the performance of any duty and his valor and loyalty were unquestioned. When hostilities had ceased and his aid was no longer needed Mr. Perry came at once to the middle west, arriving in Chicago, Illinois, in I865. The next fall he removed to Berrien county, Michigan, and entered the employ of A. J. Knisely, for whom he worked for a year, cutting cord wood for use in Mr. Knisely's brickyard in Chicago. When his labors, economy and enterprise had brought him some capital, Mr. Perry in I869 purchased his present farm, which was then all covered with heavy timber. It is situated one mile from Lake Michigan and he sold the best saw timber from his place. His idea was to get at the soil and transform the land into productive fields. He has lived at his present location continuously since I869 and built his home in 1872. Later he added another tract of land, which he has also cleared, thus bringing sixty acres under cultivation. He has also cleared land for others and found it a profitable source of income. For a long period he has engaged in fruit farming, making a specialty of peaches and pears and his is an ideal location for raising fruit. He has kept up with the times, making a study of fruit culture and his opinions are largely regarded as authority upon questions connected with the cultivation and improvement of peaches and pears. He now has about one thousand pear trees upon his place. His farm has required his constant time and attention and his labors have been rewarded with good crops. On the Ioth of February, 1870, Mr. Perry was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Bacon, a native of New York, who was married, however, in Hagar township, Berrien county. They have two children: Amy A., the wife of Harry F. Anderson, of Chicago; and William, who married Julia Damon, a daughter of Oscar Damon, who is represented elsewhere in this work. Mr. Perry exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Democracy and always attends the conventions of his party. He is always sent as a delegate, being thus honored for thirty years. Though his party is in minority in this township he has been continuously the incumbent in the office of justice of the peace for a quarter of a century, being elected at each successive election, although the township has a normal Republican majority of about sixty, his elections indicating his personal popularity, his capability in office and the confidence reposed in him by his fellowmen. Fraternally he is a Mason, belonging to the lodge at Coloma and was a charter member of George H. Thomas Post, G. A. R. He is active in Riverside Grange, in which he has served as master and has also been a delegate to the State Grange. At all times and under all circumstances he is as loyal to his country and her welfare as when he followed the stars and stripes upon the battlefields of the south. NATHANIEL M/. BRANT is one of the venerable citizens of Berrien county, his home being in Bainbridge township. He is still a hearty man although he has passed the ninety-first milestone on life's journey, his birth having occurred in Macedon, Genesee county, New York, on the I2th of March, ISI5. His parents were Simeon and Sarah 672 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY (Herndon) Brant. The father was born near Rhode Island, and was married in Genesee county, New York, whither he had gone as a boy with his parents. His mother, who bore the maiden name of Phoebe Loetz, was a native of England, and his father was probably born in that country. Simeon Brant served for one year as a soldier of the war of 1812, and after his discharge re-enlisted for further military service. Later in life he received two land warrants in recognition of the aid which he had rendered to the government during the dark period of hostility with England. The year 1836 witnessed the arrival of the Brant family in Michigan. The westward trip was made across the country with two yoke of oxen, and the father was accompanied by three sons and a daughter, namely: Nathaniel, John Daniel, Augustus and Malvina. Two' other sons, Artaxerses and Van Rensselaer, came later, and the Brant family has figured for many years in the public life of this part of Michigan, especially in subjugating the wilderness and extending the frontier. The father, Simeon Brant, settled on the east half of the southeast quarter of section 3I, Bainbridge township, while his son, Nathaniel, secured as a claim the west half of the northwest half of section 32; Daniel, the west half of the southwest quarter of section 32; while Augustus settled in Pipestone township. Three years later Artaxerses Brant, who had first taken up his abode at Three Rivers, came to Bainbridge township and secured the east half of the northeast quarter of section 31. The daughter, Malvina, married Oliver Surrell, and they settled in Hagar township, but later removed to Pipestone township, where they lived and died. The members of the family, however, lived in one locality and did an important part in the work of development and improvement there. Simeon Brant had come to the west expecting to enter land near Benton Harbor but on reaching Kalamazoo, Michigan, he became ill and while there he purchased the eighty acres on which he settled, without.laving seen the property. Nathaniel Brant had joined the family at that place, having proceeded that far by boat, after which they drove across the state to their destination. Some days there would be twenty-five or thirty families in the caravan as they traveled along but each going to their destination they would perhaps by night all be scattered. The Brants followed the Chicago turnpike that extended through Niles as far as Edinburg, after which they started for Pokagon prairie and the Indian Lake. From Indian Lake they had to cut their way through the north eight miles and to the Territorial road, then proceeded west on that road to within a mile of Millburg, not far from the Davis Junction. From that point they proceeded two and a half miles south to the land which Mr. Brant had purchased. There he located section corners and in that way located the land they sought. They probably reached their destination in November, with snow on the ground, and immediately afterward a log cabin was built. There were no settlers north of them to Millburg, a distance of five miles. Mr. LeRue had a mill on Pipestone creek, three or four miles to the southwest, while to the south stretched an unbroken wilderness and also to the east. It was about three years, then settlers began to come readily of this section of the state. Artemus Stickney was about the first to locate as a near neighbor of the Brant family. Lott Sutherland and his brother, the father of Lewis Sutherland, were the first to settle east of the Brant family. In the midst of the forest Simeon Brant hewed out a farm, clearing and cultivating his land, and transforming the place into rich fields. There he carried on general agricultural pursuits until his wife's death, after which he went to Illinois with his son Nathaniel, and passed away at the age of eighty-four years. Daniel Brant lived and died on his home place, and his son Ezra is now on the old homestead. Artaxerses Brant spent his life on the homestead which he commenced to develop about the time his father secured property here, together with his brothers, Daniel and Nathaniel. He was the eldest of the family. Nathaniel M. Brant, whose name introduces this review, secured his land in I844, f HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 673 and has since lived thereon. He was married on the 29th of April, 1840, in Pipestone township, to Miss Martha Hazzard, a daughter of Crawford Hazzard, who had also come to Berrien county in 1836 from Sacketts Harbor, New York, settling first at Watervliet and later in Pipestone township. For four years after their marriage Nathaniel M. Brant and his wife lived in Pipestone township, and in 1844, removed to his present farm whereon he has now resided for sixty-two years. His life has been passed in Michigan from the age of twenty-one years. He started in business on his own account with eighty acres but through his well directed energy and business capacity he became the owner of two hundred acres in the old homestead, also two hundred acres in Pipestone township, forty acres in Hagar township and forty acres in Watervliet township. He has practically given all this away, however, but has kept a life lease on his home place of eighty acres. He has assisted each of his children to gain a' farm and has been most generous with his sons and daughters. In his business career he has prospered, because he was diligent and energetic, and he now well merits the rest that is vouchsafed to him. His wife died in May, I9OI, after they had traveled life's journey happily together for sixty years. She had bten indeed a faithful companion and helpmate to him on life's journey. In their family were eight sons and three daughters. The daughters were Laura, Phoebe and Ann, but none are now living. The sons, however, still survive. These are Wesley C.; Warren; Dudley, who resides upon a part of the farm originally owned by his grandfather, Simeon Brant; Philander, who lives upon a farm adjoining his father's place; Newton, living near Spinks Corners; Orval, who makes his home on a part of the old farm property; Oscar, who had forty acres of the old homestead, and died when a young man of thirty-two or thirty-three years; Barney, who resides on the homestead and with him his father lives. Mr. Brant is one of the most venerable citizens of the entire county, and few, if any, have more intimate knowledge of the early 43 history of this section of the state and of conditions which here existed at the time of the arrival of the Brant family in I836. The forests were uncut, the streams unbridged and roads were not yet laid out. The Indians were far more numerous than the white settlers, and Nathaniel Brant engaged in trading with them, buying furs, etc. He also hunted deer and other wild game and did some trapping, and he helped cut out all the roads which were made in those early days. During his first year in Pipestone township, he worked for Dr. Enons and took forty acres of land for his pay. His wife lived within a half mile of the place and thus they become acquainted. Mr. Brant also bought and shipped shingles to Chicago, and bought cattle, sheep, horses and other live stock. He worked energetically and persistently year after year and was well known as a successful business man and a typical representative of the early days. In politics he has given his support to the Republican party and he is yet a hale and hearty man although he is now ninetyone years of age. GEORGE E. SMITH, residing in St. Joseph, is a veteran of the Civil war, a public officer whose efficient service has been free from unfavorable criticism, and a business man whose activity and honesty stand as unquestioned facts in his career. He is now extensively interested in dairy farming in Berrien county and was formerly connected with its fruit-raising industry. Mr. Smith is a native of Connecticut, his birth having occurred in Stamford on the 24th of March, 1838, and he represents one of the old and prominent families of New England. His ancestors located in Connecticut in colonial days and his grandfather, Lieutenant Josiah Smith, who was born in that state, did valiant service in behalf of the colonists during the period of the Revolutionary war, proving a loyal patriot. He lived to enjoy for many years the liberty tor which he had fought, and both he and his wife lived to the advanced age of eightyseven. Josiah Smith, Jr., father of our subject, 674 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY was born in Connecticut, and throughout his entire life followed the occupation of farming in his native state. Although he never sought to figure prominently in public affairs he developed an upright character that won him the unqualified regard of his fellow citizens. He married Betsey Lockwood, who was born in Connecticut and was a daughter of Daniel Lockwood. Mr. Smith departed this life in January, 1883, at the age of seventy-five years, having long survived his wife, who died at the age of fortysix years. In their family were six children: Charles, who is living in Denver, Colorado; George E., of this review; William M., also of St. Joseph; Frank H., who makes his home in Connecticut; Sarah, who is living at White Plains, New York; and Jennie, who makes her home in Stamford, Connecticut. George E. Smith spent his boyhood days on his father's farm and during the summer months was trained to the work of the fields. He gave much time to his studies, possessing scholarly tastes and habits, and after attending the common schools he continued as a student in a private boarding school for some time. Upon putting aside his textbooks he aided his father for ten years but it was his desire to travel and gain the broad culture and information which cannot be obtained in any other way save through contact with different peoples in their native countries. As soon therefore as he was able to do so he left home and traveled extensively throughout the United States and Canada and also visited Cuba. In August, i86I, he came to St. Joseph, Michigan, and here engaged in business as a dealer in groceries and hardware, carrying on his store profitably for twelve months, when, in I862, he gave up his business, putting aside all business and personal considerations that he might aid his country. The blood of Revolutionary ancestors flowed in his veins and the spirit of patriotism was strong within him. He enlisted in August, 1862, as a member of Company B, Seventh Michigan Cavalry, in which he served as quartermaster sergeant for about two years, during which time he participated in many of the hard-fought engagements of the Civil war. Among the most sanguinary conflicts in which he took part were those at Gettysburg, Hagerstown, Cold Harbor, the Wilderness, Cedar Creek and numerous other engagements of minor importance. At the battle of Cedar Creek he was wounded and again in the battle of the Wilderness, but his injuries did not prove very serious and as soon as possible he returned to his place in the ranks. In June, 1864, he was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant and was assigned to duty with Company A of the same regiment. On the expiration of his term of enlistment and following the close of the war he was mustered out at Jackson, Michigan, in I865, returning home with a most honorable and creditable military record. He had never faltered in his loyalty to the Union cause but had valiantly defended the stars and stripes where the leaden hail fell thickest. Returning to St. Joseph George E. Smith engaged in merchandising in this city for a number of years and was also a factor in other departments of business activity, operating a sawmill and dealing in lumber. He likewise became interested in the manufacture of fruit baskets, an enterprise which he conducted successfully until I894, when he sold out. He has been watchful of business opportunities and through the utilization of these has won a place among the substantial residents of the county. He now owns a dairy farm in St. Joseph township, upon which he has quite a herd of Holstein cattle. He is carrying on the business extensively but makes his residence in St. Joseph. At one time he was largely engaged in fruit growing. In addition to his dairy farm he has various interests, having made judicious investment in different business concerns and he is widely recognized as one of the leading men of St. Joseph. Resourceful in his methods he carries forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes, realizing that the present and not the future holds his opportunity. While carefully controlling commercial, industrial and agricultural interests Mr. Smith has at the same time been a co-operant;:w HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 675 factor in the public life of St. Joseph and his well known devotion to the general good has led to his selection for several positions of public trust. He was president of the village board before the incorporation of the city and was identified for more than sixteen years with the school board, acting as its secretary during much of that time. He was a member of the city council and was on the board of public works for a number of years. His official prerogatives have ever been exercised for general improvement and in all that he does in office he manifests the same practical spirit and keen insight that have characterized his business undertakings. He votes with the Democracy, and is in thorough sympathy with the principles of the party, but he ever placed the general good before partisanship and the advancement of community interests before personal aggrandizement. In I868, in St. Joseph, Mr. Smith, was married to Miss Belle Chapman, who was born in Newmarket, Rockingham county, New Hampshire. They have two children, Olive C. and Warren C. The latter is a railroad engineer and the former is the wife of William D. Stover, of St. Louis, Missouri, and has one child, Carolyn C., who was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Mr. Smith is a member of St. Joseph lodge of Masons and he attends the Universalist Church. He has prospered, accumulating' a competence and at the same time winning a most enviable reputation for honesty and fair dealing. To a student of human nature there is nothing of greater interest than to examine into the life of a self-made man and analyze the principles which he has followed, the methods he has pursued, to know what means he has employed for advancement and to study the plans which have given him prominence, enabling him to pass on the highway of life many who have had a more advantageous start. In the history of Mr. Smith there is deep truths of thought and if one desires he may profit by the obvious lessons herein contained. LEWIS D. HARRIS, living in Hagar township, was born in Morgan county, Ohio, November I4, 1834, his parents being Ben jamin and Ruth (Wilkes) Harris, who were natives of New York. They were married, however, in Ohio, having removed to that state with their parents, subsequent to the war of I812. The Harris family were pioneer settlers of Morgan county, Ohio, living forty miles from Marietta, which was the oldest settlement in Ohio and where the Moundbuilders lived in pre-historic days, evidences of their workmanship being found in many of the mounds which exist in that part of the state. When the family made their way from New York to Ohio they rafted lumber down the Allegheny river to the Ohio and their household goods and families were also on board the raft, their families making the trip together. Some of them proceeded on down the river and settled in Missouri and the Harris family lost track of them until after the Civil war, when they were found through advertising. Benjamin Harris aided in clearing up new land in Ohio and wixas actively associated with the early pioneer developmen of that part of the state. In I85o he removed to Michigan, wishing to secure government land or property that was to be had at a cheap figure. His wife had relatives in Berrien county and it was this which induced him to come to this part of the state. He entered a claim on section I2, Hagar townshlip, where his son Lewis now resides, secturing one hundred and thirty-two acres, which he transformed from a wild tract into one highly cultivated and improved. During the last two or three years of his life he lived retired, enjoying a well earned rest. His death occurred March I6, I90I, when he was eighty-nine years of age. His entire life had been devoted to agricultural pursuits, which he followed according to pioneer methods and in keeping with the more advanced ideas of farming that came in later years. In his family were six sons and two daughters but only three are now living: Lewis D., of this review; Joseph B. W., who is living in Hagar township; and George, whose home is in Watervliet township. No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for Lewis D. Harris in his boyhood days. He shared with the family in the experiences and trials 676 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY of a frontier existence and aided in.the arduous task of developing a new farm, following the removal of the family to Michigan. Jie remained at home until twenty-six years of age, when he was married and then settled in the woods on an eighty-acre tract of land. He cut the first stick of the heavy timber on that farm, which was also in Hagar township and he placed between fifty and sixty acres of the land under cultivation. He sold white wood logs on the bank of the river, receiving four dollars for one thousand feet of ash and two and one-half dollars for white wood. His winters were devoted to clearing the land and placing his lumber on the market and the summer seasons were given to the task of cultivating crops. About twenty-eight years ago he returned to the old homestead. He sold his original farm and later bought out the interest of the other heirs in the home property, which comprises one hundred and thirty-two acres of land. His father was alone, needing care and he gave to him a good home during his remaining days. He has since carried on general farming and to some extent has engaged in raising fruit. His place is located a mile and a half from Lake Michigan, which, however, is in sight of his home and he leads a busy, useful and active life in the care and improvement of his property, having placed many of the buildings upon his farm. In I86o at the age of twenty-six years Mr. Harris was married to Miss Margaret Shriver, of Watervliet township, who was born in Canada and came to Berrien county in early womanhood. Her death occurred in I896 after they had traveled life's journey together as man and wife for thirty-six years. They had three children: Minnie, now living in Chicago; Charles Benjamin, who resides in North Dakota; and Gerildia, who is the wife of George E. Martin. They live on the home farm with her father, Mrs. Martin acting as his housekeeper. Mr. Martin is engaged in the cultivation of the fields. They have three children, Irving, Lena and Ruth. Many years ago Mr. Harris was made a member of the board of control and was afterward elected justice of the peace, in which office he has continued to the present time, being re-elected at each successive election. He is alive to the interests of the party, attends its conventions and his opinions carry weight in its councils. He is respected as a man of sterling purpose, of genuine worth and honorable life and well deserves mention in this volume. BARNEY HAZZARD BRANT. No student of history can carry his investigations far into the annals of Berrien county without becoming aware of the fact that the Brants were among its first settlers, and that from pioneer times down to the presentthey have been factors in the development which has been carried on along agricultural and horticultural lines. Barney Hazzarc Brant is a worthy representative of the name, which has now been known here through four generations, he being connected with the third generation. He was born on the place where he now lives, September I, I868, and was the youngest member of the family of Nathaniel M. Brant, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work. His whole life has been spent on the old homestead. His father divided the property when Barney H. Brant was twenty years of age, and he took charge of sixty-five acres, which he has since cultivated, save that he has sold off twenty acres. He still retains the forty-five acres, of which about twenty acres is set out to, fruit. He also grows melons, tomatoes and other vegetables, which he sells on the market. He has sold six hundred bushels of peaches in a season, and the trees are largely new, having been set out by himself. Industry and enterprise are numbered among his strong and salient characteristics, and he carries forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes, being a man of strong and determined purpose and of good business qualifications. On the 4th of April, I889, Mr. Brant was united in marriage to Miss Anna Estella Garrison, of Pipestone, a daughter of Elihu and Helen Garrison. She was only sixteen years of age at the time of her mar HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 677 riage. They lost their eldest child, Roscoe, in infancy, but had a daughter, Hazel Helen, now eleven years of age. Mr. Brant is a Republican, usually voting for the party but advocates strong prohibition principles. He is school inspector. He is well known in the community where he resides, having spent his entire life here and is recognized as an enterprising and prosperous business man. FRED McKEE, living in Benton township, was born at Sacketts Harbor, in Jefferson county, New York, on the 27th of October, I853. In I869, when a youth of sixteen years, he arrived in Michigan, making his way to Cass county. He came with his father, Martin V. McKee, and his stepmother, and the family home was established near Dowagiac, where they died. Mr. McKee mother died when he was 2 months' old. Fred McKee remained at home for two years after the arrival of the family in Michigan, and has since been in Berrien county. He was dependent upon his own resources from the age of eighteen years and whatever success he has achieved is due entirely to his own labors, his perseverance and his determination. As a companion and helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Emma B. Edinborough, a daughter of Mrs. Olive Edinborough, who is represented on another page of this work. The marriage was celebrated on the 28th of March, 1875, and after his marriage Mr. McKee spent one year in California in company with his wife's father. After two years spent on the old home farm in Cass county he removed on his present farm on Highland avenue, Berrien county, about four miles east of Benton Harbor. He had here twenty acres of land, half of which was cleared and he has added to the original tract until he now has fiftyfive acres all in one body. He has cleared fifteen acres of the land, the remainder having already been cleared, and his attention is given to the growing of corn and fruit, having about twenty acres in orchards. He raises a variety of tree fruit, including peaches, pears and cherries, and the annual sale of his fruit amounts to about one thousand dollars. Since locating upon this place he has devoted his attention to his farm, cultivating fields, from which he has gathered good harvests and caring for his orchards in practical manner that has resulted in harvesting large crops. He has erected first class buildings upon his place, including a large and substantial barn and his home is pleasantly and conveniently located near Benton Harbor, so that the advantages of the city are easily obtainable, while those of rural life may be enjoyed at all times. Unto Mr. and Mrs. McKee have been born two daughters: Beulah, now the wife of Harry B. Blandford, who resides upon a farm adjoining the McKee place; and Mary, the wife of A. J. Wetmore, who is living on the farm with her father. In his political views Mr. McKee is a Republican but does not consider himself bound by party ties and occasionally votes for the candidates of the Democracy. He holds membership with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and in a review of his life record it will be found that his has been a busy and useful life, in which he has not feared that laborious attention to details so necessary to success in any undertaking. He has never allowed any thought of failure to enter his mind but has made steady progress and as the years have come and gone has achieved creditable success, having now a well improved farm property. WILMER M. PRATT, whose activity in political circles and business enterprise makes him one of the representative residents of Benton township, is living in Hagar township not far from Benton Harbor. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 24, I858, his parents being William and Elizabeth (King) Pratt. The father was born among the Green Mountains in the state of Vermont, while the mother's birth occurred in Philadelphia, in which city they were married. He had removed to Philadelphia when nineteen years of age and there he learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for a time, eventually, becoming a contractor. Failing health, however, forced him to seek a change and in I860 he went to Omaha but returned to this section of the country in order to have the benefit of the 678 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY bracing climate occasioned by the proximity of Lake Michigan. Making his way to Benton township, he purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land but in order to be still closer to the lake he purchased twenty acres on the bluff and his summers were mostly spent on the lake shore. He continued to engage in contracting and building for some time, meeting with an accident which prevented him from engaging in farming. He, however, developed a farm of eighty acres and made a first class home, where he lived until his death, which occurred on the 2Ist of January, 1904, when he was eighty-two years of age. The doctors of Philadelphia said that he could not live if he remained in that city and he came to the middle west and was greatly benefited by the change of climate and lived to a ripe and useful old age. He was active in public affairs and the cause of education found in him a warm friend, who did effective service for the general public as a school official. He served as a member of the school board in his district for forty years, or until about eighty years of age. During the last five years of his life he was totally blind. He survived his wife for only three years, her death occurring when she was about seventy-four years of age. They had traveled life's journey together as man and wife for a half century and in their family were five sons: Horace B., who is living near Riverside in Hagar township; William M., of this review; Arthur M. and Orson B., twins, the former residing in Riverside and the latter near Twelve Corners; and Adelbert G., whose home is near Hinchman, in Berrien county. Wilmer M. Pratt was a young lad at the time of the removal of the family to the west and he remained under the parental roof until twenty-two years of age. His education was acquired in the public schools and by watching and assisting his father he gained a practical knowledge of the carpenter's trade. When twenty-two years of age he began to manufacture apple barrels, learning coopering of his brother who had previously manufactured suet barrels. They were partners in this enterprise for ten years and supplied all the barrels used in Hagar township, making twelve thousand barrels in a singe year. This proved a profitable business and with the capital thereby acquired Wilmer M. Pratt made his first purchase of land, becoming owner of twenty acres near Riverside. It was new land covered with timber. He built thereon and in eight years placed the tract under cultivation and improved it with good buildings. He then sold and bought his present farm, which is the old homestead of Joseph Dickerson. He has made excellent improvements here and has eighty acres a half mile from Lake Michigan, lying to the north and west in Hagar township. He has continued to clear the land until it is now all under cultivation and he has here a valuable fruit farm of over seventy acres already set to fruit. He has planted peach orchards to the extent of thirty acres, while eight acres are devoted to the raising of grapes, twelve acres to pears, three acres to cherries and the remainder to apples. He has planted all but ten acres of the farm and is still setting out new trees. In one year he sold four thousand bushels of peaches and his sales amount to about five thousand dollars annually. He employs four men to aid him in the care of his orchards and his crops and he has one of the best fruit farms in this part of the state. He keeps in touch with the State Agricultural College as to what is done in the line of horticultural development. He is also one of the officers of the State Horticultural Society and is active in all that works for advancement and improvement in fruit culture. His results have exceeded his expectations and he is regarded as one of the most prominent fruit-growers in Berrien county and has firm faith in the future of this district as a fruit-producing center. He realizes that the work in becoming more and more a profession, while study and investigation have acquainted its farmers with the great scientific principles that underlie the work, while broad experiment and labor are adding more and more largely to the practical knowledge. He makes it his plan to sell everything that he produces under his own name. He harvests his own crop, the packing being done under his per 77T7 I HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 679 sonal supervision and direction and his fruit arrives upon the city markets in excellent condition and finds a ready sale for it is produced from excellent varieties of nursery stock. Mr. Pratt was married on his present farm in the house which he now occupies, in 188I, to Miss Nellie Bartram, who was a sister of Mr. Dickerson, who formerly owned the farm. She died in 1894 leaving five children: Charles A., who is a graduate of the State Agricultural College and is now associated with his father in business; Burr B., a student in the State Agricultural College; Joseph M., who is a student in Professor Edgecombe's College; Helen C. and Genevieve, who are with their father. In 1900 Mr. Pratt was again married, his second union being with Miss Abbie Bartram, the younger sister of his first wife and they have two children, Henry B. and Isadore. Mr. Pratt is an active working Republican but does not aspire to office. He regards it the duty as well as the privilege, however, to exercise his right of franchise in support of the men and measures in which he believes and he co-operates in many progressive movements that have resulted beneficially to the county. Otherwise his undivided attention is given to his business affairs, which are bringing him success and which have already gained for him a prominent name in horticultural circles. JOSEPH R. HEMENWAY, living in Benton township, owns and cultivates a fruit farm which is pleasantly situated three miles east of Benton Harbor on Highland avenue. He was born in Greenville, Ontario, on the 22d of July, I843. His father, Harris Hemenway, was a native of Vermont, and married Miss Hannah Wood, of New York. They removed from the east to Michigan. Joseph R. Hemenway had spent a portion of his youth in Vermont among his relatives and after returning to Canada came at once to Michigan. His father settled in Ogemaw county, and there devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits. Mr. Hemenway of this review remained in Detroit, where he worked at the millwright's trade. After spending ten years in that city he returned to Ottawa, Ontario, where he built a mill and placed it in operation, continuing as foreman thereof for eight years. This was one of the large mills of that place, the output being seventy-five million feet of lumber annually. His position was therefore an important and responsible one but he was well qualified for the work which he undertook and gave excellent satisfaction as foreman. Eventually he returned to Detroit, and in I895 came to Berrien county in order to give his daughters the benefit of educational privileges here. In I896 he purchased his present farm of ten acres situated three miles east of Benton Harbor on Highland avenue. It is devoted to fruit growing. He raises various varieties of fruit which he has found profitable and agreeable, enjoying his business now as well as anything he has ever done. He began with no experience in this line but his ready adaptability and enterprise have enabled him to thoroughly understand the work and conduct it along practical lines resulting in success. He transformed an old house into a comfortable residence and now has a well improved property. Mr. Hemenway was married in Ontario, at the age of twenty-six years to Miss Agnes McCulley, who was also born in Ontario. In their family were three daughters: Eva A., who is the wife of Fred Washburn and resides upon a farm near her father's place; Belle, the wife of Frank Washburn. who is also a farmer in this county; and Lillie, the wife of Arthur Phillips, a resident farmer of Benton township. Mr. Hemenway and his wife are now again alone as they were when they started out together but their daughters reside near by. In politics he is a Republican, keeping well informed on the questions and issues of the day but he has no desire for office, preferring to devote his energies to his business affairs, his farm claiming the greater part of his time and attention, and in its management he has met with good success, having valuable orchards upon his place. 680 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY EUGENE C. DANA, who for a quarter of a century was telegraph operator at Niles, during which time he won an extensive circle of friends, is now devoting his life to literary and professional labors. He is a native son of Niles, having been born in this city in I844. His father, Cyrus Dana, was a native of New York, in which state he spent the days of his boyhood and youth, acquiring his education while still in the east. Coming to Michigan in I836, when this state was still under territorial rule, he settled in Niles, where he entered upon the practice of the profession of law, forming a partnership under the firm style of Green & Dana, and they continued in practice at Niles for many years, Mr. Dana being recognized as one of the brilliant members of the bar of this part of the state. In those early times he would ride to court in a carriage. The country was then sparsely settled and there were no railroads. Cases were argued with much fervor and there were many brilliant displays of oratory in the courts of that period. Mr. Dana was recognized as an able and learned lawyer and secured a good clientage. He married Elizabeth Stockwell, who was born in Troy, New York, and died six months prior to the death of her husband in I847. In their family were five children but only two are living, the daughter being Susan E., now the wife of E. L. Tuttle, of Santa Barbara, California. Eugene C. Dana attended school in various places, although his education in the schoolroom was limited to about five years' attendance. HIe has, however, always been an earnest and discriminating student and has become a well informed man, of scholarly attainments largely in advance of many college bred men. He has read extensively, pondered earnestly and thought deeply, keeping in touch with the advance of modern thought. While still in his teens he entered the United States revenue service during the period of the Civil war and while thus engaged saved quite a little sum of money from his earnings, so that at the age of twenty years he was enabled to purchase an interest in a newspaper, the Niles Repub lican, becoming associated in this enterprise with Major Duncan. On account of his health, however, he afterward gave up the work and took up the study of telegraphy, becoming an operator on the Michigan Central Railroad. He was located at various points on the line, acting first as night operator and afterward as day operator. Finally the order came for him to take charge of the Western Union telgraph office at Niles, the business of which had become greatly disordered through mismanagement by his predecessors. Mr. Dana continued as chief operator at Niles in the Western Union office for twenty-five years and soon brought order out of chaos in the affairs entrusted to him and successfully managed the interests of the position for a quarter of a century. He had hoped to become a writer and indeed has written for the press many letters of his travels in New Mexico and on the Pacific coast but his close application to the keyboard and the demands thus made upon his mental forces rendered it impossible for him to devote more attention to mental work. However, he now has in his possession many manuscripts which he has written and at the present time since his retirement from the telegraph office he has given his attention to literary and professional work. While acting as operator he made many friends and acquaintances all over the world and was in continuous correspondence with eighty or more people, including many celebrities in different parts of the world.He is today a man of brilliant education, well versed on many subjects, and his repartee of ready wit and clear and logical thought have made him a favorite toastmaster, his services in this direction being sought for many banquets. He has on various occasions acted in that capacity for the ord'er of the Knights of Pythias, of which he is a member, and he has served as keeper of the records and seal, acting in that capacity for fourteen years. He is likewise a member of the Elks lodge at South Bend, Indiana. For almost thirty years he has conducted a campaign glee club, himself possessing a fine voice and considerable rhetorical power so that on many occasions he I "L4 'rw4 I:t HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 68I has acted in theatricals. As a reader he has been in demand and has done good work at banquets here and elsewhere, his specialty being dialect recitations, as he is rather an adept in five or six dialects. In his political views Mr. Dana is an earnest Republican, always voting to uphold the principles of that party, and from the age of sixteen years he has been a devoted member of the Presbyterian Church. He has a very wide acquaintance in Niles and throughout the county, and the circle of his friends is an extensive one, the rich resources of his mind awakening the admiration and interests of his fellowmen and rendering him a most companionable gentleman. MORGAN W. MATRAU still resides in Bainbridge township, where he was born April 29, I847. His parents were Joseph and Amanda (Woodruff) Matrau, the latter a daughter of Deacon Levi Woodruff, a distinguished and pioneer settler of this section of the state. Joseph Ma'trau was also one of the early residents of this part of Michigan and was married here to Amanda Woodruff. He had come to Berrien county from the district of Montreal, Canada, and he went to Chicago when it was a little hamlet, crossing thence to Michigan in order to get a home. He first had gone near the village of Pen Yan in Bainbridge township, and it was there that his son Morgan was born. When the boy was five or six years of age his parents removed to another farm in the northern part of the same township, where the father cleared and developed a tract of land of eighty acres. His life was devoted to farming and thus he provided a comfortable living for his family. Mr. Matrau became a Methodist but his wife became a member of the Congregational church, in which she had been reared and of which her father, Deacon Levi Woodruff was a prominent representative in this part of the state. Mr. Matrau passed away when about seventy-two years of age and his wife had departed this life in her seventy-third year. In their family were five children: Henry M., of Norfolk, Nebraska; Rev. Frank Mat rau, an Episcopal minister of Saginaw, Michigan; Morgan W., of this review; Edward, who is living in Watervliet; and Lucy, the wife of William Cook, of Bainbridge township. Captain Matrau enlisted for three months' service in the Civil war and on the expiration of that period re-enlisted and continued at the front until the close of hostilities. His brother Frank was also a soldier during the latter part of the war. Morgan W. Matrau, spending his boyhood days upon the home farm, became deeply interested when a lad in his teens in the progress of events in the south when hostilities were being carried on in that section of the country. He had two brothers at the front and when but seventeen years of age he, too, enlisted, becoming a member of Company B, Twelfth Michigan Infantry in 1864. He largely served in the west, being under command of General Steele in Arkansas, and he was ever loyal and faithful to the duties that devolved upon him in this connection. On the 2d of November, 1870, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Matrau and Miss Amelia Byers, a daughter of David and Eliza Ann (Miller) Byers, who were pioneer residents of Michigan, having in 1840 removed from Cayuga county, New York, to this state. Mr. Byers helped organize Bainbridge township. He was a justice of the peace and married the first couple to be married in the township, who were Henry Selter and Mary Youngs. The mother was a native of that county, while the father was born in Pennsylvania. His sister Mattie also accompanied them to Michigan and remained here until her life was ended in death. David Byers settled on a farm on the Territorial road, bordering the county line about twelve miles east of Benton Harbor. He kept open house for the entertainment of travelers, his being one of the landmarks of pioneer times. His place was situated in the midst of the forest and there he erected a residence, which is still standing, and is one of the oldest houses of that section of the country. It is a landmark there and has been a mute witness of the changes that have occurred and the methods which have 682 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY been engaged in carrying forward'the work of improvement and progress. His family were all reared in that house and there he died March 24, 1874, at the age of sixty-nine years. His wife survived until February 29, I904, and retained her faculties to the last although she reached the very advanced age of eighty-seven years, ten months and twelve days. She was a very active and devoted member of a church association known as the Mennonites. In the family were two daughters: Melissa, the wife of I. N. Selter, of Benton Harbor; and Amelia, the wife of Morgan W. Matrau. She was born upon the old homestead farm where she still lives. This marriage has been blessed with six daughters and one son, namely: Edith, the wife of William Docktor, of Bainbridge; Alta, the wife of John Fernham, of Bainbridge; Katie, the wife of Elbert Kaiser, of Bainbridge; Olive, the wife of A. H. Peters, of the same township; Lida, the wife of Fred Seel, of Bainbridge township; A. B., who married Blanch Palmer and operates the home farm; and Eva, who is still with her parents. Mr. Matrau has today the: compass his father carried for his guide through the wilderness when only footpaths were used and in many places not those. St. Joseph was their market place. His father would carry a small pail of butter twelve miles to get a pence a pound. Deer, wolves and wild turkeys were plenty and his father being a fine marksman the family never was without wild meat of some kind to eat. He also has the tin reflector his mother set before the fireplace and baked her bread in. For years she did all her cooking by the fireplace. Later they built a clay oven and he heard his mother tell what fine bread the old clay oven baked. She would fill up the oven with wood; when burned up, wash out the ashes, then fill with bread, cake, pie, pudding and bake at the same time. His father many times made the remark that bread had a much better flavor then than nowadays baked in the steel range. The large spinning wheel and small flax wheel his mother used are also in his opssession. She taught his sisters and himself to spin wool on the large wheel and saved a rack of tow with the intentions of teaching them to spin tow on the small wheel, but did not as that seemed more difficult. His mother's younger days were spent in industry for of a family of ten, she the only daughter and nine brothers. She and her mother spun and made both wool and linen apparel, such as aprons, dresses, underwear, table linens, toweling, bedticks, sheets, pillow slips, men's wear, shirts, pants, vests, coats, etc. She united with the Mennonite church at an early age and lived a consistent Christian life. Her mother died here February 23, I883, nearly ninety-two years of age. Morgan saw a herd of twenty-two deer pass by his father's door in his rememberance. Mr. Matrau was one of the first in Michigan to breed Shropshire sheep. He advertised and exhibited his flock and raises a large number of fine sheep, being one of the promoters of this industry in Michigan, becoming widely known in this connection. At one time he owned about three hundred acres of land but much of this has been given to his children, to whom he has been a most generous father. He has lived a life of marked business activity and enterprise and his success has come to him as the merited reward of his labor. In politics he has been a stanch and stalwart Republican, unfaltering in his allegiance to the party and its principles. For twenty years he has been a devoted member of the Christian church and devotes much of his time to reading the Bible, of which he has been a constant student for thirty-six years. His life is permeated with its teachings and is in harmony with its principles and the men who know him respect him because of his fidelity to his honest convictions and 'his straightforward dealings in all his business relations. LEWIS VALENTINE has developed a very desirable farm with excellent improvements in Benton township, where he has a commodious residence amid attractive surroundings. The farm in its neat and thrifty, appearance indicates his careful supervision and progressive methods and his HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 683 work has ever been of a practical nature, producing excellent results. A native of the neighboring state of Indiana, he was born in Eel River township, Allen county, on the i9th day of October, I840. In I856 the family removed to Iowa. His parents were John and Susanna (Peters) Valentine. The father was born in Ohio, and was married in that state. Removing to Indiana he became the third settler of Eel River township, Allen county, and in fact when he took up his abode there he did not know of but one other settler in the entire township. He continued his residence there, aiding in the pioneer development and settlement of the district until I856, when he removed to Knoxville, Iowa, where he resided for three years. The same year, however, the government took the land out of the market and in I859 Mr. Valentine returned to his old farm in Indiana, where he spent his remaining days, passing away there when not quite seventy years of age. His eldest sister is eightysix years of age, and his brother, Jackson Valentine, eighty-two years of age, still resides in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Lewis Valentine returned to the state of his nativity with his parents. He was sixteen years of age when they went to Iowa, and while in that state he began to learn the brick mason's trade, which he afterward followed in Indiana, working for some time at that occupation in Fort Wayne and in Kendallville. He was thus employed until his marriage, which important event in his life was celebrated on the 3d of July, I864. He had served for one year as a soldier of the Civil war, having enlisted in response to the first call for troops to aid in crushing out the rebellion in its incipiency. He was not accepted at that time, however, and afterward enlisted for one year's service in response to President Lincoln's second call for volunteers. He joined Company F, of the Twelfth Indiana Infantry, and was soon afterward mustered into the United States service doing active military duty in Maryland and Virginia. He was largely employed in the Shenandoah valley, the regiment being mainly engaged in holding the front and keeping the rebels from making an advance on Washingtor and other points to the north. On the expiration of his term of service he returned to his home. He had suffered much from the exposure, hardships and rigors of war and his health being impaired he did not re-enlist. On the 3d of July, I864, Mr. Valentine was married in Bryan, Ohio, to Miss Cynthia Ellen Loveridge, who was born in Knox county, Ohio, near Mount Vernon. He continued to work at his trade at Kendallville for a time, and afterward engaged in contracting as a brick mason at Bryan. He continued there and at Kendallville until I877, when he went to Berrien county, Michigan. At that time there was not a building on the place on which he now makes his home. He exchanged property in Indiana for land in this county and thereby became the owner of thirty-three acres, which was partially cleared, but all around him were large timber tracts. His farm now borders Highland avenue and is pleasantly pleasantly and conveniently located about three miles from Benton Harbor. It is devoted to fruit growing, although formerly he engaged in the cultivation of berries and later in the raising of peaches. He has worked to some extent at his trade and spent one year as a contractor in Wichita, Kansas, after first coming to Michigan, but his attention is now largely given to his farming and fruit-raising interests and he has developed a very desirable property, on which are excellent improvements. His home is a large and pleasant residence situated in the midst of fine land and everything about the place is neat and attractive in appearance. He built the house, laying every brick himself. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Valentine have been born the following named: Edgar Meade, who was employed in the paper mill at Watervliet, and was drowned there when thirty-two years of age. Maude G. died at the age of fifteen years. M. Winnie died at the age of seventeen years. Coze L. is a mechanic, machinist and farmer. Zulu May, at home, was graduated on the completion of the business course in Benton Harbor College and is now a student of music. 684 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Mr. Valentine exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party. He voted for Abraham Lincoln in I864 and has cast a ballot at each presidential election since that time, always supporting the men and measures of the Republican party. Socially he is connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He has worked persistently and energetically year after year and in any analyzation of his life record it will be seen that his perseverance has enabled him to overcome the difficulties and obstacles in his path and eventually win the success which is now crowning his labors. JOHN MORGAN, deceased, who for many years was a resident of Bainbridge township, where he engaged in general agricultural pursuits, was born in Rochester, New York, on the 26th of September, I8I9. His father was Michael Morgan, also a native of New York, where he wooed and won Miss Margaret Reaves. She, too, was born in the Empire state, and their last days were spent in Michigan, their home being in Fentonville, at the time of their demise. John Morgan at the age of fourteen years became a sailor on the lakes under his uncle, Captain Morgan, and so continued for four years. He then engaged in driving a stage in New York and gradually worked his way westward, going to St. Joseph as a stage driver. There he met Miss Emma Sutherland in the hotel where she worked. Mr. Morgan continued to drive a stage from St. Joseph to Kalamazoo for a time and afterward worked for Hiram Wheeler in a warehouse for about nine and a half years. He was then married on the 28th of February, I847, to Miss Sutherland, whose acquaintance he had previously formed, the wedding ceremony being performed by Tobias Byers, justice of the peace. Mr. Morgan continued to work for several years for Mr. Wheeler, and with the money which he saved from his earnings he purchased a tract of land, whereon he made some improvements and there built a log house. In the spring of I849, he and other Berrien county men to the number of eight, organized a company and started for California, outfitting with ox teams and a yoke of cows. They started from St. Joseph on the I ith of March, made the long journey across the prairies of the Mississippi valley, the hot sandy plains of the west and through the mountain passes, reaching San Francisco on the 22d of September. They lost one of their company by name Enos, but the others of the party reached their 'destination in safety. Mr. Morgan was the last survivor of that company, his death occurring on the 26th of April, I900. He remained in California for three and a half years. Upon his return in 1852 he brought back with him one thousand dollars and the following spring he invested in eighty acres of land additional. His wife had remained upon the home place with her one daughter during the absence of her husband in California, and upon his return he devoted himself to clearing the farm and placing the soil under cultivation. There was at that time no market for timber but later he sold the timber for ties, cutting valuable timber and using it in that way. Out of a tract of two hundred and forty acres he cleared one hundred and seventy acres and placed it under cultivation. He erected three different houses upon his place, the third and last one having been built in I868. The second one had been destroyed by fire but stood on the same foundation as the home that is now found upon the farm. In 1893 Mr. Morgan was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the Ioth of February of that year. She had been a faithful companion and helpmate to him on life's journey and had carefully reared her family of seven children, namely: Helen, who is the wife of Henry Bradley, a photographer, at Buchanan, Michigan; Charles, living in Sodus township; George, whose home is in Pipestone township; Merritt, deceased; Clara, who died in I888, at the age of twenty-six years; Edwin and Chloa, both of whom are on the farm. One son, Merritt, was lost on the Chicora. His life was passed mainly on the farm but in 1893 he became steward on the Bradshaw and thus served for two years, after which HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 685 he became steward on the Chicora and served all of that season. The vessel was lost January 21, I895, with all on board. John Morgan was a stanch Democrat in his political views. His life was largely eventful in its experiences, embracing a residence in Michigan during pioneer times, as well as in California during the early days of mining excitement there. Following his return to this state he performed the arduous task of developing a farm property in the midst of the forest, hewing out the fields in heavy timbered regions, and as the years went by he achieved the success which made him one of the substantial agriculturists of the community. His long residence here made him widely known and he reached an advanced age, being about eighty years and six months of age at the time of his demise. THOMAS GRANGER. It is the boast of Great Britain that the sun never sets upon her possessions, she who may claim with equal pride that her children are numbered among the valued citizens of almost every section of the globe, where they have been effective factors in planting the seeds of civilization or in carrying forward the work of general progress. Thomas Granger, one of the sons of England, was born in the township of Cottingham, in Cambridgeshire, March 26, I838. There he grew to manhood, no event of special importance occurring to vary the routine of farm life for him in his boyhood days, when his time was devoted to play, work and the duties of the schoolroom. When twenty-four years of age, however, he was married to Elizabeth V. Whiting. He had been reared to farm life, although he had two older brothers who took up trades. Mr. Granger, however, preferred outdoor life and for thirteen years he was in the employ of one man, engaged at general farm labor and caring for fruit. He was thirty-four years of age, when, in 1872, he determined to try his fortune in the new world and crossed the Atlantic to the United States, making his way from the seaport into the interior of the country. He located first at Chicago. It was his wish to get land and engage in farming on his own account, but he had only money enough to bring him to Illinois. There he worked for about a year, and in 1873 he came to Berrien county. He had met John T. Wisner, of Hagar township, who was looking for a man to care for his place. For a year Mr. Granger was employed on Mr. Wisner's farm and then rented it for two years. During that time he prospered in his labors and at the end of that period purchased fifteen acres of land, where he now resides. It had been "deviled" with but little cleared. It was covered with stumps and there was a log shanty upon the place. He had incurred an indebtedness of three hundred and fifty dollars in order to secure the property and he had no teams with which to do the farm work. In fact, he possessed nothing but a pair of willing hands and a strong determination. As soon as a little house could be built he moved on to the farm and he worked 6ut for two or three years in the summer months in order to gain money with which to meet the expense necessary to provide for his family and carry on his own farm work. He cleared his own land as much as possible in the: winter season and he planted strawberries which were soon in bearing condition and gave him an income. Living frugally and economically he paid for his land and then began to buy more land in five different pieces, thus adding to his holdings until he now has sixty acres. Much of this land was in a swamp and he had to make ditches to drain it and get rid of the water on account of the flat, level condition. He has carried forward the work of improvement and cultivation until the entire place is now in fine condition and is regarded as a valuable farm property. He has depended upon berries as his chief crop and has sold over seventeen hundred crates in a single season. His entire life has been devoted to the farm and he has gained the success which comes as a direct and sure reward of persistent, earnest labor. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Granger have been born two sons. Francis W., the elder, is a farmer on the Lake Shore drive in Hagar township, where he has fifty acres of land 686 HISTORY-OF BERRIEN COUNTY bordering on Lake Michigan. H.e married Attila Vergusen. Arthur Edward Granger, now operating the home farm, wedded Mrs. Elizabeth Woodly, the widow of Frank Woodly, and by her first marriage she had three children, Roy, Guy, and William. Mr. Granger is a Republican, always supporting the party since becoming a naturalized American citizen. He has the substantial qualities of the English race, including the ready adaptability, the quick insight into business conditions and the perseverance which enables him to continue in the line of work marked out until he has attained success therein. JOHN MARTINDALE, whose home stands on the brow of a bluff thirty-three feet high, commanding a fine view of the surrounding country, his place being about three and a quarter miles from Benton Harbor and near the Paw Paw river, is now successfully engaged in horticultural pursuits. He was born in Ontario, Canada, on the 5th of April, 1839, and the following year his parents remove to Buffalo, New York, whence in I849 they came to Berrien county, Michigan. The father, William Martindale, located upon the farm which is now occupied by his son John in Benton township. Here he lived until his death and had one hundred and twenty acres of land, constituting one of the good farms of the locality. He was in poor health, however, for thirty years, so that the actual work of developing and improving the place had to be left to others. He passed away at the age of seventy-six years. His wife bore the maiden name of Alice Lake and was born and reared in New York. She survived her husband for about eight years. In their family were five children, who reached adult age: Lydia, who married Corneal Dingman and died at the age of fifty years; Phoebe Ann, the wife of Cash Williams, a farmer residing in Watervliet township; John, of this review; William, who is also living in Benton township; and Thomas, who is with his brother John. When a youth of seventeen years John Martindale arrived in this county and upon him largely devolved the arduous task of developing a new farm. He assumed the indebtedness which was upon the place and purchased the interest of the other heirs in the home property, which he at once began to further develop and improve. When a young man of twenty-four years he was married to Miss Laura Jane Jakeway, a daughter of Solomon Jakeway, of New York, and one of the early settlers of Benton township, whose old farm laid south of Millburg, the family home being established there in 1847, when Mrs. Martindale was a small child. Following his marriage John Martindale began to clear and cultivate a forty acre tract of land which was situated in the midst of the forest and adjoined his father's place. He had twelve acres of this cleared when his father died and he took the old homestead, his mother living with him as long as she lived. He has since placed his entire eighty acres under cultivation and has a well developed property, which is neat and thrifty in appearance and indicates his careful supervision. His groves contain about three thousand peach trees and he has four acres planted to grapes, pears, cherries and plums, making in all about twenty-five acres in fruit. This work has given entire satisfaction, because he has harvested good crops, for which he has found a ready sale on the market. The place is watered by a spring and is well adapted for dairying purposes. For twelve years Mr. Martindale kept forty cows for dairy purposes but this confined him so closely to his business that he abandoned it, and turned his attention to the cultivation of fruit. The increase in the price of feed also led him to retire from dairying, for he found that he could make no money thereby. He has erected his present home, thus replacing one that was burned. His house stands on the brow of a thirty-three foot bluff, overlooking a fine bottom pasturage of over thirty acres, and the house is conveniently situated about three and a quarter miles from Benton Harbor. After a happy married life of twentyeight years Mr. Martindale was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died leav 11 WILLIAM FREESTONE HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 687 ing three children: Jesse Eugene, now a farmer of Michigan; Alma, who is the wife ol Willard Ware, of Berrien county; and Claude, a mechanic, living in St. Joseph. For his second wife Mr. Martindale chose Ida Anderson, who had first married John Peteison and who was killed in the Well's basket factory at St. Joseph. She came to this county in 1871 and on the 6th of March, I882, gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Martindale. They have one daughter, Laura, who is now the wife of John Benson and her husband operates her father's farm. There is one child by this marriage, Edith May, now two years of age. Mrs. Martindale had two sons by her first marriage, Albert and Benny Peterson, both in Benton Harbor. They were reared by Mr. Martindale as his own children and the two families have lived together in the utmost harmony. Mr. Martindale is a Republican, but though he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day he has never sought office, preferring to concentrate his time and energies upon his business affairs. WILLIAM FREESTONE, president and general manager of the Freestone Pickle Company at Benton Harbor, is a self-made man who, without any extraordinary family or pecuniary advantages at the commencement of life has battled earnestly and energetically and by indomitable courage and integrity has achieved both character and fortune. By sheer force of will and untiring effort he has worked his way upward and is numbered among the leading men of southwestern Michigan. A native of Rochester, New York, he was born in the year I840, and in his infancy was taken by his parents, Thomas and Grace Freestone, to Chicago, now the metropolis of the west, then a small city which only three years before had been incorporated. His father was a native of Northamptonshire, England, and following his marriage emigrated with his wife to the new world, settling in Rochester, New York, where he continued to reside until his removal west. William Freestone passed his boyhood days amid the environments which have developed a great city on the western prairie and he became imbued with much of the spirit of enterprise and progress that have led to the upbuilding of Chicago. He attended the public schools and then learned the plasterer's trade. He mastered and followed the business until the outbreak of the Civil war, when, his patriotic nature being aroused in response to the country's call for aid, he enlisted as a private of Company G, Thirty-seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He served for three years and was under the command of General John C. Black, participating in some notable engagements, including the battles of Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove and the siege of Vicksburg. Every military duty imposed upon him was faithfully performed and his loyalty to the cause was above question. Following the close of hostilities Mr. Freestone returned to Chicago, where he engaged upon a new field of business activity by becoming an employe of the Squire Dingee Company, pickle manufacturers, with whom he continued until I885, during which time he gained a close and intimate knowledge of the business both in principle and detail. When the business was incorporated in 1885 he became financially interested therein, and has since been identified with similar enterprises. In 1893 he became a resident of Benton Harbor as resident partner and manager of the plant of the Squire Dingee Company at this place. The plant had been established in I89I, and Mr. Freestone was connected therewith until the Freestone Pickle Company was established and incorporated in I903 with William Freestone as president and general manager; Wilbert D. Freestone, vice-president and treasurer; and G. WV. Larkworthy, secretary. This company was organized under the laws of Michigan with a paid up capital of fifty thousand dollars and, having purchased the business of the Squire Dingee Company, is now engaged extensively in the manufacture of vinegar and as growers and packers of pickles. In Benton Harbor they have an extensive plant, comprising five buildings, covering three acres of ground, and their output is over. seventy-five thou 688 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY sand bushels of pickles annually.-An ex- in possession of a comfortable income retensive force of workmen are employed dur- suiting from well invested capital. ing the season and about seventeen people throughout the remainder of the year, rendering the enterprise one of particular value to the community by affording employment to a large number and thus placing in circulation a large aggregate wage. Branch houses have also been established at Bangor, Sawyer, Pullman, Baroda, Bridgman and Pearl, and all are being operated extensively and successfully. The output is sent throughout the United States and Canada, and the industry is one of material benefit to Benton Harbor and Berrien county. William Freestone has been married twice. He first wedded Miss Adelaide Dingee, who died in Chicago in I883. Of the three children of that union two are living: Wilbert D., who is associated with his father in business and is represented elsewhere in this work; and Adelaide, now the wife of Leonard H. Smith, of Benton Harbor, by whom she has four children, Adelaide, Percy, Ethel and Wilbert, all born in this city. In 1885 William Freestone was again married, his second union being with Miss Matilda Anderson, of Chicago, and to them have been born five children, who are yet living, Florence, Wallace, Walter, Carl and Theodore. William Freestone is a member of George H. Thomas Post, G. A. R., of Benton Harbor, and is affiliated with all of the Masonic bodies of this city. In his political views he is a Republican, and as every broad minded citizen should do, keeps in touch with the political problems and issues of the day but is without aspiration for office. He is broad gauged and liberal in all of his views and has been a man of action rather than theory. He has worked and demonstrated rather than argued and debated and his labors with their attendant results have demonstrated the possibilities for successful accomplishment without the assistance of capital as a moving force at the outset of ones career. As the years have gone by he has won prosperity, owing to his earnest and unremitting diligence, and today he is WILBERT D. FREESTONE. In the business world today, with its constantly changing conditions and rapid development, opportunity is continually presented to him who has the ability to recognize his chance and improve it. Among the more recently developed enterprises of Berrien county is that of the Freestone Pickle Company, at Benton Harbor, of which Wilbert D. Freestone is vice president and treasurer. He is thus prominently connected with one of the leading industrial enterprises of southwestern Michigan and his labors have contributed in no small degree to the success of the undertaking. He has wrought along modern business lines and has employed the "merit system" in relation to business affairs, the company winning its extensive and growing patronage because of the excellence of its product and its unassailable reputation for reliability in all trade transactions. Mr. Freestone is a native of Chicago, Illinois, where he was born in November, I868. He is of English lineage, his paternal grandparents, Thomas and Grace Freestone, of Northamptonshire, England, having become the founders of this family in America on their removal to Rochester, New York. Their son, William Freestone, born in that city in June, I840, was in his infancy, taken by his parents to Chicago and after acquiring a public school education and learning and following the plasterer's trade for some time he served for three years in the Civil war, returning to his home to become connected with a line of business in which he is still interested and in which he has gained a large and gratifying success. He entered the employ of the Squire Dingee Pickle Company, becoming a stockholder therein in I885, and the resident partner and manager of the business in Benton Harbor in 1893. Ten years later the business was purchased by the present company. William Freestone was married to Adelaide Dingee, and Wilbert D. Freestone is -- WILBERT D. FREESTONE I I HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 689 the elder of their two living children. At the usual age he became a student in the public schools of Chicago and when still quite a young lad he entered the employ of the Squire Dingee Company, manufacturers of vinegar and pickles, with headquarters in Chicago, but with plants in different parts of the middle west. This company had been organized in Chicago in I858, and in I89I established a branch house in Benton Harbor. On entering the employ of the company Wilbert D. Freestone was assigned to duty in the pickle factory at Woodstock, Illinois, where he thoroughly acquainted himself with the business in every department. In 189I he became one of the representatives of the company in Benton Harbor, the plant having been established here in I89. The business was incorporated and thus conducted until I903, when it was sold to the Freestone Pickle Company, which in that year was established and incorporated, with William Freestone as president and general manager; Wilbert D. Freestone, vice president and treasurer; and G. WV. Larkworthy, secretary. This company was organized under the laws of Michigan with a paid up capital of fifty thousand dollars. They purchased the business of the Squire Dingee Company and are now engaged extensively in the manufacture of vinegar and also growers and packers of pickles. In Benton Harbor they have an extensive plant, comprising five buildings, covering three acres of ground, with well known appliances for carrying on a factory of this kind. The output is over seventy-five thousand bushels of pickles annually and they employ an extensive force during the season and about seventeen people throughout the remainder of the year. Not only does the company manufacture vinegar and pickles but also grows cucumbers on an extensive scale and buys large quantities in advance of the season. In addition to the plant at Benton Harbor there are branch plants at Bangor, Sawyer, Pullman, Baroda, Bridgman and Pearl, and the first mentioned is nearly as large as the Benton Harbor plant, while all the others are but little smaller. They send their product throughout the United States 44 and Canada and the business has become one of the leading productive enterprises of Berrien county. It has now assumed extensive proportions and is not only a source of profit to the individual stockholders but also contributes to the general prosperity through the employment given to many and through furnishing a market to producers. In I893 Wilbert D. Freestone was married in Elgin, Illinois, to MIiss Stella Guptill, and unto them have been born three children, Ruth, Harold and Virgene, all born in Benton Harbor. Mr. Freestone is a member of Lake Shore Lodge, A. F. & A. M., the Knights of Pythias and the Maccabees, all of Benton Harbor, and in his political views is a stalwart Republican. Recognized as one of the leading business men of southwestern Michigan he is alert an enterprising, his capability enabling him to successfully solve intricate business problems and to promote to successful completon whatever he undertakes. GEORGE GRIFFIN. Many modern improvements are found upon the valuable farming property of George Griffin in Bainbridge township, showing that he is a man of enterprise and progressive spirit. He was born in Butler county, Ohio, near Middletown, April 25, I854, and in I865, when a youth of about eleven years, came to Berrien county with his parents, William and Martha (Burgess) Griffin. The father was born in Pennsylvania, and the mother in Virginia, and they were married in Ohio. The father was the owner of eighty acres of land, which he secured from the government in I854. It lay in Pipestone township and was covered with heavy timber when it came into his possession but he began at once to cut down the trees and clear away the brush and stumps and in the course of time plowed and planted the fields and otherwise improved the property. He lived for six years upon that place but had cleared off several acres at the time of his demise. He left a widow with seven children, the eldest of whom were William H. and George Griffin, aged respectively seventeen and fifteen years. They took up the task which was laid 690 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY down by the father and continued to cultivate and improve the property, the mother rearing her family there. She still survives and now makes her home with her eldest son, William H. Griffin, in Pipestone township. George Griffin continued to aid his mother until eighteen years of age, when he left home and began working as a farm hand, being thus employed for two years. He was married, however, at the age of nineteen years, on the 27th of November, I873, to Miss Elizabeth Glass, who was about the same age. They were neighbors, having known each other for many years. Their first purchase of land comprised but five acres, which Mr. Griffin afterward sold, and in 1876 he bought his present farm in Bainbridge township originally owned by Mr. Burnette. It was covered with grubs and with the original timber and he paid twenty-five dollars for the property. No clearing had been made and the place comprised thirteen acres, to which he has since added twenty acres, so that he now has a good property of thirty-three acres. All this has been converted into a cultivable tract, although at least twelve acres was swamp land when it came into his possession. He drained this, spending about three hundred dollars in tiling and drainage and it is now very valuable. This is a fruit farm of about twenty-five acres, having all been set out to fruit, including grapes, peaches, apples and cherries. He sold five thousand baskets of grapes in one season. He finds that fruit can be grown very satisfactorily and has devoted thirty years to his farm, making it a valuable property for the production of fruit. He has good building on a natural elevation or building site, and the farm is well equipped for the care of his fruit. He also owns eighty acres of land in the fruit belt in Mason county, and he deserves much credit for what he has accomplished, as he started out in life empty-handed, depending entirely upon his own resources, his success resulting from his frugality, enterprise and diligence and the assistance of his estimable wife. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Griffin have been born nine children, Dora, Christina, Mary, John, Alma, Emma, Pearl, Willie and Ina, but only the two youngest are now at home. Mr. Griffin votes with the Democracy and fraternally is connected with Bainbridge Lodge, No. 363, I. O. O. F., at Bainbridge Center. He was brought to this county during his infancy, and has always lived here. Thrust upon his own resources at an early age, he assisted his mother in his youth and established a home of his own when a comparatively young man. As the years have gone by he has labored diligently and his business career has been crowned with a success which is gratifying and commendable, showing what may be accomplished by earnest, persistent labor. BURR BARTRAM lives on section 6, Benton township. His home is one of the best located farms of the county, being three miles north of Benton Harbor and less than a mile from Lake Michigan. It is a splendidly improved property, indicating his careful supervision and practical methods and in its care he is leading a life of industry and frugality, being now well known as a representative fruit-grower of the community. He was born in Erie county, New York, September 6, 1853, his parents being Henry and Ketura S. (Hogeland) Bartram. The mother was of German birth, and died when her son Burr was only three years of age. The father was of English lineage and after losing his firs't wife married Mrs. Freelove (McIntyre) Davis. He met death in 1864, being killed while at work on a bridge which he was building under contract. In 1867 his widow removed to Berrien county, Michigan, with her five young children. A daughter of her former marriage was Hannah Davis, who had already come to Berrien county to teach school. After following that profession for a time here she married Joseph Dickinson, who was a son of Robert Dickinson, and a brother of Arthur Dickinson. She had lived in Hagar township at the time of the arrival of her mother in the county. Some six months later Burr Bartram, then a boy, followed his stepmother to this state. She purchased a small i HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 69I place and thereon reared her family. She is still living in Hagar township, spending much of her time with her children. Burr Bartram attended the public schools and was also a student in Hillsdale College. W'hen nineteen years of age he began teaching, with the expectation of later pursuing a college course, and after teaching for a time in Hagar township he attended the Valparaiso Normal School under Professor Brown, and continued to teach for seven years, mainly in Hagar township and all the time in Berrien county. He was either in school as a student or teacher for a number of years through the winter seasons, while in the summer months he worked at farm labor. On the 28th of April, I880, Mr. Bartram was united in marriage to Miss Clara E. Eaman, a daughter of James M. and Elizabeth (Cook) Eaman. Her father, who settled in this county in I868, is still a resident of Hagar township. Mrs. Bartram was born in Dexter, Washtenaw county, Michigan, and was a neighbor of Mr. Bartram in her girlhood days. They began their domestic life upon a farm. His first purchase made him owner of eight acres, for which he went in debt. His house was a frame structure, which he occupied until I896, when he erected his present commodious residence. In a short space of time he had cleared his farm of all indebtedness and has added to the property in later years until he has thirtythree acres in one body, all devoted to fruitraising. His sales run nearly two thousand dollars annually and sometimes reach twenty-five hundred dollars. He grows purely for commercial purposes, and since I880 has devoted his attention in undivided manner to his farm. His home is one of the best located, being three miles north of Benton Harbor and less than one mile from Lake Michigan. In his orchards are found fine varieties of trees and usually good crops are gathered each year. Mr. Bartram is a Republican but has never aspired to public office or public honors. He belongs to Lake Shore Lodge, A. F. & A. M., at Benton Harbor, and to Calvin Brittain Chapter, at St. Joseph. PORTER E. BRANT, living in Bainbridge township, was born in Hagar township, Berrien county, on a farm north of the Paw Paw river, March 3, I843, his parents being Daniel and Marietta (Hazzard) Brant. The father was a native of Rochester, New York, and the mother of Ellisburg, that state, but they were married in Benton township, Berrien county, about I840. The mother had been one of the early teachers of the county, following the profession up to the time of her marriage. Her home was in Pipestone township, and she was a daughter of Crawford Hazzard, a pioneer resident of that township. Daniel Brant when eighteen years of age had driven a yoke of oxen from Rochester to Pokagon township, where his father, Simeon Brant, had already settled. Edward Brant's father, who died enroute from California, was a cousin of Daniel Brant and further mention of the family is made on another page of this work. The family is in fact a prominent one in Berrien county, having numerous representatives who have been active and influential in business circles and in public affairs. Daniel Brant remained a resident of Pokagon township until all of the members of the family removed tot Bainbridge township, cutting the road through the forests for miles. Simeon Brant secured a claim constituting the southeast quarter of section 3I, while Daniel's place was the southwest quarter of section 32, and Artaxerses Brant took the east half of the southeast quarter of section 31. Nathaniel Brant obtained the northwest quarter of section 32 and thus altogether they secured the four corners. Nearly all this land is still in possession of members of the Brant family, although Nathaniel Brant is the only one of the original owners now living. Simeon Brant, the father, died at the old homestead at a very advanced age, while Artaxerses Brant died at the age of seventy-five years, and Daniel passed away at the old home when sixty-six years of age. Artaxerses Brant had one son in Mason county and three grandchildren. The children of Jerome Brant are still on the old homestead. Nathaniel Brant resides 692 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY upon his old home place, which has now been in his possession for many years. Daniel Brant, father of our subject, placed about one hundred and twenty acres of his homestead under cultivation. He likewise secured and improved two other tracts of land of eighty and fifty-one acres respectively, and he also had two houses in Benton Harbor at the time of his death. He likewise owned one hundred and twenty acres of land in Pipestone township, which he improved, and he gave a farm to each of his children, amounting to over one hundred and sixty acres of land. He placed more than two hundred acres of land under cultivation and thus contributed in large measure to the substantial development and reclamation of this part of the state. His wife was a fine business woman and he largely attributed to her influence and assistance the success which he has achieved. She died about fifteen years prior to the death of her husband, being about fifty years of age when she passed away. They had traveled life's journey together, however, for many years, for she was but seventeen years of age at the time of their marriage. Her life was devoted to her family and although never very strong or robust she was ambitious and energetic and her capable management of the household affairs and the assistance and encouragement which she rendered her husband were valued factors in their prosperity. They became the parents of seven children, of whom Porter E. is the second in order of birth. The others are as follows: Lafayette died on Ship Island, Gulf of Mexico, while in the United States service, having left high school in St. Joseph in order to enlist. He was a member of the Sixth Michigan Infantry and passed away when twenty-two years of age. Francis is living in Pipestone township. Marion resides in Bainbridge township on land given him by his father. Henry is a resident of Fountain, Mason county, Michigan. Lucretia married John Harmon, and lives in Seattle, Washington. Rosella married William Burnett, of Bainbridge, and resides at Spokane, Washington. Having lost his first wife Daniel Brant was married to Miss Nancy Kennedy, who survives him and is yet living in Benton Harbor. Their children are: Sherman; Ezra, who resides on the old homestead in Bainbridge township; Lillie, the wife of William Denneke, of Benton Harbor; and Roy. Porter E. Brant was born in Hagar township, while his father was residing there temporarily, engaged in the manufacture of shingles in order to earn a living for his family. 'He followed that pursuit through a number of seasons, as it provided him with ready money. He secured three hundred acres of land in Hagar township known as Dansdiggins and located on the shore of Lake Michigan. From his place he here hauled shingles to Niles, where they could be marketed. Under the parental roof Porter E. Brant spent the days of his boyhood and youth, and when eighteen years of age he began providing for his own support, working six years by the month, receiving thirteen dollars per month for two years, fourteen dollars per month for a year, and afterward twenty-two and thirty and twentytwo dollars per month for the ensuing years. He never saved less than fifty dollars from his wages for a single season and with the capital he acquired through his own labor and frugality he was enabled to purchase when twenty-three years 'of age the fortyacre farm whereon he now resides, his father having previously secured it. At that time Porter E. Brant was married to Miss Harriet I. Moore, the wedding ceremony being performed on the 30th of October, I866. Her parents were George and Mary (Beagle) Moore, and she was living in the home of Daniel Brant when she gave her hand in marriage to Porter E. Brant. They have since lived upon the same farm, covering a period of forty years. ~When this place came into his possession Mr. Brant had to cut a road a half mile in order to reach his farm. It was covered with the original growth of timber, not a stick having been cut nor an improvement made but though he realized that an arduous task lay before him, he resolutely set to work clearing, cultivating and improving the land. He cut poles in order to make a shanty z HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 693 twelve by twenty-four feet and in this he lived for about five years, or until he was able to build a part of his present home. He has since made two additions to the original building and now has a comfortable residence, which stands in the midst of a well developed farm property. He now owns one hundred and nine acres of rich and productive land all in the home farm and he has likewise given away seventy acres of land to his children, who live near him. He has placed more than eighty acres of land under cultivation and now has one of the best farms in the township, lacking in none of the equipments and accessories of a model farm property. As soon as he got his land ready he set out apples and has now apple orchards covering eighteen acres. He lost eight acres of peaches which were destroyed by the yellows but as soon as it showed that they could be grown again he once more set out peach trees. He has kept about eighteen acres in fruit of all kinds and each kind that he has raised has paid him. His apples have brought him over one thousand dollars in a single season, selling over one thousand barrels of apples in one year, while his sales of peaches have amounted to between six hundred and one thousand dollars annually. He has placed his dependence largely upon his fruit crops but in addition he has also raised tomatoes for canning for twenty-two years, selling them to the canning factory and between four and six acres planted to that vegetable have yielded him from fifty to sixty dollars per.acre. In all his farm work he has followed practical methods, which have resulted beneficially, as he has now a very valuable farm. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Brant have been born four children: Jesse C., who resides upon an adjoining farm; Ella M., the wife of Everett Brant, also living on a farm near by; Clara B., the wife of Frank Gilbert, of Pipestone township; and Maud E., at home. There is seven years difference between the birth of each child and the succeeding one. The married son and daughters have received farms from their father and are comfortably located. Porter E. Brant is a Democrat, and has served in several local offices although living in a Republican township, a fact which indicates his personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him by his fellowmen. He belongs to the Union United Brethren church in Pipestone township, and is a prominent representative of a worthy pioneer family, his entire life having been passed in Berrien county, covering a period of more than sixty-three years. He is also a member of the Odd Fellows and has filled all the chairs in his lodge. He was the eighth member to join his lodge which now numbers nearly one hundred. The name of Brant is inseparably associated with the history of agricultural and horticultural development here and as the years have gone by the younger generation have continued the work that was begun by their fathers and grandfather and bear an excellent reputation for business activity and reliability. CAPTAIN J. J. BAKER, a traveling representative of the Cleveland Stone Company, devoting about four months each year to that business, gives the remainder of his time to the supervision of his property interests in Benton Harbor and Berrien county, where since I89I he has invested extensively and profitably. He was born on Grand Island, below Buffalo, on the I7th of August, I844. This island belonged to New York state. His parents, however, removed to Canada, his father becoming superintendent of the shipyards at Black Rock. Captain Baker of this review was at that time about ten years of age. He attended school for eight or ten years, and when but a boy went upon the lakes as a sailor, being thus engaged for some time. He afterward turned his attention to the manufacture of fanning mills and when he disposed of the business sold out to good advantage. He acted as superintendent of his own manufacturing plant and when he disposed of it he returned to the lakes as a mate and later became captain. He sailed as captain of seven different vessels and was part owner of some of them. During this period he made his home either in Detroit, Michigan, or Otsego, New York. He sailed 694 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY as master for eighteen years and. made money in this way, receiving a high percentage for the cargoes carried. He became well known to lake men and was a popular representative of the marine service. He was very careful at all times and never lost a vessel. In I870 Captain Baker left the lakes and became agent of the Lake Huron Stone Company, at Chicago, establishing grindstone yards there. The business was started on a large scale and supplied all the shipping trade of the west. He opened in the same line of trade in Chicago for himself and continued for five or six years, when he sold out. On the expiration of that period he became connected with the Cleveland Stone Company as superintendent for a time and as salesman of grindstones. He is still connected with the company, which has eleven quarries in Ohio besides others elsewhere. He spends about four months of the year on the road in Wisconsin and Minnesota, also visiting the leading towns in Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. He likewise makes business trips to Canada and New York, visiting the jobbers and placing the products of the Cleveland Stone Company upon the market. He is well known to the trade and controls a good patronage. In I891 Mr. Baker began to be interested in Benton Harbor property and to invest in farm lands in this locality. He has since made his home at his present place of residence two and a half miles north of Benton Harbor. He has invested in three or four farms in this vicinity and when not upon the road he spends his time upon the home place. He is now building in the city of Benton Harbor, where he has considerable property and in his real estate interests he has made judicious investments and good sales. Captain Baker was married in Chicago, at the age of thirty-six years, to Catherine Cavanaugh, who died on the 29th of October, I904, at their home in Benton Harbor. She was a lady of strong domestic tastes, devoted to her home and her family and the circle of her friends was an extensive one. She had one child: Catherine, by this marriage. Captain Baker is widely known in Berrien county and at many points along the lakes and in various ports to which he sailed when in command of different vessels. His life has been altogether a very active one and viewed from any standpoint he is a strong man, strong in his honor and good name and in what he has accomplished. Fearless and outspoken he does not follow any given course because it is from policy but because he believes it to be the right thing to do. JOHN DEMPSTER HILL, a veteran of the Civil war, and one of the early residents of Berrien county, now makes his home in Bainbridge township. He was born in Jefferson county, New York, June I9, I839, and is a son of Amos and Ursula (Wheeler) Hill, both of whom were natives of Jefferson county, where the family settled about Revolutionary times. In I854 they came to Michigan. Mr. Hill had followed farming in the east, and on reaching Berrien county he located on section 29, Bainbridge township, three-quarters of a mile from Spink's Corners. He bought eighty acres of land covered with stumps and timber. The best timber was cut and for it he received six hundred dollars. Clearing the land, he placed the entire farm under cultivation and built good buildings upon the place. There he carried on general agricultural pursuits for some time but eventually sold that property and bought another farm of eighty acres, of which he cleared forty acres. In his later years he retired to a small house, in which he spent his remaining days in the enjoyment of richly merited rest, passing away June I6, I892, at the advanced age of eighty-six years. He had survived his wife for about nine years. They traveled life's journey together for fifty-five years, sharing with each other its joys and sorrows,and the adversity and prosperity which checker the careers of all. In their family were nine children, eight of whom reached mature years; Alonzo,. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 695 who died in childhood; Edward, who died at the age of thirty-five years; Allen, who died when twenty-one years of age, this being the year of the airival of the family in Michigan; John D., of this review; William H., of Bainbridge township; Frederick, who served with the Sixty-sixth Illinois Sharpshooters and was killed in the second battle of Corinth, his grave being made on the battleground in the government cemetery; Mary, the wife of George Herrington, of Bainbridge; Adeline, who died at the age of twelve years; and Caroline, twin sister of Adeline, and the wife of Henry Thompson, of Millburg. The family was well represented in the Civil war, for the subject of this review was also a member of the reginent to which his brother Frederick belonged. John Dempster Hill when but four years of age accompanied his parents on their removal to Ontario, Canada, the family home being established near Kingston, where they lived for eight years, when they returned to Wayne county, New York. In I854 they came to Berrien county, Michigan, John D. Hill driving a team through for his father from Wayne county. He left home at the age of sixteen years, starting out in life on his own account. He secured his present farm in I86o and at once began its cultivation and improvement. It was covered with the original timber. It had ten acres cleared and ready for wheat, however, when Mr. Hill in the fall of I86I enlisted for service in the Civil war, becoming a member of Company D, Sixty-sixth Illinois Sharpshooters. His brother Frederick later joined the regiment on the field and was killed at Corinth, Mississippi, on the 4th of October, I862. He was laid to rest in the government cemetery made on the battlefield there, and his brother John has re-visited the place. He was killed on the advance made by the opening of the battle on the second day, and was but nineteen years of age at the time of his demise. It was the second battle in which he had participated, for he had been under fire at Iuka. John D. Hill of this review went to the front with his regiment and the records of that command also constitute the record of his military service, for he was in all of the battles with the Sixtysixth Illinois Sharpshooters save one. He was never captured nor wounded and practically saw all of the service of the regiment which included many marches and campaigns, in addition to the skirmishes and battles. When the war was ended he was discharged with his regiment in Washington and participated in the grand review, on which occasion there was displayed in the streets of the capital an immense banner bearing the significant words "The only debt which the nation cannot pay is the national debt which she owes to her victorious Union soldiers." Many times since then Mr. Hill has met with his regiment in reunions, two being held at Paw Paw Lake, and one at Leadersburg, Indiana. These have been very enjoyable occasions, as he has renewed acquaintances with those with whom he marched and messed and with whom he faced the enemy's fires. He is now a member of George H. Thomas Post, G. A. R., Benton Harbor. On his return from the war Mr. Hill came again to his farm, and now has the entire sixty acres under cultivation. The place lies in Bainbridge township and is well located for the raising of fruits, with good exposure to the sun. He has twenty acres planted to fruit, mainly peaches, pears and apples and has sold thirty-five hundred bushels of fruit in a year, averaging about eighty-five cents per bushel. The land lies high and he has never lost but one crop on account of frosts late in the spring. He carries on general farming in addition to the cultivation of fruit. His present home was erected in I868, and he has since added to it and improved it. It stands on an eminence or natural building site, commanding a fine view. St. Joseph can be seen in the distance, lying about nine miles away, while Benton Harbor can be seen seven miles away. Mr. Hill has purchased a lot of other land and now owns a fine farm in addition to his home place. On the I6th of March, I867, Mr. Hill was united in marriage to Miss Josephine S. Lewis, a daughter of John and Louisa (Bishop) Lewis, both of whom were natives of Erie county, New York. Mrs. Lewis was .696 - HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY -eight years of age when brought by her parents to this county, while Mr. Lewis was twenty-two years of age at the time of his arrival. They were married in 1848, and Mrs. Hill is their eldest child, having been born in I849. They settled a half mile north of Millburg, and for many years were residents of Bainbridge township, but have now passed away, Mrs. Lewis dying in 188I, while Mr. Lewis departed this life on the I6th of February, I906, at the age of eightythree years. 'Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hill has been born a daughter, Loa, the wife of Frank J. Lewis, who is her second cousin, and is a farmer and peach grower, residing in this locality. Mrs. Hill's maternal grandfather well remembered the war of I812, seeing soldiers in New York who were engaged in that struggle and his mother made mush for them. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis came to his locality in I865, and continued to reside here until called to their final rest and Mrs. Hill now owns part of their homestead.' Our subject and his wife are both representatives of old and prominent pioneer families of this county and enjoys the warm esteem of all who know them. MATTHEW STOLL. In an analyzation of the life record of Matthew Stoll it will be seen that he has depended upon no outside aid or influence for advancement in the business world but has placed reliance upon safe and sure qualities of close application and indefatigable energy, winning success as honorable as it is creditable. He is now a partner of the Kompass & Stoll Company of Niles, manufacturers of kitchen cabinets, and the business has become a leading enterprise of the city. He is one of Michigan's native sons, having been born in Ann Arbor in I86I. His father, David Stoll, was a native of Hamburg, Germany, and came to America in 1847, settling in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He entered the employ of the Michigan Central Railroad Company, continuing in that service for thirty-three years, during which peiiod he never lost a day's time. He was for many years boss of a section gang and was a hard-working, conscientious man, ever faithful to his duty to the corporation by which he was employed as is well indicated by his long continued service. He reached the advanced age of seventy-seven years, passing away in 1902. His wife bore the maiden name of Flora Weidman, and was born in Hamburg, Germany, where they were married ere their emigration to the new world. They had a family of nine children, of whom eight are yet living. The mother.passed away in I892, when fifty-six years of age. Matthew Stoll was the second son and is the only one now living in Berrien county. He pursued his education in the public schools of Ann Arbor and at an early age began to earn his own living by working in a furniture factory in that city, where he learned the trade of a furniture finisher. When seventeen years of age he went to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he followed his trade in different furniture factories, spending eight years in that city. There he gradually worked his way upward, promotion coming to him in recognition of his faithful service and capable workmanship, and during the latter part of that time he was manager of a factory. He afterward went to Buchanan, Michigan, where he entered the service of the Buchanan Furniture Company, having charge of the finishing room for two years. He afterward went to Rochester, New York, where he was employed in the same capacity in a furniture factory for about two years, at the end of which time he returned to Buchanan, Michigan, and there entered into partnership with Rudolph F. Kompass and George Stone, under the firm style of Kompass, Stone & Stoll. They began the manufacture of furniture, in which they continued for two years, and on the expiration of that period Mr. Stoll and Mr. Kompass purchased Mr. Stone's interest, continuing in the manufacture of furniture under the firm name of Kompass & Stoll. They remained at Buchanan until 1895, when they purchased land at Niles, built their present factory and equipped it with all modern improvements and appliances for successfully carrying on the business. It is an excellent 0-7-9r7 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 697 plant and they here continued in the general manufacture of furniture until I900, since which time they have made a specialty of manufacturing kitchen cabinets. In this they have been very successful and their product is shipped to all parts of the United States. They employ forty skilled workmen in their factory besides various men on the road, who are selling the output of the house to the trade. They manufacture eighteen different styles of kitchen cabinets after their own patterns and these articles of furniture are models of convenience and display the excellent workmanship which has always been characteristic of the products of the firm. The firm has always maintained the policy of straightforward dealing and for the excellence of its products that have gained for it a most enviable reputation in trade circles, and the business has constantly grown until it has reached extensive proportions. Mr. Stoll was married in I888, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Miss Hattie Leitelt, and unto them have been born two children, Charles D. and Arthur F., both born in Buchanan. Mr. Stoll gives his political allegiance to the Democracy, and he is moreover an active factor in public life here. He was alderman of the Fourth ward of Niles and in I905 was elected mayor of the city and re-elected in I906, which position he is now filling. He has given to Niles a business-like, practical and yet progressive administration, having studied closely the public needs and possibilities. He exercises his official prerogatives in support of every measure which he deems will prove of practical public benefit and his course has been highly commended by his many supporters. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity, to the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of the Maccabees. He is a self-made man who has been the architect of his own fortunes and has builded wisely and well. One secret of his success is undoubtedly due to the fact that he has continued in the line of business in which he embarked as a young tradesman, continually progressing in efficiency and skill in that di rection until he is thorough master of the trade and capably directing the labors of others. He has ever displayed great energy and adaptability in his work, and in his life record has manifested many of the sterling traits of his German ancestry. BENJAMIN J. EAMAN recognized as an authority on grape culture in Berrien county, has for nine years carried on farming in Hagar township, on which he now resides. He is the youngest of the living children of James M. Eaman, and was born October 29, 1864, at Pinckney, Michigan. In his youth he remained at home, attending the public schools and college at Benton Harbor, and was early trained to habits of industry, enterprise and honesty, which qualities in later years have borne good fruit. On the 22d of October, I898, Mr. Eaman was married to Miss Lydia M. Deleau, a native of Belgium, born in the town of Charleroi. In her girlhood days she was brought to Watervliet, Michigan, and had resided in Hagar township for eleven years before her marriage. Her parents were John B. and Isabelle (Le Page) Deleau, both of whom are still residents of this county. Mrs. Eaman was married at the age of twenty-one years and has become the mother of two daughters, Susie B. and Marie L. Since his marriage Mr. Eaman has engaged in fruit-raising and has thirty acres devoted wholly to horticultural pursuits. He raises grapes, peaches, apples and pears and his gross income is about three thousand dollars annually. He keeps abreast of the times and works up trade in select fruits. He has a label of Fairview fruits for all that he ships and this label is a synonym for the quality of the fruit which he handles, enabling him to command the best market prices in Chicago. He is experimenting in select lines and has been particularly successful in the production of grapes, raising Concord, Worden, Moore's Early and others. He has studied so closely the subject of grape culture and has been so successful in his undertakings that his opinions are regarded as authority upon this subject. For nine 698 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY years he has carried on the farm which is now his home and has brought it under a high state of cultivation. JAMES M. EAMAN, living in Hagar township, has made his home in Berrien county since 1870. He was born at Port Byron, Cayuga county, New York, December 14, I8I8. His father, Phillip Eaman, was also a native of the Empire state, and was of German parentage, the ancestors of the family having located in Greene county, New York, at an early day. In the spring of 1836 Phillip Eaman with his family of three sons and three daughters removed westward to Michigan, settling at Putnam, Livingston county, where he resided until his death, which occurred when he was sixty-five years of age. His wife was Rachel Snyder, who survived him for five or six years. James M. Eaman was in his eighteenth year at the time of the removal of the family to this state. He had engaged in teaching school in New York and had attended an academy there. He taught through the winter seasons for six or eight terms in Michigan and attended the academy at Ann Arbor, while in the summer months he worked at farm labor. In 1843 he established a store at Pinckney, Livingston county, Michigan, and later engaged in business at Dexter, Washtenaw county. During a portion of the time he was operating a flouring mill at Pinckney, Michigan, and in I870 he came from Dexter to Berrien county. He was a brother-in-law of Daniel Cook, of St. Joseph, a fruit-grower who had followed the business for several years, and who had married Mr. Eaman's sister. Daniel Cook's nephew, Stephen Cook, had already settled in Hagar township and it was through his representations and influence that in I870 James Eaman bought land on the lake shore not far from the Cook farm. There he began to grow fruit and to this undertaking devoted his time and attention for twentysix years, since which time he has lived retired with his son, B. J. Eaman. In the year 1843 James M. Eaman was married to Elizabeth C. Cook, a daughter of Henry Cook, of Homer, Michigan, who was one of the pioneer settlers of what became known as Cook's Prairie, in Calhoun county, this state. Mrs. Eaman died at Pinckney, Michigan, and for his second wife Mr. Eaman chose Susan Emeline Young, of Pinckney, who was a teacher in a select school at that place, and a graduate of the State Normal School, at Ypsilanti, having been one of its first students. She came to Berrien county with her husband and died upon the old homestead farm March 23, I896. They were married July 14, 1863, and had therefore traveled life's journey together for almost a third of a century. The children of Mr. Eaman's first marriage were as follows: Ellen M., who is living in Henry township; Harriet L., who is living with her sister, Mrs. Bartram; Frank M., who owns the old homestead; Julia A., the wife of Dr. I. R. Dunning, of Benton Harbor; John C., who died at the age of twentyfive years; Clara E., the wife of Burr Bartram, of Benton township; and Lizzie C., the wife of R. B. Owens, of Redlands, California. By the second marriage there is one son, Benjamin J., whose sketch is given above. For more than thirty years Mr. Eaman has lived at his present place, which was formerly the home of Asahel Hays, who built the house and made the first improvements upon the property. This is one of the superior fruit farms of the region, and being close to the lake is free from frost. Mr. Eaman made his place an excellent property owing to the improvements which he placed upon it and he remained active in its development and improvement for many years. In politics he was first a Whig and afterward a Freesoiler, and cast a ballot for James G. Birney, the abolition candidate. When the Republican party was formed early in I854 to prevent the further extension of slavery he joined its ranks and has since been a stanch supported thereof. He attended the "prohibition" convention at Jackson and helped nominate Kingsley Bingham for governor. Soon after another convention was held "under the oaks" at Jackson, which used the word Republican HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 699 as its name and they also nominated Bingham, who was elected. Mr. Eaman has since been a stalwart advocate of the Republican party and though not an office seeker he has served for several years in school offices. He is a strong temperance man, upholding temperance principles through precept and example and has been a member of the Sons of Temperance and other organizations of like character. In his boyhood days at home he pledged himself to support temperance principles and practices and has always done so. He is a well read gentleman of pleasant manner, who though now eighty-eight years of age keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day and in spirit and interests seems yet in his prime. His life has been active, his motives honorable,.his actions manly and sincere and these standard traits of character made his life one well worthy of emulation. WILLIAM H. HILL, living at Spink's Corners, in Bainbridge township, is a representative of one of the old colonial families of New York. He was born in Jefferson county, that state, June 3, I840, his parents being Amos and Ursula (Wheeler) Hill, both of whom were native of Jefferson county, where the family settled about Revolutionary times. In i858 they came to Michigan. Mr. Hill had followed farming in the east and on reaching Berrien county he located on section 29, Bainbridge township, three-quarters of a mile from Spink's Corners. He bought eighty acres of land covered with stumps and timber. The best timber was cut and for it he received six hundred dollars. Clearing the land, he placed the entire farm under cultivation and built good buildings upon the place. There he carried on general agricultural pursuits for some time but eventually sold that property and bought another farm of eighty acres, of which he cleared forty acres. In his later years he retired to a small house, in which he spent his remaining days in the enjoyment of richly merited rest, passing away June I6, I892, at the advanced age of eighty-six years. He had survived his wife for about nine years. They traveled life's journey together for fifty-five years, sharing with each other its joys and sorrows and the adversity and prosperity that checker the careers of all. In their family were nine children, eight of whom reached mature years: Alonzo, who died in childhood; Edward, who died at the age of thirty-five years; Allen, who died when twenty-one years of age, this being the year of the arrival of the family in Michigan; John Dempster, who is living in Bainbridge township; William H., of this review; Frederick, who served with the Sixty-sixth Illinois Sharpshooters and was killed in the first battle of Corinth, his grave being made on the battleground in the government cemetery; Mary, the wife of George Herrington, of Bainbridge; Adeline, who died at the age of twelve years; and Caroline, twin sister of Adeline, and the wife of Henry Thompson, of Millburg. The family was well represented in the Civil war, for John D. was also a member of the regiment to which his brother Frederick belonged. William H. Hill spent the first eighteen years of his life in the state of his nativity and then came with the family to Michigan. He remained at home until he had attained his majority and in fact boarded at home until two years thereafter. He then began to improve his present farm, which was also covered with "grubs." He paid one thousand dollars for eighty acres of land and continued the cultivation and improvement of the place until he has the entire farm under cultivation with twenty-five acres planted to fruit, of which twenty acres is devoted to peaches. The land is well located for this purpose. He has also grown melons and has sold from seven hundred to one thousand crates per year, while the peach crop has been from one thousand to three thousand bushels per year for ten years. He has prospered in his undertakings for the products of his farm have been of superior quality and have commanded high market prices. His financial resources thus increasing, he has aided each of his sons in securing farms and has helped each to build thereon. He erected his own residence in 1875. It is a handsome brick structure, containing 700 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY ten rooms, and is one of the best homes in Bainbridge township, pleasantly located a half miles east of Spink's Corners. On the 22d of February, I865, William H. Hill was united in marriage to Miss Amanda M. Higbee, a daughter of J. F. Higbee, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work. She was born in Benton township, and was twenty-three years of age at the time of her marriage. This union has been blessed with the following named: Lennie B., who was a teacher in Berrien county for seven years, and died at the age of twentyfive; Willie J.; Mary U.; Charlie Ames; James F.; Ida I.; Carrie I., who died in infancy; George D., who has been a teacher in this county; Tola L.; Clinton B.; and Marguerite. All of the living children are now at home or are located near by. Mr. Hill has provided his children with good educational privileges and assisted them to the extent of his ability, helping those who have left the parental roof to secure good farms and homes. In politics he is a Bryan Democrat but has warm admiration for President Roosevelt. Coming to this county a young man, ambitious, enterprising and determined, he has worked his way steadily upward, brooking no obstacles that could be overcome by earnest, persistent effort. As the years have gone by he has gained a gratifying measure of prosperity and is now one of the substantial citizens of his part of the county, with valuable property interests which indicate a well spent life. ISAAC A. BONINE, who after long and successful connection with horticultural interests in Berrien county is now practically living retired in Niles, although he gives some attention to the supervision of estates, was born in Cass county, Michigan, in 1853. He represents one of the pioneer families of the state. His paternal grandfather, Isaac Bonine, was a native of Tennessee, in which state he married Miss Sarah Talbert, who was also born in Tennessee. Th:ey emigrated to Wayne county, Indiana, soon after their marriage and were among the first settlers of that locality. Mr. Bonine was a farmer by occupation and also owned and operated a grist, saw and oil mill, being thus closely associated with industrial as well as agricultural interests of Wayne county. About 1843 he went with his family to Cass county, Michigan, finding at that time an almost unbroken wilderness, in which the work of improvement had scarcely been begun. There he spent his last days, passing away at the advanced age of eightyfour years, and his wife died in the same county. They were members of the Society of Friends and took an active and helpful interest in the work of the church. James E. Bonine, their son, and the father of our subject, was born in Wayne county, Indiana, and became a resident of Cass county during the early period of its pioneer development. He lived a life of great activity, energy and usefulness and became the owner of sixteen hundred acres of land, a portion of which was prairie, while eight hundred acres of this he cleared. The property is still in possession of his family. He was the leading banker of Cass county for many years, and his interests are still carried on by the estate. He married Miss Sarah Bogue, a native of Ohio, who still survives him at the age of eighty years and makes her home in Niles. His last days were spent in Niles, where he died in I898 at the age of eighty-two years. He was widely recognized as a man of excellent business ability and enterprise, being pre-eminently a man of affairs and one who wielded a wide influence. Upon his land he established what is known as Bonine Park, consisting of a tract of sixty acres, which he stocked with buffaloes and elk. This tract is still kept up and although there are now no buffaloes there are still quite a large number of elk. He followed farming on a very extensive scale and possessed business discernment and judgment that were rarely if ever at fault. He was very active in township and county affairs and his influence was ever on the side of progress, reform and improvement. In I866 he removed from his farm to Niles, but later returned to Cass county. His last days, however, were passed in Niles. In the family 111 -- - 1-e sl — -- - --- HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 701 were three children: Mary, the wife of Dr. W. T. Dougan of Niles; Isaac A., of this review; and Elvia B., the wife of N. B. Hammond, of Sheldon, North Dakota. Isaac A. Bonine was reared to manhood on the old homestead in Cass county, where he attended school. He also pursued his studies in Niles during the period of the family residence in this city between I866 and 1872. He attended the high school in Niles and at one time was a student in the schools of Adrian, Michigan. Returning to the old homestead he followed farming, being closely identified with agricultural interest until about fourteen years ago. He had a large orchard of thirty-five acres which was set out by himself and father. He also planted two hundred chestnut trees, which have been in bearing during the last fifteen years and are a very profitable source of income. In all his agricutural work he was progressive, keeping in touch with modern advancement. About fourteen years ago, however, he retired from farming and took up his abode in Niles, where he now makes his home. He gives some attention to the supervision of estates but practically lives retired, possessing a comfortable competence. He is president of the Buchanan Power Company. In I872 Mr. Bonine was married in Niles to Miss Alice Wilkinson, who was born in Pennsylvania but has spent the greater part of her life in this city, her parents being Lewis F. and Ruth (Clark) Wilkinson. Mr. and Mrs. Bonine have one child, James G., who was born in Niles and is a graduate of the Physicians and Surgeons College of Chicago, also of the Chicago University and of Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago. He is now practicing his profession in that city. He married Margaret Gage, a native of Niles and a daughter of Eli Gage. They have two children, James E. and Margaret, both born in Chicago. Mr. Bonine exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party but has never had aspiration for office. He is, however, in terested in the welfare of his city and county and his co-operation can be counted upon as a factor in the work of general development and improvement. He has a wide and favorable acquaintance in the county, possessing those traits of character which command respect and confidence andc.win warm and endearing friendships. FRANK H. ELLSWORTH, serving for the second term as judge of probate of Berrien county resides in Benton Harbor. He was born in Lexington, Michigan, September I, I867, a son of Edward W. and Lucetta (Beardsley) Ellsworth. The father was born in Ontario, Canada, in 1837, while the family were temporarily residing in the Dominion, and the mother is a native of New Jersey, whence she came to Michigan with her parents in her early girlhood. Mr. and Mrs. Edward W. Ellsworth have for many years been residents of Marlette, Michigan. Judge Ellsworth obtained a common school education and also attended Olivet and Alma College. He began the study of law on the Ist of October, 1888, at Marlette in the office of D. S. McClure, at that time judge of probate of Sanilac county. After the admission of Judge Ellsworth to the bar in I89I he removed to Detroit, and pursued a course in the Detroit College of Law, from which he was graduated in the class of I893. Locating in Benton Harbor in the spring of that year he was actively engaged in the practice of his profession until the fall of I900, when he was elected to the office of judge of probate of Berrien county by a majority of twelve hundred and twenty-five, and after four years' capable and satisfactory service he was re-elected in I904 by an increased majority of twentyeight hundred and sixty-four. Politically he is a stalwart Republican, but the men of both parties give him their earnest endorsement by reason of the capable manner in which he has discharged his official duties. On the 30th of December, I903, Judge Ellsworth was married to Miss Minnie Grace King, of Ligonier, Indiana. 702 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY BENJAMIN F. EARL, occupying a position of prominence in business circles in Niles as owner of one of the large productive industries and commercial interests of the city, conducting business as a manufacturer of furniture specialties, and dealer in lumber under the firm style of the Earl-Storm Manufacturing Company, is a self-made man, who, without special family or pecuniary advantages at the outset of his career has worked his way steadily upward from a humble position to one of affluence. A native son of Michigan, he was born in Cass county in I853. His paternal grandfather, Rufus Earl, removed from New York to Michigan in I835 and took up land from the government east of Berrien Lake, which he cleared and improved, there following farming until his death. His son, Averil Earl, father of our subject, was born in New York, near Buffalo, and came with his parents to Michigan in I835. He was for many years identified with general agricultural pursuits in Cass county and was there married to Elva L. Mosher, native of Erie county, New York, who came to Michigan with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Zebediah Mosher, who also settled in Cass county, establishing their home in Wayne township. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Averil Earl were born three sons and three daughters, and those still living are: Alice, the wife of Robert T. Atwood; Albert E.; and Benjamin F. The father died at the age of seventy-six years. Benjamin F. Earl pursued his education in the public schools of Cass county and there learned the wood-turning trade. He was also employed in the woolen mills as a carder and in I88o he came from Cass county to Niles, where he entered the employ of Solomon G. Krick, a wagon manufacturer, in whose service he remained for five years. With the capital he had acquired through his own labors and economy he then embarked in business on his own account in I886 as a manufacturer of furniture specialties, while later he extended the scope of his labors by dealing in lumber. In I890 the business was incorporated under the firm name of the Earl-Storm Manufacturing Company, with Benjamin F. Earl as general manager and E. B. Storm, secretary and treasurer. The company built the present plant in that year and the business was thus conducted until I892, when Mr. Earl purchased the interest of his partners and has since been alone in the conduct of the enterprise, which, however, is carried on under the same name. From the beginning the success of this concern has been uniform and rapid and Mr. Earl has now built up a very large and lucrative business through his own energy, careful management and practical methods. He is also identified as a stockholder and director with three building and loan associations of Niles, organized by residents of the city. A number of skilled workmen are employed in his establishment and the business has reached extensive and profitable proportions. It is a monument to the labor and enterprise of the owner whose business career is such as any man might be proud to possess. Mr. Earl was married in 1875 in Dowagiac, Cass county, Michigan, to Miss Matilda A. Philips, who was born in Illinois but spent her early life in Michigan. This union has been blessed with eleven children, ten of whom are yet living, namely: Elva, the wife of E. Daniel Williams; George W.; Bruce F., who married Eleanor Smith, of Buchanan, Michigan; Mary, Bessie, Russell, John, Dorothy, William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, all at home. Mr. Earl and his family attend the Methodist Church. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, and he stands fearlessly in support of his honest convictions. He was a member of the city council from the Third ward for four years and was the chairman of the board which built the waterworks in Niles, also chairman of the committee on waterworks in the city council at that time. He was, for ten years, under sheriff of Berrien county. His interests in public affairs is deep and sincere and his course in public office has been characterized by an unfaltering devotion to the general good and a spirit of loyalty and patriotism. He is indeed one of the foremost residents of Niles, 'p 78 a-tI* HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 703 progressive and enterprising, and his life history, judged by his political, business or private record, is indeed commendable. WILLIAM WEES, who was a farmer and honored pioneer settler of Berrien county but is now deceased, was born in the province or Quebec, Canada, December 7, 1829, and died at his home in Benton Harbor on the Ioth of July, 1905. His parents were Peter and Joyce (Brown) Wees. The mother came from England to America with her parents when twelve years of age. Peter Wees was a farmer by occupation and died at the age of forty-two years. In the family were five sons, four of whom came from Canada to the United States, while Thomas is still living in the dominion. John, Robert and Wesley Wees all settled in California and John is still living, making his home at San Bernardino. William Wees was reared to manhood upon a farm in his native country and acquired a good common-school education. In the summer months he was carefully trained to the work of the fields, so that when he started out in life on his own account he had good practical experience to aid him. On the 26th of February, I85o, William Wees was united in marriage at Dresden, Ontario, to Miss Isabelle Randall, who was born in Quebec, Canada, November I, 1830. In 1853 she came to Berrien county, visiting her mother, who was then living in Millburg, where she had resided for a year. A sister, Minerva Randall, became the wife of Warren H. Pearl, a brother of Major Pearl, who had settled near Pearl Grange. Isabelle Randall also had an uncle, Joseph Randall, living in St. Joseph, where he owned and conducted a shipyard, being a ship builder by trade. He was a pioneer settler of the county, coming here when St. Joseph was a small village standing on the bottom land. The year of his arrival was not later than 1840 and he took an active part in the early development of this portion of the state. Soon after the discovery of gold in California, however, he removed to the Pacific coast, where he is yet remembered by the old vessel men. William Wees in early life learned the carpenter's trade and followed that pursuit in Berrien county, helping to build the Warren Pearl mill, also the Samuel McWiggins mill and the Randall mill. He likewise aided in the erection of some of the early houses of the county and a number of the old buildings are still standing as monuments to his skill and handiwork. When his capital permitted, however, he bought land, becoming owner of a tract about four miles southeast of Benton Harbor. Upon the place was a log cabin, in which he lived for two years, when he replaced the pioneer home by a small frame building, living therein until the erection of the present house about twenty years ago. He at first had fifty-eight acres of land, to which he added as his financial resources increased until he owned seventy-eight acres, constituting a good farm, for the land was placed under a high state of cultivation. In I880 he invested in Kansas land, which he later sold to good advantage. In I864 he went to California, where he devoted two years to placer mining with satisfactory results. Returning then to Berrien county, Michigan, he gave undivided attention to his farm and afterward set out a valuable orchard, planting thirty acres to peaches, but he lost his trees through the yellows and therefore set out apple trees. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Wees wAere born the following children: Elva, now the wife of A. A. Morrill, living in Wallin, Michigan; James Lowell, who resides at Silver City, Idaho, where for twenty years he has been engaged in placer mining with good success; William Bruce, of Benton Harbor, who for fifteen years traveled in the interests of a fruit buying firm, traveling from Florida to Maine, but is now operating in Washington and Oregon; Cynthia, the wife of William McKindley, a resident farmer of Benton township; Henry, a fruit buyer of Benton Harbor, also dealing in gasoline engines; Mina Belle, who is living at home with her mother in Benton Harbor and is a graduate of the normal college. She has been a successful teacher, having taught in 704 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY the graded schools in St. Clair and in St. Joseph, Michigan. In his political affiliation Mr. Wees was a Democrat. He was a charter member of Pearl Grange and was interested in all matters of local progress and improvement. At his death his remains were interred in the Pearl cemetery, which stands on the original farm of Warren Pearl. He was a fine rifle shot and annually in company with Major Pearl and others took trips to northern Michigan for the purpose of hunting. He found great enjoyment in this sport and it proved an excellent source of recreation. Mr. Wees well deserves representation in this volume as one of the honored pioneer settlers of the county and one whose success in life is attributable to his earnest labor and careful management. ANDREW M. HAWKS, a representative of the farming interests of Watervliet township, was born on a part of the farm on which he now lives and near his present residence, his natal day being September I3, I85I. His parents were Agur and Martha (Baldwin) Hawks, both of whom were natives of New York. The father came to Michigan with his parents, Simeon and Patty (Beeman) Hawks, who located a mile and a half east of Watervliet and the farm upon which they took up their abode remained the old homestead. Both died after a residence here of more than twenty years. One of their sons, Timothy Hawks, is still living, as well as a daughter, Mrs. Martha Bridges, of Van Buren county, Michigan. Following his marriage Agur Hawks secured government land, upon which he turned the first furrows, developing a good farm, pleasantly situated about three miles north of Watervliet. As the years passed his business affairs increased in extent and importance and he became one of the largest farmers of Watervliet township, making his home upon his farm until his death, which occurred about six years ago, when he had reached the venerable age of seventy-seven years. He was a man of good business ability and of marked enterprise and his careful management of his interests brought him success. His widow, who was three years his junior, survived him for only eight months, his death occurring June 3, I90I, while his wife passed away February 20, I902. In their family were the following children: Andrew M.; Amelia, the wife of Jacob Hogaboom, of Van Buren county; and Viola, the wife of Frank Burbank Hartford, living on the old homestead. Andrew M. Hawks was reared in the usual manner of farm lads, early becoming familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He mastered the branches taught in the public schools and remained at home up to the time of his marriage, which occurred when he was twenty-five years of age, while his wife was but sixteen years of age. She bore the maiden name of Nettie McConnell, and was a resident of Van Buren county, Michigan. The young couple began their domestic life upon the farm which is still their home. A few patches had been cleared but the most of it was still uncultivated. Mr. Hawks now has one hundred and ten acres of rich and productive land in the extreme northeast corner of Berrien county on section i, Watervleit township, four miles north of the city of Watervliet. He now has eighty acres of the land under cultivation. For some years he helped his father on the home place and now his energies are concentrated upon the further development and improvement of his own home farm. He has many modern equipments here, including the latest improved machinery and he is successfully engaged in general farming. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hawks have been born seven children: Ervie, who is engaged in farming in Bangor township, Van Buren county; Fern, the wife of Merrill Hunt, of Covert, Van Buren county; Horace, who is living in Hartford, Michigan; Mattie, the wife of Morris Hunt, of Van Buren county; Stella, Ernest and Carrie, all at home. Mr. Hawks exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Democracy but has never been an office seeker, preferring to devote his time HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 705 and energies to his business affairs, in which he has met with signal success. He is a member of the Adventist Society. WILLIAM C. DOCKTER, living in Bainbridge township, where the principal part of his homestead is devoted to the cultivation of a variety of fruits, is an able horticulturist, thoroughly conversant with the business, which he carries on in accordance with modern scientific ideas. He was born in Bainbridge township, April I8, I865, his parents being Christian and Mary E. (WVeber) Dockter, the former a native of Alsace, France, and the latter of Germany. They were married, however, in Bainbridge township, Berrien county, Michigan, Mrs. Dockter having come to Michigan at the age of eight years with her father, Charles Weber, who was a pioneer resident of Bainbridge township. Her brothers, Charles and Jacob Weber, still reside in the same township. Having attained womanhood, Mary E. Weber gave her hand in marriage to Christian Dockter, and when their son William was three years old the father bought the farm upon which William Dockter now resides. It was then a tract of timber land but no clearing had been made and therefore in the midst of the forest he hewed out his farm, placing his land under cultivation until where once stood the dense trees of the forest were seen waving fields of grain. He placed about fifty acres under the plow and erected a good residence and barn, which is still standing. His life was one of activity and enterprise, crowned by successful accomplishment and he continued to superintend his farming operations up to the time of his death, which occurred on the i8th of October, I905, when in his seventy-sixth year. His wife died in I888, at the age of forty-four years. In the family were eight children, of whom two died in early life, while Carrie became the wife of Adam Elgos and passed away at the age of twenty-three years. The others of the family were: Alfred, who owns a part of the old homestead in Bainbridge township; Ella E., who died at the age of eighteen years; Amanda, the wife of Joseph Kiser, of Bainbridge; 45 Charles, who is living near the old homestead; Emma, who died at the age of eight years; and Lucy, who passed away when three years of age. Reared under the parental roof William C. Dockter assisted in the arduous task of clearing and developing new land and gave his father the benefit of his services until he reached the age of twenty years, when he began to work by the month, thus providing for his own support for eight seasons. He was married on the 27th of November to Miss Edith May Matrau, a daughter of Morgan W. Matrau, who is mentioned on another page of this volume. Before his marriage Mr. Dockter had charge of the old homestead. His father settled his business affairs before his death, dividing the old home between William and Alfred, and the former has added a forty-acre tract to his inheritance, so that he now has a valuable property of eighty acres. The principal part of his home place is in fruit. He raises, apples, pears, plums and other fruit and is a well known horticulturist, whose labors are crowned with merited and gratifying success. He has made extensive improvements upon his place and it is one of the attractive, modern homes of the township. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Dockter was blessed with a son and daughter, Roy W. and Ruth Amelia, aged respectively nine and three years. Mr. Dockter is a member of the Odd Fellows society at Bainbridge, in which he has passed all of the chairs, and he has likewise been a representative to the grand lodge, while both he and his wife are connected with the order of Rebekahs. In the community where he has always lived his acquaintance is wide and he is held in very favorable regard, for investigation into his history shows that the course he has followed has ever been an honorable and straightforward one and that his business life has been characterized by a close adherence to a high standard of commercial ethics. HORACE W. GARLAND, starting out in life for himself at the age of twenty-two years, is now numbered among the sub 706 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY stantial farmers of Bainbridge township, having a good property well equipped with modern conveniences and accessories. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, March 5, 1855, his parents being Horace and Catherine Garland, the former a native of New Hampshire. The family was founded in America by five brothers, who came from England and settled at Rye, New Hampshire. Horace Garland, Sr., was a fruitraiser, and on leaving.New England removed to Iowa in I855. After eight years he came to Berrien county in I863 and settled one mile south and a mile east of Benton Harbor. There he engaged in farming until he removed to California, where for three years he remained at Petaluma. On the expiration of that period he went to Kansas, where he spent his remaining days. He secured about forty acres of land near Benton Harbor and was one of the pioneer residents of this section of the state. His wife died in Iowa, leaving two children: Horace; and Edgar Garland, of Berrien Springs, who is president of that village. He sold his farm near Berrien Springs, where the Adventist College now stands, for ten thousand dollars. He is now comfortably situated in life and is living retired in Berrien Springs, having a competence sufficient to supply him with all of the comforts and luxuries of life without recourse to further labor. He owns several buildings in Berrien Springs and these return to him a good rental. A half sister of the family is still living. Horace W. Garland, spending the days of his boyhood and youth under the parental roof, was educated in the common schools and gainedpractical experience in farmlabor through the assistance which he rendered in the care and cultivation of the fields. When twenty-two years of age he was married toMiss FloraKirkpatrick, a daughter of P. C. Kirkpatrick, a well known farmer of this county, who had come from Iowa to Michigan. Mr. Kirkpatrick and Mr. Garland removed from this state to Texas, and after a year spent in that state and in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Mr. Garland went to Kansas, settling in Harper county in I879. He proved up a claim of government land and continued his residence in Kansas for fifteen years. He also, went to Oklahoma, where he opened up a farm and during the fifteen years mentioned he made considerable progress in business life, his financial resources increasing as the result of his careful management and discrimination in business affairs. While living in Kansas his wife died and in I894 he returned to Michigan, while two years later he located on his present farm near Spink's Corners in Bainbridge township, securing eighty acres of land about half of which is set out to fruit, there being thirty acres planted to peaches, grapes and berries. Mr. Garland sold goods in the town of Harper, Kansas, for nine years. He went to that state when it was largely a new and undeveloped region and he lived in a sod house without doors or windows. His attention in later years has been devoted to fruit-raising and he is a horticulturist with good orchards, to the care of which he gives his supervision. He secures the best nursery stock and the fruit which is shipped from his place is noted for its excellent size, quality and flavor. Mr. and Mrs. Garland were the parents of four daughters and one son: Carrie, now the wife of Charles Bishop, of Benton township; Lillian, the wife of Harry Crossman, of Bainbridge; Florence, who wedded Ruben Sutherland of Pipestone township; Ollie, the wife of Ed. Chivis, of Bainbridge township; and Fred, at home. Mr. Garland has been again married, his second union being with Mary Line, of Ohio. He exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party but the honors and emoluments of office have had no attraction for him. His life has been somewhat eventful in its experiences in the west and the southwest and he is familiar with all that goes to, make up a frontier existence, for in pioneer days in Kansas he contributed to the early development and progress of the locality in which he lived. He is now concentrating his energies upon horticultural pursuits in the care and management of his farm here, and although his residence in Berrien county has not been con 1. 1 1 iP/iuiZ~L/ HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 707 tinuous he was first brought to the county in I863 and with the passing years has been an interested witness of its growth and development and the changes which have here occurred. HENRY PETERS, a resident farmer of Bainbridge township, was born in Watervliet this county, on the IIth of February, 1852. His parents were John and Laura (Burroughs) Peters. The father, who was born on Deer Island, Canada, died in 1864 from wounds sustained in the battle of New Hope Church while defending the Union cause, thus giving his life to his country. The mother was left with ten children. She kept the family together, providing for her sons and daughters as best she could and doing a mother's full part by them. One of her sons, Marcus de Lafayette, was a soldier in the same company and regiment as his father. Six of the number are yet living, four being still in Berrien county, and the mother now resides in Bainbridge, in the eighty-ninth year of her age, her home being upon the old farm upon which she settled in I856. For a half century she has lived upon this farm and has been an interested witness of the changes that have occurred in the county. She is a well preserved woman and can read without difficulty, her eyesight being still very keen. Henry Peters remained at home until he attained his majority, although he was employed at farm labor from the age of twelve years. His education was acquired in the common schools but his privileges iri that direction were somewhat limited as it was necessary for him to enter business life. He spent two years in Kansas, going to that state in I872, where for a time he hunted buffalo. He then returned to Michigan and in 1876 he went to Texas, where he remained for a year and a half, spending that time hunting on the buffalo range. He was also employed as a cowboy there for a time. In the fall of I880 Mr. Peters was united in marriage to Miss Phoebe Jane Casner, who was born in Ohio, and was reared in Indiana, and'in her childhood days she came to Michigan. They spent one year at Covert, afterward lived upon his mother's farm and in 1882 came to their present farm. It was wild land, on which only a few acres had been cleared. Much of it was low land, well adapted to the raising of corn, of which he annually harvested large crops. He now has fifty-five acres and has cleared about twenty-five acres. There is a creek which runs through the place and drains the low land which is not only well suited for the production of grain but for celery as well. This creek is fed by hundreds of springs and the farm borders a beautiful inland lake. About three years ago Mr. Peters erected a large residence and has since entertained summer boarders, his place being conveniently and pleasantly located twelve miles east of Benton Harbor. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Peters have been born five children: Edna, the wife of W. L. Hall, of Hamilton township, Van Buren county; Walter, a carpenter at Sister Lakes; Charley; Earl; and Irvin. In his political views Mr. Peters is a Republican. Three generations of the family have settled in this county and the name has always been synonymous with good citizenship as well as with activity and successful accomplishment in agricultural circles. The work which his father instituted in pioneer times he has carried forward, and although he started out in life empty-handed dependent entirely upon his own resources lie is now in possession of a good farm property, while the annual sales of his products bring him a desirable income. ALBERT RUSSELL NOWLEN, who has been the promoter of much of the improvement which has been carried on in Benton Harbor, was born in Durham, Schoharie county, New York, October 19, 1831, his parents being Ira and Sophia (Toles) Nowlen. His paternal grandfather, Joshua Nowlen, was a resident of Connecticut, and Ira Nowlen removed to New York, settled upon a farm in Schoharie county, where he remained for some time, or until he removed to Otsego county. His last years were passed in Benton Harbor, where he died at the age of seventy. On coming to Michi 7o8 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY gan he secured land where Albert R. Nowlen now resides and was engaged in the raising of fruit. His wife died here at the age of sixty-five years. In their family were five children: Addison J., who engaged in the practice of law in Benton Harbor and in Chicago but is now living retired; Almira F., the wife of Archibald Shaw, of New York; Albert Russell, of this review; Victoria S., the wife of John McCoy, a stock grower living in Kansas; and Louisa, who died when about thirty-five years of age. Albert R. Nowlen of this review was reared under the parental roof, acquiring a common school education, and when twentytwo years of age was married to Miss Sarah Jane Pratt, a native of New Jersey. His father at the time of his marriage gave him the old home farm, which he cultivated for three years. He then removed to Oneonta, New York, where his father lived for two years and in I859 made his way westward to Boone county, Illinois, to sell nursery stock for a cousin, who was a grower of such stock in that state. Mr. Nowlen thus spent two years. In the meantime he purchased land in Iowa but never located thereon. His attention being attracted to Michigan on account of his fruit growing interests, he secured land on Empire avenue outside of the village where William Hamilton now resides. He at first had forty acres, of which twenty-five acres had been cleared. One acre was planted to peach trees, which were then thirteen years old. He had but one thousand dollars and had to go in debt to the amount of two thousand dollars in order to secure the place. He at once began planting fruit, set out peach trees and also small fruit, having six acres each of strawberries, blackberries and raspberries. Finally he set out the entire farm to fruit and continued its cultivation for a considerable period or until he sold it for six thousand dollars to William Hamilton. In the meantime the yellows had begun to destroy the orchards. He built the house which is now standing, it being at that time the best one south of the village. In company with Dr. John Bell, Mr. Morton and Captain Lee, Mr. Nowlen pur chased considerable land and organized the Benton Harbor Improvement Association, his associates in this enterprise being Dr. John Bell, Captain J. H. Lee, J. Stanley Morton and Peter English. The last named, however, retired after a short time but the others continued in the company. This association purchased several tracts of land which it sold, inducing several manufacturers to locate here and establish business enterprises. The company would donate locations and give bonuses. Some of these enterprises proved failures. In one instance they donated the location and sixteen thousand dollars. The association bought land which they platted and sold, Mr. Nowlen devoting his entire time to the interests of the company until its affairs were wound up. Since the dissolution of the association he and Captain Lee have purchased the McAllister addition and built a number of houses thereon. The old homestead, too, has been divided into lots and many good houses have been erected there, Mr. Nowlen supplying the funds to H. M. Smith, a contractor, who builds and sells the dwellings. This is a very desirable residence section of the town. Mr. Nowlen is also a stockholder in the State Bank, and through his land and property operations has contributed in very substantial measure to the improvement and upbuilding of Benton Harbor. After his father's death he secured the old homestead and erected his present residence at No. 245 Broadway. Mr. Nowlen was married at the age of twenty-two years in Plainfield, New Jersey, to Miss Sarah Jane Pratt, a native of New York, and they lived together until her death in March, 1897. In the family were three children: Russell, who died at the age of twenty-two years; Ida N., who is the widow of Royce Allen, and she and her family of six children are living with her father, two of the children being now students in Oberlin College of Ohio; and Bert, who is engaged in the lumber business at Benton Harbor, his yard being located on the old site of the firm of Morton & Stevens, one of the pioneer lumber firms of this part of the state. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 709 Mr. Nowlen was one of the organizers of the Congregational church and served as one of its trustees until recent years, and has been a deacon since its organization. He donated an organ valued at thirty-five hundred dollars to the church. He has done much for the upbuilding of the church and its work here, being one of its prominent and influential members. In I906 he gave one thousand dollars to the new hospital of Benton Harbor. In politics he is a stalwart Republican, and has refused all local offices, though frequently solicited to serve in such positions. He has preferred to do his public service as a private citizen and his efforts in behalf of Benton Harbor have been far reaching and beneficial. The founders of a state or the builders of a city are not merely the men who handle the reins of government and control the public policy but are those who carry civilization into hitherto wild regions, who develop the natural resources of the state and who become builders and organizers of business interests. Such a man is Mr. Nowlen. HON. T H O M AS JEFFERSON WEST, deceased, who was one of the distinguished and prominent citizens of Berrien county, successfully conducting agricultural interests and wielding a wide influence in public affairs, represented his district in the state legislature, while his opinions were a decisive factor in many questions of public moment. He died October 21, I896, and the county thereby lost one of its men of sterling worth. He was born in Wayne county, New York, May 22, 183I, and when four years of age was brought to Michigan by his parents who settled in Kalamazoo county. His father, John West, became a farmer of Charleston township, where he successfully cultivated his land, but his last years were spent in the home of his son, Thomas J. Upon the home farm Mr. West of this review was reared and his early attention was supplemented by study in Kalamazoo College. At the age of seventeen years he began teaching, which profession he followed for eleven years in the winter months in Kalamazoo and Calhoun counties. When he sought a companion and helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Martha M. Williamson, and, successful in his wooing, they were married in Charleston township April I7, I852. She was a daughter of Daniel and Katherine Williamson, and was born in Tioga county, New York, whence at the age of three years she was brought to Michigan, the family,home being established at Port Huron and later in Charleston township, Kalamazoo county, where they were neighbors of the West family. An early friendship ripened into love and she was married at the age of eighteen years. The young couple resided for a time in Calhoun county, after which they returned to the old West farm in Kalamazoo county, in 1865 they arrived in Berrien county and Mr. West purchased the farm in Bainbridge township, upon which his widow now resides, it being located eight miles east of Benton Harbor on Territorial road, which highway also led past their Kalamazoo county home, sixtyfive miles further east. The tract which Mr. West secured in Berrien county was partially improved and he soon devoted it to the raising of a variety of fruit. His attention was largely given to peaches first until the yellows destroyed his trees. From I875 until I878 he was engaged in the conduct of a general store at Coloma, after which he returned to his farm, and in 1893 erected the present residence. A few years later, after successfully conducting his farm, he turned the care of his place over to his son Fred and retired from active business life. The place is now devoted to the raising of fruit with seventy acres thus utilized, forty-five acres being devoted to peaches, while the remainder is given to apples and grapes. In his business affairs Mr. West was active, energetic and far-sighted and his laudable ambition and close application were the strong elements in his success. A man of influence well fitted for leader ship by reason of his devotion to the general good and his intimate and accurate knowledge of political issues, questions and possibilities, he became a recognized leader in the ranks of the Republican party. and 7I0 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY in 1872 was elected upon -that ticket to represent his district in the state legislature. He served capably and creditably, and in I874 was re-elected. He was much interested in certain legislative acts, especially the one concerning the division line between St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, and he left the impress of his individuality upon the legislative history of the commonwealth. He also served for several years as township supervisor and was interested in everything pertaining to the welfare and upbuilding of his township and county. He was an enthusiastic member of the Grange and was a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Spink's Corners. His life was useful and honorable. It was never a negative quantity but was always an influencing force for good, as he stood as a stalwart defender of justice, truth, right and progress. Unto Mr. and Mrs. West were born three children: Pratt W., who died at the age of nineteen years; Franklin H., who died at the age of sixteen years; and Fred L. The last named pursued a commercial course in Valparaiso Normal School and since attaining his majority has conducted the home farm, which at one time contained two hundred and eighty acres but his father sold a portion of it and it now comprises one hundred and twenty acres. He is engaged in raising grass, grain and hay, as well as fruit, and he is a prominent member of the Berrien County Horticultural Society, in which he is now serving on the executive committee. He married Miss Anna E. Morton, by whom he had two children, Martha Winifred and Hermie L. His present wife was Dorothy O. Wilder, of Berrien county, who is a graduate nurse. Mrs. Thomas J. West also survives and the family is a prominent one in the community, occupying an enviable position in social circles. REV. E D W A R D FREDERICK STRICKLAND, a man of broad scholarly attainments and keen intellectuality, devoted a third of a century to the work of the ministry as a representative of the Baptist denomination. Dr. Strickland is a native of England, was born in London, in the year I820, and acquired his early education in the schools of Scotland. He is also a graduate of the Metaphysical College in Boston, Massachusetts, graduating in November, I868. The late Rev. George C. Laurimore, D. D., of New York, and Dr. Strickland were baptized at the same time in I856, by Dr. Everts at Walnut Street Church in Louisville, Kentucky. His last charge was at Des Moines, Iowa, where, in I890, he retired from the active work of the ministry. He had preached with much success, laboring zealously and effectively for the benefit of his fellowmen, so that his efforts were of no restricted order, his influence proving a potent element for good in every community in which he lived and labored. An earnest, fluent and forceful speaker he impressed his hearers with the deep truths which he uttered and which he presented to them in clear, logical form, appealing strongly to both the intellectual and spiritual nature of his auditors. In I890 he came to Benton Harbor and purchased property on the bluff overlooking Colfax avenue. Here he has since lived. On the I7th of June, I852, Rev. Strickland was united in the holy bonds of matrimony to his present wife, who was born in Nottingham, England, and is a most faithful helpmate to her husband in his church work, while their congeniality of tastes has made their married life most companionable. Their union has been blessed with six children: Edwin, born in London, England. Fannie Eva, born in Jeffersonville, Indiana, is the wife of Major Conlin, of the United States army and now lives at Detroit, Michigan. Agnes, born in Bedford, New York, became the wife of Frederick H. Denman, of Battle Creek, Michigan. Nellie R. Strickland, born in Dayton, Ohio, is the wife of Robert Conners, of New York. Mabel Dacon, born in Northville, Michigan, is the wife of George Mack, of Boston, Massachusetts. Ethel Ann, born February 21, 1875, at Chelsea, Massachusetts, is the wife of Mr. John Edwards, of England. Dr. Strickland has always been a deep student not only of HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 7Ii theology but of social and economic questions affecting the welfare of the race, and is a man of broad, scholarly attainments. He has now passed the eighty-fifth milestone on life's journey and the years of his active and earnest labor in the ministry are crowned with well earned ease. Rev. Dr. Strickland was prelate of Malta commandry, Benton Harber, from its foundation, as a mark of the Sir Knights' appreciation of his work they unanimously elected him associate prelate with remittance of dues and fees during the remainder of his life. Dr. Strickland is the oldest Knight Templar holding the honorable office of associate prelate in the state. SIMEON BELKNAP, M. D., one of the capable members of the medical fraternity of Michigan, now practicing in Niles, was born in Barnard, Windsor county, Vermont, October I6, I837, and comes of English and Scotch ancestry, the early representatives of the name in America having crossed the Atlantic during the colonization period of the new world. They made settlement in Connecticut, where Simeon Belknap, grandfather of Dr. Belknap of this review was born, and when about twentyone years of age moved to Randolph, Vermont, where Seymour Belknap, his father, first opened his eyes to the light of day. Thus for several generations the family was represented in Vermont. Seymour Belknap married Miss Lydia Campbell, a daughter of Sylvanus Campbell, and was a native of Vermont and of Scotch lineage. Dr. Simeon Belknap spent his early boyhood days in the state of his nativity and prepared for college as a student in the school at Newburg, Vermont. Upon the completion of his literary course he entered upon the study of medicine which he carried on under the preceptorship of Dr. Huntington of Rochester, Vermont, until he matriculated in the medical department of the State University of Vermont. He therein pursued the regular course and was graduated in the class of I860, subsequent to which time he spent one year in a hospital at Boston, Massachusetts, thus supplementing his theoretical training by broad and varied experience. He then located for practice in Rochester, Vermont, entering into partnership with his former preceptor, Dr. M. W. Huntington. They conducted a large practice there but, attracted by the west with its broader possibilities, Dr. Belknap came to Michigan in 1873, settling in Niles, where he built up an extensive and lucrative practice. For eleven years he was a partner of the late Dr. E. J. Bonine under the firm name of Bonine & Belknap and on the dissolution of that partnership he entered into business relations with his son, Fred R. Belknap. To his profession he brings a well trained mind, great physical endurance and abilities of an unusually high order. His talents, both native and acquired, entitle him to prominence in the ranks of the medical fraternity and his labors have been an important element for good in the localities in which he has resided. Dr. Simeon Belknap was married in 186I at Rochester, Vermont, to Miss Addie M. Rice, who was a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio, although the state of her nativity is Vermont. She was born in I840. Her father, Uriah Rice, was a prominent citizen of Cincinnati, Ohio, and for many years filled the position of superintendent of schools there. Unto Dr. and Mrs. Belknap were born two sons, Dr. F. R. Belknap of Benton Harbor and Simeon Belknap, Jr., who lives in Niles, Michigan. In the line of his profession he is connected with the American Medical Association to which he has belonged since 1855 and since I88o he has been a member of the Kalamazoo Academy of Medicine. He was also a member of the Pan American Medical Congress and was United States Pension examiner and surgeon appointed in 1876, but during President Cleveland's administration he was removed for political reasons and was out of office for four years. When the Republicans again came into power he was re-appointed and has filled the position to the present time, acting all of the time as secretary of the board of Niles. He is a member of the National Association of Railway Surgeons, is also a member of the Big Four Railway '712 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Surgeons Association and is physician and surgeon for the Big Four Railroad, the Interurban Railroad and surgeon for the Michigan Central Railroad. He still makes his home in Niles but in I898 was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 22d of June of that year. Dr. Belknap still practices his profession and throughout the years of his active connection with the medical fraternity has kept abreast with the advancement that has been continuously made as investigation and research have broadened the knowledge and promoted the efficiency of the members of the medical fraternity. JOHN F. WILSON. Among the younger business men of St. Joseph is numbered John F. Wilson, who is conducting a bakery here. He is one of the native sons of this city, his birth having occurred on the 2d of January, I874. His father, John W. Wilson, was born in New York on the i6th of November, 1832, and was one of a large family. During his boyhood days his parents removed to Michigan, settling in Warren, Macomb county, where he was reared to manhood. In 1855, in company with Thomas Rimes of St. Joseph, he came to this city in a fishing smack, which left port at a point on Lake St. Clair. For several years he folowed the business of fishing. In 1865 he turned his attention to the bakery business on Ship street, where the Zordell harness shop is now located. Subsequently he removed to the Preston building and there purchased from John Wilkinson a bakery and restaurant business conducted in the Wilkinson Hall, a frame building on State street, where now stands the Martin Block. When this building was torn down Mr. Wilson removed to a building located on the site of the John Kibler Block and afterward to a building just across the street, which was destroyed by fire in September, I9OI. A few years ago, however, the stock was removed to the Economy Block and Mr. Wilson retired from active business at that time, being succeeded by his son, John F. Wilson. He was for many years a prominent and enterprising business man of the city and his name is closely associated with the early commercial development here. John W. Wilson was married in St. Joseph on the 2Ist of August, I86o, to Miss Susan Maria Olds, and unto them were born five sons and a daughter. In community affairs Mr. Wilson was actively interested, rejoicing in the advancement made by his adopted city and assisting in as far as possible in the work of public improvement and upbuilding. He creditably served as a member of the board of city aldermen from the first ward for two years, beginning in April, I899. He led a life of well directed activity and actuated by a spirit of service in behalf of his family and his community. He died January 25, I903, respected by all who knew him. The members of the family are: Hurlbut O., a resident of St. Joseph; W. L.; Mrs. John Eklund, who is living in this city; John F.; Charles E., who resides in White Cloud, Michigan, and Harry Lee, whose home is in Grand Rapids, Michigan. John F. Wilson was reared in St. Joseph, where he has spent his entire life. His education was largely acquired in the public schools here although he also pursued a commercial course in Benton Harbor College. At an early age he entered the employ of his father and learned the bakery business, which he mastered both in principle and detail. He continued with his father until the latter's retirement from business life, when he became his successor and is now proprietor of a good bakery. His business has constantly grown and he has now a gratifying trade. He is respected by all not alone because of the success he has achieved but also by reason of the straightforward, honorable methods that he has ever followed. In I898 in the city of his nativity Mr. Wilson was married to Miss Dora A. Foltz, who was born in Bremen, Indiana. They have one child, John Charles, whose birth occurred in St. Joseph, October 26, I905. Mr. Wilson is independent in his political views. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and has taken the various degrees up to and including those of the council. He is likewise connected with the Eastern Star and his name is one of the membership rolls of the ELI A. GRIFFIN HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 7I3 Elks lodge and the Maccabees tent. He has many warm friends in Berrien county and is best liked where best known. EDWIN C. GRIFFIN. Various business interests have claimed the attention and co-operation of Edwin C. Griffin, who belongs to that class of representative American men, who while advancing individual success also contribute to the public prosperity. He is now proprietor of a drug store which has been conducted continuously in Niles since 1883 and who has varied business investments, while at the same time he finds opportunity to support progressive public movements. Mr. Griffin was born in Niles in 1857 and is the only child of Eli A. and Harriet M. (Nichols) Griffin. The father was born at Poplar Ridge, New York, in 1833, and was a son of Samuel H. and Maria B. (Culver) Griffin, both natives of the Empire state, the former born in Dutchess county. In their family were five children, of whom two died in infancy in New York, while only one is yet living, namely, Mrs. Lucy G. Finley, who was married in I862 to Thomas J. Finley. They had two children: Ruhamah, the wife of William P. Lardner; and Belle, who married Frank Landon, but both are now deceased. They left a son Worth F. Landon, who lives in Chicago. Eli A. Griffin was the eldest of the five children in his father's family. He was engaged in the dry goods business in Niles, Michigan, at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war and in I86I he responded to the country's call for troops, enlisting in Company A, Sixth Michigan Volunteer Infantry. He became captain of his company May 19, I869, served in the Atlanta campaign, and went with Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea; was wounded in action May 27, 1863; resigned on account of wounds July 17, I863; was made major Nineteenth Michigan Infantry October 22, I863, lieutenant colonel April 20, I864; died June i6, I864, of wounds received in action at Golgotha Church, Georgia, June 15, I864, while commanding the regiment, being at that time about thirty-three years of age. He had married Harriet M. Nichols, who was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and long survived him, passing away in I889, at the age of sixty-two years. Edwin C. Griffin was reared in Niles and began his education in the public schools here but afterward attended the high school at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, from which he was graduated in the class of I875. He then went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, became a student in the College of Pharmacy and was graduated therefrom in the class of I879. In the meantime, in 1878, he passed the examination before the New Jersey board of pharmacy and while still in school he acted as manager of a drug store at Camden, New Jersey, owned by Mr. Lee, who was the secretary of the secretary of the State Board of Pharmacy, of New Jersey. Mr. Griffin continued as manager for two years. He now holds diplomas from Illinois and Michigan, having passed the examination before the board of pharmacy of those states as well as New Jersey. Following his graduation he went to Chicago, Illinois, where he had charge of the Hyde Park Pharmacy for a year. Subsequetnly he went to Colorado, where he remained for two years, conducting a large drug store at Durango. He owned several stores while in Colorado, going to Del Norte and later to Durango, while subsequently he purchased a stock of goods and went by team to New Mexico. He sold the first bill of goods in Durango and as there was no building in the town to be had he opened his store in a tent. He continued in business on the line of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad to the termination of its track and then proceeded by team for a distance of two hundred and fifty miles, selling his goods from place to place. He eventually reached New Mexico and disposed of his stock at Trespiedras or Three Rocks. In 1883 after a varied career as a pioneer merchant of the west he returned to Niles and in that year opened a drug store, which he has since conducted with gratifying success. He carries a large line of goods and has a well appointed store, neat and attractive in its appearance by reason of his careful management. He is always reliable and straight 714 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY forward in his dealings and has 'a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the drug business and of the use of the different remedial agencies by reason of his study and because of a varied experience. He is also interested and actively associated with the Building and Loan Association of Niles, of which he is financial secretary and treasurer. He is also a director of three other building and loan associations all of this city. Mr. Griffin was married in Niles in I884 to Miss Jennie W. Woodruff, a daughter of D. O. Woodruff, an early settler of Berrien county, Michigan. They have two children, Harriet C. and Jeanne, both born in Niles. The family attend the Episcopal church and are prominent in social circles. Mr. Griffin has always taken an active part in city affairs and at present time is serving on the board of public works. In politics he is a Republican and his efforts in behalf of public progress have never been limited to party allegiance, for he has given his co-operation to various measures and movements for the public good. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, holding membership in the lodge, council, chapter and commandery, in all of which he has held various offices. He is now and has been for the past fifteen years secretary of the chapter. He is recognized as one of the progressive citizens of Niles, is distinctively a man of affairs and one who has wielded a wide influence. He has found in the every-day duties of this work-a-day world incentive for his best effort and he has not only profited by the control of private business interests, for other enterprises have felt the stimulus of his wise counsel and energy. The city of Niles has been greatly improved through the building and loan association with which Mr. Griffin is connected and his patriotic devotion to the general good is an acknowledged fact in his life record. GEORGE GRAHAM is a retired old settler living at Berrien Springs with an income derived from five hundred acres of valuable farming property. He was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, January 3I, I826. His father, John Graham, a na tive of Pennsylvania, spent his entire life in that state. He was a merchant and also owned a stage line between Philadelphia and Pittsburg in early days before railroad travel. He died in his native state in his forty-fourth year. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Kimmel, and was also a native of Pennsylvania, was accidentally killed in Berrien county, when she had reached the age of seventy-six years. There were seven children in the family, of whom Goerge Graham is the eldest. His residence in this county dates from I843, arriving here when a young man of seventeen years. He remained for three years and being pleased with the county, its productiveness and its business opportunities he then returned to Pennsylvania and brought to his new home his mother, two brothers and two sisters, making the journey with teams across the country. They located on a farm in Oronoko township and a part of the land which they owned is now comprised within the corporation limits of Berrien Springs. Mr. Graham cleared and cultivated the fields and was engaged in general farming until 1879, when he erected his present residence in Berrien Springs, where he has since made his home. As the years passed by he carefully directed his farming operations and his business capacity and enterprise were indicated by the excellent success which attended his efforts. He owns now about five hundred acres of land, a large portion of which is in Berrien Springs and all adjoining the village. From this he derives an excellent income so that he is enabled to enjoy the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. He has been a resident of the same township for sixty-three years and was closely identified with the early history of the county, aiding in the advancement of those measures and movements which have for their object the welfare and upbuilding of this part of the state. Mr. Graham was married in December, 1849, to Miss Mary B. Garrow, a daughter of John and Mary Garrow, who came from Auburn, New York, the place of her nativity, to Michigan and spent her remaining days in Berrien county, her death oc GEORGE GRAHAM MRS. GEORGE GRAHAM rrI HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 7I5 curring May 3, I902. The deepest regret was felt throughout the community at her loss, for she was a lady of many excellent traits of heart and mind. By this marriage seven children have been born: William H.; Harry K.; Julia, the deceased wife of Samuel H. Kelly, of Benton Harbor; Addie, the wife of T. L. Wilkinson of St. Joseph and Berrien Springs, being a member of the firm of Dix & Wilkinson; and three, who died in childhood. Since his retirement from the farm Mr. Graham has engaged in loaning money and this also adds materially to his income. He started out in life a poor boy and began working by the month as a farm hand. The first year he received only his board in compensation for his services and the second year he was paid six dollars per month in addition to his board. He has accumulated all that he possesses through his own industry and thrift and is today a prosperous citizen. In early manhood he voted for General Zachary Taylor and for John C. Fremont. He was a Whig prior to the organization of the Republican party, since which time he has been one of its stalwart supporters. He cast two ballots for Abraham Lincoln, and voted for each presidential nominee of the party since that time, and in 1904 he met with the Fremont voters in Jackson at the semicentennial anniversary of the organization of the Republican party there. He has held local offices, including that of president of the village. He is well known in the county where he has lived so long and in public affairs he has taken an active and helpful part. He has now reached the age of four score years and is a venerable citizen, respected and honored by all who know him by reason of what he has accomplished and the honorable methods he has followed. His life record should serve as a source of inspiration and help to others, being a practical proof of what may be done in the business world through industry, guided by sound judgment and supplemented by integrity. EDWARD H. KINGSLEY, engaged in the furniture trade in St. Joseph, dates his residence in Michigan from I85I. In fact this was the year of his birth, his natal place being Niles. He is a son of George W. Kingsley, who was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, and who in early manhood sought a home in the great and growing west, ambitious to profit by its broader opportunities. Coming to Michigan in 1833 he settled in St. Joseph. He had learned the mason's trade and became a contractor. in that line, working for the Michigan Central Railroad Company at the time its line was extended to St. Joseph, in the meantime having removed his family to Niles. In 1851 he again took up his abode in St. Joseph, where he continued his business as a mason contractor up to the time of his demise. He was thus closely associated with building operations in his adopted city and his excellent workmanship may still be seen in many of the substantial structures here. He held various offices of trust, including the position of township trustee and at all times he was loyal in citizenship, his labor, co-operation and influence being a resultant factor in various movements for the public good. He wedded Miss Marian Conkhrite, who was born in Lockport, New York, and they became the parents of eight children, but five have passed away. Those still living are: Edward H.; Mary L., the wife of L. T. Burridge, of Benton Harbor; and Charles E., who is living in St. Joseph. The father's death occurred in St. Joseph in 1876 at the age of sixty-one years, and the mother is still living, now making her home in Benton arbor. Edward H. Kingsley, although born in Niles, was reared in St. Joseph, where he attended school and on attaining manhood he worked with his father at the mason's trade for a number of years. This association was maintained until the father's death, when he succeeded to the business, continuing his operations in that line until 1887, when he engaged in the lumber business in Georgia, remaining in the south for five years. On the expiration of that period he returned to 716 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY St. Joseph, where he again resumetd mason contracting and was a factor in building operations here until I898, when he became connected with other industrial interests of the city. He purchased an interest in a box and basket manufacturing business at Bangor, Michigan, the product of the factory being used by the fruit packers of the state, and while thus engaged he still retained his residence in St. Joseph. He remained in this business for two years and then again resumed mason contracting here but shortly afterward went to the state of Washington, where he organized the Michigan Box Company, of which he was manager for one year. On the expiration of that period he sold out and returned to St. Joseph, where he again followed contracting until August, I905, when he purchased an interest in a furniture store, which for a short time had been conducted under the name of Baitenger & Church, and afterward became The Baitenger & Kingsley Company. A more detailed account of the business is given in connection with the sketch of G. M. Baitenger on another page of this work. They carried, however, a large and well selected line of furniture of various grades and kinds in order to meet the varied tastes of the general public and they also do a picture frame and undertaking business. Mr. Kingsley has witnessed almost the entire growth and development of this city and matters of local progress are ever dear to his heart. Every movement for the general good receives his endorsement and in al of his efforts for the public welfare he is intensely practical. Before St. Joseph was incorporated as a city he served on the village board of trustees and after the city had received its charter he was elected as supervisor of the first ward for a term of two years and when the wards were redistricted he was chosen supervisor for the third ward, filling the office for four years. He was also appointed to the board of public works for a term of two years and later was reappointed for a five years' term. His political allegiance has always been given to the Republican party and his devotion to the public welfare stands as an unquestioned fact in his history. In June, 1876, Mr. Kingsley was united in marriage in St. Joseph to Miss Cynthia J. Cowles, a daughter of Charles C. Cowles, of Mobile, Alabama. Mrs. Kingsley is a member of the Episcopal church and they occupy an enviable position in social circles, where true worth and intelligence are received as the passports into good society. Mr. Kingsley is a member of the St. Joseph Lodge of Masons, No. 437, and in 900o was high priest of Calvin Brittain Chapter, R. A. M. He also belongs to St. Joseph Council, No. 44, R. & S. M., and to Malta Commandery, K. T., of Benton Harbor. He has thus attained high rank in Masonry and is in hearty sympathy with the teachings and purposes of the craft. He has found in his native county the business opportunities he sought, which, by way, are always open to the ambitious, energetic man, and making the best of these he has steadily worked his way upward. He possesses resolution, perseverance and reliability and in whatever relation of life we find him, whether in political associations, in business or in social circles, he is always an honorable and honored gentleman, whose worth well merits the high regard which is uniformly given him. WILLIAM E. SHEFFIELD, classed with the merchants of Benton Harbor, where since 1887 he has been engaged in the drug business, was born in Kokomo, Indiana, in I863. His education wars acquired in Richland county, Wisconsin, and he afterward went to Montcalm county, Michigan, where he learned the drug business with his father, James A. Sheffield. In 1887 he came to Benton Harbor and established a drug store under the firm style of J. A. Sheffield & Son. From the beginning the new enterprise prospered and they built up a fine business, carrying a large and well selected line of drugs and also dealing in stationery and books, of which they have a large stock. This business has been largely built up through the efforts of Wil HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 717 liam E. Sheffield and since the death of his father in I899 he has carried on the business under his own name in a very successful manner. His commercial methods are such as will bear close investigation and scrutiny and while keeping in touch with the trend of modern progress in trade circles he is at the same time maintaining a reputation for straightforward dealing that is most commendable. In I884, in Ohio, Mr. Sheffield was united in marriage to Miss Ella G. Sheffield and they are accorded an enviable social position in Benton Harbor. Mr. Sheffield is a prominent Mason, having attained the 32d degree of the Scottish Rite. He has also taken the degrees of the York Rite and is a member of the Mystic Shrine. In politics he is a Democrat and is a member of the library board of Benton Harbor. His interest in public affairs has led to active support of many plans and movements for the general good. In political thought and action he has always been independent, carrying out his honest views without fear or favor. In business he has achieved success through honorable effort, untiring industry and capable management and in private life has gained that warm personal regard which arises from true nobility of character, deference for the opinions of others and geniality. THERON T. RANSOM, now deceased, was well known in business, social and political circles in St. Joseph. He conducted a grocery store there for many years and as a builder of a business block and other substantial structures contributed in large measure to the improvement of the city. Moreover he displayed in his early life the qualities of upright manhood and devotion to duty which in every land and clime awaken confidence and regard. He won the warm friendship of many with whom he came in contact, so that his death came as a personal loss to the entire community. Mr. Ransom was a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred in Oberlin in I840. His parents were William Brooks and Cynthia (Turner) Ransom. The father lived for many years in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, where he was engaged in horticultural pursuits, owning and controlling a large fruit farm. Subsequently he removed to Berrien county, Michigan, where he also bought a farm devoted to the cultivation of fruit and to the raising of stock. He conducted that farm for a number of years but spent his last days in retirement from further labor in St. Joseph, and his rest was well merited because the competence which he possessed had been acquired entirely through his own well directed and honorable labor. Theron T. Ransom was reared to manhood in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and after completing his education and entering business life he was connected with various enterprises, including mining. He was thus engaged until I867, when he came to Michigan and entered business circles in St. Joseph as a grocer. From the beginning his success was uniform and rapid and he soon had a large and gratifying trade, which was accorded him up to the time of his death, many of his patrons giving him their support throughout the entire period of his connection with business interests of his city. As his trade grew and his financial resources were correspondingly enlarged he placed his money in the safest of all investments-real estate-and erected a substantial business block, whereby he contributed in large and beneficial measure to the upbuilding and improvement of the city. He also owned various other properties here. In connection with his other interests he was one of the organizers of the Union Bank of St. Joseph and acted on its board of directors for many years. In I868 in St. Joseph Mr. Ransom was married to Miss Mary Adams, a daughter of Charles and Ann A. (Hoyt) Adams, the former a native of Limerick, Maine. Her mother was a daughter of Eliphalet Hoyt, also of Maine, who married Sallie Hoyt of New Hampshire. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Ransom were born two children but only one is now living, Ralph, who is an artist and teacher in the Albion College at Albion, Michigan. He married Nannie Keith, a daughter of W. W. Bean, of St. Joseph. 7I8 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Mrs. Ransom of this review is a great lover of antiquities and has a large collection of ancient relics, including many pewter articles. She has a pewter platter which was brought from England in early colonial days and is now more than one hundred and fifty years old. She also has many other interesting antiquities and art relics, including a large, beautiful and interesting collection of china. Mr. Ransom's study of questions and issues led him to give his support to the Republican party and he was well known both politically and socially in St. Joseph and was recognized at the same time as an important factor in the business life of the community. He would never hold political office although such honors would have been conferred upon him had he consented to accept. In a quiet way, however, he labored earnestly for the welfare of the community and his influence was ever given on the side of progress and improvement. He held membership in the Masonic lodge and when called to his final rest in I886 was laid to rest with Masonic honors. He was a man of genuine personal worth, whose many good qualities won him recognition from those who have true appreciation for the nobler characteristics of life but while he held friendship inviolable and was ever considerate of the thoughts and feelings of others his best traits of character were reserved for his own family and fireside. PROFESSOR ERNEST P. CLARKE, superintendent of the schools of St. Joseph, has devoted almost his entire life to educational work. He was born in Berrien township, this county, in 1862, a son of Daniel Edward Clarke, a native of Ohio. The father was a veteran of the Civil war, enlisting at Niles, Michigan, as a private of Company I, Twelfth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, with which he continued up to the time of his death, which occurred in Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri, of typhoid fever. He married Martha Zuver, also a native of Ohio. She yet survives her husband and makes her home with her son. Professor Clarke began his education in the public schools of Indiana but on account of his father's early death he had to put aside his text-books and earn his own living at the age of fourteen years. He became an employe of William Edwards of Benton Harbor, with whom he remained for two years. After completing a three years' course in the Benton Harbor high school he entered the Michigan Agricultural College, largely working his own way through this institution. He thus displayed the elementary strength of his character and developed the latent energies which have proven a strong and forceful element in his subsequent success. On leaving college he became a teacher in IHillsdale county, Michigan, and afterward went to Kansas, where he remained for three years as principal of the schools of White City. He then returned to Berrien county, Michigan, and in I893 was elected county commissioner of schools which position hefilled so acceptably that he was three times re-elected and was serving for the fourth term in that office when he resigned to accept the position of superintendent of the city schools of St. Joseph, to which position he was called in I899. He has since acted in that capacity and has done much for the improvement of the schools, maintaining a high standard of public education and inspiring the teachers and pupils under him with much of his own zeal and interest in the work, so that the school system has become an efficient one and his labors have given uniform satisfaction. On the 24th of May, I893, Professor Clarke was married in Kendall, Michigan, to Miss Elnora Wheeler, a daughter of David and Mary (Chamberlain) Wheeler. They have two children, Edward E. and Mary P., both born in St. Joseph. Professor Clarke is a member of the Masonic fraternity and is a Republican in politics and in social circles he and his wife now enjoy an enviable position, especially where true worth and intelligence are received as passports into good society. His life record stands in contradistinction to the old adage that a "prophet is not without honor save in his own country," for in the county of his nativity he has attained to a position of dis - I ;JX~ HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 719 tinction as one who is closely connected with the public welfare and whose labors have been of direct and immediate benefit. HON. ROSCO D. DIX. Prominent in political circles in Michigan, an able attorney of Berrien Springs and the president of the Berrien Springs Exchange Bank, also a recognized leader in the development of the Grand Army of the Republic in this state, no history of Berrien county would be complete without mention of Hon. Rosco D. Dix, whose life record is interwoven with the annals of the commonwealth. He was born in Jefferson county, New York, June I, I839. His paternal grandfather, Leonard Dix, was of Holland Dutch extraction. A native of Vermont, he lived to be ninetyfour years of age and died in Berrien county. His son, Dexter O. Dix, who was likewise born in the Green Mountain State, removed from New England to New York, where he followed the occupation of farming for a number of years. Coming to Michigan in 1852 he located in Bainbridge township, Berrien county, where he owned land and also carried on merchandising. He was an active and enterprising business man during the middle portion of the nineteenth century and he also left the impress of his individuality upon public thought and action, exerting widely felt influence in matters of general moment. He served as supervisor of his township and was always the champion of any movement for the public good. He married Miss Mary E. Rudd, a native of Connecticut and a daughter of Nathaniel Rudd of Revolutionary stock. Dextor O. Dix passed away at the age of seventy-seven years, while his wife survived to the age of eighty-seven years. In their family were three sons and a daughter. Rosco D. Dix, the eldest son and second child of the family, was about twelve years of age when his parents removed from Jefferson county, New York, to Rochester, that state, and was a youth of fifteen when he came to Berrien county, Michigan. His early education, acquired in the district schools of the Empire State, was supplemented by study in Albion College, at Al bion, Michigan. He was a student there, when, in response to his country's call for aid, he enlisted in the spring of I86I as a private of the Second Michigan Volunteer Infantry. He had watched with interest the progress of events in the south, had noted the threatening attitude of the slave-holding states and had resolved that he would strike a blow for the Union if an attempt was made to overthrow. Accordingly the smoke from Fort Sumter's guns had scarcely cleared away when he offered his services. He was promoted to the rank of first sergeant and was seriously wounded at Knoxville, Tennessee, November 24, 1863, and taken prisoner. Being incapacitated for further military service he was honorably discharged, and in I864 he returned to Berrien ceunty, having served for nearly three years as a faithful and loyal soldier who never faltered in the performance of any military task assigned him. Following his return from the war Mr. Dix was elected register of deeds in I864, which he filled for eight years, being elected four different times. In the meantime he had purchased a set of abstract books and had for some years been engaged in the conduct of an abstract office. In 1870 he was admitted to the bar and entered upon practice, since continuing as a representative of the legal fraternity of Berrien county. His connection with the abstract office did not comprise the extent of his political service, however, for he was elected commissioner of the state land office and acted in that capacity for four years, while in I896 he was elected auditor general of Michigan, which position he also held for four years. He has likewise been called to numerous local offices, the duties of which he has discharged with promptness and fidelity, and over the official record of his career there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil. In I867 Mr. Dix was married to Miss Virginia M. Kephart, a daughter of Dr. Philip and Susan (Kimmel) Kephart. They are now the parents of one living son and one living daughter, Winfred and Catherine, 720 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY the latter the wife of William H. Humphrey, of Chicago. Mr. Dix is a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has taken the degrees of the blue lodge, chapter, commandery and shrine. He is also a member of Kilpatrick Post, No. 39, G. A. R., and has held various offices in the department of Michigan. In 1898 he was a member of the national executive committee. He is one of the leading representatives of the Grand Army of the Republic in Michigan and likewise of the Republican party, and has taken an active and helpful interest in both. He has been chairman of the Republican county committee and a member of the congressional committee, and his opinion is often a decisive factor in the councils of his party. In connection with the practice of law he is in partnerthip with T. L. Wilkin in the real-estate, insurance and banking business as the owner of the Berrien Springs Exchange Bank. For forty-one years he has made his home in Berrien Springs and local advancement and national progress are causes dear to his heart. He actively interests himself in public affairs and participates earnestly in every effort to propagate a spirit of patriotism and loyalty to American institutions. He is opposed to misrule in municipal and public affairs and wherever there is a public-spirited attempt to drive corruption or other unworthiness out of office he is to be found working with the leaders of the movement. His success in business and the position of honor and trust which have been conferred upon him leave no room for question of his ability and he deserves and is given classification with the prominent men not only of Berrien county but of the state. GEORGE A. FORLER is one of the native sons of Niles, born April 17, I862. He is a son of George K. Forler, a native of Canada and a grandson of John Forler, who was born in Germany near Strasburg. The grandfather on coming to America settled i first in Buffalo, New York. This was in r the year I828, at which time the city of Buf- I falo was but a small village. There he, owned land which is now in the heart of the h city. After two years spent in Buffalo he removed to Canada in 1830 and there both he and his wife resided until called to their final rest. He had married Katherine Grieger, who was born in Germany, and before their emigration to the new world they had become the parents of two children, Katherine and Margaret, both of whom are now deceased. Six other children were added to the family in America, of whom three are now living: George K.; Jacob K., who resides in Canada; and Christian, also living in that country. The parents in 1904 celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversity in Niles, on which happy occasion all of their children were present and many friends joined with them in good 'wishes and hearty congratulations. The grandfather was a weaver by trade and followed that pursuit in Germany but after locating in Buffalo, New York, he carried on farming and subsequent to his removal to Canada he purchased a tract of land, which he cleared and cultivated, making his home thereon until his death, which occurred in I86I, when he was sixty years of age. His wife long survived him, passing away in I888, when ninety-four years of age. Their son, George K. Forler, now living in Niles, came from Canada to Michigan in I86o and took up his abode in the city which is yet his place of residence. He had learned the carpenter's trade in Canada and he here followed that pursuit until I862, when with the capital he had saved from his own earnings he embarked in merchandising in Niles. For a third of a century he was closely identified with commercial interests here, occupying a prominent position as a merchant and continuing in the trade until I895, when he retired. In 1864 he erected a substantial two-story brick hotel, called the Forler Hotel, located at the corner of Fifth and High streets. On the street floor was the office of the hotel and also his grocery and provision store. The building was burned n April, I889, and in November, I889, business was commenced in the new building. In his undertakings George K. Forler was very successful, his capable management of iis interests bringing him a very gratifying HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 721 degree of prosperity. As a companion and helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Katherine Schmidt, who was born in Germany and is also living. They became the parents of nine children:Magdalene, now the widow of Charles Whetstone; William S., who wedded Mary Keochly, and is now engaged in the hotel business in Portland, Indiana; George A.; Mary, the wife of Alfred Massnick, of Bay City, Michigan; Kate, the wife of Rev. Joseph Reinicke, of Marion, Ohio; John H., who wedded Olive Eastwood, of South Bend, Indiana, and now lives in Niles; Margaret, the wife of J. G. Kaiser, of Erie, Pennsylvania; Annie, the wife of Oscar Massnick, of Detroit, Michigan; and H. C. L. Forler, who married Isabelle Nesbitt, and is a practicing attorney of Detroit. George A. Forler, whose name introduces this record, entered the schools of Niles at the usual age, passing through successive grades until he had become a high school student. He afterward attended a business college in Detroit and on returning to Niles entered his father's store, acting as manager until I893. He then went to Chicago, where he engaged in the grocery business on his own account for two years, or until I895, when he returned to Niles and purchased his father's grocery and provision business. He has since continued in this line of trade with much success, having a good patronage which is constantly growing. He is recognized as an enterprising merchant and one who realizes that close application and indefatigable energy constitute a safe and sure foundation upon which to build the superstructure of prosperity. In I894 in Chicago Mr. Forler was married to Miss Dora Spansail, who was born in Genoa, Illinois. They have three children: Dorothy, born in Chicago; and Gladys and Katherine, born in Niles. Mr. and Mrs. Forler are well known socially, while his business record and position is in accord with the honored name made by his father through long years of association with mercantile interests in Niles. In his political affiliation Mr. Forler is an earnest Democrat and has served as 46 alderman from the first ward and was fortwo terms a member of the school board. GEORGE MILTON VALENTINE, a representative citizen and distinguished lawyer of Benton Harbor, was born in Pulaski, Oswego county, New York, January I, I849. His father, William Valentine, was born at Hoosic, Rensselear county, New York, January I9, I803, and was a farmer by occupation, following that pursuit throughout his entire business career. In the Empire state he was married to Miss Samantha Taylor, whose birth occurred in Richland township, Oswego county, New York, October 7, 181I. In the year I85I they removed with their family from New York to Michigan, settling in Galien township, Berrien county, where William Valentine made his home until his death, which occurred in May, I875. Although farming was his principal occupation he also engaged in lumbering to some extent. His early political allegiance was given to the Whig party and upon its dissolution he joined the ranks of the Republican party. His widow still survives him and now makes her home with her daughter at Coloma, in Berrien county. In their family were nine children, eight of whom are now living, namely: Helen M.; John A., who resides in South Bend, Indiana; Stephen A., living in Granger, Indiana; William H., of Three Oaks, Michigan; Mrs. Nancy J. Brown, of' Coloma; Mrs. Julia S. Jeffries, also livingin Three Oaks, Michigan; George M., of Benton Harbor; Charles N., of Fargo, North Dakota; and Andrew P., who is living in Berrien Springs, Michigan. The eldest member of the family, Helen M. Russ, is now deceased. George M. Valentine, brought to Berrien county when but two years of age, acquired his preliminary education in the public schools and supplemented the knowledge there gained by study in New Carlisle (Indiana) Collegiate Institute and in the high school at Niles. In early manhood his time was devoted to general farming and school teaching, but regarding the profession of' 722 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY teaching merely as an initial step to other professional labor, he took up the study of law in 1873 and in I875 was graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan. In July of the same year he engaged in partnership with W. H. Breece, of Three Oaks, under the firm style of Breece & Valentine, which relation was maintained until February, I877, when he removed to Benton Harbor, and on St. Valentine's day of that year opened an office. From 1897 until I90I he was a member of the law firm of Valentine & Ellsworth, general practitioners. With the exception of this period he has been alone in practice and has long maintained a foremost place in the front ranks of the representatives of the legal fraternity in Berrien county. He served as attorney for the village of Benton Harbor and as city attorney after its incorporation as a city. He is a close and discriminating student, with wide knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence and is correct in their application. Courts and juries listen to him with attention because of the clear, concise manner in which he presents his cause and his ability in applying legal principles thereto. He is very careful and thorough in the preparation of a case, never neglecting in the least the work that is done in the office and which is the foundation for the successes of the court room. Mr. Valentine is also recognized as a local leader in political circles, widely known as a stalwart champion of Republican principles. In I880 he was elected circuit court commissioner and reelected in 1882. In I896 he was chosen by popular suffrage to the office of prosecuting attorney, and in I898 was re-elected. In I900 he was a delegate to the Republican national convention at Philadelphia, representing the fourth congressional district of Michigan. His opinions are often a forceful element in party councils and are always listened to with attention because he has made a close study of political issues and questions and thus cites intelligently and forcefully concerning those interests affecting local and national welfare. On the I5th of January, 1878, Mr. Valentine was married to Miss Sophia W. Gilson, of New Carlisle, Indiana, a daughter of Abel S. and Elizabeth C. Gilson. Mr. and Mrs. Valentine have two children: Edson B., who was born June 27, 1879, and is a graduate of the law department of the University of Michigan of the class of I906; and George Lawrence, who was born May 5, I886, and is a bookkeeper in the Benton Harbor State Bank. Mr. Valentine holds membership relations with the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of the Maccabees, and has taken the degree of chivalric Masonry in Malta Commandery, No. 44, K. T. He actively interests himself in public affairs and participates earnestly in any effort to propagate a spirit of patriotism and of loyalty to American institutions, and wherever there is a public-spirited attempt to drive corruption or other unworthiness out of public office he is to be found working with the leaders of the movement. Possessing a high degree of good fellowship he is an active member in social organizations with which he is connected. A vigorous physique and intellect enable him to attend adequately to the social side of life without neglecting the cultivation of the mind, and he is a constant reader of those volumes which bring broad general culture. GEORGE HENKEL is one of the young business men in Niles, now representing its mercantile interests. He is a native son of the city, born February 27, I872. The family is of German lineage, the father, John Henkel, having been born in Darmstadt, Germany, October 3, I838. He was the fourth in order of birth in a family of five children, three sons and two, daughters, and he acquired a common-school education in his native land, where he remained until early manhood, when, thinking that he might have superior business opportunities in the new world, he crossed the Atlantic and settled in Canada. There he engaged in clerking for a short time. Prior to this he had also acted as a clerk in Darmstadt. Having spent four years in Canada he crossed the border into the United States in I862 and from New York city made his way direct to Michigan, settling in Niles. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 723 For twelve years he was in the employ of William B. Beeson and after the death of that gentleman he was retained in the same establishment by Mr. Beeson's successors, the firm of Carter & Walker, with whom he continued for three years. Later he went to Mishawaka, Indiana, where he occupied a clerical position for three years and then with the capital which he had managed to save from his earnings he embarked in business on his own account, forming a partnership with his eldest son, Henry Henkel, under the firm name of John Henkel & Son. They opened a dry goods establishment at Niles in I883 and from that time the enterprise has enjoyed a large trade, a good business being developed along safe, conservative, yet progressive lines. On the death of the father the firm of Henkel Brothers was formed by Henry and George Henkel and the store continues to be one of the most important features in trade circles in this city. John Henkel was united in marriage in I86o to Miss Christiana Leanhart, of Canada, and unto them were born five children, two sons and three daughters. Henry, the eldest, born in Canada, July I8, I86I, came with his parents to Niles when very young, acquired his education in the schools of this city and afterward entered business with his father as above stated. He married Miss Carrie Bither, a sister of A. F. Bither of Niles, who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume, and they now have two daughters, Carrie Maud and Frances Christiana, both of xwhom were born in this city. Maggie Henkel, born in Three Oaks, Michigan, is now the wife of Sanford Soule and has two children, John and Wava, both born in Niles. Catherine, born in Niles, is the wife of Fred Stevens, a resident of Fort Wayne, Indiana, by whom she has two children, Descelora and Maxine, both natives of Indiana. George is the fourth of the family. Anna S., born in Niles, makes her home in this city. The father, John Henkel, was a Republican in his political views but would never accept any political office, as he preferred to devote his undivided attention to his business affairs. He was, however, in terested in the welfare of Niles to the extent of giving hearty co-operation to measures for the public good, as a private citizen. He held membership in St. Joseph Valley Lodge, No. 4, A. F. & A. M., and was much esteemed in that order and by the general public as well. George Henkel, whose name introduces this review, has spent nearly all of his life in Niles, and at the usual age entered the public schools, passing through consecutive grades until he was graduated from the high school with the class of I890. After leaving school he clerked in his father's store until the latter's death, when the firm of Henkel Brothers was formed by Henry and George Henkel. They are conducting the business with excellent success and now have a well appointed establishment, the neat arrangement and attractive display of their goods adding not a little to their success. They carry a large and well selected line and their business methods are thoroughly reliable, so that the reputation of the house is unassailable. The brothers are supporters of the Republican party, believing firmly in its principles and keeping well informed on the questions and issues of the day. They are both members of the Royal Arcanum and the Modern W\oodmen camp and George Henkel has attained the Knight Templar degree of the Masonic fraternity, while Henry Henkel is a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. They are progressive business men, recognized as leaders in their line and in the enlargement and conduct of the business which was established by their father they have shown keen discrimination and discernment, showing that success is not a matter of genius but results from clear judgment, experiment and close application. ROBERT C. ATKINSON, a representative of mercantile interests in Niles, where he has resided since I903, is a native of Cass county, Michigan. His father, Thomas Atkinson, was born in England and in I847 came to America, settling first in New York, where he resided for about nine 724 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY years. He arrived in Cass county in I856 and there purchased land which was covered with timber. He at once began to clear the fields and as the years went by he followed farming, raising good crops of corn and also set out an orchard, for the splendid possibilities of Michigan as a fruit producing center had been demonstrated. Upon the farm which he improved and developed he made his home until his death, which occurred in 1865, when he was forty-four years of age. Before he sailed for the new world he was married in England to Miss Jane Engledow, who was also born in that country. She long survived her husband, passing away in 900o in Elkhart, Indiana, her remains, however, being.interred in the family lot in Cass county. She was at that time seventy-eight years of age. In the family were nine children, one of whom died in England, while seven of the number are now living. Robert C. Atkinson, the second youngest of this family and the only one residing in Berrien county, began his education at the usual age in the district schools of Cass county. Later, however, he attended Hillsdale College, a Baptist institution at Hillsdale, Michigan, subsequent to which time he engaged in teaching school for seven years. Later he was with his brother John Atkinson at Cassopolis, Cass county, Michigan, where they engaged in the agricultural implement business, being together for about eleven years. They built up an excellent trade, owing to their honorable methods and responsible prices, conducting their store under the firm style of Atkinson Brothers. It will thus be seen that Mr. Atkinson had broad experience in this line, when, in I903, he came to Niles and established his present business. Here he is dealing in agricultural implements of all kinds and also handles buggies, harness, wood, coal, hay, straw and grain. He is quite an extensive shipper of hay and grain and has built up a large business. His enterprise furnishes an excellent market for the producers in this section of the state, while the sales which he makes are extensive and return to him a fair profit. In 1884 was celebrated the marriage of Robert C. Atkinson and Miss Linnie M. Lee, the wedding ceremony being performed in Edwardsburg, Michigan. The lady was a daughter of Moses H. Lee, of Cass county, and died at Manistee, Michigan, in I889, at the age of twenty-nine -years, leaving a. daughter and son, Winifred, who was born in Manistee, Michigan, and is now a teacher in the public school of Niles, and Lew H., who was also born in Manistee and now has charge of his father's branch store at Berrien Springs, Michigan. In I892 at Clare, Michigan, Mr. Atkinson was again married, his second union being with Violet Robinson, who was born in Clare and is a daughter of Thomas Robinson. They also have two children, Marjorie and Seth, both born in Cassopolis, Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Atkinson have gained many warm friends during their residence in Niles and the number therein is continually growing as the' circle of their acquaintance is extended. While living in Manistee Mr. Atkinson held various township offices. He is a Republican in politics and is a member of the Masonic fraternity, having attained the Knight Templar degree in the commandery at Niles. He is a typical citizen of the middle west, recognizing the fact that "there is no excellence without labor" and that close application and energy constitute the basis of all: real business success. WARREN & COMPANY is the nameof a well known firm, hardware merchants at Niles, composed of Frank J. and George L. Warren, brothers. They not only carry a large line of shelf and heavy hardware. but are also dealers in coal and wood and have made for themselves a creditable position in commercial circles. They are sons of Robert S. Warren, who was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in I824, and died in 1877 at the age of fifty-three years. The father was a millwright by trade and with his parents removed from Massachusetts to, the state of New York at an early day. There he followed milling, conducting both flour and sawmills. He was closely associated with the industrial interests of his locality and also dealt extensively in lumber. He remained a resident of New York: I THOMAS MARS. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 725 -p to the time of his death and won a place among the reliable and prosperous business men. He married Rachel Chaffee, who was born in Wyoming county, New York. Her death occurred in Colorado in 1902, when she was seventy-eight years of age. In the family of this worthy couple were three children. Frank J. Warren, who was born in New York in I848, spent his days of his boyhood and youth in that state and acquired his education by attending the public schools. He afterwards learned the milling business under the direction of his father, becoming familiar with the trade in all of its details. Later, in I884, he went to Colorado, where he followed farming until I898. In that year he came to Niles, Michigan, and joined his brother in handling manufactured goods, including physicians' supplies, splints, etc. He was thus engaged for a short time, after which he sold out and turned his attention to the coal and wood business in Niles. Later his brother George W. was admitted to a partnership, the firm style being Warren & Company. At that time they added a stock of hardware, stoves and ranges and now carry a well selected line of both shelf and heavy hardware. They also continue to deal in coal and wood and their patronage in both branches of their business is extensive and profitable. Frank J. Warren has been married twice. He first wedded Flora Hopkins, who was a native of New York and died in Colorado in I896. For his second wife he chose Margaret Champion, of Niles. By his first marriage Mr. Warren had one son, Robert H. By his second marriage he has a daughter, Martha E., born in New York, and is the wife of John W. Leonard, residents of Los Angeles, California, and they have one daughter. George L. Warren, junior partner of the firm of Warren & Company, was born in New York, April 25, I860. He, too, is indebted to the public school system for the educational privileges which he received. He was reared to manhood in the Empire state and later engaged in merchandising as a clerk and subsequently represented a house on the road, selling boots and shoes for six years. Later he traveled for a paint and oil house for three years and in I897 he came to Niles, Michigan, where he engaged in the splint business with his brother, Frank J. Warren. After selling out in that line he traveled on the road for a short time and then joined his brother in the organization of the present firm of Warren & Company, dealers in hardware and also in coal and wood. The firm sustains an unassailable reputation in commercial circles for reliability, for the favorable reputation of their goods and for unfaltering diligence. George L. Warren was married to Miss Kate Lincoln, who died in November, 1894. He has since been married in Niles to Mrs. Bessie Bevier of this city. They have one child, Leroy D., who was born in Niles. Both brothers are Republicans in politics and are progressive and energetic business men, who have built up a fine trade, having one of the leading hardware establishments of the city. They well merit the patronage which is given them and although among the more recent acquisitions to business circles in Niles they have already gained a favorable name and place of prominence. HON. THOMAS MARS, now living retired, has led a life of industry crowned with successful accomplishment and has figured prominently in the public life of the state, at one time representing his district in the senate. He was born in Giles county, Virginia, May 4, 1829. His paternal grandfather, Archibald Mars, was a farmer and is supposed to have been born in Delaware. He followed farming throughout much of his life and died in Virginia. Hugh Mars, father of our subject, was born in the Old Dominion, became a blacksmith by trade and engaged in business in his native state until I830, when he came to Michigan, arriving on the 6th of April of that year. He located in what is now Berrien township in the midst of a wild and unimproved district, and where the work of development had been scarcely begun. He took up land 726 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY from the government and the deed was signed by President Jackson. The forest stood in its primeval strength, the streams were unbridged and the land uncultivated. Mr. Mars first built a bark shanty, in which he lived for one year, when he erected a log cabin. He entered from the government eighty acres of land on the St. Joseph river about three miles north of Berrien Springs. Two years later he sold that property and entered another eighty-acre tract in the same township, to which he afterward added a similar amount so that his farm comprised a quarter section of land. He cleared one hundred acres of this farm of one hundred and sixty acres and he lived thereon for about fifty-seven years, when he sold out, taking up his abode at that time on what is known as Mars Hill. There his remaining days were passed, his death occurring when he had reached the advanced age of eightyone years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Eleanor Riggin, was born and reared in Virginia, a daughter of Thomas and Mary (Dunn) Riggin, of Irish descent. Mrs. Mars died when thirty-seven years of age, leaving a family of four sons and two daughters, all of whom reached adult age and are still living in Michigan with the exception of one daughter, Eliza, now deceased. She was the fifth in order of birth. The others are Andrew W., Thomas, Samuel, William and Malinda. There was also a half brother and sister, Benjamin F. Mars and Mrs. Elizabeth Magill. The father was married four times but had children by only two marriages. Thomas Mars was but eleven months old when brought to Michigan by his parents. Berrien county at that time formed a part of Cass county but was soon afterward cut off and organized under the present name. The family shared in the hardships, trials and privations of pioneer life and amid the environments of a frontier existence Thomas Mars was reared upon the old homestead farm in Berrien township. The first school which he attended was located on Dowagiac creek, and he continued his studies in a school which stood about three miles southeast of Berrien Springs. It was a log school house with primitive furnishings, such as the old-time fire place and slab seats. For three years he was a student in that school, after which the Union schoolhouse was built near what was the Union Church in Berrien township and it was in that school that Mr. Mars completed his education save that experience, reading and observation have added largely to his knowledge in the passing years, and he is today a well informed man of broad ideas and wide outlook. In the summer months during the period of his youth'he worked upon the farm, assisting in the arduous task of developing new land and improving the property. In his twentieth year he went to Niles and served as an apprentice to the carpenter's trade, receiving seventy-five dollars for the year's work. He afterward began contracting and building on his own account, which he followed for eight years, erecting many dwellings and barns and in fact doing all kinds of work pertaining to the trade. Most of his work was done in Berrien township but he also executed contracts in other townships. He built a bridge over the St. Joseph river at Berrien Springs and many of the schoolhouses which he erected are still in use. In I857 he went to the west, locating at Lawrence, Kansas, where he followed his trade as a carpenter and builder. He afterward went to Andrew county, Missouri, locating at Fillmore, where he purchased an interest in a sawmill, which he operated for two years, or until the war broke out. Because of his political views he was ordered to leave within fifteen days. In the year I860 Mr. Mars married Miss Margaret A. Wood, a daughter of Christopher Wood, and a native of New York, where she was reared. It was in the same year that Mr. Mars was ordered to leave Missouri because of his political affiliation and sacrifice to his party interests. He then returned to Berrien county, where he arrived on the 4th of June, I860. Here he rented an old sawmill and in the fall of the same year he purchased the property where he now resides, making it his home continuously since. He was engaged in the milling business on this place until I896. His HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 727 farm is called the model farm of the county, comprising one hundred and twenty acres pleasantly and conveniently located three miles east of Berrien Springs in Berrien township. For the last seven years years he have lived retired in the enjoyment of a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves, for his business life has been characterized by untiring activity and perseverance qualities which are always crowned by successful accomplishment. In I903 Mr. Mars was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 27th of September, of that year, her death being deeply regretted by many friends throughout the county. There had been five children in the family but all have passed away and four of the number died in childhood. One daughter, Imogene, became the wife of Dr. Lacrone. They had two children, Thomas Mars and Frank W., both! of whom are now in the naval service, Thomas Mars being on the Iowa and Frank W. on the ship Hancock. Mr. Mars gave his early political allegiance to the Whig party and upon the organization of the new Republican party he joined its ranks and has since been one of its stalwart supporters. He has assisted in electing every Republican president who has occupied the executive mansion at Washington and he was elected a delegate to the first state Republican convention which was held at Jackson, Michigan. He also attended the fiftieth anniversary of that event and was elected vice president of the Fremont Association, which holds its annual meetings at Jackson. He has also been an earnest and influential worker in the interests of the Republican party, a recognized leader in its ranks, and in the fall of I88I he was elected to the state senate of Michigan, representing Berrien county. He was the last senator to represent Berrien county alone, for the district is now composed of Berrien and Cass counties. He was also representative in the lower house of the legislature for one term and in the general assembly was an able working member who did not seek to figure prominently as an orator but was active in promoting constructive legislation. For four years he served as deputy oil inspector for Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties and was county agent for the special board of charities for nine years and a member of the state board of charities for the state public school at Coldwater and chairman of the board for two years. For a long period he was master of the State Grange of Michigan and for twenty-seven years a member of its executive committee, while for ten years he was its chairman. He is interested in all that pertains to the agricultural development and progress of the state, and in connection with the Grange put forth effective and far-reaching service in this direction. Over the record of his public career and private life there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil, his record as a man and citizen being above reproach. He has now passed the seventy-seventh milestone on life's journey and is honored as one of the venerable and early residents of Berrien county. CARL FORLER WHETSTONE, who is filling the office of city clerk, is recognized as one of the progressive young men of the city, his genuine worth and business activity having gained for him favorable regard wherever he is known. He was born in Niles in I882 and is a son of Charles P. Whetstone, a native of Germany, born in 1852. The father was brought to America when only a few years old by his parents, Eberhardt and Christiana (Hirz) Whetstone. The grandfather was a foreman in the mines of Germany and on coining to America settled in the northern peninsula of Michigan. There he turned his attention to general agricultural pursuits, which he followed for a number of years. Subsequently he removed with his family to Niles, where his last days were passed, his death occurring in I876, when he was seventy-nine years of age. His widow survived him until I892 and died in Niles at the age of eighty-one years. Charles P. Whetstone was reared in Niles and attended the public schools. He .728 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY,afterward learned the cooper's trade which rhe followed for some time and subsequently entered the grocery business, succeeding to the ownership of a store which had been established by his mother. While conducting this store he was also the organizer of the Whetstone Orchestra and acted as its leader for many years. Subsequently he became manager of the Forler Hotel, which was owned and conducted by his father-inlaw. Mr. Whetstone continued to act as manager for nine or ten years and in I897 he became proprietor, and so continued up the time of his death, after which his widow and her son Carl F. conducted the hotel until May I, I906. In early manhood Charles P. Whetstone was married to Miss Magdalene Forler, who was born in Niles and is a daughter of George K. Forler and a sister of George A. Forler, who is mentioned on another page of this work. Mr. and Mrs. Whetstone became the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters, as follows: William G., Helena B., Frankie M., Carl F., George A. and Magdalene. The eldest son married Nellie Berkin, a daughter of the first white child born in Montana and they have one child, Nina O. The death of Charles P. Whetstone occurred in Niles in I905, when he was about fifty-three years of age. He had for many years resided in this city and his life of activity and enterprise won him a fair measure of success and also made him one of the respected and valued residents here. There is an old Japanese maxim which reads "Opportunity is hard to find and easy to lose." Mr. Whetstone seemed to realize this and knew that the present and not the future held his chances for success. He therefore worked earnestly and indefatigably as the years went by, using his advantages to the best of his ability and at his death he left his family a comfortable property. Carl Forler Whetstone whose name introduces this review, was a student in the public schools of Niles and afterward attended the high school of this city and a business college in South Bend, Indiana. He has for some years been connected to a greater or less extent with the conduct and management of the Forler Hotel. Mr. Whetstone has since I905 filled the office of city clerk in Niles, to which position he was elected on the Democratic ticket. He is a young man of progressive views, looking at life from a broad standpoint, and he is a valued representative of the Knights of Pythias and Masonic lodges in Niles. CHARLES S. QUIMBY is one of the younger business men of Niles and is now successfully engaged in the dry goods trade. He was born in Port Davis, Texas, in 1874, and is a son of Captain Horace Dexter and Jennie (Smith) Quimby. The father was born in New Hampshire and enlisted for service in the late Civil war as a member of the Sixty-ninth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteers. He served until the close of hostilities and then when the preservation of the Union was an assured fact he enlisted in the regular army, joining the Twenty-fifth Infantry. He was thereafter identified with the military service of his country and was captain of his company until his death, which occurred at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, in 1884. His wife, who was born at Richmond, Indiana, survived him for about eleven years, passing away in 1895. In the family were four children, Charles S. being the only son. He has one living sister, Alice, who now resides in Niles. Charles S. Quimby came to this city when ten years of age and acquired his preliminary education here, passing through successive grades until he had completed the high school course. Subsequently he was a student in Notre Dame University in Indiana, where he pursued a commercial course. On his return to Niles he entered upon his business career in the capacity of a clerk in the dry goods house of Dougan & Company, remaining with that firm continuously until I889 and mastering every department of the business. In the year mentioned he purchased the store and has since enjoyed a good trade. He is now conducting a well HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 729 equipped establishment, having a large line of dry goods, and his earnest desire to please his patrons has been an important factor in his success. Mr. Quimby has always been an earnest and stalwart Republican and while never a politician in the sense of office seeking he has served as alderman from the second ward for one term. He is a prominent and valued representative of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to the lodge, chapter and commandery, in all of which, he has been honored with various offices. He is now a past master of the lodge and at the present writing is high priest of the chapter and eminent commander of the commandery. He also belongs to the Mystic Shrine at Grand Rapids. Making his home in Niles from his early boyhood he is well known as one of the enterprising and prosperous young business men of the city, justly meriting the confidence and business support which are given him. CHARLES E. WHITE, active in professional and political circles in Niles and prosecuting attorney for Berrien county, to which position he was elected in 1904, was born in Howard township, Cass county, Michigan, in I873. He is a son of Ephraim White, who was born in Ohio and came from that state to Michigan in I86i, locating in Cass county, where he has since followed farming. The tract of land upon which he located forty-five years ago has continuously been his home and he has transformed it into a valuable and well improved property. He has never sought to figure prominently in public life, preferring to give his attention to his agricultural interests and in the community where he makes his home he is classed with the representative agriculturists. He married Margaret Coulter, who was born in Cass county upon the old homestead, where they now reside and which was settled by her father, James Coulter, who went from Ohio to Cass county in I836, settling in a district which was then an almost unbroken wilderness. There were few roads through the forests and the traveler largely followed the old Indian trails. Only here and there had a cabin been built to show that the seeds of civilization has been planted. Mr. Coulter secured his grant from the government and at once began to clear his land and develop the farm, carrying on general farming pursuits until his death. His daughter and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. Ephraim White, still reside upon the old homestead, which is now their property. Unto them were born five children and the family circle yet remains unbroken by the hand of death. There are three daughters and two sons: Florence; Eunice, the wife of Robert Torsley, of Cass county; William O., a resident farmer of Cass county; Charles E.; and Belle. Charles E. White was reared upon the old homestead farm, which had been entered from the government by his maternal grandfather. He completed his literary education by graduation from the high school at Niles as a member of the class of I894. He then studied law for one year with Hon. Edward L. Hamilton, who was practicing in Niles at that time and is now a member of congress from this district. Later Mr. White attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and was graduated from the law department with the class of I897. The same year he was admitted to the bar and entered upon the prosecution of his chosen calling in Niles, where he has been quite successful, a liberal clientage now being accorded him. He is attorney for the Building and Loan Association, of which he is also a director, and he has a large private practice, in addition to which he is discharging the duties of the office of prosecuting attorney for Berrien county, to which he was elected in I904. In this position he is giving uniform satisfaction to the citizens of the county, performing his public service without fear or favor. In his political allegiance Mr. White is a Republican and was elected and served for four years as justice of the peace, before called to his present position. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity, belongs to the Masonic order and is now serving as high priest of the chapter and captain general of the commandery. He and his wife attend the Presbyterian church. 730 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY In October, I899, -in Niles, he married Claire Hoppin, a daughter of George S. Hoppin, of this city. The favorable judgment which the public passed upon him in his early connection with the bar has never been set aside nor in any degree modified but on the contrary has been emphasized by his careful conduct of important litigation, his candor and fairness in the presentation of cases and his zeal and earnestness as an advocate. GEORGE M. BAITENGER, who is engaged in the furniture and undertaking business in St. Joseph, was born in Woodland, Barry county, Michigan, in I866, and early in his life he seemed to have come to a realization of the truth that the admonition of the old Greek philosopher "Earn thy reward, the gods give naught to sloth," therefore he has worked persistently as the years have gone by and his present position in commercial circles is the result of his close application and unremitting diligence, which have indeed won his success. His father, Melchoir Baitenger, was a native of Germany, where he spent the first seventeen years of his life. Attracted by the favorable reports which he heard concerning America and its business privileges and opportunities he bade adieu to his native land and sailed for the United States. Reaching the eastern coast he then made his way to Barry county, Michigan, where he followed the trade of blacksmithing, which he had learned in his native country. He was married to Miss Mary Reiser, also a native of Germany, and they became the parents of five children, who are yet living, George M. being the only son and the only one now residing in Berrien county. The father continued his residence for many years in Woodland, where he died in 1882 at the age of fiftyfour years. He is still survived by his widow who makes her home in Woodland. It was in that village that George M. Baitenger spent his boyhood and youth. He attended the district schools, thus preparing for life's practical and responsible duties, and on reaching manhood he went to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he entered the employ of the Michigan Central Railroad Com pany. After some time there passed he returned to Woodland and with the money which he had saved from his own account as a furniture dealer and undertaker conducted his store for one and a half years. He then removed to Van Buren county, Michigan, and continued in the same line of business at Hartford for eleven years. On the expiration of that period he came to Berrien county, going first to Benton Harbor, where he engaged in the undertaking business for a year and a half and in I90I he arrived in St. Joseph, Michigan, where in addition to his undertaking establishment he also conducted a novelty bazaar. He entered into partnership with Edward H. Kingsley July I, I905, under the firm name of The Baitenger & Kingsley Company and during the past year they have dealt in all kinds of furniture, carefully selecting their stock so as to meet the varied tastes of the public. They also have a picture frame department and are conducting an undertaking business. In I89I Mr. Baitenger was married in Woodland, Michigan, to Miss Lydia D. Miller, a daughter of the Rev. John Miller, an Evangelical minister. They now have two sons, Herbert M. and Harris G., both of whom were born in Hartford, Van Buren county, Michigan. Mr. Baitenger is independent in politics, preferring to cast his ballot without being bound to party ties. He is very prominent in fraternal circles and is classed with the valued representatives of different orders, including the Masons, the Eastern Star, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of the Maccabees and the Modern Woo Inmen of America. Through the whole course of his career the prime moving spirit that has prompted all his actions seems to have been improvement and advancement. The idea and intent of leaving whatever he has touched better than he has found it has been dominant with him. He has been possessed of a laudable ambition to achieve success and at the same time he has followed methods which neither seek nor require disguise but will bear close investigation and scrutiny and today he is numbered among P MR. AND MRS. AUGUST VETTERLY HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 73I those to whom St. Joseph owes her business activity and prosperity. He is broad gauged in all his views, political, religious and social and he accords to others the right which he reserves to himself of forming his own opinions upon all matters of vital interest. WINGATE W. NEWMAN, president of a private bank conducted by the firm of Snell & Company at Niles, was born in Madison county, Ohio, in I852, a son of George S. and Elizabeth P. (Gear) Newman. The following year his parents, who were also natives of Ohio, removed to Galesburg, Knox county, Illinois, and later became residents of De Witt county, Illinois. In the spring of I88I the father was called to his final rest, at the age of fifty-five years, having up to that time devoted his energies to agricultural interests. His widow still survives him and yet makes her home in Clinton, De Witt county, Illinois. Wingate W. Newman is the eldest child in a family of four and the only one living in Berrien county. He continued a resident of Galesburg, Illinois, until I867, when, at the age of fifteen years, he accompanied his parents to De Witt county, where he continued his education which had been begun in the schools of Galesburg. Following his graduation from the high school of Clinton, Illinois, as a member of the class of 1872, he turned his attention to farming, with which he had become familiar in the periods of vacation while assisting his father in the labors of the home farm. His attention was given to agricultural pursuits until I89I, when he took up his abode in Clinton, Illinois, where he was engaged in merchandising until I900. He was quite successful in that work, but ill health obliged him to sell out, and in the spring of I90I he removed to Niles, Michigan, hoping to be benefited by the change. Here with others he organized the Snell & Company Bank, a private institution, of which he became president with Richard Snell as vice president. Mr. Snell is a prominent financier of Clinton, Illinois, where he is president of the De Witt County National Bank. He became interested with Mr. Newman in the establishment of the bank at Niles which bears his name. Charles E. Wood is cashier of the institution, while Thomas E. Cain, a nephew of Mr. Newman, is assistant cashier and bookkeeper. On the 23d of March, I901, the doors were opened to the public and a general banking business has since been carried on, the institution being attended with success from the beginning. Mr. Newman is the executive head of the bank, and his force of character, business methods and sound judgment have been the controlling factors in the institution, which has made for itself a very creditable place in financial circles in Berrien county. He is also a director in various building and loan associations in Niles and a director in the Niles Creamery. In I879 in De Witt county, Illinois, Mr. Newman was married to Miss Rachel C. Cain, a native of that county and a daughter of Michael and Rachel (Harron) Cain, of Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Newman are members of the Methodist church and in politics he is a Republican. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity at Niles, having transferred his membership from Clinton lodge, Illinois. The lessons of industry, economy and integrity which were early instilled into his mind have borne fruit in an honorable and successful business career, and although one of the more recent arrivals in Niles he has become recognized as one of its most substantial and reliable citizens whose cooperation can be counted upon to further beneficial public measures, while at the same time he avails himself of every opportunity for advancement in his private business career. AUGUST VETTERLY, living near the village of New Buffalo, owns valuable farming properties in Berrien county, and his holdings are also extensive, embracing about three hundred acres. He was born in Canton Thurgan, Switzerland, in the little village of Wagenhausen, on the 22d of February, I838, and is the youngest of a family of eight children and the only one now living. The father, Rudolph Vetterly, was also born in the village of Wagenhausen and came here about I849 with two sons. His 732 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY wife, accompanied by her son August and one daughter, followed about two years later. Rudolph Vetterly resided in New York until the removal of the family to Three Oaks, Michigan, where his remaining days were spent. He was born March 13, I802, and died February 3, I889, at the advanced age of almost eighty-seven years. He was a wagon maker by trade, but after coming to Michigan turned his attention to farming, which he followed for a long period. He owned a good farm of one hundred and forty acres at Three Oaks, Michigan, and placed it under a high state of cultivation. He held membership in the German Reformed Church and was a man of upright life and marked fidelity to principle. He wedded Miss Mary Meyer, who was born at Frauenfeld, the capital of t'he Canton of Thurgan, Switzerland, in 1797, and died in Three Oaks, Michigan, on the 4th of March, I869. Eight children were born of this marriage, but only four reached years of maturity and came to the United States, as follows: John, who died at Three Oaks; Susan, who became the wife of Robert Lane, a farmer of New Buffalo township, where both passed away; Edward, who died at Three Oaks; and August. The only surviving member of the family is August Vetterly, who in accordance with the laws of his native country attended school until about fifteen years of age. In 185I he came to the United States with his mother and sister, the father and two other sons having already crossed the Atlantic. They joined them in New York, locating near Schenectady, that state, but after a year passed there the family continued on their westward way to Three Oaks, Berrien county, Michigan, where Mr. Vetterly of this review resided until about sixteen years ago. He early became familiar with farm labor and assisted largely in cultivating and developing the home place, bringing the fields under a high state of cultivation. Thinking to find other occupations more congenial, however, he worked on the Michigan Central Railroad as section foreman a part of this time, giving about fifteen years to railroad work. Saving his money, as the result of his diligence and economy, he was at length en abled to purchase a jewelry store, which he conducted for about ten years. In the meantime he 'had purchased a farm of eighty acres and while living on the farm he also conducted the store in town. At length, however, he disposed of his store and traded his original farm property for his present farm, comprising one hundred and seventy-eight acres. He had previously purchased one hundred and thirty-five acres here and he now has about three hundred acres in the home place. He has bought and sold a number of farming properties in this county and at one time was the owner of four'hundred acres of rich and valuable land. He now owns three hundred acres in one body on sections I8 and I9, New Buffalo township, his home being between the Indiana state line and Lake Michigan in the southwest corner of the township, the county and the state. Nearly all was woodland and swamp when he came. There was wild marsh and underbrush and the district was in its primeval condition, the work of improvement and progress having not yet been begun. Mr. Vetterly has placed one-half of his land under cultivation and has made this a productive farm which yields to him excellent crops. He has a large and beautiful home and other modern equipments upon his farm and everything about the place is attractive in appearance, indicating his careful supervision and progressive methods. He is now giving his undivided attention to farm labor and was the first to live upon the farm which'he is now improving. In February, I864, Mr. Vetterly, responding to the call of his adopted country, enlisted for active military service as a member of Company E, Twelfth Michigan Volunteer Infantry. He participated in no engagements, but took part in two skirmishes and was on duty in Arkansas, Texas and Tennessee, being mustered out with his regiment following the close of the war and after about thirteen months' service. He became a member of the Grand Army post at Three Oaks, but has not identified himself with the organization at New Buffalo. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity at Three Oaks, and The Workmen's Aid & Benevolent Society there. He was HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 733 one of the organizers of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church at Three Oaks and has been identified with various organizations which have for their object the uplifting of mankind and the promulgation of principles of mutual helpfulness and kindliness. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and he served as justice of the peace for four years in New Buffalo and as drain commissioner for two years. On the 2Ist of March, I859, Mr. Vetterly was joined in wedlock to Miss Christina Brodhagen, who was born October 30, I842, at Buchhorn in Wittenberg, Germany. She came to the United States with; her widowed mother and two sisters in 1857, the family home being established at Laporte, Indiana, but soon afterward they removed to New Buffalo. Her father was Frederick Brodhagen. In the family were five children, two of whom came to the United States prior to the arrival of Mrs. Vetterly, these being Christina, Minnie, Elizabeth, Regina and Mrs. Vetterly. Unto our subject and his wife have been born the following named. Henry, who is section foreman and a farmer of Furnaceville, Indiana, has three children: Lena, Lillian and Leland. August R. is married and lives at Kalamazoo, Michigan, being employed as a passenger conductor on the Michigan Central Railroad. Annie is the wife of Charles Knott of Niles, Michigan, and has a son, Clarence. Alex is living in Omaha, Nebraska. John is a conductor for the Michigan Central and makes his home at Michigan City with his wife and four children, Clarence, Nina, Arthur and Earl. Jennie is the wife of William Precious, an engineer on the Michigan Central, living at Michigan City, by whom she has two children, Ralph and Eleanor. Minnie is the wife of Ernest A. Stick, a brakesman at Michigan City, by whom she has one child, Wallace. William is married and lives at Michigan City and is employed as a brakesman on the Michigan Central. May Elizabeth is at home. Mr. Vetterly deserves much credit for what he has accomplished and his life should serve as a source of inspiration and encouragement to others, showing what may be done when one has determination and enterprise. He has depended entirely upon his own resources and the years have brought him success as a reward for his labor and enterprise supplemented by sound judgment. JOHN F. DUNCAN, who is classed with the leading business men of St. Joseph, where he is now engaged in the hardware trade, was born in this city in I853. His father, Robert B. Duncan, was a native of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, and died in I870, at the age of fifty-eight years. The mother, who bore the maiden name of Rosa Kelley, was born in Canada and is still living. The father came to Michigan in I834 in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company as a fur buyer and settled in St. Joseph, Michigan, where he afterward engaged in merchandising. He also established a store in Sodus township but later returned to St. Joseph, where he engaged in the grocery business and also dealt in general merchandising, continuing a factor in commercial life in this city up to the time of his death. He was active and influential in community affairs, served as a member of the council and was also president of the village. His political allegiance was given to the Democracy and by appointment of President Buchanan he filled the office of collector. The father was twice married, first to Alice Fitzgerald, of Niles, by whom he had three children, one of whom, Mrs. D. C. Oswald, of Denver, Colorado, is living. By his second marriage there were seven children, six of whom are living, John F. being the eldest. The others are: Mrs. William Belyea, living in Grand Rapids; Mrs. Edward J. Head, of Denver, Colorado; Mrs. D. E. Brown, living in St. Joseph; Frank R., of the same city; and Robert B., who resides in Kalamazoo, Michigan. John F. Duncan was educated in the public schools of his native town and at the age of twelve years entered his father's store as a clerk and for two years after his death he continued the business. He then engaged in railroading in the employ of the Chicago & Lake Shore Railroad Company, now the Pere Marquette system, as baggageman on a mail train for one year. He afterward 734 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY clerked for E. C. Hoyt in St. Joseph and subsequently was with T. T. Ransom, in whose employ he remained as a salesman for eight years, gaining thorough familiarity with the methods in vogue in commercial life. He later entered into partnership with James Forbes under the firm name of Forbes & Duncan, conducting a grocery store for eight years, when Mr. Forbes sold out and the firm became Duncan & Springsteen. This relation was maintained for about two years, when they disposed of their store to Frank C. Burke and Mr. Duncan then engaged in the real estate and building business in St. Joseph, which he continued for two years, at the end of which time he purchased the King & Cooper grocery store, which he conducted in connection with their other business interests until I892. In that year the grocery store was sold to the firm of Ankli & Duncan and in 1893 Mr. Duncan of this review purchased the hardware business of M. B. Rice, at the location which he now occupies. This business was established by C. C. Sweet some ten years before. Mr. Duncan has since conducted the store and is now one of the leading merchants of the city. In politics he is independent, while fraternally he is connected with Masonic order and the Knights of the Maccabees. In 1883 in St. Joseph lie was married to Miss Emma Gurnsey, who was born in this city and is a daughter of Hiram G. Gurnsey, who came from New York to Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Duncan are members of the Congregational church and are much esteemed people here. He entered business life in an humble capacity but has gradually and steadily worked his way upward, brooking no obstacles that could be overcome by determined and steady purpose. WILLIAM LYNN WILSON, M. D., physician and surgeon of St. Joseph, was born in Ontario, Canada, in I867, and is a son of Dr. John Wilson, whose birth occurred in Canada and who is now living in Detroit, Michigan. He is a graduate of McGill University at Montreal, Canada, and he completed his medical education in the Royal Physicians and Surgeons College in England. Thus well equipped for his profession he returned to America and for the past twenty years has been engaged in practice in Detroit, Michigan, where he is now well known as a successful and able general practitioner. He has been an earnest and discriminating student in the line of professional knowledge and is quick to adopt the new and improved methods, which supplelnent rather than supplant the old and timetried methods of practice. He married Miss Margaret M. Hunter, also a native of Canada, and they have become the parents of six children. Dr. William Lynn Wilson, the second member of the family and the only one residing in Berrien county, is indebted to the schools of Toronto for his early educational advantages and he also attended the university there. Subsequently he became a student in Detroit Medical College, from which he was graduated in the class of I890, and he entered upon the practice of his profession in connection with J. H. Carstens, M. D., at Detroit, Michigan, where he remained for two years. On the expiration of that period he accepted the position of physician and surgeon at the Champion Iron Works Company Hospital at Champion, Michigan, in the upper peninsula, where he remained for a year. He afterward located at Midland, Michigan, where he entered into partnership with Dr. C. E. McCalum, this relation being maintained for two years, at the end of which time Dr. Wilson decided to come to St. Joseph, and since I895 has practiced continuously in this city. His professional service has won him the respect and confidence of the general public and he is now accorded rank with the prominent physicians of Berrien county. He was pension examiner of Midland, Michigan, and twice has been health officer of St. Joseph. He belongs to the American Medical Association, the Michigan State Medical Society and the Berrien County Medical Society. Of the last named he served as vice president and subsequently filled the presidency for one term. Dr. Wilson is a Republican in his political views and as every true American citizen should do keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, but is without aspiration for the honors or emoluments HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 735 of public office. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias lodge and also holds membership relations with the Maccabees and the Foresters. LUTHER I. McLIN, M. D., has devoted his attention to a profession in which advancement depends entirely upon individual merit. In the practice of medicine one must commence at the very beginning, master all of the rudiments of the science and mark progress through close application, thorough mastery of the science and an untiring devotion to the work which prompts the faithful performance of each day's duty. Lacking in none of the requirements of the capable physician Dr. McLin has won a place among the leading representatives of the medical fraternity in St. Joseph. He was born in Kalamazoo county, Michigan, in 1847, and is a son of Jacob McLin, a native of Ohio, who is still living at the advanced age of eighty-eight years, his home being in Huntington, Indiana, and is a grandson of Thomas and Mary (Jackson) McLin. The father devoted his life to general agricultural pursuits. In the year I830 he came to the west, locating in Kalamazoo county, Michigan, with his parents, who cleared a farm there. Having arrived at years of maturity he was married to Miss Adelia Gage, who was born in New York and is a daughter of Isaac Gage, who settled in Kalamazoo county about 1835, thus casting in his lot with its pioneer residents. He, too, was a farmer by occupation. The birth of Mrs. Adelia McLin occurred in 1822, so that she has therefore passed the eightythird milestone on life's journey at the present time. In the family were two sons and a daughter: George H., who is now living in Huntington, Indiana; Mary H., the wife of Richard H. Gibbs, a resident of Arkansas; and Luther I. Dr. McLin of this review acquired his early education in the public schools of Kalamazoo county and afterward attended the Kalamazoo College, while later lie matriculated in the University of Michigan for the study of medicine. His professional training was continued in the Detroit Medical College, from -whicli he was graduated in the class of I873. Immediately afterward he came to St. Joseph, where he has practiced continuously since, covering a period of almost a third of a century. In his work he has been faithful and reliable, has ever been careful and painstaking in the diagnosis of a case and seldom at error in directing the outcome of disease. He has a thorough and intimate knowledge of the component parts of the human system and in his practice has shown that he is well qualified to solve the intricate problems which continually confront the physician. Moreover Dr. McLin has been active and influential in community interests and has been identified with many of the improvements of St. Joseph. His co-operation can ever be counted upon for the public welfare and his service has been of a practical beneficial nature. In politics he is an earnest and stalwart Republican and has held various offices, the duties of which have been discharged with promptness and fidelity. He was mayor of St. Joseph for fdur terms, giving to the city a business-like, progressive and public-spirited administration, characterized by reform, progress and improvement in various departments. He has been a member of the board of public works from its organization until the present time, and served as a member of the board of education for thirteen years. The cause of education found in him a warm and helpful friend and in all his public services he has been intensely practical, accomplishing results by methods which would ever bear investigation and scrutiny. Dr. McLin has been twice married. In St. Joseph in I874 he wedded Miss Ada Napier, a daughter of Nelson W. Napier. She died in 1882 at the: age of thirty-six years, leaving one son, Nelson N., who was born in St. Joseph and married Carrie Schairer, of Benton Harbor, a daughter of John Schairer. On the Ist of January, I885, Dr. McLin was again married, his second union being with Jennie B. Whitton, of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and there is one son by this marriage, J. Whitton, also born in St. Joseph. Dr. McLin belongs to the Masonic lodge and the Knights of the Maccabees. Few men are more widely known in 736 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY this city and the surrounding district by reason of his professional services, his efforts in behalf of the public good and his strong personal traits of character. With a nature in which optimism rather than pessimism is the dominant quality he looks upon the bright side of life and his cheering presence is an element for good in the sickroom. He wins friends by a genial manner, deference for the opinions of others and kindly consideration and moreover he possesses strong and forceful purpose as has been evidenced by his capable work in his profession and his resultant efforts in behalf of public progress. MOSES A. PRICE, a cigar manufacturer of Benton Harbor, was born in St. Thomas, Canada, in 1865, and when a year old was brought by his parents to Ovid, Michigan. His father, Lewis N. Price, was born in Canada and died at Cedar Springs, Michigan, in 1871, when thirty-four years of'age. He was at that time engaged in hotel keeping as proprietor of the Central Hotel. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Martha Ostrander, died in I900 at the age of forty-nine years. Moses A. Price, their only surviving child, was reared in Saginaw, Michigan, and attended the district schools there and in Tuscola county, whither his mother removed after the father's death. In early life he began work on the railroad and was employed on the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad as brakeman. Later he became freight conductor, so continuing for seven years, when he determined to abandon the road and came to Benton Harbor. Here he engaged in the hotel business, leasing the Higbee Hotel, which he conducted for two years. On the expiration of that period he turned his attention to the manufacture of cigars, which he has followed with fair success since. He manufactures a brand called Chansonette, which he makes in six sizes and shapes. He has been engaged in the cigar business for the past twelve years in Benton Harbor, having both Havana and domestic-made cigars and he is meeting with the desired result that always follows close application and unremitting energy. Mr. Price was married in I894 in Benton Harbor to Miss Mae Sowers, a daughter of William H. Sowers of this city. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and is in hearty sympathy with the teachings and tenets of the craft. His membership is now with the Lake Shore Lodge, No. 298, A. F. & A. M., at Benton Harbor, Calvin Brittain Chapter, R. A. M., at St. Joseph and Malta Commandery, No. 44, K. T. He likewise belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity of this city, to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His interest in political questions has led him to give his support to the Republican party, for he believes that its platform contains the best elements of good government. While his life has in a measure been quietly and uneventfully passes he yet belongs to that class of citizens who uphold the political and intellectual status of the community and promote its material prosperity in advancing his individual interests. JOHN BURKE is now living retired in Niles but in former years was identified with agricultural pursuits and with mercantile interests. He has a deep and strong attachment for Michigan, the state of his birth. He was born on the St. Joseph river about five miles above Berrien Springs in Berrien township in I845. His father, Andrew L. Burke, was a native of Virginia, born in I8IO, and when twelve years of age he went with his parents from the Old Dominion to Ohio and in I828 came to Michigan, settling in Cass county, where the grandfather purchased land. Andrew L. Burke was at that time eighteen years of age. Soon afterward he purchased a tract of land from the government and in Oronoko township about I83I or I832. It was a raw tract, entirely wild and unimproved, but he at once began to clear it of timber and in the course of time the sunshine fell upon plowed fields and ripened the grain, so that golden harvests were gathered. He continued to follow farming until his death, his life's labors being ended when he was seventy-seven years of age. He had become prominent in local political circles and served as supervisor of his township and in many ways contributed to the welfare and upbuilding of I JOHN SKALLA JOSEPH SKALLA HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 737 the township and county. Various offices of trust and responsibility were conferred upon him and he represented his district in the state Legislature in the session of I844-45. His political views were in accord with Democratic principles. In early manhood he had married Margaret Rogers, who was born in Virginia and was a daughter of Alexander Rogers, one of the first settlers of Cass county, Michigan. She died upon the home farm in that county in 1856, when thirtysix years of age. In the family of this worthy couple were ten children, of whom five are living: Eliza, who resides upon the old homestead; John, of this review; Alexander R., who is living with his sister upon the: old home farm; Rebecca, a resident of Niles township, the wife of Thomas E. De Mott; and Martha, the wife of Robert Foster, a resident farmer of Niles township. After losing his first wife, the father was married to Margaret Thompson, a daughter of Samuel Thompson, who came from Scotland and settled il Niles in what was known as the Indian reservation. There were four children of this marriage: Lillie, the wife of Thomas Gillespie, a resident of Berrien township; Andrew L., of Illinois; Samuel T., of Chicago; and Rachel, who is also living in Illinois. John Burke acquired his education in the district schools and when not busy with his text-books assisted his father in the work of the home farm until twenty-one years of age. He then started out in life for himself and in I860 was married to Miss Sarah A. Fitch, who was born in Berrien township and is a daughter of Nathan Fitch. This union was blessed with seven children: Clara, now the wife of Dr. E. M. Redding, of Chicago, Illinois, by whom she has one son, Edgar B.; Ruth, who is a teacher in a kindergarten school in Chicago; Lewis Nathan, who married Ada Stevens, a daughter of James Stevens, of Benton Harbor, Michigan, and has one child, Virginia; Edgar, who married Olive Gregg and has a son, John G.; Frank M. is living in Iowa; Almira G., the wife of William A. Stevens, of Benton Harbor; and Martha G., who completes the family. Following his marriage Mr. Burke fol47 lowed farming in Berrien township, where he purchased eighty acres of land, devoting his attention to the tilling of the soil from I867 until I880. He then removed to Niles, where he engaged in the agricultural implement business and later engaged in deep well construction, continuing in the latter business for several years or until his health failed, when he retired from active business life. He is active in politics and socially is connected with the Masonic lodge of Berrien Springs. His entire life has been passed in this county and his many friends include a large number of those who have known him from his boyhood days to the present. JOSEPH SKALLA. Among the business enterprises which have made Niles an industrial center of Michigan is the large manufacturing establishment, of which Mr. Skalla is one of the proprietors, the business being conducted under the name of the Skalla Furniture Company. Throughout the entire period of his manhood he has been connected with this concern. He is a native son of Niles, born in 1856. His father, Joseph Skalla, was born in Prague, Austria, March 19, I816, and died February I4, I899, when almost eighty-three years of age. He was reared and educated in his native land and became an expert cabinet-maker there. Soon after his marriage he made arrangements to come to America and after crossing the Atlantic continued his journey into the interior of the country, choosing Niles as his first place of location. After a brief period, however, he removed to Wisconsin, where he followed his trade for a short time. He then returned to Niles, where he began working as a cabinet-maker in the employ of others but he was ambitious to engage in business on his own account and embraced eagerly every opportunity that led to this result. He had resided in Niles for only a short time when he began the manufacture of furniture on a very small scale. In fact he would make a piece of furniture and then take it out and sell it. By his thrift and progressive spirit he gradually extended the scope of his labors until he had a good furniture manufacturing establishment. As the years went by he pros 738 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY jered and he was widely known as a most industrious man and upright and honorable citizen. He was thoroughly reliable and straightforward in all his dealings, conscientious in all his work and his labor was characterized by capability in the line of his chosen trade. From a humble beginning he worked his way upward and eventually conducted a cabinet-making business in a room which is part of the old homestead. There he engaged in the manufacture of bedroom sets and gradually built up his trade until it became an important manufacturing concern of the city conducted under the name of the Skalla Furniture Company. He knew no such word as fail and possessed a spirit of determination and enterprise that enabled him to overcome all difficulties and surmount all obstacles in his path. At his death he left his business to his sons, who are now conducting it upon the same reliable plan, conservative basis and enterprising methods that were instituted by their father. Joseph Skalla, whose name introduces this review, was reared and educated in Niles, attending the public schools and when not busy with his text-books assisted his father in his furniture manufacturing enterprise. Upon the father's death he and his brothers John, Albert and Frank succeeded to the business which they have since conducted and they have enlarged the scope of their undertaking by adding a sawmill. They are now extensively engaged in the -manufacture of furniture the business having been established forty years ago and it has since been continually increasing. Their plant is well equipped with modern machinery and facilities for carrying on the work and furnishes employment to a number of people. Because of the excellent quality and reasonable prices the output of the house finds a ready sale on the market and the business has constantly grown in volume, importance and profit. John Skalla died June 14, I900, at forty years of age. Joseph Skalla was married in Niles in i888 to Miss Hattie Moore, who was born in this city. This union has been blessed with two sons and two daughters, Frank, Jennie, Walter and Josephine, all born in iNiles. Mr. and Mrs. Skalla 'have many friends in this city where they have spent their entire lives and the hospitality of many of its best homes is cordially extended them. Mr. Skalla is independent in his political views but duties of citizenship are matters faithfully performed by him and he is interested in the growth and progress of Niles and of Berrien county to the extent of giving active co-operation to many measures for the general good. His attention, however, is most closely concentrated upon his business affairs and it will be readily noticed that he is a man of push and progress. ABIAL C. COPELAND, living in Three Oaks, dates his residence in Michigan from I865 and in this town from I868, save that for a brief period he was in the west. He has valuable property interests in and near the village and gives his personal supervision to his farms. A native of New York, Mr. Copeland was born in Jefferson county on the 7th of May, I838, and represents one of the old New England families. His paternal grandfather, Abial Copeland, was a native of New England, and became a pioneer settler of New York, riding from his old home to the Empire state on horseback. He participated in the war of I812, taking part in the engagement at Sacketts Harbor. He was a shoemaker by trade and for many years followed that pursuit, but spent the last years of his life in the home of his son, Alonzo, in Jefferson county, New York. Alonzo Copeland was the father of our subject and was born in Jefferson county, where he resided for a long period. He wedded Chloa E. Martin, also a native of that county and in the year 1865 they bade adieu to their old home in the east and came to Berrien county, Michigan, where they spent their remaining days. The father, who was born in 1812, died at the advanced age of eighty-two years, while the mother died in 1889 at the age of seventy-eight years. In their family were six children: Lovira, who became the wife of Alonzo Wright and died in Three Oaks about a year ago; Abial C., of this review; Sylvester M., of Three Oaks, who enlisted on the 22d of August, I862, for service in Company E of the One Hundred and Tenth New York Volunteer In HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 739 fantry, but was discharged in I863 on account of physical disability; William, who is living in Providence, Rhode Island; Benjamin, who died in childhood; and Letha. Abial C. Copeland was a very young child when his parents removed from Jefferson county to Oswego county, New York, and there he was reared upon a farm which lies about five miles from Fulton. His education was acquired in the public schools and he early became familiar with farm labor. Throughout the greater part of his life his attention has been given to general agricultural pursuits. In I859 he sought a companion and helpmate for life's journey and was married to Miss Lucretia Barrett, who was born in Cortland county, New York. The wedding was celebrated in Oswego county, New York, at the home of her parents, William and Elizabeth Barrett. The young couple began their domestic life in the Empire state and there continued to reside until I865, when they made their way westward to Hillsdale county, Michigan, accompanied by the two children who had been born unto them in the east. Three years were passed in that county and in I868 they came to Three Oaks, locating on a farm a mile east of the village. The tract comprises seventy-six acres of land and to its development and improvement Mr. Copeland devoted his energies until 1877, when he went to Nebraska, where he spent five years upon a homestead claim there. He was induced to return here by his brother and parents and has since resided in the village, his home being upon a farm of sixty acres which adjoins the corporation limits of the town. He also owns a farm of thirty-five acres on the lake side of Chikaming township. His land is rich and productive and returns to him good crops which, finding ready sale on the market, bring him a gratifying financial return. Mr. Copeland was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife about 1872. There were four children born of that marriage: Addie A., the wife of Jared Lee, of Illinois; Warren Burton, who is living in Providence, Rhode Island; Edith Montella, the wife of Willard Hudson; and Nettie, deceased. On the I6th of December, I890, Mr. Copeland was united in marriage to Mrs. Emeline Warner, the widow of Condan Warner and a daughter of Kingsley Olds, who was one of the pioneer settlers of this part of Michigan. Mrs. Copeland was born in Niles, Michigan, April 17, I84I, and most of her life has been spent in Berrien county. She had four children by her first marriage: Ella, now living in Chicago; Lola; Mrs. Frances Mills, of Minnesota; and Bertha, who died at the age of three years. Abial C. Copeland is a Republican in his political views but without aspiration for office. He served, however, as highway commissioner for three years and is interested in all that pertains to public progress and improvement. Fraternally he is a Mason and he belongs to the Blue Lodge at Three Oaks. Whatever success he has achieved is due entirely to his own persistency of purpose and capable management. He has resided continuously in this county since I868 with the exception of the brief period spent in Nebraska and is classed with the respected and intelligent farmers of his community. It will be interesting in this connection to note something of the family history of Mrs. Copeland. Her father, Kingsley Olds, was born in Berkshire county, Massachusetts, January 21, I794, and was the fifth son of Daniel Olds. He lived in the place of his nativity until eighteen years of age, when he made his way to the western country, settling first in Geauga county, Ohio, where he resided until after the outbreak of the war of I812. He was then drafted for service and was mustered into the army, but only remained for about twenty days, after which he returned to his old home in Massachusetts. Soon his father gave him eighty acres of land, which was then an unbroken wilderness, the tract being situated in Cuyahoga county, Ohio. With characteristic energy he began to clear and improve it and had placed ten or twelve acres under cultivation when he traded this land to an older brother for an interest in a mill property situated on Grand river, Ohio. His attention was given to the operation of the mill for about six years, when through some mismanagement in business the brothers had to give up the property to the I 740 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY former owners. Mr. Olds then secured employment in a distillery in Trumbull county, Ohio, and while living there was elected justice of the peace for a term of four years. He was afterward re-elected to fill a vacancy and served for two years more. About this time he married Miss Phebe Ross, of Trumbull county, Ohio, and after working in the distillery and acting as justice of the peace for six years he removed to his father-inlaw's farm, which he operated on shares for three years. Soon after the expiration of that period his wife died and he broke up housekeeping, returning again to his father's farm, where he remained for about a year or two, doing such work as he could find. Later, however, he determined to make his way to Michigan and journeyed toward that state, ultimately reaching the present site of the city of Niles. There he began the manufacture of brick-the first in the place. There was not even a brick chimney in the town at the time. In the manufacture of brick he met with success and accumulated considerable property, judiciously placing his capital in real estate. While there Mr. Olds married a second time and after a few years, becoming tired of the business of manufacturing brick, he removed to the township of Benton when the whole district was almost an unbroken wilderness. He located on a piece of land on section 27, where he erected a log house and then began to clear away the heavy timber with which the land was well covered. After several years of hard labor, having got his land in a measure cleared up, he built him a new and comfortable frame house, in which he and his family resided for about eight years. He then had the misfortune of having his house and furniture nearly all destroyed by fire, but with renewed energy and strength he set to work to retrive his lost possessions and built another house on almost the site of the first structure. He continued to occupy it for several years, or until the infirmities of age came upon him and he turned over the care of the farm to his son, with whom he resided for several years, or until the time of his death, which occurred on the 2d of October, I882, when he had reached the age of eighty-seven years, three months and seven days. WILLIAM H. WEBER, of Benton. Harbor, is a native son of the county, his birth occurring in Bainbridge township in I865, but his father, Jacob Weber, was born in Bavaria, Germany, and came to America after his marriage, settling in South Bend, Indiana, about I858 or I859. Subsequently he came to this county, establishing his home in Bainbridge township, where he purchased and improved a farm, residing continuously thereon up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1885, when he was sixty-four years of age. His wife died in I869 or 1870, when about forty-one years of age. In their family were seven children, of whom William H. is the youngest. Only one other is now living, Carrie, who resides in Chicago. The eldest brother, Jacob Weber, now deceased, was a soldier of the Civil war, enlisting from South Bend, Indiana, in the Thirty-eighth Indiana Regiment. William H. Weber was reared upon a farm in his native township and acquired a district-school education. When seventeen or eighteen years of age he went to Chicago, Illinois, where he was employed for two years and then returned to Benton Harbor, where he accepted a clerkship in a grocery store, remaining there until he entered mercantile life on his own account in 900o. He established a retail grocery store and in addition to a large stock of staple and fancy groceries he also carries a line of crockery. His store is located on East Main street and he has been very successful since starting out on his own account, having at the present time a fine trade. In I898 in Benton Harbor occurred the, marriage of Mr. Weber and Miss Anna E. Kinney, a daughter of Patrick M. Kinney, one of the old pioneer settlers of this city. They now have one child, Helen L., who was born in Benton Harbor and is five years of age. Politically an earnest Republican, Mr. Weber was elected on the party ticket to the office of city treasurer. He filled the office r ILT _I_.. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 741 -for two terms and is now serving as alderman. Every measure which comes up for settlement receives his earnest consideration and he is a strong champion of each movement which tends to promote the substantial welfare, improvement and progress of the city. Fraternally he is connected with the Elks, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Maccabees. Having always lived in this county save for the brief period of two years spent in Chicago he has a wide acquaintance and the fact that he has led an upright life is indicated when we note that many of his stanchest friends are those with whom he has been acquainted from his boyhood days to the present time. WILLIAM H. BULLARD was born in Auburn, Cayuga county, New York, April 23, 1842. His parents, Ambrose M. and Elizabeth (Ebare) Bullard, were both natives of Paris, France, and in 1825 the father emigrated to America, locating in Auburn, New York, where he remained for a number of years. In I856 he removed westward with his family to Paw Paw, Michigan, where he continued to make his home until the death of his wife, which occurred in I858, when she was forty-seven years of age. The following year he returned to Auburn, New York, where he spent his remaining days, his death occurring in I864, when he was fifty-three years of age. While in France he formed the acquaintance of Elizabeth Ebare, and their friendship ripened into love but their families objected to their marriage, so they were married at sea while on their way to the new world, the wedding ceremony being performed by a Presbyterian minister. Mr. Bullard was a sculptor and made many beautiful marble statues. In the family were twelve children, five daughters and seven sons, of whom William H. was the seventh in order of birth. Five of the number are now living, namely: Eliza, Stephen, William H., James and Sarah. William H. Bullard spent the days of his early youth in Auburn, New York, and attended school there until I856, when at the age of fifteen he came to Michigan. The family home was established at Paw Paw, Van Buren county. At the age of nineteen years he enlisted for service in the Civil war, his patriotic spirit being aroused by the attempt of the south to overthrow the Union. Hardly had the smoke from Fort Sumter's guns cleared away when he offered his services to the government, enlisting on the 23d of April, I86I, as a member of Company C, Seventieth New York Infantry, which was assigned to the Army of the Potomac under the command of Colonel Sickles. Mr. Bullard was in many hard fought battles, including the engagements of the Wilderness, which extended over seven days. He was also in the terrible conflict of Gettysburg, one of the most hotly contested battles of the entire war, in which both armies lost heavily. Mr. Bullard served for three years, three months and ten days and was then honorably discharged in July, 1864. There were five brothers of the family in the Civil war, Stephen serving in the Third Michigan Cavalry, Peter as a member of Company C, Twelfth Michigan Regiment of Volunteers, and James in Company C of the Fourth Michigan Cavalry. It was he and a Mr. Monger who captured Jefferson Davis, the leader of the Confederacy. The family record is one of which there is every reason to be proud, for the brothers were brave and loyal soldiers, displaying valor upon many southern battlefields. Following his discharge from the army Mr. Bullard of this review, located in Mishawaka, Indiana, and in October, 1864, came to Niles, Michigan, where he has since lived. He was a wood-turner by trade and followed that pursuit until he was called to the position of clerk in the postoffice at Niles. He there served faithfully until his health failed, when he resigned. He afterward became a postal clerk between Cleveland and Chicago in the employ of the Lake Shore Railroad and was thus engaged until he turned his attention to the grocery business, establishing a store in Niles, which he conducted successfully for sixteen years at the corner of Main and South Third streets. While conducting his grocery store he secured a patronage which constantly grew as the years passed, so that he was able annually to add to his income. Now in possession of a comfortable competence for his declining years, 742 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY he is living a retired, enjoying a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves. On the 28th of June, I868, Mr. Bullard was united in marriage to Miss Carrie G. Fisher, a daughter of Iliff Fisher, of Berrien Springs. Mr. and Mrs. Bullard have been prominent in social life of Niles and their pleasant and attractive home is the center of a cultured society circle. Both are esteemed and valued members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Bullard has been a Knight of Pythias for nineteen years. He is chairman of the soldiers' relief committee of Berrien county, in which capacity he has served continuously from the beginning. He was director of the poor farm for some years and the poor and needy have found in him a friend, his benevolent nature responding readily to any call for assistance. In politics he is an earnest Republican and has held various offices of trust and responsibility. He is a member of the Berrien county Republican central committee, and for many years has been active in the affairs of that party. He is deeply interested in the welfare of Niles to the extent of giving hearty and helpful co-operation to all measures for the public good. He has resided continuously in this city since I864, covering a period of almost forty-four years, and during this time his life has ever been upright and honorable, winning him the regard and confidence of his fellowmen. CARMI REDDICK SMITH is closely associated with the business enterprises and activity of Niles which have lead to its substantial upbuilding. A native son of Michigan, he was born in Girard, Branch county, on the g9th of May, I862. His father, Mahlon A. Smith, was born in New York and became an early settler of Branch county. His mother was a daughter of John B. Reddick, who came to Michigan in 1832. Mahlon A. Smith, following his removal to Branch county, became owner of three hundred acres of land and there carried on general agricultural pursuits up to the time of his death. He cleared most of his land, placing it under a high state of cultivation. In his early life he had followed merchandising, but after purchasing the farm gave his undivided attention to agricultural pursuits until his life's labors were ended in 1892, at the age of sixty-two years. His widow still survives and makes her home in Coldwater, Branch county, Michigan. In their family were six children, four sons and two daughters, of whom five are living, namely: Carmi R.; Mark H., a resident of Coldwater; Mabel L., the wife of Rev. John Biery, a Methodist minister; Katherine L., the wife of Rev. R. J. McLandress, a clergyman of the Presbyterian church of Oconto,. Wisconsin; and Benjamin H., who lives in Niles, where he is foreman of the W. A. Reddick Wire and Shovel Factory. Carmi R. Smith was graduated from the high school of Coldwater, in the class of I882. He afterward attended Albion College, from which he was graduated in I886 with the degree of Bachelor of Science. Subsequently he went to Fort Wayne, where he studied law for a short time and then came to Niles, here accepting the position of bookkeeper with John L. Reddick, who was at that time engaged in the wood, coal and lumber business. Mr. Smith remained with Mr. Reddick for two years, after which he entered the employ of the Ohio Paper Company as purchasing agent of straw, pulp, etc., thus representing the house for two years. In I891 he purchased of J. L. Reddick the contract for supplying straw and pulp to the different mills. The contract involved an immense amount of business in securing these materials and Mr. Smith continued in that line of activity until I903, when he sold his contracts. In I889 he had purchased the J. L. Reddick lumber business and has since continued as a dealer in that commodity, also owning and operating a planing mill. In addition to dealing in all kinds of lumber he carries a full line of sash, doors, glass, mouldings, porch stock and paint. In fact he deals in all kinds of building materials. He is now conducting a large and prosperous business, his sales reaching an extensive figure annually. In the meantime he had purchased a large tract of timber land in northern Michigan, which he cleared in I902, having received many thousand feet of lumber therefrom. In this way he has added to the value of property in that HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 743 locality, placing the land in a condition better fitted for cultivation. Mr. Smith has made his home in Niles since I886 and has always been very active in public affairs of the city. At the present time he is identified as a director with three building and loan associations in Niles and is president of one of them. He is also president of the Niles Creamery Company and is president of the Business Men's Association of the city. He is a student of the signs of the times, readily recognizing opportunities and bends every energy to improve these, advancing general prosperity as well as individual success. Mr. Smith is a recognized factor in political circles, wielding a wide influence. In 1896 he was very active in support of the party and its principles during the McKinley administration. In I897-98 he became a member of the state legislature, filling out the unexpired term of E. S. Williams who resigned to accept the appointment of postmaster of Niles. In I903 Mr. Smith was elected mayor of Niles and in October of that year he resigned to accept the unexpired term of postmaster caused by the death of E. S. Williams, whom he had succeeded in the state legislature. Three days after Mr. WVilliams' death Mr. Smith was appointed to succeed him. He is a stalwart Republican, unfaltering in his allegiance to the party. He keeps well informed on questions and issues of the day and stands as an advocate of a high type of political honor and reliability. In October, I890, occurred the marriage of Mr. Smith and Miss Mary E. Stafford, of Port Hope, Michigan. She is the daughter of W. R. Stafford, who was a large manufacturer of lumber in northern Michigan, and now owner of extensive lands in Huron county. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have two sons, W. R. Stafford Smith and Carmi Reginald Smith, both born in Niles. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members of the Methodist church. Mr. Smith belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity, while in the Masonic order he has taken the degrees of the lodge, chapter, council and commandery at Niles, and is also a member of the Mystic Shrine at Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is quick of appre hension and comprehends readily intricate business and political problems. He has done much toward promoting the general welfare, and his career, both public and private, has been marked by the strictest integrity and faithfulness to every trust reposed in him. He is known as an honorable man. a pleasant, social companion, and a devoted husband and father. CAPTAIN MOSES EMERSON, now deceased, who won his title by sailing on the lakes and the high seas, was for some years a resident of Benton Harbor and had a wide acquaintance in Berrien county, so that his history cannot fail to prove of interest to many of our readers. A native of Ohio; his birth occurred at Madison, Lake county, on the 7th of August, I83I, and he passect away July 4, I902, when in his seventy-first year. His father was Joseph Emerson, a son of Joseph Emerson, Sr., who with his two brothers were soldiers of the Revolutionary war and fought in the battle of Bunker Hill. Joseph Emerson, Jr., emigrating westward with ox teams, at length reached Lake county, Ohio, where he made a settlement, being one of the early residents of the western reserve. This was about I805, only two or three years after the admission of Ohio into the Union. The family lived in true pioneer style. Mr. Emerson was numbered among the fearless strivers toward the ever receding west, fascinating for its untried dangers as for its fabled wealth. He was one of those sturdy, grave men, who fought and toiled and hoped and realized in varying measures, leading in sober truth a life fraught with privations, hardships and pleasures such as the colors of no artist have ever been able faithfully to portray nor have the word pictures ever fully reproduced these pioneer experiences. Moses Emerson was reared to manhood in the county of his nativity and in early life learned the trade of a ship carpenter, after which he became a sailor on the lakes. He was married in Ohio to Miss Helen Palmer, who was born in Concord, Lake county, and was eight years his junior. She was eighteen years of age at the time of her marriage. Her grandfather was Dr. Isaac ;744 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Palmer, of Connecticut, who 'in pioneer times removed to the western reserve to practice his profession and Mrs. Emerson now has in her possession a letter which was written to him and which reads as follows: Canandaigua, New York, August I4, I799. Isaac Palmer, Esq., Dear Sir:I have this moment received a letter from Colonel Sheldon containing your wishes to become a settler in New Connecticut provided some encouragement could be given you. In answer I can only say that I conceive that the directors will consider the settlement of a physician in that country as advantageous and would not hestitate at giving you the encouragement proposed by Colonel Sheldon. As one of the directors I shall have no objection to giving you one hundred acres and selling you four or five more. I will write Colonel Sheldon on the subject, with whom you may confer. In the utmost haste, I am Yours, etc., OLIVER PHELPS. The doctor made the anticipated move and settled at Concord, Ohio, where he spent his remaining days, and his son, Erastus Palmer, father of Mrs. Emerson, also lived and died on the same farm. His youngest son, Charity Palmer, now lives upon the old homestead there. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Emerson removed to Ohio and he engaged in sailing on the lakes. In I866 he came to Benton Harbor, induced to make the move through an old friend, Martin G. Lamport, who was residing here. Wishing to be near Chicago, Mr. Emerson located at Benton Harbor, purchasing the farm which has since been in possession of the family. He bought seven acres in Pipestone township, where he lived for many years. The place was covered with stumps and apple trees had been set out two years before among the stumps. They have since borne fruit and several of them are still good trees. The first house was a small frame dwelling. Captain Emerson continued to sail on the lakes for several years and became a captain of different vessels. He was a fine navigator, but, not caring for responsibility, preferred to sail as mate and occupied that position for many years. Later he turned his attention to farming, having a tract of land near the Morell farm on Empire avenue, which he operated though living in the city. His widow still owns this fifty-acre farm, which is devoted to fruit, including a large apple orchard. Unto Captain and Mrs. Emerson was born one son, Joseph Henry Emerson, who married Laura Durkee, and for ten years has been in the postoffice in Benton Harbor as an employee. In disposition Captain Emerson was rather retiring and preferred his home to public life. He enjoyed quite good health until a short time prior to his demise and he lived a Christian life, exemplifying in his daily conduct his religious faith and principle. He was reared in the old school Presbyterian church, but in this county attended the Congregational church. His nature was entirely unobtrusive even to timidity and this caused him to desire no position in public life, but all who knew him respected him for his genuine personal worth and his ability was recognized by those with whom he came in contact. His honesty was ever above question and he held friendship inviolable. For forty years Mrs. Emerson has lived at her present home, which is located in the leading residence district of the city. She has long been active in the Congregational church and its societies and is held in the highest esteem by all who know her. Many have benefited by her good deeds in connection with the church and by her private charities. In 1902 she was called upon to mourn the loss of her husband, who passed away on the 4th of July of that year. There are in every community quiet, retiring men who never seek to figure in public life and yet who nevertheless exert a strong and beneficial influence in the community through example rather than precept, and such a one was Captain Moses Emerson. i: d I IIAN S AA.DTSON AJNTTI F'AIVITTUY HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 745 HANS MADISON, who was among the worthy and respected residents of Royalton township, was born in Denmark, August I6, I834, and died in Berrien county, May 22, 1903. He became a resident of this county in 1859 and improved a small farm near Tryon's Corners. After six years he purchased the present home farm, which was then a new and undeveloped tract of land, bordering the St. Joseph river, five miles above the city of St. Joseph. He also had a pasture bordering the river. He had to develop the entire farm, for the work of improvement and cultivation had scarcely been begun there. He set out pears and apples, which are still in bearing, and the place is now a fine farm. Following his marriage both he and his wife worked out for others but by their untiring toil and combined efforts they at length achieved success and became the owners of a fine hnome. Mr. Madison erected a part of the present residence upon taking up his abode upon the farm but afterward added to both the dwelling and the barn, transforming them into commodious and substantial structures. It was on the I4th of November, I869, that Mr. Madison was united in marriage to Miss Mary Johnson, a native of Sweden, who came to the United States in early womanhood with a brother. On reaching Chicago they separated. Neither had any money, and in Chicago Mary Johnson met a Mr. Leonard and hired to him to go to St. Joseph. She afterward went to live with Mr. Tryon, with whom she remained until her marriage in the fall of I869. Mr. Madison was at the same time in the employ of Mr. Tryon. He was eleven years his wife's senior and at the time of their marriage he had paid for his eighteen acres of land, upon which was a good house. He had a pleasant home there but as his family increased he traded it for more land. Since his death his widow 'has continued to improve the farm and now has about fifteen acres of land planted to fruit. She has also increased the acreage devoted to berries and the place is a splendid fruit farm. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Madison were born five children: Lewis Alfred, a railroad em ploye, living in Kankakee, Illinois; Andrew, a contractor and builder at Carl, Michigan; Minnie L., the wife of William H. Brunke, a merchant, teacher, farmer and postmaster at Vineland; Anna May, the wife of Otto Buckholts, proprietor of a grocery and market in Chicago; and Hattie L., the wife of William Everett Gates, a professional chef now living on the home farm with her mother. Mr. Madison and his wife were anxious to give their children the best advantages possible and the sons and daughters eagerly availed themselves of the opportunities afforded. Both parents were reared in the Lutheran Church and were earnest Christian people. Mr. Madison was a stanch Republican. His last illness continued for only a few weeks and he then passed away in the sixty-ninth year of his age. He was a well respected man and citizen of genuine worth, and in business circles occupied an enviable position because of his trustworthiness and his enterprise. EDMUND B. STORMS, who in former years was identified with industrial and commercial interests in Niles and since I902 has filled the position of assistant postmaster, is a native son of Berrien county, his birth having occurred in Niles township on the 24th of January, I853. His father, Lewis V. Storms, was a native of New York and came to Michigan in 1838, when it was still under territorial rule and when the work of progress and development lay largely in the future. He resided in Berrien county and in the midst of a wild region began the development of a farm. Throughout the remainder of his active business career he carried on general agricultural pursuits, finding that the land was rich and productive, responding readily to the care and labor which he bestowed upon the fields. He lived to the advanced age of eighty-three years, while his wife passed away at the age of sixty-eight years. She bore the maiden name of Lydia Baker and was born in Richmond, Indiana, a daughter of Nathan Baker, of Pennsylvania. In the family were three children, of whom two are living: Edmund 746 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY B., of this review; and Martha C., who is the wife of A. D. Young, a resident farmer of Niles township. Edmund B. Storms was reared in the usual manner of farm lads, no event of special importance occurring to vary the routine of such a life for him in his early boyhood. He began his education in the district schools of his native township and afterward attended a select school in Niles, while subsequently he continued his studies in the business college at Kalamazoo, where he was qualified for the practical and hesponsible duties of a business career. At an early age he became deeply interested in political questions and issues and advocated the principles of the Republican party with enthusiasm and vigor. He has never had any reason to change his views on political questions but has remained a stalwart advocate of the party, which he espoused in early manhood and has been an earnest and loyal worker in its behalf. His fidelity in citizenship and his ability have led to his selection for various positions of honor and trust. In I886 he was elected treasurer of Berrien county and filled the office for four years, when the county seat was at Berrien Springs. He also served as supervisor and was township treasurer for a number of years. Shortly after retiring from that office he became interested in a manufacturing business under the firm style of the EarlStorms Manufacturing Company, of which B. F. Earl was general manager and Mr. Storms secretary and treasurer. They engaged in the manufacture of furniture specialties and the business was conducted successfully for a number of years, after which Mr. Storms sold his interest to his partner. He was also at one time engaged in the coal and wood business as a member of the firm of Williams & Storms and later by a change in partnership the name of Storms & O'Bier was assumed. Mr. Storms gave his attention to that business for six years. He has made his home continuously in Niles since I89I and has become a recognized leader in Republican ranks in this city. He was alderman for two years from the second ward and gave to each question which came up for deliberation in the council his earnest and thoughtful consideration. He is now a member of the board of public works of Niles and in I902 was appointed assistant postmaster, which position he is still filling. No trust reposed in him has ever been betrayed in the slightest degree. Mr. Storms was married November 15, 1888, to Miss Myra Stanley, of Niles, a daughter of Monroe and Emily (Young) Stanley, of this city. They have two daughters and a son, Esther, Lewis S. and Emily Lucile, all of whom were born in Niles and are still under the parental roof. Mr. Storms and his family attend the Presbyterian church and he is a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge. He looks upon the world from no false position and has no untried standards. He is a man of strong conviction, quick to discern the right and unfaltering in his efforts to maintain it. He has a love of society and of his friends and in his grasp and greeting there is always welcome. His life has been characterized by capable public service and over the record of his official career as well as his private life there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil. JACOB L. EDINGER, carrying on general agricultural pursuits, has led a life of untiring industry and this quality has been the prominent factor in his success. He now lives on section 2, New Buffalo township. His birth occurred in Laporte, Indiana, in a little log cabin on the I3th of September, I844. At that date there were only seven houses in that tov n. His father, Philip Edinger, was born on the river Rhine in Bavaria, Germany, May I8, I81o, and when twenty-four years of age came to the United States, arriving in I834. On the same vessel came Miss Anna Elizabeth Schaaf, who was born in Bavaria in I808. They were married in New York immediately after their arrival. Mr. Edinger was a teamster in Germany, but gave his attention to general farming in the new world. He became the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land in Berrien county, his home being on section I, New Buffalo township, not HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 747 far from the present residence of Jacob L. Edinger. His last days, however, were spent in the home of his son Jacob, and he passed away at the age of eighty-two years. His political allegiance was given to the Democracy and his religious faith was that of the Lutheran church. His wife passed away March 1, 1887. They were people of the highest respectability, esteemed by all who knew them and many with whom they came in contact gave to them warm friendship and regard. In their family were seven children, of whom one died in infancy and George is also deceased. Mrs. Louise Miller has passed away. Charles is deceased. Jacob L. is the fifth in order of birth. Philip is living in Indiana, and Sarah is the deceased wife of Rev. Kern. Jacob L. Edinger, during his early childhood, was taken by his parents to a farm four and a half miles south of Laporte, Indiana, on Dore prairie, where they lived for four years. They afterward resided on a farm north of Laporte for seven years and on the 9th of April, 1855, came to New Buffalo township, where Mr. Edinger of this review has since made his home, residing upon his present farm for thirty-one years. He has eighty-five acres on the river and about forty acres of meadow land which borders Galien river and also Pottawatomie lake. It was all woodland when it came into his possession and he has placed the entire tract of eighty-five acres under a high state of cultivation. He has erected here a fine brick residence and good outbuildings and has led a life of unfaltering industry and enterprise. He at first lived in a little cabin or hut and he borrowed the money to make purchase of the land, but as the years went by he worked energetically and persistently and, saving his earnings, was at length enabled to clear his farm of all indebtedness. In 1872 he purchased the Lake Shore hotel at New Buffalo, which he conducted for seven years and then sold to John Peo. He also owned his farm at that time. His attention is now given in undivided manner to general agricultural pursuits and his farm in its splendid appearance and with its many modern equipments is the visible evidence of his life of thrift and industry. In I868, Mr. Edinger was united in marriage to Miss Phenia Schwenk, who was born near New York city on the 28th of March, I855, and was brought to Berrien county at the age of seven years by her parents, John and Elizabeth (Reuss) Schwenk, who were natives of Frankfort-on-the-Main. The father died here September 26, I869, at fifty-six years of age and the mother is living in New Buffalo at the age of seventyseven years. Mr. and Mrs. Edinger have become the parents of fourteen children: Ella, who died in infancy; John, of Union Pier; Adam, of New Buffalo township; Elizabeth, who is living in Chicago; Clara, the wife of William Harmann, of New Buffalo township; Ernest, who is employed by the firm of Montgomery Ward & Company, of Chicago; Henry, who is with the firm of Sears, Roebuck & Company, of Chicago; Jacob, who is operating the home farm; Herman, who is also with Montgomery Ward & Company, of Chicago; Paul, at home; Dolly and Lorenzo, both at home; Mary, who died at the age of eleven years; and Carl, who died at the age of two years. The last two died of diphtheria, the whole family suffering from that disease at the time. Mr. Edinger exercise his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Democracy. He has served as highway commissioner for one term but has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking. He is a member of the German Lutheran church and has led an upright, honorable life actuated by manly principles. All who know him entertain for him warm regard and respect by reason of what he has accomplished. He is indeed a self-made man, who owes his success entirely to his earnest efforts and perseverance. He has overcome difficulties and obstacles in his path and worked his way steadily upward to success, using industry, ambition and determination as the foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of prosperity. WILLIAM L. HOLLAND. The business interests of St. Joseph find an enterpris 748 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY ing, alert and wide-awake representative in William L. Holland, who is engaged in the drug trade here. Moreover he has been active in community affairs, his labors proving a tangible factor in public progress. He was born in Hollowell, Maine, in I855, and is a son of James L. and Eliza A. (Peasley) Holland, who were also natives of the Pine Tree state. In their family were five children, William L. being the second in order of birth and the only one residing in Berrien county. At the usual age he entered the public schools, passing through successive grades until he became a high school student. He entered upon his business career in the capacity of a drug clerk in his native city and soon afterward went to Portland, Maine, where he secured a situation in the drug store of George C. Frye, learning the business thoroughly. He remained there for several years, becoming acquainted with the drug trade both in principle and detail and with the actual work of compounding prescriptions as well as making sales. When he came to the west he was located for a time in Kansas and afterward made his way to the Pacific coast, remaining in California until he returned to Michigan. It was in the fall of I889 that he settled in St. Joseph, where he has since made his home and throughout the intervening years he has been connected with the commercial interests of this city. He purchased the drug store of Dr. A. H. Scott and has managed the business with gratifying success. His store is well appointed and he has a large and carefully selected line of drugs and sundry goods, which are neat and tastefully arranged. His reasonable prices, earnest desire to please his customers and his unfailing courtesy are strong elements in his prosperity. In I894 in Albion, Michigan, Mr. Holland was united in marriage to Miss Marie McKinney, who was born in that place and is a daughter of John McKinney. This marriage has been blessed with one child, Laura H., who was born in St. Joseph. Mr. Holland is a prominent Mason, having attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He belongs to Saladin Temple and has crossed the sands of the desert with the nobles of the Mystic Shrine at Grand Rapids. He was eminent commander of the commandery at St. Joseph for two years and is in hearty sympathy with the teachings and tenets of the craft, which recognizes in him one of its prominent representatives in southwestern Michigan. He also holds membership relations with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and with the Woodmen of the World. Moreover he displays considerable activity in political circles and is a stanch Republican, having given his allegiance to the party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. His opinions carry weight in the local councils of the party organization and he has been called to several public offices. He was alderman for the third ward for two years and for two terms was city treasurer. He has frequently been mentioned for the position of postmaster of St. Joseph. His place in the public regard is an enviable one and has been gained through his strict adherence to honorable, manly principles, by his unfaltering support of his honest convictions and by a social, genial nature which wins warm friendships. ARTHUR O. ULLREY, M. D., engaged in the practice of medicine in Niles since I889, his labors being directed along modern scientific lines, is one of Berrien county's native sons, his birth having occurred in Pipestone township on the 24th of July, I862. His paternal grandfather, John Ullrey, was a native of Ohio and on coming to Berrien county, Michigan, purchased land, devoting his time to clearing and improving the property, which, through his well directed efforts was converted into one of the finest farms of the county. The task was an arduous one in the early days but his perseverance and energy enabled him to overcome the difficulties which nature had placed in his way and in the course of years his fields became very productive. He spent his last days in Niles, living in retirement from further business cares and enjoying the fruit of former toil. Here he passed away in 1892 at the age of seventy eight years. David H. Ullrey, father of Dr. Ullrey, HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 749 was also a pioneer resident of Michigan, having been brought from Ohio, -his native state, to Berrien county by his parents when a youth of thirteen years. In his youth he became familiar with farm labor and devoted his attention to general agricultural pursuits both before and after his marriage. He wedded Miss Angeline Schnorf and following that important event in his life history he secured a farm in Berrien county, upon which he lived for some time but later returned to the old 'homestead in Berrien township. He has carried on farming throughout his entire life and he and his wife are now living upon a good farm property in Niles township. Unto them have been born three sons: Arthur O.; Austin I., a resident farmer of Niles township; and Schuyler J., who makes his home in South Bend, Indiana. No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for Dr. Ullrey in his boyhood days. He attended the public schools and at the age of nineteen years began teaching. After following the profession for a short time, however, he continued his own education in the schools of Niles, devoting his energies to this work for a year. Later he attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he completed his literary course and thus with a good foundation upon which to build the superstructure of his professional knowledge he went to Chicago, where he matriculated in Hahnemann Medical College. There he remained as a student until he was graduated on the cempletion of a full course on the 25th of February, I886. Dr. Ullrey located for practice in Three Oaks, Michigan, where he remained for two and a half years, after which he went to South Bend, Indiana, where he spent nine months. In I889 he came to Niles, where he has since been located, enjoying a successful practice when judged from both a professional and financial standpoint. He is a member of the American Medical Institute of Homeopathy and keeps in touch with the onward march of progress of the profession, adopting all new and improved methods which tend to promote the efficient service of the physician. He likewise belongs to the Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan Homeopathic Medical Society. Dr. Ullrey was married in I888 to Miss Ada Wilcox, who at that time resided in Three Oaks, Michigan. She died February 4, I890o, and on the 26th of September, I893, he wedded Katherine Ager, of Niles. They attend the Baptist church and are prominent socially, the hospitality of the best homes being cordially extended them. Dr. Ullrey is a Republican in his political views and is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Knights of the Maccabees. Since determining upon the practice of medicine as a life work he has given his attention to the calling with unfaltering fidelity, allowing nothing to deflect him from his purpose and advancing continually in his knowledge of the science and his adoption of its principles to the needs of suffering 'humanity. He possesses, however, a social nature and genial disposition nor is he neglectful of the duties of political and social life. JACOB CRIBBS, deceased, was born in Canton, Ohio, and died in Berrien county, in December, I893, at the age of seventyfive years. He became one of the early residents of this section of Michigan, and as an active and representative business man whose labors have contributetd to the public progress as well as to individual success, he deserves mention in this volume. His paternal and maternal grandparents were of German lineage. His father, George Cribbs, was in his day the greatest stage proprietor in the United States, it requiring six hundred horses to run his stages. He operated from Ohio westward to Washington, having headquarters at Canton, Ohio, and his business was most extensive, making him a foremost representative of that line of activity in this entire country. In early life Jacob Cribbs of this review learned and followed the trade of a carpenter and joiner. He had previously driven a stage when but a young lad, but his father became bankrupt in the financial panic of I837, which swept over the country, leaving many hitherto successful business men ruined. Jacob Cribbs worked at the carpen 750 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY ter's trade in Pittsburg and afterward came to western Michigan as a stage driver, arriving in this section of the state about 1839. He believed that a successful future awaited this section of the country, foreseeing its rapid and substantial development, and he secured eighty acres just north of Bainbridge Center. Mr. Cribbs was married in Bainbridge to Miss Jeanette McKeyes, a daughter of Samuel McKeyes, residing northeast of Bainbridge and south of Watervliet. Mrs. Cribbs was at that time but nineteen years of age. Ambitious to make a good start in life Mr. Cribbs soon secured a farm in the German settlement but afterwards went to Wisconsin, where for six years he followed farming. In I852 he went to California, hoping to enjoy better business opportunities in the mining regions of the far west. The same year he removed his family back to Michigan, where they remained during the time he spent in a search for the precious metal on the Pacific coast. He was gone three years and met with fair success. About 1855 he returned to Michigan and purchased a farm, upon which he lived up to the time of his death. Only twenty acres of the land had been improved, but he.began its further development and cultivation, and in the course of years made a good farm. He engaged quite successfully as a fruit grower in early times and he owned several tracts of land, carefully managing his business interests so that success resulted. He made judicious investments in property and his attention was concentrated upon his private interests, for he did not seek or desire public notoriety of any kind and never sought to figure in public office. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Cribbs were born four children: Herbert, who died at the age of eighteen years; Clinton G., who is conducting a boarding house at Benton Harbor; Jennie B., who died at the age of two years; and Eugene W., who is living at Bainbridge Center. Jacob Cribbs, the father, died in I893, and his widow is still living at the advanced age of eighty-four years, while she has a sister living two years older than herself. Mr. Cribbs was long known as one of the representative farmers and citizens of this part of the state, for the work of development had scarcely begun, when, in 1839, he arrived in Michigan. Great forests stood in their primeval strength and the land was unclaimed. Only here and there had a little settlement been made, and the work of prigress was scarcely begun. He bore his full share in the work of reclaiming this region for the purpose of cultivation, in subduing the wilderness and extending the frontier, and as such deserves mention in this volume. WILLIAM M. WISSING is a citizen who stands for all that is progressive in relation to the public welfare, and the part which he has done for good roads in St. Joseph township well entitles him to representation in this volume as one of the leading residents of his community. He was born in Denmark in I849, acquired his education in the schools of his native country, and when a young man of twenty-one years came to the United States in I870, attracted by the business opportunities of the new world. He spent three years in New York, and for one and a half years was a resident of Chicago. Since I874 he has made his home in Berrien county, where he 'has followed farming and fruit growing in St. Joseph township. He had not a dollar upon his arrival in this country but he possessed a strong heart and willing hands, was not afraid to work and has labored earnestly, persistently and energetically as the years have gone by until he is now in comfortable circumstances. He has a farm of twentyeight acres of valuable land on the lake shore three and a half miles south of St. Joseph in one of the most desirable sections of the country surrounding that city, and his care and supervision have made this a well improved property, equipped with all modern accessories and conveniences. In his political views Mr. Wissing is a stalwart Republican, one of the workers of the party and a recognized leader in its local ranks. Elected to the office of highway commissioner, he has taken a most active and helpful part in good roads movement in St. Joseph township. At the April election in I906 this township was bonded for twenty HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 75I nine thousand dollars to be spent on the improvement of the public highways. Macadamized roads were made, covering a distance of five and a half miles. All this was accomplished in the season of I906 and all was built under contract made by Mr. Wissing as superintendent for the township. The State also donates one thousand dollars per mile. Some of these roads are fourteen feet wide and others are twelve feet-those having less traffic. All were built according to specifications supplied by the State. Crushed stone was sent from Chicago and laid on the railroad siding at a dollar and forty-five cents per cubic yard. The twelve foot road has six inches of stone, and the fourteen foot road has eight inches of this after being rolled. After the crushed stone has been laid a fine or powered stone is laid upon it and all rolled with heavy steam rollers, the entire expense running from forty-two hundred to fifty-four hundred dollars per mile. This start has been made and will cover nearly two-thirds of all the roads in St. Josseph township, and every foot of the work is under the direct supervision of Mr. Wissing, who was elected highway commissioner in I906. This is the fifth year of his service in that capacity during the last eight years, a fact which indicates that in the discharge of his duties he has given more general satisfaction than any other incumbent in the office, his former experience proving his worth. He meets with almost universal commendation in what he has done in public office and in the years to come the value of his labor will be still greater appreciated as the benefits from good roads accrue and are recognized by the general public. THERON D. CHILDS, postmaster of Three Oaks, was born in Sherburnville, Illinois, December I, I872, and is the son of Francis E. and Amanda (Dyer) Childs, the former a native of Knox county, Ohio, and the latter of Kankakee county, Illinois. Both are still living and reside upon a farm two miles west of this village. They removed to Berrien county in 1893 and after spending some eight years in Three Oaks, took up their abode upon the farm where they now live. While Mr. Childs' ancestors were people more or less prominent in the affairs of their times, yet his parents, by force of circumstances, have occupied the humble position of the rural class. His father was the son of Henry A. Childs, who was born and grew to manhood near LeRoy, New York. After graduating from the medical department of the University of Vermont, he married Mary A. Brown of Roxbury, Massachusetts, and located in Knox county, Ohio, where he enjoyed an extensive practice until his death in 1852. The mother of Theron D. Childs was the third daughter of Edward Dyer, who was born in Vermont, grew to manhood in western New York and removed to western Indiana about 1835. He tracedhis lineagedirecty to the Mayflower pilgrims and was descended from that sturdy New England stock which has left its imprint on nearly every community of the central states. Having been left an orphan in childhood, he was the moulder of his own character and a splendid example of a self-made man. He settled at Sherburnville, Illinois, in the early forties and opened a blacksmith shop in the new settlement. His industry and integrity, for which he was widely known, coupled with his natural mechanical ability, developed a thriving business and Mr. Dyer soon became one of the leading men of that section. Such is the stock from which the subject of this sketch has sprung and Mr. Childs has proven himself not unworthy of such an ancestry. The early years of Mr. Childs' life were spent near the village of his birth, amid surroundings which to say the least were quite limited. When about six years of age he removed with his parents to Kansas, the trip being made, as was the custom at that time, overland in a canvas covered wagon. After a year and a half in the Sunflower state the family returned to Illinois where they remained until the fall of I889. Mr. Childs was never robust and when about eleven years of age his physical con TTTCr'-CTT)V7 1'T7 DT7'DDTCT7TT rfCTTNTT'7 752 n~11 JiIr X J D rditon became such that for nearly four years even schooling was out of the question. However, his limited advantages had been so improved that in November, 1889, he was able to enter the Normal School at Marion, Indiana, and take up the regular work in the teacher's course. During the winter, however, his work was interrupted by sickness and with a desire to better his health he went to Ridgeville, Indiana, in the spring of I890. The change proved of little benefit for in the early summer his studies were again brought to a sudden stop by a long illness which kept him from school until late in November, when he resumed his work and continued until he graduated from the teachers' course of Ridgeville College in the summer of 189I. In March, 1893, Mr. Childs came to Three Oaks and although an entire stranger and without means, he has so conducted himself that in the few years of his residence here he has won a high place in the respect and esteem of his fellow-citizens. Soon after coming to Three Oaks he entered the employ of the Warren Featherbone Company, where he remained until the following September, when he took up the duties of teacher in the Basswood district of Three Oaks township. For five consecutive years he taught in the rural schools of this vicinity, three of which were in district No. 5, where he had as a pupil the young lady who afterwards became his wife. Having contracted for a school for the year 1898-9 and feeling the need of a little brightening up, he went to Benton Harbor to take a short review in the summer school at Benton Harbor College. But the morning after his arrival he was called to the telephone and tendered the position of assistant postmaster in the Three Oaks postoffice. This offer came entirely unsolicited and without warning but as it seemed to offer better advantages than teaching, he accepted and remained in the position until his appointment as postmaster August 19, 1904. During the six years that Mr. Childs was assistant postmaster he discharged his duties in such a pleasing and careful manner that he won the good will of the entire public. His familiarity with the duties of the office -AAlV-LbIN -VVU1Y I I eminently qualify him for the position he now fills with such promptness and fidelity, giving a public-spirited and business-like administration. Mr. Childs has always been a Republican, but has never sought office of a political nature, not even making a personal solicitation for the position he now occupies. On the 26th of September, 900o, Mr. Childs was married to Miss Wilhelmina E. Schelley of Tree Oaks township. Unto them has been born a daughter, Thelma. Mr. Childs belongs to the Masonic fraternity, holding membership in Three Oaks Lodge, No. 239, of which he is a past master. He and his wife are also members of Three Oaks Chapter No. 209, Order of the Eastern Star, and he is now serving his fourth year as worthy patron. He is well and favorably known throughout the county as a typical educator, and as an official has made a most creditable record. J. T. BECKWITH, who has for many years been actively connected with fruit farming interests in Berrien county and has also figured prominently in public affairs, was at one time the! owner of three hundred acres of land in this locality and yet owns thirty-eight acres, constituting a valuable property, in Benton township. His life record began on the 26th of May, 1841, in Chautauqua county, New York, his parents being Josiah R. and Lavinda H. (Fisk) Beckwith. The father was born in Connecticut in August, 1805, and remained a resident of that state until I826, when he removed from New England to New York. He came of English lineage and the maternal ancestors of our subject were also of English descent, being among the colonists who settled in Jamestown, Virginia, in the early part of the seventeenth century, making the first permanent settlement in North America at that point. Throughout his active business life Josiah R. Beckwith followed farming save that for a brief period of a few years in his early manhood he was a tailor. His political views accorded with Whig principles, but he never aspired to office. He was a member of the Christian church, to which his wife also belonged, and she took HISTORY OF BE a very active part in church work. In their family were seven children, three of whom are yet living. J. T. Beckwith was educated in the common schools and in a high school which he attended for a few terms and after completing his own education he engaged in teaching school, devoting seventeen years to the profession in this county. He was a capable educator, imparting readily and clearly to others the knowledge that he had acquired and his labors were a valued factor in promoting the work of public instruction and in raising the standard of the schools in this part of Michigan. As his financial resources increased he invested more and more largely in land, until he became the owner of three hundred acres of land, all in this county. From time to time, however, he has sold parts of this, but he still owns thirty-eight acres which adjoin Benton Harbor on the southeast and is valued at sixteen thousand dollars. He raises fruit of superior quality and his shipments bring to him a good financial return. He has been a director of the Farmers Mutual Insurance Company for twenty years. Mr. Beckwith has been married twice. In I866 he wedded Miss Mary A. Young and unto them were born two children: Alta, now the wife of Ed Harner; and Minnie, the wife of Frank Kool. For his second wife Mr. Beckwith chose Mrs. Henrietta (Weaver) Boyle, a daughter of Jacob and Orpha (Crumb) Weaver. The father was a native of Ohio, became a farmer by occupation and on leaving the Buckeye state removed to Michigan in the '30's, being among the oldest settlers here. Few improvements had been made in this part of the state, the forests standing in their primeval strength, casting long shadows across the streams which in due course of time were to carry the. lumber down where it could be used as a marketable commodity. Few farms had been cultivated and only here and there had the work of civilization been started. The family is of German lineage, having been established in Pennsylvania at an early period in the colonization of the new world. Unto Mr. Beckwith by the second marriage four 48 RRIEN COUNTY 753 children have been born: Clayton, who is a bookkeeper in Benton Harbor; Earl, who is now engaged in the creamery business in Wisconsin; Glenn, who is also engaged in keeping books in Benton Harbor; and Vere, who is attending school. Prior to becoming the wife of Mr. Beckwith, Henrietta Weaver had married Fred Boyle and by that union there was one son, Charles Boyle. Mr. Beckwith exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party and has been called to various local offices, the duties of which have been discharged in a spirit of direct and immediate serviceableness. He was superintendent of the poor for nine years, was supervisor for four years, I879-80, 1882-84, and has held other public positions. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and both he and his wife are connected with the Order of the Eastern Star. He is a self-made man, who started out in life empty handed and the property that he has acquired is the visible evidence of a life of well-directed thrift and enterprise. His indefatigable energy and perseverance have brought him to a knowledge of thel truth that success is ambition's answer. ISAAC M. SMITH, a prominent farmer residing on section I3, Berrien township, Isaac M. Smith has from an early period in the development of the county resided within its borders. His birth occurred on the farm where he now lives, March 17, 1847, a son of John Smith, who was born in Preble county, Ohio, where he remained until he had reached his twenty-first year. In conmpany with his brother Isaac he in I829 came to Berrien county, Michigan, and located the land now owned by his son Isaac M. In the following year, I830, the brother Isaac moved with his family to Berrien county, and in I831 was followed by John Smith, who toop up his abode on the farm which he had secured two years before. This continued as his home until his life's labors were ended in death, passing away in 1892, when he had reached the age of eighty-four years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Rachel Burk, was a native of Giles county, I 1 I - IT,1-1 i "I Ir - 1, lr- Ir-' I - — % 7-% -r IrI' -~~- r- rr"-1 754 HIS IORY OF BE. Virginia, where she remained until ten years of age, emigrating thence to Berrien county, Michigan, this being about the year I830. She died at the age of seventy-eight years, after becoming the mother of six children, three sons and three daughters, all of whom grew to years of maturity and two sons and a daughter are now living. Isaac M. Smith, the youngest of the family has spent his entire: life on the old Smith homestead, receiving his education in the district schools of the locality, and from an early age he has assisted in the work of the fields. In 1871 he was married to Emma Murphy, who was born in Ohio but came to Berrien county, Michigan, when very young. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have no children of their own, but have reared an adopted daughter, Edna, who is at home. In addition to his general agricultural pursuits Mr. Smith makes a specialty of dealing in timber and lumber, buying and shipping extensively, and for twenty-five years he has followed this business, his efforts throughout this long period being attended with a well merited degree of success. He is the owner of three hundred and thirty-one acres of the finest land to be found in all Berrien county, the work of which is carried on by hired assistants. The Democratic party receives Mr. Smith's hearty support and co-operation, and as its representative he served at one time as highway commissioner. Mr. Smith has two of the old deeds, executed January 4, 183I, and October Io, I833, both signed by President Andrew Jackson and these are valuable documents in Mr. Smith's home. JAMES SMITH. Death often claims from our midst those whom we can ill afford to lose, and when it claimed James Smith the community mourned the loss of a repre:sentative citizen, widely and favorably known in agricultural circles. He was born in Preble county, Ohio, November 2, 1827, a son of Isaac Smith, who came with his family to Berrien county, Michigan, in I830, the son James being then a little lad of three years. To the schools of Berrien township he was indebted for the early educational training which he received, this being further supplemented by attendance at the schools RKIEN COUNITY of Niles, but in early life he put aside his text books and began work in the fields, agriculture proving his life occupation. In I852 Mr. Smith was married to Malvina Babcock, who was born in Rensselaer county, New York, east of the Hudson, November I6, 1829. Her father, John Babcock, a native of the same county, was a prominent attorney at law, following his profession at Troy, New York, for many years, and his death occurred in that city at the age of forty-six years. He was a son of John Babcock, who was a native of Massachusetts, a farmer by occupation, and a prominent man in the early affairs of his community, having served as a justice of the peace and in many other ways assisting in the upbuilding of the commonwealth. The family was of English and Scotch descent. John Babcock married Sarah Kendall, who also claimed Rensselaer county, New York, as the place of her nativity, being the daughter of Joshua Kendall, a native of Rhode Island and of English descent. Mrs. Babcock lived to be eighty-one years of age, dying in Van Buren county, Michigan. In their family were eleven children, eight of whom grew to years of maturity and four are now living,-Mrs. Smith; W. I., of Niles, Michigan; H. B., a resident of Rosedale, Kansas; and J. N., a resident of Benton township. Mrs. Smith located in Van Buren county, Michigan, in 1844, accompanying her sister and the latter's husband, William Millspaugh. She began teaching school when but fifteen years of age, following that occupation for eight years or until her marriage to James Smith on the 24th of October, 1852. For two years thereafter the young couple lived in Cass county, Michigan, after which they returned to Berrien county and located on the old homestead which has since been the home of Mrs. Smith. They became the parents of four children, namely: Martha, at home; Mary, who became the. wife of H. G. Correll, and died at the age of twenty-three years; Prof. Ethan H., a resident of San Francisco, California, and a graduate of the Bellevue Hospital of New York city; and Charles R., at home with his mother. Mrs. Smith owns one hundred and HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 755 eighty acres of rich and well cultivated land, over which she has had supervision since her husband's death. IHe was ever loyal to his duties of citizenship and used his franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party, while his fraternal relations were with the Masonic order. He was deeply concerned in the welfare of his community, influential in his own neighborhood and for a number of years served as a school officer. He passed away February 19, I899, but in the hearts of his many friends are enshrined many pleasant memories of him, and his influence for good remains with those who knew him. Prof. Ethan H. Smith now holds the chair of orthopoedic surgery in the College of San Francisco, California. AMOS C. HOUSE, a prominent retired farmer living in' Buchanan. was for many years closely associated with agricultural interests, and his careful and systematic management of business affairs brought him the confidence that now enables him to live in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil. He dates his residence in the county from i866, and is numbered among the worthy citizens that Pennsylvania has furnished to Michigan, his birth having occurred in Juniata county, of the former state, May 24, 1843. His father, Ephraim House, was a native of New Jersey, whence he removed to Pennsylvania and was there married to Miss Mary Scott, a native of England, who had come to the United States when sixteen years of age, making the voyage with her father, who, upon a return to his native country, was lost at sea. Ephraim House continued his residence in the Keystone state until his death, and the mother afterward came to Berrien county, Michigan, where her last days were passed. This worthy couple were the parents of fourteen children, five of whom reached adult age and are still living: John, now a resident of Bertrand township; Sarah, the wife of Joseph Barner, of Parkstone, South Dakota; Cyrus L., who is living in North Dakota; and James, also of North Dakota. Amos C. House, the third in the family of five children, was reared in Pennsylvania to the age of twenty-four years and acquired a good common-school education. On leav ing his native state he went to Missouri, afterward to Indiana, and in I866 became a resident of Berrien county, Michigan. During the first summer after his arrival he worked by the month as a farm hand, after which he rented land for four years and the capital which he saved from his earnings during that period enabled him then to purchase a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Bertrand township. Ambitious to succeed as an agriculturist he carefully husbanded his resources and made the most of his opportunities, adding to his place until now his landed possessions aggregate twelve hundred acres. He is thus one of the extensive land holders of the county and his valuable property interests return him a very gratifying income, enabling him to enjoy all of the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. He continued active in the management of his farming and landed interests, aided by his wife, until 1894, when he removed to Buchanan, where he is now living retired. On the 23d of August, I868, Amos C. House was married to Miss Eliza Rough, a daughter of David and Anna (Rhodes) Hough, both of whom were born in Perry county, Pennsylvania, where their marriage was celebrated. They came to Berrien county in 1849, leaving their old home in the east on the Ist day of May of that year. They traveled by wagon, there being seven wagons and four families in the party. At length they arrived in Bertrand township on the 28th of May. Mrs. House was then only a little maiden of six years of age, her birth having occurred on the i6th of May, I843. She was therefore reared in Bertrand township, spending her girlhood days in her parents' home, while in the district schools of the neighborhood she acquainted herself with the common branches of English learning. There were in the family five children, five of whom reached adult age, namely: William R., who now resides in Buchanan; Solomon, of the same city; George H. and Mrs. Sarah Womer, both now deceased; and Mrs. House, who is the youngest. Unto our subject and his wife has been born a son, William D., whose birth occurred in Bertrand township, August 20, 1871. It was in 1893 that Mr. House built his 756 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY modern brick residence in Buchanan. On his farms he has seven houses, all good substantial buildings kept in an excellent state of repair. His property altogether is very valuable, and in addition to the farms already mentioned he has a half interest in a farm of one hundred and ninety-seven acres, his partner being Peter Womer, of Bertrand township. He likewise has property in the city of Buchanan in addition to his home and his moneyed and extensive interests are incontrovertible proof of a life of activity and enterprise, while the favorable regard in which he is held argues well for his business integrity and honor. He has been a lifelong Democrat and he and his good wife are members of the Evangelical church, in the work of which they have taken an active and helpful part. Mr. House has served as steward for many years, as a trustee of the church and also of the camp ground in Niles township. He has been identified with the making of Bertrand township and Berrien county, and while leading a busy and active life resulting in the attainment of a position of prominence in financial circles, he has at the same time found opportunity to cooperate in movements for the general good, contributing to the intellectual, moral and political progress as well as the material advancement of the community. JUAN M. GUY, now living retired in Benton Harbor, has had a somewhat eventful career, embracing the experiences of western mining as well as the occurrences of a military life in connection with the Civil war. For many years he followed farming in Bainbridge township but is now enjoying a well earned rest in Benton Harbor. His birth occurred in Washington county, New York, October I8, I835, and he came to Michigan in I856, when a young man of twenty-one years, after spending his boyhood days upon a farm in Orleans county, New York, near Lake Ontario, where he assisted in the arduous task of clearing as well as cultivating land. His father, Timothy Guy, passed his last days in Michigan. Juan M. Guy had an older brother, Mort Guy, who had been in this State two years before the arrival of our subject and had become the owner of a farm in Hagar township in Berrien county, where he cultivated and improved a good tract of land, making his home thereon for a long period. About twenty years ago, however, he came to Benton Harbor, where he is now living retired. By trade he is a carpenter and builder. Another brother, De Witt Guy, arrived two years after Juan Guy, and settled in Hagar township, improving a farm on Watervliet road. He is now living in Coloma. Another brother, Harvey Hobart Guy, owned a farm in Watervliet township but died within a year after his arrival in this county, which was subsequent to the Civil war. There were also two sisters in the family: Emma,the wife of Richard Stanley, one of the first settlers of Benton township, where she is still living; and Helen, the widow of James Barry, also a pioneer resident of Benton township, where he secured a farm but afterward made a permanent location in Hagar township, where Mrs. Barry is still living. Both sisters have survived their husbands many years and are now nearly ninety years of age. As previously stated, Juan M. Guy remained upon the home farm in New York until he had attained his majority and came to Michigan in I856. He worked out by the month at farm labor and in the winter seasons engaged in teaching. He had acquired a liberal education through attendance at Yates Center Academy, a leading institution of New York, conducted under the auspices of the Baptist Church. Through five winter seasons he was engaged in teaching in Berrien county, having at one time, charge of the school at Sorder's Corners, for two terms where he met the lady whom he afterward made his wife. She bore the maiden name of Fanny M. Lander, and was a sister of Mrs. J. M. Sorder, then residing upon the present Dukescherer farm in Benton township. Mrs. Guy was born in Orange township, Cuyahoga county, Ohio. and had come to Michigan in her girlhood days in company with her sister, Mrs. Sorder. who purchased the farm in Benton township. Mr. and Mrs. Guy were mar MR. AND MRS. JUAN M. GUY rI HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 757 ried on the 9th of March, I86o, just after he closed a term of school in the locality in which she lived. Previously Mr. Guy had gone to Kansas in I857 and had secured land in Anderson county. He returned to his claim two or three times and in I859 he went to Pike's Peak but this proved a losing trip. He again made the return trip from Denver by way of the Platte river to Plattsmouth, Nebraska, passing over the falls in Colorado where Freemont lost his outfit. Many boats had been wrecked there. The party with which Mr. Guy traveled had a boat made and started down the river, coming into the rapids before they knew it, but they managed to make their way through the troubled waters in safety. In that locality they picked up many articles of clothing, satchels, surgical instruments, etc.-the wreckage of former sufferers. They had met thousands of people returning but they pushed on to Pike's Peak to satisfy themselves by a search for gold in that mining district. The Kansas land which Mr. Guy had previously secured he traded for land in Bainbridge township, upon which was a small clearing and an old log house. He took his bride to this place. The house was a poor one in a dilapidated condition but it was a home for the young couple and with resolute spirit they started out on their domestic life there and at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war had made a good start. Feeling that he owed a duty to his country, Mr. Guy enlisted as a member of Company M, Fourth Michigan Cavalry, which regiment captured Jefferson Davis. After the battle of Perryville he was detailed for hospital duty and ward master. He served in Kentucky as orderly, a short time and then was assigned to the position of clerk of court, and as such had charge of the bringing on and arranging for all cases. This was a general court martial, which was presided over by several judge advocates, but all through the changes that occurred upon the bench Mr. Guy remained as clerk and probably saw more men tried by court martial than any other soldier of the army, holding that position until mustered out. He was the first man in Ken tucky to muster out men in that department. While connected with the court he often volunteered to secure witnesses for important cases and did his duty fearlessly, enjoying the activity and danger consequent therein. He had many exciting and interesting experiences also during his sojourn in the west, and while on the Pike's Peak trip he saw one Indian scalp another who belonged to a tribe at enmity with the one which the first Indian represented. Following his return from the war Mr. Guy devoted his time and energies to farming with excellent success and carried on the business continuously until I893, when he came to Benton Harbor, building his present home. He still owns two farms, comprising two hundred and thirteen acres in Bainbridge township, of which he placed seventyfive acres under cultivation. On the first farm thirty-five acres had been cleared of timber when it came into his possession. His second farm comprised eighty acres and lies in Watervliet township but is in close proximity to his other farm. This he also improved and he has fifty acres in peaches, while upon the old homestead he grows apples. Both his farms are operated by his son, and the property returns Mr. Guy a very desirable income. In the management of his farming interests he displayed excellent ability and a thorough understanding of the best methods of carrying on horticultural and agricultural pursuits, and as the years passed by he accumulated a handsome competence as the reward of his labors. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Guy were born two children. Emma A. became the wife of George Arney, and died at the age of thirty years, leaving two children, Irving and Walter. Allen Percy Guy married Rhoby Wilder, and has one daughter, Florine. He lives at the old homestead and successfully carries on the work of the two farms. He has more than a local reputation as a sportsman, being a fine shot and makes frequent trips into the north in search of game. In his political views Mr. Guy was a stalwart Republican until out of harmony with the attitude of the temperance question he joined the ranks of the Prohibition party, but frequently casts an independent ballot. He was 758 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY elected justice of the peace in Bainbridg( township but did not qualify. He served foi ten years as township supervisor, and for on( year was chairman of the board, acting ir that capacity at the time of the railroad discussions. From his boyhood days he has been a devoted and faithful member of th( Methodist Episcopal Church and Mrs. Guy has been a member therein since her mar riage. They are most earnest Christian peo ple, interested in all that pertains to the growth of the church and the extension of it: influence, and their labors have been ii harmony with their professions. CHARLES H. FRENCH. Among the old settlers of the county who are intereste( in farming is Charles H. French, who re sides on section I, Bertrand township. Whil many exceed him in years there are not great number of citizens who have longe resided in this portion of the state, for h was brought to this county when less thai two years of age. His birth occurred i: Onondaga county, New York, October 1 85 I. His father, Samuel French, was native of Hague, New York, and follower the occupation of farming as a life work He removed from Onondaga county, Nev York, to Michigan in the year 1853, locating on the farm where his son Charles now re sides. There he carried on general agricul tural pursuits and his labors resulted in re claiming wild land and converting it int very productive fields. He was born in th year I818 and died in 1892, after a life o usefulness, activity and honor that made hir respected by all with whom he was associ ated. He was a member of the Presbyteria: church, active in its work and influential i its councils. He served as elder and truste and his co-operation was given to the vari ous plans and movements for the growt and advancement of the church work an the extension of its influence. His politi cal allegiance was given to the Republica party, and he stood for progress and in provement in citizenship and for truth, righ and justice under all circumstances. H came of a family of English descent. Hi wife, who bore the maiden name of Sara Bliss, was a native of Courtland, New Yorl and died in Bertrand township, when about rforty-eight years of age. There were five children in the family who reached manhood 1 and womanhood, while two died in infancy, -Charles H. being the sixth child and the s youngest living. e When in his second year Mr. French of F this review was brought by his parents to - Michigan, the family home being established -in Bertrand township. Under the parental eroof he was reared, being early trained to s habits of industry, thrift and economy, i which have borne good fruit in later years. He was educated in the common schools and in the high school at Buchanan, and e when not busy with his text-books gave his d father the benefit of his services, remaining at home to the time of his marriage. e It was in 1876 that Mr. French was a joined in wedlock to Miss Sarah Geyer, a r daughter of John and Phebe Geyer. She e was born in St. Joseph county, Indiana, and n died in I890, leaving three children: Carn son G., who married Anna Hedges, of Terre, Haute, Indiana; Stella, of New York; a Charlie F., at home. On the 3ISt of March, d I892, Mr. French was joined in wedlock to.Miss Lucy A. Feather, a daughter of Henry v Feather, and they have one son, Henry F. Mgr. French owns a farm of two hundred -and fifty-eight acres and in addition to the - cultivation of the cereals best adapted to soil -and climate he is also engaged in the dairy o business, keeping eighteen cows for this pure pose. He is now president of the Buchanan If creamery, an enterprise which is proving n profitable to the stockholders, for its proi- ducts find a ready sale on the market and n command the highest prices by reason of exn cellence. The farm of Mr. French is well e appointed in its various equipments and aci- cessories, such as facilitate farm work, and h the fields are well tilled, giving promise of d large harvests. Mr. French is a member i- of the Presbyterian church, in the work of n which he takes a very active and helpful in- terest, and he is serving as an elder and trusit tee. His political allegiance is given to the e Republican party, and for more than a half is century he has stood for all that is upright h and just in matters of relations to his fellow-, men, for all that is progressive and practical HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 759 in citizenship, and for all that is commendable in home and social relations. JACOB E. VITE. The farming population of Bertrand township is worthily represented by Jacob E. Vite, who lives on section I4, and who is classed with the enterprising agriculturists who have acquainted themselves with the methods that produce the best results in the tilling of the fields. He was born in the township where he still resides, his natal day being February 28, I859. His father, Henry Vite, was a native of Pennsylvania and was a young man when he went to South Bend, Indiana, with his stepfather and his mother. Soon afterward they located in Bertrand township. Henry Vite was married in that township to Miss Catherine Rough, a daughter of Jacob and Nancy Rough, in I856. She was born in Pennsylvania and was thirteen years of age when brought by her parents to Berrien county. For many years Mr. and Mrs. Vite traveled life's journey happily together, being separated by the death of the husband when sixty-three years of age, while the wife lived to the age of seventy years. There were three children: Mary E., now the wife of N. Frye, a resident of Huron county, Michigan; Jacob E., of this review; and John C., who is living in St. Joseph county, Indiana. Jacob E. Vite was reared in his native township and acquired his early education in the common schools, while later he attended school in Buchanan. He engaged in teaching for two terms in Bertrand township. Afterwards he turned his attention to the ti:uber and wood business, shipping lumber and selling timber in the stump. As the years have passed and his financial resources have increased he has made judicious investments in property and is now the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land, about ten acres of which is devoted to the growing of fruit. The farm is well improved with modern equipments and accessories and there are many evidences of careful and practical supervision on the part of the owner. In April, I892, Mr. Vite was married to Miss Anna L. Brown, a daughter of George Brown, of Wesaw township, Berrien county. They became the parents of four children, Alma, Merritt, Glenn and Ruth. By a former marriage to Alice Siders Mr. Vite had one daughter, Effie, who is now attending school in Buchanan. In political affiliation Mr. Vite is a stalwart Republican, doing all in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of his party in his home locality. His cooperation is withheld from no movement or measure calculated to benefit the community, and during his life-long residence in Bertrand township he has won the respect and confidence of many friends, who have known him from his boyhood days and are familiar with a life that has been characterized by straightforwardness and activity in business. WILLIAM F. BAINTON, a member of the firm of Bainton Brothers, millers and merchants of Buchanan, in which city he was born May 4, 1862, comes of English descent. His father, William H. Bainton, was a native of England. When a young man he crossed the Atlantic to America, settling in Oswego, New York, whence he came to Berrien county, Michigan, at an early day, casting in his lot with its pioneer settlers. He built a mill, which was one of the first in the township, and he also owned a mill at Berrien Springs, which he afterward traded for a farm. He was married in this county to Miss Amanda M. Swift, who was born in Ohio and came to Berrien county with her father, John Swift, who took up his abode in Bertrand township, settling there when the number of its inhabitants was small and when the work of improvement had scarcely been begun. Mrs. Bainton is still living. The father died in I866. He was a prominent man, closely and helpfully identified with the development of the county. He was engaged extensively and successfully in business as a merchant and miller and he also owned several large farms. He possessed in a considerable degree that quality which is termed commercial sense and through his keen sagacity and indefatigable energy, together with judicious investments he steadily advanced from a humble "76o HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY financial position to one of affluence. In the family were six children, of whom two sons and two daughters are yet living: Emma J., a resident of Buchanan; Nettie J., the wife of Dr. J. C. Snyder, of Toledo, Ohio; Charles L., of Buchanan; and W. F. Bainton. The last named was the eldest of the sons and the third child of the family. He was reared in Buchanan and acquired his preliminary education in the public schools. In connection with his brother, Charles L. Bainton, he returned his attention to the milling business in I886, having built the mill in 1885. He had spent the year 1883 in the milling business in Dayton, Michigan, and thus gained practical knowledge of the trade. He afterward returned to Buchanan and was engaged in farming until I885, when, as stated, he and his brother built the mill which the following year they placed in optration. They also engaged in merchandising until I903, conducting a grocery and feed store. The capacity of the mill is one hundred barrels and the trade is large, for the output is of such a quality that a ready market is secured. The brothers are also engaged in fruit farming, Charles L. conducting the fruit farm, while William F. Bainton has charge of the milling business and the store. He has been very successful in his business ventures and his well directed efforts have been a source of benefit to the city as well as to himself. He is a director of the Niles Building & Loan Association and president of the Buchanan Loan Association. In politics a life-long Republican, he has manifested deep interest in the party and its growth but has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking. He has always spent his life in Buchanan and in all matters of citizenship is progressive and helpful, withholding his support from no movement or measure that he deems will prove of general good. SOLON CUTLER, a resident of Benton Harbor, where he is largely living a retired life save for the supervision which he gives to his property and invested interests, was born in Lorain county, Ohio, January I, 1845, a son of Jesse and Temperance (Crawford) Cutler. The father was born in Vermont, October 4, I799, and died in Watervliet township, Berrien county, Michigan, April 15, 1872, having removed to this county in I855. He was a farmer by occupation and became one of the early residents of this section of the state, who aided in its reclamation for the uses of the white race and in the promotion of its agricultural development. His political allegiance was given to the Democracy. His wife was also a native of the Green Mountain state and her death occurred in Watervliet township, May 21, I858. Of the ten children born to Temperance and Jesse Cutler eight reached years of maturity, while four are still living, namely: Edwin, who resides in Mason county, Michigan; Myron, of Benton Harbor; Solon, also living in Benton Harbor; and Clarissa, the wife of Benjamin Green of the same city. Solon Cutler, having spent the first ten years of his life in Lorain county, Ohio, accompanied his parents on their removal to Berrien county in 1855, and became a student in the country schools. He was reared to manhood upon the home farm, and in I870 started out in life on his own account. He was thereafter identified with general agricultural pursuits for twenty years, or until I890, subsequent to which time he lived at Pottawattomie Park, seven miles north of St. Joseph, until I904. This part consists of thirty acres and is a well known summer resort. Mr. Cutler owns the tract but has now leased it, although for many years he was successful and active in its management. In 1904 he removed to Benton Harbor, where he occupies a pleasant home on Morton Hill. He formerly owned several farms but has sold them and and is living a more quiet and retired life. In I870 Mr. Cutler was married to Miss Hattie A. Gunsolus, a native of Ontario, Canada, and they have one daughter, Beatrice Isabell Cutler. In his political relations Mr. Cutler exercises his right of franchise in favor of the principles and policy of the Republican party. He is a member of Lake Shore Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and is one of the well known men of Berrien county, who has made his own way in life and has I OAC MRS. ISAAC LYBROOK CI ~i I s:i r i i:I i:I f s d:1 ~* d 'i, HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 76I achieved a gratifying measure of success. He is now a stockholder in the Farmers and Merchants Bank, in addition to which he has valuable property interests which return him a very desirable income. His record of more than a half century in Berrien county is well known and his life is an honorable one. BARNEY KAISER. An energetic and progressive farmer and honored citizen of Chikaming township is Barney Kaiser, who has spent many years of his life in Berrien county. His birth, however, occurred in Saxony, Germany, June 12, I865, his parents being George and Barbara (Smith) Kaiser, also natives of Saxony. The father died on the old homestead in Wesaw township, Berrien county, Michigan, in I888, at the age of sixty years, but the mother is still living, having reached the age of sixty-two years. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Kaiser: Barney, the subject of this sketch; William, of Montmorency county, Michigan; Katie, who died when about twenty-eight years of age; Mary, who died at the age of two years; John; Annie, the wife of George Hanover, of Buchanan, Michigan; Frank, who resides with his mother in Wesaw township; and Rosa, the wife of Louis Mulch, of Lake township. When eight years of age Barney Kaiser accompanied his parents in their emigration to the United States, the year being 1873, and after remaining in New York city for one year they came to' Niles, Michigan, where one year and a half was spent. Their next location was at New Buffalo, but two years later removed to and purchased a farm of forty acres in Wesaw township, where Mr. Kaiser continued to make his home until his marriage. In that year, I893, he purchased a part of his mother's farm, which yet constitutes a part of his present place. He is now the owner of eighty acres of well improved land on section 24, Chikaming township, and in addition is the owner of eighty acres in Montmorency county, Michigan. He farms one hundred and sixty acres adjoining his place for A. G. Childs, which he has conducted for the past twelve years, and he is engaged in both grain and stock farming. His political support is given to the Democratic party, and he is at present serving as a justice of the peace, while for a number of years he was a school officer. His religious affiliations are with the Congregational church at Three Oaks. In I893 Mr. Kaiser was united in marriage to Katie Smith, a cousin, and she was also born in Saxony, Germany, February I, I870. When but two years of age she came to the United States with her parents, she being a daughter of William Smith. Five children have been born of this unionMay, Lucy, Elmer, Henry and Margaret, but the last named died in infancy. ISAAC LYBROOK is one of the venerable citizens of Berrien county and an old settler who has been an interested witness of the growth and development of this part of the State through many years. He now resides on section 30, where he owns a good farm. His birth occurred in Preble county, Ohio, April 30, 1825. His father, Isaac Lybrook, Sr., was born in Giles county, Virginia, and was there reared. He became a farmer and teacher and', removing from Ohio, spent his last days in Preble county, where he died at the comparatively early age of thirty years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Nancy Burk, was also a native of Giles county, Virginia, and she died in Berrien township, Berrien county, Michigan, in her seventy-fifth year. There were but two children in the family, of whom Baltzer, the elder, died in Cass county, Michigan, when about sixty years of age. Isaac Lybrook is therefore the only living representative of the family. The father died about four months before the birth of his son, who was reared by the mother and was brought to Michigan in 1828. They lived for twelve years in Pokagon township, Cass county, and in 1840 located upon the farm which is now the home of Mr. Lybrook. He and his own brother Baltzer cleared and cultivated the farm, the family home being a log cabin in the midst of the forest. Isaac Lybrook was but fifteen years of age when he located upon this place and he has resided here continuously since, cov 762 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY ering a period of more than two-thirds of a century. On the 2d of January, I85I, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Eliza Osborn, who was born in Preble county, Ohio, September 8, 1831, at a little town called Winchester, and came with her mother to Berrien county at an early age. Her father died when she was three or four years of age and her mother then came to Berrien township with her three small children: Serepta, Mary E. and Delos. In I840 the mother died and the children were taken care of by their uncle, the late Michael Hand, until they grew up and were married. Mrs. Lybrook died Sunday, March 2, 1902, at the home which had always been hers since her marriage. She was buried from that home Wednesday, at I p. m., Revs. Charles Ager, of Niles, and John Boone, of Berrien Springs, conducting the services. Hers is the story of so many noble Christian women who have known the hardships of pioneer life, and stood side by side with the husbands who have moulded our glorious county of today from an unbroken wilderness. Reared in the day when need was the claim for assistance, the cry of want or sorrow was never passed by her unheeded, and her death leaves saddened hearts in many besides the family circle. This worthy couple traveled life's journey together for fifty-one years and were then separated by the death of the wife. They had become the parents of nine children, Nancy, John B., Martha, Annie, Henley C., William D., Serepta, Flora and Isaac. All were born upon the old homestead farm on section 30, Berrien township, and with the exception of Martha and Serepta, all are yet living. Mr. Lybrook has always given his political allegiance to the Democracy. For many years he has served as school assessor and through a long period has been identified with Western Lodge, No. 39, A. F. & A. M., at Berrien Springs. Few residents of the county have longer resided in this part of the State than Mr. Lybrook, who came to Michigan seventy-eight years ago, being at that time but three years of age. He has now passed the eighty-first milestone on life's journey and his record is most creditable, for he has lived a useful, upright and honorable life. In the early days he experienced the hardships and trials incident to frontier life and his memory goes back to the times when this section of the State was an almost unbroken wilderness, inhabited by the red men, also wild animals and wild game. Only here and there had a little clearing been made in the forest to show that the white man was venturing into the interior of the country to reclaim it for the purposes of civilization. As the years went by Mr. Lybrook bore his full share in the work of agricultural development and kept pace with the universal progress which wrought many changes in the mode of living and in the methods of carrying on farm work. He has known what it was to use the scythe in the field, to tie the bundles of grain by hand and to follow the plow afoot, to light the house with candles and to heat it with the fire place. All this has since changed, however, and modern progress has brought many comforts and conveniences which were unknown in former years. Mr. Lybrook has in his possession three of the old parchment deeds executed by President Andrew Jackson dated April I, 1831, November 5, I833, and November 4, I834. These are valuable documents. There are also some of the old souvenirs of the pioneer period, two forks, two-tined, that his mother had-almost a century old. Also a counterpane, for which the cotton was carded, spun and wove, which is a rare curiosity, and it is close to a century old, and he has one of the old hand sickles, and also a cradle of the four-fingered kind. JOHN T. DEMPSEY. Mr. Dempsey has lived in Berrien county all his life, in fact has lived within six miles of his birthplace in Bertrand township, where he came into the world January 8, I854. A farmer throughout his active career, he has been successful beyond the ordinary, and is one of the substantial men of southern Berrien county. His present homestead of one hun-;, -- -- - -, - --- - - HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 763 dred and sixty acres is the southeast quarter of section 26 in Wesaw township, where he carries on the regular departments of farming, giving rather special attention to horses, of which he owns two splendid specimens of the registered full blooded Percherons. Mr. Dempsey has been a Democrat all his life, and has served in public office, five years as highway commissioner and two years on the board of review. He affiliates with the I. O. O. F., M. W. A., the Patricians and Rebekahs. His father, James E. Dempsey, was born in New York April 23, I831, and having come with his parents to this county when only three years old is rightly considered one of the oldest living pioneers, over seventy years having elapsed since his child eyes beheld the wilderness that then covered this region. He has been a farmer by occupation, and also operated a threshing machine for twenty-eight years in Berrien county. He now makes his home with his son John. Mr. Dempsey's mother was Martha E. Lambert, a native of Virginia who came with her parents in a one-horse wagon from that state. She was one of ten children, and a brother now living in Niles is nearly ninety years old and very alert and active for his age. She died at the old home about I88o, aged forty-eight years. Mr. John Dempsey had one sister, Ella Benton, who is now deceased, leaving a daughter, Mrs. A. Burbank. Mr. Dempsey married in 1878 Emma J. Tremmel, who was born in Niles in October, I853, a daughter'of Jacob and Matilda (Wood) Tremmel. Her father was born in Pennsylvania and her mother was one of the first white children born in Berrien county. Mr. and Mrs. Dempsey have one child, Mae, at home. RICHARD BENJAMIN METZGER. The late R. B. Metzger, successful farmer and influential business man and citizen, was born near Granger, St. Joseph county, Indiana, May II, I853, and died on his farm in section 25 of Wesaw township, March 23, 9go6. Though he was permitted to complete little more than a half century of life, his career was replete with the work and character which lend dignity and value to human existence, and his death removed one whom the community will not soon cease to commemorate. He had spent most of his life in this county, having been taken by his parents to a farm near Niles when he was six years old, and ten years later, on the burning of the home, the family moved to another place two miles away, where he lived until his marriage. One year of his boyhood was spent in school at Notre Dame, but his active life was devoted to the business of farming. Several years after his marriage he bought his permanent homestead of one hundred and ten acres on Rugg lake, and also owned a place of eighty acres three miles west. Mr. Metzger was a director in the Berrien County Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and its treasurer two terms. Although always concerned in the management of his farming interests, he did little of the actual farm work. For twenty years he sold agricultural implements. A Republican, he took an active part in political affairs, as delegate to conventions and incumbent of some offices. He affiliated with the Masonic lodge at Buchanan and the I. O. O. F. at Galien. Mr. Metzger was a son of a prominent German-American citizen of this county. John Metzger came to this country when about twenty years old, and spent most of his life in the vicinity of Niles. His wife Elizabeth was a native of Kentucky. At one time he owned about a thousand acres of land near Niles, but several years before his death he sold most of it and removed to Texas, where he passed away. His wife died near Niles. There were thirteen children in their family, and five are still living. Mr. Metzger married, November 14, 1877, Miss Emma Cochran. She was born near Niles, September 13, I858, and has spent her life in this county. Her parents were William and Betsy (Robards) Cochran, who were reared and married in New York State and came to this county about I856, passing the rest of their lives near Niles. Of their three children Mary died 764 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY at the age of eight years, Mrs. Metzger is second, and William lives on the home place near Niles. Mr. and Mrs. Metzger's children are as follows: Charles Leo, who runs the home farm; Arthur Clayton, a R. F. D. carrier from Galien; Victor A.; Julia Blanche; Ray C.; Gertrude Lillian; Richard Benjamin; Florence R. and Esther C. MAURICE GLAVIN. The family name of this gentleman is one which is ineffaceably traced on the history of Berrien county and which figures on the pages whose records perpetuate the principal events from the early days down to the present time. Edmond Glavin, the father, was born in county Limerick, near Mitchell, Ireland, in I835, and came to the United States at the age of fourteen years. After spending some time in the east, near New Haven, Connecticut, he joined his relatives in Chicago, Illinois. In 1855 he settled within the borders of Chikaming township, Berrien county, where he spent the remainder of his life, passing away in death on the I Ith of April, 1904. There were few who could more justly claim the proud American title of a self-made man than Edmond Glavin, for at the time of his arrival in this county his worldly possessions consisted of but an axe, but he was industrious, determined, ambitious and resolute, however, and these qualities stood him instead of fortune, enabling him to overcome the difficulties and obstacles in his path and work his way steadily upward. Mr. Glavin's first location was in the woods, and in the early days he was extensively engaged in the wood and lumber business, first shipping by water and then by rail. He assisted in the construction of the Pere Marquette Railroad, and donated to the company the land used for this purpose on his farm. His first purchase here consisted of forty acres and at the time of his death he owned over nine hundred acres, the visible evidence of his life of industry and toil. After clearing the land of the timber he began general farming and fruit raising. His political support was given to the Democratic party, and he served as the first postmaster of Chikaming township, the office then being known as Chikaming, and he was retained in that office from the time of its establishment until it was superseded by Herbert post office. For four terms he also filled the office of justice of the peace, and for eight years was a school officer. Religiously he was a member of the Catholic church. Mr. Glavin was one of a family of ten children, and two of his brothers and one sister remained in Ireland. His father died when he was young, and the estate went to the oldest brother, who remained in Ireland. Mr. Glavin was married in Chicago, in I858, to Honorah A. Cummings, who was born in Nova Scotia, and after residing for a time in Boston she removed to Chicago, going there to join a sister. She was born in August, I837, the daughter of Patrick and Mary Cummings, and her death occurred on the 25th of June, I877. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Glavin: Ella, who died at the age of nineteen years; Margaret, at home; Joseph Edmond, who was born in 1862 and died on the 26th of April, I892; Thomas C. was the next in order of birth; Mary Elizabeth, who taught school for several years, is now the wife of T. H. McCorten; Anna F., who was born March 6, I868, and died on the loth of July, I899, and she also taught schools, having previously attended Benton Harbor Academy and also the Harvey Medical College, and her death occurred just after her graduation; Emma A., who attended school in Marion and Valparaiso, Indiana, Benton Harbor and a business college in Chicago; William P., a clerk for the firm of Peck & Company, of Benton Harbor; John M., who was born August 14, 1872, and died September 14, I899, having been injured in a railroad wreck; Horace Pike, who died at the age of two and a half years; Genevieve, who has been teaching in the Chicago schools for the past six years; and Maurice, who attended Benton Harbor College, and is now conducting the home farm. Mr. Glavin was a second time married, having in Indiana, in 1879, wedded Mrs. Harriet Watts, of Niles, and her death occurred in HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 765 October, I903, at the age of eighty-four years. Maurice Glavin was born on the old home farm on the I9th of March, 1876, and here he has ever since made his home. He attended the common schools of this locality, and later was a student in the Benton Harbor Business College. He now owns two hundred acres of the old homestead, and is giving his time and attention to its cultivation. He is a Democrat in his political views, and is highly esteemed in the community for his honorable upright principles. THOMAS F. GLAVIN. The Glavin family is one that has long been identified with the development of this section of the state, and the subject of this review is a worthy representative of the time-honored occupation of agriculture. He was born on the old family homestead in this township June 7, I865. His father, Edmund Glavin, was a native of Dublin, Ireland, and came to the United States when sixteen years of age, spending some time in the east, but in the latter '4os came to Michigan. He helped construct the Territorial road from New Buffalo to St. Joe. At his death he left an estate of one thousand acres, eight acres of which were located within the corporate limits of Niles. In an early day he dealt extensively in all kinds of native lumber and wood, but the latter part of his life was devoted to agricultural pursuits. He was a Democrat in his political views, active in the work of the party, and for three terms he served as township treasurer, and was also a member of the township board. His death occurred on his farm on the IIth of April, 1904, when he had reached the age of seventy years. Mr. Glavin was first married in Chicago, Honorah Cummings becoming his wife, She was born in Boston, and her death occurred at the comparatively early age of thirty years. Unto this union were born twelve children: Ellen, deceased; Maggie; Edward J., deceased; Thomas F., whose name introduces this review; Mary McCarter, of Chikaming township, Berrien county; Annie, deceased, who was a graduate of the Chicago Medical College, her death occurring July 1, 90oo, just following her graduation; Emma, a teacher in Chicago, was formerly a United States employe in the Indian schools; William, shipping clerk with the firm of Young & Peck, of Benton Harbor; John, who was injured while employed on the railroad, and died in 90oo; Horace, who died at the age of two and a half years; Jennie, who has been engaged in teaching school in Chicago during the past six years; and Maurice, at home. After the death of the wife and mother Mr. Glavin married Mrs. Harriet Watts, who died in October, I903. Throughout his entire life Thomas F. Glavin has resided within the borders of Berrien county. The first twelve years of his business career were devoted to railroading, first with the Big Four Railroad and then with the Milwaukee, Benton Harbor and Columbus, having assisted in the construction of the latter road from Benton Harbor to Buchanan. During three years of that time he was employed as a freight conductor, while for five years he had charge of a train on the Big Four. During the past five years his entire time and attention has been devoted to agricultural pursuits, in which he is meeting with a well deserved success, and he is the owner of one hundred and forty-five acres of land in section Io, in this township. On his farm he has a number of Norman horses, and he is also giving a portion of his time to fruit culture. On the Ioth of September, 1896, Mr. Glavin was united in marriage to Mary Leach, a native of Hartford, Van Buren county, Michigan, and they have one child, Marjorie. Mr. Glavin gives his political support to the Democratic party, and he is now serving his second term as township treasurer, while for seven years he was a school officer. He is a member of the Catholic church at Three Oaks, Michigan. CORNELIUS HOVEN. In the death of Cornelius Hoven Berrien county lost one of her prominent and useful citizens. His life was strictly honorable, upright and just, being in accord with the highest principles of human conduct. Kindly and obliging in disposition, he always strove to do good to 766 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY those with whom he had dealings, and many a poor and needy one whom he assisted in his quiet, unostentatious way still remembers him with affection which time does not dim. He was born in the Netherlands, Holland, March I, 1864, a son of John and Tracy (Meyer) Hoven, also a native of the Netherlands. The father now resides in Chicago, but the mother is deceased. They were the parents of six children, but only three reached years of maturity, namely: James, who is now living retired in Chicago; Cornelius, whose name introduces this review; and John, who is engaged in the coal business in Chicago, and is also the owner of one of the finest farms in Three Oaks township, consisting of three hundred and twenty acres. When three years of age Cornelius Hoven was brought by his parents to the United States, the family home being established in Chicago, Illinois, where the son continued to reside until his removal to Berrien county, Michigan, in I9O4. He had been reared to the occupation of farming, but for a time during his residence in Chicago he was engaged in the coal business. His beautiful, well improved farm in Chikaming township consisted of two hundred and thirty-five acres, and here is located one of the finest homes in the township. This place was formerly known as the old Drew homestead, and is located in section 26. Mr. Hoven devoted his attention to farming and stock raising, and his efforts were attended with a high degree of success. He was a very religious man, and was a life-long member of the Reformed church, passing away in that faith on the 2ISt of March, I905. In I888 Mr. Hoven was united in marriage to Barbara Baar, who was born in Chicago June 6, I870, a daughter of Simon and Anna (Kooi) Baar, natives of the Netherlands. Three children were born to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. HovenAnna, John William and Tracy. During his lifetime Mr. Hoven had endeared himself to many friends, and his memory is yet cherished by those who knew him. VICTOR H. THOMAS. For many years Victor H. Thomas has been promi nently identified with the agricultural interests of Berrien county, and in this time has' become recognized as one of its most valued citizens. He was born in Berkshire county, Massachusetts, January 30, I837, a son of Dr. Philander H. Thomas, who was a native of the Empire state, his birth occurring in Rensselaer county on the 5th of May, 1802. The family have long been identified with the medical profession, for the grandfather of Victor H., Dr. Jeffrey Thomas, was also a physician, practicing in New York, of which state he was also a native son. His son, Dr. Philander H. Thomas, practiced medicine all his life, and his death occurred on the 30th of December, I863. He married Laura Hull, who was born in Berlin, New York, February 22, I806, and died at the home of her daughter in Cass county, Michigan, August 2, I88o. Unto this worthy pioneer couple were born sit children,-John H., Sarah E., Flora A., Granville S., Victor H. and Collin C. Victor H. Thomas, the only one of his parents' large family now living, was but five years of age when the family removed from Massachusetts to Stephentown, Rensselaer county, New York, there remaining for seven years, when the home was established at West Sand Lake, near Albany, New York. That place remained the home of Victor H. Thomas until he had reached his twentieth year, and from the time of leaving the school room, when sixteen years old, he has followed agricultural pursuits. In I857 he made the journey alone to Michigan, first taking up his abode near Cassopolis, in Cass county. In the following spring, however, he joined the tide of gold seekers to California, driving an ox team from the Missouri river to Salt Lake City, while the remainder of the distance was covered on foot. Five years were spent in the Golden state, engaged in mining and selling vegetables, and the following five years were spent in prospecting in the silver mines in Nevada. Returning thence to Cass county, he was there engaged in agricultural pursuits until April, 1873, when he chose Berrien county as his future home. His first purchase of land consisted of a tract of eighty acres on section 14, the farm, at that time be 69f K'~ CI II HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 767 ing covered with brush and stumps. Twenty-six years ago he purchased another farm of one hundred and sixty acres, located on section I5, which he brought to a high state of cultivation. Mr. Thomas was united in marriage to Elizabeth Shaw, who was born in Berlin, Rensselaer county, New York, July 25, I844. At the age of nine years she came to Cass county, Michigan, with her parents, Richard and Caroline (Ingalls) Shaw, both natives of New York, the former born in I809 and the latter in 1820. After a happy married life of many years they both passed away in Cass county, the father dying in 1877, and in I888 the mother joined him in the world beyond. They were the parents of three children,-Elizabeth, Benton, a resident of Niles, Michigan, and Marion W. Five children have blessed the home of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas, namely: Laura E., at home; Guy, a resident of Three Oaks, Michigan; Ray, who works for his father; Lee C.; and Marion, who married W. R. Hibbs, who is now living in Chicago. Mr. Thomas gives his political support to the Democratic party, and for seven years or until the office was abolished he served as township superintendent of schools, while for two terms he was the treasurer of the township. He is a man of sterling worth, and justly merits the high regard in -which he is held. JOHN JOHNSON dates his residence in Berrien county from the 24th of May, 1845. It was then that he first opened his eyes to the light of day on the farm on which he still resides on section 29, Berrien township. His father, John Johnson, was a native of Virginia and there resided through the period of his youth. His father also bore the name of John Johnson, and was a native of Virginia, whence he came to Berrien county in 1824. The father of our subject was a young man, when, in 1824, he arrived in this county. He had two comrades and they made the first settlement in Berrien township. It was subsequent to this time that the grandfather became a resident of Michigan. The father and his companions were the first white men to venture into the forest regions in Berrien township and make a permanent settlement. Mr. Johnson performed the arduous task of clearing and developing new land and transformed his place into a good farm. He was married in this county to Miss Anna Lybrook, a native of Virginia, who came to Michigan with her parents in pioneer days. Soon after their marriage the young couple located upon a farm, Mr. Johnson entering from the government the land upon which his son, our subject, now resides. There he spent his remaining days, actively engaged in agricultural pursuits for many years and living a quiet life during his last days. He died at the age of eighty-two years, in the faith of the Dunkard Church, of which he had long been a devoted member. His wife, who was also a member of the same church, lived to be seventy-three years of age. They were the parents of eight children, the eldest of whom passed away at the age of twelve years. The record is as follows: Isaac, born December 20, 1828; Sarah, March 4, I83I; Rebecca, March 5, 1833; Henry L., October 3, 1835; Lydia, April I9, I838; Eve, October 21, I840; Mary, January 23, 1843; and John, May 24, I845. The youngest of the family, John Johnson, whose name introduces this review, was reared upon the old homestead farm and began his education in the district schools of Berrien township, while later he attended a school conducted by Miss Brown at Niles. His training at farm labor was not meager, for he was early instructed in the best methods of caring for the fields and raising crops. He has always engaged in general farming and after his father's death became the owner of the old homestead. HIe now has one hundred and sixty acres, constituting one of the oldest farms of Berrien township, the land having been entered by his father from the government and transformed by him into productive fields. October 25, i868, Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Marie Bartholomew, a daughter of Dr. Samuel C. and Sarah (Thomas) Bartholomew, who were natives of New York and came to Berrien county about 1848, locating in Berrien Springs. The father was a practicing physician, becoming one of the early 768 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY representatives of the medical fraternity in his locality. Mrs. Johnson is the youngest of six children, three sons and three daughters, and was born in Berrien Springs, February 27, 1851, while in the public schools there she acquired her education. Following his marriage Mr. Johnson located on the old home place and operated the farm until his father's death, when he came into possession of the property. In politics he is a stalwart Democrat, and for four years served as supervisor, while for one term he was township treasurer. In I89o he was elected sheriff of the county, which office he held for two years, living at Berrien Springs during that time. He was also engaged in the furniture and undertaking business at Niles for about three years and then returned to the farm, whereon he has since made his home. It is today a well developed property, the fields yielding him an excellent financial return, for his crops find a ready sale on the market. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity at Berrien Springs and is well known in the county, where for sixtyone years he has made his home. Unto him and his wife have been born five children, two sons and three daughters, but only the son, Henry B., is left, who is now engaged in business in Birmingham, Alabama. Mr. Johnson is of the third generation of the family in this county and is not only familiar with its early history because of the records he has read and the tales which have been told him concerning pioneer days but from actual experience as well, and can relate many interesting incidents of the times when much of the land was uncleared and uncultivated and when the work of modern progress and development seemed scarcely begun. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have in their possession four of the old parchment deeds signed by President Andrew Jackson, executed April I, 1831, November Io, I830, April I, 1831, and January I, I83I. These are valuable souvenirs in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson. They have three of the old coverlets made by his mother and they are almost three-fourths of a century old. And they also have one of the little flax wheels, and the mother of Mr. Johnson spun upon this wheel. RICHARD WILLIAMS MONTROSS. As a manufacturer and business man engaged in industrial development and production which has given steady impulse to the business welfare of Berrien county, Mr. Montross has been one of the prominent figures in the county's history during the past forty years. Born in New York city, June 2, 1839, he is a grandson of one of the Frenchmen who came with Lafayette during the Revolution and is also a descendant of the Duke of Montrose. His father, William Montross, a native of Dutchess county, New York, lived in New York city after the age of fourteen years, and attained a substantial position in the business affairs of the metropolis. He was a dry-goods merchant and a director in the Market National Bank and other financial institutions. Though ninetyone years old at the time of his death in I895, he had regularly gone down to the bank every business day up to the last year. Through numerous visits to his son in Michigan he had become quite well known to a large number of Berrien county people. Mr. Montross' mother was Ann Eliza Williams, who was born and spent her entire life in New York city, where her death occurred in I898 at the age of eighty-six. Her father, Richard S. Williams, made a career closely identified with the city's civic interests. He served as alderman and was governor of Blackwell's Island, supervising the erection of the principal buildings there. He took a prominent part in the Quaker church. The Richard S. Williams and Company, ship chandlers, were a well known firm at the corner of Fulton and South streets. He established and became president of the Market National Bank. Mr. Montross is the only member of the family in Michigan. His three sisters and one brother live in New York city, and one brother died in St. Louis, Missouri. The oldest of the family, he began his business career at an early age, becoming a clerk in a store at fourteen. In I859 he was sent to Dubuque, Iowa, to take charge of a grocery and drug stock for a New York wholesale house. He remained there until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted in Company I, First Iowa Infantry, HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 769 under Capt. Frank Herron. He was on staff duty under General Fremont in the Missouri campaign, and in the battle of White Stone Hill in 1863. In I864 he was promoted to first lieutenant and quartermaster in the Third U. S. Volunteer Infantry, and went to the western plains about Denver, serving under General Connor until mustered out in September, I865, at Fort Leavenworth. He remained in New York city only a short time after the war, and in November, i866, located at Galien, Michigan, which has been his home from that date to this. It was the manufacture of wooden goods that first occupied his attention and in this line he gained his principal success. Handles for agricultural implements, made from the white ash and bass wood of this region, have been his principal products, and in this business he has employed as many as two hundred hands and his annual output has reached a value of eighty thousand dollars. He was in business with a partner until I875, but has since then conducted his interests alone. A small saw mill and turning plant in the midst of the woods was the equipment with which he began business, and in the course of his business career he has bought many tracts of woodland. In this way he has cleared more land than any other man in southwest Michigan. Mr. Montross is a Republican in politics, and a citizen with independent ideals. He is affiliated with the Masonic blue lodge at Buchanan and the chapter and commandery at Niles, and as a thirty-second degree Mason has been a member of the Michigan Sovereign Consistory of Scottish Rite Masonry at Detroit for twenty years, and of the thirty-third degree Supreme Council, having had the degree conferred in 1895 at Boston. He is a charter member and a past commander of the K. O. T. M. Mr. Montross' first wife was Miss Nellie Hand, a daughter of Judge Hand of Wisconsin. Their one son, William, is in the printing business in Chicago. His first wife died in 1882 and twelve years later Mr. Montross married Anna Plaister. Mrs. Montross is a woman of energy and business enterprise and is well known as a cat 49 and dog fancier. One of her Angora cats is valued at two hundred dollars and took six prizes in a cat show at Chicago. She also takes pride in her pedigreed Scotch collies, and to some extent is interested in raising Plymouth Rock chickens. JOHN S. INGLES died at his home iiT Galien, November 23, I905, a respected and honored citizen who for a third of a century had conducted his business affairs and private life in such a way as to establish hiimself permanently and influentially in that community. Born at Canandaigua, Ontario county, New York, May 12, I834, at the age of three he was taken by his parents to Norwalk, Ohio, and on reaching manhood moved to Milan, in the same state, where he was superintendent of the Milan canal a number of years, and from there came to Galien in 1872 and lived here until his death, which came after he had worthily completed the cycle of three score and ten years. He was a farmer during the greater part of his life. He and his brother Charles H. engaged in the manufacture of pumps at Galien for three years. His farm of eighty acres, half of which had been put under cultivation by his own strenuous labor, lies partly within the village of Galien, along the railroad, seventy-four acres being in section 2. It is known as Engleside farm, andl its improvements are of the highest class, He was a Republican in politics, although independent in local matters, and was a member of Galien lodge of the Odd Fellows. He took much interest in Spiritualism as his preferred form of religion. The late John S. Ingles was the son of Addison and Lucy (Bachelor) Ingles, natives respectively of New York and Massachusetts. John S. was the third of their eight children. Mr. Ingles married, in I858, Miss Jane McMaster, who was born in Huron county, Ohio, December 26, 1839. Her parents were Hiram and Philora McMaster. Her father was born in Cayuga county, New York, October 23, I806, and her mother at Fort Ann, Washington county, New York, November 26, I817, and after her death in Ohio in 1853 the husband married again 770 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY and came to Michigan, where he died April 25, 1884. Mrs. Ingles was one of six children. She is the mother of three children: Emma, wife of Adelbert Prince, of Prince Brothers, hardware firm at Galien; Charles Delbert, a railroad man of Glenwood, Minnesota; Earl, who runs the home farm. WILLIAM C. HEWITT. This prosperous young farmer of section I, Galien township was born in Bertrand township of his county, March 14, 1872, and has spent most of his life in Galien township. He has owned his present farm since I898, a part of it being from the old James Wilson place and a part from the William Welch farm. Besides farming Mr. Hewitt runs a threshing outfit for six months of the year. Mr. Hewitt's father, John H., was born near Fredericksburg, Virginia, and with a brother served in the southern army during the rebellion at the conclusion of which he came to Berrien county and was engaged in farming until about six years ago, when he moved to Michigan City and then to South Bend, where he now lives. His father was also named John and came to this county from Virginia after the war, dying near Buchanan. John H. Hewitt had the following brothers and sisters: Cornelius, William, Charles, Harvey, Jane, Annie and Martha. Mr. Hewitt's mother was Luella Welch, daughter of one of the oldest citizens of southern Berrien county. William Welch was born in Ontario, October i, 1828, and when about twelve years old accompanied his parents to Cass county where they were among the early settlers of Howard township. In I849, joining a party of ten and traveling with ox teams, he left Cass county on February 25 and the following September 20th arrived in California, where for the next two years he sought a quick road to wealth, being occupied for the most part in teaming. He returned to the states by way of the City of Mexico and New Orleans, and after two years' residence in Cass county settled in Bertrand township. Eighteen years ago he located in Galien township. He has been a very successful farmer, and at one time owned two hundred acres of land in this county. He married in 1853 Miss Elizabeth Salisbury, and their two children were Luella, the mother of Mr. Hewitt, and Wilber, who lives at his father's home. John and Luella (Welch) Hewitt had the following children: William C., Burten, of South Bend, Walter V., Clyde of Chicago, Floyd, Jay, of South Bend, Ida, wife of Richard Markley of South Bend, Mabel and Altie M. William C. Hewitt married, December 3I, I895, Miss Elvie L. Boyle, a native of Galien township and a daughter of Hugh and Eliza (Robins) Boyle. Two sons have been born to them, Ray J. and Fred B. HENRY D. INGLES was born on the farm in section 23 of Galien township 'where he still makes his home. Born February 7, 1866, his first shelter was a log cabin, which measured the prosperity of the family and the degree of progress of the day in the same manner as his modern home and improvements indicate the conditions of the twentieth century. The high school at Galien gave him his first stage of preparation for life, his name appearing with the class of I889, and afterward he studied in Valparaiso Normal three terms. His ability as an educator is proved by thirteen years of teaching, all in this county. General farming and stock and fruit raising occupy his attention on the beautiful eighty acre farm in sections 14 and 23. Mr. Ingles is the owner of the Hambletonian stallion "Delsarte," one of the best known studs of this county. A grandson of Rysdyk's Hambletonian and a son of the great Dauntless, "Delsarte" is a combination of rare points and blood. Mr. Ingles holds a license as minister of the United Brethren church and has served this denomination as preacher for the past five years. He is a member of Olive Branch United Brethren Church, and has held the offices of trustee, class leader, superintendent of Sunday school and nearly all the official positions. He is a lifelong Republican, affiliates with the K. O. T. M. at Galien, and served as school inspector for sixteen years. Mr. Ingles is a son of one of the old Ila I r - 70.V i i I II 11 i i j I i Ii j i I i i ii i I i HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 771 settlers of Berrien county. His father was George W. Ingles, who was born in Canandaigua county, New York, at the age of twelve moved with his parents to Norwalk, Ohio, in which state the parents died. After his marriage George W. Ingles came to Buchanan and Niles, Michigan, and in 1865 came to the farm where his son resides, and on which place he lived until his death in I901 at the age of seventy. He was a Republican in politics, and held- the office of highway commissioner for four or five years and at the time of his death was a member of Dowie's Zion church. His wife was Sarah Elizabeth Bachelor, who was born in Ohio and now lives with her son Henry. Their family consisted of eight children, two of whom died young, namely: Charles A., of Galien township; Ernest C., of Chicago; Jennie E., of Benton Harbor; Henry D.; Nellie C. Glover, who died in I906; Grace Shoup, of Niles; Clarence C., deceased. In 1889 Mr. Ingles married Miss Sadie S. Shedd, a member of one of the old families of this county. She was born in Three Oaks township, March 30, I87I, a daughter of George and Helen (Hinman) Shedd. Mr. and Mrs. Ingles have one son, Vivian G. FRANK THOMPSON. The pleasant country home of Mr. and Mlrs. Frank Thompson is located on section I8 of Galien township, on land that has been in Mrs. Thompson's family for more than forty years. One of the best known men of southern Berrien county during the last half of the last century was Davis Owen, Mrs. Thompson's father. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November Io, 1823, he was brought by his parents to Marion county, Ohio, at the age of four years, and in I852 moved to Noble county, Indiana, with his wife and one child. In I865 he moved to Galien township and resided on the homestead in section I8 until his death, November 24, I887. His handsome estate consisted of one hundred and eighty acres, one half of which is now owned by Mrs. Thompson. Davis Owen was a son of Zelophade and Rebecca (Casner) Owen, natives of Wales, who came to America after their marriage, and spent their last years in Marion county, Ohio. The father was a wealthy farmer, owning four large farms in Marion county. His large family consisted of ten sons and two daughters, only the youngest of whom, Eleazer, of Kendallville, Indiana, is still living. Davis Owen married, December 12, 1844, Mary Jane Woodruff, who was born in Ohio, March 28, 1823. Mrs. Thompson is the elder of the two daughters of Davis Owen, her sister being Samantha Jane, wife of B. R. Sturns of Benton Harbor. Marie Emeline Owen was born March 2, I850, and December 24, 1871, was married to Frank Simpson, by whom she had two children, Lena B., wife of Alden Earl; and Floyd D., deceased. In 1885 she married Mr. Frank Thompson, and they have two children, Ford Alden and Earl Leo. Mr. Thompson was born in St. Joseph county, Indiana, December 21, I86o, and since the age of fourteen has lived in Galien township. He has always followed the occupation of farmer. He is a Democrat in politics, and affiliates with the I. 0. O. F. and the K. O. T. M. at Galien and the M. W. A. at Three Oaks. Mr. Thompson's parents were William G. and Eliza (Fulton) Thompson, natives of New York and Pennsylvania, respectively, who were married after their removal to Indiana. The mother died three years ago, and the father now lives at Three Oaks. There were four sons in their family. WILLIAM HENRY MILLER, living on section 29, Berrien township, where he carries on general agricultural pursuits, was born in Preble county, Ohio, November 21, 1837, and is a representative of a family that was established in America in colonial days. His paternal grandfather, David Miller, was a Revolutionary soldier and spent the greater part of his life upon the farm in Montgomery county, Ohio, where his son, Henry Miller, the father of our subject, was born and reared. The family is supposed to be of Scotch, Welsh, Irish and' German lineage. On leaving his native county Henry Miller removed to Preble county, Ohio, and there earned and followed 772 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY the hatter's trade and subsequently engaged in the manufacture of hats at Winchester, Ohio, where he died at the age of thirtynine years. His wife, Mrs. Nancy (Simpson) Miller, was a native of Maryland, where she remained until early womanhood, when she accompanied her parents, Walter and Elizabeth Simpson, to Ohio. She came to Berrien county, Michigan, in I849, locating on section 29, Berrien township. She brought with her a family, numbering four sons and a daughter, the eldest of whom was 9tbout seventeen years of age, while the youngest was nine years old. William Henry Miller was the third child and second son, and was a youth of twelve years when he arrived in Berrien township. He was reared in his mother's home and assisted her in the farm work until after the inauguration of the Civil war, when he put aside all business and personal considerations and with patriotic ardor espoused the cause of the Union, enlisting as a member of Company I, Twelfth Michigan Volunteer Infantry. He joined the army as a private and was elected sergeant on the organization of the company while later he was promoted to orderly sergeant and afterward to first lieutenant, holding that rank when honorably discharged after a service which covered three years and eight months. He then re-enlisted as a veteran in the same company and regiment. He participated in the battles of Shiloh, Iuka, Metamora, Little Rock, the siege of Vicksburg and many other military movements of lesser importance. He was in active duty throughout the entire period of his connection with the army save for about four weeks, when he was in the hospital and on a furlough home. He resigned in May, 1865, and returned to Berrien township, having made a splendid military record by reason of his unfaltering fidelity to the old flag and the cause it represented. When he again became a factor in business life in Berrien county Mr. Miller purchased the interest of the other heirs in the old homestead and was engaged in general farming and stock-raising. He was married June 25, I865, to Miss Eva Johnson, a daughter of John and Annie (Lybrook) Johnson, who were pioneer residents of Berrien township. In their home there on section 29 Mrs. Miller was born and her girlhood days were spent under the parental roof. Mr. Miller took his bride to the old home place on which he had located with his mother many years before and here he has lived continuously since, and their marriage has been blessed with two children, Josephine and Fred, but the latter died when about six months old. The daughter is now the wife of Royal Morris, by whom she has. two children, Eva L., in eighth grade, and Henry M., in the fifth grade, and they reside with Mr. Miller on the old home place. Mr. Miller is now the owner of one hundred and twelve acres of excellent land on section 29, also has eighty-five acres on section I8 and twenty acres on section 30, Berrien township, making in all two hundred and seventeen acres. He rents the farm tos his son-in-law and is practically living retired from the more arduous duties of an agricultural life. In politics he has been a stalwart and earnest Republican since age conferred upon him the right of franchise, standing loyally by the party which was the support of the Union in the dark days of the Civil war and he has always been the champion of progress and reform. He has acted as treasurer of his township and is, now justice of the peace and in connection with educational interests has done effective service in an official capacity. For many years he has been a member of Kilpatrick Post, No. 39, G. A. R., at Berrien Springs, in which he has filled all of the offices and is now chaplain. He and wife belong to the United Brethren Church in the township. of Berrien, and his life, upright in its principles, has been in entire harmony with his professions. Living in Berrien county for fifty-seven years he may well be classed among the pioneer residents and his fidelity to every manly principle makes him a man honored and esteemed by all with whom he has been associated. Mr. Miller has a curiosity in the way of a relic deed. It is the description of a piece of land, and the surveys are made by "metes and bounds," and it is maple under the commonwealth of Virginia when Governor TTTCTmc\DhT CVT7 Thr'Th TDh TE'T f-rAT TNTm-X7 i'-o- v I UKx Ur 1D James Wood was governor of the Colony of Virginia. The date of execution is given June 22, 1797, two years before General Washington died. This parchment deed is the oldest deed possibly found in the state of Michigan, being one hundred and nine years old. Mr. Miller, who is one of the prosperous farmers as well as a veteran of the Civil war and a resident of Berrien county, Michigan, values this parchment highly. Mrs. Miller has an old coverlet which her mother wove and is three-quarters of a century old. They have an old Testament of 1828 and the Bible of 1835, and they also have one of the old-fashioned hand sickles, which is a pioneer implement. It was in I904 that Mr. and Mrs. Miller met with the severe loss of their barns, but they have builded anew. CHARLES A. VINTON. Mr. Vinton's home and estate are on section 15 of Galien township, where he has lived and prospered and enjoyed the esteem of his neighbors for the past ten or twelve years. Born at Wabash, Indiana, May 27, 1855, when three or four years old he went with his parents to a new home at Plainfield, in Will county, Illinois, and two years later came to Wesaw township in this county, so that he has been a Berrien county citizen over forty years. After a residence of six years in Wesaw the family moved to Galien township. On the father's death about I870 the family broke up, and the son Charles then spent about five years in Iowa as a wage earner. On his return to the county he married and has since been a successful farmer, his present farm being the third on which he has lived. He built a good barn and has made many other improvements, fruit being easily raised on his land. Mr. Vinton has been a lifelong Republican, and is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Galien and the Masonic lodge at Three Oaks and the K. O. T. M. at Galien. Mr. Vinton was by force of circumstances compelled to take up the serious duties of life at an early age. His father, Franklin Vinton, a native of Vermont, died when Charles was fifteen, and the death of XIPrTIN mA UI N\1 1 X 773 his mother, Olive (Rareck), when he was only six years old made him an orphan before he had attained the maturity essential to a life of activity. But fortune favored him in the person of a kind employer. He never fails to record his debt of gratitude to H. L. Dobson, for whom he worked three years at a time when his character was forming and when the advice and kindly consideration of his employer made a lasting impression. He still keeps up a correspondence with this old gentleman, now over ninety years of age, and has several times visited him since he became independent in his position in life. Mr. Vinton was the next to the youngest of his father's nine children by the first wife, and there was one child by a second marriage. In 1879 Mr. Vinton married Miss Ella J. Ingles, who was born in Huron county, Ohio, and when young came to Berrien county with her parents, Charles H. and Emily Ingles. Her mother is deceased but her father resides at the Vinton home. One son, Lloyd, has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Vinton. He is a resident of South Bend, Indiana. Mr. Vinton has always been a busy man and has applied himself actively to the affairs of his career, but several years ago made an extended trip to the Pacific coast to recover his health and recuperate himself for a continued activity. ALONZO GOODENOUGH. After four years of eventful and severe service in the war of the rebellion Mr. Goodenough moved west from his native home in New England and found in Berrien county the residence which has continued in contentment and prosperity for the subsequent forty years. Born at Guilford, Windom county, Vermont, March 20, I84I, spending the first fourteen years on a farm and then learning the blacksmith trade and following it until twenty years old, on May 4, I86I, he enlisted for service in the Civil war as a member of Company A, Second Vermont Infantry, under Colonel Walbridge. From the first Bull Run disaster to the final achievement at Appomattox he was in thirty-eight battles, being a member of the Army of the Potomac, Sixth Army Corps under Gen. 774 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Sedgwick. His term of service having expired, he re-enlisted in the same command in 1864. He was wounded in the battle at Fredericksburg and at Cedar Creek, spending two months in the hospital the first time and four the second time, refusing to take his discharge on account of the wounds. He became an orderly sergeant, and his long and faithful service is a treasure of honor aot for himself alone but for his whole family. He remained only a brief time in Vermont and in the fall of I865 came to Berrien county, and has lived on his farm in Galien township ever since. His one hundred and twenty-nine acres are divided into three farms, lying in sections I7 and 8, and Mr. Goodenough cleared practically all this land and placed it under cultivation and upto-date improvements. Grain, stock, dairy and fruit raising are the features of his farming, and he has also followed the trade of mason to some extent. Politically he has been a Republican all his life. He affiliates with the Masonic lodge No. 239 at Three Oaks, and is a member and for two years served as commander of George E. Curtis Post No. 208, G. A. R. at Galien. The Goodenoughs are of English descent, the family having been founded in America during colonial days. Mr. Goodenough's father, Gaius R., and mother Eunice (Worden), were natives of and lived in Vermont all their lives. The father was a blacksmith by trade, and served as a lieutenant in the state militia. He was a leader in Methodist church work, and a member of the old Whig party until it became the Republican organization. His four children were: Mary Melvina Haynes; Arthur; Francis, who was a soldier in the Twentieth Indiana Infantry, Company E, and was crippled for life at Gettysburg; and Alonzo. By a second marriage the father had two children. March 17, I866 Mr. Alonzo Goodenough married Miss Margaret Heckenthorn, who was born in Stark county, Ohio, April 30, 1845, a daughter of Daniel and Mary Heckenthorn, natives respectively of Pennsylvania and Germany. The nine children born of their union are named as follows: Henry Alonzo, of Galien township; Cassie Maria, with her parents; Charles E., of Galien; Jesse, a school teacher of Benton Harbor; Burton, of Three Oaks; Mary Minnie, at home; Christopher, of Three Oaks; Ralph, at home; Hazel Grace, at home. FRANK BREWER. Mr. Brewer owns and cultivates a farm on Garwood lake in section 12 of Galien township which was owned in the pioneer period by a Mr. Lybrook, a member of that sturdy family well known to the early history of all this region. Mr. Brewer himself has some claim to be reckoned among old settlers, since he was born in Niles April i, 1856, and has lived in the county half a century. A few months after his birth his parents moved to a farm three miles north of Niles, five years later moved to Bertrand township, living about Dayton ten or twelve years, and in Galien township since. Mr. Brewer has been on his present farm for twenty years, owning one hundred and thirty-seven acres of productive land which has been improved and made valuable largely through his own industry, he alone having cleared thirty acres of heavy timber. Grain and stock are the principal crops. A Democrat in politics, Mr. Brewer has been nominated to a number of minor offices, though his party has never been successful in securing the lead in this part of the county. He is affiliated with the K. O. T. M. at Galien, and is commander of the tent. Mr. Brewer was a son of William and Elmira (Allen) Brewer, both father and mother having been married a previous time. The father died at the home of his son Frank aged eighty-eight years, and the mother at the age of ninety-two. Their three children were William, deceased, Hattie, who died aged nine years, and Frank. The father had four children by his first marriage. In I883 Mr. Brewer married Miss Minerva Salesbury, who was born in Galien township March 13, I86I, a daughter of Horace and Rebecca (Young) Salesbury. HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 775 Her parents were married in Ohio and came from that state to Berrien county, from which her father enlisted in I86I for service in the war and died while in the army. Mr. and Mrs. Brewer have three children, Stanley Allen, Verna, now Mrs. Lewis Kool, and Howard, at home. ALVIN MORLEY, living on section 2, Wesaw township, was born in Lake township, this county, on the 22d of March, 1850. His parents were Ebenezer P. and Alzina (Lansing) Morley, both of whom were natives of New York and in I847 they became residents of Lake township, Berrien county, casting in their lot with the early settlers who aided in reclaiming this region for the purposes of civilization. In the family were ten children, of whom the subject of this review was the fifth in order of birth. Alvin Morley resided upon the old homestead farm of his father in Lake township until I866, when the parents removed to New Troy. He completed his education in the high school of New Troy and in a select school at New Carlisle, Indiana, where he remained as a student for two years. He then began teaching in the winter seasons and worked on the farm in the summer months and thus he made his start in the business world. In 1877 he went to the Black Hills and the Big Horn country of the northwest, spending three years in that section of the country engaged in prospecting most of the time. He then returned to Michigan and purchased the old homestead in Lake township, since which time he has owned and operated this farm. It comprises one hundred and twenty acres of land on section 35 and he resided there for ten years, when in I889 he purchased his present home place. Here he has seventy-three acres of land which is just across the road from his other tract, on section 2, Wesaw township. It is called the Fairview Farm and is well named. Stock raising is the principal feature of the farm work and the place is well improved, having many fine buildings upon it together with the latest improved machinery and other evidences of the progressive and enterprising spirit of the owner. Mr. Morley devotes his entire time and attention to the further cultivation and improvement of these two farms and is justly accounted one of the leading agriculturists of his part of the county. Mr. Morley has been married twice. In 1882 he wedded Miss Emma J. Harper, a native of Crown Point, Indiana, and a daughter of B. D. Harper, a printer and newspaper man, now deceased. There were three children by the first marriage: Etha 0., now the wife of Henry Wolkins, of Wesaw township; Winifred C., a stenographer of Elkhart, Indiana; and Bernice I., who resides at home and attends school. In I892 Mr. Morley was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Ella M. Phillips Riley, a native of New York, by whom he had one son, Homer P. Mr. Morley lost his second wife on the 4th of October, 1905, as the result of burns which she sustained on the 4th of July previous. In his religious faith Mr. Morley is a Spiritualist. Politically he is a Democrat and was elected the first superintendent of schools of Wesaw township when the law was changed and the township system inaugurated. He has held various official positions in connection with the schools and has done much to advance the cause of education. He collected the interest on the first railroad bond of Lake township and has always taken an active part in furthering the work of public progress and improvement. He has been a devoted member of the Odd Fellows society since 1873, belonging to the lodge at Glendora, and he also belongs to Wesaw lodge, K. O. T. M. He was master and secretary of the Grange for a number of years and his interest covers many public works and plans that are of direct benefit to the entire community. He and the other members of the Morley family are successful agriculturists and have thoroughly modern farms equipped with all of the improvements known to the twentieth century. FRED A. TICHENOR, successfully engaged in farming on section 7, Niles township, was born upon the farm where he now resides, May 5, I867. His father, George Tichenor, was a native of Cass county, Michigan, and a son of Joseph M. Tichenor, :776 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 'whose birth occurred in New Jersey. The latter came to Michigan during the pioneer epoch in the history of this state and located in Jefferson township, Cass county, where he spent his remaining days, and when called to his final rest his grave was made in the Edwardsburg cemetery. Upon the home farm in Jefferson township, Cass county, George Tichenor was reared, while his education was acquired in the public schools nearby. He was married, however, in Berrien county, Michigan, and located upon the farm which is now the home of our subject. Here he lived to the age of forty-five years, when his life's labors were ended in death. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Anna Blake, was a native of Indiana, and resides in Michigan but her people were early settlers of Berrien county. Her home is now in Buchanan, and by her marriage she became the mother of five sons and two daughters. The eldest died at the age of sixteen years but the others are still living. Fred A. Tichenor, the third child and second son of the family, was reared in Niles township and to the district schools is indebted for the educational privileges he enjoyed. Later he was a student in the high school at Buchanan. He remained at home until his marriage, which was celebrated in 1893, Miss Martha M. Wells becoming his wife. She is a daughter of Francis and Rachel (Herkimer) Wells, who were early settlers of Bertrand township, Berrien county. Mrs. Tichenor was born and reared in Bertrand township and has continuously remained a resident of this county, where she has many warm friends. The young couple began their domestic life upon the farm where they now reside and here Mr. Tichenor has always carried on general agricultural pursuits, placing his land under a high state of cultivation. He has one hundred and sixty acres, constituting a well improved farm. In politics he is a Democrat and has taken an active part in the growth and success of the principles in which he believes. He has served as township clerk, as township treasurer and as supervisor, filling the last mentioned office for five years and twice elected chairman of the board of supervisors. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity at Buchanan. He likewise belongs to the Presbyterian Church at Buchanan and is well known and active in the interests of the denomination. All things pertaining to the good of the community receive his endorsement and his labors have been of direct benefit to many measures for the public good. IRVING R. PEARL, deceased, who was spoken of as "one of the bravest men that ever lived in Berrien county," was moreover one of the best liked. It would be difficult to find a man personally more popular than was Irving R. Pearl. He represented one of the oldest and most prominent families of the county, a family that has always stood for good citizenship, for progress, improvement and as champions of matters of civic pride, and at all times Irving R. Pearl was true to the traditions and principles of his fathers and represented in his life those commendable qualities which in every land and clime command honor and respect. He was not yet forty years of age at the time of his death, which occurred October 29, I905, while the date of his birth was May 20, I866. He first opened his eyes to the light of day on the old Pearl homestead in Benton township and' was a son of Warren H. Pearl, an honored pioneer settler of the county. He is survived by two sisters, Mrs. Fanny Van Namee and Mrs. Nancy Ely, and a brother, James W. His boyhood days were spent in the usual manner of farm lads and the public schools afforded him his educational privileges. In early manhood he engaged in farming for about ten years and then became a general contractor, largely giving his attention to sewer building in Benton Harbor, St. Joseph, Fremont and South Haven. In all of his work he was most faithful, fully living up to the terms of a contract and he therefore enjoyed an excellent patronage. On the I5th of March, I888, Mr. Pearl was united in marriage to Miss Nettie Kennedy, a daughter of Mrs. Ann Kennedy, of Benton Harbor, where she has lived for twenty-five years, there rearing her six children. She still resides in that city at the 6/451/14 I3 ~I HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 777 age of seventy-two years and is a consistent and devoted member of the Christian Church. Her daughter, Nettie, was a high school student and also studied in Dr. Edgecomb's school. She engaged in teaching for two years prior to her marriage. By this union there were born four children: Eva AM., who in her seventeenth year is a high school student; Warren H., fifteen years of age; Beatrice Aileen, who died at the age of three months; and Phineas G., five years of age. The two sons, Warren H. and Phineas G. Pearl, are the only male descendants of Warren H. Pearl, who had six children. At the time of his death Mr. Pearl was serving as under sheriff in Benton county and he made a splendid recordl as an officer. When Fred B. Collins was elected sheriff of the county in I900, Mr. Pearl was chosen as deputy and at once became one of the best men on the sheriff's staff and some of the hardest assignments were given him. He knew not the meaning of the word fear and yet he never courted danger to, the extent of foolhardiness. In the performance of duty, however, there was no thought of shielding himself and he discharged the task assigned him without fear or favor. One of the notable pieces of work which he did in connection with his office was that of locating a house full of stolen plunder well remembered by Benton Harbor's citizens. At the time that Mr. Collins was again a candidate for office Mr. Pearl became manager of the sheriff's election bureau and the thorough manner in which he conducted the campaign marked him as one of the ablest political managers in this part of the state. He was again manager of the Tennant campaign in the fall of 1904. While acting as deputy sheriff he also continued his work as contractor and much of the public work of Benton Harbor has been clone under contracts which were awarded to Mr. Pearl. A local paper said in this connection: "Every official about the city hall, every member of the council, every person who had anything to do with him as a contractor, all say that when Irv Pearl, as he was affectionately known, secured a contract that bond was not necessary. His word was always as good as a bond and it was always his supreme effort to do the work entrusted to him in a most thorough and acceptable manner." Mr. Pearl voted with the Democratic party, and while firm in his beliefs he was never bitterly aggressive. In matters of citizenship he ever took a foremost place among those who labored for the general good. He was a valued representative of various fraternal organizations and attained high rank in Masonry, taking the thirtysecond degree in Dewitt Clinton Consistory, S. R. R. S. He also became a Knight Templar and was a member of Saladin Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Grand Rapids. He belonged to the Odd: Fellows lodge, of which he was a past noble grand, and he was also connected with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. In social gatherings he was always most cordially welcomed because of a genial, kindly nature. He always attended the annual Pearl dinner. The Pearl family is one of the oldest and largest in the county and every New Year's day its members hold an annual reunion and dinner at the home of Major Pearl, now over ninety years of age. On these occasions Irving Pearl was always present and his geniality, good humor and wit added much to the pleasure of that occasion. Death came to Mr. Pearl after an illness of about three months and during one-half of that time it was known that the end was near. Mr. Pearl himself recognized the fact and calling his wife and children about him he told them there was no hope for him and endeavored to cheer them with words of counsel and encouragement for the days when he would not be here. The funeral services were held on the ist day of November under the auspices of the Masonic lodge and the remains lay in state in the Masonic Temple on the morning of the day on whith the interment was made in Pearl cemeterya burying ground which was platted many years ago by the grandfather of Irving R. Pearl. At a meeting of the Knights Templar, Walter Banyon, paying tribute to the worth and memory of Irving Randall 778 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY Pearl, said: "While we have been bending our ear listening to the music of applause it seemed as if there was a chord we missed in the music; that some one's voice was away. The Book of Books says, 'It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting; sorrow is better than laughter, for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.' And so having in mind these words, we would be recreant in our duty as a Knight Templar if we did not here pause to drop a tear with little 'Phineas' and 'Uncle Jim' over the memory of our departed brother, Irving R. Pearl. 0, brothers, what an heroic fight he made. The half can never be told. In the full splendor of a vigorous manhood, when his hopes were the highest and his heart full of the joy of service and loving kindness for all mankind, he was summoned by the pallid messenger with the inverted torch to cross into the undiscovered country. And he did so fearlessly. Overcome by the insidious attacks of an irresistible foeman, he went down waving hope and encouragement to his loved ones, 'retreating with all the aspects of a victor.' It is easy to die in some heroic cause while the world looks on and applauds; but it is heroically pathetic for a strong man to go down into 'the valley of the shadow of death,' overcome by the fatal clutch of a poisonous fever, when he would willingly have died fighting his country's wars. But with more than a hero's courage, with more than a martyr's fortitude, he awaited the approach of the inevitable moment and went to the undiscovered country. "And what shall we say to, comfort 'Uncle Jim,' who sustained and soothed his brother with all the love of a Jonathan for a David and the sacrifices of a Damon for his friend Pythias? Shall we point him to the hope of a glorious immortality, and thus seemingly hand him the shadow for the substance? Did you ever have a brother who would go barefoot that you might be shod; who would cover you with his coat though he himself were in need of covering; who though famished would not eat until you had appeased your hunger; who would' fight your fights, permit you to share in his joys, but would not wound or distress you by dis closing his sorrows? Such a brother was Jim to Irv, and such he is to you and I as friends and brother Masons. Sir Knights, I believe I am a better man and a better Mason for having witnessed the scene which separated on 'this bank and shoal' of time, two of the bravest, squarest and heart-kind brothers the world ever knit together with adversity." Mr. Pearl possessed a fund of good nature and humor which made him popular in all places and under all circumstances and added to this there was a depth of character and strong purpose which made him a man among men. Loyal in his citizenship and holding friendship inviolable, his best traits of character nevertheless were reserved for his home and fireside. CHARLES A. CLARK, senior member in the well known firm of G. A. Blakeslee & Company at Galien, was born in Geauga county, Ohio, August 23, I849, and has lived in Berrien county since he was thirteen years old. His first twenty years were spent on a farm, with attendance at the schools in Galien, completing at the high school. For several years after his majority he was a school teacher, first in a district school, then a year at Dayton, and a year at the industrial training school at Lansing. Following his marriage in I874 he began the manufacture of broom handles at Galien, Joseph Carl being his partner. In 1876 Mr. Clark became a clerk in the general merchandise business of the late G. A. Blakeslee. In five years he had proved his value as a business man and was a partner in the firm of G. A. Blakeslee & Company, a name which has been retained during all subsequent years, though E. A. Blakeslee succeeded his father on the latter's death in I890. This is one of the largest general merchandise establishments in Berrien county, and besides the regular stock of such a concern the partners have dealt in coal thirty years, also salt and lumber, and have conducted a private bank since 1882. In public affairs Mr. Clark is known as a thoroughgoing Republican, served eleven years as village clerk and four years as village president, as township treasurer two HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 779 years, member of the school board about thirty years, is now on his sixth consecutive term as supervisor, being chairman of the board one year. He is chairman of the Republican county committee, and several times has been delegate to state conventions. Mr. Clark is a Mason and a member of the K. O. T. M. at Galien. Besides his business affairs he owns and conducts a farm of eighty acres, devoted to grapes and general crops. He has been a notary public and in the fire insurance business thirty years, and has acted as administrator and guardian of many estates. iMIr. Clark has worthy ancestors on both sides. He is a son of respected parents, Albert and Eliza (Howell) Clark, who came to Berrien county in I863 and lived here till death. His father was born in Massachusetts, and when a child accompanied the family to Ohio where they were among the original settlers of Geauga county. Both of Mr. Clark's grandfathers, Abner Clark and John Howell, respectively, were first settlers in Ohio and took up virgin land on which to make their homes. The most remote American ancestor was William Clark, who came from England in I617 and landed at Dorchester, Mass., later moving to Northampton in the same state. The Howells were also of English descent. Albert Clark, who was a lifelong farmer, died in Berrien county in I894, in his eighty-fourth year, while his wife passed away in I89o, aged seventy-one. Charles A.. was the second of the four children, the eldest being Emily S., who died in I88o, and two brothers, Everett S. and Albert E., both deceased, the latter in I897. In I874 Mr. Clark married Miss Lydia Blakeslee, who was born at Batavia, Illinois, in I853, and came to Berrien county with her parents, George A. and Lydia (Alcott) Blakeslee. Mr. and Mrs. Clark's three children are, Stanley A., who is a physician at South Bend; Leslie B., in school at Ann Arbor; and Winnie G., in school at home. THEO N. STAFFORD,M. D.,engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery at New Troy, with a business that is indicative of his thorough understanding of the prin ciples of his profession and his correctness in their adaptation, was born on a farm near Adrian, Michigan, March 22, 1872. His paternal grandfather, Nicholas Stafford, was a native of England and came to Michigan in early manhood, making the trip alone. He settled near Adrian and took up land from the government, on which not a furrow had been turned or an improvement made. He was married to, Miss Ellen McGraw, a native of England, who came to Michigan with the Rev. Lester, D. D. They were worthy pioneer residents of this part of the state and aided in reclaiming a wild region for the purpose of civilization. Their son, John W. Stafford, was born near Adrian, where he yet resides and, having arrived at years of maturity, he wedded Miss Edith McCourtie, whose birth occured at Woodstock, Michigan. She was a daughter of Thomas McCourtie, a pioneer farmer who came from New York to this state. He was of Scotch lineage and was married to Katharine Doty. Both Mr. and Mrs. John W. Stafford are still living, their home being upon a farm near Adrian, where he has two hundred and sixty acres of rich and valuable land. He is regarded as one of the wealthy farmers of his community and is also a successful dealer in real estate. In his political affiliations he is a Democrat and has held township and county offices for many terms. All of the duties devolving upon him are promptly and faithfully discharged and his worth as a citizen is widely acknowledged. He is now fifty-eight years of age while his wife is fifty-seven years of age. In their family are four children: Anne E., at home; Theo N., of this review; Ernest B., who is engaged in the practice of dentistry at Adrian, Michigan; and Leo J., at home. Upon the old home farm Dr. Stafford spent the days of his boyhood and youth, residing there until I898, when he removed to Berrien county. He is a graduate of the Adrian high school of the class of I89I, and engaged in teaching for three or four years. Having, however, determined to engage in the practice of medicine as a life work, he entered the Detroit Medical College, from which he was graduated on the completion 780 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY of the regular course in the class of 1897. He has practiced at New Troy since 1898. His youth was devoted to farm labor in the summer months and to the acquirement of an education in the winter seasons, but thinking that he would find professional life more congenial than agricultural pursuits he prepared for the calling to which he is now devoting his energies and in which he is meeting with excellent success. He is a member of the Berrien County Medical Society and has a large and growing patronage. Fraternally he is also connected with several organizations, including the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Bridgman, the Knights of the Maccabees at New Troy and the Modern Woodmen of America at Bridgman, while politically he is a Democrat. Dr. Stafford was married in Detroit in I898 to Miss Hattie Sieck, who was born in that city October 2I, 1872, and is a daughter of August and Minnie Sieck. The Doctor and his wife have a wide and favorable acquaintance in New Troy, the hospitality of many of the best homes being cordially extended them, while in his professional carreer Dr. Stafford has won a place among the foremost representatives of the medical fraternity in Berrien county. FREDERICK W. HOWE, a prominent farmer residing on section 12, Bertrand township, is a native son of this township, born October 24, I862. His father, Charles F. Howe, was born in New York, and was only three years of age when brought to Berrien county by his parents, Frederick and Polly (Bliss) Howe. For many years he was a resident of Bertrand township, living for a long period on the farm which is now the home of our subject. He married Lucy Crowfoot, also a native of New York, and they are now living in Buchanan, Mr. Howe having retired from active business life. Frederick W. Howe, the second son and second child in their family of two daughters and three sons, was reared under the parental roof, becoming familiar with all the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. At the usual age he entered the district schools and later was a student in Union school in the village of Buchanan, while subsequently he pursued his studies in the Northern Indiana Normal College, at Valparaiso. His education completed, he put aside his text-books and turned his attention to farming, which he has made his life work. He located on a farm on section 2, Bertrand township, known as the old Francis W. Howe farm. It comprised sixty acres, which he purchased and on which he lived for twelve years, when he sold that property and located on the farm which is now his home. Here he built a good residence and substantial barns in I903. He has eighty acres of land which he devotes to general farming. He makes a specialty of the raising of potatoes, planting from ten to fifteen acres of that vegetable each year. His well improved place is indicative of the careful supervision of a practical and progressive owner. In I889 Mr. Howe was united in marriage to Miss Jennie E. Harding, a daughter of F. R. and Martha G. Harding. She was born in Niles to-wnship, this county, and by her marriage has become the mother of four children, Charles F., Marjorie G., Frederick H. and Jennie May, all of whom are still under the parental roof. Mr. Howe votes with the Democracy and is actively interested in local affairs, political and otherwise. In I905 he was elected township treasurer and for several years prior thereto was township clerk. His official service, his business career and his private life all commend him to the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens, and his residence here, covering a period of forty-four years, has made him widely known. He represents a prominent and honored pioneer family and his lines of life have been cast in harmony with the record that has always been borne by those of the name in Berrien county. GEORGE P. PULLEN is a well known fruit farmer, whose orchards constitute one of the attractive features of the landscape in Oronoko township. His place is located on section 3 and he seldom fails to raise good crops. It is only when nature in adverse mood counteracts his labors that he does not secure a large harvest of peaches and other fruits, for he buys only the best nursery HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 78i stock and is thoroughly familiar with the best methods of caring for his trees, being justly accounted one of the leading horticulturists of his community. A native of the far-off state of Maine, Mr. Pullen was born in Franklin county, February 22, 1847. His father, Charles B. Pullen, was likewise born in the Pine Tree state and was a farmer by occupation. He removed from Franklin county to! Kennebec county, Maine, and in I862 left the east, making his way to Berrien county, Michigan, at which time he took up his abode upon the farm where his son George now resides. Here he carried on general agricultural pursuits until his later years and he passed away at the advanced age of four score years. While in Maine he held various offices and was a very public-spirited man whose cooperation could be counted upon to further movements for the general good. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Orenza Spaulding, was born in New Hampshire, and spent her last days in Oronoko township, where she died at the age of eighty-four years. In the family were five children who reached adult age. George P. Pullen was the fourth member of the family and the second son. He was reared in Maine to the age of sixteen years, and with his parents came to Berrien county, Michigan, in 1862. Here he has resided continuously since and has so lived as toi win the respect and good will of his fellow townsmen, while with a constantly enlarging acquaintance his circle of friends also proportionately increases. In I867 he was married to Miss Hannah Sylvester, who died, leaving five children: Walter S., now living in Allegan, Michigan; Dora E., the wife of George H. Paris, living in Honolulu, Hawaii Islands; Emma, the widow of M. Wollam; and George P., who is on the farm with his father. After losing his first wife Mr. Pullen wedded Mrs. Mary E. Ross, the widow of Ira Ross, and a daughter of David H. and Elizabeth (Gregg) Fogle. Mrs. Pullen was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and was but a young girl when her parents removed to Ohio, whence they came to Berrien county, Michigan, in I863, set tling in Royalton township.. The home farm of our subject and his wife comprises one hundred and eight acres of land, upon which his father located many years ago and he also has a small fruit farm in St. Joseph township near the city of St. Joseph on Highland Park avenue. He. has lived for forty-four years in Berrien county and during the greater part of this period has been connected with agricultural and horticultural interests and since carrying on business on his own account he has made steady and consecutive progress toward the goal of prosperity. His political allegiance has been given to the Republican party since I896. He is a man of firm convictions and always stanchly upholds a course that he believes to be right. CHARLES M. KING, residing on section 20, Berrien township, his time and energies being devoted to the improvement of his farm there, was born in the town of Leslie, Ingham county, Michigan, April 4, I858, and comes of English ancestry. The family was founded in America at an early period in the history of the new world and from pioneer times the name of King has figured in connection with the annals of Michigan. The grandfather, Rev. Job King, was a minister of the Baptist church for many years and was engaged in preaching at Millburg in Berrien county at the time of his death in the '8os. He was a man of much influence in the church and a life of consecrated zeal and devotion to the cause made his labors most effective in advancing the moral development of the communities with which he was connected. His son, Fred F. King, was born in New York, and became a resident of Michigan in early life. Taking up his abode in Pipestone township, Berrien county, he there engaged in farming for three years and also devoted a similar period to the operation of a saw mill in that township. He then sold out and removed to Sodus township, where he carried on general farming for thirty years, harvesting good crops and transforming his land into productive fields. He took an active part in public affairs and his devotion to the gen 782 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY eral good was manifest in the able manner in which he discharged the various official duties that devolved upon him. He served for thirteen years as supervisor and was also trustee and treasurer of the township for several years and likewise filled other positions. While he is not at the present time so actively connected with public life as in former years, he is still a respected resident of Berrien county and has passed the seventysixth milestone on life's journey. He married Susan Freeman, who was born in Ohio and is also living. In their family were eleven children, nine of whom yet survive. C. M. King, the second child and second son of the family, was taken by his parents to Ohio when about two years of age and remained there until five years old. The family then returned to Berrien county, locating in Pipestone township and after six years removed to Sodus township. He began his education in the district schools of the former and continued his studies in the public schools of the latter township, where he pursued his studies until he reached the age of twenty-one years. He then went to Valparaiso, Indiana, where he completed the teacher's course in the Northern Indiana Normal School, subsequent to which time he engaged successfully in teaching for about fifteen years in Berrien county. He was for three years at Stevensville in Lincoln township, for two years had charge of the South Lincoln school, for six years was a teacher in Oronoko township and for four years in Sodus township. An able educator he imparted clearly and readily to others the knowledge that he had acquired and became classed with the leading representatives of public instruction in Berrien county. At length abandoning the work of the schoolroom he took up farming in Sodus township and in I9oo purchased a tract of land on section I9, Berrien township. After three years, however, he sold this and removed to the state of Washington, where he remained for one year, engaged in farming. He then returned to Berrien county and bought the farm upon which he now resides, on section 20, Berrien township. Here he is engaged in the raising of grain and fruit, having well developed fields and well kept orchards, both of which return good crops. Mr. King has been married twice. In I889 he wedded Letha Hogue, of Sodus township, a daughter of Charles and Hannah Hogue. She died in I890, leaving one son, Clayton M. In I892 Mr. King wedded Nancy I. Hart, a daughter of Orlando and Elizabeth Hart, of Sodus township, where her birth occurred. There are four children of this marriage, Allison J., Ada Grace, Esther Marian and James E. Mr. King is a stanch Republican, unfaltering in his advocacy of the principles of the party and active in promoting its growth. While in Sodus township he was elected and served as supervisor for five different terms, resigning that office on his removal to Berrien township. He was also school inspector and township clerk of Sodus township. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and to the Modern Woodmen camp, and he holds membership in the Christian church. During a residence of forty years in Berrien county his life record has always been such as would bear the closest investigation and scrutiny and the name of Charles M. King is one which commands the respect of all with whom business or social relations have brought him in contact. HENRY LOCKINAW, a prominent farmer and old settler of Berrien township, living on section 28, was born December 4, 1855, in the township where he yet resides. His father, John Lockinaw, was a native of Baden, Germany, and was but ten years of age when he came with his parents to America, the family home being established in Erie county, Ohio, where he was reared to manhood. There he married Miss Christina Mack, who was likewise born in the fatherland and who was brought to the United States in her early girlhood days. In 1849 they came to Michigan, settling in Berrien township, north of Berrien Center. Mr. Lockinaw then turned his attention to general agricultural pursuits and continued the cultivation of his farm for about fifteen years, or until I864, when he sold that property and located upon the place where his son i I :;:::-::.:-::;:::::::-::-._:::::::::::::::ii::i 1 ---:-::::_:-: ot ctL'Cd Na~t0 I' HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 783 Henry now resides. He died upon the old homestead at the venerable age of eightyone years. He had been a most worthy citizen, respected by old and young, rich and poor. His widow still survives and has now reached the age of eighty-three years. Henry Lockinaw, their only child, was a youth of nine summers when the family removed upon the farm which is now his home. At the usual age he entered the district schools and therein completed his education. When not busy with his textbooks his time was largely occupied with the labors of the fields and he remained at home, assisting in the farm work until his marriage. This important event in his life was celebrated in I880, Miss Elizabeth Franz becoming his wife. She was born in Washtenaw county, Michigan, a daughter of John G. and Barbara Franz, who were natives of Germany. Following his marriage Mr. Lockinaw continued to reside upon the old homestead and carried on general agricultural pursuits as a means of livelihood. As the years passed three children were added to the family: Lillie, now the wife of W. H. Andrews, an attorney-at-law, of Benton Harbor; Ada and Fred, both at home. Mr. Lockinaw has a farm of one hundred and twenty-five acres in the old home place and also eighty acres on section 33, Berrien township, making in all two hundred and five acres. He is justly accounted one of the enterprising agriculturists of the community, carrying on the work of his farm along modern lines, his labors bringing to him an excellent return. The fields are well tilled and everything about the place indicates his care and supervision and shows him to be a man thoroughly familiar with the best methods of farm work. MICHAEL F. HARNER. Among the old settlers of Oronoko township is numbered Michael F. Harner, who lives on section 30, and who was born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, January 23, 1830, so that he has now passed the seventysixth milestone on the journey of life. His father, John Harner, was likewise born in the Keystone State, as was his wife, who bore the maiden name of Susan Haney. After living for some time in Pennsylvania they removed to Summit county, Ohio, and in the year I838 came to Berrien county, Michigan, settling in Lake township, where the father entered land from the government. The fact that much of this land was still unclaimed by resident settlers shows that the work of improvement and development had scarcely been begun. With characteristic energy he undertook the task of clearing his place that the sunlight might shine down upon the plowed fields and ripen into harvests the grain which he had planted. Year by year he continued the work of improvement upon his farm and found there a comfortable home up to the time of his death, which occurred when he was in his seventy-ninth year. His wife passed away at about the same age. Unto them had been born three sons and three daughters, all of whom reached their maturity and with one exception are still living. Michael F. Harner is the eldest son and second child. He was a lad of eight summers at the time of the arrival of the family in Berrien county and here he has since made his home. When a boy he pursued his studies in a log schoolhouse of the early day, attending through the winter months, while in the summer seasons he aided in the farm work. He early took his place in the fields and soon became familiar with the task of plowing, planting and harvesting. He continued upon the home farm, assisting in its development up to the time of his marriage and then removed to the farm upon which he now resides on section 30, Oronoko township. Mr. Harner was joined in wedlock to Miss Frances Morris, and unto them were born six children, who are yet living: Almeda, the wife of Harry Myers; Fred, of Galien township; Lydia, the wife of Walter Schultz; Ora, the wife of Delvin Fisher, a sailor on the lakes; Edward, of Galien township; and Linnie, the wife of George Miller, of Oronoko township. Mr. Harner has a farm of one hundred and five acres but now rents his fields. His property is the visible evidence of his life 784 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY of thrift and labor and in addition to his home place he has assisted in clearing two other farms in the county. He cleared all his own farm except five acres, and thus he has contributed in substantial measure to the material development of this part of the state. Both he and his wife are members of the Evangelical Church and are a most worthy pioneer couple, respected and honored by young and old, rich and poor. His residence in Berrien county covers sixtyeight years and he relates many interesting incidents of the early days. Mr. Harner has one of the old parchment deeds executed August 14, 1839, by President Martin Van Buren which is one of the souvenirs of the old days. They have one of the old double coverlets, the material for which was spun by Mr. Harner's mother, and they have a pewter dish, which is near a century old, also an old flax hatchel ninety years old. B. FRANK MARS, one of the prominent early settlers and leading agriculturists of Berrien township, making his home on section I8, Berrien township, was born in this township January I, I849, the fifth son of Hugh and Elizabeth (Hartsell) Mars, who were numbered among the very early pioneers of Michigan, they having established their home in Pokagon Prairie, Cass county, in 1829. In 1832 they located in Berrien township, Berrien county, where on the 23d of December of that year they secured a farm from the government, which they improved but afterward sold and about I85o removed to the farm which is now the home of their son B. Frank Mars. There this worthy old pioneer couple spent the remainder of their lives, the father reaching the good old age of eighty-one years. He was a prominent factor in the early history of the county, in which he held a number of public offices, among them being that of justice of the peace, and he was also prominent in school affairs, the cause of education ever finding him a stanch friend. The mother passed away when she had reached the age of fifty-six years. B. Frank Mars was only six years of age when his parents took up their abode on the farm which is now his home, and here he early became inured to the work of the fields, assisting in its improvement and development, and here he is spending his declining years. In 1874 he was united in marriage to Emma Stowe, a native of Ohio and a daughter of Wesley and Hannah (Phelps) Stowe. Their union has been blessed by the birth of six children, namely: Ethel, the wife of John Hintz, of Conklin, Michigan; Josephine, wife of George Wilkinson, of the same place; Edith, wife of George Gillhespy, who also makes his home in Conklin; Frances, the wife of Howard Gillhespy, of Conklin; Loren, a resident of Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Carl, at home. As before stated Mr. Mars is a life-long resident of Berrien county, having been identified with its interests for fifty-eight years, and during this time he has been recognized as one of its most honored and highly esteemed citizens. He affiliates with the Republican party and takes an interest in public affairs, but has never been an aspirant for political favors, although he has served as constable, game warden and as a school officer, also at one time having held the office of deputy sheriff of Berrien county. His fraternal relations were with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 323 at Berrien Springs, Michigan. RICHARD H. MORRIS, farming on section II, Oronko township, began his life record in Warren county, Ohio, December I5, I857. His father, Jonathan Morris, was also a native of that county and having arrived at years of maturity was married to Miss Sarah J. Snuff, who was also born in Warren county, and was a daughter of Isaac Snuff, a native of New York. Following their marriage they lived for some years in the county of their nativity, and about I86I removed to Laporte county, Indiana, settling at New Carlisle, where the father followed the occupation of farming. The year I865 witnessed his arrival in Berrien county, at which time he took up his abode on a farm in Niles township. He was there engaged in general farming for many years HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 785, with good success and he now lives at Hart, Michigan. His wife, however, has passed away, her death having occurred in October, 1885. Of their seven children six are living at this writing, in the summer of I906. Richard H. Morris, the second child and second son of the family, was but eight years of age when the parents left Indiana and came to Berrien county, so that he was practically reared in Niles township and in its district schools obtained his education, mastering the branches of study which usually constitute a country school curriculum. He remained at home, assisting in the farm work until twenty-one years of age, and then started out in life for himself. He had no capital save determination, energy and laudable ambition and these have constituted the secret and measure of his success. He began working by the month as a farm hand in Niles and Berrien townships and was thus employed for five years, in which way he gained his start. Ambitious to carry on farming on his own account he then rented land in Niles township and for ten years operated a leased farm. In I895, hoping to enjoy better business opportunities on the Pacific coast he went to Kittitas county, Washington, where he was engaged in the dairy business until I899. Returning then to Berrien county he resided in Berrien Springs for a year, and in I900 purchased the farm upon which he now resides. Here he has carried on general farming continuously since and he has ninety acres of well improved land, which responds readily to the care and labor he bestows upon the fields, so that he now annually harvests good crops. February 13, I884, Mr. Morris was united in marriage to Miss Ida L. Knapp, a daughter of Kingsley and Sarah (Compton) Knapp, who was born in Cass county, Michigan, June 13, I859, and they are now the parents of two children, Almer H. and Max R. The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Berrien Springs in which Mr. Morris is serving as a trustee and politically he is a Republican. These associations indicate much of the character of the man and as his life is in harmony with his profession he enjoys in large measure the confidence and esteem of his 50 fellow citizens and is classed with the representative residents of Oronoko township. JAMES D. PLATT, who is engaged in in general farming on section 14, Oronoko township, was born in Berrien Springs, September 2, 1859, and was the only son of James M. and Arelia (Wood) Platt. The father was born and reared in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and at an early age became a resident of Niles, Michigan, while subsequently he worked in a store as clerk at Berrien Springs. Soon afterward, however, he bought out the business and later he erected a store building. In I866 he built a brick block now occupied by A. W. Calvin and owned by E. F. Garland. He carried on business until about 1872 and thus for many years figured prominently in commercial circles in the village, having a liberal patronage, which was indicative of his honorable and straiglforward business methods. In I872 he sold out and retired and when fifty-six years of age he was called to his final rest. He took an active part in public affairs, being known as a champion of all public movements, whose aid could ever be counted upon when the welfare and progress of the community were at stake. In politics he was stalwart Republican, served as president of the village board and in many other offices. His wife came to this county in 1833 and was at that time the widow of a Mr. Munger. James D. Platt, whose name introduces this record, was reared and educated in Berrien Springs, and making choice of a life work he turned to the occupation of farming, which has always claimed his attention. His farm comprises one hundred and twenty acres in the home place and his wife owns seventy acres in Berrien township. His property has been brought under a high state of cultivation, the fields yielding rich crops,. while all of the equipments and accessories of a model farm are found thereon. As a companion and helpmate for life'sjourney Mr. Platt chose Miss Fannie Kessler, to whom he was married in 1882. She was a daughter of John L. Kessler, who was born in Berrien township. By this marriage there is one son, Murray, who is now in. 786 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY the state of Washington. Mr. Platt has given unfaltering support to the men and measures of the Republican party since attaining his majority. He has always lived within the borders of Berrien county, content with its opportunities and its advantages and as the years have gone by he has done his full share in maintaining the political and legal status of the community and in advancing its material and moral interests. HENRY J. MOYER, whose residence in Berrien county dates from an early period in its development, now resides on section 9, Oronoko township. He was born in Center county, Pennsylvania, November 27, I84I. His father, Daniel Moyer, also a native of that state, came to Berrien county in 1852 and located on the farm where his son Henry now resides. Only fourteen acres of the land had been cleared at that time. He began its further development and improvement and continued actively in farm work up to the time of his death, which occurred on the I5th of January, I859, when he was about forty-four years of age. He married Miss Lydia Besthel, also a native of Pennsylvania. She long survived her husband, reached the advanced age of eighty-two years. In their family were four sons and four daughters, of whom two died in infancy. Henry J. Moyer, the third child and eldest son of the family, was twelve years of age when he came to Berrien county, Michigan. He was reared upon the farm where he now resides, early becoming familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist, for he was put to work in the fields and assisted in their improvement from the time of early spring planting until the crops were harvested in the late autumn. In I862 he abandoned the plow, however, that he might strike a blow in defense of the Union, enlisting as a member of Company C, Twenty-fifth Michigan Volunteer Infantry as a private. He served almost three years and was in many of the important battles of the war, including the engagements at Missionary Ridge, Knoxville, Kingston and others. The last battle in which he participated was at Nashville and he was honorably discharged at Jackson, Michigan, returning to his home with an honorable military record made with faithful and valorous service on the field of battle. When his military life was ended Mr. Moyer resumed farming upon the old homestead and with the exception of one year spent in Berrien Springs has continuously lived upon this farm, which comprises one hundred and eighty acres of good land. He carries on general agricultural pursuits and has a well developed property, equipped with good buildings and modern accessories, including the latest improved machinery. In 1872 Mr. Moyer was married to Miss Sarah M/. Stemm, a daughter of Adam and Elizabeth (Reiber) Stemm. This marriage has been blessed with eight children, of whom Mary A., the second in order of birth, is now deceased. The others are still living, namely: Clementine, John C., Charles C., Verna, Lester, Edna and Ralph. Mr. Moyer is a member of Kilpatrick Post, No. 39, G. A. R., of Berrien Springs, and has filled most of its chairs, while in its work he has taken an active and helpful interest. His political allegiance is given to the Democracy and he is a member of the Lutheran Church. He is well known in the county, having for fifty-four years been a resident of Oronoko township and as one of its pioneer settlers is largely familiar with the history of the county as it has emerged from frontier conditions and taken on all the evidences of an advanced civilization in its material, industrial and commercial circles. DAVID HOUSEWORTH, living on section 4, Oronoko township, was born in Snyder county, Pennsylvania, November 21, I850, and in the place of his nativity was reared and educated, being indebted to the system of public instruction for the school opportunities he enjoyed. He first came to Berrien county in I885 and located near Niles, where he engaged in farming for four years. He then invested in land, becoming owner of about forty-five acres in Oronoko township, to which he has since added forty acres. He also bought the Atimprovement of the farm. On account of 'his wife's illness he then returned to Pennsylvania, where she died after six months. After an absence of a year Mr. Ferry again came to Berrien county and took up his abode upon a rented farm in Oronoko township, where he lived for three years. He then purchased land which he operated until he enlisted for service in the Civil war as a member of Company K, Twenty-fifth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, in August, I863. The company was commanded by Captain McKinney and the first engagement in which Mr. Ferry participated was at Tibbs Bend, Kentucky, where a thousand Union troops were attacked by five thousand rebels. It was the hardest fight in which he participated throughout the entire war. He followed Morgan through Indiana and afterward returned to Lebanon, Kentucky, where for a time he was in camp. The divisions there organized and went south to Knoxville, Tennessee, participating in an engagement on Mossy Creek. Subsequently they proceeded to Chattanooga and later participated in the battles of the Atlanta campaign and went with Sherman on the march to the sea and through the Carolinas. With his command Mr. Ferry returned to Nashville, Tennessee, and almost the last engagement in which he participated was with Hood at Nashville. At Chattanooga he became ill with measles, which effected his eyes and his left lung. He was sent to the field hospital and (lid duty for four months afterward, but his eyesight kept failing and he was discharged at Madison, Indiana, in December, I864. He returned home and about ten years later became totally blind. He was never able to do much work after his return, his eyes paining him very much as the sight was being gradually destroyed. He consulted many physicians and took treatment until he had to sell his farm in order to pay his physicians' bills. He came to Wesaw township in I866 and has resided continuously since upon his present farm, which comprises one hundred acres on section 15. For years this tract of land has been operated for general farming purposes and Mr. Ferry had the entire place cleared and put under cultivation and the farm work has been carried on under his supervision with the result that it has brought him a good financial return, so that he has been enabled to enjoy the comforts of life. For a long time the government granted him a pension of only six dollars per month but he is now drawing a pension of one hundred dollars per month and this is certainly well deserved because of the fact that he made so great a sacrifice for his country. Mr. Ferry was first married in I855 to Miss Samantha Longwell, a native of Pennsylvania, who died after a short but happy married life of four years. Their only child passed away in infancy. Mr. Ferry was again married in Pennsylvania to Miss Clara Jackson and they had one son, Eugene, who died, leaving a widow and two children. For his third wife Mr. Ferry chose Martha Hazen and they had four children: Clara and Ida, both deceased; and two who died in infancy. For his fourth wife Mr. Ferry chose Martha Thaxton, a native of Elkhart, Indiana, who came to this county in early life. There were several children born of the last marriage, seven of whom are now living: John, a resident of Oronoko township; May, the wife of William Flowers, of Carlisle Hill, Indiana; Alfred, of this township; Mrs. Maud Philippi, who died leaving a son, Ralph, who is living with his grandfather; Charles, who died of typhoid fever at the age of sixteen years; George, who remains at home and operates the farm; Nora, the wife of Charles Courteville, who rents a farm of her father in Wesaw township; Mina, who died of typhoid fever at the same time her brother Charles passed away; Peter, Olive and Clyde, all at home; Clara, deceased; Etta; and Gertrude, who died at the age of three years. Mr. Ferry has been a life long Republican and cast his first presidential vote for John C. Fremont. He has never sought or desired office, preferring to give undivided attention to the supervision of his business affairs. He is a member of the Saints Church at Galien and belongs to the Grand Army Post there, of which he is a charter member. He is a man of fine physique, HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 793 standing six feet and one inch, and his many good qualities have gained him the esteem and confidence of all with whom he is associated. MATHIAS RIST, whose home is on section 6, Three Oaks township, where he owns and operates a valuable tract of land, dates his residence in this county from I853 and is therefore numbered among its pioneer settlers. He was born in Bavaria, Germany, November 6, 1833, and is a son of John Baptist and Josephine (Lutter) Rist, who always remained residents of Bavaria, their native country. They had a family of three sons: Joseph, who came to the United States in 1865, is now living in Galien township; Mathias, of this review, and Edward, who is living at the old home in Bavaria. Between the ages of six and fourteen years Mathias Rist attended school and then herded cattle in the mountains until he came to the United States. He made his way alone to this country, attracted by its greater business oportunities and advantages and on the 6th of August, 1852, landed at New York from the sailing ship, Herman, which had weighed anchor at Bremen seven weeks before. He then proceeded westward to Detroit and went to work on the construction of the railroad, which was being built out of WVindsor. He worked on the railroad and chopped wood for a time, and in 1853 he came to Three Oaks, where he has since resided. His first purchase of land made him owner of thirty acres of his present farm, which now comprises two hundred and two and a half acres on section 3, Three Oaks township. He also has ninety acres on section 5 and one hundred and twelve and a half acres on section 5. He has cleared the most of this and has put all the buildings upon the property, making modern improvements in keeping with the present ideas of agricultural progress and development. The home farm lies just outside the corporation limits of Three Oaks. He first lived here in a log cabin in the woods and there was no town upon the present site of the now prosperous village. He has devoted fifty-three years to the development of the home place and the farm in its splendid appearance in dicates his careful supervision, his practical methods and his unfaltering diligence. Mr. Rist was married in I859, to Miss Theresa Friedel, who was born in Bavaria, February I9, 1843, and came to Berrien county in 1853 with her mother to join the father, who had previously arrived. She is a daughter of Joseph and Cunigunda (Furtembech) Friedel, both of whom passed away in this county. Ten children have been born unto Mr. and Mrs. Rist, of whom two died in infancy. The others are: John, a resi(lent of Michigan City; Joseph, of Three Oaks; Josephine, the wife of William Hedrick, of Michigan City; Mary, at home; Frank, who operates the home farm; Henry, who is a member of the firm of Rist Brothers, of Three Oaks; Mathias, a partner of Henry; and Edward, at home. Mr. and Mrs. Rist have also reared a niece, Elizabeth, who is now the wife of Orin C. Keilson, of Niles. Mr. Rist in I905 made a trip back to his old home to visit his youngest brother and spent many happy hours in renewing the acquaintance of his youth and visiting the scenes amid which his childhood days were passed. In politics he is a Democrat and he belongs to the Catholic Church. No native-born son of America is more loyal to the interests of this country than Mr. Rist, who has ever manifested strong allegiance to the stars and stripes, for under the banner of this country he has prospered and is now in possession of an excellent farm, whereon he has made his home for fifty-three years. CHAUNCEY SMITH, who is located on section I9, Wesaw township, has devoted his entire life to general agricultural pursuits and although he has now passed the age of four score years he still gives personal supervision to his place. He was born in Oswego county, New York, March 2I, 1824, his parents being David and Martha (Cable) Smith, both of whom were natives of Connecticut. In their family were seven children, of whom Chauncey Smith was the youngest and the only one now living. His boyhood and youth were uneventfully passed and when about twenty years of age he went to Steuben county, New York, settling near Dansville. He lived in 794 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY that vicinity until I855, when he came direct to this township, settling upon his present farm in I859. In 1892, however, he sold the place and removed to Allegany county, New York, but after nine years he returned to Berrien county, Michigan, and again purchased the old homestead. His entire life has been devoted to general farming and he now has forty acres of well improved land on section I9, Wesaw township. He has led a busy, useful and active life and whatever he has undertaken he has accomplished owing to his perseverance and industry. At all times, too, he has been thoroughly reliable in his business affairs, so that he has commanded the trust of his fellowmen. In I848 Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Abigail Carroll, who was born in Allegany county, New York, October 17, 1830, a daughter of Richard and Dorcas (Hoskins) Carroll, natives of Pennsylvania and New York respectively. This marriage has been blessed with the following named: Jay Willet, who is living in Hornell, New York, and travels for a publishing house. Ambrose Everett, a physician, who is practicing in Olean, New York, where he is making a specialty of the diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat; J. Hoskins of Chicago, who for eighteen years has been a teacher in the Eugene Fields school of that city; Amy, the wife of John A. Thursby, a traveling man residing in Madison, Wisconsin; and Wilbur R. C., of Atlanta, Georgia, who is at the head of the Trades Journal, in which all of the brothers are interested. All of the members of this family have been teachers and were reared here upon the home farm. The Doctor, J. H. and W. R. C. Smith, were all students in the State Agricultural College, the first two being graduates of that institution, while the last mentioned spent two years as a student there. Dr. Smith is also a graduate of Rush Medical College and spent two years in special work in the line of his profession in New York city. The mother was also a successful school teacher in early life and was determined that her children should be provided with excellent educational privileges. This plan was carried out and by liberal men tal training they were well prepared for life's practical and responsible duties. Mr. Smith is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Troy, New York, and has shaped his life in accordance with his religious belief and the teachings of the church. In his political views he is a prohibitionist, supporting the party which embodies his ideas upon the temperance question. He has lived a temperate, honorable and upright life, endorsing those principles and rules of conduct which work for upright manhood and for the development of character and his life may well serve as a source of inspiration and encouragement to others. DANIEL T. FEATHER. Active in the affairs of life as an agriculturist for many years, Daniel T. Feather is now living retired, having won a measure of success that now enables him to put aside the more arduous duties of the farm and live in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil. He makes his home on section 7, Oronoko township, and is numbered among Pennsylvania's native sons now living in Berrien county. His birth occurred in Northumberland county of the Keystone state, February 15, 1830, and in a family of five sons and one daughter he was the second in order of birth. Mention is made of his parents, Joshua and Mary A. (Smith) Feather, elsewhere in this volume in connection with the history of their son, Joshua Feather. A review of the past shows Daniel T. Feather when, a little lad of six summers, he arrived in Berrien county with his parents, the family casting their lot with the pioneer residents of Oronoko township. They shared in the usual experiences and hardships of pioneer life and when a boy he attended the primitive schools, the "little tempel" of learning being a log building seated with slab benches. There was a long window on each side of the building made by removing a log and putting glass in the aperture. At one end was a huge fire place and the smoke made its egress through a mud and stick chimney. It was possible to place a log four feet in length upon the fire. At the other end of the room sat 0 -0 ~I-4 Uf) H 2 zl HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 795 the teacher and a rod usually hung over his desk to remind the delinquent pupils that his shortcomings would meet a proper fate. It was in the winter seasons that Mr. Feather attended such schools, while in the summer months froml an early age he worked on the farm, aiding in clearing and cultivating the land. To his father he gave the benefit of his services until he had reached the age of twenty-one years, when he started out in life for himself, beginning farm work in the southwestern part of section 7, Oronoko township. He remained there for six years and! then removed to the northeastern part of the same section on the old homestead. He has lived in this portion of the county for three score years and ten-the age usually allotted to man, and he has been a witness of the growth and development of the county for a longer period than the great majority of its citizens. In 1852 Mr. Feather was united in marriage to Miss Caroline Bechtel, a daughter of Jacob and Catherine (Booscius) Bechtel, who in 1847 came to Berrien county, Michigan. Mrs. Feather was born in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, an'd died May 15, 1905. By her marriage she became the mother of eight children, five of whom still survive, while three died in infancy. Those still living are: Mary M., the wife of Ira R. Stemm, whose life record is given on another page of this volume; Rev. Daniei J. Feather, who is a minister of the Evangelical Church, now located at Mount Pleasant, Michigan; David A., who occupies the old home farm; Rev. Franklin J. Feather, a minister of the Congregational Church, now preaching near Rockford, in Kent county, Michigan; and Jacob C., a farmer and fruitraiser of Hinchmnan. Mr. Feather of this review has thirteen grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, all of whom were born in Berrien county and most of them in Oronoko township. As the years passed by Daniel T. Feather has done much surveying in Berrien county and has settled many estates, a fact which indicates the trust reposed in him and proves his thorough reliability. His early political allegiance was given to the Democracy but in later years he has become a Prohibitionist, as that party embodies his ideas upon the temperance question. He has been closely associated with Berrien county and its interests for seventy years and has stood for progress and advancement in all those lines of life which work for the betterment of mankind. For forty-seven years he has been a member of the Evangelical Church, active and zealous in its work and was the first Sunday-school superintendent in the Second district of Oronoko township. He is also a licensed local preacher but has never acted in that capacity. He has labored, however, for the growth and upbuilding of the church and his influence is ever on the side of right, justice and, truth. He has acted as notary public for twenty years and was at one time highway commissioner. In his business affairs he has been successful and the rest that he is enjoying is therefore well merited. In the early days he greatly enjoyed hunting and found ample opportunity to indulge his love of the sport because deer were frequently seen in the county, while smaller game was also very plentiful. His memory covers a period of early pioneer progress and improvement as well as of later day advancement and prosperity. Ile can remember a time when there were few roads cut through the forests, the trees stood in their primeval strength and gave shelter not only to wild game and wild beasts but also to the Indians who occasionally visited the district. He has livedl through the era of pioneer homes with their primitive furnishings-the fire place, the tallow candles, etc., and as the years have gone by he has delighted in the changes which have been made for the better and has kept pace with the universal progress. Mr. Feather has one of the parchment deeds executed February IO, 1852 and signed by President Millard Fillmore, which is a souvenir of the household, and another by the same president dated November i, 1852, and the oldest, executed April I, I83I, and signed by President Andrew Jackson, andi another dated May I, 1839, and signed by President Martin Van Buren. He has in his possession four deeds of the old parchments. 796 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY STEPHEN SCOTT was born in St. Joseph county, Indiana, eight miles northwest of South Bend, on Portage Prairie, September 13, I844. His parents were George Scott and Elizabeth Leer Scott. George Scott was a native of Culpeper county, Virginia, and when about four years of age moved with his parents, William and Susan (Nash) Scott, to Logansport, Indiana, with one horse and a yoke of oxen. He remained there a short time then removed to St. Joseph county, Indiana, near the state line, the inhabitants being mostly Indians. and died at the age of seventy-four years at Buchanan, Michigan. Elizabeth Scott was a native of Ohio and came to St.. Joseph county, Indiana, in an early day and died at the age of fifty-five years. Stephen Scott was one of the family of seven children: Mary J. Evans of Buchanan; Susan Page of Elkhart, Indiana; Stephen Scott, a farmer of South Berrien county, Michigan; William Scott, died at five years of age; Harriet Scott, deceased; George R. Scott, a farmer on Portage Prairie; James H. Scott, a millwright of South Bend, Indiana. Stephen Scott remained on the farm with his parents attending school during the winter terms and obtained a common district school education. On March 8, 1864, he enlisted in the United States service in Company E, Twelfth Regiment, Michigan Veteran Volunteer Infantry, to serve three years or during the war of the rebellion, and on March 21 left home and friends for the front to participate in the hardships and privations of warfare. He was picket guard in front of Columbus, Kentucky, near the banks of the old Mississippi river. May 17 started on Springfield campaign; May 28 was sunstruck and taken to Little Rock, Arkansas; June 26 and 27, in the fight at Clarendon; September 4, in fight at Gregory's Landing and afterward engaged in other minor engagements. November 5, commissioned corporal; February 15, i866, mustered out of service at Camden, Arkansas; March 6, paid off and discharged at Jackson, Michigan. The first year he traveled over three thousand miles. He remained at home on the farm until October 3, I867. He was married to Sylvie N. Yaw, her par ents were Theodore C. Yaw and Nancy Waterhouse Yaw. Theodore Yaw was born in North Adams, Massachusetts, and came to Berrien county in 1852 and located near Galien, Michigan. Nancy Yaw was born in Rutland, Vermont, and came to Berrien county in 1852, and is now living at Hunter, Arkan sas, at the age of seventy-nine years. Sylvie N. Yaw Scott is one of a family of three children and came to Berrien county with her parents. The others are: Henry E. Yaw, a mechanic of Hunter, Arkansas, and Abbie Lowman of Los Angeles, California. Stephen and Sylvie Scott located and bought a farm of eighty acres four miles south of Buchanan for sixty-five dollars per acre and a few years later bought an adjoining forty acres for ninety dollars per acre. Besides owning other property in Buchanan he has improved it and made this a model home. To Mr. and Mrs. Scott two children were born. James E. Scott, born November 25, I868, and is now rural mail carrier on route 3, from Buchanan; Francis M. Scott, born April 25, I874, and died March 20, I876. Mr. Scott had visited the centennial expositions at Philadelphia in 1876, the world's fair at Chicago in I893, and G. A. R. encamnpments at Minneapolis, Detroit and Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Scott and their son took a pleasure trip, going by way of Chicago to Dallas, Texas, and here visited relatives and from thence to Galveston, Texas, and from thence by boat to New Orleans, and by boat up the Mississippi river eight days.to St. Louis, and then visited relatives in Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Scott were members of Cottage Hill Grange. After filling most of the minor offices, Mr. Scott was elected master of that body for two years in 1878. He became a member of William Perrott Post No. 22, G. A. R., and was elected post commander for one year in I879; was made a member of Buchanan lodge, No. 68, F. & A. M., and after holding some of the minor offices for eleven years in succession, in I890 was elected master of the lodge for two years in succession, and in I899 and I890 was again elected HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY 797 their master for two years more, making four years as a presiding officer over that august body and attending grand lodges at Lansing, Grand Rapids, Muskegon and Detroit. He also was a member of St. Joseph Valley Chapter, R. A. M., and Niles Commandery, No. 12, K. T., and a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, having held the office of worthy patron for two years. Mr. Scott has been appointed to many important positions, such as appraising properties, appraising railroad damages and has been drawn on the regular panel of jurors for the circuit court of Berrien county for five terms and two specials. He is a Republican in politics and has been an active worker in that line. Mrs. Scott has also been very active in promoting the welfare of her many friends. She was an active member of the Woman's Relief Corps for many years, holding the highest office for a number of years, and a member of the S. F. A. Association, holding the office of president for several years, and in I890 after much controversy succeeded in organizing a chapter of the order of the Eastern Star in Buchanan, which was named for her (Sylvie Chapter). It was organized with thirty-five charter members and in a short time the membership was increased to over one hundred. She was elected worthy matron and was its presiding officer for two years. Stephen Scott has traveled over a part of twenty-four different states and Canada. JACOB BROWER. There is no open road to success without its hindrances and its obstacles, but prosperity may always be won by determined, persistent effort, guided by sound judgment and accompanied by a utilization of opportunities which are common to all, and a recognition of this fact has led to the success now enjoyed by Jacob Brower, who is engaged in the lumber trade in Three Oaks. He was born in Vriesland, Holland, December 31, I864. His parents were Nicholas and Clara (Plantinga) Brower. The father died when his son Jacob was only nine years of age and the mother is still living in Holland. She was left in very limited financial circumstances with eight children to support, the oldest being then but fourteen years of age. Her brother, a contractor, who lived some distance away, however, helped her considerably in the support of her family. He took Jacob Brower and kept him until he came to the United States and when a youth of fifteen years Jacob Brower was making a dollar and a half per day, but he came to America to avoid military service. He had been drawn for ten years' service in the army and was to be placed on a gun boat. His mother and uncle objected so seriously, however, to his entering the navy that he came to the United States. He was in school until fourteen years of age, after which he learned the carpenter's trade and attended the evening school until seventeen years of age. He then crossed the Atlantic to the United States, reaching Chicago on the 28th of Maay, 884. He remained in that city until December and was ill for six weeks of the time. He secured employment with a contractor, who paid him a dollar and a half per day during the four weeks that he was in his service. In Europe the trade was somewhat different and Mr. Brower had not only learned the carpenter's trade but also the mason's trade, being thoroughly familiar with the builder's art in every department. Within four week's time, through close application and attention Mr. Bower had gained a considerable knowledge of the English tongue and his services were therefore rendered more effective. His wages were raised to a dollar and seventy-five cents per day, later to two dollars and subsequently to two dollars and a quarter. In the fall he began contracting on his own account, his first independent work being the erection of a house at a cost of twelve hundred dollars. In December he came to Three Oaks, where he began cutting wood for Godfrey Schelley for forty cents per cord, being thus employed until the succeeding spring, when he began farming, spending one season at agricultural labor. He then entered the employ of E. K. Warren in his charcoal camp as timekeeper and overseer of the erection of the buildings, serving under Dwight Warren for one year, when Dwight Warren left and Mr. Brower became foreman of forty wood choppers and teamsters. For one year 798 HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY he was foreman in control of the entire camp. On leaving Mr. Warren's employ he began working at his trade of -contracting and building in Three Oaks. He employed from two to five men and was thus engaged for three or four years. Gradually he began supplying himself with building materials and developed his present business-that of dealer in lumber and building materials. When four years had passed he concentrated his energies entirely upon this line of business and has since conducted a well equipped lumber yard. About six years ago he took a contract for building several dwellings for E. K. Warren, but regards this contracting and building operation as secondary to the lumber business. He has for the past six years conducted a lumberyard at Galien as well as at Three Oaks and has a profitable business, enjoying large sales which return to him a very gratifying income. On the 26th of September, I888, Mr. Brower married Miss Jennie Agema, who was born in Vriesland, Holland, in the year i866 and came to America in I870 with her parents, Garrett and Winnie (Haekstra) Agema. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Brower were born eight children: Sophia, Claud, Winnie, Garry, Ernest, Henry, Tinnie and a baby unnamed. Mr. Brower is a Republican in his political views, having supported the party since becoming a naturalized American citizen. He belongs to the Holland Church and is an enterprising, energetic business man, whose life record is creditable alike to the land of his birth and the land of his adoption. He is a typical business man, wide awake and alert, watchful of opportunities and quick to improve every advantage which comes to him and thus he has gained a well merited and gratifying success, working his way upward from the position of a humble tradesman to that of a prosperous merchant. ELMORE C. SPAULDING. Occupied with farming interests that are a gratifying source of income, Elmore C. Spaulding lives on section 23, Oronoko township, where he has one hundred and twenty acres of land, which he owns and operates. The farm is devoted to diversified crops and the methods of cultivation there employed indicate an enterprising spirit in touch with ideas of modern progress in farm life. Mr. Spaulding was born in Somerset county, Maine, May 6, 1852, and in a family of six children, three sons and three daughters, he was the third child and second son. His father, Timothy C. Spaulding, a native of New Hampshire, and a farmer by occupation, removed to Maine when a young man and was married in the Pine Tree State to Miss Helena Wells, a native of Somerset county, Maine. The year 1863 witnessed their arrival in Berrien Springs, Michigan, and soon afterward the father purchased the farm upon which his son Elmore now resides. He gave his attention to general agricultural pursuits for a considerable period, and died at the advanced age of about eighty years. He had been a life long Democrat and held various local offices, proving his worth as a a citizen in his township and wherever he was known. His widow still survives him at the age of eighty-one years and is esteemed by young and old, rich and poor. Elmore C. Spaulding was a youth of eleven years when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Berrien county, Michigan and his education, which was begun in the public schools of his native place, was continued in the graded schools of Berrien Springs. He remained at home through the period of his minority, assisting in the farm work and on starting out in life for himself he was married November i6, 1876, to Miss Harriet L. Shearer, and thus established a home of his own. Mrs. Elmore C. Spaulding was born in Berrien township February 25, I855, and is the second in a family of five children-one son and four daughters-born to Jeremiah and Sarah (Shearer) Shearer. There are three living and two of the family are residents of Berrien county and the sister, Mrs. Lora Richmond, is a resident of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. The father was born in Carroll county, Ohio, June 15, 1828, and died March 27, I897. He was an agriculturist, was well educated and in his early years was a teacher. Politically he was a Republican. He and his wife were members of the Free Will Baptist Church. He owned rTTT/-"- - -I 'Tt? -1 T-% - d T o TT T -Trl - r Hi STRUKY UtP bji land in Oronoko township upon which his wife now resides. Mother Shearer was born in Stark county, Ohio, September 24, 183I, and is yet living, over a three-fourths of a century old. Mrs. Spaulding was reared and educated in her native county. The following are the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Spaulding: Clyde E., graduated from the Berrien Springs high school in the class of I898. He married Miss Ruth Boyd, and resides in Berrien Springs. He is mail carrier. Arthur also graduated in the same school in the class of 900o, and he married Miss Evelyn Minnemire. He carries on the farming of his father's farm. Lester A., who almost finished the free course of high school at the Springs. He wedded Miss Lisa Lawrence and one little; son, Lawrence, was born to them. Mrs. Elmore Spaulding is a member of the United Brethren Church of Berrien Springs. Her people were pioneer settlers of the county, her father, Jeremiah Shearer, coming from Ohio to Michigan when this was a frontier district and assisting in its early development. Mr. Spaulding votes with the Democracy and has served as township treasurer for two terns. He is also justice of the peace and his decisions are strictly fair and impartial. His residence in Berrien county covers forty-two years, during which time he has taken an active interest in public affairs to the betterment of the county and the advancement of its welfare along material, intellectual, political and moral lines. JACOB C. KRIEGER was born on the farm where he now lives in Bainbridge township, August 4, 1858, a fact which indicates that in the early period of progress and development here his parents had become resi(lents of Berrien county. He is a son of Christian and Caroline (Shearer) Krieger. Christian Krieger arrived in this county a year or two before his wife came and they were married here. She had a brother, Christian Shearer, living in Bainbridge township and with whom she resided until she gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Krieger. They began their domestic, life in a log cabin and later he erected a more